When I was in school...

Field trips were educational and for a purpose, not just to get out of the school building for a day of fun.
Moms (and dads) drove students to field trips...schools did not pay hundreds of dollars for a bus and driver.
Field day was at school...not some other random location.
Reading was taught through book and novel studies, not by isolating skills.
When we finished the novel, we watched the movie...just to watch it.
We took TAAS, not TAKS, and it's influence on teaching and learning was minimal.
The teacher was always right.
The office was a place that no one wanted to end up.
Phone calls home resulted in a change of behavior.
Disrespect towards teachers resulted in major consequences.
Too many tardies counted as an unexcused absence.
Too many unexcused absences resulted in retention.
If you didn't do an assignment the first time, you got a zero.
If you failed a grade, you repeated the grade.
Students bought school supplies, and kept up with them.
If you forgot your pencil, you were expected to PAY for one at the school store before class began.

...and you know what?

We turned out ok and didn't end up in a budget crisis.

Happy Birthday To ME!

So this year my birthday celebration lasted for five days!  Here's a little re-cap of each one:

Day 1:  With the TAKS test finally finished (I didn't have to administer it on my birthday this year...woohoo!), it was time to celebrate with the Adam clan.  We went to Zed's, which was fabulous!  In attendance was the hubby, the kids, Scott's parents, Scott's grandma, my mom, and my grandpa.  It was such a gorgeous evening on the patio and I got some amazingly thoughtful gifts from the kids (thanks, honey!).

Me and my Mommy

 

Love my Husband



Kennedy and Grandpa "Long" Horn


Day 2: I went down the street for a lia sophia jewelry party.  We had treats and wine, and even got to model the jewlery!  I ended up buying myself a couple of birthday presents, too!  I can't wait until they come in!!!

Day 3:  I took the afternoon off on Friday so that we could avoid traffic on the drive to Dallas.  Unfortunately, there was a HORRIBLE accident involvoing two eighteen-wheelers, which made us sit in traffic for awhile, but we still made it in time for dinner.  We ate at Little Greek.  I LOVE Greek food, so I was super excited...my husband isn't the biggest fan, but he was SUCH a trooper!

Day 4:  My actual day of birth.  The morning was spent in the kitchen prepping for Kathryn's shower.  The Clark family is really important to my family, and it was really fun to do bridal showers for both Laura and Kathryn.  (Laura and I have been good friends since 3rd grade, Kathryn was the reason I went to Rhodes, my sorority sister, and my roommate)  The shower was a success, everything looked beautiful, and my hubby made a great bartender.  Unfortunately, I burned Kathryn a CD of pictures, but forgot to burn myself one!  (I will try to add pictures when I go back to Dallas in a few weeks.)  After a quick nap (literally about 10 minutes) it was time for cocktails and dinner at Fearing's Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton with Scott, my parents, and our good friends Mark, Paul, and Tiffany.  What an AMAZING dinner!  We were at the chef's table, so we got to watch the guys at work in the kitchen while we enjoyed fabulous food and spectacular wine... and the company wasn't half bad either! ;-)  

Puttin' on the Ritz

The best parents EVER!

A toast to birthdays and good friends!

Day 5: Not really a day of "birthday" celebration, but to me, every Sunday in Dallas is a reason to celebrate.  I LOVE Northway, my parent's church, and their after church tradition of lunch at El Fenix is pretty awesome too!  After lunch we drove home, and apparantly brought the cold weather with us!  BRRR!

I am thankful to the number of people who took the time to post me a note on Facebook.  I was shocked and amazed at the birthday wishes from people who I hardly ever talk to anymore.  I realize Facebook reminds you of birthdays, but I couldn't believe some of the people who thought I was worth the time to write a message to!  It took me a long time to thank everyone!  But...as grateful as I am for my Facebook messages (and the couple of text messages I got) I really miss the days when people called you and wished you happy birthday (sometimes in song) and you could actually hold a conversation with them.  I almost cried when Emily took the time out of her day (which was super busy with a baby shower) to call and tell me happy birthday.  That meant more to me than she will ever know.  And of course, my family called me, which also made me smile! :-)

So, thank you to everyone for making my birthday fantastic!  (Especially since it will be the last one I will ever celebrate! haha)  I love you all! <3

Brushy Creek Park: Then and Now

It was a Sunday afternoon in April 2008.  My friend Scott and his family were going to Brushy Creek Park, and they had wanted to "canoe" (kayak).  But with three children, they had to have two kayaks and two adults.  So, the kids suggested I come along...they knew I was friends with their dad, enjoyed their company, and lived close by.  Having recently broken off an engagement to Mr. Wrong, I was looking for any excuse to get out of the house...and since I truly did enjoy the company of the kids and their dad, I was happy to tag along.  I never expected what happened that day.  On that lake, watching Scott with his kids, I fell in love.  I pictured us kayaking as a family years down the road.  And after Scott dropped off the kids with their mom, we went out to dinner, and shared our first kiss.  And that was the day everything truly began...

It was a Friday afternoon in April 2011.  For some reason, we had never quite made it back to Brushy Creek Park.  I couldn't figure out why...the kayaks weren't expensive to rent, and the kids had asked about it forever!  We loaded up in our girl boat/boy boat and set out for another adventure.  Although there was no "first kiss" to mark the occasion, it was still a beautiful memory.

Girl Boat Then...

...Girl Boat Now

Boy Boat Then...

...Boy Boat Now

Kaitlin Then...

...Kaitlin Now

Harrison Then...

...Harrison Now

Kennedy Then...

...Kennedy Now

Then, I could never have guessed my life would have ended up this way.  Now, I can't imagine it any other way.  I thought I loved them then, but I KNOW I love them now.

Ready For My Birthday

The time between Spring Break and my birthday is always my least favorite time of year.  Although it's the "downhill slope," it's also "crunch time."  Emphasis on the TAKs test is heightened, and my role as teacher seems to minimize as my role as data analyst seems to maximize.  Students are restless and ready for summer, and have no desire to prepare themselves for a test that you can't really "study" for.  The stress level is enough to make teachers burst into tears, but (at least on most days) those tears are shielded from students' view.  This year is incredibly difficult. With budget cuts and layoffs, the stress has surpassed manageable.  And the worst part is....in the height of all of the stress...the "hope for next year" has been removed from the equation.  You see, this is also the point where teachers usually begin to get excited about what next year has to offer....a little bit of sanity...the light at the end of the tunnel...that sort of thing.  But, not this year.  This year, next year looms over our heads like a thundercloud on an extremely humid day.  You're desperate for the relief of rain, but you fear it will never come.  If you are one of the lucky teachers who gets to keep their jobs, "next year" means your classes will be huge, you lose your conference time, and you will most likely add another subject or another grade level to your schedule.  Yuck.  I never thought the economy would get so bad that one of the most underpaid professions would suffer so much.  Not only is it a strain on teachers and their families, but it's harmful to our children's futures.  So, needless to say, I'm ready for my birthday.  Not because it's a day to celebrate another year of my life, but because testing will be over, and summer quickly follows.

"Proper" Inspiration

I've been a blog slacker recently, and I apologize.  I just haven't been inspired to write lately.  Well, that's not 100% true... but the things that I am inspired to write about are not things I want to blog about.  You know how you're "not supposed" to talk about politics and religion, because those topics could be offensive?  Well, that's the issue I'm having with my blog right now...I'm not going to write about the things that have made my skin boil recently, because I don't want people to be offended.  I don't know who reads my blog posts once they become notes on Facebook, but I know several people I am friends with who would be offended by what I really want to write.  So, to keep the peace, I don't blog.

Hopefully, Spring Break will bring all the "ations" I am seeking: relaxation, motivation, and inspiration.
Until then, I'm sorry that I have left you with nothing more than this.

Wine and Valentines

I've never really been a Valentine's person, which is strange, because I'm a hopeless romantic.  But, ever since I met Scott, Valentine's has started to grow on me.  This year, I actually planned ahead and booked our favorite B&B in Fredericksburg for Valentine's weekend as his Christmas gift.  We spent the weekend wandering down main street looking in all the little boutiques, drinking wine and listening to Jeff Wood (you should check out his music...he is AMAZING!) at Grape Creek (my favorite winery!), and just reaxing and spending time with each other. It was PERFECT!

<3 Me and My Valentine <3

Nothing says "romance" like a corn dog in Luckenbach! ;-)

Introducing..."Big Earl"

For those of you who don't watch Cougar Town, you won't understand how amazingly wonderful my husband is for getting me this gift.  It's my own personal version of Courtney Cox's "Big Carl" but yet, as you can see, mine is decorated and super cute.

Love My Laurens

I read Facebook and blog posts about my friends’ supper clubs and game nights, and sometimes I wish we had a routine like that.  I mean, we do that every once in awhile, but we hardly have time to spend on ourselves…much less other couples! Lately, I've even started to wonder how many true friends I actually have.

I've got plenty of friends on Facebook.  And yes, I like to see pictures of their cute kids and read their updates when I'm bored, but the friendship doesn't go any further than that.  And yes, I greatly appreciate the fact that this social network has been able to "reconnect" with "lost friends," but the majority are merely acquaintances.

I grew up in one town, went to college in another, and now live in a third...so, my friends are scattered across the map.  Which is great when you can afford a vacation, but what about when you need a shoulder to cry on, or you just want to hold your best friend’s adorable baby?  It gets a little depressing.

Now, I'm not saying I don't have great friends here, because I do.  And I've cut and pasted and re-drafted this post over and over again so that I (hopefully) don't offend a friend of mine that reads it.  But, sometimes, we need to ask ourselves, what does it mean to be a friend? And who are our true friends who would be there when no one else would?

I have two friends that I would do anything for, and I know that they would also do the same for me.  And oddly enough, both of their names are Lauren.  One I met in college, while the other one I've known since preschool.  (My second oldest friend.  The oldest was also named Lauren...what is it with me and that name?!?... but she moved to California in elementary school, and we hadn't been in touch in years other than Christmas cards since reunited on Facebook...but I digress...)  So, since it's almost Valentine's day, and I probably don't tell them often enough, I thought I'd share how important my Laurens are to me.

No matter how hard I try to remember, I can't tell you how Lauren (aka LJ) and I met, or why we started hanging out.  We had many mutual friends, Sam in particular, so she probably had something to do with it.  But what I do know is that we were insepearable our senior year.  I remember having cocktails in the Trezevant courtyard and sending her off to the counseling center with a rice cake and a buzz.  (That was the problem with 3pm counseling sessions on beautiful sunny days.  Luckily, my appointments were always in the morning, before we decided it was 5 o'clock somewhere!)  I spent more nights sleeping on her futon than in my own bed.  Graduation came, and I moved 10 hours away.  Since neither of us are "phone people," it was almost inevitable that the friendship would suffer... 

On the other hand, I knew exactly where I was when I met Lauren Sinclair: The Children's Center preschool.  There were five of us that played together (I think most of us all carpooled too).  When it was time for kindergarten, Lauren H moved away, Lauren S and Sara went to private school, and Banner and I went to public school.  Every year, Lauren would come to my birthday party  (my mom threw the BEST birthday parties!) and we would run into each other somewhere random.  One year it was buying our dad's suits at Culwell and Son, one year it was at Foot Locker, it was strange.  Once we finally were able to drive, we pre-arranged the annual "run-ins."  Now, our scheduled visits don't always happen yearly...sometimes we happen to be in the same place at the same time more often than once a year (especially when all of us were getting married), but this December it had been two years since I had last seen her...

But here's the thing about my Laurens: TIME DOESN'T MATTER.  Hours, days, years can pass, and we pick up right where we left off.  That's the beauty of our relationships.  That's what makes them true friends.

So, thank you, my dear Laurens, for being the truest of friends.  I love you both.