Noooo...Summer, you are going by to quickly!

After all the craziness with school ending...

I've been enjoying a pretty relaxing break. Even though I am working a summer job, I am still able to get some "vacationy" things into my schedule.

I've been cooking some yummy dinners. (It looks so much better in one of my new Pyrex dishes!)

What's more summery than watermelon? (Again, all the more delicious when served from yummy turquoise Pyrex!)

I finished a baby blanket for a friend who had had her baby awhile ago. I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of it after I had already wrapped it. This was my first quilt done all by myself--from start to finish. And it was the first time I machine quilted a quilt. (Yeah for the internet!!)

I think I'm addicted...

I wonder who this could be for?

Oh yeah, and my Pyrex addiction--I mean collection--has gotten a little out of hand. I've given myself a budget for how much I can spend each month. I spent the entire summer's budget in just one month!

Thanks to my mom for finding these beautiful casseroles with cradle.

Beautiful yellow Daisy casserole.

Pink! I love pink!

Oh, no! Another project. I wonder who will get this one?

And that's pretty much my summer so far...it's going by waaaay too fast!

The End of an Era

They are tearing down my old school starting Tuesday. Needless to say wrapping up this school year has been anything but normal. In case you were wondering what it takes to get a typical elementary school classroom from this...

to this...

it would be five 8-hour days and 100 boxes, give or take.
Such fun!

I did have some great helpers.

Thanks Tami and Elizabeth!
They packed up my entire classroom library in no time at all.

Luckily, I am not responsible for moving all 100 boxes. The district is hiring movers to move all of the boxes from our whole school to a warehouse until the new school is ready for us--hopefully before school is scheduled to start in September!

One last look

I was a little sad walking out of my room for the last time. It was my first classroom that I got to stay in for more than one year. And while the 70's-colored cabinets and leaky roof were more than enough to make me welcome a new school, I will miss our little "pod." Here's hoping the new Lakeland will be just as wonderful.

What's In Your Purse?

The other day I was reading a random blog and the author had taken everything out of her purse and documented it. Then she challenged her readers to do that same thing and there was going to be a prize. Anyone who linked to the photo of their purse contents was entered into a drawing. I was reading this weeks after the contest had ended but was still entertained by the random things that women carry around with them. You could definitely tell who the mothers were--they tended to have a lot of fruit snacks and Polly Pocket dolls in their bags.

Anyway, it got me curious to see what was in my purse at that moment, so I went over to the kitchen table and dumped it all out. Here's the picture of it all, after I organized it and got rid of all the gum wrappers, receipts and lint balls, of course! :)

The contents, starting with said purse and going clockwise from the edge towards the center, are: make up bag, doggie treats baggie, wallet, 2 necklaces, pair of earings, 26 cents, instant oatmeal, Handi-Snacks plastic cheese spreader, 2 packs of gum and 2 half pieces of gum, 3 gift cards, car insurance cards, ipod, keys, water bottle, purse hook (for hanging your purse on the edge of a table), sun glasses, glasses, 2 bottles of foundations, round mirror, power compact, eye shadow, cuticle cream, 4 tubes lipgloss/chapstick, bobby pins, movie ticket stub, Crystal Light drink mixes, 2 pens and a pencil, paper clip, Advil sinus pills, and a bottle of hand sanitizer. (My camera was in there too, but it is obviously being use to take the photo.)

I had no idea I was carrying around that much stuff. Are you brave enough to post what's in your bag? I double dog dare you! (Leave me a link in a comment so I can take a look. Hey--I showed you mine.)

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GIVEAWAY!!!!

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GIVEAWAY!!!!

I thought that I wanted a Cricut machine...but now I want a Silhouette!! Who knew there was even such a thing. Here's hoping I win!

A Disappointing Weekend

True it is only 3:00 pm on Saturday, but my weekend has been a big disappointment all around. Wednesday through Friday this week was the first glimpse of spring here in Seattle. It was sunny, blue skies, and warm (if you consider mid-60's warm). Friday was the best day of all; we reached 70* for the first time this year. It was bliss.I woke up this morning and it was like it had all been a dream. It was back to gray and cold and raining. To top it all off, I was planning on going to the huge Kent Lakes multi-community garage sale. I had a few things in mind that I was looking for: dining room chairs, children's books, and vintage Pyrex. Well, with the weather the way it was it was a huge let down. Hardly anyone was out and most of the places I stopped didn't have much stuff at all. I did get a couple of books for school and the book Water for Elephants. I had been meaning to get it from the library, but knowing me, I probably would have paid more than the $.50 I got it for in fees. A good find, but not exactly thrilling.

I thought, to make up for the disappointment I would hit up a few of the nearby thrift stores. I fared a little better at Goodwill. I found these interesting Pyrex coffee mugs from the 60's-70's. (Sorry for the horrible pictures. They're from my crappy phone as I left my camera at school.)I had never seen anything like these before. They are clear Corning Ware glasses with plastic, removable bases. They caught my eye right away and then I turned one over and the bottom said PYREX and the price tag said $.69...SOLD. I only bought 4 out of the 12 they had. Other than these, nothing I was looking for. And a big fat nothing at Value Village and St. Vincent de Paul. :(

On my way home, I stopped at an antique mall here in Kent. I had driven by this particular place many, many times but never stopped. Today I thought, "Why not? It can't hurt anything." So I went in. It was one of those places that has lots of little stalls for different vendors. There were 3-4 other Saturday wanderers in there, but I pretty much had the place to myself. My main mission was to find some Pyrex. I knew I would probably find some, but I also knew that antique malls are not the place to get good deals on Pyrex.

In between all the knick-knacks and random old stuff I did find various Pyrex pieces. Some were ones I already had or wasn't interested in. (Can you say brown?) Then I ran across a turquoise and white casserole dish with a lid. It was $14, but 35% off. I put it on my "maybe list". Luckily I found something better, because I don't know if I would have been able to find my way through the maze back to get it.

What was that something better you ask...

It's my very first pink piece. It was "only" $8.50. But it was pink and a regular mixing bowl, which I like better than the Cinderella bowls with handles on the side. I also found this little Butterfly Gold Cinderella bowl. It was $5, but 15% off.
Even though I did get some good things today, it's still cold and raining, so I think I just might get my new book and curl up under the covers.

P.S. If anyone ever finds this at a reasonable price, please, please, please buy it for me! I actually already have the large bowl. I just need the little bowl and the metal bracket thingy.

Eavesdropping on 6 year olds

Sometimes my job is entirely too entertaining, especially when I overhear completely honest conversations between 6-year-olds. It was the beginning of the day, I'm running around like crazy and the kids are supposed to be unpacking, turning in homework, ordering their lunch and finding something quiet to do like read books. The conversation I overheard between Kira and Blayke went something like this:

K: They pull the brains out through the nose!

B: Nu-uh

K: (pointing to a recently discovered book about Egyptian Mummies) Ya-huh. It says right here in this book.

B: Well I don't trust that book!

Identity Crisis

So, it's official. With help from my mom, I finally have all of my earthly possessions in my new home. I can remember a time, not so long ago, when all my earthly possessions fit in my little Toyota. Now a 14' U-Haul can't even contain all the junk I have managed to collect.

But the point of this post is now that I no longer live in Tacoma the name of my blog, Tales from Tacoma, no longer is relevant. I need a new name, but I have no good ideas. Help me please! Any good ideas...anyone?