25

So, today I turn 25 years old. I have been out and about all day being busy shopping and spending time with family. Today's post is short. It is a list of things that in 25 years have proven to be true, over and over again. Life lessons if you will.

1. EVERYTHING changes...except God
2. In the end, all you have is family...so keep them close
3. Best friends happen only once or twice in a lifetime, so keep them close...no matter how far in "miles" that close may be.
4. The toast ALWAYS falls jelly side down
5. The one time you forget the cell phone at home, that is the time you get a flat tire, run out of gas, and run out of money.
6. Money does not grow on trees but that is ok because money cannot buy happiness anyways
7. Babies are a miracle and every one is "the greatest thing ever"
8. Sisters are one of God's greatest gifts
9. No day is so horrible that a dozen roses cannot brighten it in an instant
10. I would rather order in Chinese and sit in my PJs with my hubby than dine in the fanciest of restaurants.
11. The best things in life are free...except perhaps a good latte.
12. It is possible to be the crazy coupon lady by age 25
13. Working with teens keeps you humble because if you have a flaw, they find a way to magnify it
14. The best gifts are the ones that you never outgrow, use up, or break...they are the memories that you make with those you love.
15. A good laugh that hurts your ribs, makes you cry, and wrinkles your face are the best medicine (thanks for many of those Krista and Ryan)
16. It never rains but it pours
17. The one day you can sleep in is the one day you never get to sleep in
18. You get the MOST hungry when you are sitting in Sunday church...no matter how much breakfast you ate before you went
19. Vacations go by at warp speed
20. Time really does fly...even when you are not having fun
21. The day you leave out your new shoes is the day your dog is craving that "new shoe" flavor.
22. Do not tell your husband "Oh, I don't want anything for my birthday" if you really do want something because they DO take it literally.
23.Fireworks will never stop being magical
24. Do not eat messy food while wearing your favorite white shirt
25. Never leave home without chewing gum.

The ABCs of Thanksgiving

Tomorrow I will be so very busy giving thanks and being with family and just enjoying the day. I doubt there will be an actual Thanksgiving Day post. So, in the spirit of the day, I decided to post my Thanksgiving list. You must humor me in that I am a school teachers so ABC's and 1,2,3's just come easy to me. Obviously the thing I am MOST thankful for this year and any year is the fact that I am of the redeemed. Jesus Christ has taken up residence in this heart of mine and I belong to Him. The list below is a list of things in the here and now that are not eternal that I am so very thankful for.

A is for affection. I have a wonderful husband, a loving family, an excellent circle of friends (although most of them are painfully far away), and a growing church family. I am so blessed.

B is for babies. I have several friends this year whom God has blessed with new babies. Each one is the "cutest" and each one is a miracle. I have prayed for most of those pregnancies, so I consider myself an aunt by prayer, even though I am not an aunt by blood.

C is for coffee. I know this may seem trivial to some, but if I had to go without coffee, there would be few others in the world giving thanks for my presence. So, I am thankful for coffee.

D is for dishes. I am a strange person, I know, but if I have to choose a chore to be thankful for, I choose dishes because a sink full of dirty dishes means there is a houseful of satisfied and happy people. I am thankful that America is still a land of plenty.

E is for energy. Last year around this time I had just begun my struggle with headaches and migraines and such. I am so very grateful that one year later, although I still deal with the pain, I am learning how to cope with the pain and I have energy once again.

F is for faith. Life is hard. I am not sure how people who do not have God and a hope of a better future get through.

G is for Grandparents. My Grandparents are such a blessing in my life. They love me so unconditionally. I have a confession that sometimes children between the ages of 8 and 15 drive me crazy. They are sticky always. They smell like gym socks. AND, they think they know everything. I am thankful that through all those times, my Grandparents still thought I was the cats pajamas. Thanks guys....I love you.

H is for hardwood floors and history. I am so thankful for my new house (leaky water pipes and all). One of the things I fell in love with was the fact that I have hardwood floors and not carpets. I HATE carpet. Obviously, since I am a history teacher I would probably have a love of history. I always have. I would rather go to a museum than an amusement park.

I is for Ice Cream. Any flavor, any time, in any weather....I love Ice Cream.

J is for Jelly Bellys. There is nothing more fun than grabbing a bag of jelly belly jelly beans and guessing the flavors as you eat your way through the bag. Maybe I am just simple minded, but I love that.

K is for kids. I love my job. I get to be with kids all day long and they always have a way of making me smile. Yes, there are days where I do sit down at my desk and seriously rethink my career choice. But, overall, I love working with kids and that feeling of helping them learn new and interesting things.

L is for love. I am so very thankful for all the kinds of love that we have. Of course, the Love of the Heavenly Father is beyond compare with anything we have here on earth. I am thankful that I have that love in my life. I am thankful for the "all-kinds-of weather" love that I have from my hubby. He loves me when I burn the dinner, when the house is a wreck, when I am happy, and when I am crabby. He is a blessing. I am also thankful for family love. Mom, Dad, sister, and brother-in-law. I love them.

M is for mutts. We have a dog. While he is frequently a source of complaining on this blog for me, he is a joy to have in our home.

N is for night skies. I love clear nights with full moons and zillions of stars. It always reminds me of how BIG our God is.

O is for older folks. Now, before any of my "old folks" reading this blog get annoyed by that comment, let me explain. I LOVE history. So, when I get the chance, I seek out an "older folk" type person to chat with. I want to soak in all the "I was there" history I can get from them.

P is for parents. God blessed me with a very godly family and parents who loves me and wanted me to turn out to be a woman of integrity. I love them and am so very thankful for how they pushed me to be the best I could be.

Q is for quilts. I think quilts are so beautiful and special. Nothing says "home sweet home" like a quilt on the bed.

R is for Rachel. I am so very thankful for the one and only sister I have. I could not ask for a better one. I love her.

S is for summertime. I love all things summer. Summer fruits, summer games, summers off from school, summer days, summer celebrations, summer cookouts, summer beach trips. There are very few things about summer that so not make me smile.

T is for turkey. We have switched to healthy cooking at our house (or at least making an attempt). So, we have switched to turkey burger and turkey breast for sandwiches. It is a great meat and I am thankful that it is a healthy choice that we both like.

U is for umbrellas. I live in Florida. Enough said.

V is for violins. I love the sound of a violin playing. I learned to play the piano, but I think deep down inside I would have liked to learn to play the violin.

W is for washing machines. My hubby got me a new washing machine about 8 months ago because ours died. I am so very thankful for such a wonderful machine. I do not know how the pioneer women did it...because I sometimes struggle getting laundry done as it is...imagine hauling it to the river to beat it on the rocks. No wonder they wore the same clothes all the time.

X is for...well, I am not really thankful for anything that begins with X. I am not a fan of getting x-rays (although I am glad they exist). I am thankful for the xerox machines at work (when they do not jam...which is hourly). I am not a huge fan of xylophone music. So, for x, we will just be leaving that as it is.

Y is for yummy. I am thankful that we have taste buds and options. How boring would life be is everything tasted the same. I am thankful for all things "yummy."

Z is for zest. I mean this in two ways. First of all, I really do love zesting a lemon or an orange and the yummy smell that comes into my house. But, on a bigger scale...I am thankful for youth and the zest for life that comes with it.

Thanks for hanging in there for that list...Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving full of things to be grateful for.

Divided Heart

This is the first time in the history of my marriage that I have been separated from my husband over a holiday. Ryan had to work REALLY hard this week. He has tons of responsibilities to fulfill at work so there was not going to be any way for him to get away for the whole week. When we first got married, Ryan made me a promise that since my birthday is so close to Thanksgiving, we would always make the journey to be with my family. Well, this is the first year that he will not be able to do that. So, he sent me alone, with the promise that he will be meeting me up here for Thanksgiving lunch. It is so hard to be apart. On the one hand, I am having so much fun with my parents and sister and brother-in-law. On the other hand, it is like half of me is gone. Tonight at dinner I kept waiting for Ryan to put his tomatoes from his salad on my plate (because he hates them) but they never came. We played a game after dinner and I kept thinking of answers Ryan would give to the game or clues he could give me that would help me to answer the question. The dog with along with me and he has never been so badly behaved in all his life (because he knows the authoritarian is far away). In 24 hours he has dug a whole to China in the back yard, gotten sick multiple times, and broke the screen door off my parents back door. If Ryan was here, none of that would go on. It just goes to show that two become one and life is never the same. I am cherishing this time with my parents, but I will be thrilled to have Ryan here with me again.

Love and water pipes

I am coming up to my 25th birthday. I have to say that I pictured age 25 as something totally different. When I looked ahead at my life, I had a vision of something that was so very different from what it is now. I was talking to a fellow teacher today and I realized something. All those "visions" I had, while nice and sweet, were completely unrealistic and not what real life or real love it about. I thought that marriage was all about the roses and the laughs and the good times. I have discovered, only two years into it (so I realize there is much more to learn) that real love is the month with no money at the end of it. Love is the dirty dishes, and the washing machine, and the empty fridge. Love is understanding that your partner is not perfect and you will never be able to make him perfect....no matter how much you nag. Love is laughing when the water pipes in your house malfunction and you have to live like pioneers..instead of crying and whining. Love is realizing that your marriage partner is your best friend and you could never imagine your life without him...or without picking up that same pair of dirty socks day after day. Praise God for lessons learned in my brief 25 years so far....I am sure there will be a bigger post about this as the birthday gets closer...I am still learning. Stay tuned for more.

A few of my favorite things....

It is the month of my birthday. Yes, I said month because I love to celebrate my birthday. It usually lasts a month. Every year the same things happen for my birthday, but I am ok with that because I just love each one. Here is my list

1. A whole week off for my birthday. Because I am a teacher, I always get a whole week off for my birthday. So, I am allowed to bask in the celebration without the bother of having to go to work.

2. A trip home to Tallahassee. The tradition started when I was in college. Ryan told me that even once we were married, he and I would always go up to Tallahassee for my "birthday week." We have done so ever since. I get to go to my home church, sleep in, shop with Mom, hang out with my sister, and laugh with my Dad.

3. PUMPKIN PIE. When I was a child, I thought that the worst part of having a Thanksgiving birthday was the desserts. I was so wrong. I love all things pumpkin. On my birthday this year I want a giant slice of Pumpkin pie and wash it down with a giant cup of pumpkin spice latte.

4. Black Friday. The last couple of years me and my mom and my sister have made the trip out to the black Friday sales. I used to think those people were crazy to go out there on that day. I have discovered the opposite to be true. I love it. It is the most fun time to shop.

5. Birthday surprises. Ryan always, always surprises me with the greatest birthday presents. He is such a good husband. This year he cannot go along with me to my birthday week because of work, so he is breaking his neck to get me to Tallahassee and then to join me for my actual birthday dinner. He is a great hubby.

No talking needed

I was out and about last Saturday. It was a very full, very busy day. I had to get the car to the auto shop for a check-up, I had to run to meet a new friend at Starbucks to deliver some Sunday School material for Sunday, I had to get home and pack for a quick weekend getaway with my hubby, and then I had to get to a school fundraiser by noon. Needless to say I was busy all morning long. BUT, I was not too busy to notice a particularly disturbing trend in our society. No body talks any more. I was sitting in the waiting room of the auto shop. Now, five years ago, I would have read my magazine and engaged in some random small talk with the other women who were in the shop with me. "Why are you here?" "Isn't it ridiculous how much these visits to the shop cost" "How old is your baby"...and so on. But, this time everyone in the shop was on their i-phone or touch phone and did not talk to any one around them. The same thing happens at the line in the grocery store, or in a doctor's office, or when we are just too lazy to engage in small talk. No wonder people are socially inept and incapable of interesting discussions. Any time humans form into a line or have to wait somewhere longer than five minutes, out come the phones. I challenge you to look at the person in the car next to you next time you are at a red light. I will bet you $23.80 that the person will be checking their facebook or texting a friend using their phone. Just try it. We complain about feeling disconnected from our neighbors and co-workers and yet we force ourselves into that position by staying in our cyber-world!!! Break the mold...put down that phone!!! By the way, I am guilty of this too...the picture is me at my wedding rehearsal...and I am answering the phone. No one is immune. :)

It Could Be Worse

Lately I have been feeling kind of down about our house. When we bought this house I thought to myself, "Well, this is it. Now, we have an investment. We are not just throwing money away to a landlord we are working toward owning our own house." Then, the water pipes sprung a leak, the washer and dryer broke down, and the electric bills and water bills started flowing in. Suddenly, I found myself wishing at times we had never bought this "money pit" (as I have decided named our little home).

However, every once and I while I think it is a good exercise to remind yourself that it "could be worse." When I was a little girl my Grandpa had a book that he loved and we loved to have him read it. It was called "It Could Be Worse" (sorry grammar friends, I cannot for the life of me remember if you italicize books or put quotes around them). Anyway, in the book the Grandpa is telling the kids a story and it sounds terrible and all these bad things happen but the Grandpa reminds the kids that it really could be worse. Like, "A dinosaur stepped on my head" but the Grandpa said, "It could have been worse, he could have bit your head off." (My words, not the books).

Well, today was my "could be worse" moment. I had actually just finished lamenting my water pipes in the house when the news aired a new story. It was about a family who had defective insulation or siding or something of that nature in their home. As a result, a colony of bees had taken up residence INSIDE their walls. So, coming out of the light sockets, at the seams in the wall, through the tiles in the bathroom, was honey. I really do not think it gets much worse than that. First you have the sticky factor and then you have the bees in the walls, but then you also have the bugs that come to get in on the honey action.

So, regardless of how many times a day I used to complain about my water pipes I have decided that I am done complaining about this problem... until the bees inhabit my walls.

That old Love/Hate Relationship

This past weekend, I took a quick trip home to visit my family and my home church family. It was such a sweet time of reunion and fellowship and relaxation, I did not want to come home. So, on Monday, I got a substitute to teach my classes so I could have one more day at home. I discovered a very curious thing when I returned. MY STUDENTS MISSED ME! Now, this would not seem like an extraordinary thing to a teacher of young children because you become almost like a second mom to those kids. But, when you are a teacher of teens, it is a whole different world. I sometimes find myself being told very bluntly things about my teaching style or how dull the day's material is, or something along those lines. So, I naturally assumed that when I gave them a day off from my presence that they would be as happy as I was to get a day away. Nothing could be further from the truth. One student drew me a picture in which I was the mother fish leading my little "school" behind me, just to show how much I was missed. I guess you never realize how MUCH of an impact you have till you are not there. What made me even prouder today about being a high school teacher was the fact that my students who were old enough today that went out to vote came and told me all about it and how excited they were. It is nice to know that I have helped them to understand WHY we vote and how important it is that we DO vote while we still have that option. Hopefully they never lose that sense of patriotism and civic duty.

On another vein, I realized today how much of a traditionalist I really am. While I was standing in line today to wait to vote, I noticed quite a hang up in front of me. A lot of the "older" folks (have to be careful here as some of my readers may object to the use of "older" to describe them) had signed up for the "mail-in" voting option but then had forgotten to mail them in. I found that in and of itself rather humorous. Anyways, when my turn finally came and the little lady checked my id and got my paper work in order, she looked up at me and asked me if I would like my future ballots mailed to me. I did not even bat an eye-lash..."No thanks" I said. "Oh, ok," she said, seemingly startled. "Nah," I said, "I like to kick this the old school way." I do not know what it is about voting but it makes me feel so American. I really doubt I would get that same sense of pride if I mailed my vote in. So, while it may seem easier to mail and forget about it...you will find me at the polls until I am one of the "older" folks.