Tobin Inc*

Sunday Secrets!

2010-08-01T13:58:00.004-04:00

I made some new things this weekend and thought I would share my secret recipes.

The first one is a bean salad. I love black beans and so i googled healthy black bean salad. I found a few that looked good so i got the ingredients and made it. At first it didn't taste super yummy so I thought let me try adding something to it. Which i did, so i call this

Yummy Black bean salad!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 cup corn (i used frozen, you can use can or fresh)

1 tbls olive oil

1 ts ground cumin

1 small tomatoe or a handful of grape/cherry tomatoes

1 avocado

1/2 lime

minced garlic

salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Mix black beans, corn and tomatoes in a bowl.

2. Add in olive oil, cumin and mix

3. salt and pepper and garlic to taste

4. Cut the avocado in half. Chop half and mix in

5. Take the other half and make a guacamole mixture-smash avocado, add garlic and lime juice

6. add guacamole to salad and a the rest of the lime juice.

Enjoy!

The second recipe I made a fruit salad. I had this at a cookout i went to this week and the host told me what was in it so i tried to re-create it and it came out awesome!

Ingredients:

12oz vanilla yogurt(I use greek low sugar high protein yogurt)

about 1/2 cup OJ

1 banana

1 large or two small peaches

about 5 Strawberries

The trick is you want your fruit to be balanced, So if your stawberries are small you will need more than 5.

In a bowl, mix yogurt and oj-you want it to look almost like pudding, or cool whip a little runny but a little fluffy.

Chop up your fruit and mix it.

Enjoy!

Vacation recap Day 3!

2010-07-21T21:15:00.011-04:00

Sunday June 6th we checked in at the hotel Saratoga Springs early, they were able to give us a room right away :)

Then we headed to EPCOT!

When we were done with EPCOT we took a break, got some lunch went to the grocery store to buy some waters and snacks! The great thing about Disney is you can bring that stuff in!!

We swam in the pool for a little while.

Then headed to Magic Kingdom! It was extra magic hours they were open till 2am. We didn't stay that late though!

Here we are on Splash MT.

The castle at night time changed to many different colors, here are just a few!

Sorry I have been MIA. I started getting my classroom ready, i report back to school in less than 1 week :( I cannot believe summer is almost over. Also I will have a update on Zach if not today tomorrow. Things are getting better slowly!

Vacation recap Day 1 & 2!

2010-07-21T21:02:00.011-04:00

Here is a long overdue recap of our Disney Vacation!

Friday June 4th we drove to Florida and stayed in a hotel.

We stayed here!

Saturday June 5th we got up early to head to Disney for our tee time at Lake Buena Vista golf course.

They had this made for us!!

And our cart was decked out for our Anniversary! We also got Happy Anniversary pins!

After golf we headed to Zach's uncle's house and here i am with one of there dogs Darby!! She is so playful!

I will recap the rest of the vacation in upcoming posts! Thanks again for all your sweet and thoughtful comments about Zach. We moved his procedure up to tomorrow, he came home early from work because he wasn't feeling well. I will post tomorrow when we get back from the procedure!

Prayers & Top 2 Tuesday

2010-07-19T18:11:00.005-04:00

Prayers for Zach: Update day 2

Today we went to the GI doctor to follow up with him. He did Zach's endoscopy on June 30th. He said that his esophagus looks normal but something is still not right. So he ordered another procedure to be done. This is like a ultra sound of your digestive track, because obviously Zach is having problems eating and such. Today he says he feels worse so he is laying low and hopefully going back to work tomorrow.

We scheduled the procedure for 2 weeks from today, that is the soonest we could get it done.

Thanks again for all your kind words and support, I will continue to keep you posted.

Top 2 things you want to purchase!

Right know nothing because we are on a budget with all these medical bills. But I guess that is the fun of this post.

If money wasn't the problem the top 2 things I want right now are....

1. A new phone. I really want an Iphone but we are with verizon, we were going to make the switch to At&t and get them until all the mess with Zach and things breaking happened.

If we stay with verizon I am going to have to eventually get a new phone and we will probably get the new Droid Incredible.

My phone loves to shut off when it wants to and hubs phone doesn't work unless it is on speaker.

2. A new car. I would love this

Black Range Rover Sport!!

but will settle for this

lol. Either a Toyota Highlander or 4 runner. I also have my eye on this beauty:

A Lexus GX or LX10

Seriously, I am in need for a new car but am holding out until we add to the family if you know what i mean :)

Head over to Taylor's blog to participate

Prayers and Movies

2010-07-19T13:38:00.002-04:00

Prayers for Zach: Update

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments yesterday. It is awesome to have so much support. We went to a regular doctor today and we are still left unanswered. They said well everything looks normal, even after I fought her and said my husband is not normal, he has no energy we wouldn't be here if he was normal, she said everything checks out ok.....BOOOOOOO

He feels ok today, but he clearly is not back to normal, so we are still wasting money on co pays at the doctors that don't give us answers, next stop back to the GI doctor to see what he says.

Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.

Movie Reviews!

Well this summer I have seen 3 movies!

The first movie I saw this summer was Toy Story 3!

Before you make fun of me, my brother and I went to see it. He has a connection to it, since it was his favorite movie and he and my dad use to watch them. We loved it. It was so cute and funny!

The next movie I saw this summer was Grown Ups!

It was great! We loved it. Definitely a new kind of movie for Adam Sandler since it wasn't straight up comedy, it actually had a story. Cool fact: the water park scene was shot at Water Whiz water park in Mass, I grew up going there as a kid. It was so cool to see it on the big screen.

The last movie I saw this summer was of course:

ECLIPSE!!!!

I have read most of your blogs and seen a mixed review on the movie. I think it was really good. I think it came really close to the book. I especially enjoyed this hot werewolf:

Thats all for now!

Prayers and GTKYS!

2010-07-18T10:29:00.002-04:00

Prayers for Zach again! :(

I thought everything was going well. I talk to hubs on his break yesterday at work and he was great. Then I get a phone call about 2 hours later asking me to come get him, that he can't drive home. I was like OK??????

Upon arrival I was told that 10 minutes after talking to me they called 911 because he felt like he was going to pass out and had dry mouth and never felt like that before.

The paramedics got there and checked his vitals. Everything checked out ok. They said if he could walk to the car that i could drive him to the ER and withstand the ambulance bill. Well as soon as he got up he sat down from feeling dizzy.

At the hospital the hooked him up to all sorts of machines checked his heart, his blood. They pumped him with 2 IV's at the same time and concluded that he was fine.

So we are still left with no answers as to why he keeps getting sick. We are both beyond frustrated and want to know what is wrong, he has not been his normal energetic self in over a month, he has lost 15lbs and we don't know what is going to happen next!!! AHHH

Again sorry to bore you with all this, I feel terrible that I have no idea what is wrong with him.

On to Getting to Know you Sunday!

1. If you had to choose a country to live in besides USA (or the country you live in), which would it be?

Hmmm...I think It would be Australia! I have never been but I have wanted to go there since I was in the 4th grade. They speak English and have the coolest accent.

2. Which would be worse, wearing flip flops in the snow or wearing gloves in the summer?

Flip Flops in the snow...There is nothing like frozen feet. I would take sweaty hands any day over frozen feet.

3. Fried or Bake and why?

Bake! I hate greasy food. I love sweets hence my love for baking.

4. If you were an entertainment reporter, which celeb would you love to interview and why?

Gosh! There are so many, Besides the obivious Mariah Carey because of my dad connection, I think I would want to interview David Beckham! He is so HOT!

5. What was your favorite book as a preteen/teenager?

Chicken Soup for the teenage soul! I read all of them, there are like 10 of them now.

6. List your top 3 guilty pleasure television shows.

Summer: General Hospital, Big Brother, Pretty Little Liars

Fall: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries.

7. What bumper sticker slogan best describes you/your attitude/your life?

I am bad at these so I am just going to wing it:

"Live for today, Remember the past, Embrace the Future!"

8. If you were to join a circus - what performer would you be?

I would do the trapeeze or what this girl is doing:

Let me try again!

2010-07-17T10:09:00.002-04:00

I"m back!

Hopefully for good this time. I never thought blogging in the summer when i didn't have to work would be so difficult.

Well since it has been almost a month since I posted I will catch you up to speed. We have had a crazy summer in the Tobin house. It all started when we were home (in RI) and Zach got sick and had to go to the ER. He had food in his throat that wouldn't pass.

They gave him so medicine and he was ok. For the next couple of days he didn't eat much. We made and appt with a G.I doctor. He wanted to do and Endoscopy. We scheduled that.

In the meantime I taught Kindercamp for a week and had to attend a math training. During the week i had math training Zach went in for his procedure.

Everything went well. When i got home he was fine. About 1 hour later he started experiencing flu like symptoms. I called the doctor and he said to bring him to the ER. Thats what we did. 7 hours later to find out that he was throwing up blood in his stomach from the procedure. Since June 11, Zach has lost about 13lbs and he is not built to loose weight, in fact he got gain a few pounds. :)

We have an appt this week with the GI doctor to see what he says and where we go from there.

Besides all of Zach's problems, my dryer broke and we had to buy a new one. Then the TV in my bedroom broke :( Unfortunately we can live without that and with everything else do not have the money for a new TV.

My brother was here for about 2 weeks and decided he wanted to go back to RI. He left on July 8th. :(

Rounds of mini golf, 3 movies and many trips to Lake Lanier Water Park later,my summer is almost over :(

I only have 2 1/2 weeks left and its back to school. I have lots of updates so I will be blogging a lot to catch everyone up to speed.

Sorry for the long boring post. I hope everyone is enjoying there summer!

Im Back!!!!

2010-06-20T09:40:00.005-04:00

I'm back! Yay! Sorry it has been a long week since the last time i posted. Here is a brief recap of my crazy busy hectic week which will hopefully explain why I have been missing:
My last post was last Saturday: Before I recap Saturday I will let everyone know that Friday night we had to go to the ER because Zach had food lodged in his throat. Very scary and he still cannot eat much solid food. :(Saturday was my brothers graduation, we were busy all day from going to the graduation to eating a huge dinner and seeing my 93 year old aunt then went and to see my friend Stacey! (I will recap with pictures later)
Sunday was my brothers graduation party, however prior to the party Zach and I went to a friend of our soccer game to say hi to him, then met his family at David's bridal because his sister invited me while she searched for dresses. From David's bridal we went straight to my moms for the party. After the party we went to Jamestown to play cards with Zach's best friend and his girlfriend. (I will post pictures later of this too).
Monday was our last day in RI. We spent the day packing and spent time with mom. We got our favorite subs for lunch that we can't get in Georgia. We left mom's and headed to North Kingstown to meet Zach's family for wing night at our favorite restaurant. We did this last year too so it is becoming a ritual.
Tuesday morning we left at 4am. We got as far as Penn, and Zach was sick and needed me to drive. 10 1/2 hours later I drove us home. We got home at 8, unloaded the car, just in time for the Celtics game.
Wednesday was a typical day after a vacation day..loads and loads of laundry and grocery shopping. My brother is down here in Georgia with us for a little while so I helped him get his room set up.
Thursday was more running around, cleaning and so on. I also had to tutor and meet up with my trainer. Then it was game 7 for the Celtics which sadly we lost(Aimee you do have to admit it was a good game)
Friday I went to the gym and helped my brother look for a job. Friday night we met Zach at Longhorn for dinner.
Saturday (yesterday) i guess you can say in honor of fathers day my brother and I went to see Toy story 3. My brother was obsessed with this right around the time that my dad passed away. So he has a connection to it. How ironic is it that in Toy Story 3 Andy is going to college, and my brother just graduated from high school! After the movie he we ran some errands and came home. I was tired and fell asleep.
On to Getting to Know you Sunday!

*to play..copy the questions..answer them..then come back here and link up*

The questions..

1. While at the beach, pool, etc..Do you cover up your assets or show them off? They tend to get shown off :)

2. Road trips or Plane trips?

Both! I would much rather take a plane, but if it is a fun road trip I can't pass it down.

3. I can't stand it when...?

People cut me off when I'm driving.

4. Have you ever gone topless at the beach?

No! I am not brave enough for that.

5. How many blog carnivals do you do a week?

What is a blog carnival?? Someone help me out with this question?????

6. My favorite thing about the weekend is...?

Sleeping in!! Spending time with Zach if he is off.

7. Pancakes or waffles?

Love them both and don't eat them alot they are all too fattening...lol but I love Belgium waffles with strawberries and whip cream.

8. Water Park or Amusement Park?

Amusement park because both have way to long of lines and I would rather ride more rides then wait forever in them, water parks don't have flash passes.

Head over to MANNLANDs to link up

And last but not least my Father's day post!

As you all know that I lost my dad almost 14 years ago. He passed on October 14, 1996. I shared my love for Mariah Carey and the relation to my dad here.

I also wrote a poem for my dad.

I unique figure came to me,

It's beauty set me free

It flew around me in the fall, as a sign to be strong and tall.

It helped me through I'll never forget, How I was upset.

Daddy's little girl lost her dad, it made her sad.

He left her to grow and always remember, He'll stay in her heart always and forever.

She sees a butterfly she knows is him, always on her shoulder until the end!

RIP Dad xoxox

My grandfather passed away last March. Usually for father's day I am calling him to say hi and happy father's day.

I am sitting on my gradfather's lap in this picture and my dad is standing behind him.
I am down to 1 person left to celebrate father's day with until I have kids that is. My father in-law!
Happy father's day Mr. Tobin and to all the other father's out there!

Graduation Fun!

2010-06-12T18:42:00.001-04:00

Well I am going to keep this post short and sweet because I have been on the go all day and only have 5 minutes to post. Today was my brother's graduation from high school. We had commencement today and then we ate dinner. Zach and I will be off soon to go meet up with some friends. So I just wanted to say hi to all my blog friends and I will be back tomorrow!

Favorite Friday

2010-06-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

This week's Favorite Friday topic is:

Favorite Movie Soundtrack :

Now and Then

The funny thing is when Jennie and I were little we had a group of friends and we loved this movie and watched it all the time. I love this movie and the soundtrack, I dedicate this post to you Jennie and our many fun years in Elementary school :)

Vacation Thursday!

2010-06-10T10:03:00.005-04:00

Well we made it! We go it at 4am this morning, from our long drive from Orlando Florida. The drive actually wasn't as bad as I thought. We made great timing and didn't hit much of an traffic.

Today we will be relaxing and spending time with the Tobin family.

Here are some pictures from our wedding of the Tobin family!

Tonight is game 4 Celtics are at home and we have to win tonight to have any chance at winning this series(sorry Aimee!! hehehe)

Hopefully either later tonight or tomorrow I can post some pictures of our trip. Stay tuned!

Vacation Wednesday!

2010-06-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we say goodbye to Disney and Florida,

get in the car for our drive to our home state of Rhode Island! Yes I know that is a long ride. Map Quest says 22 hours, Zach says 18 1/2, ohh boy we will see. Wish us luck!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-06-08T15:00:00.000-04:00

Top 2 Tuesday!

This week is:

Top 2 Books!

1. The Twilight Series! I know that almost everyone loves them. They truly are awesome books. When I read them, I can't seem to put them down.

2. Chelsey Handler books. She is absolutely hilarious. I have only read the first book, and boy I am laughing all the time. She makes reading so much fun!

What are your picks? Head over to Taylor's blog to play

Vacation Tuesday!

2010-06-08T12:00:00.001-04:00

Today is day 3 of our Disney Vacation.

Our plans are to hit the water parks today

and then maybe back to Epcot for Illuminations tonight depending on how tired we are.

Stay tuned for pictures from our trip coming soon!

Vacation Monday!

2010-06-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today we are off to Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

We are still unsure about our dinner plans, I left that up to Zach to surprise me, stay tuned later in the week for pictures from today!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-06-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

1 Year ago today I married my best friend!

The day was absolutely beautiful and perfect.

We couldn't have asked for a better day.

So in honor of our Anniversary,

here is a walk down memory lane of our magical day!

Click here to view this photo book larger

And this is my 100th post! WOW

Vacation Sunday!

2010-06-06T12:00:00.001-04:00

Today we are spending our first day in Disney!

This is not our first time ever in Disney, both of us love Disney and have been here many time before. This however, is our first time as a MARRIED couple!

Today we are off to Epcot and Magic Kingdom!

We may bump into these local Celebrities!!

I will be uploading all my pictures and letting you all know how our day went later on in the week!

Vacation Saturday!

2010-06-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today marks day 1 of our Vacation!

We arrived in Orlando, Florida late last night and stayed here:

Today we are off to play golf here:

Then later today we will be going to visit Zach's Aunt and Uncle that live here in Orlando. We love spending time with them, and I am pretty sure they love us too :)

We are going to stay with them tonight and tomorrow we are off to Disney!

Favorite Friday

2010-06-04T13:42:00.003-04:00

This weeks Favorite Fridays topic is:

Movie Trilogy!

And my pick is:

Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy!!

I for some strange reason love these movies, I can watch them over and over again. And no it is not because I am a huge Johnny Depp Fan because I am not at all. He does do an amazing job in these movies and in some others but my celebrity in this movie that i love is this guy:

Can we just smile and breathe :)

Head over to Jen's blog to play!

We are leaving today at 4 and I won't have internet for almost a week Yay but at the same time ooo boy....I have some scheduled posts to keep my readers reading while I am gone!

Thursday To-Do

2010-06-03T19:50:00.004-04:00

Today I have been super busy! My To-do list before we leave tomorrow just seems to keep on growing....Ohhh Well!

Today I went to the gym this morning to work out with my trainer.

Then I quickly came home and showered to leave again to meet my friend Krissy and her adorable 3 months old today for lunch at Chili's

Then I went to get my car serviced, I needed an oil change. While waiting I went over to Barnes and Noble and read a little and got the new Chelsea Handler book "Bang Bang" since I do not own that one and I am in the process of reading her other 2 books.

After leaving Toyota, I went to Target to get a belt, got my rings clean so they are nice and shinny for my anniversary, and went by Zach's work. I dropped off my left overs from lunch so he had something to snack on since he is on the closing shift.

I came home and made reservations for dinner for 2 nights next week while we are at Disney and then my dog sitter came to pick up ms. Jazzy, she was very sad to leave me :(

I finally had a chance to blog and have to keep it short because the Celtics are on tonight and I have to finish cleaning and packing we leave in less than 24 hours!!! YAY!!

Wedding Wednesday!

2010-06-02T09:06:00.010-04:00

Today will be my last week of Wedding Wednesday!

This week I will recap my reception/dances!

Zach and I danced to Luther Vandros and Mariah Carey's version of Endless Love for our first dance.

Then for the mother son dance he and his mom danced to My Wish by Rascall Flatts.

As most of you know by know I lost my dad when I was 12 years old. My brother at the time was 5. I wanted to dance with my dad's dad for this dance, but he got sick and passed away in March before our wedding. So it was up to my extremely shy brother to do the honors. I asked him and he agreed although i wouldn't call it dance since he just stood there.

It took me a while to pick a song, I thought about My girl, because that was my dad's song to me.

Then I said what about One Sweet day and play it in honor and memory of him.

Finally I decided on Dance with my Father, the words were absolutely perfect. Everyone told me i was going to cry. I managed to hold it together until we turned to take a picture for someone and i saw my grandmother(my dad's mom), she was crying. Seeing her and my mom and everyone on my side of the room crying, I lost it.

Ohh well! The food was amazing, we had so much food i cannot even remember it all, we had soup, salad, shorbet and for the main course filet minon and 2 jumbo baked stuffed shrip.

Then for dessert we had a white chocolate swan with chocolate moose flambe and a huge chocolate covered strawberry, not to metion the yummy cake.

Finally all the fun and dancing began!

Next week I have more pictures as I am sharing the album I made in photoshop and ordered on Shutterfly!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-06-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Top 2 Tuesday!

This week is:

Top 2 Bachelorette Picks

It's hard to say since it is only week 2 but these 2 guys are my favorite.

1. Chris L. Probably because he is from Cape Cod, MA and Ali is from MA. He seems so sweet.

2. Jesse: They looked like they had such a good time on their date and he is very good looking!

What are your picks? Head over to Taylor's blog to play

Also I completed another one of my 101 things, I blogged everyday for the whole month of May!! YAY! That is number 1 on my list!

Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T10:42:00.003-04:00

Happy Memorial Day to all my Blog friends!

I hope you have a safe and restful day!

I got an exciting email yesterday from Steph at Flip flop chic

I won her giveaway and will be getting one of these:

I am so excited! I love flip flops and this is such a cute key chain for summer.

Go and check out her blog it is so cute!

Getting to know you!

2010-05-30T10:05:00.003-04:00

1. Have you ever snooped around someone else's house?

Yes and I am ashamed of it.

2. Can guys and girls be friends? ( thanks Jen!)

Absolutely! Some of my best friends are guys, including my husband!

3. Can you curl your tongue?

LOL! yes and I love to tie a knot with a cherry stem with my tounge...hehe

4. Have you ever stolen anything?

Tough questions this week....yes when i was a kid I am pretty sure I stole some candy and my mom made me go back and give it back.

5. Would you rather talk on the phone or text?

Depends on the person. If I have alot to say I would rather talk. If it is something short and sweet I like to text. I always talk to my mom on the phone. We talk at least once a day and have been for the past 4 years since I have been in Georgia.

6. Memorial Day plans?

Sadly I have none, I wish I had a pool in my backyard. I may get together with some friends so I can go to the pool with them but I'm not sure. Usually I am home at this time of the year and having cookouts and with friends and family. :(

7. What do you do to relax?

Exercise, read, lay in the sun, shop or sleep!

8. Do you do anything to honor those that have died fighting for our freedom?

No, I should I know that is bad, like i said we are not usually here for Memorial Day, so we don't have anything to honor those who have died.

Hope you all have a safe, restful and fun Memorial Day weekend!

To play..copy the questions..post them..then go back to MannLand and link up!

Style me Saturday!

2010-05-29T14:08:00.002-04:00

I totally made up that title because

I felt like blogging about my favorite Summer Styles!

Favorite Shoes:

Flip flops: Reefs for the pool/beach and fun ones for day/night

Favorite bottoms:

plaid Shorts or skirts

Favorite Tops:

Tank tops is all I wear all summer long

Favorite dresses:

Any I love them and have so many!

Favorite bathing suit:

I have a bad bathing suit obsession probably as bad as i do shoes. I have i think 10 bathing suits currently.AHH I know Zach says I do not need anymore. I bought 3 new ones this year, here they are:

I have the one on the left not right!

These are some of my favorites from last year:

Pool or Beach cover-up:

Wraps that I bought in Aruba and Cancun and Terry PINK skirts!

What is your favorite Summer items??

No more School!

2010-05-28T16:01:00.005-04:00

Schools out for Summer!!!

Yay me! I have the next 10 weeks off!!!! Well almost off. I applied to teach summer school and if I don't do that I will be teaching Kindercamp for a week in June. But other than that I am officially on vacation!!! YAY.

I just wanted to share some updates on the last couple days of school!

My kids and I had so much fun. Tuesday was Dance through the Decades day. Here is what i wore:

I was trying to look 80's! Then we had our class party and I wrote this for my class and read it to them:

This year has been one to remember, I will remember it always and forever

From the first day I walked in, as scared as I was

Yes that’s right a teacher can be scared just because.

Throughout this year we went through it all,

The good, the bad and together we did grow

Together as a family we became,

so fond of each other just the same

We had field day, and field trips just to name a few,

A push, A shove and a silly one or two.

Tiffany, Alexis, Shaunya & Janizsha you were all as sweet as sweet can be

A’Mya who says she is Minnie me

With Ava’ and Kaniya they are the 3 Musketeers

And Ashlee who cheers she always puts in her best effort

With Jordan F and Joshua R who have the best work ethics

Ben is quiet but smart just the same

Joshua Brown has improved since he came

Then there’s Lenval my Horton you are so smart and talented too

And Tyler you are amazing and I am so proud of you.

Jordan Kidd the fantastic drummer who shinned on stage just like the others

Cordell or should I say Chris Rock with your sense of humor and athletic ability I know that someday I will see you on TV.

Shimika & Jocelyn my two quiet girls!

Tarek & Brendon the class always complained because you both love to talk and act out the same all you wanted was some attention instead you just kept getting yourselves into detention.

Blake you loved to talk no matter where I moved you, you always found someone to talk too

Michael you are a brain, and care so much, about the grades you get, because you ask too much!

Johnathan my writer and bodyguard too, you tried to protect me when I was just protecting you!

And of course there’s Naterrious, I saved the best for last, Mr. too cool for school but guess what HE PASSED!!!

No more books, no more tests, no more cleaning out your desks! You have made it this far and you have succeed. I am so proud of each and every one of you for you are all that you have achieved!

Good luck next year wherever life may take you, always remember to believe in yourself and try your best and everything else will fall in to place as you lead your life to Success

Have a good summer!

Wednesday was the last day. We had 5th grade awards with the parents and whole grade level in the morning, then we hung out the rest of the day. All morning and throughout the day my kids did this to my white board:

I guess they loved me! :) Lol.

Summer Reading!

2010-05-27T18:00:00.002-04:00

Since my Summer Vacation officially

starts at 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon I have

many books on my list to read this summer!

Here they are!

1. Chelsea Handler My Horizontal Life

2. Chelsea Handler Are you there yet Vodka?

3. Chelsea Handler Bang Bang

4. Breaking Dawn*Yes thats right I have not finished the series. I like to finish a book, watch the movie and the start the next one. Im weird.

5. Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic and Sister

6. Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic and Baby

7. Sophie Kinsella's Twenties girl

Thats 7 books in 2 months. My goal is to read one book this weekend for my May books, then read a week in the month of June. That will take care of Goal #8 in my list of 101 things. That would cove books 1-5, Hopefully maybe I can read the last 3 in July!

If you have read any of these or have any other book suggestions please share your thoughts!

Wedding Wednesday

2010-05-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today's Wedding Wednesday Topic is my....

Bridal Shower!

I had so much fun at my bridal shower. It was small but perfect. My mom and my girls did such a good job decorating and organizing everything. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Check out my cake that my friend made me...It was so yummy!

I walked in and was welcomed by these 2 cuties!

Opening presents with lots of help!

Me & My mom!

Me and My bridal Party(minus Danielle)

Me and my ribbon bouquet!

My yummy cake!!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-05-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

Top 2 Dates

1. This is the date we do most often! Dinner, movies and mini golf! We love to be outside and love to challenge each other when we play. We also love going to the movies. As a kid Zach was always going to the movies. So once we started dating I became a movie buff.

2. This one we have only done once and I would love to somehow repeat it again in some way shape or form. On our honeymoon we went on a sunset cruise. It was so romantic, fun and relaxing. I love being on a boat, and watching the sunset just makes things so much better!

Head over to Taylor's blog to play

Weekend Recap!

2010-05-24T17:11:00.006-04:00

Well I had a great weekend! The weather was sunny and 91 on Sunday a great way to end the weekend and start my last week of school.

Friday: Zach and I went to Johnny's Pizza to meet our friends Krissy and Nate! We had a great time. They have a little 3 month old and he was awesome. Check out how stinkin cute this little guy is!!!

Saturday: Was getting things done day, I ran errands, went tanning and make chocolate Eclair pie for a cookout i went to Saturday night.

As promised here is the recipe:

1 box graham crackers

2 large boxes of vanilla pudding

1 large cool whip

1 container of chocolate frosting

Make pudding as usual, Let it sit for about 5 min. Then add the cool whip to the pudding. In your pan place a layer of graham crackers on the bottom,

then layer the pudding, graham crackers, pudding, graham crackers, pudding and graham crackers.

Take the choc. frosting and melt it in the micro for about 30sec.

Mix it and pour it over the top layer of graham crackers.

Store in the fridge!

Saturday night I also watched the Celtic's game. I was so excited they won!! We are 3-0 in the series, just have one more game to win and we are off to face the Lakers most likely!

I love this guy:

Sunday: Zach was off so we did some housework and went to the mall. We had a great day together just relaxing and not doing much of anything. We did enjoy some sun outside.

I hope you all had a great weekend! I have a question, is there a way to make a blog private? Some of my students are googling my name and finding my blog. (hi mini me..I know you probably read this post ;)

Tomorrow is Dance through the Decades at school and I have something to wear, I am just not sure if I am going to.

2 days left!! YAYAYAY

Getting to know you!

2010-05-23T09:16:00.005-04:00

1. Do you have a Fetish?

Ok so i have no idea.....I guess I can say shoes..mainly sandals and flip flops.

2. Do you sing in the shower?

Nope but i love to sing in the car...lol

3. Who was your first crush?

Real person-I think it was a boy named Kyle he lived at the top of my street. I liked him when we were in the 5th grade.

Celebrity crush was Luke Perry from 90210

4. What do you think is the best manly trait a guy could have?

Their ABS!! I love a man with nice stomach muscles and a tight chest with some biceps. Kinda what these guys look like.

But really the first thing that draws me to a guy is there eyes, thats what drew me into my hubby, he has beautiful blue eyes.

5. Do you sleep naked?

No not at all!

6. What do you do when (you think) no one is looking?

I don't know I guess pick a wedgie...lol i know thats gross

7. What is the first thing you do when you go online?

OK this is an easy one, usually go right on to facebook to check it out, or email, or blog! I love to see if i have comments. I know i am terrible at leaving comments on everyones blog so i shouldn't be mad when i don't have any, but i'll look at other peoples blog and they will have 20+ comments..Mann

8. Summer is...?

Flip flops, dresses, skirts, bathsuits, pool, beach, sunglasses, beach hair, sand, nice cold drinks, boats, friends, family and sooooo much fun!!!! Ohh and i forgot the best part....a nice golden tan!!!!!

To play head over to Mannlands blog and link up!

More Giveaways!

2010-05-22T11:19:00.004-04:00

Today I found a new Giveaway! Sam from Life is Beautiful is giving away 2 gift cards! 1 $10 gift card to Dunkin Donuts and 1 $10 gift card to Starbucks.

Please tell Sam I sent you!

Head over to her blog to enter!!! Good luck!!

As I mentioned yesterday Here is Jennie's giveaway:

2 Beauty Rush Lip Glosses from Vicky's,

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme wear Nail Color,

And... a Coach mini wallet!

Head over to Jennie's blog to enter in her 2nd amazing givaway which includes, a coach walet, lipgloss and nail polish!

Mention me if you heard about it from my blog! Good Luck!

Here are my Saturday Plans:

1. Laundry

2. Gym/Tan

3. Grocery Shop

4. Clean the house

5. Make Chocolate Eclair Pie(Which I will take pics and share)

6. Go to a cookout

7. Finish thank you cards for kids at school!

Hopefully I can get most if not all my list accomplished!

I hope everyone enjoys there Saturday!

Favorite Friday & another givaway!

2010-05-21T16:46:00.003-04:00

This weeks Favorite Fridays Topic is Favorite Sex & the City Character! (Countdown to SATC2 officially begins: 1 week!)

Mine is......

Carrie!

1. I love her style and fashion sense, although not all the time do i agree with what she wears..she always seems to pull it off.

2. I love her personality. She is so kind hearted and such a strong person and friend.

P.S I am a huge fan of the outfit she is in, I would love to buy that white dress and sparkly Louboutin's but I don't have $1000 just laying around :(

I have to admit I haven't seen every episode of Sex and the City, but I have seen quite a few.

I am very excited about the second movie.

Head over to Jennie's blog to play and also enter in her 2nd amazing givaway which includes, a coach walet, lipgloss and nail polish!

Mention me if you heard about it from my blog! Good Luck!

Happy Friday, I can officially say that I have 3 days of school left!!! YAY!!!

Anniversary Plans!

2010-05-20T17:00:00.001-04:00

Ok so here they are: Out Anniversary is less than 1 month away and I haven't shared where we are going yet. Ok before I tell you its not something super extravagant, but we love going here and have been here before.

Zach and I are going to...........

Walt Disney World!

I know thats not very romantic and its such a place for kids. We decided to do something small this year because we have so much going on with 4 weddings on our calendar and graduations. Plus last year we went out of the country twice.

Anyway, Zach's parents have Disney time share at Saratoga Springs. So we will be staying there:

We will be park hoping, golfing and having a day at the spa.

We are also going to go somewhere nice and special for our Anniversary dinner.

I have hinted at 2 places:

Cinderella's Castle

Someplace at Epcot's world showcase.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions let me know.

Woops I got a little excited and thought I was posting this tomorrow..lol.

~~Yay for today being Friday!~~

~~I only have 3 more days of school next week and I'm on Summer Vacation!~~

Wishful Wednesday!

2010-05-19T18:40:00.003-04:00

I love design and thought it would be fun to participate this week in Wishful Wednesday since the topic is DREAM BEDROOM!

'I wish' .... I could come home to

or this:

It has one of these:

I want a bedroom that is simple and clean with colors such as white and blue with some brown. I have always wanted a window seat in my bedroom for as long as i can remember.

Head over to Kelsey's blog to play

2 more Lily Pulitzer giveaways!

2010-05-18T20:30:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Ashley at Sweet Southern Prep just blogged about another Lily giveaway! I am such a Lily fan and am so glad to find all these blogs with other Lily fans!

So here is the giveaway:

1. Lily Pen,

2. A Lily Mug

3. A Lily Sticky Pad set!

Head over to Seersucker Scrapper who is celebrating her one-year blogaversary by having a giveaway. Click here for more details. I will unselfishly wish you good luck because I love Lily but its only fair!! :)

And the second one is a pair of these:

They retail for $58

Head over to It's a world that I know to enter

Don't forget to tell her I sent you!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-05-18T12:00:00.001-04:00

Top 2 things you want to do before you die
1. Travel around the world and go to at least these 5 places: Italy, Greece, Australia, Hawaii & Paris, France!

2. Go Cliff diving or sky diving! I know sounds scary but I have always wanted to do it. I have already bungee jumped and I have zip lining on my current list. Why not make things more extreme.

Head over to Taylor's blog to link up!

There is still time to enter in my Summer Fun Swap! Click here for details!

Weekend Recap!

2010-05-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Friday:

Friday after school I went home and Zach and I went back to school to pack up my Kindergarten room. This school year I started teaching Kindergarten, then got moved to 5th grade in late September. Next year I am teaching 3rd grade, thus the reason for me getting my stuff out of my kindergarten room. After we packed most the room up we went and watched the night performance of the Seussical play that the 5th graders did. If you remember last week I blogged about doing all the props and backdrop for the set. It was an awesome show. I am so proud of them. I had 10 students in the play.

The main character Horton was a student of mine:

Then I had 2 girls that payed bird girls, 1 girl that was a who, 4 kids that worked backstage &

2 girls that were in chorus

After the play Zach and I went home and rented a movie. We watched Edge of Darkness!

overall it wasn't that bad. It was hard to follow at first but it was ok. Zach loved it.

Saturday:

Saturday morning my gym had Launch. Launch is when the new routines for classes is released. They make a big deal out of this and it is really fun. Stupid me though it was a good idea to take 3, yes 3 classes. First was step at 8:00am, then pump at 9:00am, then combat at 10:00am. They were all very hard but so much fun and i survived.

OK on to the bad news. During step I rolled my foot. I kept going and ignored the pain. I finished all three classes and went on with my day as normal.

After the gym I had a graduation party. A good friend of mine from Kindergarten Kathy's son graduated from High School. He is the same age as my brother and so we joke and say that he is my Georgia brother. Here is a picture of us at the party.

After the graduation party I met Zach for dinner. We went to our favorite restaurant, Longhorn. I am a huge fan of Sangria, and the finally added it to their menu. It was so good!!

Sunday:

OK so here is what I was planning to do on Sunday:

clean house
laundry
go tanning
go to the gym
go to the grocery store
get all lesson plans done

Here is what I did:

took a 4 hour nap due to a migraine
iced my foot 3 times because i woke up and it was swollen and in pain :(
did a little laundry

I know not good. One because I got nothing accomplished and too I have a sore foot! :( Hopefully it will get better fast.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I have 8 days left of school!!! YAYYAY!

There is still time to enter in my Summer Fun Swap! Click here for details!

Getting to know you Sunday & A Lily Givaway!

2010-05-16T09:00:00.004-04:00

The questions..

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....?

Well I have Shoes that are more expensive then my clothes. But the most expensive clothing item I have in my closet is a dress that i bought last year to change into during my wedding.

2. Have you ever played a team sport?

Yes! I played Soccer for 2 years in middle school. Then I was a cheerleader in middle school and high school! And yes Cheerleading is a sport I don't care what people say!

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?

EWWW I hate bugs! But I would pick a butterfly because they are beautiful and can fly around place to place and smell pretty flowers!

4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned? (thanks Ian)

OK well I rarely burn but i did once because I was in a tropical place and forgot to put sunscreen on. My FEET! OUCH! That is the worst.

5. Are you happy?

Absolutely! I am happily married to my best friend. I have a job, and a house to come home to. I cannot complain at all! I know I do sometimes but there is always room for improvement.

6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?

For me it makes me mad and annoyed when my kids use "text" when they talk or write. I often hear and see LOL, IDK, and so on.

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?

I wouldn't say that I love where I like but I do like where I live. I am a little to far away from family (17 hours in a car or a 3 hour plane ride) and I am too far from the beach (4 hours). Growing up in a coastal state I spent my summers at the beach. I miss that terribly. I couldn't live anywhere that is for sure. I am not a big city girl and I am not a country girl either.

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?

I don't really take any extreme measures. I space my eating out. During the week I try to stay healthy and eat less carbs and sugar. So that on the weekend If i have pizza it is ok.

if you want to play along.copy the questions..answer them..then go back to Mannland's blog and link up!*

On to the Lilly Pulitzer Giveaway!!!

Head over to How I met your father to enter and win a pair of these Lilly Flip Flops!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

There is still time to enter in my Summer Fun Swap! Click here for details!

Summer Swap and Saturday Plans!

2010-05-15T11:48:00.002-04:00

My swap was featured at Swapdex!

For all you swap lovers head over there and check out all the swaps!

With that being said I am going to keep the swap open for another week. For everyone that emailed me already I will email you your partner today. For the new participants I will email you your partner next weekend 5/22!

Here are all the details:

Summer Fun Swap!

The dollar limit will be $25. You can use this limit and the answers to the questions and make a fun Summer "basket" for your partner!

How exciting would it be to get a new beach towel and pair of flip flops?

Or your favorite magazine and summer item!

All you have to do if you want to participate is email me with answers to the following questions along with your address.

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite summer item?

What is your favorite magazine?

What is your shoe size(in case your partner want to get you flip flops)?

What is your favorite snack item?

Any other summer things that you like and want to share with your swap buddy!

I will try to pair you with someone close to you in range to help with shipping.

Email me @ jtobin1204@gmail.com if you want to participate.

Saturday Plans!

Today I did 3 classes at the gym this morning! Yes I know I am crazy. I took Step, then Pump, then Combat. Each class was 1 hour long.

This afternoon I have a graduation party to go to.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Favorite Friday

2010-05-14T12:00:00.001-04:00

This Friday's "Favorite Fridays" Topic is:

Favorite R&B Singer: Mariah Carey

ok wait! I know what you all are thinking: "She is not as good as she use to be. She dresses so trashy." Here me out, #1 She is an amazing singer. She still holds many records for her songs.

#2 My personal reason is my connection to her song One Sweet day

**Please note this may be sad

In October 1996 when I was just 11 years old, my dad died. He had a heart attack and shocked us all. On the way to his funeral my mom said, pick a song that you can remember him by. At the time One Sweet day had just came out. The lyrics in the song were perfect.

Later the next year it was the biggest selling #1 song and held the record for #1.

Anyway, we cremated my dad and threw his ashes in the bay. In October in Rhode Island it tends to be cool. Well a butterfly flew around my head and then flew away. The same thing happened on my dad's one year anniversary.

Also at my wedding :)

Mariah Carey's album after Fantasy which had One Sweet Day on it was entitled Butterfly. Her music has helped me through so much. To me I will always like her as an artist and still hope to meet her someday to share my story!

Lyrics:

Sorry, I never told you, all I wanted to say.
Now it's too late to hold you. '
Cause you've flown away, so far away.

Never, Had I imagined, yeah, living without your smile.
Feelin' and knowing you hear me.
It keeps me alive. Alive!

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven,
Like so many friends we've lost along the way,
And I know eventually we'll be together.
One sweet day.

Picture a little scene from Heaven.

Darling, I never showed you.
Assumed you'd always be there.
I took your presence for granted.
But I always cared
And I miss the love we shared.

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven.
Like so many friends we've lost along the way.
And I know eventually we'll be together.
One sweet day.

Picture a little scene from Heaven.

Although, the sun will never shine the same, I'll
always look to a brighter day.

Yeah, Lord, I know, when I lay me down to sleep,
You'll always listen, as I pray!

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven,
Like so many friends we've lost along the way,
And I know eventually we'll be together.
One sweet day.

And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven,
Like so many friends we've lost along the way,
And I know eventually we'll be together.
One sweet day.

Sorry, I Never told you, all I wanted to say

Summer Fun Swap!

2010-05-13T10:19:00.001-04:00

~~Don't forget to email me if you want to participate! Today is the last day!!~~

Update!! Summer Fun Swap will be open for one more week. It will officially close on Friday May 21^st

Summer Fun Swap!

The dollar limit will be $25. You can use this limit and the answers to the questions and make a fun Summer "basket" for your partner!

How exciting would it be to get a new beach towel and pair of flip flops?

Or your favorite magazine and summer item!

All you have to do if you want to participate is email me with answers to the following questions along with your address.

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite summer item?

What is your favorite magazine?

What is your shoe size(in case your partner want to get you flip flops)?

What is your favorite snack item?

Any other summer things that you like and want to share with your swap buddy!

I will try to pair you with someone close to you in range to help with shipping.

Email me @ jtobin1204@gmail.com if you want to participate.

I will compile all the participants and partner you up. We will shoot for a mail date of June 1st! That will give us about 2 weeks to shop!

Happy Thursday! I only have 9 days left of this school year!!!

Wedding Wednesday!

2010-05-12T12:00:00.002-04:00

Wedding Wednesday

This weeks topic:

Wedding Attire/Hair and Make-up

I knew the dresses that I wanted for my girls as soon as I got engaged.. Actually I had these dresses picked out before we got engaged! As many of you know Turquoise is my favorite color so it wasn't hard to pick a color scheme. Also because we got married near the ocean Blues were a great pick!.

Here are the girls dresses:

The back had a cool detail:

They are from Watters and Watters!

Here is the flower girl dresses:

The only change I made was we put a turquoise sash on them. I loved the butterfly detail they had.

We ordered them from Pink Princess online and they were only $35! Can't beat that!

For the men we went with suits!

We got them at men's warehouse.

The groomsmen had similar looking suits in a slightly different share.

I love this shot with the jackets off!

I got all the groomsmen shirts and ties at KHOLS!! Yes thats right!

For my Jr. Groomsmen we had them made using swatchs of the groomsmens suit.

On to Hair and Make-up!

I loved my hair and make-up for the wedding! One of our groomsmen mom is my hairdresser and she did everything!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-05-11T17:23:00.002-04:00

This weeks Top 2 Tuesday is: DREAM HOUSES.

As many of you know I have my dream house ideas and all planned out. Here are some designs that I like, that are similar to what I want

Top floor:

bottom floor:

I also like this one:

basement:

1st floor:

2nd floor:

Images found here

I love Cape style homes and Beach front homes. I may start a feature of what i am look for in each room. I need a catchy phrase to have a weekly feature. Maybe Dream Home Mondays or Dream Home Thursdays. Those 2 days I usually don't have much to blog about. We'll see.

With 11 days left of school I have a major headache. The kids are going crazy and grades are due in 1 week!!! AHHHHHH. This is great but scary. I need to stay strong to stay with it just a few more days.

Also don't forget about my Summer Swap!

Click here if you want to participate in my Summer Swap!

Don't forget to email me your address and your answers to the questions!