Show Us Your Town--Where Do You Shop?

WOO HOO! This is officially my very first SHOW US YOUR LIFE blog post. I have enjoyed reading Kelly's Korner over the last few months and I have now pledged to begin doing SHOW US YOUR LIFE!! Here we go...

I live in West Plains, Missouri, a small country town with a population around 13,000. Unfortunately, there aren’t many places to shop in my town.

We do have a JCPenney, Stage, a shoe store, and a few home décor stores. I especially LOVE to shop at; At Home Market. At Home Market has a lot of great gift items, Yellow Box shoes, Vera Bradley, dishes, etc. Vera Bradley is definitely my weakness. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Josh decked me out with VB for Christmas. My entire classroom is VB!!! Josh and I also registered at At Home Market and got a lot of great gifts from there store.

At Home Market

Santa even knew how much I LOVED Vera Bradley!!

My new VB Hipster, from Josh's parents

One of my all time favorite places to shop is, GAP. I am a pretty tall gal, and finding jeans when I was a youngster, and still today is extremely difficult. My mother and I would drive to Springfield (about two hours north of WP) and get jeans. That was the ONLY place that I could find jeans long enough. I love their clothes. They last FOREVER, and look nice for years! I am still wearing GAP clothes in which I bought years ago.




My favorite clothing store these days is; Banana Republic. I can find great, dressy and classy clothes in which I LOVE at BR. In Branson, MO, they have a BR Outlet store. I always find great things for great prices at Banana Republic when I shop in Branson.

2010 Survey!

Welcome to the new 2010 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Have fun and be truthful! I want to see your answers!!

1. What is your occupation right now? Middle School Communication Arts teacher
2. What color are your socks right now? black
3. What are you listening to right now? The noise of my little guy typing (the young boy I tutor each morning)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Cherry Pop-tart
5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes, my first car was a stick!
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone: Mom
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes!
8 . How old are you today? 24
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? MLB Baseball or the College Fast Pitch World Series, held in June each year!
10. What is your favorite drink? Coke is my favorite, but I have had NO soda in four months!!
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, about every five weeks!
12. Favorite food? Pizza!
13. What is the last movie you watched? The Blind Side
14. Favorite day of the year? My birthday, Christmas, and soon our Anniversary!
15. How do you vent anger? Give out a good scream in the car. :)
16. What was your favorite toy as a Child? Polly Pockets
17. What is your favorite season? Spring
18. Cherries or Blueberries? cherries
18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Yes!
19. Who is the most likely to respond ? Probably Mallory or Ashley
20. Who is least likely to respond???
21. Living arrangements? Josh and I
22. When was the last time you cried? Not real sure....
23. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes
24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Mallory
25. What did you do last night? went to my parents house for baked chicken and then home and in bed by 7:30!!
26. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheese
27. What are you most afraid of? Natural diasters and loosing a close loved one
28. What is your favorite kind of dog? NONE!
29. Favorite day of the week?Friday or Saturday!
30. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds!!
31. What is your favorite flower? Callalillies
32. What is your favorite blog to read and why? My favorite blog to read is Kelly Korner, A Day in the Life...of a Newlywed and Pollock Potluck!! They are full of interesting things! I am addicted and must check each of the three daily!!

My First Day Teaching

My first day teaching was fantastic!

This cold January morning, started off real early. I went bed early last night (around 8) and was wide awake at 4:30 am. I talked myself into staying in bed until 5:00 am. At 5 I got up took a shower, got dressed, had a wonderful breakfast (peach oatmeal, apple sauce, and cranberry juice…mmm) and then I was off to one-on-one tutor a young boy that I have been working with since October. I met Logan at 7:00 at a local elementary school, four miles from our home. I was so happy to see him! I missed the little guy! We worked on spelling and he did so well! It was a perfect start to a perfect day!

I then travelled back home and to see my husband! (He took these fine photos that I am sharing with you!) He wanted to wish me away on my first day! How sweet of him! I travelled on into town and was in my classroom by 8:45ish!
My day really doesn’t begin until 11:00 am. I got to school early this morning to make sure everything was ready to go for the day! I graded some work that my students completed yesterday with the substitute, entered grades into my grade book, planned some lessons for later this week, and then it was TIME!! My nervous jitters were getting to me!

My first class of the day: I was SUPER nervous at first, I am sure they could sense that at first, but I got relaxed after the first five minutes or so. Everything went great! The kids are bright and their enthusiasm shows me that they are ready to learn! With each class I went over classroom expectations and procedures. I had students create a journal. We will be doing a lot of journal writing, daily we will use our journals. They enjoyed creating these journals. I then have two CORE classes: They are only with me for 25 minutes each day! It’s going to be a BUSY 25 minutes, but hopefully productive as well! The following hour I have a RED/WHITE rotating class. I only have each class every other day. It’s a small class, but they are hard working kids! Sixth Hour: I have my planning period this hour of the day. I met with my Student Teaching supervisor and got some things lined out today! She is such a nice and helpful lady! The last hour of the day was super! It’s great to know that I have a great group at the end of the day! They are fifth graders, I feel like I have more experience with the younger ones. They were all so happy to be there and I was happy too!

I am anxious for tomorrow! I cannot wait to spend each day working with each one of these kids! It was a FANTASTIC first day and I look forward to many more GREAT days!!

My First Day: January 12, 2010

Sporting my Vera "teacher" bag!

Away I go!!

Wishes

I wish... List! Thanks to my new blogging friend; Ashley!!:)


I wish….I wasn’t so anal about cleaning!!

I wish….I was half the cook my mother is.

I wish... I had the energy to exercise daily.

I wish... I wasn’t such an ultra-planner. I think Mallory can sympathize with me here!

I wish... my hubby was home with me more!

I wish… this SNOW would go away…so we can go to school!

I wish... I had a car with a nice paint job! :)

I wish… I could have a Sonic SODA!!!! (New Year’s Resolution: NO SODA)

I wish… I could go on a sunny vacation soon!! (Can you tell I am SICK of SNOW?)


Thanks Ashley for sharing such a neat blog idea!!

BRRRRR!!!

This has to be one of the coldest days that I EVER remember. Today it is around 11 degrees at our house with the wind chill around -1! WOW! It snowed another inch and a half last night. Therefore, NO SCHOOL again today! I hope we go back soon! Instead of wrestling middle school aged students, I braved this cold weather and took my grandmother to get some groceries. I took her to her beautician, went and got her groceries, and then we had lunch together at El Charro. (One of our favorites)

I then came on home and put on some of my favorite flannel PJ’s (Trying to stay warm) and brewed myself a warm pot of Starbucks Breakfast Blend! Mmm! I am planning on snuggling up to my computer and catching up with the BLOG world this afternoon! Maybe slipping in a cat nap!

Believe it or not, I did venture back outdoors to take a few pictures. I realized I hadn’t taken any “Winter Snow” photos. Just call me crazy for getting out in these -1degree temperatures and snapping a few shots!!

So, here are the rules:
Fill out the questions below, using only one word. Then pass this award along to a few of your favorite bloggers, and tell 'em you did so! Have fun. :)

1. Where is your cell phone? next to me

2. Your hair? flat and ready for bed hair

3. Your mother? WONDERFUL, just ate her good ole' country cooking!

4. Your father? GREAT, hard working man, hauling wood in these 10 degree temps!

5. Your favorite food? anything mexican

6. Your dream last night? dont think I dreamed...

7. Your favorite drink? Coca Cola, but I have not had any soda in two months!! Yay for me!!


8. Your dream/goal? To be a successful teacher who kids look up to and learn from!

9. What room are you in? kitchen

10. Your hobby? scrapbooking or card making

11. Your fear? death of a loved one

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Working hard as a Elementary Principal, and having a child.

13. Where were you last night? At my Mom and Dads...then home

14. Something that you aren't? a parent!

15. Muffins? Triple Berry or Blueberry

16. Wish list item? A new car (new to me atleast)

17. Where did you grow up? Right next door to our home: South Fork, Missouri

18. Last thing you did? ate supper

19. What are you wearing? Gap sweatpants and a San Francisco sweatshirt...

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? None


22. Friends? Great!

23. Your life? busy but wonderful!

24. Your mood? good, but tired


25. Missing someone? Yes, Josh!

26. Vehicle? Volkswagen Beetle

27. Something you're not wearing? my wedding ring!

28. Your favorite store? Banana Republic

29. Your favorite color? green

30. When was the last time you laughed? not sure, but I laugh often

31. Last time you cried? hmmmm not real sure...

32. Your best friend? Josh

33. One place that I could go over and over? Couples Sweptaway: Negril, Jamaica!!

34. One person who emails you regularly? Mallory, sometimes.

35. Favorite place to eat? My parents!!

And the next lucky winners are...

Mallory

Cory and Mallory

Ashley

Share the LOVE!!

Happy 2010!!

I wanted to do a recap of a few things I’m thankful for in 2009!

1. Iam very thankful for the date of May 30th, 2009, the day I married my best friend, and the man that I will stand next to until death do us part. I am so thankful for his love and support he has given me as well as others!

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2. I am very thankful for our families, who have stood next to both Josh and I during this crazy and busy year, we definitely could not have done it without them! I am so thankful for their love, encouragement, and support during 2009 as well as our entire lives!
















3. I am also thankful for the strong friendships that both Josh and I have made with our friends, Mallory and Kody Thompson. It was a great and busy year for the both of us, planning and celebrating our marriages. We look forward to spending many more memorable years with them.







4. I am so thankful for the job I will now hold as being a, teacher. I am thankful for the opportunities that I have been given to substitute, tutor, and now teach Communication Arts. I look forward to what the year 2010 brings me in my career!



5. I am thankful for our nephew, Drake. He has provided both Josh and I so much joy over the past year and two months! He makes us laugh and smile!! It was a blast celebrating his first birthday as well as Christmas.

6. I am thankful for our warm and nurturing home. People have always said, “There’s No Place Like Home.” And I truly believe that. We LOVE it here, but look forward to a new home one day!