THen weIt’s Friday!! Hooray for Friday!! I am joining Erika, Narci, and Andrea for Friday Favorites.  It’s Groundhog Day and I am hoping Phil does NOT see his shadow! Bring on the spring weather!!

Favorite 1 – After a year of running whatever distance I felt like running, I am enjoying getting back into a training mindset. I am doing the Zooma RunLove challenge right now and I am currently training for a 10k.  10k is probably my favorite distance because it challenges me, but the different training runs fit into my schedule pretty easily.  The 10k for this challenge is the weekend of February 17th, so I am almost finished. I love the Zooma runs and am hoping to travel to run one this year, maybe Cape Cod or Florida.

Favorite 2 – I love teacher work days! We had our end of the semester teacher work day on Monday.  I am not sure which is my favorite part, the plenty of time to talk to my colleagues/friends, a chance to take more than 30 minutes to eat lunch, maybe even at a restaurant, or the comfy clothes that I get to wear to work.  I got my second monogrammed pullover (The link is a different website, but the same product) right before Christmas and I wear it all the time.  I ordered my regular size, even thought it says to size down, because I wanted it to be super cozy.  There are two pockets on the side seams and they just add to the cozy factor. I slipped on my Ugg moccasins and have never been comfier.

Favorite 3 – I love meeting authors, especially when their books are favorites of mine or my students.  This week I hosted Ursula Vernon at my school.  She writes the hilariously funny Dragonbreath series and the Hamster Princess series.  Ursula had a dry sense of humor and our kids really connected with her.  I have to say that my favorite part of bringing an author to my school is hearing from the students who were inspired to write more, read more, or try a different genre/subject of books.  It makes my media specialist heart swell! Ursula Vernon was at school on Wednesday and I had students tracking me down Thursday morning to get their hands on her books, share something they wrote the night before, or tell me their plans for the next story they wanted to read or write.

Favorite 4 – I got to spend some time with Luke on Sunday while Jack and Jeff went to the Maryland basketball game. We had the greatest time. Our school had a fundraiser at a local restaurant so we headed over to enjoy lunch and support the PTA. He wanted to read his Magic Tree House book together we were sitting on the same side of the table while we waited for our food to come. My sister and I call it “boat sinkers” because if you were sitting in a canoe like that, all on one side, you would totally sink the boat. Being boat sinkers was perfect for reading in a cozy booth.

After lunch, we headed over to Luke’s basketball game.  His team is the Blue Thunder so we were jamming out to “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons to get pumped up.  He did a great job and had a lot of fun.

Favorite 5 – I have been looking at the slimmer, tall Ugg boots for a while and when they went on sale, mega sale, I am talking 50% off sale, I bit the bullet.  Well, I have to say, they are just as amazing as everyone says.  I have the sweater Ugg boots, Ansley Ugg slippers, and the Dakota moccasins and I love them all. But these, are even better! They have that little wedge which gives me just enough arch support all day. These boots are literally like walking on pillows all day. Warm, cozy pillows that I love!

That’s it for the week of favorites.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I am looking forward to my Declare It Day brunch with some girlfriends, a longer run on Sunday for my training program, and the Super Bowl (mostly the commercials and the half time show since my team didn’t make it).

☀️📚😎

Currently Reading:

Personal: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

School: Still plugging away with Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter.  It’s been a busy week!