One step forward, two steps back- 16 and a half weeks to go!

So the plans I had to get on track with training for the half marathon in September have gone out the door for now. About a month ago, I hurt my hip at the gym. I thought it was my right hip flexor muscle, which is really weak to begin with. I didn't ice it, but I just dealt with the pain. I know, stupid! Gradually the pain became worse and worse until I ended up in urgent care last week. Diagnosis: a strained ligament in my hip! NO! This is not supposed to happen! I have been procrastinating to the nth degree and right now I'm supposed to be kicking butt to make up for it. Now, instead of my new running shoes being my new best friend for the next week or so, I'm making friends with a bag of ice and Advil. Juuuuust great! Luckily I have still feel like I can complete this half marathon, even if I have to crawl to the finish line. 

Anyway, before all of this mess last week I was attempting to stick to my goals for the last two months of April. I walk/ran 6 miles the first week and 4 miles the second week. I also started reading my running books again and I learned that I need to stretch a hellofalot more than I actually do. I learned that I need to eat healthier, but that was not a surprise to me. I'm realizing that my goal for this half marathon (getting a cool looking medal) should just be one of many goals in becoming a runner. Therefore, this next week I'm going to reassess my long term goals in becoming a runner. Until then, you can find me in bed snuggled up to a bag of a ice and a good book.

A Confession of Laziness

I really dislike April! I think that out the three lovely Spring months that we get every year, April is the red headed step-child. For a few days it is warm and beautiful and then gradually each day it gets colder and colder and then it gradually warms up again. Then we get these awful overcast mornings that make you freeze in your new Spring outfit that you MUST wear because you know that it will be warm later in the day. I REALLY DISLIKE APRIL! Therefore, I feel like April is the reason that I have been so lazy. I actually was lazy in March too, but I think it's because I sensed April was coming. It's amazing how lazy I have been! I had one whole week off for Spring break and I didn't do anything productive! I felt guilty about being lazy, but that didn't stop me from actually doing something about it. I also have gotten so lazy with going to the gym and training for the half-marathon in September. This is a huge problem because even though I have 19 and a half weeks until this crazy run, I am not even close to being ready. So, I have decided that enough is enough! It's time to start movin' and groovin'! I am going to start posting monthly goals to prepare for this baby and I'm expecting you (my four wonderful followers) to hold me accountable! I will start the monthly goals at the beginning of May (because I'm OCD and you can't start monthly goals in the middle of a month), but until then here are my goals for the next two weeks of April.

Goals for April
1. Walk/ Run 6 miles per week
2. Buy new running shoes- this is looooong overdue
3. Read Running for Women book by Kara Goucher
4. Strength training 3 times a week

Monday Afternoon Ramblings

1.  I'm so happy that January is over and February is finally here. I'm ready for some love this month. When I taught sixth grade the last two years, I really missed celebrating Valentine's Day with my first graders. We celebrated Valentine's Day a few of days ago and, I have to say, having a Valentine's Day party for 31 first graders takes a very crazy special person. At first I flipped out while they were passing out their cards because it was chaos to me. I have very little room in my classroom due to the amount of little bodies, desks and chairs so I rarely let them get out of their seats. After I flipped out, I sat back and just watched their excited faces. They had so much fun and went home with a bag of cards and candy. It was perfect! I was exhausted!

2.  There's a rumor that Bethenny Frankel is writing a book about her divorce. I used to love watching her reality show, but then she became a crazy, selfish, husband-hating person and I lost interest. She should write a book titled 50 Ways to Ruin Your Marriage because that would be more truthfully and interesting.

3.  A few weeks ago I signed up for the Disney Half Marathon that is in September. So far, I haven't started training yet. I am such a procrastinator, but now I'm having dreams about doing the run, so I guess I better start preparing. I like the idea of being a runner, but I definitely haven't made that leap yet to actually being a runner.

4. I often wonder how many people are actually happy with their careers. I definitely have ups and downs with being a teacher and I often find myself day dreaming about finding a new career. In the past I have day dreamed of owning my own cupcake business, working at Starbucks, and becoming a chef.  Lately I have been interested in being a detective or a private investigator. I would be awesome at this considering that I love to spy on people, I am very inquisitive and I love trying to solve mysteries. 

If you could change careers, what new career would you choose?

2013

Happy New Year and all that other wonderful BS your supposed to say this time of year. This post is almost a week late, so it's seems silly saying it now. Anyway, 2012 was a pretty darn good year for us. Kyle's business increased in clients this year and he is getting ready to start some new ideas to increase business even more in 2013. I was pretty good at sticking to my resolutions from last year.  I switched from teaching middle school back to elementary which has really decreased my stress level. Teaching elementary is where my heart is and I hope I get to teach first grade for a few more years. I really focused on getting fit this year. I have been working out with a trainer for the last 9 months and this pushes me to get out of my comfort zone and into the gym. I have seen results, but I want to continue to push myself even further this year. Even though we are a week into the new year, I have yet to make some definite resolutions. So instead, here are some things that I am looking forward to in 2013. 

iPhone 5- Blackberry's suck and I'm counting down the days until I can upgrade to an iPhone. 40 days until I can enjoy the perks of having an iPhone (hello, Instagram).

Disneyland Half Marathon in September- Yep, I'm signing up for a half marathon. I would never in a million years think that I would do this, but I am. After watching my brother run the Disney half last September I became really motivated to start running. Plus, I was super jealous of the medal he got at the end of the race. Talk about motivation! All joking aside though, running has helped me unwind and focus on myself. It has helped me stay focused on my fitness goals. I have a lot of training to do to prepare for this race, but I have time. 

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg- We are going to Pennsylvania in July to visit the site of the battle of Gettysburg. It just so happens that this year is the 150th anniversary of the battle, which means lots to see and do, lots of tourists and high prices for everything. I'm not super excited about the whole battle site stuff, but Kyle is. He loves learning about the Civil War. I am excited though about going to Pennsylvania and I plan on including some sightseeing that I would enjoy into the trip. Hmmmmm, I wonder if there are cupcake places in Pennsylvania? 

What are you looking forward to this year? Hope your year is a good one! If not, well then there is always next year!

I love teaching first grade....I think...

Now that I am back to teaching the in land of the little people (first graders), I wonder about whether I like teaching first grade more than sixth grade. First graders are so much fun and they just want to please you constantly. I love ending the day with a kid saying "you are the bestest teacher ever" or "I am having so much fun". On the flip side, I have had a student that has been crying consistently every day for the past week. Not the cute little sobs, but the out loud crying and hyperventilating for over an hour sobs! I thought he would eventually stop out of exhaustion, but he is a tough cookie! He didn't cry yesterday, but now his favorite word is no. Oh the joy of a defiant student! Another positive of teaching first grade is having such naive students. We had a fire drill this past week and some of them were actually concerned that there was a fire on campus. It was kinda cute, but now that I think about it, maybe they were just hoping that they could go home early. However, first graders are not able to understand sarcasm and idioms. This doesn't work well for a teacher like me. For example, the first week of school I was trying to get them to be quiet in line while we were walking back to class. It was a billion degrees outside and I was losing patience fast. I stopped the line and told them that we are waiting until it's quiet to continue walking. This of course didn't work so I added "we are going to sweat to death out here if you don't stop talking". I actually heard one kid say "sweat to death?" in a very scared voice. I guess he had never sweated to death before.

So after teaching first grade for three weeks I have decided that I love teaching first grade. Even though they drive me batty and take every ounce of energy and patience that I have, I love first graders. Teaching first grade makes my heart happy! I always think of my first graders as my little butterflies. They are like caterpillars when they start first grade because they are just chewing through the new information (leaves) at a fast pace. Towards the middle of the year they like to relax and process all of the new information (growing in their chrysalis'). Then at the end of the year, most of them have grown so much both physically and mentally (butterflies) and then they fly away to the next grade. I have an awesome and amazing class this year and I can't wait to see them as butterflies.

Summer Lovin'

I love summer time! Last summer was devoted all to raising Banner and I cannot believe how much he has changed in a year. Don't get me wrong, he is still a monster dog! But those monster dog moments have  become less and less. He still loves to chew on things, drink from the bathtub faucet, sleep on the bed and couches and go crazy when we have company. But how can you get mad at a cute face like that? He makes up for it by being such a lover. He loves to cuddle, sleep right next to you, and wake you up every morning. I guess we will keep him!

Last week Kyle and I went to Branson, Missouri and we had so many fun adventures! Most people thought we were crazy to go to Missouri because really, who goes to Missouri? I was really starting to wonder if we were going to have an awful time. Thankfully we had a lot of fun and it was nice to get away for a whole week! This trip created some first for Kyle and I which I think is difficult to achieve when you have been dating/married for 11 years. Here's a little list:

Our Firsts in Missouri
1. Flying together on a long plane ride- I learned that Kyle likes the window seat
2. Renting a car- we had a cool Dodge Charger
3. Eating fried alligator tail (for me)- tastes like chicken
4.Taking Kyle to the E.R.- ticks are NOT cool

The only downside to the trip was that it was packed full of activities that I didn't get much relaxation time. I guess it's a good thing I'm still on summer break so I can recuperate :) Anyway, after going through the 700 pictures that Kyle took here is a recap of our Missouri trip in pictures.

 Our comfy condo with a kitchenette

We visited the Springfield National Cemetery to see some cool old tombstones and also the civil war graves. We had planned to visit a couple of Civil War battlefields so I thought it would be interesting to see the cemetery as well.

 It was really sad to see all of the little white tombstones that are of unknown Civil War soldiers.

The Wilson's Creek Battlefield in Springfield, MO.

The forest area to the right of this picture is where were first met Kyle's friend Wilson the Tick that I lovingly named after the beautiful battlefield. 

Wilson's Creek

 This is the house of the Ray family. Their property was used as battle grounds and they observed the soldiers fighting in their corn fields. 

 Jefferson Avenue Footbridge- Supposedly people walk on this bridge and wait for trains to pass underneath. It was pretty quiet when we went and since I'm not crazy about heights, I wasn't too excited about watching a moving train pass underneath while I was standing on it.

 Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, MO- This cavern was one of 3 that was visited and I thought it was the safest because we sat in a tram the entire time. The other two caverns had us climbing lots of wet, slippery steps and crouching down in tight areas as to not slice our heads open on rocks.

 Veterans Memorial Museum in Branson. If you ever go to Branson (ya right, I know) you HAVE to visit this museum! It had lots of interesting artifacts on almost every war.

 Toy Museum in Branson

 Scenic View of Branson

 Trout Fish Hatchery in Branson

  Here fishy, fishy, fishy....

 This park is extremely overpriced beautiful and not worth seeing! It is owned by the same person that owns the Bass Pro Shops. We waited three hours for a tram to take us through the park because the tram just left as we arrived. I guess we could have walked, but it was a hot 6 miles and we would have had to pay to walk too.

Indian burial caves that contained three bodies! Spooky!

 The waterfalls were beautiful, but I was a little upset to find out that they were man-made.

Here comes the scary/adventurous part of the tram ride.

 As we pull into this open area of animals, we see a group of elk. OK...no problem...until...











...they started charging the tram!!! I thought the guy driving the truck was going to back us up and get us the heck out of there. But instead he got out of the truck and grabbed a big bag of food and spread it all out next to the tram for the lovely charging elk to eat.

Luckily they were happy after that! Whew!

This guy horned his way in and the elk were not happy about that.

Same thing happened with the buffalo, but they move a LOT slower.

Baby buffalo!

 Then we start to see this horrible rain clouds. I told Kyle that it's going to start to rain and he said "Yeah right, it's not going to rain!" About 5 minutes later....

 we were covered in water! It was actually hailing and pouring rain with thunder and lighting that was striking the ground. Luckily the guy driving the truck busted out some ponchos and we hid underneath them. Of course, me being the California girl that I am, I am yelling "Look! Look! It's hailing!" I'm sure the other tram riders got a kick out of me!

 Last battlefield on the trip- Pea Ridge Battlefield in Arkansas.

On our last night in Branson we went on the Branson Scenic Railway. This was an hour a half train ride from Branson to Galena, MO. It was nice and relaxing, but not very scenic since we had done so much driving and saw pretty much the same thing that we did in the car. 

Now that I have experienced Missouri I am completely in love and I did NOT want to come home. Unfortunately, there are many creepy crawlies in Missouri that will keep me from moving there. Plus they get this white stuff in the winter time that makes it very cold. I guess (for now) this California girl will stay in California.

Update

So, it has been a little over a month since I last posted about my resolutions. So far, I haven't done much. I'm still a stress ball and I'm still working way more than I would like to. I have gotten a lot better at leaving work at work but sometimes the stress of the day follows me home. So today I signed up for a personal trainer and I am OH SO EXCITED about having a trainer! I can't wait to get in shape. I know that when I exercise I feel better about my body and the stress seems to disappear. I have had a personal trainer before and I didn't take it serious, so I didn't see results that I wanted. Now that I am freaking out about how much they cost, I know I will work my butt off to get what I want out of it. Who knew that personal trainers were so expensive?!

Next week I start obedience class with Banner which is way overdue! I am continually talking to the dog as if he understands me and I also try to reason with him like he is one of my students. This doesn't work (obviously) and just makes me frustrated while he is still going crazy. I think this obedience class is going to be good for the both of us. If this doesn't work I'm going to need the Dog Whisperer ASAP!