Thursday, August 30, 2012

High Five 8.31.12


Boy has it been one of those weeks where all I want to do is sleep when I get home! It's amazing that I got even one load of laundry done ... Well almost! Here's my weekly top five:

|one|

On Sunday hubs and I went on a walk which turned into visiting REALLY EXPENSIVE model homes! They were beautiful, but then we ran the whole way home! I only walked once! Oh and did I mention it felt like I was on fire because it was like 90+ degrees out?!?!



|two|

No kickboxing this week means I have been able to stay later at work and have been able to get on top of a few things! Yahoo for long work days!



|three|

Dinner it with friends on Thursday night! It's always good to catch up with my kickboxing pals over a few drinks, yummy food and surrounded by sports fans! Gotta love the local brewing company!



|four|

A packed holiday weekend for hubs and I! We are headed to the horse races on Saturday and then a little bit of wine tasting at a friends house on Sunday! Monday will be filled with relaxation for sure! 


|five|

My book club is meeting tonight! Can't wait to talk about this book! Love enjoying a couple hours with lovely ladies discussing a book we all read! This time around we are about half way through this little gem: 

What have been your highlights for the week? 
Ready for the weekend? 

I am ... totalally ready for it to begin ... um like NOW! 

Link up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk to share yours... or you can comment below! 
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Random Thursday: A Million Bucks

OK so I decided that Random Thursday sure does fit the bill! I truly am loving these themes! It sure is fun to write these posts! It is looking like i am changing one of my weekly link ups... to this one! 

So here is is .... 
This week's theme is: 

I think i would do a few things. The first would be to own a home. Here are a few ideas. (Now none of these would allow for me to do anything else, but this girl can dream, especially is one is already dreaming with a million buck-os that i truly do not have!) 





As you can see i would love to have a picket fence! 

Next i would give the rest away. I would donate to our church as well as other charities in the area! I think that might be the majority of the money. It's amazing how quick a million bucks can go! I wonder what my husband would answer? Let's ask... 

Me: Honey, what would you do if you had a million dollars? 
Hubs: I would buy a house for $500, 000 and then donate $100,000 to charity. The rest i would use to retire! 

I am pleasantly surprised that we would do about the same thing! 
What would you do with a million buck-os? 

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Monday, August 27, 2012

Gone Buggy!

OK I've gone BUGGY! 

Today i am showing off some new additions to my classroom! Last year i did a transportation themed classroom I named all the tables (where we did our group work) different areas where vehicles would go. Here they are: 

My groups were all named after vehicles and the folders corresponded to these names. 
(I apologize, but i do not have pictures of my folders!) 
The groups were called:
The Cars
The Trucks
The Bull Dozers
The Buses
The Vans 
... and others that i do not recall! 

This year i have gone buggy! 
Here are my new signs that have already been hung:

 Plus, i used this border and these adorable bugs to make my border buggy! 

I will have to go around the room and take more photos, but here are some other elements that i used around the room! 
(I know these are a bit distorted! Please go to the link below if you are interested in this free download from an awesome educator!) 


But i also found this for free and used it for our birthday calendar! 
It is no longer free, but i love it and can't help but share it! 

I have a bunch of work still to do, like my folder for all my new groups which will of course be buggy names as well. So far, I have grasshoppers, bees, crickets, beetles, and i am sure there is at least one i am forgetting!

Today I am linking up with Corinna over at Surfin' Through Second
Go check out other class room themes! 
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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Memories & Roses

Alright, so last week Jessica over @ Lovely Little Things went on a vacation and we missed our chance to stop and smell the roses! So today, whether she posts the link up or not, I am sharing my peek into my memory box (which was the task assigned 2 weeks ago!) 

So technically i do not have a "box" per se, but i do have a handy basket where i put pictures, photo albums, ticket stubs, etc. Here it is: 


It was really fun to look through our photos and remember events that have happened in my lifetime. I found lots of birth announcements (which i save to remember these little munchkins birthdays!) 

But i also had a chance to look at all my photo albums! The one on top that is most visible is the one i made of our honeymoon! I love that book because i really took the time to record what happened on our honeymoon! Other books i looked at include family trips and even a book that was made to remember my dear friend Chuck (See this post for that story). 
 Even Lily wanted to learn a little about the memories i have had in my lifetime! 
This task sure was fun! I am a person who likes to-do lists, a busy schedule, and enjoying the next adventure. So with that, i often do not take the time to look back and reminisce. This is truly something that everyone needs to do. It is the reason why we take snapshots. And nowadays with all the smart phones or whatever electric device you use to capture photos... we take an exorbitant amount of photos! People, myself included, even photograph their meal before they eat it! There are so many memories that are a part of our lives. Sometimes stopping to remember the good times can remind you of the importance of stopping to smell the roses! 

Lovely Little Things

Have a great start to the week! 

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PS I am putting together a list of bloggers interested in button swapping. Might i add you? Leave a comment that includes your email addy below and I can add you to the list!

Oh the Internet!


Ok! like i said I am switching up my schedule! Still gonna stick to some of the same link ups but will be adding a few and alternating some of the link ups i do! Just trying to add a little spice! 

So, today I am linking up with Neely and Amanda for the Sunday Social! 



1. What is the first website you log on to everyday?


Um I think it would be blogger. I usually check my dashboard every morning and then again when I post in the evening.

2. Give us some funny websites you visit that we need to know about


Goodness. I think I would benefit from what people post in response to this question! I don't currently visit any really funny websites but I used to go on Urban Dictionary to look at funny sayings. The only one really remember is cruiser spooning! Do you know what that is? It's when two police cruisers pull up next to each other so the drivers can chat about life and donuts! (For the record: I believe that police officers and other public safety officers play a vital role in keeping our communities safe and peaceful!) ok that's enough of me making up answers!

3. Pinterest or Facebook? Why?

Why does it have to be one or the other! I TOTALLY participate in BOTH! Hi! My name is Simone and I am a pinterest and Facebook addict! I love them both for different reasons for sure though! On one I get so many creative ideas from all over and on the other I satisfy my nosy factor! Why would I ever chose between those two things?!?!

Don't forget to follow me on both!

Follow Me on Pinterest

4. Twitter or Instagram? Why?

 I am very new to twitter. Not sure I like it for my own personal use. I do use it for my blog, but I admit I feel very overwhelmed with keeping up with my twitter feed! In addition to this I sporadically use the instagram app on my phone! I enjoy both but I think I pick twitter just because I have tended to use it more as of late! I enjoy looking at pictures that others are taking so instagram is still on the list! Follow me here!


Follow Me on Instagram




5. Favorite youtube video...post it!

Oh goodness there are a couple ..... Here they are!
This is just pure entertainment and i love the song. I know super trendy and all, but it sure does cheer me up (if cheering up is needed!)

Kids are awesome! I love too how the mom just can't keep a straight face! So funny! 

Ok, so i am sick of the song but i think these people are all phenonmenal! Love this video! 

6. Biggest online pet peeve?


From one blogger tools sibyl others... Those darn word verification things drive me batty! The other day I had to do one thirty times before I was able to post a comment... Ok so it wasn't thirty, it was more like three, but still after three if it doesn't work ... You won't get a comment from me unless I am truly REALLY DETERMINED to post it!

Alright.... hope u enjoyed my comments! 
Yesterday's post was not on time, so sorry! It has been quite a week and i may or may not have TOTALLY fell asleep on the couch at like 10 pm while watching a movie! Either way, there was a post! Check it out! I got some new duds! 

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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Shopping with Hubs...

So when hubs goes shopping with me it can be an interesting adventure. 

He is usually concerned with how much time I will be in a certain store. I often send him on his merry way to a store that he can spend some time in! But when hubs is not around .... i end up finding things ... things like this:

and yes i did get another color of this top...

then i visited old navy and bought this in black and white.... 

and 2 of these... 

and a pair of these....

Then it was off to DSW ... oh boy! 

When hubs shops with me... i don't leave with so much! 
Long story short: I need time to relax and shop! I like it to be a more leisure activity for sure! Especially when i truly need to find items for specific purposes!

Hope you enjoyed my new clothes! 
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Thursday, August 23, 2012

High 5: 8.24.12

Time to link up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk
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Here's my high five for the week!

|one|
A new dress code at work means I am headed shopping! Who knew eliminating shorts, tank tops, and tees would mean I would have nothing to wear. I already found a couple tops but still seem to need a couple more!

|two|
New cat toys for the kitten!
It sure has been fun to watch little Lily play, jump, hop and chase whatever it is that moves. She has a new scratching post which seems to have eliminated some of scratching of my legs!

|three|
My husband left a comment on this post! He has never commented on a post before and rarely does he read my blog! It was such a sweet and kind surprise! Love that man!

|four|
Things are being crossed off the to-do list at work! Love it when that happens! This means I will have a couple freebies for teachers!

|five|
It's the weekend! That means breakfast, kickboxing, sleeping in, church, time with friends, relaxation and who knows what else!

The first week is done! Only 175 more days!
Looking forward to getting into the swing of things!

Don't forget to link up!
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Random Thursdays: Fun Summer Reads!



Phew... Almost done with the first week of the school year!

And .... 
Oh boy this blog hit 100 followers last night!!!!!!
I could write what an amazing journey this has been, and boy has it, but instead of typing away I am gonna get right to scheduling an awesome giveaway! (i have been saying this for awhile, but truly have ideas that have not gone much farther than that!)

So, today's my first link up for random Thursday! The topic this week is 

So here we go ...

This summer I actually joined a book club with some of my co-workers. It has been fun to try different restaurants and discuss books with girls that I work with! All this while we may or may not have been trying a few drinks! 

We began the summer with the book 

...... And I HATED IT! 
I usually am determined to finish a book i start, but in this case I did not like it and ended up putting it down! Plus this was my first experience with reading on the iPad. Not a great beginning! 

Then we read Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I truly enjoyed this book. It was good to talk about and the story, though not very light, it was definitely a good story. 

Then my book club moved on to this book:
This book has been pretty stinking hilarious. Those of you that might like a few swear words, funny rants and really long sentences ight ike this bloggers memoir. It has been great thus far. I have laughed out loud on several occasions, including ones in public! I even read a portion out loud to my husband and he thought it was pretty funny and ridiculous. This is also my second try at reading on the iPand and have thus far enjoyed it! 

I also started another book (that my book club is not reading) from my favorite author. (I believe i have ready every single one of her books except for In her Shoes and that is just  because i refuse to read a book if i have seen the movie!) So I am still working on this one: 
I have enjoyed his story so far, but i think it is a given. I love this author and wil lread anythign she puts out! It's great light summer reading. 


I also love to read Real Simple. I am a bit behind so I have been reading the May issue of this magazine! But usually i read them really quickly and then i feel as though i have none to read for weeks! This time i am behind and it will take me a couple times to actually read them! 

In addition this magazine has great digital copies that have been really handy. 

In addition to all of this reading I have been following a few blogs. Here are a few that I love: 


I know there's like a ton more ... but that is all i am willing to put into tonight! there are so many blogs i love! 

So that is my list of fun summer reads for this summer! 
What have you been reading? 

Check out what others have been reading here:

And be sure to visit our hosts' blogs! 

BWS tips button

and then 


This might become a regular post... thinking about replacing one of my link ups each week with this one. Its kind of time to switch things up! What do you all think? 
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PS. I decided (on purpose) that i m not going to read 50 shades of gray. My mom then told me last night that she was gonna buy it and that after she was done she would lend it to me. I am not sure about this one, but it most definitely made me crack up!