Christmas Break

Well, we are all moved in to our new place. We feel like we have been working non-stop trying to make this our new home, and with Christmas in two days, it is definitely starting to feel like that. After today, we are taking a break from working until after Christmas.

 So, here is a glimpse into our Christmas Break so far…

To end my semester in 7th grade math, we had many visits from Fabio, our Elf on the Shelf. Here are a few of our favorite Fab-moments. On the last day of class, he brought us a present--a math clock. What a sweetheart! He will be missed. Until next year, Fabio!

Matt has been wanting to try hot yoga for a while, so I agreed to join him even though everything I had ever heard about hot yoga was "miserable, horrible, etc." I mustered the energy and decided to try to be a good wife and go with him. It was actually a very good workout. Other than both of us pretty much sweating out our body weight, we kind of enjoyed it. With all the moving, we needed a little relaxation time. We also gave a couple of pieces of our furniture a makeover. One of the pieces has been sitting in our storage unit for about a year and a half, and the other was hidden in our bedroom. Neither completely went with our decor, so now they both are looking much more like our style. I will post about the makeover later, but for now, here's a summary in photo-form…

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said until them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For until you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:9-14

Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Love,

The Bormanns

Holiday Happenings

Saturday is the day we move! We have been non-stop packing for the last couple of weeks, and we cannot wait to finally be moving this weekend. I had no idea how much stuff could fit into a one-bedroom apartment. Even with all of the packing, we had a wonderful weekend. The closer we get to Christmas, the better these weekends are getting! They are so busy, but oh so fun! Saturday, we had a marathon day of packing boxes and organizing furniture into one room to make it easier on moving day. Here is what our apartment currently looks like... We like to call it "an organized mess..."

Right in the middle of all of the packing and work, we look over and realize that our little helper was of very little help... what a stinker!

In other news, my classroom got an Elf on the Shelf last week.  My kids named him Fabio Phillipe Mathematic and call him Fabio. He has been very busy this week finding new places to hide around the room. The kids get a big kick out of it! Here are a few of his hiding places so far...

This past weekend, we had four Christmas parties in two days. It was awesome. Christmas is my favorite season. I made Christmas Funfetti Truffles for one of the parties. They were delicious. I ate too many. They are way too easy and yummy not to make for yourself! See the recipe below.

[Eggless] Christmas Funfetti Cake Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup white cake mix
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons red and green sprinkles,
     plus extra for decorating
- 1½ cups almond bark
Preparation
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix,  
  flour, and sugar.
- Add in the melted butter, vanilla, milk, and
  sprinkles.
- Using a cookie scoop, create even-sized balls,
  and place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
- Refrigerate (or freeze if you're in a hurry) cake
  balls for about 30 minutes to harden the mixture.
- After 30 minutes, melt the almond bark according to package.
- Using a fork, dip each cake ball into the melted almond bark.
- When completely submersed, take it out and place on wax paper.
- Decorate with sprinkles, as desired.


To wrap up a great weekend, I addressed Christmas cards... that still have yet to be sent. I was so on top of sending them last year, but I am totally being a slacker this year. And once again, my little helper was of even less help... again.

Can't wait to send out all these bad boys. Man, I love this time of year :)

A Girl Can Dream- Christmas Wish List

Hubs work trip means personal time for me. I took some time to create a Christmas wish list. I am by no means expecting these items, but they sure are pretty to look at! What's on your Christmas list this year??

Christmas List by hnbormann

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Although it is not yet Christmas, it is still cold outside, which I LOVE! I mostly love it because my favorite clothes are cold-weather clothes. I am a big fan of layers. I love all clothing that comes along with coldness--coats, jackets, scarves, hats, boots, etc.

We had a really great weekend with this really cold weather. Friday night, we were invited to a Tacky Christmas Party by some of our friends from our Sunday School class. It was absolutely hilarious! The host and hostess were extremely gracious and so sweet to have us. It was my first time to try egg-nog, and it was awesome. What made the party even more tacky is that it was held before Thanksgiving. Theirs was the only house in the whole neighborhood with Christmas lights. Here we are dressed in our homemade tacky sweaters...

Saturday, I slept in until 9:15am!!! I cannot even remember the last time that happened. It was glorious. What made it even more sweet was that when I came meandering out of my slumber, I realized that hubs had been up and cleaning for about an hour and a half. He's the greatest. I made the bed, and that's about all I helped with. Then, I met my mom to shop and go to lunch. And later that day, we all went to my parents' house to watch the Aggie Football game in which we ran out of time... Matt and I finished the night by shopping for some new furniture, because we are moving in mid-December! Goodbye little one-bedroom!

Today, after church, we made some furniture purchases that I am really excited about! Our new place will have a second room that we are going to use as an office/guest bedroom. We went back and forth on whether to buy a new couch, pull-out couch, bed, etc. and we finally decided on a BEAUTIFUL daybed from PB. It's from the Raleigh collection, which I love. I hope I can decorate it as pretty as PB did. We also bought a new rug for our new hardwood floor-ed living room. Also from PB. The catalog pictures are below...

The weekend was completed with our first Starbucks of the season. They even gave Avery a "puppy-latte." She LOVED it!! What a diva. I guess she takes after her momma.

I hope you had a great weekend as well! Stay warm, and get excited for Thanksgiving [and Thanksgiving break]!!! Am I right, teachers??

Nutcracker Market

Have you ever been to the Nutcracker Market in Houston? If not, it's worth a special trip. It is known as  "A Shopping Wonderland," and that it is. It is the kind of place that young girls Ooh and Ahh about, and by young girls, I mean all women. It only comes once a year and only for four days, but my oh my is it packed!!

I went yesterday with two of my roommates from college. It was a very fun little reunion, because we don't live very close to each other. We don't live particularly far from each other either, but in this season of our lives, it is hard to get together.

I went in knowing that I wanted to find new stockings for Christmas this year. I tried to put blinders up on most everything else, because I was trying to be good. It is easy to not be good there. I found these cute stockings and these letter ornaments that I will use, in place of having them monogrammed. I felt like that was a good decision while trying to stay on a budget. 

I also found these adorable, nordic patterned "Ho Ho Ho." These very well may make an appearance in our Christmas card this year or maybe in my classroom closer to Christmas time. Or maybe both? Either way, they will be used, and I am very excited about them!

I bought a few other things, but they are gifts for other people, so I am not going to post them on here yet. All in all, it was a great day with great friends. If you have never had a chance to go, make a point next year to make it there. It will be worth your while.

Ahh... Fall!

Hello October. With one week left before the end of the first nine-week grading period at school, and three more weeks of volleyball, it seems as if I am finally getting the hang of everything. Better late than never--am I right? Even with everything going on this fall and all the talking (in class) and yelling/talking loudly (in volleyball), I am still healthy and have a voice, praise the Lord! Not sure how else I would keep functioning without Him. So many fun things have been happening in October. I had Back-to-School-Night, we joined a new Sunday school class, lots of Aggie Football, and I have cooked a lot and crafted a lot because my husband is amazing and let's me do those things at home. Here are a few highlights:

Back-to-School Night
I loved getting to meet so many of my students' parents. I was so anxious before the night began, but I had so much fun and was reminded again why I do what I do and why I love it so much. 

My [surprise] Birthday Party

Matt planned a 70's-themed birthday party for me at the Roller Rink. I was completely surprised and overwhelmed by how much he had done to keep it a secret from me. It was perfect.

Texas A&M Aggie Football
First of all, being in the SEC is so much fun! We have loved getting to cheer on our Aggies this fall while tailgating in Spence Park. I don't think it will ever get old. We are ready for some more home games!

Decorating and Crafting for the Fall

I am loving the burlap placemats I made for our breakfast table to go along with our fall decor. So simple, so easy, but so cute! (if I do say so myself)

Sunday School Class Picnic
When we first joined our church, we joined the Newlyweds or Close class, and we graduated from that class after a year. We have recently joined a new class, called Journey, which is a perfect name for it. We are making new friends that are also on this 'journey' called marriage.

My 8th grade volleyball teams had their District Tournament this weekend. One of my team's came in 2nd place! It was a very exciting day. I have learned a lot about being a person of impact, a coach, this fall. I am so proud of the way these young girls can want something so badly and try so hard for it. I have loved coaching, and I am looking forward to our last two games and then on to the next sport--cross country. It has been a very busy and very fun fall so far, and it has only begun! Our home is ready with decor, I am ready with my wardrobe, and now I am just ready for the weather to turn cold. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall as much as I am!