Google has changed my life, and it has greatly shaped my teaching practice. I am now able to comfortably teach from my 3 different classroom locations flawlessly. I no longer have to carry around flash drives or email myself large PowerPoint files and wait for what seemed like hours from them to download onto the laptop I was using that day. GoogleDrive allows me the convenience of “grab and go” without compromising quality. In this blog post, I will explain ways that GoogleDrive has helped me organize my teaching practice & my own personal life.

Creating Color Coded Albums.

Creating New Folders:

Watch Now! Lesson 1: How to Create a Google / Gmail Account!

Day Trip: Apple Orchards and Barn Visits in San Luis Obispo, California!

Variety of Apples to Taste while visiting Gopher Glen

Looking for something to get your family into the fall spirit? Why not take an Apple Pickin’ road trip up the beautiful coast of California! San Luis Obsipo is a college town with a very unique vibe. Nestled above Pismo Beach, SLO is known for its local breweries and fun downtown restaurants!

Welcome to See Canyon Fruit Ranch!

http://www.seecanyonfruitranch.com/

Address:  2345 See Canyon Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93405

Phone: 805-595-2376

Open: September - November

Daily from 10 am to 5 pm

Apple Press at See Canyon Fruit Ranch

This is a very charming and beautiful ranch with a large array of items available for purchase. It has the look and feel of a farm, and was very family oriented. The property is well maintained and offers the ability to rent out the venue for weddings. The area in which this ranch is located is called “See’s Canyon” as in See’s Candy. There is an association with the founders of the corporation, but there seems to be little known about that relationship.

This farm has plenty of areas to sit, relax and enjoy your apple treats. You are welcome to bring your own picnic to this farm.  They also sell these items in the barn that you can purchase and either take home, or enjoy during your visit: apple cider, apples, pumpkins, honey, fresh produce, eggs, almond brittle, and some small retail items.

Cute Honey Display at See Canyon

The weather tends to stay on the warmer side, but you will want to wear closed toed shoes if you plan on walking the property. They have a nice lawn area to sit in with plenty of shade and beautiful trees. You can taste apples here, but it is pretty limited on selection. This property does not offer apple picking, nor are you allowed to walk by the apple trees

Welcome to Gopher Glen!

Orchard #2: Gopher Glen 

http://gopherglen.com

Address: 2899 See Canyon Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

Phone: (805) 595-2646

Open: Varies Based on Season. Call Ahead.

Typically Open: 10 to 5

Large Variety of Apples at Gopher Glen!

Local Honey. Available at Gopher Glen.

Gopher Glen is up the dirt road about 10 minutes from See Canyon Ranch. This orchard has more of a retail feel to it when compared to the other orchards we visited. They have a small dirt parking lot and about 4 outdoor benches. When you first walk in to Gopher Glen, you will see the fun retail sections of the store. They are the local orchard that supplies most of the apple products to all the other orchards and business nearby (Apple Cider mainly). This location has honey, pumpkins, apples, apple cider, frozen apple cider pops, apple chips, lots of retail goodies and more! This is the best place to come to try apples! With over 15 kinds to try, you are sure to find some you want to take home! This one is great for purchasing items, especially if you truly want to taste apples, but it does not have the same farm feel as the other orchards we visited. They tend to be on the pricey side as well, but their cider (which all the local orchards tend to use) will be the same cost as the other orchards.

While there, you can enjoy the shade with a nice crisp apple. I loved this entire See Canyon area because it actually feels like you are on an orchard, which can be hard for local Californians to find at times. I also loved the fact that there are so many orchards and barns all within a 5 minute drive of each other. 

Orchard/Farm #3: Avila Barn

http://www.avilavalleybarn.com/

Address:  560 Avila Beach Drive • San Luis Obispo CA 93405

Phone: (805) 595-2816 

Open Daily, Hours Vary. Call First. Not Open Year Round!

Typically: 10 to 5

This is honestly one of my favorite places on Earth. Anytime I am near SLO, I have to stop by Avila Barn! It is absolutely stunning and reminds me of what most people envision when they think of a roadside barn. They offer so many things to their visitors and they change their decor and offerings for the seasons. This barn is not open year round, so make sure to check hours before stopping by.

From fresh roasted corn on the cob, to ice cold ice cream, this barn has it all! Located off the 101 freeway (exit: Avila Beach), this barn isn’t easy to miss! They have a very large dirt parking lot that connects you to their barn. When you first walk into the Avila Barn property, you will be greeted by caged goats, chickens, sheep, cows, emus, and more! You can feed the animals with the lettuce they provide for a small fee. The outside of the barn has tons of shade and areas to rest. They also have adorable strings of lights hanging over the eating area, located at the back of the barn. On the property, you will find little stands that sell local produce or treats (the majority in which THEY grow and make). You MUST try their roasted corn on the cob--- it is the BEST you will ever have! They even have a toppings bar stocked with spray butter, seasonings and sauces to top your corn. The corn is $4 a cob and the toppings are complimentary! (If you want to use your credit card, they do have a minimum of about $10).

After you finish your corn, head on into the barn for some retail therapy! They have all the cute kitchen accessories and freshly made bakery goodies inside of the barn ready to purchase. They also have a large assortment of bagged snacks, freshly picked produce, flowers, honey, cold water, cheeses, and other items to add to your home. The children have a small area in the back of the barn’s shop that offers books, toys and more.

When you are finished shopping, head on over to the next building for a sweet treat! In this section, they have premade sandwiches, drinks, treats, fudge, hot dogs and ice cream! Directly next to the sweet shop, they have about 6 shaded outdoor benches that you can sit at with a beautiful view overlooking the tractor rides.

If you have a sweet tooth, make sure to try some of Avila Barn's freshly baked pies, cookies or sweet breads. They have a large bakery in the back of the barn (recently expanded, so it's even larger now), that makes fresh baked goods or pies you can take home and bake. 

The back of the barn also carries your typical kitchen souvenirs such as local jams, honeys, boxed mixes, cute kitchen knick knacks and more. 

 Next, you will want to check out what other seasonal offerings they have available. I always love to come here, sit back and relax for a couple of hours. There is plenty to do and tons of space to do it!

Local Secret: Full of Life Flatbread, Los Alamos, Ca

What you put into your body, makes all the difference. When you have a demanding job and a family at home, it can be hard to make healthy decisions about your eating habits, and that will affect your anxiety. Here are some tips for ways to improve your mood with food:

1. Add more greens & fruits:
   Don’t make it hard on yourself! Buy precut ready to eat foods. You are much more likely to actually eat these healthy snacks when you take out the prep, washing and cutting steps. I

If we admitted how much sugar we ate in one day, I think we would all be in shock. Sugar is a snuck into most of the foods we eat, even ones that you wouldn’t think of! When purchasing foods, look at the sugar content.

3. Reduce Caffeine Intake and Make Substitutes:
To be completely honest, this is the absolute hardest things to cut out of my diet. I rely on coffee, but when I was suffering from insomnia and nightly panic attacks, I cut back on my caffeine so that I could (hopefully) sleep better. Caffeine has an effect on our brain that can send your thoughts racing even faster than they would during a panic attack. Mix caffeine with a panic attack, and your racing thoughts will go into overdrive and get a speeding ticket! Don’t go cold turkey. Slowly start to switch to lower caffeinated beverages and start replacing them with zero caffeine replacements.

Kari’s Tip: What really helped me was drinking Camomile Tea about an hour before bed. For really tough nights, I would also take 1 melatonin (I love the peppermint ones from Trader Joe’s). This would slow my thoughts down and make me sleepy.

Water is essential. If you are not drinking enough water, your body may start to do weird things - headaches, dizziness, racing pulse, dry mouth and more. This will also put your anxiety into overdrive! Think about it: what happens when you don’t get an oil change for your car? It doesn’t drive as smoothly, it starts to act funny, and it’s overall life will get cut short. Same thing with your body! When you don’t drink enough water, you start to feel the effects almost immediately! Your urine is darker, you get headaches and become lethargic. Overtime, not drinking enough water also damages your organs and can cause psychological effects.

Kari’s Tip: I have to admit it. When I am working full time, it is hard to drink enough water. I am so busy running around, that by the end of the day, I am dehydrated! To fix this, I decided to invest in a cute water bottle. One that I would want to carry around with me throughout the day. I also picked a bottle that had my prefered method of sipping. I tend to drink more when I use a straw versus a large open mouth canteen. Sounds silly, but the minute I bought a cute traveling cup with a straw, I drank 4x more than I normally would! It was convenient and easy!  Also, if there is ever a cute travel cup that has a Christmas or Halloween theme, I will buy it to switch up my routine. A simple, small purchase like that will motivate me and in return, I will drink more water! Yay for cute cups!  

I get it. Life Happens. We can not plan out every tiny step along the way. However, if you know of an event that is coming up, try to plan ahead what you are going to eat. I use to work at a school where we would go out to eat every Friday (that was our half-days. Students left at 11:30 and we stayed until 3). I would research the menus at all the restaurants within a 10 miles radius of my school and take notes on my iPhone about what menu items I should pick for each place. It also helped becasue when we would get together, alot of times we would say, “where should we go for lunch”, and all of us would be like zombies moaning, “I don’t care. Where do you want to go?”. I could jump on my iPhone’s notepad and name places nearby where I knew I could grab a healthier option.

Sounds hard? It is!! I never thought finding ready to go, healthy lunches would be so difficult! I started to become obsessed with the “Ready Pack” wrap kit. It looks just like their salad kits, only it comes with 2 small tortillas. It was just the right amount of calories and it kept me full. I was thrilled to find a match, until all my surrounding stores stopped carrying my kit. So here are some tried and try (and quick, easy, healthy) lunch ideas for you busy teachers:

-Soup (Preferable with low sodium). I like the ones Von’s makes - they are usually located at the front of the store. Check out the calories and fat content. Stay away from the creamy ones. My favorites are Chicken Tortilla, White Bean & Kale, and Chicken Noodle.

-Salad Kit: Watch out for the fat content! Some of those salad kits have more fat and calories than a hamburger and fries!

-Trader Joe’s Frozen Meals: I stay away from the Smart Ones or other frozen foods. They use low quality meats and high sodium. I feel that frozen meals have always had a bad rep, but the ones from TJ’s seem to be more legit. These ones keep me full, have lots of flavor and they use higher quality ingredients.

Kari’s Tip: I always have 4-5 frozen meals in my home freezer at all times, because life happens! I even keep 2 at school because again, LIFE HAPPENS!

Are there any foods that tend to help relax you? Ones that you are staying away from?

 Comment below with your own suggestions!