Editor’s note: Ron Clark, author of “The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck — 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers,” has been named “American Teacher of the Year” by Disney and was Oprah Winfrey’s pick as her “Phenomenal Man.” He founded The Ron Clark Academy, which educators from around the world have visited to learn.

(CNN) — This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.

I screamed, “You can’t leave us,” and she quite bluntly replied, “Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can’t deal with parents anymore; they are killing us.”

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The next door apartment has been empty for a few weeks, and I have been so curious as to who would move it. Lo and behold a single mother and her teenage daughter moved in this past weekend. As I was standing outside greeting them, I looked over onto my porch to see this:

And I realized…I’m no better than the crooked blind people. What an awful sight for this lady who is starting her life over next door to me.

Yesterday, I hightailed it over to Home Depot to find a handful of annuals that were on sale. Most of them claim to bloom well into the fall, so I’m hoping that they’ll last for a while. Longer than my first set of plants, at least.

After laying out the possibilities and fiddling with the arrangement, I have a brand-spankin’ new  flower pot.

Maybe this time I’ll remember to water them.

Here are a few home ideas I’m loving over on Pinterest:

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My bed has been decked out in blues and greens for years, but after seeing this beauty, I’m considering a change to something whiter and brighter. Maybe the addition of a white quilt would be enough?

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I just adore this sign for the front door! It’s also in my DIY folder because it looks so do-able. Either way, it’s definitely something I want for my home.

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And, finally… I’m not madly in love with the colors of this desk, but I am all over the set-up. I love the idea of using a table as a desk so long as it stays clutter-free. This picture sums up almost exactly what I’m looking to find and then put together for my apartment.

Make sure to link up to Pinnable Me with paw prints and pastry bags…I’d love to see what you’ve been pinning!

And speaking of delectable delights, I thought I’d share with you a website that I just love, that has unknowingly kept me on track when it comes to Weight Watchers. For all of my non-WW friends, don’t shy away from this site. I’m afraid I’d love it even if I were not on the plan!

Skinny Taste is the home of 90% of my favorite recipes, including the Pink Lemonade Confetti Cupcakes. I also adore the Strawberry Squares. Obviously I’m a fan of sweets.

I’ve also found great success with their supper recipes, even ones that please the not-on-a-diet boyfriend. The Lighter Chicken Saltimbocca and Corn Salsa with Lime are favorites that show up often in my meal plan.

Now it’s your turn: What websites are helping you lose or maintain weight?

Can you read what that jar is? It’s most definitely ComPOOst from the local zoo. From the elephant exhibit. So, yea… After seeing this beauty, I knew deep in my heart what a treat I was in for as I toured the rest of the Mast General Store.

I love all things Tervis Tumbler. I’m a hoarder of all things with a South Carolina flag on it. Thus, my loud squealing when I saw this cup. And, no, I did not buy it, but I will own it one of these days.

If I could sum up what I want my house to look like in one piece of fabric, it would be this napkin (the one on the right, although the other isn’t so bad). The blue and green are strikingly similar to my living room and bathroom paint colors, so I’m trying to see how I can build up the rest of my design around these colors. It’s my very own Sue the Napkin!

Hehehe…because every jar needs a bonnet. For a whopping $1.49, this could  be yours to top any jar (it’s elastic, you see). I do love the south, but maybe I’m missing some vital component to storing items in my pantry.

I want a biscuit bowl. Not a premade one like this, but a real-older than my grandma-used one. The end.

Since we’re talking about all things southern, how would you like your very own Confederate States of America tie? No?!? But, it’s an illustrated history of the Civil War!

I guess a Declaration of Independence tie will have to do. In case you ever forget the words, you can always just look at your tie. Perfect!

I want to leave you with this beauty. It was not found at the general store, but at the shop next door. I’ll admit that it was the shine that caught my attention first. But, oh my. Did you notice the details on the tips? That’s high quality right there!

Source: theblissfullycontentlife.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Source: verypurpleperson.com via Maggie on Pinterest

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Have you found any great DIY projects lately?

I’ve also got to get these boxes out of my dining room. Amen.

So, I’ve been keeping myself busy the past week or two trying to get as much done as possible before I’m in the building. Mostly that means stalking Pinterest and teacher blogs, stealing borrowing ideas, and then creating my own version of documents. Here are a few of the projects I have been working on:

Substitute Binder – I’ve hated the one I’ve had for the past few years, so I created a combination of two or three that I saw online. At a whopping 18 pages, this one took the most time. It’s also got some emergency plans and worksheets as well.

Greek & Latin Roots Cards – Anyone else use this program? We’re starting it for the first time this year, so I have been making cards to go in the pocket chart.

Spelling Contract – I definitely stole this from someone, then changed lots of the activities. I love love love using this with my 4th graders.

Vocabulary Contract – Same situation…I just turned the Spelling Contract into vocabulary. Lots of the activities are the same, but less spelling-focused.

Vocabulary Record Sheet – This is a requirement on the Vocab Contract to put into their Book Lover’s Books.

What are your summer projects (teacher or otherwise)?

I’m a big snacker – I could eat all day long if I let myself, so a struggle early on was finding appropriate snacks that are low in points and fill me up. Here are a few ideas that have kept me on track:

• Fruit (of course!) – 0 points
• Jell-O Sugar Free Snacks – 0 points
• All natural applesauce – 0 points
• Sargento Light string cheese – 1 point
• Fruit Roll-Up Simply Wildberry – 1 point
• Hershey’s Bliss Milk Chocolate (1 piece) – 1 point
• Dannon Light & Fit – 2 points

We spent about 2 1/2 hours (4.5 miles) walking through a portion of the Pinckney Island Nature Preserve. We saw tons of animals and enjoyed the scenery immensely. I’d suggest visiting at high tide and touring on bikes, but doing it our way was fine as well.

We spent some time at Coligny Plaza, but I didn’t love it at all. It was a little too touristy and kitchy for me, so I enjoyed Harbour Town so much more. The shops were a bit nicer even though they were also catering to the tourists. Nearby, Salty Dog is an institution – one that can’t be missed if you’re in the area. I’d go for the shrimp and grits, personally.

Speaking of food, we stopped at One Hot Mama’s for supper one night, home of Orchid from Food Network Star. The food was phenomenal; everyone at our table was happy with their order. This is my plate of rib tips and smoked chicken, but I’d also suggest the rack of ribs and the Big Daddy. The best part was seeing Orchid walking around talking to the guests. She’s definitely very down to earth and happy. Wish she had won!

Other places of note: Of course no trip to Hilton Head is complete without some time at the beach. I have no daytime pictures of it, oddly enough, but HHI has the best beach around. We also really enjoyed eating at Pino Gelato (try the Tiramisu) and drinking at Wine Times 4. Pino Gelato was a random find, but one of the best gelato places I’ve been to. I read about Wine Times 4 on another blog, and dragged my family along to try it. The concept is great (you choose your wine by the glass size and use a card to keep track of your balance), and I loved trying all kinds of different wines.

So, there’s the short version of our trip to Hilton Head. Have you ever been to HHI? Do you have any recommendations for the next time we’re there?

Once I clicked through to the original webpage, I realized…this looks easy. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a crafty person. I wish I could create all of gorgeous DIY items on Pinterest these days, but there’s no hope for me, I’m afraid. I’ve got a good teaching friend who is getting married next month and has a birthday this week. An idea was sparked, albeit with a hint of trepidation. Thankfully, this ended up being stupid easy. Here’s my finished piece and how I went about it.

1. I traced the top of the box onto white paper, which I then used to cut out the same shape on three pieces of scrapbook paper. I intended to put the polka dot paper in the middle, with paisley on the bottom. Unfortunately, I severely miscut the paisley paper, which I’m still not sure how that happened since I was tracing it.
2. I filled the box up with as many purple things as I could find that were small enough. There are erasers, staples, paper clips, binder clips, jolly ranchers, Dove chocolate, magnets, and push pins. I’m most excited about the staples…Who knew they sold colored staples??
3. I finally wrapped it all up with a basic bow. I opted not to do the ribbon underneath the paper, as they did in the original post because I was afraid it would get in the way. In the bow are a few things I picked up that did not fit in the box (highlighter, white-out tape, and flags, all in purple of course).