to be good

source: pinterest - linked to here

 

 

the first time reading this, it brought tears to my eyes.  i'm not someone who likes to admit when it is time to give up, i don't give up. there are times you need to.  times when the person who you are is suffering.  and it has yet to come full circle the impact made on your life until the weight has all finally been lifted off of your chest.  when you can start to breath again.  when you can start to be yourself again.  when, perfection is no longer the level you must reach, you can simply, be.

 

belief that good can be, and almost always is, good enough. is a beautiful thing.

 

iSpy with my little eye

life lately, according to my instagrammed photos.
(on a day that is other than tuesday, breaking yet another promise or routine.
and giving my type-a personality a run for it's money).

 

 

 

 

 

 



the best way to wake up in the morning.

and one of the best ways to fall asleep.

pictures from 2010 make me miss my best friend.

and wreaths made out of layers of crayons make me miss other best friends even more.

my first grade team reppin' football attire.

the life of a teacher (and this is an understatement).

 

 

i've been slacking.

oh have i ever been slacking. and procrastinating. and spending countless hours behind my little desk in my first grade classroom. i don't hate it. but i do hate neglecting my blog.

but sometimes curling up in bed and falling asleep takes precedence. like every night.

and boyfriends, and friends, and myself do on weekends.

i'll figure out it, i promise. because life is all about balance.

even if i'm hanging on by a thread with just a few fingers while juggling multiple oranges.

i'll get the hang of it.

we will never forget

September 11th, 2001.

 

 

i'm always inspired by the word of other bloggers. it is why i love to blog, and why i love to write.

bre from oh, pish posh, wrote one of the most beautiful posts concerning the events that occurred eleven years ago today.

and about how we always need our Lord, in every hour.

 



a little how to

it's old news that i'm a pinning maniac. so when i had to come up with some fresh and innovative ideas to not only save money but to spiff up my classroom for my twenty-four six year olds, i turned to old reliable: pinterest.

rainbow-esque colored clothes pins!

 

now, there was a wonderful tutorial that i found and of course managed to botch up the directions and take probably twice as long. but here is what i found out worked best:

 

1. start off with generic clothes pins. i bought a bag of fifty at walmart for dirt cheap and bought a second bag just for good measure (i was making 25 at the time and two for each student. plus, always leave wiggle room for mistakes.)

 

i tried both the egg dyeing food coloring and the generic shur fine brand - the generic brand takes the gold medal. last, grab some old containers that you might not mind getting discolored.

 

 

2. bring just barely two cups of water (this measurement varies depending on how dark you want the color, less is definitely more) and 1/2 cup vinegar, and the food coloring of your choice, to a boil.

 

*food coloring drops vary. i put the drops in until i had a nice vibrant color. experiment and always start out with less. in the case of the orange and the green, do more of the lighter color (i.e. more yellow than red, more yellow than blue).

 

3.  put the amount of clothes pins you want this color in your containers.  i was making a set of two for five kids, so ten clothes pins in each container.

 

 

4.  pour the boiling mixture over the clothespins.  let this sit until the water begins to cool or until the clothes pins are the color that you prefer. CLOTHES PINS WILL DRY LIGHTER THAN WHAT THEY APPEAR AFTER REMOVING FROM THE DYE.

 

5. lay out paper towels and place clothes pins there to dry.  it took mine about a day to fully dry and i made sure that i switched them to the other side about half way through.

 

*the vinegar will oxidize the metal clip part. no worries, this just gives them that "vintage" look.  if you don't want this look you can pick up clothes dye packets to give it a nice, shiny metal finish. this diy gives a great explanation of the clothes dye packets:  raising oranges blog

 

now go and make yourself some pretty colored clothes pins!

happy saturday!



a drop in the bucket

seeing as the summer is now over (labor day has come and gone and school has begun), i believe it is time to take a gander at that summer bucket list and see what sort of damage i made.

1. read 10 books.
the last song/ safe haven/ the yada yada prayer group book 1/ water for elephants/ the hunger games/ catching fire/ mockingjay/ winter garden/ michael phelps. no limits: the will to succeed/ yada yada prayer group book 2 (the last is "in progress", i'm counting it as #10)

3. take a spontaneous day trip - location to be determined.
#1 - to rehobeth beach (while on vacation down the shore)

#2 - weekend get away to raystown lake - thank you boyfriend and his family.

4. go on a wine tasting.

brewery tour and wine tasting tour? with roomie? check this one of my list big time.

5. go see a broadway show! (on broadway or a touring production)

mamma mia! 

7. finally see the hunger games. now that i have finished the trilogy i'm ready to view the first installment via big screen (or small screen). even better yet, do this with my sister and have a good old fashioned girls night with her.

squeaked this one in, just in the nick of time! and i managed to do so with the big sister. bonus points for that!

8. all those diy projects i pin and am inspired by - do one!

expect a post about this in days (or weeks) to come! i surprised myself and did at least two, so double check right there.

you wanted pictures? me too. but someone sorta stinks at photographing things...

now if you are keeping count, or clicked on that link up there, you will know that i managed to check off all but two things on my summer bucket list. and even though the last month was a hodge-podge of throwing together my classroom and getting ready for school, i still managed to squeak in the final things i wanted to do! who knows, maybe next summer i'll be able to knock them all out of the park.  but as for now, i've got myself a "someday" list that boyfriend and i are working on...maybe someday i'll share.

iSpy with my little eye

life lately (and labor day weekend) according to my instagram photos.

 
 
 
 

yummy leftovers from boyfriend's momma.

bright and sunny reupholstered chair.

"it's what teacher's do, carrying things in boxes."
spending my evening crawling after my niece = priceless.

congratulatory ice cream cake from DQ.

like grandpa like grandaughter.

best breakfast buddy in town.
#quote #inspiration #truth.

 



let me clear my throat

remember that song way back when?
i'm pretty sure that they first time i heard that song it was in save the last dance and i could not have been more obsessed with that movie. so clearly i became all gangsta yo and it was my favorite jam.
or not.
but still. just to clarify the title.

i know my blog is not a big one (my sister's blog is totally growing by leaps and bounds! i'm so proud of her) but all 15 of you little followers i apologize for my lack of posts and seemingly lack of interest in this little blog, but before you get up and walk and and withdraw the follow-hood of my blog, let me make you a promise:
i promise to pay a little more attention to this little bloggy of mine. i promise to write a post at least three times a week (lofty, seeing as my habits as of late). and i promise to get back to the basics of why i love blogging.
i know you might have heard this before. but it is a brand new month (holy september?!) and i'm sticking to it this time. this may be more of a promise to myself, but hey readers! you're pretty dang important to this blog, so it's a promise to you as well.

promises. if my boyfriend could only see me now, making them left and right, he would about have a heart-attack. but that is a conversation for another post...

in other news! the very first week of first grade was absolutely PHENOM!
who wouldn't love running around and teaching twenty-four 6 year olds?
no? then i guess it might just be me. but it is the best darn job there is out there (again - might just be me).
i can't wait to see what the rest of this year brings for me and my kiddos in room 1-2.
of course, the post would not be complete without a few pictures of my room:

 calendar area. 

 reupholstered desk chair with some good'ol fashion packing tape.

 word wall, minus the words.

our writing bulletin board. are you using your "writer's eye?"

but for now, lost voice and all, i'm going to enjoy some family time this weekend.