Outgrow Yourself.

Well, hello there.  Did you think I had quit blogging?  This may be the longest blogging break I have ever taken.  I just needed to take a little time off.  These past two weeks have been very eventful for me, to say the least.  But I am ready to fill all of you in now and try to remember how to blog get back to my blogging ways!

Two weeks ago today, I had a little meeting.

Actually, it wasn’t just a meeting.  It was a job interview.  And that changed everything.

Now, I’m gonna get a little deep on you, so if deep isn’t your thing, you can tune out now and I won’t be offended.  And you can check back soon for the usual lighthearted posts.

I’ve been very happy in my job.  In fact, I am blessed to have the job I have always wanted.  About 8 years ago, I realized that I loved working with teachers and that my dream job was to be a Literacy Coach.  It took a couple of years for the right opportunity to come my way, but I became a Literacy Coach and loved it.  Working with teachers and students is truly rewarding.  I wasn’t looking for a new job.

But an opportunity found me. 

I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason.  And so when a new position unexpectedly opened up in a neighboring school district, I decided to go for it.  I thought, “If this is meant to be, I’ll know.  If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”  And it did. 

My favorite quote has always been “Risk everything.  Outgrow yourself.”  I like to think that I live by this, but true big risks don’t come my way very often.  In fact, this is one of the first times I was truly tested.  This was one of those times that I could truly “outgrow myself.”  You just can’t pass up those opportunities.  I’m still going to be working with students and teachers, but on a bigger scale.  Instead of working with one school, I will be working with several schools now.  I just keep thinking to myself, “Imagine the possibilities.”

I’m still a little amazed at the changes that have happened over the past two weeks.  I packed up my classroom, said goodbye to teachers  and administrators who have touched my heart and my life in wonderful ways.  These are the people who helped me to be who I am today.  And I moved into an office in a new school district, where I have already met countless wonderful people, who I know I will love working with.

So, that’s where I’ve been.  I’ve been packing, moving, crying, laughing, planning, thinking, praying, questioning, and learning.  I’m so excited to begin this new journey. 

Thanks for listening.  :)

Maybe I’ll cook something to celebrate. 

Food Splurges and a Drink Discovery

Happy Friday, Y'all!  I don't know about you guys... but I am REALLY ready for the weekend. TGIF!

I toasted Friday with a cup of coffee this morning...

and I celebrated by wearing my awesome self-designed Nike Frees. 

I heart these shoes so much for Zumba and everything else that I seriously am thinking about designing a backup pair so that I won't wear these out all at once.  Several years ago, I had the most awesome pair of shoes.  I wore them until they were literally falling apart.  Then, I went to order more and... guess what... they were no longer being made!  I am scared that will happen with these shoes. 

Since I haven't posted in a few days, I thought I would give you a little sampling of some of my fun food splurges over the past few days!

On Wednesday, I was lucky to be able to attend a seminar with 3 other coworkers to see Cris Tovani speak about Assessment.  One of the best things about this seminar was that it was held at Brookland Conference Center in Columbia... and they serve amazing lunches!  (Excuse the crappy pictures due to poor lighting...)

I had some amazing Black Bean Soup with baked chicken and a spoonful of mac n cheese...

salad...

and this delish piece of cake, which I said I would only eat half of... but I ate more like 3/4 of it.  He he.

Last night I taught my last Zumba class at Oakland Baptist for a few weeks.  However, we are about to have a big reopening in a few weeks!  I'm so excited!  Afterwards I met the girls for drinks at Michael's Grill. 

I love this place. 

I started with a Mai Tai...

...and I opted for the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich, which was HUGE and fabulous, with homemade potato chips. 

The only down side to eating at Michael's is the dark atmosphere... which is only a down side if you like to take pictures of your food.

Speaking of Zumba... I have a new drink discovery to share with you.  Coconut Water!

I've been drinking Zico, which I get at Trader Joe's.  I've seen lots of people talking about it and drinking it, and when I read info about it online, it sounded like every athlete should be drinking it.  It's "nature's Gatorade."  At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it.  I wasn't sure if the taste was working for me.  However, I've figured out that I don't like drinking it out of the carton!  Weird, huh?  So I've been pouring myself about 1/2 cup to drink just before a workout, and I really like it!  I think it helps me to stay hydrated.

Finally... I would like to close with a quote.  The hubs and I have had several unexpected bumps in the road lately.  My family has lost two very special people over the past couple of months... and I am still dealing with those feelings of sadness that seem to come and go at the oddest times.  Then, our air conditioner broke, and it turns out we are having to replace the ENTIRE air conditioning system AND the furnace.  Let's just say that we could go on several REALLY nice vacations for the price of a new air conditioner and furnace.  And there are a few other challenges that we're trying to deal with.  Whenever I hit bumps in the road, I like little nuggets of wisdom that I can repeat to myself.  And I thought... we're all dealing with challenges every day, so this quote might be helpful to some of you. 

So my quote for the week is...

"Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth."
-- Susan Taylor

I like the idea that with each challenge we face... something is planted inside us that can grow and turn into something wonderful.

New Kicks! Yeah!!!

Today, I returned home from teaching co-teaching a really fun Zumba class to a surprise… new shoes!  I was so excited!  I actually ordered these about 4 weeks ago from Nike ID.  You can design your own shoes!  Several years back I did this and designed the best running shoes ever!  I really wanted a good pair of shoes that I could do Zumba classes in but also run or just wear wherever. 

Take a look at my new kicks!  They are the Nike Free shoe for women. 

I think they turned out super-cute.  I wanted pink because I love pink, but I decided on blue with pink accents. 

I chose to put “Outgrow” on the left shoe and “Yourself” on the right shoe.  Those of you who know me well know that one of my favorite quotes is “Risk everything.  Outgrow yourself.”  The quote is by Ralph Fletcher, who writes professional books for teachers, but I think this quote applies to everything in life.  I couldn’t fit the whole quote, but I thought “Outgrow yourself” captured the essence of the quote!”

When I got home, I decided to use my leftover chili as a baked potato topping.  I micro-baked a potato, added chili, cheese, and sour cream!  An easy, filling meal!

Wow!  I just finished my post for the day and it’s not ten p.m. yet!  Whoa!  Go me!

Mexican Chicken Stew and Spiritual Gifts

Happy Sunday to everyone!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We had another weekend of amazing weather here in South Carolina.  Today, it was about 80 degrees here!  Can you believe it?  In February???  The weather in the south is so unpredictable in the spring and fall.  It could be 80 one week and then 40 the next!  I actually would like it to be just a little bit cooler.  When we start running the air conditioner, our power bill skyrockets!  I was hoping for a few more weeks or months of little-to-no air conditioning. 

This morning, I slept in a little (until 8:00)!  Woo hoo!  Amazing.  I used to think sleeping in meant sleeping until noon.  Now if I sleep until 8, it’s a small miracle!

I have a new breakfast favorite. 

Toasted whole wheat flat bread, topped with ham slices and a fried egg.  LOVE runny eggs!  This breakfast will really stick with you for a while, too.

While I ate, I was busy taking a “Spiritual Gifts” quiz.  Stay tuned for more information on that.

I quickly ate lunch and then threw ingredients in the crock pot for dinner tonight before heading out the door to Zumba!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we had a “Souper Bowl Party” at work. 

Everyone brought in soups and stews, and we voted on our favorites.  I have been wanting to make the winning stew for a couple of weeks, so today I finally did! 

This PRIZE-WINNING recipe is courtesy of my coworker, Jennifer. 

Mexican Chicken Chili:

• 1 package of boneless chicken breast
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, washed and drained
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis
• 1 large jar of salsa

Dump everything in the crockpot and cook until the chicken shreds when stirring.  Great on rice, baked potatoes, chips, and as burritos. Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapenos.  EASY!

Well, you know me… I never stick to a recipe completely.  The only changes I made were due to available ingredients in my pantry.  I started with 3 frozen chicken breasts.  I added in a cup of frozen corn kernels, 2 cans of light red kidney beans (I didn’t have black), and 2 cans of Ro-Tel.  I omitted the salsa and the taco seasoning.  I added some cumin, diced onion, and cayenne pepper.  I cooked on high for 2-3 hours, then turned it down to low for an hour.  I took out the chicken, shredded it, put it back in, and stirred.  Then it was ready to go.  I ate it like a chili, with tortilla chips on the side and cheddar sprinkled over the top. 

It was delish!  If I’d had sour cream on hand, I would have used that as a topping, too. 

Thanks, Jennifer for the recipe!

So… about that quiz from this morning… I wasn’t sure whether I was going to write about this today or not… because I normally don’t get too spiritual on my blog.  But I decided I am just gonna “put it out there” anyway.

Our Sunday School class is reading a book called Equipped for Every Good Work.  It’s all about finding out what your spiritual gifts are, so that you can find places and ways to be involved in the church.  I was really interested in taking this quiz to see what my gifts might be.  Ryan and I both took it.  This quiz was no joke!  200 questions!!!  It took me 2 cups of coffee to get through it.  It turned out that my spiritual gifts were Faith and Healing!  When I saw that, I was like, “Wait!  What?”  But then I started thinking about it.

I think that if I had taken this quiz 2 or 3 years ago, I probably would have gotten completely different results.  But several things over the past couple of years have really taught me about letting go and keeping the faith.  When Ryan lost his job and ended up with a job with much lower pay, I wondered how we would make it through.  And I was pretty angry at what was happening to our family.  But he’s had an amazing year, and even though money is tight sometimes… we’ve learned that sometimes there is a plan that we can’t always see.  Sometimes you have to have faith that everything is going to work out the way it is supposed to… even when it happens in a way other than what we would expect. 

A good friend of mine said to me a few months back,

“If you’re going to worry, why pray? 

If you’re going to pray, why worry?” 

That quote has really stuck with me, and I am really trying to live by that now.  You know what?  It’s making like a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. 

So… I’ll leave you on that note… Have a great week!

Liz

You know what they say about assumptions...

So today started off crazy, just like any Monday.  Rush, rush, rush to get out the door!  I was pleasantly surprised when I got in the car that I was actually 5 minutes ahead of schedule!  I silently high-fived myself.  Just as I was about to make the turn to take Sadie to child care, it hit me.  I forgot my lunch.  I had to make the call: go back home and get it and risk being late... OR... leave it on the kitchen counter to spoil and take my chances with the school cafeteria.  I turned around-- caught every red light on the way-- and grabbed the lunch bag off the counter.  Which made me 12 minutes later than normal, but I at least I had a low-points lunch that I wouldn't have to pay extra for.

Breakfast and lunch were nothing exciting.  But I did have a tasty treat after Zumba!  I had to make a run to the grocery store to get milk.  (Chocolate milk is my new obsession.  It's the best post-workout treat! )  So I grabbed the milk, and you know how it's impossible to get just ONE item at the store, so before long I found myself gazing longingly at the ice cream section.  I spotted the Whole Fruit bars.  Thinking, these are so yummy and only 60 calories, I grabbed a box of the coconut flavor.  As soon as I got in the car I opened one.  O.M.G... it was like having a Pina Colada on my drive home.  As I pulled in the driveway, I checked the label and found that NO-- these bars are NOT 60 Calories-- but 140!!!  Turned out to be a 3-point treat instead of a 1-point treat.  Oh well, live and learn.  It was still very refreshing...

Got home and whipped up a fast dinner for the hubby and Sadie: pan-seared garlicky chicken breasts.  I decided to slice mine up into a little southwestern salad.  I just piled some chicken and some of my leftover southwestern veggie salad over a bed of lettuce and voila!  A healthy, tasty, satisfying dinner!

One last pic for the day: I am so excited about the "Extreme Makover" I am doing on my classroom.  I'll post before and after pics soon.  But I will share the quote I painted on my closet doors today... one of my favorites!