A Day in the Life of Ali Mac

teach·er  

/ˈtēCHər/

Noun A person who teaches, esp. in a school.

Synonyms instructor - master - schoolteacher - schoolmaster

I thought it was time you all got to experience a day in the life of me. I also think it's time I have my students call me "Master" instead of "Mrs. McMillan" because clearly, those two terms are synonymous  This is going to be exciting and riveting  so get ready.

My alarm goes off several times every morning and I push snooze just as many. I am a sleeper, and very proud of it. I usually try to get out of bed around 6 am and immediately drink a glass of water. I've read that drinking water first thing in the morning is beneficial for your liver, digestion, and metabolism. Also, I'm thirsty. I don't eat breakfast at home because of my excessive snoozing, but I do pack it for school.

7:15 Breakfast: I drink about half a cup of coffee and eat a piece of paleo banana bread. Oh, sometimes I drink part of my green smoothie, but today I didn't. Wednesday's are super busy during breakfast, so there isn't much time for extra snacking.

9:15 After my first period class we have PE. This is the time I have to actively remind myself to drink water. It's difficult finding time to use the restroom during the day, which often results in me not drinking enough water. Most of the time the only way I get a break is by inconveniencing another teacher, which can be a pain. You should all buy a glass water bottle like this because they make the water taste better. Seriously, it's true.

9:44 Snack: While I take attendance for my next class I eat the second piece of banana bread and continue to sip on my lukewarm coffee. Gross? Maybe...but it's actually what I do - drink warm/coldish coffee all day. My students used to think I brought ground beef in a baggy to snack on. Freaks.  

11:20 Planning/Lunch: During this time I grade papers, check homework, track daily mastery, facebook stalk, tweak tomorrow's lesson plans based on today's mastery, recheck the WOD, read the news, respond to work emails, text my husband, make copies, write lesson plans, create assessments, 'like' photos on Instagram, house behavior problem students, continue to drink my now-cold coffee, look over my long term plan, watch Crossfit how-to videos, analyze data and eat lunch. Lunch is always leftovers from the night before with a little extra hot sauce...if I add extra here James can't glare at me for my over abundance of sauce. He thinks it ruins the flavor. I couldn't disagree more. 

2:33 Snack and Youtube Rock-out Session: Although my workday is far from over, my instructional time is finished. I eat the same orange and almond butter snack every single day at the same exact time. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit and I love routine. At this time I am also pretty worn out, so I need a little youtube action to bring out my second wind. I thought I just ate an orange seed, but thankfully it was just an almond. Phew. Crap, I just realized I need to make one more copy before tomorrow and I have a meeting soon. 

4:05 Snack: I drink my spinach avocado apple smoothie during my elective, Fun Fitness. At first my students thought I was drinking guacamole with a straw, and complained that I was eating at a time that they weren't allowed to. I cleared up the guacamole confusion and told them that if they wanted to bring a spinach smoothie to school, then they were more than welcome to drink it during my class. So far, they haven't taken me up on the offer.

5:07: I finish my bus duty and go to the gym. When I started crossfit six weeks ago I worried about having to do 30 burpees for being late. I actually went to the extent of teaching my last class with my gym clothes underneath my khakis. That was awkward. Here is the WOD from today: 

Partner wod:

Run 5,000 m as a team (must be 2,500 m each).  Partition the runs however you want.  One partner will be doing push ups while other partner runs, then switch.  Score is total time and total number of push ups. Kiana and I killed it.

8ish Dinner: I always stay after the workout and practice pull-ups or weighted ghd sit-ups. Today I had to stop at the store, which was stupid, so I didn't get to eat until pretty late. We had stuffed poblano peppers with a few red potatoes. I know red potatoes are arguably not paleo, but whatevs. There were a lot of sprints today so I'm really not worried about it. 

9:00 Prepare for tomorrow/Bed: I cannot deny it, I go to bed early. Ideally I am dreaming by ten o'clock each night. Before we go to bed we do make sure lunches are packed, coffee is ready, and the green smoothie is made. My life is definitely not super exciting during the work week, but I do feel that I have a routine down that is satisfying and sustainable.