randomness

Well, it's about 11pm on a Saturday night and I'm blogging. Well, actually I'm baking cookies, doing laundry, AND blogging in the meantime. What an exciting twenty-something life I lead. haha. Don't worry--I actually have a date tomorrow so that will be fun (:

Here is just a little run-down of some recently happenings for my two faithful readers, Rebekah and Melissa.

*My Dad's mom, Betty June Turner Shuler, passed away last Saturday. You can read her obituary here. I think it sums up her life pretty well. We are sad for the loss of her here on earth but grateful that she is free from the body that failed her so miserably over the past 8 years or so. Praise God that she is reunited with D.J, but it's still hard to believe that she's gone.

*School has started! I am teaching 6th grade this year. They are funnier than I thought they would be...but also as needed as I DID think that they would be. This year is going to be challenging in a lot of new ways but I think it's going to be great. Here's to Year 7! Wow--seven years. Who would've thought?

*I went to a high school Cross Country meet last night to see some kids run and actually got to see students from 3 and 4 years ago. They have all matured so nicely and it put teaching in perspective. I love seeing them once they've grown up a little. It would have been nice, however, if a couple of them would have been better behaved while they were in my class. Oh well!

*Hooray for Labor Day Weekend! If only every weekend was 3 days long...

*I decided on the iPod Classic. So far, so good. Thanks to everyone who contributed their two cents.

*I will be 29 in less than two weeks. I am freaked out about this birthday. Not sure why, except that it's the last year of my twenties. Goodness, I'm getting old. It is really hard not to compare where I am in my life versus where I thought I would be.

*Matthew (my baby brother) is moving to Idaho in a week or so to do a DTS with YWAM. From there he will go to India. Rebekah--I tried so hard to get him to go to Australia so you could look out for him. This is a huge transition for him, as he's leaving his job at BP to pursue a new direction. I am proud of him for his decision.

*My college friend, Keira, just lost her father this past Tuesday. She's in Thailand doing mission work but was able to go back to Colorado. My heart hurts for her, and I can't imagine losing my Dad at this age.

Well, that's about all I have for now. I'll try to have some more focused posts in the near future!

it's all starting to make sense

Even though we are supposed to embrace our individuality when it comes to physical appearances, we all have certain people that we admire for specific outstanding features. For example, I was watching a commercial today for Pantene and thought, "I would kill for that Maria Menounos' hair." This is not the hairdo from the ad, but you can still tell that she has a great head of hair:

For guys, I have heard one common aspiration that they have when they get on a work-out/health kick. It never meant much to me until last night. I have heard the following phrase more times than I can count: "I want to look like Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club'". After watching this movie for the first time last night, I get it. Gentlemen, you all have my blessing to aspire to resemble this...sans cigarette and black eye (:

PTL!!

Oh, and the movie was sooo different than what I thought. It has left me with a few questions and was much more poignant than I would have imagined.

something's gotta give

I know I have posted on this particular topic before, but I really need to stop one of my worst habits: Diet soda. As much as it pains me to give up one of my little earthly joys, I have to quit. I'm convinced that our bodies were not designed to handle aspartame and all of its possible side effects. Water is ok...I can learn to love it again. And don't people who carry water bottles around just kind of have an appearance of health? Ah, yes. That will be me.
So long, my dear friend...

Please don't stop the music

Yes, the title of this post is also the name of an incredibly obnoxious Rhianna song, but it seemed fitting. A couple of weeks ago, my precious little Civic was broken into. The passenger side window was busted and my little mp3 player was gone. Now, I was a little excited about the prospect of shopping for a new mp3 player because my other one had a lot of music on it that I didn't want anymore. And there was some kind of glitch with the software that wouldn't let me take it off, so space for new songs was limited.
So, I am now in the market for a new device. I am about 95% sure that I am going with an Apple this time.
Here are the options:
The iPod Classic







Cost: $249
Pros: Can hold up to 20,000 songs so I would never be short on space
Cons: It is kind of big for running, and that's one of my main uses for it. Has anyone used this while working out? Help!

The Nano








Cost: $199 for 4G
Pros: Compact and great for running...should be enough space since it holds 2,000 songs
Cons: Dollar for dollar, I could get a lot more space with the classic

I think the iPod Touch is pretty cool, but I don't think I need to spend that much money. Also, the thought of having wireless access everywhere I go just makes me think I would never have human-to-human contact again. ha.

So, if anyone is still reading this, please give me your thoughts/opinions/experiences. I am open to other brands as well. I really liked my Sansa player but the thought of syncing up to iTunes just sounds so much easier.

I'm still alive

Ok Rebekah...this one's for you, friend (:

For whatever reason, I have not felt compelled to blog at all over the past few months. Part of me thinks it's incredibly narcissistic to think that anyone cares about my little life. But, my dear little friend, Rebekah, says that this is her 'lifeline'. Boy, have I let her down! This summer, I've had a few fun experiences, learned some new things, and have spent lots of time with family and friends. There is a lot on my heart and in my head, but I'm not quite ready to get back into full blogging mode. So, I like to think of this attempt to re-enter as a baby step. It will be light on substance and photos, but I think the juices might start flowing for future blogs after a while. We shall see...

Here is a list of some things I've done this summer:
--I went on a cruise to New England/Canada with my parents and brother. It was their 30th
anniversary and they wanted to take their kids with them since we're "not married yet". Ha.
It was a good time overall but 7 days is a bit long to be on a ship with hundreds of senior
citizens.

--I have rediscovered my love of reading and it's been so great. This summer I have read: "The
Other Boleyn Girl", "The Last Summer of You and Me", "My Sister's Keeper", "Twilight" (now
I'm working on the 2nd book in the series "New Moon"), "The Nanny Diaries", "The Prince",
and now I'm working on "The Reason for God".

--I have had more of a tan this summer than I have had in years. Love it!

--I love love love sundresses! Seriously, this discovery has been so wonderful and freeing. They are fun and flirty and you don't have to fix your hair to look like you made an effort to look cute--perfect!

--I have been stressed about watering my foundation during all of this heat. Home ownership
has been great until this summer. I also need a new roof due to the storms in March & April.

--I got a new car over Memorial Day Weekend....here is a pic of what it looks like, color and all:














--I have learned that boys will always confuse me. And when I say 'boys', I also mean grown men in their 30's. But, I am also learning to appreciate someone who is brutally honest at where they are at in their life....even if it's not what I always want to hear. More on this in another post (:

--Teachers are some of the rudest people ever. After attending an AP Institute this week, I was surprised at how insanely disrespectful these people were towards our instructor. Granted, he wasn't the most dynamic speaker ever, but the poor guy was trying.

Okay...
Now, I only have two weeks left of summer so here is a short list of things I'd like to accomplish before I go back into the real world:
--Cut out letters and make my own posters for the classroom.
--Get cool fabric for the bulletin boards
--Deep clean my closets
--Figure out how to get the shine back in my marble floors after a spill from the other night
--Work out every day
--Finish "New Moon"
--Lay out one more time
--Pick out my outfits for inservice (the first day of school is easy since we have to wear a faculty
shirt w/jeans...yea!)
--Make a new budget
--Think of ways to simplify
--Write a mission statement for my class
--Pray for my future students and that I can be all that they need me to be this year.

That's all I've got for now...there will hopefully be more to come!!!