We're leaving on a Jet Plane...

This song has been in my head for days. I'm so excited & I couldn't sleep anymore because, TODAY we are actually getting on a plane :o) & flying to Jamaica! Where we will spend five glorious, wonderful, fabulous days doing nothing much. I haven't figured out how to blog from my phone, but I will definitely have tons of pictures when we get back. It's all good, mon!

Pillows come in all shapes & sizes...

some are even shaped like buffaloes. Sweet dreams.

Cheap Sunglasses...

and a not so cheap haircut. Man, I hate paying for haircuts. But I really like my new sunglasses & the bangs. What do you think?

out with the old and in with the new...

Our old trusty Kodak flashed for the last time about 2 weeks ago. It had been a great camera, but we were (I was) evidently too hard on it. It wasn't made to be tossed in a bag without a case, to be dropped by careless 4th graders, have a beer spilled it or slobbered on by a massive Labrador. It served it purpose for 2.5 years. I know I was rough on it, but it probably couldn't have picked a worse time to kick the bucket. I have no pictures of the last week of school or Matt's birthday & we are leaving Monday for Jamaica. A new camera wasn't really on the list of things to buy before vacation.
If you know Brock at all, then you know that he doesn't buy electronics on a whim. An extensive research project must be done, spreadsheets made, reviews read & re-read, specs compared & on & on & on. And if you know me, then you know that I am all about the impulse buy. Even before Mr. Kodak kicked it we were at Best Buy not finding what we were looking for. Bored with looking, I ventured over the cameras (I've been on the quest for a digital SLR for awhile) & I noticed that they had some 'tough' digital point and shoots. 'Tough' as in waterproof, shock resistant, freeze resistant & dust proof...Saawweeet! But at the time we didn't need a new point & shoot & I try to refrain from impulses over $100.
Then Mr. Kodak went on to camera heaven & the research began. While we would love to have a digital SLR we decided to wait till we have some kids some day & we knew we would always want a point & shoot just because they are easy, so why not a 'tough' one. We both knew that my less than careful treatment of the now dead Kodak probably didn't help, plus 'tough' cameras are waterproof & we are leaving for Jamaica in less than a week. The research only lasted a couple of evenings (a new record) & the purchase was made. Thanks to Amazon & some extra shipping cost this dude showed up at our door this afternoon.

So far, I like it. It is the Canon Powershot D10. "Waterproof, freezeproof and shockproof; it's tough enough to take what you dish out..." That sounds like something we (I) need. I've played some this afternoon & it does a pretty good job. I haven't figured out all the bells & whistles & I haven't dunked it in water, but hopefully we will have some kickbutt snorkeling pictures to share when we get home. Countdown....4 days! :o)

Aruba, Jamaica...

This time next week we will be here...

At the Couples Negril.

And on the itenerary...(in case you were wondering)

Is this, period. We aren't going as tourist, we are going to get away & do NOTHING. Can't wait!

We're too old for this...

Yeah, for good friends & good times. Man we love Oklahoma.

OOOOOOklahoma!

Peace out Texas, we are going to the homeland today for some fun,

friends & red dirt! Yippeee! :)

Someday...

This will look like...THIS.

OH.

MY.

GOODNESS.

I probably shouldn't hold my breath, huh? But we are taking donations, we'll even engrave your name in the rock or name a Koi fish after you, you could even pick a plant & we could put one of those "donated by" plaques in front of it...okay, still not holding my breath.

Right now our focus is growing the newly planted grass in that beautiful dirt stripe.

Baby steps, right?

America Got It Right...

Way to go Kris. God bless you & your journey.

We Have a Fungus Among Us

Yesterday afternoon I was out doing my crop tour (that's what my dad does when he checks on the things he has planted, technically I am doing the same. Who cares if he will harvest the grain that might end up on your sandwich some day & I am only growning pretties it's all the same to me) & I found these dudes in an urn on the front porch.

I know they can't be good for the plants, but they looked wicked, so I had to take a picture.

So this morning I was doing a crop tour because it rained again last night & now look at them! The look more like little yellow umbrellas (or marshmallows when you microwave them for rice crispy treats) this morning.

And there are even more under the umbrellas.

Wicked... I guess I should spray them with some fungicide, but they look so cool. Gotta take care of my crops...

I never dreamed that I would complain about the rain. Growing up we would pray & pray & pray & beg & do rain dances & pray for rain. Here it seems like it rains almost everyday. (not really but sometimes it feels like it) My kids at school haven't been on the playground in 3 weeks because of the rain & then the mud. It makes my job of keeping them entertained & off the ceiling really hard. My grass does look beautiful though, everything is growing like crazy & we haven't had to run the sprinklers at all. That's good, right? And the lakes are all up so we can take the boat out...oh...wait, we don't have a boat - that's a whole different post.

On the agenda for today - Rockwall Garden Tour - YIPPEE! Yes, Brock is going, yes, he is still my husband & not my gay friend. It's fun, we went last year & got lots of good ideas for our blank slate of a yard. What's really exciting about the tour today is that two of the houses are on 2 acre plots in a neighborhood just down the road from here, so at one time they had HUGE blank slates like us. It will be great to see what they have done.

Happy Saturday!

PS - 13 days of school & 30 days till Jamaica, but who's counting?!?

Hot Hot Hot

The rain has stopped, for now, but the heat is on & so is the humidity. Sadly the AC wasn't working in my classroom today & by the end it was 78 degrees...uck. Fourth grade boys start to sweat, then they start to smell bad & then it's just all down hill from there. Never.a.dull.moment. The silver lining... I left at 3:10 today, I felt as if my working conditions were unfit- AWESOME! I was home before Ellen was over & it felt FABULOUS!!! I haven't been home this early in FOR -EVER. Most days I drag in around 6 or 6:30, last night it was 8:00, ugh. Today so far, I've started laundry, I actually have a plan for dinner that doesn't invole a prepackaged dinner,left overs or Brock's help & the dinner has actual sides, I'm blogging now & getting ready to Shred, maybe I'll even run if the humidity will calm down. I know better than to get used to it, I know that I'll need to be at school by 7 in the morning becuase I left WAY early today, I have a meeting that will last till at least 4 tomorrow & then I have make sure that we are all ready for field day on Friday. I wish my day job (that sometimes goes right on into the evening & weekends) was as easy as most people think.

But- I love, Love, LOVE! my kids this year & they make it all worth it ... today we were discussing Idol (we are very up on our current events) from last night (GO KRIS!) & the conversation went something like this....
Me - "Hey, who watched Idol last night?"
Class - "Ohhh me!" "I did!" "Yeah!"
Boy - "Is Adam Lambert really a guy?"
Girl - "He wears makeup & screams"
Another boy - "I heard my mom say that he kisses boys"
Me - "ummmm"

This went on for awhile but I don't remember the rest, I couldn't stop laughing. Never.a.dull.moment.

Spring has Sprung

Montana likes the new fountain... Hope everyone is doing well. Things are crazy here hopefully things will slow down soon. Yeah for almost summer!

Ashley

Finished

Before...

After...

We still need a rug & some curtains, but it is much better.

This is all that you get tonight. Spring Break is over. I.need.sleep....

Up next, the cutest milk mustache ever.

Oh the Madness...

I think we had forgotten what it was like to go dancing. The Pokes hadn't made it to the real March tourney since Brock & I graduated. Today we beat Tennessee in the first round...Today was a great day to be a Cowboy... bring it on Panthers the Pokes have their dancing shoes on.

We definitely have basketball fever here, so it's a good thing Brock finished putting up the basketball goal yesterday.

Montana loves basketball...

Until yesterday that sad excuse for a basketball smushed in Mont's mouth was 'basketball.' (To him anyways) That ball was from either OCC, PSU or WT basketball camp WAY WAY back in the day, it has seen better days, but Montana loves it. Now, he might love to 'play basketball' even more.

Ohmygoodness, this boy likes to 'play basketball.'

He's a defensive machine. Pretty sure he blocked my shot yesterday. No, I'm not that bad, he's just that good. And I shot very well yesterday, thankyouverymuch!

If he had thumbs the Cowboys would recruit him. The no thumbs thing really holds him back though...
Yes, the ball is in his 'hands'... now that's talent folks...He crashes the boards with the best of them...

Oh, and the ups on this kid...

And the intensity... oh my Lordy the intensity.

I don't think there is a baller out there with a bigger Valentine.

Happy March Madness! Go Pokes!

Just call me SUPERWOMAN..

Done, the chairs are DONE! Can you believe it?? Just this morning I was sure this little project might take months, now... it's DONE!

The secret was in the sanding. I need to do A LOT less of it. I ended up just sanding by hand, scratching the surface & using really some awesome spray paint. I would be a spokes person for Krylon Fusion if they would hire me. It is the master at being spray paint. No runs, no drips, no streaks, no problems...

if at first you don't succeed...

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL? Eight hours & 10 cans of paint later...

I look like I worked in a coal mine all day. Scary, huh? My face was even blacker than it looks in the picture.

Not only did I get the chairs done but I got flowers planted on the back patio.

I had to make a run to town for more paint so I bought flowers too. The big pot is creeping Jasmine and it smells fabulous. The rest are a mix of Petunias, Marigolds, Gerbera Dasies & the spikey thingies. I planted some Ruby Slipper Daisies & some Yellow Esperanza in the front. So far all of my perinials from last year are coming back.

I would have taken pictures but I was tired of having paint stuck in my nose & I really wanted to play with my new iPhone! :o)

Spring Break Project

It wouldn't a break from school if I didn't take on a big project... I guess I just can't relax.


Last August, just a few weeks before school started, my Granny came down & we did some shopping at the antique shops in Forney. We found a store that was going out of business & they had marked everything way down. They had a dining room table with 6 chairs for $100. It wasn't really our style, but it was a HUNDRED DOLLARS! for all 7 pieces & we had a EMPTY dining room. A $100 is nothing now that I'm a grown up & I wouldn't be my mother's daughter if I didn't think I could make it perfect with some sanding & a couple cans of black spray paint. SOLD!
I knew that this wasn't going to be a weekend job & our weekends are usually pack with the stuff that we didn't get to during the week. So, fast forward 7 months & I finally getting to making it perfect.


Here are the chairs. Do you see the ninety bajillion spindle thingies? I think I had nightmares about ninety bajillion spindle thingies last night. The chair on the right hasn't had the years of gunk removed from it with a scrubby sponge, the one on the left has... Can you tell the difference?

That would be the close up of the years of gunk & the no more years of gunk...now that's just nasty.

I still have a positive attitude about my project at this point, I feel productive, useful... & I have a POWER SANDER! (insert Tim the Tool Man grunts here) Thanks MOM!

Three hours later... I'm a hunch back, with arthritis in my hands & my attitude has change dramatically. And Montana has been NO help, geeze man, help your mother out... What the crap was I thinking? I'm never even going to get to black spray paint fixes everything phase on one chair, let alone SIX & a table. I'm no longer speaking to my friend the power sander.
See his flat, square surface? Flat, square surfaces don't really do the job on ninety bajillion spindle thingies. So I go to my trusty friend Google & search for detail sanders, because there is NO WAY on this earth that I am doing ninety bajillion spindle thingies by hand.

I found a few good candidates & I call the troops (Brock @ work) who just happen to be going to Lowe's on the way home anyway. SWEET! Bring me a !*#* detail sander!

He comes home with...

The choirs sing Hallelujah in my head. This is the BEAST of all things sander. It is called the "Octo-Multi Sanding Beast" (maybe I added the beast part) It has EIGHT different attachments perfect for sanding ninety bajillion spindle thingies, there was even a picture on the packaging of a dude sanding a chair. It was meant to be. I have renewed hope in my project. I skipped outside...I'll show you stupid spindle thingies.

It took me another hour & a half to get to this point. I think I have one chair ready for paint (and hunch back syndrome coupled with old lady hands) That means there are FIVE more to go. I'm not sure what I've gotten my self into. My whole body just aches this morning. This project may take more than a week. My goal is to get the chairs done. The table (which you can see in the background) is covered by a really cool $12 table cloth from TJ MAXX right now. I can hide the table, the chairs not so much & I know that I won't have time to get back to the chairs until school gets out. Wish me luck...

Miles for Monika & the power of the Internet

The Internet has been a lifesaver for me since moving down here. It has allows me to stay in touch with Oklahoma friend & it has brought some really wonderful new friends in to my life. Oh, the power of the Internet...
One of my 'Internet friends' (yes, we've met in real life, several times, she actually borrowed my wedding veil) had major surgery to remove a golf ball - sized cyst from her chest yesterday. You can read all about Monika on her blog. Monika is a fitness guru & a beast when it comes to running (She recently won a nike+ challenge by running 181 miles in the first 2 months of this year....HOLY CRAP! stolen from Kelsey) & her surgery will knock her out of running for at least 6 weeks. So a fellow 'Internet friend' (yes, I've met her too) has posed a challenge for all runners or just peeps that want to do something for Monika.

Please, if you get a chance, go log a few Miles for Monika, and go read about the challenge on Kelsey's blog.


If you don't feel comfortable logging your miles on Kelsey's blog, leave me a comment with your miles & I will log them for you. I logged 2.5 miles yesterday & I'm getting ready change & head out the door. Get up from the computer & go run...for Monika.

It was a...

Disclaimer. Blogger & I are not friends today. The pictures are all wonky, sorry, but you'll have to turn your head to look at some of the pictures, I have no explanation & I'm not going to waste anymore time trying to figure it out. Please don't send me your chiropractor bills.

Moving on... Friday fell at a weird point curriculum wise. We just finished a bundle (group of objectives set by the district) on Tuesday, then we benchmarked Math on Wednesday & Reading on Thursday (benchmarks are practice TAKS for those of you not fluent in teacher speak. We use the data to see who is ready & who isn't) so that left us with Friday. The poor kids had been sitting all day since Tuesday, it was rainy, I really didn't want to start a new concept on the Friday before spring break, becuase I would just have to go over it again when we come back, & I really wanted to do something creative & fun. so...
We did "It was a... Now it's a...." I gave the kids a choice of a die-cut clover or a flower. They take their flower or clover & make atleast 1 straight cut (they can cut it twice). Then they take the pieces & make something new, the more creative the better. Finally they have to write a story about the picture that they made. (stories to come after break) Here are just a few of the pictures.


It was a yellow flower. Now it's hair & muscles...
I laughed out loud when I saw this one. The best part was that the kid was SO proud of himself for coming up with it. LOVE IT!

It was a yellow flower. Now it's a little girl...

At one point her paper said "yellow afro!" (lol)

I think the story will have something to do with a birthday party.

It was a pink flower. Now it's a necklace & tiara...

Complete with sparkles that the student dug out of the craft cabinet by herself. Some think I'm crazy for letting them in my cabinets, but my thought is, if I bought it for them to use & they think they need it then more power to them. Keep in mind we've had the "your stuff & my stuff" talk & they know their boundries. It's all about independence in Mrs. Crews' room. :o)

It was a yellow flower. Now it's two cars... (do you see the 2 halves of the flower?)

What you can't see is that one car is a cop car & the other is a get away car from a bank robbery, complete with a money bag. I took the picture before he was finished, by the end of the day the get away car had big flashy wheels & the cop car's lights were bigger. I can't wait for the story. :o)

It was a green clover. Now it's a frog.

I think that this one is adorable... & the fact that it comes from a kid that is not known for his "adorableness" is just great.

It was a green clover. Now it's a dog with a bone. (d0 you see the 3 parts of the clover?)

Holy crap, This one blows me away, look at that imagination. The story has something to do with the bone being green becuase the house that the dog lives in is moldy & the house is leaning & is about to fall over... wow. I am so impressed.

Now that is only 6 of the 41 pictures from Friday. There were lots that are just awesome. I love watching them be creative & clever. They really didn't do any "Math" or "Science" on Friday, but they were THINKERS. We didn't do any TAKS practice or story problems, but I gaurantee you they stretched their brains more while trying to come up with a new purpose for their object than on any TAKS practice page & they had FUN. That is why I teach, so I can watch them think, all on their own.

The NCAA tourney brackets come out later today. CAN'T WAIT! GO POKES!