what I'm loving

Some things I'm currently loving are...

♥ that all my friends are blogging right now.
Our district has some pretty forward-thinking teachers, so it's cool how we're all sharing small moments of our daily lives with one another in March.

♥ that spring is coming!
Pretty sure we turn the clocks ahead next weekend. St. Patty's Day is coming (one year it was like 65 in Chicago that day, hoping for that!) Baseball is coming. Spring break is coming. WHen the sun is out, my spirits have an instant lift!

♥ rituals and traditions.
Fat Tuesday is here, tomorrow Ash Wednesday, and it's the season of Lent. Easter will be here soon. I love these parts of the calendar each year to remind me of things in life, and that they signal new easons are upon us!

♥ Hobby Lobby.
I've been dreaming of the gallery wall I want to create in my living room above my desk. Hobby Lobby has the best stuff for this, can't wait to share it with you once it's complete!

♥ my yearly visit to Lake Geneva with Lizzy!
Next weekend we will go to the spa and stay at the room her parents own at the resort. There's always a lovely brunch in there, too, can't wait to go!

♥ the app called Over.
If you like Word Swag, this one takes it up like 100 levels, but you can create amazing graphics and flyers from the convenience of your iPhone!

What are you loving at the moment?

What I'm Loving

♥ quiet Friday night at home. No where to be, just quiet time unwinding by writing and watching the Bachelor.

♥ warm fuzzies on Valentine's Day and overhearing friends tell one another, "You're smart, you're beautiful, I'm so glad we're friends."

Speaking of friends, ♥ friends who are your soulmates. Like, you can never be too sure about guys, but you know without a doubt that the bffs will *always be there for you.

that being said, ♥ a specific look on guys that stops me dead in my tracks: Some sports apparel, puffer vest for winter, and a backwards hat. I see you, please stop looking so hot!

♥ my ASU blender bottle...best secret santa gift EVER! Fizzies AND school spirit? Yes!

♥ instagram stories. You want to know what I'm doing throughout my day? Check those out!

♥ friends who tell it like it is, and ♥ myself for knowing my preferences. Going out on Friday night? nah, I'm good.

♥ Zella leggings. And I need a new pair, so may the online shopping commence.

Happy Friday friends!

What I'm Lovin, music edition

Last Friday, my girlfriends were here, nursing a friend's breakup. We sat around watching YouTube Videos on my Roku for hours. I got a bunch of new music on my playlist! Here are some of my faves from all that Vevoing.

Me, Too by Meghan Trainor

I thank God every day

That I woke up feelin' this way

And I can't help lovin' myself

And I don't need nobody else

(actually I do...)

Hide Away by Daya

Where do the good boys go

to hide away, hide away?

I'm a good, good girl who

needs a little company

Lookin' high and low

Someone let me know

Where do the good boys go

to hide away, hide away?

Broken Arrows by Avicii

We have to tear down the walls

that live in your heart

to find someone you can

call home

Now you see me for me

and my beautiful scars

So take my hand,

don't let go

New Romantics by Taylor Swift

Baby, we're the new romantics

Come on, come along with me

Heartbreak is a national anthem,

We sing it proudly.

We're too busy dancin'

to get knocked off our feet.
Baby, we're the new romantics.

The best people in life are free....

Hell No by Ingrid Michaelson

Am I going to miss you?

Hell No! Baby watch me up and go

Mama said that the boys like you

never walk out anyway

Girlfriends say, are you gonna be sad?

If he calls you up, you gonna take him back?

I say hell no, Oh, hell no!

I get it, whatever.

Click that title and watch the official video, so good!

Holy by FGL

You're holy, holy, holy, holy

I'm high on lovin' you, high on lovin' you

You're holy, holy, holy, holy

I'm high on lovin' you, high on lovin' you

What are you listening to lately?

Need to keep adding to my workout playlists!

What I'm Lovin' Monday

There's been so many wonderful things going on lately. Let me share!

I felt compelled to write right now because it's 6 in the evening, the sun in coming in my windows on one side of the apartment, and the wind has the trees rustling right outside the other side of the apartment, right through the window directly behind me. I love this time of day, in the summer, in this apartment, in this city. My seven year anniversary of moving to Chicago was just last Saturday! Still loving this amazing city, on this beautiful day, in this lovely apartment.

Loving that I was part of the 5th Grade Farewell last week. I actually coached two of our kiddos in publishing their memoirs about endings and beginnings. Check them out; I'm so proud of the writers that we're able to support with the high quality instruction that is given via the Writing Workshop and the Calkins' curriculum!

Also, I love middle school aged kids. Check us out doing the new dance that I just learned about: Lean and Dabb:

Loving Arbonne's Detox Tea. It's part of the 30 days to healthy living program that I'm doing this month. The tea is meant to be taken before bed and is to support healthy functioning of the liver and kidneys, but it's also been making me sleep so much better! Usually I wake up three or four times a night, but the past few nights, I've only woken up once! And not even until like 2:30 (Usually I'm up just an hour and a half or two hours after I go to sleep!)

Speaking of Arbonne, so excited for Jess to join our team share and recommend this wonderful brand this summer. It's so awesome to have someone who is such a great friend already at my side for a new adventure. As always with Arbonne, we're all about bringing the joy, positivity, and light out to be shared. Be sure to check out and follow Jess' new blog, too!

I'm loving being a coach. This is the third year I'm finishing up and it's a bit different. This year, more than one person has brought me a gift. And it's not about the stuff - although each gift I was given was so thoughtful, so me - it's the fact that I have done stuff over teh last year, and maybe last three years, that has made a difference. How lucky am I that I have a career path that allows me to make a difference every day? So amazing. Thank you for the gifts, my friends, and even more than that, for the words in the cards that were poured out from your heart. I will treasure those notes for years to come!

Lastly, I'm loving that I have.... wait for it.... only ONE MORE WAKE UP separating me from a fab summer break!

What are you lovin? Leave a comment and share!

What I'm Loving Tuesday

Evolution of Get Lucky
So I'm sure you know the new song by Daft Punk, but here's a chronological cover from the 20's until the future. Play some tunes while you're reading!

$1 coffee at Dunkin between 3 and 6
So now that I don't have much to do with my days, I can make it to the Double D every now and then for a coffee. And it's not just a plain coffee with cream and sugar - anything you want! I had a medium mocha iced coffee last time. Winning!

Candy Crush Saga
When all those people were playing Farmville on facebook and sending me requests for it, I thought they were SOOO LAME. But, I downloaded this candy crush game on my phone and play all the time. Levels 1 - 28 were pretty easy, and then I was on level 29 for like 2 weeks. I finally beat that level (after I paid $1 for five extra moves) and now I'm stuck on level 30. I know when I finally beat that one I'll be feeling like:

Volleyball on the beach
I coached volleyball the last few years and it was super fun. Something different than cheer - and it's better because you're not always having to make up new material (like I had to for the cheerleaders). Well, Jon put together a team to play on Thursday nights at Oak Street beach and I LOVE it. Now, we're not very good yet, but we had a practice on Sunday and we're coming along. It's fun and with friends and exercise and volleyball. Loooooves!

Clean House
Well, I rarely wash the floors in my house (I think the last time I did was last summer when I moved in) but I'm going to have company next week so no better time to get it all clean for them! (I'm sure my mom will still say I'm messy....but one thing I am not is dirty.) Anyways, the windows are open, the fans are on, the house is done, and it smells so clean in here!

For you, mom : )

That's all for today. Hoping to get another blog out before the week ends : )

What I'm Loving Friday

Little Bit of Everything by Keith Urban
I love this new song. Maybe it's not new? You've heard it before? Well, me too, but just heard it again and downloaded it to my iTunes for my next run.
"Oh I know I don't need a whole lot of anything....I just want a little bit of everything....nah, nah nah nah...." LOVES!

Not knowing what day it is

So, when you're a teacher and you finally make it, once again, to summer break, it's awesome because you usually don't know what day it was. Yesterday I was out and thought it was Friday, but nope...it's Thursday. Days don't matter when you're on summer vacation.

Will Smith

Thanks to Matt who posted this pic earlier this week - but I LOVE Will Smith. I mean, look at him! I want a guy like that!

Sex and the City turns 15

Can you believe that SATC premiered 15 years ago today? That's a timeless show when we're all still watching it these days. What are your favorite moments from the show? I love the episode where it talks about how men are like cabs - Miranda tells Charlotte there's no such thing as soul mates, and Charlotte is floored. Miranda says something like, "When men are ready, they're ready. They wake up one morning and think that they want to get married. The next girl they see - boom. It's not fate. It's dumb luck."

I would say I have to agree.

See all 18 of Carrie's boyfriends here.

See Carrie's best looks here.

Favorite SATC moments....on a Post-It, of course!

Kate Middleton

She's so pretty, always so well dressed, so composed, and the CUTEST preggo person ever. Every time I see pics of her come up in my facebook feed I'm so excited to see how things are coming along for the royal baby. Next summer I'll see where she lives, too! Super excited for that!

And what I'm not loving....an article that said

Most people are unsatisfied with their friendships

I happened to catch this article about how one in three people are unsatisfied with their friendships. These must be the people who have awesome marriages.....seems like I can't quite figure that goal out, but as far as friendships go, I have such an awesome group of girls at my side. I have six - SIX - people who I can call anytime, for anything, that I know will answer and listen to me. (And if they happen to screen me, I will just annoy the hell out of them with 100 texts until they answer!) Of the six, I only see one of them on a regular basis, but with facebook, skype, and phone calls, I don't feel like I ever miss a beat with them. I am blessed with friends.

Hope you had an awesome week! I'm excited for Michelle and Matthew's wedding tomorrow....going to be a good time with great friends!

What I'm Loving Monday

1. Red Wine. Helllllllo Lover. How you make me feel so much better.

2. My friends and my mom. They all really know how to talk me down off a ledge.

3. Dark Chocolate Acai Blueberries - Sister, they're acky berries, right? or however you'd spell that? (I'm a half of bottle of wine deep....) : ) 

4. My therapist. If you haven't looked her up, you should. Even if you just learn stuff from her Twitter and Facebook feeds.... She's super smart. And also falls into the #2 category.

5. The beach. Can't wait for July. So there.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Taylor Swift: Red
Okay, I know. So not country and totally pop. But, if you've read my previous blogs, you know I live in Butterfly Rainbow Land. So, with that being known, you would have had to guess I was going to buy this album on the day it releases (on my phone on the way to work Monday morning). I've been listening to it since and have a few favorites already. My most favorite is the one here. Listen while you read the rest of the blog!

Committed Middle School Cheerleaders
Well, just like in high school, cheerleaders can never get the gym to practice, so we are forced into morning practices. I HATE waking up so early, but I'm always so proud of my girls by the end of practice. (and honestly, happy to get to do other things after school ends!) Middle school girls usually have no cheer skills - which was the case with my girls, but we've been practicing for about three weeks now and they're making so much progress! I have 12 girls and we just nailed 3 preps with each one cradling out of them - all in time to a floor cheer. SUCCESS! (Video/pics to come!)

An amazing team of teachers at my side

This is NOT the teacher's lounge.....

I really can't express enough how awesome the people I directly work with are. They are strict, but have fun with kids. They are clear about their expectations. They follow through with rewards and consequences. They take initiative to get stuff done for our team. They make power points to share that have awesome animations. And....we eat lunch together every day and have a hilarious time in the lounge. Even though some aspects of our school have changed, it's all good because my team rocks.

Carving pumpkins with my love
Alright well even though we live in the city, there's still plenty of places to get a pumpkin....you know, Walgreens, Jewel....the car wash/auto repair shop turned pumpkin patch in Wrigley? Hektor and I picked up some pumpkins on Sunday and the carving tools and went to town. This is the best pumpkin I ever carved (I'm pretty impatient) and Hektor's turned out even better. (His pattern was a 4 on the difficulty scale!) Good times....love the fall!

speaking of fall....
I'm Loving this Season and the Beautiful Weather
It was almost 80 degrees today - so beautiful! I wish I had gotten out of work prior to 5:00, but that's okay. So, in addition to the great temperature, the leaves have changed color and it smells so good outside. Love the leaves crunching under my feet and seeing kids in my friends' facebook pictures playing in their backyards.

and lastly...
College Football

I'm going to tell you a secret. I didn't really start to care so much about college football until I moved to Chicago, and really until I found the Alumni Association for ASU. (Don't judge me.) The thing is, I've met some great new friends watching games at Cubby and it's because of college football that I met Hektor. (Awwhhhh!) So, you can see where it has all started. But now...now I have it out for the Ducks. You see, Briese is always talking stuff about ASU and we never get to win against Oregon, so now I'm crossing my fingers that Oregon ends up in a game with the Florida Gators (Hektor's alma mater) and gets chomped. We'll get you one day, Oregon.....but until then, I'll listen to briese post "OOOOOOOOO" all over all my ASU pictures....


Have a good week friends!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Pontoon and Logitech Bluetooth Speaker
We heard this song on the way down to the lake house in Indiana, and then I downloaded it while we were on the boat. Even though Holls thinks the "Motorboatin" lyric is questionable, I don't care. LOVE this song, and I love Hektor's new bluetooth speaker.

To use this speaker, you use your phone as the remote control. You can stream music from Pandora or iheartradio, or play from your music library. Battery is a rechargeable one...you just plug it in at night and then you're totally wireless!

Pic Stitch

Julia told me about this app....you can use it with your pictures to make little collages of pictures. You can then export them to Instagram, facebook, or message or email them to people. Here are a few I put together:

And no, I don't think I'm a photographer, but it's fun!

Signature Lounge
Jon and Courtney told me about this place awhile ago, and I took Heather for my first visit. It's a restaurant and lounge on the 95th and 96th floors of the John Hancock building. We got a table right by the window and had a few drinks, some great conversation, and enjoyed the view. Katie comes today and we're planning on a trip there tomorrow after the Taste.

Flip Flop Fantasy
So I'm not totally sure if this is the color that I got, but it's close. Love mani-pedis every other week, and my favorite salon is one in Oak Park - Avenue on Oak Park Avenue. Will definitely be going back there once school starts!

Old Navy Sleep Shorts
I want all of these shorts! So perfect for sleeping and lounging around the house. Only $8....these are my newest addition!

and what I'm not loving...


Breakfast Buffets
Unless said buffet is at the Marriot on the beach in Florida, I'm not going. Hektor is always wanting to go to buffets. We went to one in Niles a few months ago - Shooters? Not good. Then the other day on the way home from Indiana, we stopped at Golden Corral. I had seen them in AZ so I though that I couldn't really go wrong with a chain. Not so much. Not good. Not going again. Unless it's at a fancy hotel that uses silver platters and makes their waffles into heart shapes.

What I'm Loving Sunday

iPhone 4s

I'm not sure how I made it without this phone for so long. It's pretty amazing. Everything I need is right at my fingertips. What? You want to go running? There's an app for that! The Couch to 5K app on this phone is waaay better than the one I was using on the android. Then I track it with Run Keeper as well which tracks my mileage for the month. My whole iTunes library is in it so I can listen to whatever music I want - or stream Pandora. My calendar syncs to my iCal so I can see what's going on when I wake up each morning. I need a system upgrade on my MacBook, and then iCloud will stream music and photos from each device to the other wirelessly over wifi. Life is good with the new phone! Oh, and Siri - haven't used her much, but I did ask her if Hektor should buy an iPhone for his upgrade. She said, "I have found 4 Apple Stores in your area." Love it.


Unsweetened Iced Green Tea

I'm sure you've all had this at some point or another. I was thinking that I wouldn't like it when I was on my way to meet friends today (since I can't have any sweetener), but it was really good - tastes kinda minty. I guess it's because I haven't really had any sweetener anytime in the past month, but if I keep my sugar in check, this will be a refreshing beverage for the summer!

www.meetup.com

Anyone familiar with meetup? I was kinda nervous going to my first event last summer, but everyone I've met in the group I most frequent is so great. Here's how it works: you go to meetup.com and surf around looking for a group that suits your interests. There's groups for everything - knitting - movies - dinners - bars - sporting events - you name it, it's there! (and if your interest isn't, you can create your own group!) When you find a group you like, you request membership with them. Then, events are posted and you RSVP to attend. In the one I use the most, we have monthly dinners at new restaurants, a book club group that meets monthly,  events to go out dancing, see theater shows, bike riding, dance and yoga classes, craft stuff....anything is game! (So excited to find friends who love The Bachelor - we're going to watch them together starting next month!) This has been a great way to meet new friends in my area and make Chicago finally feel like home.

Inspiring colleagues to use authentic literacy practices

As you know if you've been reading my blog, my kids have been participating in book clubs for the past two weeks and I've been loving their progress. One of the teachers on my team - the Social Studies teacher, Mr. Smith - came in to see them the other day and is now going to do some literature circles with a historical fiction novel. I'm so excited and can't wait for him to get a taste of some great learning in his classroom centered around literacy!

Draw Something

Draw something is an app for the phone (not sure if it goes Android or not) but you get a word, have to draw it, and then whomever you're playing with (friends or random opponents) guesses what it is. Now, my drawings are definitely not as good as this Elvis drawing, but I'm pretty good. It's a nice addition to Words with Friends which I play before I go to sleep sometimes. 

and....what I'm hating:
Dumb Shits on Draw Something

I have this one random opponent who never draws - she writes the words. Every time she just writes it. We've done X Games, Tin Tin...a buch others that slip my mind. The thing is, there's no way to chat with the other player - like on some scrabble apps you can also text the opponent - and I don't know how to end the game with her, so I pass every time she writes the word, and when I get a chance to draw, I write things like, "don't write words" or "draw pictures only." Doesn't matter - she still replies with a word on the DRAW Something app. So. Dumb.

and so I leave you on a positive note, one more thing I'm loving:

Inside Jokes

One of my favorite things about my relationships is the inside jokes I have with each of my friends...

with Katie, there's tons, but a few are YT, GTA (shortened from GTABOD) and IHTP in the SB. Stupid acronyms that mean stuff to only us that we can laugh about.

with Anita, it's when she gets all hyped up about...well, anything really, and I look at her, smile, and say, "Whoa now, you okay?" to which she replies with a laugh and chills out. She's never mad, but just gets super animated and needs to take it down a notch.

and with the bf, so many little things, like calling each other Dud from a stupid story I told him months ago. Little things like this make me super happy.

Have a great week! My last free moments before work belong to some overdue reading.....

What I'm Loving Tuesday

So I have a great blogging mentor (slash bff) and I figure it's better to not recreate the wheel, so Katie Cartier I am copying your ideas here.

Katie Started writing the "What I'm Loving" blog a long time ago, and she just started a new one - Permission to.... that I'm going to steal later on. But for now, I'll use her old stuff to add a little variety to my blog.


Here are a few things I'm loving at the moment...

Lemon Water

My cousin has blogged about it (find it here) and I've been drinking lots of it since I started the Whole 30 two weeks ago. I really like it SOOO much better than just plain water, so spice yours up too, and see what you think! I've also used limes and oranges. I know you can do cucumbers as well, but I'm not a huge fan.

Sweet Potato Chips

Finally - a crunchy, salty vehicle for guacamole and salsa! These chips are great. They are all different - some have more ingredients than others or are spiced differently. Now, maybe they're not the strictest version of Whole 30 compliant - some of the oils they use to fry them are canola and sunflower? (no, that doesn't seem right, but I can't remember at the moment) but either way, I'm doing so much better the last two weeks eating than I ever have!

No Nitrate/Nitrite Bacon by Oscar Mayer

So, the whole thing with the meat is trying to avoid any preservatives that are added. I may be mistaken, but from what I've learned so far, the nitrates/nitrites are preservatives added to meat to help it retain it's color - preservatives that could potentially mess up your digestive business. I originally found this when I was at my mom's and so I'm on the look out for it here, as well!

Pilot Easy Touch Pens

Anyone else a pen fanatic besides me? Best. Pens. Ever. I really don't like working with crappy writing utensils, so I have a few favorites, but these take the cake. I am even picky about the colors - I prefer blue and purple mainly, but if I buy the combo pack, I'll use all of them.

Next Dress to Buy

I've been eyeing this in my emails from The Limited - with a gold belt - but just haven't gotten there yet to try it on. My coteacher asked me today if I bought it yet. She had gone shopping with her friend, who saw it and told her to try it on, but being the good friend she is, she passed since I already called dibs. With my gold belt it will look so cute! We'll just have to see if it looks cute on me!

Modern Family

Okay, who loves this show as much as I do? I got season 2 for like $10 after Thanksgiving and the bf and I watched the whole thing through, and then he got me season 1 for Valentine's Day - which we're not yet finished with. So funny...best show in so, so long. I couldn't find my favorite episode, but here's Gloria, and all her mispronunciations....

and what I'm hating...
Delta Airlines

They definitely lost my bag. When I decide I need to pay up to check a bag, I take my moster of a suitcase - that thing was loaded. All my best clothes (including new dress), flip flops, running clothes and shoes, makeup, blow dryer and curling iron, jewelry, a few books - all tied up in that suitcase. Luckily I had the smarts to pack some overnight essentials in my carry on and I happen to have my glasses and makeup remover towel thingies (not that I need them tonight - definitely went to work with zero makeup...tan helped TREMENDOUSLY) but I'm NOT a fan of this airlines.

So there you have it - edition one of What I'm Loving. Next blog up will be pics from Florida, so stay tuned!