Step Into My Week

Another weekend has come and gone. I always end Sunday night confused as to how quickly the weekend has passed by. Why can’t the weekdays do that on occasion? Can y’all believe that last week was my first full week of school since December? I most certainly can’t, but come Friday I felt it. Getting back into the five work day routine was eye opening.

I knew the week would kick off to a busy start with commitments after school Monday through Wednesday. It’s a bit harder to try to balance things when 5:45 was the earliest I got home those days. I tried to plan ahead more this past weekend so I wouldn’t be leaving y’all without posts again this week.

Monday and Tuesday night I had class for grad school back at Furman. It’s been interesting trying to force myself into focusing at night for those classes. I am definitely way more productive in the morning. Despite it being tricky to try to balance those classes with teaching and that being a challenge, it’s kind of nice to know I’ll get to see my friends during the week. I have also been reminded of how much I like being a student. I know that probably sounds really dorky but after gaining a better perspective of all that comes with teaching and managing a large group sometimes it is really nice to just sit and learn.

poncho // pants // boots // watch

dress // boots

I used Hello Fresh again this week which made figuring out what I was going to eat really easy. I wish their meals weren’t so expensive otherwise I’d see a lot of value in ordering it more often. The first meal I made this week, a spin on orange chicken, wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping although I honestly think that’s my fault since I could have easily missed a step. It was much more involved than I was anticipating. Fortunately, my other meals weren’t too tricky and turned out to be delicious.

As for teaching, pretty much all of the teachers at my school are in agreement that the students will not stop talking. My class definitely falls into that category which has been a bit challenging. It has gotten to the point where I have tried to give them a few minutes here and there just to chat and that’s the only time they seem to get quiet. It’s as if they only know how to talk to one another when I am thinking. It’s reassuring to know that I’m not the only teacher baffled by this. On Friday afternoon, the students who met their reading goal for the quarter got to attend a board game party with all of the other fourth graders who had as well which was really fun. I was also thankful we did that on Friday afternoon since I’m not sure how chatty the students would have been that close to the weekend.

top // vest // slip ons

white sweater // jeans // shoes // hoops // watch

Thursday I left school around 3:15 to make up for all the long afternoons. I decided to go and get some work done at Starbucks before going to a friend’s birthday dinner that night. It was a small group of us, but it was really fun. I attempted to go to bed early and am proud of myself for slowly getting better about that.

This past weekend was a great mix of relaxing and fun. A group of us decided to go to a sushi place on Friday night for their happy hour specials (half priced wine and sushi, we’ll be back again soon I’m sure). Two of our new friends joined and then we ended up having a laid back night watching the Bachelor and hanging out. I can’t say I really knew what was happening in the show since it’s not something I keep up with but it was still fun to watch.

Saturday morning I slept in a little bit before running some errands and relaxing most of the day. Part of me really wanted to be super productive so that I’d have less to do on Sunday but I ended up lounging and watching TV mainly. That night we had a friend’s going away party to attend. A bunch of us hung out together before venturing to our guy friends’ apartment for the surprise party. Kevin, the guy the party was for, is moving back to Germany this week so we forced him to embrace as much of America as he could at the party. With brownies, burgers, American flags, and a full on joutfit (jean outfit) it was a good time. We ended up going downtown with the group as a continuation of the party. As always, the night ended at Sully’s, a bagel place downtown, before heading home and heading to bed.

Sunday was super overcast which worked well for me since I had stuff I wanted to get ahead on. I started my morning with a cup of coffee, oatmeal, and laundry before working on blog posts and school stuff. I attempted to combat the Sunday scaries with productivity, my typical Sunday phone call with my parents, and a bit of TV. Ellison and I needed to catch up on the most recent episode of How To Get Away With Murder and ended up watching Home Again as well. I made my last Hello Fresh from this past week before preparing for another week and going to sleep.

Lately:

reading: 52 Cups of Coffee

I finished the Year of Yes at the beginning of last week. This gave me a bit of time to be indecisive when choosing AND ultimately decide on my next book. I ended up picking another one of the books my dad picked out for me for Christmas. 52 Cups of Coffee is about a recent college grad committing to sitting down with a different person each week over a cup of coffee to talk about their life. I feel like my dad must have chosen it for two different reasons. 1. I’m a huge coffee fan and 2. The subtitle of the book is “inspiring and insightful stories for navigating life’s uncertainties.” While I know what I’m doing with my life until August, after that I’m not sure what it will look like. Maybe this book will help me to navigate. I’ll be sure to let you know.

watching: Grey’s Anatomy

I’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy kind of sporadically. I keep up with it for a while and then run don’t watch it for a bit and come back to it. I am currently on season 7 and given how long ago I started the show I should be a good bit further. Since I like to watch TV in the background I’m never fully sure what’s going, on but I still like it as background noise.

loving: Emergen-C Gummies

The plague has hit our classroom…I understand that’s a bit dramatic, but I am terrified of getting sick while teaching. I’m a bit shocked that I haven’t missed a single day yet since kids have their fair share of germs. This past week, I had one student miss 3 days because of the fun and another go home after throwing up at school. I’m taking these gummies religiously to attempt to avoid getting sick. Keep your fingers crossed with me that I can hold off on getting sick.

wearing: Barbour Jacket

I know I included a jacket as my “wearing” this past week, but it seems like jackets are a necessary thing as of late. It was warmer a couple of days this week but still windy. My Barbour is always a go-to. It desperately needs to be re-waxed which makes sense considering I wear it nearly daily.

wanting: More Teaching Pants

At first I loved getting dressed for teaching in the winter. Now, I am so tired of sweaters and the same pants. I feel like I’ve been in a rut when it comes to getting dressed. Since my no-spend month is almost over, I’m hoping to be more thoughtful when it comes to purchasing things. Right now, I’m on the hunt for pants I can wear to teach that will mix up my teaching uniform a bit. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them!

quoting: “Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.” – Daphne Du Maurier

Posts From Last Week:

Step Into My Week

Winter Nighttime Skincare Routine

Fashionable Fitness Finds