2009

I've been thinking about 2009 and whether or not I'm going to make any resolutions. I've realized that I made 10 goals for the year I am 30, so I thought maybe I should still stick with those goals instead of adding new ones. So, I'm going to update to see how I'm doing and what ones I need to focus on more.

1. Run 30 miles each month - I'm doing great on this one. I've pretty much exceeded this goal. I usually run anywhere between 40-50 miles a month. I guess you can say I'm hooked on running and can't stop my feet from moving. I just need to keep up on my running from now until then, but I don't think it will be a problem.

2. Run a 10K faster than my last one - I already did this one. I ran my last 10K at the end of September and ran it about 7 minutes faster than my one in May. YAY!

3. Run a half marathon - Starting next week I'll begin my training for this. I am pretty nervous about this because I am just not sure about 13.1 miles, but I'm going to try to push myself. If I don't enjoy it then I just won't do it again, but I never thought I would enjoy running and now I do. So maybe I'll like this distance. Many people tell me that Half Marathons are fun. I haven't signed up yet, but I'm looking at doing on in Fort Collins in April. However, Colorado can still be really cold in April. Otherwise my options are at the end of May, which is pretty crazy for me with the school year finishing up. We will see though.

4. Lose 30 pounds - I've lost 10, so I'm about 1/3 of the way there. I'm hoping this Half Marathon training will help me lose 20 more. It certainly can't hurt!

5. Climb a 14er - Talked to my friend Karin about it and I think we are going to do it at the beginning of August. Now isn't a good time to climb a 14er in Colorado. Much too snowy. :)

6. Read 30 books - I've read 9 books so far, so I'm a little behind but I tend to catch up during vacations. I'm on my 3rd book this break so I'm working on it, but I may have picked too big of a number of books to read.

7. Watch 30 minutes less of TV each week - I've far exceeded this too. Trying to fit all of the other things in has forced me to watch less TV. That's a good problem!

8. Pay off one of my student loans - This hasn't been happening because I've had a lot of extra expenses on my car. As long as my car doesn't have any more problems I should be back on track with that. I've also started picking up more babysitting jobs and tutoring jobs, so that should help me to reach that goal again. I just have to keep myself focused on it so I can get it payed off. This will probably be the hardest goal to meet, but I'm really going to try and do it still.

9. Save $50/month - I've done this, but unfortunately all my savings has gone to car repairs. So, it doesn't seem like I have done it, but I have. I just had to already spend it. :(

10. Call a friend each month - This is something I have done and I have loved it. I got to talk to my friend Mara who lives in Idaho and I hadn't talked to her in over a year. I also talked to my friend Chelsea who I hadn't talked to in a year either. The other months I talked to other friends too, but those were the 2 I got in touch with that I hadn't talked to in a long time.

So, that is the update. I guess one more thing I'm going to look into doing is recycling more. My mom does that and it really makes a huge difference, so hopefully I'll get that going in the next month. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Thoughts on Christmas

Some of you know that my family is doing something a little different for Christmas this year. Per my brother we drew names and we were required to make our gifts. At first I wasn't very excited about this. I like getting presents for people and thought I wouldn't like getting just one present. I also wasn't sure about making a gift because the end of the year is crazy at school and I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time to get something made. I have to say that I had a change of heart about the whole thing. What I have realized is that by making a gift for just one person I was really able to focus on that specific person. I also realized that making a gift requires a lot of thought, which makes it more special and meaningful. This also caused me to focus on things that are important about Christmas: the true meaning of Christmas, family, spending time with people, etc., instead of getting stressed out about finding the perfect gift and thinking about things that I want to get from people. Also, at church on Sunday they were talking about how much is spent on Christmas every year ($450 billion). That really shocked me! I had no idea the people spent that much each year. They also talked about how much it would cost for the entire world to have clean water ($10 million). So, basically if people cut down on the amount of money they spent on things that people don't need or want we could do a lot more for people who need something that we take for granted. Another thing that really surprised me was that for $40 an organization in Denver can feed a family of 4 for a week! $40?? Seriously?? So, since my family cut down on Christmas I am going to find a way to give to something or someone who really needs something like food, or clean water, or books for school, or a desk to sit in at school. The list is really endless. I'll attach the link below if that touches any of you to do the same thing. I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and focus on things that really matter to you. Oh, and thanks Matt for making us cut down this year. It helped me to put things into a little better perspective.

http://store.sechristian.org/Missions-Marketplace-C1.aspx

Sophie Loves the Christmas Trees

I had decided that I wasn't going to decorate for Christmas because I'm only going to be here for about 2 1/2 more weeks and then I'll come back after New Years. Another reason was because I wasn't sure how my cat would do with new things around the house. She hasn't destroyed anything lately, but I'm not so sure she's totally out of her war kitten phase. I was looking for a white elephant gift for my Christmas party last night and was digging through my decorations and that gave me the motivation to actually decorate. I thought "surely she'll leave the decorations alone." WRONG!! I got home last night and all of the ornaments were off of the 3 trees and strewn about my living room. Then I awoke to a crashing sound at 6:00AM. It was my cat pulling down all 3 of the small trees. She seemed very proud of herself until she realized that I was not pleased about being woken up or by the trees being on the ground. She's been walking over to the trees all day long and batting at the ornaments. At least I can yell at her and she stops. She looks so innocent lying here on the couch now. I guess she is tired out from all her work late last night and early this morning.

Yes, I'm Here

It's been a little while since I've posted. Life has been busy and crazy, so I haven't had much of a chance to update. The last couple of weeks of school was crazy! My kids were bonkers and I'm surprised that I crammed as much learning in to their brains as I did. I hope they actually learned something. We will see. Now I am on vacation and it is really nice. The nice thing about this Thanksgiving is that we got the entire week of Thanksgiving off, so 9 whole days! YAY! I am visiting at my parents' house. The days definitely fill up quickly. My mom and I have been scrap booking like crazy. I did 7 pages in my book and finished my Christmas album, so I've really been doing a lot. I never really have time to scrapbook unless I'm on a long vacation. It is nice to get it a little more caught up. The rest of the week will be filled with playing with that little cute nephew of mine since they are coming today. But, I'm sure it will be a lot more of relaxing and enjoying time with family before I have to go back to the real life of working.

Another Race Down

I did another race today. It was a 5K (3.1 miles). It was a race that benefited all of the Elementary Schools and Middle Schools that feed in to the High School in our area. We had about 150 people from our school. I was so surprised that so many people came out to do the race. A lot of my students and their families were there participating because they knew that I would be there participating too. It was fun to see my students outside of school and to be able to participate in this with them. Most of them did the 1 mile run, but there was one student who ran the 5K with me. He kept his eye on me the whole time and wanted to pass me and beat me. Well, at about mile 2 he did that. He was so excited that he beat his teacher! I know I'm competitive, but it was really cute to see how happy he was that he ran with his teacher and beat her! I didn't really do this race do my personal best. I really did it to support the area and the school. It was just a bonus that I've been running and starting doing races. I thought it was great to have so many people getting together for a common cause and promoting fitness too! Even though I wasn't working on my personal best race, I did have a personal best race. I ran it in 34 minutes. I was really proud of that since the majority of the race was all uphill. I don't have anymore races on the horizon, but I'm sure I'll find one soon!

Oh the honesty

This week I have been sick and not really myself all week, so I really feel like I haven't even been nice to my kids. In fact today I had the thought that I didn't really even like myself right now. I'm going to work on that, but when you are sick and you have to repeat yourself 5,000 times a day it gets to be a little trying. I do have a funny story for all of you first grade fans out there. One of my kids came in on Monday and gave me a bag of candy. Here's the how the conversation went.

Student: Here Ms. McKenzie, I brought this for you.

Ms. McKenzie: Oh, that is nice that you are giving me some of your Halloween candy. Most kids don't like to share their candy.

Student: I just brought you the things I don't like.


Hahaha!! I'm still laughing at that conversation. I love the honesty of the kids at this age. They totally tell you like it is. I can appreciate that!

Heading Back to Work

My week of vacation is over. It went so fast. I'm really not ready to go back. I spent the first half of the week relaxing, working out, watching movies, reading books, etc. It was so great. The second half of the week I went to Kansas to hang out with my family. We had a great time spoiling Josh. He's a tank, but so cute and happy. We didn't do a whole lot of things there, but I did get to take Josh on his first run. He liked it and slept most of the time and I was really tired after pushing him in the stroller for 2 miles. It was a good workout for me though. Here's a picture after our run. It was pretty cold as you can tell from our red faces, but it was fun. Please excuse my glistening face and my fly away hairs. It was a tough and cold run. :)


Matt told me I never post, so I'll try to post more often. I just don't think my life is all that interesting, but I'll try to be better about posting. (Now you can't say I NEVER post Matt.) :)

Life

It has been awhile since I've had a post and a lot has happened since then. Right now is the first day of my fall break and I feel like I've been going 100 mph. Hopefully I will get some time for some rest and relaxation. School has been crazy and busy. This year has been really draining on me for some reason. I don't really have a lot of extra time in the day because they require a lot of my time, so I have had some really late nights this year. They are a really sweet group of kids though and hopefully I will see huge growth in them from the beginning to the end of the year. I do love my job, but I'm just realizing how tired I am at the end of every day. Hopefully this break will be good and I'll feel refreshed and ready to go back at the end of the 10 days off.

My running has been going well. I finished my second training program and was really proud of myself. It pushed me farther than I thought I could be pushed. Now I know that I am capable of doing things that I didn't think I could do. I ran a race with some of my friends a few weeks ago too. We had a great time! Hopefully we will all get to run more races together too. Here's a picture of us. None of us look are best, but just remember that we had just finished running. :) My family was in town that weekend and they came out to support me too!

Right now I'm just running for fun and trying to keep up my endurance and working on my speed. I'm doing a 5K run for my school on November 8th. It will be fun to do with the kids and it benefits the schools in our area.

For this break I'm just going to rest and relax for the first part and then for the second part I'm going to go visit with family and love on that cute little nephew of mine. Maybe I'll even be inspired to blog some more too!

Funny Kid Story

Matt & Jena said they have been waiting to hear about my funny kid stories. Well, these kids are pretty funny, but I usually have a hard time remembering everything they said. However, I do have a good one. In my reading class we were reading a story about Washington D.C. and I was asking the kids if they knew any presidents. Of course they all know George Washington & Abraham Lincoln and then they are about done. One kid manage to say George Bush, so it is good to know that they do know who our president is. Then one kid got really excited so I asked what president he was thinking of In his most excited loud voice he yells out "Obama '08!" It took me a minute and then I said "What?" He repeated (with just as much emotion) "Obama '08!" My response was "he would like to be the president, but he is not a president." Then he says "well, that's who I'm voting for." Hahaha!! That made me laugh so hard. Obviously he has heard from his parents that they are for Obama. I'll try to remember more and keep you all posted.

The Big 3-0

Well, it is official...I turned 30. I wasn't very excited about turning 30. I'm not really sure why I wasn't excited, but I just wasn't. I have so much to be thankful for...my family, my job, my health. I am a much happier and healthier person now than I was through most of my 20's. Plus I don't really have the crazy lifestyle that most people in their 20's have. Someone told me that being 30 suits me much better. :) Today when I got on the treadmill I had to enter my age and I almost typed in 29 and then realized that I wasn't 29 anymore. I was kind of sad but I decided that instead of focusing on the fact I wasn't happy about not being in my 20's anymore, I was going to focus on how great I can make my 30's. So, this is what was running through my brain as I was running today.

Things I want to accomplish before I'm 31:
1. Run 30 miles each month.
2. Run another 10K at a faster pace than my last one.
3. Run a half marathon.
4. Lose 30 pounds
5. Climb a 14er.
6. Read 30 books.
7. Watch 30 minutes less of TV every week.
8. Pay off one of my student loans.
9. Save $50/month.
10. Call one of my friends that I don't live close to each month.

So, those are my goals for this year. They seem pretty do-able. I hope that I can stick to them. I'll keep you all updated. I already have plans for all doing all of these things, so that really helps me to stay on track and keep on track with these goals.

Another Year is Beginning

It is here again, the start of another school year. I have mixed feelings going back. I worked so hard all summer and feel like I already need a break. That is never a good start to the year. So, I'm just hoping that I have a renewed energy in the next 24 hours. Last week was full of meetings and getting everything ready for the first day. The kids start on Monday, but I got to meet them last week. The kids are really cute and funny, so I hope that you are all ready for some more fun first grade stories. The last weeks of my summer were very busy as well. I felt like I was running errands constantly. I did go rafting, went to Waterworld, and got to visit Matt, Jena, & Josh last weekend. So, I did get to do some fun things too. It just went really fast. I've tried to keep up on my running, but I didn't do the best this summer. However, I'm still running and loving it. Hopefully the routine of the school year will be helpful.

She's Paid Off!!

I've been working a lot this summer and it was starting to wear on me. All of those extra hours of babysitting paid off when I made my last car payment on Friday. I was able to pay it off a whole year early. Woohoo!! I'm sure that it will drive much nicer when I'm not making a monthly payment. I still have about a month of summer left. I'll be nannying for 8 more days and then I'll hopefully be able to rest and relax the rest of the time.

Updates

This summer has been a crazy one. It has been much different from last summer where I didn't have very many plans. Since my last post of being the lazy days of summer, I have been going nonstop. I've been babysitting, house sitting, dog sitting, and visiting with family. I spent the week of the 4th at Matt & Jena's house with them and my new nephew Josh. My mom & I went back to Goodland with them to help out. It was fun to spend time with them and to spoil Josh. Here's a picture of the little cutie pie. We kind of like him. :)

My kitten has gone CRAZY. I think she's been sick since I got her and now that she's been to the vet and has been taking medicine for a week she is a different cat. In fact, she is running around like wild right now. My family has nicknamed her "the war kitten." Here's a new picture to show more of her true colors.

My running hasn't been going the best. I haven't been as consistent the past 2 weeks since it has been so crazy. I did go run tonight and it was really hard, but I was glad that I did it. Here's a picture of my wave during the Bolder Boulder. Hopefully this will motivate me to get back into my running again.

I've started my nannying job for the month of July. So far it is going well, but the days are long and it takes a lot to entertain kids all day long. We are going for a hike tomorrow, so hopefully that will wear them out and we can just rest and relax after that. I'm sure that there will be more to come on my crazy days this summer.

Lazy Days of Summer

I really don't have much news or anything to update you all on, but I am loving that it is summer. I'm in my 2 weeks of having no commitments and it has been great. I forgot how much I love waking up late, going for a run, and then doing nothing for the rest of the day. Sorry to all of you that have to work during the entire year, don't mean to rub it in. :) Well, I better get back to watching movies and playing with my new kitty (who I did name Sophie by the way).

My New Kitty

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?? I gave in and went and adopted a kitten today. I've been wanting to get a cat and decided that today was the day. I got her from a shelter here in Denver. She is 2 months old and only weighs 1 pound, so she is really little but very cute! I didn't get to bring her home today because she had to get fixed, but I can pick her up tomorrow afternoon. I went and got all of her stuff so when I get her tomorrow she'll be all set. She's pretty shy, but still playful because she is a kitten. :) Not sure what her name is going to be. I think maybe Sophie, but I'm open to suggestions.

Summer has come...or has it?

I am officially on summer break, but it doesn't feel like life has slowed down a bit. This week has been especially crazy. I ran the BolderBoulder on Monday, babysat on Tuesday, worked on Wednesday, and hosted my book club here today. Starting tomorrow I am watching the office staff kids from work. That lasts for the next 8 days, then I get a break for a couple of weeks. Then in July I start nannying for a family from the school. I'm not complaining, it is great money, but I didn't realize how much of my summer that I have given away. It just makes me a little sad. What I really want to do is sleep in, run, watch movies, read books, sit at the pool, go to bed, then wake up the next morning and do it again. ***SIGH*** I just have to keep reminding myself that after this summer of working I'll be able to pay off my car and by some new bedroom furniture. So, that is what I have to keep focused on. Plus, I wouldn't sign up for these babysitting gigs unless the kids and families were great. So, that is helpful too. Hopefully you are all having a great start to your summer. I'll keep you posted on my many crazy days to come.

Finished Another Race

This past weekend I ran a 10K race in Boulder. It is called the BolderBoulder, in case any of you out there have heard of it. There were about 52,000 people running this race, so it was super crazy to see so many people coming out for this race. There were people dressed in costumes from Jamba Juice bananas to gorillas to people running with tutus on. It was quite entertaining watching all the different people that were there. It definitely kept me distracted while I was running. The weather was also only 57 degrees and drizzling. I could have done without the rain, but I was just glad it wasn't 100 degrees while I was running.

I ran with my friend that I ran with in my last race and her son. I kept with them for the first 2 miles and then I was ready to go faster, so I left them. I had to do 4 miles by myself, but it was so great to just concentrate and think about what I was doing. That is one of the things I love about running. When I started running I just told myself that I would run the 3 miles I'm used to running and then I could walk the last part. I felt really good after 3 miles, so I just kept going. I ended up running the whole thing except for power walking up the steep hills. I felt so great! I finished in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I feel good about the time. It is a slower pace than I am used to, but I was just proud that I finished and ran more than I've ever run before. I'm going to actually train for a 10K, so I can have a better time next time. Hopefully I'll do it this summer. Who knew that I'd get so addicted to running? I love it!

My First 5K Race

I ran my first 5K race today. I was a little nervous just because I've been an inside runner so this was one of my first runs outside. I ran with a friend from work who runs a lot and has given me a lot of advice and encouragement along this journey. At the beginning it is a little intimidating because you see all of these "professional runners" running first to warm up and my thought is that if I run now I definitely won't run during the race. When you get in line at the start line everyone is all packed in together. There were these ladies behind us that were so encouraging to me. They said how great it was that I was doing my 1st race. It was a great sense of camaraderie between all of these women who are just trying to lead healthy lives. Finally it was time to start and there really wasn't any more time to be nervous because I was running and I just started thinking "This is just a normal workout. I do this 3 times a week already." That really helped me mentally. I felt like my pace was slower than usual, but I decided that I wanted to go slow and steady and finish at a time that I was proud of. Well...drum roll please....I finished in 34.55 minutes. That is about an 11 minute mile. I am so excited about that time! My goal was to finish in under 40 minutes, so I definitely met that goal. Thank you to all of you who have listened and encouraged me as I'm learning to be a runner. Your support means the world to me.

Met My First Running Goal

I met my first goal for running today. I've been doing the Couch 2 5K program and today was my last run in the program. I can hardly believe that I have become a runner. Since I've been loving running I decided to find a new running goal. The next thing I am going to do is to train for a 10K. I'm going to be doing the One Hour Runner, which is the next step up. It is a 10 week program, so I'll have to keep you updated as I do this. I'm really excited about it.

I have my first race next Sunday. It is the Iron Girl 5K race at City Park. I'm a little nervous about it, but also excited as well. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Same things going on

I realized I haven't posted in awhile, but I really don't have much news. I'm still running and loving it. I'm getting better with every run, which is really fun. I am almost at the end of my training program. I only have 4 more runs left on it. I had my best run to date today. A total of 38 minutes and 2.9 miles. Woo hoo! I thought I had hit a wall at 2 1/2 miles, but I guess I can push past it. I was very encouraged at the end of it today. I'm looking for a new training program after this one because I'm not ready to stop and feel like I can keep going. So, when I find what I am going to do I'll let you know.

School is going well too. I only have 28 days left this year. Crazy!! I don't know where the time went. I have a ton left to teach and not very much time, so I'm really cramming it in. My kids leave exhausted everyday because we have no down time. Oh well, they'll survive and I will too.

I joined a book club for the first time. You all know how much I love to read, so I'm surprised I've never been in one before, but a parent from my school started one and asked me to join. We're reading "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. It is about the Mormon population. Very disturbing in many ways, but yet I keep reading. It has been very educational.

I guess that is all for now. I'll try to be better about updating you all.

A Spring in my Step

I have been having the best Spring Break and thought I would share it with all of you! First of all the weather has been beautiful. It is a reminder that summer is coming and I love summer! I've been running everyday which has been really great for me. I never thought I'd like it, but here I am still plugging along. Today I ran 2.5 miles without stopping, which is a personal best for me. I am very excited about that. I have 3 weeks left of my training and then I'm going to run in a 5K race. Not sure which one yet. Denver has one almost every weekend. I'll let you know when I make a decision. What I'm learning through this whole process is that I need to challenge myself and make goals for myself, not others around me. So, that is exactly what I am doing. This can be a hard lesson for someone who is as competitive as me, but I'm working on it. Oh and I got some new shoes, which can't hurt my running either. :) Only 3 days left of my break, which is sad to me, but I really do feel refreshed and energized. I got to see my family, read several books, and just relax. I think I can make it the last 9 weeks of school (you might have to remind me of this post when I have 2 weeks left of school). Happy Spring!

I've Been Tagged...

Since I've been tagged for several things I thought I should just do them all today while I have time.

10 years ago:

I was in my sophomore year of college at MCC & K-State. I was an RA, working in the admissions office, and probably taking 18 credit hours that semester. I was pretty busy, but loving every minute of it.

Things on my To-Do List today:

1. Read my book "Nineteen Minutes."

2. Watch a movie.

3. Work on my scrapbook.

(Isn't Spring Break great!)

Three Bad Habits:

1. Not cleaning my house until it is absolutely disgusting.

2. Screening phone calls when my shows are on.

3. Doodling on kids papers when I'm on the phone.

If suddenly I became a billionaire:

I would pay off all of mine & my family's debts, buy a house, travel wherever I wanted to, and give some away. I can't even fathom that, so it is hard to say. I would probably still work though since I love my job. OH!! I would hire someone to do all of my grading, planning, going to meetings, and returning emails. Then I could do the fun part of education...Teaching!

Five jobs I have had:

1. Worked at a home decorating shop. (Don't remember the name)

2. Registrar's Office in college

3. Reservations Manager at Noah's Ark

4. Barnes & Noble

5. 1st grade teacher

Five things you might not know about me:

1. I usually fall asleep on the couch at 8:00pm.

2. I love watching "The Biggest Loser."

3. I hate dressing up in costume for things.

4. I'm usually 5-15 minutes late to places. (I'm working on it.)

5. I voted about 500 times last year for American Idol.

I tag Matt & Jena, Sarah, & Katrina. You're it!!

Book Tag

Well, now that I'm a little more rested and I can actually move to grab my book to play this game, I'll start playing now.

The rules: Look up from the computer, look around the room where you are sitting and pick up the closest book. And closest really means closest. No cheating by running upstairs to unearth your pink highlighted college copy of "The Critique of Pure Reason." Open the book, turn to page 123, count down to the 5th sentence on that page and then post the next three sentences.

This is the closest book: "19 Minutes" by Jodi Picoult.

"No. I don't even remember getting up and going to school in the first place. It's like a blank spot in my head that I just skip over." Patrick knew, from talking to the shrinks who'd been assigned to work with the victims, that this was perfectly normal.

It's a fiction book about a school shooting. It is really good, I can hardly put it down. I definitely recommend it to anyone out there.

OK, I tag Kate because she always tags me for things. :)

Break is Here!

I survived this week! I can hardly belive it. I am exhausted. I am running on a minimal amount of sleep and have talked to almost every 1st grade parent that I have in my classes. I didn't make it home before 9:00 until tonight this week. The good news is that my conferences are over, my grades are finished, and I am sitting on my couch with nothing hanging over my head at this point. Sure, I have grading to do and catch up on, but it doesn't have to be done now. I'm really glad about that. I can't wait to relax, read, watch movies, and do a bunch of nothing!

Crazy Town

Well, life has suddenly been very busy. It's not like it isn't usually busy, but it seems to be extra busy right now. I only have 4 more school days and then I'm on Spring Break. However, it seems so far off with so many things to do inbetween now and then. This week was crazy enough. We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday on Monday and invited parents to come in and read with the kids. It was so fun, but a lot of planning and getting the kids ready to perform for their parents. Then I got some stomach bug. Not bad enough to stay home, but bad enough to not eat very much for 2 days. That takes a toll on you when you are already exhausted. But I'm much better now. :) Then Thursday night we invited the parents to come to school to have a picnic and then look at stars and planets through telescopes since we are studying about space. However, it was too cloudy so the telescopes didn't happen. But we still had the event and the kids LOVED it. Those things are so draining because everyone wants to talk to you and have a mini conference. Speaking of conferences, they are this week. I have a lot of work to do to get ready for those, but it is always nice when they are over. My grades are due this week and I have a field trip to prepare for. Whew!! What a whirlwind. But at the end I get to go and relax at my parents house during my break. In running news, I'm still plodding along. I'm gearing up for my longest consecutive run this week. Hope it goes well. Even in the craziness I'm still running. It is a good stress relief and gives me a chance to think of something else besides school.

Running Update

I thought I would give you all an update on how my running is going. I've run off and on since college, but never really stuck to it. I think I always wanted to be able to just run and be good at it instantly. From talking to people and just getting into running slowly, I'm learning that is not the case. I found a great website: www.coolrunning.com that has plans for training and working up to a 5K and then to a 10K. It has been really helpful for me to have a plan and stick to it and then I should be ready for the BolderBoulder at the end of May. Somedays it is pretty difficult to get out there and run, but I'm actually getting to the point where I don't mind doing it as much anymore. So, if any of you are interested in starting to run to get in shape, I would recommend this website. The first training program is called From Couch to 5K. It starts you out really slowly and doesn't overwhelm you, especially if you aren't a runner.

On a different note, we have had some crazy weather in the Denver area this weekend. Yesterday was beautiful and almost 80 degrees and today is 36 degrees and it is dumping snow. Go figure. Maybe it will snow enough to have a snow day tomorrow. Probably not, but I can always hope. :)

February

I've been tagged by Kate to list 10 things I like about February. Hmm.... This could take some thought.

1. President's Day (No school)
2. 68 degree weather
3. Tax returns
4. Hot water
5. Getting Valentines from my students.
6. The day after Valentine's day when the excitement is all over.
7. Curling up and reading a book on a cold day.
8. Getting started running & learning to love it.
9. American Idol
10. The end of the writer's strike.

OK, that was easier than I thought. I tag Sarah & Katrina. But February ends soon, so hurry up!

A New Look

I finally became inspired to update the look of my blog. I've had a long weekend this weekend and I still have another day off tomorrow so I am actually feeling caught up on most things. My list of things to do has been caught up and I feel great about that. What a foreign feeling it is since I have felt so overwhelmed lately. I'm just glad to feel like I can relax and enjoy myself for a little while. I hope you like the new look. Now I need a catchy title to put on the header of my blog. Linda is fine and well but I think I need something a little more interesting. Any suggestions?

Runner in Training

I made the decision a couple of weeks ago that I am going to run the Bolder Boulder this year. It is a race in Boulder that is held on Memorial Day. A friend from work really wants me to do it with her, so I told her that I would try. So, now I'm on a training regimen that she has put me on. It is a lot of running and it is really pushing me, but it has been good. I am definitely not a natural runner. I have to add 1 more minute of hills on the treadmill every time I run, which is NO FUN! Pretty soon I'll be running on the treadmill and outside, but I'm waiting for it to get a little bit warmer before I start that. I'm sure my "trainer" is going to make me get out there soon, though. But, I am excited about it and it is giving me more energy. I'll have to run 6 miles for the race. This is something I've never done in my life, so it is quite a challenge but I hope that it is something I can do and feel accomplished in. I'll keep you all posted.

When it Rains it Pours

Well, I survived the week. I had my moments when I thought it wouldn't happen. My water heater pilot light went out, which seems like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it turned out to be a big ordeal. My dad tried to help me over the phone, but we couldn't get it figured out, so I had to wait for someone to come fix it. It took him about 24 hours, so that was kind of a pain. On Monday morning I woke up and it was freezing in my apartment. Plus it was snowing here, so that was an extra added bonus. As it turned out, the guy who came to fix the water heater turned off the fan to my heater, so it wasn't kicking on. I found that to be very helpful of him. :) You think I'm finished?? I'm just getting started. I had to go get new rear brakes on my car and the rotors rotated (whatever that means). What a pain. But it is fixed and hopefully I won't have any more car issues for awhile. Work was crazy. I gained 6 more kids in my reading class, because the teacher who was teaching them decided she didn't want to do it anymore. She didn't like the grading or dealing with the parents. She said that it wasn't what she signed up to do and she is more of a support person and doesn't want to be their reading teacher. ARG!!!! So, my class has now grown to 26. Yes, that's correct 26 little munchkins in my room that sometimes feels like a small box. We'll become very close, I'm sure. But I'm happy to take them and get them what they need and to teach them because that is my job. I'm just thankful that the week is over and I can hopefully relax a little the next few days. Sorry for the negativity, but just had to get it out. I'm also excited that I only have 4 days next week and 4 days the week after. Yea for short weeks!

From the Mouths of First Graders

OK, I've left you in suspense long enough. I thought you might enjoy some of the hilarious things my kids have said in the past few weeks. There have been some that have left me laughing out loud at them. Sometimes I can't help myself. The even funnier thing is that they aren't meaning to be funny. They just say it like they see it.

We are learning about habitats in Science and I asked the kids if they knew what a habitat was and one girl said "It is like when I tip in my chair. I have the habitat of tipping back in my chair." It took me a minute to figure out that she meant habit, not habitat.

In reading we were looking at the pictures in our story and making predictions on what was happening in the story. There was a picture of 2 kids sitting on barstools eating icecream. When I asked the kids what they thought was happening in the picture one boy said "It looks like they went to a bar and they are having a drink." I about died of laughter over that one. In fact, I'm laughing now typing it.

Yesterday was the 100th day of school so we spent the day doing things that related to the number 100. We did this writing activity about what you will look like and what you will be doing when you are 100 years old. One girl looked at me and said "Miss McKenzie, what are you going to be doing when you are 100. Obviously you'll get there before we do." Hahahaha!!

I know that there are many more, but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

Yes, I'm still alive!

I know, I know, it has been a month and a half since I've posted anything. Sorry. You can blame it on being on vacation, getting back into the swing of work, or whatever you want to. I have had many things going through my mind lately, here are just a few things that I have realized or have been reminded of this past month and a half.

1. I really love my family (this was a reminder, not a realization). I had a great time in Lincoln visiting all of the McKenzies. It went so fast, but as always we had a great time. I can't wait to see them all again.

2. I also got to see my friend Zaneta (we've been friends for 18 years) on the Lincoln trip and was reminded of how much I miss seeing her on a daily basis. Although, when we get together we just pick up where we left off. I'm so blessed to still have her in my life.

3. Funerals are sad. I know that is obvious, but I thankfully haven't been to a funeral in a long time. It was also for a child, so it was heartbreaking to see the grieving parents and siblings. It was hard to see people that I care so much about hurting so much. If you think about it pray for the O'Briens and their kiddos.

4. I love having my table finally. My dad did a great job (pics to come). I sit at it more than I sit on my couch! Thanks dad!

5. I still love my job even though I come home and about pass out from exhaustion every day. I have some great stories from my students. I'll save those for the next post. There are too many to type here. But don't worry, you'll get to hear them.

6. I hate the writer's strike. All of my shows are reruns. The Golden Globes weren't on and now maybe the Grammys and Oscars too. I'm not a happy TV watcher these days. :)

7. I get to be an aunt in a few months thanks to Matt & Jena. I can't wait to spoil that little guy! I almost bought him his first outfit from Aunt Linda, but I figured maybe I should wait a few more months. He can't actually wear it yet. :)

Well, those are the highlights. Hope you are all doing well. I'll try to be better about blogging. It wasn't a New Years resolution or anything, so no promises. :)