Small Projects

     Today Hubby and I stayed pretty close to home.  The Ravens played the Patriots and won.  YEAH!  Now we're watching Kurt Warner beat up on the Packers.  Again, YEAH!  I don't think I ever posted any photos of our wintertime bears.  They've been waiting twelve months to come out, and hear they are in all their glory, sitting atop Hubby's computer desk.

     Can you see the clear plastic snowflakes stuck here and there in the photo.  I used to hang them from my classroom ceiling but haven't done that for a few years now, too dangerous in my old age.  I decided to bring them home and use them around the house.  Look at the two below that I set on each side of my Royal Doulton platter.  I really like the way they look.  Pardon the glare on the china cabinet.  It sits directly across from an east window, and even with the shades pulled down, it's really bright.

A New Arrangement

     The day we took down the Christmas tree,  Rex and I decided to rearrange our great room furniture.  There are three different entrances to our great room.  Because of that, it's always been a difficult room to arrange.  There's always an entrance that seems to be blocked.  I think we might have it this time.  All the furniture is diagonal.  Interesting concept, don't you think?  Hope this shot doesn't make you dizzy.  I took it looking down from the upstair balcony.

Look What I Did!

     I spent the day doing a little decorating and a lot of organizing.  First I reloaded our mantle, which had been empty since we took down all the Christmas angels.  After that I dug into all my school bulletin board decorations and organized them into monthly and academic subjects.  Finished just in time to start cooking supper.  Here's a shot of what I did on the mantle.  I messed around with the color a little bit so the shading is not quite "true."

The next picture shows the entire fireplace.  Notice the cupid pillar on the right.  I can't decide if I like it  now or not.  Any opinions?  If I keep it, any thoughts on what I could put on it?

OMG! Another Snowday For Me!

     I just received "the call!"  No school tomorrow!  I do have several more "to do's" on my list.  It'll be really nice to check off a few more of them.  Every summer I have a little garage sale.  Maybe I can organize some of that stuff.

     I'm also assuming that my hubby will go into work tomorrow since the roads are fairly clear.  Perhaps a little redecorating can be done.  Years ago I had a cleaning lady that told me that I'm lucky my husband's not a drinking man because I rearranged the furniture so often he'd be sure to trip every time he came home!

I Love Snowdays!

     Woke up this morning to about 4 inches of blowing snow.  I already knew that school would be cancelled for the day.  Our district has something called "ConnectEd."  We receive an automated phone call as soon as any important news breaks that affects the school.  My call came in last night around 9:30 p.m.

     Here's a picture I just took out our back door.  I like the way the snow is piled in the bowl of the birdbath.  The picture below is out our front door.  The roads in our neighborhood aren't too bad.  Hubby even suggested going to McDonald's for lunch.  I'm sure we'll have school tomorrow.

     Hubby decided to play it safe, and work from home today.  He's been busy since 5:30 this morning.  I was able to spend an hour or so straightening our basement.  We had more or less just tossed Christmas items down there with plans to clean it up later.  It's still not perfect, but at least a person can walk through without tripping.

 

First Day Back

     Well, it wasn't so bad.  At least once I was at school.  I wish I could say the same about waking up at 4:30 a.m.  That was a "killer."  It was good to see all my students again, and they were all very subdued - still not used to getting up early, I guess.  Here they are at our Christmas program - all dressed up in their finest and on their best behavior.

Sadness Has Set In - And so has Reality!

     In less than two hours I will have to go to bed in order to be prepared for that 4:30 a.m. alarm!  Hubby and I have been sad all day today.  We've had such a wonderful Christmas break that we don't want it to end.  At least I'll have off again in a couple weeks for President's Day.  He doesn't receive another vacation day until Memorial Day!

     Even though we were off for a very long time, we didn't get everything accomplished that we had planned.  One very important matter we wanted to take care of was the choosing of a house plan.  We sat down last night and looked through two plan books (about 1200 different plans!)  Without looking at each other's choices, we wrote down about ten plans from each book.  Then we checked to see if we had any favorites in common.  Out of about 1200 houses, we had six that we both liked.  I believe we have our work cut out for ourselves.

     The photos below are not from the plan books we looked through, I just decided to post them to give examples of our two different style preferences.  This house is the style Hubby prefers.  I do think it's nice, but the one below it is more "me."  I think it has more character.

This one is the style I prefer.  I think I've posted it on here a couple times before.  I really don't think we'd go wrong with either choice.

     That's all for tonight.  Thanks to those who sympathized with me regarding the end of my vacation.  I know I complain, but I am looking forward (a little) to going back to school.  I have a wonderful group of children this year, and I do miss them.  (Did I really say that?)

Boo Hoo! It's Almost Time!

     Only one more day until my husband and I have to return to work.  We had a very nice vacation, though, two entire weeks off!  I went into my classroom for a little while today just to ready my desk for Monday morning. I must be ready as soon as the children enter.  I'm sure they'll all be ready to get right to work - NOT! 

     My only chance for another day off now will be a snow day.   Unfortunately, the forecast for the week ahead isn't calling for much of the white stuff.  I think this would be an appropriate place to post a photo sent to me by my brother, Dennis.  He and his wife, Regan, live in Burlington, West Virginia, and were on the receiving end of the huge snowstorm that hit the Northeast a week or so before Christmas.  In this shot he is attempting to clear a path out of his lane.  You can barely see his house in the background.   

Another New Year!

     Last night we managed to stay up until midnight...but not any longer than that!  We heard the neighbors shouting and setting off fireworks.  They must be catching up on their sleep now because I noticed that their newspaper is still in their front yard.  Around here, we're taking it pretty easy.  The Rose Bowl Parade is on right now and I predict a nap in the future for both of us.   At this point, I'm so glad we took down the Christmas tree yesterday, I just do not possess the energy today.

     Supper this evening will be at Mom and Dad's house.  Every new year's day Mom serves a huge pot of ham and beans for good luck in the new year.  Yum!