Her Top 5 for Friday (1.2.15)

Happy Friday! Though today is a bittersweet Friday. Sean is back at work after taking the week off to spend time with his dad and stepmom. It's my last weekday of break from school. But it is a Friday and we have our church group meeting tonight so that makes it sweet. 

We hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and a wonderful start to the New Year. It's hard to believe that it is 2015 already. Didn't 2014 just start? *sigh* Time is rolling by so quickly. 

Well, without further ado, here are my top 5 events from this week:

1. Are you going to be the "Biggest Loser"?
I am ready to get back on the healthy and detoxing track after some indulging over the holidays. Thank goodness for Arbonne! I am hosting a biggest loser style challenge for those who are ready for an easy way to eat cleanly and be healthier. I would love it if you all joined me!

 

2-5. Family Visits
Sean's dad and stepmom have been traveling around Europe for 5 weeks. They stopped by here for a few days on their way home to Australia. It was so great to spend time with them. 

We took them to a Mexican restaurant for enchiladas and fajitas. They loved them!

Mexican food is yummy!

We also visited Colonial Williamsburg for some good ole U.S. history.

Hello Governor!

While visiting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, we got to see a cargo ship go out into the ocean over the car tunnel. So cool!

Safe travels to the crew!

Sean's stepmom got to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. One of my favorite things to do in Australia is go visit the Pacific Ocean so I thought she would like to do this while here. She had fun!

Atlantic Ocean - meet Liz!

You can tell from the pic below that Sean and his dad are very similar in looks. It's uncanny how similar they are. He loved having his dad and stepmom here. I hope they can visit again soon!

#twinning

How did you spend the last few days of 2014 and they first of 2015?

Happy New Year,

 

Her Top Five for Friday

Hi everyone! I know I have been pretty silent around here lately - shocking to those who know me for sure! I think they would argue that I don't know how to be silent. ;) I have had a lot going on with school, Arbonne (click here for more information on that - I am loving my second job!), and home. I promise that I am going to try to be a better blogger and get back to blogging regularly. Sean does much better than me and he posted two things this week. Click here to read about our stay at the Tropicana Resort in Las Vegas and here to read about all the amazing food he made for Thanksgiving - OMG! it was so good!

Because it is Friday - whooo hooo!! - I wanted to share our top five moments of the week. Here goes - 

1. Funny Kids
Eighth graders have the best personalities! I am loving all the little quirks that my students have this year. One that is pretty prevalent is that they like to make me laugh. For example - in the middle of Civics class on Wednesday, a student said:
"What do you call a deer with no eyes?" 
I said I didn't know and prepped myself for the punch line, because his buddy was already giggling.
"No eye-deer." 
Isn't that cute? He's also the student who showed me this picture last week and told me that it was his new motto for life...

Source

2. Two Weeks
I am so excited that Christmas is less than two weeks ago. I love the holiday season - the giving, the family time, the food. It's great! This season is going to be even more special, because the day after Christmas - two weeks from today! - Sean's dad and his wife are arriving for a one week visit. I am so excited! Sean's dad has not been here in a decade and his wife has never been to the States. This is going to be fun!

Source

3. Games at School
My students have iPads issued to them to use while they are here at school. They can't download any apps, but the county has filled them with awesome apps to use in all of their classes. I am loving all the new things we can do in class because of the iPads. One of the things I am loving most is the website Kahoot. Teachers can go in and set up multiple choice questions for the students to answer. As the questions are presented, students are awarded points based on how quickly they answer correctly. After each question a top 5 leaderboard appears. My kids are in love with this game! They don't even know they are learning, but I know it is helping them remember all the Civics stuff they have to know. Some of my lowest students are starting to show up on the leaderboard because the repetition of questions every day and the fact that they are so engaged in the activity is causing them to remember so much more! I love, love, love it! Here is a video I found on YouTube that shows a class using Kahoot. 

4. Coworker Chills
A coworker talked to me a few weeks ago about Sean making a quilt for her mom. She had some old cotton nightgowns that belonged to her grandmother. She asked Sean to make something with them. The quilt is beautiful and my coworker said she had chills when she saw it. Tune in tomorrow to see photos (Sean will post them for our Super Saturday Snapshots). 

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5. Twelve Days of Christmas
I am having an Arbonne sale - 20% off these twelve gifts that are perfect for anyone on your Christmas list. The last day to order and get the items by Christmas is Monday, December 15. The perfect thing about Arbonne - well one of the perfect things? The items will be shipped directly to you. Usually they arrive 4 days after I place the order. Let me help you check some people off your holiday list! There is more information about all of these products on my Facebook page - Amanda's Arbonne Adventure.

Thanks for checking in and hearing about our week. I hope your week was amazing and that your weekend is full of holiday cheer. Do you have any special holiday plans this weekend?

Happy Friday

His and Her Fuel your Faith and Top Five for Friday

Have you liked our "His and Her Hobbies" Facebook page? If not, click here!

Happy Friday everyone! 

This week's posts:
Monday - Travel Review: The Giant Fiddle of Sydney, Nova Scotia
Tuesday - The Guy Who Sews is In Business!
Wednesday - Her Love-y Photo Collage
Thursday - TBT Christmas in July

Today, we are linking up with Jessica at Joy in the Journey and Lauren Elizabeth for the combo Five For Friday and Fuel Your Faith linkup parties. 

1. 

Mandisa is a former American Idol contestant who has used her gift to create uplifting, christian pop songs. She chooses a set of verses each month for her #WordWarriors to memorize. This month she chose the verses above and I will be working alongside her to memorize them and put them into practice in my daily life. If you don't follow her on Facebook, I encourage you to "Like" her now. She posts beautiful messages each day and is an inspiring individual.


2. (Amanda) I finally found the motivation to tackle some of the school projects that I brought home as my "summer school" work. This week was all about my classroom library. It is now organized by genre and I got the labels all ready to go. Then the fight began. We have an old printer here at home and what it calls purple and blue is not exactly what I would call purple and blue. As my middle schoolers would say, "The struggle is real". I think a new printer is now on my list of must-haves. 



3. (Sean) I took a hiatus from riding my bike to work and the longer I didn't ride the harder it was to start again. This week, due to a fluke with my truck, I started biking. I missed it and am happy to have it back.



4. (Amanda) We have been doing a lot of organizing and decorating this week. It started with moving an end table from the upstairs to the downstairs and continued with hanging art on the walls, picking fabric to recover a glider rocker, and cleaning out a catch-all room. There is more to do but it was a good start. Come back tomorrow for pics of some of the projects we have been completing.


5. (Sean) I sold another bag on Etsy! This one was a knitting themed project bag and it went to a very nice lady in Arizona. I could not be happier that someone liked my work and made a purchase. I talked about the store on Tuesday, the link is at the top of this post. I can do custom orders (I started making cinch-sacks if anyone is interested in one of those). Leave a comment or email me and we can talk. Thank you all for the support!


What were the highlights of your week?


Have a great weekend everyone!

His and Her Five for Friday with Fuel Your Faith

Have you liked our "His and Her Hobbies" Facebook page? If not, click here!

It's been a while since we linked up for our Friday recaps. We are glad to be back!

This week's posts:
We took a little hiatus at the beginning of the week, driving back from South Carolina, and decontaminating after a brush with poison ivy up the poison ivy (see #4), but we finished this week strong.
Wednesday - Her Wordless Wednesday
Thursday - Her 13-14 and 14-15 Back to School Goals

Today, we are linking up with Jessica at Joy in the Journey and Lauren Elizabeth for the combo Five For Friday and Fuel Your Faith linkup parties. 

1

2 (Amanda) We spent the 4th of July weekend with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece in South Carolina. We hadn't seen them in a couple of months so it was nice to spend time together and see their new home. I had a blast hanging out with them and playing with my niece. I'm hoping to go back with my parents in August for some more family time. 

I used the app/website Roadtrippers to try to find some fun places to help break up the long drive. I found a dessert and coffee cafe in Durham. I ordered a triple chocolate mousse cake, chocolate gelato, and a latte. Everything was insanely delicious and I cannot wait to stop by this place again on the way down to South Carolina!

Click here to see Francesca's Dessert Cafe's website.

3 (Sean) I put in an application to be a vendor at a local craft show a few weeks ago. I received a reply and sadly my application was not accepted. They had a lot of applicants and a limited number of spots so some of us had to be cut. I was a little disappointed but I am already looking into another craft show later in the year to display my crafts. (I also have some of the items for sale now in my Etsy Store)

Isn't this pacifer clip cute??

4 (Amanda) A friend and I have started walking twice a week and I love it! It's adds variety to my workouts which I am grateful for. Last week, we walked in a park near my house and I must have brushed against poison ivy because my legs had a pretty icky rash. It's my first brush with the "evil ivy" (my new name for it) and I must admit I hated it. However, my clothes and linens have never been cleaner. I washed everything I could have possibly touched or contaminated with color safe bleach, on the heavy duty cycle with a presoak and extra rinse. The cycles took two hours each! I am glad that the rash is going away - finally! Here's hoping I never have to deal with the evil ivy ever again!

5 My brother in law and I went to play a round of disc golf around Clemson University at night. It is pretty popular with the students. It was a little bit different to regular disc golf as your targets were items such as stop signs, trees, doors and light posts. The course was a lot of fun and one of the holes even had you throw into an elevator and then continue once you got up to the next floor. The only bad part was when I had a bad throw and one of my discs landed on the roof of one of the classroom buildings. It was a totally different experience to a regular game of disc golf, but one I would happily do again.

How was your week? We hope it was a great one.

Happy Friday,

His and Her Five for Friday with Fuel Your Faith

Today, we are linking up with Jessica at Joy in the Journey, Lauren Elizabeth, and Hello! Happiness for the combo Five For Friday and Fuel Your Faith linkup parties.

This week's posts:
Saturday - Chalkboard Wall 
Wednesday - The Easiest Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Thursday - Deadly Animals of Australia - Dangers in the Water

One:

Two: 
The Scripps National Spelling Bee was on ESPN Thursday night. I love watching these kids strut their stuff and show off those spelling skills. I am hoping that I can find it online to show it to my classes next week. I think they would get a kick out of some of the words.

Three:
I actually found time to sew a couple of projects this week. I worked on some pacifier clips (that are up on my Etsy store if you know anyone who needs one) and a project bag for Amanda's friend. It's nice to have the time and energy to sew on a weekday. 

Four:
Tonight is GNO - Girl's Night Out!! A bunch of friends and I are going to dinner and then to see Maleficent. I am so excited to see this movie and I cannot wait for some down time. School has been really stressful because it is state-wide testing time. That is always tough on the kids and teachers. It will be nice to let my hair down, laugh, and enjoy a good movie.

Five:
It was nice to have an extra day off last weekend. Even though it was busy, it was relaxing and a much needed break.

What great things happened this week for you?

Happy Friday,

His and Her Five for Friday while Fueling Your Faith, Week 8

Today, we are linking up with Jessica at Joy in the Journey, Lauren Elizabeth, and Hello! Happiness for the combo Five For Friday and Fuel Your Faith linkup parties.

One: Fuel Your Faith

Two:

On Monday, my 8th graders began the scheduling process for high school. The counselors came over and talked to them about classes, graduation, etc. I was happy to be there to see them so excited about what lies ahead. But a part of me was very sad because I know this means they are that much closer to leaving me. I really do love my classes this year. Such a bittersweet feeling.

Three:

I received orders for 3 more knitting project bags from Amanda's friends. It's a great feeling being able to turn a couple of pieces of fabric into a functional item. I will share photos in a future post once they are all done.

Four:

Tuesday night was a knitting meetup. I just love getting together with these amazing women who make life seem a little brighter and little less chaotic. We eat, we knit, we support, we laugh...it's a definite highlight of my week!

Five:

I finally was able to obtain a copy of the second Hunger Games movie on DVD. I enjoyed it, but I thought it was a little boring in the middle and not nearly as good as the first movie. I am glad I finally got to see it and am glad I didn't spend the extra money going to see it in the cinema.

What would make your top 5 moments of the week?

Happy Friday,