6 weeks

There is no pregnancy announcement in this post. I just realized that a post with the title of "6 weeks" may be misunderstood. What it means is that I looked at the calendar and realized we are in the home stretch!

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That's it. Well, technically 6.5 weeks with students, and a couple of work days, so 7 weeks left until summer break. I love my job, but I am always ready for summer to show up. In this last 6 weeks I will have to plan 2 dances, an 8th grade promotion ceremony, spirit week, 2 or 3 assemblies, the end of the year awards, our traditional "You Make A Difference" week, work at least 1 track meet, watch at least 1 soccer game, 2 nights of parent conferences, teach 10 more after school Zumba classes, and run a half marathon. Oh yeah, I have to teach too. Phew. The end of the year is always crazy for me, and I love it. It really makes me feel like I have earned my summer break. :)

When things get this crazy at work, I still really try to take time for me. I still go to the gym, I still cook dinner and I will still blog and comment and read all of your lovely posts :) Really though, when things get this crazy at work, I do a couple things to try to make my life easier: I make a list AND I make a calendar. Right now, I have 4 separate calendars for work/personal life. Most of the time this crazy system works for me. BUT, now that I have so much to do (in so little time!) I combine all my calendars into one. Then I highlight each event according to what it is (Personal, all school activity, leadership class activity etc). I wish I could say that this system makes me feel calm, but actually when I get done, it kind of overwhelms me a bit. Then I get over it and do what needs to get done.

What do you do when things are crazy? Any good scheduling tips? Do share!

Sunday Funnies

Um, did you know Pinterest has a humor section? I didn't. I discovered it this weekend while my husband was reading Game of Thrones. I think my life will be changed forever. To start off my change, I thought I would link up with Kara at All in a Row{e} for her Sunday Funnies.

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Still laughing at this one.

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Seriously! How come my nails right hand always looks like a 3 year old painted it!

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I hope so, one day.

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Yes. 100% yes.

 Hope y'all had a great weekend! What's making you laugh lately?

Currently Obsessing

I haven't blogged all week! Sorry y'all. Today was the end of the grading period and things are always crazy busy at the end of grades. I thought I would link up with Saige Wisdom and share some things I am currently obsessed with.

Currently listening to
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Currently watching:
Reruns of Gilmore Girls

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Currently snacking on:

Cheese bagels. Yum.

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Currently Thinking about:

Summer Vacation

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Currently drooling over:

Toms. I can't decide what pair I want, so I still don't have any :(

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Currently Drinking:

Dutch Bros. Blackberry Pomegranate Sugar Free Rebel

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What are you obsessed with currently?

Weekend Adventures

Boom.
You know what that is? Just about perfect in my book! I have been seeing different bloggers post this same sort of picture for the last 2 months or so showing 85 or 90. Finally I have something to show off! This weekend was perfect, so I got out my bottle of SPF 15 and the Mister and I took full advantage of it.

On Saturday we drove the hour or so and headed off to Lincoln City on the coast. The beach got up to 70 that day, which is pretty amazing for the central Oregon coast.

 I didn't take very many pictures, but we basically sat on the sand, read, walked on the beach, and finally was able to let me spring break pedicure (that I got about a month ago) see the light of day.

The color is OPI's Waka Waka from the Muppet collection.

Sunday, the weather was even better in town. We headed over to the Rogue Brewery's hops farm and tasting house, which is about 8 miles away from our house.

The chips and salsa and their Chipotle beer definitely made grading papers much more enjoyable.

This place got hit really hard by this winter's floods. The people on the farm were actually stranded for two weeks because the road was closed due to high water. The river is still really high, so we left Gus at home. During the summer he loves to come here and take a swim while I enjoy a beer on the picnic table.

 Kayakers and boaters can pull up when they see this sign and have a fun pit stop.

 This is one of there two new pigs. This is Voo and the other piggy is Doo. (They are named after VooDoo Donuts, and the bacon maple donut that Rogue made into a beer.)

Such a fun way to spend the after noon. At home, the Mister grilled, and I prepped my veggies for my lunches and snacks for the week.

Stupid blogger. It looked like a heart but I don't know how to rotate my picture

I do try to do this every week. The weeks I do this, I eat healthier. The weeks I don't, I eat cookies.
How was your weekend? Do you prep your food for the upcoming week?

Mid Week Confessions- Teacher Edition

Like every good Wednesday, I am linking up with E, Myself and I for my mid-week confessions.

As a teacher, I find myself doing a lot of things that I don't entirely know how to do. Running AV equipment, setting up slide shows, coordinating assemblies etc. Mostly I do it because there is no other option. It has to get done so I figure out how to do it. This mid-week confessions post is dedicated to my work life.

1. I really think I bit off more than I can chew with my newest endeavor. I signed up to teach Zumba as an after school program.

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And now I will look like that in front of a bunch of middle schoolers. Yikes! In my defense, I have been taking Zumba off and on for about 3 years. I did coach cheer leading for 7 years and I taught PE for 3 years (including dance units). I think I can pull it off, I'm just a little scared of the hip thrusting.

2. One year I coached cross country. What is so funny about that, is it was before I started running. In fact, I don't even think I could run a mile back then.

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3. I run all-school assemblies. I hate talking on a microphone in front of big groups. Somehow 4 or 5 times a year I pull it together. I also somehow plan these events to magically run the designated amount of time. Sometimes I walk away and wonder how in the heck I did that.

4. I was fortunate enough to get a job within a month of my December graduation, which meant I only had to substitute for about a month. In that time, I taught high school French, wood shop, biology and  weight lifting. I also taught 6th grade math. The hardest one for me? 6th grade math. I literally had no clue how to do the problems without a calculator. That made for a fun day.

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More like dumb teacher

5. I also am in charge of Spirit week every year. I somehow always manage my kids to add pajama day and sports day to the week so I can wear sweats to school twice.

6. The first teaching job I had was to teach 5th-8th grade PE. With the 5th graders I literally played fetch with them and called it Ultimate Frisbee Relay. (I threw the Frisbee and they ran after it and brought it back to me.) This seriously was their favorite game we played. They would beg for it.

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Do you have any work related confessions? Anything that you do that you just wing it until it works?

Dumb dumb dopplegangers

Today I opened up the old google reader and a couple of the fun blogs I read were participating in a little link up to show your celebrity doppleganger. I love these things so I am in. I get told pretty frequently that I look like someone. No celebrities or anything, always someone's cousin, neighbor, cousin's neighbor, or cousin's neighbors friend. So I went to the hosting blog got the link to the site that she used and excitedly uploaded a cute picture from Valentine's this year.

Then this popped up:

Hmm.. Monica Bellucci? She's seems pretty...I IMDB'ed her, and apparently she is a foreign film actress. She also played Magdalene in the Passion of the Christ. Not too shabby. Also according to IMDB, she was born in 1964... making her 48. But really, I don't look like any of these people. And an 83% match to Tom Hanks? No. Also seriously, could they have found a more goofy looking picture of Ryan Seacrest? I thought, I will try again.

I shouldn't have.

Seriously? ALL BALD MEN? What in the heck. And Nick Nolte? Are you serious?? Do you notice there is not even a woman on there?

It could be worse I guess.

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It could be this picture of Nick Nolte.

Okay, third times a charm, right? The hat must have made me look bald. I found a nice picture from our engagement pictures. This should be good. No hat, nice smile. Boom.

Who is this Zinedine Zidane?  He's yummy :)

Are you effing kidding me? Nick Nolte again? And Mel Brooks. This has got to be a joke. At least Jamie Pressly is on here. 

This picture also had the Mister in it:

Why does this website think he is an African American Super model? Or Steven Speilberg? If he's Billy Bob Thornton, am I Angelina Jolie (and this is the year 2000)

Who is your celebrity doppleganger? Will I be jealous?

Stuffed Peppers

I realized I haven't shared a recipe in awhile, even though I have been taking pictures of my food. Here is a recipe I I made a couple weeks ago, and was loosely based on a recipe I pinned. Please forgive me, it looks like I only took an after picture of this recipe, but it turned out so well, I wanted to share.

I have always been a little intimidated to make stuffed peppers, and I really have no idea why. I've stuffed zucchini, pasta and chicken breasts before, but never peppers. Me = dumb. This was easy, healthy, yummy and idiot proof. :)
Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

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3-4 bell peppers, cut in half ribs and seeds removed.
Olive Oil
1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef or chicken or whatever)
1/2 onion chopped (I prefer sweet onions)
taco seasoning
1 can black beans-rinsed
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup frozen corn
1 16 oz jar of salsa (I used Mrs. Renfro's  mango habanero salsa)- the sweetness was really yummy in the recipe so I would get some sort of mango or peach or pineapple salsa

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cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado for topping

1. Lightly coat the pepper halves with olive oil, and put in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
2. Cook the ground meat and onion together. Add the taco seasoning according to directions.
3. After cooked, drain off any extra fat, and put it in a bowl.
4. Add the rinsed beans, the brown rice and the jar of salsa.
5. Mix in the frozen corn.
6. Add mixture to the pepper halves. If your peppers are like mine, you will have lots left. I froze my filling for another night. And put the peppers in a 9x11 pan.
***I got pretty smart and did all of this the night before and I kept them in the fridge until the dinner the next night.***
6. Top with shredded cheese and put the peppers in the 400 degree oven for another 20 minutes.

Take them out and serve with your favorite toppings (I had avocado and fat free sour cream. I really wished I had made some guacamole for them)

Hee, it kind of looks like a face

The mister and I both really liked these. You can change up the filling to fit your own tastes. These would also be really good vegetarian by upping the beans/rice and adding some cooked mushrooms. I know I will be making these again. I have no idea why it took so long for me to make stuffed peppers.

What's your favorite stuffing for peppers? Any great dinner recipes I should try out?

Kitchen Art

I wanted to share a super easy and cute little piece of kitchen art that I made last weekend. And bonus, the majority of the materials I found at the dollar store! 

Materials:

8x10 (or larger) frame: $1 each

Utensils: Fork, spoon and knife: $1 each for 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 knives

Batting: I bought mine by the yard, I spent around $2 on mine

Material (enough to cover the frame): I had used some that I already owned

Hot Glue: owned

Spray adhesive: owned (and you probably don't even need it)

Spray Paint: $5 

Total price: $12 for 2 complete sets with left over batting and spray paint

Start off by removing the glass from the frames. Be careful with the dollar store frames. The glass broke on mine with very little pressure. 

Take the card board and lay it down on top of the batting, cut enough batting to wrap around the sides. Do the same with the fabric.

I sprayed the cardboard with spray adhesive then added the batting, pulling it tight around the board. I then hot glues the batting in place. Take the fabric and do the same thing.

This is where I stopped taking pictures. But seriously this is easy. Take the frame and utensils outside, and cover them with spray paint. When they are dry, put the fabric covered board back in the frame, and hot glue the utensils to the fabric. Viola, you are done!

The lighting is awful in this picture. Yuck. I will get a better picture when I finish the whole wall art thing I am planning on doing. 

This was super easy, quick and cheap. Plus it looks cute on the wall.

As easy as this was, I did learn a couple things doing this. Lat month, I posted about my completely normal fear of spray paint. I will say if this was my first rodeo with spray paint, I would never have used it again. When I went to buy spray paint, I wanted something that would bond nicely to both plastic and metal, since that's what my stuff was made out of. So I chose this brand:

It did bond nicely, but the nozzle was awful. The paint came out at a weird angle and somehow my hand got covered in red spray paint. Maybe it was a faulty nozzle, maybe it was user error, I don't know, but I blame it on the shape of the nozzle.

This is a different, unused can (that's why the white plug thing is in it), but you can see the weird shape of it. 

Boo.

Spray painters: What did I do wrong? What's your favorite brand of spray paint?

My newest treat: April Birchbox

On Friday's post, I talked about treating myself. I failed to mention my newest (and pretty fun!) way that I treat myself: Birchbox. If you haven't heard of Birchbox, you are in for a treat! In a nutshell, once a month you get a box of beauty samples (usually around 5 or 6 items) in your mailbox. It's $10 a month, or you can sign up for a year for $110(basically you get one box free.) The samples inside are everything from hair products to make up to skin stuff. You fill out a beauty profile, and the products you get are customized to your profile. They are higher-end products and it is fun to try them out. In a blog-fail move, I never got around to posting about my March box. (All the items in it were picked out by Teen Vogue, and included a full size bottle of Essie polish!) I wanted make sure that I shared my goodies this month with all of you. This month's box was themed around "natural wonders."

Here's what's in my Birchbox this month:
Yes To Blueberries: Brightening Facial Towelettes
These nifty wipes remove all signs of makeup and grime. Plus, they refresh skin with a fruity blend of apple, blueberry and lemon peel extracts.
I tried these, and really liked them. I have never gotten in a good routine of face washing. I know, I know that is bad, but I am so tired at night and I usually shower at night, so I figure I am okay. I have tried Proactive, but I stopped using it when I noticed my sheets were getting bleached out. Seriously, how can something that bleaches out my sheets be a good thing for my skin? These wipes left my skin feeling really soft and they smelled good. I would love to bring these with me for the end of a hike. I also think they would be good for this summer's vacation plans and wiping my face off after playing in the beach.

Zoya: TRUE Spring Collection
Lighten up for spring with this fresh shade. The non-toxic formula goes on opaque and lasts 50% longer than traditional polishes.

The color is called Bevin, and I probably wouldn't have picked it out myself, but I am liking it. The Zoya website calls it a sage green, but I think of it as a little bluer than sage.

Erno Laszlo: Active pHelityl Soap
Rich in pure plant oils, this cult brand's moisturizing bar helps balance your skin's pH levels.
I haven't tried it, but it kind of smells like boy soap.

Harvey Prince: Yogini
Take a deep breath and relax with this calming scent. Notes of sandalwood, Egyptian myrrh, and grapefruit will help you feel as good as you smell.
Eh. Not my favorite smell. I liked the perfume sample in last month's box better (Kate Spade's Twirl)

Juice Beauty: Oil Free Moisturizer
Feed your skin with this standout hydrator, which is made with an organic fruit-based formula that won't clog pores.
The packaging says "blemish clearing." It also doesn't have the benzyl peroxide in it, which is the stuff that was bleaching out my sheets. It smells good, and doesn't feel greasy when I put it on.

If you are interested in getting your own Birchbox, you can go to their website or feel free to click on this little link. I have heard rumor that May's box is themed around Gossip Girl!
https://www.birchbox.com?raf=dzkz9
If you were to get a Birchbox subscription through my link, I would earn referral points for my account.

Treat Yo Self

Ahh, Friday. We meet again. It has been awhile since I posted a High Five for Friday, but I thought what the heck, I might as well. Then I realized, my week was crazy. I even really thought it was Friday on MONDAY. Let me tell you, it makes for a long week. So, I thought I would take a different spin of my High Five this week, and make it I High Five for Friday: Treat Yo Self Edition.

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Did you see that episode of Parks and Rec? Man I love that show...

In college I definitely treated myself. There used to be a commercial on TV that a guy said in college it was like he found a money tree, and all you had to do was shake it and money would fall down- from a credit card. I for sure took that approach to college. Luckily, I was able to get a job right after graduation. I ended up looking at my financial situation, and for a good 3-4 years, I put myself on a strict budget. I paid off my credit cards, and was able to loosen up the old purse strings again. Now, I am much more careful with my money, especially the credit cards.

Treat Yo Self
1. I take time for me.
It feels kind of funny saying that. I mean, I don't have kids or anything, but I make sure that each day I take some time being selfish. That might mean going to the gym without doing house work ahead of time or I might go Redbox a chick flick that the Mister has no desire to see or a bury my nose in a book (or google reader...).

2. I paint my nails.
I said in this post how I have never really been into make-up, which is true with one exception. I have always loved nail polish. I took an unexplained nail polish hiatus in college, but I am back at it. I wish I could afford weekly mani/pedis, but I can't. So I paint my own nails, and it makes me smile.

3. I let myself splurge.
I am blessed and fortunate enough that both the Mister and I have full time jobs. We both have an emergency fund, and we have pretty much no credit card debt. I realize how good we have it. So, if every once in awhile I want to splurge on a dress from modcloth or jewlery from etsy, I do it. This is not a monthly thing, but when the mood strikes, I let myself splurge.

4. I create.
This blog is one way that I create. And it is also how I share some of what I create. I enjoy projects like crafting and sewing. I like having an idea for something and making it come together. Cooking is another way I create.

5. I day dream.
I think about past vacations, upcoming vacations, vacations I will take someday, and vacations I can only dream about. I think about day trips to the coast, and weekend get aways to Bend. This little mental excursions make cleaning the kitchen and driving to work much more enjoyable.

What do you do to treat yo self?

Winner winner chicken dinner

First of all, I couldn't have done this without you, the fans. I'm just so surprised and humbled. (Smile with the eyes "smeyez" as Tyra would say, hand to mouth) Thank you to God, (fights back tears) my family (more tears) my amazing husband (tears then gets it together). I need to thank my agent, and all the people behind the scenes. Thank you to the Acadamy...wait, this is my Oscar speech that I practice with my hair brush as a microphone and a Barbie as the trophy.

But seriously, Courtney over at Courtney Cakes nominated me for this fancy bloggy award. Please go over to her blog and check it out. She is hilarious and I think secretly we were seperated at birth.

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Here are the rules....
Each Nominee Should:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
2. Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award
3. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link to their site
4. Share seven completely random facts about yourself
5. Include this set of rules
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination

Just the facts ma'am:
1. I've only had 3 birthday parties in my life: age 5, 16 and 26.
2. My birthday is Christmas day, which kind of explains #1.
3. I think WebMD is the worst website created. If I could find a way to block it, I would. (But I actually wouldn't because I still want to look up stuff) When I get sick or achey, I self-diagnose using their chart thingies and I ALWAYS end up with some rare disease.
4. I like to challenge myself to drive with my knees on my commute to and from work.
5. I've never seen an entire episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, but I watched every single moment of Joe Millionare.
6. Sometimes I get mad when I see the actors from Dawson's Creek in other TV roles.
7. I also get mad when celebrity gossip sites post stories about people I have never heard of.

And the nominees are:
Whitney @ Keeping Up With the Cyperts (I promise you, I started writing the post when you tagged me forever ago!)
Sara @ Saige Wisdom (They have blogs in Canada! Who knew?)
Michelle @ Shell Bell
Kara @ All in a Rowe
Jennifer @ Dancing through the Minefield
Laura @ Flannel & Cashmere
Michelle @ Life is full of beautiful moments
Courtney @ Tales of Lace & Glitter
Krista Lynn @ Crescendo
Brittany @ Fun With The Fullwoods
Crystal @ Life According to Crystal
Ashley @ Everyday AEM
Kelsey @ Fabulously Flawed
Emily @ Life in the Fishbowl
Jena @ Jena's Journal

I'm so vain, I probably think this post is about me

Carly anyone?

When I turned 30, something happened. You see, growing up, I was never really into make-up. I kind of played around with it in middle school, but even in high school I didn't really wear it. As long as I had lip gloss I was A-OK. I didn't even really start wearing mascara until I was doing my student teaching in a high school and I realized EVERY kid looked older than me. (Seriously, didn't my college ID badge that I was wearing give the hall monitors a clue that I didn't NEED a hall pass.) Any who, as 30 approached I started to get more and more interested in make up. I started to notice my that skin tone was uneven and for whatever reason I was breaking out way more than I did during puberty. I had tried foundations and concealers before, but since I have never really found a good face wash, they all just made me break out more. Boo.

Well, over spring break I decided to head over to ULTA (with my gift card I got for my birthday in December) and talk to the much more knowledgeable ladies about my conundrum. I told showed them my skin woes, explained my need for as much sleep as possible in the morning and also admitted I was basically a novice at make-up. And they came up with this solution:

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Bare Minerals!
Let me start off by saying that I love the girls at ULTA. They were so patient with me and my cluelessness questions. The spent time showing me the "twirl, tap and buff" (Just like on TV!), helping me pick out the right colors and even letting me practice putting it on while they watched. (Completely dummy proof by the way.) I'm sure they thought it was silly that I had no clue what I was doing with the brushes, but they didn't let it show. My starter kit that I bought came with a foundation powder, a Warmth All-Over Face Color (a bronzer) and a Mineral Veil finishing powder. It also came with three brushes: a flawless face brush, a smaller flawless application brush and then a concealer brush.

I wore it a couple times during spring break to try to get use to it before I wore it to work. I really was worried I would look like a clown, or it would be obvious that I had a ton of make up on or something. Last Monday I woke up a little earlier and did my new getting ready routine. Then I realized I only needed about 3 extra minutes to my old routine. Nice. Then I headed to work.

One of my students (a super sweet girl) looked at me (during 3rd period) and asked if I did something with my hair. Then she asked if my mascara was different. Then during 4th period (she's super lucky that she gets to spend 2 periods in a row with me) she brought it up again. "Mrs. C, what is different about you?" I went ahead and told her that I started using bare Minerals. She started saying how I looked so pretty and the make up was so natural looking. Yes. 8th grader stamp of approval. A few days later a co-worker started asking me the same thing. Yes. Adult/peer stamp of approval.

I have been using bare minerals now for about 3 weeks. I seriously love it. My skin seems clearer, and it really is super easy to put on in the morning.

What beauty products do you love?

To warn you, I have another make-upy post scheduled for tomorrow. What can I say, 30 has turned me into that girl. :)

Oh and it goes without saying that Bare Minerals doesn't know I exist. BUT if they some how find this post or find out about my existence, and wanted to send me some free stuff, I would totally take it.

Not to brag, but

4 months from today I will be getting off a plane here:

I will go hiking here:

Eating a frosty from here:

Watching these guys:

I don't mean to brag, but the Mister and I are headed back to Kauai this summer. (OK, I guess I am bragging a little...) I am so excited!

But, leaving for Hawaii in 4 months means it is time for me to put on a pair of these:

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Become reacquainted with these long lost friends:

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And start paying better attention to this:

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But sometimes, you gotta forget it all, and enjoy some Happy Hour with a good friend! And that is exactly what I did tonight after work!