orange jeans

Ok I try really hard not to be materialistic and write about clothes or items of that nature on here too often, but.... I found a pair of orange skinny jean capris this weekend! And before you think I'm too crazy, yes- bright jeans ARE in style! :) As an Auburn alum that is married to a Tennessee alum, these are possibly one of the best purchases I have made. They are sooooo adorable for spring and summer and they will be even cuter come football season (esp paired with the adorable navy and white striped top I got to go with them! War Eagle!)
I am thankful for my cute orange jeans!

weekends

I am thankful for weekends, plain and simple. They gone you a chance to regroup after a busy week, spend some time with friends and maybe family, and then be ready for the next week ahead! Thank goodness for our weekends!

Patience is a virtue..

...and one that I am continually working on as I am sure we all are! I am thankful for my patience, especially as we near the end of the school year!

slip n slide

I was a very much a big kid at our Field Day this year and I am not afraid to admit it! We had a giant inflatable slip n slide for the kids and my thought was...why do they get to have all the fun?? :) A couple of the other teachers and I went down it a few times- such a blast and our kids thought it was the coolest thing ever! I am thankful for slip n slides and being able to act like a kid!

Tervis Tumblers

So silly, but I am thankful for my Tervis Tumblers! I am a water fiend during the day so I alway have one of the big ones that comes with a lid and straw- love it! If you don't have any, I strongly recommend them!

front porch time

One of my favorite things about my house is my little front porch. We have two wicker rocking chairs out there and Richie and I love to sit out there. On Saturday and Sunday mornings we will take coffee outside and sit while we talk or Richie reads the paper on his iPad and I read. When it's nice out, we'll take a beer or glass of wine out there and sit outside right before the sun goes down and just talk about our day. It's one of my favorite places because that's one of my favorite thins to do- just relax with my sweet hubby. I am thankful for my cozy front porch!

Church

I am thankful for church on Sunday mornings. I love how it starts your week off on the right foot with everything put in the proper perspective. Now I just need to keep working on keeping that perspective all week!

Chick-Fil-A

I love everything about Chick-Fil-A. I love their: customer service, Christian values as an organization, waffle fries, spicy chicken sandwiches, salads, chicken biscuits, lemonade, the fact that they will make you a grilled chicken bagel in the morning if you ask. They are pretty much the best fast food ever! I am thankful for delicious Chick-Fil-A and hope I never have to move to one of those crazy states that doesn't have them!

sweet school parents

I had the sweetest parent in my class bring me a homemade lunch today. How thoughtful is that?? I am thankful for sweet school parents!

Field trip

Due to funding shortages, my grade hasn't gone on an actual field trip in quite some time. We have some great people come to the school to do things, but all kids need the experience of going on a real field trip! Well, first grade finally got our field trip! We went to the Teaching Museum to see a fabulous storyteller and then had a picnic in the Roswell Square. Such a fun day! I am thankful for fun field trips!

music

I am by no means a music expert, but I do love music! I have since I was about three and would stand on the counter and belt out some Reba! My taste in music is extremely eclectic, with my favorites ranging from The Beatles to Britney Spears and that's what I love about it! It can evoke every emotion in me and bring back such memories- good, bad, hilarious, even trivial ones. Hearing a certain song can take you right back to childhood, high school, college, etc and make you feel like you are right there again. Likewise, if I'm in a great mood or a horrible mood all I want to do is get in my car, roll the windows down, and sing as loud as I kind- although the song choice would of course change depending on the mood! ;) I am thankful for music and the effect it has on me. This world would be a very boring place without it!

sleepytime tea

I am thankful for a mug of sleepytime tea with some honey in it.  I just fixed a glass and sat outside with Richie on the front porch for a little while.  What a perfect way to end my day!  Night!!

delicious healthy lunch

As a teacher, I can't go out to lunch unless I run get fast food. So my choices are to bring lunch or buy school lunch.  Needless to say, I go with the bringing my lunch option.  Since I bring it every day, I love when I have lunches that I am looking forward to eating.  This week is one of those weeks.  For my lunches this week I have sliced smoked chicken sausage, pretzel thins, Laughing Cow cheese, salt and pepper pistachios, and then grapes for a snack later.  Doesn't that sound so yummy? :)  I am thankful for my delicious, healthy lunches this week!

birthday dinners

Sunday night my family went to Miltons to celebrate Richie and Laura's birthdays.  Since their b'days are so close together, we just combined them and just did one dinner!  It was so nice- we sat outside and there was a guy playing guitar and singing.  Plus you get free dessert at Miltons on your bday so we had carrot cake AND Mississippi Mud Pie- soooooo yum!!  I am thankful for fmaily birthday dinners!

puppy sedatives

Wrigley is usually a pretty chill dog.  He will get a little hyper when new people come over or when he is with other dogs, but when he is at home is L-A-Z-Y.  However, he is extremely skittish about random things, one of which being getting his nails clipped.  He completely freaks out and considering he weighs about 100 pounds, it is no easy feat to get them clipped when he is wiggling all over the place like a crazy man.  His nails had gotten out of control though so something had to be done.  Long story short, a vet recommended that we give him 2 sedatives instead of the recommended 1 before bringing him in.  It worked like a charm.  He was staggering all over the place and was half asleep by the time we got in there.  They said it took a few of them to get him to lay down, but once they did, he had no problem with them clipping his nails!  He then came home and proceeded to sleep for about the next 24 hours.  I am thankful for puppy sedatives and that they let my poor (giant) dog get his nails trimmed without having to be completely put under! Phew!

Happe Hour

When the weather is nice, our grade level (plus a few who have taught first and moved on to other grades) goes to the Happe's house for Happe Hour!  We all bring something to share, some beverages, and we sit outside for hours talking and laughing (unfortunately for the guys besides Daniel, the convo usually turns back to school! Only teachers like to talk about work outside of work!)  This past Happe Hour was even more special because we had a surprise baby shower for Trisha and Steve! Even though I missed the surprise part of it (oops!), it was so fun and they got lots of cute boy clothes!
I am thankful for Happe Hours and my wonderful co-workers and friends.

tail thumps

I am thankful for the sound of my dog Wrigley's tail thumping. So silly and strange, but it just makes me happy to hear that giant tail thumping against the floor when I say his name or know he is happy.  :)  I know, we obviously don't have kids yet because he is our spoiled rotten baby!

prayer

I have several people in my life who are going through things right now where I wish I could do more for them.  I have things in my life that I may be anxious about or wanting to happen.  That is why I am so thankful for prayer. 
"And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and believing, you will receive. "Matthew 21: 22

God may not give me exactly what I want or am asking for, but he will answer my prayers in the way that best works for my life and for His plan for my life.  When I feel helpless with situations that people I care about are going through, I have to remember that I can give them something far greater than any thing physical I could supply them- my prayers.  God hears what we ask and he answers us always.  We sometimes just have to sit quietly, wait, and listen.

Richie!

Happy 28th birthday to my wonderful husband, Richie!  Richie and I met and fell in love the year after we graduated college when our mutual friend Jessica introduced us.  After a whirlwind romance, we got engaged and married on July 26, 2008.  Our four years of marriage have in no way been easy (we have encountered everything from buying a house and a dog to having to live in different states briefly), but they sure have been fun!  For every "tough" thing that we have had to encounter, Richie has shown me time and time again just why I fell in love with him.  He is loyal to the core and he loves me so deeply that he will do anything to protect me.  Richie makes me laugh every day with songs he makes up about our dog or silly little jokes.  He is the person I can go to when I need someone to lift my spirits and make me feel better.  He is also the shoulder I can cry on no matter what.  In other words, he is my other half; the peanut butter to my jelly, the milk to my cookies.  There is nobody else I would rather wake up to each morning, no one I would rather kiss goodnight.  I am so thankful for my adorable, smart, handsome, silly, hilarious, brave, wonderful husband.  Happy birthday baby!

XOXO, Gossip Girl

I am thankful that my absolute favorite show (it's no secret that I kind of want to be Blair Waldorf) Gossip Girl is back on after a brief hiatus!  It makes Mondays so much more enjoyable! :)

He is Risen!

I have a God who gave his Son to die for my sins.  Jesus died and rose from the dead so that I will have eternal life and have a place in heaven.  I am more thankful for that than I ever could be anything else in this world.

finally home!

I am thankful to finally get home to my husband and pup after a long, long, long 13 hour car ride!  It also made it fun that Jenna and Michael were there waiting with a glass of wine!

time with the folks

I have some pretty fabulous parents. I really do enjoy their company and we had a really good time on our trip!  We had breakfast every morning on our balcony, did different excursions on the islands, laid out some, hit the casinos, mom and I went to the spa; all in all a pretty perfect week!  I am thankful that I got to spend my spring break with my parents, no matter how dorky that sounds!

sunshine!

I am thankful for sunshine, plain and simple.  I love a good 'ol sunny day!

different cultures

I am thankful for the chance to learn about different cultures when visiting other countries.  For instance, I learned that goat is a delicacy in Aruba, but that they will get into your yard and eat your plants so people put up cactus walls to keep them out.  I also learned that on Good Friday, many people walk from downtown all the way to the most beautiful church on top of this hill, and stop at each cross along the way and pray.  Once they get to the church, a family member picks them up to bring them home.  It is very interesting to visit different places and find out a little about how they live compared to us. 

Curacao Cooking Class

When we were in Curacao, we signed up for an excursion that was a cooking class!  It was in a 100 year old house and we walked through the town to get there and got a little of the history along the way.  Once we were there, we made cucumber and tomato salsa, hidden sardine puff pastries (I hate sardines and these were actually good!), cheese puff pastries, plantain soup, fried plantains, curacao chicken, and pumpkin pancakes with vanilla ice cream and curacao liqueur sauce.  Of course there was also plenty of wine to go along with the cooking and eating!  It was a lot of fun making the food and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked all of it!  I always thought I hated plantains, but the plantain soup was actually delicious!  I am thankful for our fun and yummy Curacao cooking class!

texts and technology

While I was on my trip, I had service the entire time we were on the boat, even in the middle of the ocean.  How amazing is technology??  Now, it would have been crazy expensive for me to use it, but Richie was able to text me throughout the week so I could at least see his texts while I was gone and then I could text him when I got to one of the islands through an international plan on my parents phone.  I am thankful for technology and text messaging!

bonine

I get every type of motion sick there is...car sick, sea sick, air sick.  I can't read in the car, when we go to to the mountains I have to sit up front...not fun.  I am thankful for bonine, which is a chewable motion sicknesss medicine that doesn't make you drowsy. Whenever we go on cruises, I take one every day and I really don't even feel the boat moving, and if I do a little, it doesn't bother me!  :)

Cruises

This Spring Break, I went on a cruise with my wonderful parents!  My mom works in a school, so we usually try to do something over our break, and now that my dad is retired, he likes to tag along as well!  We went on the Crown Princess out of Fort Lauderdale and went to a private island,Curacao and Aruba.  We had such a great time on it; relaxing, laying out, etc!  I am thankful for cruises and for my wonderful parents for taking me!

Spring Break

One of the fabulous perks of being a teacher is that I always have a Spring Break.  Whether I go somewhere or not, it is always nice to have a week off to recoup and rest before we hit the ground running for the remainder of the school year.  I am very thankful for Spring Break!