another proud moment

today was the annual POGO chess tournament, and spencer tied for second place!  he was worried that he was going to get third, but when the points came in, they were all tied.  i think i may have "woo hoo-ed!" a little too loud when they called his name because i saw some people pointing at me!  that's ok.  i will always "woo hoo" for my boys!  

pic of the day #31

chess winner

i know he doesn't look very excited, but he was feeling pretty cruddy by this point.  his throat has been killing him since yesterday.  right now he's laying on the couch under two blankets fighting a fever.  poor guy.

quote of the day:  Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.  ~Author Unknown

longest short week

holy cow!  this has been the longest, short week EVER!  you'd think after missing three days of school that the kids would come back calmer than they were on monday anticipating the winter storm....WRONG!  i can't adequately describe the incessant chatter that was going on.  and how dumb was i to take them to the library to do research!

one student told me that their animal didn't even have a mother, it was born on it's own.  and another one was trying to find information about lions and one of the links was to the detroit lions.  she asked me what kind of lion that was!  if the description hadn't followed the link, i would have been a little more understanding but if she had just read she would have noticed it mentioning the NFL detroit lions!!!  oh....my....gosh!  they couldn't spell google or mongoose or biome or sloth or anything else!  i was about ready to scream!!!

but one nice part of my day was that because of all this research we've been doing about animals from the 6 major land biomes, one of my sweet students made panda cupcakes for all of us!  they were almost too cute to eat!

pic of the day #30

edible panda

oh, and another thing....if varmint #2 doesn't stop putting these bug stickers next to light switches, i'm gonna hang him by his toes!  i'm not scared of bugs, or anything, i'm just not used to one being next to the light switch every time i reach for it!  he was just putting them in his room, but this one crawled into the living room over the past few days!

it wasn't really a bad day.  i'm just grouchy because i don't feel good!  i have a cold or something that won't go away.  my nose is stopped up, but it keeps running!!!  how much sense does that make????  i blow and nothing comes out.  i just sit here and it starts dripping on its own! ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!  it's annoying!

quote of the day:  "If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers."  ~Edgar W. Howe  {so true some days! :)}

it's finally over

the days of being trapped inside because of the ice have ended.  it's back to school tomorrow. we finally got out of the house today and had lunch with gina, abbey and brett!  yum-o freddies! then the varmints and i went to hobby lobby and target.  

oh, and i also dragged to yet another antique store where colby got us in trouble!  i guess i should have known that their interest in antiquing would come to an end.  today was definitely the end!  somehow colby ended up with some doll (almost as tall as he is) in his arms and was dragging her around.  we were at the back of the store, and the next thing i know someone was back there asking if we were finding everything ok {meaning we don't want your kids messing with stuff!}  i totally understand that!  i should have been paying better attention to what they were doing!  i was too distracted by how funny he looked with that doll to realize he shouldn't be holding it!!!  such a bad mom!

while the boys were outside building this cute little guy:

pic of the day #29

snowman

i was inside finishing this happy little scarf!

after i finished my happy scarf i even graded some papers!  yay, me!  i wish i would have gotten them all done, but i didn't.  oh, well.

quote of the day:  "Snowmen fall from heaven unassembled."  ~unknown

another day at home

we didn't have school AGAIN today!  the sun was brightly shining today, but not enough to melt the ice all over the streets.  we don't have school AGAIN tomorrow!  this school year will never end!  since i was feeling better, i did some cleaning up around here....including the dog!  

rocky somehow managed to be right underneath colby when he spilled his entire danimals yogurt drink monday night.  so his hair was all matted and nasty feeling across his back.  plus his hair was so long, you couldn't even see his eyes!  so i grabbed the scissors, camera and vacuum and gave rocky a haircut and a bath!  it was like a day at the spa for him!

before the haircut

pic of the day #28

look at all that hair!

after the haircut...so handsome!

maybe tomorrow i'll finally get all those papers graded that i've lugged around for a week now!

quote of the day:  If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.  ~Andy Rooney

good day to stay home

pic of the day #27

view from my front window

this is the view from my front window this morning around 9:00.  there was no way i was stepping foot outside today!  i don't like snow and ice!  plus i feel like crud today.  it was a good day to stay home in bed.  i took nyquil around noon, crawled in bed and started watching three amigos.  i only made it to the part where they are singing around the campfire, and then i was out!  i slept until daryl woke me up around 5:45 tonight!  he thinks i won't be able to sleep tonight since i took such a long nap today, but naps when you are sick don't count!

so i'm going to take some more nyquil in a little bit and go back to bed!

quote of the day: "When a cow laughs, does milk come out its nose?"  ~author unknown

the ice storm cometh

pic of the day #26

the ice storm cometh

the ice storm is upon us.  i really hope it's not like last time.  so far, i haven't heard of any power outages!  that is wonderful!

school was cancelled for tomorrow by 4:30 this afternoon.  i wasn't surprised, but now that means we have to make up this day AFTER memorial day!  boo!  it's supposed to sleet and then snow tomorrow, so i wouldn't be surprised if it's cancelled for wednesday, too.

i should use this extra time to clean my house, but i probably won't.  i'll probably be lazy and watch tv and knit!  i'm working on another scarf for me, and it's looking really cute!  it will be my picture of the day when i get it finished.  if i had a book to read, i'd probably do that, too, but i finished reading the host so now i don't have one.  that book was really good!  it wasn't at all what i expected!  

quote of the day:  Above all else: go out with a sense of humor.  It is needed armor.  Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.  ~Hugh Sidey

family tradition

pic of the day #25

AFV

every sunday night after church my family and i sit down together and watch AFV...america's funniest videos.  it's hysterical!  we laugh at others' stupidity and pain, and it's great!  have you ever noticed that usually the dumbest and most painful videos are all starring BOYS!  why is that?  

in the bottom right corner of the picture above is our winter weather advisory.  supposedly we have some nasty weather starting tomorrow including freezing rain.  that's what caused the power outages all over tulsa in december 2007.  i definitely don't want a repeat of that!  we were without power for 4-5 days.  the first night, it was fun "roughing it" and hanging out in front of the fireplace playing scrabble in the dark.  it didn't take long for the fun to go away.  the next day, we trekked over to gina's house in jenks where they had power!

we missed a week of school during that storm, and i definitely don't want to miss any days!  yes, the break would be nice, but when you have to make up those days at the end of may, it's just not worth it!  snow days stink when there is no snow!

quote of the day:  "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."  ~from the movie An Affair to Remember.

simply saturday

this morning daryl, the boys and i went to the tulsa home and garden show.  it's been widely publicized as a great event.  i must say i was extremely disappointed.  it was super crowded, and most of the exhibits were contractors for gutters, roof-work or pools.  oh well.

since daryl doesn't have to preach tomorrow, he didn't have to spend the day preparing a sermon, so i left him here with the boys!  i didn't really know what i wanted to do, but i didn't care.  it was quiet time for mom.  ahhhh........  i ended up in coweta looking for antique stores.  i only found one, and it was closed. {bummer}.  the building itself looked antique!  the sign on the door said open by chance or by appointment.  i'm very tempted to call and set up an appointment.

photo of the day #24

antique antique store

quote of the day:  "If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies."  ~author unknown

good day

it's finally friday!  i didn't used to live for the weekends, but this year at school has changed all that!  i'm telling you these kids are making me earn my paycheck!

tonight i got to hang out with my amigas and create!  i was all prepared to create a photo album about our route 66 trip, and i got about 8 photos printed and my printer ran out of ink!!!  arg! but the night wasn't a total disappointment...i got to spend quality time with friends, and we laughed A LOT!  and another cool part of the evening was that my awesome friend, gina, brought me this:

an old typewriter that makes noise and everything!!!  how cool is that?

pic of the day #23

this is my typewriter

quote of the day:  "Let's face it.  Farting makes you feel good no matter when you do it!"  ~Lisa Howe (said tonight while we were creating)

happy yarn

pic of the day #22

happy yarn

check out this happy yarn!  since i've learned how to knit, i've become intrigued with yarn!  i can't pass it up when i'm at hobby lobby, michaels or wal-mart.  i have to go look at it and touch it!  i bought some chenille yarn tonight in really bright colors!  i'm going to make a scarf out of it just for me!  it will be like wearing a rainbow or cupcake sprinkles around my neck!  how fun!

quote of the day:  "What?  This is no time to kiss!  Do the action!"  

~Colby, as he was watching The Incredibles.  This was right after Mr. Incredible tells Mrs. Incredible that he's not strong enough to lose her again, and they kiss.

bat in the belfry

pic of the day #21

dead bat

not a very exciting day today.  the kids at school were too talkative...nothing unusual there!

we had a little excitement after church tonight when someone discovered a dead bat on the staircase!  since i had nothing else for my pic of the day, i thought this would be perfect!  i've never seen a dead bat in a church before!

and thanks to my buddy, lisa, for today's quote!  love it!

quote of the day:  "Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, 'Oh no...she's awake!'" ~unknown to me

happy plastic

pic of the day #20

target gift card

i just got a free $15 gift card from target in the mail today!  woo hoo!

several months ago i got an email from target asking if i would like to take part in a survey for teachers.  if i answered 3 surveys by email in 3 months, they would send me a $15 gift card!  how fun is that?  giving my opinion and getting paid for it!!!

quote of the day:  "Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead where there is no path, and leave a trail."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

finally!

i blogged too soon tonight!  i had to come back and change my picture of the day from my banana, yogurt, crunch yumminess to this:

pic of the day #19

first lost tooth!

colby finally lost his first tooth!  he kept complaining during supper that his tooth hurt when he bit something, so i asked him if it was loose and sure enough, it was!  he wiggled on it a little, and then he let me at it...3 tries from me and it was OUT!  i tried to get it while i was holding a tissue, but his tooth was so small that i couldn't get a good grip on it.  i had to use fingernails to get that little booger!  the hole it left is way bigger than the tooth!  {the bottom picture is his tooth compared to a small paperclip!}

quote of the day:  Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

mlk day

since today is martin luther king, jr. day, we didn't have school!  it was so nice to sleep in this morning and wake up knowing i only have a 4-day work week this week!

if you've been reading my blog, then you know i challenged you to find the happy things in your life today.  we are going to prove that man in the UK wrong about january 19th being the most unhappy day of the year.  i'll post my list of 19 happy things later tonight.

this is one of the happy things in my life right now:  yogurt, bananas and kashi's go lean crunch!

since dad's heart attack last week, i've really been watching what/how much i eat.  i was blessed to have been in the room when dad talked to the nutritionist about foods that are heart healthy.  i have so many risk factors going against me that i've got to start doing something now!  so last week, i really paid attention and ate heart healthy foods.  without even suffering or feeling deprived and hungry, i lost 3.5 pounds!  i was surprised and excited!  i'm glad that 3 pounds are gone but now it's not just because i'm 3.5 pounds lighter, but because i'm 3.5 pounds healthier.

change is my word for the year, and so far it's proven to be a good choice.  i've been praying that god will help me make this change of eating healthy a permanent change.  i've even asked him to make bad-for-me-foods taste nasty, too, so that i won't want them!

antiques

i like going to antique stores.  there's something about old stuff at a cheap price that makes me smile.  today i went to the river city trading post in jenks with nellie and gina.  i was instructed not to spend any money, so i just took pictures of some of the things i wanted to buy!  for some reason, though, i didn't take a picture of the typewriter i REALLY wanted.  it was only $12.50!  but here is a picture of an old adding machine that was so cool!

pic of the day #18

old adding machine

quote of the day:  "People who snore always fall asleep first."  ~author unknown

another good day...

this morning i woke up and decided i was going to edmond to visit my dad and to take my mom's coat back to her.  so that's what i did.  the varmints and i piled in the car and headed west around 9:30 this morning.  i called dad to make sure someone was going to be home because mom's coat was being delivered today.  he asked, "delivered by who?"

so i said, "what do you mean by who?  doesn't your mailman bring packages to the door if they don't fit in the mailbox?"

i hated to lie, but i really wanted to surprise them!  it worked!  we only stayed for a little bit, but that's ok.  the whole reason we wanted to move back to oklahoma was so we could be close enough to family to make a trip to see them in a day.

on the way home the varmints decided they wanted to take the scenic route on 66 (of course i didn't object!)  we stopped at the round barn in arcadia and went inside.  it's nothing spectacular to see, but if you go up to the top and stand in the very center, you can speak softly and it sounds like you are yelling!  it echoes all around you, but you are the only one who can hear it!  it's so cool!  here's what the top of the barn looks like on the inside:

then we stopped a few miles down the road at this place that has a car sticking out of the side of the building and all kinds of things in the yard.  the sign said parking, so we assumed it was ok to be there.  i've passed it many times and always wanted to stop to check it out.  i never did figure out exactly what the place was, but the guy just had lots of signs and things that were from route 66.  he even had a sonic pole with the menu still attached!

then we drove around arcadia a little bit (it's not that big) hoping to find an antique store.  we didn't find one, but we did find an interesting house that had a really cool old truck in the front yard

and the weirdest things hanging in their carport....teletubbies!!! (as if teletubbies weren't creepy enough all on their own!)

pic of the day #17

why are there teletubbies hanging from their carport?

we stayed on route 66 through bristow.  it was 4:30 and i knew that any antique stores we might find would be closing soon.  so i got back on the turnpike and headed home.

colby and i cleaned his room tonight (ugh) and then i washed the mountain of dishes that seemed to appear overnight!  as i was finishing up, i noticed that colby's fish had died.  i brought the fish bowl into the kitchen to rescue the poor fish because colby had stopped feeding it.  maybe i should have left it in colby's room!  when i told colby that his fish was dead, he said, "sweet!  what are we going to do with it?"

i told him we were going to flush it down the toilet and he just laughed.  when he took the fish to be flushed i could hear him shouting, "yeah!  this is going to be awesome!"  then i heard the toilet flush and an explosion of giggles from colby!

then he came in the kitchen and asked, "can i get another fish now?"

speaking of colby....my quote of the day comes from him!  as we were driving today, this random question came at me from the backseat:

quote of the day:  "Mom, do you know anyone who is psychotic besides me and Spencer?" ~Colby Man

bummer

pic of the day #16

it broke.

the necklace/key chain/id badge holder thingy i attach my whistle and school keys to broke today.  i've had it almost as long as i've been teaching!  i guess i'll have to go to wal-mart and get another one.

i heard something weird on the radio today...some guy in the UK used some formula and calculated that monday, january 19th is going to be the unhappiest day of the year!  i've never heard such a thing!  isn't each day what you make of it?

so i'm going to prove him wrong, and for my post monday night, i'm going to list all the happy things from monday, january 19th!  why don't you join me?

quote of the day: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to 

pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain." ~unknown to me

holy cow!

pic of the day #15

holy cow, it's snowing!

i had no idea it was going to snow today!  we opened the garage door this morning to leave for school, and it was snowing!  i don't think the temperature got above 20 degrees today.  it was miserably cold, and it stopped snowing way too soon!

tonight we went to park lane's skate night at BA Roller Sports.  this is my 3rd year teaching at park lane, and so far i managed to avoid having to go to skate night.  i honestly don't remember volunteering to go.  jill told me tonight that she thinks she signed me up to go with her back at the beginning of the year!  that would explain why i don't remember doing it!

colby had a great time!  spencer on the other hand....not so much.  colby kept falling down, but he got right back up again.  he started off on the carpet and then slowly worked his way onto the floor.  he even asked our counselor to skate with him!  i couldn't believe it!  he was so fun to watch!

quote of the day: "Dang, it's cold!"  ~me

p.s.  i just read on stacy julian's blog that simple scrapbooks magazine will be no more.  that is so sad for me!  that's my favorite magazine!

pic of the day catch-up

i'm sleepy, so i'm not going to say a lot tonight except thanks for all the prayers!  my dad is doing much better now.  he got to come home today, and is much happier about not being in the hospital.

here are the pics of the day that i haven't posted:

pic of the day #9

fun antique store in siloam springs

pic of the day #10

weird bird in a weird store, eureka springs

pic of the day #12

dad's new do (so cute)

pic of the day #13

pappy's chickens

pic of the day #14

spelling bee

quote of the day:  "If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't for you."

please pray

pic of the day #11

dad

this is my dad.  i was going to blog about my wonderful weekend away with my husband, but i'll have to save that for another time.  this is more important.

tonight, i need all of you who read this to pray for my dad.  i got a call from my sister tonight saying that dad had been taken to the hospital with chest pains.  the ekg showed no signs of a heart attack, but one of the tests showed something not right with his heart.  he was transferred to the heart hospital.

the doctor did a heart cath and found that one of his 3 main arteries was 100% blocked, so he put a stint in to restore blood flow.  one of the other arteries is 80-85% blocked, which is dangerous, but for right now they are going to treat that with medicine.  the nurse told my sister that the worst is over and she didn't need to have out of town family come in, but i don't care!  that's MY dad, and i'm going to go see him in the morning.

i've always dreaded getting THAT phone call saying that something has happened to one of my parents.  i have just been sick at my stomach thinking about him tonight.  i love my dad.  he is amazing!

he's strong, funny, caring and he loves the lord.  he was a strict father growing up, but i'm glad. i wouldn't be who i am without my parents.  dad's also a bit ornery, and i'm afraid that some of that orneriness got passed through the genes straight to colby!  

i hate the thought of my dad lying in a hospital bed, but i'm so glad that the doctors were able to treat him.  i'm not ready for my dad to go home yet.  i hope god can wait a long while longer.

quote of the day:  "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right."  ~my dad

pony tail

pic of the day #8

pony tail

LOOK!!!  my hair is finally long enough for a pony tail!  i wore it like this to school today for the first time, and i was amazed at the number of comments i got!  i only did it because i was in a hurry to make it to our 7:45 meeting, so i didn't fix it!  

i won't be blogging for the next couple of days because i am going away for the weekend with my man!  grandma is here to watch the varmints and we are outta here!  

quote of the day:  "Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones.  And when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.  God is awake."  ~Victor Hugo

not a real flip-flop

pic of the day #7

flip-flop

lately colby has discovered that it's fun to harass the dog by taking his toys and running around the house with him.  since rocky is so small he can't really hurt colby, so colby's not afraid of him.  he'll run and giggle while rocky chases him and barks at him.  then colby will hold the toy up high enough so he can watch rocky try to jump up and grab it.

tonight he thought it would be even more fun to actually wear one of rocky's toys and run with it.  so i would hear, "thud (foot with no toy), squeak (toy flip flop), giggle.  thud, squeak, giggle, bark!"

life in my home is never dull!

quote of the day:  "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."  ~John Quincy Adams

bonus!

yes, i'm blogging twice today but that's because i just have to share this picture i just got!

my brother got an email from one of his friends who had this picture, and she thought i would enjoy it because i'm in it!  

somewhere out in facebook world is this picture of some people in mrs. norris's junior high english class  (i'm so old that i can't remember if this was 7th or 8th grade!  i think it was 8th)!!!  and yes, i am in it!  can you spot me?

funny farm

everyday on the way to school we pass a big farm.  it has horses and cows and all the farm equipment, but it also has a unique assortment of other animals.  this morning all of them were in the field together so i got their pictures!!!  (i love animals!)

i'm not sure if this is a buffalo or a bison!

a donkey!  too cute!

pic of the day #6

what are you looking at?

a llama (or an alpaca?)

i was stopped in the middle of the road and this guy was the closest to the fence.  i was there for a little while and he finally lifted his head a just stared at us!  it was so cool!!!

i want to get a better picture of the buffalo/bison.  he's usually way back in the field so it's hard for me to get a good shot.

quote of the day:  "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  

~Reinhold Niebuhr

                                                           

bizarre book...

pic of the day #5

the host

this is definitely one of the weirdest books i have read, but i'm really enjoying it!  it is the first book by the author of the twilight series, and it's about these aliens that come to earth and take over the humans.  the aliens are a peaceful group and they come to wipe out the violent humans.  i didn't think i would like it because i've heard several people say they hated it, but i guess i'm just weird!

if i can keep my eyes open, i'm going to go read some more tonight.

quote of the day:  "There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." ~Winston Churchill

love-hate relationship

pic of the day #4

there is a love-hate relationship between these two items and me, and they are both located on my nightstand.

 i absolutely adore the item on the left!!!  it is the control for my side of our electric heating pad.  each night about an hour or two before i go to bed, i crank that baby up as high as it will go, open a window (or patio door sometimes) to cool off the room and shut the bedroom door behind me.  when it's time for bed, our room is so cold you could hang meat in there!!! but then i crawl into my warm covers and just sigh....ahhhhh.....  

the item on the right makes me cringe when i look at it.  it's my alarm clock.  i haven't used it in two weeks, and it's been divine.  i don't even use it on sundays to get up for church.  i make daryl set his alarm, and when it goes off he tells me to get up!  i know that makes absolutely no sense, but who cares?  i hate alarm clocks that much!!!  but tomorrow i have to use it again because it's time to go back to work after my long winter break.  bleh...  i know all of you people with "real jobs" have already gone back, but those of us with easy jobs who get our summers and holidays off are just now getting our lazy carcasses up and returning to work.  i hate getting out of my warm bed and into a cold shower.  i will hit snooze on the alarm clock for about an hour before i actually get up!  thank goodness daryl has learned to deal with that!

so i'm going to bed now.  time to get rested up for the chaos that awaits me tomorrow!  (i just hope my hermit crabs didn't die over the break!  if they did, it's going to STINK in my classroom!)

quote of the day:  "That which does not kill us only makes us stronger." ~Steel Magnolias

wii exercise

  

tonight i decided i need to CHANGE my sedentary lifestyle and get off my hiney!  i watched a show last night about living healthier and this guy hung a punching bag in his garage and punched the snot out of it for his exercise!  i thought it would be so much fun to have a punching bag in my garage, but i know that will never happen.  so the next best thing is wii boxing!!!!  a couple of minutes of wii boxing and i'm sweating, panting and hurting!!!  

i set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes and duked it out with spencer and colby.  i kept myself moving between rounds by walking/jogging in place.  we alternated boxing and tennis.  the time went by surprisingly fast!  of course i didn't win a single boxing or tennis match,  but exercising AND enjoying it was the real win for me!  woo hoo!

photo of the day #3

wii exercise

quote of the day:  "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."  ~Maria Robinson

i like buttons!

i admit it!!!  there is just something about them that make me smile!  i get excited when i go into an antique store and find an old jar full of them!  i love searching through the jar and finding the treasure buttons...those that just speak to me.

so what makes a button special?  it's a lot of different things.  it could be 

one or more of these characteristics:  color, shape, size, texture, design.  i look for buttons that are different from all the plain round ones with 2 or 4 holes.  here are some of the ones i found today!!!

photo of the day #2

buttons!

all of these colorful little treasures were in one  jar!!!  there was not a single 'bad' button in the bunch!  how happy!!!

quote of the day:  "The important thing is this:  To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."  ~Charles Dubois

welcome 2009!

it's here....another new year.  it's the time when people reflect on the past year, blessings and disappointments, and start to plan for this year.  they make resolutions.  i've made the same one every year since i got fat!  "I'm going to lose weight this year."  and have i done that yet?  obviously not!!!  the only new year's resolution i've ever kept is to read the bible in a year.  i'm happy to say that i accomplished that goal in 2007.

so this year, i'm not making resolutions....i'm making a CHANGE.  

that's my one word for this year.  i choose a word to be my theme word, my focus word...last year my word was TODAY.  so after much percolating (love that word, nellie!), i've decided that CHANGE is the most meaningful word for me.

one of my absolute favorite quotes is from Ghandi and it reads:

Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world.

 if i want my children to eat healthier and move more, then i'm going to have to make that CHANGE too.  if i want people to speak more kindly, then i'm going to have to watch what comes out of my mouth.

so it's time for a CHANGE in my world.  i'm not going to make drastic CHANGES right off the bat.  it's going to be small and significant ones.  the first CHANGE health-wise is giving up dr. pepper and all forms of soft drinks.  i'm addicted to them, and there is absolutely nothing nutritional about them.  i'm happy to say that i made it through today without one!!!  i know that probably doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but trust me, it's a HUGE thing for me.  i can do this one day at a time.  this moment is the only one i can sort of control.

i'm also going to try to blog daily and include a photo of the day as well as a quote of the day!  

so here's my first picture of the day for 2009:

it's an 'A' for amy!!

and the quote of the day is:

Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world.  ~Ghandi