Cooler Weather

Happy Saturday! And happy August 1st! As I mentioned yesterday, I'm not entirely sure how it's already August, but I know from experience that this month will absolutely fly, and it will be the first day of school before I know it. And I'm not sure what you guys have on the agenda, but I fully plan on taking it easy this bright and sunny Saturday. Come Monday, I'm going to hit the ground running, so an easygoing weekend is just what the doctor ordered. And I don't have much to report on my front, but I'll spill out a random smorgasbord of things that make up the premise of this blog pretty well.

Dinner

Last night I met up with a few of my friends and we crossed a restaurant off of my summer to-do list - Giacomo's. This restaurant came highly recommended to me by a teacher at school, and though we all realized we had passed this restaurant a number of times, this was the first time any of us had ventured inside for a meal. This is worth mentioning because typically we stay in the Hungry's-Escalante's-Cyclone Anaya's range, and this one was a little further out of our comfort zone. We were all glad that we decided to venture out, though, because our meal was darn good. We were a little thrown off my the length of the menu, and the fact that the names of each dish were in Italian, but I went with the Insalata la Mora, which was a very simple salad, whose crown jewel was the ample chicken sausage patties. It was light yet filling, and I will definitely be making a return. It appeared as though many people in the Houston area share my sentiment, as this place was absolutely hoppin'.

Workout

As you guys may or may not know, I am part of a running group that meets on Saturday mornings at Memorial Park, and we are all training for the 2016 Chevron Houston Marathon. Which I am officially registered for, by the way. So I guess there's no turning back now. Hold me accountable, you guys! Anyway, we only ran four miles this morning, but it was the best four miles I have run in a while. That's partly because this past week was pretty miserable in terms of running for me, and I was relieved to hear my team leaders say the same. The difference is that they probably stuck to the schedule and completed their run. I opted for the pool. So I was a little unsure of how this run was going to go, because my group runs fast! But as soon as I stepped outside my car at Memorial Park, and walked over to our group's meeting spot, I knew I was in for a good morning. While the temperatures were still in the lower 80's, that was a huge respite from the upper 90's we have been experiencing. And the humidity that is almost constantly present was noticeably missing. Or just not as 100%. And I was not sad about it. I had the most pleasant four-mile run, and I think the rest of my group agreed. We ran faster, pushed one another harder, and finished the run remembering why it is that we love what we do. And why we choose to wake up before the sun on Saturday mornings.

Breakfast

After our run, core work, and a seminar on running shoes, I headed home to fix myself some breakfast. I whipped up my usual egg whites and spinach, and they absolutely hit the spot. Sometimes eggs are the last thing I want after a workout, but today they were all I could think about. It was certainly nothing out of the ordinary over here on the breakfast front, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Snack

Some of you may have forgotten this by now, but two months ago I set a goal for myself: I would not buy any new clothing items for two entire months. For some people, that's no problem. For me, it was no easy feat. Spoiler alert: I did it!, so toady I treated myself to a little back-to-school shopping spree. They were all very practical (in my opinion) purchases, and I feel as though I've satisfied that shopping void for a little while. Which is a good thing because I won't have much time to shop come Monday. But I'll stop talking about that. Anyway, shopping built up an appetite, so I came home and enjoyed a bowl of Siggi's Vanilla Yogurt, topped with a batch of my Almond Joy granola. Which I swear I've shared a recipe for, but I can't seem to find it. So look for that recipe coming soon. This was my first Siggi's experience, and I am a huge fan. Siggi's is Iceland-inspired, full of protein, made without any artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colors, or thickeners, and while it's a little bit too thick and tart for me to eat without some sort of mix-in, the granola addition made it the perfect pick-me-up.

And I'm off to enjoy the day. Which probably means I'll be parking it on my couch reading, watching movies, and perusing Pinterest. A Saturday enjoyed, indeed.

The Perfect Break: Part One

Hello hello, my faithful followers! If you have been following me on any forms of social media, you’re probably sick of all things San Francisco. But it was a most perfect weekend in one of my favorite cities with some of the best girls that I know. And if you’re ready to brave this lengthy post, I’ll tell you all about it.

Our flight took off on Friday morning at 6am from Bush Intercontinental Airport, which meant arriving to the airport at about 4:30am. I woke up around 3:15am, giving myself about five hours of sleep, but I soon realized that my three travel companions really never went to sleep. Whoops, I guess I’m the lame one. But I managed to sleep most of what was a fairly uneventful flight, besides the turbulence at the beginning, and the UH student who had never been on an airplane before and was traveling to San Francisco for an interview. He was rather comical. But we made it to San Francisco right on time, claimed our baggage, ordered an Uber, picked up the key to Mary Ellen’s apartment, dropped Lindsay off at work – trooper – and made our way to Mary Ellen’s precious apartment in the trendy Marina district. Taylor, Amira, and I had a couple of hours to kill before we were scheduled to meet Mary Ellen at the Ferry Building for our Urban Hiking Tour, so we ate brunch at Squat andGobble, which reminded me very much of my breakfast at Honey Honey a couple of years back, before walking, yes, walking, to the Ferry Building from where we were. It was a solid three miles. And then we had a five-mile hike through the city. We actually ended up walking 14.3 miles on Friday, but let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

Squat and Gobble. Y’all. This place was just wonderful. It was precious, it was delicious, it was reasonably priced, and it absolutely hit the spot. We all went back and forth on what to order before finally deciding on something, but my NorCal omelet – egg whites with xxx was just wonderful. Paired with a side salad and whole wheat toast and jam, my stomach was more than satisfied. We all commented on just how good our food was, and maybe that was because we were out of our minds hungry, but Squat and Gobble is just one of those places that has it all. No matter how picky someone is, what dietary restrictions someone has, or if you’re in the mood for breakfast for dinner, you’ll find something that will please your pallet. A great start to what would be a most perfect trip.

We then decided to walk to the Ferry Building, and though it was a very lengthy walk (sorry, guys), we saw so much along the way. Shops and mini parks, and one-of-a-kind food establishments, and we were nearly late to meet Mary Ellen! We finally made our way to the Ferry Building, and man oh man, that place is a dream. Taylor and Amira stopped for coffee at the famous BlueBottle, while I pulled myself away from the roasted nuts and the plethora of ice cream shops.

Mary Ellen took a half day at work and met us for our UrbanHiking Tour that would take us to the top of Twin Peaks and everywhere in between. We took the Muni to Castro, and met two others at the Castro Theater. Quick side note – one of our fellow hikers, Emily – was also a high school freshmen reading and English teacher who loves to bake and has a dream of opening a bakery one day. Talk about a small world. Anyway, our hike took us through the Castro neighborhood, up and up and up to the top of Twin Peaks and Tank Hill, and we even got the opportunity to be kids again and slide down the Seward Street Slides. Another fun fact for you guys – San Francisco has 220 parks and mini parks, and I think that’s one of the things that I love about the city. So much green! We learned about the Eucalyptus trees planted by Adolph Sutro, and most of all, the views we were awarded were just incredible. Pictures don’t do it justice. And even though my calves were screaming at me as a result of those uphill climbs, I would absolutely recommend this hike to anyone visiting San Francisco, or to anyone who calls San Francisco home. It takes you places you probably wouldn’t discover on your own, and you will learn quite a bit of interesting history along the way. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and fun and made everything really come alive. For someone who disliked history classes most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the history I got this weekend. Maybe it would have appealed to me more had I been in the place about which I was learning? So, yeah, Stratford, get on that one!

Tank Hill

Our feet were aching, and our backs were tired, so we felt as though we more than deserved two scoops of the famous Bi-Rite Ice Cream. We braved the outside-the-door line for some unique-flavored ice cream that reminded me of Austin’s Lick, and my friends humored me by saving at least one scoop for a GoPro photo in Dolores Park. More on the GoPro to come, but I’ll just go ahead and call that one of my best investments. Bold statement, but it made getting group photos so easy. Anyway, we devoured our ice cream – mine Vegan Coconut Chocolate and Orange Raspberry Sorbet topped with sprinkles – while enjoying the sunshine and people watching at Dolores Park.

Our legs were pretty much shot by this point, and we were miles away from where we needed to be, so we Ubered back to Mary Ellen’s apartment where we showered, lounged, and met Lindsay and her work friend Kerry for dinner at The Chubby Noodle. Lindsay was a trooper and ended up having to work last-minute all of Friday (and even Saturday morning!) at the Bank of America San Francisco office. At least she didn’t have to use any vacation days? Positive thinking! Anyway, we had 7:45pm dinner reservations and I’m sure glad that we did because this place was hoppin’! This restaurant is family-style, so we split the Spicy Garlic Noodles, the Tuna Poke (my first time trying raw fish!), and the Korean Pork Tacos (my favorite!). We entertained the idea of going out afterward, but our tired bodies convinced us otherwise. We trekked back to Mary Ellen’s apartment, set up the air mattress, talked for a little bit, and then fell asleep fairly quickly, and we didn’t wake up for quite some time the following morning. Except for our worker-bee, Lindsay, who left the apartment just after 5:00am so that she could get some work in before our bike adventure. She is a rock star, and now I’ve written enough already. Saturday and Sunday’s wrap up to come!

Have a great one!

Rainbow Pizza

For those of you who were lucky enough to have yesterday off from work, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your holiday. It doesn't seem right to not include a little inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., as he was the reason for the holiday, and he also inspired quite a few people himself. My favorite words of his are:

(Source)

It's really as simple as that. Love is far easier than hate, and this concept is something we can all choose to live by.

Yesterday was yet another beautiful day in Houston, Texas. I had on shorts, a short-sleeve shirt, and sandals, so I'm going to go ahead and say that's my idea of a perfect January day. The sun was shining and Amira and I took full advantage of the day. We started out with a rollerblade session along the bayou (because my half marathon is over, I feel as though I can rollerblade again), followed by a little Houston exploration. 

On sunny days, we blade

I had driven by The Biscuit Paint Wall on Westheimer on the way to a volleyball game late last year, and I made a note to go back and visit it. It has been popping up on my Instagram feed fairly frequently these days, and I knew today was the day to check it off my list. We had a lot of fun having our own little photo shoot in front of the wall, and quite a few other people had the same idea. We snapped a few quick pictures, and we vowed to come back and pay it a full visit sometime very soon.

Then we decided to check out the Greetings from Houston mural, located on the side of Gelazzi, a relatively new ice cream and gelato parlor located in The Heights. On the way over there we made a little pit stop at the "Before I Die..." wall, and had fun reading some of the (mostly inspiring, sometimes inappropriate) things people hope to accomplish in their lifetimes. 

All in all, a wonderful day off. If only we could have a three-day weekend every weekend! So, before we get to the heart of this post, let's start off with some normal fitnessandfroyo news - a workout and breakfast.

Workout

My sleeping schedule is all off these days. But lucky for me, no matter what time I go to sleep, my body seems to crave at least eight hours of it. So I popped up around 6:30am yesterday, but I made myself relax in bed before getting up and getting a head start on my to-do list. After a very full day, I was very tired very early. I crawled into bed around 8:30pm, meaning I woke up around 4:30am. That was okay with me, though, because I made myself get out of bed so that I could be at the gym right when it opened for a swim. As I have mentioned in previous posts, getting a lane after school hours is tough. There are lots of swim lessons and swim leagues, and if I want to swim, morning is the time to do it. I'm taking a couple of days off from running, and a swim is the perfect low-impact workout.

Breakfast

I'm sure you all will be surprised by this one. Scrambled egg whites and spinach, topped off with some lemon pepper and salsa. You would think I would be tired of this by now, but I'm just not. I typically don't eat it on the weekends, though, so I get that little break from it that prevents me from getting sick of it. Plus, I love squeezing in some veggies in the morning.

Rainbow Pizza

Going with our rainbow theme, I followed up my visit to The Biscuit Paint Wall with a Rainbow Pizza for dinner. I was reading a BuzzFeed article (shocker, right?), that provided readers with a list of rainbow recipes that are sure to brighten any day. There are quite a few aesthetically pleasing recipes on this list (that you know I pinned), but the first one that caught my eye was the Rainbow Veggie Flatbread Pizza from Gimme Some Oven. Not only does it make a pretty appearance, but it tastes great and it's healthy to boot. And it's extremely easy to prepare. I'm talking the time it takes for your oven to heat up easy.

Ingredients:

• 1 Multi-grain with flax Flatout Flatbread*
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• Turkey pepperoni
• Cherry tomatoes
• Orange bell pepper
• Squash
• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Red onion
• Black olives
• Mushroom

*It turns out that this company has actual pizza crust flatbreads - I will be on the lookout for those and be sure to give them a try very soon! 
**You can use any veggies that you would like on this pizza. There are many other colorful vegetables that would have worked on this pizza - I just chose some of my very favorites!

Optional:

• Shredded cheese
• Lemon pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Lay out flatbread on a foil-lined baking sheet
3. Use a spoon to spread the pizza sauce over the flatbread
4. Arrange turkey pepperonis on top of the pizza sauce
OPTIONAL: if you are choosing to use cheese, now is the time to sprinkle it on your pizza
5. Chop veggies into small pieces and arrange in a rainbow pattern on top of the pepperoni

Before going into the oven

6. Sprinkle each pizza with your favorite seasonings
7. Cook for 15 minutes
8. Slice and enjoy (or you can eat it all by yourself like I did)!

The finished (delicious) product

NOTE: The amount of each veggie you use is completely up to you, and the size of the pizza crust that you use. This flatbread is a good option, as is Naan bread, or legitimate pizza dough as can be found in most grocery stores. I simply chopped up each veggie and arranged it on the pizza before starting on the next veggie, so that nothing would go to waste.

Have a great Tuesday, that's really a Monday, but so much better because there's only four work days this week!

Working Woman Grocery List

Well guys, it's Monday, and Mondays can sometimes be hard, going back to school or work after a too-short weekend, but I hope you found something in your day to make you smile. I managed to get a great night's sleep last night (thanks to going to sleep before 9pm), and I got to school nice and early, where I managed to check a few things off of my to-do list. I also made one of my co-workers smile with some of my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Brownie Bars, recipe courtesy of Baker's Royale.

I got all of the grading done that I had intended to do over the weekend, so it was mainly picking up copies, numbering my vocabulary quizzes, and making sure that I had everything ready to go for the rest of the day. 

It was as good a Monday as any, and I managed to beat the gray day with an after school run around my neighborhood. I have been running, running, running, both in an effort to train for my upcoming half marathon (six days!!!), as well as in an effort to keep up with my goal of running 2,015 (but really 1,0007.5) miles this year. I am hoping to sneak in a swim tomorrow to give my legs a little bit of a rest, but it can sometimes be difficult to snag a lane at the MAC, so we shall see!

Anyway, I wanted to pop in and share my "Working Woman" grocery list with you guys. It doesn't look a whole lot different than my "College Student" grocery list, but I don't hold that title anymore (sadly), so I was inspired to share with you guys what I take with me to eat on a typical work day. Obviously, I don't take all of these things to school with me, nor is this an exact list of what I eat each week. This is just a general list of what I might gravitate toward at the grocery store. My list may be a little skewed, as I do live with my parents, so I don't often (okay, hardly ever) make my own dinner. I included items that I would purchase if I were to cook my own dinner because after all, it wasn't too long ago when I was responsible for every meal. But I won't lie, it's kind of nice to step back into that "kid" role again.

You may notice that I do not include fish on this list. I love fish, and I typically order it whenever I eat out at restaurants. I am always a little bit hesitant to cook it up myself, just because I don't want to give myself food poisoning. There's just not time for that! Again, this is a very broad list, and there are certainly things that I did not include on this list, but I hope this is even a little bit of a help to you if you are out in the working world and don't know where to start. Woman cannot survive on Lean Cuisine meals alone.

P.S. For all of my Houston readers, how pumped are y'all for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo concert lineup? I was THRILLED to see that Brad Paisley will be coming back this year, and I am excited about a couple of artists as well. It's almost my favorite time of year!

Workouts of Tens

Two posts in one day? That's when you know it's the first week back at school, because I have a little bit of extra time on my hands. I have no grading to do (I should relish this, because I know the storm is approaching), and I think I'm relatively caught up on all of the PowerPoints and copies that need to be made. I shouldn't speak too soon, however, because it's very possible that I'll get to school tomorrow and realize that there is something else that I could have done. But then again, I've quickly learned that there's always something else that can be done, but that I have to call it quits at some point. And I think I've been pretty good about that thus far. So maybe I'll get to school one day and be scrambling, but what's life without a little bit of pressure?

Anyway, I wanted to get in a quick post tonight because I have a quick and efficient workout to share with you guys. At least, I find it to be efficient. I was perusing through my fitness board on Pinterest when I came across a workout that inspired me to take that and get a little creative. I did a longer variation of this workout during the volleyball season, that was still relatively quick, but because I planned on meeting Sarah for a walk at Hermann Park, I kept this one short and sweet.

And short and sweet is what I'll do with this post, too.

I started and ended each set with 100 jump ropes and 10 box jumps, but what came in the middle of those two exercises alternated every other set. On the odd-numbered sets, I did bicep curls, Russian twists, and (girl) pushups, and on the even-numbered sets I did overhead presses, ins & outs, and tricep dips.

Lots of 10s, or multiples of 10, and you see where I came up with the name for this workout. I would estimate that this took about 25 minutes, which is perfect for those days when you don't have a lot of time, yet you still want a challenge. And as you can see, it's extremely easy to add extra exercises to this workout. I've done back work and bosu ball squats, but it just really depends how much time you have. And trust me, your legs will be feeling the burn towards the end of this one!

And because I don't have much on my to-do list (yet), I found myself browsing Pinterest during one of my off periods, when I came across this recipe for Apple Peanut Butter Delights. Apple and peanut butter is one of my very favorite combinations, and it's been a while since I've enjoyed that indulgence, so I made a quick stop at Randall's on my way home and picked up a pack of Whole Wheat English Muffins so that I could throw this together for a quick and delicious dinner. And it can be considered healthy, right? Protein from the peanut butter, carbohydrates from the English muffin, and they say that apple a day keeps the doctor away! 

I nixed the sugar, mainly because I didn't want to dirty another bowl mixing the sugar and cinnamon together, so I'll tell myself it was a job well done. It tasted great, and if I had any left, I would surely take it with me to school tomorrow. But alas, my dad finished them off for me. So I guess it really was a job well done.

25 Things You Don't Know About Me

It's happening. My blog is about to get seriously neglected for the next three months. Tonight is my last official night of summer, because volleyball tryouts begin tomorrow. When I met with the varsity coach for the first time to discuss the schedule, she said to me, "August 4th, you're mine," and I absolutely believe that. So, forgive me if my posts are somewhat sporadic throughout the month of August. Between volleyball, inservice, and the first day of school, I'll be lucky if I have time to breathe! So, hang with me, fitness & fro-yo followers. I promise I will not abandon this little blog forever.

Anyway, I had one fantastic last weekend of volleyball freedom, starting with a delicious lunch on Friday with Amira at Ruggles Green, 

and continuing on with a little visit from Dylan who came in from Austin for the weekend. He arrived late Friday night, but I told him I would wait on him to eat dinner, so I dragged him to my all-time favorite restaurant (all together on this one - Hungry's), where I enjoyed a salmon quinoa salad, followed by our fourth round of complimentary dessert. It must be because he's so good-looking, am I right?

We stayed up probably too late talking and catching up (okay, I know it had only been eight days since we had last seen one another, but we're easing into this whole long distance thing) on our respective weeks, before waking up to do some shopping at The Galleria, and then heading to Friendswood for the night. I'm lucky that he's from Houston, because a visit home doubles as a visit to see me as well. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with him, and I am about to meet up with him for a quick dinner before he heads back to Austin.

But because I've neglected the blog, and you guys know how much I love surveys, I found this little survey on Julie's blog at the beginning of this week. And like she prefaced in her post, you guys might know some of this about me, but I still enjoyed filling it out. Enjoy!

25 Things You Don’t Know About Me

1. I’m happiest when… I'm listening to people share their stories. I love learning about all of the different dimensions that make up other people.

2. …Especially if it… Involves something totally unique about them. I've been told that I'm a pretty good listener, so I love it when people share special information with me.

3. I’ve always wanted to… Travel to all 50 states in the United States.

4. My family and I… really enjoy watching game shows together, for one reason or another. Family Feud, shows like Wipeout and American Ninja Warrior, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire are among some of our favorites. 

5. I was (am) a terrible… Artist. Seriously, art class was almost my only B in high school.

This might have been one of my only A's on our weekly drawing tests

6. My first job was… A volleyball scorekeeper at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.

7. I could probably eat chocolate everyday. However, there should not be a “probably” in this equation (because I already do eat chocolate every day).

My current chocolate obsession (Source)

8. I stole… A cookie from Randall's. When I was younger, they used to give away freshly baked cookies to kids who were grocery shopping with their parents. One day they stopped doing this, but that didn't stop me from indulging in my free cookie!

9. I was born on the same day as… Hank Aaron and Cristiano Ronaldo.

10. My all-time favorite film is… This is such a hard question! Remember the Titans will never get old, though.

11. I do a pretty mean… left-handed serve? I spent far too long trying to answer this question, and I keep coming back to my middle school principal who told me I had a "wicked left-handed serve." Unfortunately, that serve does not transfer over to the tennis court.

12. I’m still mad… That we lost the game to go to the state tournament my senior year. And now that I am back in the high school volleyball world, I'm really not ever going to get over it!

My last high school volleyball game, as a player! (Source)

13. I met my husband… Can't quite answer this one yet, but I met by pretty awesome boyfriend in college. Dressed as a hipster zombie, to be specific.

14. I always knew I wanted… To become a teacher. Ever since the third grade, in fact! And while I am nervous as all get out, I am also so excited the new adventure that begins on August 25th.

15. I’m not afraid to… Go skydiving! I am very much a thrill-seeker in that I love the straight-down water slides at water parks and upside-down roller coasters at theme parks, though I will be screaming the entire time, guaranteed.

16. I make the best… Slutty brownies. They're my specialty.

17. I have almost no… Flexibility (I'm copying PBFingers on this one, because it's sadly so very true).

18. I always cry when… I watch videos of soldiers coming home and surprising loved ones. But it's always happy tears!

19. I’m (now) a member of the "real world", but I will never stop learning (nor will I ever truly grow up).

20. I spent 12 years… Playing competitive sports before making them a bit more recreational when I went off to college. 

(Source) 

(Source)

21. I wish my folks… I can't really think of anything for this one. I'll change it and say "I am glad my folks have always supported me in everything that I have ever done or attempted."

22. At 5, I was deeply in love with soccer and the book "Go, Dog, Go."

23. I believe if everyone smiled at one another and told one another that they care, the world would be a better place.

24. I can’t stand… Tardiness. How many times have I answered this question again?

25. Whenever Boy Meets World is on, I’ll watch it.

Feeny Wisdom is absolutely still applicable (Source)

I hope your weekend was just wonderful, and that you are ready for the start of another great week! And happy August! Fun fact for all of you - this month will feature five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays, which won't happen again for a very long time.

Weekend Compilation

Happy Sunday! I'm headed back to Austin in a few hours, but I thought I would check in with you guys first. Yesterday was a fairly jam-packed day, as I participated in a last-minute CPR/AED training, so I am now 100% ready to coach volleyball. And when I say I'm 100% ready, I mean that in the technical sense. Mentally, I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting there!

(Source)

I hope I never have to administer CPR, but I am glad I had to get re-certified, because I'll be completely honest - I didn't remember much of anything from the last time I was trained. I also ordered a Mini CPR Keychain that contains a breathing barrier, so that I could potentially perform CPR wherever I go without having to worry about catching any diseases. It sounds bad to say that, but our instructor continually reiterated the fact that we have to protect ourselves first, and I would hate to stand back and watch something horrible happen because I am worried about what might happen to me.

I took that class in Baytown, which is about a 40 minute drive from my house. I got out around 11:30am, and shortly after returning home, I started sorting through some of my book collection to decide which ones would make the trip to my new classroom. I packed some of them up in a box, and I have another large box that is being stored over at my grandmother's house, so I am well on my way.

That being said, this is my plea to any of my wonderful readers - if you have any old books that you remember reading in high school, or that you would have enjoyed reading in high school, and don't want them anymore, I, as well as my students, would so appreciate you sending them our way. I want my students to fall in love with reading the same way I did, finding the joy that comes from reading and getting lost in a whole other world, being able to identify with a character in the novel, and there are so many books out there that can make kids fall in love with reading. Okay, I'm done, so back to our regularly scheduled events!

After I had gathered up and organized a few things for my classroom, I set to work in the kitchen. I have probably mentioned before how much baking seems to calm me, and after sending Dylan a picture containing about 70 cookies, he asked me if I was stress baking. It occurred to me that the fact that I become a professional in just five short days was probably the underlying cause of this cookie extravaganza. But, my family sure wasn't complaining when they came home to all of these cookies!

I spent almost two hours baking all of those cookies, before deciding that it was probably time to hit the gym for a workout. Because I have been doing my beloved Pure Barre classes lately, I have been neglecting the pool, so I decided to sneak in a little swim and sauna time before treating myself to a salad from Salata while getting a deluxe pedicure. We're all worth a little splurge, right?

I certainly knew where I was when I walked in to a nail salon full of moms all dolled up drinking wine and gossiping about their kids. Home sweet home, right? And I say all of that in the nicest way possible, because they never say anything malicious, and they deserve a little pampering, too!

And to round out my day, I finally did something with the hundreds upon hundreds of pictures I had taking up lots of space in my backpack. I knew I wanted to create some sort of "All About Me," that would quickly tell my students a little bit about their teacher, but that would also serve as a keepsake for me. I came across one of my old empty bulletin boards, as well as some cute button pushpins, so I set to work creating the perfect combination. I feel as though this collection tells a lot about me, with pictures that tell a story of my love for UT, my family, my friends and roommates, Dylan, and running and travel, among other things.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a couple thousand that sum these past few years up pretty perfectly.

And on that note, I'm off to organize what few things I have left to take back to Austin. Five days and I call this place home again. It's bittersweet, for sure!