A day in the life of a teacher...during summer

I haven't been blogging much because the reality of it is the life of a teacher isn't all that interesting during the summer, but I really hate when bloggers go on and on about how they have nothing interesting to blog about. Life isn't always interesting, this blog is about my life. Enough said. So I figured I would give you a small peek into my everyday reality...

So I generally don't wake up until 9...or 10...or 11. I find it crazy when people tell me they just wake up at 7 everyday no matter if there is work or not. I generally don't trust people who don't enjoy sleeping...

I start my morning routine: warm lemon water, spark and then my morning smoothie, while I spend an hour or so checking facebook, instagram and a few dozen blogs. Priorities people.

I then make my to do list for the day:

And it generally looks about as blank as the image above.

I then check my bank account, you know to see if I can possible go shopping or have happy hour...or just leave the house. But reality is...

I then check my work email to see if we, teachers, have a set salary for this school year. You know to really get a feel of if I should start staking out corners or not this fall...

I have been dabbling in a little graphic design for fun so to put off thoughts of heels and corners I generally play around on picmonkey for the next hour or so. I generally try to put on the shittiest of reality television just to make sure I have something to talk to the mister about later. Because he cares...

I then spend an hour or so working out in my little tv room, I love hooking up my computer to the tv and running through two or three different workout routines from youtube.

Then I spend an hour or so hanging out at the pool. I of course take a few of standard pool selfies just to prove my summer is better than yours. 

I generally lose the three or four hours between the pool and when I cuddle up on the couch with the mister and start drinking boozy drinks, I really don't know exactly what I do besides cook, eat and repeat. 

We basically watch television, drink boozy drinks and catch up on our days. So I basically feel him in on reality tv, the coming and goings of the pool and perhaps how many ounces of water I drank today. Riveting stuff guys. 

And then basically I repeat the whole routine the next day.

Don't get me wrong I feel very privileged to get to be able to take six weeks off from work but the reality is I am not jetting across the country - insert broke - hanging out at the pool with girlfriends - insert they work - or doing anything educational. Unless you count analyzing the life's of reality TV 'stars'...

And there you have it, the life of a teacher during summer.

My Hometown

We all have one. "It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it..."

Some of us visit our hometown regularly, I haven't been back in eleven years. 

Until Saturday, I had to attend a baby shower in Baytown which is a hop skip and a jump away from my hometown. Deer Park.

After the baby shower I had a unusual yearning to drive through my hometown and with no real family deadlines I figured why the hell not. A stroll down memory lane seemed like just the ticket.

I grew up in a small town, that wasn't a small town.

There was a Center Street, the only real street with stop lights in my hometown.

It was a dry city with very little commercialization except for fast food chains.

It was a city full of parades, carnivals and sports. 

It was the type of town that anyone and everyone was at the football stadium come Friday night.

Source.

Most people who lived there, grew up there, married their high school sweetheart...etc.

When I was in elementary we had skate night at the skating ring every Thursday and the teachers would be talking about whomever's hand you were holding come Friday morning.

But there was over 1000 students in my graduating class, so definitely not all that small.

We were the type of small town that thought we were better than everyone simple because we were from Deer Park. Some sort of white middle class suburbia superiority that I never quite grasped a hold of.

Source

My parents escaped their roots: the rural southern, trailer home, horses in the backyard, addresses that don't pop up on google roots. And my cousins were constantly givings us the stink eye at our 'privileged' lifestyle. But really it was all a case of keeping up with the Jones, and lets be real we didn't do the best job of playing suburbia. We might have had the house in the perfect neighborhood but we certainly didn't have the disposable income. And my parents fought more like the Roseanne sitcom and less like the Crosby's.

But as I drove through the streets of Deer Park I wasn't haunted by the feelings of inadequacy or the crumblings of my parents marriage but by the strongest feelings of nostalgia and innocence.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a hometown where:

we left our doors unlocked,

we roamed the streets as kids at dark collecting toads from sewer drains,

we took off on bicycles for adventures to the snow cone shop, city pool, library or the park, our limits were the city line and in a time before cell phones my parents trusted us to look out for each other

we drag raced on center street...read that as sixteen year old boys drag raced, 

we hung out at the Taco Bell until curfew showing off 'the cool' cars...side note I had a Lumina it wasn't all that cool,

we supported our football team every Friday night, the stands would be packed to the brim and it was like a reunion each week.

There was something about the innocence that was magical and intoxicating, looking back I can see why parents wanted to raise their children there. A city where you would feel comfortable allowing your children to be just children. There wasn't alcohol, violence wasn't something that occurred and the highest speed limit was 40 in the whole town. 

At the time I felt it was all a bit naive, behind the times, suffocating. My 10th/11th grade history teacher was in his sixties, lived there all his life and told us that he recalled a time when they would sit on the train tracks to keep out certain races of people. The Simpson's were banned in my household. And really every 16 year old new driver will eventually drive over the speed of 40, perhaps they should practice. 

So being the stubborn stubborn girl I was at 17, with a diploma in one hand and my trusty Lumina loaded down with all of my worldly possessions I drove away from my hometown. Never looking back.

This weekends stroll down memory lane, showed me how little life really does change in some small towns. My snow cone shop was still there, my house looked exactly the same, there wasn't a clothing store down all of Center street and the Hollywood Video where I rented my first rated R movie from at 16 still stood open and welcoming. 

BUT there were changes that stood out like big neon signs like the Starbucks, Wing Stop and the brand spanking new elementary school. 

Source

No matter how much has changed or how much I have changed, it will always be my hometown. And my hometown was a magical place, filled with happiness, innocence and childhood adventures. I guess I was a pretty luck kid.

"It's where we loved, lived and learned real life stuff.

It's everything we're made of.

It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it

We let the world know we were here with everything we did

We laid a lot of memories down, like tattoos on this town

Like tattoos on this town."

What was your hometown like, do you visit often or set aside time to take a stroll down memory lane?

Linking up with Shanna.

I might not be the classiest...

This weekend I will be making a very quick (hopefully less than 24 hours all together) to Houston for a friend's baby shower. Said baby shower is at a tea room...there is no way I am classy enough for a tea room lets be real. When I mentioned this to one of the misters friends he said your more a jorts and beer sort of gal...and while I don't often sport jorts...insert never...I certainly fit more in there than in a tea room.

BUT the last time I had tea...god writing that statement is weird...for her bridal shower I was the girl who showed up late, hungover/drunk and stood out like a sore thumb. So my motto for tomorrow simple is: I might not be the classiest girl but I am not the trashiest.

And since I really should be packing...aka picking out a dress that is appropriate for tea...I am linking up with Erin for The Blogmopolitan Quiz to keep this blog post short and sweet.

#FavTotalSocial

I think all good pictures tell stories. Or bad pictures. Or in my case medicore pictures, photographer I am not. 

So in a blog filled with mostly pictures and gifs you can pretty much get a feel of the type of person I am, if you didn't follow my blog you could pretty much get the same story on my instagram but my facebook is something entirely in and of it self. Mostly because it is filled with pre-teacher pictures and a lot of questionable taste. And my pinterest is a complete mess and tells the story of a crazy person who has too much free time on their hands.

I figured for this month's #favtotalsocial I would share with you a few of my more favorite posts and pictures from all of my social media outlets and the stories behind them. Also this could be considered my #tbt...too many hastags! #never. Don't worry this won't be nearly as long as you think!

A Few Favorite blog posts:

1.     southern teacher with more snark than is socially polite

2.     No I don't go to meetings, and yes its rude to ask.

3.     Obsessed with Smut, really rotten TV shows and way too many gifs.

4.     I use my blog as an open diary of my every thought. Babble. And make you like it.

Favorite Pinterest Fail:

I thought it would be super cute to make jello shots topped with Pop Rocks for NYE, I mean on pinterest it looked super simple so why not. First it took 5 stores to even find pop rocks, then as soon as we put them on the jello they melted...popped. Basically we were left with a sloppy runny mess. Thanks pinterest, at least they were filled with booze!

Favorite Facebook Photos:

1.   The mister and I out and about our first trip to Chicago, also known as one of my favorite trips.

2.   My 23rd birthday: that is my bestie in the front being the spotlight, man in the middle and me laughing. Sums up our relationships in a nutshell.

3.    Back when a red bra was the perfect way to Christmasfie my all black outfit, I used to channel Johnny Cash. Also some guy had those glasses at a bar naturally we asked to borrow them and never gave them back. And it was on week night, scandalous!

4.    Red bra strikes again. Also me and the bestie used to do this weird thing where we would look passionately into each other's eyes for pictures. 

Favorite Instagram Posts:

1.   Favorite Cinco de Mayo, hands down. Grown adults playing with fake mustaches for hours. Perhaps there was fireball too!

2.   Favorite picture of the mister: baseball is his zen.

3.   Favorite memory with my sister, us reconnecting after a very long period of not talking. In a Buc-ee's no less. We are southern.

4.   Favorite picture with my little brother, his personality is shining through. Aka he is outshining me.

Favorite Gifs:

When I first started blogging I used to challenge myself to write a blog post around a specific gif, plus it gave me topics. Looking back I haven't used gifs in a very very long time. Time to change that.

And that's a wrap folks! Not nearly as long as it could have been...it probably also didn't require the two plus hour walk I took down memory lane but it was definitely hard to pick just a few favorites from my many many different forms of social media.

Linking up with Sarah and Helene!

Monday Made It: Bathroom Transformation

This weekend we were the lamest of the lame. And I am completely okay with that. We played video games. Watched soccer. I decorated. And I tried to squeeze in a little pool time. It's a rough life.

I think the item I was most excited about was the decorating, sorry mister I love you, BUT my bathroom is looking too darn cute not to brag about it. Plus I have finally made a dent in the pile of...what do I do with all of these decorations...and the mister said by the time I figured it out we would be moving again so I sure showed him!

Initially I was unpleased to take the smaller bathroom, but nothing ever works out exactly as you plan, so I figured as long as we each had our own bathroom, size didn't really matter. What no girl has said ever. 

And then I found myself 'keeping' my makeup in my closet because I was out of room in my bathroom. And the biggest tragedy of all I didn't even have a place to keep an extra toilet paper roll. So I knew I had to tackle my bathroom before school started...rumor has it I will have a 1st period for the first time ever and they frown on you for being late to class...at least I would imagine so.

First I went down. Down, down baby...am I the only one who thought of that song. And I organized under my cabinet. I purchased two large sliding drawers from Target that could stack on top of each other, this made it easy to use the full depth of the cabinet without having to take everything out each time I need something. 

And then I purchased the most wonderful item of all from Garden Ridge, it hangs over the cabinet door and holds my blow dryer, flat iron, two curing irons and a brush. Talk about a space saver. This also left the whole other side of my cabinet open for my makeup case, also from Target, and plenty of room to 'grow'. 

Next I bought a over the toilet shelf from Target, they were on sale and to me in made the most sense as far as adding shelves without overcrowding the space. Side note I realize I could have hung shelves but every time we hammer something on these walls it either falls, won't go into the sheet rock or something comes crumbling down so hanging things scares me.

Building it was surprisingly easy. Moving it twice was unwise, insert it fell and busted my lip open. But in the end I had it secured and in place. And whats a little DIY project without blood.

I felt like it was a lot of white. Like soo much white it looked boring. I thought I could buy a small section of wall paper to add some color to it but then I saw the price of wall paper and changed my mind.

Then I had the best idea ever I could use mod podge to paste scrapbook paper over the sections I wanted to brighten up. Insert cheap! Insert super super simple! Winner winner chicken dinner.

I found the prettiest set of scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby on clearance and it was an additional 50% off, I already had mod podge so the whole project cost me five bucks. 

Side note, you could also do this with fabric. 

Second side note, if you were afraid of ruining your cabinets or wanted something not permanent you could mod podge the paper onto contact paper and then just peel and stick. 

The whole project took me less than an hour and really that was because of drying time. 

I measured the paper size I needed,

spread mod podge all over the back of the paper,

pressed it in place and used a long ruler to smooth out any bumps,

and then I smeared a thin coat of mod podge on top to seal the whole thing.

I was slightly worried about having to screw the door handles over the paper but given adequate drying time I was able to do so with zero tears.

While I was waiting for the cabinet to dry I decided to use a frame to frame another piece of the scrapbook paper to add more color to the top of the shelf. And I painted a small wooden tray I bought at Hobby Lobby for a dollar and added a few army guys for interest. Cause why not. This little tray is great for holding my growing collection of headbands.

All and all I am super happy with my little bathroom redo and it feels so much more functional and practical. And of course a little more girly. 

And now if they would just come fix the giant crack in my bathtub I might even be able to take a bath...apartment woes.

Please excuse some of the awkward angles of the bathroom pictures, it is such a tiny bathroom that I had a hard time finding good angles without running or backing into walls. And I backed into a lot of walls....

Linking up with: Carly, LeeAnn, More Pieces of Me, On the Daily Express and Monday Mingle.  and Tara.

Healthier, Happier and Stronger Me: Chapter 1

If if every 'good' story starts with a introduction chapter, I figured that is where this story should begin. Usually introduction chapters are filled with more background information than necessary, very little results and no big surprises. Pretty much sums up this chapter in a nut shell. So welcome to my story of my journey to a healthier, happier, stronger me.

Let's rewind a bit to the beginning shall we:

If you have been following me long on here you know that April/May lent itself to pure craziness: we decided to try and buy a house. the plan fell through. we gave our 60 day notice. started the horrible process of apartment looking. had a garage sale. went to Chicago for a wedding. oh and it was the end of the school year. 

So I found myself drinking a bit more than normal, we found ourselves eating out 2-3 times a week which has never happened in 7 years of dating and all together skipping gym work outs to deal with the 'stress'. Basically not eating healthy and not very happy.

In the midst of the craziness I had a doctors appointment, one of those regular girly check ups. It makes total sense to schedule an appointment the evening before a garage sale that you hadn't prepped for. I totally make sense sometimes. Regardless, at the end of the appointment the doctor mentioned my weight was too high and I should probably lose 10 or so pounds to be back in the healthy range. Not once in my life has anyone besides my mother or grandmother ever mentioned I needed to lose weight, we do tough love in my family, so I was shocked. And annoyed. 

Disclaimer: I never focus on the numbers just how I feel in my own skin and clothes. So I did what any normal girl does, pushed away this tiny piece of information until I had time to deal with it. But reality was I wasn't that happy in my own skin or clothes, just trying not to dwell on one more pile of to do.

After our trip to Chicago I was miserable, all of the eating out, drinking and stress had turned my gut into a horrible rotten no good very bad mess.

So I thought I would share with you five easy changes I did in order to set myself on the road to a healthier, happier and stronger me.

one. Change up the probiotic(acidophilus). 

I have been taking probiotic's for years, if you haven't heard of these before they are essentially good bacteria that assist in digestion. I would imagine like most things your body slowly builds up a defense to the probiotic your currently taking and a change can be just the thing your body needs. So if you find yourself still having digestion issues I would suggest starting here if you are looking for a change.

These are all probiotic's that I have taken and would recommend looking into.

Innate.   Bio-kult.   Perscript Assist.   Advocare.

Please note that I would read before you make any drastic changes, I am in no way a doctor. Although doctor box has a nice ring to it...

I am extremely lucky in the fact that my mom takes classes about this sort of thing and passes her wealth of information onto me, at 16 I found it annoying but now I can't get enough of it.

two. Start your morning off with warm lemon water. 

Not only is it an amazingly calm way to wake up each day but it helps your digestion system. I have played with adding coconut oil and apple cider vinegar to mine, I enjoy all three versions, so pick your poison.

three. Try out a cleanse.

I decided to do a cleanse to kick start my system in the right direction. I would consider this the most important step especially if you eat a lot of processed foods, breads, cheese or dairy. 

I know that juice cleanses are all the fad BUT they are expensive, like more than my weekly grocery budget for just 3 days of juice so that was not an option for me. I also knew that with the last few weeks of school I needed energy and 'fasting' wasn't something I was really interested in. So after a bit of research I combined a few recipes and designed a menu that worked for me. 

Breakfast: Detox Smoothie or Blueberry And Almond Smoothie
Morning Snack: Beet, Carrot, Apple And Ginger Juice
Lunch: Alkalizing Spinach Salad and Broccoli And Arugula Soup
Afternoon Snack: Cucumber, Basil And Lime Juice
Dinner: Cleansing Veggie Soup and Detox Teriyaki Chicken

I will say while doing the cleanse my energy levels were higher, my digestive system started to clear up and I was handling my stress so so much better. aka happier.

Because I made such a drastic change to my overall eating habits and enjoyed it I decided to pursue the interwebs in search of a meal plan I could jump on board with past the cleanse. My mom is a big Gaps fan, too restrictive. 

Somewhere in the midst of pinterest I discovered this website and knew that whole30/paleo would be the perfect route for me to keep my digestive system on track.

four. Make changes you can live with.

Real talk: I love cheese, chips and booze. I also know that if I cut out all the goodness in my life I would end up binge eating them at midnight. Insert classy. 

So I have made changes I can live with: 

during the school year I only drink 3 nights a week.

I only eat cheese at dinner.

I do grains occasionally but in true moderation, like croutons on my salad. Or if we go out for Mexican food I will eat the chips and queso. Knowing that its one meal in a day of many meals and I will be able to make smarter choices earlier/later on in the day.

My biggest piece of advice would be to find what works for you, your home life and your work schedule. Try cutting out one thing and seeing after 7 or so days how much easier it is to have it in moderation rather than at every meal.

five. Change your mindset. 

I had a horrible tendency to eat healthy during the week and over the weekend allow myself to cheat. Really that means I was eating healthy 60% of the week and cheating 40% of the week, that really isn't being healthy.

I also would eat a salad for dinner and then not be hungry until 9:00, thus making ghetto nachos...aka chips with melted cheese and avocado...another habit that isn't really being healthy.

So in May I resigned myself to the fact that even though I couldn't necessarily get to the gym as we were in the midst of moving, training for summer school, cleaning my classroom I could at least eat healthy. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You don't have to wait until a Monday, a new month/week, or after the big move to start making the healthier choices.

I am not going to lie and say I have been perfectly following down this path, its a lifestyle change not a diet so of course there will be a few bumps in the road.

But I know that despite going to St. Louis for the 4th, drinking too much and allowing boys to pick all of the food joints I didn't gain a pound. And jumped right back into my whole30 lifestyle and working out without the need for a cleanse or any major changes. 

Next week I plan to introduce you to the amazing recipes I have been trying on the whole30 plan, not for one minute do I feel like I am 'missing' something in my meals when I make these recipes. And a big plus, the mister has gobbled them all up, so they must be yummy!

I am so excited to be linking up with Katie this week for her Healthy Habits link up, I have been following her for awhile and LOVE her fashion, bachelorette man quotes and she pretty much introduced me to Tone It Up which has been my latest obsession...but I think I will save that for chapter 3 or 4!

What pieces of advice do you have for someone making their way to healthy?

What are your favorite healthy tips/tricks?

If My Life Looked Like Pinterest...

Today I am confessing...

I am obsessed with pinterest. And horrible at it. And it costs me a lot of money. And its the biggest time suck in the world. Real talk, I still check it at least two or three times daily.

It's sort of like the whole chicken and the egg thing: which came first in my life pinterest or blogging, and honestly I couldn't tell you.

But if my life actually looked like pinterest...aka...I ever tried or remembered half the shit I pinned...here is what it would look like in a nut shell.

I would have the most wonderful bedroom. Eclectic. Calm. Cozy. Oh and free.

  

  

I would be so in shape I could start making youtube videos of all of my awesome exercise routines. Or even great picture routines, I am not picky on how I earn extra dough...people do get paid for that shit right?!?

  

My wardrobe would be out of this world, fashion bloggers would be jealous. And not the other way around. And of course all of these awesome clothes would be free, because how else would I be able to take 260 different outfit photos a year. 

  

 

I would be the Paula Dean of healthy cooking. Instead of just pinning all of these recipes and making a salad every night for the 500th time. Or convincing the mister to take me out for tacos...cause tacos are my weakness.

  

My parties would be so pinterestly chic people would be begging to come. This would also mean I had people, which I don't. And had money to throw parties, which I don't. And I wouldn't pass out at my own party, which I probably would. 

  

I would be the DIY Queen...self crowned of course...that I would make bigger headlines than Hobby Lobby. Too soon?!?

  

Regardless of what your take on pinterest really is I think sometimes it can make us all feel a little inadequate: our house isn't perfectly decorated/organized, our wardrobe isn't too die for, our body isn't a lean green fighting machine and we aren't the perfectly polished hostess. Oh and everybody but me must be making millions of dollars to be able to afford all of these things. 

But that's the beauty of pinterest: you don't have to think, all you do is see something 'shiny' then pin it, then forget about it. And repeat.

So I confess...I won't be giving up pinterest anytime soon because with pins like this what girl would?

Linking up with Because Shanna Said So and Vodka and Soda.