All in (MORE than) a Day's Work

Hello, long lost bloggin' friends!

It's been a little over half a year since I last blogged!  Life has been extremely busy (aren't we all?!)!  N came home from deployment in October, and we have been in a huge whirlwind since then!  We moved to a new state, got new jobs, bought a great house, joined an awesome gym, our puppy turned 2, went on vacations, and we are now working on our 2nd year in our new state!  We have made lots of progress on our house - from laying new floors to remodeling bathrooms!  We have really enjoyed the journey of creating and brainstorming concepts together for our home.

Instead of overwhelming all of Facebook's news feeds, I'm sharing our recent health kick on my blog, so I can share recipes, meal plans, and workouts.  We are on a huge (and, hopefully, sustainable) health kick right now!  We have taken on the challenge of clean eating for over 40 days!  We've made it through our first week, and have discovered some great recipes.  Our "diet" has consisted of green vegetables and high quality meats, as well as "good" carbs - sparingly!  We have also become gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and low-carb for every meal.  We are each drinking close to a gallon of water a day.  The easiest way to succeed in drinking that much water, for us, is the investment of Nalgenes.  Our Nalgenes hold over 32oz., and we each have two that we take to work.  After an 8-9 hour workday, I have drank all of my water (and peed about 90 times, which is extremely difficult for a teacher!).  Before gym, and through my workout, I drink another 32oz.  I, then, drink about 48oz before bed (between dinner, and post workout).  Whatever we eat for dinner at night, we have made enough to have leftovers during lunch the following day.  We also went through about 36-45 eggs in one week, as we are eating egg whites for breakfast, and before workouts (for protein).

It is incredible to believe the amount of dedication, and, honestly, hard work it takes; however, the rewards have far outweighed the struggle of the week, for us!  In just a week, we have lost a collective 10 pounds (N=6, me=4).  We have consistently eaten healthy, and are reaping the rewards.  We have also kicked butt in the gym lately, ensuring we've gotten in both cardio and weight training throughout the week.  N has a great workout regime, where he does something like CrossFit about 3-4 times a week.  It is a grueling workout (I tried Friday!), and he's seeing lean muscle gain.  My meal/workout regime this week has consisted of...

• Sunday:  Spaghetti Squash (good carb) with lean hamburger meat sauce (homemade, so no additives), paired with roasted broccoli (30 minutes in the oven - amazing!)

• Monday:  High Quality (grass fed) steak and chicken fajitas, wrapped in green leaf, or hydroponic, lettuce.  We also paired some scallions and avocados with our fajitas for extra flavor.  Our fajita seasoning is a homemade taco seasoning I make (found on Pinterest).  WORKOUT:  1 hour Les Mills' BodyPump weight lifting class (I have worked up to squatting about 40lbs., chest pressing 15lbs., arms' focus biceps and triceps at 14lbs., and clean and press about 35lbs. in the past 6 months)

• Tuesday:  Lemon-herb Roasted Chicken with Quinoa (good carb) and roasted broccoli!  WORKOUT:  Today was a rest day...mainly because N had an allergic reaction to something (but we did workout all the weekend before)!

• Wednesday:  Lean beef steak, roasted asparagus and broccoli; WORKOUT:  1 hour Intense Kickboxing
• Thursday:  Chipotle-seasoned Chicken and roasted red potatoes (carb) - tonight was a night where we did not have time for a veggie (which is horrible); however we had a movie date night to see "Lone Survivor" (go see it if you haven't - it's moving, emotional, and absolutely patriotic!).  WORKOUT:  1 hour Kettlebell class (together, yay!)
• Friday:  Dinner on the run - Moe's "Earmuff" with grilled chicken, black beans, romaine lettuce, and rice; WORKOUT:  My once weekly workout with N in his grueling workout class -- a multiple of workouts in pyramid-style, including abs, kettlebell back and quad work, pull-ups, burpees, chest presses, leg lifts, running

I've linked the some of the recipes of some of our delicious meals from the week from their former owners via Pinterest!  I absolutely LOVED the Lemon-herb Roasted Chicken, as well as the phenomenal chipotle seasoning I found.  This week, I also made an absolutely zesty and flavorful Italian-Viniagrette, which we used on green leaf, hydroponic, and spinach lettuce for salads with our proteins for lunch a couple days this week.

We have, of course, had some bloopers, including 1) forgetting protein with your salad for lunch, and 2) a complete fail on homemade gluten-free tortillas.  We have, however, discovered some amazing things we never would've eaten before 1) turkey bacon (not as crispy, but close flavor), 2) Beanito's black bean chipotle chips (smoky, thick flavor chips), and 3) unsweetened green tea.

Press on, healthy-conscious people!  If you're not confident you can be health conscious, believe in yourself!  You have no idea how much lighter I feel just from clean eating and kickbutt, sweaty workouts!

--  H -- 

A Year Away

Wow!  It's been a year since I last blogged!  It's been a crazy almost year.  I'd better catch up!

I started the new school year with my third graders, and they were a PHENOMENAL class.  My students were extremely self-sufficient, and the classroom ran so well because of their independence, as well as their collaboration with one another.  I, unfortunately, had to leave my sweet third graders and move!  The husband came home from deployment in October, after nine months away!  I was so ecstatic to have him home -- more on that to come!

Within a month, we moved up to VA - the state for lovers.  We were ecstatic to move to our own "region" of the world, but we definitely miss our family back home! :)  The husband got a great new job, and still is a part of the Reserves.  Thankfully, no deployments for a good while!  I get to keep him alllllll to myself (well, and the pup)!  After about two weeks of looking for jobs, getting my VA teaching license, and interviewing at about three places, I took a position about 20 minutes from our home.  It ended up being one of the most challenging 8 months of my life, but I have survived to tell the tale!  I'm looking forward to a great new school this upcoming school year.  Teaching is a bit different in Va -- between testing, curriculum, and professional development, I've had to stay on my toes!

We recently bought our first place!  It's definitely a transition, and a lot more work, but it has been oh-so-fun so far.  The pup is loving her backyard, and is ecstatic to have lots of places to look out into nature.  I'm sure we'll start on the walking trail as soon as, either, the weather gets cooler, or we start waking up earlier. :)

Hopefully, it will be less than a year before I'm back to the blog!  I've been really enjoying connecting to other bloggers lately, as well as filling my time with Pinterest! Oh, the joys of finding new things to do in the classroom on Pinterest!

Over and out,

H

Oh, the thrill of the new school year approaching!  As a second year teacher, I am more excited, as well as feel more prepared, for the start of the school year than last year.  I've been working on classroom projects, planning exciting lessons, and enjoying the dog days of summer!  I've been loving on some TpT (www.teacherspayteachers.com) free downloads, and have enjoyed visiting various blogs for Common Core, Math Center, and third grade ideas.

All of the above has kept me busy while the husband is back to deployment.  Although I am excited about the beginning of the school year (and the busy-ness of paperwork), I am trying to really plan ahead and prioritize things so when my husband returns from deployment I will be able to spend time with him without feeling guilty of the massive stack of work piling up on my teacher's desk.

I've been searching for a great template for planning pages, and although I have found some that would work, I have yet to find one I absolutely love.  I am planning on putting planning pages in my teacher binder, as well as almost everything else, so I have a central source for my information.  Since I couldn't find what I was looking for, I spent about 30 minutes creating my own.  I have put a link to them via GoogleDocs, and you can see the various texts I used for fun!

Lesson Plan Pages:
Cursive
Funky
College Casual

Enjoy!  I'm hoping to post a tutorial later in the weekend, so stay tuned!  As for now, love from the pup and me!

XOXO,

H

Classroom FaceLift

To say I am excited about getting into my classroom this year would be an understatement.

Last year, I literally interviewed on Monday, got the job Monday evening, went to training from Tuesday every weekday for two weeks, saw my classroom, had four days to prep for open house, and one more day before kids arrived.  This year, I have more than enough time to prepare!  And -- since my husband is away, I can fully dedicate my time (and our house) to classroom facelift the next three weeks (with exception to three days this week due to a conference I have to attend).

My classroom last year now feels like it was an explosion of everything thought to be "elementary".  This year I am taking the "less is more" approach and making things more meaningful to myself and my students.  Our school is older, and in need of the ultimate paint job, so I've gotta make the most of the chipped paint cabinet! Last year's photos (I will update with NEW classroom pics in about 3 weeks):

 From my deskBack of the classroom

Front board

Outside our door

Reading center

Projects that are still in the works are just organizational projects (organizing my planning book, planning lessons, actually getting into my classroom and putting things where they belong), as well as my teacher "stool" I'm working on designing and painting.  It is based in a gray paint, and I'm hoping to just add a lil flair to it with some pink melon color paint, as well as a black initial on the top seat.

So far, I have created my Substitute Binder, as well as my teacher binder, which I've decided will store all my information.  Just seems more practical and functional, rather than having everything in different spots.  I found the Teacher Binder idea/organization through this awesome teacher's blog:  http://beyondthegrades.blogspot.com/2011/10/teacher-binder.html.  I have plenty more to work on according to my Pinterest boards.  Good thing they are boards, and not to-do lists!

I've also made...

Our Job Board

I'm planning on displaying this on the side of my awesome new mailbox system (made of Formica cabinet materials).  I'm super excited about the job board, AND the free mailbox system.  The Job Board is just made of construction paper (or bright colored paper), library card pockets (from the local teaching store), and circle labels (keep reading for more on them).

Our Locator Board

At our school, we are required to display where students are at all times.  This is my new locator board, where each student will be given a magnet or number to "represent" them.  They will be responsible for moving it to wherever they have to go throughout the day.  This was super fun and easy to make.  I got the two large cookie sheets at Ollie's for $6.  The duct tape is from 5Below, and again, I used the circular labels.  I may change where I put "Absent/Present" into their lunch choices (therefore, automatically seeing who is/isn't in class).

As you can tell, I am starting to become obsessed with circle labels.  They are SO easy to use, as well as so easy to print and stick.  They are a lil more expensive than I'd really like to spend, but I used the one packet and don't think i will need anymore.  You get 5 sheets of 12 (so 60 stickers total), so I think that's all I'd really need for the year.  I also used a couple for our home office are to help organize.  At WalMart they are about $6.69 I think...

Welcome Sign

This used to be an old frame without the glass to protect the pictures in the front -- now, it's my new "WELCOME" sign to display outside my classroom.  We have "bulletin board strips" outside of our classrooms, so I'm hoping to display this on top of the strip (with something to bond it to the wall too).  The letters are just printed on bright paper, and then I lined the back of the frame with the same duct tape as the cookie sheet locator board to create some continuity.  I plan on putting the same designer duct tape on some other displays in my room.

My FAVORITE project (and possibly the most "brainless" of them all) are my DIY posters for my classroom.  Last year my kids were dying to see our pup, Nutmeg, so I'd just show them pictures from time to time.  Today, I got to think how cool it would be to create posters from some of her pictures I've taken over the past year.  I decided adding some fun quotes would help spice them up as well.  I remembered used "Picnik" years ago, and today when I went searching, I discovered Google had closed it down.  I did find another awesome photo editor called Lunapic.  It allowed me to change my image in various ways, as well as add text.  That, of course, got me excited!  I, then, remembered something I had seen on Pinterest (I know, imagine that)!  It was a post about "Engineering Prints" for $4.99 or so at Staples.  Of course, I logged into my Staples Copy Center as soon as I could, only to discover you can only do the Engineer Prints black and white.  So, I called Staples (yes, can't you tell how determined I was), and I ran up there (literally two minutes from our house).  The amazing copy lady was able to produce my three "poster size" prints for $6.39!  WOWZER!!!  Those of you teachers are thinking, "Heck yeah - steal of a deal"!  As you know, the classroom can become a money monster if you aren't careful.  I have to say, I am STOKED about how they turned out, and cannot wait for my pup to debut in my classroom!  I just have to trim and laminate them - and put them up!  Here are the results:

This one will be at the mirror!

This one will be in our creation station!

And my fav...

This will be in our reading nook, or above our welcome sign in the hallway.

I have a feeling I will be making more of these posters, and will be continuing to make pics of my pup. I love that the kids love her just because she's so darn adorable -- and if she can "encourage" them with her line of motivational posters -- I see that as a win win.  Who knew she would be such a superstar? :)

What do you think the caption should be for this picture?

I'm thinking of displaying this near our technology/computer table!

Leave a comment with your suggestion!

XOXO,

H and Nutmeg

The Beginning of the End

Hello, long last bloggers!


I have returned from the whirlwind of R&R!  After about a week of traveling, my husband arrived finally, after seven months of deployment.  I was, to say the least, SO overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety -- it is so funny how it feels like another "first impression" after being apart for seven months!  He and I were all smiles, and shared a long embrace and sweet kiss when we finally were in each other's arms.  His first request, of course, was a change of clothes (he had been wearing the same uniform all seven days of travel), keys to the Audi, and Japanese food!  We cruised to Kanki and actually got a grill table with our own personal chef and a table for just the two of us!  It was an awesome "first" date.

Over his two weeks at home, we were pretty busy!  We did our best to try to carve out time for just the two of us, as well as "downtime" to just relax in our home with the pup in between all the hustle and bustle.  While he was home, we...

• went to the DC area for his job interview.
• celebrated our anniversary with shopping and Ruth's Chris!

• spent time with both our families!
• grilled out with friends at our home (first gathering we've ever had at our home)
• celebrated his 16 year old brother's birthday!
• went to WaterCountryUSA with his 16 and 11 year old brothers!
• took the pup swimming!
• slid down a gigantic blow-up slide at my little cousins' birthday party :)
• went to the gun range!

Settling back into having him home was a bit easier than I imagined!  I had nightmares of all his habits driving me batty -- but we ended up just getting back into our "groove" and communicating through it all.  Of course, it did make my OCD tick stronger as I stepped onto the bathroom rug which was soaked after his shower, but it only made me laugh and thank the Lord my husband was back home! :)

All in all, we had an amazing two weeks together -- one that we both definitely needed.  He returned to the "sandbox" fully rejuvenated (well, that is, if you forget the cold I may have accidentally given to him), and ready to take on the next couple months.  I am thrilled we will be reunited soon and cannot wait for that reunion as well! We are looking forward to spending time just the three of us (counting pup) when he comes home for good!  I suppose we are at the beginning of the end of our deployment journey.  It is so hard to believe a year ago we were just finding out about his deployment, in our third week of marriage, and I had just gotten my first teaching job.  I am thankful that the year has gone by as it has, and so thankful for the memories we have made together (and individually).  We have both grown stronger individually, as well as stronger together as a married couple (and team!)!

Updating you soon on my classroom projects!!!!!

XOXO,

H

Light at the End of the Tunnel

With my husband a day away from being back in my arms, to say I'm excited is an understatement.  It is hard to balance the excitement and the anticipation -- not to mention that everyone wants to see him in these two weeks home.  I am so excited everyone is excited about seeing him, but I am also thankful that we are being a little selfish and having some time just for us.  It is really crazy how sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own lives, we forget the people around us.  There have been many people (whom I love) that said at the beginning of the deployment that they would keep me busy -- but as time went on (and their lives continued as normal), their invites did not arrive.  I completely get it, and I love all of them for being so loving and wanting to involve me and "keep me busy", but the reality is -- if you aren't living through this deployment and you're not "on the frontline" of the deployment's crazy roller coaster ride of events and emotions, you tend to forget the spouse is here.  I put no guilt or blame on anyone -- but it is a hard thing to balance after 6 months of people keeping to themselves and then coming out with excitement and eagerness to see him when he is home for his two weeks.  I am thankful for all the support of all our friends and family -- and just knowing they had my back during this time if I needed it.  I know I could've called so many of them (you) and you would've held me up when I was down.  I'm looking forward to him being all mine the first few days. :)  I'm looking forward to actually having my best friend, in the flesh, back.  I'm looking forward to kissing his lips, having a hug, playing with our daughter pup together, making memories, and sharing a meal together.  I haven't had a daily hug in over six months, all his knowledge of pup's growth has been via emailed pictures, I am ready to burn calories kissing, and I'm so ready to share my kitchen with my most favorite chef of all.  It is crazy to understand and fathom what military spouses go through during deployments (and even harder to fathom what their soldiers go through), but we have earned and deserve our time.  So, starting tomorrow through Thursday, I'll have a "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door. Thank you for all your support, and now for your understanding. 

We are looking forward to celebrating with his family, my family, and our sweet friends very soon!  I think he is most excited about "American" food, time with our little pup, seeing how tall his brothers have grown, swimming with his pup, a golf day with his boys, and spending time with everyone who has supported and loves us.  We are looking forward to cooking again together, taking a fun adventure with his brothers, homemade pizza with his mom and family, grilling out with friends, date nights, overnight stay in VA/job interview, pool days, and just being together (and being able to look into each other's eyes, hold hands, kiss, etc, etc, etc, etc. :))

This little pup of a girl is ready to see her daddy!

XOXO,

H

Amazing People

Living in this military base town during my husband's deployment has really been a blessing!  At first I was a bit annoyed to be moving "back home" to this town I know as well as I know myself, but I am thankful to be so close to most of my family and the base.  I have enjoyed heading grocery shopping at the commissary, and shopping at the "lemon lot" like NJ and I used to for fun.  Sometimes it has been hard to live in this town because it reminds me of all our memories we have together throughout different areas of town.  However, being in a military town also reminds me of my husband, due to all the military members and their families that occupy the town.  I am thankful to be reminded and surrounded by so many amazing people, because it reminds me that I am not alone in this deployment.

NJ should be coming home soon for his R&R and I am beyond ready.  I cannot wait to be in his arms, surrounded and safe -- and completely lost in his blue eyes. I am so thankful this deployment has brought us stronger, closer, and even more in love.  Deployments are and can be extremely scary, because you never know what to expect.  And you, honestly, never can replay that feeling of loss you feel when they leave from their port/base each time.  As I think back to his leaving, I remember dropping him off at his station and just feeling completely lost.  I bawled my eyes out and didn't want to let go of him.  He didn't have to walk away from me (he was where he had to stay), but I had to drive away from him.  Imagine leaving the most precious thing in the world to you -- and you have to leave.  It's a feeling of loss and heartbreak that I cannot describe any parallel of it to anything in life.  Now that he is coming home soon, I am wondering how amazing that feeling will feel - when I see his face the first time, run into his arms, hug his neck, kiss his lips, hold his hand, ride beside him in the passenger seat, seeing our puppy jump in his arms after over six months, having him beside me at night (and every morning I wake up), and stealing a kiss whenever I want.  I hope that moment of seeing him "for the first time" is an incredibly surreal, emotional, and extraordinary as that goodbye was six months ago.  Until then, I will remain forever his -- waiting, wishing, and loving him all the more.

XOXO,

H