Hello Fall?

I think that San Diego definitely has its seasons mixed up this year.  Currently it is a awful blissful 98 degrees outside.  It is fall right?  Our summer was very cool so all the warm weather must be catching up to us.  Well, despite the fact that I was truly looking forward to a delightful fall-fill weekend and got crazy heat instead, I still was very productive!

By the time Friday afternoon rolls around I am exhausted!  My days start when my alarm goes off at 4:45am and I'm at work by 7am ready for my cute little kidos.  The one thing that definitely keeps me going is my job- my students are so eager to learn and it is just fun!  All of the fun finally catches up to me Friday afternoons as I plop down on the couch and want to sleep for days.

Daniel caught me mid laugh while on the couch, and yes that is a TV remote in my hand...we got cable back.  Daniel is very excited that he gets to watch football finally and keep up on his fantasy football players.  I wasn't the only one lazing around though.  Daniel started early shifts last week and we all know that he is not friends with mornings, so he was ready for a cat nap with Minnie too.  We summered up some energy to go try a new burger place called The Lounge and LOVED it!  

This weekend was the first one in the past month and a half that I didn't have anything on my calendar.  I took the opportunity to get in the fall spirit with a fun trip to Home Goods after cleaning the whole house.  Keeping up with our condo and decorating it is not my forte, but I am definitely trying.

 I got these adorable napkins there, and these flowers are still blooming after one week!  All of the colors are beautiful and I definitely love fall!  While at Home Goods I came across some vases that I could use all year around, they were perfect basics for future decorations.

 I enlisted the help of my friend Colleen (she has a super cute place for all new holidays and has an eye for taste) and my Pottery Barn catalog.  She helped me find some cute fillers and it already went with some fillers I had at home.

 Our coffee table finally looks complete!  We used to have just one vase and then cups, mugs, and remotes would fill all of the empty space.  Now, it is nice and clean with a little decor.  I fulfilled my desire to bring a little "fall" into our place and felt super productive.

 My mom came over last night for dinner so I decided to make a dish that I love but is not one of Daniel's favorite.  I made polenta pizza for us and got into the baking mood so we decided to bake some zucchini chocolate chip bread.

 Our bread some super moist and delicious, you would never know that it had zucchini in it! 

 This morning I headed to the gym and tried our Body Pump for the first time.  It was definitely fun, a little challenging, but my arms are feeling it right now!  I came home ready for Pancake Sunday.  Daniel and I have made it a tradition lately to make pancakes Sunday morning, sip some coffee, and actually eat breakfast together!  I was still in the fall mood so I decided to spice them up a little bit...

 With the help of these ingredients Pumpkin Pancakes were a breeze and amazing! 

Pumpkin Pancakes:

(I halved the recipe on the box so that we didn't have leftovers.)
1 c. Trader Joes Multigrain Pancake Mix
1/2 c. Almond Milk
1 egg
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl together with a whisk, cook, and enjoy!

After this delicious breakfast I picked up the house some more, started tackling the laundry (it is still in progress : \ ), lesson planed, and did a little bit of organizing in our closet.

We're Alive!

I knew this would happen!  As soon as work officially started and life started getting busier, blogging would slowly die.  We are alive, having fun, working hard and balancing life.  Sadly, the LaFuze's haven't been able to do much together. Our work schedules don't coincide so we have been trying to spend any and all time together during the nights we are both home.  

Work is going great and Daniel just started a new position.  On top of work there is grad school and this is my life:

 
My lesson planner, tons of post it notes, and text books that (fortunately) are helping with my instruction.  The one thing I feel successful is our meal planning!  Cooking is my stress relief when I come home and I have been loving new recipes.  Last week was delicious chicken lettuce wraps with jicama, carrots, and bean sprouts on top...yummy!

Tonight was lemony salmon, roasted zucchini, and a quinoa salad:

My weekends have been very productive and a total self esteem booster.  I FINALLY finished all of our landry...washed, dried, folded, hung, and all put away!  That was a huge accomplishment in itself!  Grocery shopping is my favorite chore lately and I love coming home and doing this:

Trying to keep the peace between work, grad school, and chores has been easy by little touches that I can add to our house.  Our new spice candle is welcoming the fall, and these fresh daisies put a huge smile on my face when I walk in the door.

And, of course, great friends and celebrations definitely help out in balancing life!  You can never replace relationships with anything else!

Happy Labor Day

Daniel and I thoroughly enjoyed our Labor Day!  We rarely get a day off together, so we tried to live it up as much as possible.  Our favorite meal is breakfast...anywhere!  I had recently tried The Cottage in La Jolla and couldn't wait to take Daniel there.

It was delicious!  I am in love with this place!  I  couldn't resist from their delicious latte, either.

After breakfast we took a walk around by the cove.  It was pretty gloomy outside, but I loved the weather.  The ocean was deep blue, and the seals were very active in their cove.  Being able to just walk around and enjoy the beauty of the ocean was the perfect start to our day.

After much needed chores and errands we headed up to Ramona to spend the rest of the afternoon with family as well as go on our first bike ride together.  Daniel couldn't wait to ride his new bike, and I couldn't wait to try it out again. I don't know why but it definitely takes me a while to get used to the whole feet being strapped to your bike, but after a few miles I felt pretty confident.  Except...I got a flat!  All in all, it was a great 13 mile ride with Kevin and Joni.

Big Sis

Amanda and I

The other day I got to play fashionista to one my "adopted" little sisters.  I have long known the Barrett Family, which consists of four girls and one boy.  They are the cutest bunch ever and I have known and watched all of them since they were born.  The youngest just started kindergarten last week, so I decided to call him and see how his first day was.  All he did was rave on how his card stayed on green all day long!  Now I know what will really matter to my kids come tomorrow.  It was utterly adorable!  I love going up to visit the whole gang, see how school and sports are doing, and be a part of their family.

Lauren, the oldest, was invited to a very cool sweet 16th birthday party and asked me to come do her hair and make-up for her.

She has gorgeous red hair, and I loved getting to play around with it.  Plus, she isn't the biggest fan of getting all dolled-up, so it was fun seeing her squirm with all of the hairspray.

I think I missed my calling somewhere...I LOVE playing with hair and make-up, but teaching suits me perfectly right now.  I hope Lauren had a blast on her limo ride, fancy dinner, and Belmont rides!

The Balancing Act

This week was my first taste at the balancing act I have taken on.  Those who know me know that I can rarely say no, and the tasks that I already have are enough to keep someone occupied pretty well.  Right now I am a wife to Daniel, and although I love him like crazy...he's not the neatest guy in the world.  I am a full-time teacher. 

Now, I am a graduate student at SDSU.  These don't include seeing friends, family, being involved in our church, and countless other things that are going on.  When I did tell Daniel what I was writing tonight, he gave me a hard time...but knows that I keep it together pretty well.  I have always thrived on being busy, it just seems to work for me. 

I wanted to blog about the things that I do to keep everything in order...

My Assistant= My Planner:

 It was ingrained in me since the beginning of college that schedules and planners are the #1 organizational tool.  Well, it is my number one friend.  I can keep any and everything in it.  Whether it is work, school, dates, appointments...you name it, it is there!  Sometimes I double book my self, but my planner always saves me!

Lists, Lists, Lists

Jamie Fun Fact:  I am obsessed with post-it notes.  On my desk are at least 5 post-its with reminders and notes.  I downsized my stock earlier this year, but I am pretty sure I have every color they come in.  When it comes to meal planning and grocery shopping I have finally masted it!  I make a menu (on the left) for the next week's meals, taking into consideration nights I have classes, Daniel works late, I babysit, or we have bible study.  I look at ads to see what's on sale, flip through my favorite magazine to find easy recipes, and look in our pantry to see what we have on hand.  Then, I make my grocery list and note what items I need at other stores (on the right).  It keeps us on our budget and we always are prepared!

Routines

I love to work out, and it helps me stay positive and feel great.  I try to work out in the mornings, and it jump starts my day and fuels me with energy to get through everything.  However, that does mean waking up at 4:45 or 5:00am with workout clothes all ready to go.  Getting out of bed is hard, but 2-3 morning during the week I make it!  I make my lunch the night before and set out my outfit for the next day.

Find Things You Love

Luckily, I LOVE to cook and try new recipes.  This helps me decompress when I come home and it fits right into my schedule.  Tonight was a perfect example.  I couldn't wait to come home and put my own twist on my chicken tortilla soup.  I forgot to defrost the chicken today, but this one was amazing!

This is usually Daniel's face before he tries something I made up on my own:

But, once he took a bite he couldn't stop raving.  It got a 7 on his scale!

Relax!
If you look closely, I have "relax" scheduled in my planner.  Relaxing for me means spending time with friends and Daniel, and doing things that aren't work, school, or housework. 

Daniel and I finally have a hobby!  We recently fell in love with roadbiking, and Daniel's bike came in yesterday so he is on cloud 9.  We already have a short ride planned for Saturday morning.  It is something that we can do together that doesn't cost us money every time, gets us outside together, and brings us closer.

Even though I try my hardest to follow all of the things, every now and then the plate is just too full.  Crying sessions have happened, but I like to think that I keep everything balanced pretty well!