Saturday, May 28, 2011

Saturday Stumbles

Let the summer begin!!  Friday was the last day of school...oh happy day :)

Now onto the stumbles.

Paperboard Mystery Message
What a fun message to receive in the mail!


Marble Race
This will probably be making an appearance with my nieces and nephews sometime this summer!
BLT Lettuce Wraps
I really need to just put myself on a diet of lettuce right now, but I'm thinking I like this lettuce recipe better :)

Paper Quilled Earrings
These are made of paper!  They are beautiful, but a little intimidating.


Alright, let's hear it!  What are your stumbles this week?  If you're new, welcome!  Check out the guidelines then link up below.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Pajamas for Kelly

Photobucket
A few weeks ago, Kelly was your everyday mommy blogger: a frugal, vegetarian, natural and green living, PhD student, living in Mississippi with her husband and almost two-year-old son, Simon. When her vision started blurring, Kelly thought she needed some more sleep and less time at the library staring at a computer screen.

As her vision worsened, however, Kelly underwent medical tests and found out she has a rare type of brain tumor sitting on her optic nerve. She will travel to Johns Hopkins next week for consultation and surgery. In the best case scenario, Kelly will be in the hospital for five days and recovering nearby for two weeks. If the surgery is less successful, Kelly will lose her eyesight. She would need to stay in Baltimore at least a month to go to rehab and learn to live as a blind woman.

I have never met Kelly.

She is a friend of a close friend of mine.

But Kelly could be me.

She is 29 years old and has a toddler. 

I can't even imagine what she is going through right now.

The Plan:  
A group of us want to help Kelly have the most comfortable hospital stay and recovery possible. We're asking if you would consider donating just $3 by clicking on the "donate" button. The money will be used to fulfill Kelly's wish of having some wonderful, new, comfy pajamas for her time in Baltimore. We're hoping to have enough to throw in a gift card to Trader Joe's, so her husband can buy some prepared foods for their family that fit with their dietary preferences.  Will you help by pitching in $3? We'll let you know on Monday how much has been raised!


Aside from the money we raise, there are several online businesses helping us out too.  Moxie Mandie and Twiggie Makes are both donating portions of their proceeds to help Kelly.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Quick & Easy Teacher Gifts

I'm just about to wrap up my 9th year of teaching middle school. That’s 9 rounds of Christmas & End of the Year gifts. Throughout that time, I’ve gotten some…um…interesting gifts!

These are merely some suggestions. Middle school presents a whole new set of circumstances. In elementary school kids have 1 or 2 teachers all day, but when they get to middle school they can have up to 8 different teachers! I know it’s overwhelming and can really add up…but it doesn’t have to!

Here’s a few tips to help you out:

* DON’T feel like you have to buy for every teacher. One option is to spend a little more money on those teachers you feel put a little extra effort into your child and something smaller for the rest of them.
* DON’T, for the love, give us a-noth-er mug!! (Oh, and filling it up with candy doesn’t make it any better!)
* DON’T give us a whole bag of candy or chocolate. Unless it’s a specific kind of candy or chocolate you KNOW your teacher loves, don’t assume we want to gorge ourselves on a bag of candy.
* DO consider a nice, handwritten letter. One of my favorite gifts I got at Christmas was from a parent who wrote me a note in a card about how much I helped her daughter ease into middle school and helped her self confidence in science. I treasure that validation as a teacher.
* For future years, DO study and take note of of your teacher … either at an open house, a parent-teacher conferences, or just volunteering in the class. If you’ve never seen her wear any kind of pendant or brooch, then don’t assume she’d love a cubic zirconium, purple bird pin. Does she wear bracelets? Bows or ribbons in her hair?

With the last week of school being this week, here are some quick and easy gift ideas:

1. GIFT CARDS
Honestly, you just can’t wrong with these. Ice cream card, gas card, grocery card, office supply card, iTunes, Target or Wal-Mart card. Honestly, any gift card you give will probably be spent on classroom anyways, so it’s an investment. My all time favorite gifts are Starbucks gift cards. Don’t feel bad for getting your teacher a $5 gift card. Chances are, someone else will too so they add up!

2. PAPER REAM
All teachers need paper. Why not spice it up and let your child pick out their favorite color.


3. KITCHEN GADGETS
Who doesn’t love kitchen gadgets? Why not put a bow on a nice grater with a note: Thanks for being a “grate” teacher.

4. EARRINGS
This one walks a fine line. If your child’s teacher is young and dresses fashionable, then a pair of earrings from Forever 21, Charlotte Ruse , or Charming Charlie would be a hit.

5. FLIP FLOPS
How cute would it be to dress up a $2 pair of flip flops from Old Navy with a bow tied at the top?  I keep a pair of old, ragged flip flops under my desk for those days that I just can’t make it in my heels!

6. UMBRELLA
There’s nothing worse than walking out of the building after a long day, seeing the rain and realizing you’ve left your umbrella in the car!  Between the carpool lane and the bus lane, we usually get stuck parking far away from the building, so on those rainy days it really stinks to forget your umbrella.  A teacher would love to have a cute umbrella that she could keep in her room for such days.


7. HOMEMADE GOODIES ON A CUTE PLATE
You can get some really cute, cheap plates at Crate & Barrell or even Target.


8. MAGNETIC BOOKMARK
Don’t negate practicality. I got one of these one year and use it to keep my place in my teacher’s edition book.
9. PENCIL VASE
I got one of these my first year teaching and still put it on my desk every year. Using colored pencils would be a cute variation, too.
 10. CLIPBOARD
 Here's a great tutorial for making an ordinary (and cheap!) clipboard look worth much more than what you actually paid for it. 

 I hope this helps and alleviates any stress or concern about those end of the year gifts.  Honestly, we will appreciate anything you get us. I certainly didn’t go into teaching for the end of the year gifts! I love what I do and want to be the best teacher I can be.  I won’t love your child any less if you get me a “World’s Best Teacher” mug filled with leftover Halloween candy…just don’t be surprised if you see it in a garage sale!

This post is linked to Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Saturday Stumbles

Here we are at another weekend!  I've got my cousin's wedding to go on Saturday, so I'm excited about that!  I'm making the groom's cake...red velvet. 

My stumbles this week are all, once again, food.  I'm thinking next week, I should stumble diets!!

Bloomin' Onion Bread - Think Outback's Boomin' Onion...only using bread.  Yum!

Strawberry Lemon Limeade - This just screams summer!
Santa Fe Chicken Salad Wrap

Cilantro Lime Black Bean Panini


Are you hungry yet?

Link up below!  New?  Check the guidelines.  Regular?  Thanks.  Browsing?  Welcome :)

Friday, May 13, 2011

Saturday Stumbles

Welcome to the weekend! I hope you came across some good things this week.

What a great gift for a mom or grandmother.

It's amazing to me how clothes, even though they're the same size, can fit so differently. These are some great tips to fix those long pants or loose straps.

Now, I love me a good themed party, but I don't know if I'd have the guts to pull this one off, but I sure do love all the details that have gone into this.

With a name like that, it's gotta be good, right?!

I'm new to "fluffer nutter" and can't wait to try it!

Alright, let's see your stumbles!  Check the guidelines if you're a newbie and if you're not...then welcome back!  It's been kind of slow the last couple of weeks so let's spread the word and get all the stumbles we can!!  Have a great weekend!

Friday, May 06, 2011

Saturday Stumbles



My stumbling was pretty light this week because I was finishing up a major project for one of my classes that was due on Wednesday. Ugh! But now it's done!!! YAY!

I've just got a couple crafty posts for ya today.

Flip Flop back straps
Genius. Yet so incredibly simple. Too bad I don't sew.
6 ways to recycle an old t-shirt
I hate throwing old clothes out, but love the idea of reusing them for parts!


Alright stumblers, you know the drill. But just in case you ARE new around here, check out the guidelines then link up below.

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