dinner time

Happy Friday, everybody!  I am here with some recipes today, so I hope y'all are hungry!  These are things I've made over the past week or so, and I would recommend them all for dinner.  Try one out!

Hamburger Soup

I saw this on The Pioneer Woman's website, and since I'm always up for a new soup, I gave it a try.  It was very easy to make and was wonderful during that cold weather at the end of March that wouldn't seem to go away.

Crock Pot Beef Tacos

I think I've shared these crock pot wonders with you guys before, but here they are again in case you need a reminder!  These are from Eat Live Run, and I think Austin could eat them every single week.  I will eat just about anything if you top it with avocado and cilantro, so I'm always on board too.

Crock Pot Chicken Chili

I posted the recipe for this soup not too long ago, but I wanted to make sure no one missed it.  Let me just reiterate that I will eat almost anything so long as it's topped with avocado and cilantro.

Lettuce Wraps

These are another hit in our house from my girl Ree at The Pioneer Woman.  Lettuce wraps are kind of a pain to make because you have to chop up all of that chicken into such tiny pieces, but I think the result is totally worth it.

Greek Turkey Burgers

These little guys are a brain child of my handsome hubby-to-be.  I make regular turkey burgers all the time, but he asked if we could mix things up with a "Greek version".  To make them, I just bought regular turkey patties; seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little oregano; and then I topped the cooked burgers with some romaine, kalamata olives, feta, and a tomato slice.  To finish, I wrapped everything up in a warm pita and served them with a side of fruit.  YUM! 

Have a great weekend, y'all!  I'm headed to Houston later today for my bridal shower tomorrow!  I can't wait!!!  Updates about that will probably happen on Monday. :)

rose petals and teddy bears

Do you guys remember the show Laguna Beach?  It was one of the first "reality shows" that I can remember, and I was obsessed.  L.B. (The Real O.C.) was on MTV from 2004-2006 which was right after I started high school.  Naturally, I was extremely jealous of the show's rich, spoiled, totally scripted teens.  Everything they did seemed so glamorous!  I still remember pining over one episode in particular: The L.B. Promposals!!

Now, in case you're not familiar, a "promposal" is when a guy asks a girl to prom in a particularly cute way.  And let me tell you, the men of Laguna Beach had their promposals on point.  Does anyone else remember Talan wearing a suit and holding roses in Kristen's garage?  How about Trey spelling out "PROM?" in candles?  Swoon city, baby!

What you might not know, however, is that the barefoot ballerina had a promposal of her own...

It all started with my friend Raisa.  She was part of a prom group composed of mostly couples with a few stray dudes.  It was her job to find some single ladies to fill out the bunch, and it just so happened that I was boyfriend-less at the time.  (Let's be honest, I was boyfriend-less most of the time those days.) She started asking me if I would be interested in going with this guy George, and of course I was!  A date to prom?  Duh!

However, I never expected to walk into my 5th period student council officers class later that week and find a giant Build-A-Bear box on my desk!  What was that doing there?!

I could tell by Raisa's face that the box was intended for me, and when I opened it, I found a fuzzy little teddy bear dressed in the tiniest tuxedo I'd ever seen.

Even cuter, when I pressed his precious paw, I heard George's voice: 

Hey Jamie, it's George!  Would you like to go to prom with me?!

Absolutely adorable, right?  That George was such a sweet guy.  I was so excited to have a date to the prom!  Thanks for your meddling, Raisa! 

Here's a better shot of the bear.  I guess I was being shy that day...

George was a very nice date, and we all had a great time at prom.  I will never forget that bear and his voice coming out of its paw.

Here are some other fun facts about my prom experience:

1) My friend Michelle and I were both nominated for prom queen, but neither one of us won.  We were FURIOUS.  

2) One of the members of our group wore a kilt to the big dance!

3) We spent the weekend after prom at a beach house in Galveston.  (My suggestions for moving the trip to Laguna were rudely ignored.)  My friend Anna and I practiced our dance moves a lot.  

Did I mention that I didn't date much at the time?  I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want to hang around a girl who leaps everywhere she goes. 

Austin is a lucky guy, huh?

staar feelings

Well, STAAR season is upon us!  My kids wrapped up the writing portion of the test today, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I'm glad it's behind us.

Everyone has an opinion about standardized testing, but the bottom line is that it happens whether we like it or not.  Personally, I can see why we need it, but it is definitely not my favorite part of the school year.  It's stressful for everyone involved.

So, as a way to (hopefully) make all of the teachers out there chuckle, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts throughout the testing day.  I think they'll probably be relatable...

When I wake up and remember we have testing that day:

When one of the kids accidentally breaks the wrong seal:

When one of my students immediately starts on the final draft instead of doing all of the planning strategies we have talked about all year long:

When it's FINALLY time for lunch:

When I'm waiting for the last few kids to finish:

When everyone in the room is finished, but we still have to sit quietly, the kids are like:

And I'm like:

 When the kids are released from testing rooms:

When I get home after a day of testing:

And then:

Hopefully, when we get the scores in, I'll be like: