Christmas '06

I'm going to copy Angela W.'s idea. So here's my Christmas '06 update...

What I've done:

- had Christmas with Taylor's family

- eaten my weight in really good food (mainly pigs in a blanket...)

- watched Taylor's family open presents (and opened mine with them)

- played cards and lost miserably

- woken up at 3 a.m. only to be "Christmas Eve Gift"ed by Elliott AND Taylor

- played with BOTH my nephews...they're SO CUTE!

- read half of my favorite book again

- went caroling around Monticello and cried at half of the houses we went to

- taken a 2 hour nap this afternoon (and yesterday!)

What I've got to do:

- have Christmas with my mom and dad's families

- make a cheese ball

- watch the Grey's Anatomy Season 1 DVD that I got

- finish reading my favorite book

- read the other 7 book in my "to read" pile...it's quickly growing this Christmas season

- go to the onething conference in Kansas City

- see Rosie & Phillip's new puppy, Duke

- take more naps

- learn how to play bridge

- stay the night with friends from college in Fayetteville

- turn 24 years old

- enjoy the rest of my break!!!

Hope you all are having a great Christmas!!!

New Post

Okay, here's the new post, Suzanne. I'm not promising any laughs, though. Not that I'm in a bad mood or anything, I just don't have anything funny to write.

I'm out of school! Yeah! We got out today at 1:30, and I just got home and crashed into the bed. Ah. No more school for two weeks! I love being a teacher! Especially years like this, when I really DO like going most days, and the breaks are just gravy.

I'm going to watch a movie now. Ha!

Favorite Things

I'm stealing Suzanne's idea. Here are a few of MY favorite things...

1. Days when you have nothing you have to do

2. Nights when you look up at the clock again after reading and 2 hours (that felt like 10 min.) has passed

3. Taylor's curly hair

4. Hearing my students say, "Can we do that again?" after a lesson

5. Hearing my kitties purr when I pick them up

6. Going to the movie theater to watch a good movie

7. Diet Cherry Cokes from Sonic

8. Seeing mini-teachers - Adelyn helped me with the 2-4 yr olds at church last night, and she was such the little teacher! It warmed my heart!

9. My first time watching my nephews walk

10. Singing old hymns in church

11. Rolling down the windows and putting back the sunroof on beautiful days

12. good music

13. spending time with family

14. Watching Josh dance to just about any song and cough/wheeze when you say, "What does Mattie say?" (Mattie's their dog with respiratory problems...)

15. fried okra

16. going to friends' houses and playing games or just talking

17. hugging my mom and dad

18. seeing my sisters after weeks of not seeing them

19. the Charlie Browns song "Christmas Time is Here." I love how not-perfect their singing is!

20. buying a new outfit that I love

21. seeing Taylor's little punch and kick when he's bowling

21. watching Smallville till midnight with Tay

22. when little girls cry because they don't want to leave my arms (it happened last night!...it probably had nothing to do with me, but it still felt good.)

23. the feeling of accomplishment I have at the end of the school day when I leave the room totally ready for the next day

24. accidentally figuring out a gift that Taylor got me for Christmas every year (it's been 3 years in a row!)

25. the "Christmas" smell - you know what I'm talking about

I could go on and on, but I guess 25 is enough for now. Hope it made you think of things that make you happy!

Who ya gonna call?

Santa Claus! Those of you with littluns may find this useful. Everybody else...it's still fun! I got an email today, some of you may already have seen it, that had Santa's phone number. It's a free call, an 800 #, and it's got a message from Santa. Apparently it has a different one every day until Christmas. I called it today, and it's cute! The number is 1-800-972-6242. Give him a call!

News Flash(es)

Here are some new things that have just come to my attention...so now I'm bringing them to yours.


*Suzanne P. is back! After her looooooong hiatus, she's finally back! Check out her update post!

*Taylor's dad is having surgery tomorrow to have his gallbladdar removed. I don't know the whole story...just what Taylor's told me. He went home from Journey's church service Saturday night and was REALLY sick...apparently in a lot of pain. He finally went to the ER Sunday morning and found out it was his gallbladdar. He went to the doctor today about it and they sent him to LR. He is currently in the hospital awaiting surgery. He's gonna be fine, but please keep him in your prayers!

*Our Christmas tree has been up for 24 hours, with the door open for about 12 of those hours...and the kitties haven't torn it up or electrocuted themselves! Henry's been no trouble...he stared at us for a few seconds when we were bringing the tree in yesterday, but then he just fell asleep on the couch, and he's been there pretty much ever since. ;) Banjo on the other hand...that cat's psycho! The tree freaked him out until we actually got it standing, and then it fascinated him. He just thinks we bought a new tree-shaped toy for him. And he LOVES the ornaments! It's better than last year, though. We walked in to find all the ornaments and lights on the floor after leaving it unattended for about an hour. Progress!

*Five school days and counting until my Christmas break! Can I make it until then??? Stay tuned to find out...

A Few Things...

1) Taylor and I finally went Christmas shopping yesterday. It was pretty much the perfect shopping trip for me. Usually, I HATE shopping. I don't see the point...whenever I go, I have my list, get in, and get out. That's exactly how it went yesterday. It was amazing! We got all our presents bought except for one. It feels so good to have that done! Now, if we could just get a Christmas tree...

2) Just now, logging in to my blog, I almost typed leeanncarter for my user name instead of leeannjames. It's still weird sometimes that my name is different! You'd think after over a year of marriage, I'd be used to it by now. Nope. Not that I don't like the new "James" part of my name, it's just, I was Carter for 21 years...that's kind of a long time. You all know what I mean. I just thought that was funny...it hasn't happened in a while.

3) I just saw a quiz on Mark W.'s blog that I decided to do. "What Kind of Reader are You?" I took the quiz, and it was fun. I was determined to be a "dedicated reader." I agree with that. Last night was proof of how dedicated I really am. We went to bed around 10, but I woke up at 2:45. After checking my blood sugar and getting some water (you know...normal middle of the night stuff...), I decided I was too awake to just fall back to sleep. So, I'd read a while. (I always read before I go to sleep...it's my bedtime ritual.) I was about halfway finished with a book I was reading, so I picked up where I'd left off a few hours before. I looked back up when I'd finished the book,and it was 5:00. It seemed like only 10 minutes had passed! That's what I love about reading...you can just get lost in it. So now I can start one of the three new books I bought for myself yesterday when I was supposed to be shopping for other people! (Oh, you know you do it too...) Here are the results from that quiz.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Final thought: Pray for me this week. It's definitely time for a break at school. My kids are going crazy, and that's making me go crazy! Last year, when I tought the class from you-know-where, I had nightmares almost every night about school. One night I dreamed that every student in my class got out an instrument (because apparently, they were all in the band) and started playing it. I couldn't make them stop, and the sound was deafening! Anyway...this year, I've only had one or two of those types of nightmares...until this week. This week, I've had about 3 of those dreams. All that to say, my kids and I definitely need a break. Pray that I will be patient and compassionate (AND keep a cool head and a normal blood pressure), but also just and fair in my classroom. Thanks!