Rachel's Blog

Update your Blog links!

2011-02-26T15:50:00.000-06:00

If you've been wondering where I've been, check out my new blog at http://learnforalifetime.wordpress.com, where still talk about myself and my running/fitness adventures along with a teaching twist. :)

~R

Half-Marathon Recap

2010-12-21T11:09:00.001-06:00

The experience of my first half-marathon is one I won’t soon forget. It’s taken me quite a while to find the time to sit down and write about it. (I have been super busy with two different Christmas concerts (church/school) to prepare and practice for...)

Those of us traveling with our Team Challenge group arrived at the Milwaukee airport at 6:00 a.m. We got our things together and flew out to Vegas. Friday night was spent dining at a fancy French place with some awesome teammates/mentors and walking the strip. Saturday was spent battling a migraine for half the day (at the race expo was the worst with all the people and noise!). Saturday night was the pasta party — all the participants from TC made almost $4M to fight Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis! After we got back to our room, my roommate and I tried out our race gear so we could feel a bit more relaxed about what the next morning would bring. Here I am in race gear with my “In Honor Of” bib with all the people’s names on it that I know with Crohn’s or UC.

Sunday morning we met in the hotel lobby at 5:45 a.m. I don’t know the last time I was purposefully awake at that time of the day. We took a team picture and headed out to the parking lot of the hotel. I checked my gear and then began the waiting game. I surprisingly wasn’t that nervous. I was assigned to corral 31, with an estimated finish time of 3:30:00. Many of the people I was hanging with wanted to go to corral 32, which was the last one. One of our team mentors was the “sweeper” for TC, meaning that he would make sure nobody fell behind a 4 hour pace — a few team members had trained with him many times during our Sunday run/walks and wanted to stick with them. Stubborn me wanted to stay where I was and get this race done. The gun sounded at 7 a.m., but I didn’t cross the starting line until somewhere around 7:45. I was very thankful that I brought my phone with me, since there were many encouraging text messages coming in from family, friends and Twitter. I have to specifically mention Marty (@mjburian) here, because he had apparently signed up to get alerts from me as I crossed the timing mats. He would tell me what my time was and what my estimated finish time was based on my pace. Awesome!

Walking down the empty street of the strip during the day was interesting. Around three miles, I ran into one of our mentors, Sarah (@mserita). She was assistant coaching the walkers; she couldn’t run due to knee pain. Soon after that, I found my mentor, Amy, cheering from the sideline. (She was dealing with plantar fasciitis and couldn’t run either.) She jumped a fence to give me a hug. (She had a huge bruise from it later!) I didn’t see anyone else I knew personally for another three miles. Then, I found our Team Manager, Becky. Here’s the picture she took of me at the turnaround of the course:

The next part of the race was just a blur to me. I wasn’t looking at scenery; all I did was look at the road ahead and wish that somewhere soon I would meet up with Anne, our walking coach. Knowing that sometime I would see her kept my feet steadily turning over. At mile 11.5, I finally saw her running back to me. I nearly burst into tears (and am almost crying again right now remembering it). This is the second-best thing that I had been waiting for the entire race. (The first thing was still two miles ahead of me.) It was at this point that I knew I was going to finish. I knew I was going to accomplish the very thing that I never would have even imagined I could do. I was extremely emotional and all I could do was tell Anne that I was so glad she was there -- so glad I was doing it and I couldn’t believe that I really was doing it. She told me that Pete, another one of our teammates was just ahead of me and he was having a little trouble with his knees. Anne gave me one more push to finish strong. I passed the twelve mile mark, and right as I was about to turn the corner to the parking lot, there was a huge group of Team Wisconsin people cheering me on like I was the only one who mattered. I beamed as I heard them, as evidenced by this picture from Jordan (@jlhenkel):

I turned the corner and I could see the finish line in front of me. I also saw Pete. I caught up with him and when we were close to the finish line he said to me, “I think I have a little more gas in the tank.” So we ran across the finish line together. I was in tears as a race volunteer put a massive medal around my neck. I got my finishing picture taken by the official race photog and then I called my parents, weeping that I had finished. My official time was 3:43:32, nearly exactly between the goal I had set for myself. There is a video of me crossing the finish line here: http://running.competitor.com/cgiresults_details?pId=3852340&eId=27&eiId=33&seId=67

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. Fundraising was difficult, but I made my goal and I finished the race. I can’t wait until the next one! (Probably the Wisconsin Half-Marathon in Kenosha in May.)

Thank you to all of you for your loving support and encouragement as I conquered this amazing feat!

Almost to the (Start) Finish Line

2010-11-21T20:54:00.002-06:00

We just had our second-to-last team practice today, in which I traversed nine miles along the lakefront of Milwaukee on foot. It only took me 2 hrs and 20 minutes (which was my time for 8.5 miles two weeks prior). I have met my fundraising goal, and I am feeling confident that I will finish the race strong.

I convinced my sister to do a "Turkey Leg Run" (5K) with me on Thanksgiving morning. That means I can eat a lot later, right?

Our team has a 10-mile route on the schedule for next Sunday. It's mind-boggling to think that two weeks from today, I'll be sitting in the Mandalay Bay hotel, amazed at (and proud of!) myself for finishing a half-marathon.

Pick My Playlist!

2010-10-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

I'm looking for inspiration! Donate $20 at http://tinyurl.com/RNRVegasRM, and pick a song for my half-marathon playlist (I'm estimating between 3-4 hours of music) Fill out the form below and I'll get your song requests. Thanks!

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Training Update and Fundraising Info

2010-10-09T16:35:00.000-05:00

It’s been too long since I last updated, so I figure that it’s time for another update!

Tomorrow we get to do five miles! This is tied for the longest I have ever run/walked (as far as a training standpoint). I am really excited about starting to bump up the mileage! I have to thank my sister for keeping me motivated to do the midweek workouts, as she meets up with me to do one of the trails near the school where I teach.

My fundraising is going slowly, but I’m still selling the coffee (if you’d like some, let me know...). My mentor is hosting a movie screening of “Spirit of the Marathon” next weekend, so I’m looking forward to that. If you’re in the Milwaukee area, the link for more info is here: http://tinyurl.com/spiritmarathon $20 gets you into the movie, a popcorn and a carbonated beverage! If you enter “Rachel Malkuch” into the box if you register, I get $5 toward my fundraising.

We have to re-commit to our goal by October 18th. If I don’t get to my fundraising goal before November 17th, the remaining amount gets charged to my checking account, and I really don’t want that. (Yes, I know a credit card would be better, but almost a year ago, I cut up my cards and closed my accounts.)

If you could spare even $10, I will be grateful. If you want to put a song on my playlist for the race, donate $20! If you know someone with Crohn’s or Colitis, and you want me to write their names on my body for the race, donate $50 and I’ll gladly do it! Anything... even $1 is appreciated. Here’s the site: http://tinyurl.com/RNRVegasRM THANK YOU!

Berres Brothers Fundraiser!

2010-09-07T16:33:00.001-05:00

Good day, coffee lovers! If you are a regular reader or follower of this blog, you may know that I am participating in a half-marathon on December 5th. I will be raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) in my quest to do something awesome for other people at the same time as doing something awesome for my own health. I am fortunate enough to be able to pair up with Berres Brothers Coffee Roasters (from Watertown, WI) to sell their FANTASTIC product. Believe me when I say this stuff is heavenly! I got hooked on it when I was in high school and have loved it ever since. (My friends back in Watertown even sent me “care packages” of coffee while I was away at college!)
A little more about CCFA and the Irritable Bowel Diseases for which it is attempting to find a cure:

The American Institute of Philanthropy gave the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation one of only 6 "A" ratings (out of 44 charities) in its most recent watchdog report. The Foundation also consistently meets the standards established by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are painful, medically incurable illnesses that attack the digestive system.
Approximately 1.4 million American adults and children suffer from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Most people develop these diseases between the ages of 15 and 35.
More than 80 cents of every dollar raised goes directly toward research, education, and support services.

To put in an order, send me an email at rmalkuch AT gmail DOT com, send me a direct message on Facebook (Rachel Malkuch) or Twitter (@aleixa)! If you wish to pay online, please use PayPal and send the money to the email address listed above. I will be selling coffee until October 30, 2010.

Here are your order options:
12 oz. Ground Packages - $10/each

French Roast
Breakfast Blend
French Caramel Cream
Hazelnut Cream
Highlander Grogg
Streusel Cake
Breakfast Blend Decaf
French Caramel Cream Decaf
Highlander Grogg Decaf

Gift Sets
12-Pack Sampler Gift Set (1.5 oz. Single-Pot Coffees) $20/each
One each of :

Breakfast Blend
Chocolate Caramel
Cinnamon Hazelnut
Cranberry Cream
French Caramel Cream
French Vanilla
Hazelnut Cream
Highlander Grogg
Southern Pecan Cream
Streusel Cake
Vanilla Nut
White Russian

24-Pack Sampler Gift Set (1.5 oz. Single-Pot Coffees) $35/each
One each of:

Breakfast Blend
Butternut Rum
Chocolate Caramel
Chocolate Mint
Chocolate Raspberry
Cinnamon Hazelnut
Colombian Blend
Cranberry Cream
French Caramel Cream
French Vanilla
Hazelnut Cream
Highlander Grogg
House Blend
Irish Cream
Southern Pecan Cream
Streusel Cake
Turtle Sundae
Vanilla Nut
White Russian
Breakfast Blend Decaf
Highlander Grogg Decaf
French Caramel Cream Decaf
Streusel Cake Decaf
Vanilla Nut Decaf

Cut the Crap

2010-08-14T13:08:00.000-05:00

I am not very good at blogging.

I’m not very good at running, either, but I just made a huge commitment.

Through the course of the last eight months, I have made some changes in my life. I joined a gym in January, like oh-so-many people do. I had a workout buddy, and for about four months, we were really good about getting to the gym and working out together. Honestly, though, my training has lapsed in the past few weeks.

In April, I walk/ran my first 5K race. I ran one more in June, and one (and a half) in July. I have one scheduled for the end of August and another for September.

But, there is the One Race that trumps them all.

A few weeks ago, I committed to doing a half-marathon. 13.1 miles. 13.1 MILES. That’s nearly four times farther than I’ve ever gone before.

I have enrolled in the Team Challenge program. They are a half-marathon training group that fundraises for research to fight Crohn’s disease as well as Ulcerative Colitis. I will have a coach. I will have a mentor. I will have a plan to get me from hardly running at all to more than I ever have.

I’m not going to lie, the reason I joined Team Challenge is to get my butt in gear and to encourage me to be consistent with working out. The benefit of this training is that in addition to me becoming healthier, people with IBD can have hope for a cure because of the money we raise.

I have a friend named Alex who has been dealing with Crohn’s disease for a while now. I am running in honor of him. He had to skip a semester of college because he was dealing with this disease. (Click the link below to read more about him.)

Can you spare $10? Could you spare $25? There are countless others out there suffering with this disease. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America is one of the leading charities in the nation -- 80 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to the research that they’re doing. I would love for you to click the link below and read more about the race, IBD and Alex’s story. Let’s cut the crap!

Link to my Team Challenge page: http://tinyurl.com/RNRVegasRM

Thank you for your time, and God’s blessings to you!

Storming of the Bastille

2010-07-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

My first Storming of the Bastille was an interesting experience. The daytime hours seemed like Murphy (yes, the one with the Law) was out to get me.

I didn't wake up as early as I wanted to, meaning that my morning was slow. I let myself get distracted by the Internet for too long. I went over to my classroom to review my goals from last year and to start planning my goals for the next school year, when I realized that I did not accomplish as much as I had hoped. My favorite pen broke, too! As I was feeling really overwhelmed, I heard "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. You know, the song where it says, "Don't worry about a thing, because every little thing is gonna be all right." So that made me feel a little better (I guess). I came home, realized that my 403(b) had lost two months' worth of contributions in the last quarter, so that made me even more foul. Add this all on top of being an emotional wreck from letting myself worry about my relationship (way too much) and I was just seriously out of sorts. (I'm sure I'm getting visited by a certain Aunt soon too...)

All of this meant I didn't leave as soon as I wanted to go to downtown Milwaukee.

As soon as I exited to the downtown area, I knew that I was going to have difficulty finding parking. I should have known that there were going to be huge amounts of people at this thing, but I guess I didn't realize HOW many. It honestly took me nearly 20 minutes to find a spot. By the time I made it to the 5th level of a parking structure, it was about 40 minutes past the time that I was going to meet up with a group of people, and another 20 minutes until the race started, and I hadn't even picked up my registration yet!

I am truly a suburbanite, because I wandered about three blocks before finally finding the run registration tent. Luckily, that was right next to the start of the race. By this time, the announcers were saying "15 minutes till the start!" and there was no way that I was going to wander around to try and find people, especially if I had no idea where they were! (I eventually realized about 5 minutes before the start that Real Chili was just down the block from where I was standing. Forgive me, I've never been there before.)

SO, because I was late, I had to wear my race t-shirt around my waist (lucky it was long-sleeved!) and tie my car key to the waistband of my running pants. I also folded up my race bib and put it in once of the sleeves because they had run out of safety pins. Being surrounded by a HUGE crowd of people you don't know who are all sweating profusely because it was so humid...it wasn't the most fun experience I've ever had.

The race finally started, and I have no idea where the start line was due to the huge crowd of people, so I must have started my Garmin late. I was really proud of myself for actually running the first two and a half blocks. Then, I started coughing. (This brought me back to high school, when I played softball and I actually needed an inhaler because I would start coughing all the time.) The hair on the back of my head felt like I had just gotten out of the shower. I knew that this was not going to be fun. As we rounded the corner by that big orange sculpture, I realized that I *REALLY* needed to go to the bathroom. Oh no. This was not turning out to be the fun that I had planned.

I spent the next few blocks debating on whether I should run the whole 5K or take the "easy" route (the 2 mile walk) and just be done with it and go home. I decided that I didn't want to pee my pants, or hyperventilate and collapse, so I decided to just be done with it. As I ran past the street where the stage was set up, I heard the Love Monkeys playing a song. Three Little Birds. Bob Marley. That's when I finally knew it was okay to do just the two miles.

I crossed the finish line in a herd of people that were coming in from finishing the 5K at about 32 minutes. My Garmin said that I had gone 1.87 miles in 31:14. (Which is actually showing improvement for me in pacing.) I navigated the crowd, took two glasses of water because I knew I hadn't had enough during the day and made my way back to the parking structure. There were two ladies that were still doing the walk as I turned the corner, so I made sure to shout some good vibes their way. The one actually thanked me. (That was nice.)

After another 20 minutes slowly creeping down to the exit of the parking garage, I was on my way back home. Stinky, sweaty, disappointed in missing the Fit Milwaukee group, and just generally disappointed in myself.

In good news today, I'm down to 261 lb. (Total of 26 lb. lost) I was hoping to be in the 250s when I went to Florida on vacation next week, but I'm planning on bringing my running shoes along and hope to get some good swimming and running in while I'm there. (The house we're renting has a pool.)

The days can only look up from here, right? I had to keep reminding myself that God really does have a Plan, and there was some Reason that all these things happened on the same day. I'm still here, I'm still going, which means God gave me the strength to persevere over that horrible, no good, very bad day. Thankfully, they are few and far between.

Until next time,
Keep a song in your heart!

Superun 5K Recap

2010-06-25T10:10:00.001-05:00

I don't know why, but I was much more nervous for this race than I was for the Deer Run. I suppose one of the reasons was the lack of training due to being out of town...and then never starting up again when I got back.

I made sure to start out in the back of the pack, because after reading the "Off the Couch" blog, I found out that some crazy people try to finish this course in about 15:30. (Sure enough, the winner came in right around that time.) My biggest fear was being last. But, my friend Nora perked my spirits when she sent me a reply on Twitter: "Last is still ahead of anybody who's not running at all!"

I was feeling pretty good as the race started, even though it was muggy and humid and I had already been sweating by just standing and hanging out at the awesome Team Challenge tent. (Thanks for watching my stuff, Amy!) It was pretty awesome seeing the giant glob of people running through the park.

The first mile of the course was my best. I don't know if that's because I was starting off too hard or because it was downhill, but I know I kept telling myself, "Okay, you're going to run to ." and then I would do that and give myself a little walk break. It was during one of these periods that I told myself I was going to run to the next intersection, but then just beyond the intersection was a group of five(ish) people that were there cheering for me! THANK YOU THANK YOU Anne, Rochelle, Marty, Kelley, Amy (and anyone else I forgot) for cheering me on. I ran farther and faster than I would have if you had not been there.

I passed the second mile marker, and though it was a bit disheartening that the race volunteer was gathering up her cones, there were still people behind me. She told me, "Right turn at the intersection," and I kept on going. Then... BAM. I don't think I've ever run up a hill that large in my entire life. And... I didn't really run. I was walking at a quick pace, but let it be known that I did NOT stop at all. (Yay!)

My Garmin beeped that I hit the 3 mile mark, but I didn't see the marker anywhere, but I just kept going, encouraging myself knowing that I was almost to the finish. I passed some walkers who had cut the corner going up the hill, and started running again. My cheering squad! They were there! I started running again and ran the fastest I had the entire race through the finish line. (That tells me I probably could have done even better!)

My two goals were to finish (not last) and to beat my Deer Run time. I did both, so I'm happy with the outcome of the race. I have an upcoming vacation in Denver/Montana so hopefully I can get some miles in while I'm out there to get ready for Stormin' the Bastille on July 8th!

Thank you again, cheerleaders and Daily Mile people, you bring a spring to my step!

Link to the route map: http://www.dailymile.com/routes/209529-running-route

Splits (for posterity): 14:50; 16:00; 17:23 (uphill!); 1:43 for the last .15 miles.

Food Review: evol burritos

2010-05-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

My job as a teacher requires me to work many crazy hours. (I don’t think I have worked a regular day unless I was sick or had something going on right after school.) Because of this, I eat the majority of my meals at school. Yes, even breakfast! Right now in my classroom, I have:

a bag of Veggie Stix
a canister of oatmeal
a tub of almond butter
a container of granola
about five Chobani yogurts
a case of Strawberries
a bag of raw almonds
a TON of different teas
three different kinds of coffee beans

I have a fridge here. I have a coffeemaker here. Due to there also being a couch in my room and showers in the locker room, I probably could live in my classroom. (Contrary to popular belief, I have never stayed overnight here.)

Anyhow, what I really wanted to write about is dinner. Most days, I stay after school in the evenings because there is no family waiting for dinner at home, and I have work to do. I flip on Pandora/Netflix/TV and (usually) get to work. Most of the time, I don’t eat dinner until very late. Today, I tried to change that.

I went to The Fresh Market over in Brookfield for the yogurt and almonds (which I was out of) until I saw that they had a frozen section with microwavable meals. I try to avoid micro-meals because I know they have a lot of sodium, which I nix a lot because of the balance I’m attempting to go for. Today I picked up an “evol burrito” (Their website: http://evolburritos.com/) It was the “Chicken, Bean & Rice” flavor. Looking at the ingredient list impressed me. Free-range chicken, pinto beans, salsa, Monterey Jack/Cheddar Cheese, Corn and spices. The tortilla had enriched wheat flour, but I was okay with that.

I stuck it in the microwave for just over 3 minutes, even though the directions say 2:45. (They even have options for cooking it in the oven! On their website, there are even more options!) I am happy to report that even with our little mic in the office, the insides came out nice and warm. I can’t believe how tasty it was! By the time I got to the end of it, my tummy was definitely satisfied. I would definitely buy more of these.

Stats:
Calories: 440 (from fat: 70)
Total Fat: 8g (2.5 Saturated)
Fiber: 6g
Protein: 21g
Total Carb. 72g

I am hoping this will keep me full as I go in for the long haul correcting tonight.

Keep a song in your heart!

P.S. Nobody paid me to write this, this is my own opinion and not any sort of advertising for evol burritos.

Identity

2010-05-06T16:11:00.000-05:00

“As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You’ll have your heart broken and you’ll break others’ hearts. You’ll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you’ll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you’ve never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. You just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you, tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone’s hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt and smile until your face hurts. Don’t be afraid to take chances or fall in love. Most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.”

-Unknown

I’m having somewhat of an identity crisis right now... I really just have to trust God that he knows where I’m going and where I’m supposed to be. I’ve been very emotional lately, and I’d like to blame it on the stress of the musical and the good job I did suppressing it all during the four months of rehearsals. Now it’s taking its toll on me. Maybe it’s my messed up hormones. Maybe it’s crappy food. Whatever it is, I just want it to go away.

I just don’t know. Maybe I should go run and that will help me figure it out.

Trying to keep a happy song in my heart! ☺
-R

Deer Run 5K

2010-04-27T18:56:00.001-05:00

I promised an update on the Deer Run to very many people, so here it is, short and sweet so that I can get back to my other work.

I arrived. Got my number, my t-shirt, met up with my Twitter friends, including Anne. I’ve been following Anne for the longest time online and it was really great to finally meet her. I also met Amy, who would be my “running” buddy for the day. As she mentioned on her blog, we’re in a similar place weight and fitness-wise so we decided to go together. Around 9, everybody started crowding around the start line. Amy and I were in the back, which is okay because I know those serious types wanted to get going!

We ran for a while, walked for a while, ran for a while somewhere in the middle, walked again and ran the last leg through to the finish line. My bib had gotten marked as “walk” even though I signed up for the run, so I didn’t have a timing chip, but Amy did, and her official time was 50:02. Since we were together, I claimed that as my time too.

I have to thank all the Trinity ladies who came along with me. I was really encouraged by all of them to get out there and do it. Also, I have to thank Anne and Michael for coming out, cheering, and taking beautiful pictures. Thanks for your support!

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, my profile has a list of all the upcoming races that I’m signed up for. (I’m not signed up for the Sept. Applefest run though, because they don’t have registration yet.)

Oh yeah, I should mention this one too...

I’m thinking about doing a half-marathon.

More on that later.

Keep a song in your heart!

Where Will I Be Next Year?

2010-04-22T15:11:00.002-05:00

Every time I look back at my pictures from the Marine Ecology class I took in Jamaica, I get a little sad. I know I was still not skinny, but look how fit I looked! In that picture, I had just climbed up the waterfall at Ocho Rios. I did it twice that day. It was exhausting, but well worth the views of tropical Caribbean landscapes.

A year after that, I graduated from college, moved away from home and was really responsible for taking care of myself. Look how well that turned out!

After my “aha” moment about my health, I realized that I am the one that is responsible for what I’m putting in my body. It’s not that I didn’t realize it before, but I really started thinking about what foods I was buying and how they were going to impact my weight.

I have been a big advocate of not completely cutting anything out of my diet. However, I have almost completely stopped buying macaroni & cheese and ramen noodles. I know that if I make a delicious pot of the stuff that comes out of the Blue Box, I will eat it. The. Whole. Thing. And I would do it without blinking an eye.

I know that if I am going to continue to make progress back to a healthy weight, I have to change the way that I eat. I need to continue to be active and exercise. I have to do this, not anyone else.

Update in short:
Starting weight: 287
Today’s weight: 267
Total loss: 20 lb.
Whoohoo! Time to reward myself with a pedicure!

Upcoming activities:
04.24.10 - The Deer Run 5K - It’s this Saturday! I’m a bundle of nerves and excited all at the same time.
06.23.10: Superun 5K
07.24.10: Sausage Run 5K
09.18.10: Applefest 5K

Keep a song in your heart!

Another Scale Victory

2010-03-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

Many of the blogs I have read regarding healthy living and weight loss have talked a lot about not being dependent on what the scale tells you. This is one of those stories.

In all honesty, I have been too busy and too apathetic to care about the scale for the past week. For those of you who are not aware, I’m a middle school Language Arts teacher. My correcting includes a lot of reading things kids have written in response to stories, which always seems to be the last thing I want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading and hearing what they have to say about how they can connect their own lives to the stories we read in Literature class. I’m not sure why I always end up doing this to myself, but I had four or five different assignments handed in to me on Friday. That should leave me the weekend to get them corrected, but often times I like to be selfish and actually relax on the weekends instead of continuing to work. (This job could easily take up all my time if I would let it!)

The weekend didn’t leave much time for relaxation.

I was a judge at a 5th and 6th grade forensics (speech) competition on Saturday morning. After that was over I went to the grocery store to find ingredients for a fruit pizza that I needed to make for Sunday afternoon. It looked beautiful! (Click the link for a picture.) After I was done cooking that (and washing the related dishes), I started doing some spot cleaning. I had some storage tubs in my bedroom that were taking up space -- I had been meaning to pack up all my winter blankets in them for quite some time. After the storage tubs were placed, it really only took about 20 minutes to get everything “company ready.” (I have been getting regular emails from flylady.net that have encouraged me to take things 15 minutes at a time.)

Around 5 p.m., I got a text message from my sister saying that she and my parents had arrived! They were on their way from Cincinnati to Minnesota, and my home is conveniently near the midsection of that trek. Mom and Dad took us all out to Famous Dave’s for dinner. It was delicious! I got the sweet potato as my side to my chopped pork sandwich. I hadn’t had much besides a Clif bar for breakfast, so I don’t think that my calorie intake would have been blasted out of the water too much. (I don’t want to think about how much sodium was probably in it.) After we got back to my place we watched a movie streamed from Netflix (while I attempted to join in my regular online D&D game -- didn’t work so well...) and then we turned in for the evening.

I had to be at church at 7:15 for Palm Sunday services. This should be the best week of the year (spiritually) but I’m having a difficult time getting excited for it. (I might write more about that later.)
The Mixed Choir sang for all three services right at the beginning. We got to wave our palm branches and shout, “Hosanna!” as we walked down the aisle. My family attended the 9:15 service (How awesome it is to worship with them!) and spent the time after church talking to relatives. I didn’t get to say more than a quick goodbye before I had to run to sing for third service. As the choir stood at the front of church, I saw my family walking out the door. After church, I drove an hour to my friends’ house and we had Palm Sunday lunch at their house. (Speaking of that, I need to find a healthy chicken pot pie recipe! Yummo!)

After all the hullabaloo was over, I was at home by myself and decided to catch up on some of the TV I missed last week. I was fast forwarding through some of the most recent episode of The Biggest Loser when everything just hit me and I started to cry. I sent some twitter updates to see if anyone was out there, but nobody replied, so I decided to sleep.

What does this have to do with the scale? Well, I’ve been so busy that I just haven’t had the time to step on it. I made time for that this morning, because I realized it had been a while.

268.5.

One and a half pounds away from hitting the 20 pounds lost mark. That is exciting...and even though I’m still down in the dumps, I know that small victories such as this one will help make things a little bit better. (So will our week-long Easter break coming up next week.)

Until the mood strikes me again, keep a song in your heart. :)

Strong Legs

2010-03-15T15:12:00.000-06:00

I realized something as I stepped off the scale this morning. My current weight, although still very unhealthy, is the lowest that I can remember in the past two years.

Two years ago, I was living in a new apartment with a good friend of mine. She and I worked well as roommates, even though after our year lease was up, she moved out. That move was the most challenging move I’ve made in my life up to this point. I was moving across the parking lot from one building to another. I lifted, drug and carried nearly all of my belongings by myself from one residence to the next. After hauling things every night for a week, I remember thinking, “I should step on the scale to see if all this work has paid off!”

It did! At the time, I rejoiced as I saw a 273 flash on the digital screen.

It took me a long time to realize that that was not a good number.

I have been so used to being the chunky- no, strike that-- the fat girl that I had accepted that I would be like that for the rest of my life.

I’m not sure what flipped the switch in me. I was working through the Financial Peace University class with Dave Ramsey last fall, talking about getting your finances in order and living on a budget. In my brain, health and money were connected. I was always going to be a fat girl that had credit card debt. There was a point during the class where I brought in my five cards. In front of all the students, I used a large scissors and cut each card in half.

Since then, my total debt has dropped, and I’ve lost around 20 pounds.

I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 271.5.

I am proud of that number, even if it is still bad, because I worked hard to get there from 287 (what I believe to be my highest weight). Putting that number out there really sets me up for a tongue lashing from people, or maybe just whisperings of “I can’t believe she let herself get that fat!” Well, I’m going to ignore you.

I have to do this.

I have to take control of my life and make sure that I am making healthy choices for ME... to be a good example to those around me. To inspire my students to live healthy lives. To inspire my family and show them that it is possible to get to a healthy weight.

My journey may just be on its first legs, but I’m going to make sure those legs get strong enough to carry me through till I’m 100 years old. (God willing.)

It’s interesting to me that “You Sexy Thing” just came on my iTunes shuffle. :) Gives me a good smile to end this blog post.

Keep a song in your heart!

Quick Celebratory Post!

2010-02-22T17:49:00.000-06:00

I don't have a lot of time right now since I am preparing to lead our 20-somethings ministry tonight, but I just needed to share with people.

As of this morning, my (not-completely-all-the-time-accurate) scale told me I've lost 17 pounds since last fall! That means I only have three more to go until I meet my first 20-pound goal!

Generally feeling yucky has kept me out of the gym for all but one of the past five days, but hopefully I can get back at things tomorrow. I've also been considering signing up for a beginners Pilates class through http://www.fitmilwaukee.com. I don't know if my schedule will allow it this week, but for only $5 it's a steal.

Okay, back to work! *does a happy dance*

Keep a song in your heart!

Blog Neglect

2010-02-21T00:54:00.000-06:00

I apologize for neglecting this blog so long. I had originally started it to post photos for the photo challenge, and as with many "extra" things that I do for fun, it just stopped happening as soon as school took a turn for the busy.

Currently I'm trying to stay on top of correcting while also maintaining responsibilities at the "other" side of the building (church) as well as helping out with the vocal coaching for the musical. (We're doing Annie Jr. this year.)

The other thing that I've been doing almost every day is going to the gym. I joined Cardinal Fitness in January, like many people do at the beginning of the new year. I don't want this to become a fad thing that I do for a while. I have set my first goal at running a 5K. In fact, I already know which 5K I'll be doing. It's the Brown Deer "Deer Run" in late April. From the day I found out about it, there were 10 weeks until the race. That is exactly the same amount of time that the "Couch to 5K" program uses to help people get running. Now, since I had been going to the gym for a while before this, I kind of jumped in the middle of the program (also since I had tried to start it once before). I'm supposed to be in week five, but for some reason my body just gave out the end of this week.

I've been tracking my workouts on dailymile.com, as you can see by the new widget I put on my page. Feel free to join me there if you'd like! The thing that was most discouraging about this week was that in weeks previous I've been doing so well for mileage. I started out in January doing 5, 12, 12 and 14 miles per week. I was determined to get more miles in February than I had in January, and I have succeeded in that one, because the first two weeks of Feb. I did 23 and 38 miles. Yikes! (Those were not all running - it counts elliptical and stationary biking time too.) This week I did nine. Nine! It seems like such a measly number, and then I think about it - I got out there and moved for nine miles this week. Much better than my totals before January of zero!

My overall goal in this whole endeavor (besides living a healthy lifestyle) is to lose some poundage. Not just 5 or 10 pounds, but a whopping goal of about 120. I am fat. I know I am fat, I have always been on the fatter side of things. I know God created me for a purpose, and I'd like to live my life here on earth and be a good role model to my students and those around me... being sedentary is not a good example.

Anyhow, since I have neglected this blog for far too long, if you're reading this far, I salute you. Leave me a comment or something so I can congratulate you on finishing! Word vomit over! :)

Keep a song in your heart!

Notes from Teachers' Conference

2009-10-31T20:43:00.002-06:00

I’m not sure if this is the equivalent of me sharing my notes in college class, or what, but because I’m an impulsive note-taker when I’m listening to things, here are my notes from the Wisconsin State Teachers’ Conference for 2009.

Thursday Professional Keynote Speech

Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain!

Dr. Marcia L. Tate

Dr. Tate started the keynote by asking us to pick a partner and tell them that they looked marvelous today. One of us would be assigned to be the “duck” and the other was the “goose.” We would be using these pairings to do activities throughout the presentation.

Why use these 20 instructional strategies?

They increase achievement for all students
They decrease behavior problems.
They make teaching and learning fun!

She asked us which one of these would be the most advantageous for us as teachers. Answers varied, and she said it was nearly a trick question, because as you had more fun teaching and learning, achievement would increase and behavior problems would decrease.

She didn’t give us all 20 at once, but I will to make this a summary and not a transcript. :)

Writing (Don’t make students write while you lecture, the brain can only handle one thing at a time!) Talk about something, and then write about it.
Storytelling
Mnemonic Devices
Visual Aids
Movement (AS = age) The attention span equals the students’ age. A 12 year old’s attention span is approximately 12 minutes. After this amount of time, get up and move around!
Roleplay
Visualization
Metaphor/Analogy/Simile
Reciprocal Teaching/Cooperative Learning: The students teach each other: when you teach something, you learn it 90% better.
Music!

Music changes states (moods).
Problem solving has a lot to do with playing an instrument.
Music helps your memory.
Use music at 50-70 beats per minute to help calm the children - it is about the same speed of the heartbeat. (Play this in the morning while they are coming into the classroom.)
Music at 110-160 beats per minute will excite the students.

Graphic Organizers
Drawing
Humor (How about a joke break every once in a while? It’s a good job for the class clown.)

The store owner caught a woman shoplifting a can of peaches from his grocery store, and because he was so tired of people shoplifting in his store, he decided to prosecute her. When she came to trial the judge looked at her and asked for the can of peaches. He then asked his bailiff to get him a bowl and a can opener. As the bailiff was out of the room, the judge told the woman that she would serve one month in prison for each peach that was in the can. As he opened the can and poured it into his bowl, six pieces of peach came out. The judge looked to the courtroom and asked if anyone had anything else to say before he gave the final sentence. The woman’s husband, who was sitting in the back of the room, raised his hand and said, “She stole a can of peas too!”

Discussion
Games
Project Based Instruction
Field Trips
Work Study/Internships
Technology
Manipulatives

Neurons

The brain has 100 billion neurons, which can have up to 6,000 dendrites per neuron! If you raise your forearm as if you were taking an oath, you can visualize that your fingers are dendrites, the palm of your hand is the cell body, and your forearm is the axon. These three parts make up a neuron. The dendrites of the neuron talk to the axon of the next neuron, but they don’t touch because the impulse travels over the synapse. Every time you learn something new, you are growing more dendrites. Repetition speeds up the communication between the dendrites and axons. The brain needs something repeated three times before it’s committed to memory. (Good thing I’m reviewing this presentation!)

Here are a few ways to grow dendrites:

Talking

Talking sends oxygen to the brain
It helps your memory (When you tell someone else, you remember 90% of the information)

Moving

Procedural memory - muscle memory is your strongest memory. That’s why you don’t ever forget to ride a bike or things that take muscle coordination.

Connecting

Using the 20 strategies stated above.

Having a Purpose - Make the content relevant

Stay active!
If you lose your purpose, find another one
Example of people dying soon after their spouse dies or soon after they retire.

Thinking Positively

Confidence makes you happy!
Threat gives you higher stress levels, more anger and more fear.

She used an example of someone holding out their arm at a 90 degree angle to their body (parallel to the floor). Tell the person to think of a very happy time in their life, and someone behind the person places their hand on the upper arm and tries to pull down. It’s difficult! However, if you do the same thing but tell the person to think of a disappointing thought or a sad thought, it’s much easier to pull the arm down. Demonstration of the power of confidence!

Lastly, she reminded the teachers to show their students that they love them by promoting these positive outcomes and smiling.

Show

I’m

Loved

Every day!

---------------------------------------------------

The first workshop I went to was “Teaching and Learning Using Web 2.0” lead by Gail Potratz. Here are some websites that she gave for using in the classroom:

21st Century Skills for students:

Collaboration
Creation - sharing new knowlege
Communication - networking

Her school’s list of 21st Century Skills:

http://elscurriculum.wikispaces.com/ELS+21st+Century+Skills

We are moving into a more conceptual age from the information age. Agriculture -> Industrial -> Information -> Conceptual

Next generation of jobs - media, bioscience, security, water, renewable energy

Web 2.0: interactivity/writing/adding vs. Web 1.0: reading only

Role of Tools: Organization/communication, managing information, and applying tech to the content area (html vs. wiki)

http://www.go2web20.net - Web 2.0 tools (indexed and searchable)

Places for making a Wiki: Wikispaces, WetPaint, PBWorks

Podcasting: Program called “Myna” vs. Audacity

Blogging: Teacher positive blogs, writing about a positive thing that happens at school once per week.

Other tools: Animoto, Voki, Voicethread, Wordle, Pageflakes, Dropbox, Sharethis

You can download her PowerPoint Presentation here:

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AUV_CKpkusJIZGN3ZmgyNTZfODZkcTZwY2ZmcQ&hl=en

Friday Presentation:

Using Photography in the Classroom

80 Ways to Use Photography

Note: This is directly from a handout that the teacher who was presenting made (she’s a WELS member that’s a public school 3rd grade teacher in her 3rd year teaching). Some of them are a bit redundant.

Create a classroom webpage
Daily schedules - written label and picture
Job charts - pictures of children and job
Labels for boxes, shelves, buckets
Documentation of activities (White boards, manipulative projects, etc.)
Documentation of children’s engagements
Individual portfolios
Emotion pictures and cards
Take a picture/paint a picture
Transportation memory cards
Career/Job memory cards
Document change over time
Classroom books
Create class presentations
Close up pictures
Parent letters
Taking pictures of the weather
Taking pictures of pollution/trash
Healthy food sorting cards
Mapping the school
5 Senses: hear, touch, smell, see, taste
Take a picture, write a story.
Take pictures of daily activities to write about
Jigsaw puzzles
Memory matches
Sequence cards for cooking, projects and activities
Sequence cards for self-help skills
Cause and effect matching cards
Rebus charts
Pocket chart activities
Making ABCs with children’s bodies
Concept maps
Daily growth: plants, cocoons, seasons
Observing a certain tree for all four seasons
Field trips
Special classroom guests
Science demonstration
Stickers for labeling materials for the classroom
Journaling/reporting about picture
Thank you cards with class picture
Cards to families
Taking photos of movement/dance
Guessing books of people in the room: Cover everything but mouth, and guess who it is.
Children’s growth
Pictures of dramatic play
Face puzzles
Blocks or Lego creations
Take pictures of shadows
Pictures of plant life cycle
Collect/analyze data
Use pictures to write stories
Photo dictionary
Things that you do at school
Words with pictures
Geometry concepts in our community
Shapes you can find in nature
Our community
Our school
School rules - children demonstrating
Classroom rules - children demonstrating
Take pictures of things that rhyme
Things that move
Pictures of different textures
Photo gallery
Photo cookbooks
Clouds
Seasonal Signs
Opposites Match
Weather photo classroom books
Community Helpers
Postcards/greeting cards
Environmental print pictures
“Today I feel ____”
Scavenger Hunt (approx. 10 things)
Food pyramid sort
What’s missing? (Compare two with things missing on one)
Add a page - write about one activity a day
Action photographs
Create a story out of a series of pictures
Recreate historic or famous pictures

Weekly Photography Challenge #32

2009-09-09T20:51:00.005-05:00

This week's theme was "Work" in reference to Labor Day. Now, as you may have guessed, I work at a school. I could have posted a picture of how my desk is amazingly cluttered, or the things that go on after school, but the reason I work is because of these crazy kids. Even though I am tired, cranky or unprepared (heaven forbid), my students are the reason I keep working day after day after day. I'm so blessed to be able to share God's word with them every day and to help them learn and grow in their faith.

As far as the photo goes, I am not sure why it seems to "glow." Could it be that my camera lens was smudged? Could that happen because of the blazing sun that there was at recess today? I'm still a novice at this. :)

The crazy kids (click the photo for a larger view):

Weekly Photography Challenge (A Brand New Day)

2009-09-01T20:39:00.002-05:00

Weddings are joyous occasions, yes, and getting invited to one is quite fun. The same goes for participating! Late in August, I was part of a brass quintet that played for my friend Jonathan's wedding. I didn't know until the night before that an old friend from high school was going to be one of the photographers! I follow her on Twitter in addition to being her friend on Facebook, so I knew about this "Weekly Photography Challenge" that she was running. I mentioned to her that I had thought about taking some pictures for the challenge, even though I am nowhere near a professional in my experience or equipment. She encouraged me to do so, and here I am today. I hope to be able to make time in my weekly schedule of teaching middle school to participate in the challenge. Knowing that I've tried my best to improve in my skill as well as to give the world a little bit of 'art' is good enough for me.

Here's this week's theme:
A Brand New Day
Use these words as inspiration for a series of photos (3-5 pictures)
The sky/sun should not be the main focus of your photos
B/w or color
Editing is not allowed; however, you may crop your pictures as you see fit.

I have been trying to walk to school in the morning (about a mile) to save some gas and get some exercise. On my walk this morning, I was looking through the trees at the sunrise and wondering exactly how I was going to come up with something for the theme. After our early faculty Bible study, I walked back to my second home (my classroom) and it hit me. The way the light comes through my vertical blinds every morning (blinding the children) would be a wonderful way to use the theme! I am using a 5 MP camera on a Samsung Omnia cellphone. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to put the resolution on the highest setting, so these photos are all 1280 by 960. Here we go! My favorite is the last of the five. I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and constructive criticism.

Sample Post

2009-08-22T22:05:00.002-05:00

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.