Month in Review

Yesterday I logged 3.56 miles on the thrillmill while doing the R5/W1 method. I averaged a 11:14 minute mile. Before and after my run I worked my legs and arms to the bone with the weights. My plan was to work myself hard, so I could take today off. Done!

With today being the last day of March, I thought it was only appropriate to feature my March stats...

March Stats:

• 47.14 miles running ... . . . .my goal was 45 miles, and with a week off due to craziness with paperwork for work and school, I was quite surprised I was able to make my goal!
  
• 48.86 miles spin .. . . . not quite as much as February. Oh well.

Who knows what April will look like. Hopefully similar to March with some longer runs. It's going to be another crazy month with Easter, moving out of our apartment, another bachelorette party in the cities. Time flies when you are having fun!

Call me Crazy ... with a capital "C"

It's been one hell-a-vuh-week! I am definitely running out of time here people! I have only two "free" weekends between now and the end of May that I can get a lot done... that is, free to pack/move, apply for jobs, and complete four projects for school. Ahhhh!

But, on a side note, it's been a few days since I have posted. So here is a brief update. "Brief" being the opperative word.

Monday: I squeezed in a 4.05 mile run when I got out of class at 9pm-ish. Averaged 10:48/mile. Right leg was a little sore, possibly due to the fact that I ran 3 days in a row... with an accumulation of 11.4 miles.
Tuesday: Wasn't able to squeeze in any lifting or light running, since I was going and going from 7am until 5pm. Just had enough time for spin class from 5:30 - 6:15 before my 7pm class. Total, 9.26 miles spin.
Wednesday: Rested. Ahhh.... Actually, I did laundry and some dishes, watched American Idol and was to bed by 9:30pm. :)
Thursday: Was hoping to do a 4 mile run this morning before school, but overslept a half hour past my usual wake-up time. Oops. So, I had to run before spin tonight. Since I knew I wasn't going to get in my hopeful 4 miles, I opted for doing a few intervals. (Doing a total of 2.25 miles)

• 800 M warm-up jog = 5:31 (5.7 mph)
• 200 M walk = 1:51
• 400 M run = 2:29 (6.5)
• 200 M walk = 1:50
• 400 M run = 2:23 (6.7)
• 200 M walk = 1:38
• 400 M run = 2:17 (6.9)
• 200 M walk = 1:36
• 400 M run = 2:10 (7.4)
• 400 M cool down jog = 3:00 (5.5)

After running, I grabbed my sports beans and hit the bike. All went well, was a little tired though. Intervals are probably not the best thing to do before spinning. I ended up spinning a total of 9.6 miles. Afterwards, I hit the weight room and worked on the arms. This teacher can't have those things jiggling when writing on the board... how embarassing!

Friday: I plan to run, and then lift legs. I would like to do it before school, but I don't know if that will happen! We'll see. I might have more time to do 4 miles and lifting after school without feeling rushed. That way I can do a thorough job!

One of my RT friends invited a bunch of us over to barbeque tonight at 7pm. I had told him earlier this week I was going to come, but that was before I realized that thursdays are usually my long work out day (2+ hours). I didn't get home until 7 and then showered and had to fill my body with some carbs. I knew that I wasn't going to drink or eat at the barbeque. I told him I didn't think I would make it as I needed to ice and eat some good pasta... He just told me he was disappointed! Will they ever get it? I am trying so hard to make a lifestyle change here, and I go and say NO one time and they don't get it. Peer pressure sucks, people!! As much as I would have loved to be hangin' out with all those guys tonight, I knew that I needed to take care of my body first. I wanted to ice and eat well so I could get in a nice run tomorrow. In the back of my mind I knew that I had a lot of paperwork that I wanted to get done tonight for my mentor to look over tomorrow. I am sick of trying to explain myself. They call me crazy! Crazy for running before spinning; crazy for being able to find time to workout 5 or 6 days a week with all of my classes and teaching; crazy for running... period. So, call me crazy. Call me crazy with a capital "C"! I don't care. You know why? Because I feel a whole lot better when I do it... and if that makes me crazy... so be it!

Happy Running, y'all! Tomorrow's friday... jeans day is here again!

P.S. Check out another one of my favorite songs below. Lucky Man by The Verve.

The Verve- Lucky Man

I love this song! And this group. I love the lyrics and have found this to be a great song to run to... check it out!

Overtimes: 1 loss & 1 win

My Tarheels lost in an upsetting overtime against Georgetown. This just didn't play well in overtime. No excuses. Don't worry. They will be back next year. And they will go to the Final Four.

I was able to watch the Tarheel game and the Sioux/Gopher game at a local bar with some friends. This is what a couple of my friends had to say after the Sioux won in overtime....
It's okay though, they are supporting the Sioux in the Frozen Four! They're not sore losers... they were just the only two gopher fans in the bar, and I had to be with them!?!

Posted below is a video I found as a tribute to the Sioux's interesting year. Last fall I was afraid they weren't going to make it this far. But, they have...and we have sooo much more to accomplish.

UND Fighting Sioux 06-07

We may be going to the Frozen Four, but we aren't done yet!

Something to get used to...

I went out for a run this afternoon with a goal of at least 3 miles. When I got on the road, I didn't have a set plan as to where I was going to run. I just went out there and did it, taking turns where I wanted to. When I was coming back, I could have turned towards my place but went further north a bit since I wasn't feeling too tired. The low ceiling combined with 50 degree weather and +90% humidity was enough to make this girl sweat. I think I was overdressed in pants and two long sleeved shirts. I know I was overdressed. It makes me chuckle when I read posts about people running in what they call a cold temp for them, probably somewhere between 40 and 60 degrees. That is beautiful for this time of year in North Dakota. Don't get me wrong, I know heat, we do get that here... and it's not always dry heat, it can be quite humid at times. But, if I move to the Southeast, the humidity is definitely something to get used to. All and all, I accomplished 4.35 miles today.

I don't know what I am going to do this evening. I have a bit of a dilemna. My Tarheels will be taking on Georgetown within the next half hour 4:45ish, and our Sioux are taking on the Gophers at 5pm! If we end up going out to watch the hockey game .... I can only hope that they have at least one tv showing some March Madness!

What a successful week! I was able to break 100 miles in running and 100 miles in spinning for 2007! Happy running, y'all! Have a marvelous week!

Productivity

I can honestly say that I have had a day (so far) full of productivity. I took my time getting up this morning, hoping to get as much rest as possible. Sis and I went for a nice 3 mile run outdoors later this morning. It was cool (31 degrees), with no wind and a dense fog where we could feel the moisture in the air. It was kind of cool looking.

I got my saturday morning coffee, we went to the mall and picked up a wedding shower gift for our cousin, I was able to find shoes to wear with my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding, picked up my gown, hood, and tassel for graduation, and was able to finish 1 of my 6 projects I am working on for classes! Wahoo!

I am going to relax and rest a bit this evening and watch the Sioux take on Colorado!

Update: The Sioux took on Michigan State. Shows how much I know. We won 7-5. Now we take on Minnesota Gophers tomorrow night at 5pm! Awesome baby!

Who asked for this?

It has officially hit full force and taken over me. I have been fighting this bugger, possible for the past few weeks on and off again, from becoming more than a tight chest or tickle in my throat, to waking up to a full-blown .... something.

I felt great after my 2 hour workout last night .... until an hour later when I had a throbbing pain in the right sight of my throat. I didn't know what it was, a cold? a sinus infection? I usually don't get colds but I have had a habit of getting a yearly sinus infection and that is about it... I woke up this morning, with my throat hurting more. But, I took my Tylenol Cold and Sinus meds and went about my day. I felt good/bad on and off today.

Got home a little after 4pm, crawled straight into bed and woke up to a phone call at 6:30. Dangit. I thought my nap would make me feel refreshed and ready to hit the town for a bit with some RT's. .... I had to turn down our plans... I was soo bummed... it's been a while since I had been out with him and my other close RT friends..

Who asked for this? Not me. I bet this is some sign, telling me to slow down, rest up, and get some well-needed paper work, applications, graduation plans, and projects .... done.

Just got home from getting more meds, I am going to take them, down a couple glasses of warm green tea, and hopefully fight most of this bugger off before the new week starts... If I drink enough water and green tea, I can usually fight these things in 3-4 days... We'll see.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny and reach a high of 56 degrees. I might take advantage of the cool air and go for a run/walk in the afternoon...

... I am going to go watch my Tarheels....until I fall asleep..

Thunderstruck

I went to the gym tonight with all intentions of lifting, running, and spinning. And ladies and gentlemen, that is what I did.

I arrived at the gym shortly after 4pm and did a little lifting. I wanted to have enough time to get on the treadmill for 40 minute before grabbing a spin card at 5:15. I only did a few machines before I headed for the thrillmill. It's amazing how time consuming lifting can be, especially when you try to do 3 reps of what-ever. In 40 minutes on the thrillmill I was able to pound out 3.65 miles.... an average pace of 10:57.

From there, I finished just in time to grab a spin card before they ran out (there are only 20 bikes, and usually more "spinners" than available bikes). On the way up to the spin room, I scarfed down a packet of orange jelly beans...the energy ones! Yummy. Love those things..

I hopped on the bike, only to find a different instructor than usual. Won...der...ful... We had a video rolling but didn't follow it... we just went along with the tempo of most the songs ... I was thunderstruck... .. We did this cool thing when listening to the song thunderstruck. We started at zero resistence, and every time we heard the word thunder, we had to turn up our resistence. Crazy! The key here is to do very little increments, very little! All in all, the word thunder was said 34 times! After that, we did some more speed intervals. 4 times he had us sprint at a cadence of 100 for 30 seconds with 15 seconds recovery in between. On the fifth one, he had us go for a minute at a cadence of at least 100. All 5 times, I had my cadence at 125...again! It felt so good to finish strong. 12 miles... and done.

After spinning, I still had a little in me so I hit up a few more weight machines. Then I grabbed a strawberry/banana smoothie from The Well and went home to cook a nice dinner of pasta and chicken! What an awesome 2 hour workout! Couldn't have been better!

Tomorrow's friday... which means jeans day... which means the weekend is here... which means more fun with college hoops (my Tarheels play friday night, yeah!!)....which means time for fun with some RT's as well!.... ahhh!

Happy running, y'all! Have a wonderful weekend!

The Suns are Hot

Tonight Sis and I had to pretty much force ourselves to go to spin, both of us feeling sluggish/tired from our back to back runs sunday and monday. We got there and the only two available bikes next to each other were in the front row. Lovely. The first five to ten minutes were incredibly difficult for me. I just didn't have the drive today. But, after a few hill workouts and some frozen spin cycles, I was feeling great and lovin it.. ... even with my hair drippin' sweat onto my legs and handle bars! The end of the spin session consisted of 4 or 5 intervals of zero to ninety ... just ... like... last . ... . week... I pushed myself even harder, watching my cadence go from zero to 125!!!! How awesome that felt! I am just glad we didn't do anything with the imaginary weights today... that would have sent me over the edge! All in all, I accomplished a decent 9 miles!

Where does the night go. I am so completely wiped between spin and school. I am going to finish the night with a couple loads of laundry, the rest of American Idol, and then I will crawl into bed to watch my Timberwolves take on the Suns... I don't know how the game will turn out. I still love my 'wolves, but the suns are hot! (no pun intended!) Especially Mr. Nash! That one's for you Mr. Joe!

I think tomorrow will be a day of rest. Maybe....

Happy running, y'all!

Rainy Days...here comes Spring

Yesterday it rained most of the day. I ended up sleeping in until past noon since I didn't go to bed until after 430am! We went out and then hit up the truck stop for "breakfast" which was oh so yummy after a night of drinking beer. I got home shortly before 4am and popped in the moving The Notebook! One of my all-time favorites, based on a book by my favorite author, Nickolas Sparks! So after spending most of the afternoon doing homework, I was kind feeling pretty awake and hydrated, thinking that I should do something... physically constructive. Wes' comment kept playing over and over again in my head "where there's a will...there's a way". So I pulled my butt off the couch and went to the gym a little after 7. Such a wonderful motivator he is! I ended up doing 3.5 miles and a tough session of weights! Wahoo!

Today it didn't rain, but the temperature dropped from 26 this morning when I woke upt to 14 when I got to school and it was snowing. Only in North Dakota does the weather change ... just ... like ... that. Just when I could almost feel the presence of spring with the rain yesterday. When I got out of class at 9 tonight, I was itching to run again. I thought I could grab one of the thrillmills with a little tv screen attached to it, and watch my show from 9-10, attempting to do a longer run. That wasn't too successful. I knew that my right calf was a little tight and I didn't want to push it.... I have spin tomorrow, ya know?! So I only did a very very slow 3 miles! Go me! On the down side.. I am a little upset with myself... as I was filling my nalgene bottle before the run, I think some of the water dribbled down the side of the bottle and touched my nano! It has this "diagnostic" screen on it now that won't go away. Darnit! Now I have to take care of that... and run without music for a while. I could just slap myself for that... grr.. If anyone has any advice for me before I contact apple ... that would be greatly appreciative!

Happy Spring, y'all!

Baby Blues

I am so pumped! I got to watch my Baby Blues play tonight and what a game it was! So exciting! Here's a pic of me after the game with my happy face! You all are lucky that I don't have a video camera, otherwise I would have posted my happy dance... and no one needs to see that!

Now... I believe it is time for some Green Beer... right? Happy St. Pattrick's Day, y'all!

Shakin' things up a bit

Well, I was hoping to do an easy 3 miles again this morning. Instead I opted for sleeping in until 9:30 since I didn't get home until 2:30 this morning! I went out with some ladies from school(work) and had a blast. We did a little bar hoppin' and ended the night at some rinky dink bar where their was a local band doing 80's cover music! We were shakin' it on the dance floor for a couple hours! Too much fun! So, I am okay with the fact that I didn't run this morning, since I think I burned more calories on the dance floor last night then I would have running! Maybe if I am feeling it later I will go out for a run. It's hard for me to motivate myself to do after I have already showered for the day... especially on a saturday!

Happy runnin', y'all!

Feelin' Fine...

I woke up to -4 degrees this morning. I didn't want to wait until mid afternoon for the expected high of 20 degrees. So, I drug myself out of bed and went to the gym. There was no spin today, so I knew that my options were pretty limited as I didn't want to do the EFX machine, stairstepper, or bike. I wanted to run, but I was upset I couldn't do it outside. I was teased with the warm weather on monday and didn't want to revert back to the thrillmill.

Once I got to the gym I knew I wanted to do some lifting as well, but didn't want to do it first, as I usually do. I was afraid it would have killed my motivation to run. So, I attacked the thrillmill and did a wonderful 40 minutes... 3.5 miles.... I was feelin' fine! I could have gone farther, but didn't want to push it. I want to run tomorrow as well. After running, I went down to the weight machines and went to town. I think I am going to have to start keeping track of the machines I am doing and how much I am lifting. I wasted so much time adjusting the machines and figuring out what weight to use...

Now I am going to do some paperwork while watching basketball. Don't worry, I can multi-task! I am lucky I have today off!

Happy running, y'all!

Bring on the Madness!

Oh my, how I have scribbled through at least 15 brackets before coming to a conclusion on who I think is going to win. Crazy. I have entered a pool at school with some other teachers. Last year I did this at a different school and was the only girl with a bunch of high school teachers and coaches. I must admit, I did fairly well. We'll see how it goes this year. I have done some research, but really, does it matter? Who knows really what the results of this first round is going to be! I do have a couple upsets...as we all know there will be a couple! I have also made a bet with my Dad and had my sister join in. She filled out one in about 5 minutes, and if she kicks my butt, I will be royally ticked! Whoever gets the most wins between the three of us has to by a round of apps and taps! Mmm...

Tonight I got my hair trimmed and colored! I haven't had my hair colored "professionally" in 8 years! Crazy! Here is the before picture.... Mind you...this was after a long day of work...
I was ready for something different and was sick of attempting to find the "right" color in a box. Usually my hair gets a red highlight when I do that. I wanted something new and a little funky. Not too crazy, since I do work in a school setting! I have to be a role model, you know! Here is the after picture......and this was taken about an hour after having been trimmed, thinned, and colored with highlights and lowlights.. ...still a little wet and most certainly not fixed!

On a side note...

Sports Commentary: Did anyone catch the Sun vs. Mavs game last night? I was so pumped to see the Suns win. Nice job, Nash...and Stoudemire! Wow, what a game! I remember when I was in sixth grade... probably the first time I really remember following basketball.. watching Charles Barkley and the suns work their way towards a championship... ahh, memories.

I couldn't sleep last night because I was so pumped for the games to begin! So far, I have had 9 out of 12 correct... darn Marquette and George Washington... And I NEVER thought I would be upset to see Duke lose... EVER. EVER. Ever. 4 more games to go tonight and I am pretty sure I will get a couple right...I hope!

Tomorrow... must do some running. The weather is supposed to reach 32 degrees, but I don't know if I could bare that outside. We did get another 8 inches of snow today... Nice.... especially when 2-3 were forcasted originally... but, they did a nice job cleaning up the streets, so it may be possible to run outdoors tomorrow as long as it isn't too windy.

Happy running, y'all!

Zero to Ninety

Went to the gym today. Blah. I didn't really want to go there, but I wanted to get in a session of spin. I haven't been to spin in two weeks. So, I went straight to the gym when I got back into town, hoping to do a couple miles on the thrillmill beforehand. Well, I started with doing a couple reps of weights on a few different machines and realized I didn't want to overdue it on the arms before spin. Oddly enough, I get quite a workout in the arms when spinning. We usually spend some time "pretending" to lift weights while spinning and that is quite the workout. I also like to have my handlebar quite low, which makes it for a more challenging work out.

After I was done lifting, I hit the thrillmill and was only able to get in 1.66 miles. Oh well. It was a nice little warm-up before spin. I met up with my sister and we headed to spin. I couldn't believe how much I was sweating! It was just dripping on me onto my legs, my handlebars, and everywhere else. That was definitely an indication that I was drinking enough water today.

Towards the end of the workout, I felt myself reaching a point of exhaustion. And then she did it. She made us do 5 sets of some sort of intervals. We had our tension cranked up, mine was at about a 5 on a scale of 1-6 with 6 being the most difficult. She wanted us to to speed up to a minimal cadence of 90 for 30 seconds and then coming to a complete stop for about 5 seconds. Then doing it again and again...five times. With so much tension, it was really difficult to start again after coming to a complete stop. But it felt great when I was done! Actually, after my three miles yesterday, a little running today and then spinning 10 miles, my legs are definately feeling it. I am afraid I might have to take a rest day tomorrow. It's amazing how a week off from physical activity can really affect the body!

Maybe I will go for a walk tomorrow if the weather is nice. We are supposed to get a few flakes, but nothing significant...

Happy running, y'all!

Overall workout: 1.66 mile run, 10 mile spin

P.S. I now know what Wes was saying in regards to feeling lopsided... my right glute is so sore compared to my left... weird.

Easy AND Fun!

With the beautiful weather (snow melting) and not having class tonight, I was able to get out for a nice run before dinner. Yes, outdoors! Probably the first since my 5K on New Year's Eve! Actually, with the time change, I could have gone for a 3 hour run after school. . . . if I wanted to. That is quite a change from a couple months ago when we were lucky if the sun was up past 5pm. Since it is a rare occasion to run outdoors during winter up here in ND (especially when I have a rule that I will not do it in the dark and when the temperature is below 30 degrees), I had a hard time deciding how to dress. It was 40 degrees when I got home from school. Not the 56 they said it was going to be, but it was definitely nice enough to take advantage of. Eventually, I put on an older pair of yoga pants, one of my running shirts, old Nikes, heart rate monitor, garmin, ipod and then my fleece sweatshirt. Plus, I grabbed my camera. Phew.

I left the apartment and headed north on my 3 mile loop. This is the same loop I did quite often this past summer. I became quite hot real fast, as the sun was beating down on me, but I didn't care. I was actually comfortable outdoors. On the way back, it was a little cooler as I found myself running under trees that were blocking the sun.

There were times where I found myself jumping over puddles or snowbanks. And then there were times I would end up running through puddles that didn't look too deep, initially. Sometimes I found myself running on the street to avoid huge puddles on the sidewalks .... only to find myself being splashed purposefully by some guy. But I was okay with that. I just smiled and waved and went on my merry way. It was nice out. I was enjoying it.

All and all, 3 miles felt great. Now, I need to go work on my brackets for March Madness! Yippee! I can't wait for the games to begin!

Back in the groove

(The picture is of my aunt who made the cake, grandpa, and grandma)

It was a well-needed weekend at home with the parents and sisters. Saturday was spent celebrating grandpa's 80th birthday with all of his friends and a bunch of family! It was a long day but wonderful. Afterwards a bunch of us cousins and a few aunts and uncles spent some time at the bar. In a small town like this one, we sure new how to make a place happening!

Okay. Now it's time. Time to get my butt back in gear. I didn't run for 1 week. This morning, I went out for a quick 1.5 miles with my sis around my parents neighborhood. It was a little chilly, but nice. After that we relaxed in the hot tub for a few minutes, went to get coffee, and then came home to watch UNC beat NCST! It was awesome! UNC is the ACC division Champions! With that win, Tarheels are the #1 seed in the East and will face Eastern Kentucky in the first round. Go HEELS!


No class tomorrow + 52 degree weather = a nice easy 3 miles!


Happy Running, y'all! Have a wonderful week!

Progress Reports

It is almost time to do progress reports at school again. I feel like I just spent hours doing the last batch of them, why is it that this quarter has gone by so fast?

Speaking of progress reports, if some so-called "workout instructor" were to write up a progress report on me, this is probably what it would look like:

Stacy has been working hard, getting in most of her runs and doing some quite intense cross-training once or twice a week. She has also been able to add consistent weight training before some runs a couple times a week. She has been eating healthy for the most part and able to refrain from snacking after 7 in the evenings for the past two weeks. She has attempted to cut back in her alcohol consumption, even though this happens on a rare occasion to begin with. With that note, she has been attempting to increase her mileage on some longer runs. However, it appears as if Stacy is slipping away from her routine. Due to excessive paperwork and presentations with work and class, she has had to put off her running and workout routine. It is felt that this might be due to some procrastination. We hope that with the change in weather and some extra rest, Stacy will be able to get back out there running again.

Spring Break for UND is this coming week. I still have to work Monday thru Thursday (no school Friday due to boys state basketball tournament), but will have open evenings all week due to no classes! Yippee! The weather is supposed to be above freezing for the most part so I look forward to a possible run or two outdoors next week.

I haven't ran since Sunday. Crazy. I am heading home this weekend for my sweet Grandpa's 80th Birthday party. I don't know if I will get any runs in, but hope to Saturday morning. I will keep you updated.

Happy running, y'all! Have a superb weekend!

...curve balls....

Not everything goes the way we would like. Sometimes we make plans or have dreams, and sometimes things don't just happen the way we want them to. Life will sometimes throw us curve balls, and you just got to go with it. Everything happens for a reason.

As much as I would like to uproot myself from the ND prairie and get my feet wet in a new, warmer location, I am okay if it doesn't work out as planned. Everything happens, or doesn't happen, for a reason.

In a previous post, I had commented on how much I was ready to move out of this state and try something new. I might have made it seem as if I was truly unhappy here; that's not the case. I am just ready for change. Mostly to be done with school and just teaching. I still dream of moving to my dream location... and I still plan to apply for positions out of state... But, I have come to terms that not everything happens the way we would like. And that is okay.

Isn't it our well-being that matters the most in the long run? I mean, our social, emotional, and physical well-being. I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have been in probably a few years. I am doing what I love and loving what I am doing. That's what really matters.

If life throws you a curve ball...swing. Striking out is the worst that can happen!

A day of rest?

Too busy to make much of this post. I was up early to work on some projects and do some reading for class. Then I was able to get in a run. I was hoping to do a little over an hour workout, but that didn't happen. Lungs felt very tight for the first couple miles and I just didn't have the strength today. So I opted for a very, very slow 4.55 miles. So slow that I didn't keep track of the time. Now I am off to spend a couple hours working on a project with a classmate. Fun times! So much for treating sunday as a day of rest. Maybe next sunday.

Happy running, y'all. Have a superb week!

Change is good....

...right?

I like to think I enjoy change. Initially, when change occurs in my life, I can become a little tense or worried, but usually something good comes out of it.

Why does the process of change have to be so overwhelming?

I tend to become overwhelmed when I feel as if things are happening too fast around me. It's already March. I haven't done as much applying for jobs at this point as I would have liked, but there is nothing I can do about that now. My sister and I plan to move out of our apartment by the end of April. I will plan to stay with my aunt to ride out the last few weeks of work at school and then head home for my sister's wedding in June. And this, is why I hope to have a job in line before May. (Do you sense my tense voice?)

Change ... I think I need it.

Almost two years ago I took a position as a long-term substitute working with elementary students with learning disabilities. I loved my students, my co-workers, and the school. I couldn't have asked for a better school to work for. Then the position was filled with someone more qualified. I had to make a decision. With the help of my director/boss, I was able to get into one of the best graduate programs at UND and planned on working as a resident teacher the following year at another small town school under the same SpEd Unit... Thanks to my director. I wouldn't have planned on getting my masters in 1 year if it weren't for her helping me get my place in the program.

Change ... is it necessary to be such a big change?

I don't want to live in GF the rest of my life. It doesn't have what I would like in a town (running paths, bike trails, better weather, job opportunities) and I just don't want to be here anymore. Period.

Do I need to move halfway across the country to experience change? Probably not.

If I don't, will I regret it? Probably.

Can I come back to ND if I don't like it? Most definitely.

I think some people worry that I will never come back.... but that is not true... I don't plan to stay away for ever.... And if I don't move to my dream location... I will definitely be doing some serious traveling....

....this girl just needs to spread her wings... and fly. Who knows where the Northwind will take me....

Imagine - John Lennon Peace Tribute Video

This is another one of my favorite songs...

My favorite slide is the one towards the end that shows two hands, painted, in the shape of the world.

Quick..before the storm get's really bad..

I woke up this morning to the sound of my phone ringing. My first though was I slept through my alarm clock. Before answering I checked the time, 5:35?! What the heck. Here it was my mentor calling to tell me school was starting 2 hours late. Great. Let's go back to bed. Then, she called again at 7ish saying that she is playing the role of mother here and telling me to not go if I feel the roads are too bad... since I was driving alone. Okay. Back to bed. Again. 7:30 - phone rang again, school is canceled, weather is too ugly. Back to bed. Yeah, no school. And, we don't have school tomorrow since it was a scheduled day off for High School Girls Class B State Basketball Tournament! Nice long weekend, yeah!

I eventually got up and decided I should do something constructive. I checked the schedule for classes at the gym and the earliest time for spin on thursdays is 4:30. I didn't want to wait that long if the snow kept falling. So, I got ready and headed out the door a little after 11. Oh my. so much snow and so much in front of my garage door. I had to use this stupid little metal shovel to remove some of the snow into the parking lot so I could get out without getting stuck. It was almost up to my knees.

At this point, the roads were decent and it wasn't really snowing. I went to the gym and planned on being on the thrillmill for an hour. I had done this almost a month ago and got in 5.3 miles then. I wanted to see if I could do more. So, 60 minutes later, I looked at my mileage and was pleasantly please.... 5.57 miles! That's an average pace of 10:46 per mile! At the time I was feeling quite tired and so ready to be done. I stretched before leaving the gym, went to the grocery store for some odds and ends, fruit, milk, and frozen pizza. I am treating myself tonight! When I was leaving the grocery store, the snow was coming down in huge chunks of flakes! We still have our Storm Warning in effect until 10pm tonight and then it switches over to a Blizzard Warning from then until 6pm friday night. Wonderful. We haven't had a blizzard warning in a long time. The blizzard warning is mostly due to falling snow and extremely windy conditions along with nasty roads. I don't think I will be making it to the gym tomorrow. That's why I chose to do a long run today. If weather is permitting, I will be going on Saturday morning for a spin session.

Well, I am going to go and watch a movie to relax a bit and then get ready for my cousin's basketball game on tv! It's her senior year of high school and it just so happens that her team is playing the team from the school I work at! Go Lady Holstein's! Yep, their mascot is a cow, the New Salem Sue! What? You haven't heard of the world's largest cow? It's located right here in ND!

Check out the video I posted from youtube.com! I heart the Dixie Chicks and always have, despite some comments made about the war, we won't get into that. I am not saying I disagree with their thoughts or agree. I just love the song though. The lyrics are wonderful.

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice

I absolutely love this song and I love the Dixie Chicks. Listen for yourself...