Inside Bell's Brain

Admittedly I struggled with my "one little word" for this year.  I'm at a really pivotal point in a great deal of things going on in my life right now but I wanted it to be a word of true meaning and significance for me...a word that represents the excitement, fear, elation, frustration, and confidence that this year is for me. At first I thought ringmaster seemed like a good enough word.  I was certainly juggling the many responsibilities I have while learning to find the most important balance...a balance to take care of myself.  I was becoming a ringmaster of my own life again .  (And I don't mean that in a spiritual sense because God guides my daily path.  I just mean that I was taking control back of the things that have spiraled beyond my control...mostly because of my desire to make others around me happy and to be a person who can't say "no.")  But I digress... That still just didn't have the right nuance to it.  This year is about...

  Call me an overachiever .  Or just a lover of alliteration .  But I think my #16for16 is off to a great start.  I wanted to have something catchy for this big upcoming year, especially since last year's #focusedin15 worked so well for me.  When I met with a few of my best girlfriends on New Year's Eve to map out our plans and intentions for the coming year, I broke each of my big areas into three sub-goals.  I added one little overall goal to the bottom...and BAM!  There was my #16for16. Everything is kind of self-explanatory in the bullets, but a few things may not be.  For example, PTP (Polishing the Pulpit) is a spiritual retreat week that my congregation hosts for churches of Christ from all around.  It originally started as an opportunity for preachers to connect, but then it grew into an amazing get-together of Christians from all around.  I'm hopeful that by going I will grow spiritually and that I might e...

What a cute get to know you linky series with The Tattooed Teacher !  I didn't get to link up in time for Week 1's assessment, so I'm including weeks 1 and 2 below.  I feel like some of these questions need further explanation, but I'm just going to roll with it!  :)

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...

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 t...