Back To School Linky!

Today I am linking up with The Primary Pack for their Back-To-School Linky Party. Even though I am not an elementary school teacher [anymore!], I do like to join in any linky party that I can! Join up so that I can check out your link! 

Week 1: What I Wore

The first week of school is always a fashion show for everyone in the building. Administrators and teachers want to dress up über-professionally in order to invoke authority and kiddos want to dress cool and en vogue in order to place themselves high up on the social ladder. I absolutely despise worrying about clothing. If I could get away with wearing sweatsuits everyday, I would gladly dress that way. I find worrying about clothing and makeup to be frivolous, but I understand the reasoning behind professional wear. As a society, we base impressions of a person's worthiness based on their appearance. Since I am teaching a college-level English class this year, I need to be up to snuff or the kids are going to eat me alive. I am still a work in progress [I relish sleeping in instead of doing my makeup, I need to be better at that!] and I am starting to enjoy clothing a bit more as I continue to lose weight. Check out my looks below!

Top and Pants: Old Navy
Glasses: Kate Spade
Sandals: Mossimo by Target

Sweater, Top and Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: H&M

Sweater and Leggings: Nordstrom Rack
Dress:Old Navy
Shoes: Sport by Anne Klein

Top and Jeans: Old Navy

Top: From a gift shop in Berlin
Jeans: Old Navy

September Currently!

Hello All!! As you can see, I still haven't been able to fix that damned title up at the top! If anyone can assist me, that would be greaaaaaaat. Anywho, I am already two weeks into my 5 year of teaching in the District of Columbia! This year has already been a little crazy. I was scheduled to teaching two AP Language classes and 2 US History classes. After the first day, my Assistant Principal called me and asked if I could drop one of my AP classes and teach a freshman English course. I would still have my 3 planning periods but I would have 3 preps. Understanding that I really didn't have a choice in the matter, I said fine. This on top of starting two very tough graduate courses, needless to say, I am overwhelmed. I felt almost paralyzed this past week and was unable to accomplish many tasks. I finally got some much needed rest and cuddle time with Sophie and my bf and I am finally feeling somewhat better. On top this, PBS finally uploaded my video! I was approached back in November to participate in the remastering of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary and how I utilize it in my classroom. The final product was uploaded this week to the education site and I have it here!

Check it out and let me know what you think??? Now, without further ado...September Currently! 

1. I don't have the TV on for once so I am just listening to Sophie poke around, little cute porker.

2. I love everything pumpkin scented so when Chris picked up this pumpkin roll candle from Safeway, I was about that life.

3. I accidentally left my backpack in the car and Chris drove to work this morning...so I won't be able to do any reading until he gets back at 4:30 

4. Summer blows, I hate the humidity and heat. I am ready for some refreshing, crisp air! 

5. I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy over the summer and placed on a lactose-free diet. You can tell something was up with me in the PBS video, I look like I am ready to pop. Since being on the diet since July, I have lost 17 pounds just through diet alone! 

6. I need to start working out to keep the weight loss going, 4x a week for 45 minutes is perfect. I always seem to fall behind in my grad readings and I cannot do that with these classes this year! Lastly, I need to enjoy what God has given me. I am not that religious anymore, but I know that He has a plan for me because I have seen the doors and opportunities that have been presented and it is only going to get better once I finish my degree.

That's all for now! Go link up with Farley! 

Life is Chaotic

I promised to be a better blogger. I failed miserably.

I feel as though this is the story of my life. I set out to do something non-work related and I always end up bullshitting around. I thought I could look at this blog as an outlet for my frustrations. For my hopes and dreams. For my grand ideas.

And I couldn't even do that.

I don't know if I am stuck in a rut or what is going on, personally, in my life. Work-wise, I am moving and shaking. This begs the question: am I a product of my environment? I live in Washington, DC. The "capital of the free world", if you will. All that everyone does here is work, drink, have sex, drink, and work some more. Yes, Washingtonians do enjoy the nightlife and such but our minds are always on work. We are constantly glued to our phones every time it vibrates. OMG is that an email from my Senator boss? OMG are we being sequestered AGAIN? Washingtonians are addicted to the adrenaline that comes with working in this city. We eat, breathe, sleep politics.

The unfortunate side effect is that this mentality rolls over into every aspect of life in Washington, DC. We all play politics to a certain extent in every school but I feel it is much more heightened here in DC. I attribute this to the fact that we have no control over our budget [even though Congress likes to spew that we do, we have to ask Daddy(ies) to sign off on our checks] and we have to fight to have basic things in our classrooms. We live in fear that when Congress threatens to sequester that we will still be able to provide for our students because, yes, our District funds get tied up in that mess.

I need to do better. I need to use this as the outlet it was intended to be. But how do I commit myself to this? Alexis from Strange and Charmed suggested be consistent, even if it means you only update every two weeks. She believes that as long as you are consistent with your updates, your audience will stick around.

Is this true? Is this the reason why so many of you left? I simply fell off the face of the planet and abandoned my post.

I apologize. I truly do. I will work to do better.

Yours,

Spring Semester in the Books

I received my 2nd semester grades from Spring Semester finally on Friday morning. I finished with straight A's! Considering that I am a full-time teacher in addition to being a full-time grad student, I am going to go ahead and congratulate myself on this achievement. Now that I am done for the next 6 weeks, this household is gearing up to move! Yes, we are moving out of the District and moving in a much larger space in Alexandria, Virginia. I am not exactly stoked about moving out to Alexandria, I am going to miss the District but since my brother has moved in we have been lacking some serious space. I have also only been to Alexandria once since moving to DC 5 years ago. Anyone have some tips/great places to check out in Alexandria?

Erin Condren Life Planner 2015

Hi Flatters! [is that an ok nickname? kinda sounds weird...]

First things first, I am having a hell of a time with my banner. As you can see, I just kinda gave up after a few hours of dealing with it. Anyone out there that can give me some pointers to get that header centered and bigger??

Secondly, I finally got my Erin Condren Life Planner!! So excited. I have incorporated some pictures into this blog for you all. Check it out below!

The box! Sophie checking it out before Mommy opens it up. 

Have I mentioned that Purple is my favorite color?

Stickers and postcard

squee!!

Garnet and Gold for Florida State!

Inside cover

Calendar

April 2015 spread

Notes section

More notes

Stickers!

More stickers, I love stickersssssssss

Ok that was quick! I hope you enjoy seeing the unwrapping of my ECLP. I am thinking about doing a weekly/biweekly ECLP planner blogs so that you can see my week(s). Let me know if you think that is a good idea below. I love your comments!

Schedule Linky

Hi All! I am linking up with Schroeder Shenanigans to post my daily schedule! I love this idea. As a Secondary Teacher [ELA and History], I have different schedules on different days as well as a different schedule for Graduate School! I have created two daily schedules and check them out below!!

Teaching Life

7:15-7:45am: Waking up, showering, breakfast, getting ready

8:05-8:30am: Arrive at work and prepare for the day

8:45-9:30am: 1st Period [English III Inclusion class]

9:30-11:15am: 2nd or 3rd Period [either English III or US History Inclusion]

11:15-12:05pm: STEP [Student-Teacher Enrichment Period aka Lunch :-p]

12:10-1:39pm: 4th or 5th Period [either English III or Planning]

1:45-3:15pm: 6th or 7th Period [either US History or Planning]

3:15-4:30pm: Making copies for the next day(s), hosting English III meetings, meetings with students

Graduate Life

I have class from 8-11pm on Monday and Tuesday nights. I typically try to nap between work and class or go to school early to complete homework. However, Saturdays or Sundays are my "Graduate" days. So a typical weekend day would look like the following:

11-12pm: Wake up [I need my sleep!!]

12-12:30pm: make lunch and a snack

12:30-1:00pm: Schedule out my readings and notes for comps

1:00-3:30pm: Complete my readings

3:30-4:00pm: Break [eyes are usually blurry and in need of a break!]

4:00-6:00pm: Type up notes for Comps

So that's it! Go link up so I can see your schedules :) 

Test

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Grading Playlist and Trench Coats

We are getting close to one of my favorite times in DC...the Cherry Blossom Festival!! The blossoms are incredibly gorgeous [as seen above] and the weather is downright amazing. As you may tell, I have tweaked my blog name a bit, Life in Flats. I am still going to incorporate teaching into my blog [see below!] but I also want to talk more about my life as a grad student, organizer, planner addict, 2-star chef and aspiring vlogger. I live in an amazing city and I want to share my experiences in and around it with my readers, all 43 of you. I am not much of a creator in terms of having an Etsy or TpT shop so I do feel very much on the outside of teaching blogs. As I have mentioned in previous posts this year at my high school has been especially difficult. Our Principal of 7 years left after much media scrutiny over the safety and security of our building after a few robberies by students against other students took place. Since then there has been a sort of continental divide between the Administration and the teaching staff which is growing larger by the day. Through in two months worth of PARCC testing and this is becoming a recipe for disaster. I don't know whether or not I will stay at my current school. Time will tell!

Moving on to more pleasant things, today I found myself with a foot high stack of papers that I haven't graded in the past three weeks thanks to the never ending grad school work and administering PARCC testing. I created a playlist for myself for when I run, lift weights or grade papers. Sometimes I need some serious power music to get through grading, either because of the amount of grading or, I hate to say this but it is true, the quality of work. EXCLAIMER!! Some of these songs are EXPLICIT! And unfortunately I know that majority of my students the explicit ones word for word...

You can listen to the playlist HERE

I also have been in the market for a nice trench coat. If my life was perfect and I was married to Tom Hiddleston, I would purchase this 1800USD Burberry Trench Coat. But that is the cost of one month's rent for my little apartment in DC and I am fairly certain my loverboy would slice me if I spent rent money on this coat. I have always loved London Fog coats since I stumbled upon the factory store in Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, FL. I have two LF trench coats from Macy's that I think are pretty affordable, 129 and 159 each. 

Aren't they both great?!

So leave me a comment below! Let me know if you like or dislike the new blog name or the new content.

Some Thoughts...

Hi All! I have been thinking lately about my blog, ways to improve it, ways to change it, etc. I have been considering making this blog more than just teaching. I want to incorporate more of my personal life - productivity, food, grad school- into this blog but I feel as though no one will want to continue reading if every post isn't about teaching. Obviously all of my personal life ties into my teaching life so I do feel as though everything will still be relevant to all of you wonderful readers! I am also considering changing my blog name to Life in Flats...please leave me a comment below and let me know what your thoughts on this potential change!!

March Currently and Update

I cannot believe that it is already March! Only 70 more days of school for me. We are getting into the PARCC testing window here in DC and let's just say that it has been a simply terrifying time. I have been chosen to be one of the main testing administrators during this time [I will be testing a total of 8 days] and apparently if I screw up this test, I could lose my teaching license! I am hoping that the testing won't be as difficult as it has been for other school districts that have started testing this week. We are looking at another snow storm this Thursday that could be a doozy, anywhere from 5 inches to over a foot. I personally wouldn't mind a snow day so that I can catch up on some grad school readings! This semester has been easier than last, thank the lord. I also haven't heard back from Montgomery County yet, but I have submitted all my items and made it through the interview so I am expecting a contract this month from them. While I am waiting, I have linked up with Farley over at Oh Boy 3rd Grade! for this month's currently. I love Currently's! Check out below and let me see those currently's!

Listening: Barefoot Contessa...I enjoy her show, sometimes she has great recipes.

Loving: The fact that we are finally above freezing! I even wore a T-shirt outside even though it was 38 degrees. Felt amazing.

Thinking: About my contract. I really want to start fresh and I want that to be Montgomery County. I am hoping to hear back this month!

Wanting: My poor iPhone 5 is crapping out. I make a phone call on 100% and my battery drops to 80% immediately. I need my upgrade which comes March 27, thankfully.

Needing: A snow day which hopefully will come on Thursday so I can catch up on my readings.

Spring Break: Spring Break in the District is so freaking late! I will have only two weeks until the end of Spring semester at American University so I will be spending my time prepping for exams and papers.

So that is it! Go link up with Farley, you won't regret it.

Currently!

It has been a while since I have done a "Currently"! I love Farley, she has the greatest IG too. I would recommend checking her out. Check out mine below and then link up yours with the link above.

2015 Goals

Whewwwww it has been too long! 1st semester has been...interesting to say the least. My Principal resigned two days before Christmas so things are all sorts of crazy right now. Between grad school and teach two subjects, things have been quite stressful. Being a teacher leader in the Union and having to deal with our Principal resigning is adding a bit more to the stress plate. I also am interviewing in another district this month (January). It is time for a change and with my Principal leaving us this is a great opportunity. Anyhoo, on to the goals!!

Stay on top of my planning! I am about two/three days out. I want to be at least two weeks out going into the end of the school year (omggggg).

Move to another school district. I am ready for a change. 

Stay on top of my grad school readings. Part of the reason why I didn't do as well as I wanted to this past semester is because I didn't focus enough on myself and MY schoolwork. I need to practice what I preach to my students. 

I have lost about 11-12 pounds so far and I want to keep that up. I want to swim 2-3 times a week and go to Hot Yoga at least once. I have no excuse since the pool is located in my school building the Hot Yoga place is literally just on the other side of the street from school. 

Niagara Falls! I am trying to plan a visit over the summer.

Sushi. I have never had it and I am scared crapless to try it. 

A language. Duolingo is an awesome website and I have signed up to refresh my Italian and start German. 

Experimenting in the kitchen with recipes. I found a recipe for Chicago style deep dish pizza from Sally's Baking Addiction and I want to try it so badly. I need to get some baking dishes!

Get through a grad semester with straight A's.

Leave me love nuggets! [comments]

August Currently

Oh God. I can't believe I start Advanced Placement US History training next week and then pre-service week after that. AND THEN SCHOOL AND GRAD SCHOOL ON THE 25TH! I am hyperventilating! I have no idea if I can do this :( Anxiety is definitely running high right now. I am taking the time to do Farley's Currently over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade! Join up, it is a great link party.

Back to School Linky

I am linking up with Miss V's Busy Bees and Mrs. D for the Back to School Linky party. I cannot believe that we are so close to the beginning of the school year ago. Just over a month for me (August 25th). So stressful! Anywho, back to the linky!

This week's topic is Behavior Management. I teach high school so my tips are going to be geared towards older students. When I taught 4th grade, I used a star chart with huge success. With my Juniors and Seniors, I have to be a bit more creative. The biggest issue with my students is the fact that they don't turn in their homework which leads to some behavior issues during class time because they have no idea what is going on because THEY DIDN'T DO THEIR BLEEPIN HOMEWORK! I use pink slips (printed on obnoxious pink paper) that students have to fill out when they do not turn in assignments. This helps me keep a hard copy record of what the student has not turned in (for parents and administrators) and is kinda embarrassing for the student. They start realizing how not doing assignments affects their grade and they start to take it seriously. I use a document similar to this : http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pink-Slip-for-missing-homework-215981

I naturally changed it around to fit my classroom needs. Go link up so I can read your tips!!

July Currently!

I am linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for the July Currently.

So I have a real addiction to the Real Housewives franchise and New Jersey is my favorite. The BF and I are going down to FL for 4 days and I am super stoked to just go and lay on the beach and relax. I have already started on my Unit 1 (Scarlet Letter) for my 11th grade English class. Which reminds me! I don't think I let everyone know that I am teaching 3 on-level 11th grade English classes and 2 US History classes. I am super excited!! So go link up with Farley if you haven't already!!

Monday Meet Me!

I have linked up with The Teaching Tribune for Summer Bloggin' Monday Meet Me edition. This is super cute and fun. Great for the last week of school when my brain is pretty much out of juice and is running on fumes.

 

Go ahead and link up!

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June Currently

       Afternoon All! I am linking up with Farley for June Currently. Oh my gosh I am so excited that it is finally June. I am definitely ready for this summer. This year has been interesting to say the least. Let's hope I never have to have emergency surgery again. Check out my Currently below and then link up with Farley to do your own!

Listening: I love Property Brothers...HGTV is hugely addictive.

Loving: That summer break is finally here! I need to recharge my batteries.

Thinking: I don't have a strict lesson for tomorrow's Honors classes. But I am tapped out! I might just show them a youtube video about thesis statements and call it a day.

Wanting: The allergy struggle is real right now. My head is pounding and I can barely breathe out of my nostrils. Mouth breathing, ftl.

Needing: These next 14 days need to go by quickly please!!!

Summer Bucket List:

1. Gotta lose at least 15 pounds this summer. No exceptions. Being I can't be doing this anymore. Time to lose the weight and never find it again!

2. I have about 8 books total for my grad classes and I want to get started on my reading this summer. I have 3 right now and need to order the other 5 ASAP.

So go link up so I can read your posts!!

10 Things To Do This Summer Linky!

        Summer is always an interesting time of year for teachers. While many of us look forward to this time to recharge our batteries, majority of us are still working in some way, shape, or form. This summer will be no difference from any of the other summers since I have started teaching. Meaning I will be completely lazy until August 1st and then freak out and work 12 hour days until the 1st day of school :-p. This list is what I would *like* to do, let's see if it actually happens! Hop over to Mrs. Jump's Class and join up.

1. SLEEP!! I think this is self-explanatory. I am starting grad school in the fall and taking over two contents AND taking over Student Government. I am going to be a zombie next year.

2. Read some US History Books. I will be teaching US History for the first time and I definitely need to up my knowledge base. I haven't taken a US History class in 7 years! While I am sure my knowledge of US History is better than most Americans, I am a perfectionist and I want to be the best. I have already bought the book, 1776, and I am fascinated. I have about 12 other books on my list that I want to read this summer as well. I won't bore you all with it :-p

3. Work out. I have fallen off the wagon, as many of us have. I have gained 20 pounds since my Grandmother passed away almost 2 years ago and I need to lose that this summer. No reason why I shouldn't be able to lose the 20 pounds in 2 months. Cardio and light weightlifting and clean eating!

4. Spend more time with the boyfriend and fur baby. Sophie and the bf have been complaining about the fact that I don't spend enough time with them and I need to fix that. I have to work on my work-fun balance. I tend to be a workaholic (who isn't anymore?) and it is just not healthy-mentally, emotionally or physically.

5. Experiment with interesting recipes. Summer is the time I tend to experience more "out-there" recipes, like Big Mac Burger (hamburger topped with macaroni and cheese and bacon). Skinny Taste is one of my favorite websites to check for interesting websites.

6. Improve my Italian. I use Duolingo to work on my conversational Italian. I took 2 years in high school and 2 years in college and I remember almost nothing other than the basics. If I can dedicate about a hour each day to Duolingo over the summer, I should be back to speaking almost fluently by September!

7. Update my clothing. I will be 27 in July and a lot of my clothing for work is....showing it's age. I want to get about 12 basics before school starts that I can wear to work and then transition to school in the evenings. So comfort and class! Dresses are quickly becoming one of my favorites but I do like wearing pants in the winter. Covers the legs on my walks to work!

8. Eat breakfast on the balcony on our new IKEA patio furniture twice a week. Weird thing, I know. But I absolutely love this patio furniture. The chairs are super sturdy and don't wobble at all. We have a cute lantern to light up at night if we want to enjoy a late dinner.

9. Tour the Capitol. I will have lived in DC for 3 years in two weeks and I have never toured the Capitol building. Especially if I am going to teach US History, I have to at least toured one of the most important buildings in the free world!

10. Start planning 2 hours a day starting July 1st. Teaching two content areas and at least 2 preps means I need to be super organized. I want to start planning my units and summative assessments first and then move towards daily lessons as the month moves on.

Tell me what you think? Link up and share your 10 things you want to do!