The Silver Lining

As I was driving through the crazy traffic yesterday in and around Charleston, I was making a list in my head ( I do this constantly- in my head, on the little post it notes I have on my computer, all over my desk at school and in my kitchen) of all the things I needed to get done. My list is never-ending and always growing. And with my self-diagnosed ADD it sometimes makes it difficult to finish anything I start on my list because as soon as I start something, I remember I needed to do something else, hence the never-ending part.

Of course, I begin marking off the easy things on my list first: drop off the clothes I no longer wear to Goodwill, return the movies to Blockbuster, buy some cheap ornaments for a wreath that I'm going to make, etc. Leaving the more tedious and annoying things to do for later: clean the house, fold and put away laundry ( this is an entirely seperate job from cleaning the house. I can clean around laundry and leave it for days. As I sit hear blogging, I have clothes needing to be folded and put away before friends get here later this afternoon.), go to the grocery store, plan for my cooking extravaganza, worry about and do lesson plans for Monday (My school is being visited by Palmetto's Finest judges for an award, which means everything has to be perfect), and begin brainstorming and buying Christmas presents for friends and family members.

I become stressed and worried about getting everything done. I complain to myself about having too much to do and at that point I stop. All of these things I need to do I really should be thankful for. More often than I care to admit, I find myself complaining about these things that I'm blessed to have to do. I am thankful for my house that needs to be cleaned. It may be a pain in the butt to do, but I could be living in a car or in a shelter. I'm thankful I have the money to buy groceries and clothes. I may not have tons of it, but what I have gets the job done. I HAVE A JOB. So many people right can't say that. It may drive me crazy, but I have a job that, yes, I do love. It teaches me patience, the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of my labor, and how a parent can successfully raise a child. And finally, I'm lucky to have friends and family that I love, care for, and want to show them.

Lately, I've realized that I whine and complain about stupid, insignificant things. Things that in the grand scheme of things don't matter much. I recently had a friend whose mother passed away after a 2 year battle with cancer. She was such an amazing woman who did so much for her family, never complaining once. Her daughter, one of my best friends, has grown so much during this difficult time. She's become the one in the family everyone counts on. She took over the part her mother played- the rock of the family. When thinking about what she and her family are going through, my problems become small and unimportant. I've always had problems worrying about everything, trying to keep in perspective what is really important. This past week I've done a lot of self-reflection and decided to look at things in a different way. I'm lucky for the many blessings God has put in my life. I should be thankful for all of my "problems" and look for the silver lining in all of them- because there always is one.

I hope everyone has a very wonderful Thanksgiving- back to the kitchen for me, breaks over!!

Happy Halloween!

We are enjoying a nice and relaxing evening at home. I could not talk Austin into going out because their was "too much good football on". So I dressed up and handed out candy. We had about 8 trick or treaters...which was 8 more than last year. Our neighborhood has either really young couples (a few having kids) or really old people. I was hell bent on getting a picture of our "family". Poor Connery was not having it. I had to chase him all over the house like we do when he's about to get a bath. After much hissing, he sat nicely beside our pumpkin. Too bad we didn't have anyone that could take our picture so Aust and I could be in one together...oh well!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! With Clemson whipping CC and Carolina losing to UT, this is shaping up to be a wonderful evening!! :-)

chill pill

Or maybe some prozac! I don't know what has been up with me lately, but I have been majorly stressed out. Nevermind that, I know exactly what has been up with me...I just need to learn to let things go. As soon as I leave that parking lot in the afternoon, I have to push all things school out of my mind- no matter what it may be. I left my report cards sitting on my desk rather than in my administrators box- oh well. I have a parent that sent me a note correcting something I messed up on their child's paper- oh well ( It's not like she won't still have a 99 average!). My kids can't measure for crap- oh well!!

I've come to realize, thanks to my wonderfully supportive, yet sometimes brutally honest husband, that I've been a beast to live with the past two weeks (and probably longer!). I haven't come home with anything nice to say and hardly have cracked a smile. Certainly not the person I like to be. I may not like the way things are going at school. I may want to make a change after this May, but I need to make a decision to change the way I look at things right now so I don't make my life and my husbands life horrible for the rest of the year.

I'm only one person and can only do so much. No need to waste my extra time worrying about things I can't control.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.

"I don't appreciate..."

These three words are some of the worst words a teacher can hear coming from a parent. Immediately, it lets me know that they are upset with something I have done and they are going to let me catch hell from them. This also makes any kind of contact or meeting with this parent basically uncomfortable from then on.

Most of the time the parent using this phrase is upset because their angel child has done something wrong that I am informing them about. This is a wonderful way to deflect the problem at hand and turn anything else into my fault. When their child kicks someone or knees another student in the butt while they are drinking from the water fountain, it only makes sense to say to the teacher, "I don't appreciate you not letting me know this has happened before." Apparently they forgot the infraction sheet they signed a couple weeks ago with a similar behavior. So glad I've kept that on file. :-)

Maybe she should come in and watch me with my class. I might be able to win her over. She might realize that she should appreciate me being consistent with her child and his behavior. Or appreciate me giving him praise or a pat on the back when he makes a good decision. Appreciate the patience I have with him when he veers from the correct path. Or the high expectations I have for him because he has great potential. What about the hug I give him as he leaves my room for the day? Or the hours I spend weekly, preparing what I do in class, coming up with fun activities and different ways to teach the same old standards so his butt will be ready for third grade. I guess those things don't need to be appreciated- probably because that's what I'm expected to do.

If only I ran the world and could tell parents what I really think, because I would then say back, "I don't appreciate you letting your child stay up until 10 o'clock and come dragging into my room late, without breakfast and tired this morning. I don't appreciate you initialing his homework messenger letting me know he's completed his homework, when in fact he didn't. I don't appreciate you modeling a bad attitude, where he thinks he can treat others badly and defy anyone in charge. I don't appreciate you sending him into school with a head full of adult lice running all over his scalp."

Too bad I don't run the world and I can't say those things. I guess it's because that's what PARENTS are EXPECTED to do.

And I appreciate those who do it!

New York City

I've never been to NYC and Austin has always promised that he would take me. There have been talks about us going previously, but nothing has ever panned out. He says we might go this Christmas, which would be an amazing time to go...the lights, the decorations, the weather...Normally I would hate the weather and wish I could only go in fall or spring. However, I was just watching something filmed in NYC (Yes, it is the trashy tv show Gossip Girl-if you read my earlier post, you know!).It made me want to go to NYC during the winter so badly. How wonderful would it be to walk in Central Park as the first few flakes were falling! I think we need to have a picture of the snow falling in our hair somewhere in famous NYC...just a thought!! :-)

Trashy TV

There is just something about horrible, terrible, trashy tv that I LOVE! Austin and I have this tradition (I'm stuck on trying to make traditions that he and I can call our own) of watching any stupid tv shows on VH1 and MTV. I don't know if it's the plot lines or the horrible characters in ALL of them that I love!!.
There is one show, however, that I do not watch with Aust. Gossip Girl is a dirtier version of 90210 that I could have ever hoped for. And Austin refuses to watch it with me. I don't ever catch it on tv, because we're always watching other trashy shows at the same time its on. So I always watch the DVD's when it comes out.
I've just rented disc 6 and 7 of season 2 tonight. I can't help but sit through all of them nonstop. OHHHHHHHHHH it's so addicting. I'll be finishing season 2 tomorrow. I certainly don't have ADD- I can sit through hours of tv. :-)

How Cute!

Two of our friends, Jessica and Bri, dropped by one night this week with this adorable cupcake they found at Harris Teeter! When they saw all the tiger paws of course they thought of us, I mean I do live with Mr. Clemson. I had to snap a quick picture before Austin devoured it! Thanks girls! :-)

OHHHHHHHHH back to school...

So, it's that time of year again. The time when parents dump their darling kids (wink, wink) on the unsuspecting, yet knowingly apprehensive teachers for a new year. This is my third year at my school, fifth year teaching second grade...I'd like to think it should be a piece of cake- I should know better.

Lots of changes are being made. Budgets are being cut, and it seems more important now than ever to make sure we're reaching each and everyone of our students, giving them 100% of ourselves everyday, all day. We keep adding expectations for teachers and never taking anything off our plates. I like to pretend I can do it all and I'm super woman, but I know i'm really not.

My district has adopted a new math program...and all I have to say is when I plan I want to shoot myself. We teach one to three lessons in one chapter and then jump to another chapter. When I teach it, I end up taking 50 minutes for a 35 minute lesson. Quite frustrating. On top of this, I'm team leader to a group who has been sent out into the "learning cottages" and who is known for being, how should I say it? Outspoken. (I love all of them, I fit in so well- I can definitely be outspoken too so I'm not complaining). So anything new, confusing, or wrong ends up filling my inbox. I feel like I'm constantly doing secretarial work on top of trying to be the best teacher I can possibly be for my children who, by the way, desperately need me. Did I mention I've been told more than a few times this certainly isn't my class from last year. UGH. Was there some kind of airborne virus that infected these mothers the year they were born???

Enough ranting. On the brighter side, I'm excited that I'm kind of "in charge" of my team. I hope I can be a good leader to them and for them. This is also going to really help pad my resume if we do end up moving after this year. :-) I do have some super sweet kids that I really do already love. I'm sure I will learn to love the others- they certainly won't learn much from me until I do connect with them.

I hope the exhaustion of all that is going on will pass or I'll get used to it. The beginning of the year always is crazy busy. I know I can handle it, I always do. I'm just really thankful I have such a wonderful husband that will listen to my whining (at least for a little while), let me wake him up at 6 a.m. to say good morning, good bye and to ask if I look alright, and won't mind going out for dinner on a night like tonight when I'm worn out and don't even want to think about cooking. Not to mention the many other wonderful things he does to make my life easier. I'm just lucky! :-)

Good luck to all those other teachers out there who have recently started or about to start back. May your year be filled with good students, good parents, and lots of fun learning!

Words of Affirmation

Who has ever read The Five Languages of Love? I read it over 5 years ago, completely loving it. The information it gave me not only helps me show my love to my husband (he's an Act of Service person), but I can see what my kids are in my classroom and it helps me decide how to give them feedback, whether it's a pat on the back, a kind word, etc.

We recently had a party over at our house on a Friday afternoon before the real Welcome Back party for CSOL (Charleston School of Law). I hurried home from school to bake a few of my favorite snacky foods before everyone came over. I did a buffalo chicken dip (that my wonderful sister-in-law began making for our family- so I jacked the recipe!) and two gourmet white pizza's that I blogged about back in the summer. I was in the kitchen for about an hour, which I didn't mind at all. I love to make and bake things for my friends! But most of all, I love to hear feedback. Especially the good kind! I had so many people tell me how wonderful the party was, how great the house looked (we have done a lot to it!), and how good my food was. My head was swelling all night.

The nicest thing someone can do for me is tell me how much they appreciate me or what a great job I did. It makes me feel so special and makes me want to push myself to do even more. I know not everyone is like this and doesn't think this way. This is one reason why I have issues with education. It's a no appreciation type of job, where you give and give and give and hardly hear thank-you or good job. Administrators, interventionists, and DO people are too busy trying to figure out what you're doing wrong to notice the good things.

While I like to praised, I sometimes have to consciously think about praising others and make it a point to build them up. In our busy world, we try so hard to be so focused on fixing problems, that we lose track about what we're doing right. I guess I try to pay it forward, cause I need you to give it back to me!! :-)

It would be a sad world if no one said thank-you, good job, gave pats on the back, did things for others, or made it a point to connect and bond with each other. Pay it forward- do something nice for someone else and hopefully you'll get some love back!

Work in Progress

We've lived in our home for almost 2 years now. Two summers ago when we first moved into the house, we were just married, just back from our honeymoon, about to start law school and I was about to start at a new school where I knew no one. I certainly didn't have decorating, much less setting up, my new (first) home. I made the house livable, but nothing special. Last summer, I had way too much cheerleading stuff to worry about decorating my house. Now that I'm NEVER coaching cheerleading again, I have time to do the fun decorating thing. I've never been very creative and I can't dream up cool ideas to do in my house on my own, but since i've began blogging and basically stalking other peoples blogs, I've gotten numerous amazing (and cost efficient!!) ideas. I'm excited to show what I've done, but keep in mind- I have a long way I plan on going.

Here is the front of our house. It's cute and plenty of space for us. We were so fortunate to find it at the time we did! This past spring I began gardening, so I have my little flower bed in front of the porch, even though you can't see it in the picture above. Here is my cute little Connery whining and trying to get out the front door while I was taking pictures.

The back porch is one of my favorite parts of our house. We bought the house with a screened-in porch and a tiny deck attached to it. My amazingly handy husband built onto the deck and made it into the huge area you see to the right. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it's great. I can't wait to watch football games out there this coming fall!

I haven't really done much to the den and I don't really have a picture of it, only the fireplace- maybe next time. I kind of moved some furniture around this past week, we'll see if I end up liking it and keeping it. I did paint our last name onto a candle- I got the idea from someone else's blog- thanks Mary Catherine! My dining room runs into my den and my kitchen- very open floor plan. I adore polka dots, hence the place mats. I found those at TJ Maxx for $5 and had to have them! Too bad they don't really go. And you can't really see them, so sorry!!




This is what I've been working on the past two weeks- the boring half bath. I didn't take a before picture, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Not too bad for the first room I ever painted. I love black and pink, too. SO this is my way of getting it in the house without having it too much, ya know? Anyways, I painted the cabinets black, spray painted the light fixture (it used to be yucky brass, eww), and added some new decor. I like it, at least better than what was there before.


We're having hardwoods put in this week, well actually that wonderfully handy husband I was talking about earlier will be installing them with his dad, Waldo. I'll take some pictures of that, should be fun!



I'll leave you with a picture of my next project, the kitchen. I can't, for the life of me, think of how I want to decorate it, what theme, or even colors. Red is out, apparently when I changed my last name to Watts, I signed a contract to never in my life wear or use the color red in any capacity- all hail Clemson! I would gladly accept any and all ideas!!

P.S. I despise the white counter tops, but I'm stuck with them :-( oh well

Visiting with Lauren and Luke

My good friend, Lauren, came to town for a wedding this weekend. While her hubby was playing golf she had a little free time. We met at one of my favorite restaurants, Moe's, well it's actually a sports bar, but who am I to judge?? They have the BEST burgers and fries of any place in Charleston. Lauren and I both started teaching at Lake Murray Elementary in August of 2005. We then moved to Pleasant Hill the next year and coaching C-team cheerleading. WOW was that an experience. There were some major drama queens. Sadly, they were mostly mama's.

Lauren and I had so much fun those two years. She always gave me amazing advice on life. Even though I'm the older one, she is farther ahead of me in the great game of life. She was just married when we met and began teaching and a couple months ago had her first baby, Luke. I met Luke over Spring Break and was amazed by how sweet and smiley he was. He hasn't changed a bit. He let me hold him and love on him almost all lunch. I almost got my baby fix, but definitely went home begging Austin for one. Haha, I'm sure he loved that!!

I tried over and over to get a good picture of Luke with his big smile, but it was kind of dark in Moe's, so my flash kept going off and he would totally drop the smile when he saw the orange light right before the flash. We had to trick him and get him from the side for a happy picture.

There is that handsome smile!! :-) I have baby fever, oh my! Thanks for the visit Lauren and Luke- hope I get to see you next week, too!!

2nd Wedding Anniversary

Two years ago on this day was one of the happiest and most blessed of my life. I married my best friend, Mr. Austin, as I always refer to him (I talk about him all the time at school and that's what my kids always call him). Flash forward 730 days later and we're "living the dream". I couldn't imagine my life any different from what it is today. It's very simple- law school tends to do that to you. My happiest times are doing everyday and easy things. We woke up this morning and walked the Battery, I love to walk and talk with him. It's time spent so much better than sitting in front of the tv. Then we ate some cinnamon rolls- they were very yummy! We watched a scary movie while eating East Bay Deli. We both LOVE scary movies and anytime I'm off from school and go to lunch 9 out of 10 times we'll go to EBD. We went to dinner at FIG. It's on Meeting Street before you get to Hymans, Charleston Place, and the Market. It had great food, but a small menu. We both got ID'ed, which Austin gets soooo mad about. I think it's funny for a 31 year old to get id'ed- he should be flattered. :-)

Before we left for dinner, Austin was waiting for me in the garage and I came out and he had flowers. How sweet! After dinner in the car he gave me two cards. His family is notorious for two cards. I had a serious one and then a funny one. The funny one was SO Austin... it said "Who's the best wife in the world? You! Who's the luckiest spouse in the world?..... and I open it up and has a mirror thingy and it says "Oh, look...it's you again!" HAHA. Typical.

The best part about our day is actually tomorrow. Austin bought tickets for the 9 o'clock showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm a HP addict. I've read the books multiple times and would put money on me knowing most any HP trivia. I hope I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I know this is the typical wedding season, so lot's of people have recently had or will be having their anniversaries. I hope everyone out there in blog land has a marvelous anniversary and are as blessed as I am. Now I've got to give the husband a massage...he's sore from soccer. I might give him a 5 minute longer massage than normal, I mean, it is our anniversary. :-)

Nightmare

This is about the time during the summer I begin to dream about the beginning of my next school year. After the class I had this past year, I can't imagine they would be so kind to give me another perfect class. I believe I will receive quite the opposite. Which frightens me... Also in this great recession, I know that our class sizes will be astronomical. This is where my nightmare begins.
Let me paint the picture for you- I'm very excited, full of smiles, grand ideas in my head, dressed in a new outfit probably from Ann Taylor Loft, standing at my classroom door. The desks are set up with new names on the tops, my library is pristine and in order, my desk is surprisingly organized- it must be the first day of school. As all students and the occasional parent that can't seem to let go are seated, I begin to take attendance. 1, 2, 3, 4.....20, 21, 22 (ugh), 23 (uh-oh),...25, 26- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? We normally only have 20-22. This is like the totals down the kindergarten hall- and they have assistants! During my planning, I happen to cross paths/hunt down a principal who tells me, yes, most of the 2nd grade teachers are starting with 26 students and that guess what?? A new student just registered, he's had some problems and is a little behind. So we think he'll be a perfect fit in your wonderful classroom, Katie. And don't worry about his behavior records- your class always seems to take care of those problem-makers. Lucky #27.

That's enough to make me wake up in a sweat.

Wii

Austin's birthday was June 22nd and his wonderful parents sent him, well let's face it, this was also meant for me, a Wii!! We got the basic Wii game with two controllers and a Wii fit! I'm going to try the Wii fit this morning- it's so cool, but I'm not too sure how it works. I am overly confident though that I, a graduate of college, can figure it out! haha. Allyson gave us Punch Out (apparently they redid this game because she and Austin knew who the characters were as soon as they popped up) and Tiger Woods golf. As a side note- I have recently taken up the game of golf. I'm not half bad- but I'm still a girl. I like to talk big and tell Austin I can "wail on a driver" (don't know where I came up with that one!) This game helps me to learn a little more...and I'm sure it's helping me on the driving range! Anyways, Aust went on e-bay and purchased another game that is boxcar racing or something like that. We bought these little steering wheels and everything- it was so funny watching him play!! Thanks to Kathy and Waldo for giving us this awesome present!! This will surely be great to give Aust a little break from the grind of law school once it starts back. :-)

My Gourmet White Pizza

I absolutely love the Gourmet White Pizza from Mellow Mushroom! After eating it a couple of times I decided I was going to try my hand at duplicating it. I've perfected my own recipe for this type of pizza. It's soooo yummy and super easy to make. Austin has been a little under the weather the past day so I wasn't planning on making dinner for us tonight. But his appetite came back around 7:30, so I threw this together and took a picture of it!! The recipe is below and is super easy to adapt. Let me know how you like it!!

Katie's Gourmet White Pizza

Preheat oven to 450.

Sauce: Mix following into blender and pour onto pizza crust (I buy already made thin crust pizza crust from the grocery store)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. majoram
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

In a pan on medium heat, warm a tablespoon of EVOO. Slice 1/4 of a sweet onion and a couple of cloves of garlic (I love garlic). Add to warmed EVOO. Cook a couple of minutes until limp. Add on top of sauce. Slice 6-7 sun-dried tomatoes and add to pizza. Sprinkle as much or as little Feta cheese over crust. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Once oven is preheated, place pizza directly on rack in the middle. I cook my pizza for 8-9 minutes on 450. ENJOY!! :-)

Home Sweet Home

Austin and I have been away from home since this past Wednesday. We went to Lake Keowee for the July 4th weekend. Aust's family has a great lake house in Seneca and throws a huge party every 4th of July. We cook enough food to feed a third world country and still have enough to send home with us. I was quite excited to get up there as early as possible. I had grand plans to see friends, eat at certain places, and of course soak up as much sun as my skin could take.

We began the trip at the Esso and ate the world's best chicken fingers (or so I think) on Wednesday night. Thursday I met Brooke, one of my best friends from Lexington, at a great little deli in Greenville. On my way home, I stopped at Hobby Lobby (my new favorite home accent store) and walked around for 2 hours! Good thing about Hobby Lobby is almost everything is always on sale, so I bought $100 worth of stuff and only paid $50. How wonderful!! Dain and Jessica, two friends from CSOL, got there Friday afternoon after Austin played golf at the Walker Course with his sister's boyfriend and some of his friends. We went to the Tiki Hut for dinner. Austin and I met there 4 years ago on July 3rd- how embarressing, but true. Saturday came all of the festivities. People showed up to stay or stopped by beginning around 10. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone. It's been since football season since we saw most of these people. The food was yummy, the company was wonderful, and the weather was beautiful! There was tubing, cruising on the lake, and some amazing fireworks later in the evening. I was sad for Sunday to come so quickly, but it was inevitable. Cleaning always takes place on Sundays-yuck, but it has to be done. We drove home in lots of traffic, but it was nothing compared to the people heading into Columbia. Thankfully we were going the way we were and we didn't have any backups.

Now for the reason I began this post- getting home is always such a nice thing. We both say how much we miss our bed, our regular seats in the den, and most of all, our cat, Connery. Connery hears us as soon as we pull in the garage and we can hear his sweet little meows through the door. He loves on us for a good 15 minutes after we walk in the door and give him a few treats. This is the one time I can guarentee he will pay us attention. He is definitely a cat.

It's A Jungle Out There! Or It Used To Be!

When we bought our house almost 2 years ago, our backyard was a jungle. It took Austin 2 months to get trees cut down, clear out all the trash, vines, leaves (that had fallen since the trees began growing!), and kill all the creepy crawly bugs and animals that lived back there-yuck! Not to mention built the fence and added a deck off of our screened-in porch. By the time he had all that finished, year 2 of law school began. That put the rest of the backyard on hold.

Now that we both are both out of school for the summer, we're back at work on the yard. It's amazing the transformation that has taken place! We've just finished getting sod put in. It is a brand new yard! I think if the old owners of the house came back, they would drop dead! I am so fortunate to have such a handy husband around. He basically did all of this without much help. Now that the grass and flower beds are in, I'll start what I do best. I've really gotten in to gardening and taking trips to Lowes. I can always go to Lowes and find something worth buying and bringing home. That equals trouble on a teacher's salary!

This weekend we'll stain the deck and plant some plants. We hope to have everything finished in time for the British Open to have some friends over and (hopefully) watch Lucas Glover bring home another major to Clemson!! Then it's on to the next project- hardwood floors on the first floor. :-)

First Blog :-)

Hello everyone! After reading and keeping up with friends through their blogs, I've decided to begin my own. I've been mulling this idea over for quite some time now wondering "What in the world would I have to say" and "Who really cares"! I'm sure most the things I'll write will be OH so exciting, but hey, this is the life of a law school wife! Enjoy :-)