Lazy Sundays? Not in my house!

So far, so good... I'm keeping my promise!

Well, since last weekend and this past week (which we had a full week of, FINALLY) have been devoted to school, this weekend was devoted to hubby and I!

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions, things thrown at me from all directions, and a minor freak-out because I realized I have 2.5 months to finish my internship hours, since January left us with a mess.  I got a new student while we had our planning day on Thursday, and then worried about it all day because I was worried she wouldn't know what to do!  Lucky for me, my amazing class of kids took care of her. They are too sweet!

On my way home Friday, he informed me I needed to go to FedEx to pick up a package.

Let me give some background... Hubster is not spontaneous.

Like ever.

So for me to be receiving a present made me all kinds of giddy inside! I, of course, begged and begged for him to tell me what it was, but he wouldn't budge.  He told me I'd find out once I picked it up, haha. What a stinker.

So, I got to FedEx and it turns out he got me a Valentine's present early (another thing he doesn't normally do--Man, marriage turned him into a mushy guy)!!

Since he surprised me with delicious strawberries, we decided to celebrate our 6 month anniversary early and pop open the Moet and Chandon my best friend got us for our wedding shower.

We felt very fancy drinking such fancy champagne!  It was definitely the perfect way to end a long week and celebrate with my husband who I never get the chance to see.

The rest of the weekend has been devoted to spending time together, and I loved every second of it. Today I decided to embark on a few Pinterest endeavors I have had stored up in my brain.

First stop: organizing all my clothes!  I started by doing this drawer a few weeks ago:

 I loved it so much (because everything was easier to find!), that I took my other drawers that looked like this:

 And turned them into this:

I've been working on my closet over time. It's organized by colors, and then from shortest sleeve to longest. It may seem a little OCD, but it makes choosing outfits in the morning SO much easier!

And last, but not least... all my scarves and belts!  I must admit, I have a small obsession with buying scarves. I love them, and I wear them all the time... Spring, fall, summer, winter, it doesn't matter!

So, obviously, I need a way to store them. Because the following wasn't working:

About a year ago, I invested in a rack of hooks to hang in the closet.  I picked white since the walls are white in our apartment. I hung it up, and it became a "hanging station" and I just stuck all my belts and scarves and bags on it with no organization. So naturally, I decided to redo it today.

I hung it up and put my 5 million belts on the end (I reorganized them after this picture).

Then I tied and hung up all my scarves, mostly by color.  I think it looks really pretty hanging up!

In addition to cleaning up the house, we cooked breakfast (french toast), lunch (baked potato grilled cheese), and dinner (bacon wrapped sirloin with green beans and stuffing) while watching the Olympics and working on school stuff.  Then we topped it off with an amazingly easy dessert!

So, that's my weekend! We're in the process of watching the new Walking Dead!  Hopefully next week, I'll have some school stuff to blog about!

P.S. In case you were wondering... this is what a baked potato grilled cheese looks like:

Staging a comeback...

Well, clearly starting a blog during grad school and wedding planning was a BAD idea.

Because my life has been C-to the-R-to the-AZY!

Anyways... what better way to stage a comeback than with Farley's Currently.
I am noticing a trend. I seem to do this in February...

Maybe it's because I'm feeling all the LOVE!

My new year's (late by a month) resolution is to blog at least once every two weeks. My goal would be to blog every Sunday, since I know I have a little more time, but I also need to be realistic.  And, I promise to post fun things I'm doing in my classroom instead of my life. Hopefully.

So, I'm just going to get RIGHT to it.  Here's my February Currently:

LISTENING: My cat loves curling up next to me and sleeping.  He only does it when daddy is gone, or showering... But I still love it, nevertheless.  He refuses to lay ON my lap, so I have to accept that he will lay next to me, all cuddled up.

LOVING: We went to brunch in DC for a good friend of mine this morning, and during brunch, they put on a fabulous drag show.  I saw booties that looked WAY better than mine ever will in booty shorts. And the most fabulous maitre-de Justin (not my husband), who took over and danced his way around the restaurant.

THINKING: I have been so out of the loop with school, between flu and snow days.  Therefore, school has been on my mind all weekend!  I have spent hours pouring over Pinterest ideas. My kids will think, "What happened to Ms. Wood? Where's the old, boring teacher?"

WANTING: I love Peyton Manning. He's my graduation speaker in May. So, I'm biased. I want him to win and retire on top. I'm not saying he SHOULD retire. Because he shouldn't. But, he might, and if he does, I hope he gets to end his career being THE BEST.

NEEDING: No more freaking snow days, Mother Nature.  Do you hear me??? NO MORE. I only got 6 complete 8 am to 3 pm days with my lovelies last month. SIX!!! That is blasphemy!

2 TRUTHS AND A FIB:
1. I spent my two teacher workdays doing internship hours and fell in LOVE with middle school.  I think a lot of it had to do with who I was job shadowing and the interactions between the teachers and students.  But I loved it.  Every darn second.  And don't be scared. The kids were way sweeter than I expected!
2. During college, I spent a summer in Copake, NY as a counselor.  It was a very interesting experience, because I grew up in a Christian house.  But almost every single kid from the camp was Jewish, so I learned about challah, said the prayer each Friday night at dinner, and learned about some of their bat-mitzvahs.  For a white girl from the 'burbs, I loved every second of it.
3. FIB! Justin loves curling, and I find it the most boring sport on the planet.  I give them credit, because they do need to be smart and logical, and whatever. But I find it soooooooo boring. And hubs will watch it for HOURS. Needless to say, I'm glad I'm busy and won't see much of the Olympics!

So that's that.  Please link up with Farley!

I'm Back!!

Talk about a hiatus!

Well my bloggy friends, I am finally back, and I've got lots to share!

This past year has kicked my buns big time.  I took two classes in the fall and spring semester, plus teaching full time with a new team, and planning my wedding. Add in dance class, meaning an end of year recital thrown in there and you can get an idea of the crazy! This summer, the man and I finally got married on August 10th (don't worry, pictures to follow) and it was the BEST day ever!

So... what better way to stage a comeback than with a Farley Currently!

Listening: I am so in love with this show! Every summer, I look forward to the new batch of talent and loveliness that is these amazing dancers. I am always so impressed at how far they push the envelope.  And this year, Aaron (my tapper favorite) and Jasmine STOLE my heart. Completely. I can't wait to find out who will win next week.

Loving: I switched grades this year, and I am in LOVE with older kids! In past years, unpacking supplies would take HOURS. You get it. HOURS. This year? 30 minutes. That's IT!!!! I was in shock. This is also a group of kiddos that I have had/known since they were firsties, which is fun!

Thinking: I need to get back into it. I have been impeccably lazy since the wedding, and I was not ready at all for school to start, much less change grades last minute (more about that later).

Wanting: This time of year is so full of craziness, so J and I are really trying to make time to just be a newlywed couple.  We got away for Labor Day weekend with my family, which was awesome!

Needing: Extra time. Enough said. I don't think that needs any more elaboration!

Love for muh-self: J and I have tried a running regimen, and haven't stuck to anything yet, so my goal is to start slow.  I'm also starting up with teaching dance again next week, so I need to download some good tap music for my girls (who I adore). I am thinking some Gaga and Katy Perry! And I am super excited about helping two of my teammates as they start their journey with the Daily 5. I figure I'm going to need tons of their help, so I'm looking forward to being able to help them out a bit!

So, I am looking forward to reading about others' September Currentlys, and I am hoping to get on here quite a bit more this school year!



On to my last three weeks...
August 9/10: J and I got married!  We had our wedding at a little old amusement park about 40 minutes from where we live that is now an art center. I fell in love at field trips, and when we found out we could rent it, we were both sold!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Rehearsal dinner!

This one is by our fabulous photographer! Maura was amazing!!

Week of August 17/18: Starting setting up for my sixth graders.  The boys I watch in the summer came in with me and helped me start unpacking, and we spent the last week of summer doing some fun stuff!

Last Monday, August 26: First day teachers are required to report back... We found out we had to destaff a teacher! :o( I was so sad to see her go! And then, of course, rumors began as to what was going to happen with shifting people around. So I went to my AP and asked him if I should continue to unpack. He said no. Which meant for one brief hour in time, I could have been a 3rd grade teacher. After the year I had and the mental prep work I did to get ready for sixth, I can tell you honestly... I would have been an awful teacher this year in that scenario!  But, fortunately, I had some friends with clout who were looking out for me, and with a few shifts, I ended up in fifth grade. 

Tuesday: Sat in my room and stared. At. The. Mess. A few people offered help, but I didn't even know what to start with. I was a mess. I came home and cried a little. I'm not ashamed.

Wednesday: Took up our IA on offering to help, and my classroom actually LOOKED like one by 3pm.  Then J came by for 4 HOURS after work to help me have it ready for open house. Have I mentioned to all of you how fabulous my husband is?  It takes a real man to marry a teacher!

Thursday: Open house in the afternoon... The kids were so confused with my name and grade change! Lots of past kiddos came to say hi and take pictures and ask about the wedding.  Luckily, I was able to whip out the handy iPhone and show them my pictures!  Needless to say, I was exhausted, but J and I then went shopping after the day was done, followed by our weekly workout. Which I need to do more of since the wedding. Pretty sure my dress would not fit the same today as it did 3 weeks ago, tee hee.

Friday: Finished up the little things to be ready for the kiddos and planned out some stuff with my team!

I know that's totally the abridged version, but I didn't want to bore everyone with all the minute details of what I did.  I promise to post about day 1 and have some classroom reveal pictures in a few days!

For now, it's time for bed! My very patient husband waited up while I blogged, so it's time to get some rest for day 2!!

Color Run, Pinterest, and the craziest week ever...

Last Sunday I completed the HAPPIEST 5K on the planet. It seriously was.  I've never been around so many happy people in my LIFE. I loved every second of it. Here are my highlights:

{All the people at the color festival}

{The throwing of the colors and us in the street afterwards with our awesome eye protection}

If you ever get the chance, DO IT! It was so fun! And I totally followed their directions by spraying my shirt with vinegar afterwards so the corn starch didn't all wash out, and it worked! It's a dull color, but my shirt still has the purple, orange, green, blue, pink and yellow that made me so happy that day!

I ran the race. Came home and napped. And I'm glad I did.

Because...

...everything in my life started back the SAME week this week.

I do mean everything.

Dance class.

Grad school.

Back to School Night.

[You get the picture]

Which means I had no time for life until today.

During which I did EVERYTHING and felt like freaking Martha Stewart. Which is fine by me. I wish I could have days like today EVERY day!

{Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese and vanilla frosting for those of us lactose intolerant peeps}

Anywho... Basically every day this week I was out of the house for 14 hours, or more.

Proof:

Monday, straight through from morning until Back to School Night was over at 9. I was so excited to meet every single parent (they all came--yay!), and they are all so wonderful!

Tuesday, I had to go straight from school to class and was there until 9, which didn't get me home until 9:30.

Wednesday, dance classes started, so I left straight from school to the studio and taught 2 hours of tap and then reconfigured the schedule until about 7:30. Then I needed to pick up dinner for the future hubs and I, so I didn't get home until 8:30. :o(

Thursday, we had Insanity (which I love and is the one thing I do for me), so I stayed with my next door classroom neighbor, and got some stuff done around the classroom, and then worked out hard core from 7-8 pm and went home.

Then on Friday, I had my second grad school class right after school. Thankfully, she let us out "on time" and she is wonderful! I'm going to learn so so so so so so so much from her!  I had the class again on Saturday from 9-3, and I took so many notes! She's so inspiring and engaging, and she hates textbooks as much as we do! :o) Yay!

The fiancé and I went to a super nice dinner last night followed by a trip to the Bulls-eye (Target). It was so nice to have a real date and enjoy each other. He's seriously my rock (I know I gush about him all the time, but he's the best ever) and he just knows how to make me smile.

So that was my week in a nutshell and why I haven't had the chance to read ANYTHING, but I'll be back on tomorrow night and see what everyone's doing!

Today, I was Pinterest crafting while grading my pre-assessments for spelling and math so I can see who knows what and start doing some grouping.  Here's some of the things I made!!

 {Copied this exactly--future hubs loves it}

 {One of 4 1/2 loads of laundry I accomplished while organizing and grading}

{My new croc shirt. Lacoste style with the Ducko twist.}

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend and relaxed more than I did! I feel so good with what I accomplished today, so working through the Steelers game was so worth it!

Have a great week!!!

Currently September and classroom pictures!

So, when I got home today, I was feeling pooped.

I mean that wiped out, exhausted kind of pooped where all you want to do is go home and take a nap, but you can't because you have 50 million things to do.

But we made it through the first day of school!!!! ANNNNNNND I'm going to toot my own horn... *toot toot* because I made it through all of my lesson plans!  I mean, I seriously did everything except our end of the day reading time. :o)

So, I was looking through my blogs to get updated, and I saw everyone's "currently" (sponsored by the funniest flipping teacher ever, Ms. Farley) and since I've been such a super slacker, I wanted to link up!!!!

Here's my currently:

I totally forgot to add Grand Canyon to my favorites.... see my last post for pictures of our trip!!!!!!!

And, here are some crappy iPhone pictures of my classroom... I'm seriously mad that the camera on my phone is going kaput.

But, I'm over it!!

No, seriously, it's totally cool that the camera sucks all of the sudden.

Maybe...

Ok, not really, but since we saw this motivational speaker (Jon Gordon) last week who was all about positivity, I'm trying to complain less.  It's not really working so far, but I'm going to keep trying. :o)

Anywho.... here's the super-duper pictures that my awesome camera phone took. :o)

 Found some ADORBS posters on TPT for the CAFE, and made my circle headers to go with them.  I love this board.  The camera phone had an epic fail on producing the cuteness factor on this one.

 The library shifted big time this year... It's so open and the kiddies love it so far!

 My cute little Pinterest seat crates that took me forever and a day to make! But I love love love them, and I helped my teams make some this weekend!

 More Pinteresting!!! I recovered the yucky blucky teacher chair with zebra fabric! And I love my objectives boards.  The kiddos were so cute today guessing which colors were for what subjects as we colored our notebooks!

 Love my word wall this year.  My neighbor (see our not-so-hidden secret doorway, also known as our lifesaver and sanity keeper) gave me the idea to put the border, and I think it's super cute and eye catching.  My GR table is in front of it, but it was a hot mess, so I made sure it wasn't in the picture!

 My neighbor says it's like a party on the other side of the door when the door is open because of my bunting. :o) Love it!

Hope everyone's having fun!  Thanks to Farley for another great currently.  Hopefully this one gets me on the ball with posting more often!

Behind the 8 ball and my TPT store!

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I totally have had the craziest summer ever!!  Grad school went through mid July, so I was a total slacker this summer.  Then school started back up, and we all know how that goes! I've been decorating, cleaning, moving, and organizing my fabulous little second grade room.  And we had open house Thursday (yay!).  My kiddos are fabulous and wonderful and there's only 23 of them, so that's 7 less than last year, which means more room to move and groove! :o)

So this summer... the future hubs and I went on the most fabulous vacation of all time.  We headed out west for the first time ever, and he took his first plane ride! We went to the Grand Canyon and then stayed a few days in Vegas.  It was super relaxing, and we realized we travel well together.  Which, of course, is always a bonus!

Here are some of the highlights of our trip!

 This was the beautiful view from our hotel in Flagstaff.  I was amazed at how gorgeous everything is out west!  I told J I would move in a heartbeat. :o)

 The first day there, it rained, so we traipsed around Flag and found an awesome observatory to hang out at.  Just so happened to be the same one that discovered Pluto.  So I had to buy myself a nerd shirt, of course.

The Grand Canyon was seriously the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!  The pictures were all amazing, and they still don't do it justice.  I was also very impressed by J's daring attitude climbing all over everything!

 On our way back to Vegas, we stopped at the Hoover Dam.  The first picture is from INSIDE, and the other is from the top looking over it!  We of course took the dam tour with the dam tour guide and he let us take all the dam pictures we wanted, haha!

We had so much fun seeing all the crazy people and things in Vegas!  I loved the Bellagio fountains, and this giant shoe we found inside the Cosmopolitan hotel.  I think I embarrassed the fiancé having him take my picture... but it was only appropriate!

This is us on our negative one anniversary.  We went to an awesome dinner out and then saw LOVE!

And on our last night, we had to eat at Serendipity!  The frozen hot chocolate was so, so yummy!


Ok, so now that I'm caught up and back to reality, I wanted to share that I finally started my own TPT store!  I don't have much in there so far, but as I create and make, I will share throughout the year!

I hope everyone is off to a fabulous start to the year.  My first day is on Tuesday, with my sweet little kiddos!  I'll post pictures of the room soon, I promise!