Giveaways Galore and Recipes!

First, I must say that I am loving all of the giveaways lately! I am entering every Blog Hop giveaway that I can find!  Teachers love free stuff!  I was lucky enough to actually win a giveaway I entered  last week from Kelly at An Apple for the Teacher! I won her Fifth Grade Daily Spiral Math Review, and I can't wait to use it!

Second, you MUST enter a giveaway that I am helping to sponsor for one of 2 $75 TpT Gift cards!  Go HERE to enter! Even though I can't enter it, I can still dream about all the goodies I could buy with $75, right?!

Third, I want to share two of my most favorite Keto recipes I've tried lately.  This "Fat Head Pizza Crust" is amazing! I was missing pizza so badly when I went low-carb, and this truly hit the spot!  The recipe is very easy and I added on all of the cheese and pepperonis that I wanted!

Another one of my favorite Keto recipes (that is a snack, not really a recipe), is Cheese Chips! I took my daughter to see a movie the other day, and instead of binging on popcorn I snacked on these guys!  You simply cut each slice of ultra thin cheese into 4 pieces. Put on parchment paper for 35 minutes on 250 degrees!

On another note, today was my first day back at school to decorate and get my room and curriculum ready for the new year! I got lots done, but I have much more to accomplish this week before teachers report on Monday! I'm so excited for the new year!  I will post pics of my room soon!

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$75 TpT Giftcard GIVEAWAY!!!!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Prize: $75 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card

I am more than excited to be teaming up with An Apple for the Teacher and a bunch of other AMAZING ladies to bring you a giveaway for 2 $75 TpT GIFTCARDS!  Enter below for a chance to win!  

Giveaway organized by: An Apple for the Teacher

Co-hosts: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher),  A Plus Kids,  Teaching Superkids, Peas in a Pod, Embellished Education, Lattes and Lunchrooms, KB3Teach, Dancing into First, Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching, The Chocolate Teacher, Ms K Math, Knowledge Mobile, Mrs. Roltgen, Elementary Antics,  CrazyCharizma, Carla Hoff, Third Grade Giggles, Mickey's Place, Rissa Hanneken, Activity Tailor, Kamp Kindergarten,  Reading and Writing Redhead, Planet Happy Smiles, A View Into My Classroom, Momma With A Teaching Mission, Sara Rucker, The Literacy Garden, Pam's Place, Heart 2 Heart Teaching, Mrs Humphries Class, Sliding Into 1st, Growing Grade by Grade, Jackie Crews, Life As I Know It, Sarah Griffin, Teacher Treasure Hunter, Glistening Gems, and A Classroom for All Seasons.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.  Giveaway ends 8/13/16 and is open worldwide.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you a blogger who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog?  Click here to find out how you can join a totally awesome group of bloggers!

Friday Favorites!

Today I am linking up with Momfessionals for Friday Favorites! This is my first time linking up with them so I'm super excited!

Favorite Book:  The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel is one of the greatest books I've ever read.  It perfectly weaves together a story of love, history, and secrets!  I was completely intrigued by the storyline as well as the historical side to the story.  I definitely recommend it!

Favorite Recipe:  As I've begun my journey into getting fit and eating healthier, I've tried out multiple new recipes that I would've never tried before.  One of my favorites was Baked Cauliflower Nuggets! I was truly impressed with them.  They were healthy and delicious and I will definitely make them again!

Favorite Vacation:  Because I had a baby in April, we decided to not take an actual family vacation this summer.  But we have been very blessed in that we have gotten to go to our family cabin, FOREST VIEW CABIN, at Lake Tenkiller here in Oklahoma multiple times! It is beautiful and incredibly relaxing.  We are heading there one last time this weekend and I can't wait!  Like us on Facebook!

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great Friday!
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Big-Boned, Thick, Curvy, Plus-Sized ME

The Beginning Of My Keto Journey...

I've struggled my entire life with my weight.

Let's just say that I am one of those big-boned women you've heard about.  I am thick, curvy and plus-sized, and I am not ashamed of those facts.  But I am also one of those women who never lost the baby weight after having my first child four years ago.  And for that, I am ashamed. Especially since I just had my second child three months ago, and I am heavier than I have ever been.

In the past I tried to count my calories and I failed. I tried Weight Watchers and had a little success, but ultimately I failed at that too. I've joined gyms and I've watched those automatic monthly payments come out of my bank account month after month, while I never stepped foot back into the gym after the first few workouts.

That is not me anymore. This time I will succeed.

I will succeed because I have made a lifestyle change.  I joined a Crossfit gym, and it is the PERFECT fit for me.  The people there are friendly, encouraging, and want the same thing I do. Crossfit is an high-intensity, core strength and conditioning workout program.  Not only did I start doing Crossfit, but I've changed the way I eat.  When I joined the gym I met with the owner for a consultation and he told me about the Ketogenic Diet.  It took me a while to understand it, but for the sake of simplicity, when you follow a Ketogenic Diet you force your body to burn fats instead of carbohydrates.   And to do that, you've got to eat a high amount of fat, so you can burn fat.  Sounded ass-backwards to me in the beginning, but after reading some books, doing some research, and joining lots of Facebook groups and Pinterest boards, I decided to try it.

As far as eating goes, you must eat a diet of high fat, moderate protein, and low carbs.  And that is HARD for me. I am a potato loving, biscuit eating broad.  This has been the hardest thing I've ever done, but I love it.  I am truly enjoying the challenge! I like finding new recipes and trying them out. I like surprising my husband with new, healthy dinners that we've never had before.

So far, I've lost 8 lbs. in 2 months.  I know, that's not very much.  But my biggest victory is that I feel good. I feel better than I've ever felt! I have energy, I am stronger, and I am more confident than I've ever been.  I am doing things I never thought I would be able to do, and I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of it!

I will share recipes that I've tried- recipes that have worked, and recipes that have been a huge #foodfail.  I want to document my journey so I can look back and see where I've come from, because this time, I WILL SUCCEED!

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Monday Made It Linky!

It has been forever since I've linked up with the Monday Made It Linky, so today I'm excited to show off a few things I made last week!  I used most of these in my classroom the past few years, but just got around to editing them and putting them on TpT, just in time for the big sale!

 Each of these 30 Decimal Puzzles has students match the Standard Form, Expanded Form, Word Form and Fraction/Mixed Number together to create a 4 piece puzzle!  I can't wait to use these with my students this year!

Another product I created last week is my Voice Levels Hanging Clip Chart! I love using this in my classroom. When my students need to change their voice levels I simply walk over and move the clip!  Definitely check this out!

It is on the right, sorry it's so blurry!

Another one of my favorites in my classroom is my Hanging Compliment Chain!  Each time my whole class gets a compliment, I put a letter up. When the chain is complete I throw them a Compliment Party!  They love it and it gives them something to work for every day!

Lastly, I have two more products. First is my Classroom Hand Signals Poster, which shows students visually how to ask me if they can get a drink, go to the restroom, or sharpen a pencil.  I love it because my students don't have to yell out these questions 1,000 times a day anymore!

Hand Signals Poster is on the right, and my Classroom Rubric is in the middle!

 The last product I wanted to show off today is my Classroom Rubric/Scale of Understanding! I love this because after each lesson I teach I ask my students to refer to this to show me their level of understanding.  I definitely couldn't teach without this thing!

And as everyone knows, the TpT Best Year Ever Sale is going on today and tomorrow, so check out my store because everything is 20% off! And don't forget to use the code BEST YEAR to save even more!

Click HERE to get to my store fast!

$10 TpT Gift Card Giveaway Last Day!

Today is the last day of my giveaway!  Click HERE to enter to win a $10 TpT Giftcard! 

And I truly can't wait for the TpT "Best Year Ever" Sale! My entire store will be 20% OFF!

$10 TpT Giftcard Giveaway!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is SUPER stoked about the TpT "The Best Year Ever Sale" on August 1st-2nd!

Not only will my ENTIRE store be 20% OFF, but I am going to give one lucky winner a $10 TpT gift card that they can use during the sale!

Enter my Rafflecopter below for entries to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be notified on August 1st so you can get your shop on!