Thing #69: Hummus

Mmm...as I sit feeling relatively accomplished (I had graded two sets of essays in two days!) and watch as my freshmen wrap up their midterm exam, I am also delighting in one of my favorite treats: hummus. This delightful Middle Eastern/Mediterranean concoction came into my life in college when I discovered it as a delicious addition to the wrap station wraps. Then, I discovered I could buy it and eat it outside of school. And then, I started to eat it frequently. And now, I love it.

The current hummus of choice is the Mediterranean hummus from Trader Joe's. It includes another wonderful additon - the pine nut. The hummus along with pretzel chips has pretty much made my day. In fact, I am sad that its garlic-y goodness is all gone (I finished my consumption as I typed). What happiness. What joy. What hummus!

Thing #68: Wendy's Pick Two

John and I are eating healthier...really. At least we're trying, but it gets kind of exhausting cooking and preparing lunches and so on. Anyway, tonight, I was going to cook, but we stayed at church later than intended, and well, I didn't end up cooking. Instead, we picked up Wendy's...

which sounds awful, I know, but it wasn't, I swear!

The Wendy's Pick Two is such a great deal. For five dollars, I got a baked potato and a "small" salad. And it was delightful. We both got different salads, and both of them were yummy (with blue cheese!) and had "grilled" chicken (as opposed to breaded). There really was a lot of food there...the salad filled up one of my humongous dinner plates. That's a lot of food.

Anyway, I really don't have a lot to say about this subject, except that it's what I'm happy about right now, because it was a) fast, b) easy, c) cheap, and d) yummy.

MMMMmmm.

Thing #67: Better Days

Tuesday was a series of unfortunate events that just didn't seem to end. I got a migraine during 2nd block that caused me to follow almost nothing going on in class; the power went out as I was cooking eggs on the stove; the power company came to fix the power, but so loudly that I woke up, only to realize my stomach felt bad because I had taken too my medicine for my still-present headache; I woke up with a slight headache and upset stomach, went to class, and discovered I had forgotten Splenda in my coffee (ick).

But it stopped there. Miracuously. Mysteriously. Incredibly.

I told my students that I was mad at the world and to be warned lest I take it out on them. Instead of being awful, they were kind, followed the instructions, and worked pretty hard on their projects. The day got better. I got the work graded I had intended to complete. I figured out lessons. I even napped, went for a run, and enjoyed Young Adult group.

So I'm really thankful for better days. Despite our best intentions to be angry, upset, or bitter, good comes anyway in the forms of smiles, productivity, and rest. I needed yesterday to be a better day, and it sure was :)

Thing #66: Yoga

First, let me preface this by saying that my experience in this realm is limited. Limited here means attendance at two Y yoga sessions and three sessions with my yoga DVDs. However, I recognize that limited does not mean that a.) I lack enough evidence to support the practice or that b.) I can't be happy about it.

After Christmas, I bought a yoga DVD and performed pathetic attempts at yoga on the mat that Drew bought me for Christmas (also, family, is it at all possible this mat was the source of the odd Christmas day smell? I think it may have been). I have now tried to faithfully perform the activities on the DVD three times (as previously mentioned). I am very proud of this AND convinced that the vague pain in my muscles is a fabulous sign of the strength to come.

And I have to say, it does wonders for my mental state. WONDERS. Part of my New Year's Resolutions is an exercise component, and yoga is a very vital part of it. I am stoked.