August Via Instagram

Is it September already?  I can't believe how fast August flew by.  August was a good month for me and I thought it would be great to share!

I was hoping August would bring me joy, and she didn't disappoint!  I wasn't sure what to expect, so I simply asked that she surprise me.

It's the first day of August! This is a busy month for me. The start of school and also a month of #celebration! It's my #birthmonth and I couldn't be more excited! So we'll have to see how true #August is to me. Hello August! Surprise me! Smooches!! 😘😘 #birthday #blogiversary #Leo #leoseason #surprise #surprises #surpriseme #celebrations #helloaugust #firstdayofaugust #endofsummer #backtoschool #surprisesinstore #newbeginnings #freshstart

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Jul 31, 2016 at 9:14pm PDT

This summer I had an opportunity to try out some Mayfield Ice Cream and what a treat it was.  Influenster sent me 2 coupons to use towards 2 FREE cartons!  My boys and I enjoyed the treat! Are you an Influenster?  If not, you are missing out!  Want to join and get free stuff?  Join here :)

In the summertime when the weather is HOT, grab some #Mayfield ice cream it will hit the spot! Are you enjoying your #MayfieldSummer? Are you an ice-cream lover like me? Well I want to invite you to the Instagram party of the summer! Go to the following link to join in on the fun!!! bit.ly/2ajEMGS. The party is in full effect until midnight and admission is free! Sponsored by @Mayfielddairy and @Influenster. #contest @onlysavon #icecream #summerfun #beattheheat #bloggersconnect #BloggersGetSocial

A video posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 2, 2016 at 3:02pm PDT

How many of you have a YouTube page and still haven't created your own videos? I was guilty of this until recently.  I decided to record a wine box unveiling and I'm pretty proud of myself.  What do you think? Click this link to view video.

Sharing my first video with you today on my YouTube channel. Go check it out! Enter this link, http://bit.ly/2aOdOwp ... and tell me what you think! It's unedited and raw just like this picture. #HappyAugust #video #firstvideo #checkitout #unedited #unfiltered #untouched #beginner #novice #bloggersconnect #bloggersgetsocial #YouTube

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 2, 2016 at 5:03pm PDT

Interested in some free wine?   Join me and you can have fine wine delivered to your doorstep in days!

Happy Birthday to Me!  Happy Birthday to Me! :) :) :)

I am 45 years old! Man, that's a mouthful. Thanking God for allowing me to be here to celebrate another year of life. Thank you all my friends and family for your love and support. ITS MY BIRTHDAY!! 😄😄😄🎈🎈🎈🎂🍨🎉 #happybirthdaytome #HappyBirthday #itsmybirthday #cheers #anotheryearoflife #letscelebrate #imexcited #Augustbaby #Leoseason #Leo #bloggersconnect #BloggersGetSocial #birthdaygirl

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 10, 2016 at 4:37am PDT

Mickey Mouse and some ice cream sprinkles helped to make my evening, after a long, HOT day at work, more enjoyable!  Who doesn't love receiving #happymail!  I can't think of anything better than a friend spreading some love and kindness!

Good friends sprinkling #kindness! After a long, tiring, HOT school day it was so nice to come home and find some #snailmail in my box! What could be better than ice cream and #Mickey? This really brightened my day! Everyday is a good day for #happymail! #cards #thankyounotes #goodfriends

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 16, 2016 at 4:08pm PDT

Well of course summer couldn't end without a few thunderstorms.  I snapped this picture right as the storm clouds were rolling in to show the split in the sky.  For a slight second, it was clear and sunny in my neighbors' front yard while it was pouring in their back.

I wanted to show the split in the sky. Storm clouds rolling in pushing away our sunny #sky. It looks bad out there you guys. #clouds #cloudy #cloudysky #stormclouds #badweather #stormyweather #beforetherain #beforethestorm #bloggersconnect

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 18, 2016 at 3:43pm PDT

Some back to school #goodies I scored at Marshall's. I love the unique items they sell.
I know my student's will be happy to use these!

Look at all the #goodies I scored in my #backtoschool haul from Marshalls! A doodle pad, game pad, coloring markers, and this cute #elephant designed storage container. The kids are going to love these at school. A great way to keep the calm while counseling. Yay me! #doodlepad #onthegogames #coloring #doodling #markers #schoolcounselor #backtoschoolsupplies #counselingtools #schoolcounselorsofinstagram

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 21, 2016 at 5:04pm PDT

Sometimes you just need a little wine to take the edge off.

 Wine down Wednesday is always a good time.

Alchymist Noir! Want a glass? Smooth and delicious! #winedownwednesday #winowednesday #wine #vino #redwine #redwineblend #Winc #alchymistnoir #drinkwinc #winelover #winesofinstagram #winenot

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 24, 2016 at 5:13pm PDT

I ended the month by celebrating my 2nd Blogiversary!  What an amazing 
24 months it has been. My last post speaks all about it.  Cheers to 2 Years!!! :)

Singing, "Its My #Blogiversary" in my Tony Toni Tone' voice! Two years went by fast. New #ontheblog #itsmyblogiversary #2ndblogiversary #twoyears #bloggersconnect #BloggersGetSocial

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Aug 26, 2016 at 9:24pm PDT

How did you spend your last month of summer?  Was August good to you, as well? 

See where I am Linking Up with others.

National Ice Cream Month

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!  July is National Ice Cream month and I couldn't be more excited! If I had my way, every month would be ice cream month and actually in my house it is! Ice cream is a normal staple in my home.  It is the best way to beat the heat. So, what about those winter months? Yes, ice cream is still there!  It's never too cold for ice cream!

I'm celebrating National Ice Cream month by sharing all this yummy goodness with friends and family. What better way to celebrate than with the smooth, creamy taste of  Mayfield!  I was so happy when I was informed by Influenster that I would be receiving coupons to purchase my Mayfield ice cream and was pleasantly surprised to also receive this personalized scoop.  I rushed to the store to make my purchase.

My first thought was to go with my all-time favorite flavor, vanilla, because I can top it with anything I want. Once I got to the store, I decided to try some different flavors.  Well as you can see, the shelves were nearly bare, so I'm not the only one enjoying this #MayfieldSummer.

 I decided to go with Cookies & Cream and Butter Pecan.  Butter Pecan is a childhood favorite. It was pretty much all my mom would buy so I naturally grew to love it.  Cookies & Cream is like dunking an oreo into my milk , so I couldn't resist.  And it taste great with brownies!

Having myself a #MayfieldSummer with their cookies n cream ice cream and #Ghirardelli brownies! Makes a great afternoon #treat! Received this #complimentary of @influenster and @Mayfielddairy. How are you celebrating this month? #nationalicecreammonth #influenster #gotitforfree #icecream #cookiesncream #brownies #yummygoodness #bloggersconnect #BloggersGetSocial

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Jul 28, 2016 at 10:20am PDT

These hot summer days call for a quick and delicious treat.  It's like having a little mini party with myself.  But that's no fun, so I decided to share.

I'm also sharing an ice cream party in a box as a thank you to one of  sweet friends who is always so supportive!  Her kindness is infectious and I just wanted to send a little sunshine her way.  I won't be revealing who it is here because it is a surprise, but my Pinterest board will give you an idea of what she's receiving.  Similar to the box below.  I can't wait till she receives her sweet surprise!

Photo Source

So how are you celebrating National Ice Cream Month?  I would love to hear below.
See where I am Linking UP with others.

Currently: Mixed Emotions

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on here, but its been for good reasons.  As you will see below, I began working on this post about a month ago.  I haven't been in the mood to write much and my focus has been on other things.

Currently:

Closing: Out another school year.  The end of this year was a rough one.  We were presented with a new test again this year.  We still have PASS testing for science and social studies, but the last two years have been different test for English, Writing, and Math.  With new test come new challenges.  It literally took the last six weeks of the school year away from counseling.  Counselors have to prepare all the test, and the process is too hard to explain.  We spend hour after hour in what we respectfully refer to as "The Dungeon".  One of our veteran teachers, who tends to work late, saw us one evening leaving out the same time he was.  His words to us were, "The trolls our out of their cave."  We all had a good laugh about it.  I'm just glad it's all over.

Grieving:  The loss of my uncle.  The eve of my last day of work, I received a phone call from my dad that really struck me hard.  His brother had passed that morning.  I had just spoken with Uncle George about two weeks ago and was looking forward to seeing him this summer. We held a memorial service for him on Saturday and everyone had such wonderful things to say about him I know that he is in a better place and is watching over all of us from above.  I just truly miss him.

Getting Inspired:  I just returned from the 2016 Education Business Summit and received a lot of inspiration for the upcoming school year.  I even got to meet Chef Jeff Henderson of Flip My Food.  He was one of our keynote speakers and he was AWESOME!  His story is definitely worth knowing.

Disappointed;  I participated in a box swap recently and was really looking forward to some happy mail on my return from the summit, but was sadly disappointed.  My partner did not follow through.  Well I hope she liked the gift I sent her.

Reviewing: Various things from Influenster.  Most recently was ZzzQuil and it really works.  It helps me fall asleep and stay asleep without waking up groggy.  I received my sample free for testing purposes and I think I will be buying some once school is back in session.  Want to join Influenster and get free goodies? Join here.

For when you need it most. #Zzzquil. Thanks @influenster and @ZzzQuil for the free sample. How did you know that I just returned from a conference and could barely sleep? Time to catch up on my beauty rest! Sometimes we all could use a little help. #influenster #contest #gotitforfree #freesamples #freestuff #SleeoLovers #ad #sunshineandelephants

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on Jul 2, 2016 at 11:02am PDT

Thinking:  I have a lot on my mind and so much to ponder.  This is usually a more upbeat time of year for me and I 'm always looking forward to summer.  This year, I'm just not feeling it.  I don't feel like writing.  I don't have the energy to get out and go as usual.  I don't know.  Just kinda in a blah mood.  A lot of things to sort out for myself so you won't be seeing me much in the blogosphere.  But I will pop up every now and then. I have enjoyed reading others post and discovering new bloggers.  So you may not see much from me here, but I'll be around.  Until next time...Peace.

Do you go through periods where you have mixed emotions?  What are you currently up to?

Check out my Linking Up page to see where I'm sharing this post and others.

Currently May Vol. 2

Currently…

Celebrating:  Mother’s Day!  I had a wonderful day out with my boys.  They are both home for the summer, from college, and I am so happy!  We took the afternoon to go downtown for 2nd Sunday on King.  While scrolling through the square, I happen to see an old friend driving by.  He parked and walked with us and bought us dinner at the restaurant at which he works.  It was so good to catch up on old times. 

Still Working On:  Standardized testing…the summer can’t get here soon enough.

Receiving:  My first Influenster box!  J  It felt so good to come home and find my complimentary Influenster Sprout Voxbox waiting for me.  I can’t wait to try out all my goodies.  I received this box to test and review…for free!  So be sure to look for more in a future post. 

So excited to come home and find my @influenster #sproutvoxbox waiting for me to test and review! Gotta love free stuff! My thoughts and opinions coming soon! #voxbox #influenster #eatsmartsnacks #curate #orgain #ecos #hairfood #freestuff #goodies #sunshineandelephants

A photo posted by sunshineandelephants (@sunshine.and.elephants) on May 9, 2016 at 6:23pm PDT

Tinkling:  With my new toy.  I "gifted" myself with a tablet and I LOVE IT.  I really needed to get this so I could stop lugging around my laptop.  This is so much more convenient. 

Anticipating:  The launch of the #SeeSummerBetter campaign by Warby Parker.  Warby Parker offers affordable, prescription eyewear and  sunglasses starting at $95. When you purchase a pair of frames, you are also helping out someone else in need.  With a vast array of shapes and colors, you are sure to find a pair to please.  So hop on over to warbyparker.com to check out their site and be sure to follow them on Instagram for all the latest updates @warbyparker