March & Moving On

Soooooo...it's March, and here I am still in New Hampshire.  I repeat, I am STILL in NH!  Everything about California completely fell through.  Everything.  After many  months of anticipation and freaking out with excitement, we were told the trip was CANCELLED.  I thought I'd be sitting here updating you with all of my road trip and SoCal adventures, but nevertheless, I am not, and instead I could talk about the freezing cold weather that will never leave...but I guess I won't do that either.

We found out this disappointing news ONE day before we were supposed to leave.  By that point, everything was pretty well set and planned.  All of the motels were booked, and I had detailed typed notes about each of the cities we were going to visit on our trek out West. I was so stunned when Sam told me the news that day after work.  For the first minute or so I stared blankly, until the news processed, and then I burst into tears.

This was supposed to be our big adventure before starting a family! This was my chance to live in a completely different place without the hassle or more permanent decision of moving. I was going to soak up the sun, EXPLORE, and visit with Kayla and Andrew.  The news broke my heart.

The first week after the blow was tough. Honestly, I was pretty depressed, and felt like there was nothing I could do to cheer myself up. Luckily, day-by-day life went back to normal.  I unpacked my suitcase.  I cancelled each motel.  We (or Jeff) ate our road trip snacks... And oh yeah- Sam and I booked tickets to St. John to visit his sis, Sophie, and Mom and I reserved tickets to Savannah...

Yup, thankfully the two loves of my life were ready to cheer me up with new adventures to look forward to!  Thanks, Sam and Mom!  I am really spoiled. :)

Keeping busy, trusting there must be a REASON our San Diego adventure was cancelled, and looking forward to two vacations has helped me move on. Lesson learned- Nothing in life is ever certain, but it's still important to take a chance.  I have no regrets leaving behind my past teaching position for SD, because it was the push I needed to make a change for many other reasons.

Now let's move forward to what is CURRENTLY going on.  I linked up to Farley's Oh Boy Fourth Grade Currently "party" again.

listening- Anything Could Happen and Best Day of My Life have helped to boost my spirits this past month.

loving- Downton Abbey!  I'm sad to say my DVR deleted nearly all of the episodes I had recorded, so I just HAD to go out and buy not only Season 2 but Season 3 as well. I couldn't even think about joining a waiting list at the library.  I am not that patient!

thinking- I was exhausted when I filled in the above chart last night.  I was up way too late working on a new TpT product.  I have been exhausted in general this whole week as I have been pushing myself to stay busy, workout, and be highly productive.  It's been a successful week!  Can't wait to continue planning my St. John and Savannah/Charleston vacations! This will be our 3rd time to St. John, so I'd like to experience new parts of the island and check out St. Thomas for the first time.  If I get my new passport back in time, I'm hoping we can ferry to the British Virgin Islands. I'd like to visit "The Baths" on Virgin Gorda.

Amazing, right? "The Baths" are huge boulders on the coastline that form small pools of water and caves. Love it!

wanting- WARM weather and spring! Enough.Said.

needing- I still need to head back to yoga. At least I've been doing well with "gyming it"!

????????- A dog, pearls, and Peppermint Patties is my ANSWER to my own secret question.  Can you guess what it is?  I'll let you know soon..

Alright, PEACE OUT, CUB SCOUTS!

XO <3, C

PS One day, Sam and I will take that road trip I planned. The only difference- we won't be staying at Motel 6s. :)

February Currently

Happy February, everyone!  I can't believe the month I have been waiting for is HERE!  So much to do and so little time! :)

Today, I am linking up with Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade to join her Currently "party".

listening- I'm loving all of those songs, but Lady Gaga's is my go-to for the gym, since I have recently been forcing myself to workout to help with my tension headaches.  (Note the word "forcing").

loving- Homeland. I'm obsessed with it.  I've been wanting to watch it for over a year now, but we didn't have a subscription to Showtime.  We finally bit the bullet and purchased it, and now watch Homeland multiple times a week.  We're almost at the end of Season 2!

thinking- I need to book one last motel for us for the trip out to SD.  According to my plans, it should be around Bisbee, AZ, and I'm feeling like the options around that area may be limited. I don't think I'll plan the trip home until it gets closer to that time, just in case anything changes.  Aside from booking the remaining hotel, there is a TON to do.  Prepping the house for our house-sitters.  Packing CLOTHES.  Packing Dudley's belongings & obtaining copies of proof of his vaccinations.  Shopping for road-trip necessities...Fixing my break pads. :( Boo! My car was inspected yesterday, and I just received that bright piece of news.  Here is to hoping Sam can fix the breaks, because otherwise I'll be throwing 350 bucks to the auto body shop.

wanting- A clean car. I don't remember the last time it was vacuumed, and I cannot stomach the idea of traveling in it for 8 days straight under its current disgusting condition.  I really need a day of "warm" weather so I can get out there and vacuum it!

needing-I haven't been to yoga since before I came down with that flu last week. I must get back into that routine asap!

2 truths & a fib- I wish Sam's trip had been extended!  So far it hasn't, so that was my fib!  It is true we will only have valet parking available to us at the hotel we'll be staying at in SD.  That will for sure take some getting used to!  Speaking of parking- apparently it costs $38 a day.  Thank Goodness Sam's work will pay for it for his car...but for my car?! We may be footing the bill, which will mean we'll opt out of receiving a rental car and just share 1 car while we're there.  Looks like I may be driving Sam to work every day at the crack of dawn, so I can take the car to explore.  Lastly, yes, our hotel is located about 500 feet away from PETCO Park, home of the SD Padres. So exciting!

Thanks for reading!

XO <3, C

Five For Friday!

Happy F-R-I-D-A-Y!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching again for the Five For Friday linky party!

Here are five very random things about my week...

This week, Sam & I found out where we will be staying in San Diego!  I'm going out on a bit of a limb here by sharing this with you, as you never know if this information will change, but as of now, we will be living here for about 7 weeks:

This is the Residence Inn located in the Gaslamp Quarter, which is right by the harbor.  Kayla and I stayed in this same area a couple of years ago, and I LOVED it! The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic downtown area filled with restaurants, pubs, boutiques, theaters, and museums. Sounds pretty fabulous, right?

Kayla and I had the absolute best, but also a very short-lived trip to San Diego. 

Even though we only had one full day in SD, we made sure to check out the zoo, of course! I was crushed to leave so soon  after arriving, and remember thinking, 'I HAVE to come back here someday!' I can't believe it's actually happening!

Yesterday I posted my most recent product, Grade 4 Common Core Math Vocabulary Posters, which goes along with Topics 9-16 of the enVision MATH program.  Between division, fractions, measurement, and geometry, the second half of the 4th Grade topics are very vocabulary heavy.  These posters are eye-catching and are fab to use as visuals during your lessons and/or as a reference on a math bulletin board or word wall!

I think you can see from the collage above, how language-based this program can be.  Craziness!

For more information about the Grade 4 Common Core Math Vocabulary Posters, head to my product description on TpT.  You can also head here to read about the posters for Grade 4 Topics 1-8, and/or read my blog posts about Grade 3 Topics 1-8 and Topics 9-16.

I am participating in another GIVEAWAY which starts TOMORROW and runs until Saturday, February 8th!  This time I am donating The Blustery Blizzard Roll & Sort, a hands-on noun, verb, and adjective activity with a winter theme.  If you'd like to read  more about it, hop over to my TpT store here or check out last week's Five For Friday post.

Check out the S.O.L Train by Pam & Brittany if you'd like a chance to win The Blustery Blizzard Roll & Sort as well as MANY other fabulous prizes.  

I subbed in a Kindergarten classroom this morning, and was able to attend the K-2 school's Olympic-themed "All School Meeting".  It was so fun, I just have to share it with you!  The school was split into teams or "countries" that participate in the Olympic Games. A Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade classroom joined together to represent each of the chosen countries.  For example, the Kindergarten class I was with represented Australia, along with a 1st and a 2nd Grade classroom.  The assembly began with a song, in which each country greeted the school in their own language. 

Of course each team was decked out with their country's flags.  (Click on the picture above to head to print out a variety of flag coloring pages). 

The little Australians also wore a DIY hat, like the one above, to represent the Sydney Opera House. Too cute!

During the assembly, the principal gave a brief background of the Olympics and explained their school would be completing a large bar graph on the gymnasium wall to keep track of each country's winnings in the real Olympics.  It looked very similar to the display seen below.

He also announced their school would be holding their own MATH version of the Olympic Games.  Go MATHletes! :)  After each team was revved up, a real Olympic torch was used to "light" a large DIY "torch" that will be "kept lit" for the length of the competitions.

The school-wide assembly concluded with some traditional Opening Ceremony music.  Winners will be announced at their next school meeting in about a month. :)

Last, but not least, my little bro's birthday was earlier this week.  Happy 26th, Jeff!  I remember peeking at you in your bassinet at the hospital on the day you were born, when I was only 3.  I was very excited to finally be with you, and Mom & Dad again...I was also mesmerized by the smokestacks I saw out the hospital window at the end of the hallway.  The things we remember! Love you, J-Bear!

That's all for now...

XO <3, C

Five For Friday & I'm Still Alive...Again!

Oh man oh man.  I know I wrote that blog post entitled "I'm Still Alive" about 2 months ago, letting everyone know I'm still here and blogging...hmm.  I guess that didn't work out to well.  This time, I am really trying to get back on the blogging scene though.  I swear!  Christmastime just became very busy, even for me, Miss I-Only-Sub-Now. :-) 

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with where to start with this blog post, because a lot has happened in the past 2 months since I last wrote, so I thought I'd link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five For Friday linky (Sam hates that word...linky). This way it's okay to be totally random.  Plus I've secretly always wanted to join this link-up!

 

Last week, our family celebrated Sam's 29th birthday.  I can't believe he's 29!  God, he's SO OLD!  (I'm only saying that because I turned the same age 16 days before him).  To celebrate, we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Agave, with a large group of friends and his co-workers for some Mexican.  We had such a fabulous time!  I also made him Funfetti cupcakes, of course, because those are our fave!  This time, I tried something a bit new...

As you can see, they were stuffed with Oreos, and there was really no science behind it.  Just plop them right on top of some batter, and cover them over with more! MMMmmm!

Here is the birthday boy, himself! :-)

Saturday morning we received an unexpected snowstorm!  We ended up with about 7 inches. Poor Dudley has been so cooped up lately due to cold weather & icy conditions, so we decided to take a walk during the storm.  We went right over to Dudley's favorite place, large fields owned by a private school, where he could run around to his little heart's content. We were SOAKED by the time we arrived home.

I came down with the flu on Monday, which doesn't make for a very interesting week to share with you.  It was AWFUL, but really only for 1 day.  My fever climbed throughout the day and topped off over 103.  Sleeping wasn't fun at all, but luckily the next couple days I was only feeling a little off.  Definitely a far cry from my 10 day fever with mono last year, and for that I am THANKFUL!  Even so, just being trapped in the house for the past few days has already made me develop a case of the winter blues. 

I did get a chance to book a few more hotel...okay, motels, for our cross-country road trip that is coming up very soon!  Yup, we have a START date for our trip to San Diego...finally!  After we received the start date, I was able to start to break down our road trip day by day, and then start the motel reservation process.  Right now I only have one more to book for the way out there. We still aren't sure where we will be living once we arrive, but it could possibly be in La Jolla.  More exciting news on this subject- Mom is coming to visit us in March, and G & L, our family/friends, will be house-sitting and STAYING at our house while we are gone!  Hoooray!

www.roadtripusa.com

We'll be taking # 6 to Atlanta and then heading to San Diego via #10.  Can't wait!

I recently uploaded a couple new products to TpT.  One has a Valentine's Day theme, which I will share later, and the other is very chilly...

The Blustery Blizzard focuses on nouns, verbs, and adjectives, but since many find grammar to be a bit dull, it is very HANDS-ON.  There's only so many grammar worksheets and workbook pages a child can take!

Partner up your kiddos and provide them each their own mat and set of WINTERY-themed word cards! Next, your students will take turns rolling a 6-sided die and use the key on the activity's instructions to understand the meaning of each number they roll. Some numbers will prompt them to choose a word card with a certain part of speech (NOUN, VERB, or ADJECTIVE), which they must place on the correct section of their sorting mat. Other numbers will prompt students to remove a word card from their mat or skip a turn. If they roll a 5, WILD, they're able to choose any word card to add to their sorting mat!  The object of the game is to be the first student to have all of his/her cards sorted correctly.

 I would love for you to take a look at my grammar activity at my TpT store here, and I hope some of you will find it useful in your classroom!

Well friends, that just about finishes up my "Five For Friday"! Cheers to the weekend!

XO <3, C

This Just In...

Okay people, we finally received the news!  We *should* be heading off to California in February!  After almost a year of speculation, we actually have some sort of information!  Hallelujah!  This is absolutely the perfect timing since I did not want to miss out on the month of October, Thanksgiving, or Christmas at home.  I'm really not a fan of winter, and by the end of  January I usually suffer from the "winter blues", so I am ecstatic to be heading out shortly thereafter!  Hooray for mid 60 degree weather and palm trees!  Now that the trip feels a little more official, I'd like to celebrate by showing you all a photo I found on Pinterest of a lighthouse on the tip of Point Loma (also the location of the naval base where Sam will be working). I can't wait to starting researching San Diego and the surrounding area to plan adventures for Sam and myself!  *I'm keeping my fingers crossed he won't be working the entire time we are out there*.  Does anyone have suggestions on places to visit, things to do or see, and/or restaurants?

Thank you, Bing.com!

XO <3, C

P.S. Can't wait to hang out with you in Cali, KMA and AJF!

Y.O.L.O

Yikes, what a day!  As you may know, I had my interview today and I LOVED the school I visited!  I was immediately overcome with a very welcoming feeling, mostly because the lobby was cozy and aesthetically catered to little children.  It had large oval Alphabet rug, bookshelves of picture books, and purple walls decorated with alligators holding books.  It was too cute and such a different feel from "my" school where I previously worked.  The principal seems absolutely fabulous- laid back, calm, and really just a nice guy.  My first impressions were fabulous, and I think I must have made a somewhat similar impression as well, because  when the principal led me on a tour, he introduced me to his staff by saying, "This is Colleen.  She is going to be on our substitute list."  Why haven't I been working there the past five years?!?! God, my life would be very different, I'm sure! Now, I just need to wait about a week for my references to be checked, and then I should receive a phone call with an invitation to complete a background check.  Yay!

I was so excited about the interview, I accidentally broke my California news on Facebook, without even realizing it.  My close friends and family members have been in the loop for months.  Most of my coworkers from my previous school have a good understanding as well, as California is the reason I gave for my resignation. Others, however, were shocked.  Lots of people commented with "Are you moving?" "When?" "Where in California?" "For how long?"  Ooops.  Just to reiterate, I am not moving, I am visiting for an extended period of time.  We will not sell the house.  Sam will not be transferred, he is just going on travel and I am joining in on the fun! We still don't know the dates of the trip or the length of the stay. We should find out in about a month, so for now we are still playing the waiting game...

Lately, as more and more people have been finding out about my resignation, I have been receiving many mixed reactions.  Some are very positive and others make me feel like I've been a disappointment by throwing away my income and making an illogical decision.  The negative reactions, or the ones that feel negative to me, have been tough, because I am already hard enough on myself.  I know everything those people are thinking, and trust me, I imagined those conclusions months ago.  Ultimately, it's my life and my decision to make with Sam.  I do know anyone who is concerned and questions my decision really just cares about my well-being, but still this is the first kind of "crazy" life-choice I've ever made...so could they get on the YOLO train with me just once? 

Thank you to all of my friends, family members, and coworkers who have been nothing but supportive and excited for me.  You guys keep me going with my head held high!  I love you!

XO <3, C