3 month follow-up

Today, amazingly enough, I actually got to pull and work with my Title 1 kids!! Woo-Hoo! It's almost like I'm a real teacher :) Although, you definitely do not want to get me started on how frustrating it is to have to work with my group in the regular classroom. I can't focus on what we're doing - how can I expect the kids to? And forget little, unimportant things like hearing sounds in words. But anyway. All of my beginning of the year paperwork is due tomorrow so hopefully we're about to get into a somewhat normal schedule and I'm looking forward to that. Although it means me planning, which is not exactly a strength of mine. It's a weakness, in fact. :)

I also went for my 3 month follow-up appointment today. I had lost 17 pounds since my last appointment a month ago, bringing my total lost to 81 pounds. I, as usual, was frustrated with that but my dr. was pleased. He said that starting month 3 (which this past one was for me), bypass patients should lose 15-20 pounds a month. This is not fast enough to satisfy me! Of course, I think I'm starting to feel about losing weight the way that one of the Rockefellers did about money. Someone asked him once how much money was enough and he answered (quite cleverly, I thought), "Just a little bit more" So I need to watch that I don't drive myself crazy over this. I have a family reunion at the beginning of November though, and I really want to have lost 100 pounds by then. It's 6 weeks away so that's a fairly realistic goal, but I'm definitely going to have to work on it. Although to be honest with you, most of my family there probably won't even notice I've lost weight. A lot of them are 2nd cousins and such and at the last family reunion I was actually at my lowest weight with Weight Watchers, and I should be right around that weight again. Which means, yes, in the last 5 years I have gained and lost 100 pounds. How scary is that? (well, not quite yet but you see what I'm getting at)

So I took my food journal in to show my dr., even though I really didn't want to. I know that I haven't been making the best food choices and I'm frustrated with myself about it. I exercise, I get in my water, I take my supplements, I eat appropriate portions - I'm just not choosing the best foods. Which was my problem pre-op, too. He acknowledged that but was much nicer than I thought I had a right to expect. He focused a lot on the weight that I've lost and the things that are going well and said, "Well, you can't argue with the weight loss" Not that he let me slide on it - he talked about what I should be doing and tomorrow I see the nut and have to really face the music there. She's very nice, too. I don't know why it is that I have so much trouble with this. It seems so easy when we talk about it, but then I drag myself through another day and it's all I can do to get off the couch and eat anything at all. I know all the good things to do - cook ahead, plan meals, only keep healthy things in the house, even just forcing myself to cook something and it's never as big a deal as I make it out to be. I guess I'm just a crazy whack job. But I have come a long way. The choices I'm making now, while not great, are way better than what I was making last year at this time. So I just have to keep working at it. Like Dr. E. said today, I need to develop good habits now b/c in 5 years the surgery won't be helping me so much and it will be up to me to keep the weight off. I know I talk about this a lot - and at length.

Tonight I went and took a Zumba class at the gym! I did this once way back in the spring when I had to wear my heart monitor. I remember that I had such a hard time getting my heart rate down where it was supposed to be - the class kicked my butt. Tonight I definitely worked, but I didn't die! If you're not familiar with Zumba, then clearly you've been living under a rock. The Zumba craze kind of reminds me of the Tae-Bo craze 10 years ago. (I bought into that one, too - I had the tapes! Go Billy Blanks!) It's like a dance class with salsa, belly dancing, Latin moves, stuff like that. It's really loud and high energy and fun - and a lot of work. My class tonight had probably 50-75 people crammed into it. That's a lot of people to hide behind, and trust me - there will be someone there less coordinated than you. There was a man in his 50s in our class tonight! But you can't really be shy and do Zumba - and it would probably be better if you had some dance experience. Or some rhythm. So, if you were not me. But as much as I stress about it, no one is there to watch me. I know you find that hard to believe, but I've come to learn it's true. I'll probably go back. Anybody want to Zumba with me? (If you get the chance to take a class with Angela at American Family West End, I highly recommend her)

I couldn't find a video that really looked like what we did - imagine about 10x as many people, not as cute :), not doing it as well, but a lot louder and more excited. (the beginning is boring - skip it)

Good sermon

Good sermon today - the one I was looking for last week actually :) about waiting. How Jesus waits to answer us because he loves us. In fact, in today's text it said,
"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was."
which seems counter-intuitive to us, but then again - we're not God. But the quote that most stuck with me was one from a Scottish theologian (McCheyne?) that my pastor has been quoting a lot lately - I think he read a lot of his work on his recent sabbatical.

"For are we not immortal until our work is done?"

Think about it. I'm off to my first home group meeting - I'll let you know how it goes :)

Losing Hair

My hair is starting to fall out. I was expecting it and terrified of it. But, come to find out - it's not such a big deal. Really. I always heard about it as a side effect of WLS, but people never really seemed too upset about it and I couldn't figure it out. Because it seemed like a big deal to me. But, it's not like I'm going bald or anything. It will just thin out a little bit. Right now, it's not coming out in huge clumps but that may change. Then again, it may not. With all of the changes that I have to put up with as a post-op, this one is actually pretty easy to live with.

Today my Heels beat Miami!!!! In football!!!! And, in what will go down as one of their all-time most embarassing moments ever, UVA lost to Duke. In football. 31-3. Yes, the same Duke that was ranked #1 on the "Most Embarassing Football Programs Of All Time" list. When they play Puke is the only time that I will root for UVA. But here's the upside - even if it does mean Puke winning, it gives me something that I can really, really make fun of UVA for. This is more embarrassing than UNC losing to Weber St. in the opening round of the NCAA tournament during the unfortunate Matt Doherty era. Or that whole 8-20 thing that we don't speak about. Duke has also beaten JMU this year (with 3 wins, they have beaten their win totals from the last 3 seasons combined) (I made that up, but I think it might be true) which means that they have beaten both schools that I have degrees from. Not that I'm a UVA fan. Still.

By the way, if you have a blog that I don't know about, please tell me. Recently some of my friends have finally updated theirs and I was quite pleased :) I'm seriously racking my brain for something interesting to write about here and I'm coming up empty. So it's back to watching Hokies football for me.

Have a great weekend!

Drowning

No, that title has no deep meanings. Clearly you don't know me very well. It in fact references the fact that it's been raining all day today and is supposed to continue for about 2 more days. If I could just curl up inside and do nothing, I wouldn't mind so much. But this whole "work, responsibility, and being an adult" thing is getting in the way. But I do love listening to it. Here are some gratuitous rain pics for you:





Just a little FYI, my dad and I have co-founded a club. The "Our Life is Sadder and Harder Than Anyone Else's" club, based on the premise that Mom has been hanging out with the two cutest, sweetest babies in the world all week and we haven't.

Not much to report - all of my beginning of the year paperwork is due next week and I'm going a little crazy between trying to figure it all out and the drama that goes along with working with women. (Those of you who work with men or in mixed environments weigh in here - is there a lot of gossiping and "discussing" of others? Or is that because of the estrogen overload?) I swear, this month is dddrrrraaaaggggggiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggggg by.

So it's not so much a kid quote, but I'm not used to kids who are old enough to have a sense of humor and I thought this was funny. I was helping in a 5th grade class the other day and I walked over to help a kid and he told me he was allergic to teachers. A minute later I walked by his desk and he gave this big fake sneeze. I couldn't help it - I laughed. These kids crack me up.

So this weekend is going to be very laid-back, but then I have about a whole month of busy weekends coming up. I'm looking forward to all of the fun stuff I'll be doing, but I'm definitely going to enjoy the opportunity to relax while I can now!

I've been trying to bore myself to sleep and I think it's working now. Nighty night!

Favorite kindergartener quotes

In the spirit of a "kid quote" feature, I thought I'd share two of my all-time favorite kindergarten quotes. Being a kindergarten teacher is fertile ground for funny kid's quotes. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of them :( But I'll post them as they come back to me. Then they'll be here. Immortalized. Forever.

My kindergarteners were always quite distressed about my lack of a husband (you and me both, kid) and frequently suggested possible prospects. Unfortunately, their suggestions were usually limited to other students, my co-workers, or the student's fathers. But once one of them suggested that I marry my dad. While trying not to get creeped out by this, I gently explained that you can't marry your dad. His response:
"But my mom married my dad!"
I tried to explain that she did not, however, marry her own dad.

This one came out of the blue. We were standing in the lunch line and sweet Allie Sue says,
"You know, Ms. Nash, I just never trust a boy who wears a necklace"

Living in Bethany

I was excited about going to church today. Last time I went (two weeks ago - I was in Charleston last week) was my SS class cookout and I had such a good time getting to know people. So I knew that today I would have friends there and be able to chat with people. I got all dressed up in this cute dress I borrowed from my cute sister (black with big white dots - shades of Pretty Woman) and headed off.

Steve Shelby, our pastor, always writes a little letter at the front of the bulletin to help prepare us for the service. He has been preaching lately on the miracles of Jesus, and he is spending a few weeks on the raising of Lazarus from the dead (see John 11:1-43, although today's text was only verses 1-5) Here was today's letter:

Dear Friends,
Do you live in Bethany? What I mean by that is, do you live in a place of suffering and waiting? Have you sent word to Jesus and you are waiting for Him to show?

Does living in Bethany cause you to doubt the love of Jesus for you and others? Imagine the sadness and dismay of Mary and Martha as they waited for Jesus to come and watched their brother sicken and die.

Ultimately Jesus wins and His love is powerfully and gloriously demonstrated but not before there are a lot of tears in Bethany.

Warmly,
Steve

As I read that, I knew that the sermon was going to be directed at me today. Because that letter describes me. Sometimes it seems like I'm missing my life while waiting for it to start - waiting for the weight to come off, to meet a husband, to buy a house. And, yes, I feel sadness and dismay and it can make me doubt Jesus' love. But Lazarus' story has a happy ending. Not as soon as they hoped, but a happy ending nonetheless. So I was eager to hear this sermon about how we suffer through waiting, but ultimately receive a happy ending. I've waited 30 years! So I was sure that the point of today's sermon was to tell me that, in 1 year, 3 months, and 12 days, I will be skinny and living in a house with a wonderful husband.

Normally the sermon is not my favorite part of the service (AH! Sacrilege!) The singing is. I love praise and worship songs. At West End, we sing a lot of praise and worship songs throughout the service. It's one of the things I love about my church.

Here's how church actually went today:

• People did not come running up to me begging to be my friend. I know you find this hard to believe, but it's true. I did say hello to one or two people, but left pretty quickly after the service.

• The sermon was not about waiting. It was about suffering and how Jesus calls us to suffer. Lazarus' mission was to suffer and die. At no point did he say, "Jesus asks you to suffer but then he fixes it" It was just, "Jesus works through our suffering." Not exactly what I wanted to hear.

• I didn't know any of the songs today, and I didn't like them either. The one I did know they sang the verses at about 1/10th the appropriate speed and butchered the chorus. It was more painful than listening to 20 kindergarteners count to 100 one at a time.

Now we come to the point in the story where I tell you the valuable lesson that I learned in all of this. I'm not there yet. Here's what I know:

God's plans are not my plans.

Deep, huh? But that's all I've got. I'm still struggling with being ok with that. I want so badly to have a little sit-down with God and explain to him how much better it would be if I could live my life by my plan. I'm just so sure that I could convince him! It's something I've struggled with for a long, long time. I've prayed about it and read books about it and I can't seem to move on. So there it is. That's how Satan works on me. It's going to take a power stronger than me to overcome him. I love Frank Peretti's book This Present Darkness. If you haven't read it, it's about spiritual warfare in a very concrete way - that there are angels and demons all around us, and the angels protecting us get stronger with prayer. It's an image that I love and that inspires me to pray through my struggles.

I have a new favorite song that goes along with this - Empty Me by Chris Sligh (of American Idol fame). Check it out if you get a chance.

Great.

A kid at school asked me if I was pregnant today. Awesome.

Tired and Whiny

One of my mom's favorite sayings is "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". In that vein, maybe I shouldn't even be posting tonight. But I am - because the point of this blog is to be like a diary for me to document my journey.

I'm having a really hard time getting my head around this whole new-way-of-eating thing. Which is frustrating to me b/c I spent a lot of time getting ready for it and knew what I was getting into. Fully. But I get so irritated that I have to think so much about what I have to eat, and I never feel like eating when I should, or then I get really hungry but I don't feel like fixing anything so I just mope around and get grumpier. Then I get frustrated and start chastising myself, which makes me defensive (with myself, naturally, because this is a normal thing) and even more irritable and want to do/eat something I'm not supposed to just to prove that "I can". To myself. (picture Napoleon Dynamite saying "idiot!" here)

To add to that, we had our first Title 1 staff meeting today. The nice thing was that it wasn't until 9, so I got to sleep in. But it was very overwhelming and stressful for me. I feel like every time I start to figure out something I should be doing with this job, I find out I'm doing it wrong and have to start over. I love the job, but I'll like it much better if I ever get it all figured out.

To top it off, I'm just not feeling good. Not sick - nothing that I should actually complain about. Just tired, with frequent feelings of nausea and light-headedness. Plus the whole grumpier-than-Oscar-the-Grouch thing. Maybe I'm PMSing. That would actually be great, because then I would have a reason and know it will be over soon.

To be fair, I had a lot of these same feelings about eating before surgery. But then I would just order a pizza or go to McDonalds to resolve it, and those are not viable options now. Which is good, because that's why I ended up in this position in the first place. But I need to find another way to resolve it. And it has to be one that makes me happy when I'm this irritable, and that's no easy task. As anyone who knows me well knows, once I get into a grumpy-funk pretty much everything just makes it worse. A lot of times, honestly, I just have to take a nap and sleep it off.

Ok, I'm signing off now. Heading to bed so that I can get up tomorrow and try and handle another situation I have no earthly idea how to do - Title 1 parent orientation. Pray for me. Lots. Please.

Be glad you can't see me right now...

I'm really sweaty and gross. Really gross. I took a picture to show you, then vetoed it as un-bloggable.

I always think that's a great way to start off a post, don't you? More people should do that. Maybe I should lead a blog school.

Anyway, I just got back from using the trail around my apt. complex. And I'm proud to say that I did a jog/walk combo for most of it. I'm not going to say I jogged half of it, but I did do a significant portion which is fairly amazing for me. I literally used to run like 3 steps and feel like I was going to die. If you have never been really fat, you may think that is an exaggeration, but it isn't. I did about 3 miles in 40 minutes, which for those of you keeping track (i.e., me) is an average of about 4.5 miles an hour. When I started out, I was doing about 3 mph. So that's exciting. And encouraging for me because I'm going through a "I can't see the weight loss" phase right now that's pretty discouraging. But I am definitely seeing an improvement in my exercising, which is good motivation for me to keep doing it.

I've been hungry today, which is strange. It's hard for me to know if it's real hunger or just a habit of being hungry in the afternoon after school. Sometimes I don't feel like I eat enough - it almost seems like the weight comes off better when I eat a little more. But most of the time I feel like I eat as much as an average person does. I probably don't, but it seems like it. There was a girl at my school last year who had this surgery (she's not there anymore), and everyone keeps explaining to me how little she ate. Which makes me feel like they think I'm eating more than that and I shouldn't be. Whatever. I'm working on keeping a food journal to take to the doc and the nut this month, so we'll see what they have to say.

On a happier note - baby Brian is AWESOME. He's so incredibly tiny!!!! You forget how little they are when they're first born. I would be carrying Abby and then I would go to pick up Brian and I would almost throw him b/c I wasn't expecting him to be so light :) He's just as sweet as he can be. I mean, basically he sleeps all the time and only wakes up to eat (what a life). Abby's doing pretty well so far with him - she doesn't pay a lot of attention to him. Of course, there have been plenty of people around to pay attention to her so far. I'm anxious to see how she does when her dad goes back to work and it's just her, her mom, and the baby. But she's pretty exceptional, so she'll probably do well.

I had a lot of deep thoughts during the 13 hours I was in the car this weekend, but I'm too tired to post them now. I'll share them with you another day. Time to drag my nasty 'ole self to store...

Kid quote for the day (a new feature of this blog, brought to you by the letter Q)
I had just finished listening a child read a passage about a slave who won her freedom and was asking the comprehension questions. I asked how she showed courage, and he answered:
"She fought the power"

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Just a shout-out to my friend and former co-worker Sarah who's turning THIRTY today!!!!!! Miss ya and hope you have a great one :)

In other excellent news, I'm leaving straight from work for Charleston today to finally meet my favorite nephew - and since he's been around for 4 whole days now, I should say it's about time.

Little updates :)

It just occurred to me the other day - when I read other WLS patient's blogs, I always want to know how much weight they're losing. Yet I never post mine. I don't know why. Maybe b/c I already know so I'm not curious :) Anyway, it's not a secret so I thought I'd share. To date, since I started pre-op "boot camp" back in March, I've lost about 75 pounds. It hasn't come off evenly, though. The stats:

• Pre-op (3 1/2 months): 27 pounds
• 1st 2 weeks after surgery: 20 pounds
  
• Next 6 weeks: 17 pounds (yes, this was a very frustrating 6 weeks)
• Last 2 weeks: 11 pounds

I think that comes out close to 75. I'm thinking the goal is to average around 5 lb/week. Everyone has different ideas, though.

This was an exciting WLS-related story: I have these pants that I love. They're from Lands End, just elastic-waist, loose, cotton pants. When I'm at home I practically live in them, and I wear them to sleep in a lot (I have two pairs). I've noticed just in the last week or so that they're really getting too big to wear. This morning they literally fell off of me as I was walking from the bathroom to my bedroom. Just fell off. As excited as I am about the lost weight, I'll be a little sad to lose my favorite pants...

I'm such a nerd. Tonight I'm reading Practice with Purpose by Debbie Diller and I'm just so interested and enthralled by it. I love it! I read Literacy Work Stations when I was a K teacher, but it's so much fun to learn about what these bigger kids can do. I can't wait until I get to stop giving QRIs and get to start actually teaching! (Do not get me started on the nonsense that is preventing me from doing that now. I might just scream.) Don't get me wrong - I actually enjoy assessing kids, especially being able to do it like I am not - without having to be teaching the class at the same time. But let me give you this example - one student read me a 591 word passage yesterday. It took him 11 minutes. ELEVEN. MINUTES. To give you a frame of reference here, this entry alone is 583 words. And I have to do this for all 50-some odd 5th graders. Plus the word lists and comprehension questions. So while I don't mind doing it, it's very time consuming. Plus, I've heard the same 4 passages over and over and over again. Anyone want to know about Johnny Appleseed? Lois Lowry? Margaret Mead? I can fill ya in.

Brian came home from the hospital today. When I talked to Mom, she was sitting on the bed, burping Brian reading to Abby who was sitting beside her. Does that sound awesome or what? I was jealous. When I talked to Bruce and asked him how Brian liked his house so far he said, "He thinks it's a great place to sleep in" Apparently Brian isn't doing the awake-time thing so much yet. That's ok, though. And he didn't cry at all when they put him in his car seat. So hopefully this trend will continue and he will be laid-back. My sister deserves one laid-back child :)

Ok, back to the book now! UNC football is on ESPN tonight. That doesn't happen often, so check it out. Go Heels!!!

Fancy Schmancy

This is what my hair looks like as I'm getting ready to leave for school this morning. It's a new look I'm trying out. Do you like it? Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to teach elementary school. This morning we have to do discipline skits and I have to dress like a kid. Hence the fancy, sparkly hairdo. With the strange little square patch of hair in front. Which I didn't notice before. But don't have time - or energy-to fix now.

I'm an aunt again!

My favorite nephew was born tonight! Brian Rhoads was born at 7:51 weighing 7 lb, 6 oz. Everyone is doing well. He has a ton of hair! He was born after Abby's bedtime, so she'll have to wait until tomorrow to meet her little brother. I, on the other hand, have to wait until SATURDAY which is awful. I'll go down right after school on Friday. They'll be home from the hospital by then, and I can't wait to see everyone. My mom is on her way down now, which is good. She's actually very helpful in these situations (much more so than me)

He's named after both of his grandfathers, which is sweet. I especially like that Abby is an A, Brian is a B....I hope if they have another one it starts with C. ABC order is awesome ;) I'll let you know more if I hear it.

YAY!

Born in the wrong era

I just finished watching "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore. I bet I've seen that movie 50 times and I just love it! It (and other movies - remember my recent obsession with "Pride and Prejudice"?) always make me wish I had been born a long time ago. There's just something that I like about societies that have rules and ways of behaving - when people were polite. I know, I know - movies always make it seem better than it was. But the complicated clothes are so neat. And that order just appeals to me. Plus, hello? Could I meet a prince like Dougray Scott? *sigh*

Not to mention, the movie closes with one of my all time favorite movie ending lines -

"And though Cinderella and her prince did live happily ever after; the point, gentlemen, is that she lived."

Seriously, check out how cool long-ago movie clothes are. Here's a scene from Pride and Prejudice:

And this one is from First Knight. I love, love, love First Knight. (to be honest, ever since we performed Kids From Camelot in the 5th grade, I've loved everything to do with Camelot. Like the old musical one? Rocks. "I wonder what the king is doing tonight. What merryment is the king pursuing tonight?" Aubrey? You feeling me?) I'm not a huge Julia Ormond fan, but I love this movie. There's a dress that she wears in it (in the Round Table scene) that I've always thought I would want my wedding dress modeled after. After an extensive internet search, I have been sadly unable to find a picture of it. But here's a picture of an example of her cool costumes from that movie:

Also, she got to wear capes. Which is awesome.

I have another favorite movie ending line that I love, but I can't think of it right now. Although the ending of First Knight, where they float the king out and set him on fire, is one of my favorites as well. I cry every single time. Know any good ones? Leave it for me - it may be the one I'm trying to think of! If I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know. I know you'll be waiting anxiously.

Rainy, Lazy Saturday...

I just want you to know that I was totally right about Hanna. Completely lame. Some rain, but nothing exciting. I don't know about anywhere else, but here - nope.

Also, I have not even gotten out of my pajamas or put in my contacts today. What a sad, sad thing. In an awesome kind of way ;) But I need to be sure I get a lot done tomorrow b/c as nice as it is to have a lazy day, I'm starting to feel like a slug.

I saw one great college football game today - go Wake! - and Tech won handily, so hopefully the ACC will be redeeming itself just a bit. Carolina doesn't play this weekend. Isn't it sad when it's not basketball season? I think so.

Ok, off to watch more of the House marathon. It's been on all day and I might start to OD. I wonder if House could diagnose me?

Champion of the Games

That's me. We had a game marathon tonight at the Palmer's, and I'm humbled to admit that I was the undisputed champion. Ok, well I was the champion in any case.

I had a good day today. I'm really liking this new job. Of course, I haven't started in with my regular schedule yet. It will be a few more weeks b/c the Title 1 people keep insisting on not telling me what's going on. But I think I'm really going to like it. I'm loving not having a classroom, but getting to work with the kids. And I love the people I work with. I joined them for happy hour after work today, despite not being able to drink. (They do this on the first Friday of the month)

Then I did something new and exciting for me - when I hit the gym, I ran on the treadmill. Ok, it was more like a jog. You know that speed where you can't quite walk that fast but you can't quite run that slow? That's where I was. And I only did it in 1-minute bursts (jog a minute, walk a minute for 5 minutes - then spend 5 minutes walking on an incline and repeat. But even my walking was faster than I usually do) The best part was I didn't even think I was going to die! Rock on.

This is how I picture myself on the treadmill:

This is what I really look like:
Oh, well. Dare to dream, right?

Then I hit the BFF's for some game playing, which I always enjoy. And I had my first Coke in like 6 months!!!! It made me so completely happy. Now, before you flip out and reprimand me :), let me tell you that yes, it was a Diet Coke so it was calorie free and yes, I let it sit in the refrigerator until it went flat before I drank it. This is completely allowed by my doctor. I can show you in my book. And I really think it will be a while before I want one again but man - that urge for a Coke was killing me!

So Hanna may or may not be heading this way, but apparently everyone around here thinks we need to take some serious precautions. Mind you, it's only supposed to be a tropical storm when it hits the coast of Va, and around here there is a flash flood warning but that's about it. We'll probably get some heavy rain out of it, but you know. I'm not evacuating or anything. So I got home today around 6 to find a notice of all the things I needed to do to get my apartment hurricane-ready. Despite the fact that the hurricane, such as it is, is not supposed to get here until tomorrow afternoon, it was requested that we be ready by 5 p.m. Clearly missed that one. Here are some of their spectacular "it might rain!" suggestions:

• Listen to the advice of local officials.
• Turn off the air conditioner. Power surges from lightning can overload the compressor, resulting in having no air conditioning. (But if I turn it off, won't I have no ac anyway?)
• Store protective coverings (e.g., mattresses, sleeping bags) in or next to your shelter space, ready to use on a few seconds' notice.
• Fill bathtubs, sinks, and plastic bottles with clean water.
• After the storm is over, watch your step to avoid broken glass, nails, and other sharp objects.
• Directions for preparing a disaster supply kid, including a 3-day supply of water, one change of clothing and footwear per person, and written instructions on how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity.

Here's my favorite piece of wisdom:

"Severe injuries will require medical attention."
Does this apply only after a storm? Or when the weather is nice as well?

So I may end up with egg all over my face for mocking this if we truly get a big storm, but I just don't think it's going to happen. First of all, it doesn't look like it's going to be that bad. It's not even like I live on the coast! Second of all, do you see how prepared everyone is? And freaked out? Bad weather never happens when people have been preparing for it as long as we have. It's like a natural law. So, no, I didn't go buy bread and milk. I did (grudgingly) bring in my patio chairs even though they are really, really filthy dirty and fill up my entire living room, just so I wouldn't get fussed at. The table's too big and heavy to bring in, though. Here's the current picture of Hanna:
I did not mean to prattle on about the hurricane for so long.

I would like to mention that I missed Monk and Psych again b/c of the game playing but I am sure now that the US Open is FINALLY FINALLY over, they will be replaying them so I will get to see my beloved usa shows again.

I'll let you know tomorrow what happens. (about the storm, not me getting to see Monk and Psych. Although it's my blog so I may write about that anyway)

TTFN!

P.S. - Let's hope for better football results this weekend!

Well, I wanted to post something...

but I can't think of anything interesting to write. So how about I give you some flair instead?

Football season and school begin!

Ok, let's start off with this awesome story.

So college football season kicked off this weekend in a less than spectacular fashion. At least for those of us who follow the ACC. (Carolina won - yay!- but let's not even discuss the Hokie meltdown) So UNC planned an exciting opening to the game - a parachutist was going to land in Kenan Stadium and deliver the game ball. Here is Kenan Stadium:


Apparently there was a storm of some sort and the pilot got confused and the parachutist landed in Duke's stadium. Where they were warming up for their game against my alma mater, JMU. And not expecting someone to fly in from the air. This is Duke's stadium.

So you can see how they made the mistake. Or not.

I had a great long weekend in Lynchburg with sweet Abby. My parents (BeBe and Bullet) and I got to keep her without those stick-in-the-mud parents in the way ;) My nephew will be here sometime next week and I can't WAIT to meet him!

Tomorrow the kids come back to school and I'm completely terrified. I have some idea of what to do with this week. We'll see how it goes. This job really feels like a grown-up, responsible job and I'm not so sure that I fit that bill :)

I'm going to leave you with this deep thought, provided this weekend by my grandfather. He was expressing opinions about the VP picks (I do NOT discuss politics), and he said this,

"Well, you know, we have a pretty great system of government. One man can't make that much of a difference. So it doesn't matter too much who gets elected. If you have a dictator, however, then you've got to be careful about who it is."