Thankfulness....and enjoying a day off!!!!

Hello all!!! Happy Day After Thanksgiving. Many refer to this day as Black Friday but ever since my days of working at J.Crew (god, how I miss those days....), I always say its Green Friday. And boy, are the masses out today! I went with hubby to McD's for breakfast and the Target parking lot was packed!!!! And of course Rt. 28 was jammed. We are planning on going out tonight after Lessons and Carols at St. Joseph's to do some decoration shopping (perhaps a stop at Target!!!!) since the apartment feels like it needs more Christmas stuff!!!

Today has been a fun day... we took down all the Thanksgiving stuff and put up our Christmas decorations. Here is our checklist:

• Stockings, including Rosabell's
• Both Nativity sets
• My Lenox village pieces
• Various hanging signs and nick knacks
• Advent wreath with brand new candles
• Holiday coasters
• Christmas throw pillows
• and our Snowmen mugs make a great decoration and hot chocolate holder :-)

Going back to Thanksgiving, I wanted to make a quick list of the things I am most thankful for this year....

1. My husband... He is my number one fan and always supports me in anything and every thing I do. Last year I took the whole year off from working to obtain my teaching certification. And he was there, rooting me on and doing more than his share of things around the house so I could get all my work done! I am the luckiest gal!!!
2. Rosie.. our bulldog. She is not only our dog but a true member of the family. I never thought I would love an animal as much as I do. We kid that she is our daughter... and we spoil her as if she was our baby!
3. Family... I lucked out in the in-law department especially. My family rocks... that's all I can say.
4. Friends... Again, I am pretty lucky in this category. I am so thankful for all my friendships since they are all so different. Each friend brings out a different side of myself and I love how each one has their own individual talent or gift they bring into the friendship!
5. My job... Teaching is one of the best parts of my day. I love my students and feel so blessed having them in my life. I will never forget my first year and all the relationships I've made this year!
6. St. Joseph... I love my parish. I feel so welcomed and part of the community. I've been giving many opportunities to share my gifts and especially love taking part in the Mass each week.

I hope everyone enjoys their day off today!!!! And enjoy the sales today ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness;Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God;It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgivingAnd His courts with praise.Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good;His lovingkindness is everlastingAnd His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:1-5

November 24th

FOR TODAY (November 24th)

Outside my window...I can see my neighbor's porch light

I am thinking...about Advent and wanting to do it the right way this year

I am thankful for...one more day of school and then Thanksgiving break

From the learning rooms...we are working on our newspaper unit

From the kitchen...the lingering smell of Chicken Parm

I am wearing...my comfy pj's

I am creating...a better blog (hopefully)

I am going...to Boston this week (fingers crossed)

I am reading...Twilight (yes, I am jumping on the band wagon)

I am hoping...everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving

I am hearing...a funny movie in the other room

Around the house...I can see Rosie's dog toys

One of my favorite things...is my scriptural tea

A few plans for the rest of the week... are to make my Grammy's pumpkin bread, pick up my pie from the youth group, Mass Wed and Thursday, and correct 75 biography projects

Here is picture thought I am sharing...Rosie sleeping like an angel

Please visit Peggy's blog for more of the Simple Woman's Daybook http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Signs...

It's funny how things happen for a reason. This past weekend I had a bit of a relapse in terms of my worrying... I had issues with worrying too much back in hs and college (another story for another day). Well this weekend I felt overwhelmed so I wrote them all down on a piece of paper just to get them out of my head. Of few of them would be:

• Paying for grad school
• Choosing a grad program
• Passing GRE and GRE Lit tests
• Choosing a career path (middle school vs. high school teaching)
• And a few other embarrassing ones

Dougie is always wonderful about my worries. He lets me sound them out to him and then he helps me cross them off by either giving me advice or telling how its something I can't help so why worry about it.

Today after my long day at school, I decided to make myself a nice hot cup of tea. I usually pull out the good loose leaf stuff but today I felt like a plain cup of tea. So I pulled the only kind I have in the house.... my scriptural tea with a bible verse on every tag. This was mine...

"Be anxious for nothing...let your requests be known to God" Philippians 4:6

Its so nice having those types of signs from up above :-)

What a splendid idea.... Books for the Holidays!!!

I was stalking one of my favorite blogs when I stumbled upon this jewel:

http://www.buybooksfortheholidays.com/2008/11/about-buy-books-for-holidays-by-amy.html

As a teacher and a book lover, I strongly support this endeavor and proudly declare that I will be participating in this cause.

Friends and family members: You've been warn ;-)

FOR TODAY November 10, 2008

Outside my window... I can see the stars twinkling in the night sky

I am thinking... about going to bed early tonight.

I am thankful for... my health and for Veteran's Day tomorrow

From the kitchen...I have a clean and sparkling sink thanks to my hubby

I am wearing...sweatpants and a long sleeve tee-shirt

I am creating...a stronger relationship with my best friend

I am going...to do some recreational reading

I am reading...The Queen's Fool by Phillippa Gregory

I am hoping...to go to bed early tonight

I am hearing...my friends in the background

Around the house...I have a load of laundry in the wash

One of my favorite things...is a warm daytime nap

A few plans for the rest of the week... are to catch up on correcting, spend quality time with my husband, and treat my best friend to breakfast tomorrow.

Here is a picture to share...

Please visit Peggy's blog: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Election Day and Founder's Day... all in one!

Happy Election Day! Hope everyone had a chance to go out and cast their vote. What an exciting day for us!!!! I'm going to be glued to the tube for the updates as they come in. I have a feeling that Obama is going to win, but I'm holding out for McCain!!!!

Also, today is Founder's Day for my sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau!!!!!

Although I'm not as involved as I should be, it is exciting to be part of a sisterhood and the traditions that follow. So for those fellow AST's (if you are out there).... Happy Founder's Day!!!!

Anyways, nothing really new to report... first quarter grades are due this Friday so I've been focusing on those. I didn't realize how much grading I've done in the last two months!!!! Not looking forward to all that calculating.

Oh, and before I forget.... Here is the new car :-)