Thursday, December 7, 2017

Sentence a Day: November 2017

I first joined Sarah and Leslie in writing one sentence a day in January, and this is my eleventh sentence-a-day post. You can read my January sentences here, my February sentences here, my March sentences here, my April sentences here, my May sentences here, my June sentences here, my July sentences here, my August sentences here, my September sentences here, and my October sentences here.

November 1, 2017
I gave my first midterm today, did a lot of grading, completed a lunchtime barre class, went on an afternoon walk and did a short interval workout at the gym while the kid was at Taekwondo.


November 2, 2017
I started the day with a barre class (class 23 in 26 days), went on a long hike with a good friend, and then got caught up on work.

November 3, 2017
I gave my last midterm today and went to a beer release party with Andy in the evening.

November 4, 2017
I started the day again with a barre class, got a bit caught up at home, did some grading, and then we went to a very fun birthday party in the evening.


November 5, 2017
I started the day with a barre class, did a lot of grading, grocery shopped, and we went on a long afternoon walk.


November 6, 2017
Started the week not really prepared but quickly caught up by making soup for our lunches as soon as I got up, taught my class, held office hours, wrote a blog post, graded, and made time for a barre class.


November 7, 2017
I started the day with a barre class and went on several walks throughout the day that ended up totaling 20,000 steps.


November 8, 2017
I was in a bit of funk all day, so I bought some beautiful flowers to cheer me up; I also took a barre class at lunch time.
 
November 9, 2017
I started the day with a barre class and then got caught up on work and took care of some details for our Germany trip.

November 10, 2017
It was nice to have the day off; we went on a morning walk, out for lunch for Pho, and explored downtown San Jose a bit.
November 11, 2017
I went to a barre class, on a walk, to a stress management workshop, and in the afternoon Andy and I stopped by a new brewery for a while.


November 12, 2017
I started the day with a barre class, we walked 2 miles to a cafe for lunch (and back), went grocery shopping and got ready for the week.


November 13, 2017
I took a lunchtime barre class and got 17,000 steps by the end of the day; I may need to rest a bit soon.

November 14, 2017
Lots of grading and prep work after a morning barre class; in the evening the kid presented in front of the School Board, and we are very proud.


November 15, 2017
The kid finally got California rolls, which he had been asking for. Unfortunately, they were not very photogenic.


November 16, 2017
I met a dear friend of mine who recently moved back to California 2.5 hours away for lunch; since it was raining a lot it turned into quite the adventure.


November 17, 2017
I started the day with a barre class, and I brought treats for my 3-hour class.



November 18, 2017
It was a cool day, and we got some tofu soup for lunch.

November 19, 2017
We walked to our neighborhood cafe after my barre class, and I did some shopping at Old Navy in the afternoon.


November 20, 2017
The kid is off this week, and we went on a nice hike in the afternoon.


November 21, 2017
The kid and I walked to our neighborhood cafe for lunch and had the best time talking on the way.


November 22, 2017
Held office hours, taught my class, went to a barre class, and saw Wonder with the kid in the afternoon - such a good movie!


November 23, 2017
Our Thanksgiving plans changed abruptly, but we ended up having a nice day after all, including a last second meal.


November 24, 2017
The older kid and I have a standing Black Friday date for ten years now, ever since the younger kid was a tiny baby; we had fun doing a bit of shopping, going out to lunch and getting some coffee; in the evening we checked out the Winter Fest at Great America and then stopped by my friend's house.


November 25, 2017
I had some of my friends from grad school, some of whom I hadn't seen in years, over; it was good to catch up.

November 26, 2017
The kid's friend slept over and we went out for Japanese ramen.



November 27, 2017
I'm still trying to get organized after Saturday's party; plus, I realized today that we'll be in Germany in three weeks! Yikes!!! So not feeling prepared...

November 28, 2017
After several really difficult months, I feel there was a breakthrough today, and I'm very thankful; I'm also thankful for my daily walks.


November 29, 2017
It's week ten of the quarter and my students are losing steam; I tried to motivate them today...

November 30, 2017
I started the day with a barre class, got a haircut, and got lots of work done.



Questions: What were your highlights in November? Are you going to join us this month and write one sentence a day?


Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.

Be well,
Andrea

Monday, December 4, 2017

Making Time in a Busy Season

Life has been stressful and hectic for months now, but I'm consistently working on being grateful for the "little" things and cherishing my time with loved ones.

The older kid and I started a Black Friday tradition ten years ago when the younger kid was just a few weeks old.  Every Black Friday, just the two of us go out, but the focus is not on getting the best deal but on spending time together. This year we headed to a less popular mall, bought a few items, went to lunch and then had some coffee. Our one-on-one time was priceless.


Around that time I also decided that I wanted to experiment with a darker/brighter lip color instead of the usual neutral colors that I wear. This is a mixture of several colors, but I bought a red lipstick that I like yesterday, and I'm going to share it soon.
Later in the day on Black Friday, we headed to WinterFest at California's Great America in Santa Clara. It's a fun place for families to spend some winter fun. 


I also did a little shopping in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the Rebecca Minkoff cold shoulder sweater that I ordered from Nordstrom didn't work out the way I wanted it to, and I returned it. 


Since life has been stressful in the last few months, exercise has been essential. I try to get as many steps as possible every day, and I have also been taking barre classes most days. 


This was a particularly good day; I don't get that many steps every day... :-)



I have also been lifting more weights and am proud that there are some more visible muscles showing up... :-)


This past weekend, we had fun at the Bubbly Walk in Willow Glen. We hung out with friends and had fun checking out the cute stores. And I managed not to buy anything! :-)
Finally, Andy bought an ugly holiday sweater yesterday, and I just absolutely love it! It makes me smile whenever I look at it! 


Questions: What's new in your life lately? Do you make time for the little things during this busy season? 

 
Be well, Andrea