Thursday's Happenings

It rained today!!! At least it did for a little while. It's funny how the rain can be so sporadic here. 5 miles away they don't even get a drop! It definitely dropped the temperature which was very refreshing. When we walked out of Barnes and Noble tonight, it felt so good. It almost felt like November! That is cool not cold!

You can now rent movies from Blockbuster at Quick Trip. I guess they are trying to compete with Red Box. Last night I watched "When in Rome." I thought it was just okay. Nothing super, but at least I didn't fall asleep through it! You never know what you will find a Quick Trip!

We had an early dinner of my grandma's meatballs tonight. They were very tasty and easy to make. I need to remember to fix them during the school year. Ran to Ulta for some new polish. I have really been drinking more water this summer, but tonight only a Dr. Pepper would do. Thanks Chick-fil-A for the drink! Made a quick stop at my brother's and then headed home. And yes I did drink a water bottle to make up for my temporary lapse in judgement earlier!

Have a great Friday!
Cheri

It has been a quiet couple of days. Not a lot going on. We saw Inception last night. I thought it was okay. It was definitely a "thinking" movie. Of course any excuse to have movie theater popcorn is okay with me! I still want to see Toy Story 3. From the previews it looked like there were several movies coming out this fall that looked pretty good. We are movie junkies! I'm excited that we now have the AMC moviewatcher card. You can earn all kinds of goodies with it.

I made one of Kelly's fantastic recipes yesterday. It was chicken spinach artichoke squares. They were delicious. I wished I had taken a picture, but we ate them too fast! They would be great as either an appetizer or main dish. They were also so easy to make. Great meal for when school starts back up!

I spent a few hours at Sylvan today. It was a very busy place. Made a stop through the Wendy's drive thru for a frosty. I forget how good these are. Especially on a hot day! It does seem, however, that their sizes are getting smaller which I guess is not all bad. Less calories right?

I tackled a few projects today that were hidden under some mounds of dust. You just could not imagine the amount of dust here. It's a never ending job! I made dinner at home tonight and now it's time to run to Walgreens. Hope everyone one has a great night!

Cheri

It's Monday and I'm tired. I can't imagine how tired I will be four weeks from today when I will have spent six hours with 29 second graders on the first day of school!! I kind of freaked out a few days ago when I realized that my summer vacation was just about over. Where did it go?? I hope to make the most of the next three weeks even if it is just sleeping in, reading a good book, going to movies, or enjoying mall air-conditioning! ha! I had to send my educational biography to my principal today. She wants to include some information about new teachers in the welcome back letter to parents. And tomorrow I need to go get my third I.D. badge in three years. Oh the joys of moving around!

We have had a pretty good few days here. After church last night, we went to eat with some friends. We tried a new restaurant call, "Big Daddy's B.B.Q." The pulled pork was pretty good. I even tried fried okra which I liked. It's nice to know that you can get some good B.B.Q in the southwest. We then went to Sprouts for more peaches. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for them to ripen up. I hope I don't get sick of peaches with the amount I'm eating of them! ha!

Today I spent a few hours at Sylvan. Made a stop at The Family's Attic. Stocked up on 19 books for my classroom library. I gave almost all my books away to a teacher in Ohio before we moved Arizona. That was a big, big, BIG mistake!! It's one I'm literally paying for. On to Costco for gas. Walmart for some groceries. Chipotle for some dinner. And I just finished a Beth Moore DVDs that I bought a few months ago. So I guess I know why I might be tired!

I guess I'm going to call it a day.

Cheri

Hot, hot and more hot. I'm really looking forward to next Sunday. It might be under 100 degrees. In the meantime, I'm thankful for air conditioning, ceiling fans, and ice tea.


So what are you to do when the temperature outside is totally unbearable?? You go to the mall!! And that is exactly what we did yesterday. We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Arribas. Thank goodness you can order single enchiladas. I don't know how I could have eaten any more.





Today has been a day of cleaning and laundry. It feels so nice to not have to think about either for the rest of the weekend. I hope to spend tomorrow reading. We needed to run to the store today, so we decided to get some lunch at Five Guys. I think I could sit there and eat fries all day long. Of course, that would lead to a lot of problems, so I guess I will have to limit myself. We then made the first of two trips to Safeway. Thank goodness it is close!


My parents and brother came over for pizza tonight compliments of Pizza Hut. I tried out a new dessert recipe on them. It is Kelly's Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. I will definitely be making it again. Kelly has a lot of great recipes. I'm going to try her Chicken Spinach Artichoke for dinner on Monday.


On a completely random note, I found the cutest lunch bag. I love everything monogrammed.




I guess it's time to call it a night. Happy Birthday to my grandma tomorrow. I would send her some chocolate cake if I did not think it would melt!

Cheri

Trying to Stay Cool

As I try to stay cool on this 115 degree day in Phoenix, I thought I would make a list of the things that help me stay cool.

I love adding these to my water. They have really helped me drink more water and less pop.

Very Yummy! I guess the Colorado peaches will be here in September. Can't wait! And it will still be very hot here! They are very refreshing.

Misters are extremely important! They make some attempt to keep you cool as you walk from store to store.

Okay..maybe these don't keep me cool, but they sure do taste good!

Flip flops are the shoes of choice. I found these cute ones at Target today.


Of course these are lifesavers. It's amazing how much cooler they keep your car.

Hopefully only one more day of this intense heat.

Cheri

I can't believe this week is half over. Summer if flying by. I had a great time yesterday working at the Back to School Clothing Drive. By Friday, they are expecting that over 9,000 kids will have come through the doors. I worked with the Stitches of Love group. 90% of their items had been handmade. I couldn't believe how cute everything was. I even wished they had come in a few sizes larger! Every child received one new outfit (of their choice), uniforms for school, books, shoes, and underwear.

Today, I was at Sylvan and did some Sam's shopping this afternoon. We found these really good crackers, called Risotto Chips. They are made from whole grain brown and Arborio rice. They are suppose to be better for you than regular chips. And the best part is they taste really good! It's always a good thing when you find healthy food that doesn't taste healthy! hehe



I also had a meeting with a lady at our church who heads the community outreach programs. Once a week, I will be working with Burmese refugees to learn English. It is a great program that just started in March. I really did not know much about refugees before meeting with her. What these people have had to endure is just amazing. The people in the refugee camps wait 10-15 years to go to a new country!! That means living in shacks with no services that we take for granted every day here.



It is suppose to be near 116 the next few days. We stayed cool tonight with one of these yummy treats.



You know it is summer in Phoenix when it only cools down to 100 in the evening. The only relief is that the sun is not beating down on you.

Hope you are staying cool wherever you are!

Cheri

Busy Day

It has been a very busy, but fun Monday. I began my day working a few hours at Sylvan. I am filling in the next two weeks for a teacher who is working at a different center. It is a reading camp which is right up my alley. I'm only working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I still have a few mornings to sleep in! ha! It's also good practice for getting back into the swing of 2nd grade. I ran to super Target afterwards, to pick up only one thing, but made a pass through the dollar aisle, and ended up buying several more things. I could not believe all the great stuff I found to use in my classroom.

This afternoon, we ran to Staples and Walmart. Our church is doing a Back to School Drive with the Phoenix Rescue Mission. They are asking people to fill a back pack with school supplies for an inner city student. I was able to find most of the items on the list, but need to go back to Target and get the last few things. There is definitely a need in south Phoenix. We then went to see the movie Despicable Me. I had heard a lot of good things about, so I was anxious to see it. And it was cute! Top off the evening at In- N- Out and it was a perfect day!

I need to get to bed early tonight. I helping with another back to school clothing drive with Apha Delta Kappa. It is from 7:30-noon, so it will be a very busy morning.

Cheri