Monday, November 14, 2022

How was your weekend? Ours was cold and snowy! What? We never get snow this early and I was not ready! I am linking up today with Holly and Sarah to share what I did.

Friday, as you know, was Veteran’s Day and I thought I would share my Dad and I here, too. I shared on social media. Of course this is a photo of a photo.

Erica made burrito bowls for our Friday lunch. We both had college education majors observing us on Friday so they ate with us and the four of us chatted.

After work, we met Elizabeth at Martini’s for happy hour.

It’s located in one of my favorite outdoor malls.

I stuck with bourbon based martinis. This was just so-so.

This was really good. It was a sweeter one, but I forgot to note what was in it.

We had some focaccia and some..

spinach and artichoke dip and stayed there chatting for about two hours.

I went home and made Tom and I a light dinner and mine included popcorn and some catching up on Bravo shows from the week.

Are you caught up from the time change? I am putting myself to bed between 8:30 and 9 because I just can’t keep my eyes open. I am struggling a bit to get out of bed in the morning, too.

Saturday, we knew it was a possibility, but I didn’t really believe it.

We ended up with at least an inch!

I made myself a Spanish tortilla because I was watching a dating show from Spain on Netflix and it just seemed right.

I did laundry, cleaned the living room and kitchen, and tidied up my closet.

I had plans to attend Jingle Fest in NULU which is just to get people to visit stores in that area and ring in the season. I met my friend Victoria and it felt good to get out in the crisp air. This is the courtyard at a shop called Red Tree and the snow on the umbrellas looked so cool!

Snowy baby Buddha?

Jen, this candle is for you. I love this brand of candles!

We popped in to the macaron bar and I had a Fruity Pepple macaron. Yum!

I discovered a really cool new to me bourbon lounge that I will have to visit.

The decor in Red Tree:

A cool little alley:

Victoria and I said goodbye and I got a to-go Emmy Squared pizza to take home.

I put up my few Thanksgiving decor items:

For dinner, we got take out sushi and mine was really good. It was avocado, asparagus, cucumber, and some garlic chips and tofu dust on top?

I am really loving this book and I am trying to enjoy reading inside rather than outside! I started my Sunday with some reading.

I did my 5 breakfasts for the week and one of my lunches – spinach and artichoke wonton lasagna cups. I added mushrooms and onions, too.

My DIY gel mani lasted 5 days. I am happy with that. I used my new Amazon remover and they peeled right off.

I did a new one and it does require some patience. I think it took me about 45 minutes.

So, this was what had been stopping me. Since the removal process was so easy, I am kinda excited! It doesn’t look perfect, but it looks pretty good.

Tom and I ran a few errands that included visiting a Mexican grocery store for some prizes for a couple of competitions and games I’ve been playing in classes.

We checked out our almost opened Top Golf!

And, the Mexican influence made us really hungry so we ate a lunch/dinner at 3:00.

We came home and Tom fixed my headlight that was out and I read some more.

And, that was a wrap on my weekend pretty much!

WW rolls out their new plan today at 9:00 a.m. if anyone is interested. I am exciting to see all the deets.

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Friday, November 11, 2022

Happy Friday and Happy Veteran’s Day! Are you off? We are not. It is time to link up with the girls for Friday Favorites here!

This week flew by!

Here is a random mix of things that made me happy this week!

When isn’t Ernie a favorite? He is a good boy!

I attempted empanadas and they turned out great! Using refrigerated pie crust is the way to go. Here is the recipe I used if you want to try them, too!

I also thought I would share my “everything” breakfast potatoes. I microwave a couple of small potatoes after washing them and poking them with a fork. I let them cool, dice them, salt and pepper them, and then saute them in a skillet for a while.

Leave them alone and let them get really crispy on one side before flipping them. Cook on other side and finally add everything but the bagel seasoning. So good! Mason often requests these for breakfast.

I used them in my 3 breakfast burritos for the week. I did my meal prep on Tuesday and only made 3 for the short week.

Meal prep – even a small one this week – is always a favorite. My one lunch for Erica and I is an asian chicken teriyaki bowl with broccoli and cauliflower rice.

A library pick up is always a favorite! I get nervous when I run out of books to read next. Do you?

Starting this one first:

I had a nice day off for Election Day Tuesday that included voting – of course – and some errands. Tom absolutely has to have beer cheese and his favorite brand is only sold at Liquor Barn. I got that for him and couldn’t believe all the Torani flavorings. This gives me lots of ideas for coffee and for cocktails! Coffee and cocktails at the casa, don’tchaknow?

My sister Molly likes Mom Water. It is basically a hard seltzer without the fizz. Are you a Karen? Don’t we all have a bit of Karen inside of us? You can drink Karen flavor! Molly is weird and does not like carbonation. Carbonation is the chef’s kiss to all my cocktails.

Proof! My polling place is my kids’ old middle school and I did not have to wait at all to vote.

I was able to meet one of my Heathers for lunch. We had salads at Waldo’s and split some fries.

Ernie has had some nice walks lately. It is turning cold on Saturday so we have to soak this up!

Are you a fan of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? One of my favorite “characters” is Mauricio, Kyle Richard’s hub. This is his new show on Netflix with two of the daughters who are in the real estate biz with him. I am starting this stat!

I have had this little nail lamp for gel nails for a while and what was stopping me was the removal process. I ordered a new gel remover from Amazon and I am hopeful.

Basically it just takes patience. You have to put the base coat on, cure it, put a color coat on, cure it, put another color coat on, cure it, put a top coat on, cure it. I think it took me 30 minutes.

I will report back on how long it lasts, how the remover works, etc.

Erica made our lasagna cups one day! I am not kidding when I say that these taste exactly like the real deal. I am so excited to try a white lasagna version next week with spinach and artichoke.

For dinner, Tom and I had chicken, green beans, and a mixture of white and sweet potatoes. He loved this meal.

In case you missed a post this week, here is Fashion Files, Fall Shoes, Teacher Tuesday, and Hello Monday. Thanks for reading!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Amy

Thursday, November 10, 2022

It’s Thursday and time to link up with Jill and Kellyann for Fashion Files. I have a lot to share this week and a new jeans recommendation at the end of the post!

Let’s go back to Friday night! I told some girls to wear their black finery and we ate at our Cuban restaurant which is right next to the karaoke bar. One of my friends wasn’t here for the picture but she arrived in time to sing with us!

A better look at my fit –

I wore a Loft black blouse from last year, my new Chico’s pants, old black heels, and my gold champagne earrings!

Sunday I had brunch with college friends and tried out the rock t-shirt blazer look with my Old Navy distressed button fly jeans and my taupe/grey booties shown in my shoe post yesterday.

Monday for our teacher work day I wore jeans, black tank, old burgundy batwing sleeve sweater, and my Shu Shop sneakers.

I ran errands after the work day and was trying out my new jeans!

For Election Day, I tried out my other new jeans and tried this look:

But settled on this look:

So, let’s talk about my new jeans. I was inspired by Whitney’s Target jeans research, and I had been wanting a black and grey pair. Seriously, click on the red type and read her post. I know a lot of us are struggling with where to buy jeans, what style to buy, what size to order – it is very overwhelming.

I did my favorite which is to use my Target app and I ordered two pairs and took a chance on sizing. If you go high rise, you usually have to go up a size if you have any type of stomach, in my opinion.

These are the black ones I ordered and they have no stretch at all, just so you know. They come in short, you guys!

And, these are the grey ones I ordered which do have some give. They are a very lightweight denim material, too. They come in short, also.

Target Universal Thread does it again! This was all I had for jeans last season. I had four pairs and wore the heck out of them.

And, the best part…they are only $24! Don’t wait because some sizes are low or out of stock. If you like the cut hem look, you could always order long or regular and cut them yourself. I was happy to get short length, though!

Amy

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Today I thought I would share the shoes I have been reaching for the most in my closet lately or that I plan to wear very soon. Gosh, I love shoes! Do you? I always have!

These first two are among my most worn school shoes. I splurged and bought Danskos back in August or September but in a different style than the ones you see so much. They have a bit of a lower top and I really like them.

My Shu Shop sneakers were a good purchase. I still love them and I wear them a couple of times a week.

My Hush Puppies are still favorites. I have actually worn the cow print the most!

I have light brown Jack Rogers booties, black Lucky booties, and grey/taupe really old booties. The Lucky ones are the most comfortable.

The black Cole Haan heels are the ones that I have been wearing with my faux leather pants. Excuse the insides. I recently purchased the taupe ones but I haven’t worn them yet. I didn’t have a taupe heel in my closet. They are Marc Fisher and I really like his shoes.

I didn’t show that many of my shoes – I have only worn tall boots twice, for example.

I am still thinking about something like this below and honestly I went to the mall and couldn’t find a brand I liked the look of any better than these on Amazon! And speaking of the mall, I basically hated everything. Thanks, universe, for saving me money!

I’ve also got my eye on these, but apparently they are the Cabbage Patch Kid of 2022. Did anyone like that reference?

What shoes are you wearing the most lately?

Anything you have your eyes on?

I feel so limited for my school shoes because they have to fit so many requirements – they can’t be hot, uncomfortable, fussy, inappropriate, etc. Ha!

Amy

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Happy Election Day!

I thought today that I would do some reflecting on the school year so far. This may be interesting to negative one person?

If you are new around here, I am in my 29th year of teaching high school Spanish. I taught at one school for 4 years, one school for 2 years, and now am on my 23rd year at my current school. I have taught Spanish Level one through AP. This year I am teaching 3 Spanish Level threes, 1 AP Spanish, and 1 Spanish Level one.

I absolutely think I was meant to be a teacher. I really think I get to use what I am good at and what I enjoy every day. I even love putting in grades in our online grading system. What a nerd, right? The things I don’t enjoy are grading long essays, talking about data, and going to meetings that could have been an email. What I most enjoy are the funny kids and the relationships we form, planning fun lessons and activities, and talking ideas with other teachers.

So, how is this year going?

It’s hard and lovely and fun and draining and wonderful and exhausting and all the emotions!

I recently had a really good day in my AP class. They were all singing along to some Spanish verb tense songs and it was really great. I have this class first period and it is mostly seniors so the tardies and the senioritis have been a challenge.

Also, we participated in a song challenge during the month of October that was really fun. Each day we had to vote between two songs in Spanish; everyone had made a bracket just like in the NCAA tournament but with songs!

If you haven’t noticed, I really like to use music in my classes!

I try to do something fun some Fridays after our weekly quiz. AP and Spanish 3 really like Spanish Scrabble! Many had never played before in English!

I have mentioned this to a couple of friends. I don’t think I have ever gotten close to my students faster than I did this year. I think they were open and I was open. I think we quickly found our class jokes and our quirks together. It has been really fun!

They are juggling so much, though. They don’t get enough sleep, they play sports, are part of organizations, hold jobs, take hard classes with lots of homework, and more. I just think it’s too much. I don’t exactly know the solution, but I would say that the money they receive in scholarships will pay off way more than a part time job, so if they can, forgo working during the school year or at least only work on weekends? Maybe I am coming from a place of privilege when I say this?

This year has definitely felt more normal. We had our first pep rally since 2019!

I don’t give much homework since the pandemic. I try to make good use of class time and really think about how our time is best spent. I know that I am at least 5th on the list of priorities usually. They have Math, Science, English, and Social Studies that are the required core classes. Next might come me as their World Language class. I don’t give busy work or worksheets. When I give homework, I try to make it a project (a part of a project), original sentences about themselves or a paragraph about themselves, or to study for our quizzes. I do expect good attendance and their focus when we are in class. Online translators are really a problem for language teachers. We can usually tell when they have used one because it will give a verb tense we haven’t learned or a certain way of saying things that are dead giveaways.

A highlight was our classmate singing in Spanish at our pep rally!

One thing I think I am doing well with this year is more work/life balance. I am leaving work at work for the most part and not checking email too much after work hours. It has really helped me!

I hope I don’t have to eat these words, but now that I can retire, I feel like I am able to let the little things roll off me more than before. I have seen all the trends in education come back around with new names. I am confident in my teaching style and I try to be true to myself. Because you know what kids of any age can smell? They can smell fake! That’s not to say I am not willing to learn new things. It simply means that I know my core values and my teaching philosophy and those won’t change.

It’s hard to believe we have only 10 school days until Thanksgiving break! When we return after that, we have only 15 school days until Winter Break. I always say the first semester flies by.

So, if you are a teacher, how is your year going?

If you are a parent, how is the year going for your kids?

What do you remember most about high school?

Amy

Monday, November 7, 2022

We have a teacher work day today and are off tomorrow for election day. So, we will only have a three day week with the students this week. I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday.

The weather Thursday and Friday was sunny and in the high 70s and low 80s. You better believe I soaked up some Vitamin D in the afternoons. Sorry I talk about the weather so much and sorry for the view of my pasty legs!

Over the weekend I finished Every Summer After (4 coffee cups! I really enjoyed it!) and started Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice (cheesy and predictable, but ok). I’m out of books after this and need to go to the library this afternoon.

On Friday I used my free birthday spray tan at Sun Tan City. Much better! I hadn’t done this since July or August.

I continued celebrating my birthday Friday night with some Cuban food! I got shrimp cooked in lobster sauce and rice and plantains.

My college rommie:

This photo made me laugh! After dinner we went next door to a Korean karaoke bar. Apparently their thing is private karaoke rooms. You get two microphones and an ipad to queue up your songs. Your room has a flat screen tv for the lyrics and a button to call your “concierge” who brings you drinks. It was so much fun! It was way better than singing off key to a room full of strangers! Definitely sing off key with your friends instead!

If you are local, this cake is from Plehn’s and is called the shadow cake. It is to die for!

You know what’s wrong in our society? I will tell you right here and right now. We don’t dance or sing enough. We don’t eat enough cake. There, I said it.

Saturday morning I enjoyed my coffee on the patio…

This tree is almost completely bare now…

Saturday was just a lazy day. I didn’t even run errands. It was so nice! I watched a bit of tv and read and it was wonderful! Tom had football on all day and I watched a bit.

For dinner, everyone was home. Jack had worked until 4 and Mason had been home since about 1 and then we watched Derry Girls and ate Mediterranean.

I tried to start From Scratch but kept falling asleep. Should I try it again?

I finally gave up and just went to bed. I was kinda ashamed of myself that I didn’t stay up later with my extra hour!

By the way, I contacted WordPress about my photos and I still don’t have a solution.

Then, I was awake with the birds Sunday. I just need to get my sleep on the front end because I can’t sleep in anymore! I wish I could! I read, drank some coffee, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. I am trying to get where I can start my new and improved cleaning routine.

One of my college sorority sisters, Jennie, has a daughter here in town for college and she had time yesterday before going to see her to have brunch with Heather, Heather, and I. We went to our Mexican breakfast place.

I had an omelet.

It was so fun to catch up. Jennie is also my Seint makeup dealer! Hi Jennie!

Then, it was time for our last boat ride of the year – we think. The highs next weekend will be in the 40s so we need to winterize soon.

We had a great 2022 boating season and it helped make Empty Nester’hood more fun. We usually do the first and last boat ride of the season as just the two of us – awwwww! Ha!

I came home and cooked empanadas – first time and they turned out great! And, I made burrito bowls. We sat on the patio and ate and it was wonderful.

Then, my college kids went back to campus. All the college moms are really ready for Thanksgiving break, no? I am so happy I get a night here and there. I feel for those with kids really far away.

Think of me today in my meetings, meetings, meetings. Maybe one of the teachers will have prepared a Bingo card with all of the eduspeak buzzwords we will hear in the meetings. We are promised half of the day to work in our rooms. Grades are due soon for this grading period but I am pretty much ready to post. I have all my plans ready for this week but I have to write all of my college recommendation letters today.

Have a not so horrible Monday!

Amy

Friday, November 4, 2022

What a week! Halloween on a Monday – Eeek! But, it’s also been a good one. I am linking up with the ladies here for Friday Favorites.

Here are some of my favorites from the week…

This week I have had a bit of a sore throat and a bit of sinus headache and stuffiness. I treated myself to Starbuck’s for my birthday and tried to get a medicine ball but they were out of the citrus tea. I told them just to pick something else. I have had a cup of tea every day and it has really been soothing to my throat.

I also got the egg white turkey bacon sandwich and it was delish!

The only cake I had on my birthday was cake batter delight Premier Protein! Ha!

I am really happy with my new meal planner/shopping list notepad. The shopping list portion is perforated.

Does my new cleaning checklist mean I have to do all of this stuff? Just kidding – I am trying to get in a better weekly routine.

And, I went ahead and got a new pretty planner in just the right size for me.

One of our dinners this week was cauliflower rice with soy sauce, chicken, green beans, and an egg. It was yummy!

One of my lunches this week was a Mexican stuffed sweet potato. Yum! I am really into sweet potatoes lately. Send me all your sweet potato recipes!

Look at my sweet boy curled up in the morning. He sleeps with us most of the night but sometimes wanders out here in the wee morning hours.

Only about 15 kids came to our house on Halloween. It started raining pretty early on and I think some just gave up and went home. Also, we live on a short street so many opt to do the longer streets in our neighborhood with more houses.

But, after about an hour of no trick or treaters, 8 junior girls showed up at my door as an 8 pack of Gatorade. I knew 4 of them and it was really funny. I gave them a ton of candy and took the rest to school.

Who says empty nesters can’t have fun.? Tom seriously loved this meal. He got 2 mummy dogs and baked beans and kept telling Ernie how good it was.

I had homemade fries in the air fryer with a bit of a homemade sauce. I love dill pickles! My mummy dog was delish and I couldn’t remember the last time I had a hot dog. I think it would be great with puff pastry, too, and I might do that for the rest of the pack. I put the leftover hot dogs in the freezer. It’s hard sometimes only having 2 people to cook for!

I didn’t think I would like a summer themed book right now, but I am really into this! I wouldn’t say it’s that hard core summer.

My porch on Halloween:

Erica and I call each other “witch” in Spanish and we have an honorary “brujo – male witch”. He is an English teacher and also knows lots of Spanish. He was one of my kids’ favorite teachers, too. Everyone loves him! Notice he is also wearing a Halloween sweater vest.

Trying to look evil:

My birthday cocktail was chosen basically just for the toasted marshmallow on top!

We way over-ordered and have so many leftovers!

These are “armadillo eggs” – peppers wrapped in bacon!

Here was my outfit pic yesterday. Did you read my Fashion Files?

I take exactly one outfit photo a day, but I usually have a mess up like this. Awkward!

The little shopping center near my house was having a holiday open house with treats and drinks in several stores. I popped in but didn’t buy anything. It seems so early and it was like 80 degrees!

What were your faves this week? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, November 3, 2022

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files today.

But first, thank you so much for all of your sweet birthday wishes yesterday! I had a great day that included celebrating Day of the Dead. I had several students bring in loaves of bread of the dead for extra credit and for us to eat.

The recipe I give them has anise seed or extract in it and then and orange glaze on top.

I have slacked a bit with outfits and I don’t love all of the ones I have worn lately. I am rotating through my fall stuff to see if I still like it. And, they have turned on the heat and my room is an oven. I am not kidding. It is probably 80 degrees in my room. My windows are open and I have a little fan I can put on me.

I wore this Umgee dress with J.Jill grey capri leggings and my Shu Shop sneakers one day. I was super comfortable and the dress is too short for school without the leggings. It’s just a meh outfit for me like this. I like it better with booties. I love this dress and I love the Umgee brand.

Ok, now this was Halloween and I was being kinda silly. I wore my shirt that says Bruja/Witch in Spanish with my work partner in crime. I added a vest and a hat that I thought looked witchy. I wore my new Chico’s croppsed faux leather pants– not that cropped on me. I had to wear comfortable-ish schools for school, so they are not the best choice of footwear for the pants.

I brought other black pants in case these got too hot, but I made it the whole day. They are warm but not too hot. There is a warm lining inside.

On my birthday yesterday, I wore this Target dress, cardigan for a bit until I got too hot, and old booties.

To go out to eat last night, I wore my other Chico’s pants – yup I did get them in both colors.

And, I added a vest:

These pants are like butter. I tried them on in the store and couldn’t believe how comfortable they are. I have been wearing a few Chico’s things since my early 30s. Their basics cannot be beat. I have owned a pair of their black pants for years. Many women my age say things like, “I’m not old enough for Chico’s yet!” I say that you are missing out. Go in a store if you have one. Try on some pants for starters. The quality cannot be beat. I am not into some of their toppers, jackets, jewelry either, but there is a lot of good to be found there.

I wish the pants were a little shorter on me, but it’s ok. I am in need of shoe suggestions. I think some of the ankle and foot needs to show with these. Let me know if you have ideas.

Amy

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Currently, it’s my birthday today! I am 51! I am working today, but I am taking off on Friday. I usually try to take off on my actual birthday, but this year I decided to work for a few different reasons. No one better mess with me today, though! Ha!

I am happy to link up with Jennifer for her monthly Currently post where she provides our present participles.

Here we go…

Borrowing

I am borrowing looks I see in different places! This is Kellyann’s friend Jona and I loved her look here.

I am borrowing lots of looks with these boots that I am considering:

And, I am borrowing lots of looks with faux leather pants!

I am the proud owner of the Chico’s cropped faux leather pants. I bought mine two weeks ago and then started seeing them on influencers. They are amazing and feel like butter. A happy story: I bought them at full price because they were just so good. I went in the store looking for a black top and saw them. The original price was $119. I got $30 off in store for a couple of discounts. So, they were $90. I noticed they were on sale for less than $60 and called the Chico’s customer service number and they did a price adjustment. Wow! I was so happy!

Buying

Because it’s my birthday, I am planning to use my Kendra Scott 50% discount. I’m considering this necklace:

I am hoping to purchase this Loft blue sweater. I am really drawn to royal blue right now.

Thank you, Tanya, for posting this. I don’t belong to Sam’s, but it reminded me that I have to get the peppermint next. I am currently using Mrs. Meyer’s acorn spice and I love it!

Planning

I got a wild hair and ordered a new planner,

a new meal plan notepad,

and a house chore notepad.

I am hoping to get a good cleaning routine going. I just don’t have a set routine but I want to spread things out during the week.

Prepping

I am still continuing to prep breakfasts for the week and then mine share of the lunches, like this breakfast bowl.

Erica prepped acorn squash last week and it was to die for. I love this meal!

Reading

I had to abandon my Awkward in October book because this book finally came in. I am hooked so far!

And, speaking of reading, I am still reading outside as much as I can.

If you use WordPress, I am having trouble editing my photos. I edit them and then they go back to normal. Any suggestions?

So, what are you currently borrowing, buying, prepping, planning, and reading?

Amy

Tueday, November 1, 2022

It’s time to link up with Tanya for Prime Purchases. You better believe I am going to start taking notes for Christmas shopping ideas!

I am wanting to get ahead of my usual game this year – which is that I totally buy everything between Cyber Monday and December 23rd – ish. I want to do this to spread out the expense, partly. We draw names and/or only buy for kids and grandparents on both sides of the family. Don’t be afraid to be the one to suggest this in your family. I bet others would jump on board. A fun thing we added to my side of the family is instead of buying new gifts – a white elephant/re-gift exchange. We had a lot of fun with that last year with the stealing of each others’ opened gifts! This works great especially because we usually do it the day after Christmas and everyone has already received plenty of gifts.

I did really well this month. I am very purposely trying to reduce my clothing, Amazon and grocery spending. We have had a very expensive summer and fall with college tuition, renovation supplies (our hall bathroom), and the higher costs of everything. We also had lots of birthday gifts to buy and meals out to celebrate this fall. I say this to keep it real because I know many of you are in the same boat. We only carry our mortgage debt and that is important to us. We have three cars that are 10 years old and I am also worried about when one of them poops out on us.

I broke my several years long streak of no book buying and only using the library to “spend out” and give myself a couple of fun fall books here and here.

I love, love, love my new belt bag/fanny pack and have used it every day since it arrived. Would this make a good gift for someone on your list?

I love, love, love my new hair milk that smells amazing and really helps detangle my fine hair.

I like my no show socks, but they really make my feet sweat. I think it’s due to the fact that I am wearing them for so many hours. I think for a few hour stint they would be fine. I have had to take them off halfway through the day. Maybe this will be ok as it gets colder. My classroom is so warm right now.

I can never seem to find these dish scrubber replacement heads in the right brand at Kroger so I ordered a pack to keep on hand. Boring, but necessary. I hate using them past their prime.

And, finally my fall t-shirt has gotten quite a bit of wear. I plan to keep wearing it in November. I didn’t have a fall tee!

So what have you primed this month?

Amy