Sunshine.

It's the weekend, friends!

One of my good friends Darcy nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award :)

The rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award are:

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you

3. Nominated 11 bloggers you think bring sunshine to the world

4. Make up 11 questions for your nominations to answer.

My 11 random facts:

1. I watch more TV than anyone I know.  I barely watch during the week and BINGE on the weekends.  I follow so. many. shows.

2. I am a first year teacher and my classroom library has over 400 books in it.  Holla at me.

3. Not that many people in real life know I blog.  Is that weird?

4. I could eat Mexican food every day of my life.

5. It really bothers me when my fingernail polish and toenail polish don’t match.  OCD.

6. I don’t teach special ed, but it is something I am super passionate about.

7. I still remember my locker combination from 6^th grade.  My brain is FULL of useless information.  Most of my friends know to call me for random facts or general things that they can’t remember (Darcy can vouch for this).

8. I love dogs.  Even strangers’ dogs. I feel compelled to pet random dogs in public, even when I don’t know their owners.  Sorry in advance.

9. Sleep is a huge priority in my life. If I’m tired, NOTHING will be accomplished.

10. I am the world’s meanest person when I’m hungry.  This is called “hangry” and should be avoided whenever possible.

11. I have a random fear of forgetting my debit card when I go out to eat or shop.  I will compulsively check my wallet to make sure it’s in there.  Did I mention I think I have a slight case of OCD?

Here are my answers to Darcy's questions:

1. What was the last movie you saw?-Gravity.  My goal is to watch all of the Oscar nominated movies before the Oscars – so far so good!  I only have a few left: Her, Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena & Nebraska.
2. What is your favorite Winter scent/candle?-Hmm, I’m not a huge candle person (sorry Darcy!)…but I love the smell of peppermint.
3. What is your favorite social media platform?-I love Twitter.  Sadly, I’m unable to live tweet from my job (as you can imagine).  But I love to catch up on news and occasionally tweet about my life (3 hours after it happens).4. What clothing trend are you most looking forward to for Spring?-Does it count if I say what trend I’m LEAST looking forward to?  Haha, say it with me gingers of the world: PASTELS.  No way, no how.  Seriously keep light colors away from my even lighter skin. Please.5. How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions?-Considering my NYR was to not have one..I think I’m doing okay.  Ha! But in all seriousness, not that great.  Resolutions, like life, are a constant work in progress.6. What would buy if you won $1,000?-Is it sad that my first thought was “Pay off my car? Student loans? Oh wait, it’s only a grand”.  JEWELRY, SHOES.  A cute custom blog design.7. Where is your dream vacation?-Tropical cruise. London. Italy. Can my life just be like “Eat, Pray, Love”?8. What is your favorite thing you own?-iPhone.  It’s basically an extension of my arm.9. Who's show would you want to be invited to for NYFW?-Love me some Michael Kors.10. What is the meaning behind your blog name?-I originally wanted something that rhymed, but mainly something catchy.  Then it dawned on me that this is my first year teaching, first year out of college, a lot of firsts.  Lots of teachers call first graders “firsties” & I teach first grade so it worked.  It’s my first time as a firstie teacher J11. If you were in the Olympics, what would be your sport?FIGURE SKATING.  Obsessed.

My 11 Nominees:

I don’t even KNOW 11 bloggers to tag (this is really sad – I swear I have friends in real life), so if you are reading this, that brings sunshine to my world and you are nominated.  Tell me 11 random things about yourself and answer these 11 questions I came up with:

1. What do you love most about your job?

2. What's one accessory you can't live without?

3. If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

4. Who is your biggest inspiration?

5. Where do you most want to live in the world?

6. What's your favorite pattern or print?

7. What's your favorite childhood memory?

8. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

9. What are your 3 favorite stores to shop at?

10. If the sky rained food, what would you want it to rain?

11. What is the meaning behind your blog name?

Thanks for reading this whole post :)

If you take the time to answer my questions, comment with the link below so I can read it!

Have a great weekend.

Reason #3743 Why I Have a Shopping Problem

Seriously. It's real. I used to just be shoes. Then children's books. Then Teachers Pay Teachers products. Now (apparently) it's jewelry.

Let me show you all the goodies - both school and non-school related - that I scooped up this weekend.

PRAISE to the Super Bowl sale holders. Forreal. I can't walk away from a sale. Basically, it just gave me a reason to chop a chunk out of my wish list without feeling guilty.

Here's what I bought and my opinions. Click the links to go to the product.

Dang, Cara Carroll has outdone herself! This is incredibly legit. I had been pining over this for awhile but felt like I didn't need it since I teach 1st (is that weird?!). However, a couple of my firsties are struggling still. There are so many games, activities and fun ways for your kiddos to practice different CVC words. It's amazing how MANY things are in this product. Definitely worth the money.

Another great Cara Carroll product. This packet has all the same activities and games as the CVC packet, but with CVCE words. I think this is great for 1st grade to keep practicing silent e throughout the year. I can't wait to get this printed and used in my classroom!

YAY FOR THIS. I've been wanting this since it came out! I really want to give my kiddos some extra practice with digraphs. My favorite part of this packet is that it has both beginning AND ending digraphs. I think we forget (at least I do) to give them examples of both kinds of words.

The last thing I bought was this great product from Haley O'Connor. I LOVE her products. This is a spin on the game concentration with CVC words. Definitely printing this out ASAP so I can get it going in my classroom with my struggling kiddos.

All I need now is to print off an obscene amount color copies on card stock. Any tips for this? I usually just send it to Office Max, but I know it's going to be ridiculously expensive. I'm sure a lot of bloggers print a TON of color copies & laminate them - so how do you afford it? I only have 100 color copies/year at school, so I couldn't even print all of this there. Thoughts??

As far as jewelry, here we go. I went a little crazy at Stella & Dot online.

I'm really excited for these to get here so I can get my bracelet stacking on.

What do you think? How'd I do on my shopping?

Shelby

I just love love.

It's February, friends!  I am super excited for this month because I have so many exciting things coming up.  I am visiting good ol' Maryville (where I went to college) to visit some of my friends that still live there. I am also seeing with some of my close friends to plan a bachelorette party and bridal shower.  I can't wait to work out all the details so we can start planning for the bride :)

In honor of a new month, I'm linking up with Farley for February's Currently.

Listening: I'm always listening to Pandora.  At home, at school - my students even listen to classical piano while we have Writer's Workshop!  Pop Fitness Radio is one of my favorites!

Loving:  I am obsessed with Target.  I GOT SO MUCH STUFF TODAY.  I got some cute stickers and things for my kiddos to decorate their valentine bags with.  I got a few boxes of valentines for any of my friends that forget or don't buy valentines.  For my firsties from me, I found JUNIE B. JONES VALENTINES.  Yes, I am actually shouting.  I read aloud Junie B. almost everyday and she's become a class favorite (most likely because she's my favorite).  Look at these beauties:

I also found some gummy BRACELETS to give to the kids with their Junie B. valentines from me.  I mean what's a valentine without some candy to go with it?  Not to mention they are gluten-free (a must in my room)! 

I also got little bouncy balls.  I'm planning on getting some cheap Valentine plastic cups to put the valentine, bracelet and bouncy ball in.  For those of you who know how obsessed I am with Scholastic, our class order was enough this month to get coupons for all the kids to get a free book with $10 purchase.  Talk about spreading a LOVE for learning.  Okay, I'm done.

Thinking: I've gotten into the (bad) habit of not doing a lot after school during the week and figuring I'll get it done during the weekend.  Then I have mounds of things to do at home on the weekend.  Argh!  I need to come up with a better system.

Wanting: I am lusting after some Stella & Dot jewelry.  I need to decide what I want to get this paycheck and order it.  I'm wanting to up my accessory game this year ;)

Needing: THIS IS THE YEAR.  The year I'm going to watch all the Oscar nominated movies.  I think it will make it 100 times easier to predict the winners.  So far I've seen 12 Years A Slave, August: Osage County, Captain Phillips and American Hustle.

2 Truths & a Fib: I rarely drink pop is a FIB.  I get a large Sonic Dr. Pepper every morning before school.  I've become friends with the people that work there.  No shame.  I am fantastic at trivia and own an obscene amount of shoes.

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me :)

Shelby