Mid-Winter Break!!

I just got back from a few days in Pullman, WA visiting the Kappa Delta chapter. They are preparing for their CDC (Chapter Development Consultant) Visit - for my non-Kappa Delta friends, that is when someone from the Sorority National Office comes to the chapter and grades them on how they're functioning. Most of the women in the chapter have never had a CDC visit, so they were all pretty intimidated - hopefully it will go well!!

(Pictures from yesterday and today will be added when I unpack my camera from my bag)

Picture 46: February 15, 2010
Marcy got me these beautiful lilies for Valentine's Day, and their blooms were beautiful today.


Picture 45: February 14, 2010
Valentine's Brunch at Anthony's - I had a crab and cheddar melt and it was delicious!!


Picture 44: February 13, 2010
I was in a card-making mood on Saturday, so I decided to make a card sample for my upcoming class. This card has a little plastic "treat cup" - I am really pleased with how it turned out!!


Picture 43: February 12, 2010
Opening Ceremonies!!!! My parents sent me this picture today - this flag hangs outside their house - GO TEAM USA!!!


Picture 42: February 11, 2010
I went to Pike Place Market today, and passed by my favorite little Kitchen Shop in the market - looking through the windows you can see the endless stacks of Fiestaware - LOVE IT!!!


Picture 41: February 10, 2010
This tree is blooming outside the front door - so pretty, and a sure sign that spring is around the corner - YAY!!

Daily Pictures Updated...

Cookie Season is NON STOP for me!! And to top that all off, tomorrow night is a Girl Scout Thinking Day Event for the Girl Scout Council that I've planned the past two years - it's a great event, but as I'm sure you know, things always seem to get backed-up the day before an event and it's SUPER BUSY!!! I'm finally able to take a break, so I thought I'd blog while watching Scrubs....

Picture 40: February 9, 2010 - A sure sign of spring being CLOSE - the Cherry Blossoms are starting to bloom - YAY!!


Picture 39: February 8, 2010 - Our Girl Scout Troop in the Welcome Circle!! We have 29 members now - Can't believe it!! Last night we celebrated our Troop Thinking Day by studying Argentina...


Picture 38: February 7, 2010 - I worked at Starbucks today and we started using the new Heart cups - Bravo, Starbucks!! - these are AWESOME!!


Picture 37: February 6, 2010 - Beautiful Seattle Saturday - This is the Olympic Mountain range, looking west from the beach near my house. The Cascade Mountain range east of Seattle was also visible and beautiful - LOVE IT!!


Picture 36: February 5, 2010 - I woke up on Friday with my eye swollen shut - I don't know if it was a bug bite or major zit, but needless to say, it was really painful and totally swollen and pink. Thus, I decided to find a substitute for my classes, because I really didn't want to face the wrath of those 6th and 7th graders - oh the humiliation.... Since I was home, I took advantage of the day and rested, used a hot compress on my eye, and took benadryl. By the afternoon I was feeling a lot better so I went for my powerwalk in the sunshine. I discovered this adorable little house for sale along the way. I absolutely love the craftsman style...


Picture 35: February 4, 2010 - Some of my girls posing in front of their Thinking Day Display. Each class was divided into groups to research a different country. Then, they got a display board to display the information they learned. This group got an A+. I don't get to see all of my 1st semester girls anymore, but some of them are in my Thursday After-School Troop...


Picture 34: February 3, 2010 - My new girls making their journals for class. Each class starts with 10 minutes of Bell Work - the girls journal on a topic that I post on the board....They're loving making their journals...



Picture 33: February 2, 2010 - New Semester, New Month...Here's what we're up to in class for February...notice that Mid-Winter Break - I'm excited!!

Cookie Video

I love this video!! So cute! Happy Cookie Season :)

A New Blog and More Pictures

Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday. I guess that means MORE WINTER....Although, I don't really have much to complain about. The winter here in the northwest has been pretty mild...still cloudy, but not freezing. I am really ready for more sunshine and longer days, but who isn't, right?!?!

I've started a new blog: supertroopblog.blogspot.com. It's for my Girl Scout Troop and offers them ideas on how to earn badges at home, keep them updated on events, etc....

And now, pictures...
I'm going to upload the pictures from yesterday and today soon, but for now I'll update the last week of pictures....

Picture 32: February 1, 2010
I've lived here for almost two years and today was the first time I saw the KD house at the University of Washington. It reminds me of the KD house in Lubbock - mostly because it's white with green shutters. All the houses at the UW are really close together and right across the street from campus. The more universities I visit, the more I see that that's the norm. People always think it's weird that Greek Circle at Tech was far away and that really the only purpose for the sorority houses was meetings and recruitment.


Picture 31: January 31, 2010
Billy Boy. He's pretty cute, huh??


Picture 30: January 30, 2010
One of my good friends, Chris, moved to Seattle several months ago. He and his cousin have a band called Lights On Why, and Saturday night was their first show. I've watched Chris perform for years - I remember fondly the days of seeing his band, Dirty Virgin Deluxe, play at Bash's in Lubbock....It was a lot of fun to see him play again!!


Picture 29: January 29, 2010
We went out with some friends for dinner tonight to Hot Diggity Dog. I'd been hearing about it all week on the radio, getting e-mails, etc....Well, needless to say it was not Diggity. Or Hot. I.was.not.impressed. I had high hopes because they advertised delicious veggie dogs, but it was pretty blah. Dessert, however, was a different story!! We went to The Fainting Goat Gelato Shop and it was YUMMY!! I had two scoops - one Salted Caramel, one Peanut Butter Cup - both DELICIOUS!! The place is named after goats that actually faint from excitement...so I'm guessing they assume the goats would faint from the excitement of eating gelato?!?!?

New Craft Project

Picture 28: January 28, 2010
I ordered this quote from Stampin' Up! and bought a floating frame today at Joann's. It's a "rub-on" quote, so I was worried about it being difficult to transfer, but it was pretty easy and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. In total, the project cost $21 - the quote was $10 and the frame was $11. I think this would be a really cool gift, especially if I go to some antique shops and find some funky vintage frames. With this project, I have one more thing I can display at my Stampin' Up! class!!

Pictures for the last week of the semester....

Seattle has the funkiest school calendar I've ever had...The first semester ends tomorrow, the kids have Friday off, and then next semester starts on Monday. We're back for two days, have early release on Wednesday, and then a week & a half later, the kids have a week off for mid-winter break....For me, it's kinda tough to plan my curriculum because my Girl Scout class is only a semester, so I'll barely get to know my new girls, and we'll be off for a week....Oh, well... Anyways, this week has been incredibly busy finishing up grades, getting supplies for next semester ready to go, and we're also in the midst of wrapping up cookie pre-sales. Needless to say, I'm very excited that Friday is a "day off." Even if I have to go to work, I still count it as "off" because I don't have to teach!!

And now, to get caught up on my photos for the week....ahem, past ten days....

Picture 27: January 27, 2010
My lunch spot for today - Pike Place Chowder...delicious chowder, delicious sourdough bread....YUM!!


Picture 26: January 26, 2010
Last night I went over to our Troop Cookie mom's house and we entered in our troop cookie order from pre-sales. No, your eyes are NOT playing tricks on you - our troop did in fact sell 4000+ boxes of cookies - WOWZERS!! I think they'll definitely get to have a lock-in at the zoo like they voted on!!


Picture 25: January 25, 2010
I got a di-cut machine from Stampin' Up!! I am so excited about it, and it'll be a great thing to demo at my very FIRST STAMPIN' UP! CLASS!! The class is in March and I'm working on projects to display and teach to the class. So excited!!


Picture 24: January 24, 2010
Okay, so I wish I could take credit for this photo...However, I did download it from the Texas Tech iPhone app (which totally ROCKS) as my new background. I absolutely LOVE the Tech campus in the spring when all the tulips are blooming. I love the Tech campus any time of year, but the spring is especially beautiful!!


Picture 23: January 23, 2010
I discovered this cute stampin' store a few weeks ago, and loved the little bird they have in their window for Valentine's Day. I have yet to actually go in to the store, because every time I'm walking by it seems to be closed. Perhaps that's a good thing...


Picture 22: January 22, 2010
Rainier!! WAAAY off in the distance, but visible!! I love this mountain LOTS and it seriously looks different every time I see it. It's so freaking cool!!


Picture 21: January 21, 2010
I got a mysterious package in the mail on the 21st from my brother....after opening it, I was so happy to see this picture of the two of us from his wedding day!!


Picture 20: January 20, 2010
Morning sunrise - LOVE IT!! And if you look in the background you can see Rainier...Looks different again...weird, huh?!?!


Picture 19: January 19, 2010
Acting like a tourist on my walk to the office on the 19th. I get to stare at the Space Needle from my office, which I love!!


Picture 18: January 18, 2010
NO SCHOOL DAY!! My how I love three-day weekends!! I was really productive and got this file box of all the girls in our Girl Scout troop organized to keep track of the badges they've earned...

What's inside Julie's...

Craft Room??
I got this cute idea from Kelly, one of my sorority sisters, and I am excited to try it out. Of course, my first "What's Inside" has to feature my craft room...If you know me at all... :)

LOTS and lots of paper - I worked at a Scrapbooking Store (LOVE me some Down Memory Lane in Lubbock, TX) in college, and I collected gobs and gobs of paper - I still have a ton of it, but I always seem to find myself buying more when I'm at Joann's, Michaels, etc. etc. etc.


Ribbon Jars - I think ribbon is my favorite card-making and scrapbooking and everyday life embellishment...This is my "red-hues" jar


This little catch-all is an accessory I bought at Michael's with my FAVE 50% Coupon!! I love this little organizer - it's so big and has so many little compartments


Stamp Pads Spinner - All my stamp pads live in this little spinner I got from Stampin' Up!! The fact that I sell that stuff is dangerous, because I keep myself in business by buying from myself....not really how it should work....


Stamps - I didn't used to be a big "stamper" but my mom got me started, and now there's no turning back. I love stamps and all the cool things you can do with them!!


A big bowl of crayons, because there's nothing like a coloring book and a glass of wine!!


My marker box - these are the coolest markers - a brush tip on one end, and a fine point on the other - AWESOME!!


This little compartment hangs on the back of the closet door and holds jars filled with doodads and thingamajigs


These drawers hold my stickers - sorted by seasons/letter stickers/quotes/etc....


And a current addition to the craft room - these Cookie Costumes - the girls get to check them out for their Cookie Booth Sales this Cookie Season - the girls are excited about getting to wear theses and hopefully draw lots of attention to their booth