My Teaching Secret

Good morning!!  I just want to take today's Teaching Tuesday post to share with you THE two teacher-related websites I visit just about daily.  In fact, one of them even has it's own app, which I have put to good use.  Both of these sites have yearly sales around Back-to-School, Black Friday, and at Teacher Appreciation time they have HUGE sales.  I get tons of compliments throughout the year by people that see the different materials I am using in my classroom, and I'm going to share with you the secret behind my awesome materials:  TeachersPayTeachers and The Teachers Notebook.  I have hundreds of files on my flashdrive that I found via these two sites.

Go to this site to find AMAZING resources on ANY subject or area of teaching you could possibly want.  This covers all greade levels, including professional development.  After I master blogging, I want to be able to learn how to make the adorable and fantastic materials that these great teachers make.  Many of the popular teachers (Kim Adsit, etc) also link to thier blogs, and that's a great way to network and get tons of ideas.

Go to this site to see EVEN MORE amazing resources.  These are very similar to the ones of TpT, but some are different!!  You can search by grade level, subject area, price, etc.  Very worth checking out!

Both of these sites have items for sale, but they also have literally HUNDREDS of materials for free (and who doesn't love that?!).  Honestly, if you're looking for something and you can't find it on one of these two sies, then it doesn't exhist.  Have fun, sign up for their weekly newsletters and join them on Facebook.  With all this new CCSS stuff, why re-invent the wheel??  Have fun!!

We are on our first just-us-4 family vacation. We don't have the grandparents to give us some time alone, and we are in a basic (small) hotel room. There is no escaping if someone is irritating you.  At one point, the girls were arguing, hubby was yelling at them to stop, and I was trying to read my book. It's was like a chaos bomb went off! I could feel that familiar buzzing in my ears and the tingling of my blood beginning to start a slow simmer. I took a step back out of my own head and thought, "one day, we won't have this anymore. We only have a handful of vacations left when they are this small.". It may get irritating that they always want to be around me, and never give me some down time of my own. But, I know that one day, they will stop. They won't want me around, and it will break my heart when they'd rather not spend time with me.  So, I'm just going to think of that next time my blood starts to boil from agitation. I love my girls (irritations and all) and I will treasure these vacation memories for my whole life.

The God Bag

**Let me just begin this spiritual Sunday by saying how blessed I feel.  I currently have 647 page views!!  Thank you so much.  I feel amazed that so many different people have viewed (and hopefully enjoyed) my blog.  Thank you!!**

Last week I had lunch with a friend of mine.  It was one of those great lunches that spanned the whole gambit of conversation topics- work, family, vacation, problems, successes, and even a little spirituality thrown in.  My friend told me about something her family always used growing up called "The God Bag".  I'd never heard of anything called that before, so I ask her for more details.  Basically, in her house they had a green bag that was stored in the hall closet.  If anyone in the family was worried about something, they would write it down on a piece of paper, fold it up, and place it in the God Bag.  They would then let it go, and everything would work out.  I've heard of similar things, called prayer boxes.  I got chills when I heard her talking about it, because I felt that's exactly what I needed!

One of the most difficult things is to give God your problems, and trust that he has everything all planned out. I have found myself plenty of times "stuck" in a difficult situation, and it was the hardest thing EVER to give my worries over and trust that God would work it out.  For example, I found myself laid off of work with a baby on the way.  What school would ever hire a pregnant teacher that would only have to go on maternity leave right away??  I applied to schools, but while I did, I prayed to God "I know that you have your plans for me, and I trust things will work out." Guess what- it did work out.  Another time, it was near Christmas and we had some unexpected repairs and were very tight on money, so I prayed to God "I"m going to stop stressing and trust that you will provide us all with a great Christmas." What happened?  I had posted an item on Craig's List a while ago (I'd honestly forgotten about it), and the day after my prayer I got an email saying a lady wanted to buy the item.  The next day, I had $400 in m account.  I have to say that every time I have prayed my worries to God, things work out.  It was important to realize that things might not exactly work out how I expected them to, but they would work out the way they were planned to.

So, back to the God Bag... I went home from my lunch and started packing for our vacation.  I was experiencing some anxiety because this was going to be our first long vacation with just the 4 of us, and I was honestly worried about 1) keeping calm with the kids 24-7 and 2) keeping calm with the hubby while being around him 24-7.  I rummaged through some of the old zipper pouches I had and I chose myself a God Bag.  I wrote down my worries about vacation, and put them into the bag.  I don't know why, but I almost immediately felt a little calmer as soon as I put those slips of paper.  I want to continue using the God Bag, and at the end of the year look through all the things I wrote down and see how it all worked out.  Do I think maybe it was part of God's plan that I met with my friend for lunch and I was supposed to hear about the God Bag?  Yes, I certainly do.  I believe I was meant to begin my own God bag, and I think this is just another piece in God's puzzle of a plan for me and my family.

**A special thanks to my "witness protection program" friend for connecting me to the God Bag.**

Scale-a-holics Anonymous

Hello, my name is Joanna and I am a scale-a-holic.  I weigh myself daily, even when I know it is terrible for me.  When I am having a bad day, I turn to the scale.  The scale has been known to totally control my mood and outlook for the day.  If the number goes up, and my mood goes down (the toilet).  If the number goes down, then my mood skyrockets! Anyone else out there feel that they could be saying the same thing?  WHY do so many of us do it?  Why do we depend so much on a stupid number?  Why do we willingly give our power away to something that we know is an inaccurate representation of ourselves?  Why are we such scale-a-holics??

I have done LOTS of research in the area of weight.  I know how to put it on, take it off, when is a good/bad time to weigh yourself, etc.  I know that when I weight train, the scale numbers will likely go up, but my body fat is going down.  I know that during that certain time of the month, I retain water, and will show a gain on the scale.  I know that if I eat a salty meal, I better not be surprised with a gain showing the next morning.  The thing is, I KNOW all of this stuff, yet I STILL do it anyway.  Each time I have a gain, I spin down that dark weight-gain hole- time and time again.

I have decided that I’m going to jump off of this annoying, scale-controlled merry-go-round.  Starting today, I am going to acknowledge that the scale is a poor judgment of weight-loss.  I am publicly pledging to you all: I WILL NOT STEP FOOT ON A SCALE FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS.  I will use my mood, my comfort, my clothing, the mirror, and comments from others to gauge my weight.  Clothes get baggier?  Good!  Clothes getting tighter?  Think consciously about what I’m eating.  I refuse to give power to a number on a scale.  I am so much more than that single number.

 I am taking back my power!!

We're Off!!

I'm now officially on vacation!! Hubby, girls, and I are on our way to Michigan. I may be on vacation, but the blog is not! I have my laptop packed and I'll be posting while away. It might now be in the morning, but I WILL keep posting.

My Top 5 Motivation Tips!

Earlier this week, someone posted a question a Facebook about finding it difficult to get started with her running and training program.  She wisely asked for some advice from people who'd been there, done that.  Here's my take and advice on the situation of getting motivated to run/lift/exercise/walk/whatever...

1) You just have to get started.  The first workout will ALWAYS be the worst and hardest, but even those professional athletes had to start somewhere, right?  The key is to just put on your big girl panties lace up your shoes and get going.  Go for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 3 more songs, or however long you want... just GET STARTED!

2) Have a visual recognition of your hard work.  For me, stickers were a good motivation to be sure that I worked out every day.  I have a pretty good collection of stickers, so for every day I worked out, I put a sticker right on my family calendar on our refrigerator.  I'd often have friends over and they'd ask what was with the stars, and I'd fill them in.  I don't know what it is about those stars, but they worked for me.

3) Reward yourself!  When I first started working out at the gym in January, I wanted to be sure that I went and stuck with it.  I went to the bank and got $30 all in singles, and stuck them in an envelope.  Every day that I went to the gym, I took $1 out of the envelope and stuck it in a jar.  Once I went through the envelope money, I treated myself to a pedicure.  I have since done the same thing a couple more times and bought new sports bras (see #4), and a haircut.

4) Look cute while the sweat is dripping!  I just feel so much better when I wear my cute workout clothes.  Now, I don't wear anything fancy, but I like my tight black pants and cute comfy shirts that I only wear when I work out.  But, my favorite articles of clothing would have to be my sports bras.  I have quite the collection in a bunch of bright colors that just make me smile when I wear them.  I'm not one of those nuts that are going to run around the gym in just the bra, so no one sees them but me- and I'm perfectly fine with that!

5) Repeat after me....  Get yourself a mantra and repeat it throughout your workouts.  Ever see Dolvett on Biggest Loser?  His mantra is "Hard Work- Dedication!!".  You'll hear his team shouting that over and over as they puke their way through workouts, but never giving up.  Think of one for yourself, and repeat it over and over.  My current mantra comes from a Jillian Michaels quote "Your legs are not giving out.  Your head is giving out.  Keep going!"  Peek inside my head during a challenging workout, and you might hear me saying "it's just your head... Keep going!!"

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans

I'd like to share with you an amazing blog that I just recently became aware of: The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. My fitness buddy stumbled upon the site about 2 weeks ago, and I checked it out and fell in LOVE!  I felt like I had found home with a bunch of women that were just like me!  All different reasons of wanting to be healthy, beginning and seasoned runners, and SOOOO much information!!  I have probably spent several hours over the past couple weeks checking out this site.  You can find them on Facebook and on Pinterest and join in all of the great conversations and discussions that are going on.

One of my favorite elements of the website are the monthly challenges!  You have got to check them out!  They have monthly challenges dedicated to arms, abs, legs, running, weight loss, yoga, meditation, and more!!  Pick a challenge and comment here which one you're going to do.  Starting August 1st, I'll be doing the 30-day ab challenge along with whatever new monthly challenge the site will come up with.  Anyone else want to join me??

The Brumbaughs VS The Huxtables

What do you think of when you think of the concept of mariage?  Do you get warm fuzzy feelings?  Anxiety?  Does a smile come to your lips?  If you are married- would the reaction you have now be different than the reaction you would've had if I'd asked before you'd been married?  If so, you're NOT alone.  

I grew up with not the best example of a peaceful marriage.  My mother and biological father were divorced, and I'd often hear my mom and step-father arguing late at night when we'd gone to bed.  (I don't remember what they were arguing about at the time, but I'm sure now that I've been married a few years, I could probably guess.)  While those examples might not have been ideal, I did have other marriages to dream of modeling my own after some day.  My best friend growing up had parents that had been together since college.  They went on trips together, were hippies together, always seemed to be happy, and are still married today.  I had the TV parents- The Keatons, The Huxtables, The Seavers, the Taylors, and The Hogans (not the wrestling family), to look up to.  No matter what problem these families faced, it could be solved within 30 minutes.  I really thought that life (marriage specifically) would be like it was on TV for the most part.  They never showed the parents screaming at one another, insulting one another, getting incredibly stressed out, being resentful of each other, etc.  I wish they had though...

I think that having this ideal picture of marriage made me ill-prepared for my own.  Don't get me wrong- I love my husband, and if I had it to do all over again, I'd still pick him.  I believe 100% that we were brought together by God for a reason... it's just that sometimes there are days I struggle to see what that reason my be.  There are days we get so angry with each other that I can't imagine that it's going to be like this FOREVER, but within a day or two things will calm down and we'll continue on our way.  But, I think that if I'd actually seen on TV the everyday challenges that people faced in marriage, it would have helped.  During my newlywed years, I thought that something was seriously wrong and Hubby and I were in danger of lasting for the long term- until I talked to two women.  The first woman I talked to was my sister-in-law, and she laughed when I asked her if marriage is supposed to be hard!  She said the first years are AWFUL, and anyone that says differently are not being honest.  The second person I talked to was a best friend.  She had gotten married almost 2 months after me, and I can clearly remember us sitting together lamenting how our "newlywed stages" weren't going exactly as planned!  I have to say that I finally felt GOOD that my marraige wasn't always roses and sunshine!  I finally knew for sure that I wasn't the only one that sometimes struggled with connecting how I thought marraige would be, and how it actually is.

So, for those of you out there that envisoned your marraige being like those from the 30 minute sitcoms of the 80s and 90s, it's OK if your marriage doesn't always resemble that of Elise and Steven Keaton.  It's OK if there are days you just want to sit in the bathroom and scream into a towel because you are just so angry at your spouse (a totally hypothetical situation!).  It's OK if you temporarily envision yourself pulling over and kicking his @ss out the door if he tells you you're following the person in front of you too closely ONE MORE TIME (again, hypothetically).  Lastly, it's OK to take your marraige one day at a time, and continue to learn about your partner and everything that makes them special, unique, and perfect for you.  Try to find out exactly what those reasons were of why God chose this person for you- why are you a perfect fit?  Be the starring couple in your own 30 minute sitcom, and write it as you go.

**If you happen to have a marriage that is roses and sunshine, and really always bilssful- congratulations.  It DOES happen, and you're one of the lucky couples.  Please don't take offense by the post...**

The How vs. The Why

“I don’t know how you do it!” “What do you mean you have to work all weekend from home?” “You have to do WHAT now?”
 I hear comments like these all the time. Some are said with a feeling of awe, and others said with confusion. By far, the comment I hear the most is “I don’t know how you do it.” I’ll be honest; there are some days where I don’t know how I pull it off either. There are days where I run out of school like the building is on fire, and I can’t wait to escape. However, there are days where I get into a groove making and creating things for my classroom, and I have to kick myself out by 5pm. I find it’s a difficult balance at times to keep myself from burning out. Catch me at the beginning or end of the year, and I’ll tell you I feel like one of those plate-spinners and I’m waiting for the first plate to fall while I try my best to keep them all going! (Teachers reading this know EXACTLY the feeling I’m describing.) So, I don’t always know HOW I do it, but I do know WHY I do what I do…

 I teach for *Larry. Larry was a student that I had for two (!!) extremely challenging years. He was a student that would lie on the floor under the table when asked to do something that he didn’t want to. He was that kid that would look me straight in the eyes as he ripped his journal in half because he ‘didn’t have any ideas’. He was the boy that during a particularly awful temper tantrum (at 8:30am), he tore through the classroom like a tornado- toppling bookshelves, tables, chairs, and piles of paper as he went. Larry was also that boy that could be so sweet and touch your heart with one hug and apology of “I’m so sorry”, after said tantrum. He was a product of a mother that abandoned him as a toddler with a father that believed in harsh punishment, and he was terrified that his teacher (the only positive woman in his life) was going to leave. I teach for him. 

I teach for *Alicia. Alicia was a darling girl that was just a sweet as could be, yet could barely recognize any of her letters by the beginning of 1st grade. It was as though she’d never even heard of the alphabet prior to school starting- actually, like she’d never been to kindergarten. She wore the same clothes every single day… because her mother was heading back to prison for the second time for battery and possession charges. We worked hard to have her reading on grade-level by the end of the year, and I gave her clothes when I could. I teach for her.

 I teach for *Avery. Avery was a second language learner, and started off the beginning of school year determined to set her plans for college into action. She asked questions; she did extra homework; she worked harder than most kids I’ve ever known, and showed great promise. She was also raped by a relative while on a school break… My heart breaks for, and I teach for *Avery. 

 I teach for *James. James would come to school with barely any homework ever done. He was argumentative one minute, and exhausted and falling asleep the next. No one at home ever answered the door, or the phone. One day, I discovered that every night he went with his mother while she worked for 6pm-3am shift at the local convenience store. I saw him in laying on the floor, sleeping when I discovered what was happening. I teach for him. 

These are only a very small sampling of students that I have taught, and I’m sure there will be hundreds more just like them. As teachers, we hold each of these students in our hearts, and carry them along with us- never to be forgotten. Here’s a suggestion- If you have a minute to spare, ask a teacher in your life not HOW, but WHY they do what they do. I bet they have their own *Larry, Alicia, Avery, and James in their own lives. 

**All names have been changed.**

Bad-ass Mamas

Yesterday my hubby and I had the nice opportunity to go to see a movie at our favorite place- Hollywood Blvd.  We LOVE it there because we get to see a movie AND have a meal at the same time. I suggested a nice action movie "White House Down" (that just happened to star Channing Tatum).  I have to say that the movie was GREAT!  It was very similar to the classic, Bruce Wills style action movies.  There was action (obviously!), comedy, cheesey one-liners, a hot great hero, and a great cast.  We both enjoyed ourselves.  Then, hubby rented a movie from the RedBox last night- Snitch, starring the Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.  While both movies were different, they had a similarity to them that was undeniable.  Both men in the movies were fathers, and their children were in danger.  They would do anything for them, and they proved their love and devotion for their child.  Remember the movie "Commando" from the 80s?  Very similar.  In fact, there have been many movies where a father comes through in the time of need for his kids.

While chatting with hubby, I asked him if he could think of any movies where the MOM was the action-hero.  Are there any movies with a Bad-Ass Mama?  This got us thinking... There are plenty of examples of mothers going through emotional olympics to save their child.  "Steel Magnolias" and "Not Without My Daughter" come to mind immediately.  And, no one can forget Sarah Connor, in the Terminator series- definitely the ULTIMATE tough mama!  But, why aren't there more action-packet movies featuring mothers that would do anything for thier kids?  Maybe it just goes without saying that a mother will do anything and everything to for her child/children, so Hollywood doesn't feel it's worthy of a movie plot.

These are my loves.  I would do ANYTHING for my girls.  God help anyone that hurts them, harms them, or gets in their way.  Yes, they will need to learn to stand-up for themselves in life, but I'm not above laying a good beating down on anyone that is an adversary to them.  This mama bear lives for her children, and I would gladly give my life for theirs.  In a heartbeat- without thinking.  I think that's just what happens when you become a mom.  I may not be running around with a machine gun like Linda Hamilton, but I can be just a fierce!  Hollywood may not think it worthy enough of an adventure story, but I know that I could definitely cause some drama when it comes to protecting these little chickadees!

Manifestation??

Good morning!!  I was amazed when I checked how many views my blog had this morning!!  I went from 35 to 181!!  So, let me thank you all for stopping by, reading, and (hopefully) enjoying yourself.
Ok, on to the point of today's post... Manifestation.  I've had this thought and idea "pop" up in m life in random ways throughout this month, so I thought maybe it deserves a little more examination.  Basically, manifestation is that belief that you get what you put out.  Your mind and speech are powerful entities- they can make so much happen.  I would assume that the common phrase "Fake it 'til you make it" (a personal favorite of mine) comes from.  If you "fake" that you're an outgoing/thin/funny/passionate/knowledgeable/professional person, then afer time you'll begin to make those qualitites happen for yourself.  I actually used to do that ALL the time when I was a beginning teacher.  When I felt like I didn't know a single thing, I would "fake" that I did and that I was confident and in complete control at all times.  Eventually, this absolutely came to be true about myself.

Unfortuntely, there's always a yang side- if you put out negative notions, those will happen for you as well.  Sadly, I think I've often put out way too many of those negative ideas- I'm just not lucky in love.  I have no idea what I'm doing.  I'm too fat.  I'm not a runner.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life.  I never meet the right guy....  I'm sure that I have said and/or thought each of these at one point in my life.  And, guess what?  They were TRUE for me at one point, as well.  But, this would be a chicken-egg situation (Which came first, the chicken or the egg?). Which came first, the manifestation or the qualities?  Hmmm... lots to ponder over.

My top manifestations would be: I am a perfectly calm person.  I am at my healthiest weight.  Those are the two things that I want the most in life right now.  So, I'm going to do a little experiment- I'm going to follow the steps in the picture above and see what happens.  I'm going to put these two ideas out there, believe that they already exist, be excited for them to happen, behave accordingly, and belive it will and wait for it to happen.  
How about you??  Will you do your own experiment with me?  What do you want the most, and would you be willing to let it happen?  Give it some true thought and go for it!!

Secret Saturday #1

Here's my secret: I am trying to be a runner!  I've never in my life ever considered myself to be a runner.  In fact, my trademark response when anyone asked me about running was "Are you kidding?!  I only run if something's chasing me!"  Well, I'm about to hit the sidewalks and nothing's chasing me.

Last year, I walked in my very first 5k for my 32nd birthday.  I had two goals for myself. 1) Finish in under an hour, and 2) DON'T be last!  I was thrilled to have accomplished both of them for my first time.  As I was quickly walking along, I was amazed a these people that were flying by, running the course.  I was instantly jealous.  I thought 'I wish I could do that.  It looks so bad-ass to be running like that.'  I want to try to do that.

During the school year last year, I joined my school's Running Club.  Basically, it is a group of kids (with teachers as well) running around the back field for about 20 minutes.  Another self-proclaimed non-runner teacher friend of mine also joined the club.  All year, my buddy and I walked half the field and jogged the other.  I'm not going to lie it sucked it wasn't very fun.  But, we kept at it, and now that it's summer break, my Buddy and I have has been working hard to become runners.  I will say, she has been doing AWESOME on the C25k app.  Me?  Not so much, but I keep trying.  In fact, I'm going to head out for a jog after folding clothes  after washing dishes  after watching my DVR shows  after eating breakfast NOW!

You know what's scary about letting a secret out?  The fact that you are now held accountable for it.  I now welcome those people asking me "How's the running going?"  or "How far did you run today?" I can't let myself slide back into doing nothing anymore.  I now have people (hopefully after I get some readers) that are going to be holding me accountbale.  A little bit scary but much needed.  Well, wish me luck on my run, and if I'm not back in an hour send my husband out with the car to pick me up. :)

The Teacher in Me...

... must make a SCHEDULE!!  Of course, my blogging will be no different.  I gave a little thought to how I'd like to organize my blog, and I can up with the idea that I must have a schedule for posting.  I don't know about you, but I know that I work best with a schedule and when I know what exactly I'm going to be be doing and when.  Perhaps that's the whole Type A thing coming through...  Hmm... Maybe I should give that a little more of a look-see later on at some point.

So, here's my blogging schedule:
MONDAY: Mommy Monday (posts relating to my kids and being a mom)
TUESDAY: Teaching Tuesday (anything related to teaching, my classroom, etc.)
WEDNESDAY: Wife Wednesday (my marriage journey)
THURSDAY: Thoughtful Thursday (I'm going to show some love to awesome, inspiring blogs out there)
FRIDAY: Fitness Friday (my health journey)
SATURDAY: Secret Saturday (as part of my evolution, I'll share a secret about myself every week)
SUNDAY: Spirit Sunday (things that give inspiration, motivation, etc)

I think it looks like a good plan!  Stay tuned for some upcoming, fabulous blogs!!

The Journey Begins...

So. Here I go...
 I have now ventured into the world of blogging, and what a strange world it will be until I get the hang of how everything works.  Most importantly?  I have a super-cute background for my blog.  One of the hardest parts of this blogging process so far?  Thinking of a darn name!!  I was stumped for at least a good 15 minutes just staring at the screen thinking about what I wanted to name my blog.  I mean, it's not like I'm naming another child, but it almost felt that way.  You think, 'what if I pick a stupid name?' 'What if the name I pick isn't fitting?' "What if I pick a name then don't like it later?'  So, I guess it is similar to picking a name for your kid.

Brum-Brum's Journey is the name I settled on.  Why?? Well, I work with a fantastic woman that just has the toughest time saying my name.  So, she doesn't. She calls me "Brum-Brum", because apparently that is easy for her to say.  Well, I work in a school, and various students heard her calling me this, and as of last year, the name just stuck.  I think of "Brum-Brum" as a nickname of endearment, and God knows I need some endearment lately.  

The Journey??  Well, that part is a little more holistic.  Put simply- It is my journey of becoming happier and healthier on the inside and outside.  I am coming to a point in my life where I am a mother, a wife, a teacher, a friend, a daughter, a sister, and few other labels... However, I'm not quite sure who I am inside... So, this is my journey to discovering that.  One of my major journeys of discovery will take place as I work to lose (again!) weight and help myself become healthier and happier.

What do I hope to get out of this whole blogging thing?  Well, I hope to have a few followers eventually, but I would like to use this outlet to share my expereinces with others.  I know that I have found some fantastic blogs out there that are WONDERFUL, and I felt that way about them because I could identify with them.  I felt that the author was going through what I was, or could understand the same things I felt.  It's my hope that someone out there might find my blog to be that way for her.  So, I thank you in advance for following me and joining me on my journey.  :)