101 in 1001 #47- Tory Row 5K

(So, I started writing this post yesterday when all of a sudden the entire layout of my blog disappeared. I had to start from scratch and like 12 hours later, I finally reached a point where I could present a new post on the new layout. Hope ya'll like it!)

Early last week, our friend Lauren (better known as Berg or Bergie) sent Ryan and I a text message asking if we were interested in running a 5k on Sunday as a part of team Long Trail. Long Trail, for you southerners is a Vermont-based craft beer company that makes some pretty awesome beers! They were one of the sponsors of the Tory Row 5k so when we found this out, of course we were in!

The race events started Friday evening with a bib pick-up party at Tory Row in Harvard Square. When we got there, Ryan and I picked up our race bib, along with a drawstring bag, t-shirt, and water bottle all courtesy of Tory Row. On top of all that, we got a ticket for a free drink and a bacon and spinach flatbread. Seriously, such a good deal since the race only cost $40 and some proceeds went to two different charities in the area. Thanks TR!

Since we were already in the city, we decided to spend the rest of the night hanging out with Eliot and Lauren. Our night brought us to the Playwright in South Boston, where Lauren was hosting a pint night for Long Trail, followed by a trip to Seaport for drinks at the Atlantic Beer Garden. Bergpot ended up coming back out to Weymouth with us at the end of the night since Ryan and Eliot were planning on playing some tennis nearby the next morning.

Saturday morning, we woke up and walked to Uncle Charlie's for breakfast, where we got some pretty funny stares due to these two goobers below:

Lookin' Fine... 

The night before the race, Ryan and I found ourselves BACK in Boston in order to save ourselves the drive early Sunday morning. We went out to Market to celebrate Lauren's good friend Heather's birthday until about 1 before deciding it would probably be a good idea to get some rest before the run!

As you can see, by this point our weekend had already been pretty jam-packed with late nights, drinks, and entertainment. Sunday morning, we all woke up feeling a little sluggish but ready to run! We got to the starting line with time to stretch before the race began at 9:30 sharp.

Before I knew it, it was time to start running! If you know me well, you know that I am NOT a very good runner. It just never came easy to me (probably because I spent the majority of my life in the water... I'm like a living example of "fish out of water"). My goal for the race was to run the entire time and finish under 35 minutes.

The course was pretty decent, with only one of two hills and the race was over before I knew it! I crossed the finish line at around the 33 minute mark, which I was happy with. I ended up running my first mile WAY too fast which hit me around the mile and a half mark! Oh well!

Almost immediately after finishing the race there was a Long Trail Summer Ale in my hand, which was the perfect way to end the event! Seriously, if any of you readers like to drink (free) beer, this is the event for you!! So. Much. Fun.

Thanks again for the invite, Lauren!!

While we're on the topic of fitness goals, I am finally able to cross another thing off of my 101 list as of this morning! Last week I purchased a groupon for 5 yoga classes at Dancing Crow Yoga Studio in Hingham. I cashed the first one in today, where I took a beginners foundation class and LOVED it! I'm so excited to start a new (albeit expensive) practice! 

Happy Tuesday! 

Easy Glazed Salmon

Now that summer is upon us, I realize that I can't keep eating all of these crazy unhealthy delicious pasta dishes every night (so I've settled for every other night instead). In an effort to lighten up our meals around here, Ryan and I have been killing this recipe for a couple months now and it is an absolute favorite of both of ours. It's actually one that Ryan introduced to me during the time where I was stuck in class all night long and he was responsible for dinner. Not only is it a fairly easy recipe, but it takes hardly any time at all! Double win!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 1/4 lb. Salmon, skinned and cut into filets
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat broiler. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and soy sauce. Set aside.
2. Place the salmon in a casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. I always ask someone at the grocery store to remove the skin for me before I buy the fish saving us time when we go to put this meal together.

3. Broil the salmon until it is opaque throughout, about 8-10 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and brush the soy sauce glaze over the top of the salmon. Put it back in the oven and broil it for 2-3 more minutes, or until completely cooked through. Enjoy!

And that's it! Seriously, so easy and flavorful! We usually eat ours with broiled asparagus or broccoli and a side of rice!

One more day until the weekend!

Happy Summer!

Summer is officially here!!

While I am happy that summertime has arrived, I will definitely miss the 15-16 smiling faces I was greeted with almost every morning over the past 180 school days. I have learned so much from them and from the teachers at Nash this year that I will carry with me through my final year of this master's program and beyond. Thanks for the great memories, Nash!! Here's a little look back on some of the fun happenings at our little school over the 2013-14 year!

Open House: 

For Open House Night, Jill and I set up the room to look like it does with every student working at their desks. The kids colored faces of themselves and brought in t-shirts that we put on the seats with their open house worksheets.

Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Math Turkeys

The Nash Olympics:

My Favorite Valentines Card: 

Working on our Geometry:

Christmas Time:

Polar Express Day 

End of the Year Field Trips and Activities:

Giant Lobster Claw 

For our end of the year gifts, Jill and I went to the dollar store to pick up some beach buckets which Candy, Jill, Lori, and I filled with goodies for each student. I printed off the cute printable that says "Have buckets of fun this summer!", backed them on to yellow construction paper and tied them to the buckets! We also printed out pictures from the year to give to each student to help them remember all the fun times they had at school.

We also did two sets of superlatives, teacher awards and classroom awards. The four of us voted on teacher awards which were awards like "Neatest Handwriting", "Science Superstar", and "Math Master". Each child received a certificate and a medal. The students all voted on the classroom awards and I tallied up the votes afterwards. We went to the dollar store (Love that place for stuff like this!) and picked out silly prizes that went along with the awards. These awards were funnier rather than serious, like "Classroom Comedian", "Amazing Artist" and "Little Miss Fashionista". The kids seemed to love finding out who won the awards and getting the little prizes that go along with them!

The Certificates with the corresponding prize! 

That really is just a brief glimpse into the school year. We did so many fun activities but in the interest of privacy, those pictures cannot be displayed on the internet, so you'll just have to take my word for it!

Have a great summer, teacher friends!! 

Throwback Thursday: My April Trip to Georgia

This past April, I was lucky enough to spend my spring break from work in Georgia celebrating some pretty big events! If we're being honest, most of this blog post is going to be pictures though because.. well.. I just can't really remember everything that happened 2 months ago! 

The first weekend of my trip was spent putting together and celebrating my sister-in-law, Rachel's baby shower for their (now 1 week old) baby girl, Leah! Aunt Jane, Beth,and Becca came in from Alabama to help put everything together the night before and it was just SO great to spend some time with them! 

Rachel's baby shower was the day before easter so we decided her theme should be "About to Hatch." Everything was decorated very "easter-y" and I just LOVE how it turned out! Since I live so far away, most of the decorations are courtesy of Jane, Susan, Becca, and Beth and they just did an AMAZING job putting things together before the big day!! I'm not so secretly hoping I happen to be pregnant around this time in the future so we can use all these beautiful decorations you're about to see again!

We served chicken salad, deviled eggs, fruit salad, cheese and crackers, carrot cake cupcakes, and a couple different dips among other things I'm probably forgetting about! Becca's friends mother made and decorated these cookies below that were one of my favorite touches for the shower! So beautiful!

The jelly bean tree is another one of my favorite touches to the shower!! 

During the shower, we played a couple of games, and watched Rach open all of her's (or Leah's) gifts- which she is able to use now that Leah has joined us! She was born last Tuesday at midnight and is BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to meet her during our next trip back to Georgia in July!

The second half of the trip was devoted to my friend Vida who married her college sweetheart Joe on the following Saturday! Friday, we all gathered at the church for the rehearsal before heading to Joe's parents house for the rehearsal dinner!

Ryan and I before the rehearsal

The bride with her bridesmaids!! 

We went to bed fairly early Friday night so that we would all be well-rested for the big day, which started bright and early the next morning at the hair salon!

OMG wasn't she just BEAUTIFUL! 

Once we got to the venue, Vida kicked us out of the bridal room so that she could put her dress on and surprise all of us, since we (or me at least) had never seen it on her in person! Let me tell you, she looked so stunning! Afterwards, we did the usual wedding pictures before the ceremony.

Oh la la Vida!! I can't wait to see the professional pictures!

The ceremony was perfect and before we knew it, my friend became as Mrs. and was on her way with her new husband to Georgia Tech to take some pictures! My parents, Ryan, and I decided to go get some drinks and appetizers in between the ceremony and reception before heading to the cocktail hour.

The rest of the night was spent eating, drinking, and dancing our butts off the way any good wedding reception should be spent. Vida, your day was wonderful and I'm so blessed to have gotten to be a part of it all!!

And that's my throwback Thursday for ya'll! Better two months late than never, right?!