Five

5 Things I Want to Share:

1.  Last week due to my overall abandonment of my laundry I decided to try on some pants that I hadn't for a while on a whim.  I had no idea they would fit.  Get this - I have been a size 9 or 11 for at least four years now.  Sometimes an 8.  These were a SIZE SIX! Woohoo!! Score! (and they were work pants - and that in itself should be an extra excitement because they are higher waisted and tighter on the bum so more of a challenge).

2. I had my makeup and hair trials and they went great.  I switched the people I'm working with last minute due to some disagreements and snarki-ness on their part, and I'm glad I did.  The two girls I have now are fantastic and I know they will help us look beautiful on the big day!

3. Speaking of the big day, 53 days to go.  Oh. My. God.  I just showed Dan the calendar - we are almost done February...then we have the month of March, and then just about two weeks.  That's it.  It's so close!

4. I have such mixed feelings about paying for this wedding.  I have always been very independent financially and have paid for everything of my own since I was in highschool (but didn't start paying rent until after college).  So to say that we are paying for it all ourselves is exciting to me because I feel a great deal of pride knowing that we are doing it on our own.  I also want to whine every time I see the Google Doc I have made with every expense that we have put towards this wedding (literally - EVERY expense down to the last penny).  When all is said and done, I'm so happy that 1) We are only getting married once because it's not cheap! lol and 2) We are doing it together. 

5. The smartest thing we could have ever done is Honeyfund!  The bridal shower gifts helped pay a HUGE chunk of our honeymoon already! That combined with a generous gift from our awesome brother in law/sister and law and a gift from my grandmother we have made serious headway with our honeymoon balance.  It's great! On the days that I am overwhelmed about what we still have to do or anxious about who is judging how we are doing our wedding (I try as hard as I can to not care, but easier said than done), I just picture us on the beaches of St. Thomas and St. John! I am sooooo excited for our first vacation as Mr. and Mrs.! 

I hope all of you have been staying warm and dry with this insane weather!

Woohoo!

I've gotten a lot done for the wedding lately!

• I bought most of the decorations for the centerpieces
• I also started buying some of the decorations for the mantlepieces (there are 3 fireplaces that I need to decorate!)
• I got all the materials to make a card box together - I'm excited because Dan asked to help with a craft so we can do it together! 

Card box supplies!

This is from pinterest - my inspiration :) 

• I got the decorations for the table that Dan and I are sitting at as well
• I researched songs for our first dance, the song I'll be walking in on, and the song the bridal party will be walking in - pretty sure I know which ones but I have to finalize with Dan first 
• I looked into possible rehearsal dinner locations - turns out they are more affordable than I thought. I found a cool restaurant nearby that has yummy food (I've been there before which helps) and that's BYOB which will help us save a bit.  I'm waiting to hear back from them about whether or not they do pre-fixed menus for big parties.
• I contacted my hair/makeup lady to book the makeup and hair trial for me
• I started cutting the wine bottles for our centerpieces.  I finally figured out how to do it well! It didn't work well with the darker colored bottles, but I only need the clear ones for the tables anyways, so that's ok! I used the scoring tool I got on Amazon to make a light score on the bottom of the bottle.  Then I dipped it in boiling hot water and then right into cold water with lots of ice.  I repeated the dipping about four times and the bottle just popped right off! The scoring tool came with a glass polishing paper so I used that to sand down the edges, but it looked really clean cut! 

And aside from the wedding, Dan and I went and got our tree on Saturday! We also managed to put all the Fall decorations away, take out all the Christmas decorations out, and rake all the leaves on our deck! Awesome!

'Tis the season!

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! :)

DIY

So Dan and I are going to get all DIY up in here! Woo!

I found this great tutorial on how to cut a glass bottle cleanly and without a saw! Boom! Safe and easy!

This is the tutorial: http://makezine.com/2010/03/08/how-to-cut-a-wine-bottle-in-30-seco/
This is the glass scoring tool I bought on Amazon for $19: http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Green-g2-Bottle-Cutter/dp/B004ZRV3AU/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1377051614&sr=1-1 

This is why we want to cut wine bottles...

So I want to try it with a clear bottle and also a black/really dark one and see which one I like better.  Since my colors are gray and purple and the table clothes will be gray, I'm thinking it might look cool to  get a purple candle to go inside of a clear bottle.  We are going to do some testers so we shall see! :)

I'm excited! My ideas for the centerpieces are finally coming together.

I had a meeting with the venue event planner today and it went really well.  She seemed surprised (and a tad bit judge-y) at some of my answers regarding traditions that everyone does that we're not (i.e. garter toss, place cards, and cutting the cake).  Oh well, lady! It's my wedding! I'll do what I want!

So here are major to-do list items we have crossed off recently:

• Find an officiant - We found a WONDERFUL one! We love him!! BONUS: He's an elementary band director! This is great because Dan and I met in band! It's fate!
• Create a wedding website - Done! (I won't publish until we finish both registries).
• Finish Honeyfund registry - Done!
• Find dress - I GOT MY DRESS!! Wooohooo!! It's perfect and I didn't want to take it off! Yay!

Next to-do items:

• Finish BBB registry - we are purposely keeping this small to encourage people to go to the honeyfund registry instead.  We have been living together for two years and we really don't want more house items.  We would rather have an amazing trip together!
• Get hotel block and talk to hotel about room for me, bridesmaids and bridesman to get ready in.
• Take Engagement Photos - We are doing this in the next two or three weeks in Ellicott City. 
• Send out Save the Dates.
• Start DIY projects - wine bottles and chalkboards.
• Talk with a travel agent about honeymoon/shop around for deals

School started this week for staff.  Students come back next week.  I'm glad that I have the major vendor decisions taken care of for the wedding since I won't have a lot of extra time to do that during the school year.

:) Peace out!

Stoked!

I've realized how much I use "awesome," "excited," and "super" in my speech/writing.  I tell my students all the time to broaden their vocabulary, so I thought I would!

Hence the title..

Courtesy of Urban Dictionary - Thought this was fitting :)

So before I chose stoked, I had excited in mind and when I went to find a picture from Google, I loved the combination of them all!  So I took a screen shot instead. 

Haha I love this!
*note - I know the little girl in red is in there twice, but that's ok.  She's just REALLY excited.

So anyways, I'm stoked/excited/thrilled/pumped/happy* BECAUSE
We booked 2 photographers and a Dj last night!! 

Thanks to a fantastic recommendation from my future sis-in-law (shout-out to E! woo woo!) we found The Pros, a company that hosts several services including photo, video, dj, and photobooths.  Score! Their prices are absolutely unbelievably cheap, their reviews are are off the charts, and they had a showcase last night that included demonstration of services/products with prizes.  Sounds too good to be true, right? So far I'm really impressed.  I got TWO photographers (the main one has won awards for the State and is the best in the company!) and a Dj who told me she would make sure everyone left with a smile on our day! She was the only dj to have us do the cupid shuffle last night! She actually got us up and moving and she was hilarious! Perfect!

Ok so I need to go to bed and don't want to write too much more, but here are the major things left:

*Rings - haven't thought much about these yet
*Officiant - working on it 
*Dress Shopping - scheduled!
*Tasting - choosing menu 
*Tasting - choosing cupcake flavors -- MMmmm
*Engagement Photos - working on it! 


:) Have a great night/morning! Happy Weekend!


*Ok, just one more screen shot of urban dictionary - when I looked up happy. Bah ha!

Wedding To-Do Lists

First let's start off with what I have gotten done, so that I won't feel as overwhelmed! I have gotten some things out of the way, which is good.  I'm not anywhere close to being completely planned, but hey! It's a start.

Done:

• Chose bridal party - I have 7 and he has 4; we have a ring bearer and a flower girl.  We are trying to figure out a way to incorporate Codden (our dog) but we're not sure yet.
• Chose wedding colors - shades of purple and gray
• Chose venue for reception and ceremony - Overhills Mansion
• We discussed our budget together (we = Dan and I)
• Chose our photographer for our engagement photos (My co-worker offered his services for free! Woo!)
• Started researching and contacting possible vendors for flowers, hair/make-up, and photography
• Set a maximum guest list number - 100 
• Set up excel for guest list with contact information
• Created a Wedding binder
• Started looking at wedding dresses online to get an idea
• Started thinking about what the reception decor would look like
• Researched some bakeries in the area for cupcakes

I would like to get these things done within the next couple weeks:

• Finalize the guest list with Dan
• Finish adding the contact information to the guest list in excel
• Meet with a possible florist about pricing
• Find some more possible photographers and set a budget for photography
• Finalize the centerpiece design
• Finalize who is doing the cupcakes/put a deposit down
• Find invitations/save the dates that I like and set a budget for that

In the next month or two:

• Go wedding dress shopping ... oh god! I am not looking forward to seeing what size I would be right now.  I've been losing weight lately so I should be at least a little smaller by then but we shall see. I know it's weird but as much as I love to be around people I'm a little apprehensive to have a ton of girls/moms with me too.  Call me crazy but I also kind-of want my dress to be a bit of a surprise for everyone.  I don't want it to be passed around via cell phone before the big day so that everyone knows what it looks like. Maybe I can be stealthy and take one or two friends and then just tell everyone else the shape of it? Let them know I want it to be a surprise...?
• Get color swatches for my bridesmaids so they can keep their eye out for possible dresses in those colors.

I have a lot to do, but I also feel like I'm getting a lot done.  Other than major decisions, Dan is pretty awesome about leaving most of the planning to me.  Because I'm neurotic and need opinions I ask him about everything anyways, but he always says ok to it all anyways.  :) He trusts me.  Not to get too mushy, but the other day he said something along the lines of 'I'm just glad I get you. Everything else doesn't really matter.'  So sweet...and so true! At the end of the day, it's a celebration of deciding to be together forever and having some fun while doing so.

Favorite Beauty Tips

My favorite beauty tips:

*If you use acne medication like I do, or just have dry skin, I’m sure you’re familiar with having your skin on your face get flaky.  Although the initial response is to just scratch of the little pieces of skin, I’ve found a better way! I read this somewhere and now do it all the time.  So you put a little bit of lotion (non-scented) on a washcloth and then use that to scrub gently on the part of your face that is flaky.  It takes off the pieces of skin that are flaking off, and puts moisture back into the skin at the same time! Because you’re basically exfoliating, it might be a little pink right after but it usually goes away within five minutes.

*I have really oily skin so I love using those oil-blotting sheets. But if you don’t have any nearby, the brown napkins that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts have work just as well! They blot away oil from your face without ruining your makeup! It’s easy! And you didn’t pay for them. Score!

*Always use eyeshadow primer! It makes a huge difference! Your eyeshadow lasts longer, it doesn’t crease, and the color looks way better.  When I first tried this, I used the too faced version but found that my eye lids were still oily.  Now I use the Urban Decay one (it’s called eyeshadow primer potion) and I absolutely love it.  I use it even when I don’t wear eyeshadow because it helps soak up any oil on my eyes so well, which helps keep eye liner smudging down to a minimum.

*Wash or clean your makeup brushes.  I know this might sound silly, but think about it…if you’re using those brushes to put makeup on skin with acne, bacteria, oil, and dirt on it, than you’re basically re-applying all of that onto your skin the next time you use them.  Since I’ve started cleaning my brushes, I’ve noticed a difference in the amount of acne I have.  I also notice a difference in how well the brush picks up powders.  I use a brush spray from Sephora that works really well.  I don’t do it every day, but maybe once every two weeks or so.  It’s really

easy and completely worth it.

*Drink a ton of water! The weeks that I’m really good with drinking water all day are the times when my skin looks the best!  Also changing the pillow cases often helps too.

*If you have hair that gets tangled a lot, try using Itsa10 with keratin.  This stuff works wonders! It makes your hair super soft, de-tangled, and less frizzy! I use it almost every day.

*If you ever run out of shaving cream and need something to shave with try using aloe vera gel (the kind that you use for sunburns) or conditioner.  They work just as well and leave your skin soft.  Just make sure you don’t shave right away.  Let the steam open up your pores a little bit first before shaving.  That will help prevent razor burn.

 What are your favorite beauty tips and tricks?

Busy Bee

**Stupid blogger won't take off the white highlight behind my text! Sorry if it hurts your eyes to read this!

Yep.

I have been a bit MIA lately because I have been so flippin' busy!

List time! 

Why I've been such a busy bee:

*Work-- Spring time is the busiest time for 5th grade teachers! We have field trips galore, the simulated congressional hearings (which we study and work on for a month and a half), articulation with two different middle schools, the moving up ceremony and preparation for it, puberty education, and trying to get the rest of the curriculum taught in the meantime.  It's crazytown!  At least puberty education is entertaining!  One of the boys asked how long and big "it" actually gets to be (they used the term "maximum height and length"! Haha.  I guess the fascination with their genitalia starts young!

*Grad School -- Groooooaaann! My research class is kicking my butt and it sucks!! It's a lot of work, and every stinkin' little point counts! I have an 89% in the class.  How annoying! I would rather have a solid B, or a solid A. Not a freakin' B+! What a tease! I still have one more assignment left and an extra credit assignment too.  I'm hoping they can help me out with getting that A.

*Thirty-One -- I have been working SO hard to make my goals.  The first goal was to get the Ready, Set, Sell incentive.  I set my sights on the $500 goal (if you sell $500 in the first two weeks of April you get some free products).  BUT somehow I managed to pull off the $1,000 goal which got me more products for free! BAM! I also wanted to make it to the silver level for the National Conference incentive.  I am currently at the bronze level which means that I had a good chunk of the conference fees paid for and I also get a special kit of free products.  That level was for if you sold $4,000 from January to April.  Well, if you sell $8,000 in that time frame you can get to the silver level which gets you an additional $100 cash card to spend at the conference on whatever you want as well as special "perks."  Well after having two parties re-schedule last minute, I didn't think I'd make it. But I wanted it so badly, so I started offering lots of incentives to my customers and it worked!  I offered free shipping for two weeks.  I also offered an additional deal all day yesterday - a different one each hour...and I got 4 orders from it! SCORE!  So with those orders I was able to help out one of my hostesses...our goal was to get her party to at least $600 which we weren't sure we could do.  Well now it's at $850! Yeah baby! I freakin' love this job.

Why is it that I always find my energy late at night? I've been tired alllll day and now all of a sudden I want to stay up late and get more things done! Ugh! Figures!

Have a great night!

Sunday Scoop

Ha! Some of my favorite shows are on Sunday nights, and I am always willing to stay up late to watch them!

Recap of this weekend in list form (my favorite kind of form!):

• I had to buy new tires RIGHT after I had just paid a big bill for my credit card that I was excited about.  I'm pretty sure that my bank account tells the universe when there's money in there so that I can have yet another expense! AND this is during the most expensive month of my life...car insurance time (I pay twice a year so they are big payments), moving time (helloooo security deposit and first month's rent at the same time), target trips to get stuff for moving (cleaning supplies, curtain for the kitchen, extension cords, etc.) Oh and get this! I only need two tires, but since Costco's policy is that I can only buy 4 at a time because of the type of car I have, I had to buy 4! I know you're probably wondering why I didn't just go somewhere else...it's for peace of mind.  They have a 90,000 warranty on their tires! You can get them rotated for free at ANY time you want and they're really good about replacing them.   I've never had any trouble with them with tires; they are very reliable.
•  Procrastination at its best! I am procrastinating right now as I type, actually! I have a paper to write and studying to do for my research grad class tomorrow and haven't done anything for them yet! I'm not normally this late with it, but I just refused to spend my Spring Break doing grad work on TOP of moving, unpacking, and getting everything settled at the house.  So I don't feel very bad about it.  I'll regret losing most of today for it, but let's be real...our professor told us this paper is worth ONE point.  So if we turn something in at all, we get it.  Um, hello?! She might as well have told me to BS it even more than I was going to. Ha!
• Last night Dan and I made breakfast for dinner and then I made pumpkin bread for dessert just because I felt like it.  I happen to love both of those things so the combination in one night was glorious!
• I started this cinnamon/honey drink thing last night.  I have been doing a lot of reading on it and also saw some interesting doctor articles about it, so I thought I would give it a try.  It's supposed to be mainly for weight loss, but the two ingredients on their own have a lot of nutritional benefits on their own as well.  This includes maintaining a healthy immune system, help with acne, having antioxidants, reducing cholesterol, indigestion, energy, and the list goes on! I figured even if I don't lose weight with this, it's great for me otherwise! AND I happen to love anything that tastes like cinnamon and I also love honey (although this is my first time with raw honey) so it's a win-win.  So far, I like it.  I wish I could drink it warm though, drinking it luke warm or cold is not as pleasant.  But from what I've read, it's better that way because if it's hot than the honey loses its nutrients faster. Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.thedoctorstv.com/melissaw72/posts/4475-Weight-Loss

• I got my hair done on Saturday.  I was really excited about it because I had decided to save some money and instead of get a haircut that I don't really need or highlights/low lights, I would just get one all over color which is cheaper.  WELL it turns out that I didn't factor in that my stylist is apparently more highly trained and can charge higher than others (not sure how I missed that one - I've been going to her for a while now) and the blow-dry charge of $25 which is absolutely ridiculous.  So in order to save, I would need to leave the salon with wet hair, not knowing how my hair turned out?! Well, anyways long story short...my hair looks great.  My wallet does not.

I'm going to try and work on getting some grad work done now...

maybe.

Or maybe I'll go finish my closet upstairs! It's the last thing I have to unpack.  Normally it's the first thing, but I guess since I haven't had to worry about where my work clothes are this past week, it was not my immediate venture.

Happy Weekend!

Link Up Part 2!

1. If calories didn't count, I would eat... French fries! I would probably eat them every single day. God, I love those things!

2. On my Prom night... I went with a guy who supposedly really liked me even though he spent most of the night dancing with his ex instead of me. Awesome! I had a great dress, got my nails done for the first time (acrylics), and did my own hair.  I looked great and he didn’t even notice! Jerk! 

3. When I go to the store, I always buy... lean cuisines.  They are a life saver to this teacher in the mornings when I realized I was up too late the night before on the computer and didn’t make my lunch for work.  Lean cuisines are delicious, supposedly healthy, and don’t require work on my part. Score!

4. Family functions typically... include a butt load of people! We have a big family.  My mom has 5 brothers and sisters and then there are cousins, family friends that we call “aunt” or “uncle” even though biologically they are not, etc.  There’s also a LOT of food. Ooooooh yeah.

5. I think my blog readers... are probably the people I tell all of this stuff too anyways, but read it anyways because it comes to their email or iphone, so why not? J

6. I'd much rather be... a classroom decorator.  No, it’s not a real thing but I wish it was! I love getting the classroom ready in the beginning of the year and I would love to help other teachers do it and get paid lots of money. Just sayin

7. I have an obsession with... Target, my Thirty-One business, fun office supplies such as hot pink post-it notes or purple ink pens, watching any of the Housewives reality shows, and anything with polka dots on it. OH! Also wearing flip flops, which I get to do soon hopefully! Come onnnnnnn warm weather!

8. My work friends... and I have highly inappropriate jokes and conversations at lunch time.  Seriously, we have to check the area all the time to make sure parents or students aren’t around while we’re at lunch. I won’t go into the details but let’s just say a lot of it is R rated and requires the constant use of “That’s What She Said.”

9. When I created my Facebook account...  I thought I was going to get rid of it after college since that was when it was only for college kids.  I figured I would be more loyal to MySpace.  I thought wrong!

10. My least favorite word is... moist and the word that starts with a p to describe lady parts.  I don’t ever say either out loud. What’s even worse is the combination of the two! Gross! I’m shuddering right now just thinking about it.

11. I really don't remember... some of the names of my past students.  Most of the time I do, but there are some faces that I know really well and I can randomly come up with the letter that their name starts with, but if it's been years it's hard to remember sometimes!

12. Justin Bieber... kind-of reminds me of my brother! Not exactly like him, but some of their facial expressions look alike to me.  See below. Do you see it? Or am I crazy?

Thanks for the link-up! I know I’m too late to be in the raffle, but I have so much fun filling out these sentence starters! Thanks to Jake and Holly!

Motivated!

So what they had said about the Thirty-One conference was true!

• I got LOTS of free stuff! I counted up the value of it all, and it's over $400 worth! Awesome!
• There were a TON of women there! About 14,000 of them, believe it or not!
• After going, I am super motivated for my business. Wanna know how motivated? I had a thirty-one party the very next day at my house and sold over $1,000 for just that party! Then I had another party a couple days later and sold over $600! Sweet! 
• I've already booked some more shows, done some email things here to some customers, and in a couple weeks I plan on mailing out some new catalogs to get the buzz going on the new products and prints.   
• Being there was so exciting, and completely worth it! I am so glad that I decided to go, although I still don't like to fly.  Ah well. 

Seeing the salary scales that are possible with this company was so surreal.  There is a lady who made $943,000 in commission last year! Holy crap! This company is the definition of the pyramid idea, and as you make your way up, the people under you help you make even more money.  It's pretty great, if you ask me.  I couldn't be more excited about that, because I have two girls who want to sign up under me in the next week or so! I really hope they do, because when they do (and qualify with a certain amount of sales) I will start making 2% off of each of their sales, in addition to the 25% of my own sales that I already get.

 I just love this job!

27x27

I know a lot of bloggers do this, and I've always thought it'd be kinda cool to do.  So I'm doing it...

I'm hoping that I can get these things done by October 7th, which leaves me about 4 months.  I already have a few of them under way.  Wish me luck! :)

Yo

So let's see, what's new:

• School is out
• Summer School starts on Monday
• I have spent the past 2 weeks relaxing, doing a lot of 31 stuff, and sleeping in. It has been glorious.  I also got to spend some time with Baby Fin and also Kins and Parker! :)
•  It soooo flippin' hot outside! I'm a bit worried that if it's this hot in June, that we will all be melting by the time August rolls around.
• I am teaching 6th graders for the first part of the day for Summer School and then first and second graders for the second half of the day.  It will be interesting! And exhausting!
• I'm going to try and walk around the lake every day after school with two of my co-workers.  One loop around is around two miles, so I'm hoping that a lot of that will help me lose some weight! 
• Tomorrow is wine day with Chris and Erin!  The 4 of us are going to a couple wineries in Northern Virginia tomorrow all day!  We are bringing snacks along and we're making a whole day out of it.  I'm really excited about it.
• 31 has been going really well.  I did really well last month (I sold over $2100! Bam!) but of course there's always room for improvement.  In the next couple weeks I plan on reaching out to my neighbors with some mini catalogs and my business cards, starting some more catalog parties, talking to my summer school staff, and also trying to find some vendor events to do.
• I start my master's this Fall! OMG.  Ok, that's enough about that.  I don't want to think about it yet!

 Ok, well I know that was incredibly sporadic and random, but that's me for right now!

Enjoy the weather and have a great weekend! :)

Lots of Updating to do...

I'm a list lover, so let's make this post list-alicious :)

Bf Update:

• D and I are still doing well, living together.  However, this house is much too small for us.  We need our own office space.  If he scoots his chair back, he runs into me.  Hopefully the next place we move into will have more room for us.
• We're about to go to Puerto Rico tomorrow for a week! We're really excited.  I had to go to the Minute Clinic this morning and it turns out what I thought was just my usual allergies, is a sinus infection that I've had for a little while. Yuck! At least I have some meds to help me get over it, to take with me on our trip.

Thirty-One Update

• I LOVE this company!
• I am going to the national conference in Atlanta this Summer and I'm so excited about it! I'm a bit terrified of travelling by myself and sharing a room with 3 people that I have only communicated with online, but I'm still so excited!  I also think it's crazy that I'll be in Atlanta in August (holy hotness) but that's ok.
• I just earned two incentives! I earned the March incentive and also my Startswell for having 3 parties within my first thirty days as a consultant. 



This is what I got for the March incentive - I LOVE that giant rolling tote! Perfect for travel!



This is my startswell incentive that I got - skirt purse with fitted skirt, thread swatches, catalogs, and nail files.

School Update:

• Report cards are due the day after we get back from Spring Break! Ugh, whose idea was that?!  Well to make sure that I didn't have anything to stress about when I get back, I did them a week in advance.  It was a lot of work, but completely worth it!  I'm glad that's out of the way. 
• I can't believe that when I get back, it'll be 4th quarter already! This year has flown by!
• I got hired again for Summer School :) I'm excited, I love teaching in the Summer - more pay, less kids, and I'm done at 1pm! Sweet!
• So apparently not enough people have signed up for my Master's program, so they have moved the start date from this Summer to this Fall hoping that more people will sign up.  Either way, it looks like it's still a go.  I really hope so, because I'm really interested in this program and I really need to start my master's degree sooner than later.
• We just went on an awesome field trip to the Newseum in DC.  If you've never been before, you should definitely go! It's awesome.  I keep meaning to go back when I'm not chaperoning/teaching so I can actually focus more on the exhibits instead of the kids.

I am loving the weather lately! Flip flops are officially in full swing! Yessssss.

Anyways, have a great week! When I return, I'll have lots of pictures from Puerto Rico!

Organizational Tips and Tricks!

I got this AWESOME email from one of my bests, and I'm pretty much obsessed with it.  I LOVE finding out stuff like this.  (duh! organization is one of my favorite hobbies!)

I found the original source: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/blogs/135499623.html

Enjoy! Let me know which one was your favorite!  I love all of them, but especially the magnet strip for bobby pins, and pillowcases full of matching linen sets! So smart!

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Remove crayon stains from tvs or computer screens with WD-40.

Stop your cut apples from browning in your lunch bag by putting a rubber band around it.

Store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music.

re-use a wet wipes container to hold plastic bags

Use baby powder to help get sand off your skin.  Take it with you to the beach!

Store soft toys by putting a velcro strip on the wall



Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor.

 

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

FINALLY! How to fold a fitted sheet!

Forever losing your bathroom essentials? Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers and clippers, behind a vanity door

Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel.

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Bread tags make the perfect cord label.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag. Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.



Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Create a window veggie patch using gutters

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.