The World According to Leslie

This   morning, the alarm went off at 4am.  We all (except maybe the Princess) were up and trying to get ready for Easter SONrise Service at church.  It started at 6am.   Afterwards, we had breakfast with everyone at church.   We came home for a nap and to change into our church clothes.  (We wear jeans and sneakers to SONrise Service!)   After regular service, we went out to eat with the family, as usual.  There was also a new friend with us!   Then we came home to rest.  We were supposed to work on the house.  However, we all crashed (except for the Princess!)!!  I think she might be wide awake because she slept through SONrise service…only waking in time to eat breakfast.  Then she slept through the regular service—waking up only in time to eat lunch!    That’s the Princess!    HAPPY EASTER!

As of 11am yesterday, I am on SPRING BREAK!  One rule for Spring Break is DO NOT WAKE ME UNTIL THE SUN IS UP (except Easter Sunday when we go to SONrise service)!!! This morning, I slept until 8:15!  It was so awesome!  The sun was coming in my window!  The alarm never went off--wasn't even set!  Now, we have softball at 11am! We have an Easter egg hunt (with a local church and 20,000 Easter eggs!) at 2pm!  Then we have to come home and get cleaned up to go to my parents for dinner.  Supposedly all the kids (Donnie, Lisa, and me) and our families are going to be there! In between those, we might go help my parents with some yard work if they want us to (if they are ready to do it today!)!!!!  It's going to be a busy day!  Can't wait to see the WHOLE family! :)

At 8am this morning, I am going in to work for 3 hours.  :(  Then I am leaving.... claiming my munchkin from my mommy's house (since she had a sleepover there to avoid getting up so early this morning)...and going Easter SHOE shopping.  We have the dress, we just need cute little white shoes or sandals to go with it! Then I am going to come home....sit on my couch...and do NOTHING until time for softball practice tonight.  My Spring Break starts at 11am today!  I'm so excited to have NOTHING on the agenda (except some rest and munchkin time) for the next week!!!! :) Then the countdown is on until Final Exams and Summer Vacation!!! :)

I have always loved to write.  I hope I will always love to write. Recently, though, I have discovered a new love for writing.  By writing on here every day, I have learned that although I don't have absolutely fabulous things to talk about all the time (most of the time!), I love to write about the mundane things that happen in my life.  I just love to write. Last night, I decided that I am going to start a Scrapbooking Blog.  I love to scrapbook.  I love all the tools.  I love the new papers.  I love everything about scrapbooking.  I actually started a new blog on Blogger last night, but then I remembered that Blogger (for me at least) has been having issues posting.  (I am having to use my Windows Live Writer to post right now.)   So, I am thinking about using something else.  When I do start it, I will let you know here.  I’m sure some of you will come with me.   Some of you are probably scrapbookers (paper...

I love when I get to plan easy days at work.  Today, the kids have a test.  Then they have study guide questions for the book we are reading.  Then they are working on homework.  I guess I will finish grading projects and getting those grades in.  I love easy days.  Tomorrow I will actually teach. :)  BUT... my last class tomorrow gets to leave early to go to the Faculty vs. Staff basketball game!  I'm good with that!  (I'll be watching...NOT playing!  I was never quite coordinated enough for basketball!) Friday is a Teacher Workday.....but only about 3 hours!  Then it's SPRING BREAK!  :) 

I really don't have any idea what I am going to write about today.  There are many days I arrive at this screen and can just write my randomness and go.  Today is not one of those days.  I guess I have a bit too much randomness swirling around. Yesterday, mom, Chasity, and I spent 3 hours trying to find her an Easter dress.  She is 9.  This is the FIRST YEAR EVER that her Easter dress has been brand-new.  Normally, I only get NEW Christmas dresses.  Then I get her Easter dresses at consignment stores or consignment sales.  Unfortunately, she has outgrown both of those places for the most part. :(  (Can I shrink her back??) So, to Belk , JCPenney and Sears we go!  At Belk, we tried on about 50 dresses.  At JCPenney it was about 30.  Then at Sears, it was about 20.  Even with my "limited math skills"....yep....100 dresses.  I think there might have been a few more, but at least 100!!! There was a beautiful dress ...

Depending on your actual position in the county, you may/may not have a shortened week this week!  If you are in elementary school (as my Princess is), then you have 3.5 days.  They get out early on Thursday.  If you are in middle or high school, you have 4 days. They do NOT get out early on Thursday.  If you are a teacher, you have 4.5 days.  We only have students for 4 days, but we have a Mandatory Teacher Workday on Friday.  It is only supposed to last 3 hours.  It is going to start a little later than the normal day, but still..... I wanted to sleep in!  Can't wait until Monday!  I get to SLEEP IN!!!!!  Spring Break is almost here..... either 3.5, 4, or 4.5 days left!  :) 

Yesterday, after softball practice, we grabbed lunch and started shopping. We went to a few used car dealerships; however, they either closed at noon (during practice) or don't open at all on Saturdays.  We found a few things to look at again on Monday. Then I said, "I think we should go to the Kia place in Salisbury.  I have heard good things about the Kia Sorento.  I think it might be for us."  So... we went.  We saw. We said, "Not for us." Then the guy there asked if we had thought about a Kia Sedona.  (Yes!  Sedona is a city in Arizona!  My hubby used to live there!)  We test drove.  We played with all the buttons and compartments.  We bought! :) As soon as my camera isn't dead, I will post pics.  Most of the cars my family has ever owned have been silver.  This one is CAROLINA BLUE!  We are excited!  There is enough room for absolutely everything we do! :) Can't wait to take it to Hilton Head this ...

I wake up at 4am every morning!  It's not that it really takes me 2 hours to get ready.  I can totally do it more quickly.  However, I am not a morning person.  I hate waking up before the sun! So, I told Tony and Chasity last night that I did not want to be up before 9am!  I didn't even set the alarm because I knew Tony would be up before that!  Then..... At 6am, I rolled over in the bed... and I couldn't go back to sleep.  I laid there until 7am.  Then my back started hurting. :(  (I think it's really time for a new mattress!) Now... I'm sitting here, typing.  It's 7:21am on my computer clock! Really?  The sun wasn't up yet!!  Why am I awake?????? Guess I'll goof on the computer a little.  Then it's time for softball practice and car shopping.  I really hope I find something!  I need a car! 

So....  the best news of all right now.... IT'S FRIDAY! I get to sleep in a little tomorrow.  Of course, we have softball practice at 11am, but I can still sleep until 9am and get there on time.  Next...  CSI:Crime Scene Investigation has been renewed for a 14th season ! I'm almost giddy over this!  I love LOVE L.O.V.E (love!) CSI!  I'm actually a CSI:New York fan, but I think they may have cancelled it.  I'm hoping they will come back with it, but I haven't heard anything. Tomorrow, we are going CAR SHOPPING, again!  We need a new car.  Or at least a newly used one.  I don't want someone else's troubles, but if I can get a used car from a reliable place (dealership, for example) I might be interested. :)  I really want an SUV.  Tony wants a truck.  We'll just have to see what we can get!  I just have to get something soon....without $500/month payments. But...the best news of the day is that it Is FRIDAY! ...

Last night, we had Meet the Teacher/Curriculum Night.  It went really well.  I got to see 8-9 parents. Now, the kids who came last night know that the project is no longer due next week.  I am giving them through Spring Break to do it. The rest of the kids will have the joy of finding this out next week.  (I'm not mean.  I just need some of them to actually work on the project and think that it is still due next week.)  Today, we are working on reading Tears of a Tiger. If you haven't read it, you should.

I can speak in front of my teenage students for hours.  We have fun. We learn.  We do what we have to do.    When it comes to speaking to their parents, for even 8 minutes in a group, I get sweaty, nervous, sickish!    Tonight at my school, we are doing Curriculum Night.  That means that the parents get to walk their students’ schedules.  Each “class” will be 8 minutes long. They will have 5 minutes to get from “class” to “class”.  This is a time for me to let the parents know what is going on in class, what their angels are up to, and what we will be doing after Spring Break in a couple of weeks.  This is NOT a time for Parent-Teacher Conferences.  (The good thing is that if a parent wants a conference, my school does it a little differently that any other I have seen.  The parent has to set it up with a guidance counselor.  The counselor and the student’s other teachers are all in there together with an administr...

There are days when I feel I have nothing of interest (to anyone other than myself) to write.  There are day when I feel I have something interesting to write, but I don't know if others will care or want want to read it. There are days when I have interesting things to write AND I know that others will love it. Today, I'm not sure if anyone will care about what I write, but it's for me anyways! Writing is FREE THERAPY!  It is!  If I am aggravated, I write.  If I am sad, I write.  If I am worried, I write. If I am happy, I write!  I write! I write! I write! So all this stuff with the family that I stressed over this weekend, I wrote it out.  After writing it, and reading it, it really seems trivial.  I'm still a little hurt by all of it.  But, I wrote it.  I'm okay with it! :)  Writing is free therapy!  I write things out to figure them out.  I love it!  It is easier than tracking down a shrink! :)  ...

In our school system, we have this week (5 days) and next week (4 days) before Spring Break.  The kids get Good Friday off.  However, teachers have a 1/2 day planning day--REQUIRED!  Then we have an entire week off for Spring Break!  I'm excited!  After that, we only have 9 weeks left until Summer vacation.  (Our 3rd quarter ends the day before Spring Break!)  I'm excited!  (Did I say that already!?) I can't wait to sleep past 4am on Spring Break!  We don't have much (anything) planned, but I am looking forward to sleeping!  :)  Before then, I need to get my kids through the stuff we are working on so they don't forget it while they are out for break.  That means a tests and a research presentation are due NEXT WEEK for me to grade before Friday--when report card grades are due! :)  Let's hope this goes REALLY well! :) 

So after all the issues yesterday.... Well, I still don't have a china cabinet.  Really!  It was really causing way toooooo many issues.  I was fighting with Tony.  I was yelling at my mom.  I was ill with everyone.  At softball practice, I had to pretend that I liked people and wanted to be around them. So, I decided to let it go.  Mom is going to let them know that I'm not getting it.  If they had been a little more lenient with the time frame, I could have pulled it off.  I just couldn't do it on such short notice. So...  I still have no china cabinet.  I probably won't ever have one to put that china in.  I just won't buy one for myself!  Too expensive and I have too many other things that I need right now and want after the needs are taken care of. So... Grandma's china won't be on display in my house again.  My heart is still broken about it, but I will get over it. On a happier note-----  H...

Today, I was supposed to get up and go scrapbooking for 12 hours.  I had been planning to go for 3 weeks.  The 12 hour event is to raise money for "Relay for Life".  All the divas are going to be there. All the divas....except me. This morning, I am so mad, frustrated, aggravated that I can't even explain it. Several years ago, my Grandma Edwards gave up housekeeping.  Her oldest daughter took her in and took care of her.  When that aunt passed, then Grandma went to live with her next oldest daughter.  That aunt lived at the beach.  That aunt passed, but her husband was still alive, so he still had all the stuff in the house (obviously!).  In the fall 2012, my uncle passed.  (I think I posted something here because I sang at the funeral that day!)  Anyways, since November, their kids have been working to get the house ready to sell.  They had an estate sale.  They marked the china cabinet as "Not For Sale".  The ch...

Before I tell why my heart is heavy, let me get some good news out! 1.  Chasity sold over 1000 boxes of cookies!  WOW!  That's a new record for her.  We are excited.  It means she will get a Kindle Fire.  (I think she is going to take my Kindle full time for now and we will share the Kindle Fire!) :)  2. Today is Friday!  That means that tomorrow is Saturday!  I get to scrapbook tomorrow for 12 hours! :)  LOVE IT!  Can't wait to see my triplets! :)  3. Our first softball practice is tonight!  We are going to get to meet team and see how things are looking. Now, for my heavy heart. On Wednesday, I got a message from my mom that my Uncle Bud (my Papaw Paul's brother-in-law) was in the hospital in critical condition.  It wasn't very long until I got a message that said, "I hate to tell you this over text, but Papaw just called and Uncle Bud passed."  :(  So, tonight, I will be getting in a car with ...

A couple of weeks ago, we had the girls make invitations to take to school.  Each girl got like 8-9 invites.  They were to invite friends from school to come to Girl Scouts tonight!  We are having an ICE CREAM PARTY tonight.  We will do a couple of games too! I'm hoping that by having the girls bring their friends, the friends will be interested in becoming Girl Scouts for next year!  Wouldn't THAT be cool?  It worked a couple of years ago, so we will see. After work today, I have to get the Princess from Girls on the Run, get the ice cream and toppings, and get to the fellowship hall to get everything set up! I'm interested to see how many friends come tonight! :) 

I have many things floating through my head right now. 1. We are having an ICE CREAM PARTY tomorrow night for Girl Scouts.  2. I really wish I could get my daughter's teacher to email me. 3. I hope that we get into either the Charter school or the Private school that we want for next year. 4. I really need to get to work on writing my book. 5. I really wish there was something I could do to "fix" Dad.  He seems so sad/depressed since he has been told that he might have to go on disability.  :( 6. I need to do Girl Scout bank paperwork. 7. I need to do Girl Scout cookie paperwork. 8. I need to get some sleep.  I have gone to bed at 11pm (or later) every night since Friday!!!  NEED SLEEP!! 9. I have some things to deal with at work, but I won't be putting specifics on here.  (They really aren't that serious.  They are just tedious!) 10. I really wish we would get the softball schedule already!  I need to get my dates aligned.  I also...

Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of my Grandpa's death.  Some days it seems like yesterday.  Other days, it doesn't hurt so badly. I was a freshman at Appalachian State University. I think it was a Tuesday.  I called my parents every day.  Some days, I would call Mom a few times.  That day, I couldn't get anyone to answer.  :(  About 5pm, right before I had concert band practice, I got a phone call.  It was my dad calling from the box downstairs.  I didn't think anything weird about it because Dad has always (almost my entire life) been a truck driver.  So when Dad said he was in the area and wanted to see me, I didn't think it was strange.  (His truck routes took him many places on a daily basis.) When I got downstairs to let them in, I saw my dad and my pastor, Greg Sloop.  I knew something was fishy then.  When I opened the door, I saw Mom.  She was teary-eyed.  Then Dad and Pastor Greg told me about G...

Tearing Down the Walls was excellent on Friday.  I just hope I get to be a part of it next year!  I'm looking forward to it.  (I would love to do a Fall and a Spring version!)  I don't know if the Principal would allow us to have 100 kids out of class twice in a year (meaning 200 total kids!!). Today, I have a guest speaker from a local college coming to the class.  The English department chair set up times.  I chose to have the presentation on Research (since that is what we are working on in class right now!)!! I am so excited!  If everything goes as planned, I will have an easy day!  The speaker will have 1/2 the class time.  We are going to read for 1/2 the class time.  That will be it!  I'm loving it! Now.... if the time change could have just been in the other direction, I would have loved it even more!!!

Today is Girl Scout Sunday!  Girl Scout Sunday begins the week that encompasses March 12th.  March 12th is the birthday/anniversary of Girl Scouts.  This is Girl Scouts 101st year!  Today, in church, the girls (who remember to show up) are going to participate in a flag ceremony. They are going to recite (read from posters) the Girl Scout Law and Girl Scout Promise.  Then, two of the girls are going to receive the morning offering at the church.  In some ways, it's good that the church is small.  Sometimes, I wish there were more people though! Girl Scout week ends on Girl Scout Sabbath.  That is next Saturday!  I hope you enjoy your GS Sunday, GS Week, and GS Sabbath!

Today we have 2 booths.  Tomorrow we have 1 booth.  Then that will be the end of Girl Scout cookies for this year.  Of course, I will update on total number sold! :)  Other than that.... this is the END OF COOKIES! :)  (Anyone else excited about that? I know I am!)

Today, we are doing an event at my school called "Tearing Down the Walls".  It is designed to break racial and cultural barriers.  It is designed to bring awareness to bullying.  It is designed to help tear down the walls that separate people. So we have activities planned all day.  The Leadership (student council) kids and the Multicultural Club leaders planned it all.  I am going to be in there as one of the "adults in charge".  However, I really haven't done anything for it.  It is kid-planned and kid-led!  I'm excited to see what happens!

So I did it.  I read a book that really got me to thinking.  Then about an hour later, I started writing my own book.  Obviously, it's no where near ready to be read by others.  However, I think I have something good....so far! Anyways, although I love my computer and typing, I am doing it the old fashioned way.  I have been writing it by hand.  :)  Every day in class, I have my kids write for 5 minutes to clear their heads of all the high school drama so that we can focus on class.  Many times I write with them.  I have one of those composition books (the sewn together kind) and I write in it.  I try to carry it with me so if I have a minute before/after doing something else, but sometimes I forget!  So, I have been writing it in.  Some days I barely write a page. Some days, I write 5.  So far, I am loving writing like this.  This will be the FIRST draft.  Then when I get around to typing it, that will be ...

For the past couple of days, I have felt like my head was going to explode!  I have really bad allergies.  This leads to sinus infections all the time.  So, I have had a wonderful sinus infection for a couple of days now.  If it doesn't get better ASAP, I guess I will head to the doctor and let them drug me up.  I just keep hoping that this crud will go away and I won't have to involve any medical personnel! :) 

Today, students in the 11th grade all over NC will be taking the ACT.  The ACT is a placement test for college--like the SAT.  NC has decided that instead of having kids pay to take it, they will give it to Juniors for free.  Then if they don't like the scores, they can retest (and pay for it) later.  Instead of having classes that last 90 minutes today, I will have two long classes and two short classes.  Luckily, for me, one of the long classes is my planning period.  Maybe I will get a lot of stuff done! My first class will be from 7:15am to 9:55am.  I am going to teach for about 45 minutes-an hour.  Then we are going to watch part of "The Outsiders".  I have never seen it, but the Media Center Coordinator (librarian) gave it to me from the school stash! :)  My last two classes will only be 45 minutes each!  This should be VERY interesting today! 

When I was in 6th grade, and then again in 8th grade, I had an English teacher who called herself "Killer Miller."  At the end of the year, we would get shirts that said, "I survived Killer Miller!"  Yep!  It was bad! However, she taught me a few things that I still us, but never would have thought I'd do again! 1. When you are writing a rough draft, double space (maybe more).  That way you can make corrections "in between the lines".  I still do that, and I have my students do that too. 2. READ!  Read every day!  Never stop reading!  Ok!  So, I may not read as much as I should every day, but I do read SOMETHING every day....texts, emails, blogs, etc.  I should probably read more books, but I'm working on that! 3. If you need to write something, but you can't figure out what to write, start by writing, "I don't know what to write" repeatedly.  If you are writing for 5 minutes, you may fill up 1/2 a page or more with this, ...

Are you tired of reading about Girl Scout cookies yet?  I'm tired of talking about them.  However, they have consumed my world.  Maybe...just maybe...after next weekend, I will get my world back! It won't be long after that, though, that softball starts! :)  Then we will be crazy with that! :) However, people say some really weird things when they buy cookies from you.  Like on Friday night, we had a guy come up and ask a really strange question, but I had been told people would ask it. Man: "Are these cookies made with genuine Girl Scouts?" Me: "Yep.  This year they ground them up a little better than in the past though." Man: "Good!  Last year they got stuck in my teeth!" Gross right? However, I was prepared and it shocked him.  He thought he was funny! :)  The girls thought it was DISGUSTING!  lol

Cookie season is going well.  We have had at least two booths (sometimes 3-4) every weekend.  Last night, we sold about 100 boxes at WalMart. Today we have a booth we set up as a troop.  I'm really hoping it will go well.  I'm a little nervous.  The place is normally PACKED the first couple of weekends a month.  However, I think that the threat of "snow" will possibly hold some people back.  Why is it that every weekend during cookie booths there is a threat of "snow"?  Why "snow"?  Because in NC we don't get the large amounts of every where else.  We get little bits of MESS that causes traffic issues for DAYS after a 1/2" falls! :)  Of course, after it "snows" here, it's 60 degrees the following day so it goes away!  RARELY do we get anything REAL in NC.  Bring on the "snow"!  I'm ready for it! :) 

Have you ever put your car in neutral and let it coast?    We've all done it.  Roll it down the hill, push it into the gas station (when you run out), or whatever! So on Wednesday, I picked up the Princess after work and we came home.  I pulled into the driveway.  All this is normal so far...right? I changed gears on the car.  I started getting my phone off the charger.  Packed up stuff in my purse to bring it in the house.  Got my house key out. Looked up and realized we were rolling. Right about the time I hit the brakes, my car bumped into the garage door.  Luckily at 2 MPH it doesn't do a lot of damage.  It just makes you feel SO STUPID!  Instead of putting the car in park, I slid it into neutral.  Good thing I was further back in the driveway than I usually am.  We would have hit the door much sooner, and I would not have been hitting the brakes. The garage door still opens.  There is a...