I remember back when I went to college. I prepared for months. I made lists and organized my new things I was taking to the dorm with me. I fretted, counted, recounted – and still once my parents got me into my dorm we took a look around and saw all of the things we had overlooked that other girls had brought with them. My folks hopped in their car and took a not so short trio to the next town in search of a store big enough to carry the items I needed.

I was not a restful day.

My daughter is not old enough for college yet, but I have been helping my best friend’s daughter get organized for her first year of college. My best friend works a lot and I am off in the summers, so I rose to the occasion and got involved in list making and shopping trips and packing, packing, packing.

One cool tool I did not have back in the day was the CampusReady app on Facebook. You can do everything from design your dormroom in 3D before you even more in to setting up a gift registry so your friends and family knoiw what you need to prepare for the big move.

I keep adding items to the lists, remembering that day when I moved into campus for the first time and found myself a whole lot less prepared than I thought. However, since we are smack dab in the middle of the information age, making up for things you have forgot to pack is easier than it was twenty years ago.

For example, Sears department stores has an innovative program that allows you to browse and buy online almost anything your new college student might need (like microwaves, dorm fridges, twin XL sheets and other bedding) and then have the items made ready for you at a Sears store closer to your child’s school. It sure beats trying to over-pack your car trunk or rushing around after you’ve arrived in a bustling University town trying to locate everything you need. And, who wants to pay shipping? Not me. I love that you can just pick the stuff up at any Sears store.

I mentioned XL twin sheets in my last paragraph. Don’t overlook these. Most colleges have beds in their dorms that use extra long mattresses and a standard twin sheet set is not going to fit right. XL sheets do not cost more than standard sheets, but you need to make sure you have the right size for your bed. If you are unsure, then Sears allowing you to order and pick up at a local store is just the thing for you. Check your kid into the dorms, measure the mattress, fire up the laptop and go to Sears,com to order your sheets. Not a bad way to get things done, huh?

And, while you’re ordering from Sears, make sure you make all of your purchases via Upromise.com. Upromise members who purchase on Sears.com are automatically entered into CampusReady for a chance to win money to use toward your child’s tuition. You can also enter for free by going to sears.com/campusready.

School starts in just over a week. I go back to work Monday.

I love that I am able to segue from my associate job into the classroom teacher job, at the same school I was at last year. I know most of my students and am already comfortable at the school. I have a support system in place, several good friends on the staff, and know what I need to do to fit in and be a productive part of the school community. It’s a blessing to not have to fumble along in a brand new school and face class after class of students I have never seen before.

All those years ago in college I had thought I wanted to be an English teacher. I had an adviser as well as the chair of the communications department talk me out of that plan, instead convincing me I had a great career in writing. My career has been exciting, involved a lot of writing, and allowed me to accomplish a great number of interesting things. However, I never stopped knowing I would make a good teacher.

So, when I got divorced, I took a look at my life and decided to start over and accomplish some of my original goals in life. It feels good. I love my job and I adore the students. I relish how each day is different and the challenges keep coming my way. It is also easy to admit that having the summers off to be with my daughter is a dream come true. It is actually a little bit like having the best of both worlds – a satisfying carer AND the time I need to spend with my child.

This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine.

I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid my mom would often take us to Kmart for things like school supplies or new sheets for the bed or so we could choose a special new toy. Almost every time we were there I would hear that random announcement: “Attention Kmart shoppers…” and then that disembodied voice would direct you to the current Blue Special somewhere in the store. Under that light would be some product (from patio furniture, to grills, to jewelry) on sale for a really low price and that price would only last an hour. Get ‘em while they’re hot!

It was always so exciting for me and my sister to run off and locate that iconic blue light.

I’ve missed those blue light specials.

And now they are back!

Kmart Bluelight specials are flat out a piece of Americana, something distinctly middle American and comforting – like apple pie and ice cream in the summer and baseball game with your folks. That’s why I’ve been excited to see that Kmart is bringing them back. This summer, Kmart has been bringing back their super low priced limited time specials on certain days – usually on Saturdays.

Last weekend, Kmart stores staged great sales on more than 40 items. For example, they offered all of their patio furniture for 70% off. That’s a steal, huh? They also had filler paper priced at two packs for just a buck. With school just around the corner, that’s a price worth getting up and going on over to Kmart.

It it silly that I feel a sort of relief to see Kmart going back to the way they used to do things when I was a kid? The world just seems to be changing SO fast. I feel warm and fuzzy when I see that old blue light.

Of course, that’s not to say that Kmart is behind the times either. This is, after all, the age of technology and you can even follow Kmart on Twitter!

That cute little Mr. Blue Light has never been this busy!

It’s been a long and painful journey for me in my career change. I went into education when the state was crying about needing teachers, but by the time I finished my one-year alternative certification program, there was all of the sudden a crisis here in our schools and teachers are losing jobs left and right.

I spent the summer losing my hair, developing ulcers, and sleeping poorly. I had lost my own position and was worried about supporting myself and my daughter. In the 11th hour, though, another teacher left my old school in my department and I am going to be taking his place. I will be teaching my favorite subject (English), working at the school I love, and teaching challenging (yet rewarding) students.

It’s all good and in the end I learned how little I was trusting God to work things out for me.

The sock monkey night light I posted about in my last post was such a huge hit with my daughter that she insisted we get another to give to her friend, Chloe, this weekend. It’s Chloe’s birthday and my daughter told me she is obsessed with the Bratz Dolls, but I’m not a huge fan and asked if there was anything else Chloe might enjoy. The sock monkey night light was Gigi’s first reply.

I was a little nervous that the kids at the party might not know about the whole sock monkey phenomenon, but was greatly relived upon the opening of the gift to hear several of the children exclaim “Sock Monkey!!”

So, the gift was a success. And, the party was fun. Unfortunately, I somehow did not hear Chloe’s mom tell me it was a POOL party. On the upside, we only live about a mile away and I was able to run home quickly and get Gigi’s suit. Gigi had a blast. I got a sunburn.

Back in the mid to late 70s, my mom made my sister and I sock monkeys. Sock monkey dolls have been around since the early 1900s and have always been made with Rockford Red Heel® socks, positioned so that those red heels become the mouths of the cute monkey toys. I loved mine to pieces, literally I think. I cannot find it anywhere and seem to recall the stuffing eventually coming out of the thing. Sadly, I am pretty sure I will not be able to talk mom into making me another.

The good news is that I do not have to depend on mom if I want to get my hands on another sock monkey. You can buy a vibrant, updated sock monkey at www.genuinemonkeez.com. They sent me a Colonial Candle Sock Monkey night light to try out and the entire family has fallen in love with the cute little guy. It’s a little bit of nostalgia in the face of the modern world. And, it’s been a great way to introduce my six-year-old daughter to the classic Sock Monkey of my youth. The updated versions come in red, blue, green and orange and really appeal more to kids my daughter’s age than the classic brown monkey dolls. Plus, this version has magnets in the hands and feet that can cling to one another or any metal surface. The options for fun are endless. The site offers clothing for the dolls and related accessories. That’s where you can find the link to buy one of the night lights like the one I have pictured in this review.

Vibrant, stained-glass style colors.

The warm glow of the light when it is switched on in a dark room.

The prospect of a bigger paycheck has my head spinning. I am thinking about all of the things I want to do in the house – new sink and faucet in the main bath, new or at least re-surfaced cabinets in the kitchen, some more fencing in the back yard, and new blinds on all of the windows. I know I will not suddenly have a pot of extra money from which to spend, but the idea that updates to the house will be easier to afford is a lovely thought.

I have been looking at Moen faucets every time I go to one of the home improvement stores here in town. I have an idea of what I want and have been watching the prices. Of course, once I got it in my head about the styles I thought I liked I went to my friend Bekah’s house and saw the new faucets she installed. Now I am giving some serious thought to getting one like hers. I think most brands call it a single-handle country pump style faucet. You do not get a very forceful stream of water, but it looks so pretty.

Holy cow. It’s time for me to get back into a healthier routine. I was doing great with my diet and weight loss during the school year. I walked an awful lot each day and avoided most sugar and carbs. I am kind f still in the same smaller size, but things are getting tight and I know I need to in the very least start taking my fat burner twice a day again. I do much better during the school year, when I have a routine that varies very little from day to day.

Of course, little things like the iced coffee I have sitting here on the desk are not helping. I used about half a cup of whole milk and some real sugar when I made it. In the past, I would have used Splenda or Truvia and skim milk. It’s not that hard to make smart choices, I just have to want to do it.

I went out before my trip north this summer to visit my dad and I bought a cheap laptop computer. It’s an HP and it does the job, but it’s weak when it comes to gaming or other programs that might take a lot of power. I was looking at my dad’s Sony Vaio and wondering if I should have shelled out just a little more money for something more powerful. I waver on that issue. I like that I was able to walk out of the store with a laptop for right around $300 – one that cost so little that I skipped the extended warranty and just told myself I would replace the thing if anything happened to it. I like that it cost so little that I do not get nervous about my 6-year-old who is sitting on the bed playing with the laptop as I sit over here on the desktop PC.

Do I dare to load Photoshop on my laptop, though? It would probably buck and scream and start to smoke. I am pretty sure the district will not be giving me a computer when I get a teaching job (unlike Pasco County), so I will probably be taking the cheap HP to school with me. I won’t be too concerned with damage or theft, but will it do the job if I need to load a lot of new software?

I have had a roadside assistance plan in one form or another since I started driving at 16. My dad put me on the family AAA plan and continued to give me a policy every year for Christmas until I got married. When I was married, my ex-husband and I went back and forth between AAA and the roadside assistance plans that came with the warranties on our vehicles. Either way, I have never been without some way to call someone if my car breaks down, gets a flat, run out of gas, or need a tow.

Admittedly, I used my roadside assistance a lot more when I lived up north and got stuck in the show from time to time. I have slid into my fear share of ditches. I also used to lock my keys in the car fairly often. Thank goodness I grew out of that bad habit.

I still carry AAA, because now it is what my mother gives me for my birthday every year. Is it just my family that finds a roadside assistance policy to be a phenomenal gift? I cannot help now, but think of things like AAA as something I should give as a gift.

I guess this is on my mind right now, because I have a car out in the driveway that needs towed – again. I cannot seem to keep the battery charged. The car is small, inexpensive, and paid off. I do not have it insured right now, because I have not been driving it. A lot of people ask why I bother to keep the thing tagged and registered. I guess I just hate the idea that if something happens to my van I would have to go out and buy a new car when I could have this backup car available in an emergency.

Call me nuts, but even after conducting a viewing purge that eliminated most reality shows out of my regular TV watching schedule – I really took to this new show Dating in the Dark.

I think there have only been two episodes on so far. I taped it last night, but a minute in I realized it was a rerun and deleted it from the DVR. Even so, those two episodes were an awful lot of fun.

As you may be able to tell from the title of the show, it is a dating experiment where couples get to know each other in a completely dark room. At the end, the each pick who they want to see in the light and after having a few seconds to see the face and body of the person they have developed a relationship of sorts with, thy decide whether or not to meet back up and discuss going on future dates.

The first episode had a semi-attractive female contestant that thought a lot more of herself than I assume most people thin of her, and she decided not to meet back up with her intended. This, despite the fact that the guy was perfectly cute, a great kisser, and charming. She just felt that looks-wise he was below her. I can only hope this hinders her dating out in the real world. She showed her true colors and they were muddled and grey.

The second episode did have one guy decide not to meet up with his very hot partner after he saw her, but not because she wasn’t smokin’ hot (because he agreed that she was), but because she was too religious for him. At least he showed some internal character via his actions. There was also a guy who packed a Kettlebell in his luggage and had to prove to his date that he was more than just a muscle head, but that worked out in the end and was a delightlful show that not all stereotypes are justly founded.

It’s a flimsy summer show, for sure, but good for a chuckle and shines some light on the ongoing debate about whether or not looks really matter when it comes to love.

I went this morning to talk to my old supervisors. They want me to come back to my old school and in fact, they are already working on the master schedule with me in mind. However, nothing is EVER set in stone in our district. Things can go wrong. They have not been able to speak to the principal yet to get the final word.

In the meantime, this afternoon I got an offer from the high school where I interviewed last week. I had to ask the gal in personnel to give me two days to work out my issues and hand her a final answer. I really do prefer to go back to my old school, but we have to ensure the spot is actually open. I do not want to turn down the other high school if I cam not 100% certain things are going to work out at my old school. And, we probably will not really know about that until Wednesday morning.

High. Anxiety. Situation.

Yesterday afternoon, not too many hours after my interview, I got a broadcast e-mail that went out to everyone at my old school. One of the teachers in my department is leaving – to be the vice principal at the high school where I had just interviewed.

That would mean I would have an advocate at that school. Even better, it would mean a vacancy at my old school! I have to jump on this one.

I had a teaching interview today. It went very well. The school is beautiful and newish. I liked the people I met who I would ultimately be working alongside. I like that it is a high school, close enough to home, and a job teaching classes that interest me. I am, however, just slightly apprehensive about the population I would be teaching. Don’t get me wrong. I love the strugglers. I have a place in my heart for them over and above a typical student. It’s just a tough group and I have heard about the high rate of teacher burnout at this particular school.

I need guidance.

Finally, I got myself a good haircut! It’s been a long time. I have been wearing my hair longer and going in to have it trimmed and shaped, but I have not had a real hairstyle for years. Yikes. I had no idea how out of control it had become.

I have very thick hair. The strands are each quite thin, very fine and silky. I just have a lot of them. A lot. So, I had the hairdresser thin out my hair and you should have seen the pile on the floor. And still, the hair left on my head looks thicker than most people’s.

It helps to find a hairdresser you like. I have a hard time with that. Often, it takes me years after a move to find someone to cut my hair that I feel is skilled and confident enough to meet my expectations. I had a phenomenal hairdresser when I lived in Morgantown, WV (Spa Roma). Here in Florida I have only found one hairdresser I really loved in the 11 years I have been here, and he was up in Gainesville. So, finding Jennifer up at my corner salon was a surprise and a blessing.

I feel like a new woman. Please please please remind me to never neglect having a good stylist on hand ever again.