Mantle Project

Hi all!  I've been getting a lot of flack from some friends for not writing more lately.  I've been meaning to, pretty much every weekend, but it just seems like things got crazy busy!  The biggest reason for being so busy is that I got a second job.  I just don't make a ton of money being a teacher so I interviewed and was hired by Kohl's department store as a seasonal employee!  I was actually really excited and was placed in the jewelry department.  I love the people I work with and the company is extremely family oriented and places high value on customer and associate satisfaction.  The only bad thing is I was working 3 days a week, on top of teaching.  Talk about tired and extra stress!  Now since the holidays are over, I'm working less and breathing more.  And, able to write a blog post!


I grew up the country and my mom and dad had an old pump shed that housed their water pump.  If the weather ever got extremely cold, sometimes the pump would freeze and we'd have no water in the house.  So, my parents finally decided that since the shed was falling apart, they would bury the pump and demolish the shed.  I helped a little with the demo (yay for swinging hammers and crowbars and attaching tow ropes around walls and pulling them out with a car!) and noticed they had a few windows in tact sitting off to the side.  My mom said she didn't know what to do with them but it seemed a shame to throw them out.  I jumped at the chance and asked if she'd keep them for me since I knew I could do something with them (and that the shed had lots of memories from my childhood, including one with cleaning, swimming, and bees...my mom's favorite story to tell!).  She said sure and put them in a safe spot in our barn.  I took the smaller one with bigger "windows" home a week later to ruminate on its possibilities!

My window!

I was cruising around Pinterest and saw this pretty window frame with a picture behind it.  I liked how the frame looked shabby chic but I didn't want just one big picture.  I have a lot of 4x6 pictures in an album from our wedding.  I don't have a lot of frames to display them and while they're nice in an album, I really love our pictures and want people to be able to appreciate them!  I wanted them suspended so I thought about how I wanted to do that inside each smaller frame.  I decided on clear photo corners from Hobby Lobby.


First, I chose all the photographs I wanted in the window.

  I then laid them out on the back of the window, using a ruler and a dry erase marker to mark exactly where I wanted them to be.  I then grabbed my clear photo corners and started carefully sticking them on!  It was hard to get a good picture of them but here's what I got.

 

 Photo corners :)

Since I had already set the photos where I wanted them, it was just a matter of sticking the photos in each set of photo corners!  Easy peasy.

Voila!  All finished.  :)  

The kitten was decidedly interested in the mantlepiece and got in my pictures.  :)

I set it up on my mantle and was thoroughly pleased with the result.  I love that all of my favorite pictures are up on display.  Everyone who comes over seems to really like it!  I hope you do too!

 Normal decorations

Christmas decorations!

It was super easy to make!  Hope it helps you get some creative juices going.  Have a wonderful day!

Snacking on the Go

I'm trying to be better about blogging more often and since I've been feeling so under the weather the last few days, I feel better about laying on the couch and writing.  :)


Awhile ago I was home alone, was hungry, but wasn't up to making a big snack.  I had been dinking around on Pinterest (love that website!) and had seen a recipe where someone had used crescent rolls to make ham and cheese rolls.  I didn't have any ham, but I did have pepperoni, so I created my own version! They were delicious.  And super easy!


First, you need some mozzarella cheese (if you're making pizza-style rolls).

Then you need a package of crescent rolls.  I used Pillsbury because I had that in the fridge and I like them the best as they're always very flaky.  

Then grab a package of pepperoni!  Being from WI, I of course used pepperoni from my great state!

You should set the oven to preheat at the temperature given on the crescent package.  Then, roll out the crescent rolls and add cheese.

Add whatever toppings you would like!  My fridge was a little empty so all I was able to use was pepperoni.  Next time I'll use onions, peppers, and mushrooms!

Then roll them up and pop them in the oven for anywhere between 11 and 13 minutes!

I put mine in for 13 minutes but....

...as you can see, 13 minutes was too long in my oven!  

I had leftover pizza sauce from when I had made a homemade pizza a few days earlier.  So, I put some in a bowl for dipping sauce and sprinkled some mozzarella on top of the rolls.  They were delicious (even if a little overdone!).  I know, probably a way over-explained explanation, but at least there's no questions and lots of yummy looking pictures to make you hungry!  Happy cooking!

Oh, and p.s., I finished staining my deck!  Whoohoo!  I'll put up pictures later.  

Sunday Funday

Or not...


This weekend did not go as planned.  George and I bowled on Friday on our couples league and I bowled terribly!  Tuesday I bowled a high of 160, Friday, didn't get above 120.  Talk about awful.  We had a good time anyway because Jenny (part of our team) had her birthday on Wednesday so we celebrated.  My amazing friend Katie made pudding shots, which turned out awesome!  Definitely something to bring again to a party.  :)


Saturday I was just kind of relaxing and hanging out during the day.  I had woken up with a really dry throat and mouth, which I attributed to my falling asleep very quickly and sleeping with my mouth open, something I NEVER do unless extremely tired.  I figured it would go away after awhile but it sort of hung around all day.  Around 4 p.m. I went to visit my best friend Allie and her little addition, Clayton! 

Isn't he just ADORABLE!?!

 I met Katie there and we just hung out and chatted.  My throat kept hurting, so I kept drinking water.  By 7 p.m., some others had shown up and I was starting to feel worse.  So, I passed Clayton off and decided to go home.  By the time I got home, I knew I was sick.  Took my temperature, had a small fever, throat, ears, and head hurt, and had general body aches.  I am terrified I'll have gotten Clayton sick, even though I asked Katie (she's a nurse!) how possible it was and she said unlikely because I washed my hands before holding him and hadn't actually held him all that long.  I crashed on the couch, slept for a couple of hours, and woke up with a temperate of 101.5.  Ugh.  I remembered that one of my 2nd grade level team teachers had gone home on Thursday with strep so started to freak out.  I haven't had strep throat since I was in high school.


Today I feel better but not 100%.  I slept a ton, took Tylenol PM, an Allegra for my stuffy sinuses (ears are so plugged...it's awful) and generally just tried to relax.  My fever is gone today but my lymph nodes hurt and my body is just achey all over.  I was planning on finishing my deck project but I think it'll have to wait another week.  Well...depending on how much better I feel by 2 or 3 this afternoon....I really want it done.


So here's my deck project!  We have a nice patio off the back of our house but it's never been stained.  Because of that fact, it's turned a wierd gray and just isn't very pretty.  I'm worried if we don't stain it that the elements will really hurt it over time.  So... J and I went to Menard's last weekend and picked out a stain and a deck wash!  We sprayed the deck wash on the deck, let it do it's magic, and then washed it off.  I didn't notice a HUGE difference in the color but it definitely helped!

Deck after being washed but before any stain.  

The difference:  stained vs not

Only one coat.  We will have to do it twice to get the color I want as the gray is still showing through. 

I got semi-transparent because I wanted to see the wood grain through the stain.  This color is cedar natural tone.  I also made sure it was waterproof and had ultra uv protection!

Maybe I'll feel better in a couple of hours and will be able to head outside to finish staining the big part.  We only got the side of the patio done and about 1/3 of the way around the steps on the big part.  I want to at least get one coat on the entire patio by the end of the weekend.  Hopefully.

It's weird, but I absolutely love being a homeowner!  Not just because it's a wonderful feeling to know you actually own your own house, but because I like making improvements on it and making it homey.  I also like to have projects to do and having a house definitely keeps me busy with projects!  :)

Do you have any projects you're working on?

News Update

So, it's been a very long time since I've last posted and I'm really sorry!  We've had just tons and tons of stuff going on, between school and home.


My family has been dealing with lots of sicknesses and illnesses.  My grandparents have been in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation nursing homes for about two months and then my cousin's young 11 year old daughter got super sick and spent about a week in the ICU.  Thank God they're all home now and doing much better!  I know we have a lot to be thankful for as some very close family friends are still struggling with sicknesses of their own.


Also, my best friend Allie had her little bundle of joy!  They had a baby boy and named him Clayton Donald.  The best part (in my sort of selfish way) is that she had him on the day I picked!  And, only about 4 hours ahead of my time.  Bad part?  I picked a girl so I don't win the actual prize.  But, I think he's absolutely freaking adorable and believe I win anyway because he's perfect and Allie is doing great!  Check out this little heartthrob.

Clayton Donald - 8 lbs 3 oz, 20.5 inches long!

So naturally I've been a bit busy with oohing and aahing and being an auntie again.  :)  

I've also started bowling on two separate leagues.  The first league I joined is a ladies bowling league that bowls every Tuesday.  I like hanging with my girls and bowling and all...but Tuesday is a tough day to stay out late when you're a teacher!  I especially despise when we start bowling at 8:30.  It makes for such a late day that all of us just starting chucking balls down the lanes to end the night!  Well, all the girls on my team anyway.  The other league I've joined is a couples league with George and a couple of friends who live right around the corner.  Thankfully that league is only every other Friday so it isn't too draining!  But, either way, it keeps me busy.

Onto better things....

School has been crazy but great!  I have a FANTASTIC homeroom of 13 wonderful children.  I finally finished decorating my room (I had hideous 70s orange walls...no joke) and the kids are doing a great job with our daily routines.

Oh yes, that was the color of half of my room.  Ick.

Thank goodness for paper!

I actually took the desks and put them in small groups afterwards.

Milk sticks are now on one of those desks next to the lunch pins!  Do one then the other.

haha!  My desk definitely doesn't look that neat and tidy anymore!

I have very few issues with my students and the ones I do are pretty minor.  I really lucked out!  My homeroom is much nicer than the other 3 2nd grade rooms.  No serious behavior issues, a focused class (for the most part), and just nice kids all around.  

It's also nice because last year I actually taught some of the older siblings of some of my current students.  It's awesome because I know the families and parents so I know what to expect and how to handle any situations or concerns that may arise.  And, mostly, they're really nice families!  One of them is my ultimate favorite family...just the sweetest, most genuine, happy, caring, honest people you'll ever meet.  Their kids are all fantastic too.  We had parent teacher conferences today and I ended with that family.  Just gave me a warm feeling inside and reminded me why I love teaching!

While school has been going well, my working out has not.  I've been so tired when I come home that finding energy to actually go for a run or work out has been seriously lacking.  I tried to go yesterday, got all changed, texted a friend to go with me, and was just digging for chapstick right before walking out the door, when my friend glanced at my refrigerator calendar and remarked that I bowled at 6:45 (it was currently 6:20).  Well, so much for that run!  Talk about changing lightening fast and driving very quickly to my 20 minute away destination.  Walked in right at 6:45!  Amazingly, I bowled the best game of my life at a 160.  Who knew?!

I just need to find motivation to go.  In the inspiring words of Nike, I need to "just do it".  I'm extremely good at making excuses and need to not allow myself to do so.  Tomorrow I'm going to visit Allie and Clayton (and Andy) but will have to take the time to do it right away when I get home, before I head over there.  I always have great intentions, but intentions don't make results!  Just do it....just do it....just do it.  I know it'll be worth it in the end!  Besides, I want to do another 5k in December and need to get back into running shape if I want to PR.  I'll be running with Kari and Allie and Kari seriously PR'd in the 5k right after the one we did together.  It'll be the first time running with Allie, an avid runner before pregnancy, so I'll need to be on my triple A game to keep up with this gals!  They are beasts and I definitely want to keep up with them.  So, back to motivating speeches and printing out pictures of my ideal body.  :)

How do you stay motivated?

Time to end this post.  The Brewers are on, it's bottom of the seventh, and we're down one run.  I need to focus!  Have a spectacular night!

One Who Tries

So I haven't really blogged at all about working out but this is supposed to be partly about being healthy so I think it's time.  I went to Gold's Gym with one of my best girls, Kari!  Here's a picture of us!

We had just run the Packers 5k together with George! (she's a HUGE Duke fan!)  :)

I don't take pictures while working out.  I just am too sweaty and honestly, too involved in working out.  I don't want to have to stop in between sets or while running to take a picture.  But, I do (sort of) remember what I did.  Kari and I ran on the elliptical, me for 2.5 miles.  Kari is a new member of the gym so she's a little shy on what to do.  I've been going to gyms for awhile now so I tried to show her some of the things she can do.


She had only a little time before she had to leave for work but she wanted to try out some of the machines.  We did a few leg machines and then she left.  She works every day so she's such a trooper for going in and working out!  I mean, seriously, the woman never gets a day off.  Now, onto what I do!


I love Free Motion machines.  I went to the row machine and stood up instead of sit.  I put the weights on 30 lbs and got into a squat.  I held the squat position and did rows, 3 sets of 20.  I then went to a hamstring machine but only did 2 sets of 10 on each leg.  I didn't think it worked well.

  found here

Next is my best part.  I love using Bosu balls in workouts.  When we lived in LA, George and I had a trainer who loved using them.  I grabbed a Bosu ball and flipped it so the ball side is up.  I then grabbed an 8 lb. weighted ball and held it at a 45 degree angle.  I stepped onto the Bosu and did squats on the Bosu holding my weighted ball.  I did 20 and then hopped off.  I then laid on a mat and grabbed a regular balance ball and held my knees up at a 90 degree angle.  I put the ball on the "shelf" and laid my arms back over my head.  I raised them up, grabbed the ball, held it in an arc over my head until it almost reached the floor, then raised it back up and put it on the shelf.  That counts as 1.  I did that 20 times.  Those two workouts were one set for me.  I did those three times.

found here

Now, after I completed my first set of Bosu ball exercises, a wanna be gorilla came sauntering over.  He surveyed me doing my exercise on the Bosu and then decided he could do the same.  He walked into the classroom where extra Bosus are held and came out with one.  He jumped on it with a huge 35 lb. barbell plate and started doing squats.  I don't mean to brag, but these Bosu workouts are tough.  It took me a LONG time to be able to do them without falling all over the place.  But this guy, well, he just thought he could do it.  It was all I could do to not laugh as he's wobbling all over the place with this extreme look of concentration and consternation on his face!  Also, he was doing squats totally wrong.  Your knees aren't supposed to go over your toes, right?  Yeah, he would go down so low that his knees were almost past the Bosu's edge and his butt was about 7 inches above his shoes!  Come on.


So, after his first attempt, (he did about 10) he got off and did four ab reps with an ab slide and about 5 push ups and sat there, looking exhausted.  He kept staring at the Bosu and would watch me every time I got back on.  Feeling empowered (?), he took his shoes OFF and tried it again!  Way to really lose your footing!  I know I shouldn't laugh, and I should've probably helped, but really.  He repeated his mini-workout after that and then put his shoes back on for round 3!  I about died but was starting to admire his persistence.  He left after that to walk around the gym.


My last workout with the Bosu ball was burpies.  You grab the hard side of the Bosu ball so the ball is down, squat, and stand, lifting the Bosu over your head.  In that same arcing motion, put it on the ground.  As soon as it hits the ground, jump back into push up mode and do a push up.  That's one!  Jump back to a squat, lift over head, repeat.  I did 3 sets of 10 for those.  They're very hard!


As a finisher, I ran for 1 mile on the treadmill.  Nothing too crazy but I definitely felt good afterwards!  Good luck on any of your work out endeavors!

Artwork and Classroom

Hello!  Well, I finally have accomplished some art projects.  Two are almost finished and one is completely done.  We'll go to the undone ones first!


Project 1:  Hot/Cold Lunch, Chocolate/White/No Milk


Every day, first thing in the morning, I have to take attendance and figure out which students are taking hot lunch or cold lunch.  I also need to figure out, by snack time, which kind of milk students would like, chocolate, white, or none at all so my helpers know how many of which kind to get.  Now, last year there was a metal cabinet in my room so we used milk sticks with each student's name on to figure out what milk they wanted.  We still, however, had to raise hands and count how many wanted hot lunch.  Every morning this wasted a bunch of time and class always started 15 minutes after the bell!  Crazy.  So, now that I have my own room this year (I co-taught last year and didn't get hired until after the first couple days of school) I had to come up with a new idea as my room is sans metal cabinet.  So here's what I did!

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought an old, shabby chic type of frame.  (All frames were half off!  Whoo!)  Using old string from my parent's house, I stapled it so it divided the frame into six sections.  I then strung red and blue yarn through the top row and bottom row.  I first tied the yarn into a double know and then into a bow to make it look prettier.  I stapled it also right before I strung it across.  I double knotted it around each white string and also super glued them there (they kept sliding down).  I tied and stapled the opposite end as well.  

Now when students come in, they'll grab their clothespin (each one will have a name and picture attached to it) and put it in the section they want.  I have to make the labels yet but the top left will be Hot Lunch and Chocolate Milk, the middle will be Hot Lunch and No Milk, and the top right will be Hot Lunch and White Milk.  The bottom will mirror the top except with Cold Lunch instead.  Hopefully this speeds things up!  Then I'll have a helper count the hot lunches and give me the number and they can look for themselves to count the chocolate and white milks.  :)

Project 2:  Book Corner Monsters!

I saw this idea on Pinterest at first and followed it to this wonderful blog called I Could Make That.  The directions for these little guys are here.  I thought they were SO cute I decided I'm going to make one for each student to start the year off with!  Hopefully that will be an added incentive to read, they get to use their monsters!  Now, first off, I'm new-ish to this whole craft business.  My mom is super crafty but I'm still getting my feet wet.  So, I had to buy all the paper:  plain cardstock, pretty lighter weight paper, and construction paper (I know, I know, elementary teachers are supposed to have construction paper!  And I do, it's just all at school).  I also had to buy a glue stick (again, at school) and a measuring cutting board.  But, I was already at Hobby Lobby for the frame so I got it all in one trip!

Anyway, I followed the directions I was given, cut out my template, cut prettier paper to make them more colorful, and added decorations.  My first one was a little rough, but I love it just the same!  I'll probably do this with my class during the year, maybe to give as gifts and maybe just to restock the room.  Here's how they turned out!

Aren't they cute?!  My hubby (George) told me to get more creative and this last one was his idea.  He wanted to make it like a crazy swamp monster!  I think it turned out pretty darn cute, just like him.  :)  Now, the only reason this project is unfinished is because I have more than 8 students and need to make more.  But otherwise, this one is pretty close to being done!

Project 3:  Melted Crayon Art!

Now this is another project that I borrowed from another blog.  This time it's called Unsimple Living and I love it!  Btw, she has some adorable handmade head bands up on her page right now!  Anyway, this is the crayon art that she did.  She spent a bunch of time peeling off the crayon paper but I left it on because I like knowing that it's crayons and it's more primary school-ish anyway.  Her's is still gorgeous though! 

Some supplies (I used a 16x20 in. canvas)

So, like her, I had my mom help me (again, crafty).  She hot glued the canvass while I stuck the crayons on.  It really is a two person job, at least for my klutzy self!  

All glued on!

Previous to actually starting this, I had had a two hour long conversation with a close friend from college who happens to have majored in art.  I told her about my project and she suggested putting waxed paper over the crayons and using an iron instead of the hair dryer.  So, we did.  It heated unevenly however, and some crayons melted very quickly and ran beautifully down the canvass.  Others...had more issues.  We eventually switched to the hair dryer to finish it off.  For some reason, the reds, purples, oranges, and yellows had a much harder time melting than did the greens, browns, blues, and grays.  But, I love it and think it turned out beautifully!  It will hang in my classroom near where the kiddos will do art projects.  Or maybe by my desk because I love it so much.  

I did run into one other small problem.  About halfway through, I had some of my green and brown crayons (nearly all actually) fall off!  Between the heat from the iron and the hair dryer, we had softened the hot glue enough to lose it's grip.  Thankfully those crayons were the ones that had melted the best so I waited until we were done and just re-glued them back on.  I did let it sit flat overnight though.  The crayons were very warm and I was afraid more would fall off!

The crayons were supposed to look somewhat like a sunset over water.  Like, if you were looking out at the sunset, looked down to the water, then up to the sand, to the trees, and again up to the opposite side where there were some clouds in the sky.  Well, that was my idea anyway.  It didn't really turn out like that (AT ALL) but it's still very pretty.  Several of my friends and family commented on it and one even told me to do more!  I might try different color combinations but I'm just happy this one turned out.  :)

On a side note.....

It was my hubby's and my second anniversary on Monday!  He worked all day Monday and Tuesday so we didn't really get to celebrate until today.  We didn't do much, just hung out and ate at Olive Garden for a late lunch.  We're not big self-portrait takers so here's a picture of us from right after our ceremony.  For some reason, I didn't cry at all during the actual ceremony but 2/3 of the way down the aisle I was just so happy that I started crying and couldn't stop!  I'm pretty sure I cried through a good third of the receiving line.  And of course, someone had to take a picture right after....

Right after the ceremony

Our wedding party (we took pictures on Lake Michigan)

Love all of them!  We had the BEST wedding party and the most amazing day ever.  Even now, friends and family will still reminisce about how awesome our wedding was.  I give all kudos to my mom, who planned so much of it as we were living in CA and having the wedding in WI and to my wonderful wedding party, whom without we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun!  

Ok, this has been a ginormously long post so I'll leave you with one last picture and end this one.  :) 

<3