I'm 22!

So, my birthday was one week ago and I am now a mature 22 year old! Sadly, I am still the youngest teacher at my school! Speaking of gaining maturity, my knowledge has also increased about a couple of topics in the last couple weeks and I thought that it'd be good to share them with all of my wonderful blog followers! So, here is what I have learned:

1. Gummi vitamins WILL melt if you leave them in your car during the day. They form a big blop of gummi goo and are a waste of $8.99!

2. There is such a thing as magnetic paint! Anything you paint with it, will become magnetic! Awesome, huh? For those of you who were wondering, I painted my classroom chalkboard with it :)

3. It takes 35 minutes to get from my apartment to Oates Elementary school without traffic...WITH traffic, it's a good 45-50 minutes. (And there will be many more trips in the future!)

4. Bagels from Panera Bread making every morning worth getting out of bed!

and, finally...

5. Words with Friends is the perfect game to play when you're supposed to be paying attention in trainings :) Especially with Realityqueen...haha!

I wanted to leave you with this gorgeous picture I took of the view off of Ben and I's balcony! Ben keeps talking about, one day, sailing his boat in that pond/lake/reservoir so we'll see!


Pictures of my FINISHED classroom coming soon!!

Sparkles, my BFFAE, babies, and Sushi!

Here are some pictures from my life lately...

My bes fran came and stayed the weekend with me when Ben was out of town (I'm a wimp) and we had a great time just hanging out! I will miss her greatly now that she lives 4 hours away in Dallas! But, on the bright side, we will be spending 5 days and 4 nights together in the great state of New York in December!

PS-we love wine :) and I love my colorful wine glasses even more!


After that was 4th of July! There was watermelon, fireworks, sparklers, the lake, and everything to make a perfect celebration weekend. Oh and Ben had his red shirt, so he was set :)





For dinner one night, Ben and I decided to make sushi! We both love sushi but have never actually made it! Well, our adventure started with me hitting up the Asian market (and we have one of those since we live in the ethnically diverse city of Houston). First of all, I felt SO awkward there. I was definitely the only white girl and I don't think I heard ANY English. It took me about an hour of shopping to find everything I needed. After all of it was said and done, it was VERY tasty! We are planning on making it again later this week since we have so many ingredients left!


And, last but not least, I went to a baby shower on Saturday and they had some of the cutest details I have ever seen! First of all, the cupcakes (courtesy of Lauren Wells) were adorable! The baby's room has a monkey theme so the cupcakes followed right along with that.


And secondly, Sarah and Melanie are amazing at making a simple little hor douvre look SO cute!


So, that has been my week :)

A-131...Mrs. Weber's 1st Grade Classroom :)

So, I finally go the chance to get a sneak peak at my classroom and move a little bit of stuff in! My first view walking in...

(View walking in the door.)

I know what you're thinking...it's huge!! Yep! I love that there are two different "learning areas:" one for teaching time and one for table time. And I love that there's tables...I mean 1st grade is too young for desks, I think!

(View from the other end of my classroom.)

(My easel and rocking chair!)

There was a rocking chair in the room I student taught in and I fell in love with it. I just knew I had to have one in my future classroom! So, before I had gotten a glimpse of my wonderful classroom, I started looking on Craigslist for a rocking chair. Little did I know, but there was a perfectly wonderful one waiting for me in A-131!

And then there's this cute little light-up palm tree and 1st grader sized chairs! I think it's precious...maybe it'll be a special reward reading/learning area! Haha! I like it!

And, lastly, although I know this has nothing to do with my classroom, I was being crafty with a friend of mine the other day and lo and behold, I found a duster in her car! It is totally her to dust her dashboard whilst driving (ps-in the picture we are on the highway...)! haha...had to document that one! Love you friend!

I am Employed!!!!!

So, I thought that my newest life achievement should be it's very own blog post! I GOT A JOB! Now, I knew that I would get a job eventually, but after applying, interviewing, e-mailing, etc. and not hearing anything from anyone, I was getting a little discouraged. But, I am the newest 1st grade teacher at Oates Elementary School in Houston ISD. At this point I am terrified and feel like I have so much to do to get ready for the year but I'm trying to take it day by day and get stuff little by little (today I got $0.24 binders at CVS...steal!!). I am very excited though! I know I was banking on getting Kindergarten but I really am excited to be in 1st grade! I just hope that I can find some good mentors at my new school!! I'll leave you with a picture of my new school!! :)

Things to Do...Places to See...

So, I was at Borders the other day (I go to bookstores an awful lot these days) and I saw this book entitled "1001 Places to Go Before you Die." This title is not only depressing but, as I was flipping through it, there is a lot of stuff on there that I don't think ANYONE would want to go do. So, I have made a list of my own...in no particular order.

Drive on the German Autobahn

Being married to a nerd and having a dad who likes cars, I have watched a lot of Top Gear in my day. Now, I'm not complaining about that fact because at times it is entertaining, but I know way more about cars than I'd care to at this point in my life. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Top Gear (courtesy of the BBC), it's a car show with these 3 hosts who constantly make fun of one another and find themselves in all sorts of crazy situations. That being said, this show has made me want to rent a crazy expensive car (Bugatti Veyron, anyone?) and drive as fast as possible on this amazing stretch of road! We all have our dreams...

Harry Potter World
I mean, is there really any description necessary? Who hasn't read ALL 7 Harry Potter books and not wanted to go to Hogwarts?? Nobody...

European Alps
Not only do I want to ski in the Swiss Alps (all the cool European families do it!) but ever since seeing Maria spin in circles on top of this gorgeous hillside, I have wanted to do the same exact thing in the same exact place (she's actually in Austria...but they're pretty much neighbors right?). Chances are I would have to be airlifted in because I don't see any nearby roads but who wouldn't want to stand on top of a mountain and sing their heart out??

Spend the Night on a Train
I'm sure in reality, it's a lot less fun than it sounds, but it's just something I've always wanted to do. I have this vision that a sleeper train is a lot better than trying to sleep in a car. In a car, it is impossible to get comfy...no matter which way you face or how you contort your body. Then when you finally get to where you're going, you're grumpy and irritable because you've been attempting to sleep in a car all night when in reality you've been up for 36 hours. BUT, when you take a train, you fall asleep quickly and comfortably and, voila!, you wake up at your intended destination rested and ready for adventure!!

I'm not really picky as to where my sleeper train takes me, but as long as it's somewhere similar to the Polar Express, I'll be happy :)

Well, there are so many other things I want to do and places and I want to see but those are definitely my top four. We'll see if they ever happen!!!

For now, I'm content being the Real ApartmentWife of Katy!