Shhh...it's a post all about shoes

Anyone live in a very small house? My hand is raised. Anyone really like shoes? Again, my hand is up. Anyone annoyed by lots of clutter? Yep, me. Since I answered affirmatively to all of these questions you all now know what a big deal this new project has been at my house. See, I do in fact, live in a very small house so I already have to switch all my clothes out at the end of each season. It's quite a process...bins are unloaded and loaded, clothes tried on, purged, and the list goes on. Each time I change out my clothes I also change out my shoes. No need to keep my riding boots out in the middle of July. In the past I'd just thrown them all in a huge space saver bag and called it done. Well, the bag broke on the trip into the house this time. And, as I was picking up each shoe I noticed some of the heels were scuffed and so on. Also, I realized I didn't really have a great way to store my shoes during the season. I just had the wedges in shoe boxes on the closet floor and the others in under the bed storage or dumped in a bin. Soooo enter early birthday present to myself. I took a little trip to Lowe's and came home with a great little project. I spent what felt like the day putting together a little cubby thing and then rearranging all the shoes. It's a fix for now....until I get my forever closet ;) The guest bedroom is gray and white with blue and green accents. It's basically the space for Brett to play his guitar each night that I can shut the door to haha and all the concert posters and ticket stubs and such can be displayed without it really interrupting the rest of the house. Those of you who have come to visit know what a true experience it is to wake up and stare Journey in the face ;) Anyway here's my success of my project! It'll do for now. Made my weekend kinda happy! Sorry for all the pictures, but I know Kate will appreciate seeing the organization haha Hope everyone has a happy start to the week. Organize your shoes...it'll make your heart happy; promise :)

YAY! I did it all by myself.

Inside each of the bins are pairs high heels stacked on top of each other.

My flats and sandals had to stay in under the bed storage. The pairs can be stacked without harm, so it still works.

Wedged flip-flops stayed in the closet. Oh and those sparkle heels...unfortunately there's not a ton of occasions to wear them in Franklin ;) My rainboots are here too because I have hardly worn them since I don't walk through the rain to class every day. I'm pretty happy with that fact ha

Brett's not thrilled I kept tennis shoes, sperrys, and flip flops by the door. Oops.

 

 

Runnin' through my mind

Top 100 Running Songs from 
http://whaleyoubemyfriend.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/100-awesome-running-songs/#comment-159

1. Afrojack – Take Over Control
2. Bruno Mars – Runaway Baby
3. Kelly Clarkson – Whyawannabringmedown
4. Barenaked Ladies – One Week
5. Kanye West – Champion
6. The Offspring – The Kids Aren’t Alright
7. T.I. – Bring Em Out
8. Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – Just Dance
9. Chris Brown – Yeah 3x
10. Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal
11. YoungBloodz – Imma Shine
12. Beyonce & Jay Z – Crazy In Love
13. Black Eyed Peas – Pump It
14. Neon Trees – Animal
15. LMFAO ft. Lil Jon – Shots
16. Usher ft. Will-I-Am – OMG
17. Willow Smith – Whip My Hair
18. Rihanna – Disturbia
19. Will-I-Am ft. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez – T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)
20. Tinie Tempah ft. Wiz Khalifa – Till I’m Gone
21. Samantha Jade – Step Up
22. Fatboy Slim – Rockafeller Skank
23. Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo & Afrojack- Give Me Everything
24. Outkast – Hey Ya
25. No Doubt – Just A Girl
26. Will Smith – Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It
27. Prodigy – Breathe
28. Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi- Tightrope
29. Kanye West – Power
30. Ke$ha – Blow
31. Destiny’s Child – Survivor
32. Nicki Minaj & David Guetta – Turn Me On
33. Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Stop The Party
34. Chris Brown – I Can Transform Ya
35. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger
36. Kelly Clarkson – Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
37. Lenny Kravitz – Are You Going To Go My Way
38. Fatboy Slim – Wonderful Night
39. Usher – More
40. Rihanna – Breakin Dishes
41. Smash Mouth – All Star
42. Katy Perry – Hot N Cold
43. La Roux – Bulletproof
44. Madcon – Beggin’
45. LMFAO – Sexy And I Know It
46. Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You)
47. Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris – Baby
48. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
49. Pink – Raise Your Glass
50. Rick Ross – Push It
51. Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Phunk With my Heart
52. Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
53. Christina Aquilera ft. Nicki Minaj – WooHoo
54. Eminem – Lose Yourself
55. Eiffel 65 – Blue (Da Ba Dee)
56. Trapt – Headstrong
57. Salt ‘N Pepa – Push It
58. T-Pain – Church
59. The Veronicas – 4ever
60. LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
61. Eminem – Won’t Back Down
62. The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name
63. Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love
64. Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil’ Wayne – Let It Rock
65. DJ Khaled – Out Here Grindin’
66. Lenny Kravitz – Where Are We Runnin’?
67. Fabolous – Breathe
68. Jessie J – Domino
69. Kris Kross – Jump
70. Flo Rida ft. Sia – Wild Ones
71. Kanye West & Jay Z – Ni**as In Paris
72. Drake ft. Lil Wayne & Tinie Tempah – The Motto (Remix)
73. Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
74. Cobra Starship – You Make Me Feel…
75. Britney Spears – I Wanna Go
76. Enur ft. Natasja & Mims – Calabria 2008
77. Fergie – Here I Come
78. Eve – Tambourine
79. Outkast – B.O.B.
80. House Of Pain – Jump Around
81. Kelly Clarkson – My Life Would Suck Without You
82. Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape
83. Fort Minor – Remember The Name
84. Paramore – Ignorance
85. Lady Gaga – Born This Way
86. Linkin Park – Papercut
87. Avril Lavigne – Sk8er Boi
88. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Face Down
89. Selena Gomez & The Scene – Love You Like A Love Song
90. Britney Spears – Till The World Ends
91. Matchbox Twenty – How Far We’ve Come
92. ATC – All Around The World
93. Beyonce – Countdown
94. Ke$ha – Tik Tok
95. Kanye West – Stronger
96. Flo Rida – Good Feeling
97. Smash Mouth – I’m A Believer
98. DJ Khaled ft. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain & Snoop Dogg – All I Do Is Win
99. Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake – 4 Minutes
100. Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder

mobbing my thoughts

To-Do List...cross one off!

I've been meaning to update for over a week now, but it's been busy around here lately. Nicole and I ran our 5K two Saturdays ago and didn't do terrible. It wasn't a record breaking time or anything, but I did it and I was proud of just that fact. I'm enjoying running after school and haven't been crazy strict about the schedule of it all, but it's been a nice addition to my routine. Also, it's a nice time to set aside to talk with friends, which is a plus.

 

 I've been working with the kids at church the last few Sundays and I love it. Lisa asked me to be one of the Lead Teachers in the 3 year old class; it was nice for someone to ask me to do something because they felt like I would be good at it and they needed help. It's nice to be needed sometimes. We had a MOUSE run across the room this Sunday! EEK!!! Also, we took all the kids to the potty and one of the little boys didn't want to even try to go soooo we took them all back to the classroom and were singing to my 47 Beavers book (LOVE that I got to use that book with our story this week. I flipping love that book. Work it in whenever possible. Everyone reading should purchase immediately for your future children. The CD is super fun and the kids love it!) when there was an accident. Sigh. Not a big deal, just one more thing to add to the list that morning. All that to say, loving our church! Super blessed by the people, the messages, the servants' hearts that are evident in each person you encounter. I have never felt so loved and welcomed by people here than at Life Church. God's been good.

First Master's class is finished and I earned an A, which was a shock. I don't know that I can do this next class, but here it comes ready or not. All this to say....my master's hasn't been the eye opening-love of learning process I thought it was going to be...yet. 

Second year of teaching about to be crossed off. Wow. So many ideas for next year are floating through my head. The thing about teaching is that it's never something you're "good enough" at, in my opinion. There's still so much to be done for next year and this year isn't even over yet. 

My students did well on their End of Grade tests! Re-tests are tomorrow and I get my most favorite proctor for the test so I'm obviously super pumped!!! :) I hope my kids do their best. I'm nervous over their nonchalant attitudes in remediation this past weeks and keeping my fingers crossed.

Alright, past my bed time. I'll update again soon (hopefully!)

A few test day thoughts

1. My lovely red-headed 14 year old canNOT sit still for more than 30 min. He can't. It's impossible. This morning he was a complete butt (as we say in 7th grade) to me and yet, in order to get him out of his pouting and not-caring about the test I, yes I, had to apologize to him. The things we do for test scores! Then, he said, "I want to hear it again. Say you're sorry again." WHAT THE WHAT?! He called me a B and a different teacher a D bag! But, I said it. In the name of test scores. Now I hate myself ;) All I have to say is...the kid better pass! lol

2. There's too much paperwork in the world. I just spent my morning completing teacher paperwork that's for next year. As if we don't have enough to do.

3. My masters this semester is supposed to be super work-heavy. Goodbye summer.

4. I have come to terms with sucking up to people here I do not love. I am okay with it. My day runs smoother, and really, in the long run it's worth it. Do I kinda hate myself for abandoning my principles and just giving them a power trip...eeeeh maybe...but when you're on a team with them a little coffee and conversation can go a long way.

5. Friends. I've been thinking about what makes a true friend; I've decided it's easier to tell other people to kick ingenuine people out of their life than it is yours. I've started to come to terms with the "use me when you need me" and I guess it doesn't hurt my feelings as badly as it once did. It's part of growing up....I don't think they MEAN to be like that. However, I get very defensive for others when people do the same to them. It's not fair. Adults are worse than kids! I appreciate the people of the world who are "your person" no matter what. Very rare! I guess it's just hard for me to understand things that are illogical and not being kind and caring about people is not logical to me. I don't know how to simply get and not give. At least, I don't think I do. Maybe I do it to. Hummm. Hope not.

6. Teacher appreciation this week so Loft gave $50 off $100 purchase AND I had a $25 savings card AND their new arrivles were 50 % off. BOOM. Sale. Love it. Can't wait for my yellow striped cardigan and yellow espadrilles to come in :) I did delete the blue dress out of my bag...be proud, buget friends, be proud :)

7. Lately I've had a few fashion conversations and the following have emerged:
- Guys must wear a belt if the pants have belt loops
- Guys look gay in gay shoes (my statment)
- Not sure about the bright colored pants that are in now
- I am now a lover of black athletic socks
- Just say no to Crocs
- I don't love plaid guy shorts
- Tan always = good (don't worry Krissy, not advocating over-tanning...this is the natural kind ha)
- I heart baseball caps (girls or guys, really, very functional and cute! win-win)
- My girl students are wearing shirts with huge arm cut outs of the sleeve on top so it's like a tank top, but still has sleeves...this looks dumb and trashy

Anyone else have statements to add to the conversation?

The results are in

Alright, this is going to be a slightly school-ish post so if you do not love hearing about school you are officially allowed to click the X button and stop reading...ok everyone else, here it goes.

My low low low babies took the Ext 2 tests this past week. For those of you non-teacher-ites that means that they are not cognitively high enough to take the regular End of Grade test. There has been a meeting at some point in their life where all their teachers, the school psychologist, the counselor, the parents, etc have run tests and done paperwork and it's been decided that their brain cannot handle a regular test and that it probably never will be able to function how it's supposed to at the grade level they're supposed to be on. So....they get the same test just with 3 questions instead of 4 and I think there might be a few less passages (?) not sure. Anyway, most of these kids still don't "pass" these easier tests. Even though it's easier they still can't do it.

Well, none of my kids had passed last year. In fact, they weren't even close to passing. They had a 1 out of 4. 1 being the lowest they can make. One girl even took the 5th grade version...didn't pass...and then was too old to go to 6th grade so she skipped 6th grade and came to 7th. I had 4 kids that took this Ext 2 test and...ALL PASSED!!!!! I had one boy come up 21 points from the year before! Most students will come up eehhh 3 or 4 points on a good day. So I was pumped obviously. Now, these kids still don't really understand my content usually and the one boy still can't even write his alphabet....sigh. BUT, they did it. They passed. I teared up when I read the scores. My kids screamed and high fived and hugged me. Yeah, tests really do a number on these kids (and me!). I know not to stress and it's just a silly test, but I just feel so bad for these kiddos who work their butt off and then still can't pass a silly test. We've worked really hard this year and I still fear that maybe they've learned nothing, but this was encouraging to get my students scores back this week.

My special education teacher has been awesome this year. She's so supportive and I love having her in my room. We have a really awesome team (well, minus one whom I'm not so fond of but whatever...not too shabby in the grand scheme of life). Everyone deserves credit in this...especially my kids! So proud of them! They really worked hard!

If anyone thinks of it...next week all my regular education students take their End of Grade tests...Wednesday is the Reading test so pray for them to do their best. It's a lot of stress on them. I just want them to do their very best. I'm proud of them no matter what! I can't imagine what it'll be like to be a mom because I just think I could be any more proud of my students! Love them all...even on the days I want to kick them in the shin. :)