Time Flies When You're Having "Fun"

Whew! It's been a long time since I've posted. Just want to let you all know, I am still here and I am still working on each and every one of my goals. The beginning of this school year has taken a lot more effort than years past - and it's been hard to keep up with anything outside of it! We've also had some technical difficulties at home with our computer(s) - long story I'd rather not share because I am pretty technologically inept in comparison to my husband. This is a scary thought since at work I am one of the more technologically adept individuals. I fear for our youth. But I digress....
I have some great photos of my newly organized classroom with all new ideas, including my organized classroom library- a goal, of course. Wouldn't you love to see them? Me too. However, our aforementioned technology issues are preventing me from currently downloading them.
I continue to work at weight loss, as well. This is going...well...okay. Not great, but I have NOT gained weight, so I am viewing this as a success. I am hoping the coming weeks will calm down some, and I will have more energy for healthy meal planning and exercise. I thank all of you that have checked in on my progress, and I truly wish I had a big new number to share with you...but I don't...just yet.
Goal number nine of becoming a bone marrow registrant is becoming more a reality, too. We recently learned that I have a close family member in need of a bone marrow transplant. We are hoping this family member's sibling will, of course, be a match as that is the best case scenario. However, if not, I fully intend to jump in line and offer myself up, as does Adam. I won't disclose any more details about my family member as this person has asked for things to remain private. We also met some neighbors recently who lost their 2 year old to leukemia fifteen years ago. They hold an annual garage sale to raise money for Light the Night for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Adam and I participated in this event a few years back in honor of a former student of mine who survived leukemia via a non-familial bone marrow transplant. (And again some great photos I can't share due to this darned computer!) Anyhow, this cause keeps coming back to me, and it's time to do something about it.
I also continue to enjoy looking at photos of living room furniture online, but have yet to purchase anything. We move slowly when it comes to large purchases. Lord knows how we'll ever manage to buy a house!

Dollar Tree, How I Love Thee

I've nearly finished the second craft of my monthly craft project goal already. I just needed a simple and inexpensive 5x7 frame to finish it off. So, I made a stop at my new favorite place...Dollar Tree. Yes, a dollar store is the new love of my life. I quickly found my frame (just $1!) and the wandered around looking for more great buys. There are so many to be had there - yes, a lot of generic products - but also a lot of "real" products, too. However, my favorite find today were these:

Yes, they are bins. Whoopity do, you say? Yes, whoopity do! These are just want I have been looking for to organize my classroom library. If you want any, well that's just too bad...because I bought them all! At four different Dollar Trees. Yes, I drove to four different stores to stock up on these sweet babies! And yes, they are kind of flimsy - definitely more generic than Rubbermaid. But, let's face it...the average age of the users of these buckets will be approximately nine or ten years old. I could stock my shelves with bins fortified by bulletproof material, and they would find a way to destroy them within seconds. I'm now completely ready to organize as I've also purchased some very cute labels I bought with money donated to my classroom through www.adoptaclassroom.org. Unfortunately, these are trapped in the confines of school, and I can't share them with you at the moment. However, I will most definitely share the completed project in the coming weeks...or perhaps months...we'll see how longs this endeavor takes!