Ready For a New Year

2013 was quite the year for me. It was long, exhausting, and full of life changes. But through the hardships I learned so much and feel like such a better person.

Life lessons learned...

Take time for yourself.
While I'm notorious for being very stubborn and set in my ways, I very rarely take time for myself. I'm a people pleaser, and not having someone to take care of at home anymore completely submerged me in my work. I spent every moment of every day working on things for my classroom and for teachers at my school. I didn't take the time to focus on me at all and I ended up being overloaded. Lesson learned. I rarely bring my work home with me anymore on the weekends and I take the time to spend with others when I can.

Cherish every moment, even those that seem small.
I'm sure my Facebook friends and Instagram followers are going crazy with all of my picture posts over the last few months. Ha! Life is so beautiful and has so many moments that I want to capture. Even if it's a simple note from a student or a gorgeous sunset. I want to cherish those things that make me smile each day and remind me how wonderful life is.

Be myself, 100%, because that's where true happiness lies.
Getting back in the dating scene after being in a 9 year relationship that started when I was 16 was difficult. I had no idea what I was doing. One thing I did learn, early on, in the dating process is to just completely be myself. I knew that I didn't want to find someone to spend time with that I would have to "act" around. If I can just be me all of the time around someone, then I'll be happy. I held a "take it or leave it" attitude, which can go either way, but it definitely weeded out those who weren't meant for me.

Make memories with loved ones as often as possible.
I don't hold grudges. Life is too short to do so. We lost a close family member a few years ago that made my family change their view on life. It's unfortunate that I live so far away and don't get to see them as often as I'd like, but it makes those moments together that much more special. I choose to live in Utah while they reside in Pennsylvania because it's what makes me happy. I know I wouldn't be happy living on the East coast again. Luckily I have a loving family that supports me and travels to see me, and encourages me to travel to come see them. I traveled to Pennsylvania for a month in July this year to spend time with my family and went to Florida for a week on vacation with my dad and step-mom. I had an amazing time on both trips and completely focused on our time together - no working. In 2014, I look forward to visiting Pennsylvania again this summer, going to Las Vegas for my dad's 50th birthday in September, going to Florida for Christmas, and having my mom come visit in June.

Don't be afraid to ask for and accept help.
I'm still struggling with this one, but I'm trying. I like to do everything myself. I know it will be exactly how I want it if I do. I have a hard time trusting others, which I'm working on. I'm letting others help me at work. I'm trying to let my boyfriend help me with things, but I'm so independent that it's hard to let go. I'll get there. This is one of my main focuses for 2014.

It's okay to say "no".
Again, being a people pleaser, this is hard for me. I have requests all of the time to create new printables, calendars, planners, etc. I am flattered by the requests, but I work a full-time job and I'm trying to pull my life back together. I'm trying not to sit in front of the computer all night, as soon as I get home, like I used to. If I were doing this Etsy business full-time, I'd be all about it. I love what I do, what I create. But at this point, I don't have time for custom documents. I hope that someday {hopefully in 2014} I can dedicate more time to my printables, and create a lot more to share for free. I want to get back to blogging before I expand my printables though. That's my first focus.

2014 is going to be a great year. I know it.

 

My Favorite Things: Target Cartwheel App

{This post is not sponsored.}

I love Target - everything about it. But my new favorite thing about it is the Cartwheel app. While I shop I scan the things I put in my cart to see if there's a coupon available for a % off. If there is, the coupon pops up and I add it to my cartwheel. Then when I checkout, I have the cashier scan my phone for instant savings. No coupons to clip. No planning ahead needed.

I've only been using the app for the last two months and I've already saved $43.48! Right now there are 721 different savings that you can use, including groceries, home goods, toys, clothes, and more.

On a side note: I feel so much better now that I've shared this. I get so excited every time I use it and think, "I need to share this with my readers". :)

Getting Organized with a Command Center

I'm working on setting up new organizational "systems" for myself. My latest project was creating a command center. I opted to use the Martha Stewart wall manager system, available at Staples. {Note: I have not been asked to write this by any companies.}

I opted for 4 boards - a whiteboard, a cork board, and two accessory boards. The accessories I chose - two shelves, shelf boxes, drawers, inbox, small caddy, tall caddy, two clips, and two hooks. I also grabbed a pack of file folders and a dry erase marker set.

I love the ease of putting it all together. The boards unsnap from backside that attaches to the wall. The backside has a built in level and repositioning putty, making it so easy position exactly where I wanted it all.

Conquering the Walk-In Closet

I am absolutely in.love. with my new apartment. It's absolutely perfect for me and it's only 5 minutes from my school.

The coolest thing about starting over is that I was able to completely design/decorate/organize everything my way 100%.

I have a walk-in closet in my bedroom. It's fabulous for getting ready in the morning, but so spacious that it became a "catch-all" for things that I didn't feel like putting away. It ended up becoming more of a pain to work around than anything, leading to the perfect post...closet organization!

It took me two hours to fully clean everything out, sorting into piles.

chevron shoe organizer from Kohl's

jewelry tree from Gordman's; owl bank from JCPenney

I had so much stuff in my closet that I completely forgot I possessed. Those things were purged.

The chevron shoe organizer is something I bought from Kohl's. I keep things in the pockets like Command strips/hooks, batteries, pens/pencils/markers, etc.

Hopefully I inspired you to clean a closet, too! :)

2014 Calendars Are Here!

I have created some new calendars for 2014!

As usual, I have a free version, as well as some for sale in my Etsy store.

Get the free 2014 black & white chevron calendar, here!

cursive chevron calendars

vertical & horizontal chevron calendars

vertical & horizontal polka dot calendars

Giveaway: Windows 8 PC & Fresh Paint App #WindowsChampions #Sponsored

Being a teacher, I like to be creative. I enjoy my job so much and really wouldn't trade it for anything. One of the subjects I get to teach my students is art. I taught at an arts-focused school for two years and loved everything about it. Now that I'm at an entrepreneurial-focused school, I have to get creative with my art lessons since I purchase all of the art supplies myself.

I love paint, but don't have any at home, where I do most of my planning. Since receiving my Microsoft Windows 8 Surface last year, I've been playing with the Fresh Paint app a lot to try out art projects without getting messy. While there's no true comparison to actually using real paint, Fresh Paint is an awesome way for me to try out different techniques quickly {and cleanly}.

I was sent a Nomad FLeX digital paintbrush to try out with the Fresh Paint app. It feels just like a regular paintbrush and magically works on any touchscreen device in the same way. I was able to easily transform an art project I found on Pinterest into my own creation, right in the comfort of my home - while sitting on my light tan couch, watching TV. Nothing to worry about, just stress releasing technological painting.

While experimenting with the digital paintbrush, I realized what an amazing app Fresh Paint is. How cool is it that you could easily take a Windows 8 phone or tablet with you for your kids to sit and paint in the car or at the doctor's office? They can use their fingers or a digital paintbrush. The app has templates that look like coloring pages for kids to use, too. Some are free, and others cost a few dollars.

My actual artwork - the texture is hard to see here since I had to shrink it for the post, but it looks great.

One of the coolest features in the Fresh Paint app is the ability to take a photograph and turn it into "wet paint". I was able to take a picture of a flower that I took while in Pennsylvania last month and turn it into a painting by simply using the digital paintbrush to "wet" the colors. Kids could really have a lot of fun with this, turning pictures of a family pet into a painted masterpiece.

Here's my wet paint flower...

Prize: ASUS VivoTab RT Windows 8 PC and Nomad FLeX Digital Paintbrush {$630 value}

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Tuesday, August 27 @ 12:00 a.m. (Mountain Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on the widget and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winners will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers in the USA.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• This giveaway is sponsored by Microsoft. 

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I received one digital paintbrush to facilitate this review.

Salt Lake City: The Color Run is Only 10 Days Away!

There's still time to sign up for the Salt Lake City Color Run on August 24th! The $5 registration code {COLOREFFECT} expires on the 21st.

eMeals: Homemade Popsicle Recipes #sponsored

I absolutely love the recipes that eMeals provides - both for me to share with you, and each week with my meal plan. They're really easy to whip up in no time - which is a necessity for me.

Delicious Orange Banana Smoothie Pops

Ingredients

• 1 container (7-ounce) Greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
• 2 bananas
• 1-tablespoon lime juice

Directions

1. Puree one Greek yogurt, thawed orange juice concentrate, bananas, and lime juice in a blender.
2. Pour into your mold of choice. To release pops, dip molds into hot water until pops loosen and slide out. If using cups, peel away paper.

Simple Watermelon Pops

Ingredients

• 4 cups watermelon, seeds removed, cubed

Directions

1. Puree watermelon in a blender. 
2. Pour into your choice of mold and freeze until hardened.

Yummy Strawberry Freeze Pops

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

• 1-cup plain yogurt

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. Puree the ingredients in a blender. 
2. Pour into your choice of mold and freeze until hardened.

eMeals: Fourth of July Easy Baby Back Ribs Recipe #Sponsored

Are you an eMeals member? If so, be sure to log-in to your account and download the free Fourth of July meal plan, featuring 6 delicious recipes. Any new members can also get this additional meal plan upon registration.

Easy Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 lb baby back pork ribs (3 slabs)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 18 oz bottle favorite barbecue sauce 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Remove thin membrane from back of ribs by slicing into ribs with a knife and pulling membrane off with paper towels.
3. Combine salt, garlic powder and pepper; rub all over meaty side of ribs.
4. Cut racks in half, if desired. Arrange ribs in a large roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil.
5. Bake 3 hours or until very tender. 
6. Uncover and cool 15 minutes. Drain. 
7. Preheat grill to medium-high. 
8. Place ribs, meaty side up, on grill rack rubbed with oil. 
9. Baste generously with barbecue sauce. 
10. Grill, covered with grill lid, 10 minutes. 
11. Baste and grill 5 to 10 minutes longer or until sauce clings to ribs.

KitchenAid Giveaway with Pretty My Party

I teamed up with Pretty My Party and several other bloggers and businesses to giveaway a KitchenAid Artisan 5 Quart Mixer! This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide that is 18+ years old. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 28. To enter, please visit Pretty My Party.

Please be sure to visit the following bloggers and businesses that helped make this giveaway possible: Tikkido, Pink Cake Plate, Cupcake Diaries, Measured By the Heart, Cherries n Berries, The Frugal Navy Wife, Mommy Octopus, Tickled Peach Studio, Wrong Way Peach Fuzz, From Me, With Love, The Doodling Bug, inkhappi, Bonggamom, Bowbows Boutique, The Nest Effect, Daddy Mojo, Ann-Kay Design, The Alison Marie Blog, The Geeky Hostess, Three Little Monkeys Studio, The REAL Housewives of Riverton, A Delicate Gift, Taradara Made It, Vegas Family Guide, On the Way Home, Saving By Design and Owlanthas

2013-2014 Monthly Chevron Calendars, a Giveaway, and a Sale - Ends 6.22.13

Last night I uploaded the latest to my Etsy store: 2013-2014 monthly chevron calendars! June 2013 through December 2014 are included in this set, as well as two versions -- one with a Monday start for the week, and the other with a Sunday start. This item is an instant download, like most of my documents in my store. {Did you know that Etsy now lets sellers do that?!}

Prizes: 2013-2014 chevron monthly calendars {PDF file}

Number of Winners: three

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Sunday, June 23 @ 12:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). Three winners will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winners will be announced on the widget and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winners have 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winners will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers everywhere.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• This giveaway is not sponsored by a company. These are my files that I sell on Etsy.

To celebrate summer, I'm offering 40% off of everything in my Etsy store through Saturday, June 22. Use coupon code SUMMER40 at checkout to receive the 40% off discount.

I will not apply the discount code after checkout. Please do not purchase, then send me a message saying you couldn't figure out how to use the code. It's honestly a hassle to do partial refunds on Etsy for discounts. 

To use the coupon: on the cart page there's a TEXT link that says "Apply shop coupon code" {see image below for example}. Add the coupon code in the box that appears. Make sure there isn't a space after the coupon code in the text box. If you have any questions, please contact me before purchasing!

Summertime Bucket List - June 2013

I've been out of school for summer break since last Wednesday. I've been busy working at school - cleaning and organizing for next year - as well as working on my teacher planner and updating some files in my Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook stores.

Next month, I'll be traveling to Pennsylvania to spend time with family all month. I cannot wait. A long awaited vacation. =]

I feel like I have a ton to do this summer, and at the top of my list is getting in shape and eating healthy. The Color Run in SLC is coming up in August and I'm determined that I will be in shape for this event. {If you live in SLC and want to join in, use the code COLOREFFECT for $5 off your reigstration! If you don't live in SLC, but are interested in participating in a local Color Run, you can use the code COLOR5OFF to receive $5 off your registration fee in your city!}

I've amped up my water intake to over 9 cups a day {I drink 3 bottles from my Camelbak water bottle, which is 750 mL.} I've increased the protein in my diet as well, and cut carbs and sugar as much as possible. I've found a new love for veggies - especially red bell peppers - and feta cheese, and tried egg whites for the first time, also falling in love. I've read in several different places that drinking water consistently helps with weight loss because your body confuses dehydration with hunger. I'm sure to drink a lot of water before each meal, which helps me not over eat. I haven't found myself to be hungry at all because of this either. I'm exercising 6 days a week, alternating between cardio and core training.

I'm working on updating 2013-2014 calendars for my Etsy store, and updating sets that I currently sell. I'm planning for blogging, hoping to find a way to better manage my time so I can blog more often.

I'm searching for more things to sell online this month to simplify my life and make some extra money to pay off student loan debt.

I have a professional development course the last week of June for 3 full days. I'm excited to learn more about language arts.

This is a lot to accomplish in the next 2.5 weeks, but I'm totally motivated and ready to go.

What is on your bucket list for this month?