Friday Favorites: Fonts - Part 11

I LOVE fonts. I keep a list, similar to this one, in a Word document so I can see what the font looks like with the name of the font so I can easily choose which font I want to use for each project. (Not all of the fonts listed below are free, but most are.)

Unnamed Melody :: Vaguely Repulsive :: Want You Back :: Westwood LET :: AlphabitsSquared :: License Plate USA

My Favorite Things: Websites - Part 1

I spend way too much time online. Blogs, teacher resource sites, social media, blogging resource sites, curriculum searching, email, recipes, shopping, etc. I'm an internet addict.

I've been debating how to do this post for a while now. Should I categorize each post and write a blurb about each? Or should I just categorize the websites within the post, simply giving the site name/link? Well, I've decided the latter. Sorry if it's not ideal. I promise you though, these websites are great.

2nd Grade Shenanigans {education} A Cupcake for the Teacher {education}Deep Space Sparkle {education/art}House of Smith's {home/DIY} IHeart Organizing {home/DIY/organization}The Inspired Apple {education}Ladybug's Teacher Files {education}Smiling in Second Grade {education} Space for Living {home/organization}Step Into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons {education} The Teacher Wife {education} What the Teacher Wants {education}

 Google Art Project {virtual art museum, including famous works of art}
Harcourt Storytown Resources {I use this website on a weekly basis}
IXL {math}
Scholastic Printables {worksheets}
Teachers Notebook {purchase units/resources}

Teachers Pay Teachers {purchase units/resources}
Teaching Channel {videos with management ideas}
XtraMath {math facts tests}

Confessions

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement from everyone. I honestly didn't expect this response and this wasn't meant to create any sort of "pity party" on me. I just simply wanted y'all to know what's going on and why I'm struggling with blogging. I deeply appreciate everything that everyone has said. When I checked my email after school today, I was completely blown away at the comments and emails I've received with encouragement. Your kind words have truly made my day. It's readers like all of you that keep me blogging. I absolutely love you all.

I have some confessions to make. If you're not interested, then, please, skip this post.

First off, my husband lost his job back in February. It was terrible. So much stress was put on each of us, financially. He luckily did find a new job this month and started it two weeks ago. The first week was training. The second week he started "on the job". Well, he works overnight. I could not function last week not having him home with me. I wasn't sleeping. I didn't get to see him very much. He'd come home when I was leaving for work and sleep all day, and when I got home we'd eat dinner together and then he'd leave. (I'm not sure why all of that is written in past-tense...it's still happening.) The good news: it's a job. It's full-time. He's on four ten-hour days and then off three. It's only for another month. I'm slowly starting to function without him here. But I pretty much fell apart last week. My bad.

30 (school) days of school left - I'm not sure if I am excited or not. I absolutely adore my class. I love my school. I don't know if I'll still have my job next year or not. Time will tell. (The whole "new teacher" system is terrible.) May is going to be insane though. CRTs, DRA testing, biography reports/wax museum for the parents, rock and mineral show field trip, zoo field trip, my class's town meeting (a.k.a. class play written by our amazing drama specialist), bike/board/blade day, celebrating summer birthdays, etc. I've never felt so overwhelmed in my life. I'm so fortunate to have amazing parent support in my classroom. Every single parent is absolutely amazing and has been such a huge support for me throughout the whole year after everything crazy that happened. (If you're a teacher, please tell me...how do you prep for end of year tests?! I'm so clueless.)

Our apartment = disaster zone. If you've emailed me in the last month and asked for tips on how to keep up with organization, I'm not avoiding you. I'm just looking around at my mess, wondering how to answer your question. I'm not very good at it lately to tell you the truth. We need to clean. I need to go through the incoming paper basket. I have two months of magazines sitting on the floor. I have been good at keeping the entry clean so it looks like we have a clean home from the door. And I'm great at turning the Scentsy warmer on every night so it smells clean.

My life isn't as planned out as you may perceive. It used to be. I love my planners. It's been two months since I've written anything in either one. What a waste of money - or so it feels. Maybe when school's over I'll get back to it. (Here's hoping.) My home management binder, blogging/etsy store binder, and loan binder have all gone to crap. It may all seem hypocritical, but it's not. I'll get back to it when school's out and I can start over. You'll see.

I have some amazing ideas for projects to complete this summer. (I have owned a home I'd be all over new posts all of the time...some day.) I also have plans for the blog design and etsy store additions. I also have some good ideas for summer month challenges. I think I'll be able to handle keeping up this time. =]

I'm sorry but I don't care if you hate that I have some advertising on my blog. Please don't email me and tell me how terrible I am for accepting some advertising. I definitely don't have as much as many other blogs. The extra income (which isn't much, honestly) is a nice compensation for the hard work that I put into this blog. When I don't put as much work in (like recently), it shows in my stats/advertising income. I don't accept anything that doesn't relate to my blog content or my interests. I seriously turn down at least 10 inquires a week because I don't feel like it fits my blog. So, please, don't harass me for accepting some advertising. Thanks.

I want to run in a marathon...and finish (that's the key). I'm willing to start small, but I want to do it. I lost weight a year ago for my wedding. Then, when I didn't get a job, I gained it all back...plus 5 pounds. I guess I was self-destructive. I'm determined, again, to lose 15 pounds by August. This means less time on Pinterest, I'm sure. (So sad.) No reason to not get in shape. My weakness is salt. I can do without sweets. Anyone else in the same boat? Wish me luck.

And finally...I know everyone can sympathize with this...

I feel like I have no time. Seriously. Where do my nights go? I come home, spend time with Chris before he goes to work, then I work on the following...in this order (lately): school related stuff (creating documents, searching for documents, lesson planning, etc.), completing assignments for two online professional development courses I'm taking (I had no idea how time consuming they'd be), doing the dishes, blogging (if there's time), then trying to sleep (failing miserably for 2-3 hours a night, until I finally exhaust myself). Tell me, how do all of YOU do it? Especially those of you who are moms as well. One more thing to add to the plate. I don't know if I'll be able to do it someday. We'll see what happens down the road.

Thanks for letting me vent. I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday. Cross your fingers for me that I'll make it through the next month...and be able to blog at the same time. I miss having things to write about.

April Challenge: How Are Things Going For You?

This month has been a trial for me, for so many reasons. We're experiencing a lot of change and stress in our home this month, from jobs mostly. I have been absolutely exhausted and have therefore, not been keeping up with my challenge (or housekeeping for that matter) this month. I guess I also haven't been keeping up with blogging either. My bad. Last week was tough, but I think this week will be better.

Since I have epically failed this month's challenge, I'd love to hear how you've done, if you've cleaned and/or organized any closets.

If you haven't already, enter my Scentsy giveaway! It ends this Saturday, April 28.

Friday Favorites: Fonts - Part 10

I LOVE fonts. I keep a list, similar to this one, in a Word document so I can see what the font looks like with the name of the font so I can easily choose which font I want to use for each project. (Not all of the fonts listed below are free, but most are.)

SF Cartoonist Hand :: Sketch Block :: SNF Journaling :: SNF School Yard :: SNF Sketchbook :: Socially Awkward :: Teen Light :: Troutkings BTN :: TwizotHmk :: TXT Abrasive

Giveaway: Scentsy Mother's Day Warmer & 3 Bars / Plug-In & 3 Bars (2 Winners!)

I recently was given the opportunity to try out Scentsy products. I've been wanting to try them out for a while now, so I was more than happy to accept the opportunity when it arose.

I've been using my beautiful Victoria warmer for the last few weeks and absolutely love the Scentsy Bars I was sent. My favorite is Perfectly Pomegranate. The fragrance is so delicious! I love turning on my warmer as soon as I get home from work just to take in the aroma.

I also received some other goodies as well. I took the room spray to school to use when the kids leave the room. They're becoming stinky as it gets warmer. Last weekend we went on a weekend getaway and I took the travel tin I received. Our hotel didn't have that generic hotel smell. Instead it smelled like apple pie. Delish!

My Scentsy consultant, Ashley, has offered to sponsor an amazing Scentsy giveaway!

Giveaway #1 + 3 Bars

Giveaway #2

Prizes: #1 - Scentsy Mother's Day Warmer (pictured above) and 3 Bars (Cerise, Sunlit Morning, and Pixie) $50 Value!
#2 - Scentsy Plug-In and 3 Bars $35 Value!

Number of Winners: two (one winner by entering via the Rafflecopter widget and one winner who makes a purchase)

To Enter: #1 - 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)
#2 - If you make a purchase, your name will be put in another drawing. Purchase through this link to be entered. Any purchase will qualify. (optional)

Giveaway Ends: Saturday, April 28 @ 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) for both entries. One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. One winner will be chosen by random (who makes a purchase). The winners will be announced on this post and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

To join Ashley's Scentsy Facebook group, click here.



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 for the comment entries and at random for the purchase entries.
• This giveaway is open to readers living in the U.S.
• 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.
• One entry per method per person (3 total).
• This giveaway is sponsored. The prize, information, and giveaway have been provided by Ashley Clark, a Scentsy consultant. Any opinions about products stated in this post are completely honest and purely my own.

Have 10 Minutes? Declutter Your Junk Drawer

I don't have a junk drawer. I honestly don't believe in them. But I know a lot of people do have them, so today's quick task is to clean it out.

Here are the steps you can take:

1. Dump out/clear out the drawer.
2. Vacuum the drawer, if needed. Wipe it out with all purpose cleaner. 
3. Take the drawer out and spray the track down with WD-40 if it sticks when pulled out.
4. Categorize what you're going to put back into the drawer. Throw anything that is broken/missing pieces/that you'll never use again.
5. Organize what will go back into the drawer.

Some ideas for organization for you.

iHeart Organizing

a bowl full of lemons.

BHG

BHG

BHG

Imperfect Homemaking

If you're a blogger, I'd love to see pictures of your junk drawers if you've written a post! If you're not a blogger, I'd love to hear any tips you have for junk drawer organization!

Friday Favorites: Fonts - Part 9

I LOVE fonts. I use all sorts of fonts to create things for my classroom and to create my printables. Back in November and December I shared 30 of my favorites. I now have more to share. I'll be sharing a new batch of 10 weekly, until I run out of faves. I keep a list, similar to this one, in a Word document so I can see what the font looks like with the name of the font so I can easily see which font I want to use for each project. (Not all of the fonts listed below are free, but most are.)

LD String Bean :: LD Vanilla :: LDJ Fantastical :: LDJ Jester :: LDJ Knuckle Type :: LDJ Noodge :: Lily Paige :: MTF Epic :: Penmanship Print :: Rockwell

Have 10 Minutes? Declutter Your Cups & Food Containers

Sometimes clutter can overtake kitchen cabinets just as easily as a desktop. Pieces to sets of cups or food storage containers can get broken or become worn out, causing us to toss one piece and not the other half. Now's the time to get rid of the extras.

Now some of you may think, "but what if I can use the 10 extra lids I have laying around eventually, like if one breaks or gets lost". Then just keep one extra if that's your argument. Many of us have way more food storage containers then we'll ever use anyways. I'm guilty.

Today's challenge is to take 10 minutes to go through your cups and food storage containers, looking for the following, and then donating, recycling, or throwing away the culprits:

• cracked or chipped cups
• orphaned pieces to sippy cups and cups with straws or lids
• storage containers without lids...
• ...or lids without storage containers
• storage containers that you've never used...and never will
• cups you no longer use
• anything that's mismatched that you won't use because it "doesn't belong" (I know some people who have this problem...if it doesn't match, it won't be used)

Teachers may be able to use storage containers that are in good condition, even without the lid. I use these in my classroom to organize my supply cupboards and for art supplies when doing projects. Many donation centers will take anything that's not broken. Don't feel like you have to throw everything you come across away. =]

Good luck!

Quick Reminder: Thirty-One Giveaway Ends Friday!

In case you missed it last week, I'm currently hosting a giveaway for two Thirty-One Organizing Utility Totes. You can enter the first drawing by leaving a comment AND using the Rafflecopter widget (on the giveaway post) and enter the second drawing by making a purchase. All of the information is available on the giveaway post.

** enter the giveaway here **

April Challenge: Closet Inspiration

Confession: I don't have a closet completed to show you this week. Boo (I know). Spring break has ended and getting back into the "swing of things" has really kicked my butt. I am literally so exhausted at the end of each day that I've come home to take a nap. Ridiculous.

Here's my inspiration for you for this week. (** Please do not PIN any of these photos from my blog. Click through to the blog post, which is directly linked to each blog name/photo and pin from their site. They deserve the credit, not me! **)

Reader Shirley at Motivated Mommy of Two revamped her coat closet. I absolutely love it! (Thanks for sharing!)

Lina at Fancy Frugal Life has an amazing craft closet/office transformation you have to see if you love bright, beautiful color.

I absolutely love this coat closet from Better Homes and Gardens.

If I only had a linen closet...(from Real Simple).

See all of the closets on my Pinterest board, here.

Have 10 Minutes? Clean Your Coffeemaker

Last weekend I deep cleaned my coffeemaker...for the first time. So gross.

Here are the steps I took to deep clean my coffeemaker. Now, keep in mind that the total, overall length of time to do this will be 10 minutes, but it will only take about 10 minutes of your time to actually set it up for the cleaning.

#1 - Empty/clean out the filter basket and coffeepot.
#2 - Fill your coffeepot with 1 part white vinegar, 2 parts water and pour it into the coffeemaker. Put a new paper filter into the filter basket to catch all of the loosened junk.
#3 - Brew the water and let the coffeemaker run through the full brewing cycle.
#4 - When the cycle finishes, unplug the coffeemaker and let it sit to cool down (about 15 minutes).
#5 - Dump out the water/vinegar mixture from the coffeepot. Throw away the paper filter.
#6 - If the inside of your coffeemaker has brown coffee stains all over, now would be a good time to clean these (if you want). The water vapor inside the machine has vinegar in it, making it a good cleaning solution for the stains. I used a Q-tip to clean the hard to reach places, dipping the Q-tip in the hot water/vinegar mixture that was in the coffeepot.
#7 - Repeat the cycle with water only two more times to clean out any vinegar that was left behind. You may continue to see more crud come out into your filter, so you can put in a new one if you want. I don't use paper filters, so I only have the 3 that came with the machine. I didn't want to waste it, so I just cleaned out the filter basket after the two water-only cycles.
#8 - Run your coffeepot and filter basket(s) through the dishwasher.

Okay...so it may take you longer than 10 minutes...but it's worth it. =]

How I... Edit My Photos

I often receive comments/emails asking how I edit my photos or how I add my blog name to each photo. I used to use Picnik. I absolutely loved Picnik. I even paid for their premium service. But then Google closed them down. I found a replacement which is slowly getting better and better. It's called Pixlr Express. It doesn't take as long to load/edit the photos as Picnik did.

Here's an example of the process I go through to edit one photo. It takes me about 2-3 minutes to complete per picture.

#1 Open a photo. Pixlr gives you the option to open from your PC, a URL, or webcam.

#2 Under Adjustment, I resize my photos to make them the perfect size for my blog posts. I always set the width to 525 - it doesn't matter if the photo is landscape or portrait. When you change the width, it will automatically change the height for you. Changing the file size makes the pictures load a lot faster on a blog as well. After resizing, there's a button you can click that will automatically zoom your photo back in to the perfect viewing size. Then I use the Auto Fix option to change the color.

#3 I change the color effects next. I always use Sanna, found under Subtle.

#4 Next, I add a border. I use Normal under Rounded Corner.

#5 I add my blog name manually to each photo. I haven't found an easier way to do it yet, but it doesn't really bother me since I'm editing the photos anyways.

#6 After adding the text to the photo, I'm all done. I save the photo and then close it to start editing the next one.

Pixlr also has a full version online that is free to use. It appears to be like Photoshop and has more options for editing. I haven't used the full version yet, so I don't know how it all works or if it's any good. I'd imagine it probably is since their Express version is good.

How do you edit your photos?

Friday Favorites: Fonts - Part 8

I LOVE fonts. I use all sorts of fonts to create things for my classroom and to create my printables. Back in November and December I shared 30 of my favorites. I now have more to share. I'll be sharing a new batch of 10 weekly, until I run out of faves. I keep a list, similar to this one, in a Word document so I can see what the font looks like with the name of the font so I can easily see which font I want to use for each project. (Not all of the fonts listed below are free, but most are.)

 Elizabeth Skinny :: GeosansLight :: Impervious :: Irezumi :: LD Cotton Candy :: LD Elementary :: LD Hand :: LD Handy Hand :: LD Little Piggy :: LD Shelly Print

April Challenge: Coat Closet

This month's challenge is closets. I shared my "before" pictures on Monday. Some people commented/emailed me and said it doesn't look messy/unorganized. I wasn't insinuating that it was. My biggest issue is that my closets are currently not functional for our needs, not that they're messy/unorganized. I don't want anyone to be under the impression that I'm calling these pictures either of those things.

With that being said, here's my before picture for my coat closet. This closet functions as a space to hold jackets/hoodies, stockpiled items (laundry and cleaning supplies, dog supplies, flavored water [when we have it], etc.), winter accessories, tools, and extra folding chairs. For me (and my husband agreed), it felt too busy. Too much going on in here. We weren't able to keep up with a system for this closet because it's constantly changing - not that it's a problem for a closet to be like this, it just wasn't what we wanted.

While clearing things out of the closet, I found that we have an overstock of dog treats. I don't think we'll need to buy more for a year (at least). The dog treat container was getting low, so I decided to refill it.

Because we have a small dog, we give him small treats. Many need to be cut up. We mostly do this to save money. He only gets a treat when he comes inside if he goes to the bathroom.

I didn't do all of the bags, just two, but it filled up the container enough to last for a month or two.

I obviously have an addiction to candles, Wallflowers, oils, Scentsy, etc. {Am I really going to use all of this?} My box is overflowing.

I had an empty storage box under my bed which fits everything perfectly. These items are being relocated to under my bed.

Here are the insides of the baskets that sit on the top shelf (after they've been cleaned out/reorganized).

cleaning supplies

sports equipment/dog toy/baby supplies (for the future)

napkins/toilet cleaner/light bulbs (in the container)

Hanging on the door is an over-the-door shoe organizer. We use it for the following (see the image for the text).

Command strips

Here are some close-ups of the shelves.

Okay, so it doesn't look a lot different than the before photo, but I can definitely tell the difference. I got rid of a bag full of junk, relocated some things, and cleared out some coats for donation/to sell on eBay. It was hard for me to part with some of the coats...although I'm not sure why. I haven't worn them in the last year, hence why I'm getting rid of them. I know it's for the better. =]

If I were "allowed to", I'd paint the inside of the closet or stencil it to give it a nicer look, but our contact says we can't. Boo.

Do you have a coat closet/multipurpose closet that is driving you crazy? If so, your challenge this weekend is to clean it!