I'd like to thank the Academy...

Beth over at Two Monkeys & A Washtub has given me my first Blog awards! (You should totally check her out, btw. Beth does GREAT reviews and giveaways in addition her regular posts.)

Both awards require that you award them on to ten bloggers that you enjoy and tell everyone ten things about yourself!





Ten Things About Me...

1. I teach first grade. It's ok to be jealous. I have the best job in the entire world. Right now I'm enjoying NOT teaching, though, because it's SUMMER VACATION!

2. I have two four-legged children.

This is Gatsby. She's not a baby any more, but she's a total diva and a complete sass-pot. She rules the roost around here.


And then we have Quincy, who is possibly the weirdest looking dog on the planet, but he's pretty much the perfect dog. I'll post a baby picture of him, too, just to make it fair. :)


They love each other...


3. I spend more money on my TJMaxx credit card every month than on any other card in my wallet. Take that how you will.

4. I drink WAY too much Diet Coke, but I really wish they sold this

in the USA. Seriously, Coke Light is a million times better. I might have to move to Mexico.

5. I love to scrapbook, but it's a very time-consuming and expensive hobby, so I'm about 4 years behind in my books. I do have one of these babies, though, which makes the process way more fun. (It's also great for making my super cute bulletin boards at school.)

6. My favorite authors (at the moment) are Jodi Picoult and Emily Giffin - great summer reading.

7. I have tickets to see Eclipse at midnight tomorrow. :)

8. I'm a Gleek. I can't fight it. It stems from my years in glee club when I was in high school.

9. I'm a good southern girl, so my mom is Mama, my tea is sweet, and more than one of you is y'all. (Please note the location of the apostrophe. You + all = y'all NOT ya'll. It's a pet peeve, sorry.)

10. This blog is something I just kind of started on a whim, but I'm having a lot of fun with it so far and can't wait to see what it will come to be!

I'm supposed to pass this on to ten people, but since I'm so new to the blog world I don't know 10 people yet. SO if you're reading this, you're it! I'm passing it on to you!

New Look!

So I gave the ol' blog a little facelift. It might change again soon. I think this is a little bit bright for me. I've found backgrounds I liked in the past, but always had trouble with the header. I didn't want something TOO match-y, but I didn't know how to make my own.

Today I was checking out New Friend Friday when I stumbled upon Jen's fantastic blog. She has put together a great tutorial for how to create your own header using Scrap Blog. It is so helpful and really easy to follow.

This is my first try at a header, and it was pretty easy! I wish I had found a background and THEN made the header to coordinate, because I haven't had great luck doing it the other way around.

I'm a girl who likes to change things up (I rearrange my furniture at least once every other month), so I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time on ScrapBlog coming up with new looks.

Do you make your own blog designs? Or do you use pre-made templates?

Have a great weekend!

Elle

It looks way more glamorous when the real housewives do it...

I spent my afternoon getting Botox-ed today. (Can you make Botox into a verb? Oh, well. Looks like I just did.)

You read correctly - Botox. To save you the trouble of scrolling down, yes, I'm only 24. So am I just getting an early start?

I wish.

About 8 weeks ago I had a little surgery. Long story short, I had a tumor on my neck. It was benign, but it was growing, so out it had to come, leaving me with a sweet scar (like, a pirate swashbuckling kind of scar. I look like I got slashed. :) ), a paralyzed vocal cord (read: permanent laryngitis), and something called First Bite Syndrome.

Save yourself the Google search. I've spent hours looking it up, and there's really nothing to find. It's not even on WebMD. What kind of syndrome is that???

Basically, it hurts when I eat. Or drink. Or brush my teeth. Or cough...you get the picture. When I talked to my doctor about it, he had one suggestion for how to fix it - Botox. Today was my second injection, and, honestly? I think it works. Apparently it was originally used to control muscle spasms and treat pain before the Ladies Who Lunch started having their Botox and Bagels parties and using it to erase any sign of aging from their faces.

Curious about it?

It actually isn't that bad. I was surprised. They put on a numbing cream first and the needle is TINY. The whole process takes less than five minutes, and I don't have any soreness or bruising or anything afterward.

Assuming this actually works, I'll be hitting the needle every three months or so for the rest of my life. There is no way I will EVER find a wrinkle on my left jaw line. :)

After discovering that the process is much less intense than I had thought, I'm now looking into the future. Would I use it to prevent wrinkles? Would you??? I'm curious to hear what you think.

Happy Thursday!
Elle

Surprised? Me neither.

He should have chosen Tenley.

You've Got a Friend in Me...

I am totally unembarrassed to say that I went to see this movie yesterday afternoon.



That's right. Toy Story 3. And I didn't have any children with me. :)

I LOVED it! Surprisingly, I don't think there was a single person under 16 in the theater, making it much more enjoyable. Usually the only thing I don't like about kid's movies are the kids in the theater, but there was no yelling, crying, throwing candy or multiple bathroom trips during this show.

I sprung for the 3D showing, and I'm not sure that was worth the $12. I had never been to a 3D movie in theaters before (I know, I know...), but I hardly even noticed the effects.

Moral of the story? See the movie, but don't feel bad if you save the extra $$$ and just see it in 2D. :)

Father's Day

Dear Daddy,

Today is Father's Day, and for the second time I am celebrating this holiday without you. I cannot call you and wish you a happy Father's Day. I have not purchased a gift or a card. I can't wrap you in a hug and tell you how much I love you.

I miss you.

As families around the country celebrate their dads today, I want to celebrate you by remembering all of the things you taught me in the 22 years we were able to spend together.

-You taught me to love the Lord, how to pray, and what a Christ-centered family looks like. Because of this, I know that you are watching me from Heaven and that we will be reunited one day.
-You taught me the value of a dollar and the importance of saving money.
-You showed me how a husband should love a wife and how I should expect to be loved by the man that I choose to marry.
-You taught me to sing loudly, even if you happen to be off key.
-You taught me how to play a sport simply for the love of the game.
-You taught me how to read.
-You showed me how to only use words that have meaning. I don't think I ever heard you swear.
-You taught me how to drive.
-You taught me the value of an education and gave me the gift of starting my adult life debt free by paying for college.
-You taught me how to swallow a pill. :)
-You constantly reminded me that it's not a vegetable if it isn't green, and made sure there was always a vegetable on my plate.
-You taught me to give back and to be thankful for the things that I have.
-You taught me how to ride my bike.
-You taught me how to work hard and always put forth my best effort.
-You taught me how to treat others.

I could list a thousand things that you taught me, Daddy. We didn't always get along, but that's because I'm so much like you. We're both too stubborn. :) But I never doubted your love for me, and I hope you always knew how much I love you.

You're not supposed to have to say goodbye to your dad when you're 22 years old. You should still be here. You should have been at my college graduation. You should be there to walk me down the aisle and dance with me at my wedding. You should be there to hold your first grandchild. But you won't be.

It's been 19 months. 19 months without you. And I'm still waiting for it to hurt less, but I don't know that it ever will. This shows the impression that you made on my life. I live every day with the knowledge that you gave me and I know that I am a better daughter, sister, friend, teacher and person because of you. Thank you.

I love you, Daddy. Happy Father's Day.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

Picasso certainly had it right. I taught a little art camp this week, and these children certainly were artists. That quote was on the back of the camp t-shirts (because it's definitely not a camp if you don't get a shirt!) and it got me thinking. These children are producing pieces that are...well...interesting, and, yet, they could not be prouder of what they have created. They race to show their mothers their art at the end of each day and loudly question where this masterpiece will be displayed in their homes. Children look at their art, and themselves, with pride, love, and joy.

My question is, when does this change?

When I am creating something, all I can see are the flaws. I am never satisfied with anything that I do, and I think that this is true of many adults. Why? How do we go from being children who love ourselves to adults who find fault with everything that we do?

As children we KNOW that we can be whatever we want to be, achieve whatever we want to achieve. Ask a class of first graders what they're going to be when they grow up, half of them will tell you that they're going to be President. Ask a class of high school seniors that same question and I'll bet not a single one still has that goal. At some point we decide that those lofty goals we set as children are no longer attainable. We're not smart enough to apply to that college, not pretty enough to date that guy, not experienced enough to get that job.

As I watched the children beam over their paintings this week, I made a decision. I need to look at myself through the eyes of my six year old self. Those are not the eyes of someone looking to criticize, but of someone who loves, someone who is proud, someone who can achieve anything.

I'm not sure who that person is who has told us that we can't, but I'm here to tell you that we can. So the next time someone asks you about your five year plan? Tell them you're going to be President.

Two Posts???

Two posts? TWO posts? That's all I could manage before I abandoned this blog? I would consider that a FAIL on the blogging effort. Now that it's summer and I have some time off (Teaching Perk #73) I officially have no excuse for not writing.

So, what have I been up to recently? Well, last week I spent some time in Destin, Florida.



I stayed in this adorable house



with some crazy friends and had a fantastic time.


We were fortunate to be able to enjoy the beach before the oil hit the shore, but many people will not be taking their annual trip to the gulf this year because of this disaster - and that's what this is, a disaster. If you are so inclined, here are some links to groups helping clean up this mess, both literally and figuratively.

Remember that episode of Saved by the Bell with the oil? Do it for Becky the duck.

This Facebook group
is organizing volunteers to help in the affected areas.

Tri-State Bird Rescue and National Audubon Society are organizing volunteer efforts for wildlife rescue and beach clean up.

Can't make it down to the shore to clean birds yourself? Buy Dawn detergent. For every bottle you buy, Dawn will donate a dollar to wildlife conservation efforts.

Sending prayers and hoping this oil is cleaned up sooner rather than later,

xoxo,
Elle