I'm a teacher, so I have the luxury of spending the summer months doing whatever I please whenever I please. I enjoy this aspect of teaching very much, but now I am facing the eventual return of my tightly scheduled days and nights, and it is causing me to react physically (chills, dry heaves, etc). All kidding aside, I am excited to get back into a rhythm with school, working out, and intramural sports...heck I'll be glad when I remember what day it is again.
Right now I am starting my annual back to school shopping, getting things that my students should be equipped with when they enter my room but (SHOCK!) are not. Notebooks, pens, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, colored pencils, etc. I usually spend a couple hundred bucks getting everything in order for the year, just to have my stuff jacked or vandalized by my kiddos. I know it must be hard for teenagers to grasp the value of something that isn't theirs, but it gets frustrating having to replace things that, for no reason, were destroyed because someone was bored or is a psychopath ;)
In other news, my parents and my brother came down to visit me in two consecutive weeks in July. My bro had never been to Dallas and really enjoyed his stay. He was amazed at just how much more stuff there is to do around DFW, just like I was when I got here. My parents stayed for a week, didn't let me pay for anything and left me lots of surprises after they left. Let me tell you, my parents are the MOST wonderful, selfless, and caring people on this planet. PERIOD.
I also had to put my 5K training plans on hold (Didn't know I had them? Well, I did!) due to throwing out my back a few weeks ago. I had been running every day and playing sports, which on my stumpy, barrel-type body, was very stressful. I awoke one morning to realize I could hardly move, so I hobbled around hunched over old-lady style and frantically called the nearest chiropractor. They took me that day and started me on the road to wellness, or something, and now my back is almost back to 100%. I was told to stick to swimming, using the elliptical, and to take it much slower on the 5K training. I think I can handle that. I just want to be "a runner", something that I haven't ever been aside from training for soccer in high school. I want to wake up in the morning, bust out 3-5 miles and then head to school. Looks like that will be further off in my future than I had planned, but that's something I'll just have to live with. I'd rather be able to walk, you know?
Ta ta for now,
AIT
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Seasons 52: A great experience any time of year!
One thing that I love about living in Dallas is the amazing variety of restaurants so close to my home. I can hit up any fast food joint or sit down chain, but there are also numerous stand alone restaurants that are simply amazing. One of them happens to be Seasons 52, located in Plano off of Legacy and the Tollway. Yes, there are other locations, but this happens to be the only one in Texas so far.
Let me preface this story by telling you that I belong to a supper club comprised of a few friends that deeply appreciate a good epicurean adventure. We venture out on Thursday nights to check off new, interesting, or just plain delicious locations off of our ever-growing list. Seasons has been on our list for a long time so we headed out tonight in a very excited mood.
Seasons 52 does something very interesting with their menu; they change it every season to accommodate for the fruits and vegetables that are best during those months. Even more astonishing is their weekly specials, which change every week. That's 52 weekly specials over 4 seasons in the year. Now that I've educated you on the name, I feel we can move on to the actual meal.
Oh wait, I forget to tell you, Seasons 52 offers a plethora of wines varying in price and surely able to compliment ANY meal that is served. I chose a sweet Ravenswood Moscato, Kristin had a Grenache (red), and Savannah sipped on a sweet Riesling.
My cohorts and I started our meal with edamame, which are immature soybeans that are usually served steamed with sea salt. Seasons mixes it up by using green tea salt, which added a nice depth of flavor to the soft beans.
For our main courses, Savannah chose the Filet Mignon which was served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and Grilled corn. When they brought it out, I was instantly jealous. It looked to be cooked perfectly, with a few nice grill marks and an Oaky scent from the wood-fire grill.
Kristin made good on her promise to get the scallops, which were grilled to perfection and served with asparagus and a tomato-mushroom pearl pasta.
I ordered the Barbecue Chicken, seen here with mashed potatoes, corn, and a bed of green beans, encircled by some cherry tomatoes.
After finishing off our entrees, we had a little room left over for their "mini" desserts, which turned out to be the perfect size for sharing and enjoying. Their desserts remain the same throughout the year with one seasonal dessert brought in with each menu change. I chose the seasonal banana caramel dessert, Savannah got the Pecan Pie, and Kristin chose the Peanut butter chocolate mousse. Each one was a perfect balance of sweetness, texture, and presentation.
All in all I would give Seasons 52 an A. The food is delectable, fairly priced, and every entree is UNDER 500 calories! Can you believe it? Tasty and health conscious, what a great pairing (not seen in enough restaurants, I would say)!
I am even considering taking my parents there next week when they visit :)
Toodles,
-AIT
Let me preface this story by telling you that I belong to a supper club comprised of a few friends that deeply appreciate a good epicurean adventure. We venture out on Thursday nights to check off new, interesting, or just plain delicious locations off of our ever-growing list. Seasons has been on our list for a long time so we headed out tonight in a very excited mood.
Seasons 52 does something very interesting with their menu; they change it every season to accommodate for the fruits and vegetables that are best during those months. Even more astonishing is their weekly specials, which change every week. That's 52 weekly specials over 4 seasons in the year. Now that I've educated you on the name, I feel we can move on to the actual meal.
Oh wait, I forget to tell you, Seasons 52 offers a plethora of wines varying in price and surely able to compliment ANY meal that is served. I chose a sweet Ravenswood Moscato, Kristin had a Grenache (red), and Savannah sipped on a sweet Riesling.
My cohorts and I started our meal with edamame, which are immature soybeans that are usually served steamed with sea salt. Seasons mixes it up by using green tea salt, which added a nice depth of flavor to the soft beans.
For our main courses, Savannah chose the Filet Mignon which was served with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and Grilled corn. When they brought it out, I was instantly jealous. It looked to be cooked perfectly, with a few nice grill marks and an Oaky scent from the wood-fire grill.
Kristin made good on her promise to get the scallops, which were grilled to perfection and served with asparagus and a tomato-mushroom pearl pasta.
I ordered the Barbecue Chicken, seen here with mashed potatoes, corn, and a bed of green beans, encircled by some cherry tomatoes.
After finishing off our entrees, we had a little room left over for their "mini" desserts, which turned out to be the perfect size for sharing and enjoying. Their desserts remain the same throughout the year with one seasonal dessert brought in with each menu change. I chose the seasonal banana caramel dessert, Savannah got the Pecan Pie, and Kristin chose the Peanut butter chocolate mousse. Each one was a perfect balance of sweetness, texture, and presentation.
All in all I would give Seasons 52 an A. The food is delectable, fairly priced, and every entree is UNDER 500 calories! Can you believe it? Tasty and health conscious, what a great pairing (not seen in enough restaurants, I would say)!
I am even considering taking my parents there next week when they visit :)
Toodles,
-AIT
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
It's been awhile!
I can't say I've done a great job of keeping up with my blog over the past couple months, and it upsets me. There were so many times that typing out my thoughts would have been entirely therapeutic! Here are some things that most certainly kept me from (but won't do so in the future) writing more often:
1) Work- I am a teacher, so when our standardized testing looms on the horizon, I go into super-teacher mode with before and after school tutoring, plus coaching after school. It's tiresome but rewarding when we get our scores back at the end of the year and I find out I get to keep my job. YAY!
2) Sports- Outside of school I play intramural sports with my friends most nights through out the week. At any given point I will have 2 or 3 nights of softball, 1 or 2 nights of football, soccer, volleyball, kickball, dodge ball, etc. to keep me busy.
3) Injuries- I injured my knee in February, which took about 6 weeks to get back to a point where I could compete but is still healing. I recently sprained my back as well, making a lot of my normal movement very painful. I think I need to stick to swimming and using the elliptical, but I love to compete!
4) Laziness- Why write when I can sit in the living room and spend time with these two?
I will update again soon! Promise.
AIT
1) Work- I am a teacher, so when our standardized testing looms on the horizon, I go into super-teacher mode with before and after school tutoring, plus coaching after school. It's tiresome but rewarding when we get our scores back at the end of the year and I find out I get to keep my job. YAY!
2) Sports- Outside of school I play intramural sports with my friends most nights through out the week. At any given point I will have 2 or 3 nights of softball, 1 or 2 nights of football, soccer, volleyball, kickball, dodge ball, etc. to keep me busy.
3) Injuries- I injured my knee in February, which took about 6 weeks to get back to a point where I could compete but is still healing. I recently sprained my back as well, making a lot of my normal movement very painful. I think I need to stick to swimming and using the elliptical, but I love to compete!
4) Laziness- Why write when I can sit in the living room and spend time with these two?
AIT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)