Welcome to My Blog!

Hello All!


So this is my very post, and I'm pretty nervous about it! I spent all last night working on making look nice, which took way longer than I thought it would so bear with me as I tweak it to make it look just right!
My name is Liz, and I just graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Elementary Education and a certificate in Gender and Women's Studies. So, needless to say, my very first year of teaching is just around the corner!

My lovely cohort and me on Graduation Day!!! (That's me in the back row, second from the right!)

As my blog name may suggest, I am not teaching in Madison, or even in Wisconsin, as there are certainly not many valleys around here. I am packing up my life here in Wisconsin in just a few short weeks, and moving across the country with my wonderful fiance to start a new adventure in Phoenix, Arizona. Evan will be starting graduate school at Arizona State University, studying conservation, and I will be teaching in a first grade classroom. It's kind of a huge leap to move so far away, but we thought long and hard about it, and everything about Phoenix for both of us just seemed so right. I fell in love with my new district at a career fair that I attended, and Evan really loved ASU so we think it's meant to be.

Evan and I are pretty excited to start a new adventure!

So, needless to say, packing up is NOT something that I am looking forward to nor is the 25+ hour car trip. But I am excited to have my own classroom next year and have a change of scenery as Wisconsin winters are not my favorite. I prefer nice, warm, sunny weather. I also love the color yellow, books, animals, and chai tea lattes! 


And what better way to start off a blog and a start of a new adventure than find out that I am a winner!!
Michelle over at Just Wild About Teaching emailed me today and informed me that I won a $20 gift certificate to Amazon! Which is great because I really love Amazon and I really want these books:

I've been reading some other bloggers who are doing book studies of these books, and they both seem like excellent resources to have!


Well, I have lots to do tonight - my best friend is getting married in just two days to her high school sweetheart...well technically less than that! So we're going out to dinner to celebrate my engagement and her almost-marriage!

So excited for Alyssa's wedding!!