OK, I'll give it a try...

Copying Jenny here... (all of these things have to begin with the first letter of your last name)...
Your Name: Tomlinson
1. Famous Singer/Band: Temptations
2. 4 letter word: Turn
3. Color: Turquoise
4. Street: Tomlinson St. (there really is one here) :)
5. Gifts/Presents: Toys
6. Vehicle: Toyota
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Treasures
8. Boy Name: Tommy :)
9. Girl Name: Taylor
10. Movie Title: The Sound of Music (can "The" count??)
11. Drink: Tab
12. Occupation: Teacher (how appropriate)
13. Flower: Tulips..my fave
14. Celebrity: Tom Hanks...another fave
15. Magazine: Time
16. U.S. City: Tupelo, MS
17. Pro Sports Teams: Tennessee Titans (if I were playing Scattegories, I would be getting 2 points for that one)
18. Fruit: Tangerine
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: Throwing up (boo)
20. Something You Throw Away: Trash
21. Things You Shout: TIME FOR SUMMER!!!!! :)
22. Cartoon Character: Tommy from the Rugrats

YOUR TURN! :)

ummmm...EXCUSE ME???

So, I failed to mention a very traumatic experience that occurred when I was at Candy's last week. Brace yourselves for this one.
Candy and I were somewhere (I honestly don't remember where, nor do I remember how this topic of conversation even came up...it's irrelevant really). Anyway, George Strait's name came up (surprise surprise) and a lady standing close by said (and I quote...):

"George Strait needs to retire!"

What? Did somebody just say that in my presence? I DON'T THINK SO. She would have been better off just stabbing me in the heart.

I started bowing up and I had to walk away before something really bad happened.

I'm trying to completely block it out of my memory, but I've been having horrific nightmares about George really retiring.

Thanks a lot, lady.

Gosh, I'm spoiled...

I've definitely been spoiled lately by getting to see 3 of my favorite"out of town friends" this week. After spending a few days with Candy, I came back home to spend a little more time with Mere before she headed back to Texas :( , and I also got to hang out with Claire, who's visiting from Birmingham. The 3 of us only had a little while to hang out, but we used our time wisely. :) We went to one of our favorite places, LJ's (notice our friend, Mrs. Leona in the bottom right picture...). Here are some pictures of me and my dear friends (aka "Murry," "Clurry," and "Lurry"....just don't ask).

Have I ever told you how much I LOVE summer? :)

Let the summer fun begin...

Well, I FINALLY got to go see Candy, Chad, and that slightly adorable baby of theirs, Landon. The visit was long overdue and I had a fantastic time. It had been several months since I've seen them, and let's just say Landon's grown quite a bit. :) He's absolutely precious (as you can see in the pictures!) and I just couldn't get enough of him. I know I have posted quite a few pictures here, but choosing which ones to post would have totally stressed me out (you must understand that I took over 50 pictures while I was there, so I'm proud of myself for narrowing it down this much!). As you can see, Landon's very photogenic. He loves to smile!!!

adorable...look at those dimples!!

this was totally candid...I was trying to get Landon to smile and right as I was taking the picture, he attacked Candy with a big wet one. :)

me and Candy

sweet little fam...

Landon with his "Aunt Laura." He loves me. :)

LOOK AT THAT FACE! I love this one...I could just eat him up here.

OK, he's a little happier here....adorable isn't he?

He's exhausted after being forced to spend the day shopping with his mommy and me! :)

Candy's dog had 3 puppies a week ago and they are SO tiny! They can't even open their eyes yet! So cute! (Max did not appreciate me giving them attention though!)

*BY THE WAY...I've convinced Candy to start a blog! Yay! I told her that I was tired of not seeing pictures of Landon, so I insisted that she get a blog. :) I helped her set it up while I was there, so hopefully she'll post pictures regularly so she won't let me down! Check out the Robertson family blog! :)

this is no joke...

Isn't this the saddest sight you've ever seen? This is, in fact, the way my refrigerator looks right now. There's absolutely NOTHING in the freezer, and the refrgerator basically just contains Diet Sam's and a few condiments...no fruit, vegetables, NOTHING. It's always bad at the end of the month, but this is BEYOND pathetic. You can feel sorry for me now. :)

So, just let me know if you're interested in coming over for dinner. We can eat eggs with a little salsa on it. mmmmmmm......

this is so frustrating!!!

Anisa posted a challenge on her blog the other day. She said it was a difficult and rather lengthy quiz and I haven't really had the time to try it...until now. Of course, now that I see how frustrating it really is, I wish I had never even started it (THANKS ANISA!!!). So, if YOU'VE got a few minutes, try it, but be prepared. It won't take you long to get the hang of it.
I haven't made it past 30-something, but I'm not finished with it yet. You've got to try this.

The Impossible Quiz

another birthday!

Happy 27th birthday Alexa!

Today is the birthday of my dear friend Alexa. Alexa and I went practically grew up together and she was also my first college roommate. :) ( I guess that was like 8 years ago....weird).

Anyway, I hope you have a fantabulous birthday today, Alexa! I plan on visiting you this summer!

http://www.wishafriend.com/

Tanning beauties...

Yesterday, Sarah, Emily (Mere's pregnant :) little sister), and I drove to Mere's in-law's house and spent the day with her. Lucky for us, they have a pool, so we basically just sat around it all afternoon (such a hard life). I'm not much into laying out, but I was proud of myself for doing it for 3 straight hours. I'm a little red today (especially considering the fact that it was the first time I've been in the sun this year!), but it'll make a nice little base tan for me to begin my summer! :)

Emily, Mere, Sarah, and me

me, Mere, and Sarah

I'm such a sucker for stuff like this...

I copied Heather and uploaded a picture of myself to see which celebrities I resembled. Here's what they had to say. (Ironically, Minnie Driver wasn't even in the top 10!). I pretty much don't think I look like any of these, but it was still kinda fun to see. :)

http://www.myheritage.com

completely ridiculous.

THIS is the reason why I may not get to do as much traveling this summer as I would like. Stupid gas.

Mere's here!

I got to see Meredith yesterday! I'm so glad she's here for a few days. I haven't seen her since here wedding in mid-March (I know that wasn't long ago, but it seems like FOREVER since I've seen her). Her in-laws live about 45 min. away from here, so her time will be divided, BUT I do hope to have some more hanging out time while she's here! :)

It's time for horn honking and tire squealing!

I'm experiencing a feeling right now that only teachers can fully understand. The last day of school. Mrs. K, a dear friend and teacher (who also just happens to be MSKS' mom), says that she feels like doing nothing but driving around town, honking her horn and squealing her tires on the last day of school. I couldn't agree more. We are getting together later this afternoon to do just that. :)

I brought Max to school with me this morning. My kids have been begging to see him since August, so I knew they'd love it. They were so excited to see him. Max, however, was NOT too thrilled. He was so nervous the whole time and wouldn't even let me put him down. So, by 8:30 this morning, I was heading home with him. I think he was actually relieved to be home in his kennel.

As far as my teacher gifts are concerned, some of you may be jealous. First of all, my class gave me a gift certificate to a Mexican restaurant...woo hoo!!! I also got a $40 gift card to a day spa in Columbus (the most perfect teacher gift), cute napkin rings from Giggleswick, and some yummy brownie mix. I really wanted to post some pictures of my precious students, but I'm very hesitant about having their pictures on the web without parental consent. You know, for liability reasons and such. I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal, but it's the summer and I'm not really in the mood to get sued.

So, to all of you teachers out there: congrats on surviving another year and have a fabulous summer. I plan to.

And to all of you who work during the summer: I'm sorry. I'll think of you when I'm sleeping in, laying out, visiting friends during the week, etc. etc.

Don't hate.

And the winner is...

JORDIN..WOO HOO!!!

I suppose this will be the last post about American Idol for a while. It'll be January 2008 before it'll start back up again...sad.
I'm pumped about Jordin winning. I mentioned earlier that I felt like she would win, but I'm pretty sure that Blake won't be forgotten. No way. I bet he'll have best selling albums and be banking it shortly.
I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the entire 2 hours of the finale (well, most of it). I really had planned on having the TV on during the whole show, but not really being into it until the very end. I have compiled a brief list of my favorite parts of the show, as well as some not-so-favorite parts. Here they are in no particular order (see if you agree):
Top 3 favorite parts:
1. Carrie Underwood's performance (love her)
2. Golden Idol Awards (very clever...a bit cheesy, but clever)
3. The African children singing (very entertaining...didn't you love it?)

3 least favorite parts:
1. Looking at Sanjaya
2. Watching Sanjaya sing
3. Watching Sanjaya sing again (I was going to fast forward through all of that mess, but then I remembered that I DON'T HAVE TIVO...dang).

I feel like Jordin's last performance Tuesday night sealed the deal for her. Here it is in case you missed it. Fantastic. (Does anybody else think that Simon is just a little sexy? Just wondering.)




*Subject Change:
-Tomorrow is my last day of school with students. They will only be there for 1/2 a day. I must say that I'd be totally lying if I said I wasn't THRILLED about it being summer. The break is long overdue and I'm so excited about the time off. BUT, I'm sure I'm going to be a little sad to see those little munchkins head of to 3rd grade. I sure do love those kids.
-Secondly, Mere's in town!! I haven't seen her since her wedding, so I'm pumped about hanging out! Hopefully I'll be seeing her tomorrow sometime and hang out with her even more this weekend...

YAY FOR FUN WEEKENDS AND SUMMER!!

I sure am going to miss him this summer...

in the bag!

GO JORDIN!!!

I will be floored if Jordin doesn't win tonight. After her performances last night, I think there's no chance of her NOT winning. Surprisingly, however, I've grown somewhat fond of Blake too. I'm not a fan of his style, but he's definitely talented and I'm sure he'll have a record deal no matter what happens. He has a great personality from what I can tell too. This IS a singing competition though, and I think she's the better singer of the two...

I'm anxious to see what happens on the 2 hour season finale tonight! :)

oh no!

Poor Paula! Did you hear? She tripped over her chihuahua and broke her nose! Ouch.
I'm interested to see what she looks like tonight on AI.
I wonder what kind of magic make up can do...
Poor thing.
Read more about it here.

oh, she's the best...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
http://www.wishafriend.com/

Happy birthday to one of the greatest people in the world. I won't reveal how old she is, BUT I can assure you that she doesn't look her age! My mom (a.k.a. "wonderwoman") is the most amazing person I've ever known. I've yet to find something that she can't do (well, as long as it's not sports related! haha!). She's smart, extremely talented, beautiful, and by far the nicest person you'll ever meet. I only hope to one day be half of the person she is! She's an incredible mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, and friend. My sisters and I always describe her as "perfect." Obviously, NO ONE is perfect, but I promise you she's as close as it gets.

I hope your day is fantastic, Mom. I love you very much and I'm proud to call you my mother! :)