I havent been the faithful blogger

I know I promised more updates to this thing while over break and I have yet to actually follow through with that promise. I have had an extremely busy schedule for it being break and all. For about a week of the break, I was busy car shopping and battling a cold that was trying to come on- plus all the christmas celebrating/preparations and so forth.

I finally found a BEAUTIFUL new car on Monday. I am super stoked and super in love with it. Its an '01 Honda Civic and I love love love it. Have I mentioned I love it? There are a few minor things that I want/need to fix with it, but we got one heck of a deal on it. Since I dont have pictures of my new car yet, I figured I would share the pictures of my old car post deer incident!

The deer that ran into my car.

"The biggest deer I've ever seen in Eastern NC" according to the hunter who stopped to help me move my car.... so glad the deer managed to find MY car to jump into!

Passenger side where the deer hit my car.

Notice the deer feces remaining on my car.

Hood of the car.

Driver's side (just to show how far up the hood was bent because of the impact).

Overall, I guess if it had to happen I am glad it happened the way it did. I wasnt hurt (nor was anyone else other than the deer) and I got a sweet new ride out of the deal (even though I did have to go three weeks without one).

It's done, over, finito!

Today I officially finished up the most challenging semester of my academic career. Five grad classes- wow! So far *crosses fingers* I have managed to maintain my 4.0 but I still have three classes to hear back from.

So now the question is, what in the world do I do with all of this time off? The first and most pressing priority for me is to shop for a new car. I was originally driving around my Grandpa's 20 year old truck, but that kicked the bucket while under my care. I swear I have the worst luck ever with vehicles. So the day that "old blue" died, they got a 2006 truck and I have been driving that. I must admit that I enjoy driving something that sits up high and makes me feel all powerful and whatnot, but I do not enjoy putting gas in that thing and I do not enjoy the massive blindspots that it has. So getting a car is top priority for me right now and tomorrow the hard-core search begins. I have a couple of options that I am looking at right now so hopefully something will come to fruition.

After the whole car shopping thing, I plan to do a lot of time at the gym. My family just got a membership at Snap Fitness and I LOVE it! I also plan to read for pleasure, catch up on my sleep, and veg out with some Gilmore Girls and Friends. I do want to do some planning for next semester and some job searching (or at least preparation for it) too. I have a month. A glorious month, but I am sure it will pass far too quickly.

Crazy Life

Life has been rather crazy lately. I dont even know where to begin to update things! School is wrapping up: I had my last class of the semester this week and I am currently working on getting my finals in order and sent off to the appropriate professors. So far I have completely finished with 2 of my five classes. Hopefully by the end of today I can say that I have finished with three, but by Tuesday of next week everything should be done and submitted. I have a (researched) short story to write for my Children's Lit class that has to be on some cultural custom, I have a writing portfolio, and a unit plan due. I have most of my unit plan done, but I have to put finishing touches on it and make some of the worksheets, etc and then upload it all to my wikispace (more about that later). I have 2/3 of my writing portfolio pieces finished (I think), so I need to edit the last piece and make my letter to the reader for that final. And for my short story, well I have researched. I have researched, but I havent read any of that research and I havent even begun to write the story so this final will be my most time consuming, and the one that is due first of course!

Meredith is doing great. She is completely spoiled, but I am ok with that. I bought her a cute doggy coat for cold/rainy weather for Christmas from Land's End. I also want to get her a big rawhide and some new treats and a toy or something. Yes, I know, I know. I still have several people to shop for, but I cant even begin to think about that until finals are over. I also have Christmas cards to write, and I think I want to send out a picture of me with Mere Bear, but that will have to wait too. I need to update some of the people who helped me through Meredith and into this MAT program on my life, but again, it will have to wait.

My birthday is coming up. The big 22. woo. I cant wait.

Last week, I hit a deer with my car. My poor car is totaled. The poor deer is dead. I will upload pics of that at a later date.

So basically, thats my life in a nutshell at this point in time. I am busy currently car shopping and working on finishing up my finals. I have some babysitting jobs lined up for December- yay money. I also have some projects in mind for the break so I am sure I will update more often over my time off with what I am doing. I also plan on reading a lot of books because I miss reading for the joy of reading- so expect some book reviews! As for now, it's back to the grind!

School Pride

Tonight I stumbled upon a new TV series called School Pride and I was shocked, saddened, and also slightly hopeful. In this series, the School Pride team is going to different schools around the nation and renovating them. The schools that they are showcasing are so run down that it is hard to believe that they are still in operation! I dont know when America is going to wake up and realize that the majority of our problems that this country has can be directly traced back to the state of our educational system. We cant move forward as a country without a proper education system to produce smart, innovative, intelligent, critical thinking, 21st century literate graduates.

On the other hand, I know that there is at least one other show out there with a similar mission: to shed light on the biggest problem our nation has. Shows and specials like this that highlight our schools abismal state give me hope that one day America will wake up and stop taking money and resources away from our education system and start funneling more money, more resources, and more time into it.

Education is one of my main passions. I firmly believe that a good education will get you wherever you want to go. I hope that some day the rest of our country recognizes this and puts stock in something that can save us.

100th post, and its a grad school update... woooo....

Ok, so maybe this isnt so exciting, but oh well, what can I say?

Grad school is crazy. I somehow managed to skate through the summer and think that this program was going to be a breeze, but boy was I wrong! Let me give you a piece of advice, if you ever EVER go to grad school, never NEVER take five classes in one semester. Granted, my program dictated that I take said 5 classes, but it isnt a good idea. I wonder what these people were thinking?

Just to give you a little insight into my life: I have a 12 page paper due on Friday and I am still looking for sources. I havent even begun to write this paper yet and I have a VERY pitiful outline, if it even qualifies as an outline at that. This thing is due at noon on Friday, meaning I have roughly 72 hours until it is due. I have 5 hours of class between now and then, cutting it down to 68 hours. I will spend about 8 hours at the high school, cutting it down to 60 hours. I have about 8 hours of driving (to Greenville back and forth, to the high school back and forth, etc) in there, cutting it down to 52 hours. I am supposed to be in Raleigh on Thursday night after class and any work I hope to accomplish between Thursday night class and noon on Friday can be forgotten, cutting it back about 15 hours, making that approximately 38 hours. Now 38 hours sounds like a lot of time, but when you factor in things such as sleeping, eating, and normal life activities, it is cut down to virtually nothing. Then why, do you ask, am I sitting here BLOGGING? Everything that I need to move forward is in Greenville and I am not leaving for another hour to go. So I am stuck and decided to fill you in on the joys of grad school life. We shall see how this thing turns out, I am sure it wont be a pretty show.

On top of this paper, I had a mini freak out for all of the work that I need to get done between now and the end of the semester. Its a lot. I have a writing portfolio that I need to put together, an activities folder that I have to put together (and that will be extensive work), a Mock Thesis Prospectus (whatever the heck that is), a semester project (needs research and writing), a unit plan (this thing is massive), and a "serious" revision of this paper that I just discussed way up there ^ that hasnt even been written yet and he is already calling for a major overhaul. The next 39 days are not looking pretty.

I mean I am doing well so far. I currently have all A's and I made it into some fancy honors society thingymajig that I am pretty stoked about, but these next few weeks are going to be a true testament to my strength, or they will be a true testament to how I crack under pressure, we shall see!

My first ever 5k

I ran my first ever 5k two weeks ago in New Bern (October 16, 2010). I ran the Neuse River Bridge Run and I loved it! I felt a little unprepared because I had not been able to complete my Couch to 5k program prior to the race, and my runs had become less consistent, but I think I did ok! My two goals for the day were: 1. Don't be last and 2. Keep it under 50 minutes and I succeeded with both goals! I know keeping it under 50 minutes sounds like a really pathetic goal seeing as a turtle could probably complete a 5k in 50 minutes, but I was just grateful that I had finished the race by the end of it. Since my training schedule had gotten off, I had never actually run more than just over two miles, which meant that I had only gone a little more than 2/3 the distance! I was proud of myself for finishing with a time of 43:10 and the next time I fully intend to beat that number!

Sunset view. Taken on the bridge that I ran over and the bridge that is shown to the right of this picture is one that the 10k and 1/2 marathon courses went over.

I am over on the left and I had just run over the bridge and was rounding my way back to start through the downtown portion of the course.

Me after the race. I was sweating all over even though it was only in the high 40s and I was thinking "That was the longest 3.1 miles I have ever seen!"

I need to get back out there and start running again but life has gotten so darn hectic lately that I am struggling to get through all of my schoolwork, plus dealing with family issues and so forth. I am going to try to make a grad school update within the next few days and another post dealing with all the other stuff going on, but that may take a few days!

I know I have been an MIA blogger

but my life has been pretty crazy lately.

For now, enjoy this picture of my AWESOME new necklace my Grandma gave me. She said it was Aunt Maude's old necklace, sounds about right?

Just because she is so darn cute...

Mere Bear taking care of Old Holly Berry.

Jon Jon sharing his toys with Meredith- how cute :)

Meredith enjoying her new puppy from PetSmart after Mommy was told that Meredith was the BEST dog they had ever had for a nail trimming/grinding.

Running fiascos

I am currently on my fall break from classes at ECU and it has been pretty nice. I am getting some time to catch up on some of my homework. I was also able to score a sweet babysitting gig with one cute little kid for a few days so I have been living the life of luxury in a 1.5 million $ condo, spending the days looking after a cutie patootie and spending time in the sun. However, this whole being at the beach thing gave me the bright idea to try running on the beach, which I have come to find out is not my thing.

This ^^^^ is what I envisioned yesterday when I decided to go for a beach run. This ^^^ is not what I got.

I learned yesterday that beach running is hard, very very hard. It will kick your butt. I ended up with more sand in my shoes than what was left on the beach, which made the fact that I was running on sand an even more difficult task to accomplish because I am sure I was carrying around at least 20 extra pounds in sand. Sand was everywhere. I also learned that my sports bra with the zip up in front is also not a fan of the beach run. About 5 minutes in it totally came undone, and let me tell you... there is no graceful way to zip up your unzipped sports bra on the beach with people every little bit and no shelter.

On top of the 20 lbs of sand in my shoes and the fact that the ladies were now flapping in the wind, when I tried to get off the beach after having enough of this mess, I stuck my hand on something and started bleeding profusely. Not just a little bit, profusely. I was bleeding like a stuck pig. When I finally got it to stop, there was blood caked on my hand, on my shorts, some on my new previously pretty running shoes, and some all over the pavement between the beach and my car.

Needless to say, yesterday was not my day for running. I am actually really discouraged with the 5k only a mere 4 days away and I dont feel at all prepared. I have been missing my running consistency with all the rain, my crazy schedule, and so forth and now I still have technically two weeks of training that I should have done before the race but havent. The good thing is that today after I am done babysitting, I was told that I could use the gym here if I wanted so I am going to the gym and I WILL run 3.1 miles. I know that it is on a treadmill and therefore different than outside running, but I want to at least go that distance once and then I think I will be at least mentally prepared for Saturday. I will definitely be doing an outside run again towards the end of the week to readjust but I think it is gym life for me at least today and maybe tomorrow too.

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 3

Today's run was really hard and I can't say that I was exactly successful in completing today's schedule. There were a few times where I had to stop my timer on the app that I use to help me through my runs so that I could walk or stretch for a few seconds. I am not sure what the deal was today but I just wasnt into it, even though I needed to go out today. I have six more runs before I am a Couch to 5k graduate, SIX more! There are only 9 days till race day but I think in preparation for the race I will complete all six before, or at least five before and make the 6th one the run from the day of the program? I dont know, I guess we'll see!

I have figured out that I really need to focus on hydrating my body more. I have never been a big hydrater (even though I really know that I should be), but now that I am physically active several times a week I definitely should be making more of a conscientious effort to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I think that is one of my main problems and why my legs are cramping up so much during my runs, and the cramping in my runs is causing the lead ball effect in my feet.... so basically I fix the hydration problem and I fix most of my issues with running!

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 2

I was very grateful for the cooler weather today when I took my run. It was nice to go out and to not be completely miserable because of the heat. I can see improvements in my speed lately so that is always a good thing as race day is creeping closer. Only 12 more days till the big day, and pretty soon I will be a C25k graduate! I am really looking into doing the Bridge to 10k program but I cant decide if I want to start that right away or if I want to wait awhile and just run 5k lengths for a few weeks before beginning another training program. The only thing I am afraid of if I dont do another training program is getting out of this new habit of mine. As evidenced in how long it has taken me to finish this program, even with the accountability of the program it is sometimes hard to stick with it. I guess we will just cross that bridge when we come to it!

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 1

I finally got out to run today after almost a week of being not able to due to the rain. It felt awesome to get out and run and actually accomplish something. Today I did another 25 minute run and it went really well. My feet only felt like lead balls for the last 7 minutes or so (as opposed to the 9ish from the last run). Meredith and I covered about 2.5 miles total today. I am hoping that these longer runs will help me to build up some speed now that I have worked up the endurance part of it. I am thinking that I need to join a local gym so that I can still exercise when it rains because I dont want to have to go that long without running again!

This weekend I will be busy babysitting, working on homework, lesson planning, and hopefully I will get the chance to hang out with some friends and go to the Seafood Festival!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Rain, Rain Go Away,

Come Again Another Day

Today is day three of rain- incessant, non stop, lousy rain. I was sick this weekend and into yesterday morning, another tonsil flair up and now that I am better and eager to get going on my running, it is RAINING! On the running note, I found out a group of faculty from the high school that I am interning at have also entered the Bridge Run that I am doing in October and they invited me to join their team :) Yay!

I am teaching my first lesson next week. I am teaching a lesson on theme and am having lots of fun coming up with ideas about how to present it to the kids. I will keep you updated on my strokes of brilliance when it comes to teaching the youth of NBH about theme!

I love fall...

I love fall! I love the crisp, cool weather.

I love the beautiful, colorful leaves.

I love pumpkins!

I love wearing cute cardigans.

(not that I would wear this one with that tie, but oh well!)

I love wearing scarves.

I love lattes (especially pumpkin ones)!

And my new found obsession, I LOVE Hershey pumpkin spice kisses!

Not a successful day

Well I attempted to go running today. I did run.... a little but for some reason I just wasnt into it today. I even tried to push through the "I'm not into it" mindset and failed. It was hot out today, the air was thick and sticky, I waited too long to go out... blah blah blah. Regardless, I did not complete week 7 day 1 of the couch to 5k challenge, so I will get up again tomorrow (this time a lot earlier) and I will give it another go.