How to Make Phonics Phones + Why Home Depot Hates Me

This project has been on my to-do list for a long time but I never got around to it last year. This is a very simple and inexpensive project but can be a bit intimidating to figure out the right supplies. So, I'm here to show you how I did it!

First, I just want to say that every time I walk into home depot I swear everyone runs in the other direction. Between wedding projects and classroom projects, I have had a lot of odd requests. They will pretty much cut anytime for you, but not happily. Every time I tell someone what I need done, I get a long sigh and an eye roll. Oops :) 

To do this project, go to the PVC pile aisle and grab a long pipe (like 10 feet long), 3/4" in diameter. This long pipe costs $1.87. Next, smile sweetly at a worker nearby and ask if he will cut it for you. After ignoring his attitude, tell him you want it cut in lengths of 3 and 1/2 inches. This will be enough pipe for about 30 phones. I'm not planning on using that many, so I will probably donate the rest to another teacher (any takers??) 

While he is cutting the pipe, nearby you should see elbow joints. Find 90 degree joints, you need two for each phone. I'm planning on using 12 phones for my classroom, 6 for my small reading groups, and 6 to keep in my classroom library, so I bought 24 joints. These are 46 cents a piece. I also bought "abrasive grit cloth" to sand down the ends that bowed out a bit from being cut. In the end, I didn't really need this. I also bought duct tape to make them a little fancier--rainbow for the girls and batman for the boys.

The hardest part is gathering materials, the rest is a piece of cake. Here are the self-explanatory steps: 

The joints will slide right on with a little muscle. I didn't use glue, assuming my students won't tear them apart. Now that I say that, I have a feeling I'll be gluing elbow joints back on all year long...... :)

Phonics phones can be used in many ways! In small groups, students can "whisper read" into them, which allows you to listen to many readers at once. It also helps students discriminate between different sounds, which is especially helpful for students who easily mix up sounds. Phonics phones can also be used to motivate students to read to self in the classroom library. I can't wait to use these in my classroom!

Next up: I bought a tool chest of drawers from Menards to turn into an organizer for office supplies. Good times.

Baked Kale Chips

As mentioned in my last post, I picked up a bunch of kale at the farmer's market. One thing I really wanted to try with it is baked kale chips. I've seen them around on various blogs, and I've read kale chips can help calm your potato chip cravings, so it was worth a try!

In the end, there's a few things I'd do differently the second time around, but they definitely have potential.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that's considered a "superfood." It's high in fiber and dense in nutrients. It's a good substitution for lettuce in your salad if you're not a big vegetable eater--more bang for your buck! I'm also excited to try it in my protein smoothies.

First, preheat the oven to 375. Next, tear the leafs from the stems. Toss leafs with vegetable oil in a bowl or ziplock bag. Add garlic powder and shake until the leaves are evenly coated. One mistake I made was using too much garlic powder. Just give a light sprinkle.

Next, lay the leafs out on a cookie sheet with a sheet of tin foil. This helps in cleanup and makes the kale more crispy. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and put in the over. (You could really use any seasoning you want...the recipe I followed used garlic powder and parmesan cheese.)

The recipe I followed called for baking them for 15 minutes. This was about 5 minutes too long and my chips had a little more of a charred taste than I care for. I flipped them at about the 7 minute mark. If I did it again, I'd bake for 10 minutes, flipping halfway.

It really was a strange taste. They really did taste like potato chips, just much thinner and tasted a little burnt since I cooked them too long. They were very crunchy and I'm excited to give it another try.

I thought they were OK, Kevin didn't care for them, and Brian actually liked them. We also boiled sweet corn, grilled potatoes, and grilled burgers and chicken breast. It was a delicious Saturday lunch.

 Yum yum!

Farmer's Market

One of the reasons I was most excited to live downtown was to walk to the downtown farmer's market each weekend. Well, I've got about a month left of summer and I've only made it to the market ONE time! One! So disappointing. Granted, I have been out of town or busy almost every Saturday this summer. However, I fully plan to make the most of the farmer's market for the remainder of the season.

Kevin is training for a half marathon along with our best man Brian, so while they were off on one of their "long runs" (6 miles...you couldn't pay me) I took a solo trip down to the market.

I don't generally enjoy large crowds of people who are moseying aimlessly with no sense of purpose. Kevin is 100x worse than me on his tolerance level, which makes me even more anxious when I'm with him. So, sometimes the market can be a bit too crowded for me. I also firmly believe dogs should NOT be allowed at the market. There are enough people here, do you really need to bring your 200 lb. dog to show off, OR your 5 lb. dog that is definitely going to be stepped on? I vote for a no dogs clause.

via

That being said, I love the market, I could just do with less bodies. I love supporting local farmer's and buying my groceries fresh. I'm still doing pretty good eating healthy so I was excited to get some fresh food. I just wish I wasn't so picky. The tomatoes looked delicious.

Here is what I came away with. Sweet corn, kale, zucchini, and potatoes. I also got a bundle of fresh flowers! Kevin's friends are coming over today for lunch and we're going to grill out. I'm planning on making kale chips later. I've never tried this before but I've seen a bunch of tutorials for it so I think I'll give it a shot!

I have always longed to buy the fresh flowers I see at the farmer's market, but Kevin always gives me the look like, "Do you really need them?" Well, today I did, and he wasn't here to give me "the look," so I bought them! I got them from a nice little Vietnamese woman and she picked out the perfect bunch for me. There are so many different kinds in the bundle and it was huge. For $9 I thought I did pretty good. I split them up into two mason jars and put them around the loft.

I'm off to start getting my grilling food ready. Kevin and his friends are going to Brewfest today so I will probably do some crafting, maybe some school work, and probably go for a run. I love lazy Saturdays. Later I'll probably have to deal with their drunk butts. Oh joy.

Matchbox Twenty/Goo Goo Dolls Concert

This past weekend we took a road trip up to Minneapolis with Kevin's sister Heather (oops! and MY sister now!) and our best man Brian. Destination: Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls concert!

When Heather alerted us to the fact they were touring together, my 5th grade self got suuuuper excited! I loved them as a kid, especially Matchbox Twenty. I especially love music that makes me feel nostalgic; music that instantly takes me to the place in time where I first heard that song. For this concert, I immediately traveled back to my best childhood friend Kayla's house, in her computer room chatting with boys on MSN messenger and downloading songs on Limewire, eating grape popsicles. Ahhh, those were the good ol' days.

Anyway, I digress. The concert was at the Basillica Block Party, an outdoor concert/festival to raise money for outreach programs. I had the best cheese curds I've ever had and you could even get your picture taken with the pope. Unfortunately, we forgot to do the latter. It was a pretty cool setup. Now, I've never watched a concert NOT in the front row so that was my only regret of the weekend. We found a spot off to the side in front of the video board.

Best photo bomber!!

The Goo Goo Dolls were up first, and my first impression: that guy has GOT to lay off the plastic surgery! He looked exactly the same as he did 10 years ago, but...something was different. See below.

Scary, right? Nonetheless, he sounded great and played all their old hits. Iris, Slide, Black Balloon, Here is Gone, Sympathy, etc. Remember those?? Kevin and I made an untimely beer run and missed seeing Iris :(.

Heather caught the Goo's coozie............. or maybe it was just a random one. We'll never know.

I was most excited to see Matchbox Twenty and they definitely did not disappoint. In fact, they far exceeded my expectations. Rob Thomas is one good looking guy! He is so intense when he sings and he put on a fantastic show! I was in no way disappointed. He also played EVERY song that any of us wished to hear, which was much appreciated since they've come out with new stuff recently. They played nearly every song on their first album, which was AWESOME!! Real World, Long Day, 3AM, Push, Girl Like That, Back 2 Good, and other favorites... How Far We've Come, Unwell, If You're Gone, Bright Lights. So. Many. Songs!!

The best was the encore, when they came back and said, "We're just gonna play a bunch of old shit!" SO GOOD. I have been listening to Matchbox Twenty NONSTOP since the concert. My favorite songs they played were "Back 2 Good" and "Push," which was the last song.

Funny story: I remember as a kid being very offended by "Push," and boycotted listening to the song. The lyrics had me a little confused... "I want to push you around, well I will, well I will," "I want to take you for granted." Haha! Glad I got over that.

After the concert, we went back to our hotel, ordered some pizza, and reminisced on oh amazing the concert was. Heather was also subjected to some dares. Oh--I feel it's also worth mentioning that Brian was dared to shotgun a Straw-ber-Rita before the concert and did so in a matter of seconds!

Protein Energy Bites

I got this recipe from my mom who makes these a lot and they're pretty yummy so I thought I'd give them a try. I'm always very skeptical of my mom's health-related suggestions (sorry, mom) because I tend to take a more natural and holistic approach to health. I'm a bit of a hippie.

In the Farrell's program, the main focus when it comes to healthy meals is a good balance of protein and carbs, and these balls are a perfect fit.

Here's what you need:

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flaxseed
1/3 cup honey (I used a little less... I was suspicious of the fact there are no nutrition facts on honey.)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla (I used 1 tsp...what's the point of a 1/2 tsp?!)
1/2 cup peanut butter

My mom uses "meal" or "ground" flaxseed, but I wasn't sure what to get and of course mom never answers her phone when it's imperative. :p. I can't really taste the difference. I think mine have a bit more of a crunch because I used whole seeds but I'm ok with it. I think I actually like it better with the whole seeds. If you're shopping at Fareway, flaxseed is in the baking aisle. If you're at HyVee, it's in the Health Market and every employee you ask will look at you like flaxseed isn't a real thing and you'll have to hunt it down yourself.

Both flaxseed and oatmeal are pretty high in protein, as is peanut butter. Flaxseed also provides healthy fats and is high in fiber. I also use Omega-3 peanut butte because the NuVal number is higher at HyVee and I think it's yummier.

Mix it all up and let it chill in the fridge for an hour before rolling into balls.

This recipe makes 20 balls. According to my calculations and similar recipes I found online, each ball has about 10 carbs and 5 grams of protein. As far as serving size goes, I will probably eat 2 at a time, maybe 3 if I'm really feeling lethargic.

This will be a perfect snack right before a workout to give me a little extra energy before my workout. It will also be great to tide me over (is it 'tie me over' or 'tide me over'? I've never actually typed that phrase out before)... in that stage after my workout when I'm so hungry I could eat my arm off, and too hungry to properly function to make something.

I also want to point out the fact that Kevin is a really good husband to actually let me get these dishes as seen below. Every time I open up my cupboard I just stop and stare at how pretty! They're Fiestaware if any brides-to-be out there are plotting register for them also. And did you happen to notice my measuring cups? Also a rainbow. While we're pointing things out, that mason jar tumbler is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and is the perfect travel mug for breakfast protein smoothies.

Let me know if you give these a try! They're pretty yummy and I actually do feel like I have extra energy after I eat a couple. Off to do a double kickboxing class! Happy Hump Day.

I Miss My Husband (still weird)

For the last 3 days Kevin has been in Milwaukee for work and I've been sad. I am very needy with my Kevin time and I've been in a large, debilitating funk since he left. Meh. He gets back tomorrow night and I am VERY excited.  Probably too excited. I need a life. We've been surviving sending each other Snapchats of crazy faces.

Also--a note on Snapchat. Have you jumped on the bandwagon? Or are you thinking, "Isn't that the same thing as sending a picture message?" Believe me, I thought the same thing at first but I've converted. Snapchat is so much fun! You can send a crazy picture of your face and the recipient can only see it for 10 seconds, and it disappears. I don't know why, but it's better than just sending a picture. Maybe it's the little dancing ghost. I don't know. I just love it.

I am also paranoid of ghosts and jump and every little thing. Kevin protects me from the ghosts. Also, I forgot our building was sending in a crew to clean the exterior windows, and I look up from my book to see a man outside on my balcony. That wasn't fun.

While Kevin's been away, here's what I've been doing:

*Sleeping
*Reading
*Watching Gossip Girl (what?! ugh. I know.)
*Summer school
*Relentlessly checking my email for our professional wedding photos
*Running
*Going to Farrell's
*Being paranoid
*Repeat

I've also been Pinteresting and came across this pin. If you know me, you know I HATE feet. All feet. Everyone's feet. Feet are disgusting. At Farrell's, shoes aren't allowed on the mat and socks are frowned upon because you don't get that great "pop" when you kick the bag. It's important, just trust me... So, I'm barefoot, which leaves my feet feeling like icky boy feet. That's all I'm going to say.

So I thought, "Hey. I'm home alone. I'm on my 7th episode of Gossip Girl. Why not do a little at home pedicure?"

The "recipe" called for 1/4 cup mouthwash, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup warm water. Soak for 10 minutes and "the dead skin practically wipes right off!" Ummmmm no. It didn't work one bit and now my feet smell like vinegar and I'm on my 8th episode of Gossip Girl.

Kevin, come home!!! :(

I'm Baaaack!

If I had a dollar for every post that announced my return to blogging, I'd have about $3. However, this lady has a whole lot of content built up since I've last blogged. I GOT MARRIED! That's right, I'm a wife with a new last name and I'm here to tell you all about it. I have given my blog a new look and I'm excited to document all the special moments of our wedding and share it with you. Thanks for hanging around and sticking with me through my long absence!

Here are a few teaser pictures for you:

I had a few awesome showers thrown by some lovely women

I had a wonderfully inappropriate bachelorette party with the help of some dear friends

 Then...we got married!!

Then we went on a perfectly relaxing honeymoon to Mexico :)