Time Out Tuesday: Relax

This kind of goes with last week's TOT (Time Out Tuesday) topic of quiet. Usually when you have quiet, you can relax a little. I know that today I'm super relaxed. As in no worries in the world kind of relaxed. This week there will be only a few posts from me, but I'll explain that more on Sunday :)

I think that our bodies get so tense and stressed, that sometimes we forget what it's like to be relaxed. One reason I love the weekend is that I can unwind. Even if I have something going on that weekend, it's not stressful.  Probably because it usually involves being around friends.

And when my little  big baby of a cat is around, I relax. It's been known that if you pet a furry animal, aka your pet, you relax, your blood pressure goes down, and it's just good for you all around. You feel happier too! And speaking of relaxed, that's something I can learn from Checkers!

Stretched out lol.

Lazy fur baby!

When her head is upside down, that means she is OUT. 

"This art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men." ~ Captain Hadfeld

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul's estate.~ Henry David Thoreau

To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. ~Jane Austen

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I'm still here and I've been tagged

Ok, alright...I can't wait til Sunday when  I come back. I'm on vacation! In Hawaii! My first time too. I'm in O'ahu :) So that is why my posts will be sparse. I will have a Time Out Tuesday post and a Friday Freebie post but that is it. Those I pre-scheduled before I left, not knowing if/when I'd have access to the Internet.

I am so humbled that I was tagged in not 1, not 2, but 3 blogs in the tagging game. I know I'm breaking a bunch of rules, but seeing as I'm on vacation, it's allowed right? I'll answer the questions and give credit to who asked me, but I won't have time to tag 12 people. Besides, I'm sure everyone has just about been tagged right now lol.

12 fun facts about me:

1. I hate heights but have climbed one of the tallest churches ever and I thinks it's the tallest church in Germany.
2. I'm 1/2 German and have family in Germany.
3. I'm an only child.
4. I was valedictorian at my highschool.
5. I can shape my tongue into a clover.
6. I am easily amused over the littlest things.
7. I can play the piano and had lessons since 3rd grade.
8. I love to read and have hundreds lots of books and kid books.
9. I love to travel.
10. I love camping!
11. I love to bake and cook.
12. I'm in Hawaii right now!

Ok I'm starting off with Elizabeth from Fun in Room 4B:
1. How much time do you waste spend online blogging and blog hopping per week?
Way too much time. I'd say probably an hour a day and more on the weekend.
2. Pepsi or Coke?
I'll take either.
3. Are you addicted to Pinterest? If so, what is your favorite board?
Heck to the yes! My favorite board...maybe my DIY board. 
4. Do you have a Smart Phone? Do you use it to take pictures of your class/classroom?
Yes I do but I want an iPhone. And yes I take pictures of the classes I'm in sometimes.
5. What is your favorite movie?
An Officer and a Gentleman. I've been where it's filmed too.
6. What are your hobbies?
Besides blogging and Pinterest, I collect keychains. I'm restraining myself here in O'ahu lol. Also shells and rocks. Again, restraining myself.
7. If you were given $1000 to spend RIGHT NOW, what would you spend it on?
Right now? In Hawaii? Lol. Clothes, Hawaiian necklaces and anklets and cds, and probably another suitcase to put it all in.
8. What SHOULD you be doing right now, but can't pull yourself away from the computer to do?
Absolutely nothing. Already had my shower after the swim. I'm good!
9. Are you teaching your dream grade level?
Nope, I would be happy with anything right. Still no class.
10. What subject is your least favorite to teach?
Usually math.
11. Do you have a TpT store?
No, but it has occured to me.
12. How long have you been blogging?
Since May, so 9 months.

Next is Kelley from Buggy for Second Grade
1. What is your favorite T.V show?
Oh I have so many but Glee or New Girl.
2. Do you have any hobbies?
Blogging, Pinterest, collecting keychains, reading.
3. What was your New Years Resolution?
To keep going with my weight loss (30 pounds so far!) and not stress so much.
4. Are you a dog or cat person?
I like both but have a cat :)
5. What is one color that describes you?
I love blue but if I had a color...my friends would say yellow.
6. What type of music is playing in your car right now?
Rental car has Hawaiian/ Jawaiian music
7. Favorite subject or unit to teach?
Reading/writing
8. How many siblings do you have?
Nada. Zero. It's me, myself and I.
9. How did you husband propose to you?
I'd like to know lol. I'm single.
10. What is your favorite drink?
Um.....flavored water.
11. What is your go-to blog or website for teaching?
TBA of course :)
12. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Watching Jersey Shore. And now you all know!

And finally, my other taggers, Lisa and Beth from Made in the Shade in 2nd Grade

1. What is your favorite movie?

Officer and a Gentleman

2. Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Team Jacob
3. Are you addicted to Pinterest?
Yes...I don't know how you can join Pinterest and not be addicted lol.
4. What is your favorite teaching moment?
When they get the 'aha' look.
5. What is your favorite teaching book?
Love Debbie Miller.
6. If you weren't a teacher... What other career would you pursue?
I was really good in journalism and won awards, so maybe something with newspapers. Or maybe a chef.
7. What's your favorite read aloud?
Hmmm so many but I love reading Skippy Jon Jones.
8. Are you a pet owner?
 I have a gorgeous calico named Checkers.
9. Do you have a bad habit?
Stressing out over little things.
10. Are you a Smart Phone user?
Yes, but I want to upgrade to an iPhone.
11. Where was your best vacation?
I have too many to choose from...Germany...8 states in 28 days....or maybe this one in Hawaii?
12. Tell us.... A purchase you regret.
Hmmm. Clothing perhaps? I don't really have any.
Alright, so yeah....if you feel like you want to be tagged or need to be tagged then you can answer these questions:

1. What is your favorite food?
2. Do you have any fears?
3. Who would you like to meet, dead or alive?
4. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
5. What's your favorite number?
6. What is your favorite book?
7. What is your favorite kind of music?
8. If you could have anything to eat right now, what would it be?
9. What would you do if time froze for a day?
10. If you had extra money to spend, what would you buy?
11. Do you like shopping?
12. Do you have kids?

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And The Winner Is...

First off, wow! I had over 100 comments, amazing! And my 100 followers is now 148 151 (holy smokes, I may be having another giveaway super soon if I get to 200!)! Yay! Thank you everyone. You don't know how much this means to me!

Ok, now for what you are all wanting to know. Who won?

Congrats Jen from Teaching, Life, and Everything In Between! You are the winner!

I will be sending you an e-mail shortly, asking which prize you've selected.

As for the rest of you...what was it than another blogger(Farley! Thanks Ms. B!) called it? Ah, non-winners. Ok, so for you non-winners, don't leave yet! I have a freebie that maybe will cheer you up? As promised to go along with my Bossy/Bully E Bingo post, I've created a set of Bully E Bingo cards. There are 4 or 5 game boards and a set of cards. Enjoy! And happy Friday!

Click this guy to get your freebie!

Again, thank you everyone and welcome to all my new followers!

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Last Day To Enter!!

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway. You could be a winner of my gift certificate to TpT. Did I mention it's $25?!  Or you could choose a handmade subway art item by me. But I seriously don't blame you if want the gift certificate...I love shopping!

So again, today is the last day and the winner will be randomly picked by the Random Generator and announced tomorrow. Plus a freebie tomorrow too!

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Mouse Math FREEBIE

Ahhhhhh! Yeah that's how I feel today. Apparently the class I was in today had a sub yesterday and let them get away with murder. Well too bad for them because they know my expectations. And what he let them get away with is stuff that their teacher and myself would NEVER let them do. Like use markers for subtraction. Kiddo: "Ms. T, can we use markers for roll and record?"

Me: "No, you never use markers for roll and record."

Kiddo: "Well Mr. Guy Substitute yesterday let us."

Me: "Am I Mr. Guy Subsitute? No."

So there. Lol. Also ahhhhhhh because well, I created my first 'unit'/'center'. I'm calling it Math Mouse. It's addition and subtraction. And there's number cards for answers and mouse counters to help. And I'm quite proud of it and it's a freebie!

I created it because I've been teaching in first grade a lot the last two weeks and actually got to teach a class how to subtract. Since the teacher actually told me that since I'm a real teacher and all and she trusts me hehe.  Seriously. I'm a sub, but I'm also a real teacher (not fake!) I mean  I went to school to be a teacher and everything. And the same said teacher had me do assessments today. And at lunch another teacher questioned that and another teacher stuck up for me and said , "She's a real teacher you know." So there. Again! Lol :)

Anyway, enjoy the freebie! It's catered to the K-1. Or if any kiddo need that extra help. And don't forget about my giveaway that ends tomorrow!

Click the mouse for the freebie!

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Time Out Tuesday:Quiet

Time out? Someone say time out? I know a few kids who could have used one today! On top of that is pouring down rain and they reissued flood warnings again in even more areas. A creek in the town next door is one to keep an eye on.  And I'm still trying to kick this cold out the door.

So the keyword of the day is quiet. Sometimes you need a bit of quiet. So what I did do to get the kiddos quiet? Well my morning group was fine and quietly did writing assessments. The afternoon group was louder but  the last 15 minutes of class were quiet as they were coloring a geometric design. And I mean quiet! It was heaven. It doesn't make me a bad teacher for wanting quiet. It helped keep me sane! Plus it was educational AND they had done all their required work. I needed the quiet. Trust me people. It was very necessary. I could have done silent ball but that's not quite as educational. Unless you consider throwing/catching skills?

But I think it was good for them. They'd done two assessments that day and one kid even told me he's on overload and his brain wants to quit. Aww :(  It was kind of a bonding moment, this coloring. They shared. They encouraged each other. They gave advice for the colors. They were quiet and productive and creative and don't get art enough!

And I have some quiet quotes for you!

“There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.” Minnie Aumonier


“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” Albert Einstein 


" We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly...spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.” Susan Taylor




I think the last two quotes work with today! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway...a few more days left!

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Bossy and Bully E

I've been in first grade a lot the last few weeks and one class I was in was focusing on the bully 'e'. They even had bully 'e' bingo. You'll just love how bully/bossy e looks!

Isn't he cute? Well for a bully that is!

The kids have a song they sing about e and how he makes the vowels say their name.  Can't remember it but something about how 'bossy e makes the vowels say the name and the vowels do the talking while bossy e goes  walking."

Here is their bingo game. The kids have to say the name of the word and then check their gamecard for the word .

And over at Ms. Smartie Pants' blog, she has a song about bossy e! Cute!

Now I'm  not feeling super hot otherwise I'd work on a bully e bingo freebie for you, but I'll try to have it done by Friday. So be on the look out for a bully e bingo set. Have a great week everyone!

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Crafting Day

First off, wow! 128 followers....thanks so much! You have until Thursday to enter a chance to win a creation by me or a $25 TpT giftcard!

Yesterday was a marathon crafting day. The schedule was 9 am to 9 pm. I was there at 8 since I had to make breakfast and it took an hour to bake and I wanted it ready for when the ladies came. There were 10 of us all together and we each had our own table.

Every lady brought what they needed for crafting. Three of my friends brought their sewing machines and quilted. Two others brought their Stampin' Up! stuff and made cards. Two other ladies had a Cricut and were scrapbooking. I was the exception and had a bunch of crafts lined up, thanks to Pinterest.

I had a plan of attack. I had printed out a collage of snapshots of my crafts. Brilliant idea, truly! So you'd think I'd have a ton of stuff to show for 12 hours of crafting right? Well between the talking with the friends, and the looking at their crafts, and me cooking 3 meals for 10 ladies, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but did produce a fair amount.

I made over 100  hearts that were 9 3/4 inch on my Cricut. That was time consuming. And got boring. But was necessary for a Ladies' Night we are have in February at my friend's work. We are going to hang them on jute twine from the ceiling and it will look brilliant!

Here is what I made (all from Pinterest!)

Button magnets. Just hot glue magnets on. Easy and cute!

Woven felt hearts. Just need felt and scissors!  Original pin Radmegan

Button bracelet. Choose your colors and just need thread, elastic, buttons, and a needle. I varied coloreis and sizes :) Original pin: Homemadetipjunkie

Homemade headband! Ribbon, thread, elastic bands, and needle. Easy and cute!

Original pin: Thecraftyscientist

Heart garland part 1...part 2 will say Ladies' Night and inspired by this one:

Oh and I also started on a baby present for my friend. She is having a baby boy so I used my Cricut and several cartridges to make words and will assemble it to create something like this:

Pretty good job right? Cute stuff. The meals were a success! Breakfast casserole, lunch was a baked potato soup with rolls, and dinner was a crockpot bolognese sauce with spaghetti and garlic french bread. One lady said , "Oooh I'm so full." Hehe, guess it was good. She also was excited the bolognese sauce had veggies in it :)  

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100 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Ok yikes I am EXCITED! I've got my 100 followers yay :) In honor of this fantabulous moment, I'm having a giveaway! Thank goodness I've figured out the number of my comments!

So I'm letting the winner have their choice of one of two things.

They can either choose to win a Cricut subway art creation something similar to this:

OR, the winner can choose a gift certificate to TpT!!!!! Oh yes, did I mention I'm going big and splurging to show my happiness and going with a $25 gift certificate!

You want that to have your e-mail and name, don't you?! :)

The contest ends Thursday Jan. 26 at midnight and the winner will be announced on  Friday!

Please leave  an e-mail address in your comments so I can contact you!

So here's how you can enter my giveaway! You get an entry for each of the following:

1. Follow my blog  and leave a comment!

2. Grab my blog button and add it to your blog and leave me a comment!

3. Blog about this giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment!

4. Add me to your blog roll and leave me a comment!

(don't forget your e-mail!)

That's it! Not too hard, just the standard giveaway requirements :) Good luck!!!

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Freebie Friday!

Happy Friday! I'm going to be cooking tonight for tomorrow's breakfast! I was invited to a craft day Saturday and being the frugal teacher, didn't really want to pay the money to do crafts I could do at home for free. Sure, there'd be friends and food...but I can still do that for free lol.

 So my friend running it called me awhile back and said if I cook breakfast-lunch-dinner, I can go for FREE!  Breakfast is a make a night before casserole, lunch will be  ham and potato soup (WW recipe! She asked me to use it too!) and dinner will be a skinnytaste recipe for bolognese and spaghetti.

And I so can't wait to use my Cricut and also do stuff from Pinterest. Going to get my crafting on!

So here is a cute little freebie I whipped up. Valentine's Day book marks!  Well they could also be used every day :) Two kinds of bookmarks!

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Thursday Ramblings and an Awesome Website

I seriously feel like this week has slammed into me! Even with MLK day off! Tuesday I had an interesting day with kids I sub for all the time. I think our snow/rain mix was what threw them off. And Wednesday I subbed for a librarian which I absolutely love (maybe I could become one....lol) and I did a TON of library stuff like covering books, stamping them, and shelving all the classes plus some. I even got to check out books. I love me some scanner! And today, back to crazy class from Tuesday. *whew*

Not sure how I stumbled on this website but I'm glad I did! Foldables and lap books are the 'in' thing right now it looks like, and this website is dedicated to lapbooks for you to print and the kids to cut/fold/make.


http://www.homeschoolshare.com/lapbooking_resources.php

Also I was one of four winners at Buzzing With Ms. B's blog and won a Valentine's Day unit of my choice and I went with a graphing set! Love her blog, so go check her out!

That makes 3 giveaways in the last few weeks. Think I should go to Vegas or buy a lottery ticket? It was a nice surprise to come home to today.

And that nomination thing I told you about? Just for being nominated I got a $25 restaurant.com giftcard!

Voting begins January 21st at 12:01 AM (EST). The blog with the most votes by January 26th at 11:59 PM (EST) will win the grand prize, a $200 restaurant gift card. 

PLEASE show your support & VOTE

                                                             

AND one more thing...my blog button! Thanks sooooo much for the input ladies :) It really helped. And then I got the most awesome e-mail from Leslie who could tell I was struggling there and she made me one. Love ya girl!

LOVE IT!!!!

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I Need Your Advice!

So with my new blog design, I need a new blog button.I'm torn over which blog button I should use. I am leaning towards one in general but still am wishy washy.

Here is option one. Basically it's my header. But I think it's too long.

Here's option two...loving this more but not so happy with the image on the bottom.

Or option number 3?

So what do you think? What do you like? Don't like? What should I put?

Oh and I'm 12 followers away from 100, yay!  

And I got nominated for an award!

Voting opens the 21st and I'll post more info as I get more info! 

How cool is that though?

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Don't Worry, Be Happy

I seriously adore that song. I remember listening to it all the time when I was growing up. So you'd think it'd stick with me to not worry about things right?

My parents like to say, "Don't sweat the small stuff" but for me it's easier said than done. Like I'm kinda of worrying about this weekend and when am I going to go grocery shopping , and what if the people don't like the food I make for craft day, etc.  Things that haven't happened yet and that I shouldn't worry about!

I need to take this quote and post it somewhere for sure!

"Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything." -- Mary Hemingway

And Pinterest has a fab few posters:

And the last one is my FAVE!

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Are You a Foodie?

Ok so 90% of this post won't have to do with teacher stuff, but hey, there is no school today so it's kind of like a day off on talking about teacher stuff on my blog too, right?

I absolutely love Food Network and love watching Cupcake Wars, Hungry Girl, Iron Chef, Chopped, and I like the Celebrity Cooking show with Rachael Ray and Guy.

So I know a lot of you are trying to eat healthier and as I've recently shared, I'm doing Weight Watchers and have been eating wayyyy healthier.

My favorite sites are skinnytaste, emily bites, and Hungry Girl and they have all saved me from missing comfort foods and dessert.

New favorite recipe for chicken is this:

- 1 tsp olive oil
-1 small uncooked onions, chopped
-10 oz spinach, fresh
-1 tsp lemon zest
-1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
-1 tsp salt, divided
-1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
- 1 lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz cutlets

•            In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 teaspoon oil; sauté onion until golden, 5 minutes.

• Wilt spinach (steam spinach or heat damp spinach over medium heat in nonstick pan); stir in zest, feta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
• Divide spinach mixture between cutlets. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.
• In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove toothpicks.

I'm always interested in what teacher's bring to lunch and lately most of the teachers have either joined WW or are doing The Biggest Loser at their school.  I have a linky party (my first) and there are still a few more days to link up. So far only 3 have and it's been fun seeing what they eat for lunch. 

That part IS teaching related lol :)

I also figured out how to number my comments which is very exciting and making me ready for giveaways and my 100 follower giveaway which is even closer now to getting a few more people to join.

And I've decided that I'm going to give a choice to the winner, my little crafty creation I make or a gift certificate to TpT (which I've just recently discovered they have on their site).

Hope you have a happy Monday!

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Snowy Sunday, a Sneak Peek, and Other Stuff

I feel like a little kid as I ran to the window and saw it was snowing again. Last night it started and I ran outside and snapped a pic.

It was almost 11 at night lol.

They said we might get up to 2 inches today. Possible snow/rain tomorrow. Everyone here in my area of Oregon is excited as we don't get snow that often because we are in the valley and not high elevation.

I've had positive comments on my new blog design. I really like the moderness of it. Now to decide on a new blog button. Either based off the template or something similar to the colors. I kind of want a bag (a nod to the journey in my name).  We'll see!

     Yesterday I saw that I won at Teaching Tales! I won a book (not sure which of the two stated) and I get to get stuff at TpT! Yay! I feel lucky winning 2 giveaways within weeks of each other! Maybe I should get a lottery ticket?

     Also my blog post yesterday? I noticed some traffic was from Pinterest and so I clicked it and was excited to see my picture of the hula hoops is now floating around on Pinterest! And what's up with me having 100+ follower on Pinterest? How awesome is that! More followers there than my blog lol. Which leads me to my next part of my blog....

     I finally decided what I'm doing for my 100 follower giveaway (about 20 people away!). I'm going to create something with my Cricut. Maybe two somethings..... but I'm going to make something teacher related. I really want to make something subway art based with the Cricut and teaching related so I just have to decide on the words for it. It'll be put in a frame too!

I'm thinking something along the lines of this:

And finally, if you haven't yet, you still have time to give love to Joplin. Over at Mrs. Wills Kindergarten, she's having a linky party to give love those teachers in Joplin who had the tornado 8 months ago. They're feeling a little down and so she is donating units to them and so are other teachers! And also TpT gift certifcates! If you act quickly, you can show the love! I did and so have 87 other teachers! Wowza, her inbox will be flooded with love!

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Hula Hoops and Loop da Loops

Oooooh I am F-AH-REEZING! I was in a loading area at my friends' work for about 3 hours helping kiddos make hula hoops. Well ok actually this time I was the registration lady today lol. We had to have the kiddos' parents fill out waiver slips for safety because sometimes we do use hammers (not today).

I layered but I could have layered more! One of the others running the show with me brought his dog, an English Setter named Jake (sweetheart!) and he and I kept each other warm. Jake kept leaning against me and I leaned into him lol.

So I'm going to share how to make hula hoops because I think that you could totally make these at home! Warning, pics may be blurry to it being my phone and me having numbed and frozen hands :)

Step one: Get a piece of pipe!



Step 2: Fill 'er up with about a 1/2 cup of sand.

Step 3: Heat one end and put the little pluggy connector thing (good thing I don't work there lol) in and heat the other end and secure so you now have a closed hoop.

Step 4: Decorate! We just wrapped duct tape around. We had all colors, plus paint splatter and tie dye.

We had striped designs created and some kids just wanted a solid color. These were our examples for them.

Pretty cheap and pretty fun! Even if I froze my behind off lol. It was worth it to see the smiles on the kiddos faces and laughter as they hula hooped and played with their hoops.

This website sounds like what we did pretty much: http://www.jasonunbound.com/hoops.html

Now I think I'm going to curl up in a blanket, drink some tea, and hop on to Google Reader and catch up on reading blogs :) Happy 3-day weekend everyone!

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