12 Years Of 2ge+ther

12 years ago, MTV introduced to the world not only their first movie, but the band 2gether. Like I've told you guys before, I love boy bands!!

But 2gether had something the other guys didn't.

Hilarity





Not that NSYNC didn't make me laugh. Trust me, they did! I still have my vhs tape called, NSYNC: 'N The Mix, and it was filled with the guys being goofy.

But 2gether was all about bringing the funny! If you don't know who they are, the best way to explain them is that they are a "mock" boy band. Fictional characters, yes. But they did their own singing and dancing. And they were awesome!


!


After the movie did so well, MTV decided to turn 2gether into a series, which ended far too soon, due to the sudden death of the youngest member, Michael Cuccione. Then, before we could even comprehend what had happened, 2gether was gone.

All hope seemed lost to us 2gether fans.

Until this year......2012gether.


MTV signed over the rights to the remaining members, and a reunion is in the process!

The journey will be long, but oh so worth it!

Listening to my boy bands, reminds me of a simpler time in my life. Before the hustle and bustle of family life took over. Listening to that wonderful pop music, helps me remember that I'm still me. Even on days that i'm lacking sleep, and too tired to get dressed, let alone put make-up on!

Young Amy is still in there.

And I hope she always is.♥

It's Free!!

There are a lot of people in need of prayers and hugs around me lately. Some people don't believe in prayer, but do believe in the power of positive thinking. I think the two go hand in hand.

So give someone you love, an unexpected hug today.

Because, who knows?

Maybe that was just what they were praying and hoping for.♥

Happy Friday everyone!

Valentine's Day: My, How You've Changed!

Valentine's Day. You either love it, or hate it with all your being.

In Elementary school, it was a greatly anticipated day, filled with goodies and games. I loved picking out my box of Valentines, and delivering each card to my classmates bag.

A bag (or sometimes milk jug) that each of us decorated to our liking, usually covered in pink and white hearts. I loved that day in school!♥

Then after all the cards were delivered, we would all sit at our desks and open them up. We were lucky back then for having Valentine's that came with envelopes. It added to the anticipation, and I quite liked it. The cards now only have stickers to close them shut. And I get the whole "Save the world" thing, but I'm sad my kids won't have that.

In around 5th and 6th grade, There was more of a thought process in filling out my valentine's. I had to be sure not to give one to a boy that said something like, "Be Mine, Valentine!" In fear of one of them thinking I liked them or something. Heaven forbid! ☺ I could never bring myself to hand too sweet of a valentine out, even to a boy I thought was cute. I was much too shy to do something like that back then.

Then you get into middle school and high school, and the love/hate relationship that most people have with Valentine's Day begins.

If you were lucky enough to have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day, you were on cloud 9. I was always completely jealous of the girls that got a carnation that day. (The schools around here would sell carnations to students, that were then delivered to the recipient.)


I didn't get my first steady boyfriend until 10th grade, and he never sent me one. And then my senior year, I was dating someone from another school, so once again, no carnation.

My junior year, a friend and I (she was also single) declared it "Black Wednesday" and decided to celebrate Valentine's Day in our own special way.

With black cookies.

Only, she couldn't get the food coloring to turn black, so they were a gross green. I guess that's Black Wednesday for ya!☺

My husband's always been good to me on this day. Even when I tell him not to, which is usually every year. This year, we decided to buy each other a movie that we each wanted. (Mine was Breaking Dawn, Part 1) And we also went out for an early dinner on Saturday. That's more than enough for me. But this morning, I wake up to a card and chocolates.



He loves me! He really loves me! (I had to throw some cheesiness in there, in memory of Black Wednesday.) I met his chocolates, and raised him a giant homemade sugar cookie, with buttercream frosting.☺ Both hands were winners.♥


Today when the girls came home from school, they proudly opened their Valentine bags and showed me what they had received. I hope they hold these memories in their hearts forever.

And Megan got an extra special surprise. A boy in her grade was waiting for her to walk by the library at the end of the day, then ran up to her and put a box of chocolates in her bag, and ran away! How cute is that?!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! (Or Black Tuesday, if you wish.)

2nd Grade: The Year That Will Always Stick

(I can't believe it's taken me this long to write another one of my "school flashback" posts! )


It was the 1986/1987 school year, and I was a 2nd grader at Leesburg Elementary.

Second grade was such a fun year. For the second year in a row, my best friend Tara was in my class. We had such fun together! We were never short on giggles and goofiness. I also made friends with two new students that year.

Lisa and Beth.

They were both new to Leesburg, and I was instantly drawn to both of them. Lisa was so much fun, and fit into our goofy, giggly group, just swimmingly. And then Beth, who appeared shy in the beginning, (that didn't stick!LOL) had the prettiest skin and hair color I had ever seen! That entire year, I secretly wished my hair was long and dark like hers. I'm so thankful for Facebook helping to keep us in contact with each other.♥

And with the power of Facebook, Tara recently helped me remember something that I had forgotten about....

Popple Talk.

Yes, Popple Talk was a language that we made up that year, in honor of Popples. You remember Popples, right? Just in case, here's a commercial.



Popple talk was basically taking the first letter of every word, and making it a P.

Our teacher's name was Mrs. Knoop. (Do you see the humor now?lol)

And speaking of Mrs. Knoop, she was the epitome of what a teacher should be. She was kind, but tough when she needed to be. She had a way of making me feel like I was special, which is something I needed to feel after my first few years of school. Not to mention, I was still adjusting to becoming a big sister.

I remember she gave us empty tin cans, and had us decorate them with construction paper and other things. They were called our "I Can Cups"

Anytime one of us was heard speaking the words, "I can." we were given a poker chip to place in the can. But if we were caught saying, "I can't", a chip was taken away. After some time had passed, she would have an auction filled with small toys and such, that we could bid on with our earned chips.

She understood how important it was for children to simply believe in themselves. And I can honestly tell you that stuck with me.

I also remember her taking us outside around Halloween time, and letting us bob for apples. And in the spring, the "Easter Bunny" hid eggs for us around the playground. ☺

Second grade was also one of the last years, if not the last year, I believed in Santa. (Santa the actual person. If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know how I feel about Santa Claus.♥)


That year, Mrs. Knoop had each of us write a letter to Santa. I remember thanking him for the fox radio I received the year before. I still have that radio. It's simply a stuffed animal, with a radio on the bottom. You can see it in the picture below, up by my head.☺ I also remember asking him how his elves were and Mrs. Claus.

We were all so excited when we received a letter back from Santa! Santa actually read my letter, and wrote me back!  I still have that letter, and will treasure it always.


A few years ago, Mrs. Knoop told me that those letters were written by high school girls. But in my heart, it will always be from Santa Claus.♥



That year, Mrs. Knoop gave each of us a Christmas ornament. And every year since then, it hangs on my Christmas tree. A reminder of childhood, and a teacher who made a difference, in a shy little girl's life.

She will always be my favorite teacher. I've had many good ones, but none quite like Mrs. Knoop. The perfect blend of goofiness and love.♥