Wonder of Wonders!

For the first time in 10 years NWArkansas gas prices are lower than any others around us! I just filled up for $3.17 a gallon!! We have been lower than Tulsa for the last 3 weeks and we are typically 10 to 15 cents a gallon higher!! I don't know about you but it makes me really happy :) Maybe it will actually drop below 3dollars again some day, well a girl can dream. I was also pumped because I got awesome gas mileage this last week too! I got 32 mpg which I usually average around 30! I don't know what I did different but it sure made my day.

Time for a Change!

I figured it was time to change things up a bit and get a new layout for my blog. I know it is fall and this one seems a bit springy but it makes me smile ;)

The Smell of Menthol in the Morning!

The wonderful aroma of homemade chicken noodle soup and menthol wafting though my house gives away the fact I am sick before I even have to speak. Or rather not speak because my voice has pretty much left me for the time being. I don't know where this heavy feeling in my chest has come from, whether allergies or something I caught from the kids, but it is not fun. Especially when you are having to teach music. I tried singing with my 4th graders this morning and couldn't stay on pitch to save my life. After that I gave up and the rest of my classes had movie day today! I had contemplated staying home but decided it would be less work to go to school and show the kids videos than to take the time to get everything together, write out precise instructions on how to run the projector and get sound through the radio, and then pray that all my hard work wasn't in vain because they either couldn't find me a sub or I ended up with a sub who couldn't even follow simple directions!! Anyway, looks like tomorrow will be another movie day for my wonderful children.

I do have to say that I am impressed with the Vick's humidifier I went and bought at Wal-Mart at 10 last night. The little menthol pads that go in it are wonderful and have really helped me to breath! And it just so happened that last weekend I had boiled some chicken with the intention to make chicken noodle soup this week so it was already half done. Though one stinky part of being single when you are sick is having to make your own chicken noodle soup!

A State of Emergency??

Apparently, even though Ike is hundreds of miles away from Arkansas, the governor of Arkansas has declared a state of emergency due to the probable hike in gas prices because of hurricane Ike. I love it when the government give gas stations an excuse to raise gas prices. It is ridiculous! As I came home tonight, after seeing a movie with a friend, I was keeping my eye on the gas prices and actually found one place at $3.59 so I turned around and went there. The crazy thing is that just down from my place one gas station had the price listed as $3.99 and across the street it was $3.69. What I don't understand are the people who are at the place with gas at %3.99when it 30 cents a gallon cheaper literally across the street!

The Petrino Era!

So I just watched clips from the first Razorback game! I am pretty excited to see that Casey Dick, our quarter back has gotten much better. That's probably because Petrino actually called a lot of passing calls instead of our traditional, we have always done it this way, running calls. They looked okay, I don't know how well we will do in conference play seeing as the SEC is one of the toughest conferences in College football. Though, I can't decide if I like the new uniforms or not, the funky strip that gets goes for thin to wide is a bit distracting!

A "Real" Rocker!

I have discovered a video game that I am actually good at and can actually beat my older brother and my dad at!! Guitar Hero III!!! I know I probably look really funny when I am playing because I get so into the music I start dancing around. But I actually managed to beat the entire game, on easy but I usually can't even manage that! I have now made it to the challenge on the medium level but I am kinda stuck. I guess I will have to work on that more when I go back to my parents house the next time.

Nothing New!

In all honesty, besides hanging with my family this weekend, life has been kind of boring. Though I can't say that this fact bothers me. It has actually been nice just to hang around the house and enjoy the peace and quite. Though I did manage to bring my total number of geocache finds up to 100 thanks to a couple of days of hunting with my dad and mom. :)
Now that I have no longer have cable I have started reading more again. Right now I am on the the second book of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. This series has me slightly baffled, not because of the story line, but because of the fact that it sucks you in and you can't put the book down! Now I have read other page turners in my day but the thing that baffles me is that I can't put my finger on what exactly makes the story so incredibly intriguing. Honestly the story line is very strange with non-human eating vampires, werewolf people, and a girl who doesn't know any better than to get her life all intertwined in the midst of it all. Yet, ask any of the teachers I work with, I swear there are at least 20 teachers at my school that have read this series or are in the process of reading them, including our one male teacher, and they will tell you these books are a great read!

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!!

Yesterday was my birthday! It was actually kind of a strange birthday since it was also the first day of school. It was actually pretty fun, every single class of students who came in all sang Happy Birthday to me. I don't think I have ever been wished Happy Birthday so many times in one day!! Then that night some of my good friends took me out to dinner at Logan's steak house. That was quite enjoyable too, I hadn't had a good steak in quite some time :)

The weirdest park of my birthday was more the weekend before my birthday rather than the actual day. I have always gone back and spent my birthday weekend with my family but because I ended up spending over 8 hours working in my classroom over the weekend I wasn't able too. I guess that is just part of getting old!

P.S. Bubba, I hope you noticed I logged all my geocaches now! Though I am still only at 88. I need to get busy and get some more caching done :)

The Gulf Shores Adventure - The Final Chapter

Home Sweet Home!! I had a great trip but I am so glad to be back home. Now I have a ton of cleaning to do cause crazy me decided to have a party on Friday night! Oh well, we had a great time wandering all over the Gulf Shores area, though we actually stated in Orange Beach most of the time. The drive wasn't too bad today. We left Tupelo at 8:30 and stopped in Memphis so Amy could pick up her car and headed in our separate ways. I was proud of myself because I managed to drive all the way from Memphis back home without stopping at all! I was just ready to be back and the idea of getting off the highway for any reason was not appealing to me, so I sucked it up and drove straight here. The drive was uneventful, though I think today must be National Mobile Home Moving Day because I passed 13 of them today. 3 of those were double wides and one was smashed to pieces in the center median of I-40.

No pictures from today, we didn't do anything exciting!

The Gulf Shores Adventure - Part 4

Well we are now on the final stretch of our Gulf Shores trip. This morning we got up and got everything packed up and then headed out to go on a Dolphin Cruise. The Cruise was fun. We actually got to see quite a few dolphins and we went around the island where some of the most expensive homes in the area are located. After the cruise we stopped at a souvenir shop and I picked up my Christmas ornament. I collect them from all the different locations I go. I am still disappointed that they didn't have any at the Naval Air Museum. After our shopping trip we took the long way back to Mobile and went through a town called Fairhope. Fairhope was very beautiful and the downtown area was very busy. We stopped at a fudge shop there and had some ice cream and then hit the road. We left Fairhope at 4 and rolled into Tupelo a little after 9. We are staying the night here to help break up the drive on the way home. I am have actually been impressed by my cars gas mileage on this trip. We have averaged 32 mpg and that is going 75 to 80 most of the time. I love my little Aveo more and more! And I will really love it when it is paid off in 5 months!!!

So here are a few pictures from today's adventures!

The Gulf Shores Adventure - Part 3

Today turned out to truly be an adventure! It started off with my GPS taking us on a wild goose chase to find the National Museum of Naval Aviation. It was taking us off into the boonies and I didn't know why. So after a slight argument between Amy and I we came back to the hotel to look at the map. Good thing I looked at it closely because I thought that I had sent the right info to the GPS to get us there but it was still sending us the wrong direction. On the way to the base I realized why it was sending us on this random path, I hadn't sent the north Florida maps to the GPS so it didn't know that there were any roads besides the main interstates! Needless to say we made it there without too much problem after that and it was great. Have never seen so many planes in one place! Dad I was thinking of you the whole time and how much you would enjoy it. We were there for several hours and still didn't see everything. It was quite fascinating and there was even a couple different flight simulators but we didn't do them.
After the museum we stopped by Shake's for some ice cream, I didn't know they had Shake's this far south! Then we went and spent another hour and a half down by the pool. It was so nice to soak in the last few rays of sun that I will get this summer since I have to report back to school on Thursday!
At about 5 we came back up and took showers, ate dinner, and got dressed to go out. Before we went out we went down and took some fun pictures on the beach. Then we headed out to Lulu's. Lulu's was so much fun! Since we were just getting drinks we went straight to the bar and skipped the hour and a half wait for a table. I had one of the best strawberry margaritas I have ever had and Amy and I split a drink called the Jet Ski Killer. It was blue and coconutty. It was really yummy! After that we headed home and were back at the condo by 10. Yes, I know I am getting old.
I am kinda sad that we have to leave tomorrow. I will definitely miss having a balcony overlooking the ocean and the nice Alabama nights. Though, I do miss my kitties so I will be glad to see them when I get back!

And here are a few pics from today's adventures.

The Gulf Shores Adventure - Part 2.5

Tonight I learned a few things. That Proud Mary is really hard to sing Karaoke, that Amy and I are getting old, and that my spray sunscreen didn't get the back of my legs! Amy decided that we needed to go out and sing Karaoke tonight, believe it or not I have never sang Karaoke before. I stared at the crazy book for at least 30 minutes and couldn't decide what to sing. I don't do well in choosing when I have so many choices, plus I couldn't find a song that I felt comfortable enough to get up and sing in front of people. I guess the performer in me wants to get up there and do it right and not just fumble through. Amy finally convinced me to get up and sing Proud Mary with her. We did great until it got to the fast part and we forgot the melody, what I feared would happen, but we had a great time anyway. Then at 9:30 we both decided that we were tired and it was time to go home, the tell tell sign that we are both turning into old farts! Also I discovered the areas I missed with my spray on sunscreen today and it happens to be the back of my thighs up near by my butt. Really, it isn't too bad but this is the first time I have ever pretty much burned my butt! Tomorrow we are going to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, then more time on the beach, and tomorrow night we are going to a place called Lulu's which is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister.

The Gulf Shores Adventure - Part 2

As I was laying on the beach today I realized this is the first time I have been at a beach and did nothing else but lay in the sun all day! It was wonderful to just lay there and do nothing at all. I have also decided that if I had a balcony and the weather was always this nice you would never get me off of it. I am currently sitting on the balcony right now enjoying the cool breeze coming off of the water. The only downfall I have found thus far is that since we are on the gulf the sunsets behind a bunch of buildings instead of over the water.

Anyway here are a few pics from this amazing trip thus far.

The view from our balcony. Isn't it amazing!


Amy chillin' on the beach.


Me chillin' on the beach.


Amy playing in the water.


Me playing in the water. As you can tell the water is pretty rough so I didn't stay in long.

Well Amy is in cooking dinner so I better get in there and help.

The Gulf Shores Adventure - Part 1

After 12 1/2 hours behind the wheel of a car I am finally in Gulf Shores! Today was pretty uneventful. Though there are a few things that I noted along the way. First is that a fire on the trailer of a semi carrying a load of cars is pretty cool looking! On I-40 in Arkansas I saw just that, all of the cars from the middle back were completely burned! The second is that Mississippi is nothing but pine trees and very little of anything else!! We drove almost 300 miles in Mississippi and you couldn't tell the difference in the first 100 and the last 100 it all looks the same!! Third is the fact that in Mississippi nothing is close to the highway. We had to drive several miles off the highway to stop every time! Fourth is that GPS's are the best invention ever! It was such a life saver and made the trip so much easier. Lastly is that for long vacations you should always rent a condo instead of staying in a hotel. We are staying in a condo and it is so nice! We have so much space with our own full kitchen and a wonderful balcony that overlooks the beach! We also have a free wireless connection in our place too! I haven't taken any pictures yet since it was already dark when we got here but I will put some up tomorrow for sure!

Itunes is Annoying Me!

I decided that I would download an audio book so that I could take it with me in the car and listen on my way long drive tomorrow. Well I decided to get Ted Dekker's book Black to listen too. I have wanted to start the series so I figured it would be a good way to start. So I got it downloaded but that is where the frustration has begun. For some reason Itunes won't allow you to burn an audio book to an MP3 CD format. My car's CD player would play it just fine but Itunes will only burn it to Audio CD's so now instead of having it all on one CD I have to have it on 12! This is just stupid. I know, it would save me time and energy if I just had an Ipod to put it on, but amazingly enough I am not one of the drones that own one! I do have an MP3 player but I can't figure out how to get it on there in a format where it will play them!! If only Rhapsody had audio books, I would be a happy camper instead of a tired frustrated one!

Random Quirks!

Today I was reminded of how random I am at times. I get so easily distracted from things that I am often doing bits and pieces of several things at one time and yet can find myself in the middle of it all having no clue what I needed to get done in the first place.

Earlier tonight I started out printing some photos out to hang on my wall. But I got distracted by checking my e-mail because it is what I automatically do when I get on a computer. Then I was thirsty and ended up getting distracted by doing dishes which lead to me putting something in the pantry and realizing I needed to do laundry. So I started a load of laundry and started putting away the clean close when I went into the bathroom and got distracted by cleaning out the litter box. Of course then I had to take out the trash and when I came back in I couldn't remember what I had started doing in the first place. As you might have guess I then saw the computer laying there and remembered that I wanted to print out the pictures. (This all sounds a bit like a "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book)

Once I got the pictures printed and put in frames it came time to put them on the wall and another of my random quirks came out. I would never call myself a perfectionist and I doubt anyone I know would ever come up with that word if they were asked to describe me. In fact I told someone just today that I am far from being a perfectionist, yet as I was hanging my pictures I had to make sure they were exactly in teh right place on the wall. I spent over an hour and put many different holes in the wall to get them exactly where i wanted them. I even sat down and talked on the phone to two different friends and it was driving me crazy that one of the photos wasn't exactly lined up how I wanted it so I went back and moved it again! I sat here and worried about getting those all perfect and yet the rest of my house is a total disaster area right now! I am so weird sometimes. But my collection of flower photos that I have taken looks really good on the wall now :)

I Did It!!

I finally managed to find a bike rack to fit on my car and best of all I figured out how to get it on my car!!! I even managed to get my bike on without too much difficulty. I even took it on the highway and my bike stayed on!! It was great to be able to go riding somewhere other then around my apartment. Now I just have to get my computer on it so I know how fast and far I have gone and I will be all set to go. I also bought some actual biking shorts and a riding shirt today which made the ride much more comfy!

Happy 4th!

Thought you would like a little taste of our family 4th celebration! We had a great time sitting out by the pool and watching my brother and dad setting off all the fireworks. This was our "finale!" If you listen closely you can here my brother-in-law and mom providing us with their own rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever." I didn't say it was a pretty rendition :)

Come On!!!

It has been such a beautiful day that I was planning on putting my bike rack on the car and going for a ride. I was all prepared to figure out how to get the bike rack on and get bike all hooked up. I read through the instructions and then took a look at the compatibility list. To my dismay there was a little N next to the make of my car, meaning the rack I had purchased was not going to fit my car. :( I so wanted to go and ride on one of the trails but they are too far away to just ride too. So I guess I am going to be riding around here for a while still, maybe my brother can help me get one this weekend while I am in Tulsa.

A Great Discovery!

Today I went to Petsmart to see if I could find something to assist in giving Boaz his medication. It has been so hard to give him his meds and I haven't found anything that he would eat with the medication mixed in it, I even tried tuna. Well, as I was wondering through all the cat products I didn't find anything. They had the pill hider treats but I am afraid to use those since eating anything besides his own cat food could cause him to form crystals in his urine again, which was the cause of the whole problem. As I wondered down the kitty treats isle I thought to myself, why don't they make a kitty treat just for cats with urinary tract problems. Something told me to go and look at the medicine isle one more time. Lo and behold there were treats there specially made for urinary tract health!! And they even contain Glucosamine which is what Boaz will have to take for the rest of his life! The best part is that he actually likes to eat them. I was even able to hide his pills in them and he took it without a fuss!! Thank you Nutri-Vet for making Uri-Ease, it has been a life saver for me.