Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you and your loved ones a Happy New Year! Have fun and be safe!

I'll be spending tonight with dear friends just down the street. Yay for being within walking distance!

6

New Year's Resolution

I'm linking up with A Teacher's Treasure and writing down my New Year's Resolution.

Personal:

1. Continue going strong with WW and keep losing that weight! 25 pounds down so far!

2. Learn to not sweat the small stuff. I know I shouldn't but I still do!

3. Spend more time with my Bible.

Professional:

1. Continue searching for a full time job and not give up.

2. Keep gathering ideas and writing them down.

10

Book Talk

 Warning...this may be a long post lol. My godparents always give me a book for Christmas and it's generally Christmas related. My godmother told me that this year, it was a little bit different but she didn't want to say anything more.

Upon opening it Christmas morning, my mouth dropped and tears sprang to my eyes. The book is called Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. The reason for my reaction is that a few weeks ago at my friend Tony's funeral, the Father was talking about that book and I had put it on my "to read" list. Definitely something special going on here! Oh Tony would have got a kick out of that for sure (he loved to read and write things).

This book is about a boy who went to heaven and he shares his experiences with his family and friends. Oh boy did this book get me thinking. One thing that struck me were the correlations between this book and teaching, for me at least.

There was a helpless situation in this book and sometimes I see pain in kids' eyes in the class and I'm helpless in these cases too. Some of the time I can fix the problems, but there are some that I can't do anything as a sub or as a teacher.

Another correlation is that anger solves nothing. Sometimes I get mad or upset with how a student is behaving when I know they can be so much better. But I never show it because there is no good in getting angry with a kid. For some kids, it adds fuel to the fire and they rebel more. I've found that if I get eye level and talk calmly, things diffuse pretty quickly. Same applies to life. Sure in the spur of the moment it might feel good to yell, but does it solve anything? Nope.

This book also made me just think, with the talk about everyone bathed in light and having wings, to the colors in Heaven, Armageddon, and us looking young when we are there. The author mentions his son sees loved ones in Heaven. How great will that be, getting there and having your family waiting?

This book had me look at the connections to it in my life. Colors and rainbows are a topic in the book that I have a connection with. On the day I found out my great-grandma had passed away, I saw a rainbow shortly after, as if it was her way of saying goodbye. She's my Uroma, my German great-grandma, so I saw her not as much as I would have liked to, but we had a special connection.

Or the power of prayer. The boy in the story needs a lot of prayer and the power of it is a miracle. I've seen what the power of prayer can do. My aunt and uncle prayed a lot after my cousin's accident. And just when they were praying about life support, her pulse slowed til it stopped, answering for them.

And my mom's friend's niece. Baby girl who needed a liver transplant and was very close to dying. She got part of her mom's liver (the mom is thankfully tiny and so the liver piece was compatible) and now she's looking so good and getting strong!

Or the most powerful miracle I can think of, which is the chief of police, a friend, surviving after the bank bombing. So much prayer went to him and by all means he should have died. I went to the hospital frequently and I still remember the day that I was in there in ICU watching him, and a friend of ours began playing music on the guitar. Scott started twitching. Oh we all started crying, even the guard on duty!


One last thought, and that is  Jesus is a teacher. If He is our teacher, then we are the students. We still have so much to learn!

I really enjoyed this book and boy did it make me have more questions. I would recommend this book, for sure!

13

Time Out Tuesday: 11 in '11

I normally have an insipirational quote or little saying for Time Out Tuesday, but I saw this linky party on Miss Kindergarten's blog and thought it kind of tied in, seeing how it's reflecting on the past year.

I decided to use most of her prompts, but you can make your own. And she said to add pictures if possible :)

11. Favorite book you've read:

I just finished reading a two part series that two sisters wrote after hiking the Appalachian Trail and back again. Pretty inspiriational! Southbound and then the other is Walking Home by Susan and Lucy Letcher.

10. Favorite TV series:

I can't pick just one...it's going to have to be Glee and New Girl.

9. Favorite song:

Have to say if I need a dance moment, I love Party Rock Anthem.

8. Favorite new thing you tried:

Butternut squash! Totally rocks my world and I had some last night :)

7. Favorite gift you got:

This year...hmmm well I think I'm going to have to say it's probably a book that my godparents gave me, Heaven is for Real.  I actually was planning on talking about it tomorrow on my blog :)

6. Favorite thing you pinned:

Oh geeze. So many. Crayon melt art...or button letter. Or ornament garland.

5. Favorite blog post:

Hmm looks like you all really liked one of my Pinterest ones and close to 1,500 views of my Sunday, Sunday post.
4. Best accomplishment:

Losing 25 pounds the last couple months. It's a lot of work but worth it and I'm still going!

3. Favorite picture:

I have two! My cat and the beach. The cat pic totally describes my cat :)

I love the beach and this pic makes me happy!

2. Favorite memory:

Hmm, I have so many this year. From the fun in the classrooms, to Christmas and being added to TBA!!! Maybe the week I spent in Las Vegas with my Oma from Germany and the moment we stood together overlooking the Grand Canyon.

1. Goal for 2012:

I'd say find my own classroom, but it's slim pickings again, so I'm going to say: To be positive and optimistic, no matter what the outcome.

13

Did You Survive?

Did everyone survive Christmas? Are you stuffed full of food and surrounded by wrapping paper and toys?
It didn't take long for me to recover and guess what...the tree is down and out already! Still have decorations around and the lights on the house though. I am happy with what I got, mostly things I asked for. I'm excited that I got two memory sticks because with all the stuff I'm downloading from these blogs, I want to back them up!

Christmas Eve was at my grandparents' house and everyone showed up. It was pretty pleasant (no family drama today!). Lots of pictures too. And I may or may not have started a wrapping paper ball fight that my cousins and dad and aunt and uncle were involved in :) It was so much fun though and my cousin (ack she's 13 now!) told me that was pretty awesome.

We don't really give each other presents now, just the 13 and unders and there are only 4 of them. But the grandparents get stuff and the couples usually give each other wine. But my aunt really wanted to give us stuff and besides the card and a little spending money my grandparents give everyone, I was pleasantly surprised with a candle and lotion from my aunt. I wasn't expecting anything!

And everyone looks forward to when someone leaves (this is not in a mean way) because there is a large window in the living room and when you leave, you 'go down the elevator/stairs'. It's hilarious. The person out side walks forward but slowly goes lower to the ground. This used to stump my two littlest cousins forever. They really thought that stairs appeared! My only boy cousin didn't do the stairs this year, instead he moonwalked!

Ever since my grandparents moved into this house about seven years ago, we've tried to adjust to it. But it's still not quite like their first house, the one we had so many memories in. We try to create new memories in this house together. We've lost my cousin, but have gained a new one. I've come to realize that even though you have made memories in a house, it's the people that make them and not the house.  Treasure all the memories you create!

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Wishing You All..

I'm wishing you all a safe and merry Christmas! Enjoy this time with friends and family! As I sit here typing this, I think about how my greatest gift this year has been the blogging world and TBA. New friends are such a wonderful thing! It's such a pleasure 'working' with all of you and getting great ideas, and most importantly getting to chat with all of you. We have a wonderful support system :)

Tonight I'll be with my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and parents. It's not often that we are ALL together with our busy lives, so it's a gift in itself.

Have a merry Christmas everyone!

 

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Christmas Survey

As I sit here waiting for the insurance dude to come check out my car,  I decided I'd do the Christmas Survey that Kristin at A Teeny Tiny Teacher did the other day :)


1.  Wrapping paper or gift bags?It depends on the gift. I will use wrapping paper 95% of the time. But if it's a ball or a large item, then the gift bag.
2.  Real tree or artificial?
Real. That's what I had for the most part growing up and then my mom's allergies got bad and so we had an artificial one. But nothing beats the smell of the pine tree :) (Well except baked goods!)

3  When do you put up the tree?
Generally the weekend or next weekend after Thanksgiving.

4.  When do you take the tree down?
Whenever it happens. Usually by the first week of January.

5.  Do you like eggnog?
Sad story :( I LOVE eggnog. But a few years ago, whenever I drank it, it didn't love me. So now I'm on a mission to try to make my own and see if that helps.

6.  Favorite gift received as a child?
Hmmm. I am not sure. Probably something Barbie related.

7.  Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. I have a small jade set. Can't wait til I get a bigger one though. Growing up, we had one that had moss on the manger and everything. I loved it so much.

8.  Hardest person to buy for?
My mom. Every year! She doesn't really need/want anything she says. And if she does, she goes out and buys it. This year, most of the stuff that she's getting she knows because she picked it out *sigh* But her stocking stuffers will all be surprises for her. And I got her a scarf, but she doesn't know what it looks like hehe.

9.  Easiest person to buy for?
My dad. He's into guns, history, war stuff, BBQing, and the Dallas Cowboys. So it is really easy to get Dvds, books, and Cowboy related merchandise.

10.  Mail or email Christmas cards?
I love Christmas cards. I've got a dozen hanging right now, some on the table, and just got one yesterday with the yearly letter of what's going on in their life.

11.  Worst gift you ever received?
Hah, that would be from my grandparents and one year they gave all of us grandkids a  toothbrush. Yeah, gee thanks :)
12.  Favorite Christmas movie?
 I can't pick just one! Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Kranks (I love the book too), Christmas Story, and any of the old Christmas cartoons.

13.  When do you start shopping for Christmas?
When I can :) I have no set date but I usually get the stuff in December.

14.  Ever recycled a present?
Actually, I don't think I have.

15.  Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My grandma's peanut butter popcorn, date bars, and oatmeal cookies. We only get them at Christmas.

16.  Clear lights or colored lights on a tree?
Clear on the tree !
17.  Favorite Christmas song?
Ummmmmm I can't pick one, there are too many! I love Christmas Canon, Jingle Bell Rock, and lots more :) I started listening the day after Thanksgiving and listen every day!

18.  Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Christmas Eve is at the grandparent's house and we all go there. Christmas day is with my parents.

19.  Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes I can!
20.  Angel or star on top of the tree?
Angel.  Though maybe one day there may be a star :)
21.  Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas Day, but we get to open presents on Christmas Eve at the grandparents' house.
22.  Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The crowds and the nasty people.
23.  Favorite ornament, theme, or color?
Favorite ornament is a red tricyle I got at a Christmas tree farm when I was six.
24.  What do you want for Christmas?
There is nothing I really need/want. I just want to be with my family and listen to Christmas music and laugh. But if I have to pick something...an iPhone ( I have a smart phone, but would love an iPhone).

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Cricut Anyone?

I love my Cricut!  And for those of you who don't know what it is (you really should know!), no it's not an insect or the game you play :)  It's basically an electronic die cut machine that does most of the work for you!

This is my first Christmas with a Cricut and I wish I had it last year at this time! It has made my life a lot easier, truly. I've made a few Christmas Cards with it. But my favorite thing so far is the Christmas gift tags. I bought Christmas paper at Michaels when they had them 1/2 priced.  I cut out small, medium, and a few big tags. Love them!

Little blurry pics from my phone, but here they are:

It makes the hole, so I just added ribbon :)

Big green tag and medium white tag.

I love that you can adjust the sizes to what you want. It worked perfectly! This is just one of the many things you can make/do with a Cricut :)

*I am not promoting or working for Cricut. This is just my opinion of my Cricut machine :)

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Wonderful Wednesday

Late but better than never! Took a random, spur of the moment road trip to the beach! It's about 2 hours or 2 and 1/2, depending which city I choose. I chose the closer one today.

Let me tell you, it was soooo nice to get away for the day. The valley was socked in with clouds/fog. The coastal range was decent. And then I saw it. Something I haven't seen in a week or more. The sun! It was glorious!

I walked on the beach and took pics of Bailey Bear (traveling bear). I looked for glass sea floats, but saw none. And then went shopping at the outlet mall there (yeah I know I have the largest outlet in Oregon 10 minutes from my house, but is it at the beach? No!)

I SCORED. Really. I scored. I got a dress that was marked WAY down. And when she rang it up, it was 3 dollars less than it said. I got it for $3.47. A dress. A NICE dress! And I got a tank top for under $3 and a shirt for $4. Love Old Navy!

That's all I got for you today :) Oh and some pics of course!

Bailey and me basking in the sun!

It says Oregon :)

This just makes me happy :)

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Time Out Tuesday: The Power of a Smile

There will always be one or two trying kids in every classroom ( or even more than a few). But how you present yourself and act with them will mean more than what you say sometimes.

One such case this year. I'll call him Max.  Max comes from a tough family life. He's being raised by his grandma. His siblings also have behavior problems. I don't know what I did or said, but Max really likes me. To the fact that I'm the only sub that he listens to.

I was subbing for the English portion of the kids' day and my friend was subbing next door for the Spanish part. I had Max all morning and had no problems at all. We switched classes for the day and he ran from her three times.  The next week I was back and he was fine, but ran for a different substitute. 

Now the teacher requests me if she can because she knows he will obey me. She asked me what I did with him to make him loyal to me. The only thing I can think of is that I smile at all the kids, greet each kid as they come in the classroom, and if I'm frustrated, I talk in a firm but low voice (if I remember to!)

I've caught Max smiling on occasion in the class, especially this last week when we had Christmas presents going and Christmas music playing. I was laughing as I helped kiddos. A safe and warm environment is what they have in that classroom, something stable. Something he doesn't get at home.

But Max knows he'll get a smile from me. And sometimes, that is all he needs. Because a smile from someone generally makes you smile and can make your day brighter This quote is very fitting:

They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carol Buchner

6

Baking Fool

Today is a new day! Shoulder is feeling much better. Haven't heard from her insurance yet though.

I decided to be a baking fool today. Tonight's my wrapping party (I saw a teacher, sitting on a bleacher....wrong kind of rap ...) and it should be so much fun. I was told to bring whatever drink I wanted and everything else is provided (well you have to bring the presents you want to wrap, though wouldn't that be nice if they were provided?).

I thought it would be nice to bake some cookies. I made raspberry bars, caramel cookies, and spice kiss cookies.

Spice kiss cookies and raspberry bars(minus powdered sugar)

1/2 of the caramel cookies

I'll give you guys the recipe for the spice cookies because I loved those the best, though the raspberry ones are really good! The caramel is ok...my dad really liked them though :)

Spiced Kisses:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 3 large baking sheets with nonstick foil. Unwrap 56 milk chocolate Kisses.

Spread 1/4 cup sugar on plate. Knead 1(16 1/2 oz) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, 2 TBsp all-purposed flour, 2 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa in large bowl until blended.

Form dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 16 balls on 1 baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are puffed and just set in center, 9 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack. Gently press 1 chocolate kiss in center of each cookie; cool 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; cool until chocolate is firm, 1 hour. Repeat with remaining cookies and chocolate kisses.

*Serves 56



7

Slammin' Sunday

Ok, I'm still a bit rattled. Sunday is supposed to be a nice calming day. I slept in and had a lazy morning. My plan for today was to make 4 different kinds of cookies for tomorrow night's present wrapping party.

I thought I had all the ingredients but saw I needed more butter (sounds like a Paula Deen quote!) and frozen raspberries. So I made a quick list and headed off to Wally World.

I get in the parking lot and am on the main stretch when I see a white car NOT slowing down on one of the side rows. I honk my horn but alas it is for nothing as she slams into my car. And I mean slam. Like T-boned.

I'm shaking and my heart is pounding. But somehow, out of instinct, I wrote down her license plate. Yeah usually not the first thing you think of, but I am thinking it has to do with my dad's line of work as a cop lol.

And the first thing I ask her is if she had insurance. She said yes and asked if I was ok. And then I called the parents as she wrote down her info. Overhearing, she offered to stay as they came to check on me.Waiting in the car, I posted on FB. A minute later, a dear friend texted me asking if she could do anything for me. And I had an outpouring from friends. Gotta say I have good ones!

So tomorrow I take in my car to get it checked out. Gotta say it's not how I exactly planned the start to my Christmas vacation! But I'm alright, just a sore shoulder from tensing up and shaken nerves. And a hurt car.

Dented

Even the wheel!

8

Friday Night Fun at Walmart

Oh boy last night was just what I needed to kick off Christmas Break! I went out with some friends and my mom (hey, she's a cool  mom lol) and we went to a friend's house as a gathering point. Then we decided where to go eat and if we wanted to eat in town or go out of town. There were xis of us, including me.

We decided on going to Elmer's in town because the fog was really coming in and we wanted to be safe. We carpooled in two cars and off we went. Had a great time eating with them, chatting, and the area we were in was playing 80's music so we were singing too :)

Then two of them decided to go home after Elmer's but my mom, myself and two other friends that carpooled with us wanted to go to Walmart, aka Wally World lol and so we went there. We swear we saw a guy shoplifting a tv. He emptied out his cart, nothing in bags, until all he had was the tv. So there we stood in  a huddle, whispering and watching. The lady at the door stopped and checked his receipt and we for sure thought he'd be caught, but she let him go. Suspicious!

**Female stuff alert lol* Then we went to go look at Ah bras, that we've seen on tv. Well we were going to look at it until we saw a man standing in front of it and he actually went and got one! We're hoping it's for his wife :)

Then we went to the toy aisle and pushed all the buttons on toys. My pregger friend was freaked out about the Fidjit toy but we were laughing so hard. She says she wants no loud toys, so the three of us stared at her and smiled because that wasn't a good thing to say to us...wonder who will be getting loud toys at the baby shower? I won't be that mean :)

And our last stop was the Christmas section. We hit the motherload of dancing/singing/noise making toys there! Things were bopping, dancing, singing, moving, and shaking. A kid was staring at us and my friend laughed and said, "It's ok, we're all adults." He literally ran off and we started laughing (or as one of our guy friends says, cackling). We started to leave when we saw the kid come back with a store employee lol. She followed us for a bit with a stink eye glare.

We laughed all the way home. She probably thought we were nuts or maybe drunk (yeah on water and Diet Pepsi!) but seriously, it was a cheap night of fun, food, and friends.

Please tell me you or someone you know pushes buttons to make the toys go! I know my mom and I love it but I'm so excited to know that my two friends with us enjoy it as much as we do too!

2

Easy Taco Soup Recipe!

My freebie for you today is a taco soup recipe I discovered (probably from Pinterest lol). I made it last night and my parents got some too and they LOVED it! My dad was raving about it on Facebook even lol.

Here's a secret: It's super EASY! But hey, why tell anyone that you make it for that it is? Let them think you slaved over it :)

Ingredients

---

• 1 lb. ground turkey or lean beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (1 oz.) package hidden valley ranch dressing mix
• 1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning Mix
• 1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans
• 1 (16 oz) can chili beans (either hot or regular)
• 1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (8 oz) can Mexican-style tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can diced tomatoes (any flavor)

Brown meat & onions and drain.

Mix Ranch & Taco seasonings into meat.

Add rest of ingredients, undrained to mixture.

Simmer 1 hour.

Here it is, ready to simmer!

You can add sour cream, cheese, or green onions to the top. I opted for sour cream and cheese. It's yummy, delcious, and looks fantastic. And most of all, easy!

5

Productive Day!

Wow I was productive today and it's only 2:30 pm (PST lol). I woke up early like I do every day in case I get called. But once 8 am came around, I was pretty sure I was in the clear. So I sat down and wrote two shopping lists. One for the grocery store and one for the outlet mall to try to finish my Christmas shopping.

I brought along a little pal, Bailey Bear to the outlet mall for some pictures.

Bailey waving hi. See the Christmas tree in the back? Supposedly the tallest decorated Christmas tree in Oregon.

Bailey Bear is travelling around the world *started in UK* and I got him a few days ago. Whomever has him takes pictures around where they live and any attractions, etc. He gets shipped to the next person on the list. When he's finished, he'll have gone from the UK to Canada, to the USA, Australia, and New Zealand and back to UK where his family is. This all started through friends I made on a game on Facebook where I became a moderator of the forum (which I'm no longer a mod, but 2 years was awesome for friend making!).These are the same people I did an ornament exchange with the last two years :)

Anyway, I could go off and I should focus back on this lol. So I did get some little Christmas stuff but feel like I still need more for my mom. Dad is taken care of. And I won't post what I got for mom in case she wanders on to my blog *waves hi to mom!*

Then I got groceries. I also got the making for a taco soup for tonight. And for the ingredients for 4  cookie recipes I'm making for Christmas. I plan on bringing them possibly to a gift wrapping party on Monday. We bring our presents and anything else we want, and she'll provide snacks and some wrapping paper and tape. Sounds like fun right? I've never been to one and it looks like I'll be able to make it :)

And not so fun, gassed up my car. It went down a little bit at $3.49 a gallon. In Oregon, we don't pump our own gas, so I don't know what the prices are like around the US and if this is reasonable or not lol.

And tomorrow, I'm going to a friend's house and then we are going out somewhere and it should be about 6 of us friends altogether. What a way to kick of Christmas break!

I really want to open the one present under the tree...lol. It's from my godparents and they give me a book every year (since I was 1!). And it's always a Christmas related book. I've gotten The Polar Express, Christmas with the Kranks, and a few others. But my godmother (who is also my aunt) who is a retired teacher, laughed as she told me this year it isn't Christmas related, but it is teacher related. Now she's got me curious!

Bailey Bear is curious too! No peeking!



0

Wacky Wednesday

Wacky Wednesday is what some of the kiddos in the district I sub for call our Wednesdays because they are wacky due to late start. So the schedule is shortened/rearranged/askew/crazy!

I made my copies, free handed a gingerbread man and a gingerbread house in case I ran out of things to do and they could color them (they're first graders). Then the teacher next door, who teaches the Spanish part, threw my morning schedule out as we brought both classes together and  finished stuff and started on an art/Christmas project.

Guys, I wish could have taken a picture, but we were sooooo busy! They took a pine tree branch and dipped the tip in green paint and smacked (yes SMACKED) the paper. In the afternoon they were going to take a fir branch and dip it in red paint and smack on top. Instant wrapping paper! And they learned the difference between the two kind of trees!

Then we raced to specials, then I raced them to lunch, then raced to teach ELD, and then the afternoon kinda went downhill a bit. There were a few meltdowns and tears. So I had to use bribery. I don't always use bribery, but for my sanity, I needed it.

My Oma from Germany sent little bitty chocolates to use for any class I wanted and I figured this was most likely the last day I would sub before winter break. So I used my little chocolates as bribes. I heard myself telling them, "If you are good the rest of the day, you get one."

Well you would think that would help right? Wrong. Had four kiddos who didn't get one at the end of the day and afore mentioned meltdown, well one of the meltdowners had another meltdown about not getting candy. Forget about me telling him I set them aside for the teacher to give tomorrow if he is good, he wanted it NOW. Sheesh. So there are four candies on the teacher's desk for them if they are good tomorrow. Do you know how hard it was for me not to give them to those kiddos? In the past I would have, but seriously, had to be FIRM with them.

Two more days, two more days! Then it's break. And Friday I'm going out with some friends. One of them REALLY needs a pick-me-up so this should help I hope :) Counting down the days!

Oh and I have 50 followers...wooohoo! I'm thinking maybe a gift card for when I get 100. Or maybe I'll make something special :)

4

Time Out Tuesday: Optimism

I think I've shared this before, but teachers always ask how I can be so optimistic and smiling, even after a tough day. Often I just shrug and smile, not really saying how. Because I have never really thought why I can still be optimistic on a bad day.

Today was tough (growling kinder class) but I was optimistic because it was only a half day. And I am looking forward to tomorrow in a sweet first grade class. And I just found out my 1/2 day tomorrow is a full day.

But this Tuesday started off 100% better than last Tuesday. I was in giggles this morning before leaving the house because I was yelling in the cupboards only to realize what I was looking for I had already put out on the counter.  Struck me funny and I burst out laughing.

So I leave you with a quote about optimism.

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

4

What is a hero?

To me, a hero is a person that inspires others to do their best. A person that goes the extra mile, but thinks nothing of it. Some one willing to help others for no reason.

We lost two heroes three years ago today on 12-12-08. My bank had a bomb and it went off killing Captain Thomas Tennant and Oregon State Bomb Technician William Hakim.  I didn't know Trooper Hakim, but I knew Tom.

Tom loved his community. He loved his church, his wife, his kids, and helping others. Tom helped with food drives and pancake breakfasts. He was truly involved in the community. Tom is my hero. And now my hero is watching me from up above in heaven. I still hear his laugh though!

It was Tom that told my Dad to take the night off. My dad should have been working and it could have been my Dad killed. Instead, it was my Dad talking on the news and on the tv and in the papers, talking about our hero Tom.

And this picture says it best:

4

Liebster Loving

I know, I'm breaking the rule about not posting a blog more than once a day, but I got an award lol :)

Stacy from 2nd Grade Paradise awarded me with the Liebster Award!

The goal of the award is to spotlight up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.
The rules are:

*copy and paste the award on your blog

*thank the giver and link back to them

*reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
hope that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers
My top 5 are:

-Terri's Teaching Treasures
-Teaching Tales
-Teaching Fashionista
-Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures
-Chickadee Jubilee

Whew, it was kind of hard to find 5 because most everyone I follow has over 200 lol :)

5