That Time Life Got Really Busy ;)

Well, hello there ;) I have definitely neglected this little blog lately. Who knew that teaching until 5:30 every day would be so exhausting?? Ha, I did! I have been lead teacher for 2 weeks now, and it's been really good. It's completely different than when I was teaching in Alabama. Good, but different. This past week was my first week to actually lead all of the lessons. We had Monday off, so I survived a 4 day week ;) Out of the 4 days, I would say that 1 day was pretty smooth and successful. 1 out of 4 doesn't seem that great, ha! But it was the first week. So I feel confident that I'll quickly learn how to plan and then tweak my lessons in the future. Also, I think it actually went better than I think it did. I've had a few parents mention all of the facts about the moon that their kids are talking about at home. I guess that equals success too?! I did actually lead last Friday because my co-teacher was off for the day. My kids were so sweet that day. They kept thanking me for teaching them, and one little girl at the end of the day said, "This was the best day ever!!!" It was just the boost I needed ;) Another little girl said, "You are full of creative ideas, Ms. Brook!" So sweet. Even if I'm completely spent by the time I get home, it is so worth it when you hear little comments like that!!
In other news, we're about to get Chiberia part two. It hasn't been above 20 degrees in at least a week. Maybe two weeks? And the highs for Monday and Tuesday next week are in the negatives again.  Will winter ever end?!?! I think that the cold weather is adding to my being so tired every day. Teaching from 8:30-5:30 is always a long day. Being stuck inside {with 20 littles with SO much energy} from 8:30-5:30 equals an extra long day!! Plus, when I leave I just want to go home and wrap up in blankets! You can guess how many times I've gotten back out to go to the gym... Oh well. The countdown til spring is on!
Well I hope you have a lovely weekend. I'm about to make some banana muffins with greek yogurt.. yum! Happy Saturday!

A Healthy Start...

So I'm finally back at work today... it was lovely having two weeks {plus two days!} off! But it will be nice to get in a routine of sorts. I'm now working 8:30-5:30, so I've been thinking about quick meals I can make when I get home. And slow cooker meals that can cook while I'm working ;) We're also trying to figure out a good time to hit up the gym during the week... it's SO hard when you get home after 6 and it's so cold outside! But, we're both determined to make gym time a priority. As far as meals go, I'm really trying to lighten up what we eat. The problem is, during the long winter months, especially when it's so cold, I always want to cook "comfort food". So I'm determined to make a few swaps to make our normal meals a little healthier and to add a few lighter {not so comfort} meals each week. Here are a few ideas I have collected to help us eat a little better this year...
-swap pork sausage for turkey sausage {I've been doing this for the past few months, equally as delicious in recipes!} I really like Jenni-O ground turkey sausage and Jenni-O turkey kielbasa
-add more veggies to every meal {chopped veggies in pasta sauce, peppers in chili, fresh veggies in pot pies and soups, etc.}
-use ground turkey instead of ground beef {I've found burger, meatloaf, soup, etc. recipes that sound yummy!}
-mostly whole grains {pasta, bread, rice, tortillas, etc.}
-swap plain greek yogurt for mayo or sour cream in recipes {I tried this in chicken salad, and it was delicious!! I'm not sure about other recipes, I'll let you know!}
-cook more fish!
-salads for lunch {baby spinach, with strawberries, blueberries, feta, chicken or turkey, balsamic vinaigrette... greek yogurt chicken salad with cranberries...}
 -have a fresh veggie side with every dinner... {steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans, etc}
-cut the "cream of..." soups. It's pretty easy to use fresh ingredients to substitute canned cream soups
-sweets only in moderation... swap fresh fruits for a sweet treat!
It's a running list of course ;) I'm sure there are a bazillion other ideas out there, so I'll be sure to update if I come across any! Here's to a happy, healthy 2014!

Chiberia... Day Two

Well, I'm home for another day due to "extreme weather". It's warmer today though... only -7 right now, and it feels like -24, which is a big improvement from yesterday ;) Z had to brave the weather again to go to work. He didn't seem to mind too much. Me, I'm cuddled under two blankets with a cup of coffee. I didn't go outside for more than maybe 10 seconds yesterday. Maybe I'll make it out a bit more today?! It is supposed to make it to positive temps by this afternoon, so we'll see ;)  So what when stuck inside all day? Bake, ha! In the past few days, I've made banana muffins, oatmeal cookies, chicken salad, and crock-pot meals. And pinned/planned enough meals for the month I think... bored, much?!
At least we're not alone in our frigidness. Most of the country is frozen as well. I feel for all of my family in Alabama where they're having record low temps too... plus I've seen on facebook where many people there have lost power or have frozen pipes. I hope we can all thaw out SOON! It looks like by Friday we will have a few days of above freezing temps, which will be quite a welcomed change! Here's hoping my next post has NOTHING to do with weather ;)

Weekend Review... Plus That Day We Had No School Because It's SO COLD

Warning... this post is probably going to be mostly about weather {again}. But y'all, this is what we woke up to...

Yes, that say it feels like -36!!!!!

Crazy cold. Thankfully, my little school is closed today due to "Extreme Temperatures". The insane amount of snow on the ground may have had something to do with it too ;) So my winter break was extended by an extra day. But poor Z, he had to go to work. He did wear lots of layers. But still, I felt terrible that he had to get out in THIS! There was no way I could drive him though... our car is buried under tons of snow, and our street is too! Good thing he's tough ;)
So our weekend was spent mostly inside. And preparing for this crazy cold! Friday we ran a few errands {had to get gloves for Z and warmer socks for me!} and then had a date night at home with chili, a movie, and hot chocolate {well, I had hot chocolate}! Saturday, we slept in and then headed to Michigan Avenue. I had a few places I needed to go down there, we hit up Chick-fil-a for lunch, and then we went to a matinee movie! Later, we met some friends for dinner at Coalfire Pizza... yum!!

Bundled up, riding the bus to dinner with friends ;)

 Sunday, we had really good intentions of going to church. But we were going to be sooo late. So we grabbed brunch at our favorite little diner instead. And we immediately thought we were CRAZY for getting out at all! It wasn't nearly as cold as it is today {it was still cold!}, but it was snowing and there was SO much snow already on the ground! It started snowing Saturday afternoon and didn't stop at all until late last night! While we were out, we also got Z an actual winter coat {since he has been layering two lighter-weight jackets that are not warm enough for the cold weather we've been having} and braved the grocery store with all the other crazies. We made it back to our apartment by 1:00, and then we cozied up and stayed inside!!

This is how bundled up I was, ha!

Z enjoys cold weather way more than I do ;)

I have never seen so much snow!!!!

So now I'm stuck inside all day and hoping Z makes it home without freezing! We heard on the news that Chicago has lovingly been nicknamed "Chiberia" because of the frigid weather... I don't know if I should laugh or cry about that ;) I'm just glad this is record-breaking and not the norm! Stay warm, friends!

A Very Snowy Day

So over the past few days, we got around 12+ inches of snow! SO much SNOW!! Especially to these Southerners ;) And while I still think snow is so beautiful, I wouldn't mind if it didn't snow again until next year, ha! I stayed inside pretty much all day yesterday {which isn't my idea of a great day off} but I did walk to the mailbox and snapped a few pictures during the two minutes I was outside...

Despite my wish for no more snow, we're supposed to get more this weekend. Sigh. Although I think I should be more concerned about how cold it's supposed to be next week... -8 for the high Monday?!?! No thank you! {I know I post about the weather a lot, but it still seems so crazy to get so much snow or for it to get so cold! Plus, I also know we won't live here forever, and I'm sure I'll look back on these post and laugh one day ;)} Thank the Lord for our warm apartment and big coats!
Anyways... I also wanted to post about one of my favorite Christmas gifts that I received this year. It's something I didn't ask for, or wouldn't have really thought of... in my stocking, my mom put this adorable journal with small post-it style notes inside. She explained that she has a similar one that she uses to jot down favorite Bible verses, and then she can flip though it anytime she needs a little encouragement. So I spent a better part of my "snow day" filling my journal with a few favorite verses...

I also included a few quotes or sayings that are good reminders. Thank you mom for such a thoughtful gift! I love it ;)
Well the sun is actually out, and it's my last day of Christmas break, so I might try to venture out for a bit! Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Happy New Year!

2013 was a really good year... I wanted to do a quick recap of some of the great memories just as a reminder of how very blessed we are! Here we go...

-JANUARY-

We rang in the new year with my family here in Chicago... Bryant stayed with us a few extra days after my parents had to leave... We experienced the coldest weather we had ever seen... I spent a lot of time trusting the Lord for His plan for our new year...We also searched all over Chicago for a new apartment...

 

-FEBRUARY-

We moved in temporarily with our friends... It snowed a lot... I started teaching at my cute little school... We found out that "snow days" don't really exist here, ha... We celebrated Valentine's Day with a dinner cooked by Z...

   
-MARCH-
We finally had a few sunny days... We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Joe and Lolly... I flew home for a week for Spring Break and loved every minute I got to spend with my family {including a trip to the beach!}...

 

-APRIL-

I remember April being a very long month... We had extremely cold and snowy weather for "spring"... We celebrated my birthday with a yummy dinner at Gibsons and Sprinkles cupcakes... I officially took zero pictures... {This is actually the homemade cake my mom made when I was home for Spring Break in March ;)}

 

-MAY-

It finally warmed up!!!... Katie came to visit... I finished my first semester at my new school... We went home to celebrate Z's brother's graduation {no pics?!}

 

-JUNE-

We moved into our new apartment... Stephanie came to visit... We finally had some "summer" like weather... Summer camp started at my cute little school... We had a lot of fun exploring our new neighborhood with long walks and trips to the beach

 

 -JULY-

My family came to visit... We celebrated my mom's birthday here in Chicago... The weather was extra chilly for July while they were here... We celebrated July 4th with sweet friends... We continued to make our new apartment "home"

  

-AUGUST-

We spent a lot of time outside... long walks, trips to the beach, exploring areas near our apartment... We went to a street festival to hear Sister Hazel... Summer camp ended and a new school year began

 

-SEPTEMBER-

We made a trip to Michigan one weekend... We celebrated Z's birthday with a yummy dinner at Gibsons... We watched a lot of football with our friends... Stephanie came to visit... We had glorious fall weather and spent a good bit of time outside

 

-OCTOBER-

I made a trip home to see a few of my besties... A football game, trip to the beach, shopping, and lots of catching up were just what I needed during our girls' weekend... Z and I went apple picking... We celebrated our 3 year anniversary... lots of football and cooler temps made for a great month

 

-NOVEMBER-

Katie came for a quick weekend visit... I went to Bang Bang Pie Shop with 2 sweet friends... the leaves were beautiful... We had our first snow of the fall/winter season... We drove home to spend Thanksgiving with our families...

 

-DECEMBER-

We got a lot of snow... We found the tiniest, cutest Christmas tree... My little school had holiday pageant, SO cute!... We did a lot of Christmas shopping together... We drove home again for Christmas with our families... We spent NYE with some sweet friends, so much fun!

Such a great year! We're looking forward to a great 2014!! For now, I'm just enjoying some down time before I start back to school {full time}. I feel extra thankful to be home, snuggled up with a blanket in my pjs and a cup of coffee since it's snowing and so cold here!! A great start to a great year, indeed ;)