Sorry to ALL of my readers (ha!)

I really don't think anyone reads this which is why I didn't feel bad slacking off so much on the 30-day challenge thing!  Either way....I need to catch up!

Day 23 - a youtube video.  These always crack me up :) 

Day 24 - where I live.  Columbus, OH...except I'm in the 'burbs (and I love it). :)

Day 25 - your day, in great detail.  My day wasn't too interesting.  I woke up to a phone call telling me I would be subbing this afternoon for a 2nd grade teacher.  I had to use my heated seats for the first time today on the way to work (growl).  When I got to work, I did some prepping for the lessons I would be teaching.  I taught my lessons to my four groups of kiddos.  Lessons included reading (obviously!), working with magnet letters to make and break words, and working with onsets/rimes on dry erase boards.  After that I did some laminating and ran some copies and ate a quick lunch.  Then I subbed in 2nd grade.  The plans were easy (sort of annoying).  The kids played a new math game called 'Sweet Thirteen' for math and then went to special (music).  While they were at special, I prepped my lessons for tomorrow.  Afterward, we read James and the Giant Peach and illustrated what we thought the cloud-men would look like.  After the kids left for the day, I went back to my room to get a few things done and then went home.  Now I'm home blogging and waiting for the hubby to get home!  (I should probably be doing laundry.)

Day 26 - your week, in great detail.  I guess I'll start with a week ago today.  I taught every day except Wednesday because Wednesday we had a late start so I didn't see my kiddos.  I still had to go to meetings though.  I subbed 3 of the 5 days we had school.  Friday night we had some friends over to play cards and then went to a neighborhood bar which closed at midnight.  I guess that's what you get for going to a hole in the wall!  After that we went to another bar and watched some people try to sing karaoke...pretty entertaining!  Saturday we went to the OSU game (huge win)!  After that we came home for a bit and then went out to dinner with some friends at Max and Erma's.  Next we went out with friends to help celebrate a friend's promotion.  Sunday I slept in a little (I've been totally exhausted lately) and then made a few dips and headed up to my Dad's house for my Grandpa's 87th birthday party.  I ended up making pineapple salsa (they requested it) and chili cheese dip.  Both were pretty good but I'm not sure if I'll make the chili cheese dip again.  Sunday night I wrote my lesson plans for the week and watched the season premiere of Desperate Housewives and Family Guy - both good!  You already know what I did today!
 
Day 27 - my worst habit.  I think I have a lot of bad habits.  One thing I hate that I do is I start cleaning/organizing and then I get into an OCD mode where I feel like I need to throw a bunch of stuff out or re-organize EVERYTHING.  It ends up being very messy in the process and it drives me nuts.  (See my previous blog post!) 

Does it always have to get worse before it gets better?!

I just realized I skipped day 20 of the challenge.  How annoying!  Anyway, I'm in the middle of cleaning/organizing my office.  This has been on my to-do list for a while but I kept putting it off because I knew that once I started, it would get worse before it got better.  Right now, I'm at the worst stage...the room is a mess and I'm stuck in the middle of it!  I know I'll feel better when it's done but right now I'm going crazy.  I don't know where to put anything and I feel like I want everything OUT of the room so I can start with a clean slate!  Anyway.....at least I finally hung up my degree :)

Now to play some catch-up on the challenge....

Day 20 - a hobby of yours.  I like to scrapbook but I really haven't done very many.  I made one for my mom's birthday one year, one for our wedding, one for our honeymoon and a digital scrapbook for a cruise we went on with family.  I have fun doing it but like I said - haven't done a ton...I never have much to scrapbook about!  I guess when I have kids I will have plenty :)

Day 22 - a website.  I don't like this one.  What kind of website?  I guess I like http://www.makeupalley.com/.  It has reviews on various beauty products and also a forum that you can chat with other gals (and guys)!  It's a fun place to go but I always want to go shopping after reading the reviews!

Yum!

Day 21 - a recipe.  I have a rule for my recipe book.  No recipes are allowed in unless I make them and approve of them :)  So far I don't have tooooo many recipes but I have a few here and there (mostly desserts so far!)  This is a recipe I like for fall...these cookies are fun to eat by the firepit on a cool night!


S'mores Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 dash of cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups miniature chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.



Here are some I made about a year ago:

Hidden Talents....

Day 19 - a talent of yours.  I honestly have no idea for this one.  All of my talents are hidden ...even to myself!  I am trying to think of anything I could possibly post here and I can't think of anything that would qualify as a talent.  I guess if someone else can think of a talent I have, let me know!

p.s. We have four cars.  Four cars is too many for TWO people!  I have been aching to get rid of at least one and hopefully two for a long time now.  Today someone is supposed to come look at Nick's car.  I'm hoping they show up and it works out.  I'm so over having these extra cars (even though I still get both garage spots)!  :) 

Weddings :)

It's game day!  We have a noon game so I'm up early on a Saturday!  Not really, I'd never wake up that early unless I was going.  My dogs woke me up at 7:30a :(  So much for sleeping in!



Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding.  I am already married so I guess I will talk about my wedding that I already had.  HOWEVER, keep in mind that I want to get married again (to the same guy, obviously)!  I think he's finally breaking down and might agree to a vow renewal (or as I call it...our second wedding)!  I loved my first wedding but my second will be totally different.  My second wedding will hopefully be on a beach with only close family and friends.  I will carry lilies again because they're my fav but my dress will be light and flowy.  My hair will be half up with some curls and Nick will wear either khaki or gray for his suit (no tuxes needed unless he wants one).  I won't get into all the details because I've thought about this way too much - I love weddings!

Now onto my wedding that I actually had and is not just a far off fantasy!  :)  I've included some pics of the major details....

My bouquet was awesome.  Lilies are my favorite and this turned out great!  We now have a stargazer in our garden that reminds us of the wedding :)  

My bridesmaids wore a bright pink.  They probably hated their dresses (as most bridesmaids do) but I loved them. :)  I think my girls look beautiful!

 My cake was exactly what I wanted - square tiers offset with buttercream - no fondant!  Each tier had different flavors.  Our favors were personalized M&M's - common but still fun!  I loved the stamped label we put on the packages :)

I also needed to include something for the kiddos at the reception so I made a coloring/activity book.  By the end of the night, I had enough art to fill up the fridge :)

 Last but not least.....the bride and groom! 

Art.

I got to sub this afternoon again.  That's 3/5 days this week and I already have 3 sub jobs booked for next week!  I'm so glad that even though I'm part time, I'm able to sub for extra money....and I love never having to look for sub jobs - I'm always requested and I never even have to leave my building! 


Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc).  I wish I had some pictures of my sister's art...she is awesome!  She definitely got that from my mom and I missed out on that gene.  I'm crafty but not an artist at ALL!  I really like all forms of art so it's hard to decide what to post here.  I guess one of the cooler things I've seen is the Chihuly glass at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

Speaking of art, did anyone else watch that TV show on Bravo called 'Work of Art'?  I liked it.  Some of the art was really weird but it was fun to watch the artists in their creative modes!

I hate crying.

Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly).  This is hard.  I hate crying.  Most of my friends probably haven't seen me cry....I avoid it.  BUT if I had to think of a song that made me cry (or nearly), I guess I would say 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton.  Great song, but sad....especially if you know the meaning.







I figured out how to post youtube vids...proud?  Haha....I'm lame.

Dream House.

Day 15 - your dream house.  My dream house would probably change on a monthly basis just because I LOVE looking at realtor websites and watching HGTV so I always have a new idea of what my "perfect" dream house would be like.  However, I will describe my current obsession.  I found this house because someone at work is trying to sell it.  I have convinced myself (and my husband) that this IS the perfect forever home for us and we can easily raise 2-3 kids there!  This place has a corner lot, 3-car garage, huge paver patio with built-in fire pit, finished basement with full bath and theater room (125" projector, hello!), master bath has a corner tub (fun!), white woodwork, granite counters, etc.  All we would need to do is throw on a coat of paint.  Oh yea, and save a TON of money since we can't afford it ;)  Anyway, that's why it's a dream house, right?!  :)

 P.S. This thing is minutes from a huge park and I already drove by it once...love it!  There are bike trails and ponds in the cute small neighborhood.  I'm obsessed. :/

Are you available?

I work part time at my school so I'm available to substitute in the afternoons.  I never knew teachers would be so interested in having me help!  I have been asked "Are you available" a MILLION times in the past few days and I honestly never know when I'm available unless I have my planner on me!  I'm glad to be getting sub jobs though....extra $ is great! :)  Today I got a last minute assignment (which caused me to not eat lunch, grrrr) and subbed in 5th grade.

Time to catch up on the challenge.
Day 13 - a fictional book.  I love all books....especially children's books.  In my class, my kiddos are voting whether or not they would like to recommend The Rain Came Down by David Shannon.  It's a cute, simple book with great illustrations!

Day 14 - a non-fictional book.  I'm still working on reading When Readers Struggle so I guess I could mention that book.  I can't think of another non-fiction at the moment....

 

Now for something exciting!  Not that I have a tonnnn of readers (maybe I have some non-followers..).  Anyway, one of my favorite bloggers is doing a make-up giveaway so check out her blog and enter for the free goodies!  http://blushingbasics.blogspot.com/2010/09/makeup-giveaway.html

OCD-ness....

Day 12 - something you are OCD about.  MOST things!  Some things are higher on the list than others....and also really odd:
- I try to have all labels in the fridge/pantry facing forward.  My husband often screws this up!  I also group like items together.
- When showering, I have a process and I do it in the same order EVERY time.  Same with drying my body when I'm getting out of the shower....very weird, I know.
- If my handwriting is messy on something, even if it's just a quick reminder note to myself, I must rewrite it!
- I enjoy lining things up.
- Arranging things by color or type makes me happy.
- I don't have a ton of make-up, but the make-up I do have is organized by "eye", "lips", "face" in a little 3-drawer sterilite organizer.  (The stuff I use daily isn't in there....it's in a drawer organizer in my top drawer of my "vanity".)
- I hate water spots on the stainless steel sink in my kitchen - drives me bonkers!
- After I vacuum, I have a love/hate relationship with the lines the vacuum creates in my plush carpet.  I sometimes wish I just had hardwood because I hate seeing footprints ruining those lines!

I should stop my list now because it's making me want to go clean/organize and I have plenty of other stuff to do!

Football Season...

You can tell it's football season.  My husband is GLUED to the TV and has been for the majority of the day!  I don't mind watching some Buckeye football but I honestly could care less about some of the other teams!  Speaking of my Buckeyes....we beat Miami and won again today!  O-H!  :)

On to the challenge.  I swear, once this is done, I won't know what to blog about!  But in the mean time, it sure is a motivating factor to keeping my blog going!  Day 11 - a photo of you recently.  This picture is from 5 days ago (maybe 6?) when I helped my sister move into her new dorm.  I feel weird putting a picture of myself on here...........

Get out your old yearbooks!

Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you.  I'm a little disappointed with this post.  I really cannot find any of my old pictures (I took a TON in middle school and HS).  I'm thinking they might be in the basement, I honestly didn't look too hard.  I found a hilarious picture from my senior homecoming dance (not quite 10 years ago) but my printer needs ink and won't let me scan anything until I get new ink - frustrating!  Luckily, a friend uploaded an old yearbook page to facebook a while ago so I snagged my 5th grade picture from that.  If it weren't for my mom, my amazing flower hair accessory wouldn't be so prominently displayed in the photo.  So for that, THANKS MOM!  Ha...let's not even mention my super cool glasses ;)  This is making me want to get out my old yearbooks (I have them all...K-12)!

At work today I found out that I'll be working with third graders all year.  I was hoping that I would be able to work with multiple age groups BUT I like the third grade team of teachers a lot and I think it will be great to collaborate with them.  I'm excited to finally get going with my kiddos next week but I have a lot that I need to get done before Monday!  I think I'll be making a trip to the library, the teacher store and school on either Saturday or Sunday :)

Aloha!

Day 9 - a photo you took.  This post will be short and sweet because I'm not feeling great.  This is a photo I took from the helicopter tour on our honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii....LOVE IT!  I can't wait to go back some day.

Day 8: worth skipping!

Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad.  I almost wanted to skip this day.  Why would I want to post something that makes me angry and/or sad?!  I want to think happy thoughts!  My picture is of Dixie after she had her "accident" last November.  Every time we let the dogs outside, they run to greet our neighbor's dog (a golden retriever).  This one time, she got too close and his head collided with Dixie's open mouth mid-bark.  Her two front teeth were pushed up and out of place and she had to have them surgically extracted.  It was AWFUL and I felt HORRIBLE.  Blood, a whimpering dog, a panicking me = a huge mess!  Nick was not home so I had to go to the emergency vet alone.  Unfortunately they don't do dental work so we had to wait until the next day to go to our regular vet....luckily they gave us some paid meds but they just made Dixie not like herself :/  Sorry to ramble...the picture is of Dixie after her surgery and definitely drugged up:

Thanks to our amazing vet, Dixie is doing great and has no problems eating or picking up toys and she even plays tug of war without those front teeth!  Here is a picture of her and her brother, Chip ...it was taken in July :)

Day 7 of the Challenge......

Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy.  I couldn't choose just one...go figure!  A couple wedding pictures and our pups.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things.  They should have called this challenge the "favorite" challenge.  I'm getting annoyed with it!  Anyway, here we go...

1. My husband <3  (I know, corny! I can't live without him, though!)
2. My doggies.  They're the best cuddle monsters!
3. My family and friends :)
4. Mascara.  Without this, I would always have tired eyes!
5. Caffeine. Can't. Live. Without. It!
6. The Internet.  Seriously, when I have a question, I get online.  When I'm bored, I get online.  When I want to talk to my friends, I shoot them an email.  I can't live without the internet anymore!
7. Double Chocolate Milano cookies.  This is a new obsession of mine.  I always need a bag in the freezer!
8. My flat iron - the easiest way to cure a bad hair day!
9.  Labelmakers.  I love organization and I have to resist from labeling everything in my house!
10. Containers.  I have yet to visit The Container Store because I know I would spend every dime I have.  Putting everything into little containers makes me happy for some reason.
11. Nivea chapstick.  I go through tubes of this like crazy, love it!
12. Coupons/Sales!  I am a bargain queen and I can't resist a good deal :)
13. The beach.  I love laying in the warm sun and listening to the waves crash and the birds chirp...HEAVEN!
14. Fresh baked cookies...delish!
15. My job.  I'm lucky to have a job that I love...it is probably one of the most rewarding careers out there!
16. My ipod.  
17. DVR. How did I ever live without this?!
18. Jewelry.  Although I never go crazy with accessories (I'm known to almost always wear silver everything!) I can't leave the house without at least earrings!
19. Target.  How could I almost forget about this?  Target is my favorite "everything" store. There is one a few minutes from my house and I'm there way too often!  
20. Shopping.  Retail therapy is the best!  Lately I've been searching for some new work clothes.  My new job is a little more casual than I'm used to so I need to adjust my wardrobe a bit :)

Now I need to brag about a deal I found (see, #12 is true)!  Nick & I were at Bed Bath & Beyond returning a gift and I spotted some patio chairs (reclining "relaxers") outside on clearance.  I've had my eye on these chairs for a while but they were originally $60 so I never bothered to look twice.  Now they were on clearance for $29.99!  I decided I needed to go back with two 20% off coupons.  I also discovered I had a $25 gift card left over from my birthday so my total (for TWO chairs) was only $26 out of pocket!  Score.  I can't wait to lay out next summer :) 

Catch Up......

I knew I wouldn't be good at this challenge!  I need to do two days today....


Day 4 - your favorite book.  My current favorite is super nerdy because it's related to work.  It's a book called When Readers Struggle by Fountas & Pinnell.  I have this book from the library and I've had to renew it twice, return it and check it out again already!  I should probably buy it but I honestly need to wait until I get paid :/  My other favorite books would be hard to choose.  It's easier to just choose favorite authors.  I really enjoy reading James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks and for a funny book, I like Sophie Kinsella (also known as Madeleine Wickham). 


Day 5 - your favorite quote.  I have a ton of quotes that come to mind when I think of favorite quotes but there are two simple quotes that I really like.  "Love is friendship set to music" - that was the quote we had on our wedding programs.  The other quote I really like is "Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about".


When I woke up today, it was under 50°.  That is NOT my cup of tea.  I like warm weather and I was freezing!  It turned out to be a really pretty day though so we picked up some smoothies (had a buy one get one free coupon) and took a walk at the local metro park!

I figured it's also a good time to post up a picture I took from the first BUCKEYE game of the season!  Hopefully our first win (45-7) will be a sign of what's to come :)   O-H!

TGiaLW

My title for this post stands for Thank Goodness it's a Long Weekend!  I think it's hilarious how long acronyms/abbreviations are getting to be.  I've seen some texts with some acronyms that are just plain hard to translate.  Isn't it easier to type it out at that point?!  Just a thought :)

Seriously though, I'm excited for the long weekend!  I love my job so it's not about having time off, but it's about having more free time and more time with my hubby. <3 

I'm going to keep trucking in this Challenge thing.... Day 3 - your favorite television program.  Once again, it's so hard to choose just one favorite!  I guess I will have to say 'The Office'.  I can watch the same episodes over and over and never get tired of the show.  I feel the same way about 'Seinfeld'....miss that show!

I hope everyone has a great long weekend!

O-H!

Today starts college football season and I get to go to the first game of the season!!  I hope the rain holds off until after the game because I've been to rainy games before....ponchos are so not cute.

I figured I would do the 2nd day of the challenge this morning since I'll be busy with game day things when I get home from work.  So....Day 2: I don't know how much I like this challenge.  Choosing ONE favorite movie is too hard.  I guess my favorite movie I've seen recently is Inception.  It really made me think.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!

By the way, has anyone seen the commercials for the new Conair Infiniti?  It's a new type of curling iron that you use upside down to create loose curls/waves.  As soon as I saw it, I immediately thought of a blog I follow called Blushing Basics.  It reminded me of one specific post she did a few days before I saw this commercial!  (I swear she's a genius!)  Here is her post: http://blushingbasics.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-curl-your-hair.html  Anyway, I went to buy the new Conair Infiniti and try to follow Kristie's tutorial but the thing was $40!  No thanks.  I bought a $9 curling iron instead and followed her tutorial and it worked great!  Unfortunately, I didn't take before and after pictures :(  I will try to do that in the next few days because I'm sure I'll do it again.  It did take some time but that's because I have a lot of hair and I was nervous about burning my fingers.  Seriously though, try it!

30 Day Challenge....

No, I'm not going on a diet! I saw this on another blog and decided to copy :)  It's a 30 day blog challenge...each day gives a new topic to blog about!  I can't say I'll remember to do it every day so this may not ever be complete....Here are the topics:

Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a youtube video
Day 24 - where I live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - my worst habit
Day 28 - what's in my handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future

Day 1: Choosing a favorite song is NOT easy for me.  I never have just one favorite song, I always have a ton.  I guess for this 30 Day Challenge I will probably do my CURRENT favorites...it's too hard to pick an overall favorite!  I guess right now my current favorite song is 'Sleepyhead' by Passion Pit.  I just love this band for some reason and every time I hear another one of their songs, I love it as much as the last!  Here is the video: PassionPit-SleepyHead  (Sorry, I can't figure out how to embed youtube videos....?)  'Little Secrets' and 'The Reeling' are two more great songs by Passion Pit :)

Not much else to report.  I'm going to the first Ohio State game of the season tomorrow and I can't wait!  GO BUCKS!  :)