a little bit of everything...

I have always loved birthdays, especially mine.  Even if I didn't do anything big, I always loved to celebrate with a dinner with friends at the very least.

This year, however, I just wasn't feeling it.

I haven't really had a problem with getting older up until now.  29 didn't bother me. 30 only bothered me because I had the stomach flu.  Nothing post-30 had bothered me either.  That is, until this year.

35.

I am not sure why it sounds so much older than 34, but it really does.

Maybe it's because 35 is the age you start hearing on commercials. You know, "Women over 35 should consult their doctor..." "these risks increase in women over 35..."

Maybe it's because at 35, high school was literally half a lifetime ago.

Or maybe it's because at 35, I can't really ignore the fact that my life has not turned out the way I thought it would.

I love my life, I do.  Most days, I am perfectly happy with who I am and what I have accomplished (I m…

I am not one to post the daily thankful status updates on Facebook.  (For the record, this is not because I am NOT thankful, but because I want to save everyone the time of having to hide me from their news feed on Day 7 when I run out of big things to say and start posting the same things I've posted for three years.) However, I have been thinking about my blessings lately, and trying to focus on what I do have, not what I don't.  It's difficult.  I am blessed in several areas of my life, but in all honesty, sometimes not the ones I want to be blessed in.  I have been striving to not compare myself to others and focus on what's good, but it is a challenge.  Then today I ran across this little jewel on Pinterest:





In all of the things I've read and sermons I've heard and conversations I have had, this one just drives it home for me.  Because it's true.

The grass is NOT always greener, and it would do us good to remember that.

Dear Coach Stoops,
Thanks for coming to Kentucky. Thanks for seeking us out and for convincing Mitch Barnhart that even with no head coaching experience, you were the man for this job. You were right... You are the man for this job. While the record books may have you right now with a losing head coaching record (1-2), you're winning.

You've won the hearts of the long suffering UK football fans, and given us hope for the future. I told another UK football fan with a new wildcat of her own (approximate recruiting class 2030) that if you do what you promise, her little one will never grow up thinking UK football sucks. And Coach, that's saying a LOT!

You've won the hearts of those in attendance at Commonwealth Stadium. (Please note that these aren't necessarily the same group as the long suffering UK football fans.) Last season, attendance was poorawful atrocious. Even when they (who is "they" anyway?) inflated the numbers, they were still less than half …

Imagine my surprise when I opened my blog today and had to dust off my screen it had been so long since I gave it some love! You see, I have been pretty preoccupied with this thing called a “240 day contract” (for those of you outside of the education world, this means I am a full year employee like the rest of the non K-12 people) and this other little thing called “The Cutest House on the Block” (more on that later).


I came here today to write about Ridiculous Travel Nonsense ~ Part C and I see that the last time I posted was Ridiculous Travel Nonsense ~ Part A, so let me catch you up on my travel (mis) adventures since then.


After I FINALLY got to San Antonio, (First Class, thankyouverymuch!) the ISTE conference was amazing. Coming home was worse than getting there. Yes, that’s right, you heard me, WORSE than getting there.


Here is a brief synopsis of my June 27, 2013 aka the day I almost moved to Atlanta.


4:30am-Awaken and stumble downstairs to check out of my hotel and head to …

As someone immersed in technology on a daily basis, the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference is one of the few that I feel I gain knowledge by attending. This year, I booked my flight to San Antonio excited for all I'd learn.
About a month before the conference, I got an email from Delta letting me know they had changed my flight times. The times were later in the day, which meant I wasn't getting to San Antonio until about 10 PM, which was why later than I wanted to get there, but at this point, what are you going to do? Flight was leaving Lexington at 3:00pm, four hour layover in Detroit, leaving Detroit at 8:00.
Today, I got a phone call from Delta explaining that the flight was delayed 45 minutes. They offered to rebook me, but as this really only meant my layover in Detroit was shorter, I decided to stick it out.
By the time Megan dropped me off at the airport, the delay was over an hour, which meant I had way too much time on my hands, b…

I've learned a lot from Disney movies over the years.  For instance, I know not to touch the spindle on the spinning wheel, ALWAYS be home by curfew, my nose will grow if I tell a lie, and that the pleasantly plump fairies are the nice ones (c'mon, y'all know Tinkerbell was kind of a brat).  I also learned from a little monkey (I think he was a monkey) named Rafiki, "the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it." 

I've made some mistakes in my life. There are some mistakes that honestly I would probably make again, and others I would not. I have periods, seasons, hell, even years, of my life that I wouldn't mind just erasing from my memory. Those nights I wasted crying over a boy? I wish I could have those back. The times I stayed in bed all day because I couldn't think of a reason to get out? Yep, I wish I had those back too.  I have learned from my past, and I continue to learn from it, but it&#…

Approximately 18 months ago, I placed a bright green post it on my bathroom mirror with one word on it.  A name actually. It was the name of my oldest and dearest friend and I made the decision to pray for her every day, every morning as I got ready, and every evening as I brushed my teeth (and any times in between that I saw it).  I prayed hard, and I prayed faithfully, as she was doing for herself, and as I know she has done and continues to do for me.  I prayed for God to be with her and I prayed for His comfort and His timing.  And one day last September, I set my alarm to remember to pray extra hard for her, and her husband, and the sweet baby that I knew would one day be a part of their family.

You know, I've prayed my whole life... I've thanked God for things, and I've asked God for things. But I'd never been one of those people who had "heard" God answer.  I always assumed if I did (which I honestly didn't think I would), it would be LOUD, like th…

Those of you who know me personally know I'm not a patient person. At all. So my house feels like it's been listed for just shy of two years, not two weeks. I've found one I want to buy, I need this place to sell! But in addition to being a lesson in patience, there's another problem: keeping my house clean.

Now I understand that having no one else living here with me (such as little people running around) means I have it easier than others listing their house. However, as it is only me, and my amount of visitors is slim to none, I had the privilege of not really worring about how things looked. See, while I have the kind of OCD that means I cannot wait more than 30 seconds to read email if there's a little red 1 on my mail app, I do not have the kind that means my shoes don't go in a pile by the door, or that the clothes go directly in the hamper when I take them off. Up until ten days ago, at any given time, there were more door knobs with bras hanging on the…

I'm addicted to HGTV. Seriously addicted. It's my off season ESPN. Every Sunday for at least the past two years has been spent watching House Hunters. Often, I like to yell at the television: "IT'S JUST A PAINT COLOR!" or "NO! You don't NEED to redo the kitchen. You WANT to!" So I was very thrilled that in my house hunt this time, I had not turned into one of those people.
I started looking for houses by learning what I could afford, then I figured out where I want to be, and what I am really looking for, which is an old house with character. I'm willing to sacrifice big closets and a whirlpool tub for a porch swing and built ins. That's just who I am. I found several I liked online. But how do you rank a bunch of super cute houses in the same neighborhood? And how do you keep all the ins and outs straight when you are looking by yourself? Well when you're a nerd like me, a Google Form is clearly the way to go.
In addition to my list of…

For years, I've talked about one day getting a "real" house... You know, where I own all four walls, and have a porch and a yard and everything. Well, I finally decided now was as good of a time as any... And I decided to clean, declutter, and get this townhouse ready to list. It shouldn't take too long, right? How much stuff could I accumulate in a little over 1000 sq feet anyway? (SPOILER ALERT: lots)

I started one night a couple of weeks ago and I pulled everything out from under my bed. My mother can attest, this has been a place I historically shove crap. As I was pulling out plastic bins and folders and more shoeboxes than I think I have shoes, I began to make three piles: KEEP, TOSS, DONATE. I kind of felt like Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City movie, minus the friends. And the champagne. And the Run DMC audio track. This took approximately two hours, and I knew this was the least of my worries, so I decided I'd tackle the rest that weekend.

I went…

I decided to take advantage of my ability to be spontaneous this spring break and just get in the car and drive south by myself. I have an iPhone, and fairly new vehicle, and On-Star. I'll be fine, right? Well, I forgot to take into account EVERYONE travels I-75S, and as I did not have a reservation, it took me three towns and five hotels (and one near nervous breakdown) before I found a vacancy late Friday night... In a Super 8... In a smoking room. Not the greatest accommodations. However the sheets were clean (I ignored the cigarette burn in the blanket) and the bathroom was clean (the shampoo was in what appeared to be large ketchup packets... I guess Super 8 doesn't trust me with a tiny bottle), and I got a fairly decent night's sleep (until at 5am I started to hear everyone filling their coolers with ice from the machine right outside my door). But I made it out alive.

When I finally got Jacksonville (around two hours later than I'd planned thanks to two days wor…

We had this guest speaker at church this past Sunday, Bob Goff.  He was amazing, he's all about putting actions behind your faith and not just resting on it. He's done some amazing things with his life for others, including teaching kids in Uganda how to surf. (Seriously, watch at least part of this video!)

He also wrote a book called "Love Does" which I downloaded from Amazon and spent all of Sunday afternoon reading it. In this book, Bob (and I feel like he'd want me to call him Bob, not "Goff" or "Mr. Goff") recounts a story of being denied admission to law school, but knowing God's plan for him was to get in, so he met with the Dean, and when he was told "No" again, simply told the Dean that he had the power to let him in, all he had to say was "Go buy your books."  Well he waited outside the Dean's office every day for over a week, and finally SPOILER ALERT: the Dean winked at him and told him, "Go buy you…

A friend of mine asked me if I would like to be a guest blogger on his Kentucky Wildcats blog called UKFanatics. I wrote my first post for it today, so I thought I would link it here. Enjoy!

http://ukfanatic.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/football-talk-in-february-is-this-for-real/

Two posts in one day! I know y'all are so excited you can't even stand it! This has been a super productive snow day for me: I made mini donut bites this morning (WOW!), I got to have lunch today with my friend (and we both swear long lost sister) Trish, and right now I've got chili in the crock pot for dinner.

Chili is a good food for a snow day, and not just because it's cold outside. Chili is a snowflake food: no two people seem to have the same recipe. So I thought I'd be one of those fancy food bloggers and show you my recipe with pictures and everything! (Don't worry, I'll get back to being cynical about life in my next post.) It's really a great recipe, and since most of it is canned, I keep the stuff on hand and throw it in the crock pot when I'm ready.

Erin's Chili





The cans:
2 tomato sauce
3 diced tomatoes (I use 2 "chili ready" and 1 plain)
2 beans (I use one black, one kidney)










The meat:
1 lb ground beef (I think the kind p…

I sit around and wait for you, hoping and praying for your arrival. People tell me you're coming, but you let me down, so I decide maybe its time to move on. Then you go and show up today, and I'm in love all over again. No matter how much I beg, I know you won't stay as long as I'd like, and you will leave me wanting more as soon as you're gone, but regardless I'm still glad you're here now. Thanks for showing up snow. Come back whenever you want. You know I'll be waiting.

I've most always considered myself a strong, independent woman. I have had my weak times when I was too dependent on others, but I think I'm over that (well except of course needing my dad to fix things... But that's okay, right?) However, this morning, as I sit watching my Netflix and eating a homemade breakfast, I have something I need to say. Yes. I have a codependent relationship with snow. But you know what? I'm in education so I'm okay with that.

Ok, I'…

Once upon a time in a small town in Indiana just a smidge over twenty-nine years ago, a young couple had a baby girl. About eight years later, that family moved from that little town in Indiana to an even littler one in Kentucky. And at Sunday school one morning, the little Indiana girl met a little Kentucky girl (who probably gave her crap about Bobby Knight within the hour), and these little girls became friends.

Elementary school turned to middle school, and these girls were still friends. Sunday school hours were spent trying to find out if cussing was in fact a sin, and church services were spent writing notes and drawing pictures in the balcony. There were Christmas musicals, lock ins, and even a lovely duet that somehow turned into more of a solo thanks to a certain boy showing up. The Kentucky girl tried to teach about why the Wildcats would always be superior to the Hoosiers, and the Indiana girl tried to teach the members of the Mickey Mouse Club. Neither of them really had …