As the title states, the new year has started off on the right foot in regards to semesters starting up for both ISU and DMACC. No major complaints with work despite my schedule being very busy most days. I am teaching three classes for ISU, two for DMACC, running Swim & Gym, supervising three student teachers, supervising the grad students that teach, and some other miscellaneous stuff.
Health-wise I am not off to a good start. Both Jon and I aren't pleased with eating habits and activity levels. Lots of work to do....need to officially dive in.
Thanks to receiving my Kindle for my birthday, I've been reading more for pleasure. I read A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel and really enjoyed it. It's the book that was used to create the movie "Simon Birch". The book is much different but they did a good job making the movie. The boy (Simon Birch/Owen Meany) lives into adulthood in the book which is quite different than the movie.
I also read the short story related to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I was surprised it was a short story and so basic. It's quite different than the movie so for once I can say the movie is better than the book.
Last night I finished Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which yes was also developed into a movie. The book is very similar to the movie. The main difference relates to the daughter (Sandra Bullock in the movie) and the fact she isn't kidnapped by the Ya-Yas but is alone in a cabin reflecting on her childhood and her upcoming wedding.
I am working on two Stephen King books. The Talisman has been a tough read so far. I started The Wind Through the Keyhole which is a new addition to the "Dark Tower" series. It's been awhile since I've read the series so I'm hoping I can make sense of the book. It's not attached to the end of the series but would be between books 4 and 5 chronologically.
I have some Beth Moore books waiting too. She writes religous books and almost all her books were free one day through Amazon so I bought 6 of them.
Gavin started up with basketball. He's on B team and has played two games. He's still a little rusty but there is still another month of practice and games. When Swim & Gym starts, I'm not sure how many games I'll be able to attend. Games are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and some Mondays. Blah.
Ok....back to watching reruns of Roseanne!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
Bring on another semester...
I am wrapping things up for the day before I head out into the frigid cold. I'm curious to hear what the Fusion sounds like when I try to start it in a little bit. My game plan was to update and change my syllabi for the semester for both institutions. I was successful. I even worked on my online courses a bit too and worked ahead for the semester. My class sizes for DMACC are rather large so I'm curious to see how many people drop in the first week.
I am becoming more motivated to spruce up my office at ISU and make it more personal. I've never asked to paint it and I'm not about to do that yet. I want to try and do something collage-wise with pictures of Gavin so I can be more boastful of my offspring when people are in my office. I have so many extra pictures of him at home. I need to figure out a cute way to present the pictures though. (Yes I've been scanning Pinterest for ideas). I never had a lot of creativity or craftiness working for me so I doubt I'll be blessed with any this week.
I am truly pleased that my stressed demeanor just melts away over the holiday break. I am truly enthused and excited to start the spring semester. I have great ideas for all my classes. (especially the class associated with educating future health teachers)
I'm also excited for my millionth pursuit of changing my lifestyle. Right now at this moment I'm thinking "eating better and exercising more? piece of cake. I'll start tonight." What sucks is that I'll get home and laziness or indifference will kick in and my line of thinking will switch to "mmmm breaded cheese balls and sitting on the couch.....I'll work out tomorrow."
I should probably go to Weight Watchers and see what I weigh. It will depress me but I need to know where I'm starting from. History repeats itself!!
Anywho...time to pack up and head back to Ankeny. Yippee.
I am becoming more motivated to spruce up my office at ISU and make it more personal. I've never asked to paint it and I'm not about to do that yet. I want to try and do something collage-wise with pictures of Gavin so I can be more boastful of my offspring when people are in my office. I have so many extra pictures of him at home. I need to figure out a cute way to present the pictures though. (Yes I've been scanning Pinterest for ideas). I never had a lot of creativity or craftiness working for me so I doubt I'll be blessed with any this week.
I am truly pleased that my stressed demeanor just melts away over the holiday break. I am truly enthused and excited to start the spring semester. I have great ideas for all my classes. (especially the class associated with educating future health teachers)
I'm also excited for my millionth pursuit of changing my lifestyle. Right now at this moment I'm thinking "eating better and exercising more? piece of cake. I'll start tonight." What sucks is that I'll get home and laziness or indifference will kick in and my line of thinking will switch to "mmmm breaded cheese balls and sitting on the couch.....I'll work out tomorrow."
I should probably go to Weight Watchers and see what I weigh. It will depress me but I need to know where I'm starting from. History repeats itself!!
Anywho...time to pack up and head back to Ankeny. Yippee.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Happy Holidays
Greetings:
I am on my last full day in Waukon and for the most part, it's a lazy morning. Most people are still laying down or sleeping. It's been a good trip with movies, games, and the usual Christmas activities. I think I've eaten more popcorn balls than usual this year...usually one or two does the trick but I've been craving them more than usual.
I still have time off from work which is glorious! The stress from the last weeks is already washing away and I barely remember the long hours of grading and my whining students. Even though I don't have to physically be at work for awhile, I will mostly likely work on my syllabi for the spring semester. I need to create a syllabus for an experimental course that will become a permanent course in the near future. I'm excited to make some changes to my health studies course at ISU as I've had some ideas pop in the last year and it's time to make a change.
Gavin started the holidays with some sort of stomach bug. Luckily it was short lived and only delayed us coming to NE Iowa for a day. (His mother should have pushed the flu shot harder but who knows if that would have helped any.)
OK onto to topics for the new, approaching year. I am going to sound like a broken record because like usual, my health status is a major focus for change in 2014. I didn't only fall off the wagon this past fall, the wagon broke down, and a wheel rolled off. Eating well got put on a back burner and being active was inconvenient many days. My report from my sleep study was favorable but the doctor gave me the reminder of weight loss to prevent any future issues. I believe if I keep up with keeping work and home separate, establishing healthy habits will become easier. I did a fairly good job keeping work at work in 2013. I did have to bring home some grading periodically but it was nothing like it had been in previous years. In addition to weight loss, healthier eating, and more physical activity, I am going to try and carve out more "me time" so I can do things I enjoy like reading or hobbies. It would be nice if I fell in love with exercise and could term that as a hobby. As of today I am skeptical of that but it would be really fun to be more outdoorsy and truly camp on a regular basis in the spring, summer, and fall. Jon got me a Kindle and I want that to promote the amount I'm reading for pleasure. I used to read at a rate of a book a week. I'm lucky now if I read a book every 3-4 months.
I also need to become more brave with my culinary actions at home. I make a few things well but even I get sick of eating that stuff on a regular basis. I need to open up my recipe books, use the buttload of meat in our deep freeze, and make eating out a treat again. Right now it's the norm and it's also expensive.
I'm sure I'll be voicing more goals and plans in the next weeks as January officially begins. I'm still registered at Weight Watchers but I'm going to whine about it for awhile as the enrollment will skyrocket in January and February. I hate when it's busy and when a million people attend a meeting.
By Valentine's Day I want to be down 15 pounds. Being that weight loss comes off early in the beginning, I'm hoping that's not a challenge.
I hope to do be down 25 pounds by St. Patrick's Day.
I'll leave it at that.
I am on my last full day in Waukon and for the most part, it's a lazy morning. Most people are still laying down or sleeping. It's been a good trip with movies, games, and the usual Christmas activities. I think I've eaten more popcorn balls than usual this year...usually one or two does the trick but I've been craving them more than usual.
I still have time off from work which is glorious! The stress from the last weeks is already washing away and I barely remember the long hours of grading and my whining students. Even though I don't have to physically be at work for awhile, I will mostly likely work on my syllabi for the spring semester. I need to create a syllabus for an experimental course that will become a permanent course in the near future. I'm excited to make some changes to my health studies course at ISU as I've had some ideas pop in the last year and it's time to make a change.
Gavin started the holidays with some sort of stomach bug. Luckily it was short lived and only delayed us coming to NE Iowa for a day. (His mother should have pushed the flu shot harder but who knows if that would have helped any.)
OK onto to topics for the new, approaching year. I am going to sound like a broken record because like usual, my health status is a major focus for change in 2014. I didn't only fall off the wagon this past fall, the wagon broke down, and a wheel rolled off. Eating well got put on a back burner and being active was inconvenient many days. My report from my sleep study was favorable but the doctor gave me the reminder of weight loss to prevent any future issues. I believe if I keep up with keeping work and home separate, establishing healthy habits will become easier. I did a fairly good job keeping work at work in 2013. I did have to bring home some grading periodically but it was nothing like it had been in previous years. In addition to weight loss, healthier eating, and more physical activity, I am going to try and carve out more "me time" so I can do things I enjoy like reading or hobbies. It would be nice if I fell in love with exercise and could term that as a hobby. As of today I am skeptical of that but it would be really fun to be more outdoorsy and truly camp on a regular basis in the spring, summer, and fall. Jon got me a Kindle and I want that to promote the amount I'm reading for pleasure. I used to read at a rate of a book a week. I'm lucky now if I read a book every 3-4 months.
I also need to become more brave with my culinary actions at home. I make a few things well but even I get sick of eating that stuff on a regular basis. I need to open up my recipe books, use the buttload of meat in our deep freeze, and make eating out a treat again. Right now it's the norm and it's also expensive.
I'm sure I'll be voicing more goals and plans in the next weeks as January officially begins. I'm still registered at Weight Watchers but I'm going to whine about it for awhile as the enrollment will skyrocket in January and February. I hate when it's busy and when a million people attend a meeting.
By Valentine's Day I want to be down 15 pounds. Being that weight loss comes off early in the beginning, I'm hoping that's not a challenge.
I hope to do be down 25 pounds by St. Patrick's Day.
I'll leave it at that.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Is It Break Yet?
I have miraculously worked my way through a pile of grading and have some down time before the after school program starts. I'm fairly certain I've forgotten to do something. I'm sure it will pop into my head in the middle of Swim & Gym when I can't do anything about it.
Today is the last day of Swim & Gym for the semester. It bums me out but I'm always relieved to have it over with by this time each fall and spring. I should enjoy that part of my job more but sadly I don't. I think it connects to the lack of quality help I receive with the program. I am hoping the change we're making with the program for fall 2014 will also change my attitude about the program. (It's becoming part of a class that all PE majors have to participate in prior to graduation.) I'll have less stress with the recruiting of helpers.
Jon and I went to Weight Watchers last night. I am going back and forth with weight loss and weight gain. I'm not shocked as I do well some weeks and I don't do well on others. I am planning to go look at the Ankeny YMCA next week to see the facility and learn about the perks. I don't go to Anytime Fitness anymore and I've never been fond of the setting. I wish Jon and I could exercise together but our schedules never seem to allow it.
We are doing Thanksgiving at Jon's parents' house on Thursday. I've been assigned to make mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and provide cranberry sauce. I'm more than happy to do it as I didn't want them to order all the food from Hy-Vee. The remainder of the semester will fly by after next week's break ends. I have a lot of big assignments and projects coming for all classes at both ISU and DMACC. As usual, I plan to work ahead with grading. Let's see if I can make that work for me or if I'll be scrambling to grade things in the dead of night before final exams.
ISU is closed all next week but I do plan on working Monday-Wednesday. I want to tidy up my office. I have ideas for making the space more personalized just never have time to do so. I get to go to the dentist on Tuesday. Blah. I'm resorting to a toddler as I dislike that area of health and prevention now. Two root canals will do that to a person.
I thought I'd have something more profound to share but life has been pretty dull. I'm excited to start my Christmas shopping. I'm keeping things simple this year so my lists for people are quite short. We are getting a real Christmas tree again too so that will be fun. We may even do it the weekend after Thanksgiving. If we stick to that timeline, I'll add pictures soon.
Today is the last day of Swim & Gym for the semester. It bums me out but I'm always relieved to have it over with by this time each fall and spring. I should enjoy that part of my job more but sadly I don't. I think it connects to the lack of quality help I receive with the program. I am hoping the change we're making with the program for fall 2014 will also change my attitude about the program. (It's becoming part of a class that all PE majors have to participate in prior to graduation.) I'll have less stress with the recruiting of helpers.
Jon and I went to Weight Watchers last night. I am going back and forth with weight loss and weight gain. I'm not shocked as I do well some weeks and I don't do well on others. I am planning to go look at the Ankeny YMCA next week to see the facility and learn about the perks. I don't go to Anytime Fitness anymore and I've never been fond of the setting. I wish Jon and I could exercise together but our schedules never seem to allow it.
We are doing Thanksgiving at Jon's parents' house on Thursday. I've been assigned to make mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and provide cranberry sauce. I'm more than happy to do it as I didn't want them to order all the food from Hy-Vee. The remainder of the semester will fly by after next week's break ends. I have a lot of big assignments and projects coming for all classes at both ISU and DMACC. As usual, I plan to work ahead with grading. Let's see if I can make that work for me or if I'll be scrambling to grade things in the dead of night before final exams.
ISU is closed all next week but I do plan on working Monday-Wednesday. I want to tidy up my office. I have ideas for making the space more personalized just never have time to do so. I get to go to the dentist on Tuesday. Blah. I'm resorting to a toddler as I dislike that area of health and prevention now. Two root canals will do that to a person.
I thought I'd have something more profound to share but life has been pretty dull. I'm excited to start my Christmas shopping. I'm keeping things simple this year so my lists for people are quite short. We are getting a real Christmas tree again too so that will be fun. We may even do it the weekend after Thanksgiving. If we stick to that timeline, I'll add pictures soon.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween!
Ankeny had it's Trick-or-Treating event last night. Fortunately the forecast wasn't spot on so we did have kids come visit the house. It was supposed to storm but everything stayed south of us. I think we had about 50 kids. Our part of the street usually gets ignored since the park is across the street and some of our neighbors don't participate. I still have high hopes for creating a scary experience in the front yard for kids to walk through. Just need to find the time and money to organize that. I'll lure the children in with decorations and fog and such.
We ran to Weight Watchers real quick last night and I'm pleased that I only gained 1.4 lbs. Yes I'm happy about a weight gain. I ate poorly last week and my weight should show the results. I expected more of a gain though. Anywho, it's a new week. I really want to cook at home more in the next seven days. Actually I should be cooking more at home in general for the next months. I think a batch of chili is in the cards soon.
I recognized that Halloween bums me out now too. I sincerely miss taking Gavin out trick-or-treating. I think the holiday holds most of my fondest memories. (yes it beats out Christmas) It was so fun to go to West Ames and take him around Shirley or Mary's neighborhoods. Makes me want to borrow a young child and take them out next year.
And for a laugh. I went to the Post Office today to buy stamps. After leaving and approaching my car, I notice that the bottom of my shoe is really slippery and that I've brought some sort of substance into my car on the floor mat. My first thought was "oh crap I stepped in dog crap". I checked outside the door and nope! A piece of carrot cake was sitting in the parking lot. Yes, carrot cake. I stepped in the cake and tracked into my car. Thanks to the person that decided to ditch their dessert in a weird spot.
We ran to Weight Watchers real quick last night and I'm pleased that I only gained 1.4 lbs. Yes I'm happy about a weight gain. I ate poorly last week and my weight should show the results. I expected more of a gain though. Anywho, it's a new week. I really want to cook at home more in the next seven days. Actually I should be cooking more at home in general for the next months. I think a batch of chili is in the cards soon.
I recognized that Halloween bums me out now too. I sincerely miss taking Gavin out trick-or-treating. I think the holiday holds most of my fondest memories. (yes it beats out Christmas) It was so fun to go to West Ames and take him around Shirley or Mary's neighborhoods. Makes me want to borrow a young child and take them out next year.
And for a laugh. I went to the Post Office today to buy stamps. After leaving and approaching my car, I notice that the bottom of my shoe is really slippery and that I've brought some sort of substance into my car on the floor mat. My first thought was "oh crap I stepped in dog crap". I checked outside the door and nope! A piece of carrot cake was sitting in the parking lot. Yes, carrot cake. I stepped in the cake and tracked into my car. Thanks to the person that decided to ditch their dessert in a weird spot.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Happy Early Halloween
My ability to create crafty and unique titles to my blog entries is disappointing. Let's fixate on the fact that I blogged more than once in a month!
Yesterday (Monday) did not go well for this lady but I'm pleased to report that my Tuesday is starting off on a better note. I don't teach today so I'm excited to work on grading and do some prep work for upcoming classes. I will admit that work has felt a little disappointing lately as I've been busting my butt to create more engaging experiences for my students. Even though activities are more fun and interactive, the students act like it's still as bad as staring at a screen and taking notes. Sigh. My course for PE students gets the prize for being the worst. Teaching elementary PE should be very exciting and motivating and they act like they're at the dentist when in class.
Anywho...Jon and I have been attending a bible-study type class in Ankeny. It's with a different church (Methodist). The course is called ALPHA and for the most part it's been pretty nifty. You can actually find the videos on YouTube as the gentleman that created the course has 45-minute videos for each of the big topics. I can actually say that he's one of the best public speakers I've watched in years. He's also British and I dig the accent. The program had a half-day event this past Saturday. Usually the program only takes place on Sunday evenings for a couple hours. So Saturday started off as expected...breakfast, videos, group discussion, etc. Everything was fine until the last 30 minutes. We moved from our usual place to the church's chapel area. It makes me giggle now but some sort of meditation music was playing. I call it "seagull music" as all I remember are sounds of the ocean and seagulls squawking. The main group leader did sort of a progressive relaxation exercise with the group with deep breathing and muscle relaxation. (I wasn't horribly freaked out yet...but I could tell the program was taking a much different direction.) Then she announces that all of the group leaders/assistants are going to come to us one-by-one and lay hands on us and pray and stuff. I severely dislike that type of stuff. (It seems wrong to use the word 'hate' with a religious topic.) I'm not a touchy person and I like my space. And of course, the main leader and an assistant make a bee-line for me. I probably came off as rude but I was clear from the start that I didn't want to pray as a group and no one was going to touch me. I don't know if this caught them off guard or what but needless to say, Jon and I left pretty quickly. It bums me out because it went from a program that I truly enjoyed and that short experience creeped me out. We do plan to go back on Sunday as it's an assumption that it's going back to the typical video-discussion format. I actually plan to to talk to the main lady too and fortunately time has allowed me to calm down. I'm not really mad but I want her to understand that a warning would have been nice before we all marched into that space on Saturday. I know some people take the class because they are trying to figure things out and I could see that situation being very uncomfortable for some. It felt very forced and I don't think that's supposed to be a characteristic of the program.
I went to Weight Watcher's last week and dropped about 5 lbs. And I fell off the wagon already. We went out to eat a lot this week. A lot. I'm in a funk at home in regards to our dinners and food choices. I'm not creative in the kitchen and my motivation to whip up a wholesome meal is often lacking, especially on work days. Sadly I'm sure I've gained weight back but I'll know more tomorrow. The plan is to stop by and just weigh-in as we want to be at home when Trick-or-Treat hours start. Then again it's supposed to storm tomorrow evening. I hate when the weather sucks on Halloween. I'm not sure why Ankeny isn't having trick-or-treating on Thursday.
Time to dig into grading. Yippee.
Yesterday (Monday) did not go well for this lady but I'm pleased to report that my Tuesday is starting off on a better note. I don't teach today so I'm excited to work on grading and do some prep work for upcoming classes. I will admit that work has felt a little disappointing lately as I've been busting my butt to create more engaging experiences for my students. Even though activities are more fun and interactive, the students act like it's still as bad as staring at a screen and taking notes. Sigh. My course for PE students gets the prize for being the worst. Teaching elementary PE should be very exciting and motivating and they act like they're at the dentist when in class.
Anywho...Jon and I have been attending a bible-study type class in Ankeny. It's with a different church (Methodist). The course is called ALPHA and for the most part it's been pretty nifty. You can actually find the videos on YouTube as the gentleman that created the course has 45-minute videos for each of the big topics. I can actually say that he's one of the best public speakers I've watched in years. He's also British and I dig the accent. The program had a half-day event this past Saturday. Usually the program only takes place on Sunday evenings for a couple hours. So Saturday started off as expected...breakfast, videos, group discussion, etc. Everything was fine until the last 30 minutes. We moved from our usual place to the church's chapel area. It makes me giggle now but some sort of meditation music was playing. I call it "seagull music" as all I remember are sounds of the ocean and seagulls squawking. The main group leader did sort of a progressive relaxation exercise with the group with deep breathing and muscle relaxation. (I wasn't horribly freaked out yet...but I could tell the program was taking a much different direction.) Then she announces that all of the group leaders/assistants are going to come to us one-by-one and lay hands on us and pray and stuff. I severely dislike that type of stuff. (It seems wrong to use the word 'hate' with a religious topic.) I'm not a touchy person and I like my space. And of course, the main leader and an assistant make a bee-line for me. I probably came off as rude but I was clear from the start that I didn't want to pray as a group and no one was going to touch me. I don't know if this caught them off guard or what but needless to say, Jon and I left pretty quickly. It bums me out because it went from a program that I truly enjoyed and that short experience creeped me out. We do plan to go back on Sunday as it's an assumption that it's going back to the typical video-discussion format. I actually plan to to talk to the main lady too and fortunately time has allowed me to calm down. I'm not really mad but I want her to understand that a warning would have been nice before we all marched into that space on Saturday. I know some people take the class because they are trying to figure things out and I could see that situation being very uncomfortable for some. It felt very forced and I don't think that's supposed to be a characteristic of the program.
I went to Weight Watcher's last week and dropped about 5 lbs. And I fell off the wagon already. We went out to eat a lot this week. A lot. I'm in a funk at home in regards to our dinners and food choices. I'm not creative in the kitchen and my motivation to whip up a wholesome meal is often lacking, especially on work days. Sadly I'm sure I've gained weight back but I'll know more tomorrow. The plan is to stop by and just weigh-in as we want to be at home when Trick-or-Treat hours start. Then again it's supposed to storm tomorrow evening. I hate when the weather sucks on Halloween. I'm not sure why Ankeny isn't having trick-or-treating on Thursday.
Time to dig into grading. Yippee.
Friday, October 18, 2013
TGIF
Today marks the end of Midterm Work at both ISU and DMACC. Apparently it's been a rough week for students but it was fairly easy-going for me. I made awesome progress on grading as I had to submit midterm grades by today. I've also worked ahead and did prep for upcoming weeks as major assignments are due in November and December for most of my classes.
Jon and I went to Weight Watchers on Wednesday. Not pleased by my weight status but wasn't shocked either. I've been eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted in the past months. I'm happy to be getting back on track but I have to also bump up my physical activity. The snow will be flying soon so I'm sure my motivation to be outside will start to dwindle. I wasn't enthusiastic to be outside in the summer either due to the heat. You just can't win in most Iowa seasons.
I am attending a conference all day Sunday. I'm excited to see some presentations for health as I'm teaching more health classes now a days. We have to leave Ames at 5:30am. I have a feeling I'll do much of the driving to and from Storm Lake too. Sigh. I've needed more professional development for my annual evaluation so this conference should help. We are hosting it at ISU next fall too and I wanted to get a firsthand account of how well the conference functions. I've attended it before and it's been wonderful. I've also attended it in the past and it was poorly organized.
I need to start prepping and cooking more meals at home. I wish I was versatile with my culinary talents. I can make some stuff really well but I'm awful at trying new recipes. Sigh. The crock pot needs more action too.
I guess that's all for now. Sadly I'm rather dull and I don't have anything of great excitement to write about.
Jon and I went to Weight Watchers on Wednesday. Not pleased by my weight status but wasn't shocked either. I've been eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted in the past months. I'm happy to be getting back on track but I have to also bump up my physical activity. The snow will be flying soon so I'm sure my motivation to be outside will start to dwindle. I wasn't enthusiastic to be outside in the summer either due to the heat. You just can't win in most Iowa seasons.
I am attending a conference all day Sunday. I'm excited to see some presentations for health as I'm teaching more health classes now a days. We have to leave Ames at 5:30am. I have a feeling I'll do much of the driving to and from Storm Lake too. Sigh. I've needed more professional development for my annual evaluation so this conference should help. We are hosting it at ISU next fall too and I wanted to get a firsthand account of how well the conference functions. I've attended it before and it's been wonderful. I've also attended it in the past and it was poorly organized.
I need to start prepping and cooking more meals at home. I wish I was versatile with my culinary talents. I can make some stuff really well but I'm awful at trying new recipes. Sigh. The crock pot needs more action too.
I guess that's all for now. Sadly I'm rather dull and I don't have anything of great excitement to write about.
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