Head Above Water

Well, I’ve been the absolute worst blogger. But you have to believe me when I say that these past two weeks have been absolutely insane. I forgot how much work teaching is, and I’m not even confining that to the classroom. Of course, corralling teenagers is tough, but more than that it's the copies that need to be made, the forms that need to be signed, the assignments that need to be created, the emails that need responses, the grades that need to be entered into the gradebook, and so on and so forth. I often find myself go-go-going until it hits lunch time, and even then, I'm not sitting down for long. There's always something to do, and I feel as though I don't have even one spare moment to myself. I don't have one moment to sit down and watch whatever happens to be on television, without my legs being criss-cross applesauce with a computer in my lap. I took a nap sitting up in the English lounge during lunch the other day, which was a definite first for me. When people ask me how I'm doing, my honest reply is that I'm swimming really hard just to keep my head above water. And I'm not saying it to get pity. I love my job and I wouldn't trade the opportunity to coach volleyball for all the spare hours in the world. 

But the truth is that my to-do list is never ending, and every hour of every day has something. I'm perpetually tired, and I probably will be until we hit Christmas break. I don't have a lot of me time these days, which means I don't have a lot of blog time. But these first two weeks back in the classroom have been exponentially better than my first two weeks last year. I love being back at school, and I love that I semi know what I'm doing this year. I love seeing so many of my students from last year, and I'm so enjoying trying to learn all the names of my new students. I can already tell my 5th period class is going to be a force to be reckoned with, but I welcome the challenge. Because maybe I'm swimming hard, and maybe my to-do list never ends, and maybe I'm always tired, but I wouldn't change one single thing.

But for now, let's get back to one of our regularly scheduled events. Because there has to be something regular happening around here!

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I am [wildly/strangely/obviously] obsessed with: Working out. Which comes as no surprise to you all, I am sure. My day just doesn't feel complete without it. And I could be having the most stressful, horrible, nothing is going right kind of day, and then get in a solid workout and feel like everything has taken a turn for the better. It has that kind of power over me, and I know a lot of people don't understand it. But for me, it's a part of my life that I hope to always make a priority. Because there are so many more benefits than just being able to fit into my favorite pair of jeans. But that's a plus, too.

I have a collection of:  I'm not sure that I have a collection of anything. I recently went through a purging phase, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I got rid of anything and everything that was serving no purpose in my life. You might not believe me judging by the current state of my room, but nothing immediately comes to mind when I hear the word collection. I have a few too many pieces of stationery, but I still wouldn't consider that a collection. I guess I'll go Lululemon headbands. I just can't seem to resist buying one when I discover a new color. 

I am secretly (not so secretly): Well, if I tell you guys, it won’t be a secret anymore, will it? But I’m not sure what I’m secretly doing or considering. I’m training for a marathon, but that’s no secret. I’m looking to move out of my parents’ house sometime in the near future, but that’s no secret, either. I'm not planning on moving cities, nor am I planning to change jobs. So this question has left me at a bit of a loss. Sorry to not have any burning secrets to share with you guys!

When I was 7, I wanted to be: An astronaut. I had this weird obsession with all things space and stars and planets. Spending the night at NASA with Girl Scouts was one of the coolest experienced I’d ever had. I may or may not have even set an alarm on my phone when it was said that the satellite was going to pass by overhead. And I may or may not have woken up at 3:30am to see a blood moon. And then I tell you that Astronomy was my least favorite college class. It’s between that, and Literature of Islamophobia.

If I could do one thing today, it would be: I’m going to copy the blogger ahead of me and say a spa day. All you have to do is take one look at my forehead to know that my stress level is about a 12 out of 10. And not even stress, it’s just my every hour is busy and scheduled and I don’t have a lot of me time. But I went into all of that at the beginning of this post. But a day where I wake up without an alarm, get in a nice, long run, eat a breakfast fit for a princess – because it’s my favorite meal of the day – take a bubble bath, and then treat myself to a manicure, pedicure, massage, and anything else that means I’m pampering myself. I would read a book while sitting in the hot tub, and I would come back feeling refreshed and ready to take on a new week. Once volleyball season is over, it’s happening. You mark my words.

 

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I’ve always dreamt of: Running a marathon. Funnily enough. Looks like I'm closer to crossing that one off than I thought I would be at this age. From as far back as I can remember, I've admired marathon runners. Because running a marathon is so much more than running. It's physical, it's mental, it's emotional, and though my training runs aren't even in the double digits quite yet, I'm loving every minute of it. And though I know it's not going to be all fun and games, it still blows my mind that I am going to be able to call myself one of those crazy marathoners.

My favorite way to travel is: If we’re talking about getting somewhere, I’ll always choose an airplane. I’m not one for long road trips – I just feel so gross after spending all day in the car – but once I get to my destination, I love walking, running, or biking my way through a new city. You find so many hidden gems that way, and sure, maybe you increase your chances of getting lost, and maybe it takes a little bit longer to get to your destination, but to me, it’s so worth it. I always bring a good pair of tennis shoes with me when I travel, because my favorite way to travel is on foot. And your feet can wear out real quick if you’re not careful.

You find the carousel in Central Park that Holden Caulfield wrode

And this unbeatable view from the Brooklyn Bridge

Adios, my friends! Enjoy your long weekend, if you get one. I know I'm more than grateful for this three-day weekend, and I'm hoping to check back in with you guys tomorrow. But don't hold me to it!

Deskercise

Happy President's Day! If you were lucky enough to get the day off from school or work, I'm green with envy. Houston ISD was up and running, but I actually wasn't too upset about it. With only five weeks until the STAAR test, every day truly does matter. Besides, it wasn't like the weather was super ideal today, anyway, right? I'll just pretend that it wasn't the perfect weather for curling up in bed with a cup of hot tea and a good book.

Though I wasn't too bummed about having to go to school today, I also wasn't fully prepared. I got home just after 4pm yesterday, but the last thing I wanted to do was think about school. Clearly, as was stated in last night's blog post. And I'm having a hard time even looking at my desk at school right now, as it is absolutely buried in papers. One student put it nicely when he said, "That's not a desk, that's a paper holder." Sadly, it's very true. And it kills me to be so disorganized, but with the end of the fourth six weeks, I have extra copies of just about everything we've done this cycle, along with upcoming assignments, and of course, the Mock STAAR packets are taking up quite a bit of room. I think I'm going to have to suck it up and either stay really late after school one day, or carve out an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday and devote it to getting organized. I'm drowning in a sea of papers and I have got to get it under control!

Desk Exercises

I know I don't have much to complain about, seeing as some parts of the country are being slammed with snow and cold temperatures. However, the weather down here in Texas changed drastically in a matter of hours. Remember how I talked about how much warmer it was than I expected? Yeah, not the case today. It is officially cold and obviously I was not planning on running today, but I am hoping to get in an evening swim, weather permitting. Though swimming is an awesome full-body workout, it's so low-impact that my body is almost craving it after tackling those hills yesterday. Let's just say that climbing the stairs to the third floor was tougher than it usually is.

And on that note, let's talk deskercise, or desk exercise. Or desk job strategies. I realize that many, many jobs require long periods of sitting, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with those jobs. However, it has been proven time and time again that long periods of sitting can have negative effects on our health, and I know I'm certainly guilty of extended sit time. Though I'm typically reading or watching television or surfing the web, so my sitting time is maybe not quite as justified. So, with all of that being said, and while I'm well aware that there are more of these articles out there than one can count, let's take a look at a couple of my favorite solutions, shall we?

1. This is something that I am most definitely going to look into should I be gifted a classroom (fingers crossed!!) next year - a standing desk. I hardly sit during the day anyway, but often times I find myself sitting in order to get some grading done. It's either that, or bending over to grade on a table, and I know that's not good for me. One of the teachers whose room I float into has a podium, and I love standing up there and doing some grading. And I know standing desks can get expensive, but hey, I'm willing to wager that Pinterest has some great DIY options!

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2. Take the stairs. Sure, the elevator can be enticing, especially when you're carrying a purse and a briefcase and a laptop and a gym bag and so on, but taking the stairs is such an easy way to stretch those legs. You can even take a quick work break and walk up and down the stairs a couple of times. When I was attending the AP Summer Institute this past summer, I found myself sitting for eight hours a day, so I would use the bathroom on the floor above or below me, just so that I could get a little bit of movement throughout those long periods of sitting. Take them two at a time for a greater challenge!

In the Barcelona Metro Station - so not PC, but so funny (Source)

3. Desk (or wall) push-ups and tricep-dips*. Desk push-ups are a little more "work clothes" friendly. For the push-ups, put both hands, shoulder-width or a bit wider apart, on your desk, and walk your feet back about a yard or so. Bend your elbows to bring the body close to the desk or wall, and then push back up, extending your arms fully but not locking them. Repeat 12-15 times. If you want more intensity, try a lower surface. Turn yourself around in order to target the backs of those arms. Place your palms, facing forward, on the edge of your desk (or a chair). Sitting up nice and tall, elbows squeezed in tightly, slowly bend your elbows until they are at a 90-degree angle. Be sure not to go past 90 degrees! Extend your arms straight again, and repeat 12-15 times. Be sure to keep your feet together, whether your legs are extended or bent.

*I suggest avoiding the rolling chair for these exercises.

(Source)

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4. Say you're waiting for something to print, or maybe you're making hundreds of copies (is that just me?), or you're scanning, or faxing, or just doing something that is taking a little bit of time. Instead of just standing there (or worse, sitting), tone those calves! Position your feet shoulder-width apart, rise up to your tiptoes, hold for one second, and then lower back down. Want an added challenge? Try doing these just one leg at a time. 

(Source)

5. The Wooden Leg. While sitting in your chair, extend one leg out in front of you and hold for two seconds. Then raise your leg up as high as you can and again, hold for two seconds. Repeat 15 times before switching legs. 

(Source)

And I'm preaching to the choir over here because I myself don't always have the best posture when I am sitting. However, it's very important to make sure you are practicing correct posture. Because Forbes can say it better than I can, "Adjust the height so you're in a 90-90-90 position - feet flat on the floor or on a foot rest and your knees and hips bent at 90-degree angles. Keep your lower spine flat against the back of the chair to maintain proper curvature." Don't be like my students (okay, and me) and slouch over in your chair. Sit up straight and tall - it's good for a lot more than you think, specifically avoiding unnecessary pain. And instead of emailing your co-worker with that important question, get up and go see him or her! Not only are you squeezing in some extra exercise, you will also likely get a response in a more timely fashion, and, most importantly, face-to-face interaction is a good thing.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday, and be sure to stay warm!

Four Facts Survey

Happy Wednesday! Thanskgiving Eve, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day here in Houston. Sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s, and I could not be happier. Especially after sharing a delicious breakfast with Dylan this morning at The Egg and I. Delicious though it was, our time at the restaurant was one little mistake after another. We decided to cut them a break, as it was relatively busy while we were there. And even if we were forgotten about in our little secluded corner of the restaurant, nothing can beat cleaning my plate with him. Seriously. Every time we go out to eat we both have absolutely nothing left on our plates at the end of the meal.

Anyway, because I don’t have much more to report, I saw this survey posted on Julie’s blog over at Peanut Butter Fingers and though it’s not Sunday, and I’m fairly sure that I’ve filled this out before, I decided to complete this Four Facts Survey. I doubt my answers will be the same, and if they are, it’s fun to see that some things stay constant amidst change.

Four names that people call me other than my real name:

1. Kel

2. KT

3. KTom

4. Kelli Kat

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Teacher

2. Volleyball coach

3. Resident Assistant

4. Volleyball scorekeeper

7/9 of the '11-'12 RA's

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:

1. She’s the Man

2. Remember the Titans

3. The Breakfast Club

4. Harry Potter (for some reason these movies are always better when it’s Harry Potter Weekend)

Four books I’d recommend:

1. Redeeming Love

2. Harry Potter (the entire series)

3. Catcher in the Rye

4. East of Eden

(And so many more, but I'm trying to stick to what the survey calls for)

Four places I’ve lived

1. Houston, TX

2. Austin, TX

3. Barcelona, Spain

4. Bellaire High School (I kid, but during volleyball season I did spend more time at school than at home)

Miss that skyline on the reg

Four places I’ve visited (and want to revisit):

1. Maui, Hawaii

2. London, England

3. San Francisco, California

4. Telluride, Colorado

Four places I’d like to visit:

1. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

2. Interlaken, Switzerland (I’m dying to go canyon jumping!)

3. Alaska

4. Maine

Four things I prefer not to eat:

1. Cheese & Milk

2. Avocado (I love guacamole, but I’m not a huge avocado fan)

3. Applesauce (it’s a texture thing)

4. Mayonnaise

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Frozen yogurt

2. Salmon

3. Dark chocolate

4. Honeycrisp apples

Four TV shows I watch:

1. Boy Meets World

2. Friday Night Lights

3. Dancing With the Stars

4. Family Feud (guilty pleasure)

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:

1. Friendswood Friendsgiving

2. Dylan’s 22^nd birthday!

3. Christmas break, and Christmas-time in general

4. Wilchester mini-reunion

My first Friendswood Friendsgiving

Two girls I can't wait to catch up with!

Four stores I frequent:

1. Anthropologie

2. Target

3. Paper Source

4. Barnes and Noble (I heart books)

Four forms of exercise I enjoy:

1. Running

2. Swimming

3. Rollerblading

4. Walking

And on that note, I’m off to go enjoy the beautiful weather, and maybe get a head start on some of the schoolwork I need to accomplish this week. I always say that I’m going to finish it early so that I can enjoy the majority of the break, and then Sunday comes and I’m complaining about all of the work that I still have left to do. So, hopefully the next time I check in with you guys, I’ve accomplished much of what I want to accomplish! Have a great rest of your day, and I will be back tomorrow with a Thanksgiving post. 

Ten Secrets

Happy Monday from the front desk at SRD! After a two week break from work, I am back at my second home for the summer. As hard as it was to make myself go to bed at a decent hour last night (read: I didn’t), and as hard as it was to make myself get out of bed this morning, it is nice getting back into a routine. I loved having those two weeks of freedom, as you might call it, but I was also terribly unproductive. I much prefer a busy schedule to an open one!

Workout

Because I will most likely not be setting my alarm for the 5 o’clock hour to work out before work, the workouts featured on my blog will likely be a workout from the day before. Not that you guys would likely know the difference, but just so we’re all on the same page here.

Yesterday I made the drive back to Austin on a beautiful afternoon, so after unpacking and hanging out with my roommates for a bit, I made the quick drive over to Mt. Bonnell (hands down my favorite place in all of Austin) for a workout that was probably a little bit tougher than it should have been for me. Granted, it has been a while since I have done this, and I have also taken a major hiatus from running, but I was still huffing and puffing after one trip up the stairs. That being said, I ran up the 104 steps to the top of Mt. Bonnell ten times and called it a day. The fact that I did this at 4:00 in the afternoon was probably not my best idea, but, I did it, and my calves are feeling it this morning!

And today's sunny weather took me to the pool for an afternoon swim, followed by a little volleyball with Dylan before his shift at work.

Breakfast

I was seriously unprepared to start work this morning, as I normally do food prep on Sunday, but here I was this morning rushing around to get things ready to come to work. Breakfast today was my usual scrambled egg whites and spinach,

with sliced strawberries on the side.

Delish!

Ten Secrets

Today begins Day One of the Ten Day You Challenge I talked about a couple of days ago. We start with ten secrets, and I have already hit a wall. Starting off strong, aren’t we? I don’t feel like I have very many secrets, and I certainly don’t have any juicy secrets, so this might be more of a “10 Things About Kelli,” and you may or may not have already seen some of these on the blog before. But, maybe you will walk away with at least one new thing learned.

1. This one might be news to my parents as well, but when I was in fourth grade, I was sent to the principal's office. Not just me, but every fourth grader on my bus because we apparently bullied a Kindergartener. You just don't mess with Bus 30 seating arrangements.
2. When Sarah and I were in Spain, we were in quite the time crunch with our laundry. We were the only ones in the laundry room, but someone had left his laundry in the only working dryer, so I moved his laundry to the broken one, and proceeded to use that dryer.
3. Since we are on the topic of Spain, Sarah and I also pulled quite the prank on one of our dormmates. It involved some fruit and a little ding-dong-ditch.

4. I have never finished an entire can of soda. I had one bad experience with old, warm Coke, and I swore off soda ever since.
5. I have also never had a cup of coffee. It smells heavenly, and I have been told over and over that it is an acquired taste, but I just can't bring myself to drink it. I also have a very addictive personality, so I worry that I might become addicted to it, unable to go on with my day without a cup of joe. We'll see if I make it through my first year of teaching/coaching without it!
6. This might be the lamest secret in the history of secrets, but at my school, chemistry is typically a dreaded class. I went along with the masses in saying that I hated it, but I secretly loved going to chemistry class, and I made some of my best grades in it.

Sophomore chemistry class

7. This secret gets a little more scandalous, but it was also announced to the entire Stratford volleyball community at my senior banquet, but at beach retreat the summer before my senior year, I, along with a few of my teammates, skinny dipped in the ocean and streaked along the Galveston beach. It's true, and it's also one of my prouder moments.

Olivia made a reference to our activities in my senior speech

8. One of my very best friends and I hated one another up until the sixth grade when we were forced to play on the same volleyball team. Once we got over our differences (I was mean; she was a teacher's pet), it was smooth sailing from then on. And I'm so excited that we will both be living in Houston next year!

9. My friend Erin (who just recently got married) and I used to go around taking pictures of our neighbor's license plates, just in case they ever committed some sort of crime. Makes a whole lot of sense, right?
10. My first AIM screen name (remember those?), and my email address up until my freshman year of college, was rockinbrunette32. It still holds true today, obviously.

Phew, that took quite a bit of brain power to come up with all of those! Enjoy the rest of your Monday evening!

Taco Weekend

And another Austin weekend is in the books, but this is my first low-key weekend in that not much was planned. The first weekend I was back in town, I completed a triathlon, the next weekend I went to a beautiful wedding, the next weekend I completed my spin certification orientation, and just last weekend I got to spend wonderful weekend with my friend Amira. All of those weekends were absolutely wonderful, but I also enjoyed a low-key weekend, filled with lots of delicious food, and even better company.

We left off on Friday before I got off of work. At approximately 2:00pm, I quickly changed into Nike shorts and a t-shirt and headed down to the SRD gym. Though I have given plenty of tours that have been through the fitness center, I hadn't worked out in there since last summer. I was going to complete a Pinterest workout, but I ended up just staying on the treadmill for 45 minutes, alternating five minutes of running with five minutes of walking. Nothing too crazy, but I was nice and sweaty by the end of it.

I hurried home so that I could shower and give myself enough time for my hair to dry without having to blow-dry it. I think I've mentioned before that blow-drying my hair is just one of those things I don't enjoy doing. Dylan had a surprise dinner date planned for us, and we made our dinner reservations just in time. I have mentioned before that we sat down and made a list of Austin things we want to do together, and one of my contributions was Jack Allen's Kitchen. I had heard nothing but good things about it, and upon my first steps into the restaurant, I already loved it. Dylan and I both agreed that the atmosphere was excellent, and the waiters and waitresses were so friendly and attentive.

A five-star rating before we even looked at a menu. Jack Allen's Kitchen is a sort of upscale Tex-Mex restaurant, and we both had a hard time deciding what we were going to order, as everything looked delicious. I ended up going for the Green Chile Pork taco plate, and Dylan went for the Slow Roasted Chicken Tinga taco plate. Both of our meals were excellent, and we both absolutely recommend this restaurant. It is worth fighting the ever-present Austin traffic.

After dinner we tried to go to Lick, because though he teases my lactose intolerance, he is truly very thoughtful and took that into account when thinking of where we would go for dessert. Unfortunately, there was no parking to be found, so we went to a different vegan ice cream parlor - Sweet Ritual. I got a combination of cookies and cream and chocolate chai, but dessert just didn't compare to our delicious dinner. You live and learn, right?

Saturday I worked all day, so I was more than ready to put on some cute clothes and celebrate one of my roommate's 21st birthdays. Katie turned 21 on Monday, but as she is working as a camp counselor this summer, she was unable to come home on her actual birthday. She was able to get Saturday night off, so she came back to the Clubhouse for the night, and her parents drove in from Dallas and took us to a delicious dinner at Santa Rita. Santa Rita is probably my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Austin, and I knew right away that I was going to order the Tacos Al Pastor. I wavered a bit after looking at the rest of the menu, but I stayed loyal to my original choice, and I did not regret one bite.

It was an excellent evening, and we even managed to get seven of the ten current and future Clubhouse members all in the same place at the same time.

Early this morning, Austin received a bit of unexpected (to me) rain, which made me want to stay curled up in bed all morning. However, Dylan and I had plans to make plans to decorate his back deck, so we ran a few errands before ending our time together with a delicious meal at Hyde Park Bar and Grill. I unfortunately forgot to snag a pic of my meal, but I ordered the blackened tilapia tacos, rounding out my very taco weekend. Dylan went for the Chicken Guacamole B.L.T., which he said was wonderful.

After a quick swim, and a 5:00pm church service, I ran a few errands and am currently baking for a YoungLife teammate who is about to head to Nepal for the remainder of the summer. We are all having dinner together tomorrow night, so some baked goods are definitely necessary.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and if you live in Texas, stayed out of the extreme heat!