It just makes me sick

So I wasn't planning on posting again today, but when I saw this article, I felt I had t0

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,394581,00.html

I just don't understand why some women feel that this is their only choice. There are so many families out there that would love to adopt a child or give the child a great life.

It angers me. You?

Why I'll never eat doritos in my life again...

Today is day 3 of the diet. The scale says I've lost 6 lbs, most of which I am sure is just water weight. Diets just make me so angry! I love food :-) Not just junk food, but well prepared food.

After the wedding last year, I gained an upsetting amount of weight and I'm trying to lose it. Yes indeed, so much so that this was one of the conversations towards the last couple of days of school... Keep in mind Mr. B is one of the sweetest and wonderful people I've ever met, not a mean bone in his body...

Mr. B: So what school are you going to next year?

E: L___ Middle.

Mr. B: Oh that's great, it's closer to your new house and it'll make it easier when you have the baby.

E: ........

J later that night after I told him that story: Guess we're dieting this summer, hunh?

Great conversation, except I wasn't pregnant. So much for wearing that weight well! I'd love to get back to my high school weight of 115, but I'm truly aiming for 125. That means I have 25 lbs to go.

But yes, dinner in the Smith household has not been much fun the last three nights. Except for last night, J got the most wonderful NY Strip steaks on sale and we grilled them up with some veggies and had some sugar free kool-aid! And as a bonus, we found some fudge pops that have no sugar added.

Stupid diet.

Steve McCurry

I am absolutely in love with the work of Steve McCurry. You might recognize this picture from National Geographic a couple of years back, I think it was the cover page. You can find his website at http://www.stevemccurry.com/

His work has such an amazing use of color and texture and his compositions are incredibly strong. He's a huge role model for me with photography. It makes me want to go back and go through all of my Africa pictures and critique them.

I was so excited when yesterday I looked at his page, I noticed that you can go on an expedition with him!!!! His upcoming one, next spring, is to India for two weeks. I told J that if we ever have $9,000 to spare, I'm so going on one of these. It's limited to 12-15 people, with digital cameras and each evening you critique with Steve. *Drooling* I love going and learning about cultures and taking photos of them.

What an awesome experience it would be.

My wonderful husband...

It's not any sort of special anniversary for my husband and I, but as I lay there last night trying to get to sleep, and watching my husband sleep so peacefully, I couldn't help but think about how much I love this man.

*

Jason and I met about seven years ago through a friend. He had come out to Mary Washington College's riding stable to watch her ride. I heard them both talking but thought nothing of it as it sounded like her boyfriend of the time. Neva introduced me to J after the lesson. On the way home that day (Neva would give me rides home) we talked and J told some jokes, but I didn't think any more of it as I went back to my dorm. I had just gotten out of a long relationship and wasn't really looking to get in one. Neva called me a couple of days later and asked if I wanted to go with her and some friends out to dinner. I said yes, and it wasn't until later that I realized it was a set up.

*

We both took it slow. We saw movies, hung out, and J even came and sat in the cold for 9 hours to watch me ride at a horse show. Our relationship slowly began to progress. I knew I was in love with him when on a cool night out riding his motorcycle he took the time to look at the beautiful stars. A couple of weeks later, he was whispering I love you in my ear and I happily said it back. I knew he was definitely a keeper when he rescued a turtle from the middle of the road and brought it to me. (Yes, I let it go.)

*

We've had our ups and downs. We've done long distance, a couple of short break ups where we needed some space, been through growing pains and job transfers. However, I couldn't imagine it any other way. I truly feel that he is my soul mate.

*

Even when he is frustrated with something I have done, he is patient. He lights up a room and always has jokes to share and makes people laugh. He is willing to help people when they need it. (And is more sensitive then he admits...) On the way home from having a procedure done at the hospital where he got VERY sick...a woman had a broken down car. He made me stop and pull over despite the fact that his doctors told him to rest and I told him I was going to tell Mama Jewell. I said that I would go help, but he wouldn't let me get out on a busy road. Later he said that if that had been his mom or me, he would've hoped that someone would have stopped for us. He's a wonderful dog-dad and our girls love him very much. I love the way that he gets so excited for football season and University of Tennessee games. I love the way that he gets so excited at Christmas, especially Christmas morning. I love that he's ambitious and has big dreams. I love the way he goofs around with me and his friends. I love how he looks wearing his bright orange sunglasses and UT hat. I love his blond hair and baby blue eyes. I love that I can share my secrets with him and my worries and trust him. But most of all, I love him because he is such a caring, generous and remarkable man.

*

He's my best friend. I would do anything for him.

4's

Four Jobs I've had:
1. Special Ed. Teacher

2. Merry Maid (for one day)

3. Sleep Away Camp Counselor

4. Waitress at Bob Evans


Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Love Actually

2. Transformers

3. I can't really think of anymore, I'm not a huge movie fan...

4.


Four place I have lived:
1. Woodbridge, VA

2. Fredericksburg, VA

3. Myrtle Beach, SC

4. Calabash, NC


Four tv shows I love:
1. Burn Notice

2. Baby Borrowers

3. House

4. Jon & Kate Plus 8


Four places I've vacationed:
1. St. John

2. Disney World

3. Canada

4. Across the US


Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Spaghetti

2. A good steak

3. Chicken Rockefeller

4. Stuffed Pork Chops


Four sites I visit daily:
1. Dooce

2. Foxnews

3. Facebook

4. Myspace


Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Disney World

2. Virginia

3. On the beach

4. St. John

Crunch time...

My husband was standing near me the other day after dinner, and we were just having a conversation...

J: "Do you realize that less than a month from now..."

E: "DON'T SAY IT!!!"

J: "HAHAHAHA!"

E: "SERIOUSLY!"

J: "You'llbebackinwork!!!" (Rushing to get it out before I could stop him)

Yes. That time has begun. The countdown I hated as a child and it still bugs me to this very day. Interestingly enough, when I first considered teaching, I said that I didn't want to be one of those teachers that lived for summer break. Then I realized that, summer break is an incentive to keep teaching :-p. You need that time to recuperate from your year!!!

I love my job. I teach seventh grade special education in a nearby county. This year I might be teaching seventh and eighth grade special education. This will be my fourth full year teaching. I've done 3 1/2 (taking over for a teacher who was fired). I've taught 3 of those years in underpriviledged, country schools. I've learned so much from each student I've worked with. (Seriously though, I have some great stories about my kids...some that made me laugh, some that made me cry and others that made me go doh! why am I teaching?)

I come home some days and cringe about all the work I have, all the IEPs I have to write, and all the phone calls that I need to make, but if it came down to it, you would hear me say I love to teach.

However...that doesn't mean I want it to come so quick! I love summer, even if I am dying of boredom and ready to go back when August hits. It's just I know that the year will go by in a blur and I get so nervous about what the year will bring to me!

Car

Yay! A nice, cold air conditioner that works! In my car!

The post where I rant about my car.

When I was in college, my parents gave me my first ever car. It was a jeep cherokee (used). I loved it so much! However, it wasn't the best car and began to have problems. So, we sold the Jeep, my dad got a new car and gave me his Honda CRV 2001.

I've been through a lot of miles with my Honda, 127,000 to be almost exact. (My commute for a year and a half was 56 miles one way). I do like it most of the time, although I haven't bonded with it like I did my jeep. I've decided I'm going to run it into the ground and keep going till it won't go anymore.

However, earlier this year, the air conditioning died. I think it was back in April. I said I'd make do with it, as spring wasn't bad. Summer has been okay until lately, but we had been talking about the idea of getting a new car. The Honda is our dog car, so that we can take them places and it's been a little too hot for the pups without air.

My parents decided for my birthday that they wanted to get the air fixed. I was so excited! Well, since my mom was down here, we took it to the Honda shop. We chose the shop because we figured they wouldn't rip us off (I don't know any other mechanics here). Well, the first day they called and said it was going to be $1,400 for the AC to be fixed or replaced. I cringed, but my mom said oh well, we want to get it done.

A couple of days later I went back with her to pick the car up. Drove home with some AC for the first time in months! J and I took the car out later and it was blowing warm air. Took it back the next morning, and he told me now it was a valve that was causing the problems. He also said they didn't have the dye to test it the day before, so that is why they didn't notice it. Said it would be $300 more to fix it. I unhappily said okay, with a grumble though about why they would have released the car to me without checking their work thoroughly. After 5 hours of waiting in the lobby, he said I was good to go. Drove it off the lot and again it was blowing hot air. Went and got lunch then turned around. Again, did they check the air before they let me go???? He said he had left it running for awhile...course, he didn't say that he had checked the air.

He came back out an hour later and said it was going to be $960 to fix what needed fixing this time. I told him I was sorry, but I wasn't going to pay that and that I wanted to talk to my husband about it before anything else was done. (I don't know cars all that well). I told him to give me back my keys and give me the plan so that I could share it with J. He let me sit there for an hour and a half more before he finally brought my keys.

Of course, I had called and told my dad and J about was going on and they had called to speak with the service guy. When they didn't get any answers with him, they spoke to the manager. The manager told them well you could just be spending money, heck you could spend $20,000 over the next two years trying to fix it. J got overly upset and emailed the president of the Honda dealer. Fifteen minutes later, he had Kurt on the phone. J was upset that they had told me $960 and then told him it would be $1,400 more to fix it. I think he was just frustrated by the whole situation, I know I was. (Keep in mind, the Honda dealer is about 40 miles from where we live).

Kurt had me bring the car back in today so he could see it and gave me a rental car for a couple of days. We'll see, hopefully it will be fixed this time.

Let me finish my unfinished post before I rant about my car.

So, we drove into the park and saw the previously pictured animals/creatures. Finally, we got to Atalaya.

Atalaya was the winter home of the Huntingtons. The wife had TB, so her doctors recommended that she get away from the cold winters of New England. The Huntingtons purchased a huge amount of land that now is the areas of Huntington Beach Park and Brookgreen Gardens. Both of them are awesome to see (Particularly the Nights of a Thousand Candles at Christmas) and I highly recommend that you see them when you come to the Myrtle Beach area. She was an artist (I can't remember her name...Anna?) and he was a writer.

It was getting ready to rain while we were there, so some of these pictures are a bit dark.

Atalaya is a popular place for weddings today.

We finished up at Atalaya and headed down to the beach where we watched some birds and people play and just in general walked. (Nice and relaxing!)

We ended the evening with a beautiful sunset and bonding time with two puppies!

I hate my car.

Seriously, that's all there is to it.

Random

For the last several days, my mom has been in town visiting. I love having my mom around and I miss her tons when we are apart. She's such an awesome lady. She got to see our house for the first time and we've had some fun around Myrtle Beach while she's been here. Here's just some of the stuff that we have done over the last couple of days...

On her first day down, we took the girls to the dog park. Leela just loves to swim and dives in at any opportunity she gets. Casey is slightly more reserved about getting in the water, but loves it as well. As we were getting ready to leave, the girls ran into a brave little pomeranian that was dying to play with them.

On Friday, we had to take my car to the shop. I've been dying without air conditioning since the spring, and my parents said they wanted to give it to me for my birthday. Of course, I'm sure they didn't know that it would be $1,400!!! (Oh but I LOVE having air in my car!)

Since we were down towards Murrells Inlet, we decided to go to one of my favorite places, Huntington State Beach Park and Atalaya. Really, I just wanted a chance to try out my camera and my mom and I both love going to parks. (We love being outdoors).

As you drive into the park, on one side there is fresh water marshlands, on the other there is the ocean. These are some of the animals from the marshlands side welcoming us to the park.

I'll have to see if I can make these pictures bigger later. These are just some of the creatures that welcomed us into the park from the ocean side. They are called Fiddler crabs. They are cute but like to duck back in their holes if you get close!




More to come, dinner is ready!

Dogpark Day!

Had a blast earlier at the dog park with my mom and the girls. Leela is a little fish!

Anheuser-Busch

Still just a little too upset about this:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365823,00.html

Although we really don't drink that often anymore, we do enjoy Budlight when we have a drink. Maybe while watching a football game, or NASCAR. However, we both have decided we will no longer support Anheuser-Busch and it's products since they have been bought out.

It's such a shame that another American product has been sold overseas.

The Bucket List

A couple of weeks ago, J and I finally made time to see a movie that I had been itching to see. As one would expect with a movie called The Bucket List, it was a sad, although funny for some parts, telling of the last days of the lives of two people. I hoped until the end that at least one of them would live, and although neither one did, the ending was a great one. The movie made me decide that I wanted to create my own bucket list. I had started one a long time ago, so some of them are from that list, the ones I can remember any way. I've put a * next to the ones I have done.

My Bucket List

1. Travel to Paris *

2. Finally make it scuba diving in the ocean.

3. Take a French cooking class.

4. See a professional football game *(Redskins vs. Cowboys!)

5. Learn how to make a great loaf of bread without a breadmaker.

6. Travel to Africa *

7. See a professional baseball game*

8. Paint a room*

9. See a panda bear in the wild.

10. Swim with dolphins. (I'd love to do this one with my niece).

11. Fall in love and get married *

12. Take a yoga class.*

13. Take salsa dancing classes with J.

14. Go to Russia.

15. Open a business.

16. Take underwater pictures while scuba diving.

17. Do agility training with Casey * (started)

18. Learn dressage.

19. Make a quilt or knit a blanket.

20. Help a stranger in some way.

21. Beat J at putt putt.

I'm sure I'll come back and add more to this as I think of them, but this is a good beginning.

3 and 1/2 years ago...

3 and 1/2 years ago, I found this starving little dog in my middle school parking lot. I drove into work early that winter day (right before Thanksgiving) to the country school that I worked at. As I pulled in, I saw a little yellow blur run through the rocky parking lot. I was careful not to hit it, and got out of the car. I called to her and she slowly made her way over to me. She was skittish, dirty and had bones showing. I got some cheerios out of my car and she slowly nibbled them off the ground, watching me like a hawk. She gave me her big doe eyes and I was a goner. Yes, I had found my "souldog". Silly I think it must sound, but that is what she is. I called J repeatedly that morning (he had it off) to come get this dog that I was ready to bring home, I was going to stick her in my car until he could. Call after call, he didn't answer and I had to let the dog go. (I had no where else to put her). She ran off and a boy across the street waiting for a bus kicked her. I was heartbroken.

I told all my co-workers about her and kept an eye out each day for her. A couple of weeks later, Nancy told me she had found her in the parking lot and was taking her to her house, she would keep her, unless I wanted her. I called my now husband and told him I was bringing her home. She too had fallen in love with her, but since I had talked about her first, she would give her to me.

She and I made the hour long drive home, with her sitting asleep, shivering in my front seat. My husband said under no circumstances could we keep her, and he was going to take her to the SPCA in the morning. I made him go with me to get her a leash and some dishes and I told him we at least had to give her a name. The next morning, after a phone call from me crying about keeping her on the way to work, and after a near disaster in the vet parking lot, she was my Christmas gift.

She was a disaster. She had been eating pine bark and straw and couldn't go to the bathroom. She didn't trust anyone and was terrified of the car. Only nine or so months old. But she was mine.

Each morning she would come chirping at me, and when I got home from work, it was as if it was like her Christmas morning, if she was a kid. She still does this every single time I leave the house.

She has been one of the best dogs that I have ever had. She seems to know that she was rescued, and she seems appreciative of it. She tries to always do what I ask, including getting a lacrosse ball from under the water for a very appreciative lacrosse player, or going swimming out to get a ball her sister has abandoned (although she gives me a look like "momma, do I really have to?"). I'm so lucky to have her in my life.

Frustration, Take 2.

Nothing is more frustrating then typing a blog about your frustrations and having it get deleted! But, since I'm off for the summer, I obviously have time on my hands...

Yesterday was such an awful day. Well, I take that back. I had a great morning, it was just the late afternoon that went downhill.

We decided that last night we were going to go out to eat since we had some shopping that we needed to do. Going down to actual Myrtle Beach, we have more shops available to us. So the plan was that I was going to pick J up from work at 5, and we'd head down from there. Well, I decided to take a nap, then a shower before I left. I set my alarm clock for 3:30, of course for 3:30 in the morning, not the afternoon, so it didn't go off (well, it did last night at 3:30 in the morning!). I woke up at 4:15, still need to take a shower, let the dogs out and get to J's work (30 minutes away) by 5. I managed to leave the house at 4:55 and I think I got to the office at about 5:20. Luckily he was running late himself, so he wasn't quite ready for it. Of course, it's now beginning to storm, because after all, we do live in NC/SC (on the border) and that's what it does here during the summer.

We're driving down to MB in traffic, when J gets a phone call from our old roomie. It's been a while since I've seen him, and I adore him, he's like a brother to me, so I said hey invite him to dinner with us. So he and his significant other plan to meet up with us later for dinner. Of course, as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I'm like why on Earth did I say that. Here I am looking grubby in a t-shirt and jeans with my hair barely dry and I'm feelin just gross.

So we continue driving, and of course, we get into a debate, when I mention that I watched Jon & Kate plus 8 today. He begins talking about how he doesn't want kids. Let me back track this a little bit-We have been open to the idea of having kids, not sure we want them, definitely not at this point in our life. Before we got married we kind of swung towards not wanting kids. It's not that we don't like kids, we love our nieces and nephews dearly, but it's more we're terrified about the idea of bringing kids into the world that exists today. So, he mentions he doesn't want kids, and currently I'm on the same train with him, but I worry...what if that changes some day down the road? I don't think it will, but what if it does? So, I end the conversation with we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

We get to the mall. I needed to get some flip flops from Old Navy since some dog who shall remain nameless managed to eat mine. While we were there, I was looking at the clothes too, and I really wanted to get some, but they aren't in the budget right now. I just felt so icky in a clean t-shirt and jeans, and I wanted to look more put together for dinner with them. Let me say also that I never buy stuff for myself, it's always for the house and dogs or the husband. But, I decided not to say anything for the risk of sounding whiny. I think I was also a little homesick at this point, missing my shopping buddies from up North, and feeling a little bit chunky with my recent weight gain.

We leave the stores to head to dinner, and of course now I'm really grumpy and J can tell something is bothering me, so I tell him. But we get to the restaurant and J has managed to cheer me up a little bit, and they are running late, so we sit there and have a good time with each other.

Dinner went okay. It's interesting how things change.

Dinner ends, and we get ready to head out and J and I are playin' around in the rain in the parking lot. I splashed some water on him and he locked me out of the car in the rain and we're just kind of bantering back and forth when I manage to accidentally poke him in the eye. Of course, for most people, J not excluded, the first reaction to pain is anger. So he was upset at me, which put me in even more of a bad mood.

So we came home, in the rain, cold and wet and went to bed. Of course, I sit and I analyze all the things that bother me and I couldn't sleep. Finally I'm just so frustrated that I couldn't take it. So, I did something I haven't done for a while, I took the time to pray.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass. Psalms 37:5

And I felt so much better, almost immediately. And since I usually give thanks for my all my blessings in my prayer, I'm going to end this post with 5 good things that happened yesterday.

5. A wonderful dinner at Chili's that I didn't have to cook and was free from a gift card given to us for our first married anniversary from my second mom.

4. J's office loved the cookies I sent yesterday and requested seconds.

3. My wonderful friends from up North that send me facebook messages that make me laugh and make them seem less far away.

2. My precious dogs, that make me laugh and try to cheer me up with puppy kisses. Even if one of them is a stinker and did make a meal out of my flip flops.

1. My husband. Although he doesn't understand sometimes why I'm stressed or frustrated he tries and then tries to make me feel better.

Hopefully today will be a better day :-)

Frustration

Aaaargh....I just typed a really long post about my awful day yesterday and went to publish it after having saved it like five times and it got lost!

Today will be better...

Yummy

We just had the most awesome stuffed pork chops. So awesome in fact, that I must post their recipe.

Ingredients:
4 thick bone in pork chops
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon of season salt to try to make it lower sodium)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of dried parsley
1 can of beef broth
I also used garlic powder
5 tablespoons of melted butter (split into 3 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons)


Steps:
In a bowl mix the bread crumbs, sugar, pepper, salt, parsley, onion, and garlic powder. Add the melted butter (3 tablespoons) and stir until mixed.

Take a porkchop and split it in the thick area so that it can be stuffed. Place the mixed stuffing in this area, filling fully. Close using toothpicks.

In a skillet melt the other two tablespoons of butter. Brown the porkchops, 5 minutes on each side over medium heat. Add the beef broth to the skillet and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Remove toothpicks and add some of the broth to the pork chops as a gravy.

Easy and delicious!

Battle of the...

Ever heard of the dueling pianos? I think Crocodile Rocks is a restaurant that has them.

I can top that. In the S house, we have dueling snorers. In one corner, a 40 lb. Mastiff/Akita mix. In the other corner, my husband. This fun equals hours of me not getting any sleep.