Letters--Letter to My Spouse

This is my letter to my spouse for my "letters" posts. I thought it would be appropriate because this weekend is conference weekend...and in case you didn't know. I met Zach over October conference weekend...two years ago! I will most likely post on that later.

Dear Zach,
I cannot believe that exactly two years ago today I had not yet met you. It's so hard for me to comprehend because honestly, I cannot remember what it was like without you. Do you remember how you transformed my life almost immediately. I knew it was you.

Do you remember the flirtatious texts? Do you remember watching Firefly. Do you remember "sitting on our hands?" : ) I do.

I also remember a Halloween dance, an impromptu trip to Shari's--for drinking hot chocolate. I remember attempting to take an institute class and I remember a trip up to Table Rock. I remember introducing you to my family. I remember you sitting next to my grandma at my grandpa's birthday party. I remember you talking to my grandma.

Fast forward to married life--the very best thing EVER! (Sorry had to have a mildly juvenile moment there :) Do you remember our hiatus from the outside world, what a brilliant idea and a wonderful time. We should do that again! Do you remember falling asleep on top of the covers of our bed with our regular clothes still on because we were just laying down for a minute and we were going to get up and watch Burn Notice? Do you remember me waking you up at 3 a.m. to tell you that we didn't watch Burn Notice? :) Do you remember our first Christmas? You had to work and we woke up and opened some gifts and said a prayer that you'd be able to come home. I cried. You came home within the hour. I cried again. Do you remember water fights in the shower? Do you remember the first few horrid weeks with Mal? I do. I hold on to every memory that I can.

Meeting you validated in my long held belief in soul mates. You are mine..undoubtedly. Meeting you turned my life upside down. I thought I had it figured out--the kind of guy I wanted the life I wanted, but I really had no idea. You changed everything and I could not be more grateful.

I'm so grateful that I waited for you--in every way. I'm grateful that you are deserving of what I've given you and what we share. Thank you for that!

I'm grateful for all that I've learned from you. That men aren't horrible. Neither are conservatives. In fact since meeting you AND ONLY YOU (you know what I mean) I actually embrace and love my conservative side. You have taught me what it means to love unconditionally, you are currently teaching me how! :) You have taught me to not take life so seriously, though I am trying to teach you the exact opposite...but we're getting there.

I learn more from being your wife and friend than I have in any other capacity. Thank you!

I love you...a really lot! :) :) :)

Shar

Answer This

Do you have any weird quirks? If so...what are they?

I definitely qualify as "quirky"

I have many a quirk

Here are a few:

*I eat the bottoms of cupcakes and muffins first because the top is the best part...especially when it's covered in lots of frosting!

*I won't use gifts that I get (lotions, bubble bath, a lot of times--gift cards, etc...) if I don't have a back up of equal value. If I get fancy lotion or something I don't like to use it in case I can't replace it--like if I ended up super poor and absolutely couldn't buy nice things like that. It's really weird and it borders on obsessive.

*I get grossed out by millions of weird body function terms...
phrases like, "Your body is made up of 80% water" is just too much to bear

Other words like "fester," "nerve ending" or the concept of "layers' of skin...GROSS.

*I gag when I encounter an onion.

*I cannot leave the house in the morning unless the bed is made.

*I cannot leave dishes in the sink for any real length of time (for the most part). Dishes in the sink=trashy. I cannot do it!

*I cannot sit down to read a book without a pad of sticky notes. (I like to mark pages that have good lines/quotes so I can write them down later and I absolutely cannot relax enough to read without post-it's).

*I have to listen to Mike and Kate in the morning or it throws my morning off

*Having over 100 texts in my phone's inbox makes me feel overwhelmed. So does having unread messages in my email. I feel cluttered and they feel like daunting "to do" tasks hovering over me.

Now please share your little quirks :)

It's My Birthday and I Can Brag if I Want To...

So, it's my birthday and my Mom posted this as a comment on my last post.
I love my mom and she said nice/funny things about me and I'm going to share...'cause it's my birthday and I can! :)

OK I DO NOT HAVE A BLOG AND TODAY IS SHARLEE'S BIRTHDAY..
I AM THE MOM SHE GIVES FAR TOO MUCH CREDIT TO.
I WOULD LIKE TO POST THIS JUST SO SHE KNOWS
HERE ARE 26 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT SHARLEE SO IF YOU ARE THE STRANGER SHE WROTE TO THIS MAY HELP.
1. SHE IS TRULY AN OLD SOUL SHE HAS WISDOM BEYOND HER YEARS AND HAS HAD SINCE SHE WAS VERY SMALL
2. SHE WILL LOVE YOU TO DEATH IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES TO HAVE GAINED HER LOVE
3. SHE WILL FORGIVE AND STILL BELIEVE IN THE GOOD OF THINGS EVEN SOMETIMES THINGS THAT OTHERS WOULD NEVER FATHOM FORGIVING. BUT IF YOU DON'T ADMIT OR ACKNOWLEDGE SHE WILL HOLD A GRUDGE FOREVER!!!!
4. SHE STANDS UP FOR HERSELF AND THE THINGS SHE BELIEVES IN
5. SHE BELIEVES IN AND LOVES HER STUDENTS EVERY YEAR IN SCHOOL. THEY LOVE HER AS WELL
6. SHE HAS ROAD RAGE ISSUES
7. SHE PICKED A HUSBAND WHO LOVES HER FAMILY AS WELL AS HIS OWN
8. SHE AND HER BROTHER HAVE A UNIQUE AND ONGOING FRIENDSHIP THAT THEY FORGED SINCE SHE WAS 4 AND THOUGHT SHE CHOSE HIM HERSELF
9, SHE LOVES TO READ
10. SHE LOVES TO CLEAN
11. SHE HAS AN OPINION ON EVERYTHING AND SHE IS NOT AFRAID TO TELL IT
12. SHE IS A BELIEVER. IN LOVE LIFE THE GOSPEL GOD HER FAMILY
13 SHE IS A GOOD FRIEND
14. SHE IS A GOOD WIFE
15. SHE IS FUNNY AS HELL
16. SHE LIVES HER BELIEFS
17. SHE EXPECTS OTHERS TO LIVE THEIR BELIEFS
18. SHE HAS HIGH STANDARDS AND WANTS THOSE AROUND HER TO HOLD THEM AS WELL
19. SHE DRESSES WITH RESPECT AND CLASS
20.SHE LOVES HIGH HEELS, CHOCOLATE, CHINESE FOOD, JODI PICOULT BOOKS, MOVIES AND HANGING AT HOME
21. SHE LOVES VACATIONS
22. SHE LOVES MY MOTHER MORE THAN I THINK I DO. SHE HAD A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH HER AND WAS TRULY MY MOMS FRIEND FROM THE TME SHE WAS JUST LITTLE
23. SHE IS INTELLIGENT BUT NOT OVERBEARING WITH IT
24 SHE IS A VERY GOOD COOK A TALENT THAT SHE DIDNT TAKE ON UNTIL SHE WAS MARRIED
25. SHE WILL CRY AND LAUGH AT THE DROP OF A HAT
26. SHE LOVES HER HUSBAND,MAL,HER FAMILY, HER STUDENTS, HER HEAVENLY FATHERS
SHE JUST BASICALLY LOVES VERY WELL
I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GET TO KNOW HER BETTER. AS SHE IS TRULY A PERSON WORTHY OF YOUR TIME
SHE IS MY DAUGHTER, MY FIRST CHILD LOVE AND MY FRIEND
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARLEE

Letters

Dear Stranger,

Hello. My name is Sharlee. I find it difficult to "define" myself to you, as you are, in fact, a stranger. Instead, I will tell you a little about what I believe and you may define me in your own words from there, but I ask you to please be kind.

With my whole heart I believe that loving someone else can shape his/her/its soul. Yes-I said "its." I believe that love is the most powerful tool a parent has to help shape his/her child into the best possible person that child can become. I believe this because that is how I was raised. I believe this because I am a teacher and I love my students--truly love them--and it makes a difference.

I believe that chivalry is a lost art. I believe that men should be gentlemen and women should be ladies. I believe that all of us should expect to be treated as such.

I believe we should all have high standards for how we are treated because I know that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. This knowledge is my greatest treasure. Without this knowledge, I would not be myself. I am so grateful to know this. That I have another Father who loves and knows me and knows what is best for me.

I believe that it is vital to stand for what is right. I know that living that kind of life brings a peace into your life that will make you happier than anything else possibly could.

I believe that a person needs to find the little things in life to take appreciation in. I live to cuddle with my husband during a nap while listening to my dog snore on the floor next to my bed. I live to laugh at my brother. I live to talk to my mom on the phone. I live to hear my mom laugh at me. I live to play a game of Settlers or to eat Idaho Pizza Company pizza. I live to go to church every Sunday and feel uplifted. I live to tell people that I love them. I live to feel the good of the people around me.

I really hate how much I care about my weight and how I look. Since I don't know you I can tell you that it literally eats away at me all of the time. It takes joy out of things that should be fun--as I worry about how I look. I don't know how it got this bad and I would like to fix it. I hate how this affects women at such a higher level than men.

I hate that I get my feelings hurt so easily, but I love that I am sensitive. It's hard to find a balance in liking yourself at times.

I may have a difficult time defining myself but I do know that I am: a fighter, strong, feminine, happy, at peace, a patriot, and blessed. I do know that I still need to work on: being less critical of others, gossiping, budgeting, taking better care of my body, and forgiving others.

All in all though, I know that good always outweighs bad. I believe that there is good all around if we just look for it. I believe that the best thing we can do for others is look for and promote the good. Look for the good and you will find it. I promise you that.

With Love,

Sharlee

What Was All the Excitement About???

This guy is an official degree holder.

He holds an A.S. in Computer Networking

He plans to continue on for his Bachelor's...

He has been working hard from the time that I met him..so I decided he needed to celebrate

So I planned a surprise. I told him to take a Saturday off of work so we could visit my family in Utah. Just an overnight trip. Saturday morning we woke up, packed, and headed out the door. I told him I wanted to drive and I turned the wrong way. Then, I couldn't hold it in any longer...I gave him a card. After reading the card he goes, "We're not going to Utah?"

NOPE!

I surprised him and took him zip lining at Tamarack and then we stayed overnight at the Ashley Inn in Cascade. The trip was a blast. Here are a FEW pics from our zipping tour.

Zach zipping


Me zipping...



We decided it will be an annual thing. We had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. We made some new friends. I think I was really able to show Zach how proud I am of him and how much it means to me that he is working hard and going to school. Plus, we haven't done much like this--I've become a wuss since meeting him (more to blog on that later).
I was happy to spend a weekend up in the mountains with wonderful weather and my husband!

p.s. Sorry if this disappoints Crystal. I was excited because I had been keeping this a secret and I felt like a kid at Christmas when we went to bed on Friday night. I couldn't wait to get up and get going so I could surprise him!

Just for Fun

Today my students were asked to be a little more "news" aware.
I handed out newspapers and put them to work.
'Report back to me so you can become a reporter for our classroom!"
I'm beyond pleased with myself.
They're talking, writing, asking questions...
Until this question was asked,
"What word is spelled s-e-d-u-c-e and what does it mean?"

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday.

She is #@$% years old.

I will tell you, she is over 50 (I think that's okay to tell:)

So I will tell you fifty things that make my mom so special.

She is special, you know, she's different and amazing, I love her, and she deserves a fifty things post :)

1. My mom loves her kids like crazy. And we know it--possibly the best blessing a parent could give any child

2. She knows how to laugh at herself and at life--as much as I get annoyed with it at times--I envy this ability she has

3. She is the hardest working person you will ever meet

4. She always thinks of others

5. She is unselfish

6. She goes to movies at The Flicks by herself at least once a month...I feel relatively bad about this truth, but I don't care for those movies :)

7. She went to see Elton John by herself

8. She LOVES the movie Arthur and laughs at it no matter how many times she has seen it

9. She reads magazines like crazy

10. She stays up all hours of the night

11. She teaches the best Relief Society lessons

12. She loves to work in the yard and keeps her yard looking great all the time

13. She bought me garden plants and came over to help me plant my own garden

14. She watches The Bachelor and Bachelorette with me

15. She HATES Chris Harrison--sometimes this is funny, sometimes it is not funny at all

16. She makes to-die-for nachos

17. She helps me set up my classroom at the beginning of the year

18. She needs redirection when helping set up my classroom--at least once :)

19. She sometimes needs redirection in a lot of things...I always know how to redirect her :)

20. She is the person that I told Zach he had to get permission from before he could propose

21. She has a potty mouth at times

22. She takes a long time to learn the rules for games

23. You always feel sorry for her when you play games with her

24. She is so much fun

25. She looks like Oprah-at least Shane and I think so :)

26. It's fun to tell her she looks like Oprah or to tell her that random men in public look like my dad

27. Basically, it's a hoot to bother her! :)

28. She's forgiving

29. She is incredibly loyal...if she's your friend. I promise you can trust her

30. She's honest and she hates liars

31. She won't even tell her family about a trial that she's on the jury for

I know, I know, you're not "supposed to," but I give her a hard time about this

32. If you are having a hard time, she will text you to see how you are doing

33. If you say that your husband needs a ride home from work or to school she will send you a text like this, "I did all of my morning chores tonight so I can leave for work earlier. If Zach needs a ride I can give him one." I don't think anyone gets a cuter text than that!

34. She will pray for your class--by name--before the ISAT tests

35. When I got my feelings hurt by a boy in high school once, I came home crying. My mom was on the phone and immidiately got off the phone and came into my room and crawled into my bed with me.

36. When I got home the day I got my heart broken--truly broken--my mom had washed my sheets and put a clean pair of pajamas out on my bed so I could sleep in peace. She wrote me a poem, too.

37. Speaking of poems, my mom is a poet, did you know that?

38. She can crochet, too. You get blankets for baby blessings and such when you have one :)

39. My mom took her vacation time and spent it with her kids always. We had great times. Sometimes taking vacations and sometimes watching movies on our couch bed while drinking hot chocolate

40. She is the kind of mom that I never ever wanted to be away from. I have never "out grown" my mom

41. She made me invite every kid in the neighborhood to my birthday party. Even the red-headed pervert who picked his nose. I wasn't allowed to let anyone feel bad. As annoying as this trait of my mom's has sometimes been, I never grew up thinking that some people "weren't okay."

42. She escorted me through the temple

43. She "ruined' my exit from the temple on my wedding day--or helped make a really funny memory

44. She made up her own songs and sang them to us when we were little. I just told Zach about one of the songs just the other night and I seriously started crying.

45. You miss her when she's not around

46. She keeps track of EVERYTHING

47. She takes care of my Grandpa, my dad, her kids (Zach included), and all of our family. She takes Grandpa to his doctor appointments, goes to his family history class with him, mows his lawn, cleans his house, and goes out to dinner with him when he wants company. She never ever complains about doing things for others...she just does because she loves.

48. She lives a life that you would never regret living

49. She has NO clue how amazing she is

50. She is the best person I know.

Basically, there is no one like this woman on the face of the earth. She's the biggest blessing in my life, for sure. Sure, I have a wonderful husband, a job that I enjoy, and family and friends that love me...I wouldn't be near the person I am today if I hadn't been influenced by my mom. It's true...she is beyond amazing. There are really no words. Trust me, Heavenly Father practically told me this. I'm special...and so is my mom. In fact, I'm special because of my mom. It's true.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I'm so thankful for you today. Thank you for everything!

Excitement!

There is a massive amount of excitement going on like crazy in my little heart right now for the following reasons:
1. I am finally feeling that deep down LOVE for my students. The one where I watch them working, walking down the hall, or playing at recess and I ache in my chest and freaking LOVE them! I am there. I worried I wouldn't get there. I worried that maybe I'd lost it (and quite honestly that's the best thing about the "teacher me" there is.
2. I just won a cookbook from a blog. My very first blog prize. Go here to make yourself jealous!
3. I have something that I'm SOOOO excited about but I can't tell you until after the weekend...just know that I won't be sleeping tonight, I'm too excited. Hold tight until Monday--I promise to spill all then!

And...
just to make you laugh...heard this from one of my former students (I love her to death) on the playground today. (For added effect, please understand that this statement was made VERY matter of fact.)

"The only foul language I use is in my head."


It gave me the very laugh that I needed to finish up my Friday!

A Letter A Day

Got another great idea from another blog...it's a letter a day. I think this will be fun and maybe a little challenging. You are supposed to write a letter to someone (specifics below) per day. I think I will make mine a letter a week. (I will just title and label the posts "Letters." Here are the different people or "things" I will be writing to:

1. A stranger
2. Your spouse, or your future spouse - even if you've never met them
3. Your child(ren) or future child
4. Your first love or crush
5. One to each of your parents
6. Someone in your life who has caused a lot of pain during your childhood
7. Your sibling(s)
8. Someone you've hurt
9. Someone you don't understand
10. Someone deceased
11. The person you'd want to take care of your children if you & your spouse are no longer alive
12. Your best girlfriend
13. Your dreams
14. Someone you don't talk to as much as you'd like
15. Your 13-year-old self
16. The person you miss the most
17. Someone you know who's going through the worst of times
18. Someone that caused someone you love (not you) a lot of pain when they were a child
19. Someone that changed your life
20. Your reflection in the mirror

Let the fun begin!

Answer This....

Tell Me Something That Has Made You Cry or Nearly Cry Recently
I know. Kind of a depressing Answer This, huh?

Well, maybe it's because I have honestly cried A FREAKING LOT over the past few days.

Maybe it's because I love to cry.

Maybe it's because I am not ashamed of crying in the least bit.

Or maybe it's just because I wanted to share these pictures with you in some form (and they did bring me to tears).

Enjoy!

And then tell me what's made you cry! PLEASE

8 Things...Tag

Okay, so I read (err..blog stalk) Kendra at Living Our Love Song. She was recently tagged and in turn tagged ALL of the readers. She asks 8 questions, I answer, I post 8 new questions, and I tag more readers! FUN FOR EVERYONE! I mostly just want to tag other people so I'm doing it! Here are the questions:

What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

I honestly have no idea. I haven't been all that crazy in my life, sadly. I think probably the summer after high school. Misty, Lindsey, and I went on a streaking streak! :) That's a great way to put it. We went through the car wash in our undies, we did Chinese fire drills virtually clothing-less (or completely clothing-less, however you prefer to look at it:). The best experience was running our high school softball field topless and getting pulled over by a cop SECONDS later. He had no real reason to pull us over but never mentioned the incident! I just remember yelling at everyone to get dressed before I actually pulled the car over! Oh, what a great memory!

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Zach and I just discussed this the other night after watching It Could Happen to You. We both agree that we would: pay off our home, buy a home in Georgia, pay off all other debts, buy us each a new car, shopping sprees for each of us, give our families some money, take a wonderful vacation, I could stay home to take care of our (future) kids, and we would put the REST in the bank! :)

Who would you say is your best friend (besides your spouse)?

Zach, actually is my very best friend. First and foremost, I just have to say that. I know this may even hurt my mom's feelings a little but I was just telling him (and then I did tell my mom) but Zach has never really truly hurt my feelings. For as hard as I am to handle, and as much time as we spend together, he has never made me feel like he is annoyed with me, tired of me, etc...he never hurts my feelings..EVER..and for someone who literally gets her feelings hurt daily, that's saying a lot. Beyond Zach, though, my best friends are my grandma, my mom, Misty, and Jonnie.

What does a perfect day look like for you?

I wake up whenever I want with Zach. (We both have the day together). I either don't care how my clothes fit or they don't have any sort of problem fitting(probably both)--i.e. no apprehension about putting on jeans. We are in another place on vacation. My absolutely perfect day would probably be like the day we spent in Charleston. Shopping at the market, sight seeing, the beach, eating, snacking on ice cream, buying things from street vendors, watching street performers at night. Except this time we would have a hotel room of our very own when we got back, no offense to Mom and Dad Puckett...I'm sure you understand :) That would probably be a perfect day. If I could extend a day forever I would like to maybe attend the temple and have my mom go to the market with me, too!

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about LOT of things, to name a few: my marriage, my mom, education, hot chocolate, books, Mal, food, chocolate, dates, pictures, memories, people that make me happy, people that make me angry, the gospel, my testimony, my students (past and present), laughing. I am seriously passionate about doing domestic things: shopping, menu planning, cooking, cleaning, decorating (to some extent), making my house a home.

Did you have any resolutions for 2010? If yes-what were they and did you accomplish any of them?

Yes, I had many. Lose ten/fifteen pounds. Try 2 new recipes a month. Keep house clean. Get over insecurities. Read scriptures daily. Pray daily. Those are just a few, I can't remember them all. I did try at least two new recipes a month. I did keep my house clean. I read my scriptures daily off and on throughout the year. I did pray daily off and on throughout the year. I did not lose ten to fifteen pounds. I did not get over my insecurities...still working on those, though.

What do you see yourself doing in ten years?

Ideally, I would see myself staying home and taking care of our (future) kids. I see myself as a mom who is happy. I would like to continue working, in some form, with kids and helping educate them. Or I may still be teaching. Hopefully in a different school, mostly because I don't want to stay in the same place forever.I see myself making breakfast for my family in the morning. I mostly just see myself happy. Loving the little things, just like I do now.

If you could have a feast of your favorite foods, what would be on the menu?

Basically a Perfect Buffet?

Chinese food, Coke, chicken and rice (in various forms), cake and ice cream, a baked potato, and a good salad...that would be my incredible feast! :)

To keep in line with the theme, I am tagging 8 people: Misty, Allison, Aleisha, Katie, Brad, Cody, Jen, Jessica, and anyone else who wants to play! Here are YOUR 8 questions you guys:

1. Is there any one principle that you think all people should live their lives by? If yes-what?
2. What is the most indulgent thing you do in your week?
3.Which one event in your life has had the most impact?
4.What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
5. You have to give a ten minute speech at a high school, what is it about?
6.What drives you every day?
7. What talent(s) do you wish you had?
8.What do you like most about yourself?