Happy first day of spring!

picture found here....

How did you enjoy your first spring weekend of 2011?

Mine was spently mostly outside in the absolutely perfect weather. The warm sunshine makes me so ready for my beach trip in May!

Alexa was in town so I was so glad we got to hang out last night. We sat outside and enjoyed pizza at Bin 612 (one of my favorites!).

Did I tell you how much I love this weather?

Even though this is the first "official" day of spring, it marks the end of my Spring Break. I'm oh so very sad about my fabulous week ending, but having this past week off has made me feel so refreshed. I'm looking forward to getting back to school tomorrow, seeing my "little ones," and getting our last 9 weeks of school started!

Have a perfect spring week!

and THAT'S why I love that place...

I love it when people give teachers discounts. But, I guess if I were in the military, I'd enjoy military discounts; if I were a senior citizen, I'd enjoy a discount at the movies, restaurants, etc.
It's not too often that you see clothing stores who give people in my profession a nice discount. It's one of the many reasons why Ann Taylor Loft is my fave.

When you sign up for "Loft For Teachers" (sorry, all you non-teachers out there), you'll not only receive coupons via email, but you'll also receive style guides like the one above, AND a 15% discount card that can be used anytime...it never expires!

So what are you waiting for??? Click here and start receiving fun discounts!

Oh yeah...there's another reason why I love being a teacher oh so much--

IT'S SPRING BREAK TIME!

I love my family. I really do.

I was oh so happy to spend my birthday weekend with my family. My actual birthday isn't until tomorrow (the 23rd), but the celebration has lasted nearly 3 days already! ;) My sweet sisters and fabulous brothers-in-law treated me to dinner Friday night and we had the actual "birthday party" Saturday night. I ate A LOT.

Oh yeah. You remember that I have gone SEVERAL weeks without sweets, but I must confess that some cheating took place Saturday night, as I indulged in homemade strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. I loved everything about it, and well, if you must know the truth, I will PROBABLY be indulging in a little more cake tomorrow. After that, I PROMISE I won't touch another sweet until Easter! I hope my friend Heather doesn't get too mad at me. ;)

Well, friends, I'm off to bed. I'm saying goodbye to a lovely spring break and hello to my last 9 weeks of school before summer!

Spring Break...ahhh....

Well...I'm not sure just how reliable the internet access is now, but perhaps it will stick with me long enough to finish this post. I don't know what's been going on with it lately, but it's been driving me NUTS to say the least.

The week off has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I relaxed a lot, worked at MINT a good bit, and enjoyed the wonderful weather!! I can't believe it's coming to an end.

I started the break off by visiting my sweet Mamaw as she celebrated her 87th birthday on March 13. I don't get to see her nearly enough, so I was so glad to spend time with her.

Mom, Dad, and I then went to Hattiesburg to help Heather and Trey get their house all packed up! Yep! They've moved out and are now in the process of getting into their soon-to-be new home! Until then, though, they're living in a furnished apartment in Hattiesburg, which, unfortunately, doesn't allow pets! Where's Sophie staying you ask? Who else but her Aunt Laura and cousin Max. We're thrilled to have a visitor for a couple of weeks!

While my boys didn't play their best in the NCAA tournament, I was more than proud of them for becoming SEC Champs! Mom and Dad were at the Hump to welcome them home after their big win over Tennessee. Go Dawgs!!Finally, I'm a little tardy on yet another birthday wish! My sweet Meredith celebrated her 27th birthday on March 17. Have I ever told you how much I miss this girl?? Ugh. I want to see her RIGHT NOW. Happy late birthday sweet friend! I'm love you and I'm glad we're friends!

I have more to post and hope to do it tomorrow IF my computer allows it!

Is anybody else loving the spring weather?

stupid internet.

There really has been so much to blog about these past few days! Unfortunately, the internet connection at my house has been severely misbehaving. It's driving me nuts to say the least. I shall return as soon as possible though. I promise.

Oh yeah, and I LOVE SPRING BREAK.

TWO cute boys, yummy chicken salad, and SPRING(??)

Hey friends! I hope your Sunday afternoon has been as enjoyable as mine!

Saturday we had a Kid's Fair/Book Fair at my school. Henry was at my parents' this weekend, so he got to join in on the fun. We were also so glad to see my buddy Camp there with his dad! Camp is a year older than Henry, and I've already decided that when Henry moves here next year, he and Camp will be forced friends. :) Are they not 2 of the cutest boys you've ever seen?

They were so cooperative about sitting still long enough to snap a few pics (notice Camp holding Henry's hand. He said he wanted to "help" Henry. Adorable).

...and here are a few more of the little man. His grandaddy bought him a new MSU hat while he was here. Can you tell how obsessed he is? He would barely even take it off, as you can probably tell. Love him.

My dear friend MSKS is always so loyal about posting yummy recipes, and while I'm definitely not going to attempt to compete with her, I DO have a very simple and very low fat recipe for chicken salad. Now, I'm going to be honest, I sort of made up the recipe myself, so I'm not providing measurements of the ingredients. I hope that doesn't turn you off from trying it!

Ingredients:

1.Boiled chicken cut into chunks, or shredded. I personally prefer it shredded, as it seems to be easier to scoop with a cracker.

2.Fat free plain yogurt (Yoplait, Dannon, etc). This is used instead of mayo. It gives the same consistency as mayo, but without all of the unnecessary fat.

3.Diced purple onion

4.Chopped grapes

5.Sliced almonds

(Of course there are many more ingredients that can be added to chicken salad if you desire. This is just how I like it!).

Simply mix all of the above ingredients together and season to taste. (I usually sprinkle salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and cucumber salt).

I make this often because I can eat on it for a couple of days and it's perfect for my school lunch. Allow me to also recommend eating with Triscuits...my personal fave. AND, if you're pinching pennies like me, I encourage you to try the Kroger brand Triscuits (they're called "Weavers"). They taste exactly the same to me and they're a good bit cheaper! I have also started buying Kroger brand Wheat Thins, and I personally like them better than the name brand! Trust me and try them!

Finally, I.LOVE.THIS.WEATHER. It got up to 80 degrees here yesterday and it felt GREAT. I know it's probably wishful thinking to say that the cold weather is behind us, but oh how I'm ready for spring!

I keep my kitchen table set year round. I have different settings for different season/holidays throughout the year. Make fun of me if you'd like...I'm used to it. ANYWAY, my table is all ready to go for spring/summer! I even picked up a pretty bouquet of tulips at Kroger today. There's just something about having fresh flowers in your house, don't you think? And tulips are my absolute favorite, so that makes me even happier.

Have a wonderful week! I'm down to my last week before Spring Break! HALLELUJAH!

W

W is for my weekend pictures!

The weather this weekend was ideal and it made me so excited about the spring!!

Kristen and Henry were here so the weekend was great. Saturday morning, I helped with the Kid's Fair at my school, so Henry came by and had the best time! He loved the bee and balloon (and really anything that begins with a "b") ! He also enjoyed walking around and waving at people. He doesn't like to be ignored, so he gets really offended if people didn't wave back at him! :)

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Have a great week!

One more week for me and then it's SPRING BREAK TIME! :)

Oh yeah--shout out to my genius sister for my new blog header! I thought it was time for a change! Thanks Heather!