What a coinkydink!

It is such a small world. I got news yesterday that Ryan met the first of my family members (Clint- my brother-in-law) in Afghanistan. Ryan is finishing up his deployment and Clint's battalion is replacing them. During an overlapping time, Clint searched out Ryan and they were able to meet and exchange a small conversation. I just think that is the neatest story! Out of all the places they could have been (and even though it is NOT a good place at all), it makes me smile to think that my two favorite soldiers were together - even for just a short time. Love those Sky Soldiers!!!

Patriotism and Pumpkins

Every year it is a tradition for my dad and I to carve a pumpkin. We have a little competition to see if we can out do ourselves from the year before. I will have to admit, my dad is the pro at this activity. He has this weird innate art skill that gives him the ability to draw anything he wants. Then I add the excellent seed scooping skills and attention to minor detail. We really should enter a contest. Haha...
In past years we have done generic Halloween objects (like black cats, haunted houses, etc.). We also tend to get creative some years and do random objects of interest, such as an awesome 'Whispering Wind" guy. Personally I think that was our best one up to this point.
This year my mind has been pretty set on the Army, especially this month! Clint, my brother-in-law left for Afghanistan last week and Ryan will be coming home (aka Italy) very soon. Both of them are Airborne Infantry Soldiers, so I decided to do the Airborne logo. Just to clarify - my dad really is the one who did the logo. The idea was simply mine. :) Overall I think it turned out to be pretty cool! Just a good combination or patriotism and pumpkins!

Techno Treasures

Due to my awful spelling (yes, English teachers are chronic misspellers too!) I went on an adventure to get spell check for my Internet. Apparently, for those other seekers, Mozilla Firefox spell checks EVERYTHING! Thank you, Mozilla creators!
Of course, this in itself would not satisfy me. When I downloaded Mozilla, I noticed that it was rather...how should I say this... blah. It looked so plain and old fashion. I am not sure if it's normal to be bothered by this, but I was. So, I went in search for a solution to this problem. Come to find out, Mozilla will let you 'decorate' or personalize your web window. I decided to pick a lovely light blue/modern flower design/ thingy that frames all of my web windows. It makes my eyes very happy, not to mention brightens my mood.
Let's just say, there are so many little technological little treasures that I am stumbling on. So fun!

My Sister's Keeper

This weekend I am spending the WHOLE weekend with my little sister, Taylor (aka - my little, herma, and pumba). In case I haven't said it before, I LOVE SISTER TIME!! So far, we have become TV junkies, because I am pressuring her into watching Friday Night Lights. I am pretty sure she is getting addicted, which means my evil plan is working. Hehehe. However, we tend to disagree when it comes to whose turn it is to change the DVD. We actually had a stubborn stand off for 30 minutes. I lost....

We also went to the mall and spent way too much money. I love having her around to talk me into buying things, not that I need much convincing. :) We topped of the day with some yummy Mexican food. We both share the same love of food, which can be dangerous at times. When we were little my mom would make us share a plate all the time. We would have a competition to see who could eat the most and the fastest. Again, I always lost...

I can honestly say there is no one else it the world that I love to goof off more with. We are so close and I love that girl more than anything! She is gorgeous (and taller than me), talented, and so funny - she gets it from me. :) Sisters are such a special thing. I am lucky enough to have two! :)

Hourglass...and we aren't talking about my figure!

I am starting to feel as though my life is one giant countdown! Every day I am counting down to something...numbers are always running through my head. In the morning I wake up counting down how many days left until the weekend. In the middle of the day I find myself glancing at the calendar to see when the next holiday or vacation is. When I get home I count down the hours until I get to sleep...and wish that I could sleep for much longer than possible. Then pretty much every other waking moment I am counting down the days until I get to see my amazing boyfriend and soldier again. :) To be honest..I don't know what will happen when I don't have anything to count down. Haha. I'm just thankful that up to this point, time has been on my side!

WFR Homecoming!

At about 4:00 this afternoon I was pretty sure that my day could not get any worse. I had an awful day at work - just feeling like things kept getting dumped on me. I had already made plans with Taylor to go to the WFR homecoming game tonight (the school where I work at). I REALLY did not want to go, based off the day I had. The school was the last place I wanted to be. However, I already told her I would, so I couldn't back out.

In the end, it ended up being one of the best nights! When we got to the game I was attacked with "Hey Ms. Wiggins!!". All of my favorite students from last year came and found me. They even sat and watched the game with Taylor and I. It made me feel like a million bucks that my old students thought I was 'cool' enough to hang out with. It honestly gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside that my job is more than just teaching English. Maybe I do make an impact of these kids lives! :) Sometimes I get caught up in the paperwork and nonsense things of my job...but the important things are those kids! It makes my job all worth it! Love love love them!

sweet and simple

This morning I woke up to a nice chilly October morning. I stayed in bed for about 2 hours and even ate my breakfast in bed. What a great morning!! I actually had time to enjoy all of those little sweet and simple things. Hence, a list of the sweet and simple that I love:

• Sweatshirts!!!
• Watching Friday Night Lights (currently on season 3!)
• Hot Chocolate
• Snuggling
• Being in love (he leaves Afghanistan this month!)
• Skype dates
• Football season
• Leaves changing colors
• Roxie :)
• Cool weather
• Songs that make you smile
• Sugar cookies
• Reading
• Yummy smelling candles
• Homecoming week at WFR
• Deep Conditioning for my hair (FABULOUS!)
• Great chats with friends
• Stars shining on a clear night