Mel's Box of Chocolates

I had to laugh at some of Send Chocolate's idiosyncrasies when she posted them, but then when I saw that she wanted me to post some of mine I stopped laughing...quick. Of course I had to take the challenge though so here it is. Just some of my weirdness put forth for the world to know or at least the ten people who read this!! I refuse to allow my kids to wear clothes with stains. All stained clothes. In the trash. I'm a shoe addict. I could sit and just look at people's shoes for a long period of time and be perfectly content. I refuse to leave my house without a shower first. Not even to run to the store or drop something off. I apologize now to my kids if they ever need to go to the ER before shower time. They will just have to wait. When eating cake, I always eat the frosting first. I am proud to say that Zoe does the same! I will only read one book at a time. Although I have 10 books on my nightstand I will not start one without finishing the other. I buy the trash...

...could somebody interpret this? The other night I dreamed that I was driving our boat down a very wide water slide that emptied into a small harbor. What in the world could that possibly mean??

This past Sunday we spent the day just being a family and it was perfect. We did run some errands in the morning and then it was off to have some fun. Living in a tourist area has its benefits including a ton of mini golf courses. We went to a Pirate course to play. Such a rowdy crowd we were. Everybody got at least one hole-in-one including Zoe. Of course by the end of 18 holes enough was enough and we were ready for the next adventure. Off to the playground. In Ocean City there is a huge park complete with a bridge over a pond, huge playground, baseball fields, and even a pier that goes out into the bay. We enjoyed a peaceful walk around the park, but also had a blast playing at the park. Oh yes, Mommy got in on the action too. Don't mind my white belly!! By the way, Daddy tried the rip line too, but mommy wasn't quick enough on the camera. It was such a relaxing, wonderful day!! Of course staying up to midnight planning my lessons for the week and grading papers wasn't ...

In case you can't tell from my blog, I'm a picture person. However, I'm pretty much a point and shoot picture taker and then it's the basic upload and download to share the pictures. Recently though I have been taking the time to play with my pictures adjusting the color, temperature, brightness, etc. I use Windows Vista and pretty much just play with the features available there. I've been having a blast though. Here are few of the pictures I have "tackled" recently. I've fixed quite a few that I really like, but of course didn't save the before to be able to compare the finished result with you all so these will have to do. For all you picture pro's out there, any hints? Do you just play to see if you like the black and white or are there "rules" you follow? I'd love to hear any hints you have to make my pictures pop more! To see what everybody else has been tackling this week don't forget to visit 5minutesformom !

If you visit here regularly then you probably know that I'm back to work. I'm a 3rd grade teacher and school is now in session for the 08-09 year. Unfortunately that means that all that free time that I had during the summer is being sucked up as I juggle working, being a mom, being a wife, cheerleader for soccer & dancing and numerous other duties. Of course there is no way I will be giving up my blogging and visiting all of you, but I have to admit that I will need to change some things in order to fit everything in. So here's my plan. I'll be scheduling posts so you always have something new to read. I'm hoping to keep a notebook of everything I want to share and post a few nights a week, plus do a lot of writing on Saturday to post throughout the week. I'll also be writing my usual random posts whenever I have time or whenever something is just too good to share. Here's the schedule I am hoping to use as a blogging guide for me. Mon. - Weekend Recap ...

Remember when you would have those dreams before your first day of school? I think just about everybody has had the dream of arriving at school nekkid at one point in their education. Well my dreams are still continuing! You would think since I'm the teacher and all that I would be above this, but it never fails that I have one dream, or rather nightmare, before the first day of school. This year was no different. I had a dream that I arrived to school for the student's first day and couldn't find my classroom. I had been in there for a few days before, getting everything set up, but on the first day it was gone. Poof. So I walked around the school looking in everybody's classroom for my own. I was feeling quite ticked that all my hard work had went missing. I was determined to not have to go to the Principal's office and tell them that I lost my room. I'd like to say that I eventually found it, but nope. I woke up sweating before then! While it was quite an unc...

Last Friday the kids and I had a blast hanging out with Kari , Erinn , and their kiddos. They arrived right before lunch so we enjoyed some hot dogs and pbj together and then headed to the beach. The kids had a blast building sandcastles, riding the waves, and hanging out in their beach pool. We ended up getting shooed off the beach as a storm rolled in. Luckily we made it home before it really began to pour. Although unlucky for me I later found out that while I closed my windows I forgot the sunroof so my truck was pretty much flooded! How I wish I would have gotten some pictures because I have never seen so much water in a car. Now I am trying to get the stink out of the car from the water drying inside. Anyhow I digress...Back to our Friday with Friends. After the storm passed, we went out for some pizza and beach fries. Then the kids talked us into letting them ride just a couple rides at Funland. Such a great way to begin saying goodbye to our summer. It is always a great tim...

Today is the student's first day. Sure to be a fun day, with lots to accomplish, and full of surprises. I think this pretty much sums it up...

In honor of returning to school this week, my tackle is all about my classroom. This is what it looked like yesterday morning... This is what it looked like when I left yesterday afternoon... My favorite part of the classroom are all the bright fabrics I have around. I think they send a message of fun and happiness to my students. What do you think? Do you think my new students will feel relaxed in the room? Don't forget to visit 5minutesformom to see what everybody else is tackled this week.

Last weekend Dave's aunt came down for a long weekend and since my Mom-in-law was going to be gone one day we got her all to ourselves. It was a beautiful day...with bright blue skies, low humidity, and a perfect temperature. We decided to spend a few hours at a local zoo starting with a picnic at the park. The kids had a blast sharing their french fries with the "starving" geese. They were very aggressive geese when it came to their food. Aunt Steph even had her bottom nipped because we weren't giving the food out quick enough. After lunch, we walked in the zoo. We saw bears, beavers, alligators, and the cutest wolf pups ever! After our walk around the zoo the kids were still going so we took some time to play in the playground right outside the zoo entrance. The kids and I had a blast playing with the funhouse mirrors. A perfect day and a great way to begin saying goodbye to our summer vacation!!