List of things to do today...

Well, it's finally Friday which is a good thing...however, it's a crazy day here at WBMS! My students are working on a project for the Read Across Alabama Celebrates Writing thing. They are writing stories and poems and drawing pictures about Alabama. They are funny kids! Mrs. Odom is trying to sort out all of the things that she needs to do in her head. (But, that can be quite difficult in a room full of 6th graders) So, I thought that it might be easier if I wrote it down! So, here we are...

1) Luke is sick...I'm going to call the vet and see when we can take him and what they think is wrong. He won't eat and is acting very sad. He's usually the most playful dog in the world. I'm worried about him.

2) I e-mailed our new renter this morning to tell her that I downloaded the form from the power company that we needed and now I need to fax it to her and then she will need to fax it to them. I haven't heard back from her yet. Josh signed her up for phone, internet, and satelight service and he said that her credit doesn't look good and she has a lot of deposits. That's not good.

3) We are still dealing with the break-in situation and I hate this part of being a landlord. There is a lot of paperwork and phone calls and e-mails and more paperwork to do in order to get someone moved in.

4) It's storming here and we might get out of school early. Now, don't get me wrong...I want to go home, I'm just worried about the group of my kids who aren't going to get their assignment today. I have to turn them into AEA on Monday.

5) I still have 2 midterms next week and am no further along in my attempts to prepare than I was yesterday when I was complaining about it.

ok...I think that about sums it up for now! My kids just went to PE (thank God for planning periods) and I am going to handle all of my business in the office!

Disaster turned blessing

It's almost the end of the week and I am very happy about that! We have had two baseball games this week that have lasted forever and I miss my husband! I am still in full-on study mode for my two midterms next week. I was sad to discover this morning that my computer at work will not play my psychology DVD's. That means that I can't study for that class here at school! Bummer! I get like one hour a day at home and I have to spend it studying? Yuck! So, anyway, we had a potential disaster situation at our rental but I think that the crisis has been avoided and hopefully some good came from it. Jack went to check the meter numbers on the power and water so that our new renter could have them turned on and the meter from the power box was missing. When he started to look around he realized that someone had broken in. Nothing was damaged and it was completely empty so there was nothing to take. They tried to get into our storage building but they didn't succeed. (which was really good news because Josh and I have a lot of stuff in there) So, that night Jack and Wendy emptied our storage building and took our stuff to their basement. (That was really nice of them) and then we called the power company to see what we should do about the meter. They said that the new renter would have to call and report it and they would come fix it. So...last night I sat down and called the new renter. (who hasn't signed a contract yet and is moving in 4 days) to tell her that there had been a break-in. I prayed alot about it because I was so scared that she was going to say "nevermind!" but she didn't. She is going to have an alarm installed by the same guy that installed our alarm. It's really great and we love having one. We are going on Sunday to change the locks and sign the lease. I am really happy about all of it. She is having the power and water turned on today and she signed up with Josh for new home phone service, Directv, and DSL. We are really hoping that this means that she is planning to stay for a LONG while! Also...while Jack was there the man that owns all of the property around us asked if we would consider selling. (WE WOULD LOVE TO SELL!!!) So, we called him and gave him the price. He was neither here nor there with his response but I guess we will see. He said that he would get back to us after he talked it over with his wife! We are definately praying about that and keeping our fingers crossed extra tight!! Having two mortgages + two car payments is never fun! But, I have nothing to complain about...We have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams! You know, when Josh and I got married we didn't expect that we would ever get to a place where we are financially secure but we have been married for 2 years now and we are there already. Josh is an amazing husband! He works hard and never misses a single day. He never complains and he is definately at the very top on his job! Right now he is competing in a contest for $5000!! Sure, he's competing with thousands of other people from all over the country, but I believe that he could actually win...Right now he is in the top 30!!! That's pretty amazing if you ask me! We certainly do not deserve all of the blessings that God has given us but we are so thankful for them! I know that it will just be a matter of time now until I'm out of school and working and having kids and all of that! :) Well, I feel like I've written a book and I'm sure that no one will actually get far enough into the blog to read this but I'm finished now!! That's all for today!

One Praxis and a couple of midterms...coming right up!

Next Friday I have two midterms. One is on campus-Adolescent Phychology, and one is online-Vietnam. This is one of those times where I don't know if all of the information needed to do well on the tests will actually fit into my brain. I have been working today on studying for my Vietnam test. The thing about online history classes is that there is no professor telling you what to study and what will be on the test. You are given 4-5 books (per class....I'm totally serious) and told to prepare for a midterm and a final. That about covers the extent to which they go to prepare you for tests. I am also getting ready to take the Praxis II in about 3 weeks. It is going to be killer and I do not expect to pass the first time. I did, however, just spend $50.00 on a set of flashcards. (I know $50.00 is a lot of money for flash cards) They are supposed to cover the "hundreds of topics that you MUST know in order to pass the test". Yes...you read that correctly. It did say "hundreds"! But, I guess "hundreds of topics" is better than the infinate amount of topics that I would be trying to memorize if I didn't have the cards. I mean, World and American History is a pretty big name for one test. In other Odom family news, Josh and I got our taxes done last night. It's definately a releif to have that out of the way! I'm doing ok on my diet however, that might not last for much longer because I'm starving right now and I am thinking that we have an hour before the game starts this afternoon that we could run to cook shack! :) Well, I guess that is all I have to say about life at the Odom Residence for today!

Catching my breath

Monday mornings are never fun but I am in a suprisingly happy mood considering that I have already sent one 6th grader to the office with a write up. Sigh. It didn't bother me too bad though. He needs a good talking to. I am happy because we have chosen a renter and she is moving in next Sunday! Yahoo! Sydnee and Gracie's pageant was Friday night. They were both beautiful and Gracie won this year! Yay! Sydnee won last year so we had the talk about how it was someone else's turn to win and she wasn't upset at all. She got top ten and she was happy with that and more focused on getting to Cabo for dinner before they closed. After dinner at Cabo I got into my car to leave (alone) and my car wouldn't start. I flagged my dad down and he jumped it off. I drove all the way home and then it wouldn't start again. Josh put a new battery in it last night and now all is well with the Endeavour. I had a fun day with the girls plus Josh yesterday at Bibb County pageant practice. Olivia and Sydnee are both in it next Saturday. I finally took my midterm and I am glad that it's over. I am FINALLY caught up on my school work and not planning to get behind again! (We'll see how that works out) I am dieting and doing pretty well so far. But, I just started this morning so.... I have 3 days of Field Expereince to do this week and next week. I am doing Wednesday of this week here at the Middle School and then Monday and Wednesday of next week at the high school. We have 2 baseball games this week: Tuesday and Wednesday. Every other day this week is gym day! I told Josh that he is really going to have to help me. Which means no ordering Outback cheese fries at 9 at night. Well, that's all of the news with the Odom family for today.

Learning the hard way

Josh and I own a mobile home in Arley where we lived when we first got married. We have been renting it out for the past 9 months and it has been really rough. I had no idea how to be a landlord when I first started. I thought that they would just sign the papers and start paying. We didn't make very many arrangements or addendums. Well, it turns out that there is a lot more to it than that! So, we finally got our bad, terrible, aweful renters out a couple of weeks ago (thanks in large part to my aunt Tina) and now we are ready to start over. Well, I think that it does suck that I had to learn the hard way but I'm kinda glad that I did because I am more than prepared this time! I paid to sign up for this online "landlord made easy" kind of deal where you basically fill in the blanks about what you want in your rental agreement. It was really simple and easy and then the papers come out so professional sounding. It gives you all of the Alabama rental laws concerning the subject in each area. I also have access to every kind of document that I could possibly need. I'm really excited about that! I am OCD when it comes to being organized! I have like a hundred kinds of documents labeled and filed away in a binder that I take to every meeting with our potential renters. So, anyway, I am meeting two women tomorrow who are the ones that we have narrowed it down to. I have prayed about it a lot and I feel ready to make the choice. They both love the place and definately want it. So, all I have to do is ask questions, get them to fill out an applicaion, send off a credit report, and then choose and sign papers! It sounds like a huge headache and last time it really was. But, I think that if I do well this time then Josh and I may just end up owning our own rental agency like my aunt Tina. It's easy income if you are doing it right and choosing the right people. I don't know why but I guess I just wanted to share all of that!

Test week at the Odom Residence

So this is test week for me. I have a midterm in my European History class that counts for 40% of my final grade. As it turns out, working full time, being a wife, and a full time student is not as easy as I thought that it would be. I think that I took on way too much at the beginning of this semester. Last semester I had 5 classes and I was on the Dean's List. This semester I only have 4 classes and I'm struggling. This is due in part to the fact that I started this semester with way too much going on at work. I had National Honor Society induction the third week of January and then the beauty pageant the next week. Now, this may not sound like much but I was basically in charge of everything by myself. (With the exception of this one lady who told me what to do and then told me that I did everything wrong...but that's a whole seperate story that I don't want to get into right now!) Anyway, I started out behind because of that stuff that was going on. Well, the other reason why I am struggling this semester is that I have 2 online History courses. Here's a word of advice-NEVER take an online History course. You WILL regret it! Those two classes are aweful! I will probably be lucky to get a B in either of those! Right now I have 7 chapters to memorize before Thursday and I am still working on #1. AAH! We have a baseball game this afternoon and I am going to try to force myself to study during the game! I feel like I am driving the husband crazy because I am freaking out over my test. I know that I will cram it all in at the last minute and it will be fine but the anticipation and the weight of the work load is killing me right now! Anyway, that's all that I have to say about that! In other Odom Residence news, Josh and I got to actaully spend an entire weekend together. We didn't do anything at all. It was great! I think that we have found good renters. I am meeting one lady on Friday and am waiting to hear back from another one today sometime. I have decided to run credit checks this time just to be sure. But, we should have someone in within the next couple of weeks. I'm really excited about that. Well, that's all the news about my life today!

Flowers

Ok...My wonderful amazing husband just sent me a beautiful bouquet of pink roses to work with a pink teddy bear! How amazing is that?

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, it has been a really hectic, crazy week for us and I am SO glad that it is Friday! I get to spend the WHOLE weekend with the husband! This is a rare occasion at the Odom residence because Josh usually works on Saturdays. But, he is off this weekend and I cannot wait to go home today and get started on our long break from the world! We are planning to go out to the Outback tomorrow night for Valentine's day. We always have a weekend date (We call it our Friday night date even if we go on Saturday!) of dinner and a movie and the dinner is almost always the Outback because that's our favorite! I LOVE that we have so much fun doing such simple stuff together! He's amazing and I still can't believe how much God has blessed me! AOh, and I just realized that the week of Spring Break when Josh and I are going to the beach is also our 2 year anniversary! So, we are going to be at the romantic beach hideaway on our anniversary...and we didn't even plan it like that! Isn't that amazing! I'm so excited!! Anyway, yesterday Luke (our giant German Shepard) escaped from the fence in our back yard and our mean neighbors called animal control because they don't like our dogs. So, animal control called me and last night, and Tiffany and I had to go get him from the shelter. He was scared and he said that the shelter stinks and that he will not run away again. (We'll see about that.)He weighs about 200 lbs and he wouldn't get into the car. Tiffany had to practically pick him up. It was rough! But, I did manage to finish my outline yesterday! Yay! It's a week early but I had to finish it because I have a midterm next week that I haven't started studying for at all. We also had two calls about our rental yesterday and I am hoping to get some more calls today. My mom is going to show it this week and my dad is going on Saturday to pressure wash the outside and clean up the yard. We are so thankful for my amazing parents because if they weren't helping us then I don't know what we would do! I heard from the lady at UA and she said that if I transferred then none of my credits from Athens would count. AAH! That sucks pretty bad! But, I don't mind the drive too bad and I know that it will not be for long! I'm just going to do it! Well, that's about all of my news for this week. Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!

Random thoughts Random days

I'm definately feeling much better today. I'm not sure why the bad mood yesterday...Just one of those days I guess. I got to spend all evening with the husband last night and that was nice. He took down the Christmas lights so now it is no longer Christmas at the Odom's. (Tear) I am at work (as usual) and yes, the 6th graders are driving me crazy but I have come to accept that as a part of my every day life. I am actually getting some school work done! Yay for me! I have started my outline on "The Quiet American" and I am already done with the introduction. The chapters are a little bit trickier but I still think I'm doing pretty good. We had our girl scout cookies delivered today and I am already halfway through one pack. I can definately hear the gym calling my name tonight. I don't want to but I suppose that I will. I still haven't heard from the UA lady but I hope that she will be getting in touch with me today! (fingers crossed) Our rental will be in the Daily Mountain Eagle from tomorrow through Sunday. We are praying for really good tenants this time! F.Y.I.: Don't sign with renters just because they have the same name as you. This is not a sign from God. It's a trick from the devil! :) Believe me, we know! Anyway, they are gone for good and Tina is going by to inspect. We are out a whole heaping crap load of $ but we are hoping to get someone new in really soon. I'm not sure why I am blogging all of this. It's really boring. Sorry! I'm just keeping myself from having to work on my outline! I really wish that I knew how to cook. I'm a terrible cook. Even when I'm not exhausted from working all day, I still don't cook. I hope that doesn't make me a bad wife. I'm not at all domestic.
Well, I guess that I don't have anything else that I need to share right now. :)

Waisting valuable time

Today is one of those days where I am sitting at my desk at work with a mountain of homework that I know I need to be doing but I would much rater...um...not. It's not at all that I have something else that is more important or more fun to do...I just don't want to do that. I have a few things on my mind that I thought I would spill and then maybe I will get back to work.

1. I really hate it when people call themselves "Christians" who are really not following God. I mean, it makes all of Christianity look bad. When someone calls themself a Christian and talks constantly about the happenings at church yet at the same time is a rude, snotty, and hateful person...I mean what's up with that? Why would any nonbeliever want to be a part of that? God is love and that means that Christians (who are representatives of what God stands for) should not only be loving but also kind, welcoming, forgiving, and sincere. Sorry, had to get that out after a rude encounter with a not-so-loving, welcoming, forgiving, and sincere "Christian".

2. When is summer going to get here? I am so tired of the cold and my job and this aweful semester at school. I'm exhausted and I can't keep up with my school work. Josh and I are going to the beach the last week of school. (Yes...I'm skipping out early) But, it seems like that week will never come! I can't wait!!

3. Is that lady from UA ever going to call me back? I really need to know what to do about summer classes. Come on lady...I'm not made of time! :) (I know what you are thinking but I don't think that this contradicts what I said about being a representative of God because I didn't say it to her.)

4. It's Josh's birthday and he's at home all alone because he got off work today and I didn't! I feel aweful and I can't wait to get home to him. That has (of course) made this day seem like it has lasted forever!

5. Baby Aiden, Quinn, and Olivia have kinda made me baby crazy today. I have been reading old blogs all morning because I'm bored!

On the praise report side of life, our renters finally moved out! (Hallalujah!) My mom and family have started getting back into church. (Pray that they find the right one.) and the weather has been amazing! I am a much happier person when I am not freezing cold! :)
I am taking Josh to the Olive Garden tonight for his birthday because I'm an amazing wife. (I hate the Olive Garden. ) He's a pretty amazing husband too! He definately deserves it! I am so blessed! Ok. That's all for me for today! Enough procrastination...back to work!

What a difference a clean house can make...

It's Saturday morning and my dad is on his way here to hang out for the day. We are going to go eat lunch at Cracker Barrell and then come home and watch a movie. He wants to watch something on Josh's new gigantico TV. Josh is at work today :( so he is missing out on the fun. But, dad is bringing Sydnee and Tiffany is coming so dad gets a day with all of his girls. Then this evening I am going to ride back to Jasper with dad because we are having Josh's birthday thing tonight at Wendy's house. It is going to be an eventful day. Now, yesterday I was not excited at all about today's festivities because my house was a disaster and I had homework piled up to the sky. But, luckily, I married Prince Charming and last night when we got home from dinner, he helped me clean the entire house. (I mean really clean. He hates that!) He knew how stressed I was and he was so sweet to really help me. He didn't even complain! :) I went to Athens yesterday for my class. This was the first time that I have ever actually been there because I'm an online student. It took me 2 full hours at 90 mph to get there. The class was fine but I'm not at all crazy about the campus. It's really old and everything smells like asbestos. I couldn't find my way around and to top it all off. I accidentally left my GPS on while I was in class for 3 hours and it died and so then I got lost trying to find my way home. Oh, and it costed $50 in gas to get there and back. I liked the drive really but the school not so much. I don't know how I will ever actaully start driving there all the time! AAH! Anyway, that's about all that I have to say about my life right now. I am going to get in the shower!

No reason to repeat bad history

It's finally Thursday afternoon! I have been waiting for this all week. I'm not completely there yet because right now it is only 1:59 and our bell to leave doesn't ring until 3:05. Almost there though! You are probably thinking that I still have one more day of this week but I don't! I had to take off work tomorrow because I have to go to Athens to have a class meeting. We only have 3 the whole semester. I am an online student. This week has literally exhausted me! I am glad that it will be over in one hour and 5 minutes! Yahoo!
I am upset about a situation that we had a school this week and I'm not sure at all about what to do. On Monday we had a pretty massive fight in the gym. 5 white boys against one black boy. The black boy, Cameron, is a group home student. He is from Triwell. For those of you who don't know, that means that he has been in some seriously rough circumstances growing up and also that he has done some seriously rough stuff. This is his first year in a public school and it's kind of like a trial run. If he is good, he can stay. If not, he's out. I guess that because of these circumstances I have shown some favoritism to Cameron when I probably shouldn't have. He's not exactly the most well behaved kid in my class but he's by far not the worst either. So, anyway, on Monday, some of the boys were aggrivating Cameron. The rumor is that they were calling him racial names. I will let you take the wild guess. Well, he was obviously trying really hard not to react to the boys and he turned around and started walking away. Then one of the boys came up behind him and pushed him. He turned around and all 5 of the boys jumped onto him. He (being a pretty tough kid) threw them all down to the ground. That was all of that. Well, the boys (the 5) went around all day telling everyone how they "would have totally kicked his butt if we weren't at school." It was completely obnoxious and I had a chance enounter with them in the hall at one point in the afternoon where I put a stop to that. Anyway, to make a long story a little less long, the next day, Cameron got written up and the other boys didn't. Well, I must steal a quote from Elenor Holmes, "There is no reason to repeat bad history." Why do we have to show a difference. They are all kids equal in God's eyes and equal in my eyes.
Talk about unfair. The reasoning was supposedly that the other boys never "threw a punch" and Cameron did. Well, this administration shows so much favoritism to that group of kids. As a matter of a fact, once in the middle of the day, I left school with my sister and ran into the Vice Principal of the school with about 10 of our worst behaved kids. He was taking them out to lunch for "improved behavior"? What the crap? I can't even begin to understand why these kids who are outright mean to the other kids are being treated like there is nothing that they could do that would cause them to get into trouble and the less fortunate kids are being treated like everything they do is wrong. I don't know what to do because I feel like Cameron is being pushed into the direction of becoming a bad kid. Why should he try to do the right thing or make bad grades when they are going to find something wrong with everything that he does? Is this 1920? Are they really going to show racial and socioeconomic favoritism? I don't understand.
Well, I guess that I am done ranting about that. I do feel like I should do or say something. I am just undecided on what? Anyway, on a totally different note, I have a lot to do this evening so I guess that there will be no time for my evening nap! :( That's ok though. I am going to suck it up and go to the gym! I also have to let the doctor check my arm and make sure that I don't have TB. My fingers are crossed. :) Well, that's about all for me today.

Mental Health Day

Well, I woke up yesterday morning at 4:45 to Josh's increadibly too loud alarm clock and it was way too early to even move. So, I decided to sleep for a few more minutes. Josh just so happened to have a day off work and he was going to be home all day with nothing to do. As, I was lying there I began to wonder why in the world I was even considering getting out of my nice warm bed. So, I set my alarm for 7:30 (which is when I would need to get up and call into work to let them know that I wasn't coming) and I went back to sleep. As a teacher you only get a few days a year to be off so I really should choose them wisely but yesterday I just needed a day for myself.
It was pretty much the best day that I have had in a while! I have been way too stressed about the little things lately and I needed a day to get things done so my mind could relax! So, we slept until about nine and then we got up and got ready. We went to eat lunch at our favorite Mexican restaraunt in Northport, Los Tarascos. It was really good! (even though I bit my lip and it still kinda hurts) Then, we went to the bank. Then to the doctor's office because I had to get a TB skin test for school. It stung! Then we bought groceries and then came home and we cleaned up the house.
I know that this probably doesn't sound like much of a day to you but it was pretty amazing for me. I don't normally love to run errands but Josh makes everything more fun for me! :) He's pretty amazing to be around and to get a whole day together is pretty rare. We are always so busy. We watched Fireproof before we went to bed and it was really good. It made me cry, naturally.
Now, I am back at WB sitting at my desk with a room full of kids. They are being really good today. It's still freezing in my classroom because they make us turn off the heat at night and it takes half of the day to warm up again. (I just had to wake up a student. You gotta love it when they fall asleep on their desks and start drooling. yugh!) Anyway, I am excited about watching Lost tonight. Josh and I (and both of our families) are completely hooked on that show. Well, that's really all there is to say about my life today. I know, I'm boring but I like it pretty well. I can't wait until summer! I need the sun and a break!! Only 74 more days! YAY!

Another day in the life...

Well, it's Monday morning. (sigh) I woke up this morning hating this day for no apparent reason except for the fact that the alarm woke me up and I had to take a shower. (at 5 am) I came to school still reeling from the emotional weekend and wondering what or how my friend is doing today. But then I was given a little jolt of inspiration from two friends who reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for. (including Monday mornings)
Josh and I have decided to turn over a new leaf and stop eating fast food every night of the week. This year has been tough because I was so used to working on my own schedule and then all of a sudden my routine changed to 5am every day and a day full of emotional, loud, funny, crazy 6th graders. Needless to say, I am exhausted most of the time. I have decided though that I need to be more on top of things. (like my school work) I am a terrible cook though. Cooking makes me nervous and I always burn something. We have a cooktop that was brand new in June and the top of it is burnt around one eye becuase I always spill stuff on it when I'm trying to cook. I am excellent at taco's though. And thankfully Josh loves that! We are a perfect pair! :)
I have been trying to diet and work out and all of that but it's really so much harder than it looks. I saw this adorable pregnant girl at the gym last week who had this cute little baby bump and I was thinking how does that happen. I want to be that cute when I'm pregnant. (Not that I'm going to be any time soon) It was just a thought. Although Josh and I did name our second child last night. See, someone that I love who has this amazingly perfect family told me that you can pray and ask God for exactly what you want out of life and he will provide it for you. So, we have been (as crazy as it sounds) praying for our future family. We are going to have 2 boys and 2 girls. We are naming the first two after all four of our parents. (and they are actually cute names amazingly enough) At least, we think they are. We get excited about the future sometimes but we LOVE the present as well. We are waiting to have kids about 3 more years. (We have our reasons.)
Friday I have to drive to Athens for the first time. I had to take the whole day off work because I have to be there at 1 and it takes half of forever to get there from my house. I am actually looking forward to it though. I will finally get to see the campus and meet my professor. Also, I love being in the car by myself. I like the time that it gives me to think and pray, and sing really loud. :)
Well, thats about all that is new with me today.