Friday Favorite #7

I've been trying to think of what today's Friday Favorite should be and I came up with a few ideas. I'm going to stick to another practical item that I can't live without. Well, I probably could but why would I try to live without something that I am in love with? It's lotion. I'm pretty much addicted to the stuff. I have a particular fondness for yummy smelling lotion from Bath & Body Works but even more so is my all time favorite... plain and white and unscented and yet truly magical. Cetaphil lotion. Yes, it's totally boring and yet completely satisfying. It fulfills all of my lotioning needs. It's just the right consistency, it doesn't leave my hands feeling chalky or dry, underlotioned or over lotioned. I've tried some lotions that are supposed to "absorb" why would I want my lotion to sink in? Isn't the point of lotioning to feel the lotion, feel the creaminess, to leave your hands feeling moistened. Those lotions that absorb just don't do it for me, it ends up feeling like I haven't used any lotion at all! Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want my cream to sit on top of my skin and feel slimy, but even worse are the ones that make your hands feel even more dry, like chalky. Yes, I've tried some lotions that do this. UGH! Not so with my Cetaphil. It's the perfect combination of thickness and creaminess, it absorbs the perfect amount making my hands feel just right. If you're in the market, I'd highly recommend it. (I also happen to use the Cetaphil Cleanser).

Happy Lotioning,

Pulled Over

It's exactly as it sounds. I got pulled over. Ya know, that's one of the worse feelings you can get, I think, you're just driving along minding your own business and the next things you know you see lights flashing in your mirror. Your heart either 1)stops or 2)speeds up. For me, it speeds up beating out of my chest. So, here's what happened. It was last Tuesday evening and Hubby and I were heading up to Eugene for a class we're taking. We were on 126 heading west towards West Eugene when it happened. The lights came one and I instinctively look at my speedometer. Yep going above the limit, but not by much. It was the kind of "going over the limit" that you wouldn't think you'd get pulled over for. But, I couldn't argue that I wasn't going over 55. Of course, I pull over and Hubby is saying something about how I was barely over 55. My heart is racing, I am already feeling horrible as we don't really have the extra money to pay for a ticket (by the way, the class we were heading to is a financial class!), I'm apoligizing and trying to get out all my stuff at the same time. I'm pretty sure I asked Hubbs to get my stuff out of the glove box, as I'm rolling down the window in anticipation. After a few moments the police officer comes up to the passenger side window bends down and immediatley starts apoligizing and saying something about how the license plate renewal sticker looked like an 11 but it's actually a 12...something about the reflection and glare...and we were free to go...sorry...nothing's wrong...on your way now. OH MY GOSH!! I couldn't believe it, well I could. I didn't really think I had done anything worth a ticket. But, still it gets your nerves going that's for sure! So thankful for honest police officers! Also, this is not the first time I've gotten pulled over for nothing... but that's for another day!

Friday Favorite #6

Alrighty, it's Friday and I've missed a few so I was getting some blogging grief about not posting my Friday Favorites. At least I know someone is visiting my blog :) Ok, so today's favorite is all about bedtime, ahem... I should say sleeptime. I have always had a hard time falling asleep. I thought it was normal for it to take around 30 minutes to fall asleep. Apparently it is not. After I got married I discovered two things that I LOVE now and wished I had used before. To think of all the minutes I could have been sleeping!! It's very sad. One of them is earplugs. Who knew they were so amazing?? See the thing is is that I had tried them before and could never get them "to work" you know what I mean? I guess I just didn't know how to use them correctly...how to insert them. In fact, I made my DH put them in my ears for the first few weeks of using them, then he finally encouraged me to figure it out myself. Guess what? I did! Now, I have to have them to sleep (mostly because hubbers snores. Shh... don't tell him I shared that!). I am not sure this is a healthy addiction, but for now it is a favorite! Ok, the second favorite for sleeptime is my eye mask. I've had this thing for a very long time and never used it, again... the shame of all the time wasted (awake) not using it! I am convinced that I have thin eyelid skin. Once again, I thought everybody could see light-ish even though there eyes were closed. This is why I always liked my bedroom really dark. BUT apparently not everyone is like that either! I've heard that some people close their eyes and voila, it's dark!! Not me. It's okay though because I have found my new found love in the eye mask. I don't have to use it every night, but I sure like to have it when I need it. Just a side note, it's super funny using it because when I wake up in the morning I never know where I'll find it. Once it was at the bottom of the bed by my feet. How'd that happen?? I am also convinced that I look super hot when I'm sleeping, just picture it... earplugs, eye mask, and wait for it... my retainer.

Yes, these are even the brand I use. They are the best, Pura Fit, if you are wondering.

Not the one I use, but quite similar

Happy sleeping everyone, and don't forget to set your clocks back tomorrow night!

The simple things in (my) life

You know how we all have things in life that are simple and yet totally satisfying?? Well, I have one to share today. There are many in my life, in fact I have a list of them that I started a long time ago, which reminds me that I need to be better about adding to it. BUT for today I am going to share one with you that happens every so often and it just makes me happy. You may call me a nerd... prepare yourself to delve into my nerd world. OK, today's life simple pleasure is when something runs out and I get to throw the used thing away. Today, for example, I grabbed my fine-tipped sharpie (LOVE THEM! Ooooh, that should be a Friday Favorite!) to make a quick note and the ink was out!!!! This made me happy... I got to throw the pen away and get a new one! There is just something satisfying about using something all the way until it is totally used up and get a new one. Here are some other examples: when I use all the body wash, when I use all the sticky notes in a pad, when the ink runs out in a pen (like today), when I use up all the chap-stick, etc... I realize that this is something silly and probably most people don't pay attention or notice and certainly don't find pleasure in using something up all the way. BUT I DO! It's finding pleasure and satisfaction in the little things that keeps me down to earth, keeps me grounded, keeps me from getting too overwhelmed or frustrated at something. Keeps me smiling at the end of the day (or for that sake in the middle of the day) I think we all should find a little more satisfaction in the little things. Have you ever used your sticky pad all the way to the end?? It feels good doesn't it? You can admit it.

To all the simple things in life,

So Frustrating

You know what makes me frustrated? Things that are ruined. Wanna know what makes me MORE frustrated?? Things that I ruin :( Since Hubbers and I have gotten married I have ruined a number of things around the house. I'm not so sure I want to divulge all my mishaps (embarrassing!!), but let's just say that a few pots in the kitchen aren't as shiny as they once were, the wood floors have more than a few dents in them, and our beautiful table is... um... still beautiful... when there are place-mats. ERG! It's not that I am careless, I guess sometimes it just happens. It's life right? But it makes me upset. I know that they are just things but they are our things, that we've worked hard to save money for that we like and took time picking out, and them I ruin them somehow. SAD. Okay, none of them are completely ruined. And it's ok to live with our things and not just around our things. I guess it's just a learning curve, right? I'm learning that it's ok to make mistakes. Hubbers will still love me. The pots still work and our floor is still pretty, just don't look too close :) Oh, and don't lift up that place-mat!!

Friday Favorite #5

Yup, not  Friday. But, I'm trying to make up for missing last Friday. So, it's gonna be a quickie. If you've known me for long or are around me for random convos about makeup you might know that I've been on a quest to find the perfect mascara. I finally concluded that it does not exist (ok, I'm talking about "over the counter" makeup... that's what I like to call the makeup I buy from the drugstore). I have bought just about every mascara you could find at the drugstore. For a while I even tried non-waterproof mascara and gave up on that one pretty quickly as it DOES NOT keep my eyelashes curled. Boo. I would like to wear non-waterproof because I've heard it's much healthier for eyelashes. However, I sort of refuse to not curl my lashes (Is this vain?? I hope not). I do not have the natural curl so I must use an eyelash curler and when non-waterproof mascara is applied I can literally see them droop. Sad. SOOOO.... I use waterproof. All that being said I have bought and tried a ton of different mascaras! I have found the one. It is the best over the counter waterproof mascara there is (in fact, about a month ago I thought I'd try a different one - BIG mistake. I ended up taking it back - that is another good reason to buy over the counter makeup, you can take it back! - and exchanging it for my tried and true). Wanna know what it is??? Here ya go:

It's just a Monday

There's not a whole lot going on today, but I decided to go ahead and at least get a little something written. I actually left work on time today, meaning I left around 4:00, not sure how many times this has happened since school started. I could probably count the days on one hand, and that includes days I HAD to leave for a dr. appointment or meetings I had to be at. This has been one of the hardest starts to the school year, probably since the first year of teaching. I leave for work at 7:00 and get home around 5 or 5:30, bringing work home as well as working on the weekend (not trying for sympathy, just explaining a normal day). So, today as I was walking out of the building at 4:00 I started to have guilt twinges, WHAT? I decided not to feel guilty for actually leaving on time for once. This is the same feeling I get when I'm done with my parent conferences and there are still other teachers conferencing. You kind of want to scoot out without anyone knowing. It was definitely a Monday. I was tired and second guessed myself many times today. But, it's nice to be home and hanging out. My DH is at the chiro. so I'm by myself for a few.

We canceled our satellite service, so now we watch everything through the computer hooked up to the TV. Which means no TV for me to veg out too. It's ok. I've never actually never had TV, so it's a new thing for me to get used to. I'm finding that when hubbers and I actually get to sit down and watch a show it's like a treat... a mini-date. I kind of like it. I don't like not having the news, I suppose I should get online to watch, or read so I know what's going on in the world. No TV also means more time for me to read all the blogs I love. Too bad I haven't even had time for that (this goes back to all the extra school work this year - I am determined to get this year figured out!). Actually now that I'm thinking about it I should probably go start some dinner. Spaghetti tonight? Yes, I think so.

Hope your Monday was beautiful and looking forward to a great Tuesday,

Friday Favorite #4

No, you didn't miss a Friday Favorite somehow. I haven't posted a Friday Favorite for the last two Fridays. YIKES! How did that happen? Well, I know how it happened. I have been too tired by the time I come home from work and I just want to spend time with the hubbs and not even turn on the computer. So, for my two faithful followers (you know who you are!) I'm sorry that I haven't been Friday Favoriting (or blogging really at). I will do better.

So, for today's Friday Favorite I've decided to do something I little different. In part due to one of my friends who dropped just a little hint on my FB page that she (and another friend) should be my next Friday Favorite. After my initial giggle, I got to thinking about the reality of what friendship really is. And, friendship really is a favorite of mine. I value the relationships that I have in my life, and I know that I am blessed by their friendship, their commitment to me (even when I really screw things up), their love and their time (I know how valuable our time is!).

Tonight I am looking forward to spending some quality time with an old (she's not old, our friendship is) friend who is also the above mentioned hint-dropper, and another old friend from back in elementary school. Jamie and Tana are some of my oldest friends that I can think of. Tana was my around the corner neighbor and we did practically everything together, including getting in big trouble. Jamie was my first true and real friend in middle school and we stayed that way all the way through high school.

Time, choices, and distances caused both of these dear friendships of mine to stray apart. However, I have been so blessed by the fact that over the past few years I have been able to reconnect with both of them and develop a renewed friendship with them as adults. If I could go back and change things, I would never let either of these amazing women out of my lives for even a moment, but I can't. What I can I do is make sure that I stay connected with Jamie and Tana, and all my other dear friends, from now on. Friendships are not a thing to be wasted, down-played, or minimalized.

Thank you to all the people who call me a friend, who care about me, and love me. I love you too!

Much love and blessings,

A Natural Blonde

I've always been blonde. My hair was so blonde when I was a little girl that I called it "platbum" pretty sure that I didn't know what I was meant to say or what it even meant, but I liked my platbum hair. It stayed pretty darn blonde for a long time too!

It's funny though because I've always envied brunettes. Isn't it true that we always wish for what we don't have. I also think it's funny how many brunettes dye their hair blonde or put blonde highlights in (OK - I don't think there's anything wrong with this. If you're a brunette and you dye your hair blonde, I don't have any issue with that at all!! I don't want a brunette gone blonde protest here :) I just think it's interesting that we all wish for what we don't have (exception red heads, I think they are proud to be a red head and sport their locks without wishing their hair was any other color!).

I am, however, working on loving what I have been given. And I have been given a once pretty, bright, blonde hair turned still blond but not so bright natural blonde (whoa). I decided about 6 months ago that I wanted to go all natural with my hair color. This was not only because I wanted to go "back to my roots" (sorry for the pun!), but also for a much more practical reason. Money. I wanted to start saving money by not getting my hair colored so much. As you may have surmised I kept trying to achieve that once pretty bright blonde that I had growing up through chemicals, bleach and peroxide (ok, maybe not peroxide - I did always have it colored professionally). I didn't just try to achieve it, but I DID! My hair is light enough that the color will lift right out and result in a pretty natural bright blonde.

I'm really happy that I decided to go to my natural hair color, I have gotten a lot of compliments from friends and I feel really good about it. It took a while to get used to seeing myself with darker (ok don't laugh, it's darker to me!) hair, but I've really enjoyed it. Not to say that down the road I won't put some highlights back in, but for now it's really nice not having to get it colored or worry (not sure that ever really worried) about grow out. It's not my platbum hair that I once had, but it's mine and I am happy to be me!
Some pictures of when I had bright (chemical) hair not too long ago, and my natural hair color now.

My pretty blonde hair, only makes me a little sad that it's not this color anymore...

Ok, I had to squeeze some weddings in :) It shows the blonde, being tan helps too!

Sweet hubby.

First day of school 2011-2012, my natural blonde.

Just a few weeks ago, before school started. That's why I look so fresh!

Me today, just after writing this post. Don't blame me...I'm pooped, had my hair pulled back all day, and I think I'm coming down with a cold. Aren't you proud that I'm still showing this picture to you!

Much love,

Living in a small town (and choosing) to love it.

So... I've had this post in my saved list for a while now and I just couldn't decide if and when I wanted to post it. I kept thinking I should go back and re-read it to make sure I explained myself and my thoughts clearly. But, I decided I'm just going to post it and believe my heart will be heard:

I've lived in a small town all my life. Even when I went away to college I went to George Fox University which is in Newberg, another small(ish) town. Though larger than my hometown, it isn't exactly a huge city. When I moved away to college I swore that I'd never move back to my small town home (little did I know!). I just knew that I would be on to bigger and better places. This whole small town thing was certainly fine to grow up in but I knew that I never wanted to live there as an adult. There wasn't enough things to do, places to go, people to meet. I just really didn't want to be an adult living in a small town. Well... without going into a lot of details, I ended up back in my hometown. I now live and work there.

I have decided to change my outlook on things. Ever since I moved back, I never really let myself encompass the idea that I'm here. I never really imagined raising kids here, I just wouldn't let myself picture that part of my life here. I love working here, I just wasn't sure I loved living here. But things have changed, in part due to the death of a well loved, community minded, retired high school counselor. Through experiencing all the emotions of losing a community member I have been feeling pretty reflective. I realize that my attitude hasn't been, well... good. I would see someone in Wal-Mart or Safeway or Bi-mart (and right now I'm embarrased to admit this) that I know, and I would quickly turn and head another direction, avoid having a conversation, try to avoid being noticed. I am feeling pretty embarrassed, more than that actually. I am feeling completely humbled. Face on ground.

Ms. Portmann's life is a testimony of how great it can be (and should be) to live in a small town. A small town lets you be known, lets you get involved in everything, lets people know you (AND say hi to you in Safeway!! Because they care and want to say hi!!), lets you serve your community and be known by your neighbors.

I am going to choose to love it. I am going to choose to know my neighbors and say hi to them, offer to help them. I will serve my community and the people in it. I will have a conversation in Wal-Mart. I need to realize that I am blessed to live here. It's not always easy feeling like everyone knows your business, but yet at the same time those are the same people who will rally around you when you're hurting or sick. They will support you when you need it, because you have invested time into their lives.

I will choose to love this sweet, small town and recognize the blessing of it!

Some thoughts on teaching...

There is a whole slew of things I could post about teaching, but today I want to share something my principal sent to us in her weekly announcements and I thought it worth sharing. It's a letter from Abraham Lincoln for his son's teacher. This the the kind of teacher I desire and work towards being every day. I am not perfect, I get frustrated, I am impatient at times, I feel overwhelmed by all the demands, I feel unappreciated sometimes... but more so I want to make an impact, change lives, inspire greatness, instill confidence, encourage creativity and make sure those kiddos leave my class knowing I cared for them and poured myself into their education. This letter from Lincoln is beautiful and I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

"My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live this life will require faith, love and courage.

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know, teaching him - but gently, if you can. Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people. Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him if you can - how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tell him they are wrong.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it. Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filters all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy and he is my son.

Regards,
Lincoln.

Parents, thanks for sharing your most precious gift with us teachers,

Friday Favorite #3

Whoops. It's Friday and I haven't posted anything since last Friday... I guess that is to be expected with going back to work. All of a sudden all my free time has disappeared! Where did it go?? If you find my free time, please return it to me. Thanks in advance :)

Well, today my Friday Favorite is actually something I haven't even had a chance to use yet BUT I'm super duper excited to find a time here in the future to try it out (once my free time has been returned!). This was actually a gift from my parents for my birthday, and I love it! I love the color. I love the size (not too big, not too many functions/features/gadgets/ for me to figure out). I'm pretty indecisive, I have a really hard time making decisions... this is another one of those things that I'm working on. My college roommate used to make me make decisions, it was pretty rough but it ended up being really good for me (thanks Jillian!), but for the most part it's still pretty hard. Soooo, I was glad that I didn't have to pick out the color as that could have caused some serious anxiety. It doesn't hurt that I like pretty much any color, and it also doesn't hurt that mom said this is the color that was on sale (everyone loves a good deal!) and it doesn't hurt that it's YELLOW, love yellow!! Anyway, thanks mom and dad. LOVE YOU!!

Much love,

Friday Favorite #2

Howdy friends! Well, Friday has come again and I can hardly believe that it's here already AND at the same time I can't believe how long it took to get here. Whew! It was one of those short long week. Mostly because school started and I think I'm still adjusting to being back at work. Also, summer decided to show up in September so my classroom is about a million degrees, which is making everything harder! But enough of that. That's not what Friday Favorite is supposed to be about!

I already knew what I wanted to share as my 2nd Friday Favorite, it is the cutest, dantiest, sweetest little necklace around and it was my birthday present from hubbers. It's gold, it's a star, and it's all mine (ok, ok... it could be yours too if you buy it)! It's from Dogeared, they have a lot of really cute jewelry with a lot of different price points, some are pretty spendy and some are pretty affordable. I just love my Happy Birthday necklace and I haven't taken it off since I got it. I suppose I should take it off eventually, but for now I'm loving it around my neck. Here it is:

Well, that's it for now. I'm pretty exhausted and don't have much more to say except a big thank you for hubbers for getting this for me. AND a lot of love to all my friends and family who wished me a happy birthday and spoiled me with love, blessings, words of encouragement and some sweet gifts.
Blessings,

Back in the saddle again... well, tomorrow

I just thought this little guy was too cute!

Even though I've been going back in to work for the last three weeks, all but the last one was by choice. Last week was our first week that we had to be back. AND NOW tomorrow the kiddos are coming! Oh man, am I ready? Yes. No. Yes I am ready! All but for the new curriculum and subject that I'll be teaching this year. At my school in 5th grade, we have always done three rotations. Having three rotations helps the kiddos get ready for middle school. This means that I have a home room class, we do almost everything together as a class, but for three periods a day the students rotate to math, social studies (that's my subject!) and science. But due to budget cuts (boo!) we are down to only two 5th grade teachers and therefore one period got cut...  well, not totally cut. It's not cut out completely, just cut out of a rotations, which means... I'll be teaching math this year!!! Now, I realize that this shouldn't be a big deal, I'm a teacher after all and that means teaching ALL subjects but after 9 years (2 subbing, 7 teaching) of not teaching a subject ya get a little rusty, if you know what I mean. Ever heard the phrase, "if ya don't use it ya loose it", yep that's a true statement. I'm nervous to say the least. Not to mention the fact that the district adopted a new math curriculum for this year. So... new subject... new curriculum to use! ARGHH. This is adding sooo much unnecessary stress to my life right now. The other 5th grade teacher and I spent over TWO hours planning for ONE week of math. Will it get better?? I sure hope so. Oh, another problem-o is that we don't even have all the curriculum yet. In fact, we wouldn't have anything if it weren't for the other 5th grade teacher from last year who piloted the program. Yes, are you putting the pieces together? The curriculum is on back order, what?! How can that even be possible?? We are starting the school year without a major subject's brand newly adopted curriculum. Yikes. It's a good thing I work with some amazing teachers and have a lot of support to help me through this year. On a happier-less-stressful note, I am very excited to meet my new students and develop a relationship with them. I am anxious to get to know them and welcome them into my class and for us to feel like family! My classroom is ready for them, the papers prepared, posters hung, welcome signs ready and smiles in place. So, everyone... here's to a new year!

My Toesies

I like pedicures. I like them a lot. Getting a pedicure is a treat for your feet. Your feet that are stood on, pounded on, kicked on, stepped on and all around abused day in and day out. It's a beautiful experience. But, alas, pedicures are not free. I like free things, or at least practically free (remember?). So, I'm sad to say that I don't get pedicures as much as I wish I did. I even asked my FB friends to please donate some money so that I could get a pedicure. They didn't come through (don't worry, I won't hold it against you), well I should give a shout out to Jamie who offered up some of her old crusty nail polish. I told her that wasn't exactly what I meant by donation. So, instead of going to a salon today and getting a pedicure I decided to just give one to myself. Now, it's not exactly the same experience and it's not exactly the same result. But, at least my toesies are pretty for the first week of school. It's supposed to be HOT this week, which means sandals FOR SURE and at least I will have pretty toes, wanna bet that a few of my new students will notice and comment?? I'll let you know :) Back to my toes. Here's the color I used:

What I didn't know when I bought this color today (btw, Sinful Colors is very cheap! $1.99 at Walgreens. Yep, I buy cheap or should I say thrifty??) is that it's a matte color, which was kinda cool but not what I wanted today, so a clear coat on top was all it took! Cheers to pedis both at the salon and at home! Happy polishing,

It's not personal, it's business

There are a few things I know about myself (I know, it's only taken me 30+ years... and I'm still learning!), one of them is that I take things too personally. Remember Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail (one of my favs!), when Joe tells Kathleen that "it's not personal, it's business" (regarding the fact that the big book store is forcing her family's small book store out of business??) I feel like Kathleen on many occasions... IT IS PERSONAL! When, really, it's not. Why is it so hard for me to realize that the choices that other people make does not always relate to something I did and/or didn't do said and/or didn't say?? I tend to think... is it my fault? did I do something wrong? did I say something hurtful to them? should I call? should I apologize? should I avoid? AAAHHH... How does one get over this? I know that it's been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Will this change? I don't ever want to be a thick skinned person, but there must be a balance between where I'm at and where I could be... or should be? Should I work harder at being thick(er) skinned? Maybe I should just be who I am and be OK with that, but if I don't work on changing this part of me, will I continue to be heart-hurt every time I feel rejected/ignored/not-taken-seriously/dumped/left-out/brushed off/cold-shouldered/confronted/slighted??? Of course, I don't always feel this way but on too many occasions even the smallest thing can send me there (you know where... to that place in your heart where you feel like someone else's decision was in fact, well...personal...to you!). I don't get mad or try to get even, I get bummed. I get sad. I worry (this CAN'T be good for me). I've been trying this summer not to let fear hold me back, trying not to let fear lead to worry and doubt. Basically, I'm a work in progress. I know we all are in our different ways. Maybe you don't take things personally, like me, but we've all got our "stuff" to work on, right? I'm going to work on this. I think for my health, sanity, peace of mind I need to work on not taking everything so personal. And if you're still reading...thanks for sticking with me through this not so cheery post.

Loves,

Friday Favorite #1

Yay for Fridays! Even though this was a non-contract day for me, I still went in to work for a few hours this morning before spending some good time with a friend this afternoon... nevertheless I'M GLAD IT'S FRIDAY! I have decided to post a favorite thing of mine every Friday (that is my goal, I'm not promising that I'll remember and/or have time every Friday, BUT I am going to try!). I decided to do this early on this week, so I've just been patiently waiting for Friday to come around... and here it is! My very first Friday Favorite is a pair of shoes  called the Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's, that my hubby bought for me (he actually bought a pair for himself as well) before a hiking trip (just a day trip... no crazy overnight hiking for me (yet)). I am a huge advocate for NOT buying shoes that aren't comfortable right away. I just won't do it. Not anymore. Remember the days when you thought you could "break in" a pair of shoes (it probably still works for some people and for some shoes, but overall I don't find that it's worth it to me). I remember thinking that it's okay that my pinky toe is falling asleep in the store whilst I waltzed around admiring how cute the shoes were and that I was SURE they would break in eventually and be super comfy... wrong! So now if the shoes aren't comfortable right away I just don't buy them. Even though I stick pretty firm to this belief, I was still worried that perhaps these shoes would take a while for my feet to get used to. They are to be worn without socks, and that made me nervous... what it they caused blisters? what if they pinched my toes? what if my feet got all sweaty?? But, ya know what? They are absolutely amazing... they wouldn't be my very first Friday Favorite if they weren't!

I am loving these shoes. They are perfect for just about anything... I wear them riding bikes, weight lifting, hiking (again, NOT recommending these for any serious hiking!), walks around the neighborhood, etc. Even though they were little pricey they were definitely a good investment, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a shoe like this!

Being thankful isn't just for November

School is starting soon (like next week soon!) and that means I have a lot on my mind right now. Not to mention there have been some heartbreaking things that have happened lately. In the midst of these, I'm really trying to keep things in perspective. I need to remind myself of all the things I can be thankful for right now... I have an AMAZING husband (who loves me through everything and strengthens me all the time) and family (I could not ask for more amazing people to be related to), my friends are constant reminders at how blessed I am (thank you to each and every one of you - even you new ones!)  I have a job that I love (even though right now it is one of the things weighing on my mind), I am healthy (thank you Lord!), I have a house that I really enjoy. The list could go on & on... and so even when things are hard, frustrating, overwhelming or stressful I try to remember all the things that I am thankful for, all the ways that I'm blessed beyond measure. We have these flowers that grow in our backyard that just started blooming recently. They are growing in a ditch. Yes, a ditch full of leaves and brush and leftover stuff from working in the yard. I believe what happened was that when we were doing some yard work after we first moved into our house, we must have somehow pulled up some bulbs and they got dumped in the ditch with all the other stuff from the front yard. And now they grow up out of the ditch (that we never water or tend to or look after) and yet they keep surviving! They are absolutely beautiful, I don't know what they are but they make me happy and somehow remind me to be thankful of all that I have. These flowers are making it with hardly anything! I can make it, I can make it through hard times because I have an abundance of blessings and plenty to be thankful for. Here they are the flowers that have reminded me to be thankful for all things!

Can you see that this beautiful flower is just growing out of a ditch?

Even the leaves are bug eaten, and yet... they still survive & beautifully!

Who doesn't love (practically) free stuff??

So, I recently received a $10 off any $10 purchase at JCP... it took me a while to actually get myself to the store but as I noticed the expiration date nearing I made sure to get my hiney there! This is practically FREE money after all, since I didn't have to spend say... $25 to save $10. I LOVE this coupon, do you get them? I hope so because they are awesome. As I headed to the store I was thinking about what I would like to get... jewelry, socks, purse, socks, makeup, clothes?? So much to choose from! BUT in the back of my mind I knew that I wanted to spend as little as possible, I wanted to find an item(s) for as close to $10 as I could that way it was (practically) free. I browsed through the clearance rack, (which by the way had some super cute clothes, but alas I was not on a shopping spree... I had $10 to stick to), then moved to jewelry (again, found some cute things, had two pair of earrings I was trying to choose from at one point), then on to socks, tights, purses, leggings, even looked at the jeggings (yep, I know!). I couldn't decide on anything... ack! Now, don't get me wrong there were A LOT of things that I would've loved to have but if you know me at all you'd know that I don't make decisions easily... AND I was shopping alone! Finally, after putting everything that I had once been holding I wandered over to the scarves. I do love scarves. I started looking around and quickly found a few that were only $7.50!!! What??!! Yes, it is true. Of course, I couldn't get one since I had to at least spend $10 and that meant I got to pick TWO. Score! Two scarves for $5, I love this kind of shopping. I took a couple of picks with my new scarves, I just used Photo Booth on my computer so the quality is not great. BUT loving my scarves!

The picture doesn't show the beautiful colors...raspberry, strawberry, a little aqua and some lime. Sounds yummy, huh?

The blue one, so pretty too. I love wearing scarves.

Blogging Rule #1

I knew that I wanted to start a blog. Why?? Mostly just for fun!! I wanted it to be somewhere to share with friends and families about what's going on in my life. Before I started my blog I was reading up on blogging, and somewhere I read that it's not a good idea to have a blog about "whatever" so-to-speak, and to instead choose a topic that you know a lot about or a subject that you have passion for. Why?? Because apparently there are just too many blogs about nothing, too many people writing about too many topics makes for boring blogging. At first, I started worrying because his advice was basically telling me that my blog wouldn't be successful because it wasn't going to be about anything specific. In fact, I almost named my blog "A Little Bit of Everything" (thank you Erin!) because that's exactly what I wanted to write about! I don't have any specific topic and/or subject that I wanted to write about. Just the day to day, the happenings of my life, what I did today or experienced or felt. And whoever that person was wrote about rule #1 almost kept me from starting a blog... but then I decided to NOT CARE! I'm breaking blogging rule #1 and it feels good! I am a rule-following-people-pleaser and I always have been. But for now, regarding my blog I will write about what I know, and what I know is my life. This blog won't be all about crafts, babies (don't even have those yet!), or cooking. Will I include crafting? Yes. Will I write about cooking? Um... Maybe. Babies? Someday. Shopping, hair color, teaching, eating out, time with friends, my hubby, cleaning the house? FOR SURE because those are the things I know about (tomorrow I might even write about the amazing scarves I bought today). So, for today I hope you enjoy reading about a little bit of everything in My Lill' Life.

Me and my class(room)

I don't usually start getting back to school/work dreams until mid-August. But, lucky for me they started happening right after the school year ended, yup first one was in JUNE! What's up with that?? So, needless to say I've had school on the brain this whole summer. Now that is is actually mid-August I'm justifying to myself that it's okay for me to go to work to start getting things done. And I must say... it feels good!!! Yes, you are allowed to think I'm a complete dork for enjoying this one-on-one time with my classroom. It's just that I know it won't last too much longer, seeing as how my class will be filled with over 30 kiddos here pretty soon. Here are some pictures of the project I worked on today (never mind the purge of all things unnecessary out of my desk (no pics...it wasn't very pretty and I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to see it!), but boy did that feel good!).

I know it's hard to see here, but these are my sketched out numbers.

On the back are the words I sketched, then I colored everything in with sharpies (another of my favorite things in life!).

They are going to be the table group signs!

This is it!

So... this is my first blog! I am welcoming myself to the official blogging community :) I have spent way too many hours today trying to make this blog exactly as I'd like it... and I eventually gave up! I am going to "pick and stick" as I tell my students, for now it is what it is. I have ideas in my mind as to how I'd like this blog to look (like how do I get my blog titles to be colored?? and how do I have a "cooler" template and what is a widget or a flavicon? and how do I list the blogs I follow? Am I revealing just how little I know about blogs??), but as I'm still a blogging newbie I'm just happy that I've made it this far. Thank you to everyone on FB for giving me the ideas to get going! So... welcome to My Lill' Life!