Teaching job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never thought this day would come...I actually got a teaching job!!! Someone trusts me enough to teach the kids about math and science. I am STILL on cloud 9!! How exciting?! I will be teaching 6-8 math and science at a Catholic grade school in KCK, called Our Lady of Unity. How perfect is that for me?!

Im meeting with my old 5-6 grade math and science teacher this evening. She said she is going to give me EVERYTHING she has so I can use some of her tips and tricks in my very own classroom. I have been so excited for this meeting since we set it up last week. Im sure everything will go great and I cant wait to feel so overwhelmed! Haha.

Ive already been wondering if I should consider having animals in my classroom? Granted I wont be given a ton of money to have some high class animals...but should I get a hamster? Maybe have my Grandma stop when she sees a turtle on the road? Ask my cousins for their fish?! So much to think about!!

More to come...

Tornadoes and Scrapbooking

Well I guess it is that time of year...tornado warnings and watches every single day. I've heard the sirens twice in the last two weeks, and I don't really ever remember being as worried as I have been this year. Today was probably the worst. I am always that person that hears the sirens but never does anything about it. When I should be taking cover in the basement under a blanket, I'm usually on the upper level of my house watching TV or something...but today, the sirens started going off here in KCMO around 11:30a and I made way to the stairwell here at work. I stayed there for a good 45 minutes. Finally, once the storms passed over, I went back to work. It has been very tough to concentrate since then. Luckily, I brought some cards I have made recently, so I can take pictures of them and show them off.

Recently, I have discovered a good friend of mine who enjoys scrapbooking just as much as I do. We definitely have different styles of scrapping, but it is so fun to see other people's work. We have now gotten together twice to scrap with each other. The last time we got together, I didnt take anything else except paper to make cards. Bruce and I have a few weddings coming up and since the price of cards from the store is so out of control, I refuse to buy anything. I feel the personal touch of a homemade card is better anyway! So far, I havent had a complaint from a bride about my personalized card! :)

This first card is for good friends of mine; Jennifer and Justin (Rand).

The left side of the inner part of the card (with the black heart on it) is a little pouch where we can put the gift card we will be getting them. I have used this method with all the cards I made.




This next card is for some of Bruce's friends. Brittney and Aaron got married in St. Lucia and now they are back for their reception with the rest of the family and friends.

Again, the green square on the left side is where the gift card will go.











Finally, this card is for another set of Bruce's friends; Michaela and Justin. We wont be at their wedding because we have a wedding out of town that same weekend that we already committed to.

I have made a few other cards but they arent quite finished...so I will just have wait on those. Until next time...

Bucket List

You know how people have bucket lists? Things they want to do before they die. Well I have a bucket list too...but it consists of concerts I want to see...

1) Incubus
2) Garth Brooks
3) Janet Jackson
4) Michael Jackson
5) Eminem
6) Breaking Benjamin
7) Missy Elliott

I realize that this list is quite varied...but I really do like all types of music. Sure I like rap/hip hop more than I like country, but that doesn't mean I wont listen to country. I also realize that this list isn't all that long. I want to see a lot of different artists in concert, but these 7 people/groups are the artists that if I saw, I could die happy (in the concert category).

I have been fortunate enough to see Incubus TWICE in concert and both times were in the middle of a hot summer in KC. The concert was outdoors and I was sweating the whole time but it was AMAZING! They have been slowly releasing new singles and the new album comes out July 12th...needless to say, I've already pre-ordered a copy! In the past, as Incubus releases a new album, they set up a tour right away...so I am keeping my eyes peeled for that announcement too!

Remember when Garth Brooks had his "farewell" concert series? 14 shows in Kansas City?! I LIVE in KC...how much better does THAT get?! Luckily, I got 2 tickets to the show and went to see concert #3. It was such a blast! Another "check" on my Bucket List-Concerts.

I've also seen Janet Jackson and Breaking Benjamin. Janet Jackson came to KC with LL Cool J and that was an added bonus! It was without a doubt the BEST concert I have ever seen. Janet had so much energy and played SO many songs. It was the longest concert I had been to, but I didnt want it to end! Breaking Benjamin has never been the main act in any concert I have seen of them, but I have seen them as the opening act for a number of other artists. I put a half check mark next to them...because I'd still love to see them as the main act. And you might be asking yourself "But MB...didnt BB break up?" SHOOT! Yes they did...but I still have hope they might get back together!

I have NEVER seen Michael Jackson, Eminem or Missy Elliott in concert. Obviously, MJ will always be without a check mark next to his name...BUT I am going to see the Michael Jackson Cirque show in BOTH Denver AND KC!!! Talk about a lucky lady! Come on 2012!

Eminem just announced that he will be coming to KC for the Kanrocksas Festival later this summer!!! Woot! Unfortunately it is a two day concert...outside...in August. Can you say scorcher?! Yikes. Since we know Eminem will only be performing one night, we are waiting for single day tickets to go on sale. I dont know what kind of crowd Eminem might draw...but you better believe Bruce and I will both be there proudly "rapping" along with all the songs. We DO enjoy our Eminem...

And as for Missy Elliott...I havent heard anything from her in years. She has been featured on a number of different songs, but has yet to come out with her own album in the last 5 years. Is this the end for Missy? Who knows...but I am keeping my eyes open!

So what is on your Concert Bucket List?!

MB

6 months!!!!!

What a start to this busy weekend and I have barely even seen my husband. BLAH! My outdoor soccer season started TODAY and we had a double header. Who schedules a double header on opening weekend?! We tied last season for first place so maybe they thought we could handle it...but I was skeptical from the beginning. To top it all off...it is FREEZING here is KC and has been raining all day. I knew this would be a long night. We still played both games in constant mist and 30 mph cross wind (ok I dont know if it was really 30mph...but it felt like it!). We came out victorious from both games! We beat the team we tied the league with last year (2-0) and totally dominated another top team (10-0). Im just glad this night is over!

I cant WAIT for the rest of this weekend! Tomorrow (Saturday) Bruce and I will celebrate our 6 month wedding anniversary! Some may say that celebrating only 6 months is ridiculous, but we have had a GREAT first 6 months so we are excited for a celebration.

AND my husband is SOOOOO awesome because he is letting me go over to a friends house for a scrapbook party!!! This is my FIRST scrapbook party ever so I am VERY excited...but a little anxious too. I play soccer with the girl hosting the party, so I have been texting her all week to see what I should bring and what I can leave at home. I have a few projects I am working on so I hope to make some serious progress on both of them! My wedding album is almost done...so maybe I can even finish that off! I hope to be able to post some of the layouts here when it is completed!

Alright, I better get some sleep! Have a great weekend!!

MB

Roller Derby

It has been a few weeks since Bruce and I have gone out in KC to try something new. We got a call from some good friends, inviting us to go to the KC Roller Warriors roller derby league! I had heard a little bit about roller derby here in KC, but I had never been to a Bout (its a game...but called a Bout in the roller derby world). Bruce and I both realized we knew at least one person participating on different teams of this roller derby league so we were excited to see these ladies in action. The first Bout started at 7p so we met our friends there around 6:45p to ensure we got a good seat. There were quite a few more fans there than we anticipated! It was an evening of high energy and lots of excitement. Id highly recommend anyone check it out at least once in their lives. Bruce and I noticed ourselves cheering for different teams and really getting into it.

There are a total of 4 teams in the KC Roller Warriors league so we saw all 4 compete. These first two teams are the Knockouts (blue) and the Black Eyed Susans (yellow). It was a VERY close Bout and went down to the last second but the BES pulled out the victory 76-74.

The last two teams to compete were the Victory Vixens (dark blue) and the Dorothys (red and black). The Dorothys have only lost one Bout over the last season so they were the team to beat. We left at halftime and the Vixens were winning by 5.

All in all, this was a great experience! Definitely something completely different from our "norm" but it is great to be able to say we have been to a roller derby!

Have a great week!

MB

Scrapbooking

In an effort to develop my blog further, Ive decided to talk about something that I really enjoy. Scrapbooking. Alright I have to admit...when I was in college, my roommate started scrapbooking very seriously and I thought she was crazy. Why is she spending all that money just to "dress up" some pictures?! I did not see what the big deal was. After a while, I started seeing all the cool layouts she was making and really thought this might be something I could get in to. I took a trip to the local scrapbooking store and was in heaven! Sure the prices were a little outrageous (a pack of raised stickers for $5?!) but it was so much fun to look at all the different things the store had to offer. I came back to KC and decided to do some serious shopping at the local craft store; JoAnn's. It was great because they had coupons and their stuff was often on sale! It was a great start to my scrapbooking hobby! I still go to JoAnn's quite a bit but I also enjoy going to Archivers. The selection at Archivers is amazing!

Over time I have come to discover all of the great accessories and tools that can help dress up a boring scrapbook page. eBay has been a great place to buy various tools much cheaper than the stores. My favorite tool and best scrapbook purchase has to be the Cricut machine.

This machine DOES. IT. ALL. I have purchased about 12 cartridges from eBay and I use all of them quite a bit. This machine can cut out different shapes, letters, symbols...everything. And all in different sizes. If anyone is getting started in scrapbooking, I ALWAYS recommend the Cricut.

Anyway, lately I've been working on my scrapbook for the wedding. This isn't meant to be strictly a wedding book, because it includes pictures from all the events leading up the wedding. Below are a few pages I have completed...I still have quite a bit to go.

Now that my student teaching is DONE and I have turned in the TWS, I have a lot more time for scrapbooking!!! Love it!

Make it a good one!

MB

Well great...

Well of course, as I thought...I write ONE blog and then take a month long break. What a joke! Haha. I guess I've been telling myself that if I have time to write a blog...I should probably be spending that time working on schoolwork. I'm exhausted...to say the least.

Some things have changed since the last post...

Bruce applied for a new position with Farmers. He has been looking to make the move to this department for quite some time. It has features that are desirable to him at this point of his career. Currently he works as a Property Claims Supervisor and has a team of six working for him. He has done so much for his team and for the department, but it is clear that he wants to make a change. After a phone interview, an office interview, and a long week of waiting...Bruce finally got the call on Friday morning. HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!! He is thrilled and I am very excited for him! He will start the new position on April 1st...and I would tell you what his new title is, but I still don't quite understand it. Haha.

I have been continuing to work hard through my student teaching assignment. En light of all of these snow days, my assignment has been pushed back up to Spring Break. This gives me more time to present my "unit" to the students for my TWS. Ugh. Talk about a daunting project on top of all of the teaching stuff. Lets just say I am READY to be done with student teaching and in my own classroom! Come on biology teaching jobs!!

Bruce and I are already looking forward to the upcoming baseball season and warmer weather! We have already talked about a trip back to Vegas to get away for a while, as well as a trip to Mexico so I can finally experience a swim up bar! We have a number of weddings to attend this year as well, so I will make a number of trips out to Bed Bath and Beyond for wedding gifts as well as a website I got from a friend. You can check it out here.

Welp, better get back to the school work. Yuck.

Make it a good one!