I was runnin'

"Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!"

Quick, name the movie this quote comes from! Ok, it's Forrest Gump, one of my all-time favorite movies. And, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I've been runnin'. When I do tell people that, they are like, why? Are you training for something?

The answer is no, I'm not training for anything. The truth is, I hate running, and hate is a strong word. I've never been good at running and could never really run for long periods of time. So, I decided about a month ago that I was going to make myself learn to run and maybe even learn to enjoy it. I believe it's the simplest, most effective exercise. All you need are some good shoes and you're set.

My plan was simple, start walking and throw in some running. The first week I alternated walking for 3 minutes and then running for 1 minute. The second week I walked 2 minutes and ran for 90 seconds. The third week I was walking 90 seconds and then running 90 seconds. And, to be honest, 90 seconds felt like a long time. For 90 seconds everything would hurt and I would just about talk myself out of the whole thing. Then, I started walking/running at the track, I would run one lap and then walk one lap. I would do that for somewhere between 2 and 3 miles.

All of that has led up to tonight. It was kind of late and getting dark so I knew I wouldn't have much time. I just stepped out of the house and started running just to see how long I could possibly stand to go. I made it around the block one time (at a pace just faster than a walk) and decided I'd just keep going. By the time I had had enough I had ran for 12 minutes and 28 seconds. It seems silly but I feel like that's quite an accomplishment. I was halfway through the block so I decided to just walk for awhile but my legs wouldn't let me, they wanted to keep running! It was the strangest feeling! When it was all said and done I had ran for about 19 minutes. Crazy! And, the best part is, I can't wait for my next running day (although I'm sure by then I'll be singing a different song).

Another bonus from my little run tonight:


A great reminder that the "dark" is always preceded and followed by awe-inspiring beauty.

Anything for the kids

The day I have been dreading for about a month now has come and gone. Tomorrow begins Round 2 of the beloved TAKS testing at my school and someone thought that the teachers acting like loons was a good way to get the kids motivated. So, we spent this morning performing in our very own version of "TAKS Idol." I'm not really sure what I was supposed to be, but Mrs. Sykes and I performed "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang. Apparently the judges didn't like it because we didn't make it through to Hollywood.

My favorite part was that I was so nervous I was like frozen in place, I couldn't move. And, I couldn't really see out of my sunglasses. The whole three minutes was a bit of a blur! It cracks me up just thinking about how silly that is! Oh well, I survived, and some of my good friends were so willing to be there and take pictures! Thanks guys, you're the best, really! :)


I think my favorite act of the day had to be "GEM." They rocked the house and made it to Hollywood! Way to go Marcy!

I'm a wee bit competitive

As I type this my right forearm is cramping. I think I just developed carpal tunnel syndrome. My good friend, Kristy, posted her typing speed on her blog last night. And, I took that as a challenge.

I started out this morning with fresh fingers that apparently hadn't woken up yet because I was barely breaking 60 words per minute. Being the competitive person I am, I came back this afternoon to give it another try. While faster, I just couldn't quite make it to 78 wpm. The best I could do was 75. I'm now paying the price. I think I'm going to have to go ice down my arm. Who knows, the pain may just be enough to keep me from going to school tomorrow! Now, wouldn't that be a shame!!

75 words
So, what's your speed?

The last 30 hours or so

I've just returned home from a whirlwind trip to Evadale, Texas to be at the funeral of my good friend Shellee's Dad.

To read about the trip itself, you should check out Kristy's blog. We made an attempt at live-blogging our trip, thanks to Jenny's snazzy laptop and wireless connection.

As for the funeral, here are my thoughts:

I spent approximately 14 hours in a car driving to a funeral of a man I've never met. I went because even though I've never met him, the way he lived his life has greatly impacted mine. I'd say that's a sign of a life well-lived. I know two of his kids (Shellee & James) and several of his grandkids, and the people they are, as I learned today, is a direct result of the man Charles Gilbert was. His influence reaches far beyond the boundaries of time, location, and even death. Sitting there today caused me to examine my own life and all the ways I could be more like Jesus to the people God puts in my world. I look forward to waking up tomorrow (after a full night's rest) ready to live fully the life I've been given.

Thank you Gilbert family for being so transparent today, for being a real, living, breathing picture of faith.

A different kind of weekend

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a very cool kid, Jordan. I first met Jordan when she was in the third grade. She tried out for the UIL Spelling team that I was coaching and she was quiet and shy but always had a smile on her face. I felt pretty strongly that she was a neat kid so I asked my assistant principal to make sure she was in my class the next year. In fact, I believe my exact words were, "I don't care who you put in my class next year, just please give me Jordan." And, through a crazy turn of events, that is exactly what happened. It didn't take long though for me to really get to know Jordan. She is brilliant, caring, sensitive, hilarious, athletic, and pretty darn cool. This weekend I got to see all those things in Jordan and so much more.

One of my favorite things we did was visit Starbucks. Jordan talked about going to Starbucks pretty much all day yesterday, so we made a stop there last night. I'm thinking that we could just drive-thru and be on our way, but Jordan felt like we needed to go inside and drink our drinks so that we would look "cool and mature." Who can argue with that? So, we go in and order our Vanilla Bean Frappaccino (Jordan) and Chai Tea (Me). It took Jordan a few minutes to find the table that would allow for maximum "coolness and maturity." Perhaps now would be a good time to let everyone know we were the only ones in the store! She picked the checkerboard table so we set up a little game of checkers with sugar packets. Here is Jordan looking so cool and so mature:


A little while into the game I was pretty much dominating and Jordan was sure that I was some sort of professional checkers player. I assured her I was not, but she began chanting this anyway:

"Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater, stick your head in poo poo water"

I had to think about that for a few minutes but it sounded so funny to me. I was like, what in the world are you talking about and that caused her to laugh so hard:


It was a great moment. When we got home we had to play Checkers two more times, and she beat me both times.

Ouch

Ouch. This was my reaction to realizing that my car was indeed pounded by all the hail. I thought I had narrowly escaped any damage but closer inspection this afternoon proved me wrong.

Last night, the Golfsmith store was holding a special event with putting contests, sales, drawings, and a free $25 gift card just for showing up. FREE MONEY! Who doesn't want that? And, golf, it's not a cheap sport so I need all the help I can get. So, Kelly, Mackenzie, Shannon, Meagan, and I went to enjoy the deals. I scored some $90 Nike shoes for $18! Soon into our little excursion though we started getting phone calls from people who were urging us to take cover because the storms were so bad. Fortunately, it wasn't quite as bad where we were so we didn't have to. So while everyone was hunkered down in closets, hallways, and bathrooms, we were enjoying the indoor driving range. I'm thinking I should build one onto my house. :)


Now, I have cool new golf shoes, an improved swing, and a car that resembles a golf ball! I think I'm ready to go on tour! :)

A Day Well Spent

Today's been a good day. Which is just the kind of day I feel like I needed to have. We are exactly two weeks away from my least favorite day of the school year, the TAKS test, so things have been a little bit stressful. I'm sure you've probably heard of passive aggressive, well, I get stressed out passively. I am not really worried about this test and know everything is going to be just fine, but still I tend to think, and think, and think, and then worry, and worry, and worry, and then I'm just plain tired. So after riding that roller coaster the last week or so, it was nice to have some good quality distractions.

This evening at church instead of playing Capture the Flag, I chose to hang out with Jackson. He is growing so much! He smiled at me and laughed a little, but mostly just enjoyed slobbering on his hand. Then, he fell asleep in my arms. I just don't think there is anything better than that!

After church I caught a little baseball. Mostly, I tried to protect my eyes from dirt and wind damage. But, the game was close, and the company was great! I did have a funny moment though. I tried to park my car in a place where it would be safe from foul balls, so I parked across the street on a little patch of grass. When I walked to my car after the game, I noticed this sign:


Oops. Please don't turn me in!

Also, I just have to say how much I love that all my peeps are blogging. It's so funny to me that nearly every conversation I have with one of those people over on the right includes some comment or question about blogging. It's like a little blogging community! :) And, I want to officially welcome, Marcy, to the party. She's a teacher at my school (an amazing one - by the way) and she's really funny, so go check out her blog!

Lacking

I've found myself lacking a lot this week. I've been lacking anything interesting to blog about. I've found myself lacking in the sleep department - with all the wind, rain, and thunder. And, I'm sure I could ramble on and on and all the way to nowhere right now, but instead I'm going to pray.

My friend, Shellee, has spent the last week in Beaumont, TX where her Dad is in ICU. It's a serious situation and I can't even begin to imagine what they're all going through. I've even found myself lacking any words of value or comfort that I could offer her. But, I am praying and will continue to pray that God's presence, love, and peace will cover that sweet family.

So, if you've read this far, maybe you could stop and pray for them too.

So cool

My friend, Kelly, wanted to know more about the "Mentos and Diet Coke Experiment" that I did with my class. I found a video that shows pretty much exactly how mine turned out. It's pretty cool!



Ok, maybe mine didn't turn out exactly like that. But, as you can see, the possibilities are endless. Here's a link to these people's How To page. It's a little complicated.

For our demonstration I unwrapped the Mentos and then dropped them in a paper tube (I made the tube by rolling the package of Mentos and then taping it and then sliding out the Mentos), using an index card to hold them in. When we were ready to go, I took off the cap, slid the card out, RAN away, and boom.

Good luck and remember: Always wear your safety goggles when performing a Science experiment! :)

Friday

I am SO glad it's Friday! This has been one of the "longest" weeks I've had in a long time.

Monday was Open House at school, which is definitely not one of my favorite things. It was a little more enjoyable this year because several of my friends stopped by. I'm so thankful for that!

Tuesday was a benchmark day. This means that the kids are taking a big ol' test all day long. My job is to walk around and make them think I'm watching their every move, so they will make the right ones! While it's pretty brainless and requires no real preparation, it can be exhausting and stressful.

Wednesday was another benchmark day. They took their reading test this day and since it's what I teach, I get really stressed about how they are going to do. They always do fine, but it always amazes me how anxious I am that morning, and it's just a benchmark - it doesn't even count!

Thursday I spent the day in Dallas at a conference thing. It was nice to step away from the classroom for a day, but it's so much work to be out. I had an encounter with some negativity in the afternoon that left me dumbfounded.

Today was full o' drama. The really strange, comes from left field, based on nothing kind of drama. I didn't think the day would ever end! I have decided that I feel like I'm living an episode of Survivor. Alliances are forming and soon someone will be voted off the island!

I did get to do the "Mentos and Diet Coke" experiment in Science today. Basically, you strategically drop a package of mentos into a 2-Liter bottle of Diet Coke and then it erupts 7-8 feet in the air. It was pretty cool! I hated to see all that Diet Coke go to waste though!

In all this week's "longness" I feel so silly even feeling a little bit bad about all of it. I am trying to find the balance between dealing with frustration and remembering that if what I experienced this week is a "bad" week then really I am quite lucky. People are having major surgeries, dealing with illness, balancing jobs and family, making tough life-changing decisions, and really I'm just being pushed beyond what I call "comfort." So, I'm glad it's the weekend. I'm thankful for the break from all that stuff and I'm hoping for a lot to keep me busy!

$3.19

Three dollars and nineteen cents a gallon. That is how much I just paid to fill up my car with fuel. That is insane.

And, for all of you keeping up with the maintenence of my car, I also put a little air in my tires. And, it was free.

Also, in an attempt to push that whole Africa thing way down on the page I'm going to tell you about two things you really should check out:

#1 - Exciting things are happening tonight over at CF Husband . This whole story is amazing!

#2 - And a matter that is of much less importance: Baylor's mascot, Bruiser, is in the Final Four of a little mascot competition. Go vote for him here.

Last, and probably least, this is my 100th post on the blog! I can't believe I've felt the need to log onto my computer 100 times and write about something that probably wasn't funny/important/newsworthy to anybody but me!

Just in case...

In case you didn't go ahead and read the comments for the last post, I'll go ahead and tell you that all that business about me going to Africa was just an April Fool's joke. I won't say that teaching in Africa will never happen (because that's a good way to get on God's fast-track) but, I don't think that's where I'm headed anytime soon!

My favorite reaction was probably my Mom's...she just called me and when I said hello, she said, "Kenya?" She apparently did not read the comments! I reassured her that I would not allow her (or anyone else) to learn something that HUGE by reading it on the blog. So, don't worry, I'm not going to Africa...or for those of you who may have been excited; I'm sorry, I'm not going to Africa! :)

Restless

I have learned something about myself, I get restless. Looking back on my life, I have never been committed to one thing for a very long time. It amazes me everyday that I have a job I love, and it is the same job I've been doing for the last three years. Usually, I am very excited about something, jump in with both feet and then after a little while my passion fades and I decide it's not worth it anymore. So, doing the same thing for three years is kind of a big deal for me.

As much as I love what I do and as much as I love my life, the restlessness has still found me. I've struggled for a long time with knowing how to most effectively use my life and I think I've found the answer. I found out yesterday that I have been accepted into a new teaching program. I will be spending at least a year in Kenya teaching children there. It is exciting and totally terrifying at the same time. I'm not sure yet of exact dates.