Oh, I Should Blog About That

I cannot tell you how many times throughout the week, or even the day, that I will have a conversation with someone or read something or hear someone say something and I think, "Oh, I should blog about that." But the truth remains that if I were to blog every time I thought that, I would be blogging constantly, never leaving time for anything else. That's just not realistic. So, this particular post is a bit random. It will serve as my "anything" post. I'll number each topic so there is some semblance of organization.

1. I really want to take my blog to the next level. I follow several different blogs that have me coveting how neat and organized everything looks. I want that sort of streamline, organized, yet funky feel to my blog. I want it to be colorful and vibrant but I want it to be user-friendly. Would I like to earn money from my blog? Sure. I really am not sure how to go about doing that. The truth of the matter is that I am not a good researcher. I really just want someone to show me what to do. Maybe I should have my hubby research it for me and then show me what to do. He's the researcher in the relationship. I'd like to have different sections to my blog to cover each topic that I tend to write about: marriage, motherhood, my faith, teaching. I thought about starting a whole new blog about teaching during the summer and chronicling my journey to becoming the most effective teacher I can be but perhaps, if I can get my blog organized like I want to, I can just have a tab for teaching blogs. Then I could have a tab for blogs about faith, blogs about marriage and relationships, blogs about motherhood, and blogs about healthy living. I can see it in my mind. I just don't know how to go about bringing it to fruition. Someone up for the challenge of teaching me?

2. I have a confession to make: I ate icecream. I have another confession: I didn't regret it. I haven't craved sweets in a while but with the whole household being sick, I just wanted something cold and sweet. So, against my better judgement, I bought a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from Walgreens. And, I liked it. It's gone now and I only ate 2 bowls over the weekend. I think I feel better about myself because my bowls were significantly smaller than my husband's (sorry, babe, I'm throwing you under the bus here). But, the good thing is that I don't want anymore. I ate it. I liked it. It satisfied that craving and I'm back on track. I made my protein smoothie this morning, although it didn't taste quite right because my taste buds are off due to this cold. I also made some absolutely to die for delicious no bake energy bites last night. They are chock full of wonderful healthy ingredients like flax seed and oats and chia seeds and honey and peanut butter and none of the icky ingredents like flour or egg or butter. They are sooo good. I read on this lady's blog that they tasted like those deliciously wonderful yet horribly unhealthy for you no bake cookies. I didn't believe her. Until I tasted one. Oh. My. Goodness. She was almost right. They taste BETTER! I could have eaten the whole bowl...but that would have defeated the purpose.

3. The verdict on our boy is ear infection in both ears and just a really bad cold. He's not taking his meds as easily as he used to so we've had to get creative - mixing it with his apple juice or yogurt. He has to take amoxycillin for his infection so I really hope we can manage to fit it in there twice a day whilst hiding it in other things. I hope he gets rid of this virus soon. I hope we all do. This junk is for the birds. Actually, it's not even for the birds. I don't wish this on birds. I hope I'm feeling at least 90% better by Saturday morning for my 31 Party...of course, at this point, I'm not sure I'll be having much of one. We'll see. I'll make the Energy Bites if you come! Seriously, you don't have to buy anything. Just come so I don't feel like a total loser;)

4. I purchased some plastic bins for our fridge this weekend. I'm really trying to get more organized and I saw these on pinterest, they were pretty inexpensive at Wal-Mart, and so I bought a few. I really like them. I can put similar items in them and just pull out the bin by the convenient handle in front and easily see what I've got, rather than trying to peer around cans and bottles and cartons to see what's in the back. It makes the inside look better too. I've created a new board on my pinterest called "From Pinterest to Reality" so I can keep track of recipes I've tried, school related items I've made or implemented in the classroom, organizational tips I've used, etc. It also inspires me to do more and try more of the things I've found on there so I can add more to that board. My next step is containers for things like flour, pasta, cereals, etc. so that I can start getting rid of the boxes and making my pantry look organized and neat. It will be a process and will take some time but I figure if I can buy one or two containers per month or so, and slowly start doing it, then it won't seem like such a daunting task.

5. I already have a mental list of the things I'd like to accomplish this summer regarding the house and school, as well as making sure I spend quality time with my boys. I want to touch up paint in the house, plant some flower beds, and perhaps get started on a vegetable/herb garden. For school, that list will be miles long. I just hope I have the motivation to do it all. I want hubby to build me some shelves for books, I want to make small cushioned seats out of milk crates, I want to organize my classroom library by genre, work on some novel units, get myself well-versed in the Common Core, and get ready to have an incredible year next year. I'm trying to stay with this year and keep my head in the game for this year but it's so hard when I have so many ideas that I really cannot implement until next year. I've created a wishlist on TeachersPayTeachers for some things that I really want but need a bit of extra money for. Sooo many ideas!!!!

So, friends, that's what has been on my mind lately. Nothing earth shattering or life changing.
I'll blog later about some other more intriguing matters and more about what the Lord has been teaching me. Just as my blog is a work in progress, so am I. Oh, maybe I'll change my URL again...workinprogress.blogspot.com....I'm going to see if that's available.