The ABC's of Me

I found this on on Dreams Do Come True and thought it was perfect for my first blog after my short hiatus from blogging =)


A - Age: 24

B - Bed size: California King

C - Chore you hate: Vacuming but luckily my honey does it for me =)

D - Dog's name: Peaches & Cabella

E - Essential start your day item: Shower

F - Favorite color: Pink

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Silver

H - Height: 5'3

I - Instruments you play: I used to play the piano but I am pretty sure I can't play anymore

J - Jewelry you wear everyday: my BEAUTIFUL engagment ring

K - Kids: not yet =)

L - Living arrangements: Our beautiful home with our two fur babies

M - Mom's name: Lauri

N- Nicknames: Manda, Manda Lynn, Manda Panda

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None

P - Pet Peeve: Flaky People

Q - Quote: Everything happens for a reason

I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.
-- Tammy Faye Baker (Stole this from Tiffany, thank you =))

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: A brother and a Sister

T - Time you wake up: Lately not till like 7:00, SLACKER I know =/

U- Underwear: Victoria's Secret

V - Vegetable you dislike: cauliflower

W - Ways you run late: I really try not to be late but for some reason I always seem to be a just a little behind

X - X-rays you've had: My arm, my wrist and my mouth

Y - Yummy food you make: Chicken Stroganoff

Z - Zoo favorite: Panda Bears

Feel free to copy it and fill it out yourself! It's always fun to learn new things about you!

My Furry Children

So I realized I have yet to talk about two of the most important people in my life, my two furry children, Peaches & Cabella.
Peaches, is my 3 year old pitbull. Peaches & I share a very special bond and she has been a part of my life since before I met Brian. Peaches has completely changed my opinion about pitbulls. She is the greatest dog I have ever had and wins over the hearts of anyone who meets her. Peaches is wonderful with children, small dogs, large dogs, everyone! The pitbull breed is so wrongly misjudged and I hope that through Peaches life she can touch many more people and change their opinions as well!

Cabella is our 1 year old yellow lab. Brian was given Cabella by one of his rice growers about 6 months after we started dating. Cabella has grown into quite the giant. Our family teases that she is part hound and part giraffe, however she thinks she is a lap dog.

Peaches & Cabella instantly became best friends and now do EVERYTHING together. They are literally inseperable. When Brian and I first got Cabella, Peaches was like a mother to her, Cabella could do no wrong and believe me she tried. Cabella would walk up to a sleeping Peaches and bite her right in the face and Peaches would simply lay there and let her bite her.

They ride in the car on top of eachother, it's pretty funny!

Do you have any furry friends? I would LOVE to hear all about them!

Musical Mondays

So since music is a huge part of my life and it can turn my whole day around I have decided to start a new blog on Mondays in which I will paste my theme song for the week. Here is my song for this week



I absolutely LOVE this song! It always reminds me of tropical weather and since Bri & I leave for Hawaii on Wednesday I figure it is very fitting. Brian has a work conference in Hawaii, the CWA or California Warehouseman's Association, annual trip.
What is your theme song for the week?

Five Question Friday

Five question Friday is completely new to me but I found it on the wonderful blog of Mama M.

1. Do you sing karaoke? If so, what is your go to song?

I can only sing karaoke after a few drinks otherwise I am way too terrified to speak, let along sing in front of a crowd of strangers. But usually when I do sing it's with a group of my friends and we sing, something country! "Man I feel like a woman" was the latest song.

2. What is your favorite coffee drink?
I LOVE coffee. In fact I am treating myself to Starbucks today because it's Friday and it's been a long week! My favorite coffee drink is a Non Fat, Extra Hot White Mocha with Whip Cream. Yes I know the Non Fat is kinda pointless when you order whip cream but what do you do =)

3. If you could choose your own name, what would it be?
I always thought if I could choose my own name it'd be something fun, unique and different with a really short adorable nickname like Lexi or Lex.

4. Were you ever bullied?
In junior high there were a couple girls who thought they could push me around because I was a goody two shoes but as I remember it didn't last too long. I guess I wasn't much fun to bully because I don't like confrontation =/

5. How often do you eat fast food? We try to eat healthy, so we don't have fast food very often. Although Taco Bell is one of my weaknesses.

A crumpled note...

Yesterday I got to sub for my wonderful 3rd graders who I did my student teaching with. Only yesterday they weren't so wonderful =( I am not sure if they were testing me because I haven't been around in a while or if they just decided they didn't want to work or if it was just a combination of multiple things. But yesterday was not one of my best days of teaching. I was definitely not a favorite teacher yesterday and the entire class had to miss recess and do their math work because no one wanted to do it during class. However, I think the worst part of the entire day was a crumpled up piece of paper a student brought to me during math. The corner of a worksheet had been torn off and on it was written "(A student's name) is fat. (Same students name) is a pig. "
I was horrified. These are 3rd grade students, these students are 7 and 8 years old. My sweet innocent 3rd graders aren't so sweet and innocent. Unfortunately I have no idea who wrote the note and I have no idea when the note was placed on the particular students desk. Of course no one in the class would admit to having written the note. I had a LONG discussion with the class about how our classroom is like a family and you do not talk to ANYONE especially members of your family in this way.
When did it become ok for children to say such awful things to one another???

Image found here

House Additions

Ever since we put in our hardwood floors I have been wanting to purchase a rug for the family room. Today I had a lovely shopping trip with the ladies of the neighborhood and we picked out a beautiful rug.

What do you think????

My Favorite Kiddos

Unfortunately my future sister in law has strepp throat and with three kids under 3 she has little time to rest. So yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the day with my ADORABLE future nieces. Ava, 3 and Lilah, 2 are two of the cutest children I have ever met. Since the day I met them they have both stolen a piece of my heart and I feel so lucky that I am soon going to be their "Auntie Amanda".

They cam over yesterday morning and we made homemade koolaid playdough and spent hours using cookie cutters to make various shapes and figures.
Eventually they tired of playdough but they found great enjoyment in helping me wash the cookie cutters in the warm soapy water. However somehow they managed to end up soaking wet from head to toe. With no extra outfits lying around I scrounched through my closet and put them in two of my t-shirts, that were more like dresses on the little munchins. However, as Brian and my future sister in law pointed out it's a little scary when a 2 year old can fit in your clothing =/.
After changing into dry clothing we put on Raffi music, brought back so many wonderful childhood memories, and spent the remainder of the afternoon dancing and making cookies. It was such a perfect day. Children bring so much life and joy.
What are your favorite childhood memories, songs, games?