Matching Pinterest is harder than you think...

How many times have I scrolled through Facebook and laughed at the Pinterest fails?  Let's just say a lot.  I love looking at the disillusioned few who attempt some of the crazy cool masterpieces you can find when searching for kids birthday cakes, makeup tricks, or (in my case) cute outfits to teach in.

I still attempted it!  Fortunately outfits can be taken off quite easily, so the clean-up from my own ridiculous attempts was done before others could see.  Steve was a good sport and sat diligently on the bed trying to help.  Does my husband have better fashion sense than I do...darn right he does!  He still wishes he hadn't asked me to "possibly dress more like a girl" when we first started dating.  Oh, Steve, how expensive that comment would become. 

If I had a lot of money and time to shop, then I might have had better luck.  Unfortunately, teachers do not pull-in the big bucks.  I still wonder why not, but that is a rant for another day.  I managed to put together a week full of Pinterest inspired outfits.  Did I remember to take a picture of them all?  Nope.  I only had the heart to ask Steve to take pictures of two of the outfits in one night.  The other was taken by my dear friend at school.  She doesn't think I'm as weird for wanting a picture.  Steve, still thinks this whole blogging this is ridiculously odd.  He's most likely right.

So, without further ado, here are three of my successful outfits!

Outfit one I switched out jeans for slacks but could not for the life of me find a decent cardigan to go over it.  So I just stuck with it otherwise!

Outfit two, once again I failed on the cardigan.  I switched the light under and color on top.  It was what I had, so I went with it.  Like I said, these were inspired...not matched...obviously.

Outfit three I stayed a bit more true to the original Pinterest pin.  Fortunately I have a friend who sells beautiful skirts, so I had a lot to choose from!

What did I learn from this exercise?  Well, I learned I can try new things.  Always a plus.  I also learned that even though real people post things on Pinterest, I am not ANY of those real people.  Props to the ladies who look lovely and fashion-magazine worthy every day.  I am in awe.

Next time, well, I'm taking a look at what I put IN my body since I tried some new things on the outside.  I may try another round of Pinterest outfits for summer later...if I am brave.

And then I realized...

Those who know me won't deny it, I'm a Type A personality.  This means I enjoy planning, control, all the good things in life.  I plan everything.  I love lists.  And yet, I teach.  This means I have to sometimes go with the flow and work towards more of an A- personality. 

This week has been one of those weeks.  It's been one with a few realizations.

1. No matter how much I plan, my body won't always do what I ask.  I slipped a disc in my back.  Doing what you ask?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  While beginning my training for my next half marathon, this was not what I had in mind.  It made me feel old and slightly decrepit.  When one student asked, "Why are you walking like my grandma?"  I knew I was in trouble.  I managed to get in a few of my daily exercises before my body revolted.  P.S. asking your husband to take pictures of you doing calf raises while making lunches and squats while straightening your hair...well, he thinks I'm nuts.

2. Your class doesn't always go as planned.  I love the pictures that say, "Keep calm and pretend it was on the lesson plan."  This, despite my Type A personality, is one of the things I love most about teaching.  The kids can change your day and surprise you at every turn.  Sometimes it's a turn you never expected and turns into one of the best lessons of the year.  Other times it's simply the fact that their lives have so much more going on than you could ever imagine.  I worry about big issues, but I have a lot of experience to help.  For many, they have huge curveballs (death, homelessness, parents leaving).  They push your buttons because their sad, angry, hungry.  Really, though, they push your buttons simply so you'll love them.

3. What you put in your body matter far more now that you're closer to 40 than you are to 20.  I'll talk more about this in later posts, but I've had to drastically change what choices I make and how I eat.  This week, with my back in loads of pain, I made terrible choices.  I could feel every french-fry, bag of chips (and by bag I mean family bag), and brownie.  Why can't we just eat like we did in high school?  Yep, feeling old once again.


4. The last thing I realized is actually kind of fun and fits perfectly fits with my Type A desire to plan.  Pintrest can actually be useful!  I've decided to make 5 outfits next week based on Pintrest pictures.  So, look for that in my next post!!!

Busy Girl's Daily Fitness

My husband lets me know as often as possible that I am a strange human being.  This could be for many reasons, but he loves throwing that statement out every time I head out for a run.  For most people it seems you either love running or only do it when being chased by something large and scary.  Most days, though, I don’t have time for a run.  After leaving work, running to various activities (piano, football, swimming, etc.), making dinner, helping with homework, prepping lunches, etc., etc., etc., who has the desire to throw on shoes and run in the dark?  Not even I like that.

So, here’s my idea.  I’ve researched and come up with four ways we can sneak in some fitness throughout the day.  Most don’t even seem too painful.  We’ll call it…the busy girl’s daily fitness.

1.       10 x 10: 
Choose 10 different exercises to complete throughout the day and do 10 reps of each.  Some of these I’ll sneak in while I get ready for work.  Many I’ll sneak in at school.  Here’s my list for my first day of 10 x 10: squats, lunges, calf raises, wall push-ups, jumping jacks, office-chair seat squeezes, standing crunches, seated leg raise, crunches, and mountain climbers. (Pictures to come after I give this a try!)

2.       Commercial Cardio:
Even though I live in a ranch-style house, we have stairs to our basement.  I know that every Sunday my husband and I will watch one of our favorite shows.  Example: Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead…LOVE THESES SHOWS!  During every commercial break I will jog the stairs.  If I get tired, I’ll walk the stairs. Many estimates show that there are 20+ minutes of advertising during an average, hour-long show.  That’s a great little workout!

3.       Kid’s Activity Cardio:
My son is young enough that I sit through his lessons and practices.  I’m sure as he gets older I may just drop him off, but for right now I’m sitting through 30 minutes to one hour of some sort of activity at least 2-3 days a week.  Why do I bring a folding chair and just sit and stare all practice?  I’m going to use the giant field he practices on to get some cardio time in!  Nothing exciting, I’m simply going to walk!

4.       Challenge the Teacher (or parent):
Kids love to challenge their teachers and parents.  It doesn’t matter what age they are.  We take brain breaks in my classroom almost every class period, so why shouldn’t I use them to stay in shape?  Give the kids the opportunity to think of some sort of exercise and a challenge to go along with it.  Example: who can do 10 burpees first? (Side note: burpees are the devil but very worthwhile).  Let them challenge you as a part of your brain break!  You’ll get in a quick exercise, and the kids will have fun while connecting with you!

      These are just four ideas I came up with while reading various pieces on the internet.  Do you all have some great tips for sneaking in quick workouts throughout the day?  If so, please leave a comment and share!

Let’s face it, most days I feel like, what one of my favorite school counselors would call, a hot mess.  I barely make it out the door on time, mostly get my family where it needs to go with two shoes on (mostly…not always), spend all day trying to keep 150+ high school kids on-task and interested, come home and pretend that I like cooking and cleaning, and then repeat the next day.  I cycle through this day after day trying to take care of everyone; everyone but me.

I’m in my eighth year of teaching and my third school.  Between my various positions, I’ve now worked with every single grade from kindergarten to seniors.  It doesn’t matter what level I teach at or what kind of school I teach in, I see one common theme; we don’t take care of ourselves.  This blog is aimed at teachers because I am one, but this really fits so many people.  We rush through our days focused on the various hats we wear and the people in our lives.  They’re important, don’t get me wrong, but so are we!

I’ve slowly come to realize that if I don’t take care of myself, everything else suffers too.  Those days when I feel like I’m failing miserably, I realize I forgot to eat breakfast, haven’t worked out in a month, or 100 other things I SHOULD have done to look after myself.  So that’s why I’ve created this blog. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher, a mom, a nurse, a lawyer, or any other amazing job.  It doesn’t matter if you’re 22 and fresh out of college or 65 and looking to retire.  We can stop and take care of ourselves!  Am I an expert at this?  Heck no, but I want others on the journey with me.  This blog will look at everything from what we put IN our bodies, what we put ON our bodies, what we do WITH our bodies, and everyday life in between.  I’ll take you inside my classroom, my home, and my life in the hopes that you’ll do the same!  Take me with you wherever you go and share!

 

 

Here's me in all my glory, covered in mud (how I feel most days).  Come along with me and subscribe, share and enjoy!