Another weekend has flown by at lightening speed and I am left sulking on my way to work that its all gone. (At least I'm assuming so. I'm writing this Sunday night and scheduling it for the morning. Who knows, I could be sunshine and rainbows.)
Now that the sun is out and temperatures are up, I'm finding it harder to get to work on Monday mornings. I just want to go out and play!
Friday afternoon started out though, with not any playing at all. As a volunteer coach it's not required for me to help out at high school meets, but seeing as I would eventually like to get a paid coaching job in this district or out, the more I help out hopefully the better.
It was a hand timed meet; I worked at the finish line writing down the times with some of my middle school-ers running the times over to be announced.
Sounds easy enough.
And I mean it was. But I'm pretty sure that's because I'm a teacher.
There was a lot of multi-tasking. It was a 5 team meet and half of the timers where high-school-ers. So sometimes the times didn't match up with places, or just no times at all.
And then the computer that was printing out the events got coffee spilled on it. So up in the botth they weren't really in a place to figure out places, and I didn't have the official sheets left, just the tiny lists of every runner in each event not split into heats...
So I was taking down times, scanning sometimes 8 sheets of results and figuring out places, making columns and lines to organize the tiny printouts, and organizing my middle school runners.
All at the same time.
Go-go multi-tasking super-powers!
Thank goodness Dave came with a huge ice coffee for me, and then stuck around and directed high-school-ers that wanted to ask me where to check in for their even away from harms way.
It was also pretty nice to have some of my most reliable kids hanging around and helping me out.
After we left the meet at 8:30 PM (WOOF!) we headed to our local Greek Pizza place where the owners are literally Greek. They were close to closing but we're regulars so they sat down and ate their dinner with us with the whole place to ourselves. Let me tell you that pizza hit the spot!
The next morning we went on a hike up a small mountain with my Mom, Dad, and their dog Molly.
But before we left, Bruin and Linus got some sun.
Oh and just in case you don't follow me in on Instagram or Twitter, while I'm showing photos of my pets, here are a couple of Bruin giving Linus his nightly bath on last Monday.
You're welcome.
Back to this weekend.
There's nothing to make you feel like you need to get into shape like your Mom kicking your butt up a mountain. Not that she's out of shape. She's one of those crazy runners that stays in amazing shape even after having 4 kids.
Don't hate her because she's beautiful.
It was pretty steep and quick, but was fine once we got into the swing of things.
We decided not to summit since we were pretty ready for lunch around 1. But we did find a place with a nice view to eat at.
Here's Dave with apparently a turtle/giraffe neck, nom-nom-noming on his sandwich.
I don't have any photos of my parents or their dog because I took a nap while everyone else ate.
Don't worry, Dave got photos of that.
Bruin is my cuddle-buddy even at the top of a mountain.
This was right before I rolled onto my side and gave a few snores. It's fine. Pine needles were really meant to be nature's pillow.
That would be Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. (We were hiking in Maine.) Still snow. To think Dave wanted to hike/ski that this weekend. NO THANKS.
The descent was nice and we got to have some pretty good conversation, and watch the dogs spaz out on the trail together.
Here were our sweaty butts when we were done.
Dave wet my bandana in a brook to cool me off. It was perfect.
On the way home we stopped for Ice Cream. We're those people that get vanilla ice cream with a dog bone on it for our dog.
Bruin deserves to be completely spoiled before we start having kids in a few years and he's not the only one we take hiking.
Another shot of Bruin getting it done.
When we got home, we were pooped. We took showers, poured some boxed wine into juice glasses and caught up on our "Thursday" shows on Hulu. Pretty awesome.
Sunday was pretty relaxed. Dave showed off how handy he was when he took off the dog bed cover to get washed, realized the foam was falling out, and patched it with some old pants.
Good as new!
Sunday afternoon we also decided it was about time to hang up the twine that the Morning Glories and Moon Flowers will *hopefully* climb up on our front porch/awning.
We have had mixed luck with gardening, so we're hoping this project will work out. Or else we're just those young kids with the strong on the front of their house.
Dave put in the nails and tied the knots because I get all wobbly when I get onto ladders.
We of course didn't plan ahead for the actual planting of the seeds, because we forgot to soak them ahead of time. So I guess they will be going in tomorrow.
If we remember them.
Or the cat doesn't go fishing and eat them all while we're at work.
That would be some weird poop in the litter box.
To end the weekend, Dave and I needed to go grocery shopping.
Now we've been both trying to think of ways to eat healthier. We did some research on some different ways to cleanse and get a little more natural and realized that we actually have a lot of sugar in our diets.
So for two weeks we are going to eat "clean" and do a "No Sugar Challenge". This means nothing with added sugars and if they have sugars are pretty low.
Lots of smoothies, salads, and overall, actually, fresh deliciousness.
We'll see how this goes...
This is what the check-out looked like. So many vegetable bags! So much money!
But I think it will be nice to get ourselves back on track and not have sugary stuff every day after every meal.
And when we got home from shopping?
Well we kind of had a "last meal" of sorts.
We did have some frozen Chinese food and Ben and Jerry's in that cart, and we did eat it all. We're going to be good for two weeks, so we figured our body will appreciate it more if we had Chinese and ice cream right?
We finished the night with me updating the blog, Saturday Night Live on Hulu, and getting some grading in the grade-book.
I will keep you updated on the flowers and the sugar-free eating.
I wouldn't want to keep you up at night wondering if I've broken down and eaten an Oreo or not.
Hope your weekend was as eventful as me sleeping on a small mountain and buying some kale in bulk!
It occurred to me the other day when I woke up from my super casual two hour nap after school the other day that I have a blog.
That blog is this blog and I also simultaneously realized that I hadn't posted in that blog for about three weeks.
Which also just by chance happens to be the amount of time that I've been in school.
Juuuuust a coincidence. Right?
While I could be all "Blah blah blah OMG TEACHING IS JUST SO SUPER HARD AND BUSY LET ME GIVE YOU MY SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST WEEK TO JUSTIFY WHY I'VE BEEN GONE." I feel like that is pointless and you could find it elsewhere.
Like any teaching blog you follow.
Or this blog right here. Go ahead, see any post I have on teaching it's probably of the above flavor. (That's right, I'm not above calling myself out.)
So instead I'm going to give everyone a general overview of things I've been doing lately in my favorite way: list form.
Sweating
The weather is still hanging out between 70 and 80 degrees. When you're in a classroom that's on the second floor with 30 year-old carpeting you have a recipe for some pit stains.
As far as my teacher clothing goes, I have 3 outfits that are comfortable in that sort of weather. And only one that I'd actually want to wear. So I've been rotating a few t-shirts in with my one pair of capri's and dress pants into my outfits and then just dabbing myself with tissues the rest of the time.
Needless to say, I'm ready for the fall weather to set in so I can start wearing what most of my wardrobe consists of: COMFY SWEATERS!
Yoga
I haven't been going to classes, but a couple of days a week (when I can peel myself out of bed at 5 am) I've been ordering the hour video on our demand channel. On the mornings that I do yoga before I head to school I literally feel like nothing can shake me. And let's face it I feel a little less guilty about not working out if I get home and am too tired to move.
Telling Jokes
At some point over the summer I forgot how hilarious I am.
I also forgot how hilariously lame I come off to 7th graders, especially when I'm intentionally making horrible jokes on purpose to set their standards low.
Channeling My Inner Camp Counselor
Because we have 7th graders this year that we will have next year as well, my team and I have been really focusing on team building for the first two weeks of school. This means that we were doing a lot of name games, problem solving, and cooperative challenges.
So for the past three weeks I've been switching back and forth from being a super professional 7th grade teacher to my old camp counselor days. All 8 years of running games and creating activities at summer camp for 8 years really paid off, and was kind of a blast.
Become My Mother, My Father, And Every Other Adult Who Put Me In My Place
When you get a group of students that you know you're going to have for two years, you have to put your foot down right from the get-go. That will cause a lot less heartache down the road. It makes me giggle a little when I hear myself use phrases and get after students for things that people used to get after me for. The circle of life goes on.
But don't worry, I haven't gotten to the point where I've had to use, "Because I said so," yet....
Being Useless When I Get Home
*Insert joke about my husband doing all of the housework because I catch narcolepsy when I walk into the apartment.*
I'll be used to being back at work again soon right?
Eating Fresher, And Cleaner
I've been finding cleaner recipes for dinners and lunches.
We've been getting our produce, hummus, and even some meat from our local farmer's market.
Not only do I feel better about buying local, but I feel better because I'm eating good food.
Oh and it's been super yummy.
THANKS PINTEREST.
Keeping Up With Family
The weekends have been family get togethers, sleep overs at parent's houses, and trying to make it to XC meets and soccer games. Sometimes successfully, and sometimes not so much. The weekends have been full, and that's been just fine.
Sleeping. Lots of Sleeping.
Naps. Going to bed early. Sleeping in late.
If I'm not in the middle of a cup of coffee or in the middle of a lesson plan you can probably find me dozing off with some drool leaking from the corner of my mouth.
Figuring Out HOW I Want To Reach My Fitness Goals
I have fitness goals. This summer I wasn't that great at motivating myself. I have found my motivation, but am finding that with school starting and just my preferences changing, the way I've always gone about fitness just isn't working for me anymore. So I'm exploring changes I can make to my workout routine to get myself out of this workout-rut.
Painting My Nails
If I don't paint my nails I tend to chew them, which is gross.
But if they chip then my new nervous habit and picking the polish off.
Soooo I've been doing a lot of painting and retouching.
This week it's light purple and glitter on the the ring fingers.
(But if you followed me on Twitter you'd already know that!
Answering Nervous Questions About How School Is Going
Last year if you asked me how my school year was going I would get this crazy look in my eyes, tell you it was alright, and then look like I was about to cry.
I learned a lot from my students last year. I think I got a lot of really great skills and I would like to think I made some difference for some students. I also got my first taste of teaching Humanities and integrating language arts and social studies. I developed a curriculum and learned what I liked and what I didn't like about how I taught it.
BUT GOD WAS LAST YEAR HARD.
So when people ask me how my year is going so far, I can tell they're a little nervous about what sort of reaction they're going to get from me. I think they're pleasantly surprised when I smile and say, "Actually, really well!"
Becoming A Real Person At Home
For those of you whom aren't
regulars here, my husband is most likely going up for sainthood within
the year. Since I started teaching he picks up a lot of the slack on the
home-front.
This especially went for last year (please see above category) when I could barely keep my head above water at school.
During the summer it was much easier to do my part, but alas summer is over.
But
this school year, I'm anticipating a the year to be a little less
exhausting and trying my darndest to not only be a real person at
school, but also a real person at home that cooks dinner at least 3
times a week.
I know, I know, it's a lofty goal, but I think I can make it!
Pretending I'm Organized
I am not the most organized person in the world.
Actually let me rephrase that.
I'm not an organized person.
BUT
I have organized my desk drawers at school for the first time in my life.
I have organized my jewlery, make-up, hair elastics, and hair clips all onto rings and into zip up bags and lotions.
I have organized all of my student information and important lists for school into a binder.
I am not expecting any of this to last long.
But it sure does feel nice to pretend!
Forcing Myself To Read
This sounds like I hate reading.
I love reading.
But often find myself saying, "Man I wish I had time to read during the school year. I feel like I can only enjoy a book during the summer!"
Which in a way is true. I go to work, come home, eat dinner, and more often than not do some more work.
But, I also watch television.
I also read blogs, and check facebook, and pin away to my heart's content.
So realistically, could I read more? Yes. I just have to force myself. So I've downloaded a couple new books to the kindle and am ready to cut some other stuff out so I can enjoy a few good books.
That, in a little nutshell is what I've been up to.
Time for me to read some of my favorite blogs, because that is something that I have NOT been up to and need to do.
Stay fabulous this week!
Thanks Neely and Amber for giving me a chance to affirm my life choices no matter how unhealthy and diluted they may be.
It's OK that I did a link-up yesterday and I'm participating in one again today. And guess what, I love Friday letters so I'm probably going to do that one too! And that's OK. It's OK that if I didn't join this link-up today I was probably going to write about the West Nile Virus and other things on the news that scare me.
So just be happy I decided to do a link-up today.
It's OK that I'm addicted to my iPhone. And it's OK because everyone else is too.
It's OK that I decided to forgo the gym all week and have done Pilates and Yoga videos instead. AND I'm going to do it again today. I just hate having to pack up all of my stuff and get to the gym when I have to rush to work after. We all know what happens when I do that.
And if anyone would like to argue that I'm not getting a work-out, then you can just do Vinyasa yoga with me and we'll see how much you sweat! It's OK that my school changed websites and I still have not created my new one. Like blogging I have to be in the right mood to get that sort of thing done. Because if I'm not there would be mucho swearing going on up in here.
It's OK that I'm a little sad for my summer job to end. Not only will I miss the paycheck, but I'll also kind of miss hanging out with college and high school kids handing out cones of frozen custard. It's a good time I promise.
It's OK that recently I have been watching the Youtube Vlog "Daily Grace" on a daily basis. She is ridiculously funny and the type of girl that when you watch her videos you're just like, "Yep, we should be best friends that make awkward jokes at each other." If you've never seen her, click the link above and check her out so you can spend an hour of your life watching a bunch of her videos. (Which is OK because I have.)
It's OK that I'm going to casually drop into school this morning to drop off some books when I really just want to check to see if my room's been vacuumed yet. Because if it hasn't then I'm probably just going to do it myself sometime this weekend.
It's OK that yesterday I took a 3 minute video of my cat meowing at me after my shower so I'd turn on the faucet, which may or may not also featured me talking back.
I have a dog (that I think I love more) so I officially can't be a crazy cat lady.
And finally, It's OK that I might try to squeeze in one more fun read on my Kindle before school starts, because we know that's not going to happen very often once it does!
There are a lot of things that I enjoy about having my summers off. Having random beach days, watching the Today show, getting a part-time job to make some extra cash, reading as many books as I can afford to buy, seeing family and friends that I can't seem to get to during the school year, and taking a break from the students to totally rejuvenate myself.
But this does not cover my most favorite reason for having my summers off:
BEING ABLE TO WATCH THE SUMMER OLYMPICS ALL. DAY. LONG.
Like every other human being in the world, I am currently obsessed with the Olympics. I can't stop watching them or bringing them up in conversation with whomever I come into contact with.
If social media has taught me anything, it is that I am not alone. Everyone is swept up with Olympic fever. Watching live stream on their laptops, constantly checking standings online, and settling down every night to watch the highlights. We're following Olympic athletes on their twitter, and reading personal pieces about their journeys on NBC.com.
We're all totally consumed and can not stop. We don't want to stop, I mean why would we when our swim team isn't?
The big question might be why? Why do we all stop and obsess over this international sporting event that occurs every two years? (Yes we have to wait two years for the winter olympics.)
So maybe you've had a rough day at work. Maybe you spilled coffee all over yourself in the car. Maybe you're going through a rough break-up. Maybe your pet snail has gone missing. Maybe nothing seems to be going right for you lately Charlie Brown.
But, while watching the fab four win the team gold, or Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian ever, you have a chance to forget.
You might not ever get that coffee stain out of that white-silk shirt, but you had 1 minute watching a bulky man swim through a pool while you yelled at the TV forgetting all about it. You were in the pool with him, you were hugging his mom after the win.
These athletes worked hard enough than thousands of Americans put together ever will in their entire lives to win that gold, so I we can ride that coat tail for a little longer.
Go ahead and feel like you had a part of winning that medal by throwing popcorn in the air during the finish, because hey, that's your flag up there too.
You should at least feel like you're in the stadium with them as they flub up those National Anthem lyrics and choke up a little at the same time.
Which brings me to my next point.
2. You Love A Good Happy Cry (It's The American Thing To Do)
But, there are some happy tears that happen in the Olympics. And happy tears of Olympians will often beget happy tears of us mere mortals. At least they do if you aren't Voldemort.
Say all you want, but I have a hard time not sobbing and hugging my TV when America's latest swimming sweetheart, 17-year-old Missy Franklin, cried at the top of the olympic podium.
And her parents? How proud and adorable are they as they cry a little bit over their only child? They make me want to have a baby and bring it to the pool at 5AM every morning for the rest of my life so I can happy cry that adorably when they make it to the Space Olympics on the moon in 18 years.
Speaking of parents, who can keep it together when Mama Phelps is wiping away tears of joy as her son becomes the most decorated Olympian ever. God she's fabulous.
And you can go ahead and call me un-american, but I choked up a little when South Africa's Chad Le Clos ruined Michael Phelp's day by winning the gold and then proceeded to ugly cry on the podium.
One last thing while we're on the topic of getting overemotional over the Olympics:
Even the commercials get me all weepy.
First, any of the P&G commercials featuring the moms. Hands down they will get your tear ducts aflowin in all sorts of happy ways right before you call your mom.
Here's my favorite:
Second, I think this Nike commercial could probably make a robot human with emotion.
So how is happy crying the American thing to do?
My question for you is, do you think Francis Scott Key had dry eyes as he composed the Start Spangled banner? Do you think someone could write about a "twilight's last gleaming" without letting the waterworks happen?
That guy was totally crying. Therefore, it's now an American tradition to happy cry when things get real patriotic.
And if you don't every once and a while, you should probably pack your bags and move to Canada because with all of my happy tears there's no room for you here.
3. You Are Officially Now An Expert In Everything.
This goes two ways.
a. You Are A Wealth Of Useless Facts
The beauty of 24/7 coverage of the Olympics means that when our NBC broadcasters run out of useful information about the match, they just start blabbering on about whatever they want to fill the time with.
And when broadcasters fill time, useless information for you to gobble up and insert into casual cocktail conversation/talks with strangers ensues.
You might hate some of the comments that they make, but I don't care who you are, you like having information other people don't. Your conversations for the next few weeks will have comments spattered throughout (by you or some other competing Olympic enthusiast) like the following.
"Have you heard about the Japanese Olympian in the equestrian events? He's 71 years old! He first competed in the 1964 Olympics! What an inspiration!"
"Did you know that U.S. beach volleyball players Misty May and Kerri Walsh have never lost an Olympic match?"
"Did you know the last time the women's gymnastic's team won a gold medal was before 15 year old gymnast Kyla Ross was born?"
"Well you must know that the last event to occur in this year's Olympics will be the woman's pentathlon."
"Did you know the Olympic gymnast John Orozco put his first paycheck as a teenager towards his parent's mortgage?"
People may not like a know it all, but you sure do like to know it all. So watch, take notes, and start chatting it up with a random stranger at the bus-stop.
You are an informant of Olympic proportions. It's time to talk up America, and some other countries on occasion too.
b. You Are An Expert Olympic Judge In Every Sport
One only needs to watch a quarter of Women's water polo to be an expert. With your underwater cameras and enthusiastic commentators gasping about every block and penalty, you have all of the tools to be flown out to London right now and referee the gold medal match.
And it only takes 5 minutes of watching Men's Canoe double to know when a time penalty needs to be given from a mile away. You've seen about 3 races and already skimmed the rules on the official Wikipedia page.
It's a tough job, watching and becoming an expert of every Olympic event. But you can do it.
Invite your friends over to watch some archery and show them that you're the expert by yelling at the judges for a call that was clearly unfair, and referring to the athletes as bowmen. Because that's the official name for them, and you are the expert after all.
4. It's (Somewhat) Socially Acceptable To Sit Around All Day And Watch The Olympics
It's happened to many of us.
It's your day off, so as you begin your day you sit down with your cereal deciding what you'd like to do with all of your free time and you notice USA is having a Law and Order-SVU marathon.
Suddenly, it's 2 PM and your mom calls asking you what you've done all day.
You look at Detective Elliot Stabler for an answer but he's too busy beating up some perp during interrogation so you panic and make something up about walking the dog and solving that whole world peace debacle.
Now, fastforward to tomorrow when you're watching Track, Sailing and Table Tennis.
Your mom calls and asks you about what you're up to.
"I supported the United States and watched the Olympics all day. And I wrote a super informative blog post about it. Oh, then I was inspired to go for a run and do some pushups because Kerri Walsh has two babies and puts my body to shame."
Watching a TV marathon is a guilty pleasure that I feel many of us share. Whether you're sick and Monk re-runs are the only medicine, or it's a rainy day and The Big Bank Theory is the answer to occupy your time; TV marathons happen and they're hard to talk about.
But there's nothing hard to talk about when it comes to having a front seat in your living room to horses jumping over well trimmed shrubbery.
Just make sure you get up and take some stretch breaks, maybe even do some sit-ups or vacuum during tv breaks. That way you're not only being patriotic, but productive.
5. It's A Great Time To Admire The Human Body.
For this section I'm mostly going to show you some photos and captions.
It's nice every once and a while to admire how rockin' someone can get their body if they dedicated all of their time and effort towards a physical goal.
The Olympics is probably the best time to do that.
Here are a few of the hundreds of Olympians with whom I would trade bodies with for a day and whom you should admire.
Yes there are guys on this list too. Their six-18 pack abs are just to awesome not to.
(But only for a day because I think I'd ruin it after a week of stress eating and sitting around watching the Olympics.)
Kerri Walsh or Misty May
The one on the right has had 2 kids in the last 3 years. I thought you should know just in case you wanted to feel a little worse about yourself. (via)
The Entire Men's and Women's Swim Team
Negative percent body fat, 100 percent muscle. If you asked me to swim their races, I would probably drown. (via)
Serena and Venus Williams
I wouldn't be able to chose between whose body I'd like to have. Just surprise me with either super toned arms or the best butt on earth. I'd be happy with either. (via)
Tom Daley, British Diver
So I mean he has average abdominal muscles right? I would do sit-ups all day if I were him. Just for fun. (via)
6. There's Something About An Underdog
I love nothing more than to see someone overcome crushing odds to compete in the Olympics.
We'd all like to think that we have some great underdog stories here in the US with some of our professional athletes. And yes, there are NFL teams with players who have overcome great adversity. There are some great stories about professional baseball teams coming back from major losses to win it all in the end.
But those are not the underdogs that I am writing about. I have a hard time referring to people as underdogs when they're going home to a mansion with 4 bathrooms and 2 soda machines.
I'm writing here about the real underdogs. I'm talking about the people who not only have to do to do the "normal" work it takes to be athletically capable enough to join the Olympics, but also had to overcome huge challenges that I could never imagine in order to just live their life.
His legs from a little bleow the knee are actually carbon fiber. He had to have an amputation at 11 months old. He's now running for South Africa on their track team in their 400 relay.
He came to the U.S. in 2001 from Sudan, where he was one of the 200,000 "Lost Boys". He was abducted and assumed dead by his family at the age of 6. He escaped his captors but had to run for 3 days with 4 other boys until he got to the border of Kenya.
He will now be running the 5000m race for the United States of America.
Ummm....He makes me proud to be an American.
These are just two of many stories featuring extraordinary people overcoming the odds and becoming the best in their field. These stories give us hope for human kind and inspire us to do our best in our day to day lives. Because that's what an underdog is all about.
7. Because They're The Olympics!
Let's face it, you don't need a reason to love the Olympics, you just do. You might have other deep seated reasons you can't stay away from the Olympics, matter how hard you try. There's just something about watching human beings coming together, no matter their country, political party, religion, race, or ethnicity and competing for a common goal.
Have you been watching the Olympics? Avoiding them at all costs? Do you have any other reasons you love the Olympics or ones you think I missed? I'm in the Olympic spirit so share your thoughts in the comments.
There are times in my life when I look back at my day and I think: Is this real life? Noooo, noooo. This is just too awkward and outrageous for this to actually be the life I live. I must have forgotten that I'm actually Kristen Wiig in her newest movie playing the loveable but clumsy friend that gets herself into silly mix-ups all the time. That's it.
I had the great idea this morning that before I went into work at my summer job at a frozen custard stand I would go to the gym. Not only would I go to the gym, but I'd also bring a little bag and shower there like all of those important adults seem to do. What a plan! How grown up!
So my first mistake was apparently being overambitious. The universe apparently does not like people with killer legs and an increased lung capacity.
So between spending a little too much time on the internet machine this morning and talking with my MIL on the phone, I was running a little later then I had intended.
That's fine, I'll just cut out my arm workout today. No big deal. I'm still going to the gym and getting an awesome workout in. Go me!
I continued to pack my gym bag, super proud of myself when I remembered my shower sandals which I had of course forgotten last time.
I went out to the car and dropped my bag off while letting the dog out and realized that I'd forgotten a hairdryer. I decided my hair could just dry itself. I'll hang my head out the window. It's fine. I brought the dog back in and got into the car.
About 30 seconds after I'd left, I realized I forgot to lock my apartment door. I looked at the time.
It was cutting it close.
But alas, after thinking about how all of my students were on summer vacation too running rampant through the neighborhood, I went back and locked the door. If I can't trust them to do their homework on a regular basis, I don't know if I could trust them not to break into my house to hang out with my dog and cat.
Okay. Let's get to the gym. I can get at least 45 minutes on the elliptical and some abs. Man I am such an adult. Look at me being motivated after all of this!
I got two minutes into my drive to the gym. SHIT I FORGOT TO PACK A TOWEL.
I look at the time. It's cutting it really close. Do I go back? Do I go to the gym and not shower before work?
I know, I wanted a magazine anyway. Hannaford is on the way I'll stop in there, get a cheap towel from their beach section, and get a magazine on the way out. I can read about people I want to be and foods to eat for dinner. Gosh maybe after reading the magazine I'll have it all together!
So I fast-walk into the grocery store looking like I'm going to pee my pants. First thing, I run into a parent of a former student. He starts making chit-chat, I word vomit out a few things about my life and when I've come-to after the conversation I've ended up in produce.
In a moment of panic I grab some berries and head off to the beach section.
Obviously there are no towels.
But there were plenty of fitness magazines to lower my self esteem. I make my way out of the store. We're down to just cardio for the day. That's fine, I'm going to the gym before work. I am awesome.
As I pull into the gym and I think about how it'll be hard to dry my hair without a towel or hair dryer,
LORD ALMIGHTY I FORGOT A HAIRBRUSH TOO. SOLID WORK.
In the parking lot I decided to go through my bag to see what I actually did have:
My work shirt, a pair of shorts, jeans, my work shirt, clean underwear(PHEW), two different bras(?), a pair of socks that were either clean or just had been in my bag so long they could pass as it, and of course my shower sandals and shampoo.
I decided to rummage through my trunk as I'd cleaned some stuff out of my classroom but the boxes never made their way into the house. I pulled a random gray t-shirt from a box (makeshift mini towel?) and sorted through my desk junk.
LO! A miracle! My desk hoarding finally came in handy when I pulled out one of those pocket 2 in 1 mirror/hairbrush tools.
So I set out to do my workout, which was down to 40 minutes of cardio. I read up on why my eating habits are the worst and what exercises will give me Michelle Obamas arms. I also started to think about the logistics of the locker room. I usually had a towel so I could head from the shower to partitioned changing area to change more comfortably. This would not be an option.
I'm going to pause this long winded story right here.
I know a lot of people out there are just as comfortable taking their clothes off and walking around in their birthday suit as they are with letting their hair down.
But as a 24 year old girl working in the community as an educator, with the possibility of parents and students walking into that very same locker room and the fact that some of the people at this gym are sometimes a sketch-fest, letting it all hang loose and free in the locker-room isn't really my thing. That's a moment my community and I don't need to share.
So it looked like I'd be finagling my way into clothing half soaked within the 2 foot by 2 foot shower covered in mildew.
I mean at least I had shower sandals right?
By the time I get to the locker room I have about 20 minutes to doll myself up and skidaddle to work. Mirror check: I was greasy and red so I had no choice but to rinse.
My phone went off. I found it in the mess that was my bag that somehow was missing everything essential to shower.
It was an email.
Groupon wanted to let me know that there was a discount on towel sets.
I literally can not make this up.
I made my way to the shower stalls and picked the one most hidden from the rest of the locker room. I hung up my old basketball t-shirt/towel for the day outside the shower.
It was quick and I was super careful not to touch the walls because public showers are scary.
Now this was the fun part. The post-shower shuffle began.
I'll spare you the details but here are a few key points:
1. T-shirts make horrible towels. They can dry off probably one leg before rendering useless.
2. My hair is thick. Its luxurious thickness really gets a chance to shine when soaked and being brushed by something that I'm pretty sure could've been used on Barbies.
3. It's pretty hard not to touch the floor with your barefeet while slowly trying to put clothes on a half dry body. I felt like a drunk flamingo.
4. Murphy's law of the locker room: someone will always walk by right as you're opening your shower curtain to grab another piece of clothing or hang up a questionably wet t-shirt.
5. Nothing was dry when I was done.
6. When you're trying to balance, keep clothing dry, whip your hair around to dry it out, and do it quick fashion to make it to work, you make a lot of unintended weird grunts and squeaks.
So what did I learn from this experience? This weird morning where things weren't bad, but just kind of weird like the twilight zone?
Well, since I don't work until the afternoon tomorrow I could pack my bag tonight, make sure I have everything, and go bright and early in the morning to the gym.
Oooooor, I could lay out in the sun tomorrow while reading my book or drink coffee while watching golden girls.
Because, you know, the universe doesn't need to send that message twice. Maybe I'll go back next week.
And I think the gym has had enough of me for the next few days.
I became one with my mat. I stretched, folded, bended, and sweat. And most importantly, I focused on how stiff my old lady neck is and my breathing, not on all that I have going on right now.
As I entered my state of nothingness in my savasana pose, a thought that I had before I let it float away on a cloud was that I needed to update this here blog.
Because you know, you've all been deprived of a constant play by play of my life.
But like I said I let that thought float away on a cloud in my head soon after. God I love yoga.
That was one of the few things that needed to be self swept out of my mind on water vapor.
One of those other things is school. I'm officially back in the classroom and teaching classes. And for some reason I am more exhasuted than ever. My students are quite the active group. Don't get me wrong, they're hilarious and I love them. I have laughed a lot the past few weeks. They're just a lot of energy.
On top of that, I have the planning I need to do. You see I have the what, the where, the who, but the how is a little foggy. As I skim through my past Language Arts units and delve into the geography book that I don't want to rely on, I start to get a little more and more stressed about how it's all going to get covered in a year. Oh don't worry, it'll get done. I just am afraid of the amount of time that I am going to be spending at school.
Speaking of time...could someone look into getting more of that into the day? The week? I have been spending a lot of time at school lately. My team and I are committed to working together and cooperative learning, and my classroom is still putting itself together. So the average time has been around 6.
And the weekends? Now that the seasons over I'm done serving frozen custard to people who are certifiably crazy I should have time available to do what I need to do. (I'm not joking. Our customers are out of their mind. But my coworkers are oh so fabulous, so it evens out.) But somehow, I am booked for many of the upcoming Saturdays and Sundays in the next couple of months.
So there should be no surprise when I tell you that my body is punishing me. My stomach's been doing some funny stuff lately, accepting some stuff and not the other. Hungry one moment and then I can't eat my lunch the next.
The worst has been my sleep. Gahhhhhh the sleep. I go to bed early, I take forever to fall asleep and then I toss and turn. Same goes for when I go to bed on time, or even when I go to bed late.
Now, I can do without a bad night's sleep here and there. But not 3 weeks in a row. (Yes all of you mommies out there, you have done it and continue to do it. That's just fantastic and I admire what you do. But I'm literally a big baby so I can't handle it. It's not my fault I haven't had a person come out of me and gained all of your crazy super powers yet. I am still but a mere human.)
When I was waking up I wasn't thinking about my ongoing to do list that goes on for days or bills or where to fit people in on the weekends. But I had a feeling that these new sleeping patterns and flip flopping digestive systems were not on accident.
Clearly, I'm dealing with some stress here kids.
And as I rocked in my boat position on my yoga mat I thought about how nice it felt to take care of myself for the first time in a while. Granted, I went to the gym last week, but felt like I was sleepwalking on my way to the car on the way and I think literally died on my couch when I got home. Sweat, drool and everything. Just dead.
I know that when I started this blog it was a way for me to kind of get all my crazy thoughts and stressors out of my head. A way of saving Dave from a case of verbal diarrhea every night when I get home about everything that happened that day.
Unfortunately, this blog has fallen to the way side of everything else that hasn't gotten done. But if I've learned anything these past two weeks it's been:
1. Desks with chairs attached will never fit nicely in a classroom no matter how big.
2. Never drink two cups of coffee and not eat anything before you go to yoga at 3:30 when your lunch was at 10:30.
3. I need to make writing here a priority, or else I might go crazy.
So, now that it's midnight, I will push post, brush my teeth and head to bed. And hopefully, now that I have things written down and I've put all of my thoughts into their proper place, (But not my classroom, we'll save that for 6:30 AM tomorrow morning) I'm hoping I'll get some shut eye with no interruptions.
And I will be back here at some other point this week with something other than ramblings that only make sense to me when I squint my eyes. Maybe I'll share a video of Bruin running in his sleep or pins that I found on pintrest when I should've been doing laundry.
I was preoccupied with nerving myself up and then calming down from a 10K.
Let's just talk about it.
Saturday was the big race that I have been getting nervous for all summer: The Beach To Beacon 10K. This race takes place in my hometown. The course starts out near the entrance of a State Park with a beach, and ends at Portland Headlight aka the most photographed lighthouse in the U.S. so you've probably seen it before.
The course is known for it's obvious beauty, the number of people who run it, the crowds cheering you on, and of course the curves and hills.
There's one thing I'd like to start out with: I didn't run the whole thing.
I Runalked the race.
Runalk: verb
1. The act of going back and forth from a run to a walk throughout the course of your workout in order to reach your destination.
2. Something that I am usually too above doing while going for a "run" in fear of being judged, but came to recognize I would have to do during this race.
This race is 6.2 miles, something that I have never in any way ever attempted running at all. All this summer I was going for runs but would top out at about 3 miles. I could do 6 miles on the elliptical, but running is a whole different thing. It's just not where my body and I are at right now. I was going to try my best to run as much as I could, knowing that I would have to walk real fast for certain points of the race.
So as you could imagine, with all of this in mind I was pretty nerved up for the race on Saturday morning. Why would I do something that was clearly stressing me out so much you may ask?
Let's just say, that every year I have had the opportunity to watch this race. And one year, I watched every single one of my family members run by except for me. All of my sisters, my mother, and even my father are runners. My sisters each have a natural "runners body". This race is something that this natural "rugby playing body" has always secretly wanted to do, but been afraid to do so in fear of being judged. This spring I decided that instead of feeling bad for myself on the sidelines as I watch my sisters run on by, I would try to do the race myself.
So, myself, Dave, Sister N, Sister S, Sister E, Boyfriend S, Dave's Dad, and Dave's Brother T all ran the race.
I know it's just killing you: How did I do?
Most importantly, I finished.
You see, I try to be realistic. So knowing that I'd topped out at 3 miles this summer, setting any sort of time goal might have been unrealistic. I also had no clue at all what that time would be. So my goal was to finish, and not be the last one to do so.
Clearly a goal like this requires a t-shirt. Good thing I made one.
Here was the front:
Yes the colors are bleeding in this picture. I forgot to take one of the front until after. In case you didn't guess, I sweat throughout the entire race. A LOT. Enjoy that thought.
And here was the back:
Promise there's a D at the end of Finished. My armpit just swallowed it.
Now, as I mentioned previously, I am one lucky gal. My husband is a natural "runner", and despite the fact that he's been so busy saving the world from noisy campers one night shift at a time at a state park and just working all the time in general, he told me he was going to run this race with me, for me.
That's right, he could've kicked my butt and probably finished under an hour, but he didn't. He wanted to make sure I had support and encouragement the whole way, so he ran with me. (Sorry ladies, he's taken. For a while. When I say a while I mean forever. Maybe next lifetime. Oh wait. Still get him. :-))
This action clearly warrants a shirt as well. Good thing I could at least do that for him.
Yes he wore this. Yes he's perfect.
Oh, you want a picture of me during the race?
Dave just moseying right along as I gasp for air and make a scene. We're about halfway through here.
Just wanted to make sure everyone knew I wanted to be alerted when I was finished.
Other people will wake up this Sunday morning, check the newspaper for times and places. You'll find me in place 5 thousand something out of 6 thousand something, with a time of an Hour and Twenty Two minutes.
What it won't tell you is that this was my first time running a 10K, something I've been beating myself up over for whoever knows how long.
It won't tell you I ended up running about 70% of the race, something that I am okay with.
And, it also won't tell you that I crossed the finish line holding my husband's hand.
It also won't tell you I ate the most delicious barbecued chicken after and then took the nap of all naps. What nap isn't with shark week playing in the background and your family member's giggles chirping over it.
Your final question for me now might be will I do it next year?
And my answer is, stop asking so many questions. Right now, my biggest goal is making it through work today with out major muscle contractions.
Am I the only person who thinks it's crazy that it's Thursday?
Not that I've been productive or anything. But I mean, it's gone fast eh?
This week has been sort of, uh, drab. I think I'm suffering from the First Week of August Blues. I literally somehow did NOTHING for like 3 hours yesterday.
I had my computer open but made no progress in vacation searching other than the fact that Fuji is just as pretty as Hawaii (Dave and I are thinking about taking a real honeymoon? We'll see), no blog posts, no planning for school, and no organization, and no vacuuming.
The most worthwhile thing I got done was look at puppies that I can't adopt yet and watch 4 episodes of Ice Loves Coco.
I think this is what some may call a funk. I even missed some of my favorite blog-hops yesterday. Whomp Whomp.
But I shall get out of this Funk. And what better way to do it with a link-up that makes me think about all of the wonderful things I should be thankful for.
1. I'm thankful that both of my boys are around to cuddle today!
Well I mean, Bruin's usually pretty easy to pencil in.
But as far as my other man goes, he's a little tougher to find time to spend with. You see, he's working at a State Park, which is wonderful. But as he tries to climb up the totem pole of conservation and recreation jobs with the government, his hours are less than desirable.
Either way, I have some time before I have to give dairy deliciousness to unnecessarily angry people today to hang out with these sleeping beauties. Loving it!
2. I'm thankful for To-Do Lists.
As aforementioned, I am in a Funk. But I have created a to-do list for the summer. Er, well, a to-do list of things to do before the end of the summer. Like get my act together.
Don't you worry fellow list makers, I put things on there that I absolutely have to do before the end of the summer knowing that I will do them and can at least feel good about crossing them off in case I don't get the other things done.
I'm kind of an expert at both list making and setting myself up for success.
3. I'm thankful for getting a glimpse of my new classroom.
So this may sound horrible to any of you who are trying to hang onto any glimpse of summer before signing your life back over to whatever job you may hold and have been fortunate enough to get time off from.
Buuuut it is kind of a motivator. I talked about how the beginning of August signifies the beginning of the end for me as far as vacation goes.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than realized. By August 3rd I was still no where closer to being in school mode. So the hubby and I made a trip to the classroom.
I didn't take a picture, but I have some of how I left my old classroom.
Imagine 30 desks pushed off to the side, 7 (literally 7) bookshelves in the middle of the room, original puke green carpeting from the 70's and all of these boxes to unpack.
YIKES.
Seeing this in person kind of woke this educator up.
Some work is to be done! Especially before I have a couple of professional days next week!
I'm also playing with the idea of possibly putting up some paint on the walls. Any classroom wall paint suggestions? If I get around to it I was thinking maybe a light blue?
4. I'm thankful for family vacation!
With all of this school starting back up stuff, it's nice to know I still have at least one more summer event to look forward to. My family will be spending a whole week on the lake, the week before I head back to school, and I am sooooo happy to still have a glimpse of summer left.
I can bring all my work with me, and I'm actually pretty pumped that it's right after I meet up with my new team members. That way I can kind of get my head on straight as far as what I'll need to get done. And what a better setting to get things done than a cabin on the water.
But do not fret, I will still have LOTS of fun. And take way too many pictures. And blog about it.
5. I'm thankful to have a running partner for this Saturday.
So this Saturday is the long dreaded 10K that I am in no way prepared for.
I ran 2.5 miles yesterday and I almost died. A 10K is 6. 6 Miles. BLECHY.
Good thing I have the best husband ever.
You see, this stud ran cross country in high school and has run this race I think 3 times?
Either way, despite the fact that he hasn't been training as much as he'd hoped to because of his tiresome work schedule, he would be fine enough to just get up and run the whole thing no problem.
So you could imagine my surprise when he told me he would stay with me all the way. Whether I'm running, walking, or having to make a pit stop in the woods at a porter potty because I have to nervous pee.
I'm pretty self-concious about the fact that I can't run the whole thing while the rest of my sisters will be schooling me, so the fact that he's going to stick with me means a lot to me and is something I think is worthwhile giving thanks for.
