Teaching Moment Tuesday

Forgive me, I'm a day late; but I was so dead tired after I got home from my walk yesterday afternoon! It was dinner, shower, then off to bed at 8:00 for me. Yes, I'm lame, I know. :)

So yesterday, we began our new unit on Games. Every 3 weeks we have a themed unit in reading, and we learn about and read stories about these themes. This one is my favorite one, because we learn about types of games and how to play them. I always begin units by asking my kids what they know about the topic. Yesterday, we began the morning with, "What is your favorite game? Let's make a list!"

My students began raising their hands..."XBox360!"... "Nintendo DS!" ...Gamecube!" ...Playstation!" See the pattern?? So I asked them, "Do you have a favorite outdoor game or BOARD game?" One boys raises his hand and very matter-of-factly says, "Those must be BORING if they are called BORED games."

Friday will be interesting when I break out all the games for them to play! ;)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Run for a Tiffany's necklace...YES PLEASE!

Ok, so that's not the ONLY reason for this half marathon. The proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which is an organization near and dear to my heart. My sissy-in-law, Trisha, passed away 5 years ago from leukemia. And even though she wasn't my sissy-in-law at the time, I loved her like one and miss her dearly. So anything that benefits blood cancers in high on my list!!

I registered for the lottery to enter this half marathon today...and my fingers are crossed hoping I get in! These half marathon fees are pretty hefty, especially this one ($115), so if I get in, I'm asking mom and dad for the fees as my early b-day present. :) This race is in October, nearly 5 weeks after the Disneyland Half Marthon, and I'm pretty sure it will be my last one for the year. However, a couple of us were talking about possibly doing a marathon relay...oy-vay!

All I know is this....if I get into this half, I'm going to have a blast and run (or walk) like the girlie girl that I am!

Lots of love!

march has come and gone

Wow, the month went by soo fast!! It's crazy to think we are in April now. I was lucky enough to have the entire month off (thank goodness for year round schools!) and I thoroughly enjoyed my time away from work. I did take advantage of the chances to make extra money, though, by subbing and teaching intersession here and there. I think I worked a total of 10 days, so that will be a nice chunk of extra money! So let's see...what else have I been up to this month...

We went snowboarding at the end of February with Tim's cousins and we had a great time! The weather was actually really good that day; just a little bit of snow here and there and NO rain. It was my first time up at Northstar, and it was such a nice place. I kept myself on the beginner runs, but the ones at Northstar are super nice since they are longer and I didn't have to ride the lift up every 10 minutes! That, and it took me about 20ish minutes to board DOWN the hills. That's right, I said I was a beginner!

Shamrock came and I survived! Anna and I were great pace-partners together. I would love for us to do another race! She was so great at pushing me when I needed it and knowing HOW to do it without me wanting to kick her in the face. Love you Bananna!!What a wonderful day!! I completed my 13.1 miles in 2:43...which means I beat my last time by 17 minutes!! Such an amazing feeling.

Tim and I also took a trip down to sunny San Diego! We needed some time together, and it was the perfect place for it. We flew down on a Thursday and enjoyed some sun, shopping, and clam chowder. Friday we drove to the Wild Animal Park. It was our first time there and it was so awesome! It reminded me of Animal Kingdom in Florida, which was one of my favorite parks besides the Magic Kingdom. We explored Balboa Park on Saturday before our evening flight back to Sacramento. It was a beautiful and warm day, I even got to wear shorts! We went into several art museums, the history museum, and a few botanical gardens...but my favorite was the Science Museum where we got to play like kids! Such a fun few days with my hubby.

No word yet as far as my future as a teacher. I did receive the dreaded pink slip, and it wasn't even pink!! BOO! I won't find anything out until next month or later; it's a total waiting game. But I'll keep you posted! I'm sure something will work itself out...I hope!

Hope you all are doing well out there!! :)

24 more days...

Until the Shamrock Half!! I'm honestly a little worried that I won't be ready for the race. It's really been difficult to train the way that I want to with all the rain that we've been blessed with over the last few weeks. I have been trying to take advantage of all the sunny days, but that still leaves me with only 4-5 days of walking or running a week. AND I'm not able to really get my miles in since the sun is still setting pretty early. Last time, I was walking at least 6 miles once a week this far before the race. Can't say the same about this time. I'm lucky if I get 6 miles in every 2 weeks. Oh boo.

But on a positive note, I have been running more! This week, I ran 3.21 miles WITHOUT STOPPING!! Wahoo!! I'm going to try and focus more on walking from now until the race, maybe I'll give myself one running day. Since I'll be walking Shamrock, I should probably make that my focus for the next 2 weeks.

Wish me luck, friends! :)

Tuesday's Teaching Moment

So everyday, I give my first graders a picture to write in their journals about. Last week, I gave them a picture of a spider web. I always make a list of questions that they must answer about the posted pictures. And here is one of the journal entries I received:
It says:
"This is a picture of a web. A spider makes a web, not me. I can find a web in my mommy's bathroom. They bounce around and POOF, there's a web."

Oh how I heart first grade minds!!

i need the off button!!

So for the last few weeks, I continue to hear icky things about budget stuff in my district and my heart sinks each time. I am almost positive now that I will be getting laid off and it TERRIFIES me. I DO have a higher chance of getting a position back, since I'm higher on the seniority list at my district. But seriously, the thought of not having a job frightens me to no end. And I can't seem to shake the sinking feeling. What's wrong with me?!?

I love what my husband said to me though. He lets me cry through all my fears and listens to me rant and rave...and he tells me,"It's not the end of the world, babe." And he is totally right.

As scary as it is to not be employed, it ISN'T the end of the world. As hard as it will be to find another job, I still have my health, my husband, and my family. It could be worse.

So for now, until I receive the dreaded pink peice of crap paper, I will say this prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..." Hopefully this will bring me some peace until May. :::sigh:::

workout update!

So I've been tracking calories and working out on a regular basis for a whole month! Wahoo!! :) I'm feeling GREAT, though I'm a bit more tired now. I think that may be caused by work stuff, since I am usually getting my 7-8 hours of sleep each night. I've discovered that working out is actually enjoyable, and it's so awesome once it's made a part of my daily routine.

Tim and I have decided that Monday's are our weigh in days. I've always worked out, but this month I've really tried to stick to a schedule and log what I'm eating just to see! I've been walking or runnings about 4 days a week, and I've also been doing yoga twice a week. I've been trying to stick with my shred workouts, but lately I've been having knee issues so I've put those aside and I'll do one when I can't get outside to run (sorry, kara!).

My main goal was to firm up and tone, not necessarily lose weight...but, da dada dah!! I lost 3 pounds! I'm kinda proud of myself, mostly because all I did was work out more and eat better foods. So yay for me! :) But I'm sure I'll gain all of it back in muscle...my legs are starting to get crazy with all the running...and with Shamrock just around the corner, my training is going to get more hard core. Hello, huge thighs!! LOL