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Final Blog Post

Good Evening Friends!

I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read and interact with my blog posts. It was so much fun sharing some of the hobbies that I enjoy doing outside of teaching and I hope that all of you have the chance to try some of them out in your free time! I enjoyed having the opportunity to read through everyone in my classes blogs during this summer course. I wanted to share two bloggers that I highly recommend for all of you to check out. 

The first blogger that I recommend reading through is Alyssa Kelley's blog called, "Living in Harmony." Alyssa and I grew up in the same town and work at the same school in our hometown. If you are an animal lover like me, definitely check out her posts to learn about farm animals! I think it is so cool how she has her own farm in her backyard with tons of cute little animals! 

Here is Alyssa's blog address: https://thebarnyardfamily.blogspot.com

The second blogger that I recommend checking out is Ryan Lynch's blog called, "Time to Harvest!" Ryan gives a number of fantastic gardening tips that I found to be very helpful especially this time of the year. Each summer, my family and I grow a variety of different crops from flowers to fruits and even some vegetables! If you need some tips on how to get the perfect green thumb and perfect your gardening skills, please visit his page as he has all of the inside tips.

Here is Ryan's blog address: https://new-lit-summer-2023.blogspot.com/

Lastly, I wanted to share a website that I have created on Weebly and the name of my site is called, Keeping Up With Miss. Gardner. On this site you will find a variety of different information such as a little bit about me, my teaching philosophy, two of my favorite children's books, reading tips for parents, a special surprise, and more! Check out the following site: https://keeping-up-with-missgardner.weebly.com

Life Outside Of Teaching: Hobby #4

My Love For Traveling:

Traveling has always been something that I enjoy doing with my family ever since I was little. I have traveled to many different places, too many to name and fit in this one blog post. I love traveling because it is not only a relaxing vacation but I get to see and learn about different portions of the world. Traveling is also a great time to bond with my family and do things that I would not regularly do if I were just hanging out at home. In this blog, I will share a few favorite trips that I have taken. At the end of my blog post, I will provide a list of destinations that I have visited and recommend for you all to visit at some point. 

Favorite Trip #1:

One of my first trips that I ever took was the Disney Cruise when I was five years old. I have gone to Disney World a handful of times and I loved how all of my favorite characters were on this cruise. My family had so much fun we actually ended up going again the following year. The first cruise that I took visited islands that were located in the western Caribbean and the second one visited islands that were located in the eastern Caribbean. Out of all the islands that we visited on both cruises, my favorite one was St. John. This island had the most beautiful clear water that I had ever seen in my life. I remember snorkeling with my cousins and seeing all of the different types of fish. I highly recommend taking a cruise if you have not been on one before. There are so much fun activities to do on a cruise such as hanging out by the pool, going down water slides,  eating delicious food, and much more! 

Favorite Trip #2:

A second favorite trip of mine was Turks and Caicos Islands. I believe what made this trip so awesome was the fact that I was with all of my cousins from my mom's side of the family. This island is located in the Atlantic Ocean, a British Overseas Territory southeast of the Bahamas. Fun fact, I have also been to the Bahamas two times and also highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for another tropical place to go to. The hotel that I stayed at was called the Beaches Resort and this was right on the beautiful beach. There were plenty of amazing restaurants to choose from that were right inside the resort and there were activities to do such as spending a day at the spa or going on a Caribbean adventure tour. Each day, I was able to try out some different fun activities such as kayaking and paddle boarding. My favorite water activities to do on this island had to be parasailing, tubing, and going on boat rides.

 

Other Favorite Destinations:

Below, I will provide a few other places that I have visited and highly recommend you try to visit when you get the chance!

• Naples, Florida
• West Palm Beach
• Key West
• Cozumel 
• Nashville
• Puerto Rico
• Atlantis Bahamas 
• Las Vegas 
• Long Island, New York
• Lake Winnipesaukee

I would love to hear some places that you have traveled to in the comment section below. Happy traveling! :)

Life Outside Of Teaching: Hobby #3

 My Baking Addiction:

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been helping my mother bake all sorts of delicious desserts. Baking is huge in my family especially during Christmas time. My family has an every year tradition that takes place right before Christmas where we bake hundreds of different kinds of cookies. This team effort consists of me, my mom, my dad, my older sister Ashley, and my younger brother Billy. My mom has a number of different recipes that were passed down to her by her grandmother that are absolutely outstanding. The flavor cookies that we make every year include snickerdoodle, peanut butter blossoms, Italian cookies, jam filled butter cookies, Christmas tree shaped sugar cookies, and M&M chocolate chip cookies. There are probably a few that I left out because there are just too many recipes to remember. I always remember how fun it was to work as a team to make all of these cookies. We played Christmas music while we baked and I always enjoyed sampling each one when we finished. You may be wondering why my family makes so many cookies every year. Each year, we travel to New York for Christmas day to visit my mom's side of the family and we bring half of the cookies there. The other half we enjoy with my dad's side of the family and of course, we have leftovers for ourselves! This tradition is what started my love for baking and this is a hobby I continue to do on other occasions too.

My Go To Recipes:

Since the above cookies are "secret recipes" that were passed down to my family from my great grandmother, I have to continue to keep those quiet. However, I have a few that I found on my own that I use when I bake for special events that I go to or just for whenever I feel like a sweet treat! Before I share two of my favorite recipes, I want to first talk about a blogger that I really enjoy reading. The name of the blog is actually called, "My Baking Addiction." Just by clicking on the name of the blog, it should bring you right to the bloggers page and her name is Jamie. This blog interested me as I noticed how much Jamie and I had in common. We both watch too many hours of Food Network and bake a variety of different desserts. I have visited Jamie's blog a number of different times to find new yummy recipes that I can make. If you have a moment, definitely visit her page and try some out! 

Now it is time for me to share my first favorite cookie recipe called Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have tried many chocolate chip cookie recipes before and this one was by far the best! I have made these for many different social gatherings and I get so many compliments on them. Below, I have included the full recipe written out and have linked additional instructions that may be helpful too.

Recipe #1:

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown*

Recipe #2:

Classic Peanut Button Blossom Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 creamy peanut butter 
• 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Additional granulated sugar 
• About 36 Hershey's Kisses Brand milk chocolates, unwrapped

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately press 1 milk chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Make sure to remove the cookies from cookie sheets to cooling rack.*

I hope you try out both of my favorite cookie recipes that I have included in my blog post and some of Jamie's too! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my last blog post that will be coming out early next week on my fourth hobby. :)

Life Outside Of Teaching: Hobby #2

Where it all started:

During my freshman year of college, I traveled to Arizona for my spring break. My roommate was from Arizona and I have been a handful of times since I have some family that lives down there. I was so thrilled to spend the week with her family, and I had planned to meet up with mine too. My Aunt had called us after I had settled in for a few days. She was dying to take us on a hiking trail in the desert called Picacho Peak State Park. As soon as she told me the name, I instantly looked up this mountain on Google and my jaw dropped. Keep in mind I have never gone a real hike before besides small trails in New Hampshire or local state parks near my house. I decided to give this hike a try and was so thankful that I did so as this was such an unforgettable experience that I will go into more detail about below.

The Hike:

Once I arrived at the mountain, I felt nervous as I looked up at the top. As soon as I saw some familiar faces that included my Aunt and four cousins, I was feeling a little more confident. This hike took all day long as it was over six miles long and we had to stop for a few breaks in between. There were times when I wanted to turn around however, I knew I could not give up and the beautiful views along the way is what kept me moving.

One thing that made this mountain challenging was how steep it was and there were steel cables in some areas that were anchored into the rock in places where the surfaces were completely bare. There were some points where I felt like my sneakers were sliding on the rocks but I managed to make it across when I encountered the cables. By the time that I made it to the top, boy was I happy and proud of myself. I have never seen a more beautiful view than the one I had seen that day on March 18th, 2019. Of course, I have seen plenty of beautiful sunsets on the beach but this one felt different. I felt that I had worked very hard to earn this view and the fact that I had never hiked a mountain this challenging before in my life is was what made me feel even more accomplished.

Life Lessons Learned:

Hiking is a hobby that I have continued to love and try to find time to do in my free time. I encourage anyone who loves nature and beautiful sceneries to try it out. I believe hiking can teach many important life skills. One skill that it taught me was problem-solving as I had to read a map to figure out what trails would bring me directly to the top of the mountain. There was not always the best cell phone service so that was something that I had to make due without. A second lesson hiking taught me was that it is always worth it in the end. Of course there were times when I wanted to stop but as soon as I saw the view when I reached the very top, that was when I knew it was indeed worth it. I hope that you all enjoyed reading through my first real hiking journey and hope that the next time you travel, you find a trail that has beautiful views. Below, I have included a picture of my roommate and I when we reached the top. :)

Life Outside Of Teaching: Hobby #1 Continued

My After School Workout Routine Continued:

Hello everyone and happy Thursday! I am going to begin my blog post by continuing to discuss one of my favorite activities to do outside of teaching which is working out. In my last blog post, I left off by sharing my after school routine, my pre-workout snack, the online workout program that I use, and a sample lift schedule. I have tried out many programs that can be found on the Beach Body website however, LIIFT MORE was by far my favorite lifting program. If you are someone like me that gets bored easily of doing the same lifts every week, I recommend looking into joining an online workout program as these videos show you exactly what to do. I find the personal training instructors to be super motivating and always push everyone to do their best. If I find that the instructor is going too fast, I have the flexibility to pause the video and go at my own pace which is helpful. In the next section, I will go into more detail about how I begin my workout, how many exercises I do for each muscle group, explain the number of sets and reps I do for each workout. 

Step #1: Remember to Stretch!

Besides fueling your body with a pre-workout snack that is nutritious, I cannot stress how important it is to stretch before lifting weights. Stretching is the best way to loosen your muscles and I find it improves how I perform during a workout. I injured my shoulder last year so this is something that I always take the time to do especially on any arm days. Aside from stretching, I believe it is helpful to do warmups that get your heart rate up. Most workout videos I have done almost always begin by having me complete a HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercise. A few of my favorite warmups include jogging in place, butt kicks, squat jumps, and jumping jacks. What I love about these warmups is they are quick and only last about thirty seconds long. If you need new HIIT warmups before your next workout, feel free to write down the ones that I mentioned above and set a timer for about thirty seconds for each one.

Step #2: Reps and Sets

Before I share a sample leg day workout, I want to break quickly go over what sets and reps mean in lifting terms. After researching the best way to break this down to someone who is not familiar with these terms, Planet Fitness's website explains what each of these terms mean in simple terms. The number of reps that I typically do for each workout is between ten and twelve reps. For example, if I have eight leg exercises, I always do three sets of ten or twelve which means I do ten repetitions for three rounds. Below, I have included a sample leg workout that I encourage you all to try out if you are a big fan of leg day like me. Although the videos that I use have eight leg workouts, my example includes six. I am happy to explain any of these workouts in more detail, please do not hesitate to comment if you have any questions. I will also include a video link to each workout so it is easier to see how each exercise is performed.

 

Sample Leg Day Lift (Hamstrings & Glutes):

-Stiff Leg Dumbbell Deadlift (3x12)

-Alternate Front Stepping Dumbbell Lunges (3x12)

-Single Leg Deadlift (3x12)

-Frog Bridge (3x12)

-Sumo Squats (3x12)

-Bench Hip Thrusts (3x12)

Step #3: Post-Workout Routine

I always love to end my workouts by doing a walk outside or on the treadmill depending on the weather. I prefer walking outside whether it be with my Golden Doodle Bailey, family members, or friends! In a future blog of mine, I plan on sharing some pictures from one of my favorite hikes that I did in Arizona! Until next time, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! :)

Life Outside Of Teaching: Hobby #1

My After School Workout Routine

There is nothing that I look forward to more than my after school workout routine after a long, sometimes stressful day of work. While most people may prefer to workout before work, I am not a morning person whatsoever. On the weekends however, I prefer to do my workout first thing when I wake up because I obviously sleep in later than seven in the morning. I give people that workout before work so much credit as this is something I currently cannot get myself to do. In this blog, I will share my after school routine that gets me ready for my workout, the workout program I use, and how I organize my workouts!

Step #1: Pre-Workout Fuel

When I get home, the first thing I recommend doing is having a healthy pre-workout snack. I know this may sound backwards as most of the time people have a protein shake after a workout. However, after coming home from a long day of work, it is important to fuel your body with nutrients in order to set yourself up for a successful workout. One of my go to snacks to have is a protein shake. I typically make my own with one cup of fruit, water, and one scoop of protein powder. I have tried and used many different protein powders but lately, I have been using a plant based one called Orgain Protein. This protein comes in a variety of different flavors but my two favorites are chocolate and vanilla. When I am not making my own smoothies at home, I love to support local businesses around me that sell tasty protein shakes such as Foxboro Nutrition, Playa Bowls, and Juice on Main.

Step #2: Online Workout Program

Before the pandemic, I had a gym membership at a gym called Fit Factory that I went to every single day. When the lockdown took place, I no longer felt comfortable going in person to workout. Luckily, I had a mini gym in my basement that my Dad made for us. Our little gym had a treadmill, a bike, a squat rack, dumbbells, and other lifting equipment. One day, my sister was doing some research on her computer and found an online at home workout website called Beach Body. When she first told me about it, I was a little unsure if I wanted to join with her since I was so used to creating workouts on my own. What intrigued me the most about this website was how much cheaper it was a year than my previous gym membership. I highly recommend beach body as it offers a variety of different workouts such as dance, cardio, high intensity interval training, weight lifting, kick boxing, and yoga. There are a variety of different programs and instructors so you do not have to worry about getting bored of the same workout videos as there are so many to choose from. 

Now that I spent some time giving background information on the workout site I use, it is time for me to share one program that I highly recommend. First and foremost, I like divide my lifts by focusing on working different muscle groups on different days. I have included a sample lift schedule below that is from one of my favorite eight week beach body programs called LIIFT MORE. 

Monday: 

Chest and Triceps

Tuesday: 

Legs (Quads and Calves)

Wednesday: 

Back and Biceps 

Thursday: 

Legs (Hamstrings and Glutes)

Friday: Shoulders 

As you can see, each day focuses on a different muscle group to ensure one part of the body is not being overworked. Lifting is not the only workout I do, I always try to incorporate some kind of cardio every day whether it be walking or going for a run. Next week, I will go into more detail about the lifts I listed above but for now as well as how long each workout typically is. Please feel free to post any questions you have about my after school routine and the online workout program that I use. Thank you so much for reading my blog! :)