A Free Spirit from Jersey

the design on my new tank top; thank you Sevenly

Happy Monday! I'm a little late posting today but I have a good reason! I was shoe shopping :) I just wish boots didn't cost so much.... no such luck. Anywho, I've got a list of reasons I'm smiling today.


one //  My babies were teaching me Spanish today. My Spanish vocabulary consists of colors, days, and numbers. But I learned homework, bus, pencil, and shoes today. They love when they get to teach me something new -- makes my heart happy too!

two // videos of my friend's singing to strangers at red lights; these people know the way to my heart

three // a much needed two hour phone conversation with my best. He has been MIA for about a month but with good reasons ;) I was just happy to hear about his exciting life and have someone listen to me talk for an hour about school. Everyone needs a best friend, I swear it.

four // this song. that is all.

five // found out that all my extra work and double planning has paid off! good things come to those who wait :)

bonus // I'm being Minnie Mouse for Halloween and sonny said he's be my Mickey

Reasons I'm Smiling Today:

Happy Monday ladies and gentlemen! We're back again for another edition of Smiling on Monday. But before we get into that, I'd like to talk about the temperature.... why is it so cold?? I have on knee socks, leggings, a winter sweater, a zip-up jacket, a scarf, and a blanket. I'm sorry but when did it become winter? Ugh.
Now we can talk about why I'm smiling today.

Reason 1 // I'm the bestest teacher ever, or so I'm told by my littles. I just adore them. I mean what else would make you smile on a rainy Monday morning?

Reason 2 //  Hot chocolate and blankets straight from the dryer. Seriously the best. Especially with this ridiculous weather.

Reason 3 // One of the littles read me a book on his own today (for the first time) and announced that he now loved reading! I did a happy dance and gave him some "smart beads" because that's what we earn in my class for making smart choices! :)

Reason 4 // Being told I'm loved, always a good feeling.

Reason 5 // Phone calls to and from both of my g-mas. The happiness that comes from a phone call or snail mail is unsurpassed by anything else.

I struggled to find a good reason to get out of bed this morning. I mean it is Monday and it was raining and the idea of work sounded less than appealing. But I got up regardless and made the most of it. I really didn't feel great this morning... Pain in my left shoulder and chest again. Honestly, I'm learning to ignore it which is probably a bad idea. Doctor's appointment in the future? Most likely.

Anyway after school I promised myself I would write this post. I struggled more than I did this morning to get out of bed. So I had myself a big bowl of Reese's Puffs, nutritional I know, and read some blogs and articles that I had been saving up. I also checked the mail and ran to Walmart but those are in my reasons, so I'll just get to those.

5 Reasons I'm Smiling Today:

1. Knee socks and ALL the blankets on my bed.
2. People checking on me after my awful Friday last week. It's nice to k ow that people actually do care. Sometimes going to work is a blessing because Lord knows I can only spend so many hours on my own before I start to go crazy.
3. My books finally came in the mail. Hooray for something to read besides children's literature and nonfiction about Fall, apples, and pumpkins. I need something with a little more substance. Hoping to talk about the books once I've read a bit of them.
4. Mini marshmallows. I really don't think these need an explanation.
5. 10¢ notebooks at Walmart.... I bought 25 and I don't regret it

Alright so since we had a long weekend, I decided that today is my Monday. And because I'm too tired after school today to think of anything thought provoking to write about. So you get to read a Smiling on Monday post, on a Tuesday. You're welcome!

via

Reasons I'm Smiling Today:

1. Making strangers feel uncomfortable by singing to them at red lights, Happy Tuesday ya'll.

2. Listening to the radio on my way home and they were talking about what colors guys and girls should wear to impress the opposite sex. Now usually I change the station and don't listen to the talking nonsense, because HELLO I need music when I drive. But color me curious, I listened. Verdict: everyone should wear black; girls should wear red; guys should wear gray v-necks..... Two things wrong with this. One, I don't wear red... explains a lot I guess. Two, gray v-necks? Really? Let me just tell you something, wear a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and I'll have your babies. Done. Seriously. That to me is SO much better than a gray v-neck.

3. Compliments. I live for compliments. I know that makes me materialistic or whatever, but I love them. Seriously, a compliment makes you feel so good. Today I was asked if another teacher (from another school) could come into my classroom and observe my phonics lessons. BAM. I love phonics. It is one of my most favorite things to teach. So this was THE BEST compliment to get.

4. It's a four day work week! Enough said.

Today started out rough. I woke up feeling sick and really tired. Once I finally got myself ready and out to my car, I realized someone had broken into it and stolen my gps. Ugh. Then the sky decided to open up and pour down so hard that I had to pull over on my way to work. I was ready to cry, and decide that at least the weather matched my mood.
Needless to say, I was in desperate need for something good to happen. Then I reminded myself that life is all about our mindset. And I remembered about my Smiling on Mondays posts and thought, alright let's do this.

Reasons I'm Smiling Today:
1. 18 giggly children who think I'm hilarious. This is why children are my favorite.
2. Compliments galore on my outfit today. I did look pretty cute if I do say so myself. One of my favorite professors in college always said that if you were feeling like it was gonna be a rough day, dress up. It makes you feel better. Such a wise lady that Dr. Nell.
3. My fruit-infused water bottle. Favorite thing I have bought in a while, hands down.
4. Hugs and being told I'm the best teacher ever. I know these babies probably say that every year but right now they are saying it to me :)
5. Waffles and peanut m&ms for dinner. Clearly nutrition is at the top of my list... not.

Monday's are rough. There's really no two ways around it. But you can make them better by changing your mindset.

So I don't know if anyone remembers but at some point last year I decided to start a series called "Smiling on Monday." Now in the blogging world, I'm not known to stick to things for too long mostly because I tend to let real life come first and things happen. But today I was driving home from work and I thought I need some happy thoughts on this Monday; so once again I'm gonna start up with this Smiling on Monday business.

Smiling on Monday was born out of my desire to make Mondays a little less terrible. If we change out mindset, it can be a great day. It doesn't have to be the day to follow the weekend and ruin all the fun. It can be the day that starts a new a fun-filled week.


5 Reasons I'm Smiling Today:

1. I wore my slippers to work and didn't lose my job. I'd call that successful. (Mostly it wasn't because I actually forgot I had them on until I was halfway to work... oops)
2. I ate ice cream and popcorn for dinner. I didn't feel like cooking and those seemed like good options. I'm not sad about it.
3. It was 72 degrees outside today. I'm not complaining.
4. One on one time with students. Granted it was for testing but I still love working with them one on one.
5. The fact that Chipotle uses ingredients without GMOs. Hello happiness :)

** BONUS REASON: Taylor Swift's instagram video with the sheep being rude

Mondays are rough, but if you look for the positives you can make it a good day!

I'm dying to have a blog post title read "Road Trip: USA" but since that little adventure doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, I'll settle for North Carolina.

I am super excited to share last week's adventure to North Carolina with you! **It's a 10 hour drive from my house and a 7 hour drive from my friend's house. That's A LOT of driving and car time...

Thankfully, we hardly hit traffic!

Clearly snapchat is a priority for me... that and coffee.

It's Monday again... and I'm not exactly feeling fantastic but after a busy weekend, a rainy Monday doesn't exactly motivate me to feel great :/

Happy Monday!! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! I know that I did, despite all the rain.

Shout out to my momma for running the Philly Love Run in the "soaking rain" and to my sister and her friend for standing in the rain with me to cheer her on!! We had fun and made the most of a really wet weekend.

But today, I wanna talk about today. Monday. Monday's usually stink. Mostly because it's the end of the weekend, and that's never fun. But today didn't stink! And while I was driving home from the store, I had a thought. Mondays don't have to stink. They can be good days. It truly is a mind-set. And I'm choosing to be happy.
So "Smiling on Monday" is/was born. Starting today, I am going to post a weekly (Monday) post about why I'm happy.

5 Reasons I'm Happy Today:
1. I found out, through a parent, that my kids (aka my students aka my firsties) don't like weekends because they love school! Such a feel good when someone says they want to come to school "to do science, and math, and kid writing." I love my kiddies!
2. It was almost 60º today! Which meant my windows were down, my music was loud, and I was smiling while driving!
3. I went for a run for the first time in MONTHS!!! Seriously, it felt painful and awful at first but I kept going and it got easier! -- If you have Nike+ let's be friends :)
4. White bean chili. Enough said.
5. Snuggly cats sitting on the couch with me while I complete lesson plans and important forms.
BONUS Happy Thought:: Tomorrow starts April and that's my birthday month!

Have a fabulous week!