Too Busy for E-Mail

November 30, 2011
I have been pretty swamped lately with school stuff, and today I realized I didn't check my e-mail for the afternoon.  I think the last time I checked it was around noon and by the time I checked it again, here is what I had:

20 e-mails.  In just a few hours.  Phew...

Smart Board Training

November 29, 2011

For our staff meeting today we had a few of the teachers show us how they use their Smart Boards in their classrooms.  It really was amazing, all the different things you can do on a smart board, it's kind of like those computers you see on CSI or some crime show.  Steph was one of the presenters today, so I got a picture of her up front showing us her stuff!

Rearranged

November 28, 2011

I decided to change my living room around so that I had more room, but could only come up with one little change, but I think it made it look different enough.  I like change, and I like the way it looks now.

Card Making

November 27, 2011
Christmas is in the air!  Today I made 50 Christmas cards, and I still have more to go!  I think they turned out ok, we'll see if I ever get them completely finished and sent out!  : )

Christmas in Apt. 108

November 26, 2011

Today I decorated my house for Christmas!!  I love it!  And I can't believe it's already Christmas time!  

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Reading Fun

Nov. 25, 2011
Today we went to Barnes and Nobel to look around and read some books.  I spent most of the time with Georgia in the kids section (mostly because I like those books best too).  Georgia is in first grade this year and working on her reading skills, so she read a book or two to me.  It was great, I loved it!

Here she is reading a book about Belle.  She did such a great job!  

Thankful Part 2

November 24, 2011
P.S.  We also got to go see The Muppets today, which was a super cute movie!  And I wanted to share some pictures from that too!

Here we are, just after the movie.  They didn't have a poster of the Muppets, but you can see it on the list of movies in the background!   : )

They did have the Chipmunks in the theater, so we took a picture with them.  The girls are excited to see the new Chipmunk movie coming out soon.  I think I may pass!

Thankful

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!!  What a great day to stop and remember all that we have to be thankful for!  Hopefully we live a life of thanksgiving, but even if we do, it is good to take this day to remember all that God has given us.
I am thankful for so many things in my life, but I am most thankful for the people God has given me to live my life with, especially my family.

I am thankful for my dad and mom.  They are such a blessing to all of us!  They have been married for 40 years and are a great example to all of us of what commitment and love look like in real life!  Thanks for being such great parents and for loving and encouraging us no matter what!

I am thankful for my sister, Corinna, who is a great picture of what determination, strength and perseverance look like.  She has done an amazing job raising her kids, and being a great mom to them.  I have always looked up to her and have learned so much from her.  

I am thankful for my brother Billy and my sister-in-law Gina!  My brother is an amazing dad, and provider for his family.  I love watching him with his girls and seeing the love and fun they share together.  I am so proud of the man he has turned out to be!  Gina is a great addition to our family!  I am so thankful that my brother found a good wife, who is supportive and loving and who has been a great friend and sister to me.  

I am thankful for this beautiful girl, Taylar.  She is the first one who made me an aunt, and I am so thankful she was born!  She has grown up into such a fun, unique and amazing young woman and I can't wait to see all that she accomplishes in her life, because I know that she can do anything!  

I am thankful for LUKE!  He is such a great kid!  Fun, adventurous, determined, artistic and smart, Luke has it all!  Plus he is adorable with a great sense of humor.  This one is going to be a heart breaker!  I am thankful that he has a heart of gold and a true respect for others.  

I am thankful for Hannah!  This little girl who is growing up so fast, into a brilliant, talented, artistic young middle school student!  She has a great imagination and a silly side that can make anyone laugh.  Hannah has always been a great mix of maturity and young-at-heart that I love to see!

And I am thankful for Georgia!  This little one is a ball of energy!  She is athletic and funny and tender heart-ed.  She loves to play games, especially catch, with anything around that she can throw.  And she tap dances all over the place, which I love to see!

My family is supportive and loving and full of joy and laughter.  I love them all very much and I am so thankful for each one of them!  I am blessed beyond measure!  <3

A Day Off

November 23, 2011

I decided to come up to Ventura last night and beat the Thanksgiving traffic...it TOTALLY back-fired!  It took me 3 hours to get to my parent's house last night (it should only take a little bit over 1 hour)!  I was so mad!!!!  Thankfully I had a day off to rest and relax and unwind after the horrible three hours I spent sitting on the freeways last night.  I didn't do much today.   I even had a free day on my calendar!

I did a load of laundry, read and watched some TV.  It was so nice to have a chance to relax, away from LA, in a beautiful place.  Now I'm ready for a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!

ACSI Day 2

November 22, 2011

Day 2 of ACSI was great!  I went to 4 really great seminars, learned so much and had fun hanging out with my friends!  What more could I ask for?  My favorite seminars were done by a lady named Ann Anzalone.  She knows so much about the brain, and how learning happens, and give useful, practical tips on how to help our students learn in better ways.  I listen to this amazing presenter and hope that some day I will have as much wisdom and information to pass along as she does.  I have so many practical strategies to implement when we go back to school on Monday.
We also had a room full of vendors, ready to sell us lots of different things for our school.  I didn't buy anything, but we did get to spin a prize wheel and Mer won a pickle!  She was very excited, so we took a picture of her with her prize!

ACSI Day 1

November 21, 2011

Today and tomorrow all the teachers at LACS are attending a teaching convention put on by ACSI (Associated Christian Schools International).  Some years this has been really great, and some not so great, but we like to go to continue on our training and to keep up with new teaching philosophies and ideas.  It just helps us to be better teachers.  Today I went to a few really great seminars, and one not so great seminar.  I am thankful for this opportunity to be trained and to be reminded of what an important job teachers have.

New Apps

November 20, 2011

I have found some fun new apps for my phone in the past week that I've had it.  One of them is a photo booth type app, that takes three pictures and then puts them in a strip.  It has been fun to play with, and I can't wait to use it for something really good.  So far, all I have used it for is self-portraits...

This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands!  : )

Mijares

November 19, 2011

Marilyn and I love to meet up in Pasadena and go to Mijares for Nachos.  Mijares nachos are our favorite in the whole world!  The secret is in the sauce they put on them.  Yum, yum!!

We didn't take a picture of our nachos, but we did take one in front of the restaurant:

or two

And a self portrait: 

but just one!  : )

Movie #4

November 18, 2011

Tonight was the night!  We finally got to see the 4th movie we had been waiting for.  I have only been waiting since Wednesday, but my friends have been waiting for much longer than that, and they were SO excited!
The movie didn't start until 11pm, so we had to get a little caffeine in us.  First stop, Starbucks!

Steph and Susanne with our tickets and some coffee.

Mike, Mer and I with coffee and some candy for the movie.

And here we are, in line waiting to go in.  We are so excited and ready to see this movie!

Clouds

November 17, 2011
This picture was actually taken over the weekend, just after (or in between) the rain.  It was so beautiful and clear and the clouds were amazing!  I'm a sucker for beautiful skies, so here's the picture I'm sharing today:

So pretty!!

Ready for Friday

November 16, 2011

My friends talked me in to going to see a movie with them, it is the fourth movie in a series, and I had  not even seen the third movie, but enough people were going and I thought it would be fun.  Tonight, before we head out on Friday to see the 4th movie, we decided I needed to see the third.  It was nice to have a little time to sit and watch a movie, and now I'm excited to see the next chapter in this series...

T-Shirt Scarf

November 15, 2011

I decided to take a week off from Spanish classes.  I have had two really busy weekends in a row, and I just needed some time to myself.  So tonight I was looking on-line and found a tutorial for making a scarf out of a t-shirt.  I have plenty of old t-shirts, so I decided to try to make one.  It was SUPER easy and I am pretty pleased with how it came out.

Now we'll just see if I ever actually wear it out in public...

Cookie Pops

November 14, 2011

Yesterday for Hannah's birthday we made cookie pops.  I actually made the cookies, but Hannah, Georgia and I decorated them before Hannah's party.

and they turned out really great!!

Great job ladies!! : )

Hannah Grace Froman

November 13, 2011

Today is my niece Hannah's birthday!  Hooray for another niece's birthday!

I can't believe this little baby is 11 years old today!  Where did the time go?

Hannah is always smiling and laughing!  She loves to have fun...

...and she loves being a girl!  She likes to do girly things and put flowers in her hair!

She loves to sing, dance and act!  Always goofing around!  

She also writes plays, songs, and stories that are really good!  She loves doing crafts, baking, sewing and art.  She is a talented girl with a very bright future ahead of her!!

She is also a little beach/water girl!  She loves the ocean and pool and has so much fun playing in the water.

Hannah has a sweet, loving and giving heart, and is a great daughter and sister!

And she is also a great niece!  

I love you Hannah!  Happy Birthday!!

New Phone!!!

November 12, 2011

I got a new phone!!!  I actually got it yesterday, but I had to put the pictures of Taylar on her birthday, so I am posting a picture of my beautiful new phone today.  : )

It's not the 4S, but I wait for the new phones to come out so that I can get the second newest one for cheaper!  I <3 it!!  : )

Taylar!!

November 11, 2011

This is my niece, Taylar.  : )

She was born on 11-11-91.  She is my sister's daughter and my first niece born into our family.

Taylar was always a character!  She had personality plus since the day she was born.  She always marched to the beat of her own drum, and didn't really care what anyone else thought of her outfits, her accessories or her choices of activities, music, or friends.

She has such a sweet, tender heart, and is always looking out for others and wanting to help out.

She has always been adorably girly, loving fancy dresses, and doing her hair, nails and make-up.

And she always wants to jump in to bake or cook or help out with whatever is going on.

Taylar has a flair for the dramatic, which comes out in fun hair color and style, fun clothing choices and super funny conversations and mannerisms!

And she loves to laugh!  She has a great sense of humor and can make others laugh along with her (and sometimes at her... )

It has been such an honor to watch Taylar grow from that tiny baby into the beautiful woman she is becoming today!  I love that I have been able to be a part of her life and I am looking forward to all of the amazing things she will do in the many years ahead of her!  I love you Taylar!  Happy Birthday!