Another Graduate!

Two weeks ago, my baby sister graduated from High School! She was in the top ten students of her 300+ graduating class. And she sang a rockin' solo when her Jazz Choir performed at graduation! She's working this summer and will be heading off to college in the fall. Which freaks me out considering I remember when she was born. I brought her to first grade for show and tell!



As I type, she and my mom are in DisneyLand...celebrating with my sister's best friend (another graduate) and her mom. Have fun! And tell Cinderella hello! She always was my favorite...

Summer

Schoooooool's out for the summer!

My classroom is packed and ready to be moved. I'm all checked out. I've turned in my keys.

Yay!

I'm preparing to go on a fabulous trip with my little sister...so my vacation so far has consisted mainly of laundry, cleaning, and laundry.

But I have checked off a few of the summer to-do's already!

Inspired by my sister-in-law, I got a cute hook to hand my basket and a lantern. When I get back from my trip I'll pot some flowers, and together those babies will surround my little patio set (which needs to be painted).

Now, honestly, which colors do you prefer?

Sky a la Smurf?

Or Sable and Sawdust?

New paint colors? Check!

I'm also working on some new bedding for the guest room! I'll do a sneak peek next week!

Almost There

The last two weeks have been packed! I'm so happy to say that on Friday, I will be free! Yes, I will tearfully say goodbye to my dear third graders...and then flip handsprings on my way out the door!

I

Am

Ready

For

Summer!!!

The end of year is always a little difficult...trying to get all the artwork off the walls so that students can take it home...making sure there is enough time to finish the last writing project...squeezing in the last half of Little House in the Big Woods...

Not to mention packing all my teaching stuff again before I leave for the summer.

Just like all the other years, everything will get finished just in time and then I'll be able to

Relax

Read

Sleep

Sew

Clean

Cook

Blog?!?

Until then...have a great week!

Paella

Just over two years ago, my sister-in-law and I shared the most amazing meal. We had fresh Paella on the beach in Mexico. Since then I have dreamed of such a delicious mixture of rice, spices, and seafood. This year, my brother-in-law bought me a Paella pan for my birthday, and so tonight we christened it and tried our hand at this traditional Spanish dish.

This seafood Paella called for clams, calamari (squid), scallops, and shrimp. However, before tonight I'd never cooked ANY of those things. Live and learn. Watch the 10 second video to see what happens to clams when you cook them in a tantalizing combination of tomato, onion, garlic, and seafood broth...

The finished product was worth the work! (It was even worth the most expensive spice I've ever purchased--saffron!). We've got some ideas to try next time, but I was so pleased with this dish! In case you want to try it, I used this recipe.

Early Risers

What time does your alarm go off in the morning? Are you the kind of person that purposefully sets your alarm a half hour early so that you can keep hitting the snooze button? Or are you like me, and set your alarm at the minute you need to wake up so that you can get every bit of uninterrupted sleep possible?

And what is your morning routine like? Do you rush around the house getting ready and then jet out the door without so much as breakfast in your belly? Or do you give yourself time to relax, watch the news, or check the blogs? (And if you have kids, how do they change this equation?)

This morning I got up 30 minutes earlier than I needed to. I was out of the shower, had my contacts in and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee at the time my alarm usually goes off. When I went downstairs to get something out of the dryer, I took the time to fold the fresh laundry as it came out instead of shoving it all into a basket to fold this evening (or never...). So far I've had time to do a little reading to try and focus my day, I've popped some muffins in the oven (great recipe I'll share later!), and now I'm writing a blog post!

However, I'm also fighting every fiber of my being to NOT go back into the bedroom and crawl back into my warm bed and go back to sleep. And as efficient as I've been this morning, the sleepiness has caused me to do things like...oh...forget to add water to the coffee pot before I turned it on. Let me tell you--that doesn't work too well.

This morning, I'm not convinced that rising early was worth it...

Bridal Shower!

As I mentioned a few posts back, I recently hosted a bridal shower for my friend Krys! It was so fun because...

A. Who doesn't love showering the bride with gifts?

2. How awesome is it to have a house big enough for a real function?

3rd. Chocolate fountain. Enough said.

The mantel was graced with lovely decorations and favors. (Don't they look great, Beanball? Thanks for your help!!)

And the food. Oh my heavens. No words can describe.

Except maybe the words pound cake, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, cheesecake....

Just a fancy fondue...



But who in this world could resist eating that?!? Not I.


Krys, where'd you go? I can't focus on you for all the presents...

And I'll keep those pictures private. It was a personal shower, after all. Tee hee...

We ate, drank, laughed, played games, and helped prepare our dear friend for a life of wedded bliss. What a great way to spend a Saturday!

Graduated!

This past weekend El Maestro and I drove many hours to return to our Alma Mater--for my sister's graduation! She majored in Cross-Cultural Studies and Peace Studies, so now she's all set to save the world. Soon she'll be moving over to my neck of the woods to work so that she can make some money before she heads off on a year-long volunteer position in Costa Rica!

Congratulations, Em!