100th Post

Helloooooo....It's been awhile. I've been purposely avoiding doing this post for several  one weeks (it feels like more than a week) now. Since it's my 100th I felt it really deserved to be something profound or totally awesome or super interesting . And as of late I haven't had any thing profound, totally awesome, or super interesting to post about. Life has just been kind of uneventful. Not bad uneventful. Just content and comfortable. Which when I think about it, is kind of profound,  awesome, and interesting. I started this blog way back in February as a form of self care. I was going through a rough patch and thought it was something that might help. An outlet. And here we are 10 months later and things are soooo much better. Getting here had it's ups and downs, but I'm finally in a place where I feel like I have control of my anxiety. Sure I'm medicated (:p) but I'm much more accepting of that fact now. Before it was something that I was really not okay with. My workplace is much healthier than the one I was in and I'm happier because of it. I've made some changes in my lifestyle to improve my personal health. I ran my first 5k this month and I've lost almost 20 pounds since June! Things with Brian are fantastic, as always, and I'm so grateful for the support he has given me while I've dealt with everything.

I have confidence now that I am capable of handling my anxiety, and life challenges in general. Sure things haven't been easy and there were times I wasn't sure if I would ever feel like myself again. But here I am, dealing and doing pretty well.

Sickness Sucks

Blehhhhhhhhhhh... That's how I feel right now. I'm sick. Thought I could avoid all those nasty little germs from my runny-nosed 3rd graders with a flu shot and frequent hand-washing, but alas, no. I think it may be due to the weakening of my immune system courtesy of my 5k last weekend. Yes, I ran my 5k. RAN the whole time. Finished in 45 minutes and some-odd seconds. Not as fast as I would have liked, but dang if that path in Shawnee Mission Park isn't hilly! Here's a "lovely" pic of me getting my run on.

I started feeling sick the day after my run. I think it might of been because it was really freakin' cold and windy before we started running. Then I got hot while I was running. Then cold again while waiting for Brian to finish. But who knows. Trudged through work yesterday as I did not have any sub plans ready and cannot pop into school when I'm sick like I did last year. I got stuff together for a sub and stayed home today. Sure glad I did because I feel like ass. Gonna have to go back tomorrow though. Too much to do!

When you love someone...

When you love someone their little quirks and flaws are cute and endearing. When you love someone small mistakes they make are quickly (sometimes not so quickly) forgiven. When you love someone you are willing to accept them for all of the good and the bad. Until they leave an ink pen in their pocket that you don't discover until you take clothes out of the dryer and it ruins your favorite gray tank top, purple tank top, and work pants. I'm going shopping.

Hello, it's been awhile...

Life's been stoopid busy lately so I haven't been blogging much. That and I haven't thought of anything super interesting to post.

School has been super hectic lately. Between grade cards, conferences, and other random activities I haven't had much time to be creative with my classroom. Tomorrow is our Halloween parade and party and I've been baking away making cake pops for the kiddos. This time I did eyeballs! White cake, white icing, white chocolate, gummy savers for the iris and mini M&Ms for the pupils. Here's a pic.

I will be donning my owl costume for the festivities tomorrow. I got to try it out last night for Ryan and Michelle's Halloween party. Got lots of complements and it was extremely comfy!

Brian was Mad Max. Oh! And I got a a hair cut.

My race is coming up in a couple of weeks and hopefully I will be ready! My first two runs on Monday and Wednesday this week were kinda hard, and I have yet to get motivated to run today. Tomorrow I do my first 30 minute run. I'm hoping to do 3 miles. On a related note, I haven't been losing much weight lately. I've still been doing LiveStrong, but there have been days I've gone over on my calories. I've been staying right around the same weight for about 3 weeks now so I decided to reduce my daily calorie allowance by about 200. But of course with it being Halloween, I've been eating lots of junk lately. Gotta get back on track!

I've also been really itching to do some shopping lately! I'm in the market for some cute sweater dresses for work. I'd like one in gray and maybe brown or green. Target and Old Navy have some cute ones right now. I'm also looking to get a head band ear warmer for when I run and some gloves. There's been a few days where it's been chilly but not too bad. It's going to be REALLY cold on race day though! However, I probably should not spend much since Christmas is coming up and I need to start thinking about buying presents.

Wedding planning hasn't gotten really any further lately. I've been pinning stuff on my Pinterest and thinking more about flowers, bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, decorations, save the dates, invitations, hotels, bar service, cakes...You name it; it's on my mind. I think the next thing to do will be save the dates to send out in January. Once I get our engagement pictures back from Kaleigh I can get started on those.

Well I better get back to work on laundry so I can go for a run soon. Brian had to go into work today so I did the grocery shopping by myself. In between that, laundry, and cake pops I've been watching Halloween and Halloween H2O on the X-Box. Bout time I got busy!

Week of accomplishments and fall fun.

Well it's Sunday night and tomorrow is the start of a new week, and I have to say I'm mighty pleased with myself. I had a pretty productive work week and a fun weekend. All in all no complaints.

We only had students Monday-Thursday this week and although my class is chatty and seems to really struggle remembering to raise their hands when they need something instead of chasing me around the room, it was a pretty productive week. We managed to stay mostly on schedule and did alright with everything I planned for the week. On Friday I worked on grade cards and a few other odds and ends. Surprisingly, grade cards weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. Now that I have one 9 weeks under my belt I don't think I'll be so intimidated by a new grading system next time around. I was also able to finish guided reading plans for next week, prep some new AR (Accelerated Reader) things to implement, and fill out progress sheets for conferences. Unfortunately I did not get my student improvement plans done for a few of my kiddos, but I've got some down time during conferences this week I can work on those.

Friday after work I went to my parents house to run to David's Bridal with my mom to pick up my wedding dress! Everything was in except for the veil so we'll go get that some other time. Right now it's hanging in my parent's closet until I got back for a fitting in February. I tried on a 14 in the store which was quite snug so they ordered me a 16. I'm planning on continuing to lose weight so it's possible the 16 could become too big. The plan is to go back in February to see how it fits and order a smaller one if necessary. I'm thinking since they can take it in two dress sizes with alterations it should be fine. That would bring it down to a 12, and their dresses run small, so that should be about right.

Saturday Brian and I drove down to Baldwin for the Maple Leaf Festival. It was very crowded but lots of fun. We looked at crafts and had some lunch then my parents and Chris, Jess, and Cam showed up. We walked around a bit more and laughed at Cameron and his, "I see tractor. I see baby. I see cars. I see dog. Tractor night night. Baby night night. Car night night. Dog night night." He's so silly! Then Brian and I headed home. We had dinner and watched a movie. We had picked up the Tawny dessert wine from Somerset Ridge to try. We hoped it would be as good as the Citron. Brian liked it, but I did not. It tasted very strongly of alcohol and reminded me of whiskey. Not a fan. So he drank that and I had some left over margarita stuff we had.

Oh and I almost forgot! Friday was a very exciting day because baby Saydee was born! One of my best friends Katie and her husband Louie welcomed their first born on Friday afternoon. I've only seen pictures so far but she's super adorable. I can't wait to go down to Hutch and visit.

And another thing I forgot to mention. On Saturday morning Brian and I went for our runs. I ran 2 1/3 miles in 25 minutes without stopping! A first and major accomplishment for me! I have gone from hating running and barely being able to do a minute without huffing and puffing to doing 25 minutes without stopping. Our race is November 12th and I still have 3 weeks of training to do, but I think I will be able to do a 5k in 30 minutes. Then hopefully onto longer races.

Today we didn't do a whole lot. We got up and had breakfast and I started climbing Laundry Mountain. Between our everyday clothes, Brian's work out clothes, and my work out clothes we go through a lot in one week. I did 5 loads of laundry today! Ridiculous! We went to the grocery store and ran a couple of errands. We came home and lazed around for a little bit. I took a brief nap while watching SNL on Hulu. Then we decided to get out of the house again. It was Give Away day at the library books sale so we checked that out. I found a few good teacher books and Brian picked up a couple of cook books. I had been wanting to go to the pumpkin patch for awhile so we headed out there next. We got a couple of good sized pumpkins for carving and Brian got some cute little pumpkins and a gourd for his office.

Now we're home and Brian's playing WOW and I'm watching Oliver's Twist on Netflix. A nice way to end a lovely weekend.

And as I promised here is a picture of me in my finished owl costume as well as a couple of my new nail polish.

I think it looks pretty good! I wish you could see the owl face better. It's really cute!

 

 

These pictures really don't do the polish justice. This a really pretty gray called Cockatoo's Mystery.

This is a gorgeous black with gold, green, and red sparkles. It's called Owl's Night.

Guess whooo's got a cute Halloween costume??

I finished my costume! And it looks sooo cute!

As you may remember I found this adorable owl costume here and immediately knew that's what I wanted to be for Halloween.

I started working on it last weekend when Brian and I were visiting his family. We stopped by Savers (a thrift store) and I picked up a few items to cut up and use for feathers. I found a dark brown pillow case, a dark gray, light brown, and tan-ish t-shirt, and some awesome off white scrap fabric with a leaf pattern. Brian, his mom, and sister helped me make cardboard templates for the feathers and cut them out. Brian's mom quilts so she had plenty of cutting boards and Olfa cutters for use to use.

Earlier this week Brian and I went to Hobby Lobby so I could get materials to make my mask, headband thingy. I decided that stiff kind of felt would make the best material and picked up sheets in light brown, orange, yellow, and dark blue. I printed out the make template and used it to piece together the owl face. I glued everything together with Aleen's fabric glue. I wasn't too sure about the stuff at first. It seemed like the parts of my mask weren't really sticking. But once I let it set over-night it worked fine. I attached the owl face to a stretchy brown headband.

Tonight I started working on attaching the feathers. I'm using a Gap t-shirt dress (I actually think it's Gap Body night gown) I bought at ATC last fall. I got one in dark and light gray and I don't wear the light gray one much so I figured it would be okay to use. I put an old paper bag inside the t-shirt to keep the layers from sticking to each other. I started at the bottom of the shirt and glued on a row of feathers at a time, overlapping to cover all the t-shirt. It went pretty quickly and wasn't too hard to do. The one thing I would do differently next time is use a wooden skewer to spread the glue on the feathers. I started out just squirting it from the bottle and it was hard to control the flow. I ended up using way more glue than I needed on the first few rows. By the time I got to the neck I was pretty much out of glue. I didn't want to go get more so I started scraping bottom with a skewer and it was just enough to finish.

I'm going to let it dry over-night and hopefully everything will stick when I pick it up tomorrow. I plan to wear a black long sleeve shirt underneath the t-shirt dress, black leggings, and ballet flats. The one thing I'm a little worried about is putting the headband on. I don't want my owl face to pop off! I guess if it does I can always safety pin it.

I'll post a picture of how it looks tomorrow after it dries!

Halloween Costume

I found a super cute Halloween costume that I'm going to try to make for this year. It looks pretty simple so hopefully I don't mess it up too much. It's a child's costume that I found here, but this chick made it in grown up size here. I have a gray t-shirt dress that I bought at Arizona Trading Co. last year that I thought would be good to put the feathers on. Then I can just wear a black long sleeve under it with some black leggings and ballet flats. I'm going to attach the mask to a headband and wear it on my head like the girl at humble ablog. My future mother in law quilts so she said I could look through her scrap fabric for feather material. Hopefully she has some cool colors. I'm going to use fabric glue rather than sewing. I don't have a machine and I'm not a good enough at hand stitching to do it that way. It would take forever!

And I found some absolutely beautiful fall nail polish that I would like to wear with it. I saw it at Walgreen's last week but talked myself out of buying it because I don't paint my nails very often, but now I want it! I checked 3 stores last night and no one had it! It's a limited edition so I may have to resort to online purchase. We're going to KC today so maybe a Walgreen's there will have it. It's called Owl's Night and it's part of the L'Oreal Project Runway collection. I love how it has the specks of different colored sparkles that reflect in the light. And the dark, rich color is perfect for fall. I hope I can find it!

Best Weekend Ev-ah!

Oh my goodness I can't remember the last time I had so many enjoyable experiences in one weekend. It really was perfect. And my loving fiance had doubts that I could do it all. Pshhh! I showed him! In a loving point proving sort of way.

It all started with Kaleigh's arrival on Friday night. She got in and we went OUT! The three of us first headed to Louise's (where I hadn't been in YEARS!). Kaleigh and I got schooners of Boulevard and enjoyed sitting and laughing in the way more comfortable booths than Louise's had when we were in college! Next we headed to Free State where it was already last call so we used the bathroom and decided to try Quinton's. $3 cover? No thank you. We ended the night at Henry's Upstairs with some sangria. It was heavenly. Rolled in at about 1:30 with plans to get up at 6:00 to take engagement pictures! Yikes! Not in college anymore!

Up and at 'em Saturday morning and got gussied. We started at Alvamar for some pictures on the bench where we first chatted. Sigh....Then headed downtown. We did pictures at The Carnegie Building, Mass Street, and bridge by the train depot. They look AMAZING! Can't wait to see them after Kaleigh does some editing. We finished just in time to run home, grab a few things, and jump in the car to head to David's Bridal in Topeka.

We met my mom, Mara, Jessica (my brother's wife), Linda (Brian's mom), and Kristen (Brian's sister) and I started trying on dresses. The first dress I put on was one I fell in love with when I found it on the Knot. It was beautiful but not really me. The second dress was one Kaleigh picked out and was also very beautiful, but too much for our outdoor wedding. The third dress had a single strap and was just weird and ill fitting. The fourth dress was one I liked, but didn't have any strong feelings about. Until I put it on. Just before I had been saying to Kaleigh, "I don't know how I will know! How do you know?" She reassured me, "Oh you'll know. The heavens will open up and you'll know." As I walked out of the dressing room, the song we are playing for our first dance (Michale Buble: Everything) came on. The heavens opened up and I knew. I started to tear up, Kaleigh teared up, my mom teared up. I had found my dress! It is perfect. I'm not going to put a picture or describe because I want Brian to be surprised,  and I think sometimes he reads this. But I assure you, it is perfect.


After dresses Kaleigh and I went to my oldest friend Liz's sister's wedding. It was beautiful and I'm going to steal her program idea. They are super cute! After the wedding Kaleigh and I headed back to Lawrence. We picked up Brian and went down town to grab a quick dinner. We brought it back home and watched Bridesmaids. Then Mara and Chad came over. After the movie Mara, Kaleigh and I went downtown again. We went back to Henry's (the Sandbar's line was waaaay long) and then to The Casbah for some sweet potato fries. In at 1:30 again! Who am I???

On Sunday morning Brian, Kaleigh and I went to campus to take more engagement photos. They also turned out amazing! We went to the fountain, Potter Lake, the Campanile, and a really cute red garage with love spray painted on it in black. After we went out to lunch at Zen Zero then Kaleigh headed home. :(

It was a blast. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. And we got everything done! I wouldn't mind doing a Kaleigh only trip again. I sure did miss Andrew, Reygan, and Jack but this was fun too! Bachelorette party's next!

You better run, better run...

So I'm not a runner. Never have been. I hated doing the mile in elementary school. I was always last to finish and tired and embarrassed by the end. As an adult it has never been my exercise method of choice. My fiance, however, is a runner. He wasn't always, but for the past 4 or 5 years he's gotten into it. He's done a few races; 5ks, 10ks, a half marathon. Last fall he ran the Pilgrim Pacer in KC (a half marathon) and he's planning on doing it again in November. And guess who's running with him. Well not WITH him. I'm no where near doing a half marathon. I'll be doing the 5k. I started training for it at the beginning of September. I'm on week 4 I believe. I'm doing the Couch to 5K program. I tried it once before with my friend April, but we didn't last very long. This week I've been running for 5 minutes straight! Something I've never done. And today a really didn't want to run and considered putting it off until tomorrow, but I got off my lazy but and went out and did it. I feel pretty good about it now. I'm not to the point yet where I'm ENJOYING running, but I am to the point where I can do it without dying. Between the running, watching my calories, occasional biking and Zumba I'm nearly down 15 pounds. My overall goal is to be to my driver's license weight, which is a total lie. I've got about  50 pounds left to go. It's not going to be easy and it sure is going to take awhile, but I'm pretty sure I can do it. And bonus, I'll definitely be there for our wedding. Let's just hope that I can keep it that way after we get married and have kids. It's really not that hard to do, but it is work. You can't not think about it. And I still eat what I want most of the time. I just don't eat as much or if I've already hit my calories for the day I know I won't be able to have ice cream and I'll have to plan to eat less calories tomorrow so I can. My calories are going to continue dropping as I lose more pounds which will take some getting used to. But it's so gradual you don't really notice. As far as the exercise goes I know I'll have to step that up here pretty soon if I want to continue to keep losing. But overall I feel pretty good about my progress. And the weight I have lost keeps me really motivated to continue. According to what I've worked out on the calculator I should be down to my goal weight in 13 months-faster if I work harder. So by our wedding date (Sept. 15, 2012) I should be there!

Things I Am Enjoying Right Now

1.  Glee!!!

Last night was the season premier and it's got me so excited for what the rest of the season will hold! Will and Emma are together, Finn and Rachel are together, Quinn's a bad girl with a bad dye job. Blaine's transferred to McKinley, Sue's out to destroy the arts, Sam's gone, Lauren's gone, Santana's been kicked out of New Directions, Kurt and Rachel are determined to be Broadway bound....so exciting!

2. New Girl

This is the new show on Fox with Zooey Deschanel and it's super cute! I've watched the first episode twice already. I love Zooey and her character is super awesome. Brian said that if they distilled Sarah (me) down into a TV show this would be it. She's goofy, she loves Dirty Dancing, and makes up songs all the time. I'm a fan.

3. Bridesmaids

It came out on DVD yesterday and I totally bought it today when I was at the store picking up stuff for chili and cinnamon rolls. Had a yummy dinner and  now am cozy on the couch with my blankie and hoodie. Window's open enjoying some Bridesmaids! Gonna watch it next weekend with Kaleigh too when she comes out!

4. Cider (and all other things fall including Halloween stuff)

Bought some cider a couple of weeks ago at the store and if it weren't for the calories I'd drink it all day every day. It's the perfect fall beverage. I'm also really enjoying all of the Halloween/fall decor that is out in stores right now. I can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch!

5. 96.5 The Buzz

One of the perks to my morning commute is that I get to listen to ABFMB on the radio every morning! It's so entertaining. Wednesday morning is War of the Roses and even though it makes me super uncomfortable to listen to I can't stop! I love the drama!

6. Lady Gaga: You and I

I LOVE this song! I crank it every time it's on the radio. It's so catchy. I have really liked all of Gaga's songs, but this one is very different from her others. It has kind of an Elton John, Billy Joel, Carol King singer/songwriter vibe.

7.  Livestrong.com

I've been using Livestrong for awhile now to track my calories. I'm down 12 pounds since the summer! My goal is to get down to my driver's license weight which is a total lie. I've started training for a 5 k in November. I'm using the Couch Potato to 5 K program and I'm on week 3. Brian and I go running every Monday, Wednesday, Sunday. I didn't go tonight because I got home from work late, but I'm going to run tomorrow to make up for it. Anyway I really like using livestrong to track my calories. It's really user friendly and helps me stay on track and free! I recommend it to anyone who is trying to lose weight or just be more aware of what they are eating.

I Think I Over-Did It.

Ugh. I am completely miserable San Diego. Although I had a great time this weekend visiting Katie in Hutch and going to the fair with Jordy and Brian I definitely think I could have made some better choices when it came to eating. If not just to better stick to my diet, but to keep me from feeling so crappy right now! It all started with dinner at Chipotle on Friday before we left town and then it was downhill from there. We stopped to get gas before getting on the turnpike. I got a 3 Musketeers. A king size. I ate it before we got to Topeka. Then for breakfast Saturday we went to the Carriage Crossing in Yoder. I have always wanted to go and I have to say it was well worth it. Brian and I split one of their famous giant cinnamon rolls and holy hell was it amazing! Then he ordered the biscuits and gravy and I ordered scrambled eggs with hashbrowns, bacon and toast. We kind of shared and ate off each other's plates. I was so full when we were done but I'd do it again. After breakfast we headed to Katie and Louie's house for the non-baby shower, baby shower. They got barbeque catered in from Hog Wild in Hutch. I had a brisket sandwich, potato salad, coleslaw and baked beans. Then it was time for the fair. I'd been planning all month what I was going to eat at the fair and I sure did have almost everything on my list. That's just what you do at the fair. You walk around, check out the butter sculpture, look at the weirdos, and gorge yourself on delicious, fried, greasy and sugary concoctions. I started my fair smorgasbord with a Pronto Pup with Granie's mustard-a must have at the Kansas State Fair. Next I happily found the booth missing from my fair feast last year, stuffed cucumbers! They use this caulking gun like tool to hollow out a whole cuke and then fill it with your choice of stuffing. I opted for ranch dressing. So good! After my cucumber I thought about getting another veggie and going for the roasted corn, but I knew there were other things I would want and I could get roasted corn at home so I passed. By this time I was getting kind of thirsty so I picked up a lemonade and we checked out some of the vendors, crafts, and picked up a jar of honey for Katie (too prego for a second trip to the fair). At around dinner time we decided to hit up the Kansas beer garden where you can get locally made beers and wines. I had a really delicious ale from the Tallgrass brewery in Manhattan. After my headache of beer I was startin' to get the munchies again and I knew I wanted meat! We had seen some people earlier that had some really good looking gyros. We found that stand and Jordy, Brian and I all got a lamb gyro with lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber and taziki sauce. And of course I couldn't leave the fair without having dessert. A caramel apple sundae. Instead of serving it on a stick they cut the apple up and drizzle it with caramel and sprinkle peanuts. You eat it with a fork. Much easier than the stick and just as delicious. And no trip to the Kansas State Fair would be complete without a ride down the slide. By this time I had $2.00 left of the $60 I took out for fair food (don't judge, Brian ate on that money too) just enough for one trip down the slide. Jordy rode with me. It was bliss.

So as if I didn't make enough bad food decisions  yesterday we had McDonald's for breakfast this morning (two breakfast burritos, hashbrowns and an orange juice) and Blind Tiger for lunch (chicken strips and fries).

I feel like I need to have my stomach pumped and not eat for 3 days. So bad. For the scales and for my tummy. I plan to spend the rest of the day lying on the couch recuperating and regretting. But I'll probably do it again next year. :P

Drugs are 'spensive.

I'm not happy about my new health insurance. But at least I have heath insurance, right? I really shouldn't be complaining. But I'm going to anyway.

So with my new insurance I had to have prior authorization to get my lexapro. Which took about 5 days. Just long enough to require me to buy a few pills at cost to get by. $32.00 and several phone calls later my prior authorization is approved and I can go get my pills from the pharmacy. I go to the pharmacy after work only to be told it will be a $99 copay to get my pills. "What??" my voice says. "What the fucking hell?!?!" my brain says. Turns out I have a $200 deductible and $91 of what I pay for my lexapro will go toward that. Once it is met I still have to pay $51 for a months supply of my pills. Super frustrating.

I felt like I jumped through all these hoops the past few days just to get my freakin' refill only to find out it's going to cost an arm and a leg. I know it could be worse. It could be a lot more expensive. And it could be for a medication I needed for some really awful disease. It's not that bad. But it's just that it's bringing  back all those frustrations about being on lexapro in the first place. I start thinking about how if I didn't need the medicine I wouldn't be dealing with all this insurance crap right now. And then I get pissed of that I can't be anxiety free without a pill. So grrrrr.

But on the bright side tomorrow will be 365 days until I am Mrs. Brian Cordill. :o)

I keep getting balls thrown at me...

Not like that. Metaphorical balls. Balls to juggle. Things at work are picking up quickly. I started juggling 5 and now in these past few days I've been tossed 6, then, 7, then 8. I feel like today alone I got 3 more. I can't/don't want to drop any! I feel like I'm under a lot of pressure to do a good job. I know most of it is pressure I'm putting on myself, but some of it is the feeling I get from this school district. Things are different here. They have a reputation. There are expectations; spoke and unspoken. I gotta be on top of my game.

So I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I don't want to feel like I'm chasing my tail all year long. I talked to Kaleigh she said cut myself some slack. It's only the 4th week of school. I also talked to my friend Lexi at work. She is feeling the same way and she's been there for 4 years. Good to know I'm not the only one.

I started my training for my 5k Monday. It was hard. Running again tonight with Brian. Not looking forward to it. Well looking spending time with Brian, but not running. Not feeling terribly energized. But gotta stay motivated! I lost 3 pounds since last week meeting my 10 pound goal and then some. Got the Zumba game for the Kinect for my prize. It's fun! I'm going to set up a regular schedule to do it during the week.

Well Brian just got home. I better go change. Then dinner and more school work! Joy...

Lucky Girl

I am such a lucky girl. Enjoying my fabulous birthday weekend. My owl cake pops turned out awesome and the kids loved them. Here's a picture. 

Last night Brian took me out to Pachamama's for dinner and it was AMAZING! We had lamb meatballs to start with this super delicious sheep's milk fondue sauce and a wild berry chutney. For dinner I had a stuffed tomato with zucchini and goat cheese. It was on top of a bed of fettuccine that had a pesto and artichoke sauce. Brian had adobo roasted pork shoulder that was super good. Then for dessert we shared a warm chocolate gianduja bread pudding with strawberry coulis and amaretto-chocolate ice cream. My God it was so good. 

Here's us in the car on the way to dinner. 

 

Then we came home to do a homemade flight of Boulevard while we watched Date Night. I had a glass of wine with dinner and don't drink too much now a days so I had trouble finishing. I did all but the last two. I was pretty tipsy by 9:30. 

Then today we got up and went to the farmers market. We were going to go the Halloween store that is in the old Borders, but they're not open yet. We headed over to Hurst Jewelers to look at wedding bands. I found one I really like, but it cost more than what we are looking at spending. We found some good bands for Brian that were good prices. We're going to keep looking around to see if we can't find something cheaper for me. But I did get my ring cleaned while we were there. I had no idea it was so dirty! It's so sparkly now! 

We went to Tres Mexicanos for lunch and I had tacos al pastor. So yummy! 

On our way home we saw a sign in front of the fairgrounds for a Coleman/Jocks Nitch sale. We went in to look around and got some great deals. Brian got a new rain jacket and camp knife for like $30 and I got a pair of $80 Nikes for $40 and a $60 sleeping bag for $30.

Now we're at home waiting on my family to get in town. We're going to Buffalo Bob's for dinner and hanging out. And every time I remember tomorrow is Sunday and we have Monday off I get super excited. I love Labor Day/Birthday Weekend!

Birthday Week! :D

Friday is my birthday! I'll be 27. Only 3 years to 30 now! Yikes! I'm excited because my birthday falls on labor day weekend this year so I have 3 whole days to celebrate. I don't know what we're doing yet on my actual birthday. I told Brian to surprise me so we'll see. Saturday or Sunday we'll be going out on the boat to enjoy what is hopefully the last of the warm weather. Then Saturday evening my family will be coming out to Lawrence to go out to dinner.

I was at Target today and decided what I want for my present. A Target shopping spree. They have the cutest stuff out for fall. I saw dresses, cardigans and leggings oh my! Not to mention the cute purses and shoes. So if anybody wants to send me shopping at Target this year send those gift cards my way!

I was also looking into birthday treats today. Since I'll be working on my birthday I thought I would bring treats to school. I've done cake pops for my students a couple of  times and I was thinking of doing it again. I love owls and I have an owl theme in my classroom this year so I thought I might try my hand at that. I found this and it looks possible. A bit time consuming and challenging (and probably pricy to go by all the supplies) but I thought I might give it a shot. I'll post pictures when/if I finish them.

Not for those with a weak stomach.

Okay so let me preface this with a disclaimer. If you are grossed out by poop in any way do not read any further.


This is what happened. I came home from work and Brian was cooking dinner. I jumped in and started helping. While everything was cooking I had to pee. I go to the bathroom, lift the toilet lid only to be greeted by the biggest, nastiest turd I have ever seen in my life. I immediately blamed Brian. The conversation went a little like this.
Sarah: Briannnnn!!
Brian: What?!
Sarah: You left a nasty turd in the toilet!
Brian: No I didn't! I haven't pooped today.
Sarah: Well I didn't do it.
Brian: I don't know what to tell you.
Sarah: Who the hell shit in our toilet?!
Brian: I don't know! Maybe it was a maintenance man?
Sarah: A maintenance man? Well that's not okay.
Brian: What do you mean?
Sarah: I mean that's not okay. You can't just come into someone's house. Shit in their toilet and leave it. They didn't even use toilet paper.
Brian: Oh well.
Sarah: I'm tempted to call management.
Brian: You will sound crazy if you call management.

So here's what I want to know. Will I? Will I sound crazy? Am I right? That's so not okay! You can't just do that. Oh and it's bad. There are marks all over the inside of the bowl. Not cool.

Perfect Pants!

I'm excited! I found my pants! Years ago I bought a pair of the most perfect dress pants to wear for practicums for school. They really are perfect. They sit just right on my waist, no gapping in the back, not too tight in the hips, long, but not so long I'm walking on them in flats, a beautiful shade of charcoal gray. Perfect. Every dress pant I have tried on since just doesn't make the cut. They are my only pair of dress pants. Which was fine at my last job because we could wear jeans everyday if we wanted. But now jeans are only allowed 15 days of the school year. So I needed some more pants. I have plenty of dresses, but I can't wear dresses everyday. Yesterday I was at Old Navy (usually my go to store for everything) looking for dress pants and of course I was disappointed and found nothing. Weird fabric. Too low rise. Too narrow in the hips. So today I decided to google the brand of my perfect pants to see what I could find. Why I'd never done this before, I don't know. And guess what?! I found them! They're called Rafaella.  And wouldn't you know it, their facebook page says they are known for their Perfect Fitting Pant! Unfortunately you can't order from their website, but I did find a department store on the east coast that sells them! I ordered 2 pairs! Yay new pants!

On an unrelated note: Brian and I are going to meet with a photographer today about wedding photos. Her dad works with my dad and she does photography on the side. I guess it's her passion and she really wanted to go to some fancy photography school but it was too expensive. She's only going to charge us $300! We're going to look at her portfolio and see if she's any good! Wish us luck!

Ah the good ol' days...

I'm watching America's Next Top Model right now for the first time in probably 5 or 6 years. I used to watch it ALL THE TIME with my best friend/roommates in college. I'm delighted to find the show hasn't changed much. Cat fights, weird photo shoots, crazy ass Tyra. Makes me nostalgic for the days of lounging in the living room; me on the loveseat, Kaleigh on the couch. Katie, Mara, Adrienne, Andrew, Jordan streaming in and out all day. Us only changing positions to pee, answer the door when the delivery guy arrived and eat. It was a good life. Now Kaleigh's in Illinois with a husband, 2 kids, endless craft projects, a house to care for, and a job. I'm in Lawrence with a fiance to feed, an apartment to keep clean, a wedding to plan, and 18 kids to take care of. Busy lives we lead. I love life now and I know Kaleigh does too, but I know we both wouldn't mind a day or two of all day Top Model and take out.

Back to school!

Today was my first day with kids at my new school! It went pretty well. I still don't feel like I have a good understanding of the ins and outs, but that's to be expected and will come with time. It made for kind of a weird, "What do I do next?" feeling all day. My kids are pretty good. Chatty, but they seem eager to please. I know some of them are going to be a challenge academically, and possibly behaviorally, but I think it will be a good year. I have 18 in my class right now. Almost equal boys and girls. Only one didn't come today. My classroom is super nice and looks pretty good if I do say so myself! I keep meaning to take pictures, but I get so busy I always forget. I'll try to remember tomorrow.

The one thing that kinda sucks about my new job, aside from having to learn a new building, is the drive. It takes about 50 minutes to get from our apartment to my school. It's not bad in the morning. It gives me time to think and get prepared. But coming home is hard. It takes too long, and when we have things to do in the evening and dinner to cook it seems like we're eating late. I guess it's just a new routine I will have to get used to. Even now it's almost 7:30 and we are still waiting on dinner to cook. I guess I will have to start looking for more make ahead, quick, and slow cooker recipes. If you have any suggestions send em my way!

It's that time again!

School starts Tuesday.!.! I have periods and exclamation points because I'm not sure of the feelings behind that statement. I am exited. I love my new school and my 3rd grade team. I'm excited to meet my students and I LOVE school. But the end of summer is always bitter sweet. No more lazing, no more staying up late, no more sleeping in. Time for long days, short nights, and being busy, busy, busy. And I think this year might be the busiest of them all. My plan is to take it slow and ease in. It is my first year at a new school and a new grade. However. This school and district is sooo different from what I'm used to. In a good way! But I do think I'm going to be working harder here than I ever have before. Which I think will be a challenge but also very professionally satisfying.

In a health update I've been feeling really good the past few days. Brian and I went out to Clinton lake yesterday and kayaked. It was a lot of fun! The weather was gorgeous and the water felt wonderful. We camped out there last night too. My parents and my sister came out and we boated a little. Then Brian's folks came out and we met up at the campsite. It was the first time our families had met and I think it went really well! We made a brisket and a blueberry pie in the dutch oven. Our families brought sides and we had a nice little picnic. Then today I went out to the pool with my family. It was awesome because I got to spend time with my little Cam Bam! And through all of this I have had next to no anxiety and very few worrisome thoughts. I haven't been really experiencing the dizziness from the Lexapro like I did before. Maybe I won't get the side effects this time. That would be great. I think going back on the Lexapro was a good choice. I think it's just what I need right now. We'll see how I'm doing in a few months and try going off again.

Tomorrow is Back to School night. The kids will be coming in with all of their supplies. It's early to bed for me! I have til 4 tomorrow to get everything ready. Wish me luck!