Firstly, let me say that I have so many things to talk about that sometimes it's hard to just pick one to blog about! I need to start making a list! I still have to share with you my rabbit hutch I made this week (completely from a pallet! WHAT! WHAT!) but I'm going to have to save that for tomorrow's barn hop because I just made a lunch that was totally blog-worthy.

I never fry things myself. I'm scared of it... and it's bad for you... but I'm more afraid of getting burnt (yes, I know that's ...

You know that feeling when you've completed your blog post and you want to change one tiny thing and you end up clicking something you didn't mean to and it erases the whole thing? Yeah? Good. Then you know how I feel right now. Let me just start over. Eesh.

Yesterday, I read this post over at On Just a Couple Acres about killing squash bugs. Now, if the words bug and kill are in the same title, then I want to read it. And not until I read this post did I realize what was eating my squash plan...

I love zucchini. It just may be my favorite vegetable. It is so versatile and adds great moistness and flavor to any dish. So, when I discovered ANOTHER giant zucchini this week (you'd think I would learn to lift those leaves by now) I decided it was time to do more than just the ol' saute method. I ended up with four cups of shredded zucchini from this one bad boy. I was able to make two loaves of zucchini bread and a recipe of zucchini patties with it! Look! It measured 12 and a half inches...

First, before I tell you allll about my latest canning adventure, allow me some advertising time. Amy over at Homestead Revival is doing a Sizzling Summer Give-Away each day until July 14th! I've loved getting up everyday and running to see what she's posting next. The best part is reading about bloggers and vendors I've never heard of before. Today's give away is from Timber Press. Head over to the Homestead Revival to check it out!

This week I canned bacon, hotdogs (I know, why in heaven...

Ew. Fitness. NO! Don't think that way! Fitness is a great thing, right!? I have a short fitness tip today. As a matter of fact that's what my tip is! Being fast, squeezing in a workout when you can, and filling little time slots throughout the day with a mini-workout. You can easily burn 100 calories in as little as ten minutes. Not only that, but you can bust up those ten minutes and do a little here and there. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's a start. Getting a little workout in ...

when your counter has a watermelon and peanuts on it! Oh, yes! Summer isn't summer without watermelons and boiled peanuts. My mister brought both home this week. Well, he brought home green peanuts, which he promptly put in the boiler and babied for a couple of days. Then, since he thinks I'm Wonder Woman (I try to tell him I'm not, but he just won't believe me) he wanted me to can them.

*Disclaimer*
Now, if you've ever store bought boiled peanuts you hate them. Or at least you should, because...

How about some motivation this Monday? I know it's summer and a lot of us have finally finished up our 2011-2012 school year, but some of us (like me) may have had a tough year. So, I thought, "Hey! Why not post a little something something for encouragement?!" I know, I know. I am sooooo amazing. Yeah, right.

Anyways, how many of you out there have a shelf devoted to teachery things people have given you as gifts? How many of you ever look at that shelf? How many of you see little devotionals...

They say you never forget how to ride a bike. I can vouch for that since mine has been in the basement since about November, poor thing. This week, however, I busted it out and took it for a spin. I love that thing and I love, love, love zooming it along on the pavement. I have a hybrid and, technically, it's aproved for dirt or pavement... I've tried dirt and, let me tell you, I approve it for pavement only. Yeah... anyways...

Biking is absolutely great for your body! It burns calories, it st...

I know it has been a while since posted last... I'll blame it onthis website. I have been trying my best to create my own clutter free classroom. Ugh. It's not easy. I've only been teaching five years and my room was beginning to get a little cramped. The discovery of this site has coincided with my student teacher coming and has definitely worked in her favor! All that old or barely used cra... err, stuff has been parking itself in a nice corner box for student teacher to take with her when ...

Mr. has been on evening shift the past two weeks (blugh, gag, sniffle, tear, whine). BUT all this alone time has given me plenty of opportunities to get bored up to my eyeballs and get creative. Which is why I started a teacherspayteachers account! WOOT! I started it last week and already had one purchase! So, I am $2.70 richer than I was a week ago... yeah, doesn't sound like much, but two dollars never sounded so exciting to me before! HAHA! Check out my stuff in my store, please!
Tonight I'...

Student teacher has taken over science for the past two weeks. It's been great watching her get to have fun with my babies and they have loved all her lessons. Today was no different. Our engery unit is always exciting and I'm glad that Student Teacher has gotten to come in during this part of the year. One of my favorite things to do during this unit when talking about light energy is give the kids a flashlight and a mirror and tell them to shine their flashlight beam onto the wall WITHOUT p...

"The Lord works in mysterious ways." Something we've heard people say all our lives. Well, today it was so apparent to me how the good Lord has been working in my little life. As I watched Mrs. M, the student teacher, interact with the kids, take over the little jobs I've given her, and listened to her ideas, I couldn't help but be reminded of myself five and a half years ago when I was in her shoes. It's like a breath of fresh air. This year has been so hard. I have said that several times t...

I get super nervous, can't sleep, feel nauseated, and get irritable when things are about to change. So, when I got the news that I, a FIVE year teacher (yes, practically an amateur), was getting a 40 year old student teacher, I freaked out a little bit. I couldn't sleep last night, felt sick, nervous, and, yup, I got irritable. I was to the point that I needed a good slapping. Every one I asked refused to do so, however, I'm pretty sure they secretly wanted to.
Well, the newest member to our...

THAT'S RIGHT! Thanksgiving just wouldn't be complete unless you let your kids make a hand turkey! Our latest math standard and unit we're working on is measurement. Well, my new(ish) teacher neighbor had her kids trace their hands and measure their fingers. "Hmmm..." I thought. "That's really cute!" And then I thought, "HOLD THE PHONE! IT'S THANKSGIVING! DUH, WE HAVE TO MAKE HAND TURKEYS!" So, hand turkeys we made and the kids loved it. Not to mention they got great practice measuring with in...

This is my fifth year teaching. Although it still FEELS like I am, I can now say I am not new anymore. I have my own set of routines and procedures that are unique to my little room, I can run with the "big dogs" on my team (aka veteran teachers), I know what I want to keep and throw away each year, etc. BUT with that said, I still love to try new things. Even better, is the addition of a for real new teacher on our team last year. This is her second year now and she, too, has become comforta...

I have to say, one of my absolute favorite things about working with kids is seeing their art work. Sometimes the end of the school day consists of our team meeting in the hallway to giggle at our sweeties' artistic endeavors. I have a few to share with you today. Yesterday, we made pumkin glyphs. Each student got a leaf and then, according to what their leaf was like, that's how they drew their pumpkin. The size of their leaf determined what color they would use to draw their mouth, eyes, an...

About two weeks ago I had to delete my blog page and build another due to techy stuff I wasn't quite smart enough to figure out. It made me very sad as I started that blog the beginning of last year. Let me tell you, last year was H-E-A-V-E-N. The best class I had ever had. All but for "that one kid." But even now I see him in the hallway and think, "What I wouldn't give to have him back." I see my kids from last year and sigh and wish... which may be why that stupid problem happened that mad...

Bad news: I totally had to overwrite my old "Fly on the wall" tab because something funky happened with my computer. I have people fooled into thinking I am some tech saavy teacher... *insert head shaking here,* but alas, I am a self-taught amateur at best. I get by, and can help others, but most of the time it's by accident. So, I could only figure out that something was wrong with the HTML code that I had typed or pasted into one of my previous posts, which meant that it basically messed up...