Spirit Fingers

In addition to teaching my darling 8th grade students math, I am taking on the role of Basketball Cheer Coach at school this year.

With the exception of trying out for the McCracken cheer team as a rising 7th grader,
I have no cheerleading experience. I get the
feeling that the other teachers were not lining up for the position, but I think it will be a neat experience.

Cheer practice starts next week. Luckily, auditions were held at the end of last school year and I don't have to worry tryouts. There are 4 returning basketball cheerleaders who I will heavily rely on for pretty much everything. Aside from "Basket, Basket, we want a Basketball," my cheer repertoire is non-existent.

I hope that my dance background will be some sort of asset to the cheerleaders. I at least have an eye for choreography and will be able to make corrections once we have cheers in place. Who knows, maybe I can find a way to slip a little ballet in somewhere! The cheer coach at Kevin's school is great and has even shared some of their basketball cheers with me. Now if I can just remember all the arm movements she did with them...

While I won't be prepping my cheerleaders for any crazy competitive cheer TV show, I do hope to build a team of proud and dedicated young ladies who show school spirit and leadership qualities.

Let's go, Bucks!

A Little Blog Hiatus

This week marks the end of the first grading period at school... and hopefully the end of my hiatus from my blog. 

Life has definitely been crazy since I stepped into the classroom in August. I always knew teachers had a hard job, but I have a whole new respect for what Kevin has been doing the past 4 years. 

There is never a dull moment at a middle school... NEVER. Here are some shareable moments you may enjoy. 

1. My students are obsessed with my age. I have been estimated as young as 22 and as old as 35. There is rarely a day that goes by that at least one student does not try to get an answer out of me. It is not so much that I care if they know how old I am, I just enjoy driving them crazy by not confirming my age.
2. A girl that I don't even teach says hello to me in the hall in the mornings. One morning she told me I was the most beautiful teacher in the whole school... made my day!
3. Me: Where are you going? I didn't call lockers yet...
   Several Students: Umm, yeah you did Mrs. Coy...
   Me: Really? Hmm, ok then, is it Friday yet?
4. I will often play music from my iTunes while students are doing work... "Mrs. Coy, do you have any like, good music, on there?" 
5. A student asked if he could change seats so he could sit in the back of the class. When I asked why, his answer was "I can't see sitting in the front..."
   

My New Shoes...

I have big news. I own an official pair of "teacher shoes"...

Those who know me well know that I am a fan of high-heeled shoes. While I do enjoy my Rainbow flops and UGG boots, I've worn nothing but heels to work since entering the real word in 2006. I love the way heels look and they make me feel tallish (or at least not so short).

It is not that I don't think I can still sport my heels while teaching eighth graders how to solve equations, I am just not sure how long my ballet-battered feet can handle it. I bought no special footwear for my student teaching experience, but then again I wasn't teaching all day, every day, for an entire year.   

So what did I get? A pair of Alegria clogs in African Leopard. I figured that if I was going to breakdown and buy a pair of "teacher shoes" that I should at least get a fun pattern! Mama is a big fan of Alegria shoes and owns more pairs than she will fess up to. She had been trying to convince me that I needed a pair for a while now. I think she is kind of excited that I finally caved. 

Don't worry though, I don't plan on making these my daily shoes. I have purchased some wedges that I plan to wear on a more regular basis. Wedges are like supportive heels, right?

Lights Out for Loggerheads

My family and I had the rare experience of watching a Loggerhead lay her eggs our last night of vacation at Edisto. We have spent many summer vacations on the island, but have never encountered a turtle before!

Kevin and I decided to talk a final stroll on the beach our last night in town. We walked up the beach a little ways and then turned around to head back. The moon was not up, so the beach was pretty dark. Kevin pointed out a dark object in the surf. I shined my flashlight towards the area and let out a gasp - "It's a Turtle!"

I quickly turned off my light and we stood still as we watched to see what she would do. Slowly, the Loggerhead crawled out the of surf and made her way up the beach. We could only make out her shadow most of the time, but she would stop every few feet as if to rest and ensure her surrounding were safe.

Kevin went and called my parents to come down as I continued to watch our flippered friend drag herself up the sand. She did a couple of test digs before she settled on the perfect spot for her eggs. Her flippers were flinging sand in all directions and then she sat perfectly still while she laid her eggs. The sand flinging continued as the turtle worked to carefully coverup her future offspring for safe keeping. Once she was happy with her nest construction, she turned around and headed back towards the sea. Daddy snapped a picture of the turtle as she moved her way back down the beach before she disappeared into the waves.

The encounter was truly amazing. In about 60 days, the eggs will hatch into little Loggerheads and begin their journey to the ocean.

So Long, Summer

The summer season may have just started according to the calendar, but my summer is practically over! I guess I can't complain much seeing as how I have not worked since the end of February. But it wasn't until I actually signed my contract with District 6 at the end of May that I was able to really enjoy my brief house-wife status.

Over the next month I will have three days of Promethean Board training, a day of new-hire orientation, a four-day workshop for Common Core Math Standards, two days of Induction training and probably a couple of days for cheer camp. I am also going to two days of cheer camp at MSP to help prepare me for the world of middle school cheering.

If nothing else, all these days of class and training will help thrust me back into the teacher mindset. At least Kevin has ensured that my bulletin board skills have stayed up-to-snuff over the years. 

A Melissa-Made Bulletin Board at MSP

Give It a Try: POPchips

There is a new chip in town and I love it! Healthier than the traditional fried chip and with more taste than a baked chip, POPchips are my new favorite snack.

POPchips are just that - popped. Add a little heat and pressure and apparently sliced potatoes pop into a chip. And with the same amount calories and just a gram or two more fat, POPchips make a tasty snack you don't feel bad about eating.

I have only ever had the barbeque flavor, but they have a lot of variety to choose from. My local Publix sells POPchips, but it is around $3 for a small bag. The POPchip website also says you can find them at Ingles and Fresh Market. Costco is currently selling large bags of the chips for around $5 at both the Greenville and Spartanburg stores, although their flavor selection is limited. 

The Annual Read

This year's beach read

I just picked out my yearly novel... it must be time for the beach!

I don't know how else to put it other than I just really don't enjoy reading. Each year I mange to get through one book while I'm enjoying some sand, sun and surf. I am a slow reader, and probably won't finish my random Costco pickup while we are at the beach. But because I like to finish what I start, I'll continue to diligently read a chapter a night until I finally finish the book once we get home.

I think I used to enjoy reading. I can remember reading lots of books in elementary school, but maybe I just felt like I had to in order to advance through the Accelerated Reader Program. I think I really started feeling like reading was a chore in high school when I was forced to read books I just did not enjoy. Because I read slowly, I always felt like it took forever to get through the assigned portion of the book each night. And because I was a stickler for doing everything by the rules, it never occurred to me to skip a few words. 

I don't like to read series because I don't want the commitment of having to read multiple books that build on each other. I prefer novels with short chapters and will actually checkout chapter lengths before buying a book. Kevin really likes to read and tries to get me to read from time to time. I have actually found a couple of reads to be pleasurable over the past few years. I read 'The Help' because of its tie to the Junior League but ended up liking it (even though it did have some lengthy chapters). I seem to enjoy books written by people that I can hear their voice while reading, almost as if they are telling my their story directly. Michael J. Fox has written two books about his struggle with Parkinson's and I loved them both. I also really liked Mike Greenberg's (from Mike and Mike in the Morning) 'Why My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot'.

I really don't think I'll ever learn to love to read. So the next time you start talking about this awesome book you are reading or say that you stayed up until 3am to finish some wonderful novel don't been offended if I respond with a blank stare... I just don't get it. 

The Bad Neighbor

I think that I am a bad neighbor. I don't actually know any of the residents of the 5 other houses on my street. Ok, that's not entirely true. I sorta know the Asian family that lives across the street... they own/operate Uncle Poons! We smile and wave at each other a lot. The grandfather rides his bike around and grows veggies in his backyard.

It is not entirely my fault that I don't know any of my neighbors! We were only the 3rd family to move on the street and two of the houses didn't even exist when we moved in. As new people have moved in I haven't figured out how to best approach them for the first time. Of course my dad thinks it is just terrible that I am not on first-name basis with everyone. Mama has stalked all of the neighbors through county tax records (which are freely available online) and found all their names... and how much they paid for their house.

I do have nicknames and assumed life stories for most of the neighbors though. There is the drunk old man with his sugar mama who may or may not be dealing drugs across the street. Converse and her husband were the young newlywed couple who got divorced like a year after moving in. He apparently left her because the only time we ever talked to her was when she asked if we had seen anyone at her house with a moving truck earlier that day... awkward! There is a family living next door with two kids - Co-ed and Larry Bird. I don't have a good feel for the 5th house, they just moved in earlier this year. Although they have those family stickers on one of their cars with two adults and two dogs.

So now that we have lived here for 3 years, I don't know how to go about meeting my neighbors. None of them really spend any time outside and I don't really want to just ring the doorbell and say "Hi!". Maybe I can just send everyone a Christmas card this year...

I Married My Father...

After 5 years of marriage, I have confirmed that I married a younger version of my father... and didn't even mean to.

I have had my suspicions for a while now. It is not uncommon for the two to sit around our kitchen table and share a beer while listening to/chatting about what they consider to be "good music." (Bob Dylan just can't sing, I'm sorry!) They are also both full of useless history-based information that would only be helpful to know if you found yourself competing on Jeopardy.  

Kevin confirmed my suspicions last night with a YouTube video. After watching Tiger's performance at the Memorial Tournament yesterday afternoon, Kevin was very excited to find and watch the Dorf on Golf video from the 80s online. He described it as a hilarious comedy about the frustrations of golf and felt it was a must that we watch it. While Kevin was literally laughing out loud throughout the entire clip, I sat there trying to figure out what part was supposed to be funny.

Then it happened, Kevin looked at me and said "You just don't have a sense of humor." I couldn't believe he said that... my Daddy has told me the exact same thing for years now! Apparently, Kevin and Daddy find humor in places I just don't and obviously that means I don't have a sense of humor at all.

To make things worse, he threw in "I bet your dad would find this funny." Sigh, I am sure he is right... 

Everything Happens for a Reason

I guess what they say is true... everything happens for a reason! This fall I will be teaching 8th grade math at Gable Middle School. It just so happens that I will be teaching in the same classroom I completed my student teaching in two years ago.

Student Letters from Student Teaching Year at Gable

I feel sure I wouldn't be stepping into a classroom this August had I not lost my job at the newspaper in February. While I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, and looked for/applied to mainly marketing related jobs, I knew deep down this was my opportunity to finally get into education. I also realized that if I did not find a teaching position this time around it would be unlikely that I would ever teach.

It is as if all the stars have finally aligned and I am finally getting the opportunity to do what I set out to do when I went back to school in January 2009. I can't say that I am happy that I was laid off, but I am definitely happy with the final outcome of the situation.

Hesitation to be a Good Samaritan

While sitting at a red light the other day, I watched a man with a walking boot on hobble down the sidewalk carrying a bag of grocery items. It was pretty warm and he looked to be pretty warn out. I felt sorry for him.

The 'nice person' side of me wanted to ask him if I could give him a ride somewhere. The 'stay safe' side of me said to keep my windows closed and let him keep walking. The later side won.

It is sad that we live in a world where people have reason to be afraid to lend a helping hand. Odds are, the man I saw was perfectly nice and would have truly appreciated a ride to his destination. But what if he was not a nice man? I couldn't help but think of all the stories about bad people scheming ways to tug at the heartstrings of a Good Samaritan to take advantage of him/her. Unfortunately, I'd rather play it safe and not find myself robbed, kidnapped or worse.

 

May is an Egg-cellent Month!

Breakout the party trays - May is National Egg Month! We all know that the egg is "incredible" and a breakfast staple at any 24-hour diner, but did you know that they US produces around 75 millions eggs a year? That's nothing to cluck at.

Apparently May has been deemed as National Egg Month to remind consumers that eggs are still available, and edible, after Easter. I enjoy a good egg from time to time. Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits are always a good way to start off a morning. Of course bacon and cheese omelets are pretty yummy too. Deviled eggs are by far my favorite and have become a holiday meal must-have on my side of the family. I learned a few years ago that not all deviled eggs are created equally! Midwestern-style deviled eggs taste quite different and contain vinegar and sugar. My taste buds were definitely confused the first time I bit into one of those.

Hard-boiled eggs can be tricky to master. If you boil your eggs too long you'll get that greenish-gray ring around your yolks. After some research, I have honed my egg-cooking skills and now produce perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs. Here is how:

1. Don't preheat your water. Place your eggs in your pan - single layer - and add water so that the eggs are covered by about 1" of water.
2. I add salt to the water to help seal any eggs that happen to crack.
3. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
4. Leave the pot on the eye but turn the heat OFF!
5. Set a timer for 14-16 minutes.
6. Ding - your eggs are ready! Pour off the hot water, let your eggs cool and peel.

Love is on the Web

It seems there is a specialized dating site for every demographic these days. Looking for love over the age of 50? OurTime.com is the site for you. Hoping to find God's match for you? Check out ChristianMingle.com. Happen to be a farmer or country dweller in need of a date? Head on over to FarmersOnly.com... no seriously! I think online sites for meeting new people is a pretty good idea, but what if their lists of questions weed out the person meant for you?

I feel lucky to have found my significant other in college. I am not sure how I would navigate the dating scene out in the real world and can imagine meeting someone worth giving a second thought can be quite the challenge in your late twenties. The husband and I technically met online back in 2002. While chatting with a fellow Intro to Business classmate on AIM, Kevin wandered over into his room and somehow took over the keyboard. The conversation continued via AIM when Kevin returned to his room, leading to us eventually meeting for lunch at the Winthop food court.

An Early Photo of Me & Kevin at Winthrop

I have often wondered if Kevin and I would be deemed "compatible" or matched together on online dating sites. We kind of listen to the same music, we sometimes eat the same food, but how do you define compatibility? We work well together as a couple now, but I would not have predicted we were meant to be when we first met. We probably weren't all that compatible at the  beginning and didn't actually start dating seriously until nearly two years after we met. We knew we cared about each other, though, and knew we had to at least give a relationship a try. Almost 10 years later, we are getting ready to celebrate our 5th wedding Anniversary. Maybe AIM should use us in a testimonial commercial for successfully matching us together!

The method of matching complete strangers together based on how they answer certain questions intrigues me. I think it would be interesting for Kevin and I to each create a profile on a dating website to see if our paths would cross and who they say we are compatible with. On second thought, I would hate for Kevin to find a new lady who will cook for him!

Extreme Home-Makeover: Coy Edition

I have big plans for my house... if only I had the funds to support them!

The husband and I moved into our home 3 years ago in February. I was actually hesitant to even look at it in the beginning. I said that I wanted an older brick home and this was neither. But then I went inside and instantly fell in love.

Three years later, I still love my home just the way it is. I simply have a few ideas of ways to make it even better!

We have a large bonus room upstairs that is as unfinished as they come. Besides the studs that mark where the walls would/should be, it is pretty much just a spacious attic with a nice staircase leading up to it. Finishing the bonus room is definitely at the top of my home renovations list, but I have something a little more exciting in mind.

Instead of just finishing the space as laid out, I'd like to rip off the back half of our roof and extend the upstairs space all the way back to be flush with the downstairs. The front half of the roof can stay, although I would like to cut in two gabled dormer windows. No biggie, right? I envision an additional bedroom, a hangout/play room and an extra bathroom in the expanded space. Of course I don't actually expect for this extreme transformation to take place, but I do hope to at least put up some walls and add some flooring sometime soon!

Our backyard could use some work as well. We currently have a little brick patio off the backdoor, but nothing exciting that entices me to venture outside that often. I'd like to add a deck or possibly a screened in porch. A fire pit would be a fantastic addition, and Kevin has requested a hot tub. We also need a fence for a dog and future children, other fences are not all the riveting. 

Happy Record Store Day!

Record Store Day 2012 is this Saturday, April 21. To some, this means nothing, but to my husband, this is the equivalent to a national holiday!

For those who may not be familiar with Record Store Day (RSD), it is a day that recording artists come together to support and celebrate independent record stores. On this day, artists release limited editions of special recordings and compilations on CDs and vinyl (yes, vinyl...) that are only sold in indie record stores. No big box stores, no online downloads, if you want these special releases, you have to buy local! The concept is actually kind of cool when you think about it. This year, everyone from Matt Nathanson to Katy Perry and Metallica will have RSD releases.

The husband can't be in Greenville without making a stop at Earshot. He loves that place and can always find some obscure album no one else has ever heard of that he "needs". Needless to say, WE will be venturing to Earshot bright and early tomorrow morning to celebrate RSD. In fact, Kevin has put together a detailed list of the limited RSD releases he is looking for, complete with a picture of the covers for a quick visual reference.

Last year, RSD coincided with the wedding of a mutual college friend of ours. Luckily, the wedding was in Rock Hill, so Kevin was able to squeeze a quick trip in to an indie record store in Charlotte... with the groom in tow. I think this year's plan is for us to split up at Earshot so that we can cover more ground. I'm picturing a Black Friday type situation with hair pulling and elbowing to snatch the RSD must haves... wish me luck! 

UPDATE
Record Store Day was a success... Kevin's list was conquered. We actually made not one, but two record store stops in Greenville. We were waiting in line at Earshot when the doors opened at 7:30 (seriously). Finished there in time to be at Horizon when they opened at 8 where I was super wife and snatched up the one and only copy of The Civil Wars Billie Jean vinyl.

Record Store Day 2012

I did get a new Matt Nathanson CD, so that is exciting! Turns out the Phish Album is now selling on eBay for about 3x more than what we paid for it... hmmmm. 

Give It A Try!

Back in the day when MySpace was cool (it was cool at one point, right?), I would write blogs featuring my favorite item of the month. Turns out, more people read those than I thought and said that they actually enjoyed them.

So I have decided to revive the product review blogging and start featuring new items that I love or find especially useful in a feature I'll call 'Give it a Try'. I get excited when I find new products that work really well, make my life easier in some way or just exceed my expectations. Now I can share that excitement with you and hopefully introduce you to something new. Enjoy!

Kraft Fresh Take - Cheese and Breadcrumb Mix
Kevin and I eat a lot of chicken at home, mainly because I don't like other meats all that well, but also because it is easy. We buy chicken breasts in bulk from Costco and are always looking for new ways to spice-up our meals. Kevin discovered the Kraft Fresh Take kits at Publix and they are truly awesome!

The kits are very easy to use and consist of cheeses and breadcrumbs that you mix to form a breading for your meat. Think shake and bake with a lot more flavor. The unique packaging keeps the cheese and breadcrumbs separate until you are ready to cook. Simply pull apart the center of the bag to create one big bag. Seal the bag and shake everything up to combine the cheese and breadcrumbs. Add your chicken, shake some more and then bake.

Not only are the kits super easy to use, but they taste really great. We have tried two flavors so far - Southwest Three Cheese and Italian Parmesan. Both flavors are really good and the mix makes a nice breading with a little crunch. We added pasta sauce (and noodles on the side) to the Italian Parmesan mix last night, making a quick and easy chicken parmesan.

There are 6 different mix flavors available with options for Chicken, Fish and Pork. Check out all the Fresh Take flavors here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/kraftcheese/freshtake.aspx and give a Fresh Take mix a try the next time you are looking to spice-up your dinner!

365 Days Until 30

Today Kevin is celebrating his 29th birthday in Charleston... on a two-night field trip with a bus full of 8th graders.

I was definitely a little sad when I realized the field trip corresponded with Kevin's birthday. I have a hard time remembering the last birthday I didn't spend with Kevin since we met in college. Well, I didn't technically spend his 21st Birthday with him... but that's a different story.

Kevin Celebrating his 24th Birthday in 2007

As we get older, birthdays seem to lose their luster... less presents, less fanfare and a little gray hair. But birthdays should still be special no matter how old you are, not necessarily as a celebration of the day you were birthed, but more as a celebration of your life and how awesome of a person you are. Everyone likes to feel special, and I have to believe a day in the spotlight once a year is good for the soul.

I packed a card in Kevin's suitcase with a note to not open until today. I wanted him to at least have something to open on his birthday, even if it was just a card. Happy Birthday, Dear! 

Name that Commercial

Kevin has always had an eclectic taste in music. He listens to everything from Dave Matthews to Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan to Phish, Ben Folds to the Carolina Chocolate Drops and everything in between. Hardly a week goes by that Kevin hasn't discovered some new artist/band that most people have never even heard of. When he gets new music, he likes to listen to it a lot... and loudly... so I can't help but hear his new tunes, even if I am not actively listening.

Sometimes, I have these moments where a particular song from one of Kevin's "listens of the week" catches my attention and I realize I have heard the song before. Not as a song on the radio or Pandora, but rather as a snip-it in the background of a commercial, TV show or movie. I then go through the filing system that is my mind and begin to place the song to where I have heard it from before. I can normally narrow it down to a type of commercial, or identify it as being from a TV show rather than a movie. It is like I have all these useless video clips in my brain and hearing a song that corresponds to a clip sends off some sort of signal that proceeds to drive me crazy until I make the connection.

For example, yesterday Kevin picked up the new Alabama Shakes album. I had never heard of them before, but as we were driving back from Best Buy, I had a moment in the middle of a conversation. Hold everything - I think I've heard this song before! Kevin just says okay and moves on, but the song sticks with me. I head the song, You Ain't Alone, again when we got home (as I said before, he listens to his new music a lot) and I was able to narrow it down... definitely a jewelry commercial. A quick Google search later and I found it!

Zales Holiday 2011 Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05D2y_tEOJ8&feature=relmfu

I had a similar experience with The Black Keys. Kevin bought their first album, which actually came out in 2010, after listening to their new album. I was not really listening to the music, it was just background sound as I was doing something random around the house. And then I had a moment... that song, I know that song! The song was 'Howlin' for You' from the very awesome movie Limitless.

I am not sure if this would be classified as a talent. And I am even less sure that it will ever be of any real use. But if you ever need help putting a song with a commercial, I am your girl!

I am Not a Crazy Cat Lady...

I admit, I talk about my cats a lot - in person, on Facebook, and now, on this blog. But they are really awesome and are such a big part of my life that I just can't help but share them with everyone!

Kevin and I adopted both Gracie (white) and Gidget (black) from the Humane Society back in 2009 when we moved into our new house. We knew we wanted pets, and since our backyard was not fenced in we thought that cats would be a good option. Gracie won Kevin over with her super-friendly personality and came to live with us first. Of course we needed a solid black cat to complement our white one, so a few weeks later I found Gidget. Gidget is the more reserved, quiet cat of the two. Initially, Kevin described her as a "dud" but has since apologized.

Gracie & Gidget Sharing a Snack - Tails Crossed

My cats truly warm my heart. They are so sweet and let me know each day just how much they love me. I am a firm believer that pets help people live longer lives by reducing stress because it is hard to have a bad day around these two. Gracie likes to give kisses and headbutts and will gently touch your face as if she is patting you. Gidget will just hop up in your lap, start purring and settle in for a nap. She has an adorable face that you just can't help but smile at.

Gidget Taking a Nap on My Legs

What's even better than the kitties loving us is that they also love each other. Although we brought them home at different time they got along well with each other from the beginning. Gidget hasn't got along with any other cats she has come in contact with, so I guess we lucked out! It's not uncommon for them to share the top of the cat perch together. They also like to give each other baths - well more like Gracie likes to lick Gidget, but Gidget appreciates the free grooming.

Gracie Perched on My Shoulder/Back

Of course they do have their moments. Gidget becomes a squeaking pest when she is having a "food crisis" in the kitchen. She seems to get nervous when the food bowls get low, as if we may leave and never come back to give her more. Gracie doesn't seem to understand that people sleep at night and they don't want to play with her at 3am. She's like a boomerang - you can throw her in the floor over and over again and she always comes back.

What I love most about the kitties is how much Kevin enjoys them. He was definitely not a cat person before the girls found their way into our lives but he has a soft spot in his heart for them now! I'd go into details, but I'd hate to tarnish his manly image. Cats are great and everyone should have one... or two, in their lives!  

Bugs Beware

Bugs/Insects/Spiders/Stinging Flying things/etc... you are on notice. I have poison and I am not afraid to use it!

I am not a fan of bugs, especially not when they are in my personal space - which includes anywhere around my house or in my yard really. Since our house is fairly new and was built on what used to be an overgrown field of nothingness, we have had an ongoing issue with bugs. I am afraid this year they will be even more of an issue thanks to the very mild winter we enjoyed.

I made a trip to Lowe's today and stocked up on my favorite brands of poison. There is the super smelly fire ant killer, the shooting cans of wasp/hornet spray and the concentrated general insect killer that is strong enough to take out small frogs. I will add these to the inside bug killer and spider killer we had leftover from last year. The concentrated insect killer is my favorite. I spray this around the entire perimeter of the house and garage. I can normally see a ring of death in the garage within a few hours!

The Poison Purchase

You may be thinking that all this killer juice is a little overkill (haha), but I assure you that it is not. Wasp/hornets attempt to build homes in our eaves and porch area each year. I have actually already taken out one nest this year. The spray works great and will even make the little guys fall out of the sky if you get some directly on them. Fire ants also seem to be a continued issue for our front yard. I'm not sure if the killer actually kills them, or just gets them to move on to another yard, but as long as they aren't in my yard, I am happy.

The biggest battle so far has definitely been our garage - I am pretty sure they could have filmed A Bugs Life 2 in there last summer! I noticed that there was a gap between the brick foundation and the walls of the garage and suspected that was providing on open gateway from underneath the house. Daddy caulked everything up last fall, so I am hoping to have fewer issues this year. I will still lay-down a good thick coat of concentrated insect killer with a layer of spider killer just to be sure.

New to the party this year is the Kudzu Bug. Although we do have kudzu in the area, I have only seen these ladybug looking pests stuck to my windows and siding. I'm hoping the poisons I have will take care of these guys too as there seems to be a large number of them around!

Basic Grammar Rules Still Apply

I have found myself getting annoyed by the bad grammar and lack of basic writing skills I have seen on Facebook lately. I don't expect Facebook/Twitter posts to be English-paper worthy. I don't mind if words are not capitalized or if a comma is missing here and there. I understand that social media is more about that idea being shared and less about doing so grammatically correct, but some mistakes are just a little too severe to ignore!

A LOT is two words. Nothing annoys me more than seeing "a lot" smashed together and spelled as one word - ALOT is not a word! Every time I see ALOT I have flashbacks back to 7th grade English class. My teacher, Mrs. King, had a big poster on her wall with ALOT in a red circle with a line drawn through it similar to a no smoking sign.

There is a very funny blog about the incorrect usage of ALOT. The blogger has created the Alot, an imaginary creature she pictures anytime someone uses "Alot" in a statement. Click on the picture to see the whole post.

Similar to this, it bothers me when people can't use there/their/they're appropriately. I realize that they sound the same, but they mean very different things. I don't really understand why it is so hard for people to know which word is the correct one to use. It is just one of those things you learned in school, right? I don't have a funny cartoon for this one, sorry!

I don't always expect complete sentences with a period at the end, but some sort of punctuation is needed to separate two complete thoughts. I have actually thought about de-friending one person in particular for his/her continuously bad posts with no punctuation. That may sound harsh, but I have the strong urge to correct the posts and I think de-friending him/her would be much less offensive. I have seen this person write two and three separate thoughts in one post with absolutely no punctuation - no period, no comma, not even a dash. Not only does this make the post difficult to read, it makes him/her look lazy or uneducated.

I am not a strong speller myself, but I take the time to figure out how to spell something before posting it for the world to see. I think this is why I am most annoyed by posts lacking basic grammar principles. If I care enough to get it correct, I want you to as well!

Embracing Change

I am a creature of habit and I do not like change. I like knowing what to expect and feeling that I am in control.

At various stages throughout my life I have had issues dealing with big changes. In first and second grade I would cry anytime we had a substitute teacher at school. My classmates caught on to this and would try to surprise me with "we have a substitute today, Melissa!" when I got to school just to see if I would start crying. The transition from elementary school to junior high was not any easier. For the first couple of weeks I would start my day by throwing up in the flowerbed before hopping in the car. Of course going away to college was a huge change for me. I barely left my dorm room and did not eat much during the week. I came home every weekend as soon as my last Friday class let out for at least the first 2 months.

But I am a "big girl" now and am trying to learn to embrace change these days. I am starting small. I colored my hair for the first time ever, although no one seems to have noticed it is a shade darker with red tints. I bought a Coach purse just the other week after being a loyal Dooney & Bourke toter for like 8 years. I am also looking to change-up my placement in the Junior League next year. Since joining the League in 2008 I have always had a marketing/communications placement and am currently the Communications VP on the Board. But I am looking to branch out and would like to get involved with something on the membership side next year.

Obviously the biggest change coming my way in the near future (hopefully near, at least) will be a new job. I thought I would be devastated when I lost my job, but I am actually doing okay. I am looking forward to starting new somewhere and think that this will be a good change for me. I am trying to be open to all possibilities. Who knows, maybe I'll find something that I would have never considered before.

Maybe change isn't that bad after all. Perhaps I should start looking for more areas to make changes in!

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

The yearbook theme my senior year of high school was "The Road Less Traveled" inspired by Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." I am sure the only reason I remember this is because I was on the yearbook staff that year, but I digress. In the poem, Frost is faced with two "roads" that lead in different directions and the dilemma of choosing which road to follow not knowing where either road will lead.

I am standing in my own Yellow Wood these days. Now that I am unemployed, I have a tough decision to make - do I look for a job in the marketing/advertising/promotions field or do I try to make the move to teaching, which is, after all, what I went back to school to do?

Marketing is what I know, it is basically the only thing I have done my entire adult career. And to be honest, I am pretty good at marketing. The flexibility of an "office" job is nice - the ability to run out for appointments, take a little longer lunch break or slip out early is not something most teachers are familiar with. But teaching is what I was originally interested in once I realized I was not going to be a professional ballerina. I thought I wanted to be a teacher in high school, but I kind of got talked out it. Knowing that you are facilitating the learning of young minds and that you can have such a profound effect on students is a pretty awesome feeling. Having summers off and being on the same schedule as Kevin wouldn't be that shabby either. 

I've never actually had a classroom of my own though. What if I suck at teaching, worse yet, what if I hate being a teacher? Kevin's simple answer to these questions was "so you teach for a year and then go back to marketing." I guess it is a plus that I am not a "one trick pony" but I like stability in my life and don't want to jump around from job to job and industry to industry.

I have received several job leads for both marketing and teaching from lots of awesome friends over the past two weeks. There are pros and cons to both "roads" in front of me and I am not sure if one road is better than the other - they are just different. Of course I don't actually have any job offerings at this point, so I may be putting the cart before the horse.

The perfect Melissa job would be one that combines teaching and marketing! I would absolutely love to be the Yearbook/Newspaper/Photography/Publications teacher for a school and work with students on creating their own products. My high school Yearbook teacher comes to mind when I think about this type of job - wonder if she'll be retiring anytime soon?

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

The Bee Must Go On...

Me with the 2012 Regional Spelling Bee Champion

...and on it went! The 8th Annual Regional Spelling Bee took place Saturday morning and a new tri-county Champion speller was named.

Although my employment with the paper came to an end in February, arrangements were made for me to continue my reign as Queen Bee (more formally known as Spelling Bee Coordinator) and see the Bee through til the end. I am a firm believer that commitments made should be kept and when I start something, I darn well plan to finish it.

The Spelling Bee is like a child to me, I put forth a large amount of time and effort into each Bee and take a lot of pride in putting together a successful event each year. I was happy I had the opportunity to finish out this year's Bee. There were 72 spellers, 4 pronouncers and 12 judges all counting on me to have everything in place for a perfect Bee.

I had to go into the office a good bit last week to finish getting everything together for the Bee. It was definitely a strange feeling and I had to keep telling myself that I don't actually work there anymore. I felt like Milton from Office Space - you know, was never actually told he was laid off and just kept coming to work. His desk eventually got moved to the basement. I think he kept getting paid though. 

I Am a National Statistic

There is no dancing around this elephant in the room... I have been laid-off.

I am just one of the many casualties of layoffs at my former employer over the last several years. It had been over a year since the last round of layoffs, which I think had given me some sort of false sense of security. It seemed as if we had finally reached the bottom and things were starting to improve. Of course then we got sold, and all bets were off... 

This was my second "tour of duty" at the paper. I left under my own accord in 2009 to pursue a career in teaching. I graduated from Clemson with my MAT degree in Middle Grades Education in 2010 with my Middle Grades Math teaching certificate from the state of SC. That same year just happened to be the worst year for teacher job openings thanks to the economy and the greatly slashed education budgets. I was unable to find a teaching job and after some subbing and a brief stint with the Clemson MAT program in Greenville, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to return to the newspaper.

The paper was my very first, and really only, big girl job since graduating from Winthrop in 2006. It was hard to leave the first time, I even cried when I told my manager I was leaving. It seemed as if I were meant to be there. I hit the ground when I returned as if I had never left. I enjoyed working there and worked with a lot of really great people.

Kevin and my dad are angry about the whole situation. I guess it's their protective sides showing - how dare someone hurt their little Melly/Pumpkin! I know its not the person being laid-off but rather the position they hold - its hard not to take things a little personal though. Why did it have to be me? Why was my job not important enough to keep around?

I'm not mad, I am sad... and disheartened. I feel like its not fair to Kevin. He's already supported me once when I went back to school, he shouldn't have to do it again. We had plans and hopes for our future that are all up in the air now. I am using my college roommate, Katie, for inspiration. She decided she wasn't happy with her situation and she changed it. She didn't know what would happen, or how long it would take, but she had faith and things worked out great for her.

I Blog About Bacon

According to the Dr. Pepper 10 commercial currently circulating the air waves, if you blog about bacon, you must be manly, and thus worthy of drinking their new diet soda. I have no interest in any of Dr. Pepper's unpleasant tasting drinks, but I do love me some bacon!

Some of the ladies at work are convinced that I eat bacon for every meal. While that is not the case, I do probably consume more bacon than the average person. I enjoy adding bacon to sandwiches and salads - you can't go wrong with chicken or turkey topped with bacon.

I buy precooked bacon by the pound from Costco. Their precooked bacon comes in a convenient resealable bag and is much better than the Oscar Mayer stuff. Often when I am at a loss for what to eat or am looking for a quick snack around the house I'll throw a few strips in the microwave. I am told that bacon is one of the worst meats you can eat with all its sodium and cholesterol, but it just tastes so darn good!

My love for bacon started as a young girl. My parents always made sure I ate breakfast before sending me off to school. I have never been much of a cereal person, at least not for breakfast, but I would never say no to some bacon. It seems like bacon is becoming more and more prevalent on restaurant menus these days, making it even harder to resist the temptation of the yummy pork product. Since high cholesterol runs in my family, I'm sure the time will come when my bacon consumption will need to take a drastic reduction. That will be a very sad day!

Can I Be Your Dead Body?

I have a strange desire to be one of the dead bodies on CSI. You know, the victim of a unique or gory crime that is found at the beginning of an episode in some random location with no obvious cause of death.

OK, so maybe this is not a common "to-do item" on most people's bucket list, but I think it would be so very awesome! I have always been a loyal watcher of CSI and am pretty sure I have seen every episode from the 12 seasons it has been on air. The idea of playing a dead body, just lying there perfectly still with fake wounds and injuries, has always sounded like a lot of fun to me.

I assume most of the dead bodies that appear on the metal slab in the CSI morgue are actors and actresses trying to break into the business. I have no desire to make it big, I just want the chance to play a dead body on an episode of my favorite TV show! I don't have a preference in CODs, I would just want to have a cool story to go along with my untimely demise.  

Apparently I am not alone with my odd ambition, back in 2007 there was a contest to win a chance to play a dead body on an episode. I can't believe I missed out on that! They should definitely bring back the contest - I would do just about anything for a chance to play a corpse!

Queen Bee

You might not have heard, but I am the Queen of the Spelling Bee around these parts! Every March, the Herald-Journal hosts the Regional Spelling Bee for Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union county schools. This March marks my 4th year as Bee Coordinator!

Bee Medals

Around this time each year I go into freakout mode as I frantically prepare everything for the big day. This year,

 72 third through eighth graders are

 competing for the Regional Bee title

 and the right to represent the Upstate

 at the National Bee in May. The fact

 that I am a perfectionist/slightly OCD

 only makes planning the Bee that

 much more stressful for me because

I start twitching if everything is not

 just so.

Bobble-head Bee Trophy & First Place Trophy

What all goes into planning a Bee you may wonder? Communicating with 72 local schools and then 72 school winners, the recruitment of 12 Judges and 4 Pronouncers, the compiling of 16 word list notebooks, with lists of 500 words divided into rounds and marked with tabs, printing certificates, t-shirts, trophies, medals, spelling number necklaces, refreshments, registration etc, etc, etc. The most difficult part is juggling the planning of the Bee with my normal job duties and trying to fit everything into the 8-hour work day. If only there were more hours in the day!

Luckily my obsession for detail pays off the day of the Bee and everything (knock on wood) goes off with little to no drama. The most stressful part of the day will be pronouncing the names of the 72 school winners as they walk across the stage. There will probably be a crier or two, but that is to be expected. I truly take pride in each Bee I successfully pull off and enjoy the opportunity the Bee gives so many students in the area.

Did I mention that I am a horrible speller? I find it amusing that I am always the worst speller on the stage. I have to admit, I can't even pronounce half the words, much less tell you how to spell them. It's ok - I have the word lists kids!