Hello, Again!

As the case has been with the last several posts, there has been a good amount of time since I last posted. Before I actually write about what has been on my mind, I'll update on what has happened since I last updated.

During the spring semester, I took 4 classes while working full time. That was NUTSO!! I will never do THAT again!! My word. I am not saying that I can't handle it (I got 2 As and 2 Bs), but I wasn't present as mom and wife, my exercise fell to the wayside, and I feel like no part of my life got 100% from me.

As soon as school let out (a benefit of working at the school is I get to vaca with the kids) my mom came for a 10 day visit. She arrived the night school let out. We had a great time, taking advantage of the *very* warm Texas weather, the water recreation, and the generous supply of cool things to do in my sweet little town. When Mom left, we vegged out for a day or two then resumed our summer schedule, which really isn't much of a schedule! We got some library books, visited friends, and have been making numerous visits to the local waterpark. I have been walking with my sweet friend 3-4 days a week, which leaves me feeling renewed and refreshed. Somehow I don't know where the last month and a half has gone, because the time since school let out has been a blur. :)

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I took up running last May. Since I did the Couch to 5K program, I have been able to pick up and run a few miles at a shot. It isn't always easy but it is always fun, rewarding, and refreshing. I love the feeling of solitude that I get while I am running. My neighborhood is BO-RING, there aren't many options as to routes, so I usually run the same route or at least reverse the direction or zig zag through the cross streets till I reach my desired mileage.

When I began running, I wore traditional running shoes. They felt nice and cushy and stable, but my back started hurting after I wore them out. I had shin splints pretty much the whole time but I wrote that off to being a novice runner and figured they would go away sooner or later. When it was time to get new running shoes, I bought another pair by the same company that ended up aggravating my shin splints, making them worse. I decided to go to a local running specialty shop where the specialist said that I have a normal gait and I was wearing shoes for over-pronation. Um...OK. I tried on a couple of pairs of shoes and found a nice, lightweight pair that I liked but that were out of my price range. Later when I got a few bucks together, I ordered a pair of Saucony Kinvaras. All the time I spent in between gave my shin splint a chance to heal.

All I knew at the time was that these shoes weighed a LOT less than my previous ones, my shin splints went away,my running form transformed, and I started reading up on why that may be. Research led me to discover that the Kinvaras are known to be a go between from traditional running shoes and minimalist shoes. Hm...minimalist shoes? Wow - that sounds like something that interests me! I searched for more knowledge and heard about the book "Born to Run" from a friend. I got the book at the library and hungrily devoured every page. I learned about barefoot running and minimalist running and WHY people are doing it.

Fast forward a bit. In the last month or so, I have discovered that listening to music on my runs wasn't cutting the mustard. My mind kept wandering and my playlist got boring. I decided to search for some running podcasts and came across Caity McCardell's Run Barefoot Girl.. Listening to Caity has been incredibly entertaining, motivational, and inspiring. I listened to pocast #7  today and she was interviewing a woman who took up barefoot running despite her skepticism. This got me to thinking.....I tend to be more skeptical about mainstream, common things, about government and corporations, the medical community, the media, and just about anything that people tend to put their faith into. Just give me any grassroots movement, any group of people trying to go against the grain, and you have my attention.

This all leads to why I have decided to take the plunge into minimalist running. I think that it makes perfect sense that minimalist and barefoot running strengthen our feet, improve our posture, and reduce injuries. Perfect sense! I ordered a pair of Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves (Amazon.com is the BOMB - they bought back my textbooks and gave me credit, woohoo!) and I am DYING to receive them and put them to the test. I don't think that I will wear them for the 4.5 mile HILLY race that I am running in a week, but I definitely plan to step up my training and aim to run the 10K in September and the half marathon in October wearing them.

I have tried running barefoot on a few occasions, and I did better on a smoother surface. The roads here by my home are rough and I think I need to toughen up my soles a little before going all the way. For now, I am satisfied and excited to take on minimalist running.

As you might be able to see, I have so much to say, and it is late on a Saturday night, and it's time for me to say good night, but I have more to say, so I will be back soon. For tonight, peace out, good night, God bless.....see you soon. XO

A new project

This is a re-usable tote bag that I made from a used feed sack. I've seen them around and wanted to give a shot at making one myself. It was easy breezy, took about 45 minutes for my first attempt. I have a trunk full of feed sacks ready to go, so any free time I might have will go to these. :)

Groupon

If you haven't signed up for Groupon yet, you should. Today's deal (San Antonio area) has a deal for Rita's Natural Food Market in New Braunfels - $10 to buy $20 of groceries. I don't know about you, but I never walk out of there for less than $20.

There are great deals on Groupon every day - and the more you use it, the more Groupon bucks you earn to buy more Groupons with! AND if you get your friends to sign up, you can earn even more.

I went on today to buy the Rita's deal, prepared to spend the $10, and discovered that I have a credit because of passing the word around. This made me very happy!

SO - click here, sign up, and pass the word around! Enjoy!

Groupon is available everywhere, not just in TX, so when you sign up, just put your city in! It costs you nothing to join and the benefits a many.

Here are two of my favorite things...

Hello!


I have a TON of homework to do and I am always finding new and sometimes unusual ways to procrastinate, BUT I wanted to share a couple of my most recent favorite recipes - both from blogs. They are both sure fire ways to make standard foods that can sometimes be tricky.


Behold: How to make PERFECT brown rice. Read this from Pinch My Salt. It will forever change the way you cook brown rice. Trust me. :)


Fluffy Whole Wheat Biscuits. You ask yourself, what? Whole wheat biscuits? Fluffy? Try them and see. I've made these several times and they are absolutely fantastic with peach jam. Or raspberry. Or fig. Or scrambled eggs...you get the picture. Don't let the vegan thing scare you. You can always substitute with butter and milk if you have to. :) Enjoy!!!!


OK - off to hit the political journals for an article that I can write a two page response to. This little distraction was fun while it lasted.


Love to y'all!

Howdy-Do, Buckaroos!

Hello!

I wanted to check in with a little update on school and everything.

December, I completed my 2nd semester back at school. Everything went well, and I got an A in government and a C in History. C sounds bad BUT since I had attempted History before (a couple of times) I aimed for a C and got it. I worked really hard for it, too!

Since I coasted relatively smoothly through two semesters of taking two classes, I decided that in the spring semester, I'd give four classes a try. So, here I am, beginning week three, and it's a lot of hard work, a whole lot of reading and time management, but it's going well so far. I'm taking government 2 and history 2, both in person at the SAC satellite campus here in town, and I am taking world geography and intro to education online. I am really enjoying the online courses (esp. edu) because of the interactions with classmates and the professor.

Next week, I have to go to SA to pick up my internship paperwork so I can spend some time in a classroom other than mine learning lesson planning and teaching from another perspective. (Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to use my classroom for it because PPCD wasn't an option).

*****

Running has become a new passion to me. Since doing the Couch to 5K program last year, it has become a part of my life. It seems like my body craves it and I get antsy when I don't make it out. On the off days when I can't make it to the gym, I've been doing yoga. I got a great DVD called Yoga for Athletes which has 16 different sports to choose from (including running) - each sport has 12 different yoga sessions from 20-75 minutes targeting different areas that are important for the sport you choose. It's been helping me a LOT. I generally run appx 3.5 miles, three times a week. My running space is limited where I live and it gets boring sometimes, but the time to myself is priceless. My running playlist is awesome so getting out to run is a real treat.

*****

The kids are doing awesome. Olivia has blossomed into an amazing young lady now that she is in middle school. I am amazed at her every day. She is taking better care of herself, yet not falling into fads and trends that are prevalent in middle school. She is excelling in all areas and has been reunited with friends she made in the early years of elementary school.

Sophia has blossomed as well. I think after Olivia left the elementary school, Sophia has (in a way) come out of her shell and taken on some really cool activities such as choir club and student council along with library shelf elf. Her grades are awesome and she has been blessed with one of the most awesome teachers I have ever known. This has been a very exciting year for Sophia.

Danny is having a great time in 1st grade. He just had a birthday and we celebrated with (you guessed it) SUSHI! Lol! Teachers and staff at school are always praising him on his good attitude, desire to learn, and always making good choices. Those are words that warm a momma's heart!

Danny Sr and I just celebrated our 12th anniversary in December - 12 happy years and counting! I love to tell the girls all the romantic things their dad did for me in our early years. It's not that I want them to eventually choose someone just like their dad when they become interested in boys (trust me, I am not advocating it, I just want them to have expectations when the time comes) but I do want them to choose someone who truly cares about them as a person and chooses to do things to make them feel special and happy.

I hope all is going great for you, my blogland friends!

Until next time....Adios!

The Plastic Ring

In my Government class, I have a classmate who is close to my age (maybe couple years younger) who is a single mom with three kids. She and I sit near each other and have struck up a little friendship over the last 8 weeks.

She wears a little plastic ring on her right index finger. It's the kind of ring that comes out of the $.25 vending machines. I always thought it was kinda cute that she wore it so I asked her about it one day. She said when her (now) 13 year old son was 4 years old, he got it from a quarter machine at a pizza place. He opened it and gave it to her, telling her how much he loved her. She told him that she'd never, ever take it off.

It has been on her hand for 9 years, and counting.

Doesn't that just warm your heart?

There truly is nothing humanly stronger than the love of a mother.

Itchy Fingers

This glorious fall weather has my fingers itching to create something! Searched a bunch of patterns and came up with something beautiful and fairly quick. Can't wait to get started!

When it is complete, I will try to post pics. : )

Don't ask me why this is message is so vague.