Sunny Sunday

I’m going to start a new weekly post. Each Sunday I’m going to introduce you to another blog I read. I know I’m not original in this idea but I think it’d be fun!

First you should know that I read a lot of blogs. I read friend’s blogs, I read Christian blogs, I read food blogs, I read “how to” blogs, I read blogs that cover everything under the sun, I read random people’s blogs, and the list goes on. You could say it’s a hobby.

Without further ado, I introduce you to my first Sunny Sunday blogger… The Pioneer Woman! Many of you may already know who she is but I’ve only discovered her within the last month or so. I was inspired to start blogging on a regular basis because of her blog! The Pioneer Woman, also known as Ree Drummond, is a ranch-wife who lives in the Middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma. She blogs daily about her kids, her life on the ranch, her yummy yummy recipes, her photography, and everyday life.

Go check her out!

2010
02/21
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Sunny Sunday
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Book Club

I know I’ve been MIA. It’s been a rough few days and, unfortunately, it’s not looking to get easier anytime soon.

Anyway, that’s not what I want to post about today! Today I want to introduce you to something I’m very excited about… an online book club! Go to the blog to find out what it’s all about!

My sweet friend (and RSC big sis) Johanna had the great idea for the club. Our first book is…

If you’re interested in joining us, either comment here, email me, comment on the blog email Johanna at thereadingwomen@gmail.com.

Have a great Saturday!

2010
02/20
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Quinoa and Salmon Salad

Bad news: I tried cottage cheese and I just can’t do it. I think it’s the texture.

Good news: Quinoa and Salmon Salad is delicious!

Tonight Quinoa and Salmon Salad was on the menu. It turned out great!

Next time I’ll try to take a picture before I mix it all up. It was much prettier (but it tasted just as yummy)! I’m enjoying the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Ingredients: quinoa, olive oil, kosher salt, wild salmon, arugula leaves, cherry tomatoes, garlic, raspberry vinegar, e.v.o.o., ground pepper, crumbled feta cheese. I really enjoyed the quinoa and Heather gave me a great website to find more quinoa recipes. I’m happy to post the recipe if anyone is interested! This came from the Healthy Heart book I blogged about yesterday.

I think I’m going to start saving for a new digital camera. I mean a legit digital camera. Any photog’s out there have good suggestions? I was a sports photog for my high school yearbook and really enjoyed it. I’m not looking to start a business, it would just be recreational.

Also, on another random note, my new mattress is great phenomenal. I sleep like a rock. I have had more energy over the last two days and I can’t help but give some credit to Stearns and Foster.

2010
02/16
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Food
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Gettin’ Fresh

A little over a week ago I asked for advice on healthy food. I didn’t want to go crazy and buy a lot of things I’d never eat again, I just wanted some advice on what healthy (and tasty) foods I could start substituting for some unhealthy foods I’d been eating.

I was given some great advice from friends like Dayle Hogue. I read some health related blogs. I even went to the public library and checked out a few books! (I know, I’m a nerd.) The most helpful book was this one:

If you are looking for a good, reliable book about healthy eating at any age, I highly recommend this one. While it has over 150 recipes, the best part is that the first 125 pages are full of great information on choosing the right foods (it explains why, it doesn’t just tell you what to go grab at the store). It also covers exercise, healthy lifestyles, and knowing your risks. This book is written by doctors from the Cleveland Clinic, one of America’s top heart hospitals, so I feel like it’s trustworthy.

I’ve collected all this information for a little over a week and spent some time this weekend making a list of exactly what I was willing to eat. Today was the day. After work, with the help of my sweet mother, I ventured out to H-E-B (one of my fave’s). I wandered around some but my list and my mom helped keep me on track. This is what I came home with:

Arugula, celery, black beans, grapefruit, tomatoes, blueberries, yogurt, quinoa, peaches, organic peanut butter, garlic, feta cheese, cucumbers, avocados, cottage cheese, green tea, Melba toast, eggs whites, limes, and more. Obviously, I already had some food at home and as you can probably tell, I am much more interested in having 4-5 smaller meals throughout the day than having 3 large meals.

I also want to try out some smoothie recipes for breakfast but I’m going to wait a few days to get started on that. If you have any good ones, let me know!

I’m excited to try some new things tomorrow. I’ve never had cottage cheese, for example, and that, along with peaches and some blueberries, will be one of my snacks in the afternoon. Wish me luck and keep the good advice coming!

 

2010
02/15
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Grown Up

I did a very grown-up thing this weekend. I bought a mattress.

I have had back problems for the last 5 1/2 years. In October of my freshman year of college, I broke my back. While that story is for another time, I will say that I had to wear a back brace for 4 months. It was awful. And embarrassing. What college freshman wants to walk around campus wearing a back brace? Lucky for me it was fall/winter so some of the time I was able to cover it up with a sweatshirt. Maybe one day I’ll post a picture.

Anyway. I moved back to Houston in May and ever since I’ve slept on a very old mattress because of a furniture incident (also another story for another time). The terrible mattress has effected (or affected? I never know, I’m a math teacher…) my sleep and my health for the last 8 months and I’ve finally had enough.

I had looked at sales and knew what type of mattress I wanted. I knew what I was willing to pay and what was out of my price range. I was ready. So Saturday, I went out on a mission.

It is perfect (or as close as a mattress can come to perfection). It’s comfortable, firm, and higher than my old mattress. I even went and bought new pillows in celebration. Tonight is the first night to try it out. I’m so excited!

(Is my excitement about these types of things a sign that I am infact growing up?)

I did other fun things this weekend, too. I’ll blog about them tomorrow!

2010
02/14
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Sweet Comments

Today was our “Friendship Party” at school. There was a mighty spread of cupcakes, cookies, chips, chocolate, Capri Sun, fruit, and even some veggies. After my kids (and myself) had gorged ourselves on everything we could eat, one of my students said the sweetest thing I’ve heard a child say in a while.

“Ms. Mahan, do you think we could figure out how to send the leftovers to Haiti?”

I almost bust into tears on the spot. At first I wasn’t sure what to say, I wanted so badly to scream YES! but unfortunately I explained to her that we couldn’t because all the food was partly eaten. She left me brokenhearted when she walked away with her head down

All of this got me thinking. What kind of impact would a fundraiser for Haiti make on my students? Obviously they know what’s happening, or at least have an idea of what is happening. They want to help. I’m going to spend the weekend figuring out what we can do. If you have any ideas, let me know!

2010
02/12
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A Valentine’s Wish

This is the reason I teach… and it’s not even our Valentine’s Day party yet!

P.S. Can you tell they’ve been working on similes and metaphors in writing?

2010
02/09
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Superbowl

I’m going to be real honest here. I could not care less who wins the Superbowl.

I love college football. More specifically, I love Texas Tech Football (in spite of all the drama with it lately). I know a little bit about the NFL but not enough to even form a sentence about it. So here was my thought process of trying to pick a team. It’s okay if you judge me for this.

I thought about picking which team I wanted to win based on which players wife/girlfriend I liked the best (Kendra vs. Kim) but I couldn’t choose. I thought about picking the Saints because my mom spent the first half of her life in Louisiana and almost all of her family still lives there. I also thought about picking the Saints because of everything New Orléans has been through in the last few years. I thought about picking the Colts because of Payton Manning. Yes, he’s the only reason. I even went to ESPN to read an article hoping that it would help sway my decision. It didn’t.

In truth, all I care about is that I make some money at some point this evening. I’m not a gambler, I’ve never even been to a casino (despite my multiple yearly trips to a city that has many casinos), but when a friend asked me to participate in Football Squares (I had no idea what it was), I thought it sounded like fun. So here’s what I’m hoping to see tonight: at the end of any quarter I’d like the Colts score to end in a 1 while the Saints score to end in a 6 OR the Colts score to end in a 4 and the Saints score to end in a 2. If that happens, I win a nice little sum of money. I could win more than once, which would rock! I have no idea what my chances are.

Wish me luck!

2010
02/07
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Food

So here’s the deal. I want to eat healthier. What does that mean to me? 1. I don’t want to eat as much and 2. I want the food I do eat to be better for me.

I’ve done some research on organic and gluten-free but still don’t know much about either.

To do this, I need your help. I don’t know where to start. I know that I don’t want to count points and calories. I want to be able to eat good food, things I enjoy eating, but made with healthier ingredients.

Still wondering where you come in? I want to know what you cook with. If you eat healthy, how do you do it? I want to know books and cookbooks to invest in and blogs to check out.

Let me know!

2010
02/06
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Food
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Here We Go

I’m starting a new blog. I’ve had blogs before but not with a point so I’m starting this one with some organization and a plan to actually… wait for it… blog!

Where is this coming from? you may wonder. Well, I’ve recently stumbled across a new blog. I love reading blogs so imagine my delight when I stumbled across The Pioneer Woman! She’s fabulous, funny, and totally relatable. Check her out (but then don’t compare her to me or you’ll never read this again)!

I’m not promising a lot but I will promise to have countless stories about how I’m “trying” to become an “adult”, to share the ups and downs about training for my first ever triathlon, to be honest, and maybe, just maybe, to share some downright hilarious stories from my life as a 4th grade teacher.

Let me know what you think. Let me know if you’ll read. And while you’re here, check out the other tabs at the top!

2010
02/04
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