Three Things Thursday

1. I start my new job in four days! I'm super excited! I'm also a bit nervous. How will this affect my blogging? What if I don't wake up in time? What will I wear? What will I bring for lunch?  I haven't had a job since May, and I got rid of almost all my professional clothing when we set out on our adventure. I've gotten used to the stayinguplate-sleepingin-loungingallday-blogging-running-soakinginthehottub lifestyle. I'm excited for the opportunities that working will afford me, but I've gotta be honest, I'll miss this leisure time I've enjoyed these past few months.


2. I'm skipping my run today. I fully intended on going when I woke up, but my first few steps after crawling out of bed were too painful. Both knees are bothering, so I figure a rest from running for a couple days might do them some good. I plan to continue with some strength exercises today. If I can't run, I can strengthen, right?


3. I've been working diligently the past couple of days to sift through our photos from our travels in June. I've posted some videos and pictures to Facebook here and here. In case you missed out, you can read more about our time in Montana (here and here) and Idaho (here and here). My goal is to get through everything over the weekend before I start my new job. I'm sure there will be a bit of settling in time once I start.

What's going on with you today?

Anything fun planned for the weekend?

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3 Things Thurs

I've got about 10 minutes before it's Friday...

1. I just finished writing a completely different post, but I'm too nervous about publishing it. Maybe this weekend or next week? Maybe never.

2. I am seriously freaking out! If I don't find a job in the next couple weeks, we are in some very serious trouble. I'm talking serious! I've never been so worried about money. NEVER!

3. I've had two great runs so far this week, and I'm looking forward to running this virtual run over the weekend.

At least for 5 or 10 miles I'll be able to hopefully clear my head.
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3 Things Thursday

1. Apparently, I'm incapable of getting dressed if I don't have work, school, or if I don't go for a run. It's 4:30pm now. Should I don those running clothes after all?

2. I finally posted my North Dakota (state #1) run to Facebook.

3. My Sallie girl is incredibly cute. She's discovered the bin of dog toys. Randomly throughout the day, she'll pounce on one of them. It makes me laugh. Every. single. time.

But she has been a very bad girl here in WA. If she isn't chasing one of the cats, she's running off all over town. She is no longer allowed outside without her leash, because if we take our eyes off her for 1/2 a second, she. is. gone. Being an inside dog all her life, she doesn't really understand the dangers of cars, so we worry.

3TT #6

Thing 1. I'm going to eke out a quick post. I don't want to miss two days of posting in a row.

Thing 2. My spring break is not going nearly as well as I'd hoped. I haven't planned nearly as many lessons as I would have liked. I haven't stayed on top of my marathon training either.

Thing 3. I eat like total crap when I'm at home all day with nothing defined to do. I've become a snacker in the worst way. Occasionally, I'll grab something healthy like carrots or a pear, but mostly it's been chips, cookies, and wasabi peas. Blah. I seem to be hungry all the time. I know that's mostly due to not eating anything of substance, but also slightly due to boredom - both terrible reasons to overeat.

Tomorrow is another day, right? I. WILL. BE. FOCUSED!

3TT #5

Thing 1 - When we moved into our current apartment, we changed most of the light bulbs to the energy efficient type. We knew we'd be here for a couple years, and we didn't want to have to keep changing the light bulbs. These fancy ones are supposed to last for years. Well, not in this apartment! We just had yet another one burn out last night. I think that brings us to around 5. Ugh! The electrical wiring in our apartment sucks!

Thing 2 - After enjoying such a beautiful, warm, sunny weekend, the week turned gray and gloomy. I've really, really been bitten by the S.A.D. bug. As a result, I've really done nothing all week. No exercise. No lesson planning. Blah!

Illustration of seasonal affective disorder by Sarah Douglas

Thing 3 - Not to discredit S.A.D., but my lack of motivation probably has as much to do with my lack of water consumption than the dreary skies. I've been in a different setting for school, and I just haven't been drinking much water. Perhaps 1-2 cups a day. Pathetic, I know. It just hasn't been tasting good. I need to get better about this. Starting today!

What things are on your mind today?

3TT #4

Here we go...

Thing 1 - Last week, I looked in the mirror and thought, "Wow. My skin appears to finally be clearing up!" Then I immediately thought, "Geez. I really shouldn't have allowed that thought to formulate." I tried to quickly knock on wood, but alas, within 24 hours, at least 5 new blemishes appeared. Ugh!

Thing 2 - Way back in mid-Feb, I made some heart shaped rice crispy treats - which left me with half a box of crisp rice cereal in my cupboard. So, I had a bowl for breakfast one morning with a spoonful of sugar added, of course. That was it. My whole breakfast. And you know what? IT FILLED ME UP and I STAYED THAT WAY FOR HOURS. Who would have guessed it would be such a filling cereal? I certainly didn't! Now, I've finished that box and nearly an entire second box. It is easily my favorite breakfast option right now.

Thing 3 - This one is going to blow your mind! I'm running the Get Lucky! Half Marathon on Saturday! heeheehee. I've only mentioned it in the past two posts. Guess I'm pretty excited about it. Here is a picture of my intended outfit except with a white sports bra and I'll likely wear my contacts.

If nothing else, it's festive, right? It might be in the 50s Saturday morning, so I'll likely be overdressed. Hopefully the shorts will make up for the sweatshirt. :-) I think this will be the most festive I've ever dressed for a race. I probably should have started with a shorter distance. The shorts and socks are obviously not running-specific attire, so hopefully they don't cause uncomfortable chafing or anything like that.

Are you running any races this weekend?

3TT #3

I really thought I'd done more of these...

Perhaps most Thursdays, I don't have 3 things to say...?

Thing 1. Teaching World History - particularly the way it is set up at this school - is no good for me. Every unit makes me want. to. travel! There are so many fascinating places to visit, sites to see, and activities to do. I just want to do experience it all. With my huge teacher salary, ha! perhaps I'll have the opportunity to travel during the summer and over longer breaks. What? A girl can dream, right?

Thing 2. Yesterday morning at this time, it was in the upper 40s! I wore flip flops when taking Sallie outside. I was tempted to wear them to school, too. Good thing I didn't because as the day progressed, the temperature steadily dropped. I was pretty cold when I was waiting for the bus after school. :-( Nearly 60°F weather on Tuesday really struck me with Spring Fever. Looking at the forecast, it should be nice enough weather for my half marathon on St Patrick's Day, though. The overnight low the night before is in the 40s, so it should be just about perfect temps for running. Hopefully it doesn't rain...

Thing 3. I went to bed way too late last night; I randomly woke up around 3am. Not only would Sallie not let me get back to sleep, She wanted breakfast, or at least a treat. but Jeff was big time snoring! Ugh! It is so difficult for me to fall back asleep with the sound of snoring. He snores more when he sleeps on his back, and I know that sleeping on his back is better for him because of his bad back, but I hate not being able to fall back asleep. Still, since I know he's getting some decent sleep, I hate to ask him to roll over. I'm much more passive aggressive about it. I try to accidentally nudge him or I toss and turn a LOT to maybe inspire his subconscious to make his roll over. Last night none of these little tricks were working, so I went to grab the noise cancelling headphones to see if they would help. Lo and behold, when I returned, he'd rolled to his side, taking up much of my side of the bed, and the snoring had stopped. Hallelujah! Except of course that he was nearly taking up the entire bed now, so I had to get comfortable in a very small area. It worked, though, and I quickly was back in dreamland. Until Sallie woke me up about 1 ½ hours later...

Where have you traveled that has been the most exciting? I haven't traveled very many places, but I think Costa Rica has been my favorite so far.

What are you looking forward to the most about Spring? The end of winter, of course! ☺Seriously, though, running outside more and maybe some photography. Who knows.

How do you handle a snoring partner? I already answered this, but I am definitely open for suggestions! I'd love to hear your solutions.

3TT #2

I really had high hopes for being a great blogger during January when I didn't have any homework, and I was just biding my time until student teaching started. Unfortunately, work has been keeping me busy and I've just been too tired lazy to blog in the evenings.

So, here are at least 3 things that are going on with me this week.

Thing 1 - Less than two weeks until I am in a classroom for student teaching. I am both excited and pretty nervous. I met with my mentor teacher last night. I think we'll get along great and work well together (based on that initial meeting). He teaches 3 sections of 10th grade World History, a section of AP Government, and a section of AP European History. I'll be most active in the World History classes. I get to plan a unit on Latin American history. This is intimidating, yet I am looking forward to the challenge!

Thing 2 - I ran for the first time this morning since Jan 2nd! I tried out my new shoes. They were a little awkward for the first 1/4 mile or so but felt great after that. No knee pain at all during the run; there is a little discomfort right now, though. :-(

Nike Zoom Structure Triax 15

Thing 3 - An Arctic cold front blew in last night. When I left for work this morning it was -11°F. Straight temp. Today's high is forecasted to be TWO whole degrees.  It was so cold when walking the 3 blocks to the bus that the collar of my coat frosted a bit from my breath.

If you were taking a class on Latin American history, what would you like to focus on or hope to learn in the class? How's the weather where you are today?

3TT

I've seen lots of blogs do this, so here goes.

Thing 1 - Turns out, my rash is not likely pityriasis rosea as the doc originally suspected. Nope. My throat culture came back with high levels of staphylococcus aureus. I've been on antibiotics for a few days now, and the rash seems to have gotten a bit better. Unfortunately, now my skin looks (and feels) like it is on fire. And it's still itchy, just not as bad. At times. It's got to get better soon, right?

Thing 2 - Tomorrow I'm attending my first ever professional workshop. I'm excited and nervous! The topic is Renewable Energy: Wind, Solar and Biofuels in the United States and Central Europe.  I'm excited to learn more about this topic and how to incorporate it into my future classroom. I just hope it's not too scientific and will be useful for a social studies classroom as well. Best part is I'll receive a handful of CE credits before I even get my license to teach.

Thing 3 - It's back to being stupidly cold here in MN, but on Tuesday we had record highs. Our neighbor wanted to take a walk and stopped by to ask if she could take Sallie with her, so she wouldn't have to walk alone. Jeff let her go but messaged me all nervous about her being gone. It was so cute how overly concerned he was. Sallie came back home happy as a clam and super stoked after enjoying the nice weather.

This is from a few months ago, but isn't she the cutest?

So there you have it. My first Three Things Thursday.

Would you let a casual neighbor take your dog for a walk? Have you experienced an extreme weather change this week?

It's almost Friday! Whoohoo!!