[Un]Inspired

So once upon a time, last summer, I did a really awesome thing and lost some weight (close to 40 lbs.) Once upon a time, ever since then, I have not been doing so hot on the whole diet thing. I just paid for three months of Weight Watchers online because that's what really helped last time (I love tracking all of those little points) but so far, I decided I should've waited until January. So this blog post is a "Thank You" to all of those things that inspire me, and a "Get out of my life!" to all of those things that don't.

Biggest Loser inspires me. Oh, that show. I just love it so much. It is precious and probably the most inspiring television show I've ever watched. I didn't start out watching this season, but now I'm completely hooked and I want everybody to win because what they've done is incredible.

Eggnog does not. Oh. my. goodness. I love eggnog. I could chug an entire gallon if given the opportunity. I would probably throw up, but even then, I think it'd be worth it. It definitely does not inspire me to lose weight because it tastes so good and it does a really good job of making me forget what a diet is at all.

Weight Watchers inspires me. I love it. I love tracking my points and tracking my exercise, even tracking how much water I drink. I love to know that I have point left at the end of the day, even thought I'm not hungry. It really really makes me more conscious of every single bite of food I stuff in my mouth. It worked last time for a while, here's hoping it works again.

Holidays do not. Thanksgiving and Christmas are not so good for my little diet. Too many good foods, too much food in general, and wayyy too many parties. I have a Christmas party this weekend at church, a party next weekend at my house, and the weekend after that is Christmas and we spend Christmas Eve at my Aunt and Uncles house stuffing our faces with barbeque. See how this can present a problem? I definitely should've waited until January.

Zumba inspires me. Zumba is so much fun. I've done it several times in a class, and I'm super pumped because I'm getting the 8 DVD set for Christmas. Another reason January is a better time to start but oh well. I really love it though and I'm so excited to open it and dance around with my sister and cousins. We will have fun-time Zumba parties and all will be right in the world.

Packing lunches does not. As a teacher, I don't really get a "lunch break." I get 30 minutes in a teachers lounge before having to pick my students back up. No time to leave, so I have to bring my lunch. Well between Lean Cuisines and Turkey sandwiches, I start to hate my life pretty quickly. I have string cheese, yogurt, diet coke, and a turkey sandwich or lean cuisine five days a week and I get so sick of it.

Exercise inspires me. I was doing so good last week about jogging around the block every single day when I got home from school. I would drag our dogs with me and we would jog (-slash-walk) a mile and a half around the neighborhood.

Backaches do not. Saturday morning I woke up with pain in my lower back but I didn't think a whole lot about it. Well I went over to Nathan and Brandi's house to help them pack and by that night I was miserable. Sunday morning, I stayed home from church because I literally couldn't do anything but lay down. That's definitely not very inspiring and since it was hurting until today, I absolutely haven't exercised at all this week. Shame on me.

Pinterest inspires me. All of those before and after pictures, work-out routines, and healthy recipes make me believe I can do it

Pinterest does not. Yes, Pinterest is both naughty and nice. But for real though, Nutella everything, any kind of yummy casserole you can think of, colorful cakes, world's best cookies. I just want to eat! Never look at Pinterest when you're hungry because it will absolutely make you think you are a first-class chef and you will end up in all kinds of a mess in your kitchen. I love Pinterest. It both inspires me to get skinny, and convinces me it's worth it to be fat.

So, there you have it. Until January, I'm gonna do the best I can but not worry a whole lot about it. January, though, I'm gonna kick butt. So if you will, ask me how I'm doing and push me to do well. You guys are my friends, be an inspiration to me. I definitely need it :)

Scarred for life.

So my first substitute teaching experience happened today. As you can tell from the title, it will take a while to recover. I know that one day I am going to have the most perfectly decorated classroom, my kids will be angels, and I will get Teacher of the Year... Right? Okay, maybe not but I can promise you that today I did not see my future. At all.

I got a phone call at about 7:45 this morning wanting me to work a half-day. That means I can still sleep until 9:45 so score for me. So I went back to sleep for a little while, got up, got ready, and went to S.P. Livingston Elementary school (also known as hades). For real though.

Okay, so I'm already a little terrified because it's my absolute first day to substitute anywhere. Good thing I picked what I hope is the worst classroom in all of America (or the entire world). After signing in with the office and them showing me where the classroom was (noticing on the way there that the whole entire school was fenced in and locked), I walked into a room. I'm not even going to call it a classroom because it was the furthest thing from it. More than half the lights were burnt out, there were absolutely no decorations, and I all of a sudden felt depressed. I was in the classroom for five seconds and I was depressed.

It was a fifth grade ESE classroom and it was awful. There were nine students in the class, fortunately for me two of them had already been suspended so I only had seven. They have been taking FCAT all week so today was just a chill day for them. They played computer, chess, colored pictures, and got. on. my. nerves.

Lunch was about 30 minutes after I got there and they were pretty good until then. After lunch? Not so much.

I have absolutely heard more cussing today than I have in the last 10 years of my life. If you ask them to stop or be quiet, they start cussing you out. I'm talking 11 year olds who should not know the meaning of the words they are saying cussing each other out to the point that more than half the words out of their mouth were cuss words. I was literally as shocked as I've ever been in a classroom.

Well the cussing turned into arguing and the arguing turned into shoving. We aren't allowed to touch the kids at all, so at first I just stood between the two kids who were about to fight. Then another one joined in and I decided that even though one of them was literally only three ft. tall, I was still outnumbered.

So on my very first day of substitute teaching, I had to buzz the office and get some help because a fight broke out between three of the seven students that I had.

I was only there for 3 1/2 hours but it felt like five years. I have to go back to the same school next week but luckily it's the little kids.

All I have to say is bless the teacher who spends every single day with those hoodlums, I promise they will be in jail by the age 17. One of them has already been in and out of a juvenile detention center and he is 11 years old.

Today broke my heart and made me incredibly sad. It also made me thankful for my tiny elementary school, my country high school, and my christian university.

Who even am I?

Yesterday, I started something. Well, once I start something, it's pretty much all I can think about until I finish it. I started organizing my iTunes. Like hardcore organizing it. I had dumb genre names and stupid playlists from years ago, and bands that I either HATE or have never heard of. How they got into my iTunes library, I'm still not sure.

So, yesterday when I started I had 5,249 songs in my itunes. That may be a bit ridiculous, I'm not entirely sure. The first thing I did is take the songs/ artists that I knew I liked and tagged them with a new genre, one that made sense (at least in my head.) Some of these genre names include: Alymily, Old School, Ghetto, and Rockish. Those are absolutely real names of the genres I chose. If you don't know what Alymily songs are, then shame on you! But for real, my best friend, Emily, and I have our very own genre of music and it is beautiful. Old School would include things like Spice Girls and N Sync because let's be real, I have it all. Ghetto is an assortment of Rap, R&B, and other songs that I don't really know which one they are. Rockish is like soft rock, I guess. Anyways, so that's what I did. I changed all the genres of my music so I would understand (in my own world) what kind of music I was listening to.

Next, I deleted songs and artists that I know I hate. K-Bye to Creed, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, tons of country artists and several others (including tons of bands that scream at me). I'm ashamed I had you in the first place.

Finally, the songs I didn't know I listened to and decided if I liked them or not. Once upon a time when I was a freshman in college, I used limewire wayy too much. I just downloaded all kinds of songs. I had soundtracks to tons of movies, almost every song that played on One Tree Hill, and I would sit on itunes listening to people I thought I liked and then proceed to download every song they've ever come out with. It just wasn't pretty. at. all.

So, now here I am with an itunes library of 4,216 songs. While this may still seem like way too much music for one person to ever listen to in their entire life, at least I cut it down by over 1,000. I know, I know. You are wayy impressed.

Sorry I suck for not blogging lately :( My life has been too filled with trips to the beach and Dawson's Creek. But really, I have no excuse and I'll try to do better. Also, I apologize if you think this post is boring. My whole life is boring so there isn't much to blog about.

Simply. Happy.

Ever had days you just felt happy? That's today for me. I love the feeling of being happy. I love to smile and I love to laugh and I've done a lot of that lately.

I'm happy because I finally have a job... at least until May. I am all set to start substitute teaching. Hopefully, I will sub tomorrow so that next Friday, I will have at least some money to live off of. If I don't start subbing until next week, then I have to wait until the following Friday... No Fun. Plus, I have a dentist appointment Monday, so I already can't work then. Whatever happens though, I feel like it's a step in the right direction. Sure, I was happy with my job as a nanny but it made me that much more sure of what I really wanted to do with my life. I have always known I wanted to be a teacher, and though being a nanny was working with kids, it just wasn't the same. So, even though it isn't my own classroom, it's still a classroom and that makes me super happy.

I'm happy because it is beautiful outside. I am so in love with this weather. The high is in the upper 80's all week and it is perfect beach weather. My summer wardrobe is in full swing- shorts, tank tops, and flip flops- and I have moved my winter clothes to my other closet. I hate winter. I hate snow, I hate jackets, I hate close-toed shoes. I do like scarves, but that's about it. Now though, I'm driving with my windows down and my music up (most likely the Beach Boys), and just enjoying the sunshine. I like sunshine :)

I'm happy because I have the best friends in the entire world. Tuesday night, I got to hang out with Courtney. It was just fun. I love that girl and I enjoy every minute that we get to hang out together. Yesterday, I got to go to lunch with two of my other best friends, Stacia and Jess. We had sushi (AMEN) and we just got to talk and catch up. It was so much fun. After that, Shannon came over and I hung out with her and Stacia more. We just sat around talking for a few hours about anything and everything. I am so lucky to have those girls. We are so close and have such a strong bond, and I love when I get to hang out with them.

I'm happy because I'm playing tennis again. Sunday night, after church, my brothers, sister-in-law, and I went to play tennis. I completely forgot how much I loved it. We played until we got kicked out of the park at 10:00 and it was so incredibly fun. I can actually still return the ball, thought I lost that ability, and I can't wait to play again. Nathan busted his strings on his last serve so I'll have to wait for him to get his racquet restrung before we can play again, but I hope it's soon.

I'm so happy, that I made this post in rainbow colors :) I know I'm not happy all the time, but on days that I am truly happy, I try to take full advantage of it. I want to drive somewhere just to drive, I want to enjoy this beautiful weather with my beautiful friends and I want to wish happiness to everyone that is reading this :)

Meet Helga

I'm going to tell you all about a special friend today. My special friend's name is Helga. Helga is a little self-conscious so I really had to beg her to post some videos for you all today. Whatever you do, do NOT make fun of Helga or she will never come back to my blog. Ever. Helga was born on April 1 and she would like to share her very first video at this time...

Helga has several videos but today, you will only see 3. Perhaps, if you're lucky, she will share more in the future.

Next up, we have Helga enjoying some home-made blueberry icecream. Don't judge her.

Finally, Helga would like to apologize to Susan Kopel. They have been best friends for a long time and she is so ashamed of what she has done. Helga is truly sorry.

I hope y'all get to know Helga even better in the future. As long as you're nice to her, I'm sure you will. Helga loves you all. Helga says goodbye.

Picture Time :)

Well, this is supposed to be a "30 day photo challenge," but I don't want to waste 30 days of your life, so I'll do it all in one day. Also, some of them are just lame so I took it upon myself to remove them from the list... Probably, because I can. I don't have a picture of dumb things such as "my biggest insecurity." Who even came up with something like that? Judge them.

1. A picture of yourself with ten facts.

1. The beach is my favorite place in the entire world.

2. I HATE snow.

3. I miss Freed-Hardeman but I don't miss classes.

4. I miss my long hair.

5. I don't wanna turn 24, because then I will feel old.

6. I love being the youngest of all my friends.

7. I have OCD. It's bad.

8. I can't wait to have my own classroom

9. I am going to marry Tim Tebow. You'll see.

10. I don't wanna grow up.

2. A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Katelyn.

Since I've known this girl since she was born, I'm gonna go with her. She is my first cousin and my best friend and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. I hate that she is going to school in Arkansas because that means I have to share her with other people. But she is amazing and incredible and I don't know what I would do without her. I miss this girl like CRAZY.

3. A picture of the cast from your favorite television show.

One Tree Hill.

Simply the best show on television. I didn't start watching it until it was on season 4, but since then I have been completely hooked. If you don't watch it, shame on you.

4. A picture of your day.

Dawson's Creek.

I am currently watching the first episode of Season 3. Abby Morgan has died, Andi McPhee has gone crazy, and Pacey Whitter has stolen my heart. Again. It's just fabulous.

5. A picture of your favorite memory.

Paris.

That weekend with Shane and Emily completely changed my life. It was the best weekend ever, and I gained a best friend. Before then, Emily and I were "acquaintances." I knew her from Makin' Music but I didn't really know her. Somehow, I'm not even sure why, she invited me to go to Paris with her for her birthday weekend. It was probably because she needed another person because we weren't supposed to go with only two people, but whatever the reason, I'm glad she did. From wrong trains to meals of nothing but Nutella, from the Eiffel tower at night to Hairspray videos on an overnight train. Hands down, favorite memory of my entire life. Thank you, Shane and Emily, for a trip I will never forget.

6. A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

Kat Von D.

I don't care what you think, this girl is cool. Also, she is beautiful. I want to spend a day of my life covered in tattoos and tattooing other people. I know my parents read this blog and I also know they hate tattoos. Oh well. I like them and I'm fascinated by them and if I was artistic at all, I think I would wanna be a tattoo artist. So there ya go, Being Kat Von D would be fun times (but only for a day).

7. A picture that makes you laugh.

Tail Bone Breakage.

That whole Spring Break trip makes me laugh. I'm so glad this moment got caught on camera. NOT. But it does make me laugh. It makes me laugh cause I'm a big ole dumb that tried to climb a tree in a skirt and flip flops. I'm amazed that I still have friends.

8. A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Shannon.

This girl is just amazing. Best Friends since second grade and I wouldn't have it any other way. I would be lost without her and I'm pretty sure she knows it. I call her " Mr. Miagi" because she gives the best advice known to man and she calls me "Young Grasshopper" because she knows I need it. She is straight-up and honest and it's hard to hear sometime but I never doubt her. I love this girl.

9. A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

Courtney.

Gah, I love this girl. She is fun, and crazy, and just like me and I love her for it. We have personalities more alike than any other of my friends and we get along perfectly. We're both laid back but we're also both kinda crazy. Trouble seems to follow us but life is fun that way. I've known Court since 8th grade and I would do absolutely anything in the world for her. And I know she'd do the same for me.

10. A picture of something you hate.

Tomatoes.

Just go ahead and gag me.

11. A picture of something you love.

My Gators.

I love college football. It is the absolute best thing about fall and I miss it right now. Just like every other team, we have our ups and down, but at least you know I'm not a fair-weather fan.

12. A picture of your favorite band or artist.

The Beatles.

Duh.

13. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Emily.

My best friend. This girl completely changed my life when it needed to be changed. She has taught me so much and I love her more than anything. She was my makin' music director, then my friend, then my best friend, then my roommate and we will continue to be best friends for our entire lives. I am so sure of that.

14. A picture of someone who inspires you.

My Girls.

Theses four girls are my backbone. We have all been best friends for as long as I remember. We have been through so much together and they inspire me so much. They are some of the best people I've ever met and I'm so lucky to have them and for us to be so close, even almost 5 years after High School graduation. I love my girls.

15. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Graduating.

Now I'm a big girl living in the real world. I have to find a big girl job and make big girl money so I can pay my big girl student loans back (YUCK!) So far, the real world has gone easy on me, but check back in August when I have to start paying back $267/ month for my stupid college career.

16. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

Australia.

There are tons of places I want to visit, but for now Australia is number one on my list. I want to go back to Europe, as well as many other countries and many places in the U.S.

17. A picture of something you wish you were better at.

Surfing.

One day, I will be good at it.

18. A picture of your favorite book.

Twilight.

If you're judging me, sorry 'bout it. Don't care. The books are good.

19. A picture of yourself and a family member.

Seester.

I am just so glad my brother chose to marry someone that I love. Brandi has been such a blessing to this family and she fits in so well, almost too well. Her and my mother have a relationship closer than any mother and daughter-in-law should but I guess that's a good thing. I love Brandi and I am so glad she chose to marry my brother and become the sister I never wanted :)

20. A picture of someone you miss.

Emily.

I live in Jacksonville, Florida. My best friend lives in Huntsville, Alabama... See the problem? Not happy about it.

21. A picture that can always make you smile

Mexican Cruise.

Any picture from this cruise can make me smile. It was so fun and crazy and one of the best weekends of my life. I will never forget it.

Five. Years. Old.

When I was at the beach the other day with the best friend, we were burying her sister-in-law and niece in the sand and making them mermaids. Naturally, I started singing Little Mermaid songs. My best friend proceeded to tell me I was five years old and all I could do was agree. I know I mentioned it before but I feel like it is an appropriate blog post idea. So, here we go.

The List (I know you're all surprised)...

I Love to Color. I know I mentioned this in previously but I couldn't leave it off this list. I love coloring books. I love markers, crayons and paint. Just fun. I doodle all the time. On anything and everything. In church today, I was actually coloring the inside of my Bible cover. That's a true story.

My DVD Collection. I have the DVD collection of a small child. I have tons of Disney movies, Pixar movies, and other kid's movies. I just love them. Recently I added Ramona and Beezus to my collection (soo cute. soo good.) Granted not all of my movies are for kids, but a lot of them? Oh yes. And I enjoy them. If you ever need a movie to show children, I'm your girl.

Disney Songs. I know them all. I love them all. I had a disney karaoke CD and I know all of the words to most of the songs. I own all of the Classic Disney CD's and I have them on my Ipod (and listen to them a lot.) There's nothing like driving down the road with the windows down, screaming A Whole New World at the top of your lungs. You know you want to... Just do it.

I like playing with five year olds better than with adults. I want to teach kindergarten. I teach 4 and 5 year olds at church. I'm always the counselor for the youngest girls at camp. I just get along better with them. Sometimes, I feel like I relate more to five year olds than to people of my own age. Now I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing or not but it's a true thing. I love children, they are just so excited about life and I feel happy when I'm around them.

I love children's books. My collection of children's books is kinda out of control. My excuse is that I'll be able to use them in my classroom today, which is true, but I honestly just love them. I loved reading when I was little and I still love to read (sometimes) but children's books are just so fun. My favorite's are McSpot's Hidden Spots, Agatha's Feather Bed, and Mrs. Gigglebelly is coming for tea. Fantastic books. I can quote almost half of McSpot's Hidden Spots and it is a long book. I also love Amelia Bedilia books cause they're just fun times.

Well, that's all I got for you today. I am already running out of blog ideas so unless you want me to start stealing ideas from Emily, you should give me some more.