Checked Out!

Two words that describe my feelings towards this school year.

Yes, I am indeed checked out.  I don't feel like grading papers. I don't want to deal with students who talk constantly, especially when I'm talking. I don't want to repeat myself 50,000 times because of said students who talk while I am talking. I don't want to meet with parents.  And quite frankly, I don't want to hear other people complain about everything they have to do.  It's a busy time of year.  Six and a half more weeks until....FREEDOM!! Well, for 12 weeks or so! 

At any rate, I'm excited about Kindergarten Orientation this coming Thursday and Friday. We met today to go over details for Orientation.  Since this will be my first time, I'm really going in with no expectations. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I'm looking forward to spending a short amount of time with these little ones, many of whom are still four years old, and thinking about how things will be next fall. A lot different than it is right now.  That's one thing I know for sure.

I told my students and their parents today that I am moving to kindergarten next year.  It was going home in the school newsletter, but I wanted them to hear it from me first.  Many of the parents sent me back congratulatory e-mails.  One (former) parents told me that I'm crazy.  But if we're being honest here, she's a little crazy herself!  What?! I'm being honest! She said she thinks I'm so good with kids in the middle grades (I'm guessing she meant like 3rd grade).  I appreciated the compliment, but I know I have a lot of people I'm going to need to prove myself to as a primary teacher, my principal included. One benefit from having several years experience in the upper grades, is that I know where these kindergarteners will need to be in four or five years. My students' reactions were funny.  One said, "But Mrs. Bradshaw, will you still be able to teach fifth grade math?"  No, kid, probably not.  Unless we have this generation's Pythagoras enrolled in kindergarten.  Another said, "I don't think you want to go there.  My brother is in kindergarten and he's really bad." Lucky for me, he'll be in first grade next year, so I won't have him! 

I've started to box up my hundreds of chapter books and teacher resource books for grades 3-5.  Won't be needing them for the fall.  I can't get rid of them, though, because what if I realize primary grades just aren't for me?  Oh well.  I've got a busy month and a half coming up in preparation for this grade change and it really isn't helping that I'm just checked out.

Sorry for the venting!  Needed to get it out!

Friday Fives!

Beth over at Just Me and My Life is hosting her Friday Fives!  The topic for this week is Top 5 Favorite Movies!  I'll admit, I had to do some thinking about this one!  

Back in the early 90s, my favorite movie was Sister Act and Whoopi Goldberg was my favorite actress.  I wrote her a letter professing my love for her movie about dancing and singing nuns, and she one of her agents wrote back and sent me an autographed picture.  I had that pictures framed in my room for years.  Now, I've moved on from Sister Act...not sure how far I've moved, but it isn't in my top 5 movies anymore!

My top 5 are:

Sixteen Candles

It's such a classic 80s movie! Love the story of Samantha and Jake, and Long-Duck Dong.  My cousin and I quote this movie often ("Sofa City, Sweetheart!" or "My new style American girlfriend.")

The Breakfast Club

Another classic 80s movie!  One of the first posters I ever bought was one that had the quote about each one of us being a "brain, athlete, basketcase, princess, and criminal."

Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club

 

Twenty-Seven Dresses

I really like this story and what's not to love about romantic comedies?!

Forrest Gump

I laughed, I cried, and I actually stayed awake for the whole thing (it's a long, long movie!).  I love Tom Hanks in this role!

The Blind Side

Love the story of one of my Ravens, Michael Oher!  Sandra Bullock rocked as Mrs. Tuohy and I loved the kid who played L.J.  He was hilarious! Great movie!

Now that I've been thinking, there are plenty of other movies that I could go on about!  Too bad it isn't Friday Fifteen!

Weekend Wrap-up

On Saturday, I flew to Columbus, Ohio for two family events.  Everyone who knows me well knows that I am not one to miss a family party...and that's something I pride myself on!  We've never lived close to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but the distance has never affected my relationships with them.  I feel very close to my cousins, even though I only see them four or five times a year.

When I arrived in Columbus (Kurt stayed home with Miss Macey), my parents were already there, so they picked me up from the airport and we headed to High Street to visit the Ohio State campus.  My family is huge Buckeye fans, so it was awesome to be in the middle of things during the spring football game!

Saturday night was a surprise birthday party for my mom's cousin, Sue, at a restaurant in Columbus's German Village. It was so nice to see so many members of my extended family from my mom's side. She had no idea that this party was happening!  I love seeing people completely surprised!

When she arrived!  In shock!

My mom and some of her cousins

My mom and her sisters and brother

My crazy cousins, Will and Erin, and me!

(They were our ring bearer and flower girl!)

My cousin's daughter, Grace.  She loved the cream puffs!

Another party girl, Sarah!

Grace and her mom, Laura!  I love how happy they both look here!

After the party, I rode back to my aunt and uncle's house with them so I could attend my cousin Erin's First Communion on Sunday.  They live almost two hours from Columbus, so it was kind of a late night. 

I'm so happy that I was able to be there with Erin on her special day! 

Receiving communion for the first time

Erin and her mom (my cousin Amanda)

Don't let that angelic look fool you!

She was a crazy lady at the after party!

The First Communion girl and me!

I'm so glad that I was able to attend both of these special events this weekend!

Top 2 Tuesday!

Today's Top 2 Tuesday topic (I love alliteration!) over at the Undomestic Momma is favorite things about summer!

As a teacher, my absolute favorite thing about summer is that I'm not working for two and a half months!  I'm so relaxed and (usually) productive during June, July, and August. I seriously cannot imagine having a job that doesn't having a beginning and end.  I need that time to refresh and refocus myself for the next school year. 

My top 2 favorite things about summer, though, are:

The Outer Banks!

Every other year, my mom's side of the family (more than 20 of us in all) meet in the Outer Banks for a week-long vacation.  This is where we are staying this summer.  I cannot wait!  OBX is one of my absolute favorite places on Earth!

Flip-flops and capris!

I'm not really a shorts wearer, so I basically live in capris during the summer.  And who doesn't love a good pair of flip-flops (well, my dad doesn't...but that's another story!)?!

What do you love about summer?

All by myself

I'm not usually the type to go places and do things by myself. I like being around other people, and quite honestly, would rather be at home by myself than out in public.  Don't get me wrong, there are definitely times when I go to the mall by myself or stop at Panera Bread to get some dinner alone. I really like those times, actually, especially after a long, busy week. Last night for example, Kurt was at a hockey game, so I went (by myself!) to two of my favorite places:

I have no problem running errands by myself.  In fact, I do it quite often, and I'm fine with it.  I've never gone to a movie by myself, though, or gone to a restaurant for a meal, or a bar for a drink.  Until last night, that is.

My sister's boyfriend's band was playing at a bar in DC. The plan was for Kurt and my brother to come to the show after the hockey game, and I would meet my sister there. My sister was late, which is no surprise to anyone who knows her well!  Kurt and my brother were dealing with getting out of the game.  And there was me...waiting at the bar.  For nearly an hour and a half. 

Now, typical Kate would have:

A.) Waited in the car for someone else to get there

B.) Gone home

But I didn't.  I went right on in and pulled up a stool at the bar. I ordered my drink (a $12 orange vodka and sprite...Holy Expensive, Batman!) and sat there, sipping it slowly.  I had to be sure to get every drop outta that sucker! Eventually everyone else showed up and we went on with our night.

Maybe I've grown in my confidence about being by myself in public situations.  Maybe I just didn't care.  Whatever the reason my little head was thinking, I'm proud of myself for taking the risk...and surviving!

Am I crazy, or do others feel nervous about being in public situations (bar, restaurant, movie) on their own, too?

Now, I'm going to go pack, as I'm leaving for Ohio for the weekend.  Yes, I'm flying... All by myself!

Friday Fives!

Beth over at Just Me and My Life is hosting her Friday Fives.  This week's theme is restaurants!  I love eating out!  I would be completely satisfied in life if I could eat dinner out every night.  Too bad it isn't very good for you and can get quite pricey!

My five favorite restaurants are:

The Melting Pot is my absolute favorite restaurant.  I love their California Salad (weird, right?!) and chocolate fondue.  I've never had a bad experience at Melting Pot, though it is a LONG meal!

Next runner up is Cheesecake Factory!  Huge meals and fantastic desserts!  We have a Cheesecake Factory at the mall that we can walk to, so it's very convenient.  During the two blizzards we had this past winter, our location came in very handy.  We couldn't get our cars out for a week, but we could still walk to Cheesecake in the several feet of snow.  I think we ate there three times that week!  They have a good brunch, too!

Can you sense a theme with my love of chain restaurants and "American" food!  It's my favorite food genre!  I love a good Outback Special with a salad with ranch and loaded sweet potato.  Our Outback isn't really close, so that's a good thing!

My favorite fast food (and just about the only one I like!) is Chick-fil-a.  I love their waffle fries and nuggets with Polynesian sauce.  Yum, yum!

My favorite brewery is Rock Bottom.  I love their ball park pretzels with honey mustard dipping sauce as an appetizer and their Mac 'n Chicken as my meal.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Now, my not-so-favs are:

Bleh! 

I had a bad experience there (terrible service, food didn't taste right, my stomach hurt), so I really don't like going there!

What are your top 5?  I need some new recommendations, clearly!!

Show Us Your Life- How we met!

Kelly's Show Us Your Life for this week is "How you met your spouse!"

Kurt and I both went to a small college.  There were only about 1600 students (yes, that was the same size as my high school!) at our college when we went there, so everyone seemed to know everyone else. We initially met during the fall of my sophomore year, which was Kurt's junior year. We had Spanish class together with "Manuel."  Manuel was a young professor, and quite honestly, I don't even know his last name! He was just Manuel! Kurt and his roommate at the time, Jon, were in my class.  Jon was a really, really good Spanish speaker...Kurt, not so much!  I guess I was kind of good, to the point that I remember Kurt making fun of me during class.  I think that was his first attempt at flirting!  At that time, we were both in relationships, though his girlfriend was in college in New Mexico.  And I, personally, thought Kurt was kind of a jerky baseball player, who was flirtatious, but kinda cute!

Fast forward to the end of the January of the next year.  We had just come back from Winter Break, a break that was sad for me because my grandfather had died.  Also, my relationship was ending. My roommate, Caitlin, was "friendly" with Kurt's other roommate, Josh.  Apparently when she was over at their apartment, Kurt was asking about me.  She of course came back the next day and told me and boy, was I giddy! Through Caitlin and Josh, we made plans to meet up at a "Hall Crawl" in one of the dorms.  I ended up getting really, really sick and ended up going home for over a week, so that meeting never took place.

Once I came back, Kurt and I met up and began talking. By now, it was around Valentine's Day and some crazy stuff happened (won't bore you with those details!). I feel like I really took a risk to get into a relationship with Kurt one night as we were talking on the phone.  He mentioned that there was no milk at his apartment, so I decided to go buy milk and drive it to him, unannounced, as a surprise! This is so not like me! He was so excited that I had come to his apartment, and we ended up talking for hours. And the rest, ladies and gentleman, is history!  I knew very early into our relationship that he was the one for me!

Here were are now, 10 years later, and married for 2 1/2 years...

I love you, babe!

Thursday 5!

It's Thursday Five at Mannland5, and while I'm kinda in a bad mood today (stayed up too late + intern gone so I'm teaching again + chatty and annoying students= me having enough of this week), I thought participating in this would help me to refocus on the good things that have happened this week.

My five things are:

1. Getting my hair highlighted and trimmed!  I feel so much better about myself when I get fresh highlights.

2. Flying to Ohio on Saturday morning for my mom's cousin's surprise party and my cousin Erin's First Communion. I haven't been to Ohio to see my relatives for almost a year, so I'm excited to go! Plus a round-trip flight from here to Columbus for under $100--great deal!

3. Having a great time at our friends Danny and Faye's wedding on Saturday.  The ceremony took place at the U.S. Naval Academy chapel.  I've never been to a military wedding, so it was neat to see the special traditions.  Pics to come in a future post!

4. Weddings, weddings, weddings!  I love going to weddings and all things wedding! This week I went with my friend Jenni for her dress fitting, and sent out the invitations for her shower.

5.  To go along with number 4, I needed to print something for the invites onto sticky-notes.  I had read on-line that you could do that and asked several people at school if they knew how to.  Everyone thought I was nuts and going to jam the printer. Well, with Jenni's help, I figured it out! I'm so not tech-saavy, so this is a big accomplishment for me!  It was so cool!

What are your happy things for this week? 

Top 2 Tuesday!

This week's Top 2 is favorite items under $15. Currently, my favorite things under $15 (well, actually these are both under $10!) are:

Love Spell body spray from Victoria's Secret

It's only $9 and lasts a long time.  Great deal and great scent!

Dog collars from Old Navy

I'm not into dressing Macey up or having her wear bandanas (let's get real...she'd tear it off!), but I do like to change her collar for upcoming holidays.  These are only $6.50, and are really cute!  I've gotten her Old Navy collars for Halloween, Thanksgiving (cute striped pattern), Christmas, Valentine's Day, and spring so far.  Her spring one is a cute green gingham with pink trim.  Maybe I'm weird, but I like her to look nice, too!

What are your favorite things under $15?

Getting to Know You Sunday!

Sunday evening...one of my least favorite times of the week.  The weekend is coming to an end and the beginning of the work week is just hours aways. Instead of doing those last minute things that I've put off all weekend, here I am blogging! 

It's Getting to Know You Sunday over at Keely's blog...

Mens chests..hairy or hairless?

Well, you could knit a small blanket with Kurt's chest hair, and I'm not volunteering to shave it or wax it for him, so I've gotta deal!  Notice that I'm not saying I'm a fan of it, though! 

How often do you run red lights?

Well, our area has started doing stupid red light cameras, and I've gotten two tickets so far.  But, I swear, they both turned red as I was going through them, so I think really I ran yellow lights.  Grrr.  So, maybe once a year?!

If you could raid any celebrity's closet..whose would you raid?

I really like Reese Witherspoon's and Carrie Underwood's sense of styles, so probably one of them.  I'd take Reese's everyday clothes and Carrie's dress-up clothes.

Would you rather have more followers/friends on Facebook, Twitter, or your Blog?

At this point, I have more Facebook friends, but I'd love to get more blog followers.  Most of my Facebook people don't know I have a blog!

What makes you feel sexy?

When I'm having a feeling thin, clothes fit well, good hair and make-up day...and when Kurt tells me I look good!

I get excited when...........?

I have something to look forward to (trip, night out, getting together with friends).  I'm also excited that summer vacation is less than two months away! Woo..let the countdown begin!

Are you the "outdoorsy" type or more "indoorsy"?

I like being outside if it involves a beach and nice weather, but I think I'm mostly an indoorsy type.  I hate getting bitten by mosquitoes and sweating profusely. Put me in front of a t.v. or computer, or at a mall, and I'm good to go!

Would you rather have your dream home or a million dollars?

A million dollars, and I'd put some of it towards my dream home!

Have a great week, y'all!

Show Us Your Life- Teacher Gifts

Well, I haven't really experienced giving any teacher gifts since umm...the mid-90s, but I do have a lot of experience receiving teacher gifts, as an elementary school teacher for the past eight years.  My school celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week during the first week of May (not sure if that's the national Teacher Appreciation Week, but it's the one our PTA uses!) and always does a great job of honoring us.  We just received a flyer from the PTA about the events during Teacher Appreciation Week, which are:

Monday- Flower Day! 

Each teacher is given a vase and a flower and students are encouraged to bring their teacher a flower.

Tuesday- Luncheon! 

One of my favorite things in life is to not have to make a lunch!  The PTA is getting us lunch from a local BBQ joint.

Wednesday- Snack Day! 

The PTA will have snacks in our staff lounge for us throughout the day.

Thursday- Staff Breakfast! 

The PTA provides breakfast for the entire staff.

Friday- Note Day!

Students and their families are asked to write the teachers letters or notes of appreciation.

I really do appreciate the nice letters, notes, and cards I receive from my students and their families.  It makes me feel really good to know how I have affected my students throughout the year. 

Now, if you really want to buy your child's teacher a gift, I highly recommend a gift card.  I always love getting gift cards to places such as Starbucks, Target, Borders/Barnes and Noble, or our local mall.  One year, my class got together and gave me a gift card (in a really large amount) to Borders, along with a note from every family.  It was so sweet and very touching!  What a great end of the year gift from my class!

Thursday Five!

I'm joining in Keely's Thursday Five on this lovely Thursday evening. So...five things that have made me happy, giddy, grateful, joyful, or appreciative this week are...

1.  Progress is being made on our basement.  Back in early February, the basement was a mess! We cleaned it out and slowly, but surely, they are making progress.  We now have drywall, along with new places for electrical outlets (we only had one in our entire basement!), and cutouts for surround sound (Hello, Man Cave!).  Kurt's already purchased a 50" t.v. that's getting delivered in a few weeks, along with our new washer and dryer!  Here's our basement, as of tonight:

2. These shoes are making me excited! They're from Target and were only $30!  They are so not me, but that's what I love about them! I'm wearing them with a dark purple (aka "lapis") dress to Kurt's friend's wedding this weekend. 

3. Getting together with my family this past weekend.  We went to Little Italy to celebrate my birthday (a few weeks late!).  Here's a pic of us all!

4. I'm excited for my brother, who is moving into his own apartment!  It's a really nice place, with exposed brick (which I love!).  So happy for him!

5.  So excited that there are nine weeks (and counting down!) of school left!  Can't wait for summer and all the fun things to look forward to this summer!

What's making you happy today?

Getting to Know You...

It's 'Getting to Know You Sunday' over at Keely's blog, so I thought I'd join in the fun before hitting my bed in preparation for this busy week!

What color do you wear the most?

Probably black...it's slimming and doesn't make me look as pale as I really am. I need a tan!

Would you rather have $10,000 dollars or a dream vacation?

I'd take the money...and one of the things I'd use it for would be a dream vacation!  I'd totally go back to the Four Seasons in Nevis.  We spent the first part of our honeymoon there and it was fabulous!!

Do you have a weird, quirky or unusual habit?

Kurt and my brother and sister would say my habit of breaking apart my food and looking at it before I eat it is quirky. One raw chicken sandwich at Wendy's back in the early 90s has scarred me for life!

I really need to start..........?

Going to the gym and watching what I eat!

What was the first blog you ever read?

I think it was Kelly's Korner or MckMama. Maybe it was Kellybeans.

Do you collect anything?

Snowmen, but they are only displayed from December to February.

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Hmmm.  Don't remember.  It was probably during Truth or Dare. Ha!  I have no idea!

Do you text/twitter while driving?

Umm, yeah.  I'm guilty.  But our state just passed a law against it so I'm trying to be better. I mostly only do it at red lights.

 

So, that's it!  Hope you all had a great weekend!  I sure did!  Pics from this weekend coming up soon!

Crazy Cancun!

It's Wednesday, so this post will be almost wordless!  Enjoy!

HAPPY HUMP DAY, Y'ALL!

Easter in Pictures!

Easter was a little different this year for two reasons: 1.) My parents traveled to Michigan to spend Easter with my mom's sisters and 2.) Kurt's grandparents didn't have their annual "Bunny Bash" Easter party. We ended up going to church with Kurt's family down at the National Cathedral and then went to his grandparents' house for a late lunch.

Here are some pictures of our day!

Memom and Grandad have a ton of Easter decorations! 

Here is Kristen, Kurt's sister, with one.

The National Cathedral

Memom (aka Kurt's grandma)

Grandad (aka Kurt's grandpa)

Kurt and his mom, Terry

Kurt's dad, Steve, and two aunts, Vicky and Sandy, were also there, along with me, but I don't have any pictures of the rest of us for some reason!  That's sad...I need to remember to take at least one picture of each person at small events like this!

Top 2 Tuesday!

It's Top 2 Tuesday over at the Undomestic Momma and the theme is magazines!

I love me some good magazines!  I'm not a huge reader, mainly because I have a terrible memory and I forget what happens from when I stop reading until I start reading again.  I also have a short attention span.  The time it takes to read a magazine is about my reading limit! I also like to read magazines when I am at the gym (which happens SO frequently!).  

My two favorite magazines are:

US Weekly

(love, love, love celebrity gossip!!)

and

Real Simple

(love everything about this magazine!)

I have subscriptions to both magazines and look forward to getting my US Weekly each Saturday and Real Simple at the beginning of each month. Both subscriptions were Christmas gifts from Kurt.  I think magazine subscriptions make great gifts because they last the whole year through!  Kurt has found some awesome websites for getting good deals on subscriptions, too.  We're talking 2 years of US Weekly for like $35.  Good deal!

I'm always looking for new magazines to read, though. What magazines do you recommend?