Bring it on!

No, I'm not watching the fun teen movie (though come to think of it, I haven't watched in awhile, that needs to be corrected!) I'm pumped for the school year to officially start. :)

I had a fun final weekend of summer. It kicked off Friday night with the Jaguars first pre-season game.

Have I mentioned how much I love going to NFL games? It's such an electrifying place to be. You feed off all the energy from the people, the music and the game. My brother, uncle, dad and J all went so it was a really good time. Cherry on top? The Jags beat the defending Super Bowl champs 32-31. WE ARE JAGUARS!!!

Yesterday, I spent the day with my brother. I think it's pretty neat that he and I are so close. Kind of mind blowing when I realize in two weeks the bugger turns 23 years old.

 

How cute were we?

Later that day, I met up with J. He bought me a set of milk crates so that I could create cubbies similar to these for my classroom:

Source: mrseolson.blogspot.ca via Nilda on Pinterest

My cubbies will be blue, red and green. I'm supposed to use this closet to store student belongings but the idea of 20 first graders try to cram their way towards the closet freaks me out. I will have these in my classroom instead!

After we hit up Wal-Mart, J and I went to this great little Mediterranean restaurant. It's like a Chinese food place but with Mediterranean food instead. I had chicken kabobs with hummus and rice pilaf. J had this shredded lamb with hummus and yogurt salad. It's making me drool just remembering it all.

Today was pretty simple and boring:

• I went to the grocery store with my mother, cleaned my room and car, did my laundry. Yay for productivity!
• Picked out my outfit for tomorrow. First impressions are important you know!
• Printed out some things that I will need to get laminated tomorrow. Hopefully School Aids isn't too crazy. Oh who am I kidding? The school store is INSANE the week before school starts. Teachers will cut you if you dare skip in line or take the last owl poster.
• Relaxed by watching a string of HIMYM episodes on Netflix. I adore that show and the older I get the more I relate!

Now I'm off to enjoy the Olympics Closing Ceremony. I have to watch it just for the Spice Girls alone. Here's where I date myself by telling you how  at my friend's birthday party in 6th grade, we all stood on chairs and pretended to be the Spice Girls while lip syncing "Wannabe". I played Posh Spice.  Ah the fun of being a pre-teen obsessed with a pop group!

So here's to hoping tomorrow will go great and I won't puke from all the butterflies that will be in my stomach. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Linking up with Carly over at Lipgloss and Crayons for YOLO Mondays!

Last Friday of Summer Vacay

Ooof. It's a little painful to type that title. This summer flew by. Even though I didn't do much it was a pretty great summer. I relaxed, hit the gym (even though I really dropped the ball on that the last few weeks),spent time with friends and family, and spent time with myself.

It's also been a hectic week. But I still have some great things to talk about it! Hit it!

1.  This is what my classroom looked like on Monday. Not like a classroom at all. But with some help from my family and J, I did get it done! Well mostly done. The fact that my room is ready impressed my newbie teachers on my team. Guess it gets easier and second nature the more you do it! (Oh and I will post pictures once it's totally complete!)

2. I figured out my back to school outfit! These aren't the EXACT items, but they are pretty close.

first day! by nilda-albino featuring cork wedge heels

My dress has sleeves and teal stripes and my wedges are strappier but still comfy.

3. I went shopping for myself for the first time in OVER a month. Loft had their Friends and Family sale, so I picked up these pieces:

loft by nilda-albino featuring a a line denim skirt

The best deal was the skirt, it was only 15 dollars! Looks great with the purple top too!

4. I've kept the school spending under control. I've been saving for this, but still have only really bought things I've needed. Go me for sticking to a budget!

5. Finally, the most important part of this week:

It's football time! Tonight is the first game of the pre-season for the Jaguars. I hope they do great and silence all the nay sayers from the NFL Network! Cannot wait to put on my jersey and enjoy some FOOTBALL!

Have a great weekend everyone! Don't forget to link up with Lauren over at My Grey Desk!

Getting it done!

This is not a teacher blog. But it is a blog about my life, right? And at the moment, my classroom is on my mind. Just can't help it!

My wonderful mother came and helped me today. Which was important. Why? My school bug bombed all the classrooms (they had to, all of the classrooms open to outside, easy access for bugs!). Which means I found a lot of dead cockroaches. Gross, I know! I can't handle those nasty little buggers, even dead. Every time I found one, I shrieked.  So my mom cleared them for me.  Mom handled that like such a champ!

She also cleaned and wiped down all my cabinets and helped me organize my room. Seriously, I'm so lucky to have her. End the gush fest about my momma. :)

My classroom is coming together. Crazy how much easier it gets the longer you've been teaching. My newer teammates are freaking out about their rooms, so I'm trying my best to help them out as much as I can.

Each day I'm at the school reminds me that even though it was a hard choice to leave CRES, it was the right choice.

Tomorrow, I'm going to set up my classroom library and J is coming on his lunch break to help. Isn't that so nice? Giving up his free time to come help. I'm going to use his height to finish my bulletin boards. Being short is such a problem sometimes.

I'll post pictures once I am done. Linking up for:

 

 If you're new, leave me a comment! I promise I talk about a lot of other things besides teaching. Pinky swear :)

Whew, what a day!

I made into my classroom today. At first I was completely overwhelmed. There were all of these boxes along the window. Then I realized they belonged to the previous tenant of my room. Freak out numero dos occurred when I started worrying when she would pick all of her stuff! But it was all gravy, because she came and got it!

My other issue, was that the a.c. wasn't working. The temperature read 84.5 degrees in my room. My brother and I were DYING! Luckily, I caught the janitor and he worked some magic.

Here are some pictures:

Did you get anything done?  Ha! Doesn't look like much, but I definitely did. I threw out a bunch of garbage from all of the drawers; with little storage space I can't waste a single drawer. I moved furniture that I didn't want out of the way, and arranged my meeting area.

Oh! The other reason I didn't get more done was because my translating skills were needed in the front office. The first dad, super sweet. He just wanted to find out what his little girl needed for kindergarten! The next guy, first class jerk. His friend was trying to register her daughter. The mom had no records for her daughter, except a birth certificate, because they came from Cuba to Israel, lived there for a while and then came here. I told him that the ESOL office would contact him and we would get him the right info. His reply, thanks and do you think next time the front office could find a better Spanish speaker?

SO RUDE! I really wanted to say, you're lucky there was even a Spanish speaking teacher available. I know my conversational Spanish is rough. It takes my mind awhile to get going and sometimes I can't pull the right words.Even when I only spoke Spanish, I had issues with my r's so I have a funky accent. But I comprehend it very well. Once I'm speaking it for awhile, it comes freely. He made me feel really self conscious. Not being able to speak it well enough is one of my biggest worries.

I hope to get more done tomorrow . My mom volunteered to help, so it should be a good time!

New beginnings...

Tomorrow is August 6th. It's a date that signifies the start of something new. Even though I don't officially go back to work until the 13th, my school is open to teachers tomorrow. Tomorrow I will see my new classroom. I will meet my new co-workers. I will begin to learn the ins and outs of my new school.

It would be a complete lie if I said I wasn't nervous or scared. My last school was my home. It's where I felt comfortable. I knew it like the back of my hand. It was so small, that I knew almost every student's name. I honestly never thought that I would leave (not at least until I had children.) But then last year happened. I was made to feel like an incompetent teacher. My grade level wasn't respected because it wasn't an FCAT grade. Last year was draining, both physically and emotionally. So even though I adored my co workers, I made the decision to transfer.

I am excited about my new school. My principal seems great and I won't be the only newbie. I get a chance to be role model for other Hispanic kids. Growing up, I never had a Hispanic teacher. I'm excited to better my communicating skills in Spanish. I'm excited to work with my ESOL babies. I'm nervous about being team lead, but I know I'm the best choice. Most of the teachers on my team have less than 2 years experience. The other two veterans are new to primary. It'll be a fun challenge. A challenge I'm ready for.

My friend once told me, it's okay to feel scared when change happens. It shows you how important that change is to you. So wish me luck!

P.S. Cross your fingers that my new classroom isn't full of old file cabinets, broken books, and speakers the way my very first classroom was!
P.P.S Cross your toes that I win the giveaway over at About Fais. An Erin Condren planner would be a great way to start my year!

Overall, I'd give this week a 9.5

Like my Olympics reference in my title? Yea, I know, gymnastics stopped using the 10.0 system ages ago, but I think it fits. :P

Like I said, overall this was a pretty great week. Let's recap it shall we?

-On Monday, I went to the Jaguars training camp. Pretty cool seeing all the players out there, getting their practice on. But the best part? Paul Posluszny, my favorite player, signed my jersey! When I told him he was my favorite, Paul graciously thanked me and gave me a high five. ::SWOON::  Other players signed my visor, but Paul's trumps them all!

-My grandma came in to town on Tuesday to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday. Love this picture:

-The only positive from my otherwise atrocious training this week, was that I got to hang out with my closest friend from my old school, Megan. It really hit us that we aren't going to be working together this year, so we agreed to make time to meet up during the school year. Oh and I met one of my new teammates, Samantha. Seems like a super sweet girl.


-Paige over at The Eloping Stethoscope wrote some really sweet things about me for her sponsor post. I know I'm sponsoring her blog, but she didn't have to say all of those nice things. Love all the new friends I've made through this blogging adventure!

-Both Bethannee over at The BB Life and Nicole over at Me and the Moon nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks ladies! If you want some random facts about me check here and here.

Like, I said great week. The only downer was the training. But it's in the past, and I have another fun weekend coming up! Happy Friday to everyone!

Leaves are falling, leaves are falling...

Well, they aren't really falling, but I do wish they were. I adore fall clothing and cooler weather. Believe it or not, North Florida does actually get cool so I do get to rock some cute fall outfits now and then. :)

My current crush this week revolves around Loft's new collection. Loft is my absolute favorite store, but I only shop there when they have a good sale (hello, teacher here!). I browsed their website earlier this week and these are my favorites:

Loft Favorites by nilda-albino featuring a color block dress

1. I love jackets! This one has really little stars on it. I think it's such a cute twist on a traditional trench.

2. This dress may possibly be my first day of school outfit. I love the colors and I would totally buy the belt to go with it.

3. I've been searching every where for a cute pair of wedges. I love any shoe that is patent leather. I've heard good things about Loft's shoes, so I may save for these.

4. I could totally pull of these orange pants. With a cute blazer, they'd make a great addition to a work outfit. (Most of my clothes must be able to work double duty!)

5. If you look in my closet, you'll find boatneck tops. It's such a flattering shape on me. I like this orange color a lot.

6. I want to get more into skirts. The color of this skirt is gorgeous and I like the lace detailing on it.

Really wish it was fall already! What fall fashion pieces must you have? Oh and link up with Danielle at Framed Frosting!