Finally Settling In

Last week I had this grand idea about a new product that I could launch on Etsy, but this morning I woke up feeling disoriented.  I felt this morning that there were so many things on my "to do" list, but that I had no sense of their priority.  So I've used today as a reality check.  I watched the Randy Pausch video on Time Management again.  (I posted it on my blog about a year ago), and I discovered that I have not yet settled in.  So much has happened in the last 8 months, including graduation, getting married, moving to California, starting as a substitute teacher, and in April I will start my teaching preparation program.  I think my brain has been in reaction mode, and now I need to switch gears.

I'm making a few changes, such as getting a desk and getting organized.  I'm closing my Etsy store so I can focus my energy in more productive ways.  After all, I opened the Etsy store when I was out of work for two months waiting to see if we would be moving to California last summer.  Now that I am working, it doesn't serve me to keep it open.

These next few weeks are crucial for me to get my time managed before I start my teacher program.  I'll be posting some of my solutions here so stay tuned!

DIY Art for our Bedroom

I started this art project last weekend and had to put it on hold during a busy work week, but I finished it last night.  I took a few photos of the process so you could see how easy it was.  I bought a canvas from Joann's that was on sale for $10 and spent another $8 on masking tape and paint.  I absolutely love how it looks in our bedroom.  When I see it in the room with our older furniture, it reminds me of a quilting block and I can't wait to get the quilt from Utah that my grandma made for us.  It will look so beautiful folded at the foot of our bed.

Don't think I'm this creative!!  I got this idea off of pinterest.  First I painted a random design.  Then I made a triangle cut out pattern.  I used the pattern to help me place the masking tape and create identical triangles. My plan was to paint the whole thing white, but as I started painting from left to right, Daniel noticed that the ombre (sp?) effect looked really cool.  So there you have it.  Our bedroom finally looks a little more complete. :)

New Stationery Sets on Etsy

I finally posted my new stationery products on Etsy.  I have been working on this project for a few weeks but it took me awhile to list because I had to figure out how to close the stationery cases.  I ended up using a brad-button closure.  I think they turned out great!  Let's see if I get any buys!

Reflecting on the First Week of Teaching

So far, I LOVE being a teacher.  I love choosing my own clothes for work.  I love getting there early and setting up my room for the day.  There have been times this week when my patience has been tried.  I had to give one girl a referral for saying "Shut up b***" when I asked her to move back to her assigned seat.  I issued a quiz to a class of 30 and got 11 papers back with nothing written but a name at the top.  Who puts there name on an empty quiz?  Do they think I offer participation points?  I don't think so.

My students might not know it, but I am learning every day.  I have learned that one class responds to lecture/note-taking while another responds to a discussion format.  Some classes can handle working quietly on their own while others need constant instruction to keep order in the classroom.  Towards the last 10 minutes of one class, there was a boy in the front row that just couldn't keep his mouth shut while we were trying to work through problems as a class.  I moved him to another desk to keep him from distracting his classmates, but it turned into a game of moving the desk forward every time I looked away.  Of course, the class was in stitches and it was extremely disruptive.  I pulled him aside after class and asked him why he was behaving that way.  He showed me his paper and he had the whole homework assignment finished and every problem was correct.  The lightbulb went off in my head.  He's bored!  I talked to another teacher about this and she suggested that I ask him to be my T.A. and when he's finished he can alphabetize class homework by last name to make it easier for me to grade.  I can also have him and another student that's finished play math board games at the back of the classroom.  SO MUCH TO LEARN!  I get so excited to get back in the classroom and try to be a better teacher each day.

There really isn't any other news.  Since I have to get up at 5am every day, I am so tired by 9pm every night.  My feet get so sore from walking up and down the aisles that I have had to postpone my running goals.  But all in all, I am very, very happy.

Daniel showed me this video that one of his friends posted on facebook.  For some reason, this is one of the funniest videos I have ever seen!  Hope it makes your weekend. :)

Jitters!

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I am so excited and nervous.  I know that everything will be great but I can't help but feel the first day jitters.  I have a two-week assignment teaching middle school math and my day will go from about 7:15AM to 2:30PM.  There are seven class periods but I might get a prep period.  It's a little scary not knowing much about the job until a half-hour before class but I chose the two-week assignment so that I could have a little more consistency (not to mention guaranteed work for two weeks!)  Anyway, here goes!