{how i pay the bills}

I could've sworn up and down while in undergrad that I would never teach special education. I always thought I saw myself as a general education teacher with a classroom full of 25 wild first graders. 

While in my second to last semester of college, those sweet special ed. kids pulled on my heart strings. I fell in love with it. I continued to do my student teaching in regular ed. 1st and 4th grade and loved each one. I still was in pursuit of finding a job after graduation in either one of those grades. 

I submitted my application and waited for "the call". In April 2011 I was called in for a special education interview. I was nervous, yet excited that I would maybe have a job upon graduation. After my interview, the board was to place me where they thought I fit best. I knew when applying for a job that where ever God wanted me to be, he would place me. I have three different interviews in the school system and my last one, by far my favorite, was the job that I got. God had a different plan for me than what I had planned myself.

He placed me in a classroom with children with severe to profound disabilities. 

Did I know enough to educate these children? 

I knew going in to a special education position I would have a lot to offer these children. I would have a very structured classroom, we would have fun, and I would enable them with the life skills they needed to succeed. 

Little did I know how they would impact me. 

My students have taught me more than what I think I could ever teach them. Seeing my sweet, innocent children just love and live life to the fullest brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. We jump for joy when a child learns to use picture cards to communicate or writes one letter of their name.  We sing and dance and enjoy each day. 

So what I do, "just to pay the bills" isn't that at all. I do it because I love it, because Lord knows, it's not much moola in the bank. 

Every one of the kids I've been with will impact the world in some way, shape, or form. 

{juicy}

If there is one thing I'm almost obsessed with it's fresh squeezed juice. It's amazing to be able to know exactly what's in your juice--good ole' fruit and veggies. 

I'll be honest, I hadn't really ever heard of "juicing" until last year when Dale and I began our journey to lead the healthiest life possible and we started doing a bunch of research. 

After a lot of on-line shopping {which I am the bargain hunting queen} I made a final decision. We had some bed bath and beyond gift cards left over from our wedding and I knew I could utilize my expired BB&B coupons. We went with the Breville Juice Fountain Plus and I couldn't be happier about my decision. A year and a half later and I'm still obsessed with this beaut. 

When I have a snow day {which seems like all the time here lately} or on a weekend, I love to whip up some fresh juice with whatever I've got in my fridge. 

Here are some of my favorite juices to make:

For a detox I always make "green" juice:

2 Kale leaves stuffed full of spinach leaves and wrapped tightly

2 apples of your choice

1 lemon

3 celery stalks

Whatever's in the fridge:

strawberries

grapes

raspberries

apples

Apples & Oranges make for a great vitamin C juice! 

Tips:

*I always alternate between 'soft' and 'hard' fruits and veggies. For example, I do kale and spinach first, then apple, then celery, and top it off with lemon. 

*Peel your veggies before you juice them--it's easier on your juicer.

*To gain the optimal amount of nutrients drink your juice right away! 

*Sometimes I will make juice the night before and store in a mason jar in the fridge to take the next day to work.

*If you have fur-babies--they LOVE the pulp when you are finished. As long as you do not juice grapes--the pulp is great for them! Polo sits and waits patiently, while drooling when I'm finished!

{a beautiful bridal shower}

This past weekend my mom, my sister, and I had the honor of hosting a bridal shower for a precious family friend, Ashley. We've literally known her since our birth. Our dads have been best friends since high school. It has been amazing having friends like this to grow up with and go through every phase of life with! 

We hosted the shower at my parent's house in Louisville. It was a lot of work but so much fun!

Our theme was "around the clock" so each person was assigned a time of day and needed to bring a gift that went with that time. For example if I got 8:00 a.m, I would bring a coffee pot or some sheets. 

On the menu was chicken salad, pesto pasta salad, teeny veggie cups with cucumber ranch dressing, a roll, and red velvet cupcakes. We toasted with a "Blushing Bride" cocktail {Recipe} which everyone was raving about! {do you know how hard it was to resist champagne since I'm on a cleanse?}

We played two super cute games. The first game we filled an apron with a ton of random kitchen and home items. She walked around the room and people got to study her apron. When she walked out, the guests had 2 minutes to remember what was on her apron. There were 25 items. The winner got 16!! 

The other game was my absolute favorite. We played this at one of my bridal showers. We had Ashley's dad ask her fiance questions and her sister video taped him. We asked Ashley the same questions and we got to see how close their answers were. Let's just say there will never be a dull moment in their marriage. He is  H I L A  R I O U S!! One question was, "What's Ashley's favorite thing about you?" He said, "that I can jump high. That's definitely what she'd say." so funny!!

Ashley is going to be a gorgeous bride and we cannot wait to see her dressed in white on her wedding day! We were so happy to host a bridal shower in her honor. 

Does anyone know its almost impossible to say no to a red velvet cupcake? Did it!

Our favors were a little mason jar full of strawberry jam! 

{Polo turns 1}

Today, March 21st, is Polo's 1st Birthday!

I have been so excited to celebrate this day with him that I even ordered Wet Noses brownie bites for him!

Words cannot even describe how much this furball means to me! He has been my bff when I am home alone, my cuddle buddy, and my work out partner. Yes, it's safe to say that I am 100% obsessed with my dog! 

Let's take a walk down memory lane of Polo's first year of life. 

yep, it was love at first sight! 

little piglet

My first vet appointment

chillin' out on a hot summer day

my frist swim! 

loosing all of my teeth at once!

my favorite spot in the summer time!

my old, wise, bff Samson

my two best friends!

i wub my mommy

my first picture with Santa! 

my bff, McDuff and I gettin' muddy in Nashville

I'm huge

my first snow!