Happy Friday!

The calendar says it's this teacher's summer vacation but it doesn't feel like it with the two professional development days and preparing for summer school.

Since I was so excited about school ending last week, I forgot about some of the other cool stuff that happened - so I though I would shared some additional fun from the past two weeks.

1. Uh, have you ever Zorbed? It's basically a human-sized hamster ball. What you see up there in the big picture is what I saw when I walked my very eager students out to field day last week. I have to say the parents who thought this one up made about every 6th grader's dream come true on the last day of school with renting not one, but two of those puppies. And let me tell ya, they are a workout!

2. New easy dinner alert: Grilled Pesto Shrimp Skewers. Or say to hell with the skewers and just put the shrimp in the oven to bake for about 8 minutes.

3. I finally qualified for an Influenster Vox Box! Free samples always make for a great mail day. I'll be sharing what I got soon.

4. Kick off to summer mani in "Cabana Boy".

5. Even though, I semi-whined about my summer spending habits on Wednesday, I feel on top of my budget game. When you get paid two month's worth of salary at once, I feel as though it is necessary to know where your money is going. One less thing to worry about this summer!

Bonus: My Sleep Number bed is being delivered on Wednesday! I can't wait to finally sleep on it and share all about it. I keep hearing such great things from my friends who already have one.

This weekend I'm putting the final touches on my summer school lesson plans, having a patio dinner with a sorority sister and fellow teacher, and a Card's game on Saturday night. Hopefully the rain can stay away so we can have some fun!

Have a great weekend!

I spent the whole day by myself, all alone at my house. This isn't a normal occurrence but the boyfriend had to work from 6am - 4pm, then went straight to the gym, so he didn't get home til about 6ish.

Leaving me all by my lonesome for the entire day.

I am thankful that I am the type of person who is absolutely fine spending time on my own. I can definitely entertain myself. For example, I practiced curling my hair using a tutorial from The Small Things Blog and practiced highlighting and contouring my face using a tutorial from Maskcara.
Side note: Do any of you highlight and contour? Any tips you can give me? I can't quite tell if I'm making a difference in the way I look. I kind of think my nose looks slightly narrower but I might be imagining it. Now if only there were a makeup fix for my lazy left eye...

Spent a little time browsing FB and entering every damn Silhouette Cameo/Portrait giveaway on the blogs I follow...I want to win one soooo bad!

I also made my Christmas budget and created a "manfriend" board on Pinterest for gift ideas for Chris.

I'm really trying to stick to my budget this year. Absolutely no gifts on credit which I've previously done because I've bought some big ticket items and utilized the 0% financing deals to pay them off same as cash. I am just not interested in making another payment on something...so cash it is!

I got out of the house for a little while to run to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up a gift off my cousin's registry...I figured it would be too crazy to do it Friday or Saturday. Then I got home in time to make a delicious Swiss Chicken dinner.

Even though I am ok with spending the day on my own I am more thankful that I share my life and home with Chris. Eventually I think I would go stir crazy if I was by myself all the time!

What about you? Do you like being alone or do you prefer to be around people? What's your favorite thing to do when you're all by yourself? I sometimes will YouTube Zumba videos and have a mini dance party in the living room...living on the edge I tell ya!

I get on food kicks every once in awhile and they usually involve either potatoes or shrimp. They are my two most favorite food groups. They are the two foods I could eat every single day of the year and never grow tired of.

Last week, while driving home the idea struck as I passed by Red Lobster...combine the two!

 Enter the Shrimp Scampi Baked Potato and it really couldn't be any easier.

Ingredients:

• Large potato
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Garlic Powder
• 7-8 peeled and deveined shrimp (I use frozen with the tails already off)
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Parsley

In a skillet melt butter and olive oil then add shrimp (if using frozen make sure you defrost first). Add garlic powder and saute.

In the meantime, pierce the potato with a fork and then cook the in the microwave. I just use the "potato" button (ain't technology grand?) and it takes about two, four minute cycles.

Flip your shrimp and add a shake of crushed red pepper flakes...I'm a total weenie when it comes to spices so I use the red pepper flakes sparingly but if you like it hot, shake away. More power to ya! Finish with a sprinkle of parsley.

Carefully remove your spud from the microwave and split open. I use the tines of a fork instead of knife...it makes the potato fluffier upon opening.


Empty the shrimp scampi on to the potato and voila! A delicious (although I make no promises on nutritional value) meal for one.


Are there any foods that you never tire of? Or are you always trying something new? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it!


Linking up with:

Have I told you that I am trying not eat out in the month of November? Well, I am. And I have even given a cute little nickname...."No Fast Food November"

The month of October was a wreck on my personal eating habits, I blame it mostly on being too tired and of course the St. Louis Cardinals post season. I just wanted to come home with some Jack in the Box or Wendy's or McDonald's or...you get the idea, and veg out in front of the tv. And while the fast food wreaked havoc on my body (why, hello extra five pounds) it also took a sizable chunk out my income...to the tune of almost $230! To be fair, my fast food trips were usually feeding Christopher and myself. But still...OMG.

Here enters No Fast Food November.

And so far it is has been delicious and on track, I have only eaten out for a school lunch with my co-workers and a bachelorette party this weekend.

Some ways I am staying on track included buying a Crock Pot. People at work couldn't believe I didn't have one. I made a delicious pot roast with potatoes and carrots last night. Swiss Chicken on Friday night. And tonight....Houlihan's Potato Soup.

I followed the recipe I found on GroupRecipes.com and I kid you not, it is the exact same as Houlihans. It was heavenly! Chris had never tried it before and easily ate up two huge bowls. My man was impressed.

It did take some time to prepare though. The recipe says 40 minutes, but it was more like and hour and a half from start to finish. This was mostly due to the fact that I added bacon (which is shown in the picture, but not in the recipe. Trust me, spend the extra time and add the bacon, it's worth it!) Luckily, I had the good sense to bake the potatoes yesterday. But it was a fun, Chris helped cook and it was a nice little Monday night.

Did I mention there were leftovers? I now have my lunch for tomorrow, score!

So far, I have spent more money on groceries, but I feel better about myself for not hitting the drive thru and hopefully I will be able to keep my promise to myself. Something to aid me in my plan will be next when I spend the WHOLE WEEK with my students in the woods. Yep, it is Outdoor School time. And there is no fast food in sight. Thank goodness!

What about you? Cook anything good lately? Or have you fallen into a fast food rut?