Happy Harvest!

I must admit that this is absolutely my FAVORITE time of year!  As much as I enjoy the heat and sun of summer...I LOVE FALL!  :)  As I was thinking today about what a lovely fall weekend we had (minus the rain yesterday of course) I realized that I was coming up with quite the list!  So, naturally, I began to write it all down...here's the beginning of what I've started...

• The leaves when they change color
• More specifically...MAPLE trees
• The smell at night
• The coolness of the morning (light frost...but you know it will melt quickly!)
• The sound of geese (I really don't actually like the geese themselves...but I can't help but smile when I hear them encouraging one another to fly harder!)
• Bonfires 
• Jeans and a t-shirt w/a hoodie/light jacket at night!
• BOOTS!  :)   
• Carmel Apple Cider from Starbucks 
• Apple picking 
• Running outsides w/o massively sweating!   
• Pumpkin patches 
• Hay-rides (okay...haven't actually been on one in a while...but they are still fun in the fall!) 
• New fall scented candles 
• Homemade apple pie (from scratch...crust and all!)
• Sleeping with the windows open! 
• A crisp day...if you aren't from the midwest you may not understand that YES! a day CAN be crisp!   
• The fact that the pool at my gym stays open until October 30!  (Never know when you'll get another indian summer day!) 
• Corn mazes...again...haven't been in a while...but still a fall staple!   
• Chili :) 
• Football games all weekend
• You've been back in school long enough to not really miss summer anymore...and you're able to really love your job teaching!   
• The über cute decorations!  Pumpkins, scarecrows, fall leaves, oh my!
•  Taking the boat around the lake one more time...in jeans and a hoodie...wrapped in a towel of course! 
• Long walks with good friends...typically though forest-y areas to really get into the spirit of the season! 

Gosh, the more I think about it...the more I fall in love with this season!  I truly wish it could stay this way until a week before Christmas.  Then it can snow from like December 16-January 3rd and then spring can start!  Oh and if beggars could be choosers...I'd like a fresh layer on snow on Christmas morning please and thank you!  :)  

HAPPY HARVEST Y'ALL!!!  :)

Let the Running Begin!!!

Okay, I'll be honest!  I left for England almost 3 months ago today (tomorrow actually) with the best of intentions to get into a well rehearsed work-out schedule!  HA!!!  HA HA!!!  Who the heck was I kidding???  I always thought that the summer would be the best time to begin a workout plan...start from the first day and don't let yourself down!  Sounds GREAT in theory...fantastic really!  With nothing else really "to do" in England I thought I would have it down from the start!  


Well, the first official day of my summer vacation was the day I left for England...and let's be honest...the day you are leaving for a foriegn country for more than a few weeks is NOT the day to begin a new routine...especially when you haven't yet finished packing.  Day two, I landed, road a bus to my new "house", took a sleepy walking tour of my new "town", at a burger at "Real Burger" (not kidding), and went to bed.  Day three, 1st day to sleep in!  NOT motivated to get up early to run.  But we did manage a 3 miler sometime the first week...it was one of about a handful of runs Dave and I ran together!  :)  Yeah us!


Needless to say, the whole getting up early (when Dave did for work) to go for a run happened...oh...never!  Oops!  The bed was just too cozy!!!  Could I have gone throughout the day when I was home alone?  Sure!  And I did...about 7-10 times...but not nearly as often as I had anticipated!  


So, now that I'm home (well, this home anyways) I've decided that I really want to get back into a regular pattern of working out!  The fantastic French breads and Italian pastas have really taken their toll and let's just say that my metabolism at 27 is NOT what it was a few years ago!  :(  


I've been really good this past week and making sure I hit the gym after school...no excuses!  I pack my bag before I leave for work in the morning and don't allow myself to come directly home after work!  I can either a)work out at school (they have a really nice CV room) or b)hit up the gym I pay monthly dues at (which has a heated outdoor pool open through October!!!).  Regardless, I don't come straight home!  But I've realized that I need a motivator!  Something to look forward to!  So...the natural solution...register (and pay for) a bunch of races!  Here are a few I'm hoping to run:


October -Bucktown (5K) Chicago
November -Hot Chocolate (5K) Chicago
November -Turkey Trot (2 miler (we did the 5 miler last year)) Palatine
December -Santa Run (5K) Arlington Heights (The running of 1000 Santas!  Each participant gets a 5 piece Santa suit to run in!)


I am also looking for another race in the middle of October...not sure...but I'm sure there's like a Veteran's race of some sort!  


I really feel like having these milestones and tracking my time at each one will really help get me into a workout habit!  If you couldn't tell, I'm actually pretty stoked about these!  :)

First full week with students = SuCcEsS!!!!

I am so glad that the first full week of school is over...it's always the hardest!  New schedule to adjust to, new names to learn, getting back into a routine of planning, copying, teaching, critiquing, etc.  It's just a nice feeling to have successfully finished an entire 5-day work week...and what are we rewarded with...why a 3 day weekend thank you very much!  This little lady can't complain!  :)  But in all seriousness, being back at work is super fun!  


Here's my daily schedule...it's not 1/2 bad!  I was a little bummed last year when we got our schedules because I wasn't teaching a class that I had for the past 4 years...but change is always a good thing and there are so many positives that come with this change!  The co-worker who is teaching it is fantastic so I know the students are in good hands and the program will continue to grow (when I first started with the program we had 12 students signed up...at the end of last year I had just about 30 in my class...now I know that number fluctuate and enrollment totally depends on if students can afford to give up that much space in their schedules...but I have to admit...I was proud of where the program has come the past 4 year!!!)!  


Last year I had the first 2 periods of the day off...which some people would think is fantastic...but I'm a morning teacher!  Meaning?  I love to energize the kids first thing...so having to sit in the office for the first 2 hours of my day drove me crazy!  Especially since I'm not one to leave things to do for the next day...if it's for the following day...it gets done the day before...I can't just 'hope' I'll be able to get to it!  Some people can work that way!  But not me!  


So this is my day:
1st hour...Child Development (15 fantastic girls that participate a ton!!!)
2nd hour...planning
3rd hour...Child Development (23 great girls...1 boy...very talkative (but on task) class...with awesome questions!)
4th hour...Foods 1 (18 students; 1/2 boys; 1/2 girls)
5th hour...advisory...this year for the first time every freshman has an advisory period (like a home room) for the first 1/2 of their lunch hour Monday-Thursday.  I like it so far!  Still working on selling it to the kids though...some are hold outs and miss their full lunch hour...I'm sure I'll get them to come around soon enough...PIZZA ANYONE?????  Oh did I mention it's 30 kids?  And 19 are boys...freshman boys???
6th hour...lunch
7th hour...Foods 1 (20 students...mix of boys and girls...probably my most polite class!
8th hour...Foods 1 (24 students...full house everyone!!!  Mix of boys and girls!  Fun and energetic personalities!)  


Although I don't update the blog daily...I do update what I'm thankful for on most days...which is a good indication of how my day goes!  :)  Feel free to check it out!