First Week in the Books!

Week 1. Done and done.

I can't even describe to you how much I am loving my school, my students (well, most of them), and my job.

Just like the first day, this week went so smoothly! I don't want to jinx myself, and I hope this positive momentum keeps going.

While I wanted to take more pics this week, the only thing I managed to capture was my daily outfit. So, here's a play-by-play illustrated by mostly outfits.

Tuesday- first day of school- hand out syllabus, introduce myself, take care of school-related housekeeping stuff.

Yea, you've seen this. I still really like this outfit.

Wednesday- 5th period and 7th period showed their true colors. Looks like these are my problem classes. Also my biggest. Should be fun. The desks went from groups of 3 back into rows, which has helped cut down on chatty-ness and attitude problems.

Managed to cut my head off. But, the sleeveless top was a good call with the heat. And, the crocs totally beat Tuesday's heels.

Someone told me once that accessorizing would make me look older. This is what I managed.

 Thursday- less talking problems, and some good work got done. Starting to feel the rhythm of the day.

Loved this outfit. Made me feel mature, and it was pretty cool and comfy all day.

 Friday- a fun day at school, compete with a last period pep rally. And temperatures that had me literally sweating all day.

We're allowed to dress down a little on Fridays, but with the temperatures, I opted for a light dress to help keep me cool. 

We've got another 4-day week ahead of us. So nice! And it's time to get into some real instruction and new material. Ready to take it head on!

Here's to keeping up the positive momentum!
~Rach

First Day of School

I have officially made it through my first day of school as a high school teacher!

After talking, walking, smiling, and sweating all day long, I am exhausted.

Exhausted, but so happy.

I could not have asked for a better first day. (well, some milder temperatures would have been nice)

Everything went according to plan, and I had no problems with students. I didn't mess up too badly. I didn't trip. And, I don't think I messed up any of the administrative, first-day duties.

I did have some unexpected time with first period, but I just filled it with a pronunciation song that I used all day in my Spanish 2 classes.

I am letting myself take it easy for tonight with a scheduled rest day and not putting too much pressure on myself to plan for next week. I have an idea where we are going, and I will really sit down and do it tomorrow/Thursday.

I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself the first week. I tend to hold myself to these impossibly high expectations, and I am always overly critical with myself. I don't want to burn myself out. I love this job, and I want to be happy in it for a long time.

I guess this first day in my career really means that I am a full blown adult and I can no longer consider myself a child at all. Weird. Sad. Terrifying. But, Exciting!

Like I said, I'm exhausted, but I'll do a more extensive recap over the weekend.

I'll leave you with my first day of school outfit! Professional, young, cool-ish. Loved it. But the shoes... my feet hated my by 5th period. Not happening again any time soon.

Here's to a great rest of the week!

~Rach

Fashion Friday

This quarter, my roommate Allie and I decided to make an effort to actually get dressed everyday for class. Like many busy college students who don't usually have the time, energy or money to care what we look like,  we both often wore sweats and tshirts or our workout gear to class and meetings. Yea, not so adult and professional of us.

Since winter is so dreary here, we thought that "getting cute" in the morning would help us stave off that inevitable seasonal depression that hits every year. Fortunately, this winter has been mild, and there have been way more nice days than any winter I can remember.

Still, it was nice to make a little time for myself every morning to do a little primping. I just feel better about myself all day when I feel like I look nice. I think it even helps me stay motivated and productive. Am I the only one who thinks this? I know my roommate agrees, but she and I are kind of the same person.

This past week, I took the time to photo most of what I wore, and I figured I might as well share it here. Seeing how someone presents themselves is a great way to get a little insight on who they are.

So, here's Rach in a week through clothes.

 Monday- This is "I'm spending all afternoon in the library" style. Leggings, long sweater. But my hair and make-up are done, and these aren't athletic leggings, so it counts.

 Tuesday- We could call this "teacher-chic". That's what my roommates call me when I wear cardigans. Loving the details in this one.

 Wednesday- It was super warm out, so I broke out my favorite sandals. Wednesday was also Green Beer Day, which meant an early night out. I love not getting all dressed up to go out. Jeans and tshirt any day.

Friday- Pretty quintessential "me" outfit. Skinnies, boots, scarf.

Me and the roomies looking hot for a night out. Even though we may love our jeans/leggings, we still know how to clean up nice.

Here's to a great weekend ahead!!!
~ Rach

WIAW #4

How is it Wednesday already?

 Is it just me, or is this week flying by! Not that I'm complaining. The sooner the weekend gets here the better.

So far, this week has been a great one. I am feeling good, in a great mood, and actually enjoying my classes. How often do you hear a student say that? Hopefully my future students will feel that way everyday. Haha, yea right. Especially with high schoolers. Eh, a girl can dream.

Well, we all know what Wednesday means... the best blog part of the week!

Thanks, again, to Jenn for hosting my favorite distraction!

This is how Tuesday looked. A busy, busy day, full of great things.

I don't have class until 11:00 so I let myself wake up naturally, which was, of course at 8:00am. But, I woke up hungry and ready for my perfect breakfast.

8:30 Breakfast:

The classic: oats (always in a mug) with apples , strawberries, and cinnamon all topped with almond butter. Washed down with my giant mug of coffee. Served on top of my Spanish Linguistics book because, obviously, it's the perfect serving tray.

After my 11-12:00 class, I scurried over to the rec center and did a sweaty cardio sesh followed by some stretching. It felt so good. Switching up my workout routine has really been working for me.

I finished around one, and after the walk home (super sweaty, through the crowded student center in the busiest part of the day. Sorry I'm not sorry, for being the sweaty girl) I had about 40 min to shower, get myself decent-looking, make lunch, and shovel it into my face before head out to my next class.

Mission Accomplished

Simple outfit today, but at least I did my hair. That's saying something considering the time crunch. To dress it up, I followed one of my classic style rules: When in doubt, add a scarf. My collection is almost disgusting, but they're my favorite, cozy accessory. This one, I bought on my trip to Granada, Spain, and it's one of my faves.

 Along with making myself presentable, I managed a delicious and satisfying lunch (1:40ish)

Rand-oh veggies steamed in the micro (carrots, celery, broc slaw) on a bed of spinach with some wild rice and the last of a jar of salsa. All mixed up and eaten in about 6 min. I did manage to taste some, though, and it was mighty tasty.

 After 3 grueling hours of class (if going on a geocaching scavenger hunt in tech class can be called grueling) I headed home to start dinner.

Dinner (6:00)

A bunch of roasties: sweet potato, cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, onions, and tofu. Accompanied by sriracha-spiked tomato sauce. I actually at about 3x this, but didn't remember to take the pic until about I had already begun to dig in.

Obviously, I couldn't finish off the night without something to satisfy my sweet tooth. Especially after the ridiculous amount of time I spent in the library slaving over mastering some Abstract Algebra/ kicking ass! Cue chocolate oats. Topped with some PB of course. 

I also munched on about a half a dozen clementines (no joke) and a couple handfuls of pretzels throughout the day.

Here's to having a great, busy day when you least expect it!

~ Rach

I regressed a little this week. In age, I mean. I am generally a pretty youthful person, and I often get mistaken for a high-school student... even though I am 22 and almost done with college? Whatever.

But this week, I had a true "little kid" moment on Monday when I had this random desire for some quality Mom-time. I hadn't seen my mom since New Year's and, frankly, I just missed her. So, I called her up and we made plans to meet today in Columbus for some shopping time. Dad decided to tag along, too! It was a great day with the 'rents. Sometimes, you just need to see family and let them baby you a little.

Breakfast was a mug of oats with blackberries, topped with peanut butter... and some saltines to try and cure the too-much-fun feeling from last night.

More remedies for that feeling?

Happy Valentine's Day from Starbucks.

 The mission for the shopping trip: teacher clothes. I start student teaching in about a month, and I had a grand total of one pair of nice pants. That won't fly. Luckily, "teacher professional" is a little more laid back that business professional, so I have a little more freedom with my wardrobe. But, like I said, I hear often that I look like a high school-er, so I have to dress professionally enough to separate myself from my students and maintain authority. The most exciting purchase of the day:

Ohhhh yea, that is a hot pink blazer!

The last stop of the day was a quick run through TJ's for some goodies I can't find at school. And, after the 1.5 hour drive back to school, those goodies made my dinner.

TJ's minestrone soup, and mini pita's with the hummus quartet. Followed by several PB spoons.

 I started out this morning feeling physically awful. It's my fault, but sorry, I'm not sorry. Last night was a blast. After seeing my parents, I feel so refreshed! Leave it to family to give me just the boost I need to power through the last half of the quarter.

Here's to staying connected with those that matter most.
~ Rach

Tuesday "Muse"day

I don't have any specific topic to ramble about today. But, I do have a couple of random musings from the past couple of days. Why not share them here?

1. For the first time ever, Trader Joe's has let me down. 

I generally love all of TJ's products, and that I don't have to go bankrupt to stock up on them. When I saw this jar of Sunflower Seed Butter during my last visit, I was uber-excited to give it a go. Nut butter is my "crack", after all, and I have really enjoyed the sunflower seed butter I have had in the past.

This guy, though, not so much. I cracked it open, gave it a stir, and eagerly took a finger full. And, it was mediocre at best. The texture was weird and kind of gummy, and the sunflower seed flavor was barely noticeable behind a cloying sweetness. I turned over the jar and discovered this:

Yep, there it is. At the bottom, second ingredient: evaporated cane juice. HOw could I not have noticed it was sweetened before I bought it? Sweet nutbutter just doesn't do it for me. I feel like the seeds are sweet enough. Next time, nuts/seeds only. And maybe a little salt.

Luckily my roommate, Rebecca, digs it. All yours, lady.


2. I'm loving my outfit today.

Classic hallway-mirror-iPhone pic

I had extra time between the gym and my first class today (gotta love not starting till 11:00), so I took the time to make myself cute. Granted, I am still wearing leggings, but it still feels good to actually put some effort into the way you look sometimes. Actually, I have really been trying to do this more. It just makes me feel good.

3. I PASSED THE PRAXIS!!!!

I passed the Math Content Praxis 2 exam!!! I talked about taking it here, and I found out my scores this morning. I definitely didn't blow in out of the water, but I passed, and that's all that counts! Done and done.

Now, I'm just waiting on the results of my Spanish Written Proficiency Test that I took last week, and I still have to take my Oral Proficiency Interview, but It is safe to say that I am about 66.6667% of the way done with all the standardized tests I have to take for my degrees. May, it's feeling good.

This week has started off a little rocky, mostly in clumsy and comedic ways, but it's looking up! Here's to keeping the positivity ball rolling!


- Rach