Almost Time To Say Goodbye To 2010!

Almost Time To Say Goodbye To 2010!

It's hard to believe there are only 2 more days left in 2010! At the end of the year, I think it's fun to look back and reflect on everything that has happened during the previous 12 months. So...I borrowed these questions from another blog, but I thought they were good at helping me remember 2010!

1-What did you do in 2010 that you had never done before? I'm still thinking....

2-Did anyone close to you give birth? Corey had Seth in January

and Dana had Trent in August

3-Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully!

4-What date from 2010 will be forever etched in your mind. Why? without a doubt April 7th- Weston's accident.

5-What was your biggest acheivement this year? completing my masters degree in Media Technology from Appalachian State University- December 12th

6-Did you suffer any illness or injury? No, I have surprisingly been very healthy this year despite the stress.

7-What was the best thing you bought? - didn't buy it but I was given an iPad... but if I had to have a bought item- definitely my masters degree from Appalachian
8-Where did most of your money go? my masters degree, car payment and surgery expenses

9-What song will always remind you of 2010? Hmmmm....lots of songs! Here are just a few...
What Faith Can Do- Kutless

Blessed Assurance - Avalon version
The Words I Would Say- Sidewalk Prophets

By Your Side... Building 423

Safe- Phil Wickam

10-What do you wish you'd done more of? Read my Bible, had more down time, and blogged.

11-What do you wish you'd done less of? Stressed about trivial things

12-What was your favorite TV program? I'm still a fan of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy

13-What's the best book you read this year? Heaven is For Real14-What was your favorite movie this year? probably Toy Story 3, I only saw it in theaters 3 times wait a minute how could I forget The Last Song- it was based on a book by one of my favorite authors and the setting was in North Carolina

15-What did you do on your birthday? How old were you? I turned 26 this year.

16-Did you travel anywhere this year? not anywhere big- the annual beach trip to Holden/Myrtle was just enough

17-What national/world event stirred you the most? I think the oil spill in the Gulf. That was just awful and I was so afraid that it was going to do long term damage. (Which it did!)


On the other hand, the Chilean miners were so inspirational and a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit!


I loved that story!

18-What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A less stressful job. Enough said.

19-What merited celebration? Weston's spared life and quick recovery.

20-Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010? to cherish the people you have in your life- let them know how much they mean to you on a regular basis- before it's too late!

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Kids say the darndest things...

Haven't done one of these in a while...

"Ms Dancy- My mom's name is Regina- why's her name on the board under Social Studies?" <- it took me a minute to figure out what he was referring to... "It's not- that says REGION."

While at recess the same student, as mentioned above, "Hey do Eskimos have police? You couldn't say "Be home by dark either. 'Cause it's always dark,"

We were discussing topography maps and how they show change in elevation- I asked if any students had experienced a change in elevation as in climbing a mountain~ I went on to add "You probably felt a popping in your ears." One little cutie quickly responded "Why do your ears POP instead of sizzle?" To that I replied... I don't know, maybe you should do a little research for us.

At the lunch table, "My aunt is pregnant. I hope she has a boy. I like baby boys better- they have chubby cheeks!"

Battle of the Bell...

VS.

Last night marked the 80th anniversary of the longest-standing high school football rivalry in the state of North Carolina. I am a proud alumni of the A.L. Brown Wonders but I teach in a feeder school on Concord. However... it wasn't a hard decision for which side I would be pulling for come game time. No doubt about it- my allegiance has and always will be to the A.L. Brown Wonders!

I proudly wore my green and blue to work, Spider territory, Friday!

I enjoyed some good natured "smack talk" with the Trott boys- you see both their parents and I are alums of A.L. Brown! I just can't figure out why they don't "see the light"!

The rivalry starts young... 3 of my students at recess challenged me with a bet "Ms Dancy! If A.L. Brown wins we'll write an essay about how "Wonder"ful they are AND if Concord wins you'll write an essay about how good the Spiders are!" of course I was up for it! So... this morning (we had a makeup Saturday school from a water-main break 2 weeks ago) Julia made good on her challenge- and here's what she had to say:

K-Town

"How could the Spiders ever beat the Wonders? They are so awesome! They totally deserve the Bell! Such losers, like the Spiders don't have a high enough position to own the Bell. The Wonders are totally the ones to have the Bell! Wonders Rock! I mean seriously, even the mascots- nobody likes spiders..they bite! But Wonders are cool and mystical. Wonders are the Best!"

The rain didn't stop loyal Wonder Fans from showing up to the Bailey Stadium to rally their Wonders!

This game was featured in the National Rivalry series
Here come the Wonders!!!
Final score- speaks for itself!:)
The bell.... returning to it's rightful owners! Thanks Concord for babysitting!:)
True sportsmanship!

Be a pumpkin!

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch and washes all the dirt off of you. He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate and greed. He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Where are you fall?

So today is the first day of Fall.... just look at these temps! Do they resemble Fall-like temperatures?? I think NOT!

Tonight is a full moon- and since it falls on the first night of Fall they call it a Harvest moon. This is the first Harvest moon since 1991 and there won't be another one until 2029! This Harvest moon coincides with the autumn equinox. By the time the equinox arrives, the planet Jupiter from Earth's perspective will be right beside the moon in the night sky. Isn't that crazy?

Welcome Trent Clark Thomas!

This afternoon one of my best friends from college, Dana aka "Daner" welcomed her 2nd momma's boy into this world. Trent Clark Thomas made his arrival shortly after 4 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 8 oz. He is absolutely perfect- just like I knew he would be! See for yourself...

I think he favors big brother Tucker too!

(new born Tucker)

What do you think?

Ms Dancy's 2010-2010 Pit-Crew

Today was the first day of school! As usual I did not sleep well last night- I still get those first day jitters even though this is my 5th year of teaching! As you can tell it looks like I have a great bunch of students to work with- 19 in all! Our school wide theme is "The Ultimate Pit-Crew...celebrating the small things." So here is my pit-crew. With the "racing" theme I told my students our class motto would be "Success is a journey, not a destination."

Beach week 2010 - fun in the sun

Mom and I headed for the beach last Saturday. Sadly this was my first trip to the beach this summer- as I was bogged down with grad school and the Tech Camp. Mom and I spent the week at Holden with my grandparents. My 2nd family as a few miles south of the border at North Myrtle- so of course that meant I had to make a few day trips to them. Emerald came down Tuesday afternoon to join in the fun. What a fun week we had playing in the sand, jumping waves, soaking up the sun, eating ourselves happy and most importantly enjoying each others company.

Happy Birthday Ernie!

Erin is the king of pranks- so it was only fitting that he be pranked for his birthday. I think it's safe to say we pulled one over on him! Last week Dad had to replace a toilet at home- for most of the week the toilet has sat at the end of the driveway waiting to be picked up. The bright idea popped into my head- how great would it be to put this toilet on Erin's front porch. What made it even better was that Erin literally just moved into this house last weekend. So- with a little scheming my bright idea became a reality. I called Jan on my way home yesterday afternoon- she told me he was working until 8, so we only had a few hours to work with. To add excitement to our adventure the weather was not very cooperative. At just the time we needed to leave my house with the toilet in tow- a summer storm blew in. I'm talking torrential downpour with hurricane like winds!!! Jan and I didn't let this stand in our way! We put on her raincoats and went about our business!

Notice the "2" and "4" balloons = Erin's 24th birthday.... details details

Tootsie Rolls look an awful lot like turds...

You will notice all the writing covering the toilet- each phrase was an inside joke.

I was expecting a phone call the minute Erin got home. However- because of his oblivious one-track mind he walked right past the toilet without noticing it. When he finally saw it- he just laughed... although I think he did have to do a double-take at the tootsie-roll turds!

Where is he????

Not gonna lie... "Where is he(Mr. Right)???" ... this question has been flipping through my mind more often than not lately. I am 26 years old and still haven't come across him! In my dream world I had already married myself off by this age.... The pressure of this world tells me "you're strange! you're weird! something is wrong with you"... as if I need a relationship to prove my value or worth. When I begin to feel overwhelmed I find myself going to the word, going to the Lord and praying for his peace, his purposes, his direction and his will. I constantly have to remind myself that my timing is not his timing, nor are my ways his ways. I also hold fast to his word that it is not good for man to be alone... and if his word is true, if his word is unchanging.. surely he hasn't forgotten about me.

I guess I've been thinking about it again- because of the article I read in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about Lee University's "ring by spring" program, my parents just celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary yesterday and I have a wedding of childhood friends to attend tomorrow night.

In the mean time, shallow-cheesy or not! this is a list I started in high-school of my dream guy. Yes- over the course of 8+ years it has been edited and updated... hey- my philosophy... it's good to know what you want. If you don't have standards- you'll settle for less than the best!

1. Actively pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ
2. Funny, Witty
3. Smart
4. Good communicator
5. Patient
6. Taller than me
7. Southerner
8. Has a solid job
9. Pretty, clean, white teeth
11. Dresses well (i.e. polo and khakis)
12. Enjoys kids and wants to be a dad at some point
13. Traveler
14. Goes to church regularly, even by himself
15. Is NOT racist
16. Enjoys and likes different genres of music
17. Social
18. Optimist (I can NOT handle cynisism!)
19. Clean, takes care of his things
20. Semi-organized
21. Athletic
22. Passionate
23. Loyal
24. Good credit score
25. Handles money well
26. Confident
27. Good family/ family oriented
28. Hard worker
29. Romantic
30. Selfless
31. Trustworthy
32. Benevolent
33.Empathetic
34. Does not plan to have alcohol in his home, especially when he has children
35. College educated
36. is a Leader
37. has a disciplined prayer life
38. handyman
39. Honest
40. doesn't watch/dvr tons of tv shows

**Bonuses but not required:

*no school loans
*good cook
*avid reader
*UNC/Tarheel fan
*conservative political views
*good singer

**Deal breakers:
*DUKE fan...
*Smoker/Drinker

Know any guy that meets ALL those qualifications? okk... most of them??? keep your eyes and ears open! and send 'em my way!:)

Quote of the week...

I'm a writer. I'm a quote kind of person. I came across this one today on a friend's facebook page and liked it so much I had to snag it. Simple words- yet powerful truth!

"You know it's been said that we just don't recognize the significant moments of our lives while they are happening. We grow complacent with ideas, or things or people and we take them for granted and it's usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you that you've realized how wrong you've been that you realized how much you need it, how much you love it".

"Ring By Spring"

So... I'll be the first to admit... I just knew that I would graduate from Lee University with 2 things, a college degree and a husband. Well 4 years post graduate- I have the first but have yet to find the second. If you don't believe me- I'll pull out my high-school senior scrapbook album we made in Honors English- and I'll turn to the "10 years from now page..." and show you. I really thought I would meet the man of my dreams while in college. Alas- I didn't. I was afforded many male friendships at Lee and a few dates- but nothing that transpired into anything serious. Do I regret this, no? Would I have married someone had the opportunity presented itself, maybe? Would I change the outcome of my marital status graduating from Lee, NOT HARDLY. In hine-sight I can truthfully say I was too young as an undergrad at Lee to have every been married- some days I still question rather or not I'm old enough to be married... in fact I'm still praying for God to put Mr. Right in my path.

There is a point to my rambling... recently my college roomate Amy Beth posted this link to her facebook... http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jul/25/lee-college-marry-me-u/

Lee University, as most private Christian universities, is the perfect ideal place for couples to meet, fall in love and marry. Lee is known as the meeting place for many a couple. One of the mantras around campus is "Ring before Spring ".

"It's not watcha know, it's who you know!"

After church this afternoon I was checking my facebook status updates- when I noticed a coworker of mine posted a status offering free tickets to tonight's American Idol Summer 2010 Tour at Verizon. Lacey works at Verizon on the weekends and is able to get free tickets every once and a while. Most of the time it's last minute when concerts aren't sell outs- so its spur of the moment and you just have to be spontaneous and go. I went through my list of people to call who I thought might want to go- most of them laughed at me because of how hott it was outside. I finally convinced Emerald (it didn't take much twisting of the arm) to meet me there. It worked out perfect as it was about half-way driving distance for both of us. We had decent seats- and were able to move a little closer- this concert was by no means a sell out. So- while I wouldn't have paid to go to this concert- it was very worth the free ticket. The weather cooperated nicely- at first the humidity was less than desirable however a quick storm blew though cooling things off just enough. And no- we didn't get wet!

Old friends... are the best friends...

Growing up in my church afforded me many life long friends.... as we grew older inevitably time and distance has split us in different directions...however I am thankful that in our case, we share that kind of friendship where- no matter how long we go without talking or seeing each other we are able to pick up right where we left off... we also know that we can depend on each other to be there for the good and bad times... today Melissa and Ricky were in town so we made a gathering out of it... we also had something to celebrate... Sara's engagement!!! Last year we married Melissa and Amanda off... Sara's next. Of course that leaves me- Miss Bachelorette... you can bet they good naturedly kidded me about that too!

Red Neck fun at its finest!!

I told Ashlyn- this morning when I woke up "I told myself I was going to go for a walk." Her reply "Good, you can come and walk Buddy with Ayden and Weston."

I had the bright idea to take the boys and Buddy to the park. Knowing it was going to be a hot day I thought it would be fun to cool off in the creek and to see Buddy play in the water. We had the best time! It was hysterical watching Buddy "swim" and play in the water for the first time. Ayden put on quite a show himself as he slipped and slid every which a way...

Who needs the pool? Who needs the ocean when you have this at your back door...






Fun was had by all ... and we didn't pay a cent! I think it's safe to say we'll be visiting again!

This evening we had to take Mom and Dad back to share in the fun!

Here are some videos...