Original Gangsta

I must admit that the free apps offered for the iPhone impress me. In fact, I am somewhat embarrassed that the obviously simple and monotonous tasks offer me a significant amount of entertainment. Two of my favorites have been "Line Up" and "Traffic." I need not bore you with the simple objects of these games. I must move on to Steven's most recent download and the title of this blog - "Original Gangsta."

First of all, I had to look beyond the elements of the game that are down right disturbing so that I could appreciate the hilarious stupidity. Outrageous features include creating look-outs, fighting in gang wars, drive-bys (some of which result in hospitalization), hiding dirty guns, robbing liquor stores, midnight muggings, stealing government checks, and corner exchanges (just to name a few).

Two nights ago as I mocked Steven's involvement in this game, I noticed that he had $35,000 in his gangsta bank. I assume this is where the dirty drug money is laundered...he's a smart thug. A few screens and gun fights later, he had the opportunity to buy street creds. This in and of itself made me chuckle. The screen actually had numbers of street creds ranging from 10 to 2700. I mean, did you know that street credit had a numerical value? So beside each amount of street cred was a dollar amount. Having just seen how wealthy my drug-smugglin fiance was, I encouraged him to spring for all 2700 street creds for a measly $149.99.

After a few taps and confirming his e-mail address, we finally realized that Original Gangsta was about to try to charge his account 150 REAL DOLLARS for make-believe street creds!

Does this disturb anyone else? on a lot of levels?! I assume that the fact that the option to purchase 2700 street creds for $150 even exists means that someone has actually made this purchase!

People, you have chosen a cheesy free app and find it reasonable to spend real money on street creds! I don't get it!! Steven refuses to pay any amount of real money for street cred; he's going to earn it the old fashioned way - hard knocks. And as a result, I suppose he will never be competitive with the ignorant fool who paid real money for his street credit. Rest assured, I am very proud of my original gangsta and his efforts to turn the slums of his iPhone into profitable drug rings.

It IS a Big Deal!

FIVE DAYS! I have been officially engaged for five days! I've had a fiance for five days! And even though we were laying the foundation for a wedding even before the engagement, it was still so amazing to have Steven ask me to spend the rest of my life with him!

Steven was planning to bring me lunch Monday. I was excited about not having to eat cafeteria food! As I walked my kids to lunch, I saw Steven waiting near the office. He was dressed more nicely than usual (also noted by Mrs. Wommack when she passed me). I replied to Mrs. Wommack, "I know. He sure looks good today, doesn't he?" I suspected he was just trying to make a good impression with his professors since it was the first day of class.

When I approached him, he embraced me full on front-hug, which we usually don't do at school...not exactly appropriate. I obliged the gesture but quickly suggested that we should untangle ourselves. How embarassing would it be if I got in trouble for PDA as a teacher?! So I picked up the Jason's Deli sack, unknowingly foiling his original plan, and we started to my classroom. When I was sure that there weren't any students around, I grabbed his hand. After all, I didn't want him to think that I didn't appreciate his affection. I noticed that his hands were sweaty and asked if he was nervous about something. From behind us, I heard a fellow teacher shouting, "PDA. PDA." I knew that would happen! I'm telling you, we are not inappropriately affectionate at school, ever! We both just snickered about it, but no more than 5 steps later, he was pulling the JD sack out of my hand and pulled me into another bear hug. I still didn't "get it."

So my head was leaned against his chest and he started to tell me that he had something he needed to talk to me about. I looked up at him and noticed that his eyes were red and watery. I was starting to get it now. He professed that the past year and a half had been the best of his life and that he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with me. And then...

This picture was a re-enactment. As he started to go down to his knee, I heard one of the teachers shriek in excitement when she realized what was going on! I, of course, said yes!!!! And the news and pictures had been sent to the entire campus before we even got to my classroom!

I know what some of you may be thinking..."At school?!?!" Steven faced a challenge deciding how to surprise me with the proposal. Even though I didn't know he already had the ring, I was expecting this soon. If he had suggested we take a stroll in the park or get dressed up for a romantic evening, I would have figured it out! I mean, this TOTALLY caught me by surprise. Totally!!!

Since then, the excitement hasn't stopped surprising me. When my kids came back for study hall, the hall errupted in cheers and applause. Who would have suspected that 10- and 11-year-old girls AND boys would even care, let alone express excitement and joy? One of my students who often journals about what a mean teacher I am immediately came to give me a hug! Two mornings later as I was walking down the sidewalk to school (beside the drop-off line) I had a mom shout to me, "Hey Miss Wilson, let me see your ring!" She informed me that her daughter just went on and on about it. I had a student already ask me if I would like some mongrammed towels!

On the more amusing side, I also had one of my FAVORITE students (who happens to have asperger's...which often translates to no filter) tell me, "My mom is going to have something to say about this. You have a LONG road ahead of you!" He's very intense!

Needless to say, nothing has been able to rain on my parade this week (except for 6th period)! I've been on cloud nine and can't believe how real having this ring on my finger makes our love and commitment to each other!

Count Your Blessings

I recently had a conversation with my best friend about something I heard on Oprah years ago that has stuck with me. She stated that those people who reported the highest degree of happiness attributed their happiness to being thankful. This assessment has rarely failed to be true. While we all know someone who has it "better" than we do, we also don't have to think too hard to think of someone or many someones who are less fortunate.

As many of you who are most likely to read my blog know, my Grandad recently had a laryngectomy (removal of his voicebox). It was an eleven-hour procedure, and I still choke up sometimes to think that I'll never hear his voice again. However, I feel so fortunate to still have him alive and regaining strength and health. I have some things that I feel like I could wallow in pity about - and sometimes I do. However, keeping Oprah's statistic in mind, I continue to be thankful for the fact that Grandad will be here to dance with me at my wedding; my mom is the most real person I know, and I love that about her; Steven lights up my life and still takes my breath away; and I have three very best girlfriends (I mean, the kind of friends most people never have, and I have three!).

So while I might have bad days, exhausting weeks, and trying situations, if I begin to count my blessings one by one, I would be occupied indefinitely!

A Good Laugh

I mean, really, what good is life if you can't have a good laugh at your own expense. Please see what I mean by visiting the following website

http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13131

I keep pulling it up and I can't stop laughing! Seriously, was I in childbirth or something? IT WAS FIVE KILOMETERS! Get a grip, Liz!

And not nearly as ammusing, Steven's finish

http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13132

How 'bout those windpants, though?! They should bring a smile to your face.

I'm sorry that the website will not let you use my picture as your new desktop. It would make a great addition to anyone's work space. :o)

Not So Hot

The title of this blog is a reflection of both my performance at the Cowtown Race as well as the weather.

Last week in Waco, TX the temperature reached over 80 degrees on more than one day. I had my A/C running most of the week. It would be just my luck that approximately 16 hours before I was to run an outside race that a cold front would blow in. This wasn't a cool front either, folks; this was a COLD front, FREEZING front had there been precipitation. I was moderately prepared with capri sweats and a sweatshirt. Steven...not so much. I had warned him about the cold front, but he assured me that his running shorts and t-shirt would suffice. He, more so than I, underestimated the power of Jack Frost. By the time we arrived in Ft. Worth at 7 pm on Friday, it was frigid, and the wind was piercing. We tried to believe that our bodies in motion would keep us warm the following morning.

HMPH!

Dana and Ryan (the two friends we stayed with) came to the bedroom door at 7 am to wake us from our slumber. SEVEN A.M.!!! We were supposed to begin at 7:30, and I hadn't had any sort of breathing treatment! We would be fighting a crowd of 17 THOUSAND other racers for parking. I had no hope of making it in time, but thought we would just be stragglers with the other oversleepers. So Steven steps outside to confirm that it is in fact only 30 degrees outside (much colder when the wind chill is considered) and returned with a look of disbelief that his wardrobe selection consisted of the shorts and t's. We scrambled to leave. Ryan let Steven barrow some hunter green, unlined windpants with a hole in the knee...Steven was desperate!

So the four of us load up in Ryan's truck. It had no heater. We fought the fog on the windshield by turning on the cold air until it was unbearable. The window would defog momentarily until our witty banter fogged it up again. This pattern endured the entire way to Sundance Square.

When we arrived, parking was easier than we anticipated. We saw racers herded behind the start line and thought that we might have actually made it! We made our way into the herd only to notice that our white bibs were surrounded by blue ones. We had unintentionally joined the 5K. :o( We were pretty disappointed, but we finished the race. At one point, the 5K trail joined with the 10K and then split again. There was a volunteer directing traffic. Steven and I were shamed as the volunteer vehemently directed us to the right. Steven had to shout out to him that we overslept and were just running the 5K; I tried no form of communication as oxygen intake was my primary goal at this juncture.

It never warmed up. No matter how fast I ran or didn't run, my fingers were frost bitten and I felt frozen from head to toe. As the finish line grew nearer, we of course decided to jog it out. I believe the decision was premature because about 20-30 yards before the finish line, I felt like I couldn't run another step. It was at that time I realized why people pass out at the end of a race. I wanted to stop so badly, but there were a hundred people on the sideline cheering us on. I felt like slowing down would disappoint each one of those hundred strangers, and who wants to disappoint a hundred strangers? What an odd form of peer pressure! 40 minutes and 3 seconds after starting the race, we crossed the finish line together.

And so concludes the half-marathon training that began on December 7, 2008. However, I am inspired to try to overdo it again in the near future. I'm going to try a half-marathon at the beginning of April. I'm excited about it. I've printed out the last five weeks of Hal Higdon's training for a half. That means I will be running 4.5 miles tomorrow! Good bye failure! Hello over-ambitious!

On Your Mark

For the past three months I have been training for a half-marathon. Impressed, are you? Don't be. I use the term "training" very loosely. The first month went incredibly well: calendar on the fridge, boxes to check when assigned workout was completed (and most were). And then something happened. Partly was that I got a bad case of allergies or cold or something, but that's no excuse! So needless to say, I have reduced my expectation to a 10K...hey, it's still over 6 miles...and my training is now only mental. I tell myself everyday, "Don't worry. You won't die. It's not like you have to run the whole thing. Completion is the goal."

That's right ladies and gents. I have adequately prepared myself for a substandard performance.

Cowtown, here I come!

IOU one

This blog is redeemable for a bath with Liz. Get your heads out of the gutter!


I promised Mandi that I would blog once a week. Knowing that my promises (at least about blogging) are worthless, I told her to provide a consequence if I did not. That consequence was that I had to come bathe the kiddos. Well, I know she was being a sweet friend by not calling me out last week when I came over to do my taxes. I know she thought about it at least once, and even gave the kids their bath while I was there! But nary a word was said.


So chica, whenever you read this, I suspect that you will be glad to redeem it. Although you know you'll wanna give me one lesson before you let me loose, I can't wait to get me feet wet! (pun intended)