Here comes the snow!

Well, we are waiting for the snow. Yes, we are scheduled to get a major winter storm tomorrow night into early Friday. IF we get the amount they are saying at just the right times, we will definitely have a snow day. Of this I am confident! Because the kids have even heard a rumor of snow, they have been crazy. Many have stated that they won't come to school on Friday no matter what...it's great to be a kid, I guess! Now we will just wait and see...start doing your snow dances!

Well, as some of you know, I have started Weight Watchers. I was very skeptical because I have tried every gimick, diet pill, magic juice, etc. out there and I really didn't have a lot of faith in this program. Then I started talking to people...WOW! Everyone has either been on it, or has known someone and they have all been very successful. So, Monday will mark my 2 week point. I actually think it is working. The tools from WW force you to really look at foods you eat and basically choose what is important enough to you to "spend" your points on. It is very enlightening to find out how many points are in certain foods...wow. Also, WW allows you to really watch portion sizes...I had NO idea how much food I was eating! So, I will keep you updated on my progress!

What else? Rick and I are truly an "old married couple" now. We have our little routines with the dog and on weekends, we occasionally stay home and watch movies. Know what? I really don't mind it. After dealing with high school kids all day every day, I do actually enjoy coming home and relaxing with just the three of us! It's nice.

My family just returned from my sister's 21st birthday trip to California. They had a great time and we are so glad they did. (A little jealous, but that's how it goes....) They went to Disney Land, Jay Leno, Ellen, Pink's, and Koi! Wow! AND, Katie got a birthday gift from Ellen to her...a REAL GUCCI PURSE!!!!! Lucky girl!! I am glad they are all back safely!

Last, but CERTAINLY not least...we are so glad that Rick's dad is ok! Long story short: Last Friday, we found out that Rick's mom was taking his dad to the ER because he had been sick and his blood pressure was 190/120!! That is crazy high, just FYI. So, they go, find out that with blood pressure that high, he should have had a stroke. Thank God he didn't. So, they did a spinal tap to see if it was a brain anyeurism...thank God it wasn't! He was released later and they are just watching his blood pressure.

It's been awhile, I know.

Hello again!

Yes, I know it's been awhile, but since I am home SICK today, I have time to update.

We are back "into the swing of things" at school and that is good. It makes the time go by. I think the worst weeks are the ones that are directly coming off of a long holiday (Christmas, Spring break, etc.) It is hard for everyone to get back into a routine, but it's working out.

We (Rick and I) have been sharing a computer lately because his is dead. It is something involving the hard drive (not good!), so until we can purchase a new one...we share.

So, yes, pointing back to the beginning of this e-mail...I am home sick today. I don't like staying home because it really is SO difficult to miss school. However, my little darling Lexie enjoys when we have to stay home. She has been in heaven today getting to stay out of her cage, sleeping on the rug, in her bed, and just spending time with me. She actually let me sleep until 10! Thank you Lexie!

Well, I think that's about it. Hopefully my illness will be short lived and things will get back to normal soon!

And the weekend comes to an end...

Seriously, how great are weekends? Pretty great here at the Simms house! After going back to work for the first full week, we were both super tired this weekend, but it was really nice just to relax at home. Let's recap, shall we?

Friday: We both went to work and came home for dinner. We ordered Stefanina's Pizza...YUMMY! Just a brief aside: Their pizza and house salad is THE best...ever! If anyone wants to come visit us so that we can go there, we will definitely accommodate!

Saturday: We took our little girl to the vet, which, as awful as this sounds, was a really nice break for us. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE Lexie, but it was nice to drop her off for the whole day! We dropped her at 8:00 and then actually came home and went back to bed! This was amazing because, usually, Lexie gets us up early every morning. We then got a welcomed phone call from Rick's parents inviting us out to lunch at Magpie's. Another YUMMY place! So, we did the lunch thing, then ran some errands. One of those errands included Wal-Mart which we won't discuss because Wal-Mart is...well, it's Wal-Mart. However, while wandering, I did find some super cute and comfy lounging pants for $9.96. They are amazing. I highly recommend them. Saturday night, we stayed home and I did school work. We rented a movie called "The Heartbreak Kid" with Ben Stiller. It was funny but the ending was weak. That's all I will say.

Sunday: Well, we had every intention of going to church this morning BUT...we know where this is going. We were up, had breakfast, sat down to watch some t.v. before going to get ready, and BOTH fell asleep! Talk about hibernating! So, we spent the rest of our day here, doing laundry, doing work, walking Lexie, etc. Now, the chili is on, and the rest of our evening is free!

Tomorrow is back to work. We have a full week this week then next week we are off on Monday! Yeah! I love days off of school! I am thinking of getting a massage...yes? no?

One last thing: My friend Ann had her new baby last weekend! I want to give a big congratulations to her and her husband and the new big brother!

Tired...Oh so tired...

My goodness! It is so hard to get "back into the swing" of things. After being off for two weeks, my body just cannot get used to working all day. Plus, for those of you who don't teach, newsflash: being with kids all day is extremely exhausting! Lately, my daily routine goes a little something like this: wake up, go to school, run errands after school until about 3:30 or 4:00, come home, nap for maybe a half hour, make dinner, eat dinner, fall asleep for another 45 minutes, or an hour, then finally just give up and go to bed. This is really no great life. Hopefully, I will be better next week and things will be a little more normal. Also, I am hoping that this is really due to "getting back into the routine" and I am not getting sick or something. I am just paranoid because everyone is sick it seems. Boo!

Currently, Rick is on the floor harassing Lexie and building ramps for her to run on and off of the furniture...boys will be boys, I suppose!

Well, that's all for now. As you could guess, I am off to bed!

Back to school...

Well, after already falling asleep at the computer, I will post this and then head for bed!

Today was my first day back to school for second semester and henceforth, was our first "normal" day. The results? WE ARE TIRED!! I didn't realize how much my body got used to leisurely days and doing what I wanted to do. By lunchtime today, my feet hurt, my throat hurt, and I was ready for a nap!

Even Rick is tired and we are both going to bed early tonight.

A positive note: The Highway 40 closing has not made Rick's travels torture...at least not yet! Rick's commute both to and from work have been pretty easy, and hopefully this will continue for the remainder of the closure.

With that, I say "Goodnight!"

The end to my birthday celebrations...

Well, my birthday was last Thursday, January 3, and the celebration has been every day since then!
Thursday-My wonderful husband took me to see "Enchanted" and then out to dinner. To some, this may seem lame. This is where you would be wrong. It was a great night! I had been wanting to see the movie for so long, and it was such fun. Thank you Rick!
Friday-All of mine and Jamye's good friends went to Dave and Buster's for dinner and to play some games. Minus the 2 (plus a little more) hour wait, it was loads of fun and we both really appreciated everyone coming out to celebrate with us! Such fun!
Saturday-Rick's mom and dad took us out to lunch at La Bonne Bouche. I love it there! It is a French restaurant in Creve Coeur, MO. They have the best French onion soup (except for my dad's!) and they have a house salad to die for! Thanks to Rick and Joan!
Sunday-My parents took me, Rick, and Katie to The Old Spaghetti Factory on Laclede's Landing in St. Louis. It was good, as usual, but the wait there sometimes gets a bit tedious. Just an FYI: They now do "call ahead" for up to an hour. Keep this in mind! Thanks to mom and dad!

All in all, it was a great birthday. I really have no problem with being 25...it's nice so far! I was spoiled with nice gifts (thanks everyone!) that I will definitely use.

Tomorrow it is back to school for the second semester of year #2 of teaching. I am not looking forward to going back. Rick and I were home together for 11 days and we LOVED it! We love staying home together, and we are both a little sad to go back to the "grind." It will be ok and I am sure I will make it through this semester, it is just hard to go back!

Lexie Ann

I am not sure why we began calling her Lexie Ann, but it just seemed to fit, so that is her middle name. I haven't spoken much about her, so this post is all about Lexie!

Lexie is a maltichon and she is a doll. We flew her here from West Virginia and had no idea what we would be getting ourselves into. Yes, we love her and are glad to have her, but we all have our moments...

Lexie is, how shall we say this...temperamental?? Yes, good term. We have been through several training classes, and had begun to give up hope, but things are finally turning around. We had an animal behaviorist here last Saturday and she helped tremendously! We have started to see some changes in Lexie that are definitely positive.

She is just SO darn cute...I think that may be a big part of the problem. She could be just a bit spoiled...ya think?

What a great blogger!

I am such a great blogger...not so much. I actually think you are supposed to blog frequently. I will try.