Spring Break is over..... Back to school tomorrow...
*tear*
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
It's another "Show Us Your Life" over at Kelly's Korner. This Friday is all about cleaning tips. I actually enjoy cleaning! There is one small catch though... I have to be in the mood for it. And that's not often. haha! My FAVORITE cleaning product is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
This little foam spongy thing is a life saver! Especially with a huge dog running around.
Even though Mason is not an inside dog, the few moments we do let him hang out with us, he can cover every wall with his slobber. It really is disgusting. But never fear, my Mr. Clean is always there to wipe it all away!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Progress
Spring break has been fabulous so far. The weather is unbelieveable! It is so warm, blue skies, nice breeze, and the Dogwoods are in bloom. B-E-A-UTIFUL! Since the weather has been so wonderful, Bran and I thought it would be an opportune time to tackle a dreaded yard project: taking out the sandbox. When we moved into our house, a year ago, there was a massive sand box in the middle of our yard. I don't know whose bright idea it was to do this, but it is horrendous. Not to mention, they did really shotty work! Here's the before picture:
Seriously???? WHO DOES THIS TO THEIR YARD???? It's really embarrassing!
First, I took up all those ugly pavement stones.
I have no idea what to do with them now though... Then, I went around and pulled up the rusty rebars. This is only part of them.
Then, I started to yank up the frame. I honestly thought I hurt my back.
So I started to whine and Brandon came to the rescue!
He's so cute!
Now we have a huge stack of dirty, old lumber. We don't know what to do with it either. But hey... At least we got the frame out.
Oh yeah........... we still have the sand to deal with as well.....
:(
stupid sand box maker
Monday, March 22, 2010
Finally!
My end table is complete. I finally found the perfect addition to my living room:
I think it looks great next to my digital picture frame. I'm not absolutely crazy about the shade. However, it does look better at night when the lamp is on. I LOVE the color. I don't think Bran is as fond of it as I am though. He immediately noticed it when he got home from working out. He might have been more concerned as to how Dave Ramsey would have felt about it. bahaha! It was so cheap though! Especially when you compare it to the cost of other lamps these days.
I think it's a keeper.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Buddies
Mason is a year old now! He is 106 pounds, and I can no longer win tug-of-war with him. He is soooooooo strong! It's hard to imagine our life before Masey. He's not really our "baby," but he is definitely part of our family.
Friday, March 19, 2010
SPRING BREAK!
Finally, Spring Break is here!!! This week has gone on and on and on. It's been a hard week of teaching, and it's only going to get harder before it gets easier. Our state testing is coming up.... I am so ready for it to be over with!
I wish I had some amazing plans for my week of vacation. Sadly, we are staying home. I plan on doing lots of resting, and hopefully go to the dentist. I have been putting that off for months. However, this time next year, I will be skiing! Bran and I are going back to Keystone, CO with some friends for a spring break trip. It will be just like our college days. Ahhh..... I cannot wait!! Here are some pics of our last ski trip:
I wish I had some amazing plans for my week of vacation. Sadly, we are staying home. I plan on doing lots of resting, and hopefully go to the dentist. I have been putting that off for months. However, this time next year, I will be skiing! Bran and I are going back to Keystone, CO with some friends for a spring break trip. It will be just like our college days. Ahhh..... I cannot wait!! Here are some pics of our last ski trip:
Tonight, we are going to our Financial Peace class. I get to refill our cash envelopes today. I'm excited! Our checks were less than what they usually are though. I'm not going to be able to pay as much on our debt this month.... But we are paying off one of our student loans today!!! WOOHOO! So excited!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Time Change
Bran and I had a pretty relaxing weekend. We went to our Financial Peace class Friday night. When we got home, we gave Mase a bath. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... I hate giving our dog a bath. He acts fairly well while we shampoo him, but trying to dry him off, that's a completely different story. We actually have to choke him with a towel. Otherwise he trys to eat the towels, and usually ends up biting us. His teeth are incredibly sharp!
Saturday, we took Mase to the vet to get him weighed. He is always the life of the party there. He weighs 106 lbs!! His new favorite activity is riding in the truck. One of these days I am going to video his flabby skin flapping in the wind. It is hysterical. He always gets tons of attention when he rides in the back. The other day, an older woman rolled down the window and actually started barking at him. bahahaha! I couldn't believe it! I wish I would've had that on tape.
Sunday was a typical day, except for the dreaded time change. We actually missed our Sunday School class. Church was so good though! Afterwards, Bran went to work out, and I went to school. Then, we went to the in-laws to eat some delicious BBQ. It was great!
This morning, Bran woke me up at 7:23. I leave for work at 7:30. I had only seven minutes to get ready!!! Oh it was bad. Very bad. But I ended up having a great day! Praise the Lord!
Saturday, we took Mase to the vet to get him weighed. He is always the life of the party there. He weighs 106 lbs!! His new favorite activity is riding in the truck. One of these days I am going to video his flabby skin flapping in the wind. It is hysterical. He always gets tons of attention when he rides in the back. The other day, an older woman rolled down the window and actually started barking at him. bahahaha! I couldn't believe it! I wish I would've had that on tape.
Sunday was a typical day, except for the dreaded time change. We actually missed our Sunday School class. Church was so good though! Afterwards, Bran went to work out, and I went to school. Then, we went to the in-laws to eat some delicious BBQ. It was great!
This morning, Bran woke me up at 7:23. I leave for work at 7:30. I had only seven minutes to get ready!!! Oh it was bad. Very bad. But I ended up having a great day! Praise the Lord!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Reflecting
Today our school district had panel interviews. I gave (or tried to anyways) advice to the interns at my school. It made me stop and reflect on that part of my life. Oh... How crazy was I to student teach, plan my wedding, graduate from college, and move permanently to a different town in the same semester! Bran and I signed a lease on our first apartment, which we could not afford. He was working with a roofing company, and I was jobless. What in the world were we thinking???
Looking back though, and even in that moment, I knew we were in God's perfect will. Everything seemed to just fall into place. I was hired shortly after spring break. That was such a relief, and allowed me to concentrate on the biggest day of my life. We were blessed financially with gifts from our wedding and my graduation. We made it through that first summer on that money before I started teaching. I still cannot believe I was hired out of the 90ish teachers who interviewed for the same job. I am still in awe of how prayer can truly work miracles! The advice I gave to those hopeful teachers.... pray!
On a different note, I have another observer this semester. Hopefully this girl will be better than the last two people who have been in my classroom. I seem to get the know-it-all or the I-don't-really-want-to-be-here people. Please local university... send me someone good!
AND... I could not believe what someone brought up in our bible study tonight..... DAVE RAMSEY! hahahahaha I went on and on and on. They probably don't want me to come back. I guess I am still so excited over my last post!
Looking back though, and even in that moment, I knew we were in God's perfect will. Everything seemed to just fall into place. I was hired shortly after spring break. That was such a relief, and allowed me to concentrate on the biggest day of my life. We were blessed financially with gifts from our wedding and my graduation. We made it through that first summer on that money before I started teaching. I still cannot believe I was hired out of the 90ish teachers who interviewed for the same job. I am still in awe of how prayer can truly work miracles! The advice I gave to those hopeful teachers.... pray!
On a different note, I have another observer this semester. Hopefully this girl will be better than the last two people who have been in my classroom. I seem to get the know-it-all or the I-don't-really-want-to-be-here people. Please local university... send me someone good!
AND... I could not believe what someone brought up in our bible study tonight..... DAVE RAMSEY! hahahahaha I went on and on and on. They probably don't want me to come back. I guess I am still so excited over my last post!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Dave Ramsey
Brandon and I have been attending Financial Peace University at a local church. The program was created by Dave Ramsey (author of The Total Money Makeover - highly recommend it!) I was working on our budget for next month, and I was getting EXCITED! Bran is working late tonight... so I had to tell someone! This probably isn't the smartest thing to post on the internet... If you are a stalker, please don't read this. ha!
We have around $17,000 in debt - two student loans and his truck payment. Of course, that does not include our house. We are spending 30% of our monthly income towards paying this off. That's over $1000! We are def determined to get rid of it. Well, we paid our credit card off this month, and we will pay off one student loan this upcoming month. With all of that money free, we are applying that to his truck payment. That means, the $5,200 we owe on his truck will be paid off in...... SEPTEMBER! woohoo! Go us!
Next, we will take that money and apply it to one of our student loans. That will be paid off in March of 2011. Then, we will take that money and apply it to our last debt. It will be paid off in September of 2011!!!!! We are going to call in to the Dave Ramsey radio show and yell "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!" I can't wait!
However, I will hopefully get a part time job this summer, and Bran might start a second job. If that happens, we could be debt free A LOT sooner. And maybe, just maybe, we will actually get a tax return next year. I can just see it now!
It will be such a good feeling when we will be able to take that 30% of our income and save/invest it. Dave is teaching us where to invest our money. He shows you how to become a millionaire by the time you retire (no get rich quick schemes though). Since Bran and I are still young, it is within reach for us. I cannot wait to take my dream trip to Europe... and pay for it with cash! What an amazing thought! Or how about building our dream house?? We might not be able to pay cash for that, but I bet we could save up a sizable down payment!
It feels amazing to be on the same page financial-wise with my husband. There is no way I could do this alone. He has been my rock. I feel like we are in the Lord's will. We are trying to be obey His commands. I know He will richly bless our lives. It feels good to think about our future and our future family. I can't wait to see what is in store for us!
We have around $17,000 in debt - two student loans and his truck payment. Of course, that does not include our house. We are spending 30% of our monthly income towards paying this off. That's over $1000! We are def determined to get rid of it. Well, we paid our credit card off this month, and we will pay off one student loan this upcoming month. With all of that money free, we are applying that to his truck payment. That means, the $5,200 we owe on his truck will be paid off in...... SEPTEMBER! woohoo! Go us!
Next, we will take that money and apply it to one of our student loans. That will be paid off in March of 2011. Then, we will take that money and apply it to our last debt. It will be paid off in September of 2011!!!!! We are going to call in to the Dave Ramsey radio show and yell "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!" I can't wait!
However, I will hopefully get a part time job this summer, and Bran might start a second job. If that happens, we could be debt free A LOT sooner. And maybe, just maybe, we will actually get a tax return next year. I can just see it now!
It will be such a good feeling when we will be able to take that 30% of our income and save/invest it. Dave is teaching us where to invest our money. He shows you how to become a millionaire by the time you retire (no get rich quick schemes though). Since Bran and I are still young, it is within reach for us. I cannot wait to take my dream trip to Europe... and pay for it with cash! What an amazing thought! Or how about building our dream house?? We might not be able to pay cash for that, but I bet we could save up a sizable down payment!
It feels amazing to be on the same page financial-wise with my husband. There is no way I could do this alone. He has been my rock. I feel like we are in the Lord's will. We are trying to be obey His commands. I know He will richly bless our lives. It feels good to think about our future and our future family. I can't wait to see what is in store for us!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
A Day in the Life of a Fourth Grade Teacher
This is my first time to participate in Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner. So here it goes! My daily schedule:
6:00 - My alarm goes off.
6:30 - I finally decide to get up after hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes! ha!
6:30 - 7:30 - shower, eat breakfast, and get ready to go to school
7:30 - 7:45 - visit with my fellow teachers, check email, prepare for writing
7:45 - 8:05 - visit with my kiddos, take roll and the lunch count, sharpen pencils, etc
8:05 - 8:45 - teach Writing
8:45 - 9:45 - Prep time while my students are at specials. If I'm good, I will use this time to actually grade papers or prepare some lessons. But I really like to talk with my friends!
9:45 - 10:15 - teach Language
10:15 - 11:30 - teach Reading
11:30 - 12:30 - lunch/recess (aka LOTS of DUTY!)
12:30 - 2:00 - teach Math
2:00 - 2:15 - read a chapter book to my kids. This is one of my favorite times!
2:15 - 2:45 - Word Study
2:45 - 3:15 - Intervention/Enrichment
3:20 - car riders leave
3:30 - bus riders leave
4:00 - I leave!
When I get home, I try to relax with my husband for a few hours. I cook dinner, and watch TV with him. Mondays, however, we like to go to Dos Rios because it's free cheese dip night! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he is at the gym all night. I have bible study on Wednesdays, and on Fridays, we attend our Financial Peace class. I try to be in bed around 10:00, so the next morning I can do it all again!
Here are some photos of where I spend the majority of my time:
6:00 - My alarm goes off.
6:30 - I finally decide to get up after hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes! ha!
6:30 - 7:30 - shower, eat breakfast, and get ready to go to school
7:30 - 7:45 - visit with my fellow teachers, check email, prepare for writing
7:45 - 8:05 - visit with my kiddos, take roll and the lunch count, sharpen pencils, etc
8:05 - 8:45 - teach Writing
8:45 - 9:45 - Prep time while my students are at specials. If I'm good, I will use this time to actually grade papers or prepare some lessons. But I really like to talk with my friends!
9:45 - 10:15 - teach Language
10:15 - 11:30 - teach Reading
11:30 - 12:30 - lunch/recess (aka LOTS of DUTY!)
12:30 - 2:00 - teach Math
2:00 - 2:15 - read a chapter book to my kids. This is one of my favorite times!
2:15 - 2:45 - Word Study
2:45 - 3:15 - Intervention/Enrichment
3:20 - car riders leave
3:30 - bus riders leave
4:00 - I leave!
When I get home, I try to relax with my husband for a few hours. I cook dinner, and watch TV with him. Mondays, however, we like to go to Dos Rios because it's free cheese dip night! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he is at the gym all night. I have bible study on Wednesdays, and on Fridays, we attend our Financial Peace class. I try to be in bed around 10:00, so the next morning I can do it all again!
Here are some photos of where I spend the majority of my time:
my door
library
reading table
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