Orderly Organization

This summer is all about organization for my home, my classroom...my life.

I am completely redoing my classroom. Check out my Pinterest board on my new theme. I have cleaned out, decluttered, and deposited tons of "junk" into the trash. I am excited about getting organized for the upcoming year. My most important year since I will be teaching my daughter and my niece in the fall!

I am also "planning" on doing some major organizing in my home. I have a Pinterest board completely dedicated to getting organized. There are so many great ideas out there. I know that getting organizzed can make our hectic lives a little less stressful! Three kids, a full time job, a football coach for a husband, dance, gymnastics, daycare....all of these things make for a busy life. This busy life needs as much organization as possible.

What are the best things you have done to help organize your life? Do you have some "must-dos" for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Also, it would probably be a lot easier to do this if I would stop "pinning" ways to get organized and actually get started getting organized.

I Totally Get It

For the last seventeen days, my husband has dropped off of the planet. (See my previous post on Man-i-tis) I have 3 busy girls who I am running to dance and gymnastics and every where else under the sun. On top of all of that, we are trying to sell our house. Why? Heck, if I know! We are just seeing what will happen.

Well, you know what is happening....we are about to sell it! We have a couple who is very interested. They have seen it once and have informed us that after they come for the second viewing today, they will be making an offer! Oh My Goodness! Not quite sure if we are ready for this....

But that is neither here nor there. The point is that they are coming to see the house today, and yesterday I realized that our yard looked more like a field of overgrown weeds than the well sculptured oasis that sells houses. With my husband down and out, there was only one thing to do....I had to mow the grass.

Now I realize that some of you are saying, "What's the big deal?" Well if you knew my Bella Swan Clumsy self, you would understand. I have had 11 wrecks in my life. I injure a new part of my body everyday sometimes more than once a day, and I frequently mess things up due to my lack of patience and my need to do things the quickest way possible (which is not always the most correct way).

So I grab a water bottle, a hat, sunglasses, and my iPod and head out to the shop to crank up the lawnmower. Ten minutes later and I am still sitting there. My husband has to drag his sick tail out there and help me jump the piece of @#$* lawnmower off because it won't crank for like the 20th time in a 6 month period.

Finally, we get it going and I take off on my mowing adventure. Adventure should not be the word I should use to describe this task: peaceful would be much better to describe it. First of all, I have my favorite tunes blasting and am able to sing at the top of my lungs. Secondly, I get to ride around on this cool little toy (who doesn't love this!). Finally, it is difficult for wee munchkins to bother you on the lawnmower. In fact, for 2 hours no one bothered me!

2 solid hours of nothing but time to myself? I totally get it now! I totally get why men like to mow the grass. I like it too! In fact, I love it. Watch out, Brian! You might just have lost you job!!

Talented

Okay! I am the first to admit that I am super clumsy. I mean it takes talent to trip over a flat surfaces and clearly I am swimming in talent, because not only can I trip over flat surfaces but I can also slip out of chairs and accidentally poke myself in the eye...with my own finger. (Seriously, I have done it before!) 

So if all of that takes talent then today I should have been receiving the Oscar award for Best Stunt Actress....except it wasn't a stunt. I wish I had had a stunt woman to replace me this morning and then she would be in pain and not me. 

What had happened was...
It was a cold, dark, and rainy morning. It had been raining for what seemed like years, yet in all actuality was only a couple of days. We were running late...of course, we were running late. What else would we be doing on a Monday morning?

Anyway, as we headed up the perilous steps intothe building. Perilous because there are many of them that are not really all that steep at all but do have varying heights which could confused some of the less coordinated individuals, such as myself, who might venture up them. Point is....they were perilous!

My oldest munchkin asked me a question and I turned to answer her. This was mistake #2. Turning head while walking never results in something good. I have known myself for 34 years now and I should know never to take my eyes off of steps when I am walking. What was mistake #1, you might ask. Walking up the stairs on a cold, dark, and rainy morning.

No sooner had I whipped my head around when I missed a step. Actually, I didn't miss it. I step on it. Well, I step on the edge and my foot slipped and I fell forward. Now this would not have been nearly as bad, had I been able to brace myself. Alas, both of my hands were full. One with a steaming hot, zebra print cup of coffee. Therefore, there was nothing to break my fall as I slammed down onto the extremely hard concrete.

Needless to say, it #&@*ing hurt!!! And I could not help the few profanities that then slipped out of my mouth. I was just thinking how thankful I was that my children were the only ones around when I looked up to see a father coming out of the building. Luckily, I think he was too distracted by the laughing coming from the group of children coming up the stairs behind me to hear.

Once I got inside I ran into my principal, who, when she saw my soaking wet clothes and my limping, informed me that I needed to fill out an accident report. So I followed her to her office where she began to write up the report. When I told her I tripped up the stairs, she started laughing. Seriously?!?!? That made it sooooooo much better!

By the end of the day, the story had made it through half of the school. I could always tell who had heard it by looking at the smile on their face as they passed me in the hallway. Hey, what can I say? I told you I was talented! Talented....with a few scrapes and bruises added in!

Embracing My Talents

I have been teaching for over 12 years. And during those 12 years I have tried everything to get out of it. There has got to be something better to do. Something that can make more money, get more respect, and have more days off! Alas, I have yet to find that "something".

What I have found is that I am quite good at teaching. I don't mean to sound cocky, but I seemed to have a knack for not only teaching but getting kids to learn. I guess it is because I do whatever I can to entertain them because when they are entertained they are engaged and when they are engaged they are enlivened and when they are enlivened they are encourage to perform to their utmost potential.

So I am finished trying to find other things to do. I will no longer try to get out of teaching to write or blog or teach Zumba or paint or opening my own store or ...whatever else I thought could get me more money, more respect, and more days off.

I am Embracing My Talents. I am going to start blogging about teaching and would love you to follow Tricks of the Trade to follow this part of my crazy, insane, but most of the time satisfying life. And if this blogging leads to something more...well...(hopefully) we will cross that bridge when we get there!

Dig the Wig

A few years ago, my sister and I banded together and donated our hair to Locks of Love right before Christmas.

That was 2 years ago! In those 2 years I have had my hair cut, literally probably 2 times. I just don't do it very often! It is hard for me to make appointments what with the multitude of munchkins that I tote around with me, especially during football season when I have the Single Mom experience.

A couple of days ago I realized that I had not dried my hair in almost a month. I also realized that I had done nothing but wear my hair in pony tails and buns in the last month. Having noticed this, I knew it was time to cut my hair. And if I am going to cut then why not make good use of it.

So I got on the most awesome invention EVER, Pinterest, where I had already created a board entitled "Hair-rrific" for an occasion just like this. I called yesterday and made an appointment, and today I got my CUT on!!

I love, love, love it, and it is soooooo much cuter in person! And I feel so wonderful knowing that it is going to an AWESOME cause! I encourage anyone with long hair to go for it! DIG THE WIG and cut it off!

Kindle Love

For my Mother's Day gift last year, I finally gave in and purchased a Kindle. I had been holding off because in my twisted mind I thought that buying a Kindle would indicate to the world that I was not a lover of books, which I am! I love to read! Love, love, love, love it! I love the smell of books, love the feel of books, and love the feeling of drifting away into another time, world, life.

But last year, I started having some issues with my vision. One of my eyes had a macular bulge (a-whole-nother blog) and my vision deteriorated to the point that it was hard to be able to read my beloved books. I started researching e-readers and found that I could adjust the font and enlarge it so that I could read it. So I gave in and purchased the Kindle with advertisements for $119 (of course now it is $79 after the release of the Kindle Fire).

I love it for so many reasons! I can adjust the font to whatever level I want in order to make it easier to read and not strain my poor, special eye. I always have a plethora of books at my fingertips. When a new book comes out, I can have it on my Kindle in less that 2 minutes. But the reason I love my Kindle the most, is the free books Amazon has. Why are they free? I don't know. Mostly, I think it is that they are self-published books by unknown authors and they are just trying to gain readers. Some of the free ones are the first book in a series and after you get hooked on the first books the others cost to buy. But normally they are no more than $;5.

I thought I would list some of my favorite books that I have read in the last 6 months. Most of these you will have never heard of because they are from self-published or unknown authors. But they are easy reads with great stories and are oh so good. In no particular order, here are a few of my favorites:

1. Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1) by Addison Moore- This is the first in a series of (as of right now) 6. It is young adult fantasy. I read the first 4 in less than a week.
2. The Bride's Baby (Harlequin Romance)by Liz Fielding- I haven't read a Harlequin in a long time. I forgot what an easy read they are and how the stories are always good. This one is not nearly as trashy as some of those I have read previously. In fact, it is not trashy at all. Just a good story.
3. Making Waves: A Novel (Lake Manawa Summers) by Lorna Seilstad- This is young adult historical fiction. It is a great story of young love. I really enjoyed it and am looking for others like it.
4. Disaster Status (Mercy Hospital)by Candace Calvert- This was the first free book I read. It is a romance with a Christian undercurrent. It is a great story of love and faith.
5. One True Love by Barbara Freethy- A romance that begins with tragedy. This was hard

for me to read because I had a newborn at the time, but it is such a great read and proof of how true love can conquer all and is our greatest source of strength.
6. Sleight: Book One of the AVRA-K by Jennifer Sommersby- This is my favorite self-published book that I have read. I am eagerly awaiting the release of another book in this series. It is such an imaginative and suspenseful read. It is young adult fantasy and is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I can not wait until she releases another.
7. Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley- This was an entrancing story. It is a mixture of

historical fiction, realistic, and science fiction. I absolutely love The Outlander series and this book is very reminiscent of that series.
8. The Gifts (Vol 1 - The Gifts: Trilogy)by Patria Bunn-Rowe- This is another young adult fantasy. It is the first in a trilogy. I read all 3 in a week and at the end wished that the series would continue on.

There are many more books that I have discovered through my Kindle but my munchkins' and husband's patience for my morning blogging period is waning. So I must bring this entry to an end. The moral of this story: Don't hold out on getting an e-reader because you think it will indicate that you are snubbing books. To the contrary, it will make you the lover of many more books that you never would have discovered without it!

These Boots are Made for...

So I am completely and totally addicted to www.polyvore.com It is like paper dolls for grownup girls! It is too much fun and I am quite sure I am wasting way too much time creating dream outfits. But I am thoroughly enjoying living in the dream world where I wear things like this!

These Boots are Made for... by elizabeth-pinkston-hill featuring kate spade handbags

My sister and I are even making a game out of it. We are going to pick one item that we both have to use and then see who can create the best outfit! We are thinking of it as a lot like Iron Chef America but with a great hat or a pair of red boots instead of lobster or pomegranates as the secret ingredients!

Stick a Needle in My Eye

So back in February I started seeing floaters in my left eye. At first, I wasn't really sure what they were. I thought that maybe there was dirt in my eye. Alas, that was not the case. My vision in my left eye began to deteriorate. Because I was pregnant, the doctors thought that maybe it was caused by the pregnancy.

After giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, my vision did not improve as it should have after all of the swelling receded. So I was sent to a specialist: one of the most renowned surgeons in the Southeast. And it turns out that I had a macular bulge, which is extremely rare for anyone under the age of 50.

So 6 weeks after giving birth, I went "under the knife" or the needle in this case and had surgery one my eye and enjoyed the best sleep I had had in 6 weeks (more if you count all of those sleepless nights before giving birth). However, it took a while to actually be able to see out of my eye again and even longer for the vision to return to somewhat normal.

The latest development occurred last week after I waited for over 2 hours in the waiting room. After waiting for so long, the doctor informed me that the drops I had been using since the surgery to reduce post-surgery swelling had not been working. The way to solve it: an injection into my EYEBALL!!! I about freaked out, but he assured me it would be no big deal. I beg to differ sticking a needle in my eye is a big deal (and not just when you break a promise).

But what was I to do? I agreed and really didn't feel anything. However, my eye started hurting and watering shortly after ruining a perfectly good trip to Target, and by the time I got home it was seriously scary looking. It was blood red. Not bloodshot, but it looked like blood had pooled in my eyeball.

Turns out he had nicked a blood vessel with the needle when he did the injection. It cause a hemorrhage in my eyeball, which is apparently just like a bruise. But you can see the blood because it is not covered by skin. It is supposed to go away in 2-3 weeks. In the mean time, I am stuck looking like a Halloween costume that hasn't been put up yet and should probably be on the 75% off rack. On a positive note, I am having a lot of fun freaking out my students.

Have Fallen Into a Black Hole

I feel as if I have really fallen into a black hole. I have completely disappeared from blogging. Seriously don't know when the last time was that I blogged (I know I could check, but I am too lazy!). I have even lost a follower. Go on hiatus for a couple of weeks and people take flight! What's that about?

Anyway, I am just completely overwhelmed right now. I am teaching 3rd grade and not leaving school until 4:30 or 5 every day. Then when I get home there are the three munchkins and all of the things that go along with keeping up this disaster area that we call a house. I mean, seriously, they are about to call in FEMA to our living room because we have to wade through knee deep debris just to get to the couch.

Then on top of that I am at the end of my Educational Specialist degree. I am conducting an action research study on how a teacher-created website can help parents understand how their child is learning math. Check it out! It is taking a lot of work because I am creating PowerPoint presentations to go with every lesson and I am constantly updating the website. Needless to say, when I am on the computer it is not to blog but to work.

Plus, it is football season. This means that I am currently a single parent for the majority of the time. I don't even get breathing room until about 8 o'clock at night. And by then I am so far behind with college work and grading papers that I work until 10 or 11 and still can't seem to catch my breath!

Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that I am still alive. I am still kicking, and soon I will still be blogging. Don't abandon me! Don't take flight! And don't worry...I have NOT fallen into a black hole!

The End is Near

Every Saturday morning, my husband lets me sleep late. He rises with the sun, any roosters around, and all three of my munchkins and allows me to snooze it up until my little heart is content. Sometimes this is only until 8, but many times it stretches to 9 and sometimes (gasp) 10. Have no fear, I know I am lucky.

When I finally do emerge from my slumber I eat my bowl of cereal (this morning they were the extremely healthy Fruit Loops), fix my cup of coffee, and blog hop for a while. This "while" sometimes stretches into a couple of hours seeing as I just love visiting and comment on all of y'all's fantabulous blogs!

This morning I called my husband over to share a couple of blogs with him. (One was Gina With Love, which was soooo true and funny.) After reading the third blog and realizing I had been enjoying my bloggy session for over an hour, he proclaimed, "You have a problem!"

And he was right. He was not referring to my grey hair, which is certainly a problem that needs to be dealt with. Nor was he referring to my problem of trying to lose weight, which I am currently working on. He was referring to my "Every Thing Blog" addiction. And I am woman enough to admit it:

Hello! My name is Liz, and I am addicted to blogging!

Seriously! I love everything having to do with blogging. Two weeks ago I spent over 4 hours trying to figure out how to redesign my blog. I am constantly adding gadgets and learning how to add other tidbits of fun. Everyday I check in with my dashboard eager to open new blogs posted by my peeps and with as much anticipation as a kid opening presents. I have even become addicted to VoiceBoks, a phenomenal website dedicated to mommy bloggers.


Each night, when I finally sit down after teaching third graders, gymnastics, dance, homework, laundry, cooking, fixing lunch for the next day, picking out clothes, mediating fights, changing diapers, giving bottles, bathing children, etc., I dive into my blog eager to see who has visited during the day. I almost get so sucked in that it is difficult to climb out of what I can only describe as a bloggy black hole.

I know I should be doing other things: more laundry, unloading the dishwasher, grading papers, working on lesson plans, doing college work. I blog all the while feeling guilty. Guilty because I think about what I SHOULD be doing. Especially, my class work for college.

I am getting my Educational Specialist right now. I have been going to school for the last 3 years, and now I have one semester left. This is it. Soon I will be free. Soon I will get a major pay increase. Soon I will be considered smarter. Soon...soon...soon I will be able to blog guilt free because I won't be thinking about the classwork I should be doing instead of blogging. The End is Near...for now I better go and work on my next assignment!

This is Serious

Well it is one hundred and fifty million degrees down here in south Georgia. I know it is hot everywhere but with our blasted humidity the air is so heavy that you literally feel like you are suffocating when you walk outside. Because it is so hot, it is hard to think about cooler weather but it is coming and it won't be too long.That means it will soon be jean weather, which is not good.

Why? You may ask. Well the reason is simple . . . I can't fit into any of my jeans. There! I said it. I have been enjoying the luxury of wearing flowing summer dresses for the last 6 months and soon that luxury will be ripped from my slightly chubby, water retaining fingers.

Don't get me wrong! I love jeans. I love how my bum looks in them (it is one of my best "ass"ets). I love the cute little tops I can wear with them. I love wearing boots over my skinny jeans. And I love, I love, I love the that wonderful feeling of exhilaration when I can zip up my "skinny" jeans (even if it does involve lying down, a pair of pliers, and some lunges).

The problem is that I quite literally can not get any of mine to come with in five inches of zipping. I know I just had a baby 3 months ago, and I would not trade that experience with the world. Nor would I change the fact that I ate everything in sight, because let's face it that is the only time in our lives where we are finally able to stop looking at the scale and enjoy food without any feeling of guilt. And I did not gain that much weight (35 pounds!). But the fact is that most of the weight is still there even with my initial 10-15 pound weight loss that came with breast feeding.

I know I could buy a bigger size and embrace my new curvier shape while enjoying food as I did in my pregnancy but I guess I am a little too vain for that. I want to be able to fit in my clothes for a self confidence booster as well as the fact that these are uncertain economic times and this girl cannot afford to go restock her closet. Therefore, I must work with what I got! And that is about 20 pounds of extra weight.

What to do? Well, it is quite simple. I have done all of this before. After my second child, I joined the YMCA's Team Lean and lost 30 pounds and 19% of my body fat in 10 weeks. I also won $650. The plan: I must count calories and exercise. Seriously it is as simple as that consume less calories and burn more of them. And when I say burn I mean I better be sweating in the first 5 minutes or it ain't doing enough.

The problem is three fold:

1. I love food.
2. I hate to exercise.
3. I have 3 kids, including one infant.

So I have made a decision! I am getting up every morning at 5:30 in the a.m. to start running. Anyone who knows me is now saying is she serious because they know how much I like to sleep. But I am doing this. There is no other time. I must exercise or this flab is never going to get off of my body and I will never fit in my jeans! And the only time I do not have 3 munchkins hanging all over me is early in the morning. If I do this and keep it up, then I know I will be able to eat what I want in moderation.

Whatever the case, the next 10 weeks is Liz Hill's own version of Team Lean (wish I had that monetary motivation). And I am recruiting all of you to help me as I start posting Weigh In Wednesdays which will be about my adventure in losing weight.

This is serious!! I must be able to fit into my jeans...that or go naked. And I can't afford to get arrested . . . as I said this are uncertain economic times!

Oops! I Did It Again!

Let me begin by stating that I am not a frivolous spender. I mean, I am couponer for goodness sake and a good one to boot! With that being said, I must admit to a little spending as of late much to the dismay of my also thrifty husband to the point that he keeps a spread sheet of our household spending.

And to be honest I do not normally spend money on myself. If I do, I am so cheap I rarely will buy something that cost more than $20, be it a shirt, shoes, or (my fave) a flirty summer dress. Even if I find the perfect little dress, I refuse to spend more than $30 on it. I am the same with my kids. Lord help them when they get into the Aeropostale, Abercrombie, and Hollister stage because there is NO WAY I am spending $45 on a t-shirt!!

So I have recently met my downfall...Zulily.com I am quite certain that you have heard of this

delectable site and if you have not be prepared to meet YOUR downfall! Zulily is a temptress who focuses on providing busy moms with 50-70% off boutique brand prices.

At first, I resisted...deleting the e-mails. Then I looked but never bought withstanding the temptations. But then, as if it knew my weakness, they appeared. The prettiest pair of red shoes I have ever seen. I have been looking for red shoes ever since my sister found a pair (she paid *choke* $75) and I got caught trying to steal, I mean borrow, them from her closet by way of hiding them under my shirt. And they were half off!! Regular $49.99 and on sale for $24.99! I could not resist.

Aren't they sooooooooo pretty???

Then a couple of weeks later the cutest little dresses showed up. What was even better is that they were dresses that came in all three sizes I needed for my little female munchkins, which is very hard to do once one passes 6x. I was so sad the day she moved into a different department. And then a tragic event occurred...she grew out of Carter's! A travesty!!!

So that was it. No more. I was not opening any more e-mails!! I mean it! Well...I meant for a day or two. And then came today. I opened the "Big Summer Blow Out Event" email. And what did I find? The two cutest pairs of shoes!

In both shoes they only had one size and it just happened to be mine. Then I looked at the price. They were 75% off and only *GASP* $14.99. What to do, what to do? I wasn't going to give in again. But...I did need some brown shoes. My other pairs have seen better days. One is stapled together after the super glue stopped working and the other is so scuffed up it looks like it got in a cat fight. And they were only $14.99!

So what did I do? Well...I dipped into my pocketbook, pulled out my wallet, and in the words of Britney Spears "Oops I Did It Again". I swear this is it. I am not looking any more. Well, at least not any more tonight!

Tomorrow is Another Day

Currently I am "hold up" in my bedroom with the door locked, the lights out, and 2 fans on to drowned out all of the noise. I have left my husband to the wolves or in this case small female munchkins and have tried to run far, far away. Alas, the farthest place I could run was to my bedroom. 


Why, you might ask, are you hiding in your room ready to chastise anyone who might enter your sanctuary? Well because I have been on the edge of a mental break down for a couple of days. I mean, don't we all get there at some point in time. (I can feel you vigorously nodding your head). Yesterday, I literally felt like my chest was caving in. It felt as if there was an elephant sitting on top of it. 


It, of course, could have been that the night before I got less than three hours sleep. Or it could have been that I felt overwhelmed with the task of getting ready for the beach while also getting ready for the maid to come (you know how you have to clean up so that she can clean;). Or it could have been that I am at the end of the summer semester in my Educational Specialist program and everything is suddenly due. But most likely it is because I have not been away from my children in 7 days. 


When I say I have not been away from them, I mean not at all. Even when I sleep they tip toe in to tell me something. Even when I pee they come and stand at the door to talk to me. Even when I hide in the dark stairway with the door shut I can hear them running around the house calling my name until I am almost driven to the point of absolute insanity and yell, "Here I am!!!" leading them right to me. And where is he? At football practice, morning, noon, and night! Do I blame him? Heck no! I envy him, for even though he is at work he gets time outside with grown up people who have grown up conversations!


So when did it occur to me that I had not had one iota of mommy time in 7 days? Well, it was right about the time that my husband's doctor's appointment started. We all went together because we were going to Publix together and anyone who knows me knows that we go to Publix together so that we can split up and use more coupons (another blog later on how my children are forced to act like they don't know the other parent and sibling as we pass on the cereal isle). 


Anyway, there I was. Once again all alone with them and confined to a small space inside the car. And what happens? The blasted DVD player won't work and after trying 4 different DVD's we deem it broken and I deem myself in H-e-l-l. Especially when my 12 week old awakens, apparently hungry but after 2 ounces decides she is not and would much rather spend the time screaming at the top of her lungs!


Thirty minutes into this...torture...insanity....situation she is still crying after I have changed her diaper, tried to feed her, and given her Mylicon all to no avail. And now not only is she crying but the four year old is crying because her "sissy is upset", the seven year old is contemplating dialing 911 or at the very least her daddy, I have pretty much cussed my husband for everything he is worth (even though he doesn't deserve it) via text messaging and am now having an utter breakdown complete with heaving sobs. 


So I do the only thing I can think of...I buckle everyone back in and take off. As soon as I start driving most of the crying stops. All that is left is me. But even I can form a rational thought now. It was at this point when I realized I had not had any time to myself in 7 days. No wonder I was going crazy. Not crazy enough to drive off a bridge or beat my children (which I would never, ever do and think that anyone who does should rot in jail until kingdom come... but could now see how someone could get to that point) but crazy enough to feel like there might be some Zoloft or Lexipro in my future. 


Alas, some quiet time, breathing room, and a little retail therapy has made almost everything better. Plus, the 20 minutes I have been sitting here pouring myself out to people who I know will not judge me but will agree that we have all been there at some point has helped eliminate much of my stress. That and the knowledge that tomorrow is another day:a day that my husband will be home, a day I will start a new prescription :), and a day where I will count my blessings that God has blessed me with the most beautiful and loving (be it sometimes annoying) daughters in the whole world. 

Poisoning Happiness

I have often wondered is there such a thing as being too happy. I especially think about it when I am feeling exceedingly lucky. Isn't that sad? I let bad thoughts poison my good times.

For instance, life has been good lately. Now I am not saying it is perfect. Children still fight and throw fits and argue with me and each other. My husband and I still get that "Tone" with each other that leads to long silences. But life is dang sure close to being perfect.

Today was my husband's birthday, and it has been a perfect day. We spent it all together eating and playing and hanging out and loving each other. As I watched my children and husband playing outside while I cooked supper and talked to my 9 week old who was throwing me lots of her gummy smiles, I could not help but think how great life is.

Then it started. Thoughts creeping in. Poisoning my happiness with all the thoughts of things that could go wrong. This happens all of the time to me, and my husband has told me over and over again that I have an overactive imagination and to stop being so dramatic, but I can't help it. Thoughts of car crashes, freak accidents, fires, bad people doing bad things all poison my mind. I have actually gotten back out of bed after being tucked in and almost falling a sleep to go kiss my children again because I think "What if?". There are times I sometimes can't even breathe because I am so afraid of what could come and hurt my husband, my children, my perfectly happy life.

Why is that? Is it because I watch the news too much? Is it because I read books where bad things happen and for some reason I just can't let them go? Is it because I watched all those movies that my mom said would rot my brain and they obviously did?  Is it because I see horrible things that happen to others and selfishly pray to God thanking him for it not being me? Is it because I will never understand why bad things happen to good people? Is it because I don't feel like I deserve to be this happy?

Am I the only one who does this? I don't know. But I do know that every morning and every night I praise God for my happiness.I praise Him for loving me enough to save me because there is no way I could have sacrificed any one of my children for a whole bunch of sinners. I praise Him for my loving husband who treats me like a princess while also making me his equal. I praise Him for my girls who sometimes make me want to pull my hair out (especially the one who will not sleep through the night) but amaze me by how much they completely fill up my heart when I didn't think there was any more room. I praise Him for my family who will stand by me no matter how heated the words are we may sometimes exchange. I praise Him for friends who do not ask or expect me to change but accept me for my bluntness, dramaticness, and sometimes inappropriateness.

Most of all, I praise Him for not poisoning my happiness, for keeping those I love safe, and for loving my enough even when I truly don't deserve it.

Heaven Forbid if There is a Real Emergency

Picture it: Cairo...2011


I have just dropped my oldest off at dance (wow how nice it is when they are old enough to be dropped off!). The middle child and I are leaving and heading to our local dance shop to spend a small fortune to ready ourselves for our upcoming recital. I stop at the red light and wait. 


Finally, it turns green, but as I begin to push the gas pedal I notice a tiny puff of smoke come of the top of the transformer beside the red light. Needless to say, the red light went kaput. I proceeded forward by following the rule of four way stop, which any good driver learns about in driving class...or those of us who are not good drivers learn from almost wrecks or impending tickets!


Any who...I continue over the over pass that goes over the railroad tracks only to be met on the other side by another non working red light, but some of these drivers have obviously never taken driver's ed or gotten a ticket or almost gotten a wreck (although I see that happening in their future), because this red light was almost in pandemonium. By pandemonium, I clearly mean (seeing as we are in Cairo, GA) that there were four cars trying to figure out who should go and when. 


So after finally being getting through the stop light, I did what any good citizen and girl who loves drama would do: I dialed 911 to let them know about the power outage. Here is the conversation that followed:


Operator: Grady County 911
Me: Yes I wanted to report that the red lights on 5th street are not working

Operator: Red lights where?

Me: On fifth street

Operator: Where are you on fifth street

Me: I am at the over pass

Operator: Which over pass?

Me: (here is where I start worrying about our county's emergency system) The over pass on 5th 

****Let me interject at this point that there is only one, let me repeat, one over pass in all of Cairo.

Operator: Well...are you on east or west

Me: um....I don't know....I am on the over pass near the high school.

Operator: Which high school?

Me: (SERIOUSLY) Cairo High School (The only high school in Cairo!!!!!!!!)

Operator: Okay, we will dispatch someone

Me: Thank you

After leaving the store, I head home and come to where 5th street intersects with highway 84 (the major road in this small town), and there is still no one at the red lights! I do not blame the police...they probably couldn't figure out where they were being sent due to the lack of clear directions coming across the radio!

Now I am sorry if you are that 911 operator or if she is your sister or aunt or whoever but COME ON. What if I was injured? Or in a wreck? Or being robbed? Or on fire? Heaven forbid if there is a real emergency, because they will never be able to find me!!!

Garden Yumminess...Not So Much

Garden Yumminess...Not So Much

The last time we grew a garden was the summer before my 2nd was born. I was actually pregnant but did not know it at the time. Well of course I didn't, otherwise I would not have enjoyed all of those Margaritas while cultivating the garden;)

We have been wanting to replant for a while but have not done it yet. So when do we decide to take on this huge, and I do mean huge, gardening project? Right now, while I am blooming 8 and half months pregnant!! Now, some of you are thinking, "Sounds like the perfect time to me...I mean now you don't have to help!" And while that is true, you must know me to understand my frustration. 

I am a control freak. I mean I get frustrated with my husband for allowing my children to put their pajamas back in their drawers because the cute little jammies never stay folded and end up wadded up behind the drawer making it impossible to close!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!! (That being said I don't want to get up off this couch and put them away:)

So now here we are planting this garden and I am unable to help do anything. I did help lay it out, kind of. I helped decide on what veggies we would be cultivating. I helped prepare the ground, kind of. That is if you count sitting in a chair, in the shade, sipping a fat cup full of water helping. I did hire out my two munchkins to pick the grass out of the dirt. 

But I feel so useless, sitting here while my poor hubby works his tail off. Now before you start feeling sorry for him, he does like it. But I do think he would like it a lot better if I was there sweating beside him. 

So where are we now? The ground has been tilled, cleaned out, tilled, and cleaned out again. We are preparing for The Planting, which of course I will be of little help for again seeing as it requires one to bend over and dig small holes and cover them up, and I seem to have something very large prohibiting the bending process. So once again I will gather said forces, small munchkin people, and send them out to work in the fields. Much like the days if yore and yesteryear before the child labor laws. 

I am quite certain the garden will yield much yumminess but as for right now....not so much!

Never Leaving

Never Leaving!!

I will admit that I am a lucky person! I have two beautiful daughters, a loving and attentive husband, and another small munchkin arriving soon. Everyday I count my blessings. 


We are also blessed with parents who have acquired a beach house at the most relaxing and beautiful beach that has ever existed, Grayton Beach. It is my favorite place to be, and if you have ever been there I am quite certain you would agree. No hotels. No condos. No spring breakers screaming, wetting their t-shirts, and cruising the strip. 


Now if only I could develop some way to stay here forever. What could I do??? Hmmm..... 


I could be a beach chair putter outer. You know the person who brings the ridiculously priced rental chairs out on the beach in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon. I am quite certain I could find lots of other things to do with my in between time!


I could become a beach photographer and charge yuppy families ridiculous amounts of money. I mean think about it: You only take pictures at sunset. You never have to worry about lighting. You never have to worry about costume changes because they always wear white. Then I could charge lots of money for the sitting fee and the prints. Mawahahaha. 


I could run a beach delivery service. No, I am not talking about delivering babies. I am talking about delivering beach things for the beach for poor yuppy beach families that have to drag their multitudes of beach paraphernalia down the board walk, through the sand, and down to the water. The same yuppy families we point and laugh at as we ride by in our beach truck as a storm is approaching and everyone is running from the beach. No, we are not cruel. We are just tired of them allowing their kids to come steal our kids' toys and then walking away and expecting us to watch their little yuppy spawns. 


Or better yet, I could win the lottery. Winning the lottery is the way to go I think. I mean then I don't have to be a slave to the yuppies, and I can hire a pedicurist to do my toes in new fun colors every day. I could hire a cabana boy to smear on my sunscreen and fan me. Or better yet, he could be the one who has to lather up my munchkins who refuse to sit still while I do it. 


Whatever way it happens, I am never leaving!! Sacrifices must be made. 

If Looks Could Kill

If Looks Could Kill

 Thursday morning was really not a pleasant time for me. Now, no, it was not a horrible day, and I know that it could have always been worse. However, I feel the need to share the intense unpleasantness. 




Thursday morning marked my OB appointment where my glucose was tested. Now anyone who has ever been pregnant is going, "YUCK". You know what I am talking about. This is where you have to drink that nastiness disguised as orange soda which tastes nothing like it and has an automatic reaction of gagging. Not only do you have to drink this disgusting mess, but you are not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. MIDNIGHT!! That is hard for anyone, but it is especially hard for a pregnant woman and even harder for a pregnant woman who allows herself one cup of coffee each morning. 


Needless to say, I was not in the best mood when I arrived at my appointment at 9:00 in the A.M. As I sat waiting, not happy at all, a girl walked in with her mother. I say girl because she looked all of 16. I glanced up and had to look again to make sure she was actually pregnant. She had a little bump, kind of like the one I have all the time when I am not pregnant. Then she informs the front desk that she finished her glucose drink at 8:15. 

At this point I almost choke. Why you may ask? Well, you have to be between 25 and 28 week to do the glucose test, which means she was as far a long as I am. However, the difference was insane. I know, I know. Everyone is different but this mess is ridiculous!!!

Me!! (not really, but close. I am actually a bit bigger)

Her!!!! (not really, but this is pretty accurate

I now begin to sink into a little bit of depression. However, it is lightened when I get called back and get to talking with my super fabulous nurse and the BEST midwife in history! The bubble bursts though when super, skinny B---- comes back in to the small room to have her finger pricked. I ask her how far along she is. "25 weeks", she responds snottily (I guess the B---- was an accurate description). 

I look at my midwife and say (close to tears), "That is ridiculous! Look at her and look at me!" My midwife says, "Liz this is your third baby! You look great. You can't compare the two!" I feel a little bit better until the super young, skinny b---- opens her mouth and says (totally lacking in any tack whatsoever), "It's my third baby, too."

My midwife and nurse later told me that if looks could kill that little heifer would have bee dead on the spot. Seriously, have some compassion!

Teachers Are Not the Only Ones Who Need to Be Evaluated!

As a Georgia teacher or any teacher for that matter, I give Dick Yarbrough a big HELL YEAH! After this recent column that he wrote. Even if you are not a teacher and no matter what your political persuasion, I am not sure you can argue with this. 

HOW CAN YOU EVALUATE TEACHERS AND NOT EVALUATE SOCIETY?

Oh great. Now, the Obama administration is getting involved in public education in Georgia. That’s all we need. The deft touch of an inept federal government.

Outgoing Gov. George E. Perdue (please tell me he has left the building) agreed to participate in the $400 million Obama Race to the Top program. Our new governor, Nathan Deal, has inherited the thing and turned it over to Erin Hames, his deputy chief of staff.

The program will include a new evaluation system of teachers. For subjects where students take standardized tests, 50 percent of a teacher’s performance will be based on the test scores.

Fair enough. I was assessed my entire corporate career and judged on the quality of my management. However, if employees didn’t show up for work or were habitually late or refused to do what I asked them to, I could get rid of them.

Try that in the classroom.

Said Ms. Hames, “We strongly believe that the most important thing in a student’s education is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. The heart of education improvement in Georgia has to be focused on the classroom and classroom teachers.”

Maybe Ms. Hames can tell me what happens if a child transfers to a school in the 32nd week of a 36-week school year and didn’t learn squat at his or her old school and flunks. Is the teacher at the new school going to be held accountable for the results?

What about a student who just had a miscarriage and is at school only because a judge ordered her to be there? Or, the child who slept in an abandoned car because he was too embarrassed to tell anyone he couldn’t live at home anymore? Or, the kid who was given a “social promotion” even though he didn’t deserve it? Could Ms. Hames or any member of our esteemed General Assembly motivate these children to learn without losing precious time trying to teach the other students in class? Tell me how classroom quality will be measured when teachers can’t get parents to return their telephone calls or show up for scheduled conferences because they “forgot”? How, Ms. Hames, do we handle these piddling details?

Is there any way we can evaluate society while we are evaluating teachers? One of the finest advocates for public education was John L. Clendenin, retired CEO of the now-no-more BellSouth Corporation, who established a foundation devoted to the subject. Clendenin recognized that public schools are a microcosm of society. Poverty, apathy, drugs, abuse and hunger don’t linger outside the door. They come into the classroom with the student. As Mr. Clendenin used to say, “You can’t teach geometry to a hungry child.”

Call me cynical, but I doubt Barack Obama, George E. Perdue, Nathan Deal, Erin Hames or members of the esteemed Georgia Legislature have taken that into consideration. That just muddies up simple solutions to a complex problem.

House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey (R-Fulton County) took a trip to Colorado recently with Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Cobb County) to examine a newly passed bill there on teacher evaluations. No word on whether they first surveyed any classroom teachers around the state and got their input. If so, how many?

I’m not sure Lindsey and Morgan are two of the higher and better sources on the subject of public education. Lindsey is a lawyer in Atlanta who, after he announced the necessity for teacher furloughs in the last session, was seen later that week in the local newspaper sipping wine in his tuxedo at a hoity-toity party in tony Buckhead in one of the classic cases of “Let ’em eat cake.”

Morgan? Her claim to fame is refusing to leave the well of the House after her allotted time ran out during a debate on the Voter ID bill, and her decision to instead begin singing, “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around.” Lady Gaga she is not.

Who better to evaluate the effectiveness of public school teachers than a silk stocking lawyer and a legislator who sings when she can’t make her point otherwise?

Teachers, I wish I had better news for you, but you are facing an education bureaucracy with more layers than a Vidalia onion, more second-guessers than a losing football coach and more shallow thinking than a party at the Playboy Mansion.

Remember that in spite of all of this, you change young lives for the better. That is more than I can say for your critics. Hang in there