Um, want to win $50 to Target?

This post is short, sweet, and ends with $50 to Target. Someday my life will slow down for half a second, but in the meantime, I am loving it. And the end of the school year is in sight!

In the meantime, watch this 30-second video. Jason cracks up the ENTIRE TIME, every time :)


Here's the deal. Talisha from Reupena Household has been one of my fave sponsors of all time. She's darling,  positive, and her tweets about me make my day (basically it's one big self-esteem builder!). Her blog exudes that same positivity, but coupled with a touch of humor. I loved her recent how NOT to post, and she writes about her boys in the most beautiful way (loved her honesty about motherhood here). And did I mention her husband is a real-life hip hop artist??

And then she volunteered to host a giveaway (Target! $50!).

So we made it simple. Leave a comment for each entry (winning entry will be verified). Giveaway ends one week from tonight. Winner will receive a $50 gift card to Target!

1 entry each:

like Talisha's facebook page

follow Talisha on twitter

follow Silver Lining on bloglovin

like Silver Lining's facebook page

Comment away, and be sure to stop by Talisha's blog!

Meet-up Tonight! (+ Imagine Dragons)

First things first. Blogger meet-up tonight! Meet at the uppermost pavilion of Rock Canyon Park at 7:30. Lemonade, picnic blankets, cookies. Some of my favorite local bloggers will be there, and I'm excited.

Secondly, I went to see Imagine Dragons last night. Such a high-energy, amazing show (there's still a ringing in my right ear, which I take as a sign of success). Although I kind of feel like I gave myself the worst wife ever award (a cliche I swore I'd never use on this blog). You see, I got these tickets for Sam for his birthday. Everything was awesome until Sam came down with a terrible headache (his only migraine since we've been married. He's not a migraine guy.). None of our friends could take the tickets, so the next thing I knew Sam had called and arranged for me to go with my brother. So I went, leaving my husband at home with a migraine on what should have been his birthday outing. I felt kind of guilty, but at the same time... it was a pretty incredible concert.

P.S. Last night we discovered Jason at the top of the driveway, out with his telescope at midnight. I'm not sure if we should be mad that he snuck out, or proud that he's so passionate about something and literally can't sleep thinking of it. The views he was getting of Saturn didn't suck either.

from earlier that day

Other than that, school (and life outside of school) is still crazy non-stop until the end of the year. The things that occupy my time, however, are fun and fulfilling. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I get to see my little brother for the first time in two years this Friday. So excited.

And that concludes my random updates.

See you tonight?

I'm scared of summer break

from last summer

To tell you the truth, I'm kind of scared of summer break.

I'm the type of person that needs to be busy. I don't know if I was born that way or if I made myself that way, but having nothing to do is AMAZING - for a week or so. Then, I start to get nervous and antsy and I overeat and feel weird that I'm not scheduled for at least 10 hours each day. Also, I want to be a contributor. My paychecks keep coming all summer, but I still want to use my extra time to contribute a little more financially. Or just to have more money to spend at Target, to which I'll inevitably be making daily trips this summer :)

(Is this normal? Or does it mean I'm some sort of weird, high-stress, type A, can't-relax personality? And the biggest revelation of all - I'M TURNING INTO AN EXACT COPY OF MY DAD.)

So here are the things I want to do this summer. For my sanity, mostly. Also, I sometimes forget that relaxing IS doing something, and I can feel productive about doing things I enjoy.

• read one book a week (that's a minimum of 13 books)
• get a 10ish hour per week small job (I think I almost have one down. But in the meantime - anyone want a private tutor for their kids this summer?)
• exercise 5 times a week (so excited to have more time for this)
• reorganize all cupboards and closets 
• help Jason with merit badges (scouting... yay...)
• finish a few big projects for my classroom next year
• get a good tan, dang it
• go on a few vacations (if I had my way, Sam and I would be touring the U.S. all summer)
• spend more time blogging and building blogging relationships
• lose the last 15 pounds (I'm over halfway there!)

And there you have it. What's on your summer list?

And how crazy am I for not being able to do nothing for too long?
Although, looking at these pictures from last year,
summer might not be so bad after all :)

distracted.

The end of the school year is one big race. I should be putting together my students' portfolios, and getting the last of their grades entered and moving my classroom to the newer one around the corner. We're doing dance festivals and field days and end of year projects all day long.


But I'm feeling a little distracted. Turns out teachers get as stir crazy as their students as soon as testing ends (which was yesterday afternoon, and oh boy, it's been rough ever since!). I'm kind of ashamed to admit this, because aren't teachers supposed to be maximizing every second of education?


I even have a million almost-done blog posts, but I can't bring myself to spend 5 minutes and publish them.  You know that work-avoidant, can't concentrate feeling?


So instead you get a few pictures from my walk with Sam tonight.  Because the best thing to do when you're feeling distracted is to ignore everything you have to do and go for a walk :)

P.S. When school ends, my best teacher friends and I are getting in a car and going on a teacher vacation. I'm. So. Excited. A few days in a nice house by a pool, shopping and sleeping in and doing anything BUT getting up early and taking care of kids.

How bad is it that I want summer to come as much as my students?

Is there a cure for the end of year cabin fever?

And I know, I know, 

in two weeks I'll be posting about how sad I am that it's over. 

But in the meantime...