Favorite Soap

I know it's been FOREVER!  Sorry!  There are actually 2 favorites I want to blog about today.  First is my new favorite soap it's called Sister Agnes Soaps (wash your sins away!  Oh if only!) And can be found  here: http://www.sisteragnes.com/main.htm  It's not really made by nuns.  It comes from this wonderful store called Milagros here in Tampa.  They smell AMAZING!  Just fresh and clean and sweet no matter which scent you pick (although the milk and honey one is my fav).  And you can even go there and make your own soaps if you want (on my to do list near the top).  I also have their salt scrub, whipped body butter shower wash, and I had candles made in my favorite scents!  They make everything right there too and will make things to your specified scent (like the salt scrub which I had done with a nice lemon eucalyptus).   I HIGHLY recommend it!

The second is ACUPUNCTURE!  So if you didn't know I was having some hard core pain in my hip.  It only hurts when I am standing up....but since I am a teacher I am ALWAYS standing up!   Of course this has been going on for like 6 months but I am a dork and just figured it would go away sooner or later (I know, I know not my smartest move).  Of course it got worse so I decided to see a chiropractor.  I have trust issues with doctor's in general but my sister used to play kickball with this particular doctor and vouched for him.  He's actually really good (here is his website: http://www.floridawell.com/index.php).  And he recommended acupuncture to help with the pain.  I'm not sure I understand how it works, but I can tell you that it definitely does work!  It turns out my left foot doesn't know how to stand correctly.   So I have this blue tape (bright blue I might add, you think they would have like flesh colored or purple but oh no it has to be bright BLUE) around my ankle to teach it how to behave.  So far so good. :)  

Valentines was good.  I got a TON of chocolate from the kids (so sweet, but I am not eating chocolate because of my diet).   And hung out with my sis on actual V-day.  The weather is gorgeous here and I wish it would stay like this ALL year long!   Hope everyone is doing well! :)

Misery really does love company

So I don't know about everyone else but I have been super TIRED this last week.  I mean like take a nap during the week tired!  (which I NEVER do)  And the kids have been a little bouncy this week too.  Not terrible, just a little over the top for them.  One of the reasons I love my job is because whenever I am tired or frustrated with my class I am usually not alone.  And it is just nice to have other people in the same boat with me.  It makes me feel less like a freak I guess.  Usually when my class is acting silly so is everyone elses.  The days that I am tired so is everyone else.  I don't wish everyone felt the same way I do, but it really is comforting!  This week I started taking an ESOL class and there are teachers from all grade levels and backgrounds and EVERYONE agreed their students have been wacky.  In fact we were all looking up outside for a full moon when we walked out after class!  So nice to know what it's not me it's  Them! :)

Favorite Day of the year...

Today is my birthday! :)  I keep trying to get excited about it, but it's not really that big of a deal to me.  Although I do appreciate all the happy birthday wishes I have been receiving! :)  Maybe it's because I have been celebrating for the last week or so!  My teacher friends got me cupcakes and a few of my students bought me cute gifts (even though I told them that all I wanted was their good behavior).  And I've spent the last few days in Orlando at a technology conference.  Usually I make a big ordeal (complete with mass email reminders to everyone) about my birthday, but this year  I didn't.  Who knows maybe I am maturing and growing up?  I doubt it though! :)

Favorite Social Networking Site....

Well it's actually the only one I belong to. Facebook. I was a little hesitant about joining one of these things. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole world being able to find me on the internet (although I do blog, but it's not the same). And for the record I hate myspace. But this turned out to be alright. It's a little more grown up than myspace and I like the idea of getting a 1 or 2 line update on people that I am friends with but don't get to talk to very often. And I added the Facebook app to MY NEW IPHONE so I can check it whenever I want to. I'll blog more about the iphone later but so far I am loving it! :) So many apps so little time. So if you are on facebook feel free to friend request me. Oh and Danica they have a group for our mission! Actually they have like 5 groups for our mission, how crazy is that?!? :)

Favorite New Salad Recipe

This is a recipe for Spinach Strawberry Salad that I found on allrecipes.com  (which I am adding to favorite websites).  This salad was YUMMY and very easy to make (including the dressing).  I substituted pine nuts for the sesame seeds and poppy seeds because I didn't have any around.  Really you could use just about anything to give it that "crunch".  Enjoy!  I love allrecipes.com!  They have EVERYTHING!  And people are good about posting comments so if you are not an expert chef (like myself) you can see what other people did or didn't like about the recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

 DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

2009 is looking mighty fine!

Like my new cute background? I made it myself using tips from cutestblogontheblock.com
So here we are in the new year! 2008 was a year of lots of growth and positive change. I posted some goals at the beginning of 2008. (see 2008 will be great)

Here is an update on some of those goals:
I decided what masters program I am going to apply to and I am taking the GRE tomorrow! (say a prayer for me!)
I am 1 class away from my permanent teaching certificate and will be done by May.
I was in the process of buying a condo but Heavenly Father has other ideas (more on that later).
I went to the Temple more often!
I am a better visiting teacher (but I still have a long way to go).

And here are some other things that were goals but I didn't mention in my original post:
I paid off all my credit card debt and I am completely debt free!
I started a weight loss program in august and I've lost about 50lbs so far!
I finished my first year of teaching 3rd grade and SURVIVED! I am 1/2 way through my second year and loving almost every minute of it!

Goals for 2009:
For sure get my permanent teaching certificate.
Take more classes on teaching writing
Now that I am debt free I'd like to be better at saving money.
Get into grad school!
Work on my crafty/sewing skills
Do more genealogy/temple work
Now that I have become better at eating right I'd like to exercise more!

Favorite Thing To Do With My Time...

....is PROJECTS! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! It was low key around our house which was nice. I decided to try making the Nearly Lethal Sm ores Tart found on Brownie Points Blog (see favorite websites). It actually turned out to be REALLY good! I am becoming more and more impressed with my crafty/culinary skills. :) The tart is really more like a pie with a gram cracker crust, chocolate ganache and honey vanilla marshmallow topping. I made everything from scratch accept the crust. It was a hit and will probably turn up again at holiday celebrations (special thanks to my friend Hatsuho for blogging about the marshmallows, she doesn't know it but she created a monster!). I also made some bath bombs on Christmas Eve as a gift (also see favorite websites). I need to make some more for myself! Those things are a little slice of Heaven. AND I finished my mission photo book last night! 45 pages of memories I can't wait for it to come in the mail!!! I also did some computer stuff for my dad. Today I did some shopping and some cleaning and some studying for the GRE. Tomorrow I am going to finish cleaning out the closet and some Rubbermaid drawers full of crafty stuff so I can make room for all the new crafty stuff I have recently purchased. I need to do a lesson plan for relief society (they called today to ask if I would fill in), pick up Joanna from the airport, feed her cat before I pick her up, clean FiFi's cage, get my toes done, get my hair did, eyebrows waxed, find a chiropractor because I am pretty sure my hip is out of alignment due to carrying a heavy messenger bag, find a dentist, possibly go see a doctor for a check up. Research color printers and decide if I need a new one, take my color laser printer to staples because it makes an AWFUL sound when it's printing, drop off the clothes that I cleaned out of my closet earlier this week at a goodwill, go with my family to the outlet mall (dad is coming too) return the SECOND COACH purse I bought myself, even though it was an amazing price, it's not leather and I can do better, and then if I have time.......
RELAX before it's time to go back to work in January! I guess I will sleep when I am dead! :)

The New Theme

Sssoo I decided to do a little re-vamping of the blog. And as my good friend Carrie pointed out I chose a background that was more Sssarah. :) But I decided to kind of switch my focus (ie instead of So What's your point? The point is to talk about some of my favorite things. You gotta shake it up every once in awhile right? So enjoy reading about some of my favorite things! :)

My Favorite Commercial

Sssooo Normally I hate commercials! I feel like my intelligence is being insulted. Not to mention that I do NOT enjoy seeing those commercials for erectile dysfunction I personally think those should be illegal! Don't even get me started!!! But this commercial made me laugh out loud! I hope you enjoy it!

Shrinky Dinks

Definitely one of my favorite things is Shrinky Dinks. If you don't know what a shrinky dink is or you have never shrinky dinked before I feel sorry for your childhood! You can go here and watch a video and see the actual shrinking in action. Well ever since I realized that shrinky dink paper was still in existence I've been looking for a reason to shrinky dink. I am so grateful I am a teacher! For the holidays the kids got to pick out a "stained glass" pattern that I then copied on shrinky dink paper. Color in with permanent markers and VOILA! Shrinky dinked ornaments! I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but they turned out really great. And now my kids have something that they can keep forever (if they want to) and I got to indulge my inner child (who also loves to shrinky dink). I love a win win! :)