End of summer, beginning of year 12

Nothing says "end of summer" like Labor Day weekend.

Indeed.

School is now in full force for students, even though teachers have been back since mid-August (and the rest of us since before that). 

Don't worry - Marisa and I totally did our back to school ice cream tradition the weekend before (my) school started.

And you can rest assured I spent my time in church leading up to school's beginning on my knees offering prayers for my teacher & admin friends as well as for my own school. Not only did it make sense to do so, I don't think I would have made it through the week without prayer & Mass...

And fresh flowers, of course...

While it took nearly the whole morning for me to get my act together, I did manage to snap a first day of school picture. (And our business manager also took a real one the week before for our website.)

Only one week in now, but school is certainly keeping me busy. And that is probably more so than last year, as I have a class to plan for and teach: 7th grade Religion. Exciting though it is, I imagine it will take its toll on me when the admin side of things starts piling up, but for now things are good. And, technically, I'm on the Jr High team...

Aside from school, there have been plenty of other goings-on to keep me busy, including but not limited to Shakespeare in the Park, early morning marathon training runs along the lakefront, a Cubs baseball game, reading, a play (or perhaps a few), and other random things, including visits with friends (and even a few dates(!) - but, sadly, there turned out to be nothing promising). Busy, busy...

I've also (clearly) been working on maintaining my girlish figure... 😂

Kidding.

Food is totally worth the splurge.


I hope you are doing well and that wherever you're at in life or in work/school that you're right where you're meant to be. (I also hope you were able to follow the crazy jumping around of this blogpost. My brain is fried...)

Have a wonderful week!

When life hands you $5...find a good happy hour!

If you're keeping track, a lot happened since my last post: my twin sister's wedding, a family vacation, the start of a new job... You know, big (and good) things...

Here are just a few photos:

(Okay, so there were ten photos instead of "just a few" - oops.)

But this post isn't about all of that; though, it very well could be. I'll save that for another time. Instead, I thought I'd share something fun a friend and I have started doing since I got back from all that summer stuff...

I thought figuring out a 8-10 day road trip each summer was pretty brilliant on our part, but that only happens once a year. What if we could do something fun (yet strategic) on a weekly basis?

Enter rotating happy hour. Half off burgers on Monday? Awesome. Taco Tuesday? Wonderful. You get the idea - my friend and I have started meeting up once a week (a different day each week) to find some of the best happy hour deals on food and drinks in our neck of the woods.

Truth be told, we haven't been disappointed yet. Here's what we've tried so far:

Monday special: Dos Tacos (half off burgers & fries with the purchase of a beverage) - In case you were wondering, the burgers were delicious, and, perhaps surprisingly, margaritas do pair nicely with this food option.
Tuesday special: Rocks (3 for $6 tacos, 1/2 priced cocktails) - Though the tacos are small and limited to three choices (that you can mix and match or go with the same choice for all three), they were quite tasty.
Wednesday special: We had to skip Wednesday this week (and next), so the jury is still out on this one (obviously).
Thursday special: Diag Bar and Grill ($5 classic burgers & side, $5 cans and bottles) - it's hard to go wrong when you can get a hearty and yummy meal (and adult beverage) for less than $15 (including tip) in Chicago. #winning

And that's the extent of our HH adventures to date. But don't you worry, there is more to come - in a few months' time we will have found the best HH places from Lakeview to Downtown.

Sometimes, life requires you to mix it up a little. So, cheers to the adventure and fun to come!

It's the Little Things...

It wasn't an extraordinary or special day by any means, but this May the 4th was one of a couple sweet treats:

1. An 8th grade mom brought me flowers as a belated thank you for the extra personal time I spent on retreat and Confirmation stuff this year. They smell and look beautiful!

2. My boyfriend wanted to participate in teacher appreciation week...so he brought me a donut. Yum!

It's the little things in life, my friends, the little things...

Adventures Never Cease

Here are some more pictures from the week thus far:

Trader Joe's (right behind my hotel):

Had the chance on Wednesday to run along the Charles River at sunrise:

Ice Cream at one of the best joints in Cambridge:

PB Cookies & Cream = my new favorite flavor:

Again, such interesting eating combos - enjoyed lunch in Harvard Yard on Thursday with my dried fig & port jam toasted sandwich (complete with toasted walnuts and brie cheese):

More ice cream...this time with ACE friends here in Boston:

Spent some time in Harvard Yard too...

And at the Gutman Library (Harvard Graduate School of Education):

Sunrise was absolutely beautiful from my hotel room:

So much learning and fun packed into these 5 short days - what an incredible experience! It will be hard to leave this place and these people on Friday.

The Gift to Realize that Everything is a Gift

Long weekends are amazing because, as a teacher, I feel that such times are the only true times (aside from more extended holiday vacations) when you can take a day off.

So, that's exactly what I did on Sunday. That's right - no work. Period.

My sister and I went for a run on the Lakefront path, which, while hot, was quite satisfying. After washing up, I met her and one of her roommates from ACE KC (Anthony) at Yolk (a local brunch hotspot) for some delicious pancakes. From there, we headed downtown (via the L) to drop off Anthony's bags at Union Station. It was at that time we had the brilliant idea that we would wander around...and ultimately find the cupcake ATM.

(Yes, believe it or not, it exists. Directly below is the proof.)

We enjoyed some sunshine, our cupcakes, fresh air, and conversation on a Starbucks 2nd floor outdoor patio (who knew?). And then we walked some more. (By the end of the day, let's just say my legs were a little sore.)

And after sending Anthony on his way (back to Union Station), Marisa and I grabbed dinner and then headed to Mass. Finally, to round out the night, Marisa and another friend and I experienced the beauty of a summer's evening with margaritas and tortilla chips on the patio of the Mexican restaurant right around the corner from Church.

This morning, I was able to wake up refreshed and so very grateful for yesterday's encounters and adventures.

Speaking of grateful, I'm starting that theme with my 7th graders this week in Religion class. They'll be writing daily in their gratitude journals, and I'll be reading them some books, sharing some stories, and inviting them to reflect on how we can all be a little more grateful for what we have.

I plan on showing this video tomorrow:

And here are some images to get us started and to use throughout the year:

As the video (above) says at one point, it's a "gift to realize that everything is a gift". Today, I was able to look out my back door and see beauty in the simple grace of the brilliant sunshine:

What are you grateful for today?

The Kitchen Trials

After a full day of teaching followed by the first day of fifth grade volleyball practice (and then more school work preparations for tomorrow), it was time to go home.

Too tired to run...but in desperate need of using up some groceries I bought this past week, I decided to get cooking. Mixing chicken breast, broccoli, zucchini, diced onions, pepper, garlic, sea salt, balsamic, and olive oil, I baked it in the oven for 35 minutes (adding cheese in the last 10-12 minutes)...

Here's what happened after some oven magic:

Things were looking so good, I decided to put in some cookies into the oven afterwards...

And another success was achieved! Yay for boxed chocolate with mint chip cookies from Target!

Some days teaching takes it out of you...but you can still live it up cooking in the kitchen...