I'm confessin'...

It's Friday! Can I get a "HALLELUJAH"!!!!

TGIF, baby!

Since it's Friday, I'm here to confess so I can start my looooong weekend off right!

I confess....

.....that I wish my boyfriend's friends would mind their own business sometimes. Why do guys always feel the need to rag on each other? Why is me checking in online somewhere or posting a picture to Instagram an open invitation to comment about it to my boyfriend? Why do they even care?? Sometimes I think they're worse than girls.

....I'm darn proud of how I turned my office around this past week. Coming into an office where I inherited twice the amount of boxes that I brought in myself was a daunting task to tackle on top of all of the other meetings, etc. And then having to make it look presentable for Open House. Getting compliments about how much better it looked than earlier this week (let's be real, it looked like a tornado hit my room at some points), and how much roomier it was than last year, made me feel good!

View from my desk--some of those piles on the left are
disappearing when people come to take them

....I've gotten very creative about "hiding" things in this room/office that has no closet and no built in shelves--and limited shelving at that. (Do you see the things I "creatively" piled behind the door?? Oops...) 

....I really wanted to wear comfy clothes to work today since it's our last work day without kids, but since everyone else here seems to look pretty and cute at all times, I fancied it up and wore my mint green capri pants and cute white shirt. Darn those people who look cute!

....we have a "parking lot evacuation drill" after our meetings at work this morning. "What does that mean" you ask? Well, it means we get in our cars, and evacuate the parking lot to go home early. Holla, and hello long weekend!

....I'm nervous/excited about the start of school next week.

.....I'm excited for the long weekend and extra time to relax before the real reality of the school year hits!!

I hope you all have amazing and relaxing, fun weekends! Catch ya next week!

WILW and Oh How Pinteresting!

It's Wednesday....and I have two things to say about that:

Thank Goodness! and..."Why is it ONLY Wednesday???" haha

I'm linking up with Michelle and Jamie for WILW and Oh How Pinteresting!

I'm loving that MG and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary last night. We went to dinner at the restaurant we had our first date at, exchanged cards (I swear the card is my favorite part), and gifts. I still can't believe it's been a year!

I'm loving that I'm surviving the start of the school year and all of the mayhem associated with it. Stress, sore back/neck/shoulders, trying to get organized, etc. It's a lot of work to do in a week before kiddos come!

I'm loving that I have a temperature controlled office at my new school. The rest of the building is kind of old, and there are really hot spots (where the AC doesnt seem to work at all), and then luke-warm/cool spots. But, being out in the "modular" (aka: really big trailer) definitely has its perks!

I'm loving how snuggly Cooper is when I get home from work! :)

And, as always, I'm loving Pinterest!



Cute teacher outfit to start off the year!

 

My motto this week, and next week....and the entire rest of the year...:)

 

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder recipe Looks yum!

 

This basically is how I feel at the end of the work day this week! haha

 

True story!



Time to get back to the grind! Catch you peeps later!!

Happy Anniversary!

I'm back for a quick post today (it's busy busy busy here at work), but I wanted to share with you that today is MG's and my one year anniversary! It's a year ago today that we went on our first date...

It's amazing how different things can be in a year. Instead of being just out of a long term, long distance relationship that was unhealthy, dealing with dating people, etc. I'm now living with the guy I met on Match.com a year ago today.

We're going to dinner tonight to the same place we had our first date at. Except at the end of the night, we'll be getting out of the car at the same place! :) I feel like a lucky girl, even amidst the stress of a new school year--and THAT is saying something! haha

Hope you guys are having a great day!

M.I.A.

Hey people! The school year for teachers has officially started today (even tho I was tortured last week with orientation) which means lots of meetings, setting up my room (after moving ALL of my stuff out of our sunroom and actually getting it to my office), and getting ready for the kiddos to start coming next week.

Needless to say, it's gonna be busy so if I'm a little missing in action, don't worry...I'll be back soon!

In the meantime, I hope you have a great start to the week!

I Confess...

It's Friday.....and the only thing I have to say about that is THANK GOODNESS!!!!

I'm linking up for some confessions today, cuz what better way is there to start the weekend than confessing all of my sins to you?? :)

I confess that....

....I'm nervous for this upcoming school year. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle all of the paperwork we have to do now, along with my caseload, including a student I have to see for 2.5 hours per WEEK (which, in the speech world, is a LOT of time). I just hope I can make it through, make a difference in my kids' lives....and still maintain some sanity. And my hair color. #NoGraysPlease

.....I'm beyond excited that MG is coming home TONIGHT!!! I have a feeling the hours are going to tick by today uber slowly, but I can't wait to see his face and for the snuggle time I was promised! :)

....p!nky and I went out to an impromptu night of sangria and tapas last night. I think it was the cure to all of our ailments from the week. I love some good girl tim!

....I cried when I got flowers from MG on Tuesday. Before you judge, just know that it had been an incredibly stressful and overwhelming day (that had already had a bucket of unhappy tears shed), I wasn't able to talk to him on the phone at all that day, and getting the flowers helped turn around a crappy day and made me smile. Judge me now--it's ok.

Speaking of judging....out of 2,000 new hires in my school district (yes I said 2,000!), I kept seeing one girl over and over again, and it was because she insisted on wearing her curly hair bunched up on the top of her head. She kind of reminded me of this, except with it all concentrated on top of her head:

I couldn't help staring. And you could tell she thought she was real cute. I totally judged.

Do you have anything you wanna confess? Tell me! Tell me!! :)

Hope you have a good weekend full of juicy gossip!! 

A Pick-Me/You-Up

This week has been a little difficult for me. I've been missing MG a lot (only one more day!!), feeling like people aren't really enjoying my blog anymore, being totally stressed out with the new school year and all of the stuff that's being added to our plates while time is being taken away....

It's just been a bit overwhelming this week, to say the least.

But I saw this video the other day, and it instantly brought a smile to my face.

It actually gave me a lump in the back of my throat when I first saw it. So so so sweet.

Just a little reminder that no matter what size you are, where you come from, what you believe in, that we can all find something in common....even if it's just liking one another for all of our differences.

I hope it brightened up your day like it did to mine!

WILW and Oh How Pinteresting

So, it's the middle of the week, I'm back at work, and I'm TIRED (try and feel a little bit sorry for me. Just a liiiiiiittle bit is all I'm asking for).

BUT, I set aside some time for something important. WILW and Oh How Pinteresting with Jamie and Michelle!

I'm loving that MG comes home in TWO days. It's been a long 2 1/2 weeks and I'm in need of some hugs, kisses and all around quality time!

I'm loving that next week is our one year anniversary. Such an amazing year and hopefully many many more to come!

I'm loving that I'm surviving this week-long orientation back to work. Getting up butt-early has been less than pleasing, and the whole thing has been overwhelming, but it's almost over....then it's the real stuff!

I'm loving walking in the door after work to see Cooper standing on the couch wiggling his little tail with happiness and excitement to see me. Love that little guy!

I'm loving that I'm getting to know some of the new Speech people in the county. I already feel more connected to people than I did at my old school!

I'm loving that, on a day I was feeling incredibly down in the dumps, I opened the door to this:

The note wished me a good start back to work and a hope that these would brighten my day. They couldn't have come on a more perfect day when this was needed (and I kind of love the blue mason jar!)

And, as always, I'm loving Pinterest!

Here's what I've been pinning this week (you might notice a slight theme)...

Re-do of an old knife block. I NEED to do this with my old one! SO cute!

Cute back to school teacher outfit? Oh yes!

Skinny Puppy Chow? MMM....A good Back to School snack!

SO true! But, it's not August, so I can't really complain anymore...
at least not until NEXT July! ;)

For the love of puppies!!!
(And I can totally relate to how this little guy is feeling, this week) 

I couldn't agree more! I think I want this in my office at work!

Have you been pinning anything good??

Tasty Tuesday: Skinny Tunacakes with Chipotle Mayo

"Tuna cakes???" you're asking....

Ohhhh yes. They are just like crab cakes, except you make them with tuna fish!

AND, they're not bad for you! I found this recipe on Pinterest (here) and knew I had to try it. Since MG is still outta town, I figured what better time to try out a new recipe (cuz if it stunk, I could always order some pizza hehe)

Now that I have your interest piqued, here's how to make these fab tunacakes!

What you'll need (for the cakes):

-2, 5 oz cans of albacore tuna

-1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

- 1/2 of a small-medium onion, chopped

-1 tsp pepper

-1 tsp salt (I would omit the salt. They came out more salty than I wanted)

-2 egg whites

-1/4 C Panko bread crumbs

For the Chipotle Mayo dressing:

-1/4 C reduced fat miracle whip salad dressing/mayo

-1-2 tsp chili powder (depending on the heat you want--I usually do 1.5)

-1 tsp lime juice

OR....you can just buy the Chipotle Mayo already made. Since I had it in my fridge, I just used that to top off each cake when I was done.

Steps:

1) Open and drain the cans of tuna. In a medium bowl, mix the tuna, onion, Old Bay Seasoning, pepper (and salt if you choose to add it, but I would leave it out), 2 egg whites and the panko bread crumbs. 

Then, you mix that stuff up! Mix it....mix it good....(yeah you know you're singing "whip it" in your head now!) :)

2) Separate the mixture into 4 patties.

3) Spray a medium frying pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add in the patties and cook them over medium heat.

Turn them over a few times to make sure they are cooked through. I recommend waiting a couple of minutes to do the first flip so that the patties stay as patties, and don't fall apart like 2 of mine did (then you have tuna cake mess...and that's not nearly as fun!)

Oops!

4)Mix together the ingredients for the chipotle mayo until it's well combined. 

Or, if you're like me, just get that bottle outta the fridge!

5) Pull the cakes out of the frying pan and top with the mayo mixture.

6) Get your grub on!

I think this would be good served with a salad or just about anything else you would eat with crab cakes cuz they taste JUST like them!

Enjoy!!

Philly Surprise!

Hey party people! I hope you had a good weekend. I'm going back to work today....bah. I have to sit through a week of dumb orientation for my school's county. It's going to be going over about 95% of the stuff that I know from when I worked there 2 years ago. Fun? No.

But, my last minute trip to Philly to surprise MG's niece for her 12th birthday WAS fun! Super fun in fact! My little nugget was feeling better Tuesday night so I shifted my plans to head up there Wednesday morning for the actual birthday "day", and headed back on Friday morning. Sadly, since the girls were both feeling crummy on Tuesday (one from being sick, the other from thinking her pool party was going to be cancelled), MG's mom told them both that I was coming, to cheer them up. So it wasn't a HUGE surprise, but they were still happy to see me none-the-less.

We had lunch together and did some shopping at the King of Prussia mall (it's just a big mall....if you're like me and hearing it for the first time, it sounds like a place to buy fancy rugs or something...but it's not). We also spent some time dressing up in the kids department.....yes I partook in this (and may have actually been the instigator of it haha):

I actually kinda wish I'd bought the scarf I was wearing....even tho it was a kids scarf!

That night we hung out, and the kiddos played with Cooper who soaked up the love, pets and attention, as to be expected. We also sang Happy Birthday to the bday girl and had some ice cream cake!

Can't believe she's already 12!!

The next day was the pool party with 12 7th grade girls. It sounds scary, but it wasn't as bad as you would think. The girls were all good, and they had a great time!

Cooper spent the day either inside (so he wouldn't overheat) staring out the door/window at us, wandering around the pool, or being held or passed around by all of the girls. I think he was almost taken as a party favor at one point :) He definitely did not sleep the day away like he normally does!

He even spent some time in the hammock!

After the party, me, MG's parents, his sister and her two daughters (dad and nephew had football practice) went to P.F. Changs for dinner together since it was my last night there. It was really nice to spend the time with them. 

After dinner MG's mom and I spent a couple of hours hanging out, while Cooper continued to recuperate from his long day of pool party love and excitement. Evidence, here:

Keep in mind, I was sitting up in this picture....not laying down. He was SO tired, he fell asleep in that weird position!

The kids came by Friday morning to say good bye before I hit the road. Everyone was glad/appreciative that I had come (including MG who texted that he was glad I was able to be there and wished he could be too). I'm really happy that I went, and it wasn't awkward in the least little bit without MG there. The last night, MG's sister texted me this:

"My kids are obsessed with you in case you didn't know.....I may not sit on your lap but I luv ya too! lol"

I love MG's family even more now than I did before. It was a perfect way to spend my last few days of summer vacation.

And, on that note, I'm off to be tortured to orientation! Wish me luck!

WILW and Oh How Pinteresting!

It's Wednesday and you know what time it is! Linking up with Jamie and Michelle:

I'm loving that I finally know what school I'll be working at! I'll be back with elementary schoolers and I couldn't be more excited! 

I'm loving that it's now less than 10 days until MG comes back from his training (altho admittedly, I wish it was much sooner, and it feels like he should be coming home THIS Friday...). I miss him, but I've been surviving :)

I'm loving The Game of Thrones! I've been reading non-stop, in part because it's due back at the library in a week and a half, but mainly because the story has been really good. It took a while for me to get into it, but now that I am, I'm hooked!

I'm loving that the weather was gorgeous here for the past couple of days. I was even able to enjoy some pool time without sweating like a maniac and wanting to pass out! 

I'm loving that P!nky invited me over for dinner last night to cheer me up and to keep me company. I love that girl! :)

I'm loving that the trip up to Philly is on, and I'm leaving today! Whoop whoop!

And, as always, I'm loving my finds on Pinterest!

This week I've been pinning....

Who doesn't remember Bob Ross and his happy little trees?

I LOVE this look. So cute and chic!

If we had more room in the condo, I would want this, pronto!

Cajun Shrimp Casserole

This is Cooper. Every morning!

hahah, so cute!

Now, I wanna see what you pinning fools have been up to, so show me!! :)

Slight change o' plans...

So....I'm not in Philly, and I'm not on my way there. Not yet...and maybe not at all.

After a late night drive to my parents' house to get their EZ Pass (because it's a pain to travel without that sucker....and of course MG has his in his car. That's parked at the airport.), I found out that my little  nugget was sick with a fever and had been throwing up all day.

MG's sister and I decided we'd wait til this morning to find out how she was feeling before I came up (it would be torture for my little Jill if I was there and she couldn't see me).  She's not throwing up anymore, but she still has a fever.

So, we are playing the waiting game. The pool party might be moved cuz of the sickness in the house and the weather. So, I'm not sure if I'll still be going up. 

All I know is, I SO wanted to surprise the girls, and my heart broke when MG's mom texted me this picture today:

Poor little nugget....

We'll see what happens, but for now, I'm still here.