My Fungus Loves Me

Oh you only thought we were finished with fungus posts!

The whole fungus drama (see previous post) began right around my birthday (end of March). My regular doctor said it was a fungus, gave me a cream and sent me on my way. Well, the cream did seem to work -- kept the evil fungus at bay. But just when I thought it was safe to stop applying the cream, it would come back, little by little. I thought maybe I should just use it a little longer. Then I'd stop and it'd creep back in. Never big, but annoying.

So, I called the doctor and asked for a referral to a dermatologist. I got an appointment and she didn't think it looked like a fungus after all and maybe it was just a reaction to the cream I had been using. I was told to stop using that cream and use another one. Big mistake. The next thing I know I have a disgusting two inch EXTREMELY ITCHY place back on my face, WAY bigger than that original fungus patch ever thought of being! So, I called the dermatologist back and told them that it was getting bigger.

PA that I saw is out of town, she'll see me in a week and a half. So, this thing has grown two inches in a week and you are telling me to wait another week? I call back again -- please help me, this is really getting out of control. Come pick up another cream. So I pick up another cream. This cream angers the itchy red patch (which has now grown a small, equally itchy friend.) I am so overwhelmed at my elephantman face that I don't know what to do.

(Jayme, I know you will be shocked that I am posting TWO pictures of my fungus, but what good is a fungus if you don't share? :)

Here is what it looked like back in April. A cute little unassuming fungus.

And here is what it looks like at this point in the story. The reflection off the shiny fungus kinda doesn't show it's true red beauty. And it actually got even a little worse. This was taken a day or two before I finally got some real help for it. Keep reading...

So, Lee offers to call Mary D. in Asheville to see if Duncan would mind seeing me. Duncan swoops in and saves the day! I cried when she told me he would see me that very day. I went up Thursday, cried when told nurse about the whole ordeal. So emotional about hideous face. He scraped my face and said it was indeed STILL a fungus (the first cream wasn't strong enough to kill it for good) and gave me mega medicine to wipe it out from the inside out and from the inside in. This is the second time Duncan has saved my skin's behind. (um... yeah...) He also treated a strange rash back when I lived next to them in the pink house. Had his nurse give me a shot in the biscuit. You can't give your babysitter/neighbor a shot in the biscuit. Too, too weird.

I love that family, whether they save me from my fungus or not. But especially for saving me from the fungus. I think it's working and I hope to be fungus free in a week or two.

And obviously that fungus REALLY loves me far too much to say goodbye.

My Long-overdue SYTYCD Post

For those of you not in the know, SYTYCD is the ridiculously long abbreviation for So You Think You Can Dance?, the BEST SHOW IN THE WORLD!

If you've read Lee's blog lately, you know that I have won her (and Cecilia) over to the world of SYTYCD. Now except for those three and a half years I spent twirling around Tammy Lunsford's School of Dance, I really don't know that much about dancing per se. I wouldn't even say that I was a big dancing fan. My mom and aunts dragged me to a Dancing With the Stars tour a couple years ago, which I have to admit, was pretty entertaining, and I always help my dear friend Jen with Dance Team auditions at school. But I've never been into that show and didn't really watch SYTYCD until this year. Because of the magic that is DVR, I started taping during the auditions and fell in love! And now, it's my favorite subject to talk about!

What do I love about this show? (in no particular order)
1) It makes me want to get up and dance. Not that I do. Usually...
2) It introduces me to new music or reintroduces me to old favorites. Fun times.
3) Tabitha and Napoleon -- two choreographers who do NOT look like hip hop dancers, but their routines are AMAZING!
4) Mandy Moore -- another choreographer, not the pop star (but I like that Mandy Moore too...). She does contemporary and jazz and I just think she's had some really amazing routines this season.

5) The ways these people can make their bodies move -- it's insane. And it's not even CGI.
6) Cat Deeley -- the host. She's gorgeous, tall, British -- and I don't even hate her! She genuinely seems to like her job and like interacting with all the dancers. She really seems to care for them and is proud of what they do. My mom and I have a bit of a heterosexual girl crush on her.
7) The Hot Tamale Train. Yes, Mary Murphy needs to turn down the decibels a little bit, but I admit, I'd like to ride the Hot Tamale Train myself.
8) Mia Michaels -- another choreographer. Sometimes I think she tries a little to hard to be quirky, but I can't help it. I love it. Look up the Mia Michaels routines that Chelsea and Mark and Katee and Joshua did on YouTube. If you don't love them, you have no soul. :)
9) So far, America is getting it right. I haven't disagreed on any of the bottom three so far. None of those "shocking upsets" that plague American Idol.
10) All of the dancers seem to be genuinely nice people in the little intros that they do before each dance. And if they aren't, they are also really good actors.

So, that's why I love it -- but who are my fave couples? I thought you'd never ask! These are kind of in order, but I change my mind regularly.

1) Katee and Joshua. She is a contemporary dancer and he's a popper. (check the link) There is no way they should be able to pull off Hip Hop, Broadway, Samba and Swing the way they have. They are so versatile I think they can dance anything. Seriously. And he is so ridiculously precious!

2) Chelsea and Mark. She's a ballroom dancer and he's... I'm not really sure what he is. Very eclectic. He did this crab-like routine in Las Vegas to get into the top 20 that won me over. They also seem to be able to take on anything. And they are both extremely likable.

3) Twitch and Kherington. He was in Hairspray. She smiles all the time. What more do you need?

4) Will and Jessica. Jessica is from Myrtle Beach. No one is from Myrtle Beach. And Will trained with Debbie Allen. Their "shirt" routine (courtesy of Mandy Moore) this week was crazy awesome hot.

5) Courtney G. and Gev. He's a break dancer and is in love with his partner. It's adorable. And I think their Rhumba was hot. They are my underdogs.

Hmmm... wait a minute. That only leaves one couple. I guess I know who I want to see go this week. And after that -- I'm torn!

Do yourself a favor -- check some of these out on YouTube. Seriously. I'll put a couple links here to whet your appetite. (I'm not smart enough to figure out how to put them in like Lee did...)

Katee and Joshua - Samba

(try to ignore the disturbing news blurbs across the bottom after the dance...)

Jessica and Will - Lyrical Jazz (PG 13!) :)

(and they are dancing to Heart! bonus points!)

My Crazy Class-filled Summer

So far, I'm hanging in there. I've now completed two classes for my AIG certification. For those of you who aren't familiar with the alphabet soup lingo of education, basically it means I'm going to be teaching the smarties -- gifted kids.

Anyway -- two of those classes are finished in lightning speed (2 and a half weeks! Whew!) and I managed to get two As in those guys. Well, to be completely honest, two A+s. Woo hoo for me!! Now I'm about halfway through my two MSA classes (masters of school administration) for the summer and have just started my other two AIG certification classes which are four weeks instead of two and a half, thank goodness.

I'm having a hard time being as motivated lately which is sad since I have three weeks with no babysitting to get tons of work done. I hope my outstanding work ethic returns soon because Thursday evening and yesterday all I accomplished was watching five, yes FIVE movies: A Lot Like Love, Trust the Man, Night at the Museum, Man of the Year, and Made of Honor at the $2 movie. (I had a lot of stuff saved up on my DVR...)

Today I've done some cleaning... and watched some Grey's Anatomy...

MUST...STOP...VEGGING!!!

My "Seriously?!" Experience of the Week

Yesterday Jen and I went to the mall to return a couple of things I had purchased a couple of days earlier. We went to Dillards, returned the first thing, then headed to JCPenney's. I handed the lady the earrings and she did her little magic to return them. Here's how it went down:

Lady: Did you pay for this with a debit card?
Me: Yes.
(Lady clicks around a minute. While I'm waiting, I find a dime on the floor, pick it up, and place it on the counter.)
Lady: Do you have two pennies?
Me: Um, I'm not sure, let me check.
(Start digging in my purse. Jen does the same.)
Me: I don't think I do. Cleaned out the change earlier today.
(Lady starts counting out the change -- $0.98 -- for my refund.)
Me: Oh yuck! $0.98! So close!
Lady: Well, it's your own fault for not having two pennies.
(seriously?)
Me: (laughs uncomfortably, starts putting change in wallet, then am wrestling with all the cash)
Lady: Don't forget your dime! (Picks it up, throws it in my purse which is sitting on the counter.)
(Seriously?!)
Lady: And here, make sure you get all your receipts (folds them up and then, I kid you not, STUFFS THEM INTO MY OPEN PURSE! She literally had her hand IN my purse, stuffing the receipts into it!)

SERIOUSLY!??!?!?!

My Lack of Posting (a long, informative, but not entertaining post)

Well, it has been quite a while since I've posted and with good reason! So much has been going on and I thought I would take a few minutes to catch you guys up.

A lot of you know that I interviewed for a position with Newton Conover Schools to be the AIG Lead teacher. Well, I'm not certified in AIG but the interview went well and I was definitely hopeful. A week or so later I got a phone call from my prospective boss who informed me that I was their choice for the job (yay!) but there was a glitch. The glitch was that the money set aside for this position was specifically from the AIG funds and they could only pay a AIG certified teacher. I was crushed. After some discussion, he explained that if I could get certified by Christmas, he could make the budget work.

So, I set off to find a way to make this happen. After a lot of research, emails, and phone calls, I finally found a program that would get me certified by the end of summer! Hooray! Only one drawback -- it's a private university! So, I had to talk to my mom about it and weigh our (monetary) options and we decided it was worth the extra cost. (Thankfully God gave me a wonderful mom who is supporting me completely -- emotionally and financially!)

THEN I had to decide whether or not to keep going with my MSA cohort. Taking the 12 hours needed for certification plus the 6 hours that were already on the schedule for the MSA (18 hours in a summer! EEK!) seemed like an awful lot of work -- I didn't know if I was up for the challenge. So, I went to the first class of each of my MSA classes, decided that I would give it a try, so here I am a few weeks into my 18 hour summer and so far so good! (It helps that the 12 AIG hours are all online course and they go two at a time (two in June and two in July) so I'm really only taking 12 hours at once, if that makes sense...)

AND of course I had to end the year, pack up my classroom, and start my babysitting jobs so -- whew! It's gonna be an interesting summer! I do have to say that so far God has given me a really good work ethic! I know it's from Him, because I am usually a MAJOR procrastinator and so far, so good! Thank you Lord for keeping me from being a lazy bum!!

My Favorite Music Group of All Time!!!

(Now, I know that I will be ridiculed, but I just can't NOT post about this!)

All week, I have been excited about Friday's Today show. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, I found out that my favorite music group of all time would be performing as a kick off to their reunion tour. Ladies and gentlemen, performing for the first time in 14 years:

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!!!

I admit it. I'm not ashamed. I unabashedly love them!!
They are my absolute favorite music group of all time!!

Before you flip, please out take note:

* I did NOT use the word band. We all know they aren't a band. They may play a few instruments, but their thing was singing, dancing and gyrating, not playing.

* They are NOT, I repeat, NOT amazingly talented musicians. Seriously, I get it. I have enough of a musical background to know that this is not groundbreaking or innovative and it's barely mediocre. I honestly don't even remember if they wrote any of their songs, music or lyrics.

So then, why this proclamation of love?
Well...

* When I watched them do the "New Kids Dance"on the Today show, I giggled.
* And then, when Joey McIntyre pulled out the hat with no top, I jumped up and down in my seat a little.
* I still knew every word to "Tonight", down to the last "gir-e-er-e-er-e-er-rls"
* I squealed a little when Joey sang a little "Please Don't Go Girl." And I wasn't about to go anywhere.
* I started feeling a little guilty for abandoning them when they went through the awkward "tough guy" stage after the "Step by Step" album.
* And when it was over, I checked online to see where they are touring.
* And I checked iTunes to see if their new single was there (it was...).
* AND I found myself wondering if I still had any of my NKOTB t-shirts which I could at least wear to bed or to clean in...


So, yeah, I still love them. I do! Watching them takes me back to 5th and 6th grade, a happier, simpler time. They automatically bring this huge smile to my face. Joey is still my favorite, Donnie still acts like the rebel, Jordan is still trying a little too hard to be hetero, Danny is still a little simian-like, and Jon still looks extremely uncomfortable on stage (he actually has pretty severe panic attacks... I don't know how he does it!).

There you have it, NKOTB -- my favorite music group of all time! Let the abuse begin.

My Students Say the Darndest Things (Blast from the Past)

I don't have anything great to blog about and I'm in this real funk lately so I thought I would fill the void with an old story from my kids in Asheville.

On Valentine's day, two of my girls, Brittany and Kelsey (I am not even changing their names. It's been long enough.) were arguing about boys. One had a boyfriend, one didn't and they were just yapping back and forth about it all day long. (Yes, I taught third grade. Ridiculous.) "Your boyfriend is stupid." "Well, at least I have a boyfriend." "Yeah, but he's stupid." "Better than not having one!" "Well, I don't want one!" "Yes you do, you're jealous!" "No I'm not."

Finally after a lot of time went by and they were still going back and forth, I called them over to my chair in the front of the room. I asked what the problem was and they basically repeated everything they had said. I buried my head in my hands and sat in silence for a minute. Then I looked up and said "Girls, this is silly. You are in the third grade. We don't need to be arguing about boys. I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't think you need one either. Just get over it and sit down."

They headed to their seats and another student who had been listening to the conversation came over. His name was Benjamin and he was Ukranian and spoke English well, but it was definitely broken and he definitely had an accent. He smiled this huge grin at me and said:

"Ms. M., their mother's milk is not dry on their lips and they have boyfriends!"

I laughed so hard I cried!! I asked him where he heard this and he told me his mother says it sometimes. I was so impressed that he took the time to translate this pearl of wisdom in to English for us!