I have some rules that I follow, almost 100% of the time. Some may call them quirks.
1. Wooden spoons must be used when cooking the following dishes: refried beans, macaroni and cheese and creamy soups.
2. Macaroni and cheese should be eaten with a fork. So should mashed potatoes. (I have a friend that insists on using a spoon. She is wrong.) The only exception is when you are only eating mashed potatoes for dinner. Then a spoon is the logical utensil.
3. Socks should match. I know that isn't a very cool thing to say, but it really bothers me when my socks are different thicknesses.
4. Black ink > blue ink.
5. Mints, tic tacks, skittles, M &M etc should be eaten in odd numbers.
6. If I am out to eat with a group of people, 90% of the time I will get a chicken Cesar salad. Mostly because I take forever looking at a menu, and I don't want to hold up the group. It is my fall back meal.
7. I try to not let my car get below a quarter of a tank of gas.
I was tagged by the lovely Erin to post 5 random things about myself. She actually tagged me yesterday, and I knew that if I didn't jump on it, I would forget. So here you go... 5 things you always wanted to know about me.
Does anyone actually wash their face like this?
I have never been able to get a good skin care/face washing routine. The only time I was consistantly washing my face was before my wedding and I was using Proactiv and then I felt like my skin was burning off and my pillowcase bleached out. MY PILLOWCASE BLEACHED OUT! AFTER I RINSED MY FACE OFF! That freaked me out, almost as much as the drying out and burning that ended up happening.
I have a weird obsession with airports. I actually really love them. When we are going somewhere, I like to get to the airport early, not only to get through security safely, but just to enjoy the airport. I do not like going through security. Ever.
I really want to do some sort of fun color in my hair. Not the whole head, but some peek-a-boo color. Then I think to myself that I am 31 and it would look ridiculous on me. But then I think, who cares? There's nothing in my job that stops me, except that I spend 8-9 hours a day with 14 year-olds and they will tell you if you look stupid. (They also tell you when you look good... really they say what ever pops into their mind. They have no filter.)
Because I spend so much of my time with 14 year-olds, I notice myself talking like them. Today I said these phrases: "that's pretty dope," "Who dat?" "You best be working" and "awesomesauce." No, I'm not proud of any of that. However, much like Angi, there are plenty of slang that I find ridiculous: "natch" (which is gross sounding, and makes me think of lady parts), "sitch," and "totes." I also don't like "fave" and "def," however I use those frequently because I am a terrible speller, and I just give up.
I really like mediocre movies that are not really targeted towards me. Con Air and every Fast and the Furious movie jump in my head right away. I really have no idea why I like them. But if they are on, I will watch it. No matter what. There are plenty of other mediocre movies that I like a lot, but those are more targeted towards my demographic. My husband really cannot stand most movies I like, or at the very least, he makes fun of me for liking them. I went through a period of time where I really liked indie movies (or I pretended to like them to seem cool). I mean I really did like Garden State and The Good Girl, but if I was faced with Con Air or Garden State, Nick Cage wins hands down.
I really do want to get to know all of you better. Let me know if you post one of these 5 things posts! (That is my way of taking the easy way out and tagging everyone.)
I have seen a few people around the blog world do a "day in the life" post, and I love a good bandwagon, so I jumped right on. I really like reading these types of posts, mostly because I am nosy. Actually, I thought about doing this post as I was struggling to get out of bed this morning. So sit back and enjoy a typical day in the life of Casey.
5:15 My alarm goes off. I roll over and press snooze a few times. I had some trouble sleeping again last night (I guess I need to try this before bed), and I can already tell this is going to be a rough morning.
5:45 Crap. It's already 5:45. I roll out of bed and head into the bathroom and do my business including plugging in my straightener, cleaning my ears, etc.
6:00 Gross. My dumb cat just threw up. Stupid. Now I need to clean it up. I go back to getting ready, and I watch the news a little bit.
6:35 I head on out and start my car. Back inside I make my coffee and I also decide to throw together something in the crockpot for dinner.
6:40 I am in the car and headed to work.
7:10 Arrive at work. I spend the next 15 minutes getting caught up on emails and getting prepared for the upcoming day.
7:25 My classroom is outside of the building, so this is my last chance to go to the bathroom for a few hours. I head inside and check my box etc.
7:35 It's time to unlock my classroom door and let my first period class in. My first period of the day is my leadership class and they are a lot of fun. However today we spent half the period discussing the right price for our Valentine's we will be selling. (They finally settled on 75 cents, however we still are trying to figure out how much candy to put on them. I will keep you all updated.)
8:45-11:45 I have three 8th grade health classes in this time frame, so yes I teach the same thing over and over again. It's the beginning of a new semester so I am still trying to get a feel for my new classes and students. Today's lesson was on goal setting. We spent part of the class listening to music trying to figure out if it was talking about a dream or a goal. That means I got to listen to this song 4 times today.
11:45 Finally I can head back inside to use the bathroom. Oh it's lunch too. Today I am having some Campbell's chicken noodle soup and apple slices.
12:20 Last class of the day. This one so far is a handful. It is big, they talk a lot, and by now I am beat.
1:20 This is my prep period. Today I use the time to do some paperwork, and get everything ready for tomorrow. I also change my clothes for my after school Zumba class. Yes, I change in my classroom. I lock the door and close the blinds.
2:30 I head inside for the bathroom (again) and to meet my girls for Zumba. Today I had 10. That is huge. We got kicked out of both gyms so I hold my class in the computer lab. Kind of weird yes, but we make it work.
4:10 Go home time!
4:45 I make it home and dinner smells okay. I shower up, and then make some rice and roasted broccoli to go along with my pineapple coconut milk chicken dish thing I threw together. It actually wasn't too bad. It needed a little bit more seasoning. The Mister and I usually eat dinner in the living room while we are watching TV. Lame I know. I wish we would eat at the table more often, but right now it is covered in stuff.
5:45 Time to open the old laptop and catch up on some blogs. I don't think I have a very efficient way of reading them. Sometimes I open up Google reader and just scroll down. Other times I use dashboard, and just read my favorites/whatever titles & pictures catch my eye. The Mister is also playing on his computer. We both are watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother at the same time. (This is a romantic night around here.)
7:00 Time to get ready for tomorrow. I pack my lunch, get my gym bag ready and blow dry my hair. (yes, its been in a towel since I got out of the shower) I also get some laundry folded and clean up the kitchen.
7:40 Treat time! Nutter Bar and some sleepy time vanilla tea. It's Tuesday night, so I will be watching NCIS and if I am still up I will keep it on for NCIS Los Angeles.
Have you ever done one of these type of posts? I'd love to read it!
I have gotten some new readers lately so I thought I would spend sometime introducing myself to you all... that, and I am in a little bit of a blogging block I thought I would give you the ABC's of me.
A. Age: 31. Ugh. I guess it could be worse.
B. Bed size: Queen. This weekend in the hotel we had a king size bed and it was wonderful. However, we just bought our mattress and the husband said there was no way we were getting a new one.
C. Chore you hate:Folding clothes. I. Hate. It.
D. Dogs: Gus. I also have two cats.
E. Essential start to your day: This might be gross, but I really like cleaning my ears in the morning.
F. Favorite color: pink.
G. Gold or Silver: silver or white gold.
H. Height: 5'4" 1/2 (that half inch is very important to me)
I. Instruments you play: In 5th grade I played the saxophone. Does that count?
J. Job Title: Middle school health teacher
K. Kids: I have like 900 kids at work
L. Live: Independence, Oregon.
M. Married: since June 26, 2010
N. Nicknames:My students call me Teacher some times. And a few people still call me "Swinney" (it was a shortened version of my maiden name)
O. Overnight hospital stays: None.
P. Pet Peeve: When someone is too busy texting/checking their phone when you are hanging out with them .
Q. Quote: "Secrets secrets are no fun, secrets secrets hurt someone." That is pretty much the only quote I can think of right now.
R. Righty or Lefty: Right.
One time I asked my class this question and I mentioned that left handed people have shorter life spans because of accidents and things. Apparently this really offended one of my left handed students and he refused to do work for my class for two months.
S. Siblings: 2 brothers. They were in high school when I was born.
T. Time you wake up: My alarm goes off at the awful time of 5:15am. I am usually out of bed by 5:30-5:40.
U. University attended: Western Oregon University.
V. Vegetables you dislike: Beets. Yuck. I am the only person in my family that doesn't like them. Ew and peas. Those are even worse than beets.
W. What makes you run late: I really hate to be late, so I tend to be early. But traffic is probably the main reason I am ever late.
X. X-ray vision or the ability to fly? I would love to fly please. :)
Y. Yummy food: My dinner last night was pretty yummy, Kraft Mac & Cheese and oven roasted zucchini.
A little over a week ago, Taylor at Daily Tay wrote a post about how she is an old lady trapped in a young body. As I was reading it, I found myself nodding and saying "me too!" At the end of the post, I decided I was also an old lady, and I was okay with it.
Then yesterday, Helene wrote about how she may or may not be a teenage girl. At the end of her post I too realized that I was really a teenage girl, and I am okay with it. Except now, I am having an identity crisis. Old lady or teenage girl??
Fact:
I prefer to go to bed around 8:30-9:00 most nights. I use to be able to stay up until at least 11:00 and still be ready to go for class at 8 am. On weekends I also wake up around 6:30 am. This is considered sleeping in to me, since my alarm goes off at 5:15 on weekdays.
Conclusion:
Old Lady I have been known to stay up until 1-2 am during the summer however.
Fact:
There have been numerous days where I am dressed like one of my 8th grade students: skinny jeans, t-shirt, TOMS or UGG Boots. (I have multiple pairs of both...)
Conclusion:
Teenage Girl I prefer loafers/flats to heels any day of the week. I just can't handle wearing heels all day. How do you ladies do it?? I also think a cardigan is one of the best pieces of clothing ever.
Fact:
Hot tea is my drink of choice. Plain hot tea. In fact, you may call me a tea hoarder. In my kitchen right now I have at least 5 or 6 different boxes of tea bags.
Conclusion:
Old Lady My love of tea started in high school at a local hipster coffee shop.
Fact: My favorite cold drink is chocolate milk.
Conclusion:
Teenage girl I prefer my chocolate milk made with Ovaltine.
Fact: I have had to Google SMH, INYMI, ROFL etc.
Conclusion:
Old Lady I am on Twitter and Instagram. Plus I can hashtag with the best of them. #imnotasoldasiact
Fact: My iPod has a wide assortment of Kei$ha, Bieber, Nicki, One Direction, Pitbull and the like.
Conclusion:
Teenage Girl My iPod has a ton more on it as well. Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharp, Simon and Garfunkel etc,
Fact: Loud music/bars are not for me. I would much rather have a nice conversation where we don't have to scream to hear each other.
Conclusion:
Old Lady I do love going to concerts!
Fact: I can't figure out where to shop at Macy's and Nordstrom. BP is usually to young looking for me (except for the cardigans) and the non-juniors department of Macy's seems like somewhere my grandma would shop.
Conclusion:
?????
So what do you think: old lady or teenager girl? How about you??
Sometimes I get caught up reading about all of these great ladies in the blog world, but I end up not really knowing the people behind the blogs. So this fun little link-up has us answering some of the questions, that most people in real life probably know about us.
1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I started this little blog about 10 months ago. I had been reading blogs for quite awhile and decided to give it a go. I really enjoy having a place to write about our daily stuff, as well as the fun projects and yummy recipes I try. It's been fun getting to know other bloggers and being apart of this community. 2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
I did both my undergrad and graduate programs at Western Oregon University. My BA is in Health and PE Education, and my Masters is in Health Education.
1. In 2004, I spent 2 weeks visiting my BFF in Guatemala when she was in the Peace Corps. 2. Then in 2006, I flew to Germany during the World Cup. (I also went to Amsterdam and Belgium while I was over there) 3. The Mister's family brought his family to Disney World about a year after we started dating. It was such a fun family vacation. 4. Last summer (and in less than a month!) we were in Kauai.
I spent a summer in Maine as a camp counselor. The Mister and I have also been to California a few times since we have been together.
4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
The Mister and I have played the lottery exactly one time. That was when the jackpot was something like $650 billion. We talked a lot about what we would do. Our main answers: pay off the house/my school loans, donate a ton to my school, take my mom on a vacation, take ourselves on a fancy vacation, quit our jobs, give our house to a family we know and then buy a better house in a better fancier place. Then we didn't even match one number on our lottery ticket and we pouted. 5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
People smoking around me, people texting when we are hanging out, and bad drivers (you know, other than me) 6. What is your favorite movie?
The Mister makes fun of my movie choices all the time. Apparently I really like only "semi-good" movies. Some of my top choices are:
7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
I am NOT a wine drinker, but I really enjoy craft beers. I like going beer tasting the way some people go wine tasting. I also really like cold water and Diet Coke, with lime. 8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
Sewing, cooking, reading. I must be 83. 9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
um, Target. Is this a real question?
10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
I try not to let too many things bother me now, I mean I teach middle school. The most recent thing was during my first year teaching at my current school. The band was selling these long beef jerky sticks and an 8th grade boy had one through his belt loop. I remember yelling out in class, "Tobias, get the beef stick out of your pants." So much laughing. From everyone. 11. What day would you love to relive again?
Our wedding. Any day in Kauai. 12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
My life is pretty mundane, so it would be a pretty boring movie. But obviously Reese Witherspoon would play me.
Or if we were going by my dopplegangers, it would be Nick Nolte. :(
13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
My first job was selling fancy kids clothes at the mall. Then I moved on to work at Spencer Gifts for two years. Before college I was a waitress at a Mongolian Buffet (which I loved.) During college I was an RA and then I worked at Target for a couple years before I started teaching. 14. Show us a picture from high school or college.
I would love to, but I honestly don't have any digital pictures from back in the day. I should actually scan some so that I have a copy in case something terrible happens (like a fire or flood or Zombies) Here is one of the oldest I have. Its from Guatemala, which is 8 years ago.
I'm making tortillas.
15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
I'd love to go to Spain. Or Paris. Or take out a globe, spin it and point. That sounds like a good place. 16. Show us the most current picture of you or you and your family.
Us at the beach a couple weeks ago.
17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now? Happy. With a little or two. (Depending on how the first one goes...) Teaching. Maybe in a different school? Living somewhere in the valley. Maybe here? Maybe in a bigger house?
