Holy Molly!

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(Twitterpated DSP)

 I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted.  I noticed my last post was right before my husband and I left for a three-week tour of Italy with my mom, sister and brother-in-law.  It was an awesome trip, to say the least...but we definitely need another vacation to recuperate once we got back.  We spent the first two weeks visiting...are you ready...ROME, FLORENCE, VENICE, POMPEII, SICILY, (we were in Sicily about 5 days...we circled the island) SORENTO, POSITANO, CAPRI, POMPEII...I am sure I left one out.  The third week was spent in Rome.  We have a family friend that has lived there for about 40 years.  My sister and I along with our husbands rented an apartment, while our mother stayed with her.  That last week was action packed too.  We learned to get around on the city's buses and metropolitan (an experience in itself).  We also had the opportunity to visit my mom's hometown near L'Aquila.  In the past we would have spent the final week there...a bit less congested and a slower pace, but it was devastated by an earthquake a few years ago.  Hopefully in the future, we will be able to return and once again stay in her home town.  It is a quaint little mid-evil village in the Appenine Mountains in the Abruzzo region of Italy.  I think that when we go back we will just stay there and enjoy the slower paced side of Italian life.

Shortly after returning from Italy, I had the pleasure of "babysitting" our 10-month-old granddaughter for a week while her mommy and daddy when on their honeymoon.  It was fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.   I do know why, though, we have our children when we are in our 20's and 30's...I was exhausted everyday.  Everyday I thought I'd get some stamping in while she was napping, but Nonna (Italian for Grandma) didn't have the energy...I napped too!

When that was done, a few weeks later I returned to work...school started here in Colorado Springs on August 13th.  This is my 16th year of teaching!  Time flies when you are having fun. :)  I've taught 7th and 8th graders since I first began, and this year I will be instilling the desire to read in my 8th graders once again as I teach Language Arts.  I have HUGE classes this year, larger than they have ever been, with 35 and 36 students in a class.  The kids keep me busy and I really do love each one of them.  They will be the one thing I will truly miss when I finally do retire...whenever that may be.  :)  I won't miss the papers I drag home, I won't miss the politics,  I won't miss the testing, and I surely won't miss the drive in on those cold winter mornings...but I will miss my "peeps" as I call them.  They are funny, kind, at times frustrating, but most of all the light of my life as a teacher! 

So all of this brings me to here...four months since my last post with a lot to share with you.  Most of the stuff was done at the beginning of June before our vacation, and I sort of feel funny showing it to you now since most people are working on their Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stuff. But, hey!  I made this stuff and it's pretty and just because the holidays are around the corner doesn't mean we can't still do other stamping.  I hope you enjoy my stuff, and I hope I am not away for four months again.  :) 

If you have any questions about the cards I've posted below, please feel free to email me and I will be happy to answer them.

Until next time...

Happy Stamping!

Josie

Summer Smooches Happy Birthday

Summer Smooches again! 

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