Tieks have arrived!

So my Tieks arrived in the mail yesterday.  I was so excited to receive them!  The box was pretty small, it surprised me!  I opened the shipping box to find a super cute teal box with an awesome flower on top.

When I opened it, a hand written card fell out.  On it, they said they hoped I enjoyed my matte black tieks and that my back pain would be helped by them.

That scared me.  I ordered California Navy, not matte black.  I quickly took the shoes out of the box and discovered they had sent me California Navy.  The note was just incorrect.  Thank goodness!  The shoes came really fast.  But I was anxious to be able to wear mine and didn't want to have to wait because I was sent the incorrect shoes!

I tried the shoes on.  I walked around the house in them a bit.  They are really soft on the inside.  And they felt pretty comfortable.  I sat on the couch with them on and started working on lessons for the upcoming school year.  It was then that I realized that my toes were starting to hurt.  After a while, they started to go numb.   Not good!

I took them off and gave my feet time to relax.  Put them back on again a while later and the same thing occurred.  They were fine for a few minutes and them my toes started to hurt and become numb.

I always wear a size 6.  It doesn't matter the brand.  So naturally, I ordered a size 6.  Part of me wonders if I exchanged them  for the next size up, a 7, if they would fit better or if they would be way too big.

I received an email from one of their representatives named Lisa when I had placed my order  (When I placed the order, it had asked WHY I was purchasing these shoes.  So I told them about my back injury and the pain resulting from that.  Lisa replied stating she hoped my new shoes would help my injury!  It was a nice, personal touch.  My mom said, "For $175 dollars, you SHOULD get a personalized email!" LOL).  So I replied to that email from Lisa and asked for her opinion on what I should do.  She said to wear them around the house for a bit with thick socks on to try to stretch the leather.  She said if that doesn't work, they would he happy to replace them.

So that's what I have been doing last night and this morning.  I found the thickest pair of socks I own (which aren't that thick considering I live in Florida).  And I look like a tacky tourist right now (You know, those people who wear socks with their sandals?  The people all Floridians like to make fun of! :P ).

I will have to update again in a couple days once I get an idea whether I keep this pair or exchange them.  I hope they work out!  I really want them to work out!  I'm afraid if I exchange them for a size bigger, that those shoes will be TOO big.  They don't carry half sizes.  So if I go for a size bigger, it will have to be a size 7.  I am definitely not a size 7 in any other shoe.  So I'm a bit worried.  I really hope these stretch out a bit and stop hurting my toes!

I caved and bought Tieks

Okay,

So for some background, I injured my back when I was 17.  A decade later, it is still causing problems.  For the past 5-6 years, I've been wearing Naturalizer brand shoes.  They come with really nice padding and support in the shoe and have really helped when I am teaching on my feet all day long.  (When I was intern, I tried wearing kitten heals every day and I about died at the end of those four months.  I was in really bad shape in terms of my back.  Which is when I decided to look for better shoes).

Paying even 80 dollars for the Naturalizer shoes makes me balk.  I don't like to spend a lot of money on things.  I cried when I bought my car!

So I've been researching and reading about Tieks for over a year now.  I have read ALL these reviews written by teachers who swear all their feet and back pain have disappeared since they started wearing Tieks to work.  The thing that held me back from taking the plunge was the expensive price tag.  Currently, the cheapest price tag says $175.  And they go up from there!

But my Naturalizer shoes only ever last about a year.  Paying 80 dollars for a pair of shoes that only last a year is something that makes me go "AAAHHHHH."  I've read so many reviews from teachers who say their Tieks are perfect even after 3 years.

So, after much debate, I decided to go through with it!  I bought myself a pair of Navy Tieks.  I wanted to get a neutral that would go with a lot of things.  I LOVE brown.  But I, personally, just don't like mixing brown and black.  As much as I wanted a brown pair, that was out.  And black was out for the same reason.  I fell in love with the Taupe color...but of course, the ONLY size that is out in Taupe is MY size.  So I settled on the Navy which I can wear with brown AND black!  My mother suggested using these for a few months and if they are as good as all the reviews say, to buy a second pair in another color so I can alternate.

(This image is straight from their website!)

I am excited for them (and sad because my bank account just got much lighter!)

I will post a review of them once they come in and I wear them for a while!

New School and Room Theme Reveal!

I have some news!  At the start of the new school year in August, I will officially be at a different school!  This school is a Title 1 school with a lot of children who really need a lot of love and support.  In addition, it's my understanding that they haven't had a consistent music program in quite a long time so I can do a lot with it!

I am really excited for my new adventure!

Now, as you know, I generally theme my classroom.  2 years ago was Harry Potter.  Last year was How to Train Your Dragon.  This year's room theme is going to be......Star Wars!!!

I have started making the classroom decor to fit my theme and I could not be more excited!

Here is a sneak peak:

These are what my instrument labels are going to look like - I always put a label on the bins that hold each instrument.

These are for my lesson plan binders.  I am crazy and have a binder for EACH grade level.  So each grade level gets a cover.  (Each grade level's is a different color for the space background - this one is blue, first is black, etc.  And each grade level's has a different Star Wars symbol in the corner).

Dynamics Posters.  I am also going to be doing tempo posters as well.  And I think vocabulary posters/cards too.  Each has a different character.

These are the classroom rules!  So excited for these!  Each features a different character as well as a different color scheme.

So excited for these Pentatonic posters I am going to be putting on my wall!

*****If anyone would like a copy of the resources I am making for my classroom for free, comment with your email address and I can send them to you*****

I will post more pictures once I can get into my classroom and begin the process of inventorying what I have at my new school and getting the room ready for the school year.