..:dad:..

So, there was THEEE moment.  No, not the moment that Rachael told me to join twitter.... no not that...

You know, that weird moment that your dad comments about how he likes your new blog? Then proceeds to ask if you are going to write about him...That moment.

See, I have a rather unique dad. My dad, an old time rock and roller (if you count the organ and accordion as a rock instrument) who still likes to throw a good jam out session onto his steering wheel WHILE aimlessly throwing his spit around as he head bangs. That's my pops. The guy who will know more about what your friends are up to then you do. The guy who has a much cooler social life than I. The guy who could probably talk to a brick wall longer than anyone else and the guy who loves being the only man at Zumba with my mom. He's a crazy one.


I would tell you my dad and I tend to be one in the same. Is that embarrassing? I think it may actually be... oh well

Being the baby of 3, decently older brothers, allowed me to get to meet my parents at different times in their lives. I like to think I brought out the spunk in them and lightened them up a bit...;)

However, in all seriousness I have a great dad. He coached my soccer team, came to show choir events, watched my musicals and even painted my bedroom pink. He kinda rocks. 


The best part is. I accidently married a man just like him. So life, will continue to be a crazy adventure with my two favorite guys. I have to say, I think I am kinda lucky :) 

There you have it daddio, a blog post all for you.

..:house shopping:..

Let me share with you a secret. I am obsessed with Rugs USA. I kid you not. I found them online and I am just giddy over the selection that they have. I urge anyone in the need of Rugs, to check them out. I ordered a few...#sorryhubs

oh no, and now that I look at it again, I am not so sure i love it... shooot. i digress

Anyway, we found a couch, I mean, it is a pretty awesome couch if i do say so myself! It can be found here. Along with another rug we found on super sale and isn't online.

So now, we have an entryway rug, a family room rug, a sofa and.... the hunt continues. I have been all over Pinterest for a neat master bedroom idea... so far, I have a few inspirations.

but what I am most excited about is the laundry room, is that weird? I want it to look like this and forgive me, but I don't know exactly where the pin is from! 

Let's hope this house deal is for real! If not, we are going to be adding lots to our storage unit, soon! 

Next up, paint colors!

..:weekend:..

Linking up! With Rachael
woah, this weekend feels like it never happened!

Friday night the hubs took a small break for some early appetizers and when we came home, I headed to our neighbor's house for a welcome home dinner. Perfect night, out on the patio with a few bottles of wine! It have been unreasonably chilly up here in Ohio the past few weeks so it felt like a fall night complete with a bonfire. By the time I came home, hubs was done studying and we started a new season of survivor #coolkids #wedonthavecable #thankshuluplus

Saturday I explored target... again and pat catans, plus the dollar store. It was a busy day ;). I also was able to get a run in! It was a perfect day to run through our park system. We also drove by our house! It was still standing and still a beut :)!!!

Sunday, we spent all day helping my parents clean, paint and fix up the garage. It was a huge project but it is starting to look great. I also helped my mom refinish a few old cabinets and add sweet doors on them. I will have a before and after once I find cute hardware. The only downside of this refinishing, it the permanent spray paint and stain that is not stuck all over my hands/nail/feet/legs/clothes. 

Now that I look back, this weekend was not very eventful. However, it seemed as though it was. #whoops 

The hubs leaves today to head down to the state capital to take his test. For the next three days, send some good thoughts our way. I know he is ready and will do great!

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

..:FRIDAY!:..

Today I am sharing my favorites and linking up with Amanda from Meet@the Barre

My favorite 'clean eat' snack:

i love me some veggies right from the garden! so yummy!

My *new* favorite past time dying my hair:

that would be my oldest nephew and his approval of the dye process ;)

My favorite quote and if you follow me on instagram, you saw this last week. It is by a teacher that I love to follow, you can find her blog, here:

My favorite (proud) moment, the hubs graduating:

After 3 long distance years, we were finally able to join our address! ha! it's the small things :)

My favorite funny picture from our wedding:

We aren't sure you smashed first, but the other one gave it right back :)

..:target:..

This week is crazy, as is every week. My brother, his wife, their 3 boys have all come to stay at my parents while they are also between houses. That makes 9 of us living like the Brady Bunch. Hubs is busy studying..still, yes I know, its lame, but it is almost all over!! I have been trying to study for my reading endorsement test (taking it today) and also, trying to enjoy the end of summer rut that comes when you realize you haven't done all you needed too! We are anxiously still awaiting the house closing and trying to plan a trip for when hubs is done with the test.

So naturally speaking today, I went to Target and T.J Maxx because #whynot?

Target never disappoints, am I right? I kid you not, I  can be having the worst day and then just walk in that place and have a whole new look on life. But, of course, I went in to grab a baby gift for a friend and then that stinkin dollar spot found me! I needed to buy it all... but lets not be confused, I also bought it all on Monday, too... #shooot

exhibit 1 (sorry if you already follow me on the insta you have already seen my purchases, and if you haven't then *shameless plug to go do it* thank you in advance                 
-------------------> clearly, all that washi tape... needed it. Chalk markers are for sure a must have and no one can even resist those cute little gift tags! I just need a project now because all of those things and the not pictured chalk paint and magnetic paint were clearly impulse buys. 

 Also, Tuesday, my favorite teacher friends and I headed to IKEA in PA! It was a great girls day and I am super pumped about the purchase of my wine racks. I got those cute spice racks, too for the books. You know, the one everyone has done on pinterest, but I choose to photograph the wine #whoops.

More importantly, I am reminded how lucky I am to work with such wonderful woman. These girls are my favorite gal pals. Its friends like these that make me a little itty bitty excited for school to start back up. 

Tell me I am not alone, everyone else MUST get sucked in from the Target curse, too... right?!

Have a great day :)

..:transfomation:...

Earlier, I posted about my hard year with food. 

I am going to share with you my awkward bathing suit picture #yourewelcome. 

I am actually pretty stinkin proud of this picture. It shows a good representation of me and while I don't look AS fit as the girl with the hat on anymore (silly honeymoon, masters, long distance marriage and too many sweets) I have found a healthy balance for myself and am still very confident.

About a year and a half ago, I started really becoming interested in my health and what was going into my body. I contacted a facebook friend of mine who kept posting about Advocare. I was desperate and willing to try anything. 

Turns out, 40lbs later, it was just what I needed. I learned a lot about myself and what my body needed to run on. AKA not the 2 bags of peanut m&m's but instead veggies and protein. The motivation of my wedding and the fact I was carting around too much extra weight to feel comfortable in my own skin was a good kick in the rear.

Have any of you ever tried Advocare? What's your favorite products? Let me know if I can help you!
www.advocare.com/130212720

..:i teach:..

Today, my teacher girls and I are headed to Ikea! I am so excited and have a laundry list of things I want for my classroom. Probably will have to hide all the goodies until school starts as we are going to be *hopefully* moving soon! I wanted to take a moment to talk about my 'job' it seems silly but as the school year get closer, I (don't you dare tell anyone else this!) am a tad excited to get back into my classroom. Something about a new school year makes me still giddy!

I teach. I am a teacher, a friend, a student, a 'mother figure'. I wrangle 20+ kids on a daily basis under the age of 6. I dance, I sing, I clap, I cry, I skip, I hop, I say things I never thought I would *see: don't pee on the walls, that's not chocolate milk on the floor*... at least not until I had my own kids, but above all else, I teach.

I teach little munchkins how to find their name and locker on the first day of school. I peel kids away from parents while they both cry. I make phone calls and send emails everyday. I walk into my job thinking I have the best job in the whole world and can leave feeling like I never want to come back. 

It's all part of the same beast. 



KINDERGARTEN

You can't explain teaching to someone that's not in this profession. Much like every other job in the world, no one really understands everything that goes into my little four wall, box of a room and most of you would vomit to know what really happens in that classroom bathroom!!!

I get called Mom, Grandma, Teacher, etc. on a daily basis and getting married in the middle of a school year... I mean what was I thinking lol, they had no idea who I was! 

I have been teaching 3 years now. I love the stories, the kids, the growth, my school and my friends. I work with the best people around, and that makes all the difference.

You see, I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was an itty-bitty-3-year-old. I stood up at preschool graduation and thought it was my show to run #truth. I announced to everyone that I wanted to be a teacher, like my mom. Teaching is hard. I would be lying if I told you anything different. It tests your limits but then I sit and think of any other job I could have and I realize, there is not any place different I would rather be. I am a teacher.

If you can read this. Thank your favorite teacher, they would love to hear from you...

..:weekend recap:..

This weekend was a lot of fun. This Monday is also just as great. #thingsteacherssayinthesummeronly 

As you have gathered by now, hubs is studying for a really big test and anytime we can get away for an evening, we are really excited about it. So while I think this was a great weekend, it may not compare to your kickass one...

Friday morning we had the inspection on our *dare I say it* OUR house! Everything went really well and we are still moving along quickly to close on it! We also decided with said news, we would have a quick night out that evening sort of a celebration. We decided window furniture shopping was obviously a must and pretending you have all the money in the world is a lot more fun than shopping on any sort of budget. After we were done playing lifestyle of the rich and famous, we grabbed a quick meal at the cheesecake factory... YUM!

Saturday, I was invited to go wedding dress shopping with hubs sister... guess what guys? She found THE one! I was more giddy for this one than I was for my own! It was wonderful :) We went out around MI for lunch and to bum around a little before heading home to Ohio. -sidenote, this is not her dress, but she thought it was a good one to show off ;)

Sunday, my mom and I went to go pick up an area rug hubs and I had purchased on friday and on the way, we hit up Trader Joes. Mom was a little excited and may or may not have bought 4 six-packs of blueberry beer and more than a handful of  the cheapest bottles of wine. #classylady

But, on a serious note... has anyone tried to TJ's gluten free version of Oreos?! OH.MY.WORD. they are possibly the best things I have had since.. well Oreos. I am obsessed and just a lil dunk in some almond milk and you can't even tell a difference! I am super pumped about this one!

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!

I am linking up with Rachael for a weekend wrap-up!

..:change:..

This year has been down right, close the front door, STINKIN crazy.

Since last july, so much has happened in my life. I planned a shower, and my wedding, took classes, moved my husband back to school, traveled for friends weddings, visits to the hubs, moved•yes again• picked out a dog, then decided we wouldn't be good pet parents and told them they should find a better home, hubs totaled out our car(thankfully he was okay!) took more classes, moved hubs home from school, sold our house, moved all of our stuff into storage, moved back in with my parents, house hunted like crazy, put offers on houses, watched our 'dream' home be sold to someone else, put more offers in and..

as of this minute we could possibly finally have a home of our own!!!

•fingers crossed over and over•

With that being said, it's been one heck of a 12 month period of time. I am ready for life to slow back down and get into a normal routine.

But this year taught me a lot.  It's been a great year in so many ways and it's been a downright crappy one in others. But the best part about it? Tomorrow always came and it was always a chance for me to have a fresh start.

If we happen to actually get to purchase this said home that I mentioned above, it's going to be OUR first home. We will get to pick the paint together, buy new adult like furniture, plan how we use the rooms and live there for as long or as short as we would like. That's just crazy and absurd to me.

You see, we didn't live together before we got married (unless you count your parents telling you to get your shower gift and wedding stuff out of their basement so they can host your rehearsal dinner there,  2 weeks before your wedding day and then offering to help you pack a truck, living together...) and the house we moved into was the hubs 'baby'. He fixed it all up and did a great job on it.

See, it's a beaut. But it wasn't 'our' home. I simply moved into his place. So to say I'm excited about 'our' first 'home' together, well that would be accurate.  #wifeyprobs

So whoever and whatever you believe in. Throw us some good thoughts as we truck on through the process. Our luck can only go up, we hope!

..:running:..

So let me tell you all a secret. The hubs, he is pretty great. He is currently studying for a BIG test and decided that now was a better time than ever to ALSO train to run a full marathon. You know, just casually bust out 26.2 miles like it's what normal people do.

Me, being the supportive, wonderfully enthusiastic, cheerleader of a wife decided that I should totally train for a half! Why? I am still not 100% sure. See, I used to play soccer. You say that and people think that means you are still in shape. Let me give you the answer to your thought #nope.

But back to soccer. I hated to run. I mean I did it, but I disliked it, a lot. Fast forward to last fall and our school decided to start a Girls on the Run (GOTR) program. Somehow, this seemed like a great thing for me (hater of all things running) to coach. Well, guess what folks. I liked it. No, I actually LOVED it. I trained the right way (with 3rd graders) so I felt confident. I was able to run a 5k and actually love my life and not hate it. 


Great, so I can run a 5k. only......10ish more miles and I can run a half!  All kidding aside, I am excited for this challenge and still have 88 days till race day. Hubs is busting out 12-14 miles... me, I am more of a slow and steady kinda gal. I can casually complete about 5 miles but know I need to kick it up a notch.

So fill me in all you runners...what do I do to get ready?!

..:food:..

So, let's get right down to business here. Today, I want to share with you something that actually has some substance.

I have been on quite a journey this past year with food. 

Last summer, I got a nasty bacterial infection that no one could figure out. A few ton of dr. visits later, over a month of yuck and lots of blood work later, it all resulted in me finding out I have an intolerance to gluten... for.stinkin.real. how did I make it 25 years without knowing this?

I don't actually understand this 'intolerance' business. I know I do not have celiac but my numbers can hit that range and aren't exactly sure what makes my counts jump and how much I can stand before the symptoms reoccur. So, I just avoid it as much as I can. *read:cookies, cake, wraps

K. promise, getting to the point...

Food is such a powerful thing. Fueling your body with what you need is so important. My dear Advocare girls say it best "you should be filling up your body with premium gas, it's the only engine you have got" #realtalk

Gluten free is not always the easy thing to do. At first, it wasn't as 'in' as it is now and people didn't quite get what it meant, heck, I didn't even know what it meant! But, through trial and error and lots of breakdowns I feel like I finally have a control on it all. Am I perfect? Oh hellllllll no. I still make selfish food choices and usually make the poor hubs pay for it with my anxiety, stomach pains, headaches and bloating. However, it is getting better!

Since finding this out about myself, a lot more people have decided for many different reasons to be GF. All I can say is thanks peeps because now, they put those perfect little circles on the front of my cereal boxes to let me know that I am in fact, making a good choice.

So next time, pick up a bag of corn chips and salsa with me and munch on you GF lovers of mine. And be a little kinder to those with food allergies, we don't like it either! So, lets all get along ;)


p.s anyone found GF wraps that don't break in .3 seconds? Sister needs a taco!

..:who is this chick?:..

HELLO, AMORÉ'S

I figure, you must be wondering, "who is this chick?!" If you are anything like me, I enjoy pictures WAY more than words. In my eyes, there isn't anything better than a solid, good-ol' fashioned, over edited collage... #amiright

So there's pretty much all you need to know about me.

just kiddin'. I also like wine. There's no pictures of wine. But really...

let me introduce you to the people above....

-There's the hubs, often referred to as Jason, bubs, or J if I really feel lazy! We were married on December 28,2013 and after wishing for a white wedding, you wouldn't even stinkin' believe it ended up being 56 degrees out that day! Nevermind the fact it was -12 when we got home from our honeymoon with lots of snow... but I digress.

-The parents, mostly called Mom or Dad... maybe the old folks, but all kidding aside, they are pretty solid people with a way better social life than I.

-The brothers, there are three of them and they are the big men on campus around here, meaning I am the baby of the fam. They are all married and have made me an auntie 7 times to 7 crazy, loving boys. There's no jokin' real men marry teachers... my mom was a teacher and all my brothers married one as well.... and so did my husband ;)

..:i took a bite out of the apple:..

I have been, what I would define as a 'silent blog-stalker' for the last year or so. I was always so envious of all the other bloggers ability to write so freely and openly. I found myself waking up in the morning and scrolling over my iPhone hopping my favorites would have posted before I had to get out of bed to shower and face the day.

While that all sounds great, it is also, without a doubt, super creepy and awkward. But, it's the truth. So now, here I am, over a year later and ready to spill my guts out onto the interwebs of this crazy 'bloggin' world.

I hope you will join me as I introduce and compose my blog where you can find all things from teaching, life, love and marriage as I venture through all these new phases of life.

... ready or not, here I post!