Ready, Set, GO!

Hey y'all!  I still cannot believe it is already February!  January was a busy one and flew right by me.  It's time to get excited because Miss Kristen over at Easy Teaching Tools is hosting another AMAZING giveaway!!  She teamed up with some great Teachers to share TWELVE products!  Be sure to use the link below to enter for yourself :)  Just think of all you could win!

 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone!! 

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!

Hey y'all!  Happy February!  In my family we have a tradition where we say "Rabbit" three times on the first day of every month.  "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit."  It's supposed to bring you good luck.  Does anyone else do this?  If not, work it into your family traditions.  It's a silly and fun one.  And what does it hurt?

Source

I'm joining the fab Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently!  Be sure to stop by her blog and check it out, if you haven't yet.

Anywho... Here it is!

I am listening to Ben Rector Radio.  Officially obsessed, friends.  'Nuff said.

 

I am loving my quiet apartment.  My hubby went out for a bike ride and will be gone for the better part of the afternoon.  The apartment has been cleaned and I'm on the couch {still in my jammies!} super excited to blog, work, read, and just enjoy my peace and Ben Rector :)

My best Ben Rector impression in my jammies.  Mmmhmmm.

I am thinking about what to make for dinner.  Earlier this week I made this short rib recipe.  It was AAAAAMAZZING.  Most possibly one the best meals I've ever made.  And now I'm having a hard time figuring out what could possibly be as good as that one.  Any recommendations?  I really enjoy cooking and am open to any {healty-ish} recipes that you've loved!  *Sidenote:  The short rib recipe calls for a slow cooker but since I don't have one right now, I went ahead and just cooked it for 3 hours on low in our oven.  Worked perfectly!!*

I am wanting to make some fun Valentine's Day cards to give my friends, family, and students.  I'm loving these great ideas, these cute cards, or these fun "play on word" cards!!

Needing to finish my next writing unit.  I am SOOO behind on my units but refuse to compromise the quality and thus they're taking me foreeeever.  I guess that's good and bad for anyone waiting to use my units!  However, I'm hoping to finish my "Writing on Demand" unit for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade in the next day or two!  Follow me on TpT {here} to see when it's uploaded, if you're interested!  It has EVERYTHING you need to help your class be completely prepared for the State Test {coming up way too soon!  Ahhhh}.

2 truths and a fib... If you've been following me for a while, then you know which one is obvi the fib :)
1)  I have broken my collar bone 3 times {TRUTH!  All when I was little... and not always the same one.  I fell off a picnic table, fell out of bed, and fell off my dad's back playing around with my little brother.  SO glad it's been over 20 years since that happened!}

2)  I have been married for 7 months.  {TRUTH too!!  My hubby and I just celebrated- I can find any reason to celebrate :)  our 7th month of marriage.  What a 7 months it's been!}



3)  I say it's been an eventful 7 months because we have been living in Spain during most of these 7 months.  My 3rd fact is my fib!  We don't live in the US and while I miss it, I have loved getting to learn more about the Spanish culture and education in another country.  Be sure to follow {my blog} to hear all about what it's like to live and teach abroad!!

My Spanish classroom!  Supplies and decorations are muy limitado.  Check out that chalkboard! 

 THANK YOU so much for stopping by!  Be sure to join and link up with Farley!!  Cheers!

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday, friends!!  One of my favorite weekends of the year is the weekend after Christmas break!  You're still feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to tackle the weekend :)  I hope you're still feeling fresh and ready to go too!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching  for Five for Friday!

Come heeeeere!

Ever wonder how I became a teacher in Spain?  Interested in moving abroad?  If teaching here is something you would be interested in, the application process just opened this past week and will be accepting application through March!  It's free to apply and you don't have to even be a teacher OR speak Spanish! My husband and I both got job placements in the same city and are having a wonderful adventure here together!  Learn more about it --> here <-- OR please feel free to e-mail me :)  Appleslices4th@gmail.com  I would love to help you with any questions or concerns you have.  Moving abroad can be scary and unnerving, but I am so glad I did it.  I wouldn't change it for anything!  If this is something you've been considering, I urge you to look into it.  What do you have to lose?

Christmas break is officially over.  My hubby and I had the best travelling around Europe but it's always nice to get back home and settled in :)

I had a nice surprise when I took the early train an hour out to my school on Tuesday- it was a teacher strike day!  The teachers still strike once a month in order to continue trying to find a balance with the government.  So instead of heading home since no teachers were at school, I wandered around, sat in parks, explored outside of hundreds of year old churches, and soaked up the sun.  It was 70 degrees here and I was enjoying every minute of it!  

Old church, blue sky, palm tree shadow, no jacket... happppppy.

So since I had a FREE day, I spent it putting away Christmas decorations and organizing the house.  I even stopped for some fresh flowers so I could have something once the decorations were all put away.  I always feel so sad once I've taken down the pretty holiday decorations!  The flowers definitely helped :)  

So I spent my first day back to school sharing with my little Spanish students what a New Years Resolution is.  They don't have that custom in Spain, so it was new for them!  I used The Applicious Teacher's cute little New Year Flip books and we created four resolutions.  They loved it and I'm looking forward to getting them up on the wall when I'm back in the classroom on Monday.  Not being able to get into the school outside of work hours makes it tough!

I am looking forward to making these adorable little snowmen this week with some of my ESL learners!  We will make them and then label them in English or write about them in English, depending on the level.  I've seen these little guys all over the blogsphere and Instagram so if you know where the idea originated, please let me know!  

Thanks so much for stopping by- have a wonderful weekend!!

First Post of 2014 {An INSANELY late Currently!!}

Hey y’all! I’m a little late linking up with my currently, but I finally have a bit of time and wanted to see what everyone has been up to.  My husband and I have been travelling through Europe since December 28^th! We flew into Cologne, Germany and have visited Brussels and Amsterdam. Now we’re on our way back to Cologne to spend a final day before we head home to Spain. 

A little work on the train

I have had such a great time travelling and seeing other cultures.  I am so blessed for this time that I get to spend travelling with my hubby.  (I first knew I would marry him when we traveled Europe together 5 years ago!) So, as I sit on our train from Amsterdam to Germany, here is my Currently…

Listening to a baby snoring in the seat in front of me.  Really he’s a toddler I suppose.  But the train has lulled him to sleep and his little snores are just so tiny and precious.  Adorbs, absolutely adorbs!

Loving learning about holidays all over.  Did y’all know that Amsterdam celebrates their New Year by lighting of fireworks? There were fireworks EVERYWHERE! I’m sure I should have been a little more concerned than I was, but it was bewildering. And amazingly beautiful.  Did you know that Spain celebrates the Three Kings tomorrow on January 6^th?  This is their main holiday, instead of Christmas. Children leave shoes out at night and the Three Kings leave presents under their shoes while they sleep.   I am super excited to participate tomorrow!! Learning about different holidays by experiencing them has been incredible. People all over are not very different when it comes to the basics, but their rituals and traditions are fascinating and so much fun to learn all about. I pray I never stop learning.

I took this as about 10 fireworks were being set off just five feet away from us- AHHHH!!

Seeing this guy was a huge highlight of the trip!!

Thinking about what to do back in Cologne.  I’m excited to return to the city where we began our trip. We've hit the highlights and now I’m ready to explore off the beaten path J.

Wanting more time… but really, aren't we all?  Travelling has been amazing.  But I keep thinking about all the work I should be doing back home.  I would not change one single decision I've made, but I sure do wish I had more time to fit it all in.  I suppose that’s the story of everyone’s life.

Fries & "special sauce"
(a Belgian tradition!)

HUGE pretzel in Germany :)

Needing vegetables. Travelling has a way of wreaking havoc with your body and appetite. I've had some delicious meals but many having been heavily lacking veggies… time to get back to a healthy and balanced diet!!

Who knows what we ordered...
 as it was completely in German!
But it was delicious!

Memory… Getting Pajamas on Christmas Eve. As long as I can remember, my brother and I have received pajamas on Christmas Eve and we wear them that night and in the morning. This year my mom got EVERYONE new and matching pajamas so we all get to wear them together J It was so much fun.  This was also the first year my husband and I have spent Christmas together.  Being able to share the day together was wonderful. 

Me and my Momma in our PJ's!

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and enjoyed the time with ones they love.  Happy holidays from Germany!!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!

Y'all, I have been caught up with life lately.  My family arrived in Spain this past Sunday and I have been so engrossed in showing them around and working that I COMPLETELY forgot about my giveaway I was hosting.  What a horrible host!  I apologize.  So to make up for my error, I have chosen two winners.  The first winner will get a $25 gift card to TpT and the second winner may choose any product from my store!  I am so excited to announce that the winner of the $25 Gift Card is Carolyn K. and the winner of any product in my store is Kelly M.!!  Ladies, please check your e-mails for your prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  Y'all are the best and I'm so thankful for y'all!

Enjoy your Tuesday and have a happy LAST week before break!