9/30 Check in

A month ago I published a post that was scary for me. On it, I posted my current weight and measurements. Thank you all for your messages and comments! Double thank you to those of you who found me on myfitness pal! For a month I have been working out regularly and tracking my food. I haven't been perfect, but it has kept me accountable. Food has always been my weakness. I am an emotional eater. And I have a sweet tooth. And I like my salty snacks. And things that are deep fried. Tracking my food makes me think twice about having that cookie or bowl of ice cream.

On the other hand, exercise has always been something I have enjoyed. I just needed to make sure it was a priority in my day. I have made a couple of tough choices (no Bunco night, not hanging out with friends etc) in order to keep my schedule. Basically, Monday through Thursday I am going to the 4:30 class at the gym. (Zumba Mondays and Wednesdays, Tuesday is a high intensity aerobics/weights class, and Thursday is muscle pump.) I am also going to the 9:30 muscle pump class on Saturdays. I also am tracking my workouts on my home calendar with stickers.

I really like putting my sticker on the calendar when I get home from the gym :) 

And now... its time to show you all my progress for the month....

I am pretty proud of my progress for the month. I know from all my research watching Biggest Loser, that I won't always see this kind of progress, but I am pretty excited to see how I am doing so far. Craig says that he sees a difference in how I am looking, and I am noticing my pants are not as tight as they were at the beginning of the month.

If you are on my fitness pal, let's be friends! caseyamber

#Skirtember Fail

I started this month with all kinds of hopes for Skirtember. This was going to be the school year that I dress up everyday. This was going to be the school year where I look cute and professional at work.

Then the second week of September happened.

Actually, I did keep wearing "nice" teacher clothes. Well, I haven't worn a hoodie to work yet so that's gotta mean something. Here are my last two entries into Skirtember. I did actually wear my blue striped dress one other time.

The red dress has white polka dots all over it and it's from Old Navy a couple years ago. The dress on the right has a birds all over it and is called the Portland dress from Down East Basics. 

The biggest problem I ran into was that I really don't own any skirts. Well, I have one I bought in Guatemala and another one I bought at Target during one of the fancy designer sale things, but it's kind of short. One of my 13 in '13 is to sew more, and I have quite a few skirts to make on my Pin boards.

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I am not joining in Skirtember for the last day today. It's sports day at school, so I am dressed in full snowboarding gear- goggles and boots included. 

Have you ever sewn a skirt? 

I need to get it off my chest

I think its time for some confessin' 'round these parts!


*I get super confused in the meat aisle of the grocery store. Sometimes I just kind of poke at the packages until I randomly choose one.

*I kind of do that when I pick out melons in the produce department. And some vegetables.

*Since I have been sick, Craig has chosen to sleep on the couch for the last couple of nights. I have kind of been loving the extra room in bed. (I do miss him when I first wake up. I'm not heartless y'all)

*Sometimes I feel guilty or bad if I haven't posted in a while. But then I remember that my priorities are to be a good wife, teacher, friend first, and then my blog can fit in after that. Then I stop feeling bad.

*I put stickers on the calendar on days that I go to the gym. I really love when I get to put a sticker on it.  (My mom should have used a chore chart when I was a kid!)

*When I start a book, there is a good chance I will ignore everything/person in my life until I'm done with it. This weekend I read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. I ignored my dog and my husband. The cats took turn sitting on my lap. (I highly recommend it, especially if you were a fan of Gone Girl.) The library just emailed me that another Gillian Flynn novel is ready for me to check out. I wish it was movie day at school so I could read. (KIDDING!!! sort of)

*I keep pinning baby costumes on Pinterest.
What do you have to confess?

My First Sick Day

Today's sick day was sponsored by

Chicken noodle soup

Ginger Ale

Peppermint tea

Kitty Cuddles

Songs that bring me back

I love music. I am one of those weirdos that can remember most of the lyrics to (most) songs after only hearing them 2 or 3 times. Music also has a way a bringing me back to a certain time in my life. (Doesn't that do it to all of us??) Here is look back...

"Regulate" Warren G ft. Nate Dogg


I was in middle school when this jam came into my life. I used my babysitting money and bought the CD and had to hide it from my mom because this was on the cover

I

Still to this day when ever I have a Nathan in one of my classes I have to call him Nate Dogg and then I begin rapping. I can't help it.

"Save Tonight" Eagle Eye Cherry


"I'm Sorry Now" Jude

I completely remember driving around with my best friend in high school, blasting both of these CDs. These two songs always make me smile when I hear them. I was kind of pretentious in high school and listened to a lot of music that no one had heard of. I also made sure everyone knew it. That was lame of me. 

"Lose Yourself" Eminem

I was an undergrad in my teaching program, and one of my professors had us read the lyrics and listen to this song. He connected it to the first days of school. You really do get one chance to make an imprint on some kids. 

"405" Death Cab For Cutie (or really anything from that CD)

Freshman year of college I was introduced to Death Cab. I can't not think about my freshman dorm when any of their songs come on. 

This little adventure also sucked me into the wormhole that is Youtube and I found this guy. Acoustic guitar and a violin? I'll take two please.


Alain de Courtenay
He has some great covers and I like his originals that I listened to as well. 

Do you have any songs that bring you back?

Skirtember #1

My first week back to teaching was a pretty decent week. Like any teacher knows, I am still getting a feel for my classes and their personalities. I have a student teacher this semester, and it is kind of fun to have another adult in the room. I am so used to spending 7 hours a day with 14 year olds, that I forget what it can be like to be around adults.

I started this Skirtember business with the greatest intentions. And then the rain came. Thunder storm-flash flooding-knocking out power kind of rain. That's not normal for the valley. But we are looking at a week of weather in the 80's an 90's so my intentions are to get some dresses and skirts worn. Any who... for week one of this adventure I have two dresses to share.

This is a modcloth dress I got last year on clearance to wear over bathing suits. This was at our Labor Day bbq.

Next up is my first day of school outfit. I feel like I should be holding a chalkboard listing my favorites on it or something. This is an Old Navy dress. The cardigan lasted about 5 minutes into first period.

Are you participating in Skirtember? it's not too late! Check out Kristin's blog for details!

Fall Bucket List

Last week I was asked when I was going to post my fall bucket list. Truth was, I wasn't going to write one, but why should summer have all the fun? This list is much shorter than the summer one, you know with me working and all. I also am not really sure when the fall season ends and the winter season begins. I mean, yes I could look at the calendar, but I feel that most of my Christmas stuff should be on a winter list. Any who, I present my fall bucket list.

Yes, almost half the list has something to do with food. Fall just seems like a season for food.

What did I miss on my bucket list? Are you planning anything fun for the fall season?

A fresh start

As any teacher knows, the new year starts in September, not January. Like any good new year, I have some goals that I am setting. One of my big goals has nothing to do with my classroom. In fact, I haven't really ever talked about it here in this space. Or really, talked about it at all. I have been pretty unhappy with how I look. I have been unhappy with how I am feeling. I have been unhappy with how my clothes are fitting.

As a health teacher, I feel like I am failing in my healthy modeling. I love working out, but I don't do it consistently. I love healthy food, but I really love deep fried or sweet goodness. The scale is now reaching the numbers that I swore I would never hit. I know things need to change. My family history alone is enough to make anyone cringe.

So, I know something has to happen. One of my goals in my 13 in '13 has been to workout 12 hours a month. It hasn't happened yet. It has to. And I know it has to be a mix of cardio and weight training. I am a huge fan of group exercise classes, and I have been scheduling my weeknights around my gym schedule. I also am committing to tracking my food intake (at least during the work week). I have used MyFitnessPal in the past, and I was pretty successful. And the scariest part of it all... I am going to post my progress here. Right now I am not comfortable with a "before" picture, but I am going to put out my "before" numbers. I know tracking the scale hasn't been successful for me, so I am going with measurements. (I took these myself so I know they are only semi-accurate.)

Please feel free to follow my journey along. I will be posting here monthly-ish? (I'm not promising anything... shoot, its pretty much a miracle that I have been posting anything after my August showing.) But I should be updating MyFitnessPal Please friend me to keep me accountable! My name is caseyamber. 

What tips do you have to stay on track?

Summer- bucket list style

I guess my blogging didn't get much better after my last post. Oops. Its back to school time for me. We have been back for a week of planning/organizing. Tuesday is the first day with kids, and Wednesday is my first day teaching. I guess summer is over. I know y'all have been on the edge of your seats wondering what our summer was like...

• I picked both blueberries and blackberries. 
• Shopped several times at the local farmer's market.
• I learned how to big girl can :) I made some berry syrup with a friend I (who was teaching me) and then some jalapeno jelly on my own. I also made quite a few jars of freezer jam.
• We picnicked at our secret spot on the river
• We went camping. It was fantastic.
• We stayed at the beach. It was fantastic.
• Watched a Bon Jovi tribute band at our local park
• Pigged out at the State fair (and saw the cutest baby pigs and goats!)
• I read a ton of books-I'm thinking close to 10. 
• We flew down to San Francisco to spend some time with my aunt.
• Hung out at the Rogue brewery hop farm.

I'd still like to watch something at the drive in, and I am always ready for a pedicure. We should be having some fireworks during the end of September festival our town puts on. Maybe we will still go mini golfing for a date night/afternoon one day.

Things that aren't happening:

• Our garage freezer broke this summer, so we just don't have room for my own popsicles right now (although my aunt had some fantastic watermelon/lime/jalapeno ones she had made)
• I am so far out of running shape, that a race would be torture
• Our garage is still a disaster.
• I haven't pulled out my sewing machine in quite awhile... probably jumping into something I want to wear isn't the best to start off with.

How was your summer? Did you get all of your bucket list items crossed off?