March 28

Today my two best friends----Lindy & Gena----hosted a shower for me with their moms. Both mothers have been an integral part of my life and I feel very blessed to have such amazing friends in my life.

I wasn't sure if I'd be nervous about being the "guest of honor" yet everything went beautifully. Not to metion that it was Lindy's birthday and she still wanted the day to be all about Tanner and I.

I can not say enough how much my friends have shaped me. Nova, Lindy, Gena, Laura, and so many more. For these amazing women to be a part of my life is such a gift. They all bring a piece to the puzzle that make me a very blessed individual. Tanner sees how much my friends mean to me and he loves them for it.

I am thankful that they all love him so much because their blessing means the world. Love you girls!!

Mini-cultural day in NW OKC...

How is that possible, you may ask? Well, it all started because I was heading north up May. My destination was the Quail Springs area, chock full of mini malls & commercial strips. I don't venture there often. But the gift idea for my bridesmaids made it inevitable.

However, en route I noticed a nail spa that was open. I'm on the hunt for a place where all of us gals can do mini/pedis the day before The Wedding Date.

So, I go in & spontaneously get a $13 manicure. Yup, cheap! The woman spoke very little English, but after limited conversation I learned she was Vietnamese. Thanks to my pal, Ms. Bui, I do have SOME knowledge of the culture, so we proceeded to talk about the Lunar Calendar, Vietnamese New Year, and the best places for Pho. The place was charming & it was nice to do something pampering!

I pressed on & thought about how a little pampering goes a long way. So, while at QS mall, I noticed a massage 'kiosk.' Given there's no where to get a walk-up massage on a Sunday evening, I went for it. It was heaven. Who'd have thought that right smack in the middle of a suburban mall that I could find inner peace. My 20 minute massage was conducted by a sweet Chinese woman who proceeded to visit with her husband in said native language and accompanied by some soothing humming she sporadically performed. Perfect!

I was feeling relaxed & ready to tackle my mission when I noticed a peculiar site at the kiosk next to the massage area: a woman had thread in her mouth & was meticulously performing some odd procedure on a young girl's eyebrows. What?

Curiosity got the best of me so I lingered. It was called 'threading.' Have you heard of this? I started talking to the next customer in line for this weird ritual, and I learned it is the way many women in the east shape their brows. It is said to be more precise than waxing or plucking, not to mention it lasts much longer. It was $10. Sold!

When my turn came, I was nervous at how painful it would be. Not too bad I soon learned. The girl performing this artistry was from India. She says threading originated in Nepal. She spent a long time getting my arches just right, especially when I told her I was getting married in 3 weeks & that I was excited to not have to touch my brows until then! I am a new woman....threading is awesome. My eyebrows are the most well-kept I've ever had them. Boys, it is these little things that make us happy. Remember that. ;)

Lessons From Unexpected Places

Back to work after almost a week off...I got really, REALLY used to it. Not to say I don't like my job...I do. I actually love it.

Today consisted of: math lessons with two boys who struggle but are coming a long way, a pep talk with a senior girl who is just now starting to believe in herself, practicing a Radiohead song with a 7th grader who is about to be in the school-wide talent show (I know! Already has good taste, huh?), re-scheduling the show due to weather, visiting with a teacher on how he can better teach one of his students with a disability, lunch duty (ok, that part is lame), helping a student apply for Rehab Services through the state, and a motivational conversation with our vice-principal about following your life passions. It really is a great job for me. I'm at a crossroads, though. There are many classes I must start taking for my program that are offered all during the day. It makes it virtually impossible to have a 'regular' job. I am still chewing on what I am going to do next fall. One thing is for sure: I LOVE the kids I get to work with so much that I'd personally want to train whoever my predecessor would be. I just feel an obligation to make sure that what we've built will keep on building. It saddens me to think that I would not see some of them through to graduation...but at the same time, what I EVENTUALLY will be doing is also a service to these kids.

I have one student that I feel like, on a daily basis, is my reason for getting up & coming to work. He came to our school last year...it was his first time to ever attend "regular" classes after years of separate, special classes. I knew his IQ scores were (very) low. I fought the administration on even admitting him at first: "Our school is not prepared to give a student like this what he needs. He will be dis-serviced!" But he came, and I doubted.

Fast forward to 16 months later: he is attending a rehab program for job training half a day, he comes to his "regular" classes and teachers report that he literally works harder than anyone else there, he tries to get involved in any and everything he can, and he is my assistant for the school talent show (and a good one at that!). He has thrived SO much by people treating him like an equal, by the kids (our kids rock) including him in every day, regular things. Yes, there's been times when he has shed tears in my office: "Ms. Curl, someone made fun of me!" "Ms. Curl, I don't understand what this class is!" He even confided to me about some very traumatic early childhood experiences that no doubt contributed to his current disability.

But he is, daily, trying to overcome his hardships. He just wants to be "like everyone else." The thing is: he's not. I see more drive in that kid than many of the adults we all know. He has greater work ethic than I can hope to ever achieve.

I don't care what his IQ report says. He has taught so many of us at our little school some big life lessons, and I will always cherish that. I will watch him graduate in 2 years and feel as proud as a mother hen.

Yes, life is good.

Icy Days= Time to Reflect

I truly feel like I embrace pieces of myself that I tend to forget about when the world stops due to weather...I am sure you, dear reader, feel the same. Isn't it nice to take up that hobby that's collected dust in the corner? Or to experiment with recipes in the kitchen?

I only wish I hadn't been sick the first 3 of this unexpected 5-day weekend. But I tried to make up for lost time today.

I did some great bargain grocery shopping, went sledding at the park with my cousin & his family, swapped some recipes with my dear Lindy, and got some face time with a few peeps I rarely get to see during the normal swing of life. My dad & I grabbed coffee at the bookstore this afternoon. For many reasons full of laborious details I'll spare you of, we haven't had a close father-daughter relation, the type that I've always longed for, through most of my formative years. I'd say in only the last 2 have we found common ground that we've grown from. And today, I felt a genuine fatherly sentiment from my dad that I appreciate more than words can describe. I left with a few of those happy tears in my eyes that I refused to let come out.

I also spent some time with my beloved Kevin, a friend who I felt for sure I'd "grow apart from" as life progressed and we followed our chosen paths. Not so! I still feel love for him as strong as ever. It's always refreshing to know you have that. That your close friendships are built on solid ground. Sure, we've both made many new friends over the years, and good ones at that. But there's a tie there that no life circumstance can sever. (I'm not even gonna spell check that tho it pains me to not know if that is correct!) My fiance actually pointed something out to me about Kevin...one night Kev & I had gotten angry at each other over something silly. And Tanner said, "Lisa, he LOVES you so much. He'd never try to hurt you. He likes me and all, but he LOVES you." And Tan said it with all sincerity. Now, I'll correct him to say that Kevin has grown to love Tanner in a way that I could only hope anyone who loves me would feel about my future husband. (All my friends/fam love him, which is wonderful). But when I sat on that thought, and could come out realizing that my friend was a TRUE friend, it felt nice. It's so important to only keep those close to us that we know would defend our honor, would forgive us in grievances, would love us unconditionally.

I remember once fearing that another dear friend, Gena, and I would eventually grow apart because our lives are so different at this point. She's married, has her kids, her friends with kids, a different church, different neighborhood...all circumstance, of course, but daily differences that can grow large over time. Not so! I still bear my heart to her in a way that reminds me of why she is one of the important people in my life. She doesn't see me as an "old college buddy" but has an unconditional love.

And while unconditional love is something beyond this earth, something we should only hope to receive from our God...it's nice to think that God puts a few humans in our spheres that can give us a little glimpse of what it should be during our lifetime.

making new friends

I will eventually get with the times & learn how to add photos to my blog. For now, dear reader, take my lack of skill as a chance to use your imagination in my storytelling.

The day before we left Oklahoma to have an old-fashioned Arkansas Christmas (yes, we even had a Christmas bonfire in the woods!), I spent the afternoon of Dec. 23rd at Full Circle books. It's the coziest spot in the wintertime--fire blazing, lattes steaming, and books surrounding you.

I was working on a project for Tanner's present---more on that in a future blog---and I thought this was the ideal creative spot.

I got about an hour's worth of work done when a small voice said by my left shoulder, "Hello, I'm Margo. What is your name?"

I turned to see a sweet gal probably in her 30s donning a beret and scarf standing right next to me. I knew Margo was similar to some of the students I work with in her processing abilities. She had a wide grin and friendly eyes. I took the opportunity to take a break from my project and began an interesting conversation with Margo.

As we chatted, she told me that she loved to write poems: "Do you know what a poem is?" she gleefully inquired. She told me she wanted to learn how to write better poems. I learned that she had participated in some of the programs that I currently get my students set up in, such as Dale Rogers, DRS, Special Olympics.

She told me she wanted to be a better reader because she loved to read. The idea struck me: how cool to have adults that are former special education students and are wishing to increase their reading skills go into elementary schools to read to children! That may already be a program, but I'm now inspired to look into it...

She ended up reading out loud to me. (My gift to Tanner was a book I wrote and she read parts of it to me & thus gave me some great third-party perspective). At one point I excused myself to go the restroom, which is quite a little jaunt from the bookstore since it is out in the mall.

"Margo, do you mind keeping an eye on my Mac while I run to the restroom?"

She did not & when I returned she was just a few feet away looking at a book. Yet when she saw me return, she rushed over to Mr. Mac and I.

"Lisa, I wanted you to know that when I went to look at books for a minute I told __name___ (the coffee barista) to watch your laptop."

"That's fine, Margo! Thank you!"

"Well, I didn't want you to think I wasn't watching it...because you're my best friend!" she announced with a wide grin.

I love where a random, lazy afternoon can take you.

I'm BA--ACK

I really never did intend to totally drop out of the blog world. Here's the deal...I have 3 email addresses that I tend to use when creating accounts. Not to mention the 4 or 5 staple passwords that I've had as ol' stand-bys for a few years.

I mean, come on, these days you have to have a password for your email, your Facebook, your Paypal, your ebay, your music website, your work email, your library code (for handy online reserve), oh and your EBSCO code for reading journals in college, your UCO student ID, your OCU ID (don't ask...yes, I'm going there now as well), your OG&E bill, your bank account, your ING, your Netflix, your credit card, your Southwest Airlines, your left nostril.....oh, oops, sorry I got carried away as I realized that this list truly never ends.

And I do quite well keeping it all down. Ok, so I get the OCU and the UCO numbers mixed up sometimes.

So you can understand that I finally dropped the ball. I wrote a few blogs & never wrote down the access information. "I've got it down," I suppose I thought. But, no, to my dismay, the urge to write a few thoughts over the past few months was quickly squashed when I couldn't log in to ThatCurlGirl.

You can bet your favorite Christmas sweater that I wrote it down now.

And if anyone has advice for dealing with this only-gonna-get-worse Post-Modern Problem, by all means, share.

My only solution is to keep a Word document with every password to my entire life written. Is that what you do, dear reader who must suffer from this same dilemma?

Of course, in the event that you have to call your fiance because for the first time in weeks you actually "shut down" your laptop (yes, I have it in Sleep Mode most of the time I am not using it) and hope to heavens HE may remember what your COMPUTER password is so you can log back on....well, your whole password list could be a giant wash anyway!

Geez, I'm too tired now to even write a REAL post. I have stories to tell....Margo & the Bookstore, Aubrey the Genius, My Surprise for Tanner, Winter Gardening for Dummies.....but I'll save that for another day since I can log back in again. Right? I saved it on my Word document . *looks at Word, breathes sigh* Ok, yeah, I will return.

And I wonder why I don't have anyone's phone number memorized anymore. Welcome to Life as We Know It.

G'night, Happy Password-Saving, and a Merry Christmas to all!!

In an age of instant meals...

...I was sprawling on my bed going through the endless coupons I have for restaurants & fast food, mostly thanks to the book I purchased from one of my students last year.

The urgency to use them was strong for 2 reasons: 1. my growling tummy 2. So many coupons, so little time. They all expire in December.

Yet once I realized I was actually considering buying a large greasy pizza just so I could get the free toasted ravioli appetizer...my voice of reason (finally) jumped in.

I LOVE to cook. I don't have anywhere to be. I've got a fairly stocked kitchen. As visions of pizza or burritos began to fade, a spark of creativity ensued.

I am primarily writing this blog to make a self-reference to in the future (being that about 3 people read it!). The next time I am about to go spend my hard-earned paycheck on overpriced food (coupon or not) I hope to stop & hear that voice....because dinner was TASTY tonight!!

So, here's what I did:

1. Threw some wheat pasta in some water for the stove.

2. Chopped up tomato, eliminating the "slimy" middle, opting for the firm, red outer regions. The really diced pieces were for the pasta sauce, the large ones for the salad.

3. Grabbed some baby shrimp out of the freezer & began running warm water over them.

4. Got a trusty jar of basil pesto sauce (which I actually will be making HOMEMADE in the near future before the beautiful sweet basil endures freezing temps!) & warmed it up ala microwave.

5. Pasta cooking (check), shrimp thawing (check), so time to add fresh ingredients to the sauce. Picked some big basil leaves from the garden, chopped them up. Added some garlic to the sauce as well. And the diced tomato.

6. Grabbed romaine lettuce from fridge, chopped some cucumber, threw in tomato, added black pepper & a dash of the basil.....voila, the salad is ready!

7. With shrimp ready to go, stirred it into the sauce that was now full of veggies & spices.

8. Drained the pasta & stirred it up with the sauce.

MMMM, dinner is served! All these steps happened in a matter of about 15 minutes. Add a fresh ice water (& a caffeine-free cola) and at this point I almost wanted to take a lovely snapshot of my meal. Take that, Mazzio's, Taco Bell, Sonic, and just about any other crap option I almost defaulted to. PS: My wallet loved me for it as well.