And by "Coming Soon," I really meant....

Well, I really meant to actually share our Florida 2011 trip in a timely fashion, but obviously I have been suffering from a case of F.I.B. - you know "Forgetting I Blog" and I have let time slip by in an unacceptable manner for a post that was called "Coming Soon."

It's kinda like the hype of a movie that starts to get promoted LOOOOONNNNGGGG before it actually hits the theaters and then when it's finally released, you are so excited you almost
"pee your knickers" to quote Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen!

I promise that when it's finally realeased, my Florida production will be filled with so much excitement, adventure, and romance (along with some danger) that you will be so glad you have stuck through the wait!

Florida 2011 promises to be so much more adventurous than oh, this movie:

It will surely be more romantic than this movie:

And it could even be more exciting and dangerous than this film:



Okay, maybe not! But there are sure some really awesome and exciting experiences that I can't wait to share in Florida 2011, which really is "Coming Soon!"

Coming soon...

the beach:



the books:

the babes (aka: B and Me, of course!):



the bites of bliss:

the bizarre:

the beauty:

the bravery:



the BEST time ever!

It's Florida 2011, baby, and I can't wait to tell you about it because it was a BLAST!

So, stay tuned! The details, the stories, and more pictures of this adventure are coming soon, along with an in-depth explanation of YOLO... 'cuz You Only Live Once, so Make It Count!

TACO time

You thought I meant this kind of taco time, didn't ya:

Sorry, but this is not about the delicious crispy beef taco!

This post is about the syndrome of TACO time and no , this syndrome has nothing to do with my dependance upon the crispy beef taco and hot sauce for survival (that's another post!).

As you read through this post, you may recognize the syndrome of TACO time in your own life. If not, I need you to call me right away 'cuz I need help and you can be my own personal Lucy:

Anyway, as I was saying, you may recognize TACO time in your own life if you look like this:

or this:


or maybe even this:


If any of these look familiar, I hate to tell you, but you're suffering from TACO time too (maybe we could start a group!).

So, what exactly is TACO time if it isn't related to delicious crispy beef tacos?

Quite simply, TACO time is feeling Totally And Completely Overwhelmed,and it is not to be taken lightly, as its effects are far-reaching and quite powerful.

Now does it sound familiar?


I know that since it's summer there might be some people who think there should be no TACO time in my life right now (except for the crispy beef and hot sauce variety, but remember, that's a different post!). I mean really, as an educator, I "get the summer's off" right (that phrase shall be a topic for another night).


The reality for me is that sometimes TACO time is actually worse in the summer because there are so many things that I have shoved to the back burner while school was in full swing that have to be tended to. Plus I usually teach a couple of classes for our summer enrichment program at school, and this summer that means the last two weeks in June.

I am not going to downplay the summer perk of being in education because yes, I get a break from getting up so early. No, I don't have to be at work at a certain time each day. True, I have options to sleep in later, go shopping during the actual daytime, curl up with a good book, or head to the late-night movies. Yep, there's more freedom to do these things without worrying about how it will impact me the next day when I have class after class to teach.


But, the list of things that I need to get done before that official "Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year" that will happen at the beginning of August kinda looks like this:

Not only are the things on that to-do list that I need to-do, there's also all of the other things that are out there that I want to do.

For instance, keeping my blog updated, editing photos and finishing up memory books, catching up on FaceBook, working on my GoodReads challenge, blog stalking and finding so many great ideas that I'll never actually have the time to do in my life because there are just too many creative people out there to keep up with and I don't have half the talent they do and I don't have the energy and I certainly don't have the time and:


I know, that was a really long run-on sentence. All I can say is, blame it on TACO time!


Right now this case of TACO time is picking up momentum in my life and of course, I have made it worse with BIC Syndrome (which I still haven't found the cure for and I'm not going to try hypnosis since I'd probably end up clucking like a chicken!).


So, if anyone has any ideas on how to lessen the Totally And Completely Overwhelmed syndrome in my life right now, I am available to be your project where you can lead me in the right direction because I would really like to go from this:





to this:
Okay, not really. This cheerful gal who obviously enjoys cooking is a little TOO much for me!



But how about this...

You could call me The Meditating Master of All My Moments (or you could still just call me K!).


(All images found through Yahoo Images)

It's our sweet 16th!

16th year of marriage, that is!

How is it possible that we are celebrating 16 years of marriage when we are still just kids?

Okay, I know I'm not really a kid anymore (and my good friend who is my hair stylist knows I'm not a kid anymore, either because she has to work really hard to cover up my "natural" highlights!), but I still feel like a kid!

So, if I still feel like a kid (or at least a young adult), how in the heck can I be celebrating 16 years of marriage to this awesome guy:





I guess time flies when you spend your life with a guy who:

• makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world - every.single.day.




• always listens to you
  
  


• NEVER offers unsolicited solutions to your problems (well, most of the time!)
  
  


• loves you in spite of any quirks you might have (not that I have any!)
  
  


• encourages you to pursue your goals
  
  


• supports you every step of the way as you work toward achieving those goals
  
  


• recognizes the good in you (even when you don't see it yourself)




• cheers and cries right alongside you in good times and bad




• defends you when you need to be defended (even when you are your own worst critic)




• accepts your obsession with candles and books and fun papers and books and candles with only a slight roll of the eyes (did I mention a slight obsession with books?)




• thinks you are the best teacher to walk the halls of the school




• has helped you pack and move and pack and move your collection of classroom materials, teaching resources and um, just a few books, when you have had opportunities to change positions or schools




• takes you to amazing places like Niagara Falls, the coast of Oregon, Boston, and more




• drives many miles out of the way to take you to a small coastal restaurant so you can enjoy the incredible Dungeness Crab sandwiches you were introduced to during a previous road trip with your great-aunt and great-uncle




• knows that Girls Night is important to your emotional well-being and encourages you to organize and participate in these events with your friends




• watches Chic Flicks with you without flinching (even though Gone With the Wind, your all-time favorite movie, is one he hasn't experienced yet)




• knows how important your family is to you and willingly spends time with them




• understands that you and your sister "share a brain" and embraces the fact that the two of you are inseperable a lot of the time




• is an AWESOME uncle
  
  


• shares the same values and the same beliefs as you




• strengthens your faith and testimony in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ by being a powerful example of righteousness




• prays with you every single night and every single morning
  



• tells you how much he loves you every.single.day.
  




• makes you laugh (proof is in the picture....)
  

No wonder time has flown by so quickly in our marriage!

Thank you, B, for 16 sweet (and often times, sassy!) years of marriage.

We really were "kids" when we said "I Do" and in the 16 years we have already shared since that day (not to mention the 3 years we dated before we made it official), we have had some incredible moments!

I am so grateful that even as we have faced some truly hard trials, you make "our song" come to life for me. And so, I will "cross my heart and promise to give all I've got to give to make all YOUR dreams come true" as we continue in our journey together.

I thank Heavenly Father every single day for the blessing of our marriage and for our amazing relationship, and I look forward to an eternity filled with creating more great moments and memories together as B&K!

I love you.
K

I have issues!

... Blogger issues! Thus, the lack of posts.

I am trying to figure out why all of a sudden my posts are sometimes formatted the way I want them to be, and sometimes they are not and everything looks like one big run-on paragraph (highly annoying to this former 6th-grade Language Arts teacher).

So, if anyone knows what the french toast is going on here and how it might be fixed, help this girl out, 'cuz the lack of formatting is making me K-razy (and that's not the kind of K I like to be!).