Passionate for Post-Its

It's arrived. The restlessness that comes with being home on vacation for week upon week. I'm not complaining, I have whole-heartedly enjoyed my summer vacation, but I am just beginning to feel the itching to go back to work. There is only so much cooking, blogging, relaxing, reading, and organizing a girl can do! Of course there are a few things on my to-do list that I am getting quite skilled at ignoring.

1. Dry clean Fall/Winter clothing. Blah.

2. Publish Fast Forward. Poop.

3. Write new play. Ugh.

It's far too easy to procrastinate when it's a million degrees outside (okay, okay, just 100) and the very thought of going to the mailbox makes me start sweating. That just can't be healthy.

Yesterday, to get my teacher fix, I went to Office Depot and frolicked around the aisles for a good hour. Unfortunately, I found the Post-It aisle, where I did some serious damage. I get VERY excited about new binders, page protectors, dividers, and post-its. I had better be in the right profession, because this is just sick. I appeased my conscious by reminding myself that we claim these expenses on our taxes and will get the money back soon. Just gotta remember to file that receipt away in case Big Brother comes a-knockin'. Here is a picture of my booty.

The blue binder is labeled "Recipes" because this will act as my new storage system for keeping my recipes in one place. I loaded up on page protectors so all I have to do is print/tear/steal a new recipe and slip it into my binder. I labeled the sections Poultry, Beef, Salads, Sides, and Desserts. I feel like these are our staples, and I can easily fit any of our dishes into these categories.

On a side note, last night I made Chicken Tortilla Soup, courtesy of AllRecipes.com and it was scrumptious! I never seem to have luck when I cook at other people's houses, but when I'm just feeding myself and Matt in our own kitchen - oh, man, it's good. I'm like the the woman who can juggle when no one is watching, lol. So unfair!

Our meal planning has been going very well and I've been shuffling things around since we didn't eat at home very much last week. Tonight is British Breakfast - something Matt has been looking forward to all month. I have TJ's Apple Chicken Sausage, eggs, baked beans, toast, and tomato all ready to go. Maybe we can have some Harrod's tea with the dish - perfection!

Anyway, back to my teachy-dork-out. I bought some Post-Its that are in the designs of flowers, apples, and stars. This year, I'm going to label each student's desk with a taped down Post-It so I can divide the kids into groups faster. Tons of teachers do this, but I've always resisted because it can be some upkeep. They pick at the tape, write obscene messages (bad idea, I have a seating chart, duh) and force me to replace them constantly. But, it would be so easy the first day of school to say, "Hi Joey, your desk will have a yellow star and the number 3". I'll give it a go, and if it doesn't work, I'll do something different 2nd nine weeks. That's the beauty of teaching, if it doesn't work, pitch it out, and do it differently next time.

I know I'm ready to go back because I'm daydreaming about the first day of school. I bought another new binder to keep my agenda and lesson plans inside. Every year I start out clean, organized, and motivated. I know by November I'll be praying for a break and longing for my summer at the beach. But, I'm curious who will come through my classroom door on September 8th, and how this new group of kids will be. Teachers can have the best laid plans in the world, but the kids are the ones who ultimately decide.