I Forgot I Had a Blog!

No, really... I forgot.  I haven't made a post in SO long that I just forgot!  I remembered about a week ago, and I've been trying to figure out what to share with everyone ever since.

I have been SO busy.  I know what you are thinking... wedding planning, right?  Not at all!  I have so many other things I need to do that I don't have much time to worry about the wedding!  Hopefully I will get to that soon.  I honestly have so much going on that I have 3 seperate to do lists going on right now.  I will break the rest of my post down according to my to do lists!

Wedding:  I already said I haven't worried much about the wedding.  I feel like I have most of the important stuff picked out.  Except flowers.  I haven't made a decision on flowers.  But, I have the venue... we do need to decide on what kind of food we want though.  I have designed a cake, picked a place to do it, and paid for it.  I picked my dress out a while ago and it already came in!  It fits almost perfectly... as long as I can lose a couple inches on my back (yes... my back) I don't think I will need to get it altered.  I have gotten my gifts for all my bridesmaids, my flower girl and ring bearer.  I have started picking out stuff to use for center pieces.  Chris and I already registered.  That was so much fun!  More for me than Chris, though.  We have dates set for a couple of the showers.  Save the dates have been sent (shout out to Pam Leach who took us out for a cold morning of pics to get the perfect save the date!).  I guess I will start thinking about invitations soon.  We met with our DJ last weekend to start thinking of songs.  Honestly, everything that is left are small details.  It makes me feel overwhelmed when I think about ALL of the small things, but I will take it one day at a time and get it done.  June will be here before I know it!

Home:  I have an actual to do list for things I need to do that don't fit into the wedding category and aren't work related.  I have been in the process of getting more organized upstairs in the living room that I sort of use as a craft room.  Chris calls it a crap room because of all my stuff!  We are still making pickles from time to time, but we don't have to as much because we have a decent stash built up already made.  I really need to do my taxes.  I have put it off because I need to get a copy of my return from last year (its on a computer that doesn't work at the moment), and I need to figure out all of my itworks! stuff.  Speaking of itworks!... I want to put more effort into it because I found out they are offering the G.O.O.D bonus again.  That stands for get out of debt!  If I make it to a certain point (which I am far from) I can get a $10,000 bonus to go towards paying off debt!  What an awesome company!  I went to an old friend's house last night to wrap her.  I had a really good time.  It was actually my second time this week to see her.  My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this year.  So, the class officers got together to start planning, and she was one of them.  It was really good to see everyone... I laughed a lot!  And we went to I Fratelli, which I don't go to often, so I really enjoyed that.  Their chips and dip are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I didn't think I would be planning my ten year reunion at the same time I was planning my wedding, but I also was voted class officer like 11 years ago!  I had no idea what I would be doing in 2013!  So, I got to see my friend, Lauren, again last night while I wrapped her.  I ended up staying longer than I meant to, which put me right in the middle of traffic (a SHUT DOWN highway) on my way home.  It made my trip home (which should have been 20 minutes) turn into a 2 hour trip!  I was so exhausted, I was almost falling asleep the whole way home!  I cried most of it too.  I just felt so helpless!  There was NOTHING I could do about the fact that I was traveling at 3 miles per hour! 

School:  This time of year is crazy busy!  I am getting ready for cheerleading tryouts right now.  Tryouts are next Wednesday.  We actually take every girl that tries out, but we still hold tryouts.  I am in the process of trying to get more girls to sign up!  We only have 4 that have turned in packets.  I am hoping for at least 12!  Wish me luck.  I also have taken on a HUGE task of filling in for our science department chair while she is out on maternity leave.  I was under the impression that all I was required to do was go to 2 district meetings that she would be unable to attend and bring back the info to the department. Saying I was wrong about that is an understatement!  I have had to miss a day and a half of school to go to trainings.  I have attended 4 meetings.  I had to plan out the planetarium field trip for the 8th graders.  I had to place our supply order for next year.  I am still in the process of getting the 8th grade teachers set on their station reviews for the STAAR test.  I was actually given a whole day off to work on this project.  It was greatly appreciated, but I still have a lot to do.  Next week is the last week of the 6 weeks, and I have a ton of kids failing.  That means I will have a ton of kids coming in to make up their grades.  I am helping out with Saturday School tomorrow for a teacher that is busy.  Oh well, at least I get paid for that!

Anyway, I'm going to do my best to make it through next week.  Hopefully I will get some sleep.  We are going to Arkansas for a good friends wedding next weekend.  Maybe I will get some ideas! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

It's Gonna Be A Good Year...

Oh wait!  It's gonna be a GREAT year!  So, I turned 28 a couple of weeks ago. It sounds SO OLD!  I know it's not... I know people live to be a lot older than 28, so it's relatively still quite young.  But to me, it sounds weird saying that I am TWENTY-EIGHT!  This year (not 2012, but my 28-year-old-year) I will be getting married.  It's getting so close I can feel it!  I will also be  buying my first house!  That is so exciting in itself.  All the responsibility that comes along with it makes me a little nervous, but I honestly think I am a pretty responsible person and I think I can handle it.  Chris and I still don't know 100% sure where we want to end up, but there are a few places that I know we would both be happy with.  I guess that is where we will start looking.  

We are going to Vegas this weekend!  Our good friends, Joel and Marie, are getting married this Saturday.  We knew they were getting married this winter but were somewhat surprised when we opened the invite and saw it was in Vegas!  We didn't even hesitate... went and booked our flight and hotel right then.  We are staying at Bally's.  It is going to be a blast... Expect a post next week.  You heard me, NEXT week.  I plan on trying to blog a little more often.  

Speaking of weddings... did I say how close mine is getting?!  I know I still have a little over 6 months, but I know it will fly by.  I am hoping to be able to get everything done and paid for that needs to be done and paid for in time.  I'm sure I will, I just need to devote some time to it a few times a week to sit down and make some decisions.  We haven't even made a final copy of our guest list yet!  We still have about 40 or so people too many invited!  Maybe I will revisit it tonight.  :)  Who am I kidding?  I won't.  I have too many other things I am trying to do.  One thing I really want to do is make some labels.  Laura and I make delicious pickles and candied jalapenos.  I have a lot of teachers that buy them for themselves, and some of them decided to purchase them and give them as Christmas gifts.  One of the teachers has asked me to create a label to put on them so that she can promote us and our "business".  It's more of a hobby.  It takes a lot of time, but it's fun and we have ended up making a decent amount of money.  I mean, it is going to pay for my wedding favors that I am handing out!  Well, we are kinda having some trouble coming up with a name for the pickles and jalapenos.  I think we have decided to call them "Double Dutch Pickles" because they were made (with love) by two Holland girls!  Isn't that cute?  But, to me that is more of a company name and not really a name for the pickles, you know?  Hopefully I will come up with something... I really need to print those labels!

I also have some crafting that I was hoping to start this week before I left for Vegas.  My sister Kim makes these AWESOME paper wreaths that are super cute for Christmas gifts.  I am planning on making them for my teacher friends!  Speaking of teacher friends, I need to go hang out with them in the hall because the bell is about to ring!  I love the end of the day!

Until next time...

I Did It Again...

... I got caught up in life and didn't take the time to write about it.  I feel like SO MUCH has happened but at the same time, I can't really think of any of it to share!  I can think of everything I plan on doing THIS week!  Why am I blogging at 8 am on a Monday morning? I'm not being bad and doing this during work time... I am off all week!  Oh the perks of being a teacher!  I am about to start cutting coupons, go figure... and then who knows what?  There are so many options.  My "To Do List" is 16 items long and still growing.  It will probably take a while to cut the coupons because I have quite a few to cut, then I will probably get started on a bunting to make for a friend.  I am having lunch this week with a friend from Middle School/Highschool and am so looking forward to it!  She is expecting and is pretty close (due sometime in January?) so I want to give her one of my "famous" buntings :) If I can coupon and do a bunting today before I go to my chiropractic appointment, I will feel accomplished! I decided to go see a chiropractor because I have always had a small continuous pain all through my back.  I pop my back on my own daily, and I thought I had a rib out of place.  (When I lay on my back, my left side looks normal but my right side has an indention)  Laura and I did a craft fair type thing at the Irving YMCA where she took her Mary Kay stuff and I took our homemade pickles and candied jalapenos.  It was SO cold but also a lot of fun.  Anyway... my booth was next to a booth offering free spinal checks.  I ended up talking to the girl, and she told me they were offering a deal to go see the chiropractor for an evaluation, get x-rays and a follow-up consultation for $20!  (Normally like a $400 value!)  I decided to go for it because I have been thinking about going lately anyway.  I'm really glad I did!  I have many subluxations (where the vertebrae are not laying right), my hips are misalligned by 6 mm, the curve in my lower back and neck are off by over an inch, and the bottom of my spine is totally crooked!  I started going for adjustments last week.  I will be going 3 times a week for 12 weeks, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what difference it actually makes!  And this office is totally cool because they do therapy along with the adjustments.  And, it is open concept... so it basically is a large room that everyone is in most of the time.  Everyone is so friendly... everyone talks to everyone, and it makes it fun!  If anyone is interested in getting checked out, you can use my name as a referral and get the whole thing I got for $20 for free! 

Off to start couponing!

Taking a Second To Brag a Little Bit...

This has just been SUCH a busy year!  I really didn't think that going from 6 periods to 8 (which makes them go from 65 minutes to 45) would make such a big difference at school this year, but IT DID!!!!!  At the beginning of the year I was so behind every day!  I had so many things on my to do list that grew daily!  I didn't think I would ever catch up... but I did!  I have actually had a really good year. 

I found out today that I was voted "Teacher of The Six Weeks"!  At my old school, we had teacher of the month, so there were 9 (or 10) teachers that were able to get that title each year.  I even got it once there.  But at my new school, they only do it once a 6 weeks, so only 6 teachers get that title.  It's really cool because it is the staff that votes on it, so I feel like it is an extremely nice award to receive.  I was voted for the 1st 6 Weeks!  It will be announced tomorrow. 

Today, I also got a really nice email.  Our instructional specialist (which is a relatively new position) goes to a lot of district meetings.  She was at one this morning.  When she got back she sent me an email saying that each of the specialists had to pick out some "Rockstar" teachers for specific categories.  She wanted to let me know that she gave my name for the "Rockstar" teacher... I think it was in the higher level questioning category?  I don't remember, but it was nice of her anyway!

Anyway... that put me in a good mood! 

I'm about to go eat dinner... smells yummy!

Holy Moly...

I can't believe I haven't posted since the start of school!  I have been SO BUSY! There is just always so much to do at the beginning of the year.  My "To Do" list is never-ending.  Every time I cross something off I add at least two more things!  And yes, a lot of the things on there aren't that important to get done immediately (like alphabetize the 140 lab safety contracts that were turned in and put them in a binder with the alphabet dividers or print the entire copy of the online textbook to have in a binder with all of the attachments separated by dividers) but my OCD self won't let me not do it.  I can't even let myself take it off the list for now to get the more important things done.  I JUST HAVE TO DO IT ALL!!!!!  I have been getting to the school by 6:30 and I have stayed late the past couple of days, but my list is still fills up the page.  You know how if you make a to do list you only use half of the page because most of the items are shortened?  I made my list and then turned the page upside-down to utilize the other half!  

BUT, even with all the things I have to do I have to say that I really have enjoyed the school year so far.  Last year was a rough group.  They had AT-TI-TUDES!  They didn't care about school, only their friends.  They were a pretty defiant group.  The other teachers couldn't believe how bad they were... but I had seen much worse behavior at my previous school.  Still, they were a rough group... no denying it!  I am loving my kids this year!  All the sixth grade teachers are loving them.  I have a few talkative classes, but overall, it is really nice!  I guess the trade off of having well-behaved kids is that they are pretty low.  I can tell a huge difference especially in my honors class.  I am surprised at some of the kids that are labeled as honors.  I am hoping they are just rusty from the summer :)  I have one boy... we'll call him "D"... that I'm going to have a rough year with.  He wasn't put in school until the 4th grade.  Then, on top of all of that, he was absent most of his 4th and 5th grade year.  He can't read.  He doesn't know how to socialize with kids his age.  He whines.  He is hard to understand.  It's sad, but more than anything it's annoying.  Why would a parent do that to their child?  They must love him so much they want him to live at home for the rest of his life because as of right now he wouldn't survive on his own.  

What I find kind of funny is what the 7th grade teachers have to say about our previous students.  Ok, not funny... but now they get to see what we dealt with.  The teachers literally had problems day one with kids saying stuff like, "You can't tell me what to do."  Oh boy... what a year they have in store.

I know I probably didn't mention even a tenth of the things I've done since my last blog, but I need to eat dinner so I can go to bed to get ready for tomorrow!  

First Day of School.

I honestly can't believe that summer is officially over!  My first day of school is tomorrow! As a kids I was always really excited for the first day of school... like the I can't sleep night-before-Christmas kind of excited!  Not anymore.  I mean, I love teaching.  Don't get me wrong.  But, I LOVE summer!  I just really think that deep down inside I am meant to be a stay at home mom.  Of course, Chris and I don't have any kids for me to stay at home with, and we don't really live the kind of life style that could afford it.  But that is by choice.  I really think if we decided that was what was best for us as a family (which I'm hoping we will decide that one day) we would make the sacrifices.  As of right now, teaching is my dream job compared to anything else.  

And I am excited for the first day of school.  If you asked me if I was two weeks ago I would have said no.  But as of right now, I am looking forward to this year.  This will be the first year that I am teaching the same content as the year before.  I taught resource math 6th, 7th, and 8th grades my first year as a long-term sub.  My first actual year of teaching was 6th grade math.  Then I was moved to 7th grade math.  Last year was 6th grade science, and I FINALLY got to stay in the same grade and subject!  I feel like I have a good grip on what it is I'm teaching.  Sure, little things here and there change in lessons and all, but for the most part it's the same!  And after getting my classroom ready over the past couple of weeks, I am even more ready.  My walls were blank at the end of the year last year.  I wasn't sure whether or not I was staying in the same place, so I figured I should go ahead and take it all down.  I figured that even if I ended up in the same room there were a lot of logistics that needed changing.  So, when I got to my room recently this is what I saw:

I got A LOT done!  It isn't 100% completely done, but more than ready to go for tomorrow!  Here is what you would see walking into it now:

This last one has a funny story.  I decided I am going to put some personal things behind my desk: cute posters, some family pics, etc.  I'm not done yet, but I did get started.  I used to have a Twilight poster in my math class at my old school that the kids loved.  So, I decided to get a Hunger Games poster for this year.  I went to Walmart, and the poster section was a huge mess!  They only had one poster on display.  I really liked it.  It was of Katniss.  But, it wasn't in it's bin.  I looked around, and found one that was near the correct bin that I could see the Hunger Games sign on.  I was so excited!  Even thought they are rolled up and that was all I could see I wasn't worried because the Katniss poster seemed to be the only one that was for sale.  Here is what I found when I unrolled it!

Peeta Mellark.  It looks like I have a crush on him just like a lot of the 12-year-old girls I will be teaching this year.  Oh well!  Well, it's time for me to go to bed so I can get up super early to get ready for the 1st day of school!  Happy school year to all of my teacher friends out there... or to anyone who has kids in school!

And I have to admit, I lied earlier.  If you asked me if I could be ANYTHING I wanted to be, like if all options were open, I would want to be a dog.  All they do is eat, sleep, poop, and play!  That's the life... lol.

Not Too Shabby...

... If I don't say so myself! So, my plans of going to the school to work in my room today didn't happen.  I went yesterday for a little less than two hours.  I knew I wouldn't be there all day.  I really only had one thing in mind that I absolutely wanted to get done, but I thought it would take thirty minutes at the most!  I was wrong... I kept changing my mind on how I wanted it done.  Here is a pic of the finished product!

There were many times last year that I would run to the restroom and wish I had brought something with me (feminine product, pony tail holder, dental floss etc.), so I decided I would buy something like this to store those things in that we don't always think about.  I bought these drawers for $10, and I have been buying things that are good deals to go inside.  I figure I will stock it at the beginning of the year and then hopefully the other teachers will get the idea and bring stuff for it.  Yesterday, I filled the inside with the stuff I had bought for it so far.  The top drawer contains 3 air fresheners and a lint roller.  The middle drawer has 3 things of bayer aspirin, cough drops, and a few packs of gum.  The bottom drawer has a package of pads and pantiliners. All of the stuff inside was purchased for less than $8... with coupons of course!  

Speaking of my coupons... the reason I didn't go up to the school today is because I got started couponing this morning.  Chris has two nice ladies he works with that bring him their coupon inserts every Monday.  So on weeks like this one, when I didn't buy a Sunday paper, I can still have access to this weeks coupons!  I cut out and organized the 3 inserts that he received, and then I made a list.  Now, I don't like to make a list and just go to one store to make it convenient.  I like to make as many lists as possible to get the best deals as possible!  So, this morning my list consisted of 5 stores.  I only ended up going to 4 though: Dollar General, Walgreens, CVS, and Tom Thumb.  Here is a pic of the goodies I picked up!

Some of the stuff is hard to see, so I will explain.  I got two boxes of toilet cleaner and two boxes of gain dryer sheets at Dollar General.  Then I got two boxes of tampons and a venus razor at Walgreens.  At CVS, I got a pack of bobby pins, pony tail holders, and hair clips and a jumbo pack of dental flosser picks. My last stop was Tom Thumb.  I got 3 boxes of fruit snacks, three boxes of granola bars, a package of pantiliners, and two packages of pads.  In all, I spent $35.62.  My total should have been $76.21 which gives me a 54% savings.  Some stores were better than others, and I still have $7 in extra bucks to go back and spend at Walgreens.  They don't always like it when you break up your number of transactions, so I plan on going back tomorrow.

The best part was after my shopping I stopped by my gym to get a quick 15 minute massage on the hydro bed.  It was amazing!  I can always use some relaxation after a couple hours of couponing!  I'm about to head to pick up Chris.  Hopefully we can work out tonight, but the main thing I plan on doing is cleaning upstairs... fun, I know!  I'm just so excited about using the new toilet bowl cleaner I got!