Tuesday 10

I'm so excited to begin "The Tuesday 10!" Thanks to Kristin and Cara for letting me steal this great idea... :) I had a request (ha! I laughed too!) to list some of my favorite books, so here goes! It was much harder than I thought to narrow this down to only ten. The more I thought about books I've read, the more I remembered that I loved!

10. The Davinci Code, Dan Brown

So suspenceful! It was really easy to suspend reality and get hooked on this one! I just bought right into it and loved it!

9. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

Nonfiction. A little heavier than some of my other favorites. Really an enthralling read. It gives you a completely different view on so many of the world's issues and family dynamics.

8. Anything Jodi Picoult

Reliably a good read, Jodi Picoult's books are full of suspence and drama. Best to spread them out among other authors. Plain Truth was my first, and favorite. Others I love are Keeping Faith, Salem Falls, and My Sister's Keeper.

7. The Giver, Lois Lowry

A fantastic children's book! I guess you could say it's a 1984 equivalent for kids. This novel really makes you think- and it's a quick and delicious read.

6. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

This is a hard novel to read. The language is difficult and the story can be a little hard to follow. I cheated and listened to this one on tape. It's nice to hear it read aloud- bridges the gap. I found myself crying at the end and wanting to go right back to the beginning and listen again! Compelling. I can see why it's a classic!

5. Marley and Me, John Grogan

Any animal lover would be remiss to skip over this book! Read it before you see the movie (if you do!), please! You'll experience every emotion possible with this one. A jem!

4. Libba Bray Trilogy

Accidentally found this one at a school book fair. In an attempt to quicky answer a student's question, "What book do you want, Mrs. Hale?" I pointed to this one, A Great and Terrible Beauty. Well, the sweet boy bought it for me and I started reading one day while bored. At first I found myself chuckling while thinking- am I really reading this? Really? But before long I was hooked, and then devastated when I realized that it wasn't going to end, and I had to get to Barnes and Noble right away to get the next in the series Rebel Angels, and A Sweet Far Thing! It's actually a young adult series; equally strange and addicting! Must love fantasy.

3. Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

My favorite in the series is book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'm sure I'll have a new favorite when I finish books 6 and 7. I think one of my students may have spoiled the ending of the series for me... oh the precious little brat! Just for those of you nerdy enough to care- I was sorted into the Sytherin house! I didn't believe it, so I took the online test three times- Sytherin every time! Shoot! I must think way too highly of myself!!

2. Twilight, Stephanie Meyer


I read on Stephanie Meyer's website that she came up with the idea for this book from a dream she had. It made total sense. This book is one of those dreams that seems totally real and when you wake up and you just can't decide if it actually happened or not. I was completely sucked into this story, and loved every minute of it! I am now in love with a fictional, teenaged vampire! How can anyone read this book and not end up in love with Edward! Sigh!

1. The Adultry Club, Tess Stimson

Classy title, right? Morals aside- you will not be able to put this one down! It is sexy, alluring, frightening, sickening, and addicting all at the same time. It tells the story of an affair from all three view points: husband, wife, and mistress. This would be a great one for a book club- SO much you'll want to talk about!!

Christmas Card Headaches!

So I wake up at 6:30 this morning and can't sleep at all. I decide to get up and get our Christmas card made and ordered. I know I've waited too long and should have ordered these, like a month ago. Well... I search online and after about 3o minutes I find a really cute, reasonably priced card that I love! I spend forever making it just right with our pictures (which are nowhere near as cute as the three precious child models that were shown in the sample) and then realize as I'm checking out that they will not be ready until way after Christmas. Poop.

So, the search begins again! I find a really nice site that sells (of course) a little higher priced cards than the other site, but they guarantee delivery by the 18th. I choose a card, personalize it and then... the internet craps out! Grrrrr!!! I spend about 30 minutes messing with it, and trying to reach my hunting husband for help.

When Sean gets home, he fixes it and I get back to work, and finally order the cards!! Now, as I sit annoyed with the whole experience, I realize that I just spent way too much time and money on silly cards with pictures of my dog on them. People are going to get this card and say, "Oh, it's those crazy dog people. They need to have kids already." Yes, we know.

I know that posting this is a total Christmas card spoiler for those of you who are going to recieve one in 8-10 days, but I spent so much time on this, I just have to get as much use out of it as possible! Merry Christmas, y'all!

Don'tcha just love Christmas!!

I've just had such a great day! Found an old friend on Facebook (You know! The sweet friend who lived down the street when you were in elementary school? The girl you had countless sleepovers with? The girl who gave you the most embarrassing nickname and who you spent hours laughing with? That's the one!!) who is now married with two beautiful kids! So much fun! Isn't it funny how many people you bump into on Facebook?

It's my partner's birthday today, and we went out for drinks after school. She is so much fun! I feel very, very blessed to have such a great team at work! They are such amazing teachers, and absolutely great friends! This is really one of those days that you sit back and think, "I have such a great life!" I know I work with great people when I would, without a doubt, have my child in any one of their classes!

And, to top it all off- Christmas is coming! I am a true kid when it comes to Christmas. I love it! I love everything about it- the lights, the gifts, the cookies, the smells, the sounds, the family get-togethers, the white elephant gift exchanges, the movies, the music, the stockings, the decorations! You name it!

Sean and I went to lunch and then out to pick a Christmas tree with his grandmother last weekend. What a great day! Nee Nee is a character! She always has funny stories for us... we found out about how Uncle Johnny came to be! It turns out her husband and a friend were having a oyster eating contest down in Galveston one night, and after several drinks she decided she'd eat one too! Well... you know what they say about oysters! Now she calls Johnny "her little pearl!"

When we got home, I started making chocolate-covered cherries! They're my Aunt Nina's specialty, and she gave me the recipe last year. I felt so special since she gave me the recipe and all her tips; I have to make her proud! The cherries are so labor intensive- but incredible delicious! I made over 160!! I like to have plenty for our Christmas party, Christmas Eve and Day at both our family gatherings, and gifts for co-workers, etc. I think it took me around five and a half hours to finish... you know they're good!

Here's a few of the finished cherries. Pretty, right? I may have to go do another taste test... :)

Early Christmas Gifts!!

My hubby cracks me up! He absolutely cannot keep a secret! The other day he came home and told me that he had a present for me. I (naturally) didn't really believe it was anything good- perhaps a free t-shirt he got from work, or some sort of fast-food drink? But, it was something good! He gave me a digital camera and speakers for my ipod! The two things I asked for Christmas! Yea!!

Of course, I could have waited until Christmas, but Sean couldn't! It's the same every year- as soon as he gets me a gift he has to give it to me! He can't help himself! For the last ten years (can you belive it, ten years!!) I've gotten nearly all of my Christmas and birthday gifts early!

Here's one of my first pictures with the new camera! My boys are so cute!!

Even though I just got spoiled rotten, I talked Sean into another gift! I need a gift to open on Christmas Day, right?

Good for a Laugh!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

More Getting Healthy

I am very lucky to work at the school that I do, because not only do I have a friend there who is helping me to workout more (Getting Healthy), my sweet partner, Beth, is now motivating me to start eating better too!

Last week I let my workout plan slide due to Thanksgiving. Logged a total of 0 minutes on my Holland Hustler goal sheet last week. Yikes! I got back from a jog not long ago and feel good about getting back on track with that. Jet was by my side as usual! He really is the best jogging partner. He's always ready to go when I am. He never wants to stop early. He lets me listen to my ipod and doesn't want to talk the whole way. He absolutely loves every minute of it! The only downside is the occasional potty stop, but sometimes I'm happy for those since I get to stop and rest a minute. (He was so cute today! There were Christmas lights up and he was really wary of them! He'd get really close to me and watch those lights! Ha!)

Next step- eating better. I used to be very, very disciplined with what I ate, and have now totally let it go (blame it on getting married). Two years and fifteen pounds later, I'm ready to make some changes. I'm feeling motivated to pick back up those healthy eating habits due to Beth. She really is the best partner! We get along so well we sometimes do more talking than working during our planning time! We both have realized that work is a terrible place for trying to take care of yourself! You work long hours, you can't go to the bathroom whenever you want so you end up not drinking enough water, there's always junk food, birthday cupcakes, and other terrible things to eat all around you- OH! - the wonderful tray lunch is always there! We agreed to help each other stay on track while we're at work. It's SO nice to have a buddy!

I'll let you know my progress! I don't anticipate losing 15 pounds, but I would like to wake up in the morning and feel energized! I would love to feel great in my clothes again. I think I will!

Going back to work stinks!

My day was SO long. Here goes:


5:00 am Alarm goes off, press snooze


5:30 am Hubby gets up, not sure what he does other than turn on and then off every light in house


6:00 am Should be peacefully waking up when hubby is missing something and needs to ask several questions about where I might have put it.


7:15 am Finally driving to work. Get stuck behind two HUGE dump trucks? Whatever they were, they were very slow.


8:10 am 22 very energetic 9-year-olds enter the room, and there is no running away.


12:50 pm Lunch. Finally. Take a ovulation test... positive? Think so.


1:20 pm Lunch is over. Pick 22 extremely loud 9-year-olds from the cafeteria.


3:30 pm Dismissal!!!!! I'm already totally exhausted at this point- taught two introductory lessons today now know exactly how little they know about fractions. Proceed to make a grocery list.


4:00 pm Leave work and drive straight to the grocery store with list of healthy foods to start our new "healthy eating plan."


5:00 pm Starving, I finagle my way around a crowded grocery store, try to make choices that are healthful and budget friendly while surrounded by delicious, not so healthy choices that smell amazing!


5:30 pm Leave grocery store and fight traffic home.


5:45 pm Realize I forgot TP and frozen blueberries.


6:00 pm Stop at Randall's before going home to get the TP and blueberries.


6:30 pm Finally start dinner after cleaning out frige and putting groceries away.


7:30 pm Eat dinner with Sean and his friend Kent who came over to watch football. Listen to hubby complain about the salad. I wonder how long this "healthy eating plan" will be our plan, and when it will turn into "JoDee's forcing veggies down her husband's throat while he whines like a 5 year old" plan?


8:15 pm Finally finish packing lunches for tomorrow and cleaning dishes.


8:16 pm Sit. Could be the first time today. Am completely spent. Think back to that ovulation test... let the baby-making begin?