Mostly Sports Thursday

I am still on vacation here at the lovely Rosemary Beach. However, the sports world is up and kicking at the moment. It would be a great time to be sitting at home bored cause there would be lots to keep me busy. Game 7 of the NBA Finals is tonight. I have always considered the Lakers a bit on the overrated side, and to say the least, my bro and I are in disagreement of this fact. I'm hoping that KG and the Celtics can pull it out. Following a night of basketball, our household will be rising early to watch the USA World Cup game. I have successfully transformed them all into soccer fans. Well, maybe not soccer fans, but World Cup fans at the very least. Yesterday I went downstairs to my room to watch the Spain/ Switzerland game because I didn't want the fam to have to watch it. There was an intense moment in the game, and I hear them upstairs yelling along with me. Just like that, they were hooked :) Jackson is even contemplating a career as a Team USA goalie. We will be dressed in our red, white, and blue and ready to go at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. I must say though it would be nice to watch the game with my BFF Mr. Brashear.

Last night we also paid a visit to one of my favorite places, Seaside. Kids, teenagers, and adults all love this place. There is something for everyone. We had dinner at The Shrimp Shack, ice cream at Heavenly, and chillaxed with some live music from a band in Nashville on the grassy knoll.

I am absolutely NOT hoping to prepare for Toy Story 3 today by watching Toy Story 1 and 2 with the nieces and nephew. And of course, by absolutely not, I mean I absolutely am.

I am obviously enjoying being an aunt and sister all week, but I do miss being a best friend. I have felt a bit lost without my other halves, and I do miss them greatly.

My Oh My.

Alright, so let's just say that my vacay did NOT get off to a good start. First of all, I ran around crazy all last week trying to get junk settled to leave for 2 whole weeks. That's a hard task to do now that I'm responsible for a house. Not to mention, I needed to celebrate my birthday, my mom's birthday, and Father's Day (lame) before I left. My birthday was Friday, and of course, my friends (KP, Fal, and Tabs) provided the upmost of entertainment. What seemed like it was going to be just another night in Nashville quickly was not. Saturday I ran around crazy until my birthday/mom's birthday/Father's Day dinner at the Mom's. She made chocolate gravy. Don't. Even. Get. Me. Started. There was then another impromptu trip to Nashville, which turned out way better then I really wanted it to. Made it home around 5 a.m. and was at the niece's house (Jordo) at 8:30 a.m. to leave for Rosemary Beach. On the way out of DC: bluelights. Speeding ticket for 15 mph over ONLY because he caught me right where it switches from 55 to 45. Stupid. He also got frustrated with me for trying to hold his clipboard. Really? 7 hours later: Jordo and I roll up to The Lazy Parrot (the name of our house.) I will be spending 2 weeks here with the nieces ( Jordo, Amb, and Clarah) the nephew, Jackson and my bro and sister-in-law. We went to bed early, so we would be rested and ready to head to the beach Monday morning. Monday was also my Mom's birthday, so we got up and sang a speakerphone seven person rendition of the Birthday Song to her. After our little ditty, my mother then informs us that she has been in the ER all night with my grandmother. My Nurse BFF, Pugh, stayed in the ER with my family and is again proof that I have the absolute best friends in the entire flippin' world. I have been stressed to the tee and worried senseless because I haven't been at home with my Maw. Yesterday was a waiting game for whether or not I needed to leave. The best case scenario for what was wrong has been determined, so I do feel a tinsy winsy bit better. If anything goes wrong, I will obviously be hitting HWY 331 like it's nobody's business. Oh, you think I'm finished, but I'm not. Apparently I have this really cool re-occuring condition called Cellulitis that breaks out on my ear that is stress related. Guess what has decided to pay me a visit? Crappy, crappy, crappy. Thank goodness I have a pretty sweet doc back home who can just call me in a script for antibiotics and painkillers. It hurts real bad. On the bright side (I'm glad Cr made it safely through Bonaroo,) I am on a beautiful beach with a fantastic family. I talked to my grandmother this afternoon, and she sounded well, and she isn't in any pain. It can only go up from here.

Sidenote: I am super pumped about World Cup play. I am shocked that we tied England, and I can't wait to see what happens! Tim Howard is BA! USA! USA!

Steal some cover. Share some skin.

I have had a very blessed last couple of days. I was able to combine old friends, new friends, and the fam with some redneck fun in the boondocks. We embarked on the Bad Ass Wheel Weekend on the Duck River in small town U.S.A. Friday and Saturday. We floated for 5 HOURS! Yes I complained, yes I was whiney. 5 hours was a little much for me, but I had an absolute blasty blast. KP and Fal had a bit more fun that I did, but someone has to be the responsible one I guess ;) J/k. They were only one step ahead of me. Fal lost all of her possessions, and bathroom juice might be her enemy. KP's camera has permanent water damage. Bonfires, cornhole, and four-wheelers set off a pretty kick A weekend. KP, Fal, and I also pretty much met the ying to our yang: Ms. Niki Noodle. We were also introduced to the sweetest 7 year old Puerto Rican beat boxer and his parentals. Our hostesses worked so hard, and it was greatly appreciated and enjoyed. I will add pictures on later posts.

Another pretty sweet happening in the days of my life happened Wednesday morning. I got on one of my "teacher cheap" websites. Normally STAR magazine (absolute "smut" as Candy would call it, but I can't help but love and relish in it. Plus, it reminds me of the good ole days in room 114) runs $79 for 52 issues in a year. Instead I paid $7.99 for 52 issues in a year! Thank you www.tanga.com! Preciate it.

Also this evening, I have a shout out to the people of Dish Network: I dislike you so much. Your technical representatives make me want to punch myself in the face. Thank you for the wasted 45 minutes of my life.

A second shout out: "Imma tell you one time" Justin Bieber. You know what? I'm not even ashamed. No, I'm not creepy. I'm just sayin'. The kid is absolutely adorable, he has perfect hair, AND he sounds the exact same on the radio as he does live. Gotta respect that. PLUS, he's actually hysterically funny. Example: Watch this. So basically, yes, I have Beiber Fever. Dont' judge me.

Random Tuesday

I am hurting for being right here (pictured above) right now. Vacation officially begins June 13th in the Lazy Parrot at Rosemary Beach and will continue until June 26th. Absolutely CANNOT wait. Granted I will be working on lesson plans on our screened in back porch for countless hours as I listen to the waves of the beach, but I'm okay with that I guess.

However, until then I will be settling for the Duck River this weekend. A little bit of a downgrade, but I'm pretty pumped about The Bad Ass Wheel Weekend at my sister's. Fal and KP will be in attendance to share the fun. Updates/pictures of this to come.

Another recent random development: I love cereal. For basically any meal. No certain kind. Just cereal in general.

On a balcony in summer air...

Attended the movies with close to 300 8th graders yesterday. Just in case anyone EVER thinks that's a good idea, DON'T. It was re-donkulous. Regardless of how stressful it was, it was a celebratory field trip. Explanation: 8th graders take a state TCAP Writing Assessment every year. This was one of the defining reasons why I was super stressed about being an 8th grade teacher. Dickson Middle has some of the best test scores in the state. Big shoes to fill? Absolutely. Long story short: for 2 straight months my kids and I worked our tails off to prepare for the Feb. test. To make a stressful situation 10 times worse, we were out for snow a full week before the test, and the test was rescheduled. Test taken. Fast forward 2 MONTHS, which was how long we had to wait for test scores. (Drum roll please........)

25 scores of 6 (the most EVER at DMS) 43 scores of 5, 49 scores of 4, and only 2 scores of 3. I'm never one to feel comfortable enough to toot my own horn, but seriously? Who would've thought? Definitely not me. So, toot toot. Whatev.

(Eventually I will get to the purpose of this babbling.)

Anywho, back to the movies. All students who made a 4,5,or 6 got to go to the movies. Hence, how I ended up there w/ the entire 8th grade. A teacher needed to be in every theatre for chaperoning purposes. Because of this, I ended up in "Letters to Juliet." Really? Lame. SPOILER ALERT-Regardless of the romantic comedy BS that made up this movie, there was a really nice historical basis that I, as an English teacher, especially appreciate. Really cool aspect of the movie: women flock to Verona, Italy to visit Juliet Capulet's (THE Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet") former estate so they can write letters to Juliet about love and lose. There are then a group of women dubbed Juliet's Secretaries that write all of these women a return letter from "Juliet." As if my need to go to Italy and the rest of Europe wasn't overpowering enough. I need some romantic European customs in my life to rid myself of my realist attitude.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night." -Romeo and Juliet