W.I.A.W: The summer is winding down!!

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

Helloooo ladies and gents! How’s everyone’s week going? In case you missed yesterday’s post, check out my giveaway!!! I’ll be announcing the winner on Saturday. :)

Well, it’s Wednesday… halfway through, and I’m joining many, many other blogs by joining the What I Ate Wednesday party yet again! Take a look at Peas and Crayons for other yummy eats!

 

I’ll tell ya what, the reality of summer coming to an end is starting to hit me, and dare I say it, I’m kind of excited….

For now though, I’m not going to wish away the two weeks of freedom that I have left before my life quickly becomes my students & school!

Let’s check out yesterday’s eats, which was pretty typical for a summer Tuesday!

6:30 – Infuse Your Mood tea (check out my giveaway to win your own!!!), Egg white scramble with leftover asparagus and spinach

I woke up bright and early and knew I needed a good breakfast before I headed in to my classroom to set up a bit & hitting the gym for a spin class. Infuse Your Mood tea gave me a great energy boost, and the egg white scramble helped keep me full all morning!

12:30 – Spinach Protein Peanut Butter Smoothie & Edamame and tomato “salad”

When I got home from the gym, I was starving and I knew I needed something quick! I threw together a delicious smoothie made with all the ingredients above. I still needed something more afterwards so threw together some edamame, cherry tomatoes, and sea salt & pepper. Yum!!!

After chowing down, I decided to take advantage of a beautiful day by taking my book and heading to the pier for some reading & Vitamin D time! ;) I finished my book (does anyone have any good suggestions for a new book??) and enjoyed the sunshine before running some errands.

4:00 – Newton’s Fruit Thins (Blueberry Brown Sugar flavor)

TRY THESE!! TRY THESE!! TRY THESE!!

I picked these up on a whim the other day, and boy am I glad I did. Usually I don’t like packaged snacks, but the nutrition stats aren’t bad at all! Not only that, but they taste amazing! They are like a thin, crispy cookie-cracker. You’ll LOVE them, trust me.

7:30 – Broiled Tilapia & roasted brussel sprouts

I threw together this quick and easy dinner before Bobby and I cuddled up on the couch and rented Wanderlust (hilarious movie, by the way).

I definitely also gave in to my sweet tooth a bit later with a few more of those Newton Fruit Thins! ;)

I need a new book! Any suggestions? What is the last book you’ve read?

Have you entered my giveaway? ;)

What are you most looking forward to this fall? I can’t wait to use pumpkin in all my meals, roasted squash, cool, crisp weather & boots!

Posted in Uncategorized | 28 Comments

LBI Bachelorette Weekend & A Giveaway!

Posted on August 21, 2012 by

Hey there! :)   How was everyone’s weekend?  I realize it’s Tuesday morning so chances are you aren’t feeling like reading about fun in the sun that include good food, drinks & friends… but… that’s what your gonna get (plus a pretty awesome giveaway!).

As I mentioned on Friday, I was getting together with a bunch of my girl friends this past weekend to celebrate a Bachelorette party!  One of my very good friends is getting married in September, so we knew she would love if we made a beach weekend out of it… and that’s exactly what we did!

We got a few hotel rooms on the beach at one of my favorite places in the world….

Long Beach Island!  :)

Every year since I was little my entire family has traveled to LBI for a few weeks in the summer, but considering that we took a week long cruise this summer, we passed on our annual LBI vacation.  I was thrilled to be going there with my girl friends though because I knew we would have a blast!

We spent the weekend at the Engleside hotel, which is just a few feet from the beach and a tiki bar!  Perfect for a bachelorette celebration! :)

Our weekend included lots of bachelorette-type games….

some cocktails…

a ton of delicious food including this amazing Salmon dinner…

beach relaxation…

… and, of course, some inappropriate cupcakes.

It was the perfect weekend celebrating the Bride-to-Be, and I couldn’t be more excited for the wedding in just a few short weeks!

Now… for my very first giveaway! :)

I received a package of Sun Chorella’s new Infuse Your Mood tea about a month ago, and being that it’s been rather hot, it’s taken me some time to try it out.

It wasn’t until the stress of getting in my classroom and starting to set everything up hit me that I remembered that this tea was helpful for relieving stress.

Infuse Your Mood tea contains Eleuthero, a natural herb that gives your body a natural energy boost without caffeine.  This herb claims to:

  • improve your sense of well-being
  • provide a renewed sense of peace and tranquility
  • support physical endurance
  • enhance inner calm and focus.

….basically exactly what I’m looking for as the school year starts up again.

Before heading into my classroom to set up, I’ve been brewing a cup of Infuse Your Mood to bring with me.  Honestly, I love it!

Will I continue to drink this tea throughout the school year?  Absolutely.

The taste is mild, which I like, and I’m always looking for an alternative since I gave up drinking caffeine last year!  I almost had a hard time believing that this tea was caffeine free, because I definitely felt increased energy the more I sipped it.

Now is your chance to win a box of Infuse Your Mood tea!

To enter simply leave a comment below explaining when you need that extra boost of energy that Infuse Your Mood would give you!

For an extra entry…

  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet about the giveaway: “I want to improve my mood naturally with Improve Your Mood tea via @FitFunInThird!!  
    http://wp.me/p2bsTl-qD
    “

That’s three chances to win…. please leave a comment for each entry!  :)

I’ll be announcing the winner on Saturday!

Posted in Blogging, Friends | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Fun, Sand & Laughs

Posted on August 17, 2012 by

It’s the weekend!!!  Who is excited?!  :)

I just wanted to drop in quickly and say goodbye before I head off to a Bachelorette party for my good friend!  It’s going to be a weekend of fun, sand & laughs.

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I’ll be back Monday or Tuesday to share the fun details with you, but in the meantime I’ll leave you with some past Bachelorette party posts in case you need some reading material this weekend….

I hope you all have the most fabulous weekends!  :)   For those of you attending HLS…. HAVE A BLAST… and I’ll admit, I’m jealous!  If I wasn’t going away this weekend I would have definitely made sure to join you… next year!

What are you looking forward to most this weekend?

Have you ever been to a bachelorette party?  Tell me about it!!! 

Posted in Friends | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Getting back to a routine!

Posted on August 16, 2012 by

So, if you follow me on Twitter, or if you’ve read my posts recently, you know that it’s almost time….

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It’s almost time to swap out my bathing suit cover ups for cardigans, to remove my hot pink summertime nail polish, to stop caring so much about my tan and instead worry about lesson plans, and to actually start to set my alarm again.

 

It’s not easy, not easy at all.

Will I be happy to do it all though?  Of course. 

My summertime weekday routine has looked a lot like this:

  • wake up between 7-8 a.m. & eat a leisurely breakfast
  • blog/read blogs/email
  • gym (for about an hour or hour & a half)
  • lunch
  • run errands, lie out, clean, read a book, try not to go crazy from lack of structure
  • make and eat dinner
  • watch TV or a movie with Bobby before hitting the hay anywhere between 11-12:30 

I’m a creature of habit… and I like to have everything planned out, which during the school year, it is.  During the summertime?  Not so much.  I crave that structure, as strange as it may seem, and not having it gives me anxiety!

My school year weekday routine looks like this (every.single.day):

  • 5:30 a.m. – gym
  • 7:25 – leave for work
  • 8:00 – arrive at work and eat breakfast while prepping for the day
  • 8:25 – 11:40 – Teach!
  • 11:40 – 12:25 – Lunch
  • 12:25 – 2:50 – Teach!
  • 3:40 – leave work
  • 4:00 – eat snack, watch Ellen, blog.
  • 6:30 (ish) – eat dinner, pack breakfast & lunch for the next day
  • 7:30 – relax on couch with Bobby
  • 9:00 (ish) – Bedtime

Ya see?  Each and every day is the same, and like I said, I enjoy it.  Go ahead… call me crazy. ;)

The only thing I don’t like about it is training my body to fall back into that kind of schedule.  I am left exhausted the first couple of weeks of school.  Between the stress of starting the year (and everything that comes along with it), getting to know my new kiddos, and the lack of sleep…. I am like a walking zombie!

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I don’t want or need that stress this year… so I am trying to get ready in advance.

So what am I planning in order to (hopefully) make this transition a bit easier?

  • Be prepared.  Even though we don’t actually start up school until the first week in September, I’ve been to my classroom already in order to start getting it prepared.  I have plenty more to do, but having my lists and doing things little by little is helping to relieve some stress!  My hope is that I won’t be running around like a crazy lady during the few days before the kids come in order to get everything ready.  Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go!
  • Start the sleep “schedule” in advance.  This is a difficult one, because I like to sleep.  Starting about a week before school, I’m going to try to get to sleep earlier and wake up earlier to try to get my body used to the schedule!
  • Ask for help.  I need to realize that I won’t be able to take my time grocery shopping anymore, or spend an afternoon cleaning our apartment.  Instead of trying to keep up with all of my daily summer “chores,” I’ll be asking Bobby to help out when he can to make the transition easier (thanks in advance, Babe ;) ).  Without fail, I end up overwhelmed and overtired when I try to do it all… which for me, leads to stress and eventually, tears! 
  • Plan NOTHING for the first few weekends of the school year.  During the school year, my weekends are like gold.  They are a time to recharge, sleep in, be lazy, and destress.  I will be doing absolutely nothing during those first few weekends back, that’s for sure!  ;)

Let’s chat… what do you do to help you fall into a routine easier?!  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

When you were little, did you look forward to going back to school?  I always LOVED Back to School time… new clothes, new notebooks, new markers… ahhh!!  It makes me excited just thinking about it.

Posted in Random, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

W.I.A.W: Summer nights should always end with a treat!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by

Hello, hello, hello!!! :) How’s everyone doing today?

This month, the lovely Jenn from Peas and Crayons decided that the theme for this month would be “Summer Staples,” which I love!

Who doesn’t enjoy all the yummy fresh food that is available during the summer months? It seems I just can’t get enough of my summer staples!

Let’s check out my eats from yesterday and see how I managed to fit in all the fresh foods!

7:30 – Sandwich thin “french toast” with a side of PB2 & tea

Yesterday morning, I woke up knowing I had a busy day ahead of me, so I wanted to make sure to kick it off with a good breakfast! I let this digest before heading to the gym for a killer spin class!

11:30 – Flatout wrap with green olive hummus (obsessed) and kale

After the gym, I rushed home to shower and grab this quick mini lunch before heading into my classroom! At the end of the year, I left my classroom in a sort of “end of the year” daze. Recently, I realized that I honestly have no idea what work still needs to be done in my room before my new class comes in September, so I wanted to get in and take a look!

I’ll be honest, going in gave me nervous butterflies in my stomach, but once I was in there, those nerves turned to excitement! I managed to get a lot of work done, and I’m left feeling much better about accomplishing everything by September.

4:30 – Spinach protein smoothie

By the time I got home, I was starving. My stomach needed something, and it needed something fast.

Into the blender:

  • 2 scoops Tera’s Organic Whey Blueberry Protein powder
  • 1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
  • 1 TBSP Chia seeds
  • 2 TBSP PB2
  • 1 packet Truvia
  • a whole lot of frozen spinach

7:30 – Salmon and roasted brussel sprouts

This dinner has definitely become a summer staple for me. It’s so easy, healthy, and delicious!

After dinner, once Bobby and I finished cleaning up the kitchen… Bobby innocently mentioned that it seemed like the perfect night to go on a walk and grab some frozen yogurt.

Well, that was all it took. My flip-flops were on and my bag was over my shoulder in two seconds flat.

Why is it that the very mention of frozen yogurt (and wine, might I add) sends me into a frenzy? Once it’s in my mind, I need it!

Thanks a lot, Bobby. ;)

8:30 – Nonfat Vanilla frozen yogurt with crushed graham cracker, chocolate sprinkles, and a few chocolate covered pretzels thrown on there for good measure.

Bobby was right, it was the perfect ending to a hot summer day!

Is there anyone else who find it hard to suppress a thought of a “treat” once it enters your mind?

What are your favorite frozen yogurt or ice cream toppings?

What would you consider the best summer treat to end the day with?

Posted in Food, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

The Simple Things: A-Z

Posted on August 14, 2012 by

Good morning, friends! :)

I decided to follow the lead of so many who have taken this blogging survey about all the simple things that bring me joy!  Each letter of the alphabet highlights one of these things.  We could all use a little reminder of the simple things that bring us joy on a Tuesday morning, am I right?

The Simple Things:  A-Z

A – Apples.  I usually have at least one apple a day… they are the perfect snack, and I love having them for breakfast with some peanut butter!

B -  Bobby.  My husband makes me insanely happy and I can’t imagine what life would be like without his hugs.

C -  Carebears.  I’ve always been a fan.  :)

D- Doodle.  I’m a doodler (is that a word?).  I always need to have a pen on me because nothing helps me focus or relaxes me like a good doodle (this sentence actually just made me LOL).

E- Eating.  Eating makes me happy.  If I’m hungry, I’m cranky.  When I’m cranky, everyone around me knows it.  My husband is a saint.  ;)

F- Fedora.  Make fun of me if you must, but I love my new hat.  :)

G- Gym time.  Working out is such a simple way to make me happy!  On days when I can’t get in a good workout I am not “myself.”  I feel best when I start my morning with a heart pumping workout!

H- Hugs.  I love hugs.  Whether it is a hug from Bobby, my mom, a friend, or my munchkin of a god-daughter, nothing feels better than a good hug!

I- Ice Cream.  Gimmie.

J- Jeopardy.  I love putting together games, and this Nana Jeopardy was a huge hit during our Bermuda cruise!

K- Kombucha.  It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Kombucha.  What I’m NOT a fan of though?  Kombucha prices.  It’s borderline robbery!

L-  Lobster at Boondocks!  No other restaurant in this world makes me happier.  Summer nights spent eating lobster outside on the water with my family are always perfect!

M- Momma.  She’s my best friend and my biggest support, not to mention the strongest person I know.

N- Nature.  Give me the beach, give me a lake, give me a hiking trail… anything!  I’m one happy girl when I’m surrounded by nature!

O- Outdoor happy hours in Hoboken.  :)

P-  Pistachios.  Favorite snack ever!

Q- Quiet time!  Some days I need 5 minutes, some days I need 60 minutes, but regardless, if I don’t get some quiet time, I go a little crazy.  Every day after work during the school year my commute home is silent.  No radio, no phone calls, nothing.  I need thattimeto decompress after a day in 3rd grade!  :)

R-  Romo.  My crazy cat makes me laugh and smile every single day.  He’s a nutcase!

S- Sushi.  I could eat sushi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  California roll for breakfast?  Bring it on.

T- Twitter.  I could play around on Twitter all day long!

U- Underwear.  Let’s be honest, nothing is better than a good pair of underwear, am I right?  It’s the simple things, folks! ;)

V-  Vacation.  I don’t need elaborate vacations (although I certainly don’t mind them), even a simple night away with my husband gives me that “vacation” feeling of being relaxed!

W-  Wine.  It’s no secret that wine makes me happy!  ;)

X- X-Rays?  I can’t think of what else to put here.

Y- Yogurt.  I love using Chobani Greek yogurt in recipes.  The added protein keeps me full for hours, and it tastes delicious!

Z- Zebra print.  I have a zebra print scarf that makes me happy. :)

What are some “simple things” that make you happy??

Posted in Blogging, Random | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Sweet Summertime: Tailgate & Shenanigans!

Posted on August 12, 2012 by

 

How’s everyone feeling on this lovely Sunday morning?  I’m a little slow-moving right now.  Based on how I found my apartment when we woke up (not too long ago, might I add), we had a fun night!

I mentioned in my post from yesterday that I’d be having a long, fun-filled day, and that I did!  Around 1:00, we packed up some coolers filled with everything we needed for a successful TAILGATE!

Anyone a fan of these two guys??

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Even though we are all born and raised in New Jersey, my family and I are all huge country fans, so when we heard that Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw were coming to the Meadowlands during their concert tour, we jumped at the chance to get tickets.

Our concert tailgate involved my aunts, uncles, a few cousins, my brother, and my sister-in-law.  We had SUCH a blast!  Tailgating is one of my all-time favorite things, especially when it involves my amazing family!

For our tailgating spread, we had pretzels, crackers, pistachios, subs, chips & dip, brownies and cookies.  We clearly weren’t going to let ourselves go hungry! ;)

As far as our drinks were concerned, we mostly stuck to beer except for a little concoction that my handsome husband has been brewing up over the past week.  Anyone ever heard of a Stoli Doli?  It is basically just pineapple soaked in vodka.  Delicious?  Yes.  Deadly?  Yes.  I stuck to just one sip of it!

Shenanigans occurred as we played flip cup, beer pong, and worked on our country dancing…

 

 

Around 6:00, we headed into the concert.  Although our seats couldn’t have been any further from the stage, we had such a blast dancing and singing along to all our favorite songs!

The concert ended around 11, and we made our way home.  My brother and Bobby’s sister came back to our apartment where we proceeded to order pizza, mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers.

I woke up this morning to find these delicious looking leftovers on the counter….

Clearly dancing all night works up an appetite! ;)

I’m a little unhappy with the piece and a half of pizza (ok, and mozzarella stick) that I scarfed down last night, along with the handfuls of honey wheat pretzels that I couldn’t get enough of during our tailgate… but I’m trying not to let that “guilt” feeling take anything away from the amazing time we had yesterday!  Better choices today, right? :)

How did you spend your Saturday night?

Are you a fan of country music?  Who is your favorite singer?

Do you get that “guilty” feeling after a night of indulging?  How do you deal with it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Family, Food | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments