I'll still love you in orthopedic shoes.....

Something about my type A personality is that I don't like things I can't understand. I will learn and read and question until I "get it." I've felt so confused and lost about insurance. Anyone else feel me on this one? I never know what copays I should pay, if I'll get a bill after a doctor visit, what's covered, what's not, the whole shebang. AJ and I got on the same insurance last year and in a cleaning spree I came across this guide book. So Saturday morning I curled up with this fun (note sarcarm) read and highlighter in an attempt to understand our insurance benefits.

I learned a few valuable things. Like how rehab for major drug addiction is like whoa expensive (I wasn't looking for me, no worries, but I'm genuinely concerned about the finances of the Lohan family. That junk is not cheap). I also learned what doctor visits are covered under the Affordable Care Act, what our deductibles are, and best of all, that in old age, bed pans are not covered but bed rails are. This led to a heartfelt and silly convo between AJ and I about our life together in 70 + years. We might be young and in love now. But I can't wait to be old and in love then. Life is messy. If I didn't already know this, learning about home IV stands, shower chairs, and special canes while going over the benefits guide proves this fact. But in the mess, there's no one I'd rather get old with. And prosthetic limbs are even covered too, so even when we're literally falling apart, we're covered. But no amount of insurance benefits can trump the real life coverage of a loving heart beating next to mine and going through this crazy life with my husband holding my hand through all of it.

photo from babble.com 

What I'm loving lately....

I hope to make this post a regular one here at Sunday Kinda Love.....things/people/places/topics that I'm loving these days. 

1. Kaboom. Ok, I'm a cleaning nerd and I've tried every variety of bathroom cleaner but this one is the best. It goes on purple and then turns white when it's ready to wipe off. I'll be honest, this cool color changing feature may have been the reason I originally put it in my cart (I'm a 1st grader at heart, what can I say?) but it legit works. Cleaning bathrooms with this stuff is on my agenda today. This is real life, people. 

2. Please refer to my pumpkin post last week, but of course Pumpkin Spice Lattes are on the list. I had my first one on Wednesday. Heaven I tell you. 

3. Dave Ramsey Podcasts. I got into podcasts this past summer with the Big Boo Cast by two of my fave bloggers. Plus our church puts sermons out in podcast form so if you miss a Sunday you can keep up with the current message series. Love that. I discovered Dave Ramsey's podcast this week. I love financial advice like whoa and he has such a great message and attitude. I listen while at the gym, folding laundry, making dinner and sometimes in the car. I feel like an old grandma with my talk radio, but it keeps my brain busy while doing simple tasks and I can learn new stuff. Win-win.

image from collegecrunch.com 

4. Seasonal days teaching. This week was Apple Day and it was. so. fun. We tasted different apple varieties, did an apple type word search, a mini apple report, graphed our apple types, and read apple books. It was the first time I really felt I could loosen up a bit with this bunch of kids and have less-structured fun. These seasonal days are a fun way to mix up the norm and incorporate lots of subject areas under one theme. And Lord knows I love a good theme. Bring on pumpkin day and gingerbread day.....

5. Unexpected Sequels. This summer I read the adorable book "Whistlin Dixie in a Nor'easter" and while browsing at the library yesterday I discovered it has a sequel: "Southern as a Second Language." I see lazy times in our big comfy chair with a mug of tea and this read. 

Image from amazon.com 

6. Cupcakes. This is on the list not because I've had one lately but because they are near and dear to my heart. This week AJ and I decided to give up desserts for a while. We both have a bad habit of snacking an hour or two after dinner and that's not good. So we have been dessert free for 5 days and it's not so bad but I still love cupcakes and didn't want them feeling all bad so I included them here. Oh, and please refrain from telling me to "have some berries" to cure my sweet tooth because I WILL find a way to add some brown sugar and nuts to said berries and produce a cobbler, which newsflash: dessert. I don't trust myself with any after dinner anything. I'll keep you posted on this daring new world. 

image from chicagonow.com

7. These yoga pants. About 5 or so years ago I purchased a pair of these from TJ Maxx and loved them so much I went online to find them. I probably order 3-4 pairs a year and they are the best. Comfy for home days but perfect for the gym too. They are a great length and are one of the only pairs I've found that fit well on the hips. Check 'em out if you're a yoga pant fiend like myself. 

Image from The Girls Apparel 

That's all for today, folks! Have a glorious weekend!! 

Inspiration for your Thursday

Hi everyone!

   I haven't forgotten about the blog! It's been a busy (but good) week in teacher land. I wanted to pop in and share this song with you. I heard it a few weeks ago and it has been dancing around in my head ever since. Such a beautiful message. "Life's been a journey, I've seen joy, I've seen regret and you have been my God through all of it." Nothing is a a constant.....except our faith. How do you see God's handiwork woven through your story? Have a beautiful day!

Weekending: Labor Day Weekend!

Hi Everyone,
   First of all I want to give a big giant thank you to those of you who have been reading on this blog of mine It's been two months since I began and I have had the most fun creating it and it means the world to me that people actually read it. Thank you! xoxoxo

This weekend was a MUCH needed 3 day weekend. Friday I work up with the sniffles and the feeling of a little bug coming on. I laid around for most of the day Saturday and so needed it to give my body a break. I am feeling better now and am thankful for this bonus day.....my soul and my sanity needed it.

Thursday night AJ was at a Utah State football game with some pals so I took a long bubble bath, lit the cinnamon bun candle, had some adult beverages and watched Teen Mom....talk about my happy place! 

Friday morning coffee treat 

Our first spelling test was happening Friday morning and I see a kiddo struggling to write. He's trying to use this. I laughed, gave him a legit pencil, and stored this bad boy in my desk drawer. Crazy huh? 

Addition game fun on Friday

Friday night AJ suggested we try a new place for dinner, Hu Hot a Mongolian grill. We are both fans of noodles in any form so we were pretty pumped about it. We were not pleased. It was not cheap and the buffet of frozen beef chips and sketch looking chicken grossed me out. I have been to places like Benihana before and was sorta expecting a show. The people grilling our bowls of veggies and noodles (the raw meat turned my stomach so I went vegetarian for the evening) looked SO bored and were just chopping and tossing noddles like they were chained to the damn table. I couldn't put my finger on what it tasted like, but I think the closest I can get is that it tasted like the Asian variety of Lean Cuisines. We went to Scheel's after dinner because I was so jealous of my husband's Hydroflask water bottle I needed one of my own. Scheel's is my husband's playground so he made a beeline for the golf area. I was cracking up because someone put little Happy Meal Barbies in all the holes. AJ didn't even notice till I pointed it out!

Barbie in the hole! 

Sunday we had my family over for dinner (we made crockpot Italian Beef, one of our most favorite dinners) and today (Monday) we slept in, stopped for Starbucks, and went walking all around Memory Grove where we got married. I used to live in a tiny apartment just a block from there so it was great memories exploring my old hood. And now? Catching up on "I am Cait" and curling up with the new Harper Lee. And maybe a nap thrown in too. Tomorrow I go from Leslie to Mrs. Steele again and I am thankful for the breathing room before 1st grade fun begins again. Hope you had a great weekend!

That building there is where we said "I do" 

I've been on the library wait list for months. Finally got this in my hot little hand. Only about 30 pages in, hoping to finish it this week. 

Football and I: It's Complicated

I don't come from a real sports-centered family. I never really understood how football worked (well, I still don't really) and I looked forward to the Super Bowl for only 2 reasons: Half time show and Rotel and Velveeta dip. Even in high school, when my classmates were all excited for championship games and Friday nights at the field I just couldn't care less. Organizing my class binders was more exciting to me than donning a school pride sweatshirt and cheering on the guys (seriously, though, my class binders were a thing of beauty, I think God knew all along I'd be a teacher, my love for school supplies runs deep). In college, Gonzaga was all about basketball. I love Gonzaga and of course I always wished for victories, but again: I could really care less (please don't stone me, Gonzaga alumni). I remember freshman year people camped out for tickets and I couldn't think of anything more horrendous. Leave my bed and go sleep outside to wait in a line for tickets? No way, no how. I know my pals liked the camaraderie maybe even more than the basketball and chalked it up to an experience, but again, I could care less. I love that Gonzaga basketball put our school on the map and I always hope the Bulldogs win, but to sit down and actively watch a game? No thanks, I'll pass. I moved through my college and grad school years without a team to root for and I was as happy as can be. Can't we all just get along? Also could college athletic gear be any pricier? Rip to the off. I'm pretty sure no percentage of my brain space was spent on sports and I was happy that way. And then I met AJ in 2012.

Visiting the Home of the Beavers, Reser Stadium the day we got engaged. Praise the Lord he didn't propose right then and there. I'm all about embracing his passions, but awww hayl no. 

   My husband DOES come from a sports-centered family. He DOES understand how football works and he loves it (maybe more than I love school supplies, crazy huh?!). Once the first fall rolled around during our first year dating, I wondered how this would go. I explained to my new beau that football just wasn't my scene. Well, it was more than just "not my scene" I explained that I'd rather lose my beloved red polka dot day planner than even watch a game. We had been dating about 5 months at this point so I'm not sure he really understood the gravity of that statement. He was a HUGE fan of the Oregon State Beavers and I saw how much joy watching games and getting pumped up for them brought him. I gave it a try and watched some games with him. He was patient with me and even calmly explained that the words "Washington Punts" on the screen were not the name of a player as I originally thought. I want to tell you I am now a die-hard "can't miss a second of a game" fan. But spoiler alert: Ummm, no.

Cake my mom made for my OSU-loving hubby on his birthday 

Here's the thing: I don't like sports (please don't disown me, Steele fam) and I don't think I ever will. HOWEVER, I love seeing my husband's passion when it's game day. I love some of my new OSU  gear I will wear in solidarity with the Steeles. I love fall afternoons on the coach with my babe while he gets pumped for kick off and I browse on Pinterest or flip though People magazine and cheer right along when he does. I love that anytime I meet someone from Oregon, I ask if they are a beaver or a duck. If they say duck I am immediately distrustful.

OSU swag on game day. Clothes and wreaths, and stickers oh my 

 I love that my family has become honorary Beavers and cheer right along with AJ. I love that college football brings people together. I love the snacks (Of course). I love that football season marks the start of fall and that there's always a game on. I love that I now have a "team" to root for and I never really did before. And most of all I love that my husband loves me even though I will never love football. How can I when there are binders to organize and day planners to write in?

The garter toss at our wedding was done to the Oregon State fight song and I surprised AJ with an OSU garter that we put on a football. The wedding can't be alllll details for just the bride, right? 

 In the meantime, here's wishing the Beavers a successful season and Godspeed to your team, whoever they are, wherever they play.

25 Thoughts when everything pumpkin comes out....

1. Fall is here!!!
2. I am ready for boots, people! And infinity scarves, and crispy leaves, and cozy evenings and drinking a mug of something warm while wearing mittens like I always see on pinterest.
3. It's still sorta hot out...and the pool is open. I wore flip flops today but never mind, FALLLLLLLLL

I bought this. And it was gross. 

4. A chocolate chip bagel with pumpkin shmear from Einstein's is my true one and only love language
5. "I'll take a Pumpkin spice latte please" 7 best words in the English language
6. I was never this excited about pumpkins when I was younger. Because pumpkins used to mean Halloween, which meant candy, and now I'm much more sophisticated and pumpkins represent fall.
7. But I wonder if they make pumpkin candy....like pumpkin M &M's could be a thing? Thoughts?
8. I really need a cute flannel plaid button up to go with my skinny jeans (which might not fit after the aforementioned bagel binge, see number 4) and boooooots. This will be my uniform for all hayrides.
9. I don't know where I'll be going on said hayrides but it'll happen. Oh yes it will.

I'm not Southern. And I probably wrote this around August sometime. Just keepin it real. 

10. I really need to get planning my "Pumpkin Day" for my 1st graders. It's never too early to teach the joy of FALLLLLL.
11. I taught my class that a pumpkin is like a squash/gourd thing.
12. I am getting excited eating a stinky sticky squash, wait...letting that sink in for a sec
13. NEVERMIND, PSL's for everyone! I wish Starbucks was like a bar where I could say, "A round on me, good sir!" I've never said that in a bar, but that's how it goes in my fantasy of buying PSL's for everyone in the south valley.
14. Husband reminds me that we have pumpkin flavored everything in the house but no actual pumpkins. Must remedy.
15. Visit pumpkin patch where I wish I was wearing flip flops instead of my fall uniform because it's 85 degrees out.
16. We don't have kids. Make husband pose on tractor and pushing wheeelbarrow of enormous pumpkins.
17. OBVI we need something pumpkin flavored after the pumpkin patch. Themed Saturday, yay!

Move over, kid. I get that you're all dressed up in your "I'm the cutest little pumpkin" get-up from Old Navy but we would like a photo op by the truck with pumpkins too, ahem. 

18. Pumpkins make me think of cozy fall mornings so I should bake and make the house smell amazing and all fall-ish.
19. No pinterest I will not get my own pumpkin puree straught from the pumpkin. #slimey. Hand me that can of Libby's.
20. Hold up. I can actually make dinner INSIDE a pumpkin instead of a pan. SIGN ME UP! Dinner in a pumpkin
21. Yes, you're right, honey, it does look like poo. Let's grill instead because it's still hot out and not at all fall-ish.
22. Did you know that pumpkins have health benefits? This is very good to know. Sips on a 8458 calorie pumpkin spice latte with a side of a pumpkin muffin.
23. Pumpkins mean fall, fall means October, October means pre-Christmas, pre-Christmas means......
24. !!!!!!!!!!
25. It's the most wonderful time of the YEEEEEEEEARRRRRR.......time to go Christmas shopping!

Little of this...little of that

When I first started blogging a few months ago I vowed to never let myself feel pressure about the blog. It is meant for my memories, for a chance to write and express myself. I refuse to think of it like a job or like homework That said, I unfortunately have another stream of consciousness post for ya'll. I do have some fun and interesting post ideas marinating in my brain, but that will have to wait for the weekend(s) because well, I spend 8 hours a day with 6 year olds. Speaking of school, things are going better. Much better. I attribute this to a few things: 1) They are getting into the groove. Full day school is new to them. Having me as a teacher is new to them. It's an adjustment period. 2) Homework/regular curriculum has begun. I get the need for procedure and practice. Tons of it. But you know what? pencil sharpening procedure is boring as hell and so are recess rules for that matter. Academics have kicked in and I am so very happy about this. 3) I'm granting myself grace. Loads of work still on my desk? Go home, Leslie! Parent emails that I let sit for more than an hour? Sure. Realizing that not everyone likes Junie B. Jones books as much as I do? Ok, no biggie. I'm still exhausted and not completely used to this new bunch yet, but I'm getting there. We're getting there and that feels good. I heard this song on Friday and it has made it's way to my "Top 25 most played" in a matter of days. Must be the 2 workout days in a row where I only listened to this one song. Fave new jam.

        AJ and I made a yummy new recipe the other night that I had every intention of making into a blog post, but when I sat down to write it I realized "Add any veggies you like into a skillet with olive oil and garlic. Toss with pasta. Add parmesan" isn't really a recipe I thought I'd spare you. You're welcome. I am a major pasta fan and like to think the healthy veggies here offset the carbs and cheese. Don't tell me the truth please.

    Here's some photo  snippets from the week. Now I'm going to straighten my hair and listen to Norah Jones and probably be asleep by 9:30. I told you I put no pressure on myself with blogging content and I meant it. I have nothing to give but my word, folks. Have a happy week, everyone!

We went to the library Saturday and there was a "Pet-a-Palooza" going on (I'm not making that up, that was the real name). I immediately begged AJ to take me to the kitten area. Oh my. I fell in love. LOVE. This precious kitty was named Finn and his tag (printed on chevron print paper) said he was a "lovable guy just looking for a good home." I have a good home to give ya, Finnegan (that's his more formal name I decided). Hubs is not a cat guy. Wants nothing to do with it. I threatened to go all single mom and fill out the adoption papers on my own, but I decided to choose peace instead. Finnegan Redmond Steele (his full name for monogramming purposes), don't you worry! I'll find you again one day. 

On Sunday I did homework for my close reading class until Pandora asked "Are you still listening?" 3 times. Only a few weeks left. Amen. 

my new fall house sign. I only cursed about my handwriting about 73 times. Pinterest you and your pretty fonts have ruined my chalkboard self esteem 

I'm digging this getting to work at the crack of dawn thing. Productivity, come to me.  I don't think it'll last more than a few weeks because going to work when it's still dark out gets me all stabby, but I'll take pretty sunrises like this while I can. 

Is this a masterpiece or what? Hubby tried to preserve it and pack it in his lunch but I told him the bubble would probs collapse in Tupperware overnight. AJ was crushed. So was the bubble.