If I Didn’t Love My Job…

My day had definite good parts and frustrating parts!

Teaching:

My day started off with a coworker worried about track attack coverage and when I tried to solve this problem I got snapped at by another colleague. She later apologized, but since I’ve been putting up with it for a year now, it’s too little too late! Really, this is what she finally apologizes for???(insert head shake here) I haven’t had any nasty emails so hopefully it all worked out!

I did have some successes with students today:). My little guy who likes to roll on the carpet was doing an awesome job sitting! I should have moved him a long time ago as maybe it’s being surrounded by people that’s helping???

We have quiet time each day after recess and I always play a different type of music during this time that students may not hear at home- blues, jazz, piano, classical, etc (I take suggestions 😀). I looked over at one little boy – his eyes were closed and he was swaying to the music- so cute!!!

Another little guy sounded out and wrote three sentences in his journal with finger spaces included!! It was awesome!

Then I had to leave to go to a meeting about the report cards. I was so angry and frustrated by the end!!! If I didn’t love my days with my students I would be looking for a new job as I so dislike the direction my district is going! They are not doing the children any service!

When I was a kid and was complaining about having to do my own laundry or make my lunches or help clean- my mom would always say the same thing- “I wasn’t put on this earth to be your babysitter, but to make you responsible, successful, contributing members of society.” I always hated that line, but the day they asked me for my teaching philosophy it popped out of my mouth!

Now my district says that I cannot put “not yet meeting expectations” on the report card. It’s bad enough that every student passes whether they are ready and successful or not, but now I can’t even say a student isn’t meeting expectations! Why bother assessing if every student has to be meeting??? I think that if I was a parent I would be very upset if I wasn’t informed that my child was having trouble with an area or a concept!!! What kind of adults are we creating with this??Grrr! Ok rant over:).

My mom sent this to me today and I love it!!

Exercise:

None because I did the mission last night and had a massage this afternoon. I try to enjoy my nice, loose muscles for 24 hours after a massage:)

I did get my mission list for the week and made a plan!! It’s going to be another heavy running week though!

Crafting:

I’m working away on my rug and my SIL’s bag. I’m not really loving working with this material as my hands are getting sore, but thankfully it’s a pretty small project!

I impressed myself by getting my two new yarns entered into my Ravelry stash this evening. One day all of my yarn will be in there! It would be great as it would force me to determine the weight of each!

I can’t wait for the new term of HPKCHC to begin tomorrow!

Baking:

Yesterday I tried to make bread in the bread machine for this week just using the basic recipe in the manual and it was probably the worst loaf I’ve ever made! So tonight I’m having a second try and using the recipe I used last time:) You can find it in this Post🙂

Movie:

Last night I treated myself to a Hallmark movie before bed. It took me several tries to find one and I finally settled on Mr. Write

I have to say I didn’t love this movie! The main couple was Dori and Michael. She is engaged and he is a writer with a block. She is the new junior editor who gets him back to writing. The characters were just seriously annoying and there didn’t seem to be any chemistry. They go from strangers to him falling in love with nothing but work between. The secondary storyline of Dori’s colleague who is afraid of commitment with a great guy was much more entertaining, but I’m not sure it was enough to save the movie. I would bypass this movie:(

Well, I need to get knitting if I’m going to get this bag done for my SIL. It is her birthday tomorrow but I’m seeing her Friday, so I’m aiming for then- still a challenge!

Have fun!

AJ

Sunday Funday

I have to admit I ducked out of my commitments today and did what I wanted:)

Exercise:

I had my usual Sunday morning run, complete with tech issues:(. We ran at Burnaby Lake today and it was nice because I only had to do 45 minutes and Dennis was back. He runs way faster than me but he does loop back to check on me regularly. Sarah was supposed to come, but didn’t, so it was nice to have a little bit of company on the run. Of course at 35 minutes it said I had run 3.5km and then at 45 minutes it said I had run 3.55km. I don’t think so:( Thankfully it was by time and not distance today. It seems as though I’m going to have to look into a watch because even I’ve had enough of my complaining about tech problems, so you all must be beyond bored with it!

I was super excited to hear that a girl from last night wanted to be included on the Sunday run email. I really hope this means that she will come out as I think we may be a good fit together and I hear she’s reliable so at least one day a week I’d have someone to run with:). Fingers crossed!!!!

I got out for another 5km run this evening since it had quit raining and it will allow me to sleep in an extra half hour tomorrow morning and still get the mission done. That’s the last run for the month! It showed again that I have better runs at night!

Food:

On my way home from my run this morning (after tea of course) I stopped and did my grocery shopping for the week. I have a plan in mind and intend to keep to it as I’m feeling a little pudgy right now. I did my meal prep for the week. I made a big fruit salad which is one of my favorite warm weather breakfasts. I hard boiled some eggs for recess snacks. I made bread thinking that I’d have soup and a slice of bread for lunch, but the bread didn’t turn out great so I did up a veggie pizza and will have a quarter for each lunch. I have veggies cut up for afternoon snacks and then broccoli, turkey burgers (homemade) and potatoes for dinner:) I love when I have everything ready as my day always goes smoother that way. I actually end up eating less because my food is ready so I don’t snack as I get food ready:)

Knitting:

I have spent the day working on a bag for my sister in law out of some of the ribbon yarn I bought yesterday. I had gotten three repeats done and decided the needle size was too small, so I frogged it and started over with 6.5mm needles. I’ve done three repeats and I’m happy enough with it. I was hoping to have it finished today, but I guess it will be tomorrow. Here’s where I’m at:

I also just found out this evening that I’m a Gryffindor on Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup On Ravelry again this term. I was Gryffindor last term and we won:) I like being part of this because it helps me choose my projects:)

Reading:

Unfortunately I can’t listen to Age of Innocence and do this bag pattern so I am still at chapter ten of my book.

Well I’m off to knit some more!

Have fun!

AJ

Super Saturday

Sorry there was no post last night, I got in a little late for me!

Exercise:

I got up and ran for 46 minutes. It was not a particularly great run, but it got done and it wasn’t raining:)

Thank goodness I did that as it was the only exercise I got:(

Shopping/ Crafting:

Well today was the Woolith Fair Knit Shop Hop. I did this with Brenda last year and we had decided to do it again this year. There are fourteen shops involved, but we never do the whole thing. I think it would turn into a chore:(

We started at Valley Yarns which was a new shop to us both. They had a great sale rack outside that included books!!! It seems like knitting books are rarely on sale. I could have gone crazy with the yarn here, but I kept the number of skeins I already own in my mind! The store had beautiful buttons as well, but I ended up buying this:

The yarn is very different for me, but the shop clerk says it knits up really fun. I think it will make a nice pullover for work and I’m trying to get away from always doing blue, black or gray!

The next stop was 88 Stitches in Langley which was one of our favorite stores last year.

I like how this shop always has a featured designer in store. Last year it was Sylvia McFadden and I ended up buying her book and making up a shawl. This year it was Sandy Bahrich of Firefly Notes which is all knitting accessories. She had the cutest bags (cuts of lamb🤣), stitch markers, etc. I also like how this store always has a good sale yarn bin on this day. I just couldn’t help myself and ended up coming home with this:

I was doing my best to avoid buying yarn, but at least I didn’t buy any single skeins this year!!!!

We then headed to On the Lamb in Abbotsford. This is the second year for this store and I have to admit I haven’t been impressed either year. Last year the woman insulted my weight and this year she ignored me. It looks like a popular store as there is always a group knitting there, but I don’t think I’d even want to do that as it’s just a big table with hard chairs in the middle of the room. It doesn’t look cozy to me. I looked at buying blocking wires here, but managed to resist as I don’t have projects requiring that right now.

We stopped after this for lunch. I was treating Brenda as she was driving so I introduced her to Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. I had had it in Vancouver, but just hoped it was as good at this location. Don’t you hate when you rave about a place to friends and then it doesn’t live up to it!!! 🤣we had to laugh as we walked around the entire shopping center and it was actually right behind where we had started. If only we had turned the other way! It wasn’t great service, but the food was good! We both had the lunch special of a side salad and small pizza. I had a Napoli salad which was green salad with chickpeas and then a mushroom, ham, artichoke hearts and kalamata olive pizza. It definitely hit the spot and took care of my pizza craving!

It was back on the road and to Trendy or What Knot in Mission. This was a new shop for me, but Brenda had been out recently to pick up yarn she had ordered at the knitting show we went to last month. It was a nice, bright shop but really didn’t have much on sale and I would go there if I was looking for a non-traditional material. I bought:

To make this bag for my sister in law.

It will be for her birthday on Tuesday and will hold her real present- a bottle of wine:)

We had one more stop on the way home as we were driving right by Once Upon a Sheep in Maple Ridge. This is a very small knitting store that is run by a religious society. It had a small selection, but some very soft Yarns! I was tempted by one, but thankfully I don’t even remember its name! I managed to not buy anything here!

I’m pretty impressed with myself- $126.80 for the whole day! I am definitely not allowed to buy any yarn before Knit City in September though (unless it’s for a gift that is being made immediately!)

I had been working on a baby cap in purple as the shops were collecting for the Children’s Hospital but I ended up frogging it as it was huge when I got it finished:(

Socializing:

It was a long day of shopping in the rain, but still fun. I finished the night off with a get together with some running buddies who are moving away. These are the people who taught me how to run, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Their absence is definitely going to be felt in the local running community. It was a ton of fun to sit around talking and visiting without having to run first. It was a nice evening, but later than I had planned.

It was definitely a super fun Saturday for me and I hope it was for you as well!

Have fun!

AJ

Oh My!

Why can’t I get food into my mouth???

Teaching:

I walked to work today, past the cute guy power washing my building, talked to Lyndsay and then passed another teacher in the hall who told me that I had a big piece of blueberry on my face! OMG! Why didn’t someone mention that? I think it should be a law that if someone has something embarrassing about themselves- you need to mention it! And note to self, always look in the mirror before I leave home!!! Ugh:(

We started our day with a beading workshop, but while the beads were pretty, it was definitely not worth $9 per child. She didn’t even teach them anything!!! I was super unimpressed as she then wanted me to hand out her card to all the parents. Uh no! We’ll give the necklaces for our Mother’s Day gifts do at least it took care of that.

I got a few minutes to read my book at lunch which was a nice treat:)

We managed to do some math and read some of our novel, clean our desks and play outside. Not a bad day, but we definitely needed to get outside before the rain comes!

Exercise:

I left school really quickly so I could meet up with Lyndsay for a workout. We walked into the gym to see a ladder and a water leak but as there was no sign we went ahead with the workout. A half hour treadmill run and then we hit the floor to work on the bosu. We did overhead triceps extensions, bicycles, burpees, pull overs, crunches, Supermans, squat jumps, single leg hip bridges, and plank jacks. 3 sets of 12 of each was enough. The squat jumps definitely burned the legs out.

I so need to get back into my run in the morning, do workout at night routine. I think the problem is that now some of the Squad Runner mission runs are too long for me to do in the morning. I’ve thought about doing weights in the morning but I’d have to remove all the jumping ones as that would just be mean to my downstairs neighbor at six am! Hmm I’ll have to give this some thought!

Family:

This evening I went to my nephew’s lacrosse home game. It definitely goes faster and is more interesting than when he was little.

Just trying to be a good auntie! We’ll see if I make it to his Sunday home game. I really need to read a book on lacrosse though! Why did he choose the one game I know nothing about?

Crafts:

I did my half hour on my rug this morning and have less than 1/3 of the square to go! I’m hoping to finish it up so I’ll pick up my knitting again. It is sorely neglected!

I don’t think it has moved all week:(

Well I better get to it!

Have fun!

AJ

Silence

Just a nice day:)

Teaching:

It was a nice day as there wasn’t much out of the ordinary, except the 26 degree weather! We worked on story elements and explored characters today. I surprised the children and used a Pokémon book. They were super excited, but it seemed like horrible writing to me. Our second book was Curious George and that was way better in my mind, but at least the boys were completely engaged in the activity.

We sorted shapes, had a fire drill, went to computers, played outside and had silent reading. I played aight word go fish with my lowest readers and they had fun:)

Overall a nice day- no one cried, no one fought, no one got hurt and everyone was happy:)

Creating daisy chains during outside play:). Wish I could show you the picture of the finished crowns!

Relaxing:

I had told my students that I was looking forward to sitting in my silent house. They asked if I was going to read or knit. 🤣 time for them to move on- they know me too well!🤣

I have worked on my rug, only 20 rows left for this square, and have been listening to the Age of Innocence in LibriVox again. It has been a perfectly lovely night with no commitments!

Exercise:

After all the running lately, I wanted a break, but it was just too beautiful to stay inside. A half hour walk satisfies that craving!

I hope everyone has had as good a night as I have!

Have fun!

AJ

Can I Sit Down and Cry?

It wasn’t a bad day, just a disappointment and frustration at the end is colouring it.

Reading:

I finished the school Bookclub book last night. It was Moo by Sharon Creech.

It was a very easy and quick read as an adult. It contains an interesting mix of prose and poetry and would be a great book to demonstrate the power and use of poetic form. I didn’t like Mrs. Falala at first, but by the end I could definitely see her use. This book is great for showing how you can reinvent yourself, that change isn’t a bad thing and that you have to persevere and push through to really determine if a new course is for you. I would recommend it for a girl about age 10-13.

Teaching:

We had our first outdoor workout Wednesday today where we were running around the school. It went quite well and was an awesome day for it as it was a sunny, good smelling, Spring day. My only disappointment was that Strava didn’t track it. I ran for 16 minutes so it must have been at least a kilometer!!! Grr.

The rest of the day was fine. My new student did great again. It was tough during writing time as I had to sit with her and point to the letters and say them so I didn’t get to help any of the other children. I really hope their letters are okay!! After I was done with the little girl, I moved onto Lyndsay’s son. It made such a difference in his printing to be able to see me make the letter right before he had to! We sent a picture to his mom and she almost cried. It was his day as he also read his first list of sight words to me and did a great job!

We couldn’t resist taking the children outside this afternoon as it was so beautiful. Of course my crier hit another kid and then cried instead of explaining her side. Grrrr! I sent both of them in with the principal who had perfect timing!

Exercise:

I did Lyndsay’s boot camp after school even though my legs have been killing me all day from my long run yesterday. 9.2km with only two short walk breaks was a little much, I guess.

Today we did tabatas again, but they were all single exercises that you just switched sides for and they were all legs as in between each tabata we did 30 seconds of punching while holding 5lb weights. We did:

Banded bear fire hydrants

Reverse lunge with lateral step up

One legged lunge

Banded back leg extension

Single leg squats

Banded single leg hamstring curl

Banded curtsy lunge to side leg lift

Swing lunges

My legs were definitely on fire by the end! I needed this though as I don’t feel like I’ve been doing enough weigh training lately!

When I came home from this, I didn’t give myself the chance to sit down and get comfortable, but instead headed out for my run. I thought today would be my rest day, but then realized it was a 6.5km run for 200 points. I can do that! Well it was a calamity of errors. After the first kilometer I realized that Strava was yet again not tracking my run, so I switched to runkeeper. This is what I ended up with:

Grrrr! Then it wouldn’t sync so I will probably miss out on these awesome points as there is no way that I am running 6.5km before school tomorrow!! All of that hard running on sore legs, for nothing:( I’m frustrated!!!

It’s been a quiet night of an epsom salts bath and my rug. I’ll get back to it now:)

Have fun!

AJ

I Did It

Some days I surprise myself!

Teaching:

My new student showed up today. I was given some extra help in case she bolted again, but the morning was very smooth and she seemed happy.  We had a pretty relaxed morning and then it was out for more coaching sprints in the afternoon for me.  Another sunny day, so I wasn’t about to complain! I couldn’t believe though how many excuses the kids already have not to run, so sad:(

Reading:

I finished another NetGalley read. This was The Hookup by Erin McCarthy.

This book tells the story of Harvard math PhD candidate Sophie and lobster fisherman Cain Jordan. They were supposed to share just one night together, but find that they crave more time together as each helps the other in their own way.
The characterization in this story was very realistic. I had a difficult time reading it because Cain is an alcoholic and my father is too, but Erin McCarthy has done a great job of making both Cain and Sophie realistic, believable and interesting. They are multi-faceted and interesting.
I also liked the tempo of the book. It didn’t seem exceedingly fast and yet it carried the reader along and kept you wanting to read. I had a difficult time turning out the light and going to sleep as I just wanted to read one more chapter.
Finally, I liked the ending of the story as, while it gave hope for a happy ending, it was still realistic. These two people who are not perfect still have issues to resolve. It felt satisfying and yet wasn’t sickly sweet.
If you like complex and complicated characters, realistic and believable relationship and a satisfying plot then this is the story for you.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Exercise:

I have to admit I had another nap after school today. This may become a habit😂. I knew I needed to head out for a run however to knock off some more of the 20km mission that needs to be finished by 3pm tomorrow. I set out along the busy road I avoid and over to the park in the neighboring city. It was an okay run though I think my Strava was messed up at the beginning:(. I learned quickly that I needed to give up on the timing as the multitude of lights was killing that. I ended up getting 9.1km done and now I’ll be able to sleep in tomorrow and have a rest day from running!! It was a gorgeous night for a run, but I wish I had taken my water with me!!!

Product Review:

I need to crow about another product I recently bought and have been loving. A few weeks ago I saw that Costco had Swell water bottles. I hemmed and hawed a bit, but ended up buying myself one. I didn’t really see why they were so special and worth so much more than other bottles, but I take one to work each day and mine were looking very beat up! Well, today I found out the reason! I came back in after track attack, where I had been screaming ready, set, go down the length of the field for two hours, very parched! I grabbed my water bottle and much to my surprise had icy cold water still in it. It had been filled at 7:30 that morning! It was a lovely treat. I also have been liking that it’s slim enough for my small hand to hold it without feeling like I’m going to drop it. I also like that it doesn’t leave water rings on my desk as there is no condensation from it because it is double walled. I see that they come in some gorgeous colors and designs, but I’m okay with my classic silver. This is another product that I’m happy I stepped up and bought (though I admit I got a good deal on it).

Well, I’m off to read and work on my rug!

Have fun!

AJ

One Fine Day

It was a fine day, made better by sunshine:)

Teaching:

My new student didn’t show up today but that turned out to be a good thing because my other little girl who doesn’t speak English went back to crying today:( ugh!

I had a heart attack after my prep when two of my boys were missing and I figured out nobody had seen them since recess! I finally found them in the boys change room and it took them a while to appear and it sounded like they had climbed behind things and were hiding. To make it even more interesting one little guy had gone to change out of muddy clothes and was doing all this in his underwear. They don’t teach this in teacher training🤣

I spent the afternoon outside coaching sprints. One of the grade three teachers isn’t athletic and so we switch classes (not that I would call myself athletic!). I do enjoy working with the children on their running though! Even better- it was sunny out there:)

I had a parent meeting after school, but it went fine. The counselor was with me and I love it when I have a second person in a meeting. This boy is a designated behavior but we haven’t been having trouble with him. It was tough to find a balance as I’m very happy but also very aware that he could go back to having trouble with another teacher.

Household:

They power washed my deck today and after my nap I decided that I should get down to business and get everything wiped down and put back. Wouldn’t you know that I just finished doing this when I got a note that they hadn’t finished and would need to work on it again tomorrow🤦🏼‍♀️

Exercise:

I got out for my run tonight though quite unwillingly. I don’t know why I didn’t want to run, but I got 6km done so I’m happy. I was super happy when at one point it told me my current split pace was 5:59😀

There were tons of people out so I think I need to go back to doing it right after school. I’ll try that tomorrow:)

Product Review:

I would be the first to admit that I am quite frugal when it comes to money. I have to be careful because I have a mortgage on my own, but honestly, I’ve always been like this. Every time I’ve needed headphones- I end up with the $20 ones that fit over my ear. They are okay, but never awesome and I always end up playing with them, knocking the cord and having to adjust them during runs. I have a small head and small ears! I had heard of the Aftershokz Trekz Titanium wireless headphones, but had avoided buying them as I wasn’t sure they would fit and they are super expensive. That was until my friend talked some sense into me- $145 wasn’t going to seem that expensive when I use them everyday, sometimes several times a day. In March I gave in and ordered a pair in the mini size. These are not the newest model as I couldn’t find them in the mini size. Well I’ve been using them consistently for a month now and have to say they are worth the money. From the first day, I put them on and haven’t had to touch them yet. I didn’t even have trouble working them or setting them up, which for me is a major plus. I find them light, they stay put, and they have good sound quality. I also find that my ears don’t get sore like they used to from having something in them. I don’t have great hearing so I wasn’t sure that bone conducting sound would work for me, but it does. If you’re looking for a new set of headphones- I would recommend these:)

Well, I’ve earned going and curling up in bed with my book so that is exactly what I’m going to do!

Have fun!

AJ

All Sunshine and Rainbows

It was another lovely day:) Maybe this is a record😂😂

Exercise:

It was a nice treat that Sarah came out to join me for my run this morning. I had to do at least 43 minutes to finish my mission, and she wasn’t sure she could run that much, but we surprised ourselves and ran 45 minutes straight. Yelling at Kula to get out of the mud may have helped distract us from the time. How that dog managed to get muddy head to toe is beyond me! It was a gorgeous morning for a run and was starting to get warm by the time we finished.

The best running buddies!

This evening I went out for another run to start off the new mission. Figured if I did 5km tonight that meant I only had to do 5km Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday:). Somehow that seems much more doable to me than 20km🤣

Shopping:

I stopped to buy groceries right after my run. I figure this is a good time as a workout is fresh in my mind so hopefully will help keep me healthy at the grocery store. I didn’t do too badly, though I did spend more than I had planned. At least I have an eating plan for the week and not so much food in the house! I eat much better when there is less choice around-then my food is fuel rather than entertainment!

Crafting:

I was super productive on all of my projects today, or at least I touched them all:). I started the next square on my rug, I got another pattern repeat done on my tabard and I’m loving what it’s looking like! I got four rows done on the afghan, but am not going further tonight as I’m tired and I’m at the toe with the new -to-me stitch in it. I’ll wait until I’m fresh to tackle that!

Family:

My mom came over to help me clear my deck as they will be power washing it tomorrow. Last year I did it by myself but since I had advance warning this year, I asked for help. Some of my planters are the size of me! I took the opportunity to clean out all the dead plants and tidy up. I love having plants, but am thinking I may skip planting them this year as I always come home to dead plants after my holidays and it seems like a waste of money:(. I was telling my mom it’s a shame though as even those few minutes today were enjoyable:)

My mom and I also took the opportunity to go in and visit my aunt, uncle and cousin this afternoon. It’s my cousin’s 30th birthday tomorrow so it was good timing:)

Socializing:

I normally take every opportunity to go and do things so that I have something to write about each night, but I have to admit I skipped going to see the movie, Ready Player One today with my Bookclub. I know it would have been fun, but thought I should visit my family and it was a super sunny day, the first after many weeks of rain, so it just felt wrong to spend it in a movie theatre!

Reading:

I did spend some time reading on my sunny couch today though:). I started a new book on LibriVox. I had downloaded Moby Dick, but didn’t even make it through the first chapter- too many quotations and definitions! That is not at all what I thought Moby Dick would be like. So instead I started on The Age of Innocence. It is read by Elizabeth Klett who I know I enjoy listening to:)

Baking:

Last month I had taken a screenshot of a blueberry bisquick bake off of a blog. I’m so sorry that I can’t remember whose blog it was so can’t give credit:(. Today I made it up for my breakfasts for the week. It was super simple!

1.5 cups bisquick

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup coconut milk

1tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix it all together, pour it into a greased pan (a 13×9 is way too big!) and then put blueberries on top and press them in. I then baked it for about 15 minutes. It called for 20-25 minutes in a 10×6 pan. They are okay, but a little dry. I think I will enjoy them with a touch of syrup all this week:)

Well that’s it for me:)

Have fun!

AJ

A Spring Tradition

It was a cold, but sunny spring day today, but definitely an improvement over our incessant rain of late!

Exercise:

My Squad Runner mission is for two hours by 3pm tomorrow and I was only at 21 minutes, so I got out for another quick 21 minutes this morning. It wasn’t the most successful run as I hadn’t eaten beforehand and was super hungry. It added a bit more time though:)

This evening I got out for a slightly more successful run of 35 minutes. It’s funny because when I am running there are times when I feel like I’m going nice and fast, but my phone clearly shows me I’m not fast, so I often wonder what I really look like?🤣. I know that I have gotten a little faster though as the local inlet trail now only takes 35 minutes rather than 40+😀

Socializing:

A few years ago my co- teacher introduced me to garage sales and it has become our tradition to go to the two community wide garage sales each year. I have to admit that that is enough garage saling for me for a year, but it’s still fun! Today was the first garage sale day. I quickly made a plan this morning as I navigate and my friend drives. We always start with the better parts of town and see how far we get. Today we actually got through 22 stops! I ended up spending $11 total and most of that was on books for my classroom. I also picked up lots of little freebies for the prize bag. In addition, I got a new word art piece for my house, an abs roller and a Lululemon workout top. Not a bad morning’s work. I’ll take a picture of the art for you all when I figure out where to hang it:)

Baking:

I’ve been wanting to try out a caramel apple cinnamon roll recipe from Paleo Eats by Kelly Bejelly for a while and today was the day. I knew almost immediately that the choux dough was going to be dry, but I persevered. I always think you need to follow the recipe exactly the first time. My mom did make a good point that the dough is better to be dry as they are covered in a glaze afterwards. I found the glaze to be too strong of a coconut flavor and think they would have been better with just a simple caramel sauce drizzled over them. Oh well, I have some ideas but I’m still on the lookout for a good go-to df/gf cinnamon bun recipe.

Shucks sorry, I just realized I didn’t take a photo before I froze the leftovers.

Crafting:

I got another square of my rug finished so I’m still on track after three weeks:)

I also got the tabard started again and have decided on a double miss stitch pattern. We’ll see how it goes.

Reading:

Finally I finished the day off with laundry and finishing my book. I read Like Cats and Dogs.

This is the story of Laura and Spencer. Laura is a bubbly, recent college graduate who is not happy with where she is in life, but doesn’t know where she wants to go. Spencer is a serious, graduate student writing his dissertation on love being only a chemical thing. What happens when they are stuck together in a house for two weeks?

The differences between these two characters are significant and at first I really couldn’t see them ending up together. The timeline is fast, but successful.

The premise is very cute of the rental house owner playing matchmaker.

I also really liked the plot line. It featured some laugh out loud funny moments and many other moments one just wishes to experience with someone special.

This is a very sweet book and anyone who likes an opposites attract book would enjoy it.

Thank you to Hallmark and Netgalley for the the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, it has been another lovely day, including an awesome nap, but I think I’m ready to crawl into bed with another book:)

Have fun!

AJ