Summer for Me

Summer was a busy time for me. I know I'm a teacher and I have the summers off, but this summer was gorgeous! I took this summer to relax and do things that I wanted to do. I did some traveling and lots and lots of reading on books that I wanted to read :) I was still completing my masters but I am happy to say I am DONE!

My family has a place in Michigan that we love to spend the weekends when the weather is nice. As we all know Illinois/Michigan had some great weather this summer so I spent a lot of time up there on the beach. I was able to take a whole week with no internet and just relax.

I gave up some Michigan time and my boyfriend and I traveled to his family's place in Minnesota this August before school started. We went fishing, saw some black bears, fishing, sight seeing, and did I mention fishing!!! :) We did a lot of fishing. It was my first time fishing since I was maybe 13 years old. I think I did pretty well! Below is a picture of one of my biggest fish. My boyfriend was so excited that he actually stopped at a Bass Pro Shop on our way home and bought me my own fishing rod. A pink one of course!

 Since school was starting in 5 days :( We decided to stop at Wisconsin Dells for a few days on our way through. We stayed 2 nights at the Kalahari Indoor Water-park/Resort. We planned on going to Noah's Ark one day, but of course we were in a cold spell those 2 days and it would have been miserable. We enjoyed our time at the indoor water-park. Had a caricature done (looks nothing like us!) Went to the outlet mall of course and the best part, we went zip lining at the Big Foot Zipline Tours. I was so nervous at first. But I would recommend it to everyone! I even hung upside down and I never thought that was something I would do. If you ever travel to Wisconsin Dells this is something I would definitely check out.

Now that school is back in session, I look forward to trying some new things like The Daily 5 and posting them on this blog. I also hope to start back up with my household challenge. Look back for some of my new things!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was last weekend. I spent the afternoon with my boyfriend's family. My mother was able to spend a nice relaxing day at our cottage in MI. The girls of the family celebrated dinner at Olive Garden on Monday. The experience at Olive Garden is a whole story in itself.

With my students for Mother's Day we created two things. First the made breakfast in a bag. I found this idea on pinterest. The pinterest link brought me to the blog called Eberhart's Explorers. It was such a cute idea that I couldn't resist. Here is an example of one. 

I used the bottom of a coffee mug to trace the circle used for the head. Scrapbook paper was used as the bedspread and the poem was attached to the bedspread. Students were able to use construction paper and markers/crayons to make their mother's faces. Inside each bag I put a napkin, an apple, and a Fruit and Grain Bar. We also made a Mother's day book.

I found this book on teacher's pay teachers. It's a cute little book where the students illustrate and write about things their mothers like and do. It also includes a grandmother version. A portion of the proceeds of this book is donated to relay for life. What a great cause! The students really enjoyed this project. The loved the fact they got recreate their mother's faces!!

Have a great day!

Kimberly

Graduation Day

It's not quite official yet, but I am almost done with my masters. I walked at graduation this past Saturday, and I just finished my practicum presentation tonight. Just 12 more weeks of going to class on Wednesday nights and a paper/project here and there. The last class will be less stressful because it is over the summer and I will not be teaching on top of it. 

I have a list of things that I would like to accomplish. I need to start back up on my organizing challenge, finish my niece's first year scrapbook, scrapbook my own stuff, and I am looking into starting to create some packets, lessons, powerpoints, SMART board lessons etc. for teacherspayteachers.com. I am just at a loss on where to begin. I have tons of ideas, just not sure on how to start and make them pretty :) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

School

I am so frustrated right now. I haven't not posted anything for months, and I have not done anything with my challenge or my scrap-booking. All because I am going back to school on top of my full time job. I keep telling myself it will be worth. But fortunately for me the end is near! Yesterday I spent almost 12 hours working on my write-ups for my practicum. I only have 4 more left and my final reflective paper to complete. I will walk in May for graduation but I will not officially be done until August. But that's ok. Once this practicum is completed and turned it, my schooling will consist of a few projects here and there and best of all I will not be working in the final months! That leaves time for me to really get back on track with the organizing of my house and even get back to scrap-booking for my niece! Hopefully you will see soon some things I am able to do and create again!

Happy Easter!

Kitchen Challenge

The first of the year I started this 52 week organizing challenge. The first challenge addressed countertops and sinks. Here is my Kitchen before I started week one.

My kitchen table was constantly a catch all table. When I would walk in the door everyday I would throw my mail onto the table and sometimes not get to it for days. Stuff I pulled out to use would find a home there until I figured out a place for it.

I'm not big dishes girl. I have never like doing them, but who does? I had bought a drying pad that I had placed on my countertop next to the sink but it always ended up full and just look cluttered.

I took some time and I did some shopping. Sometimes I just look at the shelves at what is available and ideas will eventually come to me. How can I organize my mail, what is a better solution to my dishes?

I bought a mini mail sorter to put on the table. So far I have taken just 2 minutes to look at the mail that I bring in each day. I get rid of the junk and I put bills etc. in the correct spot in my sorter. 

I decided to get rid of the counter mat, and a rack to put in my sink. So far I have done a good job with the dishes, lets hope it continues.

This challenge is meant for one a week. I unfortunately have not found the time for that between teaching and going back to school. I am doing what I can everyday, it may take me longer but hopefully I can catch up this summer. 

Next up Cabinet Organizing!

Scrapbooking

Scrap-booked for the first time this year. Did a weekend with some great friends and made some new friends. My niece is a little over a year now and I am finally on Month 4 for her scrapbook, but I will say I could be farther if she wasn't so darn cute in all her pictures. Its been so hard choosing which ones I need to use. Her first year officially will not be able to fit in one book. I will be ordering from Creative Memories today. Today their albums are 25% off. GREAT deal! Perfect timing for me. Hopefully I will be able to have some more weekends like this and get back on track with her book and back to my own books that are now 3 years behind :(

1st Snow

Well the first official snow fall of the season/year is here! Students at the school today were excited and could not wait to go outside. Unfortunately the snow fall is pretty heavy and it was too cold for the students to enjoy outdoor recess. I even have a student that has never seen snow before. She was mesmerized by it and even asked me what snow felt like! They do not have to attend school tomorrow due to a teacher's institute, so it is unlikely the teachers will get a snow day. :(

Taking this snowy evening to begin working on my kitchen. My first step is with cabinet organization. What can I get rid of and what can I store somewhere else? I think i'll go one cabinet at a time.

The Beginning

Welcome to my first blog! I am new at this so be patient with me :) I wanted to start the new year with some change in my life. I am in my 2nd year of my new home and I am really starting to make it my own. My living room is pretty close to how I would like it to be set up (I am a girl so I am sure that will change) and now its time to work on a different room. Living on my own has given me some difficulties making the changes I would like quickly. So finally time for a new project and I am excited. My main goal this year is to be organized. I have found so much inspiration out there on pinterest that its time to put some ideas in place. Now which room to start. My first thought is the Kitchen. Everyone spends a lot of time in the Kitchen each day so I would like it to be a place that is functional. I am just at a loss to where to begin! Any suggestions?