Classroom Decorations

I know, I am a little too excited not to post this but I got some awesome stuff for my classroom at one of my favorite stores, Hobby Lobby! If you read about my painting update you saw the colors I chose were bright yellow and light gray. I found a cute classroom kit that included banners, name plates, labels, etc. from School Girl Style that I am totally in love with and going to use in my classroom. Here are a few pics of the cute items that I am so excited for! Oh yeah, did I mention that I got all three items for 50% off!!! I love a bargain!

Originally $14.99 

Originally $29.99

Originally $59.99

Hope you enjoyed and I can't wait to post pictures of my finished room!

Weight Loss Progress

I have officially been on Weight Watchers for two weeks now and while I may not be perfect at it, I really am trying to watch what I eat. When I first started two weeks ago I was 165 lbs. I am happy to say that I am now 162.6. While it may not seem like a big deal to some people, to me, it is. I am so happy that I am losing weight the healthy way and working hard to do so. By working hard, it will make me appreciate my journey and give me the confidence to know I can do something. Working out again has been no easy feat, but I am willing and determined to make it a priority. I have the support of some wonderful people Artsy, Cheer, Sparkle, and many of my co-workers who I haven't had the time to think of creative names for. Without them I wouldn't be able to be positive about the journey and adventure I am about to embark on.

Baby steps and I am determined to get there!

Little weekend recap....again.

On Friday morning, I convinced my really good friend Artsy (she is the art teacher at my school and one of my closest friends) to come along with me to try Crossfit. She loved it! I loved it because it was the first time I actually completed all 5 rounds! I was super proud of myself. I had a hard time Saturday and this morning, but the burn and pain will be worth it!

Our workout for the day was:

Strength: 5X5 overhead squats

WOD: 5 Rounds

8 squat snatches

12 wall ball (killers)

10 knees to elbows

I look hideous with no makeup but we felt great afterwards!

Artsy and I then rushed home because we were holding a garage sale. We had so much stuff and we made a lot of money! We had different stuff from a total of about 8 people. This went from 4-7 on Friday and 8-12 on Saturday.

Just some of our stuff.....

And again.

Friday night Artsy and I went out with her boyfriend and met up with her brother. We had a great time and I might have over indulged but I can always work it off right?

Saturday we had our garage sale again and did pretty well considering the county fair was going on. Then Saturday afternoon I went and painted my new classroom. I am super excited for it to be finished so I can get all my stuff situated before school starts in less than 4 weeks. Here are some snapshots!

My "nook" or desk area before.

My "nook" or desk area after.

 Yes, that looks like Hawkeye colors, but that is my chalkboard wall and I am sooooo excited to use it! I can't wait!

This evening I will head back to finish trimming the walls and finishing up because carpet comes in tomorrow and then hopefully I can start moving my stuff down the stairs and in (that will count as a workout right?)

Just a little busy.

This week has flown by! Holy cow! I spent the weekend having a blast and it continued this week.

Monday at 7:00 AM I was ready to help move the elementary over to their new addition at the high school. I was only able to stay for about and hour and a half because I had to get to my Crossfit workout! I wasn't able to get it all in because I had to leave town for three days for a teaching conference in Columbia, Missouri. I left around 12:30 and arrived in Columbia at the Columbia College  campus. It is a nice small college located in Columbia. The conference I was attending was put on by the Missouri Bar Association called Integrating Social Studies, Technology and Civility. Now that may make you wan to yawn.....but I had a very good time and learned a lot of new information.  I met some really nice people who I hope to continue to stay in touch with, walked one morning (Impressive, I KNOW!), went to Shakespeare's Pizza, and even stayed away from the ICE CREAM and full calorie POP! I was very happy and pleased with myself. They had quite the salad bar with many options to choose from, the cookies were literally bite sized so I indulged in one or two, and stuck with my usual beverages of water and tea with a Diet Coke thrown in once in a while. I had packed some snacks to take along with me but ultimately stuck with smart lunch and dinner decisions. I was really proud of myself. I even made sure that if I were going out I would eat healthier during the day and use some of my allotted weekly points.

I also had to board my little four legged child Tulsa while I was gone. Yes, she gets on my nerves and sometimes drives me crazy, but I love the little Shit(zu). Her groomer has a place where she boards dogs and just recently opened. I must say, it was super cute to the videos posted on Facebook of her playing. I felt pretty happy when I picked her up and she was so excited to see me! I too, was a little excited.

Tulsa at 8 weeks. How can you not fall in love?

This coming week brings a lot to do. We (Myself and like 5 others) are having a garage sale tomorrow and Saturday....bring on the $$$$$ baby! So that should be exciting. I get back to Crossfit tomorrow. School starts in less than 5 weeks....my room is still under construction and not even painted. The contents of my room is still in the hallway. STRESSING!!!!! Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy!

Weekend Recap!

Whew, what a weekend! I am excited to post about this weekend mainly because my 17 year old sister wanted to hang out with me! That's right with ME!!! My sister "Sparkle" ( I will refrain from using real names except my own) is a 17 year old fashionista, farm girl, and social butterfly. I love her to death (most of the time ;) ) and would do anything for her. So when I offered her the opportunity to join me and my friend "Cheer" she said sure! I about died! Sparkle loves her social get togethers with her friends and as a 17 year old I can understand not wanting to be around your parents but why not your cool "slightly older" sister? Anyway, she decided to join and here goes my post.

Friday: Cheer and I left Missouri to head to small town Iowa to play in a slow pitch tournament. I LOVE THIS GAME! I don't care if we win or lose because I enjoy playing the sport I love (even if it's slow pitch). We show up in small town Iowa where I know one person on my team, or so I thought. My new landlord had asked me to play so I said sure. As I was waiting in line for the bathroom, this woman walked out and I knew I knew her. Turns out, it was an old teammate of mine from my high school club ball days, and guess what? She was on my team! We reminisced as we played and had a good time catching up. Brings a new meaning to "What a small world?". I was also extremely excited to find out that my favorite adult beverage (Michelob Golden Light, which is only sold in Minnesota and Iowa that I know of) is only 1 point on Weight Watchers! Whoo Hoooo!!!

Saturday: After Sparkle decided she wanted to go with us we got up early and headed for breakfast with my parents at the local Hy-Vee. For those of you who don't know what Hy-Vee breakfast is like you are missing out. BEST. BREAKFAST. EVER. Of course, totally not on my Weight Watchers plan, so being the good WW that I am, I ordered some egg beaters, even though the biscuits and gravy, Texas toast, and hash browns were calling my name, I didn't give in. We were in a rush because Sparkle, didn't hear the wake up call and of course had to primp before we left. I was supposed to play the rest of the slow pitch tournament that day. As we start to head out of town I received a text saying that they had enough girls on the team and since I was leaving early that day, it was up to me whether I wanted to go and play. So I asked Sparkle and Cheer and off to Des Monies for a day of shopping we went! I let Sparkle drive us to Des Moines and we made it in one piece. Her driving is pretty darn good, I mean I did fall asleep! Once in Des Moines, we decided to have lunch. Again, Chinese, Chick-fil-A, and Sbarro pizza were calling my name. Again, I did the best I could and ate a Panera. I got Broccoli Cheddar Soup and a baguette. I was impressed with myself.

Lunch

Cheer in pink and Sparkle in black.

After lunch we shopped and shopped and shopped. I bought only a few things including a new Under Armour headband since the one I took to the slow pitch game mysteriously disappeared. We then did what girls do best especially Sparkle, we went and got our nails done.

Cheer loving her pedicure.

Sparkle getting purple nails!

After getting our nails done and ready to go we headed to Huxley to watch the team I helped coach last year. It was their first round of districts and I couldn't miss it. They have an amazing opportunity to go to state again, this time in a different class. When we go to the game, everyone was so happy and surprised to see me. I only told one coach I was coming and not to tell the others. He did a great job! The girls won and now have one more game to win this coming Tuesday and it's off to state we go.....AGAIN! We were fortunate enough to stay at this said coach's house as he was going to be out of town following the game. We were on pet duty and his dog is such a lover. Anyway, we left early Sunday morning and headed for home. I had a great weekend with some great people and most of all my sister. I love being able to spend time with her whenever I get the chance. 

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I might have over done myself and now I feel crappy.

I couldn't think of a better title so here goes.

Last night was one my best friend's birthday. Allie wanted to go to this amazing restaurant in St. Joseph about 45 minutes away. Boudreaux's Louisiana Seafood & Steaks is one of the best (in my opinion) around. I absolutely love it.....when I am not on Weight Watchers and trying to watch what I eat. Their fried food is fried to golden perfection and who wouldn't want to eat it?! So, in preparation for last nights outing, I did my homework. I looked at their menu, decided what I was going to order (even had some help from a co-worker who suggested getting my items cooked in olive oil instead of butter), and off I went. Fast forward to 8:00 pm last night and I. WAS. STARVING. I wanted one of everything on the menu, but I had that inner voice saying No Cameron, you can do it! And I did. I stuck with my meal plan of sharing some crab dip with a friend and ordering the salmon (cooked in olive oil of course) and seasonal vegetables. I even ordered a Bloody Mary to minimize my points, I mean it's vegetables and alcohol right? And I have extra weekly points that I can use, so why not? Now, I am not going to lie, the onion rings and fried pickles that came out before and during the meal were taunting me....but I only had ONE. That's right ONE onion ring. For those of you that know me, this process is going to be a difficult one because I LOVE FOOD! After dinner I felt pretty successful for my first outing during my first week on WW. Well, that is until we got to the martini bar. Foster's martini bar in St. Joseph has some of the best martinis ever. Last night I enjoyed the Key Lime Pie martini.....and a Flirtini. I know, I know, I am racking up the points quickly, but I earned 11 activity points with Crossfit on Wednesday so that cancelled out the Key Lime Pie martini and I have 49 weekly points to use so I was able to have my Flirtini. All in all it was a great night and I had a great time with some wonderful friends. But now, I have to get back on track!

So this morning, I started with a higher point breakfast because I am one of those girls who doesn't skip breakfast (or any meal for that matter, I mean I am on WW for a reason). I would rather have a larger breakfast and feel fuller when I start my day and then snack in the afternoons. When I am teaching I really only have about a 30 minute lunch break every day and on duty days it's about 15. I had Egg Beaters (my new fave!), a multi-grain english muffin with butter and jelly and a cup of coffee. I have never been the kind to look for the lower sugar, less fat, kind of items, but have now with WW. So you may be thinking big deal so what you have some light butter and lower sugar jelly, but that is the first step for me to becoming a healthier eater. They may be baby steps but I have to start somewhere. I am watching every single ounce of butter, jelly, ketchup, etc. that I put on my food and can already notice a difference in how I approach what I put in my mouth. Here is a picture of my breakfast and a few of my new favorite products. Enjoy!

Breakfast

Coffee..... YUM!

Some new favorites.

Two Summer Must Reads.

When I was younger I used to spend summers reading books upon books in my free time. When I got to college that all ended because I didn't get to read for pleasure anymore....I scoured boring textbooks and learned the art of skim reading. I no longer enjoyed it but now that I am out of school and have a tad bit of free time I have picked up reading again. Love and Other Subjects was a book I found a teacher who blogs was reading. It intrigued me because after reading a summary of what it was about I felt it sounded quite a bit like me. I think the character in the book has better odds than me, but I could still relate. A young teacher trying to be the best teacher to her students, a girl trying to find love, and trying to see all the positive in all the negative she encounters. Big Girl Panties was a books suggested in my Fitness magazine (yes I have a subscription to them, but just recently started reading them). Anyway, again the summary really sounded interesting to me. An overweight woman meets a trainer on a plane on a chance meeting and her life is completely transformed. It gives a new meaning to believing in yourself and making the decision to start and never looking back. Click on the books and it will take you their web pages on Amazon. I absolutely loved both of them and hope you do too. Two of my favorite books that I honestly read within four days are:

Let me begin with....

Hey All,

After reading many different blogs this summer while on "vacation," I decided to create my own. I had one for my classroom and am going to try to continue to do it. I wanted to start a personal blog as well as I go through another year of being a mid twenty-something. There are a few things I want to focus on blogging about:

1. My weight and workouts.
Last summer (2012) I lost about 25 pounds and was down to 150 lbs. All during high school and my first year of college I never put on more than 10 pounds so I was never over 130lbs. That all changed when I stopped playing softball and working out and started drinking and eating fast food all of the time. My sophomore year started my demise. I started going out more and ended up eating that awesome college cuisine of fast food and whatever the vending machine offered in between classes. After graduation from college and I started my first teaching job I was topping out at a whopping 175-180lbs. I wanted to cry. Last summer with the help of Adipex, I lost about 25 pounds in about 3 months. I was down to 150 lbs when school started. Add on coaching softball, being a class sponsor, and no Adipex, and bam! Hello 15-20 lbs. I decided that this summer I had to get my act together. I had started on Weight Watchers towards the end of school and was getting the hang of it until I took 22 students and adults on a week long trip on the east coast and all that went by the wayside. So, I decided that July was the time to hunker down and get my butt back into shape.....the right way! Monday I started back on my Weight Watchers and started doing Crossfit. For anyone who has no idea what Crossfit is google it.....I have survived on week so far. If I can do it anyone can!

2. My adventures in teaching.
I am currently in my third year of teaching and am absolutely loving every minute of it. Ok, Ok, maybe not every minute, but pretty darn close! I like trying new methods, new activities, and continuously learning about education. I am currently the 9-12 Social Studies teacher at a small school in NW Missouri. I teach 8 different subjects a day and for the most part keep it together. I am always fascinated with new ideas, so if you have any please share!

3. My miscellaneous rants, adventures, and musings.
My friends are some of the greatest around. We love to go to sporting events, out for the evenings, concerts, and whatever any other activity that sounds like more fun than sitting at home. I recently completed the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University and am trying to implement his principles. I create a budget every month, I am having a hard time sticking to it, but I am trying. I love shopping so that makes it doubly hard to stick to a budget. I have never really been much of a girly-girl but am trying to pay more attention to fashion and beauty products. So again, if any of you have suggestions let me know. I would like to share some of my favorite products and purchases I have made. 


I think that about sums it up for me this evening. I am looking forward to beginning to blog and making it more of a habit. I can't wait to start writing!