R.A.C.K. In Our Classroom | Day 1

So today I introduced Random Acts of Christmas Kindness to my students.  We had a quick little share-out about the Sandy Hook events last year.  They were all extremely open to embracing this R.A.C.K. opportunity to support the Sandy Hook community....so we were off with a bang this morning.  In case you missed my blog post from yesterday, I linked up to What the Teacher Wants blog post and Teachers Pay Teachers product here.

I chose today's R.A.C.K. and it happened to be for our administrators.  We have 3 on our campus and we love them!  So, the kids had an absolute ball getting their first R.A.C.K. ready for them.  Part of this one was secretly delivering it to the ladies who take care of us on our campus.  We sealed their finished products up in 3 envelopes and included the anonymous "You've Been R.A.C.K.ed" cards to the envelopes.  I sneakily dropped them off outside their office doors.  It made me giddy doing so and the kids were way ecstatic when I came back to the classroom and told them I was successful in not being discovered.

At the end of the day, I reminded them they would be able to deliver another Random Act of Kindness and they actually cheered!  I looooooove it!  I'd say this is already a GIGANTIC success.

Random Acts of Kindness in Support of Sandy Hook

Image from What the Teacher Wants | Click image to visit her post

The community of Sandy Hook is asking the nation to remember those precious lives lost almost one year ago by giving through random acts of kindness.  I don't know about others, but this was something I took especially to heart last year when I stood in front of my students and imagined what I would have done if this had happened at our school.  I can't imagine the sadness and loss the community members of Sandy Hook felt.  But we did our best from our side of the country to show them we supported them and what they were going through by making and sending them handmade paper snowflakes for when the students returned to school.

How Can You Show Your Support Today?

With the approaching one year anniversary of such a tragedy, I want to make sure we take the opportunity to make the random acts of kindness part of our school life and in turn help my students see how they can pass it on outside of our school walls.  With the help of What the Teacher Wants R.A.C.K. product sold on TPT and 4th Grade Frolic's blog post (where I found out about this request from Sandy Hook)...we will be kicking off RACK in our classroom the rest of these 2 weeks leading up to our winter break.  We would like you to join in with us, whether you purchase the pack from TPT or come up with your own way to show random acts of kindness, please take this opportunity to remember and honor those 26 precious lives lost and the community who continues to heal.

On sale at TPT for $3.00 via Rachelle @ What the Teacher Wants | Click on image

Do you plan on using Random Acts of Kindness in your classroom or at home?  Let me know.  I'd love to hear how you spread the support and kindness.  

December Currently

It's December 1, which means I can officially start celebrating Christmas.  I already tuned my car radio to the 24/7 Christmas music station.  The Christmas tree has been put up (not finished though...I'll get to that down below).  My girlfriends and I had our favorites party today too.  Thank goodness!  I'm sick of covering my ears and eyes when I walk into stores who have been playing and putting out stuff since the beginning of October.  Yeah!  You probably think I'm a scrooge now...but I'm really not...in fact, I'm quite the obsessed Christmas fan.  After all, it is my favorite holiday!

The spread from our favorites party earlier today...my favorites is at the bottom of this photo.  I brought my favorite pampering items (Freeman's masks, nail polish, and cupcakes from my favorite local bakery)

Listening:  

Nope, I'm not afraid to admit that I am a fan of RHOA, or reality television in general.  Actually, my favorite set of housewives are the Beverly Hills ladies.  But I absolutely love Nene and can't get enough.  I could easily do without Kenya though as she is quite irritating.  For those who are fans...what do you think of Candy's mom being incredibly crazy and psychopath-like with Todd.  She's a bit overbearing and up in her business?  Trainwreck!

Loving:

Technically, I didn't actually score fantastic deals...unless you include the 3 or 4 Blu-Rays we found at Target for $4 each.  It was just nice to go out with my husband and do a little fun shopping together.  I cheated and bought the pair of black boots I just put on my Christmas wishlist the other day  (see picture below...and check out the best part on the back of the boot).  Whoops!  The thing is, I didn't want to miss out since I wear a pretty typical size shoe.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  So, I also scored myself the 2 seriously gorgeous Essie nail polishes from their winter 2013 line.  Check 'em out!  Need. To. Wear. Soon!

Image from Pinterest - Target

Thinking:

The 5-day break I am just finishing up here was a really nice relaxing one.  I was able to get cleaning done along with some shopping and lounging as well.  Not to mention, I got to hang out with friends and enjoy some time without worrying about work or my classroom.  So, I am dreading these next 3 weeks because they are sure to drag even though 3 weeks sounds like such a short amount of time.  In fact, the 3rd week is our 2nd quarter district benchmark testing week and that means testing all day long in a silent testing environment...think state testing.  Yep!  Dreading it.

Wanting:

I was really looking forward to getting my tree put up along with some of my many many many decorations.  We have one of those fake trees that comes in what seems like a million pieces, so it takes almost 2 hours to put up!  That is without even putting on the lights or decorations.  Okay, so I actually got it up in a record amount of time and when I plugged in the 2 strings of lights, I remembered that one of them has an entire color that is burnt out.  Of course, this happened last year, but I was too lazy to toss it and buy a new set.  I went out to Target to grab a new string, got home, plugged it in, started to wind it around the tree, and what happens?  It is too short!!  Gah!  Luckily, my nice hubby grabbed another string while he was out on his dinner break.  

Needing:

We always get our performance check (for passing the state test the year before) about 2 weeks before Christmas.  In the past, I have lovingly used this to buy my family their gifts.  My favorite part of Christmas is being able to put in some creative thought to find the perfect gift for everyone.  So, I relish that check and always chomp at the bit waiting for it to be passed out.  It needs to happen soon!!  My palms are itching.

Favorite Tradition:

Since this is my favorite holiday, I tend to have quite a few favorite traditions.  I'll probably have to do a whole other blog post on this.  But I'd say the newest tradition is something my husband and I started doing last year.  We each stuffed the other's stocking with goodies and then before our family comes over for Christmas morning festivities, we sit down in our Christmas pajamas and open them up.  It's even more fun than opening up our regular gifts!  I couldn't believe all the little items he stuffed in there. Plus, it was a ball being able to stuff his stocking with little gadgets and man-cave type stuff.

Link up with the many other teachers on Farley's blog.  What are you currently up to?

Wishin' and Hopin' - My Christmas Wish List

I remember when my little brother and I were kids and our mom would hand us the Sears catalog around this time of year.  She let us flip through the toy section and have a good ol' time dog-ear marking the pages or toys we were wishing for.  Somehow Santa also found these pages and knew what we wanted.  Those were the good ol' days weren't they?  Did anyone else "shop" for their wishlist like this when they were a kid?

Nowadays, I just swoon over the things I can't always afford but really want to get myself eventually. I'm a simple girl...I don't need designer clothes or shoes or even fancy jewelry.  But being a teacher doesn't exactly give me the luxury of buying everything I want and when I want it.  So, it's always fun to wish for those fun items around this time of year and hope that they will end up under the tree.  And if they don't?  Well, I just go out and try to buy them for myself the day after Christmas during those NICE sales!

**Whoops...I sort of went out and bought the knee-high riding boots today.  I couldn't pass up the sale and worry about them selling out in my size between now and Christmas.  So?...an early Christmas present to myself it is!  Oh and my mom mentioned she already got me the polish set I want.  Yeah!**

Here's what I'm wishing for this year...

1. CHECK!   The Twenty-Two - Formula X nail polish set at Sephora - $55
What can I say?  There's something about nail polish and painting my nails that makes me feel pampered and frankly, helps me relax.  Apparently, these new polishes are amazing and have one of the best formulas around.  Since I don't quite want to spend the $10.50 - $12.50 price for one bottle, this set of minis has all their main colors, textures, and finishes!  Nice!  I've already "cheated" and asked my mom to gift this one to me.

2.  Lorac PRO Palette - $42
I'm a major Urban Decay Naked Palette fan and have been coveting looks from mine the last 2 years. But this palette is all the rage on beauty blogs and with YT beauty gurus.  I like that the colors are still natural but there are a few with a nice neutral pop as well.  They are said to be very pigmented and buttery as well.  Here's hoping my hubby gets me this!

3.  CHECK! Mossimo Kayce Black Tall Boots with Studs - $39.99 (on sale now for $31.99)
My black boots I've had the last 2 years are going downhill.  Plus, these are seriously hot and worthy of replacing them.  Click on the link and check out the back of them.  Um hello?  Yes please!  Just in case...I wear a size 7 or a 7.5.  All I know is...if someone doesn't gift these to me this year, I will be going out and buying them.

4.  Mossimo Black Kody Studded Combat Boot - $39.99 (on sale now for $31.99)
You may have noticed these are on my fall wish list blog post.  I have my fox sweater and I found myself a nice black crossbody purse too, so this is the only item I haven't found yet.  But thankfully, I found these perfectly done boots.  Oh and again, I wear a size 7 or 7.5.  I have to make sure I am specific since I plan to send this to my family members.  :-)  A Target giftcard would do me just fine too.

5.  ASOS Heart Elbow Patch Sweater - $39.40
Basically, I've been pining over an elbow patch sweater for the last year.  And this one...with its heart-shaped patches is super cute.  Plus, it's red...my favorite color!  Size 4 please.

6.  Amazon Kindle Books Giftcard - any amount
Now that I have a new (to me) iPad, I absolutely love reading books on my Kindle App more than through my nook.  It is so much easier to borrow books from my library through it now.  And since I have something like 500 books I want to read on my Goodreads list...I have a lot of reading to do!

7.  Baublebar Statement Necklaces (crystal or navy/plumeria) - $46-$48
Just another accessory I've been pining over for a couple years now.  You can find them everywhere nowadays.  Even though I love J.Crew's the most, I refuse to pay almost $100 for something that is really costume jewelry and not diamonds or pure gold.  Who doesn't want to add something so fun and colorful to their wardrobe?!

8.  Insomnia Cozy Plush Polka-Dot Robe - $24.99
Now that it is finally cooling down around here, I am starting to freeze a little with my tiny little lightweight robe.  It would be seriously nice to have something this cozy to wear around the house in the mornings and at night when I'm lounging.

9.  Bohemian Tribal Ear Cuff Chain on Etsy - $14
If you've seen Catching Fire, you may have noticed Joana wearing a cuff like this before the Quarter Quell.  Or maybe you didn't, because you were actually paying attention to the movie.  Not me!  I saw her wearing one like this (hers was a little longer) and immediately wanted one too.  Even better? Finding one on Etsy and supporting a home-grown designer.

Okay, so while I feel totally greedy and snarky having to write about my wish list...it was still really fun to put it together.  And granted, I can actually send the link to it to my family members and hopefully make it much easier to help them decide...I wish all my family-members would send me something like this to make it easier for me to shop too.

How about you?  What are you wishing for?