Hi! ::waves::

Sorry I’ve been so MIA around the blogahood. A LOT has been going on, and life has been anything but calm!

But that’s the way it always goes with the start of a new school year. I must say this is one of the smoothest starts I’ve ever had. I’m still working in that hybrid position as teacher/instructional coach. I’m teaching 6th grade science for three periods each day. The remaining periods are dedicated to helping teachers grow professionally. It’s my 2nd year in this role, and I still love it; even more so this year because I know what to expect! 

In between getting to know my new students and falling into a steady fall routine at work, there was an evening at the Summer of Rum Festival. It was H-O-T, but the drinks were ice cold, and we were able to escape the heat a few times inside the gorgeous Cuban Club in Ybor. 

There was also a surprise party for my Uncle Marty’s 50th birthday at Hula Bay in South Tampa! My aunt Bernadine and I had been planning it for a few weeks and were so excited that HE was so excited (and surprised!). It was an awesome time with good food, cold drinks, and our closest family and friends. 

I also teamed up with Callie, from The Wannabe Athlete , for a week of clean eating and a month-long trial (thanks to a teacher friend) of Shakeology and can’t wait to share my thoughts with you guys! My goal for this week is to try and cut back on my dairy intake. Eating NSNG means I rely on cheese a LOT for snacks and such. I’ll be looking for some salty alternatives to help cut the dairy a bit!

And…we purchased our first camper! During our last camping trip at Ft. Desoto, we decided that we were done with the world of tent-camping and needed an upgrade. After shopping for a few weeks, and being totally disappointed with what our budget was bringing us, we found this little pop-up for a steal! It’s in AWESOME condition, sleeps 4-5 comfortably, has AC, running water, an outdoor stove and lots of storage! We’re going to test it out in a few weeks on our first camping trip with our new home away from home! 

And last, I had a little snafu in the way of minor surgery…

I’ve always had this “bump” on my shin, which I always attributed to a softball injury from high school. I got hit with a line drive to the shin area which left me with a long-lasting bruise and quite the bump for a few months. The bruise eventually went away, but the bump always kind of hung around. When it started causing me some pain over the summer, I decided to have it checked out. An X-ray, sonogram, an MRI and a visit with a specialist later, and well, the rest is history. The MRI showed that it was nothing terribly serious to worry about and that it could be scar tissue or some type of fatty cyst. Either way, bone and bone tissue looked clear, as well as the surrounding muscle tissue. It was definitely benign and the only reason my doctor suggested we remove it is because it was causing me discomfort. As much as I hated to take off a couple of days so close to the beginning of the school year, I wanted to go ahead and get the procedure over with. Aside from some anxiety from putting in the IV (my first!), and some post-op nasuea from the general anesthesia, it went well. Today I’m resting up in front of the tv with an ice pack, lots of ice cold LaCroix, and some pain medication. I should be good as new (I hope!) within a week or so! 🙂

So what have YOU been up to lately? Do share! 

Steph 🙂