Officially Married Online!

I finally changed my google profile and email account from Lovejoy to Hale. I figure we've made it two years so far so I guess there's a pretty good shot we'll stay married for a while.

Sean's been bugging me about using my old email account and having my profile under my maiden name... so I thought I'd do him a big one and change it all over once and for all (big pain by the way).

JoDee Lovejoy is no more. So, if you see a comment or get an email from JoDee Hale- that's me! :)

Not Working is Amazing

For those who feel teachers are not adequately compensated, I would just like to say "SUMMER VACATION." Would I take a larger paycheck- especially when I'm dealing with the same stinker and his parents over and over all year long... YES. But I honestly feel pretty darn lucky sitting here at my computer with my dog at my feet at 9:12 am on a Tuesday. No pressing agenda. No scary,long To-Do list.



I woke up around 7:30 and took Jet for a walk. When we got home, around 8:30, Jet got some water and I had a smoothie. The rest of my day looks pretty good too. I'm going to pull some weeds from our beds out front, then maybe do some yoga. I'll put a roast on for dinner later and possibly vaccum and sweep while it's cooking. We've got some family coming over for dinner tonight- and I don't have to rush to prepare. This is just amazing. I wonder if I can fit a nap in there somewhere?





New summer plan:



1. Wake up every morning and take Jet for a walk.

2. Keep house clean by doing a little every day.

3. Eat healthy.

4. Read a book all the way through.

5. Do a few projects around the house.

6. Rest and relax.





We have a couple of trips planned- to Dallas to visit the sweetest twin girls possibly ever born (and their parents of course), and to Wisconsin to visit my family. Other than that... we're going to take it easy! I love taking it easy. And I love not working!!

The Last Day of School

Driving to school this morning, I was already teary-eyed. Where did the time go?

My mind was swimming with sentimental thoughts, "This was the sweetest class I've ever had!" "I'm going to miss these kids!" "This year flew by too fast!"

Minutes after the bell rang, I received all sorts of sweet gifts, candy, and cards. More tears.

"Mrs. Hale is crying! Mrs. Hale is crying!" Twenty little faces turn to see if it's true... yes. It's true.


Several hours then pass in which all of the following occur:

• laughing
• screaming
• climbing the bookshelves to "help" clean the room
• running
• hitting with rulers
• hitting with hands
• one kick to a shin
• one shouting out of "Jesus Christ!" (Not by me.)
• several name callings
• one pull-out into the hallway for an intervention

I think this is God's way of making saying good-bye much, much, much easier. No more tears. Just a big smile and wave as they all file out. "See ya!"

Back Again

I’ve been away. Let me explain…

1. The last few weeks of school are CRAZY. I end up working so much, so many late nights, so many meetings… I get worn out. I’ve been so tired. I end up neglecting everything that isn't necessary to do instantly. (Friday is my last day. Hallelujah!)

2. I found out Memorial Day weekend that my parents are separating. A very sad three day weekend.

I am the oldest of four. My parents got married and had me very young. They have been married for nearly 30 years. I can’t say I was totally surprised when I found out, but it was still shocking. It is so, so hard to hear that hurt in your parents’ voices and realize that your family will never be the same.

I had known for a while that there was trouble in paradise. You’d have to be comatose not to pick up on the tension. It was easy to ignore, but it was there for years. As the whole story actually unfolded, I felt like I was in a Lifetime Movie. Nuff said.

Now, a couple of weeks later, I’m feeling OK. Normal, day to day life for me is going to be relatively the same. It’s nice that I already have my own home and don’t have to live right in the middle of it. I know that holidays are going to be complicated. Family get-togethers are going to be complicated. For instance… Sean and I want to have our families over for dinner this weekend. Do I invite Mom or Dad? Who will be less offended if they are not invited? Surely they’re not OK to be around each other yet and I don’t want this to turn into huge drama. Or, do I call them and say “I want you both to be there. Suck it up.” Doubtful. I'm sure it's just going to take some time. We'll figure out something that works, I hope.

Oh! I almost forgot! Two days after this news broke... I lost my wedding ring. We've backtracked so many times. We've looked everywhere we can think of. Sean thinks that when he was taking out the trash one morning, he scooped trash off the kitchen counter, and swept the ring in the can right along with it. It makes me sick to think that my beautiful ring is just sitting in a pile of trash somewhere.

Luckily we had the engagement ring insured (not the new setting, of course) so we'll get to replace at least that part. Sean wants to replace the entire ring just as we had it, and I hope we can. We'll see. There are lots of things that we could spend that money on, so I'm not sure what to do. I also feel incredibly guilty about losing it, and I don't think I really deserve to get a new one. It sucks. Sean was so sweet about it all. As I was bawling my eyes out, feeling like a total idiot, he says, "It was just a thing. We haven't lost anything important. You and I are right here and we're better than ever. It was just a ring and it can be replaced." What a guy.

Man, this whole post is kind of a downer. I'm actually feeling pretty good now. I've had some time to process and things are looking up. I'm soooo ready for a break from everything. Summer vacation starts next week? Perfect timing.

A Perfect Day

Sean and I went back to the beach last weekend with Uncle Butch. While the men worked on siding and bathroom walls, Jet and I went down to the water to play.

We wore ourselves out!

Uterus- A+!!!

I had my HSG today and wonderful news- everything looks great! According to the radiologist, there is no scar tissue from my surgery, and both my tubes are open! (It feels so good to type that. I just let out a huge sigh.)

I was nervous about the procedure, but not nearly as crazy-nervous as I was about the surgery. I felt like I might cry as I laid down on the table, but I held it together. And it wasn't really that bad. As soon as they inserted the dye, it was actually pretty cool to watch and it distracted me from the cramping. After about 10 minutes, we were done!

I called Sean as I left the hospital parking lot, and told him the good news. He is never really that chatty over the phone, so I didn't expect a huge gushing of emotion. He seemed cool as a cucumber about it, but when he got home he gave me a hug that lasted 15 minutes and I knew he was relieved! He never really says what he's thinking when he's emotional- he just hugs! I got about three more bear hugs after that first monster hug! I know he's really excited.

I haven't gotten my "A-OK" to start trying again from Dr. Levin, but we're going to start anyway! I think the radiologist's report will say exactly what she told me in person, and I'm sure Dr. Levin will say to start! I'm leaving this slight detail out for Sean because he's such a rule follower that if he knew I was supposed to wait for Dr. Levin to give her blessing, he would say "wait". At this point in time, Sean knows everything looks good- and he's turned that into "A-OK" on his own... so I'm rolling with it. No need to be nit-picky. :)

Now, I feel crampy, but relieved. I feel really at peace about everything. I know it may still take several months to get pregnant and I'm prepared to be patient and trust that His timing is going to be perfect. I just feel really good about trying this time. (So good, in fact, that I just took my prenatal vitamins for the first time in over a month. I HATE swallowing big pills so I just kept putting it off. But now it feels like it could really happen so I better start taking them!)

When we began trying nearly a year ago, it didn't feel right. I felt like something was off. Woman's intuition? I'm glad I took the advice some of you gave me to see the doctor about my concerns. I'm amazed at how the little things that seem like trivial decisions that we make everyday lead us to where we need to be. It's so nice to know that He is in control, and I can just relax and trust in Him.

And so now, as far as I can see, my baby-making equipment is ready to go! I think Sean's feeling the pressure now, because he said, "Now we just have to hope I've got good swimmers." :)

Fat and Lazy- One, JoDee- Zero

What a beautiful day! The sun was shining and I was starting to feel much less fat and grumpy as I left school (the ol' pants were a little hard to button this morning and it was such a bummer). Maybe I will do all the laundry tonight! Or, maybe I will go for a jog and then do some crunches. Or, plant some flowers in my newly landscaped front yard. Then I will make a really healthy dinner. And in the meantime I will drink four cups of water! I'll do it all! Hell, it's beautiful outside and I have lots of time!

Enter the neighborhood. OK. Maybe it's a little too much to do in one evening. I'll just work out. And make dinner. The yard is fine- flowers can definitely wait.

Turn down our street. Maybe I'll wake up early tomorrow morning and work out instead. Yes, I'll just make a healthy dinner tonight. And do some laundry so tomorrow I can wear some pants that don't make me miserable all day long.

Pull up the driveway. Definitely make dinner. Laundry will just be a bonus if I have time. No need to stress out about it.

Open the door. Walk to the fridge. Now here I sit at the computer with huge bowl of guacamole and tortilla chips. Gotta love my will power.


Our front yard was a huge project this weekend... here's a picture.

We didn't make any real changes to the look or the layout, but we had some serious damage control to take care of. One day I was looking at the landscaping and thought it needed some trimming. Then I saw it. A vine. Well... that vine was about 3 miles long and attached to everything. I was tearing out vines all Friday night. I am covered in scratches. Sean had to tear out the front row of hedges on both sides of the house because they were all vine. I think I may have been able to save two larger bushes that were covered, but time will tell. We then proceeded to plant new shrubs and fertilize and mulch everything. Including ourselves. I had mulch in my shoes, hair, and bra. Yes. How I got mulch down my shirt is beyond me.

We worked Friday night, Saturday evening until dark, and then Sean worked again Sunday morning. I woke up and cleaned our house and went to the grocery store. Don't worry, I didn't send him out there on his own while I slept in! We had our families over for dinner for Mother's Day so I had to prepare. We were SO busy this weekend- between the yard work, the retriever club picnic (more on that later I'm sure), and a Mother's Day party at Sean's aunt's house, and then having everyone over that night... I am just exhausted.

I know the busy weekend, much of it spend outdoors, is to blame for my kick-ass farmer's tan and overall tired moodiness, but I guess I'll use it as my excuse to not do anything but fart around on the computer for the second straight night as well. Who am I kidding? I'll use this as an excuse to not work out for at least four days, maybe seven.