What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving my new peacock earrings that I bought over the weekend. Peacocks are crazy.

I'm loving the fact that this past weekend I was able to eat at one of my favorite places ever. The Cheesecake Factory. I'm loving that I ate every bit of this bread slathered in butter, plus my meal, and a piece of cheesecake. My belly thanked me.

I'm loving Well-rested eye brightener by bareMinerals. I have been trying to find the perfect solution for dark eye circles for years. I'd been using bareMinerals Bisque, but I like this so much better. It's good stuff.

I'm loving that one of my students wore green sparkly shoes to school. Shoes like these make me miss being a kid. I want some.

I'm loving that another one of my students brought Marley (our classroom mascot that travels home with a different student each evening) back to school dressed as a child from the 70s. You just never know what each day of kindergarten brings.

I'm loving that my friends and I are having a clothing/accessories swap tomorrow night to exchange things that we no longer wear or want. No one's going to be wanting my junk, but maybe we'll all come away with something good and 'new' to us.

I hope you have a lot that you're lovin' on this Wednesday. Snow is in the air here. I can feel it. I feel crazy and my students were off the hook today. Snow day #9, here we come...

Thankity-Spankity.

Ahhh, sookie sookie, now! A big thanks to Heather at Greer's Gossip for the award. She's also a kindergarten teacher, so you know she's good people. This is my very first award and I was more than a little excited about it. It made my day.


Here are the Blog Award rules: 
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award
2. Answer 10 questions
3. Pass it on to 7 bloggers you have recently discovered and enjoy
4. Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

The Questions:
1. Why did you create this blog? I've always enjoyed writing. I started my blog as a writing outlet in May 2009. Up until the last couple months, I'd kept it really quiet and just shared it with close friends. I decided it was silliness to not let you all in on my fun. My dirt is your dirt.

2. What kinds of blogs do you follow? There are so many blogs that I love. Some I've followed for a long time and there are many that I have just recently discovered. I don't know that there's a particular theme of the blogs I follow. I just follow those that I find interesting. I love blogs where I can pick up on a person's humor. There's nothing better than a funny and silly person. 
I also follow a lot of teacher blogs. I love stealing ideas from all of the many great teachers that are out there. I wish I could be a student in some of these classrooms. Amazing stuff.

3. Favorite Make-Up Brand? I use Bare Minerals. I've been using it since a trip I took to NYC in 2005 where I bought the starter pack at Sephora. Once I tried it there's been no turning back.

4. Favorite Clothing Brand? I don't really have a favorite brand. I just buy what I like. If it fits (which is sometimes a challenge) and it looks good (which is an even bigger challenge), then I'm sold. I love finding a good sale. Mainly all my jeans are GAP. I love me some Gap, Banana Republic, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Francesca's and Target. These are the places I go to get my clothes and accessories.

5. Indispensable Make-Up Product? It's not really considered make-up, but I've got to have my Carmex. I could have a totally made-up face, but if these lips are crusty-crusts...well, gross.

6. Favorite Color: Pink and black are my favorite colors. I wear lots of gray though. Lots.

7. Favorite Perfume: I don't really wear perfume. I'm more of a body splash kinda girl.

8. Favorite Film: My very favorite movie is The Breakfast Club. Some other movies that are near and dear to my heart are: Napoleon Dynamite, The Sweetest Thing, and Bring It On: All or Nothing.

9. What country would you like to visit and why? Uh, duh. Australia. If you live in Australia, hook a girl up and invite me over. I'm so stinkin' happy for Oprah's audience members that get to go on an Australian vacation with her. So. Stinkin'. Happy. I've had a strange obsession with Australia since elementary school. I used to send off for tourist packets. I've had my trip planned for years and years. It just seems like an interesting place and I want to go there and make friends with a koala, kangaroo, wallaby, platypus, emu, and kookaburra and then bring them all home with me. Pretty sure it'll happen.
If your wildest dream is to go to Australia too, then you should be my friend and we'll be travel buddies and go hold koalas.

10. Would you rather put mascara on one eye or forget to put blush on one side of your cheek? 
I'd rather forget the blush. I feel like I look like a completely different person without eye makeup. For real. You don't want to see this girl without her eyes. I have light, short, and thin eyelashes that are non-existent without a little bit of somethin' helping them out.

And now for the part we've all been waiting for. That sounded so dramatic. I'm going to pass on the blog love (in no particular order) to...

1. Paige at Mommy and Charli
2. Kelly at Keeping Up With Kelly and Co.
3. Kristen at All in my Twenties
4. Liv at Simply Sunshine and Daisy's
5. Katie at Jersey Blonde
6. Brittany at Simplicity in Baltimore
7. Whitney at Everything Happens for a Reason

I've enjoyed getting to know these lovely ladies recently. Check out their blogs if you haven't already.

Junk in the Trunk.

Can we just talk about some infomercials? Sometimes (okay, most of the time) this girl pulls some late nights. I enjoy staying up crazy late. I see a lot of infomercials because that seems to be all that runs around the 2 a.m. hour. These are some of my favorite of the worst.

The prize for my favorite bad infomercial goes to...drumroll, please...

Booty Pop! 

Check out those buns! You can get junk in your trunk with the panties with a secret pad that turn a "droopy derriere into a youthful-looking, head-turning bootylicious booty." The website has a "Warning". Are you ready for it? 

"WARNING! Wearing Booty Pop panties have been known to make men notice. The makers of Booty Pop are not responsible for all of the extra attention you will receive as a result of wearing our product. Subsequently, the hiring of, and costs related to, additional personal security is the sole responsibility of the Booty Pop customer." 
Man. I'm sure glad they warned me. Guess I better get a security guard. 

Here's the video for your serious viewing pleasure.

Seriously. I'd need these like a hole in the head. My booty doesn't need to 'pop' anymore than it already does. I've got a bootylicious booty. That's fo sho.

Next up...

Pajama Jeans! 

"Looks like denim...but feels like PJs". "So amazingly comfortable, you'll want to sleep in them". 

You can get these babies for $39.95 and you'll get a grey crewneck t-shirt as a bonus! Yesssssssss. I mean, why the heck not? 

I just don't get these.  Choose jeans or sweatpants. Just choose one.

and last but definitely not least...

EZ Smoker!

The electronic cigarette. There's not really much else to say about it.

Now. I'm not gonna lie. There's a new product that caught my attention a little bit...

Booti-Fuls!
https://www.buybootifuls.com/flare/next

Sometimes I have some troubles getting my jeans tucked inside of my boots without them bunching around my kneecaps and looking all stupid. These little velcro straps apparently help solve that problem. It'd probably be a little easier than bunching my skinny jeans into tube socks like I'm doing now. 

I wonder if these work. I just wonder.

What's your favorite infomercial? Do any of you have any of these glorious items and love them so much you can't even stand it? Do any of you have a little extra pep in yo step by having your booty popped? Or maybe you secretly lounge around the house in some Pajama Jeans or wear them out to the club because they're so comfy and stylish all while you're smoking your fake cig? Sounds amazing. Share with me.

Top Ten Teachery Things.

Well. I thought I was going to be back at school today, but no. Another snow day. I've been off for a week straight. Getting paid and not having to go to work. Hmm. Not a bad livin'.
I couldn't sit around my house any longer. I needed to get out and do something constructive today. I decided to take myself to the school house to do a little work. I actually got a lot accomplished. Tidied up and filled up a large black trash bag. I was proud of my accomplishments until the janitor started fussing about "All these teachers comin' in here during these snow days deciding to clean their classrooms. Then they put their trash in the hallway. They can take it to the dumpster just as well as I can." Listen, lady. You should be glad I'm decluttering my classroom. Less for you to have to dust mop around. Oh wait. That doesn't ever happen. Nevermind.
While I was at school, I was thinking about the items in my classroom that I love and that make my job easier. I decided to do a little "My favorite teacher items list". Here goes nothing.

1.) Organizers. I love me some plastic organizers more than Posh and Becks love making babies. I love labeling too.
My favorites are my rainbow-colored drawers (that sounds like I'm talking about some rainbow panties--I just might have some of those too) but I'm talking about these little guys:

They could stand to be de-cluttered a little bit. We've hit midyear. Things start to get a little unsightly. I just pretend I'm at a place like, say, Wal-Mart. Just keep on walkin' and try not to stare too hard.

I also love my Monday-Friday tubs from Lakeshore Learning. These help keep a girl straight. You see there's not too much "planned" in these tubs since we haven't been to school in what feels like 50 million days.

These are tubs that I use to organize the student leveled readers. They're for winners.

I've always said my classroom looked like a rainbow exploded. It's very colorful and probably way too over-stimulating. Eh. Who cares.

2.) Sharpies, paper clips, and Post-Its. These are all daily essential items.

3.) Related Arts pocket chart. I don't ever know what Related Arts class we have from day to day. It's a confusing rotating monthly schedule that's impossible to keep up with. I'd be lost without this. I mean, really. I'd probably be wandering the hallways with my class in tow completely lost.

4.) My personal laminator! I've blogged about this contraption a few times before. I'm in love with it about as much as my heated blanket.

5.) My beautiful computer. I wish it could come live with me at home.

6.) My microwave and fridge. It's important to have access to food and drinks at all times. This lady likes to eat.

7.) The Cokes that I keep in the above fridge. This is my fuel to get through the day.

8.) ActivBoard. It's an interactive whiteboard. They're pretty great.

9.) Chair pockets. These little lovers have lasted five years so far and they're still going strong. My students keep their supply boxes, journals, and finished work folders in them.

10.) My teaching chair. This is my favorite place because I get to do read-alouds and talk with my kids during our circle times. This is where I laugh a lot because my kids share the funniest stories.

There are so many more things I could add to this list (like my daily planner, cardstock, flashdrive, a glass of wine to drink after I get home from a long day...). You feel me.

Oh, and I like that this little lady gets to come to school with me after hours while I work...

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I'm loving my heated micro plush throw. Are you all tired of hearing me talk about it yet? Because I'm not. Seriously. This thing is amazing and glorious and delightful. If Sunbeam wanted me to do a commercial to endorse this throw, I'd be glad to be their lady. Screw a Snuggie. This is where it's at.

I'm loving that I watched Mean Girls last night for approximately the 2,473rd time and I loved it just as much as the first time I ever watched it. My movie taste is similar to that of a pre-teen girl. Mean Girls and Bring It On: All or Nothing are two of my very favorites.
"I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school. I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat it and be happy..."

I'm loving Coke! I don't think I could ever give up Coke. I can't start a school day until I crack one open.

Yeah, I'm also loving that I have Old Spice Swagger body wash in my shower and use it on occasion. It smells good and obviously gives me swagger, hence the name. Yes, it's a body wash for men. I have no shame. Any other ladies out there using men's body wash sometimes? Anyone? Bueller?

I'm loving the Christmas at the Beach Yankee Candle I got for Christmas. It makes my house smell like a beachy love fest. Half of the jar is already burned down.

I'm loving that I'm going back to school tomorrow for a 2 day work week and will then have a 3 day weekend. Thank you Dr. MLK, Jr.

What are you lovies loving today? 

Like McDonald's, I'm lovin' it.

I'm making the most out of these snow days. Lovin'. It. We haven't been in school since Thursday. I've only worked six days in the past month. No joke. Six. Between the snow days and Christmas break...six days of work. I kinda feel like I fit in living on my street now. I'm surrounded by retired people. Now I'm just one of 'em.

Our little dusting of snow this morning.

Yeah. I caught her mid-poop.

Miss Daisy Mae is getting way too used to having me at home so much. She's also loving my heated blanket a little too much. It's become a fight to see who can get to it first. She usually wins. That heated blanket has changed our lives.

You know she's sleeping good if you see her teeth.

This morning I had a traditional snow day breakfast. No. I didn't make breakfast. I had my brother deliver it to me. Now that's service (and part of being a brat). My Momma makes them every snow day. They're my Granny D's hot cakes and chocolate gravy. The hot cakes are made from flour, milk, and a bit of bacon grease. That's the stuff. So good. I'm sure they're low-cal. Like that even matters to me anyway. Notice how my hot cakes are completely swimming in butter and chocolate gravy. Maybe I got a tad carried away, but that's what makes them so stinkin' good.

Mmm. Fatty goodness.

This is completely random, but hey. That's me. Saturday night my Favorites came over to my house for a little girl time. We talked about people, watched movies, had some drinks, ate, painted our nails gray, and I got my hair curled. Just a typical night. Ashley and I were sitting in my living room floor as she was curling my hair. I guess we had kinda forgotten that the pizza man would be coming soon. When the doorbell rang we both let out a simultaneous, very loud scream. When I opened the door I asked the pizza man if he heard us scream. He was laughing and said he did. He said, "That was awesome". He witnessed the whole thing too because he could see through the little window in my front door. Pretty sure that made his whole night. Or maybe week. Pretty sure he also thought I was crazy showing up at the door looking the way I did. One half of the hair curled; the other up in clips and crazy. I don't have any pictures of the end result of my beautiful curled hair. I think they're on Ashley's camera, but it did look beautiful. She's hired as my hair curler.

Pizza Man liked this.

Showing off the gray nails. They're so fetch. I may or may not have said that during the course of the night. Yeah...

Today I've spent some time giving the blog a makeover. You like? I'm still getting used to the big change, but so far, I think I'm really pleased with it. I had my old template since I started blogging over a year and a half ago, so it was time for something different.

I've also been cleaning out my closet today. I just have too much stuff. I don't think I use my closet space to its fullest potential. It's a pretty big closet and I'm the only one that has stuff in it. And it's completely full! I feel like I have bags, scarves, and shoes everywhere. If anyone has any genius organization tips for these items, please hook a girl up and fill me in. Seriously.

Facebook Vacation.

Starting at this exact moment, I'm going on a facebook free vacation. The length of this vacation will be determined by how many snow days we have this week. Sometimes I get really tired of the fact that facebook is nothing but a bitch fest. Why is it so hard for people to say something positive or uplifting? It's a constant complaint.  I'm just tired of it. Really tired of all the negativity. Specifically, I'm tired of the recent complaints about our county snow days. More specifically, the complaints about our snow days as a result of little to no snow. True, we haven't had a significant snow fall on Friday or today, yet we have had both days off school. It seems laughable to a lot of people that we've called off school for a trace of snow. Who really cares? I LOVE snow days and take them when I can get them. Who doesn't like to be at home? I understand snow days cause a hardship on parents. They have to find arrangements for childcare. I totally get that. Those aren't the parents that are doing the complaining though. The Mom's that have been fussing from my school are stay-at-home Mom's. One posted that she was upset about the snow days because having her kids home interfered with her 'me' time. Wow. Just wow.
Until all of these women have driven all 750 miles of county roads to check road conditions for themselves, they need to shut it.  Maybe they should all volunteer to be bus drivers since they're so fearless. Our county doesn't have the money or the proper equipment to adequately deal with winter weather. That doesn't make us "idiots" or any of the other really nice names all these people have called our school system recently. We're not pros at driving on the white stuff. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a winter weather driving extraordinaire. I'd much rather stay at home than potentially kill somebody with my car.
Taking some time away from facebook will probably do wonders for my blood pressure. I'm starting to get mad because they're hatin' on my county and my employer--the school system. If you hate it so much, please do us all a favor and move out of this "idiot" infested place and back to where you came from.
Yeah, we have to make up these days at the end of the year, but let's enjoy the day that we have right now. Enjoy what comes to you. And yes. I just wrote a whole blog complaining about how much people complain. I can do that though because this is my blog. Ahhhhhh. I feel better now.