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.