A List Of Things I've Been Doing Lately

It occurred to me the other day when I woke up from my super casual two hour nap after school the other day that I have a blog.
That blog is this blog and I also simultaneously realized that I hadn't posted in that blog for about three weeks.
Which also just by chance happens to be the amount of time that I've been in school.

Juuuuust a coincidence. Right?

While I could be all "Blah blah blah OMG TEACHING IS JUST SO SUPER HARD AND BUSY LET ME GIVE YOU MY SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST WEEK TO JUSTIFY WHY I'VE BEEN GONE." I feel like that is pointless and you could find it elsewhere.
Like any teaching blog you follow.
Or this blog right here. Go ahead, see any post I have on teaching it's probably of the above flavor. (That's right, I'm not above calling myself out.)

So instead I'm going to give everyone a general overview of things I've been doing lately in my favorite way: list form.

Sweating

The weather is still hanging out between 70 and 80 degrees. When you're in a classroom that's on the second floor with 30 year-old carpeting you have a recipe for some pit stains.
As far as my teacher clothing goes, I have 3 outfits that are comfortable in that sort of weather. And only one that I'd actually want to wear. So I've been rotating a few t-shirts in with my one pair of capri's and dress pants into my outfits and then just dabbing myself with tissues the rest of the time.
Needless to say, I'm ready for the fall weather to set in so I can start wearing what most of my wardrobe consists of: COMFY SWEATERS!

Yoga

I haven't been going to classes, but a couple of days a week (when I can peel myself out of bed at 5 am) I've been ordering the hour video on our demand channel. On the mornings that I do yoga before I head to school I literally feel like nothing can shake me. And let's face it I feel a little less guilty about not working out if I get home and am too tired to move.

Telling Jokes

At some point over the summer I forgot how hilarious I am.
I also forgot how hilariously lame I come off to 7th graders, especially when I'm intentionally making  horrible jokes on purpose to set their standards low.

Channeling My Inner Camp Counselor

Because we have 7th graders this year that we will have next year as well, my team and I have been really focusing on team building for the first two weeks of school. This means that we were doing a lot of name games, problem solving, and cooperative challenges.
So for the past three weeks I've been switching back and forth from being a super professional 7th grade teacher to my old camp counselor days. All 8 years of running games and creating activities at summer camp for 8 years really paid off, and was kind of a blast.

Become My Mother, My Father, And Every Other Adult Who Put Me In My Place

When you get a group of students that you know you're going to have for two years, you have to put your foot down right from the get-go. That will cause a lot less heartache down the road. It makes me giggle a little when I hear myself use phrases and get after students for things that people used to get after me for. The circle of life goes on.
But don't worry, I haven't gotten to the point where I've had to use, "Because I said so," yet....

Being Useless When I Get Home

*Insert joke about my husband doing all of the housework because I catch narcolepsy when I walk into the apartment.*
I'll be used to being back at work again soon right?

Eating Fresher, And Cleaner

I've been finding cleaner recipes for dinners and lunches.
We've been getting our produce, hummus, and even some meat from our local farmer's market.
Not only do I feel better about buying local, but I feel better because I'm eating good food.
Oh and it's been super yummy.
THANKS PINTEREST.

Keeping Up With Family

The weekends have been family get togethers, sleep overs at parent's houses, and trying to make it to XC meets and soccer games. Sometimes successfully, and sometimes not so much. The weekends have been full, and that's been just fine.

Sleeping. Lots of Sleeping. 

Naps. Going to bed early. Sleeping in late.
If I'm not in the middle of a cup of coffee or in the middle of a lesson plan you can probably find me dozing off with some drool leaking from the corner of my mouth.

Figuring Out HOW I Want To Reach My Fitness Goals

I have fitness goals. This summer I wasn't that great at motivating myself. I have found my motivation, but am finding that with school starting and just my preferences changing, the way I've always gone about fitness just isn't working for me anymore. So I'm exploring changes I can make to my workout routine to get myself out of this workout-rut.

Painting My Nails

If I don't paint my nails I tend to chew them, which is gross.
But if they chip then my new nervous habit and picking the polish off.
Soooo I've been doing a lot of painting and retouching.
This week it's light purple and glitter on the the ring fingers.
(But if you followed me on Twitter you'd already know that!

Answering Nervous Questions About How School Is Going

Last year if you asked me how my school year was going I would get this crazy look in my eyes, tell you it was alright, and then look like I was about to cry.

I learned a lot from my students last year. I think I got a lot of really great skills and I would like to think I made some difference for some students. I also got my first taste of teaching Humanities and integrating language arts and social studies. I developed a curriculum and learned what I liked and what I didn't like about how I taught it.
BUT GOD WAS LAST YEAR HARD.
So when people ask me how my year is going so far, I can tell they're a little nervous about what sort of reaction they're going to get from me. I think they're pleasantly surprised when I smile and say, "Actually, really well!"

Becoming A Real Person At Home

For those of you whom aren't regulars here, my husband is most likely going up for sainthood within the year. Since I started teaching he picks up a lot of the slack on the home-front.
This especially went for last year (please see above category) when I could barely keep my head above water at school.
During the summer it was much easier to do my part, but alas summer is over.
But this school year, I'm anticipating a the year to be a little less exhausting and trying my darndest to not only be a real person at school, but also a real person at home that cooks dinner at least 3 times a week.
I know, I know, it's a lofty goal, but I think I can make it!

Pretending I'm Organized

I am not the most organized person in the world.
Actually let me rephrase that.
I'm not an organized person.

BUT

I have organized my desk drawers at school for the first time in my life.
I have organized my jewlery, make-up, hair elastics, and hair clips all onto rings and into zip up bags and lotions.
I have organized all of my student information and important lists for school into a binder.
I am not expecting any of this to last long.
But it sure does feel nice to pretend!

Forcing Myself To Read

This sounds like I hate reading.
I love reading.
But often find myself saying, "Man I wish I had time to read during the school year. I feel like I can only enjoy a book during the summer!"
Which in a way is true. I go to work, come home, eat dinner, and more often than not do some more work.
But, I also watch television.
I also read blogs, and check facebook, and pin away to my heart's content.
So realistically, could I read more? Yes. I just have to force myself. So I've downloaded a couple new books to the kindle and am ready to cut some other stuff out so I can enjoy a few good books.

That, in a little nutshell is what I've been up to.
Time for me to read some of my favorite blogs, because that is something that I have NOT been up to and need to do.
Stay fabulous this week!

What I'm Loving Wednesday/Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday

It's Wednesday...

You can find these link ups here and here.

 Here's What I'm Loving This Wednesday...

I'm loving... that I've officially made it to the beach more times than I did last year...and counting! I'm feeling relaxed and fairly tan!

I'm loving... that I'm working a double today. Okay, not the fact that I'm working a double. But whenever I start to feel bad for myself about working a double I try and remember that I'm doing it to make some extra money. For extra expenses this summer, bills, and all of that shopping I've been doing lately. I do like the extra money. So yeah, let me sugar coat it for myself and say that I'm loving it as a remind that if I wasn't working I would not be ready for the end of the summer!

I'm loving... that the olympics start this weekend. When those start up I am a serious couch potato, cheering on the good old USA in sports that I otherwise probably wouldn't be super interested watching on TV. Can not wait!

I'm loving...how sweet and thoughtful my husband is. Yesterday after he left for work I woke up these.

Nothing special. Just a note and some fresh cut flowers from the back yard. But it's the little things that remind me why I decided to hang out with this guy for a really long time. It's the little things that make our marriage go round.

I'm loving... that I've been finding some awesome deals on clothing. My back to school shopping is almost finished. (Just need to find a nice pair of casual khakis that come in long. Leave a comment if you have a pair you can't live without.) Here are my most recent deals and steals.

At a Van Huesen outlet I got this sweater whose original price was $82. I got it for $25!

And this scarf whose original price was $30. I got it for $8!

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There's no photo, but yesterday I got another cardigan from Maurices.
Now they're having this super awesome sale where if you just try on a pair of jeans you get $5 off.  So, the sweater was already in clearance, and I tried on a pair of jeans because this girl ain't stupid. What did I end up paying?
Original price was: $35. I paid $2.50. 
I walked out feeling like I stole the sweater from them!


I'm also loving the shirts I have arriving in the mail today from American Eagle!

I'm loving... leftovers. Healthy leftovers that is.
When you work at a frozen custard stand all summer it's hard not to snack on junk food and the frozen custard itself ALL THE TIME. Unfortunately, I've gained the 5 pounds  I lost at the end of the school year back. Maybe even plus some. BLERG!
On the other hand,  the hubby and I have been trying to make healthy dinners all summer that are filling and low fat. So how do I solve my insane munching problem at work to match up my goals at home? Yummy leftovers of course! Today for lunch I'm having some delicious Taboulleh that we made last night! Thanks pinterest for the idea!

Speaking of Pinterest...

Oh, How Pinteresting...

Before I share my favorite pins, yesterday I wrote a post that is the first in a series of a few called "Pins Awkwardly In Real Life".  All of the posts are going to be about me trying out pins that I have done in real life, for better or for worse! My first post in the series is on a recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna. Check out the post here!

Okay onto my recent favorite pins!

Some food:

A recipe for breakfast cookies. I've made them twice, they are both yummy and hearty.

Stuffed pork loin. Have not tried, but just looking at the photo makes my mouth water!

Some teaching pins since the school year is indeed just around the corner

This teacher has classroom decoration tips and organization ideas. I could sift through this for ages because my classroom needs to get itself organized this fall!

Rubric ideas for journaling.

And a few words that inspired me to move on and be positive about what could be ahead at a time last week that I was feeling a little down.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest you can find me right here.

Happy Wednesday, and stay fabulous!

Feel Awkward? Oh Let Me Help You Feel Better About Yourself.

There are times in my life when I look back at my day and I think:
Is this real life?  Noooo, noooo. This is just too awkward and outrageous for this to actually be the life I live. I must have forgotten that I'm actually Kristen Wiig in her newest movie playing the loveable but clumsy friend that gets herself into silly mix-ups all the time. That's it.

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Today was one of those days.

I had the great idea this morning that before I went into work at my summer job at a frozen custard stand I would go to the gym. Not only would I go to the gym, but I'd also bring a little bag and shower there like all of those important adults seem to do. What a plan! How grown up!

So my first mistake was apparently being overambitious. The universe apparently does not like people with killer legs and an increased lung capacity.

So between spending a little too much time on the internet machine this morning and talking with my MIL on the phone, I was running a little later then I had intended.

That's fine, I'll just cut out my arm workout today. No big deal. I'm still going to the gym and getting an awesome workout in. Go me!

I continued to pack my gym bag, super proud of myself when I remembered my shower sandals which I had of course forgotten last time.

I went out to the car and dropped my bag off while letting the dog out and realized that I'd forgotten a hairdryer. I decided my hair could just dry itself. I'll hang my head out the window. It's fine. I brought the dog back in and got into the car.

About 30 seconds after I'd left, I realized I forgot to lock my apartment door. I looked at the time.
 It was cutting it close.
But alas, after thinking about how all of my students were on summer vacation too running rampant through the neighborhood, I went back and locked the door. If I can't trust them to do their homework on a regular basis, I don't know if I could trust them not to break into my house to hang out with my dog and cat.

Okay. Let's get to the gym. I can get at least 45 minutes on the elliptical and some abs. Man I am such an adult. Look at me being motivated after all of this!

I got two minutes into my drive to the gym.
SHIT I FORGOT TO PACK A TOWEL.
I look at the time. It's cutting it really close.
Do I go back? Do I go to the gym and not shower before work?


I know, I wanted a magazine anyway. Hannaford is on the way I'll stop in there, get a cheap towel from their beach section, and get a magazine on the way out. I can read about people I want to be and  foods to eat for dinner. Gosh maybe after reading the magazine I'll have it all together!


So I fast-walk into the grocery store looking like I'm going to pee my pants. First thing, I run into a parent of a former student. He starts making chit-chat, I word vomit out a few things about my life and when I've come-to after the conversation I've ended up in produce.
In a moment of panic I grab some berries and head off to the beach section.

Obviously there are no towels.

But there were plenty of fitness magazines to lower my self esteem. I make my way out of the store. We're down to just cardio for the day. That's fine, I'm going to the gym before work. I am awesome.

As I pull into the gym and I think about how it'll be hard to dry my hair without a towel or hair dryer,

LORD ALMIGHTY I FORGOT A HAIRBRUSH TOO. SOLID WORK.

In the parking lot I decided to go through my bag to see what I actually did have:
 My work shirt, a pair of shorts, jeans, my work shirt, clean underwear(PHEW), two different bras(?), a pair of socks that were either clean or just had been in my bag so long they could pass as it, and of course my shower sandals and shampoo.

I decided to rummage through my trunk as I'd cleaned some stuff out of my classroom but the boxes never made their way into the house. I pulled a random gray t-shirt from a box (makeshift mini towel?) and sorted through my desk junk.

LO! A miracle! My desk hoarding finally came in handy when I pulled out one of those pocket 2 in 1 mirror/hairbrush tools.

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  Thank you dollar section at target!

So I set out to do my workout, which was down to 40 minutes of cardio. I read up on why my eating habits are the worst and what exercises will give me Michelle Obamas arms. I also started to think about the logistics of the locker room. I usually had a towel so I could head from the shower to partitioned changing area to change more comfortably. This would not be an option.

I'm going to pause this long winded story right here.
 I know a lot of people out there are just as comfortable taking their clothes off and walking around in their birthday suit as they are with letting their hair down.
But as a 24 year old girl working in the community as an educator, with the possibility of parents and students walking into that very same locker room and the fact that some of the people at this gym are sometimes a sketch-fest, letting it all hang loose and free in the locker-room isn't really my thing. That's a moment my community and I don't need to share.

So it looked like I'd be finagling my way into clothing half soaked within the 2 foot by 2 foot shower covered in mildew.
I mean at least I had shower sandals right?

By the time I get to the locker room I have about 20 minutes to doll myself up and skidaddle to work. Mirror check: I was greasy and red so I had no choice but to rinse.

My phone went off. I found it in the mess that was my bag that somehow was missing everything essential to shower.
 It was an email.
Groupon wanted to let me know that there was a discount on towel sets.

I literally can not make this up.

I made my way to the shower stalls and picked the one most hidden from the rest of the locker room. I hung up my old basketball t-shirt/towel for the day outside the shower.

It was quick and I was super careful not to touch the walls because public showers are scary.

Now this was the fun part. The post-shower shuffle began.

I'll spare you the details but here are a few key points:
1. T-shirts make horrible towels. They can dry off probably one leg before rendering useless.
2. My hair is thick.  Its luxurious thickness really gets a chance to shine when soaked and being brushed by something that I'm pretty sure could've been used on Barbies.
3. It's pretty hard not to touch the floor with your barefeet while slowly trying to put clothes on a half dry body. I felt like a drunk flamingo.
4. Murphy's law of the locker room: someone will always walk by right as you're opening your shower curtain to grab another piece of clothing or hang up a questionably wet t-shirt.
5. Nothing was dry when I was done.
6. When you're trying to balance, keep clothing dry, whip your hair around to dry it out, and do it quick fashion to make it to work, you make a lot of unintended weird grunts and squeaks.

So what did I learn from this experience? This weird morning where things weren't bad, but just kind of weird like the twilight zone?

Well, since I don't work until the afternoon tomorrow I could pack my bag tonight, make sure I have everything, and go bright and early in the morning to the gym.

Oooooor, I could lay out in the sun tomorrow while reading my book or drink coffee while watching golden girls.
Because, you know, the universe doesn't need to send that message twice. Maybe I'll go back next week.
And I think the gym has had enough of me for the next few days.

Somewhere Between Denial and Acceptance

I went to a gym for the first time in years today, and it felt good. But not as great as I'd hoped it would.

You see, there's a problem that I am not quite uncomfortable with.
 
I have gained weight.

There, I've said it on the internet, which makes it real. Like posting your relationship on Facebook.

Not a lot. But enough to notice.

Throughout this last year, staying healthy has been hard for me.

On occasions when I find that I am a combination of stressed out and being forced to eat my lunch at 10:30 in 20 minutes, when I finally do get home I eat my feelings. Which is bad news when I like goldfish, potatoes, nachos, chocolate. You name the food that is not allowed on a fad diet, I enjoy it and make up for my stress by enjoying bad food. Too much of it.

When I've been walking around all day and only got 5 hours of sleep the night before and then sat at my desk and read essays with horrible grammar for two hours before I head home after school, I tend to be tired.

Most recently when I got home at the end of the school year the very last thing I want to do is go for a run. Between my fixed pair of sneakers being two years old* , and my running options being  limited because I live in a part of the city where one street is suburbia, and the next one over I might get mugged (And when I say might I mean will.) it makes things difficult motivation wise.
* Let me explain this fixed thing before we get too far. I have one leg slightly longer than the other. Which means any pair of shoes I get have to be "fixed" with a 3/4 inch. Moral of the story is every pair of shoes costs be 30 more dollars and can't be word right after they're bought.*

Now all of these might come off as excuses to my cyberspace readers. And as I tell my students, excuses are like bellybuttons. Everyone has them, but they don't do much good. I guess I don't mean all of these things as excuses. By writing it here I think I'm trying to sort out how I got to where I am. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not like bed ridden or have health problems or have been effected at work or whatever because of my weight. But I am in the worst "physically fit" shape I've ever been in. Which for me, as a 23 year old woman who is newly married and has her life ahead of her is NOT where I was looking to be. 

And writing it down is a little embarrassing. But then again, so is not fitting into your summer clothing as nicely as I'd like to. They still fit, but it takes a little more effort than it did last year.

So I don't know if any of you got the memo, but running gets harder the more you weigh. Especially when I already have a bad ankle due to that whole aforementioned silly leg differential not being discovered until high school. So as I started finding time I discovered that going for a run was not the best option for my old sneakers and slightly more full-figured body. I could only really comfortably go for a 20 minute run. This is a problem when I've signed up to run a 10K THIS AUGUST.

No you did not read that incorrectly, this ex-rugby girl who could run for 80 minutes straight while being tackled, tackling, and lifting others; whose body aches after a measely mile and a half is going to attempt to run 6.3 miles in 2 months.

Houston, we've got some issues.

With all of this said, about two weeks ago, when I had actually gained the strength to look in the mirror for more than 5 minutes and actually make the first step to admit to myself that I had gained weight, I decided I was going to have to go about this a different way.

While in the "off season" during both college and highschool, I had to find ways to stay in shape. I went for runs, but unfortunately, unlike my 3 rail thing sisters, it didn't always come easily to me. So during those seasons I also went to the gym. In college this was easy enough as they forced you to pay for it so it was kind of a waste not to go. And it was BRAND NEW AND GORGEOUS. I got spoiled.

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Once I realized I was visiting the river of denial about my weight (as mentioned above) a couple of weeks ago, I knew I needed to find a plan B, because running was literally getting me nowhere.

As soon as I got out of school from my staff day Thursday, I signed up at the closest gym. I knew I needed another option in order to get fit. They offer lower impact options that I can do for longer without being affected like the stair stepper and elliptical.

Some of you may be thinking "Well that's all fine and dandy but you're not stair stepping 6 miles in August, you're running them."
First off, you seem sassy, which I like. Secondly I agree. But I think I need to loose some inches off of my new spare tire before I can do so comfortably.

This means nutrition will ALSO have to play a role.

The only time in my life when I actively tried to loose weight was when I moved home to student teach for 8 weeks. I would get home without any grading, parent worries, adult problems, etc, work out on my parent's elliptical for an hour, and also was counting my calories with an online tool.

I tried picking this back up when I was coming to the realization that I maybe might have gained some weight before my wedding. I've tried to do it 4 times since then, and it hasn't stuck. I guess I've been too busy...getting by. In my profession, in my new marriage, in life.

Now that I have been presented with the opportunity of time aka summer vacation, I am going to try again. And I am hoping I'll be able to make a more steadfast commitment to doing this. I more than hope, I have to. It's what I know works, and I need to get healthier.

So when I went to the gym today for the first time since college , ( since I was under the impression that everyone can just pick up running and enjoy it no matter who they are RIGHT?) it felt good.

But man those mirrors don't lie.

So it didn't feel great to go on the elliptical for 45 minutes and lift some arm weights next to people with 3% body fat. Just good.

Which is okay, because I'm just at the start of what I'm hoping to be a successful journey.

Don't worry, I'm not going to only blog from here on out about my count for the day, or how many pints of sweat I sweat at the gym, or the weight that I've lost. I might update in part of a post about whether I'm feeling good or not, or some meal I've made that was delicious and nutritious. But do not fret. Most of the content here will be on stupid faces my dog makes, how much my husband does for me, how wonderful my friends are, and how much of a struggle my daily life tends to be. This post is not a turning point, but more of a preface on some parts of posts or advice I might seek later.

Thank you ahead of time to those whom I know will give me a warm and fuzzy internet hug and support me when I insert a sentence here and there on how I overate or skipped the gym or made my goal or have had a little success.

 As for everyone else reading...well...here's an internet hug. Because no one likes a scrooge, especially in June.