I changed the look of my blog (finally!), as it was in serious need of an update. If you are reading through google reader head on over to check it out. :)

http://kmccormack.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

So many things to be thankful for ... here are just a few:

- I'm thankful that after last years group of hellions, I have a small class of perfect angels this year
- I'm thankful for my AMAZING team that I work with. It is not possible to have a better group of ladies to spend my days with. They are truly my friends and I look forward to seeing them each day at work.
- I'm thankful my whole family is able to spend Thanksgiving together this year (and I'm thankful they are coming to Houston so I don't have to spend my break traveling!)
- I'm thankful for my wonderful best friend who came home from China early to cook a turkey for my family. He's so good to me!
- I'm thankful for my naughty kitten, who as we speak is climbing the Christmas tree, yet again!
- I'm thankful I didn't move to Colorado after all last year, because life turned out pretty damn good here. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family!

new purse

I recently bought myself an Erin Condren life planner. I would normally never spend quite so much on a planner (they are $50!), but with a combination of a few great deals, I got it for only $20. It came in the mail last week and I am in love! I forgot how much I love having a cute planner to write in! I'm such a nerd. I went out and bought myself a set of fun colorful pens and had so much fun filling in all my upcoming events, meetings, etc. hehe

Here is where this story becomes ridiculous.  I bought this new cute planner, so I wanted to start carrying it around with me (mostly to and from work at least).  Unfortunately, I haven't been carrying a purse for at least a year (I've just been using my coach wristlet). Since my planner obviously could not fit inside my wristlet, buying a new purse was in order. This idea resulted in a trip to the galleria, which led me to the coach store, which led me to walk out with this:

the outside

the inside 

(except of course I got the black purse, not the brown  because I already have an older brown coach purse)

I LOVE my new purse! However, I'm finding it a bit ridiculous that a week ago I had no desire to get a purse at all, and because of a $20 planner, I just spent $300 on a purse! hahaha And unlike the way I usually make big purchases, I didn't spend time thinking about this one at all. I walked in, looked around, modeled wearing it in front of the mirror, and bought it. In and out with a purse in under 30 minutes.

So, now I have a new cute planner and a new cute purse to carry it in. yay hehe

Random Thoughts

I need to blog about Colorado (because it's a really great funny story, just wait), but before I can do that I need to edit pictures.

I need to blog about my last day with the boys, but before I can do that I need to take and upload one last picture.

So, rest assured, those two posts are coming soon ... well, maybe not that soon, but sometime at least.

For today, just some random thoughts:

1. I LOVE pinterest. It is my newest addiction. Seriously, I cannot stop once I get started. So many cute projects and ideas! I've already made three of the things I saw on there for my classroom. hehe

2. Today I went to the gym. I walked out behind this man who walked to his car, pulled out an analog scale, weighed himself in the parking lot, then got in his car and left. Why would you carry your scale with you? Why wouldn't you use the scale in the gym which is of much better quality? Weird, right??

3. I drove up to the ATM today to deposit my last summer check. As I was waiting in line, a man WALKED up to the line, cut in front of my car, and used the ATM. I'm sorry sir, but that was just lazy. There was a walk up ATM not 10 yards away from us, and plus, you don't get to cut in front of me just because you're on foot and I'm in a car! Annoying!

4. The teacher center is closing for good, which is so so sad. They are only open a few more weeks so I decided to brave the crowd this morning and get some things made. Guess what? There were only 3 people there!! Apparently Saturday morning is the time to go because everyone is spending time sleeping in or hanging out with their families. Score! Also, I wanted to steal some of their paper. We have a paper crisis in first grade this year and they just had SO much. Seems unfair.

5. I think the entire city is sold out of clothespins. I went to 5 stores today looking for some and they were all sold out. I guess I might try Walmart later tonight, but if they don't have any I don't know where else to look!

6. I have worked out every day since T left for China. Go me! I know this sounds weird, but I swear my body had been craving exercise for the last month or so. I felt this urge to work out all the time, but was pretty much just too lazy to actually do it. Turns out, I feel great and have much more energy. Who knew hahaha :-P

And, that's all for today.

Chick-fil-A Cow Day!

Every year Chick-fil-A has a promotion one day in July where if you come dressed like a cow you get your meal for free. I first heard about this last year when I was watching the boys, so I dressed them up and took them. They thought it was pretty much the coolest thing in the world!

Outside Chick-fil-A before last year's cow day. Getting them to pose for a picture was a challenge haha

Because cow day was such a hit last year, of course I had to take them back this year. Every day this week Tate has been asking "is it cow day yet?!? When is it going to be cow day??" Apparently when he woke up this morning he opened the door to his room and yelled "IT'S COW DAY!!!" and ran down the stairs screaming. haha. I had to put the costumes together again, but it's pretty much the same thing as last year. I totally love this picture of the three of them! What sweet boys! :)

Picture taken before leaving for cow day today. They are getting so big!

Cow day works out to be a pretty sweet deal for the kids. They get a free kids meal, and if you don't want your toy at Chick-fil-A, you can trade it in for a free ice cream cone. Free food and free dessert. Can't go wrong there!

Crazy Cats

In our house the cats have a tendency to play with the toilet paper roll when it is hanging on the wall. More often than not, I'll put a new roll on, walk away for a few minutes, and come back to find most of the it rolled out onto the floor and shredded. Luckily, once they have played with it once, they usually won't touch it again until there is a brand new roll there, so it isn't exactly a daily problem, but it's a problem none the less.

This morning we needed a new roll of toilet paper. My thought was, if it wasn't on the wall to roll out, they probably wouldn't mess with it. So, instead of putting it on the wall, I just set it on the back of the toilet. The doorbell rang so I went to see who it was, and by the time I went back to the bathroom (literally 5 minutes later) I found this:

Seriously!?!

Rodeo: Zac Brown Band

How is it already the weekend?!? Do I REALLY have to go back to work the day after tomorrow? This break has only made me more ready for summer haha.

I honestly cannot believe how fast this year has flown by though. I seriously feel like it was just yesterday that I was driving back from Colorado, interviewing for my job, and then starting in a whirlwind that first week of school. How are there only 10 weeks left? While I will be glad for school to wind down, I sure wish life would slow down a bit! yikes!

So let's see, the rest of my spring break ... Thursday I got up right after T left for work, picked up a few things at Lowes, and set to work painting the bathroom. When we painted my room back in November T thought that the color would look great in the bathroom too (the bathroom had previously been painted this ugly sea foam green color) so he painted a swatch on the wall before I could say anything. Yes it looked nice, but no I did not want to paint the bathroom haha! I had every intention of painting over Christmas break, but then I hurt my foot so I was clearly unable to. Since then we have had that dumb patch of tan on top of all that green. It took a few hours, and it was a pain in the butt, but it's done now! Hopefully the next people who live here don't ever try to take down the shelf because it is in such a precarious position that if we took it down for painting it would never go back up. So, I just had to paint around it. It looks perfectly fine, but if you take the shelf down there will be a green line where the shelf touches the wall haha.

My reward for painting the bathroom? The Rodeo to see Zac Brown Band! There was a group of 5 of us and it was a blast. Zac Brown was amazing! Seriously, I was way impressed with the guitar playing skills of that group! So glad I got to go! Sadly though, that was my last rodeo performance of the year. I just LOVE the rodeo (got to go 4 times this year for free!) so I'm a little sad it will be another year until it is back.

Yesterday I laid around and read for a few hours in the morning, then T came home after lunch so we just hung out watching tv etc until we finally decided to go rent a movie. If you haven't seen Due Date yet, go rent it! It was hilarious! It was directed by the guy who directed The Hangover and Old School, so you know it's good!

Today I'm laying low, trying to get a few things done for school (though I haven't even attempted those yet so we'll see what happens there. haha

Productivity

Today was much more productive than yesterday. I was able to get my Colorado drivers license, and I got all the paperwork I need to get my car registration. I debated going back to get the registration taken care of today but figured I'd need something to do tomorrow so I might as well save it. When you have no job and no friends you need something to keep yourself busy. Can't be too productive in one day or what will you do the rest of the week?!? haha

When I was driving around I spotted a young hippy looking man on the side of the road with a sign that sort of made me laugh: "totally screwed!"

Summer Job

So, thanks to Tony, I got myself a summer job that I am really excited about! I didn't want to teach summer school this summer (I need a break from teaching!) and I since I don't have to work, I wasn't going to be getting a job for the money, I would be getting one just because I would enjoy it. After I decided not to apply to teach summer school, I started thinking about what I was going to do all summer and started thinking about how bored I was actually going to be. Then, Tony found a posting on TexAgs for a summer nanny and passed it on to me thinking it was something I'd be interested in.

On a whim I decided to email about it to get more information. I ended up meeting with the mom last week so we could chat and I could meet the boys. She has twin 3 year olds (well, will be 3 next week), and a soon to be 5 year old. They are ADORABLE! Little bundles of energy for sure, but adorable. They were looking for someone that would be willing to do fun things with them: the zoo, the children's museum, the park, the pool, etc. That is totally up my alley! Unfortunately, they really wanted someone who could work until mid August, but I could only offer them until my trip to Jamaica (July 21st!!). She had to take a few days to figure out if they could make something else work the rest of the summer, but I guess she figured it out because she emailed me before they left for Disney World this week to let me know that if I was still interested they definitely wanted me to watch their boys.

I think it will be a lot of fun! As I said, the boys are precious, and I'll love taking them on "field trips" all summer. Won't hurt to make a little extra spending money either. yay! :)

New Years

New years is a holiday I can really get behind (and there are a lot of holidays I can't say that about haha). Of course, having someone to kiss at midnight would make this holiday exponentially better, but even without that, it's one of my favorites. :-P

I love new years because it's a chance to start over. I know it's just another day, but the idea of a new year, a blank slate, and a chance to get things right, makes me feel very happy inside. It's a chance to start fresh, and I have a serious love for the prospect of wiping the slate clean because more often than not, I find that I feel a need to just start all over in different aspects of my life. Now, I do realize that I could do that any day of the year, but something about January 1st just feels different. Maybe it's that everyone has a blank slate, or maybe it's just that others understand when you decide to start over. I don't know ... hard to explain.

Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days

And you asked me what I want this year

and I try to make this kind and clear

just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

'cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings

and designer love and empty things

just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words and sing out loud

'cause everyone's forgiven now

'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Here's looking toward a WONDERFUL 2010, filled with possibility and adventure.

Happy New Year!

photo from Notebookdoodles

Clutter

So far my plan to stop being a hoarder is going quite well! I have cleaned out my entire bathroom of all the stuff I don't need or use (really, when will I EVER use a hair crimper again?!?! Actually, why did I even use one in the first place haha!!), as well as my desk area, one huge tub under my bed, and half my closet. I've thrown away six 30 gallon garbage bags of stuff so far. If I haven't seen it or used it in the past year, it's gone. Seriously ... WAY too much stuff! If I lived in a house this would be a good time for a garage sale, but alas I have nowhere to have a sale, so it's all just going in the trash. I feel a little wasteful, but I'm taking some clothes and stuff to Goodwill, so I guess it's okay.

Also, if you don't read the above blog, you should. That is all.

New look

I changed the look of my blog again. If you are reading through google reader you should head on over and check it out :)

I must say, I was pretty impressed with myself when I figured out how to use photoshop to add pictures to the frames inside the banner. I'm definitely no photoshop pro, but I totally figured it out in a minimal amount of time! yay!

Plans

The other night I had dinner with D for the first time in goodness, probably 2 months?!? It had been so long since we had seen each other it felt like we literally knew nothing about what had been going on with the other. It was definitely good to catch up! Here's the thing: once I started talking and filling him in on how things are going, it was like I just couldn't stop. And all of these feelings that I hadn't put into words just spilled out of me.

The thing I realized about my life is that I have always had a plan. That's just the way I'm wired. I live my life through a series of plans; it works for me. A plan for the day, the week, the year, the next 5 years, whatever. There is always a plan; there always has been a plan. I make plans, and then I follow them. That, to me, is comforting. There is stability in plans, and I need stability. I don't do change or uncertainty well at all. When you go to college and get a specialized degree that really only leads to one career choice, you have a plan. See the stability in that? There is no choice to be made; the plan has built in a choice for you. That worked perfectly for me. Low stress, clear plans, life was good ...

Now, I have a problem. Many of my plans have not worked out. Turns out, my plans were not all what I wanted after all. I don't have a new plan. NO PLAN. And I don't know what to do with that. My life has become (what feels like) a gigantic chaotic mess with no direction, because it is lacking in plans. (I realize I have said the word plan so many times in this I am starting to sound like a crazy person, but I sort of feel like one so just go with it). I'm just stumbling through my life in the dark. I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. My purpose is missing. Does that make sense? See, not only have I always had plans, but my plans have always been successful. No one else may see it this way, but this current lack of success feels like a total failure. I don't fail at things. I don't! And yet, here we are ... pretty much failing at life.

I sort of feel like the person in a movie who is frozen in place watching others zip around them. You know what I'm talking about?

The whole world is moving, and I'm standing still ...

I am working on formulating new plans. Actually, I have started to formulate part of a new plan, I just need to find a way to make it happen, and then figure out the rest. What I probably need to do is stop being crazy and live life without a plan for once, but that's just not going to happen. I feel very out of sorts without clear direction. It's not a good feeling at all.

And now to go along with the rest of my crazy I have just spilled out for the world to see, I'm just going to go ahead and throw in a nice metaphor for you.

You see, I like the paved road. The path that has already been cleared and has signs leading you the direction you need to go. That path is stable, it doesn't change, you know exactly where you are going and what is going to be there when you get there. It's stable, and there is a clear purpose. Somehow, I have stumbled off that road and have gotten lost somewhere in the trees. There is no turning back; that road is too far behind me now. It appears it is time to start forging my own trail.

And I'll be honest, I'm scared to death.

But you know what? Life is scary ... And that's okay.

So close

The other day my fortune cookie read, "An exciting opportunity lies ahead of you." It's not often that I keep fortunes, but I pinned that one to my bulletin board. It seemed very fitting.

So Close Now - Eli Young Band

I am so close now to walking away

About to walk the path I've gotta take

I am packing up, heading out

I can't sleep I'm dreaming way to loud

I'm so close now, so close now

To getting out.

Truer words have never been spoken ...

Is my leg broken?!?

I don't have a clue who actually reads this blog, so you may or may not already have heard the story about me falling down the stairs. If you have, skip the next paragraph and move on to the third. If you haven't, keep reading.

3 1/2 weeks ago I was running late for church on Sunday. I put on a new pair of shoes, headed out the door, and down the stairs to my car. Since these shoes were new, they were quite slick on the bottom. Can you see where this is headed? I most definitely fell down the concrete stairs at my apartment, and it sure did hurt! I sort of laid on the steps for a minute trying to decide if my leg was broken or not ... I decided not. My leg was in some severe pain, and was completely cut and bruised up, but like I said, I was running late for church, so I just had to suck it up and deal.

Well, it's been 3 1/2 weeks since this falling down the stairs incident. My leg STILL hurts like heck to even touch, and you can still see a large bruise on it (or it might just be a scar from where it was scraped, I can't really tell). Well, since it has been so long since it happened I started to really inspect it to see what the heck is wrong since it's not getting better. I've asked a few people and the consensus is that I have a lump on my leg. Either one part is inflamed into a bump, or one part is dented in. Either way, My shin is not flat anymore. I know people can get bumps on their head if they fall, but can you also get bumps on your leg?!? Or is this something I may need to worry about? Thoughts?

Before I leave you, I thought I would share a random story from my day. This morning I was reading a story to my class and they were sitting on the carpet in front of me. This one little girl kept inching closer and closer to my feet. Before I knew it, she was tapping her finger on my big toenail. I sort of moved my foot and ignored it, but that didn't stop her. She tapped/rubbed my big toenail throughout the entire story! Kids can be so strange sometimes! haha