A Rough Week

I thought this was a great video especially in light of this last week. I haven't been here much. School, as always, keeps me on my toes. Last week I was out three nights to awards functions for my daughters. I am so proud of their accomplishments this year in school. They have worked hard and now they are reaping their just rewards. It was a great week for the kids in both the high school and the middle school. I am glad that week is over.

Last Sunday I got a very upsetting phone call. For the last 2 years my best friend has been battling breast cancer and last Sunday she lost that fight. I can't begin to tell you the grief that I have been dealing with. We were in Girl Scouts together, our children grew up together and our husbands enjoyed spending time with each other. A greater friend I could never find. I have one other friend that I am this close too and now that one is gone I have a great hole in my heart. She was only 43 years old, and left a loving and devoted husband, a 16 year old son, 18 year old daughter (who is going to graduate high school this coming Thursday) and a 20 year old daughter who just got engaged this year. The funeral services were Wednesday night and I don't know when I have cried so much.

Today I opened my blogger page and found this adorable videos of the otters holding hands. As I watched it, I thought of my friend and her husband and children and of our friendship. I thought how we held hands over the last 11 years of our friendship through the good times and the bad and how we always came back together. I thought of her and her husband, that now they would be apart but later in heaven they would be able to hold hands again, and when her children joined her they too would be able to hold their mother's hand.

This is a somber weekend to honor those who lost their lives so we may live in freedom. To also honor those who fought for our freedom to live our precious lives the way we choose to. The next time you see someone in uniform please tell them Thank-you. They will really appreciate it. Also be sure to always tell your family and friends how much they mean to you. You don't know what tomorrow will bring and you might not be here to tell them.

To all my friends and family that read my blog, "I love you with all my heart!"

Past and present life!

What a great week! I am exhausted but it was fun!!! I will go backwards....it's eaiser for me....

Friday, my younger daughter had her 8th grade class trip to Sea World in Orlando. The day started out like a normal school day then around 2pm the kids had a pizza party in the cafeteria. By 3pm they boarded the charter buses. She called me around 8pm and was having fun and eating ice cream! I think they left the park around midnight and then she called me around 2:30AM and I had to meet her at the middle school. There were many other sleepy - groggy parents there to pick up their equally sleepy - groggy kids!! But everyone had a good time and that is all that matters!

On Wednesday my older daughter had her JROTC brigade awards ceremony. I got some of my old friends from my JROTC days together too. We were hoping that our old Army instructor would be there as well but he wasn't able to make it. I am so proud of my daughter as she got a medal that night and we presented an award to one of the high schools in the name of our old instructor. Then after it was over we went to dinner. It was so great to see everyone again. This fall in Oct is my 30th class reunion and I can't wait to see my old friends. The group that I was with this week though are more important then the whole class. We spent more time together and had more fun in school than should be allowed. Now we have to figure out how to see each other more often!

On Thursday night we had a showcase of talent at my elementary school. The kids put on a play and they were awesome! I have never been more proud of the kids in our school. There was art work on display as well as the science fair projects. It was a great night and this time I was the teacher and not the parent and it was nice to be on the other side for a change. It was fun watching the parents being dragged around by their kids to see it all.

So today I am just resting, reading some email and learning how to use my new cell phone. It has lots of new features and I am trying to figure it all out. When that doesn't work I just ask my 16 year old and she tells me. LOL...yesterday I went to get my eyes checked out and ordered my new reading glasses. Can't wait for them to come in.

I think I might sew for a while. Big deal you say, but this time I am going to be working on a quilt that was started a few months back and I want to get it done. I did finish 2 quilts last week and still have many more to do but I like getting them done!

Only about 5 more weeks of school and then summer break. I am trying to figure out what I want to do this summer.....I know I will be making some new clothes for school next year and I think I will also really start working on cleaning out my studio and finishing more quilts!

Until next time!!!

Time is the enemy!!

I am not really sure where time goes but if I ever find it.....LOOK OUT!!!

It's been 10 days since I have posted and I know I have been busy but I have to work backward to figure out where all the time went. LOL

Yesterday was great!! We took the dogs and went to the local RV show. Even though we have a motor home we like seeing what is out there. It was great to take the dogs with us. They were able to meet more people and get lots of attention which they like. They did really well. On the way home we got some cheeseburgers at McDonalds and that was a big hit with the dogs ( and the rest of us too)!! Then we took the dogs home and went to Wal-Mart for some shopping. I got a new purse and of course the girls got "stuff" they needed. It was nice to take the day off and be with my family for a change.

Saturday, the girls slept in and I went to work. Now that means I stayed home and quilted some quilts and then went to the grocery store. Nothing fancy but I got a lot done at home.

Ok that is great but what about last week? Well I am glad you asked. I normally am very busy at my school and last week was no different. It was the first week back from spring break so we had to get the kids thinking about being in school again and not at home. We had a good week in my class. I have the best students, they work very hard and I am so proud of them. My school has a big event coming up tomorrow so most of our energy last week was gearing up for tomorrow's visitors. Our school district is appying for accredidation and our school was picked for a visit. I am honored that I have been chosen by my principal to be observed by these education professionals. I have prepared my students and now we get to show everyone how hard we are working. I will let you know how we do.

The really great event of the week will happen on Wednesday night. That is the night of the Lee County JROTC Brigade Awards presentation. What is making this night so special is the presentation of the Founder's Awards. This award will be presented to the two schools who have stood out in their volunteer efforts in the community. My old Senior Army Instructor from my JROTC days, Col. Tedsan S. Timberlake and his esteemed wife, Dr. Polly Timberlake will be there. To his surprise I am also rounding up as many past cadets as I can. Right now I think we have about 15 of us that are going to be there. I am so excited to have these awards for the schools and to see my friends. Many of them I haven't seen in about 10-30 years. I am so EXCITED!! The really BIG news is that my daughter will be getting a special award. I will get pictures and post them here. So the rest of last week and this past weekend has been spent on the phone talking to my old friends and trying to find more of them through the computer.

I hope once school is out for the year that I can post more consistently. I will keep you posted!!

SPRING BREAK!!!!

Hi! I am getting some sleep finally! We are currently on spring break and I have been working like crazy. I took advantage of the time off to sew and it was worth it. I also got some quilting done and last night put the binding on the quilt I am donating for the band's silent auction. I just have to put the label on it tonight. I did laundry today too and now I am putting it away.

I have enjoyed being home this week. I can't wait for summer vacation, only 7 more weeks. This school year has flown by and it's been a great one. My girls have kept me very busy this year and the summer is looking good.

I just got done grading some papers from school and this weekend I will get my work from school done. I don't have to but I like staying ahead of things.

My goal is to also straighten up my studio. It's a mess right now and I was going to work on a corner of the room today after I got done sewing. But somehow I managed to hurt my back and right now it's killing me so I can't bend over to clean it. I did some of it but the pain was too intense so I stopped. Maybe I can do more this weekend.

I am excited because tomorrow my girls and I are going to check out the new craft store I have been hearing so much about. I am looking forward to it. It's a combination craft store and scrapbooking store so we are really looking forward to it.

Well it's time for me to continue the laundry. Will talk more later. I am taking tonight off and finishing more quilts and some other projects I want to complete for a change. Can't wait!

It's been a while!!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I have been busy at work prepping my students before they took the state tests for second grade. I am anxiously awaiting their officials scores. I am hoping they did really well. We have been working very hard this year and they have done a great job in class. As a special treat now we are going to be working on a class quilt and a paper quilt for our hallway bulletin board and also each child is going to be making their own small quilt as a memory from our wonderful second grade class. My super principal gave me the idea and I can't wait to start working on it with the kids. They are looking forward to it and so am I.

I have been busy with the high school kids too. I went camping with my daughter's JROTC unit and we had a blast. There was a total of 12 high schools there and probably over 500 kids and adults together. It was last weekend and we had a wonderful time. We (the adults) cooked hot dogs on Friday night and hamburgers on Saturday night. One of the instructors also brings out stereo equipment and we watch movies. We had to cancel the movie on Saturday night as we got a storm that night. The kids were safe and in their tents and we got wind and rain. We were leaving the next day so on Saturday evening we had the kids start packing some of their stuff up and the adults started breaking down some of the equipment we had out. The kids go out on Thursday morning but I had to wait until school was over on Friday afternoon. Then I changed clothes and bought some water and ice and food and headed out. I look forward to this all year. The instructors are wonderful and our school took second place on the tug of war. My old high school won first place in volley ball and another school took first place in the giant relay (swimming, canoeing, running and some other things I can't remember right now). I didn't stay for the relay because I had to stay back at the campsite with another adult chaperone so we could start cooking the hamburgers for the kids.

Then we had one more week of school and now we are all on spring break. I am so happy. Today I quilted two quilts for a friend and I am getting the backing ready for a quilt of mine that I will do tomorrow and donate to the middle school for their spring auction next month. I also went to the grocery store with my daughter. Then we came home and played a game of LIFE. We had fun and my younger daughter was thrilled because she finally won a game. It was a great day.

Now I am heading to the kitchen to get dinner started. Then we are going to start a game of Monopoly but we won't finish it, so I will clear a place on the dining room table and we will bring it out this week. I love spring break and have lots planned to do. I mostly want to sleep in and get some things done around the house and of course I have papers to grade from work and work stuff to do but I also want to take some time for myself and my girls. I miss spending time with them.

Better head to the kitchen. I will be posting more this week. Stay tuned!!

Well today was a fun day!! I quilted two quilts for a customer and went shopping with my daughter. We needed to get supplies for a project she needs to do for school so naturally we purchased everything we didn't need and when we came home we remembered we didn't buy one thing she needed. So needless to say I am going back to the store tomorrow after church to get the rest of the stuff!!

What made it fun was that after dinner I took the night off! I worked on my scrapbook for about an hour. I finished 4 pages with pictures from Christmas 2001. They came out really neat. I also found some pictures of our trip out west in 2003. So next time I take some time off I will start those pages. My book won't be in order but it will be fun to look at!!

Then I read some email and right now I am going to put some binding on a small quilt I quilted about 3 months ago. I still need to work but I also need to take time off for myself. Tomorrow I am going to quilt two quilts for me. They aren't really for me and will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization. That is the group that hosted the cancer walk a few weeks ago that the girls and I walked in. We had a blast.

Guess that is all for now. Have a great rest of the weekend!!

A Celebration!!!

Today is a celebration of sorts! My hubby and I have been married 19 years! It doesn't seem like it but it's been a great marriage. I hope we continue to have laughter and joy for more years to come. It's been interesting and challenging. I love him and the life we have together with our children and pet.

I am slowly getting over my cold. I still am coughing and have some of my voice back. Right now I am in the process of sewing and watching tv. I am watching Bill Engvall on the comedy channel. He is a really funny comedian. He talks about real life and it's side splitting funny tv. We love watching him here.

Next week is a stressful week for my second graders. They are going to be taking the Standford 10 test which tests them on their knowledge of everything we have covered since school started. I am really nervous for some of them. Please keep them and me in your prayers.

Spring break is only 2 1/2 weeks away. I can't wait. I get to sleep in and get caught up on my sewing and quilting and I also hope to start making some new clothes. I love teaching but need time off.

Guess that is all for now. I haven't had time to finish any of my own quilts or work on my scrapbook. I am hoping that I can do some of that over break or this weekend and then I will post what I have been working on.

Have a great week!!