Stressed witha capital S

Oh my word {in 15 different ways} I am so stressed at this point. Internship is taking so much of my time that I don't have time for anything else. I wish I could make all these crafty things I'm finding on Pinterest and all the cute center ideas I find when I do have time to blog. If I could even stop to remember my name for a minute it would be okay. I never thought that my senior internship in the classroom would be so crazy. I think I'm starting to understand the overwhelming feeling from all of the teachers I know. It makes me wanna crawl in the corner and cry.

In all this craziness, I know there are two things still firm in my life.
That is:

1. My handsome husband and his loving kindness :)

and 

2. My AWESOME God... His promises are always true and His grace is never ending.

A little bit of this and little bit of that...

Since I haven’t blogged in quite a while there are a few things to catch up on. First I must say that this whole internship thing is making me tired. Those kiddos will wear you out. I have been sooo exhausted when I come home from school everyday. I feel like an old lady going to bed at 9:00.  I love it but I know my first year, I am going to be completely drained.

Well, here is a little bit of this! I’ve been so engulfed in finding crafty ideas on pinterest lately that I am overwhelmed with all of the creative ideas. I have a friend getting married in October who is very crafty and thrifty. Well, while I was glued to pinterest one evening, I came across this amazing idea of a scrabble board gift.

PS. If you’re not on Pinterest yet, you need to be! (period)

Anyway, I got into thrifting mode and went searching for a vintage scrabble board. Because they are a thrifty couple, I didn’t want to use a brand new board, besides a thrifted one would be much cheaper. After a few days worth of trips to the Goodwill, I found it…for $2.99! A perfectly vintage scrabble board, with the tiles. So, home I went to begin constructing. After a few hours of thinking of words to describe them and a little bit of the things they love to do I had it all put together. With a little a little bit of modge podge, a shadow box, some scrapbook paper, flower stickers, and a corny but cute poem that my husband and I came up with…. it was finished! Oh but wait, now I had to wrap it. Oh no, I don’t have wedding wrapping paper, only Christmas and birthday. I knew I couldn’t wrap it in that so I went searching in the garage to find some plain brown paper in a box. It is a nautical themed wedding so I knew I could get away with it. Just add a few ribbons and it would be perfect. Now that I’ve kept you waiting, without further to do…here is my favorite craft project to date! And to think I gave it away….

The Wrapping

The finished board

I love it so much. It turned out just perfect and the future Mr. and Mrs. were just as equally in love with this gift. All of the guests at the bridal shower were so impressed. So, I decided to go thrifting again and find more Scrabble boards to start selling this. (hint, hint) If you are interested and would like more info please email me about it. I will custom make your own board with your last name and any certain words you would like. It was so much fun and I can’t wait to start working on the one for my husband and I.

A little bit of that…. We went to visit my brother this weekend in Tennessee. It was beautiful! We haven’t seen him in 2 months so it was wonderful. It was very good to get to see him for the weekend. Traffic was crazy and it was a veryyyyyy longgggggg drive for only 2 short days, but totally worth it if you ask me. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Super ginormous pumpkins

In the Smoky Mountains National Park

My crazy brother

My dare devil husband was determined to cross the creek. He was so proud when he did! The funniest part was watching him try to cross back over and slip on the rocks. 

The creeks were beautiful. I was truly amazed at the natural beauty that God has created for us to enjoy!

I have to add this picture! We went to play putt putt golf one evening and when the game was over the boys found their way to the game room and it was like they were 5 years old again! They were having fun playing with all the arcade games! It was a funny moment :)))

Finally finished.... for now

So remember those little crate buddies I posted about last time... well the Mr. and I finally got around to making them and they are so cute! I have seen them all over blogging land and I wanted some of my own. So I set out on a mission to complete them. I love how they turned out and I can't wait to use them in my classroom! 

Another thing that I have found on Pinterest that I made this week is the flat marbles. I decided to use these stickers (from Target $ spot), flat marbles, a foam paint brush and some modge podge to make these letters/numbers to use for some kind of spelling/math activity. I'm super excited about these! 

You can't really see them because the lighting is bad (sorry, iPhone pics) but the letters are on the left and  the numbers are on the right. They turned out better than I expected :) 

This next idea I got from the fabulous Abby at The Inspired Apple. Her rockstar room looks super cute. I made this banner and it was easy as pie! Click on over to her website and you'll see the instructions I followed. It was very simple and I love how my pennant banner turned out. I can't wait to get a classroom...eventually... and put everything I'm making in it. 

Yes, that's right. I'm only an intern teacher right now but eventually I will have my own classroom. While I have the time, I'm making as much as I can. I know once I graduate and start looking for a job things will get crazy and I will not have much time to be crafty. I can't believe I'm graduating in  4 1/2 months!!! Finally, what seems like forever is coming to an end. And then for my Master's in Educational Leadership... after a little break of course. That's all my school related news for now. 

The Mr. and I are going to spend the weekend on the beach relaxing before I am back into the swing of school and life gets crazy for the next few months. Finishing college, graduating and moving to a new place. It's going to be a busy next few months but bring it on! 

P.S. I got my Staples weekly deal today! 25 Composition notebooks for $0.10 each!!! Fabulous savings :)

Money Saving Monday!!

I was super excited to go to Staples today and join the Teacher's Reward Program so I can now get 25 of the $0.01 items. That means 25 items for $0.25!!! I love it! Only thing is you have to spend at least $5.00 in the store you cant just only spend a quarter. But that is no big deal for those of us who are teachers! So, I got all of these items (below) for $0.75!!! That's 200 pencils, 50 highlighters, and 2500 index cards.. That means each item was only $0.00027273. Cah-razy!!! To get to $5.00 I found things on the clearance rack. Name tags for $0.50, 60 pack of jumbo paper clips, $0.50, good things not junk. Things I know I'lll use! 

I've also seen these crate seats all over blogland! I have purchased my crate, fabric and wood and I can't wait for husband and I to make them this weekend...{hopefully}To see how these are made and what they will look like when complete just click on the picture.

So after those amazing deals at target, getting excited about my crates and a great workout at the gym I came home and made myself an {oh so delicious} peanut butter and banana sandwich!!! 

Free Giveaways!!!

So I have been so busy searching blogs and trying to enjoy my last summer as a college student that I haven't updated at all. It makes me sad because I started this blog for a reason and now I am slacking because I get all wrapped up in searching everyone else's blogs and trying to win a million giveaways so I can stock up for when I am finally in my own classroom! It is overwhelming. Only one more semester left and I can officially start my career as a teacher. So, I came across this amazing blog and this generous teacher is giving away free homework coupons...already made for each month. I love the creativity behind it and I can't wait to get mine! All you have to do is blog about it!! Those are my favorite giveaways because you're not competing with 14,652 (random number) other crazy obsessed blogging teachers. So here is the link...check it out:

http://faithfulinfirst.blogspot.com/2011/07/200-follower-giveaway-everybody-wins.html

Also become a follower of her blog! She has great ideas and things that I know my firsties will love!

The author of this cute little blog, First Grade Pandamonium, is giving away a fantastic reading packet to all of her followers. And again, all you have to do is blog about it! I love finding these things! I can't wait to use all of this stuff in my classroom. Here is the link to her blog, check out what she has going on. I love blogging, I am getting so inspired by all of the fabulous teachers! 

Cabo San Lucas

Woo hoo! Only one more week until we embark on our first anniversary adventure! I am super excited to say that we will be spending 6 days at an amazing resort in Cabo, Mexico. I mean, this place is amazing!!!

I can't wait to be relaxing on the beach with my husband and reminiscing on our wedding day. I cant believe how fast time flies. One year on June 5th.....wow! I am so blessed to have such and amazing husband. He truly is God's greatest gift to me. He is my support and my strength. I love him with all of my heart! I know we will have a fabulous trip and I cant wait to post pics of our exciting adventures in Mexico!!! 

Go Rays!

So...... I bought my husband tickets to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game for Easter and put them in his Easter basket this year! (Of course it was baseball themed)

We finally got to use those tickets this weekend! We went to the game Saturday afternoon and to our disappointment, witnessed a loss. After a 10 game winning streak, we thought that we could help cheer on those players and get another win. 

Nope, not this time.

The season's not over yet though. We still have more games to be won... Go Rays! Sad thing is, every time we go to a sporting event, the team we are supporting loses the game. Hopefully we will go to another sporting event soon and be able to witness a big WIN for one of our favorite teams! 

It was a packed house!!!

(You cant really tell in this pic though b/c that was the beginning of the game)

B-E-S-T part about the entire game... we were on TV!!! It was only for a few seconds but we had our moment of fame on TV :) 

And it wasn't the screen they show at the game, it was the actual game that was televised with the cable company! We didn't get to see it, of course, but several friends at church the next day said they saw us. It was kinda cool! 

Time to catch up!

I can't seem to keep up with this blogging thing because I'm easily getting distracted by reading teacher blogs and/or home decor and baking blogs. Hopefully I can get back on track, there is a lot happening in the next few months. So let's play catch up!

I have successfully finished my first semester of internship! Wooo hooo (One more to go and I will be finished!!!!)

Easter was spent at the in-laws in Georgia...fun times with them since we rarely make it up there.

I miss my husband so much while he is working out of town.

Rays baseball game next weekend at the Trop :)

Super duper excited about our one year wedding anniversary coming up on June 5th!!! Looks like it will be an amazing getaway for us (more info coming soon)

Happy Late Easter!!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Wow, what a busy few weeks it has been. Anyways, just though I'd post this...so, here it goes. Here is a list of ten of my favorite things!

{one}

I love my family and I wouldn't be who I am without them!

{two}

Anything pink! It's my favorite color and I love everything about it! From pink clothes and accessories to pink kitchen utensils, pots and pink office supplies :)

{three}

Ed Hardy...smells so fresh and fabulous!

{four}

Best store ever (period)

{five}

 

I love shoes! Heels, Wedges, flats, boots, sandals...every kind in every color =)))

{six}

Flair Pens..... they make your handwriting so much prettier!

{seven}

My MacBook Pro is A-MAZING!

{eight}

Best drinking water ever...and it's smart!

{nine}

This is my favorite TV show! It is so wonderful... I love to get my Tuesday night fix although I mostly DVR it.

{ten}

 The beach is such a relaxing place for me! I love to go and escape from the world while listening to the waves crash. It's an awesome reminder of what a marvelous Creator we have!

Fun Filled Weekend

What a weekend! We went to a McDuffie family reunion. . . my side of the family. . . and I didn't know anyone but my immediate family. It was interesting to say the least. I've never been to anything like that on my Dad's side. They are some redneck people, thats for sure. It was interesting to see and hear about family roots and where everyone came from. A little too much redneck for this city girl but I still brought my fabulosity! It was a good time for the husband and I to spend time with my immediate family, which I love oh so very much!

     Here we are!!!!

My oldest niece, Haleigh and my youngest niece, Layla. 

By the way, I love, love, love being an Aunt!!!! The fact that I have 5 little girls to spoil and them send back home to their parents is so exciting. I love seeing them and being a great role model for this precious girls! They are all my favorite....and I love them so very much!

So, that was what my weekend consisted of besides doing homework and preparing to see my 4th graders tomorrow. I still miss my firsties oh so much! hopefully in the near future I will have my own class of firsties! I've decided that's my favorite age group and I pray that God blesses me with a job opportunity to impact the lives of many first grade children! It's bed time now and I must prepare myself for more of FCAT prep tomorrow....FCAT is very quickly approaching :(

XOXO,
     Tonya

The beginning of my blogging life!

So, here we are....I've been stalking teacher blogs for a good two months now and I'm finally able to say I have created my own (after much contemplation). I am not anywhere near as exciting as some of the ladies of the blogs I have been addicted to, but I'm excited to blog about my internship experiences as a student teacher, as well as my life as a newlywed. Let's be fabulous and fun together!


XOXO, 
     Tonya