Project Life 2013, Week 51

Here is the counterpart to the page I shared yesterday...

My goal next year is to get more people in Project Life. Tyson is used to humoring me for photos, but sometimes I get embarrassed getting pictures of others. I will have to get better about that though!

Here is how the two pages will look together...

I'm getting excited to order my book! Very soon...

Project Life 2013, Week 50

Here is week 50 of Project Life...so close to the end! Next year I think I am attempting a physical book. We will see how that goes though. I am so used to how easy this is!

Project Life 2013, Week 49

Probably the quickest page ever...and that's fine with me. :)

Project Life 2013, Week 48

Thanksgiving week...holla!

I didn't get any pictures of Thanksgiving (lame). I guess next year my project life goal can be to get more photos...maybe a few more two page layouts!

Menu Planning Monday!

Alright, so last week was only semi-successful. Here's what happened...

Monday :: out to eat...Tyson made me do it! :)
Tuesday :: duck....it was really good! Duck leftover is not so good though.
Wednesday :: quesadillas...super tasty and easy! We left out the avocado though.
Thursday :: leftovers...tasty
Friday :: out to eat with friends :)

And here's what I have planned this week!

Monday :: Tyson's birthday, so out to eat!
Tuesday :: meatloaf (I can't help it, I love it!)
Wednesday :: Christmas party for Tyson's work
Thursday :: black bean & bacon soup

Menu Planning Monday

Even though my break flew by, I am rejuvenated to finish the semester strong. As such, I am rededicating my cooking efforts (my mom says I am being ambitious...we shall see!). Here's a peek at this week's plan...

Monday :: seared duck breasts with honey, soy, and ginger (I found duck breasts on sale last week and couldn't resist!)

Tuesday :: baked garlic chicken with glazed carrots

Wednesday :: "Korean beef" with rice and steamed broccoli

Thursday :: cheesy chicken + bacon quesadillas with black beans

Alternate meal :: chicken and corn chowder (in case I need something extra or we decide to call an audible)

I'm on my iPad and can't link up recipe sources, but three came from sixsistersstuff.com, the duck from allrecipes UK, and the quesadillas are inspired from kevinandamanda.com. Hoping we are in for a yummy week of dinners...right now I am planning on doing a review post to hold me accountable on how much I actually cooked. ;o)

Review :: All Our Yesterdays

source

Seriously? Seriously. Just wow.

So I've been trying to read more books lately because a lot of my students are readers this year and devouring the titles on my classroom shelves. I checked out blog reviews and goodreads and decided All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill looked new and interesting. I laminate my book covers before my kids can check out books, and many a kid flocked to my desk saying how cool the cover looked and how they wanted to read it (I'm known to have a "wait list" for certain titles). This tends to warm this book lover's heart.

I sat down after lunch on Sunday and finished it about four and a half hours later...so, so good. I don't want to give anything away, but it is a science-fiction book about time travel. Written very well. Like, I think my engineer husband wouldn't be offended by the explanations of science stuff.  

Friendship and loyalty are both huge themes in the book, and the characters are so layered and deep. I loved the character perspective shifts, and I thought most of the developments within characters (it spans four years) were plausible and always meaningful. I was super impressed with the author's rich description and emotion throughout. I found myself rereading many a sentence just to fully appreciate her artistry with words.

Probably my only negative with this book was that I went into it thinking it was a stand alone novel, and after I finished I saw it will have a sequel. I will for sure read the new novel, but I was so in love with how things ended! It just kind of bummed me out. We shall see though. Overall, highly recommended! 4.5 stars. (There is some language...I teach 12 year olds so it could be iffy for some)

Project Life 2013, Week 47

Another one bites the dust...2013 is flying by! It is pretty insane. This would be what the pages look like together...

I am fairly certain this was week 47. Mostly just weekend pictures, because that's all I can seem to remember to photograph. I had to do a nod to Catching Fire and Champion, as both kept me pondering life this week. Loving the mix of stripes and polka dots...I'm mixing them in outfits these days, so I figured they could hang together on a Project Life page.

Project Life 2013, Week 46

Short week this week! I caught up a bit on Project Life this weekend. Here is two weeks ago...

Love the colors...they seem pretty fall-ish. Or at least make me think of fall. I used the cut & paste kit...it's always fun to play around with some new Project Life cards!

Unfortunately when I saved this file, I wrote over week 45, so I won't be able to share that one online. I wasn't upset though because I had already uploaded it to Shutterfly for my book. I guess if I was feeling ambitious I could resave the file from Shutterfly, but obviously I have not been an overachieving blogger lately. I'm just excited I have two posts in a row this week. Hizzah!

And hizzah for that wine...I still haven't opened it yet and am looking forward to enjoying it!

Project Life 2013, Week 43

Going back in time a little bit...I threw together a week I skipped.

I wish I would have swapped the chevron and coffee sections to let the eye rest a bit. Oh well. Overall, I can't decide if Iris's face or Allegiant's cover is my favorite. It actually might be the coffee...

Project Life 2013, Week 44

I've always heard that the key to picking something back up is to not worry about doing your missing time of the task. So right now I am not freaking out about my missing Project Life weeks. Instead I will be joyful that I have one more done (even though this page was ridiculously easy...)!

Project Life 2013, Week 42

I skipped around again; I need to catch up!

But this will do for now! :)

Project Life 2013, Week 40

It's done. That's all I have to say this week. And I'm cool with that.

Project Life 2013, Week 39

I skipped week 38. It was kind of lame picture-wise. I made sure to not be lame this week though. Or at least as much. I needed some color infusion, so I used some On Trend to brighten up the midnight I've been using lately. Hizzah!

Project Life 2013, Week 37

A little of this, a little of that. First spirit day of the school year (total success!), date night, cooler weather (ha!), and cuddling with my little Sophie. This was the week I caught up on grading, so I was pretty boring.

In context with the week before it. Hizzah!

Menu Planning Monday

Helloo....it's been awhile since I've posted something food-related. Tyson's been taking a review course, so I've been scrounging or eating out a lot lately. But I am turning it around this week!

Tonight I made Mexican-style meat in the slow cooker...with quite a few modifications. Super tasty and spicy! I don't think I've had a more flavorful pulled slow cooker meat (maybe ever??). We served it with basmati rice and some corn. Super easy!

Monday :: leftovers
Tuesday :: black bean tostada with cilantro sauce
Wednesday :: leftovers
Thursday :: meatloaf + zucchini

Okay...kind of lame-ish. But it is a vast improvement from past weeks! Baby steps, people...

Project Life 2013, Week 36

Just one page layout this week. I've been having trouble getting iPhoto to sync on my computer... #firstworldproblems

My week in a nutshell. I have been so exhausted, staying after school a little later than normal. I am hoping to institute a new policy of not staying after 4pm. We shall see...

Random Photo Wednesday

Last night I made lobster ravioli with a tomato cream sauce (there was steamed broccoli too, but it was a backup dancer, not the main event). Y'all. So good. We made happy plates. I cooked up the ravioli (thank you, Trader Joe's!) and made the sauce from this fabulous recipe. I will definitely be making this again, but halving (or quartering?) the sauce.

Project Life 2013, Week 35 (?)

I honestly don't know what week I am on anymore. I am pretty sure I skipped the week that I went back to school for professional development. And I kind of glossed over my birthday and thoughts on the first week back, but I think I will mention that in next week's page. I haven't really processed much about school and my birthday was pretty chill, so I am okay with that.

Woo woo! The main thing (besides going back to school) was JoJo's wedding!

Left side was a little Friday action...Tyson's elevator escapades, and me chilling a bit before driving up to San Antonio. And a Sarah's House marathon. Love that show!

Right side is mostly reception. I had to chronicle the shoes, and then just a few cute shots that makes me oh-so-happy I ran back for my phone after dinner Saturday night. Plus Sunday's solitary drive back to Katy. I may make a note to myself to add some text on top of the driving picture. The radio got all static-y at one point, so I pulled out some old mix CDs from college. I was loving it!

Hooray!

Happy Labor Day! This is probably my favorite holiday...because it means a three day weekend on my birthday! This weekend I celebrated my friend Joanna's nuptials. Everything was so beautiful (hello, Texas Hill Country) and I know everyone there had an awesome time.

Chilling in our excellent wedding footwear. So comfy!

First dance!

Loved the photobooth!

The flower girl was so adorable. She was photo bombing pretty much everyone! 

Bride and groom sing along hour was excellent as well. The bridesmaids sang some classic Spice Girls and the groomsmen sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Don't Stop Believin'." Loved it! Congrats to the blissful couple!!

Random Photo Wednesday

Tyson got the tomahawk at my birthday dinner this weekend. It was so very large and in charge...bigger than his face. Unreal.

Get crafty :: happy bear

I survived/thrived on another first day of school yesterday. Favorite part? Hands down, when a few eighth graders came back at the end of the day to visit me. 

I made this awhile ago, took pictures, and then was too lazy to upload the pictures. I just love looking at his happy face! He loves a good car ride.

Get crafty :: Cards!

Last weekend I sat down with my crafty partner-in-crime, Ashli, but I couldn't scrapbook because I desperately need to print pictures. Anyways, I made some cards for the first time in a long time and it was quite fun! Here's a peek at what I made...

I think I made one or two more, but I didn't photograph them. It's been awhile since I've made a card, and I was kind of obsessed by the end. I used to even have an Excel workbook that helped me calculate the size of paper I needed to create my own envelopes. Unfortunately my laptop has since crashed. Here's to hopefully a craft-filled school year! Hizzah!

Random Photo Wednesday

This Friday, we are celebrating Sophie's second birthday! It's actually her one year adoption anniversary, but we are counting it as both. I can't believe she's only been with us for a year...the time has flown by and we just love her so. My favorite is when we lay down on the couch after dinner. She ferociously jumps on Tyson's stomach and nestles a little nook for herself. Just precious.

Project Life 2013, Week 33

Hooray for another Vegas Project Life week! I had a plethora of pictures to choose from, so I decided to make mini album of our three (so far) trips and just include a few highlights here. My favorite is the panoramic view from our balcony. One of my cheerleaders showed me that the iPhone did that recently, and it was fun to play with!

So yummy. That oxtail...just wow. That's all. I'm enjoying using the collage app to include more photos. Super easy, too.

I forgot to take pictures at the restaurant we went to off the strip. Honey Salt was seriously amazing. Why does Vegas have so many awesome restaurants?!

Project Life 2013, Week 31

This summer has flown by...it's kind of strange that the teachers go back to school today. Especially since I've been thinking about school pretty much the whole time. I was able to finish my Project Life page (from two weeks ago) yesterday in my efforts to get a few things checked off my to do list before I'm back at school every day.

I've got a little puppy action, a little road trip shower edition action, and a little celebrating our new mat action. I used a freebie from Cathy Zielske's blog which was a fun and different way to incorporate an instagram picture. I'll definitely use that card some more in the future!

Here's a look at the two pages together. I'm glad I used a little green polka dot action to break up the grey cards. It makes the green grass pop across the page, which makes me pretty happy.

Get crafty :: hooray card

I've needed to print pictures all summer, so I've been making a few cards instead. This one was for a friend's bridal shower. Hooray, indeed! My apologies for the cell phone pictures; I need to charge my big camera's battery!

A little bling is always a good idea.

Project Life 2013, Week 32

I skipped ahead to this past week while it was still fresh on my mind. I'm planning on going back to do week 31, but I'm going to let 30 pass on by...I don't have many pictures and can't recall anything out of the norm that needs documenting.

And that's what I'm calling good enough and moving on...

Womp womp

I have majorly failed on the updating of my blog! Cheer has consumed my life for the past two weeks. I'll be back soon....

Oh, silly mascots.

These are a few of my favorite things...

-weekends

-Bravo

-vino

-text messaging

-cheesy garlic bread

-cuddling with my puppies

-Pinterest

-reading a good book

-roasted asparagus*

-fuzzy blankets

-to do lists

-technology

-snail mail

-sunsets

-photography

-our back porch

-pedicures

-the font bombshell

-anything green

-the smell of rain

-dark chocolate

-The Sound of Music

-laughter

-ketchup

-fluffy pillows

-remembering dreams

-air conditioning

-redbox codes

-contact lenses

*best asparagus recipe ever:

for one lb. washed, trimmed asparagus, spread on cookie sheet with drizzle of Extra virgin olive oil, teaspoon of diced garlic, juice of half of a lemon, and sprinkling of kosher salt (to taste). Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes or until cooked. Yummy!!

Resolved.

I've dedicated a good chunk of the summer to professional development and generic pondering for next year. This is mostly due to the fact that I am determined to help make this year run smoother for my team (last year was a bit of a train wreck...but only sometimes). Anyways, I've been rounding up some new ideas to try, and in an effort to hold myself accountable I am making my intentions known to my blog. Once upon a time someone asked me to blog more teacher-y things, so here I go...

1. Conversation Calendars. The presenter of a training casually mentioned Cris Tovani's idea of conversation calendars to interact with students, and I'm pretty sure my eyes lit up. I found more info on it here and decided I must try this out. I love how you can steer a conversation if you want and differentiate for individual students as needed. My plan is to have half of my students on a Monday/Wednesday schedule and the other half on Tuesday/Thursday. We shall see how it goes!

2. Absent binder. For two years I have tried to keep up with an absent wall, but the wall real estate next to the door became too valuable. Students never checked it, so I am going to try out a binder this year instead (as seen here).

3. Ticket out poster (idea from pinterest via here). I am a fan of the "ticket out" and use it fairly regularly. Usually I have my kids put sticky notes on the back of the door or my front cabinet door, but it gets a little crazy sometimes. This way, each student has a number and I can quickly scan for content and "if they got it." This is going next to the door where my old absent board was.

4. To be determined...I will fill you in on the rest!

Project Life 2013, Week 29

Oh, week 29. Not a lot of pictures, but pretty fun nonetheless. I'm going to blame Schlitterbahn water parks for the lack of pictures. Rather that the party pictures they want you to buy are $15 each!! What is that?!? Highway robbery right there. Or maybe seaway. Channel? It's some kind of insanity.

I blurred my relatives in the pool photo...because, you know, not everyone may want to be on the internet in a swimsuit.

And here is the two weeks together, all cozy in my book. Or how it should be. One day.

That's about it! This week has been pretty relaxing (read: humdrum), so I'm going to have to find some pictures for PL somehow...

Project Life 2013, Week 28

I've got another week of Project Life saved! I've been using a collage app (creatively called Collage) on my phone for instagrams and only recently realized I could easily change the aspect ratio to 3:2 for project life action (bottom left picture). Hopefully I can catch up and do last week's adventures tomorrow!

Project Life 2013, Week 27

Week 27 was pretty quiet, aside from my friend, Ashley's, wedding!

Left side...a little cold front action (I had to laugh), a little ducks in the park, and wedding!

I love that top left photo, so it needed to be slightly larger! These pictures don't really do the day justice...I'm pretty excited to see the photographer's pictures. Hooray!