Something New week 15

April 8-14

Since Kyle is recovering so well from his surgery, we made plans to go on a double date with some new friends!! We had a wonderful dinner at Longhorn: steaks, wine, stuffed mushrooms...

then, PUTT PUTT TIME!

Sorry, Dawn! (and me)

Kyle is SO excited to be playing golf of ANY kind!

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Will won a free game! Hole-in-One on the 18th!

Wish the lady would have zoomed in...

We had a SUPER fun time! Can't wait for our next double date! 

Something New week 17

April 22-28

Tonight, I used a recipe that I first ate at a Pampered Chef party. I think I was in middle school (Mom? Remember? It was at that doctor's house).

I made TACO RING!!! Never had it!? Here's the link to the recipe. I was reminded of this recipe on Pinterest.

Here's the Pinterest picture.

Here's mine... just no toppings in the middle.
We  put them on top once we cut it.

I've really been slacking on my blogging. I'm still missing a few weeks. I'll do better!! 

Something New week 14

April 1-7

I've been wanting a new bed for a while. My bed is a hand-me-down and full sized. My feet hang off the end.  I have been in the working world long enough. I deserve an adult sized bed. I can afford an adult sized bed.

Queen Size

Thank you, ROSS Stores! $30 for CK mattress pad!

3 sets of sheets (also from ROSS)

My new bed... I need some decorative pillows!

Something New week 12

March 18-24

First lunch on the beach THIS YEAR!!
BUMMZ on the Beach
Stacey and Angela
Chicken Salad Platter

Something New week 11

March 11-17

This week marks the beginning of MARCH MADNESS! I normally join a bracket group on Facebook, but this year I got to join a new bracket... with Kyle, his sister, Laura, and brother-in-law, Bob. With the added "family" pressure, I was nervous creating my bracket. I usually pick teams based on their name (i.e. Gonzaga).  I needed to be more technical in my choices this year. I wanted to WIN!

Even though my Tarheels lost the ACC tournament, I HAD to have them win the whole kit and caboodle - they are my boys. Unfortunately, our team suffered some injuries... and you know what happened...

It was fun... watching the games with Kyle, sending trash talk texts to Laura and Bob, hanging up on Kyle when he called during overtime...

I lost... 

GREAT JOB, LAURA! When are we taking you to dinner?? 

Something New week 10

March 4-10

ACC TOURNAMENT!!! 

My dad was given tickets for the WHOLE weekend of basketball games! It was a great retreat from the craziness of hospitals and stress, and as much as I loved meeting Kyle's family, I needed to reconnect with my family. (No hard feelings, Hennemans!)  

TAR! HEELS!

Zeller received an award for excellent grades and excellent sportsmanship!

I love my UNC Tarheels!

Friday: UNC vs. Maryland 85-69


Saturday: UNC vs. NCSU   69-67


Sunday: UNC vs. FSU 82-85


Even though we didn't win it all, it a SUPER FUN time cheering, clapping, booing, yelling... 


TAR! HEELS! TAR! HEELS! 

Something New week 9

February 26 - March 3


We had Fine Arts Day last week.  Visitors that are involved in different arts come to display their art to our students: pottery, singing, dancing, visual arts, drama. The conclusion of the day was a TEACHER TALENT SHOW!

Some teachers sang, performed sign language, played guitar, tapped danced, but FIFTH GRADE told jokes! Karla and I perfected a comedy routine, complete with knock-knock jokes and our very own drum line. Mr. Adams (my student teacher) on drums and Mr. Heinz on the tambourine. duh-dun-CHI!

I've never told jokes on a stage or to that large of a crowd. I'm more of a say something funny with perfect timing among a group of friends. I was nervous with shaking knees and all! It was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed most of the jokes. I hope the students learned about different types of "art" to stretch their minds to extracurricular activities other than sports.

Here's one that was told back to me (by a younger student!):

What did the Pacific Ocean say to the Atlantic Ocean?
Nothing. It just waved. 


HAHAHAHAHAHA

We ended with this beauty....


KNOCK-KNOCK
Who's There?
Woo.
Woo who?
Woo who, it's over!!! 

Something New week 8

February 19-25


Kyle is still in the hospital, and when I started this goal of "Something New" every week, my plan was to do new things with him... He's on his way to getting back on track -- 


I had to think and search all the events of the last week to find "something new"...


On Saturday, in Charleston, after lunch with Kyle's cousin, walking down the street, 
A BIRD POOPED ON MY HEAD. That has never happened to me before. John said it is supposed to bring good luck. I sure hope so! Kyle needs it more than I do, so I passed the luck onto him. :)


No pics, sorry. 

Something New week 7

WE DID IT!!

My students made me encouraging cards!

I didn't have to call 911.

Week 7 (February 12-18): I RAN A HALF-MARATHON! 13.1 MILES!!! 2:40:53 -- My goal was under 3 hours, but in my head, I was aiming more towards 2:45:00. I DID IT! I signed up for the race before I met Kyle (who skydives, rides his bike for 100 miles, and does triathlons). Little did I know HE would be my "trainer" -- meaning he told me to go to the gym to run and I threw a tantrum because I really didn't want to, especially when he hurt his back and couldn't go with me. 

Sweet Arm Bands! They kept me warm! 

GOOD MORNING! 6:30AM

Then it was time....

The month that would end the'yelling'. 

The week he was in the hospital. 

The day he couldn't be there cheering for me every few mile markers. 

The hours I spent running. 

The minute I crossed the finish line. 

He couldn't be there.

He was there in spirit. I was wearing his LIVE STRONG bracelet. 

His sister was giving him updates via her iPhone app. 

I stopped my watch a little short of 13.1... OOPS!

It was a GREAT race! It was GREAT weather! It was a GREAT crowd! 

Something New week 6

Week 6 (February 5-11):

My something new this week isn't fun or exciting, but I wanted to document it so that when I look back on this year, this week will be a reminder of a lot of things...

My boyfriend started complaining about a sore throat on Thursday night... Long story short: fever, vomiting, 4 hrs at Doctors Care, no flu, no strep, more fever, no Super Bowl, ER, spinal tap, not meningitis, no fever, VA clinic, shaking, blue lips, 102* fever, two more days of up and down temps, more shaking, blue lips, ambulance, ER, X ray, "wear this surgical mask" another spinal tap, NOT meningitis, no more mask, talking to three of his sisters for the first time (over the phone in the ER!), admitted to ICU, another mask, sleeping in hospital chair, waiting for his sister to get to the hospital from Maryland, watching him: sweat, not eat, not sleep...

Now just sitting here watching and waiting... An unknown cause for the fever and he is severely dehydrated... I guess I'm not the great nurse I thought I was...

But I have realized a few things...
1. I really care about this man laying in the hospital bed beside me.
2. I need to buy a few more sets of sheets ( I washed a lot of sweaty sheets!).
3. Listen to your body; don't ignore what's it's trying to tell you.
4. I have a really GREAT team at work! They have gotten sub plans ready for me and helped more than I can ever thank them for!!
5. When you're sitting in a hospital room, you think about what's really important.

Even though this has been a difficult week, I know Kyle and I can look back and know we learned something about each other that we may have not learned without this experience.