A few of my favorite things . . .

New School Supplies

I was always one of those children who looked forward to going back to school. I loved buying all the new supplies, the perfect new crayons, the unbent edges on all of the notebooks & binders. I would always pack my backpack the night before school started with excitement. Is it any surprise that I decided to be a teacher? It has been so much fun buying school supplies this year! I have spent way to much time wandering the aisles deciding what to get.

Sea Island Cotton by BABW

Many fragrances give me a headache when I wear them (even the ones that I think smell great on other people). So I usually avoid perfumes/lotions or wear the really mild ones. This summer I found a new scent at Bath and Body Works that smells fantastic and doesn't give me a headache! It is called Sea Island Cotton. It smells so clean and refreshing. It is great.

Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers

Yes, I am a 24 year old who still uses lip smackers. Probably way more now than when I was a child. However, I only use the Dr. Pepper kind. I don't do the whole lip stick thing, so the Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers has just enough of a tint that it works perfectly. It is easy to use and costs very little. On the down side, it can be hard to come by, so when I find it I buy all that the store has. I bought four last month which made me very happy (and should last me a very long time)!

Bob's 10 Grain Hot Cereal

I am a fan of hot cereals. I finally tried this one last month and fell in love. I pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes, mix in some milk and brown sugar and it is good to go. The texture is fantastic, and it keeps me full until lunch. Love it.

My New Green Purse

My sister, Lacey, introduced us. It is a lovely olive green, and is super soft. It is the first real purse I have ever actually owned. It makes me feel all grown up and sophisticated - especially when I use it to carry around my Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers :-)

What was I thinking?

Do you remember back in June when this comment popped up in a post - "I may be the only person who wishes school could start sooner! August seems so far away!". Um, that couldn't have been me. Did I really think that? School starts in a week, and I am kind of in denial. Where did the summer go?

I don't feel ready to be a teacher yet! I have spent the last several days locked away in my classroom trying frantically to prepare myself for what is about to happen (can you ever really be prepared?) An empty classroom is not a good place for a person in my state of mind. The quiet leaves way to much time to think. And worry. Thoughts like the following run through my head constantly:

What is the best way to teach this?

What if they don't like me?

Did I learn how to do all of this in college?

Is it even possible to teach all of this in the time I have?

What if they don't learn?

You get the idea. I am spending way to much time alone. Don't get the wrong idea, as scared as I am, I am also very excited. I can't wait to meet my students and start teaching. It is time to fill up those little desks with little students to keep me busy! I know that once I get past the first few weeks I will feel better. I just have to make it through the next week first!

200th post - and the winner is . . .

For my 200th post I thought I would share with you a quote that has really made me stop and think. My friend, Heidi, told me that I had to read the book The Ultimate Gift. I loved the movie, so I figured I needed to give the book a chance too. The following quote is from the book, and I think it is amazing:

"If we are living our lives the way we should, everything should be in such an order that we wouldn't change the last day of our life from any other day. . . We're not guaranteed anything but today."

So make sure that you live every day to the fullest - no regrets!

And now, onto the giveaway! Thank you all for entering, I love doing giveaways! They are so much fun! I wrote all of your names on slips of paper:

folded and dropped them in a bowl . . .

then I held the bowl over my head and picked out a winner, who is:

SUZETTE!!!! Suzette and I were roommates our first year in college, and now she has two adorable children. I hope that Zella and Jens love these books as much as I do!

Once again, thank you all for entering! I may have to do a holiday giveaway close to Christmas, so make sure you check back!

GIVEAWAY #2

I know I have been posting a lot lately; it was my goal to get to my 200th post (so I could do this giveaway) before school started, and I made it! YAY! So in honor of my 200th post I am doing a 2nd giveaway. Once again I am giving away one of my favorite things - children’s books! I have carefully selected five books that will be given to one very lucky person. Here are the books included:

*A set of 3 Skippy jon Jones books, by Judy Schachner. I love Skippy Jon Jones! The series is about a Siamese cat who believes he is a Chihuahua. There are some basic Spanish words thrown in here and there, which I think is really fun! These are great books to encourage kids’ imagination!

*The Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing, by Helen Lester. A fun twist on a classic tale.

*The Pout-Pout Fish, by Deborah Diesen. This is one of my new favorites! The story is about a fish who believes that he will always have a pout-pout face because that is the way he was born. Until one day he meets a kiss-kiss fish who turns his whole world upside down! Adorable!

All of the books are paperback, and brand new. They are looking for somebody to love them!

It doesn't matter if this is your first time visiting my blog, or if you have been with Kate's Corner from the beginning (all three of you). It doesn't matter if you have kids or not (I don't, and I still love children's books!) Even if I don't know you, don't be timid, just enter! The more the merrier!

To enter: Simply leave a comment on this post. Make sure it gives me a link to your blog. If your blog is private, make sure there is a way that I can contact you if you win. You have until 11:59 PM on August 10th (Monday) to enter. I will draw a winner and post on Tuesday. If you live close enough I will hand deliver the books, and if you don't I will mail them.

So there it is! PLEASE ENTER!

Ode to BIL

This is my brother-in-law Steve. It may seem a bit strange to have a blog post honoring him, but after you hear what he did I am sure you will completely understand. Last week I accidentally deleted over 500 pictures on my camera. Every picture since the beginning of May (including graduation, and the trip to Spain) GONE. Not a good feeling. However, the story has a happy ending. Steve was able to recover almost every picture, and I now have them safely stored on a CD. What a tragedy it would have been to lose a picture like this:

Or this:

And especially this!

(Why am I the only one that ends up looking like a weirdo in "silly" pictures?)

So a HUGE thanks to Steve, who was able to fix a really horrible situation! And a HUGE thanks to Lacey for marrying Steve, and bringing a computer genius into the family!

Pink

I don't own red clothes. Red does not look good on me (seriously). This could explain my lapse of judgment today while I was doing laundry.

My beautiful red purse (made out of a place mat, and super cute) had chocolate on it. I know, leave it to me to have chocolate on my purse! It needed to be washed, so I threw it in with my dark's today without a second thought. I had also missed a white sock when I did my white load, so I threw it in as well.

When I pulled out my load I was shocked to find one very pink sock, one blue/pink tye-dyed looking shirt, and some other pinkish tinged clothing. Since the shirt is an exercise shirt I think it looks kind of cool, but what on earth am I supposed to do with ONE pink sock?

So now I have a decision to make. These are the three options I have come up with:

1. Throw the sock away. But the sock is still in perfect condition! Seems wasteful.
2. Find some other red clothing and wash the twin sock (which is still white) to make it pink. I would most definitely wear pink socks.
   
3. Leave the one sock pink and claim it as my "lucky sock" to use when I race.

What do you think I should do?

We're Back!

After a very, very long day of driving, we are back home. It is always nice to return home. I slept great in my own bed! However, there are a few things that I already miss about the Oregon Coast. Here are my top 5:

The Ocean
(Or as Maddie called it, Doshun)

The sound
The smell
Playing in it
Wish it was closer!



Blueberries

They taste different in Oregon!
So sweet & Perfect, I ate them every day!
I personally carried some home to enjoy here.

The Laid back Lifestyle

I know I couldn't live like that forever
but it was sure fun for a week!

The Weather

It was perfect there - 60-65 degrees daily.
First rest stop on the drive home - 112 degrees.
Enough said.

The Girls

I know they really do live close
And I get to see them often
But not every day!
I got spoiled!

I may need to see if I can grow a blueberry plant in my backyard! Has anybody ever tried that?