My 2010 Handbook

A dear friend of mine sent this to me in an email earlier this month. I am the type of person who always looks within and is always trying to improve. I figure, if there's nothing to improve...well, something's wrong! LOL

But seriously, after reading this list, it really got me to thinking that I have control of all these things. These are things that I can do to make my year a little healthier and a little happier. I sometimes get into my little ruts...I'm not successful enough or fit enough or pretty enough and kind enough. So when I read the personality part of this handbook, it really spoke to me. Take a look...

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

So excited for what this year will bring. :)

What would I do...

if I couldn't teach? Those of you who know me personally know how crazy passionate I am about what I do. I L-O-V-E my job. Even with it's crazy ups and downs, temper tantrums, potty accidents...whatever. It is SO very rewarding to have a child who couldn't read be able to pick up a Dr. Seuss book and read it to me, cover to cover. Tears seriously well up for me when my little low preforming babies can write a sentence by themselves. I am one who gets emotionally attached to my classes, but I personally think it makes me a better teacher because they KNOW I care. I don't let a day go by where they don't hear the words, "I love you" come out of my mouth. I love what I do.

With that being said, you can imagine how torn up I get when I hear about anything involving education. I try and stay as neutral as I can, politically. But education is top on my list. I get so angry and frustrated when I hear about cuts being made to education. I think of all the kids who are losing out because of the economy. Yes, it's the real world and yes it sucks. But this is THEIR future.

Today, I found out that, once again, I have to be concerned with the fact that I may get laid off. The chances are slim, but I probably will be getting pink slipped at the least. SCARY. I probably won't get to stay at my current school....I might not get to stay in first grade...and in the absolute WORST case scenario, I might not have a job next school year.

Here's what I hope for:

I hope that there are lotsa people looking to retire.
I hope that the district figures out another way for us to save money so we can keep teachers.

I think that's really all I can hope for right now, realistically.

But let's look on the bright side. Hubs and I have prepared for this; and we will be okay, financially, for a year with only one salary. So that's good, I guess. It could be worse.

But what on earth would I do if I didn't teach? I suppose my other option is to sub (but I DESPISE subbing). Or maybe I'll just have babies and stay home. Oh wait...they cost money too!!

At least it's almost Friday!! And tonight is Grey's and Hamburger night! Wahoo!!

Happy Anniversary

to my wonderful friends, Stacy and Tyson !!

Hope that you had a wonderful day today celebrating your first 2 years together!! I miss you guys oh-so-much! Love you both!! :)
xoxo, Bean

AND

Happy anniversary to Heather and Dennis!!!
(Heather doesn't like pics posted of her, so I'm not allowed to put one here). :)
Love you guys!!

almost back to normal

I am almost back to my normal self! I got sick (again) this weekend, and I am just now feeling better. I was really upset with the fact that I caught a cold, especially since I just got over a quick sickness two weeks ago. So not only was I feeling crummy, but my workout routines were put on hiatus until I could breath again. Needless to say, I'm a little bit behind schedule. :(

I began my shred workouts on Saturday, and let me tell you, it kicked my butt! I was super sore almost immediately after I completed my workout. My hubby was intrigued with the idea of a twenty minute workout that worked everything, so I allowed him to watch me. He giggled on the couch (mostly every time I had to squat), and he commented on the fact that it didn't look too bad, to which I replied, "You try it!"

Since Saturday (which is when I got sick), I wasn't able to stay on my schedule for my shred workouts. I gave myself Sunday and Monday off. Tuesday, I went to the gym and did 45 minutes of cardio, and I attempted to do a shred workout, but I just didn't have the energy to finish. Today, I FINALLY did the whole thing, and I am feeling AWESOME!! And I have a yoga class that I am determined to go to tonight. :)

I also have to mention that I now have Hubby hooked on these shred workouts. He woke up early Tuesday morning and decided to give them a try...and he now agrees that it kicked his butt!! His goal is to try and do a workout every morning. So proud of him!!

And I am soooo ready for the stormy weather to disappear!! I am dying to go out and run/walk, and it's been sooo ugly outside. That, and I'm DONE with rainy day recess. Even my group of wonderful angels is driving me batty!!

Happy Hump day to all!!

Do I dare? You bet I do!!

My fellow LC alum and blogger, Kara, has challenged her readers to participate in a 30 Day Shred Challenge. I think it sounds like a fine idea; so I told her I am all in!! Starting Saturday, and for the next 30 days, I will be completing a workout a day from Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and hopefully will be able to keep up with her. I've done this workouts sporadically on OnDemand and have loved them! It's great that they are only 30 minutes, but each workout incorporates cardio, strength, and abs. It is a serious workout!!


Since it's only 30 minutes a day, I'm thinking (and hoping!) it won't be too hard to squeeze this in. The last two weeks, I've been running/walking 3-4 days during the work week and taking an hour yoga class 2 times a week. I HAVE to keep up with my cardio since Shamrock AND Big Sur are coming up (yes folks, my crazy ass signed up for the Big Sur 10 mile...what was I thinking?!?) I'm doing this mainly to tone, but I won't be bummed out if a couple of pounds melt away at the same time. :)

I'm thinking that since it takes me forever to get ready in the morning, my workouts have to stay in the afternoon. In the last 2 weeks, I've been really good about not taking too much work home with me, although the work load may increase towards the end of the trimester. So I've been able to get home before it gets dark to get my runs in for the evening. Yoga classes are on Monday and Wednesday evenings, so I should probably plan to do my runs on Tues, Thurs, and Fridays, along with a long walk over the weekends. This way, my day is not completely taken over by working out, and I'll be able to recover between runs.

Kara was awesome enough to schedule out the workouts, so here it is:

LEVEL 1
Day 1. Jan 16th
Day 2. Jan 17th
Day 3. Jan 18th
Day 4. Jan 19th
Day 5. Jan 20th
Day 6. Jan 21th
Day 7. Jan 22nd
Day 8. Jan 23rd
Day 9. Jan 24th
Day 10. Jan 25th

LEVEL 2
Day 11. Jan 26th
Day 12. Jan 27th
Day 13. Jan 28th
Day 14. Jan 29th
Day 15. Jan 30th
Day 16. Jan 31st
Day 17. Feb. 1st
Day 18. Feb. 2nd
Day 19. Feb 3rd
Day 20. Feb 4th

LEVEL 3
Day 21. Feb 5th
Day 22. Feb 6th
Day 23. Feb 7th
Day 24. Feb 8th
Day 25. Feb 9th
Day 26. Feb 10th
Day 27. Feb 11th
Day 28. Feb 12th
Day 29. Feb 13th
Day 30. Feb 14th

I'll try and blog a couple of times a week to update how my progress is going. I will measure myself before I begin to have a baseline, and I'm really iffy about taking a picture...but I guess I will. It's not like I'm going to post it! :P I mean, unless I look smokin' hot by the end...which will be Valentine's Day!! LOL!!

training mode has begun!

I've made the commitment to do several races this year, the first one being in March. I'm going to be doing the Shamrock'n Half Marathon in West Sacramento with some co-workers, and it should be a blast. But looking at the calendar, I realized I have just over 2 months to get my butt in gear! Since Cowtown in October, I haven't done much training, what with all the recovering and holidays and all. But last week I finally started and training is in full force!

I began slowly, walking 3-4 miles a day at my normal pace (about 13 min/mile). But I suddenly had the urge to run. HELLO?!? I NEVER run!! So I figured I'd give it a try. I mean, if I was tired, I was going to let myself stop. So I ran...a whole MILE without stopping. Ok, doesn't sound like a huge leap (and it was slooooow), but I think that was pretty good for a non-runner. I walked and ran 4 days last week. I also did yoga twice and a couple of Jillian Michael's workouts on On Demand (love ExcerciseTV). Those 30 day shred workouts kick your butt!! It was a great first week back into my routine.

On top of that, Hubby and I have decided we are going to try and eat healthier (along with everyone else at the start of the year!). He purchased a food scale in order to control his portion sizes. I felt bad because at first I totally laughed and made fun, but let me tell you, I L-O-V-E using it!! It helps me so much with tracking how much I'm eat each day!! We've also bee keeping track of our caloric intake on our iPhones. I'm using an application called Lose It, and he's using something called FitnessPal (?). It's going well so far!

This week I've kept up with trying to run. I'm up to 2 miles without stopping (2.5 with a couple of short stops to catch my breath). I don't think I'd be ready to say I can run my half marathon in March, but it's nice to know that I can work myself up to running maybe a 5K. Hmm...that's a goal I could try and reach by the fall!!

Anyway, I like the idea of posting progress on this blog (whether anyones reads it or not!) in order to help in holding myself accountable. At this point, ANYTHING will help to keep me on track. :)

Sweet Dreams!

Happy 2010!!

Wishing you all a wonderful and prosperous new year!! Here's to new beginnings and new experiences...I love the idea of a new start!! :)