Unorganized Update

Warning: This could be a lot of long-winded rambling. But you'll have that since I haven't updated in so long.

In short, Justin and I are doing well. I am currently on spring break and perhaps you were wondering what that big gust of wind was last Friday at 2:50 p.m. It was me, letting out a big sigh of relief that I have a week away from school. I started out the week really relaxing and enjoying my time at home, but I quickly became bored and looked for things to do around the house. I'll be typing my post about the wonders of closet organization here soon. Stay tuned.

While I'm always ready for a break, I guess I can't make it seem like this semester has been too bad. In my first year of teaching, I was always just trying to keep my head above water. During my second year I felt that my head was above water, but still bobbed under the surface from time to time. This year, my third year, and especially the second semester of my third year, I really feel like I'm treading the water comfortably and successfully. I'm teaching classes that I've taught multiple times before and it's the first semester that I haven't had to worry about a lesson plan for the next day since I'm already planned. That's not to say that I'm not busy because the grading pile of a high school English teacher is never small, but it's bearable.

Basketball season came to a bittersweet end. The team this year was phenomenal and one of the best in the history of the school. They finished their season at 22-3 and #3 in class 3A. We lost in the regional championship game. If I didn't have to go to every game, I would have went anyway. They were very exciting to watch, especially the seniors and two of them are already signed to Division I schools. Now we are into the short break that a cheerleading season has, consisting of about a month or so. We will have our end of the year banquet soon and go right into tryouts for next year. It's crazy and pays very little, but I wouldn't give it up.

On an extremely happy note, my friend Ashley and her husband Luke welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Noelle, into the world on March 11. I was actually in the waiting room when she was born with two great friends and the anxious grandparents. I'm never been that involved in a birth before (ok, I know I wasn't holding Ashley's foot during pushing or anything) but it was exciting to be right there when Noelle was born and see her just a couple of hours later! She is gorgeous and perfect and it's exciting for Ashley to become the awesome mom that she has dreamed of being for so long.

Break is half way over today and it seems like it's gone slow, which is nice. I'm going to see Ashley and Noelle tomorrow and then going to Fort Wayne to visit my Dad and Lea on Friday for the weekend.

For now Justin and I are going to go enjoy the awesome weather we are having and take a walk!

Great Weekend!

I truly need more weekends like the one I just had!

Friday night, I went to my friend Katie's bachelorette dinner at Chopsticks Bistro downtown. I had never had sushi before (unless you count the bite I had one time from someone's sushi lunch from Marsh...but I don't) and it was really good. I'm definitely a meat and potatoes kind of girl but I tried two different kinds of sushi and really liked them both. They also had the best crab rangoons I have ever had. Other than the great food, I had a good time with my teacher friends from school.

I woke up way too early on Saturday morning to head to Muncie for homecoming at Ball State. We all met at Allison's house and headed over to wait in horrible traffic to get into tailgating. I was a little nervous at first because we were out by the softball diamonds to tailgate and we had never been out there before (and it was freezing!), but we ended up having a really great time playing football, grilling out, people watching, and catching up. It was nice to act like a college student again, if only for a few hours.

With the best friends a girl could ask for: Laura, me, Ashley, Jess, and Allison.

Laura and I were the first ones to succumb to the cold temperatures and hang out in the car!

Ashley's 16-week-old pregnant belly. There's a little girl in there! I just know it!

I left Muncie around 5:30 to get back home. Then, something happened last night that is extremely rare in the marriage of Justin and Jennifer Leavell. We spend Saturday night together and went out on a date. Shocking, I know. Due to school, cheerleading practice, and yearbook meetings being back in full force and Justin and I already working completely opposite hours, I couldn't remember the last time we had spent more than two hours together, let alone a whole evening. So I came back home to get ready (and let me pause here to brag about the fact that I got home at 6:33, fed Maggie, took a shower, and was ready to leave at 7:40...that's quite a feat for me) and once Justin got home and changed, we were off. We went and walked around at the Hamilton Town Center for a little bit and then went to eat at Olive Garden.

This is how I liked dinner to be served...off of a menu...and not out of the kitchen. OK, I know that sounded horrible, but I'm still trying to get into this whole cooking thing.

We had a great time together. We are really trying to make more of an effort to make the most out of the time we do see each other each week. And yes, I know that there are couples out there that have it way worse than we do, but I can only attest to how our lives are.

Today has been spent doing laundry, cleaning up a bit, and grading. I also found out that Maggie did something that she had yet to do since she has lived with me and Justin--she got us for two meals at breakfast. Since Justin has to get up so early on Sunday mornings to go to work, I got up and fed Maggie as soon as she came into our room crying at 5 a.m. so she wouldn't wake him up. However, she got Justin when he got up because she cried and cried like she had never been fed and he gave her another bowl of food. To a 16-pound cat that gets no more than a half a cup of low-calorie food a day anyway, it must have felt like Christmas morning. Here she is basking in her victory:


If our cat can get the best of us, I hate to think about what our kids will trick us into one day!

Hello, my name is...

This is my name tag from last week when I attended a computer workshop for school. The better part of last week was reminiscent of a regular school week and I didn't like it at all. I attended computer workshops for school on Tuesday and Thursday which not only found me getting out of bed way earlier than most days this summer, but also left me feeling completely stressed and overwhelmed about the fact that school starts two weeks from this Thursday and I haven't done nearly enough. Justin looked at me the other day and said, "Regret not doing more for school this summer?" Yes, I do.

Wednesday was way too similar to a regular school day in that my alarm went off at the exact time it does for school to meet some of my yearbook staff members to attend an extremely productive yearbook workshop at Fishers High School. It feels good to go into the new school year with a very structured plan for the entire book.

To take away a little stress, I went to a Chicago Cubs game yesterday with some friends from school and a friend of a friend from school. It was a blast and nice way to kind of cap off the summer since I feel it is coming to an end way too soon. I'll try to post some pictures soon. I must also add that going to this game caused some stress in my marriage. Let's just say that when a wife goes to Wrigley when her baseball-obsessed husband hasn't been...that's not good. But I don't think he's too mad at me anymore and I am trying to make it up to him by planning a really cool first anniversary gift.

Now I am currently at my Alma mater, Ball State, being the best resident assistant I can be at the Ball State University Journalism Workshops. Not exactly the place I want to be with only two and half weeks more of freedom, but it pays well and lets me connect with several journalism teachers that I have already received incredible ideas from.

Time to put off doing something productive and look up spoilers for tomorrow's finale of The Bachelorette.

Live from Washington D.C.

UPDATED WITH PHOTOS!

Since I am blogging out of state I feel that the title needs to sound something like the beginning of Saturday Night Live when they say "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" So if you don't mind, please read the title again, but this time (in your head or out loud if you feel so inclined), read it in your best radio/television announcer voice that really grasps the essence of the SNL intro and the fact that I am not in McCordsville, IN.

This past week has been a whirlwind. I left last Tuesday morning for cheerleading camp at IU, got home from there on Thursday afternoon only to take a quick nap, unpack, pack again, and get up on Friday morning to head to Muncie for my friend Allison's wedding, which I was a bridesmaid in. I left the reception between 11:30 and midnight on Saturday night and was on my way to the airport at 5:15 on Sunday morning to attend a technology conference with the English department and administrators in Washington, D.C., hence the dramatic opening to this blog entry. After I got over being delirious due to lack of sleep, (I thought Sunday was Tuesday for the longest time until I asked someone) the conference has been fun. I am really disappointed that Obama didn't meet us at the airport like I was sure he would, but I've learned a lot about new technology for my classroom and I'm excited to get started making lesson plans to incorporate all that I've learned. Wait...it's June 30th and I just said I want to make lesson plans...that must be a mistake. A couple of pictures from the trip...

Me in front of a lot of books at the Library of Congress.

Reading at the Library of Congress.

Back to the wedding. It was awesome to see my friends and see yet another one of us get married. Friday consisted of the rehearsal and dinner at Puerto followed by a great tribute to Michael Jackson in Ashley's car while we were stopped by a train for a good fifteen minutes. Not only was it amusing to be flipped off by a car of girls that must have been jealous of our love for MJ but my friend Ashley successfully yelled Michael Jackson ad-libs to a police officer. And I have had "Man in the Mirror" in my head ever since. Then we successfully took pictures in front of both of the old college houses we lived in near campus (I only lived in one...but they claimed me for the other) while laughing to hard that I'm shocked a few of us didn't pee our pants. Saturday morning came and we helped Allison get ready for her big day. She looked absolutely beautiful and the wedding and reception were gorgeous and a blast. I don't think a beaming grin left Allison's face the entire day and the weather was perfect for her outside reception.

Ashley, me, and Nikki at the rehearsal dinner.

The happy couple, Chris and Allison, at the rehearsal dinner.

My friend Laura "acting natural" with my engagement ring on.

Allison, Minner, and Laura at the rehearsal dinner.

Nikki and Laura during our tribute to Michael Jackson.

All of the girls on the big day!

Me with the beautiful bride.

Me with the "chief bridesmaid".

The amazing wedding singer and me at the reception.

Cutting the cake!

After a crazy week I will be happy to get home tomorrow night and sleep in my own bed next to my wonderful husband (whom I miss like crazy) and with my over-sized kitty at my feet. My plan for Thursday consists of my pajamas, the couch, and over a week's worth of episodes of The Young and the Restless.