New Creations...

I've been meaning to post pictures of my first few projects that I've completed out here, but I've been swamped with papers and lesson plans! So here they are...

Before:
A touch of blues and grays
After:

I found this @ Salvation Army and knew it would be perfect!
Before:
And with big help from my husband getting it home & some fresh white paint, I have my new desk! I still need to do some fixing up around the area but here's the finished product!
After:
I hope to do a few more projects soon! But we'll see how much free time I have on my hands.

Busy as a Bee :)

Goodness, it's already been a week since I posted last. It was evident that I had too much time on my hands for a couple weeks that I had of break. Now, it's back to posting weekly, if not hopefully a couple times a week. I still want to show pictures of our guest house and some projects, I've recently finished. It's just a matter of uploading the pictures. Maybe this weekend :)

Things have been busy that past week....
I started in my Kinder classroom last Wednesday, and I do have to say I'm loving and learning right now. I'm learning a lot as to how to deal with students who have extreme behavior and discipline struggles. No matter how difficult some days are going to be these next few months of teaching, I have to remember that God put me in this challenging school/community for a reason. I'm really looking forward to see how much I grow throughout this semester.

My love and I enjoyed a long weekend together. Our weekend was filled with relaxation, projects, football, shopping and movies. And since everyone had the day off on Monday, we had his staff over for food and fun. It was great to have the chance to-get-to know his staff. I'm really excited for many more opportunities to spend time with them. He has a great staff, and they're going to do BIG things @ the Spurs with Eric's skills and knowledge guiding them.

Here's a favorite of everyone's that I made for a party: Ingredients

• 20 small mini pretzels (I use the square pretzels)
  
• 20 chocolate covered caramel candies & 20 plain chocolate candies (I used Hershey's)
  
• 20 pecan halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place one chocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel.
3. Bake for 2-4 minutes. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Biggest Loser

I have never watched a full season of Biggest Loser. But this season this season is different I got hooked from the very beginning when the season premiered last week. Wow is the show full of emotion, suspense and encouragement. I've always been a person that is conscious of my weight. But recently, I've been focused on how I feel. I don't think it matters about size or weight but more about being healthy, eating healthy, and feeling alive and energized.

I love the Biggest Loser because I love to see these people accomplishing goals, fears and sicknesses. It's motivating to me because if I watch these people accomplish weight loss then it encourages me that I can accomplish what I want to if I let God take the lead.

My husband makes fun of me because I a person that wants to do all things. To say the least, I have many goals, aspirations and dreams. And here's another goal for the record...I've decided I'm going to go into personal training at some point in my life and help/push people accomplish their own goals and change their life styles. Maybe a side job some day? All I know that as long as I look to my Lord, he'll guide me and use me to the greatest potential.

I want to share a healthy recipe that I have on my Tastebook

These veggies can be eaten alone, over a salad, in a wrap, or as a delicious sandwich (whole grain, low carb or gluten free bread).

1 T. olive oil
Optional: season with McCormick’s Vegetables Supreme, garlic pepper, sea salt/pepper
1 medium sliced red pepper
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 small package mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
Whole grain foccaccia or other whole grain bread
½ cup crumbled feta cheese or 4 thin slices of other preferred cheese such as fresh mozzarella

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sliced veggies on a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with a dash of sea salt and pepper, vegetable supreme seasoning, or other favorite seasoning of choice.

Roast at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until veggies reach desired tenderness. Toast whole grain bread; top with veggie mixture; add crumbled feta or other cheese and melt.

For lower carbs, enjoy as an open-faced sandwich with 1 slice of bread, use gluten free for a wheat free alternative, or try as a tasty side dish or salad topping.

4 servings ~ 335 calories each (inlcuding bread & cheese)

My love

It's been below freezing the past few days, which I'm completely not used to. This kind of whether calls for some hot coco, cuddling and movies. My husband came home with hot coco(with caramel might I add) and my favorite chocolates(ghirardelli caramel) in hand. He knows how to make me smile. He's perfect for me :)

Inspiring

[image via HGTV]

Some sort of HGTV is on my TV daily whether it's in the background or I'm intensely memorized by one of my favorite shows-my mom got me hooked when I was younger :) This was the room that was featured on Colorsplash with David Bromstad today and wow is this room inspiring. Along with Candace Olsen, he is one of my favorite designers on HGTV. No matter what room he reinvents, he adds a piece of flair but just enough to not over do it. My favorite piece in this room is the elegant chandelier that they put together. Love it.

Renting...

We've really enjoyed renting and all the perks it brings. The best of all is flexibility which we've had a lot of in our lives with the big move and all! Speaking of the big move, I've been doing better than I thought I would have been :) I was a reck the day I left, but I've been seeing things in positive manner with the help of my mother! I think my outsource has been designing our place! I've been using all our old decorations but tweaking them a little bit here and there to change the style to go along with the modern design of our guest house.

Back to renting...the only down fall is not having the flexibility to paint. I would just LOVE to do some painting. But since we don't have that option I'm stuck with creating my own ways to add color to the walls. I picked up a few frames at Goodwill yesterday that I plan to paint in the next few days and hang for wall decor. I'm planning on going to Salvation Army to hopefully come across some more great finds. On my list is a vintage/traveling suitcase similar to these to put under a table I would really love to use, it's just not tall enough for what I would like to use it for.

[photo via Apartment Therapy]

I would also like to find a french provincial table that I could fix up and use as a desk. We'll see what I find...I'll post about what I find soon! And show some pictures of our place once it's completed!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 36th Wedding Anniversary, Mom & Dad! True inspirations for a beautiful, faithful and loving marriage! I love you both so much!