Don't eat the yellow snow.....

Miss Gracie finally made her debut yesterday...she finally ventured out in the snow. We had this nice beautiful white lawn and then all of a sudden she stopped and did this: Can you see that?!? She definitely made the snow yellow!

Look at her adorable little trail. I don't think there could be anything cuter than this:

She definitely looks like she owns the runway here:

Well, the snow and ice are finally melting away and we will FINALLY be back to school tomorrow. As I am typing this it sounds as if someone is stomping on my roof because the ice is breaking away quickly and melting. I'm not gripping about staying home for 3 days this week, but when you are "stuck" inside your house, (maybe because I'm a Texas girl and don't know how to drive, maybe because I live on a hill....pick whichever excuse you want) you start to get a little restless after 72 hours plus of staying inside the house.
I do have a little bit of mixed emotions right now though. On Monday Walt leaves to go to Kenai, Alaska for a month. (Well according to Walt 25 days doesn't technically count as a month.) I'm sad of course that he is leaving....who wouldn't want Walt at home all the time? I mean seriously, who wouldn't miss this face kissing them every night before going to bed?

I am NOT jealous of him though. Sure he will get to see beautiful scenery, but the weather will be COLD!
So... why the mixed emotions you ask? (I know you were thinking that.) Yes, I am sad that Walt is leaving, but I am also OH SO EXCITED... SEE?? Why the excitement? Oh, nothing big really. Just the small fact that MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING TO SEE ME IN A WEEK!!Oh yes... it will be great! A reunion actually. We haven't seen each other since she got married on May 5th of 2007! That's right...almost TWO YEARS! Not to worry... it won't be that weird, awkward reunion. Katie and I talk almost everyday and this is much needed reunion. Good 'ole Katie has never been to the the fabulous state of Oklahoma...I've warned her though. Told her she might need to pack more than she thinks, cause once she gets here she is not ever going to want to leave. (do you sense the sarcasm?) I do have some great things planned though, and I can't wait to see this face:Oh goodness, I've missed it so much! I just want to KISS IT!
So...that's the reason why I have mixed emotions. Sad that Walter is leaving, but happy that when he does leave I will be spending some good quality girl time with no one other than my college roomie, maid of honor, best friend...oh the list goes on.
So Walt... I'm going to give you some advice that I learned from Gracie. When you are in Alaska, I know the snow will look pretty and you'll want to do this:

Or you might even get brave and want to do this:

But... take caution...and look to see if there is YELLOW snow. Gracie didn't mind doing her thing outside...so be careful and don't eat the yellow snow. We will miss you.

I'll get you my pretty!!

I think I am writing this post because I have been locked inside my house for more than 24 hours, because even I can't believe that I decided to write about this:
I used to be under the assumption that only witches had warts. Yes you read that correctly, WARTS. I'm 26, and never in my life have I had any kind of wart. Well, that is up until 2 months ago. Walt and I went home for Thanksgiving and I kept telling him there was something in my foot. After hours of prodding it with a safety pin, (sanitary, I know) we could not find anything inside my foot...but I knew that something was there. So, when I went back to school I went to the nurse's office and let her take a look at it. Once again, she couldn't find anything, and yes I let her get after my foot with a safety pin also. By the time I went home for Christmas I was hurting. Of course the moment I mentioned this to my Nana, she knew exactly what it was. "Meredith, you have a plantar's wart....from wearing those high heels. Just put some of this on and it will bring it to the surface." Well, I don't know if Nana was right about the fact that I got the wart from wearing high heels, but she was right that the medicine she gave me would in fact, bring the wart to the surface. Well ladies and gentlemen, that was over a MONTH ago. My wart is still here. Walt and I have gone to the store and purchased the "freeze-away" kit, I've purchased the medicated discs, NOTHING seems to be working. It's so bad that I only wear flats. Let me tell you something....I only own THREE pair of flats, so my poor students have seen their (used to be hip) teacher in three flats since January 5th. I try to alternate....if that makes you feel any better. Anyway... I can hardly work out my foot hurts so bad, so I've made the decision to go and get the wart frozen off... oh wait... to go and get the TWO warts frozen off. Yes, I said it... TWO! That's right... it spread... disgusting. So from now on you can just call me the Wicked Warty Witch! Any suggestions on how to make it stop hurting?????(If you are eating right now, you might want to put your food down, because the pictures are pretty nasty.)

On another note... yes, we had ice, sleet and snow. It started snowing yesterday around 3 and didn't let up until 6 so this was good because it is much easier to drive. Walt actually went into work today and I have a feeling that I will be back at work tomorrow. Thank goodness!! I'm ready to see my precious sweeties!! They had a project due on Tuesday, so I can't wait to see what they will turn in for me! Here are some pictures of the ice...obviously you can tell that Miss Gracie is definitely a "warmer weather" dog. She must take after her grandmother!

This is ice on the streets

Our little trees

Miss Gracie is wanting to kill me right about now...

first the jacket, and then taking her out in the ice.

We must have some pretty strong trees...they have survived the ice

two years in a row.

While I was out of school I had 4 blogs that I needed to get done. I just wanted to share so you could see that I have, in fact, been productive.

Mike, Sarah and Dodger Zipser

The soon to be Ashley and Preston Bass

Kinsey, Brent and Tucker Weegar

Kelly Schulz

Ice Ice Baby

Another bad weather day....I know what you are thinking....you're jealous. Well, DON'T be! You won't be jealous of me come June when some of you are out for summer and I am still in school. Think about it...you'll be out for summer vacation...wearing your shorts, getting a tan, not thinking about school. Here I am STUCK inside my house, we have about a half an inch of ice on the ground, we can't leave, it's freezing, and the sleet is just coming down like cats and dogs right now. (If you were a student in my class, you would then proceed to tell me that my last sentence was in fact, an idiom.) So...like I said, don't be jealous...be thankful that summer is only 145 days away.
So clearly I have some free time on my hands and I need to post pictures from this past weekend. We were in Daingerfield for Preston and Ashley's showers. Ashley had a "girl" shower on Saturday day, and Preston had his "Honey-Do" couple shower on Saturday night. Everything was beautiful. I love going to all the Daingerfield showers because it just reminds me even more how lucky I am. I married into the most wonderful family and anytime I am in Daingerfield someone reminds me of this and I feel so completely blessed. It was a great weekend....I think I had it better off than the bride and groom to be! I got to eat great food, mingle with amazing people, see some pretty cool gifts, but THANK GOODNESS I am not the one writing ALL those thank you cards! I remember that time in my life....and Yes, I WAS THANKFUL, but I am going to be honest and say that I am glad that isn't me right now! Although, I would probably get them all done today and tomorrow, seeing as though we don't have school.

Ashley's gifts set out on display

Some more of Ashley's gifts set out on displayAshley with her hostesses at the afternoon showerPreston and Ashley at their "Honey-Do" shower...hence the honeydew melonAshley helping P-Bass open some of his giftsOh yes! I had the best job!! I got to write everything down! I was in heaven!!

Tucker wanted to help I think at this point, I was asking "who gave you this really cool present?"
How fun!! Sue and Matt came up for the event!
2 weekends in a row?!? I was spoiled!

Tucker loves his sisters!

Me with the Bride to Be...and my future sis!

This picture brings back great memories

2 of the most important and handsome men in my life!! I've got the best

husband and father!!

My main man

The soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Preston Bass

All of the Bass'....excuse the red eye remover on Walt's eye.

I think it went a little crazy and made his eye TOO dark

The girls!!

Walt, Pookie (Cousin Andrew) and McKamy

The Groom and his Best Man

Now, the next pictures are the pictures that I took this morning.... anybody up for a little ice skating? I don't think you really need ice skates, just grab some shoes and I am sure that you can go for a little spin around my neighborhood. This isn't snow...this is ice. I've calculated it... in the past 2 and a half years that I have been working in Oklahoma, I have been out of school 17 times for bad weather....SEVENTEEN! Who would have ever thought 4 hours North of Dallas there would be such drastic weather...Not ME!

Drum Roll Please.....

How exciting! I have just received my first ever blog award from Jennifer! To think that my blog even slightly measures up to someones taste is exciting! Now I must follow the rules:

1. Say one nice thing to the man in your life: Oh Walter... you are the most loving person that I know. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't feel like a Queen because of the way you treat me. Thank you for loving me whole-heartedly.

2. List at least 6 ways you measure success in life:

a. Happiness in my marriage
b. Happiness with my profession
c. Volunteering
d. Being involved within my community
e. Having wonderful relationships with my family
f. Embarking on new opportunities

3. Assign 5 other blogs this award
a. The Graham Fam
b.The Spicer Fam
c. The Powell Fam
d. Just the Two of Us
e. The Weegar Fam
If you were tagged follow the rules above!! And congrats on your BLOG award!

On another note... YOGA! Oh my goodness, I would have to say that going to YOGA was probably the highlight of my week. Imagine walking into a grocery store and seeing all of this wonderful fruit. You love looking at all the different colors and textures and then all of a sudden sitting amongst the mist of the fruit is a Hershey candy bar.....WALT was that candy bar. Bless his little heart, he tried so hard and he has even said that he wants to go back. At one point in time the lady came over the Walt (this was like the 7th time she had come over to him) and she was trying to get him into the right position... Walt and I just started laughing at each other. The girl sitting next to me thought I was so incredibly rude... I wanted to look at her and give her the finger... the ring finger that is... that finger would say, "Hey, LOOK I am married to this man and I can laugh at him whenever I want!" I recall one point in time when we were all bending over touching the ground and I made eye contact with Walt and he was about 10 inches from the ground. He is the most unflexible person that I know, but I would definitely give him an E for Effort. It was an experience and we will go back, but for now I think we are going to stick to our normal workout routines.
Right now I am in Daingerfield for Preston and Ashley's shower... I know I will have tons of pictures to post once we return. Happy Weekend!

Several Things....

What a nice surprise I received yesterday when I went and checked my mail....

I recently redid Kinsey's blog (see sidebar under Kinsey and Scott) and when I went to the mail yesterday I had this:

Kinsey...YOU ARE TOO SWEET!! You did NOT need to send me the adorable thank you cards and the wonderful gift card. Thank you so much for doing that and for making my day!

For those of you that are waiting for me to do you a blog header, I promise I will get to them before the end of next week. This has been my week:
Saturday: Wedding Shower in Dallas
Sunday: Interfaith Celebration Service for MLK
Monday: Designer Showcase Meeting
Tuesday: (ok, this was my day off... I watched a movie with my husband)
Wednesday: Global Gardens meeting and Junior League Meeting
Thursday: Haircut and Yoga
Friday: Head to Daingerfield for brother in law and soon to be sister in law's wedding showers
SO... I promise I will have your headers done by next week!! It's just been BUSY lately.

Please go back up to my schedule though and look at Thursday. Let me let you in on a secret... Yoga was NOT my idea. Although I have wanted to try Yoga out for sometime, I have never gone. On Monday I received a phone call from Walt (the most unflexible person that I know) telling me that HE wanted to try out Yoga. Now if you know Walt you know that he is going to go and try this out...he'll give it one try, HATE it and we will never go back again. I can't imagine Walt in ANY of these poses... the over 6 foot tall man that he is...

I can assure you though that I will make him wear those tight looking pants and he will be the hottest man in the room. Stay tuned for an update on the "Yoga" trial... Can't you just picture it now..... OH WALTER.

Dance Dance Revolution

This weekend Walt and I made the road trip BACK down to Dallas for a wedding shower. The wedding shower was for one of our favorite couple friends. This shower was in honor of Matt and Sue... we went on a Greek cruise with Matt and Sue back in 2007 and we are so incredibly blessed by their friendship.

The top picture was the 4 of us in Ephesus, Turkey and the picture above was taken in Florence, Italy.

So, Walt and I arrived on Friday night. We crashed, once again, at Poco's house...although her apartment had flooded several hours earlier (we're talking 4 inches of water here)..she made sure that the the bedroom we were staying in was dry enough for us. Thank you Poco for always accommodating us!
Saturday, Walt ventured to Baylor to watch the Bears play Oklahoma State. I can't even imagine how great Walt felt getting to cheer on the Bears, experience the victory and say that we "reside" in Oklahoma and WE beat the Pokes. It's not very often that, that happens for us Bears! I stayed in Dallas and went shopping with my mother, Poco and one of my closest friends, Mindy.
Saturday night we went to the successful shower for Matt and Sue. The shower was held at Vino 100. This is a precious little wine bar. It was great to see so many friends that Walt and I don't always get to see. Around 10:30, Sue decided that she wanted to go dancing! And that is just what we did... hey, she is the Bride-to-Be... she can decide anything!! We had so much fun! I can't even remember the last time Walt and I went dancing...so, we went all out. Dance, Dance Revolution 2009!! I had to take some pictures because I don't think I have ever seen Walt "bust a move" like he did this weekend. Needless to say, we closed the place down, and had a blast.

Me and Ashley at Vino 100. So glad she was there to keep me company!!

Me with the TWO brides to be!! Their weddings are only 1 week apart!!
Me and the groom... Mr. McKamy... or Sammy Slick, for those of you who read about Walt's birthday
WE

LOVE
TO DANCE!
*Warning...the next several pictures are of my dear, sweet, loving, incredibly fun husband! He only dances every once in a blue moon... so these pictures are worth more than anything!!

FIRST MAJOR FASHION FAUX PAS OF 2009... DO NOT EVER WEAR A TURQUOISE BOW, OR ANY COLOR FOR THAT MATTER, OUT... EVER
Me being the sorority girl that I am... I had to take a picture of Walt and Tyler... OR should I say of Walt and his Great Grand Little.. in his fraternity! HA!
So happy that I finally got to snag a dance with the "dancing queen!" Cue Mamma Mia music right now!

On Sunday, we drove back to Tulsa and went to the Martin Luther King celebration. Back in November there was a Martin Luther King speech contest and I helped one of my students prepare for it... well, she won! This past Thursday there was a dinner kicking off the MLK celebrations and she performed her speech there, she also said her speech last night at the celebration...she was featured on the news. You can follow this link to see her. I have never been more proud to be a teacher, than I was last night! She is absolutely amazing!
We had a fabulous weekend...celebrating with friends, celebrating an amazing man's life, celebrating a young girl's dream to change the future,and celebrating the change that America is going to see starting tomorrow.