WOW!! Really? Has it been that LONG?

Oh my gracious!  I cannot believe that it has been since September that I have written a post on my blog.  I have MANY excuses, and yes, they are good ones! So much has been going on in my life both personally and professionally.

My kiddos moved to San Diego so we helped them move down there in September.  YEP!  I am HATING it.  They are too far and I miss them terribly. We have made 2 trips down there since and sent them home for Christmas (in which I was struck with the HORRIBLE flu on Christmas Eve morning and missed Christmas all together). BOO!!  And I even had a FIRST time ever FLU shot this year... Yeah, that worked out well..

I have also been remodeling our master bath.  Tearing out everything was fun and wish I could say we finished it but NOPE, it sits torn out.  I am hoping to have it done by summer.

Professionally I have been keeping busy beyond what I ever imagined.  Our school was selected to be a recipient of the Dr. Ben Carson Reading Room Grant (we are the first in the whole state of California) and I was selected as the Lead Designer for the room.  Yep, Designer!!  Whoo Hoo!!!  It has been fun, exciting and challenging.  I have been in charge of the complete design, purchasing and selection of all materials.  My vision will hopefully be complete by the end of January and pictures will be posted.  I wanted a calm and serene space the students to just sit, chill and read.  I went with a calm gray and white color palette but have added big POPS of lime green, orange and aqua.  I was given a particular budget and let me tell you, it doesn't go far when you have to purchase seating but I got creative and can't wait to share with everyone!

Also, I was asked to be a Beginning Teacher Support Provider which takes up WAY too much of my time.  I have constant meetings after school and living an hours drive away (each way) from my school site, makes me want to just bring a cot to my classroom and spend the nights there!!

I am hoping that by the end of this school year, things will calm down and I can get back to concentrating on my classroom designs.  I have managed to make a new design this break.  I LOVE the colors.  And with this being the holidays and having way to many SWEETS in the house served as my inspiration.  I made a sweet Candy Land theme.  Will be doing one in primary colors as well.  I hope you like it!

I just want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you that have stumbled upon my blog, a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and may 2014 bring health, happiness and many blessings your way!

A little Preview!

I have been working on my classroom (FINALLY) and have put some stuff together.  Still doing some tweaking here and there.  I love to take pictures of my classroom because it seems like after you look at them, you notice items that don't look so good or how some areas look a little "blah".  Why is that?  When I look at my room as a whole I never notice empty spots but, I guess the camera doesn't lie!

GIVE AWAY! 50 Followers!

Whoo Hoo!  I am up to 50 followers on bloglovin.  I would LOVE more followers but to my current followers, I would like to do a little giveaway to say "thank you" for adding me to your list of blogs to read/follow.

The winner will win any 1 item from either one of my shops on TPT or Teachers Notebook!

All you need to do is visit either one of my shops, leave me a comment with which item you would like and you could win that item!  Simple, right?  I will pick a winner on Sunday, August 11th so get your comments in now!

Good Luck!

Dreaming of the Beach

One thing I really wanted to do this summer was go back to my "home" of Hawaii but just didn't seem to get there. (Insert kicking and screaming here!) So I let the hubster know that since we didn't get back this summer that for my BIG birthday this year, it is a must.  I don't want any surprise parties (they actually scare the heck out of me), I don't need any presents, just a trip to the beach is what the doctor ordered (ok, I fibbed to him about that but hey, what ever works right?).  So since I will have to wait until Fall break, I just can't get the calming colors of Hawaii (as I see them) out of my mind.  So, I made a planner/Binder that reminded me of the coastal visions that are in my minds eye to bring me back home for now!  I hope you enjoy!

Sailing into Learning...

A couple of new items have been posted into my shop.  I had a request for a nautical theme so this is what I came up with.

I would love to hear what everyone would like to see in their classroom or what "theme" or "colors" ya'll are using.  I love hearing what others like!

Hope everyone is still enjoying their summer!

Loving my planner!

I have been tweaking my planner a little and found the coolest tabs ever!  I found these at Staples and they are so easy to use.  I even had the Staples guy punch holes in them before I printed on them so I could take out my spiral and insert these into my planner.  What do ya'll think?  I am loving these and the best part, you can take them off if you need to change the tab without taking the tab out of the planner.  You can also print them in any color!  Another score!

Cupcakes and Polka Dots

Per request, I have made and finished my cupcake theme.  It is sprinkled with polka dots and coordinates well with the CTP Dots on Chocolate.  Hope you enjoy this one!  Many thanks again to all my sweet supporters!  Ya'll are awesome!