Weddings, workouts and whatever else is going on!

Hello! Happy summer!!

I still cannot believe it is summer, and not only is it officially summer, but it is the third week of my summer vacation! It is just going much too fast for my liking. :-/


Here's what I've been up to ... a whole lot of NOT blogging and reading, sadly.

The first week of summer I took two professional development classes because I still had money through our district to use and we get graduate credit for taking them, which moves you up on the payscale (can you say, hell yea??) so I felt obligated to get that done (so glad I did).

The second week of summer I started working at my friends in-home daycare (like last summer) and tutoring one fourth grade boy. I'm only at the day care 15-20 hours per week, which isn't bad, but I am slightly kicking myself for not just letting myself enjoy the summer.

The second week of summer I also began running with See-Us Run Des Moines regularly and it is really kicking my butt. I do really well with a "coach" or a "trainer" making me do something, and since I am technically a "mentor" runner, I have to keep my mouth and not complain too much about how it's hot or I am tired. (I am working on that, I complain a lot and it's hot. Even at 7am)

So, as you can see, I'm keeping my schedule jam-packed as I am so good at doing that.

What about the wedding? Yes, wedding. In approximately exactly 24 days. Eeeeeeek! Since I so enjoyed reading other brides' to-do list, I feel obligated to post mine ... Here ya go!

• Practice make-up application (I'm doing my own)
• Meet w/ pastor and finalize ceremony plans
• Write vows
• Rent popcorn machine (??? Maybe)
• Create games for kids' table
• Create puzzle/mad lib for something to do at tables during reception while waiting
• Order cake 
• Buy alcohol (we're doing all food and drinks ourselves!)
• Buy all flatware/plates/napkins/cups/etc.
• Finish guestbook (omg, I love it)
• Decorations for reception 
• Create programs and order them (big maybe, trying to decide if we need programs)
• Trash cans & bags
• Buy/borrow veil
• 2nd and 3rd dress fitting (get to take home my dress in TWO WEEKS!)
• Break in shoes
• Figure out how to do nails (I don't want french)
• Assemble wedding party gifts
• Flower girl/ring bearer gifts (4)

So, there's that. I am for sure to the point where I just want to be done planning and I want the day to get here. I know that the list will not end, and there will be things that do not get done. Life will go on, but with each day that passes it seems like something else gets added to this list of things to do!!

Ok, moving on.

I have still been really active! Saturday I probably did the most physical activity in one day that I have ever done. I ran 8 miles with my running group and then a few hours later we went on a 50 mile bike ride to High Trestle Bridge. Have I mentioned how much I love my bike?? I really love biking!!

Here's a few photos ... I burned almost 4,000 calories on Saturday alone!

Other random stuff going on ...

• I love Orange is the New Black! Bill and I are on the second season and I just got the book from the library. I cannot wait to read it! 
• There is too much going on for me to really settle down and read though. :( Trying to overcome that.
• After the wedding and Ragbrai, I have almost 3 whole weeks to do nothing. Literally, I have nothing on my schedule. No daycare work. No more planning. No schoolwork. Just running, reading and organizing my house. As much as I am looking forward to my wedding, I am really looking forward to that time as well.

What have you been up to? What's your workout regimen like in the summer? As much as I love Zumba, I find it very hard to be stuck inside a gym when it is beautiful out!

Three Things Thursday and a Q&A

Happy first day of summer to me!!!! As expected, I was up at 6:45 and I have had to remind myself several times, it is NOT Saturday. Ha!

Today I'm diving right back into blogging with a Three Things Thursday post and a fun Q&A that Nora, Stephany and Lisa have done recently!

Three "things" Thursday

1. Yesterday was the last day of school! I miraculously did not cry. My eyes welled up for a second, but this year I have gotten very good at turning OFF the water works. There's something about crying in front 10 year olds that just doesn't sit well with me! It was a very fun day though, we had a fun assembly where all the teachers dance to Happy, which you can see on my Facebook page here! After work, everyone headed over to one of our colleagues' house for an afternoon of drinking! I planned on not drinking much, but after a couple hours, it was decided that I would leave my car there and keep on drinking. I cannot remember the last time I have indulged that much, but I do remember that I hate the feeling the next day!! Luckily, I was not too drunk, so don't worry! I was not THAT co-worker! Too old for that!

2. This week is my first bachelorette party (yes, I said first), my shower and Bill's bachelor party. We will have LOTS of people in town this weekend and it will be FUN!! I have lots to do to get ready though.... on deck for today is organizing the library which has become a dumping ground for random crap. I'm excited to finally get my books pulled out of the garage and up on my shelves where they belong. :) I also hope to get my labels for the invitations ready, go buy stamps and begin stuffing envelopes and get the invites out TOMORROW! Whew... that is a lot. Especially if I want the invites out tomorrow. The rest of this post may be rushed! Ha.

3. June is officially ALL THINGS WEDDING and ... I'm a little nervous. I have procrastinated because of school and kept saying that, "I will do it in June." Well, now June is here. I have a lot to do .... I just keep reminding myself that it all will get done and will be a beautiful wedding!

11 Question Q&A

1.   What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? 

Turn off my alarm/sleep app. Check phone, which means checking email, Facebook, texts, Instagram and read a few blogs usually.

2. What do you eat for breakfast? 

It varies. Right now I am on a huge English muffin kick. I prefer to have scrambled eggs, but there is not always time for that. However, there is always time for coffee and I take my coffee with a spoonful of Stevia and some milk. These days, iced as well because I'm not a fan of hot drinks when it's warm out. 

3. What’s your go-to weeknight meal?

Usually tacos. I could eat tacos/fajitas several nights a week and be perfectly fine with that! 

4. Do you do any kind of journaling or memory keeping? 

Just this blog. And now, Facebook also helps with memory keeping. I used to keep a journal when I was younger, but not anymore.

5. How do you fix your coffee, or do you prefer tea (or neither)? 

Ha, I guess I explained this in number 2. Whoops!

6. What’s the last good book you read?  

Hmmm.. I have not read much lately! I just consulted Goodreads, and I haven't given out a 5 star rating since Me Before You by Jojo Moyes in December! Wow. I need to get going and read something GOOD. Do you have any suggestions?! Also, if you haven't read Me Before You yet, you're seriously missing out.

7. If you had a day all to yourself with no schedule, how would you spend it?

I would start by "sleeping in" until about 7am, then I would lay in bed for awhile drinking coffee, reading and/or blogging. Then I would go on a bike ride, maybe to run some errands. I would spend some time getting home improvement projects done on our new house. Maybe go shopping for a few new things for the house. Plan dinner and cook dinner for my soon to be hubby. Have dinner together and then end the night with a bike ride together followed by more laying around in the living room watching tv and/or playing on our ipads.

I feel so fortunate that this will probably happen today! I don't know about the cooking part ... lol, but almost everything else will happen!! 

8. What are three things on your life list? 

Fun a full marathon, visit all 50 states, and travel through Europe (I cannot pick just one place there!)

9. When you really need to relax or de-stress, where do you go and what do you do? 

Lay in bed and read or sleep. Take a long walk or run. Go for a bike ride.

10. What’s on your nightstand?

Several books and magazines, chapstick, Kleenex, hair tie, water bottle, and my wedding planner book.

11. What’s the last thing you do before you go to sleep? 

Check my phone. 

That's it for me! I'm off to be productive!! 

What's on your life list? Let me know if you complete this Q&A so I can read yours!

Just Checking In!

Hello!

There are million things I should be doing right now, but ... I just  ... can't. Blogging has been on my mind a lot lately. I have seen it evolve from something so obscure (and weird to some) to being a common term that everyone knows now. In that time I have evolved too, as have many of my favorite bloggers. We have gone from writing regularly five times a week to rarely writing at all and coming back to regular blogging in small spurts of time.

I have considered giving blogging up many times and resorting to just reading blogs, but then I remember why I started blogging. I started because I like to write. I like to connect with people. I like the feeling of getting a comment and making that connection, which turns into a new friend.

So, I am still here, and here I will remain, but I am sure things will continue to be very sporadic! In the meantime, how about a little bulleted update, shall we?

• We bought a house! We're in the new house and we love it! Since we moved in, we ripped out all the old carpet, painted all the walls and began pulling out the icky old flooring in the kitchen and started to tile the entryway, kitchen and a portion of the living room that is a walkway to the deck door. The house looks SO much better, and smells better too ... we moved into a house that was owned by smokers previously. It smelled AWFUL. Luckily, you cannot tell now! 
• The wedding planning is going great! I ordered my invitations last night - finally! I am so excited to send them out. We have a long ways to go, but things are coming along and I know it will all get done ... 
• School is done in exactly two weeks. We have 9 school days left. NINE. What. the. hell? Time seriously flew for me this year. It totally feels like I was just meeting these kids for the first time last week! It is amazing how much we have covered in a year and how much these fourth graders have changed in 9 months time. 
• I am still working out 6-7 days per week. My running has taken a nose dive though, and I have been a Zumba fool lately. I'm actually considering not running the Dam to Dam half marathon on May 31st, because I have not kept up on my long runs. I am really sad about it, and honestly very, very torn, but I do not think it would be responsible to try and run that on very little distance training. Shockingly though, my pace has improved and when I do go out for shorter runs, I am holding a 10 minute pace, which is amazing for me! 

How have you been?? Let me know in the comments what is new in your life!! 

Workout Wrap-up

Howdy! How was your weekend? Mine was almost exactly like last weekend, and I have to say, I'm enjoying our weekends where it is all about exercise, togetherness and errands around town/house. Next weekend we will be in Spencer, so I relished this weekend and felt so, so good.

Before the weekend, though? Not so much. I wasn't sick or anything, I was just tired. Nothing was getting me motivated and all I wanted to do each day was curl up in bed with book. So much so, that I thought about calling in sick on Friday. However, I did not and I powered through to finish out the work week strong. This sluggish feeling did not help me with my activity level though ... see for youself:

Monday - 11,349 steps. 60 minute Zumba class. This class was with an instructor that I do not usually go to, but I had a lot of fun!

Tuesday - 10,377 steps. Rest day ... I honestly do not know how I made it to 10K steps.

Wednesday - 10,102 steps. This day I tried to run and I got about a mile away from home and was just not feeling it. Ended up home after one mile of running. Better than nothing, right?

Thursday - 12,170 steps. 60 minute Zumba class. I could barely make it through this class. My body was just saying no, no, no.

Friday - 11,115 steps. Rest day ...  No idea how I made it to this many steps either. Apparently the Fitbit is helping me to move more in general!

Saturday - 24,507 steps. 60 minute Zumba class and 2 hour bike ride. This was my first long bike ride on the new bike. I'm definitely getting better at using the gears to improve my efficiency, now I just have to work on keeping up with the guys! I had only one mishap after leaving Mullet's and I could not get my foot back in the pedal with the strap on. It was probably the one beer I had with lunch (I'm a lightweight) but, it seriously took me about 8 tries to get my foot in there and get going. Talk about embarrasing!

Sunday - 10,122 steps. 45 minute bike ride (10 miles). This bike ride was painful. My bum is so sore I could barely sit down the entire ride!

Well, tomorrow starts the infamous Dietbet and I am officially nervous. After weighing in and sending my pictures, it just hit me. This is going to be hard! I have got the working out part down, but the eating part? I struggle. Hopefully this Dietbet (with money on the line!) is the kick in the pants I need!

Have you ever bet money on something like a diet? What's your go to method for dropping some lbs?

Three Things Thursday

Thursday's almost over, but, whatever. I still felt the urge to get a post up, so here I am.

This week could not end soon enough. I have been so sluggish and tired all week and I have a theory it can be attributed to my unhealthy eating. This week has been especially bad and I'm hoping that by cleaning it up (starting with dinner tonight!) I can start to feel more energetic.

Anyway, I thought'd I'd participate in a quick three things Thursday. Three things that have been on my mind these days.

1. Another reason I could be so sluggish is everything that is going on. There's some stuff I have not even shared yet on the blog (but I will soon!) and there are times where I just feel. so. overwhelmed. To put it this way here's my 2014: Second half of my first year of teaching, planning a wedding and getting married, moving in with my fiance and living with a guy for the first time, packing up my classroom due to construction, and buying a house (yep, yep. We close April 14th. More soon). I've done a great job at just dealing with one thing at a time and not getting stressed out, but this week I have been feeling all the things and have felt like curling up into a ball and hibernating for a couple weeks.

2. My clothes are getting bigger and my ring officially needs to be sized AGAIN. It almost flew off in Zumba tonight (that is bad, guys) and my straps on my tank top were literally slipping off my shoulders. I had to tuck them into my bra straps so they would stay where they need to be! Yesterday I placed a Zumba.com order and pants and a top in a Medium. I have never felt such anxiety over ordering something other than a Large, but it felt AWESOME. I am ready to get rid of my size large workout gear!! :)

3. I am really excited for Amber's Dietbet to start on Monday! I bet $25 and the pot is up to over $3,000 right now! I know that money will be a motivator for me and I'm hoping that next week I find some inspiration to eat cleaner and workout harder. I am determined to drop at least 4% of my body weight so I can win some cashola! ;)

4. Okay, I decided to go with four. Maybe I should name this Four on Friday? No? Ok.

Number four may be a bit of a rant. I'm sorry. I love my job, but there are days where I sit and just stew about how much work we are expected to get done. At the elementary level we get ONE hour per day to plan and grade. ONE HOUR. I teach math, word work, writing, reading, science and social studies. I have to plan lessons for each area and then grade assessments in each area. Can that all be planned for and work checked with one hour per day? Absolutely not. If I could, I would personally go back and thank each and every one of my teachers.

Oh, and there are about 40 days left til summer break. I am so ready.

That's it for me! I'm watching Parenthood (is Julia dating?!) and then hitting the hay. Night, all! :)

Book Club recap! (plus lots of other miscallaneous other info... )

Hello, hello! How was your Monday? Mine was just okay. I didn't feel as inspired as I did last Monday and I'm just ... tired. Tired of school! There is only 40 something days left and, it feels impossible, but at the same time, I feel SO READY for summer. I need another break.

The day did get better though. We started a persuasive writing unit today and I began with an example piece of writing in which I wrote a letter to the principal stating why RECESS should be eliminated or cut in half. The looks on my kids' faces was priceless and I had to turn away from them to keep myself from laughing. As far as I know they still believe it is true (gosh, I'm mean) and I'm so impressed with the counter-arguments they came back with. Cannot wait to see them put it into writing! We just might have to show the principal. ;)

Well, tonight we met for book club, and it was such a great stress-relieving time for me. I think I needed to vent about a few things in a healthy way with my girlfriends and it felt good! Everything that is going on this year just gets me sometimes, and it seems to be dumb things that make me break. I didn't really break per se, but I did need to talk about it.

Planning a wedding is fun, but can also be disappointing at times. It's the disappointment that I don't want. Disappointment when things do not work out the way you want them, disappointment over not being able to afford what you want and (most of all) disappointment when people you care about won't be there. I was pretty disappointed this week by that last statement and I'm trying hard to remind myself that the people that matter will be there. I am so lucky for the great group of friends I have. I know what I have is rare and I need to remember that. I am so lucky.



Anyway, back to book club. I wish I could talk about the book, but ... only on of us read it! No, that one person was not me. :::hangs head in shame::: We read The Last Letter from Your Lover Jojo Moyes and I got to around page 90 and just put it down. I couldn't get into it. I still can't decide if I want to try and finish it or not. I have so little time for reading that I really want to be sure I'm reading something that I really enjoy!

However, I did recently finish a book that I really enjoyed!! Recently I was sent Sarah Pekkanen's newest novel, Catching Air and I was SO EXCITED to read it! It was probably the reason I put TLLFYL down (in fact, yes it was!)

Sarah's books almost always include multiple viewpoints and characters that you just cannot help but love! I automatically wanted to know more about several of the characters and read every chance I got! If you're a fan of Jane Porter, Emily Giffin, or Jane Green, I think you would really like Sarah Pekkanen!

Definitely check out Catching Air or anything else on this author's backlist. I assure you, that you will not be disappointed! 





What was the highlight of your day? Mine was Zumba, book club and the amazing class discussion about cutting recess in half or eliminating it (I couldn't pick just one!)

Workout wrap up

Hello, friends! It is Monday and time to wrap up my workouts last week. I had a great week for workouts and I'm super excited to share.

Monday - 16,760 steps. 30 minute run in the morning (about 3 miles I believe ... I didn't write it down), 30 minute core strengthening class and 60 minute Zumba class. By the end of this 2 hour workout I was *dripping* with sweat and felt awesome!

Tuesday - 12,322 steps. 30 minute run in the morning (also about 3 miles). Tuesday night I met up with a friend for sushi, and I had planned to do an AM and PM workout, but that did not happen! I'm glad I gave myself a small break though.

Wednesday - 17,911 steps. Hour long 5:30 AM Body Pump class (taught by my good friend, Chandra!) and hour long Zumba class at night. Solid day for me and I'm glad I got in strength training two weeks in a row! Hopefully I keep my streak up. (yes, two weeks is a streak).

Thursday - 12,552 steps. 30 minute run after school (3 miles). Thursday night was our monthly "Foodie Night" which is hosted by my good friend Manon, and is basically about 20-30 of us that want to check out a restaurant in Des Moines, eat good friend and enjoy adult conversation over dinner! I love this monthly tradition. :) 

Friday - 11,516 steps. 30 minute walk at an 8% incline in the morning. Getting myself to the gym Friday morning was HARD. I could NOT drag myself out of bed and it was a huge battle to actually get there because I was just so tired. I knew running was not going to happen once I did finally get there, so I settled on a walk and kept increasing the incline. It was actually a decent workout and my butt was sore!

Saturday - 24,853 steps. Ohhhhh, yeah! Record step day, everyone! I don't know where my energy was coming from (perhaps the sweet potato hash and eggs I made for breakfast that was delicious??) but I made it to my normal 9:30 AM Saturday morning Zumba class annnnnnnd a two hour Zumbathon in Ankeny! I felt amazing and like I could keep going! What is also exciting is I could tell how much I have improved since the last Zumbathon. A month ago, I was really irritated at my gym's Zumbathon because there were so many instructors from other gyms and I didn't know their choreo and I just so .... lost. This time, I could follow all the routines really well, and for those that I couldn't see (there was a lot of people there) or didn't like, I just made up my own choreo. It was SO fun! I cannot be more grateful for Zumba. It has done SO much for me this year.

Sunday - 17,259 steps. After Saturday, I honestly was very worried about today's "long" run, but I knew I could do it and I had to at least try. I set out planning to do 8 miles and run an out and back on the trails near my house. I got about 3.5 miles away and decided to turn around. It was windy as hell and I could feel my legs getting heavier and heavier. I am actually quite proud of what I did end up achieving. I ran 6 miles at an 11:00 pace and walked about 1 mile to "cool down." I know I made the smart choice and I'm happy with what I accomplished.

You might be wondering what I mean by Zumba doing so much for me this year. I know my body is changing and I am loving it. Saturday morning I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirrors and I did not recognize myself. My arms looked toned, and skinny. From behind, I looked like a girl who knew what she was doing. Then, a friend of mine came up to me and also said almost the exact same thing. She saw me in the crowd and couldn't tell if it was me! Holy moly. This feels so good, and I am so excited to see where I am at when July rolls around.

What I really need to get a handle on is my eating. I literally eat whatever I want. Since giving up sweets for Lent things have gotten a tad under control, and I almost always eat salads for lunch and a healthy breakfast, but for dinner I am all over the place. Starting April 7th I am participating in Amber's Dietbet challenge, and I am determined to do well.

Basically, this challenge is a bet to see who can lose 4% of their body weight in 4 weeks. The cost is $25 and those that complete the challenge split the pot. I knew that to do this, I would need to clean up my eating drastically. So, Bill and our roommate, Cody are thinking of doing the Whole30 challenge. My friend Emily just finished the challenge (successfully! Yay Emily!) and some friends of Cody's have done it. I like the idea of a lifestyle change with my nutrition and I know I need it. Honestly, my only source of anxiety is the cost of all this food. Whole30 is A LOT of meat and that gets very expensive, but hopefully between the three of us, it won't be that bad.

How did you move last week? Have you tried any "fad" diets? What are your thoughts on them?