50 more things about me!

1: I'm a little obsessed with blogging.
2: When I was younger, I got stuck in a laundry chute that went to the basement. Instead of helping me, my step sisters shut the door at the top so they wouldn't get caught. (Mama-bet that's the first time you're hearing that...they eventually helped me out, and I fell onto a big pile of laundry.)
3: I'm fiercely loyal to my few real friends.
4: I'm just all the time putting my foot in my mouth.
5: It's because I say whatever is on my mind, and that filter that is supposed to be between your brain and your mouth is broken in me.
6: I'm a great director.
7: I'm a decent actor.
8: I like to sing, and I'll qualify myself as a little better than decent, but not great.
9: I cannot dance. I was even married for a while to a dance teacher, and even he thought I was hopeless.
10: His mom, who was also a dance teacher, said that I just wasn't trained, but I had a "Lovely pointe", which is the only nice thing that I can recall her saying to anyone in my presence.
11: I really love kids, and I can feel that clock tick tick ticking away saying "BABY BABY BABY". So far, though, I'm able to resist. I want to have one of those guys, but a little later, when we would be better suited to handle it.
12: I live an hour and a half away from my mom and 2 1/2 hours away from my dad.
13: Growing up, I didn't see my dad often, which led to some sore feelings, but now I know my father as a pretty cool dude who is easy to talk to, and makes me laugh a lot. This is better than before.
14: My mom and I have always been close. She is still cool, and reads this here blog often.
15: I pretty much need everyone to like me. If I hear that someone doesn't like me, I can't stand it. I think of nothing else for the next few days.
16: I've got one crazy bad temper on me. But it is more of the stew and vent to everyone that will listen temper, as opposed to the hit someone in the face kind of temper.
17: I've never hit anyone in the face.
18: I did kick a guy as hard as I could one time in 7th grade. He kept touching my butt. It was spirit day, and I was wearing steel toed boots. I put a fracture in his shin, but I didn't get in any trouble because I moved out of town the next day. He deserved it. I said "If you touch my butt one more time, you'll regret it." And he did both.
19: I spoil my dog just as rotten as she'll let me spoil her.
20: While I'm glad my dog loves my husband, it makes me a little sad that she loves him as much as she loves me.
21: I over analyze things that don't need analyzing, and then fly by the seat of my pants when I really should be analyzing.
22: It usually works out for me OK anyway. It, meaning life, I guess.
23: I don't like working for women. Present principal excepted, because I like her a lot.
24: I used to sweat all the time, no matter what. It was horrible. If you have this problem, and find yourself wearing 4 shirts in a day, and throwing out white shirts after you've worn them twice-try this: Don' t use soap on your underarms. (I know it feels counterproductive.) Scrub with a loofah instead. And don't use antiperspirant. ( I know this feels even more counterproductive.) Just use deodorant. Works like a charm!
25: I love coca cola, and even though I know it is poison, I still just can't stop myself from drinking it. I love love love it!
26: I didn't care about ice cream in the past, but over the last year, I've developed an undying love for ice cream that is almost as serious as my love for google.
27: I have a mom, a dad, a step mom, a step dad, a sister and 5 stepbrothers. There was a point in my life where I had a different step mom and a different step dad, and 2 step sisters, which ups my total of siblings to 8! Just not at one time.
28: I love talking to people I don't know.
29: I love talking to people I do know.
30: OK-I really just love talking, especially when I have a microphone.
31: I have been married almost a year to a precious precious man who puts up with a lot of crap from me.
32: My favorite color is red, and I lean towards schemes that are red and orange and yellow.
33: I am an expert at wasting time.
34: I think the funniest thing in town is my dog swimming in a pool. No one seems as amused as I am, but seriously, I could watch her do it for hours.
35: I'm not big on second chances. Unless you are one of the 4 or 5 people who are closest to my heart, and then, honestly, I'd probably give you 30 chances.
36: I am very emotional, and not so quick to think logically about something that gets an emotional response from me.
37: That makes it not so much fun to argue with me.
38: I'm a cry baby.
39: I need a better creative outlet.
40: I'm terrified of failure.
41: It makes my heart smile when I see comments on my blog. I know it is dorky, but it makes my day every time.
42: I would rather be doing something unpleasant than be bored bored bored.
43: If I were loaded, I would get laser hair removal every where they would let me get it.
44: I'm not much of a gossip, but I sure do love to hear some.
45: I eat a salad almost every day.
46: I eat too many $0.99 double cheeseburgers from McDonalds.
47: A lot of people get on my nerves. But I'll be nice any way, because I know it doesn't take much to irritate me.
48: I tend to immediately like and trust anyone who doesn't get on my nerves, which blows up in my face sometimes.
49: I can, and do, unfortunately, hold a grudge for years.
50: Nothing in the world is nicer than watching a good TV show with my head in Jon's lap.

Stolen from leesepea

1: Favorite Food?


I know they're not really actually good, but they have some kind of hold over me. I'm ashamed to admit it.

2: Least favorite food?

Yucky yucky yuck yuck.

3: Favorite thing?

Jon got me this for Christmas and I love it so much. I keep it with me at ALL times.

4: Least Favorite Thing?

I really hate football.

6: A phobia?


The biggest reason I couldn't live in Asheville? Tunnels.

7: An addiction?


I just can't give it up.

Inhospitable??????

I have been stabbed in the back by someone I thought was a friend, and I want to talk about it. My "friend" Joe, who I have mentioned in this blog, is in all actuality a back stabbing, trash talking tool, and I hate it for him.

Joe has been to my house on many occasions, and eaten my food, and drank my drink. Joe said last week that he wanted to come over and watch the game show I was on. We were planning on watching it, and I never mind company, so we told him to come over. I offered to pick him up, and he insisted on walking. We watched the TV program, but it was a really low key day. I had had a hard day at work, and Jon was tired too. It was a low energy night, and after the show we watched a little more TV, then Joe wanted to leave. We were ready for bed, so I offered him a ride. He said "No I'll walk." I argued with him, telling him it was miles and miles and it was late, but he insisted. While he was there, he took the opportunity to talk all kinds of junk about our mutual friend Herb, Herb's mom, and their friend Christian. It wasn't a really fun night, and it made me kind of glad that he was moving to Boone, so that I wouldn't have to hurt his feelings by just never inviting him over again.

That was Friday. Monday, he went to Herb's house for dinner. Yes, Herb, who he had spent a good ten minutes running his mouth about. And while he was there, he started talking about Jon and I.

Call me crazy, but I thought friends were people who came to your house to hang out with you, you know, people who like you. Call me crazy, but those people shouldn't be the ones who run their mouth about you.

He said that Jon was a gigantic "A**hole" who wouldn't let me give him a ride home. He also said that I was fat on the TV show, and I looked stupid. He said there were 45 minutes where everyone sat in stony uncomfortable silence. This did not happen. But, for me, the worst thing he said was that I was "Inhospitable."

I'm not as upset about a friend being a jerk as I am about any one in the whole world calling me inhospitable. I am the most hospitable person I know, excepting my mom. I constantly invite all my friends to my house, feed them delicious food, carry as much of the conversation as needs carrying, make sure they have drinks, etc. In short, I bend over backwards to make sure that all the people that enter my house leave having thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Joe, as I said, has come to my house many times, eaten that food, and otherwise benefited from my hospitality. He knows that I am hospitable. Anyone that knows me knows I am hospitable. I'm so mad that I want to punch him in the face. And I'm not a violent person.

Further, after all the times that I have invited him to my house, have I ever stepped foot in his house? No. So, who is inhospitable? I'd put my money on that guy. I've given him so many meals, and has he ever even offered me a soda? Again, no.

If you recall my not getting that summer job that I wanted...I didn't get it because the people who work with Joe know he's a tool and assumed the same of his friends. I suppose because he spends a lot more time at work than with me, he's had time to show his true colors.

So I'm sitting on Herb's front porch yesterday with his mom and friend Christian. Joe has talked badly of each of them to me. Joe has talked badly about each of us to Herb. Joe has talked badly about each of us to Herb's mom (Does anyone else think that's weird?). Joe had talked badly about each of us to Christian. So, the four of us sat and shared everything he has said.

What kind of person talks badly about every person they know? And get this-Joe has been our "friend" for months and months. Dude was in prison for 5 years for drugs, and do you think he ever mentioned that? If you guessed no, you're right. No, dude never mentioned 5 years in prison, which I think is pretty important.

So, if you're ever walking around Hickory and you see an unattractive skinny guy with horrible teeth and stringy hair parted in the middle, (See Joe, I can say mean things too, only mine are true) I'd avoid him if I were you.

I want to give google a big sloppy kiss!

I know I've blogged before about my undying love for google. But my love has gotten deeper and stronger. And before anyone gets dorky and says "Why don't you marry google?", well, because polygamy is illegal.

Igoogle, while it has always been awesome, has recently really blossomed into the coolest thing ever. I remember always thinking "What did we do without the internet?" Truth is, I can barely remember those days. Now I ask, "What did we do without google?"

Things I have on my igoogle:

Google Reader: This is my favorite. It's an RSS feed that allows me to add ALL the blogs I read. This keeps me from checking 12 blogs...if they updated, it's right there for me to see.

BeTwittered: Perfect for my new love of Twitter. I can see 10 twitters and twitter myself.

Gmail: I can see 8 or so emails, and compose from the page. If you haven't tried Gmail, why not? It's only the coolest email ever.

Craigslist monitor: Since we now have craigslist in Hickory (!!!) , this is the coolest. You can add 3 pages on craigslist that it will watch and inform you any time they add something.

Google Bookmarks: Because everyone needs bookmarks.

Google Calendar: Best calendar I've ever found. Makes it super easy to switch between day, week, month or whatever. On the igoogle page, it shows as a month, with the day highlighted, and a list of everything that I have to do that day.

Quick Blog: I haven't used this yet, but it lets me post short blog entries from my home page.

Wikipedia: Just a search box, but I love it.

Picasa Web Photos: In addition to providing a link to my photos, it shows a random slideshow of all the pictures I have there.

Weather: I don't like to search for weather...this just shows me nice and easy.

Reuters Oddly Enough: Can always be counted on to give me 3 unusual stories a day.

Myspace quick login: Because I hate the sign in page on myspace. It takes forever to load, just so I can login. This skips that step.

Google Notebook: Handy as a place to dump any info I need to hold onto.

Google Dual Mode Calculator: COOL COOL COOL. It has a regular calculator, or a google calculator, where you can type such things as "half a cup in teaspoons" and get the answer "24 US teaspoons".

Change Document to PDF:Only occasionally handy, and self explanatory.

Search Boxes for IMDB, Ebay, the White Pages and the Yellow Pages: Just search boxes to save me time.

Google Docs: Are you the kind of person who does some work at home and some at work? Do you have different programs, or get sick of having to carry jump drives back and forth? Enter google docs. It lets you create and/or save spreadsheets, text files and powerpoint type presentations. Then, you can get them from anyone.

There is nothing that I need to do on the internet that I cannot see or access from the very first page that comes up when I click on firefox. Awesome!

Do you know of any other cool gadgets that I can't live without?


PS-Allison and I were discussing the fabulous feeling we both experience linking. What is it about links that makes me so happy?

Allison's Love Poem

So, sometimes Allison and I get bored. And we're silly. And we love the internet and technology. Did I mention we are silly? We want to present to you a dramatic reading of Allison's love poem to Eric Tucker. Enjoy. Oh, I know you will.

Allison's poem.mp3

If you were worried/ Hodgepodge

If you were worried about me, I'm ok now. Took me a couple of days to recover from my bad day, but except for the no money thing, all is well.

Jon still hasn't passed his stone, but he hasn't been in as much pain.

I am feeling really good about not teaching next year. It's a little (ok, a whole whole lot) terrifying. I can't recall a time that I haven't had a job-not since I was 16! But, I'm looking at it this way: I don't love teaching. This is my chance to see if there is something else I would love. If not, I'll come back to teaching, which is pretty good.

Gonna need a new blog name, though.

Hey Matt-if you're reading this, welcome to my blog!
Allison and I went to Matt's house last night, and tried to explain the beauty of a blog. I'm not sure we did a good job.

Plans for the weekend-school party tonight, which should be ok. Jon is out of town tomorrow, so (if I get paid) I'll do all of our boring shopping, and maybe do some hanging out with Allison. Sunday, we hope to go to Boone. We'll see how that goes. And I'm extending my weekend to Monday, because I have lots of sick days left, and I hate Mondays. But I've got no plans for that yet.

We're going to try this whole me running the photography business thing. Got any brilliant ideas for me? Let me know! Know anyone that needs pictures? Let me know that too. Or, go to www.jeckard.com.

And there was just an announcement saying we got paid. Whew. So shopping it is!

No money

For some reason, the school system has not paid its employees on the scheduled day. I'm supposed to have a months worth on money in my account now, and there are not the right amount of digits in my bank account. The whole school seems terrified, as teachers are well known for living paycheck to paycheck.

School system: I would like to be paid now, please.

If you knew me in my previous life...

...then you may know my ex, Satterfield. If so, he'll be on So You Think You Can Dance tonight. Probably.

Yesterday was all kinds of sucky.

Do you ever have one of those days when you think "This is the worst day ever", and then something else happens that just makes you want to cry? This was my yesterday.

First, after 4 days, I still had cramps.
Then, I got a call from the assistant superintendent of the schools that I needed to meet with her, which made me feel pretty panicky.
Then, I hit my knuckle on a brick wall, and made it all bloody and ouchy.

This is where it gets worse.

My meeting with the assistant superintendent...basically, without going into much detail, because I don't want to and I'm the boss of this blog, I resigned as of June 13. You all know I was going to resign on December 18, so I guess it isn't the worst thing in the whole world, but it felt like it. Basically, if I were to quit halfway through the year, which they are aware I was planning, I would forever be unhirable in the county. And I'm not really all about burning bridges, because who knows what the future holds. But, I am 100% firm that I will not ever be going back to the school I was at. So, end of the year it is. Resignation is signed and sealed.

This is where it gets worse again.

As I'm on the couch crying and feeling sorry for myself, Jon, who has been complaining of slight kidney pain for a couple of weeks, goes to the bathroom. And then I hear very pain induced moans. And then I hear vomit. Then I hear more vomit. Then I hear more vomit. And then I hear more pain induced moans. So, to the emergency room we go, because Jon's not in the habit of moaning and vomiting unless he really means it.

In the car, he threw up all over himself, bless his heart, so we go into the hospital shirtless. It takes them an hour and 45 minutes to get some nausea medicine and pain medicine in him. He threw up 17 times at the hospital. Yes, I said 17. Add that the the 4 or 5 at home, and 1 in the car, that's a lot of vomit, folks. The problem? Kidney stones. It looks like this one is a little too big to pass, but he has to try for a week before they'll go in and bust it up. The worse news is that the cat scan showed lots more of those suckers in his kidneys. They don't hurt in your kidney...only when they come out...but he's like a walking, ticking pain bomb.

And remember those cramps that I mentioned...those day 4 cramps? Yes, well (Boys, don't read this cause I'll be embarrassed) about 2 hours into our hospital trip, I bled all over my pants. Like I was in 7th grade. And I do mean noticeably, all over my pants. And, I had given myself a raging headache from all the crying like a little girl.

So you see, as far as I can tell, nothing good happened yesterday, and lots of bad things occurred. And the bad things aren't all things that are over the next day-I'm still jobless, and Jon is still in bed in pain, and I have no idea when it will ease up for him.

But the good news-My knuckle feels better, and my cramps seem to finally be gone.

The long weekend

Saturday morning, as Jon was heading out of town, I got invited to go on a boat! And that was exciting, until I got cramps 10 minutes later. Now ladies, are you with me here in thinking that getting cramps means you shouldn't go on a boat? Because "on a boat" means "without a bathroom". So, instead, I layed on my couch ALL DAY long. And yes, I do mean all day. There was a brief break when Allison and I got in the car and drove to get a brownie from McGuires-but we got it to go, so we could get back to sitting on the couch. Then, we watched Son-In-Law, which I'd never seen. I thought it was delightful. Until I spilled my brownie, ice cream, and hot fudge in my lap. Because I'm seriously that cool. Sunday was actually equally thrilling...there was a lot of couch sitting then too. My cramps were extra bad this time, and why would I get off the couch if it wasn't necessary?

I am proud of the weekend's one achievement: I went through my clothes, putting warm stuff away, and getting all my summer clothing organized. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad it's done.

Monday was by far the high point of the weekend. We were supposed to go on that boat again, but that fell through. So, I spent about 10 minutes being bummed before we decided to go to Matt's house instead. We've been friends with Matt all throughout the cold weather, I guess, and had never been in his back yard. Last week, his sister mentioned that he has a pool! It's true, and I can't believe he never mentioned it.

We ended up spending hours at Matt's house, where Bertha learned that she loves the swimming pool. There were lots of kids around...nieces and nephews of Matt and his sister...it was really delightful. Once we taught the kids the rules to playing fetch with Bertha in the pool, everyone had a great time. Then, we stumbled home and fell in bed. I give it 5 stars.

:)

I don't have time for a whole blog entry now, but suffice it to say that I had a great weekend, and my dog likes to swim!

Deus Ex Machina

For years Tweetsie Railroad has been in imminent danger of closing. There have been whispers of the current season being the last even since I worked there in 00/01. This has been mainly caused by the lease agreement Tweetsie had with the owners of the land. Tweetsie doesn't actually own any land. They leased the land 55 years ago for $1 a year for 50 years. Minority owners of the land have threatened all of those other years to increase the rent, which is reasonable since prime land in the mountains is worth far more than $1, of course. The problem is that Tweetsie runs on a very tight budget. When I worked there, it took $200 worth of coal to run the train around the track one time. And that's just coal...so tickets are already pricey, and there isn't extra money.

All this has been personally distressing, because I really want my future child to be able to experience the history combined with silliness that is Tweetsie.

Catawba county has bailed them out. They are shelling out $3.15 million to become part owners in the land, which has allowed Tweetsie to extend the $1 a year lease arrangement until 2065. Which is definitely long enough for me to take a child of mine there. Awesome! As part of the agreement, Tweetsie has agreed to spend $13 million (I'm not sure where that money is supposed to come from) over the next 20 years on improvements and expansions to the park. They will also build a portion of the Middle Fork Greenway across its property for public use. This will eventually create a bike and pedestrian path between Blowing Rock and Boone.

I think lots of business owners in Boone are breathing a sigh of relief. Tweetsie Railroad, as silly as it is, brings lots and lots of tourist dollars to the area, and people really count on that. Especially if the world gets too hot for Boone to have ski slopes.

I have been assured...

I have been assured that all gossip that I heard about the place I applied to teach camp (XXXX in earlier posts) is untrue. I am choosing to believe it. I have been informed that they simply didn't interview me again because my schedule didn't work with what they needed. I am also choosing to believe that.

Perhaps I may also choose to believe that chocolate and huge steaks are good for me, and then I'll be really happy.

Mind Tricks

Now... just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.
Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one.
You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind.
You'll be surprised.
Start:
How much is:
15 + 6
3 + 56
89 + 2
12 + 53
75 + 26
25 + 52
63 + 32
I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over..
Come on, one more!
123 + 5
QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!

Click here!

I love cooking out.

I'm so glad it's been so pretty lately. It makes cookouts so much better. Last night was a fabulous example of a great cookout.

My favorite people to have over for cookouts-Allison and Matt.

BBQ chicken on the grill was oh so good.

The corn, I cooked on the grill. Unfortunately, the butter dripped down and caught my grill on fire. But that really gave the chicken a good flavor, so all is well.

And the mashed potatoes. Wow. I'm skilled at making mashed potatoes, although Allison and Jon did all the unpleasant stuff. I really just did the last step...the adding of things other than potatoes and the thourough mixing.

And the salad-I think my salads are usually the best part. And these salads were good. But everything else was so yummy that I'm not sure that was the best last night.

But, alas, I didn't make desert. So what in the world were we supposed to do other than go to Dairy Queen? I mean, I couldn't come up with anything better than that.

And then, Cloverfield, which was awesome. Kind of like Blair Witch...kind of like Godzilla, but at least twice as good as either one.

And something else awesome about the evening...at 9:30, we were done with all of that. So I didn't even have to stay up late! It was awesome.

My life is swell.

Know what's annoying?

When people leave comments that are actually just ads for whatever they are selling. Note to people like that: Stop it! I'm just going to delete your comment. No one will see it, and I will never buy what you are selling.

An open letter to the director of education at the XXXX:

Dear ma'am:
It is not typically in the good interest of a business to run things the way you do. Firstly, it isn't considered a good thing to be the one thing people mention in the "but" section when explaining why they like working at the XXXX. As in, "I love working at the XXXX, but the Education Director is a terror to work for." But even after hearing that from 5 different people, I still applied for a job for Summer Fun. Because I was assured that Summer Fun wasn't directly under you. I had my first interview, with a lovely lady who actually runs Summer Fun, and it went really well. So, we scheduled an appointment for an interview with you and her. I left school early, prepared for the interview, and got myself all nervous. And then you didn't show up. Very professional, may I say. After I'd interviewed for the second time with this lady, you walked by in the hall. She told you about the interview you missed. You snapped at her, like she was a three year old child, when it was obviously your fault. And just so we're clear, you are certainly the one that came off looking unprofessional. So, I was told that you would schedule an interview with me in the coming weeks. This was the last time I heard from the XXXX until a couple of days ago, when I contacted the lady I had been communicating with. She told me that without interviewing me, you filled all of the positions.

Now, some back story. Apparently, you filled said positions only with people who are your friends, with the exception of a couple of people whose hiring gave you political advantage. And some more back story...a few months back you and your friends came frequently to my trivia game. Then, you got very drunk. And then your entire table would argue with me about my answers. This is how you know me. This is the only way you know me. You do not know, for example, that I teach school, and have worked with 700 kids a week for 4 years. You do not know, for example, that I have a magic touch with kids, and they flock to me. You do not know, for example, that I strive to make every class I teach very fun, and you do not know, for example, that my students talk about my class frequently when they aren't in here, and count down the days until they can come back. These things, you would have known had you bothered yourself to show up for my interview, or reschedule. Instead of knowing these things, and actually hiring someone who would have done a completely stellar job working for you, you did what you did. Which was make a judgement about someone that you don't know, and run with it. People do this all the time. But I would think that someone in a position of authority would have a little more maturity under their belt. You don't like me, because of Trivia Night. I don't know if it is because you were always sloppy drunk, or because I wouldn't accept your team's wrong answers. I don't know if it is because you don't want someone working for you that works in a bar. If this is the case, I'd have to call you a hypocrite, since you were the one drinking, and not me. Me myself, I don't even drink. Regardless of who I am at trivia, I am an excellent teacher. These are 2 very different and necessary outlets for me.

I have a real problem with a person who calls herself an "education director" behaving in this way. I think it is unethical to take someone who has been recommended, who has good references and a teaching degree, and not interview them because you don't like something in them that you saw at a bar 6 months ago. Shame on you. This is why the XXXX's management is considered the laughing stock of the XXXX (building in which said business is located).

I hope that your incompetence continues to make your life more difficult. Maybe at some point, your boss will realize that everyone hates you, and you run your business more like a middle school clique than an actual business.

I wouldn't work for you under any circumstance now. And you know what? Your XXXX is worse off for it.

Sincerely,
Carmen Eckard

Chicks

In the world of 3rd-6th graders, today is a stressful day. It's the first day of the dreaded End of Grade test! I could see the fear radiating off the kids walking down the hall. It seems to be a lot of unnecessary stress for some little kids. But that's an entirely different blog entry.

In the world of 2nd graders here at my school, it's time for the chickens to hatch!

If you would like to watch me lose...

Spring Fling

Today was the Spring Fling at school. It was kind of cute. They had a helicopter land to spice it up. Lookie!

What to do when you are attacked:

Wow. Impressive. And in my old town, too.

Tests

I took a few personality/career tests. Most of what I found wasn't surprising. I took 3 tests. One said I should be a performer. The other two said I should be a boss, basically, but ranked me high on performer and creative endeavors.

The test that provided the above graphic said that I would be 100% matched to a management position and 90% matched with media and entertainment.

I think this all points to Jon and I going into business together. He would love a boss, I like to be a boss, and there would still be room for my creative talents. What's ascary about that is, it's scary. Who knows if it will work. I have a nice steady income now. However, we have till January, so perhaps we could start over the summer, and prepare ourselves. I'm still open to other ideas, but these tests made me feel better.

I think if our well being, and my ability to shop, were hanging in the balance, I would for sure bust my butt and it would be successful. What do you think?

Career Options

I've been doing a lot of brainstorming about possible career choices. I'm limiting myself by this fact-I really don't want to go back to school unless it is totally necessary. Some options:

The most feasible: I go into business with Jon. It only takes a glance at his pictures to see that this is a super talented man. However, he's not really big on going out and promoting himself, and drumming up business. We could have some sort of business together, with me handling all of the business and advertising needs, and him taking the pictures. Also, for weddings, we could do a pretty elaborate package, with me doing videography, and Jon handling the photography. With this plan, I could also do karaoke (at somewhere other than McGuires) a couple of nights a week.

Allison says I should be a gameshow host. Which is very appealing for me. But how? I could totally come up with a great premise, and all of that. I wouldn't want to deal with the rest. I'd like to come up with a game, make questions each week, and record...then be done. Don't know if that could happen.

Science Center/Art Museum/Library. I'm lumping, because I'd just love to work at the Salt Block. This would let me still work with kids sometimes. And I actually like kids a lot.

I'm still open for suggestions...to help, here is a list of things I love/am good at.

Anything that involves a microphone in my hand.
I'm great with kids.
I'm pretty durned creative.
I've got a lot of patience.
I've got good computer skills.
I love to cook, but I don't want to cook in a restaurant.
I'm pretty good at making movies for things...although I've never made an actual movie, as in a story that I shoot then edit.
I like to write.
I work well under pressure.
I'm flexible.
I'm good at integrating technology with other things.
I'm charming and personable when needed.

Things I'm not good at:
Anything mind numbing. I bore easily.
Honestly, I'm not good at working under bossy people.
I'm messy.
I'm pretty unorganized, except for computer things.
I'm not good at being nice to people I don't care for, which is sometimes a real problem in work environments. This mainly effects people that I have to see a lot...not customers that I don't have to deal with for long.
Sometimes I get really interested in something for a while, then get totally bored of it.

So, I don't know. Help!

If anyone was wondering why I love my husband...

Well, here's a great reason for you. He's always doing thoughtful things like making boquets and putting them in our living room.

Aren't these loverly?

Bam!

Sqrambled Scuares

So, I was on the game show last night. The pictures, unfortunately, turned out much better than my performance. There were 2 puzzles, of which I got 0 solved.

That's Buzz up there, drinking crisco, or some crisco colored beverage. He was a silly guy, but fun.

Above is the only time I wasn't losing. The girl kept drawing cards that took points from me, plus she was a far superior player.
The game show will air here on channel 33 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week at 9.
But I did not go home empty handed...oh no. I got a $25 gift certificate to Golden Corral, also known as the only restaurant Jon actually hates. Oh well.

Having some trouble uploading the movie, but I'll post it here soon.

So much has happened

So much has happened since last we talked, internet. I apologize for my busy-ness. I am finally for real and for true finished with my movie project. I thought I was through, but after burning a DVD and watching it, I found some things I wanted to fix. And then my computer crashed, and ate the file. It completely dissappeared, which made me panic and cry. But then I remembered the DVD. I was able to use that , but all my files were compressed so editing became much harder. But, it's all good now.

I went to visit my mom and my extended family over the weekend. I left Jon at home, and I missed him a lot, but I desperately needed some time with my mom.

My mama

I'm making it a goal to take a picture of all the houses I've lived in. I've lived in a lot, so it will probably take a while.

This is the first house I ever lived in. The bathroom wall was lined with mirrors so you could see yourself when you went pee.

I got a chance to play with my littlest cousins. I'm the oldest, and 6 years after I was born, there came 5 more in rapid succession, and then just a few years ago, my youngest aunt started having kids. So there are 3 that are much younger than the rest of us, and they are really adorable and fun. The oldest sometimes acts like she doesn't know me, and if she does know me, she certainly doesn't like me...but this time she was sweet and friendly.

My cousin Gavin (the middle of the 3 little ones), helping my Granddad clean the yard.

I've decided to make a movie to document my family, and the history therein. I feel like I'm pretty lucky because I grew up in a family where I not only knew all my cousins, I saw them so much I got tired of them. We have even had a yearly beach trip my entire life-one week at the beach with the grandparents, parents, and all the kids. Last count, 20 people in one house. Yikes. So this year, Jon and I are going to go down for a couple of days and stay in a hotel. This will be a much much better situation for me.

Now for another topic-anyone who knows me or has been reading this blog may remember how completely unhappy I was at the last school I was at. I dreaded every day...I couldn't sleep at night, and my stomach turned bad on me. Then, I came to the school I am at now, and it was so wonderful. I've never liked my job like I do here. It's exciting and fun, and people are wonderful. But, I'm on a split schedule...1/2 a year at each school. And I had been in talks with the school system to stay here full time and maybe teach computers, or at least go to a different school. Alas, it isn't happening. If I want to keep doing this, I have to do it at both the good school and the bad school. And I can't. I can't willingly accept a job that I know makes me sick. I stay here till January, then I'm supposed to switch. So, I have till January to find a new job. Career. I have till January to decide what I want to be when I grow up. And folks, I just don't know! Any ideas?

Oh glorious news!

DONE.

Awesome!

1st Grade: On a field trip.
2nd Grade: On a field trip.
Kinders: On a field trip. (Are you noticing a rocking cool theme?)
3rd Grade: I film with them today.
4th Grade: I film my favorite skit...a cool dream sequence.
5th and 6th Grade: It's my day to tutor instead of teaching those guys.

Ladies and gentlemen...I may finish this project by the end of the day!!! Thank the good Lord above.

Scrambled Squares

Internet, let me assure you that I love you deeply, and I miss you. I'm currently smack dab in the middle of this project, and the good news is that it is going really well. The bad news is, I'm exhausted.

I'm going to be on Scrambled Squares, the High Country's own game show. :) It's silly, but I'm excited. It films on Tuesday and will air the next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

I promise a good long blog entry when this all calms down.

Voting Day

The big day is here. Please go vote. It should be a record breaking year. More people my age are voting these days than ever before. Please go vote, guys. Mainly because then you can complain about the governement. In my opinion, people who don't vote should be eternally banned from griping about our government.

It's a close race here in NC. Your voice will actually count for once, so please use it. Pretty please.

View from Howard's Knob

Near the top left corner you'll see a pink apartment building...it's the last building before the bunch of woods. The building one closer to town, a long brick building, is where Allison and I lived in college. I love that town. Jon, Allison, Matt and I spent the day in Boone Saturday, and it was so very nice. We walked around campus, went to Howards Knob and Murphy's, and generally enjoyed the day.

Fill in the blank

finish this.....

1. I've come to realize that my last kiss...... was beautifully comfortable.

2. I am listening to .....Amy Winehouse and Bob Marley.

3. I live ......in Hickory with my husband Jon, my dog Bertha, and my cat Cheddar, with my best friend one door down.

4. I love ...... pretty much everything in my life right this minute.

5. My best friend ....... is even more fun, the longer I know her.

6. My first real kiss ....... was during the movie Grumpy Old Men when I was 12.

8. I hate it when people ask me ...... to keep a secret.

9. Love ...... seems pretty necessary to me.

10. Marriage ..... bigger than a sentence I could write. Lovely, intense, scary, warm, hard, forgiving, sensible and sensitive.

11. Somewhere, someone is thinking ......that some one else is the cause of their unhappiness.

12. I'll always have ..... my charm.

13. I have a secret crush ...... on no one really.

14. The last time I cried was ..... this morning. I'm a big crier. It's pretty irritating to those close to me, I'm sure.

15. My cell phone is ...... my alarm clock too.

16. When I wake up in the morning ...... turn off the alarm, turn over and hug my husband.

17. Before I go to bed ...... turn on the alarm, turn over and hug my husband.

18. Right now I am thinking about ..... the movie project for school. I have writers block when it comes to the last play, and so I'm doing this survey thing.

19. Babies are ..... kind of scary for me. But I could totally be into a toddler.

20. I get on myspace ..... to check my messages every now and again.

21. Today I ..... went shopping with my husband.

22. Tonight I will ...... finish this script, hopefully.

23. Tomorrow I will be ..... Shooting the school movie, writing trivia questions, teaching other classes, running a trivia game.

24. I really want to be ....... perfect.

25. Your favorite pet..... is Bertha, my precious dog, who frequently appears on this blog. She is currently sitting on her orange chair, looking at me expectantly. In her chair she has her pillow, her dog pillow, a stuffed dog, a beaver puppet, a golf ball, and a golf ball sized tennis ball. She has no real need to ever leave that spot.

Ally's Birthday

Me and my bestest friend.

The waitress, who didn't like to get my order right at all, did like to shove things in Allison's face. Look at the look on her face!

Rain

It's going to rain tomorrow, which will mean that it has rained 8 of the last 9 Saturdays. Bother. Grandfather Mountain really won't be much fun in the rain. Allison, any alternate plan ideas?

5 years ago, about right now

5 years ago, about right now, I was on the phone with my landlord, who was fussing at me for the enormous party we'd thrown for Allison's 21st the night before. About 5 years ago from 5 minutes from now, I was in pajamas with trashbags picking up oh, maybe 300 cups and beer cans. Allison, I know last night wasn't as exciting as all that, but I still had fun.

Last night after we ate dinner for Allison's birthday, we came home and sat in the living room for 3 minutes. Then, a transformer exploded and we lost power to the whole building. On Allison's birthday. And then she couldn't watch American Idol, and everyone was sad. Personally, I waited it out at McGuires.

Great Observation

I thought I'd have a heart attack when I saw my observer walk in to the class before I thought she would. This class...5th grade...hard class to teach. But, the observation went well and she had great things to say, and I am relieved. Yay! Time for a happy dance!!

Overwhelmed

I'm still feeling super overwhelmed about this project. However, I am making progress. I think it will all work out OK, although I'll have to spend hours and hours editing, I think.

Enough about that-I have been neglecting my blog, and I'm sorry. Sorry mostly to myself, because I love this little blog. I think of it almost like an adorable pet, and I'm feeling guilty because I haven't fed it enough.

Do you ever just feel bleh...you know, like getting out of bed is so hard that you're pretty sure you'll never make it through the day so that you can get back? I feel that way today. I'm not really tired. I just want to get in bed and stay there. Anyone who wants to see me could surely see me from my bed. I just want to hide.

And I'm getting an observation today, which is never fun. The worst is that it is during 6th grade time. Around 1:20, the 6th graders pack their bookbags, then go to recess. So in their mind, they're done, right? So they run around and get sweaty and tired, and then come to specials. So, I have 25 rambunctious kids who feel like their day is already over. It's very difficult to accomplish anything in those classes. Especially on Fridays, when they know all that is keeping them from the weekend is my class. It's frustrating. But then, 6th graders have frustrated me pretty much since my first day teaching.

But the little ones. I love them so much. And as the year goes on, I get more and more hugs, which is excellent. And today, this very sweet girl made some flowers for me. My mornings are always excellent, but after lunch, it's big kids all the way. And I don't want you to think that I hate older kids...but they're not as much fun. They're very worried about what their friends think about them, and they have to be "cool" all the time...so drama is tricky. I'm always having to think..."If I were their age, would this be cool or dorky?" And lots of times, I'm wrong.

Perhaps the real source of my frustration is simply that it is nearing the end of the year...the hardest part of the whole thing.

Why was there ice on my car this morning? Can anyone tell me that? I thought we were through with that crap.

Allison-Listen here!

.mp3

.

Cheers for my end of grade test movie

I'm struggling, ya'll! Any ideas?

Hey, Hey
Hey hey are you ready?(clap, clap)
Are you ready?(clap,clap)
To test(clap)
Say go rockets(clap)
Go rockets (clap) (clap)
Rockets all the way!

We're up for the Challenge and glad to be here
We wish you the best of luck, ready set, let's cheer

We've got the spirit, we're not weak! We're going to ace that test this week! We've got the talent, we've got the heat! Catawba Rockets just can't be beat!

Catawba Elementary is the best! We’re gonna ace that mean ole’ test.
We'll show you what we've got, 'cause we're the best and we're hot!

Explode! Ignite
Catawba Rockets are dynamite
We’re going to ace those EOGs
We’re going to ace them wait and see.

Is it A or B or C or D?
Think about it hard and you will see!
Take your time and ace that test.
You’ll soon see that you’re the best.

The night before get lots of rest!
That will help to ace the test!
And make sure you eat some food-
Grumbly tummies are awfully rude.
Don’t be scared, don’t be nervous!
You’ll be as slick as the secret service!

Too busy

I love to blog, don't get me wrong, but I've been a smidge too busy. Today, I've been teaching school and working on a video project that just had to get finished, and I suppose I should do some trivia questions, too, or tonight probably wouldn't go well. So, it may be tomorrow before I get back to this. Internet, I miss you!

Friday

I can't believe it's already Friday. This week flew more quickly than normal. I've just discovered that I love twitter. I kept hearing about it, but I just didn't care. But now, I care. It totally satisfies my need to blog, but satisfies it in about 30 seconds.

This weekend-dinner with the in-laws, including Thad, who is coming in from Asheville. Guitar lessons!! Karaoke!!! Sleeping past 6:30!!

I have an enormous project coming up at school, and any ideas you have would be helpful. Grades 3-6 have to take the End of Grade tests, and thanks to George Bush, this is a very very important thing, and EVERYONE freaks out about it. My job? To create a movie that includes each class in the whole school doing something peppy to get ready for it. Then, I will edit it all together, and we'll show the movie instead of a pep rally. I would have no problem doing this with say, 10 classes. But I have to do it with 24, and I just am a little overwhelmed. That's a lot of plays and cheers and songs I have to write. So, any ideas?

Interesting coincidence: My mom took the personality test, and so did Allison. And guess what? They have the same personality type! Which would totally explain why I've been drawn to Allison the whole time I've known her. But, they do not remind me of each other. But now that I'm thinking about it, I totally buy it.

Personality test, again

Since I was so fascinated with the results of the quick and silly personality test, I took a real Myers/Brigg test. Result? Performer. :)

What follows is a creepily accurate look at my personality (I especially like how it mentions at least 2 times that I like to be the center of attention):

The Performer

As an ESFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.

ESFPs live in the world of people possibilties. They love people and new experiences. They are lively and fun, and enjoy being the center of attention. They live in the here-and-now, and relish excitement and drama in their lives.

ESFPs have very strong inter-personal skills, and may find themselves in the role of the peacemaker frequently. Since they make decisions by using their personal values, they are usually very sympathetic and concerned for other people's well-being. They're usually quite generous and warm. They are very observant about other people, and seem to sense what is wrong with someone before others might, responding warmly with a solution to a practical need. They might not be the best advice-givers in the world, because they dislike theory and future-planning, but they are great for giving practical care.

ESFP is definitely a spontaneous, optimistic individual. They love to have fun. If the ESFP has not developed their Thinking side by giving consideration to rational thought processing, they tend to become over-indulgent, and place more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on their duties and obligations. They may also avoid looking at long-term consequences of their actions.

For the ESFP, the entire world is a stage. They love to be the center of attention and perform for people. They're constantly putting on a show for others to entertain them and make them happy. They enjoy stimulating other people's senses, and are extremely good at it. They would love nothing more than for life to be a continual party, in which they play the role of the fun-loving host.

ESFPs love people, and everybody loves an ESFP. One of their greatest gifts is their general acceptance of everyone. They are upbeat and enthusiastic, and genuinely like almost everybody. An ESFP is unfailingly warm and generous with their friends, and they generally treat everyone as a friend. However, once crosesed, an ESFP is likely to make a very strong and stubborn judgment against the person who crossed them. They are capable of deep dislike in such a situation.

The ESFP under a great deal of stress gets overwhelmed with negatives thoughts and possibilities. As an optimistic individual who lives in the world of possibilities, negative possibilities do not sit well with them. In an effort to combat these thoughts, they're likely to come up with simple, global statements to explain away the problem. These simplistic explanations may or may not truly get to the nature of the issue, but they serve the ESFP well by allowing them to get over it.

ESFPs are likely to be very practical, although they hate structure and routine. They like to "go with the flow", trusting in their ability to improvise in any situation presented to them. They learn best with "hands-on" experience, rather than by studying a book. They're uncomfortable with theory. If an ESFP hasn't developed their intuitive side, they may tend to avoid situations which involve a lot of theoretical thinking, or which are complex and ambiguous. For this reason, an ESFP may have difficulty in school. On the other hand, the ESFP does extremely well in situations where they're allowed to learn by interacting with others, or in which they "learn by doing".

ESFPs have a very well-developed appreciation for aesthetic beauty, and an excellent sense of space and function. If they have the means, they're likely to have to have many beautiful possessions, and an artfully furnished home. In general, they take great pleasure in objects of aesthetic beauty. They're likely to have a strong appreciation for the finer things in life, such as good food and good wine.

The ESFP is a great team player. He or she is not likely to create any problems or fuss, and is likely to create the most fun environment possible for getting the task done. ESFPs will do best in careers in which they are able to use their excellent people skills, along with their abilities to meld ideas into structured formats. Since they are fast-paced individuals who like new experiences, they should choose careers which offer or require a lot of diversity, as well as people skills.

ESFPs usually like to feel strongly bonded with other people, and have a connection with animals and small children that is not found in most other types. They're likely to have a strong appreciation for the beauties of nature as well.

The ESFP has a tremendous love for life, and knows how to have fun. They like to bring others along on their fun-rides, and are typically a lot of fun to be with. They're flexible, adaptable, genuinely interested in people, and usually kind-hearted. They have a special ability to get a lot of fun out of life, but they need to watch out for the pitfalls associated with living entirely in the moment.

Darjeeling Limited

Darjeeling Limited is an awesome movie that I recommend highly. It was a charming look at 3 brothers, it made me laugh, and it was beautiful. Also, yay for movie rentals through iTunes. I hate going to the movie store. Jon and I rented from iTunes, and watched the movie on the back porch on my laptop. Very nice, very nice.

Personality Test

So Sparknotes has this great personality test. It uses the same classifications as some of the bigger more respected personality tests, but asks questions that are more entertaining. I took it in college, and took it yesterday as well, just to see if my personality type has changed. Nope. Not one bit:

You are a Performer!
(Dominant Extroverted Abstract Feeler)You are a PERFORMER (DEAF)— personable, self-assured, and excellent under pressure. You are extroverted and strong-willed, which, in combination means you are good with people and aren't willing to let opportunity pass you by. Congratulations. I'm sure all the peons you've stepped on never saw it coming and didn't feel a thing.

You have formidable creative talents, and you often following what your heart tells you instead of your logical mind. Your exuberance can earn you many friends and admirers, despite your ambition, or it can intimidate the less confident into keeping their distance. It's also possible that you're Madonna.

Compared to 15,086,196 other test takers...
93% are more Submissive than you.
6% are more Dominant than you.
91% are more Introverted than you.
8% are more Extroverted than you.
1% are more Abstract than you.
95% are more Concrete than you.
4% are just as Abstract as you.
35% are more Thinking than you.
54% are more Feeling than you.
12% are just as Feeling as you.

When I was in college, this result also included the following sentence. "You love to be naked."

I have to say, I think this test is pretty right on. Makes me sound pretty pushy, doesn't it? I guess I am.

Now, you go take this test, and tell me what you are!!

Guitar

I've decided that I should learn to play the guitar. I'm working on my favorite song, Famous Blue Raincoat. I think I might can do this. I actually remember things from way back in the day, and it seems easier than it did when I was a kid.

The wall between the music room and mine is very thin and for the last 30 minutes, I've been hearing "Rockytop" over and over and over and over. And folks, it's not always going to be home for me.

I forgot to take my vitamins this morning, including the L-Thianine, and I already feel tighter and a little rumbly in my brain.

Thursday Night

I don't normally recommend the Tap Room in Hickory, but I do for Thursday. My friend Jimmy is playing with his band Airspace. After them will be Brian Houston, who is supposed to be fabulous, and way too big to play at the Tap Room. I'm excited. Airspace will play around 9:30, and it's free, so make sure you get there!

Happy Earth Day!!

10 Guilty Pleasures

No judging now-they're "guilty" pleasures. I know they're silly...

1: Family Guy. I know I'm a grown up and all, but I love this show. Even while I'm thinking "this is the stupidest thing ever", I'm laughing. And, I could watch the same episode 10 times.

2: Celebrity Gossip. I don't know how to explain this. I don't exactly care-I know it has no effect on my life, but I'm fascinated anyway. I really love www.dlisted.com the best. I've gotten better as Britney Spears has become more sane. It's just not as interesting.

3: Prime Rib. I know it is bad for me, but I love it. It hurts my stomach within minutes. But a greasy hunk of meat that's pink all the way through, dripping with aus jus, and fat just glistening on top. I want some now.

4: Terrible taste in music. I have a pretty bizarre set of musical interests. I never realized this until I started adding music trivia to my trivia night. People always complain about my musical taste. My favorite songs, in no particular order: Love Shack (B-52s). Tainted Love (Soft Cell). Ol' Black Water (Doobie Brothers). 9 to 5(Dolly Parton). Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen). Roses (Outkast). Anything by Sublime. Kiss Off (Violent Femmes). Who Will Save Your Soul (Jewel). You Know I'm no Good (Winehouse). If you'll notice, there isn't a real theme here. I love Itunes, because I can easily buy one or two songs, which is typically what I'm interested in.

5: Letting my wonderful husband do things for me that I can do for myself. I've always been independent, and I've never liked for people to do things for me. Except in college, I liked it when Allison did the dishes. Sorry about that, Allison. But there are lots of things that Jon does for me, and I love it. It makes me feel luxurious and beautiful, and kind of like a queen. It just makes me so happy to see that it makes him happy to make me happy. It's a cycle that results in us both being happy a lot.

6: McGuires. I don't get it still. I don't drink. But I love to go there. I think it's because I love that everyone knows me, and I know them. And, sometimes it makes me feel like a pretty pretty princess.

7: Coke/Caffeine. I'm supposed to be off the juice, but every once in a while, I sneak a little and don't tell a soul. Silly, since my irritated bowels are the ones who I should be keeping that info from.

8: Attention. I love it. Especially when it is because I'm leading a group, or because I look lovely. I've tried to analyze my constant need for attention, but I've recently just decided to go with it.

9: www.dooce.com. I check it constantly to see what's going on in her life. Why do I care? I don't know...why do you guys care what's going on in my life, I guess?

10: Laying on my couch. I love it. It is in the top 4 of my favorite places. I know I shouldn't spend so much time there...there are always things to be done, but it's so nice there. If I were a rechargeable battery, I would plug into the couch.

Yesterday was Beautiful / 8 Years Ago

Yesterday was the prettiest day of the year. The music teacher, PE teacher, counselor and I stayed outside all day. Each grade level that came to our class, we'd stay outside and walk, to raise awareness for Diabetes. I'm not sure how successful it was in that attempt, but it was super duper nice for us to stay outside. My legs are sore from all the walking, and I have a touch of sunburn, but it was very awesome anyway. And last night, Jon and I cooked out with our friends Matt and Herb. Yesterday was awesome. And today is already Friday. I'm always so shocked at how fast the weeks go.

Now, I'm stealing this from a friend.
8 years ago...

How old were you? 18

Had you ever been to a real party? Yes

Were you in a relationship? I had just broken up with my high school boyfriend Cameron, and I was sort of seeing this dude Noah, and briefly, a Jason.

Where did you live? Boone, on campus with a crazy girl who was engaged to an Army boy, best friends with a dude from the Air Force, but still let some weirdo Marine who went AWOL live in our dorm for months before the RA finally fixed the situation.

Who was your best friend? Well, this was the year that I went to college before Allison was there. I didn't really have a best friend. I was super lonely. I hung out a lot with David and Patrick, Teaching Fellow friends.

Had you ever been in love? I thought I loved Alan and Cameron. Probably what I really felt was incredible lust with some fond feelings strewn about.

Had you ever had your heart broken? Not really. I broke up with Alan in high school, and (remember, high school-immaturity) he did all sorts of really mean things to me. Like destroying the play I had written for a near by play festival. And spreading all kinds of rumors. And handing me all sorts of those tracks from churches about premarital sex. He was a jerk. But we're cool now.

Did you have a job? I worked at Farthing Auditorium in Boone.

4 years ago:
How old were you? 22

Had you ever been to a real party? Yes

Were you in a relationship? I was married to Satterfield.

Where did you live? I was finishing my student teaching in Boone.

Who was your best friend?Allison Suggs.

Had you ever been in love? Yes.

Had you ever had your heart broken? Yeah-that guy Noah that I mentioned really screwed with me.

Did you have a job? I was student teaching and working at Sagebrush.

Now:
How old are you? 26
Had you ever been to a real party? Yes
Are you in a relationship? I am married to Jon.
Where do you live? In Hickory, next to my best friend.
Who is your best friend?Allison Suggs.
Have you ever been in love? Yes.
Had you ever had your heart broken? Yeah
Do you have a job? I teach drama and do fun things at McGuires.

2 Things I Heard on the Radio

1: Today is National High Five Day.

2: The Catawba River is the most endangered in the whole US. That sucks, huh?

Not so Green

Know what this is? One week's worth of junk mail. We are two people living in a small condo. Why do we need to get this much crap in the mail in one week? My inbox is already full of junk advertising. I really see no need to waste all the trees needed for the amount of junk people send us. Just email it. Deleting is much greener than all of this.

Of all this, we actually needed 3 envelopes, and they aren't in the picture.

My dad and Lori

If I were a dude, I would look just like that man.

My blog

I love writing in my blog. I have to admit, there is some sort of intense pleasure I get from knowing that strangers will read the words I write. However, since Ally's been gone, I've been a little bit bummed because I only got 1 comment in a week. So I was thinking, no one cares even a little...no one ever reads this blah blah blah. But then I checked my stat counter, and it turns out, people do read this little blog here. And lots of those people come back day after day, and never say a word. These are the people that I know actually read this blog-Allison, Mom, Jon, me. Katie reads it sometimes-so hi to all you guys. The rest of you are a mystery.

I read www.dooce.com every day. I've gone through the archives and read everything the woman has ever written. But have I ever left a comment? Nope. Why? I don't know. I don't have anything to say to her, because I don't know her. So I get it and all. But then, I have to also admit to the burning curiosity in my gut. But I won't be pushy. :) I am especially curious about 3 people: 1 in Charlotte, 1 in Arizona, and 1 in Hickory. Thank you folks, for coming back and reading my ramblings. For some reason, the person who lives in Hickory makes me nervous...only because I have no idea who you are! You could be my principal, or the Chair of the School Board. You could be that creepy guy who comes into McGuires and stares a little too much. You could be some random person I've never met, or you could be a good friend of mine, hoping to score some interesting information I don't know you have.

Hey-Hickory person-who are you? And if you don't want to tell me that, will you at least tell me if I know you? If not, then I guess you'll just continue to be the only real mystery in my life at this point in time.

As always-email me anytime! Carmeneckard@gmail.com.

Caffeine

I am a caffeine junky. I'll just go ahead and admit it. I had recently gotten as bad as 4 cups of coffee and a couple of sodas every day. I love it, as bad as it is for me. I like coffee and coke better than I like food. But, alas, with this prognosis, and all the reading I've done, I know I have to give it up. Give it up? I have been hooked on the caffeine as long as I can remember. There was this one day when I didn't have any caffeine, and then I killed 3 people. And ate them, just in hopes that I might absorb any little caffeine particles that were floating in their bodies.

It has now been 26 hours since the devilish stuff has touched my lips. I miss it, maybe as bad as I'd miss a toe if I lost that. My head is pounding, and I can't concentrate. I had to write the last sentence 3 times because I kept forgetting where I was going with it.

It was better in the morning, because I had the calming effects of the stuff I blogged about earlier. I need some more of that, and it is at home. But now, it's been too long. But Herb Sr, the chiropractor, went into a very long and detailed and gross description of what soda and coffee do to a person. And every IBS page I've looked at says "No caffeine, no dairy, nothing deep fried." Bother.

But I just want to go to sleep. After I punch someone in the face.

L-Theanine

I had an embarrassing incident at school on Thursday that sent me home and made me realize I should go to a doctor. Now, my mom and my friend Shannon have been saying this for months, so they're both happy with me. Word is, pending further tests, irritable bowel syndrome. Nice and icky. I read up on it, and it would pretty much explain my whole life. But the medicine they gave me made me a bit of a space cadet. So, my friend Herb took me to talk to his dad, also Herb, who is a chiropractor, with lots of knowledge of alternative treatment. The biggest factor in IBS is stress, so he gave me some handy information. He told me to take slippery elm, which thickens into slime when you add it to water. This is very good for your insides. And he told me about L-thianine, which is just the coolest, and each of you should go to the Vitamin Shoppe and get some right now. It is a free amino acid that is found in green tea, but it does all kinds of wonderful things. One of those things is that it melts stress away beautifully, without making you tired at all. It crosses the blood brain barrier and causes your brain to create Alpha Waves. If you were in a deep state of meditation, you would produce these same waves. So, I think this is a medical marvel and breakthrough, and it has released my stress a lot actually. It doesn't make you feel like you're on anything...it just releases your stress. Awesome. I can already tell a difference in the irritability of my bowels. Really, just do yourself a favor and go get some. It has no bad effects at all, and no known side effects.


On a different subject-Allison is home! I haven't seen her yet, but her car was back this morning. Can't wait to talk to you, chica!

My dog is classy

Proud of my Girl

A couple of years ago, Allison and some friends and I played poker at my house just about all the time. We played a minimum of once a week, and I have to say that Allison and I are pretty good at that game. Well, she's in Vegas, and she told me last night that she won $300 playing poker. I'm so proud!

In other news, Jon Scieszka, who is my favorite children's author, is in town and giving speeches. I'm going tonight! I know it is dorky to be excited about such a thing, but I love his books. I've turned 3 of his books into plays that I did with kids. I just can't wait to hear him!

Happy Dance

I've been doing a happy dance all day because I did our taxes. I know taxes are no big deal and everyone has to do them...but our were kind of a mess with the whole self employment thing for Jon, and with me working extra little jobs. I was pretty convinced that we would owe at least $500. But get this-after about 2 hours of clicking and filling in boxes, the government will be giving me back most of my taxes! I didn't even dare hope for a refund. Yay! I love TaxAct online...you can choose between a simple filing and a pretty complex one...but it finds deductions that I never would have even thought of. Awesome!!!!!

And tonight, to celebrate, I will be buying some clothes. I have 2 pair of pants that fit me. I'll be taking care of that situation promptly.

Where the Wild Things Are

Last weekend

Last weekend reminded me of why I love Hickory. Friday night, I went out dancing at City to City. Bad news for that place...there were only 10 people there or so. But it was all kinds of fun. Saturday, the Art Center hosted a concert for $1, yes $1 that had about 10 local bands. And karaoke was more fun than it has ever been. Click that link to see some truly excellent pictures. Sunday, we had a cookout, and you know how I love me some cookouts! Raspberry BBQ chicken, carrots and baked potatoes with mango icecream.

So, later today, I have an interview with the Science Center. I'm terribly excited. Summer is only about 9 weeks away, and we've started making end of year plans at school. I love this time of year.

Trivia was fun last night, and that's good. And, they gave me a little raise. So that's cool. But I'm not sure if it is enough to keep me there. I just don't know.

My husband is a sweet dear man. I haven't mentioned that lately. He's very sweet and understanding. I really love him, and I'm so glad I married him.

Thank you Jon

Thank you, darling husband, for fixing my banner. It was just a rug before, but now it's a rug with my name and the blog name in cool fonts. Yay Jon! I'll reward you later. :)

Back when I changed the design of my blog, I said it reminded me of my living room. I totally stole this picture from Allison's Flickr, and I can't help but post it here. It's the pillow from my couch, and it just matches my blog beautifully. And if you're thinking, "why is she posing something so dumb?" please let me remind you that I've decided not to move at all until 3:15, and I'm bored.

Tedious

Today has been a very tedious day. Maybe it's that it's cold and gross...or maybe it's horomonal...who knows? All I know is, I lack the motivation to stand and walk to my desk, where I have a chocolate bar stashed. It's 2:39, and I can leave here at 3:15, and I'll probably be stuck sitting at this keyboard, staring at a screen, simply because I lack the energy to move until it is actually neccesary. Maybe I'll get that candy bar on my way out the door.

Oh my dear Lord

Please read this story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23905909/?GT1=43001

To sumarize-a third grade teacher scolded her students for standing on a chair, so they decided to murder her. They hatched an elaborate scheme, and each of the 8 students had a job. They also were supposed to bring items to school, including duct tape, a steak knife, and a paperweight to hit her over the head with. They each brought their items to school. An uninvolved student told a principal that someone brought a weapon to school, and they ultimately uncovered the plot, which probably would have worked.

They have been suspended. Suspended.

Will someone hold my hair while I throw up, please?

Suspended. Because we all know that kids hate having to stay home from school. Does anyone else think that this is an inappropriate punishment for hatching a murder scheme and actually carrying out the first part?

What I do with my days.

I do a lot with my days, but I love to do powerpoints of stories that I read. Today, I figured I'd try a photostory instead, with my voice narrating. So, enjoy. Although to truly enjoy the experience, I'd recommend being 6 or 7 years old.

The coming week

This week should be awesome.

Last night was not fabulous, but not bad either. Allison, Matt, and Jon all skipped Trivia, though, and Eddie is still sick. So I was all by my lonesome. At least Joe and Herb came so I had some friends there.

Tonight-Juno, for $2! Also, I have to kill Allison for making me think she was pregnant for a whole 30 seconds.

Thursday-Thirsty Thursdays Crawdads Game!! If you're my friend, you should come!

Fun Fun Fun.

Good News

If you drop an LG phone into the bathtub, and even if it slips out of your hand as you're getting it out, and goes under the water again, it will still work in the morning. I am relieved.