In This Crazy Life...

Supposedly teachers have the summer off. Yeah, right. Today was my first official day of summer. Meaning I didn't have to sit in a workshop or class all day. Don't get me wrong, I have learned so much and enjoyed every class and workshop I attended. But they consumed 4 1/2 weeks of my 8 weeks off. Needless to say, I have not been getting the pool time I usually do. The other two weeks were spent working on my project and talking care of necessities  So today was the day! I had NOTHING to do! So what did I do? Worked in my classroom! Really. What is summer anyways? I love starting a new year! I'm refreshed and ready to take on the world or at least my 24 third graders. I enjoy being able to take my time and make everything perfect. I hate feeling rushed. They can't possibly think that a teacher can set up her room, plan lessons, label student materials, and get organized in the day or two they give us in our contract. Yeah right! It took me all morning just to get

I. Am. Done. With. My. Project! I finished it up Friday and drove it to Arkadelphia this morning. Our whole freaking state is under extreme drought! The scorching sun has fried the leaves and grass causing any spark to catch ablaze. I spotted one on my way to Arkadelphia. The fire trucks and police were just getting there when I drove by. Notice the photographer on the side of the road. It really sucks. At one time there were over 56 wildfires burning just in the state! It's been so freaking hot and dry this summer!! We need a break!

The other day we were sitting on the porch and the dogs kept barking at something in the corner of the yard. So. I walk over to see what the fuss is about. They had a huge snapping turtle cornered. A little while later, I see Lilly darting across the yard and Hatfield chasing her. Well. She had the freaking turtle in her mouth!

I love shopping at Victoria's Secret! Their bras fit me the best for my size. Anyways, they always send me the free panty and $10 off bra coupons. And I always use them. (Bras and panties are one of my obsessions. The others are shoes, handbags, and jewelry, but that's another post.) It frustrates the hell out of me that I can't use them online! It's not the 20 minute drive that keeps me from wanting to go to the actual store, it's the fact that they NEVER have a good selection in my size. So. I'm always forced to get a color or pattern that was not my first or even second choice. I would probably spend more money if they let me use my coupons online. Knowing me I would go ahead and buy two bras or either make sure I ordered all the color/patterns of panties that match the chosen bra. Anyways that's my rant for today.

I'm in a fraction workshop from 8:30-3:30 this week, so there's not much else going on. I leave here, go home and work on my project/catch up on shows. I've been watching reruns of The Hills on MTV. Can I tell you how mad I was when DirecTV took off the Viacom channels!! But they're back now. So. Yea! Kevin is working in OKC this week so I have lots of free time and I don't have to worry about cooking dinner. He sent this picture from his drive up there last night.

We spent the weekend at our friends' pool. We took the dogs with us Sunday so they could have a play date. M and B have to pit bulls that are so sweet. Nahla, the youngest one, loves to play! They were also puppy sitting the cutest beagle ever!  They absolutely love going places! They were waiting in the car while I was loading our things.  I've never been able to get Hatfield in the pool, but Lilly loves it. She started off just sitting on the steps and one day she just jumped in. So, now she jumps in every now and then to cool off. Kev mixed up refreshing peach mojitos (I guess I've had major peach craving lately) this weekend. I'd share the recipe but that's his job. I never really know what all goes into what I'm drinking. I just know it's delicious! 

As I was working on my project Thursday morning, I got the sudden urge to rearrange the living room furniture. My living room is rectangular shaped and the fireplace is off center (the joys of homes built in the 50s). So. That means there aren't very many options for furniture arrangement. In order to move the TV I had to go buy extra cable. So. I drove to Walmart only to get to the cashier and realize I left my wallet at home. No Money. I then proceeded to drive all the way back home and retrieved my wallet, but instead of going back to Walmart (15 minutes away), I took my chances with the  Dollar General (only 5 minutes away). While I was waiting to check out I saw these. I bought them just for the owl studs. I tried a new  chicken recipe  I found on Pinterest for dinner. I was easy and tasty. It need a little heat so next time I make it I'll add a little spice. I prefer sweet and spicy over just sweet. Also, I used chicken thighs because that is what I had on hand

Day three of ESL project boot camp and I'm half way there! Perla decided to help today.

While drinking coffee and watching the news this morning heard that it's National Ice Cream Month. Today is Peach Ice Cream Day! My favorite is homemade peach ice cream! Well. I don't have an ice cream maker (I keep saying I'm going to get one but never do) but I did have peaches and ice cream. I cut up the last of the peach tree peaches and made a milk shake! It was yummy! Enjoy National Ice Cream Month! Eat your favorite ice cream.

I've been engrossed in my ESL project today. I've literally worked on it all day and I'm almost finished with the 10 language acquisition questions! Hopefully, I can hammer the next few out before I get too tired. On one of my many trips to the bathroom, I walked through the kitchen and found Lilly like this. One of her favorite positions. She cracks me up!

The rain held off until about 6:00 yesterday, so Justin had a successful party. It was nice and cloudy and everyone got a little burnt. We seem to forget the sun's rays still come through. Last summer I was craving pomegranate margaritas. Kev, being the mixologist he is, took on the challenge of making one. They never turned out quite right and I started looking everywhere for pomegranate margarita mix. I finally found some in the the gourmet food section of Marshall's! I used it yesterday and it made yummy margaritas. I plan on going back and stocking up while they have some. Here it is in case you're ever looking for a great tasting pomegranate margarita. Just add tequila! I put a few lime slices with mine.

So much for sleeping in this morning! It always happenes that way. When I really want to stay in bed, I have to be somewhere and can't. When I can stay in bed, I'm up at the crack of dawn! So. Since I was awake, I decided to get my Saturday started.  We have a birthday pool party to attend today. It was raining when I woke up this morning, but has stopped now. All week it's been very cloudy with scattered storms. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it. We NEEDED it! But it's the weekend now and that means pool time. Hopefully, it will clear off by this afternoon (the weatherman doesn't think it will). Anyways. I made banana pudding this morning  for his birthday.  He loves it, so I make it every year.  I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I always use light or fat free ingredients ( I can't tell a big difference) and this time I used Walmart brand. You will need: 2 small boxes French vanilla instant pudding mix (and 2 cups milk to

I came home from class today and noticed this. Lilly is the only one who would've done this. (Hatfield has NEVER destroyed anything.) I. Was. Furious! She was in her kennel all day so no telling when it happened. Maybe the other night when she Houdinied her way out. Luckily, my father is a builder and can work miracles with wood. Lilly has torn up very few things (a flip flop, panties, a bra, and a kitchen rug) but it always sucks when she does!

I've had Hatfield for over a year and still haven't figured out all his quirks. I "rescued" him from a friend of a friend of a friend. He was previously owned by a Texan that is a cop. Anyways, he (the cop) was assigned a K9 and troubled brewed between the two dogs. One day something happened and the German Shepard attacked Hatfield. (You can still see the scar from the bite.) My dog Greta had run off a few months before during a snow storm. I searched and searched for months and never found her. I was really missing a companion, so I said Jake (Hatfield's previous name) could come live with me. I could tell right off that he was loving. He would crawl up on my lap to rest. He doesn't know he weighs 88 pounds. He thinks he's a lap dog. The longer I had him I realized he had some issues. Issue #1 he hates being brushed. He tucks his tail under and eventually snapped at me. Issue #2 he will not get in the bathtub! He won't even get near it now

So.... I'm taking another 7 day course this week. My summer is flying by and all I've done is sit in class! At least when all is said and done I will have 15 graduate hours and a pay raise for free! So, since nothing exciting is happening in my life this week, you get a random post that happened several weeks ago but I thought it was funny. Kev was going to stop by the store to get something. I can't even remember what it was, but it was ONE single item. He came home with this! REALLY!! Lots of junk and vodka. So now I know this is what happens when I send him to the store.

So the other night Kev had a fabulous idea and took the dogs with him to pick up a pizza. There is really NOT enough room for both of them unless one gets in the floorboard and they rarely cooperate. Anyways, you can see in the first picture that Lilly is in the floorboard. Hatfield is standing, not sitting, in the seat. Well... Lilly wasn't having that so she slides underneath him. Poor Kev, no telling what position they finally settled into.

It poured for a freaking hour!! Mind you it has not rained in at least a month. I was so freaking excited. There's supposedly more to come!

This is Perla Kitty. She is definitely one of a kind. I'm not a cat person. I've never liked cats nor had the desire to own a cat. So I'm sure you're wondering why I now own a cat. My ex-fiance did love cats. He had two Tombo and Goose. The summer of '09 Tombo aka Tommy  disappeared. We looked everywhere for him. Anyways, Perla was his/our replacement. Yes. I know you can NEVER "replace" a beloved pet but Goose was getting lonely. We adopted her when she was six weeks old from Petsmart. She loved playing outside as a kitten but of course the ex rarely let her because he was worried she'd disappear too. Hiding out in the plant. She was such a playful kitten. We even taught her how to fetch little toy mice. A year late we split and the cats went with him. Another year later tragedy happened and  now I have Perla. I didn't want anyone else to have her. She was technically my cat too. This is her now. (She is three years old

Today I literally cleaned my house from top to bottom and behind every piece of furniture! I even took EVERYTHING out of the refrigerator and wiped it down and put EVERYTHING back in perfectly (Just so you know, I'm a little OCD when it comes to cabinets, closets, or the inside of anything. Everything has to be turned the same way and in neat little rows. I've never been one who's afraid company will see what's behind a closed door.) Anyways, I did this just to procrastinate doing a project for a graduate academy I attended.  No. The project is not hard. You just have to look up answers to questions and rewrite them in your own words. However. I. Am. A. Procrastinator! I always have been and obviously always will be. My goal is to have it done before the school year starts back. You bet your ass I'll be working myself to death the week before. It NEVER fails!

My parents have two peach trees in the backyard and the squirrels ALWAYS get them before they're ripe enough to pick. This year we won! My dad decided to shoot them! So, low and behold we have peaches! LOTS and LOTS of peaches!  This is the first bag I picked standing in the scorching 107 degree sun! I've made peach cobbler, peach smoothies, put several bags in the freezer, and of course I shared with friends. They were sooooo yummy! This is the second batch I picked. Some of them were a little yucky but I used all that I could and tossed the rest. I spent a couple of hours peeling and cutting them up until I had this. When I plugged the food processor up to chop them up (because who wants to chop nine cups of sticky, slimy peaches by hand?) nothing happened! I messed and messed with it. Still nothing. So. I went to plan B. The Blender. Failed again. I guess they're really only made for liquids and to chop ice. I moved on to plan C. The Pampered Chef