I had a PARTY!

Well, tonight I had a party at my house. It was the first party I had in our new home and I LOVED it so much! I had an Arbonne skin care party. Or as I called it all week a lotion and potion party. I invited a bunch of my co-workers and it was a lot of fun. I have been cleaning for a couple of days and I have been cooking since yesterday.


I made a really good spinach dip in a bread bowl as an appetiser. I have a great big platter that I put some pretzels, pita chips, and garlic toast onto for people to dip with. It was really good.


Then for the dinner I made ravioli in the oven with spaghetti sauce. I also made a salad and some garlic bread. Everything turned out great without any problems. I had a different sauce in mind originally for the ravioli but at the last minute I decided to keep it simple. I am SO glad I did. I was very busy as everyone was arriving and I can't imagine having to babysit something on the stove.


I also made a killer desert. It is one of the easiest deserts to make but it is so summery to me and I love it. I made my first angel food cake on my own and then cut up a million strawberries and sprinkled them with sugar and let them sit in the fridge for a while. I also had good ol' cool whip to put on the cake and berries. So simple and so delicious. Everyone seemed pretty impressed that I made the angel food cake. It's like, how hard is it to make a cake? But that's okay.


I really liked sharing my house with everyone. We moved in around the middle of April so I have been talking about it for a while. It is nice to show everyone the fruits of our hard labor. We had some VERY rough thunderstorms today and I got a little freaked out because we lost our power and our house was so eerily quiet. I decided when the power came back on (and I could free my car) that I would go to Target to spiff up the house a bit before everyone came over. I set a budget of $50 so I figured I wouldn't get much. I was SO wrong. I got two pairs of drapes for the upstairs family room, a valance for the guest bedroom (to match another single valance I had), I also got a rug for the front door, which is good since it was so rainy, and a picture frame that matches our living room decor perfectly. I know you aren't going to believe this but I got all of that for $50! I was a good bargain shopper!

So, anyway, I had a really great time having everyone over. I really like to cook and entertain and I loved having the opportunity to demonstrate my skills! I can't wait to host my sister's wedding shower in a week and a half. Oh no! A week and a half! I need to get moving! :)

I want new furniture!

My husband and I love our home but I want new furniture in our living room. We have a lovely matching off white leather couch and chair with ottoman. The problem with it is that it belonged to my in-laws and then followed my husband through college, after college, and now our house. Needless to say, it has seen better days. It is well made furniture it is just a little beat up.

We went looking at furniture on Friday evening and I was disappointed in what we found. I want to find a three piece set with a sofa, loveseat, and chair that all match. Generally, what we found was either a) a million dollars, b) ugly, or c) a million dollars AND ugly. Actually we didn't find enough matching sets on sale. Also, Chad wants leather furniture but it is very expensive. I really like the look of suede or faux suede but I am nervous that it will be too difficult to clean. My friend, Casey, with 2 little kids said that it was really easy to clean. She has the ultra (faux) suede though. My mother in law has real suede and finds it impossible to clean.

Does anyone have any experience with suede or like-suede material on furniture? I would like to know what everyone thinks!

What have I been doing all week?

I keep complaining about working on PBL (Problem Based Learning) all week. Basically, I am continuing what I learned last year in this conference but in a new way. In my school district we focus almost solely on Math and Literacy. And although those are VERY important concepts the MEAP (standardized test) scores are coming back with low Science scores. Hmmmm, I wonder if there is a connection there. So, last year and this year a couple of my colleagues and I have been going to a week-long conference about science instruction and new ways to think about Science. My goal is to create little scientists out of my Kindergarteners. You would be SHOCKED to know how much the children last year learned and grew from the new approach. The PBL approach allows children to gain their own understanding through experiences such as experiments and research. As with everything, my biggest challenge is to figure out how to apply this to 5 year olds. So, the work continues. Tomorrow is the last day for this year and we have a pretty good Science Unit on weather and science process skills. I can't wait to try it out on next years kids!

Oh, also, I can't wait for the weekend. OH, and I have next week off!!!! WHOO HOOO!

I've got ants in my pants and it makes me want to dance!

Well, it finally cooled off here so we decided to do some work outside. My garden was very neglected so it needed a lot of work. I had a lot of dead flowers and weeds to remove. There were places with weeds that I didn't even know existed! We have an area between the deck and the house that I have never paid much attention to. I found out today what a big mistake that was. I had LOTS of weeds back there so I started pulling them. I was working at a good pace when I looked down and saw 1,000,000 ants! They were EVERYWHERE! What's worse is that they were all over my socks and shoes! YUCK! So, I stripped off my socks and shoes and went upstairs to get the ant spray. I sprayed the junk out of those ants. The picture shows my ant graveyard behind our deck. That'll teach 'em!

What is with T.V. in the Summer?

All of the good shows are on in the Fall and Spring. T.V. here in the Summer is unbelievably awful. It is almost unbearable! They have shows like America's Got Talent (a poor knock-off of Idol), Do You Think You Can Dance?, American Inventor, and the worst some show about celebrities driving race cars. Give me a break. There was a show on last night with a tennis star dating 40 yr olds and 20 year olds. The premise is that he is going to see which relationship he values most and if age matters. I will tell you what matters, NOT dating on a freaking reality T.V. show!

Between these terrible, terrible shows and my husband CONSTANTLY watching baseball, it seems like there isn't much reason to stay in the house. It has been steamy hot outside lately, however, so I don't really want to go outside either. I guess the most likely result will be sitting around eating fatty food and gaining weight, how exciting! HAHAHA, I guess there are some other options, but right now I am just too lazy!

Nice Weekend!

My cousin Sarah got married this weekend! It was a fun family party. She had a beautiful shower on Friday. It was a tea party with scones, fancy tea cups, sugar cubes, and flowery hats all over the place! My aunts and mom put it together and it was very interesting.

The wedding was Saturday and it was so beautiful. Sarah and her new husband Rick wanted a backyard barbeque wedding and that is exactly what it was. One thing our family knows how to do is throw a party. Everything was so fun and almost all of our cousins came up for the wedding. We defintely had a BALL!

This weekend was also Father's Day. It was a fun day too as I saw my dad and Chad's dad as well. We also went to see my grandpas, which sadly means a trip to the cemetery. Its one of those things you just get used to after a while. I am glad we went, its just kinda sad to make that a part of the day.

One cool thing about marrying Chad, among the million other things, is that he still has a grandpa and he reminds me SO much of my dad's dad who died in 1999. It is so fun to have another grandpa to love!

Anyway, Sunday night always has a special feeling, namely a feeling of dread. I didn't get to sleep in at all this weekend and with a Professional Development conference every day this week from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. my summer vacation has REALLY not started yet! I hope everyon enjoys their week!

Everyone Needs a Hobby!

So, a few months ago a friend of mine, Alison, asked me to join her at a new club called Stampers 10. It is a group that gets together once a month to make stamping activities. We mostly make cards and learn new stamping and paper craft techniques. At the club we make 3 cards a week but we also have to spend 15 dollars out of the stamping order catalog. At first I didn't want to join because we were watching our money but Chad said, "everyone needs a hobby." So I joined. And, I kinda love it! I have taken to making cards for holidays and family events. The biggest problem is that I am not a very straight cutter and I am not a very good layout artist. But, oh well, its homemade and it shows I care. The cards above are for my cousin's wedding shower and wedding, Chad's cousin's wedding, and my dad for Father's Day. I just thought I would share!

School's Out for Summer!

Today was the last day of school for my kids. It is such an exciting day for everyone. I teach Kindergarteners so it is their first official summer break and last day of school. Many of them don't really understand what to expect. They keep thinking they are coming back. I try to explain it to them but I am sure there are still a few kids who really don't get it.

I got a few million hugs from my little ones today (I hope no one has lice!) and many kids told me that they are going to miss me. I am going to miss them so much too. It is odd now that it is the end of my third year of teaching. I have more and more children to remember and love. I get to know these kids SO well over the school year that it is very weird when they are no longer "mine."

I am a bit sad today too, however, because my buddy teacher from across the hall is retiring. It is so weird to think about next year without Joanie. The great news, however, is that one my best friends is going to move into her room right across the hall!!! That will be nothing but trouble, fun fun fun trouble!

I wish I had the summer off like many of my co-workers. Tomorrow (yes tomorrow!) I start a Professional Development Science Curriculum project for MSU. It is a fun project but it means that I still have to wake up to an alarm clock for another week and a half. And of course, that is right before my 3 graduate school classes in a 5 1/2 week time frame. Oh well, I will enjoy my summer break in August!

I am a gardener!

So,we bought our first house and it came with a few gardens. I thought this was very exciting, until . . . I had to do the weeding and keep up with it! It has been very exciting to discover all of the flowers we have. It is a surprise everytime. Now, if I could just keep up with watering, fertilizing, weeding, and trimming then I think I could truly enjoy it!

We also planted some veggies in some back gardens behind our shed in the back yard. We planted two pepper plants (green and red) and seeds for cucumbers, cantelope, carrots, and pumpkins.

My mother has been an amazing gardener my entire life. She is an expert and it is difficult to keep up with that sort of role model. She has come to my house a few times (we life 1 1/2 hours apart) and she always knows what every little thing is, even if it is just a new sprout. She has the most beautiful gardens and I hope to work hard to get my gardesn to look half as nice!

Pictures taken by my handsome husband and fellow gardener, Chad.

The Life of Chad and Amy

Well, well, well. . . my first blog. Where do I begin?
Let me introduce myself. My name is Amy and I am married to a wonderful man named Chad. We have been married nearly a year and we just bought our first house. I am trying to get used to taking care of a home, cooking, cleaning, etc. I am a Kindergarten teacher and I will begin my fourth year of teaching in the Fall. I love my job, but of course it can be a challenge.
Stay tuned for the life of a newlywed trying to figure it all out.