Biggest Loser

How I wish I was the Biggest Loser….but with 15-20 pounds not 150-200 pounds. So with my friend Paula…I started weight watchers online..yet again!!! But like the last time I did it sucessfully I have a swimsuit goal.  My best friend Mayra and I  are going out to LA this summer to celebrate our 30th birthdays.  So very excited!!! Of course we are going to go to the beach. I want to happily wear a swimsuit..I also want to wear cute jersey everything!! Im so looking forward to jersey dresses and flip flops…soo here are my goals.

5 pounds-get tattoo touched up (might be there this weekend )

10 pounds-get pixy haircut

15 pounds-tanning? for the swimsuit of course!

20 would be great..but i’m not going to get to crazy….

I have to lose at least 15 so I don’t have to change my drivers license weight when I renew in august

Half-Marathon and things

Well…I did it…I completed all 13.1 miles of the Hogeye Half-Marathon. I don’t know that I will ever do that again. The race started at 7:30 which I started with my friend Maggie, but soon fell behind at the first hill. That was fine by me, I know I’m slow..and I am used to running alone. The hills going where challenging but do able..the hills coming back were….BRUTAL….so steep that I could barely pick up my feet high enough to not scrape the ground. But I made it…I never stopped and never stopped jogging. I finished under 3 hours..not sure of my exact time, I was to busy celebrating being done. I would like to say that I was so slow because it was cold and windy or because i’m recovering from bronchitis/sinus infection…but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been any different…hills just suck. Let me add …that the Hogeye is known as one of the most difficult marathons. Benny was there to meet me at the finish line. I gotta say I was pretty disappointed that my family wasn’t there.  Overall I’m just glad it’s over, I’m proud of myself and now I can get back on my bike.

Other awesome things…..I think I might have found a pretty sweet extreme part time job this summer, and might have found a place to show and sell some art works in a few months. Things are looking good.

run fat girl run

As I was tromping along on my run today…it really hit me…wow this would be a lot easier if my butt wasn’t so big. I’ve always known that..but it really hit me today as I was dragging all that junk along for 6 miles. So I vow……that I’m going going to try to be better this week. I have too. I even texted my friend from work..who always brings me yummy treats…to be my motivator. There is no reason working out as much as I do, to weight this much. Give me a few days, I’ll get back to you….

do run run, do run run

If you read my last post you would know that I’m “training” for a half-marathon.  Today was my long run day. I’m up to 6 miles…which might not be a lot to some…but the most I’ve ever done.  It wasn’t bad…actually pretty easy.  I’m definitely not the fastest runner…I usually average about a 12.5 minute mile. Today it was around 35 degrees and very lightly snowing, with very few people on the trail, which made my run even more enjoyable. It’s funny how you can day dream while running.  I wish there was a way to record your thoughts while running, laying in bed, or driving.   I guess all the times when it’s inconvenient to write things down. Today I had ideas for art projects, lesson plans, and even plans for the summer.  It’s amazing that I almost enjoy something I used to hate.

why not???

I’ve got some time…..why not??

Obviously I’ve been slacking on this whole blog thing..not that I was ever really on it.  Things are going well…2009 is working out so far.

First of we have a new president…what what!  That alone gives me hope.

The economy sucks…but Ben and I are lucky enough to have stable jobs, and are doing ok.

I took my Praxis 3 exam Feb. 3 I hope to find out if I passed soon…

I only have 2 more NTL classes left before I’m done with that crap……if anyone doesn’t know what NTL is…it’s B S for my teaching license.

My classes are GREAT this year..my students are the BEST!!!

Family is doing well

We all survived like the worst ice storm in NWA history

My car is officially paid off

Most of my tv shows are not currently in re-runs and LOST is actually answering some questions..and it looks like Jin is alive…wooo!!!!

Ben and I are approaching our 6th year of marriage and our 10th year together…hard to believe

I’m one day away from week 5 of my 12 week training for a 1/2 marathon…April 5th

I could go on and on….i love my family, i love my friends….life is good!

I’m going to go back to playing on itunes……

jennygirl OUT!!!

debt, debt, and more debt

The new addition

Today Ben and I went out and bought him a new car…well not totally new…certified pre-owned.  The new addition to the family is a black 2008 subaru outback.  It’s pretty sweet. I’m glad Ben got the car he really wanted.  It’s good we got rid of the Rodeo…I was afraid it was on it’s last leg…which would eventually get costly…not that buying a new car isn’t.  My bug will be paid off in Nov. and knowing that bad things keep happening to it.  I hit a piece of tire tread on the highway last week and it tore out the lining of my tire well and loosened my hub cap and sadly today I noticed it’s gone…now my car looks sad.  I hope to get another hub cap soon.  Then I will clean the bug up and I’ll love my her once again….I hope.

rainy rainy day

Wow…have I been lazy..it’s been nearly a month since I wrote anything.  Not that anyone is paying attention.

Not a whole lot has happened in the last month.

I guess the biggest thing was going back to work.  As hard as it was to go back to work, I’m surprised at how easily I fell into the old school routine.  For the most part school has been good.  My classes are manageable and so far there is not a class I dread. (although that can change quickly!)

I haven’t started or finished any major projects, or read any books.  I have seen a few movies and played a LOT of mario kart Wii.

Well I guess that is my update for now.

jenny

end of summer…

OK….lets reflect on the summer that went by waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to fast…..

first lets revisit all the goals i made for myself back in june…

My goals for the summer….

#1 get back in shape….my first year of teaching put a few pounds on me….I really have no excuse to not exercise and eat right this summer. OK SO THAT DIDN’T COMPLETELY PAN OUT…BUT I DID LOSE SOME OF THE WEIGHT I GAINED AND I GAINED QUITE A BIT OF MUSCLE BACK..I’M JOGGING AND BIKING FURTHER THAN I EVER DID BEFORE…NOW IF I CAN ONLY KEEP IT UP WHEN SCHOOL STARTS.

#2 build a porch in my backyard, construction is set to begin next wednesday. DONE!!!

#3 make a quilt, and actually quilt it…i recently made a quilt, but didn’t quilt it, just used ties to hold it together. AHHHH I HAVEN’T FINISHED THE ONE I STARTED, BUT I DID MAKE A FAB ONE FOR MY MOTHER IN LAW.

#4 read more-I MOST DEFINITELY DID THIS THANKS TO THE TWILIGHT SERIES….ALMOST FINISHED WITH THE LAST ONE…SO SAD.

#5 try screenprinting, and other art related things. DIDN’T DO MUCH ART THIS SUMMER OTHER THAN MAKING A QUILT..PERHAPS I NEEDED SOME REST FROM IT….I GOING TO TRY TO DO THE SCREENPRINTING THING AS SOON AS I FINISH MY BOOK.

#6 Work on a lesson plan for Survey of Art…and my other classes…..(last on my list) I HAVE WORKED ON SOME LESSON PLANS, BUT NOT FOR SURVEY OF ART…THAT CLASS IRKS ME….I KNOW ONCE I FIND OUT HOW I WANT IT DONE IT WILL COME TO ME.

So the summer wasn’t as successful as i hoped…but it definitely wasn’t wasted time. Can’t remember the last time i had this little stress in my life…i actually sleep, and sleep well. I am looking forward to a good school year regardless of all the drama that surrounds my school. 3 more days of summer vaykay!!!

Top 5

I watched part of High Fidelity the other day for the millionth time. It’s one of those movies that if it’s on, i’m gonna watch it. If you haven’t seen it John Cusack’s character owns a music store and always makes top 5 lists, usually with music….so I started thinking about the top 5 most influential bands to me…the 5 bands who have shaped me from birth until now.

#1 The Beatles…how could they not be…they have been with me since birth…most likely even in the womb. Even though I denied my love from them to spite my mother for many years…I’ve come around..and as cheesy as it may sound they are the are still greatest band that ever.

#2 Guns and Roses…while all my friends were freaking out about New Kids on the Block…I was worshiped GNR. I would have to say that once I heard Appetite for Destruction I was a rocker for life. Montely Crue and Poison did nothing for me, it was always about GNR.

#3 Nirvana…cliche’ I know….but I was a teenager in the mist of the grunge explosion. Junior high-through High school….it was the sound track for all my teenage angst years. In case your wondering…yes I did cry for Kurt and I proudly wore his name on my converse.

#4 Fugazi….even though I love the Beatles, Fugazi by far is my favorite band. It’ s not something I listen to everyday, but when it comes up (like on shuffle on my ipod) I am instantly reminded of why I love them so much. The emotion of the music affects me.

#5 Girl Bands…..I hate to put them in one category, but there are so many that mean a lot to me. It started with L7, and expanded to include Bikini Kill, Sleater Kinney, and so many more. Of course I have to give credit to Joan Jett, because without her, who knows if all these rockin girls would exist.

There are so many bands that have shaped my life…but those are my top five.

rainy day…

Just got home from a bike ride…..a very nice one…except for the fact that it rained all day and there were puddles of water and mud all over the trail. It was nice…I love riding in the evenings especially as the sun is just going down. The sky is always so pretty it makes me sad to think of all the months the sun goes down so early. On my way back my ipod shuffle had gotten to the minor threat….oh how punk rock still makes me happy and a bit nostalgic.

Anyway……

back to my bike ride……on the ride back…I saw a critter crossing the trail. I was riding so fast I couldn’t tell what it was so I had to turn around and check it out. I could see that it was walking to the edge of the trail. When I rode up to it I realized it was a crawdad…..sooooooo cute!! It turned around and stood up and shook it’s claws at me. I couldn’t help provoking it with my shoe..it was just to funny…how I wished the camera on my phone wasn’t jacked up I would have loved to take a picture of it.

After many recommendations I finally started to read TWILIGHT…for those of you who aren’t familiar, Twilight is part of a series of vampire books. I was hesitant to read it….I went through that whole anne rice vampire stage back in high school. Most of my girl students read it last school year and were constantly telling me that I had to read it. After having it recommended by a friend, I picked it up. It is really good and I look forward to reading the whole series, and the first book is supposed to become a movie soon.
Well I guess I should get cleaned up….the new season of Burn Notice starts tonight…..one of me and Ben’s favorite shows….what isn’t to like about x-assassins/spys who hang out with Bruce Campbell?

Only 2 more days of NTL……..sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!