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(note: this is not necessarily our exact mattress, it’s just a picture I found when I Googled “Serta mattress”)

21. our Serta mattress – Michael gets all the credit for this one: he picked out this mattress when he left home and moved to Lexington (before we were married) and it is literally the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on.  It’s better than any bed I’ve slept on at any luxury hotel.  Every time we travel we talk about how much we miss our mattress.  It’s that comfy.  It’s just the perfect amount of cushion and support.  We love it and I joke that we need to buy 10 of them and put them in storage so we’ll always have one to replace them as they wear out.  (sadly I don’t have a specific name or model, other than Serta, to tell you; plus chances are they don’t have that exact mattress anymore since it was purchased 4 years ago)

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22. Clean and Clear face wash and Lubriderm lotion – When I was entering my teen years, Mom asked her dermatologist what face cleansing routine he recommended for me; since I didn’t have any particular skin issues he recommended this Clean and Clear face wash followed by Lubriderm lotion.  And I’ve been using these products ever since!  Other than the occasional blemish I haven’t really had any skin problems so it seems to work (for me).  At times I feel like there will be some point when I need to graduate to a “big girl” skincare routine (you know, anti-aging and all that jazz) but I’m not sure when or to what.  I hate sinking a ton of money into a multi-step line of face products not knowing if they are going to work for me or not so I just keep sticking to my drug store special.

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23. Love Spell – I’ve been wearing Love Spell since about age 16 and it’s my favorite scent ever.  I’m not the type that likes to change my perfume deepening on my mood, the occasion, or the season; I prefer to have a “signature scent”.  Once in a great while I will try a different scent but mostly I just stick to my old faithful.  Michael likes the way it smells, I like the way it smells, it’s a win for everyone.

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24. my pink Nalgene water bottles – I drink a ton of water.  Actually, that’s basically all I drink other than a cup of milk most days with breakfast and the occasional coffee, but it’s mostly just water.  In college (when I first started trying to be healthy) I was going through water bottles (you know, the kind you buy at the store – like Aquafina or Deer Park) like they were going out of style.  At home I would drink water from a cup but I was on the go so much that I ended up using tons of bottles.  Although I recycled them, I still felt wasteful for using all that plastic and for spending money to buy something that I could get out of the faucet!  I started considering reusable water bottles but I am a bit picky – I needed it to hold 32 ounces because I drank so much and I really liked the narrow mouths of the throw-away bottles, not the wide mouths that most Nalgene bottles had.  So super sweet Michael went searching for me, and for my birthday that year he bought me two pink Nalgene bottles that held 32 ounces and had a narrow mouth – and since he got me two I didn’t have to constantly wash the same one over and over.  Let me tell you, I can’t even being to imagine how many gallons of water have been drunk from those two bottles.  They have been everywhere, washed a million times, dropped, the white markings are rubbing off, and I’m still using them.  In fact, one is sitting on my desk right now as I type this.

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25. Chi Enviro Flex hairspray – I love this hairspray!  It doesn’t make my hair crunchy, unless I really load it on it doesn’t feel like there is hairspray on my hair at all, and it even smells good.  I do not like super stiff hair but I do like a little hold and this hairspray is perfect.  I also can’t stand stinky hairspray because that’s all I can smell all day, so to discover this one that actually smells good was amazing.  I’ve tried other hairsprays, based on people’s recommendations, but I keep going back to this one – it rocks.

So there you have it, 25 of my favorite things.  I wish I could have given them to you (a la Oprah) but alas, I couldn’t.  But at least you got some honest recommendations.

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16. Gabriel Brothers (Rugged Wearhouse) – If you’ve ever read a What I Wore Wednesday post of mine then you know that a lot of my clothes come from Gabriel Bros/Rugged Wearhouse.  If you don’t know about this store, please let me enlighten you!  Some stores are called Gabriel Brothers and some are called Rugged Wearhouse, but Rugged Wearhouse is owned by Gabriel Brothers so they all have the same stuff.  When I was in Cookeville in college we had a Rugged Wearhouse.  In Lexington we had a Gabriel Brothers, and now in Bowling Green we have a Rugged Wearhouse.  Which is why many of my outfits specs say “Rugged Wearhouse (Gabriel Bros)”.

Basically Gabriel Brothers is a discount store – kind of a step down from TJ Maxx but a step up from Goodwill – the clothes aren’t pre-owned (like Goodwill) but they aren’t quite nice enough for TJ Maxx.  Many of the clothes sold at Gabriel Brothers are name brand (New York and Company, Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Express, Champion) but have something wrong with them – sometimes it’s just a label that has been put on upside down and sometimes it’s a big tear in the clothes.  So you have to hunt and look carefully at the clothes (just like any consignment/thrift store) but you can get some really nice clothes for way cheap.  I’ve definitely never spent more than $20 on one item – most are less than $10.  They also have shoes, accessories, workout clothes, and some other random things (electronics, bath and body products).  Sometimes I’ll go in and find absolutely nothing and other times I’ll find tons and tons of stuff.  That’s where I bought basically all my “teacher clothes” when I first started teaching.

They also do giveaways and run sales on top of the their already super low prices!  At the end of last year they had a giveaway and I won a Kindle!  It’s definitely worth checking out if you like to shop.

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17. Brown Bear, Brown Bear – This was my favorite book when I was little and it’s still one of my favorite children’s books.  I don’t really have a reason, there isn’t even really a storyline to tell you, but it’s my favorite.  So there.

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18. Rascal Flatts – You know how there are some artists that you like a few of their songs but not all of them, and then other artists where you love everything they sing – Rascal Flatts is definitely the later in my book.  I love every single song of theirs.  I’ll buy their whole album off of iTunes rather than just a few songs, if you get my drift.  If you aren’t a fan, you should be.  They are awesome.  The end.

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19. Numb3rs – I love a lot of TV shows but I do believe that Numb3rs is my favorite.  If you don’t know the gist of the show, it’s about two brothers – one is a math professor and a genius, the other is a FBI agent.  Charlie, the math genius, and his fellow colleagues help Don, the FBI agent, and his team to solve crimes using math.  When I was in college I was given the first 3 seasons (high school math teacher here, remember?) but I didn’t really know anything about them, just that they had to do with using math to solve crimes.  I didn’t even open them until several years later, during my first year of teaching.  The first year of teaching is super hard.  Period.  And one of the hardest things for me was learning how to grade efficiently.  So when I gave my first round of tests, 150 or so Algebra tests, the grading was incredibly time consuming (don’t worry, I got much better and faster!) – as in it took me 5 or 6 hours to grade them.  Needing something to do to keep me busy I opened the first season of Numb3rs, stuck it in my computer, and started playing them in the background while I graded.  I was hooked.  I watched those first three seasons, then bought the other three.   Yes, I have in fact used them for educational purposes in my classroom, but mostly they are just for my own personal enjoyment.  I just love the stories, the characters, the whole thing.  I’m so sad that it’s off TV now.

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20. cheese – I’m talking about a big ‘ole wedge of cheddar cheese (I actually get the 2% sharp cheddar but I couldn’t find a picture of it online).  Ever since I started South Beach many moons ago I’ve eaten blocks of cheese just about every day.  Unlike many things, I never get tired of it and it has stayed a consistent part of my diet, rather than going through phases (now just watch me start hating it tomorrow, or it be one of the foods that disgusts me when I’m pregnant, or something).  I used to buy individually wrapped pieces of cheddar cheese but now I buy the block and cut it into 1 oz portions.  Yum yum.

Wednesday – Bible study, work

This was a bit of a traumatic day.  It started off fine – on Wednesday mornings I go to my ladies Bible study, grab some lunch, and the go to work, which is what I did this morning.  After lunch I fixed myself an easy, low sugar mocha to take with me to work.  I successfully transported it in the car with no spilling, then carried it across campus without incident…got to work, sat it on my desk, and while I was getting settled in I knocked it off…

So I got to spend my first 15 or so minutes at work cleaning up my huge, sticky coffee mess

Also, right before I left the house after lunch my computer said I had some updates, so I went ahead and told it to update.  It wasn’t finished when it was time for me to leave for work so I just grabbed the computer (I take it with me to work), left it open, and stuck it in the car, thinking it would finish the updates on the way.  I didn’t realize that it needs to be connected to the Internet to do the updates (I’m not exactly the most tech-saavy person around) and apparently removing it from the Internet while doing updates is a bad thing to do.  The computer froze and I couldn’t get it to work, so I called Apple but the guy I spoke to was condescending and tried to make me pay for a warranty that we already had and after a while of this I was in tears and thought I had killed my computer.  But Michael took care of it and talked to another Apple guy who was super nice and got me all fixed up – and now my computer is back to normal.  But it was a stressful afternoon for sure.

sweater/Gap via Goodwill; tank/Gabriel Bros; skirt/NY&Co.l tights/Vera Wang via Kohl’s; shoes/Payless; necklace/an old gift

Can you tell that I braided my bangs?  I’m not sure if I like the look or not but I gave it a try.

Thursday – work

My coworker suggested we take a walk around campus after lunch to get a little exercise since we sit all day at our desks, I loved the idea but high heeled boots were probably not the best choice – thankfully these are pretty comfortable even though they have heels so my feet only hurt a little – I’ll be bringing a pair of comfortable shoes to work from now on to change it to for our walks, though.

top/maybe Goody’s from a long time ago? not sure; cardi/NY&Co.; skirt/Gabriel Bros; boots/Madden Girl via Marshall’s

Friday – work

This was the first day of the book fair and we kept it open in the afternoon/evening – the elementary school that I’m doing my practicum at was having a dance (yes, an elementary school dance, I’d never heard of such!) so parents could come shop before they went to the dance.  After we closed the book fair we went to the dance for a little while – it was actually kind of neat.  They played kid-friendly music, served snacks, and had hula hoop contests.  Friday ended up being a super long day though – I was at school from 6:30am to 6:30pm.

top/Belk? it was a gift and I can’t remember; sweater/Limited; jeans/Gap; shoes/Crocs

Saturday – my birthday dinner with my in-laws

sweater/NY&Co,; top/Limited; jeans/Gap; shoes/Keds via Shoe Carnival; headband/Rugged Wearhouse (Gabriel Bros) (the headband was only $0.25 – how about that?)

I’m loving my new shoes.  I’ve had them for awhile but hadn’t worn them yet because I wasn’t sure how I felt about them, but I like them!  And they are comfy.

Check out my socks!  They match my shirt and sweater

I did get dressed Sunday, two outfits actually, but they were repeat outfits so I didn’t bother to take pictures of them.  (In case you really care, Sunday morning to church I wore the same red dress from this post and Sunday night to church I wore my Goodwill jacket re-do and blue shirt from this post, just with jeans)

Monday I worked at the elementary school, but it was another repeat outfit (purple sweater, jeans, and zebra jacket – seen here) so no picture.

Tuesday – work and MY BIRTHDAY!!!

cardi/Gabriel Bros; top/Loft outlet; skirt/TJ Maxx; tights/??; shoes/Target; necklace/NY&C0.

Linking up to What I Wore Wednesday

(Click here to see #1-5 and here to see #6-10)

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11. Spinning – I just adore spinning.  It makes me feel so good.  I tried one spinning kind of class in college (it wasn’t like any other spin class I’ve taken since – we would spin a few minutes and then hop of the bikes and do some weights) but I didn’t like it so I didn’t go back.  However, after we started going to our gym in Lexington I hurt my knee again and couldn’t run (which was my main form of cardio).  The first time I hurt my knee I was able to swim in the pool at the gym but that wasn’t an option anymore.  I needed some other form of cardio that would be easy on my knee so I decided to try a spin class again.  I went and it was incredibly hard – which to me meant it was a good work out that I needed to keep doing.  I started spinning several times a week and now I’m hooked.  It doesn’t hurt my knees but I still get a super great workout.

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12. Crocs – Not the most attractive shoes ever but definitely the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn.  When I first started teaching my feet hurt so bad – I bought a black pair and brown pair of these Crocs and wore them basically every day.  They felt so much better than anything else I wore so I wasn’t the most fashionable person ever but I sure was comfy.  At least they aren’t as clunky and ugly as the traditional Crocs clogs.  They’re also really great for wearing at camp in the summer because they are light and not restrictive like tennis shoes, plus they can be washed off easily and dry quickly if they get dusty, muddy, etc.  I don’t wear them as much anymore but they sure were a life saver that first year.

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13. Hunger Games – I’ve already written a long review of these books here so check it out if you don’t know about them.  These are my #2 favorite books next to Harry Potter (which I talked about here).  I’ve read them twice and I want to read them again.  They are just so so good!  Even Michael liked them and he doesn’t usually like the same stuff I like.  I am super excited about the Hunger Games movie coming out in March!!!!

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14. my camera (Canon EOS Rebel T3i) – I just got this for Christmas and I don’t really know how to do lots of things with it, nor do I have lots of fun accessories like fancy lenses and stuff, but even just with the basic lens and knowing how to do a few things, it’s already an amazing camera.  Even with my limited knowledge of photography and cameras I think the pictures are turning out pretty good and are looking much better than the ones I was taking before (with a point-and-shoot that is actually really nice as far as point-and-shoot cameras go).  I’m incredibly happy with my camera and I can’t wait to learn how to do more things with it.

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15. markers and pens – I love a good marker or pen.  I carry a million pens in my purse because I never know just which one I’ll be in the mood for.  I also have a gagillion markers and I don’t like to share them – you might mash the tip and that would make me sad!!  My favorite markers are Sharpies and Crayola.  I really love a basic ballpoint pen, like the Bic blue and black ones that lots of people or business give away free.  However, I also like the new (to me) retractable Sharpie pens, Bic Mark-It markers (like thin-tipped Sharpies), Papermate Flair pens, Papermate click pens (the pretty colored ones), and then there’s one other kind that I really like but I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called (it’s a black, gel, clicky pen).  Anyway, you just can’t go wrong with a good pen, especially if it writes in a pretty color.

These things work for me!  (Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday)

1. I don’t really like hearts (I make exceptions around Valentine’s) – polka dots and stars are my favorites for sure, but even stripes, plaid, and flowers trump hearts (this applies to clothing, scrapbooking paper, fabric, decoration, jewelry, etc.)

2. I’m the oldest of three – I have two younger brothers; one is 22, one is about to turn 20; both are in college.

3. Even though I grew up in a house full of pets, I don’t really like animals and have no desire to own any pets (my fish was an exception and he only lasted a few weeks so…yeah)

4. Michael and I have known each other since I was two and he was three – when my parents moved to Springfield they started going to the same church as Michael’s family so we grew up together at church and then later went to the same school.  Our “how we started dating” story is being saved in my mind for another day, so for today that’s all you get

5. My favorite color is pink – my students (high schoolers) think that is hilarious (they always ask me if my bedroom is pink – I’m not sure Michael would be in to that)

6. I have ginormous feet (size 11) but they are still the smallest in my immediate family.  And I’m not even that tall (5’7″).

7. My eyes are blue but change colors to varying shades of blue, green, or blue/green depending on what I’m wearing.

8. I have never dyed my hair.

9. I found my first gray hair when I was 15.  They’ve increased some over the years but fortunately not so bad that it’s noticeable (I hope!).  However, I’m sure it won’t be long until #8 will no longer be true as I try to cover the gray.  I’m actually looking forward to it just a little bit because it will give me an excuse for playing around with my hair color.

10. I get such satisfaction from pulling out a gray hair when I find one.  Please feel free to reach over and yank one out for me if we’re together and you see one.  I won’t think you’re weird, promise.

11. I also really love to pluck my eyebrows.

12. I didn’t see a PG-13 movie until I was 14.  My parents were restrictive with TV/movies and I’m totally ok with that (and was pretty ok with that as a child)

13. I’m a huge reader.  In 2nd grade I used to get in trouble for rushing through my work so that I could read my latest book.  As a teacher now I can hardly bring myself to chastise a child who is reading when they should be paying attention in class because I’ve totally been there and it’s just so great to see kids (especially high school students) reading.

14. I got my undergraduate degree in secondary education in mathematics (high school or middle school math teacher) at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN.

15.  I taught 2 years plus 2 months of my third year before we left Lexington and moved to Bowling Green.

16. Since Kentucky requires all teachers to get their masters within 10 years of starting teaching (and at least half of your hours have to be completed by your fifth year), I had to go back to school to get a masters (not something that I was planning on until we moved to KY).  I chose the library media education program at WKU because I love to read (see #13) and it was a 100% online program.  Now I’m totally in love with the library and would be so happy to become a LMS (library media specialist).  I’ll graduate in May.

17. My dream vacation destination is Hawaii.

18. When I was 15/16 all I wanted to do was to be able to drive.  I thought life would be so amazing if I could drive.  Unfortunately I was a pretty bad driver so my parents didn’t let me drive by myself even when I was legally old enough.  At the time that was devastating.  It wasn’t until closer to age 18 that I finally started driving by myself.  Now I hate to drive – I will always always be the passenger if given the choice (unless I really think the other person is a bad driver).  I especially hate driving in big cities.

19. I bought my first car, a 1997 Toyota Camry, in the summer before college.  Whatever money I could come up with (in cash) my parents would match, and that was the amount I could spend.  When I finally earned $2500 they matched that, I took my $5000, and bought my Camry.  And I’m still driving it today – it’s a great car (although my students made fun of it because the tint is peeling off the windows)

20. I am absolutely terrible at sports.  My parents were both very athletic so they expected that their firstborn would also be athletic.  They were wrong.  I tried just about everything: track, basketball, softball, volleyball.  I stunk at all of them.  I have so many hilarious stories from those attempts that I can’t even begin to tell them.

21. I can’t stand the sight of blood or needles or even to talk about them.

22. I scar super easily.  Every little cut takes a long, long time to fade…if it ever even fades at all.

23.  Mosquitos LOVE me.  It hasn’t been as bad the past few years (probably because I’m not outside as much), but usually my summers are spent with mosquito bites covering my legs.  Which I then scratch uncontrollably.  And the bleed.  And scar (see #22).  Not attractive.

24. My parents called me HP, which stands for House Police, when I was little because I had to know where everyone was and what they were doing at all times.

25. When I was little I said that I wanted to be a “taco seller” when I grew up, aka I wanted to work at Taco Bell because I thought I could eat all the tacos I wanted…I did (and still do) love Mexican food.  That never panned out, though…

26 (bonus!).  I am a terrible speller.  I don’t know what I would do without spell check.

27 (another bonus!).  I love tote bags, containers, and buttons.  I just can’t resist all three of those things.

So there you have it – 25 27 (I just kept thinking of things!) random things about me.  If you made it this far, congratulations, your brain is now filled of useless information about me.

And since I feel like I must leave you with some sort of picture, here’s a picture from a little project I’m working on for my practicum.  Enjoy.

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6. Burt’s Bees chapstick – I mean really, why would you even want to use anything else?  I discovered Burt’s Bees chapstick at a Cracker Barrel on the way to Mexico one summer a million years ago (or at least it seems).  I bought some and I’ve never looked back.  No other chapstick can hold a candle to my Burt’s Bees.  Love.

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7. my iPhone – Michael was the one who originally really wanted to get iPhones.  I wasn’t against it or anything, I just didn’t see the appeal.  Now that I have one I can’t imagine not having one!  I hardly ever actually use it for making phone calls (I really dislike talking on the phone) but I use it for so many other things: reading books (with my Kindle app), making notes to myself, taking pictures (it’s a great little point-and-shoot camera for when I don’t have my nice, big one), tracking my food and exercise, checking the weather, playing games, loading e-coupons, and as a GPS.

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8. my heart rate monitor – This heart rate monitor is great because it constantly tracks my heartbeat (rather than my old one where I had to stop exercising and press buttons to get it to read my pulse) and so it helps me to see at all times if I’m working hard enough or if I’m overexerting myself and need to slow down.  It’s great – I actually did a whole post about it months ago so click here if you want to read that.

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9. Legally Blonde – Just one of the funniest movies ever.  I love it.  I love Elle.  I love Reese.  I love pink.  I owned it on VHS and now I own it on DVD and someday when we have to switch again I’ll own it on whatever we switch to.

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10. Smuckers Natural peanut butter – We’ve discussed this before but I feel that it bears repeating – best. peanut butter. ever.

Happy Monday everyone!

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1. my KitchenAid mixer – If you’ve been a reader a while you know how much I love my mixer.  I use it for baking (of course!) but also for shredding chicken and mixing bread dough.  I’m convinced it could even fold my laundry if I put it on the right settings. I just have the basic attachment, a bread hook, and a whisk (I never use the whisk) but you can also purchase attachments that can be used to grind meat (or grains or coffee, I think), make pasta, and use your mixer as an ice cream maker.

(mine is brown and pink but I couldn’t find a picture of it)

2. my North Face coat – I got this as a Christmas present three years ago.  I almost took it back since it was such an expensive coat so I could use the money to buy a cheaper coat plus other stuff.  However, I decided to hang on to it and I am so incredibly glad that I did!  I’ve barely worn it this winter but the past two winters it was a life saver, especially in the mornings driving to work in my freezing cold car (the worst was when we lived in our apartment and so my car was out in the open all night – that was when I was most thankful for my coat!).  My legs, feet, hands, and face might get cold my my arms and torso stay so warm. If/when something happens to this coat you better believe I will be forking over the money for a new one because it is so worth it (but three years later my coat still is in great condition so I’m hoping not to have to do that anytime soon!).

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3. Olay in-shower body lotion – I’m lazy and I don’t like to have to put lotion on after I shower.  When I discovered this shower lotion I knew I’d found the cure for that.  It’s awesome, you just rub it on in the shower, let the water rinse off the excess, and then your skin is all lotion-y smooth.  It also leaves a nice shimmer on your skin.  I haven’t seen it in stores in a couple of years but I have found it online (I bought 10 bottles online so hopefully I’m all stocked up for a good long time now!).

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4. Harry Potter – I know, I know, the books have been out forever and the movies are all done but I have to mention it just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years.  Plus, this is a list of my favorite things and Harry Potter is certainly on that list so I just have to mention the books.  I was around 11 when the first book came out, so my brothers were around 9 and 6.  I had no interest at all at first.  I remember Mom reading the Harry Potter books to Brendan and Riley but I thought they were science fiction-y, which I had no interest in.  Sometime after the 4th book came out and before the 5th book was released, I picked up the first book one day when it was sitting there on the couch and read the first page – I was hooked!  I read the first four and then joined the rest of the world to wait for the 5th, the 6th, the 7th, and the movies.  I love love love these books!

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5. Reeses – Specifically the eggs, hearts, trees, and pumpkins – they have the best ration of peanut butter to chocolate out of all the Reeses options (I don’t care for the hard edges on all the Reeses cups and just eat the middle – these shaped ones are like having lots of middle and no edges!).  If you know me in real life or have been a reader for a while then this is no surprise to you, but I absolutely adore Reeses.  They are by far my favorite food in the whole wide world.  Yum!

That’s all for today – tune in tomorrow to see five more of my favorite things (note: these are not in any order – I’m just writing them as I think of things that I love)

Sunday night I made Michael a heart shaped chocolate chip cookie cake to take to work (for some reason I can’t get this picture to rotate!)

Tuesday (Valentine’s) morning I got up early and made Dashing Dish’s Triple Chocolate Chunk muffins.  These are seriously so incredible I cannot even describe them.  First of all, they are moist and rich and chocolatey (look how dark they are!  The chocolate chips on top look so light in comparison to the dark chocolate of the muffin).  They’re also easy to make, maybe not as quick as a boxed/bagged muffin mix but still easy.  But even more exciting is that they are pretty healthy – just 130 calories per muffin!  We loved them!

If you like chocolate cake, chocolate muffins, chocolate chips, or just chocolate you have got to try these out!  I can’t stop raving about them!  I followed her recipe with two exceptions: I used vinegar instead of cream of tarter (she gave that as an option and since I didn’t have cream of tarter I just used vinegar) and I ran out of sweetener (I used Splenda) and didn’t have enough so I ended up using about 3/4 cup sweetener and 1/4 cup white sugar, which is why mine were 130 calories and her nutritional stats list them as 116 – just fyi.

Moving on…must stop drooling…

Michael fried some eggs to go with the muffins

For supper we just had leftover baked ziti from the previous night.  I also made a new dessert but we didn’t really care for it so no recipe or rave reviews, sorry.  Just eat a triple chocolate chunk muffin instead.

I got Michael season 7 of The Office on dvd, some candy, and I made a “traveling journal”.  I forgot to take a picture of it but basically it’s just a notebook where we can write letters to each other and then hide it for the other one to find (kind of like the sticky notes).  I got the idea here and she gives some other great marriage tips/ideas so I suggest reading her post.

Michael sent me on a scavenger hunt to find my gifts – I needed a little assistance but I finally found them

“one of these things is fruity” – the gummy vitamins

“one of these things is binded” – the book (The Firm, I’ve been wanting to read is since I started watching the tv version)

“both of these are tidied” – the vitamins and the book had been tidied (put away) in what should be their rightful homes (the vitamins in the cabinet and the book on the bookshelf) (this is the part I struggled with)

“that last has a ratio that you have asked for” – Reeses hearts (I think the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate in a Reeses tree/pumpkin/heart/egg is much better than a normal or mini Reeses cup)

“and is hidden in a gift from before” – there were in my love letter box

Isn’t he just so clever and thoughtful?!?

I have to apologize up front for the picture quality of some of the pictures – some were taking via the tripod while Michael was out of town and others were taken in the wee hours of the morning in my full length mirror before work (but after Michael had already left for work).  So not the greatest pictures ever.  Oh well.

Wednesday – Bible study, work

(tripod picture, hence the cut off feet)

turquoise top/Loft outlet; cardigan/Gabriel Bros; skirt/Old Navy; tights/Payless; boots/Madden Girl via Marshall’s

Thursday – work

(I was glad I wore comfy shoes that day because I ended up trekking all over WKU’s campus trying to find someone’s office)

pink top/Liz Claiborne via Goodwill; long sleeved top/Limited; pants/Kohl’s; shoes/Rugged Wearhouse (aka Gabriel Bros)

Friday – practicum (all day in an elementary school library)

(you can’t tell in this picture but this was taken after school and I was covered in glitter from an art project we did with the kids – 3 things I forgot about elementary school: glitter, walking/standing in lines, and the car-rider line…wow)

sweater/Loft via Rugged Wearhouse (Gabriel Bros); scarf/Mom’s; jeans/Gap; shoes/Rugged Wearhouse (Gabriel Bros)

Saturday – Josh Turner concert

long sleeved top/Limited; ruffle tank/NY&Co; jeans/Gap; boots/bought in Texas; necklace/Burlington

Sunday – church

sweater/Limited; scarf (yep, that one again)/Mom; skirt/JC Penney’s?; tights/no clue; boots/Madden Girl via Marshall’s

Monday – practicum

(this one is so dark you can hardly see my outfit – so sorry!)

long sleeved top/Limited; short sleeved top/Gabriel Bros; jeans/Gap; shoes (flat, brown Mary Janes that you can’t see)/Kohl’s

Tuesday – work and Valentine’s (this is my cheesy Valentine’s outfit)

dress/Target; cardigan/Target; tank/Gabriel Bros; tights/???; shoes/Payless

2 observations from this week:

1.  I really love those long sleeved shirts from the Limited – they are perfect for layering!  I got them on sale a while back and I wish I had grabbed one in every color because they are so great.  Sigh.

2.  I’m loving that scarf!  Mom got it for Christmas and she loved it but it made her neck itch.  It makes my neck itch too unless I wear it with a turtleneck – it was actually cold a few days this week so I took advantage of that to wear turtlenecks with my pretty scarf.  These pictures don’t even do it justice – it has little metallic pieces that catch the light and look all multicolored.

Linking up to What I Wore Wednesday

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1. sugar free gum

This it like the trifecta of sweet tooth distraction: One, it’s sweet so my body thinks it’s getting a sweet treat.  Two, it keeps my mouth busy so I can’t put other food in it.  Three, I usually chew minty gum so the flavor lasts even after I’ve spit the gum out and I don’t know about you but I don’t like to eat anything else after chewing minty gum/brushing teeth/eating minty food so it keeps the food out of my mouth, at least for a little while.  Orbit Sweet Mint is my favorite.

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2. Crystal Lite lemonade

1 packet.  1o calories.  Tastes sweet like lemonade.  Yummy and helps me increase my water intake.  Enough said.

Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday.