Thursday, April 23, 2015

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. share exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week, etc.). 
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1) I'm still plugging away on the C25K plan and on Tuesday I did Week 4, Day 1 and hit the WALL!! It was the first day of the workout plan that I couldn't completely run every running segment...so I will be re-doing that one today and possibly even Friday. I want to be able to successfully complete each day of the program before moving on. Just seems like the outcome will be better that way. And I was SUPER close to completing it successfully, but the 2nd 5 minute run segment just killed me. :(  I've also started a 21 day arm workout challenge. I like the 5 different exercises and wonder if I should have bought 5lb weights instead of 3lbs. Oh well....I'll just do more repetitions to offset the light weights.

2) Oh I found so many fabulous pins on Pinterest yesterday...while I was maybe attending a staff meeting...ahem. Anyway... I made a "Summer 2015 To Do List" ---this summer will be longer for us because our school is undergoing some construction as well as the building of a new cathedral...so kids don't start until after Labor Day this Fall. The bad news: not many days off during the school year and a REALLY short summer in 2016 as we go back to an August start that Fall. Oh it's gonna be rough people!!

3) Anyway, back to Pinterest...there are many home projects I want to do, but let's face it...Oscar would rather work for other people at THEIR houses and GET PAID, then do much of anything at our house...yes, it's terribly frustrating, but I have no place to complain since he's taking us on the Disney Cruise in June. Sooooooooooooo, I found some projects that I (think) are totally doable ON MY OWN - or with Ethan.  For one, we are totally going to make these:
 Dole whip popsicle Recipe - An awesome twist on our favorite snack from Disney World. Perfect for showing your Disney side at home.

4) I think Ethan and I will enjoy making some of these "worry stones" and I will bring them to work in the Fall and either distribute a couple to each teacher to share with their students that need them, or give them out directly from my office...haven't quite decided on that piece yet, but they sure look fun to make!! Aren't they pretty?
If your a social worker check out this woman's blog. OMG she seems amazing. I love her ideas and what she does with her groups.

5) I've had this on my "Home" board for a looooooooooooooooooooong time...I think this is the summer I make something like this...need to start collecting my rocks so we don't have to buy them!!
Three ways to make a pebble mosaic. One is to work in small molds, build a mold, pour a cement mix into the bottom and arrange your pebbles on top. A second is the “upside-down” method, one builds a mold and pours a layer of sand into it, then arrange your stones in the sand and fill the top with cement. When dry remove  mold and brush away sand. Third way, have everything prepared and by your side, and then pour small areas of cement , onto the prepared subsurface and push stones into cement.

6)  This is another that's been on my "to-do" list for a while...the grass on the north side of our house hardly grows at all and is completely fugly...so I say, let's replace it with this!! Yes, I can do it!!! Needless to say I'm totally over my ugly backyard too...remember that from an earlier post!!
Love this! pallet wood walkway

7) And on those rainy summer days...this will be the project...though I don't know if it will be the exact same shape as it seems these are only available online and I know I can purchase wood letters at AC Moore or other craft store. And probably a lot cheaper too. As for the wine corks...I already have those from a bulletin board I made ages ago and really no longer use...not to mention it is SUPER heavy, so I will disassemble the corkboard and use the wine corks for this instead! Yay for recycling!!
Need cork ampersand DIY » Fun gift idea.

8) 24 days of school left. Yahoo!!

9) And while there are only 24 days of school left, I opted IN for teaching 2 weeks of summer school...the pay for that is better than my regular FULL TIME pay...completely pathetic, yet true. At least I'll have extra spending money for the cruise! Hooray!!
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10) And I guess I should put something in here about books....I'm almost finished with Nothing to Envy...this was a book chosen for a new book club I am in and being totally honest, I was not happy to learn of this selection. Ugh..it's about ordinary people and their lives in North Korea. Now that I am almost done with it I must say that I am happy to have read it. It's been eye opening and heart-wrenching and quite unbelievable. I always knew the country was a mess, but to really hear what those people have been put through is shocking. 

Monday, April 13, 2015

Weekend Update

1) I went back to the basics with running...I was just doing my own thing previously ...running a few minutes, walking when I felt tired etc....well some days the running felt easy, but MOST days it was hard...really hard, discouraging hard...so I downloaded the Couch to 5k app and started from Week 1, Day 1....now that was a little too easy, which made me happy...so I did Day 1 and 2 on Saturday and then Day 3 and Week 2, Day 1 on Sunday...spending 1 hour on the treadmill each day. 
Image result for couch to 5k
I'm hoping by following this program, I will be truly ready to run my best 5k ever...and it just so happens that my school's 5k is on May 17th...5 weeks away...and the C25k is a 6 week program...that worked out well, huh? It's also quite reasonable on time as it's 30 minutes long, 3 days a week. I would like to run more often than that so I'll see what else I can squeeze in or I'll just move through the program a little quicker as the latter weeks will probably be more difficult for me anyway. Either way, I'm pretty excited about this...and once I complete this program, I plan to download the 1/2 marathon version and get to work so I'm ready for the WDW Princess 1/2 in February 2016....but even before that I'll have another 5k in June to run while on the Disney Cruise. Lots to look and work forward to. I'll get back in shape and get this weight off if it's the last thing I do!!!

2) Speaking of weight....it's always so frustrating....all that work over the weekend and healthy eating, only to be UP 3lbs today!!! How can that be? That is sooooooo discouraging...even my body fat went up 1% so I can't even chalk the weight gain up to muscle. I'm blaming Aunt Flo...as she has blessed my Monday with her presence.

3) As most weekends, this one flew by but with little fun and mostly "to-do" items...Oscar is pummeled in sidework which on one hand is great, but on another is not because his entire weekend gets eaten up with more work. Not complaining, but yeah, maybe I am. It's a hard balance. 

Thursday, April 09, 2015

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. share exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week, etc.). 
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1) No-Show Socks: they are over-rated. I bought my first pack this weekend. Good quality socks too. They fall down all.the.time!! Ugh! Waste of money...but I don't want my shoes to stink either. *sad sad face*

2) Running: yes, more talk about running, sorry...I keep running, it's not getting any easier. what gives? I am all "gung-ho" on running a 1/2 marathon next February, but end up so discouraged after my workouts. The last 1/2 marathon I ran was 3 years ago...I guess I've really aged in those 3 years, at least that's what it feels like. 

3) Standardized Testing: I know many people are not a fan, but as a mom....I love it because it means NO HOMEWORK the entire time (5 days). It makes our afternoons MUCH more enjoyable that's for sure!!

4) Paris: I have such a obsession bug to go there lately...I'm talking for the past 6 months or so and I'm not entirely sure where it's come from. Paris has never really been high on my list of places to see (though it probably should have been), but now it's in the top 3. The sad reality in all of this is that I have NO plans and NO money to make the trip anyway, so instead I'll sit and dream about the day I finally head that way. And also (painfully) read the blog posts of those who are so fortunate to make repeated trips there. Dang!

5) I rented "The Imitation Game" on Uverse last weekend. I really liked the movie....and even more, the fact that I had 2 hours to actually watch it - even if I was interrupted 5-6 times.

6) I'm blaming the approaching end of the school year for this "semi-funk" I'm in this week. It all started with the ChickFila I go to every morning having a broken Diet Dr. Pepper machine....I skipped a day and went back this morning...still broken. Geesh! Add to that a  little "drama" and "change" (everyone's favorite!) at work and well, I'm just beyond ready for summer. And then there's the life-long wish/dream/desire of having my own business (in paper-crafts, of course) that rears it's ugly head when I'm feeling like this. 


7) Today is the Spring Concert at school. The girls are cats and the boys are dogs as they put on The Unity Tree show. The parent in me will hold her breath hoping Ethan remembers all his lines - did I mention HE wanted a speaking part? These practices have been going on for a long time, though we lost a few because of snow days. He makes a pretty cute dalmation, don'tcha' think?

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

20 Questions

I found this post on another blog and it had a lot of questions I hadn't seen (or answered) before, so why not???

1. How tall are you?
5’4″

2. Do you have a hidden talent?
Sadly, no. 

3. What is your biggest blog-related pet peeve?
A book-bloggers book review that include the exact same synopsis I can read on Amazon or Goodreads.

4. What is your biggest non-blog related pet-peeve?
 There are so many, it's hard to choose...how about failure to use turn signals. That's probably a common pet peeve of many.

5. What’s your favorite song?
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett.

6. What’s your favorite etsy shop?
Don't have one.

7. What’s your favorite way to spend your free time when you’re alone?
Reading or Scrapbooking. 

8. What’s your favorite junk food?
Chocolate cake. Or just chocolate. 

9. Do you have pets?
2 cats. Milo & Hula. They are 11yo.

10. What are your favorite fiction and nonfiction books?
Fiction: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Non-Fiction: I don't read enough of it to fairly pick a favorite.

11. What’s your favorite beauty product?
Sorry, wrong girl for this question...I don't have a "favorite" I just use what I need and call it done.

12. When were you last embarrassed?
Cannot recall. That's probably a good thing. 

13. If you could drink one beverage for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Diet Dr. Pepper

14. What’s your favorite movie?
Mrs. Doubtfire. 

15. What were you in high school? Prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, etc?
I was a jock, played softball, but I had friends in many different "groups". 

16. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Orlando, FL or Charleston, SC. 

17. PC or Mac?
I have a PC at work and a Mac at home. Honestly, I prefer the keyboard of the PC over the Mac, but I do love that the Mac never gets viruses. This is a hard decision to make.

18. Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boyfriend?
O bought me a box of Cadbury Caramel Eggs, without me asking. Seriously.

19. Favorite celeb?
It has always been Robin Williams and so sadly, I guess it's time for me to choose someone else...right now I would have to say Tom Hanks. I caught part of "Captain Phillips" the other day while on the treadmill and while I had seen it previously, I was just amazed with his acting ability...especially towards the end. Wow!

20. Which blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with?
I'll just stick to being "blog-friends" as my luck in the friend category is often short lived and rarely seems to work out for me. This way no one has to actually call or write to me as a means to stay in touch. And I don't have to feel like I'm always the one reaching out to them either. #winwin

Monday, April 06, 2015

Musing Monday

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What was your favorite book as a child?
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I'm currently reading...Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey and LOVING it!! I can't remember where/how I discovered this book, but I sure am glad that I did. It's an absolute "page-turner" and I cannot wait to get back to it every day.


As for this week's RANDOM Question: I guess it depends on what age we are talking about...my mom often re-tells the story of a roadtrip from Michigan to Vancouver wherein I repeatedly requested being read "The B Book" by Dr. Seuss...so I guess that was my favorite then. As I got a bit older, I wasn't at all the reader I am today (wish I had been now)...but I do remember reading the "requisite" Judy Blume books...and that AWESOME Sweet Valley High series. LOL!

Thursday, April 02, 2015

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts

Bookish and Not-So-Bookish Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous. It allows book bloggers (and non-book bloggers) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise (i.e. share exciting plans for the weekend, rants on things they've encountered during the week, etc.). 
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1) Why can't I seem to find any book bloggers with closely similar reading interests as mine? Seriously, I click on MANY of the participants from various book-themed posts (AKA Top Ten Tuesday) and NONE are even close to what I read. It seems everyone is into YA, Supernatural stuff, gushy romance and/or brainy reading. Anyone out there reading WWII Historical Fiction? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

2) Wahoo! It's just about the weekend. Perk #3 of working in a Catholic school...1/2 day Holy Thursday and off on Good Friday AND Easter Monday. 

3) I've been doing great on my eating this week and I'm down 3lbs so far which I'm happy about, but I'm still (way) above my last updated weight on My Fitness Pal. Ugh! Hoping I maintain good will power through the weekend and get below that dreaded number that seems to continually plague me.

4) I gave up buying anything on iTunes for Lent....I'm really looking forward to Easter Sunday!!! I need some new music. :)

 
5) My backyard is a mess. I hate it actually. The grass is hard and pokey - unlike the plush sod I grew up on in Michigan, so today I decided my "home improvement" Spring/Summer goal is to fix our backyard. I even called the husband to have him buy me one of those heavy duty metal rakes and I plan to get started this weekend. This has been a long time coming. 

6) Maybe if I get the grass looking nice that will inspire my husband to finally construct the screened in patio I was promised a bazillion years ago. A girl can hope, right?

7) So instead of sleeping in tomorrow, I'll be up early and heading to the sunroof car shop to have them figure out why my sunroof has quit working. I love and miss it dearly so I hope they can get it fixed quickly, easily and most important, cheaply. :)

8) If someone gives me a Cadbury Egg as a gift, I have to eat it, right? Healthy eating gets put on hold for a moment? I think so.

9) I'm in a serious backlog on reading (again)...no surprise there...hoping to make some progress over this long weekend. #crossingfingers #wishfulthinking

10) I am really enjoying putting the school yearbook together. It's like getting paid to scrapbook!! #winning