Gotta book and a gift idea for kids...

Man it was tough to get back into the groove today after being off for 5 days! Since we gave a math formative today it was a little easier to "ease" back into the swing of things. I did get up at 5:30 and go for a run this morning before work. I am trying to fit more morning workouts in so I don't have to do too many nighttime workouts like I have been doing.

Well I got to school and one of the book storage rooms is connected to my room and I found some copies of the first "Harry Potter" book so I am borrowing it and finally gonna read it! Then I am hoping to hit the used book store in the next couple of weeks to see what else they have in my new obsession with YA books! :)

I saw this gift idea in our newspaper online, Charlotte Observer, they are called Rory's Story Cubes and this is how they described them:

"There are nine cubes, each with an image on every side. Simply roll the dice and let your imagination run wild. Play solitaire or grab a group for play; there are no rules. You can also use this game for icebreakers, party games, restaurant waiting, etc. Recommended for children ages 8-12, but I tried it with my 5-year old, who did just fine. When we are so bombarded with technology, sometimes simple can be a necessity. Buy online at www.storycubes.com."

I think these would be a great gift for a kid! They need to use their imagination more! But have no fears....I checked out the website and there is now an app for this too! Also looks like the cubes are $9.99 so in a good price range too.

Well I am off to maybe read and then bed...I am tired today!

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Gotta book and a gift idea for kids...

Turkey Time, Running and Books...

Thanksgiving Day started with Jeff running a 10K turkey Trot in Surfside Beach. He did a great job finishing in 57 minutes! Of course he said he could have done it faster so I know he will be looking for another one to do soon.

Here are the the boys...love these guys!

Me and the hubby!

Frankie and Denny getting the food ready...

Pause for the camera.....

Krishna and Rick...how cute!

Jake and Krishna...they are cute too!

Of course the cutest of all...Norah!

So after eating way too much...we started talking about races and I am hoping that Krishna, Jeff and I run the Charleston Half Marathon in January...it would be so much fun!

So I finished the Hunger Games finally...loved it and cannot wait till the movie comes out! So I decided to start "Divergent" at about 10:30 at night on Friday...yeah....200 pages later I forced myself to sleep and then finished it the next day. I cannot believe I have to wait till May 2012 before I can read the next book! This was good! If you like Hunger Games...then you will like this...

So who would have ever thought I would be hooked on this Young Adult (YA) books! I mean Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent...so now should I read another YA or try to read an adult book? Here are some YA books that look interesting...anybody heard of them?

Today I cooked up 3 meals as I have been doing that on Sundays to help me with dinners for the week. It works out well...I made Chicken Bogg, Chili, and grilled pork tenderloin. I did pick up a turkey breast on sale and will Crock pot it probably Wednesday or Thursday and meals are done for the week. All I have to do is add the vegetables/salads.

Christmas tree is on the agenda today too...goal it to get it and get lights on it....may decorate it bit by bit this week...Norah is getting so excited about Christmas!

Well now I am going to force myself to write some of the last papers for UNCC...I am so pumped that I only have 2 more weeks of UNCC stuff before I am done with my certification! Wahoo!

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Turkey Time, Running and Books...

Short Week...

It is so great to know that I only have two days of work this week! I also cannot believe that we will be getting a Christmas tree this weekend and Christmas is only a month away! I have loved reading some people's Christmas Wish Lists on their blogs...so fun to get ideas! All this holiday stuff makes me think of holiday goodies....I really want to make homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning but I don't think I have ever used yeast before so not sure how they will turn out?!
These cinnamon rolls are Pioneer Woman's recipe. Don't they look yummy! Well I am off to try to do a little UNCC work tonight...Dec. 12 is my last day for UNCC. I have one more observation, an interview, and a few more papers to write and I will be done with it! It will be so nice to have that off my plate and I can really concentrate on my teaching.

I snapped this pic of Norah yesterday sporting her Panthers shirt! She is so cute!

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Short Week...

Saturday Mornings, Movies and Hair...

We have been chillin' out this morning and it is great! Norah is still in her pajamas watching "Winnie the Pooh" movie on the IPOD, eating popcorn...just hanging out with me on the couch. She is the cutest!
I asked Norah if she wanted to go see the new movie "Happy Feet 2" today but she said she would rather stay home. Our neighbors are not home so there are no playmates to hang with today so we are going to hang out together. Watch football and clean the house, laundry...etc. Jeff went to hang out with some friend at a shooting range so he will be home later to watch some football. I sure hope Clemson wins today!

I cannot wait to see "Breaking Dawn: Part 1"!!!! If I didn't have a job...I swear I would have gone to the midnight showing the other night! My neighbor and I are hoping to go see it maybe Monday or Tuesday night. I have a feeling that I might see it more than once while it is in the theatre! TEAM EDWARD!

Have you seen the preview they are showing for the "Hunger Games" movie? It looks fabulous! Can't wait for it either!

Well I did get my haircut this morning. It was time and I was kinda over the long stuff...so here is before.... (Pic taken by blackberry before going in....)

And after...loving it!

Well I'm going to hang out with Norah before I get my clean on! I love Saturdays!!

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Saturday Mornings, Movies and Hair...

We have a winner and lucky 7...

This weekend Jeff won his age group at a 5K he did at the beach and we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!!

We got to the race and it was chilly in the morning...

Chick-fil-a was a sponsor so when everyone finished the run...they got a hot chicken biscuit...plus the 5k was "Run till the Cows Come Home" as it supported a local Farm in the area...so the cow was so appropriate! Norah loves the chick-fil-a cow!

The race started and ended at a local church which was great and there was plenty of parking and places to hang out.

This was Jeff right before it started....

While Daddy Jeff ran...Norah fed some ducks and then picked up and stacked a pile of pine cones...wish I had a picture of that!

Here is Jeff on his way in for the win!

Look how good he looks! Go Daddy Go!!!

Here is a garmin shot...but he actually has an official time that is less because he forgot to stop the garmin right when he crossed the finish line. Official time is: 26:31.

Norah with Daddy right after he finished...

Then Norah attempted to do her first 100 yard dash....

Which turned into the 100 yard walk! But I was still proud of her for finishing as I wasn't sure if she was going to do it at all...she was very nervous about it. I am hoping since she has now seen how one is done that she will want to do one on her own soon...we'll see! :)

All the kids got a small cow bell and since Jeff won his age group...he won a big cow bell...here they are going to pick up his award!

The two finishers and their bells!

Close up of the winning bell!

So I just wish someone would have taken a picture of me and Jeff! We have so few pics of the two of us! Well we had a change of plans on Saturday and headed to Charleston to stay with a friend of mine, Anna and her cute son, Fuller. Hey Anna!!! Anna was fabulous in letting us stay with her last minute with our dogs in tow. She even offered to babysit for us so we could go out but we opted to stay in to catch up as I haven't seen her in about 4 years! We ended up ordering in food and watching football until Anna got home from her niece and nephew's birthday party so we had a couple of hours of just chilling out...which was nice. :)

So we headed back to Charlotte on Sunday and Norah insisted on wearing her toboggan in the car.

Once everyone was settled...it was nap time!

How cute!

And how funny that the traditional present for 7 years of marriage is copper and the cow bells look like copper!!! Trust me they are not copper...I would sell them if they were... :)

It is hard to believe that we got married 7 years ago but I honestly can say that each year has only gotten better and I love my Jeff more than ever! So here is to the next 50 years! And I can't wait to see Jeff win another 5K!!! :) (Now I want to run a race again!!)

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We have a winner and lucky 7...

Bad Day....now a better one!

Today was a bad day....but my hubby and baby girl are the best and can I just say that the CMA show....has made my night. Loved the intro with Footloose (I'm a HUGE fan of the original song and movie) and then with Hank Jr. and Monday Night Football was classic. And of course...I am now watching The Zac Brown Band....who I love so the day is ending on a better note! :)

And now...Eric Church...fabulous!!

How appropriate that my quote of the week in my classroom is "Never, Never, Never give up." - Winston Churchill

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Bad Day....now a better one!

Lotions, Yumminess and Halloween!

So it is time to get the Halloween pics up and I thought I would add some random stuff too. So Norah and I have super sensitive skin and mine is super dry on top of that. So when Norah's doctor gave me some name brands that we should use on Norah...California Baby, CeraVe and Vanicream. So we experimented and we wash Norah with the Sensitive Skin California Baby and use their hair conditioner on her too. Then we use the VaniCream on her too. But I found that I really like the CeraVe for myself.

The greatest thing is it is not that expensive and I really like it a lot. I use the Face Wash, AM and PM face lotion. Check it out...

I also use Arbonne for eye cream. I have tried others but nothing beats it and it is great for sensitive skin.

Now on to the Yumminess...my word....Talenti Pistachio is to die for!! I mean it is the best stuff ever!!! Seriously get some!

So on to Halloween...this year Norah wanted to be a "blue Mermaid" and lucky us I found the costume at Costco! Check her out last year as Princess Belle here....it is amazing how she has changed!

So the Friday before Halloween we went to a neighborhood party and it was a great time!! The kids were so cute and there was chili to eat and people to chit-chat with....loved it!

I hope my neighbor doesn't mine but how cute are her two boys...Davis the cowboy...his costume was hilarious!

And William...the astronaut. They even put together a scavenger hunt for the kids too...so cute!

We then carved the pumpkin later in the weekend...Norah picked the design...the classic Jack-o-latern face and Jeff carved it up!

Then Norah for some reason, had the song "move it, move it" in her head so I played the utube video for it and Norah went crazy!

She had me play it a zillion times...it was hilarious!

She was a dancin' fool!

Here are the dogs just watching her....I mean these are some laid back dogs....

So Monday morning brought Halloween...and of course as a 6th grade math teacher...I dressed up as the number "16." I think my students thought it was funny! If you know me...you know that I am not a big halloween dress up person but it was fun to be in the spirit with the kids as they were so excited at school! (Yes, Jeff took this picture of me before I went to work!)

Then I got home and we got Norah ready and headed out for Trick/Treating. Round 2 on the costume. She is so cute!!!

We headed to Jeff's parent's house for the first treat! Norah was so excited!

Also we took the famous family pic...here are a couple of the past ones. It is hard to believe that we have been our little family of three for over 4 years! :)

We then headed to Jeff's brother's house for more treats!

Norah calls Jeff's oldest brother, Uncle Buck, she thinks it is hilarious. And she loves her cousins, Allyson and Jonathon. Here is a pic with cousin Allyson... I cannot believe that she is a senior in high school!!

After that...we "treated" at a few more houses and headed home. Norah was exhausted and so was mommy! It is hard to have Halloween on a school night!

What will Norah be next Halloween? It is hard to believe that she will be in kindergarten on the next Halloween!

Well this weekend I have to finish...err start too....UNCC stuff as I have a lot due next week. Then next week is a 4 day work week and we are headed to the beach to celebrate our anniversary! Can't wait!

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Lotions, Yumminess and Halloween!