Avoiding Heartbreak and Confused Lovin'

Today, I'm hoping to help you avoid a heartbreak on July first and clear up a little Blog Lovin' confusion you might be running into.

I know you've heard a few times about Google Reader ending July 1st. What does this mean for blog fanatics?  It means July 1st, POOF, your access to all the blogs your follow go away.  You want to find all those blogs again?  No way.  So, most people are switching over to Bloglovin' or Feedly.  I chose Blog Lovin' because um, well, um, I don't know.  The name is cute?  Don't judge me.

There are a ton of blog posts on how to join.  It's super easy.  Create an account, click on import blogs, you're good to go.

So, I know lots of you have already switched over to Bloglovin'.  Yea you!  But I'm seeing lots of comments saying that people are following blogs and they aren't showing up in Bloglovin'.  Here's (probably) why.

Joining Blog Lovin' is easy.  You go join, import your blogs, and you're good to go.

BUT! What about those blogs that aren't showing up???  Well, when you joined Bloglovin', that import was basically a one night stand between Google Reader and Blog Lovin'.  Bloglovin' imported all the blogs you were following at that moment.

So, a couple of days later, you find a new blog and follow it just like you always have--with this little doodad:

This is a Google doodad called Google Friend Connect.  It will not be calling Bloglovin'.  The new blog you followed will not show up in Bloglovin'.

So, what to do?  No biggie.  You can go to http://www.bloglovin.com/import and reimport your blogs.
**Warning!!!  If you made blog groups, this will cause you to loose all the groups you have made.  Yikes.**

So, what do you do next time you come across a blog?  Well this could go two ways.

1.  I don't have a blog.

Clicking on "Join this site" is meaningless (unless you plan on importing all your blogs on June 30).  It breaks my heart to type that.  That number is important to bloggers, and I'm super sad to see it go away.  I spend a lot of time on this blog, and seeing your comments and my followers number goes up makes me feel like I'm doing something right.  Cue the violins.

If the Blog has a Follow with Bloglovin' image on the side, click that, and you're good.  If it doesn't have one, you can still follow.

•Copy the blog address

•Go to Manage My Blogs on Bloglovin'

•Select add a new blog.

2.  I do have a blog.

You can still join through GFC and the blog will show up on your dashboard.  BUT.  Google Friend Connect is going away.  It used to be the first or second gadget on the list when you go to add a gadget.  Then, Google decided to force everyone to use Google+ against their will.  Now, it's been moved to another page and buried below gadgets like "The Daily Puppy" and "Real-Time Earth and Moon Phases."  It may not be going away July 1st, but the writing is on the wall.

Hope your reader transition goes smoothly!

Monday Made It

My first Monday Made It of the summer! Woohoo! I am loving summer-time to do my projects and time for sitting at my computer with a cup of coffee and Law & Order playing on my iPad.  (Thank you Netflix Streaming!)

I wrote last week about my big plans for kicking my husband out.  Of our office that is.  It was a long winded story that ended up with him deciding to move his office into our guest room closet.  It's pretty much the only way he can block out our kids, Sponge Bob, and two barking dogs.  He only uses it when he's not traveling or in the evenings, so it's not like he's spending 40 hours a week there.

We worked our booties of getting this done.  It doesn't look like much, but yikes!  It started off by emptying out a closet and then reorganizing two other closets to make room for the junk that was hanging out in there.  I shared a before picture earlier, but I'm not going to repeat that embarrassment.

I emptied it out and my husband painted it.  There was a mega trip to Ikea for organizational stuff and a trip to Home Depot for supplies.

I stained the wood.  This is not a professional job here.

My husband put supports on the walls and then attached the boards.  He added some more support with metal braces underneath and put an opening in for cords.

I wanted to take the doors off so he wouldn't be scrunched, but he liked the idea of being able to close all of it off.

I still have to figure out something for lighting.  We had planned on putting a lamp on the desk, but there's no space left.  An electrician is putting a plug in, so I'm thinking we'll just put a light at the top.

Now I get to use his old desk area to set up my sewing and craft things.  I may have bought a few organizational tidbits at Ikea for that, too.  ; )  I want to get my area settled this week, so I can whip out some more Monday Made Its.

Now go check out what everybody else has gotten accomplished!

Psst! Google Reader is going away and POOF! all the blogs you follow will be gone. How sad is that? Head on over before July 1st to set up an account at Blog Lovin'. With the click of a button, they'll import all the blogs you're following. They also have fancy pants apps to make it easy to read on your phone or iPad.

In the Houston Area?

Any blogging friends in the Houston area?  My sweet friend Diane from Teaching with Moxie created a Facebook page for Houston area bloggers.  We can keep in touch, plan get togethers, and be besties.   So smart, right?

Go here and like it.

THEN, you need to plan on coming to the Houston area bloggers meet up.

Diane made this Google Doc, so we could figure out who was coming.  Ahhhhh, the joys of technology.

Cyndi from Laci's Letters is having a blogiversary giveaway!  Hop on over to her blog to join in.  Cyndi was the first person who offered to be my guinea pig when I wanted to start designing blogs.  I've learned a lot since then and appreciate her letting me practice on her blog.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Kicking My Hubby Out

Ha! Not what you think.  This is a long and winding road made of a post on a home blog, an embroidery machine, a loud husband who makes a lot of phone calls, barking dogs, a junked up room, and sock puppets.  Try to follow along.  Warning!  Graphic pictures of disorganization ahead.  View at your own risk.

I wish I had a Monday Made It, but I just got out of school Friday.  That was followed up by a busy weekend.  I did manage some awesome scheming.

It started with this sewing room tour at Maple & Magnolia:

Plus, I've been in love with this little baby.  I need it like a hole in the head, but whatever.  Summer's here, and I actually have time for projects, but nowhere to do them.

I've been spending a lot of time in our guest room trying to organize all the junk I brought home from school.  I promise this room looked perfectly nice two weeks ago.

I started thinking about trying to squeeze a little extra space out of guest room and how poorly used this closet is.  So embarrassed right now.  Don't you dare pin this one to your "Shameful Closets" Pinterest board.  We moved in four years ago and just threw some of his things in here.  We've just let it stay our messy little secret.

I was excitedly telling my husband about all of my crafty organization plans when I noticed his grim "this is going to end up requiring a massive amount effort on my part somehow" face.  I flippantly told him if he didn't like it, he could move out of the office and into the closet.

And he said yes.  Say what?  We have a nice, sunny, happy office.  See:

Not, however, ideal for working from home during the summer.  Turns out the reason that I love our downstairs (all separate rooms, but all open to each other), does not make the best business environment.  Throw in a couple of kids home for the summer, two dogs that bark at the ringing in their ears, and a wife that likes to work on the computer and watch Law and Order on the iPad, and you've got one unhappy fancy pants business man.  It is perfect for sock puppet shows.

So, he jumped at the chance to work in the closet.  The guest room is upstairs.  It has a door that closes and actually blocks out noise.  We spend most of our time downstairs, so it gives him a tiny bit more privacy for his constant stream of phone calls.  Feeling sorry for my closet worker?  Check out these pins:


I'd move into any of those in a heartbeat.  However, if I did, my girls would just camp out in the guest room and talk to me all day long, and I still wouldn't get anything done.  My mister works from home usually when he's worn out from traveling.  It may not be a perfect solution, but it is one that solves most of our problems.

So, (yes, this randomness is almost over) I don't have a Monday Made It post, but I do have giant plans for the new few weeks that will result in some Monday Made Its and my very favorite thing in the world--well organized spaces.  Swoon.

As your bonus for making it all the way down here, I've got two fabulous giveaways to share with you.

Miss V's Busy Bees is having a week long giveaway to celebrate her blogiversary.

Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge is also celebrating her blogiversary with a giant giveaway.

Anybody else got a closet office?  Any tips for me?

My Last Last Day

Today was my last last day of school.  For awhile, anyway.  I think.

I've been writing this post in my head for a long time.  It's a long one, so brace yourselves.  I'm a map out your life forever kind of gal, not a go with the wind kind of person.  I have a wonderful life.  A really, really, aren't you lucky girl kind of life.  I just have a little too much of it.

When we adopted this sweet doggy girl in October, I joked with my husband that she needed a home mom.

This off the cuff joke started a few whisperings in my heart of, What if?  What if I did stay home?  What would that look like?  How would it change our family?  Our marriage?  Over this year, I've prayed for signs.  I had little whisperings in my heart.  I'm just not that good at listening to them, so I naively prayed for God to hit me over the head with a sign.

Turns out getting knocked in the head can hurt.  If you are not going to take the time to listen and instead are looking for clear as a bell signs from above, be prepared for a few concussions.  Every time I started doubting this decision,  God clearly reminded me of why it was the right one.  And it wasn't always pretty.

While I knew where my heart was leading, I struggled with the idea of staying home.  God was supposed to make the current life I had planned out easier, not change it.  The nerve.  I had a long list of reasons.  Here are just a few:

1.  Um, that's a lot of money to give up.

2.  I really, really love my job.  I love teaching.  I love being with kids.  I love creating lessons.  I love teaching those lessons.

3.  I didn't stay home with my kids when they were younger, so I don't "deserve" to stay at home with them now.

4.  I am perfectly capable of working, so there is no reason I shouldn't.

5.  I prayed long and hard for this job when we moved four years ago.  How can I give it up now?

6.  I'm a wimp and need to toughen up.  A lot of people have lives a million times more stressful than mine, and they make it work.

But, in the end, I decided to take a leap and just do it.  Every decision does not have to be a forever decision, a novel concept for me.  My husband travels a ton now for work, and we need to make some breathing room and add some flexibility in our lives.  This is a way to do that.  In a way that is the complete opposite of my OCD, plan out the rest of your life nature, I'm just going with it.  No long term plan.  No I will go back on this date, after this much time.  For now, I'm rolling with it.  Which is crazy because I am not a roll with kind of gal.  I'm trying it out though, and it feels okay.

                                                                       Source: Uploaded by user via Megan on Pinterest

So, what happens with this blog?

I don't know.  Remember, I'm rolling with it.  I'll figure it out along the way.  I do know that I will be subbing next year.  That will fill my "I love kids and teaching" fix.  Plus, it helps with the oh my gosh we're down a salary freak out.  Also, no one should be sitting alone in their house alone all day long.

I'll keep designing blogs and other things which I love doing and will have more time for now.   I have a my little Etsy shop.  And, I don't know.  I have learned this year that if you fill up your life too much, there's no room for God to surprise you.  I'm sure that I'll end up right back in the classroom at some point.  I'll just have to see what happens along the way.  Yikes.

5 on the 5th

It's the fifth, which can only mean one thing on this blog.  It's time for . . .

If you're new around here, these posts show off the heart of teaching blogs-the sharing of really great ideas.  Five on the Fifth even has its very own Pinterest board.  You can follow it here.

I love having kids art or work in the hallway.  This is not the same as loving hanging their work in the hallway.  Adventures in Third Grade shared a smart and cute solution.  Now why didn't I think of this?

This week my kids needed this.  I needed this.  Let's be honest, I probably needed to bath in this.  Hop on over to Mrs. Bartel's School Family and read about Cranky Cream.

Built in white boards?????? Crazy smart.  Visit Melissa at Fashion Craze Learning Daze to read about them and how well they held up this school year.

We have PAWS binders.  Other schools have MOOSE binders.  The Polka Dotted Teacher has a DOT Binder.  If you don't have a system, hop on over to read about her student organizers.  This summer would be the perfect time to get your ideas in order!

And this last idea is an entire linky devoted to my very favorite subject in the world: Organization.  Sigh.  Thank you to Kristen from Ladybug's Teacher Files and Elizabeth from Fun in Room 4B for organizing this gold mine.

And now it's a weekly linky.  Seriously???????  

Heaven if you're an OCD gal like me.

Now, if you're in a pinning mood, be kind and pin either from the 5 on the 5th board or directly from these ladies' sites so they can get the credit they deserve!

Houston Blogger Meet Up!

Cannot even tell you how excited I am for this!  Bouncing up and down in my chair squealing excited.

Don't you want to come?  Don't you?  Here are some reasons you should join us:

1.  Chuy's rocks.  

2.  Chuy's just happens to be sandwiched in between Teacher Heaven and Lakeshore Learning.  

3.  We can meet in real life and be besties.

4.  It will be lots of fun and people will post lots of pictures and you'll be all, "Awwww, why didn't I just go?"

5.  It would be pretty pitiful if Diane from Teaching with Moxie and I were the only people that showed up.  You don't want to that to us, right?

Want to join us?  Leave a comment or send me an email to let us know you'll be there!  

Not in the Houston area?  Summer's the perfect time for a road trip . . . .