Christmas decorations

I love everything about Christmas.  One of the things I love is how my house looks during the holidays- doesn't everyone love Christmas decor?  I am thankful that I got all of my interior Christmas up (outside is Richie's job!) except for our trees.  That will be this Sunday's project... :)  Off to enjoy a hot cup of tea in bed on this chilly night... Think it will snow??

Post 200!

Wow, I am thankful that I have had 200 posts about different things I am thankful for...which is really more than 200 things since some have been several items in one post.  Here's to the rest of the year! :)

Iron Bowl

If you are an Auburn or Alabama (so sorry for you) fan, you know that every other game in the season is just a rehearsal for the only game that actually matters, The Iron Bowl.  There is truly nothing quite like the Auburn and Alabama rivalry...it is so crazy, but so fun at the same time!  There are so many "house divideds" that will barely speak on this day.  My family is included in this- I was fortunate enough to go to Auburn, while my poor brother went the that other school.  We are watching the game together today, and I am sure there will be plenty of comments made between the two of us throughout the day leading up to it, and especially during the game.  My parents always appease both of us by wearing both orange and crimson during the game, so as not to take sides.  I am thankful for the Iron Bowl and for all of the memories I have from it!

Some of my favorite Iron Bowl memories:
*Tailgating with my friends and family every year :)
*Auburn winning every year that I was in college!
*Cadillac running 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game my sophomore year in college
*Last year, coming back from being behind 24-0 at halftime to win the game, and go on to win both the SEC Championship and National Championship

I'll end on this note:

WAR EAGLE!!!

hiking

Gorgeous view!

I am the first to admit that I am not the most outdoorsy or sporty person.  However, I do love hiking!  That is one of the things that we always do when we come up to Highlands.  We went yesterday to Whiteside Mountain and had the best time ever.  The view was absolutely breathtaking!  I am thankful for hiking in such a pretty place!

Thanksgiving!

If you are a reader of my blog, you know the point of it is for me to come up with one thing I am thankful for every day for a year.  Currently, this is post 197, but there are several posts that name a few days worth in it, so I have come up with closer to the 205-210 range.  I must say, doing this has really caused me to think some days.  It is easy to name the people you are thankful for, etc but you can't come up with 365 "big" things like that, so you really have to dig deep some days and come up with seemingly insignificant things, like certain foods, etc.  Those things sounds kind of silly, but in reality, it shows us just how much we have to be thankful for- all of the indulgences we are afforded in our lives that others in other parts of the world may not have.  Stop and think for a moment about just how blessed you are in your life.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving, to get to spend time with family, and even more to have a reason to think about our blessings and be thankful for them.

Today, take some time to tell your loved ones that you are thankful for them! 

Happy Turkey Day!!  Gobble, gobble! :)

Highlands

One of my favorite places ever is HIghlands, NC.  It is a precious mountain town with an adorable downtown area with restaurants and stores to wander in and out of.  There are some great hiking trails, and of course the beautiful Old Edwards Inn (If I had known about it 3 years ago, Rich and I TOTALLY would have gotten married there!)
Richie and I split our Thanksgivings with our families by spending the holiday with one family each year and then rotating.  My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the day itself; cooking together, watching the Macy's parade, and then eating. Because of that, we decided to rotate rather than try to fit in two meals in one day every year, and I must say, it has worked really well for us. 
Since all of my cousins and extended family live far away and it is just the 6 of us (my parents, Richie and I, and Robbie and Laura), my parents have started the tradition of going to Highlands and renting a cabin for Thanksgiving.  We get to make our dinner still and then enjoy the perks of this cute town, like the Christmas Tree Lighting that they have downtown.

I am thankful for Highlands and for the memories that we have made here and will (hopefully!) continue to make!

5 day weekend

I am so thankful for a 5 day weekend!  I absolutely adore my job, but like everyone, there are times when you just need a break.  It is such a nice breath of fresh air to be able to get away for from school for 5 days!  Especially if you're headed where I am headed... (see next post!)

"fun" days

First graders have to learn a lot nowadays.  When I think back to first grade, I remember doing crafts, playing, and learning to read.  It is amazing the things that we teach our first grade kids, and since we have such a strenuous curriculum, it doesn't leave much time for the "fun fluff".  That's why I love short weeks like this before a break.  With only two days, we won't have a spelling test and reading test this week.  I have several kids out, so I don't want to start our new math unit without them.  Instead, we have time to have fun!  I still keep it structured because if not, it can quickly escalate to "out of control" mode.  However, we turn Disney Pandora on, and do turkey crafts and Thanksgiving word searches and all the fun things we never have time to do otherwise.  I am thankful for being able to take a couple of days to have fun with my kids!

syrup in oatmeal

I think oatmeal is one of those foods people either love or hate.  I love it.  It is so warm and creamy and perfect on a cool, rainy morning like today was.  I am going to let you in on a secret that takes oatmeal from yummy to utterly fabulous.  Maple syrup.  Make your oatmeal as normal and then instead of adding butter, pour in a tiny bit of maple syrup and stir it in...mmmmmmm!  I am thankful for this yummy concoction that it pretty much my staple breakfast during the fall and winter. 

color express

Ok, I admit it...my hair is not my natural color...  Highlights are one of the necessary evils of most girls, but I am spoiled that I usually do not have to get them done too often.  One of the reasons is color express, a treatment they do at my hair place, Elon.  Basically, for $25, they put a quick dye on your hair for about 10 minutes that just lightens the roots and brightens the whole thing up!  I got highlights before school started in August and my roots were starteing to get a little dark, but the rest of my color still looked good.  So, I went and got a color express and voila! I extended my highlights through the holiday season!  I am thankful for this so I didn't have to pay for (or spend 2 hours at the salon!) for a full head of highlights again just yet...

sips and bites

Last night, my best friend Brittany came into town for the weekend (yay!)  Our other best friend Bryn who lives in Atl, came over and we went dinner and had a sleepover! We went to Sips which is a wine bar and tapas restaurant. It was SO yummy- we had pistachio crusted scallops, Kobe beef sliders, meza platter (different types of hummus and pita bread),  and fritters- black bean, zucchini, and corn.  All in all, delicious!   One of the coolest things there was where you could get an amount put on a card and then serve yourself "sips" (1 oz), half glasses, or full glasses and try different wines!  We had so much fun and I am thankful to have a night of wine, yummy, food and lots of laughs with my bff's! :)

stone soup!

We just finished our graphing unit in school and to finish it out, we made soup!  We graphed the ingredients and then they drew pictures of themselves and we made a pictograph on whether they like it or not.  It is always really fun and my kids LOVED the soup this year!!  I am thankful for fun activities like Stone Soup that I get to do with my kiddos.  :)

healthy teeth

I had my teeth cleaned today at the dentist, and I am thankful for healthy teeth and gums! ;)

a lesson learned from Ma :)

I am thankful for something I learned to do from my momma.  (She will probably hate me announcing this to the world!)  If time is short, I will every now and then stick my head over the sink and wash it instead of going through the whole process of a shower!  I am thankful for that little tip as it gave me a chance to hit snooze this morning! :)

Have a happy Tuesday!

more meds

So this stinkin' ear infection is not getting better... Blah!  I called the doctor and told them it had been 4 days and I had no relief.  Luckily, they called in 2 new prescriptions for me, a stronger antibiotic and a steroids (I don't typically do well on steroids, but I'm givin' it a try!).  I am thankful for these new meds that will hopefully give my poor little ear some relief!

a snuggly pup

I laid around all day Sunday since it was the perfect kind of day for it.  I am thankful that my dog Wrigley (don't worry, he will of course have his own post before the year is over!) is soooooo snuggly!  My (and his!) favorite thing on a lazy Sunday is for my to curl up on one end of the couch and him curled up at the opposite end. 

pumpkin cupcakes- and war eagle!

It's game day!!  Through college, the Auburn vs. UGA was always a huge game for me for several reasons.  For starters, Athens is only a 3 hour straight shot drive from Auburn so it's a very easy away game to go to. Having grown up in Atlanta, I had several friends who went to UGA, plus the guy I dated most of college went there, so that was always one of the games I looked the most forward to!  Today, we are going over to our friends Katie and Kyle's house who went to UGA!  I made the yummiest pumpkin cupcakes to take over there, which will be the perfect addition since they are orange!!

I am thankful for my yummy pumpkin cupcakes and for Auburn game day! WAAAAAR EAGLE!  Beat the Dawgs! :)

For pumpkin cupcakes, all I did was mix a box of white cake mix with a can of pumpkin puree (what you use to make pumpkin pie).  I added a little vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar to sweeten it up a tad.  At the last minute, I threw in some chocolate chips, because everyone knows that pumpkin+chocolate=delicious!  I baked them at 350 for 20 min and then sprinkled some powdered sugar on top! Yum, yum!

date night!

Richie and I had a "date night" last night.  We went to historic Roswell (which is like my favorite area ever, plus we got married there!!) and went to Salt for dinner.  It was sooo yummy!  We eat dinner together every night obviously, but there is something so much more fun about getting all cute and enjoying a yummy dinner and glass of wine with my hubby!  After dinner, we ran some errands (yes, even on date night, we are still and old married couple- and I love it!)  I am thankful for date nights with my wonderful husband!

antibiotics

I have an ear infection.  They are so not fun to get as an adult- I don't remember them making your ear and throat hurt SO bad!!  I am thankful for the antibiotics that will make me start feeling better- and hopefully soon!!

new recipes

I feel like I get in a cooking rut where I make the same thing over and over again, so I am thankful for new recipes that I find!  I found this one from Pinterest and it is a Chicken Parmesan Pie.  Yes, it is as yummy as it sounds.  My husband (who is a p-i-c-k-y eater) and I both loved it and it was SUPER easy! 



The finished product! Yum, yum



appreciation

I do my job because I absolutely adore what I do, however it is always nice to feel appreciated.  Yesterday, was definitely one of those days!  I walked my kids to lunch and had my leftovers with me that I was about to heat up for lunch when a parent of one of my students came in the cafeteria.  She had a Chick-Fil-A salad and Diet Dr Pepper for me for lunch as a total surprise!  If you are reading this and have kids, little gestures like that can absolutely make your child's teachers day!  It just made me feel so appreciated and happy!  Then I went to check my mailbox and had a note from my sweet CST (Curriculum Support Teacher for all you non-teachers) just telling me how much she had enjoyed being in my room that morning and what a great job she thought I was doing.  Again, such a simple gesture that went a long way with me. 

I am thankful for feeling very loved and appreciated at my job yesterday! :)

Lindsey

My cousin Lindsey and I are 10 months apart and have always been really close, especially since for the first 8 years of my life, we lived down the street from each other.  I have so many fun memories of growing up with her (oh geez, the home videos!) and the memories we have made as we have gotten older, such as her being in my wedding.



Lindsey and  me at a ballet recital

 She and her husband live in Portland, so I was SO excited to get to see them and spend some time with them this weekend since it doesn't happen as often.  A very exciting thing that is happening with her is....she is pregnant!!  Since we were all together, we decided to throw a surprise baby shower for her in the mountains.  It was so much fun and she was truly shocked!



This is the diaper cake I made for her

I am so thankful to have grown up with a cousin who has also been a best friend!   

"disconnected"

While we were in the mountains from Friday-Monday (I promise, I am almost done with the mountain blog posts!), we were literally pretty much cut off from "civilization."  Nobody had cell phone service and we didn't have internet.  In a time where we are so dependant on our technology, it was nice to have an escape for 4 days where I couldn't even think about checking emails or be distracted by phone calls or text messages.  It's good for your soul to get away from it all every now and then and I am thankful that I had the chance to be "disconnected" this past weekend and focus on spending time with my family!

a moment- book, mountains, peace :)

While we were in the mountains this weekend, I had a moment where I stopped and thought to myself, "This is what I am going to blog about being thankful for..."  I was sitting next to my aunt in chairs overlooking the lake.  We were both bundled up in our sweaters and had our books in hand.  Every now and then we would stop and talk about something, but we were both so content sitting in the beautiful setting reading.  It was one of those moments we all have where everything seems so peaceful and we need to just stop and count our blessings.  Ahhhhh.... :)

we are family

We went to the mountains this weekend with my mom's side of the family- aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  We had the absolute best time while we were there.  There was a lot of eating (I am still full!!), game playing, and just catching up.  One of my favorite things about my family is that even though we are all in different places (Memphis, Charlotte, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Portland!), everytime we are together it's like we all still live down the street from each other.  I am so blessed to have grown up into such a tight knit, close, and loving family and I am so incredibly thankful to have each of them in my life.

technology in the classroom

I promise I am not a technology "dork", but I went to the Georgia Educator's Technology Conference on Friday and it was really cool!  I am thankful for all the technology that I have in my classroom and how it benefits my students!  Just to give you an idea of my "high-tech" classroom, I am an inspired classroom so I have 5 desktop computers plus my laptop, a Promethean board (interactive whiteboard), and an IPad!  Pretty cool, huh?? 

Emily

I am thankful for for my friend and co-worker Emily!  She is one of the most thoughtful people I know and will do anything for anyone in her life.  I had a horrible migraine today at school and she took my kids for the entire afternoon so I could go home!  I am so blessed to have her in my life!!

girl time

I am convinced that as we become adults, we revert back to 6th grade boys and girls.  I think it is when you are married and live together, you don't have that same need to cling to one another when you are out like when you are dating.  You enjoy time with friends when you are out because you know that you are with your spouse every other night.  Last night was the perfect example.  We hang out with a group of couples, and all got together last night.  By that, I mean that the guys went to Erwoods (a restaurant) and played trivia and drank beer, while the girls went to a house,drank wine and talked about Kim K's divorce! Haha :) 

I am very thankful for our friends and for "girl time". 

down time

Tuesday was a looooong day.  Our administration has been doing weekly walk-throughs (basically mini-observations) and this week all the teachers were doing them in different classes.  I was asked if they could come into my classroom to do them, so I stayed at school really late (It was after 6 when I left!), then I had to go buy diapers and go home to finish making a diaper cake!  On top of that, Tuesday was my no specials day so I had been with my kids ALL day long with no break!  I got home, turned on the tv and relaxed while finishing the diaper cake.  I am thankful for down time after a long day!