Bring on the Scrabble theme!

My friend Erica and her son Levi came over today for a cool weather walk and some lunch. We had a great chat about all sorts of things, but both of us kept commenting on how we can't believe school starts in just one short month (from tomorrow!). This summer has been incredible so far, and I'm glad we still have another month to enjoy before we give it up. 

And then I started thinking about how this will be my TENTH year of teaching! How has it been TEN YEARS since I started teaching? It's honestly a little unreal to me. 

I'm so excited for this school year for so many reasons. And I LOVE that I'm still excited about my job!

My newspaper staff is going to be outstanding! We accomplished so much last year in the digital and social media realms, and I know there are wonderful things coming down the pipeline for us this year too. It's going to take a lot of hard work to elevate our content, but I know these kids are ready for it! 

My juniors are going to have a challenging and awesome year ahead of them, and I'm going to have a challenging and awesome time planning some new lessons for them. We're getting new textbooks any day now, and I can't wait to really get into the content and see what sorts of things I'm going to open their eyes too! 

I've been spending a lot of time looking around the web trying to find new ideas for my classroom, and I think I've found a few I'm really set on. 

1. Scrabble theme! I really want to tie this in to my classroom this year! I think it would be fun to do Scrabble boards around our different units. Now, to find an awesome computer generated Scrabble board template so that I don't have to hand make all these letters! 

2. Promoting my classroom library. I have a lot of books in my classroom that just sit on the shelves! They're there so that students can check them out and read them for fun, but it's rarely taken advantage of. I think I need to do more with promoting and highlighting the books for my students -- maybe by doing some sort of "speed dating" with each of them so they know what sorts of things are there for them to use. 

3. Using more literature circles. My junior class is two trimesters, and in the second trimester, students read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby. During the first trimester, though, students are supposed to read two American literature novels on their own. It's been a struggle for years for me to find a great way to really check to see if students are reading. This year, I think I'll choose five books and have students do literature circles to discuss. I think this will also really set them up for success when it comes time to read and discuss our large group reads. 

4. eHow's Erica Green gives some great ideas for First Day of School Activities are awesome! She has a great idea about partnering students up using celebrity pairings, and I think that would be so fun! She also has a great idea about using Jeopardy to review classroom procedures and activities. I think it would be a fun way to get students involved on day one. 

So, while I'm glad there's still some summer left, I feel good that I have a solid plan to start back with! 

That's all for now! (P.S. I skipped making my wreath today, but may try to start on it tomorrow! I need to make one more trip to Michael's though, so we'll see!) 

Tuesday tip: In which I write about productivity

Seriously, can we get a key for this?!

According to the Facebook statuses of my dearest friends and coworkers, I don't seem to be the only one struggling with productivity this summer. It comes in waves -- I'll have two or three days where I really buckle down and get some things organized, and then there will be a whole week where I couldn't tell you what I've done with my time (but clearly, nothing productive has taken place!)!

So when my coworker Monica posted this awesome blog from Be more with less, I knew I'd found a winner. The blog focuses on 25 Ways to Simplify Your Life in Ten Minutes or Less. Ten minutes? Sold! 

I decided to spend ten minutes in our junk room (yes, we have a junk room (which we also call our office)) this morning. This poor room became the catch all for anything wedding related, work related, computer related, junk mail related, and junk in general related. It was a sad state of affairs. But, after spending 40 minutes working on it, we can actually walk in the room now! I'm totally kicking myself for not taking before and after photos. I'd only intended to spend ten minutes working on it, but I got on a roll and couldn't stop! (To be fair, it helped that Dan has recently moved both of our giant bookshelves out of there, so there was actually room to organize things!)

And this week is finally going to be the week I work on our front door wreath! I've been wanting to make a wreath for our front door since I took down my Christmas ornament wreath, but was waiting for some inspiration to strike! I've seen some adorable yarn and felt wreaths on Etsy, and I think I'm finally ready to tackle making one! Just a few more supplies, and we'll be off and running! Can't wait for craft day Thursday! 

Before! 

Here's hoping you too are having a productive week! :)

Friday's favorite things!

Friday, how I love thee! Is there anything better than a beautiful Friday morning? I think not! I started the morning bright and early teaching a 5:30 a.m. Jazzercise class. We had a huge crowd today, and everyone was working so hard! It was awesome! 
Mix
I love summer because it gives me time to reflect and discover new favorite things. This summer hasn't disappointed. So, in no particular order, here are a few of my new favorite things! 

1. Cereal: Okay, this is not a new discovery for me. But, it's been, like, years since I've gone on a cereal kick. And now I can't stop! It reminds me of when I was in college and pretty much made a bowl of cereal part of each meal. Oh how I miss the days of the Saint Mary's dining hall with my favorite ladies! 

2. Ladies of London: I've never really gotten into the Real Housewives shows, but I recently discovered Ladies of London on Bravo, and I can't stop watching! The show focuses on a small group of women living in London (some originate from there, the others are Americans who've moved there). I've suddenly become all invested in these women and their lives! Why? I don't know. But I love it. 

3. Online window shopping: Dan and I are busy putting together our home, and we've decided to revamp our large family room to make it more user friendly. We've been talking about getting a chaise lounge sofa, so I've been spending parts of my days checking out our options. And naturally, once you start looking at sofas, you have to start looking at coordinating coffee tables, pillows, wall art, throws... you get the point. It's been so fun to look, but I'm nervous about making a furniture commitment. I think we're leaning toward this color of gray, though! 

4. Naps: Okay, again, this is nothing new, but boy do I love me a great summer nap with the windows open (thanks, mild summer!)!

5. Mixology on Netflix: Did anyone watch this when it was on ABC this year? I totally missed it, but Dan and I just finished the season on Netflix and LOVED it! The show focuses on five men and five women and one night where they all meet in a bar. The writing is hilarious and witty, and I loved that each episode was only 21 minutes so there wasn't a giant time commitment. 

What are YOU loving today? 

Summer reading: Books and more books!

I pretty much adore all things summer. But what I really mostly adore about summer is having quite a bit of extra time to read. Summer is the one time of the year where I can sit down and really get lost in a book without worrying about all the other things I need to be doing. 

Me Before You, Jojo Moyes 
If you read one book this summer, make it this one. I absolutely LOVED this book! The story focuses on eccentric Louisa who finds herself out of her long time job. She takes a new job as caretaker for Will Traynor, a quadriplegic who's struggling to accept his new life. What starts as a job turns into a mission for Louisa. This is a book I will absolutely pick up and read again. Go get it! Read it now! 

Here I Go Again, Jen Lancaster 
I've loved Jen Lancaster's writing style for years. She's written some hilarious nonfiction about her life, and this was the first piece of her fiction I read. It was a cute book (perfect for honeymoon reading!). It reminded me of a similar plot to the movie 13 Going On 30. Cutesy and fun. 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling's book has been on my to-read list for years. And I'm thrilled that I got the chance to read it this summer! Seriously, laugh out loud funny. This book is perfect for a beach vacation or a rainy day indoors. Read it, relate, and laugh out loud too. 

Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell 
This YA novel follows the life of Cath as she heads off to college and continues writing her fanfiction for Simon Snow (a very Harry Potter-esque character). The plotline is cute and relatable for high school readers. It was cute, but not my favorite YA book. 

Still on the To-Read list for me are Jennifer Weiner's All Fall Down, Emily Giffin's The One and Only, Stephen King's 11/22/63, and Paula McLain's The Paris Wife. 

What are you reading this summer? Any must-reads I should add to my list. 

Summertime celebrations: A little holiday menu

I just loooove Fourth of July weekend! For one, it gives us a great excuse to see friends and family. Secondly, it's the weekend that leads up to the husband's birthday! And clearly, I love Fourth of July weekend because that means we get to eat FOOD! 

After an awesome trip to the South Bend Farmer's Market today, we took a drive to Buchanan, Michigan, to go to Dan's favorite meat market, Lowery's, to pick up a GIANT slab of ribs that he plans to spend tomorrow smoking in the backyard. Sounds awesome to me! Dan's family and my parents will be coming over, which makes a lovely Sunday BBQ for a party of nine. 

Our little post-Fourth of July/pre-birthday menu is as follows: 

Giant slab of smoked ribs
Hot dogs (in case our favorite nephew isn't digging said ribs) 
Pasta salad
Baked beans (made with love by my mother, the tastiest baked beans baker ever!)
Corn/black bean/avocado awesomeness (recipe below)
Fresh fruit 
Birthday cake (naturally) 
Oatmeal brownie gems (recipe below)

I wish I could explain to you how much I love this corn/black bean/avocado deliciousness. I first had it last summer when I went to a bridal get together for my best friend Andrea. Her former neighbor had made it, and I loved it so much, I messaged her the next day for the recipe! I can't decide weather I should call it a salsa? A dip? A bowl of amazing? It's INSANELY delicious and a super big crowd pleaser! Oh, and did I mention it's easy to make? It's easy to make!

Here's what you need: 

1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 avocados, chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup oil
2 packets of dry Italian seasoning 

Throw it all together. Find a giant serving bowl. Put out with favorite corn chip of your choosing. Easy-peasy! 

I threw the avocado pits in just for giggles. :)

And for dessert, another favorite crowd pleaser are Oatmeal Brownie Gems. See, they're healthy cuz there's oatmeal in 'em! This is a recipe my mom introduced me to a long time ago, and I never ever get tired of them! 

Get in my belly! 

Oatmeal Brownie Gems:
2.75 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup butter (or margarine), melted
1.75 cups M&Ms Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits (one bag)
1 (19-21 ounce) package fudge brownie mix, prepared according to package directions (but not baked yet!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, nuts, and baking soda. Add butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Toss in M&Ms and mix until evenly distributed. Reserve 3 cups of the mixture. Pat remaining mixture onto bottom of 15x10x1 inch pan to form crust. Pour prepared brownie mix over crust, spreading into thin layer. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top of brownie mixture; pat down lightly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely. Cut into 48 bars. 

I'll add photos tomorrow after the deliciousness is complete. But for now, trust me, and go make these treats for your crowd! 

Happy Saturday, all! 

On Wednesday, I attempt to organize our home

Now that we're home and settled back in from our incredible honeymoon, life is staring us smack dab in the face. And mostly it's staring at us in the form of stuff. Everywhere. Stuff we want. Stuff we don't want. Stuff we didn't even know we had. Empty boxes that used to house stuff. There's just a lot of stuff. 

And if there's one thing I hate, it's disorganized stuff. 

So the rest of the summer will most likely be devoted to organizing/decorating our home to make it look like our home. I'm trying to do this in baby steps, as it gets FAR TOO OVERWHELMING when I look at the big picture. I started with the basics. 

This week, I started by tackling our hall closet. We got lots of great new towels and sheet sets from the wedding, and it was time to purge the old and bring in the new! I started by taking absolutely everything out and organizing into keep and toss piles. After that, I decided to organize like items with like items -- all towels together, sheets together, miscellaneous items together. I found a small container to put candles, lightbulbs, etc. in, and that really cleaned up the look! Done and done! 

Before (on the left) and After (on the right)

After that, I moved on to the kitchen pantry. It had been a LONG time since I'd really gone through and purged, so the first thing I did was ditch anything past its expiration date. In the same fashion, I took everything out of the pantry, and then I continued by grouping like with like. I didn't snag a before picture, but I'm thrilled with the end result! I can actually SEE everything! 

Oh, don't mind that pink shoe box in there. That just holds our incredibly large candy stash. True story. Because you never know when you're going to need a little candy!

So what's up next? We have a sweet new bookshelf that I'm hoping to get together soon. We're looking at a new chaise lounge couch for our family room and then will be doing some major furniture shifting. We also have a completely full recycling bin (again), and will be doing some cardboard purging once it gets picked up this week. 

It's exciting to see our house coming together as our home. And lucky me, I have the best guy to share it with. 

Do you have any house projects you're working on over the summer? 

Summertime Saturday: Summertime workouts!

But I mean, don't we all? 

There's so much I love about summertime. I love lazy mornings of sipping coffee and reading the newspaper before my day begins. I love the freedom and flexibility to do things I just can't fit in during the school year. And I really love that I have the time and energy to try new things! 

On days I teach Jazzercise, I typically just make that my workout for the day. But on days I don't teach, I'm always looking for new inspiration. And while I love running, some days I just want something I can do in the air conditioning! 

Thanks to the magic of Pinterest, I've found some AMAZING workouts so that I can keep what I'm doing fresh and not let my body get too used to the same types of things. Lately, it seems my focus has been on arms or things I can do without a bunch of equipment on hand. 

These are a few of my favorites right now: 

1. This six minute excuse proof workout from SparkPeople requires zero equipment, and can be done anywhere! And really, I have zero excuse for not getting in six minutes of working out. 

2. This 20 minute ab flattening workout from PopSugar consists of just five moves with cardio bursts in between. Easy, quick, and effective! 

3. This ten minute lower body workout video from PopSugar features workout guru Anna Renderer (she's my FAVE right now!) and ten solid minutes of leg and glute work. Awesome when you're time crunched! 

4. This body weight workout from PopSugar is a great circuit for toning and tightening without any equipment necessary. 

5. This 60 minute boot camp workout from Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers will bring on the sweat! Each circuit should be completed for three minutes before moving on to the next box. This workout rocks! 

I really would love to find a great yoga workout to incorporate into my regimen, but think I need to do a little more YouTube searching until I find one I really like. 

What are you doing right now for your workouts? And yoga advice for this newbie?