Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A Better Day

Well, I feel much better today!

My house cleaners came today, so my house feels so clean and smells so good! Just getting the house cleaned will take so much stress off me for the Labor Day cookout. That means that all I'll have to do is a little bit of tidying up Monday morning. One of my best friends is also coming to visit this weekend, but now the guest bedroom and bath is ready for her too.

I'm kind of excited about Labor Day coming because that means fall clothes are just around the corner! Don't get me wrong-I have thoroughly enjoyed my Bonannos and madras shorts this summer, but I love fall clothes. Plaid skirts, sweaters, turtlenecks, jeans and boots, the list goes on and on. Plus, I found some great fall and winter bargains last spring and they have been hanging in my closet all summer waiting to be worn for the first time. One item in particular that I am dying to wear is a short, wool blazer with toggle clasps. It is adorable and I got it for $20 on a clearance rack. Now that's a bargain!

I had planned on telling you all about the cutest store and restaurant that I visit in Nashville quite often. I was also going to post a picture of the note cards that I bought the last time I was there, but I left my camera in my office at school. So that will have to wait until tomorrow....

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sigh...






Football season starts this weekend! Being a Tennessee girl, I'm all for my Volunteers. However, I'm married to a man who bleeds blue, so I also root for UK unless they are playing my Vols. All of our friends are UK fans, so we go to games and tailgate with them. This weekend is the big Kentucky rivalry-Kentucky vs. Louisville. The game is on Sunday, so I'll be rooting for Kentucky alongside Mr. P. Go Cats! I'm not sure where we'll be watching the game. Normally, we invite people over for big games, but we are having our annual Labor Day cookout on Monday, so we won't have people over on Sunday too. We may just end up watching the game at home while I'm getting things ready for the cookout. Tennessee will be playing UCLA on Monday, so I'll try to catch the game during the cookout.

Anyone else have a big game coming up this weekend? Will you be tailgating?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Feeling my age...

So I'm feeling kind of old...my niece started college today and I can hardly believe that she is old enough to do this. It just seems like yesterday that she was the flower girl in our wedding and now she's a freshman in college. She's going to WKU, which is both Mr. P's and my alma mater. In fact, it is where we met and well, the rest is history!

We drove down to see her last night and take her out to dinner. I made her a the cutest little basket of goodies. I found a white basket lined with red and white gingham material and filled it with snacks and school supplies. I had a lot of fun putting it together and she was thrilled with it. She met us at her dorm and took us upstairs to see her room. We met her roommate, who is very sweet. Then we took her out for Mexican food and picked up a few more necessities for her room before bringing her back. She's living in the same dorm I lived in, so it brought back a lot of good memories for me. I'm so proud of her and happy to see her starting a new chapter in her life.

She's asked me to come back soon and go to lunch with her after class. One of her friends is majoring in elementary education and she wants to talk to me about it. So I think I may take half a day off and drive down to meet her in a couple of weeks.

I just still can't believe that she started classes today. I was sitting across the table from her last night as she was chattering away about everything, and she seemed so young to me. Of course, it doesn't help that she's only about five feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. She certainly looks like she could still be in middle school. But deep down, I know that she's ready and that she will handle it. In fact, I think she's going to be fine!

By the way, I did remember to take a picture of her goodie basket, but I haven't uploaded the pictures to my computer yet. I will post a photo soon!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Diamond Award!



I've recieved the diamond award from one of my favorite bloggers, Rickrack and PomPoms! I was drawn to her blog for the simply adorable name and now I read it every day. She has such interesting posts and she always spotlights some of the cutest preppy items. Thank you!

There are some rules that are to be followed, so here they are:


1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.


I nominate the following blogs:


Pink Cupcakes and TaB: Love reading about her adventures with her co-worker Queenie.


Grosgrain Garage: I love reading about all of her crafty things she makes.


Buford Betty: I love her blog, and she posted the funniest SEC football joke the other day. I love football season and I think that her blog will be even more fun to read now that football season is around the corner.


Clemson Girl and the Coach: Another football fan that I think will be a fun read during football season.


Caffeine Court: I love reading about her adventures in the tennis club world.


Preppy Pink Crocodile: Another crafy blogger like Lisagh over at GG. You all make me want to be crafty like you!


Bowl of Cherries: Brave blogger, fellow educator who shares my love of labs.


I am new to the blogging world, but I have fallen in love with it. It is so relaxing after a tough day at school to come home and read about all these interesting lives. Thanks again, RR and PomPoms for the award!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Introducing another member of the family


Allow me to introduce myself...I'm Sunny, the beautiful and beloved dog of Pink Putter and Mr. P. They would probably call me spoiled, but I only see it as getting what I deserve.


Things I love: hot dogs, plastic bottles, and belly rubs.

Things I do not love: thunderstorms, baths, and flea treatments.

Special talent: The ability to smell the grill being fired up or any food being put in my dish from anywhere on the 100 acres that I roam on.




Here I am with one of my favorite toys, a plastic bottle.




This is a picture that PP took of me during the big snow in March. I don't look very happy because I only went out for a few minutes of fresh air and she insisted on taking pictures of me. Don't worry, she let me back into my warm basement as soon as the photo shoot was over.
Well, I'm going to sign off now. I'm sure you'll hear more about me in the future because Pink Putter adores me. Woof!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

My first meme...5 Embarrassing Songs

I've seen this meme on several other blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try. The last blog I saw it on was Buford Betty, and she tagged anyone who hadn't done it yet.

The rules:
  1. Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

  2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.

  3. Tag 5 random people at the end of post and include links to their blogs.

  4. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, without further ado, here are my 5 embarrassing songs on my iPod:

1. Copacabana by Barry Manilow-Such a cheesy song, but it makes me sing along and want to dance.

2. Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. Once again cheesy, but I like it for some odd reason.

3. Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker. According to my mom, this was my favorite song when I was little. She says that I would stand up behind her seat in the car (wayyy before seat belt laws) and sing every word in her ear. I'm sure that wasn't annoying or anything, right?

4. What's Left of Me-Nick Lachey. Okay, I'll admit it-I think he's cute. I watched the Newlyweds and I think Jessica Simpson is an idiot for letting her dad get between them, but that's another post all together. But I like the song too.

5. Duran Duran. I didn't list a particular song because it's embarrassing to think about the number of DD songs that I have on my iPod. I loved them when I was a teenager, and I still bop around to their songs from time to time.


I'm not tagging anyone because most of the blogs I read have already done this, but if you haven't done it, post it and let me know.


I'm working on a 100 things about me meme, but I'm not finished with it yet.


Thursday, August 7, 2008

Ready or not, here they come!

The halls are shining, the classrooms are sparkling, the teachers are ready. By 7:15 tomorrow morning our school will be filled with bright shining faces. I love the first day of school-the anticipation, the excitement, all the thoughts of the new year and the activities to come. Not to mention all the new school supplies (see my 5 Things I'm Into Right Now post). I went into my office a couple of days ago and it was like Christmas-a box full of post-its, file folders, tape, pens, pencils, and much more. I was a happy camper!


Tomorrow will be busy to say the least...lots of parents coming to school and calling to check on their little ones. And the huge task of making sure that they all get on the correct bus at the end of the day and get safely home.

Good luck to any others out there who are starting school soon!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Busy, busy, busy

It's another busy week. I haven't had much time to blog, but I hope to get a couple of posts up tonight. The first week of August is always busy for me. The beginning of school coupled with the opening of my play means no time to blog!



School is crazy right now. We have our back to school barbeque tonight, so the school will be filled with parents and students. All of the construction over the summer has left the school in a mess and we are scrambling to get the school in shape for tonight. Things are looking better, but we still have a long way to go. I'm looking forward to seeing the families tonight and meeting all of our new folks.



I made it through the weekend without going off my diet! I enjoyed my cheat meal on Saturday night (Chinese food and then a piece of my mother-in-law's birthday cake). I didn't get on the treadmill yesterday because I didn't get home until after 8:00, so I got up early this morning and did my workout then. I think if I'm going to work out it is going to have to be in the morning. I either get home too late or I'm just too tired in the evenings.



I've got lots more to blog about, but I'm out of time...

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Bobby Socks, Ponytails, and a Little Dream

Ed. note-This began as a short post about last night, but it turned into a small biographical novel. Sorry about the length...


When I was little, all I wanted to be was a dancer/actress/singer on stage. I dreamed of being a Rockette or performing on Broadway. When I was growing up, I can remember going to see the Nutcracker or a musical and fantasizing about being up there on stage with the performers. I took dance lessons-ballet, tap, and jazz-for years and loved every minute of it. We would have a recital each summer and I reveled in performing on those nights. In my free time, I would take my trusty tape recorder and armed with cassettes of various musicals, I would choreograph routines and pretend that I was performing on stage.

As I grew up, I continued the dance lessons, but I also became involved in various other activities in middle and high school. So my dreams of Broadway took a backseat, and by the time I was applying for college and deciding on a major, a more practical option was chosen. But there was always a part of me that wished I had at least tried to pursue a career on stage.

Fast forward a few years...I am newly married and have settled in another state with Mr. P. I'm teaching third grade and have become friends with the owner of the local dance studio named Anne. Anne was dating a man that owns and runs the local outdoor theater.


I met him one night and he said he was always looking for new people for his annual summer shows. He asked me if I was interested in performing in his theater that summer with Anne. He explained that he was the playwright for the 4 shows that he produced at his theater. Two of the shows were historical accounts of local history and two of the shows were 50's musicals. This was like a dream come true.

Well, later that summer, he called me and asked me if I was still interested. Interested?? Of course I was! So with huge butterflies in my stomach, I made my way to the first rehearsal. I ended up having a great time and I was hooked. And every August and September since, I have spent my weekend nights in bobby socks and saddle oxfords, singing and dancing on stage.


Last night was opening night, and I realized that I have been doing this for 12 years now. 12 years! It just doesn't seem possible. I've almost given it up a few times, particularly after Anne passed away from cancer a few years ago. But I've stuck with it and never regretted it, although I still miss her terribly, especially around this time of year.


I'm a pretty quiet person until I get to know you, so people are often surprised when they find out I do this. It's not one of the first things that I tell people about when I talk about myself, so it's kind of like a secret life I have. Sometimes people will come up to me and say "I saw an ad for -------- Theater and it looked like you in one of the pictures." I'll smile sheepishly and admit it was indeed me.

I don't know how much longer I'll keep doing it. It is a huge time committment, and I know that Mr. P gets tired of our weekend evenings being tied up for two months every year. But every time I think about taking a break from it, the little show diva in me won't let me give it up. Until then, it's going to be bobby socks, ponytails, and a little dream come true for me.