Seahawks Superbowl Party

Most of the bloggers out there plan way ahead and will give you recipes, crafts, decorations, and tips for an upcoming event. I give major kudos to those ladies. I, however, am not one of those bloggers. Not by a long shot. I am usually a week to a month late on posting about my holiday creations. Or hey...maybe I AM the ultimate planner and I'm getting you ready for next year. ;) No? Okay, well anyways, even if it doesn't help you prepare for your events, at least you can see what's been going on for me lately. And years from now, I can also look back and pat myself on the back for still doing the baking, crafting, decorating, party hosting, etc. even though I wasn't the ultimate blogger. :)

All that to say...here is what Superbowl Sunday looked like around here!

Starting with my paint chip dry erase calendar:

Thank you to Jacquelyn at Style Me Pretty for these free Superbowl Commercial Bingo printables.

Our guests had a really fun time with this game. Everyone got into it and we would debate about if something counted or not. Unfortunately we didn't think the commercials were that great this year and none of us got a black out but it still made for a friendly competition when we weren't focused on the game.

Here's the table decor. The megaphone and pom-poms were from the Dollar Store a couple years ago for the March Madness championship game and the tablecloth was less than a dollar at WalMart.

I made the footballs using my Silhouette and the ribbon I use as a belt/sash for one of my dresses. I love finding things around my home to use rather than buying or making new things all the time.

In case the crayons and colors on the table didn't give it away, we were cheering for the Seahawks!

I used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw the outlines of the letters and then cut the pennants and footballs with it as well. I used Sharpies to color in the letters. The twine and clothespins were already up from Christmas decor--this is where I displayed Christmas cards we received.

I had to get put away all my Christmas decorations so instead of having a bare dresser, I pulled anything blue and green that I had. (You can also see part of the awesome gift my hubby got for Christmas there on the left...he loves that bean bag and was so surprised!)

I didn't have any football printables or time to get one printed so I grabbed a chalkboard and drew something instead. I knew to use X's and O's and that yardage lines but hubby had to help me with the play.

So maybe candles, vases, and fake flowers have NOTHING to do with a Superbowl, but hey, they were the right colors!

Moving to the food and decorations there. And don't forgot the Skittles!

I used the negative space from my footballs and attached them to mason jars with a zig pen. I got the idea for the jars from Bev at Flamingo Toes. Yes, I know the stitches are white but I already had these brown ones that were just going to be thrown away so I decided to just go for it. (I am realizing I need to figure out a trick for taking pictures of glass jars...these didn't turn out so great. Also, can you see me in the spoons?)

When I saw this Seahawks silhouette design on Pinterest, I knew right away I would be using it! Thanks so much to Lisa at Sweet Benana & Sam for creating and sharing this free Seahawks SVG file! When I grabbed this design, I decided to create my own printable. I added the words and used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw it.

A couple weeks before the big game, during a quick trip to the grocery store for a couple items, I saw the plates and napkins and threw them in my basket. At that point, we hadn't even confirmed we were having a party but somehow Seahawks plates and napkins was all I needed as motivation. :)

Blue and Green Sweets!

I decorated two different kinds of cupcakes. Thanks to the class I took at JoAnn's I had a lot of fun practicing my frosting skills making these.

Sprinkles for the 12th man!

And a Skittle atop the swirl

Seattle Seahawks Cupcakes

And for the sweet 'n salty taste, I made three different kinds of pretzel rods: chocolate with heath, white chocolate with M&M's and sprinkles, and chocolate with a white chocolate football stitch decoration. I just couldn't resist using my blue mason jars from Target as the finishing touch.

In addition to the desserts, I made BBQ pulled pork for sliders and we had potato salad and veggies. My husband also made his own recently-created guacamole recipe which is delicious! Our friends brought several other yummy dishes. As is necessary for any Superbowl Party, we had lots (so many leftovers) of food, cheering, and fun! It made it so much better when our team won dominated the game!

So maybe you can use some of these ideas next year for any Seahawks game! :)

February Goals

We are one twelfth of the way through 2014, woot!

How was your January? Mine went by so fast, but was great. Disneyland was a blast! We were so exhausted each day and didn't ever stay til closing, but we did make it on every ride! I plan to post pictures and more about our fun adventures this month so stay tuned. :)

Once we got home and school started again it was go, go go. We finished the second quarter so the last two weeks I have been crazy busy with catching up on grades, report cards, half of my conferences, and trying to plan lessons at least a month out. My students finished their semester strong with awesome reports about an animal of their choice accompanied by a model of it's food web and a presentation. I love seeing what they are capable of doing!

When I haven't been stuck in teacher mode, I have been the videographer, biggest fan (read loudest screamer), and sugar supplier for my husband's basketball team. Last year, I started this thing where I would bake a dessert for the team whenever they won a game. This was a) my way to get involved and b) an excuse to bake and eat only 1 of whatever it was since my husband doesn't care for sweets and I could but shouldn't eat a whole batch of anything alone. Well, last year it was all fine and dandy. I baked every other week or so. This year...not so easy. They have been winning maniacs! They just finished the regular season yesterday and have a 11-3 win-loss record! They are second place going into the tournament next weekend. It has been SO much fun to watch and cheer for the team and they have played some amazing ball. However...all this winning has caused a bit of dilemma because I can't keep up with the baking! Guys, I'm 4 wins behind and the season is almost over. It has been a lot of fun to be involved more with the team this year. I've gone along on all the van rides, attended both out-of-town trips, and became a team favorite as made apparent by walking into practice with a plate full of warm cookies and not a single player can focus on what Coach is saying anymore. :)

Last night was senior night. It's so bittersweet (especially more so for my husband than me) to recognize the guys who won't be back next year. Two of them have been in the program since my husband started coaching so this year is even more significant as he says goodbye to his first batch of 4-year players. This year has just been so much fun and it will be hard to not have those four guys around. After a particularly rowdy game the other day where I had to sit in the other team's fan section for the best filming angle, I told my husband about how annoyed I was with some of their comments and cheers. I realized that it bothered me so much because I've almost adopted those 11 guys and feel protective and proud of them. When, I first met my husband, coaching and basketball was HIS thing. I had no desire or intention for it becoming MY thing. But it just goes to show that when your spouse is so passionate, invested, and good at something, you can't help but come along side them and support, cheer, and invest in it yourself. We are having the whole team over for dinner and a movie ("Glory Road") on Wednesday night and while I am a little bit daunted by the idea of cooking for 11 teenage boys (that's a lot of spaghetti!), I am excited to host them and know that the moments they spend with my husband and the other coach will remain as some of their favorite memories from basketball and even high school. We have high hopes for the tournament next weekend and a good end to this incredible season.

Well.....I certainly didn't intend to get all sentimental when I sat down to blog tonight. I was just going to tell you how I met and failed my January Goals and move on to this month. Ahh but that's the fun of writing...you never know where one thought will lead you.

So without further ado thought, let's recap on my January Goals:

1. Go to the gym 4 times
2. Read 1 book
3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)
4. Cook 1 new recipe

I barely accomplished the first goal, but made it for the fourth time yesterday morning. I read "Divergent" by Veronica Roth in 5 days (SOOO GOOD! I cannot wait for the movie). I (barely) got even 1 blog post in for the whole month (11pm last night). The new recipe was a cookie for the basketball team, which they loved so much they asked for it a second time. Thank you to Taylor at Trendy Schmendy for these easy and delicious cookies.

Here are my goals for February:
1. Go to the gym 5 times--with no report cards to worry about and the basketball season ending in one week, I think I can increase my presence in the gym.

2. Read 2 books--I'm already half way through "Insurgent" and have a few other books in mind to read.

3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)--since I didn't meet this one, we'll try again.

4. Cook 1 new recipe--I like cooking so I like challenging myself to try something new every so often

5. Get my Project Life out of the closet and start working on it again--I'm not setting a goal for how much gets done as long as SOMETHING gets done, I will be happy :)

6. Narrow down an idea for the curtains for my living room--I have NO idea what I even want

Did you have any goals for January? How did you do? What are your goals for February?

The First Step: Living Room

Leave it to me to wait until 10:35pm on the last day of the month to try and even work towards my blogging goal. Eesh.

At any rate, as of two days ago, we have finally accomplished the first step in furnishing/decorating our living room. Yes, it had furniture and decorations but it is a far cry from My Dream Living Room. If you looked at my Home Tour, you would have seen what our living room looked like three days ago. Well, I am tickled pink to say that after three different shopping days, many measurements and drawings, and eight stores on the final trip, we have purchased and received our new couch!!!

Other than bar stools, this is the first new piece of furniture we have bought.

I love it!

If you need a reminder, here's the before: 

And now:

(don't mind the drawers out of the dresser...hubby was in the middle of a project and I wanted to get the pictures before I left for work since when I came home it would be dark out)

 Before:

Now:

I am SO happy we kept looking until we found this one! There was a couple before it we almost bought. I am also quite glad that we didn't go with a bigger sectional. Our small living room can only handle so much furniture and the big reclining super comfy couch will be for our basement someday.

I had originally wanted grey, but after realizing there are so many brown tones downstairs with the kitchen cabinets, wood floor and carpet, I should probably compliment those tones. I am really happy with the color we chose. Kinda an oatmealish. In some lights it looks light brown/tan but in others it looks kinda grey. So I got what I wanted while still complimenting the browns. Double win!

As if I'm not happy with this couch enough, we discovered it can fit not just the 2 ways we originally measured for, but also a third. Ooooo, the rearranging/decorating flexibility makes me giddy.

So Step 1 is accomplished! Now onto Step 2, which I'm not entirely sure which that should be: curtains or different coffee table. Hmm...advice?

P.S. I did purchase the curtains from My Dream Living Room and they just did not work. Too orange and too small. So I'm back to the drawing board and totally clueless. Any ideas? I'd love to hear/see them!

January Goals

A new year brings resolutions, promises to oneself, and goals for improvement. Some last longer than others. Some never even happen. But whether or not goals were met, I think it is always important to take time to reflect. To stop and think, "what went well?", "what didn't go so well?", "why did it go that way?", "what can I do differently next time?" Reflection is a big part of education not only for the teacher but also for students and I believe that in life we are always learning. Even when we graduate and don't have to turn in homework, we are still preparing, studying, learning, and hoping to pass some "test" (interview, new recipe, marriage, important thing at work, etc.). Life is about learning and I don't think you can move forward very well unless you know how to first look back. Think of it this way, "Life is a Highway" and reflection is your rear-view mirror--you gotta have it and use it before you can ever change lanes.

So let's reflect, shall we? :)
Last year I made some goals, which you can look back at here. Looking at them again, I would say I was fairly successful at accomplishing them. The word "more" is a bit vague and I didn't measure in any way to know if I truly performed more in 2013 than in 2012, but hey, life's still a work in progress right? :)

For 2013 I hoped to...
~exercise more: I did become a member at our gym, took some classes, and biked to work for a month.

~to read more: sadly "more" in this case didn't take much. From what I can remember, I read 2 books for pleasure ("The Great Gatsby" and "The Astronaut Wives Club") and while 2 books for a whole year is not much to speak of, it is more than when I was still in college and planning a wedding.

~to craft more: I did use my Silhouette quite a bit, I sewed some pillows, I started work on my first Project Life album, and hubby and I made a few little wood projects. I also made several handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year.

~to make a recipe binder: this did not even the slightest begin to happen. Oh well, I still found recipes and we still ate.

~to grow my blog: this DID happen! Compared to lots of blogs out there, this was on a small scale but it was very exciting for me. With the help of linky parties and Pinterest, my DIY Chevron Mug post has had over 2000 views, I hosted a giveaway which had almost 500 views and I now have 63 followers on Bloglovin.

Besides my goals, here were some things I was hoping would happen this past year:
~be re-hired at the school I currently teach at, but I would prefer 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd: if you read my post "Back to (a new) School" then you know I did not get re-hired at the same school but am now teaching a 3rd/4th combo class at a private Christian school, which is going very well.

~start a couple's Bible study with a few couples we know: we tried! We attempted to have a monthly game night over the summer with 3 other couples to get to know each other better and then hopefully it would transform into a Bible study during the school year. However, summer just offers too many fun things to do and we weren't able to all get together except for the first month.

~take a fun trip somewhere: we took a road trip last spring break which you can read all about here

Not too shabby huh?

For this year, I have decided to make monthly goals. The thought of making goals for the entire year this time was a bit daunting to me. I wanted to work on a smaller, more attainable scale and be able to alter my goals based on the busyness, trends, and desires of life throughout the year.

So here are my goals for January:
1. Go to the gym 4 times
2. Read 1 book
3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)
4. Cook 1 new recipe

That sounds manageable right? Oh, I have lots of other ideas in my head for things I would like to do. But these are the only ones I am writing down and calling my "goals". That way, if I accomplish more I feel like Super Woman and if not well then hey, I still met my goals!

Be sure to check back at the beginning of February to see how I did and find out my goals for the next month.

Have you reflected on last year? How did you do with your 2013 goals? What goals do you have for 2014 or January?

Time: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Another year has come and gone.  Another chance for reflection on what has been and anticipation of what is to come. Time is a funny thing. We say we never have enough,  we use it as an excuse and yet we also recognize its value enough to read books on how to manage it.  Time is ironic.  It can stretch out every painful second of a tragedy,  bad experience, or dull meeting but then it will whiz by when you are visiting with long-distance friends, trying to accomplish everything on your to-do list,  or just taking a "short" nap.  And then you have God who is outside of time and that just blows your mind.

So how do we cope?  How do we maintain our sanity?  How do we find a balance? 

I think if we can learn to recognize each year, month, day,  hour,  minute, and second as a gift,  then we can begin to truly value and make the most of each moment. And I am totally preaching to myself here too!

I'm sure you've been asked the thought-provoking question,  "what would you do if you only had 1 day/week/month to live?  Tim McGraw even has a hit song about it. When we answer that question we never say worry, be jealous, argue, stress out, etc.  And yet, how many minutes, hours, and days do we spend engaged in those sinful wastes of time?  (again, preaching to myself here too!) I know some people (my husband and brother come to the top of the list) who are admirable role-models of what it means to live in the moment and focus on what's really important. I aspire (and quite often fail) to follow their example, but I'm not going to give up because 2014 is a new year, a new chance,  and a new gift of time. There will be wasted minutes and stress over such wasted minutes,  but every morning when I get out of bed, I receive another opportunity to live that day to its fullest potential. And as a wise teacher once said to a certain precocious red-head,  "every day is new, with no mistakes in it yet! "

So in looking back at some of the good times from 2013, I was reminded of big, small,  and even just-another-day occurrences. Here's a few highlights:

January--surviving teaching full-time Kindergarten (two half-day classes back-to-back)
February--signing the papers on Valentines Day to begin building our new home
March--home construction began
April--teaching 3rd and 4th grade math in the afternoons
May--spending a day sightseeing around eastern Washington with friends
June--moving into our new home
July--being a bridesmaid in my friend Jill's wedding
August--the Color Run with my family
September--starting a new school year at a new school and two new grades
October--coaching volleyball
November--a birthday weekend filled with fun activities
December--a quick weekend in Seattle to see all my girls

And with another year upon us, here are some of the good times I'm looking forward to:

January--Disneyland!!!  and the kick-off of Wyldlife
February--our new couch arriving
March--March Madness
April--a trip to Ireland
May--seeing my brother graduate from college and seeing Wicked
June--finishing my second year of teaching
July--being a bridesmaid in my friend (more like my sister) Abby's wedding
August-- being a bridesmaid in my friend Katie's wedding
September--new school supplies
October--hopefully coaching again
November--turning a quarter of a century
December--the Christmas season

Our New Home Photo Tour

I have sat down and worked on this post several times over the past 5 months. It has been on every to-do list I have written (which, if you know me, is a lot of to-do lists!) It really just takes a day off of work and no school-related things to even think about to get it done. At any rate, our new home tour is finally done!

Okay, this is a LOT of pictures coming at you! I did my best to show the house as if you were walking through it and to give reference between pictures so you can piece it together. I hope you enjoy!

This picture speaks for itself :)

Entryway as you come in the front door.

This was not part of the original floor plan but rather just a large family room when you walked in. We added 3 walls to make an office and entry way both with closets. I have a vision for this entryway someday and the bench/organizer we are going to build!

Entryway from the other side.

What you see when you look straight as you come int the front door. 

You can see the opening to the office on the right. 

Someday we may put sliding barn doors or French doors in the opening.

First look at the office.

The other side of the office. The added closet could make this a bedroom someday if needed.

Our desks fit perfectly! It was meant to be. :) 

We have plans to build a built-in corner-desk-for-two at some point.

A good sized office. We have said a couple times recently HOW
glad we are that we added this to the floor plan.

Next as you walk down the hall, there is a bathroom and closet to the right.

Plain bathroom, nothing too special...yet :)

I love having this closet for all my glass serve-ware, candles, and cleaning supplies.

Another perfect fit! This wall was meant for my Entryway Table.

This is the first thing you see when you walk in from the garage, 

so we keep our purse/backpack on the bottom shelf.

This is the view as you come in from the garage. Not bad huh?

Standing in the kitchen, looking back towards the front door.

The first part of kitchen you can see is what I call Command Central. 

I envision this being where we keep family binders, phone chargers, mail, etc.

To the left of that is the fridge. We got the kind that has a seal over it...so no fingerprints!

You can also see the door to my pantry.

Inside my pantry! One of my favorite things about this house. 

It's kinda bare now (as far as pantries go) but I have many Pinterest ideas for this one day too.

Moving right along to where the baking happens. Mmm, I love those colors.

Above and below, the cupboards are filled with items related to baking. 

This little counter area is called my baking station.

I love my gas stove and convection oven!

Lots of cupboard space. The one to the left of the oven 

goes all the way back to the wall on the left.

My stainless steel sink (so much nicer and deeper than the one at our rental!)

We keep the dishes and glasses in the cupboard on the right--very convenient for emptying the dishwasher.

We added the peninsula/raised bar. I canNOT imagine my kitchen without it. Look at all that extra counter space, not to mention 4 drawers and another deep cupboard!

The raised bar. I need to find bar stools soon. Oh and I love my pendant lights!

After the kitchen comes the dining room. We opted out of a house with a separate dining room. 

We are not fancy and formal like that.

And then there's the family room.

 Minimal decorations on my piano "mantel" and also the perfect place for the mini grandfather clock that my brother-in-law made for us. We plan to add some little corner shelves below it to make that wasted space behind the door to the basement less wasted.

 

 Other side of the family room.

Through that door (two pictures up) you can get to the basement. 

We are SO glad we added a basement.

It is unfinished but we look forward to the project of finishing it in the next couple years.

This little utility room is for the water heater and will also serve as our network room eventually. Hubby did all the network and cable wiring in the house himself and it all terminates here in this room (where the black and white cords are spilling out of the whole in the plastic). He has plans to finish that all up and add a server. Being an IT guy and all, he enjoyed having control of that aspect of our house.

The pool table that made it successfully down the stairs thanks to 7 strong guys.

We plan to turn this into our REC/media room someday with a projector, big TV, and nice comfy sectional couch.

Another view

From the other side

There is a big storage room under the stairs as well, which I believe is practically full (we have a lot of stuff :s)

 Coming back up from the basement, this is the view of the main living area from the other side.

Looking out the slider at our patio.

Back yard to the left. Notice our beloved AC unit :) and try to ignore my pitiful dying flowers.

No neighbors behind us yet. Trying to decide if we want to put the fence up ourselves or wait a little and see if someone moves in who wants to put the fence up.

We plan to build a little waterfall and pond in the back corner someday.

I love how this gets shade in the afternoon and evening! 

It's so perfect for grilling, eating, and relaxing in the heat of the day.

As you come up the stairs to the second floor. The Master is the door on the right and the door on the left is Bedroom #1.

This is Bedroom #1. I love the built-in window-seat chest and the bookshelves. This room will eventually be the nursery when that time of life comes for us.

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom--we changed the original floor plan from a soaker tub, shower and 1 sink to a tub/shower combo, 2 sinks AND a linen closet! Yes, I'm biased but I think this is a way better layout and the builder should consider changing the floor plan :)

Extra-high counter tops which is SO nice for us tall people.

Lots of natural light comes in.

First (and still the only) thing to be put on any of the bare white walls. A gift from my brother two years ago just waiting for a permanent living place so it could go up. It is my life verse.

Here's the added linen closet I was telling you about. No Pinterest-worthy organization or anything but love the extra space.

Master walk-in closet! LOVE this so much.

Eventually I think I want to re-model it with 2 rods (one above the other) on one wall and some built-in shelves, drawers, shoe rack, etc.

Leaving the master, at the top of the landing looking the other way. The big open space is the loft which goes off to the right as well. Bedroom #2 is that door on the right. The closest door on the left is the laundry room, the 2nd door on the left is a bathroom. Facing door is a closet and the hidden door across from the bathroom is Bedroom #3 which is our guest room.

The loft! The couch is no longer here as my college brother took it for his place. I love this space so much and have great visions for it being an awesome play area etc. for our kids one day.

Bedroom #2 is filled with all my childhood furniture, books, and toys that my parents had been keeping while I was in college. This will all come in very handy if we have a girl.

Bedroom #3, aka the Guest Room. Seeing as we have had 4 different guests already, I should probably really think about getting some curtains on the windows...oops!

Guest room still.

The closet--for now it is storage for games, extra linens, and household items.

I love having the laundry room upstairs SO much.

It's a good-sized room and I also have dreams to Pinterest-ize this one day.

 (yes I just made Pinterest into a verb)

Upstairs bathroom. (P.S. it is not easy to take pictures of bathrooms to A. get it all in one shot because how many pictures of bathrooms do we really want? and B. to not get yourself in the mirror.

?

And for the final "room"--my husband's favorite--the garage.

We have a 2-car main stall and then added a 3rd tandem stall.

The back part of the 3rd stall is hubby's shop. With our 3rd vehicle currently in the front part and bikes in the back, we are realizing we need to get a shed for a lot of the stuff so that there is actually room to work and create fun projects. The door on the back wall goes to the backyard.

He built this shelf with his dad in one day.

From the back, looking towards the front.

And looking back towards the entry into the house. When you walk through that door you are standing right in front of my little green table.

And that's all folks! Thanks for taking the tour. :)