Eye Candy.

Worked at the art studio today. New spring inventory is coming in. This jewelry tempts me every day. I have only caved a few times. Today has been super busy. It began in Little Rock at the orthodontist. Then to work for a few hours. Back to school to pick up one kid. Take Sarah home to change then to dance. Pick Jamie up from the Freeze's where he walks most days after school. Back home to cook and pick up. At 6:25 Jamie reminds me we have piano in 5 minutes. I can't wait for summer break.

Monday at ALC.

I subbed today for a history teacher. I bored a lot of kids today by reading from the history book. We learned about Washington and the forefathers starting everything from scratch after the war. The textbook mentioned twice the debate over who should be able to hold positions in the government. Should wealthy, educated landowners only be allowed? Should common less educated farmer types be allowed? I wonder at the education levels currently held on Wall Street, Obama's Cabinet, and major CEO's. Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar. Clearly education in no way guarantees wise decisions. The art work is from a very talented student.

Catch up Saturday.

The hardest part about working is catching up on the weekend. Housework, laundry and everything else just piles up waiting. I really hate that. I want to spend time with the family and time in the scraproom. I cleaned most of the day. Then Sarah and I headed to the Container Store in Little Rock. I needed some finishing items for the room. I found a few cute things. I wish my state could rate an IKEA. I would like to tell Ted the parking lot at the mall was PACKED. There were plenty of people in the high end specialty store I was in also. Just FYI a little fact I found out at the Pottery Barn. The pillow inserts cost extra. So if you take a pillow to the check out stand they inform you the pillow costs twice as much to purchase as is. I really had no idea. It is too darn bad. It was the perfect shade of blue for my room. No worries. Target has an excellent selection.

Popcorn Wall.

Friday I subbed for the GT teacher. This is always a fun room to be in. I helped kids practice for quiz bowl. They are super quick and smart. The library was preparing for a book fair. The theme was Hollywood and the Academy Awards. I was so impressed with the work they put into this. This was one of two massive wall displays. I really loved the popcorn. The second picture was taken just outside the library. Not pictured are the red carpet and the sidewalk with the hand prints and names. Family night is planned to be a big event. Students are invited to dress like a star. There will be paparazzi with cameras and people requesting autographs as students walk down the red carpet. Is that cool or what? I had to take a picture to share.

We should all be praying for the kindergarten teachers of America. The more time I spend with that age group the more I am in awe. Keeping the attention of 20 five year olds for more than 5 minutes is HARD. I only had them for one hour. Seriously, I would rather clean the bathrooms at the school instead. I know I would do a better job. Those teachers deserve gold medals, a raise, and a trip to the spa.

Box of Fun.

How cool is this? We received this package today. I had to take a picture before items began to disappear. Thank you to the sender. We felt the love. We miss you too.

I subbed for a 3rd grade class today. It was a good day but I am exhausted. Teachers work hard. The best part was reading aloud to the class. It was one of the few times I had their complete attention. Ahhh the power of a good book. Speaking of which, I am looking for my next great read. I have looked at a few random things on the shelf. So far nothing has grabbed me.

Library of Memories.

This is the first week of classes for Library of Memories. Stacy Julian teaches this class once a year. It is a completely nontraditional approach to scrapbooking. It throws ideas such as chronological and current out the window. It is a comprehensive system to organize photos, memorabilia and more. I seriously needed the help setting up a system. I have so many pictures it's ridiculous. Every I look through the hard drive for a picture I find forgotten shots. There has to be a better plan. Not to mention my drawers of printed photos. Check out the details at the big picture scrapbooking website. Stacy has an incredible set up. Her classes are worth every penny.

Early Spring.

The spring flowers are just starting. I noticed some trees budding today. I also saw some daffodils. Daffodils are hands down my favorite flower. I am watching Mrs. Lena's backyard. She has the most fabulous display in town. Hopefully the frost will hold off to allow the flowers to bloom in perfection. These small irises are from Charlotte's backyard.

Hotel for Dogs.

I took Sarah and Avery to see Hotel for Dogs today. It was a really cute movie. Sarah has been asking to see it for a while now. We used our day off from school to check it out. This has been such a fun weekend. Too bad they can't all be three days long. Mike helped me finish the upstairs rearranging. It looks so much bigger and cleaner. All the scrap stuff is cleared out and it makes a huge difference.

Mike flew to Dallas today. He sat beside none other than our former Governor, Mike Huckabee. How cool is that? I am such a big fan of his. I'm glad it was him and not me. I would have been escorted off the plane for being too "excited". Mike talked with him and said he was very friendly. I will let him tell you more. Mike loved the cuff links he was wearing. They were beautiful gold ducks. Huckabee is an avid hunter and sportsman.

I have completed the first phase of CLX. This week I begin the Push phase. The goal is failure after 6- 8 reps. I am starting to worry a little. I just do not feel the soreness I would expect. The cardio is very intense. The interval workouts are my favorites.

Father Daughter Banquet.

We enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's day. Most of the day was spent preparing for the big event tonight. I helped set up and decorate the gym. Our church hosted the event at a nearby school. It was open to all of the school. What a huge success! I helped serve and ran around with the camera on my neck. I hope these little girls will always remember tonight. It meant a lot to me. Mike and Sarah made a handsome couple together. The girls all decorated a picture frame. A photographer took a picture for them to put in the frame. The girls and quite a few dads danced and enjoyed fun door prizes. The music included fun Hannah Montana pieces and Disney princess themes. Refreshments were served. Each girl received a tiara to wear. At the end our Pastor gave a brief talk about fatherhood. He told the dads what a huge influence they were in their daughter's lives. The featured pictures include at home ready to go. The other is entering the dance as they were officially announced. Thank you Mike! You were perfect.

Sarah's Party.

The students in Mrs. Beggs' 3rd grade class room had a sweet party today. Lots of candy changed hands along with the Valentines. The decorated boxes included traditional designs along with a cookie monster, easy button box, and frog mailbox. The kids created their own ice cream sundae. Sarah of course loved every bit of it. She is all about school and her friends. She is Jamie's polar opposite in all things. Most kids left with their moms after the party was over. Sarah refused to miss one minute of the day.

I am also including a picture of Mike's gift to me. I asked for chocolate covered strawberries. Simply delicious. He ordered some from a local restaurant. They surely will not last in this house 24 hours. I had to take a picture for the scrapbook. Good thing I worked out today.

All City Concert

All the Benton band parents converged in one spot tonight. Benton bands from beginning 6th to Seniors played together at the All City Concert. It's cool to listen to the progression through the years. I can honestly say Jamie's band (8th grade Junior High) was at least as good as the Seniors. They are so talented. They performed the Batman Theme from the new movie series. They sounded so good. Finally, something worthy of pictures other than piles of laundry. We filled the arena up. It was standing room only as usual. The entire floor was covered with musicians. All of Benton's band directors work together to put on a great show. These guys are growing up before my eyes.

Busy weekend ahead. Sarah's class party is tomorrow. The Father daughter banquet is Saturday. I have to help set up both. There should be several fabulous photos from those
events.

We had one interesting event. I think it was Monday night. The night the storms came through. The wind blew so hard during the storms it sucked the french door enough to set off our security alarm. That got everyone up in a hurry. Chihuahuas were barking, Sarah was crying while Mike and Jamie grabbed weapons. This was 3 am. Not exactly a pleasant nights sleep.

Still doing CLX. I have completed week one of the Burn series plus the cardios and ab workouts. I got really motivated and did the whole measuring thing and took before pictures. Oh my. I have a long way to go.

Puppies and Sunshine.

The weather was so nice this weekend. Today was 70 and sunny. Church was packed. The good weather really got people out. Sarah practiced her back handspring and the puppies ran wild. I worked in the scraproom quite a bit. Mike set up my early birthday present in the room. He makes all the technical stuff look so easy.

2/08/09 CLX Burn Circuit 2, 20m of Turbo Jam

ALC.

Supper tonight was at Chili's. Featured here is one item from my top 10 food list. Mike and I are huge fans of their salsa. Friday is the perfect night for eating out. For that matter, any day of the week will do. I came home and watched Fringe on the dvr. It is quickly becoming my favorite show.

I worked at the Alternative Learning Center today. Let me say you will not meet a more wonderful group of people anywhere. I feel the love the teachers pour on the kids. This is where the school system moves the kids with discipline and other issues. The environment is designed to teach the kids life and relational skills. It was an instant fit the first time I worked there. The kids are very open and willing to talk about their lives. It is such a treat to visit with them. I would love to take a few of them home and provide a solid home life. Some parents just don't realize the huge impact their life choices make for kids.

My Mess.

Here is a picture of the old scrap space. I am moving stuff to the new room. Things are progressing along nicely. A lot of the leftovers will end up in a garage sale.

I subbed at the Junior High today. I had a new experience called Code Red. When this happens the teachers pull all the students out of the halls and lock them in the rooms until the all clear is called. Luckily, I was on my prep period with no students. So I stood at the door listening for the gun shots while I flipped through the guide book for Code Red. I still don't know what happened for a fact. The rumor was a kid passed out from drug use. Who knows if this is true. The kids are all about drama at this age. The teacher had a bulletin board with reading recommendations featured. I was pleased to see I had read all but one. It was a novel about football. For those of you unaware of the Twilight phenomenon, it is BIG. Every other student is reading that series. I walk down the row of desks and count the number of Twilight copies. Yes, even the boys and Middle school too. I have seen one or two at elementary. Those have been provided by parents.

While the class did busy work, I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What a beautiful story. I love, love, loved it. Guernsey is a small island in the English Channel. German troops occupied the island for years as a base for their London invasion. Potato peel pie was a treat for the starving residents struggling to survive. The entire book is a series of letters written by various people on the island. Each one reveals a piece of the picture. The residents form the book club to meet secretly and help on another through starvation, death, and Nazi rules. Some of the letters make you cry and some make you laugh. Human nature is examined from all angles. I can only sit back and thank God I have never experienced such pain. The book kept the focus on the best of people. It made me ask would I, could I react the same way in their situation? Only by the grace of God.

CLX

My next workout obsession was delivered by the nice man in the brown truck. The new set is Chalean Extreme. You may already know Chalene Johnson from her Turbo Jam fame. Beach Body is the company that produces these workouts. The set includes a complete food guide with recipes, a guide on proper form, and eight DVDs. I love the set, moves and music. I will now be challenged with sticking to a program for the entire 90 days. Much of the program is designed to be slow and heavy (tortoise). I am all about fast and light (hare) workouts. The goal in many of the workouts is total muscle failure by the 12- 15 rep count. It is a well rounded set that also includes cardio, abs, and motivation. These are short intense workouts. You have to lift at your max or you are simply wasting time. The body loves to have a variety of workouts and it is time to shake things up. Constantly mixing things up makes the body work at its peak performance. I recently read a disturbing article about a woman who trained for the Ironman competition. She was a fitness competitor and personal trainer. Her goal was endurance to complete the competition. At the end of training she had no weight loss and no definition. The body adapted to running, swimming and cycling incredible distances. Long story short, it's not all about cardio. You have to build muscle.

Increasing protein is another challenge. I will really have to make that happen. I am all about carbs.

2/04/09 CLX Burn Circuit 1

The Keeper of the Tape.

Sarah is so creative. She is always making something from scratch just for the fun of it. Absolutely no prodding is needed from me. It is entirely self motivated. I just sit back in awe and watch. The running question at our house is "Where's the tape?" We now know where to look for the tape. Sarah has it and keeps it closely guarded. She needs it for her creations. I am not kidding. I have witnessed entire rooms with furnishings constructed from just scotch tape and notebook paper. I put an Origami set in her stocking this year. She will sit down in the evening and fold those paper squares into art. Here she is pictured with a Valentine's day project. Ever the Type A personality,her card creations for class began with a theme, supply list, and detailed plans.

She is on her second round of antibiotics this month. If this does not knock out her sinus problem we will have to go to the doctor yet again. The next visit will include sinus x-rays and possible ENT visit. Last year we visited the allergist. Not one thing tested showed any reaction. I don't know how she puts up with the constant congestion.

New Week, New Book.

How about this for a title? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Mary Shafer and Annie Barrows. The title alone is interesting. The setting is London during World War II. The book is a series of letters between a writer and people experiencing life changes due to the German occupation. Unfortunately I have not had much time to read today. Mike is gone and things are busy as always. My carpets were cleaned today. It smells and looks so clean. The kids and dogs are not allowed to set one foot on them.

2/2/09 Biggest Loser Power Sculpt

Friday.

Mike and I attempted to move scraproom furniture upstairs. It didn't take long for him to realize what I already knew. There was no way on this earth we could haul that heavy stuff up those stairs. Major bummer. So I began to call movers. We were able to schedule them for Saturday morning. Until then the room gets put on hold. Big sigh. One disc from the Chalean Extreme set came in. I happily spent time previewing it while I ironed. It looks fabulous. I can't wait to do it tomorrow. Jamie had a haircut appointment after school. Apparently, the whole rock band thing has kicked in. He had a fit over the 1/4 inch he had trimmed. I was not ready for that. I guess he thinks haircuts are no longer necessary. I really don't have a problem with long hair. It does has to have some style and shape to it. Mike doesn't want to spend good money on 1/4 inch cut.

1/30/09 The Firm Total Body Toner

Saturday.

The movers came at 7:30 and got busy. They were thrilled to have the work. The men told Mike it had been a hard few months with the economy so bad. Mike is very generous and they left quite happy. I am thrilled to have it all moved in. All of the furniture pieces in the scraproom are repurposed items. Most of it came from Mike's old office at the pharmacy. I am thrilled to have a real desk with drawers. Also included are a microwave cart, computer stand, and small chest. Each piece will have a purpose - think centers in a school room.

I tried the interval and ab workout on the new Chalean DVD. It was a solid workout that left me dripping sweat. The new set is sleek and modern. Many of my favorite moves are in this disc. This will probably become a favorite.

I only had a little time to play in the room before we left for Conway. Mike has a Bronco gathering planned for tonight. We farm the kids out to anyone who will take them and head out. The group meets at Outback for a good time. I really do like this group of people. They all discuss the next planned trail run somewhere in Missouri. This one does not include hotel rooms so Mike may go alone. We enjoyed dessert at one the members home. I took several pictures, including a group shot at the restaurant. I have to post the one of the model Bronco. They had several of these around the house. These men are as obsessed with their toys as I am with my scrap hobby. Speaking of obsessed. You may think my scraproom is over the top. I simply ask, have you seen my husband's shop?

1/31/09 CLX Get Lean Intervals /Abs

Sunday.

What a beautiful day. Our weather has been gross. Today was like a warm spring day. The puppies spent a lot of time outside. After church I began to arrange things in the scraproom. Finally! I can actually start to set things up. Many thanks to Mike for his help with the computer and technical stuff. I will wait until it's complete to post any pictures. Today's picture is my idea of a great Superbowl.