Before and After

After today I am sure I will have exhausted my material to post about our cat Sadie.  I'm sure today was her least favorite day of the year so far.

This was her this morning while I was eating breakfast.


A couple of minutes after that picture was taken, I grabbed her up and shoved her in her carrier/bag against her will.  We then took a five minute ride in the car to the vet's office.  The ride wasn't very pleasant since she cried the whole way.  Things didn't get much better when we arrived.  We got there right at opening along with 2 large dogs and two other meowing cats.

It was time for Sadie's annual grooming/haircut and vaccinations.  I dropped the cat off with the instructions for her haircut (which they followed perfectly) and went on my merry way to work.

This is what she looked like when we got home many hours later.



My poor kitty was exhausted and mad.  She hates having to be shaved, but I really hate for her to throw up hairballs all summer long.  I also really hate having to clean up the previously mentioned hairballs.  So it is an "ugly" stage that we put up with.

The following picture demonstrates another perk of Sadie getting a haircut.


Sadie is not normally cuddly enough to actually lay on my lap.  So I will take it as long as I can get it!

The Simple Life of a Furbaby

It has been a while since I have posted about our sweet Sadie Rose.  She just turned 4 and has the easiest life imaginable.  Sometimes I envy the life of a cat.  I have noticed that she has become quite a it more clingy since Mike took his job and has to be gone during the week.  She sure misses him!  I love on her and pet her, but he would play with her.

 Here is a view of a typical day for Sadie:

She starts her morning by sitting in the bathtub watching me get ready.



There is absolutely no telling what she does while I'm at work, but this is how I usually find her when I get home.


When I settle into the recliner to watch a little TV, she's right there with me.  It is kind of comforting to hear her purr in my ear.


When it's time for bed, she's right there with me.  She makes sure to hog my side of the bed even though there is the whole other side that is empty.


In between naps around the house, Sadie makes sure to beg for food and treats.  She also runs around like a made woman.  She's my little equestrian.  She goes over, under, and around all kinds of obstacles.  Since we don't have kids yet, Sadie has become our child.  She does a good job of keeping me company while the hubby is away!

Insomnia and Jeremiah

It is 1:45 a.m. and I am awake for some unknown reason.

*Maybe it's because I drank a Route 44 tea from Sonic today.  The nice thing was they had Happy Hour all day since it was Tax Day.  I treated my team at work to drinks!

* Maybe it's because I can't put all of my work out of my head.  I have a crazy number of parent conferences between now and the end of school.  That's the life of a special education teacher.  I have been working on some of my paperwork, but have gotten as far as I can until I get back to school tomorrow.

* Maybe I'm stressing a little bit about Mike's job situation.  I have been praying for him to find a job in Northwest Arkansas next year.  We have found several and put in applications.  Now it seems to be a waiting game.  I know I am being taught patience with this situation.

If I had my guess, I would say that this case of insomnia is a combination of these factors plus all the other uncertainties I have swirling in my brain.

I cannot get Jeremiah 29:11 out of my head.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."


I just have to trust that God has plans for us.  We just have to listen!

I hope these plans include some rest for this very tired teacher.  Only 26 more days until summer vacation and time with my family.

The Worst Time of Year For a Teacher

The time of year that most teachers dread has arrived. What time of year is that?  Testing time, of course.  Here in Arkanasas every student 1st-8th grade has to be tested.  High school students have to take an End of Course exam for some classes.  Students doing well on this these tests has become the goal for all teachers during the school year.  If we dwell too much on it, the testing can take the joy out of teaching.

I think the creators of these tests have lost sight of who has to take them.  These students are still children andd a lot is being asked of them.  This year, I am testing a small group of fifth graders.  For various reasons they get accommodations during testing, which is why I only have 5 students in my testing group.  We have complete 3 out of the 5 days of testing so far.  Every morning we get started around 8:30 and have tested until anywhere between 11:30 and 1:00.  In my opinion, that is a lot to expect 11 year olds.

I am so proud of how hard they have worked, but it breaks my heart to see how tired and frustrated they are at the end of testing. During the breaks I try to encourage and praise them for all of their hard work.  I also just try to remind them to try their best.  We just have a couple more days to go and then it will all be over for another year.  This test doesn't always show what our students know and are capable of doing.  There are many things that this test can't measure.  I tell my students that there is so much more to them than their test scores.  This, too, shall pass and we will get to move on to more fun things soon! 

The other good new: only 30 more school days until summer! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but there is always something so exciting about an impending break!

Easter Thoughts

He is risen!

I am so thankful for that.  I have not always been the most spiritual/religious person.  I have always believed in God, but tended to be passive in my beliefs.  However, recently I have found myself desiring a deeper relationship with God.  Since Mike and I have been living mostly apart since November I have been spending more time in prayer and reading my Bible.

I have been searching for peace and comfort.  The only place I have really found it has been through the Bible and my time in prayer.  It has given me a sense of hope and has made me realize I am never alone.  I am trying to be more positive and spend less time worrying.  It makes getting through the week easier.

I am a little disappointed in myself that it has taken me so long to get to this point.  Why am I just now realizing that I am not alone, that I am always loved, and that Jesus died so that MY sins are forgiven.  These are things that I have been taught over and over, but am just now realizing the true power of.

I have a desire to continue to grow my relationship with God.  Mike and I have been make a much bigger effort to attend church regularly.  I always feel so rejuvenated and ready to make it through the week.  We have two churches that we love depending on where we are: Greenbrier First United Methodist, the church we were married in and Central United Methodist here in Fayetteville.  We also are attending events in Fayetteville with The Bridge, a group for 20 and 30 somethings that does different activities together, including community service.  I have also signed up to participate in an online bible study at Women's Bible Cafe.  I want to learn as much as I can about the Bible and this seems like a way I can do that on my schedule.

This Easter season has really reminded me how much I need God and how much better life is with Him in it.  We may not be living in the ideal situation now, but I am able to make it through knowing I am never alone.

Spring Weekend

I had such a fun weekend.  Spring, especially with the weather we are having, makes me so anxious for summer vacation.  I think I am even more like that this year since I spend the majority of the time living by myself.  Only seven and a half more weeks and summer vacation will arrive!

I am relishing my weekends and trying to enjoy every minute of them.  I started this past weekend by taking an art class with my mom.  Here is our masterpiece.



We had a lot of fun and I get wait to get the hung up!

We spent Saturday get our garden planted.  We started our seeds several weeks ago inside and thought it was time to get them moved outside.  I don't know if we will get any vegetables, but we do have a lot of fun taking care of the plants.  It was so hot last summer that we didn't get much besides cucumbers.  We'll see how our luck is this year.  We planted cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, beans, peas, onions, garlic, shallots, okra, cilantro, and I'm sure other things that I can't remember at the moment.



While we were at Lowe's by soil for the garden yesterday, I also picked up a braided hibiscus.  Hibiscus was one of our favorite flowers that we saw while in Hawaii.  I thought this would be a good reminder of our trip.  There were no blooms on it yesterday, but one opened up overnight.  This is what I saw when I woke up.




We went to the early service at church today and then headed to Little Rock for lunch.  After lunch, we went to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre's production of "The Wiz."  The shows there are always so enjoyable and today's was a lot of fun.  I had a great weekend and only five more days until the next one. Just have to get through some standardized testing with my students first.