Summer so far!

I've had a great summer so far!  This post will be mostly pictures. Don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Back in May, Joey and I attended our second year of Comicpalooza!

Me and my Phoenix shirt (Jean Grey as the Phoenix)

I actually met a lady dressed up as her. 

Joey took our picture too! 

:)

I took this while we stood in line. 

I tried to be all like I'm just checking my phone and not taking a picture. 

That's why it's a little blurry.

We like to watch The Guild with Felicia Day. 

Her character is Codex and this lady was dressed up as her. 

Lego art

This was one of my favorites! 

I saw her while we were waiting in line, but couldn't get her picture.

Luckily we ran into her again.

(She's Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus)

It's a little hard to see, but after Comicpalooza we stopped at Amy's Ice Cream. YUM!

I loved seeing that they had decorated their boards with all kinds of comic book characters!

Too cute!

In the beginning of June, Joey's sister graduated high school. She was the Salutatorian! She's the one right next to the chairs(behind the super tall kid).

We are very proud of her!

Later in June, I had my first ride in a small airplane! I get nervous when I go on commercial planes, so for the longest I didn't want to ride in a smaller one. One day Joey's cousin asked if we wanted to go, I was nervous but agreed. Joey cheered me on while we got in the plane and I prayed for courage. I am so glad I did it!! It was really neat! We ran into a little rain and turbulence, but it was great! I'd do it again!

                                       

The plane we rode in. 

Joey's uncle flies people for his job, so he was able to take us up.

Joey's uncle was the pilot and Joey's cousin was the copilot. 

There were many beautiful views!

This is the rain cloud we went through. 

Looks scary, but I stayed pretty calm through the small bit of turbulence.

I got a little crafty this summer. Pinterest has all these neat crayon melt art, so I wanted to try it.
We own a heat gun since we redid the arcades. So I decided to use that.

This was my first one! 

(That's not black on the outer rim, that's blue, violet, and purple)

I put an old shower curtain liner down on the floor and got busy with my project. 

In order to get the splattered effect, the heat gun needs to be on high. 

I loved the look of it, so I went to Michael's and got me another canvas.

I also picked up a "K" sticker that was in the clearance section. 

I chose colors I liked and started layering. 

It's not perfect, but I like it!

 I wish I could get better pictures of these, they turned out pretty and really colorful! 

After I finished both of them, I placed them on the mantle, they've stayed there for a good while. 

Since we are geeky people, we went to another geeky thing this summer! Video Games Live!

It. was. awesome! The symphony is on the stage playing the music you hear in the video game they show on the screen. Video game music is way better than "bloops" and "bleeps" now days. Some music out there is so beautiful! 

The Symphony and choir on stage. 

We had nice seats too!

We were excited for the show to start!

They played the cinematic trailer to World of Warcraft Cataclysm right away!

Some of my favorites were pieces from Journey(the video game), Skyrim, Zelda, and of course Super Mario!

They had a Guitar Hero contest before the show. During the show, they called the winner on stage.

He had to get 42,000 points playing Foo Fighter's Pretender on Hard. Which that song is not a standard song, it was one of those you had to purchase...so it's not common.

The guy chose Expert and got 99%!!

Not only that, but the symphony played along with the music. 

SO COOL!

At times it was hard to remember that you weren't listening to the soundtrack. 

The symphony on the stage was providing all the sound for the video clips you saw!

We will definitely go again when it comes back in town.

If you are still reading, I leave you with a bit of my randomness. I was on my way to VBS one day and got stuck in some traffic. Thankfully, I had some cute cows to entertain me while I waited. 

Have a Moovellous day!

Catching Up

Wow...it's been a while!

I blame it on subbing. I was very blessed to have a long term position in first grade from January all the way till May. It was a really great experience!

I really hate it when it's been a while since I have posted. I feel like it's a huge catch up with pictures and stuff. So then I keep putting off posting. Then it just snowballs. I know this is mainly for me or Joey to read for the years to come, so I want to include even the smaller things.

This past Good Friday, I helped my sister-in-law make kolaches. She got her recipe(or method since it's not a written recipe) from G-ma. Her grandmother. My SIL was making these to sell and  I wanted to see how to make them so I offered to help. It was a bit of work, but the outcome is delicious!

YUM!

 At Easter with the in-laws, Joey's cousin brought his homemade giant ladder golf! It was FUN! I used to think ladder golf was dumb, but now I love playing! Plus I am better at giant size than normal size.
Instead of golf balls on the string...this has softball size balls.

Everything's bigger in Texas!

Not too long ago, I finally hung up an old window frame I got from Joey's granddad. We were visiting a while back and I noticed a pretty wooden window frame in a pile in the basement. It caught my eye because its a beautiful blue/green color.  The next time we visited, I asked if he wanted it, and he said it was mine. We loaded it into the car and it stayed in there for a while. Sadly, each time it got moved a bit of the pretty paint chipped off. So I got it out of the car a few weeks later. Then it sat in the garage. Sad, I know! Well, I was intimidated since I have never hung anything that big, plus I needed to add the hardware on it so it could hang. Oh, and it needed to have the paint sealed, so it wouldn't chip so easily.  Finally one Saturday I was determined to get it hung. I got the hardware on it and Joey hung it for me. I wanted something for the space above the turtle tank and I think it looks awesome!

Our new turtle tank we got a while back. 

It's a trough. Pretty cool!

Close-up!

I love it! It filled the empty space and it adds color and charm to our kitchen. 

Random Pictures Incoming!!

So our turtles started escaping their new tank (the one above). We never had a problem with that, then all of a sudden our girl turtle started getting out. 

Well...one day we noticed there was only one turtle in the tank. So Joey and I went on a turtle hunt. 

We found her...and this mess in the geek room! That used to be a mirror. One of those floor length mirrors from Ikea. She must have seen her reflection and got scarred or challenged it and bumped the mirror. She was not hurt, thankfully, and we found her just sitting right next to the arcade. 

This plant smells delicious!

It smells exactly like a pineapple!

I wanted to get it, but I didn't know much about it. 

Plus I didn't want more plants to water in the HOT summer.

Right now I have:

- 1 yellow knock-out rose bush

- 1 new pink knock-out bush

- 1 tomato plant (from my grandma)

- 1 random bush plant (from my grandma)

- 1 pretty Lantana (potted on the front porch)

-Green onions I planted

- 2 succulents

- Sunflowers!! 

My plants are doing well! I am really excited about that, especially since my track record with plants aren't that great. 

Sunflowers!

I put them in a back corner of the yard. I am hoping they take over that part of the yard. 

A bud!!

This is my little pink rose bush. It's kinda hard to see.

 I planted it a couple of weeks ago. 

Last year I got my yellow one. 

It took it a while to get going, but now it's a good size!

My nice bird feeder my mom got me and my plant stakes I got from Joey's aunt. 

My tomato plant, with tomatoes!!

It's naked except for the tomatoes.

We were gone for a day this past weekend and all the leaves fell off.

I'm pretty sure that means it needs more water.

Right now it's sucking all the water to try to produce the tomatoes.

- Plant from my grandma in white pot. 

Not sure what it is. It has purple flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds!

- Green onions

- Succulent #1

One awesome thing that has sprouted all on it's own is a smaller size sunflower, right next to the bird feeder! Sadly, when I was weed-eating around the feeder, I accidentally hit the stem a little. 

That caused it to fall over and it was about to flower too! I was SO sad! Well, what's a girl to do?! I wanted it to flower, but I needed it to stand up in order to get water from the roots. 

I stopped weed-eating, ran inside and grabbed the duct tape. Yep, I did. I duct-taped the stem. It worked pretty well. The flower still fell over, but it did open! 

When I told my dad about that, he laughed and laughed. I may live in a subdivision now, but my small town/country roots are still there! :) 

Joey and I have had other fun adventures, but I'll post about those soon! 

Have a sunny day!

Spring Break!

So this past week was Spring Break for me. It was much needed! Thankfully this week has left me recuperated and mentally ready for more teaching.

My fun week off started last Saturday. I met up with one of my best friends, Evelyn. We went to college together and we are both teachers.

We met up Saturday and headed to an event my town was having at the fair grounds. It's the first time they have ever had the event. It was called JUNK Hippy! I saw a flyer for it on Facebook and messaged Evelyn about it. We love to go thrifting/junking/(cheap) antiquing. So this was perfect!

We headed to the fair grounds and went in. The first booth we stopped at, we both spent money! The booth was full of vintage goodies at a really good price.

It was SO much fun! We both wished the event would happen more often, but then decided we'd be poor if it did!

Afterwards we went to Chili's for some food and talk time. Girl time. It was really nice! :)
My only regret is we didn't take a picture together!

Here is what I came home with:

This picture doesn't do it justice!

- Beaded necklace and earrings $9

My new favorite accessory!

- Yellow framed rocking chair $2

I added it to my trio of small frames in the hallway. 

It's the perfect punch of color!

I was just going to get the one on the left, but thankfully Evelyn convinced me to get the yellow one too!

This pair is going to go in the formal dining room :)

- $2 each

These are beautifully, embroidered linens

-$1 each

- Blue candy dish- $9

I couldn't make up my mind on the candy dish, even though I'd been looking for one for a while. 

Before I could decide, Evelyn grabbed it and was walking to the cashier. 

She got it for me! 

I am so thankful she did! 

It is so beautiful and I would have regretted not getting it.

Evelyn found this ornate tin, which had some damage.

At a later booth she found one just like it, with no damage.

She didn't want both, so I offered to buy the damaged one from her.

She just gave it to me instead :)

That was just Saturday!

The rest of the week I pretty much stayed home. Did much needed laundry (almost have an empty hamper...first time in a long time). I forgot how much clothes I do have!

Went around Tuesday and got things to make cupcakes. New pan from Marshall's, icing spatula and cupcake liners from Michael's. I really like their liners! $1.99 for 75!

I graded papers and added them into the gradebook since report cards are going out this coming Friday. I did all the comments on the report cards (2 straight hours) so I didn't have to worry about it later.

Yesterday Joey took the day off! Oh it was SO nice to have him home! We had a lazy morning. Then we made these!!

Final Fantasy Moogle and Chocobo cupcakes!!

Joey did the batter and filled the liners. We tried the trick with putting the batter in a ziplock baggie and cutting a corner. Makes it much easier to pour!

(We saw how to make these on Nerdy Nummies !)

I made the yellow frosting (vanilla buttercream) and decorated them!

I am so happy with how they turned out! :)

It was a fun, relaxing week. Now onto the weekend!

Have a great one!

Projects

Wow! So 2013 has been a year of projects so far!!

One of the first projects we did was add accent lighting to our kitchen. It may sound silly, but the only major lighting we have in our kitchen is a florescent ceiling light, a stove/vent light, and the one above the sink.

Joey had been talking about getting LED strips to go above the cabinets for a while. I always thought it would be that super bright blue-ish light so I said no. Then he showed me pictures and how I could get under the cabinet lighting. Once he said that I agreed! I've never had lighting that lit up the counter tops, but I have always thought that would be nice to have! We installed this in a night.

Before with florescent lighting

(Everyday mess included in picture)

After

Love it!!

I think it's one of the best projects so far! We got the tiny LED stripes from Fry's. They are just thin light stripes with heavy duty adhesive on the back. 

One thing I love is it changes to any color and their brightness can be changed. 

It comes with a remote with all the color choices, anything from red to violet. 

There are also many white settings. One more blue, one more yellow, etc. 

Defiantly money well spent!

One of the major projects we did this year was get us a shed!

We got a Lowe's gift card from my dad and step-mom so that went towards getting us a shed. 

Over Christmas we decided we wanted to eventually put the litter boxes out in the garage. 

However, we had all this carpet and lawn stuff in there.

We had carpet/flooring stuff from when we had wood laminate put in our house. 

Like 2 years ago!

So we hauled the carpet off and got to cleaning. 

We needed a shed so that each time we needed to mow, we wouldn't terrify the kitties by opening the garage door. 

It holds all our lawn stuff and we still have room!

Joey, my father-in-law, and I did that one weekend.

After that, the next weekend, we got the cat door. 

It was pretty easy to install.

 Joey cut. 

I supervised. 

;)

We have a major draft when it gets windy outside and it used to blow open the door out to the garage. Which always seemed happen when I was watching something like Supernatural or CSI!

The picture above was on a windy day, and the flap blows in. The cats were all fascinated by it! 

After we installed it, we moved the smaller of the two litter boxes out there. 

To help train them, we used treats and called them until the came through the door. 

It took about a week. Then I put the 2nd litter box in the garage. 

Now our house is litter box free!!!

YAY!

This past month I installed a dimmer switch in our formal dinning room. We bought it with a gift card right after Christmas. I was a little intimidated to do it, but decided that weekend I'd get it done. Everything went well! The hardest part was re-bending the wiring inside our walls to go around the screws on the new switch.  I love the effect it gives! Cheap and easy to do! 

This last thing isn't a project, but something fun Joey and I ran across at Academy. 

A little blurry, but I love how Lucius is looking right at the camera!

Rollerblades!!

They had a good sale on them, so Joey and I got a pair each!

I haven't roller-bladed since my pre-teen days and I am so happy we got some!

We got them a few weeks ago and have only been able to go twice.

The weather has been really windy or icky lately.

However, I am so excited to get to do that more when Spring comes!

That's all so far! I love how productive we are being! It feels so good to get projects done!

Have a nice night!

School Happenings!

Happy March!

I can't believe it is already March!

I've been staying busy with substitute teaching all this year so far. In January, I started in a fourth grade classroom teaching math and science. It was a vacancy, I applied and didn't get it. I'm okay with that now! :) God had better plans for me!

For a month now, I've been subbing in a first grade classroom. I LOVE it! It is crazy and hectic on some days, but the excitement the kids show when learning is something I love seeing!

So far in the classroom I have implemented:
- the tattle monster (tissue box dressed up to be a monster similar to the one I linked to)
        - The students write their non-emergency, not as serious tattles down and feed it to the monster
        - I have a poem next to it to remind them. Found here.

- the desk fairy

- Drops in the jar (classroom management- behavior management)
     - When they do great, the add a marble (the clear cheap vase filler from Dollar Tree)
     - When the whole class does well, we add a larger marble
     - These can be added or taken away.

- Mystery walker- love this one!
     - Choose a name at random. Don't tell them who it is. That way each child will think it's them.
     - Watch that child to see if they walk nicely/correctly in the hall
     - When they do, they get dragon dollars(a school-wide incentive) and they get to put a marble in our jar.
     - I announce the mystery walker if he/she did well and do not if they mess up. That way they are not  called out.

- Kindness cards
    - I found those at Michael's, they were $1.
    - If a student gets those they keep the card and receive a Mardi Gras necklace (I have a ton, since my father-in-law lives in Galveston, where they have a parade).
    - Getting a necklace means they are my special helper. They help with different things during the day. Lunch basket, cafeteria duties, any special notes I need sent to another teacher, etc.
    - They get to keep the beads. Again, I have a bunch, so I can afford to get rid of them.
   

Almost all  of those ideas have come from Pinterest!! I've linked the ones that are.

Yep, school has been keeping me busy! I love it though! I am at the same school, very near Joey's work so we are still carpooling! Such a blessing! We have saved a bunch on fuel costs! :)

Next week is Public School Week and Open House on Thursday. Then after that Spring Break!

The week before last, during writing, I had the students create their own super hero. Being a comic nerd, I thought this would be such a fun topic to write about. The students really enjoyed it. I told them they can create their own, with whatever powers. Nothing violent though. I told them not to copy super heroes out there, if they did choose one, they had to change something about them. (Batman but with laser eyes...Spider- Man with flying powers).

It was fun! I've learned I have a student who likes Deadpool. A first grader probably shouldn't know who that is, but he/she does! Lol! Also had 2 students ask me if I knew what World of Warcraft is. They were fascinated to know that I did and that I have played it. (They both have family members who play.)

It's an interesting journey that God has taken me on so far with teaching. I've questioned Him many times, but I am so happy that I am where He has put me. Even if it's not a permanent position. I know that there is a place for me, and I am waiting as patiently as I can! I am happy that I get to teach and impact lives while I wait. It's pretty awesome!

YAY!!!

Just a quick post...


OWEN GOT ADOPTED TODAY!! Yay!!!


The story about Owen here.

It was a really nice couple that adopted him! Not only that, but they adopted a kitten that is just a little younger than Max!

I am so so excited and happy for Owen and his new parents!

We miss him, but we are so happy he found his forever home!

Through this I learned even more that it's okay to get attached, love even if somethings not going to be in your life forever or be permanent.

Honestly I was worried/scared for a while that I would grow so attached, that when the adoption day came, that I'd be so sad to see him go or not be able to give him up.

I am a little sad to see him go, but my happiness, joy and excitement defiantly outweighs any sadness!

So that's been my day!

I helped the nice couple pick out their new kitty essentials, since they asked for my help. As they were about to leave with their new critters, they both thanked me and the wife hugged me and told me "We'll take care of your baby" :)

It's been a good day! Hope your's is going great too!

2012

I seriously can't believe that 2012 is over! It's so weird how fast time goes by!!

Let's have a recap of 2012!


January-

• I took a long term substitute position job at the school that I student taught in. That job lasted until May!!
• It was a special education job listing, I had no idea at the time I took it, but I am so glad I did!
• I got to see my best friend get married! :)
• We added Lucius to our family! He has been such a blessing! Such a sweet boy!

March- 

• I got a new car! My first ever, brand new car! It's a Honda Civic! My gas millage in my Ford Explorer was less than good and with me working 30 minutes away at the time...we decided to get a car! I am SO happy with it! It's safe, 4 door (my Explorer was 2) and the gas usage is awesome! 32 MPG...We've seen 40MPG

• Joey's cousin got married! It was a beautiful outdoor wedding in Georgetown, Tx

May-

• I got hooked on comic books! We went to see The Avengers twice, and then that Saturday was Free Comic Book Day! I was hooked!

June-

• I turned 24! It's weird since I don't feel that old!
• For my birthday, I just wanted to have a relaxing night. We ordered Vietnamese food and watched The Guild
• We had my dad and my step-mom over to celebrate my birthday. It's always great having them! Lots of laughs! :)

July-

•  Joey's birthday! 
•  Camp 360- We are on staff and do this every year! It's always a blessing to be able to do that and especially when the other staff members are like family!

August-

• I took another "vacancy" position at a school near Joey's work. That ended up lasting until December!! Such a BIG blessing!
• It ended up being for Special Education, this time 3rd-5th grade resource room.
• This ultimately is what made me decide to pursue my Special Education certification. I felt like there was a reason why I kept being put in Special Education classrooms. 

October-

• We adopted Max! He was so little( he's growing so fast)! He is such a snuggle baby!
• We found Owen, almost exactly a week later! Instead of taking him to a shelter, we decided to foster him until we can get him adopted to a good home! He was/is defiantly a surprise visitor, but I know God is using this opportunity to teach me something!

December- 

• Joey and I celebrated 10 years of being together!!!! :D
• Oh my gosh, does he spoil me! That day, I felt like a princess!
• It started after I got off work...he made a video for me, using photos from the past 10 years and songs from our wedding! The first song always makes me tear up, because I walked down the aisle to it! The second was when was played when we walked back down, as husband and wife!
• Here is what he wrote on Facebook (I post this so I'll always have it):

Today, Rachel and I celebrate ten years together. Ten years ago, we were both shy high school kids who went from not knowing each other at all to best friends to boyfriend/girlfriend in the span of 6 months. I had been invited to work with Matt, Phil and Rachel's dad as a sound engineer for their band. Through that awesome experience, I met Rachel when I cut myself at her house one day and she was the one who helped me. Being the shy person she was, Rachel only said, "All I have are Winnie-the-Pooh band-aids." Likewise, being the shy person I was, I said "That's ok, thanks!" took the band-aid and rushed out the door. We would later get to know each other more in school and realized our backgrounds were very similar. We hung out as much as possible at school to the point where our friends would ask us weekly if we were dating yet.

Finally, on December 11, 2002, I asked Rachel out. I was so shy I couldn't even say it. I drew the question with my finger and she drew her response. Neither of us expected the relationship to last very long. However, as the days turned into months and months into years we became even more inseparable. Through the greatest times in our lives and worst, we've been there for each other. To say that I am humbled by the gift God has given me in her would be the understatement of my life. I am beyond blessed.

We usually are not so public about the details of our relationship, but I felt that this occasion warrants a little publicity. I made the video posted below as a gift to Rachel and to remind us of some of the amazing memories we've had over the years. To all that we've had the pleasure and honor of knowing the past 10 years (and longer), thank you for your friendship and support.

• Here's the link to the video he posted with it (I tried to embedd it...didn't work): https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Pd_VykyO4BU
• Oh my gosh! I cried, a so joyful and happy cry!
• That night just got better and better! I can't believe how much I have been blessed with having Joey as my husband!

• I took my Special Education test on the 15th. It took me 2.5 hours to take it. I took my time so that I would do the best I could do on it!
• That next Tuesday, Joey found out my scores for me, since I was working. I PASSED!!!
• Joey figured out that I only missed 17 questions out of the 132. 
• Wow!! I can not believe it still! God is good! I felt like I was being led that way, figured if I wasn't meant to be in Special Education, I would not pass or do well. I think this is God's way of letting me know where he wants me!

• My best friend called me one night (the same one who got married in Jan.) and told me that she and her husband are expecting!!!! I am so so happy for them! She's due in June. They are keeping the gender a secret, so I am super excited to see if it's a boy or girl!

• We celebrated Christmas with our families. All 4 of them! Joey's mom first, then my mom, then Joey's dad in Austin, and this Saturday is with my dad! 

2012 was an amazing year! 

I honestly had trouble remembering what went on this year, it seems like all I did was work! However, I am so thankful to have had  substitute jobs all the way through the year! I had 2 sub jobs that lasted 4 months each! 

2012 was a year of working for me, however it was also a year of remembering and seeing what God has done in our lives!

God really has blessed us with so much and I am so thankful! 

I give Him all the glory!