Thursday, September 25, 2008

Weekly Weigh-In

Down another 2.2 lbs this week for a total of 5.4!!! I figure it balances out with last week. I spent much of the past 7 days not feeling well at all which prompted me to not watch what I was eating as closely. I kept count in my head but didn't do any journaling, which usually spells disaster for me.

After my meeting, I usually give myself a little "splurge" meal. Nothing too crazy but something that I wouldn't eat during the week. Tonight, my splurge was an enormous salad with ranch. Could be worse, I suppose! :)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Things I thought about today...

* I love the toilets at Long Beach State. They have flushers on the floor designed so that you flush with your foot instead of your hand. Ingenious.

* I had a dream last night that one of my students smiled at me. Not that she spoke to me or achieved extreme success in the classroom. Just a smile, is that so much to ask? She's my "project" this year. I guess, technically, they are all my "projects."

* Dodgers' magic number is 2 (at this moment)! We got our playoff tickets in the mail today!!!

* I wonder when Colin's 1st birthday party will be. I wonder when the twins' first communion is. I hope we can make it to both.

* I love driving 90 mph with the windows down listening to Jethro Tull and then Led Zepplin and then something from The Little Mermaid soundtrack. I love Sirius radio.

* Why can't we all just get along? This is my last year as department chair...ok, maybe not!

* The Santa Ana winds can kiss my fat (but slowly slimming) booty. It was 91 degrees when I got out of school this afternoon and it is supposed to be even hotter tomorrow! It's almost October for crying out loud!

* Mark's off this weekend, where are we going to go?

Saturday, September 20, 2008

A Special Day

September 20th has been a special day all my life because it is my big brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Mike!!! I think all girls should grow up with a big brother. It is a special relationship that only those of us who have a big brother can truly understand. 4 years isn't a HUGE age difference but it was big enough to prevent us from being super close as kids. In fact, we had our share of disagreements. I, quite frequently, tell the story of how I would hit Mike for doing a multitude of things (like farting at the breakfast table...) and he would tell me that if I hit him, he would hit me back harder. So, of course, I would hit him as hard as I could then run the other direction and, inevitably, get hit even harder. He once told me a story about a man with a hook for a hand that was buried under our pool and, although I knew it was a ridiculous story, when we would swim at night, all Mike would say was "hook" and I would FREAK OUT! As we got older, I learned just how much my big brother cared about me and looked out for me. Now, as a full grown adult, I truly realize just how special the bond between siblings is. Mike is truly the only person in this world who grew up the exact same way that I did and who has been through the exact same trials and tribulations as I have. He is the one person who can share my perspective on a lot of things. I am so thankful to have him for my brother.

September 20th became even more special 7 years ago (on Mike's 25th birthday) when my dad's twins were born. Happy Birthday Emma and Russell!!! Being the baby in the family, I had never been around newborns. I will never forget the first time I saw them in the hospital. I saw Russell first because he didn't have to be in the NICU and he was laying in just a diaper under a heat lamp. When I saw his beautiful little face, I cried (of course) and knew that these kids were something special. The first time I saw Emma, she was in an incubator and I remember feeling so worried for her especially when she couldn't come home when Russell did. I spent a great deal of time with them during their first year and a half of life - almost every weekend during the school year. It is so hard to believe that they are already 7 years old! They are such great kids and I hope one day that they understand just how special they are to me.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Weekly Weigh-In

I'm down another 0.6 lbs. I'm not entirely pleased with this number though because I feel like I did really well in keeping my points totals low for the week (even below my alotted number) but I didn't feel like I had lost anything when I walked through the door. At least it's a small step in the right direction.

I do think that I'm going to change my meeting night. I like the idea of going on Thursday night because, if I mess up over the weekend, I have more time to recuperate. But, I'm just not gelling with the meeting leader on Thursday night. I think it's back to Mondays for me.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Weekly Weigh-In

I weighed in on Thursday and found that I had lost 2.6 lbs! I am pretty pleased. Only 15.4 more to go to reach my first goal...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Back to life, back to reality...

Whew! It's hard to imagine that we've only been back from our summer adventure for 2 weeks, it feels like I've been working all school year already!

I started "working" again just one day after we returned although "working" in this instance means going into my classroom and getting things straightened around. I spent a couple of hours each day trying to get organized for the year and to get my head back into the game. The year (which has consisted of a total of 5 days with students) has been pretty good so far. This year, my coteacher and I have a total of 36 students (our contractual limit) all in one classroom. Well, they technically COULD all be in the same classroom. We have almost all of them in at least one elective class which has put a lot of pressure on our paraeducators because we've scheduled them into a ton of different classes to cover all of the kids who are out in the mainstream. So the first five days has consisted of making sure that all of the students report to the right class at the right time, that they have an adult with them, that all of the adults have their 30 minute lunch and 15 minute break, that all of the parents know how much p.e. clothes and lunch and elective class costs are, that all of the kids get on the right bus, and so on. Needless to say, not much academic teaching has occurred.

On top of all of the classroom issues, MY classes at Long Beach State have started and both of them are REALLY heavy reading courses. I have to read at least five 10-12 page research articles each week for each class and be prepared to synthesize the articles in response to a prompt at any moment, including APA citations. I've heard that one of these two courses is the most difficult in the program so I'm hoping that, once I get through this semester, it'll all be down hill. Part of my issue, only one week into the semester, is that academics have always come so easy for me and, all of a sudden, I'm starting to question myself. I had a great class tonight and I'm starting to ease into the semester - the first couple of weeks are always the most anxious.

Another reality that I've come back to is the fact that I just can't eat Jet's Pizza and drink Labatt without paying a price for it. Oh, how I wish I could. Just for one day, I'd love to NOT have to worry about my weight (as long as I could keep my pretty face!). I rejoined Weight Watchers again last Friday and am planning on going to Thursday evening meetings. I've done the monthly pass thing so I'm paid at least through the end of this month. This week has been pretty good, I'm sure I've lost a pound or two. My goal is to lose 18 before Christmas.

Mark went back to work last Thursday as well. He decided, after BJ's gave him a very generous 5 week vacation, to return to work for them. He has gone back with a vengence too and is super focused right now, I'm so proud of him! He has his annual review on the 18th, which comes with a raise. He also got a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card in celebration of his five year anniversary with the company. I think we're going to use it to go to Seattle for a long weekend to visit some friends. That is, whenever Mark can get a long weekend off again after requesting 5 weeks off! The school district had called him for an interview on the Wednesday before we left for Jamaica and the interview was to be on the following Monday. He explained that we were going to be on vacation but they wouldn't budge on the date. He has pretty much decided that he didn't want to leave BJ's after all but at least he didn't burn any bridges by interviewing and then not accepting the position he would have, undoubtedly, been offered.

All in all, life is slowly getting back to normal...