Hello 8-1!

It's been a while but I figured I'd post something new since some of my students have recently discovered my blog (thanks, Mrs. Beasley ;-) ). Leave comments, 8-1!

We resisted getting a dog for a long time, but had to give in after we dog-sat and realized that we missed Max so much we had to get one of our own. This is our new puppy, Rufus. He's a Shih-Poo (Shih-Tzu and Poodle). We've had him for a little over a week. He's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.

The Point

We ate at The Point at Glenwood Monday night for my birthday. Here are a few reasons why it's a great place to eat:

1. The food was great.

2. It was not packed and we've never had to wait for a table.


They also have pizza that's reasonably priced if the other prices on the menu are a bit too high for a dinner that's not a special occasion.

Another good buy...

Thank goodness for Wal-Mart.

This cork board costs $149 at Pottery Barn.


This cork board costs $11.50 at Wal-Mart and is just as big.




I put the picture wire ($1.17) on it to display cards with the mini binder clips ($2.50). My goal is to arrange stuff on it like the Pottery Barn one....once I find the stuff to put on it.

Dad's Home!

My Dad came home on Thursday afternoon after spending the past 14 months (12 of those in Iraq) far, far away from us. Since he's been gone my Mom has built a beautiful home in Oxford, NC, my brother, Dan has finished his first year at State, I've gotten a job (actually I've had 2 different jobs), Jason's changed jobs, and Jason and I have bought a house. We spent Friday evening and Saturday catching up.



Dad (left) in front of Saddam's palace.

A good buy

One of the decorating tips I've picked up from the many, many hours of HGTV I've been watching lately is that accessories in a room make a bigger impact when you use multiples. For example, a group or series of frames makes more of a statement than one frame by itself. The same goes for whatever else....wreaths, candle holders, lamps.... The problem with this tip is that I usually can't bring myself to spend the money it takes to buy 2,3, or more of the same thing. Even if you can find something that is a great price, the bargain is pretty much useless if you've got to buy multiples to make it worth using.

One day at good ol' Wal-Mart I was poking around the picture frames and saw some for $3. The first ones I saw weren't that great, but then I saw some black ones that were 8x10 and black. They have them in 8x10 and 5x7 and would be great for a big frame collage. I got three for now, but I have every intention of going back and getting many more to use in other rooms.




This is a corner in our very, very unfinished bedroom. Just imagine that the walls are porcelain blue, and there is a chair rail with beadboard on the bottom half of the wall...oh, and that I've taken the generic photos out the frames and put in some very cool, artsy pictures.

My Sidewalk Chalk Art Never Looked Like This....

I feel like I'm looking at one of those Magic Eye things if I look at these too long.
Original article

October is here!

So glad October is here....the weather is finally cooling off and I'm ready to put away the shorts and get out the jackets and sweaters. Good riddance to the heat and humidity.

A Good Weekend

Thursday Night: We had $60 worth of Rewards Bucks from Best Buy. We completed our collection of The Office seasons and bought season 4 even though it wasn't that good. We figured we could stand to spend "free money" for the 4 or 5 episodes that were good. We also got the special edition of That Thing You Do!

Season 5 of The Office premiered. After a very disappointing 4th season I was pleased to see that the first episode of season 5 did not suck. Spoiler Alert!: Jim and Pam get engaged.


Friday Night: We had dinner at El Rodeo and watched Leatherheads. The movie didn't do that well in theaters, but it was actually pretty good.

Saturday: We watched That Thing You Do! and I'm currently watching Sister Act II: Back in the Habit. Two of my favorite movies from the 90's in one day! Go 'head, Lauryn!



It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Spray Painting

If you've ever watched one of those budget-conscious decorating shows, you know that a can of spray paint can be your best friend. Yesterday I was finally able to paint our foot board and a few other things. The footboard had brass accents (yikes) and used to belong to my parents and the bird cage was greenish and used to belong to my Grandma. The mirror is from Wal-Mart and was only $17 when we bought it. Now they have them for $27 and I swear I saw it used in an episode of Color Splash on HGTV.
I couldnt find our attachable trigger for the spray can and now I have a case of crazy fingers. I can't feel the tip of my thumb and pointer finger on my right hand.

keeping the boredom away

Don't get me wrong...I love being tracked out, but all of the free time can get boring. When I was tracked out in May I was fortunate enough to get a sewing machine from my wonderful mother-in-law. I went crazy. I literally spent about 3 days straight making pillows and an apron.

Here is my handy work:

That apron is the only time I've branched out from pillows. The back is pretty rough.

This track out I've been working on our daybed in the office.
This is taking me a lot longer than I thought it would. I am no where near done and I have so many more pillows to cover. I still haven't decided if I like the red in there or not. Maybe I'll attempt to make a daybed cover so I can get rid of the cheap fitted sheet on the hand-me-down mattress.

Where I get my stuff:
1. Discount Fabric Warehouse
3523 Maitland Dr
Raleigh, NC 27610
Pretty much everything is $7.99/yard. I've seen the same fabrics in there that I've seen in other pricey fabric stores.
2. Ross
This is the best place to buy down filled pillows. You can't get plain inserts for as little as you can get an ugly down pillow with a removable cover from Ross. I found 18x18 pillows for $3.99. I've bought 20x20 pillows for $7.99....it's great!
3. Wal-Mart
If you can find a Wal-Mart that has fabric it's worth checking out. They buy remnant fabric from nice fabric stores and you can get it for $4.50/ yard or cheaper. You just have to dig through the ugly John Deere and camo fleece to get to it.

Jar Glove!

Those "As Seen on TV" infomercials are absolutely ridiculous. The problems that they always present as reasons for you to buy their product shouldn't (and most likely wouldn't) happen to anyone with half a brain. My new favorites are the one for a blanket with sleeves and the Slim Clip money clip. Apparently getting your arms out from under a blanket is too much of a hassle and millions of Americans are suffering from back pain caused by their 4 inch thick wallet. The makers of the Jar Glove think that you should buy it to avoid having to bury your husband you accidentally killed while trying to to open a jar.

Also, you should check out Tracie Jordan's Meat Machine....Meat is the new bread!

Success!

After looking everywhere and checking Craigslist multiple times a day we finally found a little kitchen island at a decent price. Last weekend we went down to Salisbury with my mom to do some furniture shopping. There are lots of great discount furniture places down there. Most of them have freight damaged furniture (stuff with little nicks and dents that would get there anyway and are hardly noticable) and showroom samples for way cheaper than the stuff in an actual showroom furniture store.

This is our new little island/kitchen cart:We got this from R & J Furniture Xpress in Spencer, NC. The Home Comfort Clearance Outlet on Glenwood is a good place to go in Raleigh. Lots of times they'll have the same stuff that's in their showroom.

Tag! I'm it!

Ok, so I got tagged by Susan. The Rules: 1. Post the rules on your blog. 2. Write 6 random things about yourself. 3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post. 4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag.

6 Random Things About Myself...

1. I was born in Alaska, but in no way do I consider myself to be an Alaskan or an Eskimo....so please don't try to convince me that I am one just because I was born there. (People have done this)

Not me ----->

2. I am addicted to a couple of websites which I check on a daily basis.

http://officetally.com/ : For all the spoilers and news info surrounding one of my favorite TV shows.

http://mugglenet.com/ : Even though all of the books are out and I've read them multiple times, I still check to make sure the movies are coming along nicely.

3. My favorite desserts are sweets with chocolate in them. My second favorite desserts are sweets that are apple, cinnamon. Recently I've been seriously considering replacing my second favorite with just plain cinnamon after some really delicious Ben & Jerry's cinnamon bun ice cream I had.

This stuff made me fall off of my "No Sugar" wagon back in April. I haven't been back on since.

4. When I was in elementary school my favorite American Girl was Samantha because I thought I looked like her. 5. I used to be really into theater and musicals from the 7th grade 'til the 11th grade, but after moving to Leesville, Louisiana where no one cared about stuff like that I gave up...also it turns out I don't have that great of a singing voice. I can still (poorly) sing every word to A Chorus Line and Rent, though.

6. I played clarinet for 5 years! I quit after the 9th grade and the only reason I wasn't in the very last chair (I was second to last) in the Hardaway High School symphonic band is because one girl didn't show up for the chair placement auditions.

The Dark Knight

We finally saw The Dark Knight on Friday in IMAX. I thought there was no way a movie could live up to that much hype....but it did. Heath Ledger was great and the few things that people were critical about didn't even matter in the grand scheme of the movie. Here is a shot-for-shot remake of the trailer starring someone's kids.
See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

chocolate french toast and black paint

We got a lot done on our office this Saturday. Before we stared working we had to try a recipe we saw on the Today Show for chocolate French toast. In an effort to keep this entry from getting too long I'll leave out our unfulfilled quest for brioche in the South Raleigh/Cary area. We ended up using a loaf of white bread from the Harris Teeter bakery.

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 pieces thickly sliced brioche
  
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• powdered sugar
  

Directions:
1. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, HERSHEY'S Cocoa, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until smooth.
2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-low heat. Grease griddle with margarine, if necessary.
3. Dip a slice of bread in egg mixture. Place on griddle. Place a layer of the chocolate chips on top of the toast. Dip another piece of bread in the egg mixture and place on top of the chocolate chips. Cook about 2 to 4 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with powdered sugar, if desired.

(I tried to find the video of the French chef who was actually on the show. When he made it he
put bananas on the side. If you've never heard a French person say "bananas," I highly recommend that you do whatever it takes to hear it.)

Painting the bed and chair took a little longer than we thought it would, but we are really pleased with the results:

While I'm tracked out I'll be working on making our $40 Craigslist twin bed look like a pretty classy daybed. I'll probably use a black ticking stripe for the daybed cover. Hopefully it will end up looking like the one below (better yet, I'll find a cheap one at the Pottery Barn outlet):

I'm going to get lots of different black/cream fabrics from the $7.99 fabric warehouse to make pillows. Here's a sample of one we already have:

The finished product should have a similar look to the bed below:

kids say the darndest things

As difficult as my job can be some days, it definitely has its rewards. I try to be strict and stone-faced for the first couple months of school....but sometimes I just have to laugh.

Student #1: Mrs. Russell, are you mixed?

Student # 2: With What?!

Believe it or not this was not the first time a student has asked me if I was bi-racial. What is it about me that makes me look like I have a little more that just plain white in me? I don't have the slightest idea, but I'll take it as a compliment.

stuff we've done to our house...

We've been in our house for about a month now and even though we haven't done much...it's getting there.We hung our Pottery Barn recessed shelves. They were a steal from the Pottery Barn outlet. Originally $120 each...we got 'em for $25 each. Now I just have to find something cool to put in them. I also covered old lampshades with fabric we got from the $7.99 fabric warehouse to disguise the "contractor grade" light fixture.


We got a desk/project table to go in our office. I'll be doing lots of sewing on that thing. That chair will be painted black.


This is currently our office. We painted the walls "Latte" from Sherwin Williams. The bed was a Craigslist find that will be painted black and turned into a daybed. We also got blinds!


This is what I hope our office will resemble someday (but with black furniture)....we have a lot of work to do.

yearbookyourself.com

So I found this website that allows you to download a picture of yourself and it shows you what your yearbook photo from the past would have looked like. The results are pretty funny...

1. Me in 1954 & Jason in 1956....I think we could've been homecoming king and queen....

2. At some point in the '60's we both had glasses...

(Of all the disgusting things I've done around Jason, he said he's never been less attracted to me than when he saw this picture. I think I look cute with cat-eye glasses.)

(Jason looks like he rode the short bus.)

3. And my favorite.....at some point in the '70's we were both black....

I love Wordle

So this is Wordle. I love this website! www.wordle.net
Take your random thoughts, bible verses, song lyrics, or whatever words you want to - paste them in a box and wordle will make a jumble of words for you. You can customize the font and colors to make some pretty cool pieces of art.

This one is a song from pretty much the best band ever - U2. See if you can figure out what song it is.

We've Moved!

We finally moved into our house this weekend! It was a lot of hard work, but we finally got it done.
Before: After:
There is still so much to do, but it's comin' along.
Here's the kitchen with our brand new fridge and accidental GE Profile microwave. The contractors put the wrong microwave in, but we get to keep it!

In addition to getting away from pickled oak cabinets, white laminate counter tops and gross apartment carpet:

1. I only have to drive 10 minutes to get to school! No longer will I leave the house at 6:30...hopefully I'll actually able to get there on time too.

2. There is a brand new (opened this past Wed.) Super Wal-Mart 5 minutes away. Hooray! for cheap groceries.


3. Pelican's SnoBalls. One of the things we missed from Louisiana were the shaved ice snoballs. Neither of us had been able to find a place with snoballs (not snocones) similar to the ones in Louisiana until Friday night. The people that own the stand are from New Orleans, the snoballs are great, and it's less than 10 minutes away!

SnoBall Flavors Bahama Mama Banana Big Red Birthday Cake Black Cherry Blackberry Blue Bubblegum Blue Raspberry Blueberry Butterscotch Candy Apple Chai Cheesecake Cherry Cola Cherry Margarita Clear Bubblegum Clear Cherry Clear Grape Coconut Cola Cotton Candy Cream Soda Dill Pickle Dreamsicle Egg Custard Fireball Fuzzy Monkey Fuzzy Navel Georgia Peach Granny Smith Apple Grape Green Apple Grenade Guava Hawaiian King Cake Kiwi Lemon

Lemon Lime Lemonade Lime Mai Tai Mango Margarita Maui Wowee Melon Berry Nectar Orange Orange Pineapple Papaya Passion Fruit Peach Peanut Butter Pina Colada Pineapple Pink Bubblegum Pink Grapefruit Pink Lemonade Plum POG Polar Punch Praline Red Raspberry Root Beer Skylite Sour Apple Sour Cherry Sour Grape Sour Tsunami Spearmint Strawberry Strawberry Cheescake Strawberry Daquiri Straberry Lemonade Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Cherry Sweet Tart Tamarind Tutti Frutti Tropical Punch Vanilla Vanilla Charlie Vanilla Cola Watermelon Wedding Cake Wild Cherry Wild Strawberry Wild Thang