To the illustrious year of 2009,

Thanks for the memories, 2009!

You were quite a year, despite the fact that your lack of visual symmetry and balance really bothered me. Sorry, but you know my penchant for even numbers.

Still, 2009, you brought quite a few changes to my life.

First of all, I started a blog. And miracle of miracles, I kept at it.

Then, I took my first ever trip to the Big Apple to visit by best friend and all New York has to offer.

Next, my sister-in-law had her first baby, and I got another precious nephew.

Finally, I finished up what had to be the worst school year in the history of high-school teaching and cried for the relief and sheer joy that your dear summer months offered, 2009.

I then gave my first editorial advice to, of all people, my father, who still maintains he's going to write the world's next best-seller.

I also survived taking a bunch of hormonal high-school girls to Yearbook Camp and had a pretty hilarious time myself.

My husband joined the U.S. Navy, and we moved to yet another house, although this time, we knew it would the last Florida house we'd ever live in.

We visited family in Arkansas and returned homed to not one, but two dogs. Our original dog Marvin got a new step-brother for the year of 2009, and he's loved every moment of it.

My final school year teaching in the state of Florida commenced.

And then, 2009, the heavens opened, and the unthinkable occurred: My husband did his first (and probably only) guest blog post.

But even more miraculous, I found out that my oldest, best friend is having her first baby, leaving the New Baby Total in my family and friends to seven new little blessings either born or conceived within your time limit, 2009.

Then, the hubs and I became a half-way house for a different kind of baby: An abandoned and abused puppy we called Ruby.

And on Oct. 24, we celebrated our first anniversary.

We also watched several friends join together in holy matrimony throughout you, 2009, and we even had the distinct blessing to be a part of their special days.

So, 2009, before you and I even knew it, I was turning a year older, and we were celebrating Christmas.

And here we are. Mere hours away from your ceremonial passing of the baton to the next year, 2010, which, I'll admit, makes me slightly happier to deal with since the number is easily divisible by two.

Who knows what the upcoming year will hold? We have hopes and prayers for it, of c0urse, but we also have twinges of sadness that you, 2009, are over.

So here's to you, 2oo9!

May we never repeat the mistakes we made during your reign, but may we also look back on our times with you with fondness!

Respectfully yours (despite my crazy, neurotic nature over odd numbers),

I got the itch. And I scratched it.

Ever get the urge to chop all your hair off?

Maybe you feel the unexplainable need to get something pierced?

Perhaps you've felt inexplicably compelled to re-arrange your living room furniture for the 18th time?

Yeah? You do, right?

Well, not me.

For the most part, I'm not a huge fan of unnecessary change.

Except when it comes to my blog.

Because for the last month, I've felt the urge to re-design the old girl. Give her a face-lift, if you will, for the New Year.

Something a little spiffier; yet something a little simpler; something that didn't require you all to stare at me in my wedding dress every time you signed on (which was nice at first, but let's face it. It was getting a little bit unnecessary as I've been married for well over a year now. )

So, I finally caved.

I had my fabulous, go-to-blog-designer-genius friend, Kelsey, give Living in the Moment a 2010 up-date.

And I have to say, the satisfaction and relief I'm experiencing is wonderful.

I feel like I really accomplished something while on Christmas vacation.

Although, to be honest, it wasn't me at all. Kelsey did all the leg work, while I sent her random, oh-so-helpful e-mails; something along the lines of, "I like it, but I was thinking something a little bit more deep purple-ish, with a little more modern twist, but still cute, but more contemporary, but floral! But timeless. But crafty! With purple, and maybe some pink... and blue... and you know how much I love classic white and yellow... and plaid's always nice.... but with a distinct type ...but not too heavy ...and read-able... but with a finer point... but cute... but maybe some polka dots ....but maybe not some serious polka dots ...ya know?"

Thank the Lord, Kelsey did know.

And thanks to her talents - and her infinite patience and deciphering skills - here we are.

What do you all think?

Come away from those Google Readers for just a second and take a peek.

Because Living in the Moment is ready for her 2010 close-up.

You know, until I get that itch again in a couple of months...

***

For those of you interested in a blog re-design, Kelsey is having a fabulous holiday sale at her design site, Kreated by Kelsey. Go check her out - quick! Before Dec. 31! - if you're in need of an affordable, easy make-over.

Also, quick question for those of you Blogger fans: I received a couple e-mails saying some of you were having trouble loading/opening my blog. I, too, was having that problem with about 15 blogs I followed a couple of days ago. I thought the problem was with Blogger itself, but now, I'm not so sure. I really hope it's not my blog. Is anyone still having these problems? Or similar problems elsewhere? I've been told you might need to clear your cache or delete your cookies if several blogs are hard to fully load/open. That has worked for me in the past. I'm really sorry if you tried that and are still having problems. Let me know, and if it can be fixed on my end, I'll try to find the solution as soon as I can.

Thanks for the help, and Happy Wednesday!

What do I wear?

So, I've been invited.

To a little shindig.

Full of bloggers.

Who live in Florida.

Ahhhh!

I don't know if you all can comprehend how much I want to meet you all in real life. Like, seriously, if I had the money, I'd do my own little Tour de Blog, flying to all of you and getting to know your faces, your voices, your hearts.

In person.

But because I've never even so much as earned a singe frequent flyer mile, that dream is still a far cry from my reality.

So, I'm starting small.

Local, if you will.

Because Lil' Woman is hosting a Florida blogger get-together, and I think I'm going to attend!

It's tomorrow night - a night I happen to have available.

It's in the greater Orlando area - where I am currently spending the week with family.

It's a fun time to unite with other female bloggers - and I've got a husband who would much rather play his new XBox games with my brothers than hang with me.

So it sounds like I've got no other choice, right?

I couldn't be more thrilled.

But with this momentous occasion taking place in little less than 36 hours - and possibly because I'm back visiting the town and house I spent my high-school years living in - my crazy insecurities are coming out to play.

What will they think of me? Do they know how clearly my voice projects? Will they notice the five holiday pounds I've packed on since I entered Christmas Vacation World, where calories don't matter? Can they handle the fact that I hopelessly lose my keys and cell phone every time I place them in my purse, causing me to go on the Great Handbag Excavation of 2009 if I ever want to leave our restaurant rendevous point?

And then, the question that haunts all red-blooded women everywhere: WILL THEY LIKE WHAT I WEAR?

I mean, it's funny to think about the fact that I lay my soul out on this blog, over and over and over again, but the first chance I get to meet some of you blog-mates in person, I'm stressing out about my appearance.

As if it matters.

As if any of you, who touch my heart with your words and feelings, would ever judge me on something as silly as what I wear.

Still, I feel like the new kid who goes into the first day of school, wondering if I'll like the kid I'm assigned to sit next to; wondering if, above all else, they will really like me in return.

I'm totally the little girl who asks God, "Will anyone want to be my friend?"

Silly, right?

I know; I'm ridiculous.

But my mind is a bit blown right now.

I'm going to meet some of you in person. I'm going to get to hug some of you and laugh with some of you and finally talk to some of you, who honestly know what it is to be a blogger (while the rest of the world just laughs at our "little hobby.")

I'm so, so excited

And just a little bit nervous.

So.

Seriously.

What do I wear?

***

If anyone is interested in joining us on Wednesday night (Dec. 30,) feel free to comment below or shoot me an e-mail. I'll send you all the information Lil' Woman sent me. We'd love to have you join us if you live in the area or can make it for the night.

It will be a fun way to put some faces to some of the fabulous voices we get the pleasure of reading every day!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

It's a Christmas miracle

Just when I thought he was beyond hope...

Just when I imagined he'd never get there...

Just when I'd all but given up on my dream...

The husband purchased me Vera Bradley all on his very own.

Because, believe it or not, I unwrapped this little beauty on Christmas morning, courtesy of my dearly beloved!
The man bought me his very first Vera Bradley.

And it only took me two years of dropping hints to get him to do it.

Apparently, weeks before Christmas, he had the bravery to walk into one of those amazingly chicky stores - aptly and honestly named Simply Gorgeous, if you can believe it - and bought me a brand-new, calypso blue, Vera Bradley Laptop Portfolio bag.

He didn't even know that I had had a Facebook conversation with a dear bloggy friend of mine, Sam, which basically went something like this (and by "basically," I totally mean I've taken creative liberties to summarize our 30-minute Vera Bradley love-fest, which culminated with us sharing our mutual excitement over the fact that we heard rumors that Vera's making dog collars):

Sam: You mean, he's never bought you even a single piece of Vera? That's my husband's safe bet! His go-to gift! Does he know what he's missing out on?
Me: No, not ever. Not even so much as a key chain. I don't think he even knows where to get it. To be fair, I'm not even sure he knows it exists. I think he thinks it's a word I throw around, much like "pretty." You know, like, 'Look at this pretty bag,' but instead, I'm all, 'Look at this Vera bag,' and on the inside, he's all, 'Is Vera Spanish for pretty?'"

Sam, you'll be glad to hear that I was, in fact, wrong.

Apparently, he does know Vera exists (and that the Spanish word for "pretty" is, in fact, "bonita.")

And, oh, my laptop and I are so, so glad.

Still, the man couldn't stop there.

He did not want to be out done.

He just couldn't leave well enough alone.

Because the second gift I unwrapped on Christmas morning?

Muy bonita, no?

***

I hope you all and your families had a wonderful Christmas! We're still celebrating the season around here, as my entire family has the week off. So my blog presence will still be sporadic until next week. Hopefully I can post a few more funny family photos, etc., as we make our last memories of 2009 this week!

Happy Monday, everyone!

There's not much left to say but...

Merry Christmas!

As you read this, I am riding down the highway on my version of a one-horse open sleigh, my little Nissan Rogue.

My husband is in tow (actually he's driving - because he's the man, and I don't know why, but that seems a good enough reason as any at the moment,) and we're sipping our road-trip, non-fat, no-whip peppermint mocha lattes.

I'm pretty sure he's pulled the "I'm the driver, so I get to call what we're listening to, and I call All Sports Talk Radio, All the Time!" card, which means no Christmas carols for us, but hey, I pick my battles.

Our bags are packed, and our gifts are half-wrapped. The rest are sneakily stuffed in Target bags and swaddled in tissue paper, ready to be wrapped right before Christmas Eve.

The dogs are in the hands of capable care-takers; my cell-phone is fully charged, and I've packed enough clothes for a month, as Florida winters are temperamental, plus I'm not sure what all we're doing while we're away.

Because besides Christmas, we've heard mutterings of a reunion with my friends from college, a family camping trip, some post-Christmas sales shopping, a trip to Disney World, and even a movie or two.

And just like every Christmas, I will also need a good store of church-going clothes because with my father, just because we go to church on Christmas doesn't mean we don't turn around and go again in 48 hours, because, after all, it's a Sunday, and nothing keeps that man out of the pew on Sunday, even if that Sunday falls less than two days away from Christmas.

Yes, believe it or not, we're off for our own little version of a Christmas vacation.

Not even to return until after the New Year is upon us.

This, my friends, is going to be interesting.

So, as I'm sure once we reach my parents' door, I won't have a spare second to say it while it counts....

Merry Christmas!

I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday, filled with joy, celebration, memories, and a father-figure who drags you to some much-needed quiet moments of prayer two times in one weekend.

Please know how much you all mean to me during this Christmas season. You all are a blessing and true, real friends and factors in my life. I wish I could send each one of you a big, gift-wrapped package this year!

But instead, all I've got is this lil' ole Christmas blessing.

But I still want to give it to you.

To all of you.

So without further ado...

I wish you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

***

P.S. I will do my best to post sporadically next week once Christmas is passed. I will still be with my family, and I don't expect to have too much time, but I hope I'll be able to check in! I will make sure I'm at least reading your blogs; I just can't promise regular posting on this front until after we return home. In 2010! Wow! I'll miss you all! "See" when we get back!

Happy Holidays!

Where only a thank-you will do

Being a high school teacher is often a thank-less job.

Not always, but often.

Because unlike my fellow teachers who work with children under the age of 12, my students rarely think I'm cool.

They really, truly only associate with me when forced.

I'm not exactly who they'd like to spend their free time with.

In my job, I get more eye rolls than hugs, more rude laughs then cheers.

It's just all part of the calling.

It's in teenagers' genetic make-up to fight "The Man," so to speak.

And woman though I am, I am "The Man," in their lives.

I am "The Establishment."

And they can't think I'm cool - heck, they can't even think I'm kinda-sorta OK-ish - without selling out to "The Establishment."

It goes against their Adolescent Code.

Around Christmas time, this becomes all the more apparent.

Because while the elementary teachers leave the school days before Winter Break often laden down with presents, we high school teachers are lucky if we get a wave good-bye before the kids head out the door for the holiday.

Sure, a few of my students - mostly females - will bring me Christmas cards; the occasional child brings me baked goods, and I have one mother of a student who buys me a gift card before every winter and summer break.

But last Friday, when I left for this year's winter break, my arms were definitely not laden with gifts.

Still, I wasn't upset at all.

Because earlier that day...

I positioned myself at my desk just as the bell rang to cue our morning rush to the first class.

Students filtered in, grabbed an exam, dropped their bags and began to write.

The room was peaceful for close to 90 minutes, until the last student handed in their mid-term essay with 15 minutes in the period left to spare.

The talk began; friendly conversation about where they were going for break, what they wanted to get for Christmas, and who they hoped to see over the two-week hiatus from school.

A few kids - again, mostly girls - handed me Christmas cards.

The others did what they do best: Ignored me and tried to keep their swearing down below my hearing level.

Until one boy slouched over to me, dug around in his backpack, and slammed a crumpled card and small box of Christmas cookies down on my desk, muttering the following:

"Look, my Mom makes me do this every year, OK? So here. This is for you. Merry Christmas."

Aww. What a heart-warming sentiment, don't you think?

I kind of laughed and told the student, "You know, I wouldn't think any less of you if you actually wanted to give your teachers a Christmas card. It doesn't make a bad person, you know?"

The boy, who obviously felt this Christmas-card charade had catapulted him straight into the ninth-layer of high-school hell - immediate and total peer ridicule - slumped back to his desk with a grunt and a shrug.

I put the card on top of the stack of exams I had to grade and went about my day.

It wasn't until I was packing up to leave that evening when I opened the card haphazardly, realizing I'd forgotten to open it earlier.

Inside, a generic Nativity scene opened up to an otherwise blank card, except for one simple little phrase, scribbled in pencil, in the inevitably bad hand-writing any high-school English teacher can easily identify belongs to a boy between the ages of 14 and 17.

The message read:

"Thank you for being a teacher. Love, A(students' name.)"

That was it.

"Thank you for being a teacher."

No "Merry Christmas."

No "Happy New Year."

Not even a "Hope you enjoy the break!"

Just "Thank you for being a teacher."

Written not by the child's mother, but by the child himself.

I burst into tears.

Because this child - this sullen, semi-cranky, too-cool-for-school boy - put aside all the pleasantries that we normally associate with the holidays and called it like he saw it.

He just thanked me for being who I was.

He didn't wrap it in tinsel and sprinkle it with candy-cane dust.

He just expressed gratitude where he saw it necessary.

It was better than any expensive present I've ever gotten.

It was my little reminder that finding the perfect gift for your loved ones, swaddling it in parchment and tissue paper and ribbon, and watching them unwrap it hungrily is really just a metaphor for what we want them to get out of the presents we give them in the name of Christmas.

It's just a simile for our love and appreciation of them and all that they do for us.

We buy gifts to show our love, to show our care, to show our hearts for one another.

We send Christmas cards to express our passion and our admiration for those we love.

We leave voice mails in the name of the almighty holidays to let others know we're thinking of them, that we wish we could be with them.

But underneath that Vera Bradley purse, that iPod docking station, or that sparkly set of diamond earrings, all we're really trying to say is "Thank you."

Thank you for being who you are and what you are to me.

So, in light of these hard economic times, and because, in fact, Christmas is right around the corner, let's all step away from the crowded malls and picked-over Targets and Wal-Marts.

Let's just take a second to tell our loved ones what my sullen student said better than any big box with a bow could:

Thank you. Thank for being you.

***

Happy Tuesday everyone! Be back tomorrow with one final post before we leave to visit family for Christmas!

Not Me! Monday: The "Why Not Throw One More Log on the Fire?" Edition

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. Head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

***

Due to what can only be exhaustion-induced semi-craziness, I decided NOT to hand-make all my own Christmas cards because I have NOT neglected putting together an actual photo holiday card like all the other big girls did NOT do well before the week prior to Christmas.

I also did NOT discard the fact that I had NOT averaged about three hours of sleep a night for the last week; that I did NOT break my toe; that I did NOT curse Al Gore himself when our home's Internet crashed on Wednesday.

No, I am NOT so senile that I would add one more burden to my already overflowing plate and decide to NOT cut, paste, glue, and bedazzle my own holiday cards less than a week before Christmas.

So, on Saturday, after NOT finishing all that work I complained about last week - Hallejuah! - I did NOT hit the craftstore and stock up on Christmas parchment, ribbon, buttons and felt.

Then, on Sunday, I did NOT wake up running a slight fever, so I did NOT decide to make the most logical choice when trying to nurse and heal from a cold:

I was NOT going to craft the heck out of it.

And so, I did NOT brew a pot of tea, boil myself some eggs, turn on a girly movie (the hubs was NOT at work,) and begin.

I did NOT cut ribbon.
I did NOT paste paper.
I did NOT tie string.
I did NOT glue buttons, and sew together felt like any sane, normal, pressed-for-time woman would.
And six hours late, I was NOT sitting amid a stack of red and green, silver and gold cards, all of them NOT different, all of them NOT unique.

And all of them NOT, distinctly, blank.
Not a one of them had been addressed.

Not a one of them had a poignant little Christmas message NOT inscribed inside from the hubs and I.

Not a one of them was actually close to being, well, done.

But my head was NOT pounding, my body was NOT aching, and my Christmas-card spirit had NOT run plum dry.

So I did NOT promptly put the calligraphy pen down and retreat back to my bed.

No way. No how.

I am NOT the kind of woman that would spend six hours crafting her own holiday cards through a fever, only to NOT inscribe and address a single one in time to make the mail for Christmas.
I'd NEVER leave such a big project like that unfinished. No way, no how.

Not me!

***

Thank you all for your good wishes last week!

My toe is healing nicely; my husband got the Internet in our home restored, and I finished the crazy workload I'd been stressing and losing sleep over all last week.

And - thank the Lord - I am finally on Winter Break! It feels so good - despite the head cold - that I'm in shock.

We're officially in Christmas mode around here, preparing to visit family, and loving it!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful (Not Me!) Monday! "See" you tomorrow!