Here it is...New Year's Eve. Wow! Another year has flown by. So many changes, some good, some bad, and some ugly(my waistline!), but, mostly good. A lot has happened during the past year. I'm looking forward to the new year, a new beginning, a new resolve to make some positive changes in my life: of course, the usual resolution to lose weight and become more healthy, to become more organized, my second most popular resolution, and last, but, not least to finish that novel that I've always wanted to write and actually did start a couple of months ago!!! :) Three goals, I think that's a good number of goals or resolutions. Some people don't believe in "resolutions", but, I just look at them as goals. Without goals and dreams, we are without hope. So, I believe it is important to always have something to strive toward. God wants us to have dreams, and He even said, "Without dreams, man will perish." So, there, we all need hopes, dreams, goals, and yes, maybe even a resolution or two. Here's hoping and praying that you have the courage to dream, and even more importantly, make your dreams come true, with a lot of help from God, of course! Have a very happy and blessed New Year!

I enjoyed my little mini vacation--two snow days, then the weekend. Now, they've called and said we have another snow day tomorrow!(Monday) I just knew we'd go back to school tomorrow, but, the side roads and country roads are still icy, so I suppose they're trying to play it safe. I Love my snow days and was very thankful to have them, but, now I'm ready to go back to work, because I know we'll have to make them up at the end of the school year. Bummer. Besides, breaking ice twice a day for the horse and dogs is getting old really fast. I'm ready for this to melt off, so we can get back to our normal routine. I worked out in the snow several hours Saturday making trails from the house to the horse barn, from the house to the dog barn, etc., with no boots, just wet tennis shoes and dry socks every couple of hours. Now I know why people have heart attacks when they are shoveling snow. That's VERY hard work. Every muscle is sore, and my cold has, of course, worsened. So, I guess I should be thankful for the extra day off to nurse my cruddy cold. Lots of chicken noodle soup & rest tomorrow, hopefully. Hope everyone is doing well & staying warm.

Yay!! Two snow days in a row!!! Did I say, I LOVE snowdays?!?!?!?! We had lots of ice, maybe two inches, then, several inches of snow on top of that!!! I think we got, at least, a foot of snow, maybe a little more.

Yesterday my daughter & I put up our Christmas tree, so now with that done and all the snow on the ground, I'm starting to get in the Christmas mood. Actually, I'm starting to panic because I've done very little shopping. I'm a terrible procrastinator, but, this is really bad, even for me. I think I'm done with my daughters presents and maybe two or three other people, but, sadly, that's it. I just don't know what to get anyone. At this point, I'm seriously considering just getting everybody gift cards so they can pick out exactly what they want. That would be so much easier and save a lot of time and frustration fighting the crowds at the malls, not to mention gas money.

My daughter just left a few hours ago to go spend the night with some friends so they can play in the snow- sledding & four-wheeling. So that means I get to sleep in tomorrow morning!!! I normally get up around 6:30 or 7:00 to fix her breakfast & give her her heart meds. on the weekends. Then, I try to go back to sleep, but, rarely do. Once I'm up, I'm usually awake and thinking of all the things I need to be doing. But, I'm going to sleep in tomorrow for sure. Of course, since she's gone, I won't sleep in real late (8:00 or 9:00 is late for me) because I'll have to get up & go chop the ice in Charlie's (the horse) water, then, do the same for the dogs. Man, that just plain sucks, I don't know how ranchers who have all these animals do it in the winter. You have to do it more than once a day when it's this cold. Plus, our dog barn roof is about to fall in from the weight of the ice & snow. So, I'm hoping that doesn't happen before we can get it fixed. We wedged 3 big wooden poles where we could so it will hopefully hold until tomorrow, when we can work on it more. It was late in the evening when we discovered what had happened. Hoping that the dogs don't get squished!!

I'm getting ready for a big, huge bunch of snow!!!! I'm so excited!!! I love snow days!!! (Remember, I'm a teacher.) A lot of teachers don't like them, but, then, there are those of us who pray for them so much we can just taste the snowflakes on the tips of our tongues!!! Several of us wore our good luck charms for snow today. I wore your typical "teacher-y" sweater, with mittens and snowflakes all over. Other friends of mine at school wore snowmen or snowflake pins on their clothes. We didn't get together and plan this, it's just a teacher thing. I'm worse than a kid. This morning as I was getting ready for school the weatherman was predicting 2-4 inches of snow. I was pretty excited about that. By the time I got home this evening, they were calling for 10-15 inches, maybe even more where I'm at!!!!! So, you can imagine how excited I got about the latest prediction! YES!!! Love it! Love it!! Love it!! As long as our electricity doesn't go out, I'll be a happy camper!! Must close now and go put an extra blanket on the bed and dig out my trusty flannel jammies!!! I will go to sleep early in hopes that I will be awakened by a phone call to let me know there will be NO SCHOOL on Thursday!!! (and if we're real lucky, on Friday, as well!!)

I haven't been posting lately because I'm participating in the Nanowrimo writing challenge!!! I started on November 4, 2006, four days late!!! But, I'm plugging along. I have a little over 13,000 words so far. The goal of the challenge is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in thirty days, the month of November, specifically. I'm pretty excited about it. This is something I have always wanted to do - write books. This will be my first!!! I am having a blast! So, with that said, I had better end this post and get back to my novel. If anyone is interested and you have time to catch up, the web site is: www.nanowrimo.org or click on the link at the very bottom of my blog. Check it out! Happy blogging! :)

Halloween parties, costumes, food...

A day that all teachers dread----Halloween parties. Wow! You just wouldn't believe the amount of candy, cookies, & cupcakes a couple of homeroom mothers can rustle up for a classroom full of kids. It's like a Willie Wonka buffett. Then, they leave school, make the rounds downtown where all the merchants pass out candy, pop, etc. THEN, they make the rounds throughout the neighborhoods to see if they can fill a ten pound sack full of candy. (Enough loot to last the average child for two years.) This year, this event all took place on a Tuesday, today, October 31, 2006. Guess what? The next three days of school will be REAL fun for teachers! HA! These kiddos will be so hyped up for the rest of the week, it won't EVEN be funny. What psycho made this "holiday" up??? And the costumes, oh my word, there must have only been five or six different costumes made this year---for girls, princess, fairy, or dead cheerleader. Whose sick idea was that? For boys, you had a choice of either "Scream", Ninja, or deer hunter. Oh, the joys of being a teacher.... And to think, parents just can't figure out why their children are suffering from childhood obesity.

I went to a Disability Fair last Thursday. One of my friends & I shared a vendor booth. She sells skin care products, as a second job. I set up my massage chair and gave free 5-10 minute chair massages, passed out my business cards, gave away a free one hour massage as a door prize, and made several contacts. It was lots of fun! This morning I received an e-mail from another vendor wanting to know if I'd be interested in doing chair massages at a retreat that she puts on for her customers!!! Yay!!! I'm excited!! Can't wait for my new business to really take off! My friend & I plan to do more fairs/craft shows whenever possible!!!

We went to check on little Izzy (the little piglet) today & she's doing great!! She now weighs 42 pounds!! She weighed 30 pounds the day we got her--a little over a week ago!! She's sooo cute!!

Back to school tomorrow...yawn....I'm ready for Thanksgiving break...

Favorite oldies and/or artists...

Let's Get it on...Marvin Gaye
That's the Way I Like it...K.C & the Sunshine Band
Listen to the Music...Doobie Bros.
You're So Vain...Carly Simon
anything by James Taylor, Jim Croce, John Denver,
Eagles, Electric Light Orchestra,
anything Country....
Fleetwood Mac, Elton John,
Aerosmith,
I Think I can Make it Now...Johnny Nash?
Rubberband Man...The Spinners
Earth, Wind, & Fire...
Loggins & Messina,

hehehe, can you tell, I'm watching an infomercial!!! But, I really do like all those "oldies". Those were all popular when I was in high school!!! What memories those bring back!!!

Some of my least favorite things...

Snakes, skunks, spiders, and other creepy critters...

Liver and onions....

Scraping fingernails on a chalkboard...

The sound of someone using an emery board to file their fingernails...

People who blow their nose at the dinner table...ewww..

The Sunday night before the first day back to school, after a way too short summer break....

Romance novels...UCK!!!!

A power failure in the middle of a snowstorm...no fun...

The price of gasoline...

Some of my favorite things...

When the leaves are turning in the fall...the reds, yellows, oranges, etc...

The first few days of crisp, cool air, when you need a sweater, and maybe a cup of cappaccino or hot chocolate to warm you up...

The smell of firewood burning in someone's fireplace...mmmm...

Roasting marshmallows over a brush fire....

Getting into bed with a nice toasty electric blanket...
Waking up to a phone call from school (my workplace) saying, "No school today!" (SNOW DAY!!!) --a teacher's favorite phrase in the English language... or, at least, THIS teacher...

Warm, fuzzy socks, the ONLY thing I ever ask for at Christmas time, and nobody believes that I REALLY just want some new, warm, fuzzy, fun socks!!!!

A hug from my kids...or my students (who are also my kids)...

A phone call from a loved one...(friends, relatives, former students, etc.)

A really good dream...

more later...

Just another manic Monday....

Don't ya just hate Mondays??? I usually do, at least until I get to work & get into the business of it all. Today was a typical Monday--lots of craziness, changes, etc. One of my paras called in sick, then, another had to go home early, one of my students went home sick, (vomiting sick) not long after he had been in my class, sitting right next to me, coughing, snotting, etc., all over me. Fun, fun, fun. I go through LOTS of Clorox disinfectant wipes and spray in my class. My kids are all Kindergarten and first graders, so they get sick a lot, then, pass it on to one or all four of my paras and me. The hidden dangers of being a teacher...

After school, my daughter, M, brought a friend home. We went to the FFA barn, fed little Izzy Ella Bella, then, came home, fed the horse, Charlie, the four, yes, I said FOUR dogs, and one cat. Then, I dropped the girls off at church for the 2nd night of revival. No, I didn't go. Shame on me. My lame excuse is that I needed to stay home & get some paperwork done for school, and if time permits, of course, add to my blog!! I know, I'm being a bad girl....I never liked it when people "sent" their kids to church, instead of going with them, and lo and behold, that's what I'm doing!!!

My daughter and I have been on Fall Break for the last four and a half days. As usual, our little breaks from school fly by, and we have to return to school tomorrow. We have been extremely busy running all sorts of errands--Dr's. appointments, flu shots, getting stocked up on dog, horse, and pig feed, cleaning up a pig pen, etc. No, we don't live in the country, but, a very small, rural town. My daughter is in the ninth grade, and very involved in all kinds of school activities. She is a cheerleader, a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America), and FCCLA (a home ec related organization). She has decided to show a pig for FFA this year. Thank goodness, we don't have to keep it near our house. She will be keeping it at the FFA barn a couple of miles from our house. Therefore, we will be going to the barn everyday to feed, water, and check on the pig. I'm not real fond of pigs. As some of you may know, they are probably one of the stinkiest animals alive. However, I have to admit this is probably one of the cuter pigs I've ever seen. She is pink with a blue, speckled butt. We both picked her out of the whole lot, the first time we looked at the pigs to choose from. I know, I know, you don't pick a pig to show by how cute it is. We did ask the opinion of the FFA advisor the next day, and he assured us that it was a good choice, so, that sealed the deal. We decided to name her "Izzy Ella Bella"!!

Hi, I'm Leelee. I've never had a blog before, so please bear with me as I learn the do's & don'ts. This just sounded like a fun thing to do, as I love to write. I tend to write really long e-mails to my friends, and most of them write really short and sweet e-mails back to me, soooo, I'm thinking maybe if I find a different avenue to express my thoughts, maybe, I'll be sparing them the agony of reading my long, possibly boring e-mails. Who knows? I've always wanted to write books, but, have never actually sat down and made that a reality, ...YET!!! One of these days....

A little about me......I live in mid-America, in a very small town of about 3,000-4,000 people. I've only lived in this town about 5-6 years, teaching at the local elementary school. I've taught Special Education for over 20 years. I have about 5-6 years left before I can retire. I went back to school about 14 months ago and became a licensed massage therapist. I graduated in July of this year and began practicing this profession immediately. I still teach during the day full-time, then, occasionally, after school, and on Saturdays, I work in a few clients. It will take awhile to build up a large clientele, but, I'm working on it. This is something I really love doing!!

Oops!! Have to go for now, one of our dogs got out!! Will tell you more later....:)