25 random things about me

Ok, I am totally and completely addicted to Facebook. Love the stalker aspect of it, love seeing pictures, love everything about it. (Except the 15,000 random requests I get every day. I don't even look at those) So this trend started where everyone had to write 25 random things about themselves. There have been other trends, but this is the only one that got the Sarah Nash "Cool Seal of Approval" (an award more highly coveted than the Good Housekeeping Seal) I had so much fun reading other peoples notes! So I thought I would share my post:

Um, I forgot to cut and paste the rules here. Seriously, is there anyone out there who doesn't know the rules by now? I was going to say I'm pulling a Katie Masinick and not tagging anybody. Then Katie caved and tagged people. So I'm just going to say that I'm not tagging people because everyone's already been tagged and I like to be defiant like that. I DO want to read your list, though......so write one already!

1. My two favorite things are UNC basketball and my niece and nephew, Abby and Brian. (ok this one’s not random. Everyone already knows this)

2. I almost always have half a glass of Cherry Coke Zero chillin’ in my refrigerator, getting flat so I can drink it later.

3. I have Jawad Williams’ leftover chicken wings in my freezer.

4. I’m somewhat of a control freak. That’s why I like teaching. Also why my favorite basketball position is point guard.

5. I get unreasonably angry over things which I have absolutely no control, such as college basketball and the weather.

6. At the beginning of the season, I write every UNC basketball game on my calendar including opponent, location, time, and tv channel.

7. I am a co-founder and co-president of Not Sarah’s Game Club, going strong for 5 years now!

8. I talk to my mom and my sister almost every day. I see my family at least once a month, and I cry every time I leave them.

9. My friends call me “Speed” because in high school I got two speeding tickets in the same spot doing the same speed within a few months of each other. Some call me “Sidim” and we will not discuss the reasons why.

10. I wish I could take a nap and a hot bath every single afternoon.

11. I have been on two cruises – one to the Caribbean and one to Alaska. I researched them to death, did everything I wanted to do, and loved every minute. Do I want to do another one? Ah. Take it or leave it.

12. I hate, loathe, and despise email forwards. Especially when the sender, who is supposed to a fully grown woman (JULIE SMITH IN COLLEGE) adds things like “I know this is silly, but I don’t want bad luck....”

13. I have a sleeping routine. I have to lay (or is it lie?) (It’s lie – Clark says “Chickens lay, people lie”) on my back, my side, my stomach, my other side, and back to my stomach. Then I have to sleep with one arm straight up under the pillow and the other hand under my cheek. One leg has to be bent up while the other is straight. Some people find this tossing and turning when I first go to bed to be disruptive. I find it to be normal and calming.

14. I have a blog instead of a journal because it looks prettier.

15. I’m running my first 10k at the end of March. That’s 6.2 miles. 10 months and 125 pounds ago, I couldn’t even run 6.2 feet.

16. My sister is my best friend and my hero. I want to be just like her when I grow up. She’s smart, funny, pretty, organized, and basically does it all with a smile like it’s no big deal. I need her to help me remember family member’s names and I don’t like to buy clothes unless she approves them first.

17. At one point I wanted to move to Maine, but then I realized I was too much of a Momma’s girl to move that far away from home. For the same reason, I think I’m the only person not to put “I love to travel” on my 25 things list. In fact, I think I’ll go ahead and put “I don’t like to travel” just to be shocking.

18. I’m the pickiest eater you’ll ever meet. I don’t eat any fruit or seafood. I like a few vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes – but mostly with cheese on them. When people find out I don’t like fruit, they start listing them. “Really? Not even apples? Or grapes?” or they try and trick me “What about tomatoes?” Yes, people. I KNOW what fruits are. I just don’t like them.

19. I think that people seriously underestimate the importance of kids repeatedly reading and re-reading on their independent level.

20. I refuse to use abbreviations in text messages.

21. I still have 3 living grandparents. My grandaddy died 3 years ago and I miss him every day.

22. The only thing I really want out of a life is to be a wife and mother. I think I’ll always feel like a failure without that, but I’m working on it (the feeling like a failure, not the becoming a wife and mother).

23. I love The Office, but I think Psych is the funniest show on television. My dream guy has a lot of Jim Halpert and Shawn Spencer in him. I also loved that old show Sports Night that got canceled way too soon.

24. I spend a lot of time thinking about the first person I want to see or the first question I want to ask when I get to heaven. I think it may be “What kind of a student was Jesus? How old was he when he learned to read?”

25. I don’t believe in NASA. I believe it exists, I just don’t believe it should. Why spend billions of dollars on something that may possibly be out in space when we have tons of people here without food, homes, doctors, or books??

26. In high school, I had a “pillar of coldness” that kept me cold all the time. As I got super fat, it melted and I had little problem staying warm. Now that I’ve lost some weight I’ve rediscovered cold in ways I never knew existed. How is it possible to be THIS cold all the time??!!??!!

My list has 26 things on it because I love breaking rules!

Pet Peeves

Here are two pet peeves of mine that were realized today -

1. Why do grocery store baggers think that you don't need your cat food in a bag? I am totally with them on things that have handles - cat litter, milk, soda cans, whatever. But bags of cat food? How exactly am I supposed to carry that with my other bags? I feel this way about toilet paper, too. But the toilet paper is too big to fit in the bag so, while frustrating for me, I can understand. I ALWAYS rip the plastic around my toilet paper trying to get it into the house.
2. This year, I've decided that I'm enjoying classic Christmas hymns. Why do people always feel like they need to "mix it up"? There are some ridiculous versions out there. (Ok, sometimes I like them. But mostly - no.) Today in church, they decided to sing the first verse of "O Come All Ye Faithful" painfully slow and pause between each line. We had no way of knowing about these mysterious pauses, so we kept singing into the silence, which was awkward. People were giggling. Then, all of a sudden, they burst out the second verse into a ho-down! I'm not kidding - fiddles and all. I felt like I should be square dancing. To "O Come All Ye Faithful".

These do not compare to my biggest pet peeve - children calling adults by their title and first name, like "Ms. Sarah" - but bothered me today nonetheless :)

The obligatory Thanksgiving post

As a blogger, I think there is a law somewhere that says I have to post a list of things I am thankful for at Thanksgiving. If I don't, I get thrown in blogger jail where baby rats nibble at my fingers and toes all day long. Since right now I am very thankful to be holding the cutest, sweetest, happiest 10 week old in history (who is fascinated by the words appearing on the screen), it seems a good time. So, here we are in no particular order except the order that I think of them:

Things Sarah Is Thankful For:

1. Abby and Brian (come on, you knew that one was coming)
2. The rest of my family :)
3. My friends
4. Ramses, my awesome Ford Escape
5. Flat Cherry Coke Zero
6. My WLS
7. Jeans
8. Naps
9. My job - sometimes
10. This sweet baby in my lap (I know I already mentioned him - it's Brian - but he's really really sweet.)
11. Digital cameras
12. Facebook for stalking people
13. The internet in general for being a terrific time waster
14. La'Nasia for saying something that makes me laugh every day
15. UNC basketball
16. USA network for making awesome shows like Monk, Psych, and Burn Notice
17. Game Club
18. My church, West End Pres, and the Young Adults group there
19. Dishwashers and washing machines
20. Abby (because it's not fair for Brian to get two mentions and her to only get one)
21. Treadmills with individual TVs at the gym
22. Power windows
23. Having 4 distinct seasons
24. Starter logs for my fireplace
25. Christ

Ok, people. That's as sappy as I get. I've had a crazy week but luckily it was a short holiday week! I'm spending Thanksgiving in Lynchburg with all of my crazy family. Have a great time so far :)

I think I hear Abby waking up. Better go get her!

What 100 pounds looks like - Sarah style

I've been in one of those vicious cycles where I keep thinking of things to write about, then I don't, so I feel like there is more that I have to write about so the task becomes overwhelming so I don't do it, and then there is more stuff to write about so it's more overwhelming... know what I mean?

Anyway, I've realized that it's just a blog. About nothing but me. So I can relax a bit. Speaking of the "about nothing but me" part - I feel like I owe you (the great collective "you" that is out there reading this) an apology/explanation: This blog is completely, totally self-centered. That feels very self-absorbed of me. But I really only started it as away for me to have like a journal of my experiences after WLS. Of course, now I write about other things in my life as well. And I'm glad that so many of my friends read it :) But that's why it's only ever about me. Sorry about that.

I can't believe I'm doing this on this very public internet, but here it is. My "before" picture (I could have at least fixed myself up a little don't you think?) and my "I've lost 100 pounds" picture. I've been taking pictures all along (definitely something I would encourage you to do, by the way, if you are considering or have had the surgery) (or are losing weight another way), but always considered them very private. But for some reason I'm feeling brave enough to show them to you tonight. So here they are:


Can you tell which is the before and which is the after? ;) (I'm kidding, of course. Even I can see the difference there). I've been doing these with the self-timer on my camera and they haven't been coming out great. My friend Laura took the most recent one last night, though, and I think I'm going to get her to do them all from now on because I'm pretty sure I look skinnier in that picture than I do in real life :)

The greatest time of the year is upon us, people. That's right - CAROLINA BASKETBALL SEASON HAS STARTED!!!!!!!! My Heels opened up their season with a 15-point win over Penn yesterday which I, much to my everlasting consternation, did not get to see. I realize that a 15-point win over Penn is not very impressive. Especially for a team that is ranked unanimously #1 by everyone who does these things and is bombarded by talk of the "undefeated season". (I hate that talk, by the way. Absolutely, positively, hate it. I'm going on record right now as saying that I won't be completely devastated if we lose an early season game - before conference play starts of course - just to shut that up. ) But our injury list reads like a top-1o team all on its own. Hopefully we should get most of our major players back soon. Next up - Kentucky on Tuesday night in a game I actually get to see!!!! Kentucky is obviously a pretty major game. Don't let the fact that they lost to VMI at home fool you. Even though that's horrifyingly embarrassing, this is Kentucky. Luckily they will have my excellent from-home coaching to help guide them through.

I had a fun weekend celebrating my BFF's 30th. Happy Birthday Julie!!!!!

Her dad told me this weekend that I seemed different. I pointed out that I had lost 100 pounds :) He said no, my personality seemed different. He thought that I had become more confident and extroverted without so much extra weight. I don't know if he's right, but I've been thinking about it. I did just post a pretty embarrassing picture here...

What I really, really wanted to post was the video I made of my super-awesome kids at our dance party on Friday. Those kids are hysterical. But I've tried all weekend and can't get the video to upload. I did get it uploaded to my Facebook page, though, so click here to see it.

Ok, I have been lazying away my Sunday afternoon (which is what they are good for) but since I don't have any lesson plans done for this week I guess I better get on that!

Where is my watch?

I just spent several minutes trying to find my watch. It wasn't in the dish on my dresser where I usually put it. I was going through my whole day yesterday, just a little panicked b/c I go crazy without my watch on, "I wore it "running", but then I probably just took it off in the bathroom before I took shower. But I know I had it on at Kid's Club last night because I looked at it 74 times. So why would I have taken it off anywhere other than my dresser last night? Maybe by the computer or in the bathroom... My watch CANNOT be lost. I'll go stark wild. Why is my house such a mess? I'll never find it. What am I going to do?...." and on and on. Mind you, while this is going through my head I have not budged from my spot staring at the top of my dresser to look for it or anything. That's when I spotted it. On my wrist.

I've gone a little crazy about this whole 100-pound thing. I did post it on my Facebook status, which seems a little crazy to me in and of itself :). I'm about to the point where I stop complete strangers on the street to tell them I've lost 100 pounds. Somebody stop me please!

Yesterday I set yet another how-far-I-can-"jog"-without-stopping-to-walk record. 2 miles! I only had about 30 minutes, so I "jogged" the whole time, except for a quick warm up and cool down.

Yesterday, we had this conversation in one of my 3rd grade classes:

Quavell: "If I say a bad word, and then tell my momma I didn't say it, then put my hand on a Bible and swear to God I didn't say it, then God will stripe me."
La'Nasia: "Yeah, God will stripe you for sure"

And in my 5th grade class, the conversation went something like this (although I can't remember who said what):

"Michael Vick is in jail. He's having a good time."
"Yeah, he's having fun. He gets to go outside all the time."
"He gets to play jail-ball. They can like knock each other over and stuff."
Ms. Nash intervenes: "You guys, jail is NOT fun. I'm sure that Michael Vick is not enjoying his time there. It is not a place you want to go."
"Yes, it is. You get to go outside more than we do at school."
"I know it's fun. My uncle went there. He's a felon."

I'll say this for my job - it's never dull :)

Random deep thought I had in the car the other day:
Is having a full schedule the same thing as having a full life?

Have a great Thursday everyone!

30 3/4

Today is my birthday. I'm turning 30 & 3/4. What's that you say? You don't celebrate that? I celebrate my birthday on the 23rd of every month. Unfortunately, the rest of the world hasn't caught on so it continues to be a private little celebration in my head.

30 & 3/4 is a scary, scary number....really close to 31......

Sometimes my laundry comes out of the washing machine literally dripping wet. (Load #5 of the 7 came out that way today) (The 7 loads are that pile of clothes I'm getting rid of. Come on, I'm bad but not THAT bad) Anyone know what causes this?

You know, some people just really get on my nerves.

I'm super tired so I'm going to sleep now - Night!







(you're wondering if you're the one who irritated me today, aren't you? HA)

Some thoughts from the head of me!

I love the re-usable grocery bag trend. They hold more and are easier to carry. (And, sure, I'm happy about the environmental goodness thing - whatever. Even though my mom was one of the first people to warn us about global warming and the loss of rainforests. Just ask her)

Actually, my friend Beth gave away pretty red bags as favors at her wedding last weekend. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride with a beautiful wedding. And, to make it all about me - I didn't even feel jealous at this one. Usually weddings are hard for me because of my lack of even the hope of one. Let's be honest - just being around married people is always hard for me. So I push past it and look hard for my happiness for them. And I find it and have a good time enjoying being with them. But this weekend I was just happy for Beth and enjoying being there with good friends to celebrate.

the happy couple

the cake

me and my BFF Julie

The Game Club crew! (see how cute pregnant Julie is?)

I met with my nut, Pam, again today. She was pleased with how I've been doing and even said that she thought she was too hard on me last time. (She wasn't, by the way - I needed to hear it. I honestly had thought I was doing ok but I wasn't) She gave me a lot of new helpful suggestions. *note here - none of these suggestions were for foods that I hate followed by "just try it". This was my old nut's way. This is why I no longer see her* She's very sweet and non-judgemental, which makes it easier for me to be as honest with her as I can, which makes it easier for her to help me. So it's good all around. I told her today that I worried that I never hear from anyone else who is not completely in love with their WLS. I tend to be pretty honest about admitting my doubts and frustrations about my surgery. And she told me that there are other people who feel that way, they just don't go to support groups and follow up appointments like I do. So that made me feel good. I'm going to keep fighting for this!

I'm still so tired it's almost dangerous for me to drive, but I went to bed earlier last night and I'm headed that way tonight as well. I need to give this "getting enough sleep" thing a legitimate shot. ;)

Today as he was leaving, one of my third graders had a ratty piece of notebook paper taped around his arm. I asked him (jokingly) if he broke his arm. He said, "Nah, I'm the QB in football at daycare" I cracked up. There were things written on the paper. I didn't look closely, but I'm assuming they were football plays. (For those of you not in the know - football quarterbacks often wear a playbook on their arm for calling plays)

I'll leave you tonight with a thought from Sunday's sermon. Steve's series on Jesus raising Lazarus is still going on, and this week was on Martha running to meet him. His focus was on how Mary was mixed-up and wrong in a lot of her thinking, but she took her disappointments straight to Christ and that was the right response. He said that we should do the same thing, too - we don't have to get ourselves straight before going to Jesus. We can go to him as messed up as we are. In the passage, Martha is comforted yet Jesus has not yet raised Lazarus from the dead. Here's what Steve had to say about that:

"Jesus comforts not by relieving pain, but by revealing who he is"

Reasons I Love Fall

1. Jeans and a t-shirt, maybe a fleece at night
2. The leaves, of course
3. Fairs and festivals
4. Settling into a new school year
5. FOOTBALL!!!!!
6. Basketball is coming soon....
7. Anticipation of the holiday season
8. When it gets dark earlier, I feel like I'm staying up later and am therefore cooler
9. Sleeping with the windows open
10. Running in the cool late afternoons (ok, that was just today. And it wasn't technically "running" so much...)
11. I'm used to what year it is, so I usually write it correctly
12. New seasons of TV shows - excepting USA shows, which are the best ones, which have different types of seasons
13. Fall candles smell yummy
14. Busting out the striped socks and clogs
15. Have I mentioned jeans?
16. No more awkward "supposed-to-wear-a-bathing-suit" situations
17. Not having to rake leaves makes me grateful for another year of non-home-ownership
18. Pre-season basketball magazines come out
19. No longer expected to eat things like "fruit salad"
20. Thanksgiving
21. Ok, ok. Halloween, too
22. Julie's birthday when she finally catches up with the rest of us
23. Jeans
24. Starting to think about Christmas gifts
25. Hunting season means getting rid of a few of those pesky deer (sorry, Laura)
    
26. Snakes head back underground where they belong
27. Perfect weather
28. Changing clothes means a whole new wardrobe
29. Corn mazes
30. Wearing cuddly pajamas
31. Jeans

Feel free to add your own...

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.

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?

You know you watch too many detective shows...

I guess I left the top to a pen open at work today so this afternoon I realized my arm looked like this:

(I know, great picture. Sorry about that.) My first thought was "If I was murdered today, I wonder if the cops would spend a lot of time trying to decipher the strange message written on my arm. I hope not, because it would be a wild goose chase."

Hmmmm....Do you think I watch/read too many mysteries?