Cara Box Reveal

Like I mentioned in my H54F post, I participated in this awesome blog swap:

It's hosted by Kaitlyn over at Wifessionals. The point of the swap is to make some new blog friends and to support each other.

I got paired up with two different bloggers: Betsy, who blogs over at Musings of a Museum Fanatic and Eliz at Tiny Bits of Nonsense. I had to send a blog package to Betsy, so go over there and check out what I got her! Oh and click around because she's pretty awesome and doing a giveaway!

I got my package from Eliz today, along with my wedding shoes (but I'll talk about them in another post!) The theme of the Cara Box was Holiday Sparkle, and she out did herself.

It was SO much fun going through everything she got me.  

 I loved the cosmetic bag. It's perfect to leave in my desk at work! The headband will look great with this black and white sweater I have. Plus, as a first grade teacher, I can NEVER have too many hand sanitizers! 

 I think Kaitlyn got this same nail polish. It's such a fun glitter and it goes great with this manicure idea I pinned awhile back. I also loved the pedicure set, because it has BOTH of my favorite colors teal and yellow. Eliz also included some Airheads (which I will promptly enjoy as soon as my mouth is healed) and metallic pens. It was super fun to get to know these two ladies. I can't wait to find out the theme for the next Carabox! 

PS. Check out my new blog design, courtesy of Amy over at The Charming Blog

High Five for Friday- Holiday edition

Man, I haven't done this in a really long time. Not because I don't have anything to celebrate, but because I've been slacking with my blog. NO MORE SLACKING!

Today, I am linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk Blog. This is seriously one of my FAVORITE link ups so let's do this!

1.

My family and J are pretty fantastic. I already shared my fun gifts from my family, but then Wednesday J gave me his gift...a super cute Vera Bradley cover for my Kindle. :) Love it!


2.

Post Christmas day shopping! Found some incredible deals. Cannot wait to rock some of these new clothes.

3.

My save the dates came in! Granted, these are the ones with the wrong website, so I'll be getting the corrected ones in a week. But still! I love how they turned out!

4. Went back to the oral surgeon yesterday. Dr. Gesek said everything looked great! YAY!

5.

Received my first CaraBox today. It's this AWESOME swap set up by Kaitlyn over at Wifessionals. I'll post about it later today!

Overall, a pretty phenomenal week! Tomorrow I am going bridesmaid dress shopping with my best friend, my future mother-in-law and sister-in-law and my best friend. Have a great Friday!

Christmas fun recap

I admit I haven't been in the Christmas spirit this year. The weather's been weird and my surgery left me cranky. I've been feeling a bit bittersweet about the fact that next Christmas will be different from all my other Christmases past (even though I can't wait for my first married Christmas with J). So I'm glad that I had yesterday and today to spend with my family the way we always do:

Kicked off the holiday by rocking my new Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve. They were cute AND comfy!

Forgive the smile, my face was still aching from wisdom teeth!

Christmas morning opened presents with the fam:

Dad rocking the Santa hat... that hat is like 20 years old!

My family loved the gifts that I gave them, even though they weren't incredibly extravagant. I'm blessed that my mom and dad are paying for my entire reception, so I told them not to get me anything special, but they didn't listen:

Two beautiful shirts, a LOFT gift card, and a Kindle Fire! I'm a lucky girl. Spent the rest of Christmas in my pjs watching movies with my mom, dad, and uncle. My brother had to work (apparently people still watch the news on Christmas Day?)

Today, my brother, mom and I hit the mall in search of good deals and a good meal! I hit the jackpot:

 

I bought an adorable red blazer from Marshall's (never ever find stuff there!) and two cute blouses from Old Navy. Then I went to Loft where my mom found me a great coral sweater for 4 dollars and a pair of black crop pants for work for 14! I also ended up getting a graphic tee and a pair of jeans from there as well.

Afterwards, the three of us ate at Maggiano's. The food was so yummy. At one point I just looked at the two of them and told them thank you. My family has taken such good care of me this week and I'm such a lucky girl to have them in my life.

Off to finish watching Love Actually. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I woke up this morning to the sound of my brother telling me to get up. I came downstairs in my new pjs that I received last night. Opened some fun presents with my wonderful family. All the while getting teased by my dad and my mom telling us to stop and smile. Just like every other Christmas for the last 20+ years.

Dad a few years ago, laughing at my brother's reaction to his gift. 

It blows my mind that this is the last Christmas that I will be spending this exact way for the rest of my life. This time next year, I will be married. J and I will be spending Christmas morning together. Waking up together and maybe starting traditions of our own. I absolutely cannot wait for that, but for right now I'm going to enjoy every single holiday filled moment of today. Starting with chowing down on some cinnamon rolls with my family.

I hope all my blog friends have a beautiful day today. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Source

Things I've Learned

So today is Saturday. I have no idea where the time has gone. Actually, I do. It's been spent laying on a couch, catching up on Army Wives, eating some Jello and macaroni and cheese. While I've been trying to recover, my wisdom teeth operation has taught me a few things:

1. I could never EVER be a vampire. Nope. I hate the taste of blood, especially after my surgery on Thursday. Guess I could never be Bella, could I?

2. Macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes have healing powers. They were the first food that I could eat without wanting to puke my guts out. 
3. Netflix is amazing. Seriously, without it, I'd probably be twiddling my thumbs trying to figure out what to watch. Especially now that they have some Disney classics on it!



4. My family is the best. All three of them have been doing a really good job of taking care of me. Even if I'm kinda over the fact that I have to call my dad on his phone if I want to step downstairs. 
5. J is a great fiance. I already knew this, but he's come over almost every night to check on me. Even if last night, he laughed at my swollen chipmunk cheeks.
6. Which brings to another point: I would not be cute with big cheeks. I've always been jealous of girls that have gorgeous cheek bones and cute heart shaped faces, but there's definitely a reason I'm not supposed to have a face like that. :)
7. Pain killers and antibiotics stink and rock at the same time. They make me feel good and yet yucky all at once. Not cool. Medical field make some meds that just make you feel good okay???

So there ya have it. My lessons from my recovery. Now I'm off to sleep and maybe attempt the Jaguar game tomorrow? I'm not going to be cheering anyways, since we'll be getting our butts kicked by Tom Brady, so it should be a good recovery spot!

PS. Holy cow! It's 3 days until Christmas. Seriously where did this year go???

Wisdom teeth stink...

I HATE DENTAL PROCEDURES. I know, I know, most people do as well, but I have NEVER had a good dental experience.

Exhibit A: 1994
Had to have a baby tooth pulled because it had a massive cavity. Gave me some novacaine. Everything going splendid...until novacaine WEARS off halfway through! They were almost done, so the dentist just finished it without pain meds. My dad still has the scars on his hand from where I gripped his hand.

Exhibit B: 2011
I had to have a root canal. The actual root canal went OK. But the crown procedure did not. The dental hygienist sucked and apparently didn't send off the right mold. So my dentist bitched me out for waiting so long to get my permanent crown. When she realized it was her people's mistake, she made me a new one. But it still didn't fit, so she had to scrape away my gum. Oy vey.

Exhibit C: 2012
My first cleaning this year, I had to have a deep cleaning. My fault for not being the greatest dental health person. (Please don't reprimand me! I know, I know.) I brush my teeth twice daily but that's about it. After experience the awfulness that is a deep cleaning, I was an ideal dental health person. Took the nasty mouth wash and everything.
So I was told I wouldn't need another deep cleaning. But apparently, halfway through my second annual cleaning, which was a deep cleaning, my dentist realized no one had ever updated my chart. So I had to go through a deep cleaning for NO REASON!!!

So needless to say I was NOT looking forward to my wisdom teeth extraction today. After I woke up, I felt ok. In a bit pain, but okay. Dr. checked me out, gave me some more gauze and sent me on my way.

I was halfway home when I realized something was wrong. My mouth wouldn't stop filling up with blood and I felt faint. After stopping at critical care, they sent me back to my surgeon. He took very good care of me, putting meds and stitching me up. When I asked if what happened was normal, he said there's a very small chance of not clotting and that I was today's lucky winner. YAY me.

So now I'm sitting on my couch, eating some mashed potatoes and watching the latest season of Army Wives. It's like Netflix knew I'd be sitting on my butt for a few days so they added new episodes.

Any of you ever had dental issues? Here's my plan for the rest of the weekend:

I totally agree, don't you?

First day of winter break...

Des

9:30 a.m.

At 9:30 this morning, all of the first graders at my school were in the cafeteria. Laughing their little butts off at seeing my teammates and me dressed in our pjs and taking a picture.

They went off to each of our classrooms and did their final winter station activity. Mine came back and we worked for a bit on writing letters persuading the Grinch to smile. Some of the reasons they came up with? "Christmas is awesome." "being happy is better than being sad" "it's important to be nice."

We wrapped up the day by drinking hot cocoa, finding a comfy spot and watching The Polar Express. I passed out candy canes and even though I was losing patience with how rowdy they were, I still smiled and gave them great big hugs and wished them a good break.

I write this, because at 9:30 a.m,. at another elementary school far away from mine, these fun events were not the case. It makes me cry when I think of how someone went and killed innocent children. Innocent children that just want to be loved. That had their WHOLE lives ahead of them. That were probably excited that Christmas is getting closer and Santa will soon be here.

So just like many of you, I too am sending prayers to Newtown, CT. But I'm also sending prayers to each one of my students tonight. Prayers that their parents hold them tight and give them hugs and kisses and that they stay safe over break. And when I see them again on Janaury 2nd, I will give each one the biggest hug and tell them how I happy I am to see them.

It's OK

I've never done this link up before, but it felt appropriate for today. So let's do this!

IT'S OK:

• that I am beyond ready to be away from my firsties for 18 whole days! My class is pretty fantastic but they just got on my nerves today. Luckily, tomorrow is the last day! WEEEEE!
• that I'm kinda hoping my cold doesn't go away completely; that way I can cancel my wisdom teeth surgery next week. 
• that I was really happy that J got to meet some of my favorite kiddos yesterday at the holiday party. He did bounce as soon as they let the kids pick presents. COMPLETE MAYHEM!
• to be excited that I get to eat Cracker Barrel tonight. That stuff is addicting and it's totally my comfort food. 
• to hand out presents just to hear a thank you. I gave my team and some other teachers at my school these cute little boxes of cocoa and a card. 
• to get back into the blog world full force. I've been finding some new blogs to read, and catching up on old ones. One of my resolutions is definitely to be more on it with this blog stuff. 
• that I wish I was getting married sooner rather than later. I just want that part of my life to start already!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thursday!!!

Holiday music makes everything feel better...

I've come to this realization:

Nothing makes me feel better than jamming out to some holiday tunes. Except maybe a cuddle session with J. :)

My kiddos had resource all afternoon and I canceled my grade level meeting to give my team even more time to get stuff done before the holidays (my boss gave us a half day yesterday for the same reason!). Even though my throat feels like it's on fire, I decide to set my Pandora station on my phone to my *NSYNC Christmas station.

And wouldn't you know it? Even though I felt like poo all morning and was worried I would waste away the afternoon, I still got a ton accomplished. I have to give all the credit to the Christmas music. So here are some of my favorites that came on:

"Last Christmas" the Glee version. To be quite honest, all of the versions of this song rock, but this one is definitely my favorite.

"My Only Wish This Year" by Britney Spears. I totally danced around my filing boxes while listening to this one. I think if my VP had walked in she would have died of laughter for sure.

Yes, I know Chris Brown = major douchebag. But this became my favorite version of "This Christmas" before he let it be known that he is a class A jerk. Love some R&B Christmas songs for sure!

Okay, so the ENTIRE *NSync Christmas album is my go to holiday album. I actually need to download a copy, because my CD is so scratched some of the songs don't play. But "All I Want is You This Christmas" is the one that I always hit repeat on. Something about harmonies, the lyrics and the music just screams Christmas to me.

There you have it. Pandora totally knew that I've been bummed that Holly on SiruisXM has been straight up lame lately, so it came through and played my favorites. Now I still feel sick, but it's a happy sick! What are your favorite Christmas songs?

You win some you lose some...

I'm staring at my computer screen feeling like I should write about my weekend. I mean, overall it was pretty fantastic. Even if it included spending 8 hours at a marriage prep class and watching the Jaguars lose again. But my sinuses are killing me. Boo sinus headaches!

One of the bajillion requirements (and yes I mean bajillion) that the Catholic Church has to get married is to take a marriage prep course. You have two choices: Pre-Cana, a one day 8 hour course, or Engaged Encounter, a weekend retreat. Originally, I wanted to do the retreat but I changed my mind. Thank goodness I did!

While I learned a lot at Pre Cana (the topics ranged from marriage as a sacrament to communication) and I definitely felt closer to J because of it, it was SO LONG. We arrived at 8:30 and didn't leave until 5:30. I don't do well when I have to sit and just listen. I like to do something. I almost wish they had made us interact with the other couples. But it was mostly just lecture after lecture. Including one on mystical magical mucus. (Seriously, the natural family planning presenter kept repeating that phrase, and I just wanted to laugh so hard every time!)

Other hilarious side note: pretty sure the presenters didn't want to screw up my name, so rather than calling on me, they  just kept calling on J. Which he didn't mind, until the NFP presenter asked him what he thought sexual contact was. Can we say awkward?

After we finished, J and I headed out to my co-worker Katie's house. I was a little worried about J getting along with my new co-workers, but it ended up being a great night! We stayed until midnight, talking, playing beer pong and just having fun. J liked my co-workers a lot, and I enjoyed getting to know them outside of work!

I'd talk about today, but that would be a waste. The Jaguars lost yet again. I screamed and cheered them along and I will continue to do it for the rest of the season, but man can we just get to next season? It's getting to be brutal watching my boys lose game after game!

So like the title of my post, this weekend was DEFINITELY a win some you lose some kind of weekend.

Off I go to eat dinner and watch some HIMYM. Cross your fingers that this week SPEEDS by, because I only have five work days until Christmas Break! WOO HOO! 

Where did November go?

Guys, my lesson plans are blowing my mind right now. Why? Because of the date on them: Lesson Plans Week of December 3rd. DECEMBER 3rd! What in the world? How on earth is it already December? Crazy!

But I must say, I'm extremely excited that it's December. Just like a lot of other people, this my absolute favorite time of the year. I'll even post a cheesy Christmas pic to prove it to ya.

Adorable right? My mom used to make us take these every other year until my junior year of high school. My mother is the queen of Christmas and I'm pretty sure she is exactly where I get my love of the season from. I mean, look at her Christmas tree:

Yep she's definitely where I get my love of Christmas from. I love Christmas music (my kids' thinking music at school last week was from the Nutcracker!). I love anything peppermint. I love baking. I love spending time with my family and giving them gifts. In fact, I kind wish I could them all their gifts right now, but I'll wait. :)

I'm really bummed that I had a massive headache all weekend and wasn't able to put up my Christmas tree with J. Hopefully we'll be able to do that tomorrow. I like going to his apartment and seeing the tree all lit up next to the window.

What's your favorite thing about December?

Rain, rain, go away

Normally, if I wake up and hear the pitter patter of raindrops on a Saturday, I get pumped! Why? Because it's a great excuse for being completely lazy on a weekend.

But today, I woke up and heard the rain and GROANED. I need to be motivated, not lazy. My room looks like a tornado blew through it. My laundry is piling up. I have a project that I want to have completed by Monday and J and I want to go Christmas shopping at the good mall (the one that is COMPLETELY outdoors). Oh and I need to go to the dry cleaners before they give away my comforter. Because apparently, I completely forgot that I had it dry cleaned two months ago. Oops.

But right now, all I'm doing is catching up on blogs and pinning more wedding things on Pinterest. Which is way more fun than anything up on my to-do list (except for Christmas shopping, nothing is EVER better than Christmas shopping).

Speaking of wedding plans, have I mentioned J and I have all the big things checked off? We have:

• our location 
• a photographer (Fox Fotography, go check them out!)
• a DJ
• a florist (the florist's proposal ideas matched exactly all the things I pinned on Pinterest. Pam read my mind!)
• my dress 
• and honeymoon!

July seems so far away, but I know that it's not. I mean today is December 1st!  Christmas break begins in 14 days! Where the heck did 2012 go??

Off to attempt to be motivated. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!