My I.E.P. (Individualized. Exercise. Plan.)

I have decided to design my personal I.E.P. (Individualized. Exercise. Plan.).  Hey, I'm a special education teacher! What do you expect?  I know how to modify as needed.  It was during my walking and jogging this evening that I suddenly had a plan form in my mind.
GOAL:  To jog 3 miles

As I thought about this new goal of mine I immediately thought of, what else, an I.E.P. and decided to add objectives with it.  So, objective 1 will begin with being able to jog 1/2 a mile.  I'm going on week 3 of my exercise goal and am happy to say that I was able to jog to the end of my street today!!!  Now this is not quite 1/2 mile, but it's getting closer. I know that walking up and down my street once is half a mile, and I originally started out walking 1 1/2 miles.  My entire workout always begins with a 5 minute warm-up walk and always ends with a 5-10 minute cool down walk.  During week 1, I started out by jogging for 30 seconds then walking 30 seconds and continued this for the remainder 1.5 mile stretch.  I thought I was going to die when I finished my first day as this all occurred in 90% humidity. (And, it does not matter what time it is, the humidity is always there!)  I carried on and finished the week out with this routine every other day.

Week 2 brought about a new challenge.  I was feeling so confident in my exercise plan that I decided to increase my walking to 2 miles.  I replaced the 30 second jog and 30 second walk with my ipod.  Music is a much better motivator!  Anyway, I decided to just jog as long as I could and then walk about the same distance.  I noticed that I was able to jog a little bit further this week, about halfway down the street without passing out.

I am now on week 3 of my plan.  This week I decided to increase my distance further to 2 1/2 miles.  The first day I really noticed how I was able to do more jogging than walking down the street.  Today, I was able to jog down one side of my street without stopping!  As I was jogging down the street I decided not to listen to music this time and to concentrate more on my breathing.  During this time I also became aware of different spot checks.  When my breathing became more heavier, I started paying attention to what I was running past.  My goal was to get past these points until the end of the street.  Check point 1:  Run past the house with the sprinkler and through the sprinkler.  It did cool me off for a second.  Check point 2:  Run past the fire hydrant.  Thank goodness I didn't have to pee!  Check point 3:  Run past the house for sale with the sign, Gorgeous Inside!  That made me feel good!  At last I could see the end of the street, and I ran to it with all I could give it.  I was so proud!  I walked down the other side of the street and then completed this again 2 more times! 

As I finished my cool down walk I thought to myself, I think I just may be able to reach my goal one day.

Weight Loss Update

I see it's been a few weeks since I last blogged, but as I sit here at 11:00 at night I suddenly got in a writing mood.

Here's an update on my weight loss progress.  I set out a month ago to lose some weight this summer.  It's really not going as good as I had hoped.  Let me just say that when you turn 40 it really sucks that your body does not respond like it used to.  It's not because I haven't tried, but in the last month I have only lost 4 pounds!!!   I started out with the South Beach Diet plan and then the 17 day diet.  Last time I checked there were about 30 days in a month.  So it's been 30 days and all I've lost is 4 pounds?!  Those diets officially suck! 

I haven't given up though.  While I have always loved walking I have decided to start jogging as well.  I've never really been a fan of running, but I am desperate for something to help jump start my metabolism.  I am proud to say that it's been 2 weeks and I am still at it.  I started out at a mile and a half and have now added 2 miles of alternating walking with jogging.  Surprisingly, I am enjoying my new fitness goal which is to eventually jog 3 miles and enter a 5k event possibly next spring. 

A challenge I know I will face is when school starts back up in about a month.  I know it will be so easy to get back into that routine and slack off on the exercising, but I am determined to keep it up.  If there are any runners out there reading this feel free to send me some motivation every now and then.  I'll really appreciate it!

5th Grade Graduation

Today my youngest son completed 5th grade!  WhooHoo!!!  While many schools may not recognize a 5th grade graduation, my school district does.  I'm glad that we recognize this important time as it represents the half way point to high school graduation.  As I was waiting for the 5th grade classes to enter the room, I had the chance to briefly think back over the time we spent at this school and all the events that happened since 1st grade (good and bad).  It was quite emotional as I held back the tears.  I cannot believe how fast time seems to fly.  It seems like only yesterday we moved back from California to Louisiana and Caleb began first grade.

The elementary years have come to an end now, and a new adventure awaits Caleb next year as he begins middle school.  Middle school can be an unstable time, but it is also a period of growth and new changes.  As Caleb begins this new journey through middle school I'm taking a deep breath and preparing myself for the bumpy ride.  The next three years will be gone before I know it, so I plan to stomp through the tough times and soak up the good times.

Congratulations, Caleb!  Here's to middle school, but first let's enjoy our summertime!

Caleb

Losing Weight

I've decided to buckle down and start losing some weight.  It's amazing how fast weight can creep up on you.  Days turns into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and the next thing you know you've gained 20+++ pounds. 

I've lost 5 pounds this week thanks to the South Beach Diet plan.  I've cut out all bread, pasta, sweets, and alcohol for the next 2 weeks.  Basically, I've stopped eating!  Well, it seems like it and salads have taken up most of what has been deleted.  I've replaced my diet cokes and occasional glass of wine with water and also added walking for 30 minutes a day.  The only exception I made to the plan was to splurge and eat "real" food at the end of the week and to start my weekend.  Although I did come off the diet for a second, I was very conscious of what I ate and how much I ate so I did not overdo it.

So, I'm ready to begin my second week of losing weight.  Stay tuned...

Odd Insect Behavior

It's spring time in the south so that means quickly changing weather from nice to cold to hot and humid, and back again to cold.  We have also had sunny, unusual windy days, rain, and tornadoes all of which have occurred in the course of one month.

Yesterday, I witnessed the oddest behavior from some bees.  As I was leaving the parking lot at work a swarm of bees came from out of nowhere and flew off.  It was the strangest thing.  The bees were huddled together in thin air communicating with each other the way bees only do.  I backed my truck out of the parking space, glanced out the side window, and that's when I noticed them.  I could only stare at wonder and curiosity.  I had never seen anything like it before.  At first I wasn't really sure what I was looking at.  I questioned if it were bees or something else.  This all happened in a matter of seconds.  Then they lifted higher and proceeded to fly away together.  After finally coming out of my dazed state, I drove forward and noticed some of my coworkers in the same state I was just in.  I quickly rolled down my window to ask if they saw what I did.  They did, and we left as fast as we could.

I was still thinking about those bees when I arrived home.  Something just didn't seem right, and I couldn't figure it out.  I now think those bees were a warning sign of what was about to happen that evening. 

That evening the weather began to change.  It had been cloudy, warm, and humid all day.  The rain began and turned into quite a thunderstorm.  Now, this type weather is not at all unusual around here in the south so I went about my normal evening activities.  As I listened to the storm outside I could tell it was getting worse.  An aunt called as I was finishing dinner to ask if I had seen the news.  I told her no and asked why.  She suggested that I turn on the news because it looked like a tornado was about to touch down in my area. 

Naturally, I started panicking and when I turned on the TV I discovered just how bad the storm really was.  There were tornadoes touching down all around my area.  Luckily, the tornado my aunt had called to warn me about was not coming toward my house, but I did call a friend because it was around her area.  She and her family were waiting out the storm in their closet.

In the meanwhile, I continued to listen to the weather forcast while checking my facebook at the same time.  And, facebook was buzzing with activity during the storm.  Funny how one can find out what's happening and how everyone's doing just by checking facebook.  I sometimes think I get the important news firsthand from my friends instead of the TV.

After a few hours everything outside started calming down, and my family and friends were safe.  That was one crazy night, and I have learned to never question odd insect behavior again.  So, if you ever happen to see a swarm of bees doing unusual activity, be aware and take caution because something is up.

Road Trip

Drove from Louisiana to Arkansas.  Here is a recap of my trip on the way there.

First hour:

•  Left home at 5:30 p.m.
• Spent first 30 min. setting up GPS, getting gas, cash, and food for everyone at Sonic.
•  Sang off key with hubby to Footloose playing on the radio.

Second hour:

•  Chris gets a speeding ticket in Bradley, AR.
•  Had contest with Chris and Caleb in who could hold an atomic fireball the   longest in their mouth.
•  Made a prediction with Caleb as to what time we would get there. I said 8:30 pm. He said 8:20 pm. 
•  First bathroom stop.

Third hour:

• Visited Bill Clinton's 2nd childhood home in Hope, AR.
• Played a math mind game which Caleb started and totally amazed me that he could guess the correct number I was thinking of.
• Sang along to Queen.

Fourth hour:

• Realized the GPS is taking us the long way.
• Texting with Caleb on our cell phones when we had a signal.
• Praying that we don't hit a deer on the long, desolate, dark, eerie highway.
• Roll windows down because Caleb is passing gas.
• Caleb asks, "When are we going to get there?"
• Finally arrive at destination at 9:15 p.m.

Freedom of Speech

Today I have the need to speak on the topic of freedom of speech.  "The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference."  The second component of this amendment targets freedom of speech and allows individuals to express information, ideas, and opinions freely in the United States of America.

That being said how does one interpret this Amendment of the Constitution when dealing with social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace?  It appears that expressing one's thoughts and ideas in writing on a public networking site has a different set of rights.  Why is it deemed ok by society to speak one's mind to others orally, but when it comes to putting those thoughts into words then all of a sudden it's wrong? 

One example of where this has become a gray area and where words can get blown way out of proportion is the workplace.  I get that some things should never be discussed such as confidential information or comments made about one's boss or even coworkers.  But, what about expressing one's opinion toward specific situations if it doesn't involve hatred or threatening remarks?  Should an individual be forced to limit his freedom of speech if another individual disagrees or doesn't think a topic should be discussed?

I find it ironic that the purpose of social networking is to do some networking and get to know people, but then you add friends and are then limited to speaking your opinion for fear of offending them.  Unfortunately, I have no answer to the ever growing issue of when freedom of speech is no longer free to speak.