Candy and Standardized testing

Here's to you bag of Easter chocolates on sale,
        I bought you as a reward for my students weathering the spring storm of standardized test. You seem like such a small offering for the torture their minds go through. I'd take them all to sky zone to jump, but I'm a teacher and that's just out of my pay grade. So clearance sale candy it will be. My small offering to my little troop of 5th graders.

 I don't know what I would do with out you recess cups and cadbury eggs. I justify the calories I consume with the 2 miles we pace in the room while the kids test. I really did buy you for the kids. When the silence and white walls start to get me, your chocolate and peanut butter yumminess are there for me. You're all I have. Devoid of human interaction and conversations.

 I know peppermints "help the do well" and I enjoy a nice peppermint on occasion, but this a job for chocolate. When I am on my second group of kids for the day and hour number 4, you are still there.... for the kids of course. When I eat my lunch walking down the hall between rounds of testing and only get to eat half of it, you're there waiting for me. When my blood sugar flat lines from doing nothing for hours on end, you are there with your colorful packaging, and you mini cadury eggs are just the thing to spike the blood sugar. You really help the kids wake up and recharge on those 10 minute breaks they get. Thanks for getting us through this testing season, you were really there in those moments of despair.... for the kids.

Being an Athletic Girl is in style.... finally.

I'm finally in style. It only took 25 years to be cool to be athletic. I'd like to thank Brandi Chastain in the 99' women's world cup for getting this movement going so many years ago. It still took a good decade to really make being a female athlete cool but it's here. It's been a long time coming my friends. I'd like to think I was just so in fashion I was a decade a head of the others. 

I have tried to be in style, I have. It's just that I really, really hate shopping. God forbid I need to go buy new jeans. I may or may not wear a pair of my brother's old pants that no longer fit him because they actually fit me correctly. When it comes to shopping, I'm good for one or two stores and they better not have crowds. To all the older girls who lived on my street and current friends who regularly clean out their closets and give me the good stuff; I thank you for keeping me semi in style all while avoiding shopping. 

It's not that I don't want to be super girly, I just don't care and spend my time/money else where. Take for instance Middle and High School. On the days I put on my little one thing of eye shadow, it was warn off by third period and I just didn't care to put more on. To reapply I would have had to do one of the following: walk through a very crowded hall to get to a bathroom to get a tiny mirror to put it back on and that is totally do-able, I just HATE being late to things and being late to class just wasn't an option for something dumb like make up. I could also carry a mirror and make up with me but that would require a bag of some sort and my school supplies were enough to keep up with. I also had soccer every other day and saw no need to put on make up before hitting the fields. 

Back in day, the women's athletic section was oh so very tiny and majority of it in pink. They were bleak times my friend. I remember when the soccer store got girls cleats for the first time. Now we have entire stores dedicated to women's fitness and all the athletic gear we could need and not in pink. Whether we actually work out in said clothes is another story, but a girl can dream. Times have changed and it's wonderful. Athletic clothes are in and I am finally in style.....kinda. 

Like most people, my clothes reflect my mood. Last spring I looked a hot mess 6 out of 7 days. Cause I was. Grief is so fun. My clothes also factor in my whole day. I dress for the majority of my day and being comfortable for such majority. Don't expect me to get all fancy for six flags. Lastly, weather. I live in Georgia and it's currently 80.......in April. It's a little warm down below the mason-dixon and I just want to be comfortable. I'd wear shorts but apparently having them only as long as your underwear is a thing, and I just can't do that. So a cotton sun dress it is. 

My hair has always been a topic of conversation with "Why don't you wear it down more?" Again- below the mason-dixon. I have freakishly thick hair. Both of my parents were given the gift of hair so their spawn got really, really thick hair. It took me a few years to learn to tame this beast my friends. Our family hair stylist, Brittany (she's awesome) will speak on my behalf. The phrase "Omg, It looks like a dead animal on the ground" has been used after a trim. Also, I hate hair in my face. HATE-IT. And pony tails and messy buns are in. So again, I was a decade a head of you. 

Here's the equation: Mood + majority of day + weather = outfit

To those of you who look cute all the days of the week. I commend you. I admire your cute style and would gladly help you clean out your closet. However, I draw the line at monogram Monday. If you want to do my shopping for me. I will gladly give you some money, ok not much money cause I also hate paying for clothes. But feel free to shop for me on a budget. 

Now shopping at REI and Nike running shorts are in. Title Nine and LuluLemon, I love you but I am a teacher and can hardly afford your sale rack. But still I love you. I'm glad that being an athletic girl is cool and I hope it stays. Healthy isn't skinny and muscles don't make you look a like a man, but there's a limit to the muscles one. So lets all accept each other as we are with how we dress cause you don't know what some one's dressing equation is. 

The colors duke!!!!

For quite some time now I have wanted to do a color run. However, thanks to the ole coaching soccer gig, weekend time was not exactly ideal. I signed up in January for this bad boy because I'm not coaching this year and I can sign up for things and not have to worry about a game schedule. If you've never coached, you don't know this joy. Few things are greater.

It was Cold, The sweat bands kept our ears warm

I convinced my friend Mandy to tag a long in the 11th hour. Fun fact, once you run a half marathon, no one wants to do a 5k with you. I don't always have to run ya'll. I will be more than happy to go at your pace for the fun stuff where there isn't a prize for winning. I'm just a girl looking for an adventure buddy.

We kicked off our first day of spring break by heading down to Atlanta motor speedway to the happiest 5k

. We checked in and got a our race gear then quickly ran back to the car cause it's was windy and cold. But soon it was time to start and off we went. First color up, Pink. Followed by orange, blue, yellow, and silver glitter. The call this bad boy The color run and it really should be a color walk. A good 80% of the participants, walked. Those that were running where 1st time 5k people. It was a very odd thing to see no one actually running a race. The course around the track was easy with only one hill. There were young ones as old as 5 "running" this bad boy. There was also a set of girls riding scooters. I kinda felt like that was cheating, not that any one actually won the "race". In short it was a fun experience. One odd thing I have never seen before was they had constant start times. When we finished, people were still checking in and headed to the start line. I have never seen a race set up this way. But over all I would highly recommend this to any first time runners, people who just want to walk or want a family friendly race. They're doing a glow in the dark run this fall and we plan on signing up. Feel free to join us!

Because you are wondering: Yes, the color washes of easily unfortunately, the glitter takes a little longer to shake off.