Giveaway

I have (for the most part) stopped blogging about giveaways- but this one is quickly coming to a close and I love the blog that is giving it away! Meghan from Little Girl in the Big world is giving away a Stella and Dot necklace as well as a 25$ gift card to either Dunkin Donuts or Target. She is celebrating 100 followers and over 200 posts since she started blogging. I have been following Meghan's blog for several months now and I just feel like we have a lot in common, which is why I enjoy her blog so much! If you get a moment, go and check out her blog :)

All over the place

I know its been awhile since I have actually taken the time to really BLOG- but life has been pretty crazy and when I get a spare moment I like to CRASH! So without further ado, here is a very random post to update on my life.

1. I sort of started running again. I have been like 5 times over the past two weeks, and I wanted to go today but I had a very strange pain in my foot. boo. I looked for a race to train for again and I found several that I feel are too soon to try for, but there is one in July that I could do either a 5k or a 10k. Obviously with that sort of time frame (approx 18 weeks), I would try for the 10k, but if all else fails I could always run the 5k? I think this is a very realistic goal. Once going over in my head, that means I would need to add a mile every 3 weeks- which is a VERY workable frame I think if I work at it. I'll play around with the idea a little bit more and get back to you.

2. I really need to do SOMETHING about my weight. I have an endocrinology appointment at the end of March to see what the heck is going on with me. Hopefully getting back to running will help, but I really think I need to be SUPER strick about what goes into my mouth and my liquid intake. I know I am not drinking enough water, I know that I eat things I probably shouldnt, but I have really been trying to be "good." I am just very afraid that if I dont find out what is going on and SOON that I will become diabetic or have a host of other problems that my family has a history of. I mean, I havent really GAINED any weight, but with the efforts that I have been putting into it, I havent LOST a whole lot either. A few pounds, but not enough to justify the means I guess.

3. My internship is in full swing. I spent my first full day alone-alone with the classes on Friday and I think it went well. I have one full week (out of three) under my belt. I have been exhausted this week, but not quite as badly as I would have anticipated. I have really started to tighten the reigns on my class that I have been working with this entire semester, but that is a post for another day.

4. I have started my teaching blog, but I think it will have to wait until this "full time" internship mess is over with to really get it started. If you would like to follow- the blog is here. I plan for this to be a blog to catalogue the funny moments, the challenges, the a-ha moments, and everything else that comes with the territory of being a teacher. I also plan to include some of my brilliant (if I do say so myself) plans. It should be good stuff.

5. I know I am super behind on posting my project 52 pics as well. I have some of the pictures taken, but I just havent had the time to upload them to my computer and all. Soon!

6. I am taking the praxis II next weekend for middle grades English- I really need to start studying!

I think that's about it right now-

Compliments

Today I truly discovered the power of a compliment (or several). This morning as I was walking to my classroom, I had a teacher compliment my outfit and tell me that I looked "super cute" today. Now I didn't think that I looked particularly well put together today, but I think the fact that this teacher took the time out of her day to compliment my outfit added a bit of pep to my step today.
Then, this afternoon I attended an English Department meeting in which several teachers complimented my performance in my internship. Again, I want to say that I am by no means tooting my own horn or thinking that I am some sort of fabulous teacher-intern extrodinaire, but I can say what a difference these compliments and kind words can make. I feel good about myself, about my work, and about my impact here at NBH. I dont feel like some outsider coming in for a short while to complete a requirement for school and then high-tail it out of there, I feel like a part of the team. I have gotten some amazing ideas from the people that I work with and have shared some ideas. My input, my resources, and my abilities are appreciated and there is something to be said for feeling valued. It's nice to know that my clinical teacher is talking about me (and in a good way!), its nice to know that someone thinks that what I am doing is really neat, and it's nice to know that I have a network of support for those days that I am not quite feeling it.
So take an effort to compliment someone tomorrow. Take the chance to make someone else's day the way that these individuals have made mine today. You never know how great of an effect a kind word can have on someone.

WHat I'm Loving Wednesday!

I know, I've been MIA lately. Life has been fairly busy and I am just plain TIRED all the time! Last weekend I spent the weekend creating a classroom management plan and fretting over my resume. Tomorrow I have an Education job fair and I am extremely nervous! Meredith also played houdini this weekend, but that's a story for another day! So without further ado....

What I'm loving Wednesday!

~ I'm LOVING that I am starting To Kill a Mockingbird with my students this week. I really love this book :)
~ I'm LOVING that I am getting ready to start my full time student teaching (all three classes) for the next three weeks. I may be fairly MIA for this time period, but then it will be over and I can BREATHE!
~ I'm LOVING my new skirt that I got from JCPenny's last night. I was actually looking for a business suit and failed horribly on THAT mission, but the skirt is uber cute so I'm cool with it.
~ I'm LOVING my poetry unit coming up. I am coming up with some EXCELLENT ideas for teaching poetry (If I do say so myself) and will be posting them soon on my teaching blog.
~ I'm LOVING that I ran for the first time in MONTHS on Saturday. I can't wait to go again!
and as always,
~ I'm LOVING my family, friends, and my sweet pupster Meredith

I thought I was over this?!?

This weekend I was sick sick sick. I felt grose on Friday during school: I kept sneezing, my nose was running, my throat felt foggy, and I was just overall blah. I went home to take a nap on Friday afternoon to try to shake it. I felt OK by the time I woke up so I went to my sister's house for dinner and a movie. On my way there, I was super duper excited to find this:

the official drink of summer in England. I have been jonesing for some Pimms since I came back from England in 2009 and just now discovered that they sell it here in the States! Its good stuff, so you should try it if you get the chance. Look up drink recipes for it online.

Saturday I felt terrible all day long. I managed to get my oil changed in my car, but that was about it. Sunday I worked in the morning and was fairly productive in the afternoon. I cleaned my car, made a test for my students, did some research, cleaned my room, took a nap, read, picked out my outfits for the week, and went grocery shopping. I was impressed with my productivity!

Recently I have been implementing different "time savers" or maybe a better term would be "stress relievers" or "making Hilary's life better practices" into my days. I have successfully implemented the whole picking out all my outfits for the week thing on Sunday nights. This saves me a LOT of time and a LOT of headache during the week. I have even noticed that I look more professional and put together. In the four weeks that I have done this, I have YET to wear an outfit twice- quite an improvement from my old standby outfits! I really wish that I had done the 30 for 30 challenge this time because I actually think I could have been successful in my endeavors! The second thing that I have done is starting to make my lunch for the day the night before. This way, I am not scrambling around looking for something to eat in the morning and my meals are usually healthier!

I still have a few practices/things that I would like to do

1. I want to come up with new hairstyles to wear. I feel like my hair is so blah all the time. I have a few things that I do with it on a normal basis and would like have a few more standby things to do,

2. I want to make working out an integral part of my day- not something that happens by chance. I want to start running outside again. I want to go to the gym more!

3. I want to have specified reading time for my own reading pleasure- not stuff related to school. I love literature and I have a bunch of bookshelves stuffed to the gills with books, many of which I have never read! Time to get crackin!

I think thats it for now- we'll see where I'm at when I master these goals!

What I'm loving Wednesday!

Another link up with Jamie over at This Kind of Love!

~ I am LOVING my internship and how well its going.

~ I am LOVING my students and how they make me smile every single day.

~ I am LOVING that I had a restful weekend this weekend.

~ I am LOVING that I am coming up with some great ideas for lesson plans.

~ I am LOVING that I am approximately 133 days away from a Master's Degree in Teaching.

~ I am LOVING that my gym has recently expanded and they have some really awesome new equipment.

~ I am LOVING my family and friends.

and as always,

~ I am LOVING my sweet dog Mere (who has a vet appointment today!)

A Wee Bit of Spring

It has been raining a LOT here lately. It feels like it has been doing nothing but raining and being overcast for the last two weeks. The entire yard is dead, but I found this ONE spot where the grass is starting to turn back to green. I can feel spring coming!

I HEART accessories swap

I received my I HEART accessories swap package from the lovely Dana over at Enjoy Yourself on Wednesday and I was THRILLED to see the contents. It's like Dana knew my taste and knew what to get for me. Since it is late and I have had a VERY long day today, I will post the pictures I took of the items, but I wont do any editing to the pics. I also dont have any pics of me wearing the accessories, but trust me I have! I wore the bracelets several times last week and the necklace went so perfectly with my outfit today!

My first item is a lovely set of three bracelets that can be worn together or separated. They have these adorable brushed metal flowers on them and I have gotten so many compliments on them!

And the next thing was this cute necklace! I love the colors in the necklace and they really made my outfit *pop* today.

I seriously need to start taking pictures of some of my outfits. I am doing SO much better at creating fun outfits and using more pieces in my closet now that I am planning out my outfits ahead of time on Sunday (like I plan Monday through Friday on Sunday night) instead of waiting until the last minute in the morning. I think I look more professional and put together too... bonus!

Ok I will catch up more tomorrow, but for now- SLEEP!

Project 52: Ennui

Tonight I saw the perfect opportunity to complete my project 52 photo for this week. Meredith was lounging in the living room floor next to her friend Holly, but she just looked so bored! She would much rather be outside frolicking around but its pitch black outside! Without further ado...

See list of topics here

Next week's topic: red

Just a few thoughts....

~ I am thinking about starting a teaching blog to archive some of my lesson/classroom ideas. I think this would be a good way to have a place to come back to for a refresher on some of my finer ideas and hopefully serve as an inspiration for other teachers who may be struggling or need a small dose of inspiration. Thoughts?

~ I have nothing on the books this weekend and I LOVE it! I am going to use this weekend to hone some of my lesson plans, work on my resume, work on my portfolio, and relax with the pupster- all while watching movies and/or Friends. It should be a productive, yet restful weekend. I may even have a sleepover with my little cousin Jon because he has been asking and asking me to have a sleepover. We'll see how that goes!

~ The more I am here, the more I like the high school that I am at. I am really getting into the groove of things here, meeting new teachers and forging professional relationships with the faculty and staff this semester.

~ Last night I tasked my Dad with making me something similar to those office mailboxes for my classroom. I have seem them as a way of organizing, passing back papers, and keeping materials in the classroom in several classrooms and I.want.some! Granted, he has time because I won't have my own classroom until at least August (and hopefully that is the latest!), but I want to get him started on it so he can make them to my exact specifications :)

~ I want to plan a vacation for the end of this semester or the end of my program (about a month and a half apart). I dont know where I will go or who will come with me, but I want to go somewhere!

~ I received my I Heart Accessories package yesterday and I love it! I can't wait to post about my goodies and link up with other swappers!

I think that's it for now!

One Year Anniversary

Today is me and Mere's one year anniversary! One year ago today my sweet puppy came into my life. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday, but other days feel like it has been forever since I have had her. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I woke up without her paws propped up on my chest, tongue licking arm, face, neck, or whatever she can reach.

So in honor of our one year anniversary (ok, I may be lame, but bear with me), I thought I would write about all of the things that I LOVE about my dog. She really is like my child at this point in my life, giving me unconditional love and companionship. She actually got me through a pretty tough time in my life when I had all but given up on my dreams of being a teacher and hope of doing anything productive in my life. She was there with me through a rough break up. She was there with me through the transition from college to back home to grad school, and she will continue to be there for me for many years to come.

~ I love how excited she gets when I come home (with like her entire body shaking as her tail wags back and forth)

~ I love her sweet puppy kisses (she will always be a puppy to me!)

~ I love how she curls up into a ball to go to sleep

~ I love how she wakes me up in the morning, by pouncing and licking me until I wake up

~ I love how I can depend on her to really wake me up in the morning when the alarm on my phone isnt enough incentive!

~ I love how she brings out every.single.one of her toys when she wants to play with me. It's like she cant decide what she wants to play with and is so excited that its all just too much!

~ I love how gentle she is with kiddos

~ I love how playful and fiesty she is

~ I love how sociable she is with other dogs and humans

~ I love how everyone falls in love with her and think that I have a super awesome dog!

~ I love how eager she is to go for walks with me

~ I love how she makes sure that I go to bed on time, and if I don't she will nag me until I do. She knows when it is bedtime!

~ I love how good of a cuddler she is

~ I love all of her weird mannerisms

~ I love that she has a pretty sit and a regular sit. Her pretty sit is for when she is trying to get something out of me!

I'm pretty sure there are more, but that would just be overkill haha. So, I promise I will stop now and leave you with this fierce looking (crappy phone) picture of Meredith playing with her friend Maggie. I promise Meredith isn't really a killer dog...

Teacher Talk Thursday

I am linking up with Snyder Stories this week in the "Teacher Talk Thursday." I was so excited to see this link up start up last week, but I dont have a classroom of my own quite yet so I had no awesome organizational tips to share. This week, the theme is "Show and Tell" and THIS I can do :) My Show and Tell is geared more towards high school because, well, thats what I teach, but I can still play along!

Last year, I was working with 10th graders. In North Carolina, 10th grade is the year that students focus on writing because they have a standardized writing test at the end of the year. I let my 10th graders watch "The Freedom Writers" and read them a few excerpts from the actual book to inspire them to get creative with their writing. As an extension to the movie, I gave them an outline of a person. On the outside of the person, the students were to write 5 prejudices/outside forces that could negatively affect their lives. On the inside of the person, the students were to write 7 things that they LOVED about who they were. Some of them turned out great!

This one isn't much in the way of color per-se, but the student obviously put a lot of thought into the assignment!

I'm looking forward to other people's show and tell. Even though most of the participants are elementary school teachers, I still got some great ideas last week!

What I'm loving Wednesday!

This is my second week linking up with Jamie for "What I'm loving Wednesday." I think this is a great way to reflect on all of the GOOD things that are in your life, especially in the middle of the week when everyone is kind of dragging!

~ I am LOVING that I took the time to go away this weekend, even if it was just for a change of pace.
~ I am LOVING that my little cousin Jon has suddenly really started to "miss" me when I am gone from the house. He is such a cutie, when he wants to be!

~ I am LOVING that I decided to pick out ALL of my outfits for the week so that in the morning I just take it off the hangar and go!
~ I am LOVING how excited my puppy is to see me when I get home, it makes me feel so loved :)
~ I am LOVING that Mere had so much fun at the dog park this weekend and was loved by all who met her this weekend- she really is like the cutest dog ever!

~ I am LOVING that my students think that I am absolutely crazy, but that they really seem to be learning and liking my class so far.
~ I am LOVING that I found a tutorial to make fabric rosettes for hair pins, head bands, etc. I cant wait to try it~
~ I am LOVING that I have severely limited my facebook and TV time this past week, and I dont really miss either one.
~ And, as always, I am loving my family, friends, and sweet pupster!

Weekend recap

This weekend I went to Raleigh to relax, visit friends, and have a little bit of a change of pace. I was completely lame and didnt take any pictures. I seriously need to work on the whole picture-taking thing.

Friday I drove up to Raleigh with Mere Bear in tow. I met my friend Amanda at her apartment and we went out to dinner at the Village Draft House. I had this delicious portobello pita with sauteed peppers and onions- it was sooo good! Later that night we went out to meet some friends from high school that were in the area and we went out to a couple of different places.

Amanda had to work for most of the day on Saturday so I lounged around for the day, took Mere to the dog park, and just enjoyed having the day off. Meredith used to LOVE going to the dog park, but I guess she has gotten quite used to being Queen B around the house (being the youngest of the dogs that hang around) and wasn't so sure about the dog park at first. I guess since it has been like 8 months since she has had that interaction with THAT many dogs, but she warmed up to it eventually. I think I am going to have to research doggy daycares and take her like once a month or so to doggy day care to get used to being around other animals that DONT live in our house.

Anyways, Saturday night we hung out with my old roommate Katy and watched the movie "Grown Ups." Sunday was pretty laid back and I left mid-afternoon to take Mere back to the dog park and then drive home. I know it doesnt SOUND like a fabulous weekend but I think it was just what the doctor ordered!

Project 52: Reflection

See list of topics here

Next week's topic: Ennui