Summer Goals

The end of the year is so crazy and I have had an extra crazy May this year because my oldest daughter graduated from HS last week! Now that I'm officially on summer break (wahoooo!) I'll have time to do the things I've been slacking on.

I'm linking up with Miss Monica from I Heart Grade 3 for her new weekly summer linky party with new topics each week. This week's topic is Summer Plans and boy do I have big plans! Here's her weekly topic list if you want to join in:

Goal #1: Spend quality time with my girls
Since my oldest is heading off to college in August, I want to soak up as much time with her as I can. I also want to spend more time with my daughters and other family members together. We have a Disneyland trip planned in a few days and I can't wait!
Goal #2: Blog more
I have been almost totally AWOL on the blog lately. I have a million excuses for why I'm too busy but really I just haven't had the motivation. I would love to write 3-5 posts a week and save some for the parts of the year I'm just too busy/tired to write. I think this weekly linky will provide sufficient motivation because my biggest problem isn't the writing, it's deciding what to write to begin with.
Goal #3: Get at least 25 new products uploaded
My favorite part of being a TpTer is the creative aspect of making new products for my classroom or my friends' classrooms. I don't have as much time during the year so I gotta crank them out while I can. I also want to update some of my embarrassingly dreadful 1st products.
Goal #4: Learn, learn, learn
I'm attending several tech related PD opportunities my district is providing as well as the I Teach 2nd! and TpT conferences in Vegas. I. Can't. Wait. I also want to find a few professional books to read this summer. In addition to school related learning, I want to learn to make a few new dishes and get better at painting/refinishing furniture, which is my latest hobby.
Goal #5: Organize & simplify
There might come a day when I'll use those 247 gift bags stashed in my hall closet, but I highly doubt it. I want to clear out a ton of clutter in my closets and kitchen. I also really NEED to organize my home office so that I'll actually want to work in there. Finally, I need to get my daughter ready for college and that means cleaning out 18 years worth of "stuff" in her room and helping her purchase the necessities for her dorm room.
Gaol #6: Relax
This SHOULD be goal #1 but realistically, I'm just not built to relax. My brain is always working and I need to be busy and productive. I feel really restless and guilty when I'm not accomplishing my goals/to do list.  I'm really going to try to schedule relaxation into my summer days. As ridiculous as that may sound, it is something I actually have to do. I love to read so my summer reading list is already in the works. Any suggestions? I love thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, and anything by Nicholas Sparks (yes, I'm cheesy).

So, what are your summer goals? Link up with us! Click the button below to check out what everyone else wrote.

I'm back for May Currently

Oh wow, I haven't blogged in WAY too long. Let's see if I even remember how to do this! I feel so bad, but life has been throwing me curveballs lately and sadly, my little ol' blog is on the back burner. I decided to crawl out of my cave for one good reason: Farley's May Currently linky!

Listening: everyone's asleep except me and the birds outside. It is so peaceful to have the house quiet and just hear those happy little birds chirping and singing away out there. 

Loving: self explanatory, but now I'm noticing those toes need some TLC...pedicure time!

Thinking: my oldest is graduating from high school and I can scarcely go one day without tearing up a little (ok, a lot) just thinking about her going off to college and not getting to see her beautiful face everyday. She got a soccer scholarship (her dream come true) and will be playing at a small school only two hours away. I'm super excited to help her decorate her dorm room and we are two weeks away from the big P-A-R-T-Y! That reminds me, I have a ton of stuff to do! I hope Party City has really big carts...

Wanting: I would like a big life remote control. I would like to fast forward through the commercials (staff meetings, grading work, giving tests, laundry, chores), pause it for a while so I can get things done, and replay the really good parts (graduation, weekends, parties, soccer games, time with my daughters). Time is one of those slippery things that you can't hold onto when you want to, yet it won't go fast enough when you need it to. 

Needing:like I mentioned above, life has been a little out of whack. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm feeling pretty worn out and truly want to finish the last 3 weeks of school with a smile on my face and the kind of energy the kiddos deserve. I have had such a great school year and have great kiddos too, but they have been driving me totally, completely, 100% nuts lately. Deep breath. 15 days.

Summer yes: I seriously can't wait to go the TpT conference in LV this summer!

Summer hope: I really hope my daughter can find a good summer job so she'll quit asking me for money!

Summer dream: I'd love to reorganize and decorate my home office. It's a total mess and doesn't feel like a place I want to be right now. Maybe a pretty office will make me want to blog more??? It's worth a try, right?