What I'm Loving Friday

Little Bit of Everything by Keith Urban
I love this new song. Maybe it's not new? You've heard it before? Well, me too, but just heard it again and downloaded it to my iTunes for my next run.
"Oh I know I don't need a whole lot of anything....I just want a little bit of everything....nah, nah nah nah...." LOVES!

Not knowing what day it is

So, when you're a teacher and you finally make it, once again, to summer break, it's awesome because you usually don't know what day it was. Yesterday I was out and thought it was Friday, but nope...it's Thursday. Days don't matter when you're on summer vacation.

Will Smith

Thanks to Matt who posted this pic earlier this week - but I LOVE Will Smith. I mean, look at him! I want a guy like that!

Sex and the City turns 15

Can you believe that SATC premiered 15 years ago today? That's a timeless show when we're all still watching it these days. What are your favorite moments from the show? I love the episode where it talks about how men are like cabs - Miranda tells Charlotte there's no such thing as soul mates, and Charlotte is floored. Miranda says something like, "When men are ready, they're ready. They wake up one morning and think that they want to get married. The next girl they see - boom. It's not fate. It's dumb luck."

I would say I have to agree.

See all 18 of Carrie's boyfriends here.

See Carrie's best looks here.

Favorite SATC moments....on a Post-It, of course!

Kate Middleton

She's so pretty, always so well dressed, so composed, and the CUTEST preggo person ever. Every time I see pics of her come up in my facebook feed I'm so excited to see how things are coming along for the royal baby. Next summer I'll see where she lives, too! Super excited for that!

And what I'm not loving....an article that said

Most people are unsatisfied with their friendships

I happened to catch this article about how one in three people are unsatisfied with their friendships. These must be the people who have awesome marriages.....seems like I can't quite figure that goal out, but as far as friendships go, I have such an awesome group of girls at my side. I have six - SIX - people who I can call anytime, for anything, that I know will answer and listen to me. (And if they happen to screen me, I will just annoy the hell out of them with 100 texts until they answer!) Of the six, I only see one of them on a regular basis, but with facebook, skype, and phone calls, I don't feel like I ever miss a beat with them. I am blessed with friends.

Hope you had an awesome week! I'm excited for Michelle and Matthew's wedding tomorrow....going to be a good time with great friends!

Can't. Stop. Thinking.....

Does your mind run a mile a minute like mine does? The worst is when there's a disagreement, a break up, a death in the family, a new job, or any other major life event. Luckily for me, I'm getting more and more used to my new position at the elementary school and getting more and more over the break up, but I still find myself having thoughts that I don't want to have.

I've talked with friends before about the power of our thoughts. LeeAnn - what was the name of the guy who writes about this? It makes sense - happy people are thinking positively. Unhappy people are not. All that being said, it's really hard to do.

I had been thinking that maybe meditation would be helpful, but wasn't really sure where to start. I knew that it would help me get in control of the things I would think throughout the day, but there's so much information out there about it that it was kind of overwhelming. The other day though, I had dinner with my old principal before I presented to her class of TFA teachers. At dinner, she told me about how she meditates and gave me a website to look into, so I did that yesterday.

This type meditation is called passage meditation. You basically choose a passage from any of the world's religions and then you meditate on that. There are many passages on the website, and one reason I really like them is because they come from all the world's religions. So in any of the passages when they say "God" it can be whatever God you believe in. Any higher power. Any way you find spirituality. Yesterday I chose this passage:

I chose this passage for a few reasons: One, it was short and I thought it would be easy to start with a short passage first. I also chose this passage because there's a line in there about how 'patience attains the goal.' That line really stuck with me and I liked it. It's hard to be patient waiting for something you really want. Hopefully by keeping this front and center in my thoughts, it will help me remember to be grateful for all that I do have...

Yesterday I practiced the passage enough to have it mostly memorized. I decided that when I woke up this morning I would do the meditation first. It says you're supposed to meditate for 30 minutes, but don't do more even if you're doing really well and want to.

Even in my groggy state, I woke up this morning all excited for my new routine. I grabbed a pillow from my couch and sat down on the living room floor. I crossed my legs and sat up straight. I had the passage in front of me in case I forgot it. I softly closed my eyes and began to recite the passage in my mind. The first few times, I had to keep opening up my eyes to look at the passage, but after that I got the hang of it.

Then the trouble happened: a firetruck went by. Itch on my arm. I could hear the fan buzzing in the background. I wondered if I should blog about this? I needed to crack my neck. So I opened my eyes and looked at the clock.

Five minutes had passed. Five minutes...for a first-timer, is that a long time? Five minutes of thirty? THIRTY? I didn't want to throw in the towel, so I decided to continue. Hey - I'm not good at it right now, but it's my first try. Five minutes trumps two, which trumps never starting, right?

I shut my eyes to try again. I went through the passage once or twice, slowly towards the end because I kept forgetting it. Whenever I slowed down, that's when my mind wandered. I thought about the dream I had this morning. Another itch. Scratched my head. Thought, "Wow, my nails are really long! I wish the girl who did my manicure would have trimmed them. They're already chipping. FOCUS MICHELLE! Think about the words of the passage. Concentrate on them. Keep going." So I did. I kept going. For sure, I got through the entire passage fluently once without forgetting it and only thinking about the words. Or, if my mind started to wander, I thought that I needed to pay better attention to the words. I did it once, but it was exhausting.

I opened my eyes. 11 minutes. I decided to be done for today.

Meditation isn't an easy thing to do. Training the mind to do what you want it to do is ridiculously hard, actually. But, tomorrow I will try again, and shoot for 12 minutes. And in the meantime, I will remember the passage and do my best to live in that way.

Do you meditate? Any suggestions? 

Mistresses

So I happened to catch Alyssa Milano on Live with Kelly and Michael yesterday. She was talking about her new show, Mistresses, which aired last night after the Bachelorette. I watched the show to get the deal on it, and it is about this group of four girls - two are sisters, plus their two friends - each of whom, all within the first episode, get caught up with infidelity in one way or another.

But, rest assured, Alyssa Milano, in her interview, said, "In no way are we glamorizing infidelity."

Here's my problem, and maybe I'm just hyperaware of things like this because my best friend is a relationship therapist (check her out on facebook - Relationship Reality 312).

Anyways, I just don't understand what is wrong with our society when it seems like this is the new norm. Whole shows are devoted to infidelity. People cheat. Couples get divorced and many throw away their relationship. How come people don't work harder for them? 

I know I'm not married, but I just was in a year and a half relationship, and even that wasn't easy. In a relationship of any kind, there's two people, who aren't the same. They have different needs, different wants. They deal with problems in different ways and don't communicate in the same way. Some share their feelings, some would rather not. Why do people jump into marriage expecting it to be easy? From what I've heard, it's not that way. 

But I get it. When you're with someone awesome, even the most ordinary things seem great. You're washing dishes, but the other person is helping you. You're planning a vacation, and they are going with you. It's like a sleepover with your best friend, every day. This is part of the reason I was having such a hard time with my break-up. But, at the end of the day, it wasn't the right relationship for me. I'm glad I figured that out before I got married...

So the show, I'll probably watch. Even though these four women should be talking about how to protect their relationships instead of cheating, I like that they are at least there for one another through everything. (Much like my best friends!)

I now leave you with this warning from Proverbs 6:32: "Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self- destructive." Keep your heart in your own relationship.

Summer Goals

Summer is here and us teachers have tons of free time to ourselves.  So, it would be fitting to set some goals to get lots done and have tons of fun this summer. For awhile there, I was thinking this summer couldn't touch last with the breakup and all, but now I'm having quite a different outlook. So here goes - Summer 2013!

#1 - Go running at least every other day - if not more. You know, at first I was thinking, "I'm going to run every day this summer!" Let's not get overly ambitious, though. I have written goals before and I know it must be attainable, and so I don't want to set myself up for failure. So, every other day it is. And, if I go more than that, dood joob, dud! 

#2 - Write at least three times a week. I really want to write a book, but I just never get down to business. I suppose writers carve out time ever day to do so. I need to try doing that. Part of it is making sure I have ideas to write about - Katie Cartier always writes the best blogs and I just want to be like her, so I need to keep my eyes and ears open day-to-day.

#3 - Eat clean - Now that I have time, there really aren't any excuses. Smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch. Go easy with food at night. No wine during the week by myself. Little or no wheat products. Easy on the sugar. You know, I'm not going to go all crazy and do a Whole 30. It's too much work. Plus, I like to eat! But, I can be conscious about it and take care of myself.

#4 - Be thankful for all I have, every day. You know, being in a relationship really makes me happy, but being single is better than being in a sucky one. So although it's sad that I don't get what I want right now, I need to remember that I am really blessed. I have a great family. My friends are the best people on this planet. I have a roof over my head, a great job, enough money to pay for what I need and have fun. I am blessed.

#5 - Have fun - I've already got some things on the calendar - volleyball with Jon and Courtney every Thursday, family coming to visit me at the end of June, Heather coming in July, going to see Holls, Mikey, and Carson sometime, and probably going to Florida with Anita at some point to see the 'rents. Plus, I really want to make an effort to see new friends - Liz, Tanya, get the girls from work out to the city for a day - Schlophies, that means you! I've also got to figure out how to make a few new dates happen, too. 

So there you have it. Summer goals. Putting them down in writing seems to make them more real. Let's see how many of them get accomplished in the next 10 weeks!

What about you? Summer plans?

What I'm Loving Monday

1. Red Wine. Helllllllo Lover. How you make me feel so much better.

2. My friends and my mom. They all really know how to talk me down off a ledge.

3. Dark Chocolate Acai Blueberries - Sister, they're acky berries, right? or however you'd spell that? (I'm a half of bottle of wine deep....) : ) 

4. My therapist. If you haven't looked her up, you should. Even if you just learn stuff from her Twitter and Facebook feeds.... She's super smart. And also falls into the #2 category.

5. The beach. Can't wait for July. So there.

I heart teaching.

Do you love your job? I do.

No, not on days like my last day of spring break when I graded for like 8 hours. Or when people tell me how lazy teachers are - how we have short hours and get the summers off and hardly do any work. (You know these people - the ones who think that since they've been through the public school system they know what it's like to teach?) (And yes, that happened.) I also don't like it that policy makers focus so much on test scores that don't really show a depth of what kind of child is taking said test.

That aside, here's what I do love:

Working with awesome people who take initiative to get things done for the good of everyone. 
One person on my team is designing a graduation T-Shirt for the team. Someone else is creating all the schedules for the hectic week of state testing. Another is extending book clubs into his social studies classes with historical fiction texts. Another is planning a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry and figuring out what kind of projects they will do with all of the video they take while they are there. No one asked anyone to do anything. It just gets done and it works. Love working with the driven, motivated, fun people I do.


Having a community circle with my homeroom at the end of the day every Friday.
You wouldn't think so, but even 8th graders like to gather together on the carpet that is center of my room. We usually meet here to read and talk about books, but every Friday, we have a circle to share appreciations and highs and lows. I never have to tell them to do this - they ask for it every week, and sometimes before Friday. I usually get the gossip during this time and we solve problems, too. Yesterday, one of my girls apologized to another for a disagreement they had a week ago. I cherish this time with my homeroom!

Coaching volleyball.
I coached cheerleading for years. It's fun, but I have LOVED coaching volleyball, especially with the boys. I've never had brothers, so it's been enlightening being in a position where I don't have to focus so much on classroom management and discipline, and we have more opportunity to have fun together. The boys I'm currently coaching have been my students for two years, so let's just say that they feel comfortable talking to me about things like.....farting. One boy told me the other day that, "I drop bombs in science, but it's only an air strike in your class."

But back to the coaching - I've seen so much progress with the kids I have. My six starters can play - setting each other up for plays and really talking to each other on the court. My other kids who are new to volleyball are making so much progress! They are getting their overhand serves down and taking constructive feedback from the other members of the team. It's so great that we have not only one coach, but 11 - each member of the team, to help us improve.

End of 8th grade.

This is my second loop with 7th-8th graders. The end of 8th grade is always hectic, but we get to do so much. Presentation speeches where they address all their classmates and their families. Our "you-can-change-the-world" action research projects where students study a cause and then complete a service project to raise awareness or money for it. Class trip to Six Flags and Springfield. Class picnic and finally, graduation. It's so hard to believe that two years can pass in the blink of an eye, but they do. I will forever remember these kids, and plan on savoring all of the moments for the last eight weeks we have together.

Continuing to improve my practice.
Teaching is awesome because you always get to start fresh. The year comes to an end, you reflect, and you can improve. It's dynamic - you don't have to continue doing the same thing year in and year out. You start as a classroom teacher just trying to get management down, and once you do, you improve your instruction. Once you see growth with that, you can consider other positions. I'm thinking an admin degree is probably next for me. Not looking forward to writing papers for another Master's program, but I can't see myself doing the same thing for 20 more years. So, looks like I'll be back at school next fall. New experiences, new people, new things to learn.

Love this profession. Do you feel the same about yours?

Never been happier to do a sit up....

I've been wanting to try CrossFit for a long time - Katie and LeeAnn in Phoenix have been doing it forever....so when I found a $40 Groupon for one close by work, I thought it was about time to start moving my dupa.

I went today for the introduction class. The leader guy Greg explained the basics of CF - group setting, go at your own pace and work on improving your own stats, do basic exercises that help you become fit...."Fit people look better." Such knowledge in such simple words. 


So then we do our little practice Workout of the Day (WOD). Greg shows us proper form for everything - and then we get to work. 

WOD #1
60 Jumping Jacks
50 Kettle Ball Sumo Dead Lifts
40 Squats
30 Sit-ups
20 Push-ups
60 Jumping Jacks

I think there were 13 of us in the group, all just going about our workout at our own pace. I started off super good with the jumping jacks thinking to myself, "I can totally do this. Piece of cake. I'll finish in no time."

I get through half of the kettle ball exercises and need a break, but then I get those finished. I moved on to the squats and whatever, they are squats so pretty simple. Good form, not really worrying about how long it will take to finish, focusing on a point on the wall in front of me, getting down to business.

By the time I got to the sit-ups, I had never been happier to do them in all my life. First of all, I got to lay on the floor and I got to use my arms/momentum to help sit up. Got a little more challenging towards the end, but nothing compared to the push-ups.

So then they begin. There's no girly-modified-on-your-knees pushups here, either. If you can't do it from plank position up and down, (after you put your chest on the floor) then you have to lift your chest and straighten your arms and then lift your butt off the floor back to plank. I DIED on the push ups. Did five. Stopped. Did five more. Stopped. Did two. TWO!! Stopped. Then three more. Then the rest (however many that was....) Don't judge me.

I slowly get myself up for the last set up jumping jacks, and by this time everyone has already finished. When I started this WOD, there was no way I was thinking I was going to be the last to finish. I mean, make no mistake, I'm out of shape, but I didn't think more out of shape than every other person there. So there I am, alone, doing the jumping jacks. The person I thought I'd be faster than was cheering me on, and I'm too light-headed to even try and figure out how I was dead last.

Oh well. I didn't quit. I finished. 13:27 for all that, but it got done.

Honestly, I'd rather go work out for 13:27 at that intensity than work out for an hour at a gym with tons of breaks and hardly ever getting my heart rate up.

So yes, I say success! I'm excited to go back, but nervous at the same time. I wonder how many times I have to come in last?!