PUT YOUR GAME FACES ON!

Well, it's time.
I, for one, have been looking forward to this day for weeks now-GAME DAY. Woo hoo!
Tomorrow night...MSU vs. LSU....7 pm...Scott Field...GO STATE!!!
I don't know about you, but I'm optimistic this football season. We're so going to win tomorrow night.

weekend o' fun...

Kris, Rob, and Henry were in town this weekend for Kristen's 10th year high school reunion (that's so weird to me). It was great and Henry is still cute. :) He's nearly 9 months old now, and those of you who have/ have had a 9 month old probably know exactly what Kristen and Rob are experiencing right now. HE'S EVERYWHERE! He's crawling, getting into everything, and trying to stand up by himself. He's such a happy baby and I love every second I get to spend with him.

We missed you Heather and Trey!

Here he is loving on a big stuffed bear that my dad bought him. I'm a little freaked out by that giant bear, but Henry LOVES it!:)

He crawled over to my dad's baseball bat and starting "playing" with it. He knows how to make his daddy and grandaddy smile! :)

GO DAWGS!!! :)

He doesn't like to be still much these days, but I did manage to hold him long enough to have my picture taken with him.

Me and JR at Nana's after Sunday lunch.

So, I'm a little anxious to get this week started. I think it's going to be a good one for these particular reasons:

1. FIRST FOOTBALL GAME THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!!! WOO HOO!!! GO DAWGS!! (My outfit for the game is pretty cute too. :) )

2. Payday

3. Labor Day weekend is coming up and I'm headed to the beach, baby! :)

4. ALSO, the weather report says that it's not supposed to reach triple digits in temp. this week. KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! Isn't it sad that we are to the point where we actually hope for 90 degree weather? Pathetic. I'm so ready for fall.

I hope YOU have a great week!

I am obsessed...

I have become obsessed with this video.

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I can't get enough of Sugarland, which is ironic (or "ironical" if you will) because I didn't like them at all when I first heard them. After watching Jennifer Nettles perform on TV, though (she's the lead singer), I am now a fan. Am I the only person that thinks she's FABULOUS? I could definitely handle looking like her AND singing like her. Watch this video if you've never seen it. Even if you're NOT a country music lover (Heather- be open minded!), give her a chance...I guarantee you'll develop a "girl crush" on her just as I have.

She's HOT.

my child is so neglected...

Being out of school this summer spoiled both me and my pup. Max was used to me being home with him all day, so he's been pouting since I've been back at school. I do hate leaving him in his kennel all day (yes, yes, I know he's a DOG!) and lately it seems as though a lot of my time off work every day isn't spent with him. I think he's holding a grudge. He wants me to himself and doesn't want anyone else to spend time with me. Am I raising a selfish mama's boy? OH NO!

Anyway, I was leaving my house today and trying to get him to come to his kennel (it's usually not TOO difficult!), and he quickly scurried to his favorite hiding place...behind the couch. After a few seconds of calling his name, I saw this precious little head peek out. I conveniently had my camera. Oh how I love that dog even if he is a little selfish and, in this case, disobedient.

No matter what, this is a picture of the very best thing I've ever done for myself. PERIOD.

Because of the amount of guilt I've been feeling, I felt the need to buy him a new toy when I was at Old Navy the other day. I guess I figure bribing him will help.

Am I a bad mom?? :(

a little tribute to the birthday girl!!!

Can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted last. That's so unlike me I know, and I know that I've had a lot of disgruntled fans out there. Haha! :) It's quite obvious that I'm back at school now and my free time is limited once again. I promise to try not to go this long again without posting. :)

Now, down to business. Today is a very special day my friends. It's the 26th birthday of a very special friend of mine.
I wish that I were as good at writing poems as MSKS and Heather. They're constantly putting me to shame with their creativity. I hate you both right now.

While I don't have a poem to share about my friend Claire, I have compiled a list of a few of my favorite things about her. Enjoy.

My favorite things about Claire (in no particular order):
1. She lived in the small town of Starkville nearly all of her life and still has trouble getting from point A to point B without getting a little turned around. She always manages to go the long way no matter WHERE she's going. Riding with her is always an adventure. :)

2. She can sleep ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. I'll never forget the time when we were younger and I woke up one morning to find her asleep in her bathtub. Yep...that's a true story.

3. She makes me laugh. ALWAYS.

4. While she and I do have a few similarities, we are also EXTREMELY different. Why would anybody want their friends to be JUST like them?

5. I've learned after nearly 20 years of friendship that 10 minutes to Claire= about 2 hours for most people.

c: "hey yaya. I'm about to leave Birmingham. I'll be there by 5."

l: "ok. See you in a couple of hours then" (while thinking, "I'll be lucky if you're here by 8!" note: I do not say this out loud to her b/c I do not want her to be irritated at me while she's driving:) ). Time means nothing to her.

6. She loves candy as much, if not MORE than I do (even though she likes circus peanuts and cow tails. Sick.)

7. Her eating habits make me laugh. She once consumed about 6 donuts at one time. She couldn't eat again for 2 days.

8. 90% of the time when we're together, she's twirling a fishing worm.

9. She used to honestly think that SHE was the actress who played Pippi Longstocking (see MSKS's blog).

10. She has a heart of Gold. I emulate her passion for inner city ministry.

11. She's been a bridesmaid more than anybody I know.

12. She can go 2 days without showering and appear to be freshly showered.

13. I can spend 2 hours getting ready to go somewhere, while she throws her hair in a ponytail and puts on lipgloss-taking only 10 minutes. In the end, she'll look way cuter than me. It's sick.

14. She is the QUEEN of pranks.

15. She's sneaky. Very very sneaky. Almost child-like.

16. She's spontaneous. While I love her for that, it totally stresses me out.

17. She looked like Richard Simmons as a child. (Dang it, I totally should have swiped a baby picture from her parents' house to post for you to see...Hailey, do you have one in your possession??).

18. She finally understands why I go to bed at 9:30 and she promises never to make fun of me again. She understands the term "teacher tired"

19. She steals my camera and takes random pictures of herself, allowing me to have a lot of great pictures to work with today. You should be a little more careful next time Claire. (Oh, and Mere, you need to thank me. You, TOO were in these pics with Claire, but I refrained from including you in the collage. You're welcome).

20. The fact that Claire's mom just had to call me to tell me that Claire's phone is dead on her birthday!!! Only Claire could find a way to make it nearly impossible for anyone to get in with her on her BIRTHDAY!

...oh how the list could go on and on...

Happy birthday Claire!!!!!!

IT'S. ABOUT. TIME.

Ok, so I'll admit...I can be sort of a nag sometimes, but ONLY about certain things. Something that I most definitely nag my "nonblogging" friends about...STARTING A BLOG. In fact, I've been on Meredith's case ever since she got married in March and moved alllll the way to Alpine, TX. Finally I've gotten my way.

She started a blog and I'm pumped about it. Mere and her adorable pregnant little sister, Emily, are definitely 2 of THE FUNNIEST PEOPLE I know. If you've never checked out Emily's blog, it's a must if you're in for a good laugh. :) I have no doubt that Mere's will be quite entertaining too...

Anyway, Mere, welcome to the very addictive world of blogging. May you become obsessed like the rest of us. Love you and miss you friend!!

ok, ok, it's time for a little RELIEF PLEASE!

Believe it or not, this is what the thermometer read inside JR's car at 6:30 pm! (Ok, ok, JR is the fantastic guy responsible for sending me flowers the other day...happy now that I confessed? =) ... you might just start hearing about him more...).
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for rain and MUCH cooler weather. I walked outside today just long enough to change a light bulb and it caused me to sweat. A LOT. I'm so not a fan of this!! PLEASE RAIN AND COOL THINGS OFF FOR US DOWN HERE!!!
On another note, tomorrow starts my first full week of school. I'm supposed to already be in bed because I'm determined to start my week off right...with plenty of sleep. I hope you all have a great Monday. Don't go outside unless you have to. It's just not worth it.
I'm going to bed now.

I survived...

Well, the first 2 days of school are officially over. Needless to say, I'm tired and extremely glad that it's the weekend. The beginning of the school year is always tough, stressful, and HOT (thermometer read 102 degrees today...not even kidding). As far as my students, I just can't complain. I'm down to 20 students as opposed to 22, and from what I can tell, it's going to be a good group of kids. I'm looking forward to getting the first couple of weeks over with and get back into the routine. Right now I'm experiencing "teacher tired"....my whole body hurts. I plan on doing a lot of relaxing this weekend, so I can be ready to go again on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

beautiful sunset...

The other night I captured this awesome sight while watching the sunset at the Refuge.
Isn't it gorgeous?

Ready or not, HERE THEY COME!

Well, it's here. Tomorrow is my first day with students. We had Open House today at school, so I was able to meet some of the students and their parents (although I already knew several of them), and I'm feeling very optimistic about this year. As much as I hate waving goodbye to a fabulous summer, I'm looking forward to seeing my kids tomorrow.

I pray for the 22 2nd graders that will be walking in my door at 7 am in the morning(yes, you read it correctly...7 am), and I pray that God gives me the patience, confidence and ability to teach these children how they deserve to be taught. (I'm also praying that I will just survive the first couple of days! AHHHH!).
Please keep me and my students in your thoughts tomorrow! :)

BOO HOO! :(

I'm so sad! My precious friends, Matthew (excuse me, it's now "Dr. Alford"!) and Sarah Alford are moving to Louisiana Wednesday. Tonight I took them to eat (even though Dr. A refused to let me treat!) at their favorite place, Mi Hacienda. Matthew just got a job there, so while I'm thrilled for them, I'm selfishly very sad to see them go! I have become friends with them through Meredith, and it's just been over the past few months that we've gotten even closer. They both share my love for "The Office," good movie quotes, humorous church signs, and mexican food. Consider yourself extremely blessed if you have friends anything like these two. They're rare for sure.

I sure am going to miss these kids. :(

Love you guys! (and I know what you're thinking...YES....Sarah's hair ALWAYS looks that perfect. Sick isn't it?)

great ending to a long day...

I'm back in school. The kids don't come until Thursday, but we're going to meetings, trainings, etc. until then. Today was a long day...really really long. I wasn't stressed out after the 6 hour training (not even kidding), but I guess you can say I was just a little burned out. Around 3:00, after the training was over, I was told to go to the front desk at school because there was something there for me.

I got flowers! Aren't they pretty? I was in a great mood instantly. :)

What a great way to start off a new school year...

Congrats LB and Seth!

Laura Beth McCarty, (Mere's cousin and a friend of mine) and Seth Robbins tied the knot today at the MSU chapel. They're such a sweet couple and their wedding was perfect. Their rehearsal dinner was at the Veranda last night and I joined them and some other friends there afterwards to hang out a little. Here's a picture of the cute couple that was taken last night.

me and the stunning bride at their reception...

Here are some randoms taken during the weekend...

UMI

Last night, my friend JR and I went to a fabulous Japanese restaurant here called UMI. I am a HUGE sushi fan and I go there often. JR, on the other hand, doesn't like sushi and had never been there before. Since I talked about how wonderful that place is, I was a little nervous about him going there- afraid that I had "talked it up" a little too much.

Fortunately, he found several things on the menu (other than sushi!) that he liked, so he was pleased. In fact, he said he enjoyed it so much that he will start going there regularly. Woo hoo! UMI has some of the best sushi I've ever had and an excellent atmosphere. I love it!

She's amazing and that's all there is to it...

OK, so do you remember last week when I posted an old picture of me, my sisters, and my cousin, all wearing matching dresses that my wonderful mother smocked for us? If you recall, I told you that recently, we found Kristen and Heather's dresses in an old trunk in the attic, but mine was MIA. You have to understand, this was my absolute favorite dress to wear when I was little. I LOVED it and was a little upset that mine wasn't there.
Anyway, come to find out, my mom had actually GIVEN MINE AWAY years ago to a lady who had a little girl who was also named Laura (this family moved away many many years ago). I of course told mom that obviously meant that she liked K and H more than she liked me (haha...I'm exaggerrating quite a bit!). Needless to say, I have NOT let my mom forget about this. I wanted my dress back.
WELL, the story doesn't end here, my friends. My mother, being the geniusly wonderful person that she is, actually got on the internet and somehow FOUND the email address of the woman with the dress. She emailed her, asked her if she still had the dress, and asked her to please MAIL IT so that she can give it back to me. Wow. (Note: the "other" Laura is in college now, so I'm pretty sure she's not still needing the dress). The lady actually FOUND the dress in her attic and mailed it to my mom. Mom showed up at my door yesterday afternoon with a package containing this precious little dress. My question is: how many people out there would go to ALL of this trouble to make their daughter's day? It really is one of the most thoughtful things that anybody's ever done for me. Seriously. I can tell you that I will keep that dress in a safe place, treasure it FOREVER, always remembering the fabulous story behind it. :) I love my mom.
Note to all mothers out there: be careful before you start giving away your child's things...you never know what kind of trouble it can get you in later in life! :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Adelia!!

I hope you have a fantastic 27th birthday! I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a poem for you like my lovely sister Heather did. We all know I'm not as creative as she is! I'm still your favorite though..no doubt. :) Yay for birthdays! Love you!

Celebrate good times, COME ON!

Old friends are the best aren't they? Yesterday, 2 of my very dearest friends, Meredith and Claire come into town for my friend (Mere's cousin), Laura Beth's wedding. The 3 of us (along with another dear friend Sarah...pictured below and Emily-Mere's sister) joined Laura Beth and some of her friends at Tipico for a celebration. I would definitely say that there was much reason to celebrate:

1. the obvious-fun friends being in town!

2. LB's wedding

3. Emily's baby-due in September

4. Sarah's husband's new job in Louisiana (although that means that she's moving next week and that doesn't make me too happy!)

It was so much fun hanging out with these girls!!

Claire, Mere, Sarah, and me

cuteness caught on video...

"I love my mommy..." from Laura Tomlinson and Vimeo.

I don't lie...

I told you that I'd get some pics of Henry on here as soon as I could. :)

He definitely recognizes me now (he'll even REACH for me sometimes...I LOVE it), so it is getting harder and harder to say goodbye to this sweet face. Angel.

August? Already? NOOOOO!!!!!

Well, it's August again. Yep. As of this Friday at 8:30 am, my summer will officially be over. It absolutely FLEW by. I mean, seriously, I feel like it just started. You can imagine that I, being a teacher, soak up every single second of the summer, spending my days traveling and visiting friends (I might have even made a new friend this summer:) ), or just doing whatever in the world makes me happy that day. Summer absolutely spoils me, which only makes it harder to go back to school. I know what you're thinking Heather ... "Whatever, Laura, I don't even feel sorry for you." Don't worry. I'm not asking for sympathy here. I know that most people aren't fortunate enough to HAVE an entire summer off of work, so for that, I'm grateful...very grateful.

It's not like I'm dreading going back to school at all, but I just know the first couple of weeks back are usually quite rough. The students don't come to school until August 9, so by the end of August, when I'm back into the routine, I should be good to go.

I'm in Clinton right now, enjoying one last visit with sweet Henry before I have to go back to school. Rob is out of town, so Nana and I came yesterday to lend an extra hand (or four extra hands I guess).

Henry's exactly 8 months old today, and it's amazing how much he's changed in just 3 weeks (the last time I saw him). He's crawling now and he's very busy! He'll also crawl over to me and pull himself up to stand (with a little assistance from me!). This morning, I was rocking him in his bedroom trying to get him to take a nap. His eyes were closed and he was sucking on his fingers, as he does everytime he's trying to go to sleep. His lullaby CD was playing, he was asleep in my arms and Max was sound asleep at my feet. The first thought that went through my head was "THIS is a good life." Just as that thought was entering my head, Henry looks up at me, wide-eyed with his 2 precious little teeth showing, and just starts laughing. It was adorable. A few seconds later, he lays down again and goes back to sleep.

He's such a beautiful child. I thank God for him everyday and love spending time with him more than anything.

I'll try to post pictures later on today when I get back home to my computer.

Happy Wednesday to you!