Look what I found!

I figured I would be productive this afternoon (I really wanted a nap, but (a) I'll sleep better tonight if I store up the fatigue for later, and (b) a friend of mine is working on my car tomorrow and I didn't want it to be nasty on the inside (see previous post....every now and then I feel the need to prove that I do know how to clean :))

Anyhoo, back to the post. I am a list queen, and in keeping with my personality I thought it would be interesting (at least in my head) to detail some of the random things you would have found in my car if you had looked for them (earlier...not so much anymore!)

• A pillow....and various "slumber party" type things. I have not slept at my house since Thursday night; we got back late from singing at a revival Friday so I crashed with the girls, and Saturday night we had a slumber party for the teen girls at Marie's...
• CD's...all kinds, Some of which I'm not sure where they came from.
• 3 forks. Don't ask.
• Tennis rackets. Ya never know when you might need them.
• A yoga mat. I almost brought this one in, but I figured it'd be good padding if I ever have to change the oil--or a tire--again.
• A Wal-Mart gift card--yippee! I can go grocery shopping!
• Scrapbooking stuff...enough, actually, to make three Christmas scrapbooks. I'm only 6 months behind. Perhaps when school's out.
• Mary Kay--there is Mary Kay in every room of my house and was in almost every section of my car...front seat, back seat, under the seats, cargo area, glove compartment, etc.
• Wine bottle. You should know that I don't drink. I went to a yard sale while I was home, however, and asked how much a one gallon glass jar was (figured it'd make a good money jug--this was in the car, too.)--she said, "free--and take that bottle, too." Well, okay...if you insist. It's green.
• About 3 pairs of shoes and three random shoes (whose partner is in the house)...one of the pairs was broken and just hadn't made it to the trash yet.

Wow. At any rate, the car looks much better and I found about $6 in change just under the seats and from drive-through windows. I have 20 minutes before I have to get ready...perhaps I will lie down.

• 
  

I'm going to ramble for a bit.

It's 2:48 pm. I just finished updating grades (hopefully for the last time before finals...but I know better. There will, I'm sure, be at least two or three more instances of students who had just one more thing to make up or turn in.) I feel kind of bad; I spoke with one of our administrators this morning...she tried to crack a joke on the phone and I didn't joke back! I need to call and apologize. I have been soooo overwhelmed for the last two weeks trying to get grades in, conference with kids who aren't passing, and prepare for next year. This time last year my desk was clean, the floor was clean, grades were updated, lists were made, ....well, you get the picture. I feel a lot further behind this year, I guess with the finality of the fact that I'm not going to be in the classroom next year I haven't been in any particular hurry for closure. Now that my grades are done I can focus on getting my Spanish III final done tonight (when, you ask? Not sure yet...perhaps I'll get some done before church. Once I got going last night my Spanish II final didn't take me all that long.)...and I have to make up game questions for Spanish II. And III. And I have to create the study guide for Spanish III. Eventually I will sleep. People joke about the fact that I, traditionally, do not have the neatest apartment or car. In response to that, I ask...when would I have time to do it? Vacuuming just has to take a backseat to all the things that have to be done yesterday. I have seen 2am a lot more in the last two weeks than I have in a really, really long time (like back-in-college-Mondays-are-Steak-n-Shake-nights-after-midnight.) I don't do as well on 4 1/2 hours of sleep as I used to.

On a brighter note, I'm reading a really good book called Do Hard Things. It's by Alex Harris (Joshua Harris' little brother and his twin). Our youth leadership team is reading through it and it has been phenomenal so far. It talks about getting out of the reputations that teens have for consistent slacker behavior and challenging them to turn their lives--and this world--upside down for the cause of Christ in the form of witnessing, politicking for the best candidate, organizing youth rallies, and getting out of your general comfort zone. It has challenged me for sure.

Well, it's 10 minutes later and the bell will ring shortly. I suppose I shall go. :) May 23rd can't come quickly enough! :)

I got sucked in...

100 things that you never knew (maybe)

It's all Kirsten's fault. Random 100 things about her got me thinking....so, in an effort to (a) educate the public, (b) pass the time, (c) talk about myself, and (d) NOT do what I should be doing (inputting grades), I thought I'd start my own list...maybe I'll get to 100, maybe not. We'll see.

1. I'm a southpaw.
2. I teach high school and LOVE IT.
3. I won't be teaching next year; instead, I'm the testing coordinator at RCHS.
4. I speak Spanish.
5. I'm not married.
6. In 12th grade Lauren Lindsey and I decided to do a project involving white mice. We started with 3. When we got to 10, mom made us find a new project.
7. I accepted Christ when I was 14 and I love Jesus!!
8. I have two kitties. Any more, considering my unmarried status and the fact that I'm a teacher, would just be weird.
9. Sometimes I dream in Spanish.
10. My dream dog is a great dane.
11. I've been in the hospital for my kidneys, an allergic reaction, my gallbladder, and (what I thought was) my heart.
12. I broke my leg in 3rd grade. It was Frankie Hogan's (and the chin up bar's) fault.
13. I've never had stitches that weren't surgery-related.
14. I have a scar in my belly button from having my gall bladder removed.
15. If I had a tattoo it would probably be on my foot. My left foot, to be exact.
16. My mom died when I was 18. Yesterday (May 3rd) was 10 years ago that it happened.
17. I never went to prom. I don't think I missed anything.
18. I've never been in a limo.
19. My first daughter will be named Emma Lee (if I have any say-so in the matter.)
20. I love wearing pigtails.
21. Cowboy hats are the only ones that I look decent in.
22. I have two college degrees and am going back to school in the fall for my third.
23. I don't like Mac & cheese unless it's from a box.
24. I have visited 13 states in the US and three foreign countries.
25. My eyes are my favorite physical feature.
26. I very often feel that I do not belong.
27. I know how to change my own oil (not just check it.)
28. I can also change a tire.
29. I own my own jumper cables and can use them without bodily harm.
30. I am currently on my 3rd iPod. The first one I lost, found, then sold; the second one got stolen.

I'm going to go back to work now....more in a bit.

...update: It's 2:35...a few more for the road before I hit the sack.

31. I am as blind as a bat without glasses/contacts. -5.75, to be exact (-6 in glasses.)
32. If you go to Kaiteur Coffeehouse in Conyers, you can ask for the "Ms Phillips special" and they will know what you mean, all because of me.
33. I almost got sued this year...
34. I took basketry in college.
35. I made an A in that class.
36. I plan to get married barefoot and indoors.
37. My best friend is freaked out by 36.
38. If I were to leave the teaching profession, my first job pick would be pharmacy tech.
39. My spiritual gift is organization/administration.
40. I'm traveling to my fourth foreign country this summer when we take a mission trip to St. Lucia.

Whew....it's 2:41am now....I really gotta get some sleep if I expect to make it to work in...um....I need to be up in exactly 4 hours.

...It's Monday. I'm on a mission...

41. I love geometric shapes; rounded squares and spirals are my favorites.
42. I play the bassoon.
43. ..and the piano.
44. I didn't learn to sing harmony until I was in college.
45. I use scissors right-handed, and Mrs. Delaney tried to convince me in first grade that I must be right-handed.
46. I once bowled a 12.
47. I won the last game I bowled...but only because the gutter guards were up.
48. I have broken something in every country I've ever visited.
49. I had a hamster for almost two years. He was our class pet.
50. I don't care for breakfast meat very often....if I eat bacon or chicken in the morning, it's in a biscuit.
51. Cream of Wheat is my favorite breakfast food.
52. My mom was the STAR student of her graduating class and so was I.
53. I graduated 5th in my class.
54. I can count to 3 in 5 languages, and to 10 in 4.
55. I work with someone who speaks 7 languages, Swahili being one of them.
56. I've never lived outside the state of Georgia.
57. Chocolate Gravy is my 2nd favorite breakfast food (it might be my first except I only get it when I go to June's house.)
58. I can cook pretty well...I just don't.
59. I know how to sew.
60. On the Myers-Briggs personality test, I consistently score ENFJ.
61. My love language is quality time.
62. I have helped eartag and immunize cows before.
63. I know the difference between a cow, heifer, steer, and bull.
64. I almost accidentally bought a heifer when I went to KS over spring break.
65. I always wanted a horse.
66. We never had one.
67. I have a basset hound named Noah (aka Belvedere.) He lives with my dad and stepmom in Washington.
68. I almost got my tongue and eyebrow pierced in college.
69. I'm glad I didn't do either one.
70. I had to wear an arch expander before I could get braces because my mouth wasn't big enough (I know, I know...)
71. I had two wrecks within three days of one another in college.
72. When I had the second wreck from above, my car was in the shop and I was borrowing my dad's truck.
73. I once locked my keys in my car while I was at the insurance company picking up a reimbursement check for the last time I locked my keys in the car (did you follow that?)
74. I hit my stepmom's car the night she and my dad got married (welcome to the family, Brenda!)
75. My daddy is the best daddy ever.
76. No, really. He is.
77. I lost the HOPE grant my junior year of college by .02 points.
78. After I lost it, I got dean's list for the rest of my college career (and got it back.)
79. I used to live across the breezeway from where I live now.
80. I am a Mary Kay consultant.
81. I love Southern Gospel music.
82. ..and bluegrass.
83. I've never read Gone With the Wind or seen the movie.
84. I have had five different cell phone providers.
85. I went on my first mission trip when I was 18.
86. I once worked as a camp counselor (Camp Pinnacle)
87. ..and a pharmacy technician (Wal-Mart)
88. ..and a waitress (Cracker Barrel)
89. Most of the art in my house was done by me.
90. I took photography in college and if I could build my own house, I would have a darkroom.

...Whew! Almost done. I gotta go get some stuff together....more later.

Wednesday night...9:25pm...the mission must end tonight.

91. I won the John Philip Sousa award when I was a senior.
92. I was voted Department Major of the Year as an undergraduate by the faculty.
93. Whew! I was voted Cohort Member of the Year as a grad student by my peers. (It all went downhill from there.)
94. MY FIFTH PERIOD IS THE BEST! They threw me my VERY FIRST surprise party today (well, second...but it was the first one that was actually a secret to me!)
95. I was born 9 days before my due date.
96. My dream vacation? Me + a car + a map + a few hundred dollars and a buddy or two....drive in no particular direction for a week or so, see the sights, and then drive home. :)
97. (Can you hear the suspense building?) I have a serious obsession with office supplies. I could spend my entire paycheck in Staples on things like post-its, pens, highlighters, etc.
98. I think I am borderline OCD.
99. I am terrified of fires.
100. (The big one)...Growing up, I was MORTIFIED by flat tires. In 3rd grade we had a flat tire. I had a broken leg at the time and instead of sitting in the truck while my dad changed the tire, I tried to hobble to the nearest house (complete with guard dogs in the front yard) for help. Ironically, that house is next door to where my dad lives now.

I'm done! Off to count money and grade some papers....