04.30.09

Yucky Yellow

I'm not lying...this car was in front of me on the way home from work, and a yellow truck was behind me. It was the grossest thing ever...why in the hell would anyone want a yellow vehicle? Like, did they walk onto the lot and say "Ohh, I have to have the yellow one!"? If so, they must have a mental illness because that is the most annoying car I've ever seen...ok, well second to those mini-vans with the spinning rims. Idiots.

04.29.08

Fro Yo!

04.28.09

I *heart* Vans

This is what I wore to work today. There is nothing in our contract that specifically states a dress code...obviously we need to look decent (which is more than I can say for some teachers I've seen before). When I first started I wore jeans maybe twice a week, now I'm wearing them pretty much everyday. Life is just more comfortable in jeans...usually I dress them up with a button down shirt and nice shoes. Today I chose vans, a long sleeve shirt, and a tee shirt over that. Hair was done, makeup was done..I promise I didn't look like scum. But think about it...did any of our teachers ever dress like this when we were in school? Probably not. I guess the world is just a more relaxed (or is the word lazy?) place.

04.27.09

Fantastic Frozen Food

I absolutely hate frozen dinners. We didn't really eat them very much when I was growing up, maybe that's why. They always look good when other people are eating them, and then when I try them they taste gross. So I found a couple good ones that I genuinely like, and I pretty much stick to those. The girls at work have been eating these Healthy Choice meals and they are sooo good. It actually tasted like real food, and I was satisfied when I was done instead of being hungry after an hour.

04.26.09

Shiny New Schwinn

My birthday present from Anthony was a bike. I decided a couple months ago that I wanted one so we could go on rides together. He's had a bike for a couple years, and used to ride with a friend from work...and I would rather be outdoors for exercise instead of in a gym. We went out for about a 15 minute ride today to see if I would need a new seat..and yes, I do. A squishier one would be nice! And the gears need to be worked on (according to Anthony..I have no clue about these things). Can't wait to get out this summer and get some fresh air.

04.25.09

Pub with a Porch

Tonight we went up to Sacramento to have dinner with Tim, Annette, Ryan, Renee and Chris. Technically it was for my birthday, but also just a good excuse to all go out and have some drinks. We ate at Paesano's in Midtown, where I had a really good pasta bake...steaming hot though, my mouth is still recovering. Then we headed over to this neat little pub called Bonn Lair. It's really authentic looking, not that I've ever been to a European pub before. We scored a nice spot on the front porch, yes porch. It was nice to be able to sit by ourselves, outside and laugh as loud as we wanted to without bothering people. The whole night was a great way to spend the tail-end of my birthday....

04.24.09

Officially 26...

04.23.09

Two Unhealthy Obsessions

I would like to blame Anthony for my love of Monster energy drinks. I had never had an energy drink, and kind of was against them since I was for sure they would give you an instant heart attack. Then, last summer, one our way to a friend's lake house we stopped and I decided to indulge. Damn if it wasn't pretty tasty! I definitely don't drink them all the time, but every once in awhile I feel like I "need" one. Today, I needed one....

The next obsession would be with celebrity gossip...not really sure where this stems from, but I think my mother has something to do with it. She is the one who, when watching a tv show, will say to you "Do you know who his mother is?" or "Do you know who she was married to?" And then give you the answer, unless you already know it. I'm the same way now...I check Perez Hilton's website once a day, I read the entertainment section on MSN first, and every once in awhile I buy myself an US Weekly (because People just does not give you good dirt!). Need to know who just got married, divorced, out of rehab? I'm your girl.

04.22.09

The Last Book

The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites..I started reading them right as the first movie came out and kept up with each one as they were released. Anthony bought me the paperback box set a couple years ago, but it was missing book number 7 since it hadn't been released yet. I still haven't read it...and my mother in law bought the hardback for me a couple months ago when she saw it on sale for $5! I really need to find time to sit down and dive into the world of Harry, Hermoine and Ron....

04.21.09

I realize that I am grasping for things to take pictures of at this point...this whole "project" has made me realize how uneventful my life is during the week. Lately though I have been feeling more and more hatred toward this cell phone...it's old, out of date, scratched up from being flung around and dropped in parking lots. I was all ready to get a new one, and then we realized that my contract isn't up until October. So, Anthony and I are both waiting until then to get new phones. I'm hoping that LG NV2 is still a hot commodity...or maybe there will be an updated version by then. Either way, I'd like a texting keyboard and some better picture quality please.

04.20.09

Number One Kitchen Essential

I'm pretty sure I couldn't live without these. I wipe down the kitchen at least once a day with them, maybe more depending on what we have for dinner. I like this "flavor"...but the lemon ones are nice too. Genius invention!

04.19.09

BTSA controls my life...

This is what I worked on today, my Beginning Teacher Support and Assesment folder. All year long I've had a support provider (who I love!) helping me perfect my teaching skills and observing my lessons. My final task is to collect "evidence" of my teaching...and it's broken up into different catergories (ELL student work, technology, student learning and safety, etc.). Technically, I only have to turn in two folders at the end of this year, but since I'm ahead of the game I'm going to have someone sign off on two more tomorrow. This is all going to allow me to clear my credential, which helps when being tenured and getting better pay. That is if the state of California ever needs teachers again....

04.18.09

Fiesta!

My brother came over for dinner tonight....he made the margaritas and I made tacos. I set up a sweet little taco bar, but after we went through the first time I realized I forgot the sour cream and taco sauce. Tim and Anthony went for the double decker tacos, flour tortilla with queso dip and then the crunchy taco inside. We played BurnOut on the PS2, which is the best thing ever. It's a driving game where you just go around crashing into things, and then it adds up the amount of damage you've done in dollars. Genius! Later, Tim rocked the mic on RockBand while I played some sick beats on the drums.

04.17.09

Mmmm....Fondue

My parents got us a gift card to The Melting Pot for Christmas, and we finally got around to using it tonight. We made reservations and got more dressed up than we normally would for dinner. They sat us at a cozy little table for two and then the decision making started. We got the Big Night Out, a four course meal that starts with the cheese, then salad, a main dish and finally dessert. The cheese was Italian-like, the salad was my favorite walnut/gorgonzola with raspberry vinaigrette. Our main dish had filet mignon, chicken, shrimp and pork....it was all delicious, minus the horseradish cocktail sauce that demolished my sense of smell. Our dessert was the best thing ever, milk chocolate and crunchy peanut butter with all sorts of awesome things to dip in it. We've never spent two hours eating dinner before, but we wouldn't mind doing it again if it means we get to eat like that!

04.16.09

A Community Comes Together

04.15.09

All fixed up...

I finally have my car back after it being in the shop since Friday. It just needed some routine maintenance, but not being able to drive it made me realize how much I like my little car. I wish it wasn't 10 years old and I wish it didn't need a paint job, but it's a good car.

04.14.09

Bath Time for Baby

Today I went shopping for my co-worker's baby shower, which is this Saturday. I decided to go for a bath time theme and get soap, lotion, hooded towels, washcloths and a portable bathtub. She knows she is definitely having a girl, so that's why everything is pink. I think I'm going to wrap it all up with cellophane and a big pink bow...themed gifts are always fun!

04.13.09

French Feet

Had lunch with Renee today...and then we indulged in pedicures. My first of the sunny weather season! It really is the best thing in the world to sit in a comfy chair and have someone massage your feet, and then paint them way prettier than you ever could. It was really nice to just sit and talk while being pampered. Oh, and I actually found something at Chipotle that I like! Thanks to Whitney for giving me the chicken burrito bowl idea, it was pretty delicious.

04.12.09

Happy Easter!!

04.11.09

"in the center of the ring...just like a circus"

Annette and I went to the Britney Spears concert tonight, making up for when we bought tickets the last time she was on tour and canceled right before she made her way through Sacramento. I'm pretty sure the circus performers were the best part of the show...it made up for the fact that Britney Spears doesn't actually know how to sing. Something about going to a concert and just listening to what sounds exactly like the CD is not too entertaining to me. The Pussycat Dolls opened up the show though, and they did a really good job..and actually sang live!

04.10.09

Martha Stewart would be proud!

My mom saw this neat way to dye eggs while watching Martha Stewart. Using a piece of silk (we found silk ties at the Goodwill, and cut them up) you wrap it around an uncooked egg, using a twist tie to secure it. Then, take a peice of white cloth (we used squares cut from a pillowcase) and wrap that over the silk, using another twist tie to secure. Add vinegar to boiling water, and boil the eggs for 10-12 minutes...more vinegar is better, it helps the colors bleed. Once the eggs are boiled, gently take the cloth and silk off.

Using really colorful silk is the best thing...we used paisley print, flowered and smiley face ties. They turned out really neat looking and it was waay easier (and less smelly) than using the boxed dye from the grocery store. Let me know if you try it!!

04.09.09

Moving Out...

The mama cat decided to move her little family from our patio. We woke up today and they were all gone...kind of sad, kind of relieved. They were super cute, but I don't think either one of us really wanted to take care of them all. Hopefully they moved on to somewhere safe!

04.08.09

Snuggle Time

Anthony got off early today, so he was home when I got home from work. He took some stuff out to the balcony and while he was out there I heard him say, "You might want to come see this!" You may remember a little furry friend peeking it's head into our window last week...so I figured there was another cat out there. I was half right...there was a momma cat, and THREE babies. She snuggled them into the space in between our apartment and the storage box we have out there.

I am definitely not a cat person, but I felt a little responsible since she apparently thinks our home is comfortable enough to raise her children. I opened a can of tuna, and after we backed off, the mom ate like she hadn't eaten in days. Anthony thinks they are about a week old, so we'll see what happens. I really don't want a pet, but I also don't want dead kittens on my balcony...so I'll keep checking on them until she decided to move along.

04.07.09

This has seriously never happened to me before, but tonight Anthony realized that we are completely out of toilet paper. How does that happen? I'm actually kind of embarrassed. Being a grown up is seriously demanding sometimes!

04.06.09

We've got spirit...Yes we do

The stick is done being painted, and it turned out just like I planned..half red, half blue. The bling is only on the blue side, while the red side is going to have silver ribbon wound around it to represent an American flags stripes. Then, I found our school logo online and printed it out....that will get added to the top of the stick so everyone can clearly tell whose being represented.

This was pretty much a team effort, with Anthony giving me ideas the entire time. Since the stick is actually PVC pipe, he even built me this crazy contraption to hold it up while I painted it. All of this made me realize one thing...our kids are going to have some kick ass school projects to turn in when the time comes!

04.05.09

She's Crafty...

Somehow I got roped in to decorating the Relay for Life spirit stick for our school's team. This is the stick each person will hold as they walk around the track, as a way to represent their team. It actually works out nicely, because I'll be out of town the weekend of the event..so this way I feel like I'm participating. I'm painting it with our school colors (red, white and blue) and adding some bling to make it sparkle...and got some flack from Anthony, who felt sorry for the guys who have to hold it while they walk. No worries though, I'm adding a "strong" American Eagle (our mascot) to balance out the girlyness. More to come....

04.04.09

Pow! Bang! Wham!

After a day of bridesmaid dress shopping with the girls, I came home and spent a night in playing this game with my husband. We really liked the Star Wars version, but Batman is now my total favorite!! I get to be Robin, who does some pretty cool backflips and can walk on a tightrope...he was in the circus ya know. I will admit that I feel like a complete nerd playing this game, but it's pretty much the only video game I'm good at which makes me feel like a winner.

04.03.09

Friday Morning Commute

My commute to work is normally pretty quick, it takes me about 30 minutes to get from my apartment to school. On most days, the lanes of Interstate 5 merging into Interstate 205 are a complete mess...which makes me laugh at all the suckers who have to sit in traffic, while I happily pass by and take the next exit. This picture shows you what a Friday morning looks like...all lanes totally clear. Goodbye work week, Hello weekend!

04.02.09

The Bunny Trail

This week I changed our bulletin board to show off the student's Easter projects. They have decorated eggs (if you look close enough, you can see their egg shapes are a little off)...and they wrote stories about what they would do if they had a bunny. I made an Easter basket, complete with green paper grass for the eggs to sit in...and then made a little trail for the bunny's to hop down. Normally, our bulletin board is just papers stapled in a pattern... so my co-teacher was pretty impressed with my creativity. Decorating the classroom is one of my favorite things about being a teacher!

04.01.09

Not Karaoke...CARDI-oke!

So, the clothes are getting a little tight and I absolutely refuse to buy new clothes in a bigger size. FitnessTV On Demand is awesome, I save money by not paying for a gym membership and I can workout in the comfort of my own living room. Today I discovered Cardioke, which is hosted by Billy Blanks, Jr. (his dad invented TaeBo). It sounds really lame and corny, but it's really fun...the workouts are more like dance steps, and they play good music for you to sing along to. Apparently, singing while you workout burns more calories...but it also leaves you totally out of breath on your first go. I plan on making this a daily routine, so hopefully I start seeing some results.