Currently - May 2015

Hey friends!   It's time for the May Currently! Yay!

It has been a BUSY couple of months.  I am looking forward to life slowing down a little bit.

LISTENING:  I've been watching Undercover BOSS on Netflix for the last few days.  It would be nice to think that there are employees out there that enjoy their jobs and give it their all... AND.. that bosses take the time to say thank you!

LOVING: Spring is here and everything is in bloom.  I've been enjoying the fresh grass, blooming flowers, and birds making nests in the trees.  

THINKING:  I'm working on my house... thinking about a fresh coat of paint, new rugs, linens and planting tomato plants!  :)

WANTING: A vacation to some place warm, maybe with a white sandy beach.

NEEDING:  Ice cream.  It's the simple things. :)

SUMMER:  Sun, FUN, and fresh blended margaritas.    My summer will be filled with more adventure and fun, instead of just work.  I can't wait!

Airborne Product Review

Like most busy teachers with heavy work loads, it's easy to forget to take care of ourselves. I tend to skip meals and sleep a lot less during the school year. A lack of sleep and stress can cause a break down in the natural immune system.

When I discovered that Airborne® had a new product line called Airborne® Everyday™ Gummies, I was eager to try it. Other Airborne® products have been used in my household, and have been

wonderful.

I like the concept of being able to chew the Airborne® Everyday™ Gummies on the go. I compared the ingredients of the Airborne® Everyday™ Gummies to those of some of the other vitamin supplements that I have used in the past. It was important to me that the Airborne® Everyday™ Gummies contain all of the multivitamins that I want.

I don't like swallowing pills, so the ability to chew the Gummies made the product even more appealing to me. Airborne® Everyday ™ Gummies have a pleasing taste, and texture.

The price of the Airborne® Everyday ™ Gummies is less than what I would normally pay for vitamin and mineral supplements. The best part of using the Airborne® Everyday ™ Gummies is that I believe it is supporting my immune system. I recommend Airborne® Everyday™ Gummies to friends that need multivitamin support.

Would you like to try Airborne® Everyday ™ Gummies for yourself? Airborne® has sent me extra bottles of Airborne® Everyday ™ Gummies to give away to 3 of my fans/followers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*NOTE*   While I have been compensated with free product to trial,  all opinions expressed or implied in this post are my own.

April Currently - 2015

It's been awhile since I wrote a blog post.  It's been crazy busy around here.   Kidding season on the farm began with a bang, and not the good kind.  Like many goat farmers across the country, we have had to deal with the unpleasantness of problems with the deliveries.  The up and down weather, along with forces we cannot control or see - we had a really rough time of it with loss as well as life.

Along with the responsibilities of caring for a lot of animals - I also have had a full work load with Blog designs, and writing assignments.  I have some of the best clients ever!   I love them for having faith in my work, as well as being understanding when I had to deliver babies at a wonky time.

LISTENING: I am currently listening to the rumble of thunder and the sound of raindrops on the roof.  Though the sun is peeking through and it looks like it might burn off and be warm.  It's already 70 something.

LOVING: I am loving a few quiet moments to myself before I head out with my Mom to celebrate my Aunt's 80th birthday. Bring on the margaritas and cute waiters!

THINKING:  My brain has been going on overdrive for a few months so it's hard to narrow it down to just one thought.  Though I am thinking about the winding down of some of the projects I have on my to do list. I am looking forward to finishing all of these things so I can move on to the next big thing. :)

WANTING:  To finish my list of things - and chocolate. :)

NEEDING:  Chocolate. :)   

EGGS-PLAIN YOUR NAME:   I initially had a name that locked me in to one age group.  Which meant that most of my followers and customers didn't realize I could or did create other things.  In 2010 I sold my very large website - and created Crayon Box Learning.  I love Crayons - they make me happy. And the name has some symbolism of being colorful, cheerful, diverse, etc.... and learning added onto the crayon box made me think of a broad spectrum of learning resources without limitation.

Thank you so much for stopping by!   I hope that you have a happy day!

A special thanks to Farley for this pretty cool link up:

MailChimp Newsletter Tab for Facebook Tutorial

Hi there!

If you are using the MailChimp platform for creating a newsletter (free or paid),  you can now add a tab on your Facebook page so that your fans and followers can easily click on the tab and sign up.  I created this tutorial to help explain how to integrate the tab with MailChimp and Facebook.

If you haven't set up your newsletter yet,  you will want to log into your MailChimp account and set up the campaign for your newsletter so that you can begin building your mailing list. 

Step 1.  

Log into your MailChimp Account.

Click on the name of your account (below the monkey) and it will open up the menu in black. 

 Click on Account.  

Step 2.  

Click on Integrations

Step 3.   

Click on the Facebook Beta

 Step 4.  

Fill in the page you want the tab to appear, the *MailChimp list that you want to use, and the name of the tab that you want to use.  * If you haven't started your mailing list yet, you will want to set up the list via your MailChimp dashboard before proceeding.

Step 5.  

Check your Facebook page.  Click on More and then Manage Tabs on the pull down menu. The Manage Tabs window will open and you can change the order of tabs on your menu.  In my example I swapped places with Pinterest and Newsletter.

To customize the look of the tab itself, continue on.

Step 6.  

At the top of your Facebook page,  click Settings.

Step 7.

Click Apps,  and then Edit Settings (Under MailChimp App)

Step 8.

Edit MailChimp Settings - Box will open up.  Here you can change the look of the tab by clicking Change next to the Custom Image.  The Tab needs to be 111 x 74.    Where the words Newsletter is, you can change it to say anything you want it to.

If you already have  a tab and you would like to change it at any time, follow the above instructions, and then click the edit link in the top right corner of the tab. 

Adding Buttons to Sidebar Tutorial

Hello Friends!

I've been asked to write a tutorial on how to add buttons to the Blogger sidebar.  A lot of Facebook Groups, Collaborative Blogs, and Affiliate programs use small images to link to their pages.

For the purpose of this tutorial,  I am using Mel from Graphics from the Pond's I <3 Clipart graphic, (Used with permission).  The graphic is for followers of her page, and members of her Graphics Club.

Some link graphics will already come with the code you need to install in your sidebar.  If a code is not provided, save the image to your desktop and upload to your favorite host such as Photobucket, or hosting account.

Step 1.

Open your Blogger Dashboard and click on Layout.   

Step 2.

Add a new HTML Gadget

Step 3. 

Copy and paste the code below.  Edit where the text is red.  The Image URL is the direct path to the image that you uploaded to Photobucket or your own hosting.  The Title Image is the text that will be visible when your mouse hovers over the image.

Please note that the <center> tag is included in the code below.  If this tag is not included, the image will be off center in the sidebar.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<center><a href="http://IMAGE URL HERE" title="Image Title Here" target="_blank">
<img src="IMAGE URL HERE" alt="Image Title Here" style="border:none;" />
</a></center>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Step 4.

Save the widget and preview the sidebar.

If you want to add more buttons, separate the images with the <br> code.  That will provide a blank space.  You will need to finish the next line of code with </br> 

Random Acts of Kindness in the Classroom

Hello there!   I have teamed up with my Blogging friends at Elementary Grapevine to bring you this special Happy Holiday Blog Hop!   Thank you to all of the lovely ladies for putting this together!!

I'd like to share with you a little bit about Random Acts of Kindness in the Classroom.   With so much going on in the lives of the little people in your classrooms (and teachers too!), often the only time they hear something positive is at school.

R.A.K. in the Classroom can take the form of a kind word, a small gesture, or even a handwritten note from you to a student.   This year,  I came up with The Secret Elf.  A fun way to encourage students to be kind to one another.

This is an activity that I have actually done with my own little people.  It works a lot like a Secret Santa activity would be, only it's among the students.  There isn't a lot of prep work involved in setting it up.  It requires printing out a few pages for each student, and taking a few minutes to match the students up with their Secret Elf (The instructions are in The Secret Elf packet linked below).

The fun part of this activity is that the students need to keep the secret of who their "Secret Elf" is. With younger students this might be a little more challenging, but fun too!   At the end of the project, each Secret Elf will reveal themselves to their match.  It's a good idea to do this before the end of the term.

There are a lot of fun options how to implement this activity.  There aren't any rules for being kind. :)

 

I made you a set of "You've been R.A.K.'d Cards"  for this Blog Hop.  Only the sweet friends that hop through this hop will receive the printable cards.  They are provided in both full color and bw to give you printing options.  Print off onto cardstock or colored paper, cut, and pass out to students you see sharing, working well in groups, being a good leader, etc.   The students that receive them can pass them on to someone else in the classroom (or school) that they see being a good friend, leader, etc.  To download the cards, click on the image below!

 

The Secret Elf packet contains a printable card, and writing papers for The Secret Elf.  I have included some basic instructions too.  To download it, please click on the image below. 

I hope that you enjoy this activity.   The next stop in the holiday blog hop is ......

Holiday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Welcome friends!    Several Blogging friends came together to share some of our Favorite Things, (A little Oprah Style)... This is an AMAZING giveaway with several prizes!  Be sure to scroll down all the way to the bottom to make sure you don't miss anything.  Are you ready to get started?

Here are a few of MY favorite things:

 Christmas Lights - A holiday tradition!

When I was a little girl, my parents (along with Aunt's, Uncle's, Cousins,) and my brother would all pile in our old station wagon and go out and look at all the Christmas lights.  Ours were strung up on our house the day after Thanksgiving and taken down just after the new year.  It has been a long standing tradition, and one that I continue with my own home.  As seen in the photographs above,  I hang lights around my deck.  

Favorite PENS!  Mr. Sketch, Crazy Faces, and SCENTOS!

One of my very favorite things school related are colored pens - pens of any kind.  I love the new Mr. Sketch, and SCENTOS markers.  I can't pass by the art isle without picking up another pack.  Do they have support groups for that?

 Favorite Beauty products - Bath and Body Works!

Living on a farm, it means that hands get chapped in the winter!~  My favorite go-to products are from Bath and Body Works.  I love these products because I am not allergic to them, they come in many different fragrances, and there is a store not far from here!  (For Arkansas, that isn't bad!)  My favorite fragrance is Blackberry Vanilla but I think they are discontinuing it, so my last trip I was experimenting with different scents.  Sweet Pea, Oahu (yum!), and Carribbean Escape.

  Hobby Lobby Gift Card - Love it!

I am giving away a $10.00 gift card to Hobby Lobby as part of the Favorite Things giveaway!  Hobby Lobby has a huge selection of art supplies, décor, and more!  Here in Arkansas, a brand new store opened up a few months ago!  I enjoy going there to just look around for ideas, and for some shopping too! :)   The Gift card can be used in store and online as well.

Stop by my TPT Store and receive 50% off of the featured items for the holidays.  

7 winners for 7 prize packs!

Come and enter the giveaway and check out my bloggy friends' favorite things:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up