LAST DAY, LAST DAY, LAST DAY!!!!!!!!

In case you haven't guessed, today is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!! I am only a wee bit excited. :) This doesn't mean that I have the summer off, but it does mean that I get to shift to summer hours and I get a small, yet meaningful break. :)

Last night was 8th grade graduation. It went very well, thankfully. I was concerned but I shouldn't have been. Kudos to the two awesome teachers who worked with the students during rehearsals!

Oh--here I am with Raven:

She is sooooo cute!

(raven, not me)

On one final, completely unrelated note--don't you love it when someone is rude and nasty to you and you kill them with kindness? I think that sometimes that just makes them all the angrier. I know that isn't a nice way to think, but sometimes I am nice to someone who was rude to me just to get to them. However, we ARE supposed to be kind to those who are unkind to us, right?? ;)

Why?

Why is it that, when you tell someone not to do something, they automatically want to do it all the more?

What I said: "Do not fool around during graduation rehearsal. You will go to detention."

What they heard: "Blah, blah, blah, blah"


What I said: "No more questions. Start your exam."

What they heard: "blah, blah, blah, blah."


Why?

Why is it that someone decides they don't want to be somewhere anymore but then, when they are supposed to be gone, they come back... EVERY DAY?

Why?

Why is it that you plan that your life is going to turn out a certain way but then it never does?

Why?

Why is it that you want something that you aren't supposed to have and the more you aren't supposed to have it the more you want it?

Why?

Why do you wait all year for the end of the school year to be here but then, when it is, you are sad that it is over?

Why?

Why is it that one person's feelings can affect you so much?

Why?

Sorry for the depressing nature of this post. It is a gloomy, Eeyore-type day outside. Here is something to cheer you up:

and this, too:

Because really, I love to look at both of those most adorable faces. :)

The beginning of the end.....

The school year is almost over. I am undeniably thankful for that. In many ways this has been a great year. In many other ways, this has been a very trying year. The tradition at my school is to have end-of-the-year class picnics. Today was the high school class picnic.

Aside from being vilified by a few select students, the day went off remarkably well. The weather was FANTASTIC! We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze blowing.

The kids were also FANTASTIC! There really wasn't much complaining, except for the obligatory "I'm bored." There was enough (way more than enough) food and no major injuries.

I know that I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. I am very thankful for the students that I work with. Being in a private school helps, but honestly, I don't have the major issues that exist in some schools, especially in the county that I live in. They ARE teenagers; there is no getting around that, but they aren't deliberately nasty, usually.

The end-of-the-year picnic is always a little bittersweet for me. Don't get me wrong--I am so HAPPY that summer vacation is only a few, blessedly short, days away. I will enjoy having a break from the stress of the school year but I will miss these kids. I will miss listening to them talk to each other during the day. I will miss their smiles and their laughter. I will miss them standing at the window to my office making funny faces at me or waving at me. They will come back in the fall and they will have changed. Not a bad change, but a change. They will be more grown-up. Some of them won't return and I will be left to wonder what and how they are doing. Life is about change, but sometimes I wish it didn't have to happen quite so fast. To me, they are still my babies and I want to protect them. It's time for them to leave, and I know it, but somehow it leaves me feeling empty. Empty and almost wishing it was the end of the summer and not the beginning. Almost.

As far as the eye can see......

Nothing, that is. Nothing as far as the eye can see.


This is where I grew up:


and here:
and here:
and here:
and here:

As you can plainly see, there is not much in the area where I grew up that is remotely green. Sagebrush and mesquite don't count.

I moved to the East Coast for a few reasons:

1. I had a job here. (Really, the most important reason)
2. It is GREEN here. I like green way better than brown.
3. There is more to do here. Where I grew up in Texas, everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING is at least 12 hours away.
4. Did I mention that I like GREEN?

The down-side to living here is that I miss my family. I am missing watching two adorable children grow up and I hate not being a part of their lives. My brother and sister-in-law do an awesome job of making sure the kids know who I am, but it isn't the same as me being there.

Also, I miss the warm weather. I DESPISE winter. I HATE being cold. It is getting to be summer now and I L-O-V-E it!!!! The warmer the better! :) Snow is bad, warm is good. That's my mantra and I'm sticking to it.

Here's my girl!! :)

Honestly, I should get free satellite with those big ears!

Do a little dance....

So, we went to Incredible Pizza while I was home. What you are about to watch is the coolest, cutest, nephew in the world showing me his moves:




It really doesn't get any cuter than that! ;)

Weekend in review

So, I went to Texas last week for my brother's graduation. Here are some pictures:

The processional (he's there--I promise!)

Holding on to that Diploma with BOTH hands! :)


Dad and the Grad!

The Grad and me

He loved looking at the shadow of the hat! :)

Sorry about the quality of the pictures--I'm not a professional. I am, however, an auntie who LOVES to play with her nephew--who is the CUTEST four-year old in the WHOLE world! :)

Eating lunch at Incredible Pizza

Playing air hockey at Incredible Pizza

Watch out Jeff Gordon--you've got some competition!

Playing Hot Wheels

Ah, the joys of play-dough!

HE DID IT!

Just a quick shout out to my "little" brother. He is now a college graduate! I am SO proud of him!!

WTG, Matthew! You had a million challenges along the way but you never gave up and you reached your goal. I knew you could do it! :~) Love ya!

The mind of a four-year old...

Can anyone REALLY know what goes on in the mind of a four-year old? Besides the four-year old?

I have just spent the last two days with my four-year old nephew. We had the BEST time in the world...at least I did. :) We went for lunch at Incredible Pizza, we played with Play-dough, we colored pictures, we played Hot Wheels. Who can ask for more?!?

My nephew is the most adorable child in the world. I am not willing to compromise on that, so if you don't agree with me, too bad. He is smart, too. Very, very smart. Scary smart. Pretty sure that brains run in the family. ;) You know how kids "say the darndest things"? He is no exception. So I ask again...can anyone REALLY know what goes on in the mind of a four-year old?"

I have TONS of pictures but since I am posting from my dad's house, I can't upload them. Watch for them on Monday. :)

I miss my raven! I talked with my roommate this morning. She is taking very good care of raven, I know. I'm not worried about her at all...I just miss her. As much as I am enjoying my time here, I am looking forward to being home. In my own bed, in my own house, with my own truck, and my own raven.

No post tomorrow--I'll be on an airplane. I am getting ready for my brother's graduation and party to follow. Many more pictures will be taken. :)

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!!!!!

NOW I can tell you what the surprise is, or actually, was!

My little brother--who towers over me--is graduating from college this Saturday. It has taken him a long time to get through, but I am beyond proud of him. He never gave up, no matter how tough things got. Since beginning the college journey he has been in the Army Reserves, gotten married, had two children, and worked for 15 years in a grocery store. He is soooo ready to be done. Did I mention how proud I am of him?

I hav known since about January that I would be flying home to attend his graduation. It is a SUPER busy time of the year at work and at first I hadn't been sure I would be able to get the time off. I will be missing the Middle School picnic, the Jr./Sr. Banquet, K5 graduation, and Sunday's Baccalaureate service. I want to be at all of those events, but this is my brother's graduation we are talking about.

I have been telling him for the past month or so that I wouldn't be able to make it. Yes, I lied. A BIG, FAT, STINKY lie! My dad has known since January and my sister-in-law has known since February. We all managed to keep it a secret from my brother. I have to tell you, though, this week, I wanted to blog about it so bad! I'm not sure if my brother reads my blog or not--actually, the only person that I am SURE reads my blog is my BFF. How pathetic is THAT may I ask? Anyway--that's a blog for another day.

Last night, my dad and I went over to my brother's house. His last final was last night so he was tired and glad to be done. We rang the doorbell and after what seemed like FOREVER--no, really, it took them a long time to get to the door--he opened the door. I was standing off to the side so that he couldn't see me. My dad told him that he had brought someone over who wanted to see him and I peeked around the wall. He was surprised. I was so happy!

As an added bonus, I also got to spend time with the most adorable four-year old in the world! My nephew is cute beyond words and so smart! Just so you know, I am going over to play Hot wheels and Monster Trucks with him today. I know you are jealous! :)

raven is at home with my roommate. I miss raven. I felt supremely guilty when I left the house yesterday because I told her I would see her later. I just didn't tell her how much later that will be. I know that she is in good hands, but I still miss her. I don't even have a picture of her to post today.

Have a happy day, wherever you are! Even if you are at a law firm in Ohio ;)

gotta wait one more day...

I WAS going to tell you my secret today but I can't. You'll just have to wait one more day..... ;)

The "o's" have it!

My BFF eats oatmeal just about every morning for breakfast. I loathe oatmeal. Actually, I pretty much loathe all hot cereal. Cereal shouldn't be hot. Coffee is hot, tea is hot, soup is hot. Cereal should be cold.

In my humble (and correct) opinion, the most perfect cereal in the WHOLE world is the humble, lowly Cheerio. I have tried and can find nothing wrong with that little toasted "o" of goodness. They are tasty, they are portable, they are quick, AND they are healthy. Oh, how I love my "o's" in the morning. raven loves o's, too. They are a yummy, healthy treat for my little one. raven pretty much loves anything I am eating, but she only gets things that are good for her.

Lest you think I am a picky eater--I LOVE most every vegetable. There are some that are not worth eating such as brussel sprouts (blech!), red beets, okra, and lima beans. Gimme a big bowl of broccoli, or spinach, or cabbage, or green beans, or corn, though, and I am one happy girl!

I am NOT a vegetarian. Nothing against those that are, but you can't really grow up in Texas and not eat meat. There are times when nothing tastes better than a perfectly grilled steak or, better yet, my dad's AWESOME BBQ ribs!

On a completed unrelated note--don't you hate when you have something that you want to share with someone and you can't. You must keep it a secret--at all costs. That has happened to me several times this year. I can usually keep a secret, but it kills me when I can't tell SOMEONE what I know. Like right now. I have a secret, but I can't tell. Nope, not even if you beg. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out. ;~)

And because I know you have been waiting patiently for this the ENTIRE post....here she is! :)

no matter what they say, i didn't do it.

Out of the mouth of babes....

I love children.

It's a good thing that I do since I work with them all day. My hat goes off to all of those who work with young children. I was not called to be a young-children teacher. The lowest I am willing to go, grade-wise is third grade. I need children who know how to tie their own shoes, blow their own noses, and open their own juice boxes. The trade-off is that I get to deal with attitudes on a daily basis. You see, I work with (gasp) teenagers.

I LOVE them. Attitudes notwithstanding, I love them. They are a bunch of eye-rolling, teeth-sucking, exaggerated-huffing, darlings. I mean that with all sincerity. There are days when I don't think I can deal with ONE MORE teenage issue, but then one of them will come and tell me something that is going on in their life and I will melt with love for them all over again.

I am not that old that I don't remember teenage issues, even though they think I am ancient. No, really. I am in my 30's, so that must mean I am getting to the age where I am going to have to start going coffin shopping. ;) I know that they are dealing with things now that I never had to. I know that some of them are hurting and that makes me hurt for them. I also know, though, that I am not here to be their friend. I love them and love being with them, but I am also the enforcer of the rules, so that makes me the bad guy by default.

Being sent to my office is the most tragical of events. Nothing good EVER comes out of being sent to my office (or so they think). I think they are sure that I must go home and devise ways to torture them. After all, it is WAY too much to ask that they obey a silly rule like, oh let's say, "Do your homework." After all, this is school. They are supposed to have fun here, not work. Right? Silly me!

Seriously, though. I do work with a bunch of amazing young people, both in middle and high school. I am proud of what they have accomplished this year--they have a come a long way.

To offset the insanity of working with teenagers I read to a kindergarten class once a week. That is FUN. There is no way I could ever deal with them all day long, every day, but I love going to their classroom to see them and listen to them. You just never can tell what is going to come out of their little mouths:

"That boy, the one right there, the one with the dark hair...didn't even get recess today."

"I have an imaginary dog. His name is dog."

I should write a book of the things they have said to me. I think I could make some serious money.

Speaking of dogs.....

Peek-a-boo!

Time flies

Sunday is Mother's Day. I miss my mom.

My mom and I had a rough patch when I was a teenager (wait--doesn't every mother and daughter??). I think it was mostly because we were so much alike. Once I got to be in about 10th grade or so, though, things changed and we were very close. I remember when I went away to college. I had never really been away from home for that long of a time and I missed my mom like crazy. Even after I moved 2,000 miles away from home to begin my career, it was always my mom that I wanted when something happened.

My mom was always the first to tell me how proud she was of me when I accomplished something. She always believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. She supported me even when she knew in her heart that I probably wasn't making the right choice and she was there to comfort me when I realized that I hadn't made the right choice.

My mom passed away three and a half years ago. Whoever said that time heals all is a big, fat liar. I miss my mom as much today as I did the day she died. I still want to call her when I get good news. I want to call her when I get bad news. I want to call her when I am happy. I want to call her when I am sad. I can't, though, and I hate that.

I believe that I will see her again. I know all the "right" things to say and I know all the "right" answers when it comes to this. That knowledge doesn't make Mother's Day any less painful.

If you still have your mom, call her. Tell her you love her. Even if you are angry with her for something. Even if you haven't talked to her in days, weeks, months, or even years. Don't let another day go by without telling her how much she means to you. I would give anything to just be able to tell my mom one more time how much I love her and to hear her tell me the same.

STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backwards

This has been a stressful day already and it is only 11:28. I feel like I have done two weeks worth of work in just a few hours. Thankfully, the sun is out, it's Friday, and I am leaving work early today. That alone is worth the stress.....I think.

This is how I feel about today:



Anyone else feel the same?

Just wondering.

Crochet....not just your grandma's hobby.

I love to crochet. It is a stress reliever for me. I have a VERY stressful job, not so much physically as mentally. I am a Middle/High school principal. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my job and the kids I work with. They keep me on my toes and I am always trying to keep one step ahead of them. It is a stressful job, though.

Most nights when I go home and after I have properly adored raven, I crochet. I like to make things for other people, so most of what I work on are baby gifts for friends who are expecting or other things that people have requested. I always have people telling me that I should sell my things. Maybe one day I will, but right now I just do it for fun.

Here are a couple of the things I have finished recently:


The top picture is a dress for a toddler. You can't see it well, but there is a pale yellow ribbon that runs around the dress between the white and yellow parts. The second picture is a black beaded shawl. Sorry about the quality of pictures, I am a crocheter, not a photographer. :)

I have an obsession with yarn. I buy more than I really need but I can't help it. I know that there must be some sort of recovery group for that somewhere. When I buy new yarn I justify the purchase by telling myself that it could be worse, I could be using the money for drugs or something like that. It's just yarn, it doesn't even take up much space, right? And it's sooooo pretty!

Consequently, I have five (yes five) storage containers full of yarn. And that's not all! I also have more stash in other places. All waiting to be used on that "special" project that I will someday find.

I would love to be able to knit. I am jealous of those who can. My problem is that I don't have the patience to knit. It moves to slow for me. Once I get the hang of a crochet pattern, I don't really have to pay attention to what I am doing and it moves quickly. I have tried to knit and I just don't see the results fast enough. I wish I could knit though because I would L-O-V-E to have hand-knitted socks. I see all these books and all this fabulous yarn and think to myself "If only you could knit then you too could have those gorgeous hand-knitted socks." Crocheted socks aren't the same. That is one thing that knitting has over crochet.

For now, I will continue to crochet. I am not a doily maker, nor to I make toilet-tissue covers. Crocheting isn't just your granny's hobby anymore. ;)

Finally--here is your raven picture for the day--mainly because I love to look at her. :)

More about raven

(Disclaimer--non-animal people will not enjoy this post.)

I think that is must be true what "they" say about a dog being man's (or woman's) best friend. I LOVE my dog. I'm am not one of those dog-people who dress up their dogs. raven does have some sweaters but that is only because she is a short-haired Chihuahua living in a cold-winter climate. OK--she has a sweatshirt too, which my roommate told me makes her look like she is in some sort of rogue puppy gang:

Today, and not for the first time, I realized how much raven means to me. As I mentioned before, I got raven from an animal adoption agency in Texas. I grew up with dogs and knew that, when I moved out on my own, I would want to have one as a pet. Nothing at all against large dogs, but I am a small dog person. I never even considered a Chihuahua, though, because everyone always said bad things about them. Noisy, close resemblance to a rodent, yappy, you get the picture.

As my mom and I were looking around at all the dogs that were available that day, I happened to look over and see a little black Chihuahua sleeping soundly in a cage in between two very noisy dogs. She looked so sweet and docile that I had to go over and ask about her. I was informed by the gentleman who was fostering her that she was a very well behaved dog who got along famously with the other dogs that he had. I asked to please see her out of her cage.

They led my mom and I back to a corner of the store where they had a few chairs set up and brought her over to me. There was a ridiculously large rope tied around her petite little neck. He sat her on my lap and she looked up at me. She has this way of cocking her head to one side like she is listening to what I say. I asked her if she wanted to come home with me. She turned around in my lap a few times and then laid down, put her tiny little chin in the crook of my elbow and let out a sigh that seemed to say, "Finally! I found someone who will adore me like I should be adored." That was the day she melted my heart for the first time.

I have never regretted, not once, paying money for her. She brings such happiness into my life. There are days when I wish she could talk to me, although there are days when I am thankful that she can't! :) She does smile at me, though, and I love when she does that.

I went with my roommate to the vet today. She had to take her cat of 17 years to be euthanized today. I am not a cat-lover by any means, but I cried. I cried because my roommate is so sad. I cried because I know that one day, that will be me. I will have to make the decision to end raven's suffering. I had a person ask me one time, "What will you do when raven dies?" I couldn't even answer her because it isn't something that I really want to think about. I know it will happen but somehow, if I don't think about it, maybe I can pretend that it won't. Instead, I will think about this:



and this:




and this:

Because that is what makes me happy.

My BFF.......

This is my best friend:

















She is THE best friend in the world (who may also, at this very moment, be making plans to torture me for putting this picture on my blog). Without further ado, here are the top ten reasons that she is my best friend--in no particular order:

10. She listens to me without judging me. She may not always agree with me, but she listens anyway.
9. When I moved to this area, new, alone, scared, and 2,000 miles away from home, she was the first person to be nice to me.
8. She knows what I am really like and she likes me anyway.
7. She introduced me to the pleasures of coffee and shares my obsession with yarn.
6. Her family treats me like one of their own.
5. I know I can call her at any time and she will be there for me.
4. She encourages and supports me.
3. She lets me bring raven with me when I visit her. This may seem like a small thing, but she also has three dogs and my dog (read: diva/princess) does not play well with others.
2. She lets me spoil her daughter.
1. She is the sister I never had.

Thanks for being the BEST best friend ever! You know I love you! :)

A Whole New World...

This whole blogging thing had me so intrigued I just had to give it a try. Not that I think that my life is so very interesting that people will want to read about it, but....

Oh--I'm melicity. I work in Education and have for quite some time now. I love my job...most days. I work with Middle/High school students. Somebody has to love them, right? More about me....I love football (Go COWBOYS!), but I am the girliest of girls! I drive a truck, love to crochet, love my family, and love raven.

Who is raven? SO glad you asked! This is raven:

















She is the most well-loved dog in the world. Well, at least the most well-loved dog in my house. OK, the only dog in my house. Nevertheless. I was fortunate enough to adopt her almost six years ago from an animal adoption agency in Texas. There is nothing in the world than can cheer me up faster than the sight of that face.

I am making no promises about this blog; frankly, I don't even know how long it will last. Trust me, the world is not dying to hear from me! :) I like to talk about just about anything and have opinions on just about everything. Blogging looked like such fun, so I decided to give it a go. We'll see what happens....