My Costume

I have really liked this company for a long time and to promote it I decided I'd be:Blake Mycoskie

I wore these!

Here's the picture of what I was after:


Too bad I didn't get the wig I wanted (I waited too long). I ended up looking like Annie! LOL!!

Go get a pair of TOMS! When you purchase a pair of shoes you're actually giving another pair to a kid who needs them. Learn more on www.toms.com.

Thirty Minutes

People are hilarious. I've been spending my Saturdays taking a professional development course about teaching GT students. The age range among the teachers is pretty vast. Personalities are all over the board. In two weekends and as a first year teacher, I've looked around and thought - Cool and Uncool. I want to be like her when I get older. And I definitely hope not to be anywhere near her.

Do you guys do this? I do this....a lot. I don't know that it's good or bad but I do it.

Today - I had to laugh at this older lady. It sounds mean, but this is our situation: We made a commitment to attend this course for 4 consecutive Saturdays. It's scheduled from 8 - 4. The option we've been given is to have a working lunch and get out THIRTY minutes early OR go out and spend those THIRTY minutes to eat.

Well, this lady's face contorted and she was VISIBLY upset when there was argument to eat out because the Quilt Show only comes around once a year and she NEEDS to go!! Folks, it's THIRTY minutes and she nearly had a cow. I just had to LAUGH!! I mean - there were other options to take this course online or on different dates. If she really wanted to go this quilt show, couldn't she have considered other options? Is THIRTY MINUTES really going to give her the time she wanted at the quilt show? LOL!!!

I am praying tonight that I am not like this when I grow up....and that I could extend grace and be kind.

This Too Shall Pass

This is one of my favorite proverbs (not Proverbs but proverbs) EVER! I love it because it's so stinken true!!

In the movie my best friend's wedding, Julia Roberts' character sent an email that she later regretted. She was was in hysterics over it. It created a big riff between her best friend and his fiancee. They called off the wedding because of this email (or was it when she kissed her best friend?). To console herself, she stepped out of the hotel room where her best friend was staying and had a smoke. The bellman comes by and tells her that it's a no smoking area. She explains to him how she screwed everything up. He responds with my favorite line in the movie: "You know, my grandmother once told me...This too shall pass." He said it with so much conviction, it makes me laugh!

Well - it's true. I was FREAKING out about this week. I was coming to school fairly early and going to sleep at ridiculous times in the morning to wake up a couple hours later to go back to school and do it all over again. One day this week, I forced myself to be social just so I don't feel like a madwoman. I made it. It's Friday!

(Then it starts over again next week! I'll make it then too.)

Eat, Drink & Be Merry?

I have found that I'm am stress eating and drinking Coca-cola as though it is going to save my life. There are a lot of changes at school and a lot of deadlines. Change, whether good or bad, is change and something to get used to. Deadlines are not really an option. As a result, my my social life is becoming slimmer and close to nonexistant, I'm eating myself to being happy. Or at least for the moment I'm eating.

I was telling my mom that I'm not sure why I'm eating JUNK and why I'm drinking Coke, because even though it makes me feel so comfy and safe at the moment, I end up hating myself for it...Or at least being upset because I can't run like I did 2 weeks prior. The amount of energy I have changes too - and my ability to sleep well. Everything is screwed up because I am stressed and feel the need to eat and drink things I know have a negative effect on me.

Yes - everything in moderation....but when it's a daily thing...it's a problem.

This cycle sucks and I need to figure out how to break it before I can't fit into my clothes and go into a long term funk!!

I need to stop whining - and make it happen!! I have the priviledge of having a career that I longed for way back when... I have to take the days as they come and plan ahead!! :o)

Psalm 37:3

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Hill Training Day 1

Well, earlier this week I was so excited because I had a super good run (for me) with my running buddy Lara. And I thought that since that run was great I was going to be great at my first day of hill training. YEAH - NO! Turns out that most of these people have already been training for an entire month - they are training for the marathon. Training started today for me since I'm training for a HALF marathon. I was glad that I wasn't the only newbie - I ended up teaming up with a girl who was willing to run at my turtle pace. Two is better than one, especially when it's starting to get dark in the city of Houston.

The warm up was 5 minutes of going in a circle up and down this hill. If you ask me that warm up was enough for me to say, "I DID IT!" :o) Well, after the warm up we did this 2 mile cross country type run that was very hilly for Houston.

On the trail we ran under this bridge that is home for bats. OMG!! It STUNK so bad! My gag reflexes kicked in high gear and I tried so hard to get it together. I held my breath and picked up the pace to pass up the stink...but when I got to the other side - aka fresh air - I puked! My new friend watched as I puked up the water and gatorade I drank prior to the run.

SO NICE TO MEET YOU! GLAD YOU COULD SEE ME PUKE ON THE FIRST DAY OF MEETING YOU! IT'S MY FAVORITE THING TO DO FOR FRIENDS!!

Thankfully there was a water fountain and I got some water and was able to finish the run. And my new friend and I high fived. We finished. LOL!

I had to remind myself that today was my FIRST hill day and it'll get better. I mean - it has to right?

So bottom line: Bats Stink and Hills Kill!!

College Days Remembered

My friends made this video of them sneaking into my room on a Friday night. It was pay back for breaking into her room and waking her up one night. As abnormal as it may seem, it was normal for me to go to bed anywhere from 7 to 8 on a FRIDAY night! I know...RIDICULOUS!

The deal was that every day (even on the weekends) I would wake up at 6 a.m. no matter what time I went to bed. Some friends would say, "Call me when you wake up." I'd call and they & their roommates would be ticked because I woke them up on a Saturday!! LOL! I'd work my tail and then PLAY hard. By Friday I was done. DONE!

Such is the case as a teacher. I haven't been this tired in such a long time! At least, since MAY!! It's crazy to think that I am ready for bed and it's only 7:20. CRAZY!