05.30.14

Yard Work

Managed to finally get some things done in the yard...summer is officially on its' way now that the veggies are in the Earthboxes! I still have to find some zucchini and an artichoke, along with some shade plants for my pots.

Tomatoes

Jalapenos & Green Chilies

Herbs

05.29.14

The Trail

wildflowers

This is one time of the year that I realize how lucky were are to work where we do. The trail system just behind our school is great! I'm surprised that it doesn't get used more by the teachers and students...it would be an amazing classroom! I decided to post three pictures from my walk.

just a fun random rock pile

baby tent caterpillars

05.28.14

Hot!
We can officially say it was HOT today! I was disappointed that I just missed getting the Thunderbirds in this shot...they were just off to the left. Also disappointed that I didn't see the bear that was around the golf course and near our school this morning.

05.27.14

New CSE Students
As of today there are 12 new additions to CSE...and they are cute!! I was in the science room when the 1st/2nd combo class came in and got to see them for the first time. So many "Ohhhs & Ahhhs"...they loved them!

05.26.14

Memorial Day
It was great out at Bear Dance today...they had American flags on each hole. We had SUNSHINE and beautiful weather today. It was so nice we decided to go out for another 18 after we stopped for lunch.

05.25.14

Oh Hail!
We were keeping our eye on radar and we getting lucky with the storms...luck finally ran out! We tried to ride it out, but that wasn't going to happen. LOTS of rain and LOTS of hail!

We headed over to the Kenyon's for ribs that Dave fixed on the Green Egg. Had to post this pick of Ryan's watermelon. He enjoyed just taking one big bite out of each piece.

05.24.14

Fuel
Had to repost from Instagram & Facebook...
Piece of advice guys...when you see a lady trying to pry open the flap to the fuel tank, don't say, "Doesn't it open from inside the car?" Go with something like, "Is there a chance you're having trouble with your power locking system? Try the emergency opening mechanism inside the back trip panel. "Now this would actually be helpful!!

05.23.14

Our Turn
All this week we've managed to miss out on the severe weather. Today we had a little more around Castle Rock. It arrived quickly and left quickly. We ended up with almost an inch of rain, some hail and a few close lightning strikes. Nothing as severe what some areas had earlier in the week...thank goodness! Everything on the fairway and green is hail.

05.22.14

The Fog Clears
Well, I've been anxious to try out the Michron time lapse. A few weeks ago we had some amazing fog...didn't think about using it. Today I did remember...just about 30 minutes too late. I was still happy with how it turned out.



At the end of the day I had to take some time and celebrate National Chardonnay Day!

05.21.14

Wednesday Storms
It seems to be the running joke for Wednesday night golf league...if there's going to be crappy weather during the week, it's going to be on Wednesday. Tonight looked to be the same, but we waited it out long enough and the evening was beautiful! Actually played a decent round which helped! :)

05.20.14

Thank You!
We recently had Teacher Appreciation Week with several local businesses donating either breakfast or lunch. Here's the cute "Thank You!" card that the kindergarten students created for the Waffle House. Each letter is covering up a cute saying and drawings.

05.19.14

Wildflowers
It's finally good to see the wildflowers starting to bloom along the trail up behind the school.

My parents brought my flower pots up on Sunday. I was going to put them out back today, but decided against it due to the fact they are calling for bad weather the next few days. I will keep them protected on the front porch a little while longer.

05.18.14

Lunch Refreshment
Had a great day of golf with a friend from my Red Hawk golf league. Enjoyed some fish tacos and a "Volcan Margarita." I was disappointed that it wasn't spicier. I will have to stick with the Norteno Margs that I make with my green chilies in the summer.

05.17.14

Saturday
I actually spent the majority of today at school teaching an iPad/Chrome App class. I felt it went very well...enjoyed the small group of teachers. After coming home I checked out the backyard. Surprising how last week's storm put everything on hold for leafing out. Did find the tulips that seem to be pretty hardy! Ended the evening spending time with coworkers at a "Celebration of Life" event for the husband of my dear friend Carolynn. It was such a great event! I didn't have the chance to meet Gary, but I can tell that he was an amazing husband, father, and friend. May his family find peace as they move forward in his absence. 

05.16.14

Locker
Not a big deal to probably anyone but me...I got a locker at the golf course! Still deciding what to keep in it, but excited to have it.

05.15.14

Is it Friday!?!?
OMG...this week needs to have an end. Considering the state of my thyroid and the "Seriously??? That's what you chose to have your students do? That wasn't in the plan!" I think I made it out of this week fairly well. I have officially decided to make Thursday the new Friday...who's with me!?!?

I had great plans to take and post a photo of my TAC, but I forgot. I did manage to get a pic of my crime/dog fighting cat...yea right!! If you haven't seen the video of the cat chasing off the neighbor dog, you HAVE to watch it here! 



I had a pic that I didn't get to post yesterday. My swallows survived the crazy storm this week...yea!

05.14.14

Golf...On!
There were still several patches of snow...many of which I managed to find, but we were able to get in a round. I just love how perfect the snow wrapped around my ball.

05.13.14

The Sun
After a couple days of crappy weather, we enjoyed the sun today! It's amazing how much snow melted today...I'm hopeful that it will get the rest melted for league tomorrow night.

05.12.14

No Snow Day

I know that many teachers had some hopes that Teacher Appreciation Week would continue with a snow dat, but that wasn't the case. I would say we ended up with about 10 inches...everything should be nice and green in another week. Anxious to see if we'll get golf in on Wednesday.

05.11.14

May Snow
Well, as a farm girl I should never complain about moisture...but I should also be golfing in mid-May!! We managed to get in 18 holes yesterday before the front moved in. Of course there was WIND...and of course I was cold. Today's tee time was cancelled due to several inches of white stuff. :( We are actually under a Winter Storm Warning through tomorrow morning!

I know...everything will be GREENER in about a week! I'm sure that in a few months I will be wishing for "sweater weather!" :)

05.10.14

Linner
Made a stop at our favorite Mexican place in Castle Rock! (I actually took this pic so I could remember what their hours are.)

05.09.14

Finally Friday
We've had an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week. Everyday we were surprised. The week came to a close with Santiago's breakfast burritos, the Fun Run and Spring Carnival. With so many other things going on this week, I was unable to commit to the carnival tonight.









Kara and I "ran" in the Fun Run. I did realize that I am no longer a spring chicken. :( I do want it noted that my 6 tally marks compared to her 12 (13 a little later) were based on my running with 1 grade level and not the 2 that she was involved with!!

05.08.14

Crazy Weather
We had our first official night of golf league last night...managed to make it before any rain. Thunder and lightning showed up real late...loved it!!! We did manage to get some rain and snow overnight. Nothing too crazy, but it was really pretty this morning.










By the time I was done working out, the sun was peeking through all the fog...just thought it looked cool.

Finally, I had to post another pic from Teacher Appreciation Week. We started the morning with grits, biscuits and gravy compliments of Waffle House. Our PTO has done an AMAZING job of spoiling us this week. We had a table-full of supplies to get as well.

05.07.14

Tent Caterpillars
Came across a ton of them on the trail behind the school today.

05.06.14

Store-Bought Cupcakes...Pimped Out!
Well, I was in charge of a dessert for our ladies golf league's opening night. I had great plans of something homemade, but my plans had to change.

After looking through Pinterest I decided to go with cupcakes. I didn't have the time to make the cupcakes or frosting this week, so I decided to "pimp out" the store-bought cupcakes with toppings ideas I had found while looking online. 

The one thing you loose with this method is the custom flavored cupcakes and frosting, but it saves a lot of time and still gives you customized cupcakes! If you wanted, it would actually be very easy to add some various flavors to the frosting. You could use cinnamon, nutmeg, or various extracts. You would need to carefully remove all of the frosting into a bowl, mix in the flavor and then re-frost.

Below I've outlined what I did with my King Soopers cupcakes. One thing I did for several of the cupcakes was remove a little of the frosting...I think the store bakeries always use too much.

BEFORE

AFTER

Peanut Butter Cup
-chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting (removed some of the frosting)
-chopped up Peanut Butter Cup Minis for the topping

Caramel & Chocolate Pretzel
-vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting AND
-vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream (didn't remove any of the frosting)
-melted just a small amount of chocolate in the microwave and drizzled it over the pretzels and let cool before adding them to the cupcake
-drizzle caramel ice cream topping on top

Coconut
-chocolate cupcakes with vanilla whipped cream frosting AND
-vanilla cupcakes with vanilla whipped cream frosting (removed some of the frosting)
-placed coconut on a plate and rolled cupcake around to top

Oreo
-chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting (I would use the whipped cream frosting next time.)
-I removed all the frosting into a small bowl. In a Ziploc I crushed up Oreo minis and mixed them in with the frosting. I then re-frosted the cupcakes. (I didn't actually use all of the frosting.)
-I also chopped up some of the Oreos and sprinkled them on top.

Fruit
-chocolate cupcakes with vanilla whipped cream frosting AND
-vanilla cupcakes with vanilla whipped cream frosting (I didn't remove any frosting.)
-place the fruit of your choice on top...I used a raspberry

05.05.14

Teacher Appreciation Week
Our AMAZING PTO got this year's Teacher Appreciation Week off to an AMAZING start!

Today included bagels/coffee/juice, a handmade craft item (I selected an American flag made from a small, wooden palate - pic to come some other day), and the beginning of a raffle. There are 21 different items and each item has a cute jar (like these two) in-which to place your name.

05.04.14

Family Dinner
The Kenyon's hosted family dinner this month. The theme for tonight...Pacific Islands. Lots of yummy meat, shrimp and beverages!

05.03.14

We've Got a Nest!
Very excited...the swallows were around again today and they have begun a nest!

05.02.14

Can It Be?
This morning there were a couple of swallows flying around. Got a few pics of this one before they flew off. Unfortunately they weren't back around tonight. Guess I'll have to wait and see!

05.01.14

Lunch
Costa Vida is always better then leftovers! Chad was out and about so he surprised me with lunch...what a great guy!!