Inside Bell's Brain

I'm so proud of myself!  I'm starting July with a BANG !  I'm posting for the July Currently linky and it's technically still June for another hour!  I'm so proud!  :)   So here goes... Listening ...Apparently I've never seen Terminator 2 before or I've never really paid attention to it, but my mom turned the channel to that movie, and woah, boy !  It's a trip!  It actually kind of gives me the creeps a little bit. Loving ...Every Tuesday night when I come home from book club , I'm so exhausted and yet rejuvenated at the same time.  I posted this weekend about our adventures in my #FamiliesRead post, but I continue to be astounded at this opportunity I have with my students and their families.   They are doing such a good job with their English, and I really think they are enjoying class.  I have so much fun teaching them, and I'm really excited to see their homework for this coming week.  (Since we aren't meeting next wee

This weekend I saw an awesome link up that I wanted to jump in on... Weekend Warriors !  I'm still getting the hang of these link-ups, but the concept of Weekend Warriors really appealed to me.  It sounds so strong and empowering !  So this time we're doing a little 3-2-1 ... biography style !  Or rather, autobiography style.  Here's a little 3-2-1 on yours truly . Three things about the "teacher me" : 1. Sometimes I can't believe I ever earned a degree in marketing ...teaching is my life !  My undergraduate degree was in Marketing with a Spanish minor.  It has still served me well , so it wasn't a total waste !  But I love teaching so much, and it's such a part of who I am in my heart and soul that sometimes I can't believe I ever thought I would pursue any career path but teaching.  I was going to be a fashion designer/artist with my own boutique and cater to plus-sized styles and fun and funky accessories .  I still love art,

So, once again , this week got away from me, and it's hard to believe that we begin July this week!  But I wanted to take some time to reflect on my personal dreams for the second week of the TpT Seller Challenge .  I saw a lot of awesome ideas from my colleagues on the link-up, so I wanted to sort of split my dreams up into categories . Admittedly, when I first began selling on TpT, I don't think I set very lofty goals .  I just wanted a way to make a few extra bucks each month.  Now I can see the possibilities , and though I'm not where I want to be, I'm eager to learn more ways to grow my business.  Financial reasons for this are obvious, so I won't belabor those, but there are more reasons I want to grow too ...but I'll comment on those a little further down. First up, my financial goal : pay off credit cards and establish a savings fund .  I want to take my finances more seriously, and doing so means paying off debt and reserving money for those

Reading is a crucial part of a child's education. Children's ideas about language and communication , as well as ideas about character-building and coping with life's obstacles , are strengthened through reading. The National PTA is encouraging reading with their Family Reading Experience initiative this summer, and I wanted to link up with their site to share what I'm doing to encourage my students' families to read. Infographic from PTA Reading Challenge on family reading experiences Over my spring break, I read one of my (now) all-time favorite books , The One and Only Ivan .  Its story was captivating , and the author brought a true story to a new level of life by personifying the gorilla Ivan .  The chapters were short, but the ideas were strong .  I knew it was a book that I could incorporate into my language instruction with my English learners.   The book was such an emotional read that I'd have to read several pages...and then take a

I'm really excited to accept the TpT Seller Challenge hosted by the fabulous ladies at Third in Hollywood , Teach Create Motivate , Peppy Zesty Teacherista , and Sparkling in Second .  Sometimes being a seller can be difficult to balance with our other life roles, so we're taking on one task at a time ...together.  The "pre-task" was collecting our social media stats .  This week was so busy that I noted mine on Tuesday morning, but I got distracted and didn't post them to Instagram until today!  So here's where I'm beginning ... This week is the official first week of the challenge , and this week's task was a Makeover Madness challenge.  We were supposed to take an existing product in our stores and give it a little "face lift."  We were free to design and re-design however we wanted, as long as we shared/blogged about our "before and after" and shared it with the other challengers. I took on my product " How to

I'm linking up with my friend Marissa at The Inspired Owl   for today's Pick 3 Pinterest Party Linky .  It's a monthly linky we do on the third of each month to share a little "pinspiration" with you.  Check out the cute little pins I found this week! My first pin is a VERY creative idea that I would love to try.  I was just thinking earlier today (as I was working on that aforementioned office overhaul) that I needed something with knobs to mount to the wall to hang my Thirty-One bags from.  I guess now I will have to be on the lookout for a slender drawer that will be sturdy enough for them! Click on the photo to go to the original pin.  My second pin was a little motivational thought I ran across today.  I've been reflecting on my fitness and personal goals lately, and this one really spoke to me .  When you want something bad enough, you make it happen.  You find a way to make it happen, no matter what obstacles may fall into you

So, my blogging game is strong this June.  Three posts in three days?  Shazaam!  Today I'm linking up with A Dab of Glue Will Do for Winner Wednesday .  This is a monthly linky that we will post on the first Wednesday of each month . Since my planner game has also been strong recently, I decided that I would give you an opportunity to win my now best-selling 2015-2016 Vintage Vixen Teacher Planner to start your next school year off in organizational style .  I will even personalize the cover for the winner!  If you're wondering what all you can do with a planner, I'll give you a sneak peek preview of all its features. The winner can choose between the elementary or the secondary version of the planner.  The only difference is that the elementary planner is pre-labeled with six core content areas in the weekly lesson planners, while the secondary planner is blank so that you may add your own content area classes, useful for duplicate/multiple preps.)  Bo

I must begin this post by reminding myself of that ever-meaningful adage, "Comparison is the thief of joy."  When I look at all the other amazingly cute work spaces, so pristine and color-coordinated , I feel so disorganized and (honestly) a little jelly at how appealing my peers' work areas are. So I must remind myself that my home office space is a work in progress (and for that matter, I am too)!  Literally...I'm in the middle of an office overhaul right now. That's one of my major summer projects. But here's my work so far... (I will not compare myself to others, I will not compare myself to others, I will not compare myself to others...LOL!) So here's a sneak peek into my current situation ... The main attraction is my new desk area, created by two filing cabinets and a wooden door.  I wish I had taken a "before" pic of the monstrosity of a desk that was there before.  I had had it since I was a teenager, so it had a go

So here we are in June already!  Apparently May just completely passed me by ! Keeping it short & sweet tonight so I can get to my other major "to do" before I can retire for the evening... Listening ...so, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a die hard Twihard.  I won't even begin to tell you how I have every line of this movie memorized (literally) nor will I mention how many times I've actually seen it (many of which were actually in the theater).  It's my all-time favorite movie , so of course I have to have it on in the background when it's on FX. Loving ...that I got to spend the day with my fellow Twihard (even though she's on Team Jacob) K.Cre .  We celebrated an early birthday for her with some Moe's and a little fro-yo treat .  Then tonight mom and I grabbed some clear soup and chicken hibachi from the Japanese steakhouse .  Yummers! Thinking ...but there's a caveat to that...obviously, I need to lay off those littl