I made this soup weekly.

While I don’t really love making a hot soup in the middle (end?) of August – Meeker requested it this week, and it has such sentimental first-year-of-marriage feelings associated with it, that I couldn’t turn him down.

If I’m honest, my favorite parts of this soup are the bacon crumbles (hiding there in the back) and the limes.

Oh, and the chips. You pour all the chicken/tomato slop down over chips. I like that.

I kind of picked around the chicken (wasn’t doing much for me) – but the rest was as good as I remember. Meeker slurped it up, too. Even on a hot August night.

Also, did you vote today?

Bring it on.

One of my family’s dearest friends came up to meet Adrienne today, and brought me some delicious chocolate chip cookies (thanks Leigh!) – and that kick started things. After a couple of them as an appetizer, I moved on to a bagel lathered in almond butter and honey.

I fed Adrienne (a few times), did some laundry, and went to Target – when I got back, I was starving. It feels so good to be starving again.

My parents came up yesterday, and packed our refrigerator with yummy food – and I’m so glad. I dug into the stash with this meal of asparagus, tomatoes and chicken enchiladas

Hit.The.Spot.

Dessert was frozen chocolate custard and another cookie…

Mmm, lick. Welcome back, appetite.

Breakfast

Grape Nuts (love!) with coconut milk and blackberries

Lunch/Snacks

I just snacked all day long – didn’t ever really sit down for lunch. In that cute little apple bag…

Carrots and celery. That were dipped into peanut butter.

So dang.

When I got home from work, I really wanted a milkshake from Sonic – but I decided to make my own healthier version.

Green Monster to the rescue!

• 1 cup milk
• 1 scoop cookies ‘n cream protein powder
• 10 ice cubes
• 3 good handfuls of spinach

It was so tasty – and it dominated my milkshake craving (okay, it was pretty much a milkshake).

As I was happily lapping up the last drops out of the blender, this happened…

Big ol’ drop of green monster on my monstrous belly. This has been happening a lot lately.

Dinner

I cooked chicken on skewers, and put it on some spinach and cucumbers with lemon.

To make the chicken:

I marinated the chicken in some white wine, olive oil, and red pepper flakes for a few hours. Then dipped it in a mixture of oats, corn flakes, and parmesan cheese that I pulverized in my food processor. When the chicken was coated, I threaded it onto skewers and broiled it for about 15 minutes (turning frequently) until it was cooked.

In the 3^rd grade world…

Some of my students offered to “oraganize” my classroom library for me today. I was thrilled that they offered, and when I went to see the finished product, this is what I found.

They pulled all the books off of the shelves, then abandoned the project.

The good news is that I slept soundly (with a few bathroom trips) until about 4am – which is a huge improvement! After a better night’s sleep, I had a killer workout and then…

Breakfast

I’m kind of having a love affair with grape nuts, lately. The addition of strawberries, banana, and coconut milk was stellar as well.

Lunch

Same as yesterday. Bagel toasted with mustard, spinach, and cucumber. Plus 3 cuties.

Dinner

photo courtesy of How Sweet Eats

I came home and saw that we had some chicken thawed and ready to go. Originally, I was just going to grill it and call it a day – but I’m so glad I didn’t. I stumbled across Jessica’s Crispy Chicken Skewers – and miraculously had all of the ingredients on hand. They were deeelicious – like everything she makes.

In the 3^rd grade world…

While grading a reading test this afternoon, I came across this funny misspelling.

What would happen to Earth if the sun were closer?

If the sun was any closer to Earth we would all bowl.

(He meant “boil” – but I have to say, I’d rather go bowling)

Onion bagel with avocado and toffuti cream cheese – Panini pressed

Spinach, red peppers, cranberries, walnuts, cucumber and dressing made from tahini + water + apple cider vinegar + agave

After my hour nap, I woke up feeling motivated to go to the gym. After a nice workout, I went to the grocery store for dinner supplies.

Roasted brussles sprouts, roasted asparagus, rotisserie chicken – bbq sauce for dipping

In the 3^rd grade world…

Technically, this didn’t happen today (I’m on fall break, afterall!) but last Friday as I was leaving school, a co-worker ran up to me in the parking lot and handed me this. She said I’d need it for my ice-chest-classroom during the upcoming winter months – and that I could break it in during fall break.

Yup, it’s a snuggie. I couldn’t be more thrilled, and I’m currently sitting underneath – feeling very safe and snug. Thank you so much, Beth!

**Edited to add: Meeker just stole the snuggie. He’s so proud of himself for the swipe. Just look at that face…

Is that they make me hungrier then I was before I ate them. I know I’ve been through this before – but every few months, I try them again – and without fail, I finish the bowl feeling famished. This bowl should have done the trick: banana, sweet potato, ½ cup oats, almond milk, flax cereal, peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter.

But even when the bowl tips the scales at over 400 calories, like this one did, I’m left with a growling tummy. I was furious with my breakfast (even thought it was tasty) and had to eat a bowl of cereal before leaving so that I didn’t keel over from starvation on my walk to work. Stupid oats.

Lunch was light, but held me over nicely. Better than the oats.

Rice noodles in broth with pieces of chicken – all leftovers from last night.

Plus another pink lady in a sweater. (I still can’t get over how awesome that sweater is)

After the kiddos left for the day, I had my favorite bar for snack.

These are so stinkin’ good. (Especially propped up on my Dr. Seuss mug)

For dinner, I had a big fat bowl of roasted veggies with hummus.

Cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, red onion, broccoli, carrots, green beans – tossed in evoo and garlic, then roasted at 425* for 45 minutes. Perfection.

In the 3^rd grade world…

A water pipe in the ceiling of my classroom broke today.

Spewing water through the ceiling (and the lights!!) all over the floor and the kid’s desks. Thank the Lord that the students were not in the room (…can you imagine?!) I left school around 5:15 and the plumber still hadn’t showed up. I’m just hoping my classroom is back in working order tomorrow at 7am!

It started out well. I woke up before 7, ran 6 miles, went to Bible study, had lunch with the husband/in-laws…then when I got home – NOTHING. I fell asleep while reading. Then woke up and watched TV. Then read blogs. Then walked the dog. Then read some more. It was glorious.

Backtrack to post-run breakfast…

Green(ish) monster: ½ frozen berries, 2 cups spinach, ½ cup almond milk, ½ cup water, 2 cups ice

The said lunch with in-laws…

Vegetarian salad from Costa Vida – kind of meh

I snacked a lot in the afternoon, but my lazy pants prevented me from digging my camera out of my purse. One snack I did photograph: trail mix

Eaten while engaging in a staring contest with Bellatrix.

I finally rallied for dinner and grilled up some chicken, made a cabbage slaw (dressed with oil + vinegar), and roasted some ‘taters with dill from my brother’s garden (thanks Matt and Sheila!)

This is our go-to dinner for lazy nights…the grill and salad. I’m actually kind of impressed with my initiative to roast the potatoes.

That does it.

Hope you all are having lazy evenings! If not, keep your head up, tomorrow is FRIDAY! I’m doing the weekend dance for you all…

Then we headed to a place called Great Beginnings Cafe. When the weather gets warm, I always crave fresh things, so I went with the fruit medley for breakfast.

Oh so yummy. Watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, blueberries.

There was also coffee. Always coffee.

When we got back home, we all went for a walk and then my parents headed home and Meeker and I headed to the gym. He had to work, I wanted some exercise. Before we left I had a Dr. Kracker.

These babies are big!

This held me over nicely during some running and weight lifting. Then it was home again to re-fuel.

Gaaah, I love salad. Meeker says you don’t win friends with salad…

I disagree.

In this beauty:

• Lettuce
• Broccoli slaw
• Corn (cut off the cob)
• Jicama
• Sunflower seeds
• Pepitas
• Flax seeds
• Dressing: balsamic vinegar + spicy mustard + evoo

I desserted (yeah, I made it a verb) with a hefty hunk of watermelon.

I just dug right into this puppy…so fresh and sweet! I love summerrrrrrrr.

Dinner was grilled.

Chicken kabobs, zucchini, barley

That barley was so good! I seasoned it with chicken broth and garlic powder. Mmmm, lick.

Meek had to go back to work (booo) so I’m just relaxing and watching The Bachelorette (I like Frank!). I hope you all are having relaxing evenings before this short week! Wahoo!

What is your favorite summer fruit? Mine is watermelon, without a doubt. In fact, I think I’ll go cut myself another slice right now…

Last night I combined: 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato, ½ cup greek yogurt

This morning I added: almonds, cinnamon, Kashi Autumn Wheat

I walked to school, then had my coffee and a banana at my desk.

Lunch was leftovers.

Grilled chicken breast and flax-encrusted sweet potato balls

Snack was something Meeker brought home from work…a new protein bar!

Taste wise: I’m a big fan. Stats wise: 240 calories, 13 g protein, 28g carbs, 8g fat – not bad at all.

I also had an apple sometime today and some craisins after school.

Dinner is still undetermined because I’m still at school – at my after school job of answering the phone. After my walk home, honestly all I want to do is lay on the couch and crash. Why?? Glad you asked…

In the 3^rd grade world…

Today was field day. So much fun for the kids and teachers (at least I think so!). However it absolutely wears the kids out. Mine were practically asleep when they came inside after lunch. I tried to fill the afternoon with quiet(ish) activities that didn’t require too much critical thinking. However, 2:15pm struck, and it was like someone decided to play a cruel joke on us…

We had a power surge.

The electricity in the building went out.

No lights. No phones. No computers. No intercom system. Just a dark building with more than 500 tired (cranky) kiddos.

My students thought it was a zombie attack. I heard that second grade thought the school was being robbed. Many thought that a tornado had struck nearby.

An added bonus was that I have a student who has seizures. Blinking lights are bad for this student, and when the power surge was ensuing, it was like a disco club in the school. Literally every overhead light in our hallway/classrooms turned into a strobe. I was desperately trying to find my seizure student and cover his eyes and calm him down – and he was not having it. So, I ended up taking my class outside for an enormous game of duck, duck, goose.

When we returned to the building, the children were instructed to pack up their belongings (in the dark?!) and go to the gym (which had light). So…we attempted to individually dismiss the kids for carpool as over 500 of them sat on the floor of a gym. Our only tools were shushing teachers, and a single bullhorn.

The hilarity/difficulty of keeping over 500 kids SILENT (on a Friday afternoon, after field day, when there are two school days left) is inexplicable.

On the upside. I have TWO days of school left. One. Two.

One egg, salsa, two slices of ww bread

I love my milk frother. This was an old leftover starbucks cup with ¾ coffee and ¼ steamed milk. I packed the sandwich in foil, put a lid on the coffee and hoofed it to school. The breakfast sandwich was enjoyed while checking email at my desk. 6 days, 6 days, 6 days…

At lunchtime I was beyond hungry. My lunch did very little to stop the grumbling.

Leftover chicken and zucchini

Cheese and crackers

a mini packet of M&Ms given to by a student

The day was so nice and warm that I took both of my afternoon classes outside to write poetry in the sunshine. I just strolled around listening to 8 year-old wisdom and soaking up the rays. It was glorious. After school, I headed to my after-school job in the office and had some homemade cheerio trail mix.

Cheerios, chocolate chips, almonds, pepitas

I left just after 6:00pm and walked home in the warm sunshine. I can’t even express how much I love the longer daylight hours of summer. Upon entering the door, I quickly made a taco salad.

Lettuce, shredded carrot, ground turkey, salsa, hummus, crumbled chips

The salad was so voluminous that I had to transfer it to a mixing bowl in order to eat it. Don’t believe me?

Proof.

For dessert, I made an insanely simple, delicious and healthy ice cream.

Just like a frosty. Into my food processor I put: one frozen banana, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, splash of milk

In the 3^rd grade world…

My students have taken to using the phrase “google it up” – and I fear that I’m to blame. I don’t remember ever saying this, but it sounds like something I would glibly say in response to a question. For example…

Mrs. Unger, do you know what the alternative name for Orion’s Nebula is?

No, I don’t Timmy…I’ll have to google that up later.

Like I said, I don’t recall ever using that phrase, but I sometimes feel so comfortable with my students that I slip into the habit of using tremendously casual speech. I wouldn’t put it past myself. Either way, some of my students now think that “google it up” is a perfectly legitimate term for “doing research”

I would correct them, but honestly, I think it’s hilarious.