mission impossible?

starting another new year with my house in chaos was not going to happen...again! so i took on the challenge to get rid of the clutter and organize part of my life.

here's what i was up against--

 everything was on the floor because i couldn't find the leggings i wanted...because i have a bad habit of shoving things in the closet instead of setting them in neatly, cuz that might take an extra minute of time, which i don't want to take.

and then there's this overflowing craziness i try and call a closet. yes, i DO need that many shoes. my poor hubby isn't allowed to keep more than 3 pairs of his shoes in there. my name is marissa and i am a shoe-aholic!

so i spent a few hours on the smaller closet...sorting through, getting rid of things i didn't wear, and reorganizing the clothing on each shelf. 

i am pleased with how it turned it out! 

we'll see how long i can keep it like this.

and, hello! look.at.this! so much room now!!! my friend said, "now you have room for more shoes!" shhh! don't tell my husband that i might be thinking about that. :) 

this makes me feel so good! the crazy clutter was killing me before but i kept putting off cleaning it because it would take a lot of time. i donated 4 huge bags of stuff to Goodwill. the big empty shelf held 12 photo box sized containers filled with music cds. i was on such an organizing spree that i went through all of the cds, loading any songs i wanted onto iTunes, and planning to get rid of the rest. that had been a project i had been wanting to do forever!! so glad and relieved that it's finally done.

so now it's on to my school stuff that's been at home for too long. time to make the hubby happy and get rid of it, i mean "organize" it! wish me luck!

2014...another new year!

it's been way too long since i've posted anything here. i just got done taking a little stroll down "memory lane"--looking back at all my previous blog posts; seeing where it all started. i loved looking at the pictures of the kids and seeing how they've grown; reading about the many wonderful memories we made; and missing how i kept track of our family life through this blog. it's time to get back into it. the events i've kept track of on the blog are great times that i get to relive each time i come back here. it makes me happy that i did take time to write about our family and things that we got to experience together.

so, here's to another year of making great memories with my family!

call me a liar!

yep! after reading my last post of blogging "at least once a week"... you can see how well that worked out. :) I do have to say that this school year is probably one of my toughest ones yet. no one should have to have 33 six year olds in a room made for 20. that alone has been my biggest challenge this year. i'm constantly "on" from the time the first bell rings until the dismissal bell at the end of the day. this has really been draining for me.

i'm trying to continue to make time for me--relax, refresh, rejuvenate...any way i can. time that i used to spend watching tv is now spent relaxing with my nook, letting my brain shut off from the day's craziness. i LOVE any time i get to read. it makes me so happy. so i try to do it as often as i can. i'm also still running but not as much as i should. a 6 week cold virus kicked my butt at the end of january. i'm slowly getting back into my exercise routine. this is also another outlet for my daily work stress.

i'm looking forward to spring break. this year kaleigh has spring break before connor and me. she just started her 2 weeks off. when she goes back to school, we start our break. would love to be productive around the house (a little spring cleaning) but still enjoy the time off. spring break is definitely something to look forward to!

well, time to get some school work done before i search for some new books to read online!

total...slacker...again

i haven't forgot about this little blog here. it's just been greatly ignored! when life gets crazy, it SURE gets cray-zee! it's hard to believe summer FLEW by. it was another amazing time with family being busy, yet happy doing so. the new school year snuck up on us. kaleigh started middle school and started a whole 2 weeks before connor and me! this year she's going to school in oakley for the first time. val and i thought it would be best for her to transition now then later when she's going into high school. it was a rough first few weeks for her, not knowing any kids but she hung in there and is much happier now. i'm so glad that she's found her way and is enjoying it too.

connor has moved on to 2nd grade and i miss him not being in my class. even though he's right across the way,  in the next building, i hardly see him. sometimes i don't see him until after school when he comes to my classroom. he's growing up so fast! he's not the shy little guy that used to hide behind my legs any more. i'm going to enjoy these next few years with it being just the 2 of us at school.

val and i have been doing a lot of mud runs. at least 2 a month. it's been a great challenge and lots of fun! i love it when i can convince my friends to join us. once again i'm training to do the diva half marathon in may. i think i have my shin splints squared away now. i definitely know what's the cause of them and how to treat them. ice and stretching are 2 of my new friends. before the year is over, we have one more 5k run to do. the kids will be joining us again for this one. no mud or obstacles (the kids did have a blast when they did their first mud run though!) but fun just as well.

i'm setting a blog goal for myself to post at least once a week here. i do have my teaching blog as well that i'm trying to maintain but life tends to get in the way there too! haha!

the final countdown

so the school year is coming to an end...in 9 days to be exact. the end of the school year is always a welcome time since summer will begin. swim season is in full force now, so we'll be busy everyday just not with school stuff. june means our anniversary and birthdays...lots of birthdays! :)

this has been a wonderful school year! i have loved being back in first grade and it was made extra special by having connor in my class. what a special year it's been! kaleigh is ending her time at elementary school and will be heading to middle school in august. new adventures for her! it will be hard for me to adjust to not having her with me at my school but i know she'll do well on her own. i'll miss our little chats in the car on the way to school and seeing her on campus everyday. now it will just be connor and me. i look forward to watching him grow and experience school these next few years.

let's get through these 9 days and have a fun filled and memorable summer! can hardly wait!

diva-in-training

yep, it's true! i'm a diva-in-training. i'm training for the san francisco diva half-marathon in may. am i runner you ask? no! but i've set a goal for myself and i'm going to achieve it! i've already done a 5k (when i was in worse shape, hadn't been running at all) so i think i'm off to a good start. i've been following a training program online, doing cardio workouts with shorter runs during the week and a longer run on the weekend. my longest run completed so far was 6 miles. yay me! it hasn't been easy (major shin splints, sore muscles, sluggish days) but i'm looking ahead with excitement. i have a little over 2 months to go. if this body of mine holds up, i'll be one happy diva!

the PBR

if you know me, then you know that i'm not into country music, wranglers, big belt buckles and cowboy hats. but i've been slowly getting hooked onto watching bull riding on tv. when val first turned it on, i'd laugh and then leave the room. then the kids started watching it. and then i gave in and sat through one event. i couldn't believe how crazy these guys are to ride these huge bulls. well after a year of watching the pbr (professional bull riders) on tv, we finally got to see it in person! the pbr came to sacramento and we went, along with mimi & pop pop, and don, jana, and cole.

the introduction had a huge fireworks display and all the cowboys were introduced. the top 5 riders were put in the spotlight above the chutes.

funny thing about the bulls that night was that most of them didn't want to go back in the chutes when the ride was over. they ran around the rink until they got roped and were led back in.

we had great seats. we could see all the riders getting ready in the chutes as well as the bulls in the pens behind the chutes.

valdiron de oliveira (one of the many brazilians) won that night. my guy (mr. hollywood) didn't do too good, ended up taking a horn to the chin and getting stitches.

the kids LOVED watching the riders and the bulls, even watching the rodeo clown dancing for the crowds. they can't wait to see them in person again!