Back to School

on August 25, 2011
in All Posts

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – the key to regular exercise when you have a variable work schedule is planning out your workout the day before.  Otherwise, you always miss the window of opportunity!

 

I was up bright dark and early for a 30-minute walk with James.  The rest of the day is going to be nuts. 

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The moon is smiling!

 

James got lots of hugs and kisses from kids on their way to school.  Summer is official over in Charlotte, and school is back in session.   I was not one of those kids who loved new school supplies and spent all summer anticipating the first day of class.  I tried to be encouraging to the kids (“Have a wonderful first day!” I waved) but really, I was more than a little thankful it wasn’t me with the heavy backpack!

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Have you recently flipped through your yearbooks?  I promise, it’s a trip.

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(I looked for my photo under B for Boyle – my married name – and was momentarily confused when I couldn’t find myself.)

 

The best part is reading the letters from your friends.  Filled with inside jokes and references that you can’t recall anymore. 

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I might not have loved going back to school, but I always did love breakfast.

 

Brain fuel:

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Brown rice cakes with sunflower butter and fruit. 

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Class schedule for the day:  Doctor appointment.  Work.  Writing.  Packing! 

{ 87 comments }

 

  • Baking N Books August 25, 2011, 8:17 am

    Is that your workout for the day then? Do you plan what type of exercise you’ll do the night before?

    Happy writing!

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 8:18 am

      Yup 🙂 and yup. Otherwise, I really do miss the window on days like this. I would’ve never gotten up early enough!

      • Baking N Books August 25, 2011, 8:35 am

        How do you decide if you want to walk or run or swim?

        • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 2:30 pm

          Depending on what I did the day before.

  • Kelly August 25, 2011, 8:18 am

    Lol I love that you went by Katie! This post confused me in so many ways, who is Caitlin Noris? Who is Katie? hahaha 🙂 I should pull out my old yearbooks, I bet there would be a ton of great inside jokes I would have no idea what they were about. My friends and I also used to “reserve” pages for each other haha.

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 8:20 am

      🙂 None of my high school friends can find me because I used to go by Katie Noris and now I’m Caitlin Boyle. It is kind of confusing.

      • Kelly August 25, 2011, 8:28 am

        When did you switch to Caitlin? College?

        • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 8:38 am

          When I started my first professional job 🙂 All my college buddies call me Katie.

        • Kelly August 25, 2011, 10:00 am

          So wait, does that mean the husband calls you Katie?!

      • Kelly August 25, 2011, 10:03 am

        I think I just responded to that comment wrong- anyway, does that mean the husband calls you Katie?!

        • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 2:30 pm

          Nope, the husband transitioned and calls me caitlin now, too!

  • Brittany (A Healthy Slice of Life) August 25, 2011, 8:19 am

    Ohhhhh man… I’m totally pulling out my old yearbooks this afternoon and taking a long walk down memory lane.
    I saved so much crap… ahem… STUFF… from my school years because I’m a sentimental sap and LOVE revisiting the old days.

    Thank you for creating an unproductive afternoon for me 😉

    Have a great busy day!

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 8:20 am

      HAPPY 38 WEEKS and 2 days!

  • Caroline @ The G-Spot August 25, 2011, 8:23 am

    I actually WAS that kid who loved buying new school supplies and preparing for the first day. I still feel a twinge of jealousy when I see kids heading off to school. Ha — I am such a nerd! Breakfast looks wonderful. 🙂

    • Lindsay August 25, 2011, 12:23 pm

      So was I! A HUGE nerd! I loved going to the store, sharpening all my pencils, organizing all my notebooks, and having everything be perfect for the first day. Now that I’m in grad school and buying my own stuff I have to stop myself from going overboard every semester by reminding myself that I only really need a notebook, pen, and highlighter.

      • Caroline @ The G-Spot August 25, 2011, 12:27 pm

        Right?! Oh, my gosh, it’s a problem! 🙂 I can typically find any reason on the planet to buy a new folder/highlighter/pen/etc. I just have to avoid the back-to-school section altogether!

        • Lindsay August 25, 2011, 12:55 pm

          Haha! Good strategy!

  • LindseyAnn August 25, 2011, 8:23 am

    I flipped through mine when I was home last month. It’s amazing to me now who is still around in my life and who isn’t anymore, and in all the cases it’s definitely for the better. Honestly, though, I think if you put a picture of me then and a picture of me now next to them, the only differences would be clothes and the fact that my hair is now longer and dyed a few shades darker.
    Rice cakes and nut butter? Hm, I’ll have to try that one, it sounds interesting!

  • Khushboo August 25, 2011, 8:24 am

    Haha I’m such a duh brain, I was so confused who “Katie” was tell I scrolled down to the comments! I love going through old yearbooks. As much as they make me cringe, they equally make me smile!

  • Molly @ RDexposed August 25, 2011, 8:24 am

    Yearbook pictures are often memories or bad bangs.

  • Erica August 25, 2011, 8:30 am

    Your pics look great, how are you liking the new lens?

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 8:39 am

      I love it. Thank you!

  • Katy (The Singing Runner) August 25, 2011, 8:35 am

    I was never excited for the first day of school…heck, even now that I’m in college I’m not excited for school. This semester I was just ready for school to begin because the sooner is started, the sooner the semester will end and the sooner I will graduate and go to graduate school. 😉

    Have a great day!

  • Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga August 25, 2011, 8:42 am

    That’s an adorable picture of you.

    Inside jokes you can’t remember…ahhh, yes. I am familiar!

  • Aine @ Something to Chew Over August 25, 2011, 8:44 am

    I love the back-to-school feeling! Doesn’t last very long though 🙂

    Great job on getting your workout done first thing!

  • Samantha @ Bikini Birthday August 25, 2011, 8:45 am

    I LOVED going back to school. We never started school until after labour day and I was always very excited for the change.
    But that’s me in general. I love change.

  • Lisette August 25, 2011, 8:47 am

    LOve it! I went through my yearbooks about a month ago and had a great laugh! My yearbook post is still true today! Life is unpredictable, And i still know I can always count on you no matter what even after all these years! You are truly one of my best friends and you will always be my “Katie” lol 😉

  • Taylor @ Crumbs Don't Count August 25, 2011, 8:52 am

    Haha, I feel like there is no such thing as a good yearbook picture…at least in my case! I kept a bunch of old notes that my friends and I used to write to each other back and forth inbetween (and during) class. We gave the guys we liked code names in case our notes were “intercepted”. I have gone back and read some of them and die laughing…now I can’t remember who the code names were though!

  • Katherine August 25, 2011, 9:00 am

    Haha yearbooks are so fun to look back at. My fiance and I recently pulled out all of our old yearbooks and it was hysterical. We went to the same schools from 5th grade through 12th, and we were decent enough friends, but we were in totally different groups. It was fun to look back and remember each other in that way.

    I totally agree about planning a workout the night before. On days when I know I can’t workout after work, I will try to bring my gym stuff and go during my lunch break. Even though my routine tends to be shorter on these days, I definitely feel better doing something quick than nothing at all.

  • Hillary August 25, 2011, 9:03 am

    As a teacher, I have to admit—I still get nervous before the first day of school! How weird is that?

    • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 2:59 pm

      aw its cute!

  • Suzanne August 25, 2011, 9:09 am

    That brain fuel looked delish!

  • katie @ KatieDid August 25, 2011, 9:21 am

    This is my last time ever going back to school! Unless I go on for grad school, but that’s not in my plans as of now. It’s so strange after 17 years of being a student, that this might be it!!

  • Meaghan (My Spoonful Of Inspiration) August 25, 2011, 9:24 am

    I am actually one of those crazy kids who really looked forward to the first day of school 🙂 It was just so exciting for me! The breakfast looks great- I would have never thought to do a spread on top of a rice cake, doesn’t it break apart?

    • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 3:00 pm

      This one didn’t! 🙂 Well, only a little

  • Kailey (SnackFace) August 25, 2011, 9:24 am

    Oh my goodness, the scary thing is that I look exactly the same from freshman year of high school to present-day. I just learned how to smile and keep my eyes more open…that’s seriously the only difference. (Oh, and boobs.)

    Eeep cannot fathom eating rice cakes for breakfast! Something about how dry and dusty they are! And they hold me over for approximately 60 minutes. Are the nutritional stats similar to oatmeal or something? I just can’t imagine that being satiating!

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 9:40 am

      Well its similar to the gluten free toast I normally eat, and it’s loaded with pb so it’s going to hold me over.

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat August 25, 2011, 9:27 am

    Your breakfast photos are amazing this morning Caitlin!! I WAS one of those kids that loved new school supplies, but after about a week, the novelty certainly wore off. PS- your yearbook photo is adorable!

  • Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) August 25, 2011, 9:30 am

    I used to get excited about the first day of school. Then I was over it a few weeks into it. I try to encourage my kids to enjoy it though. It’s actually harder now than it was for us in my opinion. They get less recess time and more homework.

    I hope you have a great day. Breakfast looks perfect!

  • Kelly August 25, 2011, 9:31 am

    1) Your fruit covered rice cakes look SO pretty! They make me want fresh fruit.

    2) DId you recently change your header? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that “When Every Day Decisions Add Up to Something Amazing” was your tagline before – but it is brilliant! <3

    • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 3:01 pm

      Nope, that’s always been my tag line 🙂 Thanks though!

  • Carolina John August 25, 2011, 9:32 am

    Hope the dr appt goes smoothly! Have a great day Caitlin!

  • allpointswhole August 25, 2011, 9:35 am

    I have an appt too! Good luck!

  • Sarah August 25, 2011, 9:42 am

    That’s funny – I live a few blocks from the university I attended, and classes started Monday. We walked to a nearby Chipotle last night, and the streets were bustling with student activity and I WAS SO NOSTALGIC! I was totally one of those kids that loved new school supplies (I still geek out at Office Depot), and I loooooved school. Maybe I should have been a professor?
    By the way, love your yearbook quote. It’s sweet to see you were always looking for the positive! You were clearly meant to take this path (HTP, OB, motivational speaker). 🙂

  • Faith @ For the Health of It August 25, 2011, 9:47 am

    Boo – I just realized all of my old yearbooks are at my mother’s house! Bummer! I actually worked on the staff though at my private school’s yearbook for my first three years of high school – naturally that meant my friends and I got all the good pics in it 😉

  • Corrie Anne August 25, 2011, 9:47 am

    Have a great day! Way to squeeze in a little workout. And! Your breakfast looks amazing!!

  • Emily @ Comfortable Home Life August 25, 2011, 9:47 am

    I love school supplies! I kind of wanted to buy some this year even though I’ve been out of school for a bit. I love leafing through old notes, letters, yearbooks, etc. I have a huge bin of notes and memorabilia from middle/high school at my parent’s house. My mom called me up one day and asked if she could throw it away and I almost blew a gasket! So silly what we hold on to, even though I can’t remember half of what anyone wrote about! ha!

  • Penny August 25, 2011, 9:48 am

    Whoever wrote that note to you had beautiful handwriting. 🙂 I, too, am happy I don’t have to go to school. Ugh.
    College was cool though.

  • Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife August 25, 2011, 10:05 am

    Haha, I actually liked going back to school…..but I am a nerd like that 😉

    Good luck with your school today! heh.

  • Katie August 25, 2011, 10:05 am

    Hah, I miss going back to school! I was totally that kid that loved new school supplies, clothes, teachers, etc. Now I just have to wait til I have kids of my own so I can live vicariously through their back-to-school days. That’s why you have children, right?

  • Nicole August 25, 2011, 10:06 am

    I just had to share that the three year old I take care of (I am a nanny) loves rice cakes and considers them to be a super special treat because she calls them birthday cakes! She is so funny about it too, her sister doesn’t like them and she does not understand how her sweets loving sister can turn down birthday cake for breakfast!

    • CaitlinHTP August 25, 2011, 3:02 pm

      That is cute 🙂

  • Ash @ Good Taste Healthy Me August 25, 2011, 10:19 am

    I think it’s good to plan it out when you have a set work schedule too. Less excuses that way!

  • Paula @ Eat: Watch: Run August 25, 2011, 10:20 am

    Ha! You were super cute in your yearbook pic!

  • Laura B @ My Reason to Tri August 25, 2011, 10:27 am

    Awww, look at you! I read through my yearbooks recently. It’s a lite bitter sweet. To see how much you have grown is amazing, but it is sad when you can’t recall what those jokes meant and that was probably one of the last times you ever talked to that person.

  • Leanne (Bride to Mrs,) August 25, 2011, 10:30 am

    Hahahaha cute picture!

  • Gina @ Running to the Kitchen August 25, 2011, 10:34 am

    That’s funny you looked for yourself under your maiden name whereas just yesterday I had to initial something and used my maiden name initial. I’ve been married for 5 years in 2 weeks, I have no idea where that came from!
    It’s funny to see you called Katie in writing!

  • Mia August 25, 2011, 10:39 am

    I also have a variable work schedule, so every morning before I take my dog on a walk I put on my workout clothes. That way when I get back home I am ready to work out or go on a run.

  • Ashley O. @ The Vegetable Life August 25, 2011, 10:45 am

    Yikes! Up with the moon!? You are a brave soul!

  • Jen August 25, 2011, 10:46 am

    I love looking through old yearbooks! But, unlike you, I used to love shopping for new school supplies! I always had a goal each year to be super organized, and keep my notebooks neat and clean. After about a week of school, I was SO over already, and my notebooks were full of doodles. Hehe.

  • Kate (What Kate is Cooking) August 25, 2011, 10:56 am

    My real name is Katherine, but I’ve always gone by Katie. A few years ago, I changed my name on Facebook to Kate and everyone freaked out! It’s only one syllable, haha!

  • Katie G. August 25, 2011, 10:58 am

    totally agreed about workout planning! i never thought about putting raspberries and blueberries on top of a rice cake with pb, looks delicious!

  • The Healthy Engineer August 25, 2011, 11:03 am

    How funny!! I just looked through my old yearbooks too (I graduated last year) and I couldnt remember the inside jokes and references. AHH I’m getting so old!!

  • debbie August 25, 2011, 11:12 am

    hi Caitlin, i found your blog recently and just to say that i love reading it for a quick tip here and here, also i love those rice cakes, i have them for brekkie too (with almond or pb), sultanas, nuts etc. They’re addictive lol!!
    i just thought i’d let you know that i really think the whole operation beautiful philosophy is great and i’m sure us girls can all benefit from this mind-set!! thanks debbie

  • Paige @ Running Around Normal August 25, 2011, 11:16 am

    I loooved back to school shopping!
    I hated following the lists they handed out, though, and always gunned for the gel pens and lisa frank stickers and note books:) OH! And picking out the prettiest folders was always the best part. I always remember the back to school excitement fading by Halloween. That was always the turning point to when it became a count down to summer 😛

  • Stephanie August 25, 2011, 11:25 am

    Bahahahaha! I loved that you looked under your married name. Sounds like something I would do.

  • Shaya (Eye Girl Eats) August 25, 2011, 11:42 am

    Haha I’m one of the sad kids trekking to school in the morning, but I now at least have the fashion sense to throw all my books in a big, stylish purse 🙂

    I haven’t looked at my yearbook for years– those were some awkward times for me. Braces, chubby, and with hair that my mom would flatten with an actual clothes iron. In skater clothes. haha

  • Yolie @ Practising Wellness August 25, 2011, 11:50 am

    Your new side bar photo looks great! 🙂 As does your breakfast 😉 love the moon smiling…such a gorgeous photo. Happy Thursday Caitlin, hope it’s positive and productive! 😀 xyx

  • sara @ the foodie diaries August 25, 2011, 11:51 am

    I always looked forward going back to school, but by the second day I was over it 🙂 Just the other day I stumbled upon an old box of things my mom had saved for me from middle and high school. I loved looking through the yearbooks laughing at the inside jokes I could remember and puzzled over the ones I couldn’t. It’s so fun to look back at old pictures and literally go “WHAT. WAS. I. THINKING???” 🙂

  • Brigid of Vegging out in T-Town August 25, 2011, 11:52 am

    Oh yearbooks . . . I’m grateful we didn’t have quotes in ours. I’m sure mine would have been super-lame or broody. I still to live down the shame of being voted Most Academic; I don’t need anything else to hide. 🙂

  • Charlie August 25, 2011, 12:21 pm

    I actually can’t wait for school to begin next Thursday :P.

  • Kelly August 25, 2011, 12:23 pm

    I loved school. LOVED. I am such a nerd at heart!

  • Tracy @ Tracy's Treats August 25, 2011, 12:26 pm

    Ha, I always get a good laughing looking back at my old yearbooks…especially middle school! Oh, awkward days…

  • chelsey @ clean eating chelsey August 25, 2011, 12:42 pm

    I can’t see you as a Katie, so that yearbook message threw me off! 🙂

    I loved the first day of school.. so I became a teacher.

  • Amber K August 25, 2011, 12:47 pm

    I can’t believe how early other states have their kids go back to school! Here school always starts the day after labor day. Labor day weekend is like one big long last weekend of summer before the often-dreaded school year. Plus I tend to think it’s weird because the community college doesn’t go back until the end of September. It’s still sunny out!

    Notice I think this is crazy, and yet am I still in school? no… lol Although I might take a class or to the at the community college.

  • Rebecca August 25, 2011, 1:09 pm

    My sister started “college” (college classes as a high school senior) on Monday at our community college.
    I don’t start until this coming Monday, but I’m kind of stressing out. There’s so much I have to do before it starts, it’s ridiculous. =\
    One of my best friends doesn’t leave until next week! She starts so much later than everyone else… It’s weird.

    My yearbooks ended up being less full of signatures and notes as the years went on. In elementary school, they’d give us like an hour at the end of the school day to sign each others’, and some of us would bring them to classes or lunch and sign too. But in high school we got them during the last class of the day toward the end of the school year and it was our responsibility to remember them and get them signed. I think my senior yearbook has about eight signatures, compared to like a million in my first yearbook.

  • Tiff @ Love, Sweat, and Beers August 25, 2011, 1:22 pm

    I’d be so nervous on the first day back that I would feel nautious (sounds nerdy, right?) Luckily I got over all that! I was always excited about school, but not happy about it!

  • Courtney August 25, 2011, 1:28 pm

    Oh, I was always so nervous on the first day of school! Now I’m getting ready for my first day of college, and I’m more excited than nervous 😛

  • Katie @ Peace Love and Oats August 25, 2011, 1:28 pm

    I was totally one of those kids that was excited to go back to school! Haha probably why i’m STILL in school! I don’t know what else to do!

  • Jen August 25, 2011, 1:59 pm

    I get so excited for back-to-school time! I’m starting my second year of grad school, and it’s still exciting! I find myself more motivated to make changes in my life in the fall, probably because I will always associate it with the optimism that comes with a new school year. I’m going to be a teacher, so fortunately I’ll keep that excitement of a back-to-school fresh start.

  • Rosa - Fitness, Food, Fulfilled August 25, 2011, 2:03 pm

    I was one of the nerd kids that always loved buying school supplies (ok, I’m still that nerd kid) and going back to school. I lived out in the middle of nowhere, so going to school meant I wouldn’t have to play with my little bro and sis all day. Wish I felt the same way about going to work as an adult.

  • Mary @ Bites and Bliss August 25, 2011, 3:45 pm

    Awww flipping through yearbooks always brings back such amazing memories!

  • Melissa August 25, 2011, 6:18 pm

    aww I love busting out the old year books and reading notes!! Ahh it must be strange having a different name now, haha!

  • Lindsey August 25, 2011, 7:59 pm

    my quote under my picture in my senior year yearbook is from the same DMB song! Mine was “Turns out not where but who you’re with that really matters.”

  • Allison @ Happy Tales August 25, 2011, 10:08 pm

    Oh good lord, i used to LOVE the first day of school. I still did in college, but now that i’m doing the whole online thing it’s just not as big of a deal. In fact, I just accidently missed my 1st day of school (it was Tuesday, I thought it was supposed to start on Wed. — oh well! Not like we had to report anywhere, just got the email a day early and was like “huh… guess it’s back to the grind!”)

  • Dominique August 28, 2011, 1:42 pm

    I was always really anxious about the first day of school, especially in high school. During the summer off I’d have dreams that I wasn’t in a class with any of my friends or that I’d be having lunch alone because no one had the same period as me. I loved shopping for school supplies though since I’m a nut for stationery.

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