Tried it Tuesday Stitch Fix & Pencils

It has been a whirlwind few weeks. I have been running on fumes, burning the midnight oil, burning the candle at both ends. You name the idiom and I am probably the epitome of it! 
Tomorrow is a big day for my class. Tomorrow is the 5th grade state writing test. It is a big deal, because where I work it is still promotional. Not all counties require them to pass, but my county does. We feel the pressure and take it seriously. 
My performance as a teacher is judged according to how the students do. Part of our school evaluation is based on how they perform. High stakes doesn't even seem strong enough a term. 
While I have been working hard to prepare my kiddos for the writing test, I have not been writing beyond my classroom. Instead I was preparing for our last hurrah writing celebration and swimming through the sea of other activities the school year and life have thrown my way! 
No, I haven't been eating bon-bons with my feet perched upon an ottoman.Instead I have been....

• Completing winter parent teacher conferences.
• Helping devise a plan for the extra 30 minutes a day that were tacked on to our schedules in order to make up the snow days. 7 snow days is a lot to make up!
• Surviving parent conference week with my 3 boys while my hubby was on the other side of the country for a work conference.
• Prepping for Saturday school to prepare for the week long state test that are 6 weeks away.
• Helping out teammates who are dealing with family crises. 
• Guiding my struggling student teacher through the realities of education. 
• Starting a new sport season with my boys (flag football for the oldest and youngest).
• Trying to finish up a few products for my TpT store. 
• Attempting to remain sane during this crazy time of year. 

Seeing as this is not my first year teaching nor my first year in 5th, I think I have rolled with the punches pretty well. I am not panicking. Using what I know from previous students, I know my class is ready. A few might struggle, a few will definitely shine. In the long run, I know that I have done my job. My team has done a fabulous job together to get our kids to this day. We will conquer this test!  

I am linking up today with Holly for Tried It Tuesday. I have peeked at a few posts, and they are fantastic! I highly recommend that you check them out. 

I have read a plethora of reviews about the pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies. They were enticing and yet, I could not break down and order one. I tried to win one on many occasions. Then I discovered that a friend had one in her classroom, so I tested hers out. I really liked it. She said I could use it any time, but did she really want me hanging out in her room daily with a batch of pencils?  
My son happened to be in her class and he told me how great the sharpener works. I decided it was time to act. Unfortunately snow and ice thwarted the delivery, and I did not get it as fast as I wanted. 
When it arrived, my husband decided to check it out and see why I was so excited. He liked it. The boys all played with it before I got a chance to really test it out. 

 My youngest son loves it so much that he questioned why I took it to school. Yes, it is easy enough for a 4 year old!
In my classroom I keep the sharpener up, I do not want it to be broken. I will happily sharpen for the kids when they need it. I often sharpen a stash and swap out their dull ones. 
It works so well on their pencils. Produces sharp points and does not eat up their pencils like my electric sharpener. 
I mentioned the writing test, well guess what? I really am ready. Look what I did tonight...

I tried it. I like it. I approve it! If you are skeptical like me, you might wonder if it is really worth it. It is! 

I also have been reading about Stitch Fix. I decided to give that a try too. I received my first fix today and I am glad I tried it out. 

I really liked the styles of clothing they sent me. Many things I might not stop and try if I went shopping on my own, but all things I really liked. 
I am not super fashionable, but I like nice looking things. I tend to go for cheaper things, and with limited "me" time shopping is low on my list of things that I get to do. 
Here are some pictures of things they sent me...

Skinny jeans, White sweater, Striped top, Blue blazer, and chevron infinity scarf.

Love the dots on this. Too bad my muscular arms did not squeeze in easily! This was the only item that did not fit. 

Chevron infinity scarf. I liked it a lot, but chose ti send it back. It was bulky on my neck thus not super flattering. Since I did not love the way it fit, I could not justify the price.  

I love that I could keep as much as I wanted. The discount for keeping all 5 items would have been nice, but I was not in love with the white sweater and my arms did not love the blazer. THe white sweater was a little too see-through for teaching 5th graders. Even with a camisole or tank top I would have felt self-conscious. 
I would never try on or buy skinny jeans. I am not a skinny girl and tend to hide my muscular thighs. But man, they were so comfortable and they made me feel good. So I splurged and am keeping the jeans. It is jeans week so I am going to proudly wear them on Thursday. I need to push myself out of my comfort zone and be comfortable with my body. 
I love the striped top. I am going to wear that tomorrow with some slacks. We cannot wear jeans on testing days, but I cannot wait until Thursday to wear my other "fix."
Here is a bad selfie in the striped top...

Think I might need to get a cute red beaded necklace to accessorize this top. until then, I think my turquoise necklace will do. 
If you are looking for something to do for yourself or want to try out something, I recommend trying it, click here. I used a referral code by another buyer and they got a $25 credit toward their next fix. Since I bought some of the items in my shipment, the $20 styling fee was applied to my cost, worth it for a little personal shopping. The other great part is the other items get shipped back at no additional cost to me. 

I am hoping that after tomorrow I will feel a little less crazy, and be able to keep up with blogging a little more regularly. Stay well and keep smiling as you make your way through the hectic testing season!