October 2006
January 2007
March 24, 2007Ok, so maybe I've got a few more tens of pounds to lose but I had to post these pics. I'm pretty proud of myself.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
More pics of my handsome bear!!
Sportin' my Oaklies from my Aunt J. (I know that they aren't really Oaklies but she's a teacher and she just doesn't make much. I won't tell her the truth.) She bought me the hat too and she's going to beat my momma's butt when she sees her because that does NOT go with the outfit I am wearing!
I love my Nana! She sure is soft and cushiony.
snoozin...I have cheekbones!
Hi Friends! I am feeling much better this week. I think I'm over the withdrawal effects of the effexor. Now, I'm just dealing with sinuses. I went to the doctor yesterday and got an antibiotic for a sinus infection. The nausea comes and goes but is nothing compared to last week's episode. I think I'll live!
There's nothing earthshattering to write about today. I do have a couple of funny stories to share but that's about it. One deals with school. One of my students came into today and told me that her momma's butt swallowed her underwear. After laughing so hard I almost peed my pants I called her momma, who happens to teach with me, and told her what she said. She said that her daughter walked in on her while she was getting dressed, she was wearing a thong! There's never a dull moment at pre-k! Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am for my job? I have friends who teach at other schools in the county and let me just tell you, I'm blessed.
Another funny story deals with my friend's husband. My friend Jes wants me to meet her single neighbor. So she mentioned it to her husband and he nonchalantly stated, "You know, maybe they like being single. That's probably why they aren't married." Men are so smart!
On being single... I have had about 3 or 4 friends tell me they want me to meet these single guys, but nobody has actually done anything to try and hook me up! I'm not really in the mood for anything serious but Lord, do I have to put a 'for sale' sign on my butt? Somebody hook me up for goodness sakes. I"m not sure how to go about advocating for myself. And, I don't want to sound desperate.
Oh, I discovered something exciting this weekend. I have cheekbones! Is that exciting or what? Some of you may not understand what I mean, but for me it means I'm still losing weight. It has been very slow and I still have a LONG way to go but its a good feeling when I notice these small changes.
Well that's about it for now. I don't have any new pics of my nephew yet. I'm going through Thomas withdrawals. I need to make another trip. Write me when you get a chance. I miss you all! Love, J
There's nothing earthshattering to write about today. I do have a couple of funny stories to share but that's about it. One deals with school. One of my students came into today and told me that her momma's butt swallowed her underwear. After laughing so hard I almost peed my pants I called her momma, who happens to teach with me, and told her what she said. She said that her daughter walked in on her while she was getting dressed, she was wearing a thong! There's never a dull moment at pre-k! Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am for my job? I have friends who teach at other schools in the county and let me just tell you, I'm blessed.
Another funny story deals with my friend's husband. My friend Jes wants me to meet her single neighbor. So she mentioned it to her husband and he nonchalantly stated, "You know, maybe they like being single. That's probably why they aren't married." Men are so smart!
On being single... I have had about 3 or 4 friends tell me they want me to meet these single guys, but nobody has actually done anything to try and hook me up! I'm not really in the mood for anything serious but Lord, do I have to put a 'for sale' sign on my butt? Somebody hook me up for goodness sakes. I"m not sure how to go about advocating for myself. And, I don't want to sound desperate.
Oh, I discovered something exciting this weekend. I have cheekbones! Is that exciting or what? Some of you may not understand what I mean, but for me it means I'm still losing weight. It has been very slow and I still have a LONG way to go but its a good feeling when I notice these small changes.
Well that's about it for now. I don't have any new pics of my nephew yet. I'm going through Thomas withdrawals. I need to make another trip. Write me when you get a chance. I miss you all! Love, J
Thursday, March 15, 2007
This too, shall pass...
So, I realized that today marks one whole year since I moved back from West Palm Beach. I guess I should no longer use the phrase, "I just recently moved back." I miss my friends and family "down south" but I know that this move back was the best thing for me.
Its 3:30am and I should probably be sleeping but since I fell asleep at around 7pm last night I'm just not that tired. No, I'm not depressed, just exhausted. Still catching up from the weekend, I guess. I went out with a group of friends Friday night and we didn't get home until around 3am Saturday morning. I then got up and drove my mom to the airport in Jacksonville. I now realize why I don't go out more often. For one, drinking totally messes up my diet and exercise regime, not to mention the fact that my intestines still feel like they are somewhere up around my boobs. (I know, not a pretty picture!) This isn't a 'feel sorry for Janie entry', just me rambling about why its NOT healthy for me to go out and drink like a fish out of water! For those of you who are wondering, I don't do this on a regular basis, the last time was in November. I have a great friend who has an adorable little girl with special needs. Her little girl eats using a g-tube. Anytime she gets sick, her digestive tract gets out of whack and lets just say, "it ain't pretty." After reading Trish's updates on Makily, I no longer feel sorry for myself.
So last Thursday was my last day on my Effexor. Geez, its been a whole week! The withdrawal effects have NOT been fun but overall I feel positive about going off of it. That could be another reason why I've been feeling crummy. Not depressed crummy, just physically crummy. The first couple of nights off of it, I had the most vivid dreams that left me feeling exhausted the next day. You know, if I'm going to have dreams involving running, I should at least be able to lose some weight from them! I've been terribly nauseated but that could just be my postnasal drip. Although I haven't felt sick from that in quite some time. I've also been getting those heart races, for lack of a better term. Sorry my grammar isn't the greatest this time of morning! Tuesday night as I was waiting to meet a friend for dinner two phrases came to mind: "that which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger," and "there's light at the end of the tunnel." All in all I feel positive about this situation. If, once the physical symptoms wear off and I'm feeling depressed, I'll contact my doctor and get a different med. I just want to try life without it for a while. I feel like my self-esteem is much better than it used to be and I've got a lot of great tools in my bag.
You know, I was thinking back to when I first got on "meds," 7 years ago. It makes me sad looking back on why I think I started taking them. My mom got married and moved to GA. to live with her husband and my sister moved to LA to live with her now husband. Coming from a co-dependent emeshed family, I was devastated. I had nobody to take care of and to top it off, I felt totally abandoned. So, I cried. I cried all the time. I was ashamed of the crying but I was more ashamed to ask for help. You know, back then, I thought only crazy people needed therapy. So, as a quick fix, I started taking anti-depressants. I've grown alot in the past 7 years. It makes me sad to think about the reason for going on meds. The humor in all of it is that even at the highest dose of effexor, zoloft, celexa, (not all at one time of course!) I still cried! You know why I cried? Because, that's what some people do to deal with emotions. I have since come to know the difference between clinical depression and your typical "I'm broke, fat, lonely this-to-shall-pass" depression. Well, its almost 4am and I should get some sleep. Take Care!
Its 3:30am and I should probably be sleeping but since I fell asleep at around 7pm last night I'm just not that tired. No, I'm not depressed, just exhausted. Still catching up from the weekend, I guess. I went out with a group of friends Friday night and we didn't get home until around 3am Saturday morning. I then got up and drove my mom to the airport in Jacksonville. I now realize why I don't go out more often. For one, drinking totally messes up my diet and exercise regime, not to mention the fact that my intestines still feel like they are somewhere up around my boobs. (I know, not a pretty picture!) This isn't a 'feel sorry for Janie entry', just me rambling about why its NOT healthy for me to go out and drink like a fish out of water! For those of you who are wondering, I don't do this on a regular basis, the last time was in November. I have a great friend who has an adorable little girl with special needs. Her little girl eats using a g-tube. Anytime she gets sick, her digestive tract gets out of whack and lets just say, "it ain't pretty." After reading Trish's updates on Makily, I no longer feel sorry for myself.
So last Thursday was my last day on my Effexor. Geez, its been a whole week! The withdrawal effects have NOT been fun but overall I feel positive about going off of it. That could be another reason why I've been feeling crummy. Not depressed crummy, just physically crummy. The first couple of nights off of it, I had the most vivid dreams that left me feeling exhausted the next day. You know, if I'm going to have dreams involving running, I should at least be able to lose some weight from them! I've been terribly nauseated but that could just be my postnasal drip. Although I haven't felt sick from that in quite some time. I've also been getting those heart races, for lack of a better term. Sorry my grammar isn't the greatest this time of morning! Tuesday night as I was waiting to meet a friend for dinner two phrases came to mind: "that which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger," and "there's light at the end of the tunnel." All in all I feel positive about this situation. If, once the physical symptoms wear off and I'm feeling depressed, I'll contact my doctor and get a different med. I just want to try life without it for a while. I feel like my self-esteem is much better than it used to be and I've got a lot of great tools in my bag.
You know, I was thinking back to when I first got on "meds," 7 years ago. It makes me sad looking back on why I think I started taking them. My mom got married and moved to GA. to live with her husband and my sister moved to LA to live with her now husband. Coming from a co-dependent emeshed family, I was devastated. I had nobody to take care of and to top it off, I felt totally abandoned. So, I cried. I cried all the time. I was ashamed of the crying but I was more ashamed to ask for help. You know, back then, I thought only crazy people needed therapy. So, as a quick fix, I started taking anti-depressants. I've grown alot in the past 7 years. It makes me sad to think about the reason for going on meds. The humor in all of it is that even at the highest dose of effexor, zoloft, celexa, (not all at one time of course!) I still cried! You know why I cried? Because, that's what some people do to deal with emotions. I have since come to know the difference between clinical depression and your typical "I'm broke, fat, lonely this-to-shall-pass" depression. Well, its almost 4am and I should get some sleep. Take Care!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
A Day In The Life Of...
All in a Day’s Work,,,
A Day in the Life of A Preschool Teacher…
If you’ve never been to preschool, you’re really missing out. It’s a ball of fun! Ok, so maybe not ALL of this happens in one day, and maybe I’ve exaggerated on some of it, but ALL of it has happened in some form or fashion at one time or another. Yes, you’ll find some sarcasm and No, this isn’t all that we do. I have taught many places, seen different faces across the races, but this by far is the best place to be.
8:15am Receive a 20 minute explanation from a mother as to why her child won’t be at school today.
8:30am Open new containers of play dough since batch number 20 has dried out or been rubbed into the carpet.
8:40am Pry a child of his mother, reminding him that he likes school.
9:00am Remind a new student that we only pee in the bathroom rather pulling our pants down in front of God and everybody outside (not in those exact words of course!)
9:10am Ooh and aah over a spider stuck in the boy’s bathroom urinal.;
9:15am redirect a child from cutting another child’s nose
9:30am Praise a child for opening milk carton by herself;
9:31 am Mop up the milk she spilt on the floor as she was opening the milk carton all by herself
9:35am Say Pledge: “I pledge allegiance, put the stick down, to the flag, put the stick down, of the United States of America…” (grab stick from child)
10:00am Encourage my student with autism to swing without my help by signing “NO, STOP” when he puts a death grip on my wrist
10:05am Remind a little boy that yesterday when he spun himself around on the tire swing he threw up
10:25am Child hands me her hand band AFTER it’s fallen in the toilet
10:30am Attempt to read a book called “The Foot Book;” while asking children to wait and tell their stories AFTER I finished mine
10:31am smell a disgusting odor and ask who pooped their pants
10:32am Find kid who pooped pants only to discover it happened an hour ago and its stuck to his butt
10:40am Redirect child with autism to get off of the book shelf.
11:00am Had to explain for the 10th time that I did NOT give birth to a baby this weekend, my sister did
11:30am Remind children to clean up their areas; explain again that the reason the picture labels are on the toy boxes is so that they will know where things go
12:00pm Praise children for trying something new on their plate; make a slam dunk when I throw away a roll that’s fallen on the floor; encourage child with autism to try strawberries
12:30pm Help children lie down and tell them to let their bodies rest so that when they wake up they’ll have more energy
1:00pm get mooned by a four year old when I strongly encourage him to be quiet at naptime
1:15pm write out daily reports while making idle threads to children who continue to make noise during naptime
1:30pm eat my lunch and potty
1:45pm frantically change bus tags so that children get to the right place after school
2:00pm Encourage a kid with oppositional-defiant disorder to pee on the spider in the urinal. (he refused to pee and I didn’t want to change pee pants!)
2:30pm Tell 18 preschoolers that I love them and will see them tomorrow.
3:00pm Receive call number 4 from an anxious dad; assure him that YES, I put his child on the bus
3:30pm Dump sand from my shoes; take off my badge and head for the comforts of home. Once home, laugh at the fact that I actually went to college for this!
A Day in the Life of A Preschool Teacher…
If you’ve never been to preschool, you’re really missing out. It’s a ball of fun! Ok, so maybe not ALL of this happens in one day, and maybe I’ve exaggerated on some of it, but ALL of it has happened in some form or fashion at one time or another. Yes, you’ll find some sarcasm and No, this isn’t all that we do. I have taught many places, seen different faces across the races, but this by far is the best place to be.
8:15am Receive a 20 minute explanation from a mother as to why her child won’t be at school today.
8:30am Open new containers of play dough since batch number 20 has dried out or been rubbed into the carpet.
8:40am Pry a child of his mother, reminding him that he likes school.
9:00am Remind a new student that we only pee in the bathroom rather pulling our pants down in front of God and everybody outside (not in those exact words of course!)
9:10am Ooh and aah over a spider stuck in the boy’s bathroom urinal.;
9:15am redirect a child from cutting another child’s nose
9:30am Praise a child for opening milk carton by herself;
9:31 am Mop up the milk she spilt on the floor as she was opening the milk carton all by herself
9:35am Say Pledge: “I pledge allegiance, put the stick down, to the flag, put the stick down, of the United States of America…” (grab stick from child)
10:00am Encourage my student with autism to swing without my help by signing “NO, STOP” when he puts a death grip on my wrist
10:05am Remind a little boy that yesterday when he spun himself around on the tire swing he threw up
10:25am Child hands me her hand band AFTER it’s fallen in the toilet
10:30am Attempt to read a book called “The Foot Book;” while asking children to wait and tell their stories AFTER I finished mine
10:31am smell a disgusting odor and ask who pooped their pants
10:32am Find kid who pooped pants only to discover it happened an hour ago and its stuck to his butt
10:40am Redirect child with autism to get off of the book shelf.
11:00am Had to explain for the 10th time that I did NOT give birth to a baby this weekend, my sister did
11:30am Remind children to clean up their areas; explain again that the reason the picture labels are on the toy boxes is so that they will know where things go
12:00pm Praise children for trying something new on their plate; make a slam dunk when I throw away a roll that’s fallen on the floor; encourage child with autism to try strawberries
12:30pm Help children lie down and tell them to let their bodies rest so that when they wake up they’ll have more energy
1:00pm get mooned by a four year old when I strongly encourage him to be quiet at naptime
1:15pm write out daily reports while making idle threads to children who continue to make noise during naptime
1:30pm eat my lunch and potty
1:45pm frantically change bus tags so that children get to the right place after school
2:00pm Encourage a kid with oppositional-defiant disorder to pee on the spider in the urinal. (he refused to pee and I didn’t want to change pee pants!)
2:30pm Tell 18 preschoolers that I love them and will see them tomorrow.
3:00pm Receive call number 4 from an anxious dad; assure him that YES, I put his child on the bus
3:30pm Dump sand from my shoes; take off my badge and head for the comforts of home. Once home, laugh at the fact that I actually went to college for this!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Just a few pics!
Just thinkin' about how safe I am in my daddy's arms. (3 days old)
Sleepy Bear, after one whole day at home.
My tiny hand on my Aunt J's chest.
My sweet feet, 2 days old at the EJMRC Hospital.
A kiss from my Aunt J while I snooze!
Ooh, what a big yawn! Hi Friends! Whew! What an exhausting yet beautiful weekend. After stopping in Spanish Forte, Alabama (I think that's what it's called), to wait on a tornado to pass through, I finally made it New Orleans to meet my beautiful nephew. Let me just tell you, after this trip, I definitely believe in divine intervention. I realized that in my rush to get out the door Thursday morning I forgot to pack an overnight bag and a jacket. (My sister asked me to stay the night with her at the hospital. I knew it would be freezing in there and all I had brought was my big suitcase. I was NOT about to haul that thing around the hospital. So, as I was driving along the interstate I noticed an exit for an Old Navy. As I'm looking around the ON I hear this loud thunder and then what I thought was the skying falling. So, I figure I'd better wait for the showers to pass before getting back on the interstate. Finally they stop. As I'm walking to my car, the cashier from the World Market sticks her head out the door and using the deepest southern accent you could ever use, says, " Ma'am, you'd better get to shelter fast. A tornado just hit the Fort and its headed our way." So, I calmly asked her where to go, as I don't frequent Alabama and had no idea where the hell I was at. She suggested I go across the street to the Holiday Inn or a Wal-Mart a few miles down the road, then says I have like 2 minutes to get there! I don't know about you, but it takes me two minutes just to park and walk to the front doors of a Wal-Mart. As for the hotel, from where I was standing, it looked like it was on the other side of the interstate so I didn't want to go there. That's when I saw a Cracker Barrell. So, I stopped there and asked the 5 or so employees, who might I add, were standing outside with there hands in their pockets looking dumbfounded, if I could come in. They said sure and if the tornado hit I could go into the freezer as was the protocol for tornados! After about an hour, I was told it was safe to leave. So, I get back on the interstate and you'll never guess what I drove through??? Yep, the area where the fort was. Had I not gotten off to shop, I might have ended up on The Wizard of Oz!
I arrived at the hospital around 8:30 Thursday night Central time. As expected I cried when I saw my nephew. It was a happy cry though. Thomas is a symbol of hope for our family. He is such a delight! He only cries when he is hungry or needs a diaper change. He is such a cuddle bear. I left around 2pm Sunday. I think it was the hardest thing I've ever done.
After this experience, I've decided my sister Molly, is my new hero. My brother-in-law Eric, in my book, is pretty cool too. Come to find out, Molly was in labor without pain meds for 12 hours before they did an emergency C-section! After the C-section, she was in miserable pain despite meds. She had to have help with everything... EVERYTHING. I talked to her today and she sounds like she's feeling much better. Poor Eric is working is butt off, living on sleep deprivation. I'm really grateful for this little gift they gave us (Thomas), but if I've learned anything from this experience, its that I will NOT be birthin' no babies!
Finally, most of you know what I think about New Orleans, Louisiana, so I won't go into details. Let's just say to me its the dirtiest, rudest place, next to Paris of course, that I've been to. Everything changed on this particular visit, I heard birds chirping and the sun shined. (I know I'm cheezy.)
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