A productive weekend!!

I wish I were blogging about all the school stuff I've accomplished this weekend, but sadly that is not the case.  I do have my lesson plans for this week already done and some fun Thanksgiving things for the two days after that, but I haven't touched the 64 writing projects sitting on my table waiting to be graded.  We used some books from our school library to research a state from the Southeast region.  The students then practiced using the table of contents, headlines, captions, and scanning pages to complete an outline,

used the books table of contents to locate the almanac and  filled out a fact page,

and finally, used their outline to write a 4-5 sentence paragraph about the history, environment, industry, and sites to see of their state.

They did an amazing job, and they were so impressed with their ability to write more than 16 sentences that they were beaming!!!

But, the real worked occurred at my house this weekend!!  I used the laundry soap recipe I found on Pinterest to make another batch of laundry soap.  You can read the original post here.  I love this stuff and it's costs about $4 to make 5 months worth of laundry soap.....BARGAIN!!!

I cleaned my washing machine following these easy instructions.  Ummmm, my washer was beyond nasty in the fabric softener dispenser and a few other areas. It is so squeaky clean right now that I can't wait to wash something in it!

I painted the little ugly, stained wall between my washer and dryer a bright, sunny yellow color and created a cute little sign to brighten it all up.  The sign says "Wash, Dry, repeat, repeat, repeat...."  I'm planning to make a fabric curtain to hide the paint and things that are stored down there and adding a few other touches to make that dark, basement laundry room a happier place to be.


I made the yummiest chicken with cornbread dumplings in the crockpot on Saturday.  You can find the recipe here.

I snagged this photo from the website....mine wasn't nearly this pretty in my old chipped bowls.

Since it was almost 80 degrees outside yesterday I cleared the leaves off the deck, and the porch, threw out the pumpkins that were starting to rot, and put all the chair cushions and flower pots in the shed.  Today it is 35 degrees with the windchill and the deck is bare.....waiting for winter.....and then the fun of putting it all out again next spring!

Finally I made these too cute Christmas trees for my dresser.  Since my bedroom has a beachy sorta feel I think these look darling against my giant piece of drift wood and my shutters.  I got the inspiration from Shauna Mailloux: Make Life Beautiful.  I took her advice and made my tree forms from cereal boxes we had in the recycling bin.

This is Shauna's lovely picture, my camera would not cooperate!  I can assure you mine are super cute, but her's are magnificent!!

I'm feeling so good about all the things I accomplished this weekend that I'm already making a list for next weekend.....that is if I can manage to use my time wisely this week and get those writing projects graded!!

Getting out of a rut....

It's not easy changing your ways, getting out of a rut, reorganizing your habits....nope not easy at all!  I feel like it's time to make some changes in the way I use my time.  I know it's not going to be easy, and I anticipate a few slip ups (okay, probably several slip ups), but I'm willing to give it my best effort and see what can happen from a few simple changes!

I spend far too much time on the Internet reading blogs, checking out Facebook posts, scanning my email, and searching Pinterest endlessly for things I will file away and forget about or never get to.  I've decided there's just got to be a better way to spend my time.  I make a billion excuses as to why I don't have time to read, meditate, exercise, craft, and relax.  I know, it's blatantly obvious to everyone that I could give up a little time on the computer and make room for all of these other things.  Why did it take me so long to see it....I'm guessing because change is hard and I was avoiding the work.

I'm hoping to make one small change every 3 weeks.  The first one will be sorta huge, but the others will be small and not too difficult.  I'm hoping by making these changes I will feel more relaxed, happier about my choices, and more content.  My first change is a doozy.....I want to completely revamp my morning routine!  I am a creature of habit and have a great fear of change, so this one is going to be rough!  I really enjoy a cup of coffee, the silence of the house, and some time reading all my favorite blogs, pinning unnecessary things on Pinterest, and checking in on all my FB peeps.  But, is this really necessary.....is this really the best way to spend my quiet precious hour alone in the morning?  I just know I'm not doing what's best for me with that hour.....I'm wasting it by reading about what the rest of the world is doing.

Starting Tuesday (let's face it....nobody starts on Monday), I plan to use my hour for exercise, yoga, and/or meditation.  I'm working on a plan that will include 6 days of the week, and still allow my coffee and online time on Sundays.  I'm really eager to see what a difference it has made in three weeks!  I know Thanksgiving falls within my first three weeks, but I'm just going to be realistic about it.  We are traveling for the holiday and I know I'm not going to workout every morning of our vacation....I will see how those three days go and just be happy with any change I make during that time.

I'm also working on a school change that I will add when I reach my three week mark.....can't tell you what it is yet because I'm not 100% certain myself, but I know it's got to do with time management!

Currently

Linking up with Farley at Oh'Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently! 

My sweet little girlie has been home sick for the past couple of days....she even missed trick-or-treating on Halloween because of her fever.  She is curled up on the sofa next to me watching Phineas and Ferb while I catch up on my favorite blogs.

I absolutely love reading everyone's thankful posts on Facebook during the month of November.  It helps to remind me of all the things I am so lucky to be thankful for every single day.

I don't play a lot of music in my room....mostly because I forget about it until it's time to move on to another task and then I missed the perfect music moment.  One thing we do every morning though is listen to a Disney song on my iPad.  I play it as every one arrives in the morning.  The students have until the song is over to unpack their backpacks, put their snacks in their desks, turn in their homework, and get truckin' on their morning work.  I love this new addition this year.....it works like a dream and I never have to get after them for wasting time in the morning!  The added bonus is watching them mouth the words and dance a little as they are moving through the room!