Blogging Resolutions and some Blog Hoppin Fun!

I know I'm breaking the 2 posts in 1 day rule, but I'm so excited to be back in the blogging world!  Today I'm linking up with Diane from Fifth in the Middle for her Blogging Resolutions and with Blog Hoppin' for their Welcome 2014 linky party!  

First up are my blogging resolutions:

Like I said, I'm excited to be back to blogging.  I have let it fall by the wayside since school started and I feel like that was a manifestation of my life.  I haven't been truly living, just merely existing...not doing things that make me happy, just doing the things I need to do to get by.  I won't be doing that anymore!  As part of Tara's 1 for Me linky, I said that I am going to make me a priority, which means doing things that make me happy.  Blogging makes me happy so I will be getting back to that on a consistent basis!

When I started blogging and reading blogs, I loved learning what other teachers were working on in their classes and what strategies and techniques I could incorporate into my classroom.  I need to make sure that I stay true to that and really focus on sharing content.  Now, I love a good linky party (as you can see by all the parties I've joined the last few days!), but I really want my blog to be a resource for me and others and a place I can look back and reflect on to see growth as a professional.

In order to post more content, I need to take more pictures and share what I'm doing in the classroom.  I treated myself to a new camera for Christmas, so I plan to keep my basic point and shoot in the classroom and strictly use it for classroom pictures.  This way there's no excuse for not capturing all the fun and learning I plan to have in my classroom in the coming months!

Finally, I want to make sure that I read more blogs and leave genuine comments.  I love getting comments on my blog and replying via email to keep conversations going with the people that take the time to stop by and say hi (as a quick side note, make sure you are not a no-reply blogger.  Sometimes it's hard to get back to the blog to comment on people's comments and I truly do like responding to comments, so please make sure your settings are correct so people can respond to you via email.  Jivey has a fabulous tutorial you can use HERE to make sure you are not a no-reply blogger!)  I plan to try to make at least 2-3 comments on people's blogs each day!

Next on the linky party train is Blog Hoppin's Welcome 2014!

Fun and family are 2 things that I will be working on this year!  

I have been blessed to be able to purchase Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm passes this year, and plan to get Sea World passes when they discount them for teachers.  I want to take mini vacations as much as possible to create memories for my family.  I also am saving up to go to San Diego as our major vacation this summer.

Also in terms of family time, I want to be more present with my family and not be so absent and focused on what I need to do for work and other things.

For fun, I want to up my "style" this year.  I've been in frumpy mode far too long!  I've cleaned out my closet of things I cannot or don't want to wear anymore and went shopping for some new clothes.  My goal is to be dressed in clothes that make me feel cute, as well as put on make up on a daily basis.  If you follow my on Pinterest, I've been pinning a lot to my "All Things Girly" board and am excited to utilize some of the make up tips I've found.

Who's ready to rock the new year!