Where in the World Is Mrs. Cassady???

I’m baaaaaaack!  Like for real. I made a post about self-care in June and it really got me on a self-care kick and I disappeared from the blogging world for a month!  So July was all about me…..and Waylon!  We sure had a lot of fun and took several spur of the moment trips.  I’m not typically a spontaneous kind of girl, but I think all the staying at home really got to me and we were ready to do about anything!  I was starting to feel like Carmen Sandiego (remember her?!) for a minute there because nobody knew where I was going to pop up at next!

Enjoying the swimming pool at Jellystone Park!

We started out our series of trips with a little trip to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Cave City, KY.  I’ve always wanted to go there and it was just as fun as I imagined it would be!  We rounded up some friends, hopped in the car, got a cabin full of bunk beds, and the kids (and adults) had a blast! We celebrated some birthdays while there, swam in the pools, played a round of foam ball (which was way more fun than we expected), played on all the playgrounds, tried our skills on the Wibit (thank goodness there is no photo evidence of that!), and had lots of laughs!  It was a great mini vacation and, little did we know, only the beginning for us!

Sunrise at Myrtle Beach

After a few days of camping, we returned home to head back out to Myrtle Beach, SC the very next day.  We enjoyed a relaxing week on the beach and mostly ate in while there.  So, it was a nice change of pace with lots of downtime!

Sitting outside at Myrtle Beach

After a week at the beach, we figured we should come home because we were sure our dogs were missing us at this point. Lol I spent the week doing laundry and chilling at home, knowing that it was almost time to head back to work.  But, we just couldn’t stand ourselves and took off on another beach trip.  Don’t judge me.  We never do this and I don’t regret it! 😂

Waylon was excited to staple his dollar to the wall in McGuire's Irish Pub!

To round out our summer, we spent 5 beautiful days in Destin, Florida!  This was our first trip there and we had an amazing time. The beach itself was beautiful with its soft, white sand and clear water.  I could’ve stayed forever.  Besides time spent relaxing on the beach, we visited McGuire’s Irish Pub and put our dollar on the wall, made a stop Fudpucker’s Beachside Bar & Grill and fed the gators (also had some dinner), drove to Panama City Beach and swam with dolphins (this was a bucket list item for me!), and walked around the harbor where we took pictures with parrots on our head and ate dinner at Margaritaville!  It was a great way to end the month of July.

 

The next time I decide to stand on dolphin noses and take a swim, I will definitely have a hair and makeup crew handy for a better photo op! 😂  I'm pretty sad you can't really see the dolphins at all in this pic, but they are holding me up!

Now that I’m home and back to reality, I’m diving head first into my classroom.  There are still many unknowns and lots of things left in the air as far as what school will be like this year, but I am ready to tackle it!  I had a nice break in July to clear my head and am ready to do whatever I need to do for my students to have an amazing year in kindergarten!  I hope everyone else was able to do something to clear their minds and take a break this summer.  The last few months have been rough on all of us, but we have to stay positive!  Keep watching my blog for new posts to see what I’ve been working on to get ready for this year! J

**Our super cute masks came from Sugarheart Stitches!  She makes lots of goodies from masks to baby booties to clothing, so go check her out!**

Summertime Self-Care: Nails

It’s officially summertime!  Summer for teachers isn’t always what everyone thinks it is (ya know, all being lazy and not doing anything!).  We still have plenty work to do, but it’s also good to take some time for yourself to recharge before you start preparing for the next school year.

Thanks to COVID-19, this year ended a bit differently for me and I spent my last few school days alone in my classroom, instead of doing all the fun end of the year activities I would normally do with my students.  I’m sure closing procedures are different for everyone, but each year I have to pack up my classroom for summer cleaning.  Basically, I have to move everything up onto the built in shelves along the walls.  The custodians remove all the furniture from my classroom so they can buff and wax the floors.  Then, all the furniture gets piled back in for me to sort through and organize.  It’s like a fresh start every year!

 

You can see how I piled everything on top of the cubbies and then the furniture will all be moved out.  I'll have to reorganize once it's all done!

While this summer cleaning is going on, I can’t get into my classroom for at least a week, but often longer.  So I try to use this time to let myself relax and start to enjoy summer.  While I’m relaxing, it can be a good time to reflect on the past school year and start thinking ahead to the next school year.  I can think back on how lessons went and what I plan to do differently next time.  But I try to give myself some time before I really dig in and get started.

For now, I’m just trying to enjoy some me time by having a pool day, exercising, doing my nails (I have gotten into nail dipping and it amazes me since I can’t even polish my own nails!), and dreaming about a vacation! Lol  I’m not really a girlie girl and never have been much on painting my nails (I always make a huge mess and they look awful!).  However, I always liked going and having them done at a nail salon, but that can be pretty expensive to keep up.  So, I started doing powder dip nails at home!

For Christmas, my sister gifted me with an awesome kit that had everything I needed to do my own nails!  It took me a few weeks to work up the nerve, but I finally just dove right in and started doing it.  It was much easier than I ever expected and every time I do my nail they get better and better!  I just ordered some new fun colors for summer and I like to call these my “mermaid nails.”  The colors are so fun and I'm totally ready for a beach trip!

I know we are talking about the nails here, but just in case you caught a glimpse of these super cute earrings, you can get them from my Plunder Stylist here!

If you’re interested in giving powder dip nails a try, here’s a link you can use to get 10% off your order.  Check out the kits because they include everything you need and it will give you a variety of colors to get started.  Just a warning, this can become a bit addicting!  Let me know if you decide to order and I’ll add you to some of the nail groups on Facebook.  I love looking at what color combos others use and there are always lots of awesome tips to help you have the perfect nails!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I will be back soon with some things I’m doing to get ready for next school year.  For now, I’m just trying to chill out and allow myself to recover from the last school year and that vicious round of distance learning.  And, as always, I’m still praying that when the time comes for us to get back to school, everything will be a little more normal and I can enjoy the new school year with all my new Kinderbabies! 💕

*Note: I do not claim to be a nail professional in any capacity!  They are not perfect and please ignore any messes you see in the background of these photos. 😂  I simply enjoy doing my nails and wanted to share the love with others!  If I can do this, you can do this!  Be sure to use this link to get 10% off if you decide to order (it's the same link I used a few times throughout this post).