Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!!

Can you tell I'm having fun with Shutterfly? :)
Happy Halloween!
Here are a couple of pictures of me and my friend Heather at school today. My Halloween attire simply consisted of a $5 shirt from Target with "BOO" written in black, orange shoes (it's ok to be jealous, Candy), an orange bracelet, and some black accessories.
Heather was another story. I only wish you could see a full body shot of her outfit. Picture, if you will, black and orange striped tights, tall black shoes, fun jewelry and a cute little bat headband. She looked adorable and the kids loved her.
I'm trying to convince her to start a blog, but so far I've been unsuccessful. I don't plan on giving up though.
On another note, I saw a Christmas commercial on TV yesterday. I'm pumped. I plan on breaking out the Christmas music next week.
Get excited!!

Monday, October 29, 2007

sweet little pumpkin.

I have been wanting to play around with shutterfly AND I wanted to post some recent pictures of Henry, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone here. Kristen recently used Jenny's photographer recommendation, Monique McGonagill, and got some fantastic pictures taken of Henry a few weeks ago. Kristen was very pleased with the pictures! See Jenny's blog for details about making an appointment with her (you should also check out C&C's fall pictures while you're there!). These are just a few of my favorites of Henry. Aren't they precious?
Several months ago I asked Jade Gaskin how she made the really cute collages that she posts on her blog. She told me to check out shutterfly, and I've wanted to play around with it for a while now, but I'm just now downloading it. It seems very user friendly and FREE! Try it! (I usually use Picasa, which is also a great place to store pictures and make collages!) It's a little overwhelming at first, trying do choose layouts, colors, fonts, etc. etc., but I'll play with it and see if my creative juices will start to flow. MSKS, download it. You'll love it.


Now that my mission for the night has been accomplished, I'm heading to bed.
Until next time.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

weekend trip, a genius idea and more randomness for you...

So, I just noticed that this is my 220th blog post. 220? Wow. I've been quite a busy blogger since I joined the blogging world last December. I sure would be interested to know how many regular blog readers I have. Feel free to leave me a little shout out if you're reading. :)
I spent the weekend with James' family in the good 'ol Mississippi Delta (are you proud, MSKS?). We spent the day on Saturday helping his parents move into a new house in Greenwood before heading to Glen Allen (James' 'true home') to spend the night with his adorable grandparents. For those of you who are unfamiliar with G.A. (as I was before I was introduced to it by JR), it's a small town 30 miles from Greenville. James' parents moved to Greenwood after he graduated high school, but his grandparents remained in Glen Allen. I was glad to finally see Glen Allen after hearing him talk about it so much. It's one of those cozy little towns where everybody knows everybody and it's surrounded by the beautiful Lake Washington (see pictures below), so it really is a pretty place. I felt right at home. Oh, and the weekend recap wouldn't be complete if I didn't give a little recognition to my bulldogs for their sweet victory over #14 (or should I say used to be #14?!) Kentucky.
I'm also still feeling really sorry for the poor rebels...PSYCHE! hahaha.

I don't know how many of you read Real Simple magazine. If you don't, you should. I always get great recipes, decorating ideas, and organizational tips from this magazine. Those of you who know me know I LOVE being organized. I also love gift wrapping supplies. I always say that when I'm rich (haha), I'm going to have a "craft room" with a gift wrapping station, much like the expensive ones you see in Pottery Barn. I was pretty excited when I saw this idea in the magazine. Why didn't I, "Miss Organization", think of this? Take a look...it's genius.

It may be a little difficult to read since it's a scanned magazine article, but I'm sure you can look at the picture and see what's been done here. Different coat/pant hangers used for hanging gift bags, ribbon, and tissue paper; a shoe organizer used for gift tags, scissors, tape, etc.; and a laundry hamper used for gift wrapping. Is that brilliant or what? I'm definitely planning on converting the closet in my spare bedroom into a gift wrapping station....just in time for Christmas. Can't wait.

I'll leave you with a quick story. Last week I went to the dentist. I'm not a fan of going to the dentist. At all. I've never had a cavity (although I LOVE candy), and I was hoping that I would receive another good dentist report. As my hygienist was cleaning my teeth, she was bragging on how nice and clean my teeth looked and how I still had no cavities. Great news. Although, as I mentioned, I am a candy lover, I also love brushing my teeth...maybe obsessively. I thought brushing your teeth was always a good thing, so I've never second guessed my brushing habits. Well, she informed me otherwise. She told me that she's never really had to tell a patient to brush less, but basically that was the problem she was seeing with me. Excuse me? Did my dentist just tell me that I need to brush less? Weird. I don't think the problem is necessarily the number of times I brush daily, but apparently, I brush too hard. My gums are starting to see the effects of hard brushing. Oops. I think I need one of those expensive electric brushes, so I won't have too much control over the pressure. My question: have any of you ever been instructed to brush your teeth less?? I just don't get this one.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Who says teachers can't have a little fun too?

I always complain to people like Heather and MSKS who get to travel to fun places with their job. I'm a teacher. Teachers never get to go anywhere fun, right? Wrong.

I just found out that I was randomly selected to be the 2nd grade representative from my school to go to San Antonio for a conference in February. I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go. I'm so excited about this.
Even better--my friend Heather, was chosen as the 1st grade rep., so we're BOTH going! There are several other young, fun teachers going too, so I think it'll be fun and a perfect break from school. I feel like we'll have a good amount of free time while we're there, so if any of you have ever been before, I may need some pointers on where all to go!
Oh, and you better believe I'll be eating some good Mexican food while I'm there too! :)

Hi. I'm Laura and I'm a copycat.

This was stolen from Katey and Anisa because I TOO love these silly things.


Two names you go by: besides "Laura" :1. LT 2. Miss T. (I guess I must also add a 3rd one here: "yaya")
Two things you are wearing right now: 1. red zip up sweater 2. brown shoes
Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship: 1. leadership 2. humor (this list could go on and on...)
Two of your favorite things to do: 1. go out to eat (Mexican is fave) 2. hang out with my sisters
Two things you want really badly at the moment: 1. go shopping 2. lounge around on the couch with a blanket and watch movies all day (what else is better to do on a rainy day?)
Two things I did last night: 1. stayed at school until 7 pm because of parent/teacher conferences 2. went with JR to Columbus to visit our friend in the hospital
Two things you ate today: 1. cinnamon toast 2. that's all...i'm about to go eat lunch
Two people you last talked to on the phone: 1. JR 2. Mom
Two things you're doing tomorrow: 1. going to work 2. hopefully running if the weather allows (exciting life I lead huh?)
Two longest car rides: 1. on a bus to Colorado 2. on a bus to Montana
Two favorite holidays: 1. CHRISTMAS!!!! 2. Thanksgiving is a close 2nd.
Two favorite beverages: 1. Diet Coke 2. coffee (gotta love caffeine)
Two things about me you may not have known: 1. my legs are covered with fairly noticeable scars that I got when I was attacked by fire ants at age two. 2. I have never had a speeding ticket (and I'm knocking on wood right now).
Two jobs I have had in my life: 1. teacher 2. on campus job while I was a college student
Two places I have lived in the U.S.: 1. Meridian, MS (1st 2 years of my life) 2. Starkville, MS (past 24 years of my life...oops...I just told you my age).
Two of my favorite foods: 1. Mexican...duh! 2. almost anything sweet, although I don't buy many sweets because my will power is TERRIBLE these days! I CAN'T STOP EATING CANDY CORN!

Now it's YOUR turn to be the copycat.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

angel pie

Kristen obviously doesn't have a whole lot of free time these days because of her crazy work schedule, and when she DOES have time off, it's understandable that she wants to spend her time with Rob and Henry. I really do think she'd love to have a blog so she could share pictures of that sweet boy, but it would just be too much. So of course, Heather and I feel that it is OUR duty to keep you all up-to-date on the life of our adorable nephew. :)

I spent the weekend with Henry, and took nearly 40 pictures of him in just a matter of like 36 hours. I realize that this really is a problem, but I can't stop. My camera is always close by and when I see him "doing something cute" (wait...isn't everything he does cute?), I feel as though it must be captured on camera. Don't worry...I'm not about to post all 40 pictures. I chose only a few of my favorites to share with you. Just take my word for it though-they're ALL cute.

Henry will be 11 months old Nov. 1, and he's at a really fun stage. He's able to recognize me, which I LOVE. He also makes repetitive sounds (ex. he says "lalalala" a lot and of course I act as though he's saying my name. What a genius child.). I love being with him more and more everytime I see him.

When I first got there, he gave me a big smile and showed me his 2 adorable little teeth. Soon after, he was reaching for me (LOVE THAT) and when I picked him up, he immediately, laid his head on my shoulders and began playing with my hair. At that moment, I was thinking, "wow...I sure am in love with this child." He then lifts up his head, looks at me, grabs my face and gives me the biggest slobber kiss ever (much like he's doing in the picture below). He gave me lots of wet kisses over the course of the weekend. Precious.

This was supposed to be a 'normal' picture, but H decided to give me a slobber kiss just as the camera was flashing. :)

Now it's time to show off some of Kristen's latest projects. She ordered the most beautiful frame from Laura Helen Home (she has TONS of cute frames and such) and the picture she framed is one taken by the talented photographer who takes most of Henry's pictures. She does such a great job. I had no idea how perfect the picture would look in the frame. Isn't it gorgeous? It's hanging on the wall in Kristen and Rob's house, and it's one of the first things you notice when you walk in. I may be obsessed with it.

A few months after Henry was born, Kristen and Rob transformed their dining room into a playroom, which was a VERY wise decision on their part! Kristen chose 3 of her favorite pictures of Henry, had them blown up, and framed them in the play room. I took a picture of it so you could get an idea, although it's a little difficult to see the middle picture because of the glare.
On another wall in the playroom, they hung the art that Heather painted. I've tried telling Heather that she needs to sell some of the art that she does. She's so talented and loves doing it. Does anybody else agree with me? She's not confident enough I don't think, but I think we should all harrass her about it until she starts her own business or at least starts advertising some of her stuff in her blog! :)


Finally, here are some pictures of the little man. The top picture was taken when we went strolling. He's wearing his MSU jersey, although it didn't so much help us on Saturday. :( He still looked A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E in it. You should see him is his stroller. He props his feet up and usually just talks the whole time. It's so cute. In the bottom picture, he's wearing one of the many cute outfits ordered from BabyFace Design. He loves his little rompers!

My week starts off with parent/teacher conferences at school from 11-7 tomorrow. While it'll be a nice break from the everyday routine, I'm not exactly thrilled about staying there until 7. Is my school the only school in America that didn't have a fall break? Sure, the students get the day off tomorrow, but apparently the teachers were forgotten! I'm definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving break in a few weeks...

I hope your Monday is fabulous!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

one good day

So, I woke up this morning, and I was just in one of those "blah" moods. I wasn't in a bad mood, but I definitely didn't wake up excited, energetic and eager to get to school. It was rainy and I was feeling so well, so it was oh so tempting to just stay in bed. You know the kind of morning I'm talking about. But, I got up against my will, got my coffee, got ready and I was at school by 6:45 as usual.
Anyway, around 10:30 or so, I received a message in my mailbox at school which said that I had something at the front desk. Of course, I'm thinking it was something dropped off by a parent for one of my students or something. Thinking little about it, I sent a student to the office to fetch whatever it was. About 5 minutes later, my student walks in the classroom with this in his hand:
(I know, 1 picture would have been sufficient, but they're so beautiful, I had to capture each view)
Yes, I got flowers.
But guess what...that's not all. Attached to the beautiful bouquet was a big envelope which contained a gift certificate for a massage...(every teacher's dream gift). Seriously? What in the world did I do to deserve THIS? Needless to say, the remainder of my day was spent with a smile on my face.
I'm glad I decided to go to school today. :)
After school, I met my dear friends Katey and Camp at TCBY (yes, I said "TCBY" NOT "Cool Scoops"--cheese). Have I ever mentioned how much I love this child? It was such entertainment watching him eat ice cream. Please notice the last picture on the collage...by the time he was finished, it looked as if Katey and I had just smeared it all over his face. Priceless and so adorable.
After I left TCBY, I headed back to my house and got behind a car with a very 'questionable' bumper sticker. Help me with this one please... In case you're unable to read it from the picture I took while driving my car (that's a wreck waiting to happen), here's what it said: "Krystal Lovers get more in the sack." Ummmm..EXCUSE ME? Krystal? As in the fast food restaurant? I wanted to follow the car and talk to the driver about this, quite interested in the thought process behind it.
There are always 3 things that can get a good rise out of me: 1. a good mullet, 2. a humorous church sign, and 3. a good pimped car (especially the "themed" ones seen mostly in South Mississippi...love them). I guess I should add bumper stickers to my list now, because this one's pretty hard to beat.
Some people.
One more thing, and then I'm done...Heather mentioned in a recent post that our little nephew Henry was having surgery this morning. It was just a minor procedure, but they did have to put him to sleep, which, as you parents can imagine, made Kristen and Rob a nervous wreck. I'm happy to say that everything went fine! Kris said Henry was happy before and after the surgery and everything went well.
See? It ended up being quite a good day afterall!

Monday, October 15, 2007

I love fall, yes I do.

Sorry for my lack of blogging last week. I think it was a combination of a week of craziness and nothing really worth blogging about. Enough with excuses though...I'll try to catch you up on my exciting life.
I spent the weekend in Hattiesburg with Heather. Yes, that means that I was absent for the MSU vs. UT game and while it's unlike me to miss a football game, I have no regrets. James wasn't in town for the game either and Trey left for the deer camp Saturday night. Heather's not a fan of being by herself. (Here's the conversation between me and my camo-wearing brother-in-law before his departure to the deer camp. ME: So, I'm trying to understand your excitement about going to the deer camp. I just don't get it. Try to explain why this is your favorite time of the year and why going to the deer camp is one of your favorite things to do. TREY: It's like this LT...imagine that someone gave you $25,000 to spend on anything you wanted in New York City. THAT'S how thrilling it is for me to go to the deer camp. Excuse me? Can we say SLIGHT exaggeration? Sorry Trey. Deer camp vs. $25,000 shopping spree? I don't really think it's even comparable).
ANYWAY...
It had been too long since I had been to the burg and it was just time for a trip. Heather and I actually did some Christmas shopping on Saturday. I have roughly 86.7% of my Christmas shopping completed! That's right! It's not even Halloween and I'm almost finished shopping. You have every right to be jealous. :) We also had a little Mexican food Friday night, which you know I love. The weather was perfect and it was a fantastic weekend.
Last week I posted pics of my fall decorations. I guess you thought that I was calling it quits after painting my bully pumpkin and purchasing the beautiful yellow mums. Think again. Yesterday afternoon I got the urge to go out and spend money that I didn't have to add to my weak decor. I love LOVE the fall and I think the colors are the best. I can't help but want to go overboard when it comes to decorating. James went with me to Lowe's to pick out more mums and Kroger to get more pumpkins.
Who knew JR had such an eye for decorating? He had the idea of nailing the wood posts together to add to the decorations and I think it was very creative of him and looks fabulous. He also trimmed my bushes for me, which makes my yard look much more attractive. I'm actually very proud of our finished product. What do you think? I can assure you that it looks better in person. I may quit my teaching job to start working for HGTV.

I'm at school and the bell's about to ring for my Monday morning to begin, which means I'll be xing out of the blogging box, but I must tell you what just occurred to get my week started off on the right foot....
One of my precious students just walked in here and brought me a bag of candy corn. Apparently, he overheard me mentioning how much I LOVE candy corn, so he decided to go out and buy me some. I'm so excited about this. I wonder how long I'll be able to wait before getting into it. If you like candy corn, then allow me to recommend mixing it with peanuts....YUM! It's the perfect snack.
I said I wasn't going to buy anymore candy corn for myself this year because I didn't need all of the sugar, PLUS I can't control my portion sizes. It doesn't count when someone else gives it to me though, does it?? :)
I hope you have a great week. I love this weather.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Go "BOOOO"lldogs!

Disclaimer: Please excuse the cheesiness of the blog title. When I thought of it, I couldn't resist. I'm a teacher...I spend my LIFE being cheesy.

So I decided to take a stab at being creative. What do you think? In case you can't tell, it's a bulldog (well, it's supposed to be a bulldog anyway). I wish that I could say that I came up with the idea myself and just drew it but I'm not that creative. I actually found this in a book titled 125 Years at Mississippi State University and I copied it. It was fun to make even if it DOES look like a
possessed monster. :)
By the way, how pretty are fall decorations?! I love them. I went to Kroger yesterday and bought this basket of mums. It was about $15 so it was somewhat of a splurge for me, but I had to have them. My tiny little front porch was screaming for something 'fallish'. All of the different colors they had were beautiful, and I literally stood there for about 10 minutes trying to decide which color to buy. I must say, I'm quite pleased with my decision. :)
I'm thinking about going back and getting some maroon mums too....I think they would look great next to my bully!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

a cutie patootie and a TCBY update!

Please look at this adorable child.
This is one of the pictures that Kristen had taken of Henry recently. Kristen has used this photographer before and has been very pleased with her. I got this picture off of her website. If you live in the Jackson area, you should check her out!
You might recognize the bear that he's holding. If you recall, I posted a video a couple of weeks ago of Henry hugging a new MSU teddy bear that Rob gave him. Well, according to Kristen, he's still doing it and apparently LOVES that bear. I guess Kris decided to let the teddy in the picture. Precious.

Changing the subject:
I have great news for all of my TCBY lovers out there who have been distraught over the recent news I shared. I'll be honest, I haven't even thought of going to this 'new' ice cream place, as I was planning on boycotting if it had indeed taken over my TCBY. BUT, my friend Heather told me today that she went yesterday and was told that the only thing that's changing is the name, which means that the yogurt will be THE SAME!!! While I think the name "Cool Scoops" is super cheesy (who do they think they are coming in and changing the name without consulting me first? I'm one of their biggest costumers!), I guess I'll continue going there. I will always call it TCBY. Cool Scoops? No thanks.
SOOOOO....
When you are in Starkville and you see the TCBY sign gone, DON'T FREAK OUT!! I'm here to tell you that it's ok to go! (I WILL sue them if they disconinue selling shivers though).
I'll update if I hear anything differently. :)

you can wrap this one in MAROON AND WHITE!

Yesterday was MSU homecoming. It was an extremely HOT day, but we pulled out another W, so by the end, it was well worth the heat! I went to the game with Heather (my FRIEND Heather, NOT my sister Heather) and her hubby Tom and devoured some fantastic food at their tailgate. I love 'tailgating food'!Heather and me

I was also able to see Alexa, my childhood friend and college roommate, and my high school friend Coopie and his wife Margo.
Alexa and me

Margo and me

James works during most of the games, so I was unable to see him long enough to snap a picture...bummer.

I was a little nervous during the first half of the game, afraid that we were going to allow UAB to walk over us, BUT we came out 2nd half and decided to play football. We ended up winning 30-13. Go dawgs!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

tragic day in the life of Starkville...

ATTENTION ANYONE WHO LIVES/HAS LIVED IN STARKVILLE:
I hope you are sitting down and prepared for what I'm about to say. TCBY is no more. That's right. Gone.
James and were driving down Russell St. the other day when I look over and see the TCBY sign replaced with "Cool Scoops." I was in shock and immediately began making phone calls to see what in the world was going on. Those of you who know me, understand my love for this place and know that this is not a joke to me. Now, I don't know who's responsible for this ridiculous action and they better hope that I don't find out any names. This is serious stuff. I know I shouldn't assume that the yogurt is going to taste drastically different. Maybe they simply just changed the name while having the same treats. I'm still mad about this, however. I can't help it.
I've spent hours of my life and hundreds of dollars at this place ever since I was a child. Not only is the yogurt the absolute best, but it's also low-fat, so it's somewhat guilt free (unless you're like me and load up on oreos or peanut butter cups). Any way you look at it, going to TCBY was a treat for me and it will be greatly missed. This is and has always been a major college spot, so I know that there will be some angry students when they return from fall break.
I have considered quitting my teaching job to open a new TCBY in a different location. After much thought, however, I've decided that this probably would not be the best idea because:
-I know nothing about opening a business.
-The thought of working nights and weekends makes me want to vom.
-I would eat out of the topping containers, thus, causing me to gain several pounds weekly.
-I would be a terrible boss.
So, unless Katey can convince me that she and I can do this together, it may never happen.
This affects a lot of you out there, so go ahead and leave a comment regarding this. Tell me how you really feel.
Maybe we can all start a petition or something.