You learn something every day if you pay attention. ~Ray LeBlond

It has been awhile since I have posted. It seems like with teaching, taking 2 graduate courses, doing P90X, and trying to see my husband, I have been SO busy!

Let's tackle each of those topics quickly. Teaching has been okay. I have one student I have had some problems with lately. I get tired of being disrespected and talked to like I am stupid. He pitched one heck of a fit when I wrote him up yesterday. I had to have someone come down and get him because he refused to leave the room to talk to the principal. What a rough day it was yesterday...and it was only Tuesday! Hopefully today is a new day and it will be a better day.

Graduate school is now in week 2 for one class and the first week for another. The first class ends by March 12, so that is good. The other ends in May, but it is pretty easy. I am exhausted, but it seems to be going alright.

P90X is coming to the end of week 2. This week has been exhausting because my body is still recovering from week 1. I am definitely beginning to see some results already. I love the way my arms are starting to look.

My poor husband has been working his tail off and he has been getting home late every night. I hate it, but what do you do. I just try to be positive and supportive.

It's the 100th day of school...wow! I get to go see my grade partner who has been on bed rest for 4 weeks so far. She is now in week 16 of her pregnancy. I still can't believe she is having multiples!

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend." - by John Leonard

What a weekend it turned out to be! My girlfriends came up and visited. We went to Chinese the night they got here and caught up over crab rangoons and mongolian chicken. Then we just came back to the house and crashed after a busy day of work for all of us. We woke up Saturday, hung around for a bit, went and grabbed coffee at a local coffee house while we chatted it up, ran to the mall for a little lazy shopping, and then we went out to a New Orleans cuisine place that night. We chilled out with margaritas and Super Mario on Wii. Sunday was another chill day at Buffalo Wild Wings while we watched part of the Vikings game.

Monday was pretty productive. I did P90X - chest and back, cleaned my house, and went to my orthopedic doctor for my wrist. I have learned that I am going to get surgery on my wrist. We scheduled it for Feb. 10. They are going to cut the side, clean it out, stitch it up, and cast it for 2 weeks. Awesome, right? So as much as I don't want surgery, it might be the best thing for me at this point.

*************
P90X - Week 2: Chest and Back and Plyometrics

I did chest and back last night and it was much easier than week one, but it still kicked my butt. I feel stronger and better as each day goes on.
Plyometrics was as horrible as I remember. I did it tonight...I know that it works SO well and I sweat, but geez, it kicks my a$$! I have to keep thinking *bikini in Miami*!

I need to do a little more work on the diet, which will be easier once I get paid Friday and can shop for some more healthy food. I won't lie, eating healthy is more expensive. Fresh fruits and veggies cost more. I like how I feel now that my food choices are better.

Okay, I need to grade some papers and get ready for bed. See ya!

"This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays." Douglas Adams

What a long week it has been...seriously, it is only Thursday?! *grumble*

Since I can't change the day that it is, I will look at the pros of this Thursday...
*It is the day before my girls are going to here!
*My roomie will be home from her hometown in 2 days.
*Tomorrow is a half day/inservice day at school.
*It is a rest day from P90X...unless I decide to do the stretch video.

Okay, that makes it seem a little better. That, and the temperature is almost 40 degrees waking up this morning instead of -5. That's a bonus, right? Haha!

I might do a post tonight. Mr. S. is going to comedy and due to utter exhaustion, I am not going because I need some sleep. This semester is kicking my butt.

****
P90X Update - Kenpo X

    Kenpo is amazing! I had such a great time last night doing it. It is basically a bunch of kickboxing moves. It starts slow and gives you a move and then builds onto it. Then it puts it together and does combinations. I really liked the moves and the quickness of it.
    My body is exhausted. It hurts, but it is that good hurt. The one where you feel like you can feel your body just getting stronger, but it has to hurt first to do it. I love that kind of hurt because the results are worth it.
    Tonight I can do Stretch X or rest. It kind of depends on how long it takes me to get the house cleaned up before tomorrow night. We'll see. I think it would feel good to stretch my sore body out.

Have a healthy today!

"You owe it to everyone you love (including yourself) to find pockets of tranquility in your busy world." Author Unknown

It has been such an odd week for me. I just feel like it should be a day ahead this week. I thought all day yesterday that it was Wednesday. I dislike days like that because it seems like they move so slowly.

...My girls are coming up this weekend and I am super excited! I could use a girls' weekend, that's for sure. My poor husband wanted to know if it was okay if he left the house to hang out with friends on Saturday night. He was like, "I feel like a fish out of water when all of you are together." Awww...I felt bad, but it is true that we all have so many inside jokes and stories that it might make him feel outta place. That, and he would be the only guy. Too much estrogen in one room!

*****
P90X - Legs and back

   Ouch. My legs are hurting today, that's for sure. After about 8 million lunges and then like 4 million pull-ups....my legs and back are definitely feeling it. I do like the fact that I am feeling better after the hard workout. It's been fun being able to do the workout with Mr. S. I always liked working out with him, but our schedules had made that difficult. Being back at it has been really good.
   Tonight we are doing Kenpo-X, and looking at the box, I assume it is like karate type stuff. Cardio, in other words. But it should be fun to do something different. That is one thing that I do like about the workout. The workouts are varied and then you only do the same workout for a few weeks before you switch it up. I like variety because I tend to get bored in my workouts if they are the same over and over again.

Have a wonderful day!

The greatest wealth is health. ~Virgil

Hopefully this week will be a little more normal than the last month or so has been. We are back to school now and it looks like we should be there for awhile without snow days. I am glad though because it is really hard to keep readjusting to having to teach each time. My kids came in super quiet yesterday, but they woke up around 11 and were super talkative again. Hopefully today goes well!

The pain in my wrist is back. It has been around since October, but now it is constant and almost unbearable at times. If you remember this summer, I was having some wrist problems and I went to a doctor. He told me I have tendonitis and put a cortisone shot in it. Welp, here we are, back at square one. I have to say, the pain is different this time, and it is horrible. My wrist burns and is super swollen on the tendon. Typing is pretty painful as well as working out. It makes it hard to do some of the workouts, but I just breathe and push through it. What else is there to do? Suck it up and move on, right? I am going to the doctor next Monday so he can fix it though. Thank goodness.

*****
P90X : Yoga

  I find it difficult to work out on the weekends. It seems like we always have something going on and we don't get a chance to work out. Maybe once our weekends aren't busy we can get back to it. Instead we picked back up on Monday and did the yoga. It was 1 hour 30 minutes. That's right - an hour and a half. Holy cow....it took forever. It was really good though. The first 45 minutes feels like it will never end, but you sure do bend and move around. Mr. S. was sweating and really surprised at how much work it was. The second half was my favorite with all the stretches and holds. I was way more familiar with it and I liked it. The only reason I may dread it is because of the time it takes to get through it, but it's good!
   Today is legs and back...that means I won't move right for like 3 days after it!

Have a wonderful and healthy day!

"Snowmen fall from heaven... unassembled." ~Author Unknown

Another day at home...*yawn*. I did go out and scrape off my car, let it warm up for a bit, and reversed it down the driveway to make sure I could get out. I can, thank goodness. Now, does that mean I am going anywhere? No, I just wanted to make sure I could move it. The wind is so cold outside and I am still working on warming up! I have this nice space heater in my living room that blows right on me. I know that it has been running most all day, but it feels SO good to have heat on me ALL the time!

Here I am sitting on the floor, dog laying across my legs, heater heating us both, and getting ready to work on lesson plans for next week. Fun, right?! :)

********
    P90X day 3: Shoulders and arms and Ab Ripper X
It went pretty well last night. I have been using bands, which are okay, but they take some getting used to. It makes it kind of difficult to do some of the exercises since I am still adjusting to the bands. I do like them though because they seem to work. My butt still hurts from plyometrics...I know it worked, that's for sure.
Ab Ripper was pretty intense. 15 minutes of abs...hard ab work. I will tell you that there were some I could not do, but I know that I can work up to it.

Some people said that they were afraid it would be too hard. I have to say that at first it is hard, really hard to do some of the exercises. What I figure is that if I can do them a little bit or with modification, there will be a day when I can do them all the way. I am going to keep working until I can make it happen!


Anyhow...enjoy your snow days/weekend!

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven. ~Author Unknown

This quote makes me think that heaven must REALLY love us today!

Snow day today AND tomorrow! It is so cold out there today. I can hear the wind howling against the house and the snow is blowing all over the place. When it is miserable outside, I am glad to be a teacher! I will take the snow days so that I don't have to be outside in them. I know that we have to make these days up, which stinks, but at least I am inside. I hope the snow days slow down somewhat because I am going to Miami June 2, and I don't want to be in school! Our last day of school is May 14, so I am sure I won't be in school June 2!

I have to say that I am a little bored being at home. I wish that I had a good book to sit down with and read. I guess that I could raid my roomie's room. She has some books that I haven't read, but our taste is not really the same. There might be something in there though....

****************
P90X has been taking place for Mr. S. and I this week. Monday we did our fit test and measurements (ick). I was pleased with where I was on the fit test because you have to hit minimums on each exercise to be able to start the program. I did 20 regular push-ups...on my toes, not knees!! So exciting!

Day 1 was chest and back and let me tell you, we did about 8 million different kinds of push-ups and pull-ups. Argh! But it feels really good!

Day 2 was plyometrics, which is like jump training. 59 minutes of cardio is basically what it is. It was insane and I was exhausted when we were finished. I know that is going to kick my ass into shape though, that's for sure! My body is pretty sore today. Tonight we are doing shoulders and arms.

"January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow." Sara Coleridge

We went back to school yesterday. Christmas break is officially over. Some schools have been out or coming in later due to the severe cold that has come to visit us. We have been running normally, but I think with this huge snow storm that is supposed to hit tonight, we may not be having school for the rest of the week. Time to plan for a snow day! That means I need to figure out what to take home to get finished before next week! At least most of my planning would be done!

I get a new student today, so that should be interesting. I teach third and the office said he looks like a fifth grader...neat. Hopefully he is calm and controlled because I can't deal with another tempermental child in my classroom this year.

My grade partner is on bed rest with her pregnancy. The girl who was with me as my student teacher is taking over for the rest of the year. It is strange not to have Mrs. G. across the hall! I am glad that she is home and safe though. She is having multiples, so the pregnancy will go much better if she takes it easy at home.

Alright, time to be productive and get ready for work. At least we have been given permission to wear jeans this week because it is just too dang cold to wear those thin dress pants to work! Ick!

"The key to change is to let go of fear." Rosanne Cash

I have decided that this year is all about getting healthy. 2010, why not? I mean, a new year, a new decade, a new lifestyle. That is how I feel on this second day of 2010. Sitting here on the couch, evaluating my life, thinking about what I want, it makes sense to think about being healthy. I could sit here all day and say, "I'm going to lose weight this year", but what does that mean? I decided that being healthy will have better results and in doing that, other things fall into place. By being healthy, this is what I mean...

• Exercise everday for at least 30 minutes. When I say this, I want to exercise MORE than 30 minutes a day, but if I am pinched for time I want to know that I do at least 30 a day!

• Floss my teeth at least every other day. I did this during '09 and it went well, but them it ends up being like once a week. I want to do it more often. This might seem silly, but...it's what I want to do! Haha!

• Don't do a diet, make it a lifestyle change. I don't want to be on a diet. I just want to make better food choices, especially when I go out to eat. 

• Cut out soda. I don't think I can 100% give up soda forever, but I would like to limit it to weekends.

• Remember my vitamins! I really want to remember to take them daily. I have done better over the past 2 weeks. I take them right after I brush my teeth each night.

So this is 2010. I want to be sure that I am creating a healthy lifestyle for Mr. S. and I. I want to know that I am healthy in this upcoming year. There are so many things going on in life that I feel like sometimes I let it swallow me up. I don't want to be so absorbed in my job, cleaning the house, taking care of everyone else, that I forget about myself. I need to be selfish ever so often. It's okay to take an hour out for me each day to exercise.

Mr. S. and I are starting P90X tomorrow. Yes, that is some pretty serious stuff, I know. The good thing about this is that Mr. S. is very good about excercising that I know he is a good buddy to have for working out. He is someone that will hold me accountable and will push me to be the best I can be. The great thing is that in doing that, the food plan is easier to put into play because he will do it with me. So tomorrow is day one of a lifestyle change I need to feel like a better me.