A big Happy Birthday shoutout to my Aunt Elaine!

Aunt Laine is my mom’s sister and she and my mom are very close. Aunt Laine has spent lots of time with my family, starting way back when I was born and she could talk me into wearing outfits like this. 😉 She gave me my love of running: when I was younger, she was always going jogging at the park or track and only sometimes was I allowed to join her. After all, a kid’s attention span isn’t much when you are talking about running a few miles!

Her and my mom and I have always loved shopping and lots of Saturdays when I was younger, the three of us plus my Grandma would get in the car to set off on a day-long adventure to all our favorite stores. Sometimes, these trips just included trips to the grocery store and such, but we always had, and still do have, a good time!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Laine! We love you!
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Falling off the Blog Challenge bandwagon. Have you noticed?! Recently, I have been spending my days in a space that looks like this…

…and even though I’m a first year teacher, my principal likes to remind me (and every other teacher that I work with) that we need to have a LIFE outside the four walls of our classroom and school. It’s a good reminder that I think sometimes gets forgotten among teachers! The days feel long but they go by SO fast and the to-do list is ever-growing. As you check off one item, you add another. It’s just the nature of the job! Besides sleeping…and taking naps…and going to school…I have been doing some pretty fun things, too. 🙂

Does this look like a good celebratory “first week of school” dinner?! On the first Friday of the school year, we had a school wide assembly. The principal spoke, new teachers were introduced, students recited the school song, and then the greatest thing ever happened…the song “Shake Your Tail Feather” started playing and a big red cardinal (our mascot) came running into the gym. The kids went crazy. Then we had 45 minutes to teach before the day was over. Needless to say, not much got accomplished. 😉 BUT, after school, I got to meet a new friend for dinner! Amanda, who blogs over at The Good Stuff, met up with me for dinner here in DC at Citizen Burger. We have chatted via email in the past few weeks and finally found a day where both of us were free. We had such a good time and such good conversation! We both tried a seasonal beer (and please don’t ask me the name, because at this point I have no idea) and ordered delicious burgers, of course! Sweet potato fries are my favorite so I was in heaven. 🙂

We also made our way to another nearby restaurant for a drink and then we ended the evening over wine and coffee at Northside Social, a coffehouse, cafe, and wine bar here in Arlington. I had never been, so I was excited to try it out! We both joked that before meeting up for dinner, we both felt like we were going on a blind date. Ha! Even though we “know” each other via the Internet, it was different to actually meet in real life. Luckily, it all worked out just fine and we can now consider each other “real” friends, too. 🙂

I woke up recently to discover this event taking place on Facebook. Apparently, I told Facebook I would be attending said event. HAHAHA!

On Saturdays, I do this. Couch + workout clothes + blanket + laptop = relaxation.

Something not relaxing, but still super fun, was an event I went to recently with November Project. November Project meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in different places around DC to run and workout together at 5:30 AM and 6:30 AM. About once a “season”, they have an out of the ordinary event. This time around, it was called PRAC and it took place on a Sunday afternoon at 3:17 PM. And no, that’s not a typo. I really signed up for an event that started at 3:17 PM. That’s just how November Project rolls. 🙂

We were given a latitude and longitude on a Google Map as a starting point…and that led us right near the Washington Monument. Directions for the day: expect to run a 5K (3.1 mile), bring a yoga mat, and bring your ID. Hm.

We ended up running the 5K from the Washington Monument to this beer garden in another neighborhood in DC. Have you ever tried to run 3.1 miles with a yoga mat strapped to your back?! I don’t recommend trying it anytime soon. Hahaha! Look at how many of us there are. Imagine that MOB of people running through the streets of DC with yoga mats attached to them. There were MANY people who stopped to take a picture or video of us. I like to imagine that I ended up on someone’s Snapchat story. 😉 When we arrived at Wunder Garten, the beer garden, there was a yoga instructor from a nearby studio there to instruct an outdoor class for us.

Afterwards, we all enjoyed an adult beverage (hence the necessary ID) and there was even a food truck there! It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Fun fact: my blogging bestie, Molly, sent me a Starbucks gift card. I have told her time and time again that I have never had a Pumpkin Spice Latte! I think she expected me to try that very drink with her gift card, but now I’m going to be honest and share that I ordered a skinny Cinnamon Dolce latte. Sorry, girl! 🙂 My friend Kristen and I needed caffeine and something warm to take with us to the Nation’s Tri downtown. I am not a triathlete, and after watching different parts of this race, I really don’t know that I could ever do it! My Starbucks picture is from the top of the steps behind the Lincoln Memorial where Kristen and I could see the race participants doing their cycling. Some seemed to be pedaling so quickly while others seemed to be taking their time. I am sure they weren’t taking their time, but you have to imagine that in a triathlon, there are probably some parts you are better at than others! For me, I would kill the cycling and running and literally have to drag myself through the swimming. Also, I still hold my nose when I swim, so there’s that. Hahaha

We also spotted some of the runner’s near the Washington Monument! We stood near the “trade off” point for awhile where some racers were getting out of the Potomac River and hopping on their bike and others were putting their bike back and starting their run. When I race, I just run…so imagining doing ALL of those things before I would actually be done is crazy to me! I have such respect for them…especially in the moments where their hair is still dripping wet from the swim and they are hopping on their bike!

Another thing I did recently was go to an outdoor festival on H Street. There were so many vendors, food trucks, and PEOPLE! We went around 5:30 PM and it was absolutely packed. I loved looking at the artwork that the vendors were selling because most of it had to do with the skyline or outline of monuments in DC. Then, there was this random side street that was all decked out in sidewalk chalk!

All that walking at the festival required me to take up three seats on the Metro. I NEED SPACE!!! But honestly, after the festival, we started walking to a certain place to get dinner, and it took so long to walk there that we ended up getting on CityBikes and riding the rest of the way there. It really was a trek. The Metro is so convenient until you are in a neighborhood in DC where the Metro doesn’t exist. Hahaha

One night, I went for a run on a path that I have only ever run on with my running group. I left about 30 minutes later than I wanted to and when I got on the trail that weaves through neighborhoods, it got a little dark. There are no streetlights on that stretch of path and though there were many people out biking and walking dogs, it was kind of eerie not to be able to see anyone until they were literally right next to you! I returned unscathed and with 5 miles under my belt, but next time, I will probably either leave earlier or go with a friend. 🙂

Speaking of Amanda (the blog friend I told you about earlier), she told me that the local library was having a huge book sale. I planned on stopping by after my run this past weekend. That run was so bad that I completely gave up and just decided to book shop instead ha! The sale was in the garage of the library and everything was 50 cents. It was amazing.

The aisles were organized by book genre and everyone was carrying around armfuls of books!

There were even some older pieces of literature being sold for a much higher price. I thought that was so cool!

For $34, I walked away with all of this PLUS a workout DVD!
 
My family is lucky enough to have season tickets to the Steelers games, and I can tell you that I never miss home more than I do when the game is on and my family is at the game without me! They just added more seating to Heinz Field, and with that, a few new restaurants, like Burgatory. Jake ordered some ridiculous triple fudge brownie milkshake madness! Meanwhile, Kristen and I were streaming the game via her parent’s television on her TV here in DC!

My contribution to Steeler game watching: Funfetti donut bites. Let that sink in. FUNFETTI!!! When I was leaving church on Sunday, I happened to glance at District Doughnut’s menu as I was walking past and I saw these on the menu. I had a really bad headache on Sunday that I am blaming on caffeine so I gave myself the excuse to go in the store by saying that I would buy a coffee…and then I also happened to get these donut bites. 😉 Sidenote: I don’t know why I had a headache on Sunday, but if it was from lack of caffeine, I am going to be so mad. I pride myself on not “needing” coffee!

Kristen’s contribution to Steeler game watching: ordering sweet potato fries from a local restaurant on the Postmates app. Postmates is a courier service, so you order what you want, and a short time later, it is delivered to your home. It’s like ordering pizza, except you can get whatever food you want from whatever place you want (within reason and distance, obviously). I was under the impression that you could only order food…so for example, if you want Chipotle, Shake Shack, McDonalds…really, anything, order it and a Postmate courier will deliver it to you as soon as they pick it up from that place. However, when I was scrolling through the app on Sunday, I saw you can order things from Walgreens and even Lululemon. Ha! I guess it depends on what is in your area. We certainly have a Lulu very close by, but I would never think to order anything from them! In other news, all the Postmates were apparently busy and so we had to walk to get our sweet potato fries at half time. Sigh. Life is so hard. #insertsarcasm

Sometimes, I come home and I look like this. #myfacesaysitall

Other times, I try to be a fashion blogger and take pictures of outfits that I am certain are so cute. But this outfit is really cute, in my opinion. And it was very comfy. 🙂

I think I thought these clouds were cool.

Whole Foods salad bar is everything. And if you’ve never had their mac and cheese (seen top left), go get it for your next meal NOW.

I made pancakes and I was proud of myself.

And because I’m all about food, I present to you my snack drawer at work. The best drawer in the whole desk.
What have you been up to lately?!