Freebie Alert & Sale!!!! Plus Linkys Galore :)

Hi everyone,

Read below to find out what this is all about...

I've linked up today with a couple of great linkys!

First up we have...

Wanna know a few things about me? Good, because it's Let's Talk About Me Monday, where you get to meet the teacher (me).

1. I'm a newlywed! As you may, or may not know, I just got married in June of this year :) My husband and I have been together for 8 years (since I was 19!) but I feel like we are a new couple each and every morning I wake up next to his gorgeous face :). Our day was magical (it was in a castle) and one I will never forget.

2. I LOVE CATS. I'm not as "obsessed" as this one is...but my passion for them is up there. Or "out there" - however you look at it. I'm comfortable with my love for the feline. I love all animals, especially my fur baby Lucy (the yellow lab below)- but I'm definitely a cat person :)

3. I'm an self-proclaimed athlete. I don't know what a technical definition athlete is, but I think of myself as one. I am an avid soccer player and runner. I have been playing soccer for 20 years and am currently playing on two different women's leagues in Boston. I also love running races - the 10k is my favorite distance. I'm doing a triathlon with my step mom in 2015, for her 50th birthday and I can't wait to add that to my athletic resume!

4. Similiar to the fact above, I'm a huge outdoors person. Originally from North Dakota, I spent the majority of my days as a child running around on the prairie, climbing the pines in my back yard, and riding my horse Katie. My family spent many summers in Glacier National Park in Montana, at their Lake House, so I got my outdoor fix each and every summer day. I moved to Seattle to finish high school, where I skied the West for the first time (much different than the East!), went hiking weekly, and breathed the Pacific Northwest air every morning! The Northeast, where I currently live, is a nature-lovers dream - I go hiking every weekend in the fall, love camping, swimming, trail running, skiing and snowboarding, snowshoeing, waterskiing, paddle boarding, kayaking, you name it! Anything I can do to get outside, I will!

5. I have an unhealthy obsession with pickles. If I have a jar in the house, I eat the entire thing within 2 days! It's gross, bad, and amazing all at the same time. I have no shame - just a very salty tongue...

6. I just got a new job in the town where I live! I'm so excited to be teaching in the community where I live. The commute a'int bad either...

7. I'm not a big TV person. My husband has approximately 187 shows that he DVRs each week. I have 2: Zack Stone is Gonna Be Famous (hilarious show from the brilliant mind of comedian Bo Burnham) and Wilfred (Elijah Wood talking to a british man dressed up in a dog costume...doesn't get much better than that). Unfortunately, I heard both of these got canceled...so it means I'm back down to 0.

8. I met my father when I was 13. Yes...I know this is an odd one for many of you to hear. It's still a bit odd for me. It's a long story that I will save for another post, but overall, it was a nerve-racking, yet rewarding experience that not many people can say they've had.

9. I'm a major wildlife nerd. I'm obsessed with seeing wildlife, reading about seeing wildlife, watching videos and documents about others who have seen wildlife, and everything in between. I have bird-watching books (I'm the butt of many jokes in my circle of friends), obsessed with Grizzly bears, and spotting dolphins from the beaches near our house. Each and every time I see a hawk, I always screech and nearly scare my husband out of the car seat (he's usually driving...so this is bad). I can spot a tiny frog or cicada from a mile away, and seeing a blue jay is considered good luck (to me anyway). I said I'm not a TV person, but I will sit and watch Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel (my fave...though we don't get it anymore :( so sad), and the like for HOURS, on the days that I remember that we have a TV. I told you loved animals...

10. Despite being the animal-lover that I am, if I weren't a teacher, I would definetly try my hand at Stand-up Comedy. Not because I think I'm a particularly funny person, but because I'm self-loathing, critical, and raunchy - the makings of a true Stand-Up Comic, especially a female one! I'm also a huge comedy nerd - I love all things comedic, including Improv troupes (for which I used to be a part of), comedic essayists (David Sedaris is one of my faves), comedy clubs, and any dark comedy. I'm partial to comedians like Louis C.K., Bill Burr, & Marc Maron, to name a few. Their self-depricating, in-your-face style is refreshing and entertaining. I also love any musical comic (arguably an even LOWER form of expression than "regular" comedy), such as Bo Burnham (read above), Steven Lynch, and Lonely Island. Due to my facisnation with this culture and occupation, I think I was secretly meant to be a comic. As my mother often tells me, when I was 8, a woman at the grocery store told me I was a sweet girl, to which I responded "I don't want to be sweet, I don't want to be pretty, I want to be funny". That about sums it up :)

I'm have a 20% sale for the Top 5 Sellers in my TpT Store! Click the image above to check out the other bloggers who are also have sales in their stores. Check out the five items below that I have on sale!

Now for a Manic Monday Freebie...

Part II of my Teaching Reading series is devoted to word identification strategies and phonics knowledge. In preparation for that, which will be posted Monday, August 18th, I have created a freebie for you that connects with that presentation, and can also be used in your classrooms starting now! It is a Guided Reading Lesson Plan Template found here or by clicking the image below. To read Part I of this series, click here.

Thanks to Creative Clips and Teacher's Clipart for use of their fonts and graphics!

And finally...if you've stuck it out for this long... I have a surprise for you! I am putting my Kindergarten Daily Warm Ups for the month of September up for a FLASH FREEBIE!! Grab it now -it will only be up for free until 6 pm this evening. Confession: I'm trying build up the rating on this product, hence the flash freebie. I would really, really appreciate it you would leave feedback if you enjoyed this product, but please do not use the term "freebie" or "flash freebie" in the review.

Keep your eyes peeled for my October version, coming sometime this week (I'm just waiting for my husband to proof-read it for me!)


Cheers,