flowers!

Yesterday at school, someone knocked on my door and handed the SpEd teacher in my room something - I was teaching so didn't really stop to see who or what was at the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the SpEd teacher had some flowers in her hand. I NEVER get flowers - Ty seems to think they are "stupid because they just die". I have always tried to convince him that its the THOUGHT of giving your girlfriend flowers that counts. Anyways, back to my story. I see some flowers in her hand and said, "Who are those for??" And she said, YOU! I was completely caught off-guard because again, I NEVER get flowers. I used to beg my mom to send me some for Valentine's Day from a "secret admirer" (shhhh don't tell). So, I kinda thought they might be from my mom and dad for a little "late bday present" (my birthday was saturday). Of course, I secretly wished they were from Ty but never in a million years thought they would be. So, I open the card and see this:

Yes, that's right - my i'm never sending you flowers boyfriend sent me BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS!!!!!!!!! I almost started crying because it was so sweet of him but I had to hold back! Of course my kids were like, "Ms. Alfano, WHO ARE THOSE FROM!???" :) haha! He definitly caught me off guard by sending me these! He is so sweet! He loves to throw me off and surprise me! :) And I love that about him!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of my PRETTY flowers!!!

Aren't they pretty? :)

I am one lucky girl! :)

my sweet mommy and daddy

I would like to dedicate this post to my parents. Today is their 30th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! How amazing is that? 30 years of loving each other, loving us, and most important loving God. They have painted the PERFECT picture of what I want my marriage to be like. They love Jesus first and foremost, which allows them to love each other more everyday and love us girls with everything they have. They are such amazing role models and I look up to them so much! They have sacrificed SOOO much for us, which I am so grateful for. They have always supported us no matter what and have never stopped loving us, no matter how many mistakes we make. They have showed us how to love God and how to love others unconditionally. I am so thankful for them and so amazed by how much they love each other.

A little background on my parents - they met in high school and were friends but didn't date. Apparently my dad was quite the "lady's man". :) Anyways, my mom was a year older than my dad and when she went off to Auburn they started dating sometime...not sure exactly when! They got married on August 30, 1980 at Huffman Baptist Church after mom graduated from college and dad still had 2 years (thanks christen!!!) left. Mom was a newlywed to a college baseball player (bless her heart!). 30 years later they have 4 daughters, 2 grandchildren & 1 on the way!!!


I will leave you with a picture of my sweet parents

Thank you mom and dad for showing me how to love God and love someone else unconditionally. Yall are amazing parents!!!!!!

sunset

Last night, on the way back to Tuscaloosa from Birmingham, I saw a beautiful sunset. I just love sunsets. I have a whole wall in my bathroom dedicated to sunset pictures that I have taken. I lost my Uncle Stu 2 years ago in a motorcycle accident and EVERY single time I see a pretty sunset, it makes me think of him. I don't know why but ever since he passed away, I always think about him when I see one. I like to think that he helped God paint the pretty sunset just for me. :)  I like to think its him trying to tell me that the little things don't matter and everything is going to be alright. He was very carefree and spoke his mind and loved his life and never stressed the little things. I have issues with stressing the little things and I don't need to! I love getting pretty sunsets as a reminder that all that little stuff don't matter in the long run. :) I love my Uncle Stu and I miss him all the time....

This isn't the picture from last night but its one I took at the lake....

takes my breath away....

And here is my crazy uncle stu....

I can hear him speaking his mind right now......

with his love, Bianca

Enjoy life and don't sweat the little things. Love on your friends and family, don't take anything for granted, and remember whats really important in life....

10k

Yes, you saw right, Ty and I are going to be running a 10k in November! I am so excited!! I got motivated after reading The Durhamites. I thought it would be perfect for me because I have a very hard time staying motivated to work out/run. I will do good for awhile, then get in a slump and stop for a few months. I did great last spring, then when I lost my job in May, I kinda just slowly stopped because I was back and forth from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, I was so stressed out trying to find a job, and to be honest, I just didnt feel like working out. Well, I knew I needed to start back up again and so last week I asked Ty if he would want to do a 5k with me and he said yes (of course) but he said a 5k would be nothing to him so then he suggested a half marathon (13 miles) and I thought that might be too long for my first one so we settled on a 10k (which is a little over 6 miles)! I am super super excited! It will be a HUGE accomplishment for me to complete this! I don't think I've ever run more than 2 miles at one time. I am thrilled to take on this challenge and so excited my sweet boyfriend decided to do it with me! We think we are going to do the Vulcan 10k Run in Birmingham on November 6th! Hopefully I will be ready by then so we can do that one! I will be updating on how my runs are going every week!! :) This week we ran by the river on Monday and Wednesday for 10 minutes and we are going to run tomorrow (Saturday) for 10 minutes as well. I know I could have gone longer but I need to pace myself and start off slow! Next week I will bump it up to 12 minutes. So, anyways, I am super excited and ready to accomplish this goal I have set for myself. :)

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend. :)

AXO!

Okay, so this week was rush week for Jeri (my little sister). First of all, I cannot believe she started college today. As I said on facebook, I can still remember walking her to her Kindergarten class EVERY single day. She would not let me go to my class unless I walked her to her class. I was in 5th grade when she was in Kindergarten so you know how that goes. I was a little embarrassed I had to walk her to Kindergarten everyday. Not to mention she would run up to me EVERY time she saw me around school. Mortifying. However, I look back at those sweet memories and smile. I literally cannot believe she is in college. Last time I checked she was still 5 years old. I remember so much about when we were little. We used to spend weeks at a time in Birmingham with our cousins taking baths outside in the water hose. She was known as our "sister who always got hurt". She always had stitches, bruises, scrapes, etc. She also fell in a sewer and had a ceiling fan fall on her. She has grown up to be such a beautiful young woman! I am so proud of her. She ran cross country and track in high school, completed MANY AP classes, went to college early in the summer not knowing anyone, and has now accepted a bid from......DUN DUN DUN.....ALPHA CHI!!!!!!! :) I am soooo excited!!!!!!!!!! I was not pushing that on her at all but of course I am THRILLED that she is an AXO!!!! We are now alpha chi sisters as well. :) I am so excited for her. This was a stressful week. Mom and I were analyzing everything this week and were constantly on the phone. Jeri also woke me up each morning at 530 to let me know where she was going that day. I DO NOT miss rush but this week I got all into it again. :) Anyways, Jeri...I am so excited for you! Embrace this awesome change in your life and enjoy every second of it because before you know it, it will be over. I am so proud of you and everything you have accomplished! I love you!

isnt she beautiful?

________________________________________________________________
Head over to Lyndsie Gives Away  to enter some great giveaways!!!! Here they are:

1. Giveaway from Laughing Out Loud Designs

2. Giveaway from Little Tumblebees

had to share this

My sister, Anna, sent this to me on facebook and I had to share it because it paints the perfect picture of what a teacher is. It brought tears to my eyes so if you are a sappy teacher, get your tissues out.
 

I am a counselor & psychologist to a problem-filled child,
I am a police officer that controls a child gone wild.
I am a travel agent scheduling our trips for the year,
I am a confidante that wipes a crying child's tear.
I am a banker collecting money for a ton of different things,
I am a librarian showing adventures that a storybook brings.
I am a custodian that has to clean certain little messes,
I am a psychic that learns to know all that everybody only guesses.
I am a photographer keeping pictures of a child's yearly growth,
When mother and father are gone for the day, I become both.
I am a doctor that detects when a child is feeling sick,
I am a politician that must know the laws and recognize a trick.
I am a party planner for holidays to celebrate with all,
I am a decorator of a room, filling every wall.
I am a news reporter updating on our nation's current events,
I am a detective solving small mysteries and ending all suspense.
I am a clown and comedian that makes the children laugh,
I am a dietician assuring they have lunch or from mine I give them half.
When we seem to stray from values, I become a preacher,
But I'm proud to have to be these people because ...
I'm proud to say, "I am a teacher."

by
Stacy Bonino

exhausting

I know that everyone feels exhaustion every now and then and I am in no place to pick the profession that is most exhausting. However, if I had to give out an award for the Most Exhausting Profession, I would choose a teacher. Any other teachers agree? I thought so. Especially the first few days. I hit the couch this afternoon and was drooling 5 minutes later. The first few days are so busy, so stressful, so repetitive (i have a new meaning for the word - repetitive - now that i repeat myself 4 times a day), and it is SO hard remembering every little detail and everything that we are supposed to do, hand out, and complete. Middle School is also different than Elementary School because I stand up ALL day long. Maybe I am out of shape but I feel like my knees and feet are swolen because I have been standing up for 2 days straight. I sat down alot last year - I taught reading and math sitting down because the kids came to the carpet as a group and I taught from my rocking chair. That does not happen in Middle School. I have been standing up for 2 straight days. This also adds to my exhaustion, along with repeating myself, making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be, remembering lots of information to tell them, being stern, and breaking up little bickering fights between kids ALL day long.

I did have a great first day yesterday. This year will be so good for me. I know it will be a time in my life where I look back and thank God for it. It is going to teach me so much. And I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do with me for those kids. Those kids need me, desperately. They need me to love them, give them guidance, give them rules and boundaries, give them structure and give them guidance. And I am going to do just that. And I cannot wait. I'm going to have days where I come home and cry or come home so angry that I want to scream at the top of my lungs. However, I know at the end of this journey in my life, I will be so thankful. I KNOW I am supposed to be at this particular school with these particular kids, I just know it. God placed me here for a reason. My mom and I prayed and prayed this summer that God would place me exactly where he wanted me, and He has done just that. So I am going to do everything in my power to give those kids everything in my being because this is my calling right now.

Secret Revealed

Head over to my sister's blog for a lovely surprise! I have been keeping this a secret since the 4th of July!! :) I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend! The kids come on Tuesday so pray for me! And to all my fellow teachers out there, have a wonderful first week with your new kiddos!

"Let God be God. Let Him bathe you in His glory. Take a moment to be still, and know that He is God." -Max Lucado

fall?

Who's ready for fall? I am! I love love love summer - its my favorite time of the year. BUT, here in Alabama (and I'm sure everywhere else around the south), it has been SWELTERING!!!!! I'm talking HOT!!!! I can't even walk to my car without breaking out in a pouring sweat. It doesn't help that my car is so old that the air only gets cool if you've been driving it for like 30 minutes. So, running errands is NO fun in my car because it never gets cool! Its so hot that I can barely touch my steering wheel without getting a 3rd degree burn. Not to mention its really hard dressing up for work when by the time I get to school (which is only a 5-10 minute drive), I am sweating and my shirt is sticking to my back (yuck, i know). The only time this weather should be allowed is when you are sitting at the beach, sitting on the dock at the lake, or laying by the pool. However, lately- even my pool at my apartment is more like a hot bath than a refreshing  jump in the water because you're hot pool. Oh, and one more awful thing about this horrendous hot weather - (ok, I'm going to sound like a dork....) my glasses fog up when I go from my apartment (or other air conditioned place)  to outside! Its like when you open the dishwasher and all the hot air comes rushing to your face and your glasses get all fogged up! (any fellow glasses wearers out there that can relate????) :) Okay, back to the weather - it should be illegal and I am ready for Fall!!!

So, bring it on Fall - I know you won't be here for another 2 months but I am SOOO ready for you! I am ready for the roll down the windows in my car days, the leaves, the football, the pumpkins, the apple pie, and the weather that makes you wanna go snuggle up to your boyfriend or husband on the couch. :) I am so ready for you Fall, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hurry!!!!!!!!!

Classroom

Here are some pictures of my new classroom! A special thanks to my wonderful boyfriend for helping me move my stuff in, to Melissa for coming to Tuscaloosa to help me, and to Casey for coming to help as well!! :) Enjoy

front of my school!

back of the room

my door

inspirational wall

my desk

Promethean Board

some of the vocab they will be learning

view from the door

After I posted this, Leslie started a Show Us Your Classroom BLOGHOP so I decided to come back and edit and link it up to her Bloghop! Visit her Website to see other teachers' cute ideas!! :)

school?

I cannot believe school is about to start! I feel like I just got out! It was a very difficult summer - being let go from the job I LOVED, getting over the fact that I won't see those precious friends everyday, and trying to find another job - which is a job itself. I didn't really get to ENJOY my summer because I was constantly worried about my job search but I did have a good summer. I am so thankful to have this job and I cannot wait for the kids to come! I have been working in my classroom alot lately and it is almost done! It is nothing compared to the work I did last year to set up for my 1st grade room. However, just because I am teaching 6th, doesn't mean my room can't be cute, right? :) I will post pictures when I am all done. :)

Well, Ty's birthday was wonderful. We spent the whole day at the lake and had an awesome steak dinner after playing all day. We also made a "25" out of cupcakes for him and made homemade ice cream. For his birthday, I got him a floating cooler that looks like a fishing bobber and I filled it with water, gatorade, a Boston shirt, and an Auburn shirt. He said he liked it so I think I did pretty good! :) I can't take credit for the cute idea though, I stole it from my cousin Emily! Here is a picture of the cooler from Academy's website:

Isn't it cute?

All in all, I think he had a great birthday! He isn't that hard to please so the lake was all he wanted.:)

We finally found him an apartment today! We have driven around this town so many times calling every reality place imaginable! Noone would give him a 5 month lease (he is graduating in December) so I am so glad someone finally did!! I think he gets to move in on Friday!

I hope everyone is having a great week! Oh and Scentsy is about to come out with their Fall/Winter catalog!!! It has some great new products in it so stay tuned for more information! Also, they have FINALLY added Alabama and Auburn Warmers!!!!! :) They are super cute, let me know if you would like me to email you a picture of either one.