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.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
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!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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. :)
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. :)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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." :)
(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." :)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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?
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?
Friday, February 12, 2010
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.
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.
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 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.
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