Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the fall season. Watson and I are having fun tonight giving out candy at home and watching my favorite, the seasonal classic, Hocus Pocus! I recently wrote a fictionalized account of our last Halloween when our lawn decor became more "trick" than "treat"! It was originally written in second person for the assignment and I've edited it for tonight. I hope you enjoy!

Trick or Treat!

I had just moved to town and was gearing up for our first Halloween in our new house. The neighbors had told us to expect lots of trick-or-treaters, that this was one of the most popular streets in town. We bought ten bags of candy just to make sure there was enough for all of the cute princesses, superheroes, and ghosts that were sure to stop by. No one was going without candy on our watch! I had made sure everything was perfect. The candy, our costumes, the decorations. Everything was just how we planned it.

            Except for the spooky eyes in the bushes. They looked so great on Pinterest. And so easy too! Just some cardboard toilet paper rolls with creepy eye shapes cut out and a glow stick shoved inside. How hard could that be? Well, first my scissors were terribly dull and just ripped the cardboard instead of cutting it. Once I dug through the boxes to find better scissors, I kept up my Susy Homemaker crafting and had five “spooky eye” toilet paper rolls ready to go in just a few minutes. Only, the one bush in the front of our house wasn’t thick enough to really hide the toilet paper rolls. Even in the dimming early evening light, they were clearly visible. Spooky effect ruined.

            No matter. There was still the ten bags of candy, our adorable non-scary costumes, and the blow up Snoopy in the front yard ready to greet our cute candy seekers. Snoopy and Woodstock peeping out of a pumpkin saying “Happy Halloween” was the crown jewel of our fall decorations. I had special ordered it from a Walmart in Indiana when none of the local Walmarts had it in stock. I even paid extra just to have it sent two-day shipping to ensure that it would grace the front lawn in time for Halloween. With everything ready, all that was left to do was wait for that doorbell to ring and to hear those kids trill “Trick or Treat!” in unison.

            The first set of kids stopped by dressed as Elsa from Frozen and a firefighter. How cute! They smiled sweetly when I handed them their Snickers, M&Ms, and Tootsie Pops. Elsa and the firefighter were quickly followed by a succession of kids in various costumes. In about 15 minutes, the candy bowl was empty! I dashed inside the house to refill your bowl in the ever-deepening dark of a late October evening. This was when the trouble began. I was opening the door to step back onto the little porch when I saw it, happening before my eyes. The little gang of trick-or-treaters that was heading for the front door didn’t see Snoopy’s black nylon strings tethering him and Woodstock to the ground. Before I could call out any kind of warning, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle had clotheslined himself on the strings as he ran towards the door. Turtle on the half shell, no turtle power. I dropped the candy bucket to run down and help poor little Donatello up off the ground and make sure his mother didn’t have plans to sue us. I gave him and his whole group extra candy that I had scooped off the sidewalk and tried to figure out a way to avoid this disaster in the future. That’s when it hit me. The extra glow sticks from the failed decoration attempt! I could take some string and tie them onto the Snoopy tethers and the kids could see them.

            I hurriedly set about tying the glow sticks onto Snoopy as warning lights for the innocent children who might encounter him. I left my husband in charge of candy while I saved the day. And this worked, for about 30 minutes. We both ran inside to refill the candy bowl and check on dinner. In our absence, someone had pulled the glow sticks off of Snoopy’s strings as a Halloween prize. Here comes the “trick” part of the evening, we thought. I was about to rig up the last of my glow sticks to again mark Snoopy’s lines when the choir director from church unleashed her three kids on the front lawn. The six-year-old ran excitedly up to me, in search of the candy I had promised her the Sunday before. Six-year-olds don’t forget things like that. I was yelling “No, Sarah! Stop!” but it was too late. Sarah was doing a front flip over Snoopy and the wings on her angel costume only seemed to add more height. Her brother, dressed as Iron Man complete with Styrofoam muscles, tried to avoid his sister’s fate by going around the other side of Snoopy towards your front door. He managed to get caught in two of the strings and was briefly suspended in mid-air like a live action stunt before falling down and almost bringing Snoopy to the ground with him. At this point, I had had enough. After consoling the two crying kids, I unplugged Snoopy and Woodstock, letting them deflate to the ground in shame. I carried the candy bucket inside, turned off the porch lights, and locked the front door. I happily sank down onto the couch with a freshly unwrapped mini Snickers to drown my sorrows. This was how I had ruined Halloween. Oh, well. There’s always next year!

Rebranding - Things I'm Loving Right Now

Friends, as I sit here on this rainy Wednesday evening, desperately trying to stay awake to watch Chicago PD and to maybe actually accomplish somethings, I've started thinking about the things that I've been "loving" lately. It is the beginning of May which means that we are on the downhill slide to the end of school and a much anticipated summer break. I, along with almost every other teacher I know, am trying to eek out these last few weeks of school and finish on a good note. I'm down to 12 days at my school, but who's counting? ;)

Anyway, even though this is an exciting time as we begin to wind things down for the school year, it is also a stressful time. Grades are due, last minute projects, state testing, banquets and awards programs, playoffs for spring sports, and the list could go on. So, I've decided to focus on the things that make me happy. The things I'm looking forward to. The things I'm loving. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are a few of the things that are brightening my days right now. Hopefully they can help improve your day too!

1. LuLaRoe: Y'all, I was initially a skeptic and slow to jump on the LuLaRoe bandwagon. The clothes looked cute but some of the patterns looked really out there and I was hesitant to buy online when I couldn't try on and wasn't sure of sizing and fit. Then a friend pointed me to a wonderful LuLaRoe consultant who was so helpful and happy to answer all of my questions. She has since become a friend and I am a full fledged LuLa addict! Anything that keeps me comfy at school like their leggings, shirts, and dresses do is a winner in my book. Not to mention that I have come to embrace some of those funky patterns and love spicing my days up with them!

2. May Designs Notebooks: I already own two May Designs notebooks, a writing book and a planner, but when I saw the ad for their Teacher Appreciation sale in my inbox I knew I had to add one more! You can get 25% off a teacher planner until tomorrow (May 4). Their cute designs and very functional layouts have totally won me over! Now, I've got my planner for next year on the way and I'll be ready to go for my summer planning! I mean, you gotta have a notebook so why not make it cute?

3. French Riviera and Rose` Champagne from Bath & Body Works: A few weeks ago I popped into Bath & Body Works to get some more hand soap and use a coupon I had before it expired. Spoiler alert, I left with more than just hand soap! While I was there, I discovered the new Paris line of fragrances, body wash, lotions, etc. I fell in love with these two scents! French Riviera smells clean in a really classic way while the Rose` Champagne has rich, fruity undertones to it. It's been nice to alternate between these two and I would highly recommend checking them out.

4. Home Town: Last night I finally got to see an episode of this great renovation show on HGTV. Ben and Erin Napier are helping to revitalize their hometown of Laurel one older home at a time. The show featured a wonderful old home needing a little TLC and this fun couple who clearly love what they do and helping old neighborhoods thrive. I loved Erin's interior design work. So many cute, vintage touches! I can't wait to catch up on the other episodes from this season.

5. Puppies: Watson and I are hoping to add a four legged friend to our family within the next few weeks and I'll share more on that soon. But planning for our new dog has definitely brightened my days and given me something to look forward to.

6. Baking: As always, I can fall back on my favorite stress relief when I need it. With summer tantalizingly close I decided to try some new lemon recipes. I made a lemon pound cake last week and it turned out a little on the chewy side! Haha! Definitely not the familiar pound cake texture. I'm regrouping with a new recipe and planning on trying out some lemon cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. Here's hoping those turn out as good as I'm imaging them to be!

I hope that you can find something fun to try on this list and would love to hear from you what you're into these days!

Rebranding - The Strongest Lady I Know

Last night, about midnight, my sweet grandmother, Mae Geneva Butler, slipped peacefully from this world. I know she is now at home with her Savior and is reunited with my grandfather, her parents, and all of the family that have gone before her. This is one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. I love that lady so much. And she was truly, in the best definition of the word, a lady.

My grandmother was also one of the strongest women I have known. I say "one of" because I happen to have been blessed with several strong women in my life to guide me. But she definitely stands at the head of the group. Mamaw had been through many things in her life. As a seven year old, she survived a tornado that hit the small community of Cascilla, Mississippi and that took the life of her mother, one of her brothers, and her sister. As a little girl, my grandmother was taken by ambulance to Memphis with no idea of where the rest of her family was. This was at the end of the Great Depression and my great-grandfather didn't have a tractor, let alone an automobile to get him to Memphis to see his children who had each been sent to different hospitals. The ambulance driver who picked up my grandmother was dating a nurse at the hospital and the two of them looked after my grandmother and even gave her a birthday party when she turned eight during her time in the hospital. Once she was able to go home, Mamaw took on the role of "mother" for her brothers until my great-grandfather remarried.

Mamaw never went to school past high school but I think that if she had, she would have been a teacher like me. When she would stay with us once I was teaching, she would ask me every afternoon how my day was and if I had had to paddle anyone! She loved reading and always encouraged me to read. I think the first time I read Guideposts magazine was at her house and I've come to love the encouraging stories of faith just as much as she did.

Mamaw was a caretaker too. She raised three children and loved on five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. One of the stories that Mamaw would tell about me was how when I was about a year and a half old, I burned my feet on the furnace at my aunt and uncle's house on Christmas morning. Mamaw would talk about how I would sit so still on the side of the sink and let her and my mom dress my feet and how I never cried. I can remember so many times, while I was growing up, of my cousin, Lauren, and I staying with Mamaw on a Saturday afternoon and eating chicken noodle soup with Cheetos or tuna sandwiches. We would always watch classic tv shows. She was pretty partial to the Walton's or Little House on the Prairie. 

I have so many other memories that have been swirling through my mind since I drove away from the hospital in Tupelo on Tuesday night. I pretty much knew that I was seeing Mamaw for the last time this side of Heaven. I remembered how we all wanted to sit next to her during church because she would give us pieces of gum, always Trident or Dentyne. I thought about how when she would come get me to spend a week with her during the summer on the drive home she would turn the radio off and we would sing hymns the rest of the way. She loved plants, trees, and flowers of all kinds and usually knew the name of any plant we came across. I made sure to tell her about the pretty wisteria and redbud trees the last time I talked to her. And I told her I love her. And I know she knew just how much I truly meant it and how much she has influenced my life.

Rebranding - Caution: Items In Mirror Are "Faker" Than They Appear

I have had this post swirling around in my head for a little bit, just trying to figure out how to put down "on paper" what I've been thinking about this subject. I've had conversations with several friends about this and have seen other friends post similar things. So here it goes...

There are lots of different "mirrors" that we use to view ourselves through. The particular "mirror" the title refers to is social media. It has been weighing on my heart and mind lately how things are portrayed on social media. Sites and apps such as Facebook and Instagram can be great and definitely have a place in today's world. I, honestly, probably spend more time on both than I should and like using both of them to keep up with what's going on with friends and family both near and far. I love your posts and pics of your babies, your pets, your dinners, and the like. I truly do! And I'm sure if you follow me on either platform you know I like to post the things going on in my life right now, especially the things I cook and bake! Sorry if that gets annoying, but I enjoy those things and like to share them. Ha ha!

The struggle that I sometimes face, and I feel others face too, is I forget that most of what is posted on social media is filtered. It's edited. It's fixed to only show the good parts that people want shown. I'm just as guilty as the next person. Sure, you'll see that pic of those yummy cookies I just baked but very rarely will I include a pic of the mess that my kitchen became in the process! It's easy to post a picture of us and our significant other that's all roses and sunshine but it would be rather surprising to see one where we talk about the argument we just had over how to load the dishwasher and who hogs the covers. And that's fine, because it is our prerogative to share what we want and how we want.

The "problem" I sometimes have comes in when I forget about that filtering and editing and careful choosing and let the seeds of things like jealousy and comparison take root. No one has the perfect house, perfect spouse, perfect child, etc. no matter how we portray it. And I don't want to let my time online keeping up with my friends and family turn into a depressing time where I start to doubt aspects of my life or feel like I don't have it as "easy" as the other person.

It's at times like those that I have to remind myself that God has a plan for each of us. And it may not include what we want exactly when we want it. And we shouldn't let social media lead us to a place where we are not content with what we have. We all have messes and ugliness and moments that would not make those cute "Top 9 of 2016" posts that a bunch of us posted recently. And that's OK. It's all part of the bigger picture where Jesus meets us in that mess and that ugliness and loves us just how we are, picture perfect life or not.

Rebranding - Friday Funny (Come Again?)

Hello All! It is Friday again. Thank goodness! And since we have all made it to the end of the week in spite of the fact that today was both a full moon (or the end of it) and Friday the 13th, I thought I would celebrate with a "Friday Funny." As a teacher, I have so many stories of things that students have said or done that definitely fall into the "You can't make this stuff up" category. So, here's the first one. I'm hoping to make this a pretty regular thing. And teacher friends, if you have any quirky stories that you would be willing to share please send them on! I will give you credit or keep things anonymous to protect the guilty...err...innocent. ;)

This goes back to three years ago during my very first year teaching. It was towards the end of the day and the bell had just rung to signal a class change. One student was writing on my board on her way out the door and she quickly scribbled "I love you Ms. Pannell - BM." I actually hardly noticed because this was something she did on a pretty regular basis. On this day though, my first student in the door for my 7th period class did notice. We'll call him B. And he made an observation that I never would have thought to make!

As he walked to his seat, B looked at the board to see what the assignment was for the day. I heard him start to chuckle and asked what was so amusing to him. He said "Oh, just those initials. Who wrote that?" I told him and he replied, "Well, I feel sorry for her. I wouldn't want those initials." Not really following where he was going with this, I asked why. And he explained as if it should be as clear as day to me: "BM, Ms. Pannell. Ya know, BM. Like bowel movement!" I got a little tickled over this and just shook my head at him and reminded him to be polite.

By this time a couple of more students had trickled in before the tardy bell. One of those students overheard this conversation and looked very perplexed. Not wanting to miss a chance to repeat his observation, B was all too happy to try to catch his classmate up on the joke! But my second student, Z, still looked confused. Then he said "But those wouldn't be the initials. It's VM." At this point both B and I gave Z a confused look of our own! I tried explaining, "No, dear, those are the correct initials," but Z wasn't having it. He was sure it should be "VM" and even went on to explain that it should be "VM for valve movement."

At this point, I was having trouble keeping my composure because this poor kid was convinced that this particular bodily function was a "valve movement" and not a "bowel movement"! I tried to explain that no, it is most definitely "bowel movement" but that I could see why he could hear someone say the term and mistake it for "valve movement". He continued saying that he was sure it was "valve movement" because it was a "valve" that everything went through. Oh my!

As luck would have it, the Biology teacher walked by my classroom. I was able to flag him down to help explain to Z not only the correct terminology but also the correct physiology! Ha ha! The Biology teacher got Z set straight and gently reminded him that they had covered all of that the year before in Biology I. After the impromptu science lesson we were able to get back to English, which I was much more comfortable with. I guess this was one of my first experiences learning that kids really do say the darndest things and boys of any age love good bathroom humor!

Rebranding - One Word for the New Year

Happy New Year! 2016 has officially ended and 2017 is off to a great start. Well, it's just the first day but let's hope it is a great start. Watson and I spent the first day of this new year going to church, having a nice lunch out, and beginning the process of taking down all of those Christmas decorations that were excitedly put up just a few short weeks ago. The taking down is way less fun than the putting up. It just doesn't have that same excitement or spark. Anyways! 2016 definitely had it's ups and downs and there are some moments I would not want to revisit, but on the whole it was a pretty great year! I got engaged to and married my sweet husband, gained a whole new family through that, got to become an "aunt" again to a precious little girl, started a new job, moved to a new town, and joined a great new church. As you can see, lots of new!

In true New Year's fashion, I have some things I am setting out to achieve this year. A couple of days ago I wrote a post about some podcasts I've been listening to. One of those is "Happier with Gretchen Rubin." Rubin has a couple of books out that I've had on my "to read list" since my sister-in-law mentioned it to me early in December. While I haven't checked out her books yet, I have enjoyed listening to some of the episodes of "Happier" and one from December 11 caught my eye, or my ear in this case. In this short 5 minute "Holiday Hack" Rubin posed the question of "What is your one-word theme for the New Year?" She and her sister offered some suggestions such as novel, travel, rest, etc. Rubin said that her one word theme for this year was going to be re-purpose and went into detail about the whys and hows of her word choice. I'll let you listen to it to get the full picture.

But the episode got me to thinking and I decided that rather than a traditional set of "New Year's Resolutions" which inevitably get thrown by the wayside after about a week, I would choose my own one word theme for the year. So this year, my theme word is going to be "disciplined." I know that sometimes this word can have a negative connotation, but for me it doesn't. I see being "disciplined" as a good thing. To me it means to be focused, diligent, and deliberate in what you do. To have put in the work, time, and effort to accomplish the things you have set out to do. This is an area that, honestly, I need to work on. My mom jokes that I need to go to "finishing school" because I tend to start things that never really come to fruition. The half-completed craft projects still littering my parent's house are a testament to that!

So this year, I'm setting out to be more disciplined. To make schedules for myself and stick to them. To really try to work out consistently for my health and maybe actually be able to RUN a 5K or 10K race this year. To make sure I'm getting enough protein and water in each day. To write some every day and improve my writing and hopefully accomplish some personal goals there. To not procrastinate on things that I know I need to do - like grading. To read my Bible study each day and reflect on it in the new journal I ordered. I want to feel like I'm living up to my potential and using my time more wisely. That I am being a good steward of all that has been entrusted to me. To see something through from beginning to end and feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with knowing that I finished what I set out to do. What would your one-word theme for this year be?

Rebranding - 2 Years Ago....

Recently, I had my 2 year "surgiversary", or the anniversary of my weight loss surgery.  On December 22, 2014 I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, a surgery that I fully believe both changed and saved my life in so many ways. And two years ago, I spent New Year's Eve in the hospital trying to watch the Alabama playoff game before I passed out from pain medicine. Here's the story of how I got to both days.

I had tried so many different things to lose weight over the years: Weight Watchers multiple times, Slim Fast, fad diets, diet pills, low carb, low fat, no sugar. Basically, you name it, I had tried it with varying levels of success that never seemed to last too long. And yes, I sometimes even threw attempts at exercise in with my diet of the moment. I even walked a half marathon at Disney World at well over 200 lbs! But nothing worked for me. Thanks to some health issues, it was like my body fought against me at every turn. And, if I'm being honest, part of it was probably due to my unwillingness to really make the changes I needed to make. I think I just had to develop a level of maturity that said "I'm going to make the hard changes and give up some things to make myself better." And VSG was the tool I needed to help me do that.

Finally, during the spring of 2014 I started to really and prayerfully consider weight loss surgery. Several people I knew had had the surgery and I was able to watch them and see their successes. I found a wonderful doctor in Oxford, who also was my cousin's surgeon, and I got started with the lengthy process of getting approved for the surgery. I was originally supposed to have my surgery during the summer of 2014 and even did nine days of the liquid pre-surgery diet. But God had other plans and it was deferred until December. I remember being so nervous and excited as I sat in the waiting room and holding area at Baptist Memorial in Oxford. I knew my life was changing, I just wasn't aware of the full scope of those changes.

I had my surgery on the 22nd and stayed my two days in the hospital, drinking out of the little hospital cups and walking my laps around the 2nd floor. I had some of the sweetest nurses and nursing assistants while I was there and they were so encouraging! Everything went as planned and I was released to go home and spend my Christmas walking laps around my living room and progressing with my liquid diet. But things didn't exactly go as planned from there. Within a few days I was running a fever and we weren't really sure of the source. I tried liquid Tylenol, which is disgusting, and seemed to be getting a little better. But soon I was also feeling really nauseous again and couldn't drink anything without feeling sick. And I was having some stomach pains that should have already subsided. At this point, almost a week out, I should have been able to drink and shouldn't have been needing the anti-nausea medicine anymore. Thankfully, my mom trusted her "mama instincts" and got me back to Oxford to my surgeon. I spent that Monday, December 29th, going back and forth from Baptist Hospital to my doctor's office getting different tests ran and trying not to pass out from dehydration. I was blessed with an amazing surgeon who told me that day that he was not letting me go until he knew what was wrong with me. At the end of the day, through testing and CT scans, it was determined that I had a mesenteric venous thrombosis - or a blood clot in one of the main veins in my intestines. At first, I was relieved to know what was wrong with me and why I felt so sick. But then what my doctor had said set in - I had a blood clot! He quickly assured me that if I had to have a blood clot, this was the place to have one. I wasn't in danger of it breaking loose and causing problems like if it had been in my legs or lungs. The solution to this was that I would stay in the hospital for a few days, get some IV fluids to combat the dehydration, and start trying to treat my blood clot with blood thinners.

Oh, if it had really been that simple. Things kind of snow balled from there. First, I was so dehydrated from not being able to drink that it was almost impossible to get an IV going or do the blood draws necessary to check how my body was reacting to the blood thinners. I found out that the phlebotomists would look at each other and say "Not it!" when my room number came up! This led to a central line being placed in my neck to be able to keep an IV going and quickly check my blood levels. Second, all of those blood level checks were necessary because it became apparent that my body wasn't metabolizing the blood thinner correctly. My levels were all over the place and nobody was really sure why. My "few day hospital stay" turned into 18 days. That's how I spent New Year's Eve 2014 trying to watch Alabama play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff before I fell asleep from my pain medicine and anti-nausea medicine. I didn't even care that we were losing! I do remember thinking "This is not how I wanted to spend New Years!" The scary moments continued when I pulled a muscle in my chest and we thought I might have developed another blood clot, this time in my lungs. There were some very tense moments until the CT scan ruled out a clot and we surmised that I had pulled a muscle trying to sit up without relying too much on my stomach muscles that were still sensitive from the surgery and the clot.

My family and I spent the next few weeks making ourselves at home in the hospital. Mom and I set up shop with our laptops and printers so we could both try to get some work done once I was feeling a little better. Our nurses were a little surprised by that one. They said they had never seen an office set up before! We got to know our team of nurses really well and even made friends with a few that I still keep in touch with. Our friends and family visited and prayed with me. I had so many people texting and posting that they were praying for me and I was on their church's prayer list. I felt everyone of those prayers! I even had a couple of my sweet students come visit me in the hospital. Bless them, they didn't look too scared by all of my tubes and wires! Haha!

Looking back to two years ago, I know that God answered every one of those prayers and more. He healed me from the blood clot and allowed me to use my weight loss surgery as the tool I needed to change my life and my health for the better. People ask me if the surgery was worth it considering the blood clot and time in the hospital that followed. My answer is always "Yes!" Even knowing all of that, I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I have lost 110 lbs but the numbers on the scale are just the beginning. I feel so much better and am so much healthier than I was two years ago and there is so much I want to do and accomplish that is possible now. From the beginning, God's plans and his timing were evident through the whole thing. So tonight, on this New Years' Eve, I will happily watch football on the couch with my husband and look forward to another new year full of opportunities and blessings. And I will be so thankful that I am not in a hospital bed!