my favorite.

...a birthday present given to me by Mom and Dad...I LOVE IT.

TGIF!

quiz answers...

So...there were 117 views of the quiz I posted the other day, but only 20 people were brave enough to take it! I thought I needed to prove to you all, that every single question on that quiz has been touched on at some point during the lifespan of my blog. So, if you took it and didn't score perfectly, or if you're one of the curious ones that just looked at the questions, here are the answers (along with a link to the post in which the answer can be found!):

Question #1
Which of the following was NOT a New Year's Resolution for me this year?
Drink less diet coke (click HERE)

Question #2
What is my favorite Easter candy?
Cadbury mini eggs (click HERE)

Question #3
Which of the following fruits do I DESPISE?
Watermelon (click HERE and look at "U")

Question #4
Which of the following states have I never visited?
California (click HERE and look at #9, click HERE, click HERE, AND click HERE.)

Question #5
What is my "other" job besides teaching?
Salesman at a boutique (click HERE).

Question#6
What have I given up for Lent this year?
Sweets (click HERE).

Question #7
Which of the following cities have I NEVER lived in? (this one was TRICKY!)
Columbus (click HERE).

Question #8
What color was my very first car?
White (click HERE).

Question #9
What is my favorite flower?
Tulip (click HERE).

Question #10
How old am I going to be on March 23?
28 (click HERE and do the math).

See?? :)

1 month from TODAY!

I remember when my half marathon countdown began, I was like 4 months away. NOW look at the ticker above...ONLY ONE MONTH AWAY! I am getting really excited. My training is going well. I've had a couple of 10 mile runs that have been quite challenging and I have an 11 mile run this Saturday! Think I can do it? :)

Anyway, thanks to all of you who are sponsoring my run by donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I have raised close to $400, which will go towards finding a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma! Yay! I've had several people tell me that they're wanting to donate, but just haven't done it yet. I'm planning on mailing all of the money in sometime during the first or second week of April, so if you're still wanting to help, please get your money to me as soon as you can. Leave a comment or email me at LLTomlinson@hotmail.com if you have any questions. Thanks so much!

LT

"I love my family (AND FRIENDS). I really do." part 2...

So, I'm thinking 28 may be a pretty good year for me. I've only been 28 for a day, but I must say, it was one of the best birthdays I've had to date. First of all, my students were so sweet. I think they were more excited about it being my birthday than I was! At school, I was given not 1, not 2, not even 3, but 4 cakes from a couple of parents and fellow teacher friends. Of course I had to "taste" them all, and wow!... I definitely got my sweet fix, and should easily make it until Easter when Lent is over! My students (including 4 of my students' wonderful moms!) also threw me a surprise party at the end of the day. Here I am blowing out the candles on THAT cake! I also received some beautiful tulips from my dear friend Meredith. Isn't she thoughtful? After school, I went home to find this: Balloons on my mailbox, a new adorable Easter wreath, fresh flowers, a bowl of starburst jelly beans, a cute Easter centerpiece, and one of the best gifts EVER: A COMPLETELY STOCKED REFRIGERATOR AND PANTRY! That's right! Mom, Nana, Kristen, and Henry went grocery shopping for me! The picture that I posted really doesn't show it all, it's just a glimpse to give you some idea. Isn't that awesome?

Finally, my wonderful teacher friends treated me to yet another trip to Tipico! I'm so glad Kristen has the week off so she was able to join us!Thanks to all who made it the BEST day for me!

future PGA star?

So, here's Henry in his golf "outfit." He calls it his golf outfit, and only wants to wear it (hat included) when playing golf.
Pretty cute huh?

I love my family. I really do.

I was oh so happy to spend my birthday weekend with my family. My actual birthday isn't until tomorrow (the 23rd), but the celebration has lasted nearly 3 days already! ;) My sweet sisters and fabulous brothers-in-law treated me to dinner Friday night and we had the actual "birthday party" Saturday night. I ate A LOT.

Oh yeah. You remember that I have gone SEVERAL weeks without sweets, but I must confess that some cheating took place Saturday night, as I indulged in homemade strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. I loved everything about it, and well, if you must know the truth, I will PROBABLY be indulging in a little more cake tomorrow. After that, I PROMISE I won't touch another sweet until Easter! I hope my friend Heather doesn't get too mad at me. ;)

Well, friends, I'm off to bed. I'm saying goodbye to a lovely spring break and hello to my last 9 weeks of school before summer!

Spring Break...ahhh....

Well...I'm not sure just how reliable the internet access is now, but perhaps it will stick with me long enough to finish this post. I don't know what's been going on with it lately, but it's been driving me NUTS to say the least.

The week off has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I relaxed a lot, worked at MINT a good bit, and enjoyed the wonderful weather!! I can't believe it's coming to an end.

I started the break off by visiting my sweet Mamaw as she celebrated her 87th birthday on March 13. I don't get to see her nearly enough, so I was so glad to spend time with her.

Mom, Dad, and I then went to Hattiesburg to help Heather and Trey get their house all packed up! Yep! They've moved out and are now in the process of getting into their soon-to-be new home! Until then, though, they're living in a furnished apartment in Hattiesburg, which, unfortunately, doesn't allow pets! Where's Sophie staying you ask? Who else but her Aunt Laura and cousin Max. We're thrilled to have a visitor for a couple of weeks!

While my boys didn't play their best in the NCAA tournament, I was more than proud of them for becoming SEC Champs! Mom and Dad were at the Hump to welcome them home after their big win over Tennessee. Go Dawgs!!Finally, I'm a little tardy on yet another birthday wish! My sweet Meredith celebrated her 27th birthday on March 17. Have I ever told you how much I miss this girl?? Ugh. I want to see her RIGHT NOW. Happy late birthday sweet friend! I'm love you and I'm glad we're friends!

I have more to post and hope to do it tomorrow IF my computer allows it!

Is anybody else loving the spring weather?

stupid internet.

There really has been so much to blog about these past few days! Unfortunately, the internet connection at my house has been severely misbehaving. It's driving me nuts to say the least. I shall return as soon as possible though. I promise.

Oh yeah, and I LOVE SPRING BREAK.

update

My co-worker, Debra Robinson, passed away this afternoon. I ask that you pray for her family (particularly her husband whose first wife passed away 5 years ago), her Sudduth family as we will miss seeing her smiling face everyday, and her precious kindergarteners who will walk in school tomorrow without their teacher.

PRAY

The teachers at my school were just informed by our principal that a co-worker of ours who teaches kindergarten here, is in ICU with pneumonia, and is not expected to live. I'm asking you to stop what you're doing and pray for her and her family. Thank you.

So, you think you know me, huh?

This is for all of my blog readers out there. Take this quiz and see how much you know about me! Have fun!

just a few more. please?

So, I've been told that I blog about Henry a lot. I admit to this accusation, but it will not prevent me from talking even more about this precious child. Sorry!

My mom took some super cute pics of my buddy this weekend and I had to post them. The first is a pic of me painting paw prints on his face at my school's kid's fair (he insisted that I paint BOTH of his cheeks). He was as still as a log while I painted. Adorable.

Secondly, a precious picture of him and my mom. Does my mom look 35 or what? I hope I age that well. ANYWAY, look at Henry's sweet face in that pic. He loves his "Lita".

And in the flowers? Well, I personally think he could be a model in Pottery Barn Kids or something, but that's just me---his obsessed aunt who is probably a little biased. :)

Oh, and by the way....I just happened to notice that this is my 475th blog post. That means (for all of you who don't do math) that I only have 25 more until I reach the big 500. I think that's a pretty big deal. I'm feeling a lot of pressure to make it a really good post....any suggestions?

I need...

I saw this on a few blogs recently and thought I'd play along.

Instructions: go to Google and type in your name and the word "needs" (all in quotation marks). Ex. I typed in "Laura needs."

It's quite humorous to see what pops up.

Here are a few things it said that I need followed by a comment by me of course):

LAURA NEEDS...

1. some post-toddler love (I don't really think that's applicable to me)
2. your help (yes. Always.)
3. to get out more (ok. But just don't ask me to stay up past 9 on a weeknight)
4. you to come eat (I love company and I love to eat!)
5. a wash (I am so clean right now)
6. to take another trip to Chicago (ANOTHER trip? I'd love to go to Chicago. It's on my to do list, but only if I get to see Oprah).
7. a BBQ apron (I think this was my favorite one. Ironically, I have been wanting an apron lately, even though I don't cook very much)
8. a real blog (that hurts my feelings)
9. her meds changed (back off)
10. a clue (yes. This is true a lot of times)
11. a tissue (I'm ok right now, but thanks)
12. pizza (YUMMY. From Stromboli's please)
13. botox (are you saying I'm ugly?)
14. money (duh)
15. to sort out her image (Seriously people?)
16. a hobby (I run and blog. What better hobbies are there?)
17. a man (story of my life. Blah blah blah)
18. to get over herself (ok. I'm over it)
19. to stop procrastinating (kinda like I'm doing NOW?)
20. a new computer (Couldn't be more true! my laptop weighs like 40 lbs, but it's still kicking, so I'm not ready to get rid of it yet!)

What does Google say YOU need?

TWO cute boys, yummy chicken salad, and SPRING(??)

Hey friends! I hope your Sunday afternoon has been as enjoyable as mine!

Saturday we had a Kid's Fair/Book Fair at my school. Henry was at my parents' this weekend, so he got to join in on the fun. We were also so glad to see my buddy Camp there with his dad! Camp is a year older than Henry, and I've already decided that when Henry moves here next year, he and Camp will be forced friends. :) Are they not 2 of the cutest boys you've ever seen?

They were so cooperative about sitting still long enough to snap a few pics (notice Camp holding Henry's hand. He said he wanted to "help" Henry. Adorable).

...and here are a few more of the little man. His grandaddy bought him a new MSU hat while he was here. Can you tell how obsessed he is? He would barely even take it off, as you can probably tell. Love him.

My dear friend MSKS is always so loyal about posting yummy recipes, and while I'm definitely not going to attempt to compete with her, I DO have a very simple and very low fat recipe for chicken salad. Now, I'm going to be honest, I sort of made up the recipe myself, so I'm not providing measurements of the ingredients. I hope that doesn't turn you off from trying it!

Ingredients:

1.Boiled chicken cut into chunks, or shredded. I personally prefer it shredded, as it seems to be easier to scoop with a cracker.

2.Fat free plain yogurt (Yoplait, Dannon, etc). This is used instead of mayo. It gives the same consistency as mayo, but without all of the unnecessary fat.

3.Diced purple onion

4.Chopped grapes

5.Sliced almonds

(Of course there are many more ingredients that can be added to chicken salad if you desire. This is just how I like it!).

Simply mix all of the above ingredients together and season to taste. (I usually sprinkle salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and cucumber salt).

I make this often because I can eat on it for a couple of days and it's perfect for my school lunch. Allow me to also recommend eating with Triscuits...my personal fave. AND, if you're pinching pennies like me, I encourage you to try the Kroger brand Triscuits (they're called "Weavers"). They taste exactly the same to me and they're a good bit cheaper! I have also started buying Kroger brand Wheat Thins, and I personally like them better than the name brand! Trust me and try them!

Finally, I.LOVE.THIS.WEATHER. It got up to 80 degrees here yesterday and it felt GREAT. I know it's probably wishful thinking to say that the cold weather is behind us, but oh how I'm ready for spring!

I keep my kitchen table set year round. I have different settings for different season/holidays throughout the year. Make fun of me if you'd like...I'm used to it. ANYWAY, my table is all ready to go for spring/summer! I even picked up a pretty bouquet of tulips at Kroger today. There's just something about having fresh flowers in your house, don't you think? And tulips are my absolute favorite, so that makes me even happier.

Have a wonderful week! I'm down to my last week before Spring Break! HALLELUJAH!

so, is it ALMOST Friday?

Does anybody else feel like this about right now?

wow.

Can you imagine being in this girl's family? I couldn't go without posting about this with hopes and prayers that Holli WILL get home!

that was easy.

Well, it looked as though header one was going to win by a landslide, so I went ahead and put it up. What do you think? I don't know why, but I tend to get tired of the busy backgrounds. I seem to lean more towards the clean, simple backgrounds with more of a fun header.

So, thanks for all of you who voted and most importantly thanks for not telling me that I needed to get a life.

Here's to hoping that I'll actually keep this header for more than a month....I think I actually kinda like it!

and yet ANOTHER poll...

I don't know what it is about me these days--I create a header for myself, and then, 2 weeks later, I'm tired of it. Over the past couple of days, I've created not one, but TWO more headers for myself.

Why? Well, here's where you enter the picture.
I'm going to let you tell me what to do here.

Take a look...

#1

#2

So, which is your favorite? Be a good blog-friend and help me out here.

Vote on the right (don't you just love my polls?).

I may have a new look by this weekend...

and then I'll probably change it again next month.

You know how it goes.

snow? In STARKVILLE? No way.

I woke up this morning to THIS! Isn't it beautiful?! Of course it's all starting to melt now, but it was fun while it lasted!

Happy snow day!