My Two Cents

I think about how much students are always watching my actions. They see my in the grocery store (ignore me while we're there but then tell me how they saw me buying chips at Hyvee the following morning.) They are always watching for my example on how to react in situations. They watch how I treat their peers and how I respond to situations when I'm upset. They make sure I say the Pledge of Allegiance with them every morning. Heck, they even watch when I sneeze. True story: while teaching second grade, I was discussing the importance of washing your hands after your sneeze to prevent spreading germs. One student piped up and said, "I know Ms. Furnell sneezes in her elbow! I've seen her do that before!" Whew - that was a close one. Good thing I wasn't sneezing in my hands otherwise I would have been ratted out... quick! 

My point:  kids are always watching for the example of how they should act.

I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I do strive to share the positive -- spread awareness on topics close to my heart and use social media as a platform to make others feel good. Would I want my kids to see what I post on Twitter? Sure I do. Would I want my nieces and nephews to see my blog? Of course.  

I often use Spiderman as point of reference in my classroom. 

"With great power comes great responsibility." 

I'm usually saying these famous words in regard to our science experiment or iPads. However, I think we can apply it to social media. We have great power with social media to be the change we wish to see and promote positivity and kindness OR we have the power to put a damper on those around us with our negativity. We also have a responsibility to teach our future tweeters and Facebookers how to be kind "behind the screen" and treat others (friends and strangers) with respect and dignity online just as we would face to face. 

Last week was difficult watching post after post riddled with negativity about everything going wrong in the world. I, personally, took a break from social media because it became too overwhelming to read.

I know life isn't always sunshine and roses. Trust me - I get it.
However, think of how contagious a small smile can be - can't we have the same affect with our posts online? Can't we help spread happiness online just as we would in person?

So maybe... Just maybe! If we start spreading happiness those in the future will follow in our footsteps and spread kindness online as well. 

I'm in. Who's with me?

Life Lately - Snow Days & Paint

Oh, Life Lately has been filled with tremendous amounts of snow and oodles of fun. One would think that after having four snow days in two weeks, my to do list would be down to nothing. Let's just say, that is not the case whatsoever. In fact, after school today I felt more behind than ever! But first, let me catch you up...

My bf and I got all dolled up one Saturday night because he's a pretty rockstar sales rep!

A group of us, the Icebreakers to be exact, survived the Polar Bear Strut 5k at the Lake of the Ozarks. This was my first race and boy-oh-boy it rocked my world. Big kudos to my bf for coming in third overall and first in his age group! :)

I'm ready for race number two!

Then it snowed.... a lot. Just when I thought it had stopped snowing, it kept snowing. I watched a record amount of Netflix movies and my stir crazy popcorn popper was busy. We missed a Thursday and Friday of President's Day week. It was pretty much the easiest week ever. 

As I was walking into school the following Monday I thought, "Well.. this week will be tough after only going to school two days!" Then it started SNOWING AGAIN. We had TWO MORE snow days last week. There is only so much I can do with the snow. I literally tried/did everything. I even photographed Chip. 

In honor of Read Across America Day, I had the great pleasure of dressing up like the Cat in the Hat with two spunky collegues dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2. It was a really fun day! A third grader passed me today and said, "YOU were the Cat in the Hat!" I just smiled and walked away. 

On Saturday night, a group of us took a painting class at a little art studio in St. Charles. Thanks to Studio Gallo Blu, I now have a lovely little painting to hang on my wall. Plus, I walked away with the confidence of Van Gogh.

How's life lately for you? :)

Life Lately

Life lately has been quite interesting! I feel as if I have been taking advantage of little moments and making the most of my summer vacay. Here's what I've been up the past couple of weeks!

I spent the weekend with a few of my favorite girls. What's better than laying out all afternoon and taking a little boat ride? Not much folks, not much. 

Spent the afternoon with my fabulous pops and celebrated him on Father's Day. Not only is he a dynamite Daddy-O, but he is one heck of a Grandpa. My sister and I are lucky ducks.

My bf and I cashed in a sweet giftcard to a local restaurant and took advantage of the yummy steak and fish options. The leftovers were transformed into a delicious steak and egg bagel sandwich. Yum.

It's very rare that in the month of June, in Missouri, that I am able to sit on my patio and enjoy a cup of joe. One morning, the heat decided to take a little break so we took full advantage of the splendid weather and spent our morning in the outdoors.  P.S. MIZZOU-RAH! Five days until my treasured Missouri Tigers become part of the SEC. Is it football season yet? 

For the past few years, I've always been in transition mode around the 4th of July. I was either graduating or moving. Life really didn't give up the time for me to decorate for the holidays. This year, I'm staying put and I decided to get a little patriotic. My house is beaming with red, white, and blue.

You may (or may not) remember way back when I posted here about my new sewing machine. It was a fantastic Christmas gift from my Grandma as of June 25, 6 months later, I had yet to use it.  As an accidental half Christmas celebration, I decided to bust out the sewing machine and figure out how it actually worked.

After a little shopping trip to JoAnn Fabrics, my neighb and I decided on an apron. We were up to the wee hours (okay, 12:30 AM) creating this apron for the kitchen. Around midnight, I finally fell asleep with thread and fabric stuck to me. My first sewing attempt was a success, I look forward to blogging about my next adventures.

Chip, the wonder dog, and I took a little road trip back to the lake this week. We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of weekend visitors until today. Life stepped in and changed plans ...in a good way!

My sweet little nephew, Beckett, became a big brother today. For months I've been asking him what we should name his little sister and he would quickly reply, "T-Rex". I tried to tell him that it would be difficult to convince his parents of this name, but he stuck to his guns. I'm so excited to welcome my sweet niece Libby (Elisabeth) Jordon into the world. She's going to be spoiled rotten just like her brother by Aunt JJ!

Life Lately

Life lately has been absolutely fantastic! I just got home from a vacation in San Diego, California for my best friend's wedding. Needless to say, we had an amazing time full of adventures, tears (happy tears!), and more adventure.

Mrs. High

Adventuring to Torrey Pines National Park.

Adventure to La Jolla Cove complete with a Kayaking trip. 

Adventure to Coronado Island on bikes! 

Practice makes perfect!

YOU DID IT! CONGRATS!

Cutting the cake. I mean.. cakes! Yum. Try not to drool too much. 

Mario & Luigi (we go waaay back!)

Notice the disposable camera. We took care of that little guy!

My blog will literally explode it I posted all 400 pictures that I took while in California. I'll spare your eyes. 

Now, after so much excitement, I'm sitting on my bum on the couch all .. day.. long. Netflix is calling my name.  

A Pirate's Life For Me

Life Lately is just lovely. I'm linking up with Hayley at The Weekend File to give you the scoop on my awesome Friday.

One of the great things about living close to my home town, is being able to hop in the car and be with my family in under two hours. It's a beautiful thing! On Friday, I spent the entire day with my nephew. I named our day, Beckett and JJ's DAY OF FUN! (cue Janis from Friends)

Maybe it's the science teacher in me, but we started our DAY OF FUN with a little science experiment.

We used baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring.  BDE used the dropper and placed vinegar (with food coloring mixed in) on the baking soda. 

He loved it! He kept going and going and going....

...and we made a little mess. We had to have a wardrobe change. The vinegar and baking soda have a chemical reaction with one another. If you listen closely, you can hear the sizzzzzleee.  It was a great start to our rainy Friday morning!

Later that afternoon, we did an art project. We went on a little pirate mission to gather marbles from my Dad's (aka Grandpa's) house. We used a marble, washable paint, and a box.

My summer break has started off with a bang! First, a day of fun with my nephew. Next, a pirate party to celebrate his 3rd birthday, and yesterday I hung out at the Cardinals game! I'm a lucky gal.

Happy Birthday BDE!!

Life Lately Link Up

Happy Monday, friends! I can't believe it's the middle of April. April is the best month because of (my favorite season) spring and so many birthdays to celebrate.

I'm linking up with The Weekend File and giving you the scoop on my life lately.

I've become mildly obsessed with the game "Draw Something". I'm not an artist by any means, but I sure do love trying to illustrate wacky things like this here cyclops! Definitely one of my finest.

Call me Picaso.

I made my very first layered cake for a little birthday that happens to be today! I used the classic and well-loved Funfetti recipe and it was enjoyed by many this weekend! Plus, the cake got to hang out on my fancy dollar store cake stand that I blogged about here.

Practice Makes Perfect!

Over the weekend, I was invited to attend Opening Weekend of the STL Cardinals! As you may know from here, that baseball has never been my thing, but holy cow! The game was absolutely incredible. I loved every minute of it!

Plus, I got a sweet new ring. :)

Since the weather has been so beautiful, I've been taking advantage of the roads around me and going on walks everyday. Who wouldn't want to have this view everyday?

Life is just splendid. I hope yours is just as grand!