An Ode to Mustang Sally

Allow me to begin by saying this: I got a new car over Christmas break, and for that I am beyond thrilled. I could not possibly be more grateful. 

However, the new purchase is replacing my very first vehicle.  When I was sixteen I got a 2006 Ford Mustang. It was a cherry red cloth top.  We bought it because my dad said blondes look good in red convertibles...

I adored that car.  My summers were made infinitely better just by cruising down the parkway with the top down.  I measured my days by whether or not they were "top down" appropriate, and my favorite days were driven with the top down with the heat on, wrapping my legs in a warm embrace.  

That car brought me to my first date with Loverboy.

Got me in my first accident (one of the most memorable life lessons I've received.)

Got me to highschool graduation. 

Drove me to college.

Picked up my little sister when she couldn't drive.

Offered me an extra hour in the sun in traffic on the way home from the beach. 

I even learned to pump gas on that car...

And this morning, February 2nd 2014, Groundhog day and Superbowl Sunday, my parents drove off onto I-64 north toward New Jersey in my precious red car.  I think there is a Mustang-shaped hole in my heart. 

On the bright side... it is a cold, rainy Sunday with expected freezing rain and snow over night.  I don't anticipate my parents putting the top down any time soon, and I think I'll get good use out of the four wheel drive of my new SUV.  Her name is Nissan Nina. She's red too.

 

**disclaimer: My dad is keeping Mustang Sally at least for a little while.  So as Loverboy put it, it's like I'm going off to college and I'll see her on breaks :) I can't be totally heart broken just yet...

It's OK...

... to go to the movies on a Monday night with your little cousin, just because.

... to cry during the film version of "Perks of Being a Wallflower." And then proceed to go home and read it again.

... to buy a pack of gum, and finish four pieces of it within an hour of purchase.

... to raise your voice in preschool.  I have learned that what I once thought was an infinite supply of patience, is actually a limited reserve that can be easily drained by a classroom of rowdy four-year-olds.  Luckily, four-year-olds bounce back incredibly quickly.  5 minutes after you raise your voice, they are running to your arms to tell you they love you.  Thank goodness.

... to begin thinking in tweets ... 140 sweet characters at a time.

... or is it?

(un)productivity

I do my best cleaning when I have the most homework. Actually, the more homework I have the more unrelated things I find to do in general, however, cleaning typically takes precedence.  

Oh a nine page reflection on academic language due Monday? 

I'll get to it right after I scrub the kitchen floor. On my hands and knees. Oh, and then I'll bleach it.  

A take home test due tomorrow? 

That will get finished after I dust every square inch of my bedroom.  

20 lesson plans due before Spring Break ends? 

Hold on let me just go vacuum the room I barely live in, wash and dry the dishes, take the garbage out and fold my sister's laundry.  

It's amazing the things I do in the name of procrastination. 

BRB I think I see some crumbs on the counter; better go take care of that before I continue blogging and begin to start my work.  

Happy (un)productive Tuesday, lovebugs! 
PS: I totally just wrote "Tuesday" instead of Wednesday up there.  Just goes to show you how quickly this break is passing, and how little I am actually getting done.  Can I call a time out please?

M.I.A

I've been slightly missing in action lately, and for that I apologize.  Sixth grade is in full gear and there's no time for slowing down. 

However, I have found some time to do some blog-worthy things, and luckily I found about 2 minutes to actually blog about them.  Without further adieu, here is a collection of my most recent happenings:

Aunt Doe gets married! My family and I were ecstatic to see the youngest of my mom's sisters get married last week.  

Mr. and Mrs. 

The Sisterhood

The Bride and her nieces :)






 I celebrated Loverboy's 22nd birthday. 

His traditional over-sized handmade card (and a present hidden back there too) 

Me and the one that I adore :)

A sixth grader made me a beautiful drawing at the end of the week.  

Boy:"Ms Y this is for you. Hatars love 'em. Peace."

Me: Oh! Well, thank you .. uh, it's beautiful!

I contributed to "raisin" test scores during a week of standardized testing at Hollywood ;)

(I can't wait for round two to be over this week!)

My week has been long, but far from boring.  I am excited for the week ahead as it brings me closer to our Public School Spring break in less than THIRTEEN DAYS!!! But who's counting?

Happy week xo 

Workin' On My Fitness

Currently,
I am exhausted.
I am overwhelmed thinking about my career search.
I am reluctant to go back to school after a day off.
I am sore.
I am healing a severe turf burn due to illegal slide tackling in indoor intramural soccer (Too bad I was the offender.)
I am en route to Virginia Tech for the annual Southeast Collegiate Fitness Expo!

On Monday,
I will still be exhausted
I will still be overwhelmed.
I will most certainly be reluctant to begin another school week.
I hope to be injury-free.
I will absolutely be sore after a weekend of working out.


Fitness Expo is one of my favorite things about being a fitness instructor on a college campus.  It's a whole weekend of sharing our best classes and techniques; yes it is exhausting, but we also learn a lot and meet a lot of really cool people. (Read about last year's Expo at UNC here.)  My over-exhausted self will be return on Monday (potentially) with the full low-down. Until then. 

Happy Weekend :)

Interviewing, and Losing My Mind.

In lieu of teaching today, I am attending a career fair at which I will interview for three teaching positions. 

Honestly, I do not wish to teach at any of the districts represented at the expo (where the Jersey schools at?!) However, I think this will be good practice in marketing myself and preparing for interview questions.

Even if I know that there's a slim chance I will actually move to Houston, TX or Alexandria, VA (hey, you never know) I'm still going a little crazy trying to perfect every last detail to make myself the most marketable candidate I can be.  

Precisely. 

Wish me luck! 

When Emptiness Brings Happiness

The list of things I hate to see the bottom of is relatively small: 

a good drink, my wallet, a bag of Peanut M&Ms...

What is definitely not on the list of things I do not appreciate empty is my laundry hamper.

I feel warm and happy inside after a Sunday afternoon of washing and folding my colors, whites, and delicates, to see the canvas bottom of my hamper.  

Unfortunately, this feeling is typically short lived. My laundry euphoria steadily decreases as piece by piece of the day's dirty outfit are dropped deep into the container that never ceases to fill all too quickly. 

The articles that pile upon each other not only literally bring themselves slowly to the top of the hamper, but also figuratively bring me rapidly to an unwelcome Monday morning.

Alas, another weekend has come and gone. No matter if you mark your days by dirty laundry or something more traditional, I hope you appreciate your days and take the time to enjoy this week. 

Hit the Ground Running...Literally

I think I have too much on my plate. 

Yesterday was one of those days I had very little time to breathe let alone slow down.  After the school day, I had almost a half hour to shovel food in my bag and run a quick errand before a mandatory intern meeting at a further Elementary School.  I had to sneak out of the meeting early to speed back to campus to teach the a much anticipated BODYPUMP launch to our students/faculty. 

After almost an hour and a half of pump, I changed (inefficiently, with matted hair and leggings turned inside-out) to go cross campus to an Education Association meeting.  

I was literally running through a parking lot in my dress and teacher bag when my patent leather flat got caught on a curb. I not so gracefully fell. Hard.  My right foot/ankle skid across the gravel as my left knee hit the ground.  Thank goodness something was in front of me to catch my upper-body from slamming into the black top: a dark blue Honda Accord.  

Yes, I hit a parked car. I smacked the front of that sedan so hard it made a noise that had to have echoed across the parking lot.  I bet the girl unlocking the car next to the one I unintentionally hit had a good laugh on her drive home. I'm probably a trending topic on Twitter by now.  #thatawkwardmomentwhen #somegirlrunsintosaparkedcar #hahahaha

Lesson learned: I think I need to slow down...hit the brakes a little bit. (No pun intended.)

Arbitrary Friday Announcements

Yesterday, an unfortunately ill bird decided the entire hood of my car was a good place to get disgustingly sick. Apparently. 

It's days like this that I really miss living in the same town as Loverboy; he would have that car of mine shining like new in no time. 

In other news, it's Friday. The first of many long weeks of the semester was mildly boring at best, yet exhausting nonetheless. I am not especially looking forward to next week, when the work load piles itself upon my already busy schedule. However, tonight I plan on celebrating a very happy hour with my girlfriends to catch up on the life I've missed out on since Student Teaching began.  

Tomorrow, I have to drive back up to Jersey, but I'm not complaining.  I am going bridesmaids dress shopping with my future cousin, followed by dinner with C (fingers crossed) and C's sister's engagement party on Sunday. 

I've been driving the beau a little crazy the past two days with my indecisiveness and constant interrogating about his weekend plans  (consequently, mine). I annoy myself with how much I obsess over scheduling and minor details...I can only imagine how much I frustrate a boy as laid back as C. And you know what? He still likes me.  And I like that. 

Thanks boo xoxo 

Tag, you're it.

The lovely Sarah @ Simply Sarah tagged me in one of these fun getting-to-know-you posts circulating around the blog world.  Basically, you follow the rules to the Blogger game and pass them along to eleven other fab bloggie friends.  Sarah had perfect timing in tagging me because I've had some writers block for which I have no motivation to cure. Thanks Sarah!! 

The Blogger Game Rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4. Tag eleven people and link them on your post

5. Let them know you've tagged them!

My 11 "Fun" Facts:

1. I share my first name with both of my grandmothers. I was named "Margaret" by default, "Maggie" because my momma is a kind woman.   ;) 

2. I never, ever, go anywhere without my water bottle. I drink more than a camel. My mom told me that when I move back home after school she is making me pay the Poland Spring bill because she refuses to continue to order extra shipments for me to drain out our water cooler. Sorry, Mom! A girls gotta stay hydrated! 

3. I am a born and raised Jersey Girl, temporarily misplaced in Maryland in attempts to seek out a BS in Elementary Education. I plan on returning to NJ after I graduate to teach, but I am open to relocating outside the beautiful state of Jersey if, and only if, I am in walking distance to a beach.  

4. I love food. Except for mushrooms and olives. And most things white. 

5. Thankfully, I also love working out. I teach group fitness classes at the campus gym and am recently Les Mills BodyPump certified! 

6. I truly believe that a good turkey sandwich can cure even the most wicked of hangovers.

7. I began college as an English major, and although it is now only my area of concentration, I am still passionate about literature, writing, and of course, grammar. 

8. If I wasn't so passionate about becoming a teacher, I would go to law school. 

9. I spent one summer in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain and now often dream of a glamorous life relaxing, traveling, and shopping in a foreign city. Subsequently, "House Hunters International" on HGTV is a guilty pleasure of mine. I sometimes wish I had the courage and free spirit to relocate, or at least travel for longer than a summer.  

10. It takes a conscious effort for me to bite my tongue and not say "sparkles" when someone asks me my favorite color. My boyfriend tells me I sometimes have the mindset of a four year old...

11. It is my current mission to find and rent a beach house down the shore this summer. I must succeed. 

Now that I have rambled on about facts I thought to be "fun," it's time for Sarah to ask the questions! Here goes nothing... 

1. If you could go anywhere, all expenses paid, where would it be?

Anywhere that has hot, hot sun and low humidity. An island in the mediterranean perhaps? Although, right now I'd be happy if someone would just fund my house down the shore and my weekends at DJais. Please??

2. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

Lay on the beach and get my tan on.
In the winter, I love spending as much time as I can on the gym only to come home and read the rest of the day away. 

3. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging a month before I left for my study abroad trip to Spain. I wanted a way to keep my friends and family in the know about my travels.  I am so, so happy I decided to start my first blog, Mezcla del Dia, because not only did I document the most exciting moments of the best trip of my life, but I also found a love for blogging. When I returned, I started this blog to continue keeping my family in the know about my college adventures, and simply to have a creative outlet for my writing.

4. Do you have any siblings?

Yes, one sister. She is 18 months younger than me and we are different in almost every way. I have to admit, we have a very similar strange sense of humor and I'm starting to realize we balance each other out quite nicely. She drives me crazy, but I love her, and she's gonna love a shout out on the blog.  Hey Sar!

5. What is your most embarrassing moment?

Oh my gosh. I feel like I've had many, but nothing sticks out as the most embarrassing.  I do remember the first time I brought Loverboy to the beach with my family, and I tried to act really cool by being the first one to hit the waves for tubing and body surfing.  You know, running down the hill into the water, feigning bravado, all fearless and Baywatch-esque.  Welp. The first wave crashed so hard and so high that it completely wiped me out, dragging me about 20 feet ashore, leaving my bathing suit bottoms halfway down my behind and my top performing a serious Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. My cousins and C LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED before they finally came to see if I was ok.  My ego was hurt more than anything, thank goodness, but I definitely hesitated a little more and held on to my bathing suit a little tighter before I went out again.

6. Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. (Vanilla is white, I don't do white food, remember ;) )

7. What's your favorite genre of music?

I love everything. Most frequently I listen to country.

8. Have you been to any concerts - if so which was your favorite? If not, who would you like to see?

I have been to many, many concerts.  My favorites would have to be a four-way tie between Aerosmith and Kiss at MSG, Bruce Springsteen at the closing of Giants Stadium, Rascal Flatts ANYWHERE, and ACDC at the old Giants Stadium.

9. Who is your favorite author?

This is a toughie.  My favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird, but does the fact that Harper Lee only published this one book disqualify her?  Hm. I loved everything that Dan Brown wrote. Maybe Roald Dahl?

10. What is one beauty product you can't live without?

Only one? Bronzer!!

11. Where is your favorite place to shop?

Nordstrom :) 

 I'm tagging:

1. Donna @ Lipgloss and FlipFlops

2. Sarah @ 90 Percent Blonde

3. Ashley @ Heart of Life

4. Monica @ Amazing Times to Come

5. Cara @ Life, Love & Margaritas

6. Laura @ Life of Lu

7. Emily @ Life of Emily

8. Stephanie @ Girls, Pearls and Combat Boots

9. Ashley @ Little Miss One Big Mess

10. Meghan @ Shine On

11. Cait @ Fit, Fierce, Fabulous

Here are my 11 questions for you lovely ladies:

1. What is your favorite part about blogging?

2. Who is your celebrity crush?

3. What is your favorite city/place in the world?

4. If you could tell us a time where you helped a stranger the most, when was it?

5. If you could have only one magazine subscription for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

6. What is your biggest fear?

7. What is your guilty pleasure? 

8. Can you recall your favorite childhood memory?

9. Facebook or Twitter?

10. What is your biggest pet peeve?

11. How would you sum yourself up in three words or less?

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did! Luckily for me, I was tagged during winter break when I had little to nothing to accomplish ;) Good luck!! xoxo

The Nothingness of Winter Break

So, today is Friday. The fourth Friday of my fourth winter break as a college student. Also, the second to last Friday of my very last college winter break, ever.  It's also Friday the 13th, which means nothing in comparison to the threats of impending reality the end of break has brought upon me.  

Since the end of break is upon us --even more so for all of my non-UMD friends...C is already back at school :( :(  -- it has finally hit me that never again will I have a complete five week period of time in which I have little-to-no responsibilities and/or time to perpetually relax.  

Believe it or not, this the first of my winter breaks where I feel I have taken advantage of the freedom of nothingess. One of my winter breaks was spent working a 9-5 office job, one was spent juggling two babysitting jobs and endless "necessary" errands, and last year's was spent working slave hours substituting at a private school for less than minimum wage.  

This year I had every intention of getting a job, but eventually realized that working my weeks away maybe, possibly, wasn't worth the lack of rest prior to my last semester full-time student teaching.  Instead, I spent my days leisurely and almost without agenda.  

If you know me personally, my last statement has certainly shocked you.  I typically lead my days according to a schedule; squeezing in an early morning work out, running around between two or three jobs, and taking on neglected errands - all in a completely methodical, planned out manner.  

A typical day during this winter break, you ask?

- I wake up at my leisure (albeit still much earlier than most of my peers)

- Go to the gym for 1.5-2 hours

- Shower 

- Read 

- Make a Smoothie

... and that is where my schedule ends. Because after I consume my afternoon smoothie I become the most indecisive human in America and sit around trying to decide what to do next.  Usually nothing. 

I did have time to do some memorable things, however. Which were awesomely fun and only able to be done because of my laziness unemployment.
Evidence:

Last week I drove to Northern MD to celebrate my girlfriend Ashley's 22nd birthday.

And onn Wednesday I took a road trip to Atlantic City!  No, I do not gamble. Didn't even touch a machine. But I do enjoy a night dancing the night away with my best friends in an atmosphere that makes it socially acceptable, and expected, to wear as many sparkles as I can adorn.  

Celeb Status?! 

Don't let this one fool you.... he loves me. He's just bitter about losing all his money on the Roulette table ;)

Tonight I'm going out with the girls after a day of doing...well...nothing. And tomorrow I don't really have any plans either.  But I'm kind of okay with it.

Sunday Delirium

My favorite day of the week has come upon us again. 

I had a well-deserved weekend of fun with friends, celebrating two birthdays and spreading lots of holiday cheer a la themed party.  ;o) 

Oh yeah and I also worked on my last two assignments of the semester! Ahh! I can't wait until tonight when I can finally say I completed all my work until January. 

For now, I shall take a homework break and sip on some green tea whilst trying to avoid the end-of-semester induced, yet holiday-influenced, delirium that hit me hard yesterday. Proof: 

I guess I was overdue for a break. 

...And now it's back to work.   

Happy Sunday, love bugs! 

Sunday Preoccupations

My entire life is due over the next two days, including final lesson plans, and the filming required for the completion of my BodyPump certification. #stressed.

Therefore, the only things on my mind as of recently are 

a. Homework Assignments 

b. BodyPump 79 and

c.  These boots. 

I am filming today (ahhh), Tuesday I can stop thinking about lessons (temporarily), and I should be back on my writing game soon thereafter. Wish me luck! 

These boots, however, will be a dream of mine for a while. Can anyone afford to offer me a generous $640 loan for these beauties? No? Frye, why must you be so expensive? A girl can dream. 

(Inconsequential) Reflections

My coffee was blacker than black this morning and I'm ready for a full week of teaching 6th grade.  I'm not sure why I have a compulsive tendency to brew my coffee entirely too strong. Perhaps for the same reasons I always over scramble my eggs: nerves and overcompensation. 

And for this precise reason, God created the K-Cup. 

Last night I laid out out the clothes I wanted to wear today. I took the brown pinstripe pants and coral sweater off my chair and got dressed at approximately 6:10.  At 6:53, two minutes before I had to be out the door, I slipped out of my fuzzy slippers and into matching shoes.  The shoes that matched beautifully but to my surprise were too low for the hem of my pants, and I found myself in a fashion dilemma.  With no time to change, I walked out of the apartment with brown pants, black heels, an aura of shame, and discomfort.  

One of my students broke down in tears mid-division-lesson.  Turns out, his tears were the result of a warning he received just moments earlier for talking during class.  My heart ached for his saddened, swollen puppy dog eyes as I offered him my tissue box.  ...And then I remembered that this is sixth grade and, hello, we don't cry over warnings. Fortunately, my Goody Two Shoes student stopped sniffling by recess and all is good again in Room 13.  

Along with appropriate shoes, my planner was left behind this morning.  I felt lost and confused, and a little bit lonely because I had never been away from my agenda for too long.  

At least we are one day closer to Friday.  Hallelujah.  

Miscellaneous Musings

So it's Monday night and I'm sitting in my living room, surrounded by the coziness that our half-lit Christmas lights, a glass of red wine and the lull of the tumbling dryer provide.

It's 10:47 and there is nowhere else I'd rather be. With a neglected textbook by my side, I sip my wine only to be interrupted by random spurts of side-splitting laughter.

Allow me to give you a glimpse into my simplistically humorous day.

Twenty minutes before I had to leave for class, the fire alarm went off in my building and I impressively threw my makeup in my back pack and rushed out the door almost completely ready to begin my day.  I'm happy I haphazardly gathered my belongings in a rush out the door because we were assured by half-asleep young man in flannel pajamas that this was "Not a drill. I repeat, not.A.Drill." (Everything was fine.)

Then I got in the car and spilled an eighth of the contents of my water bottle on my lap, leaving me with an uncomfortably cold sensation on an already brisk morning, and an unfortunate shading on the inseam of my pants suggesting I didn't make it to the restroom.

---

My day got better at the CYC thanks to entertaining conversations with my babies.

The Blonde Brigade: "Ms. Alensis come look at the bridge we built!"

Me: Wow boys, that must have taken you a long time! I love your sand structure!

Blondie 1: Yeah we worked really a lot.

Blondie 2: Too bad it's going to be destroyed by hot lava any minute now.

Me: Oh no, hot lava? Where does it come from?

Blondie 3: Volcanoes.

Blondie 1: My mom told me where volcanoes come from. They come from amusement parks. You know the kind with dinosaurs. WATCH OUT THE HOT LAVA IS GOING TO EXPLODE RUN RUN RUN

... end of conversation.

Words of advice: hide-and-seek is less fun when you are always the counter, and when those who you are seeking only hide in one of two chosen hiding spots, for twenty-five minutes straight. There are only so many times I can count to 10 and pretend to search the playground before Ms. Alensis loses her mind, kids.

Then I played the politically-correct version of the game formally known as Hangman, Build-a-Man, four times in a row with a four year old who only knows how to spell "Horse."  

---

I baked spaghetti squash for an hour and it wasn't completely worth the wait.  Good thing I ate one slice of savory pumpkin bread and one slice of delicious banana bread in the mean time.

---

My roommates are fabulous.

On Google and their work site amenities: 

"Don't they have goats that cut their grass?" - Anonymous Roomie 

On doing tax homework:

"I don't understand why I have to do this.  There are minions that can crunch numbers while I'm sleeping so I can do the things that really matter when I wake up." - Anonymous Roomie 2

Good idea... write that in your application to Grad school.

---

Happy work-week!