29 for 29 on the 29th

I haven't written anything in a looong time.  School has begun.  Band season is in swing, sorta.  We have entered our families busy birthday season.  Fall is coming.  Life is just busy!

Since I haven't written in forever I thought I'd do 29 "things".  I picked 29 because I just turned 29 and today is the 29th day of September.  Plus, I love making a list of things. 

1.  I love fall.  I love the colors, the weather, the scenery, the smells and pretty much everything else that has to do with fall. 

2.  The start of school is always hell.  I spend far too much time getting ready for the start of the school year and thinking that it will allow me to not be at school past 4 each afternoon.  Yeah, who am I kidding!  I've been averaging 50 hours a week at school since school began.  This doesn't include the time spent at home or on the weekends.  One week I figured up that I'd worked more than 70 hours in that week.  I'm ready for things to calm down...that usually happens around April. 

3.  My heart has been really heavy for a few of my students this year.  There are a few students who have really rough situations going on.  I have been on my knees in prayer for them.  One in particular I have already warned Tim that if given the opportunity I will bring home and adopt.  I'm not just saying that.  I really will.  Tim knows this.  He hasn't even tried to argue with me about it because he knows he would loose.  Pray for my kids. 

4.  I am secretly already looking forward to decorating for Christmas and it isn't even October.  Don't worry, I won't decorate until the day after Thanksgiving, but I'm ready! 

5.  I love completing projects around my home!  I'm so thankful for websites that give me inspiration! 

6.  This year West Jessamine decided not to do a competitive marching band.  I have a love/hate relationship with this.  I have missed it, but I am IN LOVE with my Saturdays with Tim.  It has been nice. 

7.  Tim spoiled the life out of me for my birthday weekend.  Flowers, cokes in glass bottles, bubble bath, massages, big bang theory season six!  It was a great week. 

8.  Am I the only one who celebrates their birthday for an entire week? 

9.  Next year I turn 30.  Thirty!  OMG!  I can't believe that!  Just go on and prepare to wipe my tears next year.  Also, I want a kick ass birthday party for my 30th!  If I have to turn this dreadful number I want to enjoy it!

10.  I am so thankful to not have homework to do anymore!

11.  I have my first college practicum student in my classroom this year.  He's a sophomore and only 19.  He's precious...a bit clueless...but precious.  He'll grow up by the time he's finished.  I think it is crazy that I have someone "under" me!  Should they really trust me to mold future teachers?  Heck!  Should they trust me to mold the minds of America?  Scary, huh? 

12.  I am re-thinking this 29 thing! 

13.  I am excited for basketball season!  I mean, scary excited.  I mean, I'm already talking about it and planning my way to go to a game.  Bless Tim's heart!

14.  I woke up and was curled up in a ball at the bottom of my bed this morning.  When I looked up to my pillow to see why I was curled up in a ball at the bottom of my bed I realized it was due to my cat asleep on my pillow.  She has issues.  Apparently I do as well!

15.  We got a new kitchen faucet a few weekends ago.  I'm in love.  I guess that makes me a grown up.

16.  We have deadly spiders in the front of our house.  I want/need them to be dead but am too scared to kill them.  My husband just doesn't understand my irrational fear of them.  I literally hid in the house screaming to him how to kill them the other day.  It's a good thing we were married before we lived together.  He would have never proposed if he'd lived with me first.  He should have asked my dad about these things rather than asking my dad for permission.  :)

17.  We also purchased a new dishwasher a few weeks ago.  In love!  I mean it has seriously been one of the greatest purchases we've made as a married couple. 

18.  My nephew is walking.  It's so freaking cute to see his little baby butt running across the living room.  He looks like a little drunken mess.  I just laugh hysterically!

19.  I need to go get my nails done in the worst way but I just hate spending money on such silly things.  I just suck at doing them myself. 

20.  I would love to hire someone to clean my house a few times a month.  Maybe every two weeks.  It is so hard to keep a house clean when you work as much as Tim and I do.  But, as in number 19, I'm too cheap to do it!

21.  My favorite place, other than the beach, is my moms porch.  I especially love it in the fall.  There is just something magical.  Time stands still.  I love to look out over the farm.  It is amazing. 

22.  Seriously?  Why did I say I'd do 29?

24.  The other day a student told me he had to poop.  I just cracked up and told him to go.  Why do kids feel the need to tell you every detail about their life? 

25.  Tim just put my cat under a blanket and told her it was a kitten tent.  He says he doesn't love our cats the way I do...he lies!

26.  I managed to keep plants alive all summer long!  Be proud! 

27.  My niece turns one in 2 months.  I can't believe it!

28.  I love spending time with my nana.  She is my favorite person on this planet.  I wish I lived closer to her. 

29.  I made it!  I am wanting to plan a reunion with some friends that I haven't seen in a while.  *cough, Heather, cough*  I miss my closest friends like crazy.  I wish they would just move to Lexington already.  :)  Seriously though, move to Lexington! 

From One Indenpendence Day to the Next

I've been pretty reflective the last few days.  Sometimes I just get in the mood to be reflective.  I think it is good for the soul (most of the time) to think about where you were and how far you've come.  This year (meaning from last 4th of July to today) has brought about many changes for Tim and I.  For the first time in a long time I'm feeling "settled" and that feels good. 

Since you all know how much I love making lists, here is a list of some of the changes that have taken place since last July 4th:

1. We moved into our new home last July 4th.  What a way to celebrate Independence Day!
2. I started my 3rd year at CVE.  My 2nd year teaching 3rd grade is now in the books.  I love the grade I'm teaching now. 
3.  We had some major administrative changes this year at school.  It was a rough transition, but life at CVE is so much better now.  I love going to work (most days).  I love our kids.  I love my team.  Life at the Valley is wonderful.
4.  We have completed two home improvement projects!  Budget holds us back from knocking them out faster, but I'm loving slowly making our house our home.  We put bead board up on our kitchen "bar" and it looks so much more inviting and nice!  We also redid the landscaping out front and it added so much curb appeal to our home! 
5.  We celebrated our first Christmas in our home.  We've hosted cookouts.  We have space for more than 4 people!  It is a blessing to finally be able to do these things! 
6.  In May I graduated with my masters degree!!!  It took exactly two years, but I am finished!  I think the greatest accomplishment is that Tim and I had to borrow nothing for me to complete the degree!  We have plenty of other debt from school, but we were able to finish my degree without borrowing a penny.  That took a lot of saving and budgeting, but I am so glad we did it this way!
7.  Tim took a new job at the same place he already worked.  He is now FULL TIME and on salary!  He is a CLS manager.  Don't ask me what that stands for because I would not get it right!  I do know that he manages clients and their case workers which involves a lot of stuff.  He's good at this job.  It was made for him. 
8.  We took our first REAL vacation this summer!  We celebrated our 4th anniversary at the BEACH!!! We spent 7 glorious days at South Myrtle Beach listening to the ocean.  It. Was. Amazing. 
9.  We bought a car!  God bless my little Ellie.  The 2007 Ford Focus that was meant to last for 10 years...didn't.  She was falling apart and BAM!  Tim found a way to budget enough to justify me getting a new car.  I love my Honda CR-V.  I still haven't named her, but I love her! 

So you see, we have a lot to celebrate from one 4th of July to the next!  We also became aunt Rissa and uncle Tim since last 4th of July! 

I think it is important to be reflective.  If you let yourself forget where you've come from you won't appreciate where you are now.  We've come a LONG way from that couple living in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment with no jobs and seminary bills to pay.  I am grateful for all the blessings in our life.  They haven't come easy, but we've learned so much about life and each other through our journey!  God has blessed is richly and I don't ever want to forget that. 

Taking the Plunge

I'm not writing this post for anyone but me.  I'm not asking for support or congratulations or anything of that nature.  I am simply putting this out there so that it is out there.  So that it is real.  So that I know that others know.  If I didn't I would stop. 

I'm on a journey.
.
A long journey.

A journey that I started about 6 years ago and quit halfway through. 

A journey that I am determined to finish this time. 

You see, I know that I'm not in picture perfect health.  I know that I need to loose weight.  I know that I need to be more active.  I know that my blood pressure would not be elevated if I were healthier.  And, despite what some may believe, I didn't get this way because I eat 5,000 calories a day.  Some people just struggle with their weight.  I always have and always will.  It is frustrating, but I'm done letting it control my life.  So today I joined Weight Watchers for the second time in my life. 

I had great success the first go around and I am going to have great success this time as well.  I am determined. 

Determined to be healthy. 
I could care less if I am "thin" or if I have the "perfect body" or any of that other crap.  I just want to be healthy.  I want to feel good about who I am as a person because I have a purpose in my life and because I am healthy enough to live that purpose out. 

Here I go!  I'm on my way to a healthier me! 

Flutter

This afternoon I took a little nap.  I just hadn't been feeling all that great and after church I was wiped out.  I laid down on the couch, turned on some re-runs and fell fast asleep.  My loving hubs just let me nap.  He let me nap for 2 whole hours.  When I awoke he was no where to be found.  I sat up and looked around the living room and was trying to figure out how long I'd been napping when I heard it....

flutter...flutter...flutter...

Hmm?  That's weird?

flutter...flutter...flutter...

Is that IN my ear?

flutter...flutter...flutter...

Hubs?  Where are you?"

-------

"Hubs?  I think I  have a bug in my ear!!!"

-------

"TIM!"

He walks in the living room with a weird look on his face. 

flutter...flutter...flutter...

"I think I have a bug in my ear!  I keep hearing this flutter sound in my ear! "

He looks..."I don't see anything."

"But I HEAR it. 

Looks again..."nothing."

*sigh*

We never have found anything in my ear.  It stopped for a few hours, but has now started back up.  With that said, I have felt all day like I have fluid in my ear.  About an hour ago I had Tim flush my ear out with warm water.  Nothing came crawling out. 

Should I be freaking out yet?  At what point do you go to the doctor and say, "I think I may have a bug in my ear?"

I've been amazingly calm for someone who may have something living inside my ear. However, if it doesn't stop and a doctor confirms this nightmare to be true I may have to start sleeping with ear plugs in my ears! 

Have any of you ever had a fluttering sound in your ear?  What did you do?  Did you find anything living inside your ear? 

Life After Death

Most people have heard about the sudden passing of officer Jason Ellis.  His story was spread all over the news.  A death like this would have caused me to stop and reflect on life.  I would have felt bad for his family.  I would have even uttered a little prayer for them.  But the passing of Jason Ellis was a bit different than any other officer or military that I've heard of before.

It was different because I knew Officer Ellis.  He was part of my extended family. 
When my sis-in-law married into the Phillips family I met Jason's wife, Amy.  I met her beautiful boys.  Then I met her husband, Jason.  I didn't know Jason well.  I won't pretend that he and I shared deep conversations or that we were best friends, but I knew him well enough to learn a few things about him on my own and not through the media. 

I learned that he was a kind man.  I learned that he like to joke around, but mostly I saw that he loved his two boys and that he was madly in love with his wife. 

And like that...it was gone. 

I've spent the last week and a half in utter disbelief that someone would just take him away from his beautiful wife and children. That someone would have so much hatred in their heart that they would take him away from his friends and fellow officers.  After a short amount of time I still can't wrap my mind around it. The "why" question is there and it isn't going anywhere fast. 

The question has been asked what is the best thing to do in times like these.  I pray.  I pray hard.  My mind just keeps coming back to Amy and the kids.  I couldn't imagine loosing my husband.  I couldn't imagine continuing my life without him by my side.  I can't even begin to fathom what she's going through.  So, I pray.  Each and every time she comes to my mind I utter words of peace and comfort to her.  I pray for her family.  I pray for Jason's friends.  I pray for the officers that are trying to solve the case.  I pray for the officers who have to work knowing there is a killer out there somewhere.  I pray for whomever did this.  I just simply pray. 

I know I don't have many blog followers out there.  This blog is mostly for my own benefit.  It is a place to get thoughts out of my head.  But if you are out there and you would like to help Amy there is a way to do so. 

First, pray for her and her boys.  She needs that more than anything.  Second, you can purchase a memorial bracelet and a portion of the proceeds go to the memorial fund.  Third you can make a donation directly to the fun and all the money will go directly to Amy. 

Here is the link. 

I want to say thank you if you decide to donate.  But mostly, I want to say thank you for praying for Amy and her kids.  There is so much healing that needs to happen in their lives. 

Hopefully the case will be solved soon and some of the "why" questions can be answered.  Until then I pray for peace and I pray that none of us takes our life for granted.  We are here today but we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  Make the most of everyday that you are given! 

Dear Car Dealership

Dear Dealership,

Let me tell you a few things about your customers.

First, not all customers that come to you will let you push them around.  Some of us really do want to do research about a vehicle before we drop a large sum of money to purchase it.  Some of us may like your options as well as options somewhere else.  Don't hate us for that.  Again, we are just trying to research our options to make sure we get the best vehicle for a great price.  When we say we are just getting a starting point,  believe us.  When we tell you that our goal for the day is to decide which SUV drives the best and which SUV is within our budget,  believe us.  Don't try to push us into either one.  It's our future car!  Let us make that decision on our own!

Second, we know that your sales guys are going to be a bit pushy.  That's their job.  That's ok.  What is not ok is that I left your lot 5 hours ago and I've already had three phone calls from you.  That's right, three!  This does not make me feel good about my experience.  What it does is creep me out, annoy me and make me wonder why you have to call your customers three times in 5 hours?  I have been nice all three times.  I have given you the same information all three times.  I have explained to you that we want to purchase sometime this summer and that when we are ready we will return.  Trust me!  I promise that calling me over and over will not make me want to return but rather push me to another dealership to purchase the same vehicle I could have purchase from you.  If you call again today I can't promise that I will be very nice.  I will probably be snippy with you.  Sorry! 

Third, don't tell me that a particular model coast xxxxx amount of money when I have a quote on the SAME SUV at another dealership for 8,000 dollars less.  You also shouldn't gawk at me when I tell you this and tell me I must be wrong.  I promise you I'm not.  I also promise you that I won't buy the vehicle if you aren't willing to come down on your ridiculous price.  I know you have to make money, but I'm not allowing you to get away with robbery!  You'll come down or I won't buy!  It's that easy!

Fourth, if I tell you I'm looking for a practical level vehicle in the terms of "perks" don't put me in a luxury model.  I don't need to pay 5,000 extra dollars to talk to my car and have it do stuff.  I am capable of pushing a button if I want more/less air!  Putting me in this car just makes me mad because you aren't listening to what I told you about my spending budget!  I already explained to you that my husband and I are both teachers and that we don't have 40 grand to spend on a car that will not be worth that the second we drive it off the lot.  Listen to your customer!  Find a vehicle that fits their needs/budget.  Don't force them to join the American dream of being very in debt just to have fancy gadgets that they don't need.  My husband and I don't operate that way!  We would prefer not being in debt for the rest of our lives.

Finally, I can promise you that if I do buy one of your SUV's I will get it from a different lot.  Probably the one that quoted me the vehicle of my dreams for 8,000 dollars less than what you said was the lowest option.  Maybe they will treat me better than you did today. 

Your very annoyed customer,
    Carissa

Flat Tire

On Friday I was planning to walk out the door as close to 3:05 as possible.  We were planning to head out of town to spend the weekend at Tim's parents house and we wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible.  Well, I walked out the door around 3:30 (I can never get out of that place on time) and hopped in the car.  I put Ellie in reverse and hmmm?  What was that odd sound?  Oh well!  I have places to be. . .

Then, I got out to the "circle" and ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. . .

Yeah, that's a flat tire. 

Here's the deal.  The "circle" is NOT a good part of town.  I teach in a very hostile neighborhood.  There are a lot of not so go things that happen in the neighborhood.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my school.  I love teaching in this type of area.  I have found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of my life.  That said, I don't want to be broken down in this area, alone!  My solution, keep driving and pray I make it to the gas station an eighth of a mile down the road.  ba-dum, ba-dump, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I pull in and by the time I park my car near the air pump I'm just happy to be off the road.  My tire is gone.  Fully shredded.  I don't think the air will help! 

I call Tim who is still at school teaching.  Like all good teachers his phone is on silent and he isn't answering.  So I call again, and again, and again, and again thinking that eventually he'll realize that it's a real emergency and I'm stranded at a gas station in a not so great part of town. 

In a panic I call the girls I work with who were conveniently at a goodbye party across the street.  So there we are.  Three women changing a tire at a gas station.  Did I mention it was pouring the rain? 

I felt so bad!  The girls were soaked and they still had to go back to the party!

While we were changing the tire nearly 20 men walked past.  None of which asked if we needed help or if they could call someone for us.  2 did ask me what time it was though.  I guess they heard me calling my husband in a panic and knew that in my crisis I had a phone which also had the time.  *sigh*  What has the world come to that a MAN doesn't offer to help a woman in distress? 

Needless to say we didn't need any men!  We got the tire changed and my wonderful husband who was 40 minutes away located a new tire and had it paid for and waiting for me when I made it to him nearly an hour later. 

He's a winner! 

I've mentioned that my car is falling apart before my very eyes.  We are currently on the hunt for a new car.  Actually, a new SUV, so if you have any advice we are all ears!