2-28-09

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2-27-09

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2-26-09

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Natalie at the Oscars!

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Check out this picture of Heidi Klum at the Oscars. If you look to the left of her you'll see my friend Natalie smiling at the camera. Don't you think it was rude of Heidi to ruin Natalie's picture like that? LOL!



No phone call from George. BOO HOO! Natalie did run into Angelina Jolie in the bathroom and I asked why she didn't just give my phone number to her so she could pass it on to George. Natalie spoke to Angelina and apologized for taking up so much counter space but Angelina didn't say anything in response. RUDE! LOL!

I wanted to share another layout I made using April's Lucky Leprechaun Kit. Remember that the kit is on sell for only $3.00!



Today's the day you get to pick up the alphabet to go with Shel's White Chocolate Kit.

I'm not sure why you weren't able to leave comments yesterday, but I want to thank everyone that took the time to send me a "thank you" email. That was so nice of of you all! Hopefully, blogger has fixed the problem and you can leave comments today.

Coral Castle

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Have you ever heard of Coral Castle? It's in Homestead which is south of here and where I was born. It was built completely out of coral by one man using only hand tools that he made himself. This man was said to be only 5 feet tall and weighing in at about 100 pounds. He did most of his work at night and no one ever saw him doing any of it. There have been stories through the years about "aliens" building the castle and/or Ed having "supernatural powers". LOL!

The man who built the castle was 26 when his 16 year old girlfriend broke off their engagment. He left his home country of Lativia and eventually settled down in south Florida. He built the Coral Castle in hopes of winning her back, but it didn't work. She never saw the castle and he never married.

Do you remember the Billy Idol's song "Sweet Sixteen"? This story is the inspiration behind that song.

I used Shel's White Chocolate Kit to scrap some of my pictures from Coral Castle.



Ed didn't have a job, but he would give tours of the castle for 10 cents. The door says to ring the bell and there is also a sign there that says to "ring twice". It's said that if you only rang the bell once or if you rang it more than twice he would not open the door for you.



The Feast of Love table is a perfect heart shape and the plant that grows in the center is the original that Ed planted.

He built the twin beds for himself and his "Sweet Sixteen". There are also smaller beds for the children he hoped they would have.

Ed lived in the top part of the tower and kept his tools on the bottom level. For a man that owned ten acres of land he sure gave himself a very tiny living space. LOL!

Make sure you go by Shel's Blog to pick up the rest of the elements from this kit.

It's Monday again.

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Oh yuck, I hate Mondays! This should be a fun week though. On Friday we're having our 2nd annual Kinder Olpmpics. LOL! We decided to try this last year in honor of the real Olympics and the leap year. It was so much fun that we're doing it again.

By the way, last year I won the teacher sack race. After the race was over I noticed that my class wasn't cheering for me. One little girl looked at me and said, "You didn't fall down or anything." LOL!

I watched as much of the Oscars and the pre-show as I could hoping to see Natalie, but the cold medicine kicked in and I fell asleep. With my luck there was a great shot of her on the red carpet and I slept through it. LOL! SSSHHHH! If we don't tell her she'll never know! I just hope she's having fun.

Last week we were learning the letter "Z" so on Friday we made Zebra Shakes. It's just a vanilla shake with white and chocolate chips but it's good. I used Shel's White Chocolate Kit to scrap one of the pictures.



Make sure you visit Shel's Blog to pick up the first part of the elements for this kit.

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I'm just checking in quickly to post a request that I received from Toby. I felt bad about not getting this done earlier and wanted to post it for her now that it's done.

It's been a sad day

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I've been sad today. The grandmother of one of my students passed away early Saturday morning. They are a very close an amazing family. I had the big brother in my class a couple of years ago and now I have the little brother. I've gotten pretty close to this family and I am so sad for them.

Today I heard the story of how grandmom and pop-pop met. He was 10 and she was 5. He was best friends with her brother and played at their house alot. The boys would hold her hands and walk her to dance class for their mother. When they were teenagers he asked her out on a date and the rest is history. Pop-pop is really feeling lost without the woman that he has looked out for and loved since he was ten years old.

On a brighter note, Shel is giving away the papers for her new kit called White Chocolate on her blog. It's an adorable kit that that can be used for so many different photos. Here's the preview for you to see...



Here's a layout I made using the kit...



Oh and here's more sad news...STILL no call from George Clooney. LOL!

Kids always listen...

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I was talking to another teacher at school today who has a child in my friend Natalie's room. Apparently, her daughter heard us talking about the Oscars and saw the dress that Natalie would be wearing when she brought it in at lunchtime for us to see. She was able to pick up enough information to know that Natalie was going somewhere and that there was a TV show involved. She went home Thursday turned the TV on, started watching MTV and looking for "the lady in the green dress" LOL! She got the dress color correct, but I have no idea what she heard that made her think Natalie would be on MTV. LOL!

There was no call from George Clooney today. Do you remember when David Letterman was keeping track of how many days went by before he heard from Oprah? I kind of feel like I'm doing that with the call from George now. LOL! You know, he should just call already! LOL!

I got another layout done using April's Lucky Leprechaun Kit. I just love this kit!



Now, if you would like to pick up an awesome and free tagger size kit called Irish Eyes go visit Dianna at Digicats (and Dogs). It's her first kit and she has done a wonderful job on it. Make sure you let her know how much you like it so we can get her to do more! LOL!

The cold medicine is kicking in so I've got to get some sleep. Have a great weekend!

Still Coughing

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So, my friend Natalie flew out for Hollywood this afternoon. We are all so happy and jealous of the fact that she gets to go to the Oscars. She left with my home and cell numbers and strict orders from me to make sure she gave them to George Clooney. She promised to try her best to get it to him. I offered several suggestions on things that she could do to get close to him, but she seems to have a problem with doing things that may get her arrested. LOL!

I just hope she has a wonderful time and comes back with lots of stories and pictures. Of course, I will be watching the red carpet very closely to try and get a glimpse of her. I told her to fall down and that would guarantee that she got some camera time. LOL! Again, she just didn't seem to like my ideas.

I'm feeling a little better today then yesterday, but this cold is still getting the best of me. I've got the cough that just won't go away. YUCK!

Check out this cute set that April has on sale at Scrap It Sassy.



It's an awesome set! I've got lots of pictures that I can't wait to get scrapped with this kit. I managed to get one done today...



I promise to tell you about one of my "colorful" Irish ancestors later. LOL!

The cold medicine is kicking in now so I'm going to catch some sleep. Enjoy your day.

Quickpage

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I really don't feel well. I've got a cough that just won't go away. So, I'm keeping this post short and sweet. I've got a quickpage for you that I made using graphics from April's Chocolate Decadence Kit. Here's the layout I made...


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If you head over to April's Blog she is giving away some cute graphics for St. Patrick's Day. You'll also want to check out her stuff at Scrap It Sassy because everything is 50% off!

2-18-09

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Sixth Picture Challenge

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Dianna at Digicats and dogs has tagged me for the 6th picture challenge. Here are the rules of the challenge:

Go to your photo folder in your computer.
Go to the 6th folder of the photos.
Go to the sixth picture.
Put the picture on your blog with a description.
Invite six friends to join the challenge.
Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged.

All I can tell you is that I am so glad that I wasn't in the 6th picture! Cause I was in the 7th and it wasn't a pretty picture at all. LOL! Anyway here's my 6th picture...



These are my friends Susan (left) and Claudia (right) standing in front of the Venus de Milo on our spring break trip to Paris last year. This picture was taken on our first day in Paris after the over night flight from Miami and we were all walking zombies. Our hotel room wasn't ready and it was cold and rainy outside so we used our tickets to the Louvre to kill time and stay warm. LOL!

Claudia isn't able to make the London trip this year. For some reason her husband thinks she should be at home with him when they celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. LOL! That means there will only be three of us running wild on the streets of London.

Now, I need to tag 6 more people so here we go...

1. April at April the Scrapaholic and Photomaniac

2. Deanna at Flower Scraps

3. Shel at Shel Belle Scraps

4. Rose at Rants 'N Random Ramblings

5. Christine at Recollections, Myths, Legends and Memories

6. Cactus Freak at What a Scrappy Blog!

Dianna also gave me the Lemonade Award a couple of days ago and I need to get that posted and shared soon.

Cauley Square

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In south Miami there is this little tourist area called Cauley Square. The main building was built by William Cauley,a millionaire tomato farmer, in 1903. There are lots of little houses that sit on the 10 acre property and they were hand built by the early settlers of south Miami. The people who built and lived in those homes farmed and helped to build the "overseas highway" to Key West.

Cauley Square is now the home of several specialty shops and restaurants. The Village Chalet is my favorite! A couple of years ago our newspaper named this restaurant the "Best Restaurant for an Anniversary". LOL! Anyway, everything is tucked away on this 10 acre property and you walk along paths and brick walkways through the banyan trees to get from place to place. I've attended one outdoor wedding there and it was just beautiful!

Throughout the property you will find some beautiful water fountains. I used graphics from April's Fluttering Dragonflies to scrap some pics I have of them.



Here's another water fountain that you'll find at Cauley Square. For this layout I used Deanna's Music of My Heart Kit. It's a freebie kit that you can pick up on her blog, so if you don't have it yet make sure you visit her!

Photohunt

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I've never done the photohunt before, but my friend, April participates, so I thought I would give it a try. Besides, this weeks theme is "nautical" and I've got lots of pictures that will work! LOL! I took this picture last summer at the marina in Coral Gables. Gotta love those sailboats!


This picture is an oldie that I think I've shared here before. This is the view I have from the pool. That's Miami you see in the background.


It's funny that I decided to try this for the first time when there's a nautical theme because this is the weekend of the Miami Beach Boat Show. Do you know what that means? It means---EVEN MORE TRAFFIC! LOL!

Friday at school we celebrated Valentine's Day and the kids had a great time. One of the things we did was use a hundreds chart to color a heart. I used some of April's graphics to scrap the pictures. Here's one layout I made...



April has got a wonderful set called Chocolate Decadence that's on sell at Scrap It Sassy. I used it for today's layout. Here's a preview of the kit for you to see...

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Friday!

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It's been such a long hard week! Every weekend should have at least three days! The cold days we had have done their damage and all the kids at school have colds. I think that's added to making this week feel like it lasted for a month.

Thanks to our picket line yesterday I was on our local news last night and this morning. LOL! I didn't give an interview but my Friend and I had awesome signs so the cameras kept filming us. That was so funny because I really HATE to have my picture taken. LOL!

We're celebrating Valentine's Day at school tomorrow. Should be fun! Hopefully, I'll get some cute pictures to share with you.

If you visit Shel Belle Scraps you'll be able to pick up some adorable BB pages that Louisiana Lady made with the Celebrate Love kit. Shel is also going to give away some extra elements for the set. I'm excited about that!

Deanna has got her Music of My Heart kit up at Flower Scraps. I hope you've gone and picked it up! Here's another layout I made using the kit. I saved it as a quick page for you.

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2-12-09

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I'm sorry that some of you had trouble downloading the QP yesterday. I've fixed the link and you can download it here

What a day! I am so tired. Walking a picket line is hard work! LOL! Now, I'm sure that what we did will have very little impact on what the school board votes to do but at least we made our voices heard.

Today is the day that Deanna is releasing a wonderful music kit on her blog. Here's a quick layout I made with her kit. I think this picture was taken sometime in the 60's when we lived in Seattle. That's my dad on the sax.


Here's one with my class dancing to one of Dr. Jean's songs. She's a big hit with the Kindergarten crowd. LOL!


It's past my bedtime. Make sure you go visit Deanna at Flowerscraps and enjoy your day!

Wednesday

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Guess what I'm doing after school? I'm joining a picket line outside the school board office. This year they broke our contracts and didn't give us our raises. Now, they're telling us that they are going to take two days pay from us. That's just not right! Of course, the people who are planning to take even more money out of our pockets aren't giving up any of their pay. Isn't that always how it goes?

I feel bad because I meant to give you this quickpage last week and completely forgot. Anyway, it's from Flowerscraps portion of the Chocolate Cherry Blog Train.

***Link fixed now***
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On Thursday, Deanna will be releasing another great kit on her blog. I can't wait for you to see it!

I need to get some sleep. Enjoy your day.

Lucky Natalie!

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My friend Natalie is so lucky! She is going to the Oscars! Natalie has a cousin that works for the academy so Natalie is going as her "plus one". Today Natalie asked me for a favor and promised to bring me something from LA if I could help her--I told her I wanted George Clooney! LOL!

OK, true story time. A couple of months after Charlie passed away I got a notice from the security gate wanting me to update my information. They wanted to know the names of anyone living with me so they could get through the gate. They wanted to know the names of anyone that I wanted them to automatically let through the front gate, like family members. Then they wanted to know the names of anyone that I wanted to give restricted entrance to, like the water delivery guy. Anyone else would be stopped at the gate until I confirmed that I was expecting them.

Well, at this point in time, I was still crying on a daily basis because my heart had been broken into so many tiny pieces when Charlie passed away. Those tiny pieces all broke into even smaller pieces at the thought of his name no longer being on that list. I couldn't bring myself to fill the form out and turn it back in. I kept it for another month or so without writing anything.

When I finally decided that I just had to write something and turn it in. I wrote one name on the list of people that they should always let in, no matter what day or time it is. That name was GEORGE CLOONEY. LOL! Mom gets stopped at the gate, but if Natalie keeps her promise and brings George home to me he'll get through the gate with no problem. LOL!

Back to work...

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Today was a beautiful 70 degrees! Of course, they say that another cold front is coming through. This has been the craziest winter! I live in south Florida, we aren't supposed to even have winter!

It's back to work for me. I can make it...I can make it...LOL! I don't have big plans for the upcoming weekend, but I'm still looking forward to it!

I hope you've gone by Shel Belle Scraps to start picking up the Celebrate Love Kit. On Sunday she gave away the papers and today you'll get the first part of the elements. Here's another layout I made with the kit...


OK, I promise that someday I'm going to be finished with the pics from our 100th day. I'm just not sure when that day will arrive. LOL! These pictures have kids from three different classes. We went outside and did 100 exercises. Well, they did 100 exercises. I took pictures. LOL!

If you're getting tired of seeing these layouts just blame it all on Shel! If she hadn't made such a cute 100 Days of School Kit I'd have given up on scrapping these pictures already. LOL!

Here in Dade County students don't get art, music or PE until 2nd grade. That's crazy isn't it? Well, I was lucky enough to get in on a grant this year that gave my class 15 art lessons with an artist through the Arts For Learning program. It was lots of fun. I'm just sorry we couldn't have more art classes! One of the things that did was trace themselves to make little mini mes. I used April's Back to School Kit for this layout...


So, I need to get some sleep now. Enjoy your day!

Sunday already

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The weekends just fly by and it isn't fair! At least it wasn't cold today.

Shel is releasing another kit on her blog today called Celebrate Love. It's an adorable kit and you're getting it just in time for Valentine's Day. I made a layout with it using pictures that one of my students took. He has Downs Syndrome and decided to pick up my camera and play with it one day. Here's the layout...


And of course, I had to show you another layout I made using Shel's wonderful 100 Days of School Kit...


I got a set from April called Back to School. It's an adorable set with a little bit of everything you need for school layouts. Right now the kit is on sell for 50% off at Scrap it Sassy. I put together this layout today...