Seriously?! 6 Months changes EVERYTHING.

I can't believe it's been six months since I last wrote here. Well, I suppose I can believe it especially with school. But there have been some really unpleasant moments in the past couple of months that I kind of just need to get out of my system.

February 18th, I woke up at 3 in the morning with a massive migraine and my right arm and hand numb. This wasn't too terribly surprising as I have had it happen before. I suffer from an autoimmune disease called Multiple Sclerosis. If you'd like to learn more about this disease, click here. I dealt with this though but about 5 days later, I started feeling very sick and spent 24 hours throwing up so my sister took me to the hospital. Once I was released, we quickly realized that my left eye had turned inward towards my nose. This sent me to my neurologist who put me on very powerful IV steroids. This corrected the vision issue but I am still left with both of my hands and my right foot numb.

March 12th, I was going through my normal day at home (where I've been for a while... more on that later) when I suddenly receive a text message from Mike. HE BROKE UP WITH ME!!! To add to it, he said it was because my sister wrote something about him on Facebook. Which she didn't. But, I had started to feel like there was something not right with our relationship when he only saw me once for one hour since Valentine's Day. Here are the even more difficult things to deal with:
(1) He did this the day before our one year anniversary. Sucky right? HA - you aint seen nothin yet...
(2) Come to find out, he's been wanting to break up with me since before Christmas but waited until he had his new girlfriend (who is 38 and lives in San Antonio) interested before doing it.
How messed up is that?! He texted me to break up with me! I haven't seen him in over a month. I haven't spoken to him since March 11th. Nothing. So sad.

March 13th, I received a letter from my school district asking for my resignation. This is because my ex (Bryan) decided to send an old picture of my students I had sent him years ago while we were dating to the district. Me sending pictures to people is against our district policy. I never expected him to do something like this though.

So, I am unemployed, not married or even dating, with two numb hands and a numb foot. I'm moving in with my sister on Saturday and I'm going to spend a little while (a few days) feeling sorry for myself.

This Week's Meals

Since school has started again, I have realized that a plan for eating really makes my life easier and helps me avoid the temptation of eating fast food. So, here's this week's meal plan:

Monday:
(B): Cereal and a banana
(L): Turkey sandwich
(D): Spaghetti

Tuesday:
(B): bagel with cream cheese
(L): PB&J sandwich
(D): BBQ Chicken

Wednesday:
(B): egg sandwich
(L): hot dog
(D): BBQ beef stuffed baked potato

Thursday:
(B): Cereal with a banana
(L): BBQ beef sandwich
(D): Breakfast for dinner

Friday:
(B): bagel with cream cheese
(L): turkey sandwich
(D): Nachos

Birthday Wishes

Okay... okay... so I know my birthday is far away (less than 3 months...) but I always think of stuff throughout the year that I want and think I should ask for that for my birthday but then I never remember when people ask me what I want. So the purpose of today's post is to start making a birthday list so I can remember what I want.

1. A new pair of boots
I like these...

2. Acne-fighting treatment (yes, even at almost 29 years old I'm fighting acne)

via

3. A resistance band - because, you know, I'm totally going to get in shape this year...*cough*

4. I ran out of my Givenchy "Play for her" perfume and it's my favorite...

That's it so far. I'm definitely sure I'll be adding more.

Stressed and Scared

Well.... there's been some not-so-fun happenings around here lately.

My Grandma Jenkins passed away in May and we (my family and I) have to fly to East Wenatchee, WA in a couple of weeks for her memorial service. Problem with that is, the plane tickets are so dadgum expensive! I can't really afford it right now and that's stressing me out.

Last week, I came out onto my patio to have a cigarette (Yes, I'm a smoker. I know it's gross and I really want to quit but it's super hard) and I found that my pack and my lighter were gone. I live on the first floor of my apartments - someone came onto my patio and stole them! Inconvienced, yes. Rude, yes. Scared, no.

The next day, Charlotte came over to go swimming. We were hanging out in my living room and I saw movement on my patio. I called Char over to the window and we watched as some guy was going through my cigarette butts that I put out in a metal bin on my patio. Char opened the door and yelled at the guy. Creeped out, yes. Scared, no.

Last night, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep (with minimal success as the guy who lives above me has a very squeaky bed and was obviously, um.... entertaining, a female friend) when I suddenly see a really bright flash of light outside of my window. To me, it looked like a camera flash. Scared, yes.

I texted Mike and told him what happened and he came straight over with a shotgun for me to keep in my apartment and he stayed the night with me. Poor guy got about 3 hours of sleep because of this. I felt really bad but comforted at the same time. I am going to the office in a little while to report all of these creepy, scary happenings but I would like to ask for some prayers for safety.

Our Story - Our First Date

Even though it is still early in my relationship with Mike, I feel the need to record our story. With the knowledge that I'm going to marry him (no proposal or anything yet, but I just know) in the front of my mind, I don't want to forget those special moments that made up this beginning.


I had decided to join a dating website after a year of repairing myself after an emotionally abusive and painful 6 year relationship. I went on one date from this website and it was awful. The guy was a complete jerk and he was really bizarre. So, on March 12, 2011, I logged on to the website to cancel my account. I saw that I had a message. Expecting the usual, "You're so pretty, message me if you want to talk" I was pleasantly surprised to find a message from a guy named Konrad who had obviously taken some time to look through my profile as he commented on some of the things I had written. Included was his phone number - in case I wanted to talk or text. I hemmed and hawed for a little while, then sent the first of many texts:

"Hi Konrad - this is Karen... I usually don't do this but you seem legit so... how's your weekend going?"

3 hours and a couple of hundred texts later (during which I found out his family calls him Mike, he has 7 siblings, and his favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption), I found myself agreeing to meet him that night for dinner. I remember my nerves being completely fried. Colleen was at the house with me and I squealed and jumped in the shower. While I was in the shower, I thought about this man I was going to go meet. I had seen his picture and didn't really think he was my type. Silly shallow me - little did I know... I was excited about the prospect of meeting a new friend that I had a lot in common with.

I got out of the shower and fixed my hair - I wore it down and straightened it, put on some make-up, and got dressed in a green shirt (to bring out more green in my eyes, duh) and jeans. I threw on my favorite black jacket and got in my car to make the 5 minute drive to BJ's Brewhouse. He texted me and told me he was waiting on a bench out front. I got out of my car after running a brush through my hair and walked up to greet him.

To be honest with you, dinner was a blur. I remember he ordered pasta and a beer and I ordered water and a cheeseburger. I remember laughing - a lot. I remember feeling stupid for ordering the cheeseburger and having to eat with my hands in front of him (he teased me about this quite a bit the first month). And I remember asking him if he wanted to go to a pool hall with me to hang out with a couple of my girls. I remember him saying yes. I remember he left the waitress a very nice tip (Bonus points for him... I waited tables for 6 years through college) and then we left to go to Luke's Pool Hall.

At Lukes, he interacted well with the girls and we played darts for a little while. Then, the girls were ready to leave (was it 12:30 pm already?!) and I didn't want the date to end. So we sat on some chairs in Luke's and started talking. That's when I knew. Damn. I'm going to fall in love with this guy. And there is nothing I can do about it. We didn't leave Luke's until 3:30 - an hour and a half after they closed. I thought he would kiss me good night. He didn't - but he did ask me to dance with him in the empty parking lot. We danced and then he gave me a hug and a promise to call me. It was the perfect first date.

My Accomplishments Today

Please Note: The title for this blog entry is completely, 100% sarcastic.

8:36 am - woke up and mentally calculated that I only needed 7.5 hours of sleep last night
8:45 am - moved to the couch and continued reading the Jen Lancaster novel I started last night
At this point, I stopped keeping track of the time for a little while...
- Contemplated going to the pool to swim some laps (until I remembered the notice from the apartment complex that there is a federal recall on the drains that we have in the pool so the pools are closed until further notice... they should go to the pool now and tell the loud, annoying kids that they are going to get sucked into the sewer system)
- Put exactly 3 glasses in the dishwasher
- Looked at my favorite teacher website ProTeacher and wrote a reply to the post I did yesterday about simplifying my life in the classroom
- Did a few things with my city on facebook (damn games get me every time)
- Continued reading my Jen Lancaster novel
- Hit snooze on the alarm on my cell phone every 30 minutes (designed to remind me that every 30 minutes I should get up off the couch and do something productive for at least 5 minutes)
- Cleaned up the dining room and put away my couponing binder (I even threw away some expired coupons - yay me for cleaning up!)
- Vacuumed (Granted, it was the Roomba that vacuumed but I cleaned the thing out before I set it on it's merry way around my apartment...)
- Sent a text message to Mike about having a good day at work
- Watched the Full House episode where DJ goes on a diet (really... I should have gone and worked out)
- Thought about writing a blog about all of the excuses I could come up with to not work out (the episode of Full House would have been included)
- Texted my friend in California, Olivia, to make sure I was still able to use my cell phone (I'm running a little short on money right now so I didn't pay my bill this month)
- Got a text back from Olivia prompting me to wonder why Mike didn't answer me like he usually does
- Contemplated writing lesson plans for the awesome USA Lapbook I created yesterday
- Put a bunch of white laundry in the washer
- Restarted the dryer so the towels wouldn't get wrinkled
- Finished reading the Jen Lancaster novel (very funny - I highly recommend her books)
- Changed my shirt and put on a sports bra (maybe that will motivate me to work out...)
- Sat down to write this blog post

Wow. What a day. I love summer break when I can have days like this and only feel slightly guilty about the fact that everyone else is off at their jobs working their butts off. Because come August...

I will attend department and curriculum meetings, professional developments, work on tons of lesson plans, organize my classroom, set up cutesy bulletin boards (vom... I hate doing that), try to figure out a way to keep myself organized (which will go out the proverbial window two weeks into the school year), look up all the details on the new students coming to my class (the AP said and I quote, "Your gift is your curse Jenkins" which means I'm going to have all the bad kids in my class again this year since I'm one of the few teachers who can wrangle them in), arrange my classroom, sort through the massive classroom library I've accumulated, and attend wonderful meetings with my team where my opinion on scheduling things and what events I'm willing to go to won't matter because I don't have a husband or kids to schedule around (HEY! Um... my nap schedule is very important. Don't mess with it.).

So yeah, I don't feel bad about my complete lack of progress today. Except that my parents are coming into town tomorrow and my apartment still looks like a 5 year old cleaned it. Guess I should get to that... right after I check on my city on facebook....

Weekend Review

This weekend was a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I love getting to spend time with Mike without too many "things to do". This weekend was a movie weekend for us - we spent most of our time watching movies in the nice, cool air conditioning....

Friday night, Mike and I went to Alamo Drafthouse to see Bad Teacher. I had never been to Alamo Drafthouse, but the concept was really cool. You go into the theater, look at the menu - which was actually a really large menu, write your order on paper and stand the paper up. Then, a waiter comes and gets your paper and brings you your food and your drinks while you watch the movie. I was a little worried that my ADD would be completely activated by this and I'd miss the movie, but that didn't happen! So, I was able to enjoy a sangria and a cheeseburger with fries while watching the movie! As far as the movie was concerned, it was pretty funny! I can picture some of those scenarios happening! Truth be told however, I could have waited until it was out on DVD. But, I had a great time at the movies with my sweet boyfriend.

Saturday, Mike and I slept in a little and then went to run some errands. We went to the Verizon store, because I'm due for an upgrade, and looked around. I wasn't excited by any of the phones so we left and headed up to his side of town. We went to his mom's house and got to spend some time with his mom, his step-dad, his sister, and his brother-in-law. Then we left and as we were driving back, he had me stop at Conn's. We go in and Mike proceeds to buy a 32" flat screen HD LCD TV! We went back to the apartment and he set it up. I ordered pizza and we watched Superbad (awful movie but he thinks it's funny) and Book of Eli (which I loved). Then we went to bed.

Sunday, we slept in again! Then, Mike made breakfast (a first!) and we watched How to Train Your Dragon (super cute movie - I loved it). After breakfast, I worked on his laundry for the week and cleaned the kitchen. I went to the store and got a newspaper and looked through the ads and coupons for the week. Then, we played the video game we've been playing for about a month now, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. I love this game because it's a two player game and you have to rely and communicate with the other person to win it. Mike got frustrated with the game so we switched gears and he tried to teach me how to play Tony Hawk's Underground, but I wasn't very good at it so we played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for a little while... I'm no good at that one either. So, we watched 8 Mile (still not a very good movie, but it was the only movie we watched this weekend that I had seen before), then took showers and went over to his mom's house. There we had a wonderful dinner with his mom, step-dad, sister, aunt and uncle. There were some wonderful conversations and I love getting time for his family to get to know me and for me to get to know his family. After that, I came home to a quiet but messy apartment and decided to deal with the mess later. So, I went to bed!

I'm still working on thinking of fun things for Mike and I to do on the weekends - I love having these quiet days in but I love going out and doing things too! So, next weekend my parents are coming into town so I'm going to have them over and we are going to have dinner with them. This will be Mike's first time meeting my mom! Other weekend activity ideas: Dave and Busters (I have coupons!), an Astros game, maybe go-karts....

What are your favorite things to do with your sweetheart?
Have you seen any good movies recently?

Water condensed from atmospheric vapor and falling in drops...

Yes, that's right... it's raining in Houston!

And we needed it badly!

The great state of Texas has been in a really bad drought this year and just in the past few days there were some wildfires that broke out near Houston. We desperately needed this!

When it's raining/thundering, it makes me think of my good friend Deniz who says, "If I've washed my sheets the night before and it's raining, I call in sick to work". It always made me laugh because I never understood why - I guess that comes from my father's work ethic that he instilled in me...

But I was thinking this morning while I was laying in bed, listening to the rain... what do I like to do when it is raining and thundering outside?

1) Lay in bed and listen to the storm in between naps
2) Lay in bed and read a book
3) Watch a movie marathon - if I'm alone, totally girly movies - Clueless, Legally Blonde, The Notebook...
4) Snuggle up in bed and talk/nap with my sweetheart - unfortunately, Mike and I have not had a chance to do this yet because there's been a drought this year and of course today, he's working.
5) Bake delicious goodies like cake, cookies, pies, etc.
6) Sit outside and watch the rain and lightning
7) Watch the weather channel and wait for the Local on the 8's and watch the rainstorm move through

I tend to be pretty lazy on rainy days - which is a major change from when I was a kid. I hated rainy days. Rainy days meant I couldn't walk down the street to play with my best friend, Olivia. It meant I had to find something to do - like color or play a board game with my little sister.

What do you like to do on a rainy day?
Do you have any good memories about rainy days from your childhood?

Cowboy Calzones

Wednesday night I cooked what is now one of my favorite meals. I cooked these from scratch - including the dough for the calzones. Now I know life is hectic for a lot of people and not everyone gets summers off like I do so I won't tell anyone if you use the pizza dough from the can. Really, I won't tell.

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I got this cookbook from my dad for Christmas 2010 and it has quickly become my go-to cookbook for many yummy recipes. I highly recommend it!

This recipe makes 8 calzones - plenty for leftovers!

Pizza Crust
1 teaspoon or 1/2 packet active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
OR
pizza crust from the can (yay doughboy!)

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.
2. Combine flour and salt, in a mixing bowl.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just incorporated.
4. In a seperate bowl, gently stir the yeast/water mixture.
5. Drizzle yeast/water mixture into the flour/oil mixture, mix until the dough forms a ball - I did this by hand because the dough got caught up in the electric mixer
6. Drizzle a little olive oil into a clean bowl. Toss the ball of dough in the bowl and turn over to coat in oil.
7. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel and set in a warm place for 1-2 hours (I put mine on my patio - thanks Texas summer heat!)
Then your dough is ready to use!

Calzone Filling
1/2 pound hot breakfast sausage
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, finely diced
One 10 oz can tomatoes and chilies (Rotel)
8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg, beaten
Salt and black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. In large skillet, combine the sausage and hamburger with the onion.
3. Brown over medium heat. Drain the excess grease.
4. Pour in the tomatoes and chilies - Cook note: Drain them first
5. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
6. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and egg. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
7. Add the cooled meat mixture to the cheese mixture and stir gently to combine.
8. Divide the dough into 8 equal-size (Cook note: Really?! Just eyeball it. Some are going to be bigger than others - and that's okay) balls. With a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-inch circle.
9. Spoon one-eighth of the meat/cheese mixture in the middle of each circle.
10. Fold half of the circle over the other half, pressing gently to slightly spread and flatten the filling inside. Press a fork along the edge to seal closed, then transfer the calzone to a greased (Cook note: I just line it with aluminum foil) baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Brush the calzone with olive oil.
11. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the calzones to a basket or wrap individually in foil.

I served these with a salad and we had ranch dressing on the side to dip the calzones in. I wrapped the leftovers in foil and put them in the fridge. These are so good but I think they'd be even better on a cold winter day... just a thought.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes!
Did you change any of the ingredients?
Is there any way to make this healthier without sacrificing taste?

The Inconvenient Truth

I don't claim to be perfect. I wish I was though. There are some things about me that I wish I had the courage/motivation to work on. Here is the inconvenient (for me) truth:

1. I am insecure about my relationship with my boyfriend.
I was in love my junior year of high school. I mean, completely irrevocably in love. I truly thought I was going to marry this guy. Then, he went out of town with his friends, came back, and broke up with me. I was devastated. To the point where it took me 10+ years to completely get over it. I never allowed myself to love like that again - until now. I am older now, so I understand love better - so it's a different kind of love. It's a pure, nothing withheld, whole hearted love. And it scares the crap out of me. I don't think I could handle another break-up like the one from high school. So, I am insecure about my relationship with Mike.

2. I am super lazy.
I have to set a timer to get myself to do things. 15 minute increments. I clean the kitchen for 15 minutes, then reward myself with 30 minutes of T.V. I fold laundry for 15 minutes, then reward myself with a 30 60 minute nap. This is okay acceptable during the summer, but during the school year, it's not so good.

3. I set unobtainable goals for myself.
This summer, I'm going to get back to my high school weight. Problem? See #2.

4. I really don't know what I'm doing.
As a teacher, I have 18-23 kids depending on me to know what I'm doing. And most of the time, I'm still not sure. I wish they would have taught me that in college. I hope that what I'm doing is right, but I'm not sure most of the time.

5. I envy other peoples' lives.
I wish I could have a fulfilled life like some of my friends. I know I shouldn't envy them, but I can't help it! I want to be married, have children, go on wonderful vacations with my husband...

What are your inconvenient truths?
How do you motivate yourself to make big changes in your life?