Pinnable Me: DIY

This morning I’m linking up with Paw Prints & Pastry Bag’s Pinnable Me with a few DIY projects I’d love to complete. I just adore finding easy DIY projects, even if I rarely ever complete them.  I’m hoping to jump on these (especially the doorknob rack and soap dispenser) very soon.

Source: europeanchicdesign.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: theblissfullycontentlife.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: verypurpleperson.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: connectthedotsons.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: beautyandbedlam.com via Maggie on Pinterest

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Have you found any great DIY projects lately?

Keeping Busy

It’s a little sad to think about, but the summer is coming to an end very quickly. I have just about two weeks left until I have to report to work, although I’ll need to start going in next week to get my classroom in order. It’s amazing how little can actually get done during that one week before students, since all the teachers are around socializing and chatting up about their summers. I love it, but a girl’s got to get something done.

I’ve also got to get these boxes out of my dining room. Amen.

So, I’ve been keeping myself busy the past week or two trying to get as much done as possible before I’m in the building. Mostly that means stalking Pinterest and teacher blogs, stealing borrowing ideas, and then creating my own version of documents. Here are a few of the projects I have been working on:

Substitute Binder – I’ve hated the one I’ve had for the past few years, so I created a combination of two or three that I saw online. At a whopping 18 pages, this one took the most time. It’s also got some emergency plans and worksheets as well.

Greek & Latin Roots Cards – Anyone else use this program? We’re starting it for the first time this year, so I have been making cards to go in the pocket chart.

Spelling Contract – I definitely stole this from someone, then changed lots of the activities. I love love love using this with my 4th graders.

Vocabulary Contract – Same situation…I just turned the Spelling Contract into vocabulary. Lots of the activities are the same, but less spelling-focused.

Vocabulary Record Sheet – This is a requirement on the Vocab Contract to put into their Book Lover’s Books.

What are your summer projects (teacher or otherwise)?

Weight Watchers Wednesday: Snacks

I joined Weight Watchers Online 12 weeks ago and have had pretty good success with the program thus far. Lately, I have been toying with the idea of doing a Weight Watchers Wednesday post every week to help keep myself accountable and offer tips that I’ve picked up as I go through this program. By no means am I an expert – heck, I’ve only lost a whopping 9.6 lbs, but my eating habits have changed dramatically.

I’m a big snacker – I could eat all day long if I let myself, so a struggle early on was finding appropriate snacks that are low in points and fill me up. Here are a few ideas that have kept me on track:

• Fruit (of course!) – 0 points
• Jell-O Sugar Free Snacks – 0 points
• All natural applesauce – 0 points
• Sargento Light string cheese – 1 point
• Fruit Roll-Up Simply Wildberry – 1 point
• Hershey’s Bliss Milk Chocolate (1 piece) – 1 point
• Dannon Light & Fit – 2 points

What are your tried-and-true snacks for staying healthy?

Hilton Head Island

We’ve spent the past week on Hilton Head Island with my family, a necessary break from all that’s been going on here. It was nice to just get away from the normal everyday life worries and focus on relationships and having fun. I could write a week’s worth of posts about everything we did down there, but I’ll refrain. If you want more detailed information or recommendations, feel free to e-mail me and I’ll answer any questions you have.

We spent about 2 1/2 hours (4.5 miles) walking through a portion of the Pinckney Island Nature Preserve. We saw tons of animals and enjoyed the scenery immensely. I’d suggest visiting at high tide and touring on bikes, but doing it our way was fine as well.

We spent some time at Coligny Plaza, but I didn’t love it at all. It was a little too touristy and kitchy for me, so I enjoyed Harbour Town so much more. The shops were a bit nicer even though they were also catering to the tourists. Nearby, Salty Dog is an institution – one that can’t be missed if you’re in the area. I’d go for the shrimp and grits, personally.

Speaking of food, we stopped at One Hot Mama’s for supper one night, home of Orchid from Food Network Star. The food was phenomenal; everyone at our table was happy with their order. This is my plate of rib tips and smoked chicken, but I’d also suggest the rack of ribs and the Big Daddy. The best part was seeing Orchid walking around talking to the guests. She’s definitely very down to earth and happy. Wish she had won!

Other places of note: Of course no trip to Hilton Head is complete without some time at the beach. I have no daytime pictures of it, oddly enough, but HHI has the best beach around. We also really enjoyed eating at Pino Gelato (try the Tiramisu) and drinking at Wine Times 4. Pino Gelato was a random find, but one of the best gelato places I’ve been to. I read about Wine Times 4 on another blog, and dragged my family along to try it. The concept is great (you choose your wine by the glass size and use a card to keep track of your balance), and I loved trying all kinds of different wines.

So, there’s the short version of our trip to Hilton Head. Have you ever been to HHI? Do you have any recommendations for the next time we’re there?

Teacher Treat Box

While perusing Pinterest the other day, I came across this little beauty:

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

 

Once I clicked through to the original webpage, I realized…this looks easy. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a crafty person. I wish I could create all of gorgeous DIY items on Pinterest these days, but there’s no hope for me, I’m afraid. I’ve got a good teaching friend who is getting married next month and has a birthday this week. An idea was sparked, albeit with a hint of trepidation. Thankfully, this ended up being stupid easy. Here’s my finished piece and how I went about it.

1. I traced the top of the box onto white paper, which I then used to cut out the same shape on three pieces of scrapbook paper. I intended to put the polka dot paper in the middle, with paisley on the bottom. Unfortunately, I severely miscut the paisley paper, which I’m still not sure how that happened since I was tracing it.
2. I filled the box up with as many purple things as I could find that were small enough. There are erasers, staples, paper clips, binder clips, jolly ranchers, Dove chocolate, magnets, and push pins. I’m most excited about the staples…Who knew they sold colored staples??
3. I finally wrapped it all up with a basic bow. I opted not to do the ribbon underneath the paper, as they did in the original post because I was afraid it would get in the way. In the bow are a few things I picked up that did not fit in the box (highlighter, white-out tape, and flags, all in purple of course).

I loved this project for a couple of reasons. It gave me a chance to give a friend something with her new last name. It’s useful. This is such a personalized gift. I was able to decide what went inside based on her likes and personality. I may have to find an excuse to make another one of these for someone else!