Dance Lessons

The city of Abilene has a great recreation program... they offer tons of educational classes, kids classes, and dance lessons. I have wanted to take dance lessons for about 2 years... and even though there is all this drama... Robert and I decided that we would take lessons with a few couples from church. They have been a blast! Best $41 we have ever spent.

Tonight we learned to jitterbug... last week, the waltz... and the week before, the two-step! My arms are a little sore, but it was sooooo much fun to twirl around the dance floor. It is nice to have one evening of fun... not to mention exercise... a time to forget the drama... and just enjoy the company!

If you live in Abilene, you should take the next round of classes... all ages of people take the lessons... at all skill levels... check 'em out!

Transitions

Two weeks ago my husband and I separated. Things have gone pretty smoothly... until this morning... not that there was some crisis... it was more comical than anything.

On Friday, I gathered the girl's clothes for the weekend, including their church clothes. I made sure I grabbed Kali's boots too. Well, as we were getting ready this morning I looked everywhere for Kali's boots... they were no where to be found. I called Rt and asked him to bring Kali's boots to church and he said he would. When the girls and I got to church I went to the truck to get the boots... he had picked up Megan's boots. OOPS!

I dropped the kids off at Sunday School, Kali without shoes... her teacher said "oh it doesn't matter, she kicks them off the minute she walks in anyway." Then I ran home to figure out the shoe issues. As I dug through my shoe basket, guess what I found... yep, Kali's boots!

I'm beginning to think I wasn't supposed to be in Sunday School or something... since I made it back to church just in time for worship.

--jessica

Choices...

Every semester I get a new group of freshman. As the semester goes, I get a little preachy in the "how not to screw up your life department" and some of the students get it, some don't. Saturday night I was at a basketball game... I always sit with the students because they are much more interesting than boring faculty.
As I was climbing up the bleachers I saw a previous male student "A" (one that I liked) talking to a previous female student "K" (one that sooo wasn't my fave person). Being the nosy person that I am, when "A" sat down in front of me I asked what was up with that. He turned around and with a straight face told me how she was the love of his life and that she is carrying his child... needless to say I was floored.
Now... these students are both first generation college students... she works 3 jobs to be able to go to school... he struggled with coming back to MCM because of the cost of school... their parents do not help and I can't imagine either set being excited about this pregnancy... but both of the students were all giddy about it. Being the blunt person I am, I looked at "A" and questioned what he was thinking... why he didn't pay attention to any of my lectures... and he, again with a straight face, looked at me and said "but I love her... and when its love, its love." Seeing that it was too late to change their fate... I asked about school and he again straight faced told me that I had done school with two kids and a husband so he guessed they could do it. HUH? I wanted to go into a rant of how difficult it had been to do school with children, how I wished I had done things differently, and how I had a husband to pay the bills while I was going to school... but instead I decided to save it for another day...

I am an instructor at a school where more than half of the students are first generation college students... I hate to see things like this... I care about my students and I want them to succeed... I want them to learn from my mistakes and do better...

Brain Block

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.. I have absolutely nothing to blog about. At least not on this blog. There have been no funny statements... funny classroom happenings... all I can think about are serious thoughts... and well, those have a place on the other blog!

So... I hope everyone has had a great week and maybe tomorrow I will have something to say!

Enough Already!

Can I just say I have had enough of the weather! I seriously could use some sunlight! How much longer is this going to last? Anyone know?

--jessica

The Tooth Fairy

Kali lost her first tooth! She has been sad for about 6 months because all of her friends have lost teeth... I kept telling her it would happen eventually... and look, I was right! She was so excited about losing it... she kept playing with it and she broke in half... hence the hands on either side of her mouth! I guess this is a sign that she is growing up, huh? It was hard enough sending her to kindergarten... and letting her pick her own clothes... now she's losing teeth... what's next? Just kidding... I love that she is growing up... and each stage is more interesting than the next. Kali is a bundle of energy... I mean her teacher at school told me that she "loves her personality"... not 'she's so smart', or 'so well-behaved'... but 'loves her personality'... is that a sign? I so enjoy her personality, though... except on days that we need to be somewhere 5 min ago, because she doesn't know what 'hurry up' means... she makes me laugh daily... she is so confident and will totally do the most random things because they were fun... for example, when I was at the church practicing for my duet in the Christmas program she did back flips all the way down the isle... I asked her why... she responded with "its more fun than walking!"... wonder what the future holds with this one!

--jessica

Country Living...

Last night when I was watching the news, I realized that the only school that had to post closing and late starts were the schools in the boonies... can someone explain to me why it is that little country towns don't feel that it is necessary to honor MLK day? Ok, Ok, I know too much conflict in that discussion to actually get any comments!

This icy weather has once again reminded me of why it is that I dislike country living.... Social Isolation. I mean, we have no neighbors, at least not any you can actually see. And the ones I have met were under not so great circumstances... you know, your dog just ate my chicken, calf, messed with my horses.... stuff like that doesn't make for friends. And since I slid off of the road twice this weekend... pretty sure I can't just call my friends up to come out... at least not with a clear conscience. Even the girls are going a bit bonkers... Megan asked if we could just go to Wal-Mart or something!

I figure I can't get away with just saying I slid off the road and leaving it at that... I will elaborate. I went to Ft. Worth on Friday for some time to think... I came home on Saturday around lunch... and did fine until I hit hwy 351... about a mile from my house my rear end started slipping... and a car was coming... so somehow I managed to hit the bar ditch without hitting the telephone pole, speed limit sign, or rolling over... but then I ended up in the middle of some guy's plowed field. I tried to drive out, but I was stuck. Luckily, country boys are very helpful and within a couple of minutes I was pulled out. Unsure of country etiquette, I called the sheriff to make sure I didn't need to find the land owner... I mean, I did mess up his pretty little field. The sheriff laughed at me... he was certain that the field was already messed up due to the freeze. The second time I slid off my options were to hit the guard rail and possibly end up in the creek bed or once again go for the bar ditch. I choose the ditch... but the next morning when we drove past the spot I realized how lucky we were that we didn't flip... that sucker was deep. I can hear my mother now "What was so important that you couldn't stay home?" No good answer there... other than I wasn't in the mood to cook.

Anyway, hope you enjoy your MLK day!

--jessica

What does it mean?

I've been having some of the weirdest dreams lately... but last night tops them all. I dreamed that I went to Sonic to get dinner for the family. I ordered a footlong chili cheese dog combo for myself, but when I tore it open to eat (you know, they come in those foil bags)... there was only like a 1/4 of the chili dog there. In my dream I was completely confused... and the alarm clock went off before I could figure it all out. Any dream analyzers out there? I mean, my friends from work and I theorized what it could mean... everything from I was in the mood to eat sonic... to maybe I should cut my portions in 1/4 to lose weight... there were a few others that had some creativity to them... but aren't so appropriate to post on a blog. :)

This is as good as it gets for a post today... I do my presentation for the faculty tomorrow... yippee (said with much sarcasm!). Wish me luck!

Oh and for those with bloglines... I updated my blog to google and because I have two I think things got crossed... so check your urls, please...

jessica

P.S. Spell check is smoking crack again... sorry...

I missed my workout for this?

Ok... so I have stressed out completely over this presentation I am doing on Wednesday. I have stayed up late and gotten up early... which means I've lots sleep. I have skipped my workout with Holly (sorry, holly!). I skipped church yesterday and spent an entire Sunday in my office. And guess what?! When I went to the meeting today the other presenters had no freaking clue what they were doing... and half of what I had been told I needed by my boss... wasn't exactly what I had needed. I have put more hours into this presentation than I think I ever did for any of my classes.... and I so could've gotten away with about half of the effort... and none of the stress! It's times like this that I wonder why it is they are cutting the COMMUNICATION department from the university....

Anyway, all that said, I can officially say I am over the hump. All that I have left is to create some worksheets, which can be done in front of the TV tonight. So... here's to completing the largest project I've ever done... and getting the nerve to actually present it Wednesday~!

The Pressure is On....

I am an Instructor of Communication Studies at McM University... sounds so official, huh? Maybe it is a lack of confidence or something else, but I hear it come out of my mouth or see it in written form and think "really? I feel like such a fraud... how in the world did I make it here." Anyway, I have to do a presentation on Small Group Communication... in front of the entire faculty (or at least the ones that show up!). The presentation is slated to go for about an hour and a half... and I am completely stressing out. I am supposed to show what I have to the chair of my department (my boss) tomorrow... and guess what.... in true Jessica fashion... I haven't even begun. I mean, it is only 2 pm... I technically have 8 hrs before I go to bed.... that should be long enough to get it done right? Part of my procrastination is due to the fact that although I do not normally have communication apprehension... I am filled with it right now. I am one of the youngest faculty and one of the 9 new faculty for the year... what in the world are they doing asking me to present in front of all those professionals? OK... I should quit procrastinating... I should get started.... really... I should... get off the compt... really... ok... ok... I'm going...

--jessica

Update: 9:10pm... still haven't started my presentation...

Happy New Year

Just wanted to stop in and tell everyone Happy New Year! I would post my resolutions... that is if I made them. I'm not big on making resolutions... because I rarely keep them... and then I just feel like a failure. Instead I will post some pics from our evening out! We started our evening with dropping my children off at my mom's house... then we headed out to party with my friend Rachael's parents... then off to Buffalo Wild Wings... then to Guitar's and Cadillac's... then to Whataburger... home about 3am. It all sounds so rebellious, but it really was a good time without much trouble... unless you count the men at Whataburger who almost got into a fight!

We got to Guitar's to go dancing about 10:30pm... this is our first pic of the evening! Not sure who the guy is, he just kind-of decided he needed to be in our picture! Come to think of it... he and Rachael look awfully cute standing beside one another... hmmm....


This is my friend Shane. I haven't seen him in months. He was my prom date in high school... then he was my hairdresser... if you get my drift. I love him to death... and it doesn't hurt that the boy has some skills when it comes to dancing... he can twirl me all over that dance floor! He has a 10 yr old son that Kali (my youngest) has decided she is going to marry... Wouldn't that make for one interesting family...


This is my friend Jana... we were best buds from about 6th -10th grade... then I turned into a not so nice person and our friendship went away. A few years ago we reconnected and I live vicariously through her. She is a traveling nurse... she has gotten to live in Boston, Baltimore, Oakland, and Denver this year... and has gone on vacation to Costa Rica & Vegas! I'm a little green right now...
Pretty sure my grandmother would croak over this picture... her favorite grandchildren in a den of evil! In the blue is my husband and in the stripes is my cousin Seth! Seth tries so hard to dance... but he is def a white boy... we are all taking dance lessons starting at the end of January... our men need some instruction!
This is the ladies... me, Jana, and my friend Rachael. I will have a post later about Rachael... she is one of the sweetest people I know... single mom of three... and yet, she can't seem to find a man worth spending any time with... its depressing! Her last two attempts have been at church and even those have ended miserably!

Anywho... enjoy the pics from my evening... we really did have a great time as we all love dancing... even Robert (my husband) got out there and did a little booty shaking to some hip hop music! There's a first time for everything...

Hope you all had a great day! Happy New Year!

Six Flags

This is the second time I have attempted to post today!

I did something yesterday that I never thought I would do... I took the girls to Six Flags all by my lonesome. We had a great time.... and if blogger will cooperate I will post some pics! The first pic is the "this is what my kids were wearing" pic... one of my biggest fears is that I'll take em somewhere like that and some freakazoid will kidnap them. At least this way I have a picture of what they look like... I know, a little paranoid! The second pic was taken on the Mexican Hat... that ride has been around since I was a kiddo. A little scary if you think about it! The next picture is from the Judge Roy Scream... that was one of my faves as a kid... and my girls LOVE it! They got off the ride with smiles on their faces... pleased to inform me that they held their arms up high the entire ride. The final pic is of the girls with the Justice League... Kali was quite concerned that Wonder Woman might be cold!

Ok... so blogger has loaded the pics in whatever order it wanted to... I think it might be time to swith to beta...

On a completly different note... Megan had to see the dr on Christmas Eve with Strep throat... Kali went today... so I guess its that time of year again! Yippeee... wonder who is next!

--jessica

Coolest Present Ever...

Ok... I have a confession to make. My name is Jessica and I am addicted to Kali's Santa gift, the Fisher Price I Can Play Piano. This little present was a pain to obtain... meaning I (Santa) went to Wal-Mart, Target, KMart, Radio Shack, Penny's, Circuit City and Best Buy to find it... and left empty handed each time. I ended up ordering it off of Amazon.com, but it was soooo worth all the trouble! I've played with it for an hour this morning... and the girls have spent another hour playing it. While it doesn't teach correct technique, it is a great place to start. My favorite part is that you learn one hand, then the other, and then put them together... and it scores you. So for every missed note, you lose points... it's quite the challenge. But, for all of those without the fine motor skills to do it at tempo (me) you can slow it way down... it's awesome! Maybe I'll take it to my office when school starts back up... it could be another way to procrastinate!

--jessica

Merry Christmas

Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas one and all. I hope that each of you have an amazing day tomorrow!

--jessica

P.S. Evie.... glad you finally left a comment, now when are you going to get one of these things? I miss you sooooo much!

Holiday Spirit

I cannot seem to get into the holiday spirit this year. I didn't start Christmas shopping until yesterday and I haven't even finished decorating my house... Christmas with my parents and brothers is this Saturday at my house! Guess I should get on that! AUGH! I'm trying to find some spirit... I even bought a new Christmas CD... but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions... maybe eggnog would do the trick?

Yippee!

Finals are done... grades are posted... I now officially have one month off! YIPPEEEEEEE! I don't have any big plans... other than sleeping late, working out, and catching up on blogs... so be ready, here I come!

Oh yeah, I forgot to add shopping to that list... Megan asked me on Saturday if I was going to actually buy presents this year... gotta love when your kid's a smart alec!
So... I guess it's off to the mall I go...

--jessica

P.S. I resurrected the other blog.

Love ya'll...

I just had a chance to finally sit and read any comments that had been left... and ya'll's love and support got me all teary eyed. Thanks for the support... I love you guys!

One more week...

Oh my, what a week it has been. We have our choir program at church this weekend... so I have had rehearsal every night this week. I am singing a duet with Justin for this program. The song is "Come Home" and it means a lot to me that Bret choose me to sing it with Justin... the man has an amazing voice. I usually do not have difficulty learning songs... nor do I have difficulty singing my song... but Satan has gotten into my head and I am struggling with this one. I don't want to screw it up... I want to worship my Lord with the talent he gave me... and I want to sing the CORRECT harmony. So, I'm asking that ya'll pray for me this weekend... that all will go well... and that the people who need to be touched will be touched. Here are the lyrics for the song... for those of you that KNOW me... you'll understand why this song touches me so...

Have you hungered in the wilderness for a peace that your heart knew before? Have you wandered finding something less when inside you've been longing for more. If you remember how it used to be when you lived your life more abundantly... come home... come home.

If you're tired, and weary, come home. The Father is waiting to welcome his own, and you've been gone, so long. Come home.

You've been searching since you said good-bye, like a child with a lesson to learn. But there's mercy in your Father's eyes as He waits for the day you return. And it won't matter where your heart has been when He holds you close in His arms again... come home... come home.

If you're tired and weary, come home. The Father is waiting to welcome His own, and you've been gone so long.. come home... come home..

Oh why do you keep running from the one who loves you most, so far from where you know you want to be? Patiently He's waiting and He longs to hold you close...even now He's calling softly and tenderly; Come home...

come home... if you're tired and weary come home... the Father is waiting to welcome His own... and you've been gone so long... you've been gone so long.. Come home.

I would upload the song, if I were feeling so industrious, but frankly, I'm too tired to even try it.

Just to catch you up on some of the happenings in our life....

1. Megan got a lead part in the 3rd grade program and she is EXCITED.
2. Kali has decided that it is ok to lay in the floor and make a fool of herself... so, she's been in bed by 7pm every night this week.
3. I am officially done with school... not because I finished... but because I withdrew from the university. I decided I would rather quit than fail... and let's face it... I have entirely too much on my plate to even pretend that I can do it all.
4. On the marriage front, things are going... not always easy ... not always hard... just going... I would love to be all chipper here and say that things are going to be ok... that we will be one of the couples that make it... but I believe in honesty... so my silence will say more.
5. I will be done with my own classes (the ones I teach) as of next Wednesday... and I think I will refuse to get out of bed for at least 3 days.

I am positive there is more I can post... but I must clean the house so the housecleaner can come in the morning (since she reads my blog I figure she'll get a kick out of that one)! If you do not have a housecleaner... I recommend that every person invest the $$$$. It is sooo worth the money I pay Holly every week to clean my house. I come home on Friday afternoons and the house is amazingly clean... and that means I can sleep late on Saturday and I don't have to spend the day fighting with my family about why they should help. I think I would give up sonic cokes before I would give up Holly!

love and miss you guys... jessica

(P.S. Shelly, I will get pics posted this weekend...)

Did you expect it to be different?

No, I'm not dead... just been really, really busy and tired of posting depressing thoughts!

I was looking on MSN.com just now, and there is a story about Pamela Anderson filing for divorce from Kid Rock... Did anyone really think it would be different for them? I mean, really? I love Kid Rock's music... one of those people I can't admit to liking with the kids around... but I have never envisioned him at the perfect man to marry!

Anyway, to each his own!

--jessica

Quick update...

Our preacher/marriage counselor has us doing homework this week that I have put off for 7 days now. The homework is to write down ALL of our significant thoughts for three days and share them with each other... then decide what we are focusing on that has no business in our minds... or that is taking away from us healing. So... here's the problem... I do not want to write down ever thought I have... several reasons for this: 1. who has time to write down every freakin' thought for 3 days? 2. If we are truthful about our thoughts someone is going to get hurt. 3. Why would I want to do something that is going to cause more drama?

Ok, Ok, I know it sounds like I'm having a bad attitude right now... and maybe I am... but every time I think of this assignment I want to scream. I mean, yesterday Robert and I had the worse fight we have had in a while... during the fight I had some pretty awful thoughts... most of them including murder... so if I tell him my thoughts, his feelings will be hurt and I will have to deal with that. Not to mention that Robert showed me his thoughts for one day and many of them included me... I'm not sure, but I am guessing that mine would not be such. I mean, I am a teacher, a mother, and a student... I'm pretty certain there is no time to just think about my spouse in a roses and rainbows way.

Anyway... this is where I am now! Thanks for the continued prayers!
--jessica