Saturday Snapshots!

Hi friends! I hope you all are enjoying your 3-day weekend as much as I have been! Mine has been pretty busy so far. It started with a Friday night high school football game, some Saturday morning shopping and thrifting which I LOVE to do, a sweet wedding last night, and today I am just being L...A...Z...Y! Yep, I said it, I am being lazy! It has been a while since I had time to laze around all day like I am today! I did wash some dishes, fix lunch, and complete a little project though before my butt planted itself in the chair and refused to move...LOL! 

So, while I am being lazy, I thought I might as well be productive and link up with Miss Nelson for Saturday Snapshots to share a few photos of the events I mentioned above! 

First up is the cake from the wedding I attended last night....cuteness!

And the outdoor seating...hay bales!

The sweet "guest book"...all guests signed with a green fingerprint (leaf) and their name. This will be so cool framed and displayed in their home.

 

I said I cooked lunch today.....tomato pie...Mmmm!

I used fresh basil from my mom's herb garden!

Chopped and mixed with some mayonnaise and cheese.

Spread it on a pizza crust and top with fresh sliced tomatoes.

Bake and enjoy!

Oh my....so delish! Seriously! I don't even eat mayo, but I'm telling you this is so tasty!

OK....moving on! My kitty Farrah giving Elvis the evil eye across the room. Elvis is my mother-in-law's dachshund. I am dog-sitting this weekend while she's out of town.

Here he is enjoying ONE of his Sunday afternoon naps....along with my son, Dakota. Glad he (Dakota, not Elvis...lol) doesn't read my blog! Elvis is currently snoozing AGAIN by my legs in the recliner and Farrah is on the top of the head rest of the recliner. We are all being lazy!

On to my thrifty finds. First up is this sweet little red chalkboard thingie I found for a quarter at a yard sale yesterday. This is the project I referred to earlier!

For that price I had to have it, but I knew I wanted to tweak it a little, so this is what I did. I taped off a border around the edge and inside.

Painted it with my chalkboard spray paint. 

Love this stuff!

And here you have it! I love it. I am going to hang it on my classroom hall door like a wreath. 

Here it is on my door at home. I love it and it's one of a kind!

Here are the other things I had to have yesterday! I love vintage items and found a few half off at my favorite flea market booth! The two tablecloths, the shaving mug, hand, and cookbook are all vintage. Not sure about the cow creamer, but I love him! I have another similar one and I paired them up in my kitchen. I love the clear glass and brass apple paper weight and it will live in my classroom.

Here's a close-up of the apple. Love the air bubbles trapped in the glass.

I found these great numbers and wish I had bought more of them...just $1 for the set. They snap apart if you're wondering.

I also found these two gorgeous tea light holders for $1 each! I have seen these at Hobby Lobby for MUCH more than $1! They are about 8 inches high and so pretty!

I also found two more books for my future home library. I have several hundred books now and am planning to build my own little library area in my home sometime in the next year or two! I collect and read both of these authors and have been trying to complete my collection of Nicholas Sparks for a while now. I have all but 3 of his books now! I also only collect hard cover books. I have read this book already but didn't own it. Now I do and they were just $2 each!

Well, that's it! Thank you for sticking with me until the end. I get a little long-winded sometimes...lol! I just enjoy sharing with friends. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend....I plan to!

Until next time....

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Productive Days...:)

Don't you just love a productive day? I know I do....and today was one of them! I got so much accomplished! First, I was able to take my classes to the computer lab today so we could do Discovery assessment 2 make-ups. I only had a few in each block, but it is just easier in the lab. It also gave us a chance to visit a fun website while the make-ups were being done. I let my kiddos go to edheads and choose from 3 activities to review some of the units we have covered or are currently working on. They LOVED it! When everyone was finished with make-ups, I let them have the last 15 minutes to visit A Kid's Heart and play some fun Christmas games. 

Once I got each class started in the lab, I was able to work on transferring a ton of documents I had saved on my laptop to my flash drive and organize them into folders. I find so may awesome things online and save them, but I'm always in a hurry and don;t take time to organize them on my flash drive. I was thrilled to get that job done!

After school, I was able to get all my Discovery data recorded and ready for our data meeting after school tomorrow as well as update my RTI data. 

Well, anywho.....my first block earned their last cupcake for their Sweet Rewards, so I went by the store and got what I needed to bake their cupcakes for tomorrow! 

Here's my Sweet Rewards board earlier in the year!

They are going to be so excited! I let them vote....cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, or brownies. 

Well, cupcakes won, but lots of kiddos wanted the other options, so.....lucky me found a mix that was brownies topped with swirls of chocolate chip cookie dough....so I made cupcakes and brownies/cookies! Now, they can have a choice.....:)

MMMMmmmmmmm!

So, while I was baking, I made grilled cheese and soup for supper and then finished all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Then, I sat down and made myself go ahead and type up my after-school tutoring progress reports that are due Friday. They are done and e-mailed! I am almost all caught up! Hopefully tomorrow I can finish lesson plans and grading and then I can totally enjoy the weekend. I am excited....my sister, nephew, and I are going to Tallahassee to spend the weekend with my daughter. We are going to shop till we drop and then go look at some fabulous Christmas light displays! 

Here's one from last year....they do a patriotic light display complete with music on the radio. The lights change and flash with the music.....gorgeous!

Same house....different music!

I can't wait!!! Well, it's almost 11pm....past my bedtime, so I better hit the sack! 5:30 will be here before I know it! Have a happy Thursday...:)

Be Blessed!

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Apple Dumplings for the Cure!

I just had to share the yummy apple dumplings I made this morning! We are getting an early start to fundraising for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life that we will participate in next spring. To celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday, we had an apple theme smorgasbord today. Everyone who wanted to participate brought in an apple dish of some sort. There were yummy chicken salads with apples in them, several desserts, ambrosia, and pulled pork that was cooked in apple juice....I think. Everything was very tasty! I made my apple dumplings....they are always a hit when I make them. They are best hot out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! No ice cream today, but they were still good! Here they are...:)

If you would like to have the recipe, leave me a comment!  So, does your school participate in the ACS Relay? If so, I would love to hear some of your fundraising ideas....:) This is such a worthy cause....cancer has taken so many lives. Last year at this time, my father-in-law was battling lung cancer that had metastasized to his brain. Unfortunately he lost the battle exactly four months after he got the diagnosis. He passed away on December 1st.....my heart still aches over the loss my family suffered. I know many, if not all, of you have probably lost someone to cancer or know someone who is currently battling it. The Relay for Life is such a fun way to raise money for the cure. If your school has never participated, you should check into it....:) I can't wait to find out the theme for out October smorgasbord! Too fun...:)

Thanks for stopping by!

Be Blessed!

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Don't you just love those big brown UPS trucks?  I know I do because they always bring me good awesome stuff! This truck is even more special with it's flames down the sides....never seen one like that! I was so bummed because he didn't come before I had to leave for a senior trip meeting (I'm my son's senior class sponsor.) to discuss our cruise for next summer and get it booked! It's looking like a 5 night cruise to the Bahamas...so excited because I've never been on a cruise! 

 Anywho, back on topic, so, he left my package with my cousin across the road and she got it to me! You might remember a few days ago I blogged about the awesome fabric I ordered from this place. You can read that post here. Well, it's here and I am beyond thrilled to have it! It is very nice quality fabric....much better for the price than you can get at your local fabric shop! I can't wait to make some delicious decor for my classroom! My plans are to make a valance for my one lonely window, a bunting or perhaps two to hang somewhere in the classroom, and a skirt for my desk/table. If I have enough of the chevron print left, I might even cover my desk chair to match! Here's a picture of them all together. 

The pink was a piece I had bought at Wal Mart, but I'm going to look for a pink and white stripe to replace it before I start creating! I like the way the other four have white in the fabric and I think the pink needs some white in it too. I am very visual and this just isn't pleasing to my eye! I am hoping to find a pink and white stripe. I know, I know....I have a problem! LOL...:) Good news is, I am going to the big city of Gainesville (home of the Florida Gators) later today and I will run by JoAnn's and see what they have! I also got my handy dandy teacher 25% discount card in the mail the other day, so that will come in handy!

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Before I go, I wanted to let you in on a SWEET giveaway! I really don't want to share but I have to in order to get my name in the drawing 5 more times...lol! I know....I'm selfish! Well, anyway, Tonya, one of my favorite bloggers, from Tonya's Treats for Teachers is giving away some yummy stuff! Check it out! One of the prizes is a $5.00 gift card to DQ....who doesn't love a tasty blizzard!

Here's my favorite! Thank goodness it's only for a limited time...:) 

It's the Chocolate Candy Shop Blizzard! It's filled with tiny chocolate candies filled with caramel, fudge, & hazelnut creme.....MMmmm! OK......wipe the drool off the keyboard and go click on the link above if you want to enter! 

Be blessed....:)

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More Good(will) Deals, 3 Lovely Awards, & Green Smoothie Goodness!

I know I posted about a couple of good deals in yesterday's post, but I found a few more and wanted to share them too! Yesterday, I went to Crystal River with my mom, dad, & my nephew Riley. We went to the movies, ate a yummy lunch at Chili's and made a trip to the Goodwill & Home Depot! The Goodwill in Crystal River is my favorite!!! I came home with  several great deals! First thing I spotted when I walked in the door was a rack of adorable bathroom decorations.

I know I just bought the shower curtain at the Dollar General that I blogged about yesterday, but this one was half the price at $4.99 and it is plastic so I won't have to hem it if I need to shorten it! I'm returning the DG one! If you didn't read yesterday's post, I am using the shower curtain to create a makeshift closet to hide some things behind. Anywho, the colors were perfect for my room.....turquoise, hot pink, orange, and apple green! They had bathroom accessories to match so I bought the cute cup to hold pens and pencils on my desk for $1.99...:)

Too Cute!

I bought this green container to hold flyswatters for our SWAT games we will be playing this year and this brand new set of 3 plastic containers for $1.29 to use in my pantry. 

I got these two books for $3.38....they were a BOGO deal. I love to read and collect good books for my future library! 

I am very excited about these next purchases. I bought 3 tops and two pairs of shoes for school. The tops are all like new and one is new...still had tags, they were $4.27 each! The brands are Pleione which is found at Nordstrom, Lane Bryant, and Westbound Woman from Dillards.  I normally don't buy used shoes, but one pair of these has never been worn and the others look like they may have been worn 2-3 times at most! The brand new ones were Mootsie Tootsie brand! I paid $6.06 per pair and I priced them when I got home. The Mootsie Tootsie sandals cost $40.00 online and the cute little heels were around $24.00 new. I am tickled with these...:)

I also stopped by Home Depot to pick up 5 of these canvas nail aprons that everyone is using for chair pockets in their classrooms. I have other plans for mine...:) Hopefully you will get to see on Monday Made It next week!

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Wow! I feel so special to have been nominated for yet another award! I was nominated by three lovely ladies for the One Lovely Blog award! Thanks so much to Carla from Playful Learning Brooklyn, Mrs. T from Teaching Mrs. T, & Miss Pasqua from Ms. Pasqua's Kinder. Thanks so much ladies....I am honored!

To receive the award you must do these three things.....

~ Follow the person(s) who gave you the award. DONE!

~Link back to the person who gave you the award. DONE!

~Pass this award on to 15 new bloggers! 

So....here are my 15! 

Ashley from Inspire, Dream, Create

Donna from Working 5 to 9....Math & Science

Shasta from The Loop

From the Desk Of.....

Liz from Teaching In the Valley

Karen from Fun Times In Fourth Grade

Heather from Room 4 Imagination

Cindy from Teach With All the Colors of the Wind

Lisa from The Glittery Apple

Sara from Fourth Grade Fanatics

Jessica from Fabulous & Fun 4th Graders

Miss Cayer from Teaching is Love

Sixth & Spectacular

Jane from Hoot-Worthy in First

Jennifer from Darling Little Learners

Congratulations to each of these winners!

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Has anyone else jumped on the green smoothie train? When I first heard of them, I thought they sounded disgusting! I mean who drinks spinach in a smoothie.....YUCK! But, then I read several testimonials of folks who said you absolutely cannot taste the spinach, so I decided to try it. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike spinach.....I don't. I actually love it on a sandwich in place of lettuce, and it's one of my favorite pizza toppings...I'm a meatless white pizza girl and my favorite toppings are cheese, tomato, mushrooms, & spinach......YUM! In a sweet smoothie though? Well, I bit the bullet and made one for myself and my hubby and guess what? They are actually very tasty....and you can't taste the spinach! Healthy and tasty....you can't beat that. Our favorite is Greek yogurt, pineapple (canned in it's own juice), spinach, banana, & a little orange juice. If you can get past the color, you will love them!

Here are the ingredients...I put my pineapple in a jar after I open the can. A good tip I discovered is to slice your bananas, lay them on a cookie sheet and freeze them and then put them in a freezer bag and they won't stick together. Frozen bananas make the smoothie stay cold longer and since they go bad so quickly, this keeps you from having to go to the grocery store more than once a week.

I don't measure anything, but here are the ingredients for one smoothie in the blender. Put a good handful of spinach in!

And....here's the finished product!  What do you think? Are you willing to try a green smoothie? I promise you they are yummy.....and healthy! I plan to drink one every morning on my way to work when school starts! Let me know if you have tried them and what your favorite ingredients are....:)

Be blessed....

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