EXERCISE

Well... school is finally out. Now I can focus on myself and my family. The boys have been tagging along with me on my walks. They use their scooters and I become caddy with the water bottles.

Last night I went for a walk with Lori (Eric's wife). It was really nice to walk and not have to stop for a water break. We went 1.37 miles in 26 minutes - so really good pace. We waited till Christopher went to bed - that way it was a beautiful temperature.

We just ate breakfast, so as soon as it settles, we will be walk-bound again.

Just had to add something about the boys - one of the blogs I follow also has identical twin boys whom also are named Matt and Jon. She was talking about the interaction of twins and how they are becoming each other's best friend. So she got me thinking: I just love to watch the twin interaction. It's amazing the bond they have - not only because they shared a womb for nine months, not only because they share DNA, but because they are brothers and love each other. There will be times that they will do everything in their power to annoy the other one, but there will be plenty of times when they will be the shoulder the other one will need.

SCHEDULE

Ok... with this whole weight loss thing - I have been so overwhelmed. I would feel like I would never see the end and would then gorge on something since I felt like I could never succeed. I know... not the right thing to do. But I think I've figured out something that will help me. Instead of a weight goal of losing five pounds, I need to take it smaller than that. I need to take it a week at a time. So after tears this afternoon and talking to Chad about it, he suggested setting up a schedule of what I would like to do each evening. Sounds good - so here's a shot at success:

SUNDAY - Denise Austin Cardio Dance & Sculpt
MONDAY - Treadmill
TUESDAY - Pilates Crunch
WEDNESDAY - Treadmill
THURSDAY - Denise Austin Kickboxing
FRIDAY - REST
SATURDAY - Gilad

I will keep track of what I accomplish and will post again, hopefully with a success story.

EXERCISING!

Well... I went and joined the school's cross country team... actually my cohort is the coach and I decided to help her. I bring up the rear by walking but at least I'm out there. I have gone out twice this past week and we went about 1.6 miles each time. The distance will start to increase as they prepare for their meet. The kids are excited I'm out there with them and they cheer me on. Since I'm the last one off the course, on Thursday a couple of them backtracked and walked me in... it was so funny. Different muscles have been sore but it's getting better. My goal is to go all three times this week.

In regards to the house, the blinds were installed this past week and the landscaping should be done in a couple of days. We are going to get some work done in the garage today and hope to be able to park the cars in there soon. We can dream can't we!

SCHOOL STARTED!

Well... it has been a very busy week... teachers started back to school last Monday and we welcomed the new class into our classrooms on Thursday. I am really focusing on starting the year off organized and feel I have done a really good job of it in my classroom so far. My other focus is being proactive... that is the main goal... I always seem to have some issue come up each year so this year I'm trying to stay ahead of things. The sixth grade team has been working together for two years now so we have a good idea of what works. We are really good about working together and have a great discipline plan that is the same in all three classrooms (since we switch classes). My Social Studies curriculum was new last year so I didn't have too much time with trying "new" things. This year I will change it a bit since there is so much more I have to cover. I would like to try to make ancient civilizations a bit more fun and interesting to all students.

Lots of professional goals but I still have my personal goals... KEEP GETTING IN SHAPE! I at least lost almost all the weight I gained back from vacation. The cleaning and repainting at the old house really helped me sweat it out. Getting back to work has been a struggle but once things settle down, I want to fit some exercising back into the schedule. Thanks for all the support!

RUNNING!

Ok everyone... just so you didn't think I dropped the whole thing already... we've been pretty busy with getting the house cleaned up and organized and now trying to pack everything up... I only have two weeks to get packed up... anyways, that's a story that I'll tell at a later date...

Christopher has been doing absolutely awesome... almost sleeping through the night. I went to bed around 9:30 last night and the first time I woke up from hearing a noise was 4:30!!! Both Jon and Matt slept all night and even Chris did... He was up and ready for food at 4:30... so I fed him... told Chad to hold down the fort... got dressed and went for a walk/run. The total time was about 19 minutes. I walked for 5 then ran for 1 1/2 minutes. I wanted to go longer but after a minute and a half I couldn't do anymore. So I listened to my body and walked it off for 2 minutes... then ran again for 1 1/2 and walked for a couple... the I tried one more run period but could only manage and 1 1/4 minutes... my legs were like rubber when I got home... but when you think about it - I ran for almost six minutes... the longest I've run in a long time... maybe my lifetime... my legs are sore tonight so going to bed now that I've finished my homework...

RUNNING!

YEAH! I just finished on the treadmill. I didn't do it last night because I suddenly had a horrible stomach ache and headache. Anyways... onto today!

It felt absolutely awesome. I had a goal of 20 minutes in mind... I met that goal... but while doing it, I made another goal - start RUNNING! And guess what I did... just that... I ran in intervals with 3mph walking in between to calm the heartrate a bit. I ran for a total of 4 minutes in that 20 min period. Included in that 20 min is the warm-up and cool-down. The totals were just over a mile... 37.4 fat calories burned... 119 calories burned... YEAH!

I stretched when I was done and will probably be doing more stretching throughout the day. Towards the end I really felt it around my knees. Now that I am sitting here, I can feel tightness in my lower back (which has caused me problems lately).

But I still can't believe I did it! WEIGHT LOSS - HERE I COME!!!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER... SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER! The song fits perfectly right now and that's how I feel. I feel so exhausted yet so excited that I don't have to go back to work on Tuesday. This year's class totally wore me out. I had so many "interesting" things happen to me this year - I don't know if I could take anymore.

I have next week off then I am taking a class through the community college - one I need for my recertification.

Besides that... I am really going to focus on exercising this summer. Javamom has really inspired me... if she can challenge her physical therapist, then there is hope for me... Thanks Javamom...