My Top Fourteen in '14

Okay, so I know it's technically 2015 now, not 2014. But I've intended to do this post for awhile.

Then I got sick for most of Christmas break, yuck!

But I'm better now. YAY!

So I'm linking up today with Miss Kindergarten, A Teeny Tiny Teacher, and Dragonflies in First to reflect on my top fourteen in '14.

http://www.dragonfliesinfirst.com/2014/12/14-in-14.html

Let's get started!

"Life is not a spectator sport. If watching is all you're gonna do, then you're gonna watch your life go by without ya." - The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Okay, so technically this quote was made by a cartoon character in a Disney movie. And not one of my favorite Disney movies by any means. But this quote is so true, especially for me.

I am such a planner. I am always planning a couple months from now, or a year from now, or even five years from now; so sometimes I forget to stay in the moment. When I saw this quote on Pinterest, where else, I knew that it was speaking directly to me.

I don't know that I have one favorite article of clothing. Although I do love my cardigans. I have them in almost every color and style you can imagine. They are just so comfortable and cute at the same time.

My favorite accessory is this super cute winter headband from ETSY.

This is from one of my new favorite stores called Jacki Bean. She has some other super cute headbands as well...I know because I bought 2 more.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/209272046/winter-light-pink-snowflake-knitted?ref=shop_home_active_8

I can't wait to rock this next week during morning car duty when I'm freezing my behind off. Why do I always get outside car duty in January?

Never fails.

I am an avid reader.

So sometimes watching a movie that came from an awesome book leaves me a little disappointed. Either the producers left out something I thought was important or added something totally new that was not in the book. Blasphemy!

But this movie did not disappoint.

I love the Hunger Games series and have read it several times as well as listened to the series on cd during my weekly trips to the ice skating rink.

I'll be honest. The third book, Mockingjay, is not my favorite. It gets a little dark.

But this movie was awesome!

In fact, dare I say, I thought it was better than the first half of the book.

For once I liked that the producers added scenes to the movie that were not in the book. And in my opinion, these were some of the most powerful scenes in the entire movie.

I got a little teary eyed in the theater. Especially with one particular song in the background. Oh my! If you've seen the movie, then you probably know which scene I'm referring to, but I don't want to give it away in case you haven't seen the movie yet.

I am super pumped for the second half of Mockingjay to come out, especially if they do as good of a job as they did with the first half.

Hands down favorite will always be...

It doesn't matter what time of day, or night. If I find this show on TV, I will watch it. And I will laugh at something that I have seen a zillion times.

I own all 10 seasons on DVD and love watching favorite episodes on random days.

And now, as of today, it's on Netflix as well!!

BTW - I am totally Monica. Her and I are kindred spirits.

Oh for the love of all things British.

I am so pumped that Downton Abbey's fifth season will be premiering this Sunday.

What is not to love about this show?

- Gorgeous sets and filming locations

- Fabulous costumes

- Mysteries, scandals, and love

- Witty dialogue

- Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess (my favorite character)

I love Macaroni Grill!

Sadly I don't get to eat there very often because the closest one is an hour away.

But my mom and I took a little shopping trip yesterday and stopped in for a late lunch.

I LOVE their bread!

They grind pepper into a dish, add olive oil, and when you dip the hot fresh bread into the dip; it. is. awesome!

My favorite dish is the Pasta Milano.

It has bow tie pasta, garlic sauce, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes, with a bit of parmesan cheese on top.

YUM!!!

Blogging!!

This blog was something I had wanted to start for a very long time.

I had read running blogs and teacher blogs for quite awhile. Then in April 2014, I actually think it was Easter, I took the jump and started it up.

No regrets.

I love documenting my life and my teaching. I love comments and encouragement from others as well as meeting and discovering new blogs and bloggers!

Fabulous community we teachers have here.

My mom knows how much I love Kendra Scott jewelry and so she bought me these awesome earrings for Christmas!

I wore them shopping in Nashville yesterday and they are so pretty!

I love Maria's blog Kinder-Craze.

I love all the pictures she takes of her bright and organized classroom.

When I saw her stained glass window idea I was like, duh. What a great idea!

Click here to see her original blog post.

http://kindercraze.com/2014/01/stained-glass-mitten-window-decor/

I have an entire wall of windows, so instead of messing with window clings I should have the kids do some kind of monthly stained glass art project. . My kids and parents have loved it!

Here are my versions of monthly stained glass window art.

September

October

November

December

January

Love this idea!

All About Centers!

I love centers and this was a post I had been planning for awhile. But I knew it would take a lot of time because I had a ton of pictures and lots to say. So definitely a huge accomplishment.

I bought a bunch of new tubs and baskets this summer (my old ones were 10 years old and barely hanging on) and relabeled them with new labels made with some of my new clip art. I just love how bright and colorful everything is!

Click here to read it!

Completing the Run Disney Coast 2 Coast Challenge.

I did an entire blog post about my Run Disney history. Click here to check it out.

The Coast to Coast Challenge is where you complete a Disney half marathon on the west coast and the east coast in the same calendar year.

Not only did my mom and I want to do that, but we wanted to do the 2 Run Disney women's races. And those just happened to be in January and February.

So in January we went to Disneyland and ran in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon.

Then in February we went to Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon.

The purple bracelet on my wrist showed the volunteers that I was completing the second half of my C2C Challenge. So after I received my Princess medal (the blue ribbon) I also received my Coast 2 Coast medal (the pink and purple ribbon)

We brought our Tinkerbell medals to Florida with us so that we could get a picture with all three medals.

So here are all my Run Disney medals minus my 2 from the November races.

Hands down this one!

Disney Princess Half 2014 was one of my favorite races so far.

When this picture was taken I knew I was almost finished. I was just around the corner from the finish line and got a burst of adrenaline.

This sweet baby Hallie will be in all my favorite memories from 2014.

I have two 6 year old dogs and two 10 year old kitties, so I was not looking for another fur baby.

But Hallie's mom had different plans.

Hallie's momma belonged to my neighbor. It's a long story but Hallie's mom brought her kittens to my house. (My neighbor didn't care) They lived on my front porch where I loved on them and fed them until I found them homes.

One was Hallie and I kept her.

This little baby had my heart from the beginning.

I knew she was mine.

Her name Hallie came from her colors, I would call her my little Halloween kitty.

My 10 year kitty Jasmine became a surrogate momma to Hallie and loved to play and snuggle with her.

Hallie passed away in May from a heart defect that she was born with. I never saw it coming. But I will always be so thankful for the time I had with this little fur baby.