August 2014 Favorites

I am a sucker for these types of posts and YouTube videos. I love seeing what other people love and what works for them. Read: I'm nosy. So, consider this an attempt at showing you the sh*t that I love on a monthly basis...that's the point, right? 

Food

1. Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Be still, my coffee lovin' heart. This coffee is top notch and I've been enjoying a cup every morning via the bag of grounds that my good friend Dez brought down from Portland. The blend called "Hair Bender" is sweet enough to tickle your tongue just so and smooth enough to make your body sigh in submission. That's what I literally feel every morning. It's glorious. Good news for all you So Cal readers...there's one in DTLA!

2. Pixie Donuts in Claremont, CA

Gone are the ho hum mornings with this fantastic duo. Stumptown coffee and Pixie donuts.... Breakfast. Is. Ama-zing. I love these donuts because they are better that the regular coffee shop donuts even though they are technically just that. The chocolate is deeper and probably real and their batter is even fluffier and tastier somehow. Oh, and they have cronuts. Cronuts are hybrid donut/croissants and are something to experience in your lifetime. Think glazed croissants. 

Beauty

3. Origins Mega-Bright Skincare line

This skincare line pops into my brain as my number one beauty product because it blows my mind that something finally works for my acne scars. My skincare type is combo to oily, scars easily, and hormonal breakouts...I sound like a hormonal teenager. Sucks. I've dealt with it all my life and struggled with painfully embarrassing acne and the scars that it left on my face and on my self-esteem. When my pimples heal, they leave dark spots that last for years. This skincare line has erased them almost completely. I will be repurchasing this for sure.

4. Neutrogena Makeup Primer

I'm DONEZO with So Cal's 90 degree weather. That, along with a classroom with crappy air conditioning and with a schedule that has me moving fast and furiously makes for a slick face. No matter what I do, I'm stuck with oily skin and makeup that runs off my face before the first school bell rings. This is a game changer and I'm glad I found it. My makeup lasts a bit longer and I'm not having to blot my t-zone as much. I also love that it doesn't break the bank.

Internet Things

5. Big Block Sing Song. Big Block Sing Song. Big Block Sing Song. 

I don't know if this should make the list because I borderline hate it. Joaquin, on the other hand, oh he is obsessed with this. In his defense, these short clip music videos are colorful, simple, and uber-catchy. I have to admit that I have my favorites but when you hear these on repeat all month you want to sue the creators for harassment. When I say harassment I mean these songs will be annoyingly stuck in your head for the next 10 years. 

6.  Teachers Pay Teachers

Now that I'm back in elementary, I am constantly on the lookout for cute things to motivate my little first graders and to jazz up my room. Teachers Pay Teachers has EVERYTHING you can imagine. If you want a worksheet on verbs, they have millions of files ready for your downloading pleasure. You want a PPT on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, someone has spent countless hours making that already. It's wonderful. Some files are free and some cost a measly $3.00. Score one for the teacher budget!

I hope you enjoyed my monthly favorites. Please tell me one of your favs of the month! I'd love to know!

Finding Balance

Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.

It's me, the girl who keeps one toe in the blogging world. I'm here to update and boy, oh boy are there updates.

First off, my move to a new house and new city is complete. I LOVE our new home and I'm trying to keep a smile on my face in the midst of all the unexpected home repairs. Oh, hello Mr. Tree Roots growing into our pipes and pushing the poop back up the toilets. All the matters is that we have furniture to sit on, food to eat, and a clean sewage pipe. We will be here for a very long time so what's the rush right?

Back to School mode is in full effect and I am EXHAUSTED! I love my class and my first grade team, I like my new school, but I loath the workload. I use up every bit of my energy source to power through my day. I forget to pee, I barely eat, and the backs of my feet our rubbed to the bone from being on my feet all day. Yup, sound like a first grade teacher to me. As delusional as it sounds, I am truly enjoying myself and I feel like I made the right decision going back to elementary. Once I get my bladder trained and my paperwork organized, it'll be a breeze. On the bright side, I've lost weight from the moving around so much! YAY, me!

Look! I've already gotten gifts from my little bees. Toothache city! So sweet.

I'll tell you what's not sweet.... the terrible twos. My little man is throwin' tantrums left and right! I try  to ignore him but his screaming is quite the earache. Nonetheless, the good still outweigh the bad and I'm enjoying life with my tantrum king. He is a smarty-pants with a growing vocabulary. He can communicate his wants and needs. He can recite a few numbers and letters, and his face is getting cuter everyday. I am totally smitten.  

He is slowly starting to favor daddy and I'm not complaining one bit. I've been able to get more done and I am grateful for the short breaks!

Lastly, I got myself a new laptop! It's so purdy! I'm hoping I can blog from time to time but we will see. I did a gut check and I re-prioritized my life. To keep myself sane, I've decided that my main goals right now is to be a better wife, a loving and present mother, a hardworking teacher, and a good Christian woman. All of the "stuff" in my day needs to somehow cultivate those goals or it gets the boot. I'm trying hard to let go of Instagram and Pinterest, but those things ease my mind when I need a break. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. I'm not quite sure where blogging fits into that but I hope to work it back into my juggling act. Until then, thanks for reading my update. I'll be back soon. 

Drizzles of Sunshine: Out of My Mind

1. Oh where, oh where has my little blog gone? Oh where, oh where can it be? On the back burner, per usual. I've been considering deleting the whole thing but something keeps pulling me back. Maybe it's the fact that I have so many thoughts that if I don't write it down somewhere, my brain might explode into smithereens.

2. In an attempt to add more time to my schedule, I've deleted my Facebook. Oh Freedom! It feels really good to be out of that  loop. But what about keeping in touch with your family and friends? The friends that are a mainstay text me on the regular. But what about keeping up to date with current gossip news and yadda yadda yadda? I really miss talking to friends and family on the phone or better yet, in person. I miss lunch dates and snail mail. Face to face and pen to paper communication is a dying art form and I for one would like to revive it.

3. So, we are in escrow. We purchased a house. I can't and wont let myself get excited until the keys are in my purse. I know escrow can be sticky and tricky so I'm waiting to pop the cork. In the meantime, I'm sitting fetal position in my living room trying to wrap my brain around packing up 10 years of living in a townhome. Where do I even begin? I'm going to take a nap.

4. During the day, I'm also in said fetal position trying to wrap my brain around packing up my classroom. Moving to a new city, moving to a new school.... I just can't handle. This is the way my brain processes. Instead of relishing the idea of new beginnings, I only see the obstacles. I could never run hurdles. I would be the guy  knocking them over one by one instead of focusing on the finish line. Support from the crowd needed.

5. I am handling all this with snacks. I lost 5 pounds and then I baked brownies to celebrate. I'm ok with that. Snacks are good. Snacks are safe.

Drizzles of Sunshine: Changes

1. Big news on the career front. I'm officially moving back to first grade! I couldn't be happier and I'm so excited for this move. For those of you who are new here, I have been a teacher for 8 years and have been bounced from first to high school to middle school, all thanks to the poor funding of our public school system. Happy to report that that is on the up and up and now I have the opportunity of going back to my one true love... First Grade. Now I must dig through my garage and find my flash cards and glitter.

2. Last week, I morphed into a pre-pubescent tweenager. I read Divergent. I have totally jumped on the Divergent train and have set up camp. I'm hooked. It's no surprise that I like my reading material to be easy, mindless, and not at all thought provoking. Why? Because I find reading as an escape, not as a way for me to build brain points. (I think I might've lost some friends by admitting this.) With that said, Divergent got the job done for me. It entertained me for 3 days. My personal best. I couldn't put it down. I have no idea WHY my mind was so wrapped up in this but I fully enjoyed my brain vacation.

Now I really want to watch the movie because I'm interested in how they adapted it for the big screen and because the actors are GORGEOUS. Holy musculos! Four, Eric, and even Tris. Googly-eyes worthy for sure.

3. Joaquin is now fully walking on his own. I am both excited and terrified. I refuse to use one of those dog kid leashes on him because I think that is just plain WRONG but I feel like there is going to come a time where I am going to wish I could like the dog kid leashes like when we are in a crowded amusement park and he is jetting away from mommy and daddy. It's very hard to hold hands with a toddler that doesn't want to hold your hand. Sounds easy but it is damn near impossible sometimes.

4. I just got news that we are going camping in Yosemite this summer. I am trying my hardest to suppress my anxiety. I just imagine me struggling to get Joaquin to sleep in a tent, families of bears eating our food while I freak out with Joaquin in my arms, oh and sharing a bathroom with hundreds of campers. There goes my inner tweenager again. Man, I'm such a wuss. Tips on camping with a baby much needed. Tips on camping in general much needed.

5. I am officially a college student again. I'm taking 2 online courses where I have to listen to 14 podcasts about Children's Literature. I'm ok with it except for the fact that the professor's voice and semi-British mono-tone voice makes me want to kill myself. I'm on podcast 2. Pray for me.

Teaching and Eating

My two passions.

The fuel to my soul.

Teaching and eating.

 I wouldn't be who I am without these two things in my day. If you're new here, I am a middle school teacher. I also like to eat for pleasure as opposed to just for necessity. My ultimate dream job would be a food teacher but with elective classes on the chopping block (for shame!) I don't feel like that dream could be a reality right now. It'll have to wait.

So in the meantime, I find every opportunity to work food into my lessons. Language Arts Enrichment is the perfect place for that. We read awesome books and I find any mention of food and roll with it.

This month it is Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.

I'll spare you the synopsis and steer you to where it mentions food. In the story, a popular food that the characters love is Zeps. In short, it's basically a sub sandwich. I rolled with it and transformed my classroom into a sandwich shop. I asked them all to bring in a sandwich ingredient and we built ourselves some stupendous subs.

My favorite part was naming our creations. I encouraged them to combine character names and important places with food names and they came up with creative labels.

Combo #1- Hamanda: ham, cheddar, lettuce and pickles.
Named after Amanda, one of the main characters.

Combo #2- Gobbles knot: turkey, Monterey jack, lettuce, pickles
Named after Cobbles knot, the town's impossible to untie knot.

Combo #3- Zepperoni: Pepperoni, mozzarella, Jalepenos
Named after Zeps, the name of the sub sandwich in the story.

Combo #4- The Maniac :All and everything listed above
Named after the main character, Maniac Magee.

So much fun!! The students enjoyed the lesson and I'm hoping they will always remember this fun activity and of course their amazing teacher. *wink*

Drizzles of Sunshine

1. House hunting. Does it make you cringe like it does for me? I think I live in one of the most expensive states in the  country which doesn't help my distaste for hunting. I just want something turn key ready, brand new, and next door to an A list celebrity. Is that too much to ask for?

2. I am addicted to Starbucks and I'm embarrassed about it. I used to think it was cute that they knew my name but now I feel like they think I'm a lazy bum that can't make her own damn coffee. But one thing's for sure, they still don't know how to spell my name right so that must mean I don't go there too too much, right? I'm safe for now. 

3. I'm backed up with my magazine reading. They keep coming in the mail and I have no time to catch up. If I can't peruse through a magazine, what does this say about my time management skill? I miss you, magazines. 

4. I've reached a dreaded phase in parenting: hitting. When Joaquin is mad he starts to hit me... in my face. I know this is caused by his inability to communicate his frustrations but what is a loving mother to do? Spank? Yell? Cry? So far I've just begged and pleaded with the kid. I know I have to nip it in the bud but is said bud too young? Must. Not. Google. Anymore... Advice appreciated. 

5. I am proud to say I have dramatically cut down on carbs. It's been hard because rice has been such a staple in my existence but I've overcome the urge to eat it with everything. Sweet potatoes and cauliflower have set up shop in my fridge and I have never felt better. Now if I could only give up chocolate. 

Garlic Sriracha "Fried" Chicken

I really wish I could take the heat of spicy foods. I try and try the spicy salsas and hot sauces but my tongue fails me each and every time. It's embarrassing. Tongue...you embarrass me. I can't seem to wrap my brain around the idea of people eating crazy hot shit like ghost peppers. I also can't fathom running a marathon but I guess people like torturing their bodies. I wonder if I would be less of a wimp if  I train my tongue with spicy like a runner trains their legs for pain marathons. Hmmm.

So, consider this recipe one of my training. I made this for my wonderful Mexican hubby who can eat wonderfully Mexican food with wonderfully spicy peppers. I hope Joaquin inherited daddy's ability to eat wonderfully spicy foods.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 lbs. chicken drumsticks

1/3 cup Chili Garlic Sauce

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

Panko Bread Crumbs

 

1. Mix, chili, yogurt, mayo, oil, and seasonings in a bag.

2. Add chicken and marinate for 1-8 hours. The longer the better.

 

 

 

3. Coat with Panko Bread Crumbs.

4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.



 

Mission Complete!

 

 

 

The spice level on these bad boys are equivalent to a defective jalapeño. In other words, it's not that spicy. The mayo and yogurt really cut the heat. I guess I chickened out last minute and grabbed what I knew would hide the hotness. Next time I'll be daring and throw in the whole bottle. Next time. 

 

 

 

January 2014 Favorites

Month one down. It flew by and now we are on to the next. I feel like I didn't have many favorites this month because I feel like it went too too fast. Nonetheless, a few things still caught my attention.

1. HIMYM
I've been quite disappointed with this final season because I feel like they're dragging their feet. I like the episodes but not for the final season. They are entertaining but I wish they would keep on the path of meeting the mother. This last episode though.... THAT makes my favorite for the month. Can we talk about the mother's rendition on La Vie En Rose? We bought my sister in law a ukulele because she fell in love with this rendition and I will ask her to replay that song for me at each meeting. I also put in my early birthday request for a ukulele and I hope to one day play this song as beautifully as this chick.



On that note, if you're a fan, have you heard of the theory that the mother dies in the end? I thought it was ridiculous until I really sat and thought about it. It's starting to sound pretty likely. What do you think?

2. NPR's Snap Judgment Podcast

OBSESSED. I feel like an old person listening to talk radio because I grew up thinking that all the hip young folk listen to catchy music on the radio. Then I grew up and discovered that a lot of music on the radio sucks. So, hello talk radio. This podcast is your afternoon story hour of real people recounting amazing things that have happened to them. In the background, music and sound effects couple the words oh so perfectly. I can't get enough.


3. Poutines

I had the second Poutine in all my life. Then I thought, "Wow. I'm way behind on my Poutine quota." This stuff is magically delicious. If you don't know what  Poutine is, it's basically a Canadian dish that layers French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. You had me at French fries. As you read that, you either cringed or became curious and as I typed that I cringed a bit. It doesn't sound good but holy hell it IS good.


That's pretty much all that resonated with me in January. Let's hope for my exciting things in February!

Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

Baby is finally asleep upstairs. The lights are dim and the glow of the baby monitor adds a soft romantic touch to the atmosphere. The sweet sounds of Mickey Mouse Fun House plays in the background as we snuggle together on the couch. Then, it happens... we fall asleep. Yup, that's about how romantic it gets here, folks. I'm tired. He's tired. Snuggle on the couch means pass out on the couch.

As much as we try and plan date nights (At least once a month, I used to say), life gets busy and that romantic night we so desperately need gets pushed to the back burner. Babysitters are few and far between when grandparents aren't in reaching distance so we have to make do with what we have. My language of love is always to cook a comforting meal and my Valentine's Day meal is no exception. To my husband and me, a nice dinner at home is just as sweet sometimes.

Valentine's Day Chicken Pot Pies

Makes 4-Yay leftovers!

Ingredients:
1 Stick of Butter
1 Small Onion; chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen carrots
1/4 cup parsley; chopped
1 pound cooked chicken; cubed (I used a rotisserie) 
1 package of Crescent Seamless Dough


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

3. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gently stir in the stock, milk, salt, and pepper and let the liquid thicken up.

4. Toss in the chicken, corn, carrots, and parsley. You can use the traditional peas but I hate peas and they will not set foot in this house mouth.

 5. Roll out your pie crust and cut out adorable hearts. I die. It's too cute.

6.  Divide the filling among four 1 1/2 cup ramekins and drape the dough over the tops. Seal by pressing gently on the sides of the ramekins and be sure to cut a few decorative air holes on the top. Don't forget our cute hearts. It's not Valentine's Day theme without the hearts, don't cha know. Brush the tops with a beaten egg to achieve that golden brown color.

7. Bake the potpies on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand for 15 minutes. De-vour.

I'm not sure if potpies are an aphrodisiac or how many romantic points it will give you but it sure is cute and delicious. And this is perfect if you're no longer into the crowded restaurants and over priced V-day meals. It's all about that warm fuzzy feeling...in your stomach and in your heart. Awwwww.

My Paper Resolution

This year, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to bring paper back. I'm bringing paper back. (Sing to the tune of I'm Bringing Sexy Back.) I've always been in love with pretty Thank You cards and Photo Cards with fancy fonts. And don't even get me started on funny and witty birthday cards.

 

My goal is to send more snail mail because I think it is an underrated art form. I LOVE getting a handwritten card or even a fancy photo card because it's not only cute as heck but it also breaks up the junk mail and bills you usually get in your mailbox.

 

Since I missed sending out my Christmas cards this holiday season...which technically was LAST year so this doesn't count as breaking my resolution, my plan is to send cards on another fun holiday. I love doing this because it's unexpected and no one will ever suspect that you are just very very late on your holiday cards. After we got married, I sent pretty New Year's cards to the fam, complete with our wedding photo. It was a HIT! When Joaquin was born, I send out his birth announcements as our Christmas card and everyone swooned.  I felt like a sly little fox.



I've already stocked up on my cute pens, my Forever Stamps, and blank card sets and wrote down all of the birthdays I need to remember. I'm ready!

The stationary gods were pleased by my offerings and I received an email from Tiny Prints. Perfect Timing! I couldn't resist their wonderful Valentine's Day photo cards.  The red and pink hearts just called my name and Add a picture of my baby, you say? DONE. I love how simple it all is. All I had to do was pick my favorite design, upload Joaquin's adorable picture, customize it to my liking and BOOM...done! Easy Peasy.

See, instead of me looking like I forgot to send out my Christmas cards, I look ahead of the game by sending sweet cards on Valentine's day. So Sweet.

How to Plan Meals for the Week

Life as a full time working mommy requires a lot of planning. I am one of those weird people who must write everything down...in pretty colors...in nice writing...with stickers...see, I told you I was weird. Color coded organizational tools are my anti-drug....I'm a freak.

So, now that we are past that awkward conversation, let me tell you a story. A story about a girl who would eat a handful of peanuts, 2 slices of ham, and a very ripe banana for lunch because she failed to go grocery shopping. Yup, we've all been there. We've all explained to our co-workers, "I haven't made my grocery run" as we nosh on a bag of chips and four grapes. Can I get an Amen? Well, I'm proud to say I've overcome that lack of meal planning phase of life because a girl can't thrive on 3 Red Vines and half a bottle of water for lunch.

This is how I meal plan for myself, my hungry, meat eating husband, and a 15-month old toddler.

Step ONE: Buy a cute mini notebook or start a list on your cellular device. I like to organize my pages like so:

This helps you jot everything down in an organized manner. You know what you're eating, you know what you need, and you can see it in one eyeshot.

Step TWO: Pre-plan. If you're not a planner, this step might make you question how much time I have on my hands, but nay, this step helps in so many ways. My pre-plan to plan goes like this:

- Check cupboards for what I already have.

 

 

-Poll the family. "Hey Honey, any requests for dinner this week?" Luckily, my boys are not picky eaters. I can put almost anything in front of them and I wont encounter any resistance. Well, there was that one time I used Soyrizo instead of Chorizo and well, let's just say I am no longer allowed to bring Soy products into our home.

 

-Gather Cookbooks, Pinterest pins, Magazines, Weekly ads and your Master List

 

My Master List  consists of meals I've made over the months. They are my go-to meals that I have in my memory bank.



 

Step THREE: Have a Dinner Formula I know I've probably lost some of you already, but for those of you still with me, I promise you this will make your life a million times easier. Plan it once and you have a sure fire way to plan all your weekly meals. Here is my formula:

• One Pantry Cleaner Dinner (Using things I already have in my pantry.)
• One Veggie is the Star Dinner (My feeble attempt to be healthy)
• One Easy Meal (I can do this with my eyes closed)
• One Crockpot Meal
• One new recipe



More often than not, I will ditch one of the above for a take-out meal. We like to call this "Mama is tired tonight" meal.

Step FOUR: Write the dish, write the ingredients, write the dish, write the ingredients I do a mental run through of all the meals I want and write the name of the dish and all the items I would need. Make sure you do that Pantry Sweep. I forgot to do that this week and now I have 3 tubs of Turkey slices. Feels like Thanksgiving.

I also like to list my items in the order that I see it in my market so I'm not rushing around like I'm playing Supermarket Sweep.

This takes me about 20 minutes depending on my level of motivation and whether or not I get stuck scrolling on Pinterest.

 

 

I have been planning my meals like this for years and it really takes the stress out of meal planning. I'm in and out of the market in no time and all and I'm not mindlessly dumping items into my cart, racking up my bill.

 

I hope this helps you in some way or another. Good luck!

 

What are your meal planning tips?



And These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I. Jimmy Fallon


It started with a video of him and Justin Timberlake dressed up as a roll of wrapping paper and a gift bag, then a video of JF writing Thank You cards that are so witty and hilarious, then a video of him and Ryan Reynolds playing Water War. Dammit YouTube, why you gotta recommend that I watch these videos... you know I can't say no. I've linked a video for you to enjoy. Go ahead and let YouTube be your guide and waste a ridiculous amount of time watching more videos than you need to in one sitting. Bottom line, Jimmy is a funny dude. I approve of his move to take over The Late Night Show.


II. Veggie Chips

It seems a little oxymoronic to me. Veggie chips? That's like Parsnip fries...what? They make those? Anyway, thin slices of my much hated food group makes life a little easier to live. I'm not sure if they are baked or fried but ignorance is bliss and I'm an ignorant summa bitch. Let me eat my chips in peace.

III. Real Techniques Face Brush

So this year I'm uber-obsessive about makeup. Maybe it's because they just opened up an Ulta near my house or because I watch way too many makeup videos on YouTube (hence the JF fiasco of 2013). So anyway, I found some makeup brushes that don't cost an arm and a leg. My Face brush only cost me 2 fingers and a toe or in layman's terms $10. This brush is magical and glides my foundation on like a dream. Now I look less zombie and more human. Can't put a price on that!

IV. Onion Rings from The Habit

I don't know if I'm pregnant or if my inner fat kid is taking control (which I guess those two can be the same thing if you really think about it), but my onion rings craving is insanely strong. I've texted my husband way too many times this week about them. I need them. Covered in ranch. Clogging up my arteries. I need them. The crunchiness of the bread coating, the sweet sting of the yellow onion, the cooling effect of the ranch... oh take me now! Oh and they need to be from The Habit or you can keep them. On second thought, I'll still eat them.

What are your favorite things this week?