Finally Here!!!

So we finally have made it to the Valley aka 1820 miles from Milwaukee aka Phoenix. The drive out here wasn't too terrible since there were two of us to "split" the driving (I say that Evan did more driving than me but oh well!). We left Milwaukee on Tuesday which was really difficult for me. I wasn't emotionally ready to make the jump and ended up crying a lot that day. It got a little better after stopping in Dubuque to visit some of best friends who just recently got married, but overall, it was a pretty bad/sad day. The drive itself was fairly uninspiring and long. But we made it today!!!! Yay!!! We're currently staying in Evan's aunt's house, which is located a bit north of Paradise Valley, until we can find an apartment closer to Tempe so Evan can easily get to ASU. Evan's aunt used to live in Phoenix, but recently moved to Wisconsin to be closer to Evan's grandpa. So we're borrowing her house so we didn't have to sign an apartment lease site unseen or stay in hotels until finding a place. Definitely really lucky! Although it is hot here, it's not all that bad as long as you're not doing any hard work outside. And by hard work, I mean unpacking a car full of stuff. We both felt like we were dying when we finished. After stocking up on groceries at the local Fry's and grabbing lunch at a cantina, Evan and I stopped at Target to get a few necessities. And of course, I have been reading about all the awesome Dollar Spot finds that teachers have been getting so of course that was my beeline. I think I got some pretty cool stuff!

I already have a few pocket charts, but couldn't resist a purple one! I got a yellow notebook to take with me to inservice next week. I seriously wish more companies would make more yellow things! It's always such a struggle to find. I also got some name labels for table spots and two pails for my sharp/unsharp pencils. My favorite thing I got were the puzzle pieces. I think on the first few days of school, I'm going to give each kid a piece to write their name and decorate and then we can put the puzzle together and hang it on the wall to show that we fit together even though we're all different!


And since I've been so busy this week, I haven't had time to accept an award from Jenny at Luckeyfrog's Lillypad (one of my favorite bloggers too!) It's the Versatile Blogger. Yay! So the rules for this award is that you have to pass it on and list 7 random facts about yourself. I'm going to pass it on to:
-Sandra at Sweet Times in First (who probably already got it but oh well)
-Teresa at 2nd grade Pig Pen
-Ashley at That's So Second Grade!
-Heather at The Busy Busy Hive
Now for the random facts about me:
1. When I was younger, my sister and I were going to buy an old red barn and become farmers together. Obviously, we decided against it...
2. I love playing board games - any board game - with anyone that will play with me.
3. My favorite color is yellow for two reasons: the first one is because it is such a happy and sunny color, and the second reason is because I feel like so many people ignore it for a more popular color such as pink or blue.
4. I love to cook and bake and am always excited for new recipes.
5. I love a good bargain, and will rarely buy anything full price. I also love thrifting and finding treasures in looked over locations.
6. I have traveled quite extensively for someone my age. My parents both love to travel and whether I liked it or not (I always did though of course!!) took me all over the place on family vacations. One of the most unique places I have been is Russia and Estonia!
7. Although I have been taking Spanish since the 6th grade, I'm still really terrible at speaking and it is one of my vows in life to get better at it. So hopefully living in Phoenix will help!

And I just linked up with the Newbie Blog Hop at Grade Three is the Place for Me! So if you're new to the blogging world, go and check it out!!

If you link up, there are a few questions about yourself to answer so bloggers can get to you know a little bit more! Here they are:

1. What state you are in

2.  your current teaching position

3.  your teaching experience

4.  when you started blogging

5.  share a blogging tip / blogging resource

So here are my answers! 
1. I'm from Wisconsin but just arrived in Phoenix, AZ today!
2. I am currently [going to be] a first grade teacher.
3. Pretty minimal; just student teaching and practica.
4. I started blogging a few weeks ago!
5. Always comment when you get freebies! It lets the teachers who worked so hard to make them know that they are appreciated!


Well that certainly was a super long post... thanks for sticking with me! Next week marks my first week of inservice! I'm a little nervous but mostly super excited! I hope everything is great since at my student teaching placement, I tended to loathe professional development. We'll see...

Packing, Packing, and More Packing! Oh, and an award!

It is T-5 days until D-Day aka the day I leave all I know aka the day I leave for Phoenix! I'm starting to feel so many different emotions about it. Excitement and nerves, anxiety and happiness, ready for the adventure yet terrified of it all. 

But I don't really have time to freak out about it since I have a million and ones things to do. I am going to check out a possible venue site for my wedding tomorrow. It still seems so surreal that I will be getting married next summer!!! Yay!!! Also, Evan and I are going to a wedding this Saturday and then on Sunday my parents are hosting a graduation/going away/engagement party. And I still have SO. MUCH. TO. PACK!!! Here is a before picture of just my clothes. 

 

Yeah. It's just a little ridiculous. And that's just clothes. And I just cleared out of my apartment in Madison so there is even more stuff! Seriously, I don't know how I accumulated so much stuff and somehow didn't notice. I bet that I'll feel the same after my first year of teaching and I'll be standing there in front of the closet in my classroom, pondering where all this stuff came from!

But good news! I was able to sort and organize my clothes into one suitcase and one duffel bag. I have a huge pile of stuff to go to Goodwill and since I'm keeping all of my heavy sweaters and boots here for when I return to Wisconsin in the winter. Now the tough part is next - determining which things from my teacher hoarding pile do I need right away and what can I get at a later date? I've been collecting books for almost a year and have a pretty great collection. Moving them will be the tricky part though since I probably have like 500 books (I'll definitely do a post on that next!!)

And more good news! I got my first blog award! It's from Janis over at Grade Three is the Place for Me! A special award for bloggers who have less than 200 followers! So I definitely qualify for that!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers. 

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award

So I am passing it on to a few of my favorite bloggers that I have been following before I started my own blog!

1. Laura at Mrs Castro's Class

2. Aimee at Pencils Books and Dirty Looks

3. Heather at The Meek Moose

4. Heather at The Busy Busy Hive

5. Ashley at That's So Second Grade!

Of course, some people's buttons aren't showing up, but I am too tired to figure out what the problem is; perhaps tomorrow! Have a wonderful night!