Life Lately

Hello Friends,

June has been a month of many small but fun things. Farmers market’s, beach days, birthday parties and visits to SF. With long summer days and early mornings I can fit so much more in. Here’s  little bit of what I’ve been up to if you don’t follow along on my instagram. 

I went to an alumni picnic at my school and found this blast from the past picture of some of my girlfriends from my middle school. We look so young!

A co-worker invited me to her unicorn birthday party and at the end of it we all walked to 7/11 for slurpees. What a great way to celebrate a really hot day!

I’ve had so many to-do things for my apartment that have fallen off my to-do list (coffee-table, console table, hanging artwork, etc!) that my dad came over a few days after I was out of school and we put up these two great pieces above my desk: a picture shelf and my desk organizer. I’m ashamed to say they have been leaning against my wall since purchasing them this past September.

Two glorious beach days with friends have already happened and I can’t wait for more. Santa Cruz is gorgeous in the summer!

I discovered these great snacks at TJ’s. Yum.

I like to walk to Pier 39 in San Francisco. I went up a few days ago and had the best SF weather I’ve ever had, warm and windy but not too hot.

What all have you been up to lately? Any adventures?

Love,

-S

Life Lately

Hello Friends!

The end of the school year is closing just like any other- with a flurry of activity and events! I’m so looking forward to summer, some fun trips planned, lots of sleep and working out hopefully! I’d love to get back on track with regularly working out, grading has taken a bit of a priority lately as I only have a few days left with my seniors.

So here is a quick view into what has been going on in the last few weeks.

I had our apartment handyman put up some shoe shelves for me, and my Type-A heart is so happy. I can see them all so I know what I haven’t work recently, and it’s wicked easy to put them back as I can quickly spot an open space on the shelf.

I went with O to the farmers market a week or two back and these strawberries were out of this world good and so bright in color.

I chaperoned a field-trip to Chinatown in San Francisco and we got dim sum and fortune cookies. So tasty!

My family has finally figured out how to make the best chilaquiles ever! Yum.

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Seattle for an amazing wedding to two cuties, so that post will be coming soon. How is your week going?

Love,

-S

 

Life Lately

Hello Friends!

This week was kinda crazy at work, but in all the best ways. It was Spirit Week, and I really had no clue how big of an event this was at our school. I am pulling together a post on it, so you will see evidence of the crazy, exciting, loud and pretty amazing Spirit Week. But here are a few small pictures of how life has been outside of school.

I went up to SF last weekend and it was a grey moody day. It was fun to pull on a hat and sweater and embrace the wintery weather.

I had gotten some movie passes for Christmas, and so a friend and I met up for dinner at Straits and then walked to the movie theatre. It was funny, had great acting, and was a total must see movie.

Picked up some new pants! I mostly wear corduroy pants to work on throwing wheel days, and skirts and dresses on other days. But I had some tired old too big pants and needed a new weekend pair. My mom and O helped me pick these out.
She was playing dress up and wore the cutest giraffe onesie. I wish they made them in my size.


I went for a long walk after school one day, when it was sunny and blue skies and it reminded me that winter will end and summer will be here soon enough.

A and I got together last week for drinks in Los Altos. We took some silly photos and had a blast on a random Friday evening.

How was your week?

Love,

-S

The Best of 2016

Hello Friends,

Happy New Years! We spent the evening at our neighborhood party, and then relaxed at our house playing boardgames. It’s very homey with the fire roaring and we drink tons of thai iced tea to last us til midnight. It’s always very festive and fun. How was your New Year’s Eve? Do anything fun?

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Looking back on 2016, it was a very full and exciting year, with many highs and quite a few lows.

From left to right, I had amazing time with A flying to Florida and having the time of my life at Harry Potter World in January.

Relaxing on the beach in Hawaii with A in February was exactly what I needed heading into a busy time prepping my students to submit their AP portfolios. In June I watched my prides and joy (all 45 of them) walk down the aisle and receive their diplomas. I also said goodbye to the school that made me into the teacher that I am today, and hugged & waved goodbye to all my LPS Phoenix’s (and my classroom) for the last time ever.

In July we took a family trip and fulfilled a childhood dream of mine to return to the island where I had spent a glorious summer (#sweet15) in Nantucket. In July we spent some time with my Grandfather in Pennsylvania.

In August, I lounged at an amazing lake house and soaked up every last bit of summer before starting school at my new job. In September we enjoyed glorious weather on many walks in San Francisco. In October A and I cajoled our friends into eating the brunch buffet at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay. I also saw my favorite musician Ingrid Michaelson on her latest musical tour.

In November A and I took a food eating tour through Portland, and I got to explore the beauty of the Northwest (and see Shannon!). For Thanksgiving Week I joined Aaron and Kim and her family on a week-long sunny stay in Cancun, Mexico.

And finally, I’ve been here in Tahoe for the last week and a half, being as lazy as I possibly can before starting back to work on the 3rd. The snow has been kind to us, and I’ve been able to get in 3!! days of skiing in between the hot tub, reading books, watching movies and boardgames.

I’m sure 2017 will keep me just as busy as 2016 did, as I know I already have a few trips planned with A, seeing my first crop of seniors at Notre Dame graduate in May, and adding a few new things to the new pad in Santa Clara (like finally owning a Tv.)

Are you looking forward to 2017? Any fun things you are looking forward to? Thanks so much for reading the blog these last 12 months, I couldn’t do it without you guys!

Love,

-S

 

 

 

Life Lately

Hello Friends, Here are a few snaps from my Instagram, which I update a little bit more often than the blog here. Feel free to follow me (@sisforSandy) to see more about what I’m up to! My amazing brother make … Continue reading

A Saturday in Tiburon

Our good family friends the Goldstein’s (Hi Jon and Mim!) invited our whole family up to Tiburon for their son’s bar mitzvah. We started out with some tasty hot drinks and snacks before heading over to the temple.

Josh did an amazing job reading, and the party later on was a ton of fun. We had a few hours free in the middle between the earlier ceremony at the temple and the dinner party. I reached out to my friend Emmie to see if she was free to explore Tiburon with me and my family during the middle free hours on that Saturday.

We ended up grabbing a fantastic lunch (get the stone fruit & burrata, or the fish tacos!)  at Tiburon Tavern and walked through downtown Tiburon, where we had unbelievably great weather.

It was sunny but breezy with gorgeous blue skies. From there we snacked on ice cream from Honeymoon in Mill Valley. We ended up walking around Mill Valley before heading over to the evening party, which was a blast.

Have you ever been to a bar mitzvah? I had never see people being raised on the chairs before, it was so cool!

Love,

-S

 

 

 

School Fieldtrips

During the second to last week of May, we take our students on both college visits and on academic and adventure focused field-trips. On Monday I took my lovely juniors up to the City to explore San Francisco State. It was a bright blue sky kinda day, sunny, but brisk and windy. In short, it was as perfect in the city as it gets!

We explored their library, ate in their cool kid basement game room and lounge, and walked up to their rooftop viewing station!

For the next few days another teacher and I took a few kids to a rock climbing gym in Sunnyvale called Planet Granite. We rock climbed for the morning, and relaxed at the park in the afternoon. It was a great week spending time with the kids outside of the classroom!

Do you remember going on any fun school field-trips?

Love,

-S

Girls Spa Day

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Two years ago A and I went up to the city to spend a day at a Spa. We loved it so much that we booked another day there this year. We started off at Cocoon Urban Day Spa with massages, and finished with a mani-pedi’s. I felt so relaxed after it was all done, perfect for heading into the week before AP exams! The whole place is beautiful and calming, with tea and cookies while you wait. I went for summery colors.

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We followed our spa appointments up with a delicious dim sum lunch at Yank Sing. We took some silly photos while we were waiting for a table.

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I find taking a Sunday day off from babysitting and grading to be with a girlfriend is exactly what  I need heading into a stressful time at work. I feel like the week starts off so much easier!

How do you find time to relax and unwind?

Love,

-S

Academy of Sciences



SF
My brother’s best friend Alex is pretty much part of our family. He comes on our family vacations to Tahoe, is invited to our birthday parties and nights out in SF, and is a cool kid. He fits in so well with our (crazy) family.

Last weekend was his birthday. My brother and I joined him and his parents for a gorgeously beautiful day in the city. We started out with a tasty breakfast at Padrecito in Cole Valley in SF. I had scrumptious fish tacos. Sadly I ate them too quickly to snap a picture.

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Yum, Churros!

 

From there we uber’d to the Academy of Sciences. I hadn’t been since high school, so it was fun to see their newer exhibits. We went into the Osher Rainforest, which is my favorite part of the museum. It’s a four story dome that houses a rainforest and an aquarium on the lowest level. You start on the ground level and slowly walk around and up looking at the tropical flora and different animals. Then, you plunge down to the aquarium level (in an elevator) and get to look at all the different animals that live in the ocean.

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I particularly enjoyed the Earthquake zone where they had built a temporary exhibit where you could feel the two major earthquakes that have hit SF in the last 100 years.

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On our way out we got to meet their albino alligator named Claude. He was one of the few animals that I particularly remembered from my previous visit.

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What was the latest museum you visited? What was your favorite part about it?

Love,

-S