So Far on My Saturday...

Holy Toledo, I never thought it would happen: I have made it to Saturday! This was a very good, but long and tiring week. Our church has been in revival since Monday night, the "newness" has worn off at school and reality has set in. But PTL for long weekends and for a chance to relax {and clean the heck outta this messy house! Just ewww.}

There are many wonderful things about this day:

1. It is the last "official" weekend of Summer. And that is fiiiiiiiiiiine by me. Bring. on. FALL.
2. I slept until 9:30 a.m. Enough said.
3. Today is the first College Gameday! I'm not a huge sports fanatic, but I love football because it means fall has arrived {or will be arriving soon!}. Just turning it on this morning made me excited. Football/Chili/Pumpkins/Apple Pie/Changing Leaves/Halloween/Sweaters/Boots... None of these things are life-changing on their own, but combine them and you get this fall-loving-girl excited!
4. I am catching up on my SYTYCD today since next week is the finale! {That is "So You Think You Can Dance" for all you non-watchers.} I really don't know why I enjoy this show so much; it is really the only show that I consistently watch each week. It's probably because there is no way that I could ever begin to contort my body to do some of the things that these dancers do! They are amazing to watch.
5. Random, but I weighed this morning and mysteriously lost two pounds since yesterday morning. I have been working out with a personal trainer in Bolivar for four. weeks. FOUR! And I have only lost about 3 or 4 pounds during in that time. {I know, muscle weighs more than fat.... blah, blah.} The ironic thing about this is that my last day with her for this cycle was Wednesday and then I lost a couple more pounds... My body is bizarre sometimes. But it was a pleasant surprise.
6. Don't judge, but I enjoy being uber domestic sometimes {I suppose I get this from my momma - the woman never let me help her clean a day in my life because she enjoyed doing it. Which was fine.}. I am laundering/vacuuming/scrubbing/cleansing everything in this grossy-gross house and it makes me feel happy once it is finished. :) I have really neglected this place as I have been so busy with everything else going on, so it feels good to tackle each project... I think I'll enjoy having clean clothes to wear to school next week.
7. I was craving something of the breakfast bread/pastry/extreme-carbohydrate-sort this morning but I haven't been to the store in forever {and I typically don't stock up on such items when I go anyway} and lo and behold, faaaaar back in the depths of the pantry, I found some blueberry muffin mix that my genius self had purchased at the Mennonite store this summer! Pajama-clad, makeup-less and rocking my three-day-old hair, I whipped up those bad boys and treated myself to a few of them while watching SYTYCD.

8. After thinking about the calorie count contained in #7, scratch what I said in #5.

Have an awesome and wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Back to School, Back to School

So.... It's been a while since I last posted. A little thing called S-C-H-O-O-L has taken over my life!!! It is crazy thinking back to a year ago at this time; I was a fresh college-grad who was eager {yet scared to death!} to get my "teach" on. I went in not knowing a single student, only knowing a couple fellow teachers at my school, and wondering what life as a Bison would be like. Little did I know how wonderful the 2012-13 school year would be!Second year teaching has been so much different. For one, I already knew the majority of the students that I would have in my classes this year. Also, I have become acquainted and close with many of my fellow teachers it was great to see them again after summer! I love life as a Bison and I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed me to be in a place that I love. I'm looking forward to another great year!

A few highlights of this year so far:

• Mixed Chorus has grown! My top choir has increased by about 10 members; 43 last year to 52 this year. And the men's sections have almost doubled! {11 last year to 20 this year.}
• The freshmen in choir this year are a great group - there are many talented and passionate kiddos in that class that I have in choir and I am excited to work with them!
• I absolutely love adore my seniors in choir. This is a good thing, but also a sad thing as I know this is my last year teaching them!!! :(
• I love getting to see students that I had last year in class in the hallways/at lunch/etc. and saying hello or catching up with them.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the year! I'm hoping to get some video of my choir to share after our concerts. :D

{P.S. Like my new signature?!?!?!?!}

A Weekend in KC

Last weekend Ty and I headed up to Kansas City to stay with some of our friends, Michael and Candace Glass and their adorable little girl, Adah! We had hung out with them earlier in the summer at our church's youth weekend and they were so kind to invite us up for a fun last hoorah of summer.

{I stole these pictures from Candace's facebook... Adah had a babysitter for part of the time while we were there, and I didn't snap any pictures of her, unfortunately. But she is the cutest and most content little person! She is less than one and was in her room flipping through books for a while on Saturday morning. Ha! When we have a little one, we will send him or her to Michael and Candace to train!!}

When we were talking about making a trip earlier in the summer, I mentioned that I've been wanting to eat at OK Joe's in Kansas City. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about this restaurant so I was really, like really really, excited when I found out that it was on the weekend's agenda. {Like more excited than any normal person should be about food.}

We went on Friday night and the line wasn't too terrible. I think we waited 45-60 minutes.

Ty and Candace are clearly in a very deep discussion.
Most likely about what Ty will choose to order.

The food did not disappoint, that is for sure! It was well worth the long wait. {For those that may not know, the original OK Joe's is here in this gas station and is quite small but very popular.} Can't wait to go back again sometime!

Someone else liked it too!

After dinner, we headed to a rodeo/bull blast. Now, if you know me, you may not expect this to be the first place that I would be on a Friday night. However, it really was a blast. {Get it?} Michael's brother, Matt was actually competing in the bull riding and we met up with the rest of the Glass family to cheer Matt on! It was a really fun night.

The Boys
Ty, Derek, Michael and JT

Derek's friend JT's wife, Sarah, was there and was so sweet. She is
also a teacher and was starting back to school the next week, like me!

After the bull blast, we rode a ride at the fair. The "Triangle Dangle...." haha. I don't know that I've ever ridden a carny ride with Ty but I don't think I will again anytime soon. He was screaming the entire time, "We're gonna fly off! We're gonna fly off!" Not. Cool. It's already a sketchy enough operation as it is!!

On Saturday, we saw a movie and went to dinner at another amazing restaurant, my favorite, Bonefish Grill. My waistline suffered greatly on this trip; I had to come home and only eat ice cubes and celery for a week to recover....

We loved getting to spend some time with the Glass fam! I know there will be many more trips in store.

We had such a great time! Love you guys!
{One of these is not like the others,
one of these just doesn't belong.......}

The Golf Ball & Charity Auction

Every year in August the Price Cutter Charity Championship golf tournament happens in Springfield. I always love going to some of the fun events that take place throughout the tournament and it always makes me realize that summer is almost over.

My dad and his crew are in charge of set-up/tear-down of the tournament equipment. My brother, Haden, and Ty always jump into the mix and help. You would think they get to meet Tiger Woods every year, as excited as they get about it all {btw... they have never met Tiger Woods - he's not there}.

This year was difficult due to the weather. It was so rainy that the tournament had to be re-scheduled a lot and I'm sure it created a mess for all those in charge! {I must add this little side note about the weather since I really should work at The Weather Channel, I get so obsessed with weather: I. am. loving. this. crazy awesome August weather. Good riddance to hot, miserable, melting summer days and *HellOhhhhh* fall.}

One of the nights of the tournament is a dinner and charity auction. It is super fun to attend every year with all of the big wigs of Springfield & the surrounding area. This year they had a petite baby grand for sale... I wanted to take her home with me!!!!

My Bro and his GF, Mariah

Mariah said she looked like a vampire in this picture. Ha! I think she was talking about the red-eye... Although, some people have told her that she slightly resembles Bella from Twilight. I think she is much prettier than Kristen Stewart, however! :)

Me, Joy & Jera

We were all wearing black coincidentally, so I self-proclaimed us "Charlie's Angels" for the evening... We look JUST like them, don't we?!

We do have the hair colors going for us, I guess...
{Btw, could they BE any more airbrushed?!}

Jerald {Joy & Jera's dad - above} presenting the Nakato's Chef - one of the other
auction items was a dinner at your home from Nakato's Japanese Steakhouse.
YUMMMM.

After getting home from the auction, we went out to my parents' house to see the new fire-pit that they had built. It looked really nice! I am excited to get to use it a lot this fall. Like I said earlier, "*HellOhhhhh* fall."

Barclay & the parentals

S'mores anyone?!

Foodie Friday: "Fall-Inspired Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!"

In college, my roommate made the absolute BEST banana bread that I have ever consumed. She is a super crafty/cookin'/domestic kind of girl and I was super excited when she gave me this recipe to try! {Thanks, Abs!!!} She is now a successful wedding planner in Springfield and you can check her out at www.abbymitchellevents.com.

This bread recipe has a very distinct taste due to the ground cloves + nutmeg and tastes somewhat "Fall-ish" to me. However, I do make it all year round; it's just that good. I also add chocolate chips which makes it rich and dessert-y!! {Ty also really loves this baked treat and I think he purposefully let's his bananas go bad so I will make it for him!}

Here is what you'll need:

3 old Bananas

1 Egg

1/3 cup of Butter

1 cup of Sugar

1 1/2 cups of Flour

1 t of Baking Soda
1 t of vanilla

Pinch of Salt

3/4 t of Cinnamon

3/4 t of Ground Cloves

3/4 t of Nutmeg

*These three spices are the key to this bread! Sooooo good.

1/2 pkg of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips {or more/less to your preference}

Ingredients you will need! {Plus chocolate chips.}

1. Mix wet ingredients. {Everything but the flour and spices.}

2. Add flour and the three spices!

Cinnamon + Ground Cloves + Nutmeg = Deliciousness

3. Last of all, add your chocolate chips {about half a bag or so}.

4. For this bread, I choose to use a bunt pan. I like the way that it cuts into slices and it is pretty to look at!! You can also choose to make muffins, or bake in the regular loaf pans. {See alternate baking times below.}

5. Spread evenly into pan and bake for about 45 minutes. If you like it a little mushy, I would go 35-40 minutes at the most.

For Muffins: I would try 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin pan and do the ole' toothpick trick.

For loaf pans: Start with 30 minutes and then check! {I've never made them this way, so I can't say for sure.}

6. And here is my finished product fresh out of the oven! Taa daaaaa!

This banana bread recipe is very different from other banana bread recipes that I had tasted in the past. Whip up this bad boy on a Saturday morning {or Friday night so you can sleep in on Saturday!}, brew a fresh cup of coffee, and make your family happy with chocolate-y, banana-y, yummy goodness. It won't disapoint!

M's Five Year Reunion & T's Show-Me Games

Last weekend was a busy one for the DeClues. I celebrated my five year reunion with several of my classmates in Springfield while Ty was in Columbia winning 2nd place at the Show-Me Basketball Tournament!

On Saturday evening, I headed down to Springfield with my good friend Lindsay for our class's five year reunion. I also got to meet her fabulous new boyfriend, Joe! They had driven down from Iowa for the reunion and it was great to get to meet her new bf. He is SO nice and I think if I imagined someone perfect for Lindsay, it would be him! No pressure, Linds. I'm just letting you know that I am a fan. ;)

Since I am our class's president, I was responsible for getting everything and everyone together. {I'd like to take a moment to thank Mark Zuckerburg... If it weren't for Facebook, it would have been so annoying to track everyone's addresses/phone numbers down and get in contact with them. Seriously: How did they used to do it?!}

It was such a busy night getting everything ready, I didn't take a single picture. Major fail!! However, Lindsay snapped this one of us so I stole it from her!

Fab Four -1. We missed you, Jax!

{Please excuse the weird coloring of this picture. But I wanted
to show this picture that I took & sent to Jackie to get
confirmation on my outfit. I looooove these cute shoes!!}

A few hours away, Ty was busy playing with these guys in the Show-Me Basketball Tourny in Columbia at Mizzou. They won every game except for the championship game. What a feat! I was cracking up at Ty's texts throughout the weekend. They said things like, "Just played a team of former Mizzou players. Dominated." Then the next day, "FYI - I probably won't be able to walk or function for a few days." And finally, "We lost the championship. We just ran outta gas. We are older than most of the other teams."

I really wish that I could have been up there with them to watch them play! Here's a picture that someone took after the championship game. I'm a proud wife of that 6' 9" sweaty mess in the back!!!!

Even though it was a pretty busy weekend, I am glad that Ty's team did so well and that our reunion turned out to be a lot of fun!!

A Blast from the Past: The Fabulous Four

Ready for a quick history lesson???

There once was a group called "The Fab Four." Yes, if your mind went to The Beatles, you would be correct. However, a few decades post those guys, the real Fabulous Four emerged in a small town in SW Missouri circa 2005. As the story goes, there were four girls at Bolivar High School who constantly found themselves together and causing trouble changing the world for the better.

Senior Citizen Spirit Day

Honestly, these girls made my high school days the best that they could have been! There are very few memories that I have that do not include these girls. And unlike some friendships which fade away after high school, these three continue to bring me so much joy through their friendship!

Fab Four goes to the White House

Prommmmm. So fun.

After high school was over, 1/2 of the Fab Four went to Arkansas to become Hogs while the other 1/2 took off to Mizzou to become Tigers. The 5-hour distance was an obstacle we had to conquer in order to continue seeing each other, but throughout those years, we all managed to squeeze in a few trips each way.

Friend pictures during our senior pictures

So where are they today?

Lieren - Married to Cody (who we all absolutely adore! He is a twenty-something version of her father... funny how that works. Ha!), Living in Springfield finishing up her teaching degree (yay, fellow teacher! I pray we get to work at the same school someday!! I'm sure she'll need my help as her assistant softball coach.)

Lindsay - Living in Iowa using her Journalism degree from Mizzou, Making gorgeous music & going to be famous someday (she's tried out for American Idol & The Voice and I know if she continues to pursue music as a career she could make it! She has lots of videos on youtube - lindsaylare - look that girl UP!)

Jackie - Living in NW Arkansas, Making the BIG bucks Working at Tyson foods plucking chickens using her like 3 degrees she got while we were at Arkansas - Accounting, Finance, and Poultry Studies, Continuing to update her adorable closet and send me pics of the cutest outfits ever! (So jealous!)

Me - Hopefully you already know... Married to Tyler DeTimothy DeClue (what he used to say when he was little), Living in BoMO, Teaching Bison how to sing, annnnd Blogging!

It is my hope and prayer that someday we'll all be back in the same place. I need to be on the look-out for a super hot, eligible bachelor for Jackie that is committed to living in SW Missouri and will convince her to come back... And KY3 needs to hurry up and hire Lindsay as a news anchor. Can anyone help me out with that?!

At my bridal luncheon. Love, love, LOVE these girls!