Busy work...

I know it has been way too long (for some of you) since I have posted on here, but I need to VENT!!!!!  I am currently taking graduate courses online, and boy howdy!!!!  I remember crystal clear why I put it off so long.  Aspects of it get me so riled up I think I might just throw my computer out the window.  Seriously.  It would be fun to watch it smash into a million pieces.  But that thrill would only last for a few seconds, and I would still be responsible for my classwork.  Seriously though, COME ON!!!!  I am taking graduate courses for the sole intention of being a better teacher to first through eighth grade students.  Why in the flingin' flangin' heck do I have to be able to format an APA style paper EVERY SINGLE WEEK?!?!?!  Is the content truly read, or is the format skimmed and graded?  Don't get me wrong, I have had some absolutely fabulous professors during my short 4 1/2 month experience so far, but a couple have just been plain ridiculous.  And a research class?  Don't they realize that statistics makes my eyes cross, my brain shrivel, and my entire system basically shut down until mission accomplished?  I am currently getting SQUAT out of my class, and I don't even know what my professor wants!!!!!  I think the sole intent here is to bring down my otherwise gold-encrusted GPA.  And for WHAT?!?!?!  You think lowering my grade is going to make me work harder?!?!?!  Dude.  It's a 6 week class. Monday completes week 3.  My goal right now is survival and prayer I do not run into this professor again in the next year and two months.  I am reminded by a dear friend (who happens to be a perfectionist herself) that in the end, I will have my masters degree.  Oh, but don't even get me started on that.  Because, you know what?  At the rate education is going now, we will just have students watch YouTube all day and call it education.  It's like a hamster wheel.  And the sides have walls.

BUT, God is good and I chose joy.  The alternative is just too scary.

(Thanks for not giving up on me!)

Happy New Year!

I realize I am a few weeks late on wishing you a happy new year, but better late than never!  Right now I am procrastinating, and what better way to procrastinate than to type to an audience as wonderful as you?  You may be as close to I get to a fan base of excited readers.  And I have treated you so poorly.  Forgive me, won't you?  So how have you been?  Have you enjoyed January so far?  I must admit, these arctic temperatures have claimed the best of me.  I am searching for a benefactor to send me on a luxuriously, balmy, breezy vacation.  If you feel so inclined, leave me a comment and I will get a hold of you.  I promise.  Have I told you I have never been to Florida?  Nope, never.  I have never been to California or Costa Rica or Jamaica or Hawaii or Greece or Bermuda or Cozumel or Disney World.  Nope, never.  Don't you feel bad for me?  It's okay.  Just send money and I promise to post pictures!

My January has been filled to the brim.  I bit the bullet and registered for graduate courses to obtain my Masters of Education in Reading Literacy.  I have put this endeavor off way too long, and I finally worked up enough gumption to JUST DO IT!  I despise owing people money, so taking out another student loan practically made me suffer a myocardial infarction.  But I feel as though my studious ways are already paying off.  My vocabulary leans toward the intelligent and my procrastination skills are second to none.  Thank you, Ashford University-online.  I owe you dearly.  And I will pay you in monthly installments for the rest of my life.  Or until Prince Charming comes along and rents out a wing of the castle to pay back my loans. These online courses, well, course, to be exact as I am taking one at a time, has really pushed me to the limit.  It has been time consuming, brain power consuming, and rather intense.  Thank goodness I should be done by July 2012, and I am praying that I will secure adequate employment by fall of 2011.  I dream big, people.

I have also taken on the never ending battle of "watching my weight".  Not to be confused with Weight Watchers, as I have been there, done that, and it is not for me.  Of course I could find any reason that a particular weight loss method wouldn't work, but it all comes down to one thing....I like Oreos.  Double Stuffed.  With milk.  And guess what?  Girl Scout cookies went on sale on Friday.  Curse you, temptation.  But what is keeping me motivated is this:  My brother is getting married on June 18.  He is marrying a wonderful woman with whom I have developed something of a sisterly relationship, and she has asked me to be a bridesmaid!  Well, technically they both asked me.  And I was honored!  It brought me to tears to be asked....okay, maybe some of those tears on that particular day had to do with the rejection call I received for a promising position at a local school district.  But the tears seemed to change as they rolled down my cheeks.  I could feel it.  They began as self pity tears and ended as warm, honored tears.  But either way, I am in the wedding on June 18, 2011.  And I am wearing a knee length, spaghetti strapped dress.  And the rest of the bridesmaids range from a size 0 (no joke) to a size 8.  Oy vey.  Goodbye Oreos, hello baby spinach salad!  So, needless to say, food has consumed much more of my time as well.

Today I registered for a mini Marathon in Louisville on April 30.  I am hoping this is motivation to move!  I enjoy walking, and I vowed to do more of such events after I walked my first half marathon in October.  But it's cold outside.  And snow covered.  And I have an electric blanket on my bed.  Enough said.

So, I hope to keep you in the loop as time goes by.  May you be filled with warm cooking, loved by sweet people, and covered with electric blankets.

A Post of Lesser Importance....

I am trying to blog more frequently.  I love to write, and I love expressing myself in written word.  However, many times what is stirring in my heart is what I desperately want to post.  I know that is not always appropriate, so I am leaving the concoction in my heart for God to settle and make sense of.  Instead, I shall share with you things of a frivolous, more superficial nature.

No Ordinary Family airs on Tuesday nights at 8:00 on ABC.  YOU need to tune in.  Not sure why?  Head over to the website (by clicking on the show title in this post) and watch past episodes.  It is one where you will want to watch the pilot episode in order to get the gist of it.  But, in my very humble opinion, it is worth it.  It is a show based on a family working together through trials.  It is encouraging, uplifting, and (so far) very clean.  Tune in!!!

I have been enjoying adding things to my Amazon.com wishlist as well.  I have to be honest, I have only ever received a handful of items from this list, and somehow my mind thinks that if it's on the list, someone will buy it for me.  If you feel so led, you can purchase items at http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/EFRE7XKCSIF7

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day 2 weeks from today.  Most of my family (minus those who will be off with other family) will be taking part in the Erie Runners Club 5k Turkey Trot at Presque Isle, in Erie PA!  I am very excited about this, and look forward to taking part in it with my dear family.  I think it will be fun....and very, very cold!

Conflict is inevitable. Combat is optional. ~Max Lucado

"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it.  That factor is attitude."  ~William James I experienced something that I have never, and I mean NEVER experienced before.  It was a happenstance of miscommunication/wrongfully interpreting written words/inadvertent insensitivity.  Let me tell you, it rattled me.  But it taught me something in the process: interpretation of written words, with or without proper punctuation, can really get some otherwise friendly feathers all in a dither.  Oh, don't go thinking I have never experienced conflict before.  Because I have.  I do.  Every single day.  Usually the conflict is with myself, "I don't want to go to work" or "I want to keep reading this book".  Yes, that is inner conflict.  But this recent conflict was a new one.  And it rocked me.  But thankfully it is a thing of the past.  And I feel renewed.   On a side note, I have to admit something terrible.  I know, you like juicy news, don't you?  Well, don't judge me too harshly.  PLEASE.  You see, I have a rule that Christmas music is not permitted to be heard by my ears until the day after Thanksgiving.  Most people go shopping on that Friday, I dust off the Christmas cds.  Tradition.  But....this morning on my way to work, I was listening to K-LOVE, as always, and they played a *gasp* Christmas song.  And I didn't change the station.  Even worse, I SAND ALONG!  And I smiled.  And I loved it.  And I can't wait for the holidays!  Judge as you will.

Purpose-Filled Life of True Peace and Joy

It is hard to put into words the gratitude I feel right now.  Gratitude to a Savior Who put me where I need to be. I know He always does that anyway, so perhaps I am grateful more so for the ability He gave me to hear Him.  To really, truly HEAR HIM.  This weekend has filled my heart to overflowing.  On Friday, before I left for the evening to spend a few hours at Faircreek Church, I reread my previous posts on this blog.  The thing that became crystal clear to me is the underlying negativity I had dripping from my words.  The strange thing is, I didn't realize they were drenched in negativity.  But they obviously are.  Oh, how I would love to go back and erase every post up until this point.  But I won't.  They are important to see.  Sort of like a memorial to the transformation God is able to make, and does make, when we willingly lay our lives in His beyond capable hands.

Tammy Smith was our speaker this weekend.  Ladies, if you have never heard Tammy speak, you are missing something great.  Tammy is a poised woman of godly confidence, a woman never denying the fact that she is fighting in the same spiritual battle we all are.  Tammy's website is here, and I encourage you to look at it.  If you are looking for a speaker for a specific womens function, prayerfully consider this woman.

The verse that really hit home with me this weekend is 1 John 3:1 ~ "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!"

Whack-a-Mole at it's finest

I have become slightly obsessed with all things walking/running as of late.  The half marathon was the spark that ignited the fire in my legs.  Although I have been battling another round of plantar fasciitis since the half, it hasn't stopped me.  I rest, I ice, I compress, and I elevate.  I RICE with with the best of 'em.  And I have a love affair with Naproxen.  I convinced my sister over at http://ponderingsofapennsylvaniagirl.blogspot.com/ to join me for a 5k on October 26.  It was her first of such events, and I am proud to say that she enjoyed it!  I have also convinced most of my family back home to join me on a Thanksgiving Day 5k Turkey Trot.  I am looking forward to facing the cold Lake Erie elements with them.  It is one of those small perks in life that make your heart beat a little faster, like anticipation for a family vacation as a child.  I am excited about walking it with them!  I have also joined forces with my brother-in-law to accomplish a couch to 5k program!  Yes, that's right, I hope to brush up on my running skills again.  My long term goal?  To run a full marathon.  Yes, that's right, you heard me correctly.  I said run.  And I said full marathon.  As in 26.2 miles.  But I also said long term goal.  For now, it's enough to get through the 8 segments of 1 minute running the British accented woman is torturing me with in the couch to 5k program.  I need a name for her.  Because I need somebody to yell at.  Any suggestions?

On to other happenings.  Tonight and tomorrow, I will be spending my time with ladies I have never met.  Usually, I would be a big ball of nerves.  I get all self conscience and awkward when I am around new people.  I don't know what to do with myself.  But this time, I am simply excited.  I recently joined a new church, and this is the first "extra curricular" activity I am taking part in.  I am attending a ladies retreat.  And once again, I am excited!

Last, but not least, I have been wrapping my head around low glycemic index eating lately.  I believe it is a great way to go, but sometimes I struggle with the step by step process.  I get overwhelmed, and I feel as though I will fail, so to avoid failure, I never start (a bad habit I have been meaning to break myself of).  Why failure looms over my head like a large mallet ready to whack this mole back into my hole of self pity, I don't know.  But I am determined to avoid it ( "it" being failure) this time.  Have you tried the low GI way of eating?  If so, any advice?

Something New

I participated in something I never thought I would participate in two days ago.  I walked 13.1 miles.  That's right, a half marathon!  Ouch.  I really loved the experience, and my body is still recovering.  The course was relatively flat, except for miles 7-9 which had a slight increase.  Why they would do that to us that late in the course, I don't really know.  But they did.  I wasn't very happy about it either.  But the rest went well.  I felt like I was part of a different world!  The world of runners/walkers has a language all its own.  It is fascinating, and I enjoyed the energy around it.  Once my body recovers fully, I would like to continue in a forward motion.  I would like to do another half marathon sometime in the somewhat near future, but right now, my body is laughing at me.

I experienced another first yesterday.  I enjoyed my first ever massage.  Yeah.  Wow.  It was a free thirty minute massage, and I think I need to get a second job just to feed my addiction.  The best part is my sister found a groupon for half off an hour massage!  You bet I jumped at that opportunity!

My finishing time for the half marathon was 3 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds.  My walking buddy, Monica, has done two half marathons before this one, and she was hoping to finish under 3 hours.  She sacrificed her own goal and walked with me most of the way.  We crossed the finish line together.  As they were putting the medal around my neck, I thought I was going to fall face first onto the ground.  But I didn't.  I made it to the food tent where I replenished my salt with a few dill pickles.  And then I enjoyed Culver's frozen custard.  Just because it was there.  I would like to say that I enjoy the world of marathons.  It truly is an environment all it's own and one I hope to be part of again.

Now to register for the Ghost and Goblins 5k Run/Walk on October 26.  Piece of cake.  A mere 3.1 miles.  Done.