The tricycle!

Oh, that Nephew. He is such a joy! 

Counting down the days until we live in the same state!

Kate Middleton- my bff.

There are really no words...

5 year dream....er plan.

Last Sunday morning the Coach and I had breakfast at Panera before Church. It was early so the place was pretty still and we took some time to talk about how excited we are about the big move to Tampa and starting a new life as husband & wife. I was remembering how about 3 years ago I was still living in Nashville and the Coach was in Bowling Green. We were preparing to move in together and we were trying to come up with a 3 to 5 year plan. At the time we said that in 3 to 5 years we saw our selves married, working(both teaching), he saw himself coaching somewhere with a good program and we said that we hoped to be living in or almost living in the place where we saw ourselves growing roots.  We talked on Sunday about how awesome it is that those plans/dreams have become a reality! So during breakfast we decided to update our 5 year plan. So here's what he said:

In 5 years...
Coach would like to have finished his masters.
He would like for us to own our own home.

Have 1 (or more) baby (ies)

And he'd like to be a head coach.

He'll be 30 with a house, a wife, a baby and his own team. I'm thinking that if things go as well as they did in the last plan we're going to be awfully busy in 5 years.

In 5 years...

I would like to own our own home.

Have 1..ONE baby

I'd like for the Coach to be a head coach 

I'd like to be ok with the fact that I'll be almost 30.

And most of all I'd like to be totally Cancer free and have eliminated that worry from my life...our life.

If I were going to be really specific I would say that in 5 years I would like these things:

This would be Coach Taylor and Tami. Love them. I'd like to be them.

Oh Hello, cutest picture ever.

DREAM house :-)

But most of all, if I have this....

I'm all set!

Master Bedroom Mastery!

I recently redecorated our master bedroom in the shoebox.
I have been so inspired by neutral rooms lately. Pinterest has such an awesome variety. But one of my other favorite places for home inspiration is Southern Living's website. Their master bedroom decorating pictures are fabulous right now! So please enjoy a little eye candy and may these photos inspire you :-)

Formal but the textiles on the bed feel so rustic. I love the old secretary too :-) But I'm a sucker for antique furniture. 

I don't know if it's the Ikea bed or the mismatch side tables or the warm light in this room that makes me love it so. BUT I do love it!

Oh that beadspead. So classic. And then little sitting area at the foot of the bed! The crown molding gives it such grace!

While I'm not in love with the window treatment I will say that I adore the art over the head board!

Isn't it nice to be inspired? I can't wait to get the bedroom at the shoebox all situated so I can show you a few pictures of our room! What websites inspire you?

Love & Peace.

Wedding Weekend!

The Coach and I went up to Louisville this weekend to do a few wedding things. It was such a good weekend. I only wish it had been longer.

On Friday- it was snowy and they called school...for me :-) The Coach, he had to go to school, ha ha.
I spent my day sleeping in, writing lesson plans, cleaning my kitchen, bathroom and living room and talking to my friend, Alan on the phone about his wedding and football. It was a great day off! When the Coach got home from Football (it's Winter program) around 5:30pm we loaded up the car and headed north. We got it late enough to hit the hay and nothing else.

On Saturday- we got up early to meet the Church coordinator at Harvey Browne, we talked about candelabras, and music and alters and line-ups and...oh my, we talked about it all. Shortly after that we met with our Pastor and our NEW Pastor. Oh yes, I said NEW Pastor. Lonnnnggg story but it turns out after 8 months of premarital counseling our Pastor can't marry us- he has to be out of town. Luckily, he had someone else in mind and while we're finishing out our counseling with Pastor #1, we'll be married by Pastor #2. It's a little nutty but at least someone can marry us. I digress, we met with them both and then made our way down to the Mellwood Arts Center to meet with our great florist ( A KAPPA DELTA!) Jill Doyle. We worked out our budget and all of the lovely centerpieces for our reception. Which leads me to the highlight of the day...OUR MENU TASTING! Oh, so fun! The Coach and I picked out all the delicious treats from out big day and trust me, all who attend will leave full and happy!

That night the Coach and I went down to Baxter Avenue to this fabulous place called Papalino's Pizza. Y'all, I love pizza and not just any kind of pizza but classic New York style pizza with sauce that tastes like fresh tomatoes and floury crust. Yum Yum! This place is seriously the best pizza I've had in Kentucky. The restaurant is tiny and eclectic and it's a must visit if you're ever in Louisville. Check out their website: here!

We made it home that night just in time to watch Miss America! (Ann-Blair Thornton is Miss Kentucky this year. She's a WKU girl and the sister of one of my favorite El.Ed. majors. We were so excited to see her compete!)

On Sunday- we spent most of the morning with my childhood neighbors, who we refer to as my "godparents." We're so lucky to have them in our lives. They are going to play host to my wedding gown after it's steamed and then I'll be getting ready there with my bridesmaids on the morning of our wedding. Being there is like being as close to home as can be in Louisville. That afternoon we updated our registry, took care of the tuxes and went by to see the Coach's sister in her newly arrived Bridesmaids dress...which by the way, I LOVE! That night we watched some football and had Chili with the rest of Coach's family and hit the road back to Bowling Green.

Even though we were out of school on Monday, I felt like the day never even happened. Other than getting my oil changed and going to the gym (where I seriously almost puked in front of my trainer,) I can't remember doing anything! Which I guess makes it the perfect day off!

I hope you all had  wonderful weekends as well!

Love & Peace.

If then statements

IF I clean the house tonight then I can decorate the shoebox for Valentine's Day later this week.

IF I clean out my Explorer, then I take some things out of my apartment and up to LuLu's to sell!

IF I go to the grocery store this week, then I can make some sort of sweet Weight Watcher's treat.

IF I got to bed early, my day will be sooooo much better!

Just checking in with y'all...as you can tell my house is messy, my car is messy, I need to go to the store and I'm pretty tired.  But I'm ready for the next few days and I am getting my to-do lists ready as we speak!

Love & Peace.

Wordless Wednesday: the teacher's desk.

I'm sorry, what is that??

One of my oldest friends, Alan, is getting married in Louisiana about 3 weeks before the Coach and I are this year. And his fiancee', Jessica, is a fellow Kindergarten teacher and the girl cracks me up! During our time at home in December Coach and I had the opportunity to go to the Beef O'Brady's bowl with Alan and Jessica. At some point in the night we started swapping Kindergarten war stories and she was showing me some iphone pictures of the funny illustrations she's seen so far this year. 

People, our kids are great, but they draw some really funny, crazy, confusing things.   

WELLLL, today I had a gem! I had to send her a picture message of this little baby:

I'm sorry...whaaaaa??  Have these 2 sweet darling little girls in my class been watching SAW lately?? I mean tell me that these pictures don't look just like that creepy Jigsaw guy from that horror movie?!?!? And creepiest of all, there were 2 of these pictures from 2 different girls! AHH!

Here's hoping I have more cheerful, less nightmare inducing drawings tomorrow.

Love & Peace!

Christmas Rewind

As I prepare for my first 5 day work week of the year, I thought I would post a few pictures from my wonderful trip home. I'm looking forward to being back in Tampa even more after this trip (if that's possible.) Even outside of my family the Coach and I have a really great network of friends in Tampa and while I don't have ANY pictures with Freddy & Emily or Kasey or Nathan we did enjoy seeing them as well. I'm looking forward to lots of double dates and quality shopping time with my girls come fall!

Anywho, take a look at some of the fun photo's from our visit home :-)

If this little darling wouldn't make you wanna move closer to home, I don't know what would!!

What an ideal Christmas Eve, my sweet nephew and my sister opening presents with sunshine and a pool in the background. I wish I could go back right now. 

Sweet little Annabelle and Pops napping on Christmas Eve.

I'm telling you this little girl is a dream! I spent more time holding her on Christmas break than anything else. She was born to be my shopping buddy, my manicure friend, my cuddle bug! I just love this girl!

Grant got to bond with the Coach and I think they both enjoyed the quality football time and the wrestling they did later!

This is my sister during our afternoon in Ybor City. It's a must stop whenever Coach and I are in Tampa because the Trolley is so relaxing and the food down in Centro Ybor is delish! I'm glad the Walton's got to join us. 

While I wish my Mom and Dad were in this picture, I have to say it's my favorite from the whole trip. It was such a great start to our vacation out in front of our favorite burger joint!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too, and that the JOY of Jesus' birth and the GRACE that it gave us all continues warm your heart each day this year!

Love & Peace!

My new BFF, the Kindle.

I am in love! 

Coach was kind enough to buy me a kindle for Christmas and my sweet Sister bought me this great cover- it's hot pink and orange and yellow- just my style :-) And with my recent time at the Gym increasing drastically this little e-reader has been invaluable. Instead of thinking about how much longer I have to walk or how many more minutes I have to stay on the bike, I can time my workouts by chapter or page and then before I know it I'm lost in my books and working away the holiday pounds!

My furture Mother-in-law gave my a gift card to use for my Kindle and so far I've only bought 1 book with it: Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans. It's the second in the series "The Walk" and I love it. (If you want to read it, you should really start from the beginning because the character developement is the best part.) I also "bought" a few of the free classics: Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Great Expectations, This side of Paradise and I bought Life on the Mississippi (I love Mark Twain.) BUT I haven't really bought anything else and I think I need to broaden my horizons, so I ask you, dear readers,

What else should I be reading?? 

I'm working over at Little LuLu's today- I can't wait to be back, I have been off for 3 weeks and I'm missing it a ton! Have a wonderful Saturday!

Love & Peace

Praising GOD in this storm!

God is so good!!!

We've been back in school since Tuesday and it has been the BEST 4 days of my school year thus far!
I know that God heard my prayers for peace at school because so far, things have been 10 times better than they were before the end of semester.

But I also know that while I cried to him for help from October to December I should have been showering God with praise. I should have been thanking the Lord for my teaching job and my AMAZING aide and the INCREDIBLE and LOVING women at my school that I have not mentioned.

I should have been thanking God for my Ms. Bonnie who has embraced me from the beginning and Ms. Brooks who has been my first "new" friend. And I should have thanked God for Shellie and Kelly and Jane and Marilyn who help me to learn all the new details. I should have thanked the Lord for a strong, honest, seasoned Resource teacher who has always been patient with me. I should have thanked the Lord for a team leader who is going to allow me to observe in her room and is so willing to answer my questions. And especially for my friend Dana, our P.E. teacher, and her support I almost forgot HOW BLESSED I AM! I got stuck in the storm and I forgot to stop and thank God with a GENUINE heart.  I'm sure I thanked him during the fall semester but I'm sure I didn't really mean it. There are SO many KIND, smart, supportive women and I almost forgot how important they were! Being home has helped me to re-charge my batteries. And I kept thinking of this song by Casting Crowns. I hope it can bring the same joyful reminder into your heart that it has brought to mine.

Love & Peace.

Making it count.

Today is our LAST day of Christmas break and tomorrow the Coach and I both return to school. Tomorrow also marks the first day of Winter Program for the Purples.
Yep, that means the Coach goes back to football. M, T, W, F until 5:30pm.
Can you believe that? Didn't the season just end? It's amazing how quickly time can fly by!

In an effort to make my day and night count I was determined to accomplish and enjoy as much as I possibly could.

So I:
Organized the space under the KITCHEN sink

Before.

After. (Not a miracle or anything)

Watched the Rose Bowl parade
Organized the space under the BATHROOM sink
Planned out my back to school outfit
Watched the Outback Bowl
Took a 2 hour nap
Watched (watching) the Rose Bowl
Washed our sheets
Washed our comforter
Ran some errands
Made a GREAT Weight Watchers Dinner
Cleaned my kitchen

Still left to do:
Write my Language Arts/Theme lesson plans for tomorrow
Pick up everything that's on the floor- but shouldn't be- and vacuum
Pack my lunch
Run my duster over all the dry surfaces I can reach
Take a shower
Go to SLEEP by 10pm (because 5am is going to feel terrible tomorrow)

What did you do with your day?? Do you feel accomplished?? Were you lazy all day??

Love & Peace

Projects for the NEW YEAR!

I saw something online last year (maybe on Pinterest or another blog) about keeping baskets in your fridge and I thought it looked great! It would allow you to rid your cool space of the extra bags and packaging you often have to battle during the week and it would give everything a specific and purposeful place.

My Mom has been doing this in her pantry forever so putting the baskets in there should have been a no-brainer...and yet it's taken until 2012 for me to catch on.

In an effort to keep my New Year's Resolution about cooking 1 item from my family cookbook every week, I went to the store today. And before I made my way down the aisles I stopped off at Dollar General for a few plastic baskets for my soon-to-be-purchased groceries. 

Not only did I save $88 today with my Sunday Coupons but my kitchen now looks like this: 

 All of the tall things remain at the top. But things like my chocolate milk needed to be kept all together- it makes them easier to move around in the fridge if need be. 

The baskets on the center shelf contain commonly used items: LtoR The basket with the yogurt serves the same purpose as the chocolate milk basket. In the middle is a basket with all my dairy items for cooking and daily consumption (String cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt (for the salmon cakes I'm making this week) and cheddar cheese.) The basket on the right is veggies for cooking as labeled in the photo.

The bottom 2 baskets are larger. 1 has all of fruit for the week. We each take 1 piece in our lunches and I always bring an extra for my much needed afternoon snack. The lemons I'll use in the salmon cakes are in that basket too. The basket on the right is the only meat I'll use for dinner this week. It's 2  5oz beef tenderloins, 1lb of ground beef and 1 pack of chicken. Our local Kroger had boneless, skinless, chicken breasts on sale today so I bought 4 packages but only 1 of those are in the fridge for the week, the others made their home in the freezer.   I always keep my meats on the lowest possible shelf just in case there is a leak.

On to the "pantry" if you can call it that...

And considering the MAY-JA space constraints we have at The Shoebox, I'd say this is looking pretty good! 

I'm excited to get cookin' tomorrow on our very last day off before it's back to car duty and lost library books and my 24 sweet little Kindergarten babies!

Love & Peace!

(via pinterest)

I particularly enjoy, "full of promise."

Have a wonderful day. Eat some cabbage for me and have a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Love & Peace.