What have I been doing with my life? That's a really great question to reflect on today. With a one-day work week last week I'll have to answer by saying not much. Greenville county was off on Monday due to Martin Luther King Day, we went to school on Tuesday, and then were off the rest of the week due to ice and snow. Despite enjoying an unexpected five day weekend that means this week (our first full week since early December) may be a bit brutal. I have meetings/class almost everyday after school so I know I'll be appreciative of the rest I was able to get this past week when I'm feeling drained this coming week.
If you read last week's Step Into My Week post then you know that my mom was in town last weekend. She headed home on Monday morning which led me to spend most of Monday attempting to prepare for the week while enjoying (what I thought would be) our last school break for a while. That afternoon, my roommates and I continued to make serious headway when it came to watching How to Get Away With Murder.
I got my first delivery of Hello Fresh on Monday and started cooking my recipes on Tuesday. I had had a couple of friends try Hello Fresh in the past and since the first box of three meals was free I decided to give it a try. I've been trying to expand my recipe base (not sure if I can even call it that), and I've already thought about different ways I can recreate the meals I was able to make from this week's box. I ended up finding a coupon to get my second box for $20, so I'll be receiving another box for this week. This will be extra convenient since this week is a bit jam packed. I'm trying to find a code for y'all to get a free box as well. Right now the best I can find is trying the code TRY3FREE. If you've already gotten a free box this will get you $40 off your next box! If you decide to do this be sure to make yourself a reminder to cancel the subscription. Otherwise, you'll be charged for the next week. I canceled my subscription after my box was delivered on Monday which worked perfectly. I plan to do a post more about Hello Fresh in the future, but if you're looking for something easy for a week definitely give it a shot.
School on Tuesday was relatively normal, and I honestly didn't know we had a chance of school being canceled until lunch that day. It's amazing how quickly word can spread among the kids about the chance of flurries. The county updated their Facebook and twitter earlier in the day saying they would let us know by that evening and later changed that saying something would be released by 6 am the following morning. It was a bit weird going to bed not knowing whether or not I would be teaching the next day. I went to bed early and woke up around midnight to messages from our fourth grade team that school had officially been canceled. It didn't take me long to turn off my alarms and go back to bed.
We did in fact wake up to snow on Wednesday morning, which was so fun. I think I stayed in my pajamas until some time after noon. Nell and I were able to catch up on the phone that morning since even schools and businesses down our way in Alabama were closed due to the weather. My roommate, Ellison, and I decided to take advantage of the 3-4 inches we got by sledding near our apartment. We stayed out for about an hour and I was impressed by how well the storage boxes we brought as sleds worked for the activity. Unfortunately as we came back to warm up and shower we were both greeted by cold showers. Thankfully ur apartment complex fixed that fast. We found out that afternoon that school would be canceled yet again so it was more How To Get Away With Murder and a game night that evening with friends.
Thursday morning I decided I needed to attempt to be productive before spending more time in our living room binge watching our show. I'm embarrassed to say that we are now caught up with the episodes coming out now of How To Get Away With Murder. We'd love any suggestions you may have for a new show to watch all together as we recover from being embarrassed by how quickly we caught up. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't going a bit stir crazy on Thursday. That night we found out that we would also be getting Friday off (not sure how we managed that) so we celebrated by going out for sushi and ice cream.
Friday morning I was super productive getting work done for my newest project. I am starting a new "job" doing social media management for the cutest PR company in February (still teaching and grad schooling and blogging, fear not), and I had the best time getting ahead on some work for them. I am so thrilled about this endeavor and will plan to share more about it once I officially get started. I caught up with a friend at lunch and then my friends and I spent the afternoon trying to figure out what we should do for fun that night. As teachers, we typically never do anything exciting on Friday nights since we are usually exhausted. It was kind of nice to have energy to be social that night without yawning the whole time. We ended up having our friends plus some new friends over before going downtown for a bit. It was a good girls night and even better that it ended at our favorite late night spot, Sully's. Sometimes the bagel I get before heading home after going out with friends is encouragement enough to go out.
Saturday morning I went to Starbucks to continue to try to motivate myself to be productive. These snow days showed me how much more productive I am when I have a routine and structure. I felt like I got nothing done since I had all the time to do it. In turn, that meant that most of the stuff I was trying to get done just didn't get done. You live and you learn I suppose. The weather was so nice yesterday that some friends and I decided to go and have lunch outside and walk around downtown afterwards. Saturday night we had another game night complete with What Do You Meme, Fish Bowl, and Bean Boozled. Bean Boozled was new to me and I did not have the best luck with the ones I got. Barf was most certainly the worst one I had to try but I felt for my friends who ended up with dead fish and spoiled milk. I'd be interested to see how entertaining this game would be with an even larger group. We ended the night talking about the case against the U.S. Gymnastics doctor and watched Aly Raisman's powerful statements against the doctor being charged. If you haven't seen it or heard much about that case it is definitely worth reading into.
Sunday morning reality kind of struck that it was back to work today. I tried my best to be super productive during the day in order to make this week a little less stressful. I woke up early and went on a run and showered before grabbing brunch with a friend. We went to Biscuithead a popular newish spot in Greenville. The line was long but it was worth the wait and we saw lots of familiar places while we were there. I spent the afternoon getting more work done in order to go watch a little bit of the Jaguar-Patriot game with friends downtown. I think by keeping myself busy I did a decent job of trying to combat the Sunday scaries.
Lately:
reading: The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes.
Yep, still working through this. I suspect that I'll finish it up this week, and plan to start something new. I'm not positive if I'll go straight into another self-help type book or maybe a psychological thriller. I'll be keeping you posted right here next week.
watching: How To Get Away With Murder
How many times will I mention this tv show in one post? At least one more I guess. January has been the month of Shonda Rhimes. I want to watch Scandal but can't picture myself going through another show so quickly. Maybe I'll take a break from starting a new show for a bit. You can bet we will be watching new episodes of this on Thursdays or Fridays though.
loving: The Five Minute Journal
I mentioned this in a Step Into My Week post at the beginning of January, and I am so glad I decided to get it. On my 101 in 1001 list I have a goal of keeping up with a daily journal for a year and I am so hoping that I'll stick to this one. It focuses on changing your mindset to be more appreciative which fits well with my word of the year, Gratitude. I fill mine out in the morning and at night and think that adding this to my routine will hopefully help me to better appreciate what I'm ding at the moment.
wearing: Down Jacket
When my mom came to visit last weekend she was sure to double check if there was anything I needed her to bring me from home. My one request was a white North Face puffer jacket that I got before going to Washington D.C. on a class trip in eighth grade. EIGHTH GRADE...I was so relieved when it still fit as it has been perfect for the cold weather we've been having. My students told me that I looked like a marshmallow when we went out for recess on Tuesday which was a real confidence booster. Regardless, this has been so nice to have especially with the snow.
wanting: A Nespresso Machine
This is kind of a ridiculous want and something I will not be getting any time soon. Our keurig coffee has been tasting kind of weird as of late. Ellison and I were both terrified that we had become coffee snobs while at home for the holidays and were relieved to both realize that something made it taste weird. I started looking at Nespresso machines when they were on sale for Black Friday. I'm not sure why I think it would be so amazing but I really want to try coffee from one. If any of y'all have one I'd love to hear your take on it. Maybe someday WAY down the road I'll be fancy enough of one. Amazon has a pretty good deal on a small one so it's a good thing that I am avoiding spending any money on anything aside from food and groceries.
quoting: "Time spent enjoying yourself is never time wasted" - You Are A Badass Calendar (thanks, dad)
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