Some Little Changes...

     As I've stated in my other recent blog posts, I have been making some small changes to my life lately. Some of them are to do with my motto, "It's No Big Deal. While the others have to  do with my health and lifestyle. Here are some of the changes that I have recently made:

1. Started going to the gym and or doing my pilates and yoga.

2. Substituting at least one, sometimes two, meals for green smoothies. 

3. Making myself get more sleep.

4. Switched from artificial sweetners to Stevia.

5. Cut back on my coffee and having at least one cup of green tea at night.

6. Reading my Bible more as well at spiritually uplifting books. 

7. Cut back on my time spent working on school stuff during the weekend. Meaning I'm doing more during my planning period. 

8. Weening myself off of my anti anxiety medicaton and switching over to natural alternatives (working out has been a huge help I believe!)

9. Reduced the things that I'm involved with at work. Learning that the word No is not a bad word.

10. Taking time out to spend with my family.

11. Making time for my art.

12. Letting go of situations that I can't control and being more flexible.

13. Reducing stuff and de-cluttering my life.

So, those are a few of the changes that I have made and I have to say that I have seen some great benefits. I have been feeling so much better (I still get sore from my workouts but I guess that just comes with it). I have not been as stressed, I haven't had a migraine in a while, my complexion seems to be better, I have still been managing my stress even with the changes I'm making to my meds, and I'm not letting myself get overloaded at work. 

One of my morning smoothies.
Barley life, flaxseed, few drops of stevia, kale,
spinach, pineapple, raspberries, almond milk,
a splash of apple juice,
and a scoop of vanilla protein powder
....Mmmm so good!!!

I love the green smoothies that I've added to my diet and really feel like they are helping with my digestion, health, and added energy. It's really been all about making the small changes to my diet. I've really cut back on my sweets and intake of sugar. I drink a LOT more water during the day, more fruit and less processed foods. 


I've even started to add flaxseed and Barley Life to my smoothies.  
I haven't really lost any weight but I'm more focused on being healthy...don't get me wrong I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds haha!  But I have seen some changes to my body. Some of the changes I'm not all happy with, such as the fact that it seems my legs are bulking up. I have even tried riding the bike with very little resistance so not to build anymore muscle but it still seems like my calves and outer thigh muscles are getting big. How do I get them to thin out when it seems that biking and walking just bulk them up???  

     I'm also super excited to be taking a painting class this semester. I have been tossing around the idea of going back for my masters and I needed one more studio class if I decide to go for it. It's so funny, my kids were like, "What?? You're taking a painting class??" I told them that you never stop learning and  just because I teach doesn't mean that I don't still need to learn and practice my skills. Plus taking this class pushes me to work on my art. 

This is what moving a whole art room and 5 years of teaching looks like! I don't Ever want to do this again!!!!!

Things at work have been quite interesting in the past few weeks. We are in the middle of moving from our old school to the new one and its been just a tad bit crazy! I can't believe how much stuff I had in that little crazy room that I've been in. But I'm proud to say that I have even de-cluttered in my classroom. I got rid of a bunch of things that I really just didn't need or used. I still have not been able to start setting up my new classroom since they are still doing work in it. Yesterday was the first official visit and tour for all of the faculty and I was super happy to find that there were people in my classroom installing the pigtails (electrical boxes hanging from the ceiling to each work area) in my classroom!! How exciting to not have to run extension cords across the room when my kids need to use a glue gun or other item that needs to plug in!!! I also found out that all of the supplies that I ordered will be delivered in 2 weeks....So many supplies!!!! It's really like Christmas! It was also fun to get to see the faces of the teachers as they saw their new classrooms for the first time. Right now we are still getting everything together and there is still a lot of work left to do but it's such a beautiful school!!

Things with the move in have been crazy, my stuff is all over the place, my room is not ready, and I'm not sure when they will be done working in my room. But..."It's No Big Deal!" I have been focusing on trying to do the little things that I can do to get ready for when I finally do get in. I can't wait to post pics of my classroom all done, clean, organized, and decorated :)

So in the spirit of my motto for this year I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love with it. hehe

I have a feeling that I will be saying this over and over as Homecoming is almost upon us. haha!! 

~Till Next Time :)