Random Ramblings

So I haven't blogged since Tuesday. It was hard getting back into the swing of school after a week and a few days off. But I'm back today for my non teaching related post. I'm back to share some ramblings of my past week. I had started this post last night before Chris and I went out for date night. By the time we got home, I just wanted to get in bed and read. So I'm going to finish this post today and share my visual plans tomorrow. Anyway, I'll start off with what I'm reading. I finally started the book Gone Girl.

Oh my goodness, I'm hooked. It's so suspenseful. I've almost stayed up way too late the past two nights reading it. I really wanted to finish it the other night but I was only like 45% through.(I read a lot on my kindle and that's how I  can tell how far I'm in the book.) I'd say I'll finish it tonight. I'll read just about anything but I love mysteries. They are my favorites. I just recently finished this series of books by a local author. Tuesday at our local library he's doing a book signing and I wanted to have his books read by then. I'm on the board of our library and plant to be in attendance. They were pretty good. I found them amazon and if you like mysteries these are good.

I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading next. I have some new stuff on my kindle so next week I'll update you on what I'm reading. I'd love to hear what you're reading so leave me a title or two in the comments.
I'm still working on my healthy eating habits. I have been 6 days without diet coke and it's hard. I miss my diet coke and I'm getting the worse caffeine headaches. I was only having one at lunch so I was a little surprised that my head would hurt so bad. But it's getting better. I think if I can make it 10 days I'll be on my way to giving them up. I weighed this week and I've lost almost 6 and half pounds. I know it isn't that much and it has taken me a while but I feel good about it. I'm not doing anything crazy (well the no diet coke is a little crazy) but just trying to get some better habits in general. We had a couple of good dinner this week. The first was Greek night.

I had found a Greek chicken crockpot recipe and the chicken had great flavor. I put lemon juice, red wine vinegar, water, garlic, onion and oregano in with the chicken and cooked it on low for 6 hours. I put it on a bed of spinach with grape tomatoes, cucumbers and sprinkled with feta. I also made a home made tzatziki sauce. It was delish. I thought it looked really pretty on the plate.

This meal is one of my old single standbys with chicken added. I got the recipe originally from Giada on the food network. It's a roasted vegetable pasta primavera. You chop up bell peppers, zucchini, squash and carrots. Coat with olive oil and then add spices. I use Italian seasonings, paprika and garlic powder. Cook on 450 for about 20 minutes. I cooked whole wheat penne. Tossed the vegetables and penne with Parmesan cheese. This was always satisfying for me but my hubby likes meat. So I sauteed 2 chicken breasts with the land o lakes saute express butter. It was a good dinner and pretty healthy. So those are my food suggestions for the week. This week on the menu is Skinnytaste's chicken and white bean enchiladas, fish tacos, salad with chicken and pinto beans and cornbread. What's on your menu for the week?
I have a couple more pictures to share of my adventures the past week.

 Chris and I are still working on our spare bedroom. It has been my junk room and then our junk room. We found a cute desk at a local store in our arts and crafts community a month ago so we've been working on itslowly. Part of the problem is all my craft materials. So last weekend Chris bought me a shelf to try to get the yarn under control. I think it looks like I'm opening up a yarn store. But it looks a lot better.

 Monday since I had a doctor's appointment and had to leave at a half day. Chris and I met for lunch at this great cafe. We got to eat outside since the weather was so nice. They have a really pretty patio area. If you find yourself in Pigeon Forge, TN you should check the Pottery House Cafe out. There food is so good.

Last picture is from our field trip on Thursday. I'm blessed to live next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We have a very special relationship with the park and every year each grade level goes on 3 field trips to the park. It's called Parks as a Classroom. They have it in other national parks but our program was one of the first ones around. This was the end of the our habitat hike on Thursday. We got to see some really neat things. The rangers led it and it was great trip. I'm a weirdo and love field trips. They make me happy rather than stress me out.
So those are my random ramblings for the week. I need to get lesson plans written, visual plans up, and a couple of things made for plants next week. So be sure to come back tomorrow to see my visual plans and snag a few freebies. I love comments so I'd love to hear about what you are reading or eating.