Merci, Thanks, Gracias

So very much to be thankful for during this holiday week, here are ten!
1. Days off. Yay for Wed, Thurs and Friday -so happy you are here ;)
2. Mason jars. I bring you the adult sippy cup.
3. I phone. I just can't get enough of my phone. How did I function before it?
4. Cool fashion choices....teal, black,butterflies and sheer fabric...love it!
5. Nice parents. My conferences went great and I even got a gift!
6. Lunches with girlfriends. Something about gabbing over food is really just the best.
7. Rachel Maddow. If you don't know I can't explain it.
8. Great health insurance. We just completed the open enrollment paperwork and I am just so grateful that I have access to affordable healthcare.
9. Making room in my life by removing clutter. Still shredding stuff but the end seems near.
10. Amazon. No I am not being paid for this endorsement but really they make it super easy to get what you need.

Happiest if Thanksgiving to all of you! Eat well and enjoy !!

                                                 Making my way through the paper clutter.

                                                Love all of the uses of Mason jars!

A shot of my clothes :)

Ten for Tuesday: Summer Living!

One of the best perks of being a teacher is well SUMMER! The days are long, footloose and fancy free. Love them!

1. Hanging out in DC people watching. Just me, the hubs and some Starbucks...bliss.

2. BBQ festival. Free tickets, live music, delicious food.

3. Meeting good friends for lunch. Yes kids, that is what teachers do during the summer :)

4. Avoiding housework. Just kidding, mostly.

5. Working out. I think this is my husbands favorite quality time. Me not so much :)

6. Finding some big feet to measure myself against. And yes you should know that there is a Miami Heat/ Lebron James reference.

7. Watching way too much crappy tv. Dr. Phil does not count as quality folks.

8. Fabric shopping. My cousin has a request and I guess I will try to pull it off. Have any of you guys made the book sling as featured onl Penny Carnival?

9. Reading blogs...get to updating people :)

10. Relaxing bubble baths have become a nightly routine. It is amazing how much evening time you have when you are not running baths and doing the nightly routine with a little one. Getting mighty spoiled!

Just one of those days...

My day was SO busy! It was filled with friends, family and good eats so I don't have any complaints. I managed to get in some exercise, cuddletime with my fellas, church, a circus show and a visit with my sis and her family. Busy indeed.
One of the highs of this incredibly high filled day was the sermon from the visiting pastor. The gist of it is making Love an act of sacrifice and allowing others to see the God in you. It really just spoke to me. I know that there is a lot of sacrifice in my love but I am certain that I am not doing my Christian walk as much as I should. I am going to work on that one. My faith is important to me and I want others to see His   essence in me. Fantastic day indeed!
How was your Sunday?

Super delish!

Saturday Night was date night. On the agenda was an easy restaurant quality meal that left enough time to actually enjoy our date night. I found an awesome recipe on Gina's Skinny Recipes tasty and not too bad on the hips. I call that a winner.

                                               Lime Cilantro Shrimp w/rice and broccoli

Busy,Busy

Wow~ this week has flown by. I would like to say that I have documented and took snazzy pictures to share with you guys but...that is just not the case. I have had a wonderful four day weekend spent with lots of family time. I got my share of cuddles. I watched silly movies including Hall Pass (which was so silly and a complete time waster). I spent a bunch of time with my sister and my honorary sister. We ate delicious food including a yummy spot, Surfside in DC. We visited the MLK Memorial which was AMAZING. Introduced my son to some mounted police officers since he LOVES animals. I got some quality sewing time in. Really the list goes on and on. Tomorrow is back to reality and I am not really ready but all of the prep work (lunches done, bags packed, clothes laid out) is done so hopefully I won't go into shock.
How was your holiday weekend? What do you hope to accomplish this week?

10 for Tuesday- Pinterest Love

Are you obsessed with Pinterest? Do you love it as much as I do? Is this just babble and you don't know what the heck I am talking about? I hope not because I love it. I will admit I loved it more when it wasn't blocked at work :) Anywho Pinterest is a cool place to organize the gazillion things that you find appealing....ie. a fantastic wonderful place to pass time. All the while seeing how nifty, crafty and ingenious other folks are. Count me in :) Here are 10 things that I have recently pinned. ENJOY!!

Easy peasy delish fruit roll ups from here : http://thecopycatcook.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/fruit-rollups/

A variation of this design for my son's quilt from here: http://minneapolishunter.com/2010/01/04/a-quilt-and-cake/

This amazing crafty space from here: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/05/joons-craft-room.html

Cute, cute cookies from here:http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/09/pinterest-cookied-chevron-cookies/

Cool, cool blue~

Isn't she lovely? from herehttp://www.homeworkshop.com/2009/07/21/diy-ribbon-upholstered-chair/

meal ideas for my little one , go here: http://www.livinglocurto.com/2011/04/lunch-punch/

gorgeous fruit :)

isn't this just amazing, from here: http://nattybydesign.blogspot.com/2011/10/transformation-week-day-2.html?

clever ideas, go here: http://storageandglee.blogspot.com/2010/06/another-way-brown-sugar.html

happy pinning! 

Date Night

Oh Date Night how I love you. Yesterday we got all dolled up and went to a wonderful birthday dinner for my brother in law. This night out was special for so many reasons. We were headed to a tasty Indian restaurant in DC, Rasikas. The food is served family style and it is so delish. Our son was headed to my friend's house and it was the first non-family babysitter. Talk about nervous! I was so nervous, my  hubby was too. Our son? He had a ball and she took him out to Dave and Buster's too. All was well. Whenever we manage to get out we have such a fantastic time. Which reminds me to make sure we get to do it a bit more.
So, do you do a scheduled date night with your honey? Do you think I am silly for being so giddy about date night? Do tell!

Yummy goodness!

First it was the machine and now it is the oven that is getting its workout on :)  Tonight at around 6 mind you I got the urge to tackle some meals for the week. I made a spicy chicken chili, a potato, sausage and pepper casserole and roasted veggies! This family will be eating good for the next few days. Which frees my evenings up to sew. Go me!

10 for Tuesday in Pics (mostly)

 My son's lunch box. I made him the guilty Momma breakfast of grilled cheese, spiral sliced apples and chocolate chips. Trying to make up for not forcing him to get more sleep.

2. My messy desk- grade, email, Pinterest, repeat :)

 3. My work buddies who keep me sane.

 4. My quilt that my buddy helped me photograph...worked on a few glitches.

 5. These boots almost made ut the whole day but alas 7am- 8pm is too long for most shoes.

 6. A lovely Thank you from one of my students: milk chocolate goodness.

 7. Oh my love affair with Gatsby is nearly over but the narration is pretty good.

 8. My date with Carol's Daughter washes away the tired quite effectively!

9. Someone is starting the Thanksgiving yumminess and it is not me :)

10. This little boy jammin' on his new "Woofer".....awesome!!!

Anniversary Weekend in Richmond

We celebrated our anniversary in Richmond, VA. The ride down was quick, less than 2 hrs and quite picturesque thanks to the glorious fall foliage. We enjoyed giving each other our full attention, sleeping late and eating well....not necessarily in that order. Our getaway was quick but it was a great way for us to recharge our connection and be footloose and fancy free. Did I mention how well we ate? Yummy memories :)

that moment

Do you ever have a moment when what has been blurry becomes crystal clear? Well my last post was about feeling overwhelmed and just dreading Monday. Monday morning came and things did not seem to be getting better. My dear son had a rough night's sleep and I woke up at 6:05, we normally leave home at 6:20. Yeah, things were not looking so good. Oversleeping, no lunch packed and a 2 yr old who moves like a snail. Not good, not good. And on top of it all today is the day that I only have one planning period instead of the two that most teachers get daily. SO as I was talking with my neighbor during our 4 min chats while the kiddos come into the room, he asked me if it was my "BAD" day. You see, I always refer to the day with one plan as my "bad" day and it was like someone was answering for me because I responded along the lines of, "Nah, it's not my bad day. I only have one planning period but I won't say that it's a bad day. Today is a fantastic day because that is the kind of day I am willing it to be." What the what?! I guess being the daughter of someone who says, "Make it a great day!" on the answering machine is really paying off. Today was a fantastic day and it was only that way because that was they type of day I welcomed into my life.

What was great about today?

* I made it to work on time. My son had a yummy breakfast and my lunch was pretty tasty too. My hubby was super helpful with getting us out the door.
*I planned a great lesson for the National Day on Writing that I hope will inspire and challenge my students.
*I was able to make dinner for the next couple of nights.
*I volunteered to read to the preschoolers at my church....my son will get to go and help me pick out a great book to share.
* I am carving out a little me time: blogging, getting inspiration and just vegging out.

What is great about your day? Week, Life?

Labor Intensive Labor Day

Our plan to head into DC and look around was changed because of the yucky weather. I decided to forgo plan B which was to sit around and do nada. Doing nada with my two fellas home is really not an option. So I did a marathon grocery trip and came home with enough supplies to make and freeze a variety of meals. It did feel rather strange to buy the huge family size of chicken breasts! But getting home and home having dinner already ready will be a HUGE lifesaver as we are getting back in the school year routine.

So the yummy food that I have cooking is:

Sausage and Peppers

Chicken and yellow rice

Spaghetti

Oh, and bonus points for already getting out our outfits for the week. This Momma was on a roll :) What have you done to prepare for your week/ make your life easier this week?

ETA: I also made a whole chicken, banana muffins, salad fixins' and chilli. I rock :)

Good eating!!

there was this truck

with good burgers

yummy fries

but questionable drinks.....so YUMMY!!!

Died and Went to Heaven!

(the Hershey's that he had to pry from me :)

My awesome and super wonderful husband took today off to just hang out with me. I feel so loved :) We wanted to do something fun and being the thrill seekers that we are, we decided to visit Hershey Park in PA. Neither one of us have been there before and it is only a short 2 hr drive. My review of our day is that it was much-needed and well appreciated. We started off by getting discount tickets from the grocery store- that saved us 22 bucks! Not bad at all. It must have been an off day- maybe the reported summer scorcher had something to do with it- because there were NO Lines! Did ya hear me? No lines. We were given the vip treatment and just strolled up and hopped on the rides. Great! There were certainly some thrilling rides. I don't pretend to be the best partner on them things, I close my eyes and curse him the whole time for getting me in that predicament. (Not real curse words, just to be clear) But yeah, I moan the whole ride and then proclaim what an incredible time I had. So we rode rides, ate expensive but BLAH food. Indulged in ice- cream (Turkey Hill, yummy) and cotton candy...on the same day, wowza! Walked the park for over 13,000 steps (thank you pedometer), went to the zoo and even went to Chocolate World to see how they make their chocolate. Well we had a blast! I had the best kid-friendly but childless date possible. I did ask him if he was feeling guilty as we passed family after family with stroller. We both had absolutely NO guilt, does that make us bad parents? I am proud of us for not loading the entire back of the SUV with chocolate. I thought about it but we left the park sans chocolate. I am still kicking myself over that one. Well it is only a short drive away....

(scenes from the tour, bottles of syrup calling my name)

Awesome Day!

First things first, I slept in this morning. Past 8 am! Woo-hoo. I actually woke up at 9:08. That is a miracle. I always wake up early,early, early. I convinced D to head to a local yard sale to search for Pyrex and vintage sheets. We found neither. D was convinced that instead of heading to a yard sale we should have a yard sale ourselves, silly guy. I like our stuff and it is not heading out of here ;) After our quick and unproductive trip to the yard sale we went on a nice morning walk. Having D made the walk more bearable and we even walked for longer. (I think exercising with him was on my list of things to do w/ D and I hope we do it again really soon). Anyway, we walked and talked and challenged each other. Great start, right?

My day just kept getting better. My cousin Jamie wanted me to go shopping with her and since there was a Goodwill in the same shopping center we went in and took a look around. Well Jamie and I are not the best thrift store shoppers. I swear it is a gift that some folks have and some folks don't....we notice the closed up, yucky smell. The racks of stuff that seem too daunting to tackle. The whole place is just so much. (There are many stores that we feel this way about, so I am not convinced it is just a thrift store thing but I digress.) This Goodwill was rather neat and organized. We were off to find some Pyrex. Well o well, we found 2 pieces. One was a divided dish that was a little too floral/shiny and the other was a cute fridge one that was too scratched to really get....two duds. But we were there so we pursued the china section and left empty handed. I want to collect Pyrex but am I not cut out for this chase? Time will tell, huh.

We also ate at this awesome Mexican restaurant. Yummy! Guac and chips to die for! Our day continued with a mall run but I was too stuffed to do more than look around. So far my summer is off to a great start!

ten for tuesday, I want...

1. a Gucci Hobo

2. to win the lottery
3. a good night's sleep
4. tickets to this show
5. a fanny pack for my gear when I walk
6. a Messy Sundae
7. a trip to Jamaica
8. to go to a Cube concert

9. to visit this awesome shop in the ATL
10. a cool necklace like this one
please feel free to hook me up :)