4 Giveaways to check out and a Question

So as I am blog hopping (or sometimes I like to say "blog-stalking"), I found 4 neat giveaways these 4 wonderful bloggers are doing!

Elizabeth from Fun in 4B is giving away a free $25 Target gift card to celebrate her 100+ followers on her blog!  You need to check out her cute blog if you haven't already.  She has many nifty ideas!

Courtney from Swimming into Second is having a giveaway too!! She is having one in celebration of 600 followers! (wow, this is awesome!)  You have many chances to win different prizes: $20 to the TpT store, $10 to TpT store, and a free item from her TpT store.  Hop over to her adorable blog to see how you could win!!

Natalie from Teachery Tidbits is also having a giveaway! She is celebrating TWO milestones: Her birthday  and 100+ followers!  She is giving away a free $10 Target Gift card, 1 st. patty's day packet and 2 Dr. Seuss packets!  Definitely stop by her blog to give her a b-day shout out and see the many ways to win!

Kelley from Buggy for First Grade is having a giveaway too! Tonight is the last night!!!  She is celebrating her birthday as well!! ALSO, she is really trying to get 300 followers!! She is so close, I think just 3 away....Anyways check her blog/giveaway out.  She is giving away $25 to Amazon!

So as I was reading different blogs and checking out TpT, I realized I wanted to start making my own units to share with you guys!!  I just have a few silly questions about those awesome 50+ page units.  Do you create them on a word document or some publishing site?  Basically, what are the basics of making those?  (Remember, my teaching experience is based on student teaching and subbing! Still a newbie at this!)  I would love any kind of advice and tips about this.

Also, I know you can create your own clip art, but do most people just buy their clip art?  I see a lot of people using Scrappin Doodles and and KPM.  My next goal is to start my own TpT store because after following so many wonderful bloggers, you guys surely motivated me to do the same as well!

I hoping after I figure all this out, I will also start my first giveaway....maybe at 50 or 100 followers? Haha, I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Permission to pin

I've noticed a lot of people are adding the "permission to pin" button on their blogs.  I didn't know that you needed permission to pin on Pinterest!  I guess I didn't read the "fine print" when I first signed up (oops!)  I just wanted to let everyone know who visits my blog is welcomed to pin pictures from my blog as long as you properly link it back to my blog.  Laura Candlers has a great explanation and goes into detail about "pinning etiquette".  I've added the "Permission to Pin" button on the sidebar as a reminder!  If you haven't yet, click on the Pinterest button to check my boards out and be a follower!!

Crazy day, a contest, and a virtual expo!

So today was a crazy day for me!  I found out this week from my parents that we have to relocate back to Chicago!!  I was born there but grew up in Ohio.  This is crazy for me since now I have to make the big decision on where to stay/live/work.  However, I knew we were going to move back to Illinois but I didn't know it was going to be so soon!!  I started to freak out today when I saw loads of cardboard boxes at the front door.  The good news is that I did complete getting my Illinois state license AND today I got an email from the state of Indiana that they approved my teaching license for them too!! (My boyfriend of 4 years works in Indiana.)  This must be a sign since I told myself this weekend I was going to dedicate it to applying for teaching jobs and start packing up room!!  So with 3 state licenses under my belt, I hope to start my first full-time teaching career next fall.  **wishful thinking**

If you haven't already seen it on Pinterest, you should check out the awesome contest 12 blogs are doing together!! It's called Pinteresting Teacher Blogs Amazon Gift Card Contest.  The rules are easy and you could win a $200 gift card to Amazon!!!  Exciting, right? I am already generating a list of things I could do with that gift card!!  Just click {here} to see what to do!

ALSO check out the virtual expo, Everything's Primary, that is happening this Saturday!!! This will be my first ever expo I've been to and I love how it's all online! I debated whether or not if I should buy a ticket and join the expo since I am not a "real teacher" yet.  But I figured this would only help me be a better teacher even though I don't have a classroom.  The 4 featured teachers  are wonderful and you should definitely stop by their blogs whether or not if you decide to go to the virtual expo.

• Kimberly @ Funky First Grade Fun
• Dana @ 3rd Grade Gridiron
• Mor @ A Teacher's Treasure
• Mel @ Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations