Day Makers

So, lately I have discovered that even on a bad day, something happens where you just have to laugh. Teaching middle schoolers gives me more stress, anxiety, and headaches then I ever would have thought, but there are also those moments that are "day makers"...

I thought I would share with you a few.

It has been Red Ribbon Week at both schools now and it is a whole week dedicated to talking about the effects of drugs and alcohol. The big kicker is that each day the students get to dress up. Well, one day was Team Spirit day and I decided to wear Randy's Carson Palmer jersey (Bengals). I was getting lots of grief for wearing it, and assumed I was the only one in the school supporting the Cincinnati team. Well, first period 8th grade comes in and the biggest boy in the class (who has really put forth effort and grown as an artist, and is the most unlikely person to like art) came in wearing a Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson jersey yelling and giving me high fives like we had just been a part of a scoring drive on the field. He LOVED the fact that we were the "duo" all day, which in doing so, made my day.

Since Halloween is coming up, I have asked the students what they are going to dress up as for Halloween. One 8th grade boy told me he was going to dress up as an open toilet. I laughed a little then said I didn't think that was very appropriate. Then I got to another student (and I should have known better because he's quite a character) and he looked at the other kid, pointed, and said "I'm going to go with him and be a giant terd!"

Last day of Red Ribbon Week is Celebrity day, but the catch is that students have to dress up as a celebrity who was NOT influenced by drugs....hmmmm. Anyways, this one boy looked at me and goes, "Mrs. Hartman, was Michael Jackson influenced by drugs?" Um, how do you answer that one?? Michael Jackson is this kid's IDOL..he keeps a sequin glove in his coat pocket at all times, and his portfolio is full of Jackson drawings.

Oh, and this picture is for Jen and Rob who sent Randy a birthday card that somehow got completely destroyed while making its way to Memphis. At least they put it in a nice new envelope for us! WHAT happened to this letter.....?

Red Box Hunt

Last night Randy and I went to a surprise 30th Birthday Party for a friend of ours through church. After eating pizza, popcorn, puppy chow (made by yours truly) and some cake, we all spent the evening playing Beatles RockBand. I had never played before and my scores showed!! How was I supposed to know which keys to follow on the guitar when it shows three different sets to follow? (I did get much better on the drums). I decided I really, really like the Beatles...there were so many songs I knew but didn't know it was the Beatles who sung them. Anyways, after the party Randy and I decided to get a redbox dvd and got Gran Torino. I fell asleep, but Randy said it was a good movie...Clint Eastwood's monotone voice put me out in the first hour. This morning, Randy put the dvd back in its case and made the comment that we needed to remember to take it with us to drop it off.

That's the last we have seen of it. Neither of us remember taking it down to the car, and the only logical conclusion is that Jack has HID IT!! All day he looks guilty, like he "knows something". If only cat's could talk, right?

Well, here's to finding the dvd within the next couple of days. If it stays lost we have to pay 25 dollars plus tax. For a couple that has already paid $165 in towing fees, and work on my Volvo this month, that is one hefty fee! And I was going to buy some jeans at Target today too....

not anymore! I guess we'll find it down the road and if anyone wants to buy it from us, be my guest!

Randy's Birffday

Randy turned the big 2-4 last week (it's fun calling him the baby NOW, but the day when I am 40 and he is 39 will NOT be fun!) and we have been so busy I have not been able to blog anything until now. But because Randy doesn't like me to make a "fuss" out of his birthday, there really isn't too much to write about.

My sister came in town last Monday for work and spent the night at our place. She took us to Central with another couple and Randy got his favorite wings for birthday celebration #1....he also received his first gift- a Reds t-shirt. (Thanks, Matthew and Jodi) The following day I had off (thank goodness) and I cooked all day while it did nothing but rain outside for birthday celebration #2. We had our couple friends over (some of Randy's dental school friends) for a Mexican Feast! We had homemade tortillas (Heather....best recipe ever!!) going on the griddle, with a do-it-yourself burrito bar. Yummmm.....complete with salsa, queso, and guac! Then for dessert we had triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Needless to say, I am still watching my sugar and carb intake after that delicious meal. The sad part of the night is that the boys had to study (what's new?) and we had to end the night early. I did manage to get everyone together for a picture.

Randy's actual birthday was the night of Parent/Teacher Conferences for me which meant I stayed at school until 7:30...yuck! When I did finally get home, we ate our second round of birthday cake (this time with ice cream) and watched our only TV night together on the couch. (birthday celebration #3) I gave Randy a card and his annual painting. He had already opened his other presents: Age of Empire computer game (which consumes all his time...what a dork!) and some workout band that he uses everyday.

Last but not least, we went to Nashville on Friday for family birthdays. We took my Aunt Sandi, and boy are we glad we did because she treated us with a Chinese buffet dinner in Jackson. (We were going to be content with Chick-fil-A but who can turn down Chinese buffets?). Saturday night we went out to eat pizza with the fam and then just Randy and I went to see The Invention of Lying. (Good movie, but the theatre was so cold I honestly thought by blood would freeze) Sunday was white chicken chili day with the whoooole family (minus my Pa) and everyone opened their cards and we ate cake. (birthday celebration #4) Other birthday goodies were a camo shirt (yes, Randy is going to try hunting) and some tennis shorts, socks, and UnderArmour. He also was showered with cards from the out-of-towners. All in all, I think he had a pretty good birthday and has nothing to complain about...I mean for someone who doesn't like birthdays, four celebrations is quite a big deal!

Birthday gang...Josh and Amanda are matching, haha.

Because they're just too cute for words, here are the pictures I got to take of Maximus and Rosie this weekend at the Tucker household.

The Cost of a Weekend

Here's how my weekend panned out....

Breakfast at the Island's Coffee Shop: $5

Cute dress and scarf at Old Navy (with coupon): $23

Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic: $1.89

Red Box Rental: $1.09

White Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake: $6.95

Getting Your Guest's Car TOWED in your own apartment complex: $165....CA$H

Yes, we have matching chinese dragon shirts, and yes, they are actually from China. Thanks, Mr. Weaver!

So I had been looking forward to this weekend for a loooooong time now. My old roomate and bestie, Kelsa, was coming to visit. One of my teacher friends asked on Friday if I was going to Nashville this weekend (this is our Fall Break, so we have Monday and Tuesday off)and I got to tell her, "Nope, Nashville is coming to me!!".

Well, Kelsey arrived late Friday night and we sat on the couch watching E! and talking for several hours before going to sleep. Saturday we walked to the coffee shop in the fall-is-here-over-night weather and then left to go shopping so Randy could study in peace and quiet. We went to my most favorite store here in Memphis, Toad Hall Antiques, and then to Old Navy. Our next stop was the Zoo, but apparently everyone else in Memphis was going to the zoo as well, and we decided we didn't want to waste $13 to fight the crowds and wait in line at each cage. Thirteen dollars, haha, oh how naive we were. Upon arriving to the apartment (I believe we were going to get my Joann coupons and go buy some Halloween crafts to occupy our time), Kelsa realized her car was not in the spot that she parked it the previous night. After being SURE, we went to the clubhouse and the nice woman told us that yes, in fact, cars were towed early that morning.....(so THAT is what Randy and I heard while doing our morning reading at the kitchen table). She tells us where to find the number and that she thinks it will cost over a hundred. We call, the man is rude, tells Kelsey $165 dollars and the address. Fifteen minutes later, we are driving to a portable with no address. After calling the people to ask where the invisible company is actually located, they inform us that they are closed, going to have to call someone in from out of town so we have 1 1/2 hours to kill, and that the money must be paid in cash. (The real kicker is that if we had actually gone to the zoo like we planned, they would have been closed and not let us get the car until Monday, meaning Kelsey would have missed work and the price would have gone up! Thank you, Memphians for overcrowding the zoo!)

Well, after sitting in the parking lot for 45 minutes, a man in a giant truck finally drove up to let us through the gate but, no, he doesn't have the right key (and he claimed to be the owner). Thus we wait for another guy to come, and are stuck talking to the big scary man blowing cigarette smoke towards our faces. Randy's advice before we left was to flirt with the guy, and although we tried, he was too interested in making his company sound like saints and telling us how they LOSE money that he never considered giving us a good deal. Actually, I take that back...he did offer to give Kelsey $5 to climb the high voltage electrical fence, claiming it didn't hurt as much as a taser. Kelsey asked if the tow could be free if he got to tase her, but he didn't take the bait and twenty minutes later, I had given up one hundred and sixty five dollars. The guy DID offer to tow someone for us as a practical joke sometime.....no thanks.

Despite this series of unfortunate events, I had a great weekend...and it definitely made for a memorable one. That night we went and ate sushi and then got cheesecake and a movie, and I really didn't seem to care too much after that...I mean what really can you do?!

Given Kelsa and Lynsa history, you would know that a lot of the time we are together we go looking for adventures and a good story and almost always end up in random situations. So had this been anyone else I would think it unfitting, but with Kelsa, it just added to our history.

Now on to Randy's birthday week.....

A Backyard Wedding

I cannot believe this weekend has already come and gone. Friday night Randy and I went out to eat some Mexican food, shopped for his upcoming birthday, and watched our tivo'd Flash Forward...which we have already become very much hooked on after two episodes. Saturday was spent in an art workshop from 8-4 for me. (Long day, but both educational and enjoyable) Randy experienced my usual Saturday of grocery shopping and he even washed my car! That night we went to a wedding in Binghampton, where we attend a house church each week. One of the couples we know got married in one of the backyards in the area, and it could not have been a prettier day for a wedding. John David and Jessica had the Burundis (African refugees who live in the area) sing during the ceremony, and then for the recessional they also were the first to go back down the aisle singing and playing the bongo drums, then formed a sort of tunnel for the wedding party to walk through during the singing. It was very powerful to hear, and brought many smiles to everyone there. The reception was also outside and was catered by CENTRAL bbq much to Randy and I's approval. Eating barbeque, drinking ale8 (which had to have an announcement that it in fact was not an alcoholic beverage) and watching all the little American and African children dancing under the tent was a great way to spend our evening. This one little boy, Motan, was my shadow the whole night and would not leave my side. When getting the after-dinner chai latte, Motan got a cup as well and drank it up in two minutes flat! What a cute kid. Randy and I have truly been blessed to be a part of this neighborhood, church, and family.

Here are some pictures:

The Burundi singing....notice the window in the background. The kids that were in that room opened their window and watched the entire wedding.

Randy and I at the reception. (Good thing I had that cardigan, it got coooold!)

First dance under the tent.

MoTAN!

Here is a video of our church home here in Memphis, Christ Community (when all the house churches come together once a month at the SOS building). This is the Burundi and Sudanese people singing and dancing to one of their worship songs. It's kind of long, but at least stay with it through the middle for when the women do their part.