Reunions, Shopping, & Easter

I still to this day find Phil's training schedule a mystery: on one hand it feels completely normal and I continue to bop through life at my normal pace, missing him mostly at night.  On the other hand it feels like part of my essence is gone and I don't do certain things while he's gone; but I only realize that when he returns home.  They say hindsight is 20/20 and boy do I believe them! Whoever the "them" actually is in this case...but I digress.

Phil left for a 3.5 week training and I made him take the standard leaving picture:

I am a sucker for photos, I think because when I see cute couple photos on social media and my other half is gone, I miss him more and long to take cute photos with him.  

That being said, I forgot to take a Welcome Back photo with him when he returned on Tuesday, oops!

The puppies have finally stopped eating grass that has caused them stomach distress all week!  We are all finally sleeping through the night once more!

I moved my feet, and lost my seat: they clearly feel guilty about that

Phil and I spent Friday up in OKC doing some shopping and exploring; I was especially excited because I scored two new pairs of shoes!!  A new pair of gym sneakers (my first pair of Reeboks) and another pair of Birkenstocks...I can't help it, they are super comfortable and I absolutely love them.  Unfortunately for Phil, I still haven't gotten rid of my seriously old and broken ones...I can't though, they are good for yard work and fetch and a lot of other things still!

This is the only photo I took today for Easter; I made Phil and I Belgian waffles, and while I was eating mine, he took over the waffle iron.  He mastered that so well, he might have to put those skills to use more often :)

I hope everyone had a restful and thankful Easter!  Phil and I took a really nice walk around post today, got some quality puppy play time in and I have put a lot of pages behind me in my new book:

I love a classic "who done it" and I am seriously enjoying this one!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Anyone else reading anything good lately?

Sneakers, Anniversary, & More Sneakers

Phil and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary this week!  This year was extra special because he was actually here to celebrate with me!  I swear I look at that man and the butterflies still just flap away :)

This is one of my favorite photos from the big day <3

He also surprised me at school with flowers...needless to say, I was a puddle when he showed up to my classroom door looking all handsome in his uniform (he graduated from CCC that day!)

He also got to meet a few of my students....they all want him to come back to school so they can ask him questions.  It was a very, very cool day!

Phil made the mistake of taking me to the mall Saturday night...I say this because we happened to stroll on by the Journeys store and lo and behold, there were shoes I just had to have!

A pretty pair of pink Converse to be exact!  I was looking at the neon pink ones and decided that they are just a tad too loud (neon toenails, yes, neon Converse, just couldn't do it) and then Phil found these beautiful pale pink/charcoal gray ones and I was hooked!  It was love at first sight!

Then I also saw these beauties:

I walked out of Journeys wearing my new pink Converse (with my formal dinner dress...heels went in the bag) and those beautiful Adidas creations.  They are super supportive and were immediately tested out today on our walk with Max and trip to the gym.  MEGA LOVE!

New shoes, a truck, a puppy, and an amazing husband equals perfect a Sunday to me!

Speaking of perfect Sundays, this is what is happening on this wonderful afternoon in the Sutton Household:

Max is snoozing, Phil is playing Destiny 2, and I am reading, stretched out on the couch...perfect!

Phil is heading home for a little while to do some much needed catching up, so Max and I will be holding the fort down here in OK.  I wonder what kind of mischief we will get into....never can tell! (insert mischievous laugh)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! :)

Anyone else have a sneaker obsession like me?  What are they?  Please share!

I am linking up with Bianca this week!

Football, Ice Cream, & Snoozing

Phil and I have actually decided to take a leap out of our box and get involved with the college football scene here in Oklahoma.  So, we bought a Oklahoma University (the Sooners) hat for Phil and a t-shirt for me.  I know, pretty crazy!

We took that hat and t-shirt to the home-opener on Saturday and it was awesome!  Our college did not have a football team and I have only been to one college football game so I wasn't quite sure what to expect...wow was I not even close!  Apparently there is college football, and then there is COLLEGE FOOTBALL!  The place was packed! There were people tailgating, walking, talking, buying drinks, food and other OU paraphernalia, and it was just epic!  They even closed down the street! Like what?!?!

Of course that meant that I made Phil take some selfies to commemorate the experience, because if there isn't a self, then did it really happen?  Kidding!

 He was awesome!  I can't help that I am a picture addict when we are together!

Our seats were pretty great too!  Right by the end zone!

It was so fun!  The weather was hot, the sweating was intense, and our smiles were big!  And those Sooners won!  Very rarely do Phil and I actually have a chance to cheer for a team that is actually good and wins (we are Bills fans, Sabres fans, etc...life can get a little tough somedays...)

After the game called for some celebratory fajitas and THE BEST ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICH IN THE WORLD!  Sorry for the all caps, but this ice cream cookie sandwich blew my mind!  Homemade cookies with homemade ice cream!

 It was also the size of my palm!  I couldn't finish it, but I sure tried; next time I am skipping actual dinner and going right for the prize :)

I took this photo of Max last week in his usual Sunday position:

And on this Monday that feels like a Sunday, he is enjoying the very same position.  Lazy afternoons at home are the best.

I splurged and got new shoes:

 My very first pair of Converse!  They are this awesome gray color that go really well with my jeans, shorts and khakis (for when I want to feel cool at school).  My students thought they were awesome and I totally gained more cred for that, and Phil, the sweetie that he is, told me that in my Converse I am almost cool...I'll take that!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! :)

Does anyone else have crazy college football stories?

Linking up with Bianca! 

Teaching, Running, & Colds

We made it through another week and that is always a plus in my book!  The kiddos are starting to settle in and we are bumping right along!  With the help of some awesome people, my classroom is also not looking quite so bare-bone-ish:

I have some very cool painted signs that really spruce it up!

You can't see it, but my sweet tea cup is totally on my desk...addicted!

I am not sure if it is allergies or a cold, but my head is so congested and my nose is running like crazy!  Oh and I basically sneeze every three minutes...anyone have any cold/allergy medicine recommendations?

Saturday I went to a professional development class up at Oklahoma University called Ipadpalooza and it was out of this world! I learned sooooo much about what to do with the iPads in class that my mind was literally blown! I think I am actually still processing all of that information.  I am going to try one new thing that I learned yesterday to implement in my classroom this year, and then add another next year, and so on.  Now I just have to figure out which one I am going to implement...

I bought these adorable new Nike sneakers around the Fourth of July, but haven't worn them because of being home, then moving, then unpacking the house, and I literally just found them again!  I really need to finish unpacking my clothes from the RV...

They have this cool lace-type pattern on them with slight pops of a neon yellow!  And they make me look so much more tan than I actually am :)

I have been having a really hard time getting motivated to run lately, Phil and I have been lifting at the gym for the past 5 weeks and I really love it!  I never thought I would actually like lifting weights ( I was under the misconception that it would bulk me up...false!), but I really love getting stronger.  We do a cardio warm-up, but instead of jumping on the treadmill and getting a few miles in, I have been hitting the Stair Stepper and getting my butt kicked.  Maybe once it cools off I will pick my running back up, but right now, I am really into getting stronger and more toned with the weights.

Phil surprised me with flowers on Thursday:

I was having a bit of a frustrating day and he walked in the house with these and two sweet teas...he really is amazing <3

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! :)

Is anyone else trying new exercise moves and want to share?

Linking up with Bianca! 

Apologies, New Shoes, & Life

I am soooo sorry for being so absent lately! Phil's laptop died (RIP the HP) and he has been taking my Mac to work.  I usually do most of my blogging during the day because when he gets home, its time for dinner, adventures, walks, and snacks!  Therefore, I tend to forget about blogging and BOOM!  Schedule disrupted!

However, I do think I am turning him over to the Dark Side of using Apple products....

Life here in OK has been HOT and pretty good!  The days are filled with walks, sweet tea runs, gym time and puppy snuggles.

On really hot days, we take rest breaks to watch the geese do whatever it is geese do...not a whole lot in my opinion, but Max is fascinated.

We also managed to actually get Max in the water this weekend!  This is HUGE because this dog doesn't like anything to do with water: puddles, rain, baths, etc; and he was actually chest deep in the lake!

Phil and I were so proud!

*Note my fancy photography skills and getting him mid nose-lick...I know, mega impressive ;)

Biggest news of all: I GOT NEW SNEAKERS!!

I am in LOVE with my new Nike Free Runs!  Literally obsessed!! A friend gave me a new sneaker website that have all kinds of cool designs for Adidas, Nike, Puma, Jordans, etc, and boy am I excited!!

You can imagine how excited Phil is about that...especially with our space restrictions in the RV...good news is that sneakers can store somewhat flat!  Problem solved! :)

Phil and I have also been doing some exploring and seeing all of what Oklahoma has to offer; it has been really awesome having my guy back :)

When I am not doing the gym thing, walking Max, drinking sweet tea, and hanging with my main man, I have really been enjoying the sunsets we get on our evening walks.

Besides the crazy access to sweet tea I now have, I think this might be my favorite part of being in Oklahoma.

I will try to do better this week with blogging!  I will not get distracted by the idea of dinner! Or at least not as distracted, after all who can resist Taco Tuesday??

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!  I will do a Photos of the Week/Past Weeks segment this week so you all can see more of our Oklahoma Adventure!

Does anyone have any book suggestions?  Summer vacation is when I catch up on my reading and I am in desperate need for some book ideas!  Let me know what you are reading!

Planes, Oklahoma, & Girl Time

The weekend was finally here! It was time to board that plane and go see Phil!

Goodbye Colorado!

Hello Oklahoma!

It was wonderful and perfect and it just felt so good to see him!  Is it odd that I forgot how cute he is? Or how much he makes my heart just flutter?  It's easy to forget what those sensations feel like when you're apart for a significant amount of time.  And these past two months definitely felt significant to me!

The promotion ceremony was sweet and it was such an honor to be a part of.  I ripped his 1Lt rank off and chucked it behind him (Phil said I threw like a girl...insert dramatic girlie eye roll here...) and I placed the CPT rank on there and heeled him in the chest...just to make sure it stuck ;)

I went with the cream dress and the nude heels; it just seemed appropriate for the occasion.

This picture was my favorite because it shows me squinty and laughing at something he said, and he's  just looking at me in the way that he does (insert heart flutter)

After all of that formal stuff, we hung out with my dad (who managed to pull the Big Rig into OK at the right time!) and had a celebratory brunch at Cracker Barrel and bopped around OK to see what we could see.

It was a beautiful weekend and the weather was perfect on Saturday for climbing Mt. Scott and then catching all we could catch with Pokemon Go (nerd alert!)

Sadly all weekends have to come to an end, and it was tough leaving him, but it helps knowing that I will see him again quite soon.  And I had no time to brood, my friend came to visit after I got home! It was so great to see her and catch up; it had been a few years since we have actually gotten to have some good old fashioned Girl Time and it was needed!  Great way to start off the week!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all have a  fabulous week! :)

Max was happy to take his place back on the couch from his Doggy Daycare Adventure Weekend!

Linking up with Bianca! 

Pedicures, Dress Shopping, & Washer Fluid

My Papi came to visit me!!! This is one of the best surprises in the world!! My dad (aka: Papi) is a truck driver and he has the ability to "pop in" and visit his girl and best grand-puppy (Max and I) on various occasions.  I consider myself super lucky that he called me on Thursday and asked if I wanted a visitor this weekend...is that even a question?!?!

*Max was super excited to have his Papi back*

Now when my Papi comes to visit, I usually ask him to assist me with various tasks: refilling my washer fluid, checking the air in my tires, sweeping up spiders in the Scary Boiler Room, etc.  Well, this weekend, I made him go dress shopping with me and get pedicures.  Dad is really good about getting Father/Daughter pedis...I think he looks forward to them!

Back to dress shopping; Phil has his promotion ceremony coming up next month and I am going to go pin him!  I am so excited!  After all, its been a little while since I've seen him, so this is awesome! But then the question comes up: what do I wear?!?!

I ended up getting two dresses at the Loft (along with some pants, a dress for school, a couple of tanks, and a t-shirt...I do have a problem), one in cream and one in black.

*Excuse the dressing room mirror pics*

Now the next important question: what shoes do I wear?!?

A friend suggested that I try wedges and another suggested kitten heeled pumps...any suggestions?

Max, Papi and I celebrated Easter with a walk in the park!  Max was even able to go off leash!  I was beaming like the proud puppy mama that I am!

Look at that happy dog grin!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and Hoppy Easter and is ready for another week!! :)

Does anyone have any wedge/kitten heel suggestions?

Linking up with Bianca!

PSAT's, Dog Walks, & Online Shopping

So remember that time last week when I had a Snow Day? Well combine Snow Day with Phil being gone, and you have a recipe for online shopping!  And that is exactly what I did.  I had been shopping with my mom when I had been home, and we went into a Kate Spade store.  Ever since then I've had my eye on this adorable little cross body.  Add in the Snow Day (a whopping 8 days after I saw it) and it left me no choice: I snagged that baby!

Anticipation is building...

Hellooooooo Gorgeous!

I also decided that I needed to reward myself because I was proctoring and conducting the PSAT's for our department....so I totally deserved it right???

Speaking of the PSAT's, they are officially DONE!  We made it! And it practically went off without a hitch; thank goodness!  All that stress, worry, and sleepless nights can now be used for another task.

I also decided that it was officially time for the Spring Wardrobe!

I wore my pretty yellow pants and was referred to as "Sunshine" multiple times throughout the day and I was not upset about it; after all, the sun is the best part about Spring and Summer  :)

*Those sandals have seen better days though, they are about six years old; I only paid about $6 for them, but it's definitely time for shoe shopping*

Max is glad we survived the PSAT's too

Happy almost Thursday everyone!! :)

Does anyone have any Easter plans for this weekend?

Linking up with Kristin!

State Testing, Meltdowns, & RV Parks

There is nothing good about state testing: crazy schedules, long proctoring hours, meltdowns, and the remnants of brains.  The freshman have been testing since Monday and I'm not entirely sure what their brain capacity is on a scientific level, but I can tell you that it is officially gone after today.  And there is nothing like standing, meandering around, and staring at the back of their heads for four and a half hours to make the day feel lightening fast.  My poor feet have been enjoying sandals for about three weeks in a row now, and I had the nerve to shove them into ACTUAL shoes to make the standing not feel so bad; update: my feet are on strike because I made them wear real shoes (insert eye roll here).

This is Max summing up my feelings of testing week...I also wanted to hide on the couch and bury by head in the corner

The thing about my students, is that they are very schedule/routine oriented; and for the past three days, we have done nothing but mess that up.  Freshmen were testing and all other grades had their classes relocated (we used classrooms for the testing) and so that meant that no one knew where they were going and did not like the fact that they weren't going to be in their normal classrooms.  Cue different meltdowns of different magnitudes.  On the bright side, tomorrow and Friday are normal schedules and we are almost at Spring Break (keep breathing, only two more days, keep breathing, only two more days, etc)

Phil and my father officially arrived in OK yesterday evening after a two day trip from Western New York.  Phil and I were not super excited about paying for two households while he was in OK for Captains Career Course, so we thought, "Hey, what about living in my parents RV?" and my parents graciously lent us the Winnebago for Phil's time in OK.  So my dad is driving the Winnie, and Phil is driving his truck and they convoyed to OK.  Now with any good road trip, something unexpected always happens: in their case it was when the back bumper of the Winnie decided to fall off while they were rolling down the highway.  Luckily it didn't hit Phil and they managed to put it back on....but boy was I ever happy to miss out on that little endeavor!

Phil is now a resident at Buffalo Bob's RV Park in OK...something tells me he's going to fit right in!

Also a super cool plus:

Look how pretty the budding leaves are!!

Have a great week everyone!

Linking up with Kristin!

Photos of the Week

This week has blessed us with high 70* weather!  Which means that I wore sandals to work EVERY SINGLE DAY!  My toes were so happy!  I love sandals, sunglasses, and sunshine; and this week I managed to have all three.

Max was able to survey the water again on our walk by the creek, we even licked at it!

Then it rippled, hit our nose and we ran away...but we made actual water progress and I feel like that qualifies as a win!

I also displayed my creative talent for my students this week (this is an overview of Camp Green Lake from the novel Holes...just in case you couldn't decipher what was happening in this beauty)  Note: my students were not impressed, but they said my house had potential...thanks guys

My husband got inked! I think its pretty cool and I am also a fan of his plaid boxers....

Max and I started our Sunday with a beautiful morning hike in one of our favorite spots!  Max has finally mastered those stairs that are carved into the rock...I was a very proud mama!

This week is going to be a busy one with state testing and its the week before Spring Break (HALLELUJAH!) so it is going to bring with it a good amount of craziness!  So for now, I am going to bake some cookies (testing motivation for my co-workers) and watch a little Lord of the Rings to get me in the right frame of mind!

Have a great week everyone!

Linking up with Bianca! 

High School, Hormones, & Love Notes

So Monday morning Phil left bright and early and like any self-respecting woman: I cried and hid under the covers for another 30 minutes before getting up and going to school.  It went surprisingly well, after all, this isn't a deployment and we can do crazy things like talk on the phone and text (yay!).  I came home from school to find the SWEETEST note in the entire world:

My heart melted and I hugged Max while I cried a little more.  Max was so supportive: he licked my face over and over and then grabbed his ball and shoved it in my face (yes, a game of fetch is clearly the answer in this moment).  

I then let Max sleep on the bed with me that night and Tuesday night....but that's fine right?

As every other teacher in the world, you have lesson plans and goals for your classes: things you want to accomplish and need to get done.  I am armed with my English lesson and ready to rock and roll....and then my kids throw me an audible: they really want to talk about relationships.  They start asking all different types of questions: breakups, their breakups, feelings, hormones, trust, being single, and sex (I didn't cringe, but I wanted to).  So instead of doing my English lesson, we talked about life and how to stay true to yourself; when they are on a roll, you go with it.   I loved the fact that my students were so comfortable to talk about this stuff with me!   It can be hard to get high schoolers to open up and really express their thoughts and feelings about topics like this one. Teaching Win!  But I think I am good with the sex talk for now...

Max and I are starting to settle back into our routine: walks after school, sweet tea, dinner, and couch cuddle time....Max is a pro at the couch cuddles part

I have also found a mantra for this training period from one of my favorite puppies: 

But there also might need to be a new pair of shoes or two in my future to cope....maybe this weekend I'll add  a pair to the collection!

Happy Mid Week Everyone!

Linking up with Kristin!