one of those days...

I am knee-deep in my portfolio, which is due on Sunday, by 9pm...but I saw this, and it can not be more true at this point.  10 school days...14 calendar days from today it will be glorious, summer vacation, and I don't believe I've ever deserved time off from work more!

to all those teachers out there...we can do it...hang in there!!

Happy Memorial Day!

more than just an extra day off from school...today is a day to say thank you to all of those who have served our country, so we can be free to do what we do...I really hope that you all stop to realize how lucky you are to live in America :)

I am proud of both my Grandfathers who served in the military...and countless friends that I have who are so much braver than I am :)




thank you for all that you do for our country that allows us to be free!

we really are special...

just a quick rant...because it's almost the end of the year and while I have had really great experiences...I had a thought, that kind of made me a little irritated...when I was in Elementary school- maybe even Middle school...we called our classes like Art, Music, Home Ec (do they still have that any more?) and Gym- Specials...because that was how they were treated...special times to get out of your regular classroom, and learn something different, new and something that would make you a well-rounded individual...

now they call them (at least in Baltimore City) Resources...doesn't have quite the magical ring to it that Specials has...maybe that's why the kids take it so much for granted...

I know I can be a bit of an overachiever...wish I could instill that quality in a few more of my students...




sigh...at least it's Friday and a long weekend!  hooray!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

In an effort to be more social in the blogosphere...I'm joining a few "link-ups" that I've seen on a few blogs I really like reading!  So here goes my first round of...

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

so even though the game is in process as we speak, I am really loving being able to watch hockey pretty much every night!  and especially loving that my hometown team, the NJ Devils are still in it!  a fierce rivalry for all New Yorkers and New Jerseyans...it would be awesome to see the Devils in the Stanley Cup! 

I am also loving that we have 14...yes count them 14 days of school left until summer vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


you can link up to What I'm Loving Wednesday too - just click here!

By Jove!

One of the members of my Etsy team, Kelly of Kelly's Keychains has an awesome Kickstarter project and she has almost reached her funding goal! 

If you want to support her and her quest to make adorable plushies like this octopus...click here and donate!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I was lucky to get to see my Mom on Saturday unexpectedly :)  We had seen each other the weekend before when they were doing their trek from SC back to NJ...but because of the surprise party, we got to stop by...it was officially to trade out the cars, but a very nice surprise also :)

here are the awesome flowers we sent from ProFlowers - 100 blooms!  and she's worth every one :)  plus many more!!


Love you Mom! 

A hot pink treasury!

I have been sorely neglecting my business, both in production as well as the Etsy side since school started in August...but I am thrilled to have some of my delightful hot pink earrings in this treasury featuring lots of my BEST friends :)

There's Still Time!

need a gift for Mother's Day?  or just for someone you really really like?  there is still time to hit Fab.com and shop my dear friend Jen's sale for her shop Yummy & Company...and do let the name fool you, the designs are simply delicious!  you can get her beautiful jewelry and prints at a discounted price, but only for a limited time!  and things are selling out...so you don't want to miss it!

what are you waiting for?  go! go!

Showers of Happiness

 it is always a little strange when someone you've known almost your whole life has a big milestone, and this weekend was no different...my little Dana, my across the street neighbor, had her bridal shower...she is getting married in less than one month!  I can not believe how fast it has gotten here, and even though I was still very under the weather, I could not contain my excitement for how happy she looks...she has a lot to look forward to over the next four weeks and I can not wait to celebrate the big day with her on May 19th! 

 

here I am with my other mom :)  and my little sis...I love my brother tons, but having a surrogate sister across the street was definitely a plus!

A Toast to Sir JoJo

If you knew me growing up, you would have said I was absolutely, 100% a dog person.  I put a puppy on my christmas list as the #1 item every year, despite the other three members of my household having pretty severe allergies to them...so when I graduated from college and met several of my friends cats, it surprised even me how much I loved the furry little guys...Eddie was the one who really won me over- which is surprising because now I am not so much his favorite person, but I digress...

this is a story about Joey, JoJo, the Jo-ster, Captain Jo, who belonged to my best friend Bonnie and her husband Andy...

one day after we had graduated Bonnie asked me if I wanted to go to a barn to help her pick out a kitten...not the usual location, but why not I thought...and in that barn, with a goat chewing on my hair, we found Joey, small enough to fit in the palm of our hands, and so ready to get out of that barn, away from the goat...he was so cute, fluffy, and as we would come to learn...active :)

now I didn't spend every day with Joey, since he was Bonnie's cat, but I saw him enough to learn a few things...it is important to stay very still, because humans are just large toys to Joey- any movement is enough to set him to stealth mode, ready to pounce on a hand, foot, whatever...but also that he was not actually cat, but just another human like us...

the biggest testament to that, he was very picky about his food, he loved to be outside when we were all there, and he had a human enemy...that's right, Brett and Joey were mortal enemies, although secretly I know they both loved messing with each other...they had one special experience when Joey was young, and slept on Brett for an entire night, and ever since then, they've been battling like brothers :)  sometimes (but not usually) unprovoked, and other times they'd have staring contests for hours...

my fondest memories are when I stayed at Bonnie's apartment, and Joey came and jumped in while I was in the shower, then proceeded to turn out the light while I was still in there (hey, he was done, right?) or when he would come up and smack Brett in the face for no reason, or the most famous one, when he was peeing in the camping chair, and no one believed me...he thought he was sneaky, but I saw :)

I know they know this, but Joey was an amazing cat, with the biggest personality I've ever seen, and probably ever will see...he made us laugh, cry and life will never be the quite the same without him...