Christmas in January

Hi there!  I hope everyone has had a smooth start to their week!!

So, I felt a little like it was Christmas today.  Let me give you a little back story...

(If you have a tendency to judge, stop reading now.  I don't want you to have a bad opinion of me.)  :O)

Ok, so for some reason, my hubby decided he wanted to clean out the garage on NEW YEARS EVE (so, imagine my feelings on whether or not I want to spend my day this way).  Anyway, he does not organize things so I was a little stunned and then I felt panic stricken because the garage was a wreck. So, I basically left it to him to "organize" because with my OCD tendencies and love for organization, it was not going to be a good thing for me to go in there and try to take over.

And, when I say it was a wreck, I'm not exaggerating (ok, really, here's where you need to stop reading if you have a weak stomach for messes).  1 year ago (ish) I was moved to 4th grade.  I also had to move classrooms.  I packed all of my 3rd grade stuff up (amid tears) and we brought it home and put it in a nice neat stack in the garage, in case I needed some of it for 4th grade (it's ok- I love 4th now).  

Well, last year we closed our restaurant that we had and we had to bring lots of equipment home.  It went in the garage for storage.  When they unloaded, they just threw it all in there (well, not literally, but close). There was just enough room to walk through to get to the cars, parked in the driveway. (It was soooo bad.)  So, this is where my hubby's need to organize comes from.  He had sold some equipment and we had extra space, so we could now (FINALLY!) move some stuff around.

Well, eventually (I had to come back inside because I couldn't take the disarray) he unearths a brown Scholastic box and brings it to me.  I glanced inside and saw books and I had a vague memory of Stacia and me going to a Scholastic sale.  I put it in my car to take to school.

Flash forward- I was not in any shape to deal with that box last week, so finally, today, while my kiddos were doing their morning work, I pulled out the box and opened it.  And low and behold, it was like Christmas in a box for me!!  Hi, I'm Amanda and I am a book-a-holic!  (Your turn- Hi Amanda!!)

Here is some of what I found:

Picture books!  I love picture books and so do my 4th graders!!  Some nonfiction and some fiction!!  YAY!!  And I LOVE Eve Bunting and I KNEW I had bought Gleam and Glow but I couldn't find it (Obviously.  It was in my garage.  Ugh.)

And, I found these:

You could tell that Stacia and I were shopping for our new 4th grade gig and I was trying to find more books that the boys would enjoy.  But I'm super psyched because we are just about to finish our read aloud of Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn and I know they are going to want to be able to read more books from my classroom library by her (and these are GREAT "scary" mysteries for this age group!)  I think my boys will be excited by all these sports themed books and I'm real interested in the one at the top that you can't read because of the glare called Guinea Dog.

I pulled all these books out today and gasped with happiness and the kids looked and then THEY gasped with happiness and were whispering, "New books!"  I LOVE IT!!

I have a problem.  I just can't say no to a book.  I have to have it.  That's why today was Christmas in January for me!!  All those pretty new books!!  (Can you smell them??  I can!  I told you I have a problem!)

And, speaking of things untouched, here's my new toy that I haven't used yet (I know, I know, I plan on using it tomorrow!).  I've read good things about it.

I will let you know how it holds up!!

Finally, I am linking up with Nikki at Sent from My iPad for her technology Linky.  She's doing it all week, so stop by and link up with her!

Today's topic is Technology you can't live without.

So, here's my list:
1.  laptop
2.  iPhone
3.  iPad
4.  camera
5.  DVR
6. document camera

So, 3 questions for you!
1) What book would you be excited to find in a random box found in your garage??
2)  Better yet, (to make me feel better) where might you find a random box full of books that you forgot you had because it was lost in a mess???
3) What technology can't YOU live without?

Happy Tuesday!  :O)  Thanks for reading!  :O)  Hopefully the messy garage doesn't make you think less of me!  ;O)
Amanda