I'm Alive!

I haven't blogged in quite some time and my twitter friends have been asking if I'm okay. Yes, I'm doing okay. My birthday was last week and I had an amazing day/weekend. I'll try to post all about it this week, nothing like being late. I've been a little down lately and I know I'm going to be okay but I have lots of things going on. I know I will be fine eventually and I'm not going into details here until the time is right. I'm just asking for lots of prayer for peace and understanding at this time in my life. Thank you all for being so supportive.

Charity and Advertising Opportunity

I am priviledged to be a member of Amica, a wonderful organization of 40 women in the Rockwall area who work to give so much to our community. Last year, we gave back over $107,000 to different organizations around the area including Helping Hands, The Rainbow Room and scholarships to high school seniors. One special high school senior had an amazing story that brought me to tears because it mirrored my story. She lost her father in the same way that I lost mine and I couldn't believe how meeting this girl would effect me. I was so happy to put my arms around her and just tell her how much I truly understood. She is actually in college right now to be a teacher.

It's stories like hers and mine that make me realize that all of the work that Amica does for our community is for a great cause. I'm sharing this with you so that you can help. Our annual gala is November 20 where we will have a silent and live auction as well as a casino, dj and other fun events throughout the evening. If you would like to showcase your business by donating an item for the auction, please leave me a comment letting me know your contact information. Or, if you are in the area and would like to attend our 34th annual Denim and Diamonds Gala, please let me know as well! I would love to meet you!

Fall Spruce Up

I have most of my fall decorations and candles out. I am still waiting for my monogrammed pumpkin to be completed and then my decorations will be complete.
Welcome to our house

I have my cornucopia on my formal dining room table

I found this little luminary recently and I love it

I have pumpkins and my favorite fall candle, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin on our coffee table.

There are also plenty of jars of candy corn around.

My favorite sign graces my pantry door

This is the cute little sign I got at the homeshow last week.

I'm still not sure where I want to display them. Right now, they are in the family room on the end table but I don't think that is where they will stay. The only decoration left is my new monogrammed pumpkin. I will share a picture of it when it gets it's home!

Home Show Shopping

Lisa and I went to a home show recently at a friend's new house. There were tons of things that I could have totally broke my budget for but I ended up with a couple of shirts and a little Halloween sign. When we first walked in, we had to check out the rules..

I love rule number 3!
One of the shirts I got is this one...

This shirt is definitely my motto. After all, I moved to Texas because my mom was here!
I'll share my Halloween sign that I picked up in my Fall decorating post. It's very cute!

I Scream, You Scream

We ALL scream for ice cream!! I love ice cream. I could eat it every single day! I don't think there is a bad ice cream. I have recently found the joy of Culver's ice cream. It's actually frozen custard and I think it tastes more like homemade ice cream. The Culver's store in our town has a name of the day thing they do and anyone who has that name gets a free dish of ice cream. Well, last Thursday was my turn...

I stopped in and got my free dish! I tried chocolate this time and it was good but I love the vanilla!

I can't wait to see my name in lights again soon!

Movie Review

Saturday is usually date night at our house and we again held true to our routine this weekend. We started off by taking my car in Saturday morning for maintenance then hit a few stores while it was being worked on and ordered our newest fall decoration- a monogrammed pumpkin- that I had to fight tooth and nail over the store employees about, another story, another time! Saturday night we went to dinner and decided to go to the late showing of the movie, The Social Network. This movie wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. It was more of a documentary style show. I found myself fidgeting about an hour into it and continuously checking my watch thereafter. It was good to know the background of FB but I don't believe this movie was worth all the hype that it has gotten. I would probably see it again if I was at home in my pjs maybe! Have you seen it? What did you think?

Am I Being Chased?

Okay, who is watching the new NBC/Jerry Bruckheimer produced show Chase? I love it! But, I have a great reason to, it was filmed in our neighborhood! These pictures are from the house down the street from us. Our neighborhood is growing but there are still lots of empty lots. One of the houses they filmed in was vacant at the time.


The pictures aren't the best I get it but you can see how close we were to the action. One of the directors parked his car in my driveway! I went out at 1am to chat with him! I was hoping to get more information on the stars that were in the neighborhood but not much luck there. I was so disappointed when I found out Jesse Metcalfe was hanging out down the street and this guy wouldn't tell me about it!

Weekend Review

I usually work late on Fridays because I can manage to get quite a bit done since there isn't anyone for me to get distracted by so this past Friday afternoon, I left work at 6pm and went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things. Tom called and told me to pick up dinner so I decided to make it a Subway night. Once I got home, I ate and then settled down to catch up on my DVR that is overflowing with shows. It was nice to know that all of my school chores were done and I could focus on relaxing for one night.
Saturday, we decided to spend the morning at home since it was pouring down rain. I had planned to take my car in to the shop and then hit the State Fair but with the weather, I got to get lots of rest in. The rain was gone around lunch time and Tom and I made plans to got to the movies after we watched some football! Notice who I was cheering for! I had on my Tennessee shirt earlier and it brought them some luck so I was hoping! Anyway, we decided to get a quick dinner at Chick-fil-A and then eat popcorn later. So, we headed on over to my favorite place and guess what?

We were the 100th customer! Free dinner night! (pardon my tired look- this picture was taken after midnight Saturday night and I'm used to being in bed early)
We headed on to the movie and we saw The Town with Ben Affleck. I have to admit that I griped beforehand about going to see it but I take all that back. This was an awesome movie. I would definitely pay full price to go see it again! We then headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things however, when I take Tom with me, it always takes me twice as long at the store and this time was no exception! Hence why our picture above was taken after midnight.
Sunday was a lazy day for me. I did laundry, took naps and did a little baking. I made some delicious desserts. One for Tom to take to work and some sugar cookies for us at home. I'm ready for more lazy fall weekends!

Can You Smell The Fried Food?

Corny dogs, cotton candy and fried oreos are some of my favorite foods this time of year. It simply means it's time for the State Fair of Texas! I love the State Fair! I love to try all the newest fried foods and check out the exhibits and people watch of course. The fair begins this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. The sad thing is that the newspaper had to put a damper on my food excitement and publish a story about the nutritional contents of their latest fried creations. Oh well, it's one day and I honestly don't think a person could find anything healthy at the fair to eat. I mean, they even have a fried salad this year that has more of a fat content than the fried frito pie!

Schedules

I'm trying to be more aware of my weekend time at home and not spend it doing things that I don't have to do so I'm working on a house keeping schedule. I have decided that instead of coming home on Thursday nights which is my regular house keeping night, I will do a bit each day so that the whole house is spotless each day. I know this is a good plan but we shall see if I can keep up with it all. What tips can you share with me on how you keep up with the workload?

You Can Find Me In The Club

Mom and I went to "the club" on Saturday, the sewing club that is.

We were definitely the youngest ladies there! It was fun though! Mom and I sat in the back and made little comments to one another during the entire meeting. It was a great day to just kick back and relax. I bought a new software program that allows me to have many more fonts for monogramming. I'm excited about trying that out. If you are a close friend of mine, be expecting some monogrammed goodies real soon!

Premieres and Finales

My name is Chea and I'm a tv junkie! I love tv or shall I even say, reality tv. Wednesday night was a sad, sad night at the Ward's. Big Brother was ending. How will I ever survive without 3 nights of sitting on the sofa watching people I don't know vote each other out of a house none of them permanently reside in? I just love that show and have convinced several people that they also need to become fans so that I can talk to someone about my addiction! There was some light at the end of the tunnel though, Survivor started a new season! I'm sure there will also be a few more shows that I will add to the DVR along with my non reality tv line up of Grey's, Private Practice and Desperate Housewives. I also love Top Chef and can't wait to see Top Chef Desserts, anything on Food Network, DWTS, The Bachelor and the list could go on and on but I'll spare you. What are some of your favorite shows that you think I should also become addicted to because clearly I need more!?!?

Friday Eve

So it's Friday eve. It's been a nice week since we have been celebrating college week at school and have gotten to wear jeans every day! I was thinking today that I never posted anything about my fun Saturday so here it goes!
My brother's girlfriend Laura was in town for a work conference so we got together on Saturday to do a little shopping. We started out around 9:00 Saturday morning and got back around 10 that night! We went everywhere we could think of and of course mom and I had to show her all the stores that Chattanooga is lacking in! We introduced her to Francesca's where she picked up so many cute things! (One of them is my Christmas gift that I can't wait to get!) We also did a little fun Halloween shopping! Laura tried out a wig...

A real picture of Laura. She really doesn't have a mullet!

Then we talked mom into trying her very first St@rbucks! She sadly wasn't a fan.

I got a few cute things from Francesca's and lots of jewelry (I needed it!) and several good ideas for Christmas gifts. I was sad that Laura had to go back to Chattanooga. I really wish she lived closer but then again, I'd probably never see my paycheck!

A Night Like That

Friday night I went to bed early because Saturday I had planned to leave early in the morning to go to my mom's since my brother's girlfriend was in town. I went to bed and was awoken at 2am to the sound of our smoke alarms blaring. It scared me and I hopped out of bed and went to see what Tom was doing since he was upstairs. I met him coming downstairs and he said he didn't know why the alarms were going off. He thought that since the media room closet door was shut maybe the heat set the alarm off. We finally got them quiet and went back to sleep but it was only 2 short hours later that they went off a second time. I was then wide awake and little did I know would stay awake for the rest of the day. I went ahead and threw a load of laundry in and tried to go back to sleep (it didn't happen) but only an hour later, alarms again. We called the fire department who did not come out to look for smoke but recommended we change the batteries in our smoke detectors. So, we did just that- for the second time in less than 2 months may I add. So far, no alarms!

Call Me

I am trying to plan our Kindergarten field trip to visit the fire station. The station is right next door to our school so no bus is required, we just need to confirm dates with the chief. Sounds easy right? Wrong! I can't get anyone to return my calls. I guess my next step is to go to the station with my calendar and lay down the dates in person. I thought it would be simple to plan this trip, boy was I wrong!

Just for the Halibut!

After our vacation in Alaska, I am now hooked on halibut! Everywhere we went in Alaska there was halibut and it was so good! Since I've been home, I have been looking for a good recipe for halibut burgers and in this month's Rachel Ray magazine, she has a recipe for buttered fish sandwiches and although they are made with cod, I think I could substitute halibut and they would be just as good. I am heading out tomorrow to find some halibut and try this recipe out. I'll let you know how it is and share my recipe.

Relax and Unwind

Friday ended a very long 2 weeks of school and a much needed relaxing weekend was on my to do list. I did have one important thing to do on Saturday and that was to visit my mom so we could go and learn to use our new sewing machine! I left early Saturday morning and got to my mom's where I enjoyed a delicious homecooked breakfast of cranberry orange muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon and grits! So yum! We ate and then left for the sewing machine store. We wanted to get there a bit early so we could shop around for a few things. I picked up some new needles and ordered some new software then the lady came around the corner to tell us that the class had to be cancelled because the teacher was sick. We were bummed but ended up spending several hours getting private tutoring on how to run the new machine, no class needed! Mom and I took the rest of the day to do a little shopping- that is always fun! I got back home around 7 and Tom and I went to dinner and ran a couple errands. Sunday, I spent the whole day in bed with sinus/allergy issues and had planned to cook a light dinner but Tom surprised me and said he would take me out so I didn't have to cook- what a sweet husband! I still have a couple of household things to do today but I plan to just relax and watch a couple of movies and prepare for the week ahead. Hope your weekend was as great as mine!

I'm Exhausted!

Who knew that wrangling 20 Kindergarten kids all day long would wear someone out so quickly? I think I probably say this every year and even question sometime why I teach 5 year olds because this is hard work! I fell asleep Monday night with my glasses on and a book in my hand and that was at 9:00! I remember thinking I better stop reading so I can watch RHONJ and the next thing I knew, I was waking up to Maggie jumping on the bed around 11:30. I know it's going to take some time getting back into the swing of things but wow!
School has been going as well as can be expected for the first couple days. We are SLOWLY learning how to walk in a line, how to line up, how to stay in our seat, how to raise our hand when we need something and that the teacher's name is not teacher! I predict in about 2 weeks, I will have almost forgotten what the training process feels like and then I can repeat this same blog post again next year! Ha! Let's hope it takes less than 2 weeks to get everything in place though!

It's Dinner Time!

So school is back in session which means two things. 1. I will be spending lots of afternoons preparing for my group of students which means I will be getting home late and 2. I need delicious dinners that take a short amount of time to prepare. Luckily, Lisa introduced me to Salsa Chicken this summer. It is the easiest thing to make and is so good! I'm sharing the recipe with you all.

Salsa Chicken
1 package frozen chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning

Put all ingredients (all 3 of them!) in a crockpot on low and let simmer all day. Shred the chicken (you can do this with a fork because the meat is so tender) and enjoy on tortillas with taco fixings! Yummy!

They Will Be Looking

A couple of years ago, my principal sent this poem to the staff and it really hit me hard. I actually ended up emailing it to many people that influenced me throughout my life. As I greet my new students this morning, I read the poem again to remind me that they will be looking.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T LOOKING
By Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you displayed my first report, and I wanted to do another.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you fed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you gave me a sticker, and I knew that little things were special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you put your arm around me, and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt--but that it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you smiled, and it made me want to look that pretty too.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking--I looked...and wanted to say thanks for all those things you did when you thought I wasn’t looking.

It's Tax Free!

I spent the entire Saturday (9:00AM to 5:30PM) at school getting ready to meet my students Monday morning! I THINK I have everything done that I can do at this point. Tom called me and wanted to see if I wanted to go on the great shoe hunt that evening and I said yes of course, who wouldn't want to go shopping when their husband is actually asking them to go? So I got home and showered quickly and we were off to Northpark. The mall stayed open until 10 so I got to do lots more than I originally thought. I ended up with a couple of pairs of shoes that will do, they aren't what I was wanting but I think they will be okay.



We then headed on our way out which happened to take up right through Macy's. I wanted to stop and look for a necklace that I had seen earlier in the summer so I also breezed through the clothing section INC. Tom spotted a shirt that he said would look good on me and then I saw a few more things and before we knew it, I was in a fitting room with a huge pile of stuff!




I also got a couple things when Lisa and I went out shopping last week at Anthropologie.

This top is so cute on and has the most delicate details.

These pants are a linen blend and yes, wrinkle a lot but are so comfortable I ordered another pair!

It wouldn't be back to school without my back to school gift that Tom has gotten me every year since we have been together. This year is no different as I got a new scarf for my purse! I love it!

Ketchikan, Alaska

We made our final stop in Alaska in Ketchikan. We didn't plan any excursions since we were only going to be there a short time. We did tour the city on our own (shop!) and visit some local places. We were close to a little shopping center or harbor like area where you could see the salmon jumping out of the water every couple of seconds! I thought Tom was going to go and buy a fishing pole right then! I tried to add a video- hopefully this will work!

There were also amazing flowers in Ketchikan like these beauties. I think they are called bleeding hearts. My only upsetting moment was that my big camera died on me within the first few minutes we were there. I had to bust out my backup camera that isn't so great. However, it didn't die until after I got a picture with an old friend of mine!

Skagway, Alaska

Next stop, Skagway! Skagway was by far my favorite stop next to dog sledding in Juneau of course. I loved the little small town atmosphere that Skagway encompassed. Several times we mentioned that it was like we were on a movie set or in Disney. The town felt so home like and I truly fell in love. We went to a couple of shops before we set off on our train ride through Skagway and into Canada to enjoy the beauty and hopefully get some awesome photos. A couple of the stores that were on my must see list were Sarah Palin's store and Sugar Mama's. Sugar Mama's has cool vintage toys and cupcakes- yummy! Sarah Palin's store has well...Sarah Palin!

A quick stop for Starbuck's treats!

Then Tom and I set off for the White Pass train ride. I'm not going to bore you all with the hundreds of pictures of mountain scenes that I snapped photos of!


Then we met Mark and Jane and headed to get some dinner at this cute little restaurant. We had fish and chips for the second day because Alaskan fish and chips is made with yummy halibut!

I really could move to Alaska and from the research that I did, they need teachers!

Onward to Juneau, Alaska!

We made our first stop in Alaska in Juneau. The scenary was absolutely gorgeous! We had an awesome stateroom on the ship with a huge balcony! We spent tons of time on the balcony because the scenary was so breathtaking. The following pictures are right upon arrival in Juneau.



I was so excited to be in Juneau because this was where my dream of dogsledding was about to come true! The first step was to get suited up for our helicopter ride to Mendenhall Glacier. We were told to dress warm as it was incredibly cold on the glacier itself. Just a side note, it was 105 degrees in Dallas on this particular day and I had on multiple layers of clothing, my ugg boots, hat and gloves!



We then were given a safety briefing for the helicopter ride and then we were off.



A view from above.



Then as we got closer, our pilot, Nate, pointed out the camp. Those tiny dots are all the dogs at the camp! They look like ants from so far away.

We touched down and jumped out and Tom decided to have a little snowball fight!

Check out just half of the dogs at camp!

I immediately connected with this sweetie pie- Rascal!


This is our team for the day!

We had a few minutes to meet the pack and then we were off!


I had so much fun and even got to drive the sled for a little bit! I talked to the mushers and found out that the main guy that ran Alaska Icefield Expeditions, is from Signal Mountain! I felt like I was chatting with an old friend as we talked about all things Tennessee!
We also got to meet some of the new puppies that were a few weeks old. How cute are these little guys?

Dogsledding and helicopter riding now top my list for the most unbelievable experiences I have ever had. I will definitely take on this adventure again one day if I ever get the chance. I won't ever forget how excited I was on that day!