Thanksgiving & Black Friday

Can I just say how tired we are in this household? This entire week that I have had no 3rd graders to teach has truly been a blessing. I've restored my entire body, gotten much deserved rest, and spent quality time with my little man, Avery. 

I have read so many great blogs this week:

1.) Creative Organizing with Aby

2.) Texas Cottage with Sallie

3.) Imperfect Homemaking with Kelly

4.) The Pioneer Woman with Ree

Her show on the Food Network is FANTASTIC! 

Those were to just name a few because besides blogs, Pinterest has claimed my life for hours at a time as well lately. Between trying to find new classroom ideas to finding cheap, homemade Christmas gifts, my computer has not left my side. I did manage to find my mom these dish scrubbies that she purchased on a trip to Minnesota and fell in love with. 

This woman calls them "facial scrubbies" and they are probably intended for multiple uses around the home. This was my moms first step at becoming a little more eco-friendly. The amount of waste that comes out of my parents house, and even my house is substantial. If you're interested in these (I'm telling you they last months and can be placed in the dishwasher to sanitize!), you can find them here at Mapleton Lane. 

In the spirit of the American tradition, I've been consumed with Thanksgiving food, Black Friday shopping, and Sarah Palin's book America by Heart: My Reflections on Faith, Family, and Flag. I truly am inspired by this woman because she knows the American way of life that we need to get back to as well as the value of hard work that Americans lack now and how we need to stop letting our government (that was supposed to keep us free) tell us who we can have for doctors and this so called Obamacare. Anyways, I may not have got the original intent out of this book, but I will say that I have the utmost respect for Sarah Palin (and I even loved her show that came on). Her morals, outlooks on our soldiers/troops, and her ethic of hard work really needs to come back to all Americans. 

But, let's get back to more serious business... the deals I got on Black Friday. Myself, personally, didn't really get so many, but I helped my mom do online shopping. She needs a laptop, iPad, and a new flatscreen TV for the guestroom. Amongst shopping for all this, I found Neiman Marcus Last Call. Combined with an extra 40% discount on items that were already discounted plus FREE shipping, mom and I spent $145 and saved nearly $300! After some adorable flats purchased for me, the rest was spent on candles... and lots of them. I am my mother by heart in the fact that I love for someone to walk into my home and it just smell lucious. Since I cannot always afford soy candles, I will say that some of these were not soy. Sorry guys! ;( We did score mom a flatscreen 19" TV from Wal-Mart for only $98 and a new laptop for under $300 (because what does she really need a nice Mac for when she is just using the laptop to sync iTunes and a few other things?). We are slowly holding out for Cyber Monday in hopes that the iPad will be on sale for more than $49 off! 

Wait, wait, wait! Did I mention our new Thanksgiving tradition? Well silly me! Baton Rouge has come up with this game/contest to partake in every day on Thanksgiving. They post the entire alphabet in the newspaper using signs of local businesses, but only the 1st letter and it's up to you to figure out whose sign this is! It's hours filled of wholesome fun! I'm sure you've seen posters like this or such, but this is way, way better! Mom and I figured out about 3/4 of it last night and plan to get back at it after she sets up my grandparents Christmas tree! 

What great deals have you found? Do you think you are being an overconsuming American by doing this?

Last Day of School Before Thanksgiving Break

Oh my 3rd graders are a true blessing! We had an awesome day before our Thanksgiving break. In the morning we took tests (it's funny how they bombed the test on elapsed time, but aced the test on arrays and multiplication). If only the world didn't need a clock to make it's axis spin. After this, we watched a Thanksgiving cartoon about different cultures coming to America and then many, many Magic School Bus episodes! Even I was glued to the Promethean Board as they played. The one they should have paid the most attention to was the one on rocks and erosion, however, little notes and pictures kept appearing on my desk, so it's safe to say that they half-way watched it. It was adorable how they were all laid out on the floor like it was a slumber party-- who could really be mean on this day?

Then, many, many new Christmas decorations lined the hall at school! I was the sly teacher who snuck photos for future years! 

Here's to hoping everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you've any suggestions for classroom decorations or just comments, I'd love to hear them!

It's Been Quite a While!

Amongst the fury and chaos of life, I have ignored this entire blog that I started in order to share my life and get to know some great, inspirational people. Just would like everyone to know I am still here, and until I am finished student teaching December 2nd, I am furiously busy writing lesson plans, IEPs, 504 plans, decorating classrooms, and grading papers. I am also studying to take an additional Praxis so that I will be certified not only in teaching but in grades 7-12 marketing and grades 7-12 business classes. To complete this whole program in just a little over a year with 3 certifications will be fabulous.  

The new beau (who is currently upset with me) and I went to Houston to take a tour of NASA... quite educational and fun, but was a little disappointed at the lack of things we didn't see and get to talk about.