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. :)