Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Day With My Mom

Today I came "home" to Sarasota to visit my family. I haven't been home since Christmas. My mom and I basically spent the whole day together, and had a nice time. I treated her to what we did, because I can now. I liked that. My mom has treated me to many lunches and pedicures...and I'm glad I'm now able to return the favor.

We started off going to my favorite consignment shop, Laura Jeans. It's a great place to shop-and the clothes, in no way, look used. I got a skirt and a long-sleeved sweater. All for $25. After that, we went right next store to Jersey Mike's-my favorite sub shop! It was so good, as usual!

When I got home, my mom gave me a card from a longtime friend, Suzy. I've known Suzy since I was in 5th grade. Wonderful family and over the years, she has become really great friends with my mom. I used to work under her husband at a hotel during home-from-college summers. Anyway, she had given me a $40 gift certificate to a teacher store, The Learning Depot, here in Sarasota. So after lunch, my mom and I went there. I found some good and useful things for my classroom...and thought I'd spend right around the $40 mark. Well, at the checkout counter, my mom reminded me that I get a 20% discount with my teacher ID which I had with me, so my total only came to $17! I was thrilled. That means I get to go back and spend again! :)

One of my mom's good teacher friends recently had a baby, and so we stopped by her house so that I could meet him. His name is Braxton and he's precious! I absolutely love newborns, and babies in general, so I was in my glory holding him! I can't wait to be a mom...someday! After that visit, it was time for our pedicures. It was so relaxing and my mom and I were the only two people in the salon! At 7:30, we were headed to one of my mom's student's houses for a candle/purse/jewelry party so before we went, we picked up some Panera for my dad so that he could have dinner, because, you know...my dad couldn't possibly take his own car through a drive-thru or somewhere and pick up his own dinner. Too complicated. Panera it was and then we went to the party.

Now I'm just home relaxing and my sister Korinne is hinting she wants a milkshake. Funny thing is, I know exactly what she's doing and where she wants it from. I think I'll endulge her. That's what older sisters are supposed to do when they're visiting, right?

Ok....well truth is, I wouldn't mind a milkshake either. Ha! You know where I'm off to! :)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Another weekend is here!

Tomorrow is Friday! Enough said, right? However, I must admit that I feel like the weeks are going by rather quickly. Before I know it, I'll be saying good-bye to my 5th graders on the last day of school. I know it's going to be here in the blink of an eye. I am finishing up my 7th week at OJP and I feel like I'm finally starting to settle into a routine, really getting comfortable with my class- getting "through" to them is another story! With each new day, I'm learning so much about the world of being a teacher. It's a world I am growing to like and I'm learning that teaching is a tough job, but so rewarding. You have to give in order to get- a true statement in so many situations of life!

This weekend I will be traveling to Sarasota to see these people.


I miss them. I haven't seen them since they were up here for my graduation. My youngest sister turned 17 yesterday, and my brother turned 22 last week. So, we'll be doing some birthday celebrating. I'll be indulging in some Sarasota shopping (tomorrow is pay-day!) and probably a good pedicure. My feet need it. I can use the "I'm a teacher now and am on my feet all day" line to justify the pampering. I'm also making payments to pay off my credit cards and am assuming all my financial obligations, so there is even more justification! Ha, like you cared or wanted to know, right?

In other news...what a terrible tragedy about the woman who lost her life "in the line of duty"-doing what she had always dreamed of doing, working closely with killer whales at the infamous Sea World in Orlando. I'm thinking and praying for her family members, as they must be in such a state of shock at her sudden death. As I learned that the particular whale that killed her was previously involved in two other deaths, I'm not quite sure why they continued to have humans "train" with that whale...clearly he was dangerous. But then the other side to that is, they are killer whales, and they bear that name for a reason. I suppose any other whale has the potential to become frustrated in captivity and lash out on a human. Nonetheless, it's extremely sad when things like this do happen. It's reassuring to know that Sea World is doing some investigating and figuring out ways in which they can make their trainers even more safe as the park's whale shows remain closed for the time being. Good idea, Sea World.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Only one more school week before my students take the FCAT-oh boy! I think at this point, they're as ready as they're gonna be! They are burnt out on all of the practice tests and are too young to realize those do help! But...that only means my job is that much more important this week! Well I think I've rambled enough for tonight, it's onto bed I go! Goodnight!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Need Repairs? I do!

"Need Repair" is a good title for the theme of my week. Here's why:

The brakes on my car have been slightly squealing since summer. I made an appointment to have them fixed at Honda, and my dad canceled the appointment and said that would be entirely too expensive and that he would figure it out. He drove my car and insisted there was no squealing sound. Hmmmm...he doesn't drive it daily. But even though I do, I must have been wrong somehow. Yeah right. Turns out, I wasn't. My brakes needed fixing then, and because they weren't, I'm paying for it now. Paying for it as I hear my brakes GRIND hard each time I press them. It's piercing. Thank goodness my car radio works so I can tune it out by turning up the volume of my music. The grinding sound is just awful. As if that's not an expensive repair...

Yesterday morning, my car wouldn't start. Dayna and I leave around the same time, so she was outside and was able to help jump start my car with jumper cables. It worked. Didn't take long at all. I no more than drove to the end of my apartment complex when I realized I didn't have my cell phone. I was getting it out to call Dayna and tell her thanks for helping me out. No phone. I turn around-Dayna stops her car, I tell her I have to go in and get my phone. My (stupid) mistake was turning off my car so that I'd be able to unlock the door with my keys; should have just taken Dayna's. Sure enough, my car wouldn't start again. We get the jumper cables real quick, perform the magic, then I'm off. I called OJP (the school where I work) to tell them I may be a few minutes late. I'm thinking this could just be the really cold weather affecting my car battery. Ironically, when I walked outside yesterday morning, my neighbor was having his truck jump started, so I thought maybe it really was just the cold weather. It wasn't just the cold weather. It's my battery. Went to leave work yesterday and it wouldn't start. So, I walked up to the office and did an all-call to see if anyone still on campus might have jumper cables. Immediately 6 people responded, so I was in luck! A very kind teacher helped me out, along with one of the custodians. I think it's safe to say I need a new battery.

To top things off, on Sunday evening, my internet connection went out. I wasn't able to link up to any other wireless networks, so I was without internet access, for longer than I would have preferred. I enjoy reading blogs and checking Facebook as a relaxer after I get home from a long day! It's my release! I also am trying to write some math lesson plans, and I use the internet for a lot of my teacher resources! On Monday night, I called Verizon to explain that my modem had just stopped working. It's set on a shelf and nothing has happened to it to cause it to break. I've had it for 6 months. Should not be broken. However, the technician I spoke to on the phone told me that it was past its 90 day warranty and that I'd have to pay $69 to have a new one sent to me. WHAT? Wait, you're telling me that I need to drop $70 on a new modem to replace another modem that is only 6 months old? I don't think so! The technician continued to tell me that there was nothing he could do since my modem was past warranty. I was NOT a happy Verizon customer at this point. He transferred me to the "Support Team." Immediately after explaining the situation with a firm voice and mentioning that I was not a satisfied customer, I was told that a new one would be sent to me by Wednesday. I get home Wednesday, UPS left a package slip saying they came by and no one was here to sign, so they'd try again on Thursday. Are you serious? Ahh! I made a big yellow sign to hang on my front door, so that when UPS tried again, they'd understand clearly that they needed to LEAVE THE PACKAGE THERE! They listened, thankfully! So, after that mess yesterday with my car battery and getting home late from work, I came home to get on the phone with Verizon for an hour and activate my new modem. I'm thankful to have the internet again! Wow, how technologically spoiled this generation has become! I'm first to admit! :)

What a week. No internet, brakes that are completely shot, and a car battery that has decided this would be a perfect time for it to stop working. Although this post expresses some frustration, I am honest when I say that I do take into consideration that I still do not have it bad, whatsoever. And for that, I'm thankful. I still have a car that gets me to work (it might need jumper cables and another working car..but..)and the brakes still work (just with a hard, hard grind). And, the internet, is really a luxury, not something I have desperately needed the past few days. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I always try and put things in perspective. This isn't near the amount of "repair" that some people are in need of.

I'm blessed.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Show Us Your Life-Beauty Tips!

This is my first blog post participating in Kelly's Korner, "Show Us Your Life." This week Kelly is hosting Beauty Tips and Favorite Products. I wear make-up and take a straightener to my hair daily, but by no means am I a hair/make-up guru. In fact, I've always said my poor (future) daughter is going to be unfortunate because I won't be able to do her hair in cute girly styles because I'm awful at doing hair. Awful.

Over the past few years, I have found a make-up style that works well for me. I'm not someone who likes to look too un-natural with make-up on. In other words, I don't Barbie myself up. Just enough make-up to enhance my eyes and face is about all I need. I'm girly and I like wearing make-up, I just don't go "all-out" on it. I use a variety of make-up brands to make my signature look, but a lot of it is Clinique. Here is what I use:

I use the navy color shadow on the right for the accent color on my eyes.


Underneath the navy accent, I just use a neutral beige and brown from Clinique.


I love this stuff. Mascara Primer. I believe it really does help enhance the regular mascara I wear. It gives my eyelashes that extra lift! I'm fortunate though to have natural long eyelashes! ;)


I have used Clinique mascara for basically as long as I have been allowed to wear make-up. My mom was very strict with the age I could finally start wearing make-up...I was in 7th grade. I love Clinique mascara!


I use Cover Girl brown eyeliner. I do my eyeliner about 1/2 of the way on both my top and bottom of my eye. I'm not crazy about thick eyeliner that covers the whole area of the eye. It's just not me. I also use a smudger to smudge my eyeliner so that the line isn't too thin or rigid, if that makes sense. It tones it down a bit which I like.


I love this foundation! It's not like cake at all. It goes on smoothly and feels weightless. I apply it with a brush. It gives a matte look.

One of the best things about using Clinique is their bonuses. They are so good! All you have to do is spend at least $20 on products and you receive a bonus which includes a cute cosmetic bag and many useful make-up products. I rarely buy mascara or make-up remover because I have accumulated so many travel sizes from the bonuses! It really is a great deal, I think! I have the set below and use the big bag for toiletries when I travel and I use the medium-sized bag to hold jewelry when traveling.


As for hair. I use a straightner and a hairbrush. And there you have my hair story. It's that simple. Ha! Especially when you have fine, soft, but thick hair that doesn't work well with its owner. My hair is difficult. I have a LOT of it, but it's so fine that it doesn't stay up well for fun hairstyles. I know there are a ton of hair products out there that might do the trick, but I'm just not hair talented. I don't have the creativity all those fun hairstyles require. Some days I may throw in a bobby pin or two and do something with the front of my hair to bring it off my face, but that's about as fancy as it gets, most of the time! I do wish I was hair talented so that I could do something different everyday, but I'm 23 and have accepted the fact that hair is not my specialty!

Well, there you have it. Everything you ever needed to know about my make-up and hair!