I love ice!

This morning at 5:45 I was in my bed singing a little diddy that went like this, "No school to-day, no school to-day!" I had just gotten a call from my team leader and was oh, so excited. All last night, Mark and I kept watching the weather. Let's face it, we were super excited about the prospect of having a lazy day off. Here is my to do list for the day:

1. sleep in late (check!)
2. make blueberry muffins (check!)
3. finish sewing some rice packs (I heat these in the microwave for aches and pains)
4. read my current novel
5. watch Lord of the Rings The Two Towers (we watched the first one when we got out of school early yesterday)
6. maybe take a nap
7. do a few lesson plans (ugh!)
8. go to bible study tonight (if the weather permits)

If you are at home reading this because you too have the day off due to the ice - congrats my friend! If you are reading this at work, my sympathy goes out to you.

Thank you, Sarah!

On Thursday night, my friend Sarah had me over to hang out. Her husband, Russell, was coaching his basketball team in a tournament, so I got to spend time with Sarah and Riley. She made chicken quesadillas, which were fabulous! Then she showed me how to update my blog. For the background, I used the site www.thecutestblogontheblock.com and for the header I used www.scrapblog.com. They were both free sites and pretty user friendly. I have always been jealous of my friends, like Sarah, who update their blog seasonally. Now I can, too! After we put Riley to bed, we broke out the Nintendo Wii and played Mario Kart. It was a lot of fun and I didn't do to bad! I drove to 5 different stores today (Sunday) looking for the game, but it was always sold out. I guess Sarah will just have to have me over again to play! Sarah - Thanks for dinner, blog instruction, and an all-around wonderful evening with a great friend!

Today in history . . .

Today marks the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. This was my second chance to be able to go through the election process with 4th graders - the first being Bush's second election. It is a very interesting experience to hear 9 and 10-year-olds thoughts and views on politics. They asked some questions like: What will happen to President Bush now? Will Obama's daughters go to school? and Where does the vice president live? I hung up a poster of all the presidents and I couldn't believe how many of them looked at it and asked, "Are these two Bushes related?" We watched the swaring in ceremony and President Obama's speech. Before the oaths of office there was a prayer. I was very touched when, without my prompting, at least half the class closed their eyes and folded their hands for the entire prayer - and it was not a short one. In moments like that I feel hope for our future. I kept reiterating to the students that this was a very important moment in history that they would some day want to remember. I pray for President Obama and the decisions of our country's leaders. God Bless America!

I've been tagged by Alli

Q. five names you go by:
Hattie
Mrs. Fowler
Sweets (by my mom)
Mommy (by Mark speaking for our cat Oreo)
Friend (by my coworker Katie)

Q. three things you are wearing right now:
my favorite jeans
my watch
my houseshoes

Q. two things you want very badly at the moment:
to not go to work tomorrow
summer vacation

Q. two things you did last night:
watching Disturbia with Mark
ate sandwiches at a church fellowship

Q. two things you ate today:
gelato from Paciugo (for the first time)
tortilla soup

Q. two people you last talked to on the phone:
Sharon
my mom

Q. two things you are going to do tomorrow:
go to work
watch The Biggest Loser on TV

Q. two longest car rides:
trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena at the end of 2004 with Mark (go little Pontiac Sunfire!)
trip Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and several other random places with my family the summer before 3rd grade

Q. two of your favorite beverages:
Diet Coke
margaritas

Q. the people you’d like to tag for their very own:
my sister
Miranda
Hollie

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what I call football!

Texas 24, Ohio St. 21

Hook 'em Horns!

What an incredible game to watch! It was the roller coaster, wait until the last second, nail bitter that makes football so great.

To my Longhorn football team: Great year, boys! You make me proud! See you next fall!

Christmas in Plano

After we returned on the Saturday after Christmas, it was time to head over to Mark's parents' house. Mark's brother Clay, his wife, Emily, and their two children, Anna and Ben, were in town from Memphis. We were able to spend Saturday through Thursday with them. We feel very blessed that they are willing and able to take time off to come to Texas to be with us. We wanted to have a "Christmas morning" with them, so we had out Fowler Christmas on Monday, Dec. 29. We spent a lot of time playing Wii sports games. I stomped Mark in Wii golf, which is a rare and unusual occurrence. Emily was also given Wii Fit. So, we all took turns playing that. It really is a lot of fun and does work the muscles. I liked the ski jump the best and did it many times. I could feel it in my calves the next day. On Tuesday night the whole fam came over to our casa and we watched Wall-E on blu-ray on our new widescreen T.V. The T.V. and playstation 3 (blu-ray player) were our gift to each other. If you have not seen that movie, I highly recommend it. It is very endearing! We were very happy to be able to spend time with Mark's family. Thanks for the memories! We love you all!

Clay, Ben, and Mark playing Guitar Hero World Tour

At Grandpa Patterson and Lucille's house

Anna playing the violin

Present time!

We like to remind the kids that their dad's side of the family is from Texas!

Christmas in Buda

This year we spent Christmas in Buda with my family. We alternate each year which family we are with on Christmas Day. However, thus far, we have been very blessed to be able to see both families during the Christmas holidays. We headed down to Buda with my brother, Jeremy, on Tuesday, Dec. 23. That evening, the whole family loaded up and went to the Trail of Lights. The Trail of Lights is a lights display in a downtown park in Austin called Zilker Park. It is a trail about 1 mile long of light displays. I have been going to it since I was in junior high. Mark and I went one or two times while we lived in Austin, however, I haven't been there since we moved to the Dallas area. It was so wonderful to be able to share this tradition with the next generation - my nieces and nephews. At the end of the trail, there is a giant Christmas tree made of lights. The tradition is to stand under it, lock hands with a friend, look up, and spin in circles. Mark and my sister both shared in the fun with me. Then I spent time twirling Aaris (my niece) around. Over the next few days we enjoyed beautiful weather. It wasn't Christmas-type weather, and it kept it too warm to have a fire in the fireplace, but it did allow us to spend some time outside. Each afternoon we would play in the backyard. My parents have a game called ladder golf. It is essentially pvc pipe made into a 3-run ladder. You have golf balls strung onto string and you try to wrap it around the ladders. It has the same concept as horseshoes. I have never been very good at sports, but this one I excelled at! I beat everyone except my dad :) On Christmas morning we had a huge breakfast made by the men in the family (which is a family tradition) and then spent about 3 hours opening presents. It usually takes us this long because we open each present one-by-one, one person at a time. I got my kitchenaid mixer, which I have been wanting for years! I never had the counter space for it until we moved into our house. Thanks mom and dad! Well, I guess that about wraps it up. On Saturday, we headed back to Plano. We had a wonderful and and memorable time with my family, and we are so thankful for the many blessing we have.