Everything Else

High Five for Friday

May 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

I know I say this every week, but I am SO glad it’s Friday! This has been THE LONGEST week ever! I’m not kidding, on Monday I thought it was already Thursday…imagine my disappointment when I learned that was not the case.

Anyway, here’s what’s making me happy on this particular Friday:

1. This is our last Friday of the school year! We get out next Thursday (well, next Thursday is the last day with kids…I have to work past that day but it doesn’t quite count without students), so now we’re down to the final countdown!

2. State testing is finally over.

3. Breakfast dates with my hubby are the best

4. Sharing snack time with my favorite boys (too bad I can’t take a cell phone picture to save my life)

Levi Sweet Levi is always so happy!

5. Michael and I love numbers (hey, we can’t help it! An engineer and a former math teacher are just weird, ok?). Michael really loves it when the speedometer has a fun number so it was exciting the other day when mine was 218,812 – the same forward and backward! Too bad I didn’t take a picture three miles later when it was 218, 815…then it would have been a literal mirror image!

Linking up with Lauren

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my mom is so mean

May 13, 2013 3 Comments

I know, I’m a day late and a dollar short, but in honor of Mother’s Day I wanted to write a post about my mom. Specifically, a post about how mean my mom is.

My mom is so mean, she made me do chores and clean the house (but when I moved out on my own and had to clean bathrooms, do dishes, and dust I knew exactly what to do)
My mom is so mean, she didn’t rush to my side when I got hurt in sports like the other kids’ parents (but that made me tough because I learned to get up and shake it off)
My mom is so mean, she sat me down and gave me “the talk”…including two movies and a book. How embarrassing. (but out of all my friends my age I think I’m one of the very few that even got a talk…it was super embarrassing but at least I got to learn about sex from a loving, mature adult rather than the kids at school *see note*)
My mom is so mean, she refused to let me wear my senior class t-shirt after I bought a size too small and it fit me like shrink wrap (I was so mad but now after learning more about modesty I am so grateful)
My mom is so mean, she wouldn’t let me drive by myself even after I turned 16 and got my license (but in hindsight I was a terrible driver, license or no license, and it was a good thing for me and the people around me that she continued to make me drive with her until SHE knew I was ready…no matter what the state of Tennessee said after my 15 minute driving test)
My mom is so mean, she made me try playing a half a dozen sports that I disliked (but it helped show me what I was really passionate about and gave me a direction of what to pursue once I got a little older; it also taught me about teamwork…and that I’m very uncoordinated)
My mom is so mean, she made me participate in Bible Bowl every year (which has now become one of my favorite things and gave me so much more Bible knowledge than I ever would have gotten anywhere else)
My mom is so mean, she didn’t let me watch most of the tv shows or movies that my peers watch (and thereby prevented me from viewing tons of inappropriate, sinful behaviors)
My mom is so mean, she made me get a summer job each summer while I was in college (which got my lazy self up and out of the house, plus earned some money for later, and helped me learn what jobs I like and what jobs I hate)
My mom is so mean, made me help plant, care for, and pick the garden, and then freeze the extra (which I hated, but am now so thankful for what I learned)
My mom is so mean, she made me write handwritten thank you cards for every gift I ever got (a lost art for most these days that I am proud to continue doing)
My mom is so mean, she would call me out if my behavior was out of line (it made me so mad, but it’s only the people who love you the most who are willing to risk that anger to try to correct sinful and wrong behavior. And because of her reprimands I feel I am a better person)
My mom is so mean, she started talking about college and pushing me to make good grades way back when I was in middle school (I ended up getting a full ride to college based on my grades)

My mom was “mean”, but she was also my number one cheerleader, the person who encouraged me to reach for my dreams, the one who pushed me to always be better.

I do hope you realize that this post was written very tongue-in-cheek. I love my mom and am so glad that she was “mean” to me. The lessons I learned the hard way when I was younger are the ones I appreciate most now. I just hope I can be as mean to my children someday.

Side note: Please, please, please talk to your children about sex. I know it is uncomfortable, but sometimes parenting isn’t fun (or so I’ve heard). I was shocked as I got older and I realized that hardly any of my friends were taught anything about sex by their parents – they learned most of what they knew from tv and their peers. Now who do you want teaching your child about sex? The liberal, tolerant, media? An inexperienced child? Or you?

And as an educator, I can say that you need to start early. I was in 5th grade when Mom gave me the talk and that was a pretty good time I think (although one of my friends had told me the basics earlier than that), but these days you need start earlier. You don’t have to tell them everything, but at least give them some basics and then build on that as they mature. How early, you ask? I’d say probably kindergarten. I’m not kidding. The things that these young kids know and say is shocking. It is very likely that your child will hear things about sex at school, and I think it’s better if they hear it from you first. Or at least try to keep those lines of communication open so they feel comfortable asking you about the things they hear.

Sorry for the soapbox, this is just a topic that I feel very strongly about and a particular area that I think we are failing our children by avoiding the “uncomfortable” issues.

Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to all you MEAN moms out there! You’re doing it right :)

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High Five for Friday

May 10, 2013 2 Comments

Friday! Only one more Friday until school is out…whoa!! So yep, here’s what’s happening this Friday.

1. My new jewelry holder – a ceramic egg carton-thing from Kohls. It’s so pretty to display on the top of my dresser and the little cups are perfect for holding some of my jewelry.

2. My newest water bottle – it’s glass! I hear so much terrible stuff about plastic that I thought I’d give a glass bottle a shot. So far, so good (as in, I haven’t dropped it and shattered it, so that’s good).

3. Teacher appreciation week rocks. Our junior beta club has been giving us a present each day this week – it is so fun to have a little surprise on my desk when I get to school each morning. The gifts have been so cute, too.

4. We’re also doing secret pals among the teachers/adults. I greatly enjoyed the Reese’s my secret pal gave me :). We’ve talked about how my love language is getting gifts, so I love having a secret pal!

5. I’m hooked on a new kids/young adult series – The Missing. They are really good! I’m planning to do a book review tomorrow so stick around for that.

I hope your Friday (and weekend) is fantastic!

Linking up with Lauren

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High Five for Friday

April 19, 2013 Leave a Comment

Friday! You’re finally here! I’m not kidding, on Tuesday I thought we’d already had several days of work…then I realized we’d only worked one day this week, it was only Tuesday, and we still had a lot of days left. This has felt like a really long week for some reason!

Anyway, here are some things making me happy right now:

1. Beautiful roses for no reason from my loving husband…he knows my love language and that one of my favorite colors is coral

2. Fun surprises like this lovely pink tree by our house (cherry blossom, maybe?). Since we bought the house in the fall we’ve never seen it in the spring. The previous owner had very nice landscaping and as spring has arrived, this tree and other pretty things have started growing or blooming. It’s kind of an adventure to never know what you’re going to see outside your house next!

3. While I was at the American Girl store in Atlanta I sent my American Girl, Molly, to the “doll hospital”. Her eye had turned all silver and creepy and I wanted to get it replaced. Like I mentioned before, the people there were so incredibly fantastic and were quick to help me figure out what to do. Yesterday a package came with my repaired doll. Of course I was glad to get her back and have her eye fixed (which they didn’t charge me for at all…not even shipping! Like I said, great customer service), but what made me the happiest was seeing the way she was dressed. When you leave the doll at the store they have you take all clothes, accessories, ribbon, etc. off, so I expected she’d come back the way I left her. Instead she had on a hospital gown, socks, new hair ribbons, and a tiny hospital bracelet. I might have squealed a little bit when I saw her cute little outfit.

Just a few little touches that made it seem that much more special to get her back from the “hospital”.

4. I’ve been rocking out to a little Dixie Chicks this past week – talk about a throwback to junior high/high school! I just love their voices. I honestly don’t even know what they are up to these days, but I do love their old stuff.

5. The bookfair is OVER! It was fun and we did even better this time than we did with our one in the fall, but I’m exhausted. I was so ready to pack that sucker up and get my library back in order. The chaos of having everything out of place was getting to me.

Linking up with Lauren

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High Five for Friday

April 12, 2013 1 Comment

*Big sigh* We made it to Friday! High Five! Only 6 weeks of school left…

Here’s what’s making me happy:

1. Monday was a bummer – coming back to school after a fun spring break in Atlanta is no fun (yes, I know, I haven’t blogged about that yet… bad blogger…hopefully tomorrow…there’s just so many pictures to sort through, ya know?). Of course, we couldn’t ease back into school – no, people needed things from me just about as soon as I walked in the door. No rest I tell ya. Anyway, I was feeling a little stressed out when I walked back to my desk and found this white box on my chair that had been delivered to school and the secretary had brought it to my desk – it was a “thank you” box from a rep from whom I had just purchased some books. How did he know I needed chocolate?!? I’m a little embarrassed to say that the whole box is already empty (although I DID share some of the candy…but I ate quite a bit myself, too *blush*).

(it’s hard to see but the label says “emergency stress relief kit” – how appropriate!)

2. We just started our spring bookfair. I love the bookfair! It’s a LOT of work but it’s fun and it helps us get more books for our library.

The theme of the bookfair is Story Laboratory, so it’s kind of science-y. To kick off/promote the bookfair we had a Dress Like a Scientist day at school yesterday…here’s my interpretation of “scientist”

Borrowed lab coat + hipster nerd glasses from Claire’s + crazy hair = mad scientist

3. We kept this little guy all day Sunday to try to keep him away from the germies while his family recovered from illness. Just try to tell me this isn’t the cutest thing you’ve ever seen – sleeping babies make even the burliest men go mushy. If not, then you have no heart. Love his sweetness.

4. It thrills my little librarian heart when people discover a new book they love to read…especially when that someone is my husband :). Michael started reading the Harry Potter series and I couldn’t be prouder! He is actually a Harry Potter fan – he’s seen all the movies with me and really likes them, I just never could convince him to read the books. He was even a good sport and went to at least one if not more of the midnight book releases with my family and me back in high school/college but never saw the appeal. He finally started reading the first book this week and is hooked – YAY!

5. Do you notice anything different around here? I sure hope so ’cause I got a brand new blog design! Shout out to Megan for working hard to make my blog beautiful – I love what she came up with! (If you read my blog via email or in a reader, make sure to click over and check out my new pretty decor :))

Linking up with Lauren

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2013 goals and bucket list – March edition

April 1, 2013 1 Comment

Here’s an update on how I’m doing with my 2013 goals and bucket list.

My 2013 goals:

Read through the Bible. *hangs head* We are so very far behind. So far behind that it seems insurmountable to get caught back up. I think if we put our mind to it we still can, though.
Improve my posture. Still in progress. I’m much more aware of my posture and straighten up when I catch myself slumping, but unfortunately that is still more often than I’d like. And honestly, sometimes I know I’m slouching but just can’t seem to muster up the effort and energy to sit up straight. So yeah, this is still an ongoing thing.

My 2013 bucket list:

Make 72 hour emergency kits for our house and vehicles.
Learn how to make Mom’s Christmas cookies.
Take a photography class.
Sew quilted stockings.
Make another quilt. – Hoping to start on this over spring break.
Run a 5K - Well I definitely haven’t done this yet but I have been running once or so a week and am working (slowly) through the Couch to 5K program.
Make another scrapbook for my in-law’s. – I started one while on my scrapbook retreat (psst Liz…pretend you never read this and act surprised when I give it to you) but haven’t had time since I’ve been home to work on it.
Take more pictures of us together - Thanks to some friends taking impromptu pictures of us we actually got some good ones this month!

A sneak attack picture by Tiffany at Abby and Josiah’s birthday party - This is my new favorite picture of us :)

John Ross took this faux-family picture of us with “our boys” at Kelsey and Will’s wedding

Easter

Other notable events:

I went on my first scrapbooking retreat – had a blast, made new friends, and got a ton of scrapbooking done.

Good thing I didn’t make a long list for this year since we’re 1/4 of the way through and I haven’t completed a single thing…

See previous updates: January and February

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High Five for Friday

March 29, 2013 4 Comments

Well hi there. Did you think I had run away? Sorry about the absence – I took two week unintentional blogging break. The past few weeks have been so busy there just hasn’t been time to write, and I love y’all a lot but when it comes to choosing sleep or blogging, sleep wins every time :). But I have missed writing, sharing, and interacting with my readers, so I’m glad to be back!

Why am I busy? Well, for starters I’ve started getting up before work to work out. It’s nice to get my workout done in the morning, but I’m pushing it to get ready and to work on time, hence the lack of outfit pictures over the past few weeks (plus I just haven’t been feeling creative with my outfits). Getting up so early makes me want to go to bed much earlier than I used to. I’m also teaching the high school girl’s class at church on Wednesday nights, and while I am loving it (I can’t wait to share more about that with you), it requires a bit more study, work, and preparation to get ready to teach then say, teaching the nursery class. And then on top of that, we’ve seemed to have activities at church or with family every weekend recently plus some nights during the week. So needless to say, my blogging time has suffered.

But enough about that. Here’s what’s new and what I’m happy about right now.

1. We are officially on SPRING BREAK! I am so excited, y’all! I love my job but I was so ready for a break. I’m going in to work one of my extended days today, but that hardly counts because there will be no students (and very few other people, actually) there. I’ll be able to get a ton of stuff done in the library, so that will be wonderful. And then next week it’s off to Atlanta for the week – fun!

2. I made these Lego cupcakes for a friend’s son’s birthday last weekend (inspiration here). Aren’t they adorable?

3. My newest breakfast kick right now is overnight oatmeal. I’ve tried several versions but peanut butter honey is the only one I really like (no surprise there…). I can’t stand it cold, but throw it in the microwave for a minute and it’s yum yum. I love that I can fix them in advance and then I’ve got breakfast to go.

4. Two weeks ago we had a girls’ day at church (like a ladies’ day but with an emphasis on the K-college age girls rather than the adults). Our topic was modesty and we had a wonderful speaker, several break out sessions, and a modesty fashion show, plus it was a good opportunity for our girls to practice their Lads to Leaders speeches and song leading. It was a great day.

(If you want a great speaker for a similar event at your church, you should contact Hannah - she was fantastic!)

5. These boys. I *heart* them. (and their big sister…she just doesn’t make it into as many pictures – but I don’t want her to think she isn’t loved, too!)

A rare moment with a snuggly Josiah (obviously he was tired…I think that’s the only time that boy slows down!)

This picture sparked a bit of confusion when John Ross posted it on Facebook – I had people saying they didn’t realize I had kids. Nope, we’re just the weirdos that snatch other people’s kids and take “family” pictures with them.

(P.S. John Ross, do you have a website? I want to credit you for this picture.)

Welp, that’s what’s shaking around these parts.

Linking up with Lauren

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High Five for Friday

March 15, 2013 1 Comment

Happy Friday!

1. We’ve been enjoying some delicious potato soup (recipe coming soon to a blog near you). Yum yum.

2. Happy pi day one day late! Can you believe I actually forgot about pi day until I saw people posting on Facebook yesterday morning. Good thing I remembered in time to wear my Cutie Pi shirt.

3. Sugar glitter Pinterest fail. Bad news: I melted three trays of sugar glitter. Good news: I finally figured it out in time to make several batches (although it just looks like colored sugar, not very glittery). I’n excited to use it for our ice cream bar at our girl’s day at church Saturday.

4. Duck Dynasty. I’m their newest fan. I think they deserve a whole post for themselves, but that’s for another day. For now all I can say is that if you haven’t watched it yet…what are you waiting for?

5. I’m going to smother those sweet cheeks with kisses when I babysit that cutie tomorrow night. Just thought I’d let you know.

Linking up with Lauren

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2013 goals and bucket list – February update

March 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

Here’s an update on how I’m doing with my 2013 goals and bucket list.

My 2013 goals:

Read through the Bible. We have been struggling this month. We can’t seem to keep up and have to spend one or two days a week ~~doubling~~ ~~tripling~~ quadrupling up to get caught back up. I’m hoping we can get caught up and stay caught up once I get back from my scrapbooking retreat this weekend.
Improve my posture. Working on it! Now that my back pain has gone away my chiropractor is going to give me some exercises and tips to help me improve my posture.

My 2013 bucket list:

Make 72 hour emergency kits for our house and vehicles.
Learn how to make Mom’s Christmas cookies.
Take a photography class.
Sew quilted stockings.
Make another quilt. – I know what I want to make, just need to get some fabric.
Run a 5K - Well I definitely haven’t done this yet but I have been running once or so a week and am working (slowly) through the Couch to 5K program.
Make another scrapbook for my in-law’s. – Hoping to get one (or at least most of one) done at my scrapbook retreat this weekend.
Take more pictures of us together - Uh no. Picture fail so far.

Other notable events:

I turned 26.

Yep. That’s about it.

See January update here.

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High Five for Friday

March 1, 2013 Leave a Comment

Oh I am so happy it’s Friday! Here’s why…

1. I’m going on my first scrapbooking retreat this weekend. I’m excited to hang out with the other women and hopefully get a bunch of scrapbooking done. I am woefully behind right now.

2. I’m finally feeling better…slowly but surely, and just in time for my retreat. Obviously my body is not used to elementary school germs yet as this is my third time this year to get sick!

3. I was surprised to wake up on March 1 to the most snow we’ve had all year (not that we got a lot, but still…). I wasn’t expecting that at all!

4. We kicked off our celebration for Read Across America/Dr. Seuss’ birthday today at school. Here are the decorations I put up outside the library (and guesses on how long those paper “kite strings” will last around a bunch of elementary kiddos?).