Happy day, my love!

 There are many reasons why I love J:

• He is unabashedly nerdy, with his video games, computers, and Dungeons and Dragons.
• Even though he keeps me on an allowance, he is generous on the inside.
• He dreams about being a father (mostly so he can have kids to play video games with).
• He puts up with my whining, and doesn't mind that I'm high maintenance.
• Even though his jokes are terrible, he makes me laugh.
• I may always be right, but he challenges me.
• He has dreamy green eyes with the longest lashes you'll ever see.
• Even though I turned 30 before him, he'll still maintain that I'm 29.

Happy Birthday, Jason.  I hope that 30 is your best year yet!

Blogging, blogging, blogging!

I'm just blogging all over the place these days!


My good friend has an event planning business in Boise, Idaho.  She writes a blog full of great features and ideas for her business.  She has an occasional "guest contributor."  This time, it's me!!  I was asked to write a feature about my wedding day, a day J and I will most certainly never forget!

So check out my first stint as guest contributor at Heart and Crown Events!

What do you think?

What do you think is going through OMG Cat's mind?  Clearly she's seen something quite shocking.  Jaw-dropping, one might say.  I've come up with a few ideas of what she might be thinking...

• OMG!  There goes my kitty boyfriend walking down the street with that milkaholic Lindsey!
• OMG!  The dog is actually eating out of my litter box!  Gross.
• OMG!  You bought that pick camouflage jacket, and you expect me to wear it? 

Jason had an idea, as well...

• OMG!  A midget clown washing the dishes!

What do you think?

My Favorite Drink

I love my job.  Before moving to this new position this year, it had been six years since I had worked with kindergarteners.  I had absolutely forgotten how much I loved them until they came back into my life this year!  I currently work with five small groups of little ones a day; three kindergarten groups and two first grade groups.  Although the first graders are ultra cute and sweet, they lack a tiny bit of the innocence that the kindergarteners have.  They're more careful about just blurting things out, for fear of embarrassment.

Kindergarteners know no such fear.

My students are always saying funny or cute or ridiculous things that make me laugh.  For example:

• A few weeks ago one of my students said (at 11:15): "Mrs. Anderson!  I know what time it is!  It's eleventy-three!"
• Mrs. Anderson: "What's a word that starts with the letter g?"  Student: "Gangsta!"
• A neat freak whose supply drawer was messy: "My drawer is a catastrophe!!"
• At snack time, a little boy had forgotten to bring his snack: "I ain't got no snack!"  Me, correcting his grammar: "I don't have any snack."  Student, exasperated: "Well I don't have any, either!!"

This list could go on and on!

One of a teacher's greatest fears is that some day, a student is going to say something inappropriate, and we won't be able to hold back our laughter.  I had one of those moments today.

Mrs. Anderson, trying to give the kindergarten students hints about words that start with w: "What's something that we drink?"

Student answer: "BEER!"

And that was all she wrote, my friends.  I immediately laughed out loud, which of course set the rest of the students into fits of giggles.  It took me several minutes before I could explain that"WATER" was the word I was actually going for.

Have I said yet that I love my job?

Here's to the good old days...or not?

Today I've been reminiscing about the good old days, when I could simply go to the grocery store, put whatever I wanted to eat that week into my cart, and check out.

Those days are gone.

J is what you might call frugal.  For those of you who knew me before he came into my life, you know this is probably a good thing for me!  Shopping used to be my favorite pastime, and saving was not my forte.  (One look into my shoe closet demonstrates this point.  And yes, I do have a separate closet just for my shoes.)  However, I have since embraced fiscal responsibility.  And the grocery store is where I'm at my best!

Saving money on groceries is great.  All of the work I go through to save that money, however, is a little crazy!  My style of shopping is not for rookies.  I have reached major league status here.

Before I can leave for the store, I have to prepare:

• Coupon binder (yes, I said binder)- check!
• Shopping list, organized by meals I plan on cooking that week- check!
• Circulars to review, to make sure I'm getting important sale items- check!
• Canvas shoulder bags, so I can be "green"- check!  (Okay, truth be told, I forget these all.the.time.  They should really be on my pre-grocery store checklist!)

Once I ensure that I have all vital items, I set out on my grocery shopping quest.  This is where the REAL craziness begins.  I typically hit three to four stores in a given week , so that I can get the best deals on the foods we typically eat.  Whew!

You know that you're a grown up when you get excited about saving money at the grocery store.

I saved over $50 this week.  Word.

Jamaica, mon.

I am craving a vacation.

One year ago today, J and I were in sunny Jamaica.  We were there to celebrate the wedding of two good friends, and what a beautiful day it was!  Beautiful weather, beautiful bride, beautiful times.

During our time in Negril, we witnessed the most awe inspiring sunsets one could ever dream of, we swam in the clearest blue-green ocean water, we ate incredible jerk chicken from roadside stands, and we went though a whole lotta Red Stripe.

A few fun facts about Jamaica:

• The official national scent of Jamaica is jerk chicken.  (And coming in at a close second?  Ganja.)
• If you are under the age of 40, the locals will refer to you as "Spring Breakers."
• Jamaica has its own *slow moving* time system...you know, Jamaica time?  What we learned from this was that you either go to dinner two hours before you suspect you'll actually be hungry, or bring a bad of Doritos in your purse to tide you over while you wait for your meal.  (You think I'm kidding?  I actually did this.  Yes, seriously.)
• You'll feel rich when you check your account balance at an ATM and it says you have over $200,000 Jamaican dollars.  (This is inevitably followed by a feeling of vast disappointment when you return to the states and remember that those are not the same as US dollars.)
• EVERYTHING in Jamaica is "all good, mon."  No, it's not a stereotype.

I WANNA GO BACK!

So happy anniversary, SBS and JBS!  Thanks for asking us to share your special day with you.

Spring has Sprung

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate myself on a personal achievement.  I grew these flowers.  Now you might be asking yourself, "What's the big deal about that?  So she grew some flowers.  Whatev.  Anybody could do that."

But THIS is where you'd be wrong.  You see, I do not have a green thumb.  I have the opposite of a green thumb.  (I cannot exactly determine, by the way, what the opposite of a green thumb actually is.  I know that red is opposite green on the color wheel, but I don't think that having a red thumb is a real thing.  So for now, we'll just say that I have the opposite of a green thumb.)

You see, I can't keep any plant alive.  Not even an African Violet, and I hear that they would most likely survive nuclear war along with the cockroaches.  So for me to actually GROW something is a MIRACLE!  AND...they come back every year!!

So here's to the arrival of spring, and to the return of my beautiful, fragrant hyacinths.

The Ultimate Quest

So I’m certain that this post will reveal me for the housewife wannabe that I truly am, but I guess that’s life! 

Do you want to know what was quite possibly the most exciting part of my week?  WELL, let me start at the beginning.

J and I are a little obsessed with Amazon.com.  Let me put it this way: on a scale of 1-10, with ten being equivalent to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg (or Christmas Tree, or Turkey, or whatever other holiday shape they come out with throughout the year, as clearly the shapes are exponentially more delicious than the regular cups), we give Amazon an 11.  It’s easy to use, they sell EVERYTHING (often at a cheaper price than any store), and with our “Prime” membership, shipping is 2-day and free.  Needless to say, the UPS man is at our house all.the.time.  So often, in fact, that the dogs don’t even bother to bark at him anymore.  Apparently, to them, he’s like family.

Normally, his arrival isn’t terribly exciting for me.  The things he’s usually delivering can range from vitamins to speaker wire.  Blah.  Occasionally, though, I can be found anxiously awaiting the arrival of the man in the horrendous brown shorts.  For example, the time when I knew he was carrying my wedding gown, I met him at the truck and saved him the trip to the doorbell. 

(SIDENOTE: Okay, I know I said this wouldn’t be a fashion blog, but really.  Can’t somebody DO something about those uniforms?  I mean, shorty shorts for men haven’t been in vogue since the early 80’s.  And even then, whoever claimed that they were okay made a HUGE error in judgment!)

This week’s delivery wasn’t *quite* as exciting as my wedding gown.  But I was pretty anxious to hear that big truck rumble to a stop at the foot of my driveway!  He was bringing me the newest addition to a growing collection of…floor cleaning appliances.  Yes, this is an obsession that I inherited from my mother.  We are constantly in search of the best device to keep our floors sparkling.  (AND this is where the housewife wannabe portion of the story begins.)

Keeping my floors clean is no easy task! Look to the right side of your screen and you’ll see the main reason why.  I L.O.V.E. my dogs.  But their feet mixed with my no-grass-in-sight sandy backyard make for constant footprints on my hardwood and tile.  Also, the shedding and shedding and shedding make for constant tumbleweeds of fur.

Last year my fellow floor-cleaning-appliance addict mother bought me the BEST Christmas gift.  Roomba: a robotic vacuum that took itself on a cleaning tour of my first floor every day at 10 am, then put itself back to sleep when it was finished.  Unfortunately, Roomba (who J and I affectionately referred to as our faithful servant, Jeeves) died.  So now I sweep up the pet hair almost daily.  But now to deal with the footprints…    

I have been known to be taken in by infomercials advertising the newest and best product that you just HAVE to have (FYI- the Perfect Pasta Pot is FAR from perfect, but the Snuggie is delightfully cozy).  Lately I’ve been seeing lots of advertisements for these incredible steam mops.  WOW!  It cleans AND sanitizes with only water!  No more chemicals on the floor, and we’ll save tons of money on refills for the stupid Swiffer Wet Jet!  I HAVE to have one!

I diligently researched which of the steam mops was the best, and decided upon the Eureka Enviro-Steamer.  After a little rationalizing with J about why this was a NEED (I mean really, J, do YOU clean the floors?  No?  Okay, then, I NEED this!), it was in my Amazon cart with just one click.

As for right this moment, the steamer is my dream come true.  No more doggie prints, quick and easy, dries in a flash.

Check back with me in a few months, and I’m sure I’ll be able to convey my disappointment while simultaneously searching for a new product for my dirty floor needs.

Bracketology.

March Madness is officially here!  Have you filled out your bracket?  If you haven’t, you may be out of time.  Tournament play begins today with the Florida/BYU match-up at 12:20.  So HURRY!

If you’re not so sports savvy, but would like to appear as though you can take part in the conversations that will abound these next few weeks, check out this article that I found.  The thought of some of my not-so-sporty friends throwing around terms like “buzzer beater” and “ball movement” make me giggle. 

Oh, yeah.  And GO ‘CUSE!

A Visit to the Principal's Office

So yesterday I got an email from the school secretary, asking that I stop by to see the principal sometime that day.  Immediately my heart started to beat a little faster, my hands got a little clammy, and I may have broken out into a momentary sweat.  My mind started racing through all of the possibilities- what had I done?  Isn’t it funny how the mere mention of the principal’s office can elicit this type of reaction, even from sane, level-headed adults?

I made it through the rest of my morning classes, despite my distracted psyche.  After my last student skipped back to his classroom, I fearfully made my way through the halls to the man’s office, and with trepidation waited to be invited in. 

Turns out, he wants to personally hand me a letter from the Assistant Superintendent, rather than putting it in my mailbox, stating that my Terminating Contract will terminate at the end of the school year.  Duh.  Already knew that!

Don’t fear for my job, friends!  It’s a mere technicality, and in the next six weeks or so I should be reassured that my job still exists.  I know budgets are tight, but hey, I’m pretty sure that the school district still aims for children to learn how to read.  I’m thinking my position isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

My heart rate is now back to normal, I am no longer sweating, and my hands feel just dandy.  Whew.

About the name...

Coming up with a name for the blog was a challenge. I had lots of different ideas, most of which seemed too boring. I liked the "Confessions" part because it leads everyone to believe that I'll be spilling all kinds of juicy secrets (keep reading, I just may). But I couldn't find just the right word to complete the title. SO, I started thinking about things that I really like. The following is what I came up with.

Things Betsey REALLY likes:
- shopping
- bread
- yoga pants
- puppies and/or kittens
- stunning accessories

After coming up with these gems, I went blank. SO, I figured this was the list I should start working with. Well, Shopaholic was already taken (the book was delightful, but the movie was just ridiculous, if you ask me). Incorporating bread into the title may lead interested readers to believe that pita pockets might just be a common topic. Yoga pants? Well, they're incredibly comfy, but not really relevant to the posts I imagine I'll write. We all know that EVERYONE loves puppies and kittens (except maybe communists). What's original about that? Nada. And while I do love accessories, and am a (self-proclaimed) fashion diva, this will not be a fashion blog. So I had to nix all of those blog title wannabes from my list.

So I pondered some more. Maybe something that describes me? And BAM! That's when Ginger hit me. As a kid, I hated my red hair. Kids called me Carrot Top. (As a sidenote, thank goodness I didn't know then what I know now- Carrot Top is one SCARY looking man these days. He's made that insult 100 times worse for redheads the world over.) But as I grew up (and my hair grew less orange) I began to embrace my gingerness as being beautiful and unique. I eventually grew to LOVE being a redhead- just about the time that my red hair started to fade to an almost red. (When my most artistic student would draw pictures of me, he would use red, orange, AND brown crayons for my hair- heavy on the brown). So here I am today, rocking almost ginger locks.

I figured the "(almost) ginger" could also serve as a useful metaphor for my temperament, and therefore the tone of my writing. Redheads are known for their hot tempers and their firey attitudes, right? Well...I seem to lack those traits. So don't expect that kind of drama in my posts!

Now don't get me wrong, certain things have the ability to get me good and fired up! For example, spotting a man wearing black shoes and a brown belt (will men NEVER learn??), mean people, and J's ongoing (and going and going and going) quest for the perfect movie viewing experience in our home. But for the most part, I let my fire simmer just below the surface until there's a good time to let it out. No fireworks, no explosions. Maybe if my hair hadn't faded, you'd all know and (maybe) love a different me!

And for the record- back in the days when I was a Carrot Top, it would have been a mistake to cross me. My own grandmother once referred to my 5-6 year old self as 'demonic.'

Well hello, there...

...and welcome to my blog! I thought I might give this a try. I figured it was a little more fun than keeping a journal, and a good way for the far away friends and family to keep track of what's happening in my life. Plus- for those of you who haven't heard, I married a nerd six months ago. Prior to that time, I'm quite sure creating a blog would have been WAY off of my radar. But J has opened my eyes to the geekier side of life!

My goal is to appear clever and witty in my everyday observations; after all, aren't those the hallmarks of a great blog? I'll try not to bore my readers with the mundane...this isn't Facebook, and I know you don't need to hear that I'm currently painting my nails while catching up on my DVR.

So here goes! Thanks for stopping by!