Wake up call

I almost don't realize this wonderful feeling. It's like someone allowed me to not work on weekends and sleep in with out the use of an evil, torture devise known to most as an alarm clock. Oh wait, that's exactly what just happened. No musical, no freshman parent forums, nothing to do with mid or all-state choirs, nothing. I slept until wait for it...8:30 on Saturday AND Sunday.

Regrettably I took no pictures from this weekend so reenactments from cats will have to do.

I cannot remember a time in recent memory where I have felt this good and rested! Thankfully church had a women's retreat and although I am a woman  I decided to skip the retreat with the lovely church ladies have my own type of retreat with my family and hubby! Since so many were gone we didn't even have church choir this morning...thus the morning off to sleep in! Not trying to brag about skipping church and all of you who are about to judge/condemn/preach to me about the values of church can just skip on to another blog because I feel amazing and there's nothing you can do about it.

yup, still going with the cat reenactments. See them laughing?

The perfect storm of a weekend began Friday night with a quick stop by BHS to see my student sing the anthem and then we met Mom Dad, and UNCLE RAY in town from Seattle for dinner. Well he was in town to see the family not to go to dinner at the oh so fine dining establishment of Chili's but you get my point. The weekend continued with a visit at my parents house with Ray, Shari, and Lisa! They told story after story about visiting Grandma's house and the endless hours of fun there consisting of games like swinging statues where my Mom would spin a cousin or sibling and then throw (hurl) them and they had to stop in some sort of statuesque pose. Or classics like bicycle chicken ( I am giving this game a name because no one could remember the name) where a child would ride as close to the curb while the other kids kept their feet on the side of the road as long as possible before moving their feet with only valuable seconds to spare before the bike crushed their tiny toes. The kids would also test fate by riding close to the home with the crazed dog who would always run after them and bite at their legs. Lastly on rainy days the cousins talked about playing "coloring contests" where my Mom would use her ruler to point out mistakes as head coloring judge. ("I was tough but I was fair" Michelle) They would also sing hymns on the front porch with a Church of Christ hymnal and just once they called on the spirits of JFK and Abraham Lincoln to thunder if their presence was there...of like it often does during a storm, thunder and lighting crashed down thus ending their playing with the Ouija board. I loved hearing their stories but even more I enjoyed seeing my Mom and family laugh so hard!


Seriously? still the cats?



Today we helped P's Mom and sister get some stuff done around their new house (we= P) and we organized, cleaned and as lame as that sounds, it was so nice to just be HOME. With a quick stop from soon-to-be Mommy again Sarah along with Kyle and little Holden we enjoyed catching up with the parents...and Holden enjoyed playing with our front door.

With such a nice weekend almost over it leave me with only one thing to do.

Pray for snow.

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

ps. I haven't been under a rock. I realize Whitney is no longer with us (Houston not Whit Gent). I haven't figured out how to create a blog post about her glory. It will come...just be patient.

SNOW DAY!

After a such a mild winter I was beginning to believe we would never get one of those beautiful, coveted snow days. Remember last year when we got 10 days off from school? I already accepted that wasn't going to happen and was actually really okay with it. Now I feel glad to go to work and am not waking up in the middle of the night panicking about the next day. Last year I believe God made those snow days possible only for me because I was just a few small steps from some sort of supervised home. (okay, I realize that God did not provide entire states with snow just for me, but it's a nice thought and who can really disprove it?) 



Disclaimer: Nashville looks nothing like this.

This year I am knee deep in musical land and getting ready for festival. Any high school music teacher knows these are super stressful times and since I've never done either (shh..trying to keep that on the DL) I feel overwhelmed a lot. There are so many late nights, extremely busy days and a ridiculous amount of paperwork that I'm always afraid I'll do incorrectly. So as much as I'm loving this new job and just continually hoping I'm doing well enough and can keep it up, I was overjoyed with this snow day. Those beautiful snowflakes started falling from the sky and covered (uhh hummm lightly dusted) our city and the madness took over. Via facebook I learned Kroger was a mess and while being glued to local news waiting for my county to be called I learned that everyone must have temporary blackouts while driving in the snow because folks seem to be bumper carring to get home.



Since I have been insanely busy our food selection in the house consists of salad dressing and 100 calorie popcorn bags. I really needed (eh, still need) to get groceries but the insane bread/eggs/milk frenzy kept me away and I dined on the world's finest oatmeal for dinner. Whatever, sitting here drinking coffee and watching the Today show makes this insane week seem so worth it. After this 8th cup of coffee I plan to go to the gym and spend this unexpected day off with my Mom! What could be better?

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Most wonderful time of the year

"There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago"

Does anyone really tell ghost stories at Christmas?

If you do please holla at me because you are just weird enough for me to need to know.

In other news this is the first time ever I prayed for it to NOT snow. The huge holiday concert is Thursday and Saturday and there was no way to reschedule. I have rehearsal every day, plus Lessons and Carols at church, plus finals, plus my second evaluation next week, and on and on and on and on.

So it may get a little light over in Natalie's News.

Think of me when you're telling your Christmas ghost stories.

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

10!

Today was snow day number 10 and although I did not get to enjoy the free day normally because of my bird flu, I did enjoy not having to take another sick day. Then the day got even better. Parts of middle Tennessee have been declared a natural disaster already. (insert giddy school girl laugh here) Why would I be excited about a natural disaster? Only because that means we wouldn't have to make up snow days! WHOOP! I looked on the metro facebook page and rumors are already flying about the possibility that we might not have to make up all these snow days. I can only imagine this is what winning the lottery or fitting into your skinny jeans everyday must feel like. The mysterious force that controls their facebook page said it is not a guarantee... but the eternal optimist in me just knows that means it's at least a possibility! It's not that I don't want to work, it's just that I really like getting paid when I'm at home not working even more. Honestly, the make up time is a joke anyway. After May 1, middle school consists of movies, odd and humiliating teacher vs student basketball games, often painful talent shows, and of course more movies. They've got to be saving loads (technical data here) of money on electricity, food costs, support staff, water etc on the days were are not there so really aren't we just doing our part to balance the budget if we don't go back? Everyone wins.

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

number 9...so fine...

Obviously two days in a row were enough for Metro...

The snow gods smiled down on this exhausted teacher and provided the perfect amount of snow for everyone to be happy. Nashville only got around an inch and honestly most streets are fine...this means I am off, can go play, and folks who do not get adult snow days can still drive into to work.

At this point we are way over a snow allotment so being the dedicated educator that I am one would think I would be wishing for near perfect weather so we would not miss another minute of opportunity to educate our future leaders....then you would wake up. Now I'm all about the most snow possible. In high school we got 13 snow days and it was declared a natural disaster and we did not have to make up any and that's what I'm hoping for now...

So what to do on my wonderful day off...yes of course coffee, cleaned for literally one minute, and watching ridiculous television...which is where I saw my fav Beverly Hills Housewife Kyle on Regis and Kelly (where Regis never comes anymore) I love Kyle but omg, she committed a huge fashion mistake... Everyone knows that the set of Regis and Kelly has those awkward chairs (pictured above left...not Kyle but you get the idea...they are tall and you have to basically jump onto the chairs...awkward) and Kyle wore...spanx...and even worse, she crossed her legs, multiple times and flashed those ugly bike shorts/torture chamber. Kyle is not the only star who has suffered the ugly unwelcomed flash of the spanx.

Above is a pretty pic of Kyle. I thought she probably already feels enough embarrassment from flashing her spanx on national television that she did not need it revealed again... plus I couldn't find it.

Above is Katy Perry in not such a teenage dream moment.

This one is a hard one to pull off...getting out of a car or out of a chair is most tricky in spanx and here is poor Eva flashing her spanx.

Everyone knows how much I love this Bravo big shot yet, here she flashes her spanx at New York Fashion week last year. This question is bizarre to me because why would you wear spanx when you're preggers? I guess you always want to be skinny...

Of course I have never worn spanx... oh sorry I'm back, lightening just struck our house and I was on fire... okay so perhaps I have worn spanx in the past...but whatever. These cheap tummy tucks can be give you that added boost of confidence but take a page out of the early 1900s and cross those ankles ladies! (or gentlemen too, Natalie's News judges not for the wearing of spanx)

For Natalie's News this has been a spanx-free (for today) Natalie-Corinne.

first full week

What is this sound? Is someone calling? Who is hurt? Wait... Why am I awake? What is this strange hour that the sun does not shine? I don't understand what is going on...Oh wait, that strange sounds is my alarm clock and I have go to work...on a MONDAY. (I have a job?!) During the entire Month of January I have enjoyed multiple (aka every) long weekends, very short weeks and joyous days of endless pots of coffee, leisurely mornings watching tv, working out, and genuinely loving life. Sadly snow escaped the greater Nashville area and I had to go to... work... on a Monday? I'm still in disbelief. Of course I would think this Monday back to reality would be somewhat normal... but then I remembered I work in crazy land and of course nothing could be normal. After my morning tutoring, duty, morning announcements, etc I heard this strange sound...what is that? Is someone taking a shower? Wait, that doesn't make sense. The strange confusion that the alarm clock provided took over my body again, but I was awake... (4 buckets of coffee later... I should know what's going on...) I walk outside to see the problem...there just must be a reasonable explanation to all this. Nope, wrong again. A pipe under the sink in the 7th grade hallway burst and water was going everywhere. I panicked and began running around looking for a bucket (who I mean WHO has a bucket? Why I thought anyone would have a bucket in 2011 is beyond me, but I digress) and found nothing. Then I attempted to put different sizes of garbage cans under the pipe but none would fit. The office had to call a plumber and we had to just wait in our classrooms until the leak (that dripped to the second floor and into classrooms) was fixed. Some 5 hours later my students (and I) were about to Rapunzel ourselves down the window when we were told to use the fire stairs to go to lunch. Hate to admit it... but I was so wishing that we would not be able to eat lunch thus forcing an early dismissal and adding one half day to our extended winter vacations, but no luck. Administration found creative ways for us to make it to lunch and we were able to finish the very productive day. I hope you are picking up on the sarcasm because I'm laying it on pretty thick. Even though it was crazy I kind of can appreciate random "hiccups" in the day because I guess it is something different...never a dull moment :)

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

it's coming for you....

Although it looks likes this outside...(maybe I exaggerated a bit... ME?!... first time for everything) some evil doesn't care when or where it strikes...although it make seem snowy, wintry world outside...You feel it necessary to cover up, brr it's cold outside, yes, bundle up, wear a coat, sweater, scarf, etc...but...

THIS is what greeted me to the mall today. Hold the phone. It is flipping freezing right now. Really a two piece? January? Some people still have Christmas lights up (just b/c you don't turn them on, they are still up...also....this reminds me of when brother and I would put up literally thousands of lights and then go back to school and leave it all to my family and my Dad would get so frustrated he would literally cut them down and my Mom would find bits of lights in the mulch until June... ahh, memories...) and you have the nerve to show me...this...So what to do? Yes, got all kinds of Jo Jo Circus clown about this one...my mind went wild...Diet? Work out? Lap Band? Lypo? Trainer? Water pills? One of those body wrap things? (ps do they work?)
NO! Obviously...bake a cake! Although I talked a big game about never using blogging advice I actually attempted to create this cake found on Smitten Kitchen. I also took pictures of some of the steps, but sans the special lenses, camera, photography classes and my iphone pictures include mismatched dishes and are not so artsy. But other than that, exactly the same.




This cake is not for me, it's for my Mom's birthday which we are celebrating today. It's got fruit, right? I just won't eat tomorrow.
Obviously I did not try the cake but I think it looks good and it smelled fab I must say. We shall see after brunch.

For Natalie's News this has been, a very scared of summer and articles of clothing that have 2 pieces, Natalie-Corinne.

Happy happy birthday to my perfect Momma!

I am so lucky to have the best Momma in the world and today is her special day! I mean no offense, but she really is a one of a kind lady that I am so proud of all the time! One of the best reasons that I love living in Nashville again is that I am closer to family. We are celebrating on Sunday for a wonderful Sperry's brunch and a (God-willing) homemade cake from me. I'll try to remember to take pictures :)

I only hope I can be just like my Momma! I hope you have the very best birthday! love you tons! Happy Birthday Momma!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

typical snow day

yes, it's hilarious that we've had so many snow days, I now have a routine. It goes a little something like this...

Night before

"Omg this is just what I need. I will get so much done. I will work out while watching the View (don't judge, you know we all love to hate Elizabeth Hasselback together) do laundry, organize the pantry, read, and perhaps go to hot yoga."

The actual snow day....

"I should relax! I don't always get snow days (this is number 8) today is about ME"

1,000 cups of coffee

loads of laundry? Perhaps 1.

I put the little pocket of dish washing detergent in the dish washer... that counts for something, right? Of course, cleaning goals = complete. We will never speak of the wreck of the pantry again. Plus, so much of P's stuff is in there it is inconsiderate to organize w/o him. Wow, such a good wife I am.

Read? hmmm, do blogs and facebook statuses count? Obvi, it's a snow day!

Hot yoga? I think the snow and hot yoga are probably dangerous, riding the bike and watching the view is totally enough. (Full-of-it)

For Natalie's News this has been a very non-productive, Natalie-Corinne.

SMH

Being a teacher I have gotten pretty good, who am I kidding GREAT at interpreting "creative" spelling, grammar, text speech, slang etc. Usually even if I haven't heard of it, I can figure it out, but today one got me. Ouch. The worst part about the whole situation is that I kept seeing the same 3 letters over and over in people's facebook statuses...adult statuses! (I have a strict no student facebook friend policy) Apparently there is the whole 3 letter word vernacular that I am totally illiterate in! Yikes. After the announcement that we would have another snow day I saw 2 teacher's updates and at the end it both statuses it said "SMH". hmmm SMH? Shut my mouth? No, h not m, can't be mouth. hmm see my hiney? Lord I hope my teacher friends are posting that... after much (about 20 seconds) deliberation the old lady from my previous lives took over and I. googled. it. So lame. But efficient. Anyway I realized that SHM means shaking my head... See, you CAN learn on snow days!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

thank you thank you thank you!

If anyone DID read my blog (bwhahaha) and actually sent good vibes/prayed/meditated/called on the king etc etc because IT SNOWED :) Currently I am sitting drinking coffee, watching tv and LOVING life. I braved the elements for some winter wonderland pictures. A small thank you for a wonderful day off :)

COLD!

Our pretty backyard!

Front yard.

Rebel love.

Is that Quasimodo? Loch ness monster? Abominable snowman? No. It is me sporting a MEAN snow day ensemble. Wish I could say I was running around in a hot little snow bunny get up but it is so cold I just keep throwing on more and more clothes so here it is! Tim Gunn is dying a little on the inside...but making it work in the I'm not leaving my house all day kind of way.

I hope you are enjoying your day as much as I am! For Natalie's News this has been a very happy Natalie-Corinne.

White Christmas - Snow Song

I hate to admit this, I don't really love White Christmas however I thought this clip was appropriate because of the AMAZING snow we have! I also love one of the drinks is... milk. More snow pics later.

For Natalie's News this has been a very SNOWED-IN, Natalie-Corinne.

unanswered prayers

Dear God,
Please let us have a snow day. Amen

Unfortunately this prayer was not answered and I am at school today. Garth Brook's amous song "unanswered prayers" explains the joy and appreciation we should have for unanswered prayers. I do not think ol Garth has 41 six graders for three hours today. It is finals week and we have a block schedule. I have my craziest class for so long and I am consumed with all kinds of temptations that would allow me to leave school. I contemplated all kinds of situations: stubbing my foot on purpose so I would not be able to walk, drinking epitak so I would vomit so much there would be no way I could come, but alas I came to school. I heard at one time 90% of success was showing up. Well today I'm scoring a 90... at that is all. The kids were as I expected...totally insane. Everything I tried failed. Games would only work for max 5 minutes and the boys would do something crazy. Thank God they are gone and I will not have them for a long time again!

In other news: the holidays are HERE! It has been so fun being consumed with Christmas parties recently. Almost every night last week and every night this week I am booked with a holiday dinner to attend. Obviously not a serious issue but I am beginning to run out of clothes, conversation and CALORIES. (dum dum dum) I am going to work so hard not to gain holiday weight that I fear is hoovering over me. Beginning today I'm working out hard core to counter balance all the recent extra social activities. It is my duty.

Well I am back to work, have a great day! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.