*disclaimer*

The following posts were written in a delusional, "it's almost the end of school and I'm quite cuckoo" state of mind. Please forgive the fluff. I don't think I could have an intelligent adult conversation if I tried; it might just push me over the edge, and let me tell you, there's not much keeping me on.

Orlando anyone?

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens July 7th. I just watched the trailor and oh my gosh!!! It looks awesome!!! I ask you, who two better looking men to put in one movie!? Oh, well, there are Eric Bana (who was in Troy with Orlando Bloom) and Hugh Jackman (can't find a movie connection but there should be!). I think I have a thing for foreign men. I know Johnny Depp isn't foreign, but he's been living in France for so long that he thinks he is:)

So, based on these 4 men, I have come to some conclusions about the types of men I am attracted to:
*dark hair and eyes
*cultured sounding (Orlando is British and Eric and Hugh are Australian and Johnny has that cool French accent going on)
*deep voices
*versitle
*good guys, nice all around
*tall (although I'm not sure how tall Johnny is)

Now, what do I need to do about this? I think I need to move overseas. It seems like the odds go with Australia.

Unfortunately, for me, instead of marrying someone who looks like Hugh Jackman, I'll end up with someone who looks like Jack Black. Maybe he'll make me laugh, though...

AI

This season of American Idol has been da' bomb! (I am such a white girl) I have loved Taylor Hicks from his first audition. I love the fact that Simon has to eat his words (if you'll recall, he stated that Taylor would never make it to the finals). Don't get me wrong, Katharine McPhee has an amazing voice, but she seems kind of plastic when she's up there on stage. Taylor is so fun and energetic, he gets the crowd going and is truly a performer.

On another AI note, Carrie Underwood just scored AMC Single of the Year! Way to go! I also loved her from the beginning and knew she would win last season:) I think I'm becoming a prophet...I wonder if I can see anything about my own future...Maybe I can score a big smoke and fire machine and a huge velvet curtain and become the All Powerful Wizard of Oz...

ohhh, i...i will survive!

2...more...days!!!!

My students are so nutso and I have lost all will to do anything about it. One girl was very disrespectful to me today (has been all year) and I just calmly said, "please go stand outside." I continued with the review game we were playing and when the groups were trying to answer a question, I wrote up an office referral and walked outside. I looked at her and very calmly said, "I have nothing to say to you. You have been disrespectful to me all year. Here you go." I then walked back inside. I have no idea if she made it to the office, and honestly I don't really care. As long as she's not in my class I think we're both happier:)

life

I turn 30 in 3 weeks from today.

Since I don't have any friends here, I'll probably be spending the day alone.

I thought about taking a short roadtrip somewhere, but then I'd still be alone.

Sigh...

sick, AGAIN!!!

Yes, you read correctly, I am sick once again. I can't even count how many times this makes. I thought it was a case of really bad allergies, but after two nights of little sleep, I'm pretty sure it's a cold. I just hope I'm better by tomorrow. We got an email from our head principal basically saying that unless we're bleeding out the eyes we need to be at school. It's a good thing we're just doing exam review this week and I don't really have to come up with lesson plans.

yet another update

Grrrrrr!!! I'm so frustrated with this past week. I don't feel like I did that badly with my eating and I worked out a total of 4 times (didn't quite make the 5 mark). And the end result? I didn't lose any weight, again! If another person tells me that I'm just gaining muscle, I'm going to scream! How can I continue to gain muscle mass this quickly? If I keep this up, I'm going to be gaining weight!

So, no change to report in weight. But I did buy a new pair of running shoes and I've been breaking those in. I'm enjoying getting back into running. The treadmill can be a bit boring at times, but there aren't any good asphalt trails near my apartment, only concrete which I hate running on. I'll have to do some more exploring. It will soon be too hot to think about running outside, though.

Okay, some goals for this coming week. I've been doing better with water ever since the purchase of this huge water bottle that holds 64 ounces. It's gynormous! My students make fun of me and other teachers ask how I can drink so much water and not move my class to the faculty bathroom:) It is hard at times, but I think my body will eventually get used to it. I want to keep that up. Another goal is to keep up the running. I'd like to be able to run 30 minutes without stopping by the end of May. I don't think that's unreasonable, I may even be able to do it by mid-May. One more goal for this week: try to add some yoga to my routines. I feel myself getting stronger but I also want to become more flexible. I have a video and maybe I'll see if some co-workers have any they'd be willing to let me borrow.

weekly update

This was a disappointing week for me. I didn't meet my goals which stinks but at least I haven't gained any weight. Here are the numbers:

Weight lost to date: 5.5 pounds. Considering that I've been doing this for a month, I was hoping for higher numbers. But my co-workers reassure me that I am probably gaining muscle mass. My favorite pants are really loose so that's encouraging.

Exercise: I didn't meet my goal of 5 times, but I did work out 4 times. A co-worker commented on my arms today:) Now if I could just lose the tummy roll...

Goals for this week: hmmm, this is hard. I still need to work on the water thing. I drink at least 4 cups while at work but I want to increase that. I want to try again for working out 5 times this week. I get paid this week so I'm going to buy a pair of running shoes. I'd like to start adding running to my workouts.

That's it for now. Two of my co-workers are also working really hard at losing weight, one has lost 18 and the other over 20 pounds. It's hard not to compare myself and wish I could lose it faster, but I keep trying to tell myself that it's worth it to lose it slower because it will more than likely stay off that way. In another 2 weeks I'll do some measurements to let you know if I've lost any inches.

munchies

I can not stop eating! Okay, that's not entirely accurate, but I have been craving food all day. It's driving me crazy! I try to focus on something else, but nothing is working. I've given in a couple of times but nothing helps.

The students are taking standardized tests all week so I have been sitting in a room with a bunch of restless kids every morning. There is a room set up especially for teachers with goodies and I stupidly went there this morning. I was so good, at first. There was a fruit tray so I grabbed some grapes and didn't even glance at the donuts (ummm, donuts...). As I was getting the grapes, there was a sign exclaiming, "fresh warm cookies available after 8 am!" My school doesn't just make any ol' cookies, these are Otis Spunkmeyer cookies! My curiousity got the best of me and I walked down around 9 am to check the situation. There were still piles of cookies left so I grabbed a couple, and they were still warm! Oh, it was so terrible!

As if that weren't bad enough, I also munched on a bag of cheddar and sour cream chips. Then, after dinner I was still craving something so I ate some vanilla wafers. Make it stop! I'm still wanting more food! But not just anything, I want junk! I think I've been depriving myself too long and now my body is rebelling.

By the way, don't worry; I am eating plenty of calories, so I'm not starving myself. My body just isn't satisfied with the spinach dinner salad with chicken or the whole wheat turkey sandwich I had for lunch.

weekly update

I'm not sure what to call my weekly updates. Diet update doesn't sound right because I'm not just doing it for a short time, I'm trying to make a lasting change to my eating habits. Exercise update doesn't fully encompass all that I want to include. Health update sounds like I'm ill or suffering from an illness. I'll come up with something more original.

Anyway, this week's update:
Weight loss: none. Yep, big disappointment. I was actually kind of surprised I didn't lose any weight because I was sick all last week and didn't eat much. Oh, well. I also only excercised 3 times so maybe that has something to do with it.

Exercise: 3 times. First time was at the beginning of feeling sick and I didn't do much, just walked on the treadmill and did some weights for about 15 minutes. The last two times I exercised was after I was feeling better. Those were decent workouts with 40 minutes of cardio and 30-40 minutes of weights.

Goals for this week:
1. Drink more water! I have fallen into the teacher trap of not drinking enough because we don't have a lot of opportunities to go to the bathroom, but this isn't good for my system. I want to bring more water bottles and leave them in a co-worker's fridge so they are always cold.
2. Work out 5 times this week.

Goals for the upcoming weeks:
1. Once I get paid at the end of the month, I'm going to invest in a new pair of running shoes so that I can start running again. I don't want to start up on my current pair as they are at least 2 years old.
2. Check out some of the aerobics classes offered at my gym. Who knows? They could actually be fun:)

That's it for now! Hopefully I'll have some lower numbers to report next week...

tests

Remember that really hard oral proficiency test that I had to pass to become fully certified that I told you about, the one that I was certain I failed because I got so upset that I couldn't even finish and left the testing room crying, the one that 85% of non-native Spanish speakers fail the first time they take it, the one that only about 50% of native speakers pass the first time they take it? Well....

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right, I actually passed the test! You can not even begin to understand the state of shock I was in this morning when I got the email with my score. I barely passed, but it doesn't matter because I PASSED!!! I will never have to take it again, yippee! God totally gave me grace on this test because there is no way I could have passed it otherwise. The grader must have felt so sorry for me as they listened to me cry my way through the last few questions that I completed; maybe God made them pass me because of it. I don't really care, I'm just excited that I passed!

I need to celebrate, but I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions? Where's some Woodchuck when I need it?!

more pics!

The bridge in the background is hard to make out, but Maracaibo is home to the world's longest concrete bridge. It spans about 5 miles! As I look at the picture, it appears that Maracaibo is very green, but don't be fooled! It is so hot there that grass does not grow naturally. Most yards are made of concrete.

Here are the beautiful, wonderful women in my Bible study while I was in Venezuela. We're standing in front of the VZ flag in my old apartment. Can you figure out which one I am? LOL!!!

This is a painting done by the second lovely lady from the right. She is very talented! It represents several aspects of life in Maracaibo. I proudly display it in my living room.

Easter candy

Every holiday has some kind of candy associated with it, and the candy companies love it. At Christmas you can find Santa shaped Snickers and tree shaped Reeces peanut butter cups. Valentines equals hearts. And of course, the best candy holiday of all, Easter. I think it all started with Easter and the other holidays felt jealous and slighted, so to even it all out, every holiday has candy. But nothing can beat Easter.

Why? you might ask. Because Easter is the only time you can get Cadbury Creme Eggs. These are the best chocolate treat ever. And I love that you can only get them at Easter which makes them extra special.

Easter candy doesn't exactly fit into my new nutritional plan. But, I do reward myself with a little treat on the days I have a few calories left over. Lately it has been with a small portion of Dreyer's Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint ice cream (yum! who could ask for more?! fave cookie with fave dessert, delish!). I just went to Target to see if there was any candy left over and I hit the jackpot! Not only did they have Creme Eggs, but they now have the mini variety, which is perfect for my diet. Just enough to hit the spot. Plus, I feel like you get more for your money because the mini eggs come in a 12 pack so one per day, whereas you can't easily save any uneaten portion of the larger eggs (like there would be any uneaten portion left...).

pics

Everyone has been posting pictures on their blogs so I need to jump on the bandwagon...

This is one of my favorite Maracaibo scenic pictures. This was the view outside my bedroom window; every evening there was a beautiful sunset to see, but because Maracaibo is so close to the equator, it lasted only a few minutes.I don't know why this one is turning out so weird, but here is a picture of one of my dearest Venezuelan friends. I haven't asked her for permission to post this, so I'll leave her name out for now. Check out my blonde hair!

That's it for now. Maybe I'll post more later.

day off

So far, I slept in until 7:30 and have eaten breakfast while watching the Today show. Not too exciting. I'm still feeling yucky, but not as yucky as before so I think I'm getting better. I think I'm going back to bed here in a few minutes.

My church is having a Good Friday service tonight, so I will hopefully feel up to going to that. I better take an ample supply of cough drops so that I don't disrupt the service. I've been struggling with how I should feel this week in light of Easter. Part of me wants to be somber and introspective, really reflecting on what the resurrection of Jesus means to my life. Another part of me is so self-consumed with my own issues that I feel nothing. I am thankful for Jesus and what He sacrificed for me, but I take it so for granted. I need a good dose of perspective; it is not all about me, no matter how much I want it to be.

still sick

I've been sick four days now. It started as a sore throat and cough, and now major congestion has been added to it. I have almost completely lost my voice which my students love. It's interesting to discover which students really like you when you can't raise your voice so they tell people to "shut up, y'all!"

I sat in another teacher's class for a few minutes while she had something to do and in the midst I had a major coughing fit. Her class was horrified. Some thought I was dying, others covered their faces with their shirts to avoid my germs. As I'm hacking my brains out, face turing bright red from lack of oxygen, and trying to hold onto my water bottle to take a sip, all sense of dignity went out the window.

I probably should have stayed home today. At least I have tomorrow off.

weekly exercise update

I have been doing really well going to the gym and eating right, that I am going to include a weekly update in the ol' blog so I can track my progress. Any encouragement that this warrents is well appreciated (hint, hint).

Last week I worked out 4 times, all of those time were pretty hard core workouts. I usually do a mix of 20-30 minutes on the eliptical and 15-20 minutes on the stair master, with some treadmill thrown in to help me cool down. In between the two machines I will do weights for 15 minutes, then after I finish the second round of cardio, I'll do 15 more minutes of weights. Saturday I worked out especially hard and Sunday I walked outside at a moderate pace for 1 hour (it was such a gorgeous day!).

Eating went extremely well, I'm quite proud of myself. I went to a party on Saturday evening and indulged in a chocolate chip cookie (just one) because I had been good all day. Sunday at Bible study someone had made cinnamon rolls and while they were very tempting, I didn't eat one, yay!

Okay, and now for the numbers! So far, I have lost 4 pounds! Yippee! I've only been doing the food bit for 2 weeks, so not bad. I've been working out for almost 4 weeks now and I can actually see muscle definition in my legs and I fit into a pair of jeans last week that I haven't worn in months. Baby steps...now just 20 more pounds to go! I should post pics every couple of weeks so you can see my progess. Now if I can just teach Simba to hold a camera...

broke

What could be more embarrassing than being in Starbucks, paying for your latte and the barista hands your bankcard back and says, "it's been declined"? I didn't even have $3.57 to pay for my stinkin' latte! Thank goodness I had my Target card on me!

I'm horrible with finances. I get paid near the end of the month and it works out well because my bill are all due around the second week of the month of the following month. I pay them all (gotta love online bill pay!) and have a little bit left over for the rest of the month. And when I say a little, I mean VERY little. After I have filled up my car with gas, there's usually nothing left. It's a vicious cycle. I bought a skirt last month that I still haven't taken the tags off; I think I'll take it back to Kohl's and get my $20 back so I can have some grocery money...

Those of you that think teaching is a noble profession, would you mind writing to the Texas state government and beg for a pay raise? This is ridiculous!

sick, again!

My throat started hurting Saturday and then a cough developed yesterday. Now I feel all achy. Ick! Nothing's even going around right now! I have lost count of how many times I have been sick this year. At least I have Friday off so I can just sleep, although calling in sick tomorrow is very tempting. If I actually had everything ready for a sub, I think I would do it...

tgif

It is finally the weekend. Actually, the week flew by, but I am so exhausted that I could not have gone another day. I have big plans to sleep in tomorrow, work out, and then go to a party/get together that the single's ministry at the church I'm going to is having. Did I mention that before? I finally found a church I like. It's a long drive, but worth it.

My department head gave me some cool news today, but I can't post it because I'm not sure if my co-workers read my blog and it isn't really public yet. If you are interested in finding out what it is, email me and I'll fill you in.

Let's see, what else to blog about? My kids were a little nutso today. Spring fever is in full force. They weren't really misbehaving, they just could not stop talking for 2 seconds so I could explain their assignments. I had my Spanish II classes today and I really like them. The kids are funny and like me, even if they find my class completely boring and worthless. Not that I'm a teacher to be popular, and I do wish more of them liked Spanish. But at least if they like me, they are more willing to do their homework. One student in a level I class is pretty much failing every other class but she has an A in mine. She also told me once that if she had a problem with me, she would let me know, so I'm thinking she must like me since she has never given me too much attitude (and boy, is she capable of attitude!). Maybe, just maybe, I'm making a small difference in their lives.

Okay, enough ramblings for one post...