May 2017....On Time

It's the first week of May and I'm already starting to type what happened this week. Why? Because I uploaded some pics already. And, why not? I'm sitting here in a writing mood. Let's hope I remember to finish this later this month.....

OK, so the first week of May is my beloved Teacher Appreciation Week! I always look forward to the surprises we get. I was not disappointed. Our PTA did great! They did lunch duty for us on Monday and Friday. They brought tacos on Tuesday and nachos on Wednesday. Monday we had BBQ. Thursday was a dessert bar, and Friday was a salsa bar. Since my journey with Weight Watchers is in full effect, I had to be selective on what I ate. The only real problem was the dessert day. It actually wasn't a problem at all. I didn't see anything there that I HAD to have. I tried one thing that came highly recommended. It was bite sized, so I didn't have to worry about eating too much.

I was spoiled by my students this week. I really got a Reese's peanut butter cup haul. When they know your favorite candy, they are going to make sure you have all the stuff! The bowl of candy on my counter was just from this week alone.

Look at this loot!

This was from the first half of the week

They know how I love my red and black!

All the heart eyed emojis on this one!

Can't wait to wear this! The boy in my class picked it out, but his kindergarten sister "approved" it! LOL

I didn't even notice the back of the cup until I got home. I LOVED it!!!! It was also stuffed with more Reese's.

I got chips, peanuts, tea, root beer, crackers, and a ton of flowers (left them at school since I had no way of getting it all home). What really touched my heart was getting gifts from the kids who aren't in my homeroom class. I've been self contained all year with just my 19 kids. These last 8 weeks we've all been teaching the whole grade level. I've gotten to know the other 2/3 of the grade level. I felt so loved by them, too! It has been a great year at PVE! All these years I was desperate to find something new, God was simply telling me to be patient because he had somewhere amazing for me to be! When will I learn to listen!!!!

OK, so I started this month's blog at the end of April while I was thinking of it. It dawned on me today that it was the last day of May (Like, how is this so!?) and I needed to finish my blog. Oh, did I mention that I'm already out of school? Friday was our last day. We got out a week earlier than most people. I honestly don't know what to do with myself. It hasn't really registered yet that I'm actually out of school on summer break. I've been trying to set a routine for myself and stay busy. It's going good so far. I've been eating healthy and exercising daily like I'd wanted to do. I have no more excuses to not do workout now that work is done. Here's more of the greatness of our lives that happened this month:

We had a lot of fun things going on at school (once we finished with the STAAR  test). I survived my first state testing season. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That Friday we took our kids to the Fort Worth Zoo for their field trip. It was a fun and relaxing trip. Huge shout out to all the parent volunteers that made our trip amazing! Here is my work tribe!

That next week we had Comic Con and field day. Two fun days back to back. I did get some good field day shots, but won't be showing them here since they have kiddos in them! But I did get a sweet pic of me at Comic Con with 2 Star Wars characters that I really don't know.....(cue gasp)

The last week of school was chill with assemblies, parties, and awards. I really had a great first year at PVE and in third grade. I had some great kids that were so much fun!

So now some life things.....

Health and Fitness:

I've been trying to jump back on this train for a while now. I dropped my CG membership since I wasn't really doing it enough to warrant the $100/month that Mr. B and I were paying. I decided to focus on nutrition and joined Weight Watchers. I had a good first month. I lost about 11 pounds my first month. However, I had some non-scale victories along the way. I have learned how to eat better and less food. I feel motivated to get active again. I started working out with a new tribe of ladies in a garage with a personal trainer friend I met while doing Advocare. I love these small personal workouts where I feel equal and successful! I've also started drinking my Shakeology again. It's easier to do when I am home and have the use of my blender. 

I have 2 shake options: chocolate or vanilla- unsweetened vanilla almond milk (8oz) with a touch of water and ice and 2 Tbs of powdered peanut butter. 6 points for a vanilla shake and 7 points for the chocolate shake

Sometimes I do a self workout in my garage so I can throw around some weights. Everyone know strong is the new skinny!

My new tribe, minus the awesome that is Carmen (and my new competition buddy)

I saw this greatness, and knew that it was meant for me and all my peeps who know the struggle is real!

We've started grilling out on Saturdays. I use Saturdays as my "free days" so I can relax and give myself some grace each week. Most of that bread was consumed by Mr. B. I couldn't even finish half that steak.

We tried this new dessert place up the street called "Lumi Snow." It's a combo of shaved ice and ice cream. It's different, but tasty.

This is one of my weekly "go-to" meals if I want easy: bacon cheddar burger from Kroger, sweet potato fries from Trader Joe's, and my Brussels spouts (shaved sprouts from TJ, 1/4c olive oil, 1/4c balsamic vinegar, cajun seasoning, 6 slices center cut bacon- bake at 350 for about 30 minutes)

Tried this new recipe from a girl I follow on Instagram (@drizzlemeskinny) it's a creamy chicken bacon ranch bubble up (I used the fiesta ranch dip mix instead of the regular) check out her website here

Of course I also eat my sprouts

Pineapple Teriyaki chicken meatballs (Costco), reduced fat mac n' cheese (TJ), and zucchini fries (TJ)

grilled chicken sandwich (Costco), Asiago laughing cow cheese wedge for spread, orange bell pepper, garlic hummus

New obsessions:

Y'all know I love me some makeup. I still wear my Younique products for the most part; however, I've been wanting a long lasting lip color that doesn't rub off. The main reason I don't wear lip color on a regular basis is because it smears and doesn't last. So why bother? Well, hello Lipsense! Where have you been all my life!? I may have a new obsession and need to be a consultant.....

I took over Mr. B's sink to play with all the colors

Roseberry

Blu-red (own it)!

Strawberry shortcake

Nappa

Old obsession that has only gotten worse: LULAROE!!!!!

Y'all! My closet is overrun with all the Lula. Poor Mr. B has little to no closet space left to store his few dress clothes. I finally hosted a party so I could score me some free Lula!

My staple work outfit: Carly and leggings

Love the Maxi skirt-dressy or casual (short girls can rock it, too)

Lindsey wrap with an Azure skirt

My first printed Carly (LOVE) and non-Lula leggings (who even owns these anymore?) and a Lindsey wrap

Love the Nicole dress (even if I do have to wear a size I'd rather not discuss) When did I suddenly become obsessed with loud prints?

My meme after my party with all my haul 

#truth

OK, so this isn't Lula. However, it's just as good. Milk and Honey Tees are so comfy! I had to have this one when I saw it in their shop!

New Hair.....back to fun and crazy #platinumandpink

Can you believe this monstrosity!? Thank goodness my 3 month wait was over and I could get in to see my girl Lana for some fun hair

side view

back view

front view

I'm still loving all the new looks I can do with it. I can make the pink discreet or bold and on display! I love that we finally got my hair to look platinum! I've never had hair this blonde before. Thank you bleach for making me look summer ready. I love blonde hair and red hair. Those are my preferred colors!

A couple of goobers!!!!

Mr. B and I are ready for a summer of fun. I'll be putting him to work on the grill this summer. We have plans to spend a week playing mom/dad to our 2 year old nephew for a week, going to San Francisco, NOLA, and maybe Sea World! Let's see if we can throw a painting class or two in there as well as paint and decorate our guest bathroom.....

I chill in the hammock while he does....

the grilling!

Love this picture of us from last Sunday when he had the morning off! We clean up so nice!

Had to throw in my non-fiction read right now. I'm spending a bit of my mornings reading this book and gaining take-aways. It'll be up on my book review page when finished.

Confessions of an Imperfect Perfectionist #1

There's a book that's been on my "To Read" list for a while, but I've never gotten around to reading it. However, a challenge group I'm part of has started reading it. I thought this was a great excuse for me to buy it and commit to reading it. I struggle getting into nonfiction reading material, but I told myself that I was just going to take the plunge. As I was reading the first few pages (the preface and introduction), I thought I could read a chunk at a time and reflect on my reading here.....

"Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do."

This is the very first line in the book. I immediately grabbed my pen and wrote the word "truth" next to it. We all have our own very unique story. Others may think they know what that story is, but only we know the whole story, and not just the version we show the world. Our story is constantly being written. So often we are worrying about what part of our story we are letting the world see and if it's good enough. We tend to measure our worth by what others think. What we fail to realize is that every part of our story, even all the ugly, makes up our whole person. The person that our innermost circle loves unconditionally. But, do we love that person unconditionally? It's when you stop and think about what that really means you realize it truly is a work of bravery. It is brave to know and accept yourself with ALL your imperfections!

I like to do things right. I often get frustrated when I can't figure something out or when I don't do it right the first time. I know that about myself. I also know that I can be controlling and impatient if I feel those around me can't handle what I need them to handle. I guess sometimes I can very much be in the mindset of "my way or the highway." I know all this about myself. I try to be aware of when I'm acting this way and try to fix it. Here's the thing: if I don't fix it, I don't hate myself over it. I just apologize for my behavior and move on. I know that's how I am. 

If there's an area in my life that I struggle with loving myself, it's in regards to my weight. I've had this struggle all my life. When I start to find myself being unsuccessful, I just give up and spiral out of control. I recently experienced this and am trying to regain that control and move back in a positive direction. I'm currently doing that with my nutrition, but I need to do that with my activity level. I was doing an intense boot camp for the past year. This time last year I was super successful and had built relationships that kept me going. I'm an extrovert, so I get my energy from others. That's what keeps me going. When that disintegrates, so does my drive to succeed. I hate that about myself. That my level of success depends on who's in my corner. I wish I had that intrinsic motivation to be better in these areas of my life. So what do I do? When I'm exhausted or overwhelmed, I need to DIG! That means getting....

• Deliberate in my thoughts and behaviors through prayer, meditation, or setting my intentions
• Inspired to make new and different choices
• Going! Take action!!!

How am I doing this? I knew what my intention was: to eat better! Exercise will follow. First, I had to get my eating under control because you just can't out-train a bad diet. I joined Weight Watchers. This has inspired me to make different choices. Can I still enjoy a "not good for me" treat? Sure! I am just super picky about when and what that is. I pay attention to how much I eat and what my body is telling me. Seeing results helps keep me motivated and inspires me to want to do more to see more. I've been taking action! I'm 2 weeks in and doing great.

As the end of the school year is approaching, I'm getting crazy busy trying to finish strong and tie up loose ends. I'm making sure my students are ready for the next grade, making sure I've got all my data and paper work done, and getting my room ready for summer break. I'm tired! I'm learning not to feel guilty about what I choose to do during my free time. I don't have children. I have a husband who is content to do his own thing, even if we are side by side on the couch. If I want to read, I read. If I want to watch TV, then I watch TV. If I want to mindlessly scroll through social media, then that's what I do. If it provides me with a recharge, then I don't need to feel guilty about doing it. 

I look forward to reading more of this book and exploring parts of myself that may be hidden or neglected. How many more things can I underline and comment on? What else will speak to me and my journey at this point in my life? I thought it was funny how the first and last thing I read today from this book spoke to me so much that I felt the need to underline it:

"Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light."

***All quotes and resources came from the book: The Gifts of Imperfection by: Brene Brown.***

April 2017....Better Late Than Never

April was a fast moving month. I can't believe it's already May. The end of school is upon us. I felt this year flew by. It must be because I loved my new school and new grade level. I've been Face Timing with Jude a lot. I try to do it at least once a week. In the meantime, they've been sending me pictures of him. He got himself a cool new hair cut!

I'm super excited to be spending a week with him next month. I hear he's a tyrant, but his Aunt Lee Lee and Uncle C are going to show him a good time while he's in town!

I had a couple of Sundays and a couple of Saturdays to hang with my main squeeze this month. We didn't do anything special, but we just enjoy being with each other. And taking selfies of course.

Our middle bedroom is basically a junk room. If we don't know what to do with something, or we need to get something out of the way, we just throw it in there. He had our box of wedding stuff out, so I pulled out the little box with all the wedding advice in it. I decided to read the cards. This one stuck out to me. Sure, I could've chosen the spiritual advice or the heartfelt advice, but this made me laugh....

Of course now I'd rather have some Lularoe instead of shoes. #buymorelula

I decided to make some changes for myself this month. I needed a reset and a routine change to help get myself back on the healthy track. I decided to quit Camp Gladiator since I wasn't going anymore. I lost my love for it. I guess I lost my love back in August when I got pregnant and started my new job. I fell out of my routine and never could get back in it. I also didn't feel the same sense of belonging that I did when I first joined. The group got too large for me. I just didn't feel successful anymore. I knew my eating needed to be under control more than anything. So I decided to join Weight Watchers. I'm now finishing up my 2nd week and have lost about 6 pounds I think. I was super hungry and tired that first week. However, this week I've felt better and less hungry. I'm still enjoying food, but just being more selective and eating smaller portions. I'm tracking everything and super aware of what I'm eating and how much. I hope to really up my exercise game when school is out and I don't feel so busy. School is kicking my butt right now.

This spoke to me when I saw it. This is exactly how I feel about myself right now. Loving me for me and not focusing on all the imperfections. 

We also joined our long time friends (or rather, my long time friends.....Mr. B gets them through marriage) for a gender reveal party. We were so happy and excited to celebrate our friends during this happy time. They chose to do the reveal by hitting a baseball and letting color powder come out. Christy decided to trick everyone with the first ball. We were stunned and worried when purple powder came out. It was a very Christy-esk thing to do. When the real one was hit, we saw lovely pink powder. I can't wait to buy all the girl things!!!! I should've grabbed a pic, but all I have is video to document this event.

OK, so I've been looking at the Book of the Month Club reading selections for what to read. I decided to try one of their picks. All I can say is I'm glad I didn't buy this. I check out books from the library usually. This book was not good and not what I expected. It was weird and I didn't understand the ending. This is a no-go for me.

I really can't think of anything else exciting that went on in April. I've been so busy with work, that I haven't had the urge to have fun. Stay tuned for Summer shennanigans!