Megabusted

I wrote this yesterday, but I'm too lazy to change it...

I’m currently sitting at the Dixie off I-55 just south of Bloomington.   We stopped for our 30 minute break 3 hours and 10 minutes ago.  On the way down, we pulled over once because the air conditioning wasn’t fully functional.  Unfortunately it completely stopped working on our way to our break and we have been waiting for a new bus since then.  The claim is that it will be here in about an hour and a half.  It’s 6pm and our bus was supposed to be pulling into Union Station St. Louis 15 minutes ago.  After attempting to convince various members of my family to make the drive to pick me up, we determined that the bus would probably beat any of them here. 

Once I became resigned to the fact that I was at least 6 hours from being home, it’s turned into a decent experience.  I’m not stranger to travel delays and I’m attempting to “roll with it” a little more.  I had no choice but to come into the Dixie to charge my phone (first world problems).  I was reluctant to take up a table because I originally did not plan to buy any food.  When I expressed this to another stranded passenger, she told me that she was planning to eat and I was welcome to share her booth.  I kindly accepted.

We chatted for awhile and I decided to order some food (and left our waitress a nice tip for us taking up her table…I will be getting a refund on my $10 ticket).  She’s a PhD student and SLU and just got back from the UK and it was quite entertaining to listen to her some of her stories.

Despite my frustration and my desire to get home, this hasn’t been so bad.  At least I’m not stuck on the side of the road on a hot, sticky bus, but in a breezy diner with food in my tummy and an interesting companion.  Things could be worse.

Come and Gone

The marathon relay has come and gone.  The weekend was incredibly fun and I'm really looking forward to doing it again next year.  The night before the relay, Julie, Christy, Alicia and I enjoyed a relaxing dinner and then some shopping.  We all bought new swimsuits so we could take advantage of the hot tub at the hotel.  We didn't plan to stay the whole weekend so we weren't prepared for this opportunity. (Note, buying a swimsuit and wearing it immediately is normally against my personal hygiene rules, but a few of those were broken in that spur of the moment decision to stay.)  Of our four, I cared the most about my time.  Prior to race day I was able to knock out 2 miles in 16:52.  Still my fastest 2 mile run.  The bets were 63, 65, 66 and 67 minutes for my 6.9 leg (YES! I did one of the longest!).

I ended up finishing my portion in 1:07:13.  Julie was the winner of the bet and was the only one who did not have to take a shot that night, but we all attempted (and failed) to take down 2 jumbo margaritas between the 4 of us.  Prior to the race I was starting to consider running a half marathon.  During the race I thought, "Why would I EVER want to run that far?"  Now I'm back to thinking I could probably do a half.  Running was a complete blast because the residents of Champaign get pretty involved and are very supportive.  They make signs that say "Your feet hurt because you're kicking so much butt" and a little girl's "Why doesn't this parade have candy?"  In addition to their cheers being really motivational, people being along the whole route was great because I have a firm rule about not walking when spectators can see you.  The only exception is during water stops.  I tried to run through my first water stop and got more water in my eye than in my mouth.  So I walked through those to hydrate and then get right back to running.

My leg finished at 13.6 miles.  It was nice to see the mile markers and think "only 4.6/2.6/.6!"  Unfortunately the exchange zone was hard to see and I was on it before I knew what was happening.  I saw Julie and sprinted until I found Christy to give her our belt.  As soon as I completed the hand off I burst into tears.  Julie and Alicia were fairly shocked at this, but I was just so happy to have accomplished that goal....and to be done running for the day!

Here we all are at the starting line waiting for Alicia to start.

And on the U of I football field with our medals.  We had an overall time of 4:35:and some change (I forgot the seconds).

New Adventures

Things have been a little hectic lately because I've begun a new adventure.  My plan to blog more often hit a small speed bump when I had to pick up and move!

April 1^st I went on an interview to cover a maternity leave at a high school in the northern Chicago burbs.  I got the job and shadowed for a day last week.  The teacher is fantastic and the students are just as awesome!  I packed, moved and started lesson planning all within a week.

I have 3 sections of Spanish 1 and 2 sections of Spanish 3 honors.  My first week consisted of 3 days at the end of this week.  It’s great to be back in my own classroom and I’ve really missed working with the same group of students every day!  I’ve even enjoyed writing my own lesson plans again.  I’m surprisingly excited about teaching the subjunctive to my Spanish 3 kids.  This is normally a difficult concept because we don’t really have anything like this in English, but I’ve done a lot of research and have been able to come up with some cool activities.

I’m currently living with a friend and it’s been nice to settle into a new place.  There are a few things I miss like cable, DVR and wireless internet, but I love sharing her Netflix account!  I’m diving into Parks and Recreation right now.  It’s been the great way to end my super relaxing day of doing nothing!  It’s been a nice change from working every weekend at BBW and then packing like mad.

Tomorrow is my 6 ½ mile run, which will be the longest I’ve done so far.  We’ll see how it goes.  2 weeks until race day!

On the Run

As I said, a lot has happened while I've been neglecting my blog.  One of the things that has been consuming a lot of my time is running!

Awhile back Julie Jedi mind tricked me by mentioning the marathon relay in Champaign.  Usually she runs the half marathon, but she suggested we do the relay this year.  A team of 4 people complete a marathon (26.2 miles) in a relay fashion.  The legs are 6.7, 6.9, 6.9, and 5.7.  Prior to training the farthest I had ever run was 3.1.  I felt like I needed to set an attainable goal and something to devote my time to, so I decided we would do it.  Julie snagged 2 of her friends and we have a team!

Because I've only run half the distance of any of those, you're probably assuming that I'm hoping for the last leg.  Actually, I'm not.  I've been training for nearly 2 months (running 3 days a week, cross training 1, resting 3) and I'm pushing myself to do be able to do any leg but the last one.  I've even expressed to others that I don't want to "get stuck with" or "settle for" the last leg.  In response I get, "who are you?"  Recently I've been realizing that I set a lot of goals, most of them small and daily.  Some on a bigger scale, like my page goal each year -- which I have yet to meet.  And most of those goals, like the page goal, are never achieved.  So I'm striving for the 6.9, and I guess I'll take the 6.7 if necessary.

I'm confident that this won't be an issue because I've been fairly dedicated.  In my 2 months of training (34 actual workout days), I've missed one.  It was the day before the 8K.  I didn't manage my time adequately and I would have had to bike with only 12 hours to rest my legs.  I'm willing to cut myself that slack...but that's the last time!  Here is the progress I've made so far.

Prior to training here are some official race times.

Fat Ass 5K Springfield, IL May 11 36:30

Gingerbread Run (5K) Belleville, IL Dec 1 37:44

Official race times since beginning training.

Top of the Morning Run (5K) Shiloh, IL March 10 29:50

St. Paddy's Day Run (8K) Chicago, IL March 16 50:13

Ramble into Spring (10K) Lebanon, IL March 23 1:03:00

Although these aren't record speeds, I'm happy with them.  Especially when taking into account all of the elements I've encountered in these various races.  Wind, frigid temps, snow and hills!  I'm much prouder of my treadmill times where I can boast 2 miles in 18:20 or 2.5 in 23:13.  We'll see how this last month of training goes before I set my goal time for the big day!

Back to Blogging

After over a year, I'm finally getting back into blogging.  A lot has happened in the last 13 months since I've posted, so I've got quite a bit to share.  But tonight's not the time for that.  This is just a little teaser and a reminder to stay tuned.

Time to hydrate and sleep well!  I've got 6.2 miles to run in less than 12 hours (clearly no time for a REAL blog post)!

Ciao!

Back Again

Wow, it's been a long time.  I can't believe I haven't posted since June.  I could claim that I've been busy, which at times I have, but to be honest, blogging has been fairly low on my priority list.  Here are some of the bigger things I've been doing in the past 8 months.

• As I stated before, I started working part time at Bath and Body Works(BBW) in June.  I have continued to work there throughout the school year just to have some extra cash.  It's been fun and sometimes stressful.  Sometimes I really love retail because it can be fun, but other times it's boring and people can be less than pleasant.
• Over the summer I bounced around between Fairview, Jacksonville, and Chicago.
• Turned 23.  No big deal really.  Now 24 is less than 6 months away and that for some reason seems a little more scary to me.  I think it's because it's closer to 25 than 21.  Sometimes I still forget that I'm 23 and then I'm 22 or even 21.  Silly me.
• Started my 2nd year of teaching at North Greene.  I expected it to be a lot easier.  Yes, it is in some aspects like classroom management.  Yet I still have a ton of stuff to do, but I've also gotten a lot better at managing that time.
• Went to a wedding in Destin....super fun!  I really enjoy flying, but I'm terrible at it because I'm always worried about being late and missing layovers.  Chris put up with me really well though, probably because our seats weren't next to each other for some of the flights.  I'll have to learn how to book tickets the right way.
• Went to Columbia, MO to visit Chelsea in October.  We ran a 5K together and it was really hot and there were lots of hills.  My time was horrible, but I hadn't trained, so I didn't feel as bad.
• Played in a couple softball games for Julie.  Fell during the first one and my knee is still a little discolored from that bruise.  I got on base twice during the second game though and even scored a run!

That's all the big stuff that happened, don't worry, there will be a few pictures too.

Here's a major one....last February I posted about how I'd probably never own an ereader and how I was so devoted to books.  Well when Borders finally tanked for real, I bought a Kobo ereader with my birthday money from my dad.  I'm a bit ashamed to say that I love it!  I still read all my "real" books, because I have tons and it will probably take me at least another 2 years to get through all of them.  I find myself reading 2 books at once now.  One on my Kobo and a paper one.  These are some reasons I like my Kobo.

• The Reading Life feature tracks how long I've been reading and how many pages I've turned.  It makes it really easy to calculate how quickly I'm reading and how much time it will take me to finish.
• It's really easy to buy books!  You can just hop online and download a book in seconds.  Unfortunately, ebooks are not all that much cheaper than actual books.
• I feel like I read faster since I'm being timed so I concentrate more when I'm reading and can get through more books, or read the ones I want in less time.
• Kobo offers cool little games that come with coupons.  Unfortunately, some publishers don't accept promo codes, so I always have to watch those books if I don't want to pay full price.
• I do feel like I'm being a bit more environmentally friendly.
• It's easy to stock up on books if I'm taking a trip without taking up more space.

Reading has taken up a lot of my time since I've been away.  My goal in 2011 was to read 25,000 pages.  I only got to 18,560 so I'm setting the same goal again this year.  Here were some of my favorites.
The Help (Written by a Phi Mu and wonderful)
The Luxe series (4 books, teen fiction, set in 1899-1900, one of my students told me about it!)
The Book Thief (I heard it would make me cry, but it didn't.  I hate when people say things will make you cry because when it doesn't it makes me feel a little cold.  I think it's because I expected it)
All of Emily Giffin's books.  Something Borrowed and Something Blue are just the beginning.

I've also started getting into shows that I watch every week.  I'm excited for a future that includes DVR so I don't feel like I'm chained to watching a show when it is on.  Normally I don't get all up in arms about following shows, but it's something fun to do while planning and grading.  My evenings also include job searching because Chris got a new job with his company!  He applied and interviewed a few weeks ago for an accounting position and found out on Tuesday that he got the job and he will be making the transition starting Monday.  I've been scrambling to find and apply for teaching jobs up north so that long distance will become no distance, because who really wants to do that?  It's only February and I've got some time, but it's still a little scary. 

That's about all that's been going on since my blogging black out.  I do have some fun events coming up throughout 2012 though!
St. Patrick's Day in downtown Chicago!  Chris and I met on St. Patty's Day so I kind of made a big deal about us seeing each other that weekend and we decided that we'll go downtown for the parade and festivities there.  I've never been to a big city bash like that, so I'm really looking forward to it!
A much anticipated visit from Chelsea!  She has a full week for Spring Break and I've talked her into coming to the lovely Jacksonville for part of it (assuming her schedule allows).
The Color Run...I've posted about this on Facebook, but it's a 5K(untimed), where you wear white and throughout the race they throw paint on you.  At least that's the way it seems.  It's in Chicago and I'll be running with Julie, Chris and Hailey.  We expect that we'll be carrying Hailey for at least part of the run.
Weddings!  Jonas and Erin in June in Rockton -- Phil and Anna in September in Denver -- Andrew and Amanda in October in Detroit.
Chris and I have also talked about taking a beach vacation somewhere.  We really enjoyed our trip to Destin and I'm ready for some sun again!  It's also a great motivation to work out, since I clearly have very poor self-discipline.

On the beach in Destin after the wedding.

Chris' face is covered up, but the kids are clearly very happy to be climbing all over him.

Grandma and Hailey on Christmas Eve.

Christmas break in Northbrook.

Summer Wandering

I've been doing a decent amount of traveling this summer.  The places aren't necessarily ultra fascinating, but the memories and people are!

Over Memorial Day weekend, Chris and I ventured to St. Louis for a weekend with friends.  We had lunch with my mom, Julie and the kids on Sunday and it was super exciting to watch Jacob tackle corn on the cob.  Needless to say, it was a success and possibly a new favorite for him, probably because of the novelty of it.  That's one of the reason I love it!  He'd say things like "this is corn on the cob?"  and "what is this?" to which we'd respond "corn on the cob"...super cute!

School finished off nicely though I had to charge a kid for a moldy textbook that sat in water for I don't know how long and was still damp when he returned it to me, but it's no longer my problem.

Following my 30 minute school day, I promptly returned to Fairview where I spent time with family and went to a pretty awesome retirement party of a lady from my mom's office.

I returned to Jacksonville briefly before making my way to the greater Chicagoland area.  I was in Jacksonville just long enough to pack and go to a 6 hour training day at Bath and Body Works!!!  I actually just finished my first "real" day there today!  So far it is fantastic and I really super love it!  <lots of enthusiasm, I know.

I managed to pull off a fantastic day early arrival surprise for Chris.  He thought I was driving up on Wednesday, but really I got there on Tuesday.  I unloaded all my stuff while he was at work, hid my car and talked to him on his drive home like we sometimes do.  I almost ruined it when his dad said hi to me, which I hardly acknowledged.  It would be weird if I was talking back to the "tv"...duh.  So we finished our conversation, I tried to hang up the phone, (failed), finally acknowledged the greeting from his dad, and then I heard, "what did you say?".  I played it off like it wasn't a big deal and then walked out his front door while he was getting out of his car.  Really awesome and exciting...and overly cheesy.

That weekend, I went with Chris' family to Minneapolis to celebrate his grandma's birthday.  We stayed near the Mall of America and had dinner there on Friday.  I didn't do any shopping, but on the up side, I saved lots of money!  On Saturday we took a ride on the Mississippi and got to go through one of the locks.  While some might think it's boring, I think it's pretty interesting. 

This is a picture from the top of the lock and you can see the rapids.

And here's a picture from the bottom when we're about to leave. (I don't know those people, they were just kind of in the shot)

Later we returned to Northbrook where I ended up staying a week longer than planned because I didn't have to work.  I stayed until Sunday and on Friday we all went out to dinner to celebrate his dad's last day at his job.  He's moving on to another university and will be a dean there.  While pondering what to order at The Yard House, I spotted this is Chris' menu.

Part of me thought, why would $100 be shoved into a menu like that?  But I wrote it off as pure luck.  We were shocked at our good fortune.  At first I thought it was a $10, but then I saw the extra 0.  I asked if we should tell his parents, but he said no, we'd just buy dinner and we'd tell them later.  So we were really excited to have this extra money and be able to live it up and pay for dinner.  I felt like an idiot because I was really excited about it and felt like I couldn't stop smiling.  So about the time our appetizers arrive, Chris decides to take out the bill and revel in our luck.  (Do you know where this is going?) 

Instead when he opened it, he found this... 

He immediately hung his head and I burst into fits of laughter.  I'm not sure why the loss of what we thought was 100 free dollars was so hilarious to me, but I couldn't stop laughing which prompted his parents to ask what was so funny, to which he responded by sullenly throwing the fake hundred on the table.  We all laughed about it, but to be honest, it was disappointing, even though I laughed while writing this.  Looking back now, I realize the naivete of it all, but it happens.  I had to give the guy credit for a fantastic advertising idea...while Chris said he would never buy anything from there.

That's about all I have going on right now.  I'm headed to Moline this weekend with some friends and am excited to go to The Daiquiri Factory when it's warm out...instead of 20ish degrees.  Then it's just a few shifts at BBW and 95% chance of going to Fairview for 4th of July weekend!

Oh also, there's a boil order/water shortage in Jacksonville due to recent flooding.  I just found out today, but it's been in effect since Saturday.  It hasn't mattered much because I don't drink my water, but I feel bad for doing a load of laundry yesterday...oops!  I guess I'll start watching the news now.