Loving Lemon!

I have been lemon obsessed these days.I think it's my high hopes for spring/summer weather and just loving the fresh flavor and versatility! 

I have made two lemon recipes this month that I have really liked.

The first one is this Creamy Lemon Shrimp Pasta. This was probably one of my fave recipes I've made this year. It was creamy yet light and so refreshing and tasty. 

I made these Lemon Blossoms from Paula Deen last weekend and they were delicious. Disclaimer: I tried making them in a mini muffin tin and it turned into a MESS. I greased the cups but they got all stuck and my kitchen was a crumbly lemony mess (truth). SO....I decided to bake in a regular muffin pan with muffin papers and that made a difference (They still stuck to the paper quite a bit....this recipe might need some tweaking). These tasted like Starbucks lemon loaf! 

I found some other recipes that I thought my be good for my lemon loving self:

-I wrote a post last spring with a recipe I love for lemon pasta that I adore. 

-These Lemon Raspberry Muffins sound amazing and with the exception of the berries, you probably have most of the ingredients at home! 

-Lemon Parmesan Broccoli on the grill?! Sign me up! I can't wait to make this next time we grill.

-Crockpot Lemon Chicken this looks easy, yummy, and you could pair it with lemon linguine and the broccoli recipe above and have a whole lemon feast. I'm adding this recipe to my meal plans. 

-Pink Lemonade Cake would make the perfect summer dessert. Light, refreshing, and pretty! 

This Lemon Rosemary Hummus looks so delicious! Give me a pile of carrots and some Stacy's Pita chips! I think I might invest in some tahini this spring so I can make all. the. hummus. 

There's nothing quite like a refreshing summer cocktail. Add berries and lemons and you have a winner! I can't wait to make this White wine lemon strawberry spritzer

I'll leave you with this lemon quote from This Is Us because I'm obsessed with it. 

Blog Link Up: Work Life/Home Life

Hey Everyone,
   Our awesome link up hosts, Erika and Shay moved their monthly link to today. I just love this fun link up. Here are the topics coming up:

Today is all about balancing work and home life. I love this topic, but I feel like I need to preface: I don't have as much to balance as many of you do. It's just AJ and I at home for one (mamas, working or stay at home, are my heroes!) and I am on my 8th year teaching the same grade so I don't spend near as much time on work as I used to. So, that being said, I am NO expert on balancing it all and admire those of you with extremely full plates to balance. I do feel like I have some tips and tricks that help me that might help you too!

1. Meal Prep: This is number one because it has changed my life (no exaggeration). On Sundays we set aside an hour or so and prep most lunches and at least ingredients for dinners, if not entire dinners (chop veggies, grill chicken etc). It helps me eat better and makes it so as soon as I get home from work, I empty my lunch box and fill it up again for the next day in about 90 seconds. AJ and I eat the same lunches so that makes it super duper easy. I also meal plan throughout the week and do all my grocery shopping on Fridays or Saturdays for the week. Not doing the daily grocery store thing will feel like freedom.

2. To Do Lists: If it's not on paper, it's not happening. I will forget things that aren't written down so I always have a to do list going at school and at home. Some things are "must dos" and others are "nice to dos" but either way, I must organize my thoughts on paper. Post-its are my bestie as well.

3. Multi-task: I need to be careful with this one to make sure I am being present, but I like killing 2 birds with one stone. I watch TV or listen to podcasts when I get ready in the mornings, make dinner, fold laundry. I'm able to watch all my "shows" without zoning out on the couch for hours (I do that a fair amount too).

4. Embrace Mornings: It's amazing what you can accomplish in the early mornings: I used to get to school early--like 6:30 early, in my early days of teaching. Now? No way. But I still love a good early morning chunk of time at school. Sometimes I'll fit my workout for the day in the morning and then it's done! I alternate showering in the morning and at night so sometimes my morning routine can go faster if I've flat ironed my hair the night before. And I always plan 5 days worth of outfits on Sunday for the week and move them to a special area of my closet. It takes all guess work out of getting dressed in the mornings.

5. Say No: This is a biggie. You cannot, I repeat, cannot do it all. Say that ten times each morning and you may start to believe it. Only do what you need to and what you want to. That event at church that looks sorta interesting? Skip it if you're not all in. Scrubbing the kitchen floors? Maybe I can do that tomorrow or even next week. It's ok to say no. You can't pour from an empty cup. I'm still learning this one.

6. Don't Make Hard and Fast Rules: I used to bring home work all the time, then I made a rule that I would "never bring work home." Neither way really worked for me. Sometimes I'll bring home papers to grade or my lesson plan book to plan and some weeks the thought of that makes my stomach turn. It's not all or nothing----some weeks you want to/need to, other weeks you don't. Throwing out the "I never/I always" added a great degree of flexibility in my teaching and in my home life.

7. Put a pause on Email: This one is really hard for me. Nowhere in any teaching contract that I know of does it say "faculty member must be on call 24/7 for parent/student concerns and questions." I have a bad habit of checking my work email 2-3 times each day after I drive away from school in the afternoon. Most of the time it's no big deal and I can reply back quickly and be there for my students and their families. Sometimes checking my email while making dinner stresses me out. I am learning to be better at this and maybe you need to repeat what I tell myself when it comes to "urgent" email issues: A lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. It's not life or death with the 1st grade book report and an answer is almost never required right this instant. I'm still working on this.

8. Cut Yourself Slack/Give Grace: Some mornings you'll hit snooze one too many times and you'll need to leave the bed unmade and your cereal bowl still at the counter. Some days the perfectly prepped meal in tupperware is just not doing it for you, and you look at your hubby and say "Cafe Rio. With chips and queso." Sometimes you get in your feel good workout and you realize you didn't even ask your husband how his day was. Sometimes you spend an hour after school working on stuff and you still feel unprepared for tomorrow. Sometimes you just need an evening with popcorn and the DVR and zero phone/email time. Sometimes you decide to ditch the gym, bust out of school at 3:30 and hit up Target for some red tag deals. You do you, girlfriend. We are all in this together after all.

Present > Perfect

It's no secret I am a huge fan of Shauna Niequist's writing. A few years ago I picked up her devotional, "Savor," at Barnes and Noble (truth: I was drawn to it because the cover on some editions is fabric and just oh so cute) and instantly fell in love. Her writing is candid, insightful, and downright beautiful. I was so excited when I picked up her book "Present Over Perfect" and read it during my February trip to Phoenix. Just the title alone has become a bit of a mantra for me----with teaching, home life, self care, marriage, friendships. Presence is worth so so so much more than perfection. In fact, perfection really doesn't have a place. And that is a relief.

   I'm a fan of planning, organizing, and scheduling. It's who I am, people!! It's what I like, what I love, actually, what I'm passionate about. That's one of the many reasons I enjoy teaching. I love having a unit end goal in mind and lesson planning and scheduling out projects and activities. And my students are in my class so they just have to go along with my plans, haha. I like countdowns and stickers for my planner and goals. I will always be like that. God made me that way and learning to love yourself means learning to love the parts that make you, well, YOU. And dang it, I love a good calendaring (yes I verb I use often) session.

I planned on having a bouncing 10 month old daughter around this time. Yikes, it's weird even typing that. But I don't have a 10 month old daughter. I have memories of my daughter who never grew beyond 6 days on Earth and a grave I visit sometimes. How is that for ruined plans? Having Hadley and holding her in my arms as she slipped from this life is obviously a dramatic example and not something most people have to encounter, but still, there were plans and hopes and dreams and then there weren't anymore. Perfect plans=shattered. It might seem odd to connect that experience with my reflections lately on being more present, but to me, they totally relate.

One, there's no such thing as perfect. There just isn't. Everyone has a burden. Everyone. That lesson is monumental to me in being more present. You never know what kind of turmoil someone is dealing with, so ditch perfection and work on being present (SO not easy, but a worthy goal).

As we extend grace and presence to others, we mustn't forget to give the same gifts to ourselves. As I worked through this book, I wrote down some quotes that really resonated with me. One of my favorites is, "Our days are for loving, learning, laughing, not for pushing, planning reminding." That one stopped me in my tracks. What if I made a list of all the verbs I did in one day's time? Eat, sleep, read, drive, workout, talk, reply, work. I don't like those verbs as much as I like nourish, grow, mend, listen, restore, energize, laugh. Niequist writes, "Hustle is the opposite of heart." and I could not agree more. I always joke and sing to AJ, "I'm a hustler, baby," (I promised I'd be honest on this blog, and that is some embarrassing honesty right there, people. I usually accompany it with a little dance, too. It's ok, unfriend me). Our world asks us to be hustlers: go, go, go, never stop, give it your all, all the time, never stop, keep running, keep doing. UGH. I don't know about you, but I want less hustle--more heart. Heart is good.

I'm writing this laughing at myself because I need so much work on this. SO much. I can overlook a conversation with a child because I'm grading a math quiz. I can neglect to ask AJ about his AP test review session, because I'm out the door, running to the next place. I can not stop and ask a friend how they are really doing and just reply with a "that's good." (One of my friends asked me this summer, "How are you doing? REALLY?" and I've never forgotten it. I've spent so much of my life saying "good," that it's refreshing when you can break down and tell someone how you really feel, how you really are.)

But the really neat part is that even though I could use some serious work on this idea of presence, no one is asking me not to be ME. I'm a planner, an organizer, a striver, and all of those "Leslie" things can coexist peacefully right along with extending grace and care to others and to myself. Somewhere in my brain I thought that tying to focus more on peace and presence meant being perfect at that. Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect at not trying to strive for perfection. I think I need this tattooed on my face where I can see it everyday. (Kidding). Oh friend, just relax. As Shauna writes, God is just "asking you to be the thing he created you to be." Breathe in, breathe out, and sip, savor, play, laugh, frolic, rest, slow down, appreciate, and reach out because life is short (boy is it ever) and "I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize the best thing about me was that I was organized and never missed a detail." 

I really really hate that quote, "Plans fall apart so something better can fall together." Because those plans that fell apart meant something. Those plans were loved. BUT.....Plans, like life, aren't perfect. It's time to wake up and be present. Which verbs do you want to fill your days? 

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie 

Page & Screen

Hey Everyone,

    I decided to combine my book and TV posts into one place lest you think all I do is watch TV, I read too! I tell my 1st graders to get off the screens at home and pick up a book so I try and heed my own advice now and again. PS) If you follow me on Insta, I put all my books there too. Sorry for the double post, but Insta helps ME keep track! 

I am on books 10 and 11 for 2017 (I set the goal for 30 books this year). Book 10 is "Barefoot" by Elin Hilderbrand--I wanted a light-ish chick lit read. Book 11 is the audio book of "The Magnolia Story." It just makes me more obsessed with The Gaines'. Can they adopt me? 

I recently finished "Hey Harry, Hey Matilda," a novel that takes place entirely through email exchanges between a quirky brother sister duo. It started out witty and fun and then got real strange real fast. There's a twist at the end that had me immediately googling the book to see what others thought. It was just ok....a super fast read which was nice and I loved the format of emails. 

I finally (after a month and 11.5 hours) finished listening to "A Hundred Summers" on audio. I absolutely loved this book. LOVED it. It was romantic, got me thinking, had plenty of twists and turns, characters I was rooting for, and it all takes place in the '30's. Glamour, much? This isn't exactly a super light read but if you're looking to be swept away into an epic drama of friendship, marriage, and family ties for a while, pick this one up. There's a lot of meat to it and despite the cover, it is much much more than a beach read. 

I would be lying if I said the fact that the narrator and lead of the book "A Paris Wife" is named Hadley didn't add to my reasons for picking this one up. I love historical fiction but tend not to read too much of it (I don't want to be fact checking poolside, mmkay?) but this one has been on my list for years. I really enjoyed it. It makes you sort of think Ernest Hemingway is a bit of a jerk, but like "A Hundred Summers," it is a sweeping narrative that transports you to another time and place. And now I want to visit Paris.

I read Present Over Perfect and loved it so much I am dedicating a whole blog post to it, so look for that coming up. I also read "Giddy Up Eunice" by one of my fave bloggers, Boo Mama. This book was cute--much more like a devotional/biblical than her other books which are more autobiographical. Overall, though, I loved the message of women needing each other and reaching across generational lines to make positive connections with one another. 

Ok, that's enough pages, let's talk TV!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention THE BACHELOR. Yes I tuned in faithfully every week (ABC Monday nights own me), but this was my very least favorite season (even worse than Ben Flajnik, that's serious, people). I was always Team Nick but his arrogance this season was so off putting. I never really felt true chemistry with him and any of the women. I feel like there was so much pressure for him to just find someone so America wouldn't roll their eyes again at him. I am so excited for Rachel's season of The Bachelorette---she's funny, cute, smart, and props to ABC for adding some diversity. 

The Voice: I'm not as into this show as I was last season. I miss Miley! Alicia is still my most fave, but the Blind Auditions were sort of boring. This is a show I have on while I grade, make dinner, do my makeup, etc. It definitely doesn't require my full attention. I'll probably keep watching because I like the songs but it's not my favorite.

American Housewife: I love this show. I think it's so adorable and relatable, definitely one of my favorite sitcoms. Anna Kat is my soul sister.

This is Us: This show is perfection. After each episode, I'm just so blown away by the heart, dialogue, soul, and honesty of this show. It deals with marriage, parenthood, baby loss, adoption, body image, weight loss, heart break, careers, cancer, homosexuality, alcoholism, guilt, drug use, sibling relationships, race, and more..it's an hour of your week you won't regret. 

Keeping Up with the Kardashians: This show premiered again this week! It's ridiculous, they are all out of touch with reality, but I love it and this looks like it'll be a good season. I can' wait to see the part about Kim's robbery unfold. 

Big Little Lies: This is an HBO show based on one of my favorite books by Liane Moriarty. It's a "limited series" and I think they've stretched it as far as it can go. It's pretty dark and scandalous (the book was too) and I love the power house cast: Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Reese Witherspoon. It's a great Sunday night show.

Teachers: If you are an elementary teacher and are not watching this, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! This is a hilarious sitcom on TV Land. It's relatable (not too far from the truth), laugh out loud funny, and just a tad inappropriate. You don't have to be a teacher to give this one an A plus.

Girls: This is sadly the final season of this show. I absolutely adore this show and each episode is so full of rich dialogue, funny moments, and insightful commentary on being a young woman today. I can't wait to see how this season wraps up. I am a forever fan of this show.

Other shows I'm into: My Big Fat Fabulous Life, American Crime, Superstore, Teen Mom, Young and Hungry, and always Dateline because of course. 

A New Decade

Oh my goodness: I'm 30 now, guys. 30. And I'm really excited about it. The 20's were pretty great (I calculated last night that I lived in 10 different places in the past decade, sheesh), I learned a lot, grew a lot, and loved a lot. Bring on the new decade! 

Last week wrapped up with parent teacher conferences. They went well, but goodness, those are some long days. Friday morning we had off (yippee!). I woke up early (is it because of 30?) and hit the gym, visited my Hads, then ran errands (my grocery list was looong), then went to coffee with a friend (hey Kandi!) and we did some planning for Hadley's Baby Bow Bash, then I ran a few more errands, met up with AJ for an early dinner, then went to Hobby Lobby before coming home to do laundry, clean the house, and crash into bed at 9:30. Whew! I literally went down every aisle in Hobby Lobby and loved every second of it. I got some goodies to make some updates to the house. 

We had seashell potpourri in here but I switched it to golden Easter eggs for spring! 

pop of green succulents 

pillow update 

Saturday morning was my birthday and I woke up bright and early because I knew AJ was planning something mysterious and I was so impatient! We got some Starbucks and came home to watch Dateline (Saturday morning ritual) and then AJ sent me upstairs while he set up the gifts. I came downstairs to 30 adorably "boy wrapped" gifts (I melted!). There were some goofy gifts (word search book, chick salt and pepper shakers, my fave candies and magazines, silly socks), and some items like a Starbucks card, Maverik card for gas, Bath and Body works things, cute journals and paper stuff. I was sort of confused when one of the gifts was a matchbox car, travel sized deodorant, and swimming goggles, but I figured he just had too much fun at the dollar store. 

Man wrapping absolutely kills me. Yes, that is package filler used as a bow in the picture below.

We were cleaning all the paper up and then AJ asked me to go in the closet for a box and I opened the door and came across another stack of gifts. The first one was a picture frame with the Eiffel Tower on it, then it was the DVD of the movie Crossroads (yes, we own it) and inside the case were two tickets to see Britney in Vegas. Seeing Britney in Vegas is high on my life's bucket list! AHHHH! I opened the next gift and it was confirmation for our stay at the Paris hotel (my fave) and some spending money for gambling and shopping. I was blown away. Then all the travel themed gifts made sense! I am so so excited for our getaway in a few weeks! AJ and I have been to Vegas separately but never together. I immediately (as a budget-conscious control freak) asked how AJ had managed to pay for it all without me knowing. He had been squirreling away money for months....he would stash away school supply reimbursement checks, about half his pay from his other job, and cashed in every bit of change in all our piggy banks. Haha! Nothing like a birthday surprise with no credit card debt on the other side. I am impressed with his ingenuity! 

We Face timed with AJ's family and opened gifts from them. How cool are these wall sconces AJ's dad made? The wood is from the same barn where the wood for our dining table came from. I think they are just so cute! 

AJ then told me to hurry up and get dressed (still in my pj's, I'm 30 now, what of it?) because I had a massage appointment in an hour. Yay! The massage was heavenly. We then got lunch at one of my fave spots (Pizzeria Limone) and then went home for reading and naps (see, it was my dream day). 

My masseuse told me I was dehydrated and I asked how he knew. His cheeseball response: "The human body is a book  that I simply read with my hands." I proceeded to laugh into my pillowed head rest and have repeated that sentence to AJ no less than 50 times in the past day and proceed to die laughing each time. 

We then got ready and headed over to meet my parents for dinner at the Bohemian Brewery (love it!). We had a delicious meal then went back to my family's house for banana cream pie (another fave of mine) and my parents had resurrected the infamous gift card tree for my 30th birthday! We had a great time laughing, talking and celebrating. I am so thankful for the love and kindness of the people in my life. 29 was a wild roller coaster but I know now that "that's just living, heart-breaking, soul healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life---and it's breathtakingly beautiful" (L.R. Knost). Cheers to 30! 

My mom and I are in a serious mint phase these days 

Weekending

Hi Everyone,
       What a whirlwind of a week this past week was! This week is only a 4 day week (parent teacher conferences so late nights Wednesday and Thursday) and Friday we have off. YAY! I am blown away with how fast this school year is flying by.

Tuesday I took a sick day because I woke up with practically no voice and major sniffles. I stayed in bed literally all day (Hello, The Voice, nice to see you again) and drank tea and took at least 3 naps. My body needed the breather. In fact, I decided during that sick day that I'd take home the stuffed animal "reading buddies" from my classroom and wash them! The kids were so excited about the laundry smell on them the next day. I've also heard about running plastic math manipulatives (unifix cubes etc) through the dishwasher. Has anyone tried this?
Wednesday I was thankfully feeling better, still cough-y but not as bad as Tuesday. We went dinner and a Jazz game with some friends. I think we've gone to more Jazz games these past few months than I have in years. I like to people watch and walk around and AJ likes, well, the actual game.

 Friday afternoon my school had a team building activity with challenges, riddles, snacks, and some fun games. It was a nice departure from DATA and shockingly, my team came in second place! One of the questions was a riddle and I'm curious if any of you can figure it out: "You throw away the outside, cook the inside, eat the outside, throw away the inside. What did you eat?" Any guesses? This one stumped me but one of my teammates got it right away.

Saturday morning I went to Boot Camp (between the pesky cold and busyness, I only went twice this week, booooo!) and then just lounged most of the afternoon making headway on "The Paris Wife" and doing some cleaning. Saturday evening we met some friends for dinner and a comedy show at Wiseguys. We saw Ben Gleib. He was super funny. I just love stand up....what a true talent to make people laugh for over an hour and be so natural and good at it. Before the show we went to dinner at Lucky 13 (probably my fave burgers in town) and I bravely decided to try the peanut butter burger!! I was hesitant, but it was surprisingly really good! Not sure I'll be slathering the Jiff on homemade burgers, but I'd definitely order it again there.

Our friends Tracy and Kam

I'm so thankful that I feel like spring is in the air. I've been making some plans for our "Baby Bow Bash" in June to celebrate our Hads and provide hair goodies for NICU babies. I'm so excited. June will be bittersweet for us, and I'm hoping the Baby Bow Bash makes it a little sweeter (for ourselves and the gals who will be rocking our bow-u-tiful bows!).

In other news, my sister sent me this pic of Bachelor Nick's turtleneck (yes, edited) and I loved it. I'm pretty sure this week's episode is 3 hours. And you better believe I'll watch all of it.

On the recipe front, we tried this new one, Grilled Pineapple Porkchops tonight and it was YUMMY! Have a great week, everyone! This is my last week in my 20's and I just have to laugh thinking of all that happened this past decade in my life. CUH-RAY-ZEE. Thanks for reading here at being a part of it!

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie 
(I always forget this signature but promise I mean to do it everytime. Oops) 

Pardon Our Dust

Today marks the first day of Lent and while we may have childhood memories of giving up junk food (french fries for me in the 7th grade.....we went to Arctic Circle on Easter Sunday, the glorious resurrection of salty, crisp goodness), Lent can be a time of deep reflection, of change, of growth, of the cocoon, waiting and transforming to become our best self. I love the anticipation of Advent, the thrilled excitement of Christmas time and our Savior's birth. Lent, though, Lent can be trick---thorny, prickly, uncomfortable. What do you mean I should reflect? What, I'm not ready for the Easter miracle right now as I am? We know how the story ends, why must we walk this difficult, often  devastating path alongside Jesus? 

A few years ago, former Bishop Wester gave a sermon on Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral that has stuck with me and I think of often. He spoke of the dust and ash from the cross and the entire Lenten journey as the  signs we often see asking us to, "Pardon the dust, we are under construction." I know we've all seen these signs--in hotel lobbies, in doctor's waiting rooms, sometimes even in malls or restaurants. I wonder what they're changing? I ponder. I wonder if I'll like the new look? or even scarier: What if I miss the old way? Maybe familiar is better. But like outdated 1970's architecture, my soul, too, needs some tending to.

 Life is busy but let us not forget to maintain our hearts in the midst of day to day activities. Souls aren't like roofs that can cave in or leak, an obvious sign that a repair is needed. But still, Lent is our annual check up, check in, and usually, more often than not, some construction or repair is needed. It's like one of those times when the car repair man comes out and says, "Welllll, it's a good thing you came in, pretty soon this wouldn't be drivable." Or even "Welllll, you don't need such and such today necessarily, but I can fix it for you today if you'd like, you'll need it eventually." We all need it eventually. 

   This season of Lent, these 40 days that are ahead as we prepare for the Easter season, let us be fully in the midst of the construction zone. There will be hammering, and cleaning, and sweeping and dusting, and fixing. But it's to make way for the new: the bolder, the better, the more beautiful and graceful. I surrender to the dust, because after all, I'm under construction.