New Year's ReVolutions Update

What's this?  Two blogs in 1 weekend?  Confession here, and maybe I should be keeping this for a Midweek Confession post: I typed this post & the last one on the same day, I just set this one to publish later.  Sneaky little blogger trick I picked up somewhere!

I wanted to give everyone a first week of February update to my New Year's ReVolutions.  Not because I think you care, but because I want to stay accountable!  You can find my original post here.

1. Stay on top of household chores with daily assignments.  Yeah, umm, I've done that like, once.  I did, however, work on Mop Monday & Finance Friday on Saturday.  Hopefully I'll get to Tub & Toilet Tuesday and Wipe it Down Wednesday today?  I also was supposed to make a post about that.  Hang on to that thought a little longer!

2. Lose weight: Heck to the Yes.  I'm down about 7 pounds!!!

2a. Drink more water: Another Yes! I have even been choosing to drink water when I've been at home for snow days.  I find myself even, gasp, CRAVING water.  Big moment here folks.  Some may be attributed to the 80 degree living room I have thanks to our wood stove, but oh well.

2b. Make the gym a priority: Another, but less enthusiastic Yes.  According to my Nike+ app, I logged 20.9 miles on the treadmill in January!  Less enthusiastic because The week of MLK Jr day, I made it once, on that Monday, and then not again until the next Thursday.

2c. Take a multivitamin.  Hmm... this one needs more work.  I was good for about a week on that one.  Then I took another one on Saturday.  I just need to find a decent time to take it during the day, I'm thinking supper time.

3. Spend less.  This one we have been *doing* with some luck.  We've spend less on dining out.  We've also spent more on Auto related expenses since we needed to do a spray in bed liner and the new truck has a larger fuel tank & takes the more expensive diesel.  We're working on it though!

4.  Read the Bible.  Again, one I should work on.  According to my Bible App, I should be on day 32.  I'm on day 13.  Oops.

Anyone else sharing their New Year's ReVolution updates out there?

Currently: February

I haven't done one of these in a while, but I love when I remember to!

Listening	To Braveheart on AMC.  And an annoying noise saying that my external hard drive, you know, with everything I’ve ever done on it, isn’t working.  I even took it out and it’s still making that noise approximately every 10 seconds.
Loving	The snows that we have had lately!  Not that I’m loving how much work we’ll have to make up, but at least it’s been pretty!
Thinking	That my computer has a virus.  AGAIN.  It cost $100+ last spring to get it fixed, and I think it came back. I also think, despite being told it wasn’t there, that the source is on my external hard drive.  (Again, with my whole world on it)
Wanting	To pig out.
Needing	Not to pig out.  I’ve lost some weight this January, and I want to keep that up.
Favorite Things	1.    The Target Cartwheel app!  I saved about $5 on my last Target trip with it.  Thanks to Katie at See You There for that tip! 2.    The sort of mini commitment I’ve made to saving money lately.  And here’s a tip: Go through that Valpak thing in your mailbox & all those flyers in the middle of the neighborhood newspaper.  I saved $10 at Advance, $8 at Wendy’s, and $6 on a free snack food box.  3.    The game Guess the 90s.  It gives you a picture of something from the 90s & then you have to guess what it is.  Despite spending the majority of my school years in the 90s, I suck at it.  I blame this on having 5 channels growing up & being a country music fan.  Seriously though, it’s still pretty great!

Wanna join in?  You totally should.  Also, I apologize to the blogger who I stole this idea from, I don't remember who that was, but I think in one of my original blogs I gave you credit for it!

Midweek Confessions

Hey everyone! Just a quick check-in with the one thing I seem to be good at: Midweek Confessions!

1. I left home today without my cell phone. I noticed when I was about 7 minutes down the road & wanted to call my mom like I do every day. After a quick mental calculation, I realized that turning back to retrieve my phone would equate to me being late, so a day without my phone was ahead of me. I can't tell you how many times I either looked for it or wanted to add something to my grocery list & couldn't! I did manage to get a message to my mom by emailing her cell, and I asked her to text the hubs. Which brings me to confession 2

2.  I don't know my husband's phone number. Recently, the bank gave me a "new access code" for my financial downloads. I used it 4 times before I realized it was his number. Probably something I need to commit to memory!

3. I've been working really hard on my New Year's ReVolution to not stop at Starbucks more than once per week. (I modified that to mean I also can't stop and get a frappe from McDonalds either.) I've been saving up a free drink star for a day I really thought I would need it (and if you are a Starbucks frequenter & don't know what this means, message me. It's life changing!) Tuesday morning I was dragging around, while also knowing it was my morning for duty (read: my morning to be at work 10 min early & spend the 30 min before the kids arrive monitoring the hall) and also recognizing that I had a set of copies to make for 1st block because the packets I sent off a week earlier hadn't arrived. So Tuesday was an excellent candidate. I ordered a very specific Iced Venti Nonfat No Whip Caramel Flan Latte, got it for free, and reveled in a few small sips on the road. As I walked through my classroom, I set my coffee down, turned to set my back down, and knocked my coffee on the floor. I stood in shock as my entire gorgeous free caffeine spilled out, and then spent the next 10 minutes cleaning it up. Thankfully, my secret pal had given me some glass bottle frappachinos earlier, which I had been using as emergency drinks. I had ONE left. It's now gone. 

3. Today, day 6 with my new students, was the first day I have been able to look at each of my students and know their names. Very sad. To my defense, the first "week" went as follows: 2 hr delay, closed for polar vortex, closed for polar vortex, regular day, 2 hr delay. It was rough. In those 3 school days, we had 3 different bell schedules. 

4. On the first day of the semester, I miscounted the bells and only sent my kids to lunch when my classroom mate came to get hers out of her desk. On the third day, I thought I had been counting correctly, but a hallmate accidentally let hers out a bell early, so I did too. This split class for lunch thing is going to take some getting used to. I've never had that as a teacher!

5. On Monday, I left a new recipe in the crock pot. After arriving home, we went to Mcdonalds because I misread the instructions and cooked it til the cheese burned. On Tuesday, after the sadness of my coffee incident, I ordered curbside takeaway at Outback. Today, I grabbed one of those rotisserie chickens, and fixed Spanish rice & Carrots to go with it. Only problems: I didn't actually turn the burner on for the carrots & the leg/thigh area of one side of the chicken looked like this 

Gross. 

6. E said, "hey do 10 quick things" and I have, now 6, long ones. Why? Idk. Maybe I'm an oversharer with a poor memory. 

Taking a cue from E: on a positive note: I've been to the gym 6 times in 2014 already, including 2 consecutive days this week! I'm also noticing that I am getting more full than I used to despite smaller portions! Also, I feel better physically. I'm still clutzy & forgetful, but hey, I can only hope for so much right?

Also, and this is more to spread a laugh than anything else: I have this desk chair that was D's that he took to college. It has a design flaw that means that if you lean back to rest, you'll find yourself on the floor. To my knowledge, 4 students and myself have all done so this year. I even sent 2 kids to get me a newer, free, and still design flawed desk chair so it wouldn't happen to me, but have kept the other one for, well, I'm not sure why. But the kids sit in it, and some make a game of seeing how far they can lean back without tipping. I should probably get rid of it before someone cracks their head. 

Don't forget to head over to emyselfandi.com to check in on other midweek confessions!

New Year's ReVolutions

So, you know those commercials with the man who sits and talks to the little kids? I think it's a series for a cellular company? Anyways, I love them. A recent one has a little boy who says you need to keep your New Year's revolutions (instead of resolutions). While the man makes fun of him for misspeaking, I think the boy has a point. 

The decisions we make for the new year should be lifestyle changes. Turning some aspect of our lives around. Isn't that exactly what a revolution is? A change? 

So here's my list Revolutions. I'm not usually the resolution kind of girl, particularly since I don't follow through well, but I'm going to try. And I'm recording it here to hopefully hold myself more accountable. I've also added the "biggest hurtle" I see that I need to overcome. 

1. Stay on top of the household chores. I've mentally made a schedule that includes Mop Monday, Tubs & Toilets Tuesday, and Wipe down Wednesday. Stay tuned for a more detailed list. Biggest hurtle: I'm the laziest housekeeper, and I hate it. 

2. Lose weight. Or more specifically, drop 15 pounds before the end of the semester (5/31). I've added 20 pounds since I graduated college in 2007. I would say I've gained 15 of those since January 2012. It's terrible. To combat this:

2a.  Drink more water. Not the ridiculously high recommended 64 oz a day, but at least half of that. (And as of 8:30 tonight, I'm at all of 16. Great start, huh?) Biggest hurtles: I hate water; I have a profession which does not allow me to pee when I want; I live 45 minutes from work. 

2b. Make the gym a priority. Prior to today, I hadn't run since the first week of August. Shameful, and I was feeling pretty crummy. Today I restarted my 5K running plan, and added in some weight work. I'm not saying I'll go to the gym every day, I'm setting an early goal of 2 days a week, and hoping to find time for a third day. Hurtle: I've had the same gym membership all fall, and I drove right by the gym every single day without stopping in the fall. 

2c. Take a multivitamin. If you are asking why, then you should probably be taking one also. We eat terribly (example: tonight's stuffed green peppers via Pinterest were delicious, but we both, separately, at Mexican out for lunch. I got a cheese quesadilla and a cheese Enchilada. And cheese dip). My mom & every doctor I've ever had tells me I should supplement my terrible diet with a multivitamin. And probably make changes to my terrible diet. One year at a time folks. Biggest hurtles: I am the world's worst at remembering to take medicine if I feel fine (like, I never finish a bottle of antibiotics on time). Also, most people take vitamins in the morning. When I take medicine in the morning, vitamins included, I vomit. Every time. I will have to try and remember to take them with supper. Today, day one of vitamin taking, I remembered as I typed this. 

3. Spend less. We just bought a truck, and we've got to be better at budgeting now. Item #1 to go: my Starbucks visits, which were getting all too frequent. I'm officially limiting myself to 1 visit per week, even on weeks like next week when I'll have a free drink! Hopefully, this will serve 2 purposes: limit our spending, and limit my caloric intake thus applying to revolution 2. Biggest hurtles:  spending less means cooking more, which is not my forte. Also, I convieniently pass 2 Starbucks' on my drive into work, and can make a 3rd "on the way" in a pinch. 

4. Read the Bible. Which is probably shocking to many who know me well. I'm not an atheist or anything, but I'm not exactly spiritual. I can't tell you the last time I went to church, but I feel like I haven't been since I have known D, and I met him in 2008. Reading the Bible is something I've always had interest in. I have a Bible App, which has a plethora of daily reading plans. I was fairly diligent in reading an advent devotional throughout December, so yesterday, I started one that tackles the Entire Bible in one year, with a chronological viewpoint. (Honestly, I kinda thought that the Bible was chronological for the most part, so I don't really know how that will work out.) Biggest hurtle: making this a habit. 

So that's it. Just 4. Well, 4+.  And that's 3 more than I've ever had before. 

What have you decided to do for 2014?

DIY Christmas Decorations

I'm not particularly creative, but when I saw this idea on Pinterest, I thought, heck, I can do that! I love it so much, that I figured I'd blog it in case anyone else wants to do it. Also, and more likely, so that I can remind myself how easy it was for Christmases in the future!

First, you need to gather your supplies: 

Literally, just ribbon (mine is from Sam's club, and is wired and covered in Glitter), scissors, and tape.  Here's an interesting note here: if you don't mind glitter all over your kitchen, glitter ribbon is great. If you're a clean freak: steer clear of the glitter. My counters, stovetop, and floor are covered in glitter!

Next, use the ribbon to determine how long you need it. I just had enough to wrap maybe 2 inches along the back of the cabinet at the top and bottom. 

Cut to size, then tape, yes, tape, the ribbon to the cabinet. That's it. Another note here: I'm one of the least OCD people you'll meet, and I also have a terrible time deciding if things are straight or centered. If you are a little more OCD, the project may take a longer time, or you may want to just not do it. 

Another note, please be more intelligent than I am. In the process of cutting my first ribbon, I also cut the skin between my thumb and first finger (you know, that really skinny part?). I had to rush to the bathroom to stop the bleeding and grab a band-aid. I'm a klutz, so I'm sure that won't happen to you. 

Next step: gather your cards and something to attach them. Right now, I have all of 3 Christmas cards. So I picked them up and used paper clips. The pin I found had super cute clothespins, which is great also, but I had paperclips, so that's what I used. 

Attach the cards and you're done!! Here's my final project;

I love it! The husband: "mmmhmmm. Lovely." Drenched in sarcasm of course, as he is a grinch in regards to decorations. He's also a bit on the OCD side, so we'll see how many times I am asked to adjust the ribbon!

Happy decorating! 

Overheard at Christmas

My neice O had written a letter to Santa. It was short, in that she is not yet 3 and can't actually write. All it said was love and her name:

Me: "what does your letter say?"

O: "it says (and points to her name) I A"

Me: "No, that says O L"

O: "No, it says I"

Me: "No, that's an O"

O: "nuh uh. That's an I"

Me: "which one of us can read?"

O: "What?"

Me: "which one of us can read? Can you read or can I read?"

O: "You can. You can read"

Me: "Okay, so I'm telling you, because I can read, that says O."

When we were putting the presents from D & I under the tree, my nephew B saw one labeled to Daddy. He got very excited about his Daddy's present. 

Me: "no, that's not Daddy's. Who is my daddy?"

B: "ummm. D?"

Me: "No, who is my daddy?"

B: "D!"

Me: "My Daddy?"

B: "I haven't met your daddy yet."

Insert hysterical laughter. 

Me: "Papo. B, Papo is my daddy."

B: "Oh yeah! I forgot!"

Then, as we were unwrapping gifts, I glanced over at my brother in time to see him opening the book I bought my dad. The very present that led to the above conversation.  

Me: "Oh, um, that's not yours"

T: "What?"

Me: "I must have put...oh...I put To Daddy on it. You should have gotten a card"

T: "seriously? Oh man. Well...thanks for the card."

Random Ramblings

Hey everyone! I'm going to apologize in advance for the complete lack of a general theme for this post. I basically have a handful of random thoughts, and about 30 min to kill, so here goes.

- I feel like my life has taken a weird circle backwards. Currently, I'm sitting at a hotel about 30 min from my parents' house waiting for a conference to begin. Sometime in the early 2000s, I attended a different conference (or the appropriate word is probably convention) in this. Exact. Hotel. The difference: that one was for Beta, this one is for my state education association. Also, I'm choosing to stay at home tonight rather than at the hotel, and in high school I certainly chose to stay at the hotel. (My friend S & I may or may not have attempted to make coffee, then ice it down, then add the hard peppermint candies to make it taste better. It was disgusting.)

- I've hit an invisible wall of sorts where my students are driving me insane at no fault of their own. They're done with this semester; I am done with this semester; we have 12 more class periods before our state SOL and another 5 more before Christmas Break. 

- You know what I'm hoping cures that? The fact that I left work today after 2nd block. I took a gorgeous backroads drive to my parents house on a 70+ degree day. I then got to swing and ride bikes and play with a plastic toolbox and a matchbox car for a few hours. I also got to be greeted by 3 running children, grinning & shouting my name. That's true therapy. 

- I hate that my baby boy is growing up. My oldest nephew is in 1st grade. He has adult conversations. He has lost teeth. And today, I had to actually pedal quickly to keep up with him. What happened to my little mini me? The one that exhausted me by chasing me with the plastic popper all through the house? I definitely want to freeze time. Today though, as we put the bicycles up, he pulled on my hand, and when I looked down his little lips were puckered up for a kiss. Heart melting. 

- I have been riveted by the JFK coverage recently. I find it so fascinating and so saddening at the same time. Thankfully, I teach high schoolers, so I can do things like show actual assassination footage and discuss the implications on current security. And they ate it up. Standardized testing can be on hold. My freshman learned today; it didn't have anything to do with Renaissance Europe. It did, however, have 20 14 year olds riveted. Some went googling more information on their phones. Some of my sophomores have on their own watched Kennedy footage that I suggested in class. That changes lives. That infuses a lifetime love of learning. Not a forced discussion of economic interdependence, regardless of it's relevance. 

- I am a born and bred don't decorate until after Thanksgiving girl. It angers me to see commercials and decorations, and especially hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I will fully embrace Christmas the minute I wake up on Black Friday (though, I will not attend shopping events. I have a horrible crushing panic in that environment). I just want people to appreciate Thanksgiving. You know that picture of the Turkey yelling at Santa to back off? I am on Team Turkey. 

- I have a piercing and crippling fear of stingrays. It's bizarre. It came up in class this week as we were discussing global food supply and a student said he wanted to move to Australia so he could eat kangaroo and those horrible sea creatures. I cringed involuntarily. I was then called out on it as a 15 year old asked if I was aware that the fear was irrational. I'm now that teacher who is afraid of something my students thing is stupid. Yep. Yay me. 

That's all for now, my conference will start in a few minutes. If you are still reading this, thanks for sticking around so long!