DillyDabbles: Tag, I'm It....

Kristin, over at Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten, and Amy over at the Resource(ful) Room just tagged me in this fun question answer chain. Here are the rules:

1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

Step 1, 12 things about me I haven't shared.

Well, you'd think this would be easy since I just started blogging, but it's difficult to think about what to share.

~ I'll start with the fact that I have a cat. His name is Rocky and he's about 4 months old. In fact, he's been helping me type this post comfortably perched on my shoulder as I've been sitting on my bed typing. Here is is on the day we brought him home. I guess we better take some more pictures.

~ I have three terrific kids, I think I've shared that, but here's a picture:

~ I have a master's degree in Educational Leadership, an ESL Endorsement and am working on a Reading Endorsement right now.

~ I have lived in Utah, Washington (state), Oregon, Arizona, Idaho and Georgia. I did most of my growing up in Utah. We moved a bit when I was young, and again when I was in high school and college.

~ My husband is also a teacher. He teaches business and keyboarding classes at a Jr. High School. (He's also taught High School)

~ I have 5 siblings. Two of my sisters are also teachers. One in English and one in Art.

~ I'd rather do just about anything other than clean, but I always feel better after I clean. My husband does all the laundry at our house...LOVE him!!

~ I have been married to my amazing hubby for 11 years. (Picture is about 2 years old, but it's what I had on hand quick)

~ I like to sew and scrapbook, but I have boxes of partially finished projects in my partially finished basement. ;)

~ I wanted to be a veterinarian technician when I first started college. Then my school dropped their program and I wasn't doing so well in my Science classes, so I decided to be a Math Teacher, I just wanted to teach Jr. High, so I went the Elementary route so I wouldn't have to take all those really high math classes and still teach Jr. High. After my first year in the program, NCLB came and I would no longer be able to teacher Jr. High math with an Elementary degree. So, I stuck it out in hopes of teaching upper grades and now I teach 1st. Never thought this is where I'd be; but I love it.

~ I like dark chocolate. (a little too much)

~ I would love to visit Europe and Asia and just about everywhere else in the world.

Now step 2...answering the questions:
These are the answers to Kristin's questions, but I love Amy's questions too and I'll do another post soon answering those.

1. How do you relax after a stressful day/week?
Cozy up on the couch after the kiddos are in bed and reading a good book or watching a good TV show.
2. What's your guilty pleasure TV show?
My favorites right now are Gray's Anatomy and Private Practice. We're trying to watch less TV; it helps that our 4 month old 32 inch has a problem with the volume control and is permanently on the loudest setting.
3. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Not nearly as many as I would like. 4 that I wear regularly and then another 8ish that I don't wear very often.
4. What is your favorite place to buy school supplies?
I love the before school sales. Staples is great with their penny and dollar deals.
5. What is your favorite board/pin on Pinterest? (or your favorite recent idea if you aren't on)
This is a tough one...there are so many...this idea is one I want to try soon as a way to do rewards perhaps.

6. What is a super easy meal you like to make for dinner?
My new favorite easy meal is a crock-pot sauce with ravioli. Put a can of pasta sauce, a can of Italian style diced tomatoes, a small can of diced mushrooms into a crock-pot. Cook some sausage and ground beef together and add to the sauce mixture. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add cheese ravioli and some grated cheese. Cook for 15-20 minutes to warm ravioli and serve. I love that it can cook all day and gets that delicious slow cooked flavor while I was away all day.
7. What frustrates you about blogging?
Not enough time in the day to blog myself and view all of the fun posts by everyone else.
8. If you found the perfect unit on a blog, the topic/skill would be ______?
This is a great question. The first thought that came to mind was mini-lessons ready to go on writing and reading and phonics strategies. Like a first grade pack on strategies students need to be good writers etc.
9. What is your favorite thing to teach?
Math is my favorite subject to learn and to teach. It's the area that got me thinking about being a teacher and I like the challenge of working through the problems. I think I like teaching it because I understand it and because there is a process that can be thought through and explained. I enjoy seeing the kids struggle through a problem and then feel so good when they find a solution.
10. What is one of the funniest kid moments you've had at school?
My husband will attest to the fact that I don't have a very good memory. The first thought that came to me happened to a fellow teacher. I asked my husband if he could think of any that I had told him and we're both stumped. I'll share these now as they come along.
11. The most played song on your iPod is _______?
I don't have an iPod or any other similar device. I like to listen to Pandora when I'm at school working outside of regular school hours and usually listen to Jason Mraz or Michael Buble.
12. Who inspired you to become a teacher?
My Jr. High math teacher is who I always credit. I don't even remember her name, but she made math fun. I was in a class specifically geared toward females and minority students. She worked hard to help us understand the reason behind the math.

Part 3, passing along the tag...

Tag, you're it: