Pounding the Pavement

Today I started a workout regimen. We officially un-joined our gym. Counter-intuitive? Not entirely. We never used the gym. It was basically sucking $50 a month out of our bank accounts. I went a few times, but honestly, I was always super intimidated by going to the gym here. I don't know why.. maybe it was just the set up. I never felt that way at LC or at my gym in Pineville,but nevertheless, I somehow always avoided it. But, I figure the gym isn't the end-all be-all of my personal fitness journey.
Last night I tweeted asking for suggestions for my iPod workout playlist.. I got a few, but could use some more. Anyway, I downloaded a few songs on iTunes, and loaded my "touch." Today's first step? Get up, and get moving. I've decided to start a daily Run/Walk. I'm inspired by my friend Brittney who is currently training for her first 5K. I picked up my iPod, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door. The result? 34 min 56 seconds of pure empowerment while I jammed on everything from Britney, to Bieber, to Lil John and the Ying Yang Twins. (On a side note, I'm not sure why, but working out always makes me want to listen to rap.. Get Low, Wobble Wobble, Salt Shaker. I think I have a problem.)
What I learned is that I still like walking, and I think I will eventually like running again. I learned that the hardest part is slipping my feet inside my shoes, and getting out the front door. I live in a gorgeous neighborhood that is very friendly and safe, and there's no reason I can't get out there in it. Walking in my neighborhood jamming to some awesome tunes is not a chore. It was actually very fun and stress relieving. The beautiful weather is an added bonus.
I'm not going to make any goofy vows about how I'm going to do it every day, and my life is going to improve drastically, and I'm going to run a marathon, or any of that. I feel like at this point, that would be unrealistic. However, what I will say is that I'm going to use this post to serve as a reminder that exercise is not torture. There are some active things that I find very enjoyable. I even felt compelled to dance around my living room when I got home and my favorite song was still playing. Exercise actually can be fun when you'r ein the right frame of mind, and I think I am getting there.
I hope to see some major improvements in my overall health over the coming months. I've already seen an improvement in my weight, and I hope the downward trend continues. I'm learning to eat smart again, and most importantly, I'm learning to do it consistently. That, my friend, makes all the difference in my mindset. :)

Monday, Monday :)

I am so happy it's Monday! Can you believe it? Probably not. What if I told you I have no school this week for "Winter Break"? What if I also told you that the "winter" weather felt much more like spring!? How exciting. I hope spring is springing. I love fall, I adore the cold winter when it's snowy and crisp, but I am completely enchanted by spring... flowers blooming, birds chirping, sunshine warming, and getting the water in the pool ready for a long-awaited dip... I can't wait.

So, what are my plans this week? I'm not entirely sure. I know that tomorrow I will hang out with my sister-in-law, and do some "work." Wednesday, I get my hair did. (I can't wait! Hair day is one of my favorite days ever!) I also plan on getting my windshield fixed on my car, and maybe going somewhere and getting my brakes checked because they're a little squeaky. Maybe I will go to town and shop if there is a pretty day for walking from store to store. I also hope my friend Shannon comes to visit me and brings her sweet baby. Or maybe I can visit her. We shall see. :)

All in all, it is shaping up to be a pretty nice week. Oh! And let's not forget that Friday I'm taking the youth (with Keith) to Winter Jam, which sould be fabulous. 10 Christian bands for $10, and hanging out with my favorite teenagers all day? Yes, please. Sign me up.

Hmm.. sounds like this week is going to be fabulous. I will update and let you know!

TGIF - Thank God I'm FREE!

It's Friday, and I couldn't be more ecstatic about that. There are 2 reasons, and I'll give them you. 1.) It's been one heck of a week. 2.) We have 9 days -N-I-N-E D-A-Y-S- out of school. That's right, people, winter break! Soak it up. I am PUMPED. Who cares if it's going to rain most of the week? I can sleep in every day except for Tuesday, and I couldn't be HAPPIER!

Last night was pretty terrible. We had our taxes done. Yeah, needless to say, my withholdings were not enough, and so we are paying a lovely $3G's. My night did not go so well after that. I was fairly sick to my stomach, and although I ws incredibly hungry, I couldn't manage to eat a thing. This morning was rough, too. Still didn't feel like eating, and I was running late, and disgustingly, I was on duty.

Once I got to school, though, things started to perk up. Free Enrichment period? Check. I got 30 minutes all to myself. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hours had tests. That means it was quiet, and the extent of my work was cruising around the room to monitor their progress. 4th hour got out for lunch early because of my duty. Nice. Then 5th hour was planning time, and 6th and 7th consisted of a Students Vs. Teachers volleyball tournament. Teachers won best 2 out of 3 against both the winning boy and girl teams. It was 2 fun hours, and I got a little exercise. It felt good to get back on the volleyball court after so many years. I was incredibly rusty, and I feel like I made a fool out of myself, but I hope to have many more opportunities to play once we get our sand court installed at the church. I can't believe it's been nearly 5 years since I was part of a volleyball team. I completely miss the Dirty Dozen, if not all the drama that came along with it.

Now, finally, I'm home. It feels oh-so-good to sit here in front of my laptop in my favorite chair and just type my stress away. Sure, I have no idea what I'm going to have for dinner, and there are a million and one other things I could be doing right now, but typing feels nice. It feels like home.

Home. Glad I'm here.

I'm Typing Again..

Well, this is my second post in about as many hours. I'm not entirely sure why, but I just have that feeling that there are words inside of me that need to come out. Unfortunately, at this time, I don't kow what they are, so here I sit... rambling.

All of this started about 2 weeks ago.. the feeling that I needed to take up blogging again. Sure, I've tried it many times. I've had xanga, myspace notes, livejournal, and several different accounts on blogger. This particular blog has had an average of about 2.5 posts per year since 2008. I can never seem to keep up with writing. I love to write. It's an exhilarating outlet. I can let out all my emotions, send them off into cyberspace, and free my soul of them.

Why did I begin to feel that I needed to blog again? Well, I watched Julie & Julia, of course. Julie Powell made me want to log in and set my typing fingers ablaze in a way that I never have before. Cooking through the entire cookbook of Julia Child? Sheer genius. Did it drive her mad? Absolutely, but it was brilliant. She pushed herself to do things she never thought she would do, and discovered things about herself and her relationships that she would have never discovered otherwise. Uh-MAZ-ing!

But then I think to myself: Ok, Julie Powell did this. She blogged every day for a year. WHAT THE HECK WOULD I WRITE ABOUT EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR?! I have no idea. I can't even remember to grab breakfast on my way out the door every day, much less remember to update a blog.. And really, what do I have time to take on that I would blog about? What do I have time to write about as it is? Absolutely nothing. Who would even read it? Not a soul, as far as I know.

So, for now, I will sit here in my favorite chair, with my favorite laptop, drinking my favorite Diet Coke, and ramble. Maybe I will ramble every day, or maybe I won't ramble again until November. Who knows? All I can say is, when the time is right for the verbal overflow, I'll be here.

It's Been a While..

It's been quite some time since I last posted to my blog. Another year has gone by full of changes, and free of my comittment to post in my blog, lose weight, etc.. I have lost friends, I have lost my father, and I have gained weight.. but through it all, I have gained perspective.

Today I read that a teacher in another state could possibly be fired for posting her opinions of her students in her blog. She didn't name her students, she simply stated that some "overestimated their intelligence and academic prowess," "dressed like street-walkers," were insufferable, disrespectful, had no ambition, etc. If these are lies, then discipline her for libel. However, I beg to differ from public opinion. Society in itself is FULL of humans, child, teen-aged, and adult alike, that over-estimate academic prowess, dress like street walkers, show a lack of respect to others, and are otherwise insufferable. That is life. Does it make her a bad teacher? Absolutely not. It makes her truthful, and it shows that she has insight from inside the trenches, just as most all of us teachers have.

It pains me to think that her civil liberties, including free speech, are being trampled upon just because some parents got mad. If I was a parent, and saw the blog of a teacher who said my child, in particular, was a pill, sure I'd be mad. But if she made the statement that some students are ogres, then I could probably see her point. Apparently some people don't.


Anyway, I wish Ms. Munroe the best of luck in her quest to retain her job. I hope that justice will prevail in her case, and that she will continue the excellent job that she most surely does to be so observant and caring towards her students' behavior.

Dreamin' With Eyes Wide Open..

So, I've been having crazy dreams. Not your typical crazy dreams, such as wandering through a meadow not knowing where you're going, but kind of odd, people-related dreams. I feel immensely guilty about them, because they have been involving ghosts of boyfriends past, and I am (very) happily married for over two years now. But can I control my dreams? I don't think I can, when these people I've dreamt of haven't crossed my concious mind in who-knows-when..

Here's the rundown:

Dream #1 --
A week or so ago, I had the first dream. I was sitting on a couch in an unfamilar room. Medium-toned wood panelling, a green plaid couch.. kind of dimly lit. Coffee table directly in front of me, television in the room, to the right corner directly in front of the couch. Door to the right, Door and hallway to the left. I'm alone in this room. Suddenly, I start to recognize the room. The living room of a family whom I previously adored -- the family of my first high school boyfriend. I do not see his mother, but I feel her presence in the room. He enters from the hallway left, which I recognize as where his bedroom was. He doesn't speak. I do not speak. Dream sequence over.

Dream #2 -- 2 nights ago.
I enter another dimly lit room, different this time. I have an armful of dirty dishes, and I'm heading to what I would assume is the kitchen. I pass a living area, and on the couch, college boyfriend and what my mind has concocted to be his current girlfriend. She looks mean. I walk past them, they are watching tv. I begin to load the dishwasher. They do not notice me until I walk back through the living area. She's angry with me, and I begin to apologize for being there, explaining that we "share the dishwasher," and I do dishes here a couple of times a week.
Immediate fast-forward. I'm dusting a coffee table that appears to be my grandmother's, but in this dark, dungeon-like room.. previously referred to as living quarters. College boyfriend enters. He's happy to see me, but is obviously sneaking around. I realize I'm dusting this coffee table in a strapless dress. I'm thin. I look hot. The can of dusting spray bursts and soaks us like one of those carwash scenes in the movies. Dream sequence over.

Dream # 3 -- last night
I'm sitting in my parents' living room, with the old linoleum from several years ago, and old blue furniture from several years ago. High school boyfriend's mom is there. We're exchanging Christmas gifts. I'm given 4 boxes wrapped in red and gold metallic paper. I open one of them, and it is a gift from high school boyfriend's sister. It is a set of candles that fit together like puzzle pieces; they form a wreath. I only open one of the boxes, as each box contains part of the set. High school boyfriend is there, and he's on my parents' couch. He's angry, arms folded. I approach him, and I'm my high school self suddenly. He's his high school self suddenly, as well. I whisper something into his ear.. he begins to talk to me. No conversation is actually heard. We hug. He cries. Dream sequence over.

What. The. Hell?

LoUiSiAna

Oh, how I love this state!

In no other state, would men wear dresses to honor their hometown team as they go to the Superbowl.
http://www.nola.com/superbowl/index.ssf/2010/01/photos_buddy_d_dress_parade_pa.html

In other news, today was weigh-in. So, 5 lbs didn't fall off instantaneously at any point today, but I did better than I felt. I lost 1.6 lbs, which is better than none, which brought my 3 week total to 9.2 lbs. I am well on track to my month-span goal of 10 lbs, or an average of 2 lbs/week. I am hoping, in fact, to bypass that entirely, and keep up with my current average of 3.06 lbs per week. :) That makes me feel good.

It gets pretty frustrating, because I have been doing everything just right, adding some exercise, finding more reasons to get outside and move around, playing ball with my students at school.. and it just doesn't come off as fast as I (in my mind) think it should. I know it is a physiological process, but somehow, I want quick results. I know I've said so before, but it's still irritating. I just have to keep reminding myself over and over that I didn't gain 40 lbs in a month, and they're not going to come off in a month. I'm also never going to have immunity or a 2 lb pass... I just have to keep doing it the hard way. (And trust me, hard it is.) Kind of like that girl on the biggest loser the other day... "I really feel like just sitting on my butt and eating a cheeseburger."

Well, my friend, sitting on my butt eating a cheeseburger got me here in the first place, so I think I should probably stick with it...

Here goes nothing, for week 4.