Headed Back to KSU....But Not For My Master's!!

I have always been interested in interior design. I absolutely love it and have so much fun with it. Decorating my entire apartment last summer was heaven on earth for me! I have always wanted to learn more about it and possibly do it some on the side. However, it's always been one of those things that I thought I would never have the chance to do. BUT, last week, I decided that I am going to make it happen! You only live once! So, I started checking online for classes and such! I found out that KSU offers "Leisure and Life Enrichment Classes". Anyone can take them. You don't have to be KSU alumni. They have everything from photography classes, to cooking classes, to ballroom dance classes (which I think would be totally cool to do) to writing classes, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of! So, I found a class on Interior Design for Beginner's. I checked it out and read more about it and got SO excited!! It sounds awesome and is just what I have been looking for! So, I took the plunge and signed up! It is 5 weeks long and on Monday evenings. I am SO excited! The first class will be April 13th. If I like this class, then they have more interior design classes starting this summer that will be an extension off of this class. That would be awesome to do while I am out of school for the summer! I can't wait to get started with this and see where it goes! :-)

-B

"The Climb"

Miley Cyrus' new song...I just love it.

"The Climb"

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head sayin
You'll never reach it

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but
I got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

Chorus:
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes you're gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb...

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down
But I'm not breaking
The pain I'm knowing
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most, yeah
Just to keep on going
And I got to be strong
Just keep on pushing on

Chorus:
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes you're gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb...

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith

Strep Throat...How Nice

So, I started feeling a bit yucky this weekend. I woke up yesterday morning to get ready for school and felt VERY yucky. I went on to school but made a doctor's appointment for after school. Well...went to the doctor and TA DA!!!......strep throat. How fun, how nice, how wonderful. No, I don't think so. So, I am now on anti-biotics and at home in my bed wishing I was at school for all of the fun St. Patty's Day festivities with my sweet kiddos. AND...I won't get to wear my cute St. Patrick's Day shirt that I got. This is not good. I am totally bummed and really hope the fever goes away so I can go back to school tomorrow. Doctor said take two days off, but if I'm better, I'm going back tomorrow. I do not like missing work.

Okay, I'm done whining.

-B

It's Monday...Only 4 Days Until Friday!!

-44 school days until summer, and three weeks until Spring Break.
-I love Miley Cyrus' new song, "The Climb". I heard it for the first time in the car last night, and I was literally fighting back tears.
-Browsed our book fair this morning at school and made out my wish list. There's some good stuff!
-Going to another baby consignment sale this weekend; Trent Bug is a little spoiled!
-Need to start tanning VERY badly! I might start this week.
-Just a few more Cheer Warrior practices until the big pep rally. Things are coming along nicely.
-I have all kinds of fun activities planned for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. We will be having green milkshakes tomorrow afternoon!
-Still going strong on the diet...but I still don't like it.
-I've been brainstorming ideas of re-arranging my classroom next year. It needs a new look; going to change out where my desk is and where the kids tables are.
-This weather is insane. Snow two weekends ago, sunny last weekend, and rain all this weekend. WHAT???
-Got to see little Ethan yesterday. Just love that kiddo. He's too cute. His mom is pretty cool, too! :-)
-I want to visit Tellus. I haven't been yet and am anxious to go! We tried to go on a field trip there in April, but it didn't work out.
-It's crazy to me to think that my first little group that I had will be big 2nd graders next year! WOW! How time flies!
-We have really been digging in to some of our Science standards, and it has been so fun to teach!!
-Hope the weekend hurries and gets here!!

-B

Taco Soup Recipe...This Is For You, Ingrid! :-)

I made a yummy taco soup this weekend. It is a Weight Watchers version, so it's healthy, too! It was super easy, super quick, and was still great when I re-heated it the next day. My bestie, Ingrid, asked about the recipe, so I decided to post it on the blog for everyone. Try it out sometime! :)

For all you Weight Watchers people, 1 cup of this soup= 1 point.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 lg. onion, chopped
3 cans Mexican style chili beans, undrained (or you can substitute in black beans...your choice)
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 can tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chile, undrained
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch style salad dressing mix (dry)


-Brown beef and drain.
-Stir in all other ingredients.
-Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, covered.

Sounds easy enough, right??!!

Hope you all try it out and enjoy it as much as I did! :-)

-B

Rainy Weekend...

Trent Bug riding in the car on the way home from dinner...



Mom and Trent Bug before Lucy's birthday party


It has been a rainy, gloomy weekend so far! Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. I'm wondering where the beautiful spring weather went???? I wanted to ride my bike this weekend, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Trent Bug has spent the last couple of nights with me, so he has made it more fun than it would have been. He is simply amazing...learning new things each day, and it's SUCH a blessing to sit back and watch. Right now we have patty cake completely mastered. He is eating more and more, and it won't be long before we will be eating small bites of table food. Mom and Dad are excited about that b/c the formula and baby food is getting more and more expensive with him eating more! We are so incredibly crazy about him! What a blessing in my life at just the right time...

This time next week, Kaci and I will be tearing it up at the Mall of GA. I'm SO excited! I haven't been on a major shopping spree in a while...

Mom, Trent, and I went to Buttons n Bows yesterday. WOW! What deals there were! We walked away with tons of spring/summers outfits for him. Seriously, some of them were like a dollar and were great name brands and look like they'd never even been worn. We have basically his whole spring/summer wardrobe covered. We were so excited about it all! We are looking forward to going to another sale next weekend to check on a couple of more things for him. We are now in love with baby consignment sales! After the sale, Mom, Brenton, Trent, and I had lunch together at Cracker Barrel. It was so fun to just be together and hang out! Brenton is crazy about Trent Bug, and Trent Bug is crazy about him. It is fun to watch them together. I maintained my diet and had grilled chicken with green beans. It was YUMMY!

I also just made a yummy taco soup. It is a Weight Watchers recipe. I checked with Julie before making it to make sure that I could have it with the diet and all. Turns out, I could! All the ingredients were in my diet. It was sooooooo good on this cold, rainy day. My parents came by on their way home and my dad took some with him. He tasted and liked it too, so he wanted some for later. I have some left over, so that will make a nice lunch for school on Monday. I love yummy meals that are within my diet!!

WHS Cheer Banquet was Thursday night. It was fun to see everyone again. We had a great meal! We got some awesome new T-shirts that have "State Champs" on the back. The girls also got the coaches a beautiful framed picture of the team at state, and the booster club gave the coaches some cash...which is ALWAYS nice! Those were some nice surprises that I didn't expect. I was able to sit and chat for a while with the girl that I will be coaching with next year, and she seems really sweet. Try-outs are in a little over a month, and we will have competition camp in June. I love summer work-outs as well. That was a lot of fun last summer, and I really look forward to it this summer!

Well, I am going to cozy up with little Brigsby and watch a movie. There's really nothing better to do on a rainy, gloomy day like today!

-B

I'm Dieting...But I Don't Have To Like It!

The weekend is approaching, and I am so thankful for that. The time change has been especially difficult to adjust to. By the time I get home in the afternoon, I am wiped out. I have napped almost every day this week.

Well...I have given in to the world of dieting. My parapro, Mrs. Cagle, and I have decided to have a little competition to see who can lose the most the quickest. She is getting ready for her son's wedding this summer and wants to lose a few pounds. I am just getting ready for summer and would love to drop about ten pounds. We will weigh in with our school nurse each Friday. Today is my first real day on the diet, and it's not been too bad so far. For breakfast, I had a Weight Watchers muffin. Lunch was a turkey sandwich, two pickle spears, and a small cup of sugar free jello. Dinner will be grilled chicken with green beans. I am doing the unthinkable and sacrificing some of my beloved Dr. Peppers. I've decided that I'm not going to give them up altogether- b/c that would be unrealistic for me- but I'm just going to cut down. This diet is all about sensible eating; many people that I know have been successful on it, so maybe I will to. I usually can drop weight pretty easily when I want to, so hopefully it won't be too hard.

The kids at school have major spring fever and so does their teacher! I can't stand that my classroom doesn't have an outside door or any windows. It would be so nice to be able to see this gorgeous weather outside instead of staring at four walls all day. By the end of the day, I just want to be OUTSIDE!!! It's so refreshing to get outside after work. I hope to be able to get outside this weekend a lot and ride my bike. It's so fun and great exercise, and I am really loving it so far. I am glad that I found it on sale, too!

The week before CRCT, we are having spirit days at school. We will have Cowboy Day, Tacky Twin Day, and Super Hero Day. I already have my Superman shirt for Superhero Day. Mrs. Cagle, JJ, and I are going to modify Tacky Twin Day into Tacky Triplet Day and all dress the same. I'm excited about that; it will be hilarious!! For Cowboy Day, I might just have to go buy those cowgirl boots that I've been wanting...and of course a cowgirl hat to go with it. We will see. I hope that most of the other teachers will participate too, because the kids will really love it if they do.

Tomorrow I have the day off. I have a doctor's appointment, then Mom and I are going to Buttons n Bows- the big baby consignment sale at the Church at Liberty Square. We are on the hunt for Trent a few items. A stroller, a front facing car seat, and some summer clothes are what we are mainly looking for. Hope we can find them at good prices! This is always a great consignment sale, so I'm sure we'll maybe have some good luck there.

I am still trying to decide about Spring Break. It is in three weeks. I would really like to go somewhere, but I really need to save the money, and it would also be nice to have a week at home to get ahead on some spring cleaning and just relax. Who knows? I may up and go somewhere at the last minute. I guess only time will tell.

46 School Days Until Summer...YAY!!!

-B