Students and Technology

Sometimes it feels as though even my fifth graders are more technology savvy than I am.

Our principal sent out this article about a new trend, geared more towards junior high and high school students, called "Cyberbaiting." Basically, this is when students purposefully push and push their teachers until they get a reaction of yelling or even worse. Then, students get their phones and video record the infuriated teacher. They may upload it to YouTube or Facebook, or send a video message to someone else. This is just plain scary, it makes you wonder which teenagers would have the tenacity to do this and how one can be so vindictive. Yet another reason kids should not have phones in school... it literally creates drama.

Little bit of happiness: Today I took my students on a picture scavenger hunt to find angles, lines, polygons, and solids in our classroom, school, and community. It was great to see them so happy about being able to do something different from the norm, but so simple. Can't wait to see how the projects turn out.

Daily quote: Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too.

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Importance of Play

On my desk at work I have the Happiness Project day-by-day calendar.

Today's calendar said: "Make time for play. What is play? An activity that's satisfying, has no economic significance, doesn't create social harm, and doesn't necessarily lead to praise or recognition. Play is not merely idel time; it's an opporunity to experiment with new interestes and draw closer to other people."

Just something to think about, especially as play will be one of my "areas of life" at some point this year.

Little bit of happiness: I watched The Help again this evening. Made me laugh, made me cry, and made me appreciate and be grateful for the life I lead.

Daily quote: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." -Aibileen Clark, from The Help

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Open-Minded about Love

Last week I posted this article of Facebook, and made this comment: "I'm not one for politics... but this is just ridiculous. If you read on it goes onto say that any type of marriage could be legally discriminated against whether same sex, biracial, or even a couple from different religions. When will people wake up and join the 21st century?! You can not help who you love. Come on."

Then, this weekend I saw someone post this picture days later:

A Christian group shows up to a Chicago Gay Pride parade holding apologetic signs including "I'm sorry for how the church treated you".

Finally, Christians doing the right thing. Let us remember: no matter what your opinion it is only for GOD to judge.

Have I mentioned that I'm open-minded? Love is love.

PHOTOS OF WEEK FOUR:

January 22nd: The Hastings in Topeka was going out of business this weekend. Not only were the books buy two get one free, but also 60% off! I got these nine book for $15, and saved $96! Got to spend to save :)

January 23rd: After finally mixing the bread dipping spices Grandma Chubby gave me, I was able to enjoy it with Panera's Asiago Cheese Bread

January 24th: Made a grocery bag dispenser with a repurposed a Clorox wipe container

January 25th: Put together the weight loss jars... when you lose weight you take a pebble from the "Pounds to Go" to "Pounds Lost" jar. Forty pounds to go!

January 26th: The supplies for the flower garland that will be going on the wall in the Oasis Room!

January 27th: Getting the photo album filled! The album is actually a lot bigger than it would seem on the online site.

January 28th: The bookshelf upstairs that has my books I have so far for the Variety Book Challenge :)

Little bit of happiness: Finished my first audio book today! Lot's of interesting information... check my book review site!

Daily quote: "Who are you to judge the way I live? I know I'm not perfect and I don't live to be. But before you do go pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean." -Bob Marley

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Out of Character

Today I knocked another item off the three.six.five. Bucket List!!

Do something out of character.

I am a small town girl and today I quickly found out today that doesn't mean that I am a country girl. Being on an Oklahoma farm for the weekend, we started off feeding the cows in the morning. It was pretty cool to see them all running across the field because they knew there was food in the back of the truck. Then we were on to picking up a dead cow... yeaaaaa. We picked up a very dead, very pregnant cow by hanging it upside down with trains from a tractor and taking it to the "dead pile." It was very interesting to say the least, but I quickly forgot about it when I got to try deer meat for the first time. A lot of firsts this weekend that would normally be out of my comfort zone, but I really did enjoy it and wouldn't mind doing it again.

Little bit of happiness: Another day to get to meet some new people and enjoy spending time getting to know them.

Daily quote: "Enjoy the little things in life... for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things." -Robert Brault

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Little Bundles of Joy

Great video :)

Little bit of happiness: I traveled down to Oklahoma after school. This evening I got to see my closest guy friend's two and a half year old that I haven't seen since she was six months old. She is so incredibly adorable and ridiculously smart! She told me her ABC's, numbers in English and Spanish, and colors. She definitely "wowed" me and it was very heartwarming and emotional to see her. It was also great to see that my friend is an AMAZING father, have to give him props for that! Hope to see them again soon.

Daily quote: "A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
-Walter Gagehot

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

The Brillant Minds of Ten Year Olds

The following quotes are from conversations that took place in study hall today, can you imagine what these characters come up with in the course of a week? One of the major reasons I LOVE my job!!

Boy #1: I saw these things on TV you put in your shoe to make you taller... and I want to get them.

Boy #2: You want high heels?!

Girl #1: My mom says boys just get taller, they don't mature.

Girl #1: Hey Justin Beiber, will you please stop singing?

Boy #2: ... He's cheating on Selena.

Boy #3: How do you know?

Boy#2: I looked it up on YouTube.

Girl #1: If boys have blonde hair, can they have blonde moments?

After telling them I would go teach Kindergarten if I wanted to listen to whining and do everything for them...

Girl #2: I don't think you want to go teach kindergarten... (Boy #3) is most likely to go back there.

Little bit of happiness: I have come up with a new diet plan... SLEEP. I have always heard that you weigh less in the morning than at night. But from the time I went to bed last night from the time I woke up six hours later I somehow lost four pounds. Nice!

Daily quote: The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Oh, Channing...

Can't wait to see Channing's new movie.

And yep, I've been in love with this guy since Step Up...

But I'm an equal opportunity fan, and could go for some Stop-Loss and Dear John Channing too.

YES...

...PLEASE!

Little bit of happiness: Not only did I workout, but I did 3 extra workouts to catch up on my exercise plan, whoopsi. I also decorated my little pebble jars that say "Pounds To Go" and "Pounds Lost." My goal is 40 pounds! Let's do this.

Daily quote: What fits in your schedule better - exercising one hour a day or being fat 24 hours a day? 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Happy Ross Mathews Week!

This week on Chelsea Lately, Chelsea is gone... and Ross Mathews is stepping in to be the host! He is my favorite comedian on her show, so I'm excited to see him all week instead of once every two or three weeks.

Visit helloross.com to see more from Ross!

Tonight's episode also has Fortune and one of the characters from Glee! Trifecta.

I hope he get his own show or book, just like some of the other comedians on her show.  

Little bit of happiness: I love my trash TV, can't even lie. I watched the finale of Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too from my DVR... and my favorite guy won! Then on to the Bad Girls Club, Dance Moms, and Teen Mom 2. I know, I know... 

 

Daily quote: Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have. 

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

We All Deserve Happiness

Little bit of happiness: Went to use my Pizza Hut gift card today that a student gave me for Christmas. I was surprised by how much was on it, and it definitely made me feel like I have been blessed with great people who appreciate what I do for them and their children.

 

Daily quote: Sometimes we expect more from others because we would be willing to do that much for them.  

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Here Comes the Bride's Maid of Honor!!

Super excited to find out that I am in fact the Maid of Honor for my best friend, Rachel. We had so much fun this weekend getting started with her wedding planning. Here's a quick flashback:



And this weekend at the Bridal Fair I was able to surprisingly cross off my first three.six.five Bucket List item: PHOTOBOOTH!!

Haha, love it.

PHOTOS OF WEEK THREE:

January 15th: Lamps that a co-worker gave me, I plan on repurposing them for the "Oasis Room." Excited to get started. :)

January 16th: My favorite bubble bath soap from Avon. However, they stopped making my Vanilla Peach Blossom and so now I have to get the Vanilla Cream and mix it with Peaches... it was buy one get one free so it was actually cheaper! Whoop whoop.

January 17th: My Photo A Day album came in today! Going to print these pictures off every month to have on the coffee table.

January 18th: My new favorite show - the Big Bang Theory!!

January 19th: Laundry sorters I set up in my closet.

January 20th: My brother's gecko, Wiz. I call him Wiz Kalifa.

January 21st: After happy tears have been wiped away and under control, Rachel and I at the bridal store. Of course the picture was cropped so her fiance can't stumble across the dress she will probably decide on. So excited for her!!!

Little bit of happiness: Just glad to get back home after traveling a ways, and get to my own marshmallow bed!

Daily quote: "Happy girls are the prettist." -Audrey Hepburn

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Love is...

My first early morning post of the year! It is 7:15 and I am getting ready to head to Topeka to go wedding dress shopping with my best friend, Rachel, and her mother. We will also be headed to the Bridal Fair going on there this weekend. Can't wait for an exciting and exhausting day with some of the most important people in my life!!

On the topic of love, for those of you who know my love for my heated blanket...

Hehe.

Little bit of happiness: I am just so happy of the possiblities that today holds, more so for Rachel than myself. It will be great just seeing her, since that doesn't happen often, but for such an important purpose makes me feel extremely blessed!

Daily quote: "We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatiable with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it LOVE." -Dr. Seuss

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Scatter, Not Gather

Just a few thoughts today from an inservice we had this afternoon. One of the videos that was shared was of a story of an austistic boy that just makes you smile inside... make sure you watch for the best part, how excited everyone in the gym gets for Jason. :)

Little bit of happiness: Drove back home to my parents house today, and when I walked through the door my favorite meal was in the oven! German sausage with brocolli, rice, and cheese. Somebody loves me! :)

Daily quote: It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that shows what kind of life you lived. 

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Excuse Me?... I'm Tebowing

Today one of my student's was kneeling down on the ground, his elbow on his knee, and his head resting on his fist...
Me: Uh, what are you doing?
Student: "Tebow-ing"
Me: Excuse me?
Student: I'm thanking God that today is Italian Dunkers day!
Apparently the boys also have a "Tebow Circle" where they do his pose in a circle together... WOW!

 

In case you are like me and wasn't familiar with the new craze this is Tebow "Tebowing"...

 

Come to find out "Tebowing" is actually a thing, as in it has it's own website. Check it out!

Tebowing.com

I guess "Tebow-ing" is the new Planking afterall?!

Little bit of happiness: I'm not a fan of laundry, however today I finally bought bins that are perfect for seperating colors! A little organizing can go a long way... or so I hope!

Daily quote: "Organizing: is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up." -A.A. Milne

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

The Joy of Books

I am a proud owner of a Kindle, but this video just made me smile! Proud to be a book nerd :)

Little bit of happiness: With the new phone, I can now have the real Words with Friends! I love this scrabble game, especially when you connect with people you actually know.

Daily quote: "A room without books is like a body without a soul." -Cicero

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

It's That Time of Year Again

After a rough day of assessment practice with my fifth graders, I thought back to this video. Sooo true, but still my life for the next 3 months!

Little bit of happiness: My "A Photo A Day" Album got here today! It's pretty sweet and I can't wait to fill it up with my 365 pictures!

Daily quote: "You were born an original, don't die a copy." - John Mason

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

A Case of the Mondays

After a rough day at work and fighting technology in the same day I was reminded about one of the funniest movies ever, Office Space.


All the best parts are at the end. Got to love the fax machine scene.

Little bit of happiness: We were studying the prefix tri- today, which means three, and one of the vocabulary words was tripod. I realize the following answer was said as a joke, but I appreciated my fifth graders humor when he said, "A tripod is three i-Pods!" Oh, the important things in a 10 year old's life.

Daily quote: Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it.

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

365 Days of Pictures...

PHOTOS OF WEEK TWO

January 8th: Best stocking stuffer! Vanilla Chi mix... great iced, blended, and latted!

January 9th: Made the cleaning schedule for the fridge. Now to put it to good use.

January 10th: Put new knobs in the bathroom all by myself! I love them.

January 11th: It was a very chilly day, and this was my view out of my backyard.

January 12th: One of my favorite wall decor... so very true, especially right now when I'm trying to go through everything and clean for this project. UGH.

January 13th: The yummy banana peppers that I was introduced to this week. Finally.

January 14th: The three.six.five. Bucket List bucket that I made yesterday. Time to tackle it!

Little bit of happiness: Today was the day that the imfamous sweatpants bit the dust... with a little help of some ripping on my part. My mother has been begging me to get ride of the darn thing for a while now, and it felt good to rip up the leftovers from a relationship long past gone.

Daily quote: Don't look back, you're not going that way. 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Farts and Craps

"Farts and Craps" is the term my father gave to the love of arts and crafts a long time ago...Today I spent a good 2 or 3 hours wondering around Hobby Lobby trying to find the first round of supplies for my "Oasis Room." After much decision making, I got the supplies for my Bucket List bucket, repurposed lamps, 3 canvas dandelion painting, and the beginnings of turning a bookshelf into an entertainment center. In the past I have been given a hard time about starting projects and never finishing them. My approach this time around is to only start one project at a time, this has helped with finishing books much quicker and hopefully that will help for my "Farts and Craps" too. I completed the Bucket List bucket today, and excited to get started on the rest! Will definitely post the pictures of the finished products.

Little bit of happiness: Today I also made Cake Batter Dip for the first time for a little get together... it was super easy, and a big hit!

Daily quote: Shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Oasis Room

The top floor of my house is actually a large loft area. All of it is currently being used for storage that has just been junk in boxes for 5 years. It's time to toss the crap and bring some use to a great area. This year I want to create my "Oasis Room," where I hope to have a book nook, craft spot, and yoga/entertainment section. Here is what it looks like now...

yoga/entertainment area

craft spot

part of the book nook and bathroom

book nook on the right, towards the back of the loft

As you can see, its boring and blah! That is going to change tremendously... the color scheme will be yellows, greens, blues, gray, black, and white. I will also have the overall themes involving nature using dandelions (influenced by my three.six.five. project) and travel. I hope that it will be refreshing and relaxing. The best part about all of it is that I will be creating a lot of the pieces. I've very excited to get started on my long list from Pinterest! It should be an interesting journey, one that I will for sure share the process of on this blog.

Little bit of happiness: Finally found the ideal sweet banana peppers!! Yay.

Daily quote: The creative adult is the child who survived. 

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Why I Hate Religion...

This video has been posted all over Facebook and the Internet today... and I finally broke down and watched it. I'm not one to post a lot of religious stuff, because I agree with EVERYTHING this guy says. I agree with his point-of-view, because I have experienced it myself. Back in high school I left the church I grew up in because it seemed more about what other people thought about your religion and whether you were born into the church rather than your relationship with Jesus Christ. It has made me very weary of trying to search for another church, and sadly I don't think I have been in a good four years, at least. And I won't lie either, with that my spiritual journey has been very stunted. I really want to overcome this fear for the right reasons, to renew my relationship with our Savior. That is one of the reasons why I included attended 5 houses of worship on my Bucket List. Maybe through those journeys I can find somewhere were I can belong to a fellowship, not a religion.

Little bit of happiness: "Are they glued together?" ... just a funny reaction about conjoined twins on Grey's Anatomy tonight. Ha.

Daily quote: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving."
-Ephesians 4:31-32. 
 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Are You There?

Today was the season premiere of Are You There, Chelsea? I am a huge Chelsea Handler fan! Her and her round table comedians on Chelsea Lately are hilarious and I watch it every weeknight and After Lately on Sundays. Not only did her new TV series start today, but my copy of her book arrived from Amazon today! Great day for laughs. Maybe if I win the lotto I could buy a ticket for one of her shows for my Bucket List.

 

Little bit of happiness: Today we teachers had to work at the Swiss Quiz Bowl at the high school. One of the questions was, "Who composed 'The Messiah?'" A poor little freshman buzzed in right away with the answer of "John the Baptist!" He was serious, and everyone else in the room was hysterically laughing. You probably had to be there, but it was hilarious.

Daily quote: It's okay to not know, but it's not okay to not try. 

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra

Bootylicious Bouncing Bundle of Joy

In honor of Beyonce and Jay-Z's new daughter, Blue Ivy (interesting...), one of my favorite videos that has always made me laugh!

Little bit of happiness: It's not very often that I feel confident about being a homeowner, but today I had a proud moment. It may not seem like a big deal, but I switched the knobs on my cabinets in the bathroom all by myself with the help of my pink toolbox! Yay :)

Daily quote: I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. 

 

Cheers to Happiness,

Audra