Hey, friends! I thought it was Monday all day long, but was always happy to remind myself that it was already Tuesday! I could really get used to three-day weekends. The teacher that I aide for is out of town all week, so I’m her full-time sub in Pre-K until Friday. I’m pretty excited! I’m with these kids everyday, so it’s really nothing new, but it’s fun to be “in charge” for a little while. It’s great practice for next year when I have a class of my own. 
Since I needed to get to school (which is about 30 minutes away, door to door) by 7:45 this morning, I woke up at 5 sharp to hit the gym. A busy week doesn’t mean I can sacrifice my gym time. My treadmill run wasn’t all that easy this morning. I ran could only run 15 minutes at a 6.2 speed before stopping to walk 5 minutes at a 4.5. I ran another 8 minutes at 6.2, then walked the last two minutes as my cool down. Not my best…probably because I felt hungry during the run.
To cure my hunger, I had a thick slice of whole wheat pumpkin bread topped with low fat yogurt and chopped apples for breakfast.
Oh yum! This is one of my favorite breakfasts. I microwaved the bread so it was nice and hot. This may sound weird, but I like it when the yogurt gets slightly warm and gooey.
This is my new favorite brand of yogurt. It’s a departure from the Greek yogurt I’ve been living off of lately.
Stonyfield Low Fat French Vanilla is the bomb! It’s thinner than Greek yogurt and oh, so good! It’s great with sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey, too.
After our morning activities, I was ready for snack. I munched on some craisins, mixed nuts and original-flavored gold fish. Don’t you love the leftover Valentine plate??
Since I’m in the classroom by myself this week, I thought I’d snap some pictures of our cute setup. Here is Mrs. Brown’s Calming Canopy.
Boys and girls can go to the calming canopy if they’re angry or sad, or just need to calm themselves. They go under the canopy and take deep breaths until they’re ready to go about their day.
Here is some lovely Valentine artwork:
How cute are these puppies? I love how each has its own personality, just like the kids.
And these heart elephants are my favorite:
The trunk is a bunch of little pink hearts. Too cute!!
By the time the kids laid down for nap time, I was famished. I happily dove into my leftover creamy pasta from last night’s dinner. It had smoked turkey sausage, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and peas. The sauce was just melted low fat cream cheese and about a cup of pasta water.
It was a very tasty and healthy alternative to alfredo sauce. It may not have been quite as good as the real deal, but it did the trick for the Duke and I.
So, after my long day of subbing, I got to head to my second job! Joy! 
In addition to being a teacher’s aide, I work at the aftercare program at our school. It’s just a few extra hours a day, and I get to work with kids from Kindergarten through 9th grade.
Since today is Mardi Gras, I was happy to find the snack at aftercare was good ole Moon Pies!!!
I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten a moon pie, but they’re such a Mardi Gras tradition. Did you know that Mardi Gras actually originated in Mobile, AL? Mobile is only a little over an hour away from Destin, so we get lots of Mardi Gras spill-over.
It’s time for American Idol and Men’s figure skating, so I gotta run! The Duke and I don’t know what to watch first. GO TEAM USA!!!
Hey Molly…your pictures are always so wonderful and clear. What type of camera do you use for these wonderful close-ups? Love your recipes too!
Hi Kim,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m about as far as one can get from being a decent food photographer (I’m working on it!), but I use a Canon PowerShot SD770 IS and I use the Digital Macro setting for the close ups. It’s just a small hand-held digital camera. I’m in the market for a higher quality digital SLR, though. I’ll likely stick with Canon. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much Molly! I too have a Canon PowerShot, but had no idea about the Digital Macro setting until now.
Looks like I’ve got lots of reading to do…ha!