Challenges in October

I should be at school right now working, but I am not. I am tired. So I am home, blogging. :0)

 

I love October even if sometimes we have a love/hate relationship!
For the month of October I want to be very ambitious and participate in three different challenges that I found on the Internet.

1. 31 Days of Lists Challenge
2. A push-up challenge
3. 31 miles in 31 days challenge

The list making one is a fun one and also one to help me journal more. I used to journal all the time, but since I graduated college and started teaching it has been pretty sporadic and I would like to do it more. I may or may not post all of the lists on the blog, but hope to do some of them because I think it is going to be fun.

Push-ups and I get along about as well as two cats tied together by their tails. I am not good at them. A year ago I was doing ok at them and then got sick and wasn't able to go to kickboxing for about a month and I haven't gotten back to where I was at. So I am going to show those push-ups who is boss and get better at them!

31 miles in 31 days is pretty self explanatory. I want to walk (and maybe jog a little) 31 miles in the 31 days of the month. The idea is mainly to get up and moving. I failed my goal from my fall bucket list for working out in September, so this is my redemption.

So without further delay, here we go!

List Challenge Day #1: Favorite Sounds

1. When a child is truly, unadulterated laughing
2. Water (rain, ocean, river, crick, swimmers doing the butterfly)
3. Mac Powell's voice (from the Christian group Third Day. Makes my heart melt! AND while looking for a picture on the Internet, found out that he has a solo country album! Might have to check that one out!)
4. The mountains (the silence, the breeze, the bugs, the elk, the trees, all of it!)

Ok, now I better get on the other two challenges before time runs out!

What are your favorite sounds?

*Snapshot Saturday*

I almost forgot! In fact it is technically the 29th but I haven't gone to bed yet so it counts!

Today was a lazy day with some work, but should have had a little bit more work in it. As I laid down to go to sleep, I thought of all the things I didn't get done today that I should have (hence the reason I am still up thinking about it.) Oh well.

I did get some laundry washed, dried and put away today which was a huge accomplishment. I also spent some time reading in bed with my freshly washed sheets and blankets!

Not a bad Saturday!

What is your *snapshot saturday*?

Friday...finally!

Thank. You. Sweet. Jesus! It has been a long week.

Not only is it Friday today, but the kids have the day off and I get the chance to catch up! We are scheduled to have ILP (Individual Literacy Plans) meetings today and between those meetings, we are free to do what we would like. For me that means tackling my giant pile of papers to grade. So I am going to put in the disc of Law and Order: SVU that I have had from Netflix for weeks and get my grading on.

We are also having a potluck as a staff today. So who is up and cooking at 6:00 this morning? This girl.

I found a corn casserole recipe in my favorite four ingredient cookbook (although this had five, so not sure how it snuck in there.) I have never made it before, but it smells good! I really do need to stop trying new ones and just find one that I always make.

AND I am one lucky girl to again participate in Breakfast Burrito Friday! Love Fridays and celebrating getting through the week!

Do you have a potluck dish you fall back on? If so what is it?

Happy Friday!

Erin Molly

28 years ago I was a happy, cute two year old who had the whole world in my hands. I had the love and attention of my parents and my grandmother, life was good. AND then.... I got a stinky, smelly, screaming little sister. All hell broke loose that day and it hasn't slowed down since. Thanks for shakin things up Erin Molly! Happy birthday!


This was my Facebook post this morning (it kind of cracked me up!) My little sister turned 28 today. I don't feel old myself until I think about how old she is and then I feel old! I can't believe that she is 28! Where does time go?

Here are a few things that I love about my sister:

 

She looks good in EVERY hat she puts on.

 

She is the aunt with the sense of humor.

 

She is an good hiking buddy.

 

She can shoot a gun like it was her job.

 

 

She is a determined little fart.

 

And most of all, she loves me.

 

 

Sunday Soup Week #2

Technically it is week four, but the last two weeks weren't soup making days. Even with a busy day, I was able to get a soup made.

This morning my dear friends, Jane and Henry, asked me to help them at their "flood" house. Last week they were affected by the flood and now the clean up stage has begun.

 

 I made the hour long trip with them to their house and on the way we just had to stop and celebrate the birthday of the ice cream cone!

 

This is why we had to drive an hour around.

 

Both sides of the bridge look like this and there isn't much of an idea of when it will be fixed. So until it does get fixed, the drive will be about an hour to get to the house.

 

We arrived and started packing stuff up in order to clean and replace cupboards and floors. They had already moved out most of the furniture and personal items the past week. Today the focus was the little things that you just aren't sure what to do with them. If you have ever moved, you know what I am talking about.

 

I helped as much as I could, even if it was providing comic relief and taking their minds off of their ruined home. I mean who wouldn't laugh at two people fighting over if a mosquito bite was really there or not?

 

Once we got the truck loaded and found a spot for Hobbs (my big dog boyfriend) and me in the backseat we headed back to the other side of the river to unload and have some soup.

 

I tried another recipe off of Pintrest and made Jalapeno Popper Soup.

 

 

 It was alright. Seconds were had, but a second making probably isn't going to happen.

 

I enjoyed my day of being with friends and helping them out, even if my body might be saying otherwise and I was attacked by several mosquitoes. (Really I was!)

 

P.S Happy First Day of Fall!

Books, Chinese Food and Friends

Officially today is the last day of summer, which means that tomorrow is the first day of FALL! Thank you Sweet Mother of Moses!

I have been able to sleep with the window open at night and cozy up. Now I just need to get more chai and my fall is set! It is also time to get started on that fall bucket list!

Even though today wasn't really fall, it kind of felt like it was and my heart was fluttering with each event the day had to offer.

I started the day with Cassie at the book sale at the library and Goodwill for 50%! Jackpot! I was able to buy several books for my classroom and a few for a good friend who likes silly mysteries. Didn't really find any for myself but that is ok because I have so many books on my bookshelf that need to be read.

 

I was b-bopping around on blogs and visited Sheila at Book Journey and she has participated in "Saturday Snapshot " from West Metro Mommy. I liked it so I wanted to play along too.

This is my snapshot of the books I got today.

 

After we hauled our purchases back to the car we headed to Little Bamboo for some tasty lunch and conversation.

 

The afternoon was ended with a Scentsy party at another friend's house. I have some good nose tickles coming soon!

 

Not a bad day for the last day of summer. It is about to get better because this kid is going to go take a nap!

 

Goodbye summer, hello fall!

Flood 2013

 

This is where I was supposed to be all weekend. It was a foot underwater.

 

My dear friends, Henry and Jane, were supposed to be out of town for the weekend and I had big plans of a weekend retreat at their house out on the ranch. I was armed with several books (just in case) and wine in the fridge.

 

Then the river decided to run wild  all over the ranch and ruin my weekend!

 

I was able to take care of a few things at the house, get the dogs to safety and head to my house, not knowing how much damage was soon to follow. An hour after I felt, the water crested and it was all over from there.

 

Sadly, the whole county was affected this weekend by the flood waters.

 

 

To the west of me

 

To the east of me

 

The waters have subsided, and now the clean up has begun. So many people have been affected by this flood from almost one side of the state to the other.

 

Henry and Jane did make it "home" but aren't in their home yet. It takes them over an hour to get from where they are staying (maybe half a mile as the crow flies over the river) to their home. The clean up has begun, but it isn't going to be a quick process.

 

ALSO! My kitty Atticus made it! I heard that he and his brothers, sisters and cousins all were holed up in a tree waiting to be rescued. It didn't sound like they were very happy, but they are alive! You can see a picture of Atticus at the end of this post.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected and that are picking themselves up by their bootstraps and going forward.

 

P.S. None of these pictures are mine. I got them from email and then off of Facebook. Not sure who posted them, so can't give them anymore credit than this.