The front of the cabin...

My camera has a fireworks setting that I played with. A lot. "Oooooh! That's a pretty one!" Click. Click. Click clickity click.

















Jealous yet...?
















Oh yeah, did I mention I CHOPPED my hair?











Caroline and Julia
Rob & Colin

The Good, the bad... and the occasionally peed upon

Let's start with The Good, shall we?:

1. My job. I am "head teacher" in the 2 year-old classroom.
2. #1 leads to many hugs, kisses, and babies sitting in my lap. All day. They're really very sweet.
3. They call me Miff Izzabuff. It's flippin darling.
4. I have recently recalled all the lyrics to "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (choo choo! Whoa back! Hi, babe! Yum, Yum! Zzzzzzz!).
5. I have also learned (or relearned) every single song to sing with two year-olds (Chicka Chicka BOOOOOM BOOOOOOM!).
6. Baby and I celebrated our big ol' six month anniversary. My, how time flies when you're having fun!
7. We are leaving on Thursday to head to Wisconsin to visit my cousins. Most of them. Cannot wait.
8. It's going to be dang near twenty degrees cooler when we go up there.
9. (This one should be must higher on the list, but...) The jetcat is AMAZING. Photos to come. My husband is brilliant. There will be a separate post so that I can elaborate on the amazingness.
10. I set up a Twitter account. I have resisted too long. So long, in fact, that the hubby had one before me. That just ain't right.
11. We recently harvested a CRAAAAZY amount of rosemary and oregano from the garden. Currently drying. Mmmmmm.
12. The garden is looking great. Tomatoes, okra, peppers, rosemary, oregano, basil.... Ahhhh summer!
13. I signed my contract for my internship, starting in August. Can't wait to start. Seriously. I'm ready. I actually MISS it.
    
14. PAID MY CAR OFF! Whoot, seriously.
15. Overall having a fantabulous summer... getting to see friends, grill out, go to the lake ;)

Now The Bad:

1. I do, in fact, occassionally get peed on at work. Actually, it's happened three times. Narrowly avoided it more times than that. There may or may not have been poo on my shoe at some point as well.
2. The babies are supposed to go outside every day for an hour and a half, total. It has been waaaaaaaaaaaay too hot lately, so we have to entertain them indoors. This means that I lead the class in either Mousercise or the "Get Funky" physical CD. It's exhausting trying to get babies to move for 45 minutes in organized chaos. And sometimes they look at me like I have lost my dang mind.
   
3. Did I mention it's real hot?
4. Ummmmmm.... I think that's it. This list is much shorter. Yay.

I will take pics in WI! Sorry I have been so quiet lately. ;)

More things

My mama and I went to go see Kris Allen at the Riverfront when he was here. Have I mentioned how much I love "American Idol?" Chandle, Cody, and I would always watch it in Conway. Now one of our own won. Whoot! Yes, I am a dork, and I am well aware of it. ;)




Gertrude's little babies have flown the coop. Or the nest. Here they are, along with their dialogue:
-You go first.
-No, you go.
-Ok, we'll go at the same time.
-On the count of three?
-One, two...
-You didn't go!
-YOU didn't either.
-Ok, this time we'll go for sure.
-Liar.




We also went to the Kris Allen watch party in Conway (see aforementioned admission of dorkitude). Jeremy met a big version of Zoey. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Have a good weekend, all!

How I've Spent My Summer Vaca (week 1)

• I wake up every day to have coffee with my hubby
• Pilates, yo (I'm getting better, but I still kind of suck at it- you will never EVER see me do it cause it's pretty embarrassing). But I'm sore, and I like it.
• I have applied for THREE jobs (I will only be taking one): one at a day care and two at the library. I'm really hoping for a library job. How much fun would that be?
• Season finales on all my shows! Having an Idol watch party at my folks' casa. Complete with Skeezers. They heard that's the way to do it. Word.
• STRAIGHT A's. Booyakah. I am in disbelief. I turned in three papers over 20 pages at the end of the semester, which is why many of you have not heard a peep from me in a while. DONE and DONE. ThanktheLord.
• I may or not DVR "The O.C." every day. I have never seen seasons 3 and 4. So I had some catching up to do. Thank you, Soap Opera channel.
• Ummmm, maybe DVR-ing "Angel" every day too. I can neither confirm nor deny this rumor.
• READING for entertainment finally. Just finished the third Twilight (oh, yes indeed), and currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife for our book club. That's right, I said book club. Whatcha gonna say? We're awesome.
• Trying to plan a way to get up to Wisconsin to see my cousins this summer. There is talk of a cousin's reunion at a cabin on a lake there (ahhh, that sounds so nice). Workin' on it.
• 2 days till our 5 month anniversary. I recently realized that since we got married in December (month 12), it's really easy to figure out how long we've been hitched. January= 1 month, October= 10 months. It baffles the mind. ;) Have I mentioned I'm easily amused these days?
• Planning lunch dates and evenings with friends and family. I love being done with school.
• Zoey's staples are out. She is a much happier doggy now. Poor baby.
  
• Let's hang out, yes?
  

Updates from the Spanns

Sweet little Zoey Spann had a little incident a week ago. :( We took her and Pooty for an after work romp in the woods, and she came out of the woods with a big ol' gash on her shoulder. It was pretty deep and yucko, so we rushed her to the vet to get stitches. Long and very frustrating story short, this sweet lady had to endure FOUR (yes FOUR) re-stitches and anaesthesias. Don't get me started. Anyway, she now has 6 staples, and she's pretty ticked at us. And mad at the world because of this cone (they call it an Elizabethan collar, ha, get it?). Hopefully she'll get the staples out Monday and she can return to her normal bouncy self. It's pretty sad watching her run into things with that cone, and a little hilarious to see her chase Pooty with it (Pooty doesn't likey...). ;)


Gertrude and babies are doing quite well. She has endured some CRAZY storms in that nest. She's a champ.

Snoop Dogg was A.MA.ZING. I can't even tell you. We had such a good time. It was an excellent way to celebrate being done with school. I may or may not have dislocated my knee while there and had to miss work the next day because I couldn't walk, but you know what? TOTALLY worth it. He performed every song you can think of. Even his parts on Dre songs.
I was flowin' and goin' that night, you heard?

So I am OFFICIALLY OFFICIALLY done with school. No more school. No more papers. No more work (well until I get that summer job... anyone hiring?). And I got A's on my final ginormo papers. Booyakah. I mean, seriously. This semester truly almost killed me, but I have survived. AND I got my internship for next year all lined up. I will be working for Conway schools, which makes me really happy. Their school psych department is amazing, and I will get to do some really cool things. So hooray! Summer vaca 2009 has begun! And I went out with a bang. I can't believe it. WHOOOOT!

Tonight, my sister and I are taking our mama on a surprise trip for her birthday (which was yesterday- happy birthday, Ma!)! Speaking of birthdays, a very happy belated birthday to Chandleous and Kat! :)

My plans for the evening

Did I mention this?

Anyone who knew me back in the day is not at all surprised about it. I only know Snoop's parts by heart in the songs. This is going to be amazing. I shall report back. Don't be jealous.

Don't worry, I'm alive...

Check it: $5 Cover got an article written about it
And it starts MONDAY at midnight (I shall DVR and have a watchparty if you'd like, because...)
Also, Cory Branan is playing Friday. You know where (the WWT, of course).

And I'll be done with school. (Un)Officially.

Just turned in a huge paper, and my hands are sweating. Kicked some serious booty on a GINORMO presentation I gave this a.m.
2 giant things done. 1 more to go...

Update time...

*Here are some pictures of Pooty & Zoey running around in the garden... which will have beautiful veggies and herbs very soon!
*EIGHT DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT. Holy goodness, I cannot wait.
*Much like Leah, the majority of my semester has been "on your own time" assignments. Which I have none of (my own time, I mean). We have had to do a trillion assessments (thank you to all my guinea pigs) which has taken a gazillion hours.
*In addition to these said assessments, I have to write ginormous papers (aren't you loving these descriptive words I'm using?). My current paper (ONE OF THEM) is 33 pages. And I'm about 2/3 done. Shoot me.
*Eight days left. I can do this.
*Looking for an internship for next year... I have some pretty awesome leads... Fingers crossed.
*Lots of pictures today- keep scrolling!
*Got to see Melissa and fam last night- yay!
*Eight days.

Spring has sprung at the Spann house

... and Jeremy has been workin' hard! We bought some beauuuuutiful azaleas for the front flower bed. They are the Encore kind, so that means they'll come back (hopefully) in the summer and fall. If the AR heat doesn't get them too bad... YAY!

Here's what we've got in the flower bed by the front door. Starting at 1:00: a plant called fireworks-something-or-other, then I don't know what the yellow and pink ones are (anyone?? I love them though!!), and some amethyst-something-or-other. Ok, so I'm not so good with plant names, but it sure is looking good! Way to go, hubby-o-mine!

GORGEOUS, aren't they??

Meet Gertrude

Meet our new friend, Gertrude! Jeremy and I were going to grill some shrimp Friday night (mmmmm)... and I noticed this little lady sitting in one of our potted plants on the deck. On the grill, to be more specific. It appears that she has built a nest and will be having babies quite soon, I believe.
We obviously couldn't leave her there, so Jeremy ducked down, picked her up (she didn't move!), and carried her oh-so-slowly to a new location, on the wine rack on the deck. She's still in the middle of the action, but not on top of the grill... She doesn't seem to be bothered by Pooty and Zoey running around the deck and barking. She didn't seem to be bothered by the days of rain over the weekend. She HAS been getting fatter... and seems quite content in her new home. Fingers crossed! Happy Earth Day!

I'm the Mary, and you're the Rhoda.

Michele: Did you lose weight?

Romy: Actually, I have been trying this new fat free diet I invented. All I've had to eat for the past six days are gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corns.

Michele: God, I wish I had your discipline.

Apparently, 10 years somehow passed, and it's happening. Oh, Lord, that can't be right. Are we going? Let's discuss the pros and cons of high school reunions. Go.

Ch-check it out, yo

MTV Shows

I'm tellin' ya, our boy's going to be FAMOUS. Very soon. MTV- whoot! The show premieres May 1, supposedly. So keep your eyes (and your DVRs) out, and let me know if you hear anything. Go see the website here, and be sure to click on artists to read more.

Austin!

Hey kids-
The Spanns are officially back. In AR. And at work (boo). We had an awesome Spring Break '09 in Austin, packed with tons o' fun. Austin is a really really cool city- we never had a lack of things to do there.
On the way down, we camped at Inks Lake State Park, which is about an hour outside of Austin. It was a really neat campsite- really close to the water with a lot of rock and cacti all around (watch out for those man-eating jackrabbits and killer cacti.... heyyyy dude...).
The next day, we went to Longhorn Cavern, a cave really near the campground that you could tour. It's been a while since I took a tour of a cave, and I'm really glad we did. Saw a bat. Experienced total darkness (creeeeeeepy).
The rest of the trip was full of 6th Street, Mexican food, Mexican martinis (mmmm... who knew?), going to the Alamo Drafthouse to watch a movie, discussed later, shopping, doing homework (ick), and sightseeing. It was really nice to get away for a week. Enjoy the pics! Go see more here if you'd like!

Entrance to the cave...

The dome in the capitol building
Perhaps the best sushi I have ever had.... mmmmm

Rockafire EXPLOSION

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the trip was our visit to the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater with a full bar and restaurant. They show all sorts of Indie flicks ("Dazed and Confused," with the director... "Empire Records," a quote-along with "Monty Python and the Holy Grail..."). It's laid out like a basic movie theater, but there are tables in front of the seats, and you order drinks and food throughout the movie. Basically, it's amazing. And I want to open one in Little Rock. Who's with me?

We went to go see a movie called "Rockafire Explosion," about the amazing band in the 80s. It was a documentary about one of the most influential bands of our time. The Showbiz Pizza animatronic band. With Fatz. And Mitzi Mozarella. And Billy Bob.
Please go see this youtube video and continue to amuse yourself while you watch all the others like it. It will make your day.

Apparently there is a whole underground movement to bring back Showbiz (people are pissed about Chuck E. Cheese...) and most importantly to bring back the Rockafire Explosion. I'm with them. It does bring back many happy memories. And just a touch of fear (those robots are a little creepshow, yes?). There are people who spend their life's earnings to own a piece of the Rockafire Explosion and put them in their own homes. Hence the youtube videos. Enjoy. ;)

Whoot whoot

This weekend, our dear friend Julie completed the Little Rock Marathon. The whole thing. That's 26.2 miles. Wow. Amazing. It was her first year to do it, so whilst she was running, we went over to her house and decorated it. And the boys mowed her lawn. It was lots o' fun. Way to go, Julie! ;)


Alright, here's the rest of the rundown for the me:
1. I'm the only one at work today. Seriously. The ONLY one. What??
2. I forgot a lunch. Subway it is.
3. We leave for Austin this weekend- Saturday or Sunday, not sure yet.
4. We're going to camp on the way down there. Not sure where yet, but it might be here.
5. We're going to barely miss SXSW, BUT our favorite Cory Branan will be there on Tuesday night, opening up for the South Memphis String Band, with members from North Mississippi Allstars and Squirrel Nut Zippers.
6. Oh, wait, another employee just walked in. Whew.
7. ANTM tonight!!! Hooody hoooooooo!
8. Adam Lambert should get a Johnny Cash-style whoopin' for defiling that song. Shudder. I watched in complete horror. Come on people, start hating him now, ok??
9. I'm not going to lie, Anoop was kinda awesome.
10. Kris Allen was too.
11. Allison is still my girl.

Boo.ya.kah.

Welcome to the School Psych professional portfolio.... Here you will find pretty much every.single.paper. I have completed since August of last year. If you look at the second picture, you can really get a sense of the girth of that sucker.
Make you want to be in school....?
;)

Two weeks will Spring Break. Two months till FINISHED.

Things that are good

1. Nate at our wedding (I realized I never gave Kat this picture. It's awful sweet).
2. School has improved slightly.
3. I have improved, slightly, at school. (I kind of sucked it up the first month)
4. Spring Break is two weeks away.
5. The Spanns are going to Austin for Spring Break!! Whoooooooo! If you have been and have any suggestions for restaurants or activities, leave it in the comments section, please!
6. I am halfway done with my last semester (EVER) of school. Whoot.
7. Got to see friends last night!
8. ANTM. Makes me happy. Oh, and the Caesars-Cranfords-ANTM COMBO cannot be beaten.
9. Somebody gave me friendship bread today. That means I have to pass it on to 4 friends... who wants it?? It's delish.
10. I'm really enjoying practicum, which is basically like internship without a paycheck. I really am going to like my job.
11. I get to go home. Now.

Peace out, loves.

Congrats to my sweetie

Many many happy thoughts to Jeremy today, who is turning in his last paper, taking his last test, and giving his LAST presentation for his masters program tonight!! Some of you might not know that he has been kickin' booty on the weekends and some weeknights for the last 2 years. After tonight, he will be an official MASTER. Of the environment. That's right, my hubby's a smart one. He'll have his masters in Environmental Management. Take THAT, environment.
Congrats, baby. I'm so proud.