The Song of My Life

A friend of mine and I were talking about our favorite songs.  We realized that the songs that we liked didn't necessarily represent who we were.  This lead to a discussion of the song that would be tell the story of each of us.  Mine was obvious .... "My Stupid Mouth" by John Mayer.

The lyrics of this song fit me perfectly.  I have a tendency to open my mouth and say the dumbest things.  Often it's a lame attempt at being funny, or simply just trying to fit in.  Maybe now that I'm in my 40s, I'll learn to keep my mouth closed.

Yeah, that'll happen.

My 100th Post

100 Blog Entries, oh where has the time gone?

For my 100th entry, I thought I would show my progress on Goal #38 - Look good in a white shirt and blue jeans.

Understand that I think a white, long-sleeved, cotton shirt and blue jeans is just about the sexiest thing a guy can wear.  Last year I found a white shirt that I absolutely love, at Old Navy of all places.  The cotton isn't soft, but is more like a light canvas if that makes any sense.  While I think I look decent in it, I know I could look better (doesn't everyone say that about how they look).  I decided to wear it for my 40th birthday party.

So without further ado......

The Big 4-0

Saturday I turned 40 and it was a great birthday.  In the past I have had some pretty crappy birthdays and I have to admit that a few weeks ago I was really worried about this one turning out to be disappointing as well.  It was hard for me not to build up my hopes as I have a tendency to do that when events are about "me".  Matt realized how important this birthday was for me, so he really made every effort to make it special.

The celebration actually started on Friday night.  Andy, one of my best friends, is exactly one day older than I am.  He was born on October 21, 1971, I was born on the 22nd.   A group of us went out for a nice dinner at Christopher's restaurant down in Des Moines.  We were actually lucky to get reservations for our party, about 16 of us.  It seemed that every other nice restaurant in Des Moines was booked for birthday parties!  A lot of people, evidently, share our birthdays (well, that's kind of a given).

Dinner was wonderful!  The staff at Christopher's couldn't have been nicer and made us all feel right at home.  The food was beyond excellent.  I was able to get the Prime Rib and was in heaven.  The meat was cooked perfectly (medium rare, just like I like it) and was accompanied by a tasty horseradish cream (yum!).  Oh and I have to mention the alcohol.  My drink of choice is the Gin Gimlet made with Bombay Sapphire gin.  I can honestly say that I have never had one as well made as the one on Friday night.  It was perfect.  I regret not talking to the bartender about what they did to make it so perfectly.

To top off our evening, Christopher's treated Andy and I to dessert --- the Chocolate Fall Down Cake.  Let me just say that it's not quite a cake and not quite a pudding, but it's ALL delicious.  They serve it with a raspberry sauce and scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I think they have to add the ice cream to cut the richness and sweetness of the cake itself.  The cake was the perfect way to end the meal and the company was even better.

Saturday started out perfectly for me, with English Premier League soccer.  I love watching the EPL and on Saturday mornings ESPN shows a match.  This week it was Swansea City @ Wolverhampton.  The score ended up in a draw at 2, but I loved every minute of it.  I would love to go to the United Kingdom just to watch a few EPL matches in person.

Matt and I spent the day lounging around the house as the birthday celebration was planned for the evening. It was a nice Saturday to watch college football, which was exactly what we did.  Of course, we could only watch the first half of the Texas A&M - Iowa State game, as Iowa State is kinda terrible this year.  They started out strong, but have now lost 4 straight games.

Matt was actually worried about the party on Saturday night.  He honestly didn't know who all was going to show up and he feared that people wouldn't show up, which in turn would crush me (even though I kept telling myself it wouldn't, yeah, it kind of would have).  Anyhoo, our fears were allayed when everyone came. YAY!  There was a lot of laughter and food.  My birthday cake was exactly what I had asked for chocolate cake with cherry filling!  A great thing is that I made out like a bandit in the Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards!  Hmmm, it's like everyone knows that we eat there at least twice a week so that we can play trivia.  Oh those gift cards will be used!

Matt did give me the best gifts.  Sure, he got me the movie "Bad Teacher" on dvd and a book on the history of Florida State Seminole football (my alma mater).  But what was touching was that he went all out to make sure that I had a truly memorable 40th birthday and the card he got me had me getting teary-eyed.  It reminded me of how much he truly loves me and how lucky I am to have him in my life.

14,610 Days

Today I hit the BIG 4-0.  I have to admit that it hasn't hit me the way I thought it would, but it's gonna take a little getting used to the idea that I'm now 40.  For me it's always been one of those ages that seemed so distant and now BOOM! it's here.

I did use the opportunity to "come out" to one of my classes.  One of my best friends sent flowers to the school for my birthday.  The kids started asking me who had sent the flowers and one asked if it was my wife.  This was the dialogue that followed....

Me: I don't have a wife.

Student: But you're married.

Me: Yup.

Student: But you don't have a wife.

Me: Nope.

It was at that point that I heard one of the students make a kind of "yelp" sound.  I knew that she had put it all together.  I think a few more of the kids realized what I was telling them, but for those that didn't get it, I told them to talk to the student who had figured it out and she would fill them in.

I pretty much left it at that and went on with my lesson plans for the class.  I teach math, so my sexuality isn't something that is going to be a part of my curriculum.  I'm just hoping that it's not a big deal to any parents.  I have to believe that majority of my kids won't care, but you never know about parents.  I just have a problem with my kids being led to believe that I have a wife when it simply isn't true.

I'll have more on the 40th birthday celebrations tomorrow.  But, some friends online gave me a visual present with photos of some of my favorites.....

Kelly Shoppach

Mike Napoli

and Pat Burrell

Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?

I love/hate it when Pandora plays a song that simply makes me "think".  Today, that song was Brian McKnight's "Anytime" and it got me to thinking about a friend from high school and how we've lost touch.

"Dan" was my very best friend during high school.  We did everything together and were pretty much together all the time during my junior and senior years, he was a year behind me.  I could tell him everything.  Well, just about everything, I was still about 5 years from coming to terms with being gay.  But Dan and I just understood each other.  We were both "misfits" and socially awkward.

After I graduated and moved on to college, I lost touch with Dan.  I guess it's a natural part of life as this was before Facebook and MySpace.  By the time I realized that I missed our friendship, Dan had moved on to parts unknown.  It killed me that I couldn't tell him how much our friendship meant to me.

About 12 years ago I was able to get in contact with a mutual friend of ours who let me know that Dan had enlisted in the Air Force.  I was kinda shocked because Dan never seemed to be the military type.  I have a relative who was able to locate him and send him an email letting him know that I was looking for him.  I got an email from him in the fall of 2002 and was elated.  Through a few emails we caught up with one another, but I left out the BIG detail of what had gone on in my life.  Knowing the military can monitor emails, I didn't want to put Dan in an awkward position of finding out that I was gay via email.

I decided to write Dan a letter to come out to him.  I mailed it off with the best of hopes.  I waited and waited, but never got a direct response to the letter.  I did get one more email from Dan, but it was very generic.  I haven't received any correspondence from him since.  Not to say that I haven't tried to communicate with him.  Through the miracle of the internet (I google his name every once in a while to see if there's anything new, and he's not on facebook), I've been able to follow Dan's career and mailed him a letter last year, along with a card this year to congratulate him on a promotion.  I don't want to give the impression of "stalking", just every once in a while I get curious of how he's doing.

I've included my email in the letters, hoping that I would at least get a note on how he is doing.  But alas, nothing has been sent.  I just want to let him know that the line of communication is open should he ever want to contact me.

I have to admit, I've thought that Dan might be a "family" member like me, but I've never asked him about it.  Because of his military duties and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", I always thought if he was it might put his job in jeopardy.  Honestly I don't care one way or the other, I just miss my friend.

A Beautiful Sunday

The weather has finally turned cool here in Iowa and it's been wonderful.  Today was a crisp and clear and was the perfect day for Matt and I to head down to Des Moines for lunch and some shopping.

Our first stop was at Qdoba.  We used to have one here in Ames but they closed to due financial reasons (they put it in a bad location), now the nearest one is now in West Des Moines.  Let me just say, I LOVE QDOBA!  Sure, everyone raves about Chipotle, but for my money, nothing beats the Q.  So since I have a birthday coming up, Qdoba emailed me a birthday coupon.  So even though my birthday isn't until Saturday, Matt bought me my free lunch today. :-)  I had my favorite, the Ancho Chile BBQ Pork Burrito.  A perfect way to start lunch.

We walked over to Half-Price Books to do a little browsing.  I found a clearance copy of "The DaVinci Code", the illustrated edition and picked that up.  I've cut back on the number of books that I buy at Half-Price.  As much as I love books, I realized that I would buy books just to buy them and not really read them.  I'm much more selective now in the ones that I purchase.  If I find a book that I like, I actually put it back on the shelf and then if I come back to it later, then I know it's a book that I'm truly interested in.  The one exception to that rule is books by Steve Berry.  Those I automatically buy no questions asked.

Our next stop was Penzey's Spices, or as I like to call it, my personal addiction.  I cannot walk into a Penzey's and not end up buying something (and the staff there knows it!).  Baking is something that I love to do and Penzey's has the highest quality spices an seasonings that I've ever found.  If you have a Penzey's near you, please go and check them out.  Today I ended up buying a pound of their incredible Dutch Processed Cocoa, and also got a free gift box (their catalog always has great catalogs) which had four seasonings in it.  I told Matt I need to go through our cabinet and make a list of everything that I have from Penzey's.  Yes, my name is Robert, and I have an addiction to Penzey's Spices (and I love it!).

After feeding my Penzey's problem, it was on to World Market.  This is one of Matt's favorite stores and a great place to browse.  We did a lap there, but it was more just look at things.  Matt does enjoy their wine selection.  I'm not a wine drinker myself, but he enjoys it, so I go along.  The funny thing was that he was wishing that they would have a wine tasting at the store.  As we were leaving the parking lot, I saw a sign indicating that they had one.... yesterday.  Oh the irony!

Then it was off the Jordan Creek Mall.  I found an adorable hedgehog candle at Pottery Barn.  Matt and I collect hedgehogs so it was a nice find.  I also discovered that there were no less than three "family" members working at the Barn.  One of them working the floor was kinda cute, but the one who rang me up was kind of a jerk.  It was pretty obvious that Matt and I are a couple.  Maybe he was just jealous that I have the hot husband.  LOL

At the sporting goods store, Matt was lucky to find a Buster Posey jersey.  Buster is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants and one of Matt's favorite players.  It was on sale for half-price, so he had to get it.  It was the best find of the day.  I did want to go to the Apple Store (my second favorite addiction), but the place was insanely packed.  I think half the people in there were Apple Store employees.

Our final stop was at Trader Joe's.  Iowa FINALLY got one this past spring and we love going there.  Matt was used to having them when he lived in California, but I'm still new to the experience.  We don't get a lot of stuff there, but what we do get is sooooo delicious.  Plus the staff there are extremely friendly.  The one thing that I really wanted to pick up, frozen chocolate covered banana bites (so yummy) were completely sold out!  I asked one employee to check if they had any in the back.  When they didn't, she asked if we had tried their dark chocolate covered Powerberries (a combo of acai, blueberries, raspberries, etc.).  When we told her we hadn't, she just opened up a bag so we could!  Of course we loved them and ended up buying a bag.  I really appreciated her going to the effort to let us try something before we bought it.

Now we've settled in for a quiet evening at home.  Matt is downstairs watching "The Walking Dead" (I can't, don't get me started on why not) and I'm watching "Pan Am".  It's been a good day. :-)

How the heck did that happen?

At the beginning of the school year I stepped on the scale and dreaded seeing that I weighed 242.5 pounds.  I was pretty disappointed that I had let myself get so far out of shape.  But I have to admit, for some reason it wasn't a "hitting bottom" moment.  I was down on myself for being that heavy, but I didn't break down because of it.  I think I just kinda sighed and got ready for work.

I made the decision to NOT eat school lunch this year.  At my previous school all the teachers ate in the cafeteria for lunch and I would often just eat the cafeteria lunch as opposed to bringing my own.  It was easy.  Of course school cafeteria lunches are designed for school age kids, full of calories for students who's bodies are growing and in need of extra fuel.  For an adult, the lunches aren't the best.  Add to the facts that at my old school, the cafeteria staff always made sure the teachers were well fed.  They were like our moms and, of course, food = love.  LOL

But at my new school, I eat with a group of teachers each day and we all bring our own lunch.  On occasion I do sneak over to Jimmy John's and grab a sandwich, but that's only maybe once every couple of weeks.  I've noticed that I've been eating a lot less at lunch and am fuller on less as well.  In addition, I've been eating out a lot less because Matt, my husband, accepted a lay-off from his job at the university, so we've been working to limit our extra expenses.

On Thursday I realized that I hadn't stepped on the scale since the first day and thought, "heck, let's do it".  My pants had been feeling a little looser in the waist and I was thinking that maybe I had dropped 2 or 3 pounds.  You can imagine my surprise when "231" popped up on the digital readout.  I think I about feel on the floor in shock.  I actually had to step off the scale and do it over again just to make sure the reading was correct.  It was.  :-)

To that end, I really have taken this as my "wake up call" to get into better shape.  I've made sure to get out and walk the past few days and I gave EVERYTHING I had this afternoon during rec volleyball (see my previous post).  I've made it a point to eat smaller meals (even when eating out) and I've set a goal of getting to 220 by Thanksgiving.

Bump - Set - Spike

I played Rec League Volleyball today.  I was asked to join a team last year and was looking forward to playing.  My team plays in the B- co-ed league and in all honesty.... we're not very good.  We lost both matches today but I felt like I played really well.  I felt like I had to play out of my mind to cover for my teammates.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm some great player, because I'm not, but I am mobile and since I've started playing I have gotten much better.  I will run anywhere on the court I need to get to a ball.  I can't say the same for my teammates.  They are older and not in the best of shape.  There are a couple of guys who have good skills, but I can't say the same of the women on the team.  I really like them as people, but as a team I am frustrated (and there are times I wanna scream).  I want to get better as a player, but I just don't feel like I can do that on this team.  I know this is a rec league and it's supposed to be fun, but I want to feel like I'm on a competitive team.

I'm forced to ask myself if I truly want to stay with this team?  And if I don't, how do I got about finding a new team to play with?

Someone's All Wet

Saw this photo and couldn't resist posting it....

The goggles are a little goofy, but I can overlook that.

Goal #12 - Get a Massage

Now that I'm making a little more money at my new school, that provided me the opportunity to fulfill Goal #12 - Get a Professional Massage.

My friend Andy recommended his masseur in Ames and it was worth every penny I paid for it.  When I first met Nate, we sat down and actually discussed what my problem areas were (my neck and lower back).  Because I was also recovering from a head cold, Nate also decided to focus on my sinus areas to hopefully clear up my congestion.

Let me just say the massage was AMAZING!  Nate did a great job at finding the knots in my lower back, the ones that have been plaguing me for over a year now, applying a good amount of pressure and getting them to release.  From there he moved to my neck (where I carry a lot of tension) and worked wonders on that.  The following hour was everything I needed.  When Nate finished up, I was the most relaxed I had been in a long time.  Nate knew the exact amount of pressure to use and was great about communicating with me to make sure that I was getting exactly what I needed out of his work.

I'm pretty sure that I am going to make this a monthly treat.  My lower back problems have been off and on since August of last year.  I've tried muscle relaxers, pain killers and chiropractic care to help relieve it. I can't help but wonder how this all would have been better had I just not seen a massage therapist earlier.

I Hate Being Sick

Well it only took 6 weeks, but I have my cold of the school year.  I figured that with there being so many more kids at my new school that I would have caught sooner than this.  Ten years of teaching has allowed me to build up a pretty immune system, but there’s no defending against the cold virus. 

I hate being sick the school year because, to be honest, it’s so much more work to get prepare for a substitute than it is to actually be in school.  I have to really under-the-weather to make myself take a sick day.  And when I do take it, I have a hard time resting because I’m worried about what is going on in my classroom.

Being sick is one of the small downsides of being a teacher.  With this cold, I don’t feel “sick enough” to take a sick day, but I’m still not feeling well.  All day I have “be on” and teach my kids and reign in that urge to just snap because I feel like crap. I am grateful for cold medicine, it does make life more bearable.

I’ve also discovered that when I’m not feeling well, that I’m more inclined to get into the mindset of “wanting to feel better so that I can exercise”.  This may sound crazy (and I have been told on occasion that I’m not playing with a full deck), but when I’m sick I want to go out walking or do something physical, yet when I’m feeling well, I don’t seem to have that same motivation.  It’s a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a conundrum. 

For the first time in a while, I stepped on the scale this morning.  I was happy to see that I’m at about 236.5 pounds.  At the beginning of the school year I was over 240 (242 at my heaviest… I think), so something good is going on.  I’m bringing my own lunch to school, I have to walk a lot more in my new building and I’m definitely more active during the school day.  It’s a start, now I need to start building on the work-related success. 

Cowboys & Indians....

Tonight the Washington Redskins play the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.  I thought I would highlight a couple of my favorite players, one a Cowboy and one a Redskin....

Jason Witten, Tight End, Dallas Cowboys

Ryan Kerrigan, Defensive Back, Washington Redskins

More Mike Napoli

A fellow blogger has a birthday coming up.  I thought I'd give him and early present....

It's a Quarter After One....

I've discovered that the hip new trend in music is what I'm now calling the "Drunk Booty Call Song".  Yes, that's right, "DBC" songs are all the rage, well at least the three of them that are popular.

It all started with a little song you might have heard.... "Need You Know" by Lady Antebellum.  I loved this song from the longing, first notes played on the piano.  It was interesting for me to learn that this song nearly didn't make the album, yet ended up being the BIGGEST song of 2009 & 2010.

In 2011 not one, but two DBC Songs have hit it big: Adele's "Someone Like You" and The Script's "Nothing".  Now for me, I prefer "Nothing" because it's a little more heartfelt.  "Someone Like You" is essentially Adele hitting up a guy that... SHE KNOWS IS MARRIED for a hookup.

Adele - "Someone Like You"

The Script - "Nothing"

Like I said, I'm a sucker for a good Drunk Booty Call Song.  Fortunately I've never been in the position to make one of them.  Has anyone had that experience?  Please feel free to share.

Wait, what?????

Ok, I have been seriously floored by the new Blogspot.  I love the fact that now when I log on I can actually see how many people have been looking at my blog.  Sure, the numbers are still in single digits, but it's nice to know that there are people out there who are reading what I have written.  Now, of course, I would love to have more readers and followers, but I'll take what I can get for now. :-)  The one thing I would really love (hint, hint) is for people to leave the occasional comment or two on what I've written.  I crave feedback!

Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll actually get over ten people looking at my blog on ONE DAY!!!  I'll have to have a party when I get my 1,000th view.

Oh the joys of the little things.  Teehee

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Matter

So today the U.S. Military Policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" officially came to an end.  It's amazing to me to see stories of servicemen who are finally able to openly express who they are without fear of reprisal.

One story that I have been following that of AreYouSurprised, a gay airman who is stationed in Europe.  His youtube videos have been incredibly insightful and heartfelt.  Today he finally was able to show his face and came out to his father.  I could not be prouder that gay and lesbian servicemembers are able to just be themselves serve their country openly.

My Type Has Finally Been Figured Out...

Tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings, my friend Pete and I were playing trivia and watching baseball.  The Indians and Rangers were on the big screen.  When Ranger's catcher Mike Napoli came up to bat a smile spread across my face.  Pete caught sight of this, of course, and started to laugh.  Pete, the gayest Straight guy I know, knows that I have a thing for baseball players, especially catchers.  Pete then says to me, "I think I've finally figured out your type.  You're basically attracted to guys who look like more athletic versions of you."  I started to think of the guys that I find attractive and realized, Pete has a point.

I've put up a few pictures of some of my favorite guys.  Anyone notice a pattern? So I have to wonder, does this make me narcissistic?  I'm really curious as to what other people think.

Mike Napoli, Texas Rangers

Kelly Shoppach, Tampa Bay Rays

Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins

Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

Oh and there is a football player that I guess I should mention as well.

Mike Alsott, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Oh yeah, and then there's me.... 

Oh Tuesday, you feel like Monday

As much as I love a 3-day weekend, I dread the fact that Tuesday will inevitably feel like a Monday.  Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun and I felt recharged for the 4-day school week.  Oh the best laid plans.  

Throughout the day I just kept feeling like I was sinking further under the water.  The kids weren't as focused as I would have liked, I'm feeling pressure from the special needs department to move away from what is working in my class.  By the end of the actual school day I was just exhausted and I still had my after-school club to supervise until 5.  Fortunately the club went well and for the most part the kids were engaged.  

I didn't get home until around 6 and all I wanted to do was crawl under a blanket and watch Bravo.  But I did something that I am really proud of myself for - I went running.  I promised myself of Sunday that I was going to run on Tuesday and while it took EVERYTHING I had to throw on my running clothes.  

The run helped me to clear my head and perk up my energy.  I ran further (took the same route as on Sunday) than I did on day 1, which made me feel really good.  I am planning on running on Thursday to complete week 1 of the Couch to 5 K program.  This isn't about anyone else now, it's simply about and FOR me.  

I Walk, I Run, I Blog

Yesterday was an interesting day.

At the beginning of the summer I began a 10-week fitness program that includes kickboxing, resistance band training and stretching.  It was an intense course that met every morning at 6:15 a.m.   I was really enjoying the class, but as the weeks went along my lower back was giving me problems and I also was twice struck by migraines DURING class.  It got to the point where I felt like I needed to see a doctor.  I went to a new chiropractor and was startled by what he found.  There was definitely some pinching going on in my lower back, but my neck was just a mess.  It was going to take some intensive treatments to get my spine back in shape, so I had to give up the fitness class.  :-(

But I have to say, the chiropractic treatments have WORKED!  Just recently I've felt little to no pain in my back and the adjustments that the doctor have done have gotten deeper and deeper into my spine.  I've been feeling much better.  So much so that yesterday I made the decision to go for a run.  Last year I had been doing the Couch To 5K program and I chose to go back to basics.

I must also admit that I had some inspiration for getting out there.  On Saturday a guy jogged by the house who, well, was just HAWT.  So, I was kinda hoping that if I went out an run I might pass him and get a closer look.  Yes, I know, I'm married.... but I'm not dead!

The weather couldn't have been better with the temperatures in the mid-60s and a nice breeze blowing.  I put on my running close, hooked up my ipod and hit the pavement.  For C25K Week 1, Day 1, it's a pretty easy run - jog 1 minute, then walk 1 minute.  The first 3 or 4 minute jogs were good, towards the end it was definitely a challenge, but I did it.  Running and walking combined I did about 2 miles.  I felt really good when I got home.  But alas, no sign of the guy who motivated me to get out there in the first place.... sigh.

Since it was the Sunday before Labor Day, the Iowa Cubs played a Sunday night game that was going to have fireworks afterwards.  My friend Pete organized a group of us to go down to Des Moines and see the game.  Following the game, our group planned on going over to a new restaurant called Zombie Burger.  It's a, you guessed it, zombie-themed burger joint.  The menu looks insanely good and I was excited to try one of the burgers and gourmet milkshakes.

Seven of us made it to the game and had a blast.  The Iowa Cubs won 2-1 and a good time was had.  Then it was time to make the trek to Zombie Burger.  We decided to walk as it was only about a mile away from the stadium.  The night air was cool and there was a spring in our step.  It was an experience walking along the river, right under the fireworks as they were being fired-off.

After 20 minutes of power walking, we make it to Zombie Burger only to discover.... they are closed.  There was a note on the door stating that the restaurant was going to be closed on Sunday and Monday for the holiday.  UGH!!!!  Now all of us had been looking at the Zombie Burger website checking out the menu.  Upon a second look, waaaaaay down at the bottom of the site, in tiny 6-point font, there was a message that said they were going to be closed.  Our group was none-too-pleased.  We walked back to the Court Avenue section of Des Moines to see what we could find to eat there.  Of course, nothing was open as it was a Sunday night around 10:30.  After all the walking around, I'm pretty sure I added about 2 miles to my walk/run total.

We ended up driving back to Ankeny and dining at a Village Inn.  The food was fine, but my friend Rezza described the situation as -- when you are looking forward to having the most amazing Porterhouse steak and then you end up with a hot dog, even if it's the most amazing hot dog ever, you're gonna be disappointed.

Our group laughed a lot over the course of the night and today my legs are S-O-R-E.  But I've realized that this extra weight that I have is not going to go away on it's own.  C25K Week 1, Day 2 --- Tomorrow!

Fall Has Arrived!

Well, okay, maybe not arrived, but certainly given notice that it is coming.  Last night a front moved through, bringing a lot of much needed rain, and brought the temperatures DOWN!  It was so nice to be able to leave the windows open last night and letting the cool (if not chilly) breeze blow through the house.

Fall is my favorite season.  Don't get me wrong, I like summer.  Heck, I get three months off during the summer, so there's a lot to like about it but, it's HOT!  There's the heat, the humidity, the sweating, the stickiness, etc.  Again, don't get me wrong, I do love watching guys run by the house, shirtless, and glistening with sweat, but it's still summer.

Fall arrives and it's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder.  The air is lighter, cooler and crisper.  You can keep the windows open at night and enjoy the breeze.  The leaves on the trees change into the most beautiful colors.  School is starting back up again and it's nice to be back on a regular schedule each day.  The fall also reminds me of those things that I remember from growing up: high school & college football, the Pensacola Interstate Fair, and St. Anne's Roundup.  I feel like fall is the time of year that I breathe easiest.

A Great Tribute

http://news.yahoo.com/unexpected-legacy-left-by-hero-of-flight-93.html

This is a short video about the legacy of Mark Bingham, one of the heroes of United Flight 93.  It's inspiring what his mother and friends have done to honor his legacy.

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 only a week away, this is a wonderful story of how tragedy has been turned into a celebration of life and community.

Just A Kiss

I have to say that I love this song!  The video brings back memories of a favorite movie of mine, "Before Sunrise".  The movie about two people who meet on a train and spend an evening in Vienna.  It's one beautiful conversation and I can watch it over and over.  What I love most about the movie is that instead of relying upon cheesy plot gimicks, it's simply two people who have a connection, walking the streets of Vienna, talking, laughing, and learning.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

I'm back

Well it has been quite a while since my last post.  Thought it might be a good time to get back into the game and begin blogging again.

My big news has been --- I got a job. :-)  The day after the school year ended at my old school, I interviewed for a math position at a much larger school much closer to home.  By the end of the day, I had the job.  That's practically unheard of in the education field.  Usually the principal needs to contact references, along with some hemming and hawing.  But evidently I was the perfect candidate for the job and I accepted immediately.  The new position amounts to nearly a 50% increase in pay, not to mention the money that I will save in gas from just not having to commute 35 miles each way to my old school.

The first few weeks of the new job have been great.  I've really enjoyed my new students and  the faculty and staff have been incredibly friendly and helpful.  I miss the family that I had at my old school, but this is an opportunity I wouldn't have even applied for had I not been laid off, so I guess the old axiom is really true - every dark cloud does have a silver lining.

I need to go over my 40 for 40 goals and see just where I am on those.  I know that I've done a few of them, but not nearly as many as I would have liked.

More blogging tomorrow!

Why do I always go for the bad boys?

Say hello to Rep. Aaron Schock, U.S. Congressman from Peoria, Illinois.  He is working with Men's Health magazine to encourage healthy living and weight loss over the summer.  He is really nice looking and when I saw these pics I was just thinking.... "Oooooooooooo Myyyyyyyyyyyy."  But of course, young Aaron is a dedicated, Southern Baptist, Republican.  Ugh.  So I know that he's not very gay-friendly, but if push came to shove, I wouldn't shove him outta bed.  LOL

If you've ever seen the movie "Bachelor Party" a band plays the song, "Why do good girls like bad boys?"  Oh how true.  :-)

Let's Catch Up Shall We

It's been forever since I last blogged and there's been a lot going on in my life.  I figure that it will take me three or four posts to get everything covered, so let's get started.

The BIG news came about three weeks ago.  I was given a Reduction In Force notification from my school district.  In layman's terms, I was laid off from my teaching job of ten years.  Due to poor financial planning from our administration, with no action, the district would be over $350,000 in the red next school year.  We are a small school district with maybe 40 teachers.  At least 10 of us are going to be let go at the end of this school year.  Four of the five teachers in the 7th/8th grade team at my school are being let go, including myself.

The district is planning on reconfiguring the buildings so that the 7th and 8th graders will now be in the high school with the 9th through 12th grades.  My ten years actually give me seniority among the math teachers in the district and under normal circumstances that would save my job.  But unfortunately my license only allows me to math to grades 5-8 and not high school.  I would need that high school certification to save my job, but it would require me going back to school for almost two years to get it and it's just not worth it financially.

Once we found out the financial distress of the district, I kinda knew that my head was on the chopping block.  But I have to be honest when I say that when I actually got the letter it felt like my world was ending.  I went back to my classroom and just cried my eyes out (no students were pregnant...lol).  It's been so long since I've been out in the job market that it was scary to think that I would be out of a job in about a month.  I am fortunate in that I will continue being paid over the summer and keep my insurance.  So at least when the school year ends I'm not thinking, "OH CRAP!  I HAVE TO FIND A JOB NOW!!!"

The end of the school year has kept me busy enough that I really haven't thought about the fact that I only have 11 days of school left.  I have a feeling that the last day of school is going to be really rough.

Today's Man Crush

How can you not love Nathan Fillion?  He is utterly adorable and charming.  I had a crush on him starting on Two Guys and a Girl (with fellow hotties Ryan Reynolds and Richard Ruccalo).  He was completely bad ass as Caleb on the final season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  But as Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly, he totally had me.  I just wish I had the desire to watch Castle.  I really should get around to that.  LOL

The Best of Days, The Worst of Days

Yesterday I had an amazing day.  This week was Parent/Teacher Conference week at school which meant that we got Friday off as a "reward" for taking the time to meet with parents and discuss their children.  Since Daylight Saving Time started this week, I felt as though I had been running on a half a tank of gas.  So to be able to get a little extra sleep on Friday morning was WONDERFUL!

My friends Pete and Tas have a tradition of taking the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament off from work and camping out at a local bar to watch all of the games.  Having the day off, I was very in for the day.  Hanging out with Pete and Tas is one of my favorite things to do, so having the opportunity to do that all day long was something I was really looking forward to.

Our day began at the new Buffalo Wild Wings in Ames.  The restaurant officially opens next Monday, but they had a VIP event for lunch and dinner on Friday and Pete was able to get us on the list for both times.  The place is amazing, with televisions everywhere and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The food was good and we had a blast playing Buzztime trivia.  Oh and the big bonus was that BWW comped our lunch!  This was a dress rehearsal for the staff and all they were charging for were drinks.  The proceeds of the event went to the Boys and Girls Club of Ames.

Following our FREE lunch, we headed over to Okoboji Grill to watch more tournament games and play more trivia.  It was kinda funny that the training staff from BWW drifted over to Okoboji to grab some lunch.  They saw us there and gave us some grief, but we replied that they kicked us outta BWW, so we had to go somewhere.

At Okoboji I got to watch the Florida State / Texas A&M NCAA mens game.  Being a graduate of FSU I pull for my team and getting to watch them in the Big Dance is always fun (not that it happens all that often).  My crew knew that I would be focused on the game, although for the first half of the game I was still able to play trivia.  In addition, there was also an obnoxious Texas A&M fan in the bar.  He was screaming and yelling and just being a general D-Bag.  LOL

The game was incredibly close throughout and with each passing play my heart would beat faster and faster.  It was so close that at one point FSU finally drained a three point shot and I yelled "YES" so loud that I scared a couple sitting at the bar.  My palms were sweating and with every shot I lived and died on every shot.  When the final buzzer sounded, FSU defeated Texas A&M 57-50.  The day was just getting better and better.

The day ended where it began - back at Buffalo Wild Wings.  We had a great time and kicked butt at trivia.  We will definitely be returning there to play many rounds of buzztime and eat many, many wings.  My personal favorites are the Asian Zing ones.  Sweet and Spicy!


So this morning the Iowa State women played Marist in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.  Marist had a 26 game winning streak and we knew that it was going to be a tough game.  The game tipped off and we were hopeful that the team could pull out the win.  Unfortunately Marist was pretty much hitting everything they put up and we trailed by 15 at halftime.  In the second half, the team did play better, but some lapses in scoring allowed Marist to win the game 74-64.

I was tearing up pretty good when Coach Fennelly pulled Kelsey Bolte, our lone senior, out of the game.  We've have a great relationship with her and her family and it was very hard to watch her lose her final game.  The team had hoped to go much farther in the tournament and to lose the first game is a pretty tough pill to swallow.

A New Low

I woke up this morning feeling off, just off.  Last night I went to be earlier than I normally do so that I could get a good night's sleep, yet I still woke up feeling like I had been run over by a truck.  Ugh.

To top it all off I got on the scale after I had finished showering and shaving.  To my utter disgust the scale read "237".  Honestly I wanted to just sit down and cry.  But I have no one to blame but myself as I haven't been eating well and trips to the gym have been non-existent.

It feels like I'm in the middle of a pitch-dark room.  If I move around and feel my way, I should be able to find the light switch.  But instead, I'm content to just stay where I am and not make the effort to turn on the light.  I just wish I could find that motivation to start moving.

So much to say....

yet I don't wanna talk.  LOL  How funny is that?

Well yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday.  We watched the game with our friends Jenny and Christine.  We had a really good time and I was thrilled that the Packers won the game.  Let me just say for the record, I HATE BEN ROETHLISBERGER!  I think he's a pompous, spoiled a$$hole who paid his way out of a felony conviction.

The game was really good, but the commercials and halftime show were big disappointments.  The commercials weren't very memorable and they seemed to be all about cars, beer and Doritos.  And shall we talk about the Black Eyed Peas horrific show at half?  They were out of tune (when their microphones worked) and show wasn't entertaining.  I felt like the cast of Tron had been hired to perform.

While the game was exciting, I was happiest to see a new episode of "Glee" on. :-)  I know the show isn't the most believable thing on television, but I'll take an hour of escapism anytime.  I love the musical numbers and I honestly wish I had the talent to do something like that.  We didn't have show choir when I was in high school.

I've been enthralled with a plot line involving school bully Dave Karofsky.  He's been making main character Kurt's life hell and it was revealed that Karofsky is deep in the closet.  Last night's episode involved the entire football team taking part in a performance.  You could tell that Karofsky was enjoying taking part in the number, but in the end he ended up even further in the closet.

Max Adler has done an incredible job of taking a character that could have been completely one dimensional and created a role that truly shows how painful the coming out process is for many people.  Kurt is so out and proud and that scares Karofsky to death.  I just hope that writers allow him to eventually come out in a positive way.  Plus I think he's kinda hot and wouldn't mind seeing him stay around a while.

Owie

Rec League volleyball has started up again.  I began playing last fall and enjoyed it.  Now granted our team plays in the B- minus league and we aren't very good.  But it's physical activity and I enjoy playing.  The one big downside to playing is how sore I am at the end of the day.  During the fall league I had been playing with a lower back injury and my playing sent it over the edge.

I do wish I was better at playing and I guess that will come with time.  It's just hard when my mind knows what I need to do, but my body just doesn't seem to get the message.

The Soundtrack of My Life

I'm starting a project with one of my classes this week about music.  Specifically, if your life had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it and why?  In preparation for it, I thought I would post a few of the songs on my soundtrack.

"Breakout" by Swing Out Sister  - My favorite song of all time.  I was hooked from the first moment I heard it on the radio way back in 1987.  It's my personal "empowerment" song.  It's the one song that I never get tired of hearing and when it comes on the radio a smile always comes across my face. Swing Out Sister is probably my favorite musical group.  I have just about everything they've recorded and love each album.  You gotta love the lyric - "Don't stop to ask.  Now that you've found your break go make it last.  You've got to find a way, say what you want to say, BREAKOUT!"

"Only You Can Love Me This Way" by Keith Urban -  One of the more recent songs on my soundtrack, this is the song that Matt and I had our First Dance to during our wedding reception.  We had been going round and round about what song we would select for that first dance, but nothing seemed right.  Following a meeting with our cake baker, we were headed back home when the song played on the radio.  When it finished, Matt and I just looked at one another and knew that was the song.  The lyrics fit us perfectly and it just felt right.  Our first dance was a simple, perfect moment in time - a couple hundred of our family and friends in the room and all we could see was each other.

"She's Always A Woman" by Billy Joel - In 2003 my great-aunt Betty passed away.  I was fortunate to have been able to visit her before she died.  It was a wonderful visit with her and it was a time I will always remember.  Betty for me personified the word 'elegant'.  Even as a kid, she never talked to me on her level and she was truly the classiest lady I have ever known.  Starting up my rental car after saying goodbye, "She's Always A Woman" began to play on the radio.  I couldn't even put the car in gear as all the emotions I had been holding back came out.  I sat there in the car and just cried.  It was the song that allowed me to say goodbye to her in my own way.  It was the emotional release that I needed.  Betty passed away a few days later.  Every time I hear that song I think of her.

"Maggie May / Reason To Believe" by Rod Stewart - This was the number 1 song in the United States on the day I was born.  So of course it has to be on my soundtrack.  I've never been a big Rod Stewart fan, but this song is a good one.  Any time I hear a song from the 1970's that I know very well, I have to give props to my mom.  When I was a baby, she would always have a radio playing in my crib.  I credit her for nurturing my uncanny ability to remember songs and lyrics and recall them quickly.  It's funny that I can't carry a tune or play an instrument, but I have an ear for the music and words.  It surprises people when I can remember very obscure 70s songs and just start singing along.

"Love Shack" by the B-52s - Welcome back to my college years!  One of the best party songs of all time and it has a special place in my heart for the simple reason that it mentions a road.  I went to Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.  In the city there is a road that heads out of town to the east called the "Atlanta Highway", it's an older U.S. highway that was once the main road to Atlanta.  So in the song there is the lyric, "I'm heading down the Atlanta Highway....."  Now I know that the song is referring to a road in Athens, Georgia, but I don't care.  To me, that line will always be about that road in Montgomery and take me back to my college years.

More songs to come.....