April FREEBIE Hiding in Five for Friday

It's like an Easter egg hunt!  Kind of.  Maybe just a little bit.  There really is a "prize" for you! Hunt through this Five for Friday, hosted by Doodle Bugs, to find your April Freebie!  Here's a little carrot to keep you going!

Can you find me?  Keep reading to find the link to this freebie!

You know how I like to take advantage of the free clipart on TPT, right?  I talked about it in this post if you want to read more about it.  Well, I recently came across this must-have set from Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.  I love her clipart and this set is FREE! So many possibilities!

I'm loving the variety of colors!  I'm thinking these would be great to write a short & sweet note to co-workers telling them you're glad they are one of your "peeps".  How would YOU use these?  

Still looking for The Great Egg Hunt, huh?  Keep at it!  It's somewhere around here!  I was looking at a class photo from my husband's elementary years and just had to count the kiddos because it seemed like there were a million kids in his class.  I was right.  39.  Say what? THIRTY-NINE.  Granted it was 25 years ago, but still.  I've had as few as 18 (GLORIOUS), and as many as 29 (OMGracious).  What's the most you've ever had?  

In case you haven't heard, I'm giving away a FREE copy of my Fraction 4 Game Bundle!  It includes a 102 page color version, as well as a 102 page grayscale color ink costs too much version!  A winner will be announced Sunday, March 30th in the morning.   Want a chance to win?  Of course you do!  CLICK HERE to get entered!  If you want to see the details on this bundle, check it out HERE!

Isn't she pretty?

This sucker was a labor of love, but I sure do like using purposeful games to make learning fun for the kiddos.  I have always enjoyed playing games and the camaraderie that goes with it, and that has transferred over into my teaching.  Did you know that my husband proposed during a game of Yahtzee?  I shook the cup of dice, tipped it over, and out tumbled a ring!  Side note-that ending up being the first time he ever beat me at Yahtzee.  I must have been distracted...

The great hunt is over!  If you're ready to snag a copy of my April Freebie, look no further.  HERE SHE IS!  You earned it!

I'm so thankful for the "extra" daylight in the evenings!  Losing that hour of sleep was rough, but I feel like I've been way more productive in the evenings after CrossFit & cooking dinner than I was when it was getting dark at 6:00 pm.  Kona, the pup, is loving it too!  She gets fetch time while we cook each evening.  When it's sunny, sometimes she'll just lay in the yard sand, and soak up the rays. She melts my heart!  

Surely I'm not the only one with an insane number of pet photos on their phone...

Happy Friday!

Wha? It's CURRENTLY March!

Snow!  While so many of you are tired of the snow, I have missed it dearly.  The hubs and I made a quick trip to Breckenridge, CO, and it was just what my heart and soul needed.  I typed up my March Currently, hosted by Oh Boy Fourth Grade, while snuggled up at the condo after a day of snowboarding, but didn't want to post it until I got home and could proof read with a clear margarita-free mind. Then time got the best of me, so I'm posting this on March 6th.  At least it's still March! 

3....The number of margaritas I had the night I typed this up!  If you ever go to Breck, visit Rita's on the main street.  This little place is in a basement, has just a few tables, and is full of locals.  The ritas and food were amazing!  Fresh squeezed oranges and limes...no pre-made sugary stuff.  

2....The number of tacos I had the night I typed this up!  The "avocado dip" at Rita's was so fresh, and the tacos on happy hour were legit.  Get 3 different ones.  Let the waiter/bartender pick them for you.  Don't share.  Trust me.  My husband dropped one of the tacos.  This is why you don't share.

1....The number of crepes I had the night I typed this up!  I let the guy running the crepe shack make whatever kind of crepe he wanted.  I told him there were no ingredients off limits and it didn't have to be from the menu.  While hogging the fire pit, I scarfed that sucker down.  

I blame my 3, 2, 1 on vacation mode!

Now, for teacher business. Pens and markers... I don't have adorable teacher handwriting, so I need forgiving pens and markers.  I don't like when they bleed through the paper or smudge/need dry time.  I don't lose them, so I don't mind paying a little extra.  I've tried lots, but haven't really fallen in love. Yet.  Suggestions?

Five for Friday: I Want Your Input

My current edition of Five for Friday, hosted by Doodle Bugs, offers you two freebies and asks you for some Master's Degree advice!  After coming off of your TPT MEGA SALE high, I'm hoping you'll snuggle up with your computer and read my FIVE!

  I HAVE to head over to TPT this afternoon to snag the items I placed in my cart while they are on MEGA sale.  Don't forget to enter the coupon code TPT3 at check-out to get the extra 10% off.  I'm offering that advice for you, but it's more of a reminder for myself so I don't forget!  For those of you just starting out on the sales journey, keep your chin up!  I'm still very new to it compared to ALL of the top sellers, but I know there are days that I become overwhelmed when I see someone has thousands of TPT followers.  Will I ever get there?  Who cares.  I've learned to celebrate MY milestones and achievements and you should do the same!

This one is just for you!  If you didn't have a chance to grab my February Facebook Freebie, have no fear!  I decided to leave my older freebies up (and more importantly, I figured out how), instead of replacing them.  So, head on over and get your copy for free!  I'd love for you to share my FB page too!

 I'm seriously considering finally getting my Master's. I don't think I ever want to be a Principal or VP.   I'm leaning towards Curriculum and Instruction with a Literacy focus. But I also really love teaching math and science.  Do you have yours? Thoughts?  Online? I've taught for 8 years, we don't have kids, and I'm organized, but is working and going to school hellacious? 

 There might be something big on the horizon for my hubs, Kona Bear, and me.  Just in case my mother-in-law reads this, I'll clear it up by saying it has nothing to do with grand babies for her.  Positive karma is welcomed!

 For being a sport and making through all 5, here's another one just for you!  While you're grabbing my February Facebook Fan Freebie, grab my St. Patrick's Day one too!  I love me some freebies and I know you do too!

Happy weekend!  After all of the fabulous sales, I'm sure we will all be spending some time creating new products with the adorable clip art we snagged and cutting out freshly laminated games!

My First Five for Friday

I love that the rules of this Linky give randomness the green light.  If you've studied my blog (better cram-there might be a quiz at the end), you know that I like need order and organization.  I feel up to the challenge of randomness because in the bigger picture, I'm following the rules!  I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to participate in my first ever Five for Friday Linky!  

Not sure how many of you noticed, but I made a How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) reference in my post yesterday.  While chowing down on dinner with the hubs last night,  I asked him if he saw my HIMYM reference.  He said, "No, but I didn't finish reading the post yet." Two points for him-for caring and for reading my posts!  But then I got to thinking.  The HIMYM reference was in the VERY FIRST line of my post.  We tease each other a lot, so I asked him how can I expect other people to actually read my posts if my own husband doesn't even make it through the first line.  Sheesh.  I guess at least he knows I have a blog and could even tell you the name of it!  Now I've guilted you into reading this entire post, right?  Right?  

I'm participating in my first Ragnar Relay "run" next Friday and Saturday!  Why did I agree to an overnight 200 mile relay run?

Simple.  1.  It's from Miami to the Florida Keys.  Enough said.  I could stop here, but…  2.  I'm getting to do this with two of my great girl friends from when I lived in CO.  We're having a mini-reunion "crammed in a van full of stinky athletes" style. Then we get a tiny bit of beach time! 3. I enjoy jogging.  Please notice that I used the word jog instead of run.  I'm a 9:30-10:30/mile kind of girl.  We have a 12 person team and each runner has 3 legs of the race to run.  My total mileage will be somewhere around 12-16 miles because I'm getting one of the easier spots.  It pays to be the "jogger" on the team!   

Have you ever used a kitchen spatula as an ice scraper?  The lady across the street from us did!  Well, just for a second or two until we noticed her through the living room window and took her our ice scraper.  Our town "shut down" mid day Tuesday through last night because of the ice and snow this week.  South Carolina towns just aren't equipped for this rare weather. So while we were cooped up,  I made a FREEBIE!  It'd be silly to post more pictures, because you can check it out in my previous post!  If you download it on TPT and rate/leave feedback, come back and comment here w/ your email address I 'll send you my Subtraction Cards for free!  

Wonder Woman!  For the first 2 years of CrossFit, I couldn't bench press over 100 pounds.  It wasn't something we worked on regularly.  Recently we did a strength cycle that included benching and it paid off!  This week we had to find our 3 rep bench press max.  Yep.  I did 3 in a row at more than 100.  103 to be exact.  I love feeling strong!  I am woman, hear me roar!

There is another FREEBIE hiding out here!  I launched my Facebook this week (woot-woot!) and there is a Fan Freebie waiting for you!  I thought back to my Vision Board post, and reminded myself to take risks.  It took me a few drinks (coffee in the early am and wine in the pm) to get my page tabs up and running the way I wanted, but it's done and I'm hoping you'll follow along!

PS-Did it work?  Did I guilt you into reading all the way to the end unlike my hubs?

Vision Board

Oh, dang.  I've just left behind Little League for the Majors.  This is my first time participating in a Linky Party!  (Insert loud gasp from my readers…well, three readers wouldn't really make a loud gasp, but you get the point).  I decided to participate in The Ordinary to Extraordinary Classroom's Meet the Teacher Monday by Trina because the questions forced me to do some reflection.  I definitely had a diary growing up so I thought this might be like old times. Except all of you are going to read this and my diary was always locked up for fear of my deepest darkest secrets ramblings and misspellings being revealed. I might have hidden the keys (it came with a spare) on the hoops of my earrings for safe keeping as a child. It sounds worse than it looked.  I think…Back to the Linky Party!  Check out my Vision Board and answers below!

Where did I win in 2013?

If you haven't heard this before, the military moves us every 2-3 years.  This can make creating & maintaining meaningful friendships difficult.  While in CO from 06/11-07/13, I made some pretty awesome friends at work, at the gym, and through my husband's job.  I'm talking STRONG women!  I don't just mean they could shame any man at the gym on the pull-up bar.  I mean they were healthy, passionate, go-getters that were really living life.  I've worked hard to maintain these friendships long-distance after PCSing (military lingo for moving b/c they told you to) to SC.  The women that I met in CO pushed me to be the best me possible, and that my virtual friends, is winning in my book!

Where did I lose in 2013?

This is so opposite of how I won.  I didn't work hard enough at maintaining the friendships I made at my school in TX when we moved to CO.  When you spend so much of your time and energy at school with co-workers, special bonds are bound to be formed.  My TX teacher BFF and I keep in touch, but not enough.  I feel like I lost out on many laughs that could have been shared through phone calls and I let the stress of work stop me from taking the time to email her ideas and games for her to use in her classroom back in TX.

What did I learn in 2013?

Risk.  Take risks.  What's the worst that's going to happen?  I fail?  What does that mean, anyways?  It doesn't mean I die or I'm punished in some way.  What it means is that I've LEARNED.  I can adjust  so that next time I'm closer to succeeding.  I learned that I've got to execute and not be afraid.  Who cares if only 3 people read this blog post?  Who cares if I pick a weight at the gym for the WOD (CrossFit Workout of the Day) that's heavy and I don't get as many rounds as others?  I'm so bad about holding back during a workout because I'm afraid I won't be able to finish.  Who cares if some of the plants in the square foot garden die.  If I don't plant the darn things, ZERO will grow.  If I don't take risks AND fail, I hardly think I'll learn anything.  

Where do I want to be this time next year?

I could say that I want to know exactly what I want to be when I grow up.  I love working with kids in educational settings, but I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up" (when we stop moving and I can actually settle into a long-term job) .  Do I want to get be a reading specialist?  Do I want to be a principal?  Do I want to work with kids with Autism?  Do I want to stay in the classroom?  But instead, I'll say that I want to be closer to finding my niche in the teaching world.

I could also say that I want to be able to do a muscle up. It's considered THE holy grail of movements in CrossFit. I could say that I want to Rx every workout and stop doubting my ability to finish.  But instead, I'll say that I want to be more confident of my ability and be stronger and healthier.

I could say that I will write one letter each week and make one phone call each week to the friends I've made but moved away from.  I could schedule in FaceTime dates on my calendar.  I could say that I will follow a schedule to maintain these friendships.  But instead, I'll say that I want to make those connections a priority, and our interactions genuine and heart-felt.

I could say that no plants in my soon-to-be-planted square foot garden will die.  I could say that I won't let bugs or mold or critters wreck havoc.  I could say that I won't have to buy produce from the market. I could say that I won't over or under water and possibly kill a few plants.  But instead, I'll say that I want to plant, grow, and learn.

I could say that my blog will have thousands of followers and that I'd make thousands of dollars on TPT.  I could say that I'd be on the top of the lists.  I could say that I'll make x number of posts per week, and x number of products, and pin x number of items.  But instead, I will say that I want to share my experiences with other teachers in meaningful ways.

Click on Trina's button to learn more about Meet the Teacher Monday and to link up!