It's Gonna Be May! Well it CURRENTLY is already...

Yes, all last week I was humming N'Sync It's Gonna Be Me...thanks to my favorite radio show that played it every morning. It's quite funny how JT sounds like he is saying, It's gunna be May! And I do love MAY!

Linking up Farley for CURRENTLY!

Listening: My husband and I love this enchanted show! We were hooked after the very first episode.

Loving: The month of MAY! Let's see, Mother's Day, my BIRTHDAY, a long Memorial Day weekend that basically kicks off the "summer" feeling, it's finally getting warm and beautiful out and we are only 7 weeks away from SUMMER VACATION!

Thinking: I recently started a Couch to Half Marathon training plan. Up till this point, I have only ran 5 miles at one time. I have done a few 5K's and want to continue to build my miles. I finished week one and I am thinking that it will be a miracle if I finish the training plan. It is hard to think about running 13.1 miles! I have to sign up for a race like yesterday, so that I do not give up my motivation!

Wanting: It is already Sunday? Two days is not enough for a weekend. I vote to make Friday's a day off as well :o)

Needing: With all the snow days, some sickness, spring break and moving, my second half of this school year has been difficult, with only like 2-3 full weeks of school (that's no joke!). It has made the kiddos squirrelly, chatty, etc. When they don't see each other for a few days in a row that are not scheduled, I swear they come back like it's the day after New Year's each time. And my absences haven't made it any easier on them either. I guess they will get their fill of me next year when I have them AGAIN in 2nd grade! That's right, looping up again!

SURPRISE: The first person to comment on my blog post will get to pick from anything in my TpT store for FREE! Thanks for reading!

And a few photos to share from April...our new home, spring break at the beach and a little Earth Day photo from the first grade...

I wish I could say that I have my latest classroom theme ready to share, or even a sneak peek at it...but bottom line is...I have not been in the state of mind to work on it yet. WAY to many craziness, and a good three weeks with no internet connection and trying to settle into our new home, to put a damper on my creativity. Hoping to break ground on it soon...OWLS!

First Grade, New Themes, TpT, Running and some healthy ideas for the mix...

First Grade

Now that I know that I am going to be teaching first grade next year, I am getting really excited about it. What I would love to know from all the firstie teacher's out there is what kinds of materials or products they are looking for in a TpT item? 

Any ideas of products you would be interested in, I would love to hear from you!

Classroom Themes

Last year, about a month before school started or so, I decided to make all my own themed item for my classroom. I went with different types of polka dots. Then I decided to take those products and make other themes including stripes, zebra and a 31-Gifts Inspired theme. I want to make new ones this year. I have thought about ocean life, a simple school theme, and a twist on Dr. Seuss. Any other ideas? Anything you have been searching for and would love to use next year? I am open for requests!

Check out my themes from last year: 

Polka Dots- Calendar months, Classroom Jobs, Schedule Cards, Where Are We Sign

Zebra- Calendar months, Classroom Jobs, Schedule Cards

Stripes- Calendar months, Classroom Jobs, Schedule Cards

31-Inspired- Calendar Months, Schedule Cards, Voice Level Chart, Where Are We Sign

Running & Some Healthy Ideas

Here is the DC Metro area it has gone from cold and snow days about a month ago, to 60 degrees (a nice spring feel), to HOT...it was 91 when I was running last night between 5 and 6pm. I have been running between 2 and 5 miles on average twice a week for about 4 months and I ran my worst run in a long time last night. That leads to my first question, any tips on running in the heat? Also, I shared my favorite running items last week and I would love to know what others think about the best running shoes, running clothes, etc. 

I am not a huge fan of yogurt, but I LOVE Chobani Greek Yogurt. And most recently, I have fallen in love with the Chobani flips! Yogurt on one side and some toppings on the other and you just flip it over and mix together. My favorite flavors are key lime yogurt with graham crackers and white chocolate chips and coconut yogurt with almonds and dark chocolate. And lastly, a little crunch for my salad that are tasty and better for you that croutons: Calbee Snack Salad Snapea Crisps! My favorite salad is some spring mix, Gorgonzola, red onions, cherry tomatoes, snapea crisps and Marzetti Light Balsamic. 

Hey! Why not add a free give-away for your shared thoughts! Leave me an idea for a packet for TpT, a classroom theme and/or some running tips and I will send you any of my calendar months for free! Check them out on the links above. 

New Blog Face! And a slightly different approach...

Well...I finally did it! I re-created my blog with a new-ish theme. I am still quite into polka-dots, but I really wanted a new face for my blog. Just so happens that I am home sick today with a bad sinus cold. First day back to school from a 10 day spring break and I am there for less than a hour. Good news is that my husband is a sub in my district and because it was the first day back from break, no other teachers needed a sub apparently and he got to come in for me. Make lesson plans really simple! Then, after 30 minutes of being home, my daughters daycare calls and she needed to be picked up because of her continuous coughing. Little her has a cold too, just like her mama. So we are both home sick. 

On to my new blog! I decided that I don't want to limited myself to just a teaching blog. I visit so many blogs to find ideas, especially fitness blogs and DIY blogs for projects. So my new tag line is ... My journey as a teacher, mother, wife, newbie runner and everything in between! And for those of you that are following my blog...I just found out that I will be teaching firstie's next year! My principal told me this morning before I left to come home. My partner in crime/bestie at school (who is currently teaching third grade along with me) will also be on my new first grade team and I couldn't be happier. We will rock it for sure!

I think Farley's April Currently helped me to realize that if I really love to blog, then I should do it more often. Thanks to her advice heading, I read many great words of wisdom from other bloggers and decided to give it a go. 

Onward to a piece about fitness... at the beginning of the year I decided I need to lose about 15-20lbs. I successfully gained a whole person when I was pregnant with my 3 year old daughter and a year after having her, I went on a big ol' diet called Medifast. It worked for sure...almost 50lbs lost! Needless to say over the past two years I have gained only 8-10lbs back, which isn't too bad, but could definitely add up if I don't control myself. The biggest problem is that I am addicted to delicious food! Of ALL kind...chocolate, mexican, pasta, bread, ice-cream, salad (yes even a really good and most of the time healthy salad). I am also very fond of wine...so fond that my husband and I belong to a wine club. 

Anyways, I decided that I was going to be a runner. After all my high school years of soccer, cheerleading and softball, I had never been a runner. Could barely run a mile. I am proud to say that last July, around the same time I started blogging, I also started running. Slow at first, on the treadmill, and then finally out on the pavement. I slowly worked my way up to running a 5K (3.1 miles) in the fall. This winter, I have reached 5 miles! And my next goal is to train for a 10K. Although, I still have not ran in my first race (I am signed up for one called Run or Dye in D.C. on June 8th), I want to push harder and further so that my 5K is easy to run. Hope to sign up for a 10K by summer's end. 

Here are a few of my favorite things about running (or things I need to run)

1. Runtastic App: This app for my iPhone is awesome! I log every run into this baby. It gives me options for reminders, it tells me my time, distance, pace, speed...etc. I bought the PRO app so I could link my music to play through the app. It maps my run and allows my Facebook friends to cheer me on. I just love it when someone likes my status and while I am running I hear a manly voice come on that says, "I liiiiike it". 

2. Comfortable and cute running clothes! An absolute must. If I am going to go running in public, I need to look presentable. Even if sometimes I wake up and run without makeup on, at least my clothes are cute and most importantly, BRIGHT. My favorite running shirts are from Old Navy and Dicks (Reebok brand). I am on the look out for a new pair of running tights as well. AND you cannot forget the SHOES!!!! So important. Mine are Saucony Kinvara 2's. I am sad to say that they are not being sold much anymore and are hard to find. Hopefully I like the 3's or 4's. 

3. A Good Playlist! Also a must. I actually get excited to go out running when there are new songs that I love. Makes my run so much easier when I am running to a great beat. Some of the songs on my current playlist are: 

-Die Young by Kesha

-I Cry by Flo Rida

-I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift

-Feel This Moment by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera

-Titanium by David Guetta and Sia

-One More Night by Maroon 5

-I'm Sexy and I Know It- LMFAO

-Fighter by Christina Aguilera

-Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris

-Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson (my cool down song)

That's it for today...now time for some rest! Hopefully this cold is gone by tomorrow, or at least manageable enough to go to school.