***Shmancy***

Shmancy.  I think Webster's dictionary would define it as "super fancy."  Now, I know what most are thinking.  Samm-yes, she's fancy...in fact, many people make fun of me and call me Fancy Nancy.  I get it.  I like big rings, I LOVE to accessorize (maybe to the point where I over-do it a bit), but I found a way in which I am NOT fancy!!!  Ready?!

So...David and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week and we thought "Let's do something fun!"  David and I tent to be, what most people would describe as, a "boring married couple."  Now, don't get me wrong-we're a riot, but as far as the things we do...kinda the "boring married couple" stuff...date nights consist of: movies, a quick dinner at a local restaurant, etc.  Nothing in the least bit "shmancy."  So...we decided-for our anniversary, we are gonna be shmancy.

I had heard about a restaurant called The White House in Anaheim.  I knew it was a nice restaurant, but I was more interested to hear they provide 150+ meals for children a day who are less fortunate.  I was sold.  If they're helping kids, then I will support them.

We made reservations, and off we went!

Once we got there we were very impressed with the fancy-ness.  However, it was sooooo quiet in there.  We could barely whisper without feeling awkward.  So...we just whispered the whole time.  THEN, it was time to find something to eat.  Literally EVERYTHING on the menu was some sort of concoction.  I asked David if he saw any "normal" food. LOL!  Everything looked DISGSTING!  They had bacon pasta, and all of these weird things.  David ended up getting the bacon pasta (they had a prettier name for it) and just the smell of it made me sick.  My meal was no better.  I had a few bites and told David I was full.  Then I asked if we could go to McDonalds afterwards! :) 

Moral of my story...it was not our idea of a good time.  We had each others company, so we made the best of it.  But, we promised that next time we would resort to our "boring" ways.  We like our boring, simple, conservative lives just fine, thank you very much!  :)

The Adventures of Cindy and Samm

Later in the week we headed to our family reunion...Uncle Rick had a golf tournament, so he
was gonna have to meet us later. So, my Aunt Cindy decided she was going to just drive the RV herself. YA...I thought...girl POWER! So...we got in and drove off...but not before we almost drove off with the RV plugged into the house. Oops!
SO, now I must finish my story in a dialogue, because that is THE ONLY way I will do this story any justice.
Achem...
We get on the highway...and....


Aunt Cindy: (singing "I am Woman hear me Roar")
Samm: Wow...(thinking: are you really singing that right now?!)
Aunt Cindy: It's the adventure of Cindy and Samm!
Samm: (laughing...and thinking my aunt is sooo cute!) Yup, it is..
We keep driving...
Aunt Cindy:  I hear somthing weird...do you hear it?!
Samm:  Ya, I do...

Sound goes away...

Aunt Cindy:  Ahh...I think it went away...
Samm: Cool.

5 minutes later...

Samm:  Do you smell that?!
Aunt Cindy:  Smell what?!
Samm:  I smell something burning.
Aunt Cindy:  No...I don't
Samm:  Humm...
Samm:  Are you sure?!  It smells like something is burning...
Aunt Cindy:  No...let me check the gauge.  (looks at gauge)  No...the engine isn't overheating or anything.
Samm:  Oh, okay...just keep your eye on it.

2 minutes later...

Samm:  I STILL smell burning...

Meanwhile Grandpa and Aunt Terri are in front of us.  We're following them.
 
Aunt Cindy:  Woah, look at my dad swerve!
Samm:  Geez...grandpa is gonna kill someone.
 
Grandpa pulls over fast and so we pull over too...
 
Aunt Cindy:  I wonder why he is pulling over.
 
As we stop, smoke fills the air, and it's coming from the engine!
 
Aunt Cindy and Samm: (screaming!!!!!!) Ahhhhhhh!
 
Aunt Cindy:  Get the dog!!!!!!!  (yes, we thought the car was on fire, and YES she screamed "get the dog!"  not "save my niece...she's too young to die!")  LOL! :)
 
The RV was smoking and it looked like it was on fire.  Luckily it wasn't.  We just blew the radiator hose.
 

I knew I smelled smoke! :)

We had to call my Uncle Jim to come and save us.  He did...and we made it to the reunion...AND we had a good story too!

TOM'S

Have you heard of these?! They are called Tom shoes.  Now, you're probably thinking..."okay...so what?!  What is so great about them, anyway?!"  Well, ladies and gents...I have an answer!  They are so wonderful because everytime you buy a pair, the company "TOM" will give a pair of shoes to a child in need.  I told you it was pretty great, now didn't I?! 

What could be better than buying a pair of shoes?!  How about getting a pair of new shoes, AND helping a child...THAT'S what's better! :)

So, go buy some...seriously.  And, if you're thinking, "oooh...I wanna help a child in need, but I don't need those shoes...," well, of couse I have a solution.  I'm a size 8.5! :)

<3 SammAsh

You Can't Say, You Can't Play!

Okay, Okay! So, I read the book "You Can't Say, You Can't Play." Talk about controversial. We had a big discussion in my class about it, and since we are ALL teachers, of course we all had an opinion about it.

It poses a question...Should we, as teachers, have the right to tell children they HAVE to play with each other? Do children have the right to pick who they want to play with? It deals with Kindergartners. I'll admit, it CAN be a bit of a gray area... but I AM curious what every one thinks...

Here is my conundrum (I took it from the book): Who loses more? The kid that is told they can't play? Or the kid that HAS to play with the kid they don't want to play with?

So, PLEASE, everyone that reads this, even if I don't know you, VOTE. I am posting a poll to see what everyone thinks. I will post later on my blog what I think.

Thanks :)

BTW, I don't really recommend the book. The author writes it in a whiny way, and quite honestly, it got annoying...

Samm