Hola San Antonio!

My school sent me to San Antonio for 5 days last week to attend the National Title I Conference. It was a fully paid, spending money included, plane ride trip. I know, I'm spoiled! The conference focused on the new legislation and Title I funding of No Child Left Behind. Basically, all of the breakout sessions focused on how this legislation, for lack of a better word, sucks. There were even sessions titled "No Test Left Untaken" and "Every Child Left Behind". Hmmm...I wonder how they really feel? 

Getting a bunch of teachers together who teach children from poverty is pretty motivating, however. It was inspiring to listen to teachers who are so passionate about their jobs and go into work day in and day out determined as all get-out to change a life. I definitely came back with a little skip in my step. I even gotten to listen to the real-life person behind Michelle Pfeiffer's character in Dangerous Minds. She was so impressive! She really is an ex-marine, and man is she tough. Remember the girl from the movie who got pregnant and was basically told to leave the high school? Well, she called "Michelle Pfeiffer" two weeks ago, and to tell her, "Sorry it took so long, but I finally got my MBA and wanted to let you know." She went to college after her abusive boyfriend/baby's daddy got shot in a drug deal and she uprooted her family to move to Atlanta with an old friend for safety and a new start. Now that's resilience at it's best. 

Here are some pictures from the trip. I enjoyed every minute of touring the Riverwalk and getting to know some people in the district better, but...there's no place like home. : )   I hope you all had a great weekend too! HAPPY MONDAY!

Lindsey and I on the Riverwalk

Teacher Buddies at a local Steakhouse

Riverwalk

Above the Vendor Room

Lindsey, me, and Renee at the Alamo

February 18, 2006

It was 3 years ago on February 18 that Dustin proposed. Sheesh, how time flies! We've already been married for over a year and a half. Whenever people ask, I still say, "We got married this summer." Is time going to go this fast for the rest of our lives? Am I going to be 40 and still feel like I'm 20? I guess there are worse things to worry about, like will I LOOK 40? Anywho, here's a little trip down memory lane...

Unfortunately...

We sat in traffic on the way home Sunday for about an hour between Fort Smith and Russellville. This was why. I didn't see anything on the news, but I would think that the driver didn't make it out of this disaster. It's seeing eerie accidents like this that make me furious Dustin refuses to wear a seat belt! Seriously?!?!

My Funny Valentine's

Well we hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day! We went to - guess where - Fort Smith this weekend, AGAIN! Dustin hadn't seen my parents since Christmas, and Dustin's mom had been in the hospital all week, so it was necessary! I've been meaning to update you all on Debbie for awhile now. She went into the hospital last Saturday with severe pains in the gut area. Come to find out, she had acute pancreitis, which is supposedly caused by one of two things. Either you have a drinking problem (umm...no, not Debbie), or you have a stone in your gallbladder. Well, Debbie had her gallbladder taken out a few years ago, so that complicated things a bit. When she finally saw a doctor, like 3 days later, they decided they would go in with a scope on Thursday to clear out any debris and stones that may have been lingering from her gallbladder surgery. She is doing well now, but a little sore and 10 pounds lighter from the week long no food diet.

Johnny finally figured out that he has two ruptured discs in his back, which weren't caught on the original MRI from 2 months ago (ahhh hem, don't go to Sparks). He's just thankful he finally knows what is wrong, and now he can schedule a back surgery. We're happy both parents are doing better and are on the road to recovery!

On a lighter note, back to Valentine's Day. Here are some pictures of my class Valentine party, and my sweet Valentine, Addikins. Nana and I got to babysit her while her mommy and daddy went out to eat. Mom cooked shrimp fettucini alfredo, we watched Happy Feet, and us three girls made a pallet on the floor and fell asleep together. Addi was so funny. She had like 6 or 7 toys she wanted under the blanket with us at all times. Then, she wanted the blanket held up like a tent and for mom and I to put our heads under. She would just crack up every time we did it. It was hilarious! She has the cutest little grin and is such a happy little girl, except when she doesn't get her way. : )

Crazy Kids

Valentine Bingo

Nerd Alert! Jessica and I in our matching V-day shirts

My 2nd annual V-day cupcakes for my co-workers

My Little Valentine

Can her mama dress her or what? Check out those pockets.

Peek-a-Boo!

She would not stop looking up at the huge balloon her Nana got her.

Got it!

The little things make her so happy!

Cat Walk

Who sats you can't take a cat for a walk? Well....Rudy! He was a big fan of the fresh air and strange outdoor noises, but he wasn't feeling the leash and collar. It's just not how he rolls.





All of that non-walking made me so thirsty!

Weekend Wrap-Up

After a shotmethisdaycouldn'tgetanyworse Friday, I was ready to get the heck outta school. So, we made plans to meet Kevin and some other people at Flyin' Burrito downtown...super yummy as always! Being the old fogies we are, we came home and crashed after dinner. (I wouldn't have it any other way.)

We slept in on Saturday (which in college days would mean noon, but now means 8:30-geez how things have changed), ran some errands, then went to Bryant to continue the house hunt. We really like the house we posted about before, but obviously want to look around more since our lease isn't up until the end of April. Since Dustin doesn't know Bryant as well as I do, I took him around town, showing him some back roads and we went to a local BBQ-Catfish diner called Jordan's. De-licious!

Saturday night, we headed to Matt and Jessica's wedding shower out in Beebe. Dustin works with Matt, and we've gone out with him and his fiance a couple of times. They are really sweet and too cute together. It was mostly a work related shower, so I got to mingle with the co-workers I met at the Christmas party a little more. I also finally got to meet Mr. Maverick himself, Kevin's dad, Steve. As I had heard, he was an extremely nice guy and super easy to talk to. I'm so glad Dustin has found not only a job he enjoys and an industry he is passionate about, but I'm really grateful it's with such a family friendly company. Here are a couple of pictures of the happy couple and their guests. Hope you had a great weekend!!

Multi-tasker on his way to the shower.
Opening their gift from us.
The whole gang

Free Custom Desktop Background

Through my blogstalking, I've found a super cute website with digital scrapbooking layouts (www.shabbyprincess.com Then click "blog"). If you have never heard of that, don't feel ignorant, I hadn't heard of it either! I can't even keep up with my regular scrapbooking, so I don't think I'll be delving into the digital stuff anytime soon. I'm not that tech savvy. BUT, apparently they post free custom scrapbook desktop backgrounds every month. All you have to do is download it, then copy and paste a picture you want into the layout. Other than cropping my picture in iPhoto and then adjusting the size of the picture when I had it pasted in the layout, there was nothing else to it! This February one is very cutesy and I can't wait to see what she has for March. I'm such a nerd...