What I Love

Happy Sunday! I apologize for missing this week's Things I'm Loving Friday, but my crazy schedule really caught up with me. I spent a lot of time at school this week, I mean, we're talking a lot of time, but I'm hoping that this week will be a little less hectic. I was drop-dead tired last night, yet I still ended up staying awake until almost 2:00am. Sometimes, it's just worth it. But today is my last day before I begin juggling inservice and volleyball practices and games, so here's to getting all of the last-minute errands run. I'm hoping to get in bed by 9:30pm, so I'm going to make these next nine hours productive ones. But before I do that, here's your weekly survey, featuring some things that I love.

1) Valentine’s Candy I Love: Not to be a scrooge, but Valentine's candy is such a ripoff. Grocery stores and convenience stores alike hike up the prices for candy that is wrapped or coated in red or pink, and while I'm the biggest chocolate proponent there is, I don't think it's worth it to spend $20 on a little box of chocolates. Just my opinion. 

2) Current Workout Jam I Love: Do you guys remember the song Juliet by LMNT? It's such an oldie, but it's currently my jam. I love when it blasts through my headphones, and it's a little blast from the past that makes me smile as I am running an absurd number of miles in the outrageous Texas heat. 

3) Article of Clothing I Love: Right now, I'm obsessed with Lulu shorts. I just recently had a conversation with how Lulu shorts are just a cut above every other brand of shorts, and I wish I could find more in a Cardinal Red color, because I would stock up on those in a heartbeat. 

4) Something Red I Love: Berries. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and though it's not a berry, watermelon. I cannot get enough of these red fruits in these hot summer months. If I'm not careful, I'll eat the entire container in one sitting.

Plus, they make a great pie

5) Month I Love: February, because isn't that everyone's favorite month? It actually came dead last on a list of favorite months. But I'll give it some love. Not to be self-absorbed, but I do love my birthday, and it brings a little bit of cheer to a typically dreary month. That being said, I really can find something to love about every month: January is the promise of a new beginning. March has spring break. April may have lots of showers, but it really feels like spring. May means summer vacation is on the horizon, and June and July are self-explanatory. August starts volleyball. September starts football. October is when it really starts feeling like fall, and November and December feature lots of holiday excitement.

What's better than getting a headlamp for your birthday?

6) Piece of Advice I Love: "If Running is Difficult, Run More." I saw this on Pinterest (typical) and it has continued to stick with me, so maybe a blog post will come out of this invaluable piece of advice.

7) New (or old!) Blog I Love: Peanut Butter Fingers is the blog that inspired mine, and the one that I still continue to read semi-regularly. I love her outlook on life, the way she balances a fun lifestyle with a healthy lifestyle, and she has some great workouts and recipes, to boot.

8) Current Reading Material I Love: I've been so bad. Ever since volleyball started, I haven't even picked up a book. I haven't even really sat down and relaxed, to be completely honest, but there are so many books that I want to read. That are definitely going to be put on the backburner. But one book that I will always point people to is Bob Goff's Love Does, and Donald Miller's Scary Close. Two outstanding books that make such a huge impact in so many different ways.

9) A Memory I Love: Wow, how can I pick just one? I have so many fond memories. It just depends what stage of life we're talking about. I'm thankful that I could never even begin to choose one memory that I love, but I'll share one from this past year of teaching. One year ago tomorrow, I was all set to move into my new classroom. And one year ago tomorrow, I had my classroom taken away from me. I ruined my cool factor and started crying in the middle of the main hallway, when the kindest teacher came up to me and talked me through my tears. He continued to check on me throughout the entire school year, and as much of a bummer as that situation was at the time, the positives way outweighed the negatives. And the way he acted toward me in that moment is something that I will never, ever forget. A bad memory turned great, if I do say so myself. 

10) “Chick Flick” I Love: Again, how can I pick just one? I haven't met many chick flicks that I don't like, but She's the Man is one that will never get old. And I can quote about 98% of that movie. Embarrassing, or impressive?

11) A Special Place in the World I Love: Barcelona will always hold a special place in my heart. Not only is it beautiful and full of culture and history, but it's the place that gave me my love for traveling, and the place that forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I was in a whole new country, where people speak a language in which I am only somewhat competent. There were challenges, of course, but I learned so much in those two months. Both in the classroom and out.

12) Beauty Product I Love: Can I go with soap and water? Let me explain this one. As a middle school and high school student, I never struggled with acne. I mean, ever. I was blessed with the gift of clear skin. But the summer before my senior year of college, I started getting stressed. Stressed about the fact that it was about to be my senior year. Stressed about student teaching. Stressed about graduating, and being out in the real world. Plausible reasons to worry, but it wreaked havoc on my skin. I tried so many different products, and while some products worked temporarily, I felt as though my skin only got worse. I eventually gave up buying new products, and went with the old soap and water regimen. And while my skin certainly isn't perfect, it looks so much better than it did. So I think I'll stick with it for a while.

13) Nifty Website I Love: Localeur. This is the best not-so-hidden gem that is coming to more and more cities near you. Launched at SXSW in 2013, Localeur is written by locals who live, work, and breathe in that city. From hole-in-the-wall restaurant recommendations, to free fitness classes, to coffee shops that leave Starbucks in the dust. Localeur understands that there's a big difference between where the tourists congregate, and where the locals hang out. It's currently in 16 cities, and expanding rapidly, so the next time you are visiting one of those cities, experience it like a local. 

14) A Beautiful Blog Post I Love: Man, there are so many beautiful blog posts that I absolutely love. And I've shared quite a few of them over the past year on my Things I'm Loving tradition. Here is one that I have yet to share, but that I've had open on my browser for quite a while. A simple reminder in the midst of chaos.

Adios! Again, I apologize for blog posts that are few and far between. I'll do my best to stay on top of things, but life has a way of getting away from you!