Friday Favorites 2/13/15

Monday I came home from work, not sure if I would make it to Friday.

This week has been so exhausting!  

I fought sinus headaches and congestion ALL WEEK LONG.

I thought I kicked it, but it came back!  In a headache/nasal/losingmyvoice form!

No fun!  BUT today is Friday and I am sooooo excited for the WEEKEND!  

This week I am linking up with Erika, Andrea and Narci again for my FRIDAY FAVS!

Here we go...

The Meal planning continues!!

We made LOTS of tasty dinners this week!  I wrote about my fabulous ravioli bake HERE!  It takes less than 30 minutes and it is FABULOUS!

This is the finished product!  So easy and great tasting!

Here is a picture of my leftovers from our roast night.  Carrots, green bean casserole, potatoes, and the best roast every.  You can find the roast recipe HERE.  It was another great crock pot recipe.

Here is a picture of chicken fajitas before I stirred it.  This was fabulous served on a whole wheat tortilla. 

On Saturday I went to a bike race with Josh and his dad about an hour away.  

This is the first race Josh finished in the top three when I was there.

He has before, but when I wasn't at the race.  I always tease him and tell him I am bad luck because he never wins when I am there! 

The funny thing is I BARELY saw him start the race because I was asleep in the truck.  I heard the take off sound and sat up and saw him speed by!  The laps were about 20 minutes apart so I would "power nap" in-between the laps.  Everyone knows how much I love a nap.  

I can nap almost anywhere :)

 He was so fast I had a hard time taking a picture of him!  He is either cut out of the picture or way far away!

 2nd place!  The first place guy was sooo nice and helped Josh finish.  I am pretty competitive, and really wanted Josh to win, but the guy who won deserved it!  He was very strong and could have left Josh, but he stayed with him.  What a guy and team player :)

 On Sunday Josh and I ran stairs and laps at our middle school football field.  I forgot how out of shape I am.  I mean I almost passed out.  I ran up and down the stairs five times.  That is one of the hardest things to do!  Then we ran a 800m, 400m, 100m and stretched.  Definitely not as far as I wanted to go, but it is a great start and my body would not go on!  My legs were sooo sore!  I was so proud of myself because this months bucket list was to run more.  You can read about that HERE.

One of my favorite things to do is embroider!  This week I started embroidering items for a friend's baby girl!  I love an initial and monogram!  

This is for baby Madi and she is going to LOOOVEEE it!  It is the progress of a "M".  

Here are two of my FAVORITE pictures from the week!  Josh is working (sorry a little blurry) while watching the bachelor.  I love spending time with him, even if it means him doing work.  So happy to have him in the same city as I am :)

 I love a hard working man!  Especially this one!

I did a few errands after work this week and saw this BEAUTIFUL mountain with snow on it!  I was so taken back because we didn't have snow this week in the lower elevations and it was such a beautiful sight!

Finally, I posted Last Week about the neti pot and how much it helped my sinuses.  It definitely helped, but my cold turned into a very painful sinus and ear infection.  I felt like my teeth were going to fall out of my mouth from all the pressure.  It is amazing how quickly an infection can come on.  I was fine all weekend, thinking I was on the mend, but Monday night and Tuesday I began to feel pressure like no other in my sinuses/nose/mouth/ears and started to lose my voice. 

I headed to the doctor and tried not to breathe while I was in the waiting room.  There was a LONNNGG wait and I almost passed out several times, but they finally called my name!

 Luckily I was given medicine and rested a few days! 

I learned something new while waiting in the doctor's office.  So when I take my temperature at home it is usually 96 or 97 degrees.  I thought the thermometer was always wrong.  BUT come to find out some people's temperature average can be lower than 98.  So if my average is around 96 or 97, then my elevated would be 99 to 100.  I asked the nurse what my temp was and she said 99.3, which is elevated for someone with my frame.   I had a small fever because I was fighting an infection.  That was very interesting to me because I thought that average for everyone was 98!  I learned something new about myself.  :)

This was in the doctor's office.  I almost fell asleep/passed out in the waiting room, so I was happy to prop my feet up while I was waiting for the doctor in my own little room.  I am so thankful for good, patient doctors who take the time to hear out your symptoms and then send you on your way to the pharmacy!

Well friends, I hope you had a WONFERFUL week!!  Can you believe it's almost the middle of February?!  

I love sharing my favorites!

What are your favorites from this week?  Happy February!

It's FRIDAY! 1/30/15

Oh Friday, how I have waited for you. 

Whew.  What a busy week! 

This week I am linking up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea!  

I am sooo excited about this week's Friday Favorites!  I know you will be too!

1.) For those of you who do not know, I have the BEST job in the whole wide world. 

 It gets crazy sometimes, but I love being a KINDERGARTEN teacher.  The world of teaching is something I LOVE.  It is just so wonderful, filled with many challenges, but something I love. 

One of my favorite things about teaching is Literature.  I love reading, especially teaching it.  There is just something magical about a book.  

Since I changed grades, the curriculum changed.  I love what we teach in Kindergarten.  I have enjoyed all the units so far.  One thing we do is compare and contrast Fairy Tales.  I did not have the original versions of many fairy tales so I ended up borrowing them from other teachers.  

One of my favorite stores is AC MOORE and when I was shopping for Christmas crafts, I came across these fabulous books.  They were on sale for under $4 each.  Usually a book under $5 is not worth it because it is either cheaply made or the content is for the birds.  

I read through all of these and they are simply wonderful, timeless pieces I plan to read over and over again.  If I had children I would totally buy a copy for them AND for my classroom.  I 100% recommend these books!  Your students, children or grandchildren will love them!

 There are views from the inside.  The pages are simply amazing!  Also, the cover is a hard squishy material that is so soft, yet durable.

If I were you I would hop in your car right now and go grab these great books!

2.) The past few weeks I have not been sleeping very well.  I am a sleeper, and usually sleep 8-10 hours.  I have ALWAYS been a sleeper, a good sleeper.  

When I do not get my sleep, I am not a happy camper.  

My mom uses DoTerra essential oils and I have been putting them into my diffuser for a few days and I have slept for 8 hours non-stop.  Once I lay down, it only takes about 5-10 minutes for me to fall asleep.  I put a mixture of serenity and lavender in my diffusor.  If I REALLY need to sleep, I put it on the bottom of my feet and have an excellent night's sleep!  I totally recommend it!

Here is my diffuser.  You open the lid, lift a little compartment and fill water to the line.  Then you put your essential oil of choice!  I have put orange and lemon before to make my room smell good, but lavender is just the best!  I love mine because it has a button for a light that is different colors!  At night I keep the light off, but when I wake up I love having a little light.  You can also set the timer.  It had 1,2, and 3 hour and has a constant option.  I always put the timer on for three hours and it turns off when I am sleeping.

You can find the exact diffuser HERE for half price.  You can also get one at Earthfare. 

You should try it!  It is totally worth it!

3.)  I totally saved the best for last.  Josh moved into the same city as me a few months ago and we have been soaking up every opportunity to spend time together!  We go to the gym during the week, every once and a while eat out together, watch T.V. together on a work night, etc.  People don't realize how lucky they are to see someone everyday.  There would be times I would not see Josh for 3 or more weeks.  It about killed me, but we made it through.  

One day this week we went out for breakfast at McDonald's (don't judge I'm a sucker for their biscuits and gravy,  and it's the only close place that's open at 6:40 in the morning) before work!  Josh was headed out of town to work and I was headed to work.  We only saw each other for about 20 minutes, but it was what got me through the day! 

What are your Friday Favorites?  Do you have a new favorite book or have you grabbed a must have from the store this week?  I'd love to hear them!

Happy weekend!  

xoxo

-C-

Don't be a bike snob

Hello sweet friends.  I will define my interpretation of a "bike snob" in a just a few.  Over the past few weeks, Josh and I have been doing a lot of biking together.  I've been training hard and I always enjoy when we get to spend time together.  He's so patient with me and always tries to encourage me even though I am SLOW. 

This past week Josh ran into a car while biking. He was coming down a hill 30+ mph (I told him I was thankful I wasn't with him, he said we wouldn't have been going as fast as he was;)) when a car pulled out in a blind curve and his handle bars ran into the driver's door.  His helmet hit the top of the car, he flipped over on his back, slid down the back of the car and landed in a gravel driveway.  He suffered from two fractured ribs, a bruised lung, road rash on his left shoulder, cuts and bruising as well as a big gash on his right leg.  Luckily, he COMPLETELY blacked out.  He doesn't remember putting on his brakes, or coming in contact with the car.  All he remembers is lying on his back and he heard a muffled voice say, "I'm so sorry, don't move."  I was so humbled when the man who he collided with called the hospital to make sure he was okay. 

I am not writing this post out of anger, I want to make people aware of cyclists.  He wasn't ran off the rode or ran over, he was simply caught in a curve at the wrong time and place.  This accident could have happened to anyone, not matter how cautious you are.

First off, according to North Carolina laws, bicycles are legally defined as vehicles.  You can find more information about this here.  In all honesty when I read this, I had to re-read it because to me, I do not consider myself to be operating a vehicle when I take my bike for a spin on a NC road.  I do it for fitness, not as a way of transportation.  It is true that there are people that ride a bike as their main source of transportation and it is important to keep them safe.  :)

Now for what you have ALL been waiting for, here is my definition of a "bike snob".  To me, a person who is bike snob dislikes people who operate a bike while they are behind the wheel of a vehicle.  YES, I do admit that I have been a bike snob.  I have been inpatient with cyclists while I am operating my vehicle. After all, cyclist average a speed that is sometimes nearly (or less) than half what a car can average.  I get even more angry at people who don't wear a helmet while biking.  If Josh didn't wear a helmet, he would have been seriously injured and possibly killed, due to brain damage.

Here are a few tips when you are operating your vehicle and what to do when you come across a cyclist.  After all, riding a bike on a road filled with motor vehicles is very different than riding in a park or driveway.  

Tip #1:  Do NOT honk your horn at a person riding a bike.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been honked at and then hear words of profanity yelled out the window.  When someone honks at me, my first instinct is that something is wrong or they mean to say "watch out", but in all actuality they are trying to say, GET OFF THE ROAD.  Remember, bicycles are defined as a vehicle and have a right to be on the road.  

Tip #2:  Pass with care.  There is nothing more frightening than being blown off the road by a car that I could literally reach my hand out and touch.  When passing a cyclist, it is important there isn't a car coming in the other direction and you give the cyclist enough space.  A few weeks ago, on a curvy up hill a HUGE truck waited a LONG time to pass me.  They wanted to make sure they had enough room to pass with care.  Vehicles are allowed to pass a cyclist on a double yellow line.  Vehicles MUST give the cyclist at least four feet or it is considered reckless driving.

Tip #3:  DO NOT if all possible pull out in front of a cyclist.  Yes, I have thought,"I'll pull in front of this guy so I don't get stuck behind him."  There is nothing more scary than slamming on your brakes on a bike in fear of hitting a car!

Tips #4:  This goes along with #3: Do not pass a cyclist and then slam on your brakes to make a stop.  Yes, this has happened  to me.  We could CLEARLY see a stop sign and then all of a sudden ZOOOOM a huge truck speeds pass to beat us to the stop sign and then slams on their brakes.  I had few cuss words to yell at that truck, but refrained because that leads us to... --->> #5

Tip #5:  Be kind.  Yes kind.  I am a firm believer in "kill 'em with kindness".  Don't shy away from waving after you pass a cyclist.  Even though you might be a bike snob, kindness can go ALONGGG way. :)  

I hope this post made you chuckle, open your eyes and made you think about keeping cyclists safe on the road.  After all, the cyclist you pass, cuss at, or are kind to is a son, daughter, mother, father, etc., and deserves to have a equal opportunity to fitness and transportation.

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