I'm linking up again with Gina for Slim Down Saturday!

First, I want to thank everyone for their kind words last week.  I only had a small gain but it was so encouraging to hear everyone's words.  This is a journey and I'm in it for the long haul!

This week I had better results.  I'm not going to lie and say that I did everything right this week because I didn't, but I kept going.  My goal for this week is to enjoy the process.  The scale isn't the only measure of success.  I need to give myself props when I do the right thing and make good choices.  I know that in the end, each little choice will add up and work itself out.

If you're making healthy choices and trying to slim down, you should like up with Gina!  Let's me 2015 the year we all reach our health and fitness goals!

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Brandi

I'm linking up with Gina again for Slim Down Saturdays.

I was disappointed when I got on the scale this morning, but I realize that this is a journey and there will be bumps along the way.  It took me a while to gain this weight and I'm not going to lose it all in a week.  Like my quote says, I'm disappointed but won't get anywhere if I just give up.  And, in the grand scheme of things .6 isn't too bad.

Despite the gain, I am excited to say that I followed my work out plan all week!  I did PiYo in the morning and my Leslie Sansone walking in the evenings.  I love that both of these fit into my schedule.  I find it hard to carve out an hour at the end of the day to work out, but 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening is doable!

Unfortunately, my eating wasn't on point.  I did good with writing out my weekly plan, however I didn't stick to it once I got home from work.  My plan has me eating a meal around 3:30 pm when I get home and I need to make sure this meal is prepped and ready to go.  I also need to do better with my snacks and come up with more protein filled snacks.  Any ideas?

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Brandi

I'm back to link up with Gina for Slim Down Saturdays.  I love the motivation and accountabilty this linky provides.  If you're looking to lose weight or achieve fitness goals, you should stop by and link up.

I didn't lose anything this week, but I didn't eat completely on plan and I just started working out on Thursday.  I also started #3weeksnocheats on Thursday and so far so good.  

Positives: I started PiYo and am really enjoying it.  I plan to do it in the morning and get my walking in after school.  

Do Better: I need to make sure that I get in all of my water.  I have really been slacking with this over break and I see a difference in how I feel.  

Goal: My goal for the week is to follow the Shred eating plan.  I absolutely love this plan.  It focuses on meal confusion and meal spacing.  I'm eating healthy, real foods that make me feel great!  

Word: My word for this week is plan.  It's been great being home when I can make a meal when I feel like it, but with going back to work on Monday, I need to plan my meals and snacks ahead of time and get them prepped so I stay on plan all week.

Here's to a healthy lifestyle!

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Brandi

It's the end of the year which means resolutions and goal setting.  My two major resolutions/goals deal with my health/fitness and finances so I'm linking up with Gina at Teaching with a Touch of Pixie Dust and Jessica at Second Grade Nest to share my goals.

My goal this year in terms of eating is to follow Dr. Ian Smith's Shred diet plan.  I have done Dr. Ian's Extreme Fat Smash and lost weight, but I need to be able to follow a lifestyle plan that will help me make good choices that I can sustain from here on out.  For my exercise, I will be starting Chalene Johnson's PiYo and continuing with Leslie Sansone's walking DVD's.  I plan to link up with Gina weekly to share my progress on this journey.

Now on to Jessica's 2015 Resolutions Linky:

I want to go to the TPT conference this summer.  I read such wonderful posts about it and would love to meet up with some of the people I've connected with on this blogging and creating journey.

I feel like this is the year of me.  I have a lot of things that I will be accomplishing this year in my personal life.  The biggest is going to be losing weight and getting rid of debt.  I have a goal to lose 86 lbs.  I know it may take a while, but every day I plan to take a step in the right direction until I've met this goal.  I also will be paying off my car this year.  I plan to cut back on some frivolous things and put every extra little bit toward this loan so I can be debt free!

READ!!! I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas and have been reading for pleasure over the break. I want to continue doing this because I love reading and I know that it sets a great example for my daughter.

My first round of 3 weeks no cheats.  I will be pushing myself at the start of this year to be dedicated to my fitness and eating plan.  I have been very motivated by some fabulous bloggers and Instagrammers who have lost weight and I want to be a success right along with them.

Like my quote above says, "Dreams don't work unless you do", I'm off to plan and turn these dreams into a reality!

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Brandi

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!  I was able to spend it relaxing with my family just hanging out.  I've been seeing lots of bloggers link up with Deanna for this linky and I thought I would join in.  Here's my list of 10 things I hope to do this summer:

1. Workout--I really need to get active and eat right.  I have a lot of weight that I would like to lose, but more than that I need to be healthy.  I am almost done with Leslie Sansone's Walk it off in 30 Days.  I'm really loving her workouts and know I will stick with them.  I also love that my daughter enjoys doing some of the walking moves with me!

2. Fun with the kiddo--This is the last summer before my little girl starts kindergarten.  In some ways I'm ready for her to be challenged but I don't want her to grow up so fast!  She's only going to preschool half-day for 3 days a week so we'll have plenty of time for fun.

3. Day trips--Going along with #2, I plan to go to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and the beach as fun day trips.  I feel very blessed to be able take my daughter to amusement parks with our passes and not feel like we need to do everything to get our money's worth. 

4. Vacation--In addition to the day trips, we'll be going to Legoland California this summer!  My daughter is so excited and I've heard that Legoland is a good place to visit when they're smaller.  We'll be going for 2 days and I can't wait to get away! 

5. Professional Reading--I feel like my Amazon Wish List keeps growing and growing.  Here are some of the books that I will definitely be reading:

  

Other professional books that are on my list include

   

6. Fun Reading--I also want to read for fun.  A friend recommended the Divergent series.  Some friends and I are planning to see Wicked when it comes to LA this winter, so I was also thinking of reading that series.  Any other good reads?  My last for fun book was the 50 Shades trilogy (no judgement please) so I need something new!

7. Blog--I go through these spells where I don't blog for months or so at a time.  I'm trying to do better at being more consistent and summer's as good a time as any to start!

8. Create--My creative juices have been flowing, but I haven't been creating and posting things.  I have a ton of ideas on paper and some half started projects that I'm ready to buckle down and finish.

9. Sleep--My list so far seems so long, but I know that I need to take some time for me to relax, unwind, and rejuvenate

10. Get ready for next year--This is for my classroom and as a mom.  I don't know what grade I will be teaching, but I will be back at my current school.  As soon as I find out, I know I'll be itching to buy, create, and prep for the year.  I also am excited to get my daughter ready for kindergarten.  She's so excited and I can't wait for her to start this adventure!

Now I'm off to see what everyone else is up to!

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Brandi

I'm a few days late linking up with Gina from Third Grade Tidbits for

Like many, I have health and fitness related goals for the new year.  I blogged about some of them HERE.  I know that the more I put my goals down in writing and all around me, the more I will keep with them and make sure that I accomplish them.  I will be linking up weekly with Gina to share my progress and encourage and motivate others!

Ultimate goal:  I want to lose 90 lbs.  I know that will not come off overnight.  My short term goal is 60 by my birthday (October) and then I will reassess.

Positives from the week:  I have made my meal plan (dinners) for the next 4 weeks.  I'm excited to have a plan and to know what's for dinner so I don't get home from work and snack mindlessly or worse, pick up fast food!

Something to do better: I'm ready to start my exercise!  Leslie Sansone and I will be walking together daily!

Goal for next week: I know I need to do better at drinking water.  I don't drink soda often because I don't buy it, but I drink a lot of juice.  Me and H2O from now on...with some occasional juice.

One word: Lifestyle--this is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change.  This is how I want to live my life to set an example for my daughter and to be healthy.  I will keep it in perspective and enjoy things in moderation.

In teaching news (since one of my blogging resolutions was to blog about more content), I'm linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for

One of the things that's been working really well in my classroom is partnering up.  I've done the clock times before where students make "appointments" to work with people for different hours on a clock.  In my classroom, I've added to this by making Pair Up sheets.  It's the same premise as the clock partner, but there are different themes.  I have one for sports, colors, candy, fruits, veggies, and universities.  I rotate them each week.

My kiddos love seeing what type of partner they will have during the week.  Each sheet has 8 spaces and I make sure I get to each during the week (we don't do all 8 in one day!).  My favorite is the sports sheet, because I'll digress about what's happening in sports, but my kids love the candy one.  Who wouldn't want to work with their Kit-Kat partner?

You can find them in my TpT store by clicking HERE.

How do you pair your students up?

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Brandi