Another Kind of Playlist

I got an email request today from my friend Amy who is in law school in Charleston.  Of course she sent it to others as well, but being proud of my playlist making abilities, I will respond to it here for the world to see and share in my lovely tunes of choice.

Amy is looking for new music to study to.  You might say, what's up with that?  Isn't it better to have silence?  The answer for me, and apparently Amy as well, is NO.  I really love having a little background melody when I am planning and/or studying.  So here are some of my favorites.

1. Sundowning Aqualung and Kelly Sweet
2. Parachute Ingrid Michaelson
3. Paper Dolls Corinne Bailey Rae
4. Perfectly Lonely John Mayer
5. Conspiracy Paramore
6. Good Intentions Toad the Wet Sprocket
7. California Waiting Kings of Leon
8. Little Secrets Passion Pit
9. Flake Jack Johnson
10. The Sporting Life The Decemberists
11. Lost! Coldplay
12. Paranoia in B Major The Avett Brothers
13. Losing Lisa Ben Folds Five
14. What If It All Means Something Chantal Kreviazuk
15. One Fine Wire Colibie Caillat
16. Up All Night Counting Crows
17. Smile Lily Allen
18. Sinkin' Soon Norah Jones
19. Black Pete Yorn
20. Light in Your Eyes Sheryl Crow


Enjoy friends!

XOXO,

A Most Necessary Shopping Splurge

I finally ended my internal argument of are they or aren't they ugly and bought some Danskos after school today.

These are my first pair and they appear to be comfortable.  Definitely an expensive shoe purchase for me, but one I am hoping will pay off.  Everyone always talks about how fab they are and it's no wonder why!  Below is the color I snagged from Wanda at Because Girls Will Be Girls in Salem (figured she deserves a small business shout out... and if you're a teacher, you get 10% off)

For months, I couldn't decide if I liked the principle of wearing a bulky clog in a professional capacity enough to own a pair.  But after a few weeks on my feet, there is practically no choice.  Even my flats are leaving my blistered and I have even noticed puffiness in my feet that didn't use to be there.  And I feel more tired from the feet up consequently.  And whiny.

I thought at least these reflect my style in the upper material.  They are a nice shiny patent leather, so they're easy to clean and pretty versatile with any color.  At first glance, I wasn't wild about thinking of wearing them with brown, but in person they kind of pick up the color they are beside more than you might think.

Reviews of the comfort factor to come.

XOXO,

The Calm of The Morning

So I get up at five o'clock in the morning now.  It's crazy early and way earlier than I need to wake up, but I am learning to love it and have a leisurely calm morning.

I take the dogs out first thing.  It's still cool from the night and dark.  The air feels clean and is starting to smell fall-y.  We come upstairs for breakfast and I make my daily omelet, making sure to drop a few shreds of cheese of the floor for my little loves... They eat their dog food and I watch the news.  It's nice starting the day somewhat informed. I pack my lunch and get my water bottle full for the day.  It's a slow, quiet morning, but I like it.  I never usually take any time to appreciate the small things that comprise life, so I wanted to document these simple feelings about my mundane early morning.

XOXO,

Hokie Humbling

I have spent the last few hours nursing my wounds.  As one of my sorority sisters put it yesterday, the Hokies "broke my little football heart."  Virginia Tech football is one of my favorite pastimes.  And we're not used to losing.  And with some of the talent we possess, we shouldn't have to be losing... Now we know how the Hoos feel every year.  But it's so much worse than that.

photo credit: Boston Globe

When you start your season with such national title buzz, it's harder.  If I had a dime for how many times I heard "this could be THE year" I would be a rich lady! "We've got Evans and Williams (sidenote: does anyone think that's funny?? like Evan Williams, or as Matt calls it Evil Williams) we're going to be unstoppable."  Well I don't care who we have in the backfield, folks.  Because until our O Line can nut up and do their job and a competent offensive coordinator is in place, Evans and Williams can't shine.

This week has been humiliating if you're a Hokie.  And humbling.  I am coming to terms with the fact, and suggesting that you do, too, that we just may not be that good this year.  This notion totally sucks.  We're used to winning and succeeding.  Monday night, we should have beaten Boise State, but we made too many mistakes.  Everyone thought JMU was a mark in the W column as soon as it was scheduled.  And we absolutely were humiliated.  At home. In the rain.  See Boston College game.  You know which one I'm talkin' about...

We as fans need to acclimate to the fact that we cannot discount anyone this year.  Unless we get our s together and quick, we will lose to GT and Miami... and could lose to people we assume we will beat (e.g. Duke and UVA).  If UVA beats us at home on November 27th, I will lose my shit.  But it's a possibility we have to entertain this year.

People threatening to sell their season tix are simply grieving.  You know they won't do that jank.  When you're a Hokie, you're a Hokie for life.  I will bleed maroon and orange until the day I die and they will too.  So let's get back up and cheer for a redemptive rest of the season.  GO TECH GO!!

XOXO,

P.S: ESPN ACC reporter Heather Denich (or something like that) wrote a blog about the Hokies in which she referred to the Lunch Pail as a Garbage Pail.  I say let's find her house and roll it with tp.

Tiiiiime, why you punish me?

Everyone loves a little Hootie lyric as a post title...

So I am without a doubt dropping the blog ball.  It's been nine days since my last post and I am not surprised that this is starting to happen.  With school starting up, my schedule has been flipped around and changed a whole lot.

The first week was amazing and I love it, just like I knew I would.  I have already started a notebook just for recording the funny things kids say... I've almost filled a page so far and it's only been four days.

As a poor manager of time, this week is showing me  (or trying to show me) how to maximize my time.  I went to the gym 2/4 days after school this week (one of those misses I had to go straight to the restaurant, so I am calling that an excused absence).  I did manage to go on Labor Day during the morning, so that was three times this week.  I don't feel awesome about this, but I think it's going to get better.  The other day I missed after school this week, I didn't even take a bag.  Our pantry and fridge were damn near empty and that's historically been my job to grocery shop.  So I did.  And went to the bank to deposit my paycheck and the post office to mail a bill.

I never thought about how much time I had to run errands before until school started.  I've been staying pretty late in the afternoons, too..The kids leave around 2:20ish and I have been leaving around 4 or so every day.  But after the kids go, it's like time is on speed.  It always feels like 15 minutes has passed before I actually stop planning/conferencing and leave.

My new life goal is to learn to use Saturdays wisely.  This is tough during football season, but Saturday mornings are now my best time for errands and keeping house.  Except for today that is... I am currently supposed to be studying for my last endorsement course and have to take the test by 12:30 today at VWCC long distance learning center...   I also have to write my weekly student teaching journals which are due by tomorrow evening... but I have still committed myself to two days at the restaurant (Friday and Sunday).. today's the day those journals have to get done.

On a positive time management note, I have started planning my unit and don't even have to teach it until November.  I am very happy about getting jump on this.

Let's cross our fingers for getting on a feasible schedule and quick!

XOXO,

4 Ps: Plateau, Portions, Pumpin' It Up + Playlist

Hey y'allll!  I'm checking in tonight as I passively absorb some of the first plays of college football this season.  What a wonderful time of year...really wanting it to be Monday night.

The purpose of tonight's post is this: I had a not-so-great weigh in earlier this week with a 2lb. gain.  Ugh.  I have been faithful gyming it up, but had started straying on the whole no drinking thing and no eating when you get stressed out thing.  Honestly, straying.. but not that much.  Not two pounds much. So I am speculating that I might be hitting my first plateau in my loss.  Or maybe it just feels better to call my lapses in progress a plateau.

And what a better time to hit a plateau than when I am about to kick my life into the highest gear (sarcasm)?  Student teaching officially starts Tuesday.  What does that mean for me and my fluffy badonkadonk?  My thoughts are this:  the routine of school will help the diet portion.  I control my packed lunch and do not have spare time in which to inhale too many whole grain crackers dunked in hummus as a "snack".  That's my thing.. it's not that I don't eat what I should, but if I have too much time of my hands, portions become the issue.  I know I am not alone in this struggle.  I think portion control is one of the hardest aspects of healthy eating.  Now,  I am taking a moment to remind myself that this is an area I need to focus on.  And although this sounds insane, but just typing that out does something special to keep me accountable to myself.


Secondly,  I cannot let myself pass over Brambleton on my way back from Salem in the afternoons without next taking the next left to roll into Gold's.  I plan to pack my gym bag every night in order to make this happen.  If I go home, it's over and my ass is on facebook and scheming over some trial run recipe for dinner, likely pantless and lifeless.  This is the perfect time to pump it up!  It's time to up the ante of my exercise routine.  Typically, I do 50-60 minutes of cardio + 10-20 minutes of weights/abs, depending on my time...  I think the cardio times are okay.  I can't see any sense in more than an hour of cardio.  My attention span could not hang and my cardio is ass-bustin' cardio and sometimes most efficient kept to 50 minutes, if I have pushed myself hard enough.  It's the weight routine I plan to keep extended.  I have been trying to focus on abs more, incorporating the ab machine into each workout.  However, I have been neglecting my lower abs.  This area has plagued me, possibly more than any other body part, pretty much since I can remember being pubescent and probably before that if I had any thought of body image.  It's not that that I don't work the lower abdominals, but that I am not doing it every time I go. That is about to change.  On a lighter note, I have fallen back in <3 with the hip adduction/abduction machine.

What's pumpin' it up without a positively perfect playlist?!


Bossy by Kelis
Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls
Naughty Girl by Beyonce
Girlfight by Brooke Valentine
Enter Sandman by Metallica
My Prerogative by Bobby Brown
Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Get Low by Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz
Like a G6 by Far East Movement
Break My Bank by New Boyz
Back that Ass Up by Juvenile, etc.
Another Night by Real McCoy
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
Shake me Like a Monkey by Dave Matthews Band
Opposites Attract by Paula Abdul


XOXO,