Things I'm Loving Right Now

With summer vacation well underway and Robert still working at school, I've found myself with ALOT some free time to peruse the Internet and watch way toooo much TV. Now normally this wouldn't be too bad but I've come across so many things I'd LOVE to have and have really had to use some SELF-DISCIPLINE to keep myself from hitting that "Add to Shopping Cart" button. So here is my wishlist:

Philosphy Life's a Beach Set - the description on their site is ridiculous, hard not to order one

Gianni Bini "Lux" in a 9.5 (even though my friend said they reminded her of prom shoes!)

Palm Pre by Sprint (maybe they could send me one to try????)

Tickets to see these two in September

IRONMAN watch with interval timer to help with TNT runs

Deluxe Wonder Wheeler Cooler & Beach Chair Cart 2009 - we've become experts at packing up for the beach but every weekend it seems like we are hauling more and more stuff out there!


Now is that really too much to ask for???? Some songs(been leaning towards country) I've caught myself singing over and over in the car:
1. Nest Days of Your Life - Kelly Pickler
2. Out Last Night - Kenny Chesney
3. Whatever It Is - Zac Brown Band
4. I Run to You - Lady Antebellum
5. Then - Brad Paisley
6. Kiss A Girl - Keith Urban
7. Always the Love Songs - Eli Young Band
8. Here Comes Goodbye - Rascall Flatts
9. Sideways - Dierks Bentley
10. People Are Crazy - Billy Currington

Oh Where, Oh Where did the Weekend Go

This past weekend was my second week running with Team in Training. Friday night I stayed up too late trying to get all my fundraising letters ready so when my alarm went off at 4:45 AM on Saturday I wasn't a happy camper. One of my teammates and now friend picked me up about twenty minutes later and we were off to Weslaco. Our goal for Saturday was 4 miles. The coaches encouraged us to try an interval run. For me that meant running for 5 minutes, walking for 1. I have to admit that at first I wasn't sold on the idea, however I decided to give it a try. The first stop felt a little unusual, like I wasn't ready for a break yet and the competitor in me didn't like how many people were passing me up. However, one of the mentors assured me that in the end we would be right by if not in front of them. Forty two minutes later, her words proved to be true. It was nice to finish and not feel completely dead. After our run we met up for breakfast and more great conversation at a local restaurant.

Around noon, we packed up and headed to the beach. We had planned somewhat of an anniversary party on the beach with our friends. I am so grateful for each and every one of them. They all pitched in by bringing snacks and drinks. We played in the water, laughed, danced and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was so much fun! After a quick shower we headed out to dinner at Pier 19. They have a boardwalk that extends out into the middle of the water and they were able to get us a table out there. As much as we would have liked to continue to celebrate, we were pooped! It just wasn't happening.

After a much needed good night's rest we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Palms and then headed for home. We had a nice dinner planned for Sunday, our actual anniversary, but with all the excitement from Saturday we decided to lay around and relax instead. Turned out to be one of our best ideas yet! Here's what the UPS man delivered for me on Friday: I had seen on the Tiffany's website and loved it. It was even better in person and on my hand!

365 Days Ago......

Happy 1st Anniversary!
We've had our share of busy times, we've had our share of quiet.
We've had our share of working hard and times that were a riot!
We've had our share of differences, and, sure, we've had a spat.
We've had our share of making up --- and, boy, we're good at that.
We've shared the good, we've shared the great, We've shared a tear or two.
I wouldn't trade a moment of the times I've shared with you.

Men vs.Women

Tonight Stacy was nice enough to invite us (Aurora and I) over for wine and snacks. When we get together (as I'm sure is true for all women) there is never a shortage of topics for conversation. Even though we had spent three hours together earlier in the day there was still plenty to talk about over dinner! After awhile her fiance got home and joined us at the table while he had dinner. He seemed surprised by all the different topics we were able to cover in such a short amount of time and was pretty sure that in his ENTIRE life he had never had any conversations like that with any of his friends. That of course led us to talking about just how different men and women are in all aspects of our life (relationships with the opposite sex, relationships with the same sex, work, family, etc..) I found these two images tonight that do an EXCELLENT job of summing up these differences:

Sorry they are so small, here's the link http://media.photobucket.com/image/men%20vs%20women%252527s%20brain/MarsPhotos/Male_and_female_brain.gif

Study them carefully.They seem pretty darn accurate wouldn't you say????

Act Now

The ABC's of Me

I saw this over on Holly's blog and decided I'd give it a try. Here it goes:

A-Age: 31

B-Birth date: May 7, 1978

C-Chore you hate: Mopping

D-Dog's name: Charlie

E-Enter or Exit: Enter

F-Favorite color: Purple

G-Gold or silver: If someone else is buying, I'm not picky. :)

H-Hair color: Brown

I-Instrument: None, would love to know how to play the piano though.

J-Job Title: Teacher

K-Kids: not yet

L-Living arrangements: Live with Robert & Charlie.

M-Monkey or Moose: Monkey

N-Nicknames: Jen, Jlo

O-Odd thing about you: I have entire conversations with my dog.

P-Pet Peeve: Disrespect

Q-Quote from a movie: From Taking Pelham 123 : "If you don't NEED it, LEAVE it."

R-Right/Left Handed: Right

S-Siblings: 0

T-Time you wake up? During the school year around 6:15, summer time it varies

U-Underwear: All types.

V-Veggie you dislike: Beets

W-What makes you run late: the comfyness of the bed, reality tv

X-X-Rays: teeth

Y-Yummy food you make: Chicken Carbanora

Z-Zoo Animal: Flamingos

More Books for Summer Reading

I was so excited to find out I won Girls with Books Paying it Forward Giveaway Pack!!! These three books should keep me busy for the next few weeks and on our upcoming vacation!

Team in Training Practice #1

As I wrote about in an earlier post, a couple of weeks ago I decided to take on one of the biggest challenges of my life: A MARATHON! I am excited and nervous about it all at the same time. Thanks to Team in Training, I have coaches, mentors, and a group of men and women FRIENDS that are going to help prepare me both mentally and physically for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on November 15, 2009 in San Antonio. Today was our first practice at a park not too far from my house that I usually run at. The morning started off a little shaky for me because when my alarm went off this morning at 5:00 AM (yes, I know this is early but with the Texas heat if you don't get it done early, it probably won't happen) I hit the snooze button. Twenty minutes later I jumped out of bed, ran around getting dressed and headed out. After some stretching, prayer, and words of inspiration we were off for our timed 3 miles. Although I was dragging a little bit I still finished right under 30 minutes. I had the pleasure of meeting a few other ladies whom I've already exchanged phone numbers with and know we will be running buddies soon. I'm looking forward to our next practices and can't wait to see the person this experience will turn me into! If you'd like to know more about Team in Training and help us save lives visit my page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/stx/rnrsa09/jlopeztvof. I've added a button to my sidebar that will get you there too! Here are some amazing facts I've learned over the last week:
1. More than 823,000 Americans have leukemia, Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma.
2. Every five minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.
3. Research funded by LLS has led or contributed to advances such as chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as Gleevec®.
4. Childhood leukemia survival rate is up from 4% in 1960s to over 80% over the last 40 years.

There's lost more, but I'll share them with you later.

P.S. If anyone has some ideas for fundraising PLEASE let me know!

The New Living Will

A good laugh courtesy of Stacy:


Last night, my husband and I were sitting in the living room and I said to him, 'I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.'

He got up, unplugged the Computer, and threw out my wine.

He's such an jerk.....

Book or a Movie?

Normally I would say movie but today I actually managed to read through the first half of a fun book and watch a great movie. After lunch today I convinced Robert to take me to Half Price Books. We were on a schedule because he had to be back for his afternoon trainings. We made our way in and I immediately went back to the clearance section. I found this and this for only $1 a piece. I decided to start with Begdorf Blondes first and am glad I did. Hopefully tomorrow I can get through the rest of it and get started on the next one. This evening we found the nearest movie theatre and watched Taking Pelham 123. It was more of a "guy" movie but I still enjoyed it. Although there was a lot of great lines my favorite had to be "If you don't NEED it, LEAVE it." So true and can be applied to many, many things.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I was so excited this morning when I logged on and saw I had won Stuttering Shell's giveaway. I can't wait to get this set in the mail:

The lucky streak continued throughout the day. After taking Charlie for a walk along here
and meeting Robert for lunch, I decided to hit up the local Target and see what treasures might be hiding in their clearance racks. Sure enough within 10 minutes of walking in I had a cute cropped jacket and running top in my basket. I had been after the jacket for a while but the three stores around my area had all sold out before it even went on sale! What was even better was that I paid a little over $10 for both!

For dinner tonight we headed over to Brewster St. Icehouse.
It's pretty popular with the locals and we soon found out why. There's great music playing, the food is great, the prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is fun. We were so impressed we talked about maybe going back for lunch before we leave on Thursday. Tomorrow Robert has another full day of inservices and I'm off for some more treasure hunting.

Why Hotel Reviews are SOOOOO Important

After lunch at Parroteyes on the island today we packed up and headed to Corpus. Robert has a Texas School Law Conference here until Thursday and with him being gone all last week to Austin Charlie and I decided to tag along for this one. As we drove in to our hotel I thought maybe we had been in the car too long because I thought I had heard him say we would be at the Holiday Inn and the building we were in front did not look anything like one. Here's a picture: Doesn't look bad right? Once I stepped in though and looked around it was a COMPLETELY different story. It was like we had gone back in time to the 70's. Seriously it needed some major renovations and the smell was not welcoming at all. After looking at the expression on my face Robert tells me that he knew this was a mistake. Apparently he had read some reviews and they all had nothing but bad things to say about this place. However, someone he works with had somehow convinced him it wasn't bad at all. We got back in the car and after a short "talk" agreed that this wasn't the place for us. As we drove off the bums hanging out in the front of the hotel reassured us we had made the best decision. I quickly googled the number for the Omni, which is where the conference will be held. After some time we got lucky and they found a room for us! What was even better was the fact that they were going to honor their $85 a night group rate for us! So for about $30 dollars less this is our home for the next few days: Since Robert will be busy during the day I plan to spend a lot of time here: Tonight I logged on to tripadvisor.com and read up on some of those reviews that Robert had seen about the other hotel. No way we would have stopped there had I seen them first! I think we've learned our lesson!

One more for the collection

We are firm believers around here that we can never have enough koozies. As a matter of fact almost a year ago at our wedding my husband thought it would be a great idea to pass out koozies we had custom made to our male guests as a fun treat. They had our monogram on one side and this on the other "To have and to hold and to keep your beer cold." They were a hit! So when I saw BLC's Koozie Swap a few weeks ago I knew I had to sign up. I was paired up with Mallory from Just a Preppy Beach Chic Girl. Today I was so excited to see my surprise package in the mail. I got the cutest koozie from Mallory. Here's a picture of it: It will definitely be coming with us to the beach this weekend!

Going Postal

For the last couple of days I've been on a mission to get everything in order for my passport. Yesterday after getting my birth certificate (the long one, apparently the card is not enough) and passport pics at Walgreen's I headed out to two different post offices only to hear that they had already reached their limit of 40 a day. The nice man at the counter told me if I wanted a shot today I needed to be there by 8. So this morning I dragged myself out of bed and walked through the doors of the post office right at 7:30. There was already seven people ahead of me. After about an hour they came out and started passing out numbers. The wait was horrible. I was tired and hungry. Then of course there has to be drama. One lady in front of me walked out to buy the paper while the man came by so when she returned it was only to find out that she no longer had a spot. She argued and argued with the lady next to her that 5 should be her number and finally the postmaster just let the two of them "share" the spot. HA! It wasn't until 9:30 that they started calling the first two people in. Finally at 10:45 and $150 dollars poorer I was done! In 7-10 days I should be free to roam about the world or as my friend said to cross the border to buy liquor and Mexican candy!

Taking Control

Saturday my friend Erica invited us over for a Beauticontrol Spa Party. I had experienced one of these before at school during Teacher Appreciation Week but it had been so rushed because we only had 45 minutes during our conference, so I was really looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. For two hours we worked on cleaning, firming, exfoliating and beautifying our face. Well, mostly just the right side of our face. The key during these parties is working on one side the whole time so that at the end you can compare how much better you look thanks to their products. At the end of the party it was pretty obvious that I really did need to start doing something to take care of my skin. I've never had a beauty regime. I just wash my wash, put moisturizer on and some makeup and go. As I've gotten older though I've noticed that what I've been doing is not cutting it anymore. I decided to try their "For 30's Skin" Maintenance Line.
According to their brochure the "daily facial is designed to replinish the skin's essential moisture, repair damage already done, revive and energize dull, tired skin and recapture the bright natural glow of youth." Seriously, who would not not dish out money after reading that. I just got the products today and am hoping to see my natural youth return ASAP!

Fantabulously Frugal Giveaway

Head over to Fantabulously Frugal's blog for your chance to win an awesome giveaway. It includes everything from mints, to hairpins, to note cards to OPI Nail Polish! It looks well just fantabulous! Let her know I sent you her way!

One Room at a Time

Over dinner one night a couple of weeks ago Robert asked me a very crucial question: "What are you going to do all day in June while I'm still at work?" Now I know he's just a tad bit jealous that my summer vacation has already started and his hasn't so I knew that my answer had to be good. Without thinking about it too much I replied "Oooh, I know. I'm really going to dedicate my time to organize several rooms in here." Well, yesterday I decided to tackle our laundry room first. It was a hodgepodge of wrapping paper, extra sheets and towels and of course the coveted golf clubs that take up way too much room. After about an hour and a half it was Laundry Room 0 Me 1. I did it! I was able to find everything a new home where it all made more sense. Today the battle began with the pantry. It's amazing how much stuff we had in there that was no longer any good. This job took some more time and although I did feel bad about throwing stuff away, it really was of no use to anyone amymore. Now the challenge becomes keeping up with the organization! Tomorrow I'm taking on my closet. AGAIN. I thought I had done this a few months ago but somehow it's back to chaos in there. My aunt is having a garage sale in a couple of weeks so it will be a good time to go through and set aside stuff for that. Let's hope tomorrow the score is DISORGANIZED ROOMS 0 ME 3 !!!!!!

I ♥ Craiglist

Last weekend we purchased a new table which should be delivered on Wednesday. Robert had been on me about getting our current one sold before the new one came in but with all the craziness that is the end of a school year I hadn't got around to doing it. This morning as I posted an ad on Craigslist for one of our apartments that will be available in July, I decided to take a few pics of the table and post on it on Craiglist too. We've had success with Craiglist before, been able to rent out our units fairly quickly but today I was amazed when within an hour of posting the ad someone was at our door ready to buy the table! Of course now that it's gone our kitchen is looking a little empty but that's okay Wednesday will be here before we know it.

Inspired by TNT

This morning after my run I headed out to my Team in Training informational meeting. An hour later, I walked out so inspired and motivated to face one of the biggest challenges of my life : a half marathon (or maybe the full 26.2) this November in San Antonio. My friends and I had toyed with the idea of doing it and have talked about it but this morning my mind was COMPLETELY made up. I'm doing it and there's no turning back. To see and hear from a group of runners who just competed last weekend in San Diego was AWESOME. I got that feeling that if they could do it then so could I. To hear the stories from survivors and patients of blood cancers was so moving. It really put things into perspective for me. My complaints of a bad day in no way compare to what a patient goes through while under treatment. Within the next couple of days I should be receiving more information on our training and fundraising sessions but when I left that room today this is what I knew for sure:

1. I CAN do this thanks to this group.
2. I WILL do this with the help of the group.
3. The fundraising minimum is not impossible and summer is a great time to get it done! Plus I know the blogging community is a great way to get the word out.
4. If I feel this great about it now, I can't wait to experience the feeling I get as I cross the finish line!

2 Days In

That's right, I'm currently two days into my summer vacation and my internal school time alarm clock has woken me up by 6:30 AM both days!!!! My cousin who is also a teacher seems to believe that it is not an internal alarm clock but rather a curse. I guess I'll give it a few more days before I decide exactly what it is. Yesterday I kept myself busy most of the day by visiting all of my favorite shops. There's something so peaceful about browsing the aisles in your favorite stores bright and early when nobody else is out or after lunch when everyone is back at work. I found this adorable bandanna and margarita plush toy for Charlie in the dollar section of Target. You can't really tell from this picture but he's chewing on the lime that's hanging on the rim of the glass. Just like his momma!!!! I love this one! It looks like he's had one too many! I'm surprised that he hasn't destroyed it yet and taken all the filling out of it. I'm giving him one more day before I start finding it all over the house!

For dinner we headed over to Robert's co-worker's house for their end of year staff party. They sure do know how to let loose. Today I met Robert for lunch. Since he's an administrator he still has three more weeks of work before his summer vacation begins. After lunch I headed over to the salon to have Tino give my hair some life. Three hours later I walked out with a brighter, much cuter head of hair.I don't know about anyone else but every time I step into a salon and they start working on my hair I immediately get so relaxed and sleepy. By the time I get home instead of wanting to go out and show it off I just want to relax and sleep. Just as I got comfortable my aunt called to let me know they were moving into their new house and asked if I wanted to come over. She was too excited for me to say no so I headed out there. Their new home is custom built and beautiful. Of course there are boxes and boxes of stuff everywhere but it's perfect for the three of them. What I found funny was this: Of all things that MUST be set up today, both my uncle and cousin felt like their new 52inch plasma TV had to be up and ready!!!!!Oh the joys of moving. I'll be back to help them tomorrow after my Team in Training meeting. Since I've committed myself to running a half marathon in November I thought it might be good to be part of a training team. Has anyone ever trained with them before???

We Made It

When I left school today at about 4:00, the school year officially ended and my summer vacation officially started!!!! Although today was only a half day with the kiddos it really did feel like a whole week rolled into one. There was a lot of cleaning up, hugs, kisses and tears. I had this same group of kids in fourth grade so we made some great connections and it was hard to see them walk out the door. Last night I spent over an hour writing each ONE of them and their parents a little note of thanks and good luck. It was great to see them open them up and read them today. That's about the time the tears started! On a brighter note, along with all the other activities we had this week, my friend Stacy texted me yesterday morning with a little extracurricular activity that happened at her house. Her text was letting me know "the proposal" had finally happened. We all knew it was coming but didn't know exactly when. I was so excited for her and can't wait for the wedding in December. I must give props to Esteban , her fiance for really making it a true bachelor/bachelorette moment. He went all out with the rose petals, champagne (well sort of) and candles lining the sidewalk?????? WOW!!!! One of our other extracurricular activities was tonight at Pepper's. Our friend and co-worker Mariana is off to Kingsville tomorrow. Her husband had been commuting back and forth all year to teach some classes at the university over there and now that the school year is over they decided to make the move up there. She will be taking care of their baby during the day and then head back to school for her master's in the evenings. I couldn't be prouder of her but will surely miss her! We've had a lot of great laughs and night outs!

Hanging On

At this point I'm not sure whose genius idea it was to fill our last three days of school with so many activities but after only one day I was drained. Yesterday I survived a morning of and a whole afternoon of Don't get me wrong I know the kids love these types of days where we spend all our time out of the classroom and they have so much fun playing games and showing off their dance and music skills but as a teacher it's tough. We've never been in school this late in the year and I think we are all just ready to wrap things up. I know a lot of teachers haven't even started cleaning up and organizing their room, guess it will have to get done tomorrow after our Student/Faculty Softball Game and End of the Year parties. (Like I said three days of activties!) Today we are off with 150 5th graders and about 50 parents to Schlitterbahn for one last hurrah! Keeping my fingers crossed that the rain stays away!