Ramblings of a Tired Teacher Plus a Mini Q & A

Omiword ya'll... I could post for 3 hours on everything that's been going through my head! Okay so I promise this time nothing bad has happened to force me to neglect my little old bloggy, it's more of a good thing. A new person has come into the picture a while back that has been taking me away from all of my bloggy friends. I have to admit he's taken away some of my time from here, but he's kinda great and exactly what I needed, even though ya'll may not like it ;-)

So anyway between that, the fact that for a while I couldn't stop laying outside in the hot summer sun, and the fact that I've been redoing everything I haven't posted. Now that I'm, do I dare say it, OVER summer. Hello? Bring on fall! I don't know if I can even go outside one more time in this heat and humidity. Legit, I'm jealous if you live in a dry state, this whole sweating as soon as I open the door thing is too much for me. Anyone in AZ looking for a fun roomie?

So I haven't moved much from the couch since Thursday night. I have completely redone my Teacher's Notebook store. I spent ALL day, yes ALL day, on it. Plus I opened a Teachers Pay Teacher Store, because I know some people don't go on TN. Wow, I didn't expect how much work that would be. I'm exhausted... I know things could be worse. I could not be sitting on a couch/floor/plastic patio chair (yea I brought that bad boy inside for a change of pace for my butt) in the AC watching TV. I thank goodness that I can do that, but I'm actually really exhausted right now. I'm trying to get custom orders and everything done before I'm back at school in a few weeks (le sigh).

Just in case you're looking for something here's what I have on TN right now, plus some of the additional older packets and games, everything comes in 5 themes: Black & White Polka Dot, Colorful Polka Dot (pages have different colored backgrounds), Chevron, Bright Stripes, and (Duh!) Zebra!! Remember I am willing to customize!

So I neglect my blog e-mail a lot, but I've gathered some of the common questions and I thought I'd take some time tonight to answer a few of the questions as best as I could. Then I'll get back to posting other things tomorrow and this week! Here's my mini Q & A:

{what do you use to make your files}

I use all kinds of programs in Windows. I have a Dell, not a Mac, so I use Microsoft office programs like Excel, Word, Powerpoint. I also use Photoshop, Paint, and a few other editing programs depending on what I'm doing. It really all depends on what I'm doing, how I want something to look. Sometimes I use more than one program on a project. Plus everything gets converted to an Adobe PDF. For those of you that don't know, almost all (if not all) of the graphics all of us bloggers use are copyrighted, so we cannot give you an editable file. You could then pull the graphic from our document and use it on your own. Plus you may not have the same fonts as me, so your document would not look the same.

{can you teach me how to make the things you do}

I have to be honest and tell you I wouldn't have the patience or the time. I say that with a laugh, because all it reminds me of is trying to get my Dad to type a simple letter on Word. We had so many arguments over it, I'd end up just screaming at him to give me the file and let me type it. No, but seriously it would take FOREVER. There are so many buttons and effects and things you can do. The way I learned was just playing around with buttons and effects. Click on things, see what they can do. It's the best way to learn!

{where did you get that font? clip art? frame? background?}

I get things all over, depending on the exact thing and style I'm looking for. I have some buttons on here of people that I like. There are a few others I plan on putting buttons for because I get a lot from them. Anything you get from me should have an info page attached where you can find where I got things. Fonts I get from all over! The majority of my backgrounds lately (minus the zebra) I have made. I get picky on backgrounds so I end up making them.

{can you customize something?}

I am usually willing to customize to an extent, especially now with school right around the corner. In about 2 weeks my entire self will be devoted to getting my classroom ready ASAP. I'm moved into a new room, but by moved, I mean my Mom shoved all of my stuff in every nook and cranny we could find so I could leave on the last day of school. I'm starting fresh, AGAIN, for the 4th time! (Ugh, side note, it's so weird for me to say this will be my 4th year teaching, does anyone still get that after teaching for 7, 8, 10 years?

{where did you get...?}

My zebra stuff from last year was from ALL over! You wouldn't believe how many stores I went to, and I had everyone in my family looking out for stuff. There are fabric pink and black bins on a shelf that I got from Meijer (I'm not sure if they have those everywhere but in the Western suburbs in Chicago we have them). Rugs I got from Meijer and Target. I'm pretty sure Target still has the big ones (they're expensive though). My seat sacks were made by my aunt. LOL, not she doesn't sell them. Although I've tried to convince her to go into business with me. Maybe she'll retire and finally do it! Other stores I've gone to are the typical ones like Walmart and Sam's Club. Other's were off the wall places that I don't even remember. I have noticed that clearly everyone got the message that I was doing zebra, and decided to start selling more zebra stuff for me (okay I know I'm not that important, but let me have my moment). I've seen tons of stuff all over the place that's all zebra. I thought, what the heck! Where was this stuff last summer?!?

Okay, so I've also had questions on how I manage homework, my behavior chart, bucket fillers, and a few others. I'll try to answer those, along with a like top 25 list or something I've been tossing around in my brain. I can only handle a few more minutes on this computer. I'm sure I've developed wrist issues and eye issues from starting and typing so much this weekend! 

Ya'll do me a favor? Do a rain dance for us in Chicago (and everywhere else that's been dry)!! It's supposed to be 100 tomorrow, and that's not the "How it feels" temperature!! Ugh, I'm dreading it already? Can I stay locked up in my cave instead? Love ya'll, thanks for still reading and sticking with me when I neglect my lil' old blog!!