Nail Files!

I think this is my first link up with the nail files :).

Sorry for the crappy phone picture and the crappy paint job!  I had just touched up some chips (we've been organizing, etc, so I  haven't been careful with my polish).

I love this color! It's Knees Up by Butter London (the red), and Jingle Bells by China Glaze.

  

http://www.butterlondon.com/lacquers/3-free-lacquers/knees

http://www.amazon.com/China-Glaze-Jingle-Bells-Polish/dp/B004GB7UD4

The red reminds me a lot of OPI's Affair in Red Square (which I also love!).

I paint my nails once a week (at least), and own more nail polish than anyone should...so I'm sure I'll be linking up more often! :)

Happy Holidays!

It's Okay Thursday! :)

It's Okay Thursday! It's time to link up with Amber and Neely!

First of all, Happy Holidays! :)  Now, on to the list!

It's okay...

that I celebrate Christmas WELL past the 25th! It's my favorite holiday (aside from my birthday), so I leave up my tree, watch Christmas movies, and generally just relax and enjoy.

that I'm REALLY enjoying my time off this year!

that I'm still dreaming of shopping for more Christmas presents (for others...and me!).

that I LOVE when the stores are all decorated...and stay that way for a while!  

that I'd be okay if we didn't get any more snow this year...I really dislike driving in it.

that I really love my A Christmas Story village...I added another building (thanks, mom!)

Sorry it's blurry...it's a phone picture! :)

Well, there you have it! :)

Happy Holidays!

Sunday Social!

    This week's questions are all about favorite things!   1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Mint Chocolate chip is my FAVORITE!  I ask for it every year for my birthday (with a chocolate marble cake and chocolate frosting) :).

  2. What is your favorite smell? Laundry, DKNY Vanilla Verbena (I think that's what it's called), Givenchy Play Sport, Fresh Balsam candles from B&BW...it smells just like Christmas should!

3. What is your favorite TV commercial? (Past or present)

The Christmas Hershey's Kiss one (the bells), Target Lady...I used to love the Folger's Christmas ones too...where the family member came home and they would drink coffee together! :) Oh! There's the Toyota commercial with the badgers, too...my friend's husband is the guy in the car! There are so many more! 

4. What is your favorite day of the week? Saturdays, because I go shopping with my momma, and Sundays, because my husband and I get a day off together :).   5. What is your favorite way to waste time? I am an excellent time-waster! I read blogs, go on Facebook (so mindless!), read crazy articles on yahoo, or take a nap!   6. What is your favorite article of clothing? My Aeropostale sweatpants...so comfy! Or my GAP leggings.

Don't forget to link up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Next week's questions

1. What is the best New Years Eve you've ever had?

2. Are you doing anything for NYE this year and if so what?

3. Name a book we should all read come January?

4. What are your new years resolutions?

Sunday Social: Christmas!

This week's questions:

1. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I'm not really sure! When I lived with my parents, we were always allowed to open our pajamas on Christmas eve so we could wear them to bed. I really liked that one :).

2. Do you have a certain holiday movie you watch more than others? If so, what it is?

I watch so many! 

Elf

A Christmas Story

Christmas Vacation

Love, Actually

Mixed Nuts

Home Alone (1 and 2)

Scrooged

Fred Claus

Four Christmases

The Holiday

3.  Show us your favorite decoration or pinterest decoration you wish you could have. 

I've been trying to send myself a picture from my phone of my "A Christmas Story" village, but my technology is failing me.  I have the house itself, the school, the joke shop and the Chinese restaurant. I LOVE putting them out...they're so cute!

It worked!

4. Favorite Holiday song.

I love Christmas music, so I have a lot of favorite songs.

The Man with the Bag--Kay Starr

Sleigh Ride--Ella Fitzgerald

Anything by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, The Carpenters...:)

5. Favorite Holiday Dessert.

My mom makes an oreo cookie dessert with mint chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream that is so delicious! 

6. What is on your wish list this year?

There's nothing I really need :), but since you asked (if I lived in a perfect world)

New boots (tall ones...probably brown, but not riding boots)

A rose gold watch (I have a silver one from Guess and I really like it, so I'd probably go with that again)

Don't forget to link up!

Next Week's Questions:

1. Favorite Holiday Movies/TV Specials?
2. Do you do any volunteering during the holidays if so what? If not what would you do?
3. Favorite toy received as a Child for the Holidays?
4. What was your must have item in high school for the Holidays?
5. Item you begged for the most and never got?
6. What do you do on Christmas Eve? If you are Jewish what does your family do for Hanukkah?

Sunday Social

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2012

Sunday Social

I totally cut and pasted this from JMO...thanks, lady! :)  
It's pretty obvious...and I don't know how to fix it!

1. Name 4 jobs you've had in your life.

Waitress

TPS at Target

Copy Girl in college

Teacher/Director

2. Name 4 movies you would watch over and over.

Elf

Love, Actually

White Christmas

Mixed Nuts

3. Name 4 places you have lived.

Three cities in Michigan (one currently)

Arizona

4. Name 4 of your favorite foods.

Mac and Cheese

Spaghetti

Lasagna

Caesar Salad

5. Name 4 things you always carry with you.

My phone

Purse

Keys

Coupons!

6. Name 4 places you have been on vacation.

Boston, MA

San Francisco, CA

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Paris, France

Don't forget to link up! :)

Today

Today I...

made a crock pot dinner...but forgot to plug the crock pot in.  Luckily, I noticed 30 minutes into "cooking," so I think it will be salvaged. Oops. I'm making the delicious chicken dish on pinterest (that narrows it down!)...the one with the Italian dressing packet, garlic powder, cream cheese, cream of chicken and eventually, pasta. It smells amazing (now that it's actually cooking)...I'll let you know how it goes.

did my lesson plan online for my evaluation tomorrow.  It my most "active" hour of the day.  The week before final exams. And Thanksgiving break. Lord help me.

cleaned two of the three bathrooms. (As I type, I'm pondering cleaning the third.)

did three loads of laundry.

ran four miles. It was a torturous run...my legs felt like lead. I'm still happy I did it :).  Plus, it was outside in gloriously and unseasonably warm November weather.

watched "Elf." I love that movie.

"Home Alone" is on now. :)  It's like I'm 12.

Yesterday I...

bought two birthday presents...I love being ahead of schedule...which for me, is extremely rare.  Buying clothes for kids can be fun!

shopped with my momma. I love you, momma! :) <3 p="p">
had dinner at my parents' with my husband, brother, and s-i-l. It was fun (and tasty!)

This past week I...

worked 48 hours...just at school...that doesn't even count hours at home.

had 4 after-school drama rehearsals.

met our new assistant principal.

ate at home 5 nights (pizza one night, and one night at my mom's!)  That has pretty much never happened. :)

signed up to make green bean casserole for our work Thanksgiving :).  It's my signature dish! (I use cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom...so much better!).

ran on my treadmill twice...when does that get easier?  I'm super slow as it is, and I feel even slower and less coordinated on there!

What did you do this week? :)

--Gretchen :)

Weekend fun

Happy Sunday, Lovelies! :)

Here's another random list for your enjoyment ;).  It's going to be a long one!

• I love lighting all my candles on Sundays.  And my scentsy.  Our house smells so good!
• My favorites (aside from Scentsy) are Woodwick and Bath and Body works...we have leaves, fresh balsam, fireside, etc)

• Sunday is also for doing all the laundry from the week.  That usually takes most of the day.
• Sunday is also our long run day! It's my favorite.  
• I ran 5 miles and B ran 6.  In the rain. Luckily, it was a bit warmer today than it has been.  
• I LOVE running in the rain.
• Sunday is also grade papers day. Today it's The Canterbury Tales test, lesson planning, grades for the first marking period, and if I'm really lucky, I get to get started on English 11 research papers. Whoo.  
• This is not to say I don't grade papers during the week.  I grade papers ALL the time. Daily.  I also lesson plan daily because I like to change things around. :)
• We went to a wedding on Friday. We took our own pictures before we left for the wedding...

This one cracks me up. We didn't know the timer was set :).  Serious faces.

• We went to a surprise party on Saturday. It was really fun. I don't have any pictures from that though.
• I'm craving all sorts of bad food today. We bought Win Schuler's (I call it bar cheese...does anyone else?), we had pizza for lunch, and will be making soup and grilled cheese (on white bread!) for dinner.  It's a good thing I ran today.

How was your weekend?

Have a great week!

<3 div="div" gretchen="gretchen">

I have spirit, yes I do! Or something...

Hello all! :) Welcome to my random Sunday list!

• I won an ad space on Mrs. Monlogues' blog.  I have never had an ad before...so I had to create one. Have I mentioned I'm technologically challenged? :) Yay for her being super nice and sending me to an easy-to-use site to make an ad. 
• While we're at it, go over and check out Neely's Scentsy party and buy yourself something pretty. :) I did!
• We ran this morning...I did 6 miles!
• I'm now trying to convert everyone I know to running.
• I LOVE it.  
• Running makes me feel so accomplished!  If I can run 6 miles, I can do anything...well, lots of stuff. ;)
• I feel super healthy, too. I've lost 10 pounds so far! Double yay!
• I was going to take a nap today...but that turned into hopefully just going to bed super early.
• I got a great deal at Ulta.com today...I used some points and an awesome save $10 on $60 code (89776). Use it!  I went online because I was trying to spare my husband a really loooong trip to Ulta. :)
• I really want to read and use my time more wisely...but I find myself wasting more time instead.  I have severe adult-onset ADD (or ADHD...depends on who you ask!). I'm self-diagnosing, of course.
• Am I the only one who feels like because I have tons to do/things I want to accomplish, but because there's so much of it, I just give up all together?  That's not a good habit.
• It's SPIRIT week at work! And a full moon. Oh my. Pray for me? :)
• I got to see my best friend Patti today. And now I miss Patti more. :(

Have a great week!

<3 gretchen="gretchen">

Sunday Social! :)

Welcome to Sunday Social!  Please link up with Ashley and Neely! :)

On to this week's questions:

 1. What is something you have wanted to do but are afraid of?  Oh! There are so many things!  I would love to perform on Broadway. Or have my own talk show.  Or write a book. Or have a song on the radio. So many things!

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Most likely, right where I am now. :)  I would love to be living in New York or Chicago...or Scotland or Ireland! Just a pipe dream, I'm afraid.

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2012? Thanksgiving, Christmas, the Wicked Halloween Run, and hoping seeing my best friend Patti! It feels like forever!

4. What are your hopes for your blog?  I hope to blog more consistently, with content that more people enjoy.  I don't really have a theme...I like to write about anything that comes to mind...and I obviously like to do link ups!

5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?  Not that I don't love where I live, but I also have to say unfortunately yes.  I really hate snow, and we get a lot of it.  I absolutely detest driving in it because it takes forever for the salt/plow trucks to get out there and people drive so dangerously!  Again...I really want to live in NYC, Chicago...or a totally different country!  Only in my dreams!

6. What is your morning routine?

I wake up at 5:00 AM, brush my teeth, go downstairs and drink my coffee and check out things on the computer.  I'm in the shower around 5:45. After I get out, I do my hair and make up, get dressed, and race out the door anywhere between 6:35 and 6:50 (this typically depends on how my clothes are fitting that day).  I get to work between 7:00-7:15.  I work from 7:40-2:20, and then if it's drama season (pretty much September through March!), we have rehearsal from 3:00-5:00 ish every day!

 Next Weeks Questions: All About our Childhoods!

1. What do you miss most about being a kid?
2. Did you have a nickname growing up? What was it?
3. What was your favorite thing to do at recess?
4. What did you want to be when you grew up?
5. What was your favorite toy?
6. What is the funniest thing you did as a kid that your parents still remind you about?

Sunday Social--Link Up!

This Week's Questions:

1. 5 items you can't live without on a daily basis(water, food, shelter, and clothes dont count).

Foundation--I'm using Revlon Colorstay whipped creme and I LOVE it), Blistex, coffee? Does that count? ;), my laptop (or my kindle), and my cell phone.

2. All time favorite book and why.

            

I have two...I love East of Eden and A Prayer for Owen Meany.  Both books are amazing...you actually feel what's happening and the emotions of the characters. They come highly recommended by this English teacher!

3. Something you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2012.

Gah! I have no idea.  I'd love to sell some of my songs. I'd like to start writing a book of short stories.

4. If you could go back and relive any year of your life which year would it be?

None. I like where I am now. It would be cool to be younger and know what I know now, though! ;)

5. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them? 

I'm really shy (even though I appear very outgoing) and socially awkward. If you talk to me first, I really will talk to you! :)  Also, I'm quite sensitive even though I joke around a lot...and some people cross the line and I don't let them know.

Next Weeks Questions:

1. What is something you have wanted to do but are afraid of?

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2012?

4. What are your hopes for your blog?

5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?

6. What is your morning routine?

Make sure to link up with Ashley and Neely!

Nothing Really New...

Hey all!

I'm still really terrible at posting with any regularity.
Whoops.
I do read all your blogs on the daily, though, so there's something.
Right?
I'll just go with a listy post, because that's what I'm good at and I really have nothing planned to say at the moment.  By the seat of my pants!

Boot camp is done now *yay*...not that I didn't like it, because I really did, but I get tired of routine.  It was M/T/R at 7:00 PM for 6 weeks. Sometimes I want to work out before then, you know?

We've been running a lot more lately...thanks to two inhalers! (Thanks, Dr. K.!)  One is a daily steroid inhaler and the other is considered a rescue inhaler that I use before I work out.

I ran 4.65 miles yesterday. I had to stop because I almost got eaten by a dog. Sometimes I really wonder about our neighbors. There are kids everywhere and the dog is smart enough to escape their electric fence. Awesome.

I bought pepper spray for my outdoor runs from now on.

I ran inside today. I don't like running outdoors alone.

I'm a really slow runner. But the more miles I run during any run, I feel like I can just keep doing more.

The first few miles are the toughest...any way to get past this?  I feel like I don't start to enjoy it until after I've already run 2.

School starts soon! Eek! I have no idea how I get up at 5:00 AM most of the year.

I had a great post written in my head about running and how it's awesome, but it's gone.

No pictures today! I'll try to get better.

Happy Monday!

<3 p="p">
Gretchen

It's Ok Thursday! #52!

It's time for another It's Ok Thursday!  :)  And it's a BIG one...if you link up, you could win stuff! :)

Let's get down to business, shall we?

It's Okay...

...that I'm sad my birthday is over. Yes, I'm 33 and a big baby :).

...that I'm excited for my husband's birthday on Sunday.

...that I'm TERRIFIED to run the Warrior Dash.  Not sure what I was thinking there.  I hear it's fun? 

...that I can't believe I'm actually 33. I definitely don't FEEL 33. Wow.

...that I need to get cracking on school stuff...

...that I cringed when I saw the back to school Target ad...it's still July! :)  It's still summer! :)  Give it time!

...that I just added this line to have an odd number :).

Okay, darlings! Link up!

<3 Gretchen

It's OK Thursday...#50!

 

 Time to link up with Amber and Neely! :)

It's Okay...

that Amber and I have the SAME birthday! (actually, it's awesome!)

that I'm sure she is MUCH younger than me.

to feel super lazy during the summer.

that my shoulders hurt soooo much...it just means the boot camp is working (right?).

to be excited for my food cheat day (Saturday!).

to be looking forward to enjoy some wine tonight (I've been sooo good because of boot camp)!

to be a little obsessed with pinterest.

to wish I were really good at something.

to already want to go on another vacation even though we just got back from one.

Happy Thursday!  Don't forget to link up! :)

<3 Gretchen

Totally Unmotivated

Do you ever have those days where you just don't feel like doing anything?

Summer Today is one of those days.
I have so much I should be doing:
Picking the two shows for the year (ideas are in my head, people)
Cleaning my house (free cat hair to anyone that wants it!)
Doing laundry
Revamping my Brit. Lit. Class
Creating pre/post tests
Organizing my classroom
Sending my aunt's birthday card in the mail...her birthday was the 4th. Oops.
Reading...so many books to read...

I did work yesterday...we had final interviews for our new art teacher, so that's something.
And I have gone to boot camp two days in a row (today is a day off...so what will I be doing later? Running three miles!).

So this is what I've been busy with otherwise...

Here's Squeak doing her Blue Steel impression:

She's a natural.

I lead an exciting life, people. Exciting.

I also decided I'm probably going to chop my hair again. I've been growing it out for about 6 months and it's almost to my shoulders...so of course I want it in a nice, neat bob at my chin again.  Hrm.

 Hair now...

I was going for this:

Not exactly what I got...hmmm...

This is what I think I'm going for next:

(Yes, I take pictures of pictures, and also pictures from the computer...I'm terrible with technology)  (Also, not my baby...though he is a cutie!)

What do you think?

Happy Wednesday!

<3 Gretchen

What's on my mind :)

This is going to be a list/brain dump post :).  So, pretty much my standard? 

I'm starting a boot camp tonight.
I'm a little nervous.
I'm kind of a wussy.

I ran three miles yesterday and the day before!
Yay!
I never thought I'd be able to do that.

We got back from our SF trip LAST Monday.
My suitcase is still sitting in our bedroom.
Oops.
At least it's mostly empty?
I hate unpacking.

I signed up for the Pig Gig 5K in August.
It's one week after our Warrior Dash, so I guess I'll run the next 5K if I live through the WD.

This summer has been so busy.
It's flying by.
Boo.

Do you want to see some pictures from the trip? :)

Pic 1=The Painted Ladies (or the houses from Full House!)
Pic 2=The view from the parking garage near Pier 39
Pic 3=Wedding decorations from the wedding we went to (gorgeous!)
Pic 4=The Golden Gate Bridge
Pic 5=Clos LaChance...the wedding venue/vineyard

Happy Monday!

<3 Gretchen

Sunday Social :)

Sunday Social Week 5

This is my first time linking up! You should link up, too! :)

This weeks questions:

Favorite TV show of the past: 

Friends! I still watch the reruns, and of course, the dvds!  I wish they would do a reunion show (and it would last another 10 years!)  I loved Full House, Perfect Strangers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Seinfeld, ER (The great Thursday night line up of the 1990s!), etc. I can't even remember all the names of the shows, but if it was on on Thursdays in the 1990s, or Friday in the 1980s, I was watching :).

Favorite TV show currently: 

Happy Endings, Cougar Town, Drinking Made Easy, The Middle...

 

Which Reality Show would you NEVER do? 

Pretty much all of them? I don't really watch Reality TV. It seems so scripted!

Which Reality Show would you LOVE to do? 

American Idol...though I'm too old now, and I don't sing the way they want you to!

TV personality/character that you feel is most like you? 

In high school, I was called Phoebe from Friends...I was kind of...ditzy. :)

 

TV character you'd want to date?  

None? :)

Next Weeks questions:

Best trip you've ever been on
Best idea for a girls weekend trip
Best idea for a couples trip
Best vacation on the cheap
Place you most want to visit
Vacation/Travel necessities