Guest post: Meet Stephanie!

I'm giving away an iTunes gift card over at Lipgloss and Crayons. (Don't leave just yet to enter it, keep reading!) Last month, I won a giveaway Carly and friends were hosting and snagged some really awesome ad spaces, one being on her blog. Well, she totally rocks and I 100% recommend sponsoring her blog if you haven't done so already! Go check out the giveaway and her post about what she, as a teacher, wears to school. But first, check out the rest of today's post...

I am so excited to introduce you to a lovely lady I have met in the blogging world named Stephanie. I can't remember exactly how I stumbled onto her blog but I am so excited I did. I swapped blog buttons with her for the month and we got to talking and discovered we have a few things in common. We are both working in the education field as school counselors (I'm still not employed yet, but she is!), we both thought we would HATE middle school before we started working in it, and we both live in Florida. Enough from me: read about the reasons she loves being a school counselor, and be sure to stop by her blog too!

Hi everyone!  My name is Stephanie, I blog over at Never The Same Spice Twice...where I plan my meals each week (most weeks anyway), post recipes and tips I've picked up along the way, and talk about what life is like with the sweetest hubby AND a baby on the way!  But what a lot of people don't know about me is that I'm a school counselor (my day job)!  I'm excited that Angela has invited me to guest post over here, and thought I would talk a little bit about the 5 reasons I enjoy being a counselor!

1.  Every day is different!  I can't even tell you how many times I catch myself saying "Never had this situation before"!

2.  There is an extreme entertainment factor!  Yes, kids say the darndest things...and so do the parents!  You just have to laugh!

3.  You get to make a difference!  You may not see the results for a while, and sometimes you will wonder if "it's all even worth it".  And then suddenly, that "Ah-Ha" moment comes, and you realize why you love your job!

4.  You get to do a little bit of everything!  Ok, if you are thinking of going into the field you probably have heard "you don't get to do nearly as much counseling as you would like".  Unfortunately this is true, but you get to do a variety of other things so it never gets boring!

5.  You get to go all out with school spirit!!!  This is the beauty of working in education in general...see picture above!  You get to participate in decade days, crazy sock days, pirate days, character dress up day...the list goes ON!  

Don't get me wrong there are days when I feel completely overwhelmed!  Things move very quickly, and there is literally not enough time in the day to even scratch the surface!  But at the root of it all I'm still happy with my career decision, and I'm grateful to work with a wonderful team!  Since this is one of the craziest times of the year, coordinating state testing, 6th grade orientations, as well as the beginning stages of developing next years master schedule....it is nice to reflect on the reasons why I do love being a school counselor.  

If you have any questions, just ask!!!

high five for friday (3) and an old school favorite

Thanks to Whitney I now cannot officially start my weekend without #backthatazzup Friday. So, start backing it up for Nelly, cause it's hot in here!

Now on to my happy moments of the week!

1. I lined up a meeting with an elementary school. Yay for getting my foot in a door, somewhere. It feels like a great start for my future.


Please don't let your mind go numb over what I am about to say, but some big things are going on in my school counseling world. Check out this blog post from FSCA. FSCA is the Florida School Counselor Association; I have been a member since I started my graduate program back in 2010. FSCA is making some big moves in Tallahassee this week trying to get a bill passed which will regulate the school counseling profession. You can read about the bill here, see a summary of what the Student Failure Prevention Act means, and get updates on the FSCA legislation at the blog here. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the school counseling profession and shared about the school counselor to student ratios which negatively impact student success in this post. I am very excited for what this bill could mean for me and my classmates and the profession overall. My supervisor said something to me this week which really resonated and deeply saddened me: "you will probably never do as much counseling when you become a school counselor as you did when you were an intern." *Ouch* Please, if you have a moment, and live in the state of FL, write a letter to our state representatives letting them know what you support the Student Failure Prevention Act (SB 0154 and HB 0801). Here is a sample letter if you are having trouble finding the words to say in support of this legislation. I am thankful for your support and taking the time to read this, and doing what you can do to help! Kudos for making it through that long-winded moment of advocating for myself.

2. A student of mine nominated me for staff member of the month at my internship site. I shared about it here.

3. I had a major breakthrough with one of my students who wrote me a beautiful letter that brought tears to my eyes. She thanked me for changing her life and said she knows I will go on to change many other lives. I had no idea such a beautiful message could come from a 6th grader.

4. I learned a lot about myself this week. I'm happy that I am one of those people who can always find a way to better improve myself. It's my belief if you feel there is no room for improvement, you are not trying to be your best self. We are all human and have this amazing ability to learn from our mistakes.

5. Today is my day off! I haven't had one of these in for-e-ver! I slept in late (til 8 am) and I'm still in my PJ's. Headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It doesn't get much better.

Have a lovely weekend!

What was the highlight of your week?

Good, bad, ugly: round 2

I'm linking up with Kate and Kati again for the good, the bad, and the ugly of your weekend...and boy, do I have an ugly to share.

Good: I enjoyed the time change this weekend by cleaning up the patio and giving it a little face life. I also worked on plans and details for my graduation party which is in about three months and worked on training the puppy a little more. He really is intelligent and picks up on things so quickly. This practice included coming when called outside while not on leash. He did very well and it was super cute to see him tip-toe around our pollen covered driveway. Clearly, he is a little prince and cannot get his paws dirty.

Bad: Thanks to the ordeal I am about to explain that occurred this weekend, I was not as productive as I hoped to be. I will be busy this week with the presentations I have to finish for use at the middle school. I now have 3 to-do lists and one is just for today!

Ugly: A snake found it's way into my home Sunday evening. It was very much UNINVITED. I have never been more terrified than the moment I heard a noise unlike anything I had ever heard before, and turned to see my furbaby face-to-face with a snake. Granted, it was small (1.5-2 feet) but my mind instantly flipped on to anxious, I started screaming "get the dog, get the dog!" and then "Mom, stay away!" My mother is EXTREMELY terrified of snakes, I'm talking refuses to bring the newspaper into the house if she knows there is a picture of a snake somewhere in it. So, she hears my screaming and fears something is wrong with the dog and I'm telling her not to come because I'm worried and don't want her to see him injured, or whatever else. So she comes running and sees it and jumps right onto a dining room chair. My brother ushers the dog into his room and shuts his door to keep him away. So, the dog is scratching at the door and the 3 of us are just staring this thing down. I'm shaking/crying/half laughing because I don't know what to do. I wheel myself (in my desk chair) over to my bed, because even though the thing is nearly 10 feet away from me, I refuse to let my feet touch the ground. Mom brings a broom. So I'm standing on my bed reaching as far as I can with the broom to block it from coming further into my room as it's slipped out from under the two towels my brother threw on it and is partially wedged under my door. Meanwhile, the thought that comes to my mind is to get an empty storage bin from our garage, which has a lid, and we can sweep it into that, trap it with the lid, and carry it outside, but all I can put into words is "Get the Tupperware from the garage!" My family members are yelling at me cause they think this is the dumbest thing I have ever said. Finally, we encouraged my mother to get off the chair she was standing on to run down our road and find a neighbor who can help us get it out. All of this going on at 8 pm. She returned with our lawn guy and his son, who are also both terrified of them, and they managed to remove it from our house. The whole ordeal should have been video taped because it would have made for a winning entry into America's Funniest Home Videos.

Needless to say, I was only able to sleep about 5 hours last night, and now with three to-do lists each a mile long, I am having a rough start to my week. In case you considered, I do not recommend Googling anything snake-related in order to reassure yourself right before you fall asleep, because you will not be calmed by some things you read.


Hope everyone's week is off to a better start than mine. What was the best part of your weekend?

high five for friday (2)

This week has been phenomenal and I'm excited to share the highlights with you.

Linking up with Lauren again for High Five For Friday! I really love doing this link-up.

1. I changed my phone background to this cool teal/green ombre. I think that helped with a good start to my week. Feel free to snag it if you enjoy it as much as I do, I found it on Google Images.

2. My grief group kiddos never cease to amaze me. I went into our meeting Tuesday with a not 100% set plan and it worked in my favor. They drew a border around a blank sheet of paper and inside their border wrote a letter to their loved one who has passed away. For the first time ever, I was really touched by what they contributed to the group and started to cry. On a similar note, a student in my other grief group (there are so many kids at our school that I am able to run two separate grief groups) had a complete breakthrough with me. Three months ago she feared coming to school because we were going to meet in grief group. This week she brought in pictures of her and her dad, letters her classmates wrote to her when her dad passed away, and the newspaper with his obituary in it. It was such a wonderful thing to connect with this child and she had me smiling all week, especially when she told me that she had nominated me for staff member of the month! I was so touched and am so thankful to do the job that I do with these kids. As an intern, I do not get paid for my time spent at the school, but money does not compare to what these kids give back to me. Their appreciation means the world to me. I wish I could have opened up to someone about my dad passing away when I was her age. I'm so excited, blessed, and honored that I get to be the person they share their hearts and souls with.

3. I got my nails did! I refer to my bi-weekly manicures and once per month pedicures as my form of therapy. It is so nice to catch up with the wonderful woman who does my nails. I'm really digging these new spring colors.

CND Shellac Grapefruit Sparkles

OPI You're Such A BudaPest

4. I had so much fun participating in Tuesday's link-up, Dogs Are Babies Too hosted by Kara, Kate and Laura. I had fun sharing my love for my furbaby with the blogging world. If you missed me talking about my obsession for my "child" you can read it here.

5. Reaching goals is a wonderful feeling. I broke 200 hours of logged internship time and it feels like my 300 hours are going to be over before I know it! On the hunt for a counseling job and 8 weeks from graduating = an exciting time in my life. Also, I am now up to 5 followers, so yay! That was my blogging goal for the month. Thanks to those of you who are reading my adventures, I am so appreciative of your support.



What was wonderful about your week?

Update: also linking up for Find and Follow Friday. Check out the deets for this link-up over at Melissa's blog A mile in her boots

Good - bad - ugly

Happy Monday! My week started off well. I was very productive at the middle school today. Also, it was my first full Monday there. I am so thankful to have a boss who has been supportive of my continued education. She is one of those people who is few and far to come by. I planned for my grief group, my test anxiety group, helped with test coordination, scheduled students into study hall classes, checked up on students I was concerned about, completed a student observation in the classroom, and collaborated with teachers, parents, and staff. What a day!

Today I decided to link-up with two awesome bloggers I have come across: Kate at Classy Living and Kati at Incorporating Color, for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. From what I have gathered about this link-up, in a nutshell, you post about your weekend: the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, here goes nothing...

The Good: I hung out at a basketball game, in a SKYBOX, with my Granny, uncle, aunt, mom, brother and cousins (age 12 and 14.) I had a blast, our dinner was catered, and it was good to get out and do something. I decided I could get used to that sort of lifestyle ;)

The Bad: I was very productive in terms of blogging and editing my design, but not so productive in terms of school assignments. My to-do list (1 of 3) is still a mile long!

The Ugly: I feel like I am starting to sound like a broken record with this statement, but it was unusually cold in my neck of the woods this weekend, and is going to be for most of the week as well. I'm talking high of 59 degrees! I do enjoy the cooler weather but I do not enjoy the crummy, overcast skies. And really, last winter, we did not see weather this cold.

What sort of fun things were on your agenda this weekend? 

Happy Valentines Day!

I wrote this post a few days ago and made edits each day with all intentions of actually posting it on Valentine's Day. However, yesterday was one of the toughest internship days I have had and I ended up going to bed at 9:30 after falling asleep watching tv for a while.

Today will be a better day...

So, happy (belated) Valentines Day! I confess to being a total girl and loving this holiday, even though I have been single for it the past two years.


In honor of Valentines Day, I had my nails painted red in CND Shellac Wildfire.  I LOVE Shellac! For years and years I was a paint-my-nails-every-other-day type of person. I truly appreciate getting my nails done as a treat to myself every two weeks and not having to worry about chipping or ruining my mani when I am on the go. CND Shellac has over 30 colors in their line plus the company, and some nail techs, have come up with additional layering colors in which a single layer of one Shellac color marries with a single layer of another Shellac color to create an entirely new color! For example, I once layered a translucent white color with black to create a sparkly navy nail color. Anyways, the red nails really put me in the spirit for the holiday and I went into Valentines theme mode and bought bags of candy and planned girly outfits full of pink/red/purple.In addition to spirited nails, I wore heart covered socks most of the week. I once read that wearing socks at night helps for circulation and since reading that I have worn socks to bed every night of my life. I found this particular pair at Target and picked up a few more for $1.50 each. Occasionally they are on sale for $1 each so I scoop up a few more pairs at that time. I find that colored socks make life more interesting :)