Things making me veddy, veddy happy right now...

1. So I asked my students the following question as a short response assignment in class today: "What if life had a reset button?" And I got the most adorable response from this one girl, who basically said she would go back in time to last weekend when she went to an all-you-can-eat buffet and apparently ate "like a piggy" (her words). My students make my heart happy, they're so darn cute.
2. Speaking of eating like a piggy, Ricky took me to Cracker Barrel today after work for no good reason other than I was craving breakfast at 5:00 PM. This may not have been good for my waistline, but I loved it nevertheless. And I love Ricky a WHOLE lot. He gets me like no one else.
3. I am loving the cooler weather that has decided to grace South Florida. I'm not breaking out the boots and jackets ... yet. But I did buy a pretty new scarf the other day. I can't wait to wear it!
4.  Starbucks brought back their Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. And all the angels rejoiced...

5. I ordered these feather earrings from Bueno Bueno and they arrived today. I immediately ripped open the package and tried them on. And oh yeah, fell in love. I've been wearing them around the house all night. Speaking of feathers... have you entered my latest giveaway yet? If you love feathers, you might want to!

Pardon the blur -- this was taken with my iPhone.

What's making you happy right now? :)

This is making me happy right now...

One of my poems was published in an actual book! A book that you can actually buy! It was voted by my peers on Ficly.com to be part of a collection, and no one was more surprised about me being picked than me. This is the poem that was selected and you can purchase the book here.

This is the actual book with my actual poem. Cool.

And speaking of books, I am loving the heck out of my Mockingjay book. Yeah, I know I've been taking my sweet, sweet time reading it (for those of you who are following my Mockingjay tweets on Twitter). But I've enjoyed savoring it. I'm in the third (and last?) section of the book, about 60 pages away from finishing it. I can't wait to see how it all concludes...

Oh hello, addictive little book.

I may have whined and groaned about having to go back to my regular 6:00 AM wake up schedule during the week, but you know? It's been kind of cool getting up before the sun and making the most of the AM. (I can't believe I just wrote that either.)

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I'm really digging my classroom layout this year. I feel like every year my design has been getting better and better. Sure, it sucked having to move into a new classroom -- AGAIN -- but I'm liking the change. Plus I'm liking my students, too. I'm teaching freshmen for the first time, and while they are SUPER high energy (picture chihuahuas hopped up on pixi stix), I'm enjoying the challenge. Here are some peektures of my new classroom (sans students):

What's making you happy right now?

Happiness is... {and a giveaway winner!}

Happiness is...

Going on drives with my boyf just because. Destination? Nowhere and everywhere.


Playing with my new palette from Urban Decay. It's called NAKED. And it is AWESOME.


Spur of the moment froyo runs to Menchie's.


English muffins with peanut butter (my new favorite thing).


Getting nice bloggy comments in my inbox. They really make me smile!

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What's making you smile today?

And the winner of the My Lavaliere giveaway is lucky number...

And the person with the 17th comment was...

Congrats, g2! You'll be getting an email from very soon. Thank you to everyone who entered and stay tuned for the next giveaway!

P.S.) If you would like to sponsor the next giveaway, get in touch with me! I'm always looking for lovely shops to help put in the spotlight. :-)

Happiness is... (and a giveaway winner!)

Happiness is...

surprise hugs

curling up under the blankets while it rains outside

doodling in the margins of pages

singing along to the radio

receiving a new magazine in the mail

reading in bed at night until I get sleepy

sharing a delicious dessert with a friend

 picture via we heart it

What is happiness to you?

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for -- the winner of this month's giveaway is...

Congrats, Jennie Smith! Please contact me via email ASAP so we can arrange shipping details. And if you are sad you didn't win, remember you can always order directly from jessicaNdesigns! She added some new designs to her store, so be sure to check it out. I think I'm going to order the sweethearts necklace... What are you thinking of getting?

Thanks to Jessica for graciously offering her Etsy store for this month's giveaway and also to everyone who participated! I'll be announcing my next giveaway in May, so stay tuned... :D

Happiness is...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

What is happiness? What does happiness mean to you? I was perusing Lolcats this morning, choosing my "Lolcat of the Week" for next week (little secret -- I always choose the Lolcats early and just change the post-date to the upcoming Monday :p), when I came across the kitty above. It got me thinking. (And mind you, that's not common of most Lolcats; they tend to get me laughing!).

I thought about what happiness is.

I thought about what happiness means to me, personally.

I realized something -- I am happiest not in a crowd of people (in fact, most crowds freak me out = claustrophobia!); I am happiest with a few friends or with my dearest one.

I am happy when I am calm, when I can breathe easy and deep.

I am happy when I am reading because it is like a temporary escape.

I am happy when I am writing because it, too, is a form of escape, as well as a wonderful release.

I am happy when I am teaching because I like speaking about reading and writing, and teaching these skills to future generations.

I am happiest when I am myself, when I can let my hair down and just be.

Now I want to know what happiness means toYOU, my lovely readers. So drop me a line or two in the comments and tell me what happiness means to you!

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