Puppy Update

Ann's puppies are so precious! They are growing so big. They have started venturing out out of the barn during the day to play a little, but they don't get too far from their mommy! There are eight of them. Pass along the word to anyone you know! We're giving them away to an AWESOME home who will spoil them rotten just like CoCo.

One little pup has some sort of skin infection around his little eye. I felt so sorry for him. So I took him inside and bathed him in flea shampoo (don't you know he loved it--he was actually very good) and then cuddled him in the towel until he fell asleep. He slept for over an hour in that towel without moving! He is very vocal and makes cute noises all the time. There is a cute picture of Tristen with the largest pup and the smallest pup. They are SO sweet! I want to keep all of them....

Buck couldn't stand missing out on a photo and he ran over and plopped down right beside me. Talk about jealous....

Sweet babies...This is a photo of the biggest and the smallest. The little one is so cute! Well, they all are.

They all curled up in my lap and started sleeping. They can just fall asleep anywhere.

This one below (left) got the flea bath and smelled so good. Ann couldn't stop sniffing him when I returned him to the pack.

Casey's Baby Shower

Okay, I know this is so sorry, but I am just copying Jill's post on this shower. hee hee. Maybe I'll throw in a silly word or two...

"Casey is too cute with her little belly! Kate will be here in March so we wanted to make sure she has lots of cute things when she arrives! Gail had Casey's shower at her house this past weekend and Casey got so many great gifts..half of which Sophie decided to open herself!
We are excited to shower Heather next before Baby Leslie arrives in August..can't wait to find out Boy or Girl!!! Love you girls!"

And I took some awesome pictures with Casey's high-tech camera. I like to get a lot of candid shots in my photography. I don't like them all posed. But you'll have to catch her blog to see them! Maybe she'll upload them.

Game Night

Last night, Mrs. Nancy had several folks over to watch the Sugar Bowl and enjoy some food, fun, and fellowship. Jill's (Stallworth) birthday was two days ago, so we also celebrated with her. Rock (Liv's dad) had grilled chicken wings and quail wrapped in bacon (maybe pheasant too??) and it was delicious. Mrs. Nancy had an appetizer that was delicious--I couldn't stop eating it. It was an artichoke dip that included artichokes, black-eyed peas, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1 dry package Hidden Valley Ranch, and sauteed onions on the bottom. YUMMY! She also had some pepper jelly over cream cheese.

Then the games began! I wasn't really into the Bama game, as many of us ladies were just chatting and having fun. Around halftime, Olivia got out the games and we had so much fun. We played Cranium and Partini. I just love getting together with the Idlands for game night because they are so creative and come up with good answers. I think Cranium was my favorite although Partini was fun too!

Jill's Birthday Cupcakes

Sheila laughed so hard she almost peed in her pants!

They had to bounce a ball and catch it in some little cups in Partini.

The guys were trying to spell 'Mississippi' backwards! They had to do one letter at a time.

The girls: (don't know why this pic keeps turning like this!)

Mrs. Nancy balancing a cube on her knee for some odd seconds:

2008 in a Nutshell

1) Where did you begin 2008? With Troy and friends at a backyard party in Greenville and then snow skiing in Breckinridge

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day? lovebirds

3) Were you in school anytime this year? ha, everyday!

4) How did you earn your money? teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic!

5) Did you have to go to the hospital? noah

6) Did you have any encounters with the police? Well, I made it until December 27 and then I got pulled over and realized that I had been driving for two years with an expired license due to an unpaid ticket for an expired tag....long story but I am a legal driver now....$377 later

7) Would you relive 2008 over and over again? 2008 was awesome year! I found happiness again but wouldn't relive. Looking forward to the future too much!

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000? my laundry room....exciting, I know

9) Did you know anybody who got married? Yes, Jessica Poff, Lauren & John, Heather Michelle!

10) Did you know anybody who passed away? fortunately, no

11) Did you know anyone who had a baby? No, but EVERYONE is pregnant!!

12) Did you move anywhere? no

13) What concerts/shows did you go to? Just Bama Jam

14) Are you registered to vote? Of course!

15) Do you still have the same job as you did in 2007? yes, still at W.O. and hope to be still! Proration is making me nervous for my tenure year!

16) Has anyone betrayed you in 2008? no

17) Where do you live? Greenville

18) Describe your birthday? I was in New Orleans on a conference for school, but managed in a little fun!

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2008? put up drywall and tile. Trust a man! lol And snowski

20) What has been your favorite moment? discovering the Twilight series!

21) What's something you learned about yourself? I think I have developed Adult ADD. Or either eXTREME absent-mindedness....I can't keep my mind on anything or finish anything I start for a while!

22) Any new additions to your family? In nine months! psyche...not yet!

23) What was your best month? July, I guess. Out of school and relaxing at beach

24) Were you in a relationship this year? the best one ever!

25) What music will you remember 2008 by? "Low" and "Dancin' Queen!"

26) Who has been your best drinking buddy/buddies? Liv

27) New friends? Sure, and good times with the old ones!

28) Favorite Night out? In Gatlinburg relaxing with Troy and a glass of wine in the hottub!

29) Would you say you've changed since the beginning of this year? Yes, I've taken on more responsibilities, and have learned that life CAN be enjoyable and that people can be trusted!

30) Do you think 2009 will be better or worse? better! I'm gonna get me a husband and a fam! hopefully...

Christmas 2008

It has been wonderful spending time with family and friends! I've been back and forth between Hartford and Greenville three times in the past week! But that's okay. We did Christmas with my dad Sunday night and Christmas Eve with Troy's family at Carmin & Tracy's house. Then Christmas day, it was back to Hartford for the Gardner Christmas at Grandmama's. Then back to Greenville for Christmas with Troy's dad. WHEWW!!!

Christmas was wonderful. We enjoyed having Tristen over to spend time with and Ms. Janice, Troy's mom, has been staying there every weekend since her house almost burned! They will rebuild it after the New Year. It's pretty safe to say that both Troy & I spoiled Tristen for Christmas! It's fun having a youngster to buy for. He got a bow and an iPod shuffle along with a ton of clothes & shoes.

Of course, Coco and Buck got to come in for all the events! Buck acted like a big baby. Poor ole' Ann had to stay outside in the barn with her pups, who are growing! I'll get new pictures this week. They still haven't opened their eyes.

Gingerbread Cookies!

I actually made some cute Gingerbread cookies Sunday night for my students. They were SO easy. I just bought the Betty Crocker Gingerbread mix so all I had to do was add butter and a tablespoon of water and mix! My kind of baking! Now, the one thing they don't really tell you is that you need a lot of flour on the workspace or else the cookies will stick to your surface (it says to use sparingly, but that didn't work). I used a glass as a rolling pin and a gingerbread boy cookie cutter. Then I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes!

Next I put a little icing outline on them. If I had of thought about it earlier, they would have been cuter, but I just didn't have time. Here's a little tip: if you just buy the vanilla icing in a can, you can scoop some out into a Ziploc, squish it all to one bottom corner, seal and snip off a little corner. Then you can squeeze out the icing in any shape, lines, etc. You can also add food coloring if you need other colors instead of buying all different flavors. (I also do this when making Deviled Eggs--put all of the yolks and good stuff into a big Ziploc, smash it up with my fingers, then cut off the bottom corner and squeeze it back into the whites). There's Martha for ya...

I made them because we made a Gingerbread Graph showing what part we ate first (math). It was fun and turned out cute! I enjoyed my Christmas cookie baking and plan on getting Tristen over here to make some more with me (if he wants) next week!

And here are my students on board to listen to The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. I had to stamp their boarding ticket before they could "ride." We also learned cool facts about the North Pole (Arctic region) and documented them here in our podcast:

http://parmer.bce.schoolinsites.com/?PageName=TeacherPage&Page='DocumentsCategory'&CategoryID=16262&iSection=Teachers&CorrespondingID=36967

I finally got my tree finished last week. My camera doesn't have a flash, though, so you can't really see it!

Ann Stinson's Puppies

Troy's sweet lab, Ann, had her puppies either late Friday night or in the wee Saturday morning hours (which was Troy's birthday--I prefer to think they share their birthdays). Poor ole' Ann is getting on up there in age. Troy thought he had gotten her to his Dad's to be fenced up when she was hot-to-trot, but apparently he wasn't quick enough!

There had been a beautiful Huskie hanging around the house and I thought for sure that he was the father. But these puppies are all chocolate labs like their mother! Troy thinks there is another chocolate lab down the road that could be the daddy. They are so precious! She had 10, but one passed this afternoon and I was so sad. I thought it was coming because he was cold and wouldn't get in there and suck on her teets. Sorry, had to throw that in there. I really was sad and teared up and hugged Annie. So if anyone wants a sweet lil' puppy, let me know!