Equality

Every time the topic of gay rights is brought up I think of the video below. Aziz Ansari says it best for me.

I am tired of all the "excuses" for why people are against the equality for ALL people. Support love. Support equality. Support Marriage for ALL Americans.

The Day in the Life of a Teacher...

-->Hello! Hello! Hello!

As most of you know, I am a second grade teacher and LOVE every single second of it! My kiddos rock!

Ever wonder what my classroom is like? What we learn about in second grade? How adorable and awesome my kiddos are? 

Wellll......drum roll please........



NOW YOU CAN FIND OUT!

Head over to this link --------> Ms. Moonshower ROCKS! to check it out! It isn't anything fancy...I really have only just started it.... but I have great things in mind for it! Hopefully it gets a bit fancier here soon, I really need to find more time in my schedule to dedicate towards it! My kiddos love it though!

So head over there NOW and see how adorable and awesome my kiddos are!! They seriously rock!!

Until next time,
Kate Shindelshower 

What Are You Giving Up?

Lent starts TOMORROW. How is it February already? Seriously?

Being a teacher I always feel that time moves extra fast. I am always excited to start the new year off with my kiddos and spend lots of time learning new things but then BAM its the end of the year and we have to cram A LOT into a little amount of time. ( I still love it though!!)  If that isn't bad enough, as many of you know I am planning a wedding this year too! I swear that alone makes time move extremely quick. Seriously, I remember the day Ben proposed and thinking, "we have over a year to plan this thing, how hard can it be?" To answer my own question it is REALLY stinking hard...fun...but hard! My personal opinion is the hard > fun. My only advice to anyone who ever plans on getting married is to DON'T DO IT... just kidding ;0) 

Anyhow enough with my rambling. Tomorrow marks the beginning of lent. I almost completely forgot about it until a student of mine asked me today, "Ms. Moonshower what are you giving up for lent?" I replied with "Let me get back to you on that one." I hadn't thought about it once this year. I probably would have skipped over it entirely if it wasn't for my students. So after thinking long and hard about what I would give up I decided on two things. 

FAST FOOD

POP

 I seriously eat entirely too much fast food, even though I told everyone I was going to cook more...cough...new year's resolution...cough. BUT to be completely honest I do cook more, just not as much as the average person does. I also really need to give up soda. I lecture my kiddos on how bad pop is for you and blah blah blah yet I drink it EVERY day. I am drinking one right now actually. Disgusting...right? I blame it on my inability to like and enjoy coffee. Coffee for most people is their caffeine source. I do not like coffee, I try and try and try and try to like it but I just don't think it tastes very good. I can drink the lattes and frappes ocassionally but they taste more like a shake than coffee and are filled with a million more calories!!!! I will keep you updated on my progress, fingers crosses I make it out alive. When I get home tonight (PT conferences!) I will ask Ben what he plans on giving up, but my guess is he says nothing.

Until next time,

The Shindelshowers

 

Bad Days Make You Better

Yesterday was a horrible day. It was one of those days where you think to yourself "what else could possibly go wrong" and then BAM the worse thing ever happens. Yep. That was MY day. Are you jealous?

Well I could sit here and list everything bad that happened yesterday but that really isn't my style.

So instead after thinking about my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day last night I decided this...
 
Bad days make us better people. They make us reflect. They help us remember what good, loving people we have in our lives. They help us see that the positives usually out way the negatives. They help us remember that no matter how bad we seem to have it we are not alone. Bad days help us remember. They help us see the good in people and situations. They help us remember the good in ourselves. Bad days remind us to be grateful. To be grateful for what we have and for what is to come.

But most importantly bad days happen for a reason. Without our bad days, we wouldn't know what  a good day was and those good days ohhh they are so good!!


I hope you all have a fabulous day but if not remember you're not alone :0)

See you next time, 
The Shindelshowers
 

Being Busy VS. Saying You Are

We all have busy days. Days where we feel overwhelmed with things to do. Days where we feel as if we can never catch a break. Days where we feel so tired and frustrated. Days where we wish time would just STOP!

Unfortunately, we seem to use the word "busy" as an excuse to not do other things. Seriously, think about it. When is the last time you said or heard someone say "I can't I am just too busy" or "Sorry, I have been so busy lately I haven't had time!" Not that long ago right???

I don't know about you, but I tired of hearing it. People (including myself) say they are busy, but really they aren't. I mean yes, we had that one really big thing to do that day, and yes it may have taken up a lot some of our time, but were we really that busy to pick up the phone, or to call someone back? Probably not. 

So next time you think about using the "excuse" I am too busy, think about all the other things you did that day. Are you really too busy or are you just saying you are?

Just something to think about! 

Until next time, 

The Shindelshowers

P.S. I cooked a legit meal the other night, I will share more with you next time! 

Resolutions

It absolutely baffles me to think that it is 2013? Where has time gone?  Along with every new year comes....drum roll please... resolutions. I personally find them to be silly and often make fun of them, yet I always seem to come up with one for myself. I know, I am a hypocrite. There is just something about them that makes you want to make one even if you keep it allllllll to yourself. I usually make a goal for myself, remember it, try it out, and then my Feb. 1st or sooner I forget about it and don't think of it until the next New Year rolls around. NOT THIS YEAR! Okay, okay, you can stop your laughing now. I know that is probably what you are doing. Be honest, you probably let out a chuckle or two. It's okay, I did too!!

This year Ben and I are starting a diet, sorta. We aren't going to be starving ourselves or counting calories, we are mostly going to put a bigger emphasis on eating HEALTHY. We have tried it a million few times in the past and we always start out strong, but end up not following through. We usually have the same excuses too, like "I don't have time to make supper, let's get fastfood real quick." Seriously we probably say that once a week, please don't judge us. Seriously we have eaten out twice today....but technically only one was fast food....but we did have those nachos and giant soda at the movies...errr....shit. More than anything this is for our upcoming nuptials (Yes, I am marrying him?!?! JK) than a New Year's resolution, however we thought the more people we told the more likely we would actually stick to our plan..... so we are calling it our resolution. 

Along with our healthy eating plan, I have vowed to learn to become a better cook. For those of you who know me, this is one tall tall feet. I extremely dislike cooking and to make matters worse I am HORRIBLE at it. I have a hard time following the simplest of recipes. Ben is the cook in our home and I am not ashamed to admit it. He is a wonderful cook. God bless him, I would starve without him. However, since we want to become healthier eaters which in turn requires more cooking I am determined to step up my game. I even found a cute little recipe card template to print out recipes on. 

I have been searching recipes all day online and found sooo many that look promising. However, they could all suck and it will take me 5 hours of sweat and labor cooking to figure it out. Sooooo I need your help. Since I do not cook, I do not own recipes, or at least recipes I have tried and like. Sooooo I need yours. Yes it is a need. Tell me us, where do you get your recipes? Or even better share with us some of your favorites. Help me become a better cook, and help Ben get more time to relax. Yes, this means you will have to comment on our site. Don't be scared its totally easy to do and we will love you a bagillion times more for it. 

We will keep you updated, but until next time...

the Shindelshowers

Happy New Year

Hello! Hello! Hello! Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays as much as we did. As I mentioned in our last post we had A LOT of visitors in a short time. We were lucky and got to see these people on Christmas Day, thanks to a layover and living so close to the airport!! Please ignore Ben and I's pale faces next to everyone else. We didn't spend our break in Hawaii like the rest of them, and believe it or not it actually gets cold chilly and dreary rainy in Arizona too but it sure beats the snow!!

My grandma!!!!

My siblings...minus my big brother!

And of course my mom and dad :):):)

We got to exchange presents, eat a homecooked lasanga and garlic bread (very holiday like), catch up, show them around our home, and chase play with the puppies. It was wonderful and much needed!! 

 As if seeing them all wasn't enough, we got to spend 4 days with Ben's parents! We were nervous at first because they day they were scheduled to leave a snow storm hit our home time in Ohio, however they caught both their flights and landed ON TIME! It was so nice to see them and do these things...

We went to the World Wildlife Zoo which is a must do if you ever visit us or where we live. Ben and I are total zoo people. I blame it on me being a teacher and him being a 10 year boy at heart. Did I mention Ben used to wants to be a zookeeper. We love to visit the animals, and we especially love how this zoo helps preserve them! We have a membership so come on out!

The next day we went to Sedona! It was breathtaking beautiful! Seriously no photo does it justice, and my photo skills didn't even come close! Although it was a little chilly we had the greatest time! We hiked and explored shops all day! We most certainly could have made a weekend out of it, but only visited for a day! Ben and I are already planning our trip back! The best part is that it is only 2 hours away!! Hip Hip Hooray!

Enjoying the view!

Ben and his mom!

We also got to take them to some of our favorite restaurants like Yardhouse, which is coming in March to Cincinnati, OH! We recommend that you go as soon as it opens you can, especially if you enjoy a beer or two! It it delicious! I have NEVER tried something there that I didn't like...including tomato soup which I normally loathe!! And for those who know me, I can be a truly picky eater! We also ate at California Pizza Kitchen which was recently introduced to us by a wonderful friend! It is also delicious, don't be fooled by their frozen food selection at the grocery, it is way better fresh!! We also did what seems like a bagillion other things but I don't want to bore you with the details.

We truly loved having family visit, we just wish we could have it happen more often! If you are ever wanting to visit the wild wild west and need a place to stay, let us know! We truly have plenty of room! 

Until next time,
the Shindelshowers