CICADAS!!!

Okay, I know that I am probably the ten thousandth person to blog about cicadas, but I just HAVE TO! They are everywhere. They are loud. They have scary looking eyes. They are the size of a small mouse. With wings. And sadly, I am only exaggerating a little.

Last week, one landed on my neck.

On Friday, one came in my classroom and terrorized my student.

Yesterday, one got stuck in my roommate's hair.

Today, one hit me in the forehead.

I mean, can they not see that I am not a tree?!? What good are their scary eyes, after all???

This is excessive! It makes me want to wear a helmet with a face shield on it.

What if I happen to yawn and one flies right in?

What if one accidentally wedges itself in my ear? Or my nose?

I CAN'T HANDLE THIS UNCERTAINTY!

I wonder if it is possible to stay inside or fully covered for the next 3-4 weeks?

You might think I am overreacting to these harmless insects, but it brings back too many memories of 8th grade. Picture with me, if you will...

I was in middle school (bangs, perm, the works) and unfortunately it was the year of the cicadas. But I didn't remember this from before, I would have been 1 after all. I didn't have a clue what to expect. A loud noise? I can handle that. A few extra bugs? I will stay inside.

Oh no, it isn't that easy to avoid.

We had to go outside to get from one building to the next, and of course before and after school where there were many trees and undisturbed ground. One day, as I was walking out, arms full, backpack on, they swarmed me! It was like they had formed a coup and I couldn't have avoided it!

They were on my backpack, in my hair (remember, perm and bangs here), they were on my clothes, EVERYWHERE!!! Little did I know, this would be life for the next 2 months...

Another day, walking across campus, hadn't been hit yet when the boys decide to shake the trees! Who decided that middle school boys should be let out of the house during the year of the cicadas?!? Once again, attacked! Like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, but with cicadas!

And then, just when I thought it was safe to venture outdoors again, they have all died. YAY, you might think, but no. Gross is a more appropriate word because every step is a *CRUNCH*. The remains are EVERYWHERE!!!

Okay, back to 2011. These memories still haunt me. I know what comes next. And I WILL wrap my shoes is plastic bags, don't doubt it!

But for now I will stay inside and watch these little devils fly around outside my window.

Next time I see you guys, I will be forty!

I don't know which part of that sentence is scarier!!! Yikes!

What's in Your Backseat?

I, like most people, tend to have some random junk in my car. You can just throw it in the trunk or the back seat where it's "out of the way".

You can actually tell a lot about a person by the stuff in their car. For example, in college, I was waiting in a friend's car for an inordinate amount of time, and found some interesting items. Some, I won't mention, but she did have a least 3 pairs of sunglasses. Some broken, some scratched, some new... and also some hats and some magazines...

However, my favorite find in a car recently was in my roommate's car. She had been home for Christmas, so I knew there would be something funny left over. And alas, this is what I found.

Two lovely teddy bears with homemade clothes made specially by Nanna. Amazing! They really are something, and not only were the clothes specially made for the bears, but they were glued to the cutesy bears. Nice resourcefulness.

And the best part of this for me was picturing little Betsy playing with her beloved teddy bears. Classic. Thanks for being a good sport, Betsy.

Money Bags

Because we have had lots of snow lately...

Because the snow has provided lots of home time...

Because I needed to feel domestic...

I made some money bags. My class is learning about money this week, and I will be giving out play money as incentives. Since I would hate for the money to get lost, I decided they could each use a personalized money bag.

When a child accumulates 5 pennies, trade it in for a nickel and k

eep saving, OR chose a prize from the 5 cent bin. And the same for 10 cents and 25 cents. They were actually very fun to make and turned out pretty cute.

What is odd to me is that I had almost ALL of the materials already. Makes it even more fun, since it was cheap.

Here is how they turned out. Still have a few more to finish...

Hope the kids enjoy their gift!

Becoming a REAL adult...

I have been in my own home now for about 5 years, I recently realized, which pretty much makes me a real adult. Don't you agree? Along with being an adult comes inviting people into my home. So, last week I had the honor of all four grandparents and my own two parents coming to my house for dinner.

The real challenge here is always making food that is near the realm of amazingness compared to all of them. No easy task, I tell you. So this is the menu I decided on: fried pork tenderloin (because everything is better fried) with baked potatoes, rolls and green beans. (Note please that I have no idea how to actually make green beans appetizing, seeing as how you could dip them in chocolate and they would STILL seem unappealing to me. Don't fret, I figured it out with some help.) And to top the meal, which was rather tasty, was the dessert that my mom brought. She made a delicious pineapple cake with vanilla ice cream as well as a strawberry shortcake. Nice choices. Throw coffee into the mix, and I am beginning to salivate all over again. (Can't have that, might get messy on the keyboard... sleeves are great help for this problem.)

Anyways, we had a lovely time enjoying each other's company, eating entirely too much, and discussing all the very much un-dinner topics (religious opinions, politics, the new health plan, and of course my marital status). But overall, a very fun time. Here are some pictures from the

night (because the first thing that happens as the door opens is incessant flashing).

I'm very thankful to have such wonderful people in my life, and especially blessed to have had them visit.

Weather and more weather

While I realize that it is February, I am getting a little bit tired of the "severe weather". First snow of the season actually came before the first day of winter... that's just wrong, right!?! And I am the first one to breathe a sigh of relief when I get to sleep in, but 10 snow days later and the sigh has turned into a groan.

And then this past weekend, a break in the storm clouds; it was in the 60's! UH-MA-ZING! I actually spent some time outside.

Side note: It is amazing how much a body can miss the out-of-doors when you are trapped inside.

Another side note: While on my walk, I pulled out my teacher voice on a dog. Yes, that's right, a dog. Headphones in, arms pumping, and a dog comes out of nowhere barking like mad. What do I do? I point my finger at him sternly and say, "No! You're FINE!" Then I realized he had a zapper on his collar and couldn't come after me. And I also noticed that the front door was open. I could imagine the reaction of the person inside the door. "Stupid girl." Indeed.

Anyways, back to my rant on the weather. The weekend was a tease! And when the weather is nice in June, where will I be, you ask? In-of-doors. It is a raw deal, Mother Nature.

Here's hoping that Mr. Groundhog was right and the winter end is in sight.

Back in the saddle again!

Where did the summer go? This seems to be the question in every teachers' eyes as I walk down the hallways of my school... I long for summer for about 8 months of the year, then it finally gets here, a couple of days later and *poof* it's back to school ads and tax free weekend again! How does that happen?

But somewhere in there I did manage to go to Hilton Head Island with some girl friends, visit Chicago with my parents and also go to the bustling city of Branson, Missouri with my whole family!

The trip to Hilton Head was rather spur of the moment, some of us girls were craving the sand and sleep. We got plenty of both at HHI. It was great, we laid on the beach for 5-6 hours a day, ate, then slept. That is the life, no?

Then there was Chicago (again) because I love it so much. And more so because my parents had never been and I am always raving about it. So I talked them into flying up there for a quick 4 day trip. Just enough time to see the sights and

get a taste of the city. Most of the things we saw I had already visited before, however there were a few new things added in. For one, we went to the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) and there was a new addition there.

They have built a skydeck that juts out from the top floor and is made entirely of glass. So you can walk out and look

straight down to the street in between your feet! I have to say it made me kinda queasy. Check out the picture, we appear to be floating in the sky (and my stomach seemed to agree).

Also note my mom holding on for dear life to my dad (as if that would be a comfort when we went spiraling through the air).

Overall a very fun trip, and also very cram packed with sights!

And the last trip was to Branson with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, mom, and dad.

What is in Branson, Missouri, you might ask? Well, many, many family shows. Such as the all-talented, mind blowingly amazing Dutton Family Show. Imagine the Partridge family meets the Osmond family. Do you have a good visual? Excellent.

We also visited the outdoor mall which housed a huge Bass Pro store. I know, major excitement(although I will let you guess who was most excited). And the mall also had a fun play place and a water/ light show. Pretty cool, but actually very hot because it was over 100 degrees most days. Above, we are at the show (can you see the sweat streaks?) It was good bonding time...

Half Marathons are quite the adventure...

Months and eons ago, I signed up to participate in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon! 13.1 miles of screaming family and friends and sweaty people. So, in on this adventure with me, my partner in craziness, was the BFF Betsy. Being the cheesy teachers that we are, Betsy printed up a training schedule to post on the fridge. And what is a chart without some incentive stickers? That's right, absolutely no fun! I chose from my extensive selection of stickers and we charted our progress through 16 weeks of various length runs. We were rockin' the training, until my ankle turned into a cankle and swelled up like a balloon! Awesome, three weeks out and my ankle won't fit in some of my shoes!?! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Okay, time for a plan of action, ice and compress, then repeat. Two days later, totally walkable. So we venture to Crockett Park for a 9 mile run with our friend Jennifer. Here we go. Feeling good. Not a care in the world (except the sweat rolling down my back and the thirst that doesn't want to be quenched). Then the ankle starts feeling... well uncomfortable. And there it is back, *poof*, cankle.

So there it is, I'm out, maybe of the whole marathon, hobbling mostly and barely containing my frustration. Three weeks of this, and add a little worry with a side of STILL eating everything in sight despite the fact that I am not active, oops.

Race day comes and we are up at 5 trying to get pumped up. Arrive at the race, people everywhere, music blaring (it is the Rock 'n Roll Marathon Series after all), and long port-a-potty lines. Jump into corral 22 and wait it out. Getting nervous, excited, ready to do this!

And, we're off! And we run, and run, and run, (and walk a little) and sweat, and wave at familiar faces, and drink some Cytomax (how DO they name these things?), even try some Gu. (Disclaimer: while Gu serves it's purpose of giving that extra boost of energy, it feels slightly like trying to swallow jelly, yum!) But it did the trick, we made it, finish line in sight. Sprint for the finish. Done and done. Fun experience, very glad to have had this experience, thanks Betsy for the encouragement along the way!

Now, to get my calves to stop screaming at me... this is what happens when muscles sit idle for three weeks. Who'd a thunk?