Snow Days are the Best Days

Well....I guess you can't officially call it a snow day...closer to an "icy day". Nonetheless, I've taken advantage of the day off by getting some things done. It's 1:02 as I write this post and I've finished up wrapping presents, which I spent WAY too much time on trying to make them pretty, because they just get ripped open, but I enjoy it. I've put a dent in the laundry and tidied up the apartment, and I've finished up my Christmas craft project for my co-workers (the letters above). I got this idea from a super crafty friend of mine, Hayley, who made me one for my classroom as a birthday gift. I'm thinking that when I have a baby (yes, I know that is a long time off) I'm definitely going to make my own letters for their room. It's so cheap and you can pick your own design instead of just a solid color when you buy them pre-made. I might even make Addi some for her room for Christmas...hmm...better get busy on that! If you want to know how to make them, it's simple. Buy the letters at hobby lobby in the unfinished wood section. Pick out some scrapbook paper that you like, and buy some Modge Podge (glossy kind). Trace the letters onto the back of the scrapbook paper and modgepodge the paper to the letter. Then seal again with modgepodge over the scrapbook paper. Add some ribbon detail and voila! Super cute and inexpensive! I made 5 and spent $15. Well...I'm off to venture to the mailbox, my big outing for the day! As you can see, better warm up the car first!

And the Winner Is...

My school won 1st place for our float in Bryant's Parade of Lights. We won a 4 foot tall trophy and $100 bucks (which will undoubtedly go towards next year's float because the small group of us who worked on this have all sworn we aren't buying CRAP for next year's float). Who can beat a bunch of elementary teachers? We can always make something out of nothing and we've got way too much energy.

Winter Wishes!

Hello everyone! We hope you're getting into the holiday spirit. After a great Thanksgiving weekend with our families, we sure are! This year, we have decided that we are most thankful for being closer to family. It was so great to NOT have to drive 5 hours to get home! We spent our time watching college football (go hogs!), stuffing our faces, and helping decorate our parents' houses for Christmas. We also got to see a few friends. Here are a few highlights.

EeEk!

Have you ever seen a scarier Halloween costume? Well...we didn't win for scariest costume...but I think we dressed up in one of the most popular choices this Halloween. My sister-in-law, Tiffany's, birthday falls on Halloween, and with them home now, we got to celebrate in style with her! We hope it's the start of a new Halloween tradition at Luke and Tiff's.

Yikes! 2 months!

Oh my goodness! Two months! I guess you can tell that we've been busy! This is our first weekend in town since school has started. We've been busy enjoying our last weekends at Lake Ouachita & Tenkiller, celebrating both our birthdays, celebrating Drew's 3rd Birthday, going to my friend Hayley's engagement party, my cousin's wedding in Kansas City, and visiting family! On the weekdays, when we get off work, we are pretty lazy. We spend our nights deciding who is going to cook dinner and what shows we are going to watch, but have promised ourselves that we have to get out of the rut of being couch potatoes! We just signed another 6 month lease for our apartment and hope it will be the last apartment lease we ever pay! I'm getting really excited thinking about being in a house by this summer. I've started buying home magazines and thinking about aesthetics while Dustin is the budget king and only cares about having a big yard and nice outdoor area. Luckily we have the same style, so I think when we find the one, we'll both know it. Here are some pictures of the past couple of months.

Back to School!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile....my life lately has been consumed by inservice and setting up my classroom, so life hasn't been too exciting. So after tons of shopping and hours of labor...I finally finished my classroom! I think only teachers truly know and appreciate how long it takes for to set up a classroom. It is such a tedious job! I had open house on Thursday and met 21 out of 28 of my new kiddos! I didn't get pictures of open house, because I was completely bombarded with talking to a gazillion parents, but I did take some snapshots of my finished classroom. Oh, and the outside wall ended up saying "Mrs. Collyge's Hut" instead of the winning vote of "Let's Get Wild About Learning" because my team liked the hut idea so much that we all ended up making one!