so bored today!

I don't know why I feel so bored. I just don't feel like doing anything. Nothing sounds appealing.

This morning I had a late breakfast...and then Jesse went to play tennis with his ex-boss, Tommy. So I decided to get out the iron, ironing board, sewing machine, and the fabric I bought to make curtains for my classroom. I ironed one panel and hemmed one edge of the panel (130 inches!) and after that I was sick of that. So I put all that away.

Then I thought that I might want to paint....so I got out a little blank wooden sign and painted it white. But then I had to wait for it to dry and I was bored again.

I wanted to go lay outside in the sun and maybe read a bit....but theres no sun. blah.

I thought about running...sounded excruciating.

I need to work out...and I will later, but right now I just can't get motivated to do anything.

So finally I got on Netflix and watched the first episode of Harper's Island. It was pretty good, but I don't want to sit through another episode right now. Maybe later...

In a little bit I'm going to start cooking dinner. We are going to skip eating lunch (after the early breakfast) and eat early since Jesse is going to Maranatha (our church) tonight to play volleyball with Roop and Amanda. I don't do volleyball so I'll probably stay home and do a Jillian Michael's workout DVD. I'm cooking homemade (from scratch) Chicken Alfredo tonight. I'd love to make it with heavy cream and butter.....but tonight's version is going to be a little lighter and use milk and chicken broth. Its still good and still unhealthy with all the parmesan cheese. At least I use whole wheat pasta.

gaining depression

So, I've been really depressed the past few days because I had gained 3 pounds! I know it was to be expected because I was eating like a hog and I went on 2 vacations, but still. I work out a lot and I don't want to gain 3 lbs. I don't want to gain ANY pounds!!

So, I've started counting calories again. I'm going to try to keep it around 1500 calories a day. I did pretty good yesterday...heres what I ate (sort of) By sort of I just mean that I had to put in Cheeseburger Casserole but really what I ate was probably quite a bit healthier than that. I made some lean ground beef and vegetable casserole topped with whole wheat biscuits...but of course, I just put in what I could find easily on my-calorie-counter website.

			Free http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/">Food Journal my-calorie-counter.com
			Cal	Fat	Sat	Chl	Sod	Crb	Fib	Sug	Pro
Breakfast
4	cookie (2-5/8" dia)	Cookies, oatmeal, prepared from recipe, without raisins	268	11	2	22	359	40	0	0	4
			268	11	2	22	359	40	0	0	4
Lunch
1	serving	Biscuit Cheeseburger Casserole	470	27	12	85	1460	28	1	12	29
4	fl oz	Lemon juice, canned or bottled	26	0	0	0	26	8	0	3	0
1	1 cup	yoplait light vanilla nonfat yogurt	140	0	0	5	115	27	0	22	7
1	cup, whole	Strawberries, raw	46	0	0	0	1	11	3	7	1
			682	27	12	90	1602	74	4	44	37
Dinner
1	potato small (1-3/4" to 2-1/2" dia)	Potatoes, white, flesh and skin, baked	130	0	0	0	10	29	3	2	3
0.25	1/2 cup chopped (2.5 oz)	green bell pepper, raw	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
0.25	tbsp	Vegetable oil, canola	31	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	1 tbsp	Shedd's Spread Country Crock	120	14	3	0	220	0	0	0	0
0.25	medium (2-1/2" dia)	Onions, raw	11	0	0	0	1	3	0	1	0
0.75	serving 3 fillets	tilapia fish fillets	94	1	1	56	41	0	0	0	21
0.5	cup slices	Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	14	0	0	0	215	4	1	2	1
2	tbsp	Cheese, parmesan, shredded	42	3	2	7	170	0	0	0	4
0.25	tbsp	Honey	16	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	0
0.25	medium whole (2-3/5" dia)	Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average	6	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0
0.5	1 tbsp	Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil	23	2	0	3	48	1	0	0	0
2	mushroom	Mushrooms, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt	7	0	0	0	57	1	1	0	1
			499	24	6	66	764	44	5	10	30
Snack
1	cup	Blackberries, raw	62	1	0	0	1	14	8	7	2
			62	1	0	0	1	14	8	7	2
Water Tracker
Totals Target Balance			1511 1500 101 11	63 55 115 8	20 20 100 0	178 250 71 72	2726 2400 114 326	172 200 86 28	17 25 68 8	61 50 122 11	73 80 91 7
			Cal	Fat	Sat	Chl	Sod	Crb	Fib	Sug	Pro
Activity
Totals			0

After eating that...I woke up 3 times last night to pee. Then when I weighed myself this morning I weighed considerably less! So maybe I just had way too much sodium over the past couple days and I was retaining some water. Maybe thats why I thought I had gained 3 lbs.

oh well.... enough on that. I'm still gonna keep counting calories for a little while at least.

I got up pretty earlier this morning and went for a run. I got out to the backside of Woodclyffe Chase and my foot was hurting so I decided to walk the rest of the way. (btw, I got a blister) So, then...it started raining!! Nothing like a little rain to motivate you to run...and run fast! When I got home I was pretty much soaked. People kept honking at me on the road. I guess they thought I was crazy. I don't care, it felt great! :)

awww, my Jesse & my Kitsy!!

oh,...that was easy

So...I finally got the sidebar to pop back into place. I went to Blogger's help forum (I'm ashamed to admit that I had to ask for help! haha) But... I found out that the reason the sidebar went to the bottom of the blog is because I put pictures on the blog that were too big! So I resized my pics and magically the sidebar popped back up! YAY!

OK...enough about that.

This morning I went to the Valley Park with Cassie and walked around the trails. It was a long walk....over an hour! :) I've been walking walking walking lately! Now, I'm going to head over to Winfield with Jesse to see if I can get into WHS to see my classroom. I kinda doubt it because I called over there and no one answered...but I'm going to try anyway.

FRUSTRATION!

I'm so frustrated with my blog right now. Its after 1 am and I'm still trying to figure out why the heck my sidebar is showing up at the bottom of my blog! On my blogger dashboard it says that the archive and my other sidebar stuff is in the right spot...but when it loads its coming up on the bottom.

I changed a bunch of stuff, trying to see if it was causing it to do that...but so far...no luck. Maybe its a blogger glitch or something. I dunno.

So I apologize for the weird blog layout. I'll get it fixed soon...i hope!

HUGE NEWS!!

ok... I know I just posted, but I wanted to make this post separate for emphasis!

Jesse got a job!

Maybe some of you already knew this...because he actually got called while we were in Massanutten. But I wanted to wait and let him tell people and stuff before I just posted it out for all the world to see.

He's going to be a Personal Banker for Chase in Barboursville starting next week! I'm really happy! I'm glad for him too because it was getting to be ridiculous that he couldn't find a job. We are both really excited. Its crazy that we both are starting new jobs in August!

i got no 'cuse!!

No excuse, that is, for not blogging! AHHH! I don't know whats wrong with me lately, but blogging has NOT been a priority in my life. I haven't blogged since we were in Massanutten. I know you all are severely depressed without being able to read my rantings...so I'm gonna try to do better over the next few weeks.

I've got all the time in the world and I can't seem to find the time to write a little blog. I have been reading a lot still (more to come on that topic later)

I'm not sure what will happen with the blog when school starts. It may be that I'll be able to keep it up better because I'll be in a classroom with a computer during the day...or, I may be really really busy and not be able to find the time to devote to typing a few paragraphs a day.

In August I'll be starting work as an Art teacher at Winfield High School! I'm so excited to have this job! I love my summer, but I'm actually looking forward to it! :) I'm blessed. In August I am also going to start taking graduate classes at Marshall. ick. I'm NOT looking forward to that. But.... its being paid for by a scholarship so I can't really complain. :) again...blessed.

So, the blog may be taking a hiatus during the time that I'm in school, I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait and see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lately I've been working on getting some school stuff ready. I'd like to have a lot of stuff ready so I'm not as busy during the school year. I've been making some Power Point Presentations lately and working on my rules, procedures, etc.

I've also spent some time reading (of course). While at Massanutten I finished The Shack by William Paul Young. It was for sure interesting. It will make you think differently about God. I wouldn't recommend anyone to read it that wasn't secure in their beliefs about a Christian God. It could cause someone who doesn't know a lot about theology to be a little confused...but if you are a strong Christian, I recommend you read it....and don't stop reading when it gets a little weird (and trust me, it does). I loved it personally. It makes a lot of sense and it helped me understand the idea of "the trinity" better. Also, it makes you realize how amazing and wonderful God really is. It also emphasizes having a real relationship with God.

After The Shack I read the third book of the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. Its called Specials and was very good, but that comes as no shock after reading and loving the first 2, right?! After this book there is another related book called Extras. I'm sure I'll be reading that one soon! I just checked out another of his book from the library (this one, not in the Uglies trilogy) Its called Peeps. It'll probably be my next book...maybe. I have a few good ones lined up!

Right now I'm reading another John Green novel (actually, its his first novel) called Looking for Alaska. I am really liking it right now because its funny and interesting....

Here is some info. about the book that I stole from the author's website, http://www.sparksflyup.com/ (which I <3,>

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words--and tired of his safe life at
home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois
Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek,
including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will
pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.
Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact
one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as
an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

ok, I know this is random

This is a change of subject...by that I mean that this has nothing to do with Massanutten, but....I found it today and I wanted to share it.

This page I'm about to link to has a bunch of photos of Twilight tattoos. Yes, thats right... loads of females with crazy Twilight body ink. Now, I think I'm pretty crazy about the Twilight books...but this is really crazy. Worse than just that....some of these are just terrible! I mean, I think I could draw better in 7th grade. A few are pretty good... one is a gigantic whole back tat of Edward. yikes. You should check it out.

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/07/sure_why_not_twihard_tattoo_ga.php

Massanutten Photos

at the vineyard tour

playing frisbee golf

hiking

at the top of the chair lift

day 1 @ massanutten

Well, here we are at Massanutten. I guess its a good thing that I haven't been on the internet to update the blog or facebook or anything. I guess that means I've been busy, sort of.

We got here around 7ish last night. We stopped and ate at this really yummy BBQ place called Hank's Smokehouse. It was so yummy! I had a 1/2 lb pork BBQ sandwich with cole slaw and a yummy pepper relish...with french fries. Mom, Dad and Jesse all ordered the same thing; it was called Big Whiskey Chicken Sandwich. Who orders chicken at a BBQ place, right? Well, they all LOVED it. They said it was the best chicken sandwich they'd ever had. It did look pretty good, but Jesse wasn't into giving me a taste. Mine was delicious, so I don't care.... :)

Here at the Massanutten Resort they have lots and lots of activities, but they cost ya...a lot. So, Jesse and I being cheap weren't planning on doing too much. They have these cards you can buy for 100 dollars and they make your activities cheaper...even some are free. Well, we knew it woudn't be worth it for us....so we weren't going to buy them. BUT.... (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) when we checked in, they offered us all a FREE activity card if we go to a "tour" of the resort. Yeah, we aren't stupid....we know that this tour is really a HUGE salespitch to get us to buy a timeshare here. Well, we aren't going to do that!! I don't care how much they pressure us. So, we just give up 2 hours of our time.....and get to see inside some of the hundreds of different buildings and units here. (This place is MASSIVE) We are going to do the "tour" on tuesday morning.

Today...we woke up...hung around the unit for awhile. This is a really nice place. It has 2 bedrooms. The master has its own bathroom. Jesse and I are sleeping in two twin beds and next door to our room is an ENORMOUS bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and a dual-head shower. It has a large kitchen with pretty much all the kitchen stuff for cooking, living room, washer and dryer, 3 tvs, a dvd player, vcr player, etc....

Then we went for a little drive to a town called Elkton where we went to a FoodLion to get groceries. When we got back we had some sandwiches for lunch and then headed over to a craft room that is in the ski lodge. We all made tie-dyed t-shirts! Can you beleive that? I haven't made a tie-dyed t-shirt since I was around 12! I hope mine turns out pretty! They told us to keep them closed up in plastic bags for at least 7 days! So, I guess I won't be getting to wear it for awhile.

Jesse and I went to check out the workout facilities at this place called "Leclub." It was ok...but some of the equipment looked like Noah used it on the ark! I ran a bit on a treadmill, got on an eliptical, then did some weight machines.... it was ok, but...so NOT the Hilton. There is another gym down the hill in another building, so we may try that tomorrow or the next day.

When we got back from the gym, I sat out on the front porch and read a little of The Shack. Its my newest book selection...and I think I'm going to love it! I'll write more about that later! But as I was sitting there...I looked down and there was a deer laying right beneath me! We fed it a carrot and some apples...then another one came and we fed it too!!

Mom cooked dinner (turkey sausage rigitoni with vodka sauce.. yummy!) Then Jesse and I went for a little walk.....and for the last few hours we've just been sitting around watching some stuff on tv. They have 5 HBO channels here, so...we've been watching movies.

now...its late! goodnight!

gettin' ready for Massanutten, Va

Jesse and I are going with my mom and dad to Massanutten, Va for the next week. Actually, we are leaving in 2 hours...and I'm still in my pj's with no makeup on, so I really should be getting ready to leave...but I wanted to write a short blog first.

I've been searching the internet for stuff to do in Massanutten. I told Jesse that I was hoping it wasn't "Mass-a-nutten-to-do" haha. Turns out that the resort we are going to has TONS of stuff to do. However, theres a catch...... you pretty much have to pay for everything. So, that kinda stinks. Plus, the four of us are only taking 1 car and the resort is HUGE (so you can't walk to the pool) so I'm really not sure how that is going to work out. I just hope we have a relaxing time and I get to lay by the pool and read ( you don't have to pay for the pool thankfully!)

I'm sure I'll be writing more about the place later. As for now, I'm offa here..... gotta go get ready!

still lovin' my summer!

The last few days have been very relaxing...I'm really enjoying my free summer! I can't wait until next year when I can still get a paycheck while doing this! (btw, teachers don't get paid during the summers, they can just opt to receive smaller paychecks during the school year so they can still get paid during the summer)

On Monday, Mom and I went to the Prime Outlets in Jeffersonville, OH.

It was the first time that I've been there and it was really really nice. I bought 2 cookie sheets (from the Corningware store), a pair of brown shorts & a pair of white capris (from J. Crew). We ate at Chipotle for dinner...hehe...which is Jesse's FAVORITE! He was going to come with us, but he backed out at the last minute (because he's not really into shopping for 9 hours straight) But, I called him and told him that I was eating at Chipotle...and I think he was mad that he didn't come!!

Yesterday I needed a day of rest....which I did...mostly, except that Netflix sent me a new Jillian Michael's workout DVD. Its called Boost Metabolism Burn Fat , or something like that. It was T.O.U.G.H. I seriously had to stop 3 times, hit pause, and just get my breath. Once I even walked to the bathroom, because I thought I might toss up my breakfast!

I did the same DVD today...but made it through the whole thing without hitting pause once! Jesse and I (attempted) to play tennis. Really I just try to serve and try to hit some balls back. I'm terrible at tennis. Seriously, I've never seen anyone worse....but, it did make us laugh a lot!!

After that, we took a long walk around some neighborhoods in Teays Valley. The weather was REALLY nice today.

I even laid out in the sun on the back deck and read a little today. I tried to lay out yesterday, but as soon as I did....the clouds came out!!

I've been reading a new author...and I like it so far! Its called An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Its about a kinda dorky-ish high school student and former-child prodigy named Colin Singleton. At the beginning of the book, he has just been dumped by his nineteenth girlfriend named Katherine. Yeah, that's right. He's dated 19 girls named Katherine. If you read this book, you'll come to find out that Colin's prodigy causes him to obsess over languages. He can anagram anything in seconds. Wikipedia defines an anagram as...

"...a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place."

This is a story about how Colin desperately tries to continue to matter after his child-prodigy status is gone...and how he attempts to explain and get over his Katherine habit. Did I mention that it is HILARIOUS?

no bloggy long time

Last Thursday Cassie and I had a good time shopping all day in South Ridge.... We went to The Parent Teacher Store in Cross Lanes first. While we were there we saw some of their really neat beaded ID badge lanyards. They are expensive though...so I thought that it could be cheaper if we would just make our own.

Then we went to HomeGoods. Cassie had never been there before and of course, she loved it. We spent a lotta time in there. She ended up getting a really nice set of prints for her living room wall.

Then we went to eat lunch at O'Charley's. It was delicious! I ate 3.5 rolls and a whole southwestern style grilled chicken salad. yummmmmm! I think it was around 4:30 when we ate.

Then we went to Michael's. We looked at a bunch of stuff....but spent FOR-EV-ER looking at beads. They have about 3 isles of nothing but beading stuff. It was a lot of fun. It was almost 8 o'clock when we left there!!

I found some nice green beads and some little silver stars. Its a Winfield Generals lanyard!! This is what it ended up looking like at first.

A few days later I went to Michael's and bought some better beading thread. I cut this one up and restrung it. I like it a lot better now. I also made 2 more lanyards, one is black and white and the other is black, white and red. I haven't photoed them yet...but I will.

Jesse has a job interview tomorrow.... for a personal banker job in Lavalette. He's going to drop me off at Michael's and I'm going to buy some more beads!!

Yesterday, Jesse and I went to see Transformers II at Marquee in South Charleston. It was a decent movie. I liked the first one a lot better. Shia Labeouf was amazing! He's a great actor, even for an action movie like Transformers. I think he'll be an incredible actor in the future. The movie had so much action that it gave Jesse and me both a headache! I'm surprised that I didn't get a stomachache too...because I ate a whole box of Hot Tamales!! :) Boy, they were yummy too!!