So... I have not posted about my journey. Oops!

It has been pretty great! I am very happy with my progress. So far I have lost 80 pounds! I still want to lose about 20 more, but that is all on me. I am getting more lax with my eating, so I have to ramp that back up again.

Here is my journey in pictures.

I am feeling great and am so much happier!

I would not look any other brand of oils topically or internally. You can check out Young Living's Seed to Seal website to learn why I trust them above all others.

That incision is healing better and looks more like the other now.

Speaking of incisions... I have 6. Three are tiny, two are about an inch long, and the last one is about 2 inches long. Surprisingly, they don't really hurt all that much. I am mainly hurting inside.

I was expecting it to get better over the last few days, but I am staying at a pain level of 2-3. Bummer.

I go back to the doctor on Monday, to have the staples removed. I will write again then!

Two words: Liquid. Diet.
​Oh man.
I started the full liquid diet on Monday September 21, 2015. I was able to eat creamy soups, drink my protein drinks, plenty of water, and sugar-free, organic applesauce. Monday and Tuesday were SO HARD! After that, it wasn't bad. I was very surprised.

That Saturday was the biggest challenge because I went to a friend's little girl's birthday and had to say no to all the food. Then I had "lunch" with my family and had to say no to creamy spaghetti, garlic bread, and sweet tea. Ugh. My consolation prize was a short shopping spree at CostCo for my Premier Protein drinks, buying a robe and slippers for the hospital, and then getting Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden for dinner that night. (I only had the broth.)

On Sunday, after church, I went up to school to get everything ready to be out for 4 days. Yikes!

We arrived at 5:45, I was immediately checked in, paid the bill, had blood drawn, and was lead back to pre-op. I was sitting in a hospital bed with an IV by 6:30. We were pretty impressed. My husband and mom were there with me.

I learned that the doctor had found a possible hernia at the end of my esophagus, so they would correct that during the procedure. News to me. That bothered me, but I was ok.

8:00am I was ready to go back.
8:22am I looked at the clock after I moved over to the operating table and then I was out.
      Dr. Chan came in and placed a filter to catch any blood clots that might form since I am predisposed to them.
     Dr. Brewer came in and did the gastric bypass procedure and repaired the hernia.

I'm not sure what time they finished or when exactly they brought me up to my room.

The rest of that day is very fuzzy.A jumble of family, pressing the pain medicine button, getting up to walk in the hall, and worrying about my IV. It kept kinking and then he machine would beep incessantly.

I made my husband and mom go home during the night to get some sleep. I flipped channels, had the nurse help me up, go to the restroom, walk the halls, then get back in bed. I would doze in between.

I am SO EXCITED!

I am going to YL's biggest event of the year in 2 days!

AHHHHHHHH!

I will post all about it when I get back.

In the mean time, if you are interested in finding out more about "those oils" people are using, go HERE.

This is such an important part of the economy system.
Student salaries do not cover all the rent and utility bills students must pay every month. (More on that later.) So... students must work hard to get bonus money throughout the month.

I printed $50, $100, & $500 bills from MyClassroomEconomy.org. Easy!

I have the cash on hand and pass it out throughout the day. Sometimes I will explain why I am handing out bonuses and sometimes I won't. It just depends on the situation. Give a student $100 for a good answer, and you will love all the hands that start going up!

In the past, I have collected application and made job placement decisions overnight. Then I let students know what jobs they got the next day. After reading through several posts on classroom economies, I think conducting interviews will be worth the time.


I want to be more intentional about it this year and take the time to get to know my kids in this way from the beginning. It will be good to have some one-on-one time that second week of school with each kid.

I am planning on setting a 5 minute timer for each interview. I will probably do these during independent work time that second week. Or maybe during lunch. I haven’t decided.

Beginning your classroom economy with an application process sets the tone. I love all the real world applications this entire process has for our kids!

The application process:

• demonstrates the importance of contributing to your community
• stresses the need for income
• has the kid focus on their strengths
• gets the parents involved
• opens up the conversation to things like references and past job experience

It's that time... the middle of July. Time to start thinking about the upcoming school year and making plans. Since I am not sure how we are teaming or what I will be teaching, I have decided to focus on classroom management for now.

Last year, I focused on using Class Dojo and it worked pretty well. But this year I am going back to my classroom economy. I got so much wonderful feedback from students and parents that I think it is worth going back to it.

Have you heard of bible journaling? 

I came across this amazing way to study and meditate on God's word on Pinterest. I really want to spend more time reading and learning scripture, so I was looking for ideas on Pinterest, because that is what I do!

I am not good at drawing or lettering, so I have been practicing. There are lots of fun videos on YouTube on lettering and drawing banners.

My first few tries are not perfect, but I am not going for perfect. They are making me very happy!

I came across a pin on Pinterest that inspired me to create my own desktop calendar.

Mrs. Harris shared her desktop calendar on her BLOG.

I got the Calendar image from the 3AM Teacher on TPT. You can get it HERE.

I changed the Page Setup in PowerPoint to make it the same as my desktop resolution.

I have not blogged for almost a year... I have missed it, but my year just was conducive to blogging.

I think it is fitting to return by participating in a Currently by Oh' Boy 4th Grade. I have always loved these linky parties!!!