And my poor poor bedroom looks like a tornado came through.... yesterday it did not look like this, but when a girl can't find her cami - this is what happens. 
China was a little scared too. You see her over there not sure how to enter the room? She has this thing where she can't step on things. You think i'm kidding - she walks very gently around everything. Watch this video!
My sister is moving back to college tomorrow and once again, I never really think about it until the day is almost here. When her bed gets full of clothing and bags are being packed then I remember, 'oh yeah, you are leaving - like moving out leaving'. Then I have the capability of getting super emotional because I think really deep about it, but you know, that's just ol' dramatic me!
The Nester had a (blog) party a few months ago titled "10 minutes to a room you'll love" and this post pretty much has the same idea. Finding things around the house that you may not neccesarily use very much and either re-painting, or doing something else creative, so that you can find a place for it that will make it look great! That sentence seemed extremely long. What it really means is - Use What You Have So That You Don't Have To Spend Any Money! You probably have a ton of things around your house that you could place in just the right spot and it'll pop or pull things together! You never know what you might find tucked away in a closet. 
I found this painting that my grandmother actually did when she was still living. Grandma Billie, my mom's mom, passed away over 22 years ago and although i've never met her there are things I see around the house that show me what her life was like. This painting was hidden in a box in a storage closet - I found it in June. FREE!
This candle holder was in my mom's craft room crammed onto one of the shelves and hidden by a load of junk. I stuck a candle on there from my bathroom and wrapped some jewelry around it.
This 'M' was given to me by my room mate my freshman year of college. FREE! The necklace was a purchase I made last year at some point and never got to wear because the first time I went to put it on I broke it. It looks pretty good draped over my initial though.
I'm so not a decorater and have zero clue what the "rules" technically are. It's more like I pretend to decorate and just hope that it looks alright! When looking at magazines I usually pull ideas, and try to some-what copy what they did.... when I like the idea! Or I'll see something really, really, really great in my head and then not know how to pull it off in for real life. Just mess around til' you get something that looks pleasing to your eye! That's the gist! 
The elephant was a gift from my mother about 10 years ago when she redid my bedroom for my birthday. The clear vase holding the pine cones came from the florist on Valentine's day (it was my sister's not mine). The picture was purchased on sale last year when Kirkland's went out of business in the mall. The vase and candle holders were a really cheap Walmart find a year ago as well. 
I also added this scarf that my best friend gave me this past week. The basketful of papers wasn't appealing to me, so I figured the scarf could hide most of that. Plus it adds a little hint of color.
Twigs and pine cones that you can literally get out of your yard. FREE! 
(excuse the boring nuetral theme - in the future I do plan to incorporate this warm red color... in fact there are a few pieces here and there that bring it into the room! Just not quite enough yet!)
So... I challenge you to incorporate that one piece that you can't figure out what the heck to do with, and dare you not to spend any money for that empty space on that dresser or shelf... Just Use What You Have!The speaker at our District-Wide meeting showed us this video on Monday. I've watched it 3 times since then because it's so moving. And wanted to cry like a baby each time.
As Mike Dagg said (much more eloquently of course) - sometimes the best gift you can give someone is helping them be (or accomplish) something they could not be or do on their own.... giving someone the tools they might not have access to other wise.... whether handicapped or not. As teachers we do that everyday, but I believe it applies to all relationships.
Well, it was back to work today for all school employees in our town! We had our District-wide meeting which, by the way, I thorougly enjoyed! The speaker was amazing! He kept us laughing the WHOLE time! If you'r going to be stuck in a meeting for 3 hours that's the kind you want to be stuck in.
Here are mom and I in our matching t-shirts! We'll be on the same campus again this year!
And another fun, church friend who works at Crockett as well! Diane and I got paired up for this game we played at our meeting this morning.... let's just say we didn't do so hot.
And could my nose be any larger in the picture on my badge?
We were quite a giggly group - when you get into the midnight hours dilerium sets in!
Did you get up to see the shower? 
One of our favorite things to do as a family is camp! People always make fun of us because what we do is really not even worthy of being called 'camping' or 'roughing it', but nevertheless we truly enjoy it! Not having to worry about schedules, places to be, demands, nothing to distract your attention.... a ton, a ton, of family time! 
Mom is totally enjoying her new barge!
We've gone out on the barge many times this past week to watch the sunset as a family! It's absolutely beautiful! Isn't this blue strip the coolest?
I don't know if i've mentioned it on my blog yet, but i'll be working at an Elementary school here in town on the Kindergarten Team! The principal called me up a few weeks ago and offered me the job! I'm excited at all that i'll learn, but in the meantime my online classes are still going strong! Those will come to a close at the end of September! I'm taking a test on the 9th of September, so if you think about, say a little prayer!
I added a new link on my side bar - (in)courage! It sounds like it's going to be an awesome place to click over and visit so maybe you should check it out for yourself. There were 20 or so women who were asked to write/share and be apart of (in)courage... three of which are - Emily from Chatting at the Sky, The Nester, and Angie from Bring the Rain. You can click on their names to read more about this new blog site!