Busy, busy, busy!

Well, shoot a mile! I had no clue it has been this long since I posted to my blog. Oh my, I have been busy. My back still hurts a bit from lifting that microwave...or should I say trying to lift it!

Our 3rd Annual Thrifty Fashion Show and Tea was yesterday. I am so glad it is behind us! I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I've had just trying to cover all the details. Anyway, it was sweet and the kids had fun so that's what counts.

The purpose of the show is for the kids to buy an outfit at a thrift store for the cheapest amount and model it. We started the idea when some of our kids seemed embarrassed over having to shop at thrift stores. I would say now about 80% of them have no options due to their finances so we had more models than in prior years.

I learned some things from this event: 1) I am too old to be doing events like this unless I. . . (2) delegate, delegate, delegate and 3) kids are going to do what they want to do no matter how you practice so enjoy the mistakes!
(I cover their eyes as a privacy issue.)

 Some moved so fast, they were a blur in my camera lens.

 Hamming it up with his reversible jacket!

 Can you believe this dress for $3.99?!!!

 Even the belt was found at a thrift store.

 This beautiful dress had a label inside from a bridal shop...she got it for just $4.99.

 Local businesses sponsored tables.

Some precious place mats were made by our elementary students. We hope to get more for next year's show and eventually have enough to re-use every year instead of needing new ones with each event.

The community really came together for this event. It is not a fundraiser, but we don't want to go into the hole for it either. We ended up making over $400 with expenses running around $65. How cool is that?!

Also last week was our school's speech tournament. We are the last school in our area to offer speech to the students. It is run by volunteers after school. There were about 50 students who took part in the practices every week. An amazing thing for us.

Sadly, this is the last year for speech to be offered. Unless some volunteers step forward to continue on with the program. Our PTO sponsored their end of the year party which will be next week. They had a small budget for trophies.

I have to admit, when I sat in on the serious speeches, I was crying so hard, I had to leave the room and blow my nose! The humorous had me laughing to make up for my sad tears! These kids were wonderful.

So that was another late day for me....school got out at 2:05 and I didn't leave the building until 6:30! I would have stayed until midnight, they were that good.

Trust me, the only time these two are shy is when a camera is near!

 These kids really got into their speeches. They used body language and some of them even spoke with accents! The southern drawls were a hoot.

They all dressed up and looked so nice.

The finals were posted and everyone ran to see if they made it to the last round or not.

And then......and then...... the trophies and ribbons.

And tonight? We have company coming for dinner. Next weekend is a baby shower and something else I've already forgotten. In between I have to go to the dentist and the eye doctor. My eye is totally red - I think I get stressed out and it appears as this inflammation in my eye. It's okay... he only charges like $230 for a visit! Is that crazy or what? And yes, I have a huge deductible, just like everyone else I know. So it will all come out of pocket. It would be cheaper if I could learn not to stress over the details. But it is just how I'm made!

The good news is.... I'm down to 27 working days! Oh yeah!