a challenge (of sorts...)

I love my family.  Scratch that.  I love my TWO families - my immediate family and hubs' immediate family.  Last weekend, one of my SIL's (sister-in-law - for those new to the infamous abbreviations that regularly pop up on this ol' blog) told me about a friend of hers who gave up clothes shopping for 6 months.  That idea intrigued me a whole heck uva lot.

So I talked to hubs.  Because that's what I do when I'm intrigued.  He is my sounding board.  Sweet guy.

Then I thought more about it.  And thought and thought for 3 days.  I went back and forth.  I reasoned with myself as to why it would be a bad idea and why I thought I didn't really need to do it.  Then I realized that attempting to talk myself out of it is probably reason enough as to why I need to do it.

So I talked some more to hubs.  And thought some more.

And decided to give it a shot.

So from December 1 to June 1, I will not buy any clothes.  (I already tried to rationalize that I might need that cheap hoodie from Old Navy, those yoga pants from Victoria's Secret, that scarf from Target, those shoes from Gap, or those too-cute socks from Dillard's.  Lame.  I can do without.)

Bottom line:  I have enough.  I have more than enough.

I know that decisions like these are best made in secret, but I figured that if the idea intrigued me as much as it did/does, perhaps you would be intrigued as well.

Do you have more than enough _________ (fill in the blank...for me it's clothes)?  Would you think about joining me? 

Just throwing it out there...

Imagine what could be done with the money you would otherwise spend on clothes.  Dream big, people.

Any takers?  Holler back!!

PS - much gratitude to SIL Tammy for the suggestion.

Thanks

Psalm 107:17b
So thank God for his marvelous love,
      for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
   Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
      tell the world what he's done—sing it out!

Thanks for...
...a husband who has self-assurance as one of his top 5 strengths. $2 boo-rito on Halloween?  Def yes.

 ...for neph #3 who always amazes me with his growing mind.

 ...for nephs #'s 5 and 6...I mean, come on, what's not to love about human-sized candy corns?

...and so much more.

Life is sweet.  I saw a play on Saturday (Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors...never heard of it?  I hadn't either).  It had a great message, and you know I love all things with great messages.  The message was this:  life is short, so don't spend your time waiting for bad things to happen or waiting for life to "get better."  Love love LOVE where you're at...no matter where you're at.  It's all about perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

PS - 9 days until the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.  :)

Be Realz

im gunna b rlz 4 a sec. tk it r lv it.

I'm a little tired of sloppy work.  And by a "little," I mean A LOT.  I've gone through too much red ink...

I know my kiddos have a life outside of my class.  In fact, I regularly remind myself that my classroom is far from real life.

But seriously.

Marking up essay after essay and study guide after study guide is just exhausting.  I've been timing myself as I've been grading the latest batch of essays.  The strugglers take up to 10 minutes to grade while the beauties take 3-4 minutes.  I sigh.

And then there are the bright moments:

• The kiddo who stays until 5 to catch up in my class
• The connections made to the Kardashians...regardless of what we're reading
• The team who names themselves "Mrs. Carlson's Favorite"...and then wins the review game.  I laugh.
• The student who comes in at 7 am for help
• The last-minute unit switcheroo that actually works
• The sound of students thinking = silence 

 Teaching is wonderful.  Really wonderful.  But so so so exhausting.  To all you teachers out there - I feel your pain, and I rejoice in your light-bulb moments.

I've never been one to "live for the weekend," but I am thankful for Thanksgiving break.

I am also, however, thankful that my kids like what we're doing.

Life is too short to dwell with negative Nancy's.  As I tell my students:  it's all about perspective.

Current perspective I'm aiming for:  glass half-full.

Fall Festivities Part 2

It's been a full fall.  Full of funness.

Check it.

Jazzy was in Wichita.  I had a day off.  Perf combo.

 Small group outing to a corn maze.  Complete with a gigantic "trampoline". My cardio for the day.

 One baby neph.  So sweet. 

 Two nephs on a swing.

Cheers to fall.  And, may I say, we have some exciting news that's about to totally take over the blog.

Nope, not preggo.

Even better.  For us.  In this season of life.

Just you wait. It'll all become public knowledge on December 1st.

Eeeee gads!

Elementary?

These popsicle sticks made their way into my classroom today...

...and I used them for two different reasons.

Class A:  too many chatty chatters.  So each time I must remind them to stay on task OR each time a student blurts out, a stick is removed.  When all 5 sticks are removed, the students miss out on 1 minute of their  passing period.  If I must "put one stick back" because they are still disrupting, they miss out on 2 minutes of their passing period.  It's kind of a big deal.  Of course, of course, there are reinforcements for positive behavior.  I had them create their reinforcements, I'm "mulling them over" tonight, and I'll have a big reveal tomorrow.  Like I said, it's kind of a big deal...

Class B:  too many bathroom goers/task avoiders.  I have 3 sticks on the board for this class.  Each time a student leaves the room, a stick is removed.  When all sticks are removed, no on else leaves.  I told them today that since "I have to hold it, they do too."  This is also kind of a big deal...

Yay for using my "Behavior Management" class knowledge!!!!

And yay for finding a way to use popsicle sticks in a secondary classroom!!