Here's to you, 2017

With the end of a calendar year comes the innate desire to reflect on the events passed. I've said this a a handful of times this year, but 2016 wasn't my best. Actually, the past year has been my hardest, ugliest yet. Many put-up-or-shut-up moments have taken place in the last 365 days. Many tears, many fights, many situations where there has been nobody around to pull me from my dark place but me. With that said, I have grown immensely in the past year as well. Some of my most important relationships have crumbled, while others have been fortified with gold many times over. People who I love have passed away, while other beautiful humans have been born. Pieces of my childhood have changed or ended, while accomplishments as an adult have been more rewarding than I could ever imagine. I have struggled in 2016, but I rise from the ashes at the promise of a great new year.

 

 

Thank you to each and every person who has shown me love or concern this year. I know that my depression can be a lot to handle (it definitely is for me), but your compassion and understanding are the most I could ever want or deserve. Your hugs (even though I hate them), answered text messages when I just need a friend, understanding when I don't communicate for weeks on end, and support as I reach to accomplish my goals despite it all are everything.

I usually end my "New Year" posts with my resolutions. (Do people actually keep these?) This year I'll do the same, but I'm going to keep it simple.
- Drink more water
- Eat more sandwiches
- Travel as much as possible
- Use the beauty filter less
- Turn my social media notifications off on my phone
- Love more

Happy New Year to you and yours,
Kimberly

5 Sleeps 'Til Christmas

It's hard to believe that 2016 is almost over. While a part of me can't believe it has gone so fast and wants time to slow down, a larger part of me knows that this year held a lot of heartache and is ready for a fresh start. With only five sleeps until Christmas (and one of the biggest Chiefs games of the year), excitement is high, but responsibilities are getting in the way of all the fun!! Here's a glimpse of the past week or so of life:

Trying to get in the Christmas spirit is easy when you visit my mom's house, get sweet gifts from students, or find your favorite childhood holiday treat at Target. :) We also had one of the coldest Chiefs games in history this past Sunday. While the weather (and the multiple layers) didn't lend themselves well to photo opportunities, we had a good time. Unfortunately, the Chiefs lost, which throws our playoff picture for a loop, but I'm still confident we will be in the post season!

  

  

The next few weeks are busy between the holidays, friends' birthdays, out-of-town friends coming home for Christmas, and Chiefs games. I'll be lucky if I make it out alive - HAHA!

I'm hoping to get back into some better posts here soon. Maybe when I have the time off from school! Only one more day!

We Made It!

This post may be boring for some, but being an educator is a huge part of who I am... so, we're going to go here anyway. As the holidays roll around, it's a balancing act between having fun at school and pulling teeth to get the students to focus. I'm pulling out stops like an "Advent Calendar" for my homeroom that we use to count down school days left until break, giving them candy each day when we pull the number down. I've been really blessed this year to receive cute gifts from a number of students varying from cookies, to candy, to Sonic Drinks, to decor. Middle school is so hard, but can be so rewarding.

Coming with this "new outlook" game plan I've got going on, not only have I been trying to eat better, be more active, etc., but I've been trying to put a little more effort into me as well. This has meant putting a little more time into how I look, spending time with friends, volunteering to help with various community causes, etc. I've also had a lot of fun shopping and wrapping some sweet gifts for my "marigolds" at PKMS.

   

Another really exciting thing that happened this week was PKMS' Show choir having their very first performance on Monday night. I volunteer my time with SC, really to hang out with Loriana (our choir director) and get to know kids that I don't have in class. I feel like helping out gives me a reach that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Their show this year is called "On Broadway" and it's the story of a high school graduate moving to New York to try to make it on Broadway, using songs from famous musicals. The kids did such a great job, we so cute, and they totally surprised me a with a poinsettia and a signed card. Truly the best, and I am so thankful to be a part of it.

  

I will have a bit more coming your way over the weekend/next week. The semester is wrapping up, and the Chiefs can clinch the playoffs!!

XXO.

TNF - Chiefs vs Raiders

Thursday night for a lot of people was just another night, but for those of us who live in Chiefs Kingdom, it was much more than that. Thursday night brought a division rivalry game, and with that came a chance for the Chiefs to move into a tie for first in the AFC West. We took on the Oakland Raiders at home. This was our second time playing them this season, as well as our second opportunity to beat them.

With this being such a huge divisional game, Arrowhead decided to open gates at noon for the 7:30 game. I worked my full day, so I didn't get out there until a little after 4:00, but my tailgate crew had set it up really nice for the cold. With a heater, canopy walls, BBQ, and grilled duck, you could say it was a great day. PLUS, it was Rodney's birthday! :)

   

 

 

This game was especially fun because we had a lot of friends at the tailgate that aren't usually there! First and foremost, Mario and Rolando came to Kansas City from Monterrey, Mexico (just over 1000 miles!!) for the game. If you remember, they met us in Houston in January for the playoffs. It was in their honor that we had BBQ this week. Secondly, my dear old friends Ryan and Yocum came to the tailgate this week. We don't see each other often, but they are so special to me. Don't mind me looking like the kid from A Christmas Story in the photo of us all.

Most importantly, the Chiefs ended up pulling out the W! Despite three turnovers inside our own 30, we were able to hold the Raiders and defeat them 21-10! This was aided by Tyreek Hill having a stellar punt return after the entire stadium chanted his name. You could say it was exciting.

This victory brought the Chiefs to 10-3, tied with the Raiders for the lead in the division. With that said, the Chiefs win the tie breaker because they swept the Raiders this year!! At this point we are set in a #2 seed, to play the Highest Winning Seed From AFC Wild Card Round.

Now, I'll leave you with this a photo of our tailgate in a national newspaper in Mexico thanks to Mario! GO CHIEFS!!!!!

So far, so good + some

For me, personally, I feel like talking to people about this new health journey I'm on is what is going to keep me accountable. My coworkers can tell you, I've been asking for an ear to talk about my food prep, weigh ins, and steps pretty frequently lately (actually, I'm sure they're annoyed, haha). This is why I want to post on here about it -- to not only keep faraway friends updated, but to give myself an outlet.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how this would all go. I've said a number of times before that I "want to lose weight" or that I need to "get healthy," but haven't actually followed through. I'm not sure what happened this time, but something has clicked in me. I know it is time. While the gym membership is kind of at a halt (I'm waiting to see if Santa brings it to me for Christmas), I've definitely been hitting the food prep/healthy eating HARD. I have always been a "bored eater." When I have nothing else to do, I find myself in the fridge. I'm at a point now where I can't do that anymore. This week, I decided to meal prep my breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for the work week to make my life a little bit easier.

A while back, my mom bought me five of these awesome microwave meal plates. They are PERFECT for meal planning lunches. Here's what I made:

• 2 chicken breasts - grilled, southwestern style seasoning
• 1 red pepper - sauteed
• 1 green pepper - sauteed
• 5 tortillas - folded and included (1 per day)

 

After planning/packing my lunches, I thought that preparing breakfast and snacks for the week would be a good plan too. Breakfasts this week include 10oz Naked juices (I got a sampler at Sam's club for cheap) and a banana. Afternoon snack this week is a package of jalapeno freeze-dried edamame. I also threw in a bag of plantain chips if I needed something after school when I was tutoring.

 

I've decided to weigh in on Mondays, because the weekend is by far when I will eat the "worst." (I actually did pretty good this weekend though!) Having started this journey on Black Friday, I wasn't expecting much. To my happy surprise, when I weighed on Monday, I'm down 5.1 pounds!! Ideally, I'm shooting for way more, but I know that the process will be a long one. I'm happy and motivated.

Just for fun, I thought I'd throw in a couple random photos of life lately. From left to right --

1. Last Friday was "Twinning" day at PKMS, so most of the "new" teachers dressed up the same. When I posted this photo on social media, I captioned with something about being thankful that the universe had the foresight to put them in my life. I can not even express.
2. On Sunday, the Chiefs played the Falcons in Atlanta. For those who don't know the story, Eric Berry plays for us and was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. He is from Atlanta, and that is actually where he had his treatment done. With that said, HE HAD A DAY on Sunday with a pick-6 and a 2-pt conversion interception to win the game for the Chiefs. He's fun to watch.
3. Lastly, my next door neighbor at PKMS is a friend of mine from when I was a Fellow (she was in my cohort). She brought this to me yesterday and told me that she saw it and knew it was for me because we have a joke about how teachers are basically trolls who live under their desks. It is now hanging on my the front of my desk in honor of that.

  

Overall, it's a good week. We've got Thursday night football against the Raiders this week though, so I'll keep you posted!

XXO.

November

November was a crazy month. I swear it was the 1st and the next day was the 30th! Between weddings, Chiefs games, work, and everything in between, it felt like I was constantly going at 100mph!!

Before I try to get back in to blogging on a regular basis, I wanted to do one last big "photo dump" post. This blog serves as a lot of things for me, ranging from therapist to scrapbook to cookbook and more. I don't want to miss the opportunity to save these precious memories.

To start, last month, I went to a beautiful wedding for Mr. and Mrs. Danny Stears. Amanda is my friend Hannah's new sister-in-law, and I got to know her throughout the planning process of Hannah's wedding. When she invited me to her wedding I was floored and honored to be included. There were a lot of beautiful details, and we got one last "wedding event" photo -- we had been taking this exact photo at their different showers, fittings, etc. for the past year!

  

   

Early November brought a gorgeous day for a Chiefs game. Not only was the weather great, but my good friend Shelby came to town from Oklahoma (check out this post from when I visited her early this year), AND the Chiefs brought home a winner against the Jacksonville Jaguars!

   

 

Election Day feels like something I should note. Those who know me know where I land on the political spectrum, so I won't bore you with those details. It's hard to believe this is the third Presidential election for which I've cast my vote. I remember voting for the first time when I was 19 and being so proud of the fact that I had voted -- and more proud of for whom I was casting my vote. This year's election left me feeling less proud, but when I stop and reflect on how amazing it is that I get to vote at all... it's all about perspective. To celebrate casting my vote, I rewarded myself with a mocha from a cute little coffee shop in Downtown Liberty.

 

Mid November brought about the celebration of one of my very favorite people in the world! Katie was my co-worked and life line while I worked at Cameron High School. We ate lunch together basically every single day, and have talked each other off the cliff a hundred times. We both left Cameron in May, and I miss her every single day -- especially now that she's living/working in Iowa! Katie and her fiance Tyler are tying the knot in March, so her bridal shower was this month with the cutest theme of "FALLing in Love." They had cider, leaves, fall flowers. It was so pretty! Plus, I got to see my other friends/former coworkers while there!

 

The rest of November is a blur. Highlights are this fun sign that we made for outside our classrooms, yummy treats from my Grizzly Pal (think year-long Secret Santa), and seeing Marc (who doesn't love him?). Thanksgiving included precious babies and being overstimulated by the social interaction. HAHA!

  

  

To wrap things up, I'll leave you with some of my favorite Chiefs Christmas decorations. The gingerbread house was a gift from a sweet student of mine who said she saw it and thought of me. My tree (on the right) now has a few more presents waiting underneath it.

 

I hope to be back soon to fill you in on the current happenings of my silly ol' life. :)