Journal07_10

July 10, 2005

Hey! Well, it has been a L-O-N-G time since I have updated this thing. I have been super busy since I graduated from Grad School. I work in Spring ISD teaching adaptive behavior at Twin Creeks Middle School. I was going to switch to Conroe ISD and take Tricia's old ABU job at Reaves Elementary this coming school year, but I changed my mind and decided to stay at TCMS b/c: I really get along well with the other teachers; I like working with the junior high age kids; and I love working with the kids that live in a residential treatment center (RTC). My students are all emotionally disturbed in addition to having other problems. For the most part I have boy students. For part of last semester, though, I had 1 girl, and 2 weeks before school was out, I got another girl. Girls are evil by the way, especially junior high girls. The boys are fun, though :-) The majority of my students live in an RTC, which consists of about 20 boys or 20 girls with staff members instead of parents, b/c they have been taken away from their families for abuse and/or neglect and their behviors are so bad that foster parents can't handle them. I really like working with the RTC kids; I like having students that don't have parents b/c the parents are usually a pain to deal with anyways. Of course, I want to adopt all my students, though, but I'm fully aware of the fact that I can't :-( Most of my students still have parents that they see once a month and talk to a couple times a month. It sure is tough to keep from badmouthing their parents when my students talk about how they want to go back home and talk about how they can go back home if they get their behaviors under control. I use that as an incentive to get them to behave, but on the inside I'm really saying "I hope they are never stupid enough to send you back home to that lifestyle!" Anyways, that is enough about my students, but did I mention that I LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVE my job :-)

As for the rest of my life... I just bought a new car. It is an electric blue PT Cruiser Convertible GT with Turbo engine, leather seats, and GPS navigation system. I've named her Elektra :-) I LOVE driving with the top down. Can we say ROADTRIP :-)

The other big news in my life right now is that I'm in the process of buying a townhome. It is located inLegends Ranch which is off of Rayford in Spring about 3 miles East of I-45. It is really a 2-story duplex. I will share a wall and front yard with one neighbor, and I will be sharing a driveway with my other neighbor. I will have a 2-car garage and a tiny backyard, which I like (less maintenance). The garage is more like a 4-car garage with a wall separating my side from my neighbor's side. Legends Ranch is a VERY upscale neighborhood. I love the townhome! I picked the 2nd biggest floorplan model (Halidon). It is all the yard and space that I need, and it is so cute. Once I realized that I could buy a townhome and still afford the monthly payments, I decided that I would rather buy than rent. It is kind of like a big apartment but with a yard and a VERY nice neighborhood. The HOA fees are very expensive, but I will have a 24 hour monitored gated entrance, a Rec Center (fitness, basketball, tennis, volleyball), a splash pad (mini water park), playground, Jr. Olympic pool, splash pool for toddlers, and walking trail around a lake; all of which I can use for "free," and my guests can use it for "free" as well :-) Also, the location is GREAT. It is at the south end of The Woodlands, and it is only about 15 minutes from my job, which is in Spring ISD. My parents' house is about 40 minutes north. Below is a picture of one that looks like the townhome I'm buying. Mine won't be finished until October, so I don't have a picture of it, yet. As a result, I will have to live with my parents a little longer than I had planned :-(

As for the people in my life, there have been way too many weddings and babies :-) I've enjoyed attending the weddings, but it sure is sad to think about all my friends and family getting married and having babies, especially when I have absolutely no prospects in sight so far :-( But, like I said, the weddings themselves have been a lot of fun. I've really enjoyed all the drinking & dancing :-)

In regards to my weight loss, I have lost about 95 pounds and 79.5 inches so far, and I still want to lose another 15 pounds, which would put me at 120. My BMI is 24.5, which places me in the normal range; I'm no longer obese or even overweight, I'm NORMAL :-) I'm wearing sizes 4/6 bottoms and XS/S tops. I still feel like I have huge thighs, and my stomach is still bigger than I would like. However, my surgeon says that I now need to work on lifting weights and toning my muscles rather than trying to lose weight. If I still don't like how my thighs and butt look by next summer, I'm considering having plastic surgery. I want a thigh lift and butt lift. I would also like a tummy tuck, but that isn't as important to me. A boob lift would be nice as well, but once again, that isn't as important. I don't really have any boobs to speak of anymore anyways, which has definitely been an adjustment for me, but I'm starting to like the fact that my boobs are no longer HUMONGOUS. My thighs and butt are my biggest sources of distress.
Since I've graduated from Grad School, I haven't been doing as well with my exercise and vitamin regimens, but my students give me a lot of exercise when ever I have to chase after them when they runaway or wrestle with them in order to get them to behave :-) I still have slightly low iron, but it has managed to stay in the normal range, which is how my iron has always been, even before I had the surgery.

Well, I guess that is about all for now. My life has been very hectic with work, family, car buying, and house shopping, but I'm livin' and lovin' life :-) I can't remember when is the last time that I was able to "honestly" say that, so that is major plus!

The Singletons :-)