Busy Bee!

Oh, man! I am so busy with everything I haven't posted in a while! Yikes! So here's the lowdown:

The trip is planned, now we just need to get our excursions planned - which we have looked at, by the way! Uncle Larry and Aunt Jody are OFFICIALLY going with us, which will make it more fun! I can't wait! :) It's my party and I'll cry if I want to! Hahaha! It will be awesome to be able to share this with them as well. Making memories, for sure!

Guard stuff is going very well - just a lot of work. I have a whole new respect for guard directors. Member packets, emergency forms, costumes, shows, equipment..... OH MY! But it's a lot of fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I have 2 of the best jobs in the world.

And finally, Christmas break! I LOVE IT! It has been so nice to just be booking for after the new year! I already have 3 jobs set for the first couple of weeks of school after Christmas break! Whew! It is nice to know ahead of time instead of getting those panicked 5:30AM phone calls...

Anyways, sorry this is rushed, but it's WAY past my bed time. I just had so much to do when I got back from guard that it's like I finally got a minute to write and I thought I would write! And on that note, GOOD NIGHT!

Christmas Break, Please!

I don't even work every day in the classroom and I'm ready for Christmas break... ugh. I'm just so ready for those 5:30AM phone calls to stop for a week and a half. Plus, I love the holidays! It's so nice to see family and everyone's so happy (*ahem* unless you're shopping, then everyone's in a hurry and willing to kill someone to get ahead in line or out of the parking lot). The no work thing is just kindof an added bonus.

Guard continues through break, though, but that has just become my solace. It's a great way to release some nervous or negative energy!

Not a whole lot to talk about, but the elementary guard started today, and I must say, it's great! I love it! I thought I loved teaching high school, but man oh man is elementary fun! I can't wait to see how this season pans out... it should be fun and interesting, that's for sure! :)

If I don't get on before Christmas, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! :)

I Love My Life!

That's right, I said it! I think today was the first time I actually realized my accomplishments and how far I've come, even in the past few months.

When I was let go from WSMC, I was pretty down and out about my capabilities as a teacher. I felt beat down, and like I would never find my confidence in myself as a teacher.

Today I got a phone call from Sylvania schools wanting me to come in ASAP for a teacher that came in sick trying to make it through the day, but got sent home by the principal. I walked in, totally comfortable, and took over. Fine and dandy. The life of a substitute teacher.

But then, in lunch, I was sitting and actually carrying on a conversation about teaching with a bunch of experienced teachers. It was like I learned something in school! :) I was carrying on a legitimate conversation with teachers, as a substitute teacher! It felt good, and it made me realize that I'm not made out for private school, I belong in a public school setting. Because I care. I care about the kids and their lives at home, not just in school.

I thought about all of this while I was working out on our treadmill at home. I have found a sort of salvation in working out. I plug in my headphones for my iPod, and I take time to think while doing something good for my body. :)

Tonight I legitimately told my mom that I love my life. I do.

(By the way, we are officially 7 months and 9 days away from our trip! WAHOOOO!)

7 Months and 10 days!

Ring the alarms! We OFFICIALLY booked our trip with AAA today! I am so excited! I have a tentative itinerary (flights, arrivals, and a plan for the trip via the brochure) that tells us everything we need to know right now. It was so great to actually nail it down and *ahem* pay the bill (thanks, Daddio).

Next, we have to do some research. Or, shall I say, I need to do some research. We need to learn some of the languages. The easiest to learn will be English. Hahaha! We just need to master that accent. I'm working on it. I already know the base of French, but Italian is a bit shaky. I suppose I should work on that.

We were discussing (or I should say I was discussing) a paper chain to count down our days until the trip. Then I decided a good idea would be to have a fact on each piece of the chain. Now I'm considering vocabulary words as well.

So here we go! Only 7 months and 10 days to go until we are on the airplane and on our way! P.S. The plane ride there is 7 hours (Detroit to London - direct). However, the plane ride back (brace yourselves) is 10 1/2 hours! (Rome to Detroit - direct) Yowza!

I am closing this entry with the sightseeing adventures I am most looking forward to!

How you say....

Well, it's official. We are booking our trip to Europe! I am so excited that it's actually happening this time! :) We will go in July, and start with 3 days in London, then travel by Eurotrain under the English Channel to Paris for 3 days, then jump on a plane and spend 3 days in Rome! Yep, I will finally not only get to see the Eiffel Tower in person (not to mention Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Colliseum.... that's just the beginning!) but also take pictures in front of it! OHmyGOODNESS! I know what I will dream about tonight! Only a few more months of random pictures of Europe. Soon enough, I will have my own pictures.

My Poor Body...

So I made the decision to audition for the Biggest Loser again, and I asked Brenda to help me out since she's my trainer. This backfired. Major. Or it helped. It depends on how you look at it, LOL!

I went in to workout with Brenda on Tuesday since I didn't have to substitute anywhere. She informed me that I am not auditioning for the Biggest Loser, but that she was going to take over and give me the support I need. So she worked me hard. Like really hard. She bumped up all my exercises, despite the fact that I hadn't worked out with her in a few weeks. Oops! As if that wasn't enough, she had me do more Martial Arts, which I love! Not so much on Tuesday. Ouch. After bumping up all of my weights, my arms and legs were already dead. So let's punch and kick, shall we?

After finishing our workout, we had a true Biggest Loser Jillian breakthrough moment. She really dug into me and figured out what my problem is that's keeping me from losing weight. So now, here I am, journaling my food (counting calories, but not setting a limit... yet) and set to workout out at LEAST 30 minutes per day, except Sunday.

Today I needed to get in my workout, and I thought, why not? Let's go to Cycling. I haven't done that in a while, so let's just go for it. A couple hours later, MAJOR regret. Yowza. My whole body hurts. I was sore enough from my workout with Brenda yesterday, but man oh man do I hurt now!

We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I am so glad I went regardless of my pain. I was actually proud of myself. All day I was coming up with excuses of why I shouldn't go work out. Finally at 4:30 I was just like you know what? I'm going. Too many excuses. My life has been based on excuses of why I'm fat. Now it's time to do something about it! Here we go...

It's Finally Happening!

Well, I finally get to share a huge part of my life coming up here. I received a phone call a few months ago about starting up an elementary guard, and I may have mentioned it before. I didn't want to get myself excited, because I wasn't sure the plans would actually go through. The good news is, the plans are actually going through! I am officially head director of Phoenix Independent Jr. Winter Guard!

I have picked out the show for this year, and it's going to be so much fun! I have also been doing my research on what is expected of an elementary winter guard, especially just starting out. Since this is our first year, we are going to target mainly Sylvania and Springfield Local Schools. We are going to be at the Springfield show on February 13, and the Findlay shows on March 12th and 13th, then finish out the season at State Championships on March 19th! I am so excited to finally have a guard of my own and to be the designer of the show and everything!

I am taking fliers around to the Sylvania Elementary Schools tomorrow to get things kicked off, and our first rehearsal/parent meeting is going to be on December 19th.

This is a very exciting time for me, and I'm hoping a lot of people will get a chance to see how much fun this sport is. I'm hoping this helps both the Phoenix Independent and the Springfield High School winter guard programs.