Monday Made It & Celebrating!

Thanks to the sweet Tara for letting me link up this week. Some big things have been happening around here and I want to share and celebrate!

Every celebration needs something a little sweet. With harvest starting this past week, I spent a day baking for some family that farms and some of my husband's customers {he's an agronomist}. The results were very, very tasty! Click here or the pictures below to see the recipes! Soft-batch chocolate chip and Reese's stuffed peanut butter cookies.

Sort-of a made it... After two years and more time than I care to admit in making this portfolio...

I officially earned my Master's degree in Special Education on Friday! Nothing fun to take a picture of to show that I passed, but my portfolio made cute with KG fonts will have to do! Summer graduates do not walk until winter, so I have a bit before I go across the platform once again.

#3 is a bit of a stretch too, but another celebration... this little blog of mine has reached 1,000 followers! I can't believe the friendships, professional development, and fun this blog has brought to my life. I'm so very thankful. To celebrate I've asked some of my blogging buddies and friends to help me with a giveaway. For more information and to enter, click the picture below or click here!

Be sure to head back to 4th Grade Frolics and check out many more Monday Made-It's!

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Eating, Drinking, & Linking: Cookies!!

I'm opening up this linky just a little bit early, this week is going to be full of posts and celebrations so be sure to check back tomorrow for more information! What better way to start a celebration, than with some treats?

Harvest started this week and one of my favorite baking traditions is to bake cookies for farmers out in the field. Growing up, this meant family, but now that my husband is an agronomist I bake for farmers he works with as well. This year I made chocolate chip cookies (the same recipe I tried and shared last year; love how they turn out) and a new Reese's stuffed peanut butter cookie (hubby's new favorite).

Cookies all ready for bagging up.. yum! :)

Yay for harvest selfies!

Finishing up a field before the rains came

Carve out a couple hours for some baking this week!


Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

I found the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction, and she adds a little more on top of the cookie, but I thought I could be messy in the harvest heat; still a wonderful cookie sans the chocolate on top.

The dough itself is pretty easy to assemble, but you will need to allow for chilling time (at least 1 hour is recommended).

The ingredients are listed below, for both the cookies and the drizzle. Click the picture below, or here, to see the step by step directions (pictures included too!)

Soft-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe discovered last year. Click here or one of the pictures below to be taken to the recipe. 

What recipes new or old have you tried? Restaurants? Be sure to link up all week long! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

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Two for Tuesday!

I'm loving this link-up! Each week, I seem to find even more wonderful items to use in the coming school year. If you haven't checked out all of the link ups at Teaching Tribune you need to! Half-off deals on Tuesday only!

I'm putting up two items that are at the top of the "wish list".

First: Differentiated Place Value Centers... classroom favorite! Lots of hands on games and activities. 

Second: 6+1 Trait Writing Goals Posters. Students move magnets in my room for each writing piece. I grade for the trait(s) I'm looking for as well as taking a look at the area they want to focus on.

Set up in my room before school started.

Just click the pictures above to see them in my store.

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Recipe Link-Up!

Whew, another week has come and gone. Why does the summer seem to go by soooo fast at times? Coursework is completely done, just the interview on Friday so hopefully I get back into blogging more often than just Mondays! {Be sure to check back throughout the week for details on a giveaway... 1,000 followers....whoot! So thankful!}

I love Instagram. There are so pretty legit teachers out there who are working on themselves too. Lots of lifting, healthy eating, and just getting fit.

They all put me and my haven't consistently worked out since high school self to shame. And clean eating... not so much.

However, the hubs and I are starting to make small changes. 3 Weeks No Cheats with For Blogness Sake.. no pop/soda for us. We are also adding more fruits and veggies to the mix too.

Not every week will be devoted to healthy or clean/eating {baking cookies for farmers later this week if it dries out} but this week I wanted to share some of our change ups.

First, the grocery store... I have a sweet tooth during the summer it seems. Had random left over candy from school, and it disappeared. Hopefully some fruit can help give me the "fix" I need.

Second... the "recipe"... Salad!

Lunch this week has been a toss up between sandwiches and salads. Some ham, large pieces of cheese, some red onions, croutons over lettuce with some spinach thrown in. Not pictured little bit of ranch dressing.  

Not exactly a tried and true 'recipe' but it's food, so I'm counting it :) 

Please feel free to link up your recipes and restaurant recommendations... healthy or not :)

An InLinkz Link-up

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Two for Tuesday!

 

I am linking up with the ladies from Teaching Tribune again today (and doing a little shopping too) half off resources today only. It's a pretty sweet deal!

The two products I'm putting on sale are Think Spring papers (great for summer creating) and Super Sentence Bundle great for the beginning of the school year. 

Be sure to check out all of the half off resources today only!

Also this Book Blowout is almost over. Be sure to check out all of the wonderful resources for upper elementary ELA, 18 resources for just under $20. Be sure to take a look!

 

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Eating, Drinking, & Linking; Oh My!

Too much time this last week was devoted to my portfolio and last grad class. Finally, things are wrapping up and I'll have more time to craft, cook, and blog!

Because this week was so hectic, I didn't feel much like cooking anything too much. A tried and true "semi-homemade" from my Dad is a jazzed up frozen pizza. Frozen pizza can get a bit of a bad rap, but with a couple of extras it can taste a whole lot better.

First, I browned a pound of hamburger in the microwave. Love these two Pampered Chef items. The utensil is great for browning hamburger, it comes a part great. The container is microwave safe, I think it's suppose to be a rice cooker, however it's perfect for draining off grease.

While the hamburger is browning, I cook a 4 cheese frozen pizza as directed on the box. I like just having cheese and adding the toppings I want to it. I usually sprinkle the pizza with chili powder for more flavor. This time I added a few red pepper flakes, though not nearly enough to be much different than usual. I let the pizza cook until about 3-5 minutes before the box says to pull it out.

Once the time dings, I add the browned hamburger and let it finish the last 3-5 minutes in the oven. Sometimes topping with cheese again. Toppings are varied by the people eating, sometimes pepperoni or more veggies. This time, it was the hubs favorite, just plain ol' beef. Pretty easy meal.

What recipes are you loving or trying this summer? What about restaurant recommendations? {Anyone who has been to Vegas and knows of something fabulous, I'd love to hear about it} Be sure to link up your favorites all summer long!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Monday Mania..

I'm one of those crazy people, that I when I decide to do something, I decide to tackle on several big and time sensitive projects at the same time, thus scrambling up until class today and delaying this post.

Case in point: two weeks after my undergraduate graduation I had my wedding. Twelve days before the wedding I accepted a job, only to retract and take a different job two days later. At the ten day point before the wedding, was also when my fiancé and I had to completely DIY our decorations thanks to an exuberent bill from a wedding rental place. Everything turned out well, but it was a lot in just a couple of weeks.

This last week, my craziness came in the form of paining three rooms and a wall before a house guest arrived, and finish up my Master's portfolio, due Friday, but I'm turning it in early hoping that if anything looks lacking, I'll be told and can fix it. Throw in hosting a birthday barbeque, moving the house guest in, and I'm wiped out, but everything got done! (Except this post going out on time, can't win them all, haha!)

 

So my Monday Made It's aren't super cute projects, but I feel that they've my a huge difference to our ranch that's been stuck in the 70's for way too long!

Goodbye to ugly blue trim and paneling in one of the spare rooms....

Before

Everything was the color of this trim when we moved in...

Even the window trim & heater was painted!

Don't worry, shag is coming out soon!

After

No more 70's light (added a new air vent).

White trim!

Covered up the paneling and the radiator

Even the windows turned white!

More painting.. good bye to pepto bismol walls.

Before

Pink walls

Yes, even the sink, toilet, and tub are pink. To be changed later

 After

So much brighter!

 

More paint... little bright orange bathroom, most of the orange is gone!

Before

Orange, orange, walls

Weird place for a breaker box...

After

Lighter and brighter, but the paint didn't stick to the breaker box... off to get a better paint soon!

Guess what?! More paint!

Dining room was next...

Before

More paneling

After

Since it's Monday... I'm also hosting my "Eating, Drinking, or Linking" linky for any fun recipes or restaurant recommendations. Help me spice up my menu, link up any of your family favorites!

Sloppy Joe's another of Pioneer Woman's recipes (trend here..) the hubby loved them! We definitely won't be making them from the can or packages anymore! I didn't add as much garilic, just a couple of cloves, and I didn't have dry mustard on hand. Still tasted super; we'll be making these for the niece and nephew soon! Click here or the the picture below to see step by step photos for this recipe!

What do you have cooking? Where do you like to eat? Be sure to link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

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