Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday Night Football

Tonight I turned off the air conditioner in my house. The most wonderful thing ever. I know its Fall because I have the screen door to my bedroom open, the breeze is blowing in, and I can hear the football game from across the river.

Now, I know you are thinking that I am posting this because of how much love football, but sadly that is not the case. Confession: I am not a very big football fan. Sacrilege, I know! However, there is something about the announcer's voice over the loudspeaker that gives me chills. I can hear his muffled voice right now, getting very excited over some play that I certainly will never understand, but his excitement makes me excited. Then the band kicks in and I can hear the crowd cheering over them. This is my favorite way to participate in football...from my room, relaxing in my bed, computer in my lap, listening to the sounds of the game as my curtains gently ripple from the breeze. What a loser.

Whenever I go to a football game, I tend to find myself people watching throughout the crowd rather than paying attention to the game. Then, I'm startled when a REAL fan breaks out into a cheer- so I clap along like I know what's going on. The commeraderie is great, the weather is nice, but I wish I could love the game like 99.9% of everyone else I know. This is my confession. I hope we can still be friends.

Caroline

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ty

At the risk of sounding like a crazy cat lady, this blog is about my cat, Ty. You have my blessing to stop reading now if you are not a cat fan. I understand its annoying to hear about someone else's pet. That being said- I am lonely for my Ty tonight.You see, when I moved out on my own, he continued to live with my mom and dad. So, he's really my mom's cat now. I'm pretty sure he hissed at me last time I tried to pick him up.

Meet Ty Coots. My family and I found him as a 4 week old furball trying to cross the highway in Jacksonville. We were on our way to Miami to board our first cruise ship ever. Thank goodness the traffic was slow moving due to roadwork or else he woud've been a pancake. He ran out in front of us & on instinct, my dad hopped out and scooped him up. Then..... we were stuck with a kitten....and we were on our way to Jamaica. All the humane societies were either "full" or used the "he's too small for us to take care of" excuse. What?? You are a HUMANE society! We finally found a saint named Debbie from PetSmart. She took him home with her for a week, making us sign in blood that we would come back for him when we returned from our cruise. She already had something like 9 cats at home and didn't need another.

Sure enough, we came back for him. On the car ride home we
relived all the good times from the cruise. It seemed that every story we recounted from the trip had something to do with the boy we met from Fyffe, Alabama....Ty Coots. Everything was funny about him, right down to his name. One of those boys who got the braids in his hair in the Bahamas, got busted for under-aged drinking, had a thick Alabama accent and said things like..."Let me smell of it" (when trying to figure out if a drink had liquor in it or not.) It was then we decided that our kitten would carry on his name.

Hard to believe its been 4 years since then. Ty Cootsie has brought us more laughter than we ever intended. He is fat and spoiled rotten, just how cats are supposed to be.

He wants to be in your presence, but do not dare act like you see him or care that he is in the room...or else you will get the evil eye.


He loves to play peek-a-boo, but only on his time. Not when you want to. Oh, and clean sheets are his thing.

Birdwatching is his favorite hobby. He chirps at them and swishes his tail back and forth. If it weren't for the window, he would pounce.
His rabbit feet are my very favorite. Sometime he will let me rub his little paw pads if he is sleepy enough.

How can you not love this face?

Caroline









Thursday, September 22, 2011

20 Questions


Allow me to paint a picture of the setting.

First grade classroom. 2:30pm. We've just eaten snack, teachers are exhausted. Now it's center time where the kids can play at different stations throughout the room. Children are scattered in noisy clusters, drawing, putting together legos, painting, playing on the computer, or.....fighting their dinosaurs and dragons and snakes. A very inquisitive 1st grade boy, dinosaur in hand, approaches a new visitor in our room. Resting up against my desk sits a 7th grade girl who is totally disinterested in life & sitting in our room for in- house suspension.

1st grade boy approaches 7th grade girl with his opening line...never fails: What's your name?

7th grade girl: <we'll call her Sally> Sally

boy: Why are you here?

girl: I'm in trouble

boy: What did you do?

girl: Got in trouble with my teacher

boy: What do you do when you get in trouble?

girl: I have to go to another classrooom

boy: Do you get in trouble at home?

girl: Sometimes...I guess..

boy:What do you do when you get in trouble at home?

girl: I go to my room..

boy: Do you get a spanking?

girl: ...no...

boy: Do you play with toys in your room?

girl:...sometimes?

boy: what kind of toys do you have?

girl: ...i don't know...

boy: where do you live?

girl: (tells address)

boy: Is that far away ?

girl: no, its right around the corner

boy: umm......(nervously looking around the room, searching for another question) What's your mom's name?

girl: Debbie

boy: What color is she?

girl: white....

Lights flick on and off & a teacher intervenes: "Time to clean up!" Poor girl was saved. This was just two minutes worth of his questions. On a more regular basis when there is no one new to interview, he mostly makes his rounds with one of the three teachers in the room asking "What are we gonna do next?" "Do we have a fire alarm today?" "Where are we gonna go?" As long as you answer, he will keep asking. Gotta love him.

So, how was your day at work? As drained as I am after every day, I still wouldn't trade it for the world!

Caroline


Monday, September 19, 2011

A Rainy Night In


I love when it rains and I have no where to be. So here I sit in my bed, with my sister beside me painting her nails, listening to my new Woodwick Candle burning away. Ever tried one of those candles? The wick is wood, so it crackles like a fire as it burns. Walmart: $8. You should try it.
Tonight we cooked Shrimp Fried Rice....well, I cooked, she cleaned. Then I drank my favorite new treat: Ovaltine. (Thank you Ashley Blaine- we can be dorky together.) It takes chocolate milk to a whole new level.

The main reason Cathlin came over tonight was for me to help her with an online test, but she has decided to spend the night, yipee!! We are having a week-night slumber party. The best kind. It adds a little something special to an otherwise uneventful Monday night. No more Bachelor until January, so we entertained ourselves by.....
THIS nonsense. Somehow this never gets old.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Kyle

I've been searching for the words to this post but they don't come easy. This past week was a gut wrenching one. For those of you who are not from around here & haven't heard the news, we had a great loss at my school, Hesse Elementary. It happened on Tuesday morning, the day after Labor Day. I was going about my business in our first grade classroom...hustling around saying my good-mornings to the kids, getting them to unpack their book bags, get to their seat, write their names on their papers- the usual. We heard an announcement over the intercom for the assistant principal and the counselor to report to the 5th grade wing immediately. My co-teacher and I gave each other a puzzled look and chalked it up to what must've been a conflict with an angry parent. I continued to get the 1st graders settled into the seemingly Monday-morning (even though it was Tuesday) routine...prompting them to get started on their work, how to form their letters, sounding out words.

That's when Ms. Donovan leaned over and whispered to me that Kyle, one of
our 5th grade students, had been hit by a car and killed. What?? Utter shock. Word spread like wild fire across the school. Teachers passed the tragic news in hushed voices down the hallway, door to door. I was asked to stand in for Kyle's teacher from years ago when he was in first grade as she got the news. He was "her baby." The only thing I knew to do was try and remove myself emotionally from the situation and put on a happy face for the unknowing kids. Shortly after I returned to my classroom, teachers were notified to go ahead and tell their students the news and watch for their reactions. Grief counselors were available in the library and students were allowed to call their parents if they wanted to go home. The rest of the day was a blur. There was lots of speculation going around as to what exactly happened to Kyle but no one really seemed to know. I went home with questions.

After waiting through an hour of non-sense on the 5:00 news, I finally got to hear Kyle's story at 6:00. In a tragedy, all we want is answers. By human nature we need to know details. If we know exactly what happened, at least we won't fill in the blanks with something worse. Even if there seems to be nothing worse than the truth. I learned that Kyle had been waiting for his bus in a neighbor's driveway when the F-650 that was parked there backed over him and he was killed instantly. It was because he had on headphones that he did not hear the truck backing up. Because of the sheer size of the truck, the driver did not even realize what he had done. Kyle's poor siblings were the first ones to discover what had happened & the bus driver with a bus full of innocent eyes also drove up to the scene of the accident. Needless to say, there has been a somber tone around Hesse for the past few days.

Kyle was one of those kids whose presence was known wherever he was. A bundle of energy and charisma. A tough little boy with a huge heart. Proclaimed a "ladies man" by some of his fellow classmates. I saw him on a daily basis, sprinting down the back drive to his bus in the afternoons. It seemed like every other day I was shouting, "Slow down Kyle!" to which he would respond by speed walking the rest of the way with a mischievous grin on his face. I couldn't help but smile.

Funny how loss has a way of bringing people together. Hesse has been so unified this week. We all seem to appreciate each other more. To care more.
Friday we had a dress down day in honor of Kyle and raised over $7,000. Many of his classmates decorated shirts with messages to Kyle and wore them around school. We also decorated the fence with a WE LOVE KYLE message and green and white ribbons. A day hasn't passed where our thoughts are not consumed with his memory.

Today was Kyle's funeral. We miss you & Hesse won't be the same without you. Keep smiling down on us...you were an angel in disguise!

"Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere" Psalm 84:10

Caroline





Monday, September 5, 2011

Monday Night TV

Guilty. I watch The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad religiously. My only saving grace is that I do not turn on my TV any other time of the week.

I am hopelessly wrapped up in the drama that goes on for these 2 hours of my life. Yes, I know it is completey staged and scripted, but I can't seem to peel myself away. The only part that I really have a hard time watching is when Kermie (aka Kasey) sings to his significant other. He sang last week to Vienna and it made me squirm. It was very...Boyz II Men meets William Hung. It brought back visions of Ali's season. Remember when he sang to her? I can't take it. Major second-hand embarrassment. Please make it stop! If you are a guy, thinking about serenading a girl, please reconsider. Unless you are Keith Urban.

For my fellow trash TV watchers...who do you think will win Bachelor Pad? I hope the next Bachelor for this season is Ben. He seemed normal. I think I would like him in real life :) I wonder how long before we find out that Ashley and JP are calling it quits?

Let's see who goes home tonight!
Caroline




Sunday, September 4, 2011

A Long Weekend

Ever since school started I think blogging has fallen to the wayside. Notice the pattern...11 posts in July, anddddd back to 4 in August. Tonight will be a mini blog session to bring you back up to date. So here are the highlights in no particular order:

1) Babysitting: This Friday and Saturday night, I babysat. My wallet is now full of cash. Hallelujah. My social life may be lacking a little right now, but I'm okay with that. When I babysit, most kids usually go to bed around 8:30 anyway and I have the rest of the night to do whatever I want: read, pinterest, and facebook. Thats when the ideas flow...which leads me to the next point:

2) Boho Lace Headband: Saw this on Pinterest. Made it today. Sewing is not my forte so I had a little help from a friend. My friend is a boy who is good at sewing. I won't name names.

3) Ruffle Necklace: Yet another pinterest project that I made this week (with help from said good sewing helper). I've decided that if I'm going to "pin it" then I need to try and actually get around to DOING some of it. Atleast one project a week is my goal. (For those of you who haven't been introduced to Pinterest yet and may be confused, refer to this link and your addiction will begin.)

4) Forsyth Farmer's Market: I have recently gotten into the whole "farmers market" scene. Between me and you, I like the crowds there just as much as the fresh and local food. I've pretty much got the routine down pat. I bring my re-usable shopping bags, wear grungy clothes, and don't wash my hair before I go. Its "in" to be earthy. The only thing I'm missing is a dog on a leash. And, its my incentive for babysitting on Friday nights because I can have cash to spend at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. If I'm feeling really really gung-ho I'll bring a cooler to put my veggies in & go for a run around the park afterwards. Last weekend I got palm honey from Wilmington Island, tomatoes, nectarines, and basil. This weekend I came home with potatoes, zucchini, peaches, eggs, and cherry tomatoes.

5) Dinner- And this is what I made from my farmers market finds, with my babysitting money, all recipes found on Pinterest. (How do ya like that for tying all 3 bullet points together?) Panko Chicken stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Basil & Tomatoes and Zucchini fritters with tzatziki sauce.


5) Caedmon- My best friend Jenna and her husband Adam had their first baby this weekend. A little boy, Caedmon Charles, weighing in at 8lbs 1 oz. He is perfect!!! And I'm not saying that because I am biased. He really is a beautiful baby. I can't wait to meet him. As my grama said, "Jenna really took this whole Labor Day thing pretty seriously"

6) The Help- I accidentally ordered this book off Itunes, thinking I was buying the audio version so I could listen in the car. Well, it turned out to be the kindle-friendly reader version, so I proceeded to read. Despite all the talk, I wouldn't let myself see the movie until I had finished every word. Tonight was the night I finally saw it and yes, it definitely lived up to the expectations. Glad I accidentally ordered the book. Turned out to be a pleasant mistake.

7) from LateChurch- "Preach at all times. Use words if necessary" -St. Francis of Assisi.

Enjoy your long weekend! My plans: Sleeping in.
Caroline