Holiday happenings...

Roo had his Thanksgiving Feast at school. He was dressed as a pilgrim and his 3rd grade reading buddy was an Indian. There was lost of yummy food and it kicked off Thanksgiving goodness just right.



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving wih family! Our tradition is to buy a tree after Thanksgiving dinner is over. Roo picked it out and he did a great job. We get our tree every year fron Dan's Trees. He is located on the corner of Lake Magdalene and Bearss Ave. He lives here in Tampa but has property in Cashiers, N.C. and grows his trees there. He ships them down in refrigerated trucks.He is resonably priced from $50 on up (depending on the size). Ours cost $85 and it is in the 7 to 8 foot category (I think it is 8 feet). Our tree lasts until after New Year's Day!





Happy Christmas everyone!

I am thankful...

I can't believe Thanksgiving is here already! This year has flown by. I'm still trying to catch my breath. This year I have a few things to be thankful for. What are you thankful for this time of year?

I am thankful for:

1. The shadow of God's unwavering love.
2. My son. Words can't express how I feel about him
3. My husband who has loved and accepted me truly. I'm the one he chose out of all the people he wanted me the most. "
4. My mom and dad. They gave me the wings to fly.
5. My brother who married a wonderful woman that gave me two very beautiful nephews.
6. My grandparents. May they RIP. I still miss them so much it hurts.
7. My life has been extraordinary. Blessed and cursed and won.
8. My job as a teacher. My students are so precious to me. They are really brave kids.
9. Every day I wake up and realize what a gift I've been given.
10. Last but not least my wonderful friends. I couldn't get through the days without them!

Happy Thanksgiving

Beauty and the beach...

I am a huge fan of Sonia Kashuk makeup. It is a great line and is not very expensive. It stays on all day and my face doesn't feel greasy. You can find it at Target (of course).


I also use L'Oreal Revitalift day and night face cream. For those of you who may not know this, L'Oreal and Lancome are the same company but L'Oreal cost 1/2 the price and you get the same benefits as the really expensive stuff!!
Also, you can pick it up at any store that sells makeup and you don't have to make a special trip to the mall or specialty store.


Finally here are some pictures of our last beach trip of the summer. We went o Coquina Beach on Ana Maria Island. We had tons of fun!! Now we are ready for it to cool down.

Pumpkin patch....

Roo visited the pumpkin patch today with his school. It was great fun and they have great prices on pumpkins. The pumpkin patch is at St. James Methodist Church





Roo has entered the Rebel Alliance and fills our days with Star Wars games and trivia.

Happy Fall...

Happy Fall everyone! We've been enjoying some great weather down here in the Sunshine State. We are getting ready for Halloween and the Rooster has been wearing his costume everyday since he got it. We decorated our house this year and it looks great! I'll post pictures soon.

Look what I bought today...

I went to one of my favorite places today, Tarjay (Target). I bought the boots I have been lusting after. Apparently I wasn't the only one that liked them because there was only one pair of size 6 1/2 left and only three pair on the shelves. I can't wait to wear them. I'm visualizing them with skirts, shorts, jeans... I WILL wear them to work tomorrow!

Slumber party...

Last night my cutie patootie Brody Bear spent the night with us. It was so sweet having a 2 year old around again. Well, I am happy to report that Mr. Brody slept the whole night and did not wake up until 7:20 this morning (much to my brother's chagrin). Apparently the Bear wakes up a few times in the night at home. Of course he was sleeping in the bed with me. He took up the WHOLE, ENTIRE bed and I had a corner to myself. My husband and son abandoned me and went to sleep on the couch. Four of us on a queen size bed was not working. I also have to wear this boot to bed because apparently the pain I've had for a few months is Plantar Fascitis. So this boot keeps my foot flexed to stretch the Fascia and I don't wake up in nearly as much pain. But I digress... We had so much fun! Hope the Bear comes back soon!

Happy Labor Day...

Hi Everyone! Happy Labor Day! It's been super crazy 'round here! Summer is over and school has started again which means back to work for me! Also, Roo has started Kindergarten again and we made the best decision keeping him in there for one more year. He has been coming home and telling us how he knows how to do his work and how he gets harder work than the other kids and does not need any help, etc. So that confidence we felt he needed is starting to grow. Here is a picture of the first day of school.

While I was gone part 2...

While in Charlotte, N.C. we visited one of my favorite people in the world, my cousin Hillary and her beautiful family. Aside from Hillary being one of the most beautiful people I know, both inside and out, she has a beautiful family. I love her husaband Derrick dearly (he's such a great guy)and her children are exquisite. They are lovely and so sweet. She also has a BEAUTIFUL home. I photographed and am featuring it on my blog. The house is about 6000 sq.feet divided among three floors. I took pictures of the main floor minus the children's rooms. I may add that the house is completely decorated by Hillary with no help from an interior designer. Needless to say she has impeccable taste. The house and all its fixtures were designed and hand picked by her.





















Rooster and the girls. The eldest is Finley Grace, the middle is Saylor Rose and the baby is Harper Wren.

Hillary

Hillary and I in the pool.

While I was gone part 1...

We went on our family vacation to North Carolina and had a wonderful time. When we left I was sick and I ended up getting Pink Eye 3 days into our vacation but still my heart was filled to the brim and we made beautiful memories. We visited family, went gem mining, went to the Indian reservation in Cherokee and spent lots of time fishing and swimming. I got to enjoy Richie's wonderful cooking. For those of you that don't know, my husband went to culinary school in Boston and he's amazing.We don't get to eat his cooking too much 'round here because he's so busy with his family business. Needless to say I gained a few pounds. I managed to take some really great pictures with my Kodak. My birthday is on Sunday and I'm really hoping I get the Cannon Rebel.

Happy 4th of July...

Where is the sun? I love living in Florida and I think it's funny that people that are not from here do not realize that summer is our "wet" season. when I was little I remember swimming in the pool or beach while it was raining (as long as there was no thunder or lightning of course). So today being the 4th we hope to celebrate the founding of our wonderful country with fireworks but we will have to wait and see.



Rooster finally played in the rain and he was so excited. I've never let him do that before. He and his cousin had a blast and then the thunder came and they had to come in.