Holidays

I could go on and on about how much I LOVE holidays!!! I love the decorations, the "hype" at all the stores, planning special things to do on each holiday, etc. However, if you know my mom, then you should know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! She is definitely a celebrator of ALL things! I think that is a good thing, though :) I often get some eye-rolling from David because he doesn't understand why we HAVE to participate in every single holiday to the fullest extent. So far, in 2010, we have celebrated Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day! I just wanted to share some pictures from these fun events because I love them sooo much! :)

This is the Valentine that I made for David. It is a bit on the ridiculous side, I am aware, but it turned out so cute!!!

Needless to say, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday! It is pretty special because this holiday is the reason David and I even began dating! I bought him in the Valentine's Auction in 10th grade in 2002 and it was a pretty good decision! Haha :) Here is a picture from that day...our very first picture together!!! Don't judge the awkwardness..we didn't even know each other! 

Moving on, we recently celebrated St. Patrick's Day. No funny stories about this holiday, though! Just some fun with green drinks! Of course, I was decked out in my green!!

Next up, Easter! Can't wait! :)

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we went on an Atlanta adventure! We had bought tickets to see Chelsea Handler with Tiffany and Ryan quite some time ago and it was FINALLY here. We always have fun Atlanta adventures with these two and this past weekend was no different!! For example, this picture is from one of our adventures last year to the King Tut Exhibit in Atlanta...

So...on to this weekend! Friday, after work, David and I took off to Atlanta and made it in time to go to dinner with Tiffany's parents! We had so much fun at Bonefish Grill! We spent most of the day Saturday shopping and saw a movie on Saturday night. We saw "Hot Tub Time Machine" and it was hilarious! I highly recommend it.

Sunday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium! David and I have been to several aquariums (yes, we are dorky!!) and this one was by far the best!!

Next up, we saw Chelsea Handler perform her stand-up comedy show!! I have been a *HUGE* Chelsea fan for about 3 years now (ever since she has been on E!) and I rarely miss "Chelsea Lately" at night! I have all of her books and basically I have a slight obsession with her. I love her sense of humor and how she always says what she is thinking! 

She was awesome and I would love to see her again!! This is her newest book that I can currently reading :)

So, basically, it was a really fun weekend!! It is so nice to get away for a few days and spend some time with close friends. Thanks for a fun weekend, Tiffany and Ryan!! 

My Classroom!!

I have officially taken over my classroom at Clay Elementary and could not be happier! Since I am replacing a teacher who has been in this room for 25 years, I had A LOT to do! She left all of her things that she did not want so I had to sort, organize, trash, etc. Also, I had to clean, clean, clean!!!  Keep in mind I only had 2 days to accomplish all of this before the students came back from Spring Break! I took all of her decorations down and put up new ones that suited the class a little better. I haven't been able to FULLY decorate because testing starts this week and there cannot be certain things on the wall. I thought I would be better off waiting to put up certain things than having to hang sheets everywhere to cover everything up!

So..here goes the "tour"! This is my bag packed the night before...my "official" teacher bag!

My director's chair...Funny story, I got this chair for Christmas when I was 10!! I wanted to be a teacher so bad, I begged my parents for a director's chair because my teacher at the time had one! So here is my chair that I have had for 14 years but finally get to use for real!!

The front board..I hung blue sparkly fabric!! 

My reading vocabulary board! We are the cougars...hence the blue paw prints! :)

My spelling board! It says "Wild About Spelling"!

The board I made to introduce myself to the students!

My mini-fridge!

The new curtains that I hung!

My lunch choice station..They put their stick in the bucket of their lunch choice!

The counter..The bulletin board is for math, but I can't put anything on it yet! After testing, it will have their "Mountain Math" daily practice on it!

My helpers chart!

One side of my room!! I love how colorful everything turned out!!

That is pretty much it for now! I will be adding more things in the next few weeks. This was just my jumping off point!!! I'll leave you with this lovely picture...me in the 4th grade!!! haha! :)

Things I'm looking forward to...

It is so important to look forward to things in life. Sometimes, the anticipation of a day, event, vacation, etc. is just as much fun as the actual thing! I LOVE to anticipate such days, events, vacations, etc!! So, in honor of that, here are a few things that I am looking forward to!

• Summer dresses! There is just something refreshing about wearing a cute dress in the summertime.  Especially with the Alabama heat/humidity, is there really any other feasible option?!  Forever 21 is my favorite place to buy them!

• Flip Flops! I love to throw on cute sandals in the summer!! What girl doesn't? Old Navy has my FAVORITE flip flops!! Not the flimsy, styrofoam looking ones, but the ones that are more rubbery and metallic! They are only $3.50, so needless to say, I've already bought 3 pairs for this year! :)

• Days on the lake! I was never much of an "outdoorsy" person growing up. My family had a condo at the beach, so we spent our summers there. I wasn't a "lake person" at ALL! However, when David and I began dating, that all changed. His family was and still are lake people! They have always had a boat and I quickly learned that maybe I, too, could be a lake person!! Last summer we spent every weekend at Logan Martin Lake with my cousin Brad and his wife Laura, who also have a boat. We made so many memories and I can honestly say I LOVE THE LAKE now!! So much, in fact, that we have already made our Memorial Day plans...yes, it is March, but we are just that excited!!! 

• Weddings! It seems like this summer is FILLED with weddings! I am in 2 and David is in 2 others. My sweet friends Whitney and Jordan are both getting married! Whitney and Will are tying the knot on June 12, 2010 and Jordan and Matt are tying the knot on July 17, 2010! David is in a wedding in May and then in August. So, we are averaging 1 wedding per month as far as being a bridesmaid and a groomsman! Not too shabby :) It is such a blessing to have wonderful friends and be able to stand with them on their special day. 

My newest adventure...

I am going to be teaching 4th grade at Clay Elementary!!! WOOHOO!!! I did a maternity leave there in January and February for a Kindergarten teacher and while I was there I was offered a spot in 4th grade! A teacher was planning on retiring in March and, of course, I accepted the position as her replacement. I have been so excited and finally had my first day on Friday, March 12. True to form, my mom took my picture of my "first day of school," a tradition that she has carried on since I was in pre-school.

Now, the kicker to it all was my first day just so happened to be "Cougar Pride" Day. Seeing as I went to Hewitt-Trussville K-12th grade, this was a bit of a challenge for me. But, thanks to my great friend Jordan, I had a Clay shirt to wear! She was so sweet to let me borrow one. I will say that I have recently ordered my first Clay shirt and it will be in next week. :) Since it was the day before Spring Break, it was kind of a crazy day, but overall it was great!

Whitney's Lingerie Shower

My mom and I hosted Whitney's lingerie shower at my house this past weekend and it was a huge success! Whitney is the type of person who appreciates everything, so throwing a party for her is such a blast! We had a beautiful spread..my mom has such a talent for arranging a table! 

We even had cute petit fors from Savage's Bakery in Homewood. They had Whitney's soon-to-be initials on them!

I got Whitney a new robe with her new initials on it as well! I love monogrammed gifts and usually always give something personalized. I think it just adds something extra! Also, what bride-to-be doesn't love seeing her new initials?!? :)

Whitney loaded up on some really great gifts. Will definitely has something to look forward to on their honeymoon!! 

But, most of all, it was a fun Saturday with the BFF's reunited!!! Since we all live in different cities now, we appreciate any time that we all 3 get to spend together! :)