April Currently

I love that I can be on my computer every day, working on blog design stuff, and still not have a single blog post for a month! Oh my goodness.

I feel like I've said this before, but I work at a school that uses textbook programs to the 't.' It's actually pretty nice. Most things are already created and available to us. But - it makes blogging kind of hard! 

So this month, I'm not going to pretend and say that I'm going to be 'better.' I'm going to be honest and say that I'll post if inspirations strikes. And I'm going to link up for this month's Currently because I love a good link-up!

Listening

It's Good Friday here, it's the end of my spring break, and me and the pup are resting on the couch. Like we have all week. A bunch of people asked me what my break plans were and I told them sleeping. I'm not sure if they realized how serious I was. Some people, the hubs included, may think that lazing the day away may be a bit of a waste. Judge away. I enjoyed myself! I did get a bunch of blog design stuff done though. It wasn't all sleeping.

Loving

Speaking of - I have three different designs that I've been working on this week. No four! I forgot my design blog! None of them are completely done, but I'm so excited about all four so I'll show them in their 'work in progress' state!

I've been back and forth about whether or not I want a separate design site, and I've finally decided - I do! But I want to keep my regular name. So here it is! This one is live. Click on the picture to visit. Leave a comment on the 'Welcome' post so I know you stopped by.

This one is the closest to being done I would say!

Approved! Just needs to be installed. Yay!

Still undergoing changes, but I seriously love the idea of this design!

Thinking

Easter is going to be so strange this year. Both my brother and the hubs' brother moved out-of-state this past month so Easter is going to be a little smaller. For my family, it'll still be huge actually, but it'll be strange without him. On the hubs' side, it will literally just be us and his parents. 

I'm still excited though. I even made a few Easter baskets for random family members.

Wanting

Vegas in July anyone? I got part of my Vegas plans funded through the Donors Choose professional development pilot. I love it! I'm still waiting on my invoice so that I can send it to Donors Choose and officially get this conference paid for. I also need to book flights still AND rooms. I'm on the hunt for roommates. I'd rather not pay for a single. I plan to get in either the 5th or 6th and leave on the 11th. If you are looking to share a room or know anyone who is, send them my way!

Needing

I feel like there are so many exciting things in the works, and I can't wait for them to happen! But I need to be patient. It's seriously one of my faults. I'm super bad at waiting. Instant gratification for the win!

Egg-splain Your Name

Teaching In A Nutshell is a totally random name that I came up with. My husband seriously hated me when I was trying to come up with blog names. The whole experience was a combination of me suggesting terrible names, me 'demanding' that he come up with a good one, and me whining that I couldn't think of one. Finally I did eventually think of something I like though, thank goodness.

I like to pretend that the abbreviation for Teaching In A Nutshell is TIN. I know I'm completely skipping over the letter 'a' and that 'in' and 'a' are not even necessary parts of an abbreviation, but TIN was my nickname in high school, so I'm sticking with it. My best friends name was Kristen with an 'e' and I was Kristin with an 'i,' so we were Tin and Ten. Or Tinny and Tenny.

And, that's all folks! See you when inspiration hits!

And That's A Wrap!

Head on over to Teaching With a Touch of Pixie Dust to link up for Slim Down Saturdays, my favorite accountability link-up!

Progress and Updates

So - my Whole30 is officially over. During the program, I lost 12.5 lbs. I was a little disappointed that I didn't lose more this past week, but I shouldn't really be surprised. Regardless, I am super excited by the 12.5 lbs! It puts me at a number that I haven't seen for at least five years which is super fantastic. It has also helped motivate me to keep going.

Positives

As I said, my positive is that I finished! I'm going to be honest. In the last few days, I did have a few cheats, but even those I am grateful for. There are some foods that I just know I will be avoiding in the future based on how my body felt immediately after eating them. I know now. I understand. I've learned so much from the past month.

Goals

I'm still needing to drink more water. I think it was a busy week because I didn't even get to finish my school water bottle many days which is strange. My other goals are to get back to clean eating and workouts. As I said, we went off program this weekend due to family birthdays and Super Bowl celebrations, but even after eating the foods that we've avoided this past month, I still want to go back to the cleaner, more restrictive eating... just maybe not quite as strict. 

I also want to get back to working out. I hurt one of my toes earlier this week, so I kind of started walking differently to avoid the pain. Only, walking differently has caused pain in my leg and back. Everything is almost back to normal so hopefully I can get back to walking and dancing and such tomorrow. I will go to my Pilates class tonight either way. I have never been a fan of working out. I still wouldn't say that I am. But after going to a few classes, I don't dread it as much as I did before. Plus, seeing the weight loss from (for the most part) just dietary changes is so motivating and I know that the numbers I will see will be even more exciting if I add a few workouts as well.

Quote

I thought this quote was a great one to sum up the end of my Whole30 experience. I'm not done because I won't be done. It's not something that ends. It's a lifestyle change. I'm so happy that this lifestyle change is one that has been easy to transition to because I know that it will be easy to maintain because of that.

It's An All Black Kind of Day

Hey there! I'm linking up again with Gina from Teaching With A Touch of Pixie Dust to post my fitness progress. I know these posts aren't focused on teaching, but this blog is about me, and this is a part of me so bear with me each week as I use this link-up to keep me on track and motivated.

Updates

I've been doing Whole30, and I technically have a week left, but I couldn't resist weighing myself - which is a no no on the program. I've been craving certain foods that I'm not supposed to be eating for a few more days and I just needed confirmation that the benefits of the program extend to weight loss. I seriously started doing a happy dance and running around my bedroom when I realized that I had lost 11 pounds in these past three week! My dog was super confused. Next week I'll be back with the final weight loss results of the Whole30 program. I hope that I can lose a few more before the little experiment is over.

Positives

I did get my 2 workouts in this week including the Jazzercise class and a Pilates class. Even though I accomplished it, I'd kind of like to try for three. Last week was a tough week. I had to stay after school several days for meetings, so I ended up not being able to make certain classes that I will be attempting to go to some weeks.

Do Better/Goals

One thing I would like to do better with is my sleep schedule. My energy has been great since starting Whole30. I feel energized all throughout the day - until I get tired which is around 9:30 every night. But despite this, I ignore my body telling me it's time for bed and stay on the couch watching TV until I fall asleep anyway. Then I have to wake myself later to trudge upstairs. I need to start listening to my body because it is already telling me when to go to bed.

I also found the Fit Girl's Guide program at some point this past week. They have an eating program and an exercise program. I'm not really interesting in trying a new program because this one has worked so well. I'm going to try to stick to some of the principles even after it is done. But, what I did like is that Fit Girl's Guide has a workout plan that is all at home. There's a little bit of dancing your butt of to your favorite music and some circuit work. It's just a 30 minute 'program,' and if you finish your dancing and circuit work, you can either dance more or add in your own choice of cardio. I want to try to do this once or twice a week on days that I can't get to a gym or class.

Quote

This is seriously one of my favorite parts! I have the next four weeks of quotes planned out already! It was so hard to choose which one to go with this week. As my reward for losing 10 lbs, I said that I'd get a new workout outfit, though. So today I'm off to the store to find something cute - and perhaps in black to mourn celebrate the loss of my fat.

Good luck this week to everyone participating, and anyone else out there with fitness and eating goals!

Slim Down Saturday - Part 3!

I'm back again for Slim Down Saturdays, although I am a little bit late. Check out Gina at Teaching With a Touch of Pixie Dust and link up! I swear I will start posting non-Slim Down stuff soon! My whole teaching life has been focused on getting my evidence binder completed and making it through a rough teaching week, so now that all of that is done, I should be set to go!

As always, my ultimate goal is 60 lbs. Some days I want to push that to 80 lbs. because that would be a healthier weight for me, but I think that if I can do the 60 lbs., I'll be happy with where I am.

Still going strong on Whole30, so I'm not sure how much I lost this week or how much I've lost since we've begun. I'm not allowed to weigh in until Feb. 1st. Maybe I'll post a day late that week so I can finally share my losses!

Last week, my goal was to actually go to an exercise class. That's why I am posting late. Saturday morning, I sat down to type this up, only to realize - Oh no! I didn't meet my goal. So, the next day I got my butt up off the couch and got myself to a Jazzercise class. I was so nervous going in, but luckily there were only five other people in the class and all of them were at least my mom's age, so it wasn't that bad. The instructor was super helpful and several of the ladies came up to me after to tell me that I did a great job for my first time.

My real positive is that I went to the movie theaters and didn't get any popcorn! It was super hard! I almost turned down going because I knew how difficult it would be to stop myself. There are certain foods people have emotional attachments to, and for me it's movie theater popcorn.

Next week, I need to get back on track with drinking enough water. I was doing well for a week, and then last week happened. This week, I'll keep it in the front of my mind again. I also want to go to two exercise classes this week. I signed up for a Pilates class, so that will be one, and I'll try to hit up Jazzercise again one day. I'm holding out on paying for a full membership until I see that I actually like the format enough.

Finally, with my puppy in my lap, I offer you my quote!

Good luck to everyone this week!

Slim Down Saturday

Wow! I can't believe it's been a week. This has seriously been the strangest week with all these school days cancelled due to cold weather. Hopefully next week is a much more typical week!

Are you participating in Slim Down Saturdays with Gina from Teaching with a Touch of Pixie Dust? If you're not, but you're working on slimming down 10 lbs. or 100 lbs. you definitely should link up! So far, it has helped me stay accountable!

So how did I do this week? Take a peek!

So, my ultimate goal is 60 lbs. I still don't know where I am now. Since I'm doing the Whole30 program this month, I will not be allowed to weigh in until the beginning of February! I'm going to be extra excited to mark down how much I've lost in January, though, when I finally am able to check!

I'm super proud of myself for having stuck to the program so far. Cutting out all grains, sugar, legumes, alcohol, and dairy is pretty tough. It limits a lot of what you can cook! It's been great though. The only time I've actually wanted one of those things this week was the day we were eating a taco salad. The meat I was eating was way too spicy and all I could think about was putting some sour cream on it to cool it down. It wasn't so much that I craved it - I just wanted to stop breathing fire! My husband suggested that I use my fiery mouth to melt the frost on our windows.

One of my goals from last week was to find an exercise program. I did do that! I actually found several. There's a Zumba class that meets locally. There's a yoga studio nearby. We also have two places close to us that do Jazzercise. And, our local park district is starting a Pilates class on the 19th. Plenty of options. Now I just need to pick one. And do it. I'm just having trouble when I think about doing it alone.

My goal for next week is to lower my grocery bill. While that may seem like it doesn't totally relate, it really does and it's super necessary! Whole30 is all about eating fresh foods. Last week, my grocery bill was over $200 for just 2 of us! This week, I got it under $170. Both of these seem way to much to me though. I need to figure out how to eat less expensive meats I think. I'm really picky about what meat I will eat though.

I love my quote! I need to tell myself to suck it up more often. I'm a wimp sometimes.

Good luck with your eating and fitness goals this week, ladies!

Until next time,

Slim Down Saturday

Two posts in one day - oops! I just learned about a new link-up called Slim Down Saturdays hosted by Gina at Teaching With a Touch of Pixie Dust. Like many others do in January, I've recently reevaluated my fitness and eating habits and want to make a change for the new year. This link-up seems like a perfect way to track and reflect on my progress.

My ultimate goal is probably more than 60 lbs., but if I was able to do 60, I'd be more than ecstatic! Yesterday, my husband and I started the #Whole30 challenge. I'll be weighing myself today (because I forgot to yesterday), but I won't be weighing in again until the beginning of February. The program helps people lose weight, but it is not the main goal, so people completing the program are encouraged not to step on a scale until the 30 days are over.

I hope that the number of the scale at the end of the 30 days is amazing. I also hope that the program helps other aspects though. I get chronic headaches, and after reading a book about the program, I've heard that completing the program can also help with issues like that.

Another health related resolution that I want to improve on is drinking more water. As teachers, we have limited bathroom breaks, but it's still important to get that water in. I'm working on drinking a full gallon a day. It's hard! I'll need to be creative to figure out ways to make that. I can't drink much at school, so we'll see if I'm able to drink enough in the mornings and evenings to make up for it.

An Instagram friend recently posted her fitness goals and some rewards as motivation. I liked the idea, so I created one of my own. I don't know if I'll get started on the running part right away because it is pretty cold in Illinois right now, but I want to work on finding a fitness or yoga class this week to join.

My word for this week is persevere. The #Whole30 program will be a tough one for me. Giving up grains, dairy, sugar, and legumes is like... giving up the majority of my diet. I nearly did it in the summer (minus the legumes, and only gluten), but I probably cheated now and again with going out and such. I hope this time I can have the willpower to get through the whole 30 days.

Do you have any fitness goals for the new year? Link up!

Teacher Team Building

Does your school have a Sunshine Committee? How does it work? In the past, our school's Sunshine Committee was made up of a grade level or specials team. It rotated each year. Until last year when it died. No one wanted to be forced to do extra stuff. I kind of understand.

This year, a teacher friend and I decided to help revive it because we missed the fun t-shirts (which Sunshine never did) and socializing with other teachers (again - not a previous part of Sunshine). I wasn't so much interested in the retirement parties and the showers and such. I wanted the fun!

Now - you may be wondering - Kristin, what does this have to do with teacher team building?

This year for Christmas, the Sunshine Committee decided to do a holiday team scavenger hunt! It was a blast.

Teams were grouped by grade levels and had a list of 100 items or tasks to take pictures of. Some of these were super easy - like a picture with a custodian or a piece of technology. Others were a bit trickier - like taking a picture of a teacher outside in the snow when it hasn't snowed all week!

Like I said, it was super fun and super successful. Why? Because it was silly and cute. But also because the teachers were working together. Collaborative plan time is something that is new in our school district. Before, teachers collaborated by sharing ideas. It was brief and sporadic because our plan times were all different. So what is collaboration supposed to look like now that we do have the time?

The scavenger hunt was a great tool to show us how to work together. All teams participated to different degrees. But for some teams, we saw them having planning meetings about how to get all the photos accomplished. We saw them creating 'agendas' for what needed to be done during their lunch times in order to get all their shots. We heard discussions of how to make a picture even better. We saw people working as a team to make it work.

In fact, it was so exciting and amazing that next year, we're thinking about doing it during our in-service week to help set a good tone for working together and to help new teachers and team members become part of the team.

It was hard (but fun) work for sure. Especially when it's also your final week of grad school and you have a 30 page paper due at the end of the week. It required a lot of careful planning to get all of our normal work done plus get the things for the scavenger hunt completed as well. But collaboration can be hard work too. Working as a team takes effort, and that's part of what we learned through doing this.

How do the teams work together at your school? Do you think your team would benefit from something like this? I'd love to hear more ideas of things that you do or have done that help your team gel and work together!