Memorable Music

In my last blog post, I reminisced about the TV shows of my childhood. This got me thinking about music. I LOVE music! I have a ridiculous talent for memorizing lyrics. My family and friends really appreciate that talent on road trips. I mean, I think I could travel  from Kentucky to California and never miss a word. I do feel that since I've been blessed with that talent, I should share it with anyone I'm ever in a car with. (Now that I think of it, I'm wondering if that's why people never want to carpool with me. Hmmmm.)

I distinctly remember getting my first CD. I'm not sure how I obtained it, because my parents definitely didn't approve. I was about 12 I think. My first CD was TLC's CrazySexyCool. I will never forget that red cover and the blue disc inside it. I remember singing "Creep" just as loudly as I could.

Shortly after getting the TLC CD, I added All-4-One, Boys II Men, Ace of Base, and Mariah Carey to my music library. I spent countless hours singing in my room. I remember dancing in front of the window and singing songs to my friends on the phone. I'm not sure why I thought that made me cool.

I can hear those songs today and it takes me right back to that time. Then I start to get a little worried. Are these songs "oldies" now? Oh gosh, I think they are. I use to make fun of my parents for listening to music that they thought was great when they were kids. Surely if I'm singing songs like "She's Got Skillz" and "Gangsta's Paradise" people will think I'm cool.

Just for fun, here are my Top 10 songs that I remember:

1) "Fantasy" Mariah Carey

2) "Waterfalls" TLC

3) "The Sign" Ace of Base

4) "I Swear" Boys II Men

5) "This is How We Do It" Montell Jordan

6) "I Can Love You Like That" All-4-One

7) "You Gotta Be" Des'ree

8) "Only Wanna Be With You" Hootie & the Blowfish

9) "One of Us" Joan Osborne

10) "Hero" Mariah Carey

And just because I thought this song was the greatest collaboration ever, here's a video...

 

I'm pretty sure I could blog a lot more about this topic, but that's all for now. What were your favorite songs? First CDs? Please let me know!

Back in the Day TV Trivia

Now that I'm into my 14th snow day, I am about to die of boredom. The house is clean, the laundry is done, the DVR is empty, and I can't think of anything else to do. I'm sure that I'm not the only person out there who is tired of being stuck at home. So, to help us pass a little time, I thought it'd be fun to play a little trivia. Remember the sitcoms of the 90's? Those shows were great! The theme songs got stuck in my head, and I can still remember the words to most of them. Can you?

Here's how the game works. (Sorry that I have to give the directions like a teacher--I miss being at work.)

Read the lyrics. Choose which TV shows theme song the lyrics belong to. Leave a comment with your answers. I'll let you know if you're right! (If you don't know the answer, make your best guess.)

1) "On the playground is where I spent most of my days."
     a) Hang Time
     b) The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
     c) The Wonder Years
     d) Saved By the Bell

2) "Real love burstin' out of every seam."
     a) Family Matters
     b) Full House
     c) Step by Step
     d) Roseanne

3) "Lend me your ear and I'll sing you a song."
     a) Perfect Strangers
     b) Saved by the Bell: College Years
     c) Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
     d) The Wonder Years

4) "If I can hand it in tomorrow it'll be alright."
     a) Step By Step
     b) Clarissa Explains It All
     c) Saved By the Bell
     d) California Dreams

5) "It makes me wanna fart."
     a) Sister Sister
     b) Salute Your Shorts
     c) Hey Dude
     d) All That

6) "Than the greatest wall in China, or that rabbit with a drum."
     a) Roseanne
     b) Life Goes On
     c) Mad About You
     d) Grace Under Fire

7) "She had style, she had flair, she was there!"
     a) Blossom
     b) Who's The Boss
     c) Moesha
     d) The Nanny

8) "What ever happened to predictability?"
     a) Family Matters
     b) Perfect Strangers
     c) Full House
     d) Step by Step

9) "Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA."
     a) Friends
     b) Mad About You
     c) Life Goes On
     d) Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

10) "I'm standing at the edge of tomorrow, today."
     a) Hang Time
     b) California Dreams
     c) Saved By The Bell: College Years
     d) Boy Meets World


Don't forget to put your answers in the comment section. Also, tell me what your favorite show of the 90's was. Good luck!

Perfect Scents

I love candles, and anything that smells good. I especially love to burn candles at school, in my classroom. The only problem with that is that I'm not too great at remembering to blow them out at the end of the day. Many times I would be at home, in my pajamas, and think "did I blow that candle out?" Well, that means I would have to drive back to school to double check--only to find out that I had blown it out, and wasted a trip. That got annoying after about two times.

Not too long ago, my neighbor told me about Scentsy, a company that sells wax burners and amazing scents. I checked out the catalog and was so surprised at the prices! You know how a lot of home party companies are...the prices are crazy! Well, Scentsy was more than reasonable and ended up being A LOT cheaper than the candles I was buying.


Here's how it works.

First, you need a warmer. You can get three different sizes, ranging from $20-$30. The warmers use a light bulb, so it's perfectly safe if you forget to turn it off. There are tons of styles...you can even get a warmer with your favorite college logo!

Next, add your favorite Scentsy scent to your warmer. There are over 80 scents to choose from. You can purchase a bar of your favorite scent for only $5. You just break off a couple of cubes and add them to the warmer.

You will be amazed at just how great your room will smell with Scentsy products. Not only are the prouducts wonderful, but they are so affordable. (I always used Yankee candles, and one candle cost around $25...with Scentsy, you can get a warmer and a few scent bars for about $35. This lasts a lot longer!)  Unlike a lot of other home party companies, Scentsy offers FREE SHIPPING! Pretty great!

Here are some more great products that Scentsy offers:

These cute Scentsy Buddies are stuffed animals for kids. You just slide a Scent Pak into the animal and it makes a sweet smelling buddy for any child.

Have a scent that you love? You can buy a gigantic brick. It lasts forever!

You can also get your favorite scents in a room spray! Perfect for a quick pick me up in any room.


Well, I am now selling Scentsy, so I'll be glad to help you get started! You can host a party in your home, or a basket party. Everyone will find something that they like! You'll get free product, and everyone will get free shipping! The best part? Shipping is super fast! Let me know if you'd like to host a party, smell the scents, or try out any of the products. I really love this product, and I'm sure you will too. Check out my website, and let me know if you have any questions. https://amandalt30.scentsy.us/

Also, during the month of February, most of the products in the catalog are 10% off, so this is a great time to order!

When I Was Your Age...

Many times I catch myself telling my students "When I was your age..."

"When I was your age, we didn't have ActivBoards, or even white boards. Our teachers wrote on chalkboards."

"When I was in second grade, we didn't have the Internet. We had to look up all of our information in encyclopedias."

"When I was your age, we didn't have CDs, DVDs, iPods, cell phones, DVRs, XBox, or anything like that."

Basically, my kids probably think that I grew up in extreme poverty. I had nothing that they have today, and that seems to blow their mind. They like to ask me what I did for fun when I was little. When I tell them that I played with my sister, played outside, or played board games, I must sound like a total loser! I didn't sit in front of the TV all the time (unless TGIF or an After School Special was on), or play video/computer games.

So, I started thinking about what we actually did play with. It's funny to look back and remember how awesomely amazing we thought these things were...they look so lame now. I'd like to find some of these things again and take them to show my students. I'm pretty sure they would make fun of me.

Remember Teddy Ruxpin? I  loved that guy! You could put a cassette tape (remember those?) into his back, and he would "read" a story. The best part? This bear could not only read, but he blinked his eyes AND moved his mouth!!! Now, that was technology at it's finest.

Twenty-five years later, I'm wondering if I ever noticed that his lips didn't move in sync with the story.

Oh, dear. Let's not forget about Trolls! Um, I cannot remember what was so fascinating about these naked, jewel bellied monsters, but the more you had, the cooler you were. They came in lots of different colors and sizes. Looking at them now, I'm a little scared and confused about why I had so many.

Let's not forget the Lite Brite! I was never really artistic, so I took great pride in my Lite Brite creations. I could sit and push those little pegs into holes forever. Apparently the Lite Brite is still popular, only now as an iPhone app.

For several years, my sister and I got dolls for Christmas. I remember one year I got Lil' Miss Makeup, and my sister got Baby Alive. I was pretty jealous of Baby Alive...probably because my Lil' Miss Makeup was defective, and I couldn't figure out how to make her work. Baby Alive was basically the coolest doll ever! I remember mixing up her baby food, and checking her diaper. I think my sister and I really believed she was real.

Another great toy was the Koosh ball. Again, I'm not so sure what the fascination was, but they were pretty great.

Looking back, it's no wonder we played outside and used our imaginations as kids. Our toys were cool to us then, but nowhere near as fancy as what kids today have. I just thought it would be fun to reminisce. What was your favorite toy as a child?

App-solutely Awesome

So, as you know, I love finding cool apps on my iPhone! I have found a pretty amazing app called CheckPoints. It has quickly become my new favorite! Basically, this is how it works. You "check in" at stores and businesses that you already go to. By checking in you earn points. You can also earn points when you go to many stores by scanning the bar code on certain products. For example, if you scan any Clorox product at Target, you earn 50 points.

Earning points sounds fun, but what can you do with those points? Well, you can cash your points in for gift cards, electronics, and more. It's like getting something free, just for shopping! Watch this video for more information.

Another great way to earn points is to refer friends. For each friend that you refer, you earn 150 points. That's pretty easy!

Go ahead and download CheckPoints. You'll become addicted very quickly. You can earn 300 points just for getting started. Don't forget to help me out by putting my code, amandalt30, in the bonus code spot.

Enjoy!

Straight from Second Grade

When you spend the majority of your day with seven year olds, you not only learn a lot, but hear some very interesting things. Everyone tells me that I should write the things that my students say, so I've tried to remember a few. Sometimes we all need a little laugh.

- "So Ms. Turner, what is your last name?"

- When I asked my kids to guess my weight, one responded "60 pounds! I know that because that's how much I weigh and you're about my size!"

- When asked who the mayor of Bowling Green was, two of my students eagerly raised their hand to answer. First answer, Barack Obama. Second answer, Martin Luther King.

- My sister and I work at the same school. She came in to tell the kids that she was pregnant, and I asked the kids if they could guess how far along she was. One kid yelled out "About 15 feet!"

- "You don't look 27 years old--you look about my size."

- "I like your phone. Is it a Blueberry?"

- I gave this scenario to my students one day; "The whole family got up early this morning. We've been excited for weeks. We've packed our suitcases. We are going to drive a long time and go to a place where we can visit two very famous mice. Where are we going?" One of my students shouted out "The Lousiville Zoo?"

- "When I get to be Ms. Turner's age, I hope my hair is like hers."

- "If I had one wish that could come true, I would wish that my teacher was pretty."

These are just a few of the great things that the kids have said. I have a lot more, maybe I'll have a second installment of "Straight from Second Grade."

Good Times at the Grocery Store

If you've ever been to my house, you know you should probably pack a snack bag if you want anything to eat or drink. I really never have food in my house. In the past, I'd truly do well to go to the grocery store every six months. It's not that I don't like food (that's obvious from my figure), or that I don't like grocery stores. Really I don't know what the problem was, but regardless, it's been solved.

Have you ever been to Aldi? I hadn't been, but I knew a few people who always went. I always heard them talk about how much money they saved. I thought that sounded nice, but I wasn't really interested. Well, one day I decided it was about time to try the place out.

The first time was a little overwhelming to me. I mean, no one told me that I had to have a quarter to get a cart. I never ever carry cash or change. So, I just stood there, looking like an idiot. I was wondering if the carts took debit cards, but they don't. Luckily, someone noticed that I was very confused, and they gave me a cart. Well, I made it into the store, and then I was confused again. Nothing was on shelves--just boxes. I got a few things, but not a lot. I didn't really know what I was doing. The problems continued when I got to the checkout. Unfortunately, I didn't know you had to bring your own bags. I also didn't realize that they had bags for sell, or I totally would have bought some. Don't worry, I did take everything out and just throw it in my car. That definitely took me about 42 trips back and forth from the car to unload.

I'm obviously not too easily discouraged, or I never would have gone back. But, one day when I had extra time, a quarter, and some bags, I decided to go back and do some real shopping. I loaded up my cart until it was completely full. I was a little worried, because I knew I had probably spent way too much. I got to the checkout (which is ridiculously fast), and found that my total was only $67! WHAT!?! I had gotten an entire month worth of groceries, for only $67? That's pretty much crazy!

I tried all of the food, and it was great! Since then, I have definitely become a believer in Aldi. The food is great, the price is amazing, and I can get in and out so quickly. I've tried to encourage everyone to go to Aldi and give it a try.

Here are some tips to try:

1) Keep a quarter someplace in your car. Make that your Aldi quarter--put it right back when you leave.

2) Keep some bags in your trunk so that you always have them handy. (You can also buy them for five cents if you forget.)

3) Try the produce...it's the best ever.

4) Look closely at everything,....things are packed tightly in there, and just because you didn't see it doesn't mean they don't have it.

Have fun shopping...let me know what you think, and how much money you saved!