These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I submitted my final project for my very first graduate class, yay! My next class starts Monday, so for a moment I'm going to talk about things that make me feel pretty by linking up with the gals over at Across the Hall in 2nd Grade for their favorite Beauty Basics linky :)

 

1. philosophy's Amazing Grace fragrance - this was my first buy on QVC ages ago. I was skeptical about buying a perfume before actually smelling it & when I first got it & used it, it was really strong. Then after going back to an old faithful scent I wasn't excited about it anymore I tried Amazing Grace again. I haven't gone back to any other scent or brand for that matter since. I have tried other philosophy scents, but I always come back to Amazing Grace. It's very feminine without being overbearing. It's floral & clean scented, but not crazy heavy floral. I get sooooo many compliments from my students & coworkers. I do have to warn though, a friend of mine was always complimenting me about how good I smelled :), so I got her a sampler gift. She said it didn't smell the same on her as it did on me, so she wound up giving it to her daughter. My only other favorite in the grace line is their Pure Grace. it smells like soap & water coming from the bottle, but then when I'm wearing it, it smells like sunscreen lotion, no clue why.

 2. A coworker was using Wen conditioner, she's a low maintenance kind of woman, very no nonsense :) I love her death. She mentioned using Wen and when I saw a childhood idol on the infomercial, Alyssa Milano, I had to try it. I do use a shampoo every so many days cuz my hair is oily already & just using a conditioner, no matter what kind of formula, does not bode well for my tresses.

3. My niece's friend was selling this, in the fashion of that other independent consulting make-up company does ;) Now being a fan of philosophy, I tried the purity cleanser, I tried Neutrogena, Cetaphil, Oil of Olay; I even went down the ProActive path, which was way harsh on my sensitive skin. I tried Beauti Control Spa Facial system & honestly no other facial cleansing system has cleaned my skin & not been harsh the way BC does. I tried taking a break from it, trying similar products from the drugstore, for cost's sake, but it was so not worth it.

4.  Too Faced's Shadow Insurance - Don't want eye shadow creeping into your crease lines by the end of the day, want to maintain full coverage color on your eyelids, this is THE product. I haven't tried other eye shadow primers, but that's because this one worked so well I didn't need to try other products.

5. tarte cheek stain in flush - Yeah, it looks really dark in the tube (it's got s push pop applicator), but this stain stick gives you just a hint of color or more if you want. It can be applied to fresh clean skin since the company is all about being eco-friendly & no harsh chemicals in their products or on freshly make-up'd skin :)

6. Cover Girl Last Blast Fusion - I've tried sooooooo many mascaras. Other drug store brands, expensive department store brands, but when I got this as a sample to try & review for a consumer website I was completely hooked. This is the only mascara that does'n't flake off or give me raccoon eyes. It stays on my LASHES all day long. THE BEST mascara I've EVER used! No joke :)

7. eos Sweet Mint Lip Balm - one of my friends posted about how her hands were as soft as bunny fur when she used their hand lotion. I always wind up wasting hand lotion, but lip balm, that's a different story, I can't get enough of it. I first got their sweet mint flavor, then branched out to honeysuckle honeydew. I've since acquired summer fruit, tangerine & lemon drop, still missing strawberry sorbet & pomegranate raspberry. My lips are kiss ready at any given moment when I've got these babies handy.

8. Cover Girl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm - now when I need a little bit of color I reach for my Gloss Balm. It's got a hint of color, not too ostentatious. Perfect blend of color, gloss & balm, great for summer :)

 

9. OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress - this is my go-to color for any time of year, any season, any occasion. It's the perfect red, which is hard to come by with my pale skin. Some reds can be too orange or too blue. This is just right. Can't go wrong with INRAW. Really & truly almost all the colors I've tried with OPI are awesome. Plus, you can't beat the fun names ;-D

My First Monday Made It!

 

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for a Monday Made it. I'm getting addicted to blogging by the way.

Here's my Made-Its I worked on last week in addition to My Super Teacher Binder I posted about yesterday!

My Daily 5 Posters

I also made a few toolbox labels for when I get back in my room & start organizing my desk area :) Again the backgrounds are by MrsStanfordsClass.blogspot.com.

Nothing too exciting, but functional all the same & I'm getting a little bit better at the creating materials.

Til next time!

My Super Teacher Binder

Tuesday evening my internet went all wonky :( I thought a reboot & a good night's sleep would cure all ills in technology land. I woke up Wednesday and lo & behold molasses internet rears it's ugly head all morning. I had my assignment due & needed to get it done, so instead of wallowing around the house & fighting it I went to Barnes & Noble to get out the house & meander with the living.

Internet was smooth sailing at B&N. I got my assignment done & began working on this baby again. I'd been piddling a bit with it starting last weekend, but these last 3 days I've been banging it out. I'm trying to get a lot of things done before my brother's wedding in 3 weeks. I also made some sweet Daily 5 posters, I'll post those another day. 

I'm linking up with Ladybug's Teacher Files for their Optimum Organization linky party, to debut my Super Teacher Binder. I'm sure I'll add more things before the year starts, but here it is!

I'm sticking with the Superhero Theme again this year :)

Self-explanatory

What teacher doesn't need calendars I have no clue ;)

I did a 2 page spread after seeing the Organized Senorita had them in hers. Mine originally one page.

  

This is just for timing of my day, I also have pages that I'll put my weekly breakdown on with library, computer, specials, any other subject/rotations needed.

 

I have a couple of these pages for ID#s, Lunch #s, Birthdays, Usernames/Passwords, etc.

I put all the parent stuff right behind the student stuff :)

Last year communication logs were major. Let's face it, they're always a good idea.

This is just lesson extras. My actual lesson plans will be submitted through our online dropbox in ProjectShare that our campus has set up for us. I also have my Erin Condren lesson planner for quick-at-a-glance lesson plans. I bought it last year & hardly used it :( So I need to make sure I get my money's worth this year :)

I added this & a page to take notes on projects & field trips. Whenever we have meetings sometimes I forget to write things down or type them up, so I'm making a conscience effort to rectify that this coming year.

 

Tip of the iceberg, but I wanted you to see how I did it. I modeled it after my sub binder I purchased last year.

Behind here I have places to take notes at Grade Level, PLC, Committee & PD meetings.

A Just In Case spot for anything else. I also have a wireless notebook in the back for extra notes.

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The End...Now Onto Next Year

It's bittersweet though. While I see a lot of teacher blogs & they are all very upbeat, I want to make sure that while I do have my upbeat moments I also have those lows.

At the end of each year & as I plan for the next year I'm constantly reflecting on what works, what didn't & what can I different to make it work. This year that moment came a bit earlier than usual. Our principal did an exit interview with everyone on campus with only the following 2 questions: how did you think your year went & what are you doing this summer?

I answered honestly & didn't sugarcoat it either, lol. I tend to get a similar student each year, so that tells me I still have something to learn from "that" student. I'm looking forward to next year, the new challenges & applying new learning.

As this year's journey ends I've begun a new chapter by starting work on my Master's degree, on line, in Gifted, Talented & Creative Education through Arkansas State University. I'm very excited & extremely nervous, it's been 12 years since I've been in school so getting back into the swing of things is gonna take a while.

I've also been stalking Pinterest. I love Pinterest. Two years ago a friend of mine, Alice, at another campus & very helpful at the "teacher crack" store, Educational Outfitters, introduced me to Pinterest. That was before you could sign up freely, you needed to be invited. I was singing it's praises to my teammates immediately. They all looked at me like I was kinda crazy, but now, well now we all know love Pinterest. We lay down & worship at Pinterest's feet at this point :)

One thing I've noticed lately is a lot of teachers trying to get more organized for the upcoming year. Now I know for some it is way too early to be thinking about next year seeing as we just started vacay 10 days ago, crazy right?!? Well, I can't resist. Last year I did a lot of things, bought supplies to make things & made my Superhero decor while wiling the way through summer. In an effort to stay more organized next year: I'll be working plus taking my grad school classes I need to be as organized as possible.

Now don't worry I have a mini vacay scheduled in early/mid July. Going home to visit family & my brother's wedding. I've already set time aside to go back to clean & set-up my room in late July. I had to move rooms & still have some things in my old room, plus my room needs to be set up earlier cuz they're having one of the job-alike days at our campus & they want to use my room, EEK! Otherwise I'd go back later, but since others are going to see the chaos, I need to tone it down a bit.

Aaaannnnddddddd.................I'm rambling. I'm creating my Teacher Binder & gaining lots of inspiration from the education Pinterest boards. Here's a little sneaky peak to whet your whistles :)

Thanks to MelondHeadz Illustrations & Graphics From the Pond for the background & little superheroes.

I decided to stay with the Superhero theme since I spent so much time last summer making my heroes :) So I've also been trolling TpT & Teacher's Notebook for more Superhero items. Superheroes have taken off like gangbusters, there are a ton more Superhero items than I'd found last year. So I'm getting all excited & giddy for next year & my kiddos. Can't wait!

I've decided to link up to the Oh Boy 4th Grade Currently Linky Party. I've been inspired by so many others. I'm looking forward to all the fun things I'm going to find in this new venture.