Let the countdown begin!

I'm not sure if it's because it's a rainy day or because Spring Break is so close.....or both.  Either way, this week has been going pretty slow, especially today!  We leave for sunny Florida in only 10 days!!  Can't wait.


Since it's Wednesday, here is what I'm wearing.  I'm not sure how I feel about it so give me  your honest opinions.  Black pants (duh), dusty rose pink INC shirt with rosette details, gray cardigan from Wet Seal, and Roxy flats.  My favorite accessory today is my blue paisley umbrella (sorry no pic).

 I also wanted to link-up with Ladybug's Teacher Files' Post Your Pet Linky Party!  I love my animals so why not brag for a minute?!  :)

I have two Yorkies named Chip and Dixie.  They are true brother and sister littermates and came from a litter of 4.  I found out their momma (a friend's pup) was preggers back in April 2005 and brought them home in May 2005!  They are almost 6 (gasp!) but they still act like crazy hyper puppies and I love it!  They always make me happy and I talk to them like they're my children I love them to pieces!

Chip (Full name: Chipfrey Thomas)

Dixie (Full name: Dixie Lee)

They love playing fetch and tug of war!

They also love to cuddle :)

Eating some ice cream on a hot summer day!  (Can't wait to do that again this year.)

Taking a ride in Mommy's car.

Fill in the _________ Friday and randomness!

TGIF!  The first half of this week went super slow for me but after Wednesday it went super fast!  I like weeks like that :) 

First, randomness:
I have been wanting a deeper skillet with a lid for a long time.  I find them everywhere but they're either A.) in a set and I only want the one pan or B.) too expensive for a non-cook like myself!  I finally found a cheap one at Big Lots and picked it up!  I'm planning on trying a new recipe next week to test it out!  ....it's the little things :)

Let me preface this next story by telling you all that one of my students is a bit off the wall.  I would love to see inside his brain to see what the heck is going on!  Today we read the book Stuff!  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Steven Kroll.  If you don't know the book, it's about a rat named Pinch (a pack rat, actually) who has too much stuff in his house so he decides to sell it in a tag sale with his neighbor friends.  As we were reading, this is what my 3rd grade student told me: "If I were Pinch, I'd keep all of the stuff!  I would put it in my man cave.  First I would have to dig a hole in the ground for all the stuff.  That would be my man cave.  I would also have a computer.  And my batman costume!  My brother has a Robin costume so he could come too.  And it would actually be called the Bat Cave!  And we would find girlfriends!  ....But not until the future."  Seriously, this type of stuff cracks me up!  

I'm linking up (for the first time) with Lauren at The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.   The phrase or punctuation I overuse most is   probably some sort of punctuation like ... or - or !!  I try to be too expressive on my blog and in emails. :)  I also say "seriously?" a TON.

2.  Today I am thankful for    my job. It is so hard to find a teaching job these days and I'm thankful to not only have a job, but have a job I love.

3.  My best friend is    my husband!  I'm so lucky to have found him and I love hanging out with him...probably too much!

4.  A quirky thing about me is     I am very OCD but my bedroom is almost always messy.  I'm also guilty of making a million different to-do lists.  I have one at school (sometimes 2), one on my nightstand, one in my office, one downstairs.  It's ridiculous!

5.  This weekend I     am going to go to hang out with some good friends and have family over for a Sunday dinner.  I also plan to make some new games for school.

6.  Something that worries me is   SB5 in Ohio.  If you don't know, google it!

7.  On my night stand you would find  A book (currently House Rules by Jodi Piccoult), a coaster usually with a bottle of water, cell charger, lamp, Olbas oil, chapstick, TV remote, light/fan remote, to-do list in a cute journal with pen, and sometimes random things like coins or bobby pins.

In other random news, today is an awful day for weather.  It has been rainy, wet and gloomy ALL day.  I went home for lunch and really just wanted to stay with my cuddle-bug pups.  So hard to resist!  (Sorry for the awful pic..)

This is where the pups like to store one of their favorite toys during dinner time.  They seriously can't let it out of their sight!

It's Wednesday so Guess What I'm Posting.....

What I am wearing!  I'll leave that until the end today because I have some other things first.  Tiffany over at Teach Run Love nominated me for the 7 Facts Blog Award!  Check out her post here and take a minute to check out her great blog!

7 facts should be easy.  It's not for me.  I'm a chronic over-thinker and I feel like I should make a list (on paper) first.  Ridiculous!  So here goes nothing.....my list of 7 facts:

1. The hubby and I have some really fun trips planned for this year and I can't wait!  Our first trip of the year is coming up in 17 days! (who's counting though?!)  We are headed to Florida!  We'll spend most of our time at Fort Myers Beach where his family owns a condo and then we'll go over to Key West for our last few days and possibly a day in Miami....fun!  We're also going somewhere special in June but we need to finalize the plans.  AND we have a family trip planned for October (I know, planned SUPER early)!
2. I was ready for summer again back in September.  I hate the cold weather and everything that comes along with it here in Ohio - gray skies, big coats, extra traffic during snow/ice.  Yuck!  Give me some heat and sun!
3. I haven't even been married for 3 years yet but I want to renew our vows.  I just think it would be fun and romantic.  Not to mention I'd get to have another "wedding"!  I haven't been able to convince the hubster yet......
4. I hate feet.  I especially hate when people don't wear toe nail polish but they wear open-toed shoes.  I have polish on my toes ALL year....just in case!
5. I am excited to say that I love going to work every day.  Not many people can say that!
6. I treat my dogs like my kids.  They are beyond spoiled and I talk to them like they are human.
7. I'm sad that we don't have any neighbor-friends where we live.  Most people seem to keep to themselves around where we live.  

Now, onto What I'm Wearing Wednesday!  Please noticed my cute new PiNK phone case in the photo!  Im' hoping to protect my lifeline since I drop it constantly. :) Outfit: new floral scarf from Old Navy, basic white v-neck from Kohls, tan 3/4 sleeve cardi, black pants (always), and silver/gunmetal flats from Payless.  I love the cute, cheap scarves you can find at Old Navy right now!  Oh, and I also painted my nails bright pink in hopes that it would make spring come sooner :) I was pleasantly impressed with the quality of this NYC nail polish.  I picked it up at Target for under $1 because I liked the color.  It went on smooth and dried quickly.  Hopefully it will last at least a few days! 

I hope everyone is having a good week!  I finished my report cards this afternoon so I'm feeling great!

What I Wore Wednesday...plus some more!

If I post on a Wednesday, I use the same post title.  Every time.  I'm thinking I need to get some creativity flowing around here!  Anyway, let's start out with the weekly bad-quality, bad-lighting bathroom photo shoot pic.  Nothing too exciting today.  A gray top from Forever21 (probably 3-5 years old. no joke), black pants (always!), and a new bracelet I got from Target the other day!  (Target is my fav in case you were wondering.)

I also decided to hop on the handwriting bandwagon and submit my "sample".  I wasn't tagged but I am inviting myself anyway!  :)   Join in if you want so I can see your writing....I'm not tagging anyone!

Here are the writing "prompts"...........

1. What's your name / blogger name?
2. What's your blog's URL?
3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
4. Favorite quote?
5. Your favorite song?
6. Your favorite band / singers?
7. Anything else you want to say?
8. Tag 3 - 5 other people.

So after a long 4-day weekend, I came to school and found a mailbox full of papers.  Not the most exciting welcome back gift.  BUT, in the pile, I found a letter from a 1st grade student.  I've worked with her class in the past, but only 2-3 times this year.

Dear Mrs. P,

What is your favorite colors?  You are the best.  When are you going to tech us?  I like you.  You are fun. 

From,

Emilee

Totally made me smile.  On the back of the letter was this cute picture.  I later asked her about it and she informed me that we're wearing crowns because we are princess friends.  Why are 1st graders such cuties?!

I have to share a pic of my doggies snuggled up in bed last night.  <3

Confession: I am currently inhaling these. I can't stop.  I'm getting a stomach ache but I keep shoveling them in.  Help me!

Happy Friday (for real this time)

So I made the Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies from Bakerella's blog!  Talk about easy.  I almost felt guilty for not doing something homemade but these are so perfect for Valentine's Day!  I didn't end up making the frosting she suggested because the hubby doesn't like cream cheese frosting.  I just used a large can of whipped Duncan Hines vanilla.  Here is the finished product:

I feel like everyone in blogland has been raving about TJ Maxx lately.  There are a few stores in town but nothing super close to me. [Insert Snooki whine...]  So anyway, I improvised and went to Marshall's.  They had a lot of good deals (I almost picked up a super cute pair of nude Guess pumps but talked myself out of it.)  I ended up getting a new dog bowl, a new dog toy, a pair of sunnies and a St. Patty's Day t-shirt.  My doggies are obsessed with the new bone.  It has a squeaker AND crinkle filler.  Whoa.  The shades are Kenneth Cole and super cute.  It's so hard to find sunglasses that are narrow enough to work for me and these work!  The best part?  I got everything for under $20!  I feel like this was maybe just a preview to what I could find at TJ Maxx....I might need to make the 15 minute drive to the store.  Yes, 15 minutes.  I'm spoiled by having most amenities within 5 minutes from my house!

TGIF....and some contests!

Ok, I know it's not really Friday but today is my "Friday"...no school tomorrow (or Monday)!  I'm so excited to have a long weekend to relax and (hopefully) get some things accomplished around the house!



The hubby and I are finally celebrating Valentine's Day tonight.....can't wait to see what he has planned!  Monday I came home to a bouquet of our wedding flowers and a card that I have saved for tonight.  My hubby can be so thoughtful sometimes! <3  I'm in the process of making these cookies for our belated Valentine's celebration.  They are currently cooling so I can fill them with frosting!

Today while going through my students' writing books, I found something that made me laugh.  I had one of my reading groups reading books from the Frog and Toad series.  In this case, the students had to write about the problem and solution in one of the stories and then illustrate what they wrote about.  This student wrote a thought bubble with "dammm!" when she meant to put "bammm!" (she has a reversal issue).  Cracked me up!

I found a new obsession.  My co-worker introduced this to me last night.  95% organic (and gluten free) chap stick!  (or should I say chap ball...haha)  Either way, she bought me one and I love it!  It's so moisturizing and smells/tastes amazing!  I have the flavor that is in this picture.  One word. YUM!  I might have to buy another flavor to keep in my purse (I kept the first one at school.)

There are a ton of giveaways going on in blogland right now!  Don't miss out on any of them!

Erica Bohrer is giving away her Reading Response Activity Sheet Book at her blog, Erica Bohrer's First Grade!  I know this book would be extremely useful for me since I work with kids in K-3 right now!  I love following her blog, she shares some great activities!

Also, there is another giveaway over at Fabulous in First.  In this contest, you are entering to win everything in Michelle's TPT store!!  What a deal!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I don't know about y'all (why do I feel so inclined to say that after reading so many southern blogs?!) but the weather here in Ohio is beautiful!  65° and sunny and I can hear birds chirping outside my window.  Ahhhh :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

When I was little, I remember being so excited to decorate my Valentine's box and picking out super cute cards to exchange!  (I was never allowed to get the fancy cards - those were too expensive!)


Today at school, I didn't see ANY boxes to fill with cards, no decorations and I only saw a few Valentine's cards.  I guess now that there are so many children who don't celebrate Valentine's Day (among other holidays), the school has simply decided to ignore the holiday.  It was a little depressing but very understandable.  Luckily, I only have one student who doesn't celebrate so I was able to do some Valentine's activities with my other groups and modify the activities for her group.


My team went in on Valentine's together so that every student would get the same gift.....I wasn't super excited about them but the kids loved them so that made me happier!  I also bought some fun pencils (thank you, Target dollar spot!) and the kids made this craft. 

One of my students has had some difficulty remembering what to do while in my class.  I wanted to create something similar to a social story, but not in a book form since we wouldn't really ever have extra time to flip through pages.  I decided on a poster that I can hang near his seat.....he LOVES it!

One last thing.  I bought myself a gift.  My district has a shopping network similar to Craigslist for all district employees.  The shopping network has a variety of goods and services (total teacher thing to say) for sale.  I browse through it fairly often to check for good deals.  Last week, I purchased this storage organizer for $15!!  I was excited because the same organizer is currently for sale at Target for just under $70!  The unit I bought is gently used (and missing one bin) but still, I'm excited for some cheap extra storage!