Favorite Friend Friday

Favorite Friend for Friday: Allie Trantham

Let me just tell you a little bit about my favorite friend this week. She is awesome. She is special. She is precious. She is sweet. She is kind. She is funny. She is caring. She is smart. She is respectful. She is a great friend to me. She is also my wonderful daughter.

Allie is coming right up on being five years old. Yes, friends, my friend for this week is a four year old little girl....but she is not just any ordinary four year old. She is my most favorite four year old ever.

Allie has been away most of the week at my parent's house in Georgia. I took Allie down to their house on Monday afternoon so that she could attend Vacation Bible School with my mom and dad. Well, last year when she went to stay with them for VBS she came home on Wednesday because she was homesick. Well, I kept waiting and waiting on a call and never did get one. Finally my mom called me on Thursday while I was working and told me that she would be bringing her home on Friday morning as she went to Asheville for a dr appointment. I was so excited that I was going to get to see my Allie earlier than Friday evening at Commencement. I could hear Allie in the background but I could not talk with her or we just knew that would set her off to thinking about home...so I quickly let my mom get off of the phone. Well, last night when I got home from our softball game, my phone rang and it was a call coming from my mom and dad's house...and it was about 10:30. Uh-oh...well, when I went to answer it I heard my mom's voice on the other end. Yay...but then she also went on to tell me that Allie was very tired and getting a bit homesick...but, Allie was bound and determined to stay. I would have gone after her right then and there but she wanted to wait and see me on Friday morning when mom was going to bring her. She was trying so hard to be a "big girl" and stay all week...and she has done it folks! Here it is Friday morning and she is coming home! I am so proud of her.
One of the things that my mom shared with me was so sweet...it touched my heart deeply. On Tuesday night they were coming home from Bible School and Allie asked my mom, "Nana, do you have a picture of my mom at your house?". Mom replied, "Yes, I have lots of pictures of your mommy at my house. We will find you one when we get home." Allie replied with, "Ok.". Then, mom said that a few minutes later Allie said, "Nana, I don't want a picture of my mommy...I want the real thing." Knowing my daughter..and knowing her expressions and the way she would look and sound when saying this...it just melted my heart. She is so precious. I have missed her like crazy all week long and I just can not wait to wrap my arms around that tiny little girl when she gets here!
Allie is my wonderful little side-kick that I just love so much! She and I do so many fun things together. I am thankful and blessed to have her in my life.

YAY! 3 SHOUTS FOR ALEXANDRIA NOELLE TRANTHAM FOR MAKING IT ALL WEEK! GO ALLIE!

Things I Love Thursday...

I LOVE to be organized.

I must start out saying that before getting in to the ranting and raving I am about to start up. School has been out for 2 weeks....2 weeks since we have last had children in our classroom. Most teachers at our school have been finished just as long as the students...and I want all of you to know that I am still not finished wrapping up the year. I have taken on bigger projects than I anticipated. It all has to do with being organized...I really scare myself sometimes with how organized I want things to be....at some point I think I just need to let it go....but at the same time I want it all to be perfectly organized when school starts back in August...AAHH!!

I LOVE to be organized.

Wacky Wednesday Tag on Thursday Morning

Alright blogging pals..here we go again with another fabulous "I want to get to know you better" blogging tag. Wow..that was a mouth full!
Okay, here we go!

1. First Name: Sabrina
2. Were you named after anyone? No, I was not named after anyone.
3. Do you wish on stars? Shooting stars, yes. Still ones, no.
4. When did you last cry? Yesterday (Wednesday)
5. Do you like your handwriting? When I am able to take my time, yes. When I am rushed, no.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Smoked turkey sliced fresh in the deli.
7. When is your birthday? December 28th.
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Alvin and the Chipmunks
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with YOU? Yes
10. Are you a daredevil? To some degree, yes.
11. Who is your favorite cartoon character? Care Bears
12. Do looks matter? For certain things, yes.
13. How do you release anger? Attempt to talk things out. Cry.
14. Where is your second home? Young Harris, Georgia
15. Do you trust others easily? Ha. Funny this question has asked...once upon a time I did, but since February of this year...absolutely NOT! Which is really sad...but we won't go there.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Cabbage Patch Kids
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? French 1 and 2
18. Do you have a journal? Yes, I have quite a few.
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I use it, but not a lot and when I do, I use it in a funny way-not a mean way.
20. What are your nicknames? Bina, Brina
21. Would you bungee jump? YES!!!!!! One scary thing about this is that about one week before I found out that I was pregnant with Allie I was working at a Christmas shop in Cherokee and just down the road from this store they were doing some bungee jumping. Well, a few of us had decided that we were going to go and bungee jump after work one day. Well, when we got off of work they had shut it down early due to rain or something like that...thank goodness for that! Who knows what bungee jumping would do to a pregnant woman! Glad I did not have to find out!!!
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Yes.
23. Do you think that you are physically strong? Yes
24. Do you th ink that you are emotionally strong? I use to think so, but now I know that I am not.
25. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Birthday Cake and Moose Tracks
26. Shoe Size? 8-8 1/2
27. Red or Pink? Pink
28. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? Insecurities
29. Who do you miss most? Well, at the moment I really miss my daughter Allie. I have not seen her since Monday...and it is Thursday! She has gone to stay with my mom and dad this week to attend Vacation Bible School. Secondly, I miss some of my best friends that live all the way in Pennsylvania...the Councills. Lastly, I miss all my friends from high school.
30. What are you listening to right now? Home made CD: Song that is playing is Everyone is free to wear sunscreen
31. Favorite sport? softball
32. Last movie you watched... Cars!
33. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy Endings
34. Summer or Winter? Winter
35. Hugs or Kisses? Both
36. What did you watch last night on TV? So you think you can dance, part of big brother, CSI
37. Favorite Smells: Baby scent, clean linen, fresh laundry
38. Favorite Flower: Tulips of many colors
39. Rolling Stones or Beatles: Rolling Stones
40. What's the furthest you've been from home? I'm sure everyone beats me on this one...the furthest I have been is Pensacola, Florida.

Where is everyone?

Wow...3 posts in one day...pretty good, ay?
Well, I just wanted to say that I totally miss everyone on their blogs! I know that it is summer and most of you have lives other than sitting around blogging all the time...but I do miss hearing from you all and seeing you on your blog spot. I know that I have not been blogging a lot lately either...and I am really going to try and do better. I must admit that I have been myspacing it a lot lately and getting that all set up...which is loads of fun! I have actually been able to get in touch with some people that I have not heard from in a very long time. It's great! Check it out...http://www.myspace.com/sabrinatrantham
Have a wonderful Tuesday!!!

Top Ten Tuesday

Okay, I'm back with, yet, another top ten! Join me if you'd like...

Top Ten Places I Would Like To Visit/See Before Going Home...

10. Niagera Falls-Canada
9. The Grand Canyon-Arizona

8. Seattle, Washington

7. Times Square

6. Las Vegas, Nevada

5. Cedar Point Amusement Park

4. Sturgis

3. Disneyworld

2. Aspen, Colorado

1. The Precious Moments Inspiration Park-Carthage, Missouri

MUSIC MONDAY

The song that I am posting for Music Monday is a song that I was introduced to by our Awesome band at church. I had heard them sing this once before...and fell in love with it then. Well, then last Sunday I heard them sing it again in church. I immediately got this song for myself to have so that I could listen to it over and over and over again! Wonderful song!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
Chris Tomlin
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide A
nd trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in
One Father, Spirit and Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

Music Monday

It has been a while since I have posted for Music Monday! I am hoping that this week is off to a good start with blogging since I am able to actually do it first thing! Yay!
The song that I am posting about today has been a long time favorite of mine because the lyrics of this song make such good sense! I loved this song the first time that I heard it...

Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future,

sunscreen would be it.

The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists,

whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.

Oh, never mind.

You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future.

Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy.

Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.

The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive.

Forget the insults.

If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.

The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.

Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees.

You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.

Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.

Maybe you'll divorce at 40,

maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.

Your choices are half chance.

So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body.

Use it every way you can.

Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it.

It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance.

Even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents.

You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings.

They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths:

Prices will rise.

Politicians will philander.

You, too, will get old.

And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.

Maybe you have a trust fund.

Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse.

But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia.

Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

If you have not ever heard this "song/speech", you should definitely listen to it sometime. All of the words that were written for this speech/song are oh so true..it really makes you think!

Have a great Monday!

TUESDAY'S TOP TEN

Okay, I know that normally Tuesday's are reserved for "Tell All Tuesday" and I absolutely LOVE reading what all of you write for your tell all...but the thing is..I don't really have a lot to tell that is very interesting...so I always struggle with what to write. Well, I was driving down the road tonight thinking about what I was going to do this summer (since school is almost out) and I thought...hmm...what are the top ten things that I want to do...and then I thought, "wow, that would be a good blog". Then it hit me that I should do a top ten for tomorrow's blog...well, it just so happen that it fell in quite well with the day of the week...Tuesday! This idea then led me to think that every Tuesday could be a top ten of some type! I can always list a top ten of something! If there is anything interesting that I want to share on Tuesdays, I will continue to "Tell All", but folks, let's face it...I don't have very much to tell! Sorry!
My top ten theme for this week goes along with my alone time, driving down the road thinking...

TOP TEN THINGS I AM GOING TO DO THIS SUMMER...

10. Watch lots of movies.

9. Read lots of books (I REALLY want to read the last two Nicholas Sparks books that I have not even started! I also want to start reading the Harry Potter series.)

8. Catch up with some old friends from high school and hang out.

7. Blog!

6. Make a trip to Pennsylvania

5. Celebrate every chance I get that I am not in school this summer!!!

4. Get back into a good workout routine.

3. Hang out with my friends and do lots of fun things.

2. Go to the pool, the park, and many other fun places with Allie.

1. Get some much needed rest and relaxation and not feel bad about it!

Lori's Neat-O Tag!

Cool Tag Lo!
I am taking on the challenge of Lo's cool tag...in hopes that this gets me back on my feet with blogging. Things have just been so crazy and hectic and busy and overwhelming and stressful and...and...and...excuses, excuses.
Okay, here it goes...

I am...a friend, a mommy, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a recent grad (still proud of that!), a turbo coffee lover, a chocolate lover

I want...more time to prepare for "end of the school year stuff", more time with my daughter, more time with my friends, things to be the way they once were..., to be on the game show Deal or No Deal, more hours in the day.

I wish...Allie would stop growing up so fast, that there was no such thing as a broken heart, that I could see more of my friends, that I could see more of my mom and dad, that people we love dearly would not take take it for granted, that I could be a better friend and co-worker, that I had spent lots more time with the Councills when they lived in Sylva!, I knew what to say or do to make things right, that I could forgive AND forget.

I hate...being lied to, seeing people sad, seeing people angry, seeing people hurt, feeling sad, feeling angry, feeling hurt, bad memories that linger no matter what you do, not getting to see friends, not getting to spend time with friends, the inability to trust.

I miss...the days when Allie was a baby (I love the days I have with her now..but I also miss a lot about her being a baby), being a good friend, my friends that I have lost contact with, my friends that do not live close by, going shopping with Lo at Old Navy!, the days I could trust and not think twice about it.

I hear...everything that is said to me even if it seems I am not listening, things that I don't want to hear all too often

I wonder...why it had to happen, if I will ever get over and past it, how my kids did on their EOG tests, what my first adventure will be with Allie this summer, why we hurt those that we love the most, why I can't stick to my diet lately, why do I have to ride the bus on a Friday afternoon with bunches of kids..., if I am going to get everything done this week that I want to get done before my kids get out of school.

I regret...any time I have lost with Allie, taking out student loans during undergrad and graduate school, any time that I have lost with my friends, any time that I have lost with my family, any time that I have ever hurt anyone that I love, cutting my hair.

I am not...looking forward to riding the bus on Friday afternoon, the person I use to be, able to forget things I would like to forget, glad that school will soon be out because I will miss this group of kids, as strong as I once thought I was.

I dance...with Allie quite often to cute and fun songs, when I want it to snow

I sing...to myself, at church, in my car, terribly =}, along with Allie

I cry...when I am sad, when I am angry, when I am hurt, when I am happy, when I lose someone I love, when I get my feelings hurt, when Allie is sad or hurt, when I think of losing the group of kids that I have had for the last 175 days, when I look back at pictures from the past, when sad and painful memories come back to me, when I think about how things should have been, a lot more than I once did

I am not always...the friend to many that I should be, as patient as I should be, as sad as I may sound in some of these responses, as helpful as I should be, as tired as I have been recently, as organized as I want to be.

I make with my hands...dinner for my family, gestures that help me to get my point across, lots of arts and crafts with Allie.

I write...lots of things but I wish that I had more time to write more, what I think and what I feel much better than speaking it!

I confuse...everyone!

I need...a massage (ha), to make a trip to Commerce shopping, friends, family, to be loved, to lose weight, to slow down and take more time for myself, to get back in a regular workout routine, to go to the beach for about a week and just relax, at least 2 large turbo coffees a day (ha), more time with Allie, time alone, time with friends, to know the entire story, the truth, to be stronger, to know "why", to get over it!

I should...be cleaning my house, be taking a nap, be at school working on stuff for the end of the year, save more money, back off from caffeine, exercise more, take some time away and rest, relax and clear my head, reconsider doing National Boards next year, thank God more often for the blessings he has given to me.

I start...lots of projects that may or may not get finished, my summer vacation on June 16th, crying too easily, laughing at times I probably should not, acting goofy when I am tired, thinking about it at least once a day, being the mom of a kindergartener in the fall!

I finish...good books very quickly, a great cup of coffee!

I'm glad...for all of the true, dear, beautiful friends that God has blessed me with, for the beautiful daughter God has blessed me with, I teach 5th grade with Lori, I am finished with my Master's degree, we get to look forward to/spend each Easter with our Cool Councill friends, I was able to go to Kindergarten orientation with Allie today, that Allie is excited about going to school, Allie gets to go to Kindergarten at my school!

I live...each day to its fullest (well, I try to).

I pray...for family, friends, peace, good health, joy, happiness...., with Allie each night before bed, for strength to get through tough times (especially times you are just not sure what you are going to do to get through), for courage to stand up for what is right, for courage to stand up for what I believe, for courage to always do what I say I am going to do no matter what.

I seek...peace, an answer to "why"

I would rather...dance than sing, read than write, teach school than go to school, make money than lose money, forgive than hold a grudge (sometimes that is hard), laugh than cry, be happy than sad, live somewhere cold than hot, forget about the past few months than have to be reminded of them every day.

I prefer...happy kids, laughing kids, respectful kids, cold weather, hot coffee, long weekends, the truth - no matter what it may be - I always prefer to be told the truth, to not be played the fool, for someone to tell me how it is up front and not beat around the bush.

I know...I have many true and dear friends, my daughter looks up to me, that one day I will get my National Boards, that I am going to have a wonderful summer with my daughter, that I have to make my own decisions, that God is watching out for me, that karma is 'oh so true', that one day I will look back on this period in my life and realize what I learned from it (I hope) and make the best of it.

I must have...ORGANIZATION, coffee first thing in the morning, family and friends, good books, lists to go by daily, a plan at all times, specifics, inherited an obsessive compulsive/anal gene from somewhere, a clean house, a clean classroom, music to exercise, units, the truth...the whole story...the answer to "why".

I hope...that Allie enjoys school, to always be a good mommy to Allie, to be a good role model, that Allie always knows right from wrong, that I can handle all that I will encounter over the next many years of Allie going to school, that this summer goes by slowly, that all my friends and family know that I love them and cherish every moment I am ever given with them, that one day I will know why it happened, that one day I can find a way to move past the harsh, cold, hurt feelings that are dwelling in my heart, that one day I can forgive and move on.

Wow...I did not think that I would ever make it to the end! Wow...again. I started on this last Thursday and here it is Monday.
Thanks for the tag Lo!