What's Up Wednesday *3/31*

Linking up with Sheaffer & Shay.

What I'm Eating... I made stuff for buffalo chicken salads for lunches and southwest chicken burrito bowls for suppers.  But I also grabbed some apple sauce and chicken noodle soup just in case my 2nd Covid shot knocks me on my ass this week.

What I'm Reminiscing About... My last 9-9.5 years in Texas in general

What I'm Loving... That all of my teaching observations are over

What I've Been Up To... Trying to do all the Houston things before I move.

What I'm Dreading... the countless teaching applications I'll be filling out.  Why can't it just be one & I select all the places I want to send it to?  The application is the same for every district, but I have to refill it out every single time.

What I'm Working On... Applying to teaching jobs in Minnesota as well as getting my Minnesota real estate license

What I'm Excited About... That my work week is over!  I only had to go to work on Monday and Tuesday so now I'm off until next Monday!

What I'm Watching/Reading... For some reason I'm watching Letterkenny on Hulu.  I'm into season 2 & it has it's moments but its more of a train wreck I can't stop watching/background noise that I don't have to pay attention to.  I'm "reading" Agent 355 on Audible.

What I'm Listening To... bits & pieces of the Chauvin Trial

What I'm Wearing...

What I'm Doing This Weekend... I honestly have no idea.  I'd like to go to Galveston to watch the sunrise, and because when I first moved to Houston that's where I spent every Easter when my friend Bridgette would come visit.  I might do that, maybe take Nash to another brewery, maybe go to Goodwill in the rich part of Houston.  The possibilities are endless!

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month... I'm meeting up with a friend from grad school in Fort Worth & also have a friend from Minnesota coming to visit me in Houston.

What Else Is New... Trying to think of other possible career moves for the future.  All I know is I don't want to be a teacher forever & I'd love a job that allowed me to work remotely most or all of the time.  Flexibility with my job would also be a big plus.

Monday Morning Coffee *3/29*

 

Happy Monday!  It's the last Monday in March & I'm not entirely sure if this month took forever or flew by.  I'm leaning towards took forever.  I am pumped for April because I get to see a couple of different friends that I haven't seen in forever!  Tomorrow I'm getting my 2nd dose of the Covid vaccine so I only have to be at work for two days this week!  Excellent way to end March!

Friday

Out of nowhere on Friday my anxiety skyrocketed around lunchtime.  I made it through the rest of the day & then immediately grabbed Nash when I got home & took him to the dog park for a hot minute so we could both get some fresh air.

My mom sent Nash a couple of different dog beds to try out from Amazon & the first one arrived Friday afternoon so when we got back from the dog park Nash tried to decide how he felt about it (he's still unsure but has progressed to sleeping next to it or using it as a pillow) while I watched Drunk History on Hulu.

Saturday

As far as anxiety goes, Saturday wasn't much better.  I had had a few different nightmares so I just had that awful unsettled feeling when I woke up.  I laid around & listened to meditation music for awhile to calm myself & then got ready to take my first Minnesota real estate exam.  I was pretty much having a panic attack through that whole thing too because I thought I needed a 70% to pass but I needed a 75% & I had been thinking that I was fine because my practice exams were all 72%-78%.  I wound up getting a 78% on the exam so all was well.

After the test I took Nash to the dog park for a bit so he could get some energy out & I could try to get my steps in.  Nash got good and tired out, I hit my step goal, & then we met my friend/coworker at a local brewery for a few beers & some food.  As always, Nash was the star of the show.  Wherever we go everyone falls in love with him & he eats it up trying to be everyone's best friend.

On the drive home I started crying.  Finally.  It's been trying to happen for awhile but I'm usually somewhere super inconvenient when the tears start coming so I just push them back.  But I cried pretty much the whole 15 minute drive home listening to sad music & then I felt better.  Anxiety be gone.  Nash was super worn out from the dog park & being the life of the party at the brewery so we pretty much just laid on the couch until bedtime.

Sunday

On Sunday I had planned on going to Goodwill in the rich part of Houston but while waiting for them to open I started & finished listening to one book on Audible, started another, did my laundry, & meal prepped.  After doing all of that I just didn't have the energy or want to drive into Houston to go shopping.  So instead I started watching Letterkenny on Hulu.  I half ass watched it most of the afternoon/evening & I don't know why.  I wasn't super paying attention because I was also getting all of my lesson plans set up for the week, writing this blog post, & playing on my phone.  But anytime I did look up it was like a car wreck.  Despite how bad it was I just couldn't turn it off.  Worn out from his big weekend, Nash just alternated between napping by me & staring me down for treats.  

Friday Favorites *3/26*

Linking up with Andrea

1. What I'm Grateful For

-Winning a giveaway on Instagram
-My mom sending Nash 2 different dog beds from Amazon to try out
-Getting "proficient" across the board on my formal evaluation

-Feeling so happy I cried
-Being able to pre-order & schedule grocery pick-up

2. What I Accomplished
-Picked up the junior class shirts
-Happy hour with a coworker
-3 straight days of 5k+ steps
-3 straight days of 64+ oz of water
-Applying to a 2nd MN school district

3. From The Phone

4. What I'm Looking Forward To In April
-Going to Fort Worth for a girls' weekend
-My friend from MN coming to visit me in Houston
-Only having to be at work 15.5-16.5 days
-Nash's 4th birthday
-Getting to spend time by the pool working on my tan

5. Funnies

If It Makes You Happy - Part 5

In part of finding myself again I decided to revive, and edit, my 4th 101 in 1001 list.  One of the things on my list was to find 100 things in life that make me happy.  Rather than overwhelm you will 100 things at once I decided to make this a 5 part series.

 81. Burnt hot dogs from a bonfire/campfire

82. Meditation music at night

83. Build your own bloody mary bars

84. Being the "favorite" teacher

85. Fleece blankets

86. Being at my parents' house

87. The Food Network channel

88. Spotify Wrapped playlists

89. Not wearing a bra

90. Young adult books

91. Autobiographies read on Audible

92. Candles

93. Dazed & Confused

94. Fair/Rodeo food

95. Massages

96. Pedicures

97. People playing with my hair

98. Looking into a crowd at a concert

99. City murals

100. Spontaneous shenanigans

Monday Morning Coffee *3/22*

 

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm back at work & less than thrilled about it.  Going back to work after a long break is always hard.  The countdown is on though!  There are 51 teacher days, 48 student days, & I only have 42-44 days!  My parents were here for the week during my spring break so rather than doing a blog post on Friday with a partial recap of my spring break, I decided to just hold off until today & do the whole thing in one shot.

Monday 3/15

Monday morning Nash & I went to the dog park early.  It was nice being one of the very few people/dogs there.  Afterwards we hit up Starbucks & headed home.  We got home only to find out that the cops & SWAT had been at the complex since right about the time we left for the dog park.  They were there for SEVEN hours.  Apparently some guy pulled a gun on his neighbor & then barricaded himself in his apartment & refused to come out.  In the end he finally surrendered & went to jail.  Luckily no one was actually harmed during any of this.  That meant that we spent most of the day just hanging out in the bedroom waiting for the chaos to end.

That evening my parents arrived & we hung out for a little while & ordered some Mexican takeout.

Tuesday 3/16

Tuesday we went to a few antique shops (I'm desperate to find old undeveloped film and/or an old diary) & then got some BBQ & chocolates.  We spent the rest of the day/evening just hanging out at my apartment.

Wednesday 3/17

Wednesday took us on an adventure.  The weather was supposed to be crummy around Houston so we headed west.  My dad has a couple of old Jeeps & happened to see a Jeep part online so we went & picked that up from someone's house, hiked around Palmetto State Park, & then got some BBQ at Kreuz Market.  We got back relatively late that night so we didn't do much before going to bed.

Thursday 3/18

Thursday we headed down to Galveston.  We walked along the seawall for awhile & then went to go find Galveston Island State Park to hike around a little more.  However, there was a crazy line to get in so we opted to drive to Kemah instead to have lunch on the boardwalk.

Friday 3/19

Since it was my parents' last full day in Texas we just had a very relaxed day.  We took Nash to the dog park for a little while but mostly just watched movies at my apartment.  For supper we went to Spring Creek BBQ which is the first BBQ place that we ever ate at when I first moved to Texas.

Saturday 3/20

After breakfast on Saturday morning they loaded up the truck & started their drive back to Minnesota.  Nash & I went to the dog park again but he only lasted 30 minutes before he wanted to go home.  We spent pretty much the entire day watching Netflix and napping.  My first ever Shein purchases arrived & I was pretty stoked.  I got myself a new phone case & attempted to get Nash a cow jacket.  It doesn't fit him.  It's not wide enough.  But you know who it will fit?  Any future baby I have lol.  It unsnaps & looks just like those animal baby bathrobes.  Human baby getting the fur baby hand me downs.  I have no shame.  I also ordered some actual clothes for me which I love.  I will try to take pictures & make a blog post showing them all off.

Sunday 3/21

Sunday was another very low key day.  We went to the dog park for probably about 45 minutes until some rat dog came at Nash out of nowhere & I just about lost my mind.  Nash was just chillin by me & the rat dog came running at him barking & tried biting at him.  Rather than punt the dog across the park like I wanted to I put Nash on his leash & we went home to just lay around again all day watching Netflix & attempting to mentally prepare for my return to work.  

Before I Go

 In approximately 3 months I'll be leaving Texas to move back to Minnesota.  There are a few things on my 101 in 1001 list that are Texas specific so my main focus right now is those 10 things as far as the list goes.  Well, a couple of them aren't Texas specific but I would like them finished before I leave.

Consider these my spring goals!

1. Pay off smaller credit card

2. Visit 3 Texas wineries

3. Visit 3 Texas breweries

4. Visit 3 Texas distilleries

5. Finish my Minnesota estate courses

6. Photograph 10 Houston area murals

7. Get Danny all of this stuff back

8. Try 3 Texas BBQ places

9. Go to the local farmer's market 5 times

10. Visit my Texas friends before I move

If It Makes You Happy - Part 4

 In part of finding myself again I decided to revive, and edit, my 4th 101 in 1001 list.  One of the things on my list was to find 100 things in life that make me happy.  Rather than overwhelm you will 100 things at once I decided to make this a 5 part series.

61. Asynchronous learning days

62. Driving down dirt roads

63. Restaurant Ranch dressing

64. Flights of beer

65. Gas station tacos

66. Top the Tater

67. The sun on my face

68. Being tan

69. The Flint Hills

70. Colorado

71. When Nash winks

72. Waking up with the sun

73. Tarot cards

74. Chapstick

75. Fields of haybales

76. Sunflowers

77. Sharing music with people

78. Dogs with people names

79. Worn in jeans

80. Sleeping on couches

Monday Morning Coffee *3/15*

 

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope that you had a great weekend!  Even though I haven't been at work since about 9:30 Friday morning, my spring break officially starts today.  My parents should be arriving some time today & will be here until Friday or Saturday visiting.  This time under much different circumstances as last time they were helping me move into my new place after I left Danny.

Friday

Friday was a teacher work day & an asynchronous learning day for the students.  Despite the fact that I took the day off, I went into work from about 7:30-9:30 for a couple of meetings.  If it hadn't been for the fact that I needed to tell my department chair & skills specialist that I was planning on not back to MN after the school year, I would have just Zoomed in or not showed up at all.

When I got home Nash & I headed off to the vet.  As soon as we arrived he realized it was not just a fun car ride.  Everything checked out & this time not a word was said about his weight; unlike last time when they told me he was getting too chunky.

After the vet I ate lunch & hung out with him for a bit before I headed off to Goodwill.  I wanted some new clothes but didn't want to spend a ton.  I spent about $45 but for that I got those cute little bloomers for my friend who has having a baby in a couple of months, a couple books for said baby, & like 8 or 9 pieces of clothing for myself.  I also stopped at a cute little boutique where I bought a shirt & saw the Texas flag mural on the side of it that I just had to take a picture of.  One of my 101 goals is to photograph 10 Houston area murals & this was a great one to kick it off.

I planned on being productive when I got home but instead just hung out with Nash, did my workout, & then watched some Netflix.

Saturday

Saturday morning I was supposed to take my first MN real estate course exam.  Except my computer was acting a fool & so I wasn't able to do it.  Now I'll have to lose the $25 & the exam.  I am still hoping to have all 3 courses taken care of by the time I get back to MN this summer so that I can start real estate stuff up there ASAP.  I also applied to my first MN teaching job!  I'm waiting around for others to open up though because I'd really rather be in a different area.

I wasn't super productive.  I did get my laundry done & the living room vacuumed.  I decided to go back to my Audible books too so that I could also tackle the read/listen to 33 books goal on my 101 in 1001 list.  I had already started The Dead Drink First so I jumped in where I had left off.

That night I met up with my friend Meg for dinner & drinks since I hadn't seen her in 9-10 months.  It was great to catch up!  Pretty sure the food got us both sick though.  Needless to say I won't be going back there.  Nothing there was good enough to make a second attempt.

Sunday

Sunday we did nothing.  I was going to get all of my cleaning done, maybe pack up a few things that I didn't need/want here so my parents can bring that back with them when they leave next weekend.  I thought it was supposed to be rainy all day so it seemed like a good use of my day.  But it was so bright & warm in the morning that Nash & I soaked up some sun for awhile.  Before I knew it, it was all over.  Nash & I were relaxing & finishing up House of Cards on Netflix.  Soon I turned the lights off, I found myself under a weighted blanket, & then the calming rain started.  Ok I *did* go to the grocery store for a couple of things.  And we also went to McDonald's for supper because Aunt Flo is on her way & the pizza rolls I had eaten earlier just weren't cutting it.

In hopes of starting your week off with a little laugh, I'm going to leave you with the message I sent my friends about my slightly awkward laundry experience from Saturday...

Excuse me while I add those handshakes to the list of things that now randomly keep me up for the rest of my life...

Have a great week!

Friday Favorites *3/12*

 

Linking up with Andrea

Happy Friday!  I'm off work today, sort of?  It's a teachers' planning day/asynchronous learning day.  I took the day off though so that I wouldn't have to go sit in my classroom for 8 hours.  Spring break starts on Monday & I teach a semester long class so I don't have 8 hours worth of planning to do... that being said, I'm still going up to the school for 2 hours worth of meetings because I need to tell 2 people that I'm planning on moving back to MN & ask them to be references.  Otherwise I'd just say, "sorry I took the day off so I'm not coming in for those meetings!"

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

1. What I'm Grateful For
-Getting my first dose of the Covid vaccine
-My bridesmaid dress came in
-Losing .8 lbs (my goal was 1/2 lb to 1 lb each week)
-It's basically spring break for me
-Getting to wear jeans everyday this week

2. What I Accomplished
-Sent 78 emails to parents/students about project we've been working on for a week now
-Got my first dose of the Covid vaccine
-Survived the last week of of school before spring break
-Multiple practice tests to prepare for my first MN real estate exam

3. From The Phone

I don't know what in the Alfred Hitchcock was happening when I left work but there were birds everywhere.

But now only 48!

I get my 2nd dose on the 30th!

My brother is getting married in October & I'm going to be a bridesmaid!  My future sister-in-law gave us a color & then said "pick a dress that makes you happy"  I found this one on Lulus & I am in love!

The love of my life

4. What I'm Looking Forward To Over Spring Break
-Getting to spend a week with my parents
-Not having to be at work
-Crawfish
-Trying out new restaurants
-Going to Galveston

5. Funnies

10 Things To Love About Spring

10 on the 10th with Leslie!

1. Baby animals

2. Jumping in puddles

3. Patio weather

4. Spring break

5. Easter candy

6. Longer days

7. The final quarter of the school year

8. Blooming flowers

9. Spring clothes

10. Pastel nails

If It Makes You Happy - Part 3

In part of finding myself again I decided to revive, and edit, my 4th 101 in 1001 list.  One of the things on my list was to find 100 things in life that make me happy.  Rather than overwhelm you will 100 things at once I decided to make this a 5 part series.

41. Being "weird"

42. Believing in love

43. Research

44. Weighted blankets

45. Nash snores

46. Paying off debt

47. Naps

48. Fresh flowers

49. Salted caramel

50. Purple

51. Cowboy boots

52. Clothes dried outside on a line

53. Big Macs

54. Re-watching Hart of Dixie

55. Calendars/planners

56. Coffee with my dad before anyone else wakes up

57. Watching old movies & musicals with my mama

58. Sharing memes & tiktoks with my brother

59. The smell of fresh cut grass

60. Long weekends

Monday Morning Coffee *3/8*

 

Happy Monday everyone!  It's my last week of work before spring break!  Last year we went on spring break & never came back... With people traveling, & the mask mandate being lifted in just 2 days in Texas, I can't say that I'm 100% confident that that won't happen again...  On the bright side a lot of businesses are still requiring them, people are starting to get vaccinated (I get my first dose tomorrow!), & from what I hear a lot of people are still CHOOSING to wear masks.  Hopefully all that will help.  And if not, well then at least we've been doing some form of virtual for a year now & we'd be better equipped to handle a return to all virtual than we were last year.  Anyway... on with my weekend!

Friday

Friday after work I did DoorDash for about an hour & a half before calling it quits.  I had been craving wings so I decided to try out a place nearby where I live now since I'm all about trying out new places & trying 50 new bars/restaurants/coffee shops is on my 101 in 1001 list.  The wings were good, the ranch was amazing!  The ranch alone would have me going back to try more wing flavors or some of their other food.  

At work that day a teacher friend from up by Dallas sent me a Google Form for teachers to fill out to get scheduled for the Covid vaccine so I filled that out & then impatiently waited all day & night to see if I'd get one.

Saturday

Saturday was a full day for Nash & me.  We started out the morning at the dog park.  We were there for an hour and a half, which is longer than he normally lasts, because we had an appointment at 10 & had nowhere else to go until then.  

After making all the friends at the park we went to Woof Gang so that Nash could get himself a bath & a nail trim.  That took about an hour & a half as well but there is a coffee/crepe place right by it so I hung out there.  I had been there for coffee a handful of times but had never eaten there.  I was starving so I got myself a smore's crepe & a king cake latte.  Confession: that was the first time I had had a crepe... ever.  Normally I am not one to shy away from sweet food in the morning but holy goodness... between the crepe & the latte it was SO MUCH sugar.  

I felt like shit for awhile & had to lay down when we got home.  This was Nash's 2nd time getting a bath at Woof Gang & they always put a bandana on him at the end.  Perfect timing because his shirt came in the mail that day.  Lookin so fly!

I went out & did DoorDash for about an hour that afternoon but then went home to finish up the coursework on my 1st Minnesota real estate class & then just hung out with Nash & watched Netflix.  I was so tired that I was asleep by 8-8:30 that night.

Sunday

I had planned on taking Nash to the dog park for another hour on Sunday morning but he was still so tuckered out from his big day on Saturday that we just stayed home instead.  I went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things I hadn't been able to get from my curbside pick-up order on Friday, got some new flowers, finished Love on Netflix, took my first practice text for my 1st MN real estate course, scheduled my first exam, took a nap, & just had a chill day.  I also talked to Presley (Danny's daughter) on the phone for a couple of minutes.  Apparently she has been asking her mom & Danny about me & has been telling her mom that we're friends.  That little girl is probably what I miss the most.  I loved getting to be her bonus mom.

Friday Favorites *3/5*

 

Linking up with Andrea

1. What I'm Grateful For

-Nash got his spunk back

-Getting my tax refund
-Getting my formal evaluation over
-Getting out for a couple of short shifts for DoorDash
-Sticking with my 30 Day Pilates Challenge

2. What I Accomplished

-I ordered my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding
-I got my formal evaluation over with
-Scheduled my grocery pick-up for today after work so I wouldn't have to go in this weekend
-Took care of an illegal u-turn ticket...

-I have planned lessons planned & set up ready to go through the day we get back from spring break

3. From The Phone

4. Affirmations I Read Every Morning

-I achieve stability & satisfaction in my mind & in my life this year.
-I don't chase.  I attract.  What belongs to me will simply find me.
-I create the ideal love partner.  Satisfaction in my love life, my friendships, & lovers are mine to embrace.
-The financial abundance & financial security I seek is also seeking me & I now release any blocks that are standing between us.
-I am influenced by higher knowledge & I am beginning to transform negative thinking into enlightened mind power.

5. Funnies