Friday, November 18, 2022

Well…that went by fast! I wish we didn’t have a weird week next week of only two school days; often this means we have poor attendance. I heard that one school in our area only goes on Monday? What? What about you? Do you have the entire week off? I am linking up with the girls here for Friday Favorites.

Well, the burgundy gel nails are still going strong. Y’all I am so happy! It appears this is not damaging my nails like would happen in the salon. The remover I bought is the magic ticket. The gel peels right off with little effort. I know this is vain, but I do like my nails to look nice. I do not want to visit the salon or pay the price. This gives me a little arts and crafts project that is just my speed!

The remover:

I do need to give credit to Niki at The House on Silverado for recommending it!

Even though it’s been cold this week, I try to bundle up to get a little fresh air. A Woodwick candle would make a great gift. They make a nice little crackle as they burn.

I love roasted spaghetti squash so muich! Microwave your squash for like 5 minutes after poking a few holes. Let it cool a bit and then slice in half, remove the seeds, drizzle with olive oil and add salt, pepper, garlic powder then roast face down for a long time – like 45 minutes to an hour. It’s worth it. When it’s done, it should “string” very easily with a fork.

Tom had angel hair and I had this with my spaghetti sauce on top. I also made us a side of zucchini and I had some mushrooms and onions that I had made. This meal was so satisfying, and I also tried to use 30 g. worth of Laura’s Lean ground beef.

Erica made us French onion chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli one day this week. It was delicious!

One night I made tacos for Tom and taco salad for me:

Ernie watching me work:

My friends are so sweet. One gave me this beautiful looking and smelling candle that I have been enjoying. She also gave me a Kitsch silk pillow case! I love it! A good one really makes a difference. The Amazon one I had was subpar and I stopped using it after a month or so. This one is great! That would be another great gift idea for the female in your life that doesn’t want wrinkles on their face or tangled hair.

And, another friend gave me this cool bourbon bottle candle. It smells amazing, too! She also gave me the coolest faux leather and velvet headband.

I found this coffee medley at Costco last week and I am loving these flavors. What a great way to try new ones. Mason is excited to enjoy these with me soon.

I am ready – anyone seen Winter Mint in the stores yet? This is your sub for a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie. Ok, you’re right – there is no substitute!

Dare I say it, but this might be better than La Croix – at least in this flavor. Wow! This is great!

We got more snow Wednesday night! I almost didn’t notice it. I was headed to bed and was shocked!

I had a round table discussion in Spanish with 3 of my classes Thursday where we talked about favorite Thanksgiving foods, traditions, their plans for break, etc. It was so fun!

Then, the teachers were treated to a Thanksgiving catered meal by our alumni and a few other organizations. It was really good!

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, November 17, 2022

It’s time to link up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files!

I only had three days with students last week and this is what I wore on Wednesday. Here is my Target dress that I got in olive, cream, and charcoal. I tried to link it for you and I am afraid these may now be out of stock. I wore my Old Navy flannel that I am using as more of a “shacket” and some booties and later on I changed to…

sneakers for comfort.

On Thursday, I wore my new Target jeans, an Anthro blouse, and a black cardigan with my black MIA clogs.

And, on Friday I wore my new Target grey jeans, a black tank, my new Target flannel recommended by Jen – it has pockets! Look! I wore my pearls for a bit of a feminine lumberjack look. Have I told you that pearls on men is a trend? Well, my male student was also wearing pearls this day and he said he liked mine. I told him I wasn’t afraid to fight anyone but I was still a lady with this look. Have you seen pearls on men yet?

On Monday my goal was to wear my fall colors! I wore my consignment blouse, my Matilda Jane flares, and a mustard cardigan.

And, on Tuesday I wore brown leggings, a white button down, my Amazon vest, and my moo shoes. I got so many compliments on the vest and the shoes – even from kids I don’t know.

Did you see my Turkey Day ‘Fits post yesterday? Some of you suggested hemming my two Chico’s faux leather pants – black and brown cherry burnette but I am seeing full length in this type of pants, too. Speaking of which, I am seeing faux leather everywhere! Look at this ad for a Kohl’s pair and the shoes and how much ankle is showing. I think any length and silhouette goes now. I think by keeping mine the length they are might make them more versatile.

What have you been wearing lately? Are you like me trying to wear all the fall colors now?

Amy

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Do you know what you are wearing next Thursday? I do not!

First I consider the weather..

Of course this can change, but right now it looks like it could be 54 degrees. I would say that is pretty typical for my part of the country on Thanksgiving Day.

This year, I have my new Chico’s pants on the brain:

But, I also have this Loft clearance dress in mind. I found this in the store last year! I thought it screamed “Thanksgiving!”.

I have this consignment blouse that I am also considering:

This TJ Maxx blouse:

This Loft blouse:

And, this is the one I wore last year:

I like a blouse because I don’t get too hot, but it still looks kind of nice.

Thanksgiving ideas of past are here, here, and here.

I like to use this opportunity as a last hurrah for my browns, golds, olives, etc. because after Thanksgiving I like to move on to more Christmasey colors.

Look in your closet and pull those colors and see what you can come up with. First priority is is comfort and something you feel great in. You don’t want to be hot or fidgeting with your clothing all day.

What do you plan to wear?

Amy

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Ok, so I am just so excited! Jen influenced me to look up Cups on Cochran on Instagram and I can hardly stand it! Flocktails! I am going to annoy people so badly with my use of this term. My order came in so quickly, too!

So, of course my apple cider sangria is a classic for Thanksgiving, but I also saw a Fall Margarita on Pinterest with the ingredients, but without measurements. So, I went into my mixologist mode and I think I have a pretty great drink option for you.

You need:

1 shot tequila

1/2 shot orange liqueur,

1 shot apple cider, 1 shot pear juice (my Kroger online order came through with this for me. Honestly, I had never seen pear juice myself), a splash of lime juice,

a shot of sparkling apple cider, diet Canada Dry, or something fizzy, and then a cinnamon stick.

I add everything except the sparkling to a cup and shake it up between another cup or stir it really well. I add ice, and then top with my sparkling element.

Let me know if you try it! The cost of a small cocktail in my area is so high right now. This would be $12-15 in the places I frequent, if I do say so myself!

Cheers,

Amy

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