Day 53

WOWzers. Long day. I have a behavior system in my class in which I move colored cards.... green (best), yellow, blue, red (rough rough day). I had 1 red today. I haven't had a red all year!!!! Surprisingly enough, it was from a child who usually does a good job. I also had two blues. EEEEK. Those full moons are rough.

After school, I went to workout. I usually decide to do some sort of high energy cardio class, but today I chose a Body Works Plus Abs class. OMG. Let's just say I almost passed out. The instructor kept screaming "BATHING SUITS... BATHING SUITS"..... I kept thinking about myself on Malibu, Santa Monica, Laguna, and Venice next week so I gave myself the extra push. Well, my friends. When I got in the car and started to drive to bible study, let's just say my arms wouldn't work. I was literally having muscle spasms. Driving hurt. Bad. I can only imagine how I will feel tomorrow. Even typing this is a speck painful. As I was barely driving, my friend Kacie texted (is that a word?) me a picture of this bear in a seat belt. I have been begging her to give this thing to me for days. I am glad to see she has taken care of him.

Went to Target to kill some time before Bible Study. LOVE the bathing suits and cute spring clothes. I had to restrain myself to not buy anything. It was SO hard!! Bible Study was of course fabulous. I love those girls so much. They are such great friends and I have grown so much closer to the Lord through fellowship with them.

Day 52

After school, I went to get my nails and hair did. I brought the side bangs back and I'm more of a brunette with the low lights. My hair smells like salon.... ahhh, I love it. I am ridiculously needing to workout because I have been SO busy (and slack at the same time). SO, I am about to attempt a few miles on the treadmill in my basement. Wish me luck!!

Quote from my Roommate/Mom moments ago: "Michelle, the maids are coming tomorrow. Please clean up everything in your room and bathroom." Um.... last time I checked, wasn't that the maids job? DUH! Haha.

Day 51

School was fun. Fire alarm went off this morning... never really heard why though? Recorded CRCT video song... all of us realized we should stick to our day jobs. American Idol would shoot us down. Went to passover dinner at my aunt's house. Daddy's side of the fam is Jewish so it's fun to see my cousins. Everyone thinks Jenna, Kara, and I look alike. I see it... kinda funny that we all come from the 3 siblings. More of the cousins were there, but I didn't manage to snap another photo before my phone crashed and died. Oh well, next time! We talked about the Big Top Cupcake pretty much all night. My new discovery recently has got me craving one of these big things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt3F69UfC28&feature=related Anyone wanna bake?

Day 50

I MADE IT TO DAY 50!!! Woohoo. Spent most of the morning giggling about last night with my friends. Laughter is seriously the best medicine. Came home and ______ (fill in the blank). I'm pretty predictable. Yes, it is "slept". Woke up and ran through my neighborhood for an hour. It was BEAUTIFUL out today. I took a break to take a picture of this gorgeous tree. Went to Wal*Mart to buy blank CDs so that my grade level can record our music video this week. Came home and made my favorite macaroni and cheese.... Kraft--Spongebob kind. I am 100% certain that the shapes make it taste better. I am going to spend the rest of the night grading papers, cleaning my room, and watching some tv.

Day 49

Holy sleeping cow. I don't know why this is so, but waking up early on a weekend is SO much harder than any day of the work week. Woke up early to go to my Writer's Workshop class. Drove to Laur and Steph's and passed out for a few hours. Now, we are getting ready for a going away party for one of our friends, Tyler. It's going to be so sad saying bye to him :( I didn't take a picture today so I found one on Lauren's computer. This is a picture of my roomies in college posing by the arch for graduation photos. Ah, I miss college.

Day 48

Normal Friday. Came home and slept for oh... 4 hours! I have a writing conference thing tomorrow all day and I have to wake up super early for a Saturday. However, I do not anticipate having a problem sleeping. I scared someone with my evil creepy voice tonight, which was highly entertaining. Right now, I am being boring and organizing drawers that are filled with things dated back to high school. Wow, I am a pack rat!! Since I didn't take a picture today (all I did was creepy voice recordings haha), I decided I would upload a picture from LA over the summer to get myself pumped up for going in a week!! This is Lauren and I at Pinkberry in Marina Del Rey. I am low lighting my hair again like this because I miss it dark! This video is when I randomly saw Christina shooting a commercial. I wish she turned around, but oh well. GORGEOUS voice!

Day 47

Cheerleading tryouts are over. Yay. All the 7 coaches went to celebrate at On the Border after. It's nice to know next week will be not as crazy. Haha... I say that now. As I reflect, I realize that I am happy to be back next year if everything works out like I want it to. Last year, my squad did both JV Boys and Girls AND Freshman Boys and Girls. Talk about a million games! This year I will only be coaching JV and I am stoked about this. Above is a nice gift I received last year from Tiffany's... I wore it today and it reminds me that even though I may not act like it all of the time, I truly do enjoy it!

I am going to spend the rest of my night rewording a famous song (not saying which one... someone might steal it!) for our CRCT Pep Rally. Every grade level comes up with something cute for the pep rally like a song, dance, cheer, etc. to pump up the kids. We have the majority of it done... I am just adding the special touches and ideas. I can't wait to see how it comes out. I think it's gonna be good!!! I like to call it... "I'm Takin' the CRCT Today". This song will win awards so watch out. :)

Day 46

Wow, today was such a long day. Early release day then cheerleading tryouts. THEN!!! while at tryouts... I check my iphone email and see that I have an email from THE PRICE IS RIGHT! I won tickets to TWO (not just one) shows while I am in LA on Spring Break. I cannot even express how ridiculously excited I am. What a CLASSIC! I am going to be overly obnoxious so they will pick me. "MICHELLE WEXLER.... COME ON DOWNNNNNN!!!" and when I play they will say... "A NEW CAAAAARRRRRR". Omg, I cannot control how excited I am. Still praying for Ellen and Dancing with the Stars!! Eeeeeeek. So far we definitely have The Price Is Right, Jay Leno, Dr. Phil, and Let's Make a Deal. We won't be going to all of them due to time. Obviously, we are going to pick which ones go best with our schedule and which are preferred by most people I'm with. yayyyyy. I heart Hollywood!

Day 45

Phew...cheerleading tryout week is halfway over. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Seriously, I have!! I love being in charge and making decisions. It wasn't too long ago I was in all of their shoes. I found myself getting nervous for some of the girls today because I know how all of them feel.

After cheerleading, I came home and reflected, reflected, and reflected some more. I am in a Mentoring Matters class. Basically, it's a class to help me become a better mentor to the first year teacher I mentor. Hmmm... yes, I'm just a second year teacher myself. I was nervous to take on this responsibility at the beginning of the year, but I feel as though (after I reflected a bunch :) ) I have done a fairly good job helping mine out. I know that she feels comfortable coming and talking to me about stuff and I guess that is all I can ask for. It has been a good thing for me too because it has helped me reflect on my own teaching. I think having a second year teacher (me) as a mentor has its pros and cons. Let's start with the big con... the obvious... not a lot of experience. The big pro... I was just there in her shoes so I can easily relate to her. We have formed a wonderful bond not only at work, but outside of work as well.

That's all for me tonight folks. I am sleepy! ZZZZzzzzz

Day 44

Hey Cheerleading Tryouts 2010! See the guy in the front? He was MY coach in high school for my Varsity Competition team!! He was actually the coach I had when I tore my ACL. He screamed at me to get up after I fell doing a toe back.... I knew my knee was no longer connected to my body, but he made me throw more tumbling. Let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight. I was not his biggest fan a while ago, but I've now gotten over it I suppose. :) We laughed about old times, which was fun. I missed my workout classes tonight, which is sad because I love them so much. There's always next week I guess. Can't wait for Dancing with the Stars tonight! I am so excited to think I could be in the audience in exactly two weeks.... fingers crossed!! EEEEK.

Day 43

It is going to be a big week. Cheerleading tryouts!! They are Monday-Thursday. No afternoon naps. No social life. No Nothing. It's okay though. I like having the power of making decisions. It's fun! I spent all day filling out stuff. For once, I hope my hard work is of no use. I like to be on the ball and ahead of the game. Tonight, I am going to dinner with my big sister in my sorority and our mama that we love... Michelle Rosenthal (I posted pics of her cutie pies a few days ago). We're going to Cheesecake Factory! So pumped. I officially signed up for the Peachtree Road Race today! Can't wait. There is nothing better than running on one of my favorite holidays. This was a picture (I stole) from last year. I guarantee I am in there somewhere. Come run with me!

Day 42

What a gorgeous Saturday! Spent the night with the girls (and baby Will) last night reliving our high school lives and hearing about our new grown up lives. Woke up this morning and went to brunch at Murphy's in the Highlands. That place is so freaking cute. After that, met up with Courtney and Michelle at Park Tavern in Piedmont Park. There were approx. 9,293,712 people out today in the park and 5,203,572 dogs running around. Spring is definitely here!

Day 41

I am so happy the sun was out today. It was beautiful. I went to dinner with some of my favorite girlfriends. We laughed for hours over yummy Mexican food and beverages. Sometimes I just need that! It was fabulous. I am going over to Lauren and Steph's to catch up with two old friends.... one is pregnant and one has a baby. Wow, my friends are growing up. I definitely am not :) and I like it that way... for now at least!

Day 40

After school, I came home and slept for 2 hours. What the heck is wrong with me? I used to have a bad habit of doing this, but over the past couple of months I have gotten out of it. Well, I'm back in full force. Even if I tell myself I am going to stay awake, I still fall asleep. Today was on the couch watching Ellen... no matter how entertaining she is I still manage to fall asleep.

Here's an awkward story... Once I awoke from my sleep, I decided I'd go to LA Fitness. I ran 30 minutes and did the elliptical for 30 minutes. As I am "cooling down", I can see one of the trainers (gross muscle man dude) coming over to my direction. I am thinking I either broke the treadmill or he is going to the guy next to me. Nope, I was the victim. He told me that he had been watching me on all of the machines. UM... CREEP! He proceeded to then tell me how much of a better workout I could get from a trainer rather than using machines. I told him thanks, but that I didn't live in the area (LIE!) so I didn't want to commit to anything. He told me I looked like a "Buckhead girl". I said, "Well, yeah, I guess I am". THEN.... here's where it got awkward... he asked me on a date for this weekend! I can honestly say I've never been asked out at the gym. I flat out told him I wasn't interested. Haha. Ickkk. Big muscles gross me out!

I came home and giggled with my mom about how ridiculously awkward my life is. I didn't take a picture of anything today worthwhile so here is a picture of my favorite orange juice... pulp free of course!

Day 39

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! Today made me feel like a little kid again. I started the day off at 8:00 reading two St. Patrick's Day books. In one of the books, a bunch of little leprechauns invade a classroom and cause a lot of trouble. The kids loved it. As I began discussing the book with them, I realized I did not even have one child that did not believe. I asked them, "Has anyone ever seen one before? ... because I haven't." About ten hands went up and as they explained it to me, you could tell they seriously believed it. Of course, the "leprechaun" invaded our classroom, but in a nice clean way :). They FREAKED out!!! Anything that was semi out of place, obviously the leprechaun did it. Down the hall... any marks... obviously his footprints. He was even on the playground today when we were out there. A few kids saw him running away in his big green hat! We searched for four leaf clovers, but we didn't find any :( . It was one of the most precious days. Often, I feel as though I overlook how old they really are because I'm so concerned with teaching them the material we are required to teach. Today really put me in place and showed me how young they truly are. It was a pleasant wake up call!

I wish I had a fun St. Patrick's Day story of something I did with friends, but I don't. A bunch of friends went to Fado in Buckhead for some fun festivities. I was going to go, but coming home and sleeping for 3 hours (what!?!?!) seemed like a better idea at the time. I went to the grocery store tonight and a Chinese restaurant by my house. Above you will find my fortune cookie.... I don't necessarily believe in these things, but it's still comforting to know everything will be alright :)

Day 38

French. Braid. You are welcome, Meg. :) Actually I owe her BIG time... I'm an idiot and left my notes for the cheerleading banquet in the front office. I guess I dropped them when I said I would be a hair stylist for those few moments today. Now Meg is fully aware of who had the greatest jumps and showed the most spirit on my squad. HAHA. I love how she even got Wayne in on it. He went to my room and found my document that I had left on my computer. I knew I didn't save it to the computer and I knew he had to save it in order to send it me so I could print it out at Lindsey's. I was pleasantly humored when I received the email with my cheer notes... Wayne saved it as "Cheerleader Garbage". HAHAHAHAHAHA. Lindsey is my witness... I died laughing!! This brings me to my next event for today... the cheer banquet. I got spoiled. Seriously. Fo' real. Awesome American Express Gift Card, a TIFFANY's charm necklace that has my initials and "Thank you Coach... '09-'10" on the back, BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers, and a sweet signed picture from all the girls. I am going to miss those girls. I loved working with them. I felt very appreciated tonight. It's nice to know I'm doing something right.

Day 37

After school, I met up with Michelle Rosenthal (my Gamma Phi Beta mama!) and her two adorable children. Connor and Bennett are precious and I have known them since they were tiny little babies. Connor amazes me with his reading skills.... he has been reading since he was 3 (now he is in 1st grade)!! When I used to babysit him in college, he could recite the entire alphabet backwards. Pure genius! I remember being so amazed by him that I wanted to bring him in for Show and Tell to my Reading courses. As you can see, he reads on his free time... ALL of the time. I hope my children are as smart and precious as these two boys!

As usual, I went to my classes at LA Fitness. Instead of going home after, I had to get some last minute things for the cheerleading banquet tomorrow. Totally bittersweet!

Day 36

I got absolutely nothing productive done today. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Tonight I went to see my little baby twin cousins (big 8th graders!) in their production of Alice in Wonderland. They were seriously stars of the show of 200+ kids. I can't imagine being the director of so many kids! AH. Little Emily was the Rabbit and Little Jenna was the Queen of Hearts. I seriously remember when they were babies. It's crazy how times flies and we all grow up.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Tomorrow starts a new work week. I feel lucky to have a job to wake up and go to. :)

Day 35

Today has been great! Woke up, got Chick fil A breakfast, subbed at Saturday School, hung out at FedEx getting some copying done, then went to Mallary's. As I was pulling up the most arched rainbow was above my head. It was so large I couldn't even fit it in this whole picture. There was actually another one right next to it so it was double. Mallary and I were flipping out! SOOOOO pretty and awesome. Tonight we're going out on the town with some of my friends. I love Saturdays!

Day 34

Happy Furlough Day! Yes, today we didn't have school. YAY! We also didn't get paid. BOO! SO... I woke up and ate a waffle around 8. Why did my body think it was okay to wake up when I didn't have to be up? I was mad at myself so I went back to bed. I woke up around 10 because I woke my own self up. I was laughing so hard in my dream I actually woke myself up. I can honestly say I have never done that before. It weirded me out when I woke up. I remember the dream and it was honestly not that funny either. :) I worked on school stuff all day. I worked so hard that the next thing I knew it was 8:30 and I forgot to eat lunch and dinner. Um... definitely haven't ever done that before either. I always remember to eat. I love food. My mind is definitely in so many places right now so I guess that's why. Once I realized how crazy I had become, I decided to put everything away for another day and make myself a yummy meal. I made chicken teriyaki and rice. I love the sauce... as you can see. It's delicious!! Going to bed early so that I can be a good substitute for Saturday school. Night!

Day 33

With all that's going on, it's definitely tough keeping a straight and positive mind. I have to pat myself on the back though because I feel that I am focusing on what I need to focus on... and that's the kids I teach. Today was one of those days that I felt accomplished in everything I did. They got it.... and they loved it. We read a play and no one missed a beat. I even had actors and actresses. They craved an audience, but unfortunately no one was around in the halls. We learned about shapes and they thought it was "SOOO fun"! We changed the nouns and verbs to a boring sentence and added descriptive adjectives to make our writing "pop". They were on fire and couldn't even stand sitting in their seats. I got observed today by a lady who told me how wonderful I was doing with the calendar. I have to admit it definitely felt good when the children were so active in my lesson. Children who sometimes sit back and let others speak were engaged and excited. They got it! It's those little things that confirm I am worthy of the position... I just need to wait and be positive.

Reflecting on today, I know I gave it all I had for the children. Tonight, I knew I had to dedicate time to only me. I spent most of tonight digging up things I need, but I don't want to need. :/ Preparing for the worst and hoping for the best is my motto right now.

Goodnight all and sweeeeeeet dreams!

Day 32

One of the perks of living at home is that I can travel back to my childhood whenever I want because all of it is here. As I was digging around, I found all of my old letters and pictures. Lauren (my best friend EVER! seriously!!) and I have been bffs since 7th grade. We were twelve when we met. Our friendship started in the locker room of Mabry Middle School. Luckily, we had the same PE class period and we had lockers on the same row in the locker room. For some reason, all of the girls in 7th grade were obsessed with Bath and Body Works lotion at the time. I for some reason ran out so I asked the girl next to me (Lauren) if I could borrow some of her lotion. She said, "My lotion is your lotion!" We were instantly inseparable because I found her to be hilarious. I am so thankful for her and her friendship. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be without her? Every memory (except for cheerleading.... she was a drum major of the LHS band :) ) I have for the past 13 or so years has been with Lauren. I dedicate my post to her tonight! Love you!

Featured above: a ridiculous picture from a holiday social in college and I actually found her thank you note that she gave me in 7th grade for going to her Bat Mitzvah :). I have some cuttteeee pictures of us from middle school, but I cannot seem to find those albums. The second I do I will post them... they are SOOOO funny because we look like tiny babies!

Day 31

Current emotion: worried. When I am worried, I like to listen to music. Well, I actually like to listen to music with any emotion I am feeling. This song by Jessie James has nothing to do related to my life right now (basically it's about girl power after a breakup), but it just makes me happy. I am worried about my future, but I know God has a special plan for me and everything that is supposed to happen will happen.

On a funny note... I like that "Help" got in this picture. It's kind of true :)

Day 30

Just trying to stay positive :)

Day 29

I had an awesome night last night. A few awkward encounters, but it made for an interesting night! Woke up, drove back to Marietta, and took a looonnnggg nap. Woke back up and went over to L's house to play Rock Band. I always have so much fun with my bandmates. I love them dearly :). Came home, made a few phone calls, graded papers, and put together my class book we made on WRAD Day. Watching the OSCARS the rest of tonight. Love the dresses and bling!!!

Day 28

Busy day=short post. Writer's Workshop, wedding shower, birthday party.

Day 27

I heart WRAD (Writing and Reading All Day) Day! I don't know why some people don't like it because I would rate it top 3 of my favorite days of the school year. The kids LOVED getting new books that were donated to the school. We made a class book, which was so much fun. We went outside to see a firetruck. Clifford visited us, which they soon realized it was another teacher :). We had a FABULOUS guest reader come to our room and she read "Cat in the Hat" to us. Doesn't she look so adorable in her duck pajamas? After the story, Mrs. Johnson and I made "Cat in the Hat" hat cookies with them. I think the kids enjoyed it a lot. When 2:15 came around and I told them to pack up, they couldn't believe the day was over. I had several "I wish all of our days were like WRAD day!" and "I don't want to go home!" comments. I am happy that they had a good day!!

I crashed when I got home from my busy day. I took a three hour nap. OOPS, definitely overslept! I have a wedding shower tomorrow and I am a procrastinator that has yet to get the gift. Luckily, I made it to Town Center (um... ghetttoo) just in time before they closed. I ran in and ran out immediately.... did you know people actually spend their Friday nights gathered outside in the mall parking lot? Like big groups... like 30+. What??? All I have to say is I am glad my life has not come to that business!

Day 26

Dr. Seuss is my hero. My kids loved when I read "Green Eggs and Ham" earlier this week. They begged me that I would read it again tomorrow for WRAD Day. I am super pumped about my Cat in the Hat cookies. I'll post pictures if I remember :).

So... I feel special. I went to Starbucks and asked the old man behind the counter how his day was before I ordered. He told me I was the only pleasant person he has served all day and that my order was on him. What? That is so sad. I about cried. I love NICE people. I made his day and he made mine! THEN... I came home from my 3 hour errands and my mom got me the new Clinique gift. What?? I did nothing to deserve this, but she did it because she wanted to? I about cried again. I feel like I need to do some good deeds for someone else....

I am officially so blessed and thankful.

Day 25

Delayed school days are awesome :). I love sleeping in!! I felt so refreshed and ready to start the day. After school, went to kickboxing then bible study. I came home to find my roommate in her normal spot.... couch, watching tv, personal computer, and work/school computer. Haha. I have a workaholic for a mom/roommate. I sure do love her.

One month from today (April 3rd).... I LEAVE FOR LA!!!!

Day 24

It snowed all day at school. SO pretty! I came home and caught up on all of my reading for bible study for tomorrow (four chapters of in depth stuff!). I just got the phone call that school is delayed 2 hours tomorrow... excited to sleep a bit longer! I do love my sleep. :)

Day 23

Well, just call me Miss Forgetful today. Two of my bandmates saved my life today. My day started off with Meg calling down to my room to tell me I left my keys up there in the office. My day ended with me with calling L to ask her to get my computer because I left it out for anyone to grab. Um... I wish I had an excuse for both, but I don't. Wow. Hopefully, I will be more on my A game tomorrow. Shout out to Meg and L. I owe you both big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you :)

Once I got the computer situation figured out, I went to Phipps to Vera Bradley to buy my cheerleaders their end of the year present from me (with the booster club's money :) ). On my way into the mall, I ran into one of my fav people EVER!!! I saw Brenton Brown! One of the most energetic, spunky, thoughtful, crazy, fun guys I know. Always a guaranteed good time with him there. He is a manager at Nordstrom and I got to witness him in action. Good to see him!

Of course, I went to my two classes at LA Fitness. Josh (the freakin' awesome step instructor) told everyone that he was their "stepfather". Haha.... I thought that was hilarious and I definitely giggled on the way home about it too.

I'm currently watching the Bachelor finale.... what the heck?? He's about to pick the loser of the bunch, Vienna. However, I am betting he drops her and goes back to either Allie or Tinley. Some guys are just dumb.

Can't wait to build a snowman at Mimosa tomorrow :) He has got to have a "hawk"!