Maestra A. Vega

Shopping  Primping Running  Isolating  Napping  Giggling Baking  Regrouping  Eating Adulting Kidding 2 much fun 0 work 1 extra day 8 Mondays till Summer vacay

Today is our 9 year relationship anniversary so I thought I would share 9 facts about us. 1. We met on Myspace. 2. Our nicknames came from Star Wars characters. 3. Our childhood homes were a block away from each other. 4. Pizza and Fortune Cookies are life. 5. We both graduated from UIC. 6. Staying home is our favorite thing to do. 7. Our families were members of the same Puerto Rican social club. My grandma and his mom used to play Bingo together. 8. My mom was present on our first date. 9. I was the first to say "I love you". Can't wait to celebrate with a delicious meal tonight and in the years to come! 

This is the first year my daughter walks herself to school, it's not everyday but still, it's enough to drive a mom insane. I am always in a panic for those five little minutes as I wait anxiously for her to text me to let me know she arrived safely. She knows how worried I am each morning and knows that I literally can't think about anything else until  I hear from her. In order to calm my nerves, started sending me silly little gifs along with her texts to make me smile. She has such a keen intuition for a 12 year old and always knows what to say and do to make everyone feel better.  I was very surprised to see a text from her this morning being so that she is on Spring Break and usually sleeps until someone wakes her up. I open the text and see this pop up on my screen.  I could have burst into tears because it was exactly what I needed this morning. I almost felt her little hug and it reminded me about how lucky I am to have her. I thanked her for making my c

I came across this image on google today and it made me laugh because if you know me, my O.C.D is no secret. Some have told me that I always seem pretty calm and collected. On the outside this is true, on the inside it's the complete opposite. I am a perfectionist who worries about everything. I dropped out of beauty school about 11 years ago because the teacher said that hair is never perfect. NEVER PERFECT, I thought... This job isn't for me. I am hardly ever able to sit down and relax in my home because there is always something to do and when there isn't, I clean out the closets. Cleaning and organizing feeds my soul in a way that only my grandmother understands. There are no words to describe the feeling that a clean and organized home gives me. In our house, the beds are always made, dishes always washed, laundry done weekly, house cleaned weekly, floors are swept (daily) and mopped(every other day), Cabinets are clean and tidy, and everything has a place. There'

This morning as I was on my tippy-toes trying to flat iron my daughter's hair I was reminded about how quickly she has grown -Literally well as figuratively, she's my height and her feet are a half size bigger than mine. I always finish off her style by telling her how beautiful she is as I look at her through the mirror. She always smiles back at me shyly, just enough for her dimple to peak. Every time I see her dimple I think back to the day she was born. I had a c-section and wasn't able to see her the second she entered the world. For those that don't know, they usually have a curtain as a barrier, I never understood why tho, but it's just what they do. Being so that I couldn't see what was going on, I was relying solely on listening to everything the docs were saying during the procedure just to be sure everything was ok. I was completely numb but I swore I felt the moment they took her out. I was worried because she didn't cry, she was a very quiet bab

Goat cheese is in my top five list of favorite cheeses... It was one of the main ingredients of our meal last Saturday. I made pesto chicken with goat cheese and tomatoes. It’s super easy to prepare and so delicious. I slice two chicken breasts in half to create four thin slices. I pounded them with a meat hammer (all the cool chefs do it), then seasoned them with salt and pepper. I lined a glass pan with foil (this Makes for easy cleanup) sprayed the pan with my new organic olive oil cooking spray and place the chicken on the foil. For the pesto, I bought a jar of organic basil pesto from Mariano’s. They’re tiny but potent so you don’t need much. I spread some pesto on each slice, sprinkled some (or a lot) of goat cheese on top of the pesto, and topped them with sliced tomatoes. While this baked I ransacked my fridge for a side and I settled on roasting  cauliflower and potatoes (for my husband). This baked for about 45 minutes meanwhile my husband and I ate chips and guacamole as a

Anaese Bees. Hate them Cooking. Love it Dogs. Best pets ever Espresso. Always in my coffee F.L. for helping me write this blog Gioco. Favorite French restaraunt Holiday. Favorite song by Madonna Illinois. Born and raised Jade. The name of my favorite scent of candle Keen about fashion Las Vegas. Where I got married Madelyn. My beautiful daughter. Nordstrom. Best. Store. Ever Odd numbers are my favorite Phoebe. My 3 year old dog Questions. Always have them. Ransey, my husband and Rue, our puppy. Shoes Teacher Uplifiting Vega/Vazquez White Sox. Big fan Xavier King a.ka. The King. My nephew Young-ish Z. My middle initial

Everyday when I get ready for work I turn on netflix to watch Friends . I have re-watched the series countless times and it never gets old. I was lucky enough to be able to watch it on live tv during a time when DVR's did not exist and you had to wait a whole week to find out Ross' feelings, which, btw, he was NOT on a break. One of my favorite episodes is The One with the Holiday Armadillo - literally. It happened to be the episode I watched on Wednesday as I got ready for work. Thank goodness I woke up earlier than usual because I sat down to watch it and took longer to get ready!!! I laugh hysterically every time I watch this episode. I mean... come on... You have Ross dressed as The Holiday Armadillo  -Santa's part time Jewish friend who represents the southern states and... MEXICO! Chandler dressed as Santa who ends up getting upset at the fact that he didn't get a chance to; "Shake his belly like a bowl full of jelly!" and Joey... Joey dressed as Superma

"happy un-birthday" This was my Dove chocolate message for the day. Thank you, Dove!

made breakfast for my family drank coffee walked the pups groomed the little one drank more coffee chatted with friends worked out with my trainer shopped at Whole Foods went to lunch with my husband read a book took Phoebe to the groomer took a nap made dinner read some more All in a days off. 7 more work days until break, I cant wait to see what I can accomplish then!

I recently learned that when baking potatoes it's absolutely necessary to lose the foil!!! My husband and I were in a pinch trying to decide on dinner. We were watching the Loyola game and it was too good to leave the house to grocery shop for our food! We waited until half time and ran to Mariano’s because it was the only respectable grocery store with a television that would have the game on (cue ridiculousness). I rushed through the store. I grabbed two steaks, some broccolini, a baking potato other odds and ends whilst my husband watched the game on the big screen in the store. Anyway, fast forward to the ride home. I’m frantically trying to google the fastest way to bake a potato because it was already 7 pm and dinner was looking to be ready past 8. I stumbled upon a link that said “lose the foil for faster cooking”. I thought, no way, I clicked on it and BAM! Mind blowing! The recipe said to scrub the outside of the potato very well, bathe it in olive oil and sprinkle with

Kohls is a popular store in our family. My husband absolutely loves shopping at Kohls. He is the type that hates shopping. He loves all of the money you can "save" by shopping there. Obviously we know they jack the prices up high so they can make the sales sound really good. Don't tell him this though, it'll break his heart. We usually make a family trip to Kohls on Sunday once or twice a month. Today was a bit different however, I went with my girlfriend who decided to come along with me! I got house things, I got stuff for Maddy and, of course, I got some clothes for myself as well. The main purpose of me going was to get a second set of bed sheets and I left with waaaay more than I needed. I realized today that Kohls is like target in the sense that you can never leave there with only the items you intended to buy. There's always something else that jumps out at you begging you to place it in your cart. I am thankful for the amazing coupons that help bring th

From the title you probably didn't think I would be actually writing about a mug, but I am. I don't really think of myself as a collector of things. I don't like clutter and saving things. It drives me crazy. I do, however, have this tiny collection of Romero Britto mugs. If you know me, this would shock you because my color pallet doesn't stray away from blacks, whites, grays, and silvers. Romero Britto is an amazing Brazilian artist who loves color. He combines pop art and graffiti and does it in such a way that makes you happy just by looking at it. Back to the mug. Britto had a collab. with Disney and from this came some amazing mugs with Disney characters painted on them and I am lucky to own some of them. I shop Amazon religiously to try to complete the collection. My favorite of them all is my Grumpy mug, he was the first of my purchases. I am NOT a morning person and obvi. neither is he, but we have spent many mornings together being "Grumpy" and enjoy

F: Fabulous R: Restful I: Impeccable  D: Deserved A: Awesome Y: YES!!!!  Enjoy Saturday and Sunday!!

I love shoes. All types of shoes. Right now I am loving the mule, especially the ones with fur. *mules with da fur."  I get made fun of all the time for wearing them, but it's ok. I love them and that's what counts. I was once asked by one of our students if I forgot to put real shoes on. As a joke, I put on a surprised look on my face, looked down at my feet, and said "Oh my goodness! How could I forget?" The student looks at me with a look of sympathy, probably thinking; Poor teacher is a mess forgetting her shoes . Then I told him I was just kidding but he didn't believe me, he believed they were slippers and there was no changing his mind. Jokes on me.

During one of my groups this afternoon, we were going to start dictated writing and one of my students yells; "Writing is good for your health!" I, of course, let him know he was absolutely right. It got me thinking about blogging. Blogging has been such a wonderful experience and outlet that I have been looking forward to every day. This is the first year that I have joined the blogging challenge and I have truly enjoyed the experience and really do believe that it has been good for my health.

I am truly grateful to be able to work with two amazing educators that I am fortunate enough to call my friends. The saying Teamwork makes the dreamwork couldn't be any truer for us. Every so often, when the universe aligns, we are able to have lunch together. I always enjoy this time with them. We spend our time bouncing ideas, chatting about work, and sharing life stories. Words cannot describe just how lucky I feel to have my team. A.K.A., my friends.  

On weekends we usually go the easy route and either go out for dinner or order in but we always set aside one weekend day to cook a nice meal. I usually do the cooking whilst my husband plays DJ or helps me wash dishes as I prep. I usually don't use recipe books and last night was one of those nights. I made baby lamb chops seasoned with fresh garlic, salt, pepper and a greek seasoning blend. As a side dish I roasted mushrooms, yellow and green zucchini, brussels, red onion, sweet potatoes and fennel. I seasoned these before roasting with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. Maddy usually eats everything I make... My husband, however, does not eat red meat so I usually prepare something involving chicken and I change it up with the seasonings and what-not.  I love to cook, especially the really hard recipes. I love all of the preparation and focus that goes behind preparing a meal for my family to enjoy. It's a peaceful escape from our busy day to day with a delicious end r

At the end of lunch everyday the students are given our whole school clapping quiet signal so that they can line up for recess. There are days when they get it on the first try, there are days when they are so eager to chat with their friends that it takes one, two, three, four.... tries. Yesterday was different. Yesterday a few students started to cluck like little silly chickens. It took every muscle in my face for me not to laugh. I composed myself before saying; "The quiet signal does not mean act like a chicken." Right away the kids realized how silly I sounded saying it out loud and we all bursted into laughter. #Fridays #lovemyjob  

Once or twice a month my daughter and I will have a mother-daughter date when my husband works late. Yesterday was special because our date fell on the same day that women are celebrated for the strong individuals we are (Even though we both agreed that we should be celebrated everyday). We enjoyed some yummy food at California Pizza kitchen then went next door for pedicures and manicures. Maddy chose pink nail polish for my toes and she chose a blue-ish holographic color for her toes because it reminded her of girly things and unicorns -of course. I truly cherish the one on one time I have with her, she is growing up so fast and she is already a tiny old soul. I love our conversations and the insight she has. She is such an empathetic and caring person and it makes my heart sing when I hear all of her beautiful stories about life. I look forward to many evenings like this. She's my heart. She's my soul. She's my girl. Maddy as Snow White Age: 3

Long day today. Subbed, lunched, subbed some more, extended Wednesday. Needless to say I am running on low batter and ironically, so is my computer. Until tomorrow.

I stepped into a gym after a five year hiatus. I must admit that I was dreading it all day. Not because I didn't want to go but because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to last the full session with the trainer. Good news! I made it the whole hour! My least favorite exercise was the sleigh (this is what the trainer called it). I had to pull a sleigh that had about 75 pounds of weight towards myself then push it back. I am not good with measuring distance but it felt like it was a mile away. I had to pull it via these big ropes whilst doing a squat (ouch). In the end, I enjoyed the experience and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be working out again and feeling those endorphins.

Yesterday I went to dinner with my girl, Jess. Boy did we carb! We enjoyed a 4 course meal at Capri (my fave Italian restaurant in the area). We enjoyed the stuffed artichoke appetizer, salad, rigatoni, and the most ah-mazing pistachio cheesecake. Let's focus on the main dish. The Rigatoni. (so good it deserved its own sentence). Jess had the handmade rigatoni a la (some Italian word) and I had the rigatoni arrabiatta (spicy) with shrimp. I was jealous because the rigatoni Jess ordered said "handmade" and mine didn't but our awesome waitress, Ola, requested that my dish be made with the handmade pasta. It was divine. The sauce was perfect, spicy and flavorful, the rigatoni was made perfectly and cooked al dente. I was a happy lady. I only got through a couple bites before I started to feel like I might get full and didn't want to because she and I agreed that we would get dessert. The dessert... Pistachio? Cheesecake? the best crust I have ever tasted... More plea

This morning my husband bribed me into going to the movies with a visit to Stan’s Donuts. As a lover of the chocolate glazed donut, I couldn’t say no. He booked our movie tickets and we were on our way. The line at Stan’s was pretty long but we only waited about 5 minutes. He ordered his usual cherry old fashioned and I ordered one pistachio lemon old fashion, my beloved chocolate glazed, and a coffee. My husband, the rule follower, was nervous about walking in the theater with our big bag of donuts and my coffee. I took one for the team and carried it all in... shamelessly...  We walked in, Stan’s on display, and the ticket lady looks at me with a puzzled look, probably thinking; “Does this lady really think she’s gonna get in with those?” Meanwhile I was devising a plan to offer her one in exchange for  her turning a blind eye -haha! She was on my side because she scanned our tickets and told us to enjoy the show. Victory! -she was probably a donut lover, herself.  P.S.

This year I turned 33 (Some call it my "Pippen" year) and my husband surprised me with a new puppy for my birthday! She was teeny tiny, weighed only two pounds, and I loved her the moment I laid eyes on her. Before bringing her home we took her on a shopping spree to Petsmart. We bought her a blankie, some toys, grain-free puppy food, and lots of other unnecessary items. The shopping fun ended when it came time to purchase her name tag. I had not thought of a name at that moment and I wasn't going to pick one for the sake of time so we left without a tag and a dog without a name.  We pondered her name for a few days. Millie, Brookie, November, Coco? We couldn't decide! I reached out to friends for advice. My friend Sydni was partial to "Sasha Fierce" -Haha! Finally, Kim, who knows me very well and knows that I love Chanel, started doing some research to help find a name that wasn't your basic "Coco" or "Chanel" We were texting back

For those of you who know me, you know that I am obsessed with coffee. Over the summer my mom and I went to Bloomingdales and she treated me to a Nespresso machine. She has had one for a while now and I love using it when I go to her house. Best part about it is I got to pick the one I wanted (best.mom.ever). I was drinking espresso two times a  day I was so obsessed with it. Best part is that the machine came with a frother! Latte anyone?  Fast forward to present time. I am sad to say that my obsession with the Nespresso machine has fizzled. Lately I have enjoyed using the keurig machine at work. The Nespresso coffee is very strong and has a distinct taste and I think I just missed the taste of a regular cup of coffee. Don't get me wrong, the Nespresso is staying, I will eventually get back to using it, but I think the moral of this slice is that I might need to purchase a Keurig so that I have options :-) A girl likes her options.  Nespresso: 10 Keurig: 11

For my first slice I thought I would share the piece I used for a minilesson that I taught on Monday with 3rd grade.  I felt nervous as I scooted over the seat to the door of the very long limo. I knew the moment I stepped outside I would be greeted with cheers, photographs and video cameras. I took a deep breath as I grabbed my husband’s hand and stepped out. I immediately was relieved to see that the large group of people that should have been waiting for us outside were not. It had been raining pretty badly so they had to wait inside. *cue sigh of relief.  There were cameras, however, asking us for pictures and recording our every move. I tried to dodge them but being so that my husband was the one who was being celebrated, they wanted a picture of him with his wife.  We proceeded to  walk the long path of the mushy red carpet that had gotten wet from the rain. As we walked closer to the door I started to hear clapping and cheering. My palms started to sweat. I had to recit