Five on Friday!

Whew! A teachers favorite days of the year are the day of Christmas break and the last day of school. I promise I absolutely love my job (more than I could ever express) but when I woke up this morning, I was happy that it was the last time with an alarm clock for 2 weeks!!! I will definitely miss my sweet kids and wonder what they are doing but I will also relax and enjoy this much needed break. 
I am linking up with Christina for 5 on Friday today!!..

1) Although I said I am ready for a break, this week started off better then I ever could have dreamed... I was crowned teacher of the year. To say I was excited, overwhelmed, honored, thankful (& lots of other feelings) would be an understatement. I do not teach for recognition but it was nice to be recognized!

2) I have a few New Year's resolutions for the new year but the biggest one is to start meal planning again. When I have a meal planned and the ingredients ahead of time, the night goes so much smoother.  Look for that come the new year!! 
3) I have school on my mind still (& promise to cut it off sometime tonight) and am so thankful for such an amazing team of teachers that I work with. These 5 make the good days better and the hard days easier!

4) I am getting so excited about all of the quality time we have coming up with family the next 2 weeks. The craziness of reality will slow down and I can't wait to soak it all up!
5) STARBUCKS! I have just discovered how awesome some of their drinks are which is a BAD deal! I have an addictive personality and have enjoyed 1 too many Carmel Brulee's lately. Who can really say no to the little red cup (which I thought was super over-rated a couple weeks ago!)

I hope to be back soon but in reality family trumps the blog! If I am not back before Christmas, I hope that all of my followers have a very Merry Christmas!!

Tis the Season!

I absolutely love this time of year!  
Our house has such a homey feeling and it has been so nice to curl up on the couch with my husband, dogs, hot chocolate, and a nice fire in the fireplace. Friends are posting on FB that they are starting to get cabin fever...had you asked me yesterday, I would have said I was fine but I am getting a little antsy now. Since Thursday night, I have taken a couple showers and then put on a new pair of pajamas/comfy clothes. I did go work out on Friday and we just got back from getting pizza but I am done with the cold!! 
Our district just made the call that school is yet again cancelled tomorrow... I may have to get out and do some shopping! Speaking of shopping,  I have had a lot of time over the past few days to make my Christmas list. Here is what I have my eye on this year...

I'm off to make some spiked hot chocolate and enjoy another relaxing night in front of the fire with my loves!! Hope you all had a great weekend!! 

Fingers crossed for some sun to melt all this ice tomorrow!!

Five on Friday!

I am linking up with Christina on this unexpected day off!!

1) Living in Texas, we get so excited, anxious, panicked, and scared when there is a slight chance of ice/sleet/snow. Being a teacher, we have been watching the weather like CRAZY all week! One of the larger districts in our area cancelled classes for today early yesterday afternoon. I was hoping and praying that we would get the call last night...and... we DID!!! I have enjoyed laying relaxing all day so far and really am not sure what I am going to do the rest of the day. Here are a few pictures.. we didn't get near as much as others but roads are bad. 

2) I don't like cold weather so I do not like this upcoming forecast... I live in Texas so that I don't have to deal with the above and the below cold temps. 

3) I am halfway finished with my Christmas shopping! This is a big deal because I normally wait until the absolute last minute. I may have to do some more online shopping since it looks like we will be iced in for a few days!!
4) It is baby boom central in blog land! So many of my favorite blog friends are posting that they are expecting. I am so excited for them and can't wait to follow. Baby fever is HIGH over here..!!
5) Meal Planning... I need to get back into it. I love coming home every night having a plan for dinner and feel very stressed when I don't have it planned. Here are some meals that I am wanting to try. You can find them all on my Dinner pinterest board. FInd me here!! 

Be sure and link up for Five on Friday and check out the other blogs that do! I have found so many new reads through this link up!!

Thanksgiving break recap!!

One of the biggest perks of being a teacher is getting the same breaks for all holidays like when we were younger!!   Minus one set back, I enjoyed every minute of last week. I didn't realize how much it was needed until the other night when I was pouting that it was over. Here is my big recap from the week!!   I don't have a picture (bad blogger, I know) but last Monday I had lunch with a friend at a place called Whiskey Cake. We went to the one in Plano and it was so good!! The whiskey cake is to die for!!! Had another lunch with a group of teacher friends on Tuesday. It is so mince being able to catch up with everyone that you don't get to spend as much time with (even if you see them at work everyday!)
We left for our parents house after Chris got off work on Wednesday. He started to not feel good late that night and ended up coming down with the flu. Boo.. not how I wanted to start or spend my vacation (I'm sure he didn't either!). The rest of the week/weekend was spent driving all over the place so that I (H stayed in bed most of the week) could visit all of our family. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking..
Me with my sister and cousin! 

Love this picture of us!!

Chris & I- he was trying to smile and enjoy his time out of bed...

My mom recently moved and is slowly unpacking.. When my parents got divorced (a long time ago), my dad turned his wedding ring into a necklace for my sister and earrings for me. My home had put them in a "safe place" and for the longest time could not find them. We were going through a bag of jewelry and found them. I was almost in tears when she said this was them.. I had never seen them, just had heard about them. They are so special and will now be in a special place in MY house!! 

We said our goodbyes and headed home this past Sunday afternoon. I was itching to get home and get our Christmas decorations out!! Here is our tree that I absolutely love!!

Couple other decorations on the mantle (sorry for the bad quality pic, it's from my phone). If I get around to it, I will do a full post of our Christmas decorations!

I have enjoyed reading all of your Thanksgiving recaps!! It is just want I needed to motivate me enough to post mine!! 

Have a great rest of the week,