Just a little whine

I really don't understand what's happening with me and the middle of the week! Meloncholy and crabbiness begin setting in Tuesday afternoon and seem to continue through Wed and sometimes Thu.

SO IT'S WHINY WEDNESDAY!!

Well, I don't want to be whiny today.

Driving into work, I thought about all these different things I wanted to whine about, but now, even though I'm still feeling overall blah, I can't seem to remember the specifics.

Instead, how about hearing about the wonderful weekend I had last weekend? **warning: might be slightly solipsistic going forward, but isn't that the point of a blog?**

Friday was our Christmas party at work.

Every department decorated a tree.

Ok. So, I didn't actually help, but I'm still a part of the department that won. :D
Only in Vegas would there be a Showgirl themed Christmas tree. Ha!

We enjoyed a delicious lunch! With, of course, lots of sweets for dessert.

I had prime rib with horseradish, turkey, cranberries, corn, TWO salads, cheese/crackers, and a roll. There was also lobster and shrimp, but seafood makes me gag. It was bad enough having to walk down the hall where they were serving it. Ick!

There were also drawings throughout the day for random gift cards. At 3 pm there were drawings for larger prizes including a 60", a 55", and a 40" flat screen TV. Wow!

After all the drawings were finished, there was one more surprise drawing left.

A $500 AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD!

I was standing in the back of the lunchroom, when the drawing took place. After the name was pulled, there was hesitation. "I don't know. Someone from Advertising."

AND THEN THEY CALLED MY NAME!

I had to walk all the way to the front. My face turned bright red someone later told me and I was fighting back tears. I couldn't believe it!!

The last couple hours of work are a blur. Lots of people stopped by and congratulated me. It was amazing.

Saturday was a pretty lazy day, but I did go shopping in the evening. I bought a great pair of boots + a super cute pair of heels. Total for both? $35. Score!

Then I headed to Target to spend the $25 gift card I'd gotten on Thursday. I bought some make-up and nail polish. I guess I was feeling all girly.

Sunday I got to meet up with a good friend that I haven't seen in over seven years! She was in town with some friends, but I was so excited to steal her away for a couple hours. It was so fun to see her again. Despite the years between visits, it was like no time had passed.

We met for breakfast at Coco's Bakery and Restaurant and I had the most delicious multi-grain pumpkin nut pancakes. It was a struggle at the end, but I managed to eat the entire plate! ;-)

It was such a gorgeous afternoon when I got back home, and I was in love with my new boots and my outfit,  that I walked around our apartment complex for a little self-portrait photo shoot.

Aren't my new boots adorable?!

I finished the weekend off with a 3-hour soak in the hot tub with my husband. We only had the jets going for like 20 min, but the conversation was so good that we just didn't want to get out. I was shocked to see the time when we finally got back to our apartment.

Tomorrow, we get the keys to our new apartment. Yay! We have until Sun to turn in our old keys, so this shouldn't be too bad of a move. Especially considering we don't have that much stuff + it's at the same complex. Just closer to the hot tub. It will be practically right out our back porch.

This. Could. Be. Dangerous.

Plus, I'm planning on lunch with another friend that I haven't seen in YEARS on Sunday, so it's looking to be a great weekend ahead!

How was your weekend last weekend?
Do you ever go on random self-portrait photo shoots just because?
What are your plans this coming weekend?
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Good Day

Sometimes just writing a whiny post is enough to help turn things around. Thanks for all your wonderful, supportive comments.

One whiny thing I hadn't mentioned in the post was my lack of warm clothing. I really only had one versatile sweater, and I had worn it everyday for too many days in a row. So, after work I stopped at Savers for a little retail therapy.

For $20, I brought home two pairs of work pants + 3 sweaters. Yay!

1 new sweater + 1 new pair of work pants

Thursday morning brought a surprise bonus from work. Everyone got one, and the amount depended upon how long you'd worked there in 2012. Since I started after July 1st, I didn't actually get a check but a $25 gift card to Target. Sweet!

Now, I always bring my lunch, but I'm also never one to turn down free food, so when invited out to lunch, I couldn't say no.

I had a delicious veggie stir fry at Le Thai in downtown Vegas.

Level 2 Spiciness

How spicy do you want it? 1-5.
1 is mild.
2 is medium.
3 is hot.
4 is fire.
All I could think was, if 4 is fire, what is 5? Nuclear?

The super fun looking restaurant next door had this sign outside.

At least two of us had to take a picture. :D

And then my day ended with some TV and hot cocoa with my husband.

So, yeah. It was a good day.

Now, today, we're celebrating Christmas at work. Instead of having a traditional company holiday party, they've devoted the entire day to celebrating. We started off with a continental breakfast. I *wanted* to take a picture, but I left my phone at my desk and ended up eating in the cafeteria.

I had some light peach yogurt, and mammoth-sized blueberry muffin, and the most delicious to-die-for mini quiche.

Yesterday, they sent out a menu for today's lunch:

Prime Rib
Turkey
Pork Tenderloin
Lobster
Shrimp
Variety of vegetables
Variety of salads
and of course Desserts

Good thing I worked out this morning. *wink*

Being all festive with jingle bell earrings.

Anything fun planned for the weekend?
Does your company do anything special for the holidays?
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I NEED SOME SUN!

I've been sad today. I know, right? On a day like 12/12/12? How is that even possible?

Okay the past couple of days. FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

Today, I even put a ribbon in my hair

Ok. So really the ribbon was for
the #runnerphotoaday challenge

and broke out the purple nail polish and purple tights.

I bought the nail polish several days ago
and was feeling guilty for not using it yet.

BUT TO NO AVAIL.

I was trying to figure it out, when it suddenly hit me. I haven't been outside in the daylight in several days. We're going through a bit of a cold snap here in Vegas hopefully just a snap and not something that will last weeks or (gasp!) months with highs only in the low 60s.

I know, I know. THAT'S NOT COLD! But it is. To me. Too cold to sit outside for lunch anyway - especially when that sun is hiding behind a thick layer of clouds.

**sigh**

There are other issues as well.

I'm making way more mistakes at work than I'd like to admit but at least I do admit them and accept them instead of trying to blame them on someone else. I know it's only been two months, and there is so much room for human error, but it doesn't make it any easier. So frustrating!

We can't seem to get ahead financially. I know I've only been working for just over two months, but it seems like we just aren't making any progress. And now, we're (hopefully) moving in the next week or so. I'm excited for the new apartment, but it will also mean another $200/month. Where is that going to come from?

We've met a few people here, but I really long for more friends. Yes, I'm lonely. There. I said it.

At least I'm still exercising, right? Despite taking a brief running hiatus, I've still been working out, so at least there's that.

Today's quick workout (Wednesday's are my light/easy day).
Sort of.
I'm not quite to these full lengths. Yet.

And while I have been noticing some improvement in the way I look, and I am very happy with said progress, sometimes like today it still makes me sad that I'm not where I want to be.

Wow. This post is so whiny! The last post I wrote on a Wednesday was also a little on the whiny side. Am I sensing a pattern? Maybe I should start a Whiny Wednesday meme? :D

At least it's almost time to head home.

What do you do when you're feeling a little down?
What makes you smile?
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One week

One week from today, I'll be a student teacher. My semester actually begins on Monday, but next Wednesday will be my first day in the classroom.

I still have some things to do to prepare.
Like read the student teaching manual.

Overall, I'm very excited.

But I have some concerns.
That are not at all teaching-related.

What will I wear? Technically, there is no dress code, but it is business casual. No jeans. My closet is a little pathetic right now and could easily go for a nice overhaul. Unfortunately, that just isn't in the budget.

What will I eat for lunch? My current office has a full kitchen - with an oven, stove, microwave, refrigerator. Can I bring my own lunch? Where will I store it? Will I have easy access to a microwave, or do I need to bring cold lunches? Where will I eat? Classroom? Teacher's lounge?

How will I stay hydrated? Sometimes I feel like I have the smallest bladder. The more water I drink, the more often I need to sneak away to the potty. I won't have the luxury of just heading to the bathroom whenever I like. I also can't shouldn't simply deprive myself of water, though.

Will I be able to get enough sleep at night? I already have poor sleeping habits. Will student teaching help me correct this or make it worse?

How will this affect my workouts? I begin training for Grandma's Marathon on Feb 13th. Will I be able to successfully focus on both? Will I be able to incorporate exercise into my daily routine and actually get more energy rather than have it zap my energy?

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I know I'm largely needlessly worrying. Once I get started and into a routine, this post will seem silly.

But right now, I'm concerned.

Any lunch / hydration tips for me? How do you stop from needlessly worrying about the small things?

Happy New Year!

I really intended on writing this post yesterday, but it took much longer to re-design my blog than I'd intended.

Without further ado ...

Let me introduce you to ...

Enjoying the Course

An Average Girl's Journey Through Life

I'll still be posting many of the same types of posts, but the emphasis of my blog will really be focused more on running and maintaing a healthier lifestyle. I have lots of work to do in this regards, so hopefully blogging about being healthy will help motivate me to becoming healthier.

I hope you all had a lovely ringing in of the New Year!

In true New Year's fashion, I'm setting a few resolutions.

Run 600+ miles. This shouldn't be too difficult. It's an average of 50 miles a month, and with training for a marathon, I should be able to do this relatively easily (I hope).

Read 12+ books. I really want to read more, so I'm making it a resolution this year and putting a specific number on it. I'd like at least 6 of these books to be history, geography, or education related. This is only 1 book a month, but I didn't want to make it much more than that. I'm just not sure how much free time I'll have from Feb - May with student teaching and marathon training.

Be a better blogger. I'd really like to improve my blogging skills and get my name/story out there. I've also created a Facebook page and Twitter account. Feel free to follow me there as well. I'm hoping to incorporate some reviews / giveaways (I already have something exciting in the works). Mostly, though, I'll be sharing running progress, marathon training, race reports, motivating pictures / stories, an occasional book review, updates on student teaching, and well, anything else that strikes my fancy. If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I think that 3 is good. Manageable.

Happy New Year!

What's in a Name?

Well, a lot. I think.

A name draws you in.
A name entices you to read.
Am I right?

I want to take my blog to the next level.

I started this blog way back in 2006.
Without a niche.
Just a place for me to share some of my random thoughts.

More than five years and a few hundred posts later, I feel like I need to change it up a bit.
I'll still share randomness that goes on in my life, but I'd like to focus more on my running/fitness goals. Of course, that's kind of been the focus for quite some time now.

Perhaps a name change is in order?

I've been wracking my brain for the past week or so trying to come up with something creative and fun. Here are a few ideas I'm considering. I'd love to hear what you think.

Middle of the Road Gal

I'm average and that's OKAY

(too whiny? too political sounding?)

Don't Get Excited

Just an average girl running through life

Keep Your Shoes Laced

You never know what's coming next

Running Poppycock

Enjoying the Course

An average runner's journey

What do you think? Which is your favorite or do they all stink? Do you have any suggestions?

It's a Good Day!

I had an incredible day!

Wanna know why?

I handed in paper #4 for my Russian history course. I didn't really read this book, but scanned it to find information that would support my thesis. I hope I did a good enough job to fool my professor.

Only one more paper to go!!!

I got an A+ (150/150) on paper #3. This was on a book by Gorbachev that I found very interesting. I really would recommend it. Here's the comment my prof wrote: Excellent paper, Clarinda - very focused and clearly argued. :)

That alone would have totally made my day,
but wait...there's more...

I went to my clinical practice (student teaching) placement meeting this afternoon, and I got assigned to my TOP CHOICE SCHOOL!! I'm super excited. Clinical practice will be Feb 1st. While I still have a bit to do to prepare, it's a relief to know that I at least got a good placement.

I'm cutting things really close with some of my content courses. I just turned in one final on Sunday, and I'm taking the other final on Friday, but I'm concerned about the time it will take for the profs to grade the essays/exams and for BYU to get my transcript to UST. I was assured that if the transcript isn't in my Jan 1st it isn't the end of the world. I just need to keep the Director of CP informed of the situation. Yay!

I still haven't found out my scores for the MTLE (licensure exams), but I asked what would happen if I didn't pass them. I was told, "You just retake them." In other words, , but I will need to pass them before I can get my license. What a relief! Btw, I should get the resultsI can still student teach even if I didn't pass next week.

We had a birthday lunch at work today. I actually missed it because of my CP meeting, but I got to enjoy some delicious leftovers at my desk. Chicken Tortilla soup? YUM! Chocolate cake? DOUBLE YUM!



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Things are really starting to fall into place, and the nearer the end of the semester I get, the more elated I get. Yay!

It's December!

Which is scary.

And overwhelming.

IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!

Of course, I've pretty much been saying that since September, but now I really am down to the wire.

Here's what I still have to finish:

• Read TWO books
• Write THREE papers (one 4 pg and two 3-5 pg)
• ONE quiz
• ONE final (scheduled for a week from today)

My plan, my hope, is to have all that finished by the 15th, which will give me about two weeks to finish my online portfolio. I started this earlier in my program and haven't really looked at it in a couple years now. It will take a lot of work, but I think two weeks is pretty reasonable to finish it.

I'll admit this past weekend and early part of this week, I had a completely defeatist attitude. I doubted highly I would be able to finish everything, and I wondered if it was really worth it to push myself so hard to student teach and get my license in MN when we're planning on leaving the state next summer.


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But writing this out, it doesn't seem that bad.

I CAN DO THIS! Right?





Well, I've been busy...

Remember this post from back in January? My goal for 2011 was simply to publish at least one post every month. There were a few banner months over the summer, but overall, that lowly little post of the month was the only one you got.

With the start of the 2011-2012 school year, it became real to me how much work I needed to finish and how little time I had to accomplish it all. I knew I needed to prioritize and make sure that my school work was my top priority. I've done surprisingly well and am on pretty good target for getting everything in order for me to student teach in February.

To give you a little glimpse, here is what I have accomplished since my last post.

► I read. A LOT.

• Daughter of Han by Ida Pruitt
• The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
• Selected Stories by Lu Hsun
• Wild Swans by Jung Chang
• Hungry Ghosts by Jasper Becker
• Son of the Revolution by Liang Heng
• China Pop by Jianying Zha
• Cement by Fedor Gladkov

With the exception of Cement, all of these books were for my Modern China Since 1500 class. Thankfully, they did get much better than the first book I read for the course, Emperor of China by Jonathan Spence. There were even a couple books that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I think reviews of those books warrant their own post. Yeah, that's how fascinating they were.

All those books were in addition to keeping up with the reading for my 20th Century Russia history course that I'm taking at St Thomas this fall and doing the other lessons for that China history course. I can proudly say that I just have two more essays to write to finish off that China class.

► I registered for my final history course (US History to 1877) and my teaching licensure exams. The exams are scheduled for the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I should be all finished with my US history course by December.

So yes, mostly I've been absorbed with schoolwork, but life needs to have some balance, right?

► I ran 61 miles and biked 75.86. Some of those running miles were with my running group, which has proven to really push my speed and endurance. Yay!

► I ran a 5K race (included in the above mileage) with my family yesterday.

► I went scuba diving a few more times for the season.

► I registered for Grandma's marathon next June. It will be my first marathon since 2003. I'm both nervous and excited.

► I watched the runners at the Twin Cities Marathon. This was my first time ever going out and spectating at a race. It was fun! I knew several people running, but I didn't end up seeing any of them. :-( There were so many runners! Watching the race really got me pumped up for Grandma's.

► I squeezed in a trip to Valleyfair (local amusement park) with my sister and her kids. So. Much. Fun!

► I attended a friend's wedding reception.

► I got my hair cut and colored. The bold colors didn't turn out quite as bold as I'd asked, but it still looked really great. Sorry, no good pictures were taken.

► We took my niece to SeaLife MN to celebrate her birthday, which was in June. It was the first opportunity that we could make it work.

► I played church volleyball. I've always enjoyed playing volleyball, though I've never been good. It's been fun playing this season and seeing improvement. It feels so good when I'm actually able to make some good plays and get congratulations from my team.

► My CSA provided me with an abundance of squash, so I experimented with squash. I even posted 8 recipes on my recipe blog.

That's about it. Like I said, I've been busy! I feel good that I've also managed to be quite productive. It's nice to be on target school-wise and also know that it hasn't really come at the expense of having fun and enjoying life.