Keep on going

I know it's been a while since I've posted...I'm busy. I'm tired. Frankly, I don't want to sit down and type at the end of the day. The school year is wrapping up and while I am glad in some ways for it to end, every day I am enjoying my class more and more. It hardly seems fair to give them up.

I'll blog more later...I'm just too tired right now...sleep is calling...my bed and a novel are calling.

One step at a time...

Saturday was supposed to be a meeting, lunch, and then work together to fill the trucks with the things we are taking to Honduras in July. (Sidenote...I'm baring my soul today.) I cried during the meeting, I cried during lunch, and stressed myself out during the sorting of clothes. Most of the people were leaving (from my town), but another group of people were staying to help finish it up. The clothes were never-ending!!! We sorted, folded, and sorted into boxes to help us better give when we visit the villages. I was stressing out because I had a summer roommate moving in on Monday, tons of school work to do, grading, planning, my sister had come into town unexpectedly and I was having dinner and a movie with a friend Saturday night (plus clean my house on top of it all).

I wanted to leave. My brain was telling me that they would finish up without me just fine. Yet, looking at the others who were there, I knew I couldn't leave. What did I have at home? Dinner could wait. Cleaning could wait. The movie could wait. I chose to stay through it and I'm glad I did.

A lady at church told me that Satan is going to begin to attack me for going on this trip. My fear is holding me back from flying and serving overseas. The only mission trips I go on have to be within driving distance.

Background knowledge - a few years ago I went through a physical transformation and removed weight from my body (naturally) and underwent counseling to make my outer and inner being healthy at the same time.

I called my counselor again today. I even cried as I was setting up my appointment. It's ridiculous. I hate being gripped by this fear. I hate crying over it. I hate giving Satan a foothold.

I am taking one small step forward...

BTW, if you are interested in helping me fill my second suitcase with giveaway items, please let me know. Some of you (who I know personally) will be receiving letters asking for prayer and if you want to fill my suitcase, but my financial support has already been taken care of (wooh hoo, go Dave Ramsey!)

What a teacher wants...

This past week was a week to appreciate teachers...I want appreciation from my state government. I want a thank you that goes beyond just those two words. I want our state government and leaders to realize what some of us teachers do for our students. This is how I envision a thank you...

• Thank you for going beyond your contract hours. Thank you for coming in early and staying late. I know that you earn a salary, but when you end up calculating per hour what you make, it's not what you're worth. (Because like all teachers who care, I work during the summer.)
• Thank you for caring. Some of the students that come into your classroom don't have a cheerleader at home who believes they can be something some day. Thanks for instilling this into them at a young age.
• Thank you for going beyond and working with that one child who just needs a little more than the school day can give. Thanks for being willing to give up time so he can maybe begin to tread a little water and not drown. Thanks for not giving up.
• Thanks for instilling a desire into your class to read for real purposes and to write for real purposes. Thanks for showing them that writing occurs all of the time. Thanks for making your classroom fun and engaging and allowing students to be who they are.
• Thanks for laughing with your class. Learning should be fun.
• Thanks for letting your class teach. Some of the greatest lessons they learn are the ones that the students "taught". You'd be surprised at how many lessons we refer back to the student that explained that concept first to us...whether it's sliding through the whole word, reading the word shrugged or sighed, or measuring with rulers to see how big objects really are.

So, will I really get this thank you from my state government? No...but it'd be nice, wouldn't it? Instead of telling us what's wrong, tell us what's going well and work on one thing at one time...that's what I do in my workshop with the students.

My Workouts

I had a reader ask me about my workouts...

I started off running for 1 minute and then walked for 2 minutes and I did this for a total of 15 minutes 2 - 3 times a week. I wrote down how far I had gone and could see where I could run for 1 minute and 15 seconds...I was always so excited as the numbers increased.

After I could run a full mile (and it took even longer to run 2), I began to increase my running and walking routines. I trained for 5 K's and began running and walking them trying to improve my time with each one.

I've dabbled in the past with kickboxing and loved it. I wish I could go back to it, but I also know that during that time in my life, I was pretty obsessed with working out.

These days, I try to work out 4-6 days a week. I shoot for half of those to be a good cardio session (Zumba, running, Arc Trainer, or the bike) and add in some weights. I lift upper and lower and NEVER the same muscle groups the following day. I read a lot on the Body for Life website to see what I could do weight lifting. A workout that I love going to (and it reminds me how far I can still go is a class taught by a friend of mine - cardio mixed in with weights - the only problem is the time at 7:30...when I have to be at school) and I'm going to try to be able to go to it this summer (depending on my work schedule).

A good treadmill routine that I like is walking on the incline. I hardly ever go faster than 3.5 when I'm at the top of the routine. Start off at 0 and for every minute of walking, increase the incline by 1. After you reach 10, stay there for five minutes. Try to not hold onto the handles. Use your arms to pump and keep you going. Then after five minutes, decline back to zero the same way you got to one...down by 1 every minute.

If any of you have more questions, let me know. My friends know I love to be a personal type trainer...working out with friends is so much fun! I get to run with two dear ones tomorrow and I'm so excited. They may be faster than I am, but I love that they humble themselves and run with me at my pace.

They're ridiculous...

One of my students walked in today and told me that I could blog the comment she was about to make...oh thank you. So glad I have your permission to write down what you're going to say next. However, I do have some doozies from over the past week.

• While the students were working, a conversation about being God's children came up at the table right next to my desk. They began sharing how they thought it was weird that we are all brothers and sisters in God's eyes. After one of my students got over how weird he thought it was, he said, "Well, who's God's father? And does that make him the godfather?" I just had to laugh as I kept writing down their comments.
• My precious one came up to me to talk to me about my bee bookmark. She mentioned she had one just like it, but in the shape of a cross. She then studied the back of the bookmark and then in a disgusted voice said, "Why is everything made in China? Ugh, argh." I didn't have the heart to discuss labor laws and finances.
• While the above student was taking an AR quiz, she mistakenly clicked on the Spanish version. After she had been back there for a while, I was getting irritated. I asked her why it was taking so long and she replied that she needed * in our classroom because the quiz was Mexican talking." She had wanted one of our bilingual students to translate...oh my. I also explained to her that the language is called Spanish.
• When we do our working with words, I have the kids ask about any words they may not know or understand. Last week, one of the students didn't know what a plow was. I had another student explain it (because whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning) and while he was explaining it, the boy who had asked about it came back with, "Since he used the word in the definition, I don't know what it means." Yay for some teaching getting through their heads.
• One of my girls was in early this morning helping me out. She's smart. She's witty. She loves animals. And so enters my story. I asked her what she was going to be when she grew up. A vet was her answer. I said, "I can see that." She replied, "I bet you can." Oh, I enjoyed the smile.
• We were encouraged at church to say Scripture when we are tempted. I recited the fruit of the Spirit a few times today when students were acting up, reminding myself of the way I should conduct myself. During the afternoon, I had had it with a certain student and I walked out of the room to see if the room next door was empty so they could talk to their parents in private (BTW, students calling parents is the best! - No offense to the parents that read my blog, but you should see how a child's behavior goes from nothing to crying within a nanosecond.). As I walked out of the room, one of my girls encouraged me to say my verse...ha ha! She thought I was upset and needed my verse.

Even on the rough days, they still can make me laugh.