What's in a Name?

  I have fretted about so many things before finally making the plunge into the blogging world.
Will I have to join Facebook now?
            (No, I don't live under a rock. I have my reasons...
                   though they are becoming obsolete).
What about giveaways?
        (Let's don't get ahead of ourself just yet...we need a Follower or two first!)

How do I grab those buttons, and design one of my own??
     (I STILL have so much to learn...)
What should my blog name be???


   That last one really had me. There are so many cute, creative blogs out there.
And in case you haven't noticed, there are sooooo many First Grade Blogs!
I happen to teach first grade...I do not want "first" or "first grade" in my blog name, for reasons other than being lost in the crowd.
      (Actually, just one other reason: with all the changes in education, you never know when you'll have to move. Who wants the hassle of thinking of ANOTHER name, when it takes you
f-o-r-e-v-e-r to decide on the first one?!)
     So, where did I get MY blog name you ask? (pretend you asked)
Well, when I first started blog stalking searching for great ideas, it seemed everyone and their dog was blogging about
           "synonym rolls."
Seriously...they were everywhere!
I ADORED the idea.
And, thanks to a rockin' blog-star who "parades" her first grade ideas all over her blog (thank you, Mrs. Carroll!), another who is glad to "finally" be teaching first (the lovely Mrs. Bates), and yet another who is quite the "lesson plan diva"(self-explanatory), I taught a lesson that was ADORED by my students.

Seriously...they went bananas, they were having so much fun  learning so much!

My only regret is I have no cute photos to share because I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, so I didn't run to the office to grab the school camera.
I should have had more faith in the "power of  blog ideas"... lesson learned.
       The other part of the name just comes from who I am. I used to be an optimist; I still TRY to see that glass half-full. But, you learn some lessons in the classroom of life that begin to dull those rosy-colored glasses (I'm talking about glasses you wear now, not drink out of. You know the saying...).
I'm nearly 32 (gasp! she gave her actual age?!).
 I have 2 absolutely wonderful, Creative, AMAZING boys (loves of my life).

My first "students" :)

    And their father and I divorced almost 2 years ago.
 A hurt like that makes you a little more of a realist than an optimist. It's very easy for me to see the good in things...but I just as easily now see the bad and the ugly. Cue the violins :,(
 I knew I wanted to pay a kind of homage to the inspiration I've received from all you blogSTARS out there, but I wanted the name to resemble who I am, as well.
Hence, the contrast.
Isn't life in our classrooms full of sweet AND sour moments? Isn't life in general that way?
In fact, doesn't it often seem that when life is good, you're craning your neck to see what's coming your way?
 (or is that just me???)
So, this blog will attempt to celebrate the great moments, realizing that the not-so-great moments are a reality as well...but we'll try NOT to focus on that!
Thanks for staying with me to the end of this looonnnngg post.
I am not a succinct kinda gal, but I'm going to strive to be short, sweet and to the point....most of the time:)
I hope you'll join me in my journey!
Thanks for letting me be a part of yours:)