July Currently Alllllready (insert whine)

Just a quick post to link up with Farley and her monthly currently. I am off to Tulsa today to spend some time shopping with the girls and dinner with the kids. I hate to see July it always means summer as I know it is almost over :( 

I will return to comment on at least 3 but I have to say my favorite part of currently is scrolling through the blogs that link up and reading the new names. I have found some great blogs with some fun names!

I’m off to T town and thinking cheesecake may be in my near future!

Have a great day y’all!  And don't forget to link up with Farley! 

Monday, Monday

I promised myself I would blog today. And clean. And put away the laundry. And cook. So far I have put away the laundry. I cleaned our bedroom. I am in the process of cooking supper. And I have put off blogging.

I don’t have anything exciting to blog about. No wedding pictures yet. No vacation plans. And since our great state has done away with the common core my professional development I had planned has been cancelled.

I have been reading though, and am excited about the latest book I ordered. It is called The Writing Thief written by Ruth Culham. 

It is so good. I’m already about half way through and have already found many great tips and ideas. I like that she has asked different authors how they have “stolen” from other authors and who they are. She has snippets from people like Lester Laminack, Ralf Fletcher, and Toni Buzzio.

You may know Ruth from her books about the “6 Traits of Writing.” I read those years ago, and seem to be the base of many writing workshops and writing curriculum. There are shadows of it in my first grade writing workshop, but I have never actually “taught” the 6 traits. Meaning I have never “named” them that in my teaching. Like the title of her book suggests I have taught my kids to be “writing thieves.” We study other great authors and then have a go at that type (or mode) of writing ourselves.

There are many things I like in this book, and one of them I have marked to refer back to is at the beginning when she states “ Start Here: Stop Doing Dumb Things” You can’t get any more plain than that! She even gives a list of “dumb things” And a list of ways to correct them! Score!!.

That’s about it for this Monday. My kids are home from their honeymoon in Jamaica

and my girl is gearing up for her trip to the Cayman's in a few weeks. We are off tomorrow to find a cute suit for her to wear. I am staying home watching helping Mr. Klingercafe on his new shop/garage. So goes the never ending excitement of my life!

But I WILL blog again this week. I have some things to SHARE! Lookie what I found to go in the classroom this year. 

And can you guess what a water bottle, Oriental Trading, and a birthday bash have in common? Check back soon and you’ll find out! 

So Sorry Winner Jennifer!

I’m late! I’m late for a very important date! I’m so so sorry I am a day late on announcing the winner of my giveaway. I was just so exhausted from all the fun weeding festivities.

IT. WAS. AMAZING. I wish you all could have been there. It was truly the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to. I know I am probably partial but really it was just breathtaking. The weather was perfect. There was a full moon, temps in the low 80’s and the slightest of breezes. Just perfect. But ohhhhh I was tired. And my poor ankles are still swollen from the up and down of stairs, standing in the kitchen, and of course the dancing!!! Below was the mother-son dance. Could not even look at each other without the tears rolling. 

I’ll give more details later when I have pictures, but I’ll tell you that the photographer said this was only the second time in eight years he has “snotted up” (lol) at the bride and grooms first look. Kanten (my son) was so emotional. I have never seen a boy try so hard to make the perfect day for a girl.

We were all “snotted up” through the ceremony. Kanten’s best man reached over and handed Donnie (hubby/daddy) his hanky to wipe his tears, the whole place was sniffling then. It was….I have no adjectives…perfect.

I tell you if you ever need a wedding photographer Brett Birdsong from Tulsa, Oklahoma is the man to call. He was fun, professional, and teddy bear at heart. Here is his blog, he travels all over.

So on to the Giveaway the topic of this post! The lucky winner is Jennifer! Thanks to my cutie pie random number generator Hadley!

Contact Paige at Copper State Cowgirl for your bounty! And don’t forget to give her a sweet shout out on your blog I know she would really appreciate it. Congrats!

It’s been an exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, most amazing few days ever. I haven’t felt like this since giving birth. J    

Meet Me Monday!

I just found another new blog to visit. There are so many new places out there. Although I don’t think this one is that new. I’m just behind in the blogging industry apparently.

Anyway it’s called The Teaching Tribune. Get it? Like the news. I take it it’s a collaboration blog with lots of different cool authors. This summer they are having a different link up every day and today is Meet Me Monday. Cool huh?

So even though all of you know me. And know all my ins and outs of this crazy life I lead there may be someone out there who is still dying to meet me!

So I’m linking up! You should too. Someone might be dying to know you too!

There you go that’s me in a nutshell! Don’t forget the awesome giveaway I’m having this week! Read about it here.  

It's a Sunday Smorgasbord Linky (and Smorgasbord is not a first grade word so I learned how to spell something new!)

So as I sit here all alone this morning listening to the sounds of hubby’s snoring, daughter’s tossing and turning and the cat’s rampage, I’ve been trolling through blogs I haven’t visited in a while. I have come to one conclusion. I have missed SO much!

I kinda feel like that bad friend that only remembers to call or write to her old dear friends when it’s convenient for her. I am bad. I feel bad. So that is my goal for this summer. Be a better friend. Be a better commenter and joiner inner.

I’m off to a pretty good start I have linked up for two parties already this week. And today I have found another one right up my alley. Michelle at Fabulous in First hosts a Sunday Smorgasbord! Perfect! I am nothing if not random that’s for sure. SO here it is my randomness for this week.

First- I am getting a little anxious THE wedding is this Friday and I have 100 pounds of meat in my fridges that have to be cooked smoked and transported to Catoosa (about 2 hours away) along with enough veggies, salad, and rolls to feed 100. I am worried the meat may not be as moist as I want so I am thinking up ways to keep its yumminess intact.

Second-I am loving mine and hubby’s new hammock. I probably should have waited until AFTER the wedding to get it though because all I want to do now is read and lay in the hammock…Saturday right?

Third- I need a new bra before this wedding. TMI? I need one with a t back so that I don’t have straps showing in wedding pictures! This stuff is important I tell ya!! And I'm sure it will make me look just like the girl in the picture! 

Fourth- I really didn’t want to be the “fat mom” at the wedding. But alas it is meant to be I guess. I have lost about twenty pounds since last summer, but that is about 60 off my goal…ok maybe not 60 but still…anyway I lost the last 12 by drinking this stuff that my daughter convinced me to drink. It is called Plexus. It tastes like a cherry tootsie roll. But here’s the problem(s). 1. I don’t like drinking anything besides water, tea (unsweet) and diet pepsi. I don’t like sweet all that well. And 2. I HATE anything cherry!! So it was an act of congress to get me to swallow the stuff. I finally figured out if I drink it through a straw I do ok. I really do feel better drinking it, and they say it is excellent for leveling out blood sugar. All I know is I drink TONS of water and I have lost 12 more pounds…which is because of the water I’m sure.

And Finally- Don’t forget my giveaway from The Copper StateCowgirl you will LOVE her stuff! You can read all about it here AND you can earn an extra entry if you share about the giveaway on facebook, pintrest, or your blog! Just comment with your link! I’ll be announcing the winner next Sunday!     

It's a Copper State Giveaway Hurry Time is Running Out!

Time is drawing near for the wedding and the end of this give away! If you haven't visited Paige's Facebook page or etsy store hurry and do so. Stop in say HI and then come back here saying you did and you are entered!! 


Ok as promised I am doing a “giveaway” today. I am not a huge fan of giveaways. They are just so complicated sometimes and it takes FOR-EV-ER to fill out all those rafflecopter thingys. So I am keeping this “giveaway” eazzee peezze for you and for me. I want all of your time to be focused on the great store and person that has inspired this whole adventure.

Paige is the daughter of an old friend of mine in Arizona. Her momma is THE sweetest person in the world, so although I have never met Paige in person I know she is just as sweet. Just look at her sweet family.

I knew Paige as Patty’s daughter and had followed her wedding and births through her momma’s Facebook page, but it wasn’t until my cousin posted a picture of this amazing bracelet she had bought from Paige for her daughter’s birthday, did I come to know her amazing talent!

I made the mistake showed my own daughter the picture and oh no I was hounded daily. I really didn’t mind the hounding I was secretly planning my own surprise for her upcoming birthday. The day her necklace came in the mail I was in school and I swear I could hear the squeal all the way from our home to the school when Hadley got the mail and found this!

Since then Hadley has bought more and I have bought cute wine charms for the soon to be wedding in this family.

I haven’t found anything Paige has made or has in her store that I don’t like (or Hadley doesn’t like which could be a problem).

If you visit her Facebook page or Etsy store you too will be hooked. Even if you’re not a “cowgirl girl” at heart like my family you will find something you love! She has the cutest charm locket necklaces, and some super sweet “teacher” items.

Go on take a look you know you want to! But come back and add your name to have a chance to win a lovely item of your choice from The CopperState Cowgirl store!!

So here’s what you need to do to win…Become a fan of The Copper State Cowgirl on Facebook. Leave Paige a message on her page then come back here and leave a comment here saying you did along with your email address. 

That’s it Eazzee Peezzee! I will draw the winner next Saturday (the day after the wedding festivities!) and announce the winner next Sunday.

SOOOO what do you win do you say?? A gift of your choice to you from me and of course Paige! Up to 50$!!

So go on hurry up and become a fan, shop her store, you will be glad you did!

Good Luck!        

New Friend Friday and a Secret!!

Today is “New Friend Friday.” (yeah I just made that up).  I have been out of the blogging loop for a while with so many other things going on in my life right now.

I’ve noticed there are TONS of new bloggers out there and maybe the height of blogging has waned just a tad. Everyone’s life is so busy. I’d love to get to know some of these new bloggers, as I’m sure you would too.

I visited Farley’s Currently this month after being in a hiatus for a few months and WOW O WOWIE! There were TWO pages of bloggers that had linked up! I can remember when she was excited to have 15 of us linking up. That is Amazing!

So while skimming all the fabulous blogs on her linky and then visiting Deanna Jumps book linky I made a few new bloggy friends.

I just love friends. And I really love stealing learning from new teacher friends. Today I’d like to introduce you to just one of the sweet gals I met. She looked very familiar to me, like we had met before. But we decided she may just have one of those faces. The name of her blog is Kidpeople Classroom and she is a kindergarten teacher in Michigan.

I think what drew me to her (and may be why I think I know her) was what she wrote on her bucket list- “Many people don't know, but I'm a closet children's writer.  I have several manuscripts– a couple for picture books and one for a middle grade chapter book. All have been in stall mode for a while, but something recently came up which I think is going to kick-start the old creative juices again. I'll keep you posted.” Oh a kindred spirit! I too am still that closet writer! But how lucky is she that her husband is also an illustrator?! I wonder if she loans him out!!

You just have to go visit her blog. It is very cute and filled with great ideas AND even a freebie or two! When you do, don’t forget to follow her and tell her I told you to drop by you’ll be glad you did!

Please come back again tomorrow. I have THE most amazing giveaway I’m planning. It too is from a new friend…well sort of… her mom and I were friends in high school a bazillion years ago, and I have just recently come to know her through facebook.

I don’t want to let too much out just yet, but I will tell you she is an amazing craftsman, and Hadley and I have fallen head over heels with her work. If you’d like a sneak peak (cause I am SO bad at keeping secrets) you can visit her here. Her name is Paige (same as Hadley’s middle nameJ). Stop by her page (ha ha get it “page” snort snort) and tell her I sent you then come back tomorrow so I can tell you about the GIVEAWAY!!! I’m SO excited!!