It Feels Like Saturday

Howdy:

It's time for an update. (I'm procrastinating from cleaning.) I hope to straighten up my "desk". If you don't remember, I use the dining room table as my desk and it's overflowing with paper and items from the semester. I also need to organize my shelves on the kitchen counter. They too are overflowing with papers. I'm hoping that most things can be placed in my filing cabinet or filed in the garbage.

I also hope to work on my bedroom. The bedroom door is currently shut as Gavin has a friend over and he doesn't need to see the rubble.

I got a lot accomplished today. I ran errands this morning (not all of them sadly), got a much needed hair cut, and submitted the rest of my final grades. I also slept in until 10am. I wanted to be up at 9am. Whoopsie. I'll have more to do tomorrow and Wednesday. I'm pleased with my hair cut. My hair was getting really long and the ends we weird. The lady took around 2 inches off and re-did my layers. It looks much more professional. I'm having the least amount of highlights done on Thursday to fix my roots. I'm looking rather ghetto in that area.

I have a few more gifts to wrap and they are all for Gavin. He's too observant so I'm not sure when I'll do them this week. I'll probably have to hide in my room to finish that task. He was tough to shop for...I didn't want to spend oodles of money and sadly the stuff he's interested in costs oodles of money. Everything else is wrapped and ready to take to NE Iowa.

I've been trying to drink more water. Plain water sucks. I'm not too excited about adding Crystal Light packets either. While at the grocery store today, I remembered my idea of adding citrus to water. I love water with lemon at restaurants. I bought a lemon and a lime. I sliced them both thinly and added them to my 2 quart pitcher with water and ice. It's been delicious so far and it's a nice flavoring. I was hesitant to add the full pieces of fruit but had no use for half a lemon and half a lime so what the heck? I've drank 4 glasses of the water in an hour.

Doesn't it look tasty?



I haven't had a huge craving for sweets and Christmas goodies. People at work have been bringing various cookies, breads, etc. and I've left them alone. I didn't have the urge to make my cornflake Christmas wreaths or chocolate-covered peanut butter balls either. I'm excited to make popcorn balls though...not excited to eat them though. We had a potluck on Saturday after the Christmas pageant rehearsal. I made the artery-clogging cheesy hamburger dip. It was a big hit and was gone before the end of the potluck. If you ever want to make this unhealthy dip, see below:

Ingredients:

--one big block of Velveeta (not the small block) I used the 2% milk variety.
--one typical jar of salsa...I went with mild since spicy food kills me.
--one can of cream of mushroom soup (this one surprises people)
--one pound of browned hamburger (some people add a lot more but I'm not big on the meat) Drain the hamburger too.

Cut up the Velveeta into smaller blocks of cheese and combine with the other ingredients in a crock pot. I served it with multigrain tortilla chips to make it healthier....ha.

That's all for now!

Break Time

Howdy:

I should be diligently grading these unit plans in front of me. I have the attention span of a 2 year old today. Luckily I don't have a ton of work to complete today before I mosey down to Ankeny so I should be able to complete this grading task before 3pm.

Life has included many late nights lately. I've been bringing work home with me and working into the late hours. It's been helpful because it's kept me half buried in work rather than completely buried. It's also been damaging because my sleep schedule is messed up and I'm not getting enough sleep most nights. I had the opportunity to be sleeping by 10pm last night but I couldn't settle down until 2am. Waking up at the desired time was impossible. I can't pull that tomorrow as I have to be here around 7am to prepare for the 7:30am final I need to deliver.

I was able to do something very worthwhile (and non-work related) last night. I accompanied Jon to a Wal-Mart in Des Moines for a shop with a cop type of event. Kiddos came in with folks from Big Brother/Sister and did shopping for their families with funds from the police department and other sources. I was a gift wrapper. At first it was embarrassing to gift wrap with the other ladies because they were fabulous with their skillz. When things got busy, I stopped caring and simply tried to get wrapping paper on all the items.

My card writing task is about done. I'm finishing the last of the cards for people at church (yippee no need for stamps!) and handed out some at work today. I still need to do some gift wrapping at home and make sure everything is organized for the trip to Waukon. I'm not sure if we are taking my car or Jon's jeep but I'll have to strategically pack so everything fits and nothing is forgotten.

OK...back to grading. I wish I was more motivated!!

Cinnamon!!

Howdy!

I'm burning a "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" candle so the apartment smells dandy. I love the smell of cinnamon. I can't smell the pumpkin at all (and I'm Ok with that).

I've been making steady progress with my Christmas cards. It's a nice way to take a break from grading and other prep work. Last year I put them off too long and I scrambled to get them finished which led to me not enjoying the process. I've slightly altered my list but didn't take many people off it. I had a lot of extra cards from previous years so I haven't had to buy many cards.

I forgot to mention that I watched the movie "Black Swan" last week. I remember how strongly they promoted the movie and now I understand why. It was a combination of horror and soft-core porn. The main character is a ballet dance (Natalie Portman) and she loses her mind while preparing for the production of Swan Lake. I kind of regret putting it in the mail...I want to watch it again so it's going back on the Netflix list.

Life has been stressful as the semester comes to a close. I still need to revise two final exams and write one from scratch. Unit plans are slowly being submitted too and I need to start tackling them too. I'm hoping to start grading the handful I have tomorrow night so I don't have all 27 staring at me this weekend. I have administrative tasks to accomplish too so all the grad students end their semester properly and make preparations for the classes they teach in the spring. I feel like I have to hold their hands more than I should....bleh.

The audit of the summer program sucks. S-U-C-K-S. The lady lied...I was told their requests would not be time-intensive. Bullmalarcy. I had a huge email with many questions waiting for me on Monday morning. They wanted quick answers and sadly a lot of the questions pertained to accounting...I had to bother the secretaries for some answers. I just want that audit done.

I'm excited for the weekend. I've always enjoyed the departmental Christmas party. I have collected a few cool items for a White Elephant gift. I'm going to try and talk Jon into bringing a White Elephant gift too so he can enjoy the event. I have other stuff we can easily wrap up for a gift. Not sure if he'll be willing though since he's new to the crowd.

On another note...dry skin is not fun. I don't remember ever having as dry skin as I do this winter. I should probably be more diligent with lotion. My arms are especially bad.

OK, enough procrastination. I need to whip up a presentation for tomorrow since my health class would like to review for their final exam. Luckily it's simple content so it shouldn't be rocket science (except for those that rarely come to class).

Adios!

TGIF

Greetings!

It has been quite the week. I'm grateful to be sitting my home, sort of being productive, but not doing anything for work. We actually have the Charlie Brown Christmas movie on and I'm considering moving to my bed after this blog entry is finished.

Here are my random thoughts for the week:

--I'm sorry Adele but I'm getting really sick of your music on the radio. They are overplaying her music (and that's an understatement). I'd probably enjoy her music if I listened to not-so-popular songs but alas I don't have any of her albums.

--I am not a huge fan of The Fray but they have a great new song out. I believe it may be called "Heartbeat". It's under strong contention for an Itunes purchase. I'm also enjoying Coldplay's latest release "Paradise".

--I ventured to many stores today to try and complete my remaining Christmas shopping. For the first time in a year (or longer) I went to the Dollar General here in Ames. I wish I had gone elsewhere and paid more money for my items. The Dollar General is located close to one of the busiest intersections of Ames. It was super difficult to get close to the store, I made traffic back up as I waited to turn into the parking lot, and for the first time I severely bottomed out my car in their horrible parking lot. The store was crowded and dirty. Even the employees looked dirty consider the cashier's yellow polo shirt was a dingy shade of gray. I got my wrapping paper and got the heck out of there quickly.

--I'm proud on the amount of money I saved today. I used a kickass coupon at JCPenney and used my birthday gift card at Payless to get some new black shoes for work. I also saved quite a bit of money at the GAP thanks to a great sale. The only wrench in the evening was trying to locate roller blades for Gavin. I was shocked that Walmart does not carry adult-sized roller blades. Target had a few pairs but they were red. Gavin made it clear that red was not the desired color. I'm hoping to find a good pair in a store in Ankeny tomorrow.

--Gavin had his first social gathering at school today. They had a 6th grade party with games, dancing, pizza, etc. I had to snag him and his buddy Thomas early since they had basketball practice. He's really starting to grow up fast. Pretty soon he'll be out on many Friday or Saturday nights. Or he'll be playing sports and I'll be sitting at his games.

--I'm excited to start wrapping presents. I think I'm truly an adult now. I'm excited to see others open their gifts...I'm not worried at all about what I get. I actually feel really good about the fact that Jon and I aren't exchanging gifts. I'm actually hoping for miminal gifts this year. I won't lie...a gift card to Hy-Vee or Wal-Mart would rock. My wish list isn't extensive.

--As you probably saw on Facebook, the Christmas tree has been erected at Jon's house. He had a fun time the other night around midnight. He was awakened to a loud noise in the living room and the dog went bonkers too. He thought someone was breaking into the house. He discovered the Christmas tree lying on the floor. The stand appears to have broken and the tree went down like a ton of bricks. I feel bad because only one ornament broke. It was a glass ball Jon collected and has a Chicago theme. He used the tree stand designed for a real tree to fix the tree and so far it's working.

--I had some emotional eating in my life again this week. I had a lot of Red Cross related stress on Wednesday. Even while on the phone with them I kept thinking about cheesy potatoes. On the way home I picked up some from the Hy-Vee. I overate and didn't feel great in the evening. I hate how negative situations/stress trigger my hunger and cravings. So frustrating! I'm really going to need to get that under control in addition to my urge to snack late at night.

--Jon and I went to the Steeler's game last weekend. I love the atmosphere of a football game whether it's high school, college, or pro. Now it was very cool at Arrowhead Stadium since the Chief's fans were peppy. We tailgated and had very good seats. We weren't in the nosebleeds but we weren't in the lower level. I didn't get cold until the 3rd quarter. I knew the Steeler's were going to win but I had expected higher scores and a bigger difference. We decided to head to Iowa immediately afterwards and not get a hotel. When getting on one of the major highways/interstates we noticed a lot of law enforcement and actually saw the Steelers' buses and caravan get escorted toward the airport. It's crazy that much security needs to be used just to get a football team on their way. It was a long trip back to Iowa and I slept well after all that.

Here are some more things I'm excited about this month:
(forgive me if there are repeats)

--introducing Jon to the popcorn ball making process
--possibly sledding if my lower back and tailbone will permit it
--the candlelight service on Christmas Eve at my home church
--making a gingerbread house that is pimped out with goodies

Ok, that's all I have for now.

Excitement

It's been a somewhat unproductive day but I'm OK with that. I had planned to make some more headway with cleaning and organizing here in my apartment but that didn't happen. I slept in (due to poor sleeping during the night) and only had time to shower before heading to my massage appointment. Jon got me a gift certificate almost a year ago and I wanted to make use of it. It was a decent massage but sadly massages irritate my back. It's really tough to lie flat on my back (even with the cushioning thing under my legs) so even though my back relaxed at first, it got pretty unhappy again. Luckily the discomfort didn't stick around long.

Since I was close to Des Moines, I had lunch with Jon. Half an egg salad sandwich and a bowl of Wisconsin Cheese soup. I need to get my Mom's recipe for egg salad because I really like it. I have a hard time balancing the ingredients though...I hate when it tastes too mustardy. I think that's a new adjective.

After eating that wonderful lunch, I immediately started feeling like poo. The rest of my afternoon and part of the evening included a nap to sleep off the ickiness. Hopefully I can fall asleep later as I need to be up at 4:45am so I can get down to Ankeny by 5:30am. I'm riding along on a trip to Lincoln, NE as Jon has an appointment.

Anyway...onto my title of this blog entry. I'm getting more and more excited as the holiday season approaches. I've been thinking about a lot of the events that are becoming more routine and highly anticipated each year.

1) driving around and looking at Christmas lights

2) attending the candlelight service at St. John's on Christmas eve

3) wrapping Chritmas presents (I've gotten better at this over the years)

4) attending my Christmas party for work. It's a hoot because of the White Elephant gift exchange and the fun social environment. Jon will be accompanying me this year. It's the first time I'm bringing a significant other to anything work-related.

5) decorating my apartment and Jon's home for the holidays. I believe we are setting up the Christmas tree the evening of Thanksgiving or the next day.

6) preparing Christmas cards. I love writing out cards and writing the annual Christmas letter. My list of card receivers is getting smaller each year but the list will never be short considering the size of my family, number of friends, and number of coworkers.

7) hot cocoa on a regular basis! I need to purchase some low-calorie cocoa mixes.

8) snow! I do like snow. I'm sure that may change some day when I have to shovel it on a regular basis.

9) Christmas movies! It will be fun to catch some good ones on cable and watch the ones we own.

10) having some extended time off between semesters. I'll still have to work but it will be nice to focus on other things in my life rather than grading, prepwork, etc.

I Wish Football Tickets Cost a Nickel...

Greetings!

Back in August when I thought money would be abundant I had a strong desire to attend two ISU football games this fall. We did go to the UNI game and the other game under consideration was the Oklahoma State game. Well I decided last month that spending that much to attend a football game wasn't in the budget. It saddens me that I missed such an intense game. It's not every day that ISU defeats the #2 ranked football team.

I'm somewhat cleaning today (will hopefully dive into it after blogging). I once again need to straighten up my bedroom. I'm going to pull out the Christmas decorations and stack the Rubbermaid totes in the living room so everything is easily accessible this week. My articial tree is at Jon's and I'm going to set it up in his living room again. We had planned to get a real tree this year but once again money presnts a problem. Why must kickass Christmas trees be pricey? It makes me want to wander into a nice park or yard and snag one for free. Then again breaking the law doesn't seem to foster the Christmas spirit.

Tomorrow after church, we are delivering Thanksgiving food baskets to two families. I contributed a ton of macaroni & cheese (thanks Sam's Club) and Jon provided cranberry sauce. We also provided one frozen fruit pie. The amount of food in each basket is quite extensive and the families receiving the baskets are large. We are also going to be bell ringers on Saturday the 26th at a grocery store in Ankeny. I have never rang the bell before and didn't realize it was just an Internet-based volunteer opportunity. Hopefully it's not cold but based on weather reports I've halfway listened to, it's not supposed to get frigid yet this week.

Random note of the day: I hate how odd shaped envelopes require more postage. I guess they make "butterfly stamps" now worth $0.64 since most of those larger envelopes need an extra $0.20. I can never remember to buy those new stamps and I always end up slapping two normal stamps on the envelope and paying too much for postage.

I have some household tasks that need to get done this week and I don't think I can put them off any longer. I hate cleaning the shower. I've not done it fully since we've moved in this apartment. I've done parts of it periodically. I also need to re-pot my plants in the living room. I'm not sure how they are flourishing since the dirt is nasty and weird looking.

Alright, enough procrastinating...time to go make something spiffy.

Another Weekend has Come and Gone...

Howdy:

Well this blog was supposed to be written Sunday night and all I accomplished was the title. Sadly Gavin became sick again so I quickly became distracted and abandoned my blogging efforts. I wish I had come back to the blog as I had all kinds of cool things floating in my head and most of them have escaped now.

Jon and I used the crockpot this weekend so our lunch would be ready for us after church. We made a cranberry pork loin and it was fabulous. I was slightly nervous about making it as Jon does not like sweet meat dishes. Thanks to some of the ingredients it toned down the sweetness and the tartness of the cranberries helped as well. Here is the approximate recipe we used of you are a considering an easy crockpot day:

Cranberry Pork Loin

One medium sized pork loin (it shrinks down considerably)
One can of jellied or whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 tsp of ground cloves (used a little more than that)
1 tsp of ground mustard
1/4 cup of cranberry juice (used a little more)

You need to combine all of the wet and dry ingredients and pour it over the pork loin. Be sure to keep the layer of fat on the pork loin since it enhances the flavor. It's important to put the fat side up in the crock pot. The liquid doesn't cover the loin completely. It is supposed to cook for 6-8 hours on low. Our's cooked a lot longer but didn't dry out since we had plenty of liquid for it to sit in.

The original author for the recipe recommends taking out 2 cups of the leftover liquid and adding cornstarch and water to the concoction. It makes a gravy to use on potatoes. Cranberry gravy doesn't seem to appealing to me since the left over liquid is sweet in nature.

I was very pleased with my cleaning efforts on Saturday morning. Gavin and I took a lot of items to Good Will. I also took my first load of items to Jon's for a garage sale next year. I'm thankful he doesn't mind me stacking it up in his basement. It was a relief to get that much cleaning done but also frustrating because my room is still nowhere near as neat as it should be. I have a ton of work to do on my closet still. I'm looking foward to working on it Friday night and Saturday morning again. It's bizarre that I want to clean on my days off but so be it.

I've made good headway with Christmas shopping. I'm severely reducing the amount I spend on gifts this year thanks to finances. I still have a few things to buy for family members and I still need to buy stamps/cards but that will be quite feasible come December. I wonder if Santa is opposed to giving me $20 bills for the holiday season.

Well since my other topics aren't coming to mind...I'm going to end this entry prematurely so I don't ramble too much. Adios!

Soup's On!

Hey all:

After reading Nicole's recent post about a soup recipe, it made me realize that I've acheived a goal...well sort of. I never really set the goal but I do recognize the situation as a success. Fact of the matter is that I'm addicted to the deli soups at Hy-Vee. I ate them weekly in the past. I especially love the Cheddar Baked Potato & Ham and Chicken Tortilla Soup. And as you may realize both are cream-based soups so they are healthy in moderation but I was eating them often and I'd often eat the entire container in a meal. It has been weeks since I bought any of that soup. In essence, I haven't really missed them much. That fact dawned on me tonight as I reviewed Nicole's recipe for her Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. I have been eating soup often but it's been Campbell's tomato soup. I bought a flat at Sam's Club and typically keep a ton of it on hand since it's simple to make, very satisfying, and not horrible for you.

We've also been eating out a lot less. My budget is very tight this month and will be until tax season comes and I hopefully get a refund to help with some debt. We really haven't missed it...well at least I haven't missed it. We went to King Buffet tonight (chinese cuisine) and it really wasn't that good. I regreted going there after I took my first bite of food. It didn't help that the food temperatures weren't right on the buffet. The owners admitted that one of the buffet tables was broken. Umm...you shouldn't be serving food from it unless it's working properly. I actually reported them to the state tonight via the Internet. Hopefully my complaint is taken seriously.

Swim & Gym ends next week! Yippee! It's really not been that strenuous or anything but it will be nice to come home around 4-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays rather than after 6pm. It will be starting up again in February before I know it. Sadly I need to already start hiring people for the spring session so I can't put the program completely out of my mind. I even have to start preparing for the Summer Youth Fitness program too since I'll be hiring in a few months and advertising.

Ok, I'm off to bed!

Oh Solitude...I Like You More Than I Should

Howdy:

I have the apartment for myself for a bit longer. Gavin went to a friend's house tonight to work on yet another project. I'm not sure why but I do really enjoy alone time here in the apartment. I got a lot accomplished today. I'm attempting to work ahead at ISU and DMACC and did some errands after work. I went through Gavin's clothes the other day. Sadly not much from last winter fits him well. My past neighbor contacted me to see if I had any hand-me-downs to pass on to her son. That gave me the motivation to sort through Gavin's things and we were able to give her a big bag of items. It really feels good to hand that stuff over to her. We had Gavin's parent-teacher conference after handing over the clothes. His teacher only had good things to say about his academics and his demeanor at school. Always nice to hear a teacher say that she wishes all the kids were as good as your own.

I was also able to make a brief trip to the grocery store for some basic staples and I made a trip to Sam's Club for some basic stuff too. I decided to buy a couple Christmas gifts while there too since my Dad loves cashews and they sell Gavin's favorite chocolates. I sometimes wonder if I truly need a Sam's Club membership. I don't shop there very often...maybe once every 2 months. I think I'd shop there more if I had a deep freeze and more storage space. It would be nice to buy in bulk and reduce the shopping trips to typical grocery stores.

I'm a little worried about the status of our church in Ankeny. Our pastor retired in October. I was OK with that change because I feel he had done a good job and was having health problems. His children are having children and I think he deserves time for family and for grandparenting. Well now the church has started the search for a new pastor so we have "substitutes" that come in and preach for us. I was in Waukon this Sunday so I didn't go to my usual church but I guess some people have voiced their disappointment with certain aspects of the church. I can certainly understand that people are frustrated but it disappoints me that individuals are being rather rude about the situation. Not very Christian-like if you ask me. I'm glad I wasn't there, I probably would have said something and contributed toward the non-Christian likeness.

I'm starting to get excited for Christmas despite being sickened by the amount of advertising for the holiday already. We are having a simple Christmas this year so it's a relief to know that shopping will be feasible. We listened to some Christmas music while traveling this weekend. Jon missed a good road trip!

Ready for the Weekend

Hello All:

I had intended to blog yesterday due to the rough day I had. I'm glad I waited a day though because my entry would have been one, big rant had I blogged after teaching at DMACC last night. Today was considerably better. Yesterday was proof that if things start off on a bad foot immediately, that crappiness tends to spread throughout the day.

Well I had to venture down to Des Moines and visit a student teacher right away in the morning. I had printed directions days beforehand because I had never been to the elementary school before. I used the address off the school district website. Well the zip code was wrong and it lead me to a road with a similar road on the wrong side of Des Moines. I realized I was in trouble when I pulled up to a house and not a school. I had 15 minutes to spare before my meeting so called the school to get guidance from the secretary. She couldn't even tell me what streets were near the school so I could make my way closer to the correct destination. Luckily I could reach Jon and get directions from him. I felt bad because he was sick but he made a good human GPS. I got to the school about 10 minutes late and then found out that the meeting wasn't going to work anyway due to the school having an early out. The teacher forgot about that and didn't have prep time like usual so he was teaching when I arrived. Sigh.

The youth programs at ISU are being audited and investigated. I was contacted about Summer Youth Fitness (not Swim & Gym ironically) and had a meeting about that later in the day yesterday. I was told it was just a simple meeting that would inform me about the process. I specifically asked if I needed to bring anything (registration forms, budget information, etc.). I was told no. Well after the meeting started, they started asking really detailed information and wanted to know if I had documents with me. Umm...you told me I didn't need those things. Luckily I had the right answers to many of their questions. I will have more interviews in the future though. The university is trying to construct a committee that will govern youth programs so everyone is on the same page for creating fees, setting safety protocol, etc. Luckily I am OCD about that stuff and have my ducks in a row. I'm sure they'll still find deficencies though.

DMACC has been rather defeating too. The students are doing half-assed work and it's tough to teach them. They don't want to contribute or discuss things. I have one that is starting the appeal process because he has too many absences therefore an F for the class. He even had his Mom contact me. He's now claiming a medical issue and I've told him to do a medical drop for the class. If he's lying, that will be impossible and he's still in trouble. His Mom requested that I give him an incomplete. You can't give those out in the middle of the semester. And I don't believe the situation warrants an incomplete. He told me he was leaving early and missing class due to his job and flag football. Medical issues were never mentioned. Sadly I think his Mom is lying for him.

Today was much better! I do have some grading that has piled up but that will be very common now as the end of the semester approaches. I will have many unit plans to grade in the last weeks of the semester too. Those take an extreme amount of time to assess (1.5 hours each). I will have 28 to grade. Swim & Gym will wrap up on November 17 so that date is quickly approaching too. I'm so grateful to have a great staff for the program. I can leave and do other things during the program and not worry about horrible things happening.

Alrighty...one more work day and then some funness. It will be fun to bop to NE Iowa for a couple days :)

Halloween Done in Style

My ability to apply make-up and fake blood was better than I expected.

Happy Halloween

Hey All:

Well Gavin has just returned from the Haunted Forest and I am very jealous. I don't think I will venture there this year. It was an interesting night since I was by myself at the apartment. It's one of the first times he's gone out with friends. They did have a parent chaperone but it was nice to not have to worry. I got some laundry done, some correspondence, paid more bills, drank some good tea, and watched ISU win.

I watched about 75% of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" last night. I think I saw the whole movie once in junior high or high school. Gavin watched some of it with me too and I think he was confused and somewhat horrified. I had many friends in high school that just loved the movie and had parties centered around watching the movie. Apparently viewers throw toast at a certain scene in the movie. (Wasn't able to pick out that scene) The premise of the movie escapes me...yet I was captivated to watch the whole thing after I found it on VH1. I had forgotten how raunchy the movie was. Nothing like some drag, murder, singing, and sex before bed.

I also caught part of a series on FX. It's called "American Horror Story". I think there have only been 4-5 episodes so far and I haven't seen the first two. It's done really well and the language is surprising too. It's almost something I'd expect on HBO. A doctor (psychological) moves his family across the country due to some drama. Apparently he was having an affair or something. They buy a house and are not aware of its history. The man that built the house (a physician) and his wife had all kinds of awful things happen and the place became haunted. There is a lot going on and it really uses a lot of human faults in the storyline too. I'm hooked.

We made some final preparations today for Gavin's costume. We went to Good Will and got a men's XL button down shirt so it could be put over his light jacket or sweatshirt on Monday night. We put some stategic blood splatter and blood stains on the shirt and it's hopefully drying nicely in the bathroom. We ran a lot of errands today. I actually remembered to use reward check from Lane Bryant. I usually put them aside and they expire before I find them again. I took a look at the coats at Lane Bryant and tried on a few styles to get a handle on the sizes. I liked two of them immediately. A plain black coat and one with a plaid design. I only used my reward check to buy a few items and decided to look at the coats again online. I knew I had some coupons at home and hoped I could apply them to the online shopping option. I decided to get the plaid coat. It's thick and the style resembles a coat I had for years. I threw it away last year since it was wearing away to nothing and couldn't be repaired.


I did well when we ate out for lunch. We drove down University and found a restaurant we had never eaten at before...Bakers Square. It's a lot like Perkins. I got their adult macaroni and cheese and it was super rich. I'm proud to say I only ate half of the casserole. I had also planned to get a piece of their Breast Cancer Awareness strawberry pie but declined since I was stuffed. We briefly stopped at a Halloween Bootique in Ankeny to look for make-up to help with Gavin's costume and got the car washed. Luckily the cheap option still made the car look spiffy. Gavin was delighted to get his haircut afterward since he was getting rather shaggy. I used so many coupons today. It was nice to get things done and save money.

I was slightly sad to see so many Christmas decorations already. They were up at the mall already. Each year they appear earlier. Will we see them by Labor Day next year?

Anyway. I'm going to finish my movie and mosey to bed. Sunday is going to be a busy day too.

Here Comes November

Howdy All:

Well the flu has hit and it has hit hard. Gavin is still recovering from his 24 hours of misery but hopefully he can go to school tomorrow. It makes me sad he had to miss a day because I was hoping for some perfect attendance this year. I need to get him somewhere for a flu shot. I wish had prioritized that earlier this month. I got my shot on Wednesday despite being sick on Monday. I'm still alive so it was worth it. I got hit with Mr. Flu early Monday morning. I have honestly not felt that horrible for a long, long time. Thank god it was out of my system fast. A big thank you to Jon for delivering some essential items to my place. I was getting worried about my hydration and he brought over the notorious Z-up and Sprite.

I'm on a fruit kick this week too. Jon brought bananas and applesauce over when I was sick. I bought more bananas today. It's been nice having them at work. I ate one during Swim & Gym today and it really kept my appetite at bay so I wasn't famished when I got home. It seems slightly stupid to be calling attention to eating fruit but it's been a success this week. I'm excited for pay day on Monday so I can make a substantial trip to the grocery store and fill up our fruit bowl. I'm thinking some kiwi are in my future.

Gavin is going to be a zombie-like injured person for Halloween. I have a coupon for a Halloween shop in Ankeny and I hope to find a scar or gash that I can apply to his face to make him more realistic. We are going to use old clothes from our home or Good Will to give him the tattered look too. We are doing things differently this week too. We usually trick-or-treat around my Aunt Mary's neighborhood but he's going to trick-or-treat a few blocks away by his friend's neighborhood. I'm going to try and pop by my Aunt's house afterwards if time allows.

I'm excited to go to Lane Bryant. I used Real Woman dollars earlier this month and of course I got a reward check in the mail after I thought I was done shopping for awhile. I can't let $40 go to waste. I have a coupon too and am considering the idea of buying a winter coat if they have a style I like. Unfortunately they usually don't so I'm not sure what I'll get if that's an issue. Where did you get your green coat Nicole? I don't want to copy you but I really liked that style of coat.

Gavin finished flag football with an undefeated season. It was his first time being on that type of team and his coaches were fantastic. One of his coaches is a pastor for another church and it really showed through his coaching. He starts basketball soon. I've realized that his sport schedules next year in seventh grade may present a problem with my job. Many football games were on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I'm going to propose that a graduate student be assigned to my program so that I can have the occasional Tuesday or Thursday off when Gavin's in a sport that conflicts with Swim & Gym. Fingers crossed. Assignments have changed with graduate student duties so I believe at least one should be available to help out.

I've been dying for a hair cut lately. Unfortunately it's not fit into my schedule or my budget. I need a few high lights too since my roots are looking ugly. I'm hoping to get the time now when November hits. I'm also grateful that pay day is on Monday. I paid a lot of extra money toward my Care Credit (established through my dentist) because the terms of my credit card changed and the interest rate shot up last month. The card will be completely paid off at the end of the month thank god. It's irritating that I had to open the account in the first place but my root canal and crown were too pricey last year. I believe I have my car insurance bill coming soon too so I'm trying to save money to pay that since the amount will be greater since my car is newer. I love The Fusion but she is an expensive temptress. I'm going to have to invest in car washes more often too because finger prints, handprints, and salt in the winter will and do show up much easier.

I got to see my pal Tiffany this past weekend because a woman in Ames threw her a baby shower. She loved our gift Nicole. It was pretty low key and it was quite surprsing to see her so pregnant. It will be fun to see how much happiness that baby brings her and her husband Gregg. I could tell from when I first met Tiffany that she would be a great parent because she is so considerate and caring for others. Yippee for great people reproducing! More people need to do that in our country. Others...need to keep their pants on or use birth control methods more consistently.

Last topic--my DMACC class is driving me nutty. I now have 16 students (a few dropped). I have a couple failing because they've stopped coming and missed the drop date. The attitudes I deal with in class are ridiculous. I hate dealing with that. They act like they are being tortured and whine when they have to stay for the whole class period. The class is only ONCE A WEEK. I have a couple more students that are close to failing because they have three absences. More than three equals failure. They are unhappy because they have to work on some Wednesday nights. Umm..you signed up for class. You knew the day and time of the class. You read my syllabus and agreed to my stipulations. Show up, do the simplistic work, and pass the class. Others have complained about having homework almost every week. It just gets old. Enough of that.

Time to check on some laundry and hopefully hit the hay. Have a great end to your October.

Random Thoughts

Greetings All:

Don't expect this to be too organized. I'm just going to list some of the stuff that has been bouncing around in my head lately in no particular order.

-We took a quick trip to Chicago this past weekend. Despite being so short it was really fun and really nice to get away from Ames for awhile. We went to the Blackhawks vs. Bruins hockey game and watched the Bruins win in a shoot out since the game tied. It was nice to have some alone time with Jon too. We'll be bopping down to Kansas City in November to see the Steelers play. It will be a quick trip too.

-Midterm week has come and gone. I was surprised by the amount of midterms I sent out this semester. The number is correlated with the fact that I have a large section of Consumer Health. Most students that are doing poorly in my health class will drop. The physical education students probably won't and need to kick it into gear quickly.

-On a related note, the work ethic around me irritates the hell out of me. It's been increasingly frustrating to bust my butt and go beyond my job expectations and watch other people do the minimal or even less. I see it around me at work and within the work ethic of my students. Whatever happened to doing the best you can or trying to surpass that? Even better....what happened to wanting to impress the teacher?

-I'm really displeased with the status of my apartment. It's not horrible but needs some severe tidying up. If I make a big trip to Good Will, I think that will help with my clutter issue. I also need to tackle my closet and do some minimizing. I'd really like to have a garage sale next summer and make some money but on the other hand I want stuff to be gone.

-After doing some Facebook stalking on Nicole's page and her family members' pages I must say "Wow!" Nicole you looked fabulous for your sister's wedding. It looks like it was a fun day. I hope you're enjoying all your time with family :)

Rats...I thought I had more to write about but I cannot think of anything else. I'll blame the time as it's almost midnight. Adios!

Still Alive!!

Howdy all:

I'm still alive! I swear! Work has gotten the best of me lately so it's been tough to take time for myself. I wish I would blog more often...it's a nice way for me to de-stress. Semester is in full swing. Midterm is actually next week so I've had a lot of grading to do...I don't know why I assign so much work sometimes. I was disappointed with the amount of work in the fundamentals classes in previous semesters so I'm trying to add more "little" assignments to make sure the PE majors are picking up on the necessary content. I'm also evaluating teaching assistants now too and that takes a lot of time.

I went to a professional development this past weekend. I'm disappointed that I devoted my entire Sunday to the event. Fortunately I get reimbured by ISU for my registration. I didn't learn much of anything. Some of the presenters actually gave incorrect information too so that was disappointing. It scares me that certain schools are graduating PE teachers when their instructors/professors can't deliver correct information. We are trying to have this event held at ISU in 2013. I helped host it in 2009 at ISU and it will be so much better now that we have more faculty in the PE area.

My back problems are better (knock on wood). I met with the neurosurgeon last Wednesday. We went through my MRI images and I'm not pleased with the results. My regular doctor told me I didn't have degeneration but the surgeon pointed out plenty of degeneration throughout my lumbar vertebrae. I also have 2 very sick intervertbral discs. He doesn't want to pursue surgery though. He says I'm too young to go through risky surgeries. He was slightly concerned about my symptoms but said they aren't severe enough to warrant surgery before the age 30. He said my symptoms may completely disappear if I simply drop 25 lbs or more. Bring it on! I've been having stiffness in the morning after waking up and minor soreness. I haven't had any sudden, sharp pain though so that's been a wonderful change.

I've also realized how much money sucks lately. I created more debt than I'd like over the summer. I wish I could have made more money during those summer months because I had to rely on my credit for some bills and other needs. Now that I have a car payment, I don't have the extra money I had last year so nothing is going into savings. I can't pay extra on bills either. Bleh. I hate not being able to pay off credit cards quickly. I hate acruing interest. And the interest on one of my cards sucks.

Gavin's been extremely busy too. Football practice makes Thursdays long since he has practice and keeps us busy on Sunday afternoons. He's also doing Battle of the Books again this year so that requires attendance to meetings and extra reading. His homework has gotten more difficult too. I actually couldn't help him much with his math homework today. I was stumped. He's also doing great projects in literacy. Every time he finishes a book, he can choose a project to complete over it to prove his comprehension. I think there is about 30+ different projects he can do. He also has to do BIG projects too over book as well. He's doing big project over the 4th Harry Potter book next week. He has to write a thorough report and show a visual about the book. He chose to create a game about the book and show it to the class. He's been working on his gameboard and the rules.

Jon and I have a trip to Chicago approaching. We are going to see the Bruins play the Blackhawks on the 15th. I wish Chicago was closer to central Iowa. The ride is always long but the trips to the city are always fun. At the rate work is going, I will definitely need a break away from Ames. Thanks to LeAnn ahead of time for taking Gavin for the weekend. You may be surprised by the homework he brings with him.

Here are some health-related goals for me that I will work on this week and next week:

1. I will attend Weight Watchers. Monday nights seem to still be the best bet for me.

2. I will eat three meals a day. I'm becoming more accustomed to breakfast even if it's just some yogurt. I also have a nice stock of healthy food in my office that I can quickly make for lunch.

3. I need to work on NOT eating after 7pm. My late night eating is creating major issues for me.

4. I need to sleep more! I want to be in bed before 11pm each night. I could get so much more done if I was up by 7am and able to function better.

5. I will blog at least once a week. Blogging is a wonderful outlet. I've come to the conclusion that I have too much floating around in my head. I need to put it into writing more often.

That's all for now! I need to hit the sack considering tomorrow is back-to-back controlled chaos. I'll be at work from 8am until 6:30pm.

Greetings

Hey all:

I'm considering doing a little bit of work tonight before sauntering off to bed. I figured I'd veer off my plan a little bit and blog. Be cautioned...I don't really have anything specific to blog about per se but it's nice to take a break and just write. I'll just go off on some tangents.

--Happy Day ISU won! I was so proud to see replays of the football game and hear great comments on the news. I hope we can keep this up the rest of the season since the remaining games are all difficult.

--Physical Therapy is going OK. Today was rough because my back was unhappy when I woke up and it was difficult to move during all my PT exercises. She often gives me a back massage around the discs and I couldn't even tolerate that. They need to give the official word so my MRI gets scheduled soon.

--Gavin's football team won their first game. I'm impressed by his coaches. It's evident they've used the practices wisely. Sadly he's missing his game this Sunday since we're traveling to Illinois for the basset hound event. I think that's the only game he'll miss.

--I'm actually watching the final episodes of Kate Plus 8 tonight. It's depressing how downhill the show has progressed. I knew it wouldn't be the same considering all the drama in the family but it's still depressing to watch. Not sure why I'm watching the train wreck.

--I had a touch of being overwhelmed at the end of last week. I had a lot of tasks pile up at home, ISU, and DMACC. I stuck to my rule of not working on the weekend despite the urge to try and get a few things done. I had a very productive Monday though and make tons of progress through my list. I'm grateful I have a white board in my office so I can constantly alter my list and erase things when they're done. It's satisfying to erase a lot of items each day.

--I haven't been reading for pleasure and it's irritating. I have so many magazines to read from over the summer. I still have a stack of relgious books to read but I haven't been in the mood to dive into any. I'm really not sure what type of book I'm in the mood for.

--Swim & Gym starts tomorrow and we have the largest enrollment we've had for the program in a long time. I think we have 36 children enrolled for the fall. We've had 19 and 22 in the past sessions. We really can't take anymore due to ratios and such and it will be interesting to see how things flow with extra bodies now. Fortunately I have 10 employees that will help keep things safe and organized. I actually created an assistant position for the program because I'm sick of being so stressed. I picked out a strong PE major that worked for Summer Youth Fitness. I'm hoping I can confidently leave the gym area and put her in charge if I need to do something else for the department when the program is running. It will be nice to delegate responsibilities.

Ok, that's enough randomness for now. I hope everyone had a good start to their week.

Last year on this weekend

I stepped on the scale and it read 344.8. Last year on this weekend I was already so depressed that while that number shocked me, it couldn't really depress me much more than I already was. Last year on this weekend, I thought there was no hope. I thought that I would be heavy my whole life. Last year on this weekend, I looked like this:





This weekend I stepped on the scale and it read 260.2 and I was elated. The number shocked me a little but I quickly recovered. This weekend I see a future with a thinner, healthier me. This weekend I feel that I will never be back to where I was ever again. This weekend I see hope for not just myself but for everyone who is currently or will ever struggle with weight loss. This weekend, I look like this:



I know I still have a really long way to go but I never thought I'd make it this far. I can't believe it's been a year already since I started my final weight loss attempt. There have certainly been ups and downs along the way but after a year I think I can handle the bumps and bruises as long as there are plenty of happy times in between!

Alright, I'm going to go take advantage of this beautiful weather and get some walking in. Have a great day and I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day Weekend!

Produce and Anger

I have to say that creating titles for each entry is a challenge yet fun at times. You probably think I'm angry at cucumbers or something but I'm not. Gavin and I just finished watching a show about heroes on 9/11 and right when the show started I was filled an immense saddness and anger all at once. It's sad that I had forgotten (bad choice of word) about all the suffering and panic that day. I didn't actually forget but the strong emotions had faded. I constantly remember that the buildings aren't there anymore but the personal stories they shared made me think about the poor people on the planes, those that probably died immediately when the planes collided with the buildings, those that were trapped and had absolutely no way to get out, those that fell from the buildings or jumped, those trapped in stairwells, those that got out of the buildlings but died due to the collapses, those that got out and surived but live with that nightmare every day, and those that lost loved ones on the day. The crappy realization is that we have still have to live with worry and fear that another attack may take place on the country. It makes me worry and wonder about the world that Gavin will live in when he's an adult. I got really pissed thinking about those that planned the attack and acted. I know our country was pleased that Bin Laden was found and killed but who knows how many other people/countries hate the USA enough to cause terror.

So where were you when it happened? I remember finding out when I got to Gilman Hall for my chemistry lab. They closed down the building since part of it was considered to be a federal building. I hopped back on the bus and went back to my first apartment in Ames and immediately turned the on TV. The second plane had recently hit the second tower so it had sunk in that it wasn't an accident. I was staring at the TV when the south tower collapsed followed by the north tower. Gavin a lot of questions tonight because he had never sat down and watched the proper order of events before. I often forget that he was only 1 year old when this happened....it really puts the time line in perspective for me. I do hope to go back to NYC someday and hopefully there is a proper memorial site in place by then.

On a lighter note, we went to the Farmer's Market in Des Moines for the first time ever this weekend. The weather wasn't great but the rain showers weren't horrible. Jon had been to the market before so he had good suggestions for food. The breakfast sandwiches are supposed to be wonderful so I shared one with Gavin....by sharing I mean I had two bites and he had the rest. It was on a biscuit with ham, egg, and american cheese. I was fine with only two bites...it was really rich. (And I had forgotten to take my gallbladder meds so I didn't want to toy with my body.) We had also made plans to meet up with Tiffany and Gregg so I got to see pregnant Tiffany. She is now entering her third trimester. She looked really good.

I purchased a pierogie....well a so-called pierogie. In my opinion, pierogies are like a big ravioli typically stuffed with potatoes and other goodies. This pierogie was kind of a donut consistency. It reminded me of a bismark or long john filled with cheese, potato, and mushrooms. It wasn't horrible but I don't think I'd get one again. I also went to one of the natural smoothie venders and got my first taste of wheatgrass in a drink. It wasn't horrible. I'd get one again. I got the "Berry Beety" smoothie. It had blueberries, apple juice, beet juice, and wheatgrass in it. I could slightly taste the wheatgrass and really taste the beets. It was refreshing.

Even though I used the word produce in the title of this, I didn't actually buy any produce. I have stuff at home to use up and I didn't want to buy things I wouldn't use in a timely manner. It was neat seeing the variety of dogs out and about too. The local radio station (pop music) had a dance-off event too in the middle of things that was fun to watch since it was choreographed. After the market ended, we went to a local English pub and had some appetizers while catching up with Tiffany and Gregg. They've moved back from Maryland and are living in Tiffany's hometown by Iowa City. Gregg is job hunting...so is Tiffany even though she'll be having the baby in early December. She's done some substitute teaching. I actually hope we can go to the market again before it ends this fall and hopefully we can utilize it better next year. I haven't even gone to the market in Ames in years. When we were using WIC, we'd go a lot since I got vouchers for free produce. It would be cool to get some local produce or baked goods.

My back feels better! I've been doing my PT exercises and I think the realignment of my hips was really contributing to my discomfort. My back still isn't 100% but I've made great gains since Friday. I don't have to think so much and be on guard when walking around. I was in the habit lately of constantly being on guard in case my legs gave out. It's still difficult to get up out of bed and sometimes from a chair. But mentally...it's been wonderful to not have constant pain. I do not know how Jon did it when dealing with the pain prior to his knee surgery and after the surgery. My pain was really wearing on my sanity on some days and really affecting my moods. I felt more like myself in the past couple days. I was nervous about attending the ISU football game since the seats aren't great for posture or back health. I didn't have any pain while watching the game just some discomfort when navigating the stairs. I was actually shocked that we won the game. Both teams played poorly in my opinion and there were issues with sportsmanship. Sadly an ISU player was disqualified and removed from the game. I thought the ISU vs UNI game would be our only one this year but now I really want to attend another. I'm hoping to either attend the Kansas or Oklahoma State game. Both are in November since our schedules are rather busy in September and October. Yippee Football!

I hope everyone has a labor free day tomorrow. I'm planning to rearrange my bedroom so manual labor will exist but nothing related to my job. It works for me.

Doctor, Doctor!

Howdy:

I had a doctor's appointment and physical therapy appointment this morning and thanks to all of that I cannot concentrate at work. I've been here for 1.5 hours and haven't got much of anything accomplished. I decided to vent via blogging so maybe I can refocus myself afterwards and not completely waste the afternoon.

I saw a different doctor this morning and not the usual physician's assistant. I was actually happy to see someone different. Long story there...I won't get into it. The new doctor spoke to me for a little bit and based on my symptoms decided that I should start some physical therapy. Not only does he want the PT to help relieve my issues but my insurance requires I give it a go for a few weeks before they will pay for a CT or MRI. They had an opening for PT appointment later in the morning so I took it so I could get the process started pronto. My therapist (Jill) is so nice and was wonderful to work with.

The symptoms that have led me to go to the doctor recently are related to issues with my lower back. It's not a chronic pain. I haven't had pain today (until my back was manipulated during PT) and I had a pain free day yesterday. It seems to be hit or miss. My back issues have been scaring the hell of me to be frank. My back suddenly just gives with no warning. I can be on stairs or on a flat surface. Sometimes the "giving out" is accompanied with severe pain or sometimes it just causes sudden weakness or numbness in my lower extremities. It's really not cool. Not only does it hurt but it's embarrassing because I've fallen down due to it. It's also contributing to my sleep issues because I'll roll over in the middle of the night and trigger that pain and it disrupts my sleeping patterns.

I did an assessment with the physical therapist and got some more information about my body that I don't care for:

-- one of my legs is longer than the other (may be due to my spine or hip displacement)

--my hips are not aligned properly (not sure if they caused back problems or if back problems caused the poor alignment)

--my reflexes on my right side (below the waist) are poor or not existent. She whacked away with her little hammer on things and my body wasn't responding.

--my pain response on that same side is poor too. I didn't feel them poking me or sticking me.

--I have horrible spasms and tension in my lower back. She couldn't work through it to find important landmarks. She was stunned that I was living with that discomfort. Well it's not really discomforting to me. I can't tell that I have that tension. She said a typical person would be in constant pain that would prevent proper walking and function. Apparently my threshold for pain is high or I've adapted to the issue.

She realigned my hips and used electrodes to try and ease that tension in my back. Sadly I think I'm back to point A though. It worked for a bit but not long term. I have some simple exercises/stretches to do at home. I've been doing some of them already but I'm hoping the addition of others will prevent my back from giving out. I really need to work on my core muscles so my back is stabilized from the front. I have a horrible imbalance due to my craptastic hamstrings and lack of core strength.

They are trying to expedite the MRI because she does think there are disc issues and she doesn't want physical therapy to irritate anything. I wish insurance wasn't such a bastard. I'm grateful to have it but the politics behind it are frustrating.

I've very down lately and I'm very pissed at myself today. I've had an attitude for years that almost allowed me to condone being overweight because I didn't see it adversely affecting my health. It may not be entirely the fault of my weight status but my weight isn't helping the matter. If I didn't have an extra 100 lbs compressing my lower discs, I'm sure they'd be much happier. I'm feeling very discouraged but my appointment with the physical therapist did provide some hope and motivation. I do have strength to work with...I'm not having to start at the drawing board in regards to preparing my body to fix my back. Even when I lose my weight, I may have constantly reminders of the harm I've caused. My back may improve and get better but it's never going to be 100% again. It's so disappointing. I want to be spry and active until I'm 113 and back issues won't help with that.

Venting complete!

50010 Update

Howdy all:

Well I got one line written last night before I lost my uumph and retired for the night. Hopefully I can include more info tonight or actually finish the blog entry.

I'm pleased to say that the semester has started nicely. I've settled into my schedule. It's stressful teaching all my classes in one day but at the same token it's nice to have a lot of freedom on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'm getting so much prep work done on those days and have been steadily working through my tasks on my whiteboard. Swim & Gym starts on September 13 so that will make Tuesdays and Thursdays busier but I've gotten a lot of the "before" work done. My employees are hired (background checks currently taking place) and plenty of advertising was initated weeks ago. I've also decided to promote a really strong PE major to be my "assistant" for the program. She's competent and I'll more comfortable leaving the gym if I know she's got everything under control.

I've slipped back into the groove and I'm not prioritizing my physical activity. I'm sitting on my butt a lot in my office at work. We actually have a treadmill set up in the mailroom if you want to walk while checking emails and working on a computer. I've signed up for it but haven't used it yet. I'm hoping I can sneak away and use it tomorrow. I've also been more impulsive with my eating too. I get a food in my head toward the end of the day and fixate on eating for a meal. It's typically not a healthy food either. I'm also snacking late at night too. Bleh. So many bad habits to fix! I really desire to start planning out menus for the week so my dinners (or even lunches) are pre-planned and more nutritous.

I'm hopeful for a doctor appointment I have on Friday for my back. I went in earlier this week and my back was fine that day. I had no pain and passed the movement tests with flying colors. I'm seeing a different doctor and sadly I hope I have a little pain on Friday so the doc can see my movement issues. I'm also hoping for some x-rays because I'm curious to see what's going on with my discs.

The first weeks of 6th grade have been interesting for Gavin and me. He's gotten a rude awakening in regards to homework and expectations. I've been frustrated because I want him taking his time and doing his work well. In my opinion, he rushes to get his work done. We had a unpleasant experience last night because I checked Gavin's math homework and found every problem to be done incorrectly. He's often reluctant to let me look things over and he gave that same attitude last night. I'm glad I was forceful because I'm sure it would shock him when he got his grade. He's going to quickly realize that doing things too quickly is going to affect his letter grade in math. The grading in 5th grade was pretty gentle and the transition to regular grading has been fast and furious. I'm also learning a lot about 6th grade math...years of statistics and a semester of college alegebra and I felt stupid when reviewing prime numbers and factors.

The upcoming months are busier than I'd like at times and my weekends are especially hectic. We are going to Illinois on September 16 to camp and attend a basset hound rescue fundraiser. They have a parade on the 18th that features over 1000 basset hounds. It will be fun to walk in with Jon's dog Memphis (she's a rescue basset hound).

I have professional development the first weekend of October (blah) in Cedar Rapids and we are going to Chicago for a hockey game on the 15th of October. I was telling LeAnn that I miss having consistent low key weekends but at the same time it's nice to get out and about to have fun.

It's been easier on some days to wake up early. Gavin is waking up at 6:45am to get ready for the bus and leaves the apartment at 7:15am. Around that time I'm finally stumbling around and getting my day started. It's been nice leaving the apartment before 8am because I'm getting errands done and more accomplished at work. I've actually been staying later at work too. Most days have been 8am-4pm if not 5pm. I know this shouldn't be a shocking announcement but I used to come to work late or leave early and try to do work at home. Bring work home sucks. I'm really trying to avoid it. I barely have my computer on at home and I love it. It's been nice to relax, help Gavin with homework, clean, etc. I should be exercising too.

Okay, that's enough for now!

I got my dress!!!

Here it is. It's too long and needs to be taken in in the bust but other than that it's perfect!!

Without flash...I was apparently doing something funny with my arms. I look like I'm flapping...



With flash. I think the color is more close to accurate in this one.



PLEASE HURRY AND GET HERE OCTOBER!!!

Recipe: thyme, pineapple and pork chop skillet

I recently decided to subscribe to Eating Well. I've been using the website for a while and thought it would be fun to start getting a magazine in the mail. There are lots of really good recipes in the the first issue I got and here is the first one that I'll share with you. I made this a while ago and can't wait to make it again. It calls for pork chops but I bet you could easily make it with chicken breast too and have a delicious meal. It was super easy and quick to make, inexpensive and really really good!

You will need:
3 Tbs. pineapple or apricot preserves (or orange marmalade)
3 Tbs. orange juice, plus more if needed
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. fresh ground ginger (it's cheaper and better than the dried)
1/2 tsp. curry powder
4 pineapple rings, plus 1/3 c. juice (add orange juice to equal 1/3 c. if you need)
2 tsp. butter
4 boneless pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 tbs. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

1. Combine preserves, orange juice, mustard, ginger and curry powder in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Heat butter in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops, sprinkle with 1/2 Tbs. thyme and the salt and pepper. Turn immediately. Cook until the chops until browned (a few minutes on each side, 4-5 minutes total).

3. Add the pineapple juice to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the the chops are cooked through (3 more minutes). Transfer to a plate.

4. Add pineapple, the reserved sauce and the remaining 1/2 Tbs. thyme to the pan. Cook, stirring until hot and bubbling. Add chops back in and cook for a few minutes longer, turning to coat. Serve each chop with 1 ring of pineapple and sauce spooned over.

New things...

First, we have a new baby in the family. My step-sister (on my dad's side) Crystal an her husband had their first baby. Logan Charles was born, via c-section yesterday morning. I don't know many of the specifics but I do know that mom and baby are both doing well.

Also, I got me new green coat in the mail and I love it. I took some really bad self-portraits so I could show you. I apologize for the weird pose (I'm terrible at self-portraits) and my dirty mirror. How come you never realize how dirty a mirror is until you see it in a picture?!?! Anyway, here it is. I really really like it and I'm happy to report that almost all of my scarves go well with it...yay!

The Semester Quickly Approaches....

Howdy:

I'm taking some time for myself before I wander off to bed It's already after 11pm and I hope to be in a deep slumber before midnight. It's been a hectic week but things have gone well! I'm responsible for the orientation training for the new graduate students that are starting in the Kinesiology Department this fall. I'm sure Nicole has fond memories of that time...I remember feeling quite overwhelmed and stressed. I think the fact that I experienced orientation in 2006 has helped me plan things different so students aren't slammed with too much information each day. Luckily the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) too some work off my shoulders today (and tomorrow) and they are providing critical seminars about classroom issues, grading essentials, initiating student discussion, etc.

I've also gotten a considerable amount of work done too. I've taught three of my ISU classes before so that's comforting. I'm teaching a new class though (HS 110). It's a personal and consumer health class that all Kinesiology majors must take during their program of study. It's essentially the same class I teach at DMACC but different textbooks are utilized (sad). Oh well. I'm happy to say that my syllabi are done and ready for next week but I still need to plan for my first days of class. I also need to do more on the online parts of my class too.

Gavin starts school on Thursday. His bus picks him up at 7:18am each day! I'm wondering if I can utilized this mandatory change in our lives to fix my inability to be a "morning person". If Gavin and I can create a routine that starts at 6:30am each weekday, I could be at work by 7:30am each day and get more done. Or I could exercise in the morning and hopefully boost my energy prior to work. It's going to be tough because I really suck at getting up early. Perhaps I could fix my poor sleeping patterns if I institute this AM change. I could see myself being quite tired by 9pm at night if I start my day at 6:30am.

I'm actually worried about Gavin's start of 6th grade. We had an informational meeting tonight and I was not impressed by the preparedness of the teachers and administration. Questions weren't answered and parents don't seem very confident about the changes that have been made for sixth grade. A lot of responsibility is being placed on those kiddos and I hope the school and I hope the school is prepared to support and help them as the year starts. It seems like teachers are still scrambling to adjust to changes. Gavin better be prepared for his increaed workload.

That's all for now!

Wedding Pictures!!

The ladies if the wedding party (minus myself and Bobbie) all got together on Friday and made a road trip to St. Ansgar because the bridesmaid dresses are finally in!! I'm waiting patiently for mine to arrive, Karla put it in the mail today but I thought I'd share some of the pictures from the first fitting. I cannot wait to get my dress. Karla tried it on because she wanted to see what it looked like and she said it's going to be huge on me! Normally I wouldn't be happy about it being too large but I was afraid it wouldn't fit when I first ordered it. I actually just talked to Arta today, she is a custodian at the hospital, and she is the one who is going to do my alterations. She said she wouldn't take anything from me for it so I'm going to have to find a sneaky way to get her a little something for the work. I know she just likes to do it but I would feel bad about not giving her something for her time and effort. Anyway, here are just a few pictures. October can't get here soon enough!

This is Kayla and Kim being fit for alterations and Tasha looking less than amused. I love the look on Tasha's face...she looks evil!



This is Kim and the best full length picture of the dress I think. Her dress fit perfectly with the exception of length. Everybody else is going to need some serious work. I don't know how I feel about the lady who measured us. I'd say she just had issues with plus size measures but Kayla, who is itty bitty, has to have a lot done on her dress too.



Here is a pictured of Karla, Tasha and Hailee. These are all of the dresses. The color and angle are really weird in this picture but you get the idea. I think everything is going to look really nice together. p.s. Hailee and Reagan's dresses are cream with chocolate brown butterflies! They are going to be so adorable!




Anywho, I just wanted to share with you because I'm so excited and I'm not allowed to show anybody in the family. I can't wait to see my dress because that means I get to finally go shopping for wedding jewelry. Karla bought us bracelets but they took them on Friday and I guess they don't really work so we're completely on our own! I love buying fancy earrings so this is going to be fun.

OK, I should start getting ready for work. Have a lovely day ladies!

Salvation Fail

So it's been a while since I've jotted anything of substance down in the blog but I haven't had much going on. The last few weeks have been pretty quiet here in Michigan. I've been occupied at work with my normal duties as well as my new management stuff. I have so many classes, online and in-class, to take to get access to all of the systems I'll be using I don't have much down time. I really like that aspect of my new role. I still feel like I'm herding cats some days with the gals I supervise but I don't see that changing any day soon so I need to adjust my expectations.

Last weekend I finally decided to do some shopping. I have needed pants for a really long time and I can always use new tops. My upper body is finally catching up with the lower and I've gotten near the end of my 'skinny' tops and need some new items for work. I hate rotating the 5 shirts every week. I'm constantly struggling to decide if I should buy new clothes or not. I hate buying new things knowing that if I stay on track I won't be able to wear them for more than a few months, tops. However, I can't keep wearing bags to work. After talking to my aunt and some friends I decided to hit up Salvation Army. I didn't have much hope for pants but I figured if nothing else I could find some cheap tops which would off-set the cost of having to buy Lane Bryant pants.

There is a Salvation Army in Ann Arbor but everybody here talks about the massive store in Brighton which is about a 25 mile drive. It's a brand new store and has the best selection around, from what I've been told. After a few wrong turns and some profanity I finally found the store. When I first walked in all I could see were rows and rows of women's clothing. I thought for sure I'd be able to find something. Boy was I wrong. While there might have been 20 long rows of women's clothes, 3 of them happened to be of the plus sized variety. I spend quite a bit of time looking through all of it to make sure I didn't miss the diamond in the rough but it was all bad. There were a lot of nice, name brand clothes but it was all geared towards patrons much older than myself.

Now, my trip to Brighton wasn't a wasted trip. On my way to Salvation Army I passed by a Dick's Sporting and Old Navy, both of which I'd been meaning to get to for quite some time. I was pleasantly surprised at Dick's when I went in and saw that they not only carried the sports bra I wanted to buy, they also had my size in stock. I wasn't thrilled with the price, I've never spent almost $50 on a bra before but let me tell you, it's worth every penny. I tried it on in the dressing room and was hopping around and there was no movement at all. I don't know how it happens but my boobs are literally gone. It's the only time in my life that my stomach has stuck out further than my chest. It's quite unnerving, but in a good way. I also hit up Old Navy and bought almost $100 worth of back to school clothes for the kids. I'm terrible at spending money on myself but I rock at spending for them! I can't wait to see them in their new outfits!

Anyway, my shopping escapades aren't over. I really do need new pants. I had to clip my pager to my underwear yesterday so that my pants would stay up...that's not good. I think I'll hit up LB this weekend. I have a coupon and there is a denim sale so hopefully it won't cost me an arm and a leg to cover my butt. I'm also looking for a new winter coat. I tried mine on last weekend and it's comically large. I've pretty much decided on this amazing Kelly green pea coat from Old Navy, I just have to convince myself that spending $80 on a coat that I'll only be able to wear for one year is OK.

Anyway, that's about it. I hope you all have a great weekend and are enjoying this amazing summer weather!

Back to the Real World

Hey all:

Well vacation time is over and I'm thrown back into piles of work. Actually I feel like I'm buried in work. I have a lot of prep work to do for all the orientation meetings next week. I still have prep work to do for my courses this fall too. I worked on my DMACC syllabus tonight and updated it to my liking. I was pissed about their lack of preparation each week so there will be pop quizzes some weeks to see if they actually read the corresponding chapter(s). Muahahahaha.

Adventureland was very fun despite my severe sunburn. I realized halfway down the interstate that I neglected to apply or bring sunscreen. I had some on my face due to my moisturizer but that wore off quickly. I really should have wandered to a shop and bought overpriced sunscreen at some point. I was reminded about my overweightness a few times during the day. My ride on The Tornado was horrible thanks to the way I had to fit into the seat. My hip still hurts from being jerked around on that ride of torture. I went on The Inverter for the first time and didn't enjoy it much the first time but it was better the second. I didn't have a funnel cake (usually a tradition) and I'm okay with that. At the time, I didn't want one and I regretted getting a pulled pork sandwich. It wasn't very good and it ruined my appetite for the day. Gavin's willingness to ride several new things impressed me. He really isn't fearful of many amusement park rides anymore....makes me feel like a pansy.

Our department is offering lap swim time on MWF over the noon hour for faculty and staff this semester. (We tried it for the first time in the spring semester.) I am going to pay for the lap swimming and give it a whirl. I'm hoping I can use the pool each MWF. I'm not the greatest swimmer but any type of movement back and forth in the pool will help burn calories.

My 10 year high school reunion is on Saturday. Jon has agreed to go with me. I'm a little nervous because I'm unsure about who will be attending. Many people seem to be on the fence. Sadly I'm sure it will be like high school itself...people will form similar social groups. I want to be social and chummy...and not just stand in a corner and talk to Jon. It would be nice to introduce him to friends from my group.

Okay, that's enough for now. I need to fold some laundry and hit the hay. My mission to be in bed before midnight has failed.

I don't have much time...

but I just wanted to drop by and say:

Addiction

Hey all:

Well like usual I cannot sleep so I'm up and about. I've been watching "Intervention" on the A & E channel and working on some DMACC materials. Hearing the show in the background and reading through some content from the addiction chapter in my DMACC textbook....it made me think about my eating habits. I've mentioned that I'm addicted to food but decided to look at the true symptoms of an addiction. All four symptoms have to be present for a behavior to be considered an addiction.

1)compulsion: excessive preoccupation with the behavior and/or an overwhelming need to perform it

I do have an overwhelming preoccupation with food. Especially when I'm stressed...I tend to think about a food I like or think about what food I can make when I get home. It stinks that I tend to think about the foods that make me feel good rather than the people I can talk to when stressed or other actions I can take to feel better.

2)loss of control: inability to reliably predict whether any isolated occurrence of the behavior will be healthy or damaging

I do have a hard time predicting if a bout of snacking will lead to overeating or not. Lately it seems that any evening or night eating will lead to a binge or severe overeating. If I trigger my hunger (or if my emotions make me think I'm hungry) it's hard to say if I will keep my eating under control.

3)negative consequences: physical damage, legal trouble, financial issues, academic failure, family problems, etc

The defintion is obviously geared more towards drug use. I haven't been arrested yet for ordering a #2 Extra Value meal at McDonalds yet. However, I do have other negative consequences. My weight and diet are affecting my health. My back would feel better if I weighed less. I'd sleep better if I weighed less. I'd have more energy if I weighed less. I can even tie our eating out frequency to financial inadequencies.

4)denial: cannot perceive the behavior is self-destructive

I'm obviously not in denial right now...I know I'm not leading a healthy lifestyle but for YEARS I would make excuses for myself. I'm overweight but I'm a "healthy" overweight. I'm built this way...I can't help being thicker built and heavier. I also kept telling myself I had plenty of time to fix it. I'm too close to 30 for comfort. My metabolism is slowing down due to aging. My bone density is naturally decreasing. Thanks to getting older, the path for change is becoming more uphill in nature. I wish I would have stuck with healthy habits in 2001 when I moved away from home. It was a slippery slope when I started living on my own.

Okay...that's all I have for now. (Two blog entries in 24 hours...holy smokes!)

August is Upon Us

A lot has happened so here we go:

- Summer Youth Fitness has finished! Halleuiah! It's been nice to not spend half of each day in the sauna (aka Forker Building). Sadly I thought I'd enjoy that job more. However, in my defense, the pool situation really threw me for a loop. And thanks to its age, I'm going to worry about its dependability next year too. Stupid cement hole filled with water. I had added stress with a few employees...one gentlemen should have been fired but I kept trying to fix him. I have this experience behind me though so hopefully I'll be better prepared for next year. There were a couple days that made me not want to direct the program in 2012 but let's face it...I'll need the money.

- Weight Watchers has proven to be difficult. It frustrates me but at the same time the negative feelings are also driving me to persist. I really don't like to track my points for the program. I'm still not a huge fan of the meetings either. I wish I could go to a different meeting so I could see if I jived better with a different leader. Jon and I also spoke about the frequency of our eating out. Not only is it unhealthy but it's costing a fortune. If all three of us eat out, it's typically over $50. Ouch. I have so much to say about my current health and overweight status but it needs to be a blog entry itself.

- I finished my Stephen King book (finally). "The Stand" was a good read. I checked out the extended version...Mr. King added in a ton of content that was removed years ago. I wasn't horribly thrilled by most of the ending but the beginning and the middle of the book were great. It's one of those truly scary books because it really could happen. I'm taking a break from Stephen King for a bit. I've read a lot of his books over the last year and none of his other books are really tripping my trigger at the moment. I started the book you sent with me Nicole ("Goodnight Irene"). It's a nice change a pace and an easy read. After I finish that book, I plan to finish some relgious books I've been working on.

- I bought a car on July 16. It's a metallic dark blue 2008 Ford Fusion. I have loved it so far. The fancy perks have been a treat. When I say fancy perks I mean: a trunk button, a remote, and a spedometer that works. The other actual fancy stuff is OK...not sure when I'll ever have 6 CDs in my CD changer and I rarely use the Sync system. It feels odd to talk on the phone in my car. I feel like I'm yelling and I probably don't need to. It's pretty cool though to have such a clean car. I do sometimes wonder about Bonnie though. I wonder if she's in pieces or being sold as a very used car.

- Mom, Alissa, LeAnn, and Ryan are coming down for a vacation this week. I'm excited to host people in my apartment and do some cooking. I'm trying to avoid eating out a bunch. A) Mom will want to pay all the time and B) it's more convenient to just hang around here and feast together. I'm excited to venture to Adventureland too. However, if it's beastly hot, my motivation and excitement will quickly disappear.

- Gavin started flag football today. Once again I said "no" to the tackle league that is taking place in Ames. I still cannot afford it and the practice schedule would be difficult to manage. Luckily Gavin's friend Thomas is also participating in flag football for one and final year. It was fun to watch them at evaluations today. Gavin's really improved as a player and his athleticism is encouraging.

- I found those veggie straws at Sam's Club Nicole. I had forgotten about them until I was wandering the aisles with Jon. They are a nice salty snack when I'm craving something awful like Cheetos

- I feel like I'm drowning in work again. I tried to work ahead during Summer Youth Fitness. It didn't work. I'm nervous to lead meetings prior to the start of the semester but fortunately I have the agenda created so I know exactly what I need to cover. I just need to create enthralling presentation...I remembered being bored during my orientation and I really want to change that. I want to have discussions and address the trainings in a more meaningful way.

Ok...that's enough for now! More to come...hopefully in a more timely manner.