Staples, Shoes, Soda and Zoos!

It is time again to link up for Five for Friday! I am completely beat from this week. School start sounds like a relaxing break from summer work right about now. Our department has our back-to-school all staff in-service on Monday. In the coming years when I attend an in-service as a teacher, I am going to have so much appreciation for the support staff and administration that organize all that stuff! Here is a look at the less stressful events of my past week!

Hopefully you all got a chance to stop by Staples this past week for teacher appreciation day! I did and I have to say it was more fun than I expected. Our local Staples even had Starbucks coffee  and pastries free for teachers as they shop (brownies points!). There were mini gift bags from an Avon rep. While I actually didn't need too many things, I couldn't resist some of the awesome deals. Check out some of the loop I got.

I got spiral notebooks for 1 penny a piece! I also grabbed a few of my favorite school supplies as well, including Ticonderoga pencils (I’m a bit of a pencil snob), various Post-It notes (can’t get enough), and a cute Martha Stewart notebook. The notebook was exactly what I was looking for to use as a mentor-student communication notebook. I can jot down questions or comments throughout the day and my mentor teacher will reply as she has time.

Are you ready for some football? If you live in Washington like me, you have probably been bombarded lately with Seahawks everything. Suddenly everyone on Facebook seems to have a profile picture in a Twelfth Man jersey.  Meanwhile, I’m just sitting here waiting for college football to beginning. I’m not against the Seahawks or anything but if the Cowboys beat them, I won’t be upset. (I’m not supposed to talk about my Cowboy support around here, haha).

We are now less than one month away from The Color Run in Tacoma! I’m starting to feel like a real runner at this point. I even got myself a pair a fancy-smancy running shoes. I am kind of in love with my Asics Gel-Cumulus 15. Not only do they make my feet happy, but they are so stinking cute! Please do not confuse the colors for Boise State Blue and Orange though. They are Turquoise, Lightening, and Electric Melon. (By the way, how tan do my legs look in this photo? I'm going to miss my sun kissed glow this winter.)

For the longest time I was a skeptic, but I am totally in love with the SodaStream. Vanilla Coke is one of my top ten favorite things but I hate that I can never find it for a decent price. And as soon as I buy it, I drink it all and feel guilty.  Now I can make myself as much Vanilla Soda as I want, any day, anytime. I love how simple it is to use and how quickly I can make a bottle. It is also nice to know that we aren’t filling up our recycle with plastic bottles or pop cans. We have four half liters that the husband and I alternate between. At first, I wasn't sure about the taste but once I tried a few flavors, I found some I liked. I should mention though that my original skepticism was mainly due to the upfront cost of the unit, gas, bottles, and flavors. We got lucky that my parents are letting us use theirs. But I guess I could see how the price could be justified over a period of time (I just don’t want to do that math!).

I went to the zoo this week! As part of my internship earlier this summer, I arranged for a zoo trip for over 300 kiddos and their families. I got to go with them on Tuesday to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and even hubby got to join! It was great to get to see some of my kids and their families after a month away from my internship. Plus, I got to pet baby stingrays in their new Stingray Cove. I can never get enough of stingrays.