2014 Secondary Teachers' Holiday Recipe Book

Let me begin by saying I am truly sorry I have been missing lately! My doctoral studies got the best of me this semester. I am back now, and I am so excited! 

You do not want to miss this year's 2014 Secondary Teachers' Holiday Recipe Book! It is full of yummy dishes and treats to make your holiday season delicious. It is FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers. Thank you to Mrs. S for compiling the book for us. It looks fabulous. 

Here is my contribution this year. 

It is the recipe for easy cookies my granny taught me how to make when I was four years old. They are super easy and taste wonderful. You can choose your favorite toppings. I, myself, love M&M candies on them. I will never forget the memories with my granny...priceless! 

July Currently

I am joining Farley's Currently Party! I am so happy to be back! I have been MIA lately...too many papers to write and too many articles to read. But I am happy to be back to share with you what I have been doing. 

Listening: My daughter is watching Pirate Fairy for the thousandth time. She loves it just about as much as she loves the Frozen movie and soundtrack. I am confident that I know every single word to all of those songs. :) 

Loving: I am loving spending time with my daughter. She turned six in June (post about party coming soon), and that just makes me happy and sad at the same time. I am happy because she is starting to become her own personality, but I am sad because I no longer have a "baby." 

Thinking: That pile of dissertations and research articles in my office just keeps growing. I need to get in there and get busy. This is my last time going back to school, and my husband is so thrilled that after I earn this degree, there are no more educational degrees to earn for me. He has been super supportive and has been very tolerant of my "love for learning" over the years; however, I know he will be so happy when it is all completed. 

Wanting: I want a pedicure. I started back running (slow and steady), and I just want one. 

Needing: My closet is out of control. I need to get in there and organize it asap! No other explanations needed. 

Fourth of July Plans: My sister and her husband always host the 4th of July party. It will be a fun time with family and friends...along with a lot of swimming, sliding (big inflatable slide intended for the kids, but the adults take over), and food. I hope everyone has a fun, safe holiday!

Georgia Bloggers Blog Hop

Who is ready for a blog hop that is as sweet as your Granny's tea? I know I love to get teaching ideas and resources from others, so come on and join us! You'll be glad you did!

Right Down the Middle with Andrea is from southwest Georgia. I was born and raised in Grady County, home of the Syrupmakers (Yes, that is the high school's mascot...very unique!). I grew up on sweet tea, home-cooking, and football. On Friday nights, it is like the town shuts down completely...if you need to find someone, you have to head to the stadium. There you will find the whole town cheering on the team. 

Grady County is home to many wonderful events and people. Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo. Mickey Thomas (lead singer for Jefferson Starship) "Built This City on Rock-n-Roll." Teresa Edwards, Olympic Basketball player and medalist, grew up shooting hoops right here in Cairo. We have has numerous athletes, businessmen, writers, and artists leave their legacies on our town. 

Some of the events we host each year are unique to our area. The last Saturday in January, the Whigham Community Club hosts the Rattlesnake Round-up. Mule Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in November, and is hosted by the Calvary Lions Club. Thousands of people come from all over the United States to watch them grind cane to make cane syrup. There is also a Mule Parade where all the mules strut their stuff down the narrow streets for the spectators. 

Now on the the fun stuff...

Grab yourself this freebie from my TpT store!

Enter for your chance to win some awesome resources from some peachy Georgia bloggers. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't stop here! Keep going so you can be introduced to some bloggers, resources, and freebies!

   

An InLinkz Link-up

    

Spring into a Giveaway!

With the onset of spring this past Thursday (yes, it is spring-like weather in South Georgia), Created by Mr. Hughes wanted to do a Spring Fling Giveaway. The winner will receive $5 per store listed, a clip art set, and a poetry unit that is perfect for the month of April. But hurry...the giveaway only runs from Saturday until Monday. You will not want to miss it!

In addition to the giveaway, he is also hosting a linky to find fabulous free and paid resources for Spring! It is a win-win. Simply peruse the resources that are linked, and then make sure you enter the giveaway! Also, make sure you visit the TpT pages of those who are donating to this giveaway. Their stores are loaded with resources for every subject area. What a spring-tastic idea! 

My TpT store will be discounted 10% off everything Saturday through Monday. Enjoy!

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Welcome, February!

It is February, so that means is it time to team up with Farley for the monthly Currently! I just L.O.V.E. these!

As I was working on this, I had just gotten home from sitting in doctoral classes for two days. I was glad to be home, and I was glad to sit in front of the crackling fire and watch television with my little family! And the hubby had supper cooked, too! 

While I was gone, I guess my little one decided to wear many wardrobes...the mountain of laundry is going to erupt at any moment! I want a little bit of sunshine. It has just been too cold for too long here in Georgia. It is not normally like this, so I don't know how to act. I like sunshine! In addition to the laundry that has to be washed, dried, folded, and put up, I also need to work on some RTI folders that I have been pushing to the side this week. I might as well just go ahead and tackle them (getting ready for the Super Bowl). 

Two Truths and a Fib: Can anyone guess which is my fib? 

1. I am addicted to Diet Coke. There, I said it. 

2. I am a southern gal, but I despise collard greens. I don't like the smell of them, nor do I like the taste. 

3. I am the first-born child. I have a sister who is five years younger than I am, and she is also a teacher. 

Since it is February, I uploaded a new mini-unit that is a supplement for Black History Month. If you are interested, you can give it a look. 

Black History Month Mini-Unit

Snow Day 2014

Welcome Winter! Here in southwestern Georgia we got a very rare, unexpected day off on Wednesday. Many are calling it a "snow day," but I am just going to call it a "too cold for school kind of day." You see, in the South, when it is that cold and it mixes with rain, our bridges and back roads are just not prepared for the icy conditions. They felt it was better to keep people off of the roads than to risk it...I am thankful!

My daughter and I had a wonderful day of playing Connect Four, drinking hot chocolate, watching television while snuggling on the couch, and looking outside for the occasional snow flurry to float through the air. It was a wonderful day!

Here is a picture of our backyard. There is not much there, but our deck was frozen and I would not walk out on it for fear I would not stay upright. 

I know the weather in other parts was terrible and conditions were such administrators, teachers, and students were stranded in schools and some even on buses. I am thankful we did not see those conditions, but I pray for others who did to stay warm and get to their loved ones safely. 

Have you had a snow day this year? What is your favorite thing to do on a snow day? 

A Birthday Bash Giveaway

My friend Jamie over at Miss Math Dork hit a big milestone, and now she is celebrating! But we couldn't let her celebrate alone. If you head over to her blog, you have a chance to win over $200 worth of goodies from some blogging buddies who wanted to help her celebrate! It is easy to enter and well worth your time! Congratulations to Jamie! 

Go to the Giveaway

A Fresh Start

There will be no snow day for me today. It is cold, and I am typing this, the temperature is steadily dropping, but we will still have school. Today is a teacher workday, which is always good to have to get my mental focus prepared for the tasks I need to accomplish. 

As I begin the second half of this school year, I am blessed to work with such a wonderful faculty and staff. This year begin my journey as an Instructional Coordinator. While I honestly did not fully understand all the responsibilities this position would entail, I have learned a lot. And I mean a lot. I am thankful the faculty (and my dear friends) have been very patient with me on this journey. I know I still have a lot more to learn, but it has truly been a wonderful journey up to this point. 

In an earlier post I stated I would make my goals for this year public on this blog. I think I am ready to do just that...wait, am I? Didn't I say something about I was making them public so you would hold me accountable? Okay, that is your job. Hold me accountable this year. 

A New Year...A New Me

1. Be the best mommy ever...My little girl is five years old, and she is the best blessing I have received. In this fast-paced world, I tend to rush things, mainly her in the mornings when we are trying to get to school. I want to spend good, quality time with her...no television, computer, outside distractions...just our little family bonding and making memories. I don't want to miss out on anything. 

2. Be the best spouse I can be...We will celebrate our 8th Anniversary in April, and time surely does fly when you are having fun! I just need a reminder to be patient, kind, loving, and understanding. 

3. Be a good friend...In my walk of life I have made many acquaintances who have turned out to be some of the best friends anyone could ask for. I want to be a good friend and be there to listen (not talk...sometimes hard for me) whenever I am needed. 

4. Be the best at my job...I love education! I am constantly learning new things, and I try to broaden my experiences so I can be the best at what I do. Now, I know there is always someone who it better than me out there, but I want to learn from my mistakes and do what is the best thing for our students. 

5. Be healthier...I am not going to put a goal of how many times I want need to workout, but I am going to say I am going to make better decisions about what foods I eat. I am also going to exercise, even if it is just for a few minutes each time. 

I apologize for such a long post today! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

If you have not already done so and you need a quick class starter, grab my It's a New Year Writing Activity...it's free! 

It's Giveaway Day!

Good morning! If you will head on over to our All Things Upper Elementary Blog, you can enter for a chance to win my January Writing Bundle. I will randomly select three lucky winners. All you have to do is leave your email address in the comment section of the post at ATUE. While you are there, you can also download a freebie from me to use in your classroom. Good luck and I hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Writing through January

I have done a complete overhaul on all of my monthly writing bundles...in fact, I have not uploaded all of the months yet because I am editing all of them. However, the January Writing Bundle is up and ready for you! I think you will find these bundles are wonderful resources to have in your possession. 

In each writing bundle, you will find 20 journal topics for the month. The journal topics come in two formats: (1) two journals per page complete with a journal cover page to make into a booklet or insert into a binder and (2) cut-and-paste topics to add into a notebook. You choose which format works best for your classroom!

Also included are three essay prompts. There is one informational prompt, one argumentative prompt, and one narrative prompt. You will get a writing prompt page with an organizer for the students to organize their thoughts, writing papers, and a scoring rubric. 

Below are some pics of what you might find in the writing bundle. I hope you will check it out!

 

Click HERE for the January Writing Bundle

Ringing in a New Year!

Wow! It is 2014 already! I simply cannot believe how quickly 2013 began and ended. There are many things that I would like to accomplish in 2014, but I am going to have to wait until a later post to outline those for you...I have to choose the ones that I know I can hold myself accountable for and accomplish. 

Since it is January 1st, it is time for Farley's Currently. 

Listening: Football, football, football...that is all you hear in our house right now (all day and probably night, too). I am disappointed the UGA Bulldogs lost today, but I am still proud to be a fan! 

Loving: I have truly enjoyed every second of this break. I love my little family and love spending time with them. 

Thinking: We are going to see Walking with Dinosaurs tomorrow. It is going to rain, so it will at least give us an fun outing. 

Wanting: I want my house cleaned. Period. 

Needing: Absolutely nothing! I am blessed beyond measure and cannot think of anything I need. 

Memory and/or Tradition: When I was a little girl, I remember baking cookies at Christmas. This is something I have carried over to my little family. My daughter and I love to bake (and eat) cookies. Then she gets to leave them out for Santa. 

I hope everyone has a joyful January!