The Gift of Giving...

To me, the greatest part of the holidays is finding the perfect gift and perfect way to say "You are a special part of my life." (Well...and decorating, as I do love that so very much!) Often I find myself is such a funk about the perfect present. I stress about it, I shop for hours, I look online at outrageous websites, all in hopes of sparking the perfect present idea! Sometimes this works like magic, and well....other times it doesn't and I find myself on Christmas Eve scrambling to find something...anything...that might be suitable.


This year I have outdone myself! While I have only done less than a eighth of my Christmas shopping, I feel incredibly successful! So much so, that I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas in order to share my (or what I consider) amazing gifts! I can't remember the last time I had this feeling...the feeling of pure ecstacy at the thought of wrapping and then delivering these amazing tokens of my affection. What are these wonderful gifts? Well, that will have to wait a mere 31 more days to be revealed!


As with the Christmas season of giving, comes the desire to give of your time and effort to your family during Thanksgiving. As we draw nearer and nearer to chowing down on mom's scrumptous turkey, I can't help but take a minute and appreciate everything that 2009 has brought for me.


While it hasn't all been a walk in the park (i.e. fights, friendships ending, many tears cried, friends being sent overseas, etc.), the year has a whole has been one that has begun to lead me in the right direction, this year has certainly been one for the record books.
Just a few things that 2009 has brought: 

• the marriage of one of my bestest friends, Rhianna
• an engagement of another fantastically close friend, Cappy
• learning how near and dear Destin is to my heart
• starting a life with the man I will one day marry
• the coolest beagle puppy around
• saving one of the most beautiful kittens and giving her quite possibly the most brilliant cat name ever created!
• becoming better and stronger in my career field, though learning I won't be in this field for many more years
• Most importantly, enjoying my life and not allowing anyone to take advantage of the kindness that I contain in my heart

So with that said, my holiday season continued in full force today! Ruckus and I went to the parents house to play with Banjo! After a full afternoon of playing, Ruckus passed out on the ride home! Trey and I could not have done a better job selecting her. She really is a truly wonderful puppy. Not only does she have beautiful markings, but she will melt your heart in an instant. She is the only dog I have ever seen my mother crawl across the floor to play with. Or my father get down on the floor and give her a million treats in hopes she would sit in his lap. I have waited for a dog like her to touch my heart ever since Pepper died, and now I am so thankful to have found her. 


Grandpa and Ellie (the new wife) are in town. This is always a delight....sometimes I wish there were an "emoticon" to display sarcasm, because that is precisely what I feel about their situation. Never in my life have I felt more meaningless to my grandfather than in the last year and a half since my grandmother died. I have tried to reach out and reconnect with him several times this year and each time it is met with little to no enthusiasm, so I am done. It pains me  deeper than perhaps losing my grandmother did to say, or even think that, but feeling like I am uncared for is perhaps the worst experience I have ever dealt with. So with that, I can only give so much effort with no response, and that effort is quickly dwindling. 


On a positive note, with today being Thanksgiving, that means "lots of DELICIOUS SCRUMPTOUS food" and "the final holiday before CHRISTMAS!" This Thanksgiving will be easily the most busy one ever....seems to be how all of my holidays are turning out since both families live in northern Georgia. It started off with a visit from one of Trey's rugby friends Andrew. His family lives in Alpharetta as well, so when he is in town, he always stops by to pay us a visit! And well, we don't argue as we enjoy company! His visit contained a warm mug of hot chocolate, lots of rugby talk, and quite a show as he and Trey battled in Wii Resort! Truly a relaxing way to start off a Thanksgiving holiday that proves to be busy and yet, relaxing!


With that said, Happy Thanksgiving to all! And may you enjoy all the Black Friday deals...I know my mother and I will!

"Santa, I love you!"

Watching children profess their love and dreams to "Santa" is hands down one of the reasons I simply adore this holiday!

My holiday season officially started yesterday! Trey and I bought a BEAUTIFUL wreath from his store and hung it up on the door last night! Pictures will come later. But from here on out, it's "Holiday Season Madness!"

Let the Christmas parties begin! Brenda and I started off the season "sitting on Santa's laps ourselves! What did I ask for this year? Well...we'll just have to wait and see. No need to jinx it! Trey had to work today, so I decided to take an afternoon to myself and get in the "holiday spirit." With all the chaos and stress going on lately, it was nice to get out of the house on my own and enjoy some festive atmosphere! And boy, was it festive!

Brenda's house was simply alive with the holidays! She had music playing, decorations covering every spare inch of space, the whole family was dressed accordingly, and there was even "Polar Express" playing in the living room. Simply marvelous! One of these days, it will be my turn to host a fantastic holiday party complete with treat, decorations, and music!

Until next time, Happy Holidays!

Cause it was in a Lil Wayne song...

Soap Box: Now as a teacher, I have had encounters with children I wish to never see grow into adults for fear of their negative impact on society. I have met children that I pray will be taking care of me in my old age as well! But the ones that say things like "I don't like Bush because he didn't help New Orleans. It was in a Lil Wayne song," make me INCREDIBLY nervous! I can only hope that my guidance leads them away from Lil Wayne's life lessons.


Now to the good stuff! I promise I'm not a bully...nor do I have pets purely to see how much I can torture them...but sometimes, I just have to have a little fun! Take a peek at Rwwar's Christmas Costume!

Next Up: Ruckus's Costume!

"Ms. Hales, I think my tooth meat fell out!"

So this week has been one that I will not be sad to see end. With Parent Teacher Conferences and Trey's hectic upcoming holiday schedule, our stress level has been at a major max!!
However, we were able to get a nice break on Tuesday and attend my brother, Brian's, first basketball game! He made the 7th grade basketball team a few weeks ago, and their season started off this past Tuesday. Now, even though he wasn't a starter, he made quite a run coming off the bench! Due the lovely rain tropical storm "Ida" brought in, we hit some awful traffic and ended up making it to the game during the second quarter.

Pre-entry chat with Coach Cheek (who, interestingly, was also Trey's college roommate!)

They ended up losing a heartbreaker...47-45 in the final minute of the game. Such a bummer! But, I am sure Brian will be working hard to continue to get more playing time and win some of those close matches!
Like I said earlier, Parent Teacher Conferences started this week...and boy, was Wednesday fun! Started out with 4, yes...FOUR, of my students going to OR. (AKA: Opportunity Room, AKA: Detention). RIDICULOUS!!! I was furious! One of them had been there less than 10 minutes, and I walk into the room and see fists flying! I almost lost my job....I was so ill with them. Needless to say, they did not, and have not, received ANY special privileges since then. However, in true fashion, one of my lovely students brightened my day like always!

This was how we spent the afternoon! Making marshmallow MONSTERS! :) They had fun...I had fun....nice way to end a horribly long day!
Good news is...conferences are O-V-E-R! So for parents out there, take it easy on your teacher during conferences...they are incredibly stressful and draining!
Tonight Trey and I found ourselves both at home before 5pm! What a rarely, and AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL gift! So, as we decided to spend some QT with Ruckus, Trey decides to teach her the word "outside" and to go to the door when she hears that word! Needless to say, it did not go quite as planned!

And of course, being the sassy shithead that she is, Rwwar decides to use this time to play and eat one of Ruckus's treats! She is so great!

After a long, and difficult walk (as Ruckus decided to be stubborn), we made it home, got a bath, and watched a little X-files over a yummy, home-cooked meal!!! I am so lucky to have a man that can COOK!....and well! 

As the holidays approach, I am getting more and more excited and ready! I already did a little bit of christmas shopping...and oh, is it going to be good! And in only a mere matter of weeks, I'll be chowing down on some turkey and then jamming to some Christmas carols while putting up some decorations!! Oh, how excited I am!


Until then....Happy Friday the 13th tomorrow!!

When the cat is away...the mice will play!

So tonight was one of Trey's late nights to work...which during the work week translates to "he'll be back after Sarah goes to bed!" So it was me, the cat, and the dog! And what an adventure it was...
I had big plans to get caught up on some grading tonight, enjoy some wine, and get through some shows on the DVR. Well 2 outta 3 ain't bad right? Wine...check! DVR...check! Papers graded....well, I've still got the weekend!
Tonight was a nice, cool night here in Alpharetta! And since both animals love to be outside quite a bit, I decided to open the patio door so they can go in and out as they please. Only...one of the worst things happened....a wasp got in! (And is still currently on our ceiling at this moment.) Now Ruckus, being a little doopy, didn't even notice of course! Instead, she spent the evening sneaking into the back room to eat the cat food, or playing "steamroller" while Rwwar slept, or my favorite, crawling into my lap during dinner. Thank goodness it's close to her bed time...as she is currently curled up and passed out on the couch with me! :) 
Now back to the wasp, Rwwar, on the other hand, L-O-V-E-S bugs. Let's take a picture walk to see what happened.....

This would be her on top of our 3 foot high tower speakers in the living room. (Don't tell Trey!)

Apparently the speaker wasn't high enough so she jumped to the top shelf of the bookshelf and tried to get on the very top! (I was a bit nervous at this point....cats land on all fours still right???)

With all this going on....schoolwork can wait right?? :) 


Oh well, until next time....I'm eagerly awaiting my first day of Christmas music!!

It's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

So Halloween has now come and gone and for the next few months, it's going to feel like "Holiday City!" And I love it! This really is my favorite...time...of...year!

Unfortunately...Ruckus doesn't know that. She has spent the past 2 days sulking, and quite frankly, we're not totally sure why! Could it be because she peed in our bed and thus, had to sleep in her kennel in the guest bedroom? Perhaps! Could it be a stomach bug that has caused her to throw up 5 times over the last few days? Small chance...Regardless, when I got home today, you would have thought her world was the greatest place to be because all she wanted to do was play and jump and kiss and love all over us! YEESSSSSSS!!! I totally love her more than Trey!

Rwwar, on the other hand, has been quite the sassy-head she normally is! Playing at the foot of the bed while we sleep, insisting on staying in the bathroom while I shower and then crying when I finally get in,  and then antagonizing Ruckus to no end! 


With the holiday season in the not so distance future, I have had Christmas presents, treats, plans, decorations, etc on the brain! I informed Trey the other day that Kroger has Georgia Snuggies...and he should invest in one for me! ;) We'll see how well he listens! Now his present, or one of them, I just completed thanks to the wonderful power that is THE INTERNET! Just ordered and should be arriving here in a few weeks! There are few times were I get really and truly excited about a present, but I am pumped about this one! 


As well, this year, I think we'll be starting a new tradition in the "Hales" household. (I don't say Hales/Deaver because everyone calls Trey "Mr. Hales!) I am currently on the lookout for a pickle ornament!! I think this is a fun tradition and something new that neither of us has done, so we'll get to start something new! 


As the holidays draw closer, I hope for "singing loud so all can hear," and...less "new things to do at work!"