February Vacation Five For Friday!

Happy Friday!  It time to link-up with Doodle Bugs for Five For Friday!

Annual Visit to the Veterinarian

Gabi the Dog had her annual physical, and at $600+, it's a good thing we don't go often ~ although she does need to go back in three weeks for three booster shots.

I love how she just hops right up on the bench to sit with us.

Unfortunately for Gabi, she's gained 12 pounds in one year ~ thanks to my husband who gives her a treat every time she asks.  Luckily, he stopped in at the vet during the appointment and heard how unhealthy it is for Gabi to carry all this extra weight.  The vet suggested giving Gabi carrots for treats ~ we'll see how long that lasts.  Also, Gabi will be weighing in when she returns for her booster shots in three weeks.

Red Robin ~ Yum!

There's a new restaurant in Woburn, and my students LOVE this place!  I've never been to a Red Robin before so my friend, Kristen and I checked it our for lunch.  Kristen got corn dog bites while I ate a grilled chicken sandwich.  The food was good, and our waitress was very kind and helpful.  Of course, Kristen had to have dessert ~ a warm brownie sundae:

Another treat they offer is:

Red Robin is one of those restaurants where you can order and pay your bill on the mini-computer at your table.  I'm still adjusting to this new way.  What do you think of the new way to pay in a restaurant?

More From The Commonwealth Museum

I'm reading this great book right now:

Click on the book to read more at Amazon.

A big theme of this book is racism.  When we visited the Commonwealth Museum, I found this uplifting story about a former slave who gained her freedom:

I love this story because it goes right along with hopes and dreams as well as underlines the importance of the Declaration of Independence.  What an inspiration!

Heart Close-Up

I want to feature this great interview a friend and make a poem activity from Laura Candler's February Activities.  

In the activity, students partner up to interview each other, but someone was absent that day so I partnered up with my student, Sierra.

Sierra made this one for me:

This poetry activity would also be great for National Poetry Month in April!

Lucky Receipt

This morning I got a lucky receipt:

At a store in Delray Beach, Florida, the cashier told me that when the numbers are the same before and after the decimal point, it means an angel is looking over you!  My younger son, Andrew, and I are always disputing how often this phenomenon happens:  he claims one in a hundred; I say it's much rarer.  Some day I'm going to find out the real statistics!

Make sure to head over to Doodle Bugs for more

Have a lucky weekend!

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Happy Hump Day Hodgepodge!

Happy Hump Day!  Welcome to another From This Side of the Pond's:

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven't been fishing is that something you'd like to try?

Once upon a time, my father-in-law had a boat in which he took his father - Grandpa Ruby, my then boyfriend and me out so Grandpa Ruby could fish.  Of course, he caught a fish which ended up in a bucket of water on the boat.  The poor fish was drowning and flapping around so I started crying until Grandpa Ruby (with disgust for my crying) threw the fish back in the ocean.  So there will be no fishing for me, but at least I save a fish's life!



Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, fish or cut bait...which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?
 
Since I'm not a "fish" person, I'd have to pick "living in a fishbowl" because someone is always watching what you're doing.  It is helpful to have neighbors who watch out for you ~ which I do ~ so I guess I'm lucky to "live in a fishbowl."

2. What's something you're always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?
AARRGGHHH ~ I'm always looking for either my cell phone ~ an oversized i-phone 6S or my car keys in my pocketbook.  I don't understand why they're always so hard to find!

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?
I just LOVE "The Little Mermaid."  The music and the characters are so much fun!

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.
I'm choosing daylight because I am such a morning person and do my best work in the morning!

5. What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?
I have a navy blue cardigan with pearl buttons that is at least 20 years old, but it's my most cozy cardigan.  I wear this sweater when I need comforting.

 
6. We've got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What's been the best and worst part of your winter so far?
The best part of winter is that we've had only a handful of days with Arctic temperatures ~ extreme cold makes it too uncomfortable to be outside.  The worst part is how dark it is ~ but that's all changing now with more daylight!

7.  The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day...will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what's your favorite JB tune?


Even though it's in the 50's today, it's still too cold for me to have a margarita.  My favorite JB tune ~ Margaritaville ~ of course!

 
8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm meeting a friend in Harvard Square for dinner, and I'm really excited!

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Let's Do Show and Tell Tuesday!

It's time to link up with Forever in Fifth Grade for:

New Shoes

After the New Year, I managed to hurt my back really badly.  I realized that wearing my one pair of Dansko shoes really made a difference.  Consequently, I invested in another pair ~ and they're gray with embroidery on them:

I bought these shoes on Amazon for $90.00 which is a huge investment for me, but I'm hoping they'll last a very long time.  Plus I don't have any gray shoes.

After paying so much for my Danskos, I was extremely lucky to find these Sam Edelman Circus boots for $15.00 in the markdown rack at Marshall's:

These boots are perfect for cold days when you don't need your heavy snow boots, and they're comfortable and adorable!

Morning Message ~ Fraction Poem

I love including poems in my Morning Messages.  I usually find them on Google which is where I found this delightful poem by Carol Weston:

I put this Morning Message on the Conversation From the Classroom Twitter feed which I do four days a week.  I tagged poet Carol Weston, and she commented and is now following on Twitter.  How cool is that!

More Fun on Canva!

If you haven't check out Canva yet, please try to find time to do so.  Here are some of my new creations:

By the way, I'm on vacation, too!

Here's my house in the last snowstorm:

Luckily, a lot of this snow has melted due to warm temperatures and the stronger sun.  That's another reason this is a perfect week to be on vacation!

Thanks for visiting!  If you check out Canva, let me know!

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February Vacation and Valentine's Day ~ Five For Friday!

 Hello!  We just completed a four day week (one day was a snow day) and now we're on:

It's also a perfect time to link up for Doodlebugs' Five For Friday! 

Morning Messages

On February 14th we celebrated both Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School:

 I can never pass up an opportunity to review ordinal numbers!  Here's the link to check out the 100 day poem.

 Valentine's Exchange

 We've been receiving so many Valentine's from the Valentine Exchange.  We received one letter from a school in Chappaqua, New York where they regularly bump into President Bill Clinton at Starbucks!  Here's a letter from California:

 Valentine Heart Friendship Cinquains

 We interviewed each other and created these fun Valentine poems.  You can check out this activity here.

 After we finished our creations, I turned them into magnets, and the kids hung them on their lockers.

More Hand Adjectives

We continue to share our Hand Adjective projects.  Here's another example:

If you're interested in this activity, it's free in my TPT store.

Snowy Weather = Online Shopping

I'm going to a wedding next weekend and need a dress.  I ordered this one on Amazon:

While I was at it, I also purchased these shoes:

Click on shoes to see on Amazon.

The dress is coming tomorrow (Sunday), and I'm hoping it fits or I'll be dress shopping during my vacation next week!

Do you have any plans for the long weekend and/or vacation?  I'd love to hear what you're up to!

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