Two New Loves

Alright, I know this is the second post of the day, but a lot has happened and I've been really lazy about posting this summer.

Love #1:

One of the most exciting is that I finally decided what to use my 'summer money' to buy.... a Canon Rebel T3 DSLR camera! I'm so pleased with my purchased and have taken far too many pictures of Daisy & Delilah. I also got a chance to use it on Friday to take pictures of the campers at work. I'm brand new to the DSLR world, but looking forward to all the fun I'm going to have learning.
Here is a picture of the darlin', sweet girl. I'm thinking of naming her. Got any suggestions?

Love #2:

Have you all been to Pinterest? Honestly, I'm recommending it to everyone I know, because it is one of my favorite websites. I believe it even surpasses Facebook in my mind right now... whoa, did I just say that?

It helps to entertain me when my husband is playing video games. Video games... yuck! (Perhaps one of the most boring past times in the world, in my opinion.) Nonetheless, the man likes them. I've diverged....

Pinterest brings me sweet joy. Here are some of my "boards," which are basically collections of photos you create by "pinning" a picture you like.

For the aspiring headband-entrepreneur within.

Sometimes I just go to this board to feel warm, happy feelings and smile. I heart kitties! I even pinned a picture of Delilah. Can you find her?

This board is for the fatty within. I'm pretty sure calories get added to my waist with each new pin.

Someday we'll own a house... and this is where I daydream about what it will look like.

This page satisfies my OCD persona. I drool over organization!

Do yourself a favor... visit Pinterest. And when you do, look me up as a friend.

The Countdown Begins

September is approaching. Which also means I go back to being a schoolmarm in just a few short weeks. (School starts Sept 1st for me.)

Don't get me wrong. I love teaching. I love teaching English. I especially love teaching English to middle schoolers. However, I bemoan waking up early. I despise endless hours of grading. And I really don't like lesson planning.

So, in preparation of the new school year and in an effort to celebrate one of the good things about September approaching I have been (drumroll please).....buying school supplies!

Yes, I am a school-supply-aholic. I go ga-ga for a cute post-it or buying a new pack of pens (especially if they are Sharpie pens--see below)! Here are some of the treasures I have found in the past couple of weeks.


These are adorable and so much cuter than the plain, pale, blue things you find at the teacher supply store. Plus, I found them in the Target dollar section. Yes, the were $1. Now, for all you non-teachers you need to realize the ugly, pale, blue ones are normally between $10-$15 each. So, in my deal-finder fashion, I purchases a bundle of these. (I think somewhere in the range of 12-15.)


The Target dollar section also had these beauties. Now, for middle school these do seem a little bit "elementary," but considering I'm the only one using them... I'm okay with it. They were also $1 and I grabbed loads!


I write little notes to myself all the time while teaching. No seriously, I think I may write about 15 little sticky notes a day. I'm always misplacing them, so I'm hoping this cute little notepad will help me stay semi-organized with my extra thoughts throughout the day. (Also, in Target dollar section.)


This is my absolute favorite "find." This is like the holy grail, no the Bible, for teachers. This chart allows me to feel like I'm cheating when I grade their papers because it tells me the percentage. I have one of these already, but I realized last year I need two (one for home and one for the classroom) as I'm grading many times on the weekends.... sigh.


Cute bucket right? Now, if you're a teacher you will be drooling not at the bucket, but at the fine tipped Sharpies. SHARPIES!!!!! I seriously go to stores and stare, obsessively... no, stalkingly (new word) at Sharpies. They are my crack-cocaine.


Here is another cute bucket I picked up and added some new mechanical pencils and 2 packs of Sharpie pens. SHARPIE PENS!!!!! These are also the greatest pens you'll ever use.


Until I can drag my butt to my classroom one of these weekends/nights these and many other supplies sit sadly in boxes scattered throughout our small place. Do you see the huge stack of lesson plan & grading books in the left corner of the picture? Yeah, I wasn't joking about my mad bulk-buying skills. You're jealous, right?

Well, two more weeks left and then my orientation/training starts for my new school. Until then I will sleep-in and stare longingly at the Sharpie pens. SHARPIES!!!

Hidden Land & Banana Pancakes

These next few days are my last official days of vacation and I'm doing everything I can to live it up! Last night, with the help of the Heffernams, we discovered the hidden land inside Disneyland- ElecTRONica!


Complete with a "bar," arcade and rave-like dance area, there's no doubt that Disneyland is desperately trying to appeal to the teenage age group. It's truly an experience to say the least.


No doubt... no doubt the adventure was more for the boys than Andrea and I. When we first arrived we watched as they stood to the side with wide eyes and huge goofy smiles. I so enjoy seeing happy boys, even if it's over ridiculously nerdy things.

Switching gears...


Then this morning, after sleeping in (glorious), I got up and made pancakes. Not just any pancakes. I made multigrain banana pancakes with Vermont maple syrup.... yummm!



When I wasn't working full-time (and had energy) I used to make pancakes almost every Saturday morning. Then... I got tired. And my pancake-making dishes became sad, because they were no longer in use.

Today the 2-cup Pyrex rejoiced because she was useful! (And so pretty.)


And the metal spatula was elated, because he had purpose! (I may have seen Beauty and the Beast too many times. I shall neither admit this nor deny it.)

And most importantly, my husband was happy, because he had multigrain banana pancakes in his tummy!

Four More Days Left

I can hardly believe that I only have four more days left of my Spring Break. I'm so glad to have thoroughly enjoyed my time and spent it doing several day outings.


On Friday and Saturday, Anthony and I took a trip down to SeaWorld. I had never been there before. Well, that's not true. The last time I was there I was about 3 years old, so I don't remember a thing. All in all, it was a fun adventure. The picture above is of the "Blue Horizons" dolphin show. If you go to SeaWorld, you must go to this show. It's magnificent!


Tuesday, we had a grand day at Disneyland with Andrea & Dave. Us ladies arrived early and I so enjoyed the girl time. Andrea and I chatted it up and found out how many things we have in common. It's fabulous to gab it up with another lady and laugh at life's little peculiarities.

After work the boys joined us and we showed them how the Friedman's do Disneyland. We even convinced them to join the nerdy "pin club" with us! At the very end of the night we went to the World of Color show. It was great, but Andrea and I both agreed that the fire portion was unneeded. I felt like it was burning my face every time!

Yesterday was my recovery and grading day. Today, reality hits and I need to start working on the housework and homework I have piling up! So, fair well!

Family Bonds

I love my family! If there were one thing I think I am most thankful for in my life it would be that I have been raised with a close relationship with my aunts, uncles and cousins. (Above is a recent picture of my sister and I with all of our adult cousins.) I think about this often when I imagine what life will be like when Anthony and I start having children. I so want my kids to enjoy being close to their cousins.

However, unlike my family-3 aunts & 6 cousins-Anthony and I only each have one sister. His sister will soon be giving birth to her third boy (really hoping that doesn't happen to me), and my sister just got married and probably won't have kids for several years. His sister also lives in Idaho & Anthony and she aren't very close. So, I'm pretty much relying on our kids to be close friends with my sister's future offspring as well as any children born from my cousins.

Here in lies my conflict. Everyone lives in Southern California. I do not want to live in Southern California forever. In fact, if it weren't for our family ties and the whole "hard to find a job" situation, we would most likely be living somewhere else right now. However, we're here. And my family is here. So we stay here.

I see how my life has been so much fuller with family. It's awesome to be able to go over to my Aunt Cindy's house for Easter and after everyone has stuffed themselves full of food, we sit around the fire pit and laugh together. Soon (if we can get our schedules to sync) my sister, bro-in-law, youngest female cousin and her new boyfriend are planning on having a Settlers of Catan battle. (If you haven't played this game yet, your life is incomplete.) I'm so excited to be able to see them all together and have fun. I just want that for my kids so badly.

So what am I saying? Not sure. Just rambling and hoping that Anthony agrees to my insane desire to follow my family (if they even decide to migrate from CA) anywhere around the U.S. for the sake of my children having the same life I so treasure right now.

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Going to Bed Early

Our celebrations to ring in the New Year weren't quite as festive as I thought they would be. Actually, it involved me being rudely awoken at midnight (when most folks were celebrating), because we had gone to bed around 9:30pm. Ekk.... no we're not senior citizens.

Anthony is sick right now with the flu and hardly feels like celebrating much of anything. Except for perhaps the pile of used tissues that are spilling over the trash can next to the bed.

So for now, we're glad to be in 2011. However, I'm praying his health improves soon. And that mine stays good.