Today is the day!

Ok, here it is! The first day of my weightloss journey! It is June 24, 2009 and by December 25, 2009(six months from today) I want to have lost 50 pounds! That is completely realistic, right? I am so freakin' tired of seeing FAT pictures of me all over Facebook (Thanks, DanO!). I have taken the hint and decided that now is the best time to dive into this diet! After all, I am done having kiddos, so now I need to be thin so I can do more things WITH them. My Wii Fit program told me I am obese and that my fitness age is 41 today. BUMMER! I'm not saying that 41 is bad, but when you are only 29, it sux. I'm not really fond of the word "obese" either, so we must definitely do something about this. My friend, Sheila (affectionately known to me as "She-bug") is moving back to Chattanooga in two weeks and has said she will partner up with me in this weightloss decision. I also have a few more friends who have shown interest and we may end up doing something like "The Biggest Loser" to keep us pumped! I am pumped right now, but who knows how I will feel tonight, or even more so, tomorrow. I gotta stay on track though! I HATE being fat! It bites!!

So here are two pictures of me on the first day of my journey. I will update periodically to let you know how it is going.




Yes, I know they are extremely grotesque, but I promise I will look better in 4 weeks - scouts honor! Wish me luck!!

Two Jobs??? "Not Me! "

Ok Folks! Here it is! The blog you've been asking about. Seeing as today is Monday, I am going to go ahead and write it as a "Not Me! Monday!" post because I haven't written one in so long. I hope it makes sense to ya! Enjoy!

Ok, so I am not totally stoked that I got not one, but TWO jobs last week! It definitely was not the pick-me-up that I have been needing for the last two HORRENDOUS months I have had! The first job, teaching EIP at an inner-city school, does not sound like heaven compared to being at my last job, and I am not totally loving the principal - a kind and EXTREMELY helpful christian woman who has genuine interest in seeing me succeed in the task she has given me! I am not thanking God every chance I get for leading me down this path months ago when I was practically doing everything but cursing his name for all the valleys I kept going through! He is not the most Awesomest! And yes I did just make up that word because I do feel it describes the feeling I have to a "t"! My second job, waiting tables at the Station House, was a suggestion by one of my dear friends (and one of the VERY few) that I worked with at my last job. It is not the most fun job I have EVER had in my short lifespan and I am not eternally grateful for a place to satisfy the desire I have to sing - a place to scratch the itch if you will. :) This week I did not have the most fun singing "9 to 5" with a few back-up singers! YAY!! My schedule will not most likely be Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays, for the next few months there, and I do not hope you make plans to come out and see me on one of these nights! I promise, you will not have the time of your life listening to songs from the 50s through the 90s and you you will not taste the most delicious food - incidentally, you will also not pay out the wazoo for it either! haha! Oh well, it will be worth it, I promise!

In other notable news, my little girl is not already FOUR months old! Time is not flying by like the speed of light! She can not already sit with a little help from the Boppy, and I not already shedding tears about this! Come on! She is my LAST one! I was supposed to have her 4 month pictures taken last Friday, and I did not have so much on my plate with two jobs and all that I had to reschedule said appointment. Will I EVER be able to get IT all done??? Oh well, I do not stress about these things! NOT ME!

"Faith"

Check out this really neat story I came across! I hope you like it and I hope it speaks to your heart like it did mine. God Bless!



This is 'Faith'. He was born on Christmas Eve in 2002. Faith was born with 3 legs - 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which had to be amputated. Of course, he could not walk when he was born. And even his mother did not want him.
His first owner also did not think that he could survive and was contemplating 'putting him to sleep'. But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself. She named him 'Faith'. In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard to let him feel the movement. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a reward for him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk. Amazingly, in six short months, Faith learned to balance on his hind legs and to jump to move forward. After further training in the snow, he learned to walk like a human being.

Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he attracts people. He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows. There is also a book entitled With a Little Faith being published about him and he was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.

His present owner, Jude Stringfellew, has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.

In life there are always undesirable things, so in order to feel better you just need to look at life from another direction.

I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day. Faith is the continual demonstration of the strength and wonder of life.

Randomness

Well, it's Saturday. Life has been kinda hectic this week. I started it with In-service at school - clearing out all the things I had brought to my classroom this year. I had a TON of stuff. Now it is all stacked high in the garage...waiting for the day when it will be spread out in a classroom of bubbling, bright students once again. Can I tell you that I absolutely LOVE teaching? I do! From the time I was in sixth grade, I knew that is what I wanted to do. I had a teacher who truly inspired me. Her name was Mrs. Gill and she is BY FAR my favorite teacher I ever had. She taught English at East Ridge Middle School and made me feel like I could be or do anything I wanted to in life. Back then, I wrote poetry - ALL the TIME! lol She would read every poem I gave her and act as though they were the most beautiful things she had ever read! What an awesome teacher she was! Later on after high school when I was published, I bought her a copy and gave it to her. I wanted to let her know how much I appreciated her inspiration and encouragement when I was younger. I hope I am a teacher like that one day. I can't think of a more fulfilling job than to inspire young people to know they can achieve ANYTHING and be successful. Mrs. Gill will always have a special place in my heart. Anyways. Where was I? Oh yeah - my week. So I had in-service during the day and Vacation Bible School each night. Whew! Don't you know THAT was exhausting! But I loved every minute of it! It truly is one of the most rewarding experiences to hear a child talk about God. They are so innocent and trusting - childlike faith. Our theme was Crocodile Dock and all week long we talked about "God Sightings". Where did you see God? Was it outside in the trees he made? Or did you help someone when they were sad? Maybe someone helped you? One little preschooler said her God sighting was when her Mommy buckled her in her car seat to keep her safe. Another child said she was at a drink machine and she didn't have enough money and the girl behind her gave her an extra quarter so she could get a drink! It was so awesome to hear them talk about where they saw God each day! It's kinda sad that it's over. :( I am looking forward to some R&R this week though. I need to catch my breath - and some bills that are floating around this house. Man, I hate bills. They can be a real downer, ya know? lol They just seem to be piling up and I just can't seem to get ahead of them. I really hope Tommy's disability comes through soon. I don't like asking people for money. My mom and in-laws are trying to help us make ends meet, but I really hate asking them for help. I really want to be able to take care of my family on my own, ya know? But the truth is, we just don't have enough mulah coming in at the moment. A teacher salary is NOTHING to write home about and with Tommy not being able to work, times are really hard. If I could just get a job and if Tommy could just get his disability, I could have a much needed break this summer. Oh, well. Guess I'll just keep truckin' along...

On a brighter note, today is Caedan's birthday! I can't believe he is already FOUR years old! Man, how time flies! I love my KK so much! He is the sweetest child you will ever meet! He can really lift you up when you are having a bad day. He always comes to me out of the blue and gives me a kiss on the cheek as he says, "Mom, you are so the sweetest mom in the world! I love you so much!" Kinda makes your heart melt just a little bit... My kids are the greatest in the world! I am so thankful to God for them! They may keep me on my toes, but I love every minute of it!

Well, I guess I've typed enough randomness for the day...see ya laterrrrrr......

Wordless Wednesday

These are pics from the butterfly garden during today's field trip to the Tennessee Aquarium.

"Not Me! Monday"

So, I forgot to post this yesterday. Story of my life! Thought I would go ahead and post it today anyway. Hope you enjoy!


Ok, so I am not totally psyched about there only being 2 WEEKS left of the school year. Nor am I ready to be OUT of the school building! This has not been one of the most stressful 10 months in my life, and I am simply not holding my breath for the last day of this school year to come. I am not excited about the possibility of working in Hamilton County next year as I am currently not available for any and ALL Pre-K through 4th grade positions in the teaching field. I did not just spend an hour applying for 28 positions in said county.

On a more serious note, I am not completely wondering where the heck my God is at this time. I am not constantly wondering how he could let this happen to me. I am not one of the most dedicated and innovative teachers I know in this day and age, and I do not wonder what the heck is gonna happen with my job situation. Today, I did not totally break down on my parapro and complain about the fact that I can trust NO ONE and that all my words do not keep getting twisted around to sound like HORRIBLE things that I truly AM NOT SAYING!!! I am not completely exhausted from all of this drama and I do not wish it would all just go away, or better yet - that I would wake up from this nightmare.

On a lighter note, I am not completely in love with the most supportive man I know. He does not completely sweep me off my feet and make me feel like all of this is dust in the wind. I am not completely grateful that God brought him into my life and I would not be completely lost without him.

I am not seriously counting down the days until my husband's next facebook party where I have REAL friends to hang out with and REAL friends to tell me how they will open up a can of "ahemmmm" on anyone who messes with me. I do not totally love these new friends I have made and I am not forever grateful for the support they have given both me and my husband through this trying time in our lives. Because let me just tell you one thing...TWO-FACED PEOPLE DO NOT COMPLETELY SUCK!!! Nope...Not at all!!

Fabulous Friday

Well, here it is. The day we wait and wait for all week. I'm pretty sure the days go by faster and faster the older I get (or maybe it's the more kids I have! lol) At any rate, today could have been just as bad as days gone by these last few weeks, but I chose for it to be different. I cannot change the things that have happened and I cannot make people see me the way I want them to. Everyone has there own opinions and in the end, they will stick to those regardless of what you do or say. I choose to be happy today. I choose to love life today. I choose to see the blessings God has given me - a wonderful and devoted husband, four beautiful little boys that rush the door every day I pull into the driveway, and an absolute angel for a daughter. How can I mope? How can I say, "Life's not fair!"? Do I not have food for the day? Do I not have a roof over my family's head? Do I not have clothes to wear tomorrow? Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. Tonight I will turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway.