The Terrible Smell

I promise the final London post later this week but in the meantime.....

You never know what surprises you will encounter at my job. Some are pleasant, others are not. I was in for one of the unpleasant ones when I arrived at work yesterday. There was a funky smell coming from my room (it's not the first time as some of you may recall the rat/maggot incident) so I imediately notified the office. Our janitor (who is actually Ernie Banks' brother) came out to inspect things. He said he would call environmental services to have them come look. Since it was somewhat tolerable we stayed in my room and had class. Environmental services came and took a look around the ceiling and didn't find anything. They said it must be my carpet and they would come clean it on Good Friday since we don't have school. (I'm thinking to myself....yeah right, if it was the carpet I'd have smelled it before now...I've also been down this road before and we had maggots and a dead rat.) So.......I leave well enough alone, finish my day and come home to complain to Joel.

Then today, the smell is worse. In fact it is so bad my kids refuse to go into the room. We quickly hold our breath, gather up our pencil boxes and important papers and head across the portable to another classroom. In the meantime, the janitor has come back out and decided something must have died under my corner of the portable. So he calls environmental services, they come out, have a look and find nothing. Fortunately, he convinces them to look again in the ceiling with a flashlight (duh!!! It's dark up there!). Would you believe that they actually found something....a dead squirrel. Now if they had only really looked yesterday we could have avoided all of this to begin with. I hate people who don't take me seriously!

London, Day 3

Our third day in London, Tuesday, we went sight seeing on our own. We utilized the tube and saw lots of things. We started out going to the Tower of London and getting a tour from one of the Beefeaters. It was cool to learn about the history of the Tower and of the city. While there we got to see the Crown Jewels without a wait (sorry no pictures are allowed)! We left the Tower and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (we Charles and Di were married). We didn't go in because we are cheap but did look around at all the great architecture. From there we went to Covent Garden (an open air market) for lunch. We enjoyed being serenaded by street performers while we ate. We then went to Harrod's (mostly just to say we've been) and bought a magnet for our fridge. We then headed back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner. We went back to Covent Gardens to eat Italian food (which was terrible) on our way to West End. At the West End we saw the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre and it was fantastic! I love theatre!!

Our beefeater at the Tower of London.
Joel by Tower Bridge
Me at Harrod's
The Theatre

London, Day 2

Our second day, Monday, we went on a tour outside of London to Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle. This was also the day the camera acted up so we didn't get as many pictures as we wanted. We left London at 7:45 am and drove out to Stonehenge (a two hour drive). We were on a mini bus with 7 other people. One family was from Vancouver, and the other two couples were from Houston (what are the odds!) Stonehenge is actually pretty unimpressive unless you ponder all the questions like who made it and why is it there.


We then went on to the city of Bath and toured the Roman baths. It was fun and we would have loved to see more of the city because it is famous for its architecture. We then drove through the English countryside back towards London and saw lots of quaint towns.



We stopped at Windsor castle (where the queen spends her summers) for a tour. It was fun to see the state apartments, the gardens, the Abbey, etc. If fact, they were setting up for a state dinner that night so the queen was probably there when we were! Too bad you can't take picutres inside the castle. We then went back to London and out that night to a restaurant famous for their fish and chips. It was the best meal we had in London. Yummy!!

London, Day 1 of 4

So as promised, the details of our London trip. We left Dallas on Saturday morning and landed in London about 8 am Sunday morning. It was a long flight but worth it. We took an express train from Gatwick into London to catch the tube. We then discovered that the quickest route to our hotel was under construction for the weekend so we had to take several different trains to finally get there (not an easy feat with luggage!). We finally got to our hotel only to find our room wasn't ready. So we checked our bags with the bellman and decided what to do next. We chose to ride one of the tour buses around London to see the major sights and try to stay awake! We walked 5 minutes down to Speakers Square to catch the bus only to find a giant pro-Saddam rally taking place. Little scary to walk through but we quickly went around and tried not to draw attention to ourselves. We hopped on top of the bus (it was a double decker) and enjoyed our tour. We realized about half way through it that we were starving so we hopped off and found a McDonalds (we were too tired to do any heavy looking for food) and ate. We then hopped back on the bus, back to Speakers Square, through the Saddam rally and walked back to our hotel. We got our room took a short nap and went to dinner (in the hotel). We finally reached our exhaustion point about 10 and went to bed. We had to be up early the next morning for our tour of Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor castle. Now you know about day 1!


This is what one looks like after a long flight, trying to stay awake!

Us and Big Ben (Isn't Joel good at the self portraits!)

Home Sweet Home

We are back from our fabulous trip to London! We had a great time and I promise to post details and pics later. For now, we are happy to be home and sleep in our own bed! My goals for this weekend are to catch up on email (my apologies for not answering any lately) and readjust to the time change. My internal clock is all kinds of messed up!! Have a great weekend and I'll tell you more about our trip on Monday!

It's Known as "Special Events"

"What is it?", you ask. That dreaded word "Special Events". It is a tradition of 30+ years at the school I work in. Each year we vote on a different topic of study. Since I've been there we have done America (after 9-11), Mexico, Hawaii, and Italy. This year it is National Parks. We spend two solid weeks transforming the main hallway of the school into our topic (to see the progression click here and go to page 3). It is amazing when it's done so I've decided to share some of the pictures with you. We have spent this whole "final week" really learning about the various parks, camping and preservation. Hope you enjoy and remember....the pictures don't do it justice!!

Obviously Carlsbad Caverns The Everglades (and a view of the hallway)
Denali in Alaska
The Redwood Forest
East Coast Lighthouses
Yellowstone (Do you see Old Faithful?)
The Everglades


The Grand Canyon

Some great photos

Here is a link to Mindy's engagement pictures. There are a lot so have fun browsing through them. They are really great photos!

A shout out....

to all my amazing friends!! You guys are awesome and I'm honored to know each and every one of you. Just when I've had a questionalbe day and am starting to feel sorry for myself something always happens. Be it a phone call (thanks Holly), a letter, a card (thanks Aimee) or just a quick email (thanks Arika) it always cheers me up! So thanks to each one of you for being there.

Having said all that, please keep in mind that we see the specialist next Wednesday. I've started experiencing nervousness, hopefullness, excitedness, etc. When we got the appointment it seemed so far away but now it is here! I was reminded of God's timing because had we gotten to the doctor earlier and started treatment it would have done us little good because of Joel's hernia surgery. He does ultimately have a plan for us and I feel like we are closer to getting answers. I will update you all when we know more. Until then, we are counting down the days to London!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

My wonderful husband sent me these flowers to work. It is so much fun to get flowers!! Of course the picture doesn't do them justice but believe me they are georgous (and my favorite flower of course!!)!

We also had our Valentine party at school. It is always exhausting but so much fun to watch the kid's faces as they open their cards. I even made out with quite a killing of chocolate and other things. It is nice to be appreciated! I hope you all had a great day too!

For Better.....or for Worse

Remember on your wedding day the excitement of finally exchanging vows. So much so that you don't really think about (as much as one should) what you are actually saying to one another. You just repeat (as lovingly as possible) after the minister and go on to your reception as husband and wife.

Then reality kicks in and you realize that you said for better (the easy part) or for worse (all those other parts you don't think will really ever come!). It dawns on you that there is no turning back.

I mention all this because we've had one of those "for worse" weeks here at the Cramer casa. Joel had day surgery on Tuesday and has been limited in what he can do. Therefore, being a good wife (because someday he will return the favor) I have done many things for him. Yes, it does get old but I keep reminding myself I agreed to this whole marriage thing. So I put on a smile and help him out.

Overall though, it is funny to think that really we have strengthened our relationship because you realize how nice it is to have someone who will stick by you "for worse". I have realized I wouldn't trade it for anything!

It's a sad day

in the Cramer house. We will not be getting our new puppy. It is for the best but still sad to know that we won't have a new addition. We visited her at her current owners and realized she would not be a good fit for our family. She is very high strung and loves to jump on people. It just would not work out. We are hoping to maybe find another puppy but we are willing to wait. Oh well!

In other news, I go to see my doctor on Thursday. Please pray that we get some good news and for clarity as I ask my doctor my list of questions. I will update you all when we know more.

We also enjoyed dinner with Holly and Justin on Friday. We gorged on cheese fries and burgers at Snuffer's (I know you are jealous Mindy!) It was fun to catch up with them as we hadn't seen each other since before Christmas. Maybe we can make it a once a month occasion! (Hint, hint) We also finally took down our outdoor Christmas lights on Sunday because it was sunny and somewhat warm. Luckily we were not the last people on the block!

It Should Have Gone Better

We are back from the game and if you haven't already heard we lost badly. It was a lousy time to play the worst game of the season....it should have gone so much better. Regardless, we had a good time and were very happy we didn't pay $1200 to get into the game. Instead we watched it outside in the parking lot on a big projection screen. It was cold and depressing but there are great memories. The craziest thing is that they predicted 170,000 people showed up for the game. The stadium holds about 72,000. Out of the 170,000 they estimated 30,000 were Florida fans and the remaining 140,000 were Ohio State fans. Didn't speak well for Florida!


They day before the game we joined 35,000 Ohio State fans for a pep rally in the baseball park. Here are some pictures of the band and our friend Chad (who is really an Oklahoma fan!) Doesn't he look thrilled to be rooting for the Buckeyes!

Christmas Chaos and Other Stuff

We survived Christmas! It was a fantastic holiday topped off by the best gift ever from Joel! He gave me a 5 day trip to London over spring break!!! I am so excited. March can't get here soon enough.

For Christmas, my mom, Mindy and Doug came to our house for 4 days. We had a great time catching up and planning the wedding. Mindy and Doug brought their new puppy Fletcher too. Woody wasn't that keen on him because he was so small and kept stealing his toys. However, they learned to get along but Woody was relieved to see them go. It is great practice for his new sister.

Speaking of Bella, we will be getting her in the next two weeks. We decided to wait until after we get back from the football game (we leave Saturday). That will be a fun trip and hopefully we can get tickets to the game!! I'm hopeful if that counts for something.

That was our holiday in a nut shell. I'll post more pictures when I get them from Mindy (hint, hint)!

The Newest Addition

It's official. We are expanding our family by one member. No it's not what you are thinking. We are getting a new puppy! She is an eight month old chocolate lab named Bella. We are not getting her until after Christmas (for several reasons) so I will post pics as soon as I can. I personally think we are crazy for getting another dog but she needs a home and we couldn't say no. Here's hoping that Woody adapts and all goes well!

Birthday Fun!

Today is my birthday. It has been a great day so far. Joel gave me an Ipod Nano so that I don't have to listen to annoying people on the train as I go to work. It was a great surprise! We also drove around to look at land (we are wanting to buy some acreage) and found a new place we liked. We also decorated the outside of the house with lights. Finally to end my big day we are going out to dinner at a local Italian place downtown on the square. I can't wait!! It will be so yummy. I'll let you all know how it turned out. I hope my 29th year is as good (or better!) than all the others. Clear your calendars now for next year though. There will be a huge party for my 30th!!!!

God is good!!!

I sometimes wonder about (but am also thankful for) God's sense of humor. He's got to have one because sometimes things happen you just have to laugh about. For example, I've been on the phone with my doctor a lot today trying to figure out the next step in a crazy series of events. We decided what to do, they called in prescriptions and I went to pick them up. Turns out that just before we went to get them, a prayer was answered. Now I don't even need one of the prescriptions that I got! It also means I'm back on the phone with the doctor tomorrow to verify we are still going to follow the plan. Funny how God works!! He certainly is good!!!

Go Bucks!!!

In case you have been living in a hole and don't know, it's Ohio State/Michigan weekend. We are going to the 10th annual Peteyfest at our friend's house (named after their cat). It is yet another tradition I married into. In honor of the big game I thought I'd share a little diddy with you all. Here goes:

Twas two nights before the Game,
And from High Street to the Shoe,
Not a cat was sleeping,
Even Stella was screaming Screw Blue.
The banners were hung by the flagpoles with care
In hopes that St. Troy would find Ginn and Gonzalez through the air.
Drunken and crazy and tossing in their beds,
While visions of touchdowns danced through their heads.
When all of the sudden there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the keg to see what was the matter.
When there in the sky, in a bright shiny sleigh,
Was Woody Hayes decked out in the scarlet and gray.
He looked to the crowd that was gathered around,
And said that he heard The Game was in town.
I came here to watch it, and wish you good luck.
Though it's not like you need it, cause Michigan Still Sucks!

Just thought I'd honor my fabulous hubby's love for the Buckeyes! Let's hope all goes well!

Update: After a thrilling victory over Michigan, we are on our way to the National Championship Game. We bought plane tickets tonight and hopefully can get some game tickets for a reasonable amount. O-H-I-O! Go bucks!

Thankful for...

strong Texas roots, a great family history and strong women. Some of you know (okay maybe most of you) that I come from a large extended family. I'm humbled to have come from a strong line of Schlenkers who decided to settle in Texas. This last summer we celebrated 100 years in Texas and had a great family reunion. It is always amazing to me how many people come together and celebrate our family. It is always several days of fun. Like most everything, you never really appreciate your heritage until you get older.

This reunion was special because I got to spend lots of great time with my cousins whom I seldom see. As kids we were always running around together and getting into things we weren't supposed to. It was nice to reconnect and reminisce about our childhoods. We spent a lot of time laughing and enjoying life.

I learned a lot about my family roots too. My great-grandmother Schlenker had 11 children. Basically she was pregnant from age 26-46. I can't even begin to fathom that. She also was a strong woman and devoted wife. She followed her husband out to Texas after he bought land (which she told him not to do) on the train with 9 children one of which was a 3 month old baby. By the time she got to the farm it was dark. When she awoke the next morning she could only see black prairie everywhere. Even then she didn't doubt her husbands' decision to come to Texas. I can only hope I'm that kind of devoted wife. Coming from a history of strong women you can't help but be inspired to live up to your full potential. Here's to being thankful for the "diva" in us all!

Inspired by Aimee....

to start a list of what I'm thankful for. It is November after all! Today there are two things on my list.

First I'm thankful for patient people at tech support for Smart Board. Yes, my wonderful new technology in my room is broken and I spent an hour and a half on the phone with tech support. The poor lady was so nice trying to walk me through troubleshooting. I know there were times she probably wondered if I was a complete idiot but she was patient none the less. After all that time they didn't fix my problem and I have to call back tomorrow. It can't be good I've stumped the tech people!

Secondly, I'm thankful for my amazing friends and family. I have received such an outpouring of love, thoughts, concern and prayers from everyone in the last few days. I want you all to know how much it means to me and how much I appreciate it. I promise to respond personally to each of you this weekend but just want to say thanks! You are all awesome and I'm honored to be a part of your lives!

Have a great weekend and thank God for your lists of thankfulness!

No Voice

I completely lost my voice overnight. No idea why or how. I still went to work (I may have the only job where no voice isn't an excuse to miss!)and continued with my day because otherwise I felt okay. My kids were funny today because they couldn't believe I really couldn't talk. After I told them I lost my voice one of the little boys came up, touched my neck and said, "Where voice go?" It definitely made for an interesting day.

I did discover that not having a voice makes you really appreciate the fact you really do have a voice (weird, I know). I realized all the things we miss or take for granted because we are talking or interrupting others. Everyone should have a day with no voice at least once a month. It may be part of what is wrong with the world today!