A shopping trip, a lunch and a partridge and a (well, you get the idea)

I finally live in a home large enough to host Easter lunch! I love having friends over and always have, but it would have to be tiny gatherings because I lived in tiny places. I took a few pics before people arrived. Then my camera died. =(


The dishes are new. I might have a sickness when it comes to dishes. I love different patterns and shapes and colors for various seasons. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy napkin rings. I left with a new set of dishes...AND napkin rings.




It was fun setting up the tables and anticipating having people over. I love it!


Just as I was going to take a pic, my camera died. Thanks, DJ!

On a separate note, I went shopping a couple weeks ago. The past couple of years, I've been trying to step outside my box. Not jump the moving truck by any means, but have a little more of a statement with my clothing. Whether that means jewelry or a certain item of clothing or purse or shoes. Just trying to stretch my horizons.

So I go shopping. Always fun when there are cute things in the stores AND I actually have money to spend. (You know that doesn't happen often!)

Anybody else's dressing room look like this when they go shopping?





A pile of Things to Try On, Things I like and are Possibilities, Things that either Don't fit or Don't look as good on, Things that are Definitely being Purchased.

That's how I do it. That's pretty much how I've always done it. And there are NEVER enough hooks in the dressing rooms, so the clothing becomes piles on the floor.

But I had fun! I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone. I bought two jackets!

Did you hear that!? Jackets! I've never been a jacket wearer, but I now own two.

We'll see how this goes!

Brownish Green Thumb

The pansies all died. I'm still trying to figure out what flowers work in Houston. Plano isn't THAT much north, but the climates are different enough to feel a definite lack of confidence. Did they die because it was too hot? Not enough water? Not enough sun?


Back to Home Depot I went! These begonias were $0.95 each. Can that be right!?



In honor of Easter, I bought a couple of Easter lilies and a friend gave me one on Easter Sunday, too! This pic was taken the Saturday morning before Easter. (I had this post written, then blogger was being weird and not downloading pictures, then I didn't have internet at home for a week...anyway, oh well! =)




This pic was taken that Saturday afternoon. Amazing, huh?

Teacher Gift Suggestions: Show Us Your Life

To All of Kellys Korner Readers: Welcome!

I am a teacher and so was excited to see this for today's SUYL topic!

Teachers appreciate all gifts students give to them. We know they are out of love, adoration and appreciation. We love our students in return!

Buying gifts for teachers is difficult, because children are not sure what to purchase. Sometimes parents leave it up to the children and we receive stuffed animals or Lisa Frank nail polish sets. The relationship between student and teacher is just that. =) We're not friends, so they have no idea what to buy for gifts. Please, as parents, help guide this decision. Your child's teacher will receive a gift that they can use!

As any person giving a gift, I want the receiver to be able to use it, enjoy it, LOVE it. So when thinking of your child's teacher, cute is not the goal. Appreciating the teacher is the goal. Right?

Bottom line? Gift cards are BEST! American Express, Mastercard, and Visa gift cards are by far preferred because we can use them anywhere. Target, Sonic, neighborhood restaurants or movie theaters are good, too. Starbucks is fine, but please make sure the teacher is a coffee drinker!

A suggestion? Ask!

Last year, I received the following from my room mom. She asked me to fill it out and return it. I thought this was brilliant!

1. When is your birthday?
2. What is your favorite flower?
3. What is your favorite restaurant?
4. What kind of music do you like?
5. Check all the following that you enjoy:
flowers
chocolate
coffee
candy
gift certificates
lotion
fragrances
books
6. Please give three or four ideas of places for a gift certificate.

The gifts I appreciate the most are gift certificates. I know some parents don't like them, because they seem impersonal. Write a sweet, appreciative note. We will treasure that note! I keep those! Really! Gift cards help us save money. And can't we all use a little savings?

Fun Visitors

Becca, Darrick and Mark came to visit my class this week for their annual talk on inventions they use in their careers.

The students recognized a reflex hammer and a stethoscope, but weren't as familiar with "trash paper"





or scaled rulers and had never seen a serval!



Isis was born in captivity and currently lives in Houston's Downtown Aquarium.


Servals are from the African savannah. The students (and the adults!) enjoyed the whole experience!

Under Construction

I've changed the background, but don't have time right now to change all the text colors.

I've downloaded a bunch of pics from my camera. It's been awhile since I've posted to either of my blogs, and I plan to have some catch up posts up sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Things I'm glad I don't have to do

I'm glad I don't have to be on the witness stand and answer questions about my feelings regarding any certain person.

Think about it a minute. You're on the witness stand and the opposing counsel asks you "Do you love _______? Does he love you in return? What do you mean you don't know? Haven't you talked about it?"

"Have you ever been angry at ______? Angry enough to kill them? No? But you have felt anger towards them?"

C'mon. Put yourself in that chair and a recent interest...or recent hurt relationship...is in the courtroom.

Awkward!

Show Us Your Life: Organizing Tips

Well, I guess I didn't look ahead at Kelly's schedule, because I talked about organizing and cleaning last week, but since I LOVE organizing (and talking ;) I'll post some more!

Organizing is key to my sanity. =)

I'm single and busy with school that I teach, school where I learn (will finish in December!), church activities, friends and family. If I don't stay organized then papers, flyers, mail, papers to grade, grad school projects to complete, dirty dishes and groceries can all pile up fast!

I'll repeat a little of last week's post here:

My best tips for organizing:

1. If the papers have a place to go, it's easier to put them there than it is trying to figure out a place for them to go.

2. Have a file drawer with manila folders or hanging files and LABEL them! =)

~ Another little tip is sort through them at the end of the year and shred all papers for the last year. (I'm a little more cautionary and keep that quarter's papers...but shred all others.)

3. Try to not have a junk drawer. It's really easy for all those little things to pile up. Do you really need them? If not, chunk them! If yes, can they have an actual place to go? If not...see previous question! :) If yes, make one and then put them there!

4. Install more shelving if needed! Home Depot sells wire shelving for a reasonable price. They'll even cut it to your specifications for free! I (ahem, meaning friends of mine) installed these shelves for me in several closets (and several apartments) over the years. They're wonderful at creating additional storage space!



5. Label those boxes of decorations! I have three of these purple bins.



I just did some organizing over Spring Break and (for the first time) labeled them. Now I know what I'm getting out before pulling it down. Also, before this cleaning frenzy, I thought all of them were Christmas decor. Now I know one has sports equipment in it! (So THAT'S where the racquets were! ;)

That's all at home. At work, I keep everything electronically. I'm a teacher and I want to be able to create an assignment and save it, so I can edit it and use it next year. Next year's students might need a slightly more challenging assignment or slightly simpler wording on instructions. As a teacher, I'm constantly adapting what I use in my classroom. I don't want to have to white it out on the sacred original. I want to click on the Word doc, make a change, click save and print and be finished.

I file EVERYTHING in Word. That might be obvious, but I mean I create very detailed files on my computer so I know EXACTLY what I'm looking for.

Some examples:
Because of Winn Dixie
Beginning of the Year
GradeSpeed
Mick Harte was Here
Songs of the Month
Lesson Plans
End of the Year
Recipes

When I have a workbook page, I scan it in and add it to my electronic files!

I also do this in my Outlook inbox. I know some keep everything in their Inbox. I would rather file it. For me, it helps to find things.
I have files labeled: Parents of Students, Colleague, Administration, IAT, ARD, School Info, etc. If I have a lot of communication with one particular parent, then I create a file specifically for that parent, too.


In the interest of full disclosure: I haven't followed my own tips for the last two weeks. I have non-perishable grocery items on my kitchen counters and floor. Mail is stacked on the dining room table, my coffee table is covered with grad school projects, there are bags of school items by the back door, curtain fabric that came in the mail is lying where I opened it, laundry is on the back of my desk chair...the list is endless. So sometimes, it takes one really big ORGANIZE!!! (Think a team with their hands in the center yelling "WIN!") day and then I get back on track. ;)

Sleepytime...

I went to bed Wednesday night on the left side of the bed, like I always do. I was sleeping on two pillows because my allergies are horrendous right now with all the oak and pine in the air and being propped up helps me breathe better. (I know. Classic geekiness...oh, well.)

Just a tadbit of relevant info...I sleep with a body pillow. You know, one of those really long, kinda firm pillows that goes the whole length of your bed. Not something that's easily shifted, especially when it's under the sheets.

I woke up Thursday morning (at 5am no less!) on the right side of the bed. On one pillow.

No clue how I got there.