So Long, Summer

I went back to work yesterday.  A full day, and I about died.  Meeting after meeting after meeting.  I'm pretty sure that the highlight of my day was walking in to my classroom after having set up the desks exactly how I wanted them last week, only to find that someone went in there and took all but 5 desks out.  Those 5 were arranged in a neat little row down the center of the room.  Um, bring me back my effing desks.  And thanks, but rows? C'mon.  Everyone knows that rows are SO uncool. So I decided to actually get on top of things for once in my life and make a poster I want for my first day activity.  A very special shout-out goes to whomever took ALL of the supplies out of the supply cupboard.  I'm really looking forward to going out and buying ALL new stuff, breaking a sweat while moving furniture down a hallway, and oh yeah, meeting all of my parents tonight.  Good times. 

On another note, my kid had Kindergarten screening this morning. I'm not exactly sure what they were screening for, especially since his tiny school only has one Kindergarten class, so it's not like there's a lot of options.  He was super excited to go, but definitely started crying when I was about leave.  I was totally unprepared for the tears and it sucked.  And what sucked even more is that when I went back an hour later to get him, the teacher said that for the last ten minutes he kept saying he just wanted to play with his brother. They are gonna die without eachother this year. Poor Ty has to wait for 2 more freaking years before he gets to go.  Horrible planning on my part.  He totally should have been born 3 months earlier than he was. 

Much to their dismay, they are NOT actually twins.

So that's what's happening over here.  On a different note, I did a double workout session on Monday (ran and did free weights in the morning; taught Power Body at night), and then tried a new class last night.  It was a series of one-minute intervals (I'm certain she was lying about them only being 60 seconds) of cardio and strength.  The whole thing was done while holding a medicine ball.  It literally kicked my booty.  As in, my butt is so friggin sore today that going up the stairs is actually a chore.  It's looking like today may need to be a rest day, unless I can squeeze something in before I go to Open House tonight. 

 

Have a healthy day,

 

J

 

 

Working hard, or Hardly working?

Have you recovered yet from your long weekend?  My wonderful students apparently have not, seeing as how I'm sitting here writing my blog instead of teaching.  None of my kids showed up for class today.  It's not like they have a state exam in a week or anything.  I know you're thinking that it's impossible that not a single kid showed up, but I was only supposed to have 3 anyway.  I teach in an alternative program (read:  all of the badass kids who have been kicked out of the high school attended by everyone else in the town).  There are only 7 of them in the program right now, but they can't all be in a room together at the same time, so we split them in half. (Read:  I wasn't kidding when I called them badass, and I didn't mean it in the "whoa that truck makes him look so badass" way).  And today the three who are supposed to be with me right now just didn't come to school.  So here I am. 

First of all, because it was just Memorial Day, and because I'm technically wearing my hat of English teacher right now, I am feeling the need to recommend a book to you.  You may have read it already, but just in case you haven't, you should.  It claims to be a work of fiction, "except for a few details from the author's life", yet it was written by a Vietnam War veteran and is so detailed and believeable that you are left to wonder exactly which parts were made up. It is raw, gritty, touching, gut-wrenching, and all of those other strong adjectives that you would expect to come with a book that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  It's about love, relationships, coming-of-age, and war.  Now go order it.  You will not regret reading this book. 

You didn't know that in my other life I'm a book
critic, did you?  Haha. I'm so not. 
But I have read a few good books in my day.
This is one of them.

Ok. Moving on.  On the health front, things are going fairly well.  I'm loving the new supplements.  Remember how I told you about my sleeping problem.  (As in, I wasn't sleeping at all because I was just never tired?)  Well, two weeks in to the new pills I'm popping, things seem to be changing for the better.  I've been starting to get tired at the very appropriate time of 10:30ish, and have been waking up around 6:30, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Thank you, Supplements!  Sleeping at normal times is kinda fun!

Additionally, the move away from dairy is proving to be a good one, too.  My nutritional muscle test a couple of weeks ago showed that I have an issue with my stomach.  But I've never had noticeable symptoms, so we didn't spend much time talking about it.  Well, I'll tell you something:  now that I've been away from dairy (well, mostly...) my stomach feels all kinds of new.  It's hard to describe, but I really do feel noticeably better.  Which is so weird, because I never thought I had problems before.  So anyway, I'm doing a pretty bad job here, so let's just leave it at this:  I have been cooking with and drinking either almond or coconut milk, have stayed away from all yogurt, have not really eaten a ton of cheese, and have avoided most other dairy.  And I feel healthier! 

Giving up dairy = good for me
Mozzarella cheese = impossible to give up

Moral of the story:  one little change can make a big difference.  TRY IT!!!! 

Here's a question for you:  (to which I'm asking begging for responses.  Don't let me down.)

What little change have you made that has made a big difference?
(Working out once in a while;  going meatless once a week; drinking more water; using sunscreen???? C'mon.. tell me!!)

Have a healthy day,

J

Random Thoughts on a Thursday

Source

 Happy Thursday.  Weirdly, there's not that much going on around here today.  So lucky for you, here is a window into my head.  Feel special. 

Did anyone see Jennifer Lopez on American Idol Wednesday night?   (Here she is just in case you missed her).  Whether you love her, hate her, or are totally sick of her, you must admit that she has a smokin' hot bod.  I am jealous in a major way of those freaking abs.  Not only does she have two kids, but she gave birth to them at the same time!  And those abs STILL look like that.  No fair.  Well, I mean, I guess it is fair if you have a trainer, a chef, and access to unlimited babysitting and gym time.  But still, Wahhhh.  Can I please look like that? 

It's like, 90 degrees out today. I love the summer, and am ecstatic that it came early this year. I like being outside and not wearing a coat.  I enjoy sleeping with the windows open.  But 90 is too hot.  I had to turn on the Central Air today, much to the husband's dismay.  He claims that I complain when it's hot and I complain when it's cold.  He's right.  I hate being uncomfortable.  Is there any place on earth where it is 75 and breezy every day?  I wanna move there. 

It's currently 3 in the afternoon and my children are still upstairs talking to themselves.  As in, not taking naps.  They've been up there for an hour and are supposed to be taking a trip to Dream Land right about now.  But they're not.  And... oh wait.... I take that back.  It no longer sounds like they are talking.  I actually think it's rapping.  I love days when naps don't happen. 

OMG. Go to sleep!

I know what you're thinking... sheesh, so much negativity.  Let me back in to that brain NEVER.  Chill out. There's good stuff happening in the old noggin' too. 

Like my workouts this week- I ran twice (even this morning before it was 90 out!) and felt so good both times.  Hmmm... maybe I'll do another 5K. I did Power Body, I did Zumba, and I walked while pushing the gigantic double stroller. Oh and I did free weights.  I enjoy working out.

A kid at school rated one of my lessons a 6 on a scale from 1-5.  This may sound stupid, but my kids are emotionally draining most of the time. They refuse to admit that they even kind of enjoy anything, and I have been contemplating whether or not I even have it in me to put in another year with them.  But one kid liked something, and I'm gonna hang on to that. I enjoy making connections, and I enjoy validation.

It's a three day weekend.  And it's going to be beautiful out.  The pool is almost swimmable. I am going to enjoy my family.

I enjoy my life.  

Have a healthy day, (and do something this weekend that you enjoy!)

J

Analysis Paralysis

Have you ever had the gut feeling that something needs to change, but you don't even know where to start?  So you sit and think, and dream, and create a million possibilities in your head. And then you imagine yourself in your new role, and you start to love your new (yet fictional) life. But then something switches in your brain. Suddenly, you start thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong. And ultimately you end up staying exactly where you are. Because it's safe; predictable. Yet boring; unfulfilling. And nothing changes.  Sound familiar?

In the sales world, when people are stuck in a cycle of what-ifs, they are diagnosed with "Analysis Paralysis" (thanks to my hubs for that one).  What  a perfect term, right?  So concerned with trying to make it perfect and trying to eliminate every single possible negative outcome that ultimately, nothing happens.  Life goes on without you. Other people get the cool jobs, the commission checks, the recognition.  And you always remain on the outside looking in.  Has that ever happened to you????



Making decisions can be so scary.  I mean, what if you make the wrong one and end up even less happy?   And what you're currently doing is comfortable, familiar.  So what's the point of starting all over again, right?

Well, I'm not asking all of these questions tonight because I have all of the answers.  No, I'm actually asking them to myself just as much as I am to you. This is such a wonderful time of year as a teacher.  The time of year when we start to reflect on what the past 6 months have looked like.  Yes, we still have almost 3 months left (9 and a half weeks, to be exact, not that I'm counting).  Yet we're already looking ahead to what next year will look like.  And, as scary as that is, I don't know the answer to that just yet.

But I'm determined not to let analysis paralysis hold me back.  (How about you?)

Have a healthy day,

J

Stressed. Out.

Those of you who know me know that being a good teacher isn't good enough for me.  I want to be great. I strive every day to be the type of teacher good enough for my own children.  So when things don't go as planned, and I have an off day (gasp!), I get stressed out.  Like, REALLY stressed out.  And I don't handle my stress well. 

Those of you who don't know me don't know what happened to me last year.  So here's the condensed version in 1 sentence or less:  I worked my butt off, got put in what I thought was a very unfair situation, felt as though my boss turned her back on me, started having some pretty serious anxiety attacks, started hating going to work, found out I had an irregular heartbeat, ended up visiting 4 different doctors,  spent 2 months in physical therapy because I could no longer bend my neck, and had to get massage therapy twice a week.  And here's the end result: the doctor told me to find a new job and to start doing more yoga.  So here I am a year later: a budding yoga-lover who works part-time in a new job.  I haven't had a single anxiety related symptom all year.  Until yesterday. 

Yesterday I revisited that ugly place that I thought I had left behind.  I had one of the worst days I had had in a very long time.  It was new and all-too-familiar all at the same time. And it sucked.

So I went home and did what I always do when I'm stressed- I ate. Whatever what was in reach.  Some Pringles, a quesadilla complete with sour cream (low-fat!), a few spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream. But something was different this time.  I was mindful for once of what was going on, and stopped myself dead in my tracks.  With my stomach still in knots and my mind still reeling, I headed outside and took it out on my bushes. (Hey, my yard needed to get ready for spring anyway.  Yesterday was as good a day as any to get it there.)

And by 11:00 last night, I was still a stressed out mess. (Yes, I realize it is neither healthy nor normal to let work affect me this way.  But I did tell you I don't handle my stress well.  I wasn't kidding.) After a night of not sleeping,  I did something mildly crazy at the totally crazy hour of 6 AM.   And I'm not gonna tell you until tomorrow, because it's an entirely different story.  But I'll leave you with these clues:  it did not involve unhealthy nutritional choices, and it is definitely NOT something I anticipated writing about.  But it happened.  And I felt SO GOOD afterwards! 



Have a healthy day,

J

The Little Things



When I bought my house 6 years ago, my grandmother gave me the most amazing housewarming gift.  It was a gigantic framed print that reads, "Enjoy the Little Things". The quote is surrounded by small vegetables and bunnies (it's very grandmotherly).  The best part is that it was completely hand-stitched.  And it took my lovely grandmother over a year to complete because the arthritis in her hands was so painful every time she picked up the needle and thread.  On Sunday, we will be remembering the third anniversary of her passing.  I continue to miss my Gram every day, and am reminded every morning I walk in to my guest room to get dressed (yes, I have my own dressing room. And no, it's not because I'm spoiled.  It's actually because my house lacks an appropriate amount of closets) to "Enjoy the Little Things". 

(I totally tried for like an hour to upload a picture of this thing in all its glory, and it just wouldn't work.  Boo.)

And so, in honor of Gram and her wisdom, here is what I'm enjoying today:

1. For the first time in MONTHS, the scale spit a number out to me that was 5 (count 'em, 5) pounds less than I'm used to seeing.  I'm 99% sure that it was just a fluke, but it was amazing.  I must have either had my ankles hanging off the edge, or I was dehydrated (probably a combination of both).  It gave me pure hope that this number will one day be the norm. 

2.  When I left my house at 8:30 this morning, my little one was still asleep!!!  If you've ever met him, you understand completely why this is something to celebrate.  I love both of my kids more than anything, but to say my little one is high maintenance is an understatement.  He is very fun and cute, but also makes it difficult to do anything calmly.  I'm usually a complete crazy mess in the morning as I rush around to get ready for work, and his sleeping in today was a very welcome surprise.

Hello! I drive my mother completely insane.

3.  When I got to work, I found out that one of my students was suspended.  I know, you're all thinking that I'm completely evil for celebrating this "Little Thing".  But when you spend your days working with teenagers who are effing crazy display challenging behaviors in an alternative learning setting, a day off from one of them once in a while is in fact a little slice of wonderful.

4.  It's finally March. Spring is FINALLY coming.  It's gonna be almost 60 next week!  Yes, in this gloomy city, these are little things that need to be enjoyed. 

5. Zumba tonight! Yeah! It's one little thing that I really freaking love.  I cannot believe that I actually look forward to going to the gym these days. 

What are you enjoying today? (I'd love to hear. Seriously!  Write me a little comment!)

Have a healthy day,

J

PS- I have no idea why my font is all messed up today.  After the frustration of not being able to upload my picture, I'm giving up.  I hate technology.  Sorry.