Cake Decorating Graduation :-)

It's soooo cold here in Atlanta! The high is in the 30s today! I might get out of work tomorrow...40% chance of snow tonight! Woo hoo! I'd love to be able to stay home and watch the whole innaguration tomorrow, instead of just the swearing in with my kids :-)

I finished the 2nd class of Wilton Cake decorating. I loved it! Here's my "graduation" cake :-) We have been working on the flowers throughout the 4 classes. I'm so excited w/ how it turned out! I was going to start the next course tonight, but I've decided to put it off a a little bit! It's the gum paste course and the starting supplies were going to cost a hundred dollars! So...since I haven't been paid since December 19th...ugh...plz end of month get here!!!, I decided to hold off for a bit. I also want to concentrate on going to the gym for awhile.

I had my first wellness coach appt last week. I'm sooo impressed with the YMCA! I meet with the coach once a month for the first 6 months. She got me started on a plan, targeting areas that I wanted and she'll adjust it when she meets with me again :-) Love the little computer system they have going! You sign in your code and it tells you what weight you lifted last time, what to adjust the foot/seat to, etc. I love that it has a little bar that goes up and down with your reps. That way...if you cheat and don't go all the way to the top and to the bottom, the rep doesn't count :-) He he...And of course I would never try to cheat.....

Well, I'm off to grade papers :-) Hopefully, I'll be playing in the snow tomorrow! xoxo, Jill

New Years Resolutions

Usually I think that making a new years resolution is a crock, just an excuse to indulge in vices at the end of year. However, I've decided to make a few myself this year. No...not the cliched working out one (though I do plan to do that..thanx for the YMCA tip Stacie). My new years resolution is to spend more quiet time with myself and leisurely activities. I feel like I flew through college w/o appreciating much, then was so busy moving 2000 miles from home and getting used to GA, then trying to survive my first couple years teaching, and finally almost went insane doing grad school and teaching. I feel it's finally time to slow down. I resolve to start writing again. I used to love writing stories, poems, and in a journal every night. I don't remember the last time I sat down to write for fun, instead of a school assignment. I resolve to spend quiet time knitting and sewing. I resolve to spend time playing my wii, which I completely enjoy, but never seem to make enough time to do. And finally, I resolve to work on some puzzles during the year. I haven't put together a puzzle in 20 years and I worked on one in California with my family. It was so nice to just relax and do a quiet activity. I've never been a person that enjoys life unless there's a million things going on at once and I'm stretched competely thin. So, Happy New Year, and here is to some quiet leisurely time!
xoxo, Jill

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I've had a wonderful time in California over the last 2 weeks! It has been so nice visiting with my family and friends.

Had a little Christmas gathering on the 23rd at my dad's.I made a roast and we played games :-)

Ironically, Dad had Christmas off this year, but Amy had to go to work! But she didn't go in until 3:30, so we had a nice family time before. Daddy and I headed to Katie, Jason, and Amy's apt around 12 (our fam. now gets started late...no 4 am mornings like when we were kids!). We ate, opened gifts, played new games, ate some more, and just relaxed!

My friends and I had decided to have a quiet New Years this year. What we didn't anticipate was having to hike up and down Haskell Cyn Rd for an hour in the dark! OMG...Jess left her purse on top of the car when we left the grocery store. We discovered it 20 minutes later, raced back to the store, searched the parking lot, and found nothing. Luckily, there are still some nice people in the world and a couple driving down Haskell saw it on the side of the road and picked it up. Jess's phone number was on her checks, so we got it back. Unfortunately, it was a bit windy and her drivers license, social security card, 4 credit cards, her inhalers, and a bunch of receipts had blown away. So....in my little black heels, cute jeans, and little pink shirt...I walked up and down Haskell Cyn Rd. with Jessica and Audra searching the streets for missing items. We walked up and down for an hour..but....I found her drivers license and social security card! So...it was well worth looking like a hooker on New Years Eve. The rest of the evening was uneventful. We all went back to dad's and ate and played wii until about midnight (btw JESSICA...I did not cheat during Smarty Pants :-)

I'm looking forward to the new year. But I enter 2009 with a heavy heart. Katie is not doing well. She wasn't able to leave the house since I got here and is almost always on oxygen. She needs a new pair of lungs. Please pray that lungs will become available soon....

A couple more days and I'll be home. I miss Shawn and my doggies!! Happy New Years friends! xoxo, Jill