Happy Fall, Y'all! Sale, Giveaway & Meet-Up!

Today is the first official day of Fall! In honor of this day, Casey at Second Grade Math Maniac decided to host a LARGE TPT sellers sale! She worked out a ton of details and was able to get OVER 50 sellers to participate. AKA this sale is HUGE. Each seller is holding this Fall sale with up to 20% off at their stores! At the bottom of this post, there's a linky with EACH seller participating. Make sure you check out all the stores & score some good deals!

I have a few products that I'm really proud of. I've got my Monster Themed Coupon Set with clipart from Melonheadz Illustrating.

I also have many varieties of my Ultimate Teacher Planner, but my favorite is the black and coral damask!

Finally, I've recently created my Student Word Wall Book that could be INCREDIBLY useful when you have those students coming up to ask how to spell the same word each and every time!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway that will end on Wednesday! You could win your own binding machine OR a $30.00 gift card! Get to entering!

ALSO - the sign up for the Ohio Blogger Meet-Up is still going strong! You've got a little while longer to sign up - we'd LOVE to see you there!

Check out the list of sellers below and get to shopping!

Wait, TWO Giveaways?!

Okay, I know some of you have been patiently waiting for this post to come about.. well, here it is!

I was contacted by MyBinding.com to review some sort of awesome tool. I chose to review the Book Binding Machine since I already have a great laminator and a paper cutter. I also have been interested in a machine to make books for my future students rather than just putting a paper clip on the top or stapling the edges and being faced with crumbled papers. SO, I asked to review the binding machine!

This huge box showed up on a rainy day. I actually missed it walking inside the house because it was off to the side... but I was expecting something so I went back outside to check for it. Low and behold, there it was!

I cut open the box and was faced with this. WHAT?! Did I really just get my own binding machine to make books, calendars, etc.?! AND the box came with tons and tons and TONS of supplies like binding combs, clear covers, AND embossed paper? Yes, yes, I did.

So, I decided to break it out and play with it some! It's a pretty lightweight machine that's REALLY simple to use once you get the hang of it. It being my first time using it, I actually followed the directions. But, now that I know what to do, it's as easy as pie! The BIG gray handle is the hole puncher (in a sort of way). There's a little gray sliding tool on the top there to the right, that's the lock. So, the machine locks and unlocks for safety. Definitely a good idea, in my opinion, so that things don't get punched that you'd prefer not to get punched!

You unlock the machine and the gray handle pops up to allow for you to insert sheets of paper to be punched. I used my Student Word Wall Book as a sample for this project to see how it works. The only thing I didn't like about this part is that I could only fit 8 pages in at a time... kind of disappointing BUT it works great nonetheless! Since my document had a total of 17 pages, I just had to punch through twice. When you're punching through, it sounds like the machine is breaking BUT do not worry. This is good! The handle also does not pop back up by itself.. you have to pull it. You should have seen me trying to figure out how to get the handle back up... what a concept to just pull back up!

Once you've got your holes in, now it's time to set up your comb. The comb confused me at first, too (you'd think I had not experienced anything in life before with me trying to figure out this machine?!). Anyways, you set the comb up so that the teeth are closer to you than the machine (see picture below). You have to physically push the two levers on the side of the machine to spread the comb open (bottom picture), but it's much MUCH easier than sitting there trying to open each tooth to separate it from the continuous spine (does that make sense?). I absolutely love the ease of this step, as it only took me about 30 seconds to do.

Then, place your product on the combs so that each tooth has gone through each sheet of paper. This step has to be possibly the easiest, yet most frustrating, step. I have an issue with things having to go on at the SAME time, so if some of the pages missed some of the teeth, I made myself start all over again. BUT this step is the easiest, so don't over think it like I did!

AND voilà! There you have it. You've made a book in as short as 1 minute. Once you've got things figured out, you'll whip out your books in no time. These are also going to be very helpful when you need to make books for your students to take home for presents, to give to your parents as a thank you gift, and so forth. There are MANY different things you could use this binding machine for, and guess what?

MyBinding.com is giving one of you, my readers, a chance to win your own!

Please enter the Rafflecopter below to have a chance at winning your own Binding Machine with supplies, FREE! Isn't MyBinding.com so generous to be doing this?!

You must do all the required entries. They WILL be verified. If you do NOT complete something that is required, and your name is drawn at the end, you will be disqualified. HONOR SYSTEM, Y'ALL!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ALSO: At the same time, I'm hosting another giveaway for hitting 300 AND 400 followers! Please enter the giveaway below for a gift card from me for $30.00. The gift card will be of YOUR choice, all for hitting 400 followers on this little blog of mine

Examples could be Starbucks, Target, TPT, TN, Etsy, Applebees, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, whatever you'd like (that I am able to either buy online OR go to the place and buy).

RULES ARE SAME AS ABOVE. Must complete all required entries. Entries will be verified. HONOR SYSTEM, Y'ALL.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

*All opinions expressed on this post are of my own. MyBinding.com supplied me with free products, but opinions are 100% my own.*

PS. Don't forget about the Ohio Blogger Meet Up! It's happening on Sunday, October 7th, 2012! We'd love to have as many of you that would like to join! Goody bags, good conversation, and new friends!

Have a good night, y'all!

Spread the Polish (swap)!

Link up time for the Spread the Polish Swap! I had possibly the sweetest partner and she TRULY knew what I wanted. Allow me to introduce you to Heidi. She blogs over at Mustache Mama. Y'all will love her - go stop by & say hi!

Anyway, with this swap, we were asked to send two polishes to our partner of our choice with their recommendations/favorites included. Well, Heidi said she LOVED anything that was shimmery. Well, that could take various routes, so I chose to do something with glitter. I truly hope she loved it!

On my end, I said that I love reds and corals and oranges... if you know me, you know that this is absolutely true. Heidi did an AMAZING job at choosing out my colors... I'm not kidding. AMAZING.

She sent me one nail polish by Sally Hansen and one by Sinful Colors. The one by Sally Hansen is called Racey Rouge. The one by Sinful Colors is called Hazard.

I think between the two, my favorite is the Hazard! The color is just perfect... peach! I painted my toes with it and it has yet to chip ANYWHERE. Obviously, I don't put my feet through as much as I do my hands, but I ALWAYS have color on my toes. But for this, I painted my fingernails, too. The Sinful Colors dried so fast and only needed two coats to look perfect.

Don't mind how long my nails are... they need to be cut!

She also sent the cutest notepad paper with the polishes (and she has really pretty handwriting!). Isn't she adorable!?

Heidi, you did an awesome job!! :)

That's all I've got for ya. Head over to Carly or Rachel's blog to check out all the other nail polishes people received to see if you can find something you like, too!

Have a good day, y'all!

Sunday Social & Giveaway Announcement

Sunday Social time!

1. 5 items you cannot live without on a daily basis (water, food, shelter, & clothes do not count).
iPhone & Mac, Socks, television, blankets, and my wallet. iPhone & Mac are always on me. If I didn't have Socks to follow me around all day, I wouldn't know what to do. I watch TV like it's my job. You will hardly EVER catch me without a blanket. I carry my wallet everywhere since it's basically my lifeline (chapstick, credit/debit card, stamps, pens, etc).

2. All time favorite book & why.
I think my all time fav is probably The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I loved this book because it was written in the perspective of a dog and what a dog might be thinking on a daily basis. It was also probably one of the saddest, yet most heartfelt, books I've ever read.

3. Something you'd like to accomplish by the end of 2012.
I hope to have read a total of 10 books on my book list. I've got SOOO many that they just keep piling up and I need to just read them :)

4. If you could go back and relive any year of your life, which year would it be?
I'd relive my senior year of high school, so 2008. This was when I was graduating one school to go off to another school. I was just starting to date Cody, Daddy was still alive, and I had THE best friends a girl could ever have.

5. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them?
I hate hate HATE when people break a promise. If you break it once, fine. But twice, your word is no longer good to me. I'll, of course, be nice to you, but I won't trust anything you ever say again after that!

Giveaway will be posted Tuesday - hope you're ready for it! :)

PS. Have you checked out the Ohio Meet Up yet?! Click below for more information.

Have a good day, y'all!

Are You An Ohio Blogger? Ohio Blogger Meet-Up!

Hi everyone! Quick post to let you know about a blogger meet up that's going to happen in Ohio! Two fantastic women and myself are putting together an Ohio Blogger Meet Up. Want to know some details? Keep on reading!

Thank you to Nancy for making this fantastic button! I love it so much!

HOSTS: Nancy from Joy of Kindergarten, Debbie from Rainbows Within Reach, and myself (Sara)

WHAT: Blogger meet up for anyone from Ohio (or anywhere else, really!)

WHEN: Sunday, October 7th, 2012 at 1:00 PM

WHERE: Panera at Mill Run (Columbus) - 3625 Fishinger Road, Columbus, OH 43026

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO: RSVP on the form below (click the link) and show up to have a good time with other bloggers! Don't worry about anything else - leave it to us!

ANYONE from Ohio that blogs can come to this, not just educators or mommy bloggers or fashion bloggers. So, if you're from Ohio, sign up! I promise you'll have a blast and we're going to have some fantastic conversation! There might also be a swag bag involved ;)

Also at this meet up - we'll hand out a list of bloggers and their information (blog names & links as well as social media links) so everyone can stay in touch after the meet up! Please input whatever information you're willing to share on the RSVP form!

Click here to RSVP :)

That's all I've got for now... my life seems to be taking over my hobbies - Pinterest and blogging. I'm busy as butt with schoolwork and with teaching. These next 4 days are going to KILL me. I'm certified to teach PreK-5, yet I'm going to be teaching 9-12 Social Studies! Am I crazy? Possibly! But, I love teaching anywhere.

This weekend, I'll have something FUN up. A giveaway, perhaps :)

Have a good night, y'all!

WHOA! Swamped.

Good golly, Molly! I have been on the move NONSTOP for the last week! While I was in North Carolina, I didn't blog one bit! But, I spent time with lover boy aka Cody! It was really, really good to see him. November 2nd cannot come fast enough :) We stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast. The place was absolutely GORGEOUS and we really had great weather (except for the picture below.. in the morning, it was cloudy but by noon, sunny & hot). This trip couldn't have been better!

Oh, hi boyfriend!

Front view of the house.

View from the side.

Carriage house and pool house - we stayed in the pool house (there on the left)!

Little gazebo/tent thing out back - it was lit up at night.. sooo pretty!

The pool, which we could see from our window :)

Back of the house.

I would ABSOLUTELY stay there again... but I'd love to try out a different room... maybe in the main house! :)

I started my Master's program on Tuesday! It's INCREDIBLY overwhelming and I am already ready for the semester to be over.... is that bad to say?? There's just so much work for these 4 classes and it's all online... with a new system... and I'm constantly tired/lazy so I've got to pump myself up and get myself back in the groove of school without procrastinating. I've gotten bad with that word...

Those calendars are just a GLIMPSE into my life for the next three months. That's all the school work I have. That doesn't include volunteering I'm going to do throughout the week or the sub jobs I'll get.... UH, can you say busy!?

Over this weekend, I've got tonight to do some work (boo), tomorrow to do some more work (boo), and Sunday to hang out with family that's coming in town! But, tomorrow I'm also going out for a friend's 21st! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTIN! Cannot wait to see my girls and have a good night out with the 4 of us :)

I also subbed today - where? High school art. WHAT!? It was rough, but I remember being in high school and the feelings these kids have (moody, tired, want to talk to my friends, etc etc etc). So, I totally understood where they were coming from but I still had to have them do work. Sorry kiddos! I have never had so much exposure to design elements, design balance, or how to make a ceramic pot. We watched videos all day... not exactly my cup of tea, but hey - you gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm going to learn how to sew so I can make these. Just sayin'. They're hot/cold rice packs. How cute would these be to give as gifts for Christmas to students or to families? I love them. And I love heating pads - perfect for your hands on a cold fall or winter night at those football games!

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Alright... that's all I've got. If you've read along until here... yay for you! You'll wanna come back next week for a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY. I can't tell you what it is just yet... but I'll be giving away something(s) amazing after I've given you my take on it/them. I just have to find time to get it/them outta the box & use it/them. WOOHOO!

Have a good weekend, y'all!