Feelin' Patriotic

Now isn't that just the perfect picture of summer? (taken with my new camera...thankyouverymuch!!)

I hope you have a lovely Memorial Day. Enjoy your three day weekend, which is just another summer day for me (yay!)

And while you're cooking on the grill, or working in your yard, or jet-skiing at the lake, take a moment to remember the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our freedom.

New Camera!!!

I've been wanting a new camera for quite awhile. I have a nice Canon Powershot (point and shoot) but wanted something with more options. I did all my research and then went out today (all by myself) and bought this Canon Rebel.

I practically needed a tutorial just to get it out of the box!!

P.S. After yesterday's kitchen overhaul I spent 10 minutes today looking for toothpicks!

Kitchen Overhaul

Now that summer is here, I'm hoping to get a few things accomplished. Today I started in the kitchen.

Looks like a fine china disaster waiting to happen.

I wonder how long the neat stack will stay...
That's an awful lot of mugs for people who don't drink coffee!
Yes, we're teachers and mugs are a popular teacher gift.

An improvement.

Kept a few mugs for hot chocolate or in case I decide to start drinking coffee.
Our everyday dishes.
After

An avalanche of cups. And apparently our new medicine cabinet.

Much better.

Now everyone knows where we hide our candy from the kids.

Candy is still there, just more inconspicuous.

Time to get rid of the bottles. She hasn't taken a bottle in almost 2 months.

I don't know what to do with this empty spot.

I'm sure I'll find something wonderful to put in there.

Maybe new tupperware (see below).

Now that's a tupperware PARTY!!

I tossed out the majority of the tupperware and am going to buy a universally stacking set.

Something easier to organize anyway.

And the famous junk drawer. Every kitchen has one. What's in yours?

After I pulled the front stuff out, I realized there was more in the back.

This is what was in MY junk drawer.

In addition to the lovely labeled items above, I found five 39cent stamps, a bazillion pencils, several rubber bands, a ginormous eraser (for BIG mistakes) and old batteries.

Oh, so much better!! And yes I kept the mug!

Now, if you need me, I'll be in the kitchen. Looking for a bowl!

Show Us Where You Live Friday

Kelly over at kellyskornerblog hosts "Show Us Where You Live" every Friday. I love looking at other people's houses.
Mine is so ecclectic and I've really gone minimalist since moving into our house.
It's actually kind of depressing to see all the beautiful rooms and then see my almost bare walls. I think I need to do something to spruce up my house this summer. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!!

Our dining room is informal and attached to the kitchen.

This is the view from the kitchen.

We used our wedding gift money and bought this table eight years ago. I need to get two more chairs to set on the ends.

The centerpiece is pretty boring. This bowl has been on our coffee table, but Delaney kept messing with it so I moved it in here.

The table linen was another one of my grandma's treasures.

My grandma's old dresser that I use as a buffet. I moved it into the dining room to make room for our Christmas tree last year. I liked it so much that it stayed. I just need to figure out something different to do with the decor.

The view from the family room.

I hope you enjoyed touring my dining room. Take a good look and enjoy. Because by tomorrow, all those clean surfaces will loaded with piles once again!

First Official Day of Summer Vacation!!

I love teaching. I love my students. Most of the time. Just like my own children, they can drive me a little crazy. But I still love them!

This year's group was extra special to me. I had about half of them as first graders and had the opportunity to continue that relationship this year. It was fun to see how they had grown; physically, academically and emotionally.

And the new relationships I built with the other students was just as special.

This was an unusually creative group of kids. And so smart! But now it's time for them to move on to fourth grade and I'll have a new group of kids coming to me in the fall. And this new group needs a rejuvinated teacher.

And that's why God created summer vacation!!