Wordless Wednesday [06.22]

Summer 2011 Bucket List

I have the great fortune of having summers off-score! This summer I'll be picking up a part-time nannying position, but even then I'll have two days off a week to be a bum. Anyone who knows me knows I have to stay busy. If I'm not busy I get bored, and I am very bad at being bored. Whenever I'm bored I somehow find my way to the mall, Target, etc. Or I end up sleeping/wasting the day away. I'd much rather have a ten item to-do list than a three item list because I know I can put those three items off all day whereas if I have ten items I know I have to stay busy to get those things done. Anywho, the moral of this rant is I like having things to do. Here is the list of things I'd like to accomplish this summer:

1. Scrapbook our engagement and wedding pictures as well as my bridal portraits. I started cropping yesterday and after 3 hours I'm only halfway through. This is turning into a bigger project than I previous imagined-oof.
2. Organize our spare closet. Since we only have two bedrooms we only have two closets to store stuff, The spare closet has become the place to throw all of our random stuff that most people store in their attics. The first things you see when you open the door: my wedding dress,  a Christmas tree, a few Easter baskets, and multiple boxes of seasonal clothes.
3. Purge books. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am an avid reader. Being a big reader means we have lots of books, some of which we really don't need to keep. I'd like to decrease our collection before we move.
4. Find a house. Even if we don't move this summer I'd really like to find a house for us to live in before summer is over.
5. Learn new recipes to share with family and friends. This is more of a 2011 resolution, but I'd like to keep it up in my spare time this summer!
6. Chronicle every vacation we take with pictures. I used to be the queen of taking pictures, but since we've been married I've kind of slacked on this. I want to get back in the habit.
   
   
   

What is on your summer bucket list?

To Teach Is To Learn

I've been putting this post off for a few weeks now. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's because writing this means it's over, and I hate when something wonderful has to end. I have been blessed in more ways than I count this past year. I was hired to teach in a highly competitive school and placed in a very strong department on an incredible team. How many new teachers can say those things? Not many.

I was welcomed with open arms by a "family" of teachers, many of who have spent their entire teaching careers here. These people are not just any teachers. They are men and women who spend hours and hours of their evenings and weekends putting the kids ahead of themselves. That is true dedication. These people offered me support when things got tough and teaching supplies when my they realized I was starting from scratch. They also looked out for me during all those hard winter months when things got stressful around the school and my husband was states away. It doesn't get much better than that.


The kids are a whole other story of awesome. Of course some of them stressed me out (honestly, they're in middle school; it's their job to stress the teachers out), but overall we had a stellar group of kids. They gave us their best day in and day out, and that is really all a teacher can ask for. Not to mention, they made going to work fun! I'm sure Davido could have done without all the stories of the crazy things they said and did, but it made going to work worth it.


Things weren't always peachy. I'm sure you remember the numerous posts during those previously mentioned winter months. If you know any teachers then you're very aware of the January to Spring Break stress. This a time with few breaks and long hours of preparing for testing. Those of us in education help stimulate the local Starbucks and ABC stores during this trying time. We made it through though, and are better because of it. 


All in all I had a superb first year of teaching. I am so grateful to all the people who made it possible and I cannot wait to spend a lifetime doing this!

Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.
-- George Evans

Delhomme Dip

Everyone loves a good snacky food and here is one of our favorites!

Football games were always a big deal in our family. We would all crowd together in the den to watch the Tigers play on Saturdays (before NC State claimed our allegiance) and the Panthers on Sundays. Momma always enjoyed these evenings because it meant lots of snacky foods for supper instead of a full meal. And as the one who now prepares meals for our family, I completely get it. One of our favorite snacks was Delhomme Dip, named after the infamous Jake Delhomme, the Panthers' QB for many years. Super easy and super yummy!

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1 can of chili (with or without beans)

1 bag of sprinkle cheese

1 bag of Fritos (scoops work best!)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread softened cream cheese across bottom of 13x9 pan.

Pour chili across cream cheese.

Sprinkle cheese.

Bake in oven until cheese melts and begins to bubble.

Enjoy with Fritos and copious amount of good beer!

Thankful Thursday-It's a Smile, It's a Kiss. . .

It's a smile, it's a kiss
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime

-Kenny Chesney 

It's summertime and the feeling is fine! Or something like that. Life is good as a teacher with a break. Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do this summer, and the answer is. . . nothing! I'm looking forward to some much-needed R&R with my hubs and a few afternoons at the pool. Some things I am thankful for:

*the opportunity to start fresh*

(one of the best things about teaching is that each year we are given the opportunity to start over, to fix what doesn't work, and to become better at our jobs)

*connections*

(it's always helpful to know someone in the right place at the right time)

*helpful hints*

(as we begin the long and arduous process of searching for a house to make a home, I am becoming more aware of how many people out there are looking out for our best interests!)

*my uber organized hubs*
(as we dig deeper into this house stuff it is such a HUGE help to have my organized/tech-savvy hubby around to keep our life in order!)

*little holidays*
(I love all things holidays, even the smaller ones like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Flag Day-you name it, I want to celebrate it)