13.1 Here I Come

Well I did it! No turning back now. If I do then I lose my well earned $65.00!

I signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September. I'm pumped, excited, and happy. I told my husband to let the madness begin!! Training in the summer should be fine because I won't be working (summer's off...bonus of being a teacher) and my oldest daughter can watch the other 2 while I run. I may just get up early and do it before the heat of the day! That would only make sense. Again...pumped!!

Great day...great weekend and looking forward to my day of pampering this Saturday with my sisters and Mom.

Nets and Noodles

Nets/Noodles is an annual event at our school. It is a fundraiser with food, raffles, auctions, and a community basketball game. The basketball teams are our school staff members vs The SL Fire Dept. Last year we got just killed. They beat us by a lot. First of all their team is made up of all men and our team has a mix of men and women. They also were out for blood or to prove that they will NBA ready or something. This year we said it had to be a much friendlier game and add some silliness too.
An introduction of our team...we had 10 players this year. Some of the people who played last year were busy and some happened to get the flu that day. So 10 we are. Nice picture...uggghh..We even had cheerleaders!

In action.....

In for the rebound (see all those young boys...I taught some of them when they were in 1st and second grade and now they are in their 20s) It made me feel old or maybe they were being nice to me(letting me get the rebound) because I was their teacher at one point and guess what? I scored 1 basket for our team that night. YEAH!!

I was truly scared of being knocked over by these boys. Some were men too. This one guy was a little serious and was pushing me around and pounced on my foot. He probally weighed at least 100 pounds more than me. Who knows.... The silliness was putting wigs on, using a football, hula hooping, etc.

It was a fun night. My family came to watch their wife and mom play a sport that I really am not good at. Thanks to hubby for taking care of the camera and taking tons of photos.

This year the teachers won the game. The final score was 55 to 50.

Why I Love The Jonas Brothers Today

My second graders are working like angels as they sing away to The Jonas Brothers. They brought peace and serenity to my day. I thought I would never say that! Even my 2 wonderful 8th grade student aides were singing too! I thought I was going to start performing like a rock star.

Happy almost Friday!

Weekend Happenings

The whole family got dressed up this weekend. We had a family wedding. It was a super fun wedding. The kids danced the night away. Brandon was cracking me up. He was break dancing and very comical. It was like he was performing for everyone. Emma enjoyed hanging out with all her cousins and dancing too. Alyssa caught the bouquet. She was nervous about the boy who was going to catch the garder. Relief...sigh...her cousin. They just got their photo taken, no slow dance. They were both relieved. They are only a few months apart in age...missed my photo opportunity. Alyssa was a bit surprised when she saw her orthodontist at the reception. She was nervous to chew gum and eat things she shouldn't. She was being teased like crazy. After her dance with the doc, he took a picture with her. I'll have to make a copy and give it to him this week when she gets her bands changed.
Alyssa and her orthodontist.

John was so not in the mood to take this photo. He hates it when I make him take our couples photo when the kids are wired and I want Alyssa to use our new camera with no experience.

Sibling hug.....

Alyssa

This is one photo for the record (they rarely hug like this)

The three before we left for the reception. Emma told me she looked like an American Girl Doll. I think it was the "pretty" we put in her hair.





My sister Tricia and I .

Tricia, Dad, Mom, and me! We were missing my brother and other sister. We wished they could of been there. Distance sucks sometimes. I will look forward to the holidays this year when we are all together.

That was it for our weekend. It was a mighty cold one too. It felt like Old Man Winter blew through for sure. I did go for a 5 mile run today. It was a chilly one. There were a few snowflakes floating in the sky. It was a good run, but I need to get better pants for this type of weather. My legs were frozen! I didn't leave the house for the rest of the day. Cozied up with some coffee and some TV. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Not Just Any Friday Night...

It was no ordinary Friday Night...it was trick or treat night. Our subdivision changed the normal city hours of trick or treat. It normally is held the Sunday before Halloween and is in the middle of the afternoon. So this year a few of us decided to see if others in our neighborhood would agree to switch. It was a huge hit and had almost 100% participation. Trick or Treat at night is so much better.


Way to show your team spirit Alyssa...We love the Brewers!

Carter the Prince...Brandon the battered Packer and Emma the glamour hippie girl.

Emma and her Prince

Emma has a new hair do...Friday we went to the salon and cut off 6 inches. I got bangs...hard to get use to. I'll have to post a picture to see what you all think.

This next section is totally unrelated to the Halloween Fun, but I thought I would share my new favorite drink. I really enjoy my beer. I like and enjoy Summer Shandy in the summer, Honey Weiss in the winter, but now I found a new beer. It is called Hook and Ladder. I went out with my girlfriends on a Wednesday night to have a glass of wine. I had my one glass of wine and wanted to try this beer they were advertising...to my bad luck they were sold out so the bartender recommended this beer. I tried it and loved it. It is so smooth and has a super flavor. I was on a mission to find this beer. It was found and now I found my new winter favorite ( at least for a little while...until the next taste test I do). So tonight I am going to catch up on my shows on the DVR and enjoy me one of these...maybe more!

The Golden Ale is what is so tasty to me. I will have to give the other flavors a try too.

Weekend Scene Times 3

Part 1 of my weekend......

When I turned forty about 6 months ago, my friends came up with a list of things I needed to do in my fortieth year. One of the things I needed to do was to go to a bar all by myself and order a drink and drink alone. For some reason I thought I could never do this because I seriously would feel like a big loser. So, for a gift they even went out and bought me a couple of bar tokens for a free drink. The bar is this local saloon about a mile from my house. So, on Friday I got a text from my friend Cari ~ Denny's? (that is the bar) I texted her back and said sure....so when I got home from work Friday night, ate a little dinner (yogurt~too nervous to eat real food), my husband dropped me off (so I wouldn't chicken out I guess) and I walked into the bar ALL ALONE! There were about 6 people in the bar...it was about 6:30 pm. I felt like such a dork...paying with the free bar token, but I drank my beer and continued to text her until she met me out for a second drink. That was a crazy 15 minutes. So, I did it...I went to a local bar (dive) all by myself, even if it was only for 15 minutes, I did it. Let me tell you, I really didn't like it.


Part 2 of my weekend.....Soccer games are our life in the Fall. The two older kids play and my husband coaches the U13 team that Alyssa is on. So we spend about 3 hours of our day on Saturday's at the field. One of the things my husband does while coaching or being a spectator, is he loves to yell....quite loudly if I must say. Not a mean yell, but an encouraging shout! However, it drives me nuts and this Saturday EC (John's best bud) happened to be at the field right next to us, his daughter plays and he yells like John....loud, but encouraging. It drove me crazy...so here the two nut jobs are yelling at the games on Saturday.

Looking on and ready to shout!


John...EC....and Alyssa
Part 3 of my weekend....

On Saturday my very good friend Marie who I met 15 years ago when we were hired the same year to start a career in teaching. She had a surprise 4oth Birthday party. Her sister's did a great job pulling this off. It was suppose to be a Girl's Night Out with a few friends. Some of us surprised her at the restaurant...and her favorite Aunt and cousin surprised her in a limo ride to the restaurant. Awesome...she never saw any of this coming. After dinner we headed off to a place where she thought we would have some drinks and dancing. However, waiting for her was a huge bash with her family and friends that her sister's also planned. She was so shocked walking in that it took her a few minutes to realize what was going on. It was a great party.

The girls after dinner...The birthday girl is in the green top...her sister's are the two on the far right. Climbing up to Party with Jose...
Too bad it was a blow up bottle....

Happy Birthday Marie. You are an awesome friend. Thanks for all the great years we have gotten to know each other. You are truly terrific! Remember 40 is only a number and you look fabulous!! I left you a bottle of wine without a card...I know you will put it to good use.

I became a wino 2 years ago when I had a certain student in my class and now Marie is blessed with the same student...so the wine is for her to calm her nerves on a daily basis.

Door County Weekend

It was a great weekend. A whole weekend without kids! We had a great time. We stayed in this resort right on the lake~ Lake Michigan~ we were in the thumb of Wisconsin. Anyways, the resort was nice we stayed in a cottage with everyone. (beds were very squeaky~held on to the headboard one night anyway) The weather was great~Indian Summer like temperatures. I ran on Friday...it was so beautiful not to enjoy a run. That way I felt like I could justify all the food and drink I knew I would have.

Hubby and me
I had one too many "Christmas Trees" that night. I love Gin and Tonic, but it makes me loopy. I paid for that night on Saturday morning.... a huge hangover...felt better later in the day. Saturday was the big Pumpkin Patch Festival where you walked around the town with open intoxicants...it was awesome! I decided to drink the margaritas instead of beer or wine.
Hubby had a plan..let's take the shortcut to the Festival....didn't work out so well....we were trespassers and the owners were not liking the fact that we wanted to cut through their property. So we were almost there...and we had to turn around and walk around. No big deal except I ruined my cute new shoes...they stunk like rotten fish and seaweed the whole day....nasty...I ended up going into one of those candle shops and spraying some room spray on my shoes. I think that is why the flies loved me that day. I am going to try and wash those shoes. I just love them!! Sorry Amy...it was all about the food and drink at the Fest! It was very crowded that day. Thousands of people...lots of thousands. Glad we walked our half mile and more after our detour.

The boys were looking at all the traffic and enjoying the day.
This is what I came h0me with. I went to two wineries on Friday. I was the driver so I couldn't go too crazy. I tried many types of wine...even tried the drys and semi dry. I ended up really liking this Blackberry Merlot. Never thought I would like the red wine, but I did. Yummy. I also like the apple blend wines...sweet. I didn't really like the holiday wines...to nutmeg ...spice for my liking. It was fun. At one of the wineries there was this bus that had about 50 women who were 75 years and older. They were cracking me up at the bar when ordering their wine. I hope that is me someday...living it up and having fun. That is what it is all about.

Anything else that happened....can't tell...just look at the sign. :)

Who is This Guy??

Went out on Saturday night to cheer on Wisconsin sporting events. Went to this pub that offers over 250 micro brews from around the world. Very cool....everyone was sporting either Brewers wear or Wisconsin Badger red. However, there were a few with Ohio State and even the Cubs (we live minutes from the Illinois border). One good thing is that the Brewers won that night...(lost Sunday...hubby was at that game and it sucked for sure) and the Badgers lost. So all in all the weekend in Wisconsin sports just SUCKED! Losses: Brewers, Packers, and Badgers, and if the Bucks were playing, they probally would of lost too. So why is my title labeled Who is This Guy?

Well...Saturday night in walks this guy...Is is Sammy Hagar, ZZ Top, who?

Look at that cool jacket...white cowboy boots!




Are we in 1985 all over again?? My BIL making a new friend.




I wanted to ask him for his autograph...got really embarrassed...not enough to drink yet.




Hubby and EC....

What Did She Say?

A teacher said this to her student, " Why are you petting your beaver and why is it wet?"

Can you imagine walking by that classroom and hearing this. I was laughing so hard, it brought tears to my eyes. That is better than my I Love Dick's! outburst yesterday.

The reason behind that beaver...a kid was putting his stuffed beaver in the sink and it was getting wet. The student should of have been resting instead of giving the stuffed animal a bath.

Funny stuff!

What Not to Wear

I know I shouldn't be so critical of others and what they wear because seriously they may not have the money to be so fashion savvy as myself. (haha)





***Disclaimer***If I work with you and read this blog, I am NOT referring to you. I love everything you wear. This is just my observations and things I see out and about.





Okay, now to the good stuff. (or bad stuff to some)

• Wearing white on white is never a good idea. Seriously white pants, shoes, and shirts people....that reminds me of me working as a nursing assistant back in the college days. A big NO!
• Looking like you belong in a flower shop window...yikes! Don't wear white heels, a shirt that is the color of Easter, and a floral spandex skirt. That seriously scared me to death!
• If you are man, please, please do not wear a shirt that will show off your "man boobs" that is a frightning sight no matter where or who you are. No man should ever need to wear a bra with their outfit.
• Don't wear a pilled up sweater with some sort of texturing to it and white pants. I don't care how cold you are...beg, borrow, or steal something that doesn't belong in the local dumpster. Makes you look tattered and desperate.
• I think unitard type shirts left the scene a long time ago. ( you know the ones that snap at the crotch) No more please...can't take it!

Things I did notice that I love...

• The red peep toe heels someone had on yesterday...love them!
• My good friend M (who will be 40 soon) had the cutest outfit on yesterday. The gray pants and cute fall sweater...love it! So if you are reading this M...you looked terrific.
• Myself...because K gave me a compliment about my outfit 3 days in a row. You rock K!

Serioulsy if I offended anyone...so sorry.

Baking At It's Finest

If there is one thing Alyssa loves to do is bake. She takes pride in her wonderful desserts she makes and of course shares with her family and friends. Today is the day before school starting and what better way other than sharing the blender with your buddies.

They were off to make the chocolate chip/chunk cookies. I think that the dough sometimes is a bigger hit than the cookies itself.


Emma, Paige, Alyssa putting together some of the ingredients.
Taking turns....because that is what friends do.
Almost ready...
This is what is left of their cookie baking bonanza. Not only did they eat
a lot of the dough, but as soon as they came out of the oven the kids and
of course their friends had to have a sample. I am not kidding...they ate
4 dozen cookies...only 8 are left. Hopefully they don't have belly aches in the
morning.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. We are so excited...the kids are, I am too, the only thing, it is suppose to be 90 degrees tomorrow and I DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING in my classroom. That is right...the poor little second graders will be a sweaty, tired group by the time the dismissal bell rings. I am sure I will too.

I ran today...I was so excited because it has been 3 weeks since my surgery and I am officially starting my training program for the 10K I will be doing in November. I did some interval runs today. It was hot...around 85 degrees. I needed to start slow. I ran a 9 minute mile. Tomorrow a longer run. So excited to really be back in. Game on!!

Cougar Hunting

I never heard of this until yesterday!!

Urban Dictionary: cougar hunting:
Cougar Hunting – See Cougar- Pronounced ‘Ku-Grr Hun-Ting’ – The act of pursuit of cougar’s in a bar, sporting even, at a funeral, or other appropriate “hunting” venue. The active hunter seeks a fiscally sound cougar, and then moves in for the kill. Avid cougar hunters will often have 2-3 cougars in the same pack. The goal for a cougar hunter is to establish a good base of experienced females who love to spend money on their young hunters, while retaining limited to no ties to commitment."

The reason behind this.

I was at a party yesterday and here I was listening to some 21 year boys talking about their conquests at the local bars and this is what they were talking about...cougar hunting. My old ears perked up...they scored according to them.
In all reality this is what I thought Cougar Hunting was. (not quite like this, but like an actual hunt they do with guns) I never heard of this before until yesterday. I couldn't believe it was in the Urban Dictionary. I do need to get out more. Yikes!

Harley Fun and An Award Too

Harley Davidson celebration weekend begins! In honor of it's 105th, there is a huge party this weekend in Milwaukee, WI. So, tonight a parade kicked off in Kenosha where I live.(we are about 40 min. south of Milwaukee). My Dad has a Harley and will be attending the festivities this weekend with my Mom. They are jazzed up to see Bruce Springstein in concert at this fest. How cute is that? I think she needs to sport some true black leather this weekend. My mom the biker babe. :)
My son Brandon first rode the Harley a couple weeks back. He loved it, so my Dad offered to take him and be part of the parade. He was so excited to be part of all of this. He was beaming from ear to ear. The parade route took them about 7 miles and they ended up at Lake Michigan for a fest that is going on tonight. They will stick around and eat food and listen to some music. Brandon adores his "Gramps." They are buddies in every sense from Harleys, fishing, and even XBox 360. (Gramps bought one and is into Guitar Hero...so he could keep up with Brandon).





Getting ready for the big ride.





Grandpa and Brandon (What cute Harley boys)











I need a better camera...I could of taken many more pics.

This is them on the parade route. There were more than 1,000 bikes. Awesome parade. I loved seeing and hearing them roar down the street.

****************************************************************

On a different note... I was award this blog trophy by Confessions I was so touched by this I was estatic!! So thank you, thank you!! I just started blogging at the beginning of July. My sister Newly-Wedded Wife gave me the itch. Thanks ! I nominate you too! I so love blogging...sometimes I just ponder at things I could blog about. It is such a huge stress reliever some days.

I would like to do the same to others who make me smile at their lives. The wonderful award goes to:

• Just the Girl with Something to Say...
• Seeking Sanity
• The Chronicles of Sahm
• Mommyvents

Thanks Ladies....you are great!! There are many more too! I just named a few.

Rockin' Hard

We rocked so hard last night I didn't get out of bed until 9:00am. That is unheard of around here. I am always up bright and early. Today I had to force my head off the pillow so I could get some much needed Ibuprofen for the pounding headache I had. Once I finally rolled out of bed and ate, I felt fine.

We started the night by going to see one of our favorite bands. They are called Boys and Toys. They were the band that played at our wedding and my husband works with the singer, so we have seen them many times. They proved they are still a rockin' playing rock from the 70s and 80s and even music of today. The crowd was great...I fit right in. (I didn't feel old).

With this event, the bands that are scheduled only play for about an hour and the next band comes on. We stayed for the next one called 89 Mojo...very good band. We "moshed" to the Violent Femmes. OMG...that brings back memories from back in the day. LOVED IT. "Why can't I get just one kiss...Why can't I get just one f.ck..." Oh yeah, we were screaming those lyrics. "Gone Daddy Gone, Love is Gone" Anyone else know the Violent Femmes?


We decided to go to some other bars that were participating in the event. More bands, huge crowds, lots of beer, shots, and dancing. Most bars had a waiting line to get in. The best part was the "drunk" bus that picked you up and brought you to bar to bar. That whole experience reminded me of college...we had a drunk bus that would pick you up and bring you home safely.

This was the "drunk" bus. A wild ride...can you imagine

a bunch of people in their 30s and 40s shouting like maniacs?!

I was so trying to get a picture of a group of girls who belonged on the show "What Not to Wear", but my camera sucks...very obnoxious flash...so by the time our group was trying to figure out a way...the skanky whoes left (spelling is so off on those words). The outfits were a black spandex mini dress with this hole by the boobs that made them look like balloons were coming out of the shirt. Hookers they were I swear. Yikes.

The bus was a great idea...the only thing that really sucked was that it stopped running at midnight and we had to walk a mile back to our car. Nice....the walk helped exercise the booze out of my system. Can't wait til next year. So much fun. I will post just a few of the pictures.





Getting ready to go out. Mr. Handsome and I.




Pat, Cari, and Tricia...Rock out!






Cari and Tammy (me) . We were the girls singing in this bar

with the 2 man band. Bust a Move...(song) Remember that one?!

This was the sign that was posted on the bus. Awesome!

The conversation with numerous people on the bus...talking about

other things they would rather lick. Think gutter people.

The boys waiting to get in. We went in before them. So sorry boys.

Rocked out at this bar. They were playing ZZ Top...so 8os rock was the

theme for the night. Sure made me feel like I was in college again.