Wednesday Hodgepodge

Double Blog Post Alert!! I'll be linking up with my mom's blog today for the Wednesday Hodgepodge...but don't miss my "Slice of Life" post about hobbies. 

If you'd like to join in with the hodgepodge this week- head on over to "From This Side of the Pond", it's not too late to join the fun.

1. Is March coming in like a lion where you live? Aslan, Simba, Elsa, The Cowardly Lion...your favorite 'famous' lion? 

    Well since I live in the northeastern U.S. and haven't seen my front yard since Thanksgiving, I'm inclined to say it's come in like a lion. However, despite the fact that there is still some pesky white stuff in our yard, these first 3 days of March have been surprisingly lamb like. There has been sunshine and some "warmer" temperatures. I'm starting to see grass in some areas and not feel the need for 10 layers heading outside. So we'll see! I suspect the lion will be back before we get a true spring but I'll take every second of lamb I can get. 

    I will say my favorite lion of this bunch might be Elsa- which for those unfamiliar is from the movie "Born Free". I have to choose that one because when I think of Elsa and that movie I think of watching it countless times with my sister as kids. I picture us renting it from blockbuster (what?!) over and over and belting out the theme song in our basement. And that is too sweet a memory to pass up. 

2. In what way do you 'march to the beat of your own drum'? 

    I had a hard time thinking of an answer to this one. I don't think there is necessarily one thing about me that says "she beats to her own drum". I consider myself pretty traditional which I love. So I guess I beat to my own drum but just being exactly me, and not trying to be any certain way for anyone else.       

3. What item that you don't have already, would you most like to own? Any chance of that happening soon? 

    A sectional couch for the living room. Unfortunately, it probably won't be happening too soon just because the size of our living room and the size of a sectional are at odds with one another. But someday!

4. March is National Flour Month...are you a baker? Cookies-cakes-or pies...your favorite sweet treat to bake? What's the last non-sweet thing you made that called for flour? 

    If you know me, you know I definitely consider myself a baker. I love to bake and in another life I'd like to be a pastry chef when I grow up. My favorite sweet treat to bake is probably cupcakes, although I would say cookies are what I bake most frequently. And the baking that makes me the happiest is something brand new that I haven't baked before. The last non-sweet thing I made that called for flour would be a braised pinot noir chicken that had some flour in the sauce as a thickener. 

5. There are 31 days in the month of March...where were you and what were you doing when you were 31? If you haven't hit that milestone yet, then tell us where you were and what you were doing 31 months ago? (if math is not your thing, that would be August 3, 2018)

    Well I'm not there quite yet...about 6 months away. But 31 months ago, I would have been soaking up the last few days of my summer break before heading back to school. Most likely at my parents house enjoying the sunshine, playing cards with my mom and enjoying iced coffee on the screened porch. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

    We got a new dining room rug last week and I love it!  

 

What's in a Hobby?

I recently finished a book that really got me thinking. The book is written by an author I love- Annie F. Downs and is called "That Sounds Fun".  In the book, there is a whole section devoted to hobbies and the importance of them and truthfully since I've finished the book, I have been so stuck on this idea of "what are my hobbies?".  We all have them when we're younger and then I think, more and more as we grow older, our hobbies morph something else. They turn into a job or a business, or become a way of meeting some other goal and aren't truly hobbies anymore. A hobby is defined as something that is done regularly, during leisure time, for pleasure. So I've been contemplating what things I do during leisure time, regularly, and just for enjoyment. And I realized, there are very few things in my life that fall in that category.

So I want to change that. I want to first find some leisure time (ha!) and then find something to fill that time that fills me with joy. 

Cooking and baking are the things that come to mind when I first think of a hobby because I've always enjoyed them. However, I can only bake so many cookies before a medical professional tells me it's too much. Right? 

Just before the holidays I started learning to cross-stitch. My first finished piece was a cardinal and I think this is a hobby I may hold onto. I like that it produces something at the end, I like that it keeps my hands busy (a.k.a. away from scrolling social media) and I like that it isn't an expensive hobby. 

I also think I'd like to hold onto writing as a hobby. I'm hoping that this 30 days will put me into a routine of doing it everyday and that I'll be doing it for pleasure, not just because of a challenge or goal I've set. 

If you're stopping by to read, I'd love to know what your hobbies are! 

This month I am linking up with "Two Writing Teachers" for a slice of life daily writing challenge. 

Teaching is For the Brave

I often think of a particular quote that was on a boosterthon fundraising shirt I received several years ago, early on in my teaching career.  It said "Everyone knows and legends are told that teaching is for the brave".  I've reflected on this quote and my life as a teacher more this year than probably ever before and what I've determined is this...

Being a teacher is everything I thought it would be... and so many things I didn't. 

I always thought teaching would be rewarding. It is. 

I never thought teaching would be so exhausting. It is.

I always thought teaching would be fun. It is. (most days)

I never thought teaching could bring me to tears. It has.

I always thought I would buy all the fun school supplies. I do.

I never thought I could have too many school supplies. I definitely do. 

I always thought teaching would involve hard work. It does.

I never thought teaching would involve so much "paperwork". It does. 

I always thought being with the kids would be the best part of teaching. It is.

I never thought I'd be teaching in a world where I can't hug, or high five my kids. I am. 

I always thought teaching was for the eager, the passionate, the loving, the thoughtful and the inspiring. It is.

I never thought teaching was for the brave. But it most certainly is. 

With everything I've always thought and despite the things I never thought, for today at least, teaching is right where I'm meant to be. 

And to all my fellow teachers...Be Brave :) 

This month I am linking up with "Two Writing Teachers" for a slice of life daily writing challenge. 

The First Slice

When I heard about the "Slice of Life" writing challenge, I was immediately intrigued. As someone who has tried blogging before...more than once...and struggled to keep it going...I thought this could be just what I need to push me into a daily (fingers crossed!!) writing routine. 

I've always loved to write. I love words. Written, spoke, heard- all of them. Writing in school was always a subject I enjoyed, classes in college that were heavy on the writing didn't scare me and as a teacher, even during the times when teaching writing feels so hard, it still makes my heart smile. But the discipline of writing- not for work or for school but for a real-life audience, or even just for myself has always been a challenge. Writing is quiet and thoughtful and reflective. And so, I get busy and distracted, or I don't know what to write about and the daily or weekly task of writing gets pushed aside for the louder parts of my life. 

But not this month. This month, the quiet is going to win. The therapeutic act of putting thoughts and words on paper (or computer in this case) will become a priority. My hope is that even on the days where I feel distracted or busy, even on the days that I feel like I don't have any words worth sharing. I will still sit at the keyboard and write. I am hopeful it can be a time of reflection, dreaming, rest and joy. Both for me and for whoever reads along with me. 
 

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I'm joining up with April at A. Liz adventures for Five on Friday for the first time today! Head on over to her blog to join!

1. First things first- this link. http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g2365/pasta-salad-recipes/?slide=26 

50 different pasta salad recipes! Yes, you read that right I said 50. And they all look delicious! Some of them would definitely be more indulging but most look actually pretty healthy especially if you use whole wheat pasta or even subbed in quinoa and I can't wait to test out a few. Just to give you a little sneak peek.... in order from left to right- avocado pasta salad, southwestern black bean pasta salad and a tzatziki pasta salad. How delicious do those look?!

2. One of my friends shared this with me and it has been a game changer on busy days! It's a 15 minute workout! 15 minutes-that's it. I calculated it and it is only 1% of my day. I squeeze it in while dinner is cooking or before a shower in my bathroom. It's my go to on a day where a longer workout just isn't happening.

Burpees- 30 sec

Plank- 60 sec

High Knees- 30 sec

Lunges- 60 sec

Mountain Climbers- 30 sec

Leg Lifts- 60 sec

Squat Jumps- 30 sec

Wall Sits- 60 sec

Speed Skaters- 30 sec

Calf Raises- 60 sec

Complete and Repeat

(Let me know and I'm happy to clarify any of the exercises)

3. Speaking of getting a workout in...my new favorite exercise trick is my energize drink. I drink it 30 minutes before my workout and it gives me so much more energy! I've also been known to drink some before needing to clean my house or at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon when I have things to do but all I really want to do is nap- is that just me?

About to get my workout on after my energize!

4. Did you know Walmart has super cute workout clothes? I found the cutest workout tanks and tees there! I find it hard to spend a lot of money of something that's going to get all sweaty anyway so I love that they're inexpensive and the fact that they're super cute is a bonus! 

I may have now worn this shirt more times than most of my much fancier shirts combined! Love it!! 

5. I'm getting started with the facebook health and fitness accountability group I run and I shared my goals with them tonight. In my mind the more accountability I have the better when it comes to meeting these goals so I'd like to share them with you here as well and I'll keep you posted on my progress over the next 21 days!

What I'll be working on:

- working out at least 5 days a week so 15 of the 21  days (hoping to kick this goal's booty and do even more!)

-limit myself to 1 soda/week --> Diet coke is still a weakness of mine even thought I know it's bad for me (it's just so delicious) so this goal is going to be a challenge but I'm committed!

- drink more water!! They say you should determine how much water to drink by cutting your weight in half so that will be my goal each day.

Hope you enjoyed my "fit friday" for this five on friday! 

PS. If you want to set your own goals and join me and my group you can find me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/maggie.daley.3 I'd love to include you! 

Linking up with the Hodgepodge

I'm linking up with my mom's blog today to participate in the weekly hodgepodge questions! Head on over to her blog to join in the fun!

1. How did you welcome the month of July, and tell us one fun thing you did to celebrate the 4th. (or the weekend for any non-USA residents playing along today)

The weekend of the 4th G and I hung out on the lake with some of our sweet friends and their family. We went for a boat ride, floated in the water and her dad put on a killer fireworks display! It was so relaxing and just what I feel like a holiday weekend should be. 

On the actual 4th we headed back to my apartment and spent the afternoon and evening resting and recovering and me feeling very sunburned! 

2. Right now..what's your favorite red thing? white thing? blue thing? 

Red- Cherries- I love eating as much fruit as possible in the summer and the delicious sweet red cherries I bought at the store the other day are absolute delicious and to me taste like summer. 

White- This is a tricky one- the pages of all of the books I've been reading? I've been using my summer time off well and making my way through lots of good reads! 

Blue- Bluberries!! I'm sensing a fruit theme...I love blueberries and eat them by the pint and I just can't get enough! 

3. Wave the white flag, raise a red flag, fly your freak flag...which 'flag' have you flown most recently? Explain. 

4. According to Cond Nast Traveler these are the seven best places to visit in July-

a boat safari in Botswanna's Okavango Delta, Riviera Maya Mexico (it's whale shark season and apparently you can swim with them), Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, Pamploma Spain, St. Petersburg Russia, the Fuji Rock Festival at Mount Naeba Japan, the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria

If time and money weren't factors would you want to see any/all of these? Which would you most like to see and why? 

There are several I would want to see! I have a hard time picking which I want to see most. Anyone who knows me knows I love sharks so I'd have a hard time passing up an opportunity to swim with whale sharks. However, a safari is on the top of my bucket list in terms of travel so I would love to do the boat safari too! So if time and money isn't a factor then both it is :) 

5. Grilled cheese, pimento cheese, or mac and cheese...your favorite from the cheesy treats listed? 

Oh gosh, one hard question after the other. Cheese is my love language. If something has cheese in it, I will eat it. If there is no cheese involved in a meal, I feel like the meal was incomplete. I think I would have to say pimento cheese...I love a good southern pimento cheese. However I prefer mine thicker more like a dip rather than super combined like a spread. But I can't ever turn it down! 

6. What makes you sweat? 

Running late....I hate being late and if ever I'm running late- which is very rare- it stresses me into a sweat! Oh and exercise :) 

7. Your favorite movie with a 'patriotic' theme of some sort?

I love The Guardian- which is about the U.S. Coastguard. I also love Saving Private Ryan. Oh and National Treasure- which may not initially seem super patriotic but I think it's got that feeling. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I determined today I have 35 more days until I report back to work...

On one hand I am very excited for my new kindergarten adventure and then on the other I'm wishing summer could just last forever and ever. 

So I'll be soaking up all that summertime while it lasts! 

Recipe Wednesday

I'm always on the lookout for new healthy recipes that still taste delicious and aren't boring or bland. I recently tried a new recipe and wanted to share for those of you out there also looking for those delicious healthy recipes. Overall it was a success- there are a couple things I'll want to tweak or remember for next time but lucky for you I'm going to share those here too.

Sweet Potato Kale Hash
Topped with a Poached Egg

I like to gather all of my ingredients ahead of time so that everything is ready for me as I need it. So I grabbed my kale, sweet potatoes, shallots, red pepper, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, olive oil and eggs.

The original recipe called for frozen kale but it was much more reasonably priced to buy it fresh at my grocery store- but I'm sure the frozen would have been fine. Now I need to pause for a moment to talk about the kale. This was the first time EVER that I had tried kale and I have been so skeptical up to this point. I've always held my ground saying that kale is a garnish for the side of your plate not something to be eaten. As I've made my move towards healthier, clean eating kale comes up a lot and so I've been looking for a recipe that I thought seemed yummy enough that it would be a good time to try my first kale. This seemed like a winner because I love breakfast food and that idea of sweet/salty that I thought you might get here so I went for it. We'll come back to my final thoughts on kale later ;) 

I went ahead and diced my potatoes, shallots and red pepper all in similar size- it's a hash so you want all your pieces to be close in size so things cook around the same amount of time and all get

properly cooked. I went for a smaller dice to cut down on how long I would need to cook the potatoes but that's a personal choice. After things were diced I went ahead and threw the potatoes, shallots, pepper and spices into a skillet with some oil in it over medium high heat and let them get cooking.

The original recipe has the kale (if using fresh instead of recommended frozen) going in the skillet in the last five minutes. Being a kale newbie I felt like that wasn't going to be enough time to get soft enough for me since kale is so thick and tough so I cooked it in it's own skillet for about 7 minutes in some olive oil and lemon juice while I was cooking the potato mixture- and then still added it back in for the last 5-7 minutes of potato cooking.


After everything had mixed together I had a genius idea of what this recipe needed...MAPLE SYRUP!
I know, I know- inspired! It seemed like just the thing to tie everything together, really bring out the warmth that the cumin was bringing to the dish and caramelize those potatoes a little bit. So I added in about a tablespoon or 2 of maple syrup. I didn't measure it so it would just be to taste.

The last step of the process was to poach my eggs- I chose to do two eggs since this was my dinner but again personal preference. I used my egg poacher and my eggs were a little over done but still delicious. And voila!

So my final thoughts? The flavor was wonderful, I loved the warmth of the cumin with the sweetness of the syrup. The runny egg yolk mixed with the potatoes? Delicious! Then there was the kale- overall it wasn't bad and I did eat it. But...if I were making this again which I definitely will I think I'll be swapping out the kale for some spinach instead. Still has loads of nutritional value but to me its much more appealing. 

I hope you enjoy! If you try it please comment to let me know what you think. Recipe is below as well as a link to the original.

Ingredients: 

2 mediums sweet potatoes- peeled and cut into small dice

1 large or 2 smaller shallots- finely diced

1/4 of a red bell pepper - small dice

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper

1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup (personal preference)

Eggs

Olive Oil

1-2 cups of kale

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. 

2. Throw in your diced potato, shallot, pepper as well as all of the spices- let cook for about 15-18 minutes 

3. Meanwhile finely chop the kale and put it in a separate skillet with some olive oil and lemon juice - cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until wilted and softened

4. Mix kale in with the potato mixture for the last 5-7 minutes of cooking

5. Add in maple syrup if desired and cook mixture until potatoes are tender

6. While the mixture is finishing cooking- poach your eggs (could also do fried)

7. Put mixture on a plate and top with eggs

8. ENJOY! 

Original Recipe: http://sharedappetite.com/breakfast/sweet-potato-and-kale-hash/