Can't Live Without It...Come Join the Fun :)

If you haven't had a chance to check out my new linky, I'd love for you to head to that post.  Click on the picture below to check it out.  I've already found some great things to put on my "must have" list.  Thank you to everyone who has already linked up.  If you haven't yet linked up, you can link up any time between now and the third Saturday in December.  That's when we will have the next one!

If you still need some suggestions for what to blog about...check out the ideas below:


1) Teaching supplies you can't live without
2) Subscription services you can't live without
3) Organizational ideas/ products you can't live without
4) Home/Cooking/Clothing products you can't live without (because, let's face it, if you can't get all of your life in place, we can't be effective teachers, right?)
5) Teaching products you can't live without

*I won't mind teacher products being promoted, but please follow this guideline:  Promote a product that you have found from someone else.  I know that I have probably bought more in the last few months since switching jobs than I have in the last 3 years.  I wouldn't be able to be as effective as I have been if it weren't for some AMAZING resources I've found from other teachers on TPT.

*You could also partner up with a friend or two if you'd like to share products from each other.  That's fine with me!

Thanks for considering linking up with me! :)


Can't Live Without It Linky {November 2014}

Take it to me to be late to my own party.  It's actually rather fitting that I am.

Let me explain.  The whole purpose for this new series is to help all of us make our lives just a little bit easier.  I clearly need it.  I just can't seem to "do it all" lately.  Not that I've ever really been a master, but lately I seem to be scrambling to accomplish anything on my "to do" list.

The reason for that is simple.  I'm taking more time to enjoy the little things in life.
My family.
My friends.
And Life.

But, we can all use a little help to make our life a little simpler.  That's where this linky comes in to play.

By the way, if you want to know more about my reasons behind this linky, head to my original post {here}.   If you'd like to join me, grab this button:


For my first Can't Live Without It post, I'd like to share with you a service that I recently have fallen in love with!
(Although Hello Fresh is not paying me to write this post, I have added my promo code to this post.  If you sign up, I do receive credit.)
This is a weekly box service that states that they make cooking easy. And they do!  When you subscribe, they deliver "delicious recipes and the exact ingredients to your door every week". (From their website).

They create healthy recipes, you then choose what you would like for them to send, they send the ingredients straight to your door and you cook a delicious meal in 30 minutes or less.  You can skip a week (or schedule when you want to skip a week), too.

Three meals come straight to your door in a styrofoam cooler with all of the ingredients you need for all three meals. Everything is clearly labeled and all ingredients are farm fresh.  Um, Hello Fresh.

I currently subscribe to the Veggie box, but they have a classic box (meat), too.


Very easy to read and follow recipe cards are sent, too.  That was the selling point for me.  Everything is easy, easy, easy to prepare.  If you know me, I am not a cook.  This allows for me to fake it.


These meals literally take me less than 30 minutes to cook.  And they are delicious!

I received a $20 coupon to try them out back in the summer.  Although I liked the meals, I just didn't like the price.  The veggie box is $59 a week.  I thought that was pricey for what I got, so I stopped getting them.  But then, I thought about it.  That's $20 a meal for my family.  That's not a bad deal considering the amount of free time I was given.  I have less planning to do.  Fewer grocery shopping to do.  And, I know what's for dinner! (Isn't that half the battle anyway?)  So, I started it back up and I have LOVED it.

A little tip if you decide you want to try it out:  The $59 a week (or $69 for the classic box) is for what they say are 2 meals 3x a week.  However, I have a family of four and when I add a side, or beef up a meal by adding more pasta, or rice, or throw in some extra veggies, we usually end up with leftovers for my lunch.  It has been a life-saver for me this year.

If you are interested, you can click on the links to go directly to Hello Fresh.  If you use my promotional code, you receive a $40 coupon, too.  If the link doesn't allow you to use the coupon code, try typing in this code: HL9NU3.

I love this subscription and....

I Can't Live Without It :)

I'd love for you to link up your ideas and things that you can't live without.  For more instructions on ideas about what you can add, please read the original post {here}.







November Bright Ideas Round-Up!

Welcome to the November edition of the Bright Ideas Link-Up!


This one is a special one! Over the past 10 months, we have shared thousands of great ideas through our monthly Bright Ideas event. This month, we’re re-capping all of those great ideas, just in
case you missed any! Below you will find some of my bright ideas from the past several months:

My first link up with the Bright Ideas Link-Up is actually one of my favorites!  How do you tame your task cards?
Click on the picture above to go to that post.

I also love the post where I shared how students sign out to go to the bathroom.  This post is one of my most pinned posts.

Click on the picture above to check out that post.

The last Bright Idea I'm re-sharing is the tip on how to save on wall space.  This tip came from a teacher-friend and it saved me a lot of headache!

Click on the picture above to go to that post.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed these bright ideas, and that you have found an idea that you can use in your own classroom. Be sure to check out the link up below for tons more bright ideas from my friends!




Monday Made It {November 10, 2014}

November Monday Made It.  I haven't linked up since August  Where has the time gone...

As most of you know, I've switched gears this year and I'm now teaching ESOL.  I've just barely gotten my feet wet and am finally in a groove of "almost" knowing what I'm doing.  You know, each new teaching position has a bit of a learning curve and this one has been a huge bend in the road.  Like a mountain road kind of bend.
On to my Made Its:
Since I've switched gears, I'm finding that I have a need for ELA resources to use with my ELL students.  When looking for resources, I've found that I can't quite find what fits my needs.  See, I pull kids to work with me in my classroom twice a week for 30 minutes.  There's just not enough time in that short session to do all of the activities found in most resources that are geared towards phonics.  I need something quick and easy.  And, I need for it to be a flipbook, or notes, that can be added to their ESOL notebooks.  So, I've started creating what I need.  First up..."L" Blends:

Yay!  It's on sale right now for only $1!  Check it out {here}.
I didn't really make this...but I framed it:


Isn't it lovely?  I got it from a Jane.com.  If you haven't Jane-ed (yep, made up that word...remember, I do that a lot), then you should totally check them out. The seller was Beloved Paper.  So, if you are interested in it, you can check out more of her loveliness {here}.
And now the curtains:
I have been loving getting creative with my Erin Condren Planner.  It's one of my "happy" times of the week.  I love coming up with ways to get a little creative and use very little brain power doing it.  This is the perfect way to do that...it's relaxing.
(Yes, this is last week...but it's finally completed.  This week's is still a work in progress.)
Finally, this isn't really a tangible thing...but it's an idea that I've recently created.


Starting on November 22nd, I'll be starting up a new monthly linky.  It will be similar in nature to the Fabulous Finds Friday that I did back in 2011, but with a twist.  Check out what I mean {here}.  Hope you'll consider linking up!

How about you?  What have you been creating?

Have a great week!


New Series Coming Soon!

Lately, I've been so consumed with my new position, my family, and life in general, that I haven't had time (or rather made time) to post to my blog.  I've missed it.  I've missed connecting with all of you.  All of you who have truly been my Professional Learning Community {PLC for those familiar with Educationese} for the last several years.

During my first full summer of blogging, I started a series called "Fabulous Find Friday" where bloggers would showcase some of the great things we were finding while shopping for our classrooms.  It was a way to share (before most people started using Instagram) where the good deals were for the week.

I found a lot of great ideas through this series and it's kinda the idea that I'd like to bring back to my blog/blog readers/fellow bloggers.

However, I'm going to start it with a bit of a twist.  I really want to showcase one thing that has made your life as a teacher easier. Something that you've found that you seriously can't live without any more.

Without sharing my entire post for when this starts, I'll give you a hint about the type of things that I'll be blogging about to help give you some ideas about what you could possibly share during this link-up.


1) Teaching supplies you can't live without
2) Subscription services you can't live without
3) Organizational ideas/ products you can't live without
4) Home/Cooking/Clothing products you can't live without (because, let's face it, if you can't get all of your life in place, we can't be effective teachers, right?)
5) Teaching products you can't live without


I'm going to run this linky the THIRD Saturday of every month.  I don't want to interfere with the fabulous linkys that are already in place:  Monday Made It, Currently, Bright Ideas, Five for Friday, etc.

Look for the first link up on November 22.  I realize this is actually the fourth Saturday of this month, but the Bright Ideas post for November is scheduled for the 15th.

Hope to see you back on the 22nd!