School is off and running! It took me a week to get myself organized to a point where I will be ready to serve my students when they come back tomorrow. I hope I got it together enough for them. I am very thankful that all my students aren't actually coming back until after the holiday because there is NO WAY I could have prepared myself in less time. I am looking so forward to seeing what they all have been up to over the break! Some of my babies have moved on into elementary school but there will be new faces to take their spots so my year will be very busy!
Johnnie and I made it home from a wonderful family get together in Texas. We met our niece and a bunch of her family at a really nice campground and spent the weekend relaxing in the pool and visiting with loved ones. It was really great! I've said it before and I will say it again, "I am so glad that my in-laws are NORMAL!" We have such fun together and there's not a bunch of weirdness with any of them. It makes me really look forward to being together! I hate that we only see each other a few times a year, but I guess a few times are better than no times so I will count my blessings!
Today marks the "official" last day of summer, but as hot as it is outside it feels like summer is here to stay for a little while longer! We've had a fabulous Summer, but I am soooo looking forward to Fall! I love everything that comes along with the Autumn season and I can't wait for it to get here in full force!
Fall has always been my most favorite time of year. I love the first "real" Fall day, when the weather is cool in the morning and stays cool all through the day! I love the way that breathing in that cool air feels in my lungs! I love needing to grab a sweater as I head out the door! I think my love of Fall comes from the fact that it is filled with so very many sweet memories! To me Fall means comfort!
I love Football! It's a sort of institution among my family. My mother might have been the biggest LSU Tiger football fan who never attended the college! My earliest memories of Christmas at our house involved a beautifully decorated Christmas tree that had a Mike The Tiger ornament at the top instead of a star or an angel. Another sweet memory of my childhood is how my mother would play a cassette tape or CD of the Golden Band From Tiger Land in the days leading up to the first football game of the season. She would pretend that she was a majorette and would twirl her "air" baton while the band played in the background. Her movements and facial expressions were PRICELESS! She would spin, twirl and throw her imaginary prop and even reach down to pick it up off the ground when she'd missed a fake catch! It was truly one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life!
I love to think about memories like that. In her last few years of life that kind of joy seemed to be stolen I away from her and it made me so sad to watch. I am so thankful that in my lifetime of memories there are more of the happy ones than the sad ones! I know that I am lucky and blessed!
I also associate crisp fall days with some of my favorite family recipes. Mama would make the first sweet potato pies of the season just as soon as the temperature dropped. Another thing that went with fall was Chicken Andouille Gumbo with Potato Salad and Fluffy Steamed Rice! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water!
Another thing I like about Fall is that it brings on the start of the holiday season! The time between Halloween and Mardi Gras was always my favorite time of year. I loved it as a child and young adult. I think that after Mama passed away I tried my best to avoid that time of the year, but in my heart it was still my favorite. I guess that's why I wanted to avoid it. I buried a big piece of my heart with my mother and for years I felt like nothing would ever be the same. All these years later I know that I was both right and wrong! No things will not be the same, but there are still memories to be made. I have always believed that my sweet little Beckham rekindled my holiday spirit! Now all I want to do is share all the family stories and traditions with him and all the little ones who come after him! It is funny, I have heard all about how grand children can change you and now I know that what I heard was the truth! It's like they make old things new again!
In other news, I've been dieting for about a month. I am not actually calling it "dieting", but more like "lifestyle changing" instead. I am still not drinking diet cokes and I am upping my daily water intake. I have also added some kind of daily activity. I have been working out with my Wii almost every morning. I track my caloric intake on a computer program called myfitnesspal. I have set the program with what I weigh and what I would like to lose and my activity level and it tells me how many calories to eat. From everything I have read the fads just don't work, but if you keep calories in check and add exercise, positive results will come. I've been at it for about a month and am about 13 lbs down so I must be doing something right. Now the trick is to keep it up! I have ordered some new Wii games and accessories. I can't wait until they get here so I can change things up a little bit! I am making some much needed lifestyle changes. I want a healthier life. I am even making a real effort to stop the nasty smoking habit I have had for more years than I would like to even count!
This is my fourth day with no cigarettes. Our niece told me about vapor cigarettes that let you gradually wean down the nicotine while still simulating the action of smoking, but the only thing you exhale is water vapor. It looks like smoke but doesn't stink or irritate others and if what the research has said is true it doesn't have all the things that cigarettes have that cause cancer. I am keeping a positive attitude and I am pleased to say, "So far, so good!"
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