Happy Halloween!

Let's be honest (totally reminds me of Michael Kors), I am lazy and (once again) have not uploaded my latest pictures from my camera!  I only have a few pictures to share today and they're from my cell phone.  :/ 

Trick or Treat was Thursday night for us.  I honestly don't know why my city chooses not to have it on Halloween but it caused for a long Friday with a bunch of kids hopped up on sugar at school!  We got a good amount of trick or treaters.  My favorite costume was a little puppy dog.  I also liked the boys dressed up as Iron Man with a mask that seemed like you couldn't see through it AT ALL!  Poor kids!  Here is a pic of Chip and Dixie waiting for the trick or treaters:

We carved pumpkins the night before Trick or Treat and they turned out pretty cute.  I'll let you guess which was mine :)

p.s. Why is it SO hard for me to get my pictures next to each other on blogger?!  It drives me bonkers.

I keep saying I'm going to rate some movies on here and I finally decided to use a grading scale - A/B/C/D/F.  Today I'll rate a few that we've watched recently....

1. Sherlock Holmes - This movie was pretty good.  It isn't my "type" of movie.  I'm weird and I'm not into movies that have costumes because they rarely seem realistic to me.  However, they did a pretty good job with this.  Robert Downey, Jr. was entertaining as Sherlock and Jude Law was a great Watson.  There were a few funny parts but I have to admit that I fell asleep during one of the slow parts.  (Note: I fall asleep during most movies...)  I love Rachel McAdams so I was glad to see her in this movie.  The movie had a pretty good storyline and was entertaining throughout but it was not something I would buy or watch again.  I give this movie a B because it kept me entertained for most of the movie.

2. Marley and Me - I have been wanting to watch this movie for a while.  Unfortunately someone spoiled the ending for me a long time ago but I still was interested in watching it.  This came in the mail from Netflix and sat on our TV stand for weeks (possibly over a month) before I could convince Nick to watch it with me!  We finally watched it and I was a little disappointed.  It starts out as a feel good movie but there isn't really a good storyline.  The movie follows Jennifer Aniston (Jennifer Grogan) and Owen Wilson (John Grogan) through the ups and downs of their relationship.  I didn't fall asleep during this movie but I have to say that I was upset that the movie was happier in the beginning than in the end.  Maybe I'll read the book.  The book is always better.  I gave this movie a C because I was disappointed with the ending and the lack of a solid storyline.  I have to admit though, Marley was super cute!

3. The Social Network - I wasn't dying to see this movie until I heard good reviews from everyone who had seen it.  I decided I better go check it out so Nick & I went to see it at our favorite theater, The Movie Tavern.  (Dinner and drinks during the movie?  Yes please!)  I have seen Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg) in a few other films and I really like his acting style.  For some reason he reminds me of Michael Cera....does anyone else agree?  I have to say this movie did not disappoint me.  I think it's definitely geared toward a certain age group.  (I'm not good with generations...)   In other words, older people probably would not enjoy this movie.  However, I'm starting to wonder how many of my friends' grandparents have facebook!  Most of our parents do. :)  Back to the review - because this movie is based on a true "story", it obviously had a great plot.  The movie was easy to follow and kept my interest.  There were also a lot of funny parts.  I was happily surprised with Justin Timberlake's performance as the founder of Napster, Sean Parker.  I would recommend this movie if you are as addicted to Facebook as I am!

Fall Fun!

I have to say that up until today, I was loving the weather lately!  We've been in the 70's almost every day and sometimes even hit high 70's!  Today we had some crazy storms but it made for a pretty rainbow:

I also discovered a new favorite dessert: caramel apples.  Nick & I went to a pumpkin patch/farm over the weekend and they had the BEST homemade caramel apples with toppings!  I had to get the M&M's and I wasn't at all disappointed:

We've been watching some movies lately so I'll have to rate them within the next few days....

P.S.  I attempted using the crock pot for the first time (we got it 2.5 years ago at our wedding!) and my meal was a failure!  I tried to make some chicken dish and the chicken turned out tough :/  Any recipes to share?  I can't believe I've owned this thing for so long and never used it!  (The "little dipper" that came with it is awesome though!)

Almost Friday!

No pictures in today's post...sorry friends!  I just wanted to give a quick update so I feel like an adequate blogger.  :)

Since I never know what to blog about, I was thinking about rating some movies.  Nick & I watch movies all the time so why not post my opinion of a few, right?!  Maybe.  We'll see if I get around to that.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday!  One more week until Halloween festivities at school and home!  At school we're having a pumpkin carving contest for all of the different teams.  I helped to carve our pumpkin with the other reading teachers today after school.  It looks good, but I'm not sure it will win any contests.  I will take a picture next week when the pumpkins are on display for student voting!

Also in school news....we had a meeting tonight to explain our reading program to parents.  We had invited the parents about 1.5-2 weeks ago.  I had 6 parents RSVP 'yes'.  (That's a good thing for our school which has little parental involvement!)  Tonight, out of the 4 reading teachers at our school.....12 parents showed up!  Total.  What a bummer!  The saddest part was that NONE of my students' parents came.  Maybe next year!

If I start rating movies, I need to think of a creative rating system...or at least something I can use every time.  I was thinking of just using the grading scale of A/B/C/D/F since I'm a teacher.  Not creative, but easy.  Any other ideas?

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It's another gray, gloomy, rainy evening....winter blues are setting in early for me!  However, as much as I can't stand the rain (Missy Elliot anyone?!), I really am glad it's not TOO cold yet.  I really really really can't stand cold weather or SNOW!  Yuck.

I've decided I'm a bad blogger.  I never know what to write about.  I'm sure my life updates aren't too exciting but what else is there to say on here?!  I have three followers - including myself!  If you read and don't follow, please follow so I feel less like a loser talking to myself!

Last Friday was a day off school for the kiddos but of course, I had a teacher work day.  It was centered around technology so we had a bunch of classes we could choose to take.  For elementary, there weren't many options.  I ended up taking a class about how to use the FLIP camera in the classroom, a class on SMARTboards, and a class on teacher web pages.  Nothing too exciting.  I did learn of a valuable resource for SMARTboard lessons: http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?m=01  This website has a TON of teacher-created SMARTboard lessons.  I am not fortunate enough to have a board in my own room but these can also be used on the computer.  Our school has a laptop cart so I am considering letting kids do some of the interactive lessons on the laptops....should be fun :)  While I was at technology "training", I had my hubby go and buy me the magnetic letters I had been wanting for weeks.  A new teacher store opened in town and had these 50% off for their grand opening sale - yay! 

 

We've had some issues with a critter in the backyard.  A month or so ago, we found some huge holes that someone had dug near the side of our house.  I caught the culprit today and he wasn't shy at all...just feasting on fallen birdseed!  (Sorry for a picture of a picture...I was too lazy to find the U/L cord for our camera!)

And last but not least...a picture of my cuddlebug doggies to make everyone smile.  They're so lazy in the morning, it makes it hard to get out of bed on a chilly day!

PINK!

So...tomorrow is "wear pink" day at work for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  I honestly feel like I have nothing to wear.  I have a lot of coral but I'm not sure if that qualifies as pink?  I have one shirt that I'm considering but I feel kind of blah about it.....I've actually never worn it before.  The shirt is pictured below..it's the button-up.  I would probably wear it buttoned up maybe with a skinny belt over it???  I have no idea...clueless!! 

Other than my stress of finding an outfit to wear...I've been trying to get some things done around the house.  I still haven't finished my corkboard though!  I ran out of corks so I decided to put a frame in the middle but the frame I bought is just a tiny bit too big.  How annoying.  I think I need to buy something with almost no edge.  I did create a "monogram" to hang over our bed.  I really like how it turned out:

It's almost time for open enrollment for our insurance (or maybe the time is already here?!)...anyway, I was trying to figure out if I might need glasses.  I've been having trouble seeing some things that other people say they can see!  I wanted to get my eyes tested to see if I should get vision insurance but eye exams aren't exactly cheap.  Nick's solution was to become an instant optometrist.  He said up an eye chart like the one below and had me stand the correct distance from it to read the lines (he researched this online, ha)!  He had a tape measure out and everything, it cracked me up.

In case you were wondering, the chart felt SUPER far away!  Nick's diagnosis: I don't need glasses but my vision could be better.  I guess I can deal with that for now.

I hate naming each post....

So the weather is great today and the forecast for tomorrow is even better!  Today: high of 81° and sunny!  Tomorrow: high of 85° and sunny!  I wanted to go to the pumpkin patch this weekend since the weather is so awesome but Nick said it's too early still.  I disagree - it's already October 9th, 3 weeks before Halloween weekend!  Does anyone know what they are dressing up as yet?

Speaking of Halloween, I put out some of my "fall"/Halloween decorations.  They're pretty pathetic because I have basically none but that's ok - I'd rather have less boxes in my basement since these decorations only stay out for about a month.

 

Not much else going on today.........going to watch the game while I do some work for school.  After getting my curriculum, I realized there is a TON of work to do to get it prepped/organized.  I had to go buy a bunch of containers/crates and over 200 baggies.  Luckily I already had some hanging files and labels and cardstock.  Ugh....lots of labeling and cutting in my future!  

Special Delivery!

I finally received my "curriculum" at school!  My district uses the Fountas & Pinnell systems for reading intervention (Benchmark Assessment System and Leveled Literacy Intervention).  I've been using the old LLI kit up until now and I finally received my BRAND NEW kit today!  I know I'm a nerd for being so excited but that's ok.  It's going to take a while to get everything organized and set up (aka ready to use) but I'm excited!

 On another note, I'm ready for summer weather again.  It has been too cold for me lately!  It "warmed up" today by getting into the upper 60's...ridiculous!  I changed my blog up to be more "fall-y" though, like it? :)

I'm in the process of doing some new projects for the house....something new to hang over our bed and also a homemade corkboard from wine corks.  I'll post some pictures when I have finished products!

Happy Hump Day - this week is crawling by!

Brrr....fall weather!

The weather has been freezing lately!  I'm in my house and I can't even warm up.  Part of that might be because my husband keeps the thermostat so low...haha.  I even sat by our fire for an hour (love it) but my toes are still numb!  This weather is definitely not for me.  Don't get me wrong, I like the "change of seasons" and all that jazz but I would be thrilled if this was our winter weather - the coldest it ever got!

Lots of doggie news updates.  Not anything special, but I have some pics :)
Last week they got a haircut so I took some before and after pics:

 I also found a good deal on doggie stairs over the weekend.  Usually I see these for sale around $39.99...sometimes a little cheaper, sometimes a lot more expensive.  We found a set at CVS for $14.99 and I also had a $3 off coupon!  Good deal!  (Note: I wouldn't recommend these steps to anyone with a heavy dog - they are very lightweight!)  Chip and Dixie can make it onto our bed but sometimes have some trouble since it's a little high.  I've had a sturdy pillow there for a while as an extra boost but this is perfect.  I think they're getting used to the steps already:

I finally bought another dresser for our bedroom.  We bought the whole bedroom set a while ago and Nick still had to store some clothes in the guest bedroom so I decided I should buy the other dresser before the store stopped carrying the set!  The picture below shows the new dresser and the stuff we had before (not my bedroom)!  We also have another "tall" dresser that isn't quite as tall.  I'm so glad our guest room can hopefully be used completely for guests now!  (Besides the closet...that's for my dresses!)

 Chip & Dixie loved playing in the box the new dresser came in:

Now time for the challenge....which will be over when I'm done with this post.  I can't say I'm disappointed!  It was a good way to get into blogging but it was starting to be annoying!


Day 28 - what's in my handbag/purse.  Too much to remember!  I'll try: gum, mints, Nivea chapstick, Burt's Bee's chapstick, lipstick, C.O. Bigelow lipgloss, eyeliner, blush, wallet, bobby pins, barrette, pen, work keys, phone, random business cards, coupons, compact mirror, ipod (only sometimes), camera, tampons, Aleve, allergy pills, hand sanitizer......I honestly can't remember what else.  I love bags but hate switching them out!

Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days.  Professional: I hope that I will create some good relationships with the staff in my building.  I also hope that I get a good evaluation (in October)!  I dream that I will be hired on FULL time for next school year.  I plan on working to my full potential every day so that the students get what they deserve!  I'm so thankful I love my job!  Personal: I hope that my marriage and our love will continue to grow and strengthen.  I dream that we will continue falling in love (it sounds cheesy but I really do love him that much)!  I plan on making a "bucket" list with Nick and trying to work on crossing some of the items off our list within the next year!  We agreed it would be really fun. :)

Day 30 - a dream for the future.  One of my dreams for the future is to be happy in my professional and personal lives.  I dream of being successful in my career and continuing to be a life-long learner.  I dream of having a loving family with two or more kids.  I can't wait to be a mom but I'm scared with how spoiled my children may be.  I need to learn to leave the spoiling to the grandparents!  I also dream of falling deeper in love with my husband each year.  Once again, corny but true.


I need to start our bucket list........I feel like I should get a special notebook for that.  I probably have one laying around somewhere.....