Clear Eyes! Full Hearts! Can't lose!

It's finally here! Season 3 of FNL premiers tonight on Direct TV 101 at 9:00. How excited am I? I've missed my on set time with my yummy-to-look at FNL husband, Kyle Chandler (Coach Eric Taylor) this summer, and have had to suffice by watching last season's episodes on Tivo. And that new trailor has me humming "Devil Town" all day. (listen to it in my playlist) I mean really, haven't you missed this?

Well, wait no longer! Have I got a treat to get you all caught up on the drama that is Dillon Football (especially those non-Direct TV customers who won't see this until January 2009). I will send one lucky person their very own copy of this:

This is my favorite season (and not just because we're in half the episodes)! For instance, Lyla's Baptism in the Season Premier?

And just think when you watch it, you can tell people you know (and by know, I mean you read the blog of) someone in the show. How much better can it get? Well, I also have a special treat in addition to the DVDs, something you can only get by being a part of the FNL experience. So what do you have to do? Simply leave me a comment letting me know your favorite character/episode. I will ask my BFF the random number generator to select a winner at midnight (cst) on Monday, Oct 6th. Good Luck!

Things to put on your Wishlist #1

In my late night traversing through Mr. Gore's superhighway of information, I've stumbled across a myriad of bizarre and creative offerings. These findings have spurred me to create a special category for the blog: Things to put on your Wish list. I thought we'd start off with something perfect for every woman that wants to treated like a princess. your. own. title. of. nobility. Can you even imagine?! According to the website:

This gift idea is guaranteed to bring you or a loved one:
Increased respect from the people you know
VIP treatment
Access to the privileged world
A instant talking point with your friends
Prestige in the financial world
A boost to your personal confidence
Opportunities that otherwise would've passed you by
Opened doors in your career
Discounts in the consumer world

Hello! How do I sign up for this?! Should I go with the ever popular Lady? Or how about the slightly more graceful yet powerful Baroness? Perhaps a more exotic feeling Marchioness? Countess is just so flamboyant, and Dame too plebeian. Is a decision even possible? And before you get too carried away, I should also mention that this title of nobility comes with it's very own tailor fitted ebony jacket. I know, I know, but there's still more. For those that aren't current on your nobility etiquette, there's even a helpful booklet included to teach you how to use your title to its maximum potential. Imagine the Christmas cards I could send out with this :)

Peruse the site, whether you want one for yourself or a friend. Be sure to check out the Royal FAQs here. Happy Title hunting!

Just doing our part to reverse the economic crisis

Saturday we had a garage sale. I have been plotting this sale since July, when I began the great closet clean out. Everything has been living in the guestroom. I couldn't take it anymore. On Friday night we decided to just get it over with, and I must say, this actually was less stressful than the last one that was planned for week in advance. We carried everything to the garage, set up tables and put an ad on Craigslist. Come 6:30 a.m. we raised the garage door and kicked off 5 nonstop hours of garage sale chaos. The goal: to get the excess out of our house and into someone else's. We priced to move!

This is why we do it... (and sadly after one trip to Ikea it was all gone...)

The hubby decided to chip in and do some tree trimming after the sale. (that dresser sure same in handy!)

And for those interested, the Friday Night Lights premier is only 3 days away on Direct TV 101. I have a fun treat in store that day, so be sure to stop by!

Dear Mr. Ryan...

The young-un made his pitching debut tonight for the Orange Crush.

(I of course didn't have my camera and had to suffice to being the crazy mom running around behind the backstop with a camera phone trying to find the best angle.)

Let's take a look at his process...

Thinking about his windup...and watching the runner at 2nd.

Look at that strike...

Walking it back to the mound

For the book- He struck out Batter #1, walked Batter # 2 on a full count, Walked Batter #3, Batter #4 popped out to first, and walked Batter #5 on full count and Batter #6 was interrupted by an out on the base runner. So technically he threw a no-hitter, right :) Nolan, you know how to reach us!

Inferno

I'm pretty sure Open House is somewhere near Dante's 6th circle of hell. In 8 minutes I spewed forth my course syllabus, contact information and a tutorial on how to use my teacherweb. I met 72 parents, fielded 176 questions, fake smiled 248 times, drank 3 coke zeros and tripped over the projector cables once. There are only a few things that can begin to cut through the fuzzy numbness caused by that kind of assault.

1.

2.

3.

(Thanks Ashley! I can't wait to use it!)

School Picture day

It happens every year... There's no escaping it. And if you thought you escaped it after graduation, all it takes is becoming a teacher to dredge back to the surface some of the most ridiculous, unflattering pictures of yourself. You know, the ones that were printed and labeled in over 1200 leather bound copies each year. An homage to that autographed treasure, here are my yearbook pictures from the good ole days.

I'm sure I was President of FHA...and look at those pearls!

I lost the pearls for my uber fabulous glasses...

Pretty sure this one resulted in an animal rights movement due to the death of whatever small furry creature is on my head.

In the words of Weezer: "Oh oh oh I look just like Buddy Holly"

And the pearls just keep getting bigger!

I had a two page spread with this hair!

Words have failed me. And so has my hair :(

Highly flammable jerri-curls and sky high shoulder pads borrowed from the football team.

This could totally explain global warming. My apologies Mr. Gore.

I can not begin to describe the hours of entertainment provided by this site. Seriously. I don't know who the original models were but they have got to be mortified that these have resurfaced. And lest you think the guys be left out, there are some pretty sweet photo ops for them as well. Now, which of these should I sneak into the yearbook?

Just another day

We spent this weekend back on the set of Friday Night Lights. The hubby got to take his real life band students to the game to perform as the Dillon Panther band. The young un and I just did what we always do...cheer for some football! (And I of course swoon over my FNL boyfriend, Kyle Chandler)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I'll admit it.

My name is Julie and I am a blog stalker.

I will stay up until early morning hours just hitting the next page button at the top of my blog. Or I will click a link on someone's blog and the next blog and the next blog. Regardless of where I find myself in the blogiverse, I am always amazed at the creativity and fabulousness I find. One of my late night excursions on Columbia Lily's page brought me to Film in the Fridge, a blog full of fun eye candy and yummy fabrics. One of the items on her blog was a market bag made from my favorite Amy Butler fabrics...and she was giving one away! Be still my heart! I had a tough decision to make... stalk or comment? I commented. And I won. WooHoo! I can't wait for this lovely to arrive in my mailbox. I think this may have started an even bigger addiction to blog-stalking...

Things that happen in the backseat

Whoa! Hold on... I didn't mean it like that. What I meant to say is a lot of things go on behind my back and out of the view of the rear view mirror. Like the time the young un decided he was too hot and stripped off all his clothes (right down to his spider man underoos). Not a big deal, except for the drive thru window I stopped at, unaware of his nakedness in my backseat. Or the time we set out for a road trip to Louisiana only to make a pit stop and find him enthralled with his DS, sans shorts.

But the fun isn't limited to stripping in the back, oh no. Lately the young un has taken to staging American Idol/So You Think You Can Dance mash-ups in the car (and in the shower) He has developed quite a musical repertoire. Sweet Home Alabama? Check! American Idiot? Check! Black Betty? Check! Another brick in the wall? Check! Kung Fu fighting? You be the judge:

Notice anything?

Rather than frustrate myself by trying to drive around a very crowded town, I spent some time in the blog world this weekend. My favorite find? Check out that cute little picture in your URL next to my blog name. It's called a favicon and if I can do it, anyone can! Carrie at Oikology has very easy to follow directions on her blog. All you need is a favorite picture (I found mine while perusing flickr). I found this fabulous tutorial on Tip Junkie, a website that finds tips on everything from birthday party themes to blog design. If you've never visited Tip Junkie, Laurie is celebrating her birthday by giving away presents to her readers. I am forever finding the cutest things there, and finding some very creative blogs too.

We had planned to visit Dinoland this weekend, but due to Ike, the exhibits are closed till Thursday. Maybe next weekend...

It's just a little wind...

After spending much of the night trying to calm the fears of an 8 yr old (thanks to a certain weatherman's fondness for using terms like "certain death", "significant damage" and "catastrophic"), we woke this morning to light wind gusts and an intense cloud cover. No rain, as Ike stayed about 100 miles east of us, and most importantly, no power outages! The biggest hassle for us today came from all the additional traffic on the roads. Since we were the point city for Galveston (the hardest hit area), it looks like our evacuees may be staying for at least a few weeks. We celebrated our not being stuck inside by going out to lunch. Will took this picture as we walked through the lot. Notice Ike's remains still coming through (he was 900 miles wide after all).

Our thoughts and prayers are with those still "hunkered down" in The Texas/Louisiana area.

Will he or won't he?

Still waiting for word on Ike. He is massive. The storm is a category 2, but the storm surge could be a category 5. We started getting wind this afternoon and he's still 300 miles out. They're calling it a certain death storm. About 1.4 million evacuees (ok, so maybe not that many, but it sure feels like it) rolled into our area starting yesterday afternoon. Schools closed early today to help with the traffic/congestion. Within an hour we should be feeling winds from the outer band...between 29-57 mph wind gusts. Here's what it looks like here right now.

Thirsty Thursday

Loki only drinks from the sink. Not a big deal. Except say, when you need the bathroom. Try to lock her out and she'll sit at the door wailing. She throws herself against the door in an attempt to knock it open. It's not as though she doesn't have a waterbowl. She just won't drink from it. Everyday is thirsty Thursday.

Company's a comin'

We're expecting a houseguest this weekend. An univited and unwanted one. Come on Ike, don't you have better things to do?


Things to do before he arrives:

1. Bring all the patio/bbq stuff inside. We've lost our share in smaller storms.

2. Stock up on water/batteries ( the hubby has a tendency to over prepare us for these events)

3. Locate the flashlights.

4. Laundry (ok, so maybe this won't be affected by the hurricane, but it does need to get done!)

For entertainment:
I'm a reader and have some lovely new paperbacks just waiting to be read (and some crafty projects to keep me busy). As for the boys, not sure what they'll do if anything interrupts the power supply...perhaps sleep?
Any suggestions? How would you ride out the storm?

Way to go Astros!

In between my cough medicine/jamba juice administerings, I managed to catch this guy

in his first ever major league at bat. And what an at bat it was--- 5th inning, 2 outs, first pitch--Home Run!!! To see his incredible debut go here.

He is a true hometown boy and his 2nd family at the Round Rock Express is so freaking excited that he finally got the call! Atta boy Mark!

Oh, and they got a win out of it too. With their win over Pittsburgh on Monday night, the Astros improved to 33-16 since the All-Star break, the best record in baseball during that span. They have won 11 of their past 12 games. How bout them 'stros!

Hmmm.... maybe baseball really is healing :)

No Monday for me

Alright Alright. Maybe I should have taken it a little easier this weekend. Maybe I should have had that extra cup of airborne. Whatever the case, I took my first sick day of the school year today. Technically, I taught my first period and then went home, as I had NADA in the way of sub plans so early in the year.

This sinus/allergy/asthma stuff usually hits me in October, but apparently this group of students has super-germs or my immune system was more stressed than I was. It doesn't bode well for me. I'm taking all the precautions, including a stop at Jamba Juice for an extra shot of

I didn't even attempt to be productive. No folders to grade. No lesson plans. I haven't even checked my school e-mail. I just took my "knock-it-out" cough syrup and was down for the count. The cat is thrilled to have a nap buddy and has not left my side.

I think this might possibly be a new record for me. 8 days into the academic calendar and I'm already dipping into the sick leave. I can only imagine what October will bring...

Things that made me smile

As I recover from the lovely sinus infection/sore throat I acquired from my students, I thought I'd share some things I found in the wonderful world of etsy:

• This owl pendant is a shout out to fall from caughtredhanded's shop

• I am obsessed with Amy Butler fabric and this adorable apron from Annie's Attic made from her lotus print just might find a new home with me.
  
  


• I love this fall themed stationary from little brown pen
  

• ColumbiaLily has some super fun bags in her store. I'm digging this wiffleball bag for the gym! (I'm having a t-shirt quilt made by this fantastically talented former co-teacher)
  


• These scrabble tile pendants have tons of possibilities. It's all about the print has a plethora to choose from.
  


• Or if you're feeling adventurous, try making your own.

Other highlights from the weekend:

Had a Friday Night Lights shoot. Will post pictures later.

The young un's baseball team won their first game on Saturday.

Saints football is on today! Who Dat?

P.S. Amanda from My Remodeled Life is giving away a super cute apron to celebrate her bloggy birthday. Go say hi for your chance to win!

P.P.S. The saucy ladies at SITS are giving away a cricut expressions machine. I would love to have one of these for all my classroom needs (hello cute bulletin boards!) and for the vinyl lettering craze. If you're feeling lucky, stop by and comment. You have until October 1st to enter.

Drawbacks

Teaching Pros:

• Weekends and all major holidays off


• 2 week Christmas vacation


• 14 weeks of summer vacation


• sending the "problem" kids home to their parents at 3:30 every afternoon


• School Supplies


• Wearing Jeans every Friday

Teaching Cons:

• Catching every single bug/germ/virus that enters your room because you ran out of the antibacterial hand stuff.

Orange Crush

Tonight I was in the mood for a little Orange Crush.

No, not that Orange Crush... This Orange Crush.

The young un started his fall baseball season tonight in the 10U age group. It's his first year with a "kid" pitcher and gave him quite a lot to think about, especially when the batter before him got a fast ball right to the shoulder blade!



Orange is not my color (I looked like a big traffic cone!) but I donned my new orange t-shirt and cheered them on.



We lost 8-4, but cookies made the loss a little easier to handle.



Also, we had a great quote come out of it:



I told the young un to hit the showers as soon as we got home and to make sure to wash the sweaty parts extra good. He replied- "Soon I'll have hair and then I'll be a man!" I fell on the floor laughing as he swaggered down the hall...