Shedding a little light on the situation...

Because of the holidays and our recent vehicle purchase, our house has been put on hold. This is fine, since we really don't need anything. There are some "big" purchases in our future, though, so we're starting to prioritize what we want to get done first. Some of them include:

1. a Flat screen t.v. - we only have 1 t.v. and no, it's not flat screen. We also don't have cable, so this hasn't been a huge priority for us. However, prices are coming down and it would help us to finish the living room if we had one to mount on the wall and decorate around (the wall behind our t.v. is currently naked - I'd like to do ceiling medallions like Joi has on Nuestra Vida Dulce, but I want to wait). I'd also like to get a long credenza for our entertainment unit under the wall-mounted tv, but will also wait. Again, nothing we're in a hurry to get.

2. A dining room table - The table we have is a good-sized teak table from John's parents. I got cheap Ikea chairs for it when we first got married. It's a fine table, but doesn't match the house at all. The downstairs would be basically complete if we had a better table. And if we're going to get a table, we might as well get curtains, a rug, and a new pendant lamp to complete it. More on that in a minute. Also, as soon as we get a new table, I can put the teak table upstairs and use it as a free crafting table. I'd like a higher table to work at, but it will do.

This is what I'm leaning towards, with 2 different types of chairs around...

3. Speaking of crafting, I'd like to complete my craft room, preferably before we have to convert it to a nursery. My dad is supposed to help me making shelving like this to organize my various supplies:

4. A new car for me. Okay, this isn't even in view yet. But wouldn't that be fun to drive around in something like this:

or this:

or THIS?

Just kidding - the gas mileage on this would be killer. Plus, it's a little too showy for me.

So, you're probably wondering why the post is titled, "Shedding light..." Well, while creating a design board for the dining room, I've run across a bunch of pendant lights that I love. I'd like to do something unique, yet subtle and not something that will get old/look dated. Lighting is something that can blend in, or totally stand out and make the room. Here are some cool lights that are on my wish list:

Originally I wanted a simple large drum pendant. I like that this one is wide.

This one has slightly more detail and personality and is a bit taller than wide.

I like the size of this one. It's a bit darker color, too.

Then I saw THIS, from West Elm, and totally love the look.

A similar shape, this is one piece that has 5 staggered lights, from CB2

And then to totally mess me up, I saw this one, from Ballard Designs. Comes in other colors, but isn't it pretty?!

We'll see what John thinks, and we'll see how my design board turns out...

Day 25 - My day in great detail

I think I will write about Friday in some detail (not too much - who would actually read that?). This will be in timeline form.

6:35 - Alarm
6:50 - Got up
7:15 - Left for school (dropped off our Christmas cards - finally - at the mailbox)
7:45 - Arrived at School (later than I usually do, but only because it's the last day before break and it's not like I was going to get any planning done.
8:15 - Set up Wii on my projector for our class Holiday party
8:35 - Kids start trickling in (we start school really late)
8:45 - Take attendance, hear announcements (VP passed on the message that Santa wants us to be good)
8:52 - Head to choir room for Student of the Month Assembly
9:22 - Give out awards to 3 little angels
9:32 - Kids head to the cafeteria to set up their instruments for the holiday assembly
9:55 - after tuning the band, orchestra, and choir - they perform (my partner teacher and I just watched our kids)
10:14 - Leave assembly and head to my classroom to set up our buffet line (more snacks have arrived since I had last been in there)
10:30 - Get Wii working
10:31 - Play against 3 of my kids at "Just Dance" game (stay tuned for some pictures)

10:33 - Lost at Just Dance game because it wouldn't be appropriate for me to do some of the moves
10:40 - Beat partner teacher at Just Dance (okay, she has pneumonia, but that's just an excuse)
11:30 - Clean up
11:40 - Share favorite memories of 2010
11:50 - Say goodbye to kids
1:30 - Leave school with all my presents and books for planning over break
2:00 - Lunch at Tides with partner teacher
3:45 - Harry Potter movie
6:30 - Family Dinner Night at the Mason Hall w/ John
8:30 - Head to partner teacher's house for some Wii
11:30 - Get home - crash.

Not a typical day for me, but a great way to end the 2010 school year and kick off a break.

My plans for break?

- Painting at least our master bathroom (maybe the downstairs bathroom, too - we'll see)
- Organizing all our closets (since all of them had their shelving removed, we haven't really organized most of them yet)
- Finish applying for a Master's in Math Education online program
- Plan for January

Day 24 - where I live

Well, I live in a town called Fife. Most people see it as 2 exits on the highway, or a place to buy cars. When I was younger I equated it to the "Fifel Goes West" movies. It didn't seem like a place I would ever want to "settle down" in. However, when we started looking at houses we realized that this is a great location. It's close to all the nearby cities and amenities that we want, yet remains tucked back in and quiet. We're between Puyallup and Fife, really, so it's back a bit, but still only 5 minutes from the highway.

Here are some images that popped up when I googled Fife:

So... obviously not a whole lot. The Poodle Dog reminds us of the bar we met in, so that's funny. The Pik-Quik is a great burger place - our friend's brother actually owns it which is crazy. And... we're not huge casino people, so the Emerald Queen isn't a huge thing for us.

But! This is what we're close to that we like:

my favorite shopper center besides Target

Tacoma Dome. And, actually, we have a great view of Mt. Rainier

shopping areas, including Lowe's and Costco

John's building

And of course, we're close to both families.

I also found an image of flooding in Fife - so we're hoping the 500-year flood plain we live in doesn't decide to cash in this year! We've read that we're more at risk when the snow melts up in the mountains and comes up the Puyallup River so we'll see. We've got flood insurance, and did some research before we moved here. Eek!



P.S. - Only 2.5 more days of school left until break! Crazy, huh?

Day 23 - a youtube video

Now here's my area of expertise. I am choosing to post a video that makes me so happy. There are many from this group, but I picked a favorite of mine. They're called Improv Everywhere, and we need more of these people in the world. Pranks are fun, but it's usually at someone's expense. These people, however, just do silly things at no one's expense, and just do it to make people's day memorable.

Some of their more popular "missions" have included:

• Frozen Grand Central Station
• Human Mirror
• Food Court Musical
• Best Buy employee look-alikes
• Surprise wedding reception
• Slo-Mo Home Depot
• No Pants Subway Ride

Check it out! Another thing they do is called an MP3 Experiment. Everyone downloads the same mp3, meets in the designated location, and follows whatever the mp3 recording says. I would love to participate in one of these.

Look at this one, called "Best Buy Employees":




Also, check out this video, called "Welcome Back." It just warms my heart.

Holiday envelopes

The last thing I have to do for the holidays is get our Christmas cards sent out. I would've liked to get them done earlier, but we were waffling between using pictures from our trips this year or trying to set up a photoshoot. I am proud to say that instead of using an already-designed photo greeting card I was able to make my own on Picasa, a free editing program from Google. You can make a "collage" of photos and add text to them, creating any size you want. So I made a collage, playing around with fonts and colors and layout, then made it a 5x7 and had them printed through Costco. The only downside is that I had to buy my own envelopes, but the price is comparable. Anyway, I can't "reveal" it yet, but will share my novice work soon.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has stumbled upon the $1 stamp stand at Michael's, and I've definitely taken advantage. I now have tons of stamps for all occasions, including 5 Christmas stamps. My intention was to handmade cards, but that isn't realistic (maybe if I started in August). But! I still wanted to use these adorable stamps somehow, so I quickly stamped them onto the corner of our envelopes. I didn't embellish them at all, but think it's a fun way to spice them up (did I mention you can also find small stamp pads in the $1 bin, too??). Here's how it turned out:

 

 

Aren't these adorable?


I also simplified the shelving in our dining room a bit, so it's getting closer to what I want. I bought 3 small white ceramic pots from Ikea for $2 each that I would like to keep on the shelf. Right now they are filled with glittery red ornaments that were 8/$1 at Target.

Enjoy your Monday all!

Day 22 - A website

These are the exciting websites I visit on a regular basis:

• Facebook
• Igoogle
• US Bank
• Blogger dashboard
• the nest
• my work website
• netflix

Soooo..It's tough for me to come up with a good website. Here are a few nerdy educational websites to start off:

Free Rice - A popular website that helps you study basic math facts or vocabulary but also donates rice to third world countries. Very addicting

NASA Picture of the Day - some pretty cool shots of various bodies in space.


I also enjoy:

Etsy
Uncommon Goods
Zgallerie

That's all I can't think of for now!

Day 21 - A Recipe

I just made these last night for a holiday party and thought I'd share. I've made these several times, and they're one of my favorite cookie recipes. It's from http://www.allrecipes.com/ and it's called "Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies III." Basically, they're like Do-Si-Do cookies you can buy from Girl Scouts. The outer cookie is oatmeal with some peanut butter, with a peanut butter filling between the two. I recommend doubling the recipe (if you're like me and have no self-control) because once you put the two cookies together you don't have that many total.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies III

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet, and press each mound down with a fork to form 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.
4. To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches. 

 

Enjoy!