Goal #2

Every year I fall into the same trap as most of the rest of the world.  I resolve to lose 300 pounds in the first month of the year and then have to eat a bag of Oreos to make myself feel better when I don't succeed!  I'm not doing that this year.  I'm not putting any numbers in this goal.  Ultimately, would I like to lose weight?  Absolutely!  But that's not the goal, this is:

Goal #2: Become Healthier

1) I am a coke addict.

 Let me rephrase that.  I am a Coca-Cola addict.  MANY times I have attempted to stop drinking Coke completely.  Yeah.  That didn't last long and it gave me a horrible headaches...which is how I know I have an addiction.  Someday, I'd like to not drink Coke at all. But this year, I'd like to drink less Coke.  My best line of defense?  I've told my students that I want to cut back.  Anytime I open a Coke, some random 5th grader will ask me if I've already had one.  (I told them I was trying to drink one or NO Cokes during the school day.)  They will not let me get away with anything, and I'm glad!

2) This could probably go right along with number 1, but I want to drink more water this year.  When I have water available, I drink it.  I like it.  I don't know why I don't drink it all the time.  Oh yeah.  Because I love Coke.  Ok, well, hand in hand with drinking less Coke, I will also be trying to drink more water.

3) I want to eat less empty calories.  Working late hours at school, I often eat from the Four Vending Machine Food Groups: Sugar, Salt, Caffeine, and Preservatives.  None of these things are good for me.  But if I'm meeting Goal #1, this should be less of a problem.  I would never say that I'm giving up all sweets because I know me.  But I want to get rid of thoughtless eating (chips and snacks while watching TV or playing on the computer, etc.) and eat things that are good for me.  I LOVE veggies.  It's time to add MANY more of them to my DAILY diet.  (This is not the best time of year to make this decision, but it's still doable!)

4) I want to eat out LESS.  Much less.  And if I never saw another drive-thru window, that would be ok with me.  I AM THE DRIVE-THRU QUEEN.  Of course, getting to school at 6:00am and leaving later than 8:00pm doesn't lend itself to a great desire to go home and cook!  It was soooo easy to drive through a fast food place, eat quickly and get busy doing things at home.  NO MORE.  I am going to consciously make the effort to eat out LESS than three times a week.  That includes drive-thrus!  I almost always eat Sunday lunch with the parents after church.  That's easy to make a healthy choice - soups and salads are a great Sunday lunch.  That still leaves me one other time during the week to go out with friends.  That should be doable.  And, as I am not writing these goals in cement, I can tweak it if necessary. 

5) I want to move more.  I'm not exactly sure what this looks like.  If you know me, you know I can't even pretend to be athletic OR coordinated so many of those "move more" options are a little out of my realm of possibility.  I can walk - not in a straight line and sometimes not without hurting myself or others, but I can walk.  The single digit temperatures here for the last week don't lend themselves to a vigorous hike.  Ha.  Hike.  Right.  I meant walk.  There is a new gym in Dillsboro I need to check out.  Simply for the treadmill and elliptical machines.  My parents go to the gym in Cherokee.  There's a pool, track, treadmill, and other machines that I might be qualified to use!  There's a great walking trail in Cullowhee.  Actually, I can open my door and there's this great outdoor place that I could probably walk in - when it gets warmer.  I have options.  And now that I'm not spending all my time sitting behind my desk, I should be able to choose one or more of them regularly!

6) I want to sleep more.  I am not a good sleeper.  It takes me FOREVER to fall asleep and I don't stay asleep.  I think because of years of this struggle, I don't really try anymore.  I don't do things that would make it easy to go to sleep.  I drink (gasp) Coke late at night.  I watch TV or work on the computer until I go to bed.  Because I "know" that I'm just gonna lay there anyway, I don't make it a point to go to bed early.  My body has a VERY STRONG internal clock.  Somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 every morning my eyes spring open.  Weekends, holidays, every day.  Recently I have discovered Melatonin Plus which has actually helped me fall asleep a little faster.  My problem is that I really need to be in bed somewhere between 6 and 8 hours when I take it...and that really hardly ever happens.  But now, maybe it will.  That's the plan anyway!

There.  Not a lot of specifics, but some definite things I can focus that will make positive changes that will make me healthier!

Goal #1

I don't do resolutions.  I've made them before.  I've never once kept one.  (I have a friend who resolves EVERY year to continue smoking.  It's the only resolution he has ever kept.  I can understand that.  At least he feels like he hasn't let himself down by the end of the year!)

This year I'm setting goals and I'm taking my own advice.  Every year my students and I have long talks about what makes a good resolution or goal.  We talk about what makes a goal realistic and attainable.  We decided that we shouldn't use the words NEVER or ALWAYS when making a resolution because that just sets us up for failure.  It's a great conversation, but I've never really followed my own advice.  This year, I'm going to give it a shot.

Goal #1:  I want to work smarter.

I've taught 5th grade for 11 years.  In the beginning, I was just learning the curriculum and the kids and the "art" of lesson planning.  I got to school by 6:00 every morning and didn't leave until dark.  I also spent most of my weekends there.  11 years later, something should have changed by now.  Sometimes I'm spending extra hours reinventing the wheel.  Sometimes I'm trying to make things better.  Sometimes I'm organizing and reorganizing.  Sometimes I'm wasting time.  Often, during the school day when I have "planning" time, I spend that time talking to my peers.  (I live alone!  This IS my social time!)  I can also get very easily distracted by looking at books on Amazon, lesson plan ideas online, and any other sort of randomness that I can stumble upon on the internet.  This must stop.

So, in 2010, I want to work smarter.  For right now, this is what I envision working smarter will look like:

1) Less EXTRA hours at school.
             a) I don't have a problem with going in early.  That's when
                  I'm at my best.  Being there before 7:00 is fine.
            b) When the 3:30 bell rings, go home!  It's time to
                 rediscover life OUTSIDE of school!
            c) Spending weekends at school is NOT ok.

2) Use the time I AM at school WISELY!
           a)Use Planning Period to PLAN!
              Plan first, play and socialize later.
           b) My goal is to plan ahead.  I want to leave school on
              Monday having everything planned and ready for
              NEXT Monday.  When those things are ready, then
              I can talk and search for new lessons  and books!

3) Keep in mind that the kids really aren't going to be better people because of the perfect lesson, but because of the way I listened and respected them.  THAT'S why I got into this job in the first place.  I don't want to lose sight of that and I'm afraid that is what's been happening.

So there is Goal #1.  I'll post Goal #2 SOON!

A New Beginning

Thanks to my sister-in-law, I have become a blog addict! I love spending time reading about other people's crafty ideas and redecorating inspirations. I have stolen MANY ideas (that I hope I have the opportunity to use) just since I learned the ways of Google Reader in November!

Since it is the beginning of a new year I decided it would be a good time to start a new blog. My first blog was fun, but sporadic at best. Now, after seeing what a blog CAN be, I want to try again. Instead of revamping the old blog I've decided to follow the adage "out with the old and in with the new"! I'm simply starting over!

I think I'm starting over in a lot of ways this year. And maybe starting over isn't the right term. Maybe I'm just starting! This line of thought will actually lead to my next post so I'll stop before I get ahead of myself.

As I was thinking about the direction I wanted this blog to take and what I wanted to call it, I kept coming back to one song over and over again. Sara Groves has a beautiful song that I feel will be an anthem for me this year. I leave you with the lyrics for "Just Showed Up For My Own Life":

Spending my time sleep walking
Moving my mouth but not saying a thing
Hoping the changes would take by working their way from the outside in
I was in love with an idea
Preoccupied with how a life should appear
Spending my time at the surface repairing the holes in the shiny veneer

There are so many ways to hide
There are so many ways not to feel
There are so many ways to deny what is real

And I just showed up for my own life
And I'm standing here taking it in and it sure looks bright

I'm going to live my life inspired
Look for the holy in the common place
Open the windows and feel all that's honest and real until I'm truly amazed
I'm going to feel all my emotions
I'm going to look you in the eyes
I'm going to listen and hear until it's finally clear and it changes our lives

Oh the glory of God is man fully alive
Oh the glory of God is man fully alive

There are so many ways to hide
There are so many ways not to feel
There are so many ways to deny what is real

And I just showed up for my own life
And I'm standing here taking it in and it sure looks bright