Another Bachelor Finale Night

     Well, it's that time of the year again!! Although we didn't enjoy this season in the least, we still had fun at our annual Bachelor finale night.  It was another well-planned event hosted by Simona and Jill.  Commercial entertainment was once again provided, and it was as funny as ever!!  It's not really about the TV show at all; it's much more about the fun we have every finale night!!

The centerpiece at the dinner table :0)

 

Getting ready for the big party

The big microphones were for our rapping contest.

Well, maybe Simona was a bit into the show!!  Holly was there for the fun!!

Our commercial break emcee/s, Jill (and Wilma)

Heather, Sara, and I stopped long enough from taking our "quiz" to pose for a picture.

Holly said that you can come by her 1st or 4th hour anytime, Simona!! :0)

Heather got a little teared up...ha! ha!  Marney didn't buy it though!

Time for a reenactment...

Lots of good food and fun was had by all!!! :)

                                     Special "presents" abounded throughout the evening...

Here is Holly modeling her lovely gift.

Apparently, Marney loved hers!!

I had suspicions about mine, so I was being very careful when unwrapping it.

Our rapping contest was hilarious!!

Another reenactment and more bling...

This picture pretty much sums up our night of fun.  Thanks for another night of laughs and memories.  

I look forward to the Bachelorette finale night this summer!!

Pink Day

     Today we wore pink to show our support for anti-bullying.  A lot of students and staff participated, so we really were a "sea of pink".  It's good to have and support a cause.

 Here I am with Becca and Bridget.

 Jill and Me

 Our 8th grade lunch bunch sported a variety of pink clothes.

 Then we decided to do a goofy picture...:0)

Holly is pretty in pink!!

     Tonight my good friend, Bridget, showcased her talents as a Mary Kay consultant.  I hadn't been to a MK party since my college days, so it was fun to see the new products and, of course, Bridget in action!!

     Oddly enough...more pink!!

 The Mary Kay Crew

 One of the only serious moments...filling out a survey/form for Bridget

 As you can see, most of the time was filled with laughter. :0)

 Then again...some people couldn't see so well.  Alison is pretty much blind without her glasses!!

More of the ladies in action...

What a great start to our upcoming break!! :)

Happy Birthday, Debbie!

     Happy birthday to my special sister-in-law, Debbie!! It was so much fun to catch you by surprise at work today!!  I hope that you have had a wonderful birthday.  You so deserve it!!! You are a wonderful sister-in-law and friend, and I am so blessed that you have been part of my life for 30 plus years!!!  You are beautiful inside and out!!!  Love you lots!!

In other news...

     Cool cat??  He thinks so!  I was hanging the new border in our newly painted bedroom, or at least attempting to do so, when Benji thought it would be fun to join in and jumped on the ladder.  Doesn't he look so proud of himself??!!

     The sunrise on the way to work this morning was beautiful.  This picture does not do it justice at all especially since the trees were covered with hoar frost.  Thanks for slowing down long enough for me to snap this picture, Deb!!

Snow Day!! :0)

     I don't know who gets more excited about snow days...the students or the teachers!! :0)  Today was our first snow day of the year, and it was so welcomed!!  Katie and Freddy both stayed home with Mathieu and Megann, so it was the perfect opportunity to make a giant snowman.  After the snowman making, a huge snowball fight ensued among six of the neighborhood kids plus Freddy and Katie.  This is what snow days are all about!!

No Common Theme This Week!

     A former student came back to visit me and brought her little brother, Sully, to visit as well.  He is such a cutie and so funny!!  Alexa wanted a picture of the three of us and sent me a copy, so here it is. :0)

     I have only seen Holty in a suit one other time in 15 years and that was at a funeral.  He cleans up rather well and sported a suit on "Dress Up" day at school this week for Snow Days.  The other picture is of me with our newest English teacher, Melodie.

     I enjoyed time catching up with my friend, Tara.  She left Big Lake to teach high school in her hometown after 12 years in Big Lake.  It's strange not seeing her every day after car pooling and teaching with her for so long. 

     We painted our bedroom recently, and I love the new color!! I found a new bedding set that I love and ordered some very pretty wallpaper border (which is all that we have left to do).  It's always nice to redo a room in the house!

     For whatever strange reason, Benji enjoys when Dani plays with him as shown in this picture.  She flips him upside down and pats his belly.  He always comes back for more!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

This greeting card customized with Smilebox

     Our dearest daughter, Danielle, made us a wonderful pre-Valentine's Day meal last night.  She found a new recipe in her Food and Wine magazine that she wanted to try out, and it was really yummy!  She purchased all of the groceries as well, so she had a "pleasant" reminder as to how much groceries cost; now that she's been living at home, she hasn't had to worry too much about that anymore!! :0)  She made Smoky Citrus Shrimp, and it was so yummy!!

Here's Dani in action...

The table was set for us, and she even had our favorite chips and salsa for us.

This is what the shrimp looked like before it was rolled into quesadilla form and packed with lots of yummy ingredients.

     I made this tasty dessert.  It's called "One True Love."  It is a layered dessert consisting of homemade chocolate cake (baked in a heart shaped pan) topped with a mixture of cream cheese, whipping cream, and cherry pie filling. YUM!!! :0)  It's a family favorite on Valentine's Day.  Here's hoping every day is filled with love!!

Bump...Set...Spike

     Darrell and I joined Alison and her sister, Carmen, at a JO volleyball tournament on Sunday.  We watched Alison's daughter play for the Maple Lake Irish team, and we watched the Big Lake Hornets play after Brandy's second match of the morning.  It was lots of fun to watch both teams play, and it was great to see a lot of the girls that I coached in a tournament last summer.  They were pleasantly surprised to see two of their former English teachers and rushed over to give us lots of hugs.  We had a great time!! :0)

Alison, Brandy, and Carmen

Alison, Brandy, and I posed for a quick picture after one of her matches.

 Alison and Darrell

 A couple of pictures of the Big Lake team

"Skool"

    So last Thursday was our school's spelling bee.  It was fun to gather for dinner with my school friends before the bee began.  We shared lots of good laughs and a great meal at Applebee's.  Every year during this event old memories come flooding back of winning the spelling bee at my school when I was in 8th grade!! :)

     I had to smile when I received this e-mail from Darrell earlier that day:

"Good luck and have fun with the spelling bee.  Just remember anyone can spell skool.   I love you!! J J J J"

 

"What a great mix of colors!" Alison stated when she saw this picture. 

 I didn't even think about that!!

Here I am posing with my friend, Sara.  She always has the best scarves!! :0)