Well, here's the progress (or lack thereof) so far on my running goal:
Friday--Had a sinus headache, came home and lay down for a while. Woke up headache free but just in time to go help my niece with some cleaning of her new house before she moved.
Saturday--Lazy as heck. Did nothing, and I mean nothing, all day except drive to get gas in the car. Uggh. I did resist the temptation to grab a burger on the way home. Yay me.
Sunday--Still pretty lazy. Most of the day consisted of church, grocery store, facebook, and football. I do realize, however, that I will not make any progress on my goal if I never start, so at about 10:20, I got my lazy butt downstairs to set up the treadmill. Yep, set up the treadmill. We've been in the house for over a year, and it hasn't even been plugged in. So, I moved it across the basement, plugged it in, wiped about 2 years of dust off of it, and gingerly started it up. Then I let it proceed to kick my butt for about 45 minutes.
Luckily, everything seems to work just fine on the treadmill except one little annoying part of one digit on the display. So when I burn 100 calories, half the 1 doesn't show. Likewise, luckily, everything on me seems to work okay as well, all except those lungs. So when I burn 100 calories, I'm coughing as my lungs beg for an inhaler (which, of course, I don't think to take with me downstairs).
All in all I think I did pretty well. My sensible plan was to just walk for a week or so and slowly get into jogging. The idiotic reality was that I walked for a quarter mile or so and decided to see how far I could jog right away. I'm pleased that I didn't have a heart attack (yet), and I was able to jog a couple minutes at a time. If I can stick with it, say 3-4 times a week, I have no doubt I'll be jogging a 5K by September.
Okay, now, off to take some preemptive ibuprofen and go to bed.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Losing Weight....
...that's what's on my mind. I've been trying to get remotivated in the last few months, ever since the state decided that overweight people need to be punished and pay more for their health insurance. I'm pretty heavy for my frame, so in order to meet their requirements, I need to lose about 80 lbs. Now, in the past, before the kids, I had gotten motivated with exercise and decent eating habits and lost about 70+ lbs. That was before going to work at Caldwell. That place is bad for the waistline.
Anyway, 80 lbs. Sheesh. I basically have gained back everything I lost before, plus a couple pounds. Back then, I was a part time instructor, teaching morning and nights, but I had the luxury of several hours free during the day. Hours free with no kids. I would walk at L-R, the Y, around school, even at home. During a three year period, me and the hubby wore out a ski machine and a treadmill...completely wore them out. Then we bought a house...I got a full time job...we had a baby...etc. Excuses, I know.
Honestly, though, I was burnt out on exercising. I had been jogging something like 3-5 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, for about three years, yet I never got to my goal. My runner friends all said I needed to step it up some to burn more calories, but I just didn't see how. I don't want to say I've lost all hope now, but if I was doing so well back then and never got to my goal, I'm not sure how to go about it now.
I do know, however, that I need to do something, not only because of the insurance, but because the hubby has gained back all the weight he lost, and we have one "above average" child and one downright chubby child. I have been trying to focus on veggies more and walking some, more eating at home and less eating out. I've been thinking for more than a year now that I would try the 10,000 steps a day plan, but I'll get there like two days out of a week and then back to my normal of 3500 steps a day. I also need to get back to the treadmill, the replacement one we bought a few years back and haven't used nearly enough. The one downstairs, in the basement, so sad and all alone.
Hubs just turned 40 yesterday; I'll get there later this year, and I'm already taking it badly. I need to set a goal to reach by the time I'm 40. I have several months. What should it be? I could set a weight loss goal, but I've never been good with that. Better I think to set an exercise goal and let the weight loss happen on its own. A 5K? I used to do those often. I never got to my goal pace either, but I did do them, and I could jog the whole thing. I know a lot of skinny people that can't run 3.1 miles. Maybe that's it...doing a 5K again. The Race for the Cure is in October, but that's after the birthday. That's what I'm going to do, I think. Look for a fall race and enter. I've got several months to plan and train to get back into shape enough to run a 5K. That would be great too because I try to encourage my daughter to run, but she doesn't think moms can run. Ha!
Okay, there it is...that's my goal. I'm posting it on the Internet for everyone (although only like 2 people ever read this) to see. A 5K by September. Definitely!
Anyway, 80 lbs. Sheesh. I basically have gained back everything I lost before, plus a couple pounds. Back then, I was a part time instructor, teaching morning and nights, but I had the luxury of several hours free during the day. Hours free with no kids. I would walk at L-R, the Y, around school, even at home. During a three year period, me and the hubby wore out a ski machine and a treadmill...completely wore them out. Then we bought a house...I got a full time job...we had a baby...etc. Excuses, I know.
Honestly, though, I was burnt out on exercising. I had been jogging something like 3-5 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, for about three years, yet I never got to my goal. My runner friends all said I needed to step it up some to burn more calories, but I just didn't see how. I don't want to say I've lost all hope now, but if I was doing so well back then and never got to my goal, I'm not sure how to go about it now.
I do know, however, that I need to do something, not only because of the insurance, but because the hubby has gained back all the weight he lost, and we have one "above average" child and one downright chubby child. I have been trying to focus on veggies more and walking some, more eating at home and less eating out. I've been thinking for more than a year now that I would try the 10,000 steps a day plan, but I'll get there like two days out of a week and then back to my normal of 3500 steps a day. I also need to get back to the treadmill, the replacement one we bought a few years back and haven't used nearly enough. The one downstairs, in the basement, so sad and all alone.
Hubs just turned 40 yesterday; I'll get there later this year, and I'm already taking it badly. I need to set a goal to reach by the time I'm 40. I have several months. What should it be? I could set a weight loss goal, but I've never been good with that. Better I think to set an exercise goal and let the weight loss happen on its own. A 5K? I used to do those often. I never got to my goal pace either, but I did do them, and I could jog the whole thing. I know a lot of skinny people that can't run 3.1 miles. Maybe that's it...doing a 5K again. The Race for the Cure is in October, but that's after the birthday. That's what I'm going to do, I think. Look for a fall race and enter. I've got several months to plan and train to get back into shape enough to run a 5K. That would be great too because I try to encourage my daughter to run, but she doesn't think moms can run. Ha!
Okay, there it is...that's my goal. I'm posting it on the Internet for everyone (although only like 2 people ever read this) to see. A 5K by September. Definitely!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My Facebook Addiction
I think Facebook has led to the demise of my blogging career which (let's face it) has never really gotten off the ground. I post status updates on FB frequently, but I never get around to the more in-depth blogging that I want to do on this site. But I still like the idea of blogging; it just seems a luxury in a life without a lot of spare time.
I'm teaching American Lit again online this semester, and I have those students blog about the works they read, so here I am at the beginning of another semester updating my blog. I'm more inclined to update the blog when I'm teaching this class because I'm already logging into blogger a couple days a week. We'll see how long it lasts this time.
I'm teaching American Lit again online this semester, and I have those students blog about the works they read, so here I am at the beginning of another semester updating my blog. I'm more inclined to update the blog when I'm teaching this class because I'm already logging into blogger a couple days a week. We'll see how long it lasts this time.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Art Fair Update
I really never think anyone reads the junk that I write here, and so usually I'm just writing to get stuff out of my head. But apparently some of you actually want to know what happened with the Art Fair, or the Extortion Exhibit, as Jean put it. See below if you haven't read about the Art Fair yet.
Well, in all honesty, I was too chicken to show my face at the Art Fair after I'd complained so much about it. I wrote the principal once, and he responded with some answers the art teacher had given him. That led to my last rant, and I sent him another email. He graciously responded to that as well, saying that he was sorry that my concerns hadn't been resolved. Then we got a note home from the art teacher saying that she was mistaken. That sending in the RSVP didn't obligate you to purchase anything, and that if you RSVP'd, then your kids' work would be framed, and you could choose to purchase it or not. Okay, that sounded more reasonable. So basically one of the parts that irritated me so much was just her misunderstanding the way it was supposed to work. Not that it alleviated my concerns about basically being pressured into buying my kids' work, but at least they weren't trying to rope me into something unaware.
Then, of course, in true school fashion, the principal's monthly newsletter came out, and in it was printed the old info, the part about RSVP = purchase. By this point, I figured I was too tired of the whole mess to care. Neither kid seemed concerned with going, so we decided it was best to skip it. (Yes, I chickened out!)
So, on the night of the art fair, Anna had dance, and one of her dance friends goes to school with her, so I laughed out loud when Misty showed up at dance and said she'd just spent $60 on her kids' artwork at the art fair. I think she thought I was crazy. She's not on Facebook and hasn't read or heard my rants. So then I had to explain the whole email war...and she just looked at me like, why get so worked up about it? LOL.
So, I have not gotten the kids' artwork back yet, but I'm not hopeful. Just this past Friday, they brought home the Art-by-Me pictures they did for the fall art fundraiser. I figure at this rate I should get these latest pictures by, oh, September, maybe?
I'm sure the Art Fair was a huge success. The school got about $6 for every frame they sold, so I know they made $12. If they sold 20 frames, they made $120. It's just too much money to ask parents to spend for their own kids' work. I can go to Walmart or AC Moore and get a frame for around $6. Maybe if and when they bring home the artwork, we'll go and do just that.
Well, in all honesty, I was too chicken to show my face at the Art Fair after I'd complained so much about it. I wrote the principal once, and he responded with some answers the art teacher had given him. That led to my last rant, and I sent him another email. He graciously responded to that as well, saying that he was sorry that my concerns hadn't been resolved. Then we got a note home from the art teacher saying that she was mistaken. That sending in the RSVP didn't obligate you to purchase anything, and that if you RSVP'd, then your kids' work would be framed, and you could choose to purchase it or not. Okay, that sounded more reasonable. So basically one of the parts that irritated me so much was just her misunderstanding the way it was supposed to work. Not that it alleviated my concerns about basically being pressured into buying my kids' work, but at least they weren't trying to rope me into something unaware.
Then, of course, in true school fashion, the principal's monthly newsletter came out, and in it was printed the old info, the part about RSVP = purchase. By this point, I figured I was too tired of the whole mess to care. Neither kid seemed concerned with going, so we decided it was best to skip it. (Yes, I chickened out!)
So, on the night of the art fair, Anna had dance, and one of her dance friends goes to school with her, so I laughed out loud when Misty showed up at dance and said she'd just spent $60 on her kids' artwork at the art fair. I think she thought I was crazy. She's not on Facebook and hasn't read or heard my rants. So then I had to explain the whole email war...and she just looked at me like, why get so worked up about it? LOL.
So, I have not gotten the kids' artwork back yet, but I'm not hopeful. Just this past Friday, they brought home the Art-by-Me pictures they did for the fall art fundraiser. I figure at this rate I should get these latest pictures by, oh, September, maybe?
I'm sure the Art Fair was a huge success. The school got about $6 for every frame they sold, so I know they made $12. If they sold 20 frames, they made $120. It's just too much money to ask parents to spend for their own kids' work. I can go to Walmart or AC Moore and get a frame for around $6. Maybe if and when they bring home the artwork, we'll go and do just that.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Art Fundraiser, round two
Speaking of hurting my children's feelings, if you read my earlier posts, you know I was concerned about this assinine Art Fair the kids' school is holding, the one where you can purchase your own kids' artwork back for $30. Well, I wrote the principal with my concerns and he eventually wrote me back. The art teacher had answered most of my questions, but she still thinks it's a wonderful program, and she doesn't consider it a fundraiser. How she gets that, I don't know. If you sell something and the school gets part of the proceeds, then it's a freaking fundraiser, but anyway...
So yesterday, we get a reminder on the event, and now I'm even madder. Whereas on the first form we got, you could RSVP to attend (and that's all the form said, "RSVP if you plan to attend"), on this reminder form, there is some additional information on the back. Most notably, if you RSVP, then you agree to purchase the artwork. Really? And you tell me that after I send in the RSVP? So now if you don't agree to purchase the artwork in advance, you must basically send the art teacher a note saying to take back your RSVP. And if you aren't going to purchase your child's artwork, you are more than welcome to attend the event and see all the other kids' work hanging nicely on the walls, but you will find your kid's work stuck in a folder somewhere, not on display. Don't you know there isn't enough space to display everyone's work?
This is the biggest load of hogwash I've ever heard. They really don't believe it's a fundraiser? They really expect us to believe that there isn't enough wall space in the whole school on which to display everyone's work? WTH!!! How stupid do these people think we are?
I wrote the principal back with all of the above, again, stated in a much nicer fashion. But come on! I basically told him I'd have to rescind my RSVP because I didn't plan to agree to purchase anything without seeing it first (my son is basically telling me that his is bad and not worth the money). And I wasn't going to attend so that my kids could see some people's artwork on the wall and theirs not on display. What kind of sicko disappointment of an evening would that be? I ended my email with how I want to be as supportive of my children's school as possible, but I also expect the school to be supportive of my children, and this is not happening in this case.
What I didn't say, and I hope he reads between the lines, is that this is a public school. This is not the place to be having an event merely for the kids from a higher socioeconomic status. If the rich kids (or rich mommies) want to have a rich kids art fair, then they can join or create a private club for that. A public school is supposed to be supportive of all children. (Maybe the rich mommies will figure that out when their hubbies lose their jobs too, or when the hubbies trade them in for a younger model. I know...that was catty...sorry.)
Ugggh! I am so ready for the new school to open. Unfortunately, I think most of the rich kids are headed there too. I keep hearing wonderful things about the principal of the new school, though. I hope he has enough sense to veto crap like this. Coming from a very much disadvantaged school right now, surely he has some sense!
So yesterday, we get a reminder on the event, and now I'm even madder. Whereas on the first form we got, you could RSVP to attend (and that's all the form said, "RSVP if you plan to attend"), on this reminder form, there is some additional information on the back. Most notably, if you RSVP, then you agree to purchase the artwork. Really? And you tell me that after I send in the RSVP? So now if you don't agree to purchase the artwork in advance, you must basically send the art teacher a note saying to take back your RSVP. And if you aren't going to purchase your child's artwork, you are more than welcome to attend the event and see all the other kids' work hanging nicely on the walls, but you will find your kid's work stuck in a folder somewhere, not on display. Don't you know there isn't enough space to display everyone's work?
This is the biggest load of hogwash I've ever heard. They really don't believe it's a fundraiser? They really expect us to believe that there isn't enough wall space in the whole school on which to display everyone's work? WTH!!! How stupid do these people think we are?
I wrote the principal back with all of the above, again, stated in a much nicer fashion. But come on! I basically told him I'd have to rescind my RSVP because I didn't plan to agree to purchase anything without seeing it first (my son is basically telling me that his is bad and not worth the money). And I wasn't going to attend so that my kids could see some people's artwork on the wall and theirs not on display. What kind of sicko disappointment of an evening would that be? I ended my email with how I want to be as supportive of my children's school as possible, but I also expect the school to be supportive of my children, and this is not happening in this case.
What I didn't say, and I hope he reads between the lines, is that this is a public school. This is not the place to be having an event merely for the kids from a higher socioeconomic status. If the rich kids (or rich mommies) want to have a rich kids art fair, then they can join or create a private club for that. A public school is supposed to be supportive of all children. (Maybe the rich mommies will figure that out when their hubbies lose their jobs too, or when the hubbies trade them in for a younger model. I know...that was catty...sorry.)
Ugggh! I am so ready for the new school to open. Unfortunately, I think most of the rich kids are headed there too. I keep hearing wonderful things about the principal of the new school, though. I hope he has enough sense to veto crap like this. Coming from a very much disadvantaged school right now, surely he has some sense!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hurting my kids' feelings
I think anyone with children can relate to this, or heck, anyone with a heart can probably relate. Something happened tonight which really hurt my daughter's feelings. I won't go into elaborate details, but basically some very immature grown up made a stupid power play that affects her and a lot of other girls. Really what they've done is pull the rug out from under her. I know that sounds cryptic, but I can't give too many details, and the details aren't the point of this posting anyway.
The point of the post is how upset I am that someone has acted so callously in regards to my child. She took the news as to be expected, pretty disappointed, but I think I took it worse. The fact that I had to be the one to pass this along nearly made me cry. I can handle a lot of stress, and I do it pretty well, but my children can always make me cry. I guess I'm supposed to be like that as a mom.
Usually my kids make fun of my "sensitive" nature. My son went through a Christmas movie phase where we watched Frosty the Snowman hundreds of times when he was around 2 or 3. He never really noticed that I cry every time Frosty melts until my mom mentioned that I used to always cry. Then I had to admit that I still cry every time, and that's all it took to become the family joke. "Hey mom, Frosty's getting ready to melt; are you gonna cry this time, too?" Last month my generally undisciplined son had a great streak at school. His assistant teacher wrote him a special note about how wonderful he had been. I cried as I read it, so then when he handed me his folder to sign, he said, "Are you gonna cry all over that, too?" And yes, I did.
So today was difficult. I would do anything to spare my child this disappointment, and I really hate that there is nothing I can do about this. This is almost as frustrating as B's last year of preschool, when there was a revolving door of teachers; he had 6 teachers in that one year. When he'd get close to one and then she would leave, I never knew what to do, and I felt trapped in the situation. Well, I'm trapped once again in a situation that's less than ideal for my child, and I really just want to cry. I won't, but considering punching someone isn't really legal either, I don't know what to do.
The point of the post is how upset I am that someone has acted so callously in regards to my child. She took the news as to be expected, pretty disappointed, but I think I took it worse. The fact that I had to be the one to pass this along nearly made me cry. I can handle a lot of stress, and I do it pretty well, but my children can always make me cry. I guess I'm supposed to be like that as a mom.
Usually my kids make fun of my "sensitive" nature. My son went through a Christmas movie phase where we watched Frosty the Snowman hundreds of times when he was around 2 or 3. He never really noticed that I cry every time Frosty melts until my mom mentioned that I used to always cry. Then I had to admit that I still cry every time, and that's all it took to become the family joke. "Hey mom, Frosty's getting ready to melt; are you gonna cry this time, too?" Last month my generally undisciplined son had a great streak at school. His assistant teacher wrote him a special note about how wonderful he had been. I cried as I read it, so then when he handed me his folder to sign, he said, "Are you gonna cry all over that, too?" And yes, I did.
So today was difficult. I would do anything to spare my child this disappointment, and I really hate that there is nothing I can do about this. This is almost as frustrating as B's last year of preschool, when there was a revolving door of teachers; he had 6 teachers in that one year. When he'd get close to one and then she would leave, I never knew what to do, and I felt trapped in the situation. Well, I'm trapped once again in a situation that's less than ideal for my child, and I really just want to cry. I won't, but considering punching someone isn't really legal either, I don't know what to do.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pimping out my Kids
The other day I got this note from my kids' elementary school:
"You are invited to attend your child's Art Gallery Event!
Dear Parents:
Our students have been working hard on a special art project that will be displayed at our KidsArt Fair on.....(date and time).
It's a big day for our school--don't miss the opportunity to share in the joy of creative expression with your child. You may purchase your child's framed artwork for $29.95 (plus tax). Our school receives 20% of all frame sales to support art education. There is no charge to visit the gallery--bring the whole family!"
What? (or WTH??? is more like it) Let me get this straight. So I can attend this wonderful art gallery, at no charge, and then buy my own kids' artwork. So I have to pay $30 to buy my kids' work? Exactly how is that legal?
Let me tell you, I'm all in favor of supporting art education and music education, etc. But I'm not going to do it by allowing the school to sell my kids' artwork for a profit. And I have two kids, so now I'm roped into spending $60 because who can really go see their kids' artwork and not want to buy it? And you can't buy one without the other. What happens if I don't want to buy my kids' work? Can someone else buy it? Can I buy some other kids' work? What if my kids' artwork stinks? What if I like little Katie's flowers better than the ones my kid did? Can I buy Katie's work and pretend it's my kids'? You see where I'm going with this...
Also, let's add this fundraiser to the one that the art classes already did in the fall. Back then they had the kids draw pictures and then sent them off to the Art by Me folks to make into magnets, tshirts, notebooks, totebags, etc. Then they sent home the magnet of the kids' artwork and basically strong armed me into buying it. I tried to get out cheap by just buying the magnet and one cheap little thing for each kid, but I still spent around $30-$40 on that fundraiser. What this tells me is that my kids aren't getting much in the way of art education at school, unless of course the driving principle is that to be an artist you have to sell everything, even to your own family. Seems to me my kids have spent the better part of this past year in art class learning how to shakedown their parents with cuteness.
I guess I'm going to email the art teacher and the principal to ask a few questions...namely, if I don't purchase the frame, can I still have my kids' artwork back? For the Art by Me stuff, I never got the artwork back, so the only way to get a copy of my kids' work was to buy it.
Why can't schools ever catch on to the fact that we parents really, really, really hate these danged fundraisers? If they would ask me to send in a $10 check to cover art supplies, I'd be more than happy to do so. Instead they ask us to spend $30, for which they only get 20%, or $6. This is fundraising at its most insane.
"You are invited to attend your child's Art Gallery Event!
Dear Parents:
Our students have been working hard on a special art project that will be displayed at our KidsArt Fair on.....(date and time).
It's a big day for our school--don't miss the opportunity to share in the joy of creative expression with your child. You may purchase your child's framed artwork for $29.95 (plus tax). Our school receives 20% of all frame sales to support art education. There is no charge to visit the gallery--bring the whole family!"
What? (or WTH??? is more like it) Let me get this straight. So I can attend this wonderful art gallery, at no charge, and then buy my own kids' artwork. So I have to pay $30 to buy my kids' work? Exactly how is that legal?
Let me tell you, I'm all in favor of supporting art education and music education, etc. But I'm not going to do it by allowing the school to sell my kids' artwork for a profit. And I have two kids, so now I'm roped into spending $60 because who can really go see their kids' artwork and not want to buy it? And you can't buy one without the other. What happens if I don't want to buy my kids' work? Can someone else buy it? Can I buy some other kids' work? What if my kids' artwork stinks? What if I like little Katie's flowers better than the ones my kid did? Can I buy Katie's work and pretend it's my kids'? You see where I'm going with this...
Also, let's add this fundraiser to the one that the art classes already did in the fall. Back then they had the kids draw pictures and then sent them off to the Art by Me folks to make into magnets, tshirts, notebooks, totebags, etc. Then they sent home the magnet of the kids' artwork and basically strong armed me into buying it. I tried to get out cheap by just buying the magnet and one cheap little thing for each kid, but I still spent around $30-$40 on that fundraiser. What this tells me is that my kids aren't getting much in the way of art education at school, unless of course the driving principle is that to be an artist you have to sell everything, even to your own family. Seems to me my kids have spent the better part of this past year in art class learning how to shakedown their parents with cuteness.
I guess I'm going to email the art teacher and the principal to ask a few questions...namely, if I don't purchase the frame, can I still have my kids' artwork back? For the Art by Me stuff, I never got the artwork back, so the only way to get a copy of my kids' work was to buy it.
Why can't schools ever catch on to the fact that we parents really, really, really hate these danged fundraisers? If they would ask me to send in a $10 check to cover art supplies, I'd be more than happy to do so. Instead they ask us to spend $30, for which they only get 20%, or $6. This is fundraising at its most insane.
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