My Best Friend's Wedding

No, not the movie- My best friend of 22 years, Kori, is getting married in August and I am her Matron of Honor.  Last weekend, we had her bridal shower and it was utterly fabulous!  Prepared mostly by myself and Kori's sister, I must say I am relieved that it is over. 

I had been planning this shower since October, and with the help of Pinterest, got some great ideas.  The shower had an "Old Meets New Theme" being that Kori and fiance Andrew dated way back in Middle School.  I had done some antiquing and eBaying.  We had vintage table clothes and potted herbs as the table arrangements. Favors were a test tube filled with homemade bath salts and a tea bag- with a note saying to relax with a bath and enjoy a cup of tea!  Gifts included antique ring holders, perfume bottles, tea cups, candles, Fiesta tea cups with saucer, bath salts, and homemade jellies.

The menu was simple: Chicken Salad croissants, Veggies, Fruit, Cheese, and a variety of Trifles for dessert (S'mores, Heath Bar, Raspberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Banana Split).

We kept the games simple also.  At each place setting was a picture of Kori and Andrew with thought bubbles.  Guests were to fill out the thought bubbles and Kori picked her favorites.  While the gifts were being opened, guests played bingo, filling out their bingo board to the gifts she thought Kori would get.

Overall, everything went great (minus the rain and forgetting cups!).  Kori appreciated it all, and I believe all the guests did too! 

Now, I have another friends shower to do in June.  It never ends!

Below are a few pics:

Lemon Hand Scrub (Thanks to Pinterest!) and an antique ring holder was just one of the many gifts guests had to chose from. 

A few of the potted herbs that were on the tables and given as door prizes.  I found some very unique herbs- Apple mint, Thai basil, Hot spicy oregano, and the usuals- dill, parsley, sweet basil, rosemary, lavender.

The place settings with utensil containers made by Kori's sister. 

Toby Popped His Cherry

While we were in Florida the first week of April, Toby's cousin, Wayne, convinced him to get his first tattoo.  And surprisingly, Toby accepted!  I have been asking Toby for years to get a tat and he always refused. 

So, Toby and Wayne got matching shamrock tattoos.  Toby created the design and since it was his first, Wayne said he would get the same thing.  I couldn't let Toby get one without me, so naturally, I got one too.  I now have 4 and already have plans for more.  LoL. 

                                    Toby and Wayne's tattoo

My new collection- The date is our wedding date.  I've always loved dandelions in that stage.  To me, it reminds me and youth and making wishes.  I wished for the man of my dreams many times, and on 9-26-09, my wish came true!

New Year Resolutions Update

As the third month of 2012 comes to a close, I would like to reassure myself of meeting my new years resolutions:

1.) I will maintain a healthy lifestyle. 
With this beautiful weather we have been having, I have been walking/running 3-4 days a week.  I am also loving the Nike Training free iPhone app.  It allows you to target certain areas and gives a wide variety of work outs.  Yes, I have had maybe 2 weeks throughout this year of not exercising, but we all can have a break.  I have been eating good, with the usually once a month gorge on chocolate (Thank you Flow....LoL.).   

2.) Once a month, I will donate to an organization of my choice.
January- Money Donation to Relay for Life for our 2nd grade fundraiser.
February- Money Donation to the Empty Bowls Project of Monongalia County (a school fundraiser as well)
March- 2 1/2 bags of clothing and shoes donated to the Goodwill

I have not donated to the Cameroon Football Organization yet, but I do plan on it soon.  Actually, the founder and I have talked about fundraising activities for my school next year.

3.) I will pay off my credit cards.
Capital One and Discover balances are down by 70% then they were in December.  I would like to extend this goal to our Care Credit card too.  Thanks to my lovely cat Ziggy for needing a teeth cleaning and tooth extraction, that bill has gone up.

And this last goal is just for this blog:

~I will post on my blog at least twice a month.- So far, so good!!! (Except for February!  Hey, its a short month!)

On another note, no house news for us.  :*(

Heading to Florida next week for Spring Break, so more posts to come!!

The Joys of Teaching

As March approaches, I realize how much I have been neglecting my blog. But as my students and I celebrated Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday today, I had a delightful day.

In school, my 2nd graders have been learning about the continents. When I was in college, I went to a training that taught different things using movement and song. We learned a continent song that teaches the locations of the continents on a map. I taught this to my students and they instantly (and hopefully forever) remembered where they were located on the map.

For a final assessment on the location of the continents, students were to trace a template of each continent, label it, and glue it onto a paper in the correct location. The students were given no resources to use, just their previous exposure to the song. I was so pleased as I walked around the room to see the students singing the song and doing the movements to find out where to glue a certain continent.

Teaching is a rough and time consuming job (I know, we get the summer off. But all summer long, I am doing things to prepare for next school year. And no, we don't work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. We usually work 10-12 hours 6-7 days a week!) but the reward of seeing something you taught them, is more rewarding than any money can buy!

When One Door Closes, Another Opens...

And I'm back in my groove of not posting very often. The title of this post pretty much describes my last month.

Toby's job has relocated him to Morgantown, WV which is also where I work. Actually, Toby's office and my school are less than 1/2 mile away from each other. So due to his relocation, we have decided that it would be in our best interest (and less gas and wear on our vehicles) to move to Morgantown.

So this past month, we have put our house on the market and have looked at about 11 houses. One door closes, and another opens to house viewings. We found our dream home, but unfortunately can't do anything about it until we get an offer on ours. We have had six showings of our house. All of which love our house and the upgrades we have done, but still are going to "look around". Aka: not put in an offer.

So as time passed, our dream home is now under contract. I have been so depressed this week since we found out on Monday that it is under contract meaning it is probably sold. We haven't found any other house that even compares. The worst part is, the view was something you don't find in Morgantown and you could see windmills on the hillside- which is something my family is obsessed with.

Good things happen to those who wait...... But how long do I have to wait!?

Pin-Spired

I have been addicted to this website - pinterest.com, which people post pictures, crafts, recipes, and everything else in between!  You can re-pin pictures onto your pin-board.  I saw this idea which involved gluing crayons to a canvas, and then use a hair dryer and melt them down onto the canvas.  I immediately fell in love with it, because you could call me a Crayola girl.  Every year for Christmas since I was 3, I've collected the Crayola Christmas ornament.  (Ironically, they started creating ornaments in 1987, which was when I began my collection.)  I also love their crayons, and being a teacher, I go wild when they are on sale at Wal-Mart for 10 cents at the beginning of the school year and stock pile on crayons!  (You never know when they will quit making them, right!?)

So I purchased a 12x12 canvas at Big Lots for $5, grabbed my hot glue gun and began creating this art.  I decided that I would take it to school for my students to see, so before I melted the crayons, I added my name.  I am very excited to see my students' reaction!  I know they will love it and want to do it too!  Here are pictures of my art creating process:

Supplies needed:  Canvas, crayons, hot glue gun, and marker (optional)

I measured out for the spacing of the crayons and decided of the color order I wanted them in.  Then, I carefully hot glued them to the canvas.  Surprisingly, I didn't burn myself with the hot glue!  I usually do....

The final project!  It has a yellowish tint due to the flash and angle of the picture.  But the canvas is white, the same as the first 2 pictures.

Happy New Year!!!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."                -Author Unknown



As 2012 approaches, the resolutions begin.  I've never really been a fan of resolutions, because they never last for me past February.  Prior to 2012, I started to think of some "goals" for the upcoming year.  I am calling them goals, because those are more reachable and realistic for me.  I have narrowed it down to 3 vague goals (with an extra added just for this blog).  I have made them vague because I feel that it is more stressful when they are too specific.  My goals will also be an "I will" statement- this makes it more of a promise to myself. 

My Goals for 2012...........

1.) I will maintain a healthy lifestyle.
With this goal, I will exercise on a weekly basis, eat healthy, and live as stress-free as possible.

2.) Once a month, I will donate to an organization of my choice.
This goal is the most specific I will get, but it allows for flexibility.  As stated, once I month I will donate something (be it money or materials) to an organization of my choice.  For the month of January, I will donate $30 to the Cameroon Football Development Program.  This was started by an old friend of mine to help people in West Africa.  His vision first began to use his assistance to allow fresh water for villages in West Africa.  Now, it has branched  off to teach students in Africa, and include sports programs and technology.  For more information, or to find out how you can donate, check out their website:  http://www.cameroonfdp.org/

3.)  I will pay off my credit cards.
I'm not going to say specific amounts of how much I owe, but I will pay off my Capital One and Discover card.  Let's just say, I charged Christmas gifts, and will often by myself things while out shopping for gifts for others.

And this last goal is just for this blog:

~I will post on my blog at least twice a month.
I have only seemed to post while I am on breaks from school, and I would like to be more regular with my posts.  I have thought of some things to write about and have really enjoyed my blog so far. 



So these are my goals for 2012 that I know I will follow (I must stay positive, right?).  I plan on updated my goals throughout the year in a post to prove that I am following them.  I hope all of you make goals, and stick to them!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!