GoodyBlog, Shop.com and Samsung, THANK YOU!
Look at this happy face:
At the beginning of the summer, GoodyBlog posted a terrific Father’s Day Giveaway, with one of the prizes being a fifty inch television and stereo surround sound system offered by Shop.com. I posted a comment entering the giveaway, but never expected to win. Fast forward two weeks later, and I received an email notifying me that I had won the prize for my husband! He did the happy dance, I did the happy dance, and then Shannon (GoodyBlog) and Sheila (Shop.com) figured out the logistics of holding the television and stereo surround system for us as we moved from Texas to Kansas.
My husband opened the boxes this weekend, and my goodness, talk about a kid in a candy store! He set up the Samsung Surround Sound System (the wireless speakers are way cool!) which also is a multiple disk dvd player with a station for my iPod, and placed the television (also from Samsung) in its place of honor in the living room:
The picture is sharp, the sound is phenomenal, and my husband…is now glued to the couch.
Never fear, dear Readers, the kids and I will shanghai the remote this evening so we can watch a family movie together with popcorn!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Goodyblog, Shop.com and Samsung!
Playing Catch Up!
…with a little bit of this and a little bit of that today~
A very happy birthday to my grandmother, my childrens’ “G.G.” I spoke to her today on the phone, and she mentioned she enjoyed a celebratory cappuccino during lunch. She hasn’t had a jolt of caffeine in years, so her afternoon was probably spent hanging out with this fellow:
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It has been a busy first week of school with students. A lot of joy, tons of enthusiasm, a bit of drama, much-appreciated reassurances, and a remarkable amount of support from parents, students, new colleagues and administrators. I knew I would *love* returning to teach in the land of Oz!
Reading the comments many of you have left and the e-mails you’ve sent to me about my classroom decor, teaching philosophy, and your unselfish sharing of ideas, links and resources has been the icing on the cupcake, truly. I’m looking forward to exploring your sites and updating my blogroll this weekend! Professional Learning Communities and Collegial Ties certainly can and DO exist worldwide now!
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~Poppytalk Handmade got my attention with School Days, a back-to-school and fashion market.
~ Now that I’m teaching in a school that utilizes Smart Boards in the classroom, the nostalgia of chalkboards has hit me… Poppytalk has been similarly affected!
~Frazzy Dazzles has me wishing we were neighbors, crafting friends, because she captured The Very Hungry Caterpillar perfectly for her daughter’s birthday!
~The family wants me to try Crispy Yogurt Chicken, thanks to The Pioneer Woman Cooks…
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Tomorrow is Purple Day in my classroom! Yes Mom, I’ll be wearing my purple cowboy boots- but the students will be enjoying several stories about Harold and his purple crayon:
Migraine Monday
I’m not certain *why* I feel like someone is driving a nail through my left eye socket… it was a good day, meeting the rest of the staff at my new school, getting a “feel” for the rhythm of my colleagues, and witnessing the dynamics of what will be our staff meeting routine for the remainder of the year. The other teachers “new” to the school and I are going to supply treats and nummies in the lounge on Friday morning as our “Hello and Thanks for Having Us” gift, and Mother Nature and Advil willing, I’ll get some ideas for my hallway bulletin board displays generated and prepped this evening.
My husband’s big screen t.v. and stereo surround sound system arrived today (the Father’s Day gift I won thanks to Shop.com and GoodyBlog’s AWESOME giveaway earlier this summer) which made for a terrific afternoon (I’ll post photos of Happy Daddy later this week), and some terrific bloggers emailed or left comments for me too. I can’t wait to visit their blogs and update my blogroll this weekend!
Still, *pound* *pound* *pound*.
It might have started with these:
I was the photographer, but tell me, dear readers, where do you think I snapped photos of the pond, waterfall, banisters, lightposts, clocks, lush foliage, and vast expanses of windows and pillars?
Anyone?
So Often, Kids Just Get it Right: Happy 4th
Thank you, Cactus Cuties.
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Um, *Yeah*
I’m not a big fan of the word “yeah,” but it seems to fit right about now:
(Tuesday, Day 1 of the packers in our house)
Wowie, BARE walls!
Nearly-bare china hutch….
Hard to believe that the house used to look like THIS at Thanksgiving…
Dear Daughter’s room hasn’t been THIS clean in quite some time (don’t tell her I told you!)…
And finally, our bed (yeah, it’s king sized!), covered with our traveling gear:
Wednesday will see the office, toddler’s room, my classroom gear, and our storage closets all being packed, Thursday MIGHT see the start of the furniture being prepped with the boxes getting loaded onto the semi…and Friday evening, this home will no longer be ours.
By the way, dear tax paying readers, THANK YOU. It’s your tax dollars that house my husband and my family so he can do his job and we can all be together for the United States Army. While I take great pride in keeping each house we live in feeling like a home, we all do our best to take good care of each property out of appreciation and respect for you, our friends and family.
Where I Went, What I Saw… Thanks Derrick and Susan!
(…what I *bought* will be in tomorrow’s blog)
The much-anticipated trip back to Oz, a gift from my husband, was bumpier than expected or hoped for, starting with a delay before I ever stepped on a plane here in the Bordertown. A forty-five minute delay, and then an “involuntary transfer” from one airlines to another, with another hour long wait to board. Instead of flying from Texas to Colorado to Kansas, I instead went from Texas to Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth) and then on to Missouri/Kansas in Kansas City. During my wait in Dallas/Ft. Worth, I looked up to see a celebrity in the snack shop buying treats and a white teddy bear with her friend/aide rolling the Louis Vuitton carry-ons behind her. While I did have my camera with me, easily accessible, I found it more interesting watching her from a distance and seeing, big surprise, that while plastic looking on tv and in magazines, she was a real human being. I did send a text message to my daughter however, since I knew she’d think it was “a cool thing.”
On the plane, looking forward to a late afternoon arrival to Kansas, all passengers were told that we’d be sitting for a while….another forty-five minutes. Sigh. Mid-flight I began to worry that I might not make it to town in time to have dinner with my friends, but did my best to get through KC International to the car rental hub quickly after we landed. I had a reservation at Dollar Rental, and received excellent and friendly service from Derrick M., even after my debit card was returned denied. Making a quick call to Husband, we figured out that money had been transferred out of the account and never put back in, leaving me stranded for twenty-four hours until the online transfer he made while on the phone with me would “show up.” Stuck, that is, until Derrick took me over to Susan S. at Payless Rental. Between the two of them, Kansas/Missouri hospitality and kindness were so very well represented, with sincere concern for me for not only that evening, but for the remainder of my trip. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to have been put in my path on such a draining day.
Derrick and Susan,
You are **terrific!**
I did miss dinner that night, but had a good drive on dry roads, checked into my hotel, and slept hard until the smell of waffles wafted up the stairwell and into the hallway, seeping under my door. I stopped at a favorite book store for a latte, got some necessities at WalMart, and met Shauna, Jess, and baby S. at Panera for breakfast. Quality time!
The next day, the weather was chilly and windy, but I decided to drive to
a favorite place of mine, home to my “haunts:”
Broadway Antique Mall
Cedar Street Antiques
Yesterday’s Rose Antique Mall
and Buckeye Antiques
Broadway tends to be my favorite, with three floors of furniture, antiques and collectibles to explore, but I had to laugh when I saw a small skunk collection they had on display:
They were in MUCH better shape than the skunks I had encountered on my drive to Abilene that morning, and didn’t require that I cover my nose as I snapped this photo.
I made a deal with myself that I would NOT buy anything that was too big to pack in my carry on bag, nothing that I would have to mail, nothing I’d have to buy additional luggage for to house on the trip home. Talk about discipline! “Little” or “compact” were my search prerequisites.
Salt and pepper sets were tempting, but none held my attention for long, not even these miniature tea/coffee pots. I did find items that passed my requirements however, and brought them home as reminders of Oz, Abilene, the shop owners, and friends.
As for the following sign, it’s an inside joke shared between me and my breakfast buddies (and no, I didn’t buy it Girls, I just took a photo!):
The return flights home were on time, my family has welcomed me back and I’ve been deciding where all of my goodies will go throughout the house- details in tomorrow’s blog of course!
Thank you Honey, for my trip. I loved it!
Up Too Early…Again
Tick, tock, the toddler’s clock…
doesn’t match my own…
(Wall art found here)
Awake at three-thirty, thirsty. Awake again at four-thirty, wet. Five-thirty he snuck into our bedroom while I was preparing coffee (I thought I had locked the door so husband could sleep in) flipped the lights on and shouted “Daddy, wake UP!” Sigh. I turned off the light, LOCKED the door, and escorted Mr. Assertive-Way-Too-Early back to the living room. “Dodgers, Mommy!” Duck Dodgers. The t.v. goes on, I make “bunny milk,” and the toddler is happy, and more importantly, quiet again.
Ohhhhhh, Daddy and Sister are going to have an interesting time when I’m out of town next weekend.
Yes, I’m traveling back to Oz to see friends and to wander through some of my favorite antique mall/stores. Without the family. A little break for me provided by my wonderful Valentine.
Abilene’s Downtown Antique Mall
…and whatever places are open on Sunday in Paxico...
I’ll be on the lookout for game pieces (Scrabble, etc., for crafting), copper pots, watering cans, or other containers, Russian lacquer, salt cellars, Mar-Crest (though it’s heavy and weighs a TON), old books, and whatever other treasures strike my fancy or bring back good memories.
As a person who doesn’t travel on her own too often, I’ll just say that now, at age thirty-eight, it is certainly nice to know that feeling alone and being independent are *not* one and the same.
Tuesday
Something’s coming over the mountains today:
I’m glad to have something idea-inspiring to read when the dust kicks up, wind starts howling, and tumbleweeds go whizzing past my windows:
Hearing so much about Somerset from the crafty bloggers I read each day made me take the fifteen-dollar-plunge at B&N this past weekend. Guess what? I’ll be subscribing.
Talking with my husband last night, I introduced the idea that once our new duty station comes through and we have floorplans for our future housing, I’d like to figure out a way to have my own craft/sewing workstation, perhaps sharing a study with him. Ideally, I’d love to have my own space, free of children, toys, seasonal clothes in storage tubs, and frankly, my husband’s stuff. Hunting gear, guns, military awards, and Harley logos are not what get my creative juices flowing…his support of testing gravity by letting all magazines, papers, catalogs, receipts, brochures, business cards, etc. live on the floor of his study is also a major obstacle to overcome before we could seriously share a space. I think I’m talking myself out of it here!
How do we share space in the rest of the house? I’m the boss, that’s how. You see, my husband’s job requires that we move regularly. MORE than regularly in fact. We’ve moved four times in the past five years, with another move coming up this summer. The kids and I don’t get a say in where we move to, what jobs or friends we have to leave behind, nor how long we’ll stay or how quickly we’ll have to leave again. So the public parts of the house are decorated the way I want them to be with my husband and kids having their own spaces reflecting their personalities and tastes. Yes, I make sure my husband has his man-cave, and the garage is always his. But because we have no say in the move-us-cross-country-or-even-OUT-of-country decisions, I lay down the law when it comes to home decor, storage, and household chores. We may not get to choose where we’re going to have to live, but I *will* have my family living in a clean, comfortable, soothing, and inviting home, dadgummit!
Once I get an idea of what kind of housing we’ll be in, I need to figure out a way to effectively create my own space, keep other family members (and the required military/social visitors) from encroaching upon it, and scheduling time for myself to spend in it, seeing creative ideas come to fruition. Until then, I’ll continue to explore, collect ideas and a few bits and bobs and inevitably, see what happens after this Bordertown’s windy season.
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Here are some blogs I’ve recently been enjoying:
Sally Jean: I love her charms- so sweet!
Cari Kraft’s What Should We Make Today: Creative banners appeal to the teacher AND mom in me…
And if you need a good laugh or a “saucy” story, get your fix over at Bloggedy-Blog-Blog.
Don’t forget our soldiers this Valentine’s Day (or ever!)- An Army Wife’s Life has posted links and ideas about cards and care packages for soldiers and veterans. Even if you miss Valentine’s Day, remember it’s never “too late” to show our soldiers how much you care- even plain ol’ Tuesday is a holiday when an unexpected care package with goodies and treats or a “thinking about you” card or letter is received.
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Please vote. Before you do, please think. Think about something deeper and more relevant than gender or race. Thanks.
Murky Monday
Though it’s a bit of a murky Monday, today has still been rather productive. Laundry is just about done, the kitchen is clean, February decor is up (photos on a sunnier day), and one baby blanket is on its way to its new owner.
I still need to make “thank you” cookies for my daughter’s friend today. With her help during the “ball experiment,” our girl managed to produce a science report that has earned a presentation slot at the district Science Fair held on the college campus here in town. Yay! Internet Hoax Cookies will work wonderfully, remember those? If you haven’t tried the recipe, file it away for a rainy day- it is actually *quite* good!
Don’t forget Show and Share Thursday this week- if you have a collection, idea, recipe or blog posting from your own site that you’d like to share, send it to me by Wednesday evening via comments or directly at michaelek1(at)yahoo(dot)com and I’ll include your submission with my own posting.
Hope your week has gotten off to a great start! Cookie time!
Giveaway Winner!
Dear Daughter drew a winner:
Congratulations Shauna!
Thank you to all who entered by commenting or emailing me last week- the excitement of today’s drawing is what got us through the misery of our colds!
Many thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts and encouragement- I’m so looking forward to reaching the next blog milestone (when/what is that, exactly?) and of course, thinking up something new for my next giveaway!
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