Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1.   New Years is   usually disappointing.  The expectations to have an unbelievably fun time are always way to high.

2.   One of my New Year's resolutions will be   to start the Day Zero Project   .

3.  A New Year's resolution I've made in the past was to   wear more bright colored lipstick...still workin on that one  .

4. The most time consuming resolution I ever made was   to become more outgoing.  For about 3 years in a row in Middle school and high school this was one of my resolutions.  I was a painfully shy kid who always wanted the nerve to talk freely.  Took me awhile but I achieved my goal  .

5.  This year I will be spending New Year's Eve    somewhere downtown Madison. Plans are still in the works.

6.  If I could wish one thing for my new year it would be   to continue to be happy and healthy.

7.  2012 is going to be   a good one... I hope :) .

Happy Holidays!

Deck the Halls...

On the eve of Christmas Eve I am happy I have a warm, cozy home that is decked out in Christmas Spirit :)

Fill in the Blank Friday

Linking up with Lauren!

1.   The best way to spread Christmas cheer is   letting the people close to you know how much you love them.

2.   The thing I love most about Christmas is  spending time with my family, the festive decorations and watching people open the presents I got for them    .

3.  The holiday season is a time for  remembering to be thankful for what you have, spending time with family, and gaining 10 lbs .

4. My favorite thing to eat at the holidays is    shrimp with cocktail sauce and ham on Hawaiian rolls *mouth watering just thinking about it* .

5.  I will be spending Christmas   with my family. Christmas Eve with Fisch's.

6.  Tis better to (give or receive?)   give.  I have fun each year trying to think of a theme for all the gifts i give.  One year they were all handmade. This year we bought local and had a "Madison and Surrounding Areas" theme .

7.  I'm dreaming of a   happy and memorable    Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Winter Break Begins!

Ahh, winter break begins! Today was the last day at school.  I am looking forward to the next 11 days of relaxing, seeing family and friends, and getting stuff done around the house. Not going to lie, though, I am going to miss the kiddos next week. It really hit me today that some of my students probably aren't excited for a week off from school. Some of them don't have nice families to spend it with, warm houses to snuggle up in, or even food to eat everyday.  I am just so very thankful that I have been lucky enough in my life to have all those things.  I will enjoy my time off but I know I will be thinking about my students everyday and mentally planning all the awesome things I can do as a teacher to make coming back to school even better for them. :)  

Wordless(ish) Wednesday: My Sister is Awesome

Ever since my little sister, Michaela, was the only 3 year old in her pre school holiday show to nail her one line, we knew she would be a performer.  In middle school she starred in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as Willy Wonka and last weekend she performed as Kim in her high school's musical "Bye Bye Birdie".  I so admire her lack of stage fright, her beautiful voice and her enthusiasm on stage. I am so proud of my baby sister. :)

JibJaberific

Ever heard of JibJab?  Pretty much the greatest thing ever... 

One of my best friends, Linda, made us a holiday one....again, pretty much the greatest thing ever!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Wordless Wednesday: The Bean Jump

Yay Chicago!

Girls Weekend in Chicago

I had a wonderful time on the annual Chicago trip with my girls last weekend!
We...
- Window shopped
- Spent an hour in line waiting to buy Garrett's Popcorn (Chicago mix, cheese and caramel, is the best!)
- Spent a leisurely evening drinking wine and talking in the room before heading out on the town
- Took a random limo ride to dinner
- Ate at Ed Debevics (50's Style diner with a wait staff that is supposed to act rude)
- Danced the night away...and felt very old when we got tired and left by 12:30 a.m.
- Explored Millennium Park

 

I hope even as our lives change we still have these little get togethers :)

 

 

Wordless-ish Wednesday: Oh Christmas Tree...

The $79 one we really wanted to get... if we lived in a mansion...

The $14.99 table top one we got because we actually live in a tiny apartment :)

Little Letters

Dear Overly Enthusiastic Lady at Zumba Class,

 I admire your energy and toned arms.

   Thank you for your willingness to look like a character from SNL.

 Sincerely,

Your Zumba Classmate

Dear Little 1st Grader Who Asked Me What Was On My Forehead,

 It's a pimple.

     Thanks for pointing it out.

 - Your Teacher

Dear Fisch,

Thank you for spending a hour chopping wood so you could make me a fire in the fireplace.

     I like being warm and I like you...a lot.

 Love,

Mc

Dear Zooey Deschanel,

You make me laugh and want to sing.

Your truly,

Me

Fisch, Family and Football

     Thanksgiving day was spent with Fisch's family at his parents house.  With just his mom's side there...and some not even able to make it... there were a total of 30 of us.  Coming from a small family myself, it made for a kind of overwhelming but very festive Thanksgiving.  To add to the festivities, the Packer game was on and during half time it was decided we get our own game going.  I am so thankful to have been invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with such a fun family :)

Wordlessish Wednesday: Igor Menaker Photography

Beautiful

At the art fair the other day, I fell in love with the photography of Igor Menaker.  I especially loved his Aspen Series. When I actually have enough money to buy art or if there ever happens to be a special occasion where someone wants to buy me a fantastic gift, I want one of these please :) Click on the link to view his website and images as i did not want to infringe on any copyrights.

I Love Names

I love names.  I love hearing new names.  Looking up meanings of names. Looking at name lists...you get the point.  One of the great, though sometimes difficult, things about being a teacher is all the names you are exposed to.  It seems like the names are getting more and more unique every year. And no I don't count spelling a kids name in some weird way being unique. It's just causing you child to have to spell their name everytime they say it for the rest of their life and all their teachers to have to look it up everytime they write it. Please can we just agree on the universal spellings of Brayden (Braeden, Bradyn, Braden), Charlie (Charley, Charlea) and Peyton (Payton, Payten)???

This year, having a lot of students of Mexican decent, I have also been exposed to a lot of hispanic names.  Having 300+ students, I thought it would be fun to see if I could find the most unique names for every letter of the alphabet (some are not that unique but I didn't have any other names for the letter)...because I am a nerd and I love lists and names :)...I have also taken it upon myself to color code the names since some are a little ambiguous.

(Black=Boy Red=Girl)

A- Atana, Ainsley, Adeliah, Alorriana

B- Bjorn, Bo, Brooks

C- Charlea, Colby

D- Deakin, Darlene, Detsy

E- Eleri, Ellis

F- Fabian

G- Garrison, Grady

H- Hugo, Hogan, Hudson

I- Ithzanamy

J- Jazlyn

K- Katia, Keagen

L- Luz

M- Mykolas, Mystie, Meadow, Marlee, Marlen

N- Noah

O- Olivia

P- Piper

Q- Quinlyn

R- Regan, Rayna

S- Sylus, Signe, Shaye, Skye

T- Trevyn, Tierney, Tyrus

U

V- Vanina

W- Wilson, Wyatt

X

Y- Yahaira, Yolitzi

Z- Zayden, Zondra

Art and Friends

My good friend from way back in middle school, Heather, came to visit me on Saturday.  We went downtown to the Overture Center for the annual art fair.  It was kind of a spontaneous Groupon Prurchase, 2 for 1 tickets, and I didn't quite know what to expect but It turned out to be so much fun! What can beat an afternoon of art, yummy treats, and holiday shopping with one of your best friends? Thanks for a fun afternoon Heather :)

There also happened to be a huge rally at the capitol.  The energy was amazing and it was wonderful to see so many people coming together peacfully for a cause they so strongly believe in.

Things that I am thankful for this week...

A fat, gassy moose in the woods with his friend squirrel excited because they found an Icee machine.

A Dinosaur who is really excited because he found a lamp on clearance but who is about to slip on a kite.

• Restaurants that have paper on the tables AND crayons you can draw with.
• A boyfriend who plays the scribble game with me and is amazing at it.
• Having a job I absolutely love.
• Making new friends.
• Having too many places to go on Thanksgiving (as opposed to nowhere). 
• Netflix Instant so Fisch and I can have Breaking Bad marathons.
• Old friends.
• My family.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter is Near...

1. Bare Birch 2. New boots 3. Last of the Apples 4. Delicious 5. Fire

New Hair...Kinda...

Before

After

So I got a haircut and highlights today. See a difference? Yeah...me neither. She said it's warmer.  I'll just keep telling myself that.  Luckily it was a Living Social purchase so I didn't pay full price for the same color hair.