a and b

so yeah. i've got some new years resolutions. most of them revolve around the fact that i am *hopefully* going to be beach bound for a week in june. more on that later.

but randomly, i also decided that i want to accomplish two physical feats this year. hopefully by june, but whatever. and they are a) i want to be able to do AT LEAST 25 "real" pushups. and b) i want to be able to do a cartwheel again.

for the "a" goal this would be a big deal and would probably say a lot about how i'm doing on those other resolutions i mentioned in the first paragraph. i kind of have always felt bad about having no upper arm strength at all. yes. i know this is excused because i am lacking the y chromosome, but still. but then, one of my friends who is like crazy active and played sports her whole life told me that she can't do "real" pushups, either. oddly, that made me feel better, which in turn made me feel like i should take this on as a goal.

or something.

now the whole cartwheel thing? am i alone in this? at what point does one lose the ability to do a cartwheel? cuz, like, i use to do them all of the freakin' time. and then somewhere along the way - i'm gonna blame middle school - i just stopped. and lost the ability. and to be quite honest, now the thought of going upside down kind of terrifies me in a mild sense.

so i'm like throwing down some sort of gauntlet. to myself? is that how this works?

omg why do i suck so much?

okay. so. last year? i got super motivated and started running and eating like a pound of broccoli a day and drinking only water and iced tea and the occasional triple grande nonfat latte with cinnamon powder on top from starbucks. and tonight? i ate bueno. and guess what? it wasn't even the first time i'd done that in a while. also guess what? it was not very good.

i may have also had two - or three by the time i've written this blog - glasses of wine (red diamond merlot, which is SO SO SO yummy and makes me feel classy because i am drinking red wine. shut up. i know drinking it with bueno kind of takes away the class. but still it was good. and kind of made me forget how crappy my party burrito tasted.).

anyway. i don't know what my deal is, or has been, for the last four months or so. because i really liked the changes i made last year. i felt good. i was starting to look kind of good. that may have been the tan, but whatever. i'll give the water and broccoli some credit here. and also. the best part? i had TONS of energy.

most of those things are gone right now. and i am not stating that to be whiny or melodramatic. because you know what? some of those have been replaced by some really good things. and i am actually really content with a big part of life right now. which is probably why those things have kind of shifted to the back of my focus.

but yeah. i need to get some focus back. i'll let you know how that goes....

happy anniversary!

so it was pointed out to me by the author of THIS blog, who herself has been m.i.a. when it comes to writing over the last few months, that i hadn't written anything. like in forever. because i suck. and since everyone has probably quit reading my blog entirely this post is probably just going to fade away into the ether of the internet.

but since it is the new year and all and i actually do get a kick out of writing i'm gonna clack away on the keyboard.

and all to celebrate a very special anniversary.

a year ago - give or take a week - i became one of thoooooooose people. you know us. we annoy the hell out of you if you aren't one of our kind. you get annoyed any time we mention an "app" and you could care less about our capabilities to check email, twitter, and facebook ANY TIME WE WANT (even if we are teaching. shh.). mmhmm. i got an iphone.

and i love it. and i know i am part of a cult. and i know it is just a gadget. but oh boy how i love it.

so to celebrate....i'm just going to share some of the random pictures i've taken on my phone over the last year. trust. they are not that exciting. but hey. neither is my life.

also i am lazy, so there's a chance - pretty much a 100% chance - that there will be like no order to these pictures and how they are uploaded into the format....

also i just finished uploading pictures. i apologize now that there are so many. i could have put even more up, though, so yay for restraint!

see. like i said. totally out of order. this was a drift on the side of the road heading out to patrick's on christmas day. a day later than we were suppose to go. thanks oklahoma christmas eve blizzard of 'o9.

also a december picture. yay for friends who get married! the other side of this said "as you wish." if you are in the know, you will understand why my friend joy and i squealed and deafened our boys who happened to be trapped in a car with us at the time.

my tree! without many presents under it! but my paper was pretty!

the best picture i have ever taken in my life. seriously. hey baby drake!

lucy of course!

smiling.

damn i love this dog.

when you see the next picture you will understand why my dad (especially those of you who know my dad) was a tad concerned that this might become a new habit.

4-wheelin'. in the snow. wearing camo.

and LOVING it!

even the snow!

someone playing in the spices at central market.

and no. i'm not talking about the small child in the foreground of the picture.

the giant traveling candy store at the oklahoma state fair. kimmy. this one's for you!

i bought a grill this year.

i make awesome kabobs.

i will cook for you if you come visit.

ikea. frisco. i want to do this in my den.

this sign seriously made me sad for the "modern child."

patrick was in a wedding this summer and he sent me this picture via HIS iphone to demonstrate juuuuuust how pink the wedding was. but then we were both like, "oooooh cool picture." and it is.

bob schneider. chicago. june. which of the following did i consume that night? beer, straight vodka, margaritas, beer, sangria, beer. yeah. worst. hangover. ever.

(erin, i think i still owe you some money for the get better supplies the next morning!)

8 years of teaching. all on one cart.

lucy in her new backyard.

happiness.

my birthday dinner with cody. who gave me the best gift ever. i'll write about it another time. also. random encounter with two people from my amarillo childhood who were sitting at the booth next to us. whom i hadn't seen in FOREVER. it was a great birthday.

oh. i was born in '78. so i thought it was super cool that our number was '78.

oh. this place had frozen screwdrivers. yum.

i keep typing hoping the name of the restaurant is going to pop in my head, but it won't!!!!!

it was in the hospital district in fort worth, though.

callie. she says my name now and it is the awesomest thing ever!

you would not believe how many pictures i have of her crazy hair and her sister's crazy hair. i take that back.

if you've met them, you'd totally believe that.

i apologize for the profanity, but this was the wall of a bathroom at a bar in downtown tulsa by cain's.

it made me laugh. before pabst even.

still the grossest thing i've ever had to think about. no wait.

the bacon flavored jelly beans i was forced to taste may top this.

oh and my nails look pretty in this picture. i need to quit biting them again.

so. there is my odd scrapbook for 2009. maybe if i write more this year i can do this as i go and not cram it all into a post that takes me nearly an evening to write. (so new goal? to stop writing like a 1980's valley girl. yikes. apologies again.)

now if you'll excuse me, my iphone and i are going to go cuddle up and play some "words with friends" before we crash for the night.

a quest to be better people. and hotter, too. does that make us selfish?

the 30 week challenge. that is what missy and i are calling it. we both have quite a few things in our lives that we want to change . . . some physical, some mental, some spiritual, some financial, and all of the rest. but daily life gets overwhelming sometimes.

now. sometime later this week ima gonna write me a gratitude post. or maybe a couple. but one of those posts is definitely going to explain why i am so thankful for a friendship like the one i share with missy. and trust me. it involves a lot more than my fascination with her ability to throw the term "titty baby" around like it's nothing, although, if i am being honest that might just be why i decided she had to be my friend!

last january at missy's shower for benjamin!

she - obvs pregnant. and supercute pregnant!

me - about 20 pounds ago. still a ways to go!

for tonight, though, let me just take some time and explain the 30 week challenge. because like it starts now.

the purpose is multifaceted, yo. weekly goals don't seem so daunting. obviously there are some things each of us want for ourselves and the people around us by the time this "quest" is over, so yes. there is a BIG PICTURE. but you've got to take smaller steps to get there sometimes, right? right?!

um, we are teachers. we totally believe in rules. duh. but since we are GOOD teachers, we totally believe in as few rules as possible wherein we can still get our point across and don't have to have an entire wall filled with poster board stating said rules. (sorry. just had a flashback to my first classroom.) so. as good ol' harry wong suggests....here are our fast five.

________________________________

FAST FIVE OF THE 30 WEEK CHALLENGE

1. every sunday, post 3 to 5 goals for the week. 1 goal MUST have to do with getting physical. 1 goal MUST have to do with eating habits. the rest can be as deep and philosophical as we want. or they can be totally shallow.

2. at the end of the week, if all goals are met, deposit 10 bucks in the piggy bank.

3. when it comes to eating habits, we are allowed one cheat day a week, if needed.

4. if a cheat day is not used, deposit 2 to 3 extra dollars in the piggy bank.

5. communicate and be reflective. we will be doing that publicly on this here blog, as well as lots of email and chatter between the two of us on a daily basis....which is really nothing new, now we've just got more to talk about!

________________________________

yeah. so there is money involved here. the ultimate goal is that by the week of june 7th - the end of this 3o week challenge - the two of us will have saved enough money to reward ourselves with a fun girls weekend. just in time to celebrate being out of school.

and our new hotness.

the before!

forgive me missy, but this picture always cracks me up

and now i actually have a reason to post it!

normally, goals will be posted each sunday....this week we'll post monday!

yeah so seriously

i totally suck at blogging anymore. there was a bit of time there where i thought i was kind of getting good at this.......and then the job search became an excuse to take a break and then the summer of insanity began and then i posted OVER A MONTH AGO about how i was back and was going to write and yeah. not so much.

but it's saturday afternoon. and for like the first time in three months it is actually quiet and still and there's not a lot going on. which of course means, i have used my time wisely and been productive, i.e., i've spent the afternoon roaming the internet. well. not really the ENTIRE internet. instead, the majority of my time has been spent on this crockpot cooking blog. because HOLY COW - there's a lot you can do with a crockpot.

and i have one.

and only work a block from my house.

um. what?

yeah. in MY mind that makes perfect sense. because in case you were not aware, i can be a little neurotic about things. and by "things" i mean absolutely nothing that really has bearing or importance. for example, i spent 25 minutes the other day working on a powerpoint trying to make the orange in my pistol pete clip art match the orange of the text. because, you know, 6th-7th-8th graders TOTALLY care about shit like that. also, there's a chance i drove back to my house three different times the other day to make sure i had closed my garage door....and there's a chance those drivebys all happened within 5 minutes of each other. and don't even get me started talking about my straightener. (by the way, thanks mom, for this genetic trait you've passed down to me! ;p SMOOCHES!)

anyway. what was i talking about?

i've always been amazed by the crockpot, but also a little afraid of it because it is an appliance - that is hot - that you leave plugged in. all day. unattended!!!! um. hello? that could be DANGEROUS. so. in the past. i have done the crock pot cooking. but usually, i am home all day. or, in the rare instances where i've put something in in the morning and then gone to work, i have worried about it all day long. ask anyone who has worked with me.

yeah. i know. my brain is annoying.

so. now that i live a block away, i come home for lunch every day. which means, i can check to make sure all is well and secure and not scorching. so YEAH!!!! crock pot cooking will DEFINITELY happen a lot this fall/winter. (which by the way, be prepared for a lot of me writing about how freaking cold oklahoma is. all starting here in about 4 weeks. don't say you haven't been warned.) (wait. that means i am intending to do some actual writing, i guess. huh. funny.)

okay. so. those of you who've known me for a while might be curious about this thing called "cooking" that i seem to have discovered. and trust me. i'm just as weirded out that i am participating in it as well. like on purpose. and with regularity.

but that's another ramble-y, ADD blog for another slow saturday.

and don't worry. one of those won't be here until after christmas.

let's try this again.....

so here’s the deal.  taking a break from the blogging stuff - way back in, oh what was it?  april? – seeeeeeeeeeeeeeemed like a fabulous idea at the time.  but now it’s, um, turning september in less than 8 hours and there’s hardly been a blip on the screen from me.

i’d make some excuses here, but really?  i just didn’t want to write.  no offense to anyone who cares that much.  (and yeah, if you do, chill, plz?  ‘k.  thx.)  A LOT happened this summer.  some spectacular stuff, some funny stuff, and some pretty stressful stuff.  and it’s all stored somewhere deep and comfortable in the caverns of my brain.  and maybe someday i’ll write about some of it and bore you with my ramblings then.  but for now….i’m just going to start with today.

because today i got to analyze testing data.  all.  day.  long.  after i spent the entire week last week doing the same thing (on my own, mind you.  who says i ain’t a self-starter?).  i finally had to laugh to myself because who knew that looking at numbers and state reading objectives could make a girl soooooo incredibly homesick.  because that is what happened.  and those of you from the life i just moved away from will get a kick out of this: i missed data groups.  and continuous improvement.  and, dare I say it?  okay.  i'll whisper it...taks.  (if you are reading this and suddenly feel clueless, please don’t fret.  your justifiable ignorance - a word i use with only the most POSITIVE connotation - really is a strong indicator that i should have a life away from those three things.  because seriously?  they should not be the topics of 94.6% of my conversations.)

please laugh now.

trust me…..this nostalgic feeling will fade very quickly.  as in, just because i got all misty-eyed at how much easier all of this use to be for me, it doesn’t mean it’s worth it to come back to. 

and maybe…..maybe it was just easier today to admit that i missed the “easiness” of the Texas numbers game (seriously.  i heart the okies, but they need to get some of their shit together when it comes to this) instead of the people.  because somedays it’s harder to explain why i left them.

to them... 

...and to myself.

i be back

okay.  it's summer.  i have a job for the fall.  i am more than 3/4 of the way through the entire moving process.  i'm on vacation.  no more "i be busy" types of arguments.

so, i guess, i'll come back to blogging.

oh.  and one other thing.....there is now a house.  a house that will involve renovations.  a house that will bring sarah (me!) closer together with john and karen (the 'rents!)  because oh yeaaaaaaaahhhh.  WE are doing the renovations.  and guess who gets to read about it?  yep. yall.

before i do much writing, let me show you the photographic evidence of day one.  i'm sure there will be stories to tell as we get further along, but right now the newness is still a-shimmer and the cynicism, i mean, story-telling will commence later.

picture 1 - living room from the dining room.  still attached: beverly's (previous owner) jcpenney's drapes from 1979.  oh.  and the carpet.

picture 2: karen and lucy getting ready to check out what the heck is underneath the carpet.  (also from 1979).  look how handy my mom is.

picture 3: LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!!!  and can i get a hallelujah???  the floors freakin' rock!  

picture 4: we got so excited about the floors that we just decided to rip up all of the carpet up. because seriously.  can you see those floors?  the only issue.  can you see the line up the middle?  those are all tacks.  and there are a lot of them because there is a lot of floor.  so pretty much?  if you come to visit me the next couple of weeks?  yep.  you're going to be assigned tack duty....

picture 5: trash.  leftover from all of the carpet pulling up.  and this was after one room.  ick.

picture 6: john.  he was awfully excited to mow that grass.  i have promised him that will not become his job.  just gotta find me a mower.  (hint, hint lissa and jerms.)

picture 7: and me.  like a super sexy hot picture of me.  wouldn't you agree?  this is after the battle with the carpet AND combating the 1979 drapery machinations that were everywhere.  new annoyance: window treatments.

picture 8: and you too can achieve super sexy hotness.  just move into a house with a broken a/c and then decided to rip out all of the carpet.  oh.  and remember.  it's summer.

picture 9: my first house-warming gift.  it's there as a beacon of what will come when everything is finished.  unfortunately, that probably won't be until football season.  that's aiiiight.  margaritas and football?  i think that has a nice ring...