What I'm Loving lately...

I've been meaning to share these "finds" for a while just didn't have time to get around to it, until now. 

I think I've tried numerous "faux" tanners out there since giving up the tanning bed over a year ago. The product that I have fallen for is the Banana Boat Summer Color tanning lotion. Holy moly does this stuff WORK! The first time I applied it, the next day at work my co workers asked if I had spent the afternoon outside! I was like, nope it's my fake tan! LOL They were shocked and totally thought I was pulling their leg!

My best advice to using this the best way possible is to SHAVE and MOISTURIZE a ton before putting this on. I shave everyday, so this was not a new step in my beauty routine, but adding a real thick layer of lotion BEFORE putting on the tanning lotion was. I have been in love with Soap and Glory's Butter lotion and I don't think I'll ever use anything else ever again!!! 

I've also been loving the Living Proof Shampoo. PSSHHT. Say what?! The hair queen shared a hair secret! This shampoo is good stuff. I love it. I bought the "kit" to start with, hoping that I'd love it and wouldn't of wasted my money. Thankfully I am in "love" with it and will definitely be buying the full size bottles of shampoo and conditioner! 

I watched Jennifer Aniston talk about it on facebook, and was really aggravated at how many mean women there are out there commenting really hateful things on her wall, like "oh she must of spent all of her money if she has to do a hair care informercial." Boo to those negative nancies.


Lastly, 
I recently tried a new moisturizer 


The first 3 days I was like wow! A moisturizer that works! But after that, I wasn't feeling the "fresh" or rejuvinated feeling I felt when I first tried that. I mean 3 days and wham my face already built up a resistance to it?

Anyone else have this problem!? 

I am still using it, I even tried rotating with the 3 other go to moisturizers I have to "change it up" on my face to see if that would help.

Any must have beauty products out there that y'all are using and loving?

What I learned about myself today..

I learned a few things about myself this past Monday..

1. I cannot do pushups...Like no more than 7 the girl way. My face turns so red you'd think a heavy 250 lbs woman was doing them. Yeah that was me. Completely discouraged and frustrated. 
Also doesn't help having your husband the fitness guru have to help lift you up off the floor the the last pushup because you can't push yourself up. That's how little upper body strenght I have.

2. Husband and wife trainer/trainees don't mix well. Some things like gym time I think are best left to do alone rather than "together" if you get what I'm saying.

3.  I hate digging through my purse trying to find keys or anything!!!! Nothing worse than being at a check out counter and taking 4 extra minutes before you can actually get out to your car! I even switched back to my Modalu purse that I loved so much last year, and I don't give a bleep that it's from "last year." 

4. It took everything in me NOT to chase two 10 yr old boys in target who picked up two random razor scooters out of the kids section and were racing...yes racing down the center aisle of the store. The mom just said, "don't run into anybody." are you freaking kidding me? Stellar parent right there. NOT. 

Moving on to the Bachelorette....


I miss Desiree with bangs!!! Anyone else think she looks better with them?!


So far my favorites on the show (in no particular order)

Brandon (the adrenaline junkie)

Ben (aka the guy with the kid)

Zak (aka shirtless guy come on)

and Drew



There were a few other contendors but I'll leave it at that!

Memorial Day

Have a Happy Memorial Day, and to all those who have served in our armed forces, especially those who gave their lives, Thank You.

Let's go to the Movies!

Okay. I fully admit I am a Fast and Furious junkie. I admit whole heartedly that I've seen every single movie in the theater. I own all of them on DVD (Cept the Tokyo Drift one) I mean hello no Paul Walker then no bueno in my book!


This latest installment was AWESOME! Jam packed with action action action. Yes, some of the action sequences were very over the top, but I mean from the beginning all the car action scenes have always been that way!




Tyrese was the funniest person in this film. Great acting. He had my husband and I cracking up.

If you liked any of the movies in this series, I would highly recommend seeing this in the theater while you can.

Almost Done!

Two days left of the school year till SUMMER! Woo hoo! This year seemed to drag by, but then the last 2 months or so have really flown by!

This lizards are the most asked about art project ever. I always save it for the end of the year. The kids are always so excited to make them!





These are 2nd grade Ice cream sundaes. I must admit I was a little surprised by a few comments on instagram, some people didn't seem to see that is was ice cream!?












In other news, this scene has been driving me bonkers. Shoes all over our closet floor. I don't own that many pairs. So I went on amazon and bought a shoe cabinet. 

That was a real pain to put together. Not to mention it has to be "Mounted" to the wall to securely hold it up. Bleck! 

Husband wants me to return it, but after all that assembly, I say no way! Those little shoe racks just don't seem to cut it for me! 

Classroom Friendly Supplies Pencil Sharpener Rocks!

Dear Fellow Educator Blog friends, 


Or anyone that uses a good old pencil in their household, you will want to check out my Vlog about Classroom Friendly Supplie's sharpener. Troy the founder of the company sent me the sharpener for free as long as I reviewed it and shared it via with you fellow readers so here it goes!!! :) 




Please excuse my very dirty counter, however I am an Art teacher and my art room is a place where we are in constant "GO GO GO" mode and cleanliness it the last thing on my mind when we are busy making masterpieces!

Here's the link to the website where you can purchase one of these awesome sharpeners yourself! Spread the word!


This product gets 2 thumbs up from me, and I will definitely be telling my staff to purchase one for their own classrooms!

9 Days till Summer!

I can hardly believe that there are only 9 days left in the school year! I am SO ready for summer!

Here's what we've been up to the last 2 weeks in the art room!

Kinder Clowns! Clowns in MY art room are NOT scary. I encourage my children to throw out that notion, and to view them as happy circus clowns who love to be silly!

Here are some metal foiled masks that are completed by my 5th graders.

Third grade made reflection cities! They are such a hit! The kids go bonkers when I spray the water on the blank side and then they see the markers transfer to the wet side of the paper! Poof! Like magic!

2nd Graders are busy with their Chalk still Life. I have to admit, as messy as chalk is, I absolutely love how vibrant their art turns out!

4th grade just learned about Laurel Burch. They got to do printmaking for the first time. 

Gatsby. The Great Gatsby

Where do I even start?!!

Anyone have this as a required High School reading? I did!

"The Great Gatsby fills every second of its 142-minute running time with images designed to take your breath away, whether you’re marveling at the overhead shots of Manhattan circa 1922 or appreciating the old-fashioned movie star charisma of Leonardo DiCaprio in his prime. (You want him to wear a pink suit and drive a yellow car? OK, he’ll wear a pink suit and drive a yellow car, and he’ll own it.)" Except taken from here

The film was so beautiful! The colors so bold you couldn't tear your eyes off the screen! I was so impressed seeing this movie. It was like reading the book, but yet somehow, our modern world was even somewhat shown in the film (the snippets of current music that we listen to today where cleverly added in) 

Did I mention that the same director who directed Romeo and Juliet also directed this film? He knows a good lead actor when he films one! Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing. Holy hotness. I never viewed him as "hot" until this movie. What a good looking man he's become!

I am considering copying Kristalinn and getting this sweatshirt she debuted on instagram last night!

There were only 2 things that bothered me about the film.

First, I felt like the first 20 minutes of the film were so quiet. Almost as if the volume in the theater weren't turned up all the way! Did anyone else notice this?

Second, I caught two audio screw ups in the film...

first, there was a scene of a saxophone player at one of the Gatsby parties and they cued the sound of a trumpet to it! I was like what the!?! Totally didn't like that. 

Second, there were a few scenes of verbal talking that didn't align with what they were showing on screen. I noticed this when Leo and Toby were in the yellow car and you could hear/see Leo talking but his lips weren't moving. Someone in the editing department didn't do their job very well! 

Aside from these two bloopers, I do highly recommend seeing this movie. And it is husband friendly :) don't feel like you are dragging your husband to a chick flick because it's so not one! 

Speaking of the name Gatsby...

Did anyone's brain flash back to the movie 27 Dresses starring Katherine Heigl? Her boss in that movie, George, had a Bernese Mountain dog named Gatsby!!! 

My husband brought up an interesting point. He said, clearly people have not changed over the years. The partying which was clearly depicted in the film, the fast cars, the lack of seriousness in taking marriage seriously....all of that is so much how our world is today. 

The scene where Toby's character is outraged with no one showing up to Gatsby's funeral is very true with how insensitive people are. Everyone wants to be your friend when your the "it" thing in the world. And when you're not anymore, people make excuses, showing that they were never really your friend all along. 

Good observation or what? 

That's my husband for ya. :) 

What did you all think? 

Mothers Day

Mothers Day. (((Sigh)))

I always get the question, is it a really hard day for you?

Answer:  No. 

That's the complete opposite of what most expect me to say. I know it's the opposite of what Katie  over at Keep Calm and Carry On wrote on her instagram pic today too. 

No, it isn't a hard day for me. If I am being really open, I'd say it's more of an annoying day in terms of social media. I find it ridiculous how Facebook blows up and everyone pays homage to their moms on the INTERNET for the world to see. And for what really? To prove to the world that they all love their moms on this one joyous day? Gag. 

 In all honesty, when you lose someone you love, such as a parent, at such a young age, the pain subsides and doesn't hurt as bad as time goes on. Numb is the best word I can use to say that I really don't "feel" anything anymore about her being gone. She just is. Gone....

 My mother has been dead (deceased.passed on, all of the words mean the same) now for 18 years. 18 years. It's practically a lifetime. In a 13 year old girl's world, it is a life time. Being 30 now, I just don't feel the "need" as I did when I was little, to feel down in the dumps about her passing on. I love her more than words can say. She taught me so much for those few years we had together. Time inevitably makes one numb to the pain. Over time you just realize it's about here and now in the moment and that's all that counts.

So to all of you that still have their amazing moms, hug them and do a little happy dance. You are the lucky ones. I may of only had mine for a few years, but they are years I'll always cherish!

 Here's my Sunday Tune 

I am obsessed with Mariah Carey feat Miguel's new song! I was literally driving in my car, heard it come on the radio and thought to my self, hey that sounds like Mariah Carey! Once at a stoplight, I pulled out my phone and Shazam'ed it and sure enough it was! Needless to say I've been listening to it non stop on Spotify!

Art Overload

As the school year winds down, the crazier the kids become and the more art projects I am cramming in to get finished before school lets out for the summer!

Here's what We've been up to in the art room since April! :)