a BIG announcement & project 365 vol. 41

Attention blog readers:
I have a BIG announcement!  Some of you might already know what I'm going to say.  That's because some of you live with me, or talk to me every couple of days, or maybe it's just because I have a big mouth.  Anyway, here it is:

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....................................

I have a brand new job!

I know, I know.  I'm a teacher, right?  Aren't teachers supposed to stay at the same place for an entire school year?  Well, yes.  Theoretically.  The bottom line is that a really great position opened up a few weeks ago at the wonderful school where I did my student teaching last year, and I couldn't help but jump on it.  I get to work with ladies that I worked with for a good part of last year, and it's in a much nicer school/district than where I was working before.  I love my new school already, and I'm so glad that I was presented with this opportunity!  

Without further ado, here is P365 vol. 41:

Sunday October 14, 2012

To end anniversary weekend, Austin and I went to brunch!  I had the above bananas foster waffles.  Deeeeeee-lish.  I ate until I could barely move.

Monday October 15, 2012

I got Austin a boot coupon for our anniversary.  He's gotten pretty into hunting recently, and he needed a good ol' pair of huntin' boots.  I didn't really know what kind he wanted/needed, so I figured a coupon was the way to go.  So, off to Cavender's we went.  He had a lot to choose from!

Tuesday October 16, 2012

I've started watching the newest season of New Girl recently.  It's been a good decision.  I love me some Zoey.

Wednesday October 17, 2012

This is a sneak peek into my new classroom!  It's cool to be in this room because I know the teacher who used to be in here.  She was the team leader last year, and now she lives in Germany with her Army hubby.  She is an awesome teacher, and I like to think that she left some of her good teaching skillz in there for me!

Thursday October 18, 2012

I also started watching old episodes of One Tree Hill recently.  I LOVED this show when I was in high school, and re-watching it now makes me feel nostalgic.  Brooke just makes me so mad in this first season though!

Friday October 19, 2012

We went to College Station last weekend!  When we arrived on Friday, we headed to the only place to head on a Friday night: good ol' Northgate.  Fun times :)

Saturday October 20, 2012

There was a big game in the station this past Saturday.  My beloved Aggies played the stinky kitty cats from LSU.  We had fun before, during, and after the game.  We won't talk about the final score...

project 365 vol. 40

Sunday October 7, 2012

Last Sunday was the great bridal expo!!  Upon our arrival, Austin and I were both given stickers to wear.  His said "VIG: Very Important Groom".  Mine said "VIB: Very Important Bride".  I think our facial expressions say it all...

Monday October 8, 2012

I went to the grocery store last Monday to get food for the week.  I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people who tries to carry in all of the bags from car to kitchen in one trip.  This involves quite a lot of pain for my wrists.  On this particular Monday my groceries were heavier than usual, so the bags left a big red mark.  Ouchie :(


I

Tuesday October 9, 2012

When we went to the bridal show on Sunday, we entered a lot of contests at the individual booths.  On Sunday evening I received a call saying that we actually WON one of the drawings!!  Austin and I were going to get either free wedding bands or a 3 day 2 night trip to an all inclusive resort!  All we had to do to claim our winnings was watch a short cooking demonstration on Tuesday night.

Does this sound like it's too good to be true?  Well it is.  The picture above was the set-up for the cooking demo...we sat here listening to an insane person pushing his pots and pans on us, and then at the end he told us that there were all these stipulations to win the prizes (plane tickets, shipping costs, etc.).  It was a bust.  We did get to sample some broccoli though!   


Wednesday October 10, 2012

I got to watch my man play some softball last Wednesday!  I love going to his games to cheer him on and hang out with the boys (and their significant others) on the team.


Thursday October 11, 2012

Last week my school was gearing up for a big potluck lunch on Friday afternoon.  Apparently this year we are going to have a bunch of "Iron Chef battles" where all of the different teams (English, Science, Office Staff, etc.) create a table full of goodies that fit the theme of the contest.  After the lunch, we all get to vote on the winner, and the 1st place team gets the above trophy!  How fun!  I love the knives and the original Japanese chairman on the trophy.  Hilarious. 


Friday October 12, 2012

Friday was a fun day!  We had our big "tailgating" themed potluck at school, and then a bunch of our friends were in town for the weekend.  We all met for lunch at Blue Goose Cantina.  Yummy yummy! 

Saturday October 13, 2012

Last Saturday Austin and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary!  I've already posted about it, but here's another shot of our delicious dessert.  We looooove us some creme brule! <3

3 cheers for 3 years!

This past Sunday, Austin and I celebrated 3 whole years of being a couple!  I thought I'd write a quick post to take us down memory lane...

The two of us started "officially" dating around Halloween in 2009.  We met each other in February of '09 at A&M through a wonderful organization called Fish Camp, became actual "friends" over that summer, and finally started calling each other "boyfriend/girlfriend" on October 14th.  It was a happy day :)

Here is a pumpkin we carved together at the verrryyyyy beginning of our relationship:

Benjamin the Pumpkin Monster

On our first anniversary, Austin took me to Fogo de Chao for a delicious dinner, and then we headed out with some of our friends to celebrate.

October 2010

Celebratory Dessert 

For anniversary numero dos, Austin treated me to Texas de Brazil (a Brazilian steakhouse similar to Fogo).  At this point in our relationship, we had been living together for about 4 months, and we were as happy as a couple of clams.

October 2011 in our first apartment

This past Saturday, Austin kept the tradition of wonderful anniversaries alive.  I taught at the studio for a few hours, and when I came home, Austin had these waiting for me:

Pretty Flowers!

Once we were all showered up and lookin' pretty, we went to Fogo de Chao!  What can I say...in our opinion, a true celebration calls for mountains of meat!

October 2012

The meal was fabulous (duh), and the cherry on top of our night was watching the Aggies (barely haha) pull out a victory over Louisiana Tech.  Whoop for Johnny Manziel, and Whoop for all of our anniversaries to come!

project 365 vol. 39

Sunday September 30, 2012

Two Sundays ago, we had brunch at a friend's house.  Our good friend/groomsman Caesar's mom was in town, and she cooked us an amazing meal.  We brought stuff for mimosas in exchange for their hospitality.  Yum.

Monday October 1, 2012

I got stopped by a train on the way to work on Monday.  While I was waiting, I gave thanks to instagram for giving me something to do to pass the time.  If I wasn't able to take and post a pic, I might have gotten irritated by that choo choo.

Tuesday October 2, 2012

Look who made it on the "wall of instructors" at Dallas Powerhouse of Dance!  What's up short hair!

Wednesday October 3, 2012

I made one of the easiest/yummiest/healthiest meals in my culinary repertoire a couple of Wednesdays ago--Ina Garten's Lemon Basil Chicken.  I paired it with some green beans which I cooked in chicken broth instead of water (it makes a big difference!) and a big pile of mashed taters.  

Thursday October 4, 2012

I know I've posted a lot about our new dance studio on here, but I seriously just love it so much!  This is one of the studios where we teach High Kick classes.  The studio is HUGE, so the girls get to kick for miles.  They really enjoy it when I make them do that :)

Friday October 5, 2012

I want an iPhone 5.  I am having problems getting one though.  Yes, I am aware that I can order one online and they will mail it to me (I found this out last Friday), but there's a problemo with that.  It wouldn't come to my house in Dallas, it would go to Austin's mom's house in Houston, and we are not planning to go to Houston until like Thanksgiving.  I want to go into an Apple store and just get one.  Why is this so difficult?!

Saturday October 6, 2012

There was a bridal show in Dallas last weekend!  These are our tickets for the show on Sunday.  Austin was very excited to go...not.  I promised him that there would be lots of giveaways and cake samples though, so he grinned and bared it.  More on the show in my next 365 post!

a very powerhouse weekend

This past weekend Power House was literally my house.  At least, it felt like it was my house because I was practically there all weekend!  Good thing I love it there :)

I kicked off my weekend by working a birthday party for an adorable little 5 year old named Zoe.  Her birthday had a Halloween theme, so everyone wore a costume (even me)!

Like my princess costume?

Zoe's Birthday Cupcakes

The party was tons of fun.  Yes, it is a little stressful to wrangle fifteen 5-year-olds for an hour and a half, but it sure beats a normal desk job.  I really never imagined myself getting paid the big bucks to wear a sparkly pink tiara and facilitate the limbo, but I love love love it!

On Saturday morning I hung out with my baby ballerinas for awhile and then taught some not-so-baby drill teamers.

Babies with Miss Elizabeth

Making "Popcorn"

I love their little faces!! 

After classes were over, it was time for the GRAND OPENING of our brand spankin' new studio!!  So exciting!!

Here's how it all went down:

Schedule

There were a TON of people there.

Maybe the crowd was there because of these awesome floating dudes...

Or maybe because of the bounce house?

Was the "make your own Power House button" booth the reason so many people showed up?

Or was it because of the DJ and pRiZe WhEeL?

Maybe people came because Gino gave an awesome "Gangnam Style" dance lesson?

Perhaps the crowd formed because of the amazing performances we had...

Rock Solid Crew Break Dancers

Cheer Power Squad

Mini Dallas Stars Dancers

Allen Americans Ice Angels

The answer to all of those questions is, "NO".  

The reason everyone came out was for the HUMAN MONEY BOX!!

Ok ok, I was in charge of the Cash Cube, so maybe I'm a little partial, but everyone really was excited about it!!  Here are some of my favorite winners:

Just in case I haven't said it enough, I LOVE my job at Power House.  I really can't believe they pay me to do what I love :)

project 365 vol. 38

Sunday September 23, 2012

I went shoppin' on Sunday!!  Austin was so sweet and took me to the Allen outlets (before football started of course), and I found lots of good stuff at bananer republic, j crew, and a random shoe store!  Everything you see here was under $100 total.  That's right, 100 ducks for 6 tops, a sweater, some shorts, and 2 pairs of shoes.  I don't want to brag or anything, but I really do know how to find a bargain, baby.


Monday September 24, 2012 

Monday night football is always made better by some Woodchuck and a little bit of BBQ chicken pizza.  Oh, and spoiler alert: this post features a lot of food.  I guess I was really hungry last week...

Tuesday September 25, 2012

I attempted to make pitas last week!  I think I baked the first batch for too long, but the second batch was great!  I love making things I would usually buy prepackaged (like pitas or roast chicken) and seeing how it turns out.
  

Wednesday September 26, 2012

I got to go to Austin's softball game last Wednesday! I haven't been able to recently because of dance, but my class on Wednesday nights got cancelled, so now I can go...woohooooo!!  I like supporting the team :)


Thursday September 27, 2012

I made a big ol' chicky chicky pot pot (that's chicken pot pie) for dinner near the end of last week.  I think I could eat this stuff until I explode.  The recipe really is pretty simple, and it is so dang good.

Friday September 28, 2012

I warned you about the large amounts of food on the blog this week!  This is a chopped salad I made to go with some lasagna on Friday (can you see the lasagna in the background?).  It was really easy to throw together...chop some lettuce, dice a mater or two, fry and crumble a little bacon, throw on some bleu cheese crumbles, and top it off with bleu cheese dressing.  Major yum.



September 29, 2012

Guess what?  One of the classes I teach at my studio gets to be in the recital at the end of the year!  The class is for 8-10 year olds, and the style is Jazz Drill.  This is the costume I picked for them.  Cute, huh??