Day in the Life- Summer 2017

These posts are always so much fun. 

I started and stopped taking pictures a couple of times before this day. 

I've documented some things but not everything; however, I think this is as good as it gets. 

By 7 am I was up and had the bed made. 

I love making the bed first thing as soon as I get up. 

I did my daily devotional and ate a banana to get ready to go run.

Stretching for my run. 

I always stretch inside, and then as soon as I head outside I'm ready to go!

No turning back!

You know what's funny...

I have the exact same shoes for running outside as for working out indoors. 

The ones above are older and a bit dirtier, but I love having a second pair for inside. 

Here I am the day before all ready for my workout video. 

After that I forgot about the picture taking.

It is HOT and HUMID right now. 

This is no lie. 

Real life sweating sweating sweating after my 4 miles!

I had to shower, and then I started on some baking. 

Making my breakfast- and egg and cranberry juice and working on a freezer meal.

 Watching my favorite morning show-Live with Kelly and Ryan!

The trivia part is ALWAYS my favorite!

Fingers crossed that we can get tickets for the show when we visit in October!

 Finishing up my freezer meal.

 

Then, I sat down and watched some Hallmark Christmas

while touching up my nails.

I was done baking and doing my nails and toenails, so I got ready for the pool.

I spent about 2 hours at the pool before heading home and getting ready for a late lunch with my co-workers. 

We had some pizza and talked talked talked. 

Then, I drove through the pouring rain home and made some cheesy potatoes while Alex grilled chicken. 

I lost my mom's recipe, so I had to use a Pinterest one, and they weren't as good. 

Boo!

 I registered some books on Amazon to sell.

I made more hummingbird food.

Then, I deadheaded and watered flowers. 

I love my flowers SO much!

I can't imagine a world without flowers!!

All three flower boxes out front. 

I was watering flowers while Alex was taking in this view. 

I have great childhood memories of fishing and out on a little flat bottom boat on this pond.

I cherished the last drop of light on the back porch by looking for fun ways to teach rules in a middle school classroom. 

This pin right here speaks one of my co-workers.

Come to find out, he actually used memes last year. 

#Daylatedollarshort

Do you guys have any fun ideas to teach 8th graders about the rules in my language arts classroom?!

A PowerPoint or just standing in front of them talking doesn't work these days. 

I've found a cool reader's theater idea but am still looking for others. 

Let me know if you have any. 

So there you have it. 

A normal summer day in my life. 

Running, the pool and taking care of my flowers are normal Beth things!

Friday Favorites: Back to School Linkup, Steelers Camp, Blackhead Scrub

Hey there Friday!

These days seem to buzz on past during the summer. 

In a couple of weeks I will be begging for Friday to make it here.

As always, I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

We're sharing our favorites from the week.

Grab their graphic and linkup with your favorites from the week, too.

Back to School Linkup

I'm trying my first ever linkup in a couple weeks.

My Back 2 School Series will start on August 14 and will run Monday, Wednesday, Friday through August 25.

If you are a teacher or have been a teacher or want to blog about one of these topics, you totally should and link up on one or all of the days!

Monday, August 14- Bulletin Boards: Showcase your past favorite bulletin board or ones to come.

Wednesday, August 16-Rules: Share rules for your classroom.

Friday, August 18- Classroom Library: Share how you create and maintain a classroom library.

Monday, August 21- How to Start Your Day: Share your morning routine in your classroom.

Wednesday, August 23- Grades: Share how you keep grades.

Friday, August 25- Classroom Setup: Share how you setup your classroom.

All of these things could be how you've done it in the past, how you're going to do it this year or if you had a classroom what you think you would do. 

I'm excited to read about what other teachers do!!

James Harrison Arrives at Camp

It's almost time for football!
Training camps started up last week, and I forgot to mention how interesting of an arrival my man James Harrison had.
Check out this video clip to see Antonio Brown and Harrison arriving in style!

Here's a little peek of how he arrived..

Blackhead Scrub

I don't typically use a scrub because I'm also so afraid of what I put on my face. 

This scrub was in our bathroom shower at my aunt's. 

I tried it out and loved it!
I'm a big fan of Green Tea cleansers and serums, so it should be no surprise that I enjoyed this too!

Scrub Daddy/Mommy

Do you guys watch Shark Tank?

I don't, but I know this product originated from there. 

My aunt had one of the regular Scrub Daddy's, and I grabbed one of these Scrub Mommy's that has the regular scrubber on one side and a sponge on the other. 

I'm excited to use it on pots and pans.

Sometimes I can't get food off, and I don't want to use something very hard that might scratch.

This is firm yet soft at the same time.

Today I'm finishing up decorating and organizing my classroom.

I got most of my things set up yesterday, but I have a meeting and a few things left to do today. 

Then, I have one last week of freedom before we head back for good. 

Have a great weekend!

Sweet Summertime Recap: Week 10

10 whole weeks of summertime fun have gone by!
I remember my first week of summer.
I wasn't even sure I would have enough things to keep me busy throughout the summer, but I've found my way to week 10.

Thursday, July 27

Alex drove to Tennessee Wednesday night.
He had a few extra vacation days, so he came down early.

Thursday we enjoyed some pool time in the morning and then headed to the Smokey Mountains.
I finished Balancing in Heels before I jumped in to cool off.

We always enjoy a trip to the mountains.
This time we were interested in seeing the destruction that unfortunately was done during the fires last fall.

All of those hill sides were burnt.

A view from the top-luckily untouched!

 The other side.

More destruction on our way down.
We saw the trail head where the fire started-Chimney Top Trail.
It is now closed.
You can't pull off at that area or anything.
It's so eerie to see how mother nature works.
There would be spots of green vegetation and then boom burnt, then grass and trees then burnt.

It was hard to capture all of the destruction.
We saw one cabin area that was intact but the trees and everything right in front of it were burnt.
I cannot image the terror those people endured!

For dinner we stopped at the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge.
It's a neat little campus with a restaurant, shops, candy store, ice cream store, Christmas store and wine tasting.

I'll share more about our trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in the coming weeks.

Friday, July 28

Friday was a rainy one.
Alex and I got in a morning walk, which was so pleasant and enjoyable.
They were calling for rain all day, so I love it when I get to sneak in a little exercise.

We then headed downtown Knoxville for lunch.
We ate at Stock and Barrel for burgers and fries and then indulged in a delicious milkshake.

Hello s'mores!!

This milkshake was delicious!! 

Yum yum yum!

They have S'mores, Nutella and PB&J!

Saturday, July 29

Saturday was a great day to enjoy a morning run/walk and some pool time.
We really just enjoyed this day, and then in the afternoon we hit up Gander Mountain for some deals!
They're going out of business, and we both snagged a few bargains!

Sunday, July 30

Sunday was our travel day, but first we got in a morning walk.

I could walk the trails in and out of allotments every single morning. 

I don't care if there was 10 inches of snow; I'd still walk.

I planned to head back home by 12, and we left at 10 till, but then we stopped at the mall. 

We don't have a ton of stores back home, so it's always fun to shop while we are out of town. 

Alex found some great tool deals at Sears!!

I used a gift card at Victoria's Secret, and we indulged on some sandwich cookies at the Great American Cookie. 

8 hours later we made it home.

Monday, July 31

Monday was full of errands. 

I ran here and there to get groceries and pick up other things. 

One of our local radio stations does a half off deal on Friday's. 

They feature local restaurants/stores and you can buy a $25 gift card at half off. 

Alex does the buying, and I do the picking up!

Those people nearly know us by name now. 

I also grabbed some recipes of my grandma that I got framed. 

I will show you the finished product once I get them hung.

In the afternoon I drove Alex's cousin to the airport to head back to Florida. 

I grabbed some Olive Garden and used half of a gift card we had since they were running a buy one take one deal. 

2 meals for $12.99!!

Tuesday, August 1

 It's so foggy in the mornings now that it doesn't even feel like summer.
I got in a morning run among the fog.
Then, I enjoyed some sunshine at the pool.

In the afternoon I headed out to my parents.
I followed this on my way...

Fresh pickings.

Wednesday, August 2

I feel like this was my last day at the pool.
It was a super enjoyable one at that.
Only one other person was there.
I enjoyed some conversation and this book.
I was set to finish this book before leaving, but the rain had other plans.
I had to head out a bit early, but I finished it as soon as I got home.
Thank you Allie for suggesting it.
I can't wait to use it in my literature circles this fall.

One more week, and then it's back to work for me!
Summer was great, but I'm getting anxious to get back in a routine!
I'm trying to think of every last minute thing that I'd like to do before my free days are up.
Can you think of anything I should do before its back to work?

Zucchini Cupcakes

This is my all-time favorite cupcake recipe!

If you have zucchini's in your garden, go pick one and come back to make these cupcakes. 

I could literally eat the whole batch. 

My grandma used to bake them all of the time in the summer, and now I've taken over her job and have made 3 batches in one week. 

They're easy and delicious.

Plus one batch of icing typically will ice 3 batches of cupcakes.

Items Needed:

3 Eggs

1 1/3 C. Sugar

1.2 C. Vegetable Oil

1/2 C. Orange Juice

1 tsp. Almond Extract

2 1/2 C. Flour

2 tsp. Cinnamon

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves

1 1/2 C. Shredded Zucchini

Caramel Frosting:

1 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Butter

1/4 C. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 - 2 C. Powdered Sugar or until it's thick enough to spread

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cut and shred 1 1/2 C. zucchini.

Combine the first five ingredients. Mix.

Combine the dry ingredients together. Mix.

Add the dry ingredients to the first five. Mix. 

Add the zucchini. Mix. 

Line cupcake pans with papers. 

It usually makes 12-24 cupcakes depending on how full you fill them. 

I like to fill them about 3/4 full. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Cool completely. 

For frosting:

Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan. 

Bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Cook and stir for 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat. 

Stir in vanilla. 

Cool to lukewarm. 

Add in powdered sugar. 

I typically find it needs more powdered sugar than the 1-2 cups. 

I like my icing thicker. 

You can put the icing in the fridge an allow it to get cold.

Then, take it out allow it to get a little warmer, so you can spread it and it tends to be thicker.

After you ice these cupcakes they don't tend to last too long. 

They are usually best if eaten within 2 days. 

If you're like me, they won't last that long. 

I love to give them to my family and neighbors. 

They remind me so much of summers past with my grandma.

Hummingbird Food

I know it's spring when I see my little hummingbird's back in the yard. 

I love these little creatures so much. 

Actually a couple of years ago I nursed one back to life. 

They like to fight at my parents. 

They don't like sharing the feeder. 

I think one either got attacked by another hummer or by another bird. 

It was laying on our sidewalk out back, so I moved it and was putting sugar water to its beak throughout the day. 

I tried calling a local bird rescue but didn't hear back from there. 

Later in the day when I went back to find the hummer he was gone. 

My hope is that he flew away and wasn't eaten by another bird. 

So, I love my hummers and feed them regularly. 

We now have 2 feeders because the two hummers we have were fighting. 

Here's my simple and easy recipe to make them some food. 

Bring 2 cups of water to boil.

Measure out 1/2 C. sugar

Put the sugar in a bowl.

 Add the boiling water and stir until dissolved.

Let stand in the refrigerator until cold. 

Empty out your old feeder and wash it out. 

You can use water and a brush (toothbrush or small bottle brush work great!) or water and a little vinegar and a brush. 

Be sure to clean out the feeder completely. 

Fill with the new mixture. 

Change the feeder every week or when the water starts to look hazy. 

When it's really hot out you will want to change it every day or two. 

Otherwise I change mine once a week.

These creatures are so neat. 

I swear they are part human. 

As soon as I take their feeder down they will buzz by my head as if they're saying "Hey, where are you taking my food?"

The other day I just put our feeder back out and one of the hummingbirds flew to each side of the window where I was sitting and kept flying back and forth.

 I felt like he was trying to tell me something, but I don't know what it was. 

I'm going to think he was trying to tell me thanks! ;)

I love watching them on a daily basis!

You should get a feeder and feed them too!