Done!

My oh my, the side hustle game is strong this month!

I'm finally done with the Hidden Oracle and Dark Prophecy work!

Snag the novel guide for The Dark Prophecy {here}

Snag the chronological order comprehension sort for The Dark Prophecy {here}

Snag the student question guide for The Dark Prophecy {here}

Snag the bundle for The Dark Prophecy {here}

Snag the mega bundle (The Hidden Oracle and The Dark Prophecy) {here}

Snag the student questions for The Hidden Oracle {here}

Snag the updated bundle for The Hidden Oracle {here}


Now...I wait for what's next.

I swear this is like Harry Potter all over again.

Half Time

I'm officially a few weeks into summer so I thought I'd pause and reflect back on my {June Goals} and {summer goals}.  Both posts are repeated (but shortened) in this post.

First and foremost, I want to follow through with the {Joyous June} challenge.  First post is up!

So far so good? I've missed a few days here and there, but for the most part I've found happy things to share each day.
 
Second, I want to finish deep cleaning the house...

I've cleaned? No further deep cleaning has begun.

Third, I'm going to commit to healthy habits.  

So one gym date has occurred and I've done some lifting at home.  I went line dancing, so I'm counting that as exercise!

Fourth, I'm going to try to cook more.  We're trying to save money and that means less eating out and more cooking at home.  

About that...I've tried!  We made our meal plan for the week.  Tuesday is {crockpot fajitas} which were delicious!  We're trying a new recipe on Thursday for {Hawaiian BBQ chicken wraps}.  I'll keep you all posted!

Fifth, I will attend all my appointments. 

There were a lot of them.  Waffles had her shots.  Cats are scheduled for next month. Trainings are done.  Ring is cleaned and repaired.  Wedding hair trial is this week.  Eye doctor and ear doctor appointments are next month.  Sinus surgery is tentatively scheduled for early August.  Check, check, check!

Sixth, I will find non-wedding things to craft.  One of my bridesmaids just got a new position within the school district and that calls for a new cute sign for her office!

Yup. Done. She gets it Friday.

Seventh, I will NOT turn to shopping for entertainment.  

Other than the {Shark Week shirt} I needed on Etsy, I've been really good.

Seriously, how cute is this:

B rolled his eyes, but I love Shark Week!  

Eighth, I will host a make up and nails party for a friend. 

Done! Everyone had fun.

Ninth, I will enjoy reading.  I've got two books for the classroom and one professional book on the coffee table. I'll try to get through all three this month.

First is finished, I'll start second tomorrow!

Tenth, I won't feel guilty for this earned time off.  

Working on it...

Lastly, I will be reflective on my teaching practices.  This year was rough.

Working on it...

What are your goals for the month?

Over halfway through and doing fairly well! Let's hop to summer goals...

 


So, because I'm all fired up (and well rested), I thought I'd carve out some time to do summer goal setting.

1) Craft for others.  I made a sign for my friend for her future job: (See above post)

And another is in the works done!  However, I won't see the lovely Erin until next month and I'm keeping it a secret.

2) Help others.  One friend wants me to help her decorate her mantle while another wants help redecorating her little boy's room.  My future MIL wants help redecorating their house.  I will happily lend my shopping services to others!

 I'm going shopping this week to help my future SIL with her upcoming baby shower. I've been tasked with a welcome wreath.  Burlap, I shall win!

3) Read.  

I'm working on finished with The Hidden Oracle and loving loved it.  I've got Al Capone does my Homework and Wonder on my night stand.  I also have Love and Logic to help me shift some practices in my classroom instruction.  

4) Get ahead for next year.

I accepted the position as a 4/5 literacy representative for my school.  This doesn't mean I'm out of the classroom.  What it means is all my preps have been bought out for what I assume are meetings, trainings, and observations.  I will have to make sure I get to work extra early to be fully ready for my day.

Um, I've looked on pinterest and bought a pencil shaped banner at Target.  That's enough.

5) Develop more products for TpT.

Right now I'm sitting at 177.  My end of summer goal is to be at 200.  I have a few that need to be cleaned up (now that I've field tested them with the fifth graders), a few in the works, and a few that are just floating around in my head. 

I posted three this week.  I also figured out (I think) how to group PDFs together to bundle products. 

6) Organize the garage.

Since a bulk of my teaching things had to come home for the summer because my classroom was being painted and used for summer school, the garage became the dumping ground.  I'd like to finish sorting through teaching materials and organize all our stuff into boxes.  

Yeah...haven't started.  We're in an excessive heat warning, so willingly spending time doing manual labor outside is out of the question.  I hope to get a garage fridge soon! (From his grandma because we aren't making any major purchases.)

 7) Organize the house.  

The pantry has fallen into disarray. I need to get read of clothes that no longer fit or shoes I haven't worn in years.  It's time to declutter and simplify.  I might as well deep clean while I'm at it.

Haven't really done this.  #sorrynotsorry

 8) Try new things.  Even if they're scary.

Tomorrow's is a whole series of selfies about a new lip stain.  Next week I'll try self tanner.  The week after that? New cocktail recipes.

I did a few videos for a make up post...that's all for now.  

9) Write more. I have a few new journals. I enjoy blogging here.  I need to get out of my head and onto paper (or screen) more often.

Work in progress...

10) Exercise more. Today was a good start! 

...but apparently it was a one day good start.  We'll try again tomorrow!

 What are your goals?  Do you have a time frame for accomplishing them?

I sit here at half way through the month (half time if you will) and I'm pleased with my work. I need to devote a little more time to exercise and reading, but I haven't completely abandoned any goals.  Cleaning will come when the mood strikes (which is right before company comes over.)

Simply writing down goals is part of the battle, but they become wishes if you don't do anything to achieve them.  

  

The Hidden Oracle

I've been working on The Hidden Oracle, which is the first in The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.

(This is the UK cover. I like it much better than the US cover.)

Like all his other works, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I got angry at plot twists.

However, it's hard to keep all the specific details of a book in my head so I take copious notes while reading.  I turn these notes into novel guides and my newest is now available {here} on TpT.  Coming in at over 40 pages, it looks like I'm going to need a big binder for all my novel guides for next year!

The accompanying chronological order sort will be available in the next few days!

Feelings

I finished the Hidden Oracle.

With help, of course.

I have a lot of feelings about it.  I also used a lot of curse words at the plot twists.

I very much enjoyed it, despite the profanity.  Rick Riordan may be my second favorite author, but no one tops J.K. Rowlings. She's number one, always.

So, I feel like this:

I hope to have the novel guide and chronological order sort done by Friday, so stay tuned.

I finished my training today. It left me rejuvinated and excited for the future, which is a feeling I've been lacking.  I'm not quite through processing my learning, so stay tuned for that as well.

My mama found a very pretty dress while out shopping with her sisters today for the wedding.  She looks happy and that makes me happy.

My dear friend (and officiant) Marlene became a first time aunt today.  Congrats to the growing Q family! 

I finished the end of Gilmore Girls (again), so the combination of the book and the television show has left me in emotional shambles.

 

It's gonna be May

(Picture from {fellow blogger})


First and foremost: 


1) Survive.


There are a lot of escalating behaviors. There are a lot of parent-teacher-principal meetings. There are a lot of frustrating days..

2) I know it's more than half way through the month.  I can still make goals.

3) Finish this grad class.  He (the instructor) wasn't joking when he said the course work would take 45 hours (outside of work) to complete in the month time frame.  Once I'm done, I'll officially be at masters +34, which meets my personal educational goal.  (More on why that doesn't matter to my district at a later date!)

4) Do my nails.  They've been bare for a week. It's a small thing I can do for myself to boost my mood.
   

Reading... a huge stack of opinion essays on which would make a better pet: cats or dogs.  Since I am the proud fur mama to both, I'm torn.

This is the best set of essays my students have written this year, which is exciting.  It's been wonderful to see their growth as writers (and learners).  There's a lot of humor in these essays and my favorite line so far is "claws before paws".  

However, once all of the chaos of the end of the year subsides, I'll be diving into this:

Can't wait!   Some of my students have already finished The Hidden Oracle because it was released weeks ago but I told them no spoilers.  Several have expressed empathy because I have to wait until school is done to start the book.

I lack self control with books. I will escape into the pages and emerge hours later, having blissfully ignored the world spinning around me.  However, with everything on my end of the year to do list, this is not an option.  Since I lack self control, I have to wait. 

Playing... how long can I put off writing my report card comments. It's a game no one wins.

Watching... Gilmore Girls, again, in preparation for the Netflix relaunch of four epic episodes later this year.


Trying... to be positive.  This continues to be a struggle at the present time.

Being a grown up really stinks sometimes.

Cooking... nothing.  I was not aware of the true size of a 24" pizza from Angelina's so when I picked one up for me and B...it will feed us for a week.  The box did not fit in our fridge.  The box did not fit in the front seat of my car but instead went in the trunk.  So we will be eating left overs all week.

Eating...previously mentioned monster-sized pizza.

Drinking..water.  Lots and lots of water.

Calling... my mom, soon (ish).

Texting...B's mom about what she needs from the store.

Pinning... end of the year ideas.

Going... to finish grading. I have 2 final tests to give (and grade) on Monday and then year 7 will officially be in the books!

Loving...all the support surrounding my dear friend Ashley. She's a bit of a medical mystery and despite the weeks of hospitalization with no definite answers, she's got a smile on her face. She's one of the strongest people I know.  

She's also a die-hard Carolina Panthers fan...so I redecorated for her:

 

Waffles and I went to visit her yesterday.  We brought her family dinner and then I did her nails because everyone needs some girly time.  Waffles absolutely loves going to the rehab center because so many people want to stop and pet her.  

She's not a therapy dog but will happily sit and let anyone rub her belly.  She is also very gentle and was on her best behavior (it was our second visit).  Waffles also did amazing with the little kids that were there, which is good news for our future (IN A FEW YEARS) kids.


Hating... that she has no answers and isn't getting better.  At school I'm not a fan of the fact that about eight students are ruining the end of the year for everyone

Discovering... fifth grade may not be the grade for me.  That's rough to process, but there's a new crisis each day and it's getting hard to handle. 

But I'm trying to cope and focus on the positives through journaling:

Thinking... about opportunities.  I'm sorting through a lot of "maybe" scenarios for the future, so I stocked up on some office supplies to help me sort through my thoughts:

To be fair, I don't ever really need a reason to buy new office supplies!

Feeling... like my nose may fall off.  Thank goodness my face CT and follow up with the ENT is scheduled for the first week of summer break.

Hoping (for)...minimal to no report card edits!  We submit our grades and report card comments to administration.  My principal double checks that the comments are appropriate and specific for each child.  Then gives them back with editing remarks.  I'm hoping for a short stack!  Last semester I just had a few misplaced commas, nothing urgent.

Listening (to)...B watch a video for class.

Celebrating... that this school year is almost over! That means a new planner for next year:

Smelling... nothing. Thank you allergies.

Thanking... everything holy that the school year for being almost over!

Considering... a nap. 

Starting... to prep for next week's baby shower at work.  In the past two weeks, I've hosted a Amber's bridal shower:

And baby showers (two at once):

 
I do the shopping and decorating.  Another amazing staff member makes the cakes.  Team work is truly winning at our school!
 Finishing... the grading today, even if all the curse words are involved!