Another thing crossed off my list...

I have been staring at these for the past 2 years ever since we pulled up the carpet. Yes, I know it is hideous. It was the first thing you would see if you came into my house.

We decided it was time to spend the money and get them fixed. This is my Christmas gift from my husband.

Isn't it so much better?!!! But wait! Here is the finished product!

I am in love!!!!!

It's about that time again!

So excited for tomorrow! I will wake up at 9:45 and climb on to my couch to watch ESPN gameday. It always get me so excited for football season! Here is who I will be rooting for this season. Who will you be cheering for?

It's been a while...

Ever since school let out in May, I have been working - Summer school, bartending, trivia, and serving. I have one more week before teachers have to report back. I am trying to fit in as much sleeping in, working out, reading, and cleaning time as I can. Thursday is my birthday so at least I have one day to indulge! I became a beachbody coach and have been experimenting with my Shakeology shakes that are so yummy.
I am one week away from finishing a couch to 5k running app on my iphone. I feel pretty good. Now I am about to start P90X. I am really excited about it and I think it will change my body forever! I will let you know how it goes!

Want that body in shape to enjoy this summer?

I just became a Beachbody coach! Because I am a coach I now can enjoy discounts on anything on the beachbody website. That includes :

Shakeology


P90X




Insanity



and much, much more!

Personally I want to start off with these three items -

Hip Hop abs


Power 90 (It is supposed to be a bit easier tham P90X)


and Brazil Butt Lift!


 Who wants to join me in getting that summer body?

I need help...

So we bought a new king size bed, which we are very much looking forward to! No more falling off the bed for me! This is the new frame and headboard below. Ignore the bedding on it.

Now my walls are neutral color (light beige) and I have a painting above my mom made for me that is burgandy red and silver. I have some other accents that match the burgandy red in the room. Which bedding set would you choose?

choice one

or choice two

OR go with a plain black comforter or quilt?
Which would you choose?

So much to do with so little funds...

Things that have to be done to our house -
1. paint the outside of the house ($2500)

2. cut down part of neighbors' trees that are about to touch our roof ($500)

3.Landscaping ($325)

4.Flooring ($4000) - we ripped up our carpet a year and a half ago. We have been walking around on plywood ever since. We rescued a dog several months ago and are struggling with house training. This is keeping us from getting our new floor.

School is out in 2 days then I start working summer school. Summer school will pay for #1. Working our extra gigs will pay for #2 and #3. Guess we are going to have to do some major saving to pay for #4 plus a vacation. Anyone else have a ton of work to do on their house?

Is it just me?

All I heard was wonderful reviews about the book Water for Elephants. I went on the library website, put it on hold, and picked it up as soon as I could. I just finished reading it and I thought it was just okay. It was very disturbing to read about how they treated the circus animals. I guess it is just not the type of book I am used to reading - I love mysteries and chick lit! I just can't say it was absolutely wonderful. Now I have seen the poster for the movie and I am curious to see how well it follows the book.  What did you think of the book? Did you like it? Is it just me that thinks it was just okay?

I am addicted to...

I am addicted to my tivo! It is such a great invention! I make a date with tivo to watch these must see shows - 1.CSI: Miami
2. NCIS
3. Law and Order SVU
4. Criminal Minds
5. Criminal Minds Suspect Behavior
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. The Office
8. Private Practice
9. Desperate Housewives

Now I am also a fan of reality shows. I love Kendra, The Kardashians, Jersey Shore, and So you think you can dance.
Shows that I despise - American idol, Survivor

I will admit that I have never seen one single episode of The Real Housewives of any city or Gossip girl. Maybe one day when I am not working 3 jobs.
What are your favorites? Am I missing any other good shows?

Donors Choose

Donors Choose is a website that teachers can write up projects and ask for materials and anyone can donate to the project. Right now there is a promotion going on - you can receive a $15 donors choose code that you can donate to.
First you text the word "Possible" to 77177.
It will ask you for your zip code.
After you respond you will receive the Donors choose code.
Once you receive the code, text STOP to stop receiving any messages.

You can donate the $15 code to any teacher's project, but I would appreciate your support. Here is my project - hehttp://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=558179re

Thank you so much!

I promise I am still alive...

I have been in a blogging funk. I do not have anything interesting to write about. I am spending a bit of time at amazon.com to find appropriate books for my students. I love how amazon has everything and I mean everything! Look what I found! I wouldn't mind having some of these!

and the winner is....

I am so behind! But after doing a random drawing for the JAWS CLEANING SYSTEM, the winner is.....





Mrs. Chip!

Send me your address so the I can get your prize to you!

Fitblogger challenge!

My goal is to finish the Just running app that prepares me in a 5k running program, drink at least 6 glasses of water, and to come up with one compliment a day for myself. No more negativity!

http://fitblogger.ca/challenge/

JAWS review and giveaway

I was asked to review the JAWS cleaning system. I admit I had never heard of it, but I will take anything to help me clean my house! I am not a fan of cleaning but it has to be done.JAWS stands for Just Add Water System.It is better for the environment, economical, effective, and convienent.
This is what was sent to me - 4 empty spray bottles with 2 refills attached to each bottle and an additional 2 refills for each type of cleaner. There is a bathroom cleaner, a glass and window cleaner, a disinfectant degreaser, and a multipurpose degreaser. Each one is a different color.

Here is it how it works -
You add water to the spray bottle and then add the cartridge refill to it. Once you screw in the top it punctures the cartridge and the solution pours into the water. There is no mess and you are not exposed to the cartridge solutions.

First I started using the glass and window cleaners for my mirrors. It worked great! No streaks!
Then I used the disinfectant cleaner on my sink and other surfaces that gunk can build up on. It takes all the residue off. The bathroom and shower cleaner was just okay. I sprayed a lot of it on my tub and scrubbed but didn't notice a big difference in whitening the tub. The multipurpose cleaner works great when I used it on some spills on the floor.
The JAWS system is great because it produces less waste and you are reusing the spray containers. The price is also nice too! It is cheaper to purchase the JAWS SYSTEM because you get 2 catridges full of solution! To find out more about JAWS - CLICK HERE

But I am rewarding one of my loyal followers with a free JAWS system!
To enter - post a comment on this post about cleaning your house (how often do you do it, do you have any speed tips?,etc..)

you must be a follower!

The givcaway will end Sunday March 6,2011!

Have you been introduced?

I am thrilled to report that I received a new Kindle and an IPOD touch for my reading classrom. The students are so excited to use these items. I have already added a bunch of educational apps to the ipod, but realized I do not have a lot of money to add books to the Kindle. So, I will be using my Swagbuck points to redeem some Amazon gift cards in order to download some books.
I love Swagbucks because all you have to do is use the website as a search engine and you receive points. Then you can redeem those points for prizes such as Paypal money, gift cards, etc... If you haven't been introduced to Swagbucks, let me introduce you.... here

Look at this!

A couple of days ago I signed up with a brand new company called Bamboo Pink. Right now it is free to join as they are having their new welcome launch. I want these items! And I want to make some money selling these items! To sign up for free - http://www.bamboopink.net/mrsm

Cloud Cake, anyone?

I love Little Debbie snacks, don't you? Here are some of my favorites -

Little Debbie has come out with its new snack cakes called Cloud Cakes, which are light, crème-filled golden sponge cakes. There are 10 individually wrapped Little Debbie Cloud Cakes in one carton, and approximately 16 cartons in a case. The suggested retail price is $3.09 a carton. These are available in mass merchandisers, supermarkets, dollar stores, variety stores and some convenience stores and other retailers nationwide.

I was sent some boxes of Little Debbie snacks to review.My students helped me review them today. Here are some things they said - "It is creamy and sweet. It's real good" , "It is nice and fluffy", and "Soft and delicious." They definitely enjoyed it! They asked for another assignment like this one.

I will be giving away a case of these yummy Little Debbie cloud cakes! I will choose a winner on Friday, February 18 at 3pm.

To enter -

Comment on this post which is your favorite Little Debbie snack. - 1 entry

Let me know if you are a follower - 1 additional entry

*Due to a death in my family and traveling to the funeral, I am extending this giveaway to Friday Feb. 25

Really?

I work at a public middle school and I was walking down the hall today and overheard a girl (12 years old) talking to another student.

She said, "I hate that I am the only one single of all of my best friends. It just sucks."

You are 12. Really?

Verizon iphone ? yes, please!

Feb. 3rd I am ordering the new Verizon iphone. My Blackberry storm is dying a slow death, and I look forward to a fast, fresh new face!
Please tell me - what are your favorite apps?

Willow House

Have you ever heard of Willow House? The company used to be Southern Living at Home. They have the most beautiful pieces to access your home. I am hosting a Willow House blog party right here! All you have to do is click on the button that says shop online. What I love about shopping online is that there is an OUTLET section! This is where some of your favorite Willow House items are on sale for great prices!!!! If you purchase through this link, another deal you get is that if you purchase a $40 item or more, your second $40+ item is HALF OFF!



When purchasing, you need to put me as the hostess - Lori M. - to receive this deal! Let me know if you are interested in purchasing anything so I can help if needed.


Look at some of my favorites -



Gramercy Quadruple Java Snack dish -on sale for $12.96!

Cottage Garden Bowl with stand - on sale for $21.96!!!

So it doesn't hurt to just look....... Willow House

It is 2011!

How time flies!! My winter break went by very quick, but I tried to spend a lot of my time relaxing and reading. I did work some but I also read 6 books in 2 weeks. Now it back to reality of working my 4 jobs. Alot was accomplished last year including a new roof and a new fence. Now all that is left is new flooring upstairs. Once this is done, the number of jobs I work will be decreasing. Woo hoo! I am super excited about having more time for myself and my family.

Lately I have been forcing myself to go to the gym. I go ahead and take my gym bag with me and get it done because if I go home I am not going back out. I really would like to get into running more. I would love to have a goal of maybe running a half marathon, but all the training schedules start out with running 3 miles which I can not do. So, first thing is to train for a 5k, then maybe a 10k, and if I survive that I will look into a half marathon. Now I just need to get a few more ice packs for my knees and legs for after my runs.