Something That Made Me Smile :)

Any of you who have heard me talk about my job know that I've had a difficult batch of students this year.  They aren't necessarily bad, but they aren't the most respectful and well-behaved kids I've ever had  - there is one in particular that I will definitely NOT miss come June!  I might even have a party to celebrate this student's exit from my life!! :)  hahaha...I'm mostly kidding:)

Anyways, despite the various issues and run-ins with students, there are always those moments that make me realize why I love my job.  I had one of those moments a couple of weeks ago.  Two days before my birthday (on a Thursday), I went in to school like any normal day.  The day began with TA (homeroom), as usual.  However, unlike the normal day, my assistant principal came in and asked if he could borrow my students to help him with a few things that morning - he said I could just sit back and relax.  A teacher would be CRAZY to turn this down! :)  A few minutes later, the office called my room and said my assistant principal needed to see me in the gym.  

Now, I want to pause here and say I did have some suspicions that there might be birthday activities going on because 6th graders are not very discrete :)  However, I had no idea how extensive these birthday festivities would be!  I went and found my AP and he said he needed me to help him with something in the chorus room.  We went there, and when we walked in all the lights were off.  We walked into the room and I could see my students pressed up against the walls, but the lights were still off and nobody was saying anything.  My AP then said, "Guys, your timing is way off!"  At which point all my kids jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!"  They threw me a little surprise birthday party!!  

This party was complete with cake, cookies, candy, chips and salsa (all at 8:30 am), balloons, streamers, AND gifts!!!  I was overwhelmed!!  It was so sweet - I'd never had any of my students do anything like that for me before!  They somehow remembered when my birthday was from a random conversation we'd had months earlier, and planned this great little party!  Best quote from the day was from when they told me they had presents. I said I thought I might cry and one little girl said, "Are you going to cry because of the party and presents or because the salsa is really hot?"  HAHAHAHAHAHA!! :) :) 

Just thought I would share this very special and sweet moment:)  Hopefully it brought a smile to your face too! :)

25 Things

After weeks and weeks of resistance, I've decided to finally break down and do this...

1. I almost died from a staff infection when I was 6 years old. Pretty much the only reason I'm still here today is because my dad is persistant and knew the commander of the hospital. The doctors said it was an allergic reaction, but my dad took me to the hospital commander and he said I needed to be hospitalized immediately! Thus, here I am! :)  Also, this staff infection consisted of me getting really itchy when I got hot - it was called Scalded Skin Syndrome.  Once I began to get better, I was kind of like a molting reptile...very peely...

2. I'm a big snoop. And I'm really good at it, if I do say so myself:) Christmas presents from Andrew are tough....I love the surprise...but I also love peeking....always SUCH a dilemma!! :)

3. "She's the dancing queen, young and sweet, only 17 (25) oh yeeeeaahh. She can dance, she can jive, having the time of her liiiife!" I love dancing...I'm no good at it, but I have a FABULOUS time!! :)

4. I could drink Coke all day every day!

5. I wish I could be an FBI or CIA agent.

6. I'm a living room karaoke star!! Not so much in public, though...

7.  Sometimes I practice my "Camera Smile" in the mirror:)  It's important to perfect a smile that does not make my face look too squished up:)

8.  Although I love my friends dearly, I am horrible at keeping in touch with people:(

9.  I love peas!  I always use this when I play "Two Truths and a Lie" - and I always trick people because NOBODY loves peas! :)

10.  I can't watch scary movies due to a traumatic experience when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade.  At recess, I was playing with my friends in this hamburger shaped climbing thing on the playground.  There was only one way in and out of this hamburger.  We were in their doing whatever 2nd and 3rd graders do, when somebody suggested telling ghost stories.  I tried to leave but everybody blocked the entrance/exit with their feet.  I had to sit and listen...and I was TERRIFIED!  That night I couldn't fall asleep because I was so scared that there were people/monsters in my closet or under my bed or coming in my window.  That night began a tradition that lasted many, many years - my parents would kneel with me and pray that I would dream of happy things and flowers.  To this day, I do not watch scary movies.

11.  McDonald's sweet tea is amazing.

12.  I used to have a fairly obnoxious laugh that sounded like "hehehehe"...this was mainly for attention-seeking purposes.

13.  I never used a blow dryer until my senior year of high school.

14.  I was a track star in high school - when I got to college I just stopped running.  I'm not sure why...

15.  I got a 4 on my AP Calculus exam...but I hate math and had a B/C in the class.  I got an A in AP English and love reading...but got a 2 on the AP Enlglish exam.  Go figure.

16.  I only applied to UVA because my dad made me.  I went there because I couldn't believe I got in, and figured it must be the place I should go:)

17.  I was in a beauty pageant when I was in 11th or 12th grade.  If you've seen what I looked like in high school, you understand why I didn't win:)

18.  I've come to the realization that friendships change (good or bad) as you go through life and go your separate ways.

19.  I want a spiral staircase in my house someday.

20.  I can't wait to see what kind of grandparents Andrew's and my parents are someday.

21.  The two places I want to visit most - Australia and Ireland.

22.  I love to read my old diaries.  It's funny to see things that I once thought were such a big deal.  I once wrote that I hated my mom because she wouldn't let me have a fudgepop after school.  Hate?  Really?

23.  I used to want to marry Tim Duncan.  Yes, the basketball star.  Yes, I was 18 years old.  And yes, I was serious.

24.  During my third year of college, I would stay up really late (even though I had early classes) waiting for Andrew to get on AIM.  I was smitten...he says stalker.

25.  I'm generally happy with my life, but I do wish I had a more exciting job:)

"Movin' On Up..."

"To a deluxe apartment in the sky!"


So...my week has been filled with the absolute excitement of finding a new apartment!! I think it would be safe to say that I am ECSTATIC about moving!! :) We have lived in our current apartment for about 2 years....and I'm not a fan of the basement location and the gross carpet that I think was old when we moved in. :(


We decided to move closer to DC so that Andrew wouldn't have as long of a commute. After months of research and thought, we decided on Pentagon City! This is great news, because it really isn't that much longer of a commute for me - and I will still be going against traffic!


More exciting news about our apartment...the view is of the Washington Monument, Pentagon, etc., our apartment overlooks the pool, we have a gym in the basement, there is a dentist in the basement, Leslie will live a few floors below us, we'll be closer to various friends in the area, there are an abundant amount of restaurants nearby, and I will be able to WALK to the mall!! :)


Andrew and I are planning on hosting many parties once we move (after he completes the bar exam, of course), so plan on coming by at some point to visit!! Oh, and did I mention that we get two months of free rent??? YESSS!!


I'm so excited!
I just can't hide it!
And I know, I know, I know, I know
I know I want you!

"What I Like About You..."

"You really know how to dance! When you go up down jump around, talk about true romaaance!"

Although I am not writing a song, I decided to follow Lillix's example, and write some of the things I like about Andrew. I'm writing a list of 26 items since he just turned 26:) This is a post in honor of Andrew's birthday, even though it was yesterday, and Valentine's Day:) This list is in no particular order. And yes, this is going to be a cheesy post:)

1. If you haven't ever been karaoke-ing with Andrew...you really must go - it is QUITE the experience!! :)

2. Although I don't always admit it, he's a pretty funny guy:)

3. Few things rival the greatness of Andrew singing songs by Britney Spears.

4. He would do anything for you!

5. He is very caring and sweet:)

6. It's pretty cute when he plays with Napoleon.

7. He has a classic smirk that gives away when he is lying or hiding something.

8. He does the dishes when I cook!! I am not so good at recprocating...

9. He's a pretty attractive guy:)

10. I love his "Do it now" attitude. I'm the world's biggest procrastinator, but Andrew helps me not to be such a procrastinator because he likes to get things done quickly.

11. He has a hard time keeping secrets and usually tells me about surprises or presents before it's time to give them to me:) However, recently he has done a much better job - he didn't tell me about my big present of Broadway tickets for Christmas!!

12. He is silly and goofy - just like me!

13. He is very loving and affectionate :)

14. He is a DANCING FOOL!! If you've never been dancing with us, you need to...it is well worth a very late night to see Andrew bust a move on the dance floor! And I'm not making fun of him...he's a good dancer!

15. He puts up with me...I think he didn't realize how much I cry before we got married:)

16. He has a lot of random knowledge stored up in that head.

17. It's GREAT when you make him REALLY laugh! He doesn't give out real, whole-hearted laughs often...so it's pretty exciting when you hear them!

18. He is a great planner...see his blog about our upcoming trip to Egypt to see what I mean!!

19. He rarely gets mad/upset...he's a very patient man:)

20. I love his eyes (mushy, I know...but you really need to notice them...VERY blue!) :)

21. He might not be happy I'm sharing this one, but it was sad/cute when he cried during movies (The Notebook, Marley and Me, Radio, and Rudy).

22. I like that I can always count on him cheating in board games:) However, I will give him some credit...I think the last couple times that we've played he has not cheated:)

23. I love that he put a ton of thought and time into proposing to me almost 4 years ago:)

24. I love that although he does not have the greatest singing talent, he sang to me at our wedding:)

25. I think it's hilarious that he pretty much has done no work this year, but has gotten the best grades of his law school "career" so far.

26. I just love him...what else can I say?? :)

This is not an all encompassing list, but I figure that's enough mush for one post:)

The Marvelous McCormick Movie Marathon

Before I get into the details, I would like to point out the wonderful usage of alliteration in my title! :) When it comes to alliteration...I'm a fan:) Now, on to more exciting topics...

This weekend, Andrew and I had a fun weekend in! We had a movie marathon! We did take some breaks...dinner out and shopping on Friday, gym and midnight McDonald's trip on Saturday, then church and small group on Sunday. Other than those things, we spent the weekend in our apartment watching movies! It was great! If you ever have a weekend with nothing that you HAVE to do, I highly suggest a movie marathon!! It was the first weekend that I can remember that Andrew and I didn't have something to do, we were able to just sit at home, relax, enjoy each other's company, and watch movies...oh and spend time with our annoying, but very cute dog. :) In total, I watched 7 movies (Andrew watched 6 and some episodes of The Office). I have decided to give you my thoughts/reviews of them...you might want to save yourself some time by not watching a few of these:)

Overall, the weekend was fun, but none of the movies were really GREAT. There were some that weren't good, and some that were okay, but none left me with that, "Wow, that was an awesome movie" feeling. I have listed the movies below in the order that I would rank them. ENJOY!! :)

1. Matchstick Men

This is not my favorite movie in the world, but it is my favorite of those I watched this weekend. It is kind of cheesy, but it is interesting. The movie is about a con man who meets his daughter when she is 14 years old. There isn't a lot of action, but there is some. I thought it was a good watch, and I would recommend you see it!

2. Unbreakable

This movie was pretty good. Personally, I didn't see what the whole purpose of the movie was, and the ending is interesting. M. Night Shyamalan does his thing with the interesting twist and cameo appearance. Overall a pretty good movie.

4. Dick Tracy

An oldie, but a goodie. I actually never saw this movie when it came out in my childhood, but it was one of Andrew's favorites. It was cheesy, as it should be since it's based on a comic book, but it was good. It is very different from the "comic book movies" they now make. I would recommend watching this one to take a trip back to the 80s:) I would like to say that Madonna has aged well, I think she looks much better now than she does in this movie! :)

4. Dan in Real Life

This was a good movie for what it was. I'm not really a fan of these "slice of life" movies, I like there to be a purpose and definite closure. This is pretty much a single father, his girls, and how he deals with falling in love again. I probably wouldn't watch this movie again...also interesting to see Steve Carell in a more serious role.

5. Poseidon

Above I mentioned that I like a movie to have a purpose, however, this movie's purpose was a bit too narrow. The whole movie is about this group of people trying to get off of a sinking cruise ship. Once you find out if they do or not (don't want to ruin the movie), the movie is over. There isn't any what happens after, closure with the families, or anything like that. It's just over.

6. Because I Said So

This is definitely on my list of least favorite movies. I'm a big chick flick fan, so I was pretty excited about watching this one. I will admit, I moved our Netflix queue around last week so that this movie would be part of our movie marathon. After seeing it, I did regret those actions:) Pretty much, the movie doesn't really have a point...the point they are trying to make is forced. The movie is about an overbearing mother interfering in her daughter's life, but again, much of it feels forced and unnatural. Maybe there is a chemistry between the characters missing, or something...I don't know...but I'm a big fan of these cheesy, girly movies, and I did not like this one! And this is big since I enjoy movies that star Amanda Bynes, Hillary Duff, and other teeny boppers:)

7. Suburban Girl

Okay, this movie could top my list for worst movies I've seen. I thought it would be interesting to see Sarah Michelle Gellar because I haven't seen her in anything in quite some time. However, it wasn't interesting. I thought the movie was pretty boring and unbelievable. Essentially, Gellar is a struggling editor who gets in a relationship with Alec Baldwin, who is about the age of her father. Personally, I just think that it was very unrealistic...and I just wasn't a fan. Luckily, Andrew was doing a bit of work during this movie, so he didn't have to suffer through it:)

And that wraps up the Marvelous McCormick Movie Marathon review! You may disagree with some of my thoughts, and that's okay:) Just giving you my two cents.

As Veronica Corningstone would say, "Thanks for stopping by!"

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

While I might disagree with Maria (from The Sound of Music) about raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, and warm woolen mittens, I definitely think snowflakes makes my list of favorite things. I thought I would start my first blog by listing and describing a few of my favorite things. Lucky for you, I am not going to make my favorite things into a song:)

I know at this point, you are on the edge of your seat wondering what my favorite things might be, so I will get to it! :) As a disclaimer, this list is in no particular order.

1. SNOW

First of all, I LOVE snow! It is beatiful and fun to play in. I especially love it when it snows on Christmas...this doesn't happen too often here in Virginia, but every year I hold out hope! I also enjoy just sitting and watching the snow; it is so peaceful and calming to just sit and watch snowflakes drift slowly to the ground. And, I would be lying if I did not say that probably my favorite thing about snow is getting snow days!! This is definitely a huge perk of being a teacher:)

2. THE OFFICE AND LOST

These are my two favorite TV shows, interestingly, they are pretty much COMPLETE opposites! The Office is great because you just laugh the entire time! It requires no thinking, just watching. If you have never watched this show, I highly recommend you give it a try! Lost on the other hand is extremely complex, maybe too much so, but I'm hooked and a faithful follower:) If you have not watched this one, you should try it, but you've got to start with season one.

3. NETFLIX
My favorite discovery of the year! Unlimited movies...mailed to you, and you can watch them online!

4. EATING

I feel like the picure above pretty much sums up my love of food. My plate is usually a bit more full, but I hadn't gotten to everything yet:) My favorite food ever is my dad's lasagna, which is what you see me eating above.

5. DANCING

I love dancing! By no means am I good at dancing - I don't have much rhythm, but I still have a blast!!

6. SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY

My family is pretty silly, and when we all hang out together there is always lots of fun and laughter!

7. HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS

Having good friends is one of the great joys and blessings of life! I am lucky to be very blessed with some great friends that I have a lot of fun with!

8. TRAVELING

I love traveling. In the past three years I've been to Canada, the Bahamas, Florida, Texas, Greece, North Carolina, Spain, and this summer Andrew and I will be going to Egypt for 3 weeks! The two places on my "Must Visit" list are Australia and Ireland...we'll get to them someday! :)

9. MY MINIFAMILY

I'm not sure what to say here. Andrew is the love of my life and I can't imagine life without him! Napoleon is a very demanding "princess," but he's adorable and we love him:)

10. GAMENIGHTS

Boardgames are a new passion of mine. I love them! Gamenights are a particularly fun way to play boardgames...what better way to play games than by adding friends and food?? I like all games, from the more serious ones (i.e. Scrabble) to the more silly ones (i.e. Last Word). If you are every up for a game night, let me know!! :)

And that wraps up a few of my favorite things. I obviously have many more things that I love, but it really would probably get rather boring if the list got too much longer! Hope you enjoy the upcoming weekend! :)