Supper Shopper!!!!!

Lately I have been hearing A LOT about women who are being FABULOUS shoppers and very frugal.  I have seen several blog posts where women have made a display of, oh say, 15 things and then tell the amount they paid for all of it . . . something ridiculously low . . .like . . . $3.00.  (I'm telling you it REALLY does happen!)

So, I thought I would try my hand at it.  I usually NEVER shop at Albertson's because I always thought of it as "the expensive grocery store."  However, I found that I could get lots of groceries for a VERY small amount!

Because I am NOT super-duper handy I don't have any pictures to show you, but I can telll you that I got . . wait for it . . . (drum roll please!)  . . .

35 items

$112.17 worth of groceries for . . .

$51.15!!!!

to give me a savings of . . .

$61.02!!!!!!!!!!!

PLUS . . .

I earned 5 cents of a gallon of gas up to 20 gallons!

(It just keeps getting better!)

So, in a nutshell I SAVED MORE THAN I SPENT!!!! That REALLY excites me!  Do I think I'm the shopper of the century? NO!  Did I get the most fabulous deal ever?  Maybe not, I'm not sure, but I was sure happy about it.

I know that there are A LOT of thrifty women out there, so if you know of anymore secrets or "good deals" let me know :) 

Also, I am now going to feature a section on my sidebar that has sites (mostly garneshed from my good friend Alyssa's blog.  Thanks Alyssa!) which offer cupons and GREAT advice on how to "catch the cupon craze!" 

Happy Shopping :)

Getting My Groove Back!

So, at the beginning of the school year I was VERY nervous about the chanllenges that I would face and was having a REALLY hard time getting back in the swing of things.

Over the course of my summer and through various breaks from school I have decided that I am a home body.  I LOVE to be HOME!!!!! So, this makes it difficult to want to go to school and teach everyday and really did NOT help in my needing to find the drive to "just do it."

Luckily, things change and I am FINALLY feeling like I can do this.  My "special needs" student is doing really well.  We have still had a few out bursts, but things are going well . . . mostly :) 

It seems that at the beginning of the year I always forget how bad my last year's class started out.  I only seem to remember how they were when they left me (well trained and well behaved), so it makes it a challenge when the new group comes in every year and you have to start over.  Things are coming along, but boy I forget how chatty kids are!!! Still love 'em though :)

There are still LOTS of things I need to work on, but at least I am FINALLY starting to get my groove back and be able to function like I should. 

YEAH for me!!!! And it only took me 5 weeks into school to do it!! (he he he)  :) :)

A SPOOKY Halloween Giveaway!!

I found this on a friend's blog. It is a WAY fun Halloween giveaway :) Click here to enter http://thepolka-dotdaisy.blogspot.com/2009/09/wanna-win-halloween-giveaway.html

Good luck :)

Finding the Hero in Me

Do you ever wonder if you can REALLY handle what is being dealt to you?

I do!

Tomorrow is September 1st. Not a significant date for most people, but for me . . .
Exactly one year ago on this day Rusty and I started trying to get pregnant.

The definition of infertility: Having sexual relations without any barriers for 1year.

Tomorrow, I am officially infertile

Some days I am ok with that fact and others, like today, I struggle to find the hero inside myself.

That person who is strong

That person who knows what to do in every situation

That person who suffers in silence and handles what is given her

That person who never lets show the anguish she feels inside

That person who doesn't let the tears fall

That person who remembers that she is blessed and doesn't ask for more

That person who doesn't complain

That person who allows the whole in her heart to be put on the back burner

That person who smiles

Some days I can be that person, but today . . .

I can't

I know that in a few days I will be able to be that girl again and life will be good, but today I morn the lose of something I have never had.

Today I found out that another friend is pregnant, while I am VERY excited for her and her husband, I can't help but feel the jolt of my current situation.

So today I will dig deep and find the hero in myself because the people around me need her!

I NEED her!!!

I'm Back!!!

So, it has been a crazy busy and somewhat eventful summer, but . . . it's OVER!!!!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Oh well, what do ya do? So school starts back up next week and I am more than a little nervous this year. Ususally I feel pretty calm and confident, but this year I really worry because I have a special needs student in my class this year and I have never had to deal with this type of student before.

I just hope that I can continue to maintain a good classroom environment for both this special student and my other students. I am REALLY nervous so if anyone has any advice on handling this type of situation I would LOVE the help!!

I will update you all soon on my summer (since I haven't had internet all summer! Sad day :(

I'll update again soon :) :)

Field Trip!!

At the end of the year, I was able to take my students (along with the one other fifth grade class) on a field trip. One of the places we went was to Riot Zone, which has bumper boats, go karts, the giant inflatable toys, mini golf, rock climbing and all kinds of fun stuff. The kids had a blast trying to soak their teacher (and succeeding) on the bumper boats. I had a blast being able to let loose with the kids and my parent chaperones (I think we had more fun than the kids did!)

We also went to a place called "Bear World." What ya do is drive through this area where they have lots of different animals, like elk, deer, bison (buffalo), mountain goats, white elk, and of course . . . BEARS!! They have a few grizzley bears that are kept behind an electric fence and then they have about 30 black bears that are allowed to roam free as you drive through. It was pretty neat. We also lucked out and got to watch them feed the baby bears.

One of the other teacher's there needed a picture of the stuffed bear with the real bear. It was so cute because the real bear was trying to hug its stuffed counterpart. It was adorable!!

This little bear's name is Dozer (just like my dog!) I thought that was pretty cool :)

We all had way too much fun and at the end of the day I think EVERYONE was ready for a nap!! I know I was :)

Kittens!!

About a month ago our cat, Bobcat, had kittens. She originally had 6, but unfortunately one of the little black ones died :( But the other five are doing great and jus about ready to leave mama. So, if anyone is in the southeastern Idaho area and wants an ADORABLE kitten with seven toes on each front paw, please feel free to take one home :) Here are some pics of when they were first born.

"Your Land and My Land"

Every year I do a program with my class (5th grade). It is a patriotic program and it involves singing, jokes, spoken parts, and even a small melodrama skit called "The Moo." It really is great fun and the best part about it is that once things are going smoothly . . . the kids do it ALL!!! Yeah!!

So, yesterday my students performed for the school and then for their parents last night. They were AWESOME!!! I have only done this twice now, but they were definitely the best so far! I hope that it only gets better in years to come. I have had countless teachers and parents come up to me and tell me what a great job the kids did and they truly were amazing.

I wish I had video to show you, but even if I did I'm not sure I'd be allowed to post it. Educational privacy laws are pretty strict, but I think it would be okay. I just can't give out any personal information. Yes, us teachers are not only educators, but part lawyer as well. Oh the joy!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with everybody how proud I am of my students and how lucky I am to be in a career that I LOVE (most days :) I love my job because of days like yesterday! Good job class :) :)

Hey, so I did get some pictures ;) Shhhh, don't tell ;)