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Friday, July 31, 2009

Anderson Asks the Question We All Wanted To

I have to admit this had to have been just a little awkward. Oh well, it' still hilarious!

VIDEO: Anderson Cooper Asks Bachelorette Jillian Harris The "Sex Question" | RadarOnline.com

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Moving On

I can't begin to tell you how lucky I am to have such great friends here at home and in blogland. The words of support and encouragement that I have read in comments, through text messages and that I have heard on the phone have been AWESOME! I truly believe that there is something bigger in store for me out there and my time will come. For now I'm moving on. If I'm meant to teach another year, I will and will give it everything I got!

Moving on...
Today I attended a technology workshop all day. I love technology but don't like to sit through and listen to somebody just speak about it. I'm more of a hands on kind of girl. So I spent most of the day navigating my way through this new program and trying to figure it out on my own. I hope I wasn't too rude but I really felt like the best way for me to learn and be able to go back and teach my coworkers was to just throw myself into it and go. By 3 I was really on a roll and was actually a little sad to have to call it a day.

Moving on...
Lucky for me there is a Target right by the school I was at. I had something that I needed to return and of course once you walk through those big red doors it's hard to walk out empty handed. Besides, what's better than some retail therapy???? I was able to get some gifts for a birthday party we are going to on Saturday and throw something in the cart for me too. I have spent all summer in dresses and when I saw this one I had to have it:


Moving on...
I'm really enjoying my workouts with Team in Training. Last night we had a tough hills workout at the good ole parking garage. We did a total of 7 runs for about 3.5 miles worth of hills! The first couple are always easy but after that the fatigue starts to set in and the calves start to feel like they're on fire. I really need to get moving with my fundraising. My recommitment day is two weeks away and I'm still short some funds. Any and all ideas are welcome!!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Recap with a bit of Whining

I can't believe it's almost been a week since my last post! There's been a lot going on and I'll do my best to try and recap it all. Thursday I left to Austin for a three day conference. Austin is such a great town but we were on a strict schedule. Up by 6:00 to be ready by 7:30 each day! Although I learned a lot, it was hard to get back into "school mode." By Sunday I think all our brains were fried which made for a lovely, 6-hour drive back home.

Yesterday morning I had an interview with another district for a 7th grade reading/writing position. I've been looking and hoping for an assistant principal job since last year in my district and decided this summer that maybe my way in would be to teach in another district first and then move into administration. Plus the middle school experience would have been great. Well, the interview went well and they offered me the job. Problem is I'm still under contract in another district. I was hoping I could just be released from my administrator and they could fill the position but instead they decided to keep me until that happens. This morning the other district called me and said since I wasn't going to be able to get released they were going to have to give the job to someone else. Needless to say I was BUMMED! I've been at the same school for 8 years now and really would like a change. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that something else opens up.

Since getting that news this morning I wasn't up to doing much. I think I need a looooonnggg run to clear my head and be ready for tomorrow. New day, new outlook.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Wednesday Already?

Wow, these summer weeks are just flying by! I can't believe tomorrow is already Wednesday. We've had a crazy last couple of days.

Saturday after my run I was at home trying to recuperate when I get a call from Robert letting me know they had taken his grandmother into the hospital. Apparently Friday night she started feeling all the symptoms of a heart attack. Now she's a STRONG women and is not one to complain so for her to make the call took a lot. Robert's aunt takes her to one of the local hospitals only to have one of the nurses tell her she'd have to fill out a stack of paperwork and wait for her turn to be called. By this time the pain was even worse and there was no way she was going to wait there. They decide to drive over to the McAllen Heart Hospital and thank God they did because they took her right in! After a series of tests it was determined that her main artery was 100% clogged and bypass surgery was scheduled for first thing Monday morning. Like I mentioned earlier she is a strong women and made it through the surgery with flying colors! When we went by tonight to go see her we joked about how she is a "model patient." Usually after this type of surgery patients spend a few days in ICU. Not her, she went straight to a recovery room. Although we know there is still a lot more recovery for her we are so glad she is doing soooo great.

In the midst of all this we also drove down to the beach Monday afternoon to bring back our RV. Our last day for the summer was scheduled for this Thursday and we had planned on spending this week there but with everything going on with his grandma we really wanted to be home.

Thursday I am off to Austin for a few days to attend a conference. Funny thing is tonight while running out on the trail by my school I bump into my principal. I asked her if she was ready for this conference and her response was just like mine. We both feel like this conference will be great but it also means we are headed into school mode soon. :( Tomorrow I need to do some major cleaning up around here and finally get that pedicure I've been craving since Saturday!!!!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Off to An Early Start

Today was a big day for our Team in Training group. We were meeting earlier than we have in the past which meant getting out of bed at 4:15 and on the road 30 minutes later. Well at least that was the plan. I actually overslept and ended up speeding over there. After lots of sleepy "Good Mornings" and stretching it was time to run. At exactly 5:40 this morning we took off for an 8 mile run through the lovely town of Weslaco. This is what it looked like for the first 50 minutes:



No joke. It was so dark it's a miracle we stayed on track! For a split second I did feel bad for the people we probably woke up when they're dogs started barking like crazy when we ran by but then I realized if I'm up and running why isn't everyone else! I practiced a 7:1 interval with two of my teammates and am so happy for pushing myself to try it. An hour and 26 minutes later we were done and I couldn't have been happier! On schedule for the rest of the day: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OTHER THAN REST. Oh and perhaps a pedicure. :)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tortillas & Technology

Since some of my friends are teachers and others are not we really look forward to summer because we can spend more time together. This summer we have tried to fill our days with pure randomness. Take today for example. We decided it was time we all learned how to make HOMEMADE tortillas. One of my friends' dad had someone come over and teach us from start to finish how to prepare a hot, yummy, tortilla. Here are some pictures:











It took us a while to learn how to roll the dough into just the right size and no they did not all end up in perfect circles but like Stacy said "it's about the taste, not the shape." Until I can roll a perfect shaped tortilla I'm going to agree with her. Aurora ran to the corner store while we continued rolling the dough and picked up some avocados and fajitas. It turned out to be a great meal.

After dinner Robert and I drove down to Best Buy and scored one of these:

Our desktop is just about dead and so we decided it was time for an upgrade. So far we love it! Tomorrow we are off to the beach. We are trying to get as much time as we can out there because next Friday Robert is back to work. Until then we are focusing on sun, sand and fun!

Lady Luck



Isn't this sunglass case just too cute? I love the design and the fact that it's perfect for my oversized sunglasses.
Thanks to Tiff over @ http://tsharee.blogspot.com and
Rebekah from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6581532
I am the new owner of this great case! Go by and visit Tiff's cute blog and stop by and do some shopping with Rebekah. You won't be disappointed! :)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wordless Few Words Wednesday

Robert was up bright and early today (4:00 AM!!!) for a fishing trip with his brother and uncle. His brother just bought a new boat and they wanted to go take it for a ride. About an hour and a half after he left I was woken up to see this picture on my phone:

Loved the picture but not the fact that it wasn't even 6 yet! A few hours later just to let me know he's having a good time this appears on my phone:

I was starting to think that all he might be catching was a buzz from that beer but then came this: I'm going to attempt to make some ceviche tomorrow. We have really grown to love ceviche with so many weekends out on the island!
I have to admit my days was not quite as productive as his. I lounged around all day. It seems the closer it gets to the end of our summer break the more lounging I want to do. This evening I met up with my Team in Training group for a hill workout. There's not too many hills around here so we workout here:


That's right, it's a parking garage. In fact it's the biggest one we have around here. Doesn't look too bad but five times up at full speed takes it's toll. Tomorrow we are looking forward to some lounging and maybe a tortilla making party. Random I know.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

7 Traits that make me ME

I saw this post on some other blogs and was so excited to get tagged by Katie so that I could play along! So here are 7 traits that I think best define me:

7. Patient - As a teacher this comes in handy on a daily basis. I have also found that this helps outside of the classroom too when dealing with other people.

6. Caring - I love to do things for others. It brings me such joy to bring a smile to other's faces.

5. Dedicated - In everything I am part of - family, husband, friends, career.

4. Curious - It's amazing how much time I can spend online looking for answers to random questions that pop into my mind during the day. I'm constantly asking questions and love to learn new things about everything and everybody!

3. Funny - Not sure if others would agree with this but I think I'm pretty funny and love to laugh and have a good time with friends.

2. Stubborn - Not a trait that is always good but I think it comes from being an only child. I try to be conscious about this and "back off" sometimes but I can't say it always works.

1. Obsessive - From time to time I tend to obsess about certain things --- blogging, facebooking, other random things.

I'm supposed to tag 7 other bloggers, but can't choose just 7 so if you want to play along start sharing!

Blog Hop - 3 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Welcome Blog Hoppers! Missed out on the last one so hope you enjoy this one!


1. I do not own lipstick. Big shocker to some of my friends who have asked to borrow some! In fact it's been a quite a while since I shopped for some. Instead I get by with a collection of chapstick. This is currently my favorite: 2. I talk to this guy as if he was human. We have at least ten conversations a day. Sometimes I wonder what he thinks about the whole thing. I know my husband's thoughts but does he think it's weird too??

3. I'm training to run a marathon in San Antonio on November 15th. I joined Team in Training over a month ago and decided to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while training. I have not slept past 4:30 for the last 5 Saturdays!!!! Instead I drag myslef out of bed and join the group for an early morning run. We started off easy with 3 miles and are now up to 8 miles!!! It hasn't been easy but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Stop by and visit my fundraising page to learn more @ http://pages.teamintraining.org/stx/rnrsa09/jlopeztvof

MckLinky Blog Hop

Friday, July 10, 2009

Marlene on the Run

I just discovered this AMAZING blog through another blogger : Marlene on the Run. Her story is both inspiring and motivating. In honor of her 500th post she is hosting a great giveaway. Go by and visit her blog to get inspired and entered.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

"Charm"ing, Just Charming


One of my best friends is getting married in December so when I saw a giveaway for 6 Wedding Cake charms from Peachtree Circle, I thought how perfect would those be for her! I went ahead and signed up for the giveaway and was ecstatic when I found out I won. They are so cute and are perfect for a bracelet or necklace. She can choose from a Ring - Next to become engaged, to an Airplane - Adventure in your life, to an Anchor - Faith, Hope, and Charity to a Bible - A life full of peace, to a Dove - A live of peace & love or lots of others. Now the real work starts as she tries to choose her 6! Thanks to Sarah from Windowboxes and Weissbier for hosting!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Weekend Recap

Yesterday started off pretty early for me. 5:00 AM to be exact. Since joining Team in Training a month ago my Saturday mornings have been dedicated to training in different areas of the Valley. I have to admit that it is hard for me to get to bed early on Friday nights and then wake up so early the next day but I keep reminding myself of our cause. Again this week I had a really hard time sleeping the night before which it made it hard to get out of the bed. With it being a holiday our group was not as big as it has been however we all managed to finish either 5 (marathoners)or 2. 5 (half-marathoners) miles. After our run we headed over to Denny's for some breakfast and good conversation, picked up lots of good ideas for fundraising that I'm going to look into. My plans for the rest of the morning included a nice, long shower, some blogging, some TV and then a few hours of sleep. I knew Robert would be busy at a local BBQ cookoff and I was really looking forward to just relaxing for a while before heading out there. I managed to rest for a couple of hours when I got a call from Robert informing me to be ready in 20 minutes, he'd be waiting outside with a "surprise you'll love!" I was still tired and needed more rest but that surprise got me up and getting ready. I got in the truck and started asking question after question about my surprise. He stopped be and asked me to open the console and that's when I saw this: I was soooooooo excited and spent lots of time yesterday and today trying to learn how to use all it's features. Still don't have it all figured out yet but am enjoying it a lot more than my other one.

The rest of our afternoon was spent at a local BBQ cookoff that a close friend of ours was participating in. It was so hot and hard to be out there for so long but we really wanted to show our support for him and his cooking team. They ended up placing 6th in one of the categories. Considering he was competing against 46 other teams, that was AWESOME!!! The other way we showed our love was by serving as his taste testers. :)))Here's a pic of his BBQ pit and the flag in the background. How fitting for the 4th of July!

With all the activities and excitement of yesterday it is no surprise we stayed in most of the day today and just relaxed. Tomorrow is Robert's first official day of vacation and there has been some talk about heading out to the beach!!!

Smartfood Review & A Giveaway

Go here http://aad108reviews.blogspot.com/ for your chance to win a $100 gift card!!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

New Do


A couple of days ago (and a few trips to the beach) I was just tooooooooooooo hot and frustrated I decided it was time to go short again with the hair. Thank goodness my hairdresser Tino is so flexible because he was able to take me in this morning to work his magic. The whole time before the cut I wasn't nervous. I always figure it's just hair and will grow out. I think it helps that my hair grows pretty fast too. Well this morning I wasn't nervous until I heard Tino say "We've never gone this short before, right??????" All the while chunks and chunks of hair are falling to the floor. When all was said and done though it turned out awesome and I love it! I would post a pic but I ruined the nice blowdry he did by doing spinning this evening. Tomorrow I'm going to try my best to do a repeat of what he did today but no matter how hard I try it never comes out quite the same. Who am I kidding? It's never anywhere near the same!

A "Charm"ing Giveaway



Head on over to Windowboxes and Weissbier and get entered in her giveaway. One lucky reader will win a set of 6 Wedding Cake Charms. Even if you are not a bride-to-be or know someone who is getting married, there are so many options to choose from for gifts! Click on the picture in my sidebar to visit her blog and get entered.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Team in Training Workout #3

Today was my third workout with my TNT group. I have to admit I was a little nervous. Our training calendar just said: Hills - McAllen, 4X2:00 AI, Bentsen Tower Garage, 7:00 PM. When I first read it was more like Blah, Blah, Blah PARKING GARAGE! How many levels you ask? After some stretching we all ran to the 5th level just to see what to expect. As we walked down the coaches explained our goal was to try and run to the top in under two minutes. Not bad, right? Except that we were going to be doing that 4 times in a row!!!! My first two times up weren't bad but by the third time up I was dragging. Although I didn't look anywhere near as cool as this guy: I did manage to finish! I'm really looking forward to our run on Saturday, it's going to be a 5 miler bright and early. If you haven't had a chance to visit my fundraising page here's the link again: http://pages.teamintraining.org/stx/rnrsa09/jlopeztvof
Remember every dollar counts!