I'm One Lucky Girl

Because I have This Guy to call my boyfriend.

Always supporting and believing in me...even 400 miles away

Never failing to make me laugh...even if I'm suppose to be mad at him

Still complementing me when I least expect it

Loving puppies as much as I do...which is a pretty big deal

And putting up with all of my picture taking...even though he hates pictures

Surprising me on my birthday all the way in Tennessee

Dealing with my sometimes PDA anywhere we go

And loving my family almost as much as I do. (And let me tell you, they love him probably more than me and I love that!)

And that is it.... for now! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Thursday! 

Oh and by the way, this lady landed a job for next year as a first grade teacher!!!! SCORE!!!! More on that later! :)

Book Swap Box Reveal

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE!!!!!

My book swap box! I participated in a book swap these past few months and I've loved it!

I can't wait to share what an awesome box I received from Jen at The Well Read Fish. Awesome is an under statement because it was really pretty amazing! I got paired with someone who has read so many books that I know any book she sent me would be amazing.
Let me just show you...
PROOF...

She had e-mailed me and said she went a little overboard at the bookstore. Well, she did a great job picking out MORE than just books. I got pretty lucky...

My book box items:

• OMG delicious popped carmel corn (literally popped corn puffs, but it's so good!)
• A seattle kitchen towel (that is so simple, it's gorgeous!)
• Jam from Seattle (that is delicious)
• Hello Kitty Cupcake liners (I already know what new recipe I'm using to fill these)
• Spices in a jar for steaks, burgers or any meat really (I'm trying it this weekend for our Memorial Day BBQ)
• KIND bars (I have never had these before, but considering I'm trying to eat "clean" they were right up my alley)
• Yummy dark chocolate
• A roll of fruit chews
• AND 5 BOOKS!!!! Yes- FIVE! I was ecstatic!

• Prep by: Curtis Sittenfeld
• Five Quarters of The Orange by: Joanne Harris
• Who By Fire by Diane Spechler
• Into the Forest by Jean Hegland
• Broken for You by: Stephanie Kallos
• Now, only if I can figure out which one to start first. (If I have a lot of books to choose from, or can't figure out which one to buy in a bookstore, I read the first chapter of each book.) And from that, the book I'm reading first is winner is 'Who By Fire'. What would you read first out of these books?

Thank you Jen for a wonderful book full of book stuff and goodies! You went above and beyond and I am so very thankful. By the way, good for you for posting an honest review about Bristol House. I'm always scared to be honest about a book I don't like.

My Favorite Childhood Books

Sorry I have been MIA lately. Between the end of school, moving back in with my parents, unpacking, reorganizing and spending time with my family and The Boy, the blog had to take a lil hiatus. But, I'm back! Full force!

Anyways, I still can't wait to show everyone tomorrow what Jen got me. But first things first; my favorite childhood books!

Favorite Picture Book:

I still remember my mom reading this to me when I was little. This book still has a great meaning even as I'm an adult, I love the true message.

Favorite Chapter Book:

This year, many of my kids started reading Amelia Bedelia books and I told them I read them as a little girl too. However, they thought I was joking and said "No way Ms. K!!" But, I am NOT joking. I loved these books...who didn't?

Favorite Series:

This series I really got into around 5th or 6th grade. I remember our public library had a summer reading program and I read most of these books to get a t-shirt!!! They are classics!

Update on my life in bullet points:

• Still no job. I'm staying positive and patient.
• I'm fostering puppies again this summer! :) More to come on that later!
• I will be starting a juice cleanse tomorrow and I may or may not make it.....

Today is my last time

to teach these kids. 

 My first year teaching is done, copout, finished. It is a strange and bittersweet feeling. 

I moved down here to teach 1st grade. That's it. No family, friends, boyfriend. Nope, just the job. By myself.

And I have loved every minute of it. 

I'm leaving with experience, great memories and some amazing people I now call my friends.

I do not regret moving down here at all.

And I feel very lucky to have taught these students', with some amazing coworkers at this school.

Let summer begin.

And no I still don't have a job for next year in Chicago yet. Still crossing my fingers.

My Birmingham Weekend...in Pictures

Mrs. D is originally from Birmingham and when I made the decision to move back home, I asked her if I could travel with her to Birmingham when she went next. I've never been to Alabama, so I was pumped to go to Birmingham.

First stop... to see this little buddy. A coworker dear friend of mine just had a baby last month and so on the way to B-ham we brought her dinner and cuddled this lil guy!

Baby E and I

We got in late Friday night. So that means no pictures.

Saturday midday-
Lunch at Davenport's Pizza restaurant. Oh-em-geee it was delicious. Best thin crust pizza I have ever tasted. If you are EVER in the B-ham area, GO! You will not be disappointed.
COOL FACT: Mrs. D's family owns this restaurant and has been in the family for over 40 years. 
It was amazing to hear the history behind such a great, fabulous and successful pizzeria.

The menu is on a pizza paddle-how neat!! 

 We got ham/pineapple/pepperoni. Took the rest home :)

Saturday night-

We went to dinner and drinks with all her hometown friends. It was so much fun! I love going out in a new town. It reminded me of my hometown a lot and my friends back home. It made me miss them :( 

Sunday- Drive home. Enough said. Nothing too exciting...Arby's, good talks, left over pizza and many laughs.

Sunday night-

Puppy snuggle time

Monday (today):
Only 1.5 more days of school. I started making my good-bye cards for my students and it's making me sad. I guess I never thought that most of these students, who turned into "my kids", I might never see again. It really makes me so sad. They were my first class... :(

Well, off to bed. I received my book swap box from Jen last week AND my Cara box from Sarah today! Posts to come on that later!! :) 

What's In Your Bedside Drawer

Disclosures: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bedsider.org. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

...or in my case, bedside table. (more on that later...but first)

(MOM- if your reading this, stop now...it could get awkward lol)

I recently found this website called Bedsider.org that encourages women to take an active role in their reproductive health....for FREE! 

Onto a topic I never thought I would write about: Sex. Boyfriends. Birth Control. Choices.

Early on, when I learned about sex, birth control and all of the jazz, I was in health class, but I always had more questions. I wish I had the free resources that Bedsider.org offers when I was in high school. I use it presently to see if my current form on birth control is what's easiest for my 'life-style'. Go ahead and explore which method is best for you...I did and the method that works for me is....the pill!

Method Explorer: Find which method is right for you: http://bedsider.org/methods

My current form of birth control is the pill. I have only ever been on the pill and I like it for many reasons. First, I like the fact that it's small and easy to swallow. Second of all, I like the reassurance of a daily pill, so I know it's always in my system. I like the fact that I feel empowered when I take it on a daily basis. Third, I've never had horrible side effects with it. Also, I easily remember to take it everyday. (However, if your not very punctual, then Bedsider.org has the ability to set you your personal reminders to take your birth control & for appointments with your physicians: http://bedsider.org/reminders.) And last, my periods are super light and short. I love feeling reassured that my form of birth control is working and doing what it's suppose to do.

Onto the Pinterest...What do I keep in my bedside drawer and what do those items say about me? Just look here. I entered for a chance to win awesome prizes and so can you!!

What's in Your Bedside Drawer? Pin what you have next to your bed and you have a chance to win...look!!! 

It's this easy...

• Follow Bedsider.org on Pinterest.
• Create your own Pinterest board titled, “What’s in My Bedsider Drawer?”
• Repin this rules pin found here and at least one Bedsider’s 15 contest images found here from their board titled, “What’s in My Bedsider Drawer?” Be sure to tag each pin with the hashtag, #BedsideDrawer.
• Pin at least 5 additional images to represent your ideal bedside drawer. Tag each pin with the hashtag, #BedsideDrawer.
• Share your board’s URL on the Bedsider’s Facebook page here. Make sure to enter by 11:59 PM PST on May 29, 2013!
• 
  

...to win a variety of prizes. There is not just ONE prize, so be sure to enter for your chance to win some great prizes!!

Every girl has that bedside drawer that holds the bedroom essentials: their Kindle, a pair of reading glasses, sexy lingerie. – whatever fits their personality. No matter what your drawer says about you, there’s birth control that will fit right in. Find the best method for your routine and style at Bedsider.org.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bedsider.org.

Why I Teach

To honor all the teachers out there for teacher appreciation week, I thought I'd dedicate this post to YOU...ALL current, past and future teachers.


I teach...
to make a difference in children's lives
to make children laugh
to help kids learn
because I want to share my love for learning
to watch children become successful
to help raise successful members of society
because I love working with kids
to help children be more confident in themselves
because it's a passion of mine
...because I could never picture myself doing anything else in the world.

My class this year.

I was recently asked in my last 2 interviews, why did I decided to be a teacher. I always wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl (cliche, I know-but it's true). I remember either for Christmas or my birthday one year when I was about 7 or 8, I wanted and received a whiteboard with dry erase markers.  I was on it for hours teaching my American Girl dolls (and little sister, when she cooperated) an array of things. I also remember my favorite teacher of all times was Mrs. Bullis when I was in 4th grade. I still remember her to this day.

 My reading class this year. Love these kids!

My little buddy sleeping after a field trip.

First position....

Second position...NO JOKE!!

 Some of my other students sleeping as well...

As I grew older, I started to enjoy teaching children and developed a passion for helping them. I started my 'kid' career as a babysitter in the neighborhood, then became a gymnastics coach, then a nanny, then a tutor and now a full-time teacher, and I love every minute of it!

I came down to Clarksville, TN to pursue my career as a teacher because up in Chicago is was nearly impossible to get a job. If I stayed there, I would have had 2 choices; register to be a substitute for the entire year (a very sporadic and to me, chaotic job with different grades, other teachers rules and routines and a different classroom everyday---no thanks!) or take a year off and continue tutoring on the side. Neither of those sounded appealing to me, so I started looking outside of IL. I HAD to have my OWN room and my OWN kids. And while I'm still mobile and young, why not move to another state for a career opportunity that I love!

So here I am, 2 1/2 weeks away from being done with my first year of teaching and it feels bitter sweet. Bittersweet because this group of kids will always be my first class and knowing I most likely will never see them again is crazy. I wish I could watch them progress and grow, but I know they'll do great things.

Being a teacher is not as easy as many people think it is. It's not a 8-3 job. It's a nonstop job with no strict hours. This year I have gone into school on countless Saturday's making resources and writing lesson plans. Everyday, I get to school at 6:30 am and at until January I didn't leave until about 5 pm. Now, with the end of the year approaching, I still get there at 6:30 am, but usually leave around 4 pm. It may sound like I'm complaining, but trust me, I'd rather do this for the rest of my life with the crazy hours involved then anything else in the world!



Teaching is such a rewarding career and I'm so lucky to work in this field.

Week Recap (aka random post)

Wow-what a week. Today our school had field day and we had perfect weather. Windy, but sunny and clear. My kids couldn't have been happier, which makes for a happy teacher! :)

Tomorrow, I'm running a 5K race with some coworkers. There is also a one mile 'fun run' that a lot of my students are running in, so I'm excited to see them active and running.

Since I'm running tomorrow morning, I've got to get into race mood. I'm making some pasta alfredo that I found on pinterest, drinking lots of water and resting my feet.

JOB UPDATE: I still don't have a job up in Chicago, but I've had 2 interviews and they both went great. So now, it's just a waiting game. Fingers crossed.

I'm ALMOST done with my book, The Fault in Our Stars and I love it. My mom is also the BEST (seriously!!!) and got me the Kindle Fire. I am so excited and still haven't opened it yet because I know I'll be on it trying to figure it out and right now, I want to finish my hardcover book and get some school stuff done first.

I am moving in just 22 short days! It's bitter sweet. But onto the next chapter in my life. Busy, long day, I'll be back to do my book post Sunday and (hopefully) start 5 for Five again with Jessica and Jenn. The end of the year is crazy!! I'll be back soon, I promise!!