Running a Biz...Side Hustle Madness

So I just gotta say...anyone out there that thinks running a business is easy as a side-hustle and a day job too has no clue what they're doing haha. I literally cannot tell how I'm doing with my shop updates. I've done so many my brain is almost mush. 

I've worked my little guts out updating resources this summer and making them even better for classrooms and improving dated resources. I'll be honest, I am one exhausted momma and sometimes I wanna give up. I work late at night. I do my best to work when their little eyes are closed and they are snuggled in their beds. Life as a momma and even for you dad's out there, and having a side hustle can be tough, but it can also be rewarding. 

I feel like those those rewards sometimes come slow and yes sometimes we can get discouraged, but other times I feel like just giving it my all and never giving up. Feels like that is the best thing that I can do for myself and my babies. 

I hope you all, teacher-preneurs and all are having a wonderful summer! It has flown by and the days of summer are soon coming to a close for me. I hope those of you who still have another month or so soak it up!!

Casey

Long Division-A New Way and Updating Projects

It's that time when summer rolls around and I start revamping all of my current resources to make them better than they were. I've been working my little tussy off this week and last updating older resources. These things just needed some serious love, one in particular that taught a specific way to teach and learn long division. This little guy has somehow brought me so much love in my shop, but it was very dated.

Long division the old fashioned way just isn't that much fun. Well, nothing math is really that fun for me haha. Okay, so with this resource I show how to divide using tens, hundreds, and thousands. See a part of the teacher guide I created below. This baby needed updated, it was absolutely horrid in my eyes. I'll show you a before and after at the bottom of this post. Oh, dear lawd, I am just relieved I've got it revised and uploaded! Yes, it did take me some time, but I feel that it, directions and all were worth the effort. 

BEFORE's AND AFTER's

 

  

GEEZ....the pieces to the right just look more cleaned up and so much AMAZINGNESS!!!!!!!!!! I have really grown up in the last ten years as a TpT seller!! This is proof that practice really does make a difference! 

School's out for the Summer

School's out for the summer!!!!! Look how stinkin cute we look on Mother's Day. If I were the teary eyed type, I would've cried a little. I'm so excited the summer is finally here, but why the heck does it keep frosting???!!!! All my pretty flowers keep having to come inside for sleep overs! Kentucky weather is full of surprises these days! 

I've got new projects going for my clientele. I can't wait to start sharing some how to's with some things. I'd like to teach some things with Boom Learning as well as with Power Point and even maybe throw in some editing photos tutorials in Photoshop. In all honesty, my favorite way to edit photos is using my Lightroom app and some presets I purchased. It was well stinkin worth it! I've got so many things I dip my hands into and I get super excited to share it, that I can't!! There's just not enough time in the day! 

So my point of this post was to share my little Etsy shop with you all. You can see one of my designs below and even click the image to check out the small stock pile I've created. I've started adding SVG cut files to the shop since my sign crafting got a little too much for me to handle. This shop is now going to house those designs that can be used for creating tee shirts, signs, mug designs, and pretty much anything you'd like to use the cut files for. The best part about it is they're all going to be Commercial use friendly and digital downloads! Keep in mind I'm slowly loading my cut file designs into the shop, it's taking me some time, but I wanted to see what you all thought! 

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day with your families and friends! Have a great week!

As Independent as they come

If there’s one thing I’ve realized over the last year, it’s that I can do just about anything on my own. It might take me twice as long when it comes down to it, but it’s doable. Just like yesterday, I had ordered a couple of patio chairs and boy were they heavy when they arrived and in a million pieces 🤦🏻‍♀️. I managed to scoot the entire box inside my garage and take them out piece by piece. Look at me from last Halloween. I dressed up as Rosie the Riveter. I thought this image was very fitting for this post! "We can do it!" 

Being a girl, a small one at that and trying to carry heavy things, move furniture, tear down playhouses, mulch the landscaping, haul trees (sorta), clean out the drains (screaming while doing so because that's just gross), or even fixing a toilet, is not fun. Did I mention that I run a small business as well? With all that being said, I can honestly say I’ve come to the point of independence, even if I do occasionally shed a few tears while doing so. 

So if you're out there and you're thinking, you can't do this, or that or you don't got it, you most definitely can, we can do it! So don't be worried or scared! Time marches on and time makes all things better!

Praises and more Praises

Hello, my fellow readers and clientele out there. I have a lot on my mind. I have been slacking on blogging as I have been very busy with my virtual assistant tasks, praise the Lord. This is a blessing in itself, but has also become a stressful side of my life. Teacher by day and entrepreneur by night haha. 

I need to confess something. Over the last year or so, I haven't gone to church in a long time, well, thanks to Covid for happening, that didn't help. I went this last Sunday, Easter and found that it was really nice to actually be sitting in there even if I was thinking boy, oh, boy, I'm gonna get the Covid. 

In all honesty, this moment on Easter Sunday reminded me of the good old days with my Grandpa. He was the best for taking us to church. I was maybe 11 years old when I started going to church some with him. By the time I reached 13 years old, I was ready to give my life to the Lord. I will never ever forget that moment. My heart was pounding a million miles an hour, Preacher Bill was standing up front praising the Lord, and I was terrified, and leave it to me to be thinking, I'll bet everyone's ready to go to lunch, haha. So way back then, I felt content, and my life went along without derailment. 

Fast forward 20 years later and here I sit, a tad bruised on the inside, but blessed beyond belief, listening to the rain tap on the roof, and the thunder roll, with two beautiful children, one beside me snoozing comfortably away. That legit turned into a testimony. So sorry, but the Lord has honestly blessed me beyond measure and I want to do this life right. I can't imagine my life without my babies, or my family and friends. 

We must always keep going and always turn to the Lord, or we will constantly be lost without realizing it. We won't even know why nothing keeps our hearts content. My Grandpa once told me this and it stuck with me. I'm slowly getting that soul back, that sweet soul I once had. I hope if yours was once lost, it has been found! 

Christmas Porch

Y'all, these rugs have got me all excited!!! I feel like such a dork for getting excited over something that's literally going to lay outside of my front door and get wiped with boots. But, hey, they're really adorable! Both rugs came from target and they were about $11-$13 a piece. The plaid one is linked here and the Cozy version is linked here. I felt this was a steal for a couple of cute additions to my Christmas themed porch!!! 

Alright I'll get started linking. The wreath was one that I found at Lowes last season. I wasn't able to find the exact same one, but I've linked a similar one here. It's fairly large and can be seen well. It was priced around $30. I thought that was steep, but I really loved it and decided to splurge and besides, wreaths are not cheap. The flag you can see in the lower right corner was a little find I purchased found Amazon. I have linked it here. It's an old timey truck with Merry Christmas written on it and it's so cute. The snowman was purchased from a Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. I wasn't able to find the exact same one. I do wish it were a little taller, but otherwise it does the job. I've linked a similar one here. I found a sleigh version, but it's a tad more than I'd like to pay. I linked it here as I just couldn't resist. 

I found everything else you see at Hobby Lobby. I take that back. I meant to mention my rocking chairs. They came from Lowes and were delivered in about a million pieces. You can find a similar one here. This ole' girl was able to put them together in no time believe it or not. 

Alright, so the list begins below for the rest of the item you see! Simply click on the piece you're interested in and it'll take you right to the exact piece or a similar one. Please keep in mind that some items are out of stock online, but I had no trouble finding them in store. 

Plaid Pillows

Red Birdhouse

Presents

Pine Tree

LED Lighted Tree

Garland

Metal Pail

Lights (you can pick these up anywhere, but the ones I have on my garland are a soft glow and not an LED type so if you're looking for that glow, I've linked the set I purchased from Hobby Lobby)

I do want to add that I purchased some window candles to give my home one of those southern Christmas looks and I really love them. I paid a bit up for them, but they do the trick and they have a self timer so I don't have to keep reaching into the windows and behind the blinds to turn them off!! It's really great. All I did was insert the batteries around 5:00 pm and they stay on for six hours which is around 11:00 pm. This is perfect for my four windows. I've linked them here! 

I hope you enjoy your front porch decorating! I can't wait to see some pictures out there! 

*Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies. I am simply a lover of all things home.

Christmas Entryway

                    

Raise your hand if you get overwhelmed when you're trying to decorate! Me, me, me! So when I'm browsing online for home decor, I tend to get a little frustrated. When I end up finding something I really like, I always end up not being able to find it online or in stores and that results in an empty home. I've did my best to link all of the items you see in these pictures. I want to make your shopping experience as easy as possible! Read on to see how I decked out my entryway and where I got the pieces. 

I couldn't wait to get my Christmas decor out and I started out slowly so I wouldn't wear myself out doing so. In furnishing my home with Christmas decor, I did have to splurge a little, but I'll use it year after year. Rule #1, always be on the hunt for sales year round for home decor!!! I have never ever paid full price for any home decor! Ever! I'm a tight-wad in case you didn't know and home decor is something I do not like spending money on. I don't know why. 

This is my seasonal bench you see in the picture here. It stays in my entry way and is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. It used to be stained, but I got on a Joanna Gaines kick and painted it an off white color using chalk paint. Sometimes I wish I had left it the stain color, but I still love it. This bench was also made from scratch, sorry I didn't purchase it in store. I'll link a similar one here. I am in love with this one from Kirklands so I've linked it! It almost looks like a church pew and I LOVE that look also! 

Let's get started!! I am absolutely in love with this entire setup. Sometimes it becomes cluttered with shoes, but I simply use that basket you see for all of my kiddos shoes just as a little hiding place. I've linked a very similar one here. I found that lovely at a T.J. Maxx. Also, please don't mind my random pictures on my wall, I am still in the process of removing and adding pieces.

I'm going to try to link everything as I talk about it so you can easily go shop for the items. The JOY sign came from Hobby Lobby. I found it for half-off. It's not huge, but also not too small. It is out of stock online, but I had no trouble finding it in store. It was the perfect size for my space. 

The red blanket came from Amazon and it's super soft. I was surprised at how soft it was. I found the checkered plaid blanket at Hobby Lobby. The small trees were also from Hobby Lobby. I got one taller than the other so they wouldn't look identical. The pillows are simply covers that I found on Amazon as well. I took my year round pillows and stuffed them into these covers. So much cheaper. They are soft and do the trick and a lot cheaper than buying an entire new pillow. 

I want to say that the pine garland on the back of the bench and the picks coming out of the metal containers (find those containers here!) came from a Hobby Lobby or a Michaels. I've linked a similar garland here. They were gifted to me probably ten years ago, but they do the trick even if they are a little older.

 

The rug is a rustic type farmhouse looking rug and it's made from a burlap type material. It's super pretty, but hard on the bare feet when you're walking on it. I love the looks of it, though. It is a bit taller so beware if you have a door near. You can see that bathroom door to the right below, it doesn't open all the way now. I found the rug here on sale for around $45 from overstock.com. It came in a pretty large size, too!

 

I hope you will be able to decorate your entryway for the upcoming Christmas and I hope all of this linking will help you find exactly what you are looking for. 

*Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies. I am simply a lover of all things home and farmhouse living! 

The Most Amazing Christmas Tree

 

This has to be my most favorite tree in my whole life! It’s Balsam Hill brand. I purchased their version called the European Fir last year. This thing looks so real it's unbelievable. I absolutely love the way it sits. It's perfectly imperfect. It is so very different because it's not perfect at all. This is what I love. This is what I live for. I love Rae Dunn because no cup is perfect nor are they the same. I want to add that I found all of the white ball ornaments at Amazon and at Hobby Lobby. I found the best prices on them at Hobby Lobby. I wasn't able to find an exact link to them, but in the Christmas section at Hobby Lobby their ornaments are all placed in color coded order so I simply ran to the white section! 

So the tree hunt all began because I wanted a real live tree, but I just didn't have the muscle to do so. I shopped til I dropped on this one! I searched high and low. The price tag was holding me back for a while, but trust me people, wait until it's black Friday to see if you can catch them on sale. It’s absolutely the most realistic tree I’ve ever seen and it looks like I went to the woods and chopped it down! If you saw me, you’d know better! 

This tree isn't the only style they have. If you aren't into the imperfect look, the different look, the beautiful natural look, Balsam Hill will have a tree for you. The only thing I’d do differently with this guy is buy a 6.5 footer instead of the 7.5 footer. Its caboose is massive, and it doesn't help when putting it up that I stand at a whopping 5' 4", but I absolutely LOVE the look! If you want a country look this is your tree! Tap on the pic or links in this post to see the tree in store!

Happy tree hunting!! 

*Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies. I am simply a lover of all things home.