My Monday Truth on a Wednesday

I know that it's not Monday, but I just found Sunny in 2nd Grade's "My Truth" linky. So here is my truth about becoming a teacher....

It's amazing how the direction of the Lord can change your life. Growing up in a home that wasn't the best, I was led to help those students that have similar situations from my childhood. So many teachers are tired of all the paper work, nagging parents, and unsupportive principals; but I can't think of anything else to do with my life. I know that I am not a miracle worker, and there are days when I get irrigated by parents and principals; however, I remember that I am here for my students, giving them things that they might not get at home. There are years when parents thank me for the things that I have done for their children, and there are years that are from "you know where", but the God has given me a mission that I cannot abandon. My mission is to show my students the love of Christ even when they don't get the love they desire at home. 

November Currently

This year has just flown by! November is such a great time of year...it's not too cold (in Alabama), the fall colors a beautiful, and the holidays are just around the corner. Since it's the beginning of the month, I've linked up with Oh' Boy Fourth Grade of the November Currently

Listening

It's just not cold out yet. I mean it's cool, but it's not cold enough to have the heat on or warm enough for the A/C. This means that I turn on my gas heater just to help knock off the chill in the room. It's such a lovely thing to have!

Loving

I bought new running shoes to help prepare me for my Spartan Race in March, and they are WONDERFUL! My feet don't hurt and there is a lot of support. 

Thinking

Now that Day Light Savings Time is here, my body has to adjust to the time change. It just seems so late!! My body is trying to tell me that it's time to get into bed, ha ha.

Wanting

I taught a good friend of mine how to make REAL Italian cannolis this weekend. They are one of my favorite desserts. Well, since the shells contain gluten I can't have any. So sad!! I was going to set some filling aside for myself, but she used a wooden spoon that had gluten on it.....rats!!! Now I am on a mission to make gluten free cannoli shells.

Needing

I just need to be on my big vacation. I haven't been on a vacation in YEARS! It's time to get out of the country for a while. Come on May 25th!!!!

Yummy Pin

I love taco salads, but this one is on the lighter side. It doesn't have meat! What?? Then how can it be good?? Well, the beans are seasoned with the taco seasoning and is a GREAT meat replacer. You can eat a whole bunch and not feel guilty. 

Currently September

It's already September??? This is just too hard to believe. We are working on our 3rd week of school and fall is quickly approaching. Goodness!!

Since it's the beginning of the month, I figured that I would link up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade's Currently.

Listening: I love having the time to stay in my PJs all day and do nothing! Listening to the birds outside is just so relaxing! 

Loving: At the beginning of the year, I clean out my room and wanted to make my room a little bit more cheerful. Well, I came across this idea on Pinterest to use paper plates on my bulletin board. This was a great idea for my daily data. It gives it a nice finish that really brightened up my room, not to mention moving it to my daily data to the bulletin board helped too. Even my co-workers had to copy the idea! That is a huge deal since I am NOT a artsy-fartsy type person, ha ha ha. 

Here's the Pinterest picture

Here's my board

Thinking: As season begin to change, I want to try new recipes that reflect the change of seasons (weird, I know). I found two different gluten free/paleo recipe books that have some pretty good things in them. 

One of the books that I bought. Love it!

Wanting: I want to be able to wear my sweaters! Plain and simple! 

Needing: Yes, I did mention needing to do Christmas shopping. My family lives in Michigan and I am actually going to visit "home" this year. This means that I can't wait until the last minute to ship their presents from Amazon this year (horrible, I know). What to get, what to get......

Love Your Self: This was really hard to come up with some things..I don't know why. I really need to try and start hiking every weekend in order to be ready for my Spain trip that is coming up in eight months. I have a pile of books that I haven't gotten to yet. They need to get read before I can buy any more. Since I have finished grad school, I have more time to focus on work. However, there is a problem...I have been staying after school until about 5 each night! Why?!?!? I get there about 5:15 in the morning as it is...I don't need to stay after school. I just can't convince myself to leave. 

Getting to Know Me

10 things that you might not know about me!

1. I am a huge nerd! If it has to do with science, math, or literature, I am all about it. There are many times when my teacher friends just give me looks of confusion about things that I think are normal to know, ha ha. I was excited when I found my periodic element magnets at Target and my chemical name labels for my crayons. 

2. I love classic literature. When Barnes and Nobles runs a "buy 2, get one free" on their classic literature, I get super excited! How can someone not go into a bookstore without books anyway?? It's a mystery to me. Those free baskets at Second and Charles are frequently visited by me for those "how could you throw this away" books. 

3. Documentaries are awesome. Over half of my cue on Netflix is documentaries. I have watched everything from pieces about board games and diseases to historical events. It's amazing the amount of information that you can learn from one documentary. I did tell you that I'm a huge nerd. 

4. I love the smell of books. To walk into Second and Charles and take a deep breathe to smell the books is just wonderful. It just puts me in a good mood. One day, I hope that have a room filled with books to be able to capture that old book smell (well...maybe to read them too). Plus, just having a huge library like that is just plain impressive and cool. 

5. I love trying new dishes of food. I am all the time looking at sites for new recipes. There have been some failures, but there also has been a lot of successes too. 

6. I hate painting my toe nails. I know that it's completely random, but I absolutely hate doing it. After I pain those toes, you never know when the next time you'll see them again with color. Also, I don't take it off either. Meaning that there could possibly be a dot of color on my big toe from a year ago. My co-workers have tried to get me to pain them, but it doesn't happen. It's just a big pain in the hinny!!

7. After living in the South for 15 years (wow, I can't believe that it's been that long), I still say "pop". There are just some things that you can't take out of a northern girl. None of my students have ever questioned me the meaning of "pop"...

8. I am deeply involved at my home church. Being a part of the family of God is just so wonderful! 

9. I am NOT a morning person. When I get up, I don't want anyone talking to me or even looking at me. It takes me a good while to wake up in the mornings. Maybe this is why I get to work so early....so I don't have to be bothered by those pesky perky morning people. 

10. I am going to Spain for a month! I can't wait!!!!! I am going to be doing the El Camino de Santiago (aka, The Way) after school is out!

Currently

It's been a busy time for me since school has been out! I've been having my nose to the grind trying to get finished with grad school, getting things ready for my summer job teaching reading/math, and helping out with my kid's camp. Oh, almost forgot....I have been trying to get my training for the El Camino de Santiago underway too (accomplished to hike 11.5 miles with a 15 pound pack!). Busy, busy, busy summer. It's only to get even busier.

I figured that I link up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade's June Currently...it's been awhile. Gives me a nice break from doing grad assignments and icing my wrist from tendonitis.

Listening to those critters and bugs.....I am one of those freaks that does not turn on the a/c until ABSOLUTELY necessary. That thing cost money! Plus there is an attic fan that I can turn on at night to cool the house down. It really does work!

Loving all of my goodies....Things have been coming in the mail left and right! For one thing, I won a $100 gift card from Oriental Trading for Teacher Appreciation Week!! I got all sorts of stuff for my classroom. Some of the things I have been wanting for a while, but was too cheap to buy myself. Plus, there were things I still REFUSED to buy because they were too expensive. See...I am cheap with free money, ha ha ha ha. Everything else has been books for grad school, teaching units, and personal use. Who doesn't like getting package??? LOL.

Thinking about all the kiddos at camp....The A/G in Alabama have summer camp every year for kids and teens. Well, right now it's the kid's turn. So, I have been going to help the lovelies get registered. I am thinking about them constantly; hoping that they are growing in their relationship with the Lord. 

Wanting to go on my trip....I know that I have a little less than a year before I take on the El Camino de Santiago, but I would love to just start now! While I wait, a friend of my did recommend a book that a classmate of his wrote a few years back to help me get ready. Maybe I will get some time to read it over the summer. 

Needing to stop being so lazy.....I was just telling my mother about how I have not moved from my little area in the living room today. Lazy hefer!!!!!! I know that I have been working away on some school assignments. But that is not excuse to stay in the same spot all day. I've got to get moving tomorrow!!!!

3 vacation essentials.....1) a book--I love to read. No vacation is complete without a good book to get lost in. That leads into #2, a comfy chair. Love reading a book in a big comfy chair, one that I can just fall asleep in if I want. 3) Have to have a good beverage. I prefer good ol' H2O. It's my trusty friend that will always quench my thirst. 

Currently

I have linked up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade for February's Currently.

I have to admit that I love 30 Rock. I'm sort of sad that it is over, but at least it ended before it turned bad like a lot of shows. 

Just before New Years, I wrecked my car. Well, a few weeks later I found out that it was totaled. This meant that I was on the look out for a new ride. I was able to get a Corolla! I'm so excited!! Not excited about the car payment, but I can't complain since I have something to drive now. 

May 2014 is the year that I am taking a pilgrimage to Spain. I know that there is some time to get ready, but there are SO many things that I don't have. Camino de Santiago forums are my new addiction which means I am getting overwhelmed of all the things that I have to have before I leave the country for a little over a month. I can feel a LONG LONG list coming, ha ha ha. 

My relationship with Christ is the most important thing to me. There are many things that I am reading and studying right now that shows me how much I need to go deeper. This so exciting because I can't wait to look back to see how far I have come. My relationship with Christ defines who I am and how I conduct myself. 

There are several assignments that I have to get done for my graduate class, but I really don't want to do them. This will probably mean that I will wait until the last minute like I do with most of my assignments. One day this is going to "bite my in the be-hind".

I know that getting poked/tapped seems like a silly pet peeve, but it just goes right through me. When my students tap/poke me, I give them the look of death before asking them what they need. Sometimes I will say "DON'T TAP ME!"...I just can't help it. 

Friday LINK-UP

Hello my fellow bloggers. I'm linking up with The 3AM Teacher letting everyone know that I've had a BUSY week but some great times. Here are my 5 things:

1. Oh my word...It's been one busy week! The bigger contributor to this was yesterday's SNOW!!! Yes, it snowed in Alabama! Even though I am from Michigan and am used to snow, it doesn't snow in Alabama very often. When it snows.....everything STOPS. 

It started snowing around 9:30, so our principal came over the intercome to let everyone know that it was okay to go outside. YAY!! My kids had a GREAT time! They ran and played hard. There was wet pants and shoes, muddy clothes, and wet hair; but they all had a WONDERFUL time.

Even the teachers stopped to take a picture in the snow, ha ha ha. 

When it came to dismissal...um...it was CRAZY!! The school closed at 2, but it was hard for parents to come because of the snow. Many were stuck on the roads--behind people that were in car accidents. Roads were closed everywhere. Many of the teachers didn't get to leave until 4. There were many phone calls between the parents and I trying keep updates of where they were. 

Needless to say, I was SO glad when I was able to leave to get into my PJs! While driving home, I got to see many kids out in the snow playing--making those wonderful memories. Love it! 

2. As I posted yesterday, my follower gadget was broken. However, I found at site that helped me fix it! Yay!!!

3. There hasn't been much funny that has happened, but I do have one of my students keeps on wearing these large "nerd" glasses just because. Oh, they are fake....at least it's something silly that I am able to ignore rather than something more serious.

4. I do have to say that I am excited that I am able to start planning my next literature unit about chocolate. I'm going to be using The Chocolate Touch for the text. This is going to work out good for my graduate practicum since I can use those plans for the class. Two for one..whoot whoot.

5. I just want to say that I am thankful that I have Monday off. It will give me some time to recover from this week, and prepare for the WEEKs to come!

Making Progress and To Do List Linky Party

These past 2 weeks have been crazy busy with getting my classroom ready. Those little kiddos will be back August 20th!! AAAAHHHH!! There is still SO much to do before I am ready!

The first order of business was to get my classroom library in my computer system and reorganized. I did not know how big of a task that was going to be with over 700 books. It's finally D-O-N-E, done! I wanted to make sure that the books were separate by genres and have a good check-out system. Now that everything is online, I think it will be much easier to keep track of those books.

There were just SO many books to organize! Ha ha.

Here it is finished. Well, almost. I still have to put down the rug and clean it, but the hardest part is finished.

I was able to get most of my classroom put back together without any problems. Of course, I still have some work to do to make it perfect.

This is view from my desk. Luckily my desk doesn't take up much room since it's like a small personal student desk for a bedroom. I am still wanting to fix the cabinets that have the focus walls. Hhhmmm, that's going to take some thinking.

This is from my door. 

This is from the front of the classroom. You see that huge bulletin board? I found this simple phrase to put up since I am NOT creative or crafty.

These are my new station baskets. One set for the morning RTI time, another for reading, and the last set is for math workshop. Yay! I'm just proud that it's colorful and fun ;)

Before I left school for the day, I sat down and made my to-do list, and joined the "To Do List Linky Party" by The Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies. Man is it long!! I am hoping to get most/all of these things done this week so I can make another one to tackle. 

On another note, I am wondering if the people at Target, Walmart, and the various Dollar Trees are starting to recognize me. I am finding that I am making SEVERAL trips each week to all of these stores. I just don't want to miss out on the great deals for all of the nifty/cheap school supplies. Each time I go there is always something new that I am able to use. I am going to have to start telling my friends that I am not able to out for lunch because I am broke from all of this shopping that I have been doing lately! What is sad that none of it has been for me!! 

This coming year is going to fabulous though...I just know it. I might be a little rocky since HALF (not lying!!) of my grade level will be starting their maternity leave at the beginning of this year. Another one is just coming back from maternity leave, ha ha (you don't want to drink the water at my school :p)!!

http://www.fabulous4thgradefroggies.com/2012/07/to-do-or-not-to-do-so-many-things-on-my.html

Upper Elementary Linking Party

We all know that it can be hard to find those 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade resources at times. Well, come join the linking party at Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies with other upper elementary teachers. We all need to stick togther! Ha ha ha.