Where is the counselor sign?

Hello everyone! I can't believe I am starting my third week as a school counselor! It is so nice to finally be working and using everything I have learned. There are also so many things you can't learn until you are actually on the job. But considering I am coming in so late in the year I feel like I am doing pretty good. I love the children I work with. They are so sweet!

One of the things I knew I would need right away is a where is the counselor sign. The first week or so I was there I would just stick a post-it note on my door when I went out of the room. I started a pile of notes I was just trading out. Well I didn't like the way that looked. So it was time to put my craftiness to work! I saw a few on Pinterest but they just weren't want I was looking for. I also didn't want to spend a ton of time working on it. I wanted something that was not only easy to make but that also didn't take up alot of space and that I could flip around easily. I made the rectangle cards out of card stock I had in my scrapbooking stuff. Then I typed the words on a word doc. and printed them off. I used funky scissors to make it look fun. Glued it all together, laminated, and hole punched. So see the pictures below and I hope you get inspired to make your own :)

This is where I eat lunch when I actually have the chance to eat lunch with other teachers :)

The nice part about it being laminated is I can write on it with dry erase markers! 

New Job!

Wow I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted! I have been so slack this semester. I have thought about doing a blog post so many times but I have usually been too tired to mess with it once I have gotten home.

Well my internship is wrapping up. It has been such a good experience and I have been able to work with some great counselors. I learned a lot and was able to do a lot! It is sad leaving when you feel like you are finally getting a feel for the school and getting to know the staff. However, it leads to bigger and better things. Like a job! But more on that later. One of the things I have done during my internship is help make several bulletin boards. It makes me sad when they are empty or messy. Here are some of the ones I did.

I found this idea and all the materials for it online. Sadly I can't find what I did with the link.  I think if I redo this for elementary I will not have so much writing. But I still like it for middle :)

This is suppose to look like an ipod and have apps for different test taking tips. I thought it was an interesting idea. 

I made this one for the ISS room. I thought it would be good for the students to see while they sit there instead of class because of their behavior. 

So the past few weeks have been crazy because I got a job! As a school counselor! I had applied back in February and the principal at the middle school I had been at for internship called that principal on my behalf! I was called a while later and asked to come in for an interview and offered the job that day! Now before you get too excited it is only temporary until the end of the year. However, they are going to try and keep me and offer me the permanent job. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I have only been at the school for a week but so far I am really enjoying it. It was hard to leave the middle school early but I couldn't help but jump on this opportunity. 

Easy Meal for Lent! "Baked" Potato Soup

Hey everyone! I have managed to finally cook something new! Well I have been making it for several years but this is the first time since I started this blog I have made it. I made "Baked" Potato soup the other night for my parents and they LOVED it! It is so super easy! I actually found it in a magazine pull out. I am pretty sure it is an advertisement for a Southern Living Cookbook haha. But that doesn't really matter. All that matters is this is a yummy filling meal that is perfect to tweak for Lent or to be vegetarian friendly. The recipe calls to use chicken broth but if you are Catholic like me, or are vegetarian, you can use a vegetable broth instead and it is still just as good :)

"Baked" Potato Soup
Ingredients:

-6 Large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes- 1 large onion, chopped (about 1.5 cups)- 3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic (or vegetable broth)- 1/4 cup butter- 2.5 teaspoons salt- 1.25 teaspoons freshly ground pepper- 1 cup whipping cream or half and half- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese- 3 Tablespoons chopping fresh chives- 1 (8oz) container sour cream (optional)- 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled- Extra shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or on LOW 8 hours or until potatoes are tender. 
3. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, cheese, and chives. Top with sour cream if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and Cheddar cheese before serving. 

Where to start!

Hello world! I feel like the past couple post I have talked about how busy I have been. Well I have been busier than ever. I can't remember if I put on here that my parents sold my childhood home. They sold it the first day it was on the market! How crazy is that! The people who bought the house were nice enough to let us spend one more Christmas in the house and stay in the house until the end of January when the new house was ready to move into. My parents bought a new house in Holly Springs so it isn't too far from where we were before. I was really sad about the move at first because we had spent 20 years in that house and its the house I have almost all of my childhood memories in. Now we are in the new house and have been in here for a couple of weeks. It is finally starting to look and feel like home now that more and more of the boxes are getting unpacked. I know my parents will be glad when it is all unpacked and things they way they want.

To make things even crazier I have also started my school counseling internship at the middle school just down the road from the new house. I love my internship! I have been very thankful that I had a good school and a good group of counselors to work with. I have gotten to see and do so much already and I have only been there a little over a month. I wasn't sure how much I would really like middle school but I am quickly finding out that I do really enjoy it. Middle school drama and all. All of the things we remember about middle school are still going on and it seems that there is almost more drama thanks to new technology (mainly cell phones) and social media sites. I have been doing some lessons on cyber bullying with the 8th grade students. Really all of the students need to get this lesson because it is crazy how often we are dealing with kids cyber bullying each other. I feel bad for the kids who are bullied because even at home they can't get away. But that is why I am doing this job to help out the kids that need my help. I haven't started looking for jobs again yet so I need to get on that soon. I would be awesome if I could get a job lined up for next year. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

And to make things even crazier than that my middle sister Erin and her husband Jeff are going to have a baby boy at the end of this month! And on top of that they sold their house within the first week or so it was on the market so they need to find and move into a new house by the middle of March! So my family is all just a little crazy going a million miles a minute trying to have things ready and settled for Baby Parker to get here. We are all so excited for them as it is their first baby!

Ok enough about the crazy and a little about the fun that has been going on. I got on a major crocheting kick around Christmas and it honestly hasn't ended yet. I finished crocheting my blanket! I still have to tie off all the little strings but the hard part is done! I can't believe I finished it. When I started the blanket I honestly wasn't sure I would finish it. It is by far the biggest thing I have made. I can't wait to start on my next big project. I want to make my niece and nephew blankets. In the mean time I have been trying to make an infinity scarf but it is rather tricky and I can't find a pattern I'm totally in love with. I have made a coaster so far. I know not exciting but I needed a coaster for my new room.

As you can see the blanket is pretty big:)
I will post a better picture latter.

Here are the links I used for the two projects. I found both patterns on Pinterest of course :) What did I do before that website?! The blanket pattern came from Mam' Zelle Flo and it is a Diagonal Pattern. The coaster I made is a star stick that I learned from the Free Vintage Crochet website. They had a great video that was super helpful!

Here is the coaster with the star stitch patter. I used a pretty small crochet hook because I wanted it to be tight. I might try it will a bigger hook for a scarf soon.