Make-It-Happen Monday

Here are the things that I am hoping to make happen this week and this month.

GET IN MY BELLY!!! Grub Menu (7/2 – 7/8)
MONDAY	Chicken breasts, green beans, mashed potatoes
Tuesday	Cream cheese chicken chili
Wednesday	?? – 4th of July bar-b-que
Thursday	Ground turkey tacos (whole wheat, high fiber tortillas), Mexican rice, avocado pico de gallo, black beans
Friday	Steak, chimichurri, roasted veggies
Saturday	- out to eat OR - Curry chicken with onions, bell peppers over brown rice, cucumber salad
Sunday	- out to eat (hopefully Pho or Malaysian food again!) OR - Salmon, asparagus, orzo salad

Work Out Schedule (July 2 – July 8)
	Run	Cross Train	Weights
Monday	3	---	Arms: biceps, triceps, abs
Tuesday	4	Zumba, Spin	---
Wednesday	2	Step	Whole body
Thursday	5	Zumba, Spin	---
Friday	3	Pilates	Legs
Saturday	3	Step	Chest/Back/ Shoulders
Sunday	7	---	---

Right Now I’m…
reading...	The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life (again), Slob (still), Charlotte’s Web (reading it with my little one)
listening to…	Michael Buble, Michael Bolton, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra.  Believe it or not, I am only 33 years old!  I’m just in a jazzy kind of mood right now!
Watching:	Live with Kelly, The View, and Dr. Oz, all shows that I never get to watch during the school year because I’m usually at work when they come on.
Craving...	Jasmine Cream Tea with a double shot of boba (still haven’t had one since the last time I posted about it!) and a nice big, fat juicy dill pickle.
loving...	Being on vacation.  Today was my first official day of summer break and I must say, it was REALLY nice to stay in my pj’s for pretty much the whole day. J
wishing that…	Wednesday’s weather stays nice and clear for the 4th of July.  I do love me some fireworks!!

JULY goals

- tighten up on my eating.  I am a firm believer in not denying myself anything (everything in moderation, right?!) but I have been acting a little spoiled lately and eating a little too much of what I want.  I just need to tighten up a little.  Being home this month is really going to help me do this because I have more time to meal plan, grocery shop, and cook! - complete at least four projects.  That’s about one a week and very feasible, right? Here are the four projects I hope to accomplish: 1.    Make a new vision board. 2.    Clean out the closets and make a Goodwill pile.  A large one. 3.    Make a cute pin board for little one’s room. 4.    Spring Summer Clean!  - continue my Summer RUNstreak and try to log at least 20 miles per week all month. - improve my blog and make it more user-friendly - read at least 8 books this month.  On my list of books to read this summer: 1.      Slob – Ellen Potter 2.      The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life – Amby Burfoot 3.      Delirium – Lauren Oliver 4.      Divergent – Veronica Roth 5.      Insurgent – Veronica Roth 6.      Running for Women – Kara Goucher 7.      Run Like a Girl – Mina Samuels 8.      The Rules of Life – Richard Templar 9.      Then Again – Dianne Keaton 10. Hot & Sweaty Mamas – Kara Douglass Thom and Laurie Lethert Kocanda 11. Jimmy Fallon’s new one 12. The Uglies – Scott Westerfeld 13. The Diamond of Darkhold – Jeanne Duprau 14. Legend – Marie Lu 15. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer – John Grisham 16. Mile Markers – Kristin Armstrong 17.  Run Like a Mother – McDowell and Shea 18.  Bossy Pants – Tina Fey 19.  The Best Advice I Ever Got – Katie Couric 20. Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White

What are some of your goals this month? What are you grubbing on that you can't get enough of lately? What are your workouts looking like this week?

Five Favs Friday

I want to take a moment to gush about the five things that I am loving right now. 

1. Summer fruit

…because it is so readily available, so fresh, and it’s all of my favorites, in season at the same time!  Strawberries, cantaloupe, mangos, pineapple, honeydew, watermelon.  I am obsessed with these right now and keep a constant supply of them in my kitchen.  I also incorporate them into every meal and snack.  My favorite breakfast right now:

Fruity Summer Breakfast

1 cup cottage cheese (or greek yogurt)
½ c diced strawberries
½ c diced pineapple
handful of blueberries
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
drizzle of honey

**to kick the nutrition aspect up a notch (and make it even more heart-healthy), sometimes I sprinkle Chia seeds or ground up flax seed on it**

Talk about DELISH!!  And what makes it even better is that it’s healthy and filling!

2. Blogs

…because I love to read them and even have a list of them that I blog-stalk (read) every day.  Starting a blog was something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while and finally got up the courage to start one!  There were so many reasons why I wanted to start a blog…as well as reasons why I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet.  There was the issue of time, I couldn’t find the right name for it, and didn’t know where or how to get started.  I finally took the plunge and am happy that my blog will turn two weeks old tomorrow!  I enjoy writing my posts, and have found that my favorite part is that I get to keep a written (and visual) account of my crazy, eclectic life.  As a bonus: it’s therapeutic.  Instead of retail therapy, this is my blog therapy. J

3. My RUNstreak

…because it is forcing me to find at least 25-30 minutes a day to work out.  The truth is, that we are never too busy to work out, although we often come up with a ton of excuses.  My philosophy is that in life there is always time for what we MAKE time for.  There are 1,440 minutes in a day; it’s not impossible to find 30 of them to exercise.  Do something…anything!  Run, bike ride, walk around the neighborhood.  The more active we get, the better!  In my family, we make it a family affair so we can get our daughter involved too because I think it’s important to teach her healthy habits and making exercise a daily activity is one of them!  It’s good for the body and good for the mind! Endorphins rock! J

With my run last night I completed Day 27, and June’s almost over which means one month down, two to go.  And so Leti’s Summer RUNstreak continues…

4. Free time – and sleep (sometimes)

…because I actually have time to DO SOME STUFF!!!  Being a teacher, I look forward to this time of the year because it’s my time to rest, relax, and (most importantly) rejuvenate.  In the summer everything is better simply because I have more time to DISFRUTAR (Spanish for ENJOY…although I don’t think the English word captures it quite like the Spanish word does).  During the summer I’m not in such a rush to get home and grade papers or work on lesson plans so I have more time to enjoy the places we go, the food we eat (and the restaurants we eat at), and the family activities we love to do.   I get to stay up late, which is great for me because I’m a night owl, and I even have time to go have coffee and go on dinner dates with the hubs occasionally! 

Everyone always talks about how “lucky” us teachers are to have so much time off and how good we have it to get three months off for the summer.  Let me be frank for a moment, if I may, and I think most teachers I know would agree with me when I say this: Trust me, by the time May rolls around, IT IS TIME.  The children are tired, we are tired, and we have all had enough together time to last us a good while.  We NEED that time off!  If it weren’t for the summer, I’m not sure we would be as effective…or sane!  Trust me, it’s better for everyone involved for us to have that time off.  Otherwise, as one of my crazy teacher friends so hillariously put it, “someone somewhere would probably get hurt.”

As of yesterday at 3:15pm, I am officially off for the summer.  With that being said, I’m the kind of person that has to stay busy.  Therefore, being the good nerd with OCD (or CDO - have you seen that pin on Pinterest?) tendencies that I am, I have created a “Summer Projects” list.  Lucky for me, as soon as I scratch one thing off I usually add one or two new ones.  I can’t wait to get started!  But first I think I’ll take the weekend off (and start my projects on Monday) because I have my big Mexico City Girls reunion this weekend in Austin!

5. June 30 – July 1

…because I get to see MY GIRLS!!!!  This weekend I get to spend time with Rachel, Cristina, Ashley, Dianne, and Jenny (we'll miss you Rosie)!  You know those movies/shows/books where the main character has a group of friends that she meets, bonds, and fall in love with…and then reunites with once a year for the rest of their lives?  Well that’s us!!!  I met this beautiful group of girls when we all did an International Public Relations Study Abroad in Mexico City, México in the summer of 2000.  We hung out, worked in International PR internships, and traveled all over México that summer.  We came back to the states, graduated (from Texas A&M University – WHOOP!!!) and have remained friends with each other, and the friends we met there, ever since.

In about 24 hours from now we are going to meet in Austin to hang out, eat some good food, drink a little vino, relax, and catch up…and I CANNOT WAIT!!!

I’m off to do some laundry, a little shopping, and to pack.  Get ready, Austin, because here we come!!! J

5 ?’s for you:

1. What things are you loving right now?
2. What are some of your favorite blogs that I absolutely have to check out?
3.  What are your favorite fruits and how do you incorporate them into your meals?
4.  How often do you work out?
5. Do you have a “girlfriends” group? How often do you get together and what kinds of activities do you do when you see each other?