Dead

I am super behind on blogging so I sat down to catch up and my computer has gone on strike! That means I can't read your blogs and I can't write on mine. NOT a *heart flutter*

Of corse my first thought is, "I can't afford a new computer! I could barely afford this one!" I am hoping that I am jumping to the worst option but after talking to my personal tech guy I am not seeing the ray of sunshine.

So as of now I will fall a little more behind until I find a fix. Please don't forget about me during this time! 

Pick Me Ups

I read somewhere (Pintrest, a blog who really knows) that as a teacher one should have a file, notebook, whatever of all those happy moments of teaching. It could have letters from students, parents, or things people have said, whatever makes your *heart flutter.* The purpose is for when things aren't going well, you can go back, read them and hopefully get reminded of why you became a teacher in the first place.

 I would like to share a few things from the past week that made me smile and laugh.

On Friday I asked the students to write me a letter and they could tell me anything that they wanted to. My plan was to write back to them and at the same time get in a little writing assessment with a little bit of getting to know you. I really enjoyed doing this and would like to do it at the end of each month.

There were two that stood out to me.

"Anyway, I think you come up with amazing ideas, you're artistic and have great methods."

 

This was nice to hear because I don't feel as if this statement applies so much to me at the moment. So to get that feedback from the ones that are reaping the outcome of the ideas and methods was reassuring.

 

"My first wish job is alligator wresting. Sounds scary doesn't it?"

 

 

 

Oh my goodness, I laughed about this for a good five minutes! This coming from a sweet little girl who doesn't say much and looks as if she doesn't get dirty often. She then told me that her second dream job was being a teacher. Good thing she has a back up plan incase alligators aren't her friends.

 

I need to remember these moments often and look for more throughout the day.

 

What do you do when you need a pick up and a boost?



Sunday Soup Week #1

As I stated earlier today in my Fall 2013 Bucket List, I really like fall and with fall comes some soup! I came up with the idea to make some sort of soup every Sunday during the months of September thru December. Today kicks this adventure off!

I started with chicken tortilla soup and am very pleased! Most likely I will be trying a few recipes until I find one that makes me super happy.

I found a recipe through Pintrest and it took me to Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour.

Here is her recipe and picture:

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can diced green chilies

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

 

She used a rotisserie chicken and I did too. It was a lot easier and now I have some left over for another recipe. I didn't realize until I had dumped the tomatoes in that I had gotten a basil, oregano and garlic can and let's face it, those aren't really tortilla flavors. Thankfully, it all worked out just fine!

 

I added some cheese and tortilla chips and enjoyed! I would add this recipe to my box since it was easy and had common ingredients. Also made enough to freeze some and have some for left overs.

 

Until next week!

Fall 2013 Bucket List

It is September and in my opinion it is the start of fall despite what the weather says. It has been so hot here lately that even some schools in the state have called off school because they don't have ac and it is too hot. My school is blessed with ac so we were learning away.

Fall is my favorite season. I love pretty much EVERYTHING about it. Growing up in western Colorado I was spoiled with fall colors, cool nights, crunchy leaves and the town was flooded with strangers dressed in blaze orange and smelling like they hadn't showered in weeks.

For being such a beautiful place in the fall, I had a really hard time finding a picture.
I guess I am just going to have to go home and take some myself!



I get very homesick for home during the fall. Where I currently live just isn't blessed with as many trees, mountains or as cool of nights.

Since the season has changed, I thought I would make another bucket list since I had so much fun this summer with checking things off. A few items from the summer are being carried over to fall.

Fall 2013 Bucket List

• Go "home" to Hotchkiss and cure my homesickness
• Explore Frisco, Colorado
• Fall will be the perfect time to do this since the colors will be grand and it won't be so hot! We will be able to sit outside to eat, drink and be happy!
• Make some sort of pumpkin recipe
• Have you been on Pintrest and typed in pumpkin?
• Cut out, cook, frost and devour some fall cookies
• Drink my weight in pumpkin lattes
• Try to navigate a corn maze
• Wiggins actually as a corn maze and I have never been! I will not be going to it at night or when scary things could pop out at me!
• Fall craft
• I don't have one in mind at the moment, but know that I want to do one
• Soup Sunday
• I love soup and fall/winter is a great time to consume soups. So I came up with the idea to make a soup in the crock pot every Sunday and hopefully freeze some of it for those nights when I just don't know what to have for dinner.
• Pumpkin adult milkshake
• Go on a fall hike
• Do some sort of physical activity for 21 of the 30 days of the month
• Go shooting with the Epples
• Watch a play
• Watch "The Great Pumpkin"

So let the fall fun begin!

What is on your list for this fall?

Rule Breaker

Are you a rule breaker? Do you follow some of the rules? I think that most of the time I follow the rules but do know there are times that I break them just a little.

Recently in class we did a "Write On" (a.k.a  a quick write) that explored our rule breaking bad selves. I told them that we were going to make a list of 20 rules we had broken. They were excited about this until they actually sat down to make their list.

I had to "strongly" tell them that they just needed to write and to not think about it so much. Sitting down to write my own list, I realized how hard this really was! The task was cut down to ten rules broken. Easier, but still not easy! You would think that it would be easy, but it isn't!

I was able to come up with eleven rules that I was able/willing to share with 23 nine and ten year olds.

11 Rules I Have Broken:

1. Driving faster than the speed limit
2. Cheated (a few games, a spelling test, math tests a few times)
3. Stole candy from City Market and a few other things here and there
4. Lied (I tend to do this one the most.....oops.)
5. Blew through a stop light (on accident, but it was still a rule broken)
6. Used my phone in class
7. Not used my turn signal (again not a BIG deal, but still a rule)
8. Tore a page out of a Garflied comic book from the library because I wanted it
9. Failed to touch the wall with two hands while doing the breast stroke
10. Texting and driving
11. Snuck into the drive in movie a few times

What do you think? Think you can come up with 20 rules you have broken? How about 10?

Domestic Divas

It's HUMP DAY! That means we are on the downhill slope to the weekend!

Speaking of weekend, this weekend I was able to cross a big project off of my to-do list!

My dad has a Masonic event coming up and he needed some gifts to give. So Molly and I got our craft on and for about 24 hours attempted to be Domestic Divas. It was probably a good thing that we didn't have video cameras out.

We decided that we would make a gift for the ladies and made plans to make therapeutic bags. Fabric was purchased, tables were cleaned off and we set off to work!

Here are a few things we learned:

• Ironing isn't affective if the iron isn't plugged in
• Sewing machine bobbins have minds of their owns (but thanks to YouTube they were defeated)
• Spools of thread aren't never ending
• Wal-Mart doesn't always have everything one might need at ten o'clock at night
• Sewing machines can jam up
• Sewing machine needles will break if you are a She Hulk
• You will make mistakes at the end of the project if you are tired
• Seam rippers are your friend

 

Molly sent this to me Monday morning and it pretty much reflected my last outburst before I left her house with the last bag to finish!

 

 

Overall, I had a fun time working on this project with my sister and we had lots of laughs. Hopefully the ladies who receive them enjoy them as much as we did making them.

 

 

Molly and Bailey couldn't wait for me to leave so they could take a nap!



Sunshine Award

Since school has started I have been super busy and super tired. So tired and busy that I have not had time to redeem my Sunshine Award nomination from my kindred spirit Cassie! Today I decided that I HAD to redeem it if it was the last thing I did! So here we go!

The Sunshine Award is an award given by a blogger to another blogger that brightens their day. So basically it is a fun way of saying *heart flutter*

The Rules:

1.  Include award logo in a post or on your blog (above).
2.  Link to the person who nominated you – Cassie @ Rural Running Redhead
3.  Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4.  Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.


Now I get to answer questions and who doesn't like to talk about themselves?

1. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?

Probably my month in Point Roberts, Washington with my dear friends, the Bells. Oceans, beaches, Canada, ferries, and friends.

2. Tell me one terrific thing about your week.

Spending time with my friends after a tough day. I truly am blessed.

3. Would you rather be stuck neck-deep in the hole of an outhouse for an hour or stuck in a porta-potty rolling down a hill for five minutes?

Wow! Creative question. I would pick neck-deep in the hole of an outhouse. Especially one in the mountains that is on private property and not used often. AND one that is a two seater with Cassie in the hole next to me! ;0)

4. What was your favorite class in high school?

I would probably have to go with Show Choir with Mr. Everret. I think of those times often.

5. If you won the lottery today, what would you do?

I would pay off all of my student loans, medical bills for both myself and my family, donate a good chunk of it and probably go on a trip some where.

6. If you had one day in which you could do and say whatever you wanted, and you would be the only one who remembered that day, what would you do?

Ummm.....I am not sure. Could Channing Tatum be involved?

7. Which sounds like a fun Friday night: drinks, dinner, and dancing, or couch, P.J.s, and movies?

Since I am an old lady teacher now, I would go with couch, P.J.s and movies as long as it was with friends.

8. What not-on-the-air-anymore sitcom do you love?

I have been thinking about this for a week! I am going to go with "Boy Meets World" I love me some Cory and Topanga with a little bit of Sean Hunter thrown in.

9. If you could go back in time and tell your 17-year-old self one thing, what would it be?

That high school is really just a small blip on the span of life. It matters, but your life to come is more important and so much better.

10. What irrational fears/phobias do you have? (I promise I won’t use them against you).

Mustard and I don't get along very well. I tell people that it is almost a phobia. Weird I know.

I don't know if I have ten blogs to nominate but I will give it a go!

1. Marilyn @ Heart Song
2. Kerith @ Brielle and Me
3. Tina @ Monkey, Moose and Tater
4. Carrie @ Carrie Elle
5. Sarah @ Play 2 Learn with Sarah
6. Jordon @ Life is Better Messy Anyway
7. Shelia @ Book Journey
8. Gigi @ The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
9. Kari @ Kari Chirstoferson - The Nica Side of Life
10. M @ A Great Title

Here are my questions.
1. Can you keep house plants? If so, do you name them?
2. If you could have lunch with anyone; real, make believe, alive, dead etc., who would it be and where would you go?
3. What is your favorite Sandra Bullock movie?
4. Have you ever given or received a RAOK (random act of kindness)? Explain.
5. What quote or saying inspires you or that you use often in your life? Where did it come from?
6. Over or under?
7.  What meal would you pick if you had to pick one and only one to eat for the rest of time?
8. If you could be the star of a musical, what one would it be?
9. Favorite literary character? Why?
10. List five things that give you *heart flutters*

Thank you Cassie for the nomination and I apologize for taking so long to redeem this *heart flutter* but I know that you understand how the beginning of school can be!