Thursday, April 24, 2008

Practice 5K

Today my girls that I coach for Girls on the Run ran a practice 5K. To tell the truth I was concerned that many of them would not finish. I was amazed at how well they all did. Every one of them, all 60, completed the 5K in less than an hour! Many of them completed it in about 30 minutes! We had music playing and coaches cheering them on. It was so great to see how far these girls have come in just a few months! If you are interested in running the 5k check it out, you can even register online -- oh yeah it is the WONDERGIRL 5K, girls only. Have fun!

Today I learned how gratifying it is to see hard work pay off.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Earth Day 2008

Today is Earth Day, and I decided that I would spend some time with my students discussing what exactly that means. I was amazed at the curiosity, knowledge, and excitement they had to offer on the subject. We discussed the 3 R's of Earth day, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Then we talked about examples of each. They had great ideas, and I shared some small things I do to keep the Earth healthy. For example I take my own cloth bags to the grocery store, we changed all our light bulbs to more energy efficient types, installing energy efficient fixtures in the kitchen and bath, and I have done a few loads with my friend Allison's environmentally friendly laundry soap. The students were so excited about some of these these that they now want to make/decorate their own grocery bags, make a class batch of the laundry soap (which will be a good lesson in ratios and fractions), and they want to recycle their soda cans. We are planning on using the money from the soda can recycling for their end of the year graduation. Then we ended our day by picking up trash in our field. Several students noticed how much trash was on the other side of the fence, and want to continue the trash pick up there tomorrow! It was so exctiting to see these students get involved with such an important issue.

What I learned today can be summed up in the words of Anne Frank "How wonderful it is that nobody need to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Goal Updates

I thought I'd take a minute and give an update on a few goals I've made, Portfolio, and BoulderBoulder.

As far as my portfolio goes, I am one assignment closer to finishing. (In other words, I've only done one of the 45 assignments.) So progress is not so great, I am still procrastinating!

The BoulderBoulder is going good! I didn't run all last week because I am a wimp and a fair weather runner. But this week I did a 4 mile run, and a 5 mile run! So only 1.2 miles to go and I can run that 10K!

Learned? I am still a procrastinator, one with good intentions, and I am making steady progress on goals that I enjoy!

Monday, April 14, 2008

A Mantra...

My life has been full of "yuck" lately. From stresses at work, to allergies, to sadness at some losses. A teacher across the hall gave me a mantra that she says while meditating, and at first I thought "Great, I don't believe in this stuff." The she said..."Praise God for my life, exactly as it is." The more I have mulled it over and said it, the better I feel. I mean it could be so much worse, my life that is. So I need to praise God for what I have now. Just by doing this it has helped me to focus on the positive things going on in my life; and even see those negative things in a more positive light.

So I learned to Praise God for my life exactly as it is.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

New Auntie!

This week my newest niece blessed us with her presence! I am now the auntie to Myla Grace! She came Thursday, April 10 at 5:50, weighing in at 6.5 pounds and 20 inches long. She has a beautiful head of dark hair that seems to have natural highlights. On the way to the hospital it was a blizzard... which is quite fitting that Rob and Carrie's daughter would arrive in the snow! We went to the hospital to see her Madison got to hold her and Maddox only noticed her once she started to make noise. Then he was so interested and got to hold her too! I am looking forward to watching this precious girl grow and be a part of her life!

What did I learn? The birth of a baby is such a miraculous event, there are not words enough to describe it.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The Sister Phenomenon

Ever hear about sisters that are so close that they can finish each other's thoughts, or when one is feeling pain the other feels it as well? I've come to believe that my good friend Vycci is my long lost sister. There are so many ways that we are alike. To name a few... her dad's name is Ken, so is mine; she HATES bananas even gags at the name and so do I. She came to visit last weekend and we had even colored our hair almost the exact same, subtle highlights around the face. There are many more examples of this weird sisterly phenomenon between us, but this next one seals the deal for me. I have been feeling very ill lately, and I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt tired and weak, and that something was just not right. Then tonight I received a call from her and she had some sad news (that I am not sharing). After getting off the phone, I realized why I had felt so glum lately, I just new that something was a miss. So, my dear sister, I am thinking of you and praying for you during this time! I love you!

Learned? A good friend is as good as a sister (maybe even better).

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

BoulderBoulder

I registered for the BoulderBoulder! This is a 10K (6.2 miles) race on Memorial Day, and I am so excited to run it. Last year there were 50,000 people running in this race and this year is their 30th anniversary. So there should be plenty of excitement and people. I decided to do this to set a larger goal for myself. I have been coaching Girls on the Run this season and we are training 60 girls for an end of the season 5K on May 3. I typically run 3-4 miles several times a week so I wanted a goal that I would need to work towards a bit more, so why not a 10K? My plan is to continue running 3-4 times a week at least 4 miles and then once a week increase one of my runs by a half mile until I am running 6.5 miles once a week. If I can do that I should be good to run the BoulderBoulder!

Learned? I realized that I would never push myself beyond my comfort zone and run more than 4 miles unless I had to train for a race. Now that I am registered I will have to increase my pace and my distance!