My Morning Routine

My Morning Routine The True Story of a Workaholic, Trying-to-have-it-all English Teacher

Hi! I'm amanda.

And this is Teacher Truth or Dare, part of The Secondary Series Blog. I'm just a normal outdoor-lovin, travel-addicted, Margaret Atwood superfan/English teacher and I've been called out on some truth this week. The people have spoken: Amanda - what's your morning routine? So here it is. Brutally honest. No clutter was removed before the pictures in this diary were taken - this is my morning routine in its current, unaltered state. Get ready for some TRUTH people...you asked for it!

The alarm goes off...

...and I hit snooze.

My room doesn't look pretty or coordinated like the background photo might mislead you to believe. And certainly the sun is not up because when my alarm goes off, it's 4:35AM!

This is our bed. I hate that long pillow. Somehow it's gotten twisted and I can't UNTWIST it. I've always dreamed of a glamorous bed with a bajillion pillows and twelve fluffy comforters. The truth? I'm a HOT sleeper and I can't convince myself to go out and actually spend the money on a nice piece of furniture! I bought this mattress at Costco when I first moved out of my parents house (I think that was 10 years ago now...) and it's sitting on top of a $100 metal frame from Overstock.com! Oh man...I think it's time for an upgrade. Why did I include this picture? ONLY to make the point that we do make our bed in the morning. It's amazing how good it feels to have that part of your life together...

Then, it's off to the bathroom. I do EVERYTHING in the bathroom. I start on the potty for a reallly lonnnnggg time. It has nothing to do with what I actually have to "do" there...it's where I wake up my brain. I usually read a poem, a devotional, or listen to a song, followed by some social media catchup. I bring all of my clothes into the bathroom to get ready so the light doesn't wake up the hubby. You can see behind me there is my jewelry organizer that I bought on Etsy (LOVE) and my Hot Tools straightener. Errrrry morning those two items get used without a doubt!

Then, its makeup time. I keep it really simple during the work week. A light foundation by itCosmetics, a dusting of powder from Neutrogena, and a quick swipe of blush. Blush is one of my favorite things to buy - I'm currently working my way through the end of the Dallas box from benefit cosmetics. My under-eyes are always dark and puffy, so they get some concealer/highlighter (also from itCosmetics). Finally, I wrap up the routine with a brown shimmery eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara! If you watch my videos you've probably noticed I almost always have a poppin lipstick on...that I add at school after all the coffee has been drunk!

On a good morning, I have time for this: coffee at home and a quick look and preparation for the day. I use two planners: one for school and one for home and business. I always feel good when I'm mentally focused on the day's goals. Also, I love Germany :-)

Ugh...sadly, before leaving the house (especially in February), I must bundle up. I start my car remotely (best feature I've ever had on a car!), scarf it up, pull on my coat, and I'm out the door around 6am. Then, it's time for a lonnng commute.

But first...BREAKFAST! When I had a shorter commute, I used to have time to make coffee at home and even scramble up some eggs. Most mornings, I treat myself to a large coffee, CREAM ONLY, and an everything bagel with strawberry cream cheese. When I'm famous, I hope everyone starts sending me those two things in bulk :)

Then, I'm off to work in my Jeep!! Man, I love this car. My whole life I've been an adventure seeker, and if the marketing department for Jeep is reading this - YOU NAILED IT. I bought the Jeep Renegade brand hook, line, and sinker!

i love adventure

and my Jeep takes us all over the country. But for now, it's my second home. Every morning, the Renny takes me 55 miles to school. At the nice times of the school year (which are few!) I even get to enjoy the car with the roof taken off!

My commute consists of two solid routines: Voxer and Podcasts! Every morning (unless the weather is horrible or I'm talking to my mom!) I talk to my dear friend Amanda who lives in the Bay Area and then I settle in for my newest podcast obsession. Here are a few that I've been loving this year:

When I get to work, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half later, it's a quick text to the hubby and I'm headed toward my classroom!

I love my classroom

It's my home away from home. When I walk in my classroom around 7am, all of the lights are off and the sun is just starting to break through the blinds.

I begin with the soft lighting. I plug in my white lights, sit down at my desk, and go over the day's agenda. This is about how messy my desk gets at a given time - mess and clutter don't bother me! I believe in creative chaos :-)

Slowly I start getting my most important items ready for the day. The ELMO and projector go on, I update the goals and agenda on the board, and I start to feel ready to see some smiling faces.

When my computer finally loads, I pull up three tabs: Pandora, email, and Google Drive - the three things I can't live without!

When the bell rings, i'm in the hallway

And once I'm there, it's time to turn it on. I might not have Pottery Barn bedroom status or avocado mash and a gluten-free smoothie breakfast, but one routine I promised myself to never break is to always greet my students at the door.

Every day is a great day because I get the chance to impact high schoolers. For me, this is a dream come true.

and that's how it gets done!

Thanks for checking out my Morning Routine story on Adobe Spark.

To read the blog post about this project and find an Adobe Spark Pages teaching tutorial, had back to the blog here

The Secondary Series Blog

For more about me, Amanda from Mud and Ink Teaching, you can visit my website, catch me posting crazy classroom moments on Instagram, follow my Twitter shenanigans, and even stalk me on YouTube!

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by jill111 - "poached eggs on toast breakfast healthy" • congerdesign - "cup bed flowers" • Pexels - "architecture buildings cars" • JeepersMedia - "Dunkin Donuts"