Not As Planned

At the start of the week, my days looked crazy busy, but it has been turning out less so.

Teaching:

Today went well and I realized it may be because I had a disruptive boy move during the break. It’s amazing the influence one child can have on a class!

We started our Reading Power program with making connections. We delved further into place value and we played dodgeball in gym. Lol when I write it down, it seems so little. Of course, that’s without the five reading tests I did today and reading with four other kids.

Exercise:

After work it was the first day back to boot camp. I think L took it easy on us today. We had to do: squat jumps/ slider hamstring curls, reverse lunge with shoulder press, 1/2 get ups, plank/speed skaters, bench reverse lunge with a hop, bear crawl/ jumping jacks, banded lat pull downs/ banded hip raises with a weight, pulsing squat/bird dog.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to use the planks and squats I did in that workout to count for today’s or whether I will do more.

Family:

I went over to visit my nephew today and he seems like himself. I was glad to be able to spend some time with him and give him some hugs! Banks also got lots of belly scratches and hugs!

Reading:

I finally finished Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas. It was only five days, but it felt like I was reading this book forever! I just found it really unrealistic so can’t bring myself to recommend it.

Cooking:

I saw a video on Facebook for maki g your own vegan cheese and started to make it, only to come to the part where you need agar. Of course I don’t have any so it’s been put into the fridge. If I don’t find agar I may just make pasta to go with it!

Well I don’t quite know what I’m going to do with myself now, but maybe some knitting.

Have fun!

AJ

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Quite the Day

It was a good start, but it’s amazing how quickly everything can change!

Teaching:

My students have definitely been yawning a lot lately. We wrote about our New Years Resolutions this morning after watching a reading of the book, Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution. Thank goodness for YouTube as my school doesn’t have this book and there aren’t a lot of books about resolutions for kids.

We also tackled a bit more of place value and we brainstormed what they already knew about penguins. Quite a successful day for us!

Family:

After chatting with colleagues, I clicked on Instagram. My colleagues say I went white immediately.

PSA- before you put anything on social media, make sure your family knows.

My nephew posted that he had a seizure last night and was in hospital. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that horrible before! He is the closest I will ever come to having my own child and boy did that hurt! He’s had an MRI this evening and has come home with his parents.

I thought it was bad when he was little and I worried about him choking, now I’m going to be worried he’ll have another seizure:(. He’s going to be under constant surveillance when he’s with me! My mom is threatening a Michelin man suit🤣

If you have a dog- give him or her a cuddle tonight!

This is the hero of the day as he jumped on my brother and barked at him until he got up last night as he knew something was wrong with my nephew. Animals are amazing!

Exercise:

I decided to go for a run while waiting on the MRI as I don’t wait well. I definitely had a lot of emotion to power my run and managed 5.7km. It was pouring rain and my gloves were dripping, but I didn’t even notice!

I also got 200 squats and a 1:20 plank done.

Knitting:

I tried to distract myself with knitting and finished a cowl in this horrible acrylic yarn I had in my stash. Thankfully you can’t see the mistakes I made as I just couldn’t settle tonight.

Well I’m going to go try some yoga to calm down. Im not sure I will until I get to hug my nephew!

Have fun!

AJ

Getting Back To It

It’s been another quiet day, but that’s probably a good thing before the chaos starts again on Monday.

Exercise:

I met up with Sarah for a run this morning. We got a little lost, as usual, but it was fun!

This evening I managed to get out for a walk as well. It wasn’t running so I figured I had better get it while it was good:)

I also did squats and a plank for the second day. Need to start building up the muscle again. I swear they all atrophied while I was laying on the couch last week🤣

Family:

Well we finally settled on a place to rent for Christmas next year. It only took two days. It was a tough decision because there was one that was an amazing deal but required the kids to sleep on air mattresses if there was the gorgeous one with enough beds but double the price. We’re going to go with the amazing deal as we can do a lot of events for all that money. It’s tough to do group things as there are just so many different personalities in my family. It will be interesting to see if we survive our first family holiday together.😳

Baking:

I grabbed a few groceries after my run and made a batch of Bisquick biscuits to use up the bisquick I had in the cupboard. They looked good, but were super crumbly. I think it was just the nature of Bisquick, or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Movies:

I watched A Shoe Addict’s Christmas with Candace Cameron Bure this afternoon and loved it. It is such a cute movie! It follows the basic outline of A Christmas Carol but its shoes that move her through time. Most of the shoes were gorgeous so of course it gets my vote for being a good movie!

Knitting;

I also finished up the cowl I had started earlier. It used up three skeins of yarn and was a super easy knit while turning out pretty. It used Morena yarn and the free pattern off Ravelry called Cowl for Coba. This is a “no think” pattern that shows off yarn very nicely.

I am happy with how it turned out.

I have also spent some time weaving in ends on my temperature scarf. I feel like I may be old and gray before I get them all finished.

Well I’m going back to watch another Hallmark movie:)

Have fun!

AJ

I Feel Better

The day got better as it went on:)

I definitely had a difficult time getting out of bed this morning, but I finally did to run out to Costco to grab some gas. I probably should have gone when the store was open, but oh well.

Eating:

My eating today was definitely not normal, but it definitely was yummy!

This morning I tried out the new Green Mustache cafe that opened across from my place. I was really excited to try this place as everything is gluten free and dairy free. I tried the Banana and Buckwheat waffles with caramel cashew cream and chia jam with figs and walnuts. It was so delicious!!!!!!

Thankfully I didn’t eat again until I had dinner with a friend this evening. We were out shopping and stopped at the Village Taphouse for dinner. I had the Classic Handpressed burger on a gluten free bun. It was super messy, but also super yummy!!

It’s been a great eating day!

House:

I was having a tough time settling this morning and couldn’t decide why. I finally figured out I needed to deal with the parking issue. I called and explained the situation and the manager was super great and reversed the fine and everything!! I suddenly felt much better:)

Exercise:

I definitely needed to get out running today!! I feel like I have lost all muscle in the past week! I got a short run in and then did a plank and some squats this evening.

Family:

My family is trying to book a holiday to Palm Springs next winter. It will be the very first time that we will ever be on a vacation all together so it might be interesting! It will definitely give me impetus to do more weights this year!

Shopping:

I met up with a great friend this afternoon for some shopping. It was a great time! We found some awesome sales-a new rain jacket for my friend and these cute items for me.

I couldn’t believe I got out of J Crew for $11. I’m super excited about the new slippers as they are the style my mom always has, but you don’t normally find them in kids:) These plus an awesome restocking at Bath and Body Works made for a great haul!

Knitting:

I worked on a cowl today that will probably go into the holiday market. I also finished knitting my temperature cowl. Now I just need to tie in the 365 ends😫

Well I’m going to go watch a movie in bed:)

Have fun!

AJ

Happy New Year

This won’t be the post I was expecting to do today, but I’ll save that for tomorrow!

TV:

I have spent a lot of time watching the Great British Baking Show again. I finished season 4 and tried 5, but really missed Mel and Sue and Mary so I’ve gone back to watch the Beginnings show instead. What am I going to do when I finish this???

Knitting:

I have been watching a lot of TV because I finished my sweater today:)🎉🎊

I am super happy with it even though the sleeves did end up being slightly different lengths. I’m really not sure how that happened, but I spend my life with my sleeves rolled up so it won’t bug me:)

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn and am super happy with how soft it is. The entire sweater only used 1.75 skeins!!! I have another 2.25 left for the stash.

The pattern is called Waiting For Spring and is free on Ravelry. The pattern was relatively easy to follow, but I think my thirty plus years of knitting helped. There were some issues at some of the decrease areas. I had to use my knowledge of knitting to get it to work so I wouldn’t recommend the pattern for beginners.

Eating:

Once done the sweater my parents and I had turkey dinner. It was very yummy and nice to feel like I had Christmas dinner with them.

Family:

My mom and I had bought puzzles when she was last home from Costco and we finished one tonight. Maybe we chose way too easy a puzzle🤣

Well I’m hoping tomorrow to do a recap of my year, but it will have to wait for tomorrow:)

Have fun!

AJ

What is this???

It was a quiet holiday day, but I was supposed to be escaping the rain!

Technology:

Last night in bed I was thinking that maybe I had dropped my headphone charger in the truck, but unfortunately it turned out not to be true:( I also haven’t heard back from any of my inquiries☹️

Family:

My mom showed me around all their recent projects. It’s neat to see all the things she has been talking about. Now I just have to talk them into letting me help.

The cutest part of the tour was the black lab who belongs to the owner:)

Exercise:

I didn’t get any exercise today so it’s going to be scary if this continues! I’ll have to talk them into letting me do work if no running occurs or I’ll go home a roly-poly little one.

The cool thing I learned today was that one of the members of my Squad Runner team lives near to where I am! Hopefully I will get the chance to meet her!!!

Knitting:

I have spent a lot of today knitting. I have decided to go ahead using the same needles as I usually have to size sweaters down. It’s a nice knit so far because it’s mostly just knitting and yet it has thirteen interesting stitches every round.

Shows:

I am officially obsessed. I am working my way through season 1 of the Great British Baking Show. This was actually the compromise between my Hallmark movies and my dad’s violent movies. Of course now all I want to do is bake!

It has rained, thunder and lightning all afternoon. I was supposed to be avoiding this by coming to Arizona!

I’m going back to the baking show!

Have fun!

AJ

Boxing Day

Definitely not my typical Boxing Day- no parties and no shopping.

Travel:

The day came early at 4:30am and I was at the airport for 6:10am. I had quite the wait, but spent it catching up on the reader and making my photos smaller in the hopes of freeing up space for more photos.

I did finally arrive in Phoenix this afternoon. All was good until I discovered that I’ve lost my storage case and charging cord for my Aftershockz headphones☹️😫😥😢. I have emailed the airline but I don’t hold out much hope. I also emailed the company in the hopes I can purchase a cord and case. Next step will be try to contact Visa. I really hate when I do this type of thing:(

Family:

I got a very nice hug from my mom and I plan to get many more in the next week. Have to build up my stores to get through another 2.5 months! We managed to get out of the airport without yelling which is quite amazing!

Shopping:

We stopped in at Fry’s in Maricopa on the way home and I was amazed at the selection of Free From products. I tried to be good as I’d like to go home weighing less!

Knitting:

I had sent yarn and needles down with my mom and brought a free Ravelry pattern called “Waiting for Spring”. I got the ribbing done and made do with yarn for a stitch marker, but I may be in trouble as it now calls for changing to a larger circular needle and I only sent one set of circular needles down. Do you think I can just go on in the same size needle?

Netflix:

I have already made myself at home and taken over my dad’s Netflix. I was super excited to see The Great British Baking Show as I’ve read about it on so many blogs. I loved it!! I liked how I could just listen and the fact that they were nice to each other and helped each other out. I will definitely be trying to watch more of this series before I go home!

Now I’m onto a Hallmark Christmas movie- Christmas Inheritence. So far it’s cute!

Well, that’s it for me:)

Have fun!

AJ

Merry Christmas

My day was surprisingly quiet but lovely. I have a few pictures to show you but unfortunately I’m yet again out of memory:( I guess I’m going to have to step up and pay and change my site. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

Baking:

I was supposed to go to my brother’s for 8:45, but my sister in law texted about 7:30 and said they were already awake and to come anytime. I quickly baked the maple nut scones I had made previously for the Fantastic Bake Along. I knew immediately they weren’t going to be as good as last time. The batter was just too runny:(. I took them anyways, but at this point I’m almost afraid to try baking anything☹️

Family:

I sat and opened presents with my brother, sister in law and nephew. I love how they do one gift at a time so everyone can see what people got. I love watching people open gifts! They surprised me with a gift card for a pedicure. It was so not necessary!

My sister in law made an amazing breakfast of egg cups, bacon and fruit salad. It was all so yummy!!!!

Cooking:

I came home and got my dressing prepared. It’s always drier when it’s made outside the bird, but boy is it yummy! I tried cornbread stuffing but definitely prefer my pork and poultry seasoning- easy and yummy!

Exercise:

With my dressing done, I got out the door for a quick run. It was painful as I was way too overstuffed from breakfast! It did feel great to get out though in the cold!

Knitting:

I finished a green vest for next Christmas season (and I wore it tonight). I also did a green headband with the leftover yarn so that’s two skeins off my stash list.

I then started a cowl for the holiday market next year when I was at Brenda’s. I’ve used up two skeins on that so far so I’ll be able to take four skeins off the list:)

Movies:

I got a change to take in Christmas Kiss this afternoon and this evening I am enjoying The 12 Men of Christmas. I have to watch this as we watched Die Hard 1 & 2 at Brenda’s and I need something sweet and happy before I try to sleep🤣

Eating:

I spent the evening at Brenda’s knitting and watching movies. I enjoyed the quiet time and the dinner was amazing!!!! It takes forever to make and it only took twenty minutes to eat and clean up🤣

Gifts:

I ended up getting two tea pots, two boxes of tea and four tea mugs. Does everyone think I do nothing but drink tea? I’m going to have to go through and cull my mug collection so I can fit these new ones into the cupboard.

Well I’m off to bed as I’m getting up super early for a flight to visit my parents in the morning. I’m not sure what the WiFi situation is down there so you will either hear from me continuously for the next week or not at all. Let’s hope for the former!

Have fun and Merry Christmas everyone!

AJ

Needs to be Rectified!

It was quite the day with lots of great things!

Exercise:

I got out this morning for a run, but it was very quick. We did 3.6km as it was so wet and cold. I had managed to step out of the vehicle into a puddle over my ankles and then my feet froze. I was happy to eat out of it for tea!

Family:

After a quick hot shower and a rice cake with Pb & j. I went back over to my brother’s though I hadn’t heard from anyone. I so hate being left out of stuff. I missed breakfast:(

It was miserable all day so it was a day of doing the jigsaw puzzle and watching movies. My sister in law says it’s not normal that I haven’t seen the movie Footloose. I will try to remedy this:)

Socializing:

After a nap in front of the fireplace I drove out to meet some friends. I really didn’t want to drive for an hour in the rain, but I made myself go and ended up having a good time! There were six of us and we met at Menchies.

It was great to visit and three hours went very fast! The above picture is my mango dairy free sorbet with coconut and banana chips. I won for the cheapest ice cream. Lol I suppose allergies are good for something.

I’m home now and watching the Grinch movie in bed. I have discovered that I don’t own It’s a Wonderful Life or White Christmas on DVD😫. This is going to need to be rectified quickly!

Have fun!

AJ

Early Christmas

Yesterday was quite the busy day!

Family:

I ran to Thrifty’s for some baking ingredients and when I got back my cousin and uncle were there to deal with the truck issue. I sure hope this makes them happy!😖😖😖

Baking:

I thought I’d be going for a run, but it turned out I spent the morning making baking disasters. My nan cake was a flop:) The cake was too hard, the pudding never set, and the cocoa whip was too runny. I guess I’ll have to practice.

I quickly made a set of multiple choice bars from the Hannah Swenson Lake Eden Cookbook, but I burned the top and it was too sweet. I ended up stopping at the IGA and grabbing cherry pie filling, whipping cream and salted caramel brownies.

Christmas:

My brother and his family came from the island to my other brother’s house and then my sister in law’s brother and his family came out too (he is my other brother’s best friend). We made gingerbread houses where the children ate a ton of candy and glued everything they possibly could to their house🤣. There wasn’t much candy left for auntie Ali to use on her house.

We then bundled up and headed out to a local lake that has an amazing light display. Here we were joined by my aunt and uncle and a cousin, his wife and son. It was so neat to have so many of us together. Not all of us, but probably the most for many years! We even got a picture, of course my oldest nephew his during it. My family is definitely not Hallmark, but we got close enough for me. I realized last night that I just like us all being in one house:). We are talking about Palm Springs for next Christmas though as it would be warmer, no rain and maybe we could convince my parents to join us as they haven’t been here for Christmas in three years!!! And mom, I’m not the one who made that comment last night!

Later in the evening we walked down the block to look at one of those crazy Christmas houses. It took care of the dogs and the kids!

I finally got to bed at about 11:30 and so didn’t post, but now you know how I almost had a perfect family Christmas:) Now I just wish someone would text me and tell me what’s happening today!

Have fun!

AJ