Day 32: Ouchie day.

So, short post because I managed to get my first ice-related injury today and I was only outside for 2.5 minutes!  I went to get the paper and the mail and slipped, landing right on my elbow.  I have never felt this much pain in my life!  Hurts so bad.  No bueno.  On to better thoughts for today :)

Day 32:
1.  Ice packs are my new best friends.  They really do help.  The numbness has become my saving grace.
2.  Catching up on movies from my childhood.  I cranked out the Disney etc type movies today to spend time on ice day #3.  It's been a lot of fun.  "Just keep swimming!" :)
3.  Pretzels and clementines.  Sounds like a terrible combo I know, but it's a sweet and salty combo that's fairly healthy and has been a staple for me over the past few days.  Love me some clementines!

Day 31: Much of the same as yesterday...on to snow day #3 tomorrow!

Well, I would love to have something interesting to write here, however, I have done practically nothing over the past 2 days and it has been amazing!  The only not-so-amazing part...the possibility of rolling blackouts. Luckily so far, I've only been subjected to one of these, so fingers crossed it'll stay that way!  I decided that I might work on a goals list today along with the 3 things.  Let's do the goals first though...


February Goals:

(1) Fitness

- 45 minutes of cardio at the gym, 3-4x per week + 1 yoga class per week.  Get back in to college shape (hopefully) before the end of March, if not, by mid-April regardless.  

(2) Eating

- Shoot for the 5 days a week off the Booze Train, but really concentrate on the Just One Glass motto if enjoying a weekday libation
- Use this month to really kick "Teach myself to cook" efforts into full gear.  I have a bit of a head start on this one thanks to the Icepocalypse 2011 that has stormed in to town, so now to continue it.  

- Portion Control; continue with Conscious / Conscientious Eating; again this has a head start as well thanks to the Arctic Blast due to now needing to make the food last longer than originally planned.  

(3) Work

- Try not to stress over the girls' crazy requests or ability to ask the same question 15 times and still not know the answer.

- Try to get grading done in a more efficient manner.   

(4) Personal

- Read at least one textbook for my upcoming masters program per month.
- Read one guilty pleasure book per month.  

- See a few more of the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars. 

- Keep up saving as much as is humanly possible before having to give it all away again in August.  

- Spring clean the closet and bedroom before spring cleaning actually gets here.  Be sure to keep only what I will TRULY wear from here on out.  Not just what I hope to fit back in to or to bring back in style.  

Ok, now for the 3 things today.

Day 31: 

1.  Lounging on the couch all day.  Really just relaxing in general.  It's great.

2.  Long warm baths on cold, cold days.

3.  Reading for pleasure again!  I have missed this so much and I am so glad I've had a few days to be able to get back to reading for fun.  

Day 30: Snow day...I mean ice day!

Enjoyed the ice day today only to discover...that I get another one tomorrow!  I'm really glad to have the day off but now we are getting into "uh oh, am I going to have enough time left in the quarter to teach the girls what they need to know?" as well as this storm is REALLY bad, so while the day off is great, I can't leave the house so I imagine that I am going to have a big case of cabin fever by end of day tomorrow.  Plus, the way things are going here, it looks like we might have Thursday off as well.  It's nuts here.

Day 30:
1.  Snow days obviously!!  I would love to say I slept in, but my stupid natural clock woke me up at 8.45, but on the plus side, I had a lot down around the house and with work before 11am :)
2.  Watching the dog discover ice and decided that no, her precious paws were not going to step on that cold stuff and realizing that that white stuff is cold when you try to sit on it, haha.
3.  Day time TV!  I forgot how much fun some guilty pleasure day time tv can be (in small doses).  I watched silly things like "Afraid of the Dark" on the History Channel, "Cake Boss" on TLC, and so many other fun things today.  Gotta love it sometimes.

Off to watch the boys play hockey on a night where they could probably play the game outside!

Day 29: Oh the glories of Texas weather!

So it was not even 8.45pm before I received a phone call tonight that said that even though it was 55 degrees outside and not raining, we would have a snow day tomorrow!!  Woohoo Texas ice storms!  Of course, I say this now, but if my power goes out tomorrow, I will not be so fond of said ice storms.  Here's hoping for a warm, relaxing day in!

Day 29:
1.  Feeling like I am really connecting with my girls.  I have felt this way before but when they really want to come to class everyday and when they say things to you like they really love English now, or they feel like they are actually getting things now, it really means so much.  You never really know how much your words as a student mean to a teacher until you become one.  It's really a great feeling.
2.  I definitely succeeded in making a great homemade meal last night!  I had the leftovers tonight and they were just as awesome.  I also got to the gym and have enjoyed relaxing and catching up on my Modern Family episodes.  It's been a productive day.
3.  Finally, and of course, snow day tomorrow!!  I am beyond excited to be able to sleep in and hang out with my puppy tomorrow.  Of course, my girls aren't too upset that their projects have been delayed either :)

Day 28: Sort of productive Sunday morning, lazy Sunday afternoon.

(These two are definitely my favorites.)

I got up at a decent hour today, thinking that I would get ALL sorts of things done today.  Yeah, haven't even made a dent in the long-running list, but at least I was able to get the "have-to's" done.  That's really key, right?  I feel like I accomplished something today, so job well done me.  Now, I get to sit, relax, prepare for classes tomorrow, eventually do a bit of reading, but most importantly, watch the NHL All-Star game!  I realize that it's just a goal-scoring fest, but it's fun to see some of the best guys in the league play one another and to see them having personalities.  Plus, they are good looking and I get to spend a couple of hours on the couch relaxing before I attempt to teach myself to cook once again.  Always a feat in and of itself.  Fingers crossed I won't have to order Chinese take out in a few hours!

Day 28:
1.  Sleeping in...especially when the dog does too!  That late night walk last night was really the best idea I've ever had because I had the chance to sleep in till almost 11am this morning, which was amazing.
2.  Home-cooked meals.  There is a great sense of accomplishment when you are able to successfully pull off cooking dinner for yourself.  If it's good, you become chef extraordinare and if it's not so good, well then it was the recipe's fault all along.
3.  NHL All-Star weekend.  In case you haven't picked up on this from other posts, I love hockey.  I live, breathe, and obsess over hockey.  It's the only sport I follow because it's the best sport in the world.  Hockey is awesome.  God bless Canada and it's boys :)

Days 26 and 27: Gorgeous days in January!

One thing I absolutely love about living in Texas in January is that some times we just weekends like this one.  It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday and is supposed to get as high at 78 today!  While the rest of the country wallows in mountains of snow, I plan to spend most of my day outside, reading and grading as well as perhaps take a little time for myself and maybe go and get a pedicure.  It's just such a gorgeous day.  I wish I had checked the weather earlier since I might have decided to heat the pool for the weekend, but really the one downfall of Texas is that the weather can change so quickly, i.e. Tuesday it is supposed to snow.  Ugh.  Oh well, I'll enjoy while I can!  Bring on springtime in Texas!

Day 26:
1.  Wearing flip flops to work.  I should explain this in that I broke my toe Thursday night so I did have a valid reason, but it's also just fun to not have to wear heels sometimes!
2.  Cheap, quick, tasty Tex-Mex food.  Another big bonus of living in Texas, which I am going to miss and crave SO much when I leave, is the FANTASTIC Tex-Mex food.  Seriously.  I could eat it everyday and balloon up to a gigantic fat person if someone would let me.  I have a problem.
3.  Really fun, imaginative dreams.  I do realize that technically this really falls on days 26 AND 27, but since I was lame and went to bed fairly early last night, I'm going to qualify this as day 26.  I really liked what my brain did last night.  I had a dream about a very attractive guy I know and us dating.  My brain did well entertaining me last night :)

Day 27:
1.  Have to include the weather here.  Currently 72 at 11.30am, not a cloud in the sky and just perfect.  Cannot wait to get outdoors!
2.  Pedicures.  These are really a godsend.  Nothing is better than the message you get in the middle of it all.
3.  Rounding out the evening with cooking a good meal (I'm slowly but surely teaching myself how to do that) and watching the hubby on tv tonight.  The skills competition is tonight and is always a fun watch.

Days 24 and 25: Having a social life.

Having a social life is great...having a social life while being a teacher at a very strenuous prep school is something else entirely.  I have had a chance to catch up with a bunch of friends this week and let me tell you, it has done nothing but wear me down and feel like an old lady!  I saw No Strings Attached on Tuesday night and that was absolutely hilarious!  Definitely worth losing sleep that night.  We really need more rated R movies.  When you can throw out one liners like that movie, you can't go wrong.  Wednesday was followed with a hockey game with the same great college buddy I went to the movies with.  He and I have pretty much become attached at the him.  We have a hell of a lot of fun hanging out together but since he doesn't have to take work home with him, his nights and mornings are infinitely easier than mine.  Here's looking forward to being lame this weekend, occasional drinks with friends, sleeping in, and possibly a trip to the casinos!

Day 24:
1.  Taking advantage of the ability to leave a bit early on my last period free and being able to get some things done before going out.  This was invaluable yesterday.  My brain needed a break and it was really nice to just be able to disconnect for a bit.
2.  Very cheap hockey tickets for one of the hottest teams in the country!  Since they can't fill the seats to save their lives right now in that arena, going to the games can be really fun for the well-priced tickets.
3.  Got a chance to sit at the glass last night and be up close and personal with hockey husband!!!

Day 25:
1.  Great on-the-run breakfasts!  Catered muffins and smoothies bought before work this morning made the day.  Great way to start the day.
2.  Students faking British accents while acting out scenes from Jane Austen really brightened up a day taken up by a terrible migraine.
3.  Treated myself to a cupcake from my favorite cupcake place.  I figure I earned it after getting through today.  Red velvet all the way!