Things I'm Loving Friday XXXIII

The weeks go by fast, even if the days sometimes go by slow. Which I haven't really found to be the case, but sometimes I'll think back on something and say, "That happened this morning?" And yesterday I woke up with my alarm thinking surely it was Friday. I think the crazy school schedule had me a little bit out of sync. Anyway, TODAY is really Friday, so let's get going with another round of Things I'm Loving.

Houston Wall Art
How about them Rockets? After a dismal performance on Monday night, and what started out as such on Wednesday, the Rockets woke up and tied up the series with the Clippers at one game apiece. We're playing tonight in Los Angeles, and I'm hoping we can come back home with at least one more win. And you guys already know that Austin is known for its cool wall art, but Houston isn't too far behind in that respect. While heading to breakfast with a friend this past weekend, I drove past this one-of-a-kind wall, decorated with Houston favorites James Harden and Dwight Howard, who I hope will lead the Rockets to our first championship in 20 years. Fear the Beard is all I have to say.

Teacher Appreciation Week
Did you know that this week is Teacher Appreciation Week? And Bellaire is taking good care of us, because every morning as I walk in the front office to sign in, I see something new in my box. We have received a free Chick-Fil-A salad from the Meyerland Chick-Fil-A, a free box combo from Raising Cane's, a Bellaire lanyard (that won't replace my Texas lanyard, sorry), and a flash drive. But the real payoff for me came when I had a random, unexpected conversation with a student that I had last semester. He was walking through the halls and he decided to come say hi. I really enjoyed having him in class, and I learned that he is wise beyond his years as he talked about how he's stood up to his friends who choose to make poor choices, and how he realizes that his parents have given up a lot for him, and the only repayment they ask is for him to do well in school. The conversation nearly brought me to proud tears, as conversations like that are what make everything worth it.

Hill Training
Houston isn't known for its hills, and for that, I am grateful. Most of the time. Except for when I need a little hill training now and again (read: Austin Half Marathon). And while the Houston half and the Woodlands full are not going to feature too many hills, hill training still has numerous benefits. Hill training utilizes the entire body, helps you run faster on flat ground, and you'll develop some killer calves, among other things. So, the other night I headed just up the road to my high school and set out to run the dreaded hill. Well, it was dreaded when I was in high school, and our volleyball coach made some of us very acquainted with that hill when we chose to leave school a little bit early one day. But the other night, it was pretty peaceful up there, and I got to think about a million different things as I was running up and down and up and down.

Scratch World Map
Remember those errands I ran a couple of days ago? While I fully intended to purchase things for other people, I did end up buying a couple of things for myself. Though I should add that I made it out of Anthropologie without making a single purchase. I say this because during my retirement meeting, the first thought that came to my mind when we were going over my funds was that I wouldn't be able to shop at Anthropologie anymore. I guess I still have some growing up to do. Anyway, I found the coolest map while perusing Paper Source. It has you scratch off the places in the world you have been, logging your travels in a fun and colorful way. I think this will only further my desire to travel the world, as some of the places my fellow teachers are traveling this summer already has my mind racing with places I never even had on my radar.

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Foxy Strawberries
I learn a lot from my fellow teachers. How to discipline students, how to input grades, and how to better teach a lesson. All important things. And then sometimes I learn which strawberries I should be buying at the store. I'm not kidding you when I say that there was probably a three-minute conversation about how much better Foxy Strawberries are than Driscoll Strawberries. Apparently Driscoll strawberries are kind of bland, as noted by several teachers at different points in the conversation. So when I found myself at the grocery store on Wednesday, I made sure to purchase a pint of strawberries. And I'm sure you know which brand I chose.

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Wild Child
I've always been a big-time Kenny Chesney fan. His songs are just so good for the soul, and I can't help but sing along anytime one comes on the radio. And lately, I have been obsessed with one of his more recent songs, sung with Grace Potter. He specifically mentions that many songs sung about women tend to objectify them, but this one focuses more on the free spirit, and women who are so in love with the life they live. Tell me how a song gets better than that.

And on that note, I'm off to the Kopy Kingdom, as per usual! Happy Friday!