July 2021 – The Listening Ladybug

Eating Gluten Free: Disney 2021

Posted on July 28, 2021July 30, 2021 by listeningladybug

We are annual Disney trip people. We love our time together. This was our 9th park trip, my 3rd trip gluten free and I think maybe the best.

Many people love to eat and drink at Disney. I totally get that, especially when we were living in the age of the dining plan. Eating yummy meals and the fun Disney specialty treats is part of the magic. Who doesn’t love a Mickey pretzel?! I personally loved them before I had to go gluten free. My people still enjoy, I grabbed a bag of cotton candy. Not complaining!

My first trip when I was a newbie to the gf life was a tiny but stressful and I was still missing all the good gluten favorites. The last trip was easier and I felt more comfortable with the modifications and speaking with a chef if I had concerns. This trip I was smart and made sure I added the allergy notification to our reservations. This was great because they knew before I sat down that I would need a different menu.

Flourless Chocolate Cake. Shared this with my hubs. No one was sad here!!

The staff was fantastic. I found that more were better versed with the allergy friendly choices. I also love how they label and serve for people with allergies. Quick service restuarants put my meal on a completely seperate tray. At our resort they even use a different color tray. Makes it very easy to see the order and if I were to get a meal like someone in the family we can obviously see which is mine.

GF Pizza Quick Service. This also came with a side salad. Disney uses Ken’s dressing…which if gf. Win. Had blue cheese dressing.

I find travel with Celiac is getting better. I have to obviously be aware and not just assume staff is knowledgeable, but overall I find that if I am mentally prepped that I might only be able to eat a salad, then I can enjoy myself.

Cesar Salad….only difference was the croutons.

Eating in Italy was a tiny bit sad. My people ordered this amazing pizza at Via Di Napoli. I ordered the gf pasta and chef salad. Both were good. The sadness comes in because I miss being easy and part of the group. Ordering pizza used to be a fun group experience.

Many of the restaurants had great gf options or meals that were naturally safe to order. I always say if I stick to eating cave woman style…I should be safe. Fruits, veg and meat are typically safe.

I didn’t photograph every meal. I think in the future I might and do a day by day post, but for now these are some of my highlight meals!

Chef Mickey. It is family style now. My waffles were separated, but the rest was safe for me and the fam!

Breakfast at Riviera. My people got a different pastry basket. Small tear here…they got croissants.

Bread basket if gluten filled, they brought me sliced white bread in Italy.

Gluten free fish fry at Raglan Road. It was super crispy! The garlic parmasan fries were yummy!

Another magical trip spent with my favorite people. I didn’t take photos, but I had another family favorite…Dole Whip, which is automatically gf! This was a great summer vacation and being able to eat safely and calmly is something I am very grateful for. Looking forward to our 10th trip.

Positive Life

An Itinerant Teachers Summer Balancing Act Part 2

Posted on July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 by listeningladybug

Well, I have been trying to be in the moment and enjoy the summer. I am just about half way until school resumes and I do feel like I have recharged a bit. It has not taken as much effort as I thought to recharge.

Hot Tub

We decided to buy a hot tub or spa, whatever you prefer to call it, back in the spring. We knew it would be a while until it was installed, due to all of the delays and shortages of cars, boats and other mechanical things. After waiting a month longer than estimated it arrived and has been a place to unwind and chill out.

The entire family has been enjoying it. I personally call it our hot pool! I hope we continue to enjoy it into the cooler months ahead, but for right now it is a great way to spend time device free.

Yoga

I have been back on the yoga classes train and I am loving it. It is so fulfilling to go to a live, in person class. Yoga in the park has been great too. Honestly, I just love hearing my instructors voice again! I need to also be around people…who love it it. The vibe adds to the experience.

Baking

Baking is obviously something I do frequently and share frequently. If you follow me on Instagram you will see I love to post my latest gluten free creations. I have been exploring new recipes, people post to Pinterest, and tweaking them to be gluten free and in some cases less fat too.

When you bake as much as I do and actually eat the treats too….cutting out some of the fat is not a bad thing! I find that I am substituting butters and oils for applesauce and Greek yogurt. None of this is completely new for baking, but when making things gf it can be tricky for consistency, texture and how moist something is. Some recipes taste great and others I head back to the mixing bowl!

Summer isn’t over. Hoping to enjoy and continue to recharge before the start of school. I will share more in the upcoming weeks. You can always follow me here and on Instagram to see what I’m up to.

Yoga Life

Lavender Flow 2021

Posted on July 15, 2021 by listeningladybug

Lavender Flow 2021

Teaching Life

An Itinerant Teachers Summer Balancing Act: Part 1

Posted on July 9, 2021 by listeningladybug

I think most people who work year round think that when teachers close the door to their classrooms for Summer break we are done working, are ready to relax and have multiple weeks to do anything and everything we want. This may be true for some teachers, but I think for many of us the first weeks off can be a blur and filled with so many thoughts and emotions. I know this last statement to be true for me.

I love this message….what does this mean to you?

I have been off for a couple of weeks and I have definitely not felt like I was on vacation. I still wake up at my alarm clock time. I am still getting up early. I still have all of my momsibilities. By no means am I complaining, but I woke up this morning with my to do list on my mind and did one of the worst things I do when I get up….I check all the apps.

Checking all the apps is such a habit. I really need to make it a priority to not open my eyes and think I need to check multiple email accounts, Instagram and Facebook. When I figure out how to do this I’ll let you know. I know I’m not the only person who does this.

During my morning scroll I was looking at all of the awesome things people are doing this summer. I love Instagram because it is visual and quick, but this morning it seemed like I was seeing endless summer fun and I found this to be overwhelming.

Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled people are enjoying life, but I have no idea how they are there yet. It takes me a few weeks to unwind from school and after the year we have all had, I am finding it more difficult to feel like I can relax and enjoy summer. Like I said I woke with a to do list on my mind.

Ending the year and practically jumping into the 4th seemed fast and not like a holiday. I was also driving my mini me to camp the first week off. Thankfully we chose a close, afternoon camp to attend, but I was still in turbo mom mode. I also started looking around, my mostly tidy house, and started to think of all of the neglected nooks and crannies that need a reboot. So, a few days off and the brain can not shut off, the to do lists can not stop and that internal pressure of I’m not doing enough can not shut off.

What I’ve Done So Far

Cleaned 20-21 teaching things out of my vehicle.
Organized cupboards.
Repotted some house plants.
Cleaned my closet.
Chauffeured child.
Started packing and planning for family vacation.

I know this is not a crazy amount of things completed, but I feel guilty that I am not doing more, not squeezing every minute of productivity out of my day. I also realize this is a wackado way of thinking. My mental to do list needs to take a vacation.

What I Think “Needs To Be Done”

Make more TpT resources.
Organize my basement teacher area.
Purge cupboards, closets and drawers.
Redo child’s playroom.
Paint front doors.
Deep clean.

Notice zero relaxation or fun on my list. The list is reasonable and totally doable, but there needs to be a mental balance. Achieving this balance of projects and guilt free summer chill time is definitely going to be a challenge for me, but I know that rest is incredibly important, especially after this year of teaching.

What I Need for Balance

Yoga(in person)
Chats with friends
Books….not teacher PD
Family time
Less screen time
Netflix and chill
See or do something new
A little nature
Ice cream
Pedicures

I think that if I can balance external responsibilities with internal responsibilities this could be a restful and productive summer vacation. Having these weeks off are a gift. I never take the time off for granted, that is definitely where some of the guilt and pressure comes from, but if I don’t reset my mind and body I won’t be the best teacher I can be for my students this September.