After a tearful goodbye, I am back in NorCal! Don’t get me wrong – I love where I live. But after a week of endless support and unconditional love, it’s pretty hard to say goodbye to your family.

Luckily, many of you replied with “NEVER!” Great. So I’ll be a sappy, sobbing mess for the rest of my life. Or I’ll just move back in with my parents.

The drive back up was not too bad – took about 6 hours. I only stopped once. On long roadtrips, I like to play the, “See How Long You Can Drive Til Your Bladder Explodes!” game. Keeps me engaged as I drive. 

I got back, put away the endless supply of food my mom sent back with me, and then met up with Jen for a drink at Sonoma Chicken Coop.

Sunday was all about prepping for the week. Luckily for me, I don’t have much food prep to do this week. But I am getting a new student, have 3 IEPs this week, and did ZERO work over the break, so I just got caught up on some work-related stuff.

In other news, I got a new phone.

I made the decision to not add my work e-mail to my phone. Yes, having it on there was convenient. And a great way for parents to get an immediate response. But sometimes that’s just not necessary. What may be good for you may not be good for me or my health.

I also got a fun little surprise in the mail.

Joy is one of my close friends from UCLA – even though it’s been so long since I’ve seen her! We met during our second year through UniCamp and stayed close throughout college. Even though we’re on opposite ends of the state, I love her so much and can’t wait for the wedding! It’s going to be in Oahu so that’s even more exciting.

I ended the evening watching the Oscars – a relaxing, but productive Sunday indeed!

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Your Turn!

Were you a Kristin Chenoweth fan last night?  Or did you want to punch her in the face? 

I’ve gotta be honest here. I LOVE HER. I’m a huge fan of Wicked. And also of her drunken self on Glee. So I LOVED watching her get all giddy and crazy last night.

Best dressed/Worst dressed? 

Reminder – Today is the last day to enter the giveaway. Check it out! 

I’m blessed. Whichever which way you look at it.

Yes, I live here:

But I also live here:

Just taking today to really appreciate all that I have.

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But before you leave, head on over to Tina Reale’s blog and check out my guest post. And then sign up for Best Body Bootcamp! Do it. Best decision ever.

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. Despite my crazy life right now, I love those few “moments of disconnect” that I get – when all the chaos just gets put to the side and I take the time to sit back and appreciate all that I’ve been given.

I’m so thankful for getting to live in such a beautiful place.It’s so colorful during this time of year and I am definitely experiencing a whole different type of fall/winter than I’m used to.

I am so thankful for my job. Yes, there are those moments where I feel like I’m in over my head. Or when I’m a frazzled mess by the end of the day. But I love what I do. I love getting to see my kids every single day. I love that feeling of excitement when a student makes a connection between what we’re learning to something else they’ve read/seen/experienced. I love this job and, though it comes hand-in-hand with a ton of paperwork and a huge decline in my sleep and social life, I know that the challenges I face are making me a stronger, more effective educator.

I am so thankful for this book. 

It’s helping me take a step back from my life and looking at it with an entirely different perspective. I have so much to be grateful for – I just don’t take the time to do it. I think that’s partially why I stop blogging for long periods at a time. Yea, I’m busy. But I also feel so drained and exhausted (and quite frankly…a little pissy) at the end of the day that blogging is the last thing I want to do. I’ve been spending so much time rehashing the negatives of my day when I get home from work: spilling my coffee all over the front seat of my car, my lesson failing miserably and then raising my voice at my students (as if thats going to fix the problem), a co-worker never responding to my e-mails asking for feedback on a student, didn’t make it to the gym because I wrote reports until 10PM…..I can go on and on about what goes wrong each day. But if I do that, I never really take the time to appreciate what’s RIGHT.

Sure, I don’t agree with everything that Gretchen Rubin writes. But there are several things that I could absolutely relate with. I’m still not done with the book but there have already been a few changes I’ve been implementing in my daily routine each day as a result of her project.

The one-minute rule. If it takes less than a minute, do it. Hang up your coat. File a bill. Respond to an e-mail. Because on Saturday morning, it’s so much nicer to not wake up to a pile of clothes on the floor (and table and bed and dresser and kitchen….okay you get it).

Start a gratitude journal. This is something I’ve loved doing. Sure, I don’t blog everyday. But every night I write a couple sentences about what happened each day and what I’m grateful for. To remind myself that life is great. And so what if a colleague pissed me off? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.

Tackle a nagging task. Currently working on that right now (well, taking a few minutes break to write this). It’s not the most ideal thing, but I know that once it’s done, I’ll feel so much better.

I’m only halfway through the book so I’m sure I’ll have more to add later. But wanted to post today. Because it’s Thankful Thursday. And because I have so much to be thankful for.

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What are you thankful for? 

I just got my phone fixed. The screen cracked back in August and little shards of glass were starting to fall out. So I took it to a place in Cupertino and fo $86, he was able to change the screen in less than an hour.

Not going to lie – I was a little confused when I left the store to figure out what to do for an hour. No Yelp app to find me a place for lunch. No Twitter to keep me occupied. No Google reader to read blog posts. No texting, no phone calls. Yes, this sounds ridiculous. I guess I’m more attached to my phone than I thought. I kept reaching into my pocket – I felt like a piece of me was missing.

I decided to start driving toward the mountains toward Picchetti Winery - a place I was familiar with. Along the way, I noticed that there was a sign for Stevens Creek County Park. I pulled into the parking lot and was immediately amazed at how beautiful it was. This place is DEFINITELY underused. I don’t know whether it was the weather that made the park so isolated. But OH MY GOSH. It was absolutely gorgeous. All I heard was the sound of rain and the creek nearby. The colors were beautiful – yellows, greens, reds, oranges…something that I never did see much living in LA. There were so many squirrels running up and down the trees and a couple deer just FEET from me (not gonna lie – I got a little nervous when they got closer). But after 15-20 minutes went by, I was completely relaxed….just watching everything around me in complete awe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I feel so blessed to live in such a gorgeous place. I know I don’t take the time to really appreciate it. So I was very happy for this mandatory break from my to-do lists and my social-media obsession.

Somebody needs to take my phone away from me more often…..

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When was the last time you were completely disconnected? 

On Friday, I stayed at work until 9:30PM. I had the wonderful pleasure of chaperoning the Halloween dance at school. If you follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook, you know what I dressed up as…………

“Dressed up” as a cockblocker. A damn good one at that.

I had no idea that middle school kids could dance the way they did. What happened to the good ol’ days when girls were lined up on one side of the gym and guys on the other?

Regardless, I had fun watching the more innocent ones freak out, run all over the place, and squeal with excitement every time One Direction or Justin Bieber was played. I had just as much fun poking my head in and bustin’ a move in the middle of a couple that was getting a little too frisky with their hands. I am the expert middle-school cockblocker. Oh UniCamp, you have taught me so well.

The dance ended around 9PM and the last kid was picked up at 9:30. At that point, I was starving so a co-worker and I went to Guapo’s in Downtown Campbell to grab a late dinner and some drinks.

Guapo’s Sangria-Rita. It’s no swirl, but it’s pretty darn good.

Saturday:

We drove up to Palo Alto to go to the Stanford vs. Washington State game. We drove up a little earlier so we could grab some food (and not succumb to the appeal of stadium food after a few drinks).

Thanks to the reliable Yelp app, we found Saint Michael’s Alley. The food was delicious, but my favorite part were their cranberry mimosas. So refreshing and yummy.

Cranberry Mimosa – DELICIOUS.

Fall Veggie Omelette w/Swiss and Parmesan

The tailgating definitely had me missing our tailgates at the Rose Bowl. And basically everything about college. I wanted to wear a sign around my neck that said, “These four years are the BEST of your life. Please enjoy every second of it. There’s nothing quite like this experience.” But that’s just weird. So I held off. But every so often I’d get a huge temptation to strike up a conversation with a college kid just to share my two cents. Don’t get me wrong. I love my life, love what I do…love where I’m at. But there really is nothing that is comparable to the college experience. Nothing.

Very different than the Rose Bowl experience. I felt like I was tailgating in the forest.

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What was your favorite middle-school dance song?!
Mine was probably “Too Close” by Next. Although at the time, I had no idea what the song meant. I tell you, I was sheltered throughout middle school and high school!

What are some of your favorite memories from college?
I miss those late-night conversations with friends…the ones where you’re all crammed into a tiny dorm room, 5 people on a bed, nobody wanting to go to bed. The talks that last until 4AM when you all have a midterm to study for or a paper you should be writing. Or the fact that all of your best friends live within feet from you. There’s really nothing like it.

Good morning and Happy Hump Day!

I’m a little more cheerful today because yesterday was surprisingly more relaxing than the average Tuesday. The district hired a sub for me because I was required to attend a training on a writing program I am going to start implementing in my classroom – Step Up to Writing. I can tell that this program will be so beneficial for my students. Color-coordination, kinesthetic activities, tons of structure – it’s a SPED classroom’s dream come true!

Work and Lunch

The training was supposed to last the whole day, but we were done by 1:15! I wanted to try out a new sandwich place for lunch so I whipped out the old iPhone and went searching on Yelp. I saw a place called Pebbles Deli Cafe with 4-stars, looked delicious, and it was brand new to me. Or so I thought…..
You know that crazy feeling where you feel like you’ve been somewhere before because it looks so familiar (yea, you idiot. It’s called deja vu)? When I parked my car and started walking toward the restaurant, that feeling hit. But it wasn’t just a FEELING. It was like a 10th sense. I knew I had been there before. So I stalked my Facebook pictures (how often do you hear that a person stalks themself on FB?). And SURE ENOUGH, I had come here back in 2009 when Jen, Randy, and I flew up north for a weekend in November 2009.

PROOF!!!!!!!

This was before I knew I wanted to live here. This was before I knew anything about Cupertino…or NorCal for that matter. It was some weird coincidence. Or maybe the stars aligned and some voodoo stuff happened and some magical higher power brought me to this place in 2009 as a sign that I would be returning as a RESIDENT in 2012. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

Anyway, I ordered the Cupertino Sub – turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, pepperoncinis, onions, mustard, mayo on top of some of the softest wheat bread I’ve ever had.

I also took a picture of where we were sitting last time. So craze.

Don’t mind my Trader Joes purse in the picture.

I spent the rest of the day catching up on e-mails (yes, I have e-mails from August that I am still responding to) and bootcamp (x2)!

Bootcamp:

The workout today for Best Body Bootcamp (which will now be referred to as BBB) included some steady cardio. I chose to do my cardio on the elliptical while reading “If I Die, Please Bring Cheesecake to My Funeral” by Donloree Hoffman. This was such a great, quick-read and I found myself not wanting to stop until it was done. If you get a chance, check it out. It’s reasonably priced and kept me laughing the entire time I was on the elliptical (which is hard to do). More in-depth review of the book coming soon!

I also went to the group bootcamp class last night and the instructor laughed at me when he saw how I wrapped my ankle. Apparently wrapping your ankle is an art and I clearly don’t know how to do it. But I was grateful that he wrapped it for me because it’s feeling a lot better today. I’m also feeling the effects of the “alligator crawl” - I can’t decide if those are as physically draining as burpees or a tad bit easier. Regardless, a love-hate relationship exists for both. Like a love-hate triangle.

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When’s the last deja vu moment you had? 

BBB Participants – what’s your cardio of choice?! 

Order “If I Die, Please Bring Cheesecake to my Funeral!” and let me know what you think! 

I’m in Saratoga! YAY! =) There’s something comforting about Juan and Jen’s apartment – maybe it’s the smell of candles right when you walk in. Or the instrumental music that plays in the background while we’re all working. Or just the fact that I’m with my bestest friend in the world.

Today’s adventures:

Woke up and went to Kinko’s to scan everything (life license, my letter of rec for Stephen, and my own letters of rec to have on file). It’s such a rip-off that they charge you per minute and not per document scanned. I feel so frantic once my card’s in their machine. Especially when the scanner has to warm up. Do that on your own time buddy. This times being charged to my Visa. Thank you very much.

Then, came home, finished packing for NorCal, and managed to clean up most of the house before Mom and Dad got home from the conference. Left the house by 1PM. The drive wasn’t too bad. I definitely don’t mind traveling alone – 7 hours to myself is pretty wonderful. =) Stopped only once to pee – my bladder’s pretty strong.

Finally got to Jen’s where she immediately told me about her river rafting bachelorette party trip. Where she fell out of the raft. No jokes. The picture shows her body in the water with her two legs up in the air. She also proceeded to sing the song about COLOMA. I love her =) I love how she’s such a huge dork.

We went to Willow Street Pizza for dinner. Juan got Chicken Tequila Pasta. Jen got the Taco Salad (chicken on the side obvi) and I got the Greek Salad w/Chicken (no dressing!). Thank god I went light on the actual meal, because they brought the most AMAZING honey wheat bread for the table. I’m not exaggerating. It was just the perfect amount of doughiness and thickness. A mix between a pretzel and a piece of bread. No need for oil and vinegar to dip it in – the flavor was ridiculously wonderful.

Now, we’re all sitting on our laptops while Jen preps for work tomorrow. I should be prepping for the interview tomorrow – not too sure how to prep though. I really want to get there early tomorrow so I can just walk around the area and see Stanford. Reminder to self – bring extra clothes to change in tomorrow after interview! I bet it will be SO NICE and I’ll want to walk around the area. Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow