New study about reducing foster care population

Had to plug Youth Villages at least once more before I leave!



Please check out this study that cites a 34% reduction in the number of children in Tennessee foster care since 2000. It highlights to work of Youth Villages with TN DCS.

What I learned on our trip to Texas

1. "Dry heat" is a myth! It is just as humid in central Texas as it is in Memphis!

2. It is pronounced San Marcis, not San MarcOs. Apparently that is the California way of saying it, and you will stick out as a foreigner if you say it that way.

3. I need to learn how to make sweet tea, for my husband's survival. (I am open to suggestions!)

4. Any time is a good time to jump in the San Marcos River for a swim! (I did not personally experience this, but every time we drove by - including during a thunderstorm - people were in the river.)

5. You can buy wine in the grocery store and a pitcher of Shiner Bock at the local pizza place!

Facebook...

Okay, with the pending move, I have been asked five million times, "You're on facebook, right?"

No, no I'm not. I really don't like facebook, although I've never been a member. I feel like all of this instant, technocentric communication is hurting our ability to have deep relationships. We are losing the skills of communicating our differences in a constructive, respectful way. I know this is entirely hypocritical of me to write about my loathing of social networking on a blog! Oh well.

So, here is my dilema: I'm moving to another state, and facebook has the potential to help me stay easily connected to my friends here in Memphis. But I don't like facebook. Ughh....

Please help me out by letting me know what you love or hate about facebook, and let me know if you think I should join. I appreciate your feedback!

Jon helps us pack...

Jon is very excited about all of the boxes in our living room!

We are heading out to San Marcos, TX at the beginning of August. Jonathan accepted a teaching position at Texas State University! After about 9 months of trying to find a job, we are very relieved that he has a full time position for the fall. Currently it is just a one year position, but it may have the potential to be extended. San Marcos is just outside of Austin, and we are looking forward to taking in all that Austin has to offer. So grab your inner tube and Shiner koozie, and come on down to central Texas!

Where's Jon?

Jon has started to understand the concept of peek-a-boo! I think this game is taking a break while Jon tries to stuff both fists and the burp cloth in his mouth : )

Silly me!

I thought I would share this funny moment from my day : ) Below is a picture of my notepad after a conference call meeting. It was obviously important that I get information from someone; my brain just neglected to write down the name of the actual person I needed to contact! Thankfully I remembered who the 'her' was. Does this happen to any of you??

Lay off me, I'm starving!!!

Thank you, Chris Farley...

I have enrolled in Weight Watchers through work again. I did this about 3 years ago and lost about 15 pounds. Alas, in the years I have been off of the program, I gained all that weight back. I'm almost back to pre-pregnancy weight, and I did have to get new jeans on Saturday because my first pair of post-pregnancy jeans were too big, which I'm pretty pleased with. Those jeans were the first (and hopefully only) pair of size 16 anything I have purchased, and it was no fun : ( Jonathan tells me that I shouldn't let numbers bother me, but they do... I am still overweight according to my BMI, so I thought Weight Watchers program would help get me healthy. My first meeting was last Friday, which also happened to be my 5th wedding anniversary. Let's just say that I used all of my extra points for the whole week at dinner that night! But who is going to pass up a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant with the sweetest guy in the whole world? Oh, and throw in a bottle of Malbec with that! So now I'm really on the program, and I'm in the stage where I feel hungry ALL THE TIME! I just have to train my body to eat a healthy number of calories a day. And don't worry - since I'm still breastfeeding, my caloric intake goals keep that in mind. I'll try to keep the blog updated each Friday with weight loss updates. Losing 18 pounds will get me to a healthy BMI, so that's my goal!