Live & Learn Thursday: A Guide to Giving

I am so excited to share with you all that I've been contacted for my first real blogging collaboration!  I was contacted by Treat (a division of Shutterfly), and I was given the opportunity to start creating.  Treat is a company that offers personalized cards and gifts for lots of occasions!

April is a big birthday month in my family, and one of those birthdays is my little brother!  Sometimes, I just don't know what to get that kid.  So this was a fun opportunity! I decided to create a personalized birthday card and mug!

There were many designs and styles to choose from, and there are even some where you can add your own photos for an even MORE personal touch.  You can also choose to have a paper card delivered to your recipient or send a card digitally.  (This card even gave me the option to add a gift card!)

Here's the one I created:

 

This is actually a picture of my brother and I from when we were kids!  Underneath, the text reads "just for you/from your big sister".

So really, ladies, the next big question is: What on earth do you buy for the guy in your life?  Be it a brother, spouse, dad, boyfriend, uncle, grandpa, you name it.  Guys can be hard to shop for.  As I said, I created a mug on Treat, as well.  (Hey, guys like hot beverages, too!)

 

I've also got a few more ideas:

• Gift card to his favorite restaurant: Let's face it.  Most guys like to eat and don't or can't cook.  Why not give him the chance to treat himself?  From good ol' McDonald's to even something fancy.  I'm sure he will be grateful (or at least his stomach will). 
• Video games: Both my brother and my husband spend some good quality time with their PlayStations.  Find out what he's playing and snag up the newest version of the game!
• Clothes: Unless he's super picky, the men in your life often can use some guidance in the area of fashion.  I'm convinced that my dad would still be wearing his sweaters from the 80s if I didn't buy him a new one almost every Christmas. 
  
• A "mix tape": Ok, it might not be 1990-something any more, but this can take the form of a CD or MP3 playlist.  The idea is still the same: take some songs that you love/he loves/are special to both of you and put them all together for him.  It's affordable and meaningful.  It's a win-win!
• Tickets to a sporting event: If the guy you're shopping for is into sports, he will think you're the best person ever if you get him tickets to see his favorite team play! 

I also created a "Gifts for Guys" Board on Pinterest!  Would you like to add pins to my board?  Shoot me an e-mail (or mention it in your comment), and I'll add you to the board!  It would be fun for all of us to come up with some ideas together!  You can check out what I've found so far here.

What are your go-to gifts for the guys in your life?

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What NOT to Say to a Teacher

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a teacher by day, and a blogger by night.  I knew that I wanted to link up with Jamie, Lindsey, Jenni, & Sarah for "Live & Learn Thursday" this week, but I wasn't sure I've learned anything recently.  I sure do teach a lot (although, I'm not sure how much my students are actually learning.....).  

Anyway, I decided to give you some advice from a teacher's point of view.  Here are a few things you should never say to a teacher (be you a parent, student, or general human being).

1. "...but you have all summer off!"

Yes, this is true.  This is a PERK of my job.  This is also essential to my survival as a somewhat sane person.  Without this summer break, it is likely that I may commit murder lose my mind.  I need this time to recuperate, regenerate, and refresh.  

But don't be fooled.  It's not like I sit at  home all summer and eat bon-bons.  This is the time where I actually do a semi-decent job at being a housewife: cleaning, cooking, etc. etc.   I also start planning for the next school year, obsess over the dynamics of the class I will have, visit school at least once a week to start setting up my classroom, and so on and so forth.

2. "My [insert adult figure here] didn't put it in my backpack!"

First of all, child, your mom (dad/grandma/aunt/uncle/older sister) doesn't come to school in my classroom.  YOU come to school.  It was YOUR homework/book/permission slip/etc.  It was YOUR responsibility to bring it back.  (And YES, I told my students this even when I taught first grade.  They've got to learn responsibility sometime!)

3. "Why didn't you see Tommy hit my child??"

Well, contrary to what I want students to believe.  I don't have eyes in the back of my head.  Kids are smart.  Kids are sneaky.  If Tommy wants to hit Bobby, he will not do it while I'm watching him.  He will wait until my back is turned.  The same goes for Susie pulling Annie's hair.  Or Johnny throwing a paper air plane.  Or Sally poking Susie with a pencil.  

Would you do something you're not supposed to do while someone is watching you?

4. "Well then, why weren't you paying attention?"

Thank you for asking.  I was doing one (or more) of the following: working on my lesson plans, writing on the board, addressing Susie pulling Annie's hair, hanging a bulletin board, assisting a student with a computer problem, filling out paper work for another discipline problem, helping Ernie with his math homework, counseling Sally and Sarah about the fight they're having, giving directions to the student who was absent yesterday and needed to make up a test/homework/in-class assignment, calling the nurse for a sick student, looking over the messed up class list that's supposed to be accurate BEFORE the state tests are administered, grading papers, entering grades, writing a progress report.....

I could go on.  

Shall I?

5. "Teachers are overpaid."

First of all, I DO actually love my job.  I DID NOT go into teaching for the money.  Anyone who becomes a teacher knows better.  I'm actually quite happy with my salary, but please do not tell me that I'm over paid.

Instead...come walk a day in my (sometimes high heeled) shoes.  The list above just barely scratches the surface of all of the things that I am trying to accomplish every day.  I bring work home.  I have laid awake at night trying to sleep but have remained awake thinking of how to make a lesson better, wondering why my students are so disrespectful, wishing I knew how to reach them, realizing that I forgot x amount of things that I still need to do before school starts tomorrow (and then deciding that I'd better get up early).

Then I have to try to teach 20 students at a time who all have different learning styles, abilities, and problems of their own.

AND I'm also supposed to make sure these 20 different individuals learn the exact same thing in the same amount of time and all before the state tests on which part of my teaching performance is based.

Once you do that, you can tell me I'm over paid.

I would also like to clarify that this is not a complaining post.  It is intended to be informative, sarcastic, and somewhat funny.  

So did this teacher teach YOU something today?! :)

Sweetheart Swap Reveal

Back in January, I signed up for another swap!  Swaps are so fun to do!  You get to "meet" and know another blogger, and then you get a box of awesome goodies!

A big thanks to Kristin and Meg for hosting!

I was paired up with Celia from the Houck Diaries.  It's been great getting to know her through all of our social media sites!

These photos were actually taken with my iPhone 4S, and they don't look terrible! :)



 

Loved the pretty tissue paper, and the cute card!

 

I got such great gifts in my package!!  I'm sure you'll all be surprised to know that I did NOT immediately devour that Reese's heart.  I'm saving it for this weekend.  :)

 

There's also a yummy smelling candle in vanilla biscotti, a cute "love" mug from Pier I, this adorable little note pad with birds on the front (they each have a speech bubble that says "tweet"), and this great pad for meal planning!

 

Celia was certainly doing her research on me.  She totally hit the nail on the head with everything in my box, and she even worked in some purple with that tissue paper!  :)

 

The funniest part is that she included that meal planning sheet in my package that was mailed DAYS before I posted this tweet:

 

I NEED to start #mealplanning. When I don't, I eat a bunch of crap & am not satisfied. Life is too short to not have a meal you love! 😌
— Becky D (@rebeckann2) February 7, 2014

She must have been reading my mind.  Scott and I desperately need to go grocery shopping.  I'm not sure how we always end up doing this to ourselves.  We somehow end up waiting until we have practically no food before we go.  It's something we like doing together, and inevitably, we always need to go on a weekend when Scott is working.  :-p  ANYWAY, I'll be certain to start using this right away!

Thanks for all of my awesome goodies, Celia!! :)

Have you ever participated in a swap before?  What's the best gift you've ever gotten in a swap?

I'm also linking up today for Live & Learn Thursday because I learned what was in my Sweetheart Swap package!  (See what I did there?? ;) )

 

Live & Learn Thursday: Buffalo Chicken Dip

I can't remember exactly when I discovered that I really like buffalo chicken dip.  I'm always happy when I attend parties or our pot luck lunches at school and someone has brought it.  On Sunday, I decided that I really wanted some.  Maybe it's because it was Super Bowl Sunday, but whatever the reason, I figured that I probably had what I needed on hand, and it couldn't be too difficult.

The good news is that it WAS really easy!

I turned to Google for some inspiration.

There were a few things that I was looking for:
1. I didn't want a crock pot recipe.  I only have a big crockpot, and Scott doesn't like buffalo chicken dip, so I didn't need to make a ton.
2. I needed a recipe with ingredients that I had here at the house because I was not leaving the comfort of my home to go to the store.
3. I also wanted something I could make quickly, easily, and that would fit in a dish I already had.

After consulting a few different recipes, here's how I made it!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. Ranch light dressing
• 1/2 c. hot sauce
• 1/2 c. Mexican blend cheese
• 13.5 oz can chunk chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the block of cream cheese in a bowl and use a spoon to break it up.

 

3. Stir in the Ranch dressing and hot sauce.

 

 

4. Then stir in the cheese and chicken.  (Break up the chicken pieces as much as possible.)

 

 

5. Separate the mixture in half and place into two mini casserole dishes.

 

Mini casseroles from Celebrating Home (My set, Simply Summer, is not currently available, but there are other patterns.)

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the mixture is heated through.

7. Serve with your choice of dippers!  I had mine with tortilla chips.  :)

 

Now for the really exciting part!  I've decided to give away a set of mini casseroles to one of my lucky readers!!  You will be able to choose the set that appeals to you!  Visit the link from the caption on my photo above, to see which ones you like best!  Then enter via Rafflecopter below! :)

 

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, be sure to check out the other giveaways I'm participating in right now!  First of all, go visit Elizabeth, The Young Retiree to enter the GALentines Giveaway!  Then read all about the $200 PayPal CASH Giveaway that Susannah from Simple Moments Stick is hosting with a bunch of her readers (like me!) to celebrate her Blog's 2nd Birthday!

Chivalry is Not Dead

It's Thursday again, which means it's time to link up with Jamie, Lindsey, Jenni, & Sarah for "Live and Learn Thursday"! 

This week has been super crazy in terms of winter weather here in Pennsylvania.  On Monday, we had a sudden snow squall long after the time when school could be delayed or cancelled.  I walked out to start my car, and was surprised by how much snow there was.  I headed off to work, already dreading my drive up the mountain because the roads aren't usually good on a mildly snowy day. 

I started losing traction right here in my hometown part of the trip, and I probably should've just turned around, went home, and used an emergency day.  BUT I had things to do at school and classes that I didn't want to miss because I was supposed to be out on Tuesday for a conference.  So I pressed on.

I typically am a slow driver in the snow, but I was actually doing pretty well.  I was going between 35-45 on the mountain (which has a speed limit of 55 mph).  Soon, I started to catch up to an SUV in front of me, so I needed to slow down.  Unfortunately, as the mountain became steeper, and because I started slowing down, I began to lose traction and was having difficulty climbing upward in my Prius.  My speed ended up being around 20 mph, and I was FINALLY able to get to the top.  I was so frustrated and a bit scared by this point, so I pulled off the road at a pull off spot and grabbed my phone to call off of work.

I saw a truck pull off in front of me, but I didn't think anything of it.  Just as my school's phone started ringing, I looked up and saw Tony, the security guard at my school.  It turns out that he had been traveling a few cars behind me that day.  He asked if I was ok, and if I wanted to ride in with him.  At first, I hesitated because I can be an even more paranoid passenger than a driver, but really, what else was I going to do?  I maneuvered my car (with a lot of difficulty) to the best place I could to leave it, grabbed my things, and climbed into his truck. 

His truck handled the crazy roads much better than my car, and even though we were late, we weren't the only ones!  It turns out that a few hours earlier, when the decision needed to be made for a delay or cancellation, things were fine.  The roads were mostly clear, and there wasn't any precipitation.  It just hit all at once.

I am truly grateful that Tony was traveling to work at the same time I was that day.  He didn't have to stop.  He could've kept going.  Honestly, if he hadn't, I probably would've been stuck waiting for AAA to come pull me out of the area I pulled off of the road.  I wouldn't have been able to get out.  (Luckily, when we returned that afternoon, I was able to pull back onto the road without any trouble.)

So, it is true.  Chivalry is not dead.

What did you learn this week??

What I've Learned this Week

I'm linking up again this week for Live & Learn Thursday!  I learned something really important this week.

One of the reasons I switched to Blogger last January was so that I could have the opportunity to have people sponsor my blog.  I had sponsored others' blogs, and I wanted the chance to have that type of interaction with other bloggers.  I did have a couple of sponsors: Ashley from A Party of Four (her blog was "Simply, Ashley" at the time) and Elizabeth from The Young Retiree.  After their sponsorships were over, I didn't get any more sponsors, and then Passionfruit changed their policies, and I knew I couldn't justify spending money each month when I wasn't earning any!

Fast forward to a few months ago.  I decided to set up an ad shop with PayPal and get going again, but I haven't had any takers.

SO I tweeted some of my favorite bloggers who offer sponsorships and asked for their advice.  The general consensus was that I needed to include stats on my Sponsor page.  I also decided to get back out there and sponsor a few other bloggers!  One last suggestion was that I give away some spots to allow people to experience a sponsorship with me and encourage them to stay on after their "trial" is over. 

That is exactly what I'm going to do, but first, let me show you my revamped sponsor page:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for a blog to sponsor?  I'm your girl!  My blog is growing, and I'd love to help you grow your blog, too!

Current Stats:

100 Followers via GFC

46 Followers via Bloglovin'

49 Facebook Followers

69 Twitter Follwers

2,814 Page Views last month



I am currently offering just two options:

Ice Cream Sundae $4.00

1 spots available/month

Featured Sponsor: Banner included in EVERY post

Size: 500 x 100 px

 

4 social media shout-outs/week

2 posts pinned to Pinterest

Guest post

 

Baker's Dozen $2.00

3 spots available/month

 

Size: 200 x 200 px

 

3 social media shout-outs/week

1 post pinned to Pinterest

Guest post

 

 

 

Please note: In order to place your ad on my blog, you will need to e-mail me after you make your purchase with the HTML code with the appropriate sizing for your ad.  If you need help with this, please contact me!  rebeck.ann@gmail.com

Ad Options

Ice Cream Sundae $4.00 USD Baker's Dozen $2.00 USD

  And now.......here's the giveaway!  Enter to win a Baker's Dozen ad space!   a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Yummy Dinner

On Saturday, I managed to pry myself off of the couch because I wanted some chili for dinner.  As it turned out, I had everything I needed to make chili....except for chili powder.  At this point, I was pretty annoyed because I couldn't have what I wanted, and I was hungry! 

It's a good thing I had some products on hand from Tastefully Simple.  My cousin, Jaime, is a consultant with Tastefully Simple, and I had a pretty successful party for her in November!  I got a bunch of free goodies, and I was really glad I had them.

This is the Tuscan Tortellini Soup and the Perfect Parmesan Biscuits.

The soup was good.  I think I've figured out that I do prefer my soups to have thicker or creamier broths, though.  BUT none of that stopped me from having two helpings. 

The biscuits taste a lot like the biscuits from Red Lobster.  The directions call for cheddar cheese but state that you can use any cheese.  I used Kraft Mexican blend cheese because we didn't have any cheddar cheese here.  I think that they may taste more like Red Lobster's biscuits if I used cheddar, but they were super yummy anyway!  :)

If you're in need of any delicious mixes to have on hand for days like mine, feel free to click on the link above!  It will take you directly to my cousin's Tastefully Simple page! 

Live & Learn Thursday: Grandma's Cut Out Cookies

 

I have just been full of recipes lately.  The lovely ladies who host this blog are going to expect this all the time....

 

I can't make any promises.  I've just been baking because it's the holidays.

 

Today, I'm going to share with you a recipe that's been in my family for as long as I can remember.  My mom's sister was moving last summer, and in order to reduce her belongings, she bestowed on me the cookie cutters we use to make my Grandma's cut out cookies.  We've made them since I was little.  My brother, mom, and I would go over to my aunt's and bake cookies all day.  (I was SO excited when I was old enough to make the chocolate chip cookies all by myself!) 

 

Last year, we made them together at my mom's house, but this year, time is just not on our side.  My brother basically said it wasn't Christmas if no one made these cookies.  So I did.  It's the first time I've ever made them by myself, and I have to say, they turned out pretty well!

 

Here's how:

 

Grandma's Cut Out Cookies

Cookie Ingredients

• 1 c. butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder (PLEASE NOTE: baking powder, NOT baking soda)
• 4 eggs

Frosting Ingredients

• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or shortening*
• 5 T milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Food coloring (optional)

*I used butter.

 

The cookies:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

2. Cream butter and sugars.

 

Before

After

2. Add vanilla and beat in eggs.

 

Before

After

3. Add salt, baking powder, and flour.

 

Before

 

After

4.  Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.  (The dough WILL be sticky, but I promise, it won't stay that way!)

 

 

5. Knead it a bit in the flour until it is no longer sticky.  Then roll it out and begin using your desired cookie cutter!

 

I started with angels. :)

It is horrifying how awful my oven looks....

 

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Here are my different variations:

Please forgive me now for the horrible condition of my cookie sheets....

Christmas trees

Santa

Stars

And I also made bells (see picture of completed cookies).  I must have been getting tired at this point. 

 

A few things I learned before I tell you about the frosting.

~Some of my cookies are a little thinner (therefore crispier) than others.  I clearly rolled the dough a little too thin for some cookies, and absolutely perfect for others. 

~If your cookies are thin like my stars and Santas are, you may want to knock a couple of minutes off of the cooking time.  (Try 8 minutes.)

~Putting flour on my counter stresses me out.  It was messy....fun....but a little insane.

~I need to buy new cookie sheets if I'm going to take pictures of food on them....

 

The Icing:

 

1. Cream sugar and butter (or shortening) until smooth.

 

I swear there's butter underneath all of that powdered sugar!  (See down in the bottom left of the bowl!)

2. Gradually mix in milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff (about 5 minutes).

 

During

After

 

3.  Spoon out desired amounts into bowls and add food coloring if desired.  Mix with a spoon, and spread on each cookie with a butter knife. 

 

This is just my share of the cookies.  The other half went to my parents and brother. :)

Things I learned about the frosting.

1.  This may be a tad thinner than it should be.  But I literally used the rest of the bag of powdered sugar I had, and I couldn't have done anything about it if I wanted to.  SO have plenty on hand.

2. I also somehow had A LOT more frosting than we had last year.  I followed the same recipe, but we had to keep making more.  I ended up throwing a lot away.  It bothers me just to talk about it.  I don't like being wasteful, but once this stuff hardens up, I'm not sure you can really use it again anyway.

3.  It takes a lot of red food coloring to make Santa red and not pink.  That red was at least 25 drops. 

 

I know this post was long!  Thanks for sticking with me!  I hope you give these cut outs a try!  I'd love to hear about it if you do!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)