almost tardy

my alarm goes off at 5:10am. i get up at 5:20am.

today i got up at 5:59am today.

i must leave no later than 6am to be on time.

i didn't leave until 6:13. (which means i got ready in 14 minutes)

somehow, i managed to only be 6 minutes late to work. (don't forget, i work in charlotte)

those extra 40 minutes though, really felt nice.

s.s.s. no. 10

of course, today has to be about gratitude.

and why shouldn't it be? this is the season that celebrates all the beautiful things we have been given and i need to partake in that in written form.

so here is a short list of some things i am grateful for.

my sweet, funny, and wonderful husband.
my awesome family! my parents, sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws... the works.
a job that makes me happy!
2 crazy but super adorable puppies.
our little rental home in the ghetto.
a new car that gets 34 mpg!
sweater season. i love when the weather cools and i can pull out my jewel tones.
being a girl. i wouldn't trade it for anything, especially being a boy.
my friends. i have the most wonderful friends of anyone. and people who say you never stay close to your high school friends don't know me and mine. they are like sisters to me. i love you 3!
good entertainment. music, movies, musicals, concerts, games, tv, i love to veg and be entertained
the internet. i am thankful to have so much at my fingertips including facebook and blogging to stay close to those i normally wouldn't be able to.

lastly, but most importantly, i am thankful for my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. without them in my life, i would be lost. i am thankful that our Father loves us so much He sent His son and that His son, our brother, loves us so much He gave His life for us that we might live again. how sweet that message is.

i hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving. matt and i surely did in ky with his family. and now, let the Christmas festivities begin!

this really saddens me

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_declining_marriage

i usually try and avoid posting anything political on the internet, especially on facebook. so i decided this might be the safer place to post.

i saw this article on yahoo today and the title was so shocking i couldn't help but read it.

i am so saddened by what i read in it. the statistics break my heart.

marriage is the fundamental element to family and family should be the fundamental element to society. i am eternally grateful for marriage and to be married. i am thankful to have been raised in a home with married parents and am thankful that my children will have that same blessing.

i hope that many of you are also upset by the findings in this article. i know i for one, will always stand up for the family and for marriage. how sad that we are denying ourselves and our children one of the greatest gifts God has given us, the bonds of matrimony and the blessing of children born to married and loving parents.

anecdotes from recent weeks

i don't have anything particular i want to tell so i will tell a bunch of few things.

1. right before matt and i go to bed, we often put the puppies up on the bed with us and play with them for a few more minutes before we put them in their cage for the night. well last week i noticed they had done something to my phone while they were on the bed but i didn't worry about it and went to sleep. when i woke up and tried to call my dad, i saw what they had done. don't ask me how but they put the cayce police (who were in my phonebook) into my favorites list. matt said it was a cry for help. i'm just glad they didn't call them, that would have been interesting to try and explain...

2. my job is going so well! i love it. seriously. the sweetest thing that has been said to me is a senior girl came up to me after class and said thanks mrs. smith. i said oh.... and she said i mean thanks for being our band director. that was sweet.

3. matt went to the swamp this weekend. he loved it! not only did he get to witness the win (GO COCKS) but it was his first time in the swamp and he had really been wanting to go to that stadium. he said he had to console a lot of gator fans who were crying just like tim tebow though...

4. i felt like i was so on top of everything Christmas and now, i feel so behind!!! i do not know what to get anyone in matt's family, they are very difficult people to buy for! and i don't know what to get my grandparents. i do know what to get my parents, but i need to get it! and i need to finish up with all but one of my church gifts. what has happened to me? not to mention i need to write our Christmas letter and get those ready to go out... ahh!!!!!

i hope you all have enjoyed this myriad of information. i also hope you all enjoy the remaining few days of your week. thanksgiving break is oh so close, hang in there everyone!!

s.s.s. no. 9

i love the youth programs of the church and the youth themselves!

tonight was our ward's young women in excellence, a night where all the girls ages 12-18 show what they have accomplished this year.

they did such a beautiful program and bore amazing testimonies, it is so reassuring and inspiring to hear them say what they believe and know to be true.

i know i am not that far removed from them and i can still remember most everything about my young women's experience, but i am still so impressed with how strong they are at their age. it takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in day in and day out. it takes even more courage at that age, and especially as a girl, to know you are special and beautiful and beloved daughter of a Heavenly Father. these girls definitely don't know exactly how amazing they are, but you can tell they know they are special. how sweet and invaluable that knowledge is at that precious time in your life.

i am so honored to have been able to a part of the program tonight and to have worked with them for the past few weeks on their music. i hope they know how much i love them! they are just a great group of girls!! and i am so proud of them. i am proud of them for what they did tonight and what they do every day for the gospel and to show their love of our Heavenly Father. they inspire me.

first day of school... in november?

yep. today was my first day of school...

as a teacher!!

yay! that is pretty much all i have to say. it was wonderful. i am under no delusion that it will be everyday, trust me. i have taught enough through student teaching and such to know better than that, but today was the day i have been waiting for for a long long time. to finally be a teacher and a band director.

it was great. it was crazy. i cannot believe i'm still awake and alive and functioning. here is the play by play.

5:20 woke up, got dressed.

6 left my house, took 3 slices of turkey bacon and a vitamin water with me for breakfast

6:03 called matt because my car wouldn't shift

6:10 matt came and traded cars with me

7:33 arrived, 3 minutes late, to my first day of work went into the front office and signed a w-4 and some insurance forms, waited around to meet with an administrator but that never happened

8:20 went to the band room. i spent the rest of my day here and in my office. i cleaned out my desk and a filing cabinet (filling a trash can) and organized like crazy

11 met with the band booster president and a super active mom, they were both great, which is incredibly comforting

12:25 ate a chocolate pudding and a bag of 100 calorie goldfish

12:30 ran the 2 band classes. it was crazy, totally on a whim and off the top of my head, but great!!

2:40 helped a girl with mozart 3 horn concerto

3 lesson planned for tomorrows band classes

4 left for columbia

5:45 taught a piano lesson

6:30 home! ate 4 slices of pizza while watching wheel of fortune

all in all, the moral of the story is, I SURVIVED!! and am happy!!!

s.s.s. no. 8

i start my new job being a band director tomorrow and oddly, i don't feel nervous or anxious. and here is why i feel peaceful about it all.

for months (maybe even pushing a year) i have been fasting and praying for me to find a job in my field. i have run the gamut of feelings about my situation through this time. finally, for about a month or two, i have felt peace with where i was in life. and now, that i have humbled myself, stopped my whining, and accepted God's plan, he has blessed me with this incredible opportunity. 

so here is what i have learned through all of this. that i know nothing about what is supposed to happen in my life. sure, i can try to figure it out, but in the end, it is always best to live the best life you can and then turn all of that over to He who can see the end from the beginning, who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who ALWAYS has our best interest in mind.

so today, i want to say a million thanks to my Heavenly Father for giving me all of these blessings. i want to say that i have already grown through this experience and i'm ready to feel more growing pains as i begin this journey of teaching. thanks for you all, for your support, love, and patience with me.

i hope everyone has a happy monday! i know mine will be!!

reverb in williams-brice?

i just need to say something.

i, sadly, did not get to go to tonight's game. well, not that sad because it was awful, but sad because i love all carolina games. but i did watch the game on tv and here is what i have to say...

really carolina fans?? the stadium was so empty every single thing the band played in the second half had MAJOR reverb to it. that's pitiful! i mean i'm glad i could clearly hear the band, but not for that reason.

so, as everyone in the band always yell when people are leaving the games early, your tickets are still good!!!! even if we are sucking it up, you don't need to suck it up as a fan.

end of rant.

most people use halloween as an excuse to dress sexy...

clearly, matt and i are not of that mindset. in case you can't tell what we were, i was an elementary school teacher and matt was the p.e. teacher. i must say, we were the hit of the party. definitely got the most laughs.

sadly, most people said to us "you know this is a snapshot of your alls future." i really hope they are all wrong.

the other thing everyone said is "my mom had a vest just like that." sadly, i think all of our moms did.

we really had a great halloween (on the 29th...) we went to a fun party at church and then a fun party at my sisters! and to think, a super fun college party that had no alcohol at it! i don't think some people know that's possible....

i hope everyone had a super fun and safe halloween too!!