The 7 Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory. Every human who attempts to teach anything at any level should be required by global laws to read this book before attempting a single lesson. It's that good.
Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith. A plethora of great ideas for elementary teachers. Rafe gives great tips for everything from classroom management to P.E., math to art, motivation to organization. A must read.
The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades by Gail, Moser, and Boushey. I learned more about training students than I did about teaching reading. Their basic 4 step approach is simple and effective.
Inspiring Active Learning: A Handbook for Teachers by Merrill Harmin. I don't agree with much of this book, but chapters 1 and 2 are worth the price of the book, which can be purchased used on Amazon for only 1 cent! It's actually worth much more than that! The teaching strategies from the first two chapters inspired me to start using my reaching consensus model.
Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6 by Fountas and Pinnell. To me, this is the Bible of teaching Reading. I didn't get much out of the writing portion. This book thoroughly explains how to do a reader's workshop in your classroom. It has exact lessons, model posters, samples of all sorts, and more!
About Teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource by Marilyn Burns. The Bible of teaching math. Phenomenal book. Gets you to think outside the box, the one you learned math in.
Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods That Matter, K-12, by Daniels and Bizer. The title pretty much says it all.
Teacher Stuff
Class Cards by Rick Morris iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone App. THIS is where it's at! This is the "Sticks-in-the-Mug" app. Put your students into the class list. Deal the cards. Call on kids randomly and record the quality of their responses in the palm of your hand. Now you have data for class discussions. If you have a "Touch" or the like and you teach any grade, you HAVE to get this app. The best 10 bucks you'll spend on teaching!
Document Camera (also known as an Elmo.) I have no idea how I ever taught without one of these. Don't get the kind with the flexi type neck. It's too hard to find the exact spot you want to show the class. You'll need a projector to go with this handy device. If there's any way to find the money to buy one, you won't be sorry! The link here shows the one I use in my class. They aren't cheap.
Video Equipment. Click to see my recommended equipment and software for teachers.
Flocabulary. (3rd through College) Educational music teaches vocabulary, science, history, and math. Some of their history songs are little controversial, so be careful. The kids love their music and the content is rich with high-level vocabulary
Christian Books
The Bible. Life's manual from God. I don't know how people live without it.
Bruchko by Bruce Olsen. The true story of a 19 year old missionary to a brutal tribe of murderous South Americans. Stranger than fiction, you won't be able to put it down. A middle aged friend once said about this book, "I have never read past page 13 of any book in my life. I finished this in 3 days."
In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. This is the book that inspired so many to wear bracelets and shirts with the WWJD acronym. The concept got really watered down and trendy in America, but the Biblical truth remains; we are to behave as Christ would behave. This fictional account of a group of Christians who spent a year doing only what Christ would do will challenge your faith.
Restaurants
In-n-Out. Yep. That's what a hamburger is ALL about. I've had 5 Guys. I've had Whataburger. None of them compare to the perfect taste of an In-n-Out Burger. It's probably the best reason to never move too far to the east.
Cracker Barrel. Love the big breakfasts.
Anthony's Lounge Ristorante. Murrieta's best restaurant. Great Italian food at a reasonable price. Excellent service as well.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro. Love the lettuce wraps. The smell is enough to die for.
Stuff
Apple Computers. I personally use a MacBook Pro with a 17" screen to make video editing a little easier. Mac's are more expensive, but the service at the Apple Store is unbelievable and the extra money is worth the lack of viruses and headaches. I worked on PC's for many years. I was constantly having my computers freeze and had to reboot several times a day. Not with Macs!
Shot Bloks Electrolyte chews. Eat them when you are in the middle of running or working out to get your electrolytes.
Unknown Musical Groups
Moke Hard-hitting rock band with smooth vocals, grungy guitars and catchy hooks.
Jimmy Robeson Super cool worship music.
Etcetera
Crossfit. This is a killer workout strategy that specializes in NOT specializing. Really kicks your butt. I have been doing Crossfit workouts since April of 2009. After doing Crossfit, other workouts don't really feel like WORKouts. And it's free. Just look up their workouts and watch the videos on the website.