You're a Blog-a-holic If...

Lately, I've been noticing (mostly because Kevin has made comments) that I've spent an inordinate amount of time writing on my blog or checking up on my friends' blogs. I think I've become a blog-a-holic! What do I decide to do when I realize this? That's right, BLOG! Nothing like enabling your addiction! I thought it would be fun to create a list of ways you know you're a blog-a-holic. I'm only going to start the list, so friends and followers, please add on your own silly statements! You're a Blog-a-holic If.... ...you blog about being a blog-a-holic. ...you check your blog at work to see if anyone has commented. ...before saying "hi" to people at home, you run to see if anyone has updated their blogs.

Random Words of Kindness

On Friday night, we got home from dinner, and were ready to pop in a DVD and eat some movie theater candy on the couch. I, of course, had to check out my Facebook page first. I saw that I had a message from one of the other teachers on my team, which said: "I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate working with you! Thanks for all you do to make our team look so good! I hope eventually you and I can relax a little bit and enjoy the fruits of our labor! :)" It probably took about 3 minutes to write, but it made me feel wonderful. I know that my work is appreciated by those around me, but to read it and see it where it wasn't expected was such a pleasant surprise (especially on a Friday, when you are so exhausted, you don't feel like you can face another week of work). Here is my challenge to all of my blog readers, few as you may be. Please consider sending/saying some Random Words of Kindness to a coworker, family member, friend, mentor, or any other person who makes your life better. Trust me, it will brighten up the gloomiest, coldest, most stress-ridden day. On that note, I am posting mine on my blog for all to see: To my wonderful husband ~ Thank you for doing MORE than your fair share around the house so that I am able to workout, lesson plan, nap, grade papers, or any of the other excuses I come up with to get out of the housework. My successes are in great part due to your supportive and patient demeanor. I love you!

The Quest for Asics

Kevin and I have recently started running again. We were doing really well up until the wedding, and then we just stopped going to the gym. To kick start this new fitness wave, Kevin got new running shoes. I decided that I needed/wanted new ones, too, since I currently dislike mine. We went to DSW, and after 30 minutes, we walked out with new Asics for Kevin. We could not, however, find the style of Asics shoes that I like. So began my online quest to find my Asics. As of yet, I've struck out three times. Here is how this shoe saga has gone in the last 24 hours: Attempt #1: Found Asics at Zappos.com. Ordered them. Had to call and cancel order after realizing they were the wrong style.

Asics 1140s...WRONG

Attempt #2: Found Asics GT-2120s (correct style) at Dave's Pro Shop. Ordered them. Had to call and change order after realizing I had ordered a mens size 9, not womens.

Asics 2120s....MENS

Attempt #3: Rick, at Dave's Pro Shop, changed order to GT-2140s (correct style, just two versions newer...they did not have Womens 2120s). Ordered them. Got a call a few hours later that my size was no longer in stock...computer error.

Asics 2140s...OUT OF STOCK

Attempt #4: E-mailed Rick at Dave's Pro Shop, changed order to GT-2150s (newest version of the shoe). Awaiting reply.

Asics 2150s....PLEASE????

The good news is that Rick, my new BFF, has waved any changes in price because of the huge hassle I've been having, so I get the most updated shoes for the cost of the old ones! Let's keep our fingers crossed that this 4th time works out!

Teachers Work Three Times Harder!

This afternoon, I took a couple of students to their after school program. We were a little late in leaving the school because my weekly team meeting lasted longer than I thought it would. I jokingly said to them, "Did you ever realize that teachers worked this hard?" The little boy replied, "Oh yeah. Mrs. Rumble told us that teachers work THREE times as hard as students. First they have to plan the lesson, then they have to teach the lesson, and then they have to grade the lesson! All we have to do is do the lesson!" Touche'. Thanks Mrs. Rumble, for driving home just how hard us teachers work!

Family and Food

This weekend, Kevin and I went to Cincinnati for Aunt Karen and Uncle Mike's belated Chanukah celebration. On Saturday, we enjoyed wonderful food and loved seeing everyone again. We participated in a gift exchange, where I pulled the #1 pick. Not only did we get to pick first, but after everyone had chosen and opened their gifts, we got to "steal" someone's gift, and exchange it for ours. This was great, because we ended up with a jumbo box of Ghirardelli brownie mix, and one of those brownie pans that has a built in cutter, so all of the brownies come out as perfect rectangles. It worked GREAT! I am including some pictures of the brownie baking, and one of our nephew Eli on his first date. (I would have had more from the gathering, but my camera died.) Today, we spent the morning driving around Cincinnati for special grocery items which I am not able to find here in Indy. Kevin, his mom, and I went to Kroger and Biggs, and found Whipped Peter Pan Peanut Butter (less calories per serving), La Tortilla Factory tortillas (lots of fiber and less fat), and some Weight Watchers Carrot Cake zingers (MMMMM...). Then, my father-in-law, Barry, and I ventured out to Jungle Jim's International Market to find my Tofu Shiratake noodles (the ones that Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien is all about). I have included a link to Jungle Jim's, because you have to see it to believe it. It is the amusement park of grocery stores. It has EVERYTHING you can possibly think of. I could probably spend an entire day there, which is a possibility, since they have a restaurant in the store, just for those occasions. In addition to the Tofu Shiratake noodles, I found some Cranberry Orange Wildflower Honey, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread, and Beech mushrooms. Delicious!

The Spinach Experiment

Last night, Kevin made spinach dip so that I could take it to school for our "Payday Treats". Each payday, one grade-level brings food, like a potluck, and everyone gets to munch all day. Kevin HATES defrosting the spinach my way, using hot water, the sink, a strainer, and paper towels. According to Kevin, these are way too many materials. (I must say that Kevin uses considerably more paper towels than necessary.) He decided to test out a new defrosting method. Here is his experiment, a la fifth grade science project. Question: Is there a cleaner way to defrost spinach? Hypothesis: I can defrost spinach using a Ziploc bag. Procedure: 1) Remove frozen spinach from package. 2) Place frozen spinach into Ziploc bag, and lay in sink. 3) Run hot water over Ziploc bag. 4) Squeeze water from bag. 5) Remove spinach. Results: It took 20 minutes to defrost one box of spinach. The end result was two little balls of spinach - "spinach turds" as Kevin called them. The dip tasted exactly the same. Exactly zero paper towels were lost in this battle. Conclusion: While it took a much longer time to defrost the spinach, the whole process ended up being a lot less messy!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Just for fun, I decided to post some of my most favorite sayings that students have said to me so far this school year. "Mrs. Pinsky, everyone else is growing except for me. I don't think my spurt has spurted yet." "I don't understand why Mrs. Pinsky is taking 3 days off for her wedding. I mean, it only takes like half an hour to get married!" "Do you know who this paper belongs to? I mean, it says 'Hannah's Spelling Activity' at the top. Do you think it could be hers?" "Mrs. Pinsky, thanks so much for dressing so cute for me each day!"

Resolutions

It's that time of year. You know, when you walk into the gym and it's PACKED, because everyone has made a resolution to lose a few (or more than a few) pounds. Now I admit, I've only been to the gym once this year, and I do plan on going more. I have decided not to join the masses and make a gym resolution, since I'm almost positive I won't be able to keep it. Making New Year's resolutions are a wonderful thing to do, though. They force you to take a look at how you are living your life, reflect upon both the good and bad things, and resolve to make positive changes. So, in the spirit of the New Year (and the new decade), I've decided to make the following resolutions. Some are big and some are little, but what is important is that I am changing to better myself. Resolution #1 ~ Drink at least 6 glasses of water before consuming other beverages. A caveat to this one: coffee does not count. This means that it does not count as water (even though it's just flavored/caffeinated water), but it also doesn't count as another beverage since I MUST have it in the morning. I thought of this one because I snack quite a bit, and I tend to get really tired in the afternoons and evenings. Hopefully, it will help to eliminate both of these issues. Plus, there are other benefits to drinking lots of water like healthy skin and maintaining muscle tone. Resolution #2 ~ Leave school by 4:30pm. I have been spending WAY too much time working at school. While I still spend time in the evenings and on my weekends on school stuff, I'm at home with Tobi and Kevin while I'm doing it, not holed up in my classroom behind my desk. Grading on the couch is way better than grading in my classroom! I must admit, last Friday I stayed until 5:15, but to make up for it, I didn't do any schoolwork at home ALL weekend! Kevin and Tobi had my undivided attention. Resolution #3 ~ Get back to doing the things I love. I love Yoga and Israeli Folk Dancing, and pre-Kevin, I did both religiously. Now, I do neither. I found a Yoga class on Saturdays that I will test out this weekend, and I will be at Israeli Folk Dancing class on Monday evening. Doing things that I love help to relieve tons of stress. These two particular hobbies of mine are good for the body, mind, and soul. Plus, Happy Wife = Happy Life....so true. There they are...large and small. I'd be interested to hear about any resolutions that you made. If you haven't made any yet, I hope I've inspired you to make one!

Anyone Out There???

As I was chatting with my mom during our daily phone conversation, she mentioned that she had seen my new blog layout and read the updated posts. I asked if she'd commented on it, and she said she hadn't. That got me thinking, is anyone besides my mother reading this? I mean, I know I have a few readers out there, but I'm really not sure since comments are few and far between. According to my blog, I only have three followers...kind of sad. So, blog readers, if you are in fact out there, make yourself known. Follow me (anonymously or out in the open). Comment on the posts (not just on Facebook). I'll try my hardest to entertain you as best I can!

DIY Pottery

This weekend, some of my friends and I went to Color Me Mine at Clay Terrace for Brandi's birthday. I don't know if you have ever painted pottery but it was SOOO much fun, and I totally recommend it. I am so fortunate to have a group of ladies with whom I can hang out and do some pretty neat things. Here are a few pictures of us, including my cupcake cookie jar masterpiece. Also included, a photo of us at Kona Grill enjoying a yummy dinner. Thanks for the wonderful time, ladies, and happy birthday Brandi!

Pizza, Pizza!

In the last four weeks, I have been craving pizza like crazy, much to Kevin's dismay. He prefers not to have pizza around the house because, while delicious, it's not exactly the most nutritious food choice. While browsing around on the Hungry Girl website, I found a yummy recipe for pizza using Flat Outs. If you don't know what these are, they are low-cal wraps, and there are several different flavors. If you go to their website, you'll see lots of different (and easy to make) recipes, including the delicious Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza (I use the Light Italian Herb Flat Outs, Turkey Pepperoni, and 2% Mozzarella Cheese). Only problem? I've only been able to find them at Marsh in the Indy area. They are located in the bakery section with other specialty breads. If you are not in the Indy area, you can look at their website to find other locations at which these wonderful things are sold.