'Fall in Love with 28'

Yesterday, I had the first of several gatherings to celebrate my (gulp) 28th birthday.  Anthony and I went over to my mom's house in Lake Forest and it was such a blessing to see how much my family loves me.  My Mom put out all of her fall decorations and the house was smelling like cinnamon, pumpkin and fall goodness!

Notice the picture of my sister and I in the background from when we were in elementary school.  So very 90's.

My sister also took the time to make an adorable sign that read "Fall in Love with 28!" and she decorate the backyard.  She actually gave me the sign and I think I'll put it up in my house or perhaps my classroom.

Isn't this sign just the cutest thing?  She used scrapbooking paper, a stencil and black magic marker.  Then she strung it all up with twine.  Here are some more pictures of the food spread.  They put together many of my favorite munchies for the occasion. 

Mmmmm.... Swedish fish!  

We also played a game of Phase 10 in which I came in second to last and my Mom won.  She was so pleased with this as she NEVER wins at any of the games we play as a family. 

Joshy was the loser.  Hee hee.

My cute cousin Sarah admiring her cards.  She's so smart and always wins at strategic games!

My Auntie Cindy.  I love you Auntie Cindy.

And my adorable husband.  Oh what a charmer!

My little sister with her "game face" on.

By the end of the night, after a delicious dinner of BBQed chicken, potato salad, baked beans, corn-on-the-cobb & melon, the sun began to set and it was time to sing, "Happy Birthday!"

The only kind of cake I'll have on my birthday is pumpkin pie!

I'm also the only one who likes pumpkin pie, so they bought a lemon tart pie as well.  I am loved!

Towards the end of the night, my sister and I started to bust out our cameras and show each other all the new things we're learning.  She recently got a Nikon DSLR camera.  I know... sadly she joined the traitor's world.

Ah, aren't we cute!  The older I get the more I treasure time spent with family.  It's better than any birthday gift or party.

Vacation in Bass Lake

The second week of September Anthony and I took a small five-day vacation to the Bass Lake/Oakhurst area to join in the celebrations for my best friend's wedding.  Jenna is an old married woman by now (going on three weeks?), but I took a while to actually post some of the pictures I took from that week. 

We rented this AMAZING one bedroom loft-style cabin off Highway 41 on the way up to Yosemite.  I fell in love.  It even had a sweet name--Creekside Casa.

This is the porch and right below the wooden deck is a creek flowing down from the waters of Yosemite.  It was such a tranquil ambiance.  Not to mention the killer floor to ceiling windows throughout the entire cabin!

Are you jealous? Don't be.  Just stay there yourself.  I found it on VRBO, and it was a great deal! Still not convinced?  Check out the skylight right above the bedroom...

While we were in Bass Lake we went to our favorite burger place.  Honestly, I would drive 50 miles out of my way just to eat the burgers at Forks!

Anthony was about done with me taking pictures at this point and did the classic "turn-away" pose.  :)  Love ya babe.

So, I was discussing the burgers... they are killer!  I don't know what it is about them... the mountain rusticness?  Yeah, I made up a word... you can do that when you're a English teacher.  Here they are...

Are you salivating?  I am.

The best part of the trip was just celebrating the excitement with Jenna.  Here are some pictures of her the days leading up to her wedding.

The last one is my favorite.  That's her looking up to Brett, her new husband.  This was the day before they got married.

Here's some neat pictures of the church they got married in.  It's actually called "Little Church in the Pines."  Quaint huh?

And the inside of the church was so rustic looking.

Anyways, it was a fabulous time and I'm so glad Anthony and I were able to share it with her and be with one another.  We're looking forward to the next trip which comes next week when he takes me to the San Diego Zoo for my birthday. 

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!!!