Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Monday, November 15, 2021

Hello all! I am linking up with Heather, etc. right here to talk about our weekends.

So, I started my Friday morning in a really, really good way! The scale hadn’t moved since the end of October and it finally moved. Do not weigh more than once a week. I had been doing that and it was really discouraging. Something happened between Wednesday and Friday and look:

That is not really correct; it was only 2.5 pounds from my lowest at the end of October, but my birthday and four days of cake had taken a toll. I upped my walking, my protein, and my water and just stayed the course.

My sister is only weighing every two weeks. So… that may help someone out there!

I had a teacher work day on Friday and it was really not bad at all. It was very relaxed with only a couple of meetings.

After school I had my first facial ever and it was by a student in her home. It was so relaxing and I think she did a great job.

She uses a lot of The Ordinary products. I promptly ordered some. The prices are so reasonable.

Don’t freak out – she basically just washed my face and applied serums but I loved it!

I went home and Tom had Totino’s and I had salad and skinny pizza dough pizza so we were both happy!

I fell asleep way early while watching a show.

Saturday morning it was cold, but I knew I was going to be eating all of the extra weeklies so I walked. Beth had given me this adorable hat Thursday. She made it! That Beth!

Fall…

Saturday around 11:00 my mom and sisters arrived for their turn to celebrate my birthday. I am a spoiled gal.

We started by eating at Ciao.

bruschetta:

My sister Molly and I split the Michigan apple salad with chicken. This is Kate’s without chicken. We ate ours too fast. I only tell you this much detail so you don’t think I’m a liar.

Brut Cava rose;

Then, we headed to Butchertown Market and it was so crowded!

$1 apple cider mimosas:

Not really sure what Kate is doing here:

Then we checked in to our hotel so we could ditch the car. We stayed in NULU and had dinner reservations right next door at the Cuban Bodeguita de Mima restaurant.

I opened some presents in the room before we set out again.

Next to the Cuban restaurant is a karaoke bar called Noraebar. Kate’s daughter is Nora so she covered the “e” for Nora.

We shopped all along the street the hotel is on.

We had to go in the macaron bar and they are so sweet there. They gave us free macarons for my birthday!

Then we cut through this courtyard and walked to…

the fabulous Cultured charcuterie bar.

This was a bourbon cocktail:

After the charcuterie, we went back to the hotel to change and rest for a bit.

Then, we headed to our reservation and I had a pineapple mojito. Yes, I mixed my sparkling, then bourbon, then rum.

We got three things to share and it was really delicious. My mom and Molly hadn’t ever had Cuban food before.

We headed back to the hotel after checking out the karaoke bar for a minute. Let’s just say it hurt my ears.

We went to bed shortly after hanging out for a bit.

Sunday morning I was the early bird and went to Please and Thank You coffee shop by myself. I brought a coffee back to Molly (we are the only coffee drinkers).

Then we did brunch at Wild Eggs before everyone got on their way home.

I got my farmer’s market skillet because it was time to be back on my healthier eating plan.

Molly got a wild mushroom scramble that was really good.

It was such a nice 24 hours. I really felt spoiled and it was so fun to get to celebrate again. Thanks to my mom, Kate, and Molly for all of the effort they put forth!

When everyone left I unpacked immediately. I do not like to put it off!

Then, I told Tom that I had made a big decision… I was gonna do it…I was gonna finally buy an air fryer.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found out what my big decision was!

We headed to Target together and now he was part of this…

I was gonna go for a small one with a basket and he said (I quote), “Round ones are stupid.”

He liked this baby below so we have ditched the toaster.

I spent the better part of the rest of the day air frying. I had to do my meal prep, so I might as well air fry it all. I love how quiet it is. My oven is so loud and takes forever to stop being loud after baking. I did some really flavorful chicken and some ground chicken meatballs.

How was your weekend? I hope it was wonderful!

Hope your Monday doesn’t suck as much as it could, you know?

Amy

Friday, November 12, 2021

Happy Friday! I am happy to link up today with Andrea, etc. here.

I have a teacher professional development day today. We have lots of meetings but I hope I will also have a bit of time alone in my room, to rock in my chair and put glue on my face. Anyone get that reference? Billy Madison! I love that movie! What a great premise for a movie, right?

Moving on…

Here are my favorites for the week!

I am loving this Target Tenoverten polish and I think I do a better job with short nails and I also think dark looks great on short nails.

I am definitely making this recipe again! I want to make it a bit spicier. They are called spaghetti squash chicken enchilada boats. I find it so fun to try new recipes!

Amazon is always a favorite!

I really like this sweater but it was just too big. I am waiting on a smaller size. I recommend it! The Amazon Essentials have been really good!

I have been ordering several things because I have some gift cards. I return more than I keep; I am getting very discriminating and trying to only keep perfect 10s in my closet.

I need to try this on and style it. I am looking for a stretchy black blazer that doesn’t look stretchy and doesn’t make me look like I play linebacker for our football team. Apologies to any linebackers reading my blog.

And, these are some other things I ordered. I will tell you what I kept or sent back and why.

First up, was the v neck. I did not like the feel of the material.

Next is a cute shirt but it was too small and I just decided I didn’t need it. It is knit/cotton.

Third down is a super cute jacket that seems to be great quality. I returned it because it was a bit snug in the chest. I may order it in one size larger but I really need to inventory and try on the jackets I have. I like the idea of a bright color for the winter.

I love the skirt and I am keeping it! The material is pretty flimsy, but I like the smooth elastic waist. There is no room to spare for me right now. I am excited to try to wear this with the Amazon Essentials sweater coming to me from the first photo.

And, finally I love the cream sweater but I needed to size up one. I realized I already have a cream sweater. I may change my mind and order it in the next size up.

So, the trends I am trying to jump on board with are the leaopard skirt trend and the blazer trend. We shall see if I can rock them or not!

School has been really good lately. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a grind this year, but I have lots of things each day that warm my heart. I am constantly learning to work smarter and not harder and just like the kids, I had to find my groove again.

I offered a bonus opportunity to make bread of the dead for Day of the Dead (I do this every year) and I had at least one loaf per class. I had the idea to make it “to go” this year. I brought baggies, cut the bread (lots of jokes about me only bringing my knives to school one day a year!) and they took it with them. I made a pledge at the beginning of the year to not forgo the normal stuff and I have done pretty well with that. We miss our food days, but we hope we can do at least one in the spring.

This was a really pretty loaf.

I have had some kids really show improvement in their Spanish skills and that is so cool! I try to keep in mind that we are teaching them how to “do school” again, in addition to the academic piece. So, what we have accomplished in 13 weeks is pretty darn amazing. I’ve got some boogers; don’t get me wrong, but the overwhelming majority are awesome kids that make me want to be the best I can be.

Every November I do some activities about being thankful/grateful. We write thank you letters in Spanish to a school staff member and I really love this assignment. Spanish Club is preparing a thank you for teachers, also.

In other school news, I received word that I won the teacher superlative for “Most Likely to Host a Talk Show”. Retirement job, perhaps? The superlatives were pretty creative this year but I can’t remember all of the categories. I have received “Most Theatrical” and “Most Active on Social Media” before. I think that was at the beginning of social media maybe? I am definitely not that active now.

And, yesterday was like our Friday so we played Scrabble in Spanish for the first time. I think they really enjoyed it!

The leaves are starting to fall and it looks so pretty! I love the look of wet leaves and it rained yesterday!

Yesterday I had a fun happy hour with my friend Beth. We tried a new place called The Champagnery. It is gorgeous and I loved it!

We ordered a champagne flight and mine was called “A Trip to Spain” and Beth got “A Trip to France”.

We ordered some truffle popcorn – yum!

and fries with champagne aioli. OMG!

I can’t wait to tell everyone about this place and go again!

I feel like my favorites this week were all over the place! I had a little food, a little Amazon, a little school, and a little nail polish.

What made you smile this week?

Y’all are the best!

Happy weekend!

Amy

Thursday, November 11,2021

I hope you all don’t think I talk about this too much, but I do seem to get the most comments when I talk about healthy living/eating. I posted about healthy Trader Joe’s finds Tuesday here, non-scale victories here, but I haven’t posted about Eating Lately since the end of September here.

I am planning a post on holiday strategies – maybe more for me than for you! I have a game plan in mind but I am getting worried about all of the holiday foods coming up!

First of all, let’s have some real talk…

I started cleaning up my diet on my own on April 8, 2021. On May 1, 2021, I joined WW officially and started doing their “purple” plan. I had no exact pound goals in mind when I started; I just new I needed to do something to FEEL better. Looking better was a goal, too, of course.

I made it to a 43.5 pound loss at the end of October. Yes, I am going to include the “.5”. I went down another jean size at the end of October – making a change of probably 3 jean sizes in total. It’s hard to know what jean size I was in April because I wore “leggings size”.

Back in August, I started thinking I could have my goal be “50 pounds for 50 years” because my 50th birthday was November 2nd. I didn’t make that goal and to be honest, it has been slow going pound-wise lately. I do not know what my ultimate goal is, but I do want to lose several more pounds. I could get frustrated, but I am still happy with my achievements and I plan to keep trucking along.

My goals are: keep finding new recipes, drink more water (very hard as a teacher), walk more, add in more protein, and enjoy the non-scale victories.

Here is my day yesterday. The new WW plan rolled out on Monday and I am still learning it, but things didn’t change too much for me. I will talk more about that at the end of the post.

I drink two cups of coffee at home.

At school, I heat up and eat my casserole made of egg, green chilies, low fat cottage cheese with vegetables and two Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links. When will I get tired of this breakfast? Probably never.

Snack is a banana and a half of a Premier Protein. I usually have this with instant coffee but on this day I just drank it from the carton.

Lunch for Erica and I was the Mexican spaghetti squash boats. Tom and I had it for dinner the night before and it was Tom approved.

You roast your squash by cutting in half (I had to microwave to get it soft enough to cut) and putting it face down on a cookie sheet at 400 for about 40 minutes. You use a fork to string out most of the squash and mix that with some green enchilada sauce, chicken (rotisserie would work great), green chilies, corn, cilantro, green onion, and non-fat greek yogurt. You spoon back into the squash and bake for a few more minutes and then top with some shredded cheese and broil for a couple of minutes.

Yum! I will be making this again! It also makes me wonder what else I can put in a squash boat…

After school I had a half of a Built bar, but I had errands to run so I didn’t eat anything else.

For dinner, we had Greek bowls. Did you see the recipe? I am obsessed!

I made a pumpkin cake and put a few chocolate chips on top for dessert.

This time change may be bad for my eating because I got in a real snacky mood that night and had a string cheese, popcorn, and a dum dum sucker after my shower.

A couple of notes from lately:

I have been making faux rotisserie chicken with chicken broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in my crockpot. I seasoned half with Greek seasoning, and half with taco seasoning. That makes the week easier when you have the chicken ready. It is so good this way, too!

I have been having salad without dressing but with some mashed avocado and lime juice and it’s really good!

Hearts of palm pasta is decent:

Get creative! I had no buns, so I have been putting my veggie burgers in low carb wraps. You can put so many things in a wrap!

If you have not been on My Bizzy Kitchen yet, you need to go. You can do so much with her dough. You can make bagels!

Another salad with the avocado “dressing”:

Another wrap and homemade fries. I microwave a baked potato and then slice in wedges and “fry” in my skillet with a bit of Pam.

I am really thinking about an air fryer. I know it’s controversial to have another appliance, but I think I would use it every day now.

The best snack:

celery with laughing cow and everything but the bagel seasoning and avocado toast.

Leftover Chick Fil A grilled nuggets (get extra when you order them), brown rice, and my homemade tzatziki from the Greek bowl recipe. I could have used some veggies, but I needed a quick lunch.

This is what I do with my CFA nuggets. I use my own buffalo sauce, my own dill pickles, and make the fries.

Simple as can be: roast potatoes, green beans, and chicken sausage.

Mexican bowl with chicken, beans, pico, and a bit of cheese. I don’t miss the rice!

So, the new WW plan… I used to get 16 points a day on purple, which isn’t much. I would get 42 extra points that I would use on Saturdays mostly. Now I get 20 points a day and 28 extras but I can earn more by walking or exercising. I can add to my 20 dailies for every serving of vegetables and for drinking enough water. If you don’t use all of your daily points, they carry over to your extra weeklies. It is a personalized plan because I had to answer questions about the foods I love to eat and eat often. I get non-starchy vegetables and fruits for zero points, along with turkey and chicken, eggs, non-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, and I do get potatoes and sweet potatoes for zero points, as well. It sounds more complicated than it is. It is very simple after you do it for a week or so.

The premise is food tracking or journaling, portion size, encouragement to eat enough fruits and vegetables, drink enough water, and to eat lots of lean protein. If you are thinking about joining, I say do it. The app is really amazing. It is easy to track and it also has a wealth of recipes, restaurant lists, and more.

Whew, I’m tired.

Thanks for reading if you are still here!

Amy

Wednesday, November 10. 2021

I actually have a lot for you today in the way of outfits. Some you have seen in other posts over the last week.

Have you thought about what you will wear for Thanksgiving? It all depends on the weather for me. I do like to dress up a little. The most important factor for me is comfort! We will be back to our normal traditions this year. We go to Tom’s sister on Thursday and to my side on Friday about an hour away.

On my birthday I wore jeans, my gold clogs, and new poncho and purse!

That night I wore the Spanx leggings, Target boots I will talk about in a moment, an old black top and faux fur vest, and my newish Amazon bag that I love!

For school I wore my Target dress with a vest and black booties.

For school the next day I wore an old swing dress with new poncho and my Target boots.

So, I bought these western vibe Target Universal Thread boots in black and tan.

the boots

They are pretty comfortable and they look decent for their $30ish price.

On Friday I attempted a sweater and I was hot all day. I paired it with jeans and my $15 sneakers from end of last season.

Sunday I wore this for fall boating.

Monday I wore my Target plaid dress with a vest and booties.

Any favorites? I think I like the poncho outfits the best.

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

I went to TJ’s this Saturday to get some healthy staples. I go about once a month and try to go very early on Saturday mornings. Typically I go into the liquor store first. We have a law in Kentucky that liquor can’t be sold in grocery stores, so they have a different “store” right next door for alcohol. It’s really dumb. We also can’t buy it until 1:00 pm on Sundays so going on Saturdays makes the most sense for efficient use of time.

I will be honest with you; I have not gone to TJ’s as much as I normally would have due to the temptations. Yes, they have lots of healthy options that look amazing, but they also have so many seasonal treats!

I bought these for the first time to add some crunch on my salads. I like them but they are super crunchy.

My Kroger had been out of Laughing Cow and luckily TJ’s has it. This is a staple for me. It goes in my buffalo chicken dip and it is so good spread on celery with Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. It makes a great snack.

I had ordered hearts of palm pasta from Amazon for a very high price so I was excited to see it in the pasta aisle. I think it’s pretty good!

I had an idea to put it with artichokes and mushrooms maybe? I haven’t tried it yet. I also got a recipe for a skinny spinach artichoke dip. Hello 90s! I still love that dip so much! You should always have diced tomatoes and I am using the salsa verde for the Mexican spaghetti squash dish I am trying this week.

Yum! Shaved brussel sprouts cooked with a bit of bacon and bacon grease?

The aforementioned spaghetti squash and an acorn squash to duplicate Erica’s amazing meal from a couple of weeks ago.

Love this jasmine rice for the fam. And, I am trying the brown for the first time. Frozen corn is a staple for us and I bought some shrimp to maybe use with the hearts of palm pasta.

I needed green onions and cilantro for the spaghetti squash dish and I wanted to roast the beautiful tri-color carrots (what a pretty Thanksgiving side!), and then I had plans for salads a couple of times this week.

The lite cheeses are so good and the non-lite is probably the best shredded cheese I have ever had.

I did buy a few treats – I bought advent calendars for my nieces and nephews (get those quickly or they will be gone!), an advent calendar for Ernie (hehe), and the amazing tiny chocolate chip cookies that the boys like.

Anything you would recommend? I am so sorry if you don’t have one close by! It really is such a lovely grocery shopping experience if you can go when it isn’t crowded!

Amy

Monday, November 8, 2021

This is my 3rd attempt at this post, so this will be the shortest version of the 3! Ugh – technology! I am linking up today with Heather and more!

I am basically gonna show you lots of food photos! I didn’t eat out a single time this weekend in an effort to get back on track after my party, 4 days of cake, and my actual birthday splurge.

I brought Erica and I cheeseburger veggie wraps, homemade wedge fries and aioli. She loved it! I had also had this for Thursday night dinner and I had it again on Saturday for lunch without the fries.

Mason wanted to hang and go shopping Friday after school and I always try to say YES!

We got Cane’s carry out for him to take back to Jack and I went home and made my skinny pizza dough pizza and a salad. Tom had leftover pizza from lunch. He goes out to eat every day at lunch and often has leftovers because he doesn’t eat a bunch at one sitting.

Saturday morning I did a Trader Joe’s run.

The fiddle leaf and the 12 days of beauty were tempting, but I only got more of the amazing Ghost Vine wine I told you about on Friday!

It had warmed up enough for Ernie and I to walk after I put all the groceries away.

I love fall!

I ate my lunch on the patio and actually got hot.

The boys came home and for dinner I made salad and pasta. I used hearts of palm for me.

Sunday morning was meal prep, walking with Ernie, and cleaning and getting ready for the week.

Then, Tom and I did what might have been our last boat ride of the season.

And, all four of us went to see The French Dispatch. We all loved it. It is a Wes Anderson movie so it was very interesting and quirky.

How was your weekend?

I hope it was great!

Amy

Friday, November 5, 2021

Happy Friday! It is that time of the week where we link up with Andrea, etc. for Friday Favorites right here!

Grab your coffee or if it is later in the day when you read this…your cocktail!

I had lots of favorites this week and I hope you did, too!

My first favorite is YOU! You all are so kind to me and I appreciate all of your birthday wishes. I also shared how I spent my personal day here! You all also really respond to my health journey posts in such a sweet way, like in my Non Scale Victory post this week. I feel weird putting something so personal out there sometimes, but the greater good is to help someone else who was just like me, you know? So, my dear readers who have become friends are definitely one of my favorites. It really tickles me that people take the time to leave comments that are so sweet and encouraging.

My seniors got me a card and made a poster of all of The Daily Scott Instagram photos thus far.

They found this cup with all of the countries!

And, they even got Ernie a Starbucks toy!

Even with the harder stuff, I feel so lucky to have such amazing kids in my life!

I found this healthier polish brand at Target called Tenoverten and this color is called “Church”.

I love doing my own nails and I love the darker fall colors.

OMG! I love this new wine find. I tried to find wines with either skulls on the bottle or Halloween type names for my party. I found Ghost Vine and I will be buying it again.

I can only describe it like it might have the same spices that a chai latte has. It is so good! Has anyone else tried it? I wouldn’t say it is super sweet but it isn’t dry. It is a little bit sweet but with those interesting spice notes. I sound like a sommelier I am sure!

O.k., I’m back. I had to go pour a glass of Ghost Vine for research purposes.

I love this book! There’s talk of wine and cheese and there is a vineyard and family secrets…

It is time for me to start requesting some Christmas books. Don’t hate me but I don’t think I can do a Hallmark movie anymore. They are just so bad. So, my vice is reading seasonal books. I requested this:

Bourbon, Lipstick, and Stilletos is a good blog and Insta follow. She is a Kentucky blogger.

I have been wearing my new KS necklace and still can’t believe it was only $30 with the discount. Do you know about necklace extenders? I bought one. You can clip it on to any necklace where the clasp is and make it longer.

Our leaves are really starting to turn. I am partial to the reds.

Amanda Nighbert is a great follow on Insta for healthy living. She posted this:

Not trying to be a martyr, but I was nodding my head as I read this. We have only been back to normal-ish school for 12 weeks. It will take time to heal our kids. I had a student absent for several days who just returned and told me her Dad has been in the hospital on a ventilator.

And, I totally agree with the above that teachers saw what groups of kids were like pre-pandemic and we see them now in whatever stage this is. There is no doubt in my mind that they are benefiting from being back in school. We provide academics, social life, sports, clubs, guidance, and so much more. I have changed as a teacher. I am trying to talk about about mental health and share my own coping mechanisms now. As tired as I am, I know that I am needed. I may not teach a perfect lesson every day or get through to everyone, but I know that I am needed.

Another favorite follow on IG is The Life on Purpose:

Gosh, isn’t that great? Have you ever looked at your to-do list and asked yourself if those items align with your beliefs and priorities? I do this all the time and end up crossing things off my list without doing them.

Sometimes doing less helps you be more productive?

I love finding new recipes and this is one I am wanting to try stat!

Most of you know I have been doing WW Purple. Well, Monday all the color plans go away and WW is launching a new plan. I think it’s called Personal Points. I am anxious to see the new plan and I think it will be good to mix it up a bit. I think the foundation of portion control, lower carb, and balance will remain the same. If you have been thinking about WW, maybe this new plan is for you. I received a comment from a reader that she had started WW and already lost 15 pounds! How cool! I think I pay about $20 a month and the app and the program are worth every bit of that. Honestly, that is 4 Starbucks drinks a month that I am no longer buying, you know?

My sister gave me an Amazon gift card and I am trying out a few clothing items. I will let you know what I think next Wednesday in my WIWW post.

I ordered a cream sweater, a leopard silky skirt, and a black slightly puffed sleeve sweater. I am just not impressed by what I have seen in stores. Anyone else? I want to shop locally and I do try. I return more than I keep from Amazon but one of these items is an Amazon Basics which I have found to be pretty nice.

Well, this Friday Favorites was all over the place. It got deep and it got shallow. it really is a lot like my brain.

Y’all are simply the best. Leave me a comment about your favorites this week and also leave me some blog topics you might be interested in?

Happy weekend!

Amy

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Anyone tired of hearing about my birthday yet? Ha! I will only talk about it a bit more… maybe?

I woke up to a very cold birthday day, but it was a personal day for me so I had slept in until almost 7:00!

I lit my candle, grabbed my favorite blanket, and had a leisurely morning reading my blogs and checking social media. It is always so fun to get texts and Facebook messages on your birthday.

Tom had also taken off because he has some days to burn this year and I invited him to hang out with me. I did give him a few hours off to go to the gym and to mess with the boat so we weren’t attached at the hip all day!

I did my nails.

I wore my new poncho from my sister in law.

Tom and I went to breakfast at Highland Morning.

Tom had just said the type on the menu was too small to read when I caught him in this photo.

I got a mimosa!

My food was very mediocre so I didn’t eat much. I had been here before and it was really good and I hate to say anything bad right now. I had planned to eat really bad on my birthday so I was mad I wasted my breakfast opportunity!

Then we went to the mall to buy my Kendra Scott piece and to shop at Athropologie.

I let Tom sit at the kiddie table to do a work email while I went in one of the stores. Tom likes to shop and he bought another pair of Lululemon work pants. Tom really likes their mens’ clothes. I don’t own a single thing. I tried on a pair of leggings that day and just didn’t think they were worth $128. They looked flattering, but no more so than my Amazon ones or my Costco Felina ones, you know? Correct me if I’m wrong. I also didn’t want to spend that much if my size might hopefully go down. If you are a Lulu lover, tell me what style you like and why you like them.

I decided on this KS piece and Tom bought it for me. It’s the top one. The bottom bar necklace is my twins’ birthday that my bff had made for me.

After the mall we were still full and I needed a rest so we went home and I read but couldn’t read outside because of the cold. I am really into this! Tom went to work on the winterizing of the boat.

He came home after a couple of hours and we got ready for dinner.

I put on my Spanx leggings from last year. They fit much better now and I think I didn’t like them very much last year because they run small? Here is my faux leather leggings post from last year! I gave my Aerie crackles to my sister because they are too big and I also gave her my Target Wild Fables. Now that these fit I just don’t see myself needing any others. I love my new Amazon purse and I have on my old vest, old blouse, and new Target Universal Thread boots that I decided to keep. I need a better black top for this outfit.

We headed to a new to us Spanish tapas restaurant called Barcelona Bistro.

It was super cute inside and we had to order off the QR code reader. I got a sangria.

We got olives,

pan con tomate (bread with tomato, olive oil, and salt),

spicy potatoes with aioli sauce,

chicken coated in potato chips,

empanadas,

and churros with chocolate for dessert.

I had the last piece of my cake. I did have a small sliver of cake Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and then it was gone. It was really, really good cake. I love cake!

And, then it was a bit of tv, shower, and an early bedtime for school the next day.

It was a nice day!

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Instead of just my usual WIWW (What I Wore Wednesday) post, I thought I would touch on a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. I will have a few outfits at the end of the post, too!

As women, we get really caught up with the number on the scale. It is so frustrating when you feel that you have changed your lifestyle so drastically and the numbers stop changing.

I also think YOU have to be ready to make a change. So much of it is mental. You can’t do it for anyone but yourself. If you want to make a lasting change, it requires patience. There is no quick fix.

Erica (my meal prep partner) and I started talking about “non scale victories” that we had heard people talk about on our Facebook WW forums. They often just call them “NSVs”.

I stopped following indulgent food accounts on Instagram and started following healthy lifestyle accounts. We are all “influenced” whether we want to believe it or not.

She posts the best and most inspirational stuff! I think it’s good to keep this in my camera roll. I have now been on a healthier lifestyle journey for 7 months. Erica has been on her journey for 3 months. Even when the numbers don’t move or don’t move fast enough, we are seeing changes.

• I noticed very quickly that I had more energy. I just had someone say that they thought I was younger than they were because I seemed to have so much more energy than she does. What a compliment! I also had a sweet student give me a lotion a few years ago called Stress Relief. She said, “The other choice on sale was called Energy but you seem to have enough of that.” Ha! I think that was because I “perform” all day at school and then crash after the last bell!
• I almost immediately started sleeping better. I think it only took a week of cutting out the crap for me to see this!
• One of my goals was to stop groaning upon standing. Ha! I was ashamed at all the noise I was making. I am no longer a groaner – or at least as bad of a groaner.
• I literally was choosing not to do things that involved too much walking. I am saying “yes” more to things that involve more walking.
• I was not as extroverted as I wanted to be because I was not feeling my most confident.
• Tom said when he first met me he couldn’t keep up with me when we were walking places and he noticed that I am starting to be that way again.
• I am craving more healthy foods and craving less non-healthy foods.
• I love having our foods last longer because I am watching portion sizes.
• I have less back pain. True story: I started having really bad back spasms in March. I went to set up my classroom and was in so much pain with my back muscles tightening up every time I moved a desk. I was seriously worried about being able to do my job! Don’t anyone let you believe teaching is not an extremely physical job. You really have to be able to stand all day, walk all day around the room, bend over to pick things up, hang things up, and do all of your own grunt work.
• Everyone wants to be in their best shape for summer, but it is a great feeling to put on my leggings from last winter and have them fit so much better. It is a great feeling to not feel so schlumpy in your bigger winter clothes, you know?
• It’s amazing to me how much weight you lose in strange places on your body. My necklaces lay better with a thinner neck, my rings are looser, my earrings are loose (just kidding to see if you are still here!), my tops fit better, etc.

I am sure I have forgotten so much of what Erica and I discussed, but you get the idea. What NSVs have you enjoyed recently or in the past?

I am pissed at myself for not taking care of my body and I wish I had been ready to make a change earlier. But, it’s time to live in the present and move forward.

Now for what I have been wearing lately. I have really slacked on photos because I have just been so busy, but here are a few.

For my party I wanted to go out and get a cute top but I didn’t. I decided on my new smaller sized jeans, my Lucky booties, and my black belt with an old Old Navy boho blouse. It got so cold, though, that I wore my Target poncho for the first time. The shirt was a bit lumpy under and I felt a bit dowdy, but I was warm and comfy.

I finally wore my new Loft clearance dress to school last week. I feel like it looks like Grandma’s curtains but I love it. This might be my Thanksgiving dress.

And, I wore my new floral blouse, a Target cardigan from last year that I bought in about 5 colors, jeans, and my gold clogs.

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

How in the BEEP am I fifty? It sure did come quickly.

This past weekend I celebrated and to be honest, I will keep the celebration going as long as people will let me! Why not?

Indulge me in a bit of stream of consciousness here. I thought about doing a “X Number of Things about Me” post like many bloggers do on their birthdays, but fifty things about me just seems too hard. Are there even fifty things about me? I’m not that complicated.

This birthday has me thinking about my Dad. He would have said he can’t believe he has a child this old, how my birth was the best day of his life (along with the birth of my sisters), and how he was so proud of me and the person I have become. He would have had lots of heartfelt sentiments for me that were sometimes more than I deserved. This makes me smile to imagine his voice saying these things.

A lot of big things have happened for me recently, as my dear readers know. My twins graduated from high school and started college. Tom and I became empty nesters in one fell swoop. And, as of October 1, I became eligible for retirement.

I have more time for myself than I have had since I was 29. I don’t know how much longer I want to teach but it sure feels good to have that choice now. Honestly, I am worn out from this school year already and I don’t know how many more educational “trends” (started by those not in the classroom) that I can endure. But, I am not really ready to leave the game yet. Also, I would hate to go out on a year like this. But, I also need to put myself first now. So, we will see. There are so many things I would like to pursue in my next chapter.

I am going through a bit of a metamorphosis and I think I like it. I have seen some amazing women turn 50 before me and they are truly inspire me. I welcome your words of advice if you have them! One thing I always tell my students is to never want to stop learning new things and I know I have so much more to learn.

I felt about weird about posting my lovely and thoughtful gifts, but I decided to do so because they mean so much to me and because they might help you with gifting ideas for the approaching holidays.

I truly only wanted quality time with the people in my life, but I get so touched when a gift shows that someone really GETS me, you know?

My co-worker Erica gave me this “Basic Bitch Acceptance” candle that is infused with pumpkin spice everything! Oh yes! I am basic!

Our friends John and Christine brought me wine and this awesome plant called “Mother in law’s Tongue”. My MIL does not have a sharp tongue so I can’t relate. Lol!

My friend Heather ran into an old college friend, Lucy, who happened to be in town for the weekend visiting family and told her to come, which was awesome. I felt so bad that she brought me a gift, though! Look at this awesome cow print Swig cup. I have a cup problem!

She also gave me these awesome tortoise shell bracelets. I love tortoise shell.

My co worker Elizabeth gave me a tub holder for when our bathroom is done. Tom thought it was a tub charcuterie board and I just think he might be on to something.

She added this hair turban, soap, and loofah.

The hair turban is really cool! Marge Simpson, anyone?

Our friends Scott and Jessica gave me this cool pan holder. Have you seen these? You stick a disposable pan inside to take places. I have wanted one!

They also gave me this funny kitchen towel!

My sister in law and family gave me this pretty wrap/poncho. I am excited to have lighter colored ponchos.

And, my SIL Jessica had my niece go to Craig Conover’s shop (from Bravo’s Southern Charm) when she was in Charleston to get me this hilarious cup! It’s an “if you know you know” thing for people that watch the show!

And, Heather gave me this one:

Heather gave me these awesome earrings that I got for our other friend Heather.

Our other friend Heather gave me this Madewell tote. I love the print!

Beth and her hub gave me an Anthro gift card and look how cute they package it. It is a ribbon with the card inside.

Dan and Kara gave me this cool paddle charcuterie board with a really sweet note attached. They are both really good with words and with giving words of affirmation.

They wrote: “Is a charcuterie board Amy or is Amy a charcuterie board? (haha) Always colorful. Can be taken anywhere you want festivities to ensue. Always welcoming, making guests feel at ease as if something special is happening. Able to mix with a variety of flavors and tastes. (lol) Able to be paired with a unique cocktail reflecting the season (or an Ale 8 – Tom’s beverage of choice).”

I was so touched. That is the person I want to be, but I am not sure I am there yet.

My friends Victoria and Dave had a prior commitment, but Victoria gave me this awesome Frida Kahlo kimono over fall break.

I am truly spoiled!

Thanks for indulging me,

Amy