game day

this pretty much sums it all up : ) 

Go CATS!! 

here

Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

We are starting the best unit of all right now. In case the title wasn't a give away, it's "Romeo and Juliet." I am very excited. I'm not really sure why this unit is my favorite. It's really difficult. Maybe it's because it's the last unit of the year. Either way, I'm happy to see its arrival.

Today we were talking about archaic words. The kids did a little matching activity to test their knowledge. In on of my classes some kiddos were talking when they weren't supposed to be (surprise? I think not. And I don't mean that to sound like that only happened in one of my classes. It is a daily occurrence...) so I looked at one of the very guilty chatters and said, "Bob, shuteth thine mouth." Bob looked at me appalled, like he wasn't talking or something. The rest of the kids laughed. a lot. ha ha.

I made a funny.

Then one little boy said, "Uh. That wasn't very funny."

To which I replied, "Maybe not, but all of your classmates found it quite amusing."

True story. They really were laughing. a lot.

Then classmates chimed in, "Ya. That was pretty funny," and other such comments, while giggling still.

hehehe.

I made a funny.

the buzz in our house

The Hubs and I are just tickled pink today. Yes, it's true. 

For a few years now, though you may or may not have realized, because lets face it, 

it's not something that I really care to talk about (or that most people want to read or hear about)

it's just something that is... we have been trying to accomplish something. 

We were finally able to. yep. 

All of my student loans are now paid off. 

Oh, happy day :)

No more loans (unless of course you consider our house...)!

I just had to share. 

I hope you all are having a Happy Weekend! 

cheers! 

Basketball fun

I love Fridays because after every Friday is Saturday. And I love Saturday because they mean that I get to sleep in :)

The past few weekend mornings have been particularly delightful because the windows have been open and there is a delightfully sweet breeze kissing my face when I first stir in the morning. I love it.

Tonight we get to watch lots of basketball (go CATS!!! :) hopefully they dominate this weekend so that Hubs can have his birthday present. Which is going to the Final Four! :)

Hanging out with the fam watchin some b-ball. Could life get any better than this? :) I think not. Or could they? Happy basketball watching weekend... If you do watch the games :)

today is a day...

...but, today is not just any day. Today is the Hubs' birthday :)

How happy. I love birthdays. They excite me so.

We enjoyed a yummy dinner and then some delicious orange-cream-sicle pie. I'll share pictures and a recipe this weekend :) you will love it. promise.

Other than that we didn't do much for his birthday. Except for entertain Joe the Plumber. It's true. The lights in our bathroom broke the other day. When the Hubs turned the switch from on to off, it didn't turn off. The light stayed on. And on. And would not go off. We have been unscrewing the light bulbs for the past few days. That's why we called Joe. Joe is quite the handy man. Neither of us are very handy. We needed some real help. He is the one who fixed our washing machine hook up and the one that stopped the flooding we came home to last Christmas. Basically, he's a hero. So we called him up and he came over to fix the light for us. While he was here he even fixed the constantly running toilet water. I know. Great story. But it makes my heart happy :)

So. Pretty much, that was the happy birthday day. Birthdays seem to get better and better every year, if you ask me.

anyhoot. I just wanted to say hey hi and share about the awesomeness that is my life :D

I hope you all have peachy Fridays!

     

Three down

That's right. Three quarters are finished and far far (or not so far) behind me. Key words: finished, behind me. Now all I have to do is survive yet another quarter. Seven weeks of school to be exact. 35 days at school with the children to be more precise.

Thank the Lord.

I do not think I could go one more day. As it is right now, I'm not sure how I make it through the day. So thinking about 35 days is pretty overwhelming. But. Day by day I will get there. The best way I have figured to get through the days are: pray. a lot. and count down. by periods.

I'm just thankful there are three quarters behind be. Forget what I had to go through to get to this point. I'm just glad the year is almost over. whew. Then, maybe, just maybe I will be able to finish "The Hunger Games" and oh yeah, breathe.

This weekend we've got lots of basketball watching [Go CATS! :] laundry folding, grocery shopping, and other choring to do. But that's ok. It makes me happy to be able to do those things. In fact, I often wish that was my job.

But yep. That's about all my brain can get out right now. I know it's Friday, and I should be wide awake, but, it's quite the opposite. I am nearly falling out of my chair, I'm so sleepy right now.

Have a happy weekend!

Cupcake Wars

This weekend I went into battle against some veteran cooks in a Cupcake War. It is true. You see, every year all of the ladies on the Hubs' side of the family get together, usually in the winter. In the past we have had matching pajamas and hang out in a hotel. In the morning we go and paint pottery. It's normally a fun time. This year instead of painting pottery we had a Cupcake War. You know, like the show on the Food Network.

Personally, I love cupcakes. I love baking. I love the Food Network. And I love watching Cupcake Wars. I was pretty excited when I heard that our Girls Night Out was going to be a Cupcake War. Instead of fixing the cakes while we were together (that would be a little tricky considering there wasn't really a kitchen where we were staying) we had to prepare them in advance and take them with us.

For months I thought about which kind of cake I would make. As time got closer I tried a few different batches out on our small group friends. Thanks for indulging me Small Group Friends :) I tried raspberry, banana, and pumpkin. I really wanted to try a bunch of others, but I didn't. With the help of my dear sweet and helpful friends, I went with the raspberry cupcakes. I saw the recipe while I was flipping through a cookbook I borrowed from the library and had to try it. Super simple. Super easy. Super delicious.

I was pretty nervous going into the Cupcake Wars. I mean, Hubs' mom, grandma, aunts, cousins, and sisters were all bring cupcakes. These ladies can cook. Let me tell you. I liked my cake. Hubs liked my cake. Friends liked my cake. But I just didn't know how they would hold up in the War.

I went with the raspberry cakes. Vanilla raspberry swirl cupcake with raspberry buttercream frosting and a raspberry to garnish.

my cakes.

which... I am quite pleased and proud to announce won Tastiest Cupcake award!

yay! : )  

...this award, if you ask me, is the most important one. 

I mean, if you want to enjoy a cupcake, you want it to taste good. Right? 

Right. 

Thus, Tastiest Cupcake = most important title :D

plus, I think they look pretty darn pretty too. just saying. 

Anyhow, I digress. The Competition. 

the anticipation builds!

the competition. 

the judges. 

the winners (which happened to be me and my sisters-in-law : )

SIL #1 won for decoration and SIL #2 won best over all. 

Me and the SIL after the competition! : ) 

fun. fun. fun. 

because I won? because I beat all of the aunts and moms and grandma? maybe. 

or maybe not. 

but fun. 

we were at the hubs' parents house and the pup had been running 

around all day long. He was plain tuckered out. 

Good weekend. Crazy week ahead. yikes. 

I hope you guys had a good weekend too! 

snow day!

Today has been the best day ever, and it's only 10:00. Want to know why? ... It's a snow day! Hooray! The very first snow day of the school year.

Last night on our way home from small group it started snowing. I love the snow. But we have been teased a lot this winter and haven't had a single snow day. So I prayed. A lot. That, if it were to snow (as it was snowing) that the ground needed to be covered and school needed to be closed. Not delayed. Closed. Delays because of snow are just awful and torture. The kids are crazy and I'm cranky because I miss my planning period. Not a good combination. We have had one two hour delay. Not worth it. But a snow day... a snow day is most welcome.

This morning I thought my alarm had gone off a little too early, that or the night had gone a lot faster than I would have liked. I looked at my phone and it was a phone call, not my alarm. It was the best phone call ever, "Due to the weather, school for today has been cancelled."

Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus!! He really does answer prayer. It might seem a silly prayer to you, but a snow day is no silly prayer.

After dancing a jig and peeking out the window to see a white blanket on the ground and trees trimmed in white lace I hopped back under the covers. Perfect start to the perfect day.

I got up with the hubs a few hours later and we had breakfast. Then he went off to work and I stayed home to play with the pup. We had taken the pup outside for his daily morning potty and he was hopping through the snow like a little bunny rabbit hops through a grassy field. Adorable. So after the hubs went off to work the pup and I went on a walk in winter wonderland.

I love walks on snowy days. Everything is at peace. The snow is bright, soft, and fluffy. It is calm. I love snowy days.

front yard snow play.

I love it when the snow hugs the trees

the pup pouncing 

I think he's adorable :]

What's crazy is that on Friday it was about 72 degrees and there were tornados all around the Southern Indiana and Louisville, KY area. And now there is snow on the ground! crazy. 

Have a happy Monday! I know I am!  

fill in the blank friday

I thought since my brain is a little fried today I would join in the fun : ) So I'm linking up with Lauren for some fun. 

1.  The highlight of my week was   Being let out of school two hours early today! Although, the reason for the early dismissal was not a good one. With threats of impending tornados we released early so all the kids could get home safely before they hit. And boy did they hit. Thankfully we were able to go hide out in a friends basement and as far as I know there was no serious damage done where we are. Though not every one was so lucky.

2.   If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be  What-I-think-is-cute-and-is-on-sale :) Is that a type? And I try to keep it shabby chic. If I can.

3.  My first vehicle was   I don't really know that I can say I had a vehicle that was "my" first. Family members let me use their cars for extended amounts of time: A black 1998 Saturn and a red 1988 Volkswagen Fox [I had some adventures with the Fox but more to come on that later :]

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is  My watch. I cannot live without it [ok. not true. but it pretty much feels like it]. My watch is essential as a teacher. I have forgotten it twice this whole year... not good.

5. My favorite way to waste time is  Making lists in my planner of everything I need to get done [and sometimes to make me feel really productive, I write things I have already done, just so I can check it off the list and make myself feel accomplished :]

6. Right now I could really go for   A good tooth brushing.

7.  This weekend I will be  Grading papers like it is my business. Which, in reality, I suppose it is. I just really really loathe grading papers and working on school stuff at home. I need a break! But the end of the grading period is coming up and I have a few students who want to murder me for not grading their papers. ugh. Hopefully this weekend is very very productive and also relaxing.

a little of this and a little of that

Just a few things....

1. I had a loverly surprise today when a guest speaker/survey-er taker came to my room and entertained my students all day long. It was like I had six whole planning periods. It was Glorious. And wonderful. It's amazing how much grading and planning can get done in that amount of time : ) If only it was like that every day...

2. There was a fight today. In my classroom. Two girls decided to go at it. Thankfully(?) it wasn't a physical fight, just a very very verbal one. That continued in the hallway after they were promptly removed from the room. Awesome. Hopefully I had the right reaction and did everything that I was supposed to: scream in their faces and send them to the office ... or something.

3. Um. I really really don't know why, but this had me dying of laugher. I can't even begin to explain it. But every time I look at it I laugh. A lot. Pathetic? Perhaps. But funny just the same.

here

I don't even keep up with that sort of thing ("reality" t.v.) but my oh my... funny. 

Anyhow. I hope you had great weeks! Which I'm sure you did considering we had a Happy Leap Day this year! But I am excited that tomorrow is Friday!! : ) Have a good one!