something to think about....

it seems the past few weeks i have been on an emotional roller coaster...great things happen and then something brings that lovely high to an abrupt stop..makes me wonder why can't we always be on that "high"..wouldnt life be so much easier?

we had a meeting at west region that was pretty interesting..got me thinking about the future and where i see myself employed in 5 years, 10 years and so on. One thing i do know is my love for children and working with them. That remains the constant. There is nothing more wonderful than hearing a child say his/her "r" sound correctly after endless weeks of drill or hearing a non-verbal child give you a sound. You see to me that is one of the greatest gifts in the world. I love helping and shape these children..it is powerful. I mean don't get me wrong there are the occassional moments when you get kicked, bit, and hit and you are suddenly put right back into reality that it is not all roses...with anything there are moments you want to scream. But when God gives you the ability to help influence a child in a positive manner it is powerful. These children give me hope and inspire me daily to be a better person. They inspire me to dream big and realize that you can do anything you put your mind too. I just want to thank God for giving me this blessing because I don't think I appreciate it enough.

So as I sit at my desk waiting for the next group of kids to come barreling through my door, I simply smile because no matter how bad my day is they sure know how to turn it around.

We have to seize every moment we can to make a difference. It is a powerful thing.

i can hear them running as we speak...oh they sure can make me smile! even though they shouldn't be running.... ;)

There's a HOLE in my Kitchen

that's right there is a HOLE in the ceiling of our kitchen. On Sunday during the Colts game..more on that in a sec..I walk into the kitchen and scream "OH S*** we have a water leak!" JJ asked me what?? I said we have a water leak!

Called my dad immediately because he is an insurance adjuster...three calls later dad was at the house! I may or may not have interrrupted their gathering for him to come over, crawl in my attic and check out what was going on up in the attic. I LOVE YOU DADDY! and yes I still call him daddy....

Needless to say 60 bucks later the pipe is fixed, we have a hole in our kitchen and we are waiting for everything to dry out.

The brightside is that we now are going to forced to have our ceiling repainted and the kitchen as well, but believe you me this is NOT the way I pictured having that part of the house repainted..no sir!!!

As I am trying to see the good in this not soooo good situation I am thinking of paint colors..the decor and accents in the kitchen are a green..not bright, but green. So I am trying to come up with a paint color..the kitchen is currently a dark brown and not that I don't like, but I am tired of it and it is not the warm inviting color I have invisioned..

So..terracotta orange? a nice warm yellow? what are your thoughts? any colors you are loving for a kitchen? Don't think I am not headed to the nearest Pottery Barn to scope out their new colors for the year because I am headed there tomorrow.

So after all the tears and phone calls we do have water again..thank you lord! I simply have to remember that things happen and it's not the end of the world. There are far worse things happening everyday and as I type this....sure makes me count my blessings.

PS The COLTS are headed to the Super Bowl in Miami!! I was of course sporting my Peyton Manning jersey on Sunday and as I paced back and forth and almost changed from my jersey to my t-shirt to bring better luck..the Colts pulled it out! Can't wait for the Super Bowl. The Saints better bring their A game..

peace.love.COLTS.

Here we go...

Ok I have been away from the blogworld for far too long. A lot has happened and there is so much to discuss, so this will be bulleted and may just be a 2-parter!


First and foremost my bffe Jenn got engaged on her cruise about 2 weeks ago! Little did she know that I knew it was happening..her mom and I conspired but only for good! As soon as she emailed people letting them know I immediately planned a surprise brunch for her the day she came home! Needless to say it was a great surprise and she was so excited! Her mom, future mother-in-law and friends all came over to help celebrate this special and exciting time in her and brian's life. I cannot gush enough about her. Jenn and I have been friends for about 2 and a half years now and have been inseperable since. We have so many mutual friends it's crazy. And I can honestly she is one of the most amazing people I know. She is selfless and does so much for others and I CANNOT wait to be doing things for her. She never asks for anything and it will be fun surprising her during this process. Needless to say JJ and I are so excited for her and Brian that I can hardly stand it. Here are a few pics of the bride to be and I over the years...

at the fray concert this summer

rodeo cook-off last february

at the river this past summer.

and as one of my bridesmaids...

So needless to say it has been quite fun at the Lenz house sharing this time with Jenn. If you head over to her blog you can see her inspiration and ideas for her May 2011 wedding! Simply cannot wait.

I have not vanished...

I am here and have plenty to blog about but it seems like I am always putting it on the backburner...maybe tonight I will find the motivation to sit down and knock it out! It is not like I don't have any exciting news to share like my bffe got engaged and I threw a surprise brunch to celebrate last weekend or that the hubster surprised me with a new phone on thursday or that we went bowling last night and had a blast!

so more pics and lots of more words to come! going to hang with the hubs tonight...

AFC Championship game tomorrow at 2...so GO COLTS!!!

To Bake or Not to Bake??

Ok ladies I need some help from you fellow bakers...has anyone ever made a breakfast quiche or breakfast casserole? I am looking for a recipe for this weekend! Or any other yummy breakfast recipe will do..

hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far! I know I am! It has been a superb day so far and the weekend has just begun!


also so excited about my 3 day weekend! oh the joys of public education!

AND good luck to Jennifer who is running her marathon this weekend! I commend a person who actually enjoys to run!

Lost & Found

It never ceases to amaze me how the lost & found pile at school grows and grows with big winter coats as the days pass by and the weather being so cold out..don't the parents write the child's name in the jacket so it could be returned?

As I wandered into school on Monday..LATE as usual..luckily I am hourly and my day doesn't start until I walk into the door persay..I noticed that several kiddos didn't have coats on and had on short sleeve shirts..made me want to pass out the jackets in the lost & found pile...needless to say I would have probably been in the hotseat shortly after. Whatever happens to lost & found items? Do people eventually throw the things away? Do they keep them for themselves after no one has claimed it after a few days or few weeks? Makes me wonder...

As I am sitting in my now almost completely organized office I am staring at a blank wall that is lost...it needs me to find some inspiration to make this office my definition of perfection. As I flip through catalogs and pictures online...I get a little more lost. Maybe afterall I do just want the picture from the PB catalog I eyed a few months ago. The catch is it would cost me several hundreds of dollars to do it and I don't think JJ is going to just let me run out and do it. SO here is the picture...if anyone has seen anything similar for far less money please let me know!

this is my ultimate organized wall for the office! i feel like i could sit down and get some serious work done! bills would be paid on time and not lost in a random stack and i wouldn't feel so overwhelmed whenever i walked into the room....

I have a few more ideas I am looking into for other rooms in the house..we are working on a project for above our bed, but it will take some time and i am narrowing paint colors for the guestroom and guestbath..a nice soothing blue/turquoise is just what the doctor ordered!

hope everyone is having a great week so far!

ps the homemade chili and chicken noodle were HUGE hits over the weekend. we are eating leftover chicken noodle as i write this! plus it was healthy! even better!

tomorrow is wednesday! woohoo!

Did I hear that correctly??

A deep freeze is headed our way today and for the weekend at least. It is quite crazy that the temperature will be a record low..the record is from the 90's i think.. all i can is man it is going to be chilly  FRIGID is a better word i do believe. The plants and pipes are wrapped, but I have been thinking about food for the weekend because I know we will not be leaving very much this weekend. Hmm..what is in our pantry? Nothing warm and exciting. So along with all of the OTHER crazies in Houston I will be hitting our HEB on the way home from work..should be quite a treat! I am however making a list so it shouldn't be too terrible!

Homemade Chili for dinner on Friday:

• 2 lbs of turkey meat
• 2 cans dices tomatoes
• 2 packets of chili seasoning
• 2 cans of kidney beans
• cheese
• 1 bag of fritos
• 1 onion
• 1 box of cornbread

Homemade chicken noodle soup for saturday:

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 jug of chicken broth
• 1 bag of carrots
• 1 bag of egg noodles
• 1 celery
• seasonings to taste

Sunday??? Not sure yet..maybe leftover brisket, or whatever you can find!

• pizza is a staple for us
• milk for mac & cheese
• and anything else that i find!

Hopefully I won't be there for hours, but must get food!

tonight we will be watching the BIG Game and I will be cheering on the Horns..I mean I am from Texas and would much rather see them win then Bama..even though I am an SEC girl at heart.

I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace watching movies and just hanging out with the hubs. Should be a perfect weekend weather permitting.

PS we may not have school tomorrow..that is the word on the street. I cannot confirm or deny this for sure..but there is a possibility! So i am crossing my fingers that I can stay all nice and cuddly in bed tomorrow morning.

WHICH WICH TODAY ONLY...

Today only you can get a WHICH WICH sandwich for 99 cents! it is in houston only..but seriously that is a steal! just scarfed down my super cheap sandwich and it was a delish. some restrictions apply like usual..extra toppings are still extra and it is limit one per customer! So you and your hubs should order and pay seperately!

enjoy!

Bring It 2010!

I do not typically make new year's resolutions because I do not normally keep them. This year I have decided that instead of new year's resolutions..I have decided to make "life changes" persay. I am not talking about anything drastic, but making small steps towards being more healthy and active.

• DRINK MORE WATER!! Since I have been off of work and we have had company we have sodas in the house granted it is diet..still I went from maybe one a week to one every other day! YIKES!!! So adios sodas.
• BEING MORE ACTIVE. We have some great walking trails and we got some great workout stuff for Christmas. So it is time to get back into the swing of things.
• EATING MORE HEALTHY and portion control. When I am at work I typically don't snack or eat crap because it is not around. Well since it has been the holidays there have been a LOT of sweets..so I need to gain some will power in the sweet department!
• Be a more patient driver..now this will be hard, but it will take time. Since we live in the 4th largest city in the USA..there are plenty of bad drivers. I am not the best by any means but it seems like commom sense to not pull out in front of people who are going anything faster than 0..maybe it is just me???
• Lastly I need to be more appreciative of everything that Jonathan does for us. I am appreciative, but however sometimes after he has done something super amazing I can find the smallest thing wrong. I mean how terrible is that??

So there are my life changes that I am going to start working on this year and years to come. It is not going to happen overnight that is for sure, but the results will be worth it in the end.  

Off to enjoy my last afternoon before it is back to the grind tomorrow.