Do you see the beautifulness you are surrounded by?!!!
I could not be more excited about the new look!!
I love the fresh, clean look!
I love the colors!
I love the femininity!
It just feels like me!
Alexis from Laugh Eat Learn Designs did an amazing job!
If you are looking for a blog designer, look no further!
She was so easy to work with and put up with my indecisiveness!
She was so easy to work with and put up with my indecisiveness!
I can’t wait to meet her at the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference in Orlando!! 
Today, I am celebrating my 5 year anniversary of blogging!
AND I’m giving you the gifts!
Look at all the teacher goodies you can score!
{giveaway near bottom}
I love blogging and I thought I’d share my online journey with you!
When I first started teaching 12 years ago, there was no teacher blogs.
So I was thrilled when I found ProTeacher a message board site!
Does anybody else remember ProTeacher?
Teacher websites became popular and I enjoyed visiting them,
but I knew nothing about creating a website.
One night, while reading the messages boards on ProTeacher,
I followed a link to Just A Girl Blog who had written a post about hand sanitizer!
{LOL…only a teacher would click a link like that!}
She was a teacher, but wrote her blog about home decorating!
I immediately fell in love!
I loved how she decorated her house!
I loved how she communicated!
I felt like I knew her!
So I thought I can do this!
On January 11, 2011, I wrote my first blog post!
In the next 6 months, I blogged about reorganizing my desk…
and my closet.…
and several other crafts and projects around my apartment!
I linked these posts up to a couple of linky parties and had a lot of traffic.
I felt proud of my little ol’ blog…
I felt proud of my little ol’ blog…
BUT…
I didn’t keep up with it.
I didn’t keep up with it.
As a teacher, things often get put on the back burner and so did this blog.
2 years went by and during that time the Teacher Blogger was born!
I started following all the teachers I had found in ProTeacher plus so many new ones!
So in July of 2013, I started blogging about teaching!
It was a game-changer, y’all!
It led me to become a TPT seller.
I have “met” so many educators from around the world!
And although, I don’t blog nearly as much as I want to…
This will always be my home!
I said all of this to say….that we all have a journey.
My journey has always been some sort of online teaching community!
When I tried to blog about home decorating, it didn’t work!
I lived in a one-bedroom apartment for crying out loud!!
What works for me, is to blog about my journey.
My teaching journey.
My life journey.
I encourage you to BE your journey!
You were created to be you and nobody else!
Thanks for reading about my journey!
I hope you embrace yours!
Now back to the GIVEAWAY!
Congratulations on your milestone! I found you through bloglovin.
Emily
I found the teach community by searching Google for help. I however cannot remember how I stumbled upon you! congratulations on 5 years!
I found the teach community by searching Google for help. I however cannot remember how I stumbled upon you! congratulations on 5 years!
Congratulations Rachel!! I had no idea you were such a vetran teacher!
I love the new blog!! It is so professional looking!!
I started blogging about 9 years ago, and like you I blogged about life… when I made the decision to go back to school for teaching, I started following a few teacher blogs…. But, I really connected with the teaching community through periscope this summer. And, I'm so grateful, because that's where I connected with you! 😀
Oh gosh, I have been following you for a while…I am not really sure how I found you!
I found you a while back thru Bloglovin. Congrats on your 5 years!
When I got back into teaching 6 years ago, I stumbled by a blog homes, which lead to different blogs, and finally teacher blogs. I LOVED looking at all the blogs on the "blog roll" for new blogs to search and follow. Way to go on 5 years!!! Congratulations!
Alyce
LOVE this Rachel! Congrats on five years! I am so thankful to have found the online teaching community thanks to IG, Facebook and TPT!! LOVE the connections, and I can't wait to connect with you in person this summer!!
Mrs. 3rd Grade
Five years and going strong!! Congratulations!
Jamie
Congratulations on five years! I love your blog -I am a teacher in the Charleston area as well ( but not a blogger).
I found you through Bloglovin. 🙂 Congrats on 5 years!
I found the teaching blogging community through the message boards and the old Scholastic blogs.