Another good one.

"And I know you too well to say you're perfect, but you'll see, oh my sweet love, you're perfect for me"

Project 365- {20-26}

{1/20/13- MLK Taco day! Lauren, Liz, and Drew came over for dinner :)  }

{1/21/13- Family picture gone awry.....}

{1/22/13- Just finished my laundry and kitty decided to lay on it and get it a lllllll full of her hair. nice.}

{1/23/13- Dinner with my husband at Olive Garden. This was dessert....now you see it, now you don't!}

{1/24/13- Watched Downton Abbey reruns when I got home from work and found the schedule for Season 3 online! This is it, in case you were wondering!}

{1/25/13- A snowy day today! I love the snow!}

{1/26/13- Ice skating at Joe's house with Emily, Joe, Kyle, and Kelsey!}

Fun week :)

#13- Read a Book From My Classics List

This is part of my 25 Before 25 List.

I just read one of the books of my classics list a few weeks ago- The Great Gatsby. I read this book back in high school in my Freshman English class with Mr. Olsen. (Anyone else have him? I LOVED that guy!)

Anyway, I loved the book back then, and took extensive notes in it so that I wouldn't miss anything. Now I look at those notes and think to myself, "Ohhh, that's where I must have learned that word..." which is weird because I don't remember actually learning the word, but there it is underlined with the definition next to it.

I did this with a lot of my classic books. I have a habit of underlining words that I don't know, or like and want to use more often, and ear-marking the pages. So my copy of the Great Gatsby has some underlined words, and though I didn't add any more marks to the pages, I did stop and think about a lot of the story.

Even though I had already read this book, it was different from how I remembered it. In fact, the parts that I remembered from the book, were not the parts that I really enjoyed or thought about this second time that I read it.

*********************************SPOILER ALERT*********************************
Like the part of the story on page 144-145 when Gatsby is at Tom's house. Gatsby tells Nick that he is going to stay and watch over the house because Daisy said that she would flip the light off and on if there was any trouble. Then, when Nick goes over to peer through the windows, Daisy and Tom and downstairs in the kitchen talking. Nick describes it as an "air of natural intimacy about the picture". This time when I read it, I noticed the and felt the heartbreak for Gatsby. Here is a man, OBSESSED with a woman, who toyed with him. Deep down I think she was living in a fantasy world, but yet, she made him believe she really meant to leave Tom. And maybe she did, but she just didn't have the courage to. She left her light on and made Gatsby think she was in her room with her light the whole time, when really she was running back into the arms of Tom. It made me realize what a weak, confused girl she was, and what a hopeless, romantic man Gatsby was. Fitzgerald put it so eloquently when he ended that chapter with "So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight-watching over nothing".

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^SPOILER ALERT^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I never noticed this before. I mean, I read this part of the story, but I didn't get the emotion in those 2 pages. Now, as an adult, I do. This is why I am re-reading the classics.

Well, that and because there are no good books that I can relate to for twenty-something-year-olds.

Yay books! And movies that are based off of books!

2013- Resolutions

I haven't quite hammered my resolutions out yet. 

I understand that we are 23 days into the new year, and that I am a bit behind on this, but better late than never or something like that. 

Here's to PERSISTING though my new years resolutions laziness. 

HA.

Starting now

Project 365- {13-19}

{1/13/13- Filled this organizer for my reading table. Saw it in some other teacher's rooms and got myself one. Soooooo nice to have it all organized!}

{1/14/13- Drank the last glass of the most delicious hot chocolate in the world. Was the holiday version of this- salted caramel hot chocolate with vanilla marshmallows. Ugh, I want more!}

{1/15/13- Dark picture, but started to unpack my craft room now that I could move our old kitchen table into the craft room as my craft room table! First thing up on the shelves: My ribbon :) }

{1/16/13- Becoming slightly addicted to this game again, but my battery died and Resetti yelled at me! Gotta love Animal Crossing!}

{1/17/13- Bought a new book at Target. Just started reading it. I have wanted to read it for a while!}

{1/18/13- Beautiful sunset on the way home from work}

 

{1/19/13- Rockin' my Toms on the way to breakfast at Wildberry with Tommy's parents and Anna! Then we came home and Kitty Pants McMewey helped Tommy study for his last test}

Love this song...

Ron Pope is an artist I stumbled upon whilst listening to my Broadway Musical radio station on Pandora (HA, yes I have one of these and I LOVE when the broadway musical version of The Little Mermaid comes on, don't judge....)

Anyway, I love this song:

#1 & #12- Two Birds with One Stone

This is part of my 25 Before 25 List

#1- Paint some pictures and hang them up
#12- Create something from Pinterest

are BOTH done!

Though, technically, I haven't hung them up yet....ha

I bought a canvas at the Hob Lob and crayons at Target. Then I picked the order I wanted them. I also decided I wanted to put the word "Create" on the bottom, which I sketched in pencil.

I hot glued the crayons to the top. I added masking tape just above the word "Create" so that the wax from the crayons wouldn't run onto the word (which I would later paint).

I used an embosser (or you can use a hair dryer) to melt the crayons slowly and let them drip down the canvas. Then I removed the masking tape and painted in the word create. And there you have it my friends :) 

Getting Active with Old Navy

Getting Active with Old Navy



Whaaaaaaa? Old Navy??? I may need to check this stuff out.....and follow this blog now.....

Project 365- {6-12}

So here are my next photos :)



{1/6/13~ Hanging out with Tommy and Kitty on my last day of winter break. Super relaxing :) }

{1/7/13~ First day back at school :) When I got home, we took down the Christmas tree :( So sad looking}

{1/8/13~ Happy Birthday Tommy! We celebrated with a home made dinner and spending time together :) }

(Ok, so that's 2 photos.....I cheated)

{1/9/13~ attempted those lasagna cups for dinner AGAIN. They were better the first time because this time I didn't have any Mozzarella cheese so I had to grate string cheese to make some.....lol. So it took me longer and there wasn't enough cheese :( Oh well!}

{1/10/13~ Our fridge. Tommy drank the rest of my dark chocolate almond milk, so he went out and bought THREE more after I already stopped and bought another one. HA! He's so sweet}

{1/11/13~ Got a new kitchen table. LOVE IT. It is exactly what I was envisioning for this space. The right size, shape, and color. Now I just need to get a new carpet.....  :)  }

{1/12/13~ Kitty-pants and I snuggled in bed and did grad school homework. Then Tommy and I went to the city to celebrate Laura's birthday!}

#19- Start My Masters

This is part of my 25 Before 25 List.

So this has officially begun! It started on October 16th, 2012.  In fact, I am so behind on updating this list that I have already finished a class for my Masters! Whaaaaaaaat? I know!

I am in a cohort at Olivet Nazarene University that meets at Vernon Hills High School (nice and close to home!) on Tuesdays. I am fortunate enough to be in it with some friends of mine that also teach at Fremont, which makes it so much nicer!

It has been going well :) The first class was a bit difficult because there was A LOT of reading to do, which was hard to manage with also teaching full time (and then some....). I did find things very interesting to read about though. I feel like I learned a lot about Reading, both historically, culturally, and biologically. It was neat!

This next class that we are taking is lighter reading, but we have to teach a bunch of different strategies and document the work we are doing to turn in to our professor. The strategies are ones that are pretty helpful, and things that I think my kiddos can really benefit from, it's just hard to fit them in with the already busy day we have!

Anyway, #19 is well under way and I am excited to share some things that I learn with you as I continue!

{First Day of Grad School Outfit!}

Project 365- {1-5}

There is this project out there in Blog Land called Project 365. It is the idea of documenting a whole year of your life through a picture a day. There are few things that I have ever committed as long as a year, but I might give this a try.

Here's where the idea came from....

Here are pictures 1-5 for the first week of January!

{1/1/13~ First breakfast of 2013, cinnamon roll waffles. Yum}/div>

{1/2/13~cute polar bear ornament I rescued}

{1/3/13~ Tommy, Kitty, & I relaxing}

{1/4/13~ Visit to the Shedd on the 2 year anniversary of Tommy's accident. What a happy life celebration!}

{1/5/13~ Bought each other our birthday presents :) New bikes!}

Happy New Year 2013!

Another year has passed and I'm like WOAH.

Here are some things we did this year:

Celebrated the 1 year anniversary of Tommy's accident on 1/4/12

Celebrated Tommy turning 24 on 1/8/12

 

Saw Legally Blonde on 3/17/12

Bought a house on 3/26/12

Celebrated my 24th birthday with a checkered cake from Laura and a B-Day movie on 5/4/12

Went for many runs on my favorite trail by our house

Celebrated Megan's Wedding shower at our new house on 5/27/12 :)

Went to a Sox game with Kyle and Kelsers on 6/3/12

Set sail on the Getting' Tipsy with Second Grade on 6/13/12

Celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on 6/17/12!! We went back to IG and walked around, took some pictures, and recorded a video of our current life- 1 year later as a married couple :)

Celebrated Megan's bachelorette party!

Stood up with Megan & Jeff as their Matron of Honor on their wedding day 

Celebrated Nicole Lukemeyer's wedding shower and went to her wedding later in the year!

Went to Arlington Race Track for the first time on 7/14/12

Started house sitting a kitty on 7/19/12 and ended up keeping her! (Thanks Aaron!!)

Ran a half marathon with Megan Lackaff on 7/22/12

Visited the Art Institute with my husband on 7/26/12

Went to an engagement party for Liz Lange on 7/29/12

Celebrated a friends wedding on 7/28/12

Beat the pants off some friends in darts by getting a double bullseye and triple 19 on 8/17/12 (woot)

Donated my hair to Locks of Love for the second time on 8/20/12

Ran a 5k with Anna on 9/2/12

Won a new pair of running shoes from the half marathon on 9/14/12

Went to the Ryder Cup on 9/28-9/30/12 and had an AWESOME time! One of my favorite 2012 memories :)

Day 1                                          Day 2                                        Day 3

Attended ISU Homecoming AND ran in the 5k in October

Hung the first pictures in our house on 10/13/12 (ha, only a few months after we moved in...)

Went to a CAFE conference with some friends on 10/24/12

Carved pumpkins and dressed up for Halloween. I was a chef and Tommy was Harry Potter. That was a tough school day for me.....clearly....

Read the Hot Chocolate 5k on 11/4/12 for the third year in a row!

Voted on 11/6/12. Woot.

 

Went Black Friday shopping from 10:00 pm to 8:30 am....yessssss. Laura was good company!

Had the first annual Friendsgiving on 11/25/12--- NO PICTURES FOR THIS....or so I thought!
Kelsey has kindly texted me two pictures that sum up the night :)

 

Got our first Christmas tree in the house on 12/3/12

Celebrated the "End of the World" with each other on 12/21/12

Celebrated Christmas with both sets of family and moustaches on 12/24/12

 

Hosted a rockin' New Year's Eve 2012 party :)

What a wonderful 2012 it was for us! Brought on some big changes in our life and we feel blessed. We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us!!