Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Blessed

Hi my darlings!

Ok so maybe it is a bit self-indulgent to blog on your birthday, but I am gonna do it anyway...

Because it is my birthday...

So 49 years ago...yes, I will admit my age because 99% of you who read this know me and know I am 49...

So 49 years ago I was born to Debbie and Bobby Shelton.

I have lost both my parents but I still have my family...and my beautiful children Ke$ha Barbie and The Cutest Boy in the World

So today I am going to list 49 things I am thankful for...because sometimes I need to remember just how damn blessed I am...and I could save this for Thanksgiving but I am doing it now so I know my blessings then

These are pretty much not in any particular order...except maybe the first one, because they truly are the thing I am most thankful, blessed, and grateful for

1. I am blessed to have my children

2. I am blessed by my friendship with my friend D'nice

3. I am blessed by my friendship with my friend KuteKaren

4. I am blessed by my friendship with JayVee

5. I am blessed by my friendship with my friend and brother from another mother GOTT

6. I am blessed my friend GOTTESS in my life

7. I am thankful for GOTTSON who brightens my world when I am with him

8. I am thankful for the wonderful children I get to work with...especially my student actors and my student directors and stage managers...I am so blessed to get to be with them

9. I am thankful that I had the best mom and dad and grandma in the world

10. I am thankful that there are contacts in this world to fix my terrible near-sightedness

11. I am thankful for reading glasses because the contacts fix the distance but not the ability to read a menu

12.  I am thankful that I attended Epiphany Episcopal Day School and still am friends with so many I went to school with

13.  I am thankful I went to Tivy High and am still friends with so many classmates

14. I am thankful for Twirler Girl and her amazing kids who I love spending time with

15. I am thankful I grew up in Kingsville...because I have so many friends from there...

16. I am thankful I no longer live in Kingsville...sorry....but its true...Houston is the right place for me

17. I am thankful I own a beautiful home that I have raised my kids in

18. I am blessed that I was able to buy a new car this year and that it doesn't eat gas like my old one

19. I am thankful for all the teachers who have taught my children

20. I am thankful for all the coaches who have coached my children

21.  I am thankful for all the friends I have made through my children (in other words...the parents of the kids my kids go to school with)

22.  I am thankful for all the kids I get to substitute teach...because THEY teach me!

23. I am thankful that I have discovered Pinterest otherwise I would not have 1,234 recipes for salted caramel that I haven't tried

24. I am thankful that I have not tried any of those salted caramel recipes

25. I am thankful for Dr. Bonnie Baldwin and the new body she gave me

26. I am thankful for JayVee's spin class kicking my butt every Tuesday and Thursday

27. I am thankful that I was able to lose all the weight I lost simply by eating right and exercising

28. I am thankful for wine

29. I am thankful for vodka

30. I am thankful that wine and vodka are there for me but not a crutch...nor is chocolate...I just happen to really really enjoy a nice cabernet...

31. I am thankful that I love salmon

32. I am thankful that I love chicken fried steak but I am able to be just as happy ordering salmon...most of the time...

33. I am blessed that I have my aunt Jane to lean on when I need her

34. I am thankful that I married my ex-husband because he gave me incredible children and is a good father to him...and although we weren't a happily married couple we are a happily divorced family

35. I am blessed that I am able to get along so well with my Ex and that my kids actually have a better life because of our divorce...and we haven't screwed them up with it...

36. I am blessed to have so many amazing friends...

37. I am blessed to be healthy

38. I am blessed that there is chicken stock to use in my Thanksgiving stuffing in place of all the butter my mother once used

39. I am grateful that I have had so many friends hold my hands through so many trials in my life...even if it is just watching my son play football or wrestle

40. I am thankful I went to Texas A&M University...I am very proud to be an Aggie

41. I am thankful for my sweet pets...especially my new stray we took in

42. I am thankful that I live in the United States...it's not perfect but we are free

43. I am grateful to have this blog as a creative outlet

44. I am grateful that GOTT believes in me and has given me so many opportunities to use my talents to costume his shows...because I love him and love doing it for him and the kids

45. I am thankful for Botox and Latisse...yes, I use them and no I am not ashamed of it

46. I am thankful for the wonderful schools my kids attend and have attended

47. I am grateful to be the woman I am today

48. I am blessed to be a child of God and a Christian...God has been so very very good to me

49. I am blessed, grateful, and thankful to have my kids...and yes, I know I listed them twice...but they are a double blessing to me...they are my alpha and omega...my beginning and my end...the reason I breathe and work so hard to be a good mom...and they are the most precious perfect humans to me...

So here I am...49 years old and grateful for all the love I have in my life...the photo is a little fuzzy but then again so is my brain sometimes...



And I am blessed, thankful and grateful to all of you who read this and support me...

Inspiration Song: I love a good Elton John song and this is one of my favorites: "Blessed"...it is a beautiful song

Bye Darlings...I'm not seeking birthday wishes here...but hopefully I have inspired a few of you to list your blessings before the upcoming holiday!


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Better Man

Helllloooo Darlings...

It's been a while!  Did you miss me?

I have to blog more...and now that I am done with a show (but starting another tomorrow) I will have a bit more time to use this creative outlet more often.

So...

the title...

you getting curious if I am writing about:

a new boyfriend? (or boyfriend in general since it has been more than a quarter century since I had one...)

Nah...

No new men in my life other than that stray kitty we took in (and yes, I am totally in love with him).

Nope...

This is about...coaches and teachers...

Because in the past couple of weeks I have been exposed to some really great ones.

Because I dabble in teaching as a sub...and yes, I have no business teaching math and I apologize to my friends who's children have had to endure my attempts at algebra...I appreciate the excellent teachers my children have had every time I stand up in front of a classroom full of beautiful wide-eyed children expecting me to fill them with knowledge...or at least give them candy if they have behaved on a wild Friday...

You all know of my love and devotion and admiration for my friend GOTT (God of the Theater...husband of GOTTESS and father of GOTTSON)...

He.Is.Amazing.

We just finished doing our 26th show together as director and costumer...

And I have loved each and every one of them...and I love watching him work with the kids/students/actors more and more each time.

This show was "Arsenic and Old Lace" with high schoolers...I was nervous but instead I have found myself just loving the kids as well as the other teachers in the department that GOTT works in at the school...shout out to "John the Music Man" and "Phabulous Phil"!

I love watching GOTT direct...he doesn't just tell and actor what to do...he helps them to figure it out for themselves.

Now THAT is teaching and directing.

And he does it better than anyone I know.

He's an amazing mentor and friend to his students.

Why else would my sweet Miss Cass the Class Act have been with him for 14 shows (and she is just a senior in high school) or my Amazing Amanda want so desperately to learn from him and work with him?

He elevates school productions...and the kids learn so much and will take what they have learned from him beyond the stage.

I remember we had one former student who told us that he ran for class president and then student body president at his high school because GOTT cast him as the second lead in his 8th grade musical.

We have another former student who is studying to be a stage manager in college because GOTT and TTG (Theater Tech God) taught her how to do it in junior high

and more of his former students from his middle school teaching days have gone on to win the local high school acting awards than any other teacher in the city

and have I mentioned that he is NICE?

and that my son would walk away from a group of friends to run over and hug him and GOTTESS and GOTTSON at a school event BECAUSE HE TRULY LOVES HIM?

yeah...when I count my blessings GOTT is definitely one of them

My son was blessed this year to get to be coached in football for the second year in a row by Coach E...I love that man because he gave my son such confidence in his abilities that when asked to play with the Varsity team after his JV season ended my son said "yes" full well knowing that he would never get on the field during the championship game but he was good enough to contribute to the team during practice...even though he was smaller and younger than the other linebackers.

And Coach K...who is also his Honors Chemistry teacher...and don't let the title of "Coach" fool you...yes, back in the dark ages when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in high school most of the coaches who "taught" only taught the blow-off classes.  This man is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a true chemist...he just happens to also be able to coach football and wrestling.  Poor Coach K gets my son for about 4 hours a day now...thank goodness they love each other.

And we have my beloved WC...Wrestling Coach...who we have known for 8 years now...his belief in my son is what every mom would hope a coach had in their son.  He blew a gasket when the Varsity Coach nabbed my son to continue playing football by asking him to play varsity (to which my son had no choice because the man will be his coach next year and unless he wanted to polish the bench with his butt all season he had to say "yes").  And I will say that Varsity Coach proved to be a really great guy and great coach...but WC was none to pleased...but he got over it.  My son's response to WC's frustration at his having to be off of wrestling for an additional 2 weeks: "WC THINKS he owns my soul...but he only owns 90% of it"...Thank you my sweet WC for being a man my son thinks so highly of...and loves so much...and I know you love him...

My son loves history and is taking AP World History right now because he had 3 incredible men as his history teachers in middle school.  (He had a great female history teacher too but this blog is about the MEN).  He truly loves them and I can tell you that he considers Precious and Adorable History Teacher, and Bacchus, and Smithy to be not just teachers but friends and mentors and we both feel blessed he had them as teachers (Ke$ha Barbie had two of the 3 and she feels the same).  TCBITW remembers so many things they taught him and I know he loves history because those men made it come alive and made it interesting for him.  Something I never had a history teacher do for me...

TTG not only taught my son some theater tech stuff but he was also my son's church fellowship leader in middle school.  My son enjoys every second he spends in his company and sometimes it would be days later but he would quote me something TTG said or some lesson he learned from him...and he still does...

My son has a great father...

But I am so happy he also has some really great men in his life to teach him...to mentor him...to coach him...to make him laugh...to make him learn...to make him think...

And when I walk into the classroom I try and remember all the great stuff those guys do for my son and give a tiny little bit of it back to the kids I am teaching...

I do the same for the kids I costume...I listen...I counsel...I hug...I hold hands..I laugh...and I have GREAT pride in their work on the stage...

Teachers touch lives...

I am not a teacher but I hope just by how I treat children I can teach them to be better humans...and that is a lesson I have learned from each of those men...

So....

Thank you GOTT

Thank you TTG

Thank you Coach E

Thank you Coach K

Thank you WC

Thank you Varsity Coach

Thank you Precious and Adorable History Teacher

Thank you Bacchus

Thank you Smithy

And even though you haven't taught my son but you do teach me things:

Thank you John the Music Man

Thank you Phabulous Phil

I love you all...sincerely...dearly...

And I hope I am 1/100th as good as you when I am in the classroom (look! I used math!)

Inspiration Song : "Better Man" by Pearl Jam...because I can't find a Better Man than the men I have discussed here today...they are truly without equal...

Bye Darlings...I hope you had a great man teach you something...and if you have kids I hope that they have men as wonderful as these men to teach your kids...