Little White Flakes of Happiness

Yes folks, snow....snow is falling from the sky tonight in Jackson. Sweet! It makes me happy. I like walking in the falling snow and standing in it. I was shopping this evening as the first (and probably only) snow fall happened, and every time I walked out to my car I would start humming Christmas carols. I don't know what it is about snow that makes the Christmas season all the more better, but it does. Here are a few pictures I snapped on my phone...enjoy!

COMPLETE SLACKER.... I know..But here, I will catch you up!

Ok yall, I have been a slacker on my blog... please accept my apologizes! Right now life is pretty much the same ol same ol... work work work. I get to school at 6:30am and leave somewhere between 4 and 6 (usually closer to 6). I bring a bag of stuff home with all the intention to do something...and nope, it sits on the floor by the door where I put it when I come in. I am so exhausted all the time! I just want to sit on my couch and watch a movie, and that is what I do. I have made a few friends at church and a couple of girls at work (that are also first year teachers and have pretty much the same schedule I do). Sometimes on the weekends, I go to the farmers market and the public library on Saturdays. I know, I have an exciting life right?

Well, most weekends I travel down to Hattiesburg and hang out with Leanne and Branson and their kids. On Saturday mornings we go to the kids sporting events and in the afternoons, Leanne and I have girl time and go to Dirt Cheap and get cheese dip, while Branson being the fantastic husband he is, stays home with the kids. Thanks Branson!! Also, this guy I have been sorta seeing comes up from the coast every now and then and we spend some time together :) The other day Leanne and I were talking about how we have been friends for 16 years now (since 9th grade)...it doesn't seem that long. I am truly blessed that she is one of my best friends! I am heading down there again this weekend. We might go to the progressive dinner her Relief Society is doing or we will go to a movie. We will probably end up driving to the coast Saturday afternoon to help another friend of ours from high school move. Not exactly what we had planned, but Jenny needs our help so we are going to help the best we can.

I did get to go home for Thanksgiving. I had the whole week off, which was FANTASTIC! My mom and I went Dirt Cheap shopping and I got some amazing deals: a Weight Watchers scale (that does body fat, water weight, bone density, etc) for $2.00, a big square Brita that stays in the fridge with a spout on it with 3 filters for $1.50, a clothes drying rack for $1.oo and a ton of other little things for a nickle and a dime each - this is not a typical Dirt Cheap experience, my mom and I happened to hit it on a day when they had a few rows of 95% off merchandise (all Target stuff!). My mom and I had a blast while I was at home. Oh she also loves me so much that she is keeping my cat for me right now and taking her to the vet to get fixed next week! Thanksgiving dinner with the fam... no big deal. It was the first time I have been home for Turkey Day in 3 years and I have decided to go out of town for Thanksgiving from now on. Next year - Logan, Utah to spend it with my other best friend, Lynley. That is where I should have gone this year. But if I did I wouldn't have gotten the great Dirt Cheap deals I did. :)

Oh, I also haven't seen anyone in my family, besides my mom, since the end of July/beginning of August and NO ONE mentioned that I was looking skinner... hello! I have lost 20 pounds and 2 more over the break! Not one, you are looking good, have you lost weight? Nothing. Crud, people I work with and see me everyday ask me if I am losing weight because they can tell... did I mention they see me everyday too?? Ok, sorry for my rant. I needed to vent. Sorry yall were the ones to have to hear it!

Now I am focusing on the next 2 weeks and 2 days (no, I am not counting down or anything) until Christmas break. This week has flown by and this weekend will be busy. Next week is full of exciting learning and next weekend, Lynley flies home for the winter break from Utah!!! I am picking her up from the airport here in Jackson and driving her down to Hattiesburg. Then one last week and two weeks off! Score! My kids are getting wilder by the day and I have to get more strict/mean however you want to look at it. I have pulled the Santa card and told them I get a call from Santa every night to see how they were in class. It is working on some and others nothing. Sigh. These kids are so hard core that Santa doesn't even work on them!

Speaking of hard core kids, I am now having to deal with a certain little girl and boy that keep sticking their hands down each others pants! I have called parents and the boys dad told me that the boy said he didn't do it... hello I saw him do it!!! So the dad doesn't think it is his son and I need to get my students straight. Ugh. Well, today the librarian caught them doing it and she was going to call the parents. Maybe he will believe me and her... probably not. The girls mom says she is a tomboy and would never do anything like that. Hello, you are a hoochie momma and your 5 year old is just like you... a tomboy? right. Yesterday, I told another little darling angel to go sit down and finish his work and he told me 'whatever'. I about blew my top. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt as he was walking off and had a few words with him. Seriously, these kids have no respect for ANYONE!! It is scary to think this is the future of America and the world. Is it bad that I can look at some of them and say: future jailbird, drug dealer, pregnant at 14 (or younger)? Most have such potential and talk about being doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, etc and I can see them doing it. They are the ones with parents that care and are active parents. Others say they want to be this or that and I pray that they can get out of the environment they are in and achieve those dreams and not repeat the cycle of life they are being brought up in. I know I am complaining a bit, but really I have grown to love each of them for who they are. I want them to be able to achieve their dreams and to succeed in all they do. I don't want them to fall victim of their environment, peers, family, or society. Some (most)days some of them make me nuts but everyday they make me smile. I love that I can yell, fuss, discipline them and they overlook that and still ask for hugs and tell me they love me and I am the best teacher ever. I have taken a line from the book Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and tell it to those that are having bad days (and to myself): Today was a rough day, tomorrow will be a better day. Teaching is tough, but I am trying my best to do what is best for them. I want school to be a fun and safe time for them. I want them to be able to be kids while they are in my care, they are only 5 and 6, but many have to deal with things that I wouldn't want to deal with once they leave school. I am glad I am able to have this experience, because it is nothing I have ever been around. I was raised in a completely different world from what many of my students are being brought up in. I don't just mean the times we live in either. I am thankful for the parents I have and for the the environment I was able to be brought up in. I am thankful for the love, support and understanding I received from my parents. I am thankful they were active parents that cared about my education and my well being.

I am sorry this has been so long and a bit of a rant at times. I promise to be a better blogger and not store it all up for once:) Thanks for listening or should I say reading! I love you all!

1 week and counting!

I am so super stoked for next Friday to be here! Why you ask? Well, I get an ENTIRE week off for Thanksgiving! Now for some this may not be a big deal, however, I HAVE NOT had a break from my darling little students in 10 weeks! Yes, no fall break, no early dismissal, no teacher workday, I didn't even call in sick (I know, I am dedicated), nothing. I love all 26 of their darling little personalities and all, but I am READY for a break!!!! I hope next week flies by!

Rock A Doodle Ranch

Last Friday, the kindergarten classes went on our first field trip. We went to Rock-A-Doodle Ranch. It is this (sorta) ranch like place and they have set up an educational/fun fieldtrip for the local schools. When you arrive, each class received a schedule. Our schedule consisted of 10 centers that you rotated through every 15 minutes. Pretty cool. Our first stop was the animals. Now I was expecting a little more,but ok this was not too bad. It was the first time some of my kids had seen a real live pig, goat, chicken and sheep. We learned about what the boy/girl/baby of each animal is called. We were able to look at the animals and pet the goats (through the fence). Only 4 or 5 of my kids would pet the goat, the rest were scared. And being kindergarteners, the only thing they wanted to talk about the animals was the way they smelled. Which led to many interesting questions. Seriously, I wonder what I have gotten myself into teaching kindergarten.

A face ONLY a mother (pig) could love.

Learning about the animals

Petting the goat

Checking out the pigs
From there we made bracelets with wool and beads...pretty cool. Then we learned about corn and received corn necklaces. What is a corn necklace? Well, it's an indian corn seed kernel in a tiny plastic bag with a wet cotton ball hanging from a piece a yarn. I was like oh, cool (yeah right) when I first saw it. However, I kept most of them and taped them to the window in my classroom and we now have indian corn stalks starting to bud. Now that is pretty cool. I have to buy some soil this weekend so we can plant them and watch them grow. Learning about corn.
From there we took a break on the playground

Yes, we are playing with corn kernels

Our next center was pretty cool. We made butter and got to eat it with crackers. All the shaking wore them out...hmmmm, maybe I should start doing this in class.

Shake, shake, shake the butter...."Ms Mason I am tired. Here you shake it for me"...

We have butter!!!!

Next, was the best center(in my opinion)! Hayride, corn maze and pumpkin patch!!!

A first for many (and maybe the only) hayride

Lost in the corn

I really don't think they were too impressed walking around in corn stalks

Proud of his pumpkin
We stopped for lunch and a little more time at the playground. Then we went to the corn gun center. We got to shot ears of corn out of this air powered gun contraption...it was by far the kids favorite part of the day!

The object was to shoot the ear of corn into the pig's mouth ... one got close the rest of us need some practice!
We must have spent too much time eating and playing on the playground at lunch because we missed out on the last two centers. But we did get to take home the rye grass seeds to grow in class. Here are my little ones...it's only 23 this day, 4 couldn't make it :(

Silly Kids!

Goblins, Ghost and Chickens??

Well, this is Bayou's first Halloween, and since I don't have kids, I am enjoying dressing my cat up in a costume. Really, I am not a fan of dressing up animals in costumes, at times it seems a little inhumane. However, when one finds a cat halloween costume at Dirt Cheap for only 25cents, it is really hard to pass up such a good bargain. Since I have spent a quarter of my hard earned money, I am not going to let it go to waste...I will subject my cat to wearing this costume!

Needless to say, she is NOT a fan of things on her head. I have attempted several times in the last week to get a picture of her wearing her costume, and most are of her running away and trying to get it off. However, today was my lucky day. She put up with me for about 5 mintues before throwing a fit to get it off.
So here she is ladies and gentlemen...
Bayou the Halloween Chicken!

She was done at this point and just wanted it off her head!

hmmm...

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

My Classroom

Well yall, I am finally posting pictures of my classroom... it has more to it since I took these, but this will give yall a little of hint of my home away from home...

Outside the room....September is apple month

A Thought I am Sharing With you....

Sadness is easier because it is surrender. I say make time to dance alone with one hand waving free. --Elizabethtown

Rockin Awesome Africa

My bestie sent me an email with the link for this video...

It's an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia... they sound AMAZING! I hope you ENJOY!!!

A tilt-shifted day in the life of Disney's "The Magic Kingdom"

This video is pretty amazing. I love Disney World!

Apartment Pictures

Finally, here are some pictures of my apartment ... with furniture!! I am still on the hunt for a bookshelf, dresser, night stand and a lamp for my living room. All things in due time, right. (I am thinking a trip to IKEA is in my near future to get the YELLOW linen cabinet I so desperately want (I think I will use it to put my books in) and a dresser - unless I find something at an antique store, garage sale or a flea market first). So my bedroom is still lined with boxes of books and a few other boxes. Oh well I am lucky and thankful to have the furniture I have. Oh I also need to buy a shower curtain (I am just using a liner for now) and a bath mat and some new towels...but all in time.
Here are the pictures enjoy...
My bedroom...will post new pics when I get the furniture I want :)
Bathroom...hasn't changed much...just a new liner...I will also post new pics when I get a new shower curtain and other accessories!
Dining/living area ... the couch is in the left corner (our of sight)
There it is! oh this was a great buy...it's a pull out bed too!
Fun and funky chair my mom recovered...I love the bead fringe (that I picked out)!
Dining room ... this set was originally a light oak and the chair seats were this woven wood stuff. My mom painted it for me and we found this fun fabric to recover (and pad) the chairs!
My computer desk...I think you can see the pattern on the dining room chair better here.
The fireplace. I am thinking a 32" flat screen or some fantastic piece of art would look great here. I found a small painting I like at the farmers market here in Belhaven... I am going to ask the artist to how much it would be to have it done in a 3'x3' canvas.
My tiny little kitchen. I utilized the peg board to hang my pots and hot chocolate mugs.

Introducing.... Bayou!

I would like to formally introduce yall to my new apartment mate...
Rotten Bayou...aka Bayou (pronounced by-you ... for those non southern folk)

Now you are probably wondering how I acquired this new apartment mate. Well, a couple of weeks after I moved in, I was coming into the building. My landlord, Henry, and Beverly (one of the ladies downstairs) were in the hallway talking. Henry was holding this kitten and asked if I wanted it. I asked permanently or temporally? He said he had a friend that would probably take it so temporally. I said ok and asked if I would have to pay the pet deposit if it ended up being more of a permanent. He laughed and said no. Sweet.

Let me tell you how Henry got his hands on this kitten. The girl down the hall from me, up and decided to move to Texas that same morning. Weird, but ok. She called Henry on her way out of town to tell him she moved out and to inform him that she left her two kittens at the building.
*let me speak my mind and say if you don't really want a pet for the long haul...DON'T GET ONE!
Henry found my new addition, but her friend has never been found.

So as you can probably now tell, the temporary turned into permanent. This is not a bad thing. But I wasn't quite ready for a pet. I was liking the freedom of being single. However, I do like the fact that when I walk in the door everyday, she is there to greet me and talks up a storm. Over Labor Day weekend, I decided to take her home, since I really didn't want to leave her home alone all weekend. She did great on the car ride and she and Kiwi (my Nana's cat were pretty much BFFs by the time we left on Monday). Here is Bayou enjoying the 3 hour car ride...
She slept almost the entire way there and back!

She is pretty much makes me laugh everyday. She is so playful and loves to play fetch with her toys...


Oh and she loves when I print something...


So yall, this is my new cat.

Labor Day Weekend

For the oh so welcomed long weekend, I headed down to the coast for the weekend. I mostly laid low, hanging out with some family. But mostly hanging out with my mom. I got home late Friday night, due to my stop in Sumrall. I mean I couldn't drive right by Leanne's house without stopping! And let's face it, our visits are never brief, even after 12+ years of a friendship. So by the time I got home on Friday, the night was shot and both my mom and I were ready for bed. On Saturday my mom had to work and I went shopping in Gulfport. I bought some ober foxy black dressy sandals at Hudson's for $4 a pair (whoop whoop - great deal!) and came really close to spending A LOT of money at Belks - they had an additional 50% off their clearance. However, I resisted and left there empty handed. I did browse Books A Million and Barnes and Nobels for many hours. I stopped by and visited with Kelly, Frankee and Jayden. Kelly texted me later that night and told me that as he was going to bed, Jayden told her "I love my Sara"...my heart melted... I love that cute red headed little boy. I went home and my mom and I went to dinner with Dwight. Good times. Sunday was the only full day my mom and I had together so we decided to drive into New Orleans. It rained the WHOLE way into the city. Luckily the sun appeared just as we were about to make our first stop and stayed away until we were walking back to the car at the end of our day...what luck!
Our first stop was this place we saw on Drive Ins, Diners and Dives on Food Network. It is called the Creole Creamery. Can I say YUMMY! I don't know what is up with me lately, but I have been craving ice cream. Maybe it's the job. The Creole Creamery is located at Upperline and Pyrtania in the Garden District/Uptown off of Napoleon (for those who want to go give it a whirl when they are in the Big Easy). It is in what used to be an old McKenzies Bakery...they still have the neon sign lit up on the front of the building.
My mom had a waffle cone filled with Bananas Foster ice cream and I had I scream fudge sundae. Oh my let me tell you about it... the cup was coated in fudge, with 2 scoops of I scream fudge ice cream, more fudge, chunks of dark dark chocolate, whipped cream and a cherry. I looked at it and chocolate coma came to mind. But I dove in...but I couldn't finish it. I am not the biggest chocolate fan either, but this is what I wanted...
Here is the inside of the shop...so cute...
And this was on the wall. I think it will be my new motto...
After that yummy lunch....er... treat, we headed down to the Quarter. We went to the French Market, went in and out of shops, looked at all the art hanging up in Jackson Square... then we headed back home. Here are some pictures from the Quarter...

Lazy afternoon at the Market

Good Eats

Do not put your hand in his mouth!

Some super yummy smelling candles made in New Orleans

An artist...

...and her art.

Voodoo Groove

The famous hearse covered in trinkets such as watches, happy meal toys, beads...you name it, it's glued on it!

Give a donation...get a postcard...awesome!

Who doesn't love nuns on a bike jammin some music?

Nothing like a good Drag Queen getting his/her groove on at the Daquari shop...seriously, we were walking by and I saw this out of the corner of my eye and had to stop and take a picture with yall... we saw him later on in Jackson Square too...his momma must be so proud

The rest of the weekend was quiet... I had a date and hung out with some more family. It was a good weekend over all!