Cincinnati Blogger Meet-Up & Formative Assessment Jot Spots!

Friends, I was the mayor of Crazy Town this past week.  For real.  There were not enough hours in the day, and now that I finally have time to catch my breath and “catch up”, we lost an hour today.  Go figure! 🙂   I was out of the building two days last week, so my routine was completely out of sorts, and I am a creature of habit. I am ready to get back into the swing of things tomorrow and dig a little deeper  with our current main selection, “Fly, Eagle, Fly!” I’ll be back in a few days to share some of our activities, but let’s get down to agenda item numero uno for today, shall we?  We had a Cincinnati Blogger Meet-Up yesterday, and it was fantabulous!  Seriously, so much fun! 🙂

I headed down to Cincinnati on Friday afternoon, because I am NOT a morning person.  I would not be a fun person to be around if I had to wake up and drive four hours to meet up with everyone for lunch.  I know my shortcomings, and that is one of them. I am basically zombified when I have to wake up before my internal clock tells me that it’s time to wakey-wakey.  I prefer to wake up slowly and take my good ole’ time.   I also require a minimum of eights hours of sleep to operate.  Hence the Friday  drive.  I feel like I was doing everyone else a favor.  Ha!

Of course, I also thought I was so smart to leave at 3:30 after I left a doctor’s appointment, and that turned out to be a big fat mistake.  By the time I hit Columbus, it was RUSH HOUR.  It was zero-percent fun.  My four hour drive was much closer to a five hour drive by the time it was all said and done.  Gotta love stop & go traffic.  In the end, it was all WORTH IT though!

I spent a nice relaxing evening in the hotel room.  I fired up a little Phillip Phillips, drank a little Earl Grey, and worked on a few Easter centers before calling the hubs to talk a bit before bed.   Then, I woke up the next morning, started getting ready, worked on my centers a little more, had more tea, and had an impromptu photo shoot out of boredom.  Inspired by THE Babbling Abby, of course.  Yes, I am moderately embarrassed sharing my shameless selfies with you, but really, this is why I should never be left alone by myself for too long.  Plus, I didn’t have access to the Internet in my hotel room, and the cable signal was wonky, so what’s a girl to do?!  I am a social creature, and I start to crack if I go too long without talking.   Enter Exhibit A and B.  🙂  They totally take me back to my MySpace days in college.  Oh my word.

Um, yes.  I did, in fact, photograph my computer and tea.  Further proof that I am a big NERD.  🙂  As if you needed any more proof!  I am hoping to wrap this packet up today!  Fingers crossed!!!!

Let’s see, eventually I made it out of my hotel room, and I ventured out into civilization again. Before heading to the restaurant, I decided to make a quick trip to IKEA.  I had never experienced IKEA before, so that’s why I mistakenly thought a “quick trip” was possible.  Goodness!  I had no idea that IKEA is like a labyrinth.  At first, I was excited, but then I started to realize that I could be late to the party if I didn’t pace myself.  So, I basically started to speed walk through the crowds… weaving in and out… saying “Excuse me” every other second.  About half-way through the store, I started thinking, “Oh my goodness, if there is a fire, I am going to be trampled, and I will die here.”  Ha!  Again, always the optimist!  🙂  I’m not dramatic or anything!!! Bahahaha!  Seriously though, by the time I saw the light reflecting through the windows, I was literally ecstatic!  I picked up cute little numbered containers for school, and I bought two potted plants for my house.  I was out the door, and I didn’t even crack $20.00, but that’s probably because I had tunnel vision, and I just wanted to get the heck out of there.  I have decided to go back again during the summer on a weekday to maximize my IKEA experience.  I think we could really get along.  I think I could fall in love.  Just not on a Saturday afternoon!

I dashed out of IKEA, and I was in such a big hurry that I almost tried to get into the wrong black Rogue.  Oops!  That could have been embarrassing! 🙂  Luckily, I noticed the baby stuff in the backseat, and I continued on to the next row where my car was waiting for me…welcoming me back like an old friend.  Champps was really close to IKEA, so I made it there with plenty of time to spare.

I LOVED meeting up with old bloggy friends and making new ones too!  🙂  Every single person there was SO sweet, genuine, and fun to hang out with.  I think we were there for about five hours… gabbing incessantly!  I’m hoping this becomes a tradition, even though I am not a fan of the drive.  Like I said before, it was worth it!  🙂  It’s always fun to connect with ladies who have some of the same passions and hobbies.  🙂   Aren’t these cupcakes just adorable too?!  Rebecca organized everything, and all of the details were just absolutely precious!

In other news, I just HAVE to share my Sticky Note Jots Spots: Formative Assessments for the Common Core!  I am SO excited to use them with my kiddos!  I have had so much success with my comprehension set, that I just KNEW I could create resources that would make formative assessments FUN!  Who says that assessments have to be boring?!  🙂  This time around, I created formative flaps too, just in-case you’re ever running low on Post-Its!

Lastly, I wanted to update you on the status of my blog.  My blog basically kicked the bucket,  and I haven’t been able to resuscitate it.  It’s a long, complicated story.  So, I just wanted to let you know that I am currently working with a blog designer to fix the appearance of the blog.  I am  hoping that this will be a positive change that will help make my blog a little more user-friendly, so I am really excited about it!  Thanks for bearing with me during this transitional time!  I am hoping to have it fixed sometime this week!  🙂  Fingers crossed!!!! Happy Sunday!