Just Pictures......

Not much to say...it was nothing but fun! Celebrated Jimmy's 62nd birthday and Memorial Day weekend with friends and family and just had a great time. Thanks to everyone for joining us and making this a great weekend! Never can have too much food and sunshine!

Leaving....

This is it, folks. I am leaving. I am packing and walking out of this classroom for good. I made the decision in November to retire....BUT...then they ask me to stay part time if there was a position open.

So for 6 months my future employment has been hanging by a thread. Knowing that I was firm in my decision I made the most of what I knew was maybe my last semester....and I had the best kids I had ever taught in my room this year. They were incredible. I enjoyed each and every day and walked out in the afternoon with a smile because it was a GREAT day.

The rules come with me. If I move to a different area my rules go too. I think that is part of my frustration at work somedays. It is the teachers who are afraid to enforce the rules for fear the kids won't like them. I found it is just the opposite. The kids respect authority...if you remain consistent.

So things are packed and this is my last four days in this room. My heart is heavy because I loved my time in here. Two new teachers will do my job. They will be good. Things will move on...maybe in a different direction but they will move on.

As for me...I will move on too. I am hoping by the end of the week there will be a final resolution to this roller coaster. It has been emotional and difficult but I know it is right. So next Friday I either walk out for good or I move to a new room and regardless of which way I go I intend to make the most of the rest of my life!!!

The Scoop....

I am an admitted news junkie. I have a friend...Carol... she is my news junkie competition. We are always trying to outscoop each other. Every morning it is "hey, guess what I heard...yep, I one upped you today!" Well, Carol, here is the scoop IN AND OUT BURGER is coming. It is not only coming...it is coming to Firewheel Town Center!!!!! Like right up the street! The one and only in Texas and we get it right here in Garland. I do not know who managed that find but KUDDO"'S to you.

No more looking forward to a California trip to eat that renown burger...it will be here. Wow! For anyone who has never tasted the treat just get ready. You will be hooked! I have given up burgers but when this arrives I am in...I will be there...a lot!!!!

So, Carol unless you call me in the next ten minutes I have scooped you on this one! Sorry!

Season of Growth....

Yes, it is spring. I love it. I love fall too, but spring is the time for growing things. I wait patiently for Good Friday. Years ago my elderly neighbor told me not to plant anything until then. "It will never make it if you plant too early" Mrs. Grounds would say. I still listen to her and my plants never go in until that day.

It works. I am now waiting for my strawberries to turn red and admiring my daily hibiscus blooms. My backyard is beautiful. It is my mini paradise. I love to sit out there in the evening and admire the new growth that spring brings. It is peaceful and therapeutic when the last days of school are hectic and stressful. And guess what else is growing this spring...my grandchild. Yes, Brooklynn is having her own spring growth period. Everyday there are new developments in her little world.

She can stand up now. Brooklynn is proud of her newest skill and her new front teeth. With her it is a constant grin anyway and now those pretty new teeth are just part of that precious smile. And crawling is not even unique anymore. She is a young lady on the move!!!
I can only imagine what life will be like for mommy and daddy in the next couple of months. Childproofing and keeping a close eye on a baby with places to go. I simply cannot wait to see her in a month!

Zip Lock Omelets....

We tried something a little different at school today...an experiment of sorts. My kids were my guinea pigs as I am always looking for something new and creative to do in the foods lab. Maybe something they will actually do someday when they are out on their own.

You never quite know how something will work out but this was a total success and the kids were excited talking about all the different options they might want to try the next time they made zip lock bag omelets.

Here is the recipe.....

1 quart zip lock FREEZER baggie

2 eggs

A variety of ingredients such as cheese, sausage, bacon, ham, onion, tomato, green pepper, mushrooms, ect.

Put two eggs in the baggie and knead until blended. Add a tablespoon of ingredients of your choice. Mix gently. Drop sealed baggie with all air removed into boiling water for 13 minutes. Open baggie carefully and slide onto plate. Enjoy!!!! My students did!!!

Mother's Day Weekend....

We celebrated Mother's Day weekend in typical Shubzda fashion! It all began Friday night when I made a run to the grocery store to grab some things to take to the lake ... a few things to keep me out of the Gun Barrel City Walmart (that is a whole story in itself). On the way home, in 6 o'clock traffic someone decided to share the lane I was in and ran into the side of my car. Oh, if you only knew how many times my old red Tahoe has been in the repair shop for body damage! So, let's just add another trip in for rebuild and I will try and get another 10,000 miles out of it before it completely gives up! Off to the lake to enjoy the weekend.....dented car aside, time to enjoy some fun in the sun. The fam bought me new ceiling fans for Mother's Day so Jimmy decide it would be his contribution to get them hung. Three hours, and one fan later he decided that fan number two would wait until another day.

I entertained myself with twelve cans of black spray paint in an attempt to change a 20 year old wrought iron table from yellow to black. Like Jimmy, I decided that the four chairs would have to wait until another day. I was developing a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome from holding down the button on the spray can...enough of that for today!

So with home improvement projects put up for the day we set out to cook a little dinner and relax. Apparently the gods had other plans for us because we got a distress call from the youngest of our brood saying he was on his way home in the boat and it was sinking...yes, sinking in the middle of the lake at 6 in the evening. Now, you have to understand that Drew does not panic easily. He is the ultimate cool one under pressure so when he said he was sinking we knew it must be serious. Not knowing exactly how to handle this, Jimmy jumped on the jet ski and set out to investigate and hopefully rescue. I stayed home wondering if we were going to have to send divers down to salvage our sunken watercraft.

After trying to bale out water with two 12 ounce beer bottles the trio decided to try and tow the thing back to dock and pray the not so big jet ski and a tow rope would do the trick. As you can see they made it...much to my relief. Yes, the boat was full of water but it was safely home and we will just evaluate what to do another day.

Not to let the weekend end on a dull note, as I was packing up I looked out the window when I heard our Boston Terrier yelping only to discover that Sara had hooked poor Max through the ear when she was putting up her fishing pole. Some pliers and lots of tears later, Max was unhooked and seemed no worse for having been caught with a hook. It is the end of the day and we are all safely home and watching a movie. Figure that is the safest way to end this weekend. Hope you all had a great day with family!!!

Sachse Saturday Night.....

So what do you do in Sachse on Saturday night when you are invited to hang out at the "Redneck Palace"? Well, you go of course! Yes, you drop everything, take off your PJ's and head across Highway 78 to where the fun is!

What was on the menu this particular night? S'mores on the smoker...I am sure this is how everyone does them right? Believe it or not Sara has never had a S'more. I have purchased the stuff and taken it to the lake on several occasions but seems like we are always to tired to light the fire and eat at the end of the day. Sitting around and enjoying the lake can wear you out!

So tonight was the night. Heat up that marshmallow, and enjoy that campfire classic! Okay, so it must have been good. Sara had three!!!

No shortage of beverages when you are sporting a "beer belt"...not to be confused with a beer belly.....which you might get if you consume too many of the cans in the "beer belt"! From what I understand the neighbors actually enjoy Drew and his non conventional lifestyle. With the wife out of town Ralph actually wondered over for a pre dusk game of washers...though I did not see him enjoying any of the S'mores. Maybe that was because his marshmallow fell in the pit!

If you are driving down Cedar Creek Lane just drop on by....there are always extra seats on the bale of hay for a crowd!

Little "Miss B"....

Just a bit about what is going on down in Tampa Bay...but mostly a little bit about our "Little Bit"! I am finding out that our granddaughter won't be little for very long. In the short two weeks since I left she has become a totally different child according to the reports I get from mom and dad. Brooklynn is on the verge of sprouting her first two teeth! Soon no more toothless grin :( She is just days short of crawling officially, though she gets herself wherever she would like to go via some sort of body movement. Mandy has found out nothing is safe anymore...as like all children, if it is in her hands it goes in her mouth! Remember those days??? Time to child proof! And the fam made their first trip to the white sands of the Florida beach. No she is not ready for body surfing yet but she is sporting her first sunhat....no wrinkles for this young lady when she is older!

Cannot wait to have them home for a long weekend in June. Shubzda Family Lakefest time and we have to introduce her to the part of the family that has not even gotten to meet her yet. I can't wait!