The one with all the cookies

This week I hosted a shower for a co-worker here at school. One of her craving during pregnancy has been cookie dough, so I knew a Cookies and Milk theme would be perfect! I enlisted another teacher to set the plan in motion, and I think it turned out amazingly cute :)

We started out with these cute invitations made in picnik.

Because the library was the only location big enough for a crowd, we embraced the books and used them to lift flowers, and plates up off the tables. We had chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal, m&m cookies, brownies, rice krispie treats and lemon bars to munch on.

In lieu of a cake, I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes that I had been salivating over thanks to Tidymom. (I will admit, I may have been a bit over ambitous in the cupcake arena and had to rely on store icing instead of homemade.) Are these not yummy looking?

Baby's name is Bear, so we played with little paper bear shapes on popsicle sticks stuck into flowers, brownies, and a quartet of Ikea planters filled with m&m's honored the little cookie :)

And you can't have cookies without milk! I really wanted to go the rout of Christy and find glass bottles to drink out of, but it wasn't to be. Instead we used cups and cute colored straws for our chocolate and regualr milk.

Take home bags were provided so everyone could take a few of their favorites with them as favors. There was nothing left by the end of theparty!

Here's mom to be and her baby dady-- aren't they cute :) We can't wait to meet baby Bear!

Wordless Wednesday (well almost)

Story of my life lately. TAKS testing in school for the young un, job issues still haven't been 100% decided and wrestling with personal stuff. ugh.

Spring Breakin'

Spring Break always seems like this constantly elusive time that ushers in the final countdown for the school year.Instead of a big vacation this year (we did just buy a house 5 months ago!) , we decided to play it low key with a visit to my parent's house in north Louisiana. We've also decided to pack as much fun as we could manage into our 11 days of Spring Break.


So far this week we've celebrated a birthday (Music Man is once again a whole year older than me!)

Rallied at the Capitol (saving our schools and teachers)

Enjoyed some nephew time (we practiced our surprise faces)

Re-learned to ride a bike (he's had a serious phobia ever since a bike wreck in kindergarten)

Enjoyed a little more nephew time (I mean, really, how can you not want to spend as much time with this cute little guy as possible?)

Played some redneck golf in the grandparent's front yard (No windows were hit)

And cheered on the ponies. (My favorite horse of the day? Iced Down Corona!)


It's only Wednesday and I'm already tired thinking of the rest of the week-- namely the 7 hour car trip we'll make back to Austin tomorrow!

You say it's your birthday?

Well it was my birthday too...

A fun day at work, yummy dinner from cheesecake factory, and a surprise present from the Music Man made this a completely fabulous 33rd birthday!

Tell me something good...

Looking back at New Year's, I know I've been a little spotty in my posting. I could pass it off on the fact that I spend all day on a computer and just don't want to be on one when I get home. Or I could say that we are constantly on the go, but it's actually calmed down a bit.
The truth is because I have a wall up when it comes to posting anything real. I can take a picture that captures that one moment in a random day and find a witty caption, but that's not a real idea of what's going on. And what's going on right now is nothing short of depression inducing.

Texas got word early this year that the budget deficit was miscalculated and education would be taking a harder hit than expected. My worst case scenario suddenly became a best case scenario. Know one knows exactly what will happen, but as neighboring districts begin to issue statements and make cuts, it's clear that something will. This year I stepped out of the classroom and into the role of Instructional Technology Specialist. Besides being on-campus tech support, I help teachers incorporate technology into their lessons and ensure that students gain the necessary skills to compete in a 21st century job market. Sadly, my department/position is on the chopping block. Not to reduce, but to eliminate. And it's all out of my hands. I'm not a patient person, so this has created more than the usual amount of stress. Adding to that is the fact that my husband teaches in a neighbor district (he's with fine arts) and they've been very tight lipped with their plans.

When I started teaching it never crossed my mind that there would come a time when teachers wouldn't be hired and would even be reduced in numbers. But here we stand at the threshold of that moment and I can't fathom what direction this will lead us. I'm not gonna lie, it's completely unnerving to not have any control over whether or not you'll have a job after May. I've written the letters, I've e-mailed, I've attended community meetings. But it looks like all I can really do is wait. And I suck at waiting. Waiting means I've eaten way more girl scout cookies than is humanly possible and in turn feel even worse.

So that's it. that's where I am right now. A perpetual state of job limbo. I'll try to snap out of it to post birthday pictures, a recap of Music Man's back issue and the best Oreo cookie recipe I've ever eaten. I just need a little time.

Six Word Saturday

Husbands can make life more interesting.

After a week filled with back pain, immobility, pee in bottles, and finally some pain meds, I'm pretty sure my documenting it on twitter & facebook takes me out of the running for wife of the year.

Play along with Six Word Saturday hosted by Cate at Show My Face

Milestones

It's been a week of milestones for us. On Friday, DS turned 11, and I survived an all boy slumber party (that's another post). Today, he got braces. Looks like my baby is turning into a young man.

Winner Winner Chciken Dinner

Who won second place in his school science fair? That guy! And he credited his mom with letting him use her "sweet cricut machine". Way to go young un!

I'm still standing

Ever have one of those weeks where you think if I can just make it to Saturday, I can breathe again? Well, I've had one of those every week since the year started. First it was the post holiday undecorating/organizing, then it was work/school commitments, now it's girl's craft night/science fair, followed by next week's birthday party-palooza. I just keep ticking off the days and wondering when it will slow down again.
I feel like such a slacker, but I haven't blogged because I haven't stopped long enough to type more than 140 characters. And most of those are done from my phone. As I type this, there are brownies baking in the oven, the last few winter decorations sitting on the table waiting to be wrapped and put away, birthday party favors scattered across the floor and an almost finished science fair project board propped against the walls. And the washing machine just reminded me I have clothes to put in the dryer. ugh!
Add to that the current fiscal crisis facing the state of Texas-- particularly education-- and you've got a less than stellar week. DH and I are both just praying we make it out of this with our jobs (he's in fine arts, which is up on the chopping block, I'm technology, which is also on the chopping block) Today I'm just trying to get through to the next hour. I'll accomplish what I can (and put anything I can't in the garage). Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but it's just been an all around crappy day.
On a positive note, I am well stocked with girl scout cookies, thanks to this kid chasing down the cookie wagon on his skateboard.

Walking is bad for you

After a very rainy and dreary weekend, yesterday's sunshine & mild temps were too good to pass up. I grabbed the young un and we set off for a walk around our new neighborhood. Shoes laced, ipod on, and we were off.

The young un was a trooper and when his rip stick couldn't make it up the hill, he grabbed it and trotted along. He did have a few overly-dramatic-out-of-control-straight-into-the-lawn moments.

No worries though, he'd seen someone on TV do it (My $$ is on America's Funniest Home Videos)

Aside from a few playlist snafus (Mariah Carey's Dreamlover can ruin a good pace!) we made good time and distance for our first major cardio since November. That feel good high came to a crashing halt this morning when allergies put me in a full on headlock. All I could hear from the young un's room was coughing and croaking and I know that's all that was coming from mine too. Add to that the sinus pressure on my eyes and the scratchy throat and I could have been an extra in zombieland.Small children just ran from the room screaming. I couldn't hear them cause of all the pressure on my ears.

But once I get the allergies under control I'll be back out there. Not because I particularly want to, but because I particularly want these:

Meal Plan Monday-- Take two

So let's revisit last week's menu for a moment shall we?

Monday- Sloppy Joes made with ground turkey and baked fries. done. and enjoyed.
Tuesday- Spinach & Black Bean Lasagna forgot to get groceries & DH was working late so we had Chick-Fil-A
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Apricot BBQ chicken wings finally decided to go to grocery store, but was too hungry to wait till home so Whataburger cooked.
Thursday- Beef Stir Fry & fried rice Had groceries, but forgot to thaw beef. Had teriyaki ranch chicken instead.
Friday- Cheesy Meatball Subs Allergies got the best of me. Sandwiches were made.
Saturday- leftovers/ free choice

So that makes last week 1 for 5 on following the meal plan. Not a great start.

We've regrouped and armed with a shopping list and coupons, compiled this week's menu:
Monday- Pizza Pasta (I mixed venison with the sausage and used rice noodles)
Tuesday- Pork Stir Fry w/ fried rice
Wednesday- Quick & Crunchy Potato chip chicken
Thursday- Spinach & Black Bean lasagna
Friday - Cheesy Meatball subs
Saturday- leftovers/free choice

I'm linking up at

Six Word Saturday- clean up

Now where do I put it?

The house has been un-decorated. but that's as far as I got. because putting all that back in the garage means I need to first clean/organize the garage. Which means I will google organizing blogs. Which leads to hours of wandering through the interwebz gathering ideas and buying more stuff to be more organized. And it starts a vicious cycle of cleaning/unpacking/organizing that makes me tired even thinking about it. So it will stay there for a few more days. And I'll still waste hours on the interwebz.

Wordless Wednesday-- I've got a stalker

She's obsessed with me.

I'm linking up to Angry Julie's Wordless Wednesday Linky Party.

Meal Planning? Check. Meal Cooking? Not so much.

Still fresh off an extreme couponing high, the Music Man made a resolution to stick to our newly revised budget. Newly revised because last week I paid off my car. His car has been paid off, and now we have the pink slips for both cars. That leaves student loans as the next debt to tackle. But I digress. After watching TLC's coupon divas, MM renewed his vow to make money using coupons. My contribution is to meal plan. Yeah, I know I said that last year and the year before. And I did meal plan. I just didn't meal cook. Cause I am not in my happy place when following recipes involving more than two steps. or those with measurements. or those requiring more than one bowl to mix ingredients. In fact by the time I'm mid way through a dinner entree, I either run out of some key ingredient (cornstarch) or mix up the tablespoon and teaspoon (not good when adding cayenne pepper) or burn/blacken all of the above. Pictures exist in cookbooks so I can identify what I've made for those about to consume it.

In spite of this I'm trucking along with the menu planing. Armed with internet resources, you tube videos, and yes, the Betty Crocker app, I chose these recipes for week one:

Monday- Sloppy Joes made with ground turkey and baked fries.
Tuesday- Spinach & Black Bean Lasagna
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Apricot BBQ chicken wings
Thursday- Beef Stir Fry & fried rice
Friday- Cheesy Meatball Subs
Saturday- leftovers/ free choice

We'll see how this goes. I'm linking up to :

10 from 2010

This past year definitely embraced the metamorphosis part of my blog title. Chang in job, change in address, change in family, we've been through it all. I know I've neglected this blog as the succintness of Twitter and facebook statuses that I could update from my phone appealed to me more than sitting down and typing out blog entries. But as 2011 begins, I'm going to make an effort to express myself in more than 140 characters. What better way to look ahead than to look back at 10 highlights from 2010? Buckle up, it might be a bumpy ride:

10. My beloved Saints finally won a Superbowl (and I wore a Saints shirt every week to torment my 8th graders!)

9. My "baby" turned 10... and I cringed at the thought of the upcoming teenage years. (on a side note, 5th grade math is kicking my bootay!)

8. I traveled on a bus full of 5th graders to the Alamo for their class trip. During said class trip we experienced one sick chaperone and one bomb scare.

7. A freak snowstorm in March followed by Hermine's rains in the fall gave us a different look at mother nature.

6. Our first trip to the ocean (and first jellyfish sighting) made for some great memories. Bodyboarding was the young un's favorite way to pass the time.


5. Moving my parents into a new home (their first move in 30+ years) was a group effort. But the housewarming was even sweeter.

4. Throwing a shower for my brother and sister in law (from 300 miles away) was a challenge. Good thing they're baseball fans!

3. Changing jobs (and as a result, changing schools) meant leaving behind some fantastic friends and fellow teachers--not to mention a bad ass kickball team!
2. Becoming an aunt and holding my sweet little nephew. His older cousin was ecstatic about becoming his "big buddy".

1. Moving to a new house and watching a plot of land go from weeds to stone nearly got the better of us a couple of times. Building is NOT for the faint of heart. Spending the first night in a house that was truly ours totally made up for it. (Just don't look in the garage!)

So that's my recap. I'm hoping that 2011 will be a little smoother, a little calmer and a little less eventful. I won't resolve to post more, but I will resolve to post more meaningfully. Happy New Year interwebz!

I'm linking up to Domestic Fashionista's 10 in 2010 linky party.