Closing Day Picnic!

We closed on our house yesterday!!! It was so exciting...way more exciting than I thought it would be. After we signed papers for about 45 minutes, we picked up Chinese take out and went to eat at our new house! The only furniture there were the barstools we brought so we could eat at the bar :) It was so strange knowing it was finally ours and we would move furntiture in just 3.5 short weeks. I can't make a slideshow at school (access denied!!) but maybe I can go over to Shealy's and upload the pics soon!



Bentley loves his backyard!

Growing Up

Usually my blog entries are reflective of what I am going through/what is happening in life on a day to day basis. I try to be as transparent as I can while also trying to add humor to any situation. Today is no different. I came to work with a heavy heart for my family. I have watched and struggled these past few months with the death of my grandfather, a grandmother who is battling with alzheimers and has seemed to get worse each day, and watching a disabled Uncle deal not only with the death of his father (who he lived with along with his mom for 60+ years) but also get acclimated to life after the fact, including changing his surroundings to assissted living. Those who know me well have heard me talk about Uncle Mike. He is my favorite relative in my family and holds a special part of my heart that no one else could begin to take. On the way to work this morning I was thinking about how much easier life was as a kid. I am sure my family had struggles when I was younger, however when you are young, at least for me, I didn't really know what was going on. I just knew I was in a loving environment and whatever happened, my parents would be there to take care of it. Now that I am older, I realize that some things can't always be "fixed" by my parents. It takes a stronger faith that I am learning more about each day. I also realize that my parents or John or anyone else can't take away the sadness that I feel when going through these times with my family. It is something you just have to work through on your own I guess. This has been my true indicator of growing up. I realize that this is real life stuff and it won't just go away. You have to find a way to deal with it on your own. You have to find a way to dig deep inside and just continue to pray when you feel like the situation is never going to get better. And trust that the Lord promises never to give us anything we can't handle.

Fun Day at Work!

Yesterday I went on a field trip to Birmingham to take our 6th grade group to the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and the 16th Street Baptist Church where a bomb went off on September 15, 1963. As I was sitting in the church watching a video about the events leading up to and immediately after 9/15/63 I found it very surprising that I went to a school in Birmingham from 1st grade through 12th grade and never once had I ever been on a field trip to these places. Birmingham was where a lot of the Civil Rights Activists gathered and planned. It is a huge part of history and I think it so important to be exposed to these places...especially for kids who live in this city. One of the other teachers on the field trips mother met us at the museum and spoke to our kids while we waited to go in. She was arrested in May 1963 for marching and was in jail for 6 days. It was so interesting to hear her memories from those days. She was a few blocks away when the church was bombed. My mother in law told me that my sister in law went to the Civil Rights Museum when she was in middle school. I am thinking that it wasn't built when I was in elementary school. Although field trips can be exhausting, especially this time of year, it is really fun to get out of school. Usually the best connections with kids are made during field trips!
John had a fun day at work Friday as well. He got to take a ride in an aerial truck. This is something they manufacture at Altec-it is a utility truck that power companies use that have the big hydraulic arm lift with the bucket at the top. He went up in one that went 60 feet in the air. The steering is controlled by pressure...he said that you just have to steer it very lightly to make it move. He learned this the hard way by jerking it and the bucket swang very sharply to one side!

Tagged

I guess this should be a continuum of the "More than you'll ever want to know post." Thanks Shealy for tagging me!

What I was doing 10 years ago...
I was finishing up my freshman year of high school. I am sure by this time I was tired of being a measly freshman and ready to be a super-cool sophomore. Nothing really exciting happened during this year except for my famous story about my first day of high school (refer to the more than you'll ever want to know post)

5 Things on My To-Do List...
1. Go to Wal-Mart
2. Start packing up the apartment
3. Go to the gym (then again this is always on my to-do list and lately it rarely gets done)
4. Order my book for bible study
5. Bathe Bentley

5 Snacks I enjoy...
1. Cheez-Its and a Diet Coke (these things go together like peas and carrots!)
2. Animal Crackers (not the circus box, but the big bag from Wal-Mart)
3. Plain M&Ms and nuts mixed together
4. Cheetos
5. Ice Cream

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1. Max out our 401K and IRA so we could retire and have no worries.
2. Put away for my future children's college fund.
3. TRAVEL-Paris, London, Greece, the Caribbean, Austria, Australia...the list could go on and on
4. Pay off our mortgage, student loans, and cars...be debt free!!!
5. Build my dream house

5 Bad Habits I have...
1. I leave my keys in the door when I come home from school (this happens at least 4 out of 5 weekdays)
2. I don't clean out my car very often (lots of water bottles and trash)
3. I talk and text too much on my cell phone which usually results in a high bill
4. I don't do laundry until it is everywhere-coming out of baskets, the hamper, on the bathroom floor
5. Speaking of the bathroom, I don't clean it nearly as often as I should

5 Places I have lived...
1. Norfolk Lane in Homewood-this is where I came home to after I was born
2. Somewhere in Atlanta (I was still a baby)
3. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (I lived there from like ages 3-5)
4. 3468 Water Oak Drive (where I lived from 1st grade until I moved in with John...my parents still live there)
5. Alpha Gam Sorority House
6. 919 Annalue Drive #4 (Where I first lived with John)
7. 600 Thorpe Street (Our second rental home)
8. 1322 North Dean Road #107 (Our third rental...this time an apartment)
9. 4521 Amberley Drive (Finally a house to call my own...we haven't technically moved in yet)
*I know this was more than 5 but I have lived a lot of places! I didn't even name the other 2 in Tuscaloosa!

5 Jobs I have had...
1. babysitter
2. The Gap
3. Shoefly (still my favorite!)
4. 6th grade teacher at Drake
5. Soon to be 5th grade teacher at Liberty Park

Yay! All done! Now I tag...
1. Holly Pugh-so you will post something new!! :)
2. Tessa Webb
3. Amanda Owens
4. Jenny and Katie
5. Sarah Armstrong

Auburn Faves

After a recent post by my friend Dan, I got to thinking about all the food that I have enjoyed over my past three years living in Auburn...here are my top 5 in no particular order...If you do not live in Auburn, I highly recommend any of these next time you drop into town!

1. BIG BLUE BAGEL!!! John calls it chick food, however they have the best bagel sandwiches and bagel chips with honey mustard. We always go there on teacher work days when we can eat out like normal people instead of stuffing our food down in 20 minutes in a smelly cafeteria!

2. Amsterdam - so good. Very fun atmosphere with all price ranges of food. My favorite is the Crab Cake and Avocado Sandwich - voted 100 things you must eat in Alabama before you die!

3. Nihon Express - if you saw this place on the outside, you might never walk in, much less order food from there. The first time I had it, it was brought home to me and I didn't see where it was prepared. However sketchy it looks on the outside though, it is fine on the inside and yummy-it is asian food...hibatchi chicken and more rice than you will ever want to eat...and of course the yummy sauce!

4. Panda - Chinese. This has been a highly debatable topic between Dan and myself. He recently introduced me to MK's Asian kitchen. While it was good, it did not quite compare to Panda. MK's was higher quality chinese food...but who really looks for quality when they eat chinese food anyway :)

5. Momma Goldbergs - John and I ate here a lot when I would come to visit him from Tuscaloosa. I am very excited that just recently they put one in Homewood. Momma's love and their nachos are awesome!

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Happy Birthday, little man! It is hard to believe that you are 7 years old today. I remember how excited I was when you were born and I couldn't imagine life without you. You make family visits and especially holidays SO much more fun! I can't wait to see you play baseball in a few weeks! Aunt B and Uncle John love you!!

Gone

Yesterday I had an extrememly bad day. I was ready to call it a day and then the unthinkable happened...I deleted my blog. Accidentally. Well, sort of. I was messing with the template, thinking I might could make it look cuter by doing some other design...I was kind of sick of the blue and polka dots. One thing led to another and I was copying and pasting in the computer code box where you edit the HTML. Very bad idea for someone who is clueless about computer codes. I messed it up so badly that nothing would work, I had no side panel so I couldn't add friends (this was among many of the crazy things that changed). So I ended up just having to delete my blog and start fresh. I was able to salvage my April posts. I was really bummed because now if I ever want to look back and see what was going on in November, I guess I'll never know. John emailed me my old template off our computer that is in Birmingham and I am planning on just leaving it alone! You may be looking at blue and polka dots for the rest of my blogging life!

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread!

With John in Auburn I have had a lot of alone time at the apartment. This is not always a bad thing (I love to read and have gotten into a really good series...and dinner these days involves a microwave only). However there is a limited amount of quality television out there and most nights I am left with crap. So I finally convinced John to let me join NETFLIX!!! I should get my first shipment of my 2 DVDs today! I am going to try it out and make sure we get our $$ worth. We can cancel at any time, which was a major selling point for John, since come June we are going to be B-R-O-K-E and mortgage will now be in our vocabulary. We may not be able to enjoy such a luxury as home delivery DVDs. But for now, at least, I won't be pitiful AND bored...just pitiful :) Please feel free to give me any movie suggestions to add to my list!

Taking Jesus Home

We have been studying the gospel of Mark at church. Our pastor likes to teach the bible verse by verse on Sundays. Yesterday we were in Mark 1: 29-31. Pastor Steve likes to do what he calls "rabbit chasing" most Sundays before he gets into the meat of his lesson for that day. During the lesson, he talked about how we as Christians should take Jesus home with us from church on Sunday. So often, we go to church, feel renewed and then just as quickly start the week not always reflecting the fruits of the spirit. He encoraged us to take Jesus home so that each day He would be with us in each of our jobs, conversations, recreational activities etc. His first "rabbit" that he chased dealt with the way everyone lived back in bible times. Most people lived in very close quarters with extended family. This was common. In this way, people were always surrounded by beleivers that they could share their highs and lows of life, while always seeing Jesus as perfector of their faith and situation. He emphasized how very important a "church family" was to one's faith and growth in Christ. This sometimes serves as ones extended family when they move out of town and do not have immediate family nearby. This was very ironic that he preached on this one of the last few Sundays we will be at First Baptist Opelika. John and I have felt that FBCO has strengthened our faith and been the place where we have found our best friends to share the highs and lows. It also reminded me of the importance of going to church-without going you often feel disconnected from those who should feel like your family. Church is such an integral part of growth in our relationship in the Lord. It is a weekly reminder of how good God is, even when we think our lives couldn't get much worse. I am so thankful for my church family and know that the Lord will be faithful to us in making a new "church family" when we move.

More Than You'll Ever Want To Know

My friend Amanda did this cool thing on her blog because she had been challenged by her friend. She in turn challenged me so here is my go at 100 facts you may or may not know about me...

1. I was born Kristen Brooke Webb.
2. I have one brother (Brandon), two sister in laws (Tessa and Stephanie), and the most precious nephew (Dylan) and niece (Sutherlan).
3. I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama.
4. I am super excited to move back in two short months and raise my family there.
5. I have known John since 4th grade.
6. I am a believer of Jesus.
7. I have at least one Diet Coke every day (a necessity when you teach 6th graders).
8. I have loved living in Auburn way more than I thought I would.
9. My first car was a Maxima named Maxine.
10. I love to read (particularly US Weekly-it can occupy me for a good hour and a half).
11. My favorite flowers are tulips.
12. I MUST go to sleep with the TV on (a habit John could not stand at first but has gotten used to).
13. I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.
14. If I didn't teach, I think I would like to write Children's books-I love them and have TONS even though I teach 6th graders.
15. I have loved teaching 6th grade way more than I thought-my first choice was K-2.
16. I was curious child-my dad says they didn't think I would live past age 3-I got into medicine cabinets, explored over stairwells, ate change, pulled glass frames over my head...it is starting to sound like I wasn't supervised as a child :)
17. My dad taught me to read my first book Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now by Dr. Seuss.
18. I love dogs-in my opinion, they are the only pet to own.
19. I have become a master saver and budgeter (Thanks to John...and Dave Ramsey).
20. I am in the process of buying our first house. SCARY!
21. House hunting was not nearly as fun as I thought it would be.
22. I am terrible at math.
23. I withdrew from finite mathematics in college three times before finally taking the class.
24. I LOVE opening presents!!
25. John asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve with a series of 10 presents for me to open-I had no idea what was going on until the 10th present and I was in heaven with all that unwrapping!
26. I do not like to share food-especially dessert.
27. My favorite dessert is ice cream or the chocolate cake with white icing my mom always made for my birthday.
28. Zoe's and Alladin's are my favorite restaurants in Birmingham.
29. Alladin's is more of a hole in the wall than a restaurant, but it was our high school hang out and definitely near to my heart.
30. John and I ate at Alladin's right after we graduated...neither of our families knew where we were and both were wondering why we weren't home eating with them.
31. I worked at a shoe store every summer in college that I didn't take summer school-didn't make much money those summers (it all went to shoes)!
32. I went to The University of Alabama (much to my husband's disapproval).
33. I just finished up my Masters Degree in Elementary Education this past summer.
34. I absolutely love my job and can't imagine what next year will be like without all my friends on the Lions Hallway :)
35. I HATE mayonaise.
36. I LOVE honey mustard.
37. The hardest thing I have done thus far in my life is say goodbye to a grandfather that I loved so dearly-I don't think I realized how much I loved Daddy B until he was gone.
38. The scardest I have ever been was when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.
39. I thank God each and every day that she is still here and can do all the "mom" things with me.
40. I only eat red and purple skittles.
41. John discovered early in our marriage that I talk a lot in my sleep. He used to get annoyed, now he just laughs and tries to have a conversation with me.
42. My favorite TV shows: Old-90210 New-24 (what is it with number shows??!!)
43. I had a crush on Luke Perry well into college-my freshman year I had a HUGE poster of him on my wall.
44. I have never been as sure of anything as I was on October 8, 2005 when I married John.
45. My florist almost ruined my day before I remembered what the day was all about-he was a sketch ball, didn't even come (sent his assisstant) and didn't even have the right flowers with him. I wanted white tulips everywhere-I had zero tulips of any color.
46. Instead of throwing rose petals or blowing bubbles when John and I left our reception, every guest picked their favorite team shaker (Auburn and Alabama were the only choices of course) and we had more of a pep rally when we left than a romantic sweet send off...just how I wanted it!
47. John and I started a tradition our first year with a strand of Christmas lights-half is orange and blue, the other half red and white (my creative mom gave us those the day after we got engaged). Whoever's team wins the Iron Bowl, their lights go at the top of the tree...
48. John's lights have hung proudly at the top since we got married!
49. Stockings are my favorite gift to open at Christmas.
50. I have 6 cousins under the age of 9, John has no cousins under the age of 20.
51. I have never bought food from a lunchroom cafeteria-my mom always made my lunch.
52. My favorite part about going to the beach is the seafood!
53. My favorite clothing stores are Old Navy and Ann Taylor Loft.
54. I would hate to have a desk job.
55. I love going to the movies.
56. I never buy refreshments at the movies. We always stop by CVS or the gas station and stuff my purse with goodies.
57. My favorite season is fall.
58. Even though I am an Alabama fan, I love going to Tiger Walk in Auburn.
59. I wish I owned a sewing/monogramming machine.
60. When I was little I wanted to be a "garbage can man." My parents tell me I would rush to the window to watch the garbage men pick up the trash and ride on the back of the truck. I am glad I dreamed a bit bigger as I got older.
61. I have been out of the country several times...My aunt took me to Peru when I was in 6th grade; I went to Scotland with my aunt and some others sometime in high school; I went to Italy and Greece when I graduated high school with my aunt and some others (I know, nice aunt!); I studied abroad in London the summer after my freshman year of college-we went to Ireland, Several places in France, and Scotland; and then I went to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico on my honeymoon.
62. Cabo was the most relaxing trip I have ever been on in my life. The breakfast buffet was amazing.
63. I have been on a cruise once, no real desire to do it again.
64. I love to go to the lake.
65. I didn't learn to water ski until I was 18 and it was on wood skis!
66. I love having the opportunity to decorate, however I am very indecisive when it comes time to buy-I always need someone else's opinion.
67. John first told me he loved me on the swings at Overton Park in Mountain Brook.
68. I love looking at people's wedding registries-weird, I know, but I could do it for hours.
69. I love to take pictures, but wish I was better at scrapbooking or at least printing them off.
70. I really like to write thank you notes! I was all caught up on wedding thank you notes when we left for our honeymoon and it took me about 3 weeks to finish everything up when we got back. I was really anal about getting them done.
71. I want a big family and I want my children to be close in age so they always have someone to play with (My brother left for college when I was in 4th grade so in a lot of ways I felt like an only child growing up).
72. More often than not, I get mistaken for one of my students when a visitor walks into my classroom.
73. My first CD was Ace of Base. Wow.
74. I wish I would exercise more. I love the way I feel afterward. With John being gone, it is basically all I have to do so I have been going each day.
75. My most embarassing moment was in high school. The first day of my freshman year I was crossing the cross-walk after school with my cool North Face backpack. No one told me the kind they sold for hiking were not the ones that were in style for school. I had this gigantic backpack with all of my books in there so I could take them home to cover them. I tripped and landed flat on my face on the cross-walk. My backpack went flying over my head and the principal had to stop the car line. It was mortifying. John still laughs that he was thinking as I was walking, that girl is pretty cute, and then I busted and he was like...never mind. He had everyone cracking up at that story at our rehearsal dinner.
76. I go to Wal-Mart EVERY Sunday afternoon to grocery shop.
77. I have one dog, Bentley, who is so spoiled rotten...he isn't going to know what to do when we have an actual child.
78. I like thin crust pizza the best.
79. I sing in the car, pretty loudly.
80. My most favorite kitchen appliance is my Kitchen-aid mixer.
81. I love to talk on the phone.
82. I think Disney World is the greatest place in the world and would go there for a yearly vacation if we could afford it!
83. Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Peter Pan are my favorite rides in Magic Kingdom.
84. I buy Disney movies on DVDs when they are released from the vault even though I am 24. So far, our collection includes The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Alladin, 101 Dalmations, and The Jungle Book. Our kids will appreciate this someday.
85. I am not very crafty or artistic-the polar opposite of my mom and brother.
86. The only section that I read out of the newspaper is the engagement and wedding announcements.
87. I didn't watch Sex and The City until the re-runs started coming on TBS.
88. I am pretty intrigued by reality television.
89. I do not do well in stores like TJ Maxx where you have to dig for bargains.
90. I love dishes-I would have lots of different sets if I have the money and the room to store them.
91. Williams-Sonoma is my favorite place that I registered for wedding gifts.
92. I read lots of blogs of people that do not even have a clue that I exist.
93. I don't really like to order things online unless I have to.
94. During the school year I eat a turkey sandwich, yogurt, and a granola day every single day, with the rare exception of a teacher work day when we get to go out!!
95. It find it weird to think I am grown up enough to have a car payment and soon a house payment.
96. I am beyond thrilled to not be renting anymore after May!
97. John and I will have lived in 4 houses (3 houses/1 apartment) before we have even been married 3 years (This October).
98. We have moved ourselves each and every time!
99. I am a huge procrastinator.
100. However, I usually manage to finish everything I start.

Wow, this was exhausting. Please excuse the randomness of the order in which the facts are written. They do not flow as well as Amanda's, I just had to type them as I thought of them :) Now I challege Shealy, Jenny, and Dan to lay it all out there on the blog. Really, those are the people who I think would be most likely to do it. I would love for all my bloggers out there that I read to write a tell-all. Just make sure you have at least an hour to come up with everything!

The Bare Necessities

So I have resorted to blogging at school...this is my planning time, although I am pretty sure this does not fall under what my administration would consider the best use of my time. However, I am desperate! John left me on Sunday (by left, I mean not forever, thank goodness, just for the next two months as his new job started on Monday) and with him he took the computer-my only means of communication with the outside world of blogs leaving me with nothing to do at night except watch mindless television and attempt to converse with Bentley. I have started to get to school at 7am just so I can play on the internet and read up on my blogs! Pitiful, I know. In John's absence I have realized several things. A few weeks ago, we watched one of my favorite Disney movies of all time, The Jungle Book. There is a song Baloo sings about the bare necessities of life..."Don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found. When you find out you can't live without it, and go along just thinkin' about it, I'll tell you something true...the bare necessities of life will come to you!" The bare necessities of my life have certainly been evident since Sunday night! My life/home is so empty without John to come home to at night and talk to(the phone is so different) and eat with and even just to watch tv with. He makes life so much more fun and meaningful for me. Just a week ago I was complaining about cooking dinner and doing the dishes and washing load after load of laundry and ironing John's pants that are impossible to iron (Carharts). Now I realize that I would give anything if he were home and I had to cook and do dishes and iron his pants!