Back to School Mixer LINKY PARTY!

Today, I am totally joining in the Back to School Mixer Linky Party, being hosted by the fantabulous Polka Dot Palace!

So, in order to get to know me a little bit better, she asked that we share at least 10 things our readers wouldn't already know about us...a bit easier for me, since I'm a newer blogger! She also asked for photos, as many as possible, so I will try my best!

1. When I met my husband (in college) he had a mohawk, a fu manchu mustache, he was drinking a 40 of beer out of a paper bag, and his fingernails were painted blue and black. NEVER in a million years did I realize I had met the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with! Here he is (dressed up for a campus event, but you get the picture) back in the day, and then a picture from now (in May, at his mom's wedding, with our middle daughter), just so you can compare...LOL. In between, he gained weight, and lost even more! I've mentioned it once before, but in the past year and a half, he's lost over 130 pounds! He is amazing!

2. This story from my first year of teaching...so there is no photo...At my very first Open House, one of my new students came up to me, in all seriousness, and said "You taught my grandpa!". Well, obviously, I had not....however...my paternal great-grandmother had! I teach in the same district she did (I am the 4th generation of my family to live in this area), and she was the teacher for my little one's grandpa! She is a great girl, and I was blessed to have her as a student! She came back and helped in my room during our Fall Festival two years ago, and I didn't even recognize her at first--but she was as wonderful as ever!

3.  My favorite dessert is Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake...I can't find an image of it that isn't copywritten..so...yeah. Lemon. Yum. I am SUPER excited, because we are FINALLY getting an Olive Garden in our area! The closest one, before, was a 45 minute drive...now, it'll be 15! Woohoo! Just keeping my fingers crossed they'll be done by my birthday!

4. I am FINALLY getting to read the last book in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I started reading it when the first book was first published...I was 12. Twenty-some years later, the series has ended, and I finally have a break from reading texts for class, and can tackle this 909 page book! Hurray!

5. I am (very poorly) growing a garden...well, more like a random collection of garden type plants. We moved last fall, and I planted some veggies quite late in the growing season. I finally have some tomatoes growing, a pepper, and some cucumbers. I am going to attempt pickling...maybe. Yes, those are a ton of weeds growing underneath. Like I said, I am very poorly gardening.

6. I have been a sports fan for ages...I have a history as a basketball fan, hockey fan, and am growing as a baseball fan. I don't watch much basketball anymore, but I do still try to fit in some hockey, and we definitely watch a lot of baseball in our house nowadays...here's a layout of mine that will clue you in to what city's team we root for...

7. I have a teacher crush on Mr. Harry from Harry Kindergarten. I use his videos ALL THE TIME in my classroom, and my kiddos love them. I linked to his actual website, but if you haven't checked out his YouTube channel, you should! This is the video that got us started last year, and we used SO many of them as the year went on. Mr. Harry ROCKS!

8. I love salted caramels and salted caramel stuff. Yep, I fell victim to the trend. I started with a salted caramel ice cream at an ice cream parlor in my hometown, which, sadly was sold out when I went in less than a week later...sigh. Since then, I have been enjoying everything salted caramel I could get my hands on...which, sadly, is not enough.

9. I am really hoping I get a mother's necklace or bracelet or something like that for my birthday. If I don't I might have to get one for myself. I am in love with this bracelet, which I originally saw on Pinterest, but I AM linking you to the actual seller, BijouxbyMeg ... She has some really pretty stuff!

and

10. I love watching sunsets, and am blessed to have two amazing places to watch them from. The first is a cottage my grandparents bought on a small lake nearby. My parents own it now, and, as it's only 20 minutes away, we go pretty often. This is a photo from one of our overnights this summer. 

My cousins and I (there are 8 of us all together) are partners in owning a small house about 3 blocks from Lake Michigan. The house used to belong to my uncle, who bought and renovated the house around the corner. My aunt owns the house next to our little cottage, and it shares a driveway, so she decided it was in her best interest to keep my uncle's (her brother's) property in the family. We are headed for a weekend down there (it's about 2.5 hours away) at the end of August, and I can't wait to go watch the sunset over Lake Michigan and the lighthouse...This is a photo my cousins took while at the lake earlier this summer...

So, there you go...ten random things about me. Hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better! I will be back tonight to browse through everyone else's linkys! (don't hate...I get to go paint a fence in my mom's backyard...FUN).

--Becca