Winner of the Imprint Mat

Head on over to Simply Staci Reviews to see who the lucky winner is!

Imprint Mat Giveaway

Wouldn't it be great to have one of these Imprint Mats in your house? Go to Simply Staci Reviews to find out how you can win one for free!

Saturday Stumbles

Here's what I stumbled this week: (and most of them are food!)

Smores Bars

 Pina Colada cupcakes

 White Chocolate Kit Kat blondies 

Zucchini Bites

 White Chocolate Blueberry blondies

 For more Saturday Stumbles, go visit Its Come To This.

Top Ten Tuesday - What's Kept Me Busy This Summer

This time of year is definitely one of the biggest perks of being a teacher!  My summer's are usually pretty busy.  I'm half way through my summer and things have finally started settling down.  So my top ten list is all the things that have kept me busy so far:

1. Camp Rocks

2. Brown-Looney-Thornton Reunion
     We haven't all been together in years.  They are very dear friends and we had so much fun spending time together.

3. Performing Arts Camp
   This is kind of like a vacation bible school but cooler!  The kids take performing arts type classes (drama, dancing, singing, acting, set design, etc) and work all week putting on a full length play that they perform at the end of the week.  Amanda and I taught several classes.  They were...uh...interesting.

This was our clowning class.  We loved it and the kids in it.  They cracked us up!

This class was a choreography class to one of the songs in the play.  This picture is crazy (kind of like the kids in it!).  The kids did really good with their choreography, but Amanda and I turned our backs for literally 5 seconds to discuss something and we turn around and they are literally climbing the walls.

4. Making my own deodarant
   After reading this post, I decided to try it out for myself.  I have to say that I'm happy with the outcome.  I left out the sea salt that she added, though because I don't sweat that much.

5. Movies
    I don't get out to see many movies unfortunately, but my old roommate and I (with her husband) went to see Date Night.  We loved it!  We laughed the whole time. 

6. Blueberry picking
   This was definitely a first for me!  My sister and I decided to go pick blueberries at Mercier Orchards and we loved it!  What we didn't love was the scorching temperatures.  Oh my gosh, it was so stinkin' hot!  The blueberries were delicious and they were huge!!  My little niece ate more than we picked.

7. Beach trip!
   It's not summer to me without a trip to the beach.  Our family goes to the beach every summer and we have been for over 20 years.  We always go with another family who I considered to be my extended family. 

8. Lots of pool time at my parent's house

So that brings me up to today.  I've got about another month left of my summer and still more stuff to do:
9. Two baby shower cakes and birthday cupcakes for my niece and nephew.
10.  Another possible mini vaca with one of my old college roommates!

For more Top Ten Tuesday, go visit OhAmanda.

Flashback Week

Today is the final day of Flashback Week here at Simply Staci.  For the rest of the Flashbacks, scroll back through the last 7 posts.  You're in for a real treat.

So this last picture is another birthday party picture that I actually threw myself!  I wanted to enter into my 30's with a bang!  And what better way than to do it disco style!

It was so much fun and guests were encouraged to dress up in their best 70's attire.  These are 3 guys that are all practically like little brothers to me.  In fact, the guy to my right, Wes, was in the first Flashback photo probably like 6 or 8 years old!

At my party, I had a photo op station, a kids area, and on the table were retro games like Connect 4, Etch-a-Sketches, Slinkies and Silly Putty.

Thanks for hanging out with me this week.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing some crazy pictures as much as I've enjoyed reminiscing.

Flashback Week

We're winding down Flashback Week here at Simply Staci.  Today we're gonna go back in time to the days of pirates and go-go dancers.  When was that?  Well, that was Halloween a few years ago!

This is myself and Amanda at our old church's annual Pumpkin Patch Party.  Don't really need any more description than that!  I will say, though, that I have gotten so much use out of those boots!  No lie!

Flashback Week

Today's Flashback takes us back to the college years.  To see earlier Flashbacks, scroll down below.

This picture was taken after a long, grueling, intense initiation for my sorority, Sigma Nu Sigma.

I didn't know these girls before that weekend, but going through everything we went through really bonded us in a way that I won't forget.  I absolutely loved being involved in a greek club at college.  I went to a small christian school, Lee University, so I know our initiation must have been a walk in the park compared to some of them out there.  We had so much fun, though!  Well, I can say that now that it's been almost 10 years!  Believe it or not, I actually still keep up with almost all of them.

Can you spot me?  I'm on the back row with the dark hair.

More Flashbacks headed your way!

Flashback Week

Moving on through the portals of time...

Today's flashback is a doozie!

This was my best friend's 16th birthday party.  We got all dressed (in dresses we found in the attic of our church...no lie) and went downtown to eat.

Sooooo many things worth commenting on in this picture.  We'll start left to right...

• This is yours truly.  Oh to be that skinny again!  The sleeves are so big and puffy I'm surprised I didn't take flight!  The hair...really?  I couldn't have done something with it?
• In the middle is Amanda.  Please notice her hemline...the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  The white hose that perfectly match the white complexion of ALL of us!  But I think the wide rimmed glasses top it all off!
• Finally there's Mandi.  The hairstyle is out of this world.  I need to get the name of that hairdresser!  Her and Amanda must have gone eye glass shopping together.  But the classiness is the brown hose with cream shoes!  

Ahh...we were stylin'!  Scroll down to see more Flashbacks and don't worry...there's still more to come!

Flashback Week

We are half-way through Flashback Week here at Simply Staci.  Scroll down to see the other days you've missed.  You'll be glad you did!

This picture is very sentimental to me.  We were at our youth group's Back-to-School retreat.  From left to right the girls are Mandi, Amanda, and me.  The man is Matt Willetts.  He was our church's associate pastor. 

Matt was not at our church very long, but in the short time he was, he took the 3 of us under his wing.  He was probably the funniest man I've ever met, and had us laughing all the time!  Matt passed away about 4 months later from cancer.  I think about him often and miss him deeply.

But I remember him every year on his birthday, March 4, because he said it was the one day soldiers hated..."march forth!"

More Flashbacks to come!

Flashback Week

This week I'll be taking a trip down memory lane in old pictures.  Scroll down to see yesterday's.

Today's picture is truly a blast from the past!  I remember this like it was yesterday.  It was my 16th birthday and my parents had thrown me a surprise party.  To this day it was one of my most favorite birthdays of all! 

Introductions:  From left to right we have Mandy, Kristen, Mandi, Amanda, Me, Bethany, and Becky.  We have all been lifelong friends.  That is so rare and that's why I truly love these girls!  With the exception of Bethany, the rest of us stay in regular touch with each other.  We go on trips, girls nights out, and have an all around good time!

Ok, now on to the picture.  There are several things to point out here:

• The hair - apparently dark hair was in.  Or maybe it was just au natural.
• The biggness of the clothes - The bigger, the better.  Nothing that showed you actually had shape!
• How high are my jeans??
• We all just look like we're having a good time! (except for Mandi's poor hand being crumpled up).

Stay tune for tomorrow's Flashback!

Flashback Week

If there's one thing I love, it's sharing old stories!  Songs, smells, sayings...all can take me back in a second and I have such great memories of growing up.

So this week, I want to share some of those with you.  Each day will be be a different picture...and you just might see yourself in it!

This is probably the oldest one.  It's Easter Sunday at my old church.  This picture wasn't actually taken at the church because we were in the middle of building a new church and in the mean time held services at a local high school.  Every Sunday morning, my dad and several other men of the church would have to roll out huge carpet rolls, set up chairs, sound equipment, choir risers, sunday school rooms...an entire church!

In this picture is me (pink dress with enormous pilgrim collar), my sister (in country blue with enormous ruffles) and my 2 younger brothers in front of us.  Clint is covering his eyes from the sun and Matt is looking off into space.  The other 2 boys are some dear family friends of ours.  They are practically like brothers to me.  Paul (in the back) and Wes (struttin' his stuff in the front).

Stay tuned for more flashbacks tomorrow!

Photo Meme Game

My friend Jenn from {delightfully.cliche.} tagged me in this fun photo meme game.

 This is me and my old roommate, Amber.  We were at Screen on the Green at Centennial Park.  It's where they play movies in the park during the summer.

Go to the 8th folder where you store your photos, select the 8th photo, post it to your blog and tell the story, then tag 8 other people to do the same!

So, I tag...


~Lauren from Walk with me on this journey called life
~Aishlea from Excursions of the Spurgins
~Kristin from Deeply in Love 
~Leigh from HopefulLeigh
~Josie
~Rebekah from Rebekah's Bits & Pieces
~Sarah from The Stephens Family
~Jayme from Stripes, Dots, & What Nots!

Saturday Stumbles

Here's what I stumbled this week:

Make Some Tracks: Next time your kids say they're bored, this will be the perfect cure!

Flag Cake: Easy trick to design any cake.

Birthday Book: Love this birthday book idea for your kids each year.

Memory book: Cute book to chronicle the year.

Survivor Party: How fun is this Survivor party for you and your friends?!

Linked to Its Come To This.