CONSTRUCTION

This site is under construction. Thanks to Jaymee over at Our Surrogacy Adventure and some miscellaneous help from the Internet I was able to at last create a 3-column blog. Hooray!

However, I still have a long way to go....

Ideally I'd like my blog posts to be in the center with a left and right sidebar. As you can see right now, I am stuck with two right sidebars. For some reason I am unable to drag the "Blog Post" box when I try to edit my layout.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Until I figure it all out, this site will remain under construction...

Award

Yea! Just when I was feeling disgruntled at messing up my blog layout...(I tinkered with the html trying to make my 2-column layout into a 3-column layout. It didn't work. And now my header and fonts are messed up. Sighs!) Anywho...I was feeling bummed out and irritated with myself, when I started reading comments on my blog.

Lo and behold, I had a comment from my blog buddy Marie stating she had nominated me for a blog award. Hooray! Thanks, Marie! :)








Here are the rules for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

1. When given the award, you write about seven things that you love.

2. Pass the award to seven bloggers that you love, and be sure to tag them and let them know they've won. (You can copy the award and post it on your sideboard.)



So, here goes...

1. I love my family.
--My wonderful DH is my best friend and confidant, I love him to pieces! (As I type this he is in the kitchen cooking dinner. He cooks much better and way more frequently than I do. My DH rocks!)
--My sweet daughter is a joy! I love watching her learn and explore new things. Her smiles and hugs make my day! (As I type this she is watching "Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang" for the 3rd day in a row. My child LOVES musicals just like her mother. Yea!)
--My two sisters are amazing, strong women. I love spending time with them...and wish we lived closer so that I could see them more often.
--My parents are supportive and caring role-models. I hope to be as good a parent to my Emma (and hopefully #2 someday) as they've been to me.
--DH's parents who live nearby have made me feel like one of their own kids. I appreciate them, especially as ALL of my family is out of state.
--DH's siblings are fun too! We love spending time with D, M and their 2 boys. A and B are newlyweds, and we're all eager for them to have a child someday.
--Shout out to my Wisconsin cousins who sometimes read this blog. I hate that we are so far from one another. You all are fabulous people who I wish I could hang out with more.
--My dog Viggo. Nothing beats his excited greeting each time we enter the house. And his large brown eyes...I love his sweet demeanor.

2. I love reading. I am a book guru. I am excited that it will be summer-time soon so I can read, read, read. I love to read on the deck in the summertime! Though I don't read as much now as I did pre-Emma, I still spend many a night staying up late with a good book. I especially enjoy teen lit and books that I can recommend to my 8th grade reading students.

3. I love green. My iPod, my car, my cell phone, my Blog layout, etc. These are all green items. I find green soothing and peaceful. Also Ohio University is where I met DH and the school colors are green and white. Go, Bobcats! :)

4. I love Scooby-Doo. I have been a Scooby fan since I was a little girl. My 'screen name' for many things pertains to one of the characters on the show. I love Halloween time each year, because I choose an episode of Scooby to use in my classroom. My students view the show as we are learning literary elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. They love it and the nifty Scooby plots are easy to determine literary elements with before we move on to dissecting more difficult written pieces. My parents report that I learned how to tell time due to Scooby-Doo. Apparently, I'd ask and ask all day long if the show was on yet. My Mom made me a notecard with a clock showing what time Scooby started. By "matching" the card to our clock, I could determine whether or not it was time for the show yet. I have many Scooby trinkets and toys. Someday I hope to have a larger house and find some type of curio or shelving unit to display them all in my office area. (Right now the majority are in storage in our garage.)

5. I love teaching. I love helping struggling readers learn strategies to help them decipher text. I love watching students grasp concepts for the first time. I love the READ180 curriculum at our school. And yes, I love summers off...

6. I love exploring. I wish we had more $$$ to travel. (I WILL go to Ireland someday!) However local adventures are almost as fun. I love museums, zoos, seeing musicals, hiking/picnicking in state parks, hanging out at the library, going to the beach, finding new inexpensive places to visit, etc.

7. I love blogging. I've been blogging for 10 months now. I love using this as an outlet! Not only is my blog a written and photo journal of my life, it has led me to form online friendships. And the wonderful community I've met via Mel's blogroll has been a super source of comfort and advice. I almost cried when I thought I had messed up my entire blog layout. Not because I thought I had lost my "buttons" and "gizmos" and "gadgets," but because I thought I had lost the list of blogs that I follow and whom follow me. GULP! What would I do without these connections? Thank goodness, it all turned out in the end. :)

Now for my nominees...

1. Sunny is one of my newest online pals. We have bonded because sadly we're both in the secondary infertility boat. I love her honesty and candor.

2. Mrs. Gamgee She's an avid reader! And her positive attitude and optimism are superb! I wish we lived closer, I'd truly love to meet her for a girl's day out in real life. :)

3. Looking4#3 Recently learned she was PG after a long struggle with secondary infertility. I've enjoyed reading about her journey.

4. Miss La My real life younger sister. She's fairly new to blogging. She blogs primarily about her career as a high school Spanish teacher. LOVE the humor and wit she uses to describe her student's antics. A nice break from the IF/parenthood blogs I usually frequent.

5. Fishsticks and Fireflies was one of the first women I connected with after my January miscarriage. Her reassurance and caring attitude were MUCH appreciated. She is mom to 2 beautiful toddlers and a beautiful newborn girl...proof that hope and "trying" do work out sometimes! :)

6. Parenthood for Me has created an amazing blog and website in support of parents who are enduring IF treatments or are trying to adopt. I love reading her first-hand experience about adopting, especially her recent post about the "delivery" of her son via JFK Airport. Amazing!

7. Carrie at Letting It All Out is a fellow mom/teacher I enjoy reading about. She has 3 young children and her DH is in the military and will be leaving for overseas duty soon...her heartfelt emotions as she prepares to endure their separation has been touching to read.

There are so many others who have blogs that have touched me in some way. HUGS to all!

Perfect Moment Monday

Memorial Day: Let me begin with a giant SHOUT OUT for all of the U.S. armed forces past and present. I truly appreciate your devotion to our country and the sacrifices that you (and your families) make! "Let freedom ring!"

The Weebles Wobblog blog encourages people to take note of "perfect moments" that occur within their lives. I've been fortunate to have a few during this Memorial Weekend...

--DH was SO excited about the Stowaway seats in our new van. When carting items around yesterday, he was pleased with the easy 1-2-3 steps to store the rear seats into the floor of the van. It made me happy that he was so tickled.

--My sweet daughter was thrilled yesterday when she found a snail outside on our deck. She brought him into the house, named him, Sam...and spent literally a few hours hanging out with her snail. She was really disappointed when we asked her to release him outside.


Blurry shot of Sam


Em with Sam and his "antlers." (Aka antennae)


Close up of Sam on Em's hand


Last night we drove to Fernandina Beach---about a half hour north of Jacksonville. (Em loved the 10-minute ferry boat ride.) We had a nice time walking along the beach, enjoying the first rain-free weather we've had in nearly 10 days.

While at the beach, I had 2 "perfect moments." One-- of all the sharks' teeth I've found during the 10 years I've lived in Florida, last night I found my largest one yet.


Two-- watching Em run in and out of the ocean, smiling and giggling was SO precious. Love seeing her enjoy herself so much.

My final "perfect moment," is my new motivation for weight loss. (I pray that I stick with it, as in the past I have not been good about sticking to my weight loss goals.) I began run/walking last week. (Definitely more walking than running.) Yesterday, I purchased a NikeiPod device that monitors distance and speed while run/walking. Last night I went 2.1 miles....LOVED the motivation of having the device plugged into my iPod telling me how far I had gone. Plus, it has a cute little cartoon icon of me and my running stats that I was able to place on my blog---again VERY motivational for me. ("Print" makes me me more accountable than "verbal" words!) Anyway, my "perfect moment," is that I ran farther than I've gone in several years...this made me happy with myself.

Hooray for perfect moments! :)
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On an unrelated note: I have my blog layout set up as a 3-column layout, but it is only showing 2-columns. Do any readers have words of wisdom as to how I can alter this?? Thanks!

Show and Tell-- New Car

This week you're getting a 2-for-1 special...

1. New Show & Tell---New Van
Yesterday we bought a new mini van to replace DH's '99 Explorer. The Explorer had been nickle and dime-ing us lately. Though we weren't planning on buying a new car quite so soon, the deal we found was too good to pass up. We put down LESS $$$ than we did when we purchased the Explorer back in April '99, and we bought the 2009 van for LESS total cost than the Explorer was. We didn't get a lot of gadgets....but the key less entry and CD player are a step up from DH's old car, so he is loving it. And we were able to get $1500 trade in for the stinky, dirty, coffee stained, broken armrest/center console, nasty old Explorer. Hilarious! I thought we'd get $800 at the most.

We had figured long ago our next vehicle would probably be a mini van. Though vans lose a little in the "cool factor," they have many features we love, especially the rear "stowaway" seats for carting large items, 2 rows of rear seats for carting around family/friends when visiting, or more room for Em and our large 100-pound dog. (You should have seen the 2 of them squished into the back of my Honda Civic last summer for our Florida-Ohio trip!)

(I did have two "ouches" when 2 different workers at the dealership asked us if Em was our "only one." Sighs. But overall, it was a positive experience. We literally were in and out with the new van in just under two hours. Wow!)

Pics below are from our time at the car dealership...


DH reading over some paperwork... (A little scruffy...he's been stressed out this week hoping the Explorer wouldn't poop out before we traded it in.)



Em and her Viewmaster


After Em got bored with the toys and coloring I had strategically packed, we found an indoor Kid's Area


Em at the play yard


Good bye, Explorer and Hello Grand Caravan!


Adios!


One of my fav features is the upper mirror---enables the driver and front seat passenger to see all of the rear seats/passengers.


The interior..."durable stain proof seats." Sweet!


View in our driveway today, since it started raining before we left the dealership yesterday.


2. Show and Tell---The Old
This week marks the one year anniversary of Show and Tell, as sponsored every Saturday on Mel's Blog. There was a requested "homework" assignment this week. Mel asked that all Show and Tell participants leave a link to their favorite Show and Tell post from the past year.

A few months ago I was fortunate to run across Mrs. Gamgee's blog at Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Daily Ramblings. I've been a follower ever since. I feel a kindred connection with sweet Mrs. Gamgee due to many similarities within our lives. Back in April, Mrs. Gamgee had a wonderful post about her favorite photo of herself. I loved the photo, her description of her sheer happiness in the photo, and the memories surrounding the photo (and her trip to the Berlin Wall.) Check out her super post HERE.

And as always, you can check out what the rest of the class is bringing this week HERE at Mel's awesome blog.

Busy Week and Name Game Revealed

--School Stuff: Student final exams were this week. It's been a struggle getting my 8th graders to focus, since they've finished their final exam, they think they are entitled to "free time" until the end of the school year. Yeah, right!

--Good news: We received confirmation that reading and language arts will NOT be combined next year! This means I can focus on reading strategies and helping my students with reading gains. Reading and teaching reading are my passion...it's been a frustrating year having to also teach writing. Next year, things should be much better!

--Emma: I took Wednesday off of work to attend Em's Pre-school graduation party. SO cute and SO fun. (And I SO admire her teacher...I could NOT teach a class of 10 3 and 4 year olds on a daily basis without losing it!)


Em with her teacher Ms. Stephanie (Yes, Ms. Stephanie is young! However she is "certified" and has the ambition of wanting to one day run her own childcare center. She is energetic and creative and Em LOVES her!)


Ms. Stephanie gave an "I Noticed Your Talent Award" to every student. Em's talent was "Most Likely to be a Future Educator." HEHEHE! My 2 sisters and I are all teachers. Our mother was a teacher. And much of my dad's job consists of conducting safety-related "trainings." I am hoping this award is because Em is helpful and informative...and not because she's too bossy.




The class


Eating their pizza party lunch


My sweet girl


Nice banner made by Ms. Stephanie



Em and her classmates L to R: Wisdom, Kaylee, Em, Todd, Christian, Zion, Camille, Jarian

How cute!

Name Game Results: A few posts ago (click here) I posted a Name Game question to determine how many of my readers "pronounce" my name the way I do.

Drumroll please. The answer is: Uh-lawn-uh My family has called me "Lon" for years. :)

Don't worry if you pronounced it wrong. As long as you don't call me "Allen" like Mrs. Carey, my very scary high school geometry teacher did on more than one occasion, we'll get along just fine!