Friday, December 25

Christmas update!!! I didn't take any pictures during our Christmas morning gift extravaganza, but here are some pics I've taken during the break. Basically, they're all pretty silly. Be prepared!

Jingle Bell fun run with Mom, Dad, Caroline, David and myself. Afterwards, we gained back every calorie we burned at Fireside Pies. YUM!

This is the ten-year anniversary of Duke Wellington Ward joining the family. He's still got it!


Mom and Dad's new addition is finally finished! Mom got new outdoor furniture for her big Christmas gift. Here are Michael and Caroline enjoying it.


Dad's addition to the backyard these days is this tree troll. Mom hates it, Caroline and I think it's a riot, and I'm not sure what the rest of the family thinks. But Christmas Eve one of the troll's eyes went MISSING!!!! Dad accused Mom and Mike of stealing it, and again Caroline and I thought it was hysterical. Today, after all the snow melted, Dad went searching through the monkey grass (with Duke's ever-present guidance) and found the missing eye. Much to Mom's chagrin, of course. ;) Christmas Eve and Christmas day was a wonderful time spent with the family- EVERYONE was home and it was great to see all together. Tomorrow and Sunday we have more activities planned before the O'Neals go back down to Austin.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

Sunday, December 13

The Hodum family Christmas tree! We got it up this afternoon with the help of Chewie and Sammy. Notice the lack of ornaments at the bottom- we have to keep breakable things out of the way of Chewie's tail and Sammy's mouth.

Saturday, December 12

Seriously, can you imagine living next to these people? I don't, but Melissa does! They had about six of these inflatable Christmas decorations last year, and they've multiplied this year like rabbits!!!

Wednesday, December 9

Hungry eyes.

Saturday, November 21

NEW MOON SATURDAY!!!! This morning I went to see New Moon with my friends Kate and Kelly. We had so much fun and the movie was great!

Friday, November 20

My school's theatre department produced their fall musical this weekend. This year it was Beauty and the Beast and it was outstanding!!! We had a great time watching the talented kids.

Thursday, November 19

I'm a mean doggie-mommy.

On a side note, Sammy ate one of my shoes today. We're currently not speaking.

Wednesday, November 18

Ten years ago today, at 2:42am, Aggie Bonfire fell, killing twelve students and injuring twenty-seven others. I was still in high school, but I certainly remember the far reach this loss had to the Aggie community, specifically my friends that had older siblings at A&M. It was only when I got to A&M, met those who lost someone when the stacks fell, and felt the spirit of Aggieland that I truly understood the effect this event had on the school. I know this tragedy shaped my experience at A&M and will continue to shape each new class. Today, I'm remembering the 12 who lost their lives on 11/18/99

Tuesday, November 17

It's been a quiet Tuesday night here. David and I have been prepping for classes tomorrow, watching tv, and relaxing. Here's a picture of some of the artwork my World of Ideas kids made for their art unit. Unfortunately, I'm not sure any of them have a future in the fine arts, but we sure had fun experimenting!!!

Monday, November 16

David and I headed down to SMU's Moody Coliseum to watch the Aggie men's basketball team take on the Mustangs. With such few victories on the gridiron the past few years, it's a welcome change to cheer on an Aggie team to victory! The Ags beat the Mustangs 80-68 and we were safely home by 10pm. What a fun change of pace for a Monday night!

Sunday, November 15

Yesterday, my mom flew to Louisville, KY to be with her family because my great Aunt Dottie suffered a stroke. Please pray for health for Aunt Dottie and a recovery from her stroke and strength and wisdom for my mom and her family as they make some decisions about her medical treatment.

Because Mom was out of town, Dad, David, Michael and I went to see a Sunday afternoon movie. We saw Pirate Radio and it was AWESOME!!! I totally recommend it. It has great music, is consistently funny from beginning to end, and is a pretty unique and interesting story!!!

November 14, 2009

Degas' Dancers at the Bar

My sorry recreation with watercolor
Ok, so this isn't really a picture that I took TODAY, but I never posted it and thought I would. Again, with my World of Ideas class, we did a brief survey of Modern art and the kids got to experiment with different movements. I even got to paint a picture! Honestly, this picture, more than anything else, is a testament to how great the unit went and how good my kids were. I actually felt comfortable enough to sit down and paint myself with all the paint, clay, and water flying around my room! Artist friends, please excuse my butchering of Degas...

Friday, November 13

Today my sweet, silly World of Ideas class (a humanities elective class I teach) created models of famous buildings for our architecture unit. My room smelled like icing and graham crackers, there were empty candy wrappers, Rice Crispy boxes, and empty cans of icing, but we had some pretty cool results!!! It was a fun project and only made me slightly stressed with all the commotion and mess being made.

On another note, this is the THIRD FRIDAY IN A ROW where some sort of crazy issue has arisen after my day is supposed to end. I really hope to end the streak next week. :(

Here's one extra picture for today, of another building. The top picture is Reunion Tower! And this one below is a cathedral and I forgot it's name!

Thursday, November 12

I was so good for awhile, posting a picture every day! But alas, I have fallen behind. I'm back, hopefully with a vengeance!

I've had a headache today, partially from the weather and partially from school drama(s) this week. So I thought I'd post a picture of Advil, my favorite friend in these situations, and came across this Frida Kahlo Advil ad. I think it's Kahlo, I could be wrong. I think it is a great visual of how I feel sometimes!!!

Saturday, October 31

Ninja turtles for Halloween! David was Raphael, I was Michelangelo, Melissa was Donatello and Tony was Leonardo. We had fun at the Schectman's annual party!

Friday, October 30

Today was the annual "teacher dance" at school- where at the cool teachers dance at the pep rally. This year, we did a Halloween theme and danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller! It was tons of fun, and yes, I looked like this all day.

Thursday, October 29

Today STAND had their annual Halloween party and Red Ribbon celebration! It was fun- we ate some mummy cupcakes, ate candy and watched The Ring. You can sort of see some of my Halloween decorations in my room in this picture!

Wednesday, October 28

Happy Birthday, Kara! Tonight we went to Trees to celebrate my friend, Kara's, birthday and to check out some local Dallas music. We had a blast and want to go back soon for more!

Tuesday, October 27

Super hero day at school! I was too busy to take a picture, but here's an idea of what the kids looked like all day!

Monday, October 26

Today was PJ's day for Red Ribbon Week! With all the rain and my comfy jammies, it was hard to stay awake. At least I've been ready for bed all day!

Sunday, October 25

Tomorrow starts Red Ribbon Week at school, and because I am the STAND (Students Taking Action Not Drugs) sponsor, I'm in charge. It's definitely one of the busiest weeks of my year!

Saturday, October 24

Saturday night was my friend, Danielle's, bachelorette party! We did a lingerie shower at her friend's house, and then we went to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Addison. Lots of fun was had by all!

Friday, October 23

Listen up, ladies!!! The word on the street is that City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is supposed to be the next Twilight! Tonight David and I had Friday night date night- dinner and B&N visit, where I picked it up! I just got the first one in the trilogy and am going to check it out. I'll let you know how it goes! It has vampires, werewolves AND demons! Here's a link to the Barnes and Noble page if you want more info. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weekend!!!

Thursday, October 22

Tonight we met two of our favorite friends Kevin and Kelly at one of our favorite pizza places, Durkin's Pizza, for some good food, catching up, and fun with the owner, Michael Durkin! If you live in the McKinney/ Allen/ Frisco area and haven't tried Durkin's pizza, give it a try! It is out of this world and has great ambiance. Durkin is a riot and we have fun every time we go!

Wednesday, October 21

Today I decided to take a mental health day so I stayed home, slept in, and went to see a movie by myself!! It was really nice and relaxing! I decided to see Paranormal Activity because I heard a lot about it, and NO ONE will see scary movies with me- so I went alone. It was, by far, the most suspenseful movie I've seen in a long time. It is VERY scary, but of the good 'ole fashion, not-see-the-monster, suspenseful, no-blood-and-guts variety. I thought it was great!!! And apparently the ending in theaters is NOT the original ending, so I'm looking forward to seeing the 'real' ending when the DVD comes out. I'd recommend it if you like a good scare! And I would recommend seeing it with a friend.... I was a little scared to go to sleep last night! Also, PLEASE let me know if you like to see scary movies!!!!

Tuesday, October 20

After hours upon hours of work, I finally finished my first round of college recommendation letters. So far...I think this is just for the schools with Early Action dates and the Ivy Leagues. I sure hope MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, and Stanford know me by name now- I've sure sent them some mail in the past couple of years!! And yes, I do have kids at "those" schools- 2 at Harvard, about 7 or 8 at Cornell, two at Brown, about four at USC and one at Carnegie Mellon. And no, I'm not proud of them at all!!! :) :)

Monday, October 19

It's a quiet Monday night and we're watching House and Lie to Me. Even Chewie likes Monday night prime time!

Sunday, October 18

It's Restoration Anglican Church kickoff Sunday!!!

I've posted before about the church plant our friends, Jed and Stacy Roseberry, are starting, and today was the first official service! I think it went wonderfully!!! The music, supplied by some members of the award-winning band The Afters was awesome, Jed's message really spoke to me and seemed RELEVANT (I think we all know how, at times, sermons seem a little lofty and hard to grasp) and I loved the energy I felt throughout the service. I thought the environment was warm and welcoming, full of people who LOVE GOD and want to share. It's a come as you are, laid back approach to worship and is truly refreshing! If this sounds like something you would be interesting in, let me know! And check them out online. Have a great week everyone!!!

Saturday, October 17

Monday is my brother Michael's 27th birthday and Saturday night we celebrated with my family by having dinner at Houston's and opening presents at Mom and Dad's house. Happy Birthday, Mikey!!! I hope you have a wonderful 27th year!

Friday, October 16

Dinner and a movie with great friends is always a fun way to spend Friday night! Thanks Kate, Dustin, and Nora for a fun evening at Babe's and watching Adventureland! Oh, I want to hear how the plastic bag of mashed potatoes works out!

Thursday, October 15

Grading. Grading. Grading. I need to figure out how much of my life I've spent grading papers, quizzes, and projects. Actually, I'll probably just be depressed by the results, so maybe not.

Wednesday, October 14

A foggy, rainy, yucky drive to school at 6:45am. We finally saw the sun after weeks upon weeks of rainy weather!

Tuesday, October 13

Eight large pizzas devoured in about five minutes after school today. Apparently free pizza gets the kids to attend meetings for the club I sponsor!

Monday, October 12

The amazing stage for the U2 concert at the new Cowboys stadium Monday night. We had a BLAST!!!

Project 365

I've been a bad blogger!!! I'm going to try to do the "picture a day" thing that so many are doing in an effort to keep up with my blog... and I'm going to start today!

October 11, 2009


This weather (and the fact that it's more or less mid-October!) got me in the mood to get out our fall and Halloween decor. Well, the weather and the fact that I didn't want to work on school stuff yet. These are some of my favorites- my haunted house that holds a votive candle, a decorated pumpkin, and of course my signature Orleans Creme Brulee candle all dressed up for fall!

Restoration

Today we joined Jed and Stacy Roseberry, Kate, and the rest of the crew working on Restoration Church, a new church plant in Addison, for their commissioning at Christ Church in Plano. I've never been to a service in the "big" sanctuary at Christ Church and I really enjoyed it! Fr. Roseberry gave an excellent sermon, there were two precious baby boys being baptized, AND we stood up in front of the congregation to receive a blessing for the new church plant and David was mortified- all in all a good day! ;) David and I are really excited about joining this new church!!! Check out their website to learn more and let me know if you want to give it a try! This coming Sunday is the kick off service!

September

Where have I been? The month of September was so busy with school, trips, and more school! I got to see my sister, Caroline, in Chicago, David's sister got married, and I went to Austin to see Caroline for her birthday! I proctored an SAT, went to the state fair and saw my brother-in-law, Jonathan, play!

I'm so excited that it's October, my favorite month of the year, and am excited for Halloween! Last year, David and I were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell for Halloween.
Our friends Mark and Kara have an annual Halloween costume party. This year we have a plan- we're going to work with the Collett's but I'm not telling what it is- at least not YET!

Well, let me show you what I've been doing! Here are some pictures to document my various travels and escapades:

Caroline and I at Enclave in Chicago, where we saw Jason Stackhouse from True Blood and an awesome fashion show!

Jason Stackhouse!!!

Cubbies Game!!!

Caroline's Birthday!

Big Tex!


Homecoming with Melissa! (I stole this picture from her blog!)


And, as most of you have heard, I got bright orange chairs for my classroom- no more desks, just tables and chairs! And BOY, was it a struggle!