Day Nineteen

I woke up early enough to do yoga before starting my busy day. It felt great to stretch out my body once more. I haven't done yoga in a long time but oh how I love it! When I used to do yoga all the time, I never noticed that my body was thinner or toner like always suggested by yoga instructors. But I have noticed that I'm more awake which is an even better benefit.
However, doing yoga didn't work for me yesterday. When visiting with a friend she said, "You look really tired." In my mind that translates to "you look like crap." I am not upset in the least by what was said; I know I look tired all the time and I look like crap most of the time. Which is frustrating because I get eight hours of sleep every night. My sleep is hardly ever quality sleep.
After speaking with Jake about this, he suggested it was my caffiene intake that keeps me too active to sleep. Well, I agreed with him and decided, once more, that I would quit drinking caffiene. I miss my sleep so much and I miss being excited about what I'm doing because I'm so stinking tired. Now I know that I said I wouldn't do this but this time it's different because it's a short term goal instead of a lifetime sentence. I'm going to not drink caffiene until Jake's graduation. My reward will be that I can get a haircut and get it dyed. I'm pretty excited but nervous that I'll fail again.

Day Fifteen

Finally! I was able to get a break from school work and all the other demands on my life and go running. It was really cleansing and happy. I ran 2.5 miles and did a .5 mile cool-down. This time I ran faster and in the evening. The meatloaf, salad, and green beans I'd just had were getting to me a little bit and I almost quit. However, I'm fairly proud of myself. I didn't quit until I had reached my goal, which was to go further than last time. My gut started hurting but I just breathed through the pain and stayed focused on breathing right while running and my pain went away.
While thinking about the food I had just eaten it got me thinking about how my body is a temple. I've never eaten like I should. I put so much garbage into it and as a result, I'm probably not functioning as well as I physically could. The question, "What am I going to do about it?" comes to mind. Honestly, I don't know. Sadly, probably nothing. I could say that I'm going to try to quit drinking soda and I'm going to cut out desserts from my diet. Or I could say that I'm going to just regulate what goes into my body. Truth is, I've said all that stuff before and other ideas for being healthier. So this time, I won't say that. What I will say is that exercising makes me hungrier for healthier foods and drinks for my temple. Hopefully, I listen to my body and eat/drink healthier options.
Another thought while running: while listening to the song "Hey, Hey" by Superchick (currently my favorite song) I got to thinking about my students and my role as their teacher. Some of the lyrics go like this:
"I won't bow down even if the whole world thinks I'm crazy...
No one can sing the song you do. Be true , be legendary you. I won't sell out even if the whole world thinks I'm crazy..."
And then the next song was "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot. They got me thinking. I want to be a legendary teacher. I want to be that teacher students remember as an adult and think fondly of, the teacher they recognize as making a difference in their education. It saddens me to admit, but a lot of teachers in my school think that I'm amazing and I work so hard and my students are improving so much. This saddens me because that means they don't necessarily see themselves as amazing, hardworking, with students who are improving. I don't do anything special, really. I just care about my students and their success. My expectations for them are never lowered. And they rise to the occassion. Some students do take longer than others and some students need to start out with a lower expectation but they improve and learn and they're HAPPY when they can recognize their own improvement. However, I do work with some amazing teachers that work the same way that I do: with high, achievable expectations. Somehow I need to make it clear to those who don't, that their students can have success; even the ones who qualify for special education.
Anyway that doesn't have much to do with running other than that's what I was thinking while running. Tomorrow, I think I'll have time to go again but I think I'll take it slower. Especially since I'll be sore in the morning.
PEACE!

Day Two

Today was overall a crappy day when it came to getting things done that I really wanted to do. My alarm didn't go off this morning so I didn't go running which ended up being a good thing because Kati texted me that she was exhausted and going to sleep in. This way we both got a little more sleep. The day started off good. I got a new student to keep track of his behavior which I wouldn't mind except all of our ducks weren't in a row so the interventions we're doing aren't going to be effective in the least bit. This doesn't have anything to do with running but it is a frustration which is one reason why I like to run. I find that my mind opens as I run. I think more clearly on how to solve problems. This is because I don't have anything else to and I have to think about something to keep my mind off of any pain I could be feeling.
I had to go in for an ELED interview which was ok but then I had to go to a REAL class which I haven't done since last summer and paying attention is such a chore. Broadcast classes are awesome in that you don't really have to pay attention. Once again, this is just another source of my frustration.
However, I have an awesome husband who loves to give me good news. And he gave me some great news in regards to his graduation status. I'm so proud of him and all that he's doing to help keep our little family a float. My time is very limited with him this semester so, in my eyes, going running or to the gym in the evenings isn't an option. In the summer that'll probably change.
Maybe tomorrow will be better and I'll be able to go running but I doubt it. Everyday it seems like I have a new assignment due that I either didn't know about or forgot about so I've no free time. Tomorrow night is no exception; I already know. I've got a Math Module that I was suppose to start last week but haven't been able to do. A one page summary for a redundant assignment is also on my list. And most importantly, I need to study for stupid PRAXIS. I can't fail that test. I don't have time or the money to retake it. BAH. Finding time to do the things I want to do shouldn't be this difficult. It's absurd that I have to plan out time weeks ahead of schedule to hang out with Jake.

Day One

My attempt to eventually run a marathon has started today and I know the journey will be a long one. I plan on running at least one 5k this summer with my sister Kimberly. As a result, I started training today and it went extremely well. I may be able to bump up to a half marathon in no time. However, we'll see. In the past, I have be extremely motivated do things like run marathons and to exercise and to eat well but my motivation does not ever last very long. Thus I am using The Blog as a motivational tool. This outlet will mainly be for me and will not be eloquent in any way, shape, or form, but if you find you enjoy it, that's great.
Running, on a track or elsewhere, isn't something I've done since high school graduation. That's not to say that I've never "worked out" in the past 4 and a half years but I usually stay on the olyptical. Running on a track today was comparatively liberating. Back in the day I used to go running on trails and I think that may be something I start doing again this summer along with my other plans to go hiking in as many places in Utah as time permits.
Anywho, I don't know how long it took me but I warmed up with a lap (the track is half a mile) then I commenced running and kept going for two miles. Honestly, I was loving it and could've kept going but the shower was calling my name so I could get ready for work. Tomorrow's run, I hope, will be just as enjoyable.

Where's all the water coming from?

For a Saturday morning, I woke up pretty early, figuring I'd get a head start on the things I wanted to accomplish. One of those things happened to be laundry. So I gathered our dirty clothes together and headed down stairs. Passing by the kitchen I heard a faint drip, drip, drip, drip. I thought, "That's weird; the faucet isn't leaking." I decided to take a closer look when suddenly my foot was wet. Looking down, I could see that my entire kitchen floor was soaked! Not just damp or a little puddle but completely soaked and it was starting to splash up the wall and cupboards. Then I thought, "This can't be good. The fridge is broken or the dishwasher must have leaked." But that was not the case. The next thing I knew, my head was becoming increasingly wet by the same drip, drip, drip, drip I had heard just seconds ago. Water was coming out of our light fixture. Now, I'm not a rocket scienctist but I do know that that is not where water is suppose to come from. Water plus electrical lights equals bad ju-ju. I set my things down and ran upstairs to confims my suspision. And I was right. It was the water heater. Something in it finally gave out after being used for 25 years. I hollered for Jake to wake up and call the landlord; we had a big problem. Jake rolled out of bed to see what I was fussing about and once he saw it, he quickly dialed the landlord while I tried my best to dry out our kitchen.
A while later, the landlord and manager came over to do what they could to help fix our water heater. But alas, nothing could be done to save it. They ventured out and purchased a new one and are currently installing it. While they were taking out the old one, I decided there wasn't a need for me to stick around with Jake overlooking everything. So I did what I think was a great idea. I went shopping! I ended up purchasing two tee's and two tank's. They're plain but cute and I got a fairly good deal on everything.
What a crazy morning! Our plans have been pushed back but we are not complaining. If you've ever been to our place you know the water heater was a noisy piece of equipment, even hours after use because of the years of lime build up. Jake and I couldn't be happier that they're installing a brand new one. Not only will it be quieter around our house, but we think the hot water will last longer and my skin won't be so itchy because of the better quality of water that will be passing through our pipes. YAY!
When this is all finished, we'll shower and then go out to lunch at Costa Vida. We feel we deserve it a little considering had a date planned for today.

Halloween Night

The night began like every other Halloween in Logan. Jake and I were ready with bags of candy, just in case, but had little hope that trick-or-treater's would stop by. Why should they this year? They hadn't for the past two years. We decided to not even dress up, we had such little hope.

But we were proven wrong. I was upstairs doing some homework when suddenly... the door bell rang. Jake opened the door and to our surprise, we had our first ever trick-or-treaters! It was an exciting moment.

Feeling a little silly for not even being dressed up, we hurried to find some costumes around our home. What we found turned out pretty great. We were a Jazz and Laker fan, going head to head to get the next trick-or-treaters. It was a lot of fun to get some kids this year. I decided not to take pictures of them though because their parents might think I was a little creepy.

There's Only One October

YAY! It's here. My first blog. Well, where to start? October has been a fun month with a lot of different little things going on.

The first, most fun thing all month was a visit from my old roommate Valerie Soto! She's so fun. We've been planning this visit for about a month and a half and it was so exciting for it to finally happen. First, Val, Jake, and I went and got some Aggie ice cream while given a tour of our lovely campus. Although, it was kind of silly because that's also the day that the snow storm arrived in Cache Valley. After ice cream, we dropped Jake off at home and went shopping at the mall; just killing time until our movie started. Mariposa was having a going out of business sale, so for just one dollart a bought a shawl thingy. We then traveled to the El Cheap-o Theather (That's not really it's name, but it's only three dollars to see a movie. Not quite as good as Provo's one dollar theather.) Can anybody guess what movie we saw? That is correct! MAMA MIA!!! And it was very fun and funny and just an all around good time. The rest of the night we were singing and dancing everywhere.

When Mama Mia was sadly over, we went and picked Jake up for dinner. The resturaunt of choice was Iggy's Sports Bar and Grill. If you haven't been, definitely go because it is "muy bueno." (If you haven't picked it up yet, I'm learning Spanish. j/k) Then we traveled a few blocks to a haunted corn maze on the north side of town. It was freakin' scary! We were so lost, it was ridiculous. Um, at first they don't do anything to scare you because they want you to get comfortable. And once you are... BAM! That's when they start chasing you down with chainsaws and werewolf masks. (It really was scary. They had to turn away this family because they had little kids and everything.) There were also these incredibly tall creepy clowns that jumped out at us but then they just followed us for like a mile, hovering above us. But the freakiest thing of all was a Ring re-enactment. You came to a cross-section and there's this well. And this creepy, crawling thing starts to rise out of it, keep in mind it's totally dark. And if you looked away for one second and then back, it was out of the well and on the ground CHARGING at you. FREAKY! Anywho, after about two hours or so we eventually found our way out. After that, Val and I chilled for the rest of the night while my loving husband volunteered to wash our mud splattered pants in the tub.

Last Friday, I was getting cabin fever. So I called up Jessica to see if she and Phil wanted to go to see Thriller with Jake and me. They did. And it was a lot of fun. It's a dance theather event and it was interesting and funny and a little creepy at the beginning. One of my favorite dances was Thriller, another was the mummy curse. It was pretty good stuff. For those of you who live in Provo, it's coming there soon, check it out if you can. For tickets and showings go to Odyssey Dance Company's website.

And then tonight, Jake and I carved our jack-o-lantern.

It turned out really cute. We decided to try a different face then the one we've done the past two years. Let me know what you think. We're also going to try to cook the pumpkin seeds like sunflower seeds. They're not done yet.