Celebrating Summer

Happy Summer!  Technically it's not truly summer yet, but I finished my last day of teaching Thursday, so it's summer time as far as I'm concerned!  Based on the last two days, I just know this summer is going to be awesome.

My packed up, ugly, empty classroom.  The good news is that this year I'm not moving rooms, no cabinets are being replaced, and the walls are NOT being painted.  I was able to leave up posters and just shove things in bags and cabinets--no boxes involved!  Hurray!

I kicked off Friday morning by meeting two co-workers for pedicures and shopping followed by lunch with one of my best friends.  In the afternoon, another friend and I headed into the city for some fun.

I have never seen a cocktail menu on which there were so many words I did not know...I tried to use context clues, but...

We enjoyed fancy cocktails and good eats on a beautiful patio, then headed over to a Beer and Film Clips festival sponsored by New Belgium brewery.  We tasted some different New Belgium beers, ate some yummy food from local food trucks, and hung out in the park watching different short films on a big screen.  Perfect!

Me and my high school bestie!  

Today, I met my running buddy Donna for the Esprit de She race expo and packet pickup.  This will be my third year doing this sprint tri, and I can't wait!  As usual, Esprit de She provided some awesome swag:

Again this year the race shirt is a Moxie cycling tank, and I also got a thin cotton tank for registering early!  Love it.  We shopped around the expo for awhile (obviously I bought three headbands in the process...) before meeting our other running buddy for lunch.

Starting the carb loading!  Those potatoes...oh my...

After I finally made it back home, I spent the afternoon packing my triathlon bag and meticulously checking over my packing list.  I think I actually have everything organized and ready to go!  I've been training hard for this race, and I think it should be an awesome day.  Can't wait to share a race recap with you for tri #4!

Hope you're having a beautiful weekend!

What has made your weekend beautiful?

Sweet Saturday

I have found myself with a very rare free Saturday, and I decided there was only one way to celebrate it...

 Lazy couch and balcony time with a book and stove top oatmeal.  Yum!

Now I'm finally getting my lazy self off the couch and out to enjoy a bike ride in the BEAUTIFUL weather.  It is seriously perfect here--sunny and 70s.  What a gift!

But the day is made even better by the email I just got from my principal in which he copied and pasted part of an email he just received from the parent of one of my fourth graders...

He had the two most amazing years in Miss ___'s classroom..he made a huge growth...Miss ___ is definitely one of the best teachers that we had pleasure having as our child teacher...She is amazing..She goes the extra mile, finds the way how to work with an individual child, recognizing the weakness and most importantly she knows how to overcome that same weakness and gets them there, happy about themselves...

Obviously, I was in tears reading that email.  After a long week and with my patience rapidly wearing thin with my little darlings, this was just the pick me up I needed. :)  

Happy long weekend!

Life Lately--5 Random Recent Happenings

Hi friends!  Haven't been in the blogging mood lately--seems like I go two weeks with blogging, then need two weeks off.  Oh well!  Part of this lack of motivation to do much has to do with the fact that winter is STILL continuing to beat us down in Chicago...it snowed AGAIN this morning!  #sooverit
First off, after blogging for 6 years (6 years???), I finally bit the bullet and created a facebook page for Juice Boxes + Crayolas!  Check it out (and maybe hit like?? ;) here!

Since I haven't blogged for awhile, prepare yourself for a completely random post and photo dump of my life lately...

ONE

Lucky me got to escape the cold for a few days in Texas last weekend!  Between standardized test prep, stir crazy kids at school, and my own winter blues, a weekend somewhere warm was just what I needed.  My friend and I spent three days stuffing our faces, drinking beer, and running in beautiful places.  

We got in a 7 mile run through downtown Austin and the surrounding areas and a 9 mile run on an amazingly beautiful trail while I was there.  God I have missed running in shorts and tank tops!  Perfect weekend.

TWO

Another bestie and I spent the weekend together a couple weeks ago, and I was able to cross something off my 30 before 30 list--we got tattoos!  I'd been thinking about a tattoo for a loooong time and so had my friend, so we finally bit the bullet and did it together.  Mine was super simple and only took about 20 minutes, but my friend's took 4+ hours!  Yikes.

I have wanted a tattoo of birds to symbolize freedom and peace.  Picked this spot and these words so I can have a reminder throughout the day to relax, keep calm, and be at peace.

THREE

We are in the thick of ISAT testing here in Illinois...4 tests down, 4 more to go for my kids...I'm already so over the whole thing.  Our already crazy town schedule is even more insane these weeks.  Basically we test and have specials in the morning, and then after lunch we cram in EVERY OTHER SUBJECT!  Ahhh!  It's a big whirlwind.  Counting the days until it's all over!

FOUR

I shared this video of Let it Go from Frozen in ASL awhile back.  My students have been OBSESSED with this song for the last few months, and I have to admit so have I!  I convinced my two fabulous interpreter friends to spend a few hours after school with me Friday working on breaking the song down sign by sign so that we can use it as our morning song.  

I have loved being able to sign our current morning song, Best Day of My Life since I learned it back in December!  I know my kids will be even more excited about this one.  Now I just have to practice it a thousand times!  

Practicing this morning with the video and my cheat sheet!

FIVE

I cannot stop eating Girl Scout cookies.  One of my students brought me a box of Tagalongs the other day, and by lunch time I'd already eaten 3...  Then today, I stopped at the library on my way home from my run at a nearby Arobretum, and some girl scouts were freezing out in the cold selling cookies.  I happened to have EXACTLY $4 in my wallet, the cost of 1 box, so I HAD to buy one.  Then I proceeded to eat 5 on the drive home...I'm out of control!  

I did make myself a healthy green smoothie to refuel from the run when I got home to add some nutrients into my day.

Goal: More green things, less cookies :)

After a busy last couple of weekends, I'm looking forward to taking it easy this weekend.  Starting with some reading under a blanket. ;)

What do you have planned this weekend?

What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookies?  My all-time favorites are Peanut Butter Sandwiches (I think they might be called Do Si Dos in some places?) and Tagalongs, but I am currently loving the Savannah Smiles that came out a couple of years ago.  YUM!

Do you have or want any tattoos?

Weekend Wrap Up

Can I just take a moment to profess my love for summer?  I know some teachers love the idea of year round school, but I absolutely ADORE these two months (+ change) off every year.  Hello pool side reading!  (Which I sadly haven't been able to do yet because the weather in Chicago is super sucky right now.  Oh well, no complaining because no matter what the weather is like, I don't have to go into work tomorrow!!)

I spent my weekend doing a mix of celebrating the end of the school year and focusing on my training goals for summer.  Friday evening I hopped on a train to Chicago to visit a long-time friend.  We went to a vegetarian restaurant, biked through drizzling rain down the lake front path to a German street fest, enjoyed some craft beers on a patio post-street fest, got soaked biking home in the middle of the night, stopped for pizza on the way back, and passed out on the couch watching Arrested Development.  All in all, a perfect first night of summer.  (Although I would not particularly recommend riding a bike in skinny jeans, especially in the rain...Seriously, I don't know how the hipsters do it.)

Bikes!!!  Btw, the bike I was riding was at least a couple inches too big for me...Getting on and off at stop lights was...interesting...

Celebrating my German heritage!  I am such a pretend German though--I don't know when I have ever in my life eaten German food (besides pretzels), and being a vegetarian, I doubt I ever will!  The beer is good though. :) 

Locking our souvenir mugs to the bikes when we got to destination 2...Come on, you know those babies would have been stolen...Who WOULDN'T want a plastic mug with American, Chicago, and German flags on it??

Saturday morning I work up, took a bus and train to the opposite end of the city, and attended the Chicago Area Runner's Association summer marathon training kickoff clinic.  I got a free membership to CARA for summer training because I am fundraising for Autism Speaks.  I am totally a solo runner, so training with a group will be a completely new thing for me.  I'm excited, though.  When I'm logging lengthy double-digit runs, I think it will be awesome to have the group support.  

Swag

 The clinic was super informative--we were in sessions all day about things like basic marathon training, nutrition, injury prevention, running form, etc.  I was in the novice group obviously because this was my first marathon, and I was hoping to learn something new.  I definitely did and took pages of notes!  I left the clinic excited about training and with a head full of information.  Oh, and Hal Higdon was a speaker!  I felt like I was in the presence of a celebrity!

They encouraged us to write down some goals for summer training.  In addition to sticking with the training plan and stay uninjured, here are mine:

I have been slacking on stretching and foam rolling lately, but I know it is super important for me, especially since I am starting marathon training with an injury (IT Band Syndrome).  Foam rolling and using the stick helps keep my ITBs happy and prevent all sorts of other issues.  I'm committing to rolling out after every run and before bed every night!  

Today was a slow-start day.  I woke up early (after falling asleep at, wait for it, 9pm...) and proceeded to lay in bed for hours reading and playing on the computer.  I had a brick workout, the last one before next Sunday's tri, on the calendar this morning, but the weather was not being my friend.  It was under 60 degrees all morning!  I am a little bit of a wimp, and biking around in damp clothes and with wet hair is not my favorite.  I figured I could be lazy all morning and attempt the brick at noontime when the temperatures were a little warmer.

I finally made it out there for that brick...and thought I was going to die.  It was about 55 degrees and windy.  My hair was wet and dripping down my shirt.  It basically sucked.  Plus, I got lost on the trail where I was biking, and became convinced I'd have to approach a random fisherman to borrow their phone and call my dad for a resuce...luckily I found my way and avoided that.  By the time I made it back to my car, though, I decided to say "screw it" to my run and head home to a hot shower.  I am still working on warming up!

Red, frozen fingers 

Now I'm off to lay under a blanket before watching the Blackhawks later tonight with my fam--hopefully another win!

Awesome Dad and I in matching Toews jerseys...I know, we are adorable...

What did you do this weekend?

Chocolate + Peanut Butter = Bliss.

Happy Saturday!  Just a reminder to enter my Sprigs giveaway, ending at midnight tonight!

The past two Saturdays in Chicago have had weirdo weather!  I was really lucky both days though because I headed out for me run, ended up running in beautiful weather, only to have it turn cold and crappy later on in the day.  This morning is was in the upper 40s!  Shut the front door!  I even pulled a pair of capris out of the back of the drawer!  (Okay, I lied, I pulled them out of the bottom of the hamper, and they were super sweaty and gross after being worn to hot yoga the other day...what, like you never re-wear workout clothes...)

Anyways, I pounded out 9 miles on one of my favorite trails this morning, loving the weather and loving the high school throw back music I loaded on my ipod last night, including some blink-182, third eye blind, and something corporate.  Some days I crave the silence of those long runs in the forest preserve, but today I was literally grinning when some of those old favorites were blasting in my ears!

Tonight I am camped out here, on the floor in front of a pile of grad school hw (and the TV watching Parenthood, my new favorite show!).  I know you are all super jealous of my crazy exciting single girl Saturday nights.  At least I have tea.

And chocolate with peanut butter.  Yum.  Is there possibly a better combination?  I think not.  I have been ravenous all day post-run, and I'm not going to lie--I ate half that bar in 2 bites and will for sure come back for the rest after publishing this post.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Do you ever re-wear workout clothes??  Be honest...

What are you up to this weekend?

Slow Start Sunday

Good morning :)  My training schedule called for an early morning swim followed by an hour of vinyasa yoga today, but when I woke up still exhausted and with a headache after spending the whole night asleep on the couch, I decided training could wait and made a big pot of coffee instead.  Why did I sleep on the couch?  Oh you know, because I washed my sheets yesterday and have yet to put them back on my bed...without fail, anytime I change my sheets, I end up sleeping without them one night because I am never on top of things enough to get them back on the same day!  (I know, I should probably buy a second set of sheets...)

Anyways, where was I.  Oh yes, my slow start to the day.  Instead of getting in my car and getting to the gym, I decided to sit on my balcony with a book and coffee for awhile--until I got cold!  It's in the 50s here this morning!  Crazy, huh?  I could go for a FEW degrees warmer, but I'm loving the start of fall.  (I moved my book and coffee indoors instead :)

My plan for the day involves louging around until the coffee is gone, then putting away laundry, putting sheets on my bed, and finishing my lesson plans.  My dad is coming over this afternoon to paint a chalkboard wall in my apartment (!), hang a new painting my friend made for me, and help me put together a headboard I just bought from IKEA.  Ladies and gentlemen, after these projects are finished, my apartment decorating mission will be COMPLETE.  After only 14+ months of living here, too... :-/  I'll post pictures of the finished product if I ever get this place cleaned up!

I've got the chalk, just need the wall!

What are your plans for your Sunday?

Sunday, Sunday

Every weekend I have grand plans that I am going to ACCOMPLISH THINGS on Saturday.  Grade that stack of papers I've been carrying around for longer than I want to admit.  Type up the billion sets of plans I'm making these days.  (Lesson Plans, Guided Reading Plans, Reading Intervention Plans...oh my.)  Vacuum.  Do laundry.  Dust.  Get that sink of dirty dishes squared away.

Then, every Saturday I pretty much end up relaxing and doing none of these things....oops.  Oh well.

Today, it's happening.  I am conquering the To-Do list.  Since I am not participating in any Super Bowl festivities, I am going to be P R O D U C T I V E.  I am going to start out Monday this week with a clean apartment, an empty dishwasher, and closet full of clean clothing that is actually put away.  I SWEAR!  AND I am GOING to grade those papers!!!

But first, pancakes. :)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

What's on your To-Do list right now?


Are you watching the Super Bowl today?

Halloween should NEVER be on a Monday...

PHEW!  I don't mean to sound like the Halloween Grinch, but October 31st is NOT my favorite holiday!!!  It is especially not my favorite holiday when it lands on a MONDAY.  I mean come on.  Honestly.  Shouldn't Halloween by like Thanksgiving and on the last Friday (or even better...Saturday) of October or something like that every year?  Because if my kids were SQUIRRELS today, I don't even want to think about what they're going to be like tomorrow!!!!  I am just hopping I catch them in the post-sugar high comatose state, which is greatly preferred to the oh so wonderful I-ate-skittles-for-breakfast hyperactive state or the I-stayed-up-til-2am-eating-candy-and-watching-scary-movies-and-now-I-hate-everything cranky post-sugar high state...I can't believe I have to go back and teach 4 more days this week when every kid in America has probably convinced themselves that it's the weekend.  YIKES!!!

source

Okay enough complaining.  I promise I did have a small Halloween celebration. I'm not dead inside. ;)  Holidays are really low-key at my school.  Being a low-income school means that we don't have room moms planning elaborate holiday parties with games, crafts, and fancy food.  Parents send in a few treats and we play bingo.  Nothing too special, but for the kids it's a welcome break from our rigorous daily schedule!  Now cross your fingers for me for tomorrow...eek.

Anyways, this weekend was the first year in probably forever that I didn't at least SOMEWHAT celebrate Halloween.  This was largely due to the fact that I had a race Sunday morning, so I spent Saturday night relaxing and going to bed early!  More about the race later tho. :)  Let's get to the real highlight of the weekend...I spent the day Saturday doing something I love at least equally as much as teaching and running: shoe shopping, of course!   Teacher Mom (aka my actual mom) and I spent waaay too much money at Shoe Mecca (aka DSW) this weekend.  Oh goodness.  You guys, I love shopping.  But even more than I love shopping, I love a bargain.  Teacher Mom instilled this love in me practically at birth.  We stepped into Shoe Mecca with a mission: comfy teacher shoes for Mom and boots for me.  After trying on nearly every pair of shoes in the store, we settled on 2 pairs of teacher shoes for mom (that I gave the "not too ugly" stamp of approval) and one way too expensive pair of gorgeous boots for me (that didn't remind me too much of cowboy boots).

What's that?  You thought I said I love a good bargain, only to admit I spent more than is reasonable on a pair of boots around which I will likely end up buying full outfits because as of now they go with a total of 2 pairs of pants and 1 skirt in my closet?  Oh just wait.  After our successful venture through the main floor we entered...THE CLEARANCE SECTION.  Does anybody else's heart just start racing when they are faced with a rack of discount shoes all in their size?  No?  Just me?  Teacher Mom and I both fell in love with this unbelievable pair of heels that sadly weren't available in the right size for either of us...

Teacher Mom rocked these.  Too bad they were suicide-tight.

It was hard to say goodbye...but I did convince Teacher Mom to buy a fabulous pair of strappy sandals.  Of course, I picked up a few clearance pairs for myself...

Adore.

Besides my shoe buying adventures and a cold and windy 10K race yesterday, my weekend also included a good 5 hour block of laying on the couch yesterday watching The Office since, you guessed it, I have another cold.  This time, though, I don't think I can blame the kids--my sniffly nose started up as soon as I started the race yesterday and hasn't let up since!  Ugh!!!

What did you do this weekend?

Pure Michigan.

Or, "The Weekend that Saved My Sanity."

School and life have been crazy lately, but I was fortunate enough this weekend to get a little reminder of just how lucky I am.  See, I have been blessed with some incredible girlfriends in my life.  But the best, and most miraculous, part is that not only have I made wonderful girlfriends during each big stage of my life--childhood, high school, college, career--I've been able to hang onto the ones that matter even as we've grown up and gone our separate ways.  See, once upon a time I met these four girls.  Not all in the same place or at the same time, but we just kind of stuck to one another and formed a pretty special friendship.  I can't tell you how many hours we've spent together over the years doing fabulous things or doing nothing at all.

This picture is not particularly flattering of any of us especially me (in the striped pants),
but for some reason I've always loved it. :)

Now, we all live in different states.  This makes me pretty sad, but I think sometimes being apart can make you realize just how special your friendships are.  This past summer, one of the girls, M, got married and we had our first "complete" reunion in years...

No reunion is complete without a group hug!

This weekend I got to visit M who moved to Michigan after her wedding!  You guys, I can't tell you how much I needed this trip.  Even though things have been running smoothly in my classroom, I've been feeling lately like school has been sucking the life out of me at a rapid pace.  So Friday afternoon I packed my bags (including a huge bag and cooler of vegan staples!) and hit the road.  I'm so glad I did  Highlights from the weekend include...

A much-needed evening of "relaxing" and heart to hearts after a loooong drive...

A drive down a gorgeous, twisty-turny-dirt road in the middle of nowhere... 

...to visit this adorable farm... 

...and, what else, pick apples!!!

The tree farm also featured a petting zoo...M and I were kind of obsessed with these tiny ponies and considered stealing one to bring home... 

 

...then we realized we are goofy enough on our own without being those crazy girls who steal tiny ponies from children's petting zoos...

 

We also heard about a little place holding free wine tastings and headed over at lightning speeds...

Heaven.

In my attempts to convince others that a vegan diet can actually involve yummy food, I actually did some cooking with M who is much more domestic than me.  We made pita chips... 

apple pie... 

and some other random vegan yummies.

This morning I started my day with a run down this gorgeous country road...

 

...loved every minute and saw 4miles again for the first time in months!

 We ended our trip with a visit to Grand Rapids, MI to check out Art Prize, an awesome display of art throughout the whole city.  I got a little camera happy, so I will attempt to select my favorite pieces to share. :)

Loved these decoupaged old ladies! 

...And this homage to Chicago Hot Dogs!!  Even if I'm a veggie, I still love anything Chicago. :)

This gigantic mixed-media piece was probably my favorite!

I was also THRILLED to see this piece--it's a "kid's lunch" made out of...wait for it...JUICE BOXES!!! AHHHH!!  Amazing. :)  

 Couldn't put my finger on what exactly I loved about this one, but I sure loved it.

What more can I say but that this weekend was good for my soul....

What have you done lately that's been good for your soul?