Sushi One

I bought a groupon for a sushi place in Layfette Village in North Raleigh a few weeks ago. If any one in Raleigh hasn't been to Layfette Village yet, certainly check it out. It has a lot of charm for such a little shopping place. They have a creperie, a spice shop, bike shop, bar and pub, little supermarket, gelato and a bakery as well as Sushi One which is where we went. We decided to sit outside and the place was live with excitement of children playing in the grass.

This place was difficult to choose from because they had quite a lot of specialty rolls. But, we settled on 4 rolls. The server told us it would take a long time to make the rolls and he was serious but at least sitting outside there were plenty of things to occupy our time. The sushi was enjoyed quite quickly but this sushi was out of this world good. I have been to many sushi restaurants but this certainly is my favorite. The sauces were delicious and the perfect portion to the roll. We did get quite a few of the rolls tempura style so that may attribute to the deliciousness as well.

I was so glad to have a groupon because this place is quite pricey (which I now know why) but I am sure we will be back to try out some more rolls.

Dale's Indian Cuisine

A few weeks ago, Phil and I ventured down to Ninth Street in Durham and decided to try this Indian place right next to Bali Hai. The service was exceptional! We had three people wait and check up on us and they were all courteous. The food was delicious. Phil and I shared the chicken tikka masala which is definitely enough for two people and a side of garlic naan. The sauce from the dish was delicious in the naan. Overall, extremely impressed and will definitely be going back again. 

Cute as a Button

I would really like to know where that saying came from but this young lady is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I take about 30 photos of her whenever I see her. I can only imagine how many I will take of my one children. 

She is precious! She loves when I take out the camera it's like she is used to me having a camera out when she is there. :)

The Leap

Comparing and contrasting parts of the atom. A good example of students engaged and learning. Note: the bottom portion is not as effective with learning. 

This past week, my students have been developing powerpoints on specific topics including: air pollution, water pollution, renewable and non renewable resources and solid and hazardous wastes. One of my students googled air pollution and up came a picture of a dog which he initially used in his presentation until I informed him that dogs have very little to do with ozone depletion. Hence, my drawing. (Kids do the strangest things)

I have decided to take a huge leap and apply for my National Board certification. I am excited to begin this journey on evaluating my teaching practices and to prepare myself to reflect on the good, bad and ugly (note dog and ozone depletion comment) of my classroom. I was able to attend a seminar yesterday about the process and I began to become extremely anxious but I know that the outcome of this process will make me a better educator even if the instructions to one portion is 300 pages long. I am relieved that there are 8 other teachers from my school that are slowly easing their way into this process as well. We will be able to support each other along the way. 

NCCAT photos and of course awesomeness!

Building my base pair.

Putting it all together.

Proudly showing off our model of the double helix.

I finally found some awesome pictures from my time at NCCAT. I love this organization so much that I could probably just blog about it all day long. The experiences and learning that I recieve there are remarkable. I am engaged as a learner and educator. I meet and connect with educators who love the field they are in and I bring back to my students a feeling of renewed love of learning that I cannot put a price on. I hope that I continue to be able to participate in NCCAT seminars for as long as I am a teacher. It is truly my favorite professional development. And, I was lucky enough to earn a scholarship for my classroom from the partnership that they have formed with the Belk Foundation. Yippee!

How do you recieve professional development at your workplace? Have you been able to go to NCCAT? How was your experience?

Life and Science Museum

The photo of the alligators is for my sister Amy who loves them.

A month ago, I decided to buy an annual membership to the Life and Science Museum. The museum is amazing in my opinion. I have been there many times and definitely feel that the membership is worth the money if you plan on going more than once a year. I thought it would be perfect for use with my friends as well as the awesome young lady I work with on weekdays. Phil and I decided to go the other day on a beautiful fall Saturday. 

We had a great time looking at the new exhibits, trying to build a fort out of small wooden sticks, and of course the lemur exhibit. I can't wait to go back again! 

Chili Cook Off

Hay and I have entered ourselves into a chili cook off at work. She has an awesome recipe...which betting on her fabulous chicken parm recipe hopefully it will be a winner. However, I wanted to challenge us to make a chicken chili because it is much healthier than beef and because of my genetic mutation I don't eat a lot of red meat (red meat over time has been linked to increases of colon cancer). 

So, Hayleigh and I have been toying with this idea for a month and yesterday when we got together  we bought all of the ingredients and were on our way back to her place when I scrolled down and noticed we were going to need a food processor. Whoopsies. Hayleigh and I then decided due to our hunger and the fact that we had just been paid that we should dine out and try this recipe again later when we have all the necessary ingredients and equipment.

Hay and I have a long list of things that we say that we are going to do but haven't done everything to fruition. But, that is what makes us, us. 

The chili cooking (actual cooking) will continue on Monday. Stay tuned.

Any awesome chili recipes out there? 

Gratitude

Photos of some of my favorite things! :) 

As the weather begins to cool down and we enter into my favorite season Fall I am continuously in awe of all of the amazing things I have to be grateful for. I am incredibly blessed to care for some many people. I have two jobs that enjoy. I have students that are interesting and engaging. I have supportive friends who are funny and encouraging. I have a partner who is warm, friendly and kind. 

Couldn't ask for more. <3

What are you grateful for today?

Bali Hai

Phil and I went on a 7 mile walk on Saturday. We decided to go out for lunch at Bali Hai which is a great local restaurant on Ninth Street. It is a Mongolian restaurant which means that you choose the ingredients and how much goes into your stir fry. It is delicious and extremely weight watchers friendly. I ordered brown rice without instead of white rice since it will keep me fuller longer.

After, Phil and I went for another short walk to grab some gelato from Franchesca's a cafe off of Ninth Street. Ninth Street is one of my favorite locations in Durham because almost everything is privately owned and it is fun to walk around all of the small shops. Some of my favorite restaurants are featured on the street. 

Please share any favorite memories or times going to Ninth Street. 

Durham Bulls Game

A teacher at my school decided to ask around to see if anyone wanted to go to a Durham Bulls game together. I thought it would be a good time to rewind and relax with some coworkers. I am not a huge baseball fan but I do love baseball food and of course good company. It was a great time and they won! Yay!

Twisted Noodles

Phil has introduced me to this delicious Thai restaurant in Durham. It is a small place and family owned. I love the Massaman Curry which has a delicious tomato base curry. It also has peanuts which taste delicious in the semi sweet sauce. I really wanted the egg rolls but because that isn't the wisest choice we decided to get edamame which is delicious and filling. We have been twice in the past few weeks and ordered the same thing. It is a perfect place to share a meal and is affordable.

If you have success in making your own Thai food, please feel free to share recipes. I will try to work on some in the next coming weeks to share. :)

Weight Watchers Update

I am on my third week of weight watchers and so far so good. I lost 2.4 lbs the first weeks which was a pleasant surprise. I felt great the whole week and felt full almost every day which has been the most surprising thing about weight watchers because it really is not a diet it just helps you to make better choices for your body. I don't feel like I am deprieved of anything. The second week I knew I had not been as good about drinking water and eating veggies but I still lost .4 lbs. Although I didn't lose a lot I still feel great. I am proud of my progress and hope that I will be blogging more about it as my progress continues. :) 

Anyone have successful recipes or dieting techniques?

First time for everything: Hot Yoga

On Saturday, I tried hot yoga for the first time. I was a little nervous but once I got there (Arrichion) the staff was extremely friendly and supportive! They showed me around the studio and told me to bring a towel, water bottle and mat in with me. I had done yoga before but only regularly in college. I have always loved the concept of yoga though because it is extremely relaxing yet you build a lot of strength from the repetition of the movements. 

I picked a central location in the room and lined up my mat. The instructor came in and did a short breathing exercise through nose and out through our mouth. But, for the rest of the class we were told to breathe only through our nose until the end. The first thing I noticed besides that it was incredibly hot in the room was how you really were forced to slow down your breath because of the hot air. 

We spent about half of the class doing standing poses. Only 60 seconds of "cardio" yoga which I had never heard before and the rest of the class doing poses on the mat. Of course I liked the floor work best because it was easier to access my towel. 

We were doing a pose bending over at the waist and when my head would tilt down sweat just ran straight down my face. I was slightly self conscious until I noticed that other people had lots of drip marks on their mats. After we were down I felt great minus a slight headache because I hadn't drank enough water the day before. But, once I drank some water I felt amazing! I was going to go to class yesterday but I was still sore and didn't want to push myself too much. I would have gone today but I had plans to walk with Beth. The instructor said that the best thing to do on the first class is to just stay in the room and I am very proud of myself that I only needed to go into child's pose once to relax from the heat. 

I am looking forward to going again. If you have an interest in trying I would certainly suggest it and if you are local to Raleigh and want to try I would be glad to go with you!

Here's a sweaty after picture of me: 

Labor Day

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day! I have posted some photos of one of my labor of loves: my garden. I have been able to enjoy many delicious jalapeño peppers, banana peppers and red peppers from this little apartment garden. I will be enjoying my day with lots of friends. Hope everyone enjoys their celebrations today!

Tomato and Feta Frittata

I made this yesterday and it was delicious and very filling. Weight Watchers: 6 pts. for the entire thing.

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 spray of olive oil

1 tsp. garlic

1 banana pepper (optional)

7 cherry tomatoes

1/4 c. of crumbled feta

Spray pan and put on low heat. Add garlic and banana pepper for about three minutes. Stir eggs add salt and pepper if desired. Cut tomatoes into quarters and add to the egg mixture. Stir quickly then add to pan. Bring pan up to medium heat and let cook for 5 minutes or until completely cooked. Add feta cheese and put under broil for a few minutes or until melted. 

Enjoy!

Weight Watchers

I joined Weight Watchers on Saturday. I decided to try it after my bestie Hay has lost 52 lbs. Wohoo! I am so proud of her. She looks amazing and I want to look and feel amazing as well. Since I have started the hardest day so far was Saturday because I was just getting used to smaller portions but today and yesterday I have been surprisingly full all day. I am looking forward to seeing myself I,prove and am glad that I chose this for myself. I will definitely be posting about my progress as I am looking forward to all of the new changes in my life. :)