Texas A&M

Frequently, my students ask me "Why do you go for A&M?" They say it in exactly those words every time. What the are asking me, is why do I follow and support and hope for a team that constantly loses. Why do I choose them when I could easily follow the Longhorns who in the recent years have proved to be better and more consistent and who win. They ask a very good question.

I think I am writing this post to remind myself and my football loving husband why we continue to love them after they continue to break our hearts.

What my students don't understand is loyalty to a university. It's not like I woke up one morning and said, "What college football team should I choose?" My loyalty and love for the Aggies happened over years.

My loyalty to the aggie football team is not at all about the 11 players on the field or even about Sherman. (clearly) My loyalty is about what A&M has done for me. It's about the 4 years I spent there as a student. I'ts about my years on the big event committe. It's about that lady who Big event helped, Virginia, and how much A&M touched her life, and how in turn, she touched mine. It's about my years a Fish Camp counselor. It's amount all the hours I poured into decos. It's about the hours I spent painting banners and creating themes. It's about my freshman who to this day, I still remember. It's about all the hours studying in the library. It's about my 2 years at the 102. It's about my grad degree. It's about what I learned while I was there. And its about tradition. It's about taking our hats off in the MSC and not walking on the grass. It's about gigem and whoop. It's about the war hymn and swaying.

For me, that's what my loyalty to the Aggie Football team is about. We will loose a lot and hopefully win some and hopefully the football program will take a turn for the better at some point. But I still support and am still an Aggie because of everything else that A&M stands for and means to me.

School days, school days.

This morning my alarm went off at 4:40. i know, sounds crazy, but lets be serious, it was the first day of school. Ever since I can remember, i've never been able to sleep well the night before the first day of school. I'm always so excited about new planners, pencils, power points ...and the list could go on.

This morning as I was getting up, Brad played "School days." And it sounded very good over our surround sound, I might say :) Brads mom used to play it for them on the first day of school and he has passed on the tradition. You may or may not know it "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. " And he left a note next to my coffee cup for the morning. Very very sweet.

So I went to work and got to work early, just in enough time to pick up my beautiful decoration that had fallen to the ground. It was very sad. So moral of the story - a hot glue gun did not solve all my concrete problems. But I fixed it and prepared for my class and was outside at 7 waiting for my kiddos. I actually think it might be back on the floor tomorrow morning. hahha Today went well and my new kiddos did well, but i think my favorite part of the first day is getting visits and hugs from old students. They just get so excited to see me and it encourages me.

Aside from the decoration that fell and had to be re stuck in record time, i think my room is the cutest its ever been . I actually got lots of compliments on it today. But then again, in high school, it's not hard to do considering high school teachers don't decorate as much as other grades. But I heart my room this year. oh and it has a couch. Thank you, Terri, for your bachelorette couch. It found another home. and my kids think its cool. First day was a success.

and first day of school happy hour with Cynthia was a success too. :)

now i'm exausted and my feet are tired. I will prop myself on my couch - just me, my bradley and a little DDD (Drop dead diva).

Here's to my 5th year of teaching.

Where did the time go?

Go Panthers!

Don't dance on ladders and other things I learned from buying my first home

This is a true account of random things I learned as a first time home owner.....

1. Don't bother reading the million papers you sign at closing. None of the contracts can be changed anyway. They will remain as is no matter what. Trust me, my husbands a lawyer.
2. Oil based paints stick on pine floors Wipe up immediately.
3. Water based paints come off all the time. Score!
4. Old houses are just that- old. They have charm and are beautiful, but are still old. Prepare mentally. Don't freak out when you find a new crack in the wall. The house is 80 something years old. Stuff happens.
5. Spackle works. There's something I never thought I would say. 3 weeks ago I didn't even know what spackle was and now I use it. Regularly. Big crack in the wall? No big deal. I got spackle.
6. Blue tape doesn't always work - just prepare for touch ups and move on. And when there is furniture, who will even realize the ceiling line isn't straight?
7. Buying a house does domesticize apartment dwellers. I learned about spackling and brad installed crown molding. Who knew that would happen?
8. Kids under 4 will think that the most exciting thing about your house are the closets. I mean who can blame them? What's more fun than an empty closet with accordion doors. [Shout out to Chloe and Hannah Trombley]
9. Queso and margaritas make everything better - maybe that's just me, but when I was stressed, it worked everytime.
10. Painting takes a lot of time. More than I ever thought possible. Don't expect me to change the wall paint. I'm not painting again. Ever.
11. Granite is invincible.
12. Marble, however is not.
13. When home depot says they will be at your house at 11 in the morning, they don't mean it. Just nod and smile.
14. Most workers speak Spanish. Brush Up on your words. Better yet, learn new ones because really who ever uses words like Beams and platforms anyway?
15. There is a learning curve for every new thing. And as a teacher, I should have known that. The first room I painted was hard and I almost gave up. The rest of the house turned out much better. And got alot easier.
16. Don't be afraid to ask for help. People want to help. We could have never done this with our friends and family. I feel like I'm accepting a Grammy.
17. Packing sucks - if you have the $, just pay for someone to do it.
18. When packing, do not read every letter your husband gave you or look through every scrapbook. It will delay packing. By alot.
19. Unpacking is just as bad as packing. My philosophy is just get it done. So don't open closets when you come to our house. It's not as organized as you would expect. But hey, at least my walls look great!
20. Oh and....Don't dance on ladders - just because brittany spears comes on, don't dance while on a ladder. Ever. need I say more?

To SEC or not to SEC? That is the question.

Although most of my blog readers are girls, I felt the need to put my thoughts out there about the inevitable deterioration of the Big 12. Along with the closing of our house, the conference realignment has taken over the household.

I am making the official statement that I want us to go to the SEC. Is it possible that they won't offer it to us? Of course. Is it possible that we end up in the Pac 10 with all the Texas followers? Yes. But I think that's its in our best interest to go to the SEC.

The women's basketball coach at Baylor said "This is a classic example of greed and the almighty dollar....shame on the people at the top." Do I need to remind you that it was her basketball player that punched another girl in the face during a game?

But she is right that it has something to do with money. I just don't see why that's a bad thing. Money is an issue. Of course we want more revenue and more tv time. But we didn't start this. CO and Nebraska and even Missouri were the first to talk about leaving. And besides, Baylor wouldn't even be in the Big 12 if it wasn't for Ann Richards. And if we go to the SEC, maybe the PAC 10 will take Baylor. Baylor's Baptist affiliation won't be great for the PAC schools, but maybe they would take them.

I am convinced that we fit in with the SEC. I'm not sure why Texas thinks the PAC 10 is the best place for them. Probably they just want to be the best and if they go to the SEC they wouldn't be the best. We all saw the National Championship game. At least the PAC 10 would be an easy road to the top for them. USC is falling apart, so they're not a threat and aren't even allowed a bowl game for 2 years or something like that. A guaranteed BCS bid for Texas. So if their goal is to be at the top, then they are going to the right direction for them.

But as far as tradition [insert Fiddler on the Roof music] goes, A&M fits hand in hand with SEC schools. We have the same tradition, loyalty, and passion for our universities as LSU, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, etc. Sure, its a tough conference and we might lose lots of games. But lets be honest, we are already losing a lot of games. And we have to think about what's best for us for the future. Our football program will improve. Besides, people would rather come watch A&M play LSU over Oregon. I don't even think I can name a city in Oregon.

So to SEC or not to SEC? I think we should! In the words of Stallings "A&M is now big enough to stand on their own." We don't have to ride the Texas coat tails forever.

NEWSFLASH!!!!

The Snead household has BIG BREAKING NEWS!!!!

No, we are not pregnant. As if! And no, this is not about the deterioration of the Big 12, although that is big news too. We are watching ESPN as I write.

But... we are first time home owners! We closed today. Ahh!! I feel so grown up. We are the newest homeowners of the most beautiful little home in the Heights. I LOVE our house and I cannot wait to move in!

Look at our beautiful little house.....


I will have to tell you the whole story of how we found our sweet home, Omar. But until then, I wanted to share the good news.

Can't wait for lights in the heights!

The Bittersweet End

[Insert "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve]

Bittersweet is such a weird word, and yes, I said weird. How can something be bitter and sweet? but it can and it seems such the perfect word for now.

Another school year done. The beauty is that each year comes to an end. The sorrow is that each year comes to an end. I have been waiting for today for so long. I've been waiting to turn in my keys, lock my door and not teach for 3 months. I have taken everything off my walls as instructed. Locked up my belongings, closed the file cabinets, and it's done. But as I sit in my empty room, no pencils on the floor, no books out, no shouting kids, no Smartboard...my room actually seems quiet and sad. When the kids were yelling and not working, I wanted them gone and now they're gone a part of me wants them back. Now that's bittersweet.

But all is said and done, year 4 is over and now to summer, which is the biggest perk of being a teacher, well that and changing kids lives. :) Next year will be new with new students and every year brings its own joys and pains.

I will miss all my students, but not necessarily everything about them. ;) I decided to list a few of my sweet moments and to leave the bitter ones for later. :)

I will miss Amanda who is a senior headed for Texas State. She is the first student in my 3 years of teaching high school that is going away to a 4 year college, and I am very proud of her.

I will miss Gladys who is always eager to help and always makes 100's. Just last week she told me that she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, but that all that really mattered was that she grew closer to God. Coming from a 15 year old, that was pretty encouaraging.

I will miss Olivia, Leslie and Chelsea who thought it was funny if they told people I was pregnant and having a girl. They even made baby shower invitations and posted them around my room. That was cool.

I will miss my Class of 2012 officers that would have 10 minute meetings and then spend the next hour talking about boys and colleges and asking my opinions. I love those times.

I will miss Jamie, who I had as a freshman and a junior. I feel like I saw him grow up. As a freshman he was quite the trouble maker, but as a junior he was a star student. He even wrote a letter about how I impacted his life. It brought tears to my eyes.

So here's to this school year! I hope the best for my kids and am I excited about whats to come!

Lauren and Brad's Lovely Life

Today I was at a district foreign language leadership meeting. It was our last meeting of the year, which means summer is upon the horizon. :) At the end of the meeting people shared some celebrations they had this year. Some teachers were excited about passing rates, some were excited about 36 days until summer, one girl shared about her 1st half marathon. Then Connie (head of languages for Cy Fair) shared that a teacher had just gotten married this past month, so we all said how excited we were, just as they had done 8 months ago when I got back to work from my honeymoon. All I could think was, 8 months. How has it been 8 months? I know what you're thinking...."8 months is short, I've been married some odd years," but to me it still feels like month one....total bliss.

Last week I had sushi (yummm) with one of my long time friends, Rachel. Her and I hadn't gotten together since before the wedding and she asked "what has the biggest adjustment been?" That is always one of the hardest questions to answer, because marriage was one of the smoothest life changing events ever. Going to college was an adjustment, going to Spain was an adjustment, coming back to Houston was an adjustment, and working..well, needless to say that was quite the learning curve. But getting married has been so smooth. I know there will be hard times and I know it won't always be this easy, but I feel confident we'll always love each other. And yes, I get mad when he puts his workout bag on the kitchen table and he gets mad when I leave my clothes on the floor, but those are so minor in the grand scheme of our marriage.

It's all the little things that make my marriage so fun. It's the cuddles on the couch watching American Idol, learning how to cook new things (well, for me, just learning how to cook), going to memorial park together, eating outside on a beautiful day, and road tripping all around Texas all the time.

so with all that said....

Happy 8 months to us!! And yes, I've been teased about the monthaversaries. Some people think monthaversary isn't a term, but if you know me at all, I love celebrations and marriages are worth celebrating. Sometimes I go overboard with all the celebrations, but there are too many good things in this life to just let them go unoticed. So I notice. :)

And besides, if boottylicious can be a word, so can monthaversary. Take that Beyonce!

To my Brad, I love you and happy 8 monthaversary. :)

7 months of amazingness.

My top 7 month 7 moments:
(in chronological order)

1) 2010 Construction Law Conference at the Westin La Cantera. Brad went to seminars and I went shopping. Gosh, I love construction law. We ate at Ounce in San Antonio. Very romantic :)
2) ASCD Conference in San Antonio. This time I went to seminars and Brad played. And we had fun times with our faves: The Trombleys.
3) Double date night with Matt and Mary at Paloma Blanca.
4) Drinking green beer at Woodrows, while celebrating St. Patty's Day.
5) sleeping in with Brad during Spring Break. Gosh, I love being a teacher.
6) Memorial Park dates with my Brad on beautiful afternoons.
7) Fredricksburg with my parents and staying in our first bed and breakfast ever, which was awesome, I might add.

In the words of Kelly "My life would suck without you." :)

The Lost Art of a Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Growing up, my dad made my lunch. Everyday I wanted a lunch, I had a homemade sandwich and snacks. I mean, I could buy lunch if I wanted, but why would I when I had the best sandwich ever? I know we already knew my parents were amazing, but what I didn't realize was what that sandwich represented.

Fast forward to today. I administered the TAKS test. I administered the 11th grade ELA test and the test takes all day. As a result, kids can't take a lunch break, so we bring in lunches for kids who want the school lunch. They eat at their testing desk. Kids can bring their own lunch and kids are even allowed, and encouarged, to bring snacks to eat throughout the day to help with their energy during the long day.

Today during lunch I saw something that I have never seen in all my years of teaching. I saw a student bring a homeade sandwhich. I didn't realize how rare it was until today. In a class of about 25 students, one student brought a homemade sandwich. It was in a container and he had a banana and some other snacks. You could tell someone cared if he ate well. One other student in the class had a sandwhich from Subway and almost everyone else took a school lunch and ate it with their bags and bags of junk food. On a daily basis I see kids eat and its pretty much school junk food: cheese fries, slushies, hamburgers, etc.

Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Not only is there a deeper issue of a lack of good eating habits, but I think something is very wrong with the lack of homemade sandwiches.

For me, my daily sandwich represented consistency, security, and loving parents. And today, I knew that someone cared about this kid. Someone cared enough to send him to school with a healthy lunch. Someone cared how he performed on today's test. Someone loved him and I saw it. I saw it all in the sandwich.

So my question is, where have all the ham and cheese sandwiches gone?

The Ghost of Valentines Past

Brad and I just celebrated our 4th Valentines together. Yes, 4. How could that much time have passed so quickly? We decided not to celebrate Valentines together since it was so close to our 6th monthaversary, but he surprised me and we celebrated! Yay! (Good move, Brad). And as I was thinking about Valentines, I reminisced about all our past Valentines. They were all so special.

I'm starting with Valentines 2007. Brad and I had just started dating, and really, no Valentines before 2007 really matters anyway. :)

In 2007, we went to Backstreet Cafe on Shephard. We were the youngest people there and it was very nice. We had a multi course meal and had a blast! If you've never been there, you should go and try it out. And then after dinner, we took pics of ourselves. Classic.

Valentines 2008, may be my favorite Valentines yet. I'm sure you remember the infamous Valentines Ditch Day. Brad and I took off Valentines from work and spent the day doing our favorite things: We ate breakfast at Le Peep, hung our at Herman Park, went to the Museum of Fine Arts, ate Chick fi la for dinner, and then went to the movies. It was awesome!!! I think everyone should have at least one Valentines ditch days in their lives. It's just happy!

Valentines 2009 was special. Our only Valentines as an engaged couple. We went to brunch, I got my Iphone and then dinner with my parents! I even wore my Valentines tshirt. :) How cute! As I'm sure you can tell, Brad puts together beautiful flowers!!

Valentines 2010! We went to Ousie's Table, which is sooo nice! Brad had called ahead and had them put roses on our table. They are still sitting on our kitchen table and are beautiful! I had scallops with risotto and if you don't know me well, I LOVE scallops! And if you don't know me well, stop reading my blog, thats just creepy. Anyway, we had a delicious meal and an awesome dessert...chocolate rasberry creme brulle. Mmmmm. It was a lot of fun!

Hope you too have had some wonderful Valentine's with your loved ones.

My favorite baby boys

One of the great things about dating Brad was getting to know his friends. Meghann and Marcus Sauer have been such a joy to know and we ALWAYS have a great time when we're together. And they have the cutest little boys! This past Sunday we met Titus James for the first time and had to take a billion pictures of this handsome little boy. I know you'll enjoy the Sauers as much as we do :)

Brad and Baby Titus James. He's a natural. And how cute is Titus James?

Titus James and I.

The whole family! They are such wonderful people and I am incredibly blessed to know them.

Teaching

When you are in college, training to be a teacher that changes the world, there is just so much they don't tell you. It's probably a good thing they don't tell you, because we might not have become teachers. I am technically a teacher, but on a daily basis I'm a number of other things that no one ever prepared me for.


This week I was a....


1) Custodian - Sweet student A thought it funny if he through student B's ring in the trash. Awesome. I dug in the trash and then made Student A put it all back.


2) Security guard- Crowd control is my life. You have no idea what crazy is until you have seen one of the largest high schools in the country switch classes. 4,000 kids walking across the school in 5 minutes. It's quite the sight.


3) Counselor - Sometimes, I learn more than I ever want to know, I can't even begin to share all the things kids say.


4) Doctor - "my head/stomach/piercing/feet/etc hurts." They come to class after eating cinnoman rolls and chocolate milk for breakfast followed by chile cheese fries for lunch and then skittles for their afternoon snack. And then they say they have no idea why they feel sick.

5) Teacher - And some how at the end of the day, I will come back and do it all again, and most of the time I like it. Weird, I know.

Month 5

Happy 5 months to Brad and I!

In honor of our 5 month-aversary, I'd like to list some of my favorite month 5 moments.

- Dancing in the bathroom, while getting ready to go out for my 26th birthday.

- Laying out by the adult only pool in the Bahamas drinking Mud Slides and eating really good pizza.

- Seeing Jason Castro at our hotel in the Bahamas.

- Bringing in the New Years in the Bahamas with champagne and a billion fireworks displays.

- Drinking green margaritas in Shreveport.

- Being ridiculously cold at the Independence Bowl.

- Hours and hours and hours of traveling together over Christmas break.

- Hours and hours of listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas CD while traveling. "Baby, all I want for Christmas is youuuuu"

- Having a Christmas tree in our apartment.

- Getting Brad's old Christmas ornaments and putting it up on our little tree, especially the one of Barney: the younger years.

- Getting my Nikon D-40 and taking pictures everywhere we go.

- Learning about a lychee.

- Being in love.

I love you, Brad. :)

I'm Bringing Conjugations Back

I have posted the following video for you to see. My reasons are 3 fold: 1) I don't feel like doing work 2) I haven't posted in a while 3) Who doesn't like a good rendition of Justin Timberlake's "I'm bringing sexy back?"

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=25683&title=ConjugationsBack

Love it. I know you will too and besides, what better time than the present to review conjugations? We could all use a little grammar in our lives.