summer summary

Even though it's still July, my summer, as I know it, is nearly OVER. Yep. I'm reporting back to school Monday. I obviously have such mixed feelings about going back. I'm grateful for having summer's off, and enjoyed every second of it this summer, but there's also a part of me that's excited about a new start with new faces.

I've spent the past few days preparing for the new school year and reflecting on the summer (also trying to figure out WHERE MY SUMMER WENT!!!).

Here are the highlights of my fantastic summer:

• BEACH!!! I got to go on 2 back to back beach trips this summer. They were both heavenly.
• Flexibility! If it was a Tuesday at 2:00 and I wanted to drive a couple of hours to visit a friend, I could.
• Free time! I got to spend extra time with my sisters and close friends. Priceless.
• Relaxation! While, I'm not a lazy person, I do enjoy my sleep. I was guilty of sleeping in often this summer (sometimes getting 10+ hours of sleep in one night!). I love to sleep more than most.
• MINT! The most perfect, most fun "summer job!" It makes me sad that this will be my last week to be there. You'll find me there during my Christmas break, though!
• Balance! This may sound odd, but I think I had the perfect amount of it this summer. I got to work, rest, travel, relax, and have fun without doing too much of it at once!

How can I complain about a summer like that?

Now, here are some reasons why I'm actually looking forward to being back at school:

• "teacher friends!" I spend so much time with teachers at my school for 9 months out of the year, and I barely see them during the summer. We teachers have a strong bond with each other, and count on each other for sanity purposes! :) What would I do without them?!I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again!
• Routine! What can I say? I love a routine. While I LOVE sleeping as late as I want, working out when I want, and going to sleep when I want, it'll be somewhat nice to have that consistent routine again.
• New kids! I like the idea of starting fresh. I get excited (and nervous too!!!) about meeting new students and their families. I always try to be the best I can be in the classroom, and my prayer this year is to strive to set a Godly example for my kids. For some of them, it's the only exposure they have to knowing about God's love, you know? What a huge responsibility I have! The students will be with me next Thursday! AH!

Please keep teachers and students in your prayers for the upcoming weeks! It's an exciting but SCARY time for us all!

Cheers to another fabulous summer behind me and hello to the 2009-2010 school year! :)

pass it on.

Precious child. Faithful family.

the new do.

Well. I did it. My hair is S.H.O.R.T. It's drastically different, but I'm liking it and trying to get used to it. I described what I was wanting, and I think my aunt Stephanie did a great job. She's a hair genius. I find it a little awkward taking pictures of myself, plus, I think it's cuter in person, BUT I wanted the blog world to see it, so I'm posting them anyway.

Opinions?

hmmm...

Thoughts on the new blog look? You won't hurt my feelings if you don't like.

P.S. Getting hair cut. Short. Not getting my hopes up on looking like G.G., but still. I'm ready for a change. It'll grow back, so I'm not stressed. I appreciate the comments regarding this matter. ;)

"Fra-gi-le! That must be Italian!"

Yay! I'm a winner! Thanks, Jessica! :) I'm not really sure what the name of this award is, but let's pretend that it's something really, really big. OK?

Apparently, I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and then "present" 7 others with this very prestigious award. If you're lucky, you too my find yourself a winner!

The longer I've been blogging (2 1/2 years??), the harder it is to think of more things to tell you about myself! I'm going to do my best to tell you 7 things about myself that you really may not know.

1. My car stays ridiculously clean ALL of the time. I very rarely leave things just lying in my car. My car is 6 years old, and I think it still looks brand new! It'll be a long time before I'm ready to get rid of it.

2. I have never smoked a cigarette. I can't stand the smell of it and don't like being anywhere near it. I won't kiss a smoker either. ;)

3. I wish I were musically talented. I would love to be able to sing, play the piano, guitar, or any other instrument.

4. I have a portion control problem when it comes to food. I can't buy cereal or peanut butter, because if I do, most ALL of it will be GONE the next day!

5. I love Starkville, and I am so glad I still live here! I've never known anything different though, so I think it would be a exciting if I married and moved away one day! We'll see!

6. I'm ready for one of my sister's to have a baby, so I can be an aunt again. (OOPS! Did I say that out loud?!).

7. As much as I enjoyed high school and college, I wouldn't re-do them for anything! I'm very content being independent and settled in my career! I don't know if I'll ever be able to do the whole "school" thing again!

OK, I'm going to pass this award along to 7 more people!: Heather, Candy, MSKS, Claire, Katey, Emily, and Melanie! Woo Hoo!

Congrats, girls. This IS a big deal.

The VersaClimber: one's worst enemy.

I enjoy exercising. It's a great stress relief, and just makes me feel better altogether. Plus, I really really love to eat, and I sometimes feel that it's OK to justify my eating by working out. Right? :)

Anyway, ever since I completed the half marathon in April, I've found myself in somewhat of an "exercise rut," if you will. I've been in such a routine of doing what I want to do at the gym or running how far I want to run, at whatever pace I choose. Plus, when I work out at the gym, I've never really been properly trained with weights, and was really wanting a little help in that area. Basically, I just needed someone to PUSH me, work me HARD, and make me HURT. Odd, sounding, I know, but if I want to tone my arms and attempt to lose a little around my middle, how do I expect to see results if I don't know the proper exercises I'm supposed to be doing?

So, I got a personal trainer. I bought 5 sessions with him, which I think will be the perfect amount of time for him to teach me what I need to be doing in order to truly see results. After completing those sessions, I feel that I'll be able to continue on my own.

Today will be my 3rd meeting with him. So far so good. He's showing me the correct weights I need to be doing, and he's really been pushing my cardio. I'll run on the treadmill at my comfortable running pace (which is moderate jog, really), and he'll stand next to me and increase my pace. It's really good for me to have someone there telling me to run faster or pedal harder. I obviously enjoy jogging, and I also like to bike for a change sometimes. But there's a certain machine in that gym I've never attempted to try.

The VersaClimber.

Now, by the looks of this equipment, one might think that it's just like a stair master. WRONG. This is by far the hardest, most challenging cardio machine I've ever used. He warned me before hand telling me that it was "the best machine in the entire gym," that it was going to be "hard" for me, and that it was going to work nearly every muscle in my body. I'll be honest though; I think I've gotten a little cocky since completing the half marathon. I guess I think that just because I ran 13.1 miles without stopping (at my pace, remember), I can do it ALL. HA! So before stepping on to this monster known as the "VersaClimber," I expressed to him that I wasn't at all concerned about my ability to conquer it. He told me to try it for about a minute and a half. I kinda wanted to laugh in his face and say, "a minute and a half?? I'll do it for 30 minutes if you want!" So, I stepped up onto this beast and got started.

Wow.

I can't really describe the way this machine works or even how it really made me feel, but let me just tell you--by the time I made it to my "goal" of a minute and a half, I.THOUGHT.I.WAS.GOING.TO.DIE. I got off of it, looked it him with a look of complete shock and just said "holy cow." He smiled and just said, "I told you so!" Yesterday when I went back he forced me to go 30 more seconds, and again I thought I was about to pass out and die. And guess what? This afternoon when I meet with him again, he's making me go 30 more seconds. I'm already scared.

It just absolutely blew my mind! He made me feel better when he convinced me that it was normal for me to only do it for such a short period of time because it's working so many muscles at once. Still. I want to be able to do it for as long as I can. I'm hoping to reach 5 minutes SOON. We'll see!

So, I challenge you. If you're looking for something to kick you in the rear and give you the workout of your life, try the VersaClimber. And if you're able to do it longer than about 2 minutes on your first try, I do not want to hear about it. ;)

to cut or not to cut....that is the question.

OK. I am ready for a hair change--again. I'm about to go back to school, and I want something a little shorter, easy, and CUTE!

Ever since I saw "He's Just Not That Into You," I fell in love with Ginnifer Goodwin AND her hair! I think it's the cutest ever.

Question for you: should I try to copy this style? I just don't want to be disappointed when I don't look like Ginnifer in the end! :) Let me know what you think by commenting and/or voting on my poll. Here are some pictures of her and her cute haircut just so you can get an idea. (I particularly like the reddish color in the 2nd picture).

Opinions needed!

Beach...

I mentioned a while back that we had some family pictures taken at the beach last month. Well, a few weeks ago, I received the ones I ordered, only to find out that I'd been accidentally given pictures of ANOTHER FAMILY! Ha! I finally got pictures of MY family recently, and wanted to share my favorite one with you! Also, if you're looking for a beach photographer, click here. I highly recommend this one!

note: this is a scanned copy. The quality of the actual picture is much better! :)

take time to pray.

Please take a few minutes and pray for these specific people.

My mom made me aware of the first one. Maybe you're a reader of this blog. If so, you may already know about this. If not, I'll briefly fill you in. The 30-something year old author of the blog, passed away earlier this week from a stroke. It was very sudden, and even though I don't know her or her family, I can't stop thinking about them. She left behind a husband and 4 kids (one of which is only 2 weeks old!). It's just so so sad. Keep that family in your prayers. I can't imagine how they feel.

Secondly, click here to read about this little girl. Isn't she an absolute DOLL?! Thanks for posting about this, Amanda. I feel that all I can do is pass it along to others and ask for as many prayers as possible!

I'm still praying for those of you who have sent requests to me. If you want to be added to my personal prayer list, please comment on this post or email me at lltomlinson@hotmail.com.

midnight already? yikes.

I know. It's so very unlike me to be up this late! I know one thing...if I don't start going to bed earlier, I'm going to be in for a rude awakening in a few weeks when school starts again! I will then once again become the granny you all know me as, and will be hitting the hay at 9 pm!

I figured since I'm up, I might as well do something with my time, right? This was stolen from facebook, and it looked fun. As soon as I finish it, I'm going to bed. Period.

70 confession questions (although if you look closely, you'll see that several numbers have been skipped!)

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?anybody! i love to talk on the phone

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?it's one of those things that actually do.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? i'd like to think that i do a little of each.

4. Do you take compliments well?actually no, but i'm working on it.

5. Do you play Sudoku? on occasion. my mom is a master.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?maybe if i had my cell phone

8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? oh yes...camp tik a witha!

9. What was your favorite game as a kid? candyland, hi ho cherrio, sorry, operation, pictionary...we had lots of faves.

10. Would you slow dance with someone that you knew was married? no comment

12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? it would be an issue that would have to be seriously discussed

13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? i'm old fashioned. i'd like to be pursued, please.

14. Use three words to describe yourself? clumsy, random, organized

15. Do any songs make you cry? oh yes. there are several.

16. Are you continuing your education?maybe one day. i'm educated enough for the time being.

17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? no way. i'm scared of them.

18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? MAX of course

19. How often do you read books? not as often as i should

20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? unfortunately, i think more about the future instead of focusing on TODAY.

21. What is your favorite children's book? children's books are my loves. eric carle is quite a genius, i must say.

22.What color are your eyes?hazel

23. How tall are you?5'5"

24. Where is your dream house located? i don't have one yet.

27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth?oh my. YES.

28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? been a while, but i have been craving that salad lately!

29. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? wow. ummm....MINT?

32. Do you like mustard?yes.

33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? 2 of my favorite things to do. i can't choose.

34. Do you look like your mom or dad? i hear that i'm a good mix. i guess MOST people say i favor dad more.

35. How long does it take you in the shower? 10 min.

36. Can you do the splits? oh my. absolutely not. nor can i do a cartwheel or dive.

37. What movie do you want to see right now? anything BUT harry potter!

40. Do you think The Grudge was scary?didn't see it

42. Do you own a camera phone?yes

44. Was your mom a cheerleader?haha! no.

45. What's the last letter of your middle name? "L"...there are lots of "L's" in my name.

47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? i ideally like 8 minimum.

48. Do you like care bears? loved them as a child

49. What do you buy at the movies? hot tamales or jr. mints

50. Do you know how to play poker?no

51.Do you wear your seatbelt?absolutely

52. What do you wear to sleep? big t shirts

53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? well...johnny cash was arrested here. exciting enough?

54. How many meals do you eat a day? 3. unfortunately i LOVE to snack, but i try to limit my snacks.

55. Is your tongue pierced?no way

56. Do you always read MySpace bulletins?never

58. Do you like funny or serious people better? funny!!

59. Ever been to L.A.?no, but would like to go. anybody want to go to california?? ;)

60. Did you eat a cookie today? ugh. no

61. Do you use cuss words in other languages? no, but i'm not promising i wouldn't use them if i knew some cuss words! ha.

62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads?pay. i love itunes.

63. Do you hate chocolate? no way. it's the love of my life.

.64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? i do not fight with them. not sure i ever did. i was the "good" child. ;)

65. Are you a gullible person? yes

66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? nope. i've got other things that make me happy.

67. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? i just wish i could sing and make a lot of money doing it. Ok, you caught me....i want to be jennifer nettles.

68. Are you easy to get along with? i'd like to think so.

69. What is your favorite time of day? anytime i'm able to relax. for some reason, 4 pm is my least favorite time of the day. never really understood why.

70. Do you have a crush on anyone right now? oh sure....

Going to bed now. Seriously.

And as soon as I get that camera battery, I'll have some pics to share with you. Pictures of what? I have no idea, but I'll come up with something. Adios.

series of unfortunate events.

So, I got my driver's license when I was 16, and I remember one of the first things my dad said to me was, "Now, you really need to learn how to change a flat tire." In fact, I'm pretty sure he's shown me how to do it a time or 2. It's not that I don't listen to my dad or care what he has to say, but let's be honest. If I'm on the interstate and get a flat, am I really going to trust myself enough to change it and be confident that the tire won't fall off 1/2 a mile down the road? Absolutely not. Well, around 2:00 this afternoon I found myself thinking, "Hmmm...I guess I should have listened to my dad."

I worked at MINT until 2. I was looking forward to having a few hours after work to go to the gym and run a few errands before Kristen, Rob, Henry, and Heather got here. Unfortunately, though, my afternoon did not go as planned.

When I got to work this morning, I noticed that my tire was ''a little low," and had already made plans to head to the tire store immediately after work. No big deal. BUT, I walked to my car after work, and my tire was F.L.A.T. Completely. It looked much like the picture you see here. The tire place was literally just around the corner, and I toyed with the idea of driving it there, but I came to the realization that my car probably wouldn't make it there.

Now, if you're a single female and you have car problems who do you call? Yep. Daddy (a.k.a. my "go to guy"). After hearing that Dad was in an afternoon meeting, I knew I had to go to plan B. I have a few guy friends who I knew would help me out if they could, but it was Friday at 2. They were all at work. I was very fortunate that I wasn't stranded on the side of the road, in which case, I would probably be crying. Instead, I just got to spend a couple of extra hours in the air conditioned store, so I knew I really couldn't complain. Still...I was frustrated.

Finally, around 3:30 or so, a guy walked into the Home Store with this girlfriend. BINGO. I shamelessly walked up to him and asked if he knew how to change a flat. Lucky for me, he did! He worked on in it for about half an hour or so. In the mean time, I'd gotten in touch with my dad who insisted on coming to help out. Sweet daddy.

So, with the spare tire in place, dad follows me to the tire store, where I left my car to be fixed. I was exhausted, and a little out of sorts. After all, I'm a planner, and when things don't turn out the way I had planned it, I get a little frazzled.

I got Dad to drop me off at my friend Heather's house. I knew she was home and I wanted to hang out with her anyway. She willingly let me borrow her car drive to my house and take Max out. WELL...I pulled up in my driveway and realize that I'D GIVEN THE TIRE GUY MY ENTIRE SET OF KEYS! I didn't have the key to my house. I'm also taking care of my friend Mandy's cats this weekend, and her key was with all of the others, too. GREAT.

SOOO.... (are you still with me, here???)...

I take Heather's car to the tire place, and was thankfully able to get my keys before they closed. Whew.

After I enjoyed a much needed glass of Chardonnay with sweet Heather :), I went to my parents' house where I got to spend the rest of the evening with my family.

While I admit that this really wasn't a HORRIBLE day (things could have been much worse...let's be honest), it was just an absolutely out of the ordinary day, and I, for one, am glad that it's over.

Thanks for listening.

The end.

I heart summer.

Other than the pics I took at the beach earlier this summer, I haven't taken too many pictures. Why? Read my last post.

Yesterday, I had 2 different people tell me that I haven't been blogging like I should lately. Yikes. Besides the fact that I DO have a life besides blogging (hard to believe, I know), I haven't had pictures to share, which makes my blogging more difficult (Was that a run on sentence?). Anyway, sorry if I've disappointed lately. :)

Thankfully, I do have some pics to share. Most of them have been stolen from some of my dear friends. I did just post these on facebook, but here they are again in case you didn't see them before.

In Jackson with HEGS...

June Bunko...

Mandy and me at UMI...
Oh, how I hope to get that camera up and going again SOON!

I need help (AGAIN)!

First of all, thanks for the watch advice some of you shared last week. I looked at each site that was recommended to me, and found several that I liked. I ended up getting a great deal on an Anne Klein watch at STEIN MART last weekend when I was in Hattiesburg. I'm totally liking it. I would NORMALLY post a pic of it, but I'm having fights issues with my camera right now(there is nothing worse than being camera-less. Agree?). This leads me to the first thing with which I need help...
I charge my camera by taking the camera battery out of the camera and using the charger that came with the camera when I purchased it. Easy, right? Well, here's the problem. When I tried to charge it the other day, the light on the charger, which normally is red when charging, was blinking red instead. Does this mean there's a problem with the CHARGER or with the BATTERY? I'm thinking that it may be the battery, but aren't those things like $40? I do not want to spend money on it if that's not the problem. I also don't want to go buy a brand new battery charger, just to find out that it's the actual battery causing the problem. Get it? Any camera experts out there who can help me out with this one?
Secondly. I want to clean my couch...like really clean it. It's ultra-suede, an should be fairly easy to clean, but I just don't really what to use on it. Any suggestions?
I sometimes wonder what I would do without my blog readers. Seriously.

movies, the 4th, and REDBOX!

First of all, Happy late 4th! My weekend was spent with Trey and Heather in Hattiesburg. We did some grilling, relaxing, boating, and movie watching. It was perfect.

I probably watched more movies this past weekend than I've watched in the past 3 months combined! I thought I'd give you my reviews on a few of the ones we watched.

Oh, and have any of you made friends with the new Redbox that are found around town? If not, you should. It's very simple, cheap, and convenient! I mean, how can you beat a movie rental for $1? You just can't.

One of the movies we rented via Redbox was "Taken" with Liam Neeson. It was FABULOUS. If you're into suspense, you should totally watch this one. LN was amazing in this movie. I definitely recommend this one!
I'n not really sure why I hadn't already seen "Dan in Real Life," since Steve Carell is obviously one of my faves. He didn't exactly play a Michael Scott role in this movie, and while I missed hearing him say "That's what she said" after every sentence, I still really liked him in this movie. If you haven't seen this one, go get it. I'll probably end up buying this one.

I LOVED "BRIDE WARS"! Sure, it's totally ridiculous and completely unrealistic, but Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are just the cutest ever, and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. In fact, I plan on hitting up the Redbox sometime today and getting it to watch with Katey soon. I think I kinda want to look like Anne Hathaway.Well, it's 11:00, and I'm still in my pj's. I suppose I'll get up right now and do some sort of physical activity. I don't want to get a reputation of being completely worthless during the summer! (Of course, as soon as I finish exercising, I'll probably shower and get right back in my pj's. Don't judge me).

my 6th photo.

So, I was tagged to share my 6th picture folder. I also chose the 6th picture in the folder. Here's what I got:

No explanation really. This is me after the 1/2 marathon. I was feeling happy, tired, and I was really craving peanut butter at that moment. Good times.

Up for the challenge? Go right ahead!