She's alive... Currently.

Hey, yo!

I'm still here.

I have just enough time to log on to Blogger {every once in a while} and read a few posts, but not enough time to do any posting, myself. Not only that, but every time I think, "Oh, hey, I should do some blogging," I get blogger's block.

I'm sure you've had it.

It's kinda like when you are given a writing assignment in school and you get writer's block because you have no idea where to start. But I think it's worse. Because you, as a blogger, write on a semi-frequent-ish basis {sometimes}, and you started a blog because you had the desire to do so, for some weird reason. And other people will probably look at it and read some of it at some point, so there's more pressure.

For me, it goes like this......

I have free time?!

Yay! Internet!

I should blog!

What should I say?

I should share a resource!

What resource?

Have I created anything lately? Oh, what about....

Wait... Can I even post that as a freebie or will copyright law get me arrested and take all of my money?

Hahaha... all my money... good one, Claire!

Oh, I know! I should tell a cute story about a student!

Hey, that's a good one.... wait. No. That's not funny enough.

I bet it was a "had-to-be-there" moment and no one will like it.

I should go to bed...

Anyway, I've been hanging out at the hubby's grandpa's house all weekend now, and I've done every bit of work I could possibly do for school at this point, so I started playing pinterest, which lead me to some good bloggy resources for school, and I realized that it's October. And that Farley posted her new Currently!

 Let me break it down for you....

I'm listening to the Tigers game... Listening, not watching. The hubs is watching, along with his uncle and grandpa. So, obviously, I am playing around on the Internet. Also, one of the players (or someone) has a name that kinda sounds like Voldemort. Every time I hear it, I do a double take. Haha!

I love my hubby! J continues to tolerate my lack of housekeeping skills, still tells me how proud he is and that I'm wonderful, and still wants to snuggle with me. Score!

And I love my new school friends. Basically, the staff at school rocks. I have no complaints about any one of them! And I'm kind of a complainer, so that's really awesome. But really, I love my 5th grade team and the other teachers & paras I've been able to get to know are all super fun and sweet and helpful and supportive. Like a really amazing bra, but funner.

I have not procrastinated at all today! 

Check this out... 

I graded assessments

entered grades online

went through my class' behavior points to see who earned behavior rewards last week

made a rubric for another assessment

found some cool resources online

planned out next week's schedule

and I read through the science curriculum & experiment breakdown that I'll be teaching for the next week.

Woot woot! I am thinking I should treat myself to a new purse. Or a new phone. Which leads me to...

I'm really wanting to trade in my lame-o phone for something that doesn't make me feel like an 11-year-old. When anyone with an iPhone replies all to a text, my phone can't open it! And sometimes when I get a regular text it just blocks out all the letters and replaces them with empty boxes. Yeah. I feel like I'm in the dark ages. I know this isn't twitter, but..... #newworldproblems. Right?

I really need to join a gym. I try so hard to watch what I eat. Ok, that is a lie. Sometimes I try. Sometimes I don't. Seriously though, I haven't been good lately. And while I haven't actually gained any much weight, at least according to the numbers on the bathroom scale, I'm just feeling like I have. You know what I mean?

I have been really bad about eating crappy food lately. And I'm not working out at all anymore. Last week, my teammate, Katie, dragged took me to the gym with her. It was so fun! I remembered that I really do like working out and I love the feeling good thing that happens afterward. I just don't have a good place at home to Shred it with Jillian or do Yoga with Denise Austin. And until now I couldn't justify paying for a gym membership. While planning for our work-out date, I figured I'd join the gym Katie goes to, but then I realized that the location would only be good for going before (ha!) or after work, and would be really inconvenient otherwise.... so then I'd have to drive almost 30 minutes to work out on a non-school day. Not ideal, right? Anyway, I'm thinking I'll suck it up and find a gym to join closer to my house.

The Fall/Halloween/October book that I love best is Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I've been planning on using it as my next class read-aloud in celebration of Halloween. I think it's really good, and a little creepy, and I think that reading it aloud during the school day would be less spooky than reading a scary book at home. The kids were really excited when I told them my plan. Right now, we're half-way though The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis. They love this one, too, and so do I. I highly recommend it!

I'll end my post with a funny quote from one of my students yesterday...

The day after I worked out with Katie, I was holding my hands up above my head, using a time-out signal (my silent attention-getting signal for the class). The kids were taking forever to respond with a time-out signal of their own, so I said, "Fifth graders, I am still looking for 100%... Mrs. B made me work out with her yesterday and my arms are getting tired."

Then one of my 5th grade boys said, in all seriousness, "It takes my mom a lot to finally go work out..."

I almost died laughing inside, but managed to say, "Oh, C, please don't ever say that to your mother."

The end.

Week 2, Currently

So, this was my second week in the classroom as a full time teacher. I'm loving it, but, man, I'm exhausted.

I'm still getting organized and what not, and I'm about to start writing up my first science unit so I can submit it to my supervisors in the next few days. This weekend will be busy.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the lack off interesting posts, but I know you are understanding. :)

I will attempt to make up for it by linking up for Farley's September Currently!

      

I've been all about Friends lately. Sadly, I haven't been home early enough to watch the evening reruns, and the late-night ones don't come on til 11:00! :(

J has been so wonderful and supportive and understanding! Today, he helped me make lunches... yeah, I know, crazy. Love him.

My feet freaking hurt! None of my shoes thus far are going to cut it if I want to keep this job... I still haven't found a teacher chair, and I'm still figuring out how to best utilize the space in my room. Also, I think my days of wearing flats, especially my super duper flat sandals are over.... Dr. Scholl's here I come.

  Now that I go to bed at the same time as a 10-year-old {should}, I am going to have to accept that I won't be able to watch basically ANY of my shows anymore. :( I'll have to catch up by using my Papa's On Demand while I visit over there... lol. I think I might invest in some cable with DVR or On Demand capabilities in the next couple months...   I was up far too late last night watching Parenthood. SO GOOD! But it was so hard to get up this morning... hence the need for DVR. :)    I've been all into chocolate, coffee and snuggle time with the hubby this week. There's coffee & basket of Hershey kisses in the lounge, and an over sized bag of M&Ms in my desk, just in case. :)  

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Linking up with Jamie @ This Kind Of Love for

Here's what I'm loving this week...

I'm loving... THAT I GOT A JOB!!! Eeeek!! Tuesday, the day after I had the crazy interview, the school called and offered me the position! I'm going to be a 5th grade teacher! :) I couldn't believe that they called so soon after I went in. I am SO SO SO excited!! A little bit freaked out, too... I mean, school starts in 6 days and I have ZERO things ready, except random little things, and I've missed so much PD and all the staff meetings.... SO much to do.... and I can't go in until Thursday! Yikes!

I'm loving... my sweet hubby, family and friends for all their support and prayers!

I'm loving... that my hubby was so excited for me that he announced it all over FB before I could even think to do it. He stole my thunder! Haha!

I'm loving... that "What Makes You Beautiful" song by One Direction... bahahah. I can't get it out of my head! Oh, and also the Demi Lovato one, "Give Your Heart A Break." I'm in teeny-bopper mode these days...

I'm loving... that I get to spend the next week preparing for MY VERY OWN CLASSROOM, even if it means that my up-north mini-vacay this weekend will be cut short.

I'm loving... my cute niece. :)

Yeah, she stopped "reading" the book {upside down} to say "Sheeeeeeezzze!!"


What are you loving this week?!?

Sunday Social: The Internets

 Linking up with Ashley and Neeley for Sunday Social!      This week's Sunday Social is all about fun times on the Internet! 1. What is the first website you log into each day? Usually I start with Facebook, check my email, and then visit Pinterest or Blogger.
2. Give us some funny websites that you visit that we need to know about. Suri's Burn Book ~ A blog written by Allie Hagan as the one and only A-List Princess: Suri Cruise. It's full of tabloid-mocking and celeb gossip... written from the perspective of a well-read and snobby almost 7-year-old. Allie's actually got a real book coming out soon, which I am very excited to read.
Hyperbole and a Half ~ She hasn't posted in a a year or so (due to some personal struggles, she is taking a break from blog-land) but it is well worth it to scroll through every one of her past posts. She's absolutely hilarious!
3. Pinterest or Facebook? Why? This is hard!! I like them both for different reasons. I like Facebook for the following reasons: 1) Stalking Keeping in touch with family/friends/acquaintances. 2) Procrastinating / distracting myself / wasting time.   I like Pinterest for these reasons: 1) Finding cool ideas for my future classroom... if I ever get to have one... grrr...  2) Finding ideas for crafts and home decor. 3) Fantasizing about how cute my kids' rooms / closets / pictures / faces will be. 4) Finding cool housewifey, beauty, and organization tips. 5) Finding recipes. 6) Laughing at funny ecards and quotes 7) Saying, "Aww" or "Ugh, that's so true," about various inspirational quotes 8) Teasing myself by looking at pictures of gorgeous homes that I'll never be able to afford because of the lack of my own classroom... aka... a real teaching job. 9) Putting together a dream-closet 10) Trying to get myself motivated to exercise more.   Ok, so maybe I vote for Pinterest, mostly because it's easier to justify lost hours spent online...
4. Twitter or Instagram? Why? Instagram. Coming up with something interesting to say on Twitter is a pretty daunting task. And taking pictures is way more fun. :)
5. Favorite YouTube video. Post it!  I'm actually not a huge you-tuber. But I still can't pick just one!! Here are a few of my faves... :)    This one is super cool... my hubby was totally obsessed with this for a while. Lol.
These girls are so talented!! I'm wondering why they weren't on America's Got Talent... or were they? I dunno... I don't watch it. Or maybe they're not from America? Lol.


 Hellogiggles made up some pretty funny youtube videos...   

Jenna Marbles is always funny... even though she's also always innapropriate....
These two are actually the first parts of some fan-fiction musicals written & performed by a group called Starkid... if you love Harry Potter and musicals, you will love these videos.    A Very Potter Musical
 
A Very Potter Sequel

Yes, I realize the last 2 videos make me a mega nerd...

        6. Biggest online pet peeve? This one's easy! 1) Facebook wall / blog comment wars 2) Pop-up ads 3) Spam-mail

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up with Jamie @ This Kind Of Love for

Here's what I'm loving this week:

I'm loving... that I have such awesome co-workers! The ladies I'm teaching summer school with are just amazing, caring and helpful... some more than others, but still. :)

I'm loving... that I have a SECOND INTERVIEW tomorrow morning for a 7th/8th grade ELA position!! I'm super excited and super nervous... Prayers and good-luck wishes appreciated! :)

 I want the position SOOOO bad! Not only will it be amazing to teach my all-time favorite subject all day er' day, but I'll be teaching at my alma mater! The principals were so nice and enthusiastic about the great things happening there, and I want to be a part of it. Not only that, but the school is just 20 minutes from my house... in the opposite direction of the usual morning rush-hour traffic!!  :)

I'm loving... that my sweet coworkers and our boss were kind enough to find a way to cover my class to let me take this interview. Like I said, they rock.

I'm loving... that summer school ends tomorrow! It's a happy-sad thing, though. I loved having my own little class and I'll miss the kids who I won't get to see anymore. We had our ice cream party today, and tomorrow is math-game day.

I'm loving... these cute signs that Teaching In Flip Flops made:

VIA

VIA

Do you think they're middle school appropriate? Neon and zebra print should be cool, right?

I'm loving... my Papa's infamous spaghetti dinners and Spumoni Ice Cream for dessert... the chocolate and pistachio parts are my fave. :)

I'm loving... SLEEP! I have been so tired lately... Last night I actually fell asleep BEFORE my husband.... CRAZY!!

What are you loving lately?

Interviewing & WILW!

I know I already posted today, but I'm so stinkin' excited that I just have to share.......

I have TWO interviews on Friday!!! :) :) :)

I'm SOOOO excited. One is for an elementary teacher position in the district I currently work for as an instructional para. The other is for a middle school English/Language Arts position in a different district, which is actually a little closer to my house.

I can't tell you how grateful I am. Last week I basically had a breakdown because I was so discouraged and frustrated.

Anyway, I thought I'd ask you guys...

What are your best bits of advice, tips & tricks for interviewing? Whether it's interviewing for a teaching position or any other career... I want to know! :)

*****************************

I am linking up with Jamie @ This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving... that I actually have interviews this week!

I'm loving... that God answers prayers!

I'm loving... my sweet hubby for helping to clean the house... and helping me to keep it that way.

I'm loving... that we had some quality time with my dear friend Crystal & her soon-to-be hubby over the weekend. :)

I'm loving... my family's "top-secret" buttercream frosting recipe. On chocolate cake. YUM!

I'm loving... the new book I'm reading: The Nanny Diaries.

I'm loving... that I get to go camping AGAIN this weekend! It'll be our second-to-last trip of the season. Happy-sad.

What are you loving this week? 

How do you plan?

Mrs. Stanford is having a linky party & giveaway!

Ok, so, how do I plan?

Well, it kind of depends on what I'm teaching and what kind of documentation I need to have for future reference or for data/record keeping purposes.

I always make up a weekly or daily plan sheet and I keep it on my teacher clipboard so I can reference it or tweak it at anytime, and so I can document what I did for future reference. This helps me manage my time, keep to the schedule, and helps me remember who goes to see what other teacher when. :)

Generally, I like to develop a skeleton plan of some sort to keep my long-term plans. If I'm planning a unit, sometimes it's just a bullet list of the things I need to cover each week and sometimes it's a more detailed "Day 1 - Some-kind-of Activity" description.

As far as daily lesson go, if I have a teacher's manual I get a little crazy with the sticky notes so I know what to do and what order to do it in. Plus, when I get to the lesson the next year, I already have an outline of what I did. I can also jot down what did/didn't work as I go!

If there's no TE I just put more details on my daily plan page.

For the intervention job I have now, I need to document everything per the government's standards for the program. So, my lesson plans are formally written out and are pretty detailed. Like college.

Yeah, fun.

Friday, Friday

Friday Letters with Ashley...

Dear Bloggie Friends… I appreciate you so much! :) Thanks for following and entering my first ever giveaway! I'm choosing the winner in just a few days, and she'll be the recipient of FOUR free Teachers Pay Teachers products made by some lovely teacher bloggers, and a Target gift card, from me!

Dear Hubby… I’m excited for our “Date-Night-In” tonight! And, I love you!

Dear Public Library Near My Work… Thank you for having a constant “Friends of the Library” Book Sale and allowing me to get a new-to-me book for the low, low price of $ .50. Justin can’t be mad that I’m adding to my collection if it only costs us $ .50! That’s less than a Twix bar. {Mmmm ,Twix…} Plus, I can read this book many times. You can only eat a Twix bar once... So, it’s obviously way worth it.

Dear Self… Thanks for sleeping weird last night. The pain in my neck just makes today that much sunnier.

Dear 15ish Jobs That I Applied for This Week… *waving hands frantically in the air* Oooh! Oooh! Pick me, pick me! Pick me! PICK! ME!

Dear Coffee… You got so cold, so fast today. Sad. :(

Dear Self {again}… Think of something better to write on your blog. Ready. Set. Go.

Dear Olympics… You’re the only athletic event I look forward to catching on TV… You’re also the only one that could make me inadvertently tear up.

Dear Weekend… I need you to come around more frequently and for longer periods of time. This 2-day business isn’t working out for me.

Dear Crystal… I’m so excited to hang out with you this weekend!!!! I love when we get to be real friends. :)

Dear Self {again again}… Paint your toenails this weekend. A home-made, half-hearted attempt at color blocking only looks good for so long.

Happy Friday!!

It's ok!

Time to link up with Neely and Amber!

It's OK...

* that Justin had to go out and buy two new bookshelves to accommodate my collection of personal and classroom books.

* that I'm still not done organizing the aforementioned books.

* to shamelessly plug my giveaway... Check out this post to see the grand prizes and to enter!

* that I haven't been home before 8:45pm since Sunday.

* that I'd rather relax and read my book instead of clean the house when I do finally get home

* that I apparently ran out of inspiration this week so all I've done is linky parties. Oops... :)

* that I've applied for every. single. classroom teacher opening within a one-hour radius. Shouldn't the fact that I'm willing to drive an hour (or more considering rush hour traffic) show how desperate dedicated I am to this profession?

* And it's ok... Ok, that's a lie. I'm trying to be ok with the fact that I've only had one interview this summer and I'm still looking for a full time teaching job.

I am determined to keep a positive attitude about this excruciating, frustrating and discouraging job hunt.

I want to be at peace with what happens because I know I'm supposed to be where ever God puts me, whether it's where I wanted to be or not.

What's ok with you this week?

What I'm Loving

Linking up with Jamie @ This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday... I haven't done one of these in a while!

Here's what I'm loving this week:



I'm LOVING... that I'm celebrating a follower milestone this week with a giveaway!! Check out this post to see the grand prizes and to enter: Hooray!! It's a 75 follower giveaway!

I'm LOVING... the book I'm reading, Pretty In Plaid by Jen Lancaster. She basically rocks. It was a happy/sad feeling when I found this {hardcover} book in an 80% off bin at Walmart! Happy because it was only $4, sad because I love her writing!



I'm LOVING... my summer school class! I'm teaching fractions to a bunch of 3rd and 4th graders. AND I LOVE IT! Who knew teaching fractions would be so fun!? Seeing all these "aha-moments" is the BEST!



I'm LOVING... my sweet hubby for rubbing my back last night after a long day of work, followed by a physical training session at the fire department. :)



I'm LOVING... Dunkin Doughnuts coffee. It's so hard to go without...



I'm LOVING... that my co-worker and I are moving to a bigger room next year at school! Fingeres crossed we won't even have to share a computer this time!



I'm LOVING... my church family and that our VBS is going so well this week! It's the first time our church as hosted a VBS in several years. And it's very much our own... no pre-planned curriculum! Between all our volunteers, we made up the whole theme/decor, lesson plans, crafts, and planned the games! We originally expected about 20 kids... we have over 30!! I'm coordinating the "whole-group games" with the help of another woman and the teen group... on the first day I said to the teen group, "So... you guys are my helpers, right? You like to run? Good. Because I don't." Haha.





I'm LOVING... my new Chi Bling hair dryer from Emily! I won it in one of her awesome giveaways. Check out her blog... she's always got something good going on!





I'm LOVING... the Target sandles that I've been wearing all summer.


These were on clearance for $5.00 when I got them!! Not exactly great for arch support or long walks, but they're fun!



via

These are also not super supportive, but they go with everything and the price was worth it!




via

These are my fav... they're comfortable and I always get complements on them!



via

What are you loving this week??

Sunday Socializing

Link. it. up.

1. What is your dream job?

Teaching 5th grade, all subjects. Or 4th grade. Or 6th grade. Whatever grade is the top of the elementary school. I love upper-elementary... love it!

It depends on my phase in life, though... like, if I were a parent, I'd ideally want to job share or be part time, if I could afford it, so I could spend more time with my family.

2. If you had just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

I'd read, travel, spend time with family and friends. I'd like to learn to cook and bake more things, decorate my house, make crafty things and become one of those DIY people who have stores on Etsy.

I think I might teach part time.... or work as a para. Definitely not full time, though.

3. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

The realistic job? A teacher. Fantasy job? An actress or singer. Typical girl... you know. lol.

4. What piece of career advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?

Shoot. I dunno... Do your best in the classroom and get to know your co-workers and administrators. This is really hard for me... I'm a very awkward person and I suck at small-talk.





5. Biggest Pet Peeves either in life or in blogging or at work

Hmmm... people who lack common courtesy. People who let others do all the work.



6. Biggest Fears

Never getting a job. Losing loved ones. Spiders. Needles. Drowning. I'm afraid of a lot of things...

Tell me more, tell me more!

Well, my summer is officially over... Summer School started on Monday, and I am already swamped! Just when I feel like I've got it covered, I find a million more things to do! I guess that's the life of a teacher, though, isn't it?

Anyone else start singing "Summer Lovin" just then?? Lol.

I feel like I’ve done a lot of “about me” posts, but I figured I’d do this one anyway. :)

So, let’s link up with Amy Lemons at Step into Second Grade.

Enjoy reading about a few of my quirks and random facts about me… Please don’t judge me. :)

* I've had a celeb-crush on Justin Timberlake since, like, 1996, and swore up and down that'd I'd marry him one day.

* I met my Hubby for the first time at church. I was 14, he was 13.

* I'm the bad listener in the relationship. J is always having to fight for my attention because I get so drawn into what I'm reading, watching, writing, doing, that I literally don't see or hear anything going on around me.

* I might be a germ-a-phobe, I might be ODC… Either way, I have this weird thing about my pillow. I’m very possessive of it and I hate other people touching or using my pillow. Seriously though, I do not want anyone else’s drool or greasy hair or sleep-sweat on my face. If I’m traveling with my pillow, I HAVE to have extra pillowcases packed because there is no. freaking. way. that I’m putting my face on it without crying first if it’s been anywhere other than on my bed. Think about it… Just how clean is that car seat? Probably questionable... What if it falls on the floor, or someone puts their feet on it? Shudder. Or sits on it wearing dirty jeans? Ugh… Or wipes their grimy, car-food hands on it? Eww. Or what if someone coughs or sneezes on, or in the general direction of, my pillow?? And then I have to put my face on it?!? Eeewwww! {I bet you're going to have a pillow thing now, too... just wait...}

* I've been a Gilmore Girls fan since I saw the first episode when I was in 8th grade. I started accumulating the Season DVDs during college, and J mistakenly lovingly gave me the 3 I was missing for Christmas one year. I can watch it for hours on end. And it makes me cry an abnormal amount... even when it's not all that sentimental.

* I'm more of a girly-girl by nature... but people always peg me as a tom-boy!   I've never really been into sports or anything, and I prefer not to get dirty or do crazy scary things like play paintball or ride 4-wheelers. My dad tried to teach me how to shoot guns and bows and arrows, but I only liked it for about 5 minutes. So, I attribute the tom-boy assumptions to my preferance for comfort in my clothing... non-fitted tshirts, jeans, flats... only in the past few years have I been confident enough to wear more feminine and girly clothes. And usually it's just for work or going out.

* I'm always multitasking. But I suck at it. I start something, then start something else. Then I make a to-do list to help me get things done. Then I work on one of the things I started. Then I get an idea, and I'm so excited that I just finish it all at once. Then I realize it wasn't on the to-do list, so I write it on the list and then cross it off, just so I feel like I accomplished something I planned to do. :)

* I’ve had basically the same hair style since 10th grade. Partly because I’m hair challenged and don’t know what else to do with it... partly because I’m just afraid to change it!! Anyway, for the past 10 years (yeah… 10 years!}, my hair has been somewhere between shoulder-length to long-ish & various shades of blonde, usually with layers, sometimes with a face frame or side-swiping bangs, and always parted to the left {slightly, thanks to an ill-placed cowlick}.  My hair is naturally blonde, and I can’t see myself as anything but. Unfortunately, it has been darkening ever so slightly as I get older. I am still hanging on to my roots, though, with the aid of highlights. :)

In all seriousness though, J wouldn't hate me if I cut my hair... but he’d be a little ticked. One time, he came home from a Fire Dept. training, knowing I was going to the salon to get my hair trimmed. Well, when he walked in the door I had my hair swept to the other side, and he could only see my shortest chin-length layers. He said sarcastically, “Um… nice hair??” I, being sweet and innocent, didn’t get why his was acting this way, so I said, “Thanks? And as I turned around, he sighed and said, “Oh, geez… I thought you chopped off your hair… sorry.” Haha!! We cracked up for like 5 minutes.

* My 4th grade “About Me” book says, “When I grow up I want to be… a movie star or a super model or a teacher.” Hahahaha...

* Speaking of elementary school.... I was ALWAYS Baby Spice when my friends and I played “Spice Girls." I would wear my hair in pig-tails and suck on Chupa-Chups (Chocolate-banana rocks!) Aaaand I've still got all the lyrics memorized.

* I am and always will be a Potterhead. Harry Potter (book) series is my favorite. I pin Harry Potter things on Pinterest in between recipes, fashion, housewifey tips, & teaching ideas. I reread at least one of the books a least once a year (it used to be all... but then I became an adult with not enough free time). While the movies certainly aren't better than the books, I cried the first time I saw the trailer for HP 7: Part 2... because I knew that it meant it was really over. I mean, at that point, I had been a HP fan for over half of my life... that's a big deal! Aaaaand that JK Rowling quote about Hogwarts always being there for those who want to return also made me tear up a little.... I'm such a  dork!!

* The Hunger Games series is such a close 2nd favorite that it makes the Potterhead part of me nervous. I dare to say that they're actually a tie... I'm always making Katniss references in my head, and baked goods make me think of Peeta... Oh, Peeta... *sigh*

* I really really really hate being an adult! That, and my two previous confessions regarding my love for adolescent lit, make me feel a little immature.... haha. I'd rather go to school than work. So far, the only plusses of growing up are getting to be married to my best friend, teaching, and wine.

Sunday Social: Handbag Edition

Head on over to Ashley or Neely's page and link-up, folks!

1. What is your favorite handbag you've ever owned?

I have two favorites... 

my mid-size plum Coach bag with brown leather shoulder strap, which I'm currently using

&

my large black Leather Coach bag... it looks very professional and holds so much stuff inside. I have used it for field trips to hold my teacher folders, and it's great to use if you're carrying around a book to read. Plus, it still has that delicious leather smell!

2. What is your dream handbag you lust over?

Ugh... what handbag do I not lust over!? I love purses, but I have been trying really hard not to spend so much money lately, so I haven't been paying so much attention to fashion, etc. I did peruse the handbags at Macy's recently and pretty much everything by Coach catches my eye. :)

It's pretty, and the hardware and leather hold up so well, even after a couple years of use.

3. What are the daily essentials in your purse or work bag?

Burt's Bees Lip Balm. Phone. Wallet. Keys.

4. What's in your purse (with pictures)?

Love this bag by Coach! It holds a lot more than you think...

A view of the inside...

My checkbook, Dooney & Bourke wristlet, Fossil wallet, & keys

Inside the D&B wristlet: my Panasonic Lumix camera. We got such a good deal on it at Best Buy... it has an amazing zoom (16x!) and some awesome auto settings, as well as a manual setting. Probably the best point and shoot camera I've ever used... 

Hanging out on the bottom: lhand otion, hand sanitizer (yes, they're both apple... yes, it's a coincidence), Mary Kay Lash Love Mascera (awesome!), a mini-size of Daisy by Marc Jacobs (my fave!), Burt's Bees (true love on your lips), Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour (adds a nice, subtle touch of color without sticky gloss or the feel of lipstick), and a comb with some hair ties

And this is everything that I found in the pockets: bobby pins, nail clippers, tiny safety pins, tampons, eye drops, a tiny flashlight, my 'mint' tin that I use for Tylenol & things, a nail file, my iPod touch, Mary Kay Oil Blotters (the best!!! also, a good price!), and two band-aids.

Wait... where's my phone? I think my phone might be on my nightstand... either way, it's not noteworthy. Thank goodness I'm due for an upgrade! I'm debating on getting the iPhone 4 for $100, the 4s for $200, or waiting until the iPhone 5 comes out so I can get the 4s for $100.... So far, I've decided that I'll just wait until my phone is broken or until the 5 comes out. J's Droid is great, but it's just a little too complex when it doesn't need to be.

Anyway, that's my purse.:)

It's only Saturday?? & Newbie Blog Hop!

I'm so excited... I have had so much fun, and I got a lot done for school since Friday at 5:30... and it's only Saturday! And my house isn't even a mess! This never happens... God totally answered my prayers for a fun and productive weekend.

J and I invited my friend Randee and her new hubby, over for dinner and a bonfire last night. They just left to go home a couple hours ago. Randee was one of my roomies in college, and I love pretending that we live together again. Living with a boy, even if you love him dearly, just isn't the same as living with your girl friends! Randee somehow motivated me to get all that school stuff done today while we were watching movies, and now I get to post a Monday Made It! Yay! :)

Seriously, look at all the stuff we did...

Friday: went grocery shopping, cooked burgers and veggie kabobs on the grill for dinner {ok, ok, I prepped and seasoned, J grilled...}, had friends over, went on a boat ride, had a bonfire, tried to grill watermelon, and ate s'mores. {The only sucky part of the evening was when I got melted marshmallow in my hair...}

Saturday: made a yummy breakfast, did dishes, painted my toenails, made up my groups and lesson/rotation schedule for summer school, watched two movies, made a rotation management board, found some fun math videos online {Math Mansion & Mr. Lee}, made my "Teacher's Treats" jar, made nachos for dinner, and then we met up with A (my sister) and E (my 18 month-old niece) to go swimming in J's parents' pool {the lake was treated, so no swimming for a couple days}

Isn't that a crazy amount of stuff to do on a Friday evening/night and all day Saturday?! I seriously feel like it's Sunday night already! AND IT'S NOT! Love that feeling!

Anywho...

I completely love this little bloggy world... I know I'm not the first one to say it, but I seriously have gained so much from it! Haters gonna hate, but you can't deny that the blog world is a great resource!

Janis @ Grade Three is the Place for Me! is hosting a super fun linky party/blog hop for new/new-ish bloggers! Since I am ready to unwind, I thought I'd link up. :) 

The Questions...

1. What state you are in?

 Michigan

2. Your current teaching position:

This will be my 2nd year teaching K-4 math and reading intervention

3. Your teaching experience:

 I graduated in May 2010 after student teaching in 5th grade.

I subbed part time for the next school year, and did a long-term in my mentor teacher's classroom for her maternity leave.

Then, I got the job I have now. :)

I'm still searching for a full-time gig. Please pray I find one!!

4. When you started blogging:

I started this blog in November 2010, but I didn't write on a regular basis, nor did I write about anything in particular... It was just random thoughts and daily life sort of things. This fall I started looking through a lot of teaching blogs for resources, and in May I started blogging on a more regular basis. It was then that I decided to revamp my blog to incorporate teaching.

5. Share a blogging tip / blogging resource:

Hmmm...

- You can't please everyone, so just beeeee yourself!! :)
- Gaining followers can take time. You can "network" by befriending other bloggers, leaving comments, and joining blog hops & linky parties.

- Take off the comment verification code... If you're afraid about spam, just check your comments page often to delete it, or select the option that requires you to OK all comments before they are posted.

- Within reason, post about what you want, when you want. Personally, I don't mind 2 a day, but when you're posting so many times that you quickly boot other posts off of my blog roll reading list it gets a tiny bit annoying. :)

Monday Made It - School Things

Linking up with Tara @ 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!! :)

This time my Monday Made It things aren’t so cutesy and crafty. They are more on the practical end, considering I actually needed to make most of them for my summer school class.

 

My “home” made it was a Pinterest inspired plastic grocery bag holder, and no I don't have a picture because I still haven’t decorated it, partly because I didn’t have time, and partly because I didn’t feel like it. After all, it’s under the sink, not on display.

This is the tutorial I used: Plastc Bag Dispenser

For the most part it works ok. Except for when it doesn’t. First time I went to get a bag out, it was sort of stuck and I yanked the whole thing open. Maybe it’s because I used Meijer bags instead of Target bags. Maybe it’s because I used a Clorox wipes container instead of a Lysol wipes container. Maybe it’s because I did it wrong. We’ll see how it goes in the future. I didn’t want to keep experimenting by pulling out bags and then have no bags left.

 

Here are my classroom Made Its… I’ll be sharing my templates another time. :)

 

 

Pencil Cups (from Target Dollar Spot)

“Bucket Filler” bucket (from Target Dollar Spot)

This is going to be a whole-class reward thing… when the kids do something that fills my bucket, like completing a wonderful transition, everyone following directions the first time, getting a class compliment from another teacher, everyone ending the day with no warnings, etc., I will put some warm fuzzies (i.e. craft pom-poms) into my bucket. When it’s full, a lucky student will get to draw a slip from the Teacher’s Treat Jar (which I still have to make...) and we’ll have a whole-class reward, like a hat day, free choice time, mismatch day, etc. Super fun, yay!

Bee Theme Behavior Clip Chart

Just your standard clip chart, printed on cardstock....I actually haven't attached it all together yet, hence the clips holding the pages together, because I'm planning on doing that right before I laminate it at school. Anyway, I needed something basic (I'm such a slacker... I didn't even print in color.. haha) that didn't require a lot of maintanance on my part. Plus, I wanted the kids to have a clean slate each day. Everyone starts the day on yellow, and I can just tell the kids to move their clips up or down accordingly.

Friday Book Club

 

I read...

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Summary:

 Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year. (via)

My Thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED Mockingjay. {I’m pretty sure I said that about all 3 books in the Hunger Games Trilogy, but I meant it each time. It’s become one of my favorites, right up there with Harry Potter.}

I had the hardest time putting this book down and did it only when I had no other choice. If it was an option, I just couldn’t do it... I had to know what happened! And so I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning not once, but twice, to finish the book. The next-day headache behind my eyes was totally worth it each time.

I really enjoyed how the complexity of the characters and their relationships, the themes and the mood evolved throughout the series, even though the characters only aged 1-2 years from the first book to the last. This was the most emotional of the three books, and I cried several times. The other two books each had a few parts that caused me to shed a tear or two, but I actually cried this time. Which was probably funny to see, since it was like 3am and J was passed out in bed next to me.

A Day in My Shoes & It's Ok/Thankful Thursday!

Happy Thursday, everyone!


I love Thursdays... mostly because the next day is Friday, and then it's the weekend.

I'm linking up with Ingles360 for her new linky, "Check out my shoes!"

     My Thursday (this past school year) pretty much looked like this:   6:20am - J leaves for work and wakes me up to say bye   6:30am - Wake-up attempt #1... Snooze...   6:45am - Wake-up attempt #2... Snooze...   6:55am - Wake-up attempt #3... Snooze...   7:00am - Wake up {for real} and get ready for work, pack a lunch, sort of watch Today {Btw, I am very unhappy about Ann Curry no longer being on the show. I love her!}   8:00am - Leave for my job at the office   8:30am - Arrive at the office & do office work   Leave for school between 11-11:15   Get to school by 11:20 {yeah, 5 minute drive!}   11:30-12:30pm - 3rd Grade Math Group 2   12:10-12:40pm - 2nd Grade Math Group 3   12:45-1:00pm - Break/Lunch time!   1:05-1:35pm - Kindergarten Reading Group 1   1:40-2:10pm - Kindergarten Reading Group 2   2:15-2:45pm - 3rd Grade Math 1-on-1   2:55-3:25 - 3rd Grade Math Group 3   3:45-4:30 - 4th Grade After-School Math Workshop    

Due to the nature of my job, I don't know what my schedule will look like next year, but I'm assuming it'll be relatively similar. Between my co-worker and I, we serviced over 80 students in reading and math... yikes!


My typical Thursday morning over the summer looks pretty much the same, but instead of going to school I just stay at the office all day until 5:00. Super fun.


*****************


Anyway, time for It’s Ok & Thankful Thursday, hosted by Neely, Amber and Tracy!

It's ok....

... to get excited about getting my summer school classroom ready! So far, I've made pencil cups, a behavior chart w/ clothes pin clips, my "Bucket Filler" bucket, and name sticks {Don't worry... I'll be sharing everything in the next week or two}
... that I haven't done any lesson planning yet because I'm so excited to make cutsey things instead.
... to get excited every time I apply for a teaching job
... that I'm starting to get really discouraged about this whole job-hunt thing. There are over 10 different school districts surrounding my house, and still nothing. :(
... that I had dirty dishes in the sink for 4 days {don't worry, I did them this morning!}
... to buy movie theater snacks at a party store instead of the pricey concession stands








I'm thankful...

... for a husband that actually likes to snuggle
... for my Daddy. We're celebrating his bday this weekend. :)
... that my Papa lets me do laundry at his house so I don't have to do it at the laundry mat
... for movie dates with my Aunt Sue
... for the Dollar Spot at Target
... that I have 2 jobs that pay the bills when so many people are struggling to find work
... that my father-in-law's friend was able to fix our boat for super duper cheep! :)
... for bagels and cream cheese... Yum!
... for green tea... Yumm again!