Stop this Spinning Strawberry...I want off...

I remember the first time I ever went on an amusement park ride. I was with my mom and we were at the South Dakota State Fair (excellent fair by the way, lots of exhibits, free stuff to get, lots of yummy fair food, good animals and 4-H stuff). My mom saw the Tilt-a-Whirl and said, "Hey, Amy lets go on this ride...it will be fun." So, trusting child that I was I jumped on the spinning strawberry of death with my mom. She was so excited for the ride to begin, as was I (initially). Then, suddenly my mom started twisting the center wheel to make the strawberry spin. About half way through the ride, my mom was laughing and having fun and I was turning green and looking for a way to jump off. I remember vividly screaming at the Carney every time we spun past him..."HEY...GET ME OFF HERE." "HEY...MAKE IT STOP." Now, I love the spinning strawberries...mostly because of the memory of riding it with my mom.

I am in a month of my life right now in which I feel like I am riding a strawberry of death. I am in the middle of administering final exams, I am still finding homes for all the prom props, summer kids club is one day away from starting at church, graduation at school is on Friday, I am starting a summer job next week, and I have the normal friendship obligations coming my way. As my days spin by I look around me for a good stopping point...for some one to stop the ride so I can get off and catch my breath. On the other hand, do I really want to ride the kiddie coasters forever? If I never take on new responsibilities and accept new challenges, I would grow bored at some point. So, I am strapping myself in and yelling out..."Speed up that strawberry."

Why free samples?

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These are the free samples I got this week in the mail. Now, why oh why do I sign up for free samples...I am so glad you asked. Below is a list as to why I do it.

1. Free samples come in handy small travel sizes. With a free sample of antiperspirant, you always have an emergency one in your purse for that time when you go on vacation and forget it.

2. You get a chance to try something new that you would NEVER pay full price for to try it and find out that you hate it (or in some cases love it).

3. Most free samples come with VERY nice coupons that make coupon freaks like me really happy.

Now, when beginning the whole sign up for freebies thing, the task may seem daunting. So, I have also made up a list of blogs/websites that I check from time to time to get free samples.

hip2save.com --this is a GREAT blog with new deal alerts by the HOUR. It is a coupon-clippers dream

Vocalpoint.com --this site offers free samples every couple of months. They usually mail you a coupon for a FULL size product for FREE. I have already gotten a sample box of a new kind of frosted mini wheats from them and also for a coupon for a full size international house creamer.

Kraftfirsttaste.com---this site is AMAZING. You do have to create an account...but it is totally free. I got a free full-size bag of Kraft shredded cheese and Philly cooking cream. Both were awesome...and again...free.

A word of warning: Lots of people these days are trying to save a buck here and a buck there. DO NOT ABUSE free samples. If you are not really ever going to use Aunt Mildred's anchovy paste sample, do not sign up for it. If you abuse it, it ruins it for those of us who really enjoy getting those tiny sample boxes in our mail boxes.

Purple and Peacock Feathers

7 months of planning and the prom is over. I was overwhelmed most of the time, I laughed some of the time, I probably added a few pounds of stress weight...but it is over. Thank goodness that it is over. Our Midsummer Night's Dream theme went off without a hitch. Our "candy bar" was a huge hit with the kids and the peacock feather accents made the girls very happy because (although I did not know this when we started) they are very in vogue this year.

However, when the night was over and all the kids had gone home and I was there to pick up the left over dinner mints and blow out the candles, some melancholy swept over me. This up-coming fall will be my fourth year at the same school. I have been with these kids for a long time. For my Juniors who helped me plan prom, I have been their homeroom teacher since they entered high school as little 9th graders. For the Seniors, I am brimming with pride at how well they all turned out. I am so excited to send them out into the world. I will miss them so very much . You do not realize how involved you become in their lives and how special each and every one of them are to you. Even though I am not a mother, I think I have an inkling of how they feel when their first child leaves home. This is the first class that we are graduating that I feel bonded to. It is so bittersweet. I love them and want them to spread their wings and fly...but I cannot imagine school without their personalities and smiles.

I was happy to have this evening with them to celebrate their achievements and honor all their hard work over the course of the last four years.

On this Journey

I stumbled across this poem the other day in a devotional book that a friend of mine gave me, who is going through some of the same "hard knocks of life" right now as me. I was just struck by how beautiful it was and how encouraging its message was. I hope it helps you in whatever you may find yourself dealing with today!

Waiting! Yes, patiently waiting!
Till next steps made plain will be;
To hear, with inner hearing,
The VOICE that will call for me.

Waiting! Yes, hopefully watiting!
With hope that need not grow dim;
The Master is pledged to guide me,
And my eyes are unto HIM.

Waiting! Expectantly waiting!
Perhaps it may be today
The Master will quickly open
The gate to my future way.

Waiting! Yes, Waiting! Still Waiting!
I know, though I've waited long,
That, while He withholds His purpose,
His waiting cannot be wrong.

--written by J. Danson Smith

Have a blessed Day!!!!

The first

In the world of teaching teenagers, there are many moments where you are incapable of words and all you can come up with is a belly laugh. One of those moments happened just the other day. I have had a particularly busy week here at work. I am in the final countdown...only a few more weeks till school is over. It is exciting and sad and thrilling at the same time. I must say goodbye to students that I have been teaching since I started my career. I look forward to their success but brush aside a tear upon their exit.

Well, that has been the past few weeks (hence the lack of posts of late). I was in my 2nd period class. It is an interesting mix of students. I have two juniors in there, a handfull of sophomores, and three or four freshmen. Well, I had just finished my closing remarks for the day and there were about 5-10 minutes left in class. Suddenly, the youngest boy in the class shoots his hand in the air and leaps from his chair at the same time. He asks, "Can I go to the restroom?" We have a procedure at school that they must use to go to the restroom, plus we limit them to three "emergency" bathroom uses per quarter...otherwise they are ALWAYS IN THERE. So, I asked him, "There are only five minutes left in class. Are you sure you want to waste your last bathroom pass?" He said, "Yes, I gotta go...I think I just got my first chin hair and I GOTTA go see it." What could I say? I told him to go. Once he left I could not hold it in. We all had a good laugh and wished him well as he went to see the fledgling hair on his chin.

If nothing else, this job is never dull.

What makes me so odd??

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The other day I was out with a couple of my friends and we were discussing our idiosyncrasies. Everyone has them...we know that is true. However, as we were talking I decided that I have more than most people. I have compiled a short list here....I cannot decide if maybe I have a small problem or not. Maybe you can be the judge.

1. The photograph is probably my number one weird-o thing. I HAVE to put the clothes away in the closet in matching colors. All the blue, then all the green, then all the red, and so on. I decided this is a useful foible because if I was ever suddenly stricken blind, I could still dress myself (as long as my new laundress knew my system).

2. Coffee lids. You know when you go to a coffee shop and they give you the coffee without the lid on it and you have to go to the little condiment bar to put a lid on it and put sugar/cream in in? Well, when I get to the condiment bar, I CANNOT use the lid on the top of the stack. I have to lift the first 3-4 lids and THEN use that one (because it might have less germs on it).

3. Rainbow colors. I like colorful things. The people at work once mocked me for this and since I work in a special education friendly school...I just told them I was in the right place for a learning disability because someone there could offer me therapy at a discounted rate. Well, the first year I was there I had to often hunt down a student or two because they did not ever write their name on their papers. Therefore, I write the names on them PRIOR to distributing the papers of the day. AND, since I was already writing the names, I write them in rainbow order. So, Student A is always red and Student B is always orange, and student C is yellow and so on. I think that this is a useful problem...the kids always know what their colors are and it makes it easier for them to find THEIR test. I don't know...it works for me.

I do not know...you decide. Crazy?

Because of Tuesday....

I got home yesterday from a very hectic day (the Jr.Sr. banquet planning is starting to consume my life at this point). When I got to my front door, it was unlocked (which I thought was a little odd). So, I started to go in when suddenly the door slammed right in my face and I heard my husband yell through the door "You cannot come in yet." When he finally came to the door...a clean living room and dining room greeted me right away and the table was set for a romantic dinner for two. "Why did you do this?" I asked him. "Because it is Tuesday," he told me. Well, what more could you ask for?



Here is my handsome husband serving me my delicious dinner. Does not get much better than this....except maybe for the funny face he is wearing.



Delicious baked ziti that Ryan made himself. I cannot even make it as good as he did. I was impressed and my tummy was even happier.



Since Ryan and I do not drink alcohol at all, when he feels like making dinner something special he picks up some sparkling grape juice. It always adds a festive flare. He is something special.





Ryan has been doing a 40 day fast and diet with our pastor at church. I was so proud of him for not chowing down on dessert. He brought two of them to the table and each of us maybe ate two tablespoons of dessert. I was so proud of him. Obviously it was REALLY hard to choose just one dessert (so I had a taste of both).


I am so very thankful for a gift like Ryan in my life. Marriage is such a romantic, rewarding, difficult, blissful, interesting challenge and I am so thankful that I have a friend like Ryan to be married to. I am so thankful for a "Because it is Tuesday" kind of love.

Weekend Edition...for lack of a better title

The events over the weekend...wow...where does one even begin??? I think that is why I put off this post as long as I did. I knew I wanted to write about it. I knew it was a history making moment. I knew there was a lot to say...but how do I put it on "paper" so to speak?

We had just finished a late cookout with our friends from college and they were actually getting ready to leave when we were interrupted by a report that the president would soon be addressing the nation. The first thought I had was that we were engaging in a more active way in the conflict in Libya. But, out loud I said to my husband (I am not even kidding here) "I bet they caught Bin Laden." He just chuckled at me and our friends just said, "oh yeah, sure, that is what happened." But boy did everyone's face change when the president said it with his own words.

I consider myself to be a patriot. While my voter registration card does declare how I usually vote, any more I don't like even connecting myself with my chosen party. Sunday was a victory day for anyone who has an ounce of patriot's blood flowing through them, no matter which political party you claim. Did I dance and sing...no. I still sorrow for the fact that there is now one more soul that met his Holy, perfect Creator and was unprepared for that meeting. However, there is a part of me that was so happy to see justice rained down on someone who caused America to change forever. I will never, ever forget where I was or what emotions I felt as I watched the events of 9/11 unfold. How any one ever gets over those emotions I do not know because any time I see those images of the burning towers, of the planes poised for impact, of the gaping hole in the earth in Pennsylvania, or the flames from the Pentagon I get that familiar ache in my stomach and a tear in my eye. It was a life-changing day.

While I would like to see proof that this is in fact reality, that a man who personifies pure evil is really gone, I will be happy for what I beleive may be true at this point. Would I be happier if I had concrete proof???...you bet. But, I will hope for now, that this is one time where Washignton tells the truth. Hopefully, for the sake of the remnant of Americans who still know that it is In GOD we trust....may God Bless America.