TGIF!!!

First, let me say that the Atkins diet is a cheaters diet! What I mean by that is there is no diet you can start that you can really expect to lose weight every day, seriously. But that's the craziness of Atkins (and probably South Beach - but they specifically say NO RIBEYES and I'm not playing that game!!!) and now for the 3rd day in a row - I haven't lost anything. Atkins suggests leaving out the caffiene when weight loss stalls, so that's what i'm doing today. Bye Bye, Coke Zero and Diet Green Tea!!! Today, it's all about water and kool-aid-on-the-go, so we'll see how that goes. Today I had 3 pieces of bacon for breakfast, a Bubba burger with cheese & mayo for lunch, and I stir fried some chicken with bell peppers, onions, & mushrooms.

I spent a couple of hours floating in the pool this morning & reading my book. It is so relaxing and just does me a world of good!! The weather was nice and sunny today, instead of the usual cloudiness, and it was the perfect day for a swim!

A couple of updates from my job! My friend, Courtney, is SO excited about getting one of the jobs in my office! She put her 2 week notice in at her job this week and will get a week or so off before we go to work on August 6th. I am so happy for her! The 2nd job went to a girl who was working for a mental health agency based in one of our schools, so she will be great too, i'm sure.

I talked to the grandmother of my student who got the FREE braces, thanks to a local church!!! He got the braces last week and is so happy to be returning to school in August to show them off. He told his grandmother that the kids can't tease him about his teeth anymore! My boss is sending a thank you note to the church & the orthodontist.

Another student of mine didn't pass the LEAP test, which is required to go to 8th grade. I get really frustrated because the kids I work with are in special education and many of them have learning disabilities. How can we expect them to pass the same test that kids without learning problems can pass? Some can and some can't. This one didn't and has gone to summer school to attempt to pass again. His mother called me yesterday to find out when they'll know the results, so I called the school board to find out. The answer? August! School starts back on August 8! So now, this mother can't plan for the school year until she knows the results. She is quiet frustrated, and I certainly understand.

The wood for the pier came today and Walter is all excited to get started on the project. He lost any chance of me offering to help during dinner last night when he told Brent "I am pretty sure there is a small alligator living in our boat slip." He tried to explain what he meant after that, but I really didn't need to hear anymore. He says something "jumps in the water" everytime he walks out there, but that it is on a log in the water already, not where it could get on ground and into the yard." Yeah, whatever!! Don't ask me to get in that water, as if I would have anyway! I usually stand on the edge of the water freaking out anytime he's in there, so I'm really not all that much help anyway. And next Friday, the 18th, our neighbor, Allen, is coming to start the screened in porch! Yay! Walter is helping him to cut the cost and I am so excited to have this done!! Our cats want to sit out there SOOOOO bad and I am just too worried about them roaming free in the yard. So, Walter will have 2 projects going on, but at least will have help with one of them. One thing we've found in building our own house is that help is not usually readily available!!!!

Questions & comments:

Kelley wanted to know if the sister I mentioned in my other post is the one in Houston - yes. I do have 3 step sisters, but don't interact with them very often.

Tam - thanks for the book recommendations!! I went to Half.com this morning & ordered Rebecca & Outlander!

Thanks to everyone on the compliments on my purdy blue bathroom!! Our bedroom is the same color (maybe if I clean it up i'll take some pictures) and we really thought we'd gone off the deep end with that bright color, but we really like it!!

And again, I am so honored to have received Mere's "Smile Award" today! When I started blogging, I really wasn't sure that anyone would read my blog or care what I had to say, so this really made me feel good! I have really been enjoying blogging and especially meeting new people in the blogging community!!! Thanks again, Mere!