Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

Let's all do the Friday Dance!

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How was your week?!  My was bueno.  It was my last week of "real work".  I taught SMARTBoard lessons to my fellow teachers during Professional Development.  It's weird teaching to fellow teachers.  A lot of the teachers in my class are people that I know or have worked with.  It's super nerve wracking.  

Teaching to kids, I got this.  Teaching to grown ups?  Completely different animal!  

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I think it's because I respect them all so much and every day you want to impress them and prove yourself.  Anyway, it all went well and I think I did a good job.  

After work on Tuesday I went to babysit.  We played trains.  Let me tell you, Type A chickas like me should not be allowed to play trains. Why?  Because Type A me needs all of the pieces to align.  It took us an hour to assemble the whole thing.  It was divine.  All the pieces connected, no pieces were forced, there was complex loops, and it went under the table and circled back around.  

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Wednesday was my first "Day Off" in what felt like forever and I spent it at a 5:30 am spin class.  The usual spin instructor is away for the summer and we have a replacement spin instructor.  It's just meh now.  I then had a lifting session.  

Wednesday night Kate and I went to the movies to see Spy.  It was very funny.  You can never go wrong with Melissa McCarthy and a girl power comedy.  There are so many good movies coming out! I want to see Aloha, Magic Mike, and Trainwreck.  I'm having a total Amy Schumer moment right now.  I loved her on The Bachelorette!  She's hilarious and I think that movie will be fantastic!

Thursday was an early run.  Usually I run at 5 am, but this time I ran at 7.  Let me tell you, 7 am runs in the summer are way hotter than 5 am runs!  Also, 5 am runners are much friendlier!  When I wave to 7 am runners, some wave back and some ignore you.  

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Just wave!  It takes like 5 seconds total.  Anyway, I digress.  

Thursday night I went to Pilates and Barre.  These two are my therapy classes.  They make me so happy and I just feel more centered after taking those classes.  

Today I went for a 5:30 am run.  I'm watching old school Real Housewives of OC that I have DVR'd.  I love Old School OC.   I'm going to tutor now, but then the famsquad is going to the Tall Ships Festival in Philadelphia!  I'll tell you how it goes :)  I may or may not have a nautical themed outfit on today….

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Have a Happy Friday!  It's the weekend :)

Love Love Love,

E

Weekend Recap

Hey Loves!

Greetings from the day before school's out for the "official" summer break :)

How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was tres bueno!

Friday was spent teaching SMARTBoard lessons to fellow teachers.  Both lessons went well.  Deb was actually in one of my classes and that made me super nervous!  Does anyone else work with their mom?  Does she make you nervous?  I get nervous because Deb is sooooo good at her job and I'm new.  But all went well.

Friday afternoon I got to lunch with Zach.  We discussed my upcoming trip to NOLA and where we will brunch.  Can't wait 'til August.

Friday night, I met my friends from college for dinner in Princeton.

The blonde SPED

We ate at Main Street Bistro and Bar and it was aaaaamaaaazing! Inside it was a cute little Euro/American restaurant complete with an all wood paneled bar.  Outside, they have a Cute Clock Tower Cabana Bar which made tropical drinks.  I heard they were pretty daalish!  We ate al fresco--what is it about dining al fresco that makes dinner taste a million times better?  I had a kale and quinoa burger.  The stuff my veggie dreams are made of people.

As good as it looks!  The burger was perfect!  Not too gooey in the middle like some healthy burgers.  

Why we only get to see each other every few months face

A little playtime on our friend's Jeep!

All of us :)

Saturday morning I went to tutor.  Then, I went to Pilates and Pound.  After that I went home to get ready for dinner in Philly.  We went to City Tap House University City.  We've been to City Tap House Logan Square before, but we wanted to try the OG.  The food and drinks were on point, but the atmosphere wasn't as good as Logan Square.  LS has a more open floor plan, whereas UC has a separate dining room from the bar.  UC does have an outdoor space which is really cool.  The menus are slightly different but they both have that cool American inspired food vibe.

Girls' Night Best Night :)

I had a turkey burger with goat cheese, avocado, and dijon aioli.  OMG so daaaalish!

They put a lot of goat cheese on this bad boy!  I always say goat cheese is the accessory, not the dress.
A little goes a long way--it should make a statement.

After din din we retired to my house for a little poolside S'mores party.

S'more Yeah!

Doesn't it look perfect?  First time ever!!  Usually I'm a gooey mess

We didn't have fire wood (plus I'm not allowed to use the fire pit…yes I'm 24.5 and not allowed to use the fire pit) and we didn't have gas for the grill so we resorted to plan C.

Oven Baked Mallows…Just like the great outdoors :)

Oven baked mallows.              

Plan D was just to put them in the oven lol

               


Dinner, dessert, and dishing is what makes Girls' Nights so fabulous :)

Successful Mallow Melt

My long Sunday run was a slow one.  I've been super busy so I've had to run on my own instead of taking spinning so I think my legs were tired.  I can only run 3 times a week (maybe 4 max) before I start to feel it in my time and shins.


Sunday was spent celebrating the best daddio a girl could ask for!

Don't you love my bun cover?  So 1996!

I'm so grateful for my dad.  He's my best friend, one of my biggest fans, and my baseball buddy.  In honor of Father's Day, I'm leaving you with this jam from Zac Brown Band.  I bought the CD (plus Jason Aldean's--in lurve) and am obsessed!

I'll Be Your Man

I hope you enjoy the song!  Have a Happy Monday and enjoy The Bachelorette!  Has anyone see the previews of the Irish Wake?  What is she thinking?!  I'm so not a fan of this season.

XOXO,

E

WHAT THE HECK BACHELORETTE?!

Hey All!

Happy Tuesday!  I'm half way through the work week now and I feel like time is slowing down yet simultaneously speeding up and out of control.  Insane!

Monday is a Zumba and lifting kinda day around here.  Zumba was great.  Sometimes Zumba can be wonky if the instructor isn't good or you just have a case of bad music.  THIS Zumba was everything I could have ever wanted--fab songs featuring oldies plus newbies and the best instructor!

Did everyone watch Bachelorette last night?  WHAT THE HECK?!  I'm not loving this season.  I was never a huge Kaitlyn fan--Team Becca all day err day-but I thought Kaitlyn was the lesser of two evils so I was rooting for her over Britt.

I'm not loving these random, sporadic rose ceremonies.  I need one every week at 9:37 people!

Confession time:  Every week my friends come over and we pick our faves and call them our Bachelorette Husbands.  Weird?  We respect each other's dibs and are encouraged to like them for them only.  We take our fake future husband rules just as seriously as real boyfriend/husband Girl Code Doctrine dictates.  I'm a fan of Ben Z (except I feel like he sold Josh--my friend's BH down the river).  My other friend's BH is Shawn.

Shawn's date was precious!  Loved the moonlit boat ride.

I like that Ben H tries really hard to open up.  Also he looks like Peter Brady and I kinda can't get past it.

That group date was a cluster of lunacy!  First of all, why is Nick back?

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I'd be mad, too!  Plus, who writes lyrics like that at a family friendly mariachi contest?  

Also, why all the contests Kaitlyn?  Did anyone else notice that she always does things where they have to perform and she sits back and laughs at them? She makes them look ridiculous just to get a laugh.  That's MEAN!  Every other season has the Bachelor/ette interacting with other guys/girls on the date.  She just stands there and creates situations that are not conducive for interactions!  Also, the fighting does have to stop--it is primitive and coming off as desperate.  

Anyway, at our party last night we decided to roll with the Tex/Mex theme and make vegan quesadillas!  I had these at Wegman's this weekend when I was eating all of the samples

shopping.  

So good and so easy!

Salad beat with tomatoes, avocados, cukes, greens, and a splash of pear infused vinegar.

Guac with baked Ezekiel chips! 

She tore up a wrap, drizzled some OOVO and salt on them and then baked them.  To. DIE. for.

Collage of the yummies<3

It's Better Bean Wholly Chipotle Black Bean Dip in an Ezekiel wrap with some Monterey Jack Daiya sprinkled on top.  DAAAALISH!  

We ate and watched the crazy unfold.  I'm not a huge fan of this season, but I love the show itself so I'll watch it.  My friend brought up a good point--after Andi everyone else just kinda falls flat.  She was one of the elite Bachelorettes.  No one will top Jenn Scheft in my mind, but Andi was great!  She had a job (mad she isn't a lawyer anymore), was funny, took it serious enough without being weird, and she was just cool to hang out with.  Don't you love how I act like I know her?  

Also, my friends and I joke that only Bachelorette can you tell 25 guys point blank that you're looking for a husband after 2 weeks and no one blinks/runs for the hills.  

Have a Happy Tuesday!  We're having extreme heat up here in the Northeast so to my NJ friends--stay cool!

xoxo,

E

Weekend Recap

Happy Oxymoron Day!

It's my last Monday with students and I'm worn out!  I have 7 days left of work (4 with kiddos and 3 without) and I feel like I'm running on E.  I have so much I want to do with them still, but alas time is almost up.

Friday was our school's End of the Year Party. It was at our casa and therefore I've been sneaking dessert pretty much all day.  I'm going to be handing them out to my friends as souvenirs every time I see them.

Saturday was a training gym day for the half.  It involves Zumba, spin, Pilates, and Pound…plus a little weight sesh.  Apres the gym, I babysat.  I love babysitting for this family because the kids are awesome and I love hanging out with them.

Sunday was my half birthday!  I'm 24 and a half!  It turned out to be a happy, lazy day.  It started with a 9 mile run that was perfect in weather.  I'm kinda sorta starting to fall in love with my 6 am runs on Sunday…

I came home, veged (aka caught up on an hour of RHOC…of which I have 50 hours saved up on the DVR.  Winning, I know) and went to church.

After church, it was a Whole Foods Hot Bar lunchy with Jess.  We ate outside under the most romantical lights.  Well done Whole Foods!

So pretty right?  I bet it would be gorge at night :)

The usual…gahhhhhlicky kale, lemony carrots, and vegan chicken stir-fry.  Ahhhhmazing

After lunch, craziness ensued as we shopped for my end of the year presents for my kiddos.  I'll post about the gifts later.  Here's a leeeetle sneak peek that proves we are not mature :)

We wanted to be Katniss..

But we don't know how to work a bow..

Everything I know about using a bow came from Pocahontas and Brave

Carrie Underwood moment…I took a *pink* Louisville Slugger to both headlights

Because you should always dress up in catcher's equipment at 24.5...

*Fun Fact* Dylan and I used to play a game at Dick's called Dress Up and Try to Make the Best Outfit From All the Gear!  We would each go opposite ways and then meet up in the middle wearing ridiculous concoctions of gear.  Hockey mask paired with catcher's chest pad plus boxing gloves and a fishing hat--you name it, we wore it.  Clearly, we were well-behaved kids :)  We also used to ride the bikes around.  The week after we engaged in the biking races, Dick's locked the bikes to the floor.  I wonder if those things were related?

Oh you know, just cruising around on the pedal boat at Dick's

Nevermore…Edgar Allen Jess

There are no words.

We tried to get a canoe to reenact this pic…








but they were all locked up.  I wonder if they knew who they were dealing with? :)

After shopping, we came back to swim.  The water was 85 degrees and lurvly!  

Unfortunately rain cut our fun short so we relied on the old Jersey Girl standby…shopping!  After shopping Jess went home and we ate BBQ.  I had a skewer and some corn on the cob with goat cheese.  Does anyone else think corn on the cob tastes like summer?  

Anyway, tonight it's Bachelorette Monday and that means the girls are coming over for dinner and the show.  I'm making Chipotle Black Bean Tacos with Daiya.  Yummmo!  

I hope everyone has a good Monday!  

xoxo,

E

Friday Faves

Hey Bloggies!

How is your week going?  It's Friday, Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday ovah here!

Today is Deb and my work party--we're hosting it at our casa and I'm pretty excited.  I love parties especially ones by the pool :)

Life as of late has been pretty crazy.  School is over next week (for the kiddos anyway, I'm working until the 23rd) and between report cards, training for my half, and sleeping (what's that?) life's been insane!

Today I'm going to leave you with a little quickie Friday Faves post!

1.) This jumpsuit!  I'm obsessed with it.  Is anyone else having a 70's Charlie's Angels moment and loving the jumpsuit?  I just picked it up and can't wait to wear it.  I'm already planning a summer fancy schmancy dinner in AC just so I can wear it.  Does anyone else do that?  Buy an outfit and then plan something so you can wear it?  Nope?  Just me?  Ok moving on then…

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2.) THIS Jackie book!  If you've been a longtime reader (gracias) then you know I'm all about my Jackie!  I wrote my history thesis on her and I've been obsessed for a while.  Love her style, grace, intellect, and approach to life.  As a Jackie connoisseur I can pick out a fan piece a mile away.  This book would make Jackie proud.  It focuses on her true self.  It's not fangirl-ish or fake.  It's full of interesting insight and focuses on her as a person, not just Jack's wife.  I started reading this book and have become addicted.  I'm bringing it babysitting tomorrow.

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3.) 5 am runs!  I've never been a morning person until this spring.  Yes, as in 2 months ago.  I love waking up at 5 to run 2-3 days a week.  I find that once my run is done, the day has really begun.  Didn't mean to go all Dr. Seuss on y'all, but hey I'm gonna roll with it.  I love getting up early and running 5 miles.  I do not love getting sprayed by secret sprinklers!  Come on people, set your sprinklers for 3 am!  #suburbsprobz

4.) THIS goat gouda!  IT'S everything I COULD POSSIBLY WANT TO HAVE IN A GOAT CHEESE!  Yodeling Goat Gouda has my heart!  Thanks for helping out the lactose intolerant peeps!

5.) THIS Cole Swindell song!  Just listen to it!  It's amazing--well, actually I'm a huge fan of all of his songs and jam out unabashedly to his Pandora station at work.  This song just sounds like summer to me :)  Who doesn't want to be at an outdoor concert, swayin' with Mr. Swindell?  My friends and I are obsessed with his CD!  Get it people!  He reminds me of a young Lukeybear  Luke Bryan.

Anyway,  that's what I'm loving this Friday.  What are you all loving?  Any good races, fitness events, concerts, weekend plans?  I'm having a chill weekend full of babysitting, 9 miles on Sunday, food shopping, and I heard there's a possible Whole Foods Hot Bar date in my future…

Have a great weekend loves!

-E

Super Run Philadelphia

Happy Oxymoron Day!

*Because we all know there's no such thing as a happy Monday*

This past weekend I had my first race of the season.  I have a Fourth of July 5k and my half in Disney in 5 short months.  I figured today I'd tell you a leeetle bit about my 5k.

I like 5k's because they're a little more fun and less serious.  No one (except yours truly) really keeps track of their time.  People usually run for fun and a lot of people walk them.

Not me.  I'm way to Type-A for that nonsense.

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Some of us take everything a little too seriously…

Trying on the cape by the pool.
Elle Woods is a super hero, right?

I really wanted to PR this race.  My last 5k I ran it around 27 minutes.  It was 2 weeks after my half and  I had a pulled IT band.  

Pre-Race Game Face

Look at all the superheroes

All the superheroes took over Philly <3

The race was at the Navy Yard in Philly and it was a really cool course.  We ran through all of the Navy buildings and it kinda reminded me of a scene out of a superhero fight scene.  The race was very well organized and there were a few vendors there complete with bananas and water.  

There were probably about 500 runners?  Maybe 400?

This race was pretty low key.  There were a lot of kids and families running.  

They had a superhero step and repeat

I went as Wonder Woman!  And by went I mean, I wore shorts, sneaks, and a tank.  I was clearly underdressed.  Some people came in full on costumes.  I just couldn't run in a costume.  Or my cape…I had to ditch the pink cape no matter how cute it was :)

More superheroes running

The race was super fun!  

I ended up placing 8th overall and ran it in 24 mins flat.  If it was about 10 meters more, I would have thrown up.  I was running so fast.  I wanted to do well on this race and I'm really proud of myself.  I get super competitive and once I saw the finish line I turned up the speed and passed 4 people to get ahead.  I felt like I was running on empty.  

Shuper Schweaty Selfie

                 

On that post-race delirious running high.

Would I do this one again?  Maayyyybe.  I might try to branch out and try a different race next year.  I like half marathons because I like the distance and I'm not really a speed runner.

I liked the medal though…

Also, thanks to Daddy for driving me and cheering me on.

Races are fun because they're like a dance recital.  You practice for so long and then the adrenaline starts pumping and you just go.  I always think running is my therapy and yesterday was a great therapy session.

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Does anyone else feel this way?  Running has gotten me through so many things and for that I'm forever grateful.  

Tonight I have a date with the foam roller.  This morning I went on a training run and I used my iPod to find 9 miles and guess what…it ended up being 10.37 miles.  I was feeling like this was shaping up to be a much harder run than I thought and then I got home and mapped it and was like yup…too long.



I hope you all have a great night!  Enjoy The Bachelorette tonight!  I know I will :)  Some friends and I are doing Zumba, Whole Foods Hot Bar, and The Bachelorette.  Can't wait!

XOXO,

E