What have we been up too?/*SPT*

Sometimes I wonder how we get from weekend to weekend, because the week seems to fly by~we really didn't do anything exciting this week other than work! (I know~contain your excitement!)

Tyson & I did go on a date last night but all we really did was go out to eat b/c we are so boring & couldn't think of anything else we were dying to do so we picked up the kids and came home and went to bed! haha

I did manage to get up this morning and go running~I was really dreading it b/c it's cold and windy today, not to mention that I didn't walk or run all week~it ended up not being so bad and we had a good time. We got in 3.7 miles today. I made my friend (and coach) Robin take a self-portrait with me after we were through.


And YES, I really do look THAT glamourous when I go running!

I came home and started cleaning out the fridge~it was NASTY, but it's all sparkly clean now for you MOM!!!



I've got the washer & dryer all pretty & sparkly too AND the OVEN. Now I can't really mention the floors at this point but it's a work in progress right! haha

I'm off to a grade level party at one of my co-workers houses!

~Super Saturday~

I told you it was a Super busy weekend!

Saturday morning I went running with 2 girls from church~I kind of dreaded getting up early on a Saturday but it ended up not being so bad!

After our run, I ran home to take a shower then I headed over to the Church for our Super Saturday Craft activity day. Below are a few of the crafts we made. I'm slowly unloading my car so I'll pull the rest out tomorrow.








We really had a great time & most of the crafts were fast and super easy~

Sunday we got to go to Church an hour later! It was nice!!! Then it was back to the grindstone this morning!

Really...

I do have ALOT to blog about but I've been super busy this weekend! Hopefully tomorrow evening I can update!

~I'm Impressed~(& SPT)

yesterday I came home from school & tyson was home~I didn't expect him to be b/c he said he was going hunting~he was ALL excited about going running~I had to go run an errand then I told him I would be home. So I came home & changed well then the kids bring a box out of the bedroom~it was a present for me~for my birthday!

I had no clue what it was~so I opened it and it was new running clothes! I was so impressed that Tyson went & picked them out himself!

so then I had to go change AGAIN! I love them! He said "if you're going to be training you need some good clothes!"

So i'm impressed! haha

and I did 3 miles last night (walking/running combo)

And this pic can serve as my SPT for this week! And it can also serve as my "Me at
35" Picture! haha

For your viewing pleasure...

i know i know haha right?

here's some pics from the newspaper from our 5K walk~the good ones start around picture 21

CASA pics

Weekly Update...

This has been a crazy week at school since it's Red Ribbon Week~Each day the kids could wear something special~of course I didn't take pictures of that~Last night we went Trick or Treating & they had a lot of fun.

Here's a picture as we got ready to go out TOT~



This morning we got up early and I went to walk my 5K with 2 of my friends~we had a good time~Rachella & I walked until the very end & my friend from school Ms. R~walked & ran~she beat us of course! It was a great experience though & I feel very accomplished! haha

here we are BEFORE the race


here we are at the starting line~we were a little intimated by all the professionals!


here I am running to the finish line~there were some HS girls that we had passed up towards the end and they started running & I was determined they weren't going to pass me up~haha



here we are after it was over!

I finished just under a hour~57:21~

it was a lot of fun~and now we know what to expect next time!

Cute Cute

There hasn't been much in the way of fall decorations at my house this year mainly b/c we've just been so busy~

Kristi at Everything's Pink posted about these cute banners at EmmieCakes

My mom bought me 2 of them~one for Halloween & one for Thanksgiving. I sat down tonight to do the Halloween one before I ran out of time. It turned out really cute~I hung it above my entertainment center~Tyson wasn't crazy about it hanging in front of the TV~haha

Happy Halloween!!!

The kids had decided what they wanted to be several weeks ago~Heather & Caroline wanted to be cheerleaders~Jed wanted to be Boba Fett from Star Wars

So this week I realized that Halloween was getting closer. I wasn't too worried about Heather & Caroline's costumes because we had cheerleader costumes in the dress up box. So I started looking for Jed's costume, of course they didn't have the one he wanted in his size so he agreed to be a clone trooper from Star Wars so I picked it up.




Fast forward to this morning neither one of the cheerleader costumes fit Heather anymore so we set out to find one at the goodwill. Caroline didn't need a costume but she saw this PINK barbie cheerleader and decided she needed it. Of course we couldn't find one but we found this old Panther Pride (drill team) skirt at a thrift store & we set out to make a costume. Heather decided to be a member of the Panther Pride. We went to Hobby Lobby to get a purple shirt, gold ric rac, & gold sequined letters. Then we went down to the Dollar Tree and found a purple cowboy hat~and an hour before the party this is what we came up with~

8 Point Buck~The big NEWS of the Day...

This weekend is youth hunting weekend for deer season. Really I think it's just another excuse for the grown ups to get to hunt one more weekend. Tyson called and said they (him & Jed) got an 8 pt buck. Another deer for my living room wall~I'm so excited! haha

Super Saturday

I'm teaching a class at our ward's Super Saturday this year~Of course I picked the 2 easiest things to do, but I've gotten lots of compliments on them and lots of response! I'm excited to make some stuff myself.

The glass block has a hole in the bottom so that you can put clear lights in it or tissue paper~I ended up putting gold tissue paper in mine b/c I can't find the clear lights. I was bummed about that.

I don't know why the I on Christ is always bigger when I cut this out but I never remember to fix it! UGH~Anyways, I can't wait to put this on my entertainment center!
Thanks to Lindsey for cutting my vinyl! :)

*Something MAJOR*

I've been talking about doing a 5K all year long~The other night I signed up to do one next weekend in Nacogdoches. And for the record, this is the first one I've actually signed up for and paid for! I'll probably end up walking most of it b/c I haven't run lately so we'll see how it goes! I'm doing it with some friends from school so it should be fun!

~Mom & Me Cub Scout Camp~

Last weekend Jed & I went to the Annual Mom & Me Cub Scout Camp. Jed really enjoys Cub Scouts & I hope he continues to enjoy scouting.



Here he is fishing & he caught a stick fish! haha


They had a stick horse rodeo & during the Craft station they had to make their stick horse.

Kindergarten Pet Day

Caroline has been so excited about Kindergarten. They have a Pet Day every year & of course she wanted to take our dog but I told her that was too much trouble so she agreed to take the hamsters I have in my room as a class pet! They were a big hit.

Dad & Daughter Activity

Last week the Activity Day Girls had a Dad & Daughter activity. They got to carve pumpkins. I think Tyson & Heather had a good time.


Although in this picture Tyson looks like he took a hit of something while he was there! HAHA

In Love Again...

so I called Nike+ today and the guy was very helpful~I wasn't however able to recover my lost miles but I can walk again with confidence that I won't lose anymore workouts (yeah right) and I am more educated about my IPOD~which makes me HAPPY!

I went to Academy and bought an armband to put my IPOD in so when I walk I won't have to carry it~I'm not sure what I think about it yet!

I walked 2 miles today and that felt good~now if I could just quit eating so much crap I might lose some weight!

I had some exciting news this afternoon~Caroline's teacher came in my room this afternoon and had this look on her face~of course I immediately asked what was wrong~what had my SWEET angel done wrong~haha~she told me she tested Caroline for her reading level today & she did really well~she is almost where she needs to be at the end of Kinder~now at the end of the 1st 9 weeks~don't get me wrong we've got long ways to go but she's doing great! I was so proud of her! I'll have to video her reading one day!

:)

All those great things I said about Nike+...

ignore them for now! I hate the whole setup!!!! Really not with Nike+ but with my IPOD~seriously really I"ve been having issues with it which includes losing lots of miles! needless to say I'm disgusted!

Nike+

because I {HEART} my readers (I know, like all 3 of them) & if you know me at all you know how much I {HEART} a good deal so I'm sharing this with all of you who want to join our challenge~(I know, I'm getting smoked~it's been a rough week!)

You can go to

Sports Authority

and buy these shoes for a smokin' deal & FREE shipping



just don't buy up all the 8 1/2's


then you can go to

RoadRunner Sports

and order the NIKE+ Armband and then you'll be all set to join. The armband should be $50 and then free shipping on that too~

See, I told you I loved you! Let me know when you are ready to sign up!

Azalea Trail

Excuse the FAT ROLL in that second picture~so horrible!

I can't remember if I blogged about this or not but a couple of weeks ago we took the kids walking on the Azalea Trail here in town. It's at a park behind the mall & they are always begging to go walking down the trail but I'm a scaredy cat & won't go by myself. We didn't make it very far & the kids were begging to turn around and go back to the car.



This picture cracked me up b/c Caroline got tired of walking so Tyson stuck her in the backpack and told her to hold on! So REDNECK!!!




Here's our self portrait after we were finished!

FINALLY!!!

I know Alison won't believe it but I finally finished Twilight for the second time last night! For some reason I've been in the mood to read lately so I've been going to bed a little earlier than normal to read few pages! So yes I know it took me FOREVER~but I finally made it to the end! haha

It's been another busy week doing the same old thing! I'm really enjoying this walking challenge though~Ya'll need to join in with us!

From the Mouth of Babes...

I borrowed this interview from Natalie at 100%Cottam I interviewed Caroline mostly

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Take a nap.

2. What makes mom happy?
Me being good

3. What makes mom sad?
being bad

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
being silly

5. What was your mom like as a child?
good

6. What is her favorite thing to do?
scrapbook, play on the computer, teach~then Heather thought she was being cute and said "fuss at us"haha

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
go shopping

8. What is your mom really good at?
teaching

9. What is your mom not very good at?
spanking

10. What does your mom do for her job?
teach

11. What is your mom's favorite food?
Spaghetti

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
being happy

13. What do you and your mom do together?
hang out

14. How are you and your mom the same?
i don't really know

15. How are you and your mom different?
Jesus made us like that

16. How do you know your mom loves you?
from being good b/c she says she loves you

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
taco casa

Play along if you want too!

~One for the Weekend~

A friend told me last night that I needed to update~really I didn't think people read this thing! :)I really love blogging b/c I wouldn't keep a journal otherwise! I left my camera at school so I can't post any fun pictures of my fall decorations, so I guess this will be a post of randomness!

School
School is going good~it's just busy! For people who think teachers sit on their butts all day~you need to come visit my classroom~There are many days I get to the end of the day and wonder "how did it already get to 3 o'clock?" Busy I tell ya!

Jed's enjoying Spanish more! He's more willing to read his Spanish readers & he's finished his Spanish journal everyday for the past week! That's huge!

Heather LOVES 5th grade! She's got some awesome teachers this year. I really think moving her was GREAT for everyone b/c she hasn't missed a beat & she loves SLACK!

Caroline is enjoying Kinder! They had a pet show and it was so cute! She took my hamsters from my classroom. The kids really enjoyed it.

Exercise

I posted a tracker on my sidebar to keep me motivated! Thanks Rachella for letting me in on that secret! You can see I'm still sucking eggs though! GOTTA.GET.WITH.IT!

Crafting

Of course I have a million projects going on in my head and not nearly enough time to get them done~I'm going to try to get some of them done today! My Language of the Day signs have been a hit at school!

Work

Since our BIG news on Monday, we've had a different plan of action everyday~If you know us at all, we aren't very good decision makers!

Plan A~to find another job

Plan B~to go to college & pursue something else.

Plan C~WHO KNOWS?

Although I will say Plan B has been the favorite for a few days now! We also have to keep in mind the long term~Tyson is very talented and he probably could find another job fairly easily and work another 10 years BUT what happens when that plant closes and we're in this same position but 10 years older!

So that's all I know for now!

Have a great weekend!

~The WORD on the Street~

is that we are unofficially unemployed~if that's possible~the rumor is that Tyson's plant will be closing effective March 2009~there's a slim chance that they could sell the place BUT we aren't too hopefully & I don't know if we'll stick around to watch~

Citation~LDN

there's not much we can do except tighten our belts and start looking for other jobs. I haven't freaked too much YET~we've found a couple of jobs online that Tyson is going to apply for & he's going to work at his tree/lawn business as much as possible~

so don't feel sorry for us just pray~I know that Heavenly Father has something great in store for our family & he will provide a way for things to happen as long as we are doing our part!:)

*I walked 2 miles on the treadmill tonight* :)

Wanna Play?

My last post I shared my love for the Nike + system, of course I've told several friends about it and they have it but didn't really use it so I decided to set up a challenge for the month of October~it's a super easy one~the person with the most miles at the end of the month wins the challenge! If you want to play, let me know & I'll send you the invite to the challenge.

You do need the Nike + sensor system but not neccessarily the Nike + shoes.

I'll be waiting to hear from you!!!

I {HEART} Nike +

The counselor at our school has been losing weight and of course I notice~I swear I'm obsessed BUT way too lazy to get off my butt and do anything about it! I guess just add it to my list of illnesses~

Anyways, enough about me really~so of course I asked her what she's been doing & she shares her secret of course it isn't the magic one I was hoping for BUT at least it was fun!:)

I had heard about the NIKE PLUS website, but really didn't know how it worked. But my friend, Missy, told me all about it. You have to have an ipod, the nike plus shoes, & the nike plus sensor. You don't really have to have the shoes, there's another way to use it without buying the shoes~Anyways, I had the IPOD & the shoes (I bought by accident), and I had $15 in Target gift cards so I went & bought the sensor~

You can sign up for challenges on the website and then you compete by the number of miles you walk. Missy was kind enough to let me join in with her family~So we are having a lot of fun with it.

If you decide you want to try it out, let me know and we can create our own private challenge!

In other exercise news, I know at the beginning of the year I said I was going to run a 5k~unfortunately with the kids & life things have gotten in the way & running has been put on the back burner~I had planned on running a 5k this coming Saturday at Kemah~um, well it's a good thing I talked myself out of that one since Kemah isn't there anymore!:)

My friend at school told me about a local one November 1st & we are planning on running it together! There's also one at the end of October for Red Ribbon Week, so I might try to run that one also!

Let me know if you want to join me!

Ok I just realized that it's been..

2 days since I've posted! And a few days since I've posted a pic~Well, school it kicking my butt! It's like starting all over again! HA

I've also been working on making some signs for some people at school that I was supposed to do several weeks ago & they never got finished! I'm ready to get this project off my counter! I made 3 tonight & have 4 more to do tomorrow & I should be finished for awhile.

We've also been on a MOUSE hunt around our house! I HATE mice!!!! They are clearing the land across from our house to build the new school we'll be at next year so the micey are relocating! We went and bought traps at Lowe's earlier tonight & Tyson already caught one out in the garage! (And we didn't use the live traps!)

Since I have no picture today or yesterday I'm going to give a shout out to some bloggy friends! I mean I wonder really how we ever survived without the internet, REALLY?

My friend Missy entered her local county fair last week, then shared her enteries on her blog~let me just say I was WOW'ed by her hidden talent!:) She even sews clothes for herself to wear! That's impressive!:)

I met Missy through the blog-o-sphere & I was trying to think the other day exactly which blog I found her through, but I can't remember! Maybe Missy can~Anyways, she's been rocking the year several ways, first, by being the mom to 5 kids~yep, five kids, then she's shared her weight loss journey on her blog & she's been doing GREAT!!! Talk about willpower & now her hidden sewing talent!

She's decided to share her talent with everyone & not just her family~She's opened an ETSY shop called BetsyGrace~run on over and check her out~I think you'll be just as impressed as I was~

Another bloggy blog~HA! what a phrase! ok maybe I shouldn't be up after 11pm on a school night! Anyways, Kristi at Everything's Pink is always posting something great & she shared this great deal...

Are you thinking Christmas yet? I know it's hard to believe that it's just around the corner. I won't even remind you of how many shopping days are left~but Jack & Jill Photography is offering this great deal~and you know how I LOVE deals~

"Don't live in Utah? Or just don't need pictures taken? That's okay, you can still benefit from this offer. All you have to do is post on your blog and tell a little bit about what I am offering. Make sure you put a link to my blog in the post. Then leave me a comment telling me that you did it and I will get started on your Christmas card. I will be emailing the files to those who participate so you can have them printed anywhere you like. Email me the picture(s) you would like to use and you can choose a design from anywhere online. I will let you know if it is something I can recreate or not. You choose colors, font, etc."

So no excuses~this awesome girl is doing most of the work for you!

Can't wait to see what you come up with~and yes, you'll be getting a Christmas card from me this year!:)

Have a great week!

I was Tagged...

by my blogging friend Missy. She did this post about 6 quirks and then tagged me! So, let me tell you six of my quirks:

I've thought about this for a couple of days and I am having a hard time coming up with quirky things. I'm sure my family can think of tons of them huh?

1. I can't stand spelling mistakes! DRIVES ME BATTY!!!!

2. I HAVE to have my laundry finished (that means folded and put away) but the time I go to bed on Sunday night. If it's not done then the whole week is ruined! Tyson doesn't understand this one.

3. I HAVE to check my bank account first thing in the morning online. Then I usually check it several times throughout the day, even when I know nothing has changed. BUT if Tyson stops by and buys something on the way home from work~I usually know it BEFORE I ever see him!:) (This one might be a little control freak instead of quirky!)

4. I have to do things in a certain order in the mornings or I'll forget something. So I get up, go to the bathroom, take a shower, put my contacts in, put my underwear on, brush my teeth, then fix my hair & get dressed.

5. I can't stand for crap to be all over the kitchen counters, but yet they are always a mess~thanks to my family!

6. I always think "she should fix up more" but yet I RARELY fix myself up! (UM, JUDGEMENTAL!!!!

I know I have issues!!!! If you think I have a quirk, feel free to post it in your comment!

Then I tag all of my loyal readers!:)

I like this list better!

I was blog browsing tonight & came across Kim Sue's blog & it sounds like she kind of had the same feelings I did about the adult list so she added the Childrens Book List from the National Education Association~Thanks Kim Sue~you really know how to make a girl feel better!

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
I Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Crunching Carrots, Not Candy by Judy Slack
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willlems
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad
Day by Judith Viorst
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Tacky the Penquin by Helen Lester
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Doreen Cronin
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Bunnicula by James Howe
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Frindle by Andrew Clements
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Jan Brett’s books
Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
No David! by David Shannon
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
The Empty Pot by Demi
The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
The Giver by Lois Lowr
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Wide-Mouthed Frog:
A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner

Whew! That's a little better! And I'm sure this list had nothing to do with the fact that I majored in Elementary Education! haha

I know, I know

I remembered late last night that I didn't have a picture for the day! So today I have 2~

The first one is Tyson with his homemade MRE's~He is traveling to Beaumont with some men from Church tomorrow to help some of the people who suffered extentsive damage from Hurricane Ike. Tyson packed all evening~it was almost comical, but heck he likes to be prepared! He's planning for the worse conditions down there. He put together these MRE's~they are a fork, sardines, crackers, gum & I'm not sure what else.



My other picture is of Heather & her friend Mila. Mila & Heather have been friends since they were born! Since we moved from Broaddus 3 years ago, they don't really get to see each other much. They were in Lufkin town this evening & I told them Mila could spend the night! They were so excited to see each other!

The Big Read

I know some of my loyal readers~(I love calling my good friends that even though I know you would feel guility if you didn't read!) read much more than I do~I've seen this list on several blogs and thought I would throw it out there for you!

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

They estimate that an average adult has only read 6 books on this list~How many have you read?

Here’s what you are supposed to do:
*Look at the list and bold those you have read.
*Italicize those you intend to read.
*Underline the books you LOVE .

*I italicized & bolded the ones I've read b/c it was hard to tell if they were bolded. I didn't want any one getting confused! haha

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling


5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger


19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis


34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez


44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth


56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy


68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray


80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Really 3? I guess I'm not even an average American~I have a long list of books to read if I ever get bored!:) I am almost finished with Twilight though maybe soon I'll be able to report on that one! and of course they didn't put blogs on the list! I would have that list mastered!:)

So maybe my loyal readers have read more than me~if you decide to post this list let me know~I would love to see which ones you have read!

Happy Reading!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Do you like my new blog look?

Well the list only part way worked...POTD 9/17/08

I did manage to get a few things marked off my list today, things such as get Pop Rocks & eye dr! They were the two most important things I needed to get done today! Yep, Surprise Jed has reading glasses now!! I took him to the eye dr yesterday and the result was that he was slightly farsighted & since he doesn't care for school & struggles with his reading a little bit, the dr said this would help take the strain off his eyes and magnify the words for him. So far he loves them!


A friend of mine from work still does not have power so she came over this morning to take a hot shower and to wash some clothes, so I visited with her this morning until the kids ran her out by begging for Pop Rocks.


The kids have discovered the store down the road has ICEEs so that is their favorite treat now. So we got ICEES & Pop Rocks this morning for breakfast/lunch! HAHA

Go ahead and pass the MOM of the YEAR award this way! I'll be waiting!

The kids are all spending the night with someone else (or at least they were when I left them). We'll see how many end up calling and begging to come home in a little while! I'm sure Tyson will want to go to bed when he gets home from a meeting at Church, so I MIGHT stay up and get the floors mopped or do something else productive! I took like a 3 hour nap this afternoon so I'm sure I'll have plenty of energy! And tomorrow they are going to play at another friends house for a little while so I might get some more stuff marked off!:)

POTD 9/16/08

I think that's the right date anyways~I'm sitting at my computer and starting thinking of everything I need and want to do tomorrow~it's a million things I swear! So I busted out the mini sharpies & started making this



As you can see it's mostly cleaning chores! ugh~Maybe I'll be more motivated to get things crossed off~I also made a colorful list of chores for the kids to get done in the morning & another list of crafty things I would like to get done before next Monday when we have to return to school!

The Video

Ok yesterday I promised a video and then I forgot to load it~so here it is~this is the beginning of Hurricane Ike Saturday morning
and here's another of what we do when we don't have power! haha


I'll be back with the Pic of the Day later!

POTD 9/13/08, 9/14/08, 9/15/08~Hurricane Ike Edition!

right after my last post on Saturday we lost power & we have been without power or internet since! Needless to say I've gotten a lot of reading done since then! HAHA
I have 3 pictures to show you from the last couple of days & a video~


The first is one of the things that has been our lifesaver~The generator! I think this should be a manadatory piece of equipment in every home! If you don't have one, get one regardless of where you live! Really, we never really knew our power was out. We could use the bathroom with a light, we could run the ceiling fans & the window unit a/c with it. Our freezer & fridge never stopped! It's awesome!


The next is the a/c we bought to sleep with~it was great~We ran this and our ceiling fan with our bedroom door closed for 2 nights and never missed a beat. If you've ever been to our house you know how cold we like it. This worked like a charm!


Pioneer girl~NO? We had a grill to cook on, but Tyson's been cutting trees & I haven't been trained on how to use it properly. So this morning I brought out the griddle to cook pancakes & then Tyson told me before he left that I could use that to cook ravoli's on later, so that's what I did! It worked like a charm!:)

So we've made it through yet another hurricane with minimal damage & suffering! I really felt prepared this time around~I think it might get a little easier each time b/c we will think of something we didn't have the time before!

So run out and buy your generator TODAY!!!!

Hurricane Ike Update #2

Well, it's 7am and the storm is just now coming through. And we still have power! (it flickered off a couple times this morning but it came back on) Tyson is outside videoing with the video camera. I did a couple of short videos on my digital camera so I'll load those later~The wind gusts are pretty strong but there are no trees down around our house YET!

Hurricane Ike Update

The LDN is reporting that we should start getting hurricane winds around 8 pm tonight.

POTD 9/12/08

Heather has got to be the most creative kid I know. My mom sent her a tutu today and instead of wearing it like a tutu, she went and put on her blue dance costume from last year's recital and put the tutu on her head, came out of her bedroom and said "I'm a flower!" I wonder what she would say if I told her that was her Halloween costume?

POTD 9/11/08

Here's my picture from last night~we might be redneck but we aren't going to be hot! HAHA Tyson decided we needed a small window unit to hook up to the generator, so WHEN we lose power we can sleep. Here it is sitting on the freezer in the garage while Tyson was testing it out! HAHA We are going to put it in our bedroom, let our kids sleep in there with us & close the door! I'll let you know how it goes!

STOP, Callabrate & LISTEN...

Found this on a message board

To the tune of ..."VANILLA ICE'S - ICE ICE BABY"

Yo, TX, Let's kick it!

Ike Ike Baby, Ike Ike Baby
All right stop, evacuate and listen
Ike is here with some big ambition
People, close your homes up tightly
It's blowing like a hurricane daily and nightly
Where will it stop? Yo-I don't know
Turn off the lights and let's go
To the coastline Ike rocks like a vandal
Start up the car and watch me drive like an animal

Dang, hardware store sales boom
Ike's killing my plans like a poisonous mushroom
Deadly, evacuate they tell me
Anyone left will be charged with a felony
Love it or hate it, you better get away
Ike will hit the bull's eye, the storm don't play
If you're on vacation, Yo, Ike stalled it
Check out the eye while the bands revolve it

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby
Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Now that the people are jumpin'
With their stuff packed up and the gas done pumpin'
Quick to the road, to the road no fakin'
Pass McD's get a burger with bacon
Burnin' 'em and follow the symbol
I go crazy when I hear some imbecile
Revving, in a souped up Pinto
Now I can roll, it's time to crack the window
Rollin' in my Chevy Tahoe
With my window down, I can feel Ike blow
My laptop's on standby, Waiting for some Wi-fi
This spot hot? No - and I gotta fly
Kept on pursuing to the next block
I busted a left and I'm beating the clock
The light was red

Yo -- so I continued to I-37 to San Antonio
Wish I was there in a blink like a jeanie
How I'd love to be sippin' a martini
Jealous 'cause my girl's living fine
She left yesterday and was there by nine
Ready to give my homies a call
My homies acting ill because their car just stalled
Humidity, the air is sticky as hell
Ike's on his way, the weatherman yells
Moving toward the gulf coast real fast
I'm in my car, can't give it no gas
Bumper to bumper the interstate's packed
I'm trying to get away before Ike attacks
Police on the scene, what can it mean?
They hooked me up, now there's another lane free
If you're on vacation, Yo, Ike stalled it
Check out the eye while the bands revolve it

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby
Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Yo man, let's get out of here! Word to your mother!

Yes, we are battening down the hatches, we are as prepared as we can get~I do have a pic for today but I'm too lazy to post it~I'll post it in the morning!

POTD 9/10/08

I'm so excited~I picked this up today at Target (with my $15 in gift cards to help pay for it). I went over to the Nike Plus website loaded in my information and joined a challenge!

9-9-08

Sad news to report~No pic today b/c I'm so exhausted I couldn't muster up the energy to even think of a picture!:( Maybe tomorrow.

POTD 9/8/08 AKA Don't Mess with My TUTU...

My mom's ward has a great Enrichment program & they are always doing something cute or crafty~Last week my mom had to head up the TUTU making class & of course my mom does NOTHING in moderation so she made Heather & Caroline (really Caroline, but Heather is such a skinny butt they fit her too) these cute TUTU's


Of course every LP fan needs a purple & black TUTU! haha


Here's Carolines TuTu~
I think they are soo cute and My mom totally RAWKS for making these! :) She's always coming up with something cute!

Thanks mom!

POTD 9/7/08

I just have to say I think I have the best kids around & I love them so much!:)

WOO HOO!!!/POTD 9-6-08

I haven't been on the coupon bandwagon the last couple of weeks b/c I've had to go back to work unfortunatly:( So I sat down today and looked through my coupons and came up with some deals.


My first stop was CVS (with 3 kids in tow!)

*1st deal~buy $6 in Suave products get $2 ECB's so I bought
-Shampoo
-Conditioner
-Body Wash
Had a coupon that was $2 off 3 Suave products

*2nd Deal~Get 3 Pantene Products for 9.99 get $2 ECB's so it's like getting it for $7.99 so I got
-Pantene shampoo
-Pantene conditioner
-Pantene hairspray
had a coupon buy a pantene product get a styling product for free

*3rd Deal~Cologate toothpaste was 2.99, get $2 ECB so it's like getting it for .99 cents had $1 off coupon THIS ITEM WAS FREE!!!!

*4th Deal~When I went in the kids scanned my Extra care card and a coupon for a $1 off any lady speed stick printed out. So I picked up a trial size for my 72 hr kit~
This item was FREE!!!

5th Deal~Dawn Dishwashing Soap was on sale for 99 cents & I had a $1 off coupon~another FREE item! WOO HOO!!!

My total OOP for this trip was $11.71 & I got $6 ECB's back for next time!!!


Then I ventured out to Target (again with the Kiddo's)~we had to have a long lecture about how we were only getting certain things yadayadayada!

Target had on sale buy 4 poptarts, rice krispies, keebler cookies for $9 & get a $5 gift card~then I had $1 off coupons when you buy 2 so this worked perfect~

1st deal~
-2 boxes of rice krispie treats
-2 pkgs fudge shoppe cookies
$9-$2 coupons=$7-$5 in gc/total for 4~$2

2nd deal
4 boxes poptarts
$9-$2 coupons~$7-$5 in gc/total for 4~$2

3rd deal
2 boxes poptarts
2 pkgs cookies
$9-$2 coupons~$7-$5 in gc/total for 4~$2

4th deal~Tyson requested a new toothbrush so I looked while I was at Target~They had Reach toothbrushes for 1.48 and I had a coupon for $1 off so the Toothbrush was just .48 cents.

Ok back to the poptart deal My total at Target after coupons was 28.40, but I got $15in Target GC's & I have a Kelloggs Fuel for School rebate for $10 back so

it's like getting all this stuff for $3.40 (I love it when CVS says it like this in their ad) and I would have to say this is probably my very best deal yet! I just had to share!

And yes, I took pictures of it (potd) and I blogged about it b/c I'm so excited!:)

Wanna see MORE CVS savings, visit "Cents"ible Sawyer

Deal of the Day

Lean Cusine is having their annual lunch bag sell~They offer cute lunch bags & then donate a portion of the sell to breast cancer research! Order away!

Lean Cuisine Lunch Bags