Isabelle & Weekly Phone Dump

Eeeeeee!!!!! Looooookkkkkk!!!!

Meet Izzy!!! Yes, I ate my words and got a kitten.  The workers at our local non-kill shelter convinced us that a kitten would do better with our dogs than one of their adult cats.  Honestly, getting a pet was the last thing I expected to do on Saturday, but it just kinda happened. Once I saw the little fur-ball I was sold and Philip knew there was no chance in us leaving the shelter without her.

Izzy is 8 weeks old and was in a litter of 5 with a really sad story that I will spare you from hearing/reading. The happy news is that she now has a good home with some crazy brothers. She is fearless around the dogs and pops their noses and tails without hesitation. She is FULL of personality and is going to rule this house.

 

We haven’t had a cat toy in our house in years. Warrior ate all of Abby’s toys (jingle balls and fuzzy mice) as a puppy and we never replaced them. She was older and was perfectly happy playing with my ponytail holders. Anyway, this is Izzy’s fav toy….She also loves straws, shoelaces, and Q-tips!

My dad feels sorry for her and is mailing her a goody package!

Ok, are you sick of the cat pics/news?  How about viewing a few of my phone pics from this past week. 

Af and Lac

Yep, the sweet ducks are still living in our pond. They’ve been named and are still chatty and friendly.

Foot pics…..very odd for me…. Here’s a confession regarding my two new pairs of sandals…..I bought both of those 80% off from Zappos in October 2012 and just took them out of their boxes. I do this all the the time—hit up crazy good deals at the end of a season and don’t wear the item until the following season. Yes, I took both of those pics in my classroom and I stood in the green ones all day. Another confession…I had a back-up pair of flats in my purse that day.

Anddddd I’m back to the Brooks in regards to running/aerobic shoes. For those that care, these are the Brooks Adrenaline’s 13. I broke them in with a tough double-digit run today and they did well. The Cadence 1′s are still my all-time fav and I am so sad that they are no longer being manufactured. I contacted Brooks and demanded requested that the Cadence 3s mimic the Cadence 1s. No, I don’t think I’m that important…I just take my exercise that seriously. Lets just say that I’m low-man on the totem pole and they really don’t care….

Most of you warned me that Under Armor shoes won’t last and you were right. Enormous holes formed on the inside heels and gave me blisters the size of Texas that prevented me from running for a few days. Not cool. What is cool is UA’s warranty/return policy. I mailed them the shoes and they gave me a 100% refund.

I’ve also made some cute cakes/treats/creations this weekend. Thanks, friends!

Tennis ball cake pops!

Bridal shower cupcake cake!

6-layer, 10-inch round, crawfish boil/graduation cake!

And here are two pics that were sent to me that created completely opposite emotions….

I was very happy and grateful when Philip sent me this pic of our new washer.

Laundromat visits are a thing of the past…I hope.

I was sad and jealous of this pic of an amazing spin room. A great friend/gym member sent me this pic of his new gym in Dallas. Those bikes are awesome with their digital cadence/resistance/mileage screens.

Have a great last week of school!!!  I’m sure my next post will have some more Izzy pics! Be excited!

WIAW & WOW #9

Announcement: We have new pets!!! They are currently namelesss, so I am open to suggestions.

Ok, so I am not that crazy and I really don’t have ducks as pets, but they seem to think that they belong to us. Someone in our neighborhood gave their children ducklings as an Easter gift. ???  Well, obviously the ducklings grew up and they decided to release them into one of our neighborhood ponds. The very vocal, domestic ducks are so friendly and immediately waddled up to our yard. I go visit them daily and they love me!

While on the topics of pets…we have decided to get another cat (someday) and to adopt her from a local non-kill shelter. Yes, we could probably get a free kitten somewhere, but why not adopt a cat that is destined to a life behind bars in a shelter. Then again, the poor kitty may decide that the confined life beats living with Wowo… ha!!  I spent 45 minutes of my life completing their online application.

I felt a bit crazy answering such detailed questions about our life in order to get a cat!! I get that the shelter wants to make sure we are decent people, but the form certainly brought back memories of completing our home study for Baby B. That is a part of my life I don’t want to revisit.

Onto Jenn’s portion of the post: What I Ate Wednesday.

All teachers know that the end of school is CRAZY. Drowning in exams, final grades, papers found in lockers from October that kids try to turn in, irate parents, summer-itis, etc, etc. Real fun. Almost summer…breath.

Anyway, weeks like this mean that dinners have to be simple and quick. I use all my patience up during the school day and leave none for the oven.

The best appliance for completing that job is the slow cooker! Even better….use the slow cooker once and eat all week. Get ready for the most complex recipe ever. Dump 2 pounds (or whatever will feed your fam for 4-5 days) of raw chicken into the slow cooker and let it do its thing for 6-7 hours. Your chicken will shred just like a rotisserie chicken, but without the fat and salt. I promise no liquid is needed. You can use the chicken in any recipe calling for shredded chicken. Wow. Shocker. Philip’s been eating the chicken in a variety of sandwiches styles (BBQ, buffalo, etc) and I’ve been putting it on salads. Soooo easy!

 Onto Work Out Wednesday! Here’s my latest torture device  toy that I’ve been using to train myself  and clients.

Meet the BOSU Balance Trainer. For those that are unfamiliar with this odd ball (hehe) it is pronounced “Bo,” like the boy’s name, and “Sue,” like the girl’s name. Originally, the name “BOSU” was an acronym for “Both Sides Up.” It meant that the ball could be used on either side, the dome or the platform. Today, the term “BOSU” now means “Both Sides Utilized,” and is a mindful approach to exercise that is a step beyond traditional training (meaning no more stability training). It will upgrade any exercise/move you do. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it.

TRX incorporation = death

The BOSU actually has an app  with weekly workouts.

Warning: you never get use to it! It’s a constant challenge and a great indicator of core strength. Good luck and try not to do this the first time you step on it!

Does anyone have any fav BOSU moves?  What about cat name suggestions? We like people names that can be shortened to cute nicknames.

Weekly Phone Dump

Summer, summer, summa…. We are getting close.  Not that my life changes much during those months (I still work full time)…I just love the 100 degree heat. No lie.  I also love being in clean workout clothes all day. Wait. They are only clean at 4am when I get dressed, but whatever…. While on the subject of clean clothes, allow me to show you how Philip & I spent our Saturday afternoon….

Yep. Fun times. We had a bad electrical storm Thursday night and we lost a few appliances–the washer being one of them. This friend did survive the 1:30am drama, though.

                   

People say that bad things happen/break in threes, right? Well, I think we are on #5….or #8, but whatever. Lets just add to the whining drama by letting it be known that little red (my car) and I are separated, again, and I’m back in another rental. I’ll stop now.

Ok, none of the above is really part of this post. A few bloggers that I regularly follow do an “iPhone pic dump”. I believe that our natural curiosity finds it interesting to see what other people capture during their daily life. Here are some of my pics from our beach trip:

Amazing. No alarm for 5 days.

The infamous Carnival Triumph docked in the Mobile Bay.

Awesome

Sunrise

Sunset

View during a run.

Way too serious about mini golf.

Practicing mud run obstacles

Getting my butt kicked

Shopping!

Our pathetic fridge. Taking bets on which item belonged to me… ;-)

Here are some random pics from this past week:

My poor couch…

A student actually got me a gift!?

One of my Creation projects

Text message from a friend that made me laugh way too hard

Gift from my parents for Baby B’s nursery! Thanks!!

Team lift!? Puh-lease…I carried this across the house solo. NBD.

So, what is most random pic on your phone from this past week?!

WIAW & WOW #8

My last post ended up being one of the most rewarding one I’ve written.  I heard from so many of my former students! Again, it was one of those times that remind me why I teach. I definitely needed that reminder because the papers that I have to grade continues to grow exponentially.

Funny/random story… last year I was drowning in papers (common theme for this time of the year) and broke my #2 teaching “rule” (don’t grade papers outside of the classroom).  Anyway, I recruited Philip to help me on a portion of the papers (matching sections). He completed them in about 2 minutes and I knew something was wrong. Yeh, he wrote 100 on all of them!!!!  WTH!?!?! He told me to be a “completion grade” teacher for once.  NO! I had to mark out all 100s, grade them on my own (oh, the horror), and explain to the kids why their 100 was reduced to a much lower score! Seriously…..he would give 100s to this stuff for the kids’ “creativity”.  Hahaha….see why I laugh everyday at work?!

Needless to say, his point was made and taken… He won’t grade my papers. Ha! I’m sure I punished him by giving him leftovers for dinner that night….not kidding.

Onto more recent times….like last night’s dinner.

Hosted by Jenn

I’ve told you that I’m a creature of habit and I eat the same breakfast and lunch daily. I do this on vacation, too. Don’t hate…it’s my preference. Anyway, last week at the beach I ordered the exact same meal at every restaurant: Baked fish topped with (real) crab meat.

I’ve been craving another beach trip this meal something bad and remade it. It’s super easy and fast. Bake the fish of your choice (tilapia for me), top it as much crab meat as you can stuff in your face your heart desires, broil the topped fish 2-3 minutes, and finish it off with some lemon juice. Heck, you can make it as fatty as you want (mix in bread crumbs, cheese, etc.), but I thought it was awesome. Warning: the ingredients can get kinda pricy unless you do the fishing yourself know when the store has their seafood on sale.

Onto fitness….bikini season is upon us

I read this article and thought that it was appropriate for those looking for a last minute miracle change. Remember….nothing happens over night or even in a week!

My thoughts…..

#1: the word ‘but’ gives you a ready-made excuse that sets you up for failure. Stop saying it if you are serious about your goals.

#2: YESSSS!! Come add to the fun sweat and take a group exercise class. I wrote in this post why I believe they are so effective.

Pink!!! I would look so cute in that! Would ya’ll still take my class if I wore it?!?!  ;-)

#3: Absolutely! If you track your food intake you are much more likely not to eat CRAP and emotionally eat. It sucks, but it’s easy and effective. There are a ton of apps that help you do that. My personal favorite is my fitness pal.

I also think this would be highly effective for my fitness friends…..

Why I teach

One word…

I’m totally kidding. I would be a miserable person if I “lived” for those 6 weeks away from students. It’s a great perk and believe me, non-teachers, it’s beyond deserved; however, summer break is far from a break. This is not the point of this post, though. As another school year concludes, I have been reflecting on this past year as well as all my career years. This year started with a lot of changes (public school to private school and full-time to part-time), but in the end it felt like a normal school year. The good days outweighed the bad and I had a lot of good laughs and memories. That. That right there is one reason why I teach. I have a job that allows me to laugh at and with 17-18 year olds everyday. It requires patience, creativity, wittiness, and a lot of tongue-holding, but it’s a really fun job. Perhaps it’s what you make of it.

I get asked at least once a week why I continue to teach high school  since I work another full-time job. Those people love to point out all the negatives they know are associated with the profession. Reasons like this make me question my decision as well…

But, then I have moments like this that remind me of why I teach. These moments also give me hope that I’ll have another group of kids that were and are as special as the class of 2010. Here’s the story to tie this together….Philip and I spent three hours working on Baby B’s puzzle Sunday night. (Thank you, everyone, for the puzzle piece purchases! We still have about 300 pieces left for purchase. FYI!) Anyway, Philip was actually putting the pieces together and I was writing the names on the back of the pieces.

Yes, the wine is a necessity….

As I was writing the names I was extremely touched to realize how many of my former students from the class of 2010 had purchased puzzle pieces. I taught several of those kids for three years (sophomore, junior, senior) and I still keep in touch with a good number of them on a regular basis (weekly if not daily). They are entering their senior year of college and I now consider several of them friends. They consult me on life/school/relationship advice and I share a lot of my life with them as well.

Mentor teachers have told me that a group like my “2010″ come across once in a career. That news slightly saddens me, but I’m also okay with it because those “kids” can never be replaced. I know that many of them read this blog and I want you to know that ya’ll are the reason I go to work everyday. Yes, laughing is important, but the knowledge that my class as well as myself had a life-changing impact on your lives is my true motivation.  Ya’ll  are getting ready to take the MCAT, NET, and other such medical entrance exams because of what I taught you academically and the faith I installed in you when you were 16-18 (this info is coming from them, not me!). The person that ya’ll have become gives me hope that I can touch another life one day and have another treasured relationship. Thank you, 2010 grads, for making my measly salary job my passion.

This also helps…

(just for seniors….undergrads have two more weeks to keep me laughing)

WIAW & WOW #7

Will someone please explain to me how I went from this…

to this…

in 24 hours?!?!?!

I feel your pain, kid…

Not that I am complaining….I know that I am a spoiled brat lucky chick to be able to jet off to paradise for a few days. I plan to do a vacay picture phone dump in my next post if you want to see some professional iPhone pics.

Prior to getting to the main point of Wednesdays (What I Ate Wednesday) let me say thanks to all the creation orders! Graduation cake pops and Mother’s Day rose cakes are taking over my kitchen! Local peeps, it’s not too late to place your order!

Onto, the dinner food….

Since work is being hard on me this week, I am making dinner easy on myself and using my fav kitchen appliance: the slow cooker! I generally use it 2-3x/wk on a “normal” week. Since this week isn’t normal….

Ok, I’ll stop….

I am using it every night this week. I have 2 slowcookers (refer back to spoiled brat, huh?!) and rotate them. I place all the ingredients in the cooker at night, store it in the fridge, and place the food-filed cooker in the base when I am walking out the door in the morning. Tonight we had an old favorite that I “created” a couple of years ago: Pork Tenderloin with Apple Stuffing.

Onto the Work Out Wednesday (WOW)…I absolutely love working out at the beach…said no one ever me. No, really, give me a chance before you have me committed. This is  why….it’s on MY time. I am not on a schedule and can stop/start whenever I want and do whatever form of exercise I choose. I don’t have to talk/yell/motivate, monitor form, keep track of time, etc.  Sound crazy to most of you? I promise that if you were told when/where/how to exercise daily it would not sound crazy. Remember, I work full-time at gyms training and teaching. LOVEEEE, but having some exercise freedom over the past few days was amazing.

Anyway, I’ve mentioned that I love running stairs. I especially love running the condo stairs. I especially love running the condo stairs when the little old lady club is having a 20 minute smoke break in the stairway. Wait, no.

I do love running the stairs for this benefit…

Yep….

I also love going on long runs at the beach. NOT on the beach. Lesson learned, plantar fasciitis suffered. During one of my long runs I listened to another Jillian podcast and she challenged her listeners to do this fitness challenge. Challenge accepted. Challenge accomplished. All I can say is have fun transitioning directly from #6 to #7….  My #s were # 6: 12 reps , #7: 5 minutes, and my feelings afterward were this…

Have a great Wednesday!

WIAW & WOW #6

Happy one day until I go to the beach Wednesday and welcome to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Jenn. 

We had about a pound of crawfish leftover from Saturday’s crawfish boil. I decided to get creative and attempt a Crawfish Etoufee. I’m sure there are way more authentic versions, but Philip complimented my dish– so it must be amazing decent! Even if it’s not authentic, it’s super easy. It took me about an hour to make this Sunday evening with only ten minutes of “hands on” time.

Since Saturday’s Warrior Dash I’ve been thinking about my training schedule for my next Tough Mudder.   Then i had to get real with myself.  I honestly don’t train for anything, I just maintain my fitness.  I want to be able to jump into a competition (road race, adventure race, etc) at anytime so I try to stay ready! I run a 1/2 marathon distance at least once a week and do a lot of upper body conditioning (push-ups and pull-ups) Throughout the week.  Yes, that’s crazy to a lot of people, but then again I’m crazy to a lot of people. Most love me, though!

Anyway, I noticed a majority of girls skipping the wall climbs at WD. Why? Because they have no upper body strength! Upper body strength is 1/2 of the WD and TM competition!

Well, I guess this is always an option…

LOVE it!

Most girls are cardio junkies (I admit to it as well), but we need to condition our upper body!! If not for this…..

Then for this….

My kinda work out..

Speaking of cardio….I went on my usual Sunday long run and had another scary experience! Heck, I got to practice my WD fire leap for a future competition….

A SNAKE was in the middle of the sidewalk!! I didn’t see it until I was way too close to it and I had to leap over it!! I died!! As soon as I got home I told Philip about it and he asked what kind it was. Ummmm, how about a big black snake that was coiled up ready to eat me and Cody for lunch!?!?  I described it to him and my google search led me to this image….

His google search determined it was really….

 Enjoy the rest of your week!