Yesterday, we ran about a million errands that we've been putting off. One of those errands was going to the mall so I could use my coupons at Victoria's Secret. (Hey, it was for FREE underwear. What girl couldn't pass that up?) The salesgirls at this particular Victoria's Secret are exceptionally obnoxious and pushy, so I usually don't shop there. This time was no exception. One lady complimented me on my earrings and then proceeded to tell me that their line of PINK sweatpants was on sale right now and did I want to try them on? She said "They are really hot right now. Ashlee Simpson wears them." Lady, if you are trying to sell me something, that is certainly not the way to do it. Do I look like I care what Ashlee Simpson wears? Uh, no. I think she got the hint that I wasn't interested by the way I politely but firmly said "Uh, that's OK. No thanks." I mean, I know she was just trying to do her job, but I just found it funny that she'd think telling me Ashlee Simpson wears those sweatpants is going to make me want to buy them.

Last night, we bought a new cd. Jack Ingram Live-Wherever You Are. Those of you who like a little taste of "red dirt", seriously ought to go right out and get this one. It is awesome! I barely finished listening to it the whole way through before I immediately made a copy to keep in my car and a copy to give to a friend called everyone I knew that loved red dirt music and told them about it. Seriously. It is that good.

Move over McDonalds! You know that Egg and Muffin maker I wrote about a few posts ago? I bought it. I tried it out this morning and MAN it was great! Well worth it. And it's on sale right now at Target. (And I think probably at Target.com too for those of you unfortunate enough to not live withing shopping distance.)

Thanks Dad! This is what we bought with our Lowe's gift card. Well, OK. We bought the stuff to MAKE this. Now we can finally use that swing that's been taking up space in our garage. :) 

Busy, busy, busy. That's what we are this weekend. We went to Lowes and bought the stuff to make this arbor. Plans can be found here.

We also bought some Ortho WeedBGone, which I have already used on the front yard. While using the spray gun type dispenser, you can almost hear the theme music for some western gunfight. And if you listen closely, you can hear those pesky little weeds dying. (Or is that the sound of the bubbles popping from the foam you've just sprayed on those weeds?)

Now it's time to clean out and organize the garage so we can have some room to work on our arbor.

Crafty lil devil, I'm not lately. At least on this website anyway. I'm long overdue on posting some craft project pics. I haven't really done too many lately except those for school, so I'll post a few pictures of what I've done there.

For luau week, we made grass skirts out of lime green crepe paper streamers and yarn. The kids had a pretty fun time with that one.
And for this week's Treasure Island extravaganza, I spent one weekend transforming a styrofoam ice chest into our bejeweled treasure chest. Never again! I should have realized (but didn't) that styrofoam really soaks up the paint! I think I managed to get 4 coats of paint on this bad boy before I finally gave up and called it good. Gluing on the jewels was fun though. And the kids LOVED it!

Our styrofoam (ice chest) treasure chest. 

treasure chest 2 

Know what I learned today? That playing basketball w/3 and 4 year olds is really good for your self-esteem. Not that great? (Yeah, that'd be me!) They don't care. They laugh and cheer and say "That's OK." Every single time. It is so cute! And if by chance you happen to get lucky and make one in...well, then the party's really on. But don't expect them to wear out quickly. They can shoot baskets (and want YOU to shoot baskets) until you think your arms are going to fall off. One boy said, "Boy, Ms. Amy. You sure are good at basketball!" (And here is where any of you who truly know me crack up. I have not one single athletic bone in my body.) Ah, the innocence of kids.

Alright, laugh all you want, but I just ALMOST bought this handy little thing for my kitchen. If it were $10.00 cheaper, it would have been mine! I still may get it on payday. I'm getting pretty burnt out on bagels or breakfast bars and I usually don't have enough time to actually cook breakfast. But with this, maybe I could be packing my lunch (like I always do) and my breakfast could be cooking. Hmmm...something to think about.

Oh, I finally got to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. All the boys in my class say the name in its entirety like that. It can't just be Pirates of the Carribean. No, sir. It's Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest. Over and over and over. They all want to see this movie. I saw it and you know what? No way would I take a 3 or 4 year old to this movie! It had some nasty looking special effects. YUCK! But Johnny Depp in his pirate attire was quite delicious-looking, so that more than makes up for it. Except when he's got the eyes painted all over his face. That was a little weird and it kinda ruined the hot-factor for me. But only just a little. I wonder if my hubby thought Keira Knightly was as good looking as I thought Johnny Depp was. Probably. But that's ok with me. :)

I still need to see Cars. I heard the soundtrack and have seen some previews on tv and have even read a book to my class that tells the whole story. But I do want to see it in person. That and the DaVinci Code. I hope it doesn't suck like all the critics say.

Wow! What a week! I am so glad that vacation Bible school is over for the kids in my class! It turns the day upside down and the kids are just so hyped up when they return to class that they do not listen at all! So, I'm reading a new book that I hope will help w/these behavior problems we've been having. It's called 1-2-3 Magic and I'm only on chapter 10, but if it does what the author says it does then I'll have a quieter, more well-behaved class in a matter of months. Let's hope it works, because nap times right now make me want to leave for lunch and not come back! Well, OK, it's not that bad, but the thought has certainly crossed my mind! :)
Anyway, I encourage any of you to read this book and let me know what you think. We'll try it out together and report back here about how it works. :) Sound like a plan?
I tried a few of the techniques mentioned in the book and got immediate results today at nap time...but this kid's parents are the ones who told me about the book, so I'm sure they use this procedure at home.

Finally...pictures of the much-talked-about Birthday present flower beds. It is so nice to be able to drive up and see this instead of just our boring old house. Well, OK, I do actually LOVE our "boring old house", but I wanted to dress up the front of the house a little and hopefully reflect a little of ME out there. I think we did a good job, don't you? Now if I can just get on a regular watering schedule and not manage to kill them, we'll be doing great! :)

In other news, we never made it to see Cars or the Pirates of the Carribean. I made Jason promise me that we would go some night this week though. Geez, I was all ready to go tonight...dressed up and everything. But the lines were too long and we had too much other stuff we wanted to get done this weekend, so we passed on it tonight. We went to Coldstone Creamery for some ice cream. Jason had never been there and I asked him what he was going to get. He said "Oh, just some ice cream, I guess." I kind of laughed and told him that's like going to Starbucks and saying "I'll just have some coffee." So, we had some ice cream and that concluded my birthday weekend o'calories. Geez! It's a good thing I only have a birthday once a year! Healthy eating starts again tomorrow!

Front of house before we added the flowerbeds. (Yes, we did have to find another place to put our oh-so-lovely ADT Security sign.) 

Front flower bed 2 After (Phlox and Zinnias) 

Front flower bed After (Balloon Flowers) 

Jason hard at work on the flowerbed on the side of the house. 

Flowerbed on the side of the house (Hostas and Impatiens) 

Zinnias 

Phlox 

Mandevilla 

Lilly 

Hibiscus 

Balloon Flower Closeup 

Happy Birthday to me! :) OK, so I woke up feeling a little sorry for myself because I can't be in Oklahoma for my birthday. But I brushed that aside and decided I'd have a good day no matter what. And when I got to school, the kids had a birthday party for me. It was so sweet! My fellow teachers signed a card for me and one made cupcakes. I got some gifts and had a paper "Happy Birthday crown" and lots of hugs and kisses from the kids. It was great. If I can't be home on my birthday, then at least I can be surrounded by my friends (my new co-workers) and my students. Tonight, I think Jason's taking me out to dinner and we'd like to go see Pirates of the Carribean, but I think the tickets are sold out for today's shows. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!

We're still busy planting flowers and things. Last night, we planted some lillies, tomatoes and jalapenos. (Gotta make more salsa this year!) Today, we're planting orange zinnias, purple phlox and white petunias. It's gonna be a busy day. I promise to post pictures when we're done.

I've got a cute picture from my class 4th of July party and will take some tonight of our 4th festivities here. But for now, I've got to get busy! :)
Happy Independence Day!

Today we're busy planting flowers on the side of the house. We're on a corner lot, so we really need something to spruce up the side of the house that's visible from the road. We may put in some flowers in the front flower beds too...depends on how well we stick to our budget. I'll be sure to take before and after pics and post them when we're done. :) Happy Sunday!