9 Things I Can't Handle

Everyone has their pet peeves, right? I love knowing what get on other peoples' nerves and am sometimes surprised to find out that I do some of those things (like cracking my joints and biting my nails). I've also found out that many things that irk me don't bother others at all!

So, here's my list.

1. Not using turn signals. This is a pretty popular one, or so I've heard. I'm a pretty courteous driver, but if someone is trying to get in front of me and isn't using a signal, I will absolutely not go out of my way to accommodate them. It doesn't matter who you are, what kind of car you drive, or how big of a hurry you're in. I can guarantee that your car was built with a turn signal, so use it!

2. Unkempt hair at work. When you go to work, your hair should be done. Period. If "done" means a classy bun, fine. If "done" is simply blow-dried, fine. If "done" means blow-drying, curling, teasing, and spraying, fine. You should not, however, come to work if your hair looks like you rolled out of bed and did nothing else. It doesn't look good, and it definitely doesn't look professional.

3. Pterodactyl feet. Not everyone can afford pedicures. Not everyone has time for pedicures. Not everyone is comfortable with someone else touching their feet. I get it. But, with all of the affordable foot-care products available at nearly every grocery/drugstore, your feet should not look like they could catch dinner as you fly over a lake. At least lotion them and cut your toenails. I'll buy the stuff if you need me to. Promise.

4. Not using manners. There is just no excuse for this one. From my preschoolers to my husband to random people I come into contact with, I am more than happy to remind everyone to use their manners. Saying "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" takes little-to-no effort, but can completely change how you are perceived.

5. Refusal to handle conflict. Please let me be the first to say that I hate conflict. I will go out of my way to avoid it, but it still comes up... and I deal with it. And do you know what happens when I deal with it? Nine times out of ten, it does away! Do you know what happens when I don't deal with it? Nothing/it gets worse/I feel horrible/resentment grows/etc. Just deal with it, okay? Okay.

6. Floral couches. I'm very picky when it comes to furniture. I don't mind floral print, but couches are big. They're big! Too much of anything can be lethal, and floral print is certainly no exception. There really isn't much more that I can say on this matter. Floral couches = no.

7. Dry lips. USE LIP BALM, PEOPLE. Please. I literally cannot stand seeing someone with cracked lips. It causes me physical pain.

8. Close proximity in the bathroom. Hear me out on this one. If you're in a bathroom with 5 stalls and only one of those stalls is taken, do not (I repeat, DO NOT) take one of the stalls next to that one. It's just uncomfortable. (The same thing applies for parking spaces in a nearly-empty parking lot.)

9. Being tapped. As a preschool teacher, kids frequently come up to me and tap my arms, my torso, my legs, my hands, my head, etc. It makes me nervous. It makes me twitch. I hate it. I HATE IT. Don't touch me.

Here I am again!

Check me out! Two days in a row! This is some sort of  record for me, I think.

I got some news yesterday about the job I was hoping for... and that news was that they gave the job to someone else. I won't even have the chance to interview. Let's just say that it was the perfect addition to a horrible morning. Also, the kitchen sink pipes leaked all over the floor, I got stuck behind a semi truck on a detour on my way to work, and my hair was flat. I mean, it was SO flat.

But, I don't have work today! I got up early to go grocery shopping and now I'm watching The Office on Netflix. I plan on doing some cleaning later. Is it weird that cleaning my house relaxes me?

Yeah, it's weird.

Other things that relax me are-

Baking cookies
Browsing Pinterest (duh)
Playing with Leia
Watching Netflix (currently The Office)
Driving with no destination
Thrift store shopping

Also weird.

Hm.

The Struggle... it's really, really real

It's time to talk about The Struggle. I've been dealing with it for a year and a half awhile, and it's starting to wear me down.

The Struggle refers to my search for a full-time teaching job.

Now, don't get me wrong. I taught preschool from September through May, and I loved it. But... it wasn't what I really wanted to be doing. My classroom was tiny, the daycare atmosphere was incredibly loud at times, and I had 4 different classes of students (MWF morning, MWF afternoon, TTh morning, TTH afternoon).

Now that Thomas and I are planning a move*, my search for a full-time teaching job has been put on the front burner! I have applied to several schools and have had a tiny bit of luck. Well, potential luck. Maybe. Hopefully I'll hear more today.

In the meantime, I am racking up as many hours as I can at the daycare! I am also trying to earn a little money by selling some things online. On Saturday, Thomas and I hit up a church rummage sale 25 minutes before it ended, and they were selling everything you could fit in a bag for $1! We filled 4 bags. Two of mine were with name brand kids' jeans, so I posted them on eBay! I've had some luck selling there before, so I'm hopeful now.

And now, I'm off to work. To make money. To move. :)

*If you are a family member who doesn't know about the move and are wondering if you should be offended, don't. Very few people know. We'll make the official announcement soon. :)

The Summer that Changed my Life

Since I turned 15, I have nearly always had some sort of job. I've worked food prep jobs, food service jobs, and dish-washing jobs. I've worked in retail, I've worked a phone-a-thon, and I've been a lifeguard. I've babysat and tutored. I've scrubbed toilets and dusted library shelves. All of these jobs had their pros and cons, but one job has always stuck out as being my favorite.

One summer, I worked as a camp counselor. Lots of college kids do, right? They spend the summer swimming, making crafts, singing songs, and having a blast with kids of all ages. They make lifelong friends and mortal enemies with their coworkers. They find out what they're really made of.

I did all of those things too.

But, you see, my summer was different. Instead of working with fresh-faced children, I worked with adults who had special needs. In addition to all of the things listed above, I was also responsible for feeding my campers. I had to help shower them. I had to make sure that they didn't wander off while we were playing games. I had to keep track of their allergies. At one point, I had to stay up all night and keep a (stark naked) camper from trying to escape out the fire door. I had to run out of the dining hall without dinner to keep track of a one-on-one camper. I discovered a new bruise every other day from being hit and kicked by upert campers. I had to deal with know-it-all coworkers, lazy coworkers, and coworkers who would have rather been anywhere else (and let us know [constantly]). And, of course, let's not even mention the camp food!

Does it sound totally miserable? It was, sometimes. But, that summer, I changed. I became a leader. I figured out how to deal with conflict. I grew to fully appreciate being assigned to the air-conditioned cabins for the week. I learned how to multi-task. I tie-dyed my first shirt. I discovered that I could handle far more than I thought I was capable of. I caught my first fish (and then made it into bait to catch a bigger fish!). I made friends who I still talk to weekly. I developed a deep, unchangeable respect for individuals living with special needs. I became a more loving and accepting friend. I learned to make balloon animals. I became an advocate for people who are unable to stand up for themselves.

Reflecting on my time at camp is a bittersweet feeling. I miss being there, and I miss my friends (both campers and coworkers). Working at Camp Allyn has changed my life for the better, and I wouldn't trade that summer for the world!

Life Quotes (as said by my preschoolers)

Kids are smart. They have such a unique view of the world, and they aren't afraid to say what's on their minds. In my monthly newsletters sent to my preschoolers' parents, I have a small section dedicated to the silly things that they say. Here are a few of my favorites!

"All I need is more ice cream and more money."

"Wow! You've got lots of bubbles! You're totally loaded."

"Um, my mom hasn't picked me up for a long time so I think she's in jail."

"Ms. Becca, how could you lose your scissors? They don't have feet. They didn't just walk away from you." 

"If you don't know the answer, as your mommy or your daddy or your sister or your brother or your cat."

"My fingernails... they just never stop growing."

"Ms. Becca, why do you live in preschool?"

"I really hate gravity." 



What is the funniest thing you've ever heard a child say? Let me know in the comments! :)

She baa-ack!

I know, I know. I do this all. the. time.

Each time I take a break from blogging, I sincerely miss it. While I don't have a ton of things to say, I do enjoy venting, sharing, and being generally silly with the internet as my audience.

I am actually going to start planning blog posts in advance (WHAT?!) and pre-writing some of them on the weekends, when I'm less busy. I'm not making any promises, but I am excited to get back into the blogging scene and can't wait to see where this goes!

Back to school... or not!

To be honest, I've been dreading today. As much as I love my bitty preschoolers, I just wasn't ready to go back to school today... so I'm very happy to announce that it is 9:57AM and I am sitting at home in my pajamas. SNOW DAY! Well, it's actually a "cold day." Temperatures here in central Ohio are supposed to be well below freezing today, so I'm glad that my itty bitties don't have to venture out in the cold!

(And, hey, I'm glad I don't have to, either!)

My plans for today include finalizing some lesson plans, catching up on laundry, and doing a little more work on this blog! I am currently researching how to reach out and get some more followers. As much as I love writing, it would be really nice to know that someone was reading regularly! :)

First, though, I will make myself a large mug of coffee. Just because I won't be chasing kiddos today doesn't mean I won't need my energy! Maybe I'll also get on Craigslist so I can buy some more cats and use these organizing tips for them.

Happy Monday!

Dream Chasers

I have had lots of traffic on this little blog since joining (and introducing myself in) the Facebook group Dream Chasers! If you found me via the group, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to check out your blogs. :)

Happy weekend, friends!

High Five for Friday!

What a week it's been!

Since preschool doesn't start back up again until Monday, I have been working in the daycare section of where I am employed. Everything is so different there! Even my craziest preschool class can't compare to how nuts those kids are! I love them all, but I will be happy to return to my (relatively) quiet kiddos next week.

In other news, I'm linking up with Lauren for her weekly High Five for Friday post!

Here is my Top 5 for this week:

1. This guy. My husband. He works midnight shifts most nights of the week, so he sleeps during the day and I'm not able to see him. For the past two weeks, though, he has been off most nights. I have been able to spend more time with him in the past two weeks than I have the past four months! He went back to work last night, which was so bittersweet. (Did I mention that he's also a bed hog? I didn't miss that part last night!)

2. On a similar note, I am so grateful for this wonderful thing that happened last night.

3. I made Thomas watch our Disney Vacation Planning DVD this week! I watch it all the time (and have most of it memorized), but he hasn't seen it since we first received it over a year ago. We were planning to go to WDW last May, but our plans fell through and we weren't able to go. Since then, he hasn't been interested in watching it. But... we are going in 83 days, so I was able to convince him that he needed to watch it again.

4. SNOW. It has been snowing and snowing here in central Ohio, and I'm digging it. (Not literally, though. I hate shoveling snow.)

5. Leia, my sweet kitty, has just been so snuggly this week! She's been all over me and Thomas, which is perfectly fine with us! (That's right, my cat has her own Instagram account!)

In all, I'd say that it has been a pretty good way to bring in a new year (except for the migraine part). Hope your week was as fun as mine! :)

My **Favorite** Banana Bread!

I'm not much of a recipe-poster, but this banana bread makes a great exception to that rule. I've made it several times, and nothing has ever gone wrong with it! It is moist, sweet, and perfectly banana-y.

I found the original recipe here one evening as I was trying to decide what to do with some bananas that were getting too ripe to eat. It took about an hour and a half to bake... but it was so worth it! The next day, I took the rest to a family function and it was gone (literally) 5 minutes after I walked in the door. I got rave reviews! I gave the original website to those who asked for it, but then realized that I had tweaked it just a bit and that the results they got may not be the same.

Here is my (going-to-be-famous-someday) banana bread recipe!

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2.5-3 very ripe mashed bananas
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
• 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. (This recipe can make one tall loaf [about even with the sides of the loaf pan, when baked] or two short loaves. I usually make one tall loaf, but you can choose!)
2. In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar and add vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt. Blend in the mashed bananas. Add vegetable oil and mix. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes (for short loaf; for tall loaf, add approximately 40 extra minutes), or until it tests done with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out gummy, clean it off and check another spot to ensure that you didn't poke through a bit of banana!

I hope you enjoy! :)

Happy New Year! & my 2014 goals

Happy 2014!

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful night last night, full of fun and friends and family!

I've been thinking about my goals for this year for the past few weeks. What are some things that I want to change about myself? my home? my life?

I think that I have come up with a pretty comprehensive list, and I am excited to share it (if only for accountability purposes!). Most of my goals have a specific time frame, but I don't have goals for each month of the year. A girl can only do so much, right? So, without further ado, here are my 2014 Goals!

Overall Goals

Write 4 blog posts per week

Attract new blog followers (like you!)

Continue to pay off our stupid debt

Save (a specific amount of money) from each paycheck for Christmas

January

Purge my house of all clutter. Clean out closets, cabinets, dresser drawers, and under the bed. Wash all bedding, pillows, curtains, furniture covers, etc. Put all excess things (i.e. clutter) in garage for a yard sale at the beginning of summer.

February

Try a new recipe 3 nights out of every week. Make a simple recipe book with the winners!

March

Drop 2 pants sizes (by March, not during!)

Have a wonderful vacation in Disney World!

April

Finish crocheting an entire adult-sized blanket. (I have started doing this many, many times but never finished. Now, it's a goal)!

May

Plan a giant yard sale. (Maybe include other families in our neighborhood!) Use the money from the sale to further pay off debts.

Have credit card fully paid off.

June

Reread the entire Harry Potter series. I've read the series over a dozen times, so it isn't really as crazy as it sounds!

August

Begin teaching in an elementary school (prayerfully back home, where I grew up!). 

November

Have all Christmas shopping done (except big-ticket items) before Thanksgiving.

And there we have it! I am hoping that having these goals written here will keep me accountable! I love the feeling of being able to cross things off of a list, so this should come in really handy. I am very hopeful that the Fletchers will have a happy and successful 2014!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Farewell to 2013!

Don't ask me how... but it's already New Year's Eve! Every year on this day, I think back to the past 12 months and wonder where on earth the time has gone. This year brought so many good things! To name a few...

• Thomas and I bought our first car
• I got my first full-time job (and another one 5 months later)
• I have my own classroom
• Thomas graduated from college
• We moved into our first home

... and those are just the highlights! 

One thing I try to do at the end of each December, while reflecting on the past year, is to make goals for the upcoming one. I'm not a huge fan of "New Year's Resolutions," because I think that those are mostly forgotten in the first few weeks of January. Most resolutions seem to be empty promises that we make to ourselves. They are vague, not backed by much determination, and not given a time frame during which we want to accomplish them.

My goals, on the other hand, are determined by month. I'll go into details in another post, but I have certain things that I want to accomplish during each month (or few months) of the upcoming year. While these goals might be a bit lofty, they are things that I am excited to go after and succeed in! 

What are your feelings on New Year's Resolutions? Do you love them? Hate them? Are you somewhere in between? 

Thoughts on Frozen Pizza

About a month ago, Thomas and I were grocery shopping at Walmart. It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and we were planning a trip home, so we didn't need much food for the few days we would be home. We grabbed a frozen pizza, with the intent of saving it for Wednesday night. We planned for Thomas to throw it in the oven before I got home from work, and we would eat it as a quick dinner before hitting the road.

When we were done grocery shopping, we had several other errands to run. By the time we got home, brought the groceries inside, put them away, and cleaned up the kitchen, it was evening (around 7:30PM). We were both totally exhausted, and we were hungry. I asked Thomas what he wanted for dinner, and he asked me,

"Can't we just heat up the frozen pizza?"

Immediately, I was furious. Doesn't he think I can cook? Does he hate the food I prepare? Why does he want a frozen pizza? It is better than the pizza I make? I'll bet he hates my cooking. What is wrong with him? What is wrong with me?

I allowed these thoughts to crowd my head until I finally had to go sit in a quiet room, alone, for a few minutes.** Why in the world was I so upset?! It was just a frozen pizza, after all! We were both hungry and tired, and it was a simple solution. 

Eventually, I came to a realization: 

I had a serious case of Internet Envy, and it was causing me to think horrible things about myself.

You see, I have a tendency to immerse myself in social media. Being so busy at work and so tired when I get home doesn't allow me to go out often, so I love seeing other peoples' pictures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I don't obsess, but I do check them frequently during my down time. I am also an avid fan of Pinterest. I could spend hours and hours browsing Pinterest and hardly notice the time passing!

On these social media sites, I see people sharing their best pictures. Their best moments. Their best experiences. I see annoying selfies, home-cooked meals, DIY projects, cute outfits, and lots of other wonderful things. But... you don't see people posting pictures of the frozen pizzas that they bought and threw into the oven. You just don't. When I compared myself to these people, I came up short... really short. 

(Insert short joke here.)

At that moment, sitting in a dark room alone, I had to remind myself to not compare myself (and my current situation) to those people online who I may or may not even know! 

I had to tell myself that nobody is perfect, regardless of how their Instagram pictures look. Everyone's life looks better in heavily-filtered pictures.

I had to realize that, even though my Pinterest home page is overflowing with healthy recipes, people are still serving and eating quick meals like frozen pizzas. 

I had to understand that I was not a bad wife for popping a frozen meal into the oven for one night.

So, Thomas and I ate frozen pizza that night. (Well, okay. We cooked it first!) And, do you know what? It was delicious. I was glad that I didn't have to cook, and I was even more glad that I didn't have to clean up the kitchen after cooking! And, while I don't plan on making frozen dinners a habit, I was just fine with it.

**Please note that I have a tendency to be very over dramatic when I am tired and/or hungry.**

Surprise Disney World Trip!

As some of you may have seen in my previous post, I surprised my husband on Christmas Eve with a trip to Disney World! We are leaving on March 28 and will return April 2. I am especially excited for this trip because A) Thomas has never been to Disney World before and B) my dad is coming with us!

(Image courtesy of Google)

I asked my dad to come along on our trip because I have great memories in Disney World with him and the rest of my family! We used to vacation there before my parents split, and it was a blast. After I told my dad about my plans to take Thomas, we would tease Thomas constantly with all of our stories about our visits there, and Thomas finally said, "Bill, when we go to Disney World, I want you to come with us!" He just didn't know it would be so soon! :)

So, how does one plan an entire surprise vacation for someone who is living with them? It ain't easy; I'll tell you that! Here are some of the things I did to organize and plan our secret trip!

Saving money: This was the hardest part! Obviously, a trip to Disney World isn't cheap. I started saving in late July (when I decided on Thomas' Christmas present). I had a little coffee tin that I hid in my bedside drawer, where I would put dollar bills and spare change. That worked until early September, when Thomas found the coffee tin! By that time, it had several hundred dollars, so I told him that it was for his Christmas gift and that he was more than welcome to add to it. He did! :)

Another thing I did was a little more sneaky... since I write our budget and pay the bills each month, I was able to subtract money without him really noticing. Sometimes, I'd take out $100 and he was blissfully unaware. 

I also began selling things on eBay and put all of that money directly into the Disney World fund. I plan to continue selling until the day that we leave for our trip! Hey, every little bit counts!

Making reservations: This part was much easier for me, since my dad is also coming with us. I sent him all of the money I had saved, and he made the reservations for us! Since my dad is retired from the US Air Force, we are staying in a special military resort on Disney property, and he was actually the only one who was able to make the reservation.

We chose the dates easily, because those are the days of my spring break from preschool. My dad requested for vacation, and I emailed Thomas' boss to request the days off for him. His boss was very understanding and helpful about the whole thing, which was very helpful! Thanks, Patrick!

The big surprise: I had been building up Thomas' Christmas gift for months and months! He knew that it was big and expensive, but I had convinced him that it was an iPad. (Note: I only did this because I knew [FOR SURE] that he would be much happier with a Disney trip! I would have never tried to tell him that if the gift was less exciting than an iPad. That would be mean!)

I decided to tell Thomas about the trip by way of his Christmas stocking stuffers. I purchased things like a water bottle, a Mickey Mouse calendar, travel candy, etc. (My sister helped out and bought him an Oregon Ducks drawstring bag, too!) I put all of those things into his stocking, and, at the bottom, put an envelope containing our hotel reservation. We opened gifts on Christmas Eve with my dad, and I wish I could have recorded his reaction! Thomas is so genuinely excited for this trip, and was even more excited when I told him that my dad was coming along with us!

To end this post, here is a picture of my sister, my cousin, and me in 2001 during our Disney World trip. I'm the awkward-looking one in the orange belly shirt! 

Happy weekend!

Christmas Week!

My.

Oh.

My.

 This week has been absolutely crazy! Here's a quick rundown:

 Monday: I worked at the daycare from 8AM-4:30PM. The kids were absolutely NUTS (as I had expected), and I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I got home. Thomas and I decided to leave for our home home that night), so we packed everything quickly, collected the cat, and were off! Poor Leia had a horrible time in the car and puked several times. Thomas started off holding her while I drove, but we soon had to switch places because she is much more calm when I hold her. We made it home safe and sound, and then slept for about 10 hours.

Tuesday: Christmas Eve! We started the day doing some last-minute shopping with my dad, and then we went to lunch. After that, we went to see Thomas' family for a few hours... and then, we went to my family's Christmas party. This was super special to me, because I hadn't been to this party since I was in high school! It was a great time. Santa even showed up! Here he is with my sweet Grammy:

After the party, we went back to Thomas' parents house and spent a few hours there, playing on the Wii and having a great time! Then, we went to visit my dad at work, where I gave Thomas his Christmas gift... 

a trip to DISNEY WORLD! 

We are going at the end of March. I can't wait!! We also presented my dad with his Christmas gift, which was a DVD player! We bought him a series of DVD's last year and then his player broke... but now he can finally watch them! :)

Wednesday: Christmas morning! We got up super early to watch Thomas' niece open gifts at his parents' house. We got lots of gift cards (including Disney money for our trip!) and spent the morning laying around and talking. We left around 1PM and went to see my dad, my grandparents, and my other grandparents! That night, we watched the movie Warm Bodies and ate gas station snacks, because no other place was open!

Thursday: or, should I say, "Shop until you drop" day! We left home at 9AM and went to Pittsburgh to shop... and didn't get home until 10PM! I bought all kinds of things with my gift cards (plus the ones from my mom! Thanks mommy!) The haul included... a leather jacket (on sale for $22 from $90!), 7 bottles of Bath and Body Works body wash, a new pair of jeans (which, by the way, were the first ones I tried on... HOLLA!), a cardigan, a scarf, 3 curtain panels (because the cat destroyed our other curtains), and a stocking for Leia with the letter L on it! Thomas and I also ate at Longhorn Steakhouse, which was delicious!

Friday: Plans for today include seeing more family, a little more shopping, and packing up because we leave tomorrow. It's a bittersweet feeling! I love being home and seeing family, but I also love being in my own home with my husband and Leia.

This is also the first Christmas season I have spent entirely without seeing my mom, who recently moved to Arizona with her husband and my sister. We are planning for her to come and visit in early March, and I absolutely can't wait!!!

I hope that everyone had the merriest of Christmases!

A little housekeeping!

I am so excited that I finally updated the look of this old blog! I'm hoping that the new look will inspire me to keep coming back and writing! I think I'm going to make it a goal of mine to write 4 posts every week for 2014. I've gotta start somewhere- right? :)

Eureka!

For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to track down the name of a TV show I used to watch as a child at my grandparents' house. All I could remember was that the show featured a family of bears who would drink a magical juice, and then they would be able to bounce around all over the place and save the day.

Whenever I would bring up this (seemingly unheard-of) TV show to friends or family, they would look at me as if I were absolutely insane and tell me that I probably just made it up. I searched Google multiple times to try and rediscover the show, to no avail. Since I only had a little information, I never got very far.

Fast-forward to this morning, as I was watching random YouTube videos. One of the videos suddenly showed this picture of a bear drinking juice -

- and mentioned the words Gummiberry Juice. After another quick Google search, I have discovered that I am not, in fact, crazy, and that the show did actually exist! It was called Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, and it was around from the mid 80's to the early 90's.

I have not yet determined what I am going to do with this information, but knowledge is power. I just love knowing that I was right.

Can I say this? (It's my blog. I can say it.)

Told you so!

Still getting organized!

Last time I checked in, I was working hard to get my life together and more organized. I'm still working! I've kept my car neat and clean for almost a whole week (which is insane) and have found that being organized is well worth the time that it takes to organize something.

My next project is organizing my classroom. While it isn't terribly disorganized (I have lots and lots of bins to keep things in!), the bins aren't as neat as I would like for them to be. Just today, I was looking in a bin and found things that I didn't even know were in there! Since I've been in the same classroom for about 5 months, that's a little nuts. I'm also purchasing a calendar/planner so that I can plan things in advance (for example, when to send out notices and slips and things) instead of throwing things together last-minute. I think that after the initial work, it'll be well worth the time and monetary investments.

In other news, Leia the cat has taken a liking to destroying our living room curtains. She tore a hole in the curtains that is about 12-18 inches wide and keeps crawling through it to show us how proud of herself she is. Thomas thinks it's hilarious... I think it's annoying!

Now, I'm off to buy my new planner! Wish me luck. :)

Organizing my Existance

Lately, I've been working diligently to organize my entire life. On Friday evening, I organized our huge living room closet and ended up throwing out 2 whole garbage bags' worth of junk! Yesterday, I went through our kitchen cabinets and got rid of even more stuff. We had expired food, empty bottles of everything, (thanks, Thomas!), and other unnecessary things. That was a whole other garbage bag! I even cleaned out the fridge. 

Impressive, right? :)

Today, my goal is to organize how we do our finances. When I go to the grocery store later, I'm going to pick up a binder and some page protectors. I'll probably get some sticky notes and fun new pens, too.

Organizing is always more fun when it's bright and colorful! I'm also much more likely so stay on track when I like to look at what I'm working on.

I'm still working on developing a system for bill-paying. Our bills are very lopsided, with 75% of the money coming out at the start of the month and 25% coming out toward the middle/end of the month. I'm also going to make some phone calls to try and remedy that situation! 

And, of course, today is Sunday. I've already picked up my 2 newspapers and will be ready to clip coupons as soon as church is over!

Happy Sunday, friends!

I have a confession...

I need to get something off my chest that has been there for a long, long time (just over 2 years, to be exact). Some of you may not know this, but I have an unhealthy obsession with one particular thing (place). It consumes my thoughts day and night and is sometimes the only thing that motivates me to get my lazy butt out of bed in the mornings.

The place in question... is DISNEY WORLD! Duh!

I have been to WDW approximately 9 times in my life. It is my very favorite place on the planet, and I would pack a bag in 3 seconds and fly there TONIGHT if I had the chance.

I'm not really sure when the obsession started, but it has grown stronger in the 2 years since I last visited with my aunt, my cousin, and her father. I had a blast with my little cousin, who was visiting for the first time! It was great to see everything through the eyes of a child again.

I am constantly planning a visit to WDW in my head. Thoughts like, "How soon can I get there?" and "How much will it cost?" and "Is it ridiculous to sell everything we own so we can get the Park Hopper tickets?" A photo of Cinderella's Castle is the cover photo on my Facebook page. I listen to Disney music when I get ready for work in the mornings.

I can't wait to go back again! 

;)