My Favorite Things Linky!

I found this linky and just had to join in the fun! Life gets hectic around the holidays...at school and at home and this linky is a fun way to take a break! 

Thank you Southern Fried Teachin' for hosting!

Here are my favorite things!

1) Favorite Holiday Song: Bare Naked Ladies 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman/We Three Kings'

Click below to hear the song! It's wonderful!

2) Favorite Holiday Guilty Pleasure Food: 

Watergate Salad (aka Pistachio Delight). I love this and only have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's yummy! Here is a recipe.

3) Favorite Holiday Tradition: We have a pickle ornament. Each year after my kids go to sleep on Christmas Eve we place the pickle ornament on the tree, but in a hidden area. The next day whichever one of our kids finds it first wins $5.00. The kids usually forget til midday and then all of a sudden one remembers and there is a mad dash to the tree to find it. It is hilarious to watch!

4) Favorite Holiday Book: I love 'The Mitten' because it can be read all winter long! It also has wonderful illustrations.

5) Favorite Holiday Act of Kindness: There is a church near my school that does the Alpine Village every year. They create a beautiful lighted Christmas village inside a gym. School children come and visit each little shop in the village. These wonderful people gave my students a book, stocking, toys, etc... They also get to sit on Santa's lap. It is a magical morning for the children!

6) Favorite Holiday Memory: Usually Christmas Day is a cold day. One Christmas it was as warm as a summer day! That particular Christmas I received a bicycle from Santa. I was able to ride it outside with all the other neighborhood children. Kids were everywhere riding bikes, skateboards, and their new skates!

7) Favorite Holiday Childhood Gift: I wasn't a child, but a teenager...does that count???  LOL My boyfriend (now husband) bought me a $100 Swatch Watch! I loved it!

8) Favorite Holiday Craft: My mother and Godmother made tons of home-made ornaments for our Christmas tree.  My mom's ornaments have tons of pins and sequins. My Godmother made ornament eggs...out of real eggs! All awesome and I still have them.

9) Favorite Holiday Movie: No contest! Santa Claus is Coming to Town! I grew up watching these movies! I love this part the best!

10) Favorite Place to Shop for Holiday Gifts: Online websites. Have you seen www.vat19.com or www.personalizationmall.com?

11) What I want Santa to Bring Me: New wedding rings. I currently have a gold set, but I would like a silver set.

12) Favorite Product: 

My pride and joy is my Modern Cursive Writing Pack. It can be used all year long!

I hope you enjoyed this linky!

Farley Currently December

It's that time again! It's link up time!

Listening: I am up way too late and everyone is already asleep! I will regret this tomorrow I'm sure!

Loving: Christmas time! I love this time of the year (even though I despise cold weather!). I love the Christmas music and going through the neighborhoods and seeing all the lights! 

Thinking: I started my '12 Days of Christmas' freebies today! Would you like to unwrap your presents too? Check it out here! That's all I have been thinking about today because I have been working on it for the last 2 months!

Wanting: There has been a great deal of stress in the education world! My wish to Santa is that it would all go away!

Needing: I think I wish for that maid every month! Do you think Santa will bring me one?

Real or Faux: It doesn't matter. It depends on my mood. Right now my mood is to have a fake little 2 foot tree in the corner. It suits us just fine! (My kids are grown...can you tell?)

Come join us for the link up!

Pick 3 Linky

It's time to join us for the Pick 3 Linky! Here are my top 3 for this month! I am really trying to work in more science experiments in my classroom and fall is a great time to incorporate some great ones!

(click on the pictures to go to those pins)

Here is a pin that leads to a website that is packed full of fall experiments.

Here is another one with some great science experiments. Looks great for Halloween!

I love getting in some art projects when I can! These leaves are precious and my students will love them!

An InLinkz Link-up

Farley Link Up

It's that time! It's time to link up with Farley again!

Listening: I am so tired and sometimes just sitting in silence in the evening is so theraputic. 

Loving: I am lucky that I have a well-behaved class this year. I have a high group of 1st/2nd kids and I am thrilled that there are no problems with my wonderful babies!

Thinking: My husband and I have so many things to do this weekend. From errands to laundry we are going to be busy!

Wanting: We ordered a new custom couch! It is ready and we are picking it up Sunday. Horray! It's been ready for weeks, but our truck has been in the shop for 3 weeks! Ugghhh!!!  We have had to wait that long!

Needing: A personal assistant. Yep! I have way, way, way, way, WAY too much on my plate! I wish I had help. I would like a teacher assistant, a personal chef, a housekeeper, a gardener, a personal assistant, etc... That would all help so much!

Boo-tiful: I think pumpkins are boo-tiful! They are my favorite part of October. I love the seeds the best! They are yummy! 

Join us for the link up!

Summer Reading!

I'm linking up with Ciera from Adventures of Room 129 to share our summer reading choices!

My summer is just getting started. Here in NC, we end the school year in June. The student's last day was this past Thursday. I'm usually a pretty avid reader getting through a novel or two in a week, but in the past few years life has been more hectic and my reading has really slowed down. I did manage to read some wonderful chapter books to my students like The Phantom Tollbooth and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. They were fantastic and I would highly recommend them whether you are reading them with children or not.

I've already started on my summer reading with two novels. I am not one to read books related to teaching in the summer. I try to stay away from my job so I can recharge as best as possible. So everything I read will be for fun!

Here is my dog, Logan, showing you my first two books of the summer.

I actually already finished the first book. It is called Girl Underwater by Claire Kells. This is her very first novel and it just came out! And I must say she did a wonderful job! I truly enjoyed the book. My local library has a section for their newest books and that's where I found it. It sounded intriguing and it was. I really enjoyed the story and the author's style of writing. I hope she writes another novel soon!

The second book is called Twelve Across by Barbara Delinsky. I have read many of her books over the years and I always come back for more! I just love the romance she puts in her books. They are always very well written and I am never disappointed.

When I finish, I will head back to the library and grab some more. I also like to read books by Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz.

What are reading this summer? 

Click here to link up and join the fun!

Pick 3 for June

It's pick 3 time!! For summer, we are choosing non-school related items. Here are my choices for the month of June. Click on each picture to visit the website this pin came from. Enjoy!

Does this not look yummy! This is a summer recipe I definitely want to try!

 I have made crockpot lasagna before and I love it! It's so easy! And I usually make mine and freeze it ahead of time. Then I throw it in the crockpot in the morning, turn it on, and go!

I just love that this lady made a different crockpot recipe every single day for a whole year! She has posted each of these recipes on her website. Summer is a great time to try out these recipes!

An InLinkz Link-up

March Pinterest Pick 3 Linky

Are you on Pinterest as much as I am? If so, I am sure you find some great ideas! Well here are some of my top favorites for this month!

 I saw this and just had to have it for my classroom! It's a freebie and and great way to label your math centers! (Click on the picture to go to the pin)

I love this adorable craft! I want to make it with my 2nd graders and I'm sure they will love to take it home and hang it up for St. Patrick's Day!

 Are these not the most adorable pudding snacks you have ever seen! What kid wouldn't love this? If you love making cute treats for your class this is the one for you! I'm thinking of doing this one for my kiddos!

I love my choices for this month! While you're over at Pinterest stop by and check out my boards! If you would like to join my collaborative boards just leave me a message. You will find all my matching collaborative boards at the top!

An InLinkz Link-up

March Currently!

It's that time! Time to link up with Farley!

Listening:

I love to listen to the TV or to Spotify while I work in the evenings or on the weekends, but I tend to work faster and better when there is just plain silence. Right now I can hear only the hum of the washing machine  in the back of the house. The dog is asleep at my feet and the rest of the family is off doing what they love to do. I do want to watch and listen to more House of Cards, but I will hold off for now. Anyone else watching that show?

Loving:

Payday was Friday. So once a month we do one big grocery/supply shopping trip. That happened this morning.  Glad to be done with that. It’s a huge undertaking. We have done it this way for many, many years and it work well for us. The rest of the month we swing by the store when we need milk and bread…stuff like that.  But otherwise, we are done!

Thinking:

I am a pretty structured person. I like my schedule. I like my students to have a structured schedule. Every time I think we are back to normal it snows again. So I am looking at my schedule for this week and thinking ok, back to normal and my husband says that we might be interrupted by snow AGAIN!!! I am NOT a winter person.

Wanting:

There have been some things going on that have caused me some anxiety. After this week, things should be a bit better, especially after Monday.

Needing:

Spring! Spring! Spring! I think I am at my best in warm sunny weather! I was born on a hot sunny day and it is where I thrive and belong!

Spring Break:

I will see some of my family during spring break which isn't until the week of Easter. You should see my nieces! They are so cute! To see photos, scroll to the top and click on the about me section of my blog.

"What's in my Cart?" Link Up!

Hello everyone! I am home here in North Carolina for another snow day! On the one hand I get to work on my blog and my TpT products, but on the other hand it really messes up my structured schedule and plans in my classroom. Do you ever feel torn like that?

Well today I am linking up with Stephanie over at Mrs. D's Corner. She had a fabulous idea to share what is in our carts for the TpT sale this week! If you are like me you have tons of items in your wishlist all the time! I'd like to show you some products that are in my wishlist and are taking the trip to my cart this Wednesday! They are wonderful products that you are going to want to snatch up! So let's get started!

If you teach 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade you have to grab this product from Mrs. D's Corner! It is Theodor Seuss Geisel's biography created in a lapbook style. I love this! And here is what is great about it! 1) It has color photos to help you create it step by step with your kids. 2) It is geared towards the older children. 3) It gets you away from the usual coloring pages and little kids stuff that we tend to do for Dr. Seuss' birthday. This is for the big kids. I love it! (I know I already said this, but I do!)

If you are looking for clip art Glitter Meets Glue just released the most adorable Easter Candy clip art ever! And how can you resist the glitter! I just love it! She also has some other wonderful sets that you just can't resist! (Trust me, I know!)

I can't get enough clip art! I found this clip art artist recently named Classroom Doodle Diva and her work is starting to fill up my wishlist and cart. I love this dice so much! What great clip art to use for a math product! It is the most adorable set! Check her out!

Simply Skilled in Second makes awesome flip flap books! Her most recent is for Healthy Teeth! If you have never tried any of her flip flap books you need to. She also has a video showing how they work. The kids really enjoy creating them. They are a lot of fun!

Do you have a Teacher Hero?

It's sale time and I am always excited when this time rolls around! The theme for this sale is "Teachers are Heroes". I know for me personally, I have had many teachers from kindergarten all the way through grad school that I would consider my hero. They were fabulous teachers and I loved them! I am thankful that I got to know them and have them in my life. I hope that my students will look back and feel that way about me when they are older. So since we are talking about heroes, here are some great teachers participating in the sale this week. Check out their stores! And remember, they are their student's heroes!

An InLinkz Link-up