The Test

The state test starts today, and continues for the next seven school days. This means seven days of absolute BOREDOM for me. These days drag by. I have my list of things that I can "work" on while proctoring the test, but it is still boring. When my students finish the test, I am letting them watch a movie about a girl growing up during the great depression. We watched a similar movie about a girl growing up during the American Revolution around Christmas time, and my kids really enjoyed it. They will have deserved it.

After school, Ben and I will be going to my sister's graduation.

I'm Not Who I Was....

Sorry that these two pictures are blurry. They were hard copy pictures that I just snapped a picture of with my digital camera. While cleaning out the office closet tonight, I found these. These pictures are from my sister's wedding in July of 2006. I know I was over three hundred pounds, and I kept trying on that bridesmaid dress because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to fit inside of it. (I came pretty close too.) I had to wear a girdle to make things zip. It was the largest size that the bridal store carried. I look at these pictures and realize how out of place I looked in my family. I was the only one who was as big as a tent. Now I look at my sister beside me in the picture, and I can't wrap my brain around the fact that I am SMALLER than she was on her wedding day.

These are pictures from last Friday when we took one of my students out for lunch and ice cream. She had read 100 chapter books this year so we were celebrating at a fun little place.

Who knew that happiness came in pills? You too can buy your share at Vitamin Shoppe for $0.99 cents a package!

My granola came in! I ordered it from MixMyGranola. Talk about lightning fast service too....I ordered it Thursday morning and received it Friday afternoon!This is the bottle I decided to open first. It is really a yummy mix. :) I am putting it into smaller containers for portion control. I could see myself getting carried away with this. This is a healthy treat, and makes me feel better about what I am eating verses putting a candy bar in my mouth.

I got five boxes packed up from the office las night. I am going to try to do some more this weekend as well. It will be moving day before we know it. Of course I will be at work while all the moving is taking place, but I will be happy to have it done. Ben will be moving in with a friend on his campus until we get married. We are in the 70s now on the marriage countdown.

Off to lunch with my momma...

A Whole Lot of Latte Love...

I met Ben at Outback for dinner after he was finished preaching and I was done with my meeting last night. He got me a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week. He said that he went into Starbucks to find out how much my favorite drink cost, which was $5.04. I thought it was cute that he got me a gift card for $5.04 for my favorite drink. Then he says, "So I had them put $504 dollars on the gift card." He is such a sweetheart. :)

After dinner we went to Wal-Mart to get duct tape for the upcoming move (May 26th). I was so pleased to see the wide variety of colors that duct tape comes in. Ben said, "Duct tape: It's not just for men anymore." I ended up choosing aqua. The goal is to pack up my office on Friday night.

Oh So Much To Do....

Last night, I got seriously stressed thinking about how much I have to do in the next month. There is SO MUCH to do. It is not just one thing I told Ben, it is a combination of everything. I am feeling a little bit better, but I am going to have to be at school every day at 7:00 in order to pull this off. I was writing an end of the school year to-do list yesterday, and I made myself stop once I had reached twenty-five items. Ben was sweet and really wants to help, but there is nothing that he can do.

I was thinking about an interesting point Ben and I are at in our relationship: he has known me longer at the size I currently am than any other size. This is a strange thing for me, because no one has ever known me to stay around one particular size.

Ok, I seriously can't think straight right now, so I'm ending this post.

Do You Show Yourself Some Grace?

I had a bad eating day yesterday where I made some choices that I know I shouldn't have. This brings myself to the question, "Do you show yourself some grace?" I know when I hop on that scale it will be up. Yet, if I choose not to get on the scale, I would show myself some grace. I guess how you answer this question comes from the background you grew up with. Were you fat since you were a little child? Were you skinny until you became an adult and then packed on pounds after childbirth?

I've been pretty big since going down this journey about NOT giving myself any grace. Why? My background was that I climbed and climbed weight wise, and I couldn't afford to give my body ANY headway. On the Refuse to Regain website, the author talks about her "SCREAM WEIGHT," which is a number where she won't go past. If I choose to ignore the scale, what if I am rapidly approaching this weight, or have even surpassed it?

Knowledge is power. As GI Joe says, "Knowing is half the battle." I'm going to get on that scale, and even though I know I won't like what I see, I PROMISE that number will make me reflect on what I put into my mouth today.

Monday Mornings

get me down....nah, I'm ok. That is a line from a song, and it popped into my head this morning. I will be updating on the 30 for 30 challenge soon.

Yesterday Ben and I got some formal engagement pictures made. They will be ready to pick up on May 14th. I am supposed to be getting an online password where I can email pics, etc. O am hoping that I will be able to post them to the blog.

We had dinner with some friends from church. The guy who took some awesome pictures of us at Christmas agreed to take some pictures of us at Cherokee park. I am really excited about this. The location is fabulous, and he is an amazing photographer.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Monday!

A Rower I'm Not...

This weekend has buzzed by so fast! Yesterday, I babysat the boys I normally watch. I did the 30 for 30 at their house. I did ten minutes on a rowing machine, but that was all I could do. I can sure feel it! After that, I switched to the treadmill to finish the challenge. One thing I did a lot of yesterday was climb stairs, and I didn't even think twice about it. This is something I've grown to take forgranted.

Something I really thought about today is wanting to be a healthy mom. I don't just mean while my kids are young, but when they are in their twenties...I want to be able to keep up with them. My friend and her mom go walking every Saturday. I wish that I had that to share with my mom, but I don't. I want to be active with my kids when they are young, but also as they get older.

Google Reader

I was asked yesterday about Google Reader...Here is a link that explains it well and helps you set up your own.

Our First Dance

Ben and I decided last night to dance to "At Last" by Etta James as our first dance as husband and wife. :)

Mainly a Photo Post...

I did day three of the 30 for 30 Challenge yesterday. We have a three day weekend here, so I am not at work now. I am getting ready to do day 4. Tonight I will also be going ballroom dancing, so I will get in an extra workout. Some people are much more casual about ballroom, dance a song sit ou for 4 or 5 and socialize, I am all about being there to DANCE.

I am including the final fitting of my WEDDING DRESS pictures!!! I was stressed that when I went back after the alterations that my dress would not fit. Seriously, this has been way messing with my mind the past week. My dress fit fine, and I really DO love it. I feel very skinny in my dress.