New Artist

I'm working on our pictures from Paris. Here's a new artist to check out while you wait. I kept hearing her songs on KLOVE and decided to check her out. Francesca Battistelli CD is great! Check her out!

Something new

I had to share the good deal we got today! After Italy and all the traveling we have done the past few years our luggage has taken a hit. When I got a 30% of coupon in the mail I decided to take a took at some luggage. We got lucky. We found a 5 piece luggage set that was 50% off plus our 30% off means they practically gave it to us :) One of my favorite things is the color which is chocolate brown. No more looking for our black bags along with all the others. It also has embellishes which makes it look nice as well. As for the best part (besides the price) it has 4 wheels as opposed to 2 on most. As we were traveling in Italy I was envious of those bags with 4 wheels. They seem so much easier to use. We will see if I'm right!

TAKSed to the Max

Well, I survived our first round of testing at school. I ended up in the Instructional Specialist office all day today. You have to pack things a certain way and all materials have controls forms to go with them. It's just a nightmare! Oh well, it's done till April. I included pictures of what my office looked like yesterday. Since I tested writing kids in there everything up. Also, since I have lots of "fun" stuff in my office I covered that up as well. It's actually kind of soothing and I haven't taken the sheets down yet :)

I am ready for the week to be finished and to be on a plane to Paris! Steve's birthday is tomorrow and I am excited to help him celebrate. I am cooking at home, his request! I hope everyone is having a great start to March! I love that the trees are starting to bloom. On my way to school I pass by several trees that bloom in purple. Seeing them just makes me happy and it's a great start to my day.

Last minute deal

Spring break is right around the corner (8 days) and we just booked another trip. I know, I know... we were going to stay in town and catch up on things at the house. Well, sometimes when a deal comes up you HAVE to take it! So, we are headed back to Paris for the break. I say back because I have been twice, in '98 (a quick weekend) and '06 (for 8 hrs). I found a GREAT airline deal and just couldn't not take advantage of it!! Okay, I probably could not have but I didn't want to :) We are going to do a side trip to Nice/Monte Carlo as well. I am most excited about visiting my friend, Kerri, who lives in Paris while her husband is working there. We traveled together back in '98 while we student taught in London. I'm a bit stressed though. For our Italy trip I planned for months and sought out lots of information. With this trip it is so quick I don't have much planning time. That's okay though. We are going to go and have fun!!

Vday weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. It was a good one for us. We enjoyed the boys bball games on Friday night to start the weekend. Saturday was a relaxing day. Steve and I have enjoyed our tradition of cooking dinner ourselves instead of going out and fighting the crowds. It is the one night a year we use our "fine" china and crystal. We only have the 2 place settings at our house, the others are still at my parent's. This year's chocolate covered strawberries turned out much better than last year (and much cheaper than HEBs). Today I woke up with allergies that kept us home from church. My eyes now seem to be a bit swollen which just figures. We did make it to a movie though, Confessions of a Shopaholic which was funny but makes me glad I don't have a shopping fetish. One more nice thing is that I get to sleep late tomorrow due to a professional development meeting, oh fun!

Treat from School

Last week was National School Counselor Appreciation Week, did you know that? Not many people did and I was surprised that my principal found out (I'm hospitality chair so I'm in charge of all that fun stuff- what was I gonna do, tell her to celebrate me :). My school surprised me with a yummy Cookie Bouquet. It was a great treat to end a busy week. The spring at a Texas elementary school or any school is very busy. We are 12 days away from TAKS which has gotten everyone a little on edge. These are the days I am glad I was in school back in the day before all the testing.
My sister, Steve, Karen and I went to see He's just not that into you on Saturday. It was a good romantic comedy (my favs) so that was a plus. The real fun though was sitting next to Cheryl and telling the characters what to do and how stupid they were being. I'm sure Karen and Steve thought we were a bit crazy but that's okay!

The next trip

You know you travel a lot when people are always wondering where you are going next. Oh the pressure!! :) Although a trip to Hawaii, some more of Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), and of course China are in the future (maybe the distant future but still...) we are staying in the continental US for our summer trip. My parents are taking us to Family Camp in Colorado at Estes Park. I can't wait!

Since we have some time in the summer Steve and I have decided to continue our road trip north. We are looking at Jackson Hole, West Yellowstone, and Salt Lake City. I'm looking for tips... things to see, what to do, where to stay, any thing I should know that you would like to pass on. Thanks in advance!!