A new adventure!

So this year I've decided to start going to a boot camp at a near by church. All I can say is OH MY! I am 2 1/2 weeks into the 6 week camp and it's kicking my butt! I get up at 4:30 and Carla picks me up at 4:45. I've always said, anything before 5 is still night time. So, technically to me, I'm getting up in the middle of the night. Then we go and get our butts kicked from 5-6. As of right now the discouraging thing is I have found NO progress yet. It's so FRUSTRATING! I just have to keep praying that I'm doing this for the right reasons and just follow God's plan.

Secondly, hopefully to help with my boot camp frustration, I've also started Weight Watchers. Monday was my first day. Luckily I have my good friend Emily there to go through it with me to keep me me accountable. Monday I will update how my first weigh in there went and to let you know my (hopeful) improvements with boot camp!

Columbus Day

So you would think we would get the day off to celebrate the man who helped find America...but alas...we did not. So at school that day, we were talking about ole Chris Columbus himself. I didn't have a single kindergartener who had heard of him. Here's how a part of our talk went.

Miss Cook: Did you guys know a guy named Christopher Columbus helped discover America? It was in 1492.
Kid: Miss Cook, were you alive then??
Miss Cook: No, that would mean I was 518 years old honey...Do I look that old?
Kid: No, you would be all crinkly and have to get your kidney stones out like my grandpa if you were that old.

What is the plan??

So I'm really contemplating what God has in store for my love life. Last winter, one of the mom's from my class set me up with her brother-in-law. We had a great time hanging out and were together until about August. Things just didn't work out with the two of us and I decided to move on and see what else was out there. I really think the experience was great for me even though it didn't work out though.

For everyone who knows me well, knows that I've never been super sure of myself, especially when it comes to guys. After my relationship with J, I feel much better about putting myself "out there". I've used E-Harmony and met someone who I thought I would really like. I met up with him in Ohio (stayed with Jason and Laura) and he just wasn't what I expected and didn't feel that connection with him.

So now I feel like I'm sitting here just waiting for the next one to come along. I know God has a plan for me and I always thought, if I could just have the experience, I would feel better. Well now that I've had it, I can't wait for the next guy to come along and see what will come of it.

From the whole relationship with J, I have gotten so much more than I would have thought. I have gained many friends that I wouldn't have known had I not dated him. I've also started a new business. It's called Thirty-One Gifts and I went to the party because of the friends I made through him. I have felt super successful in the month that I've been doing this. I gave my first party on 9/16 and within 8 days i had 4 shows and made around $600 for myself. I'm hoping to use this first to pay myself back then to save for vacation and money to get new windows for my house!!

Thank you Lord for the experiences you give me! Even though things to come out the way i expect, you have a plan and please help me to remember that!

With the youngin's now

So we are on day 32 of school...How do I know this exactly?? That would be because I now am teaching kindergarten. What a crazy week before school started. I knew there was a chance that I wasn't going to be in 2nd grade again, I just figured I would have found out a little bit earlier than a week before school. I teach all day, every day kindergarten and so far, so good.

I LOVE kindergarten. They are so much fun and so sweet. I ran into one of my little girls at Walmart a few weeks ago and she looked at me and said, "Miss Cook, I didn't know you were going to be here today!" She was so stinkin' cute about it! Then everytime I ran into her in the aisles, she'd say, "there you are again!" So fun!

Now, I'm not saying that things are really difficult in kindergarten. It is really tough getting some of these kids to know how to "do" school. One of my little boys has such a hard life and it's really getting to us at school trying to get him to understand what he needs to do and how he needs to talk to people. I just hope and pray that I can make a difference in his life this year! Not only his, but all of theirs!

30 in 30 update

Alright, let's see where I'm getting on my 30 things for my 30th year.

- I did just go to King's Island last weekend and ride all of the "serious" roller coasters. We skipped things like Adventure Express and The Racer. We did get in Flight of Fear (twice), FireHawk (one of the scariest rides ever...wasn't a big fan), Vortex (of course which was my first upside-down roller coaster as a kid with Aunt Lori), and the main one, Diamondback!! LOVED that one. Rode it 3 times.

- Now on to movies I have seen...Letters to Juliet, Leap Year, Eclipse, Knight and Day, and When in Rome. So as of right now I'm at 5 of my 30...1/6 isn't too bad in a month if you ask me.

- Making a new meal for the month. I made shredded b-b-q sandwiches for the Hills family. Laura had Mr. Grayden Montgomery Hills and Mary and I went to visit. The sandwiches were good. Just bake the chicken in the handy-dandy baker from pampered chef. Chop it up and add the homemade b-b-q sauce...1 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of pampered chef b-b-q rub, and 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar...mix together and boil on stove top. Pour over chicken and serve with mini rolls. Yummy stuff.

I wonder what I will accomplish this month...

So it's been a while...

...since my last post. When I last wrote, I still had a month of school left. I now am on the downswing of summer break and have been enjoying every minute of it. I've hung out with friends, played with my nephew, and laid by the pool...what more could I ask for??? (maybe a bit longer to my break ;)

I am officially 30 now and went in with a week long celebration. I got together with friends for a meal at my favorite restaurant, PF Changs, and then on to see Letters to Juliet (movie #1). Through out that entire week, I had birthday dinners with my family, Stephanie, Emily and Amanda, John, and people from school. Then on Friday, it was planned to go to the Willard to celebrate with the girls from college. So I'm getting ready and dad is here at my house and I need to run to Kohls. Well he says he wants to go with me (weird). I get partially ready and just throw on a t-shirt and jeans, do my make up and dry my hair...still need to straighten it and figure out what I'm wearing for the evening. We go shopping and then he tells me that I need to drop him off at mom's work. Okay, whatever and asks that I come in with him. I did not want to and kind of throw a fit over it. Mom comes out and convinces me to come in and see some ice sculpture that somebody made (what bs line is that and who falls for crap like that) and SURPRISE, it's a birthday party for me. What fun!! I had no idea!!

So far, 30 hasn't been too bad. Not that I expected it to be life changing or anything but it's just been the same life so far.

Down to 33 days

After Monday, my 8th year of teaching is down to 33 days. I can't believe I've been teaching that long!! The weird thing is, I always imagine the kids staying the same age. I stay in 2nd grade (well most of the time I have) and they keep going up. On Friday I went shopping and saw this girl when I walked in. She was working the cash register. I knew she looked familiar but could not place her. When it was time to check out, I looked at her name tag and realized she was in my 5th grade student teaching class. WHAT?? Those kids graduated last year. I couldn't believe it. Then I started thinking about the kiddos I had my first year. I taught kindergarten that year...5 year olds. Those sweet little innocent 5 year olds are now pubescent, hormonal 7th graders. HOLY COW!! I wonder if I would even recognize some of them. My first section of 2nd graders will be high schoolers next year.

Who am I kidding...I'll be 30 in just fifty days!! I was 22 when I started teaching and I'm going to be 3-0. I remember when I thought that was old...heck I remember when my dad turned 30. Oh, the things I was going to have accomplished by then. I just knew by the time I was 30, I would have been married for a while and have a couple of kids. I'm not quite sure what else I would have accomplished but those were the main things. Who knew the things God had in store for me. I never would have thought I would have been able to travel to Ukraine, Mexico, Poland, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and the Bahamas. I've gone on countless youth group trips. Bought a house...by myself I might add. I have my own dog who after 2 years is still alive and kicking (usually a little too much). I have a great family especially my adorable nephew. I have a car that I own (woo hoo)! Plus I get to have all the great experiences of falling in love with the man that God has in line for me and the kiddos that I'm hoping to have.

Holy cow, where did that tangent come from?? Anyway, I'll stop rambling for now. Time for bed so I can get up in the morning and get day 33 over and done with.

Ashley