Where does the time go?

I have been meaning to post an entry for a long time now. Almost four months have gone by and a lot has happened. Work at the high school is going well. We had a few unfortunate events occur which was rough on some students and teachers. My classes have been going well. Calculus got a lot smoother this semester I think because most of the negativity was removed. The AP exam is in a few weeks so now I am just hoping my students do well on the AP exam. We have out schedule for next year and I am not teaching Calculus next year. I have mixed emotions regarding this. I have put so much hard work and effort into the class that I don't want to give it up- I want to keep at it. So in a way I am offended it was taken from me. We are losing a teacher so we have this carrot to dangle in front of the new teacher, but if we cannot find a qualified teacher for Calculus- I get it back. On the otherhand, I am a bit relieved I don't have to teach it. Someone else can worry about the students doing well on the AP exam, bother with Dave trying to tell you how to teach the class, put up with parents, and deal with the whining of the AP kids. Plus I figure Shane and I would like to have kids soon, so if I were to take leave in the middle of the school year, it would not be fair to these kids especially. I do have a rough schedule next year, I teach three of the four lowest classes we offer, but I am up for the challenge. I am excited about a consumer math class we offer- I will be mostly teaching special education kiddos, but I get to teach them about what it is like to budget and live on your own.

The college is going well this semester too. I am only teaching one class, but I really enjoy it. It is an Algebra 1 level class and my students are great. I had a few that liked to give me attitude, but they left my class and the ones remaining are awesome. Some days I am so tired and just want togo home, but I always feel good after I leave the college because I enjoy it so much.

I am going through this stage in my life where I find myself extremely proud of my accomplishments and the way I challenge myself and I also find myself to be very content. I have rough times and I get upset about things, but overall I am very happy with my life. It started in February when I planned a snowshoeing trip with some girl friends. There were five of us going, but two bailed and we ended up with three. It was the first time I had gone snowshoeing. It is not incredibly difficult, but something I can add to my list of things I have done. Shortly after that I went with some friends to the rock climbing gym and learned to climb- it was great. A little scary at first, but deals a great deal with trust and learning to trust your partner. I decided to buy some shoes of my own and a punch card so now I go more often. I have yet to climb outside- that is next on my list. If I really like it, I will buy the rest of the gear and turn into a mountain woman. :) Somewhere around that same time I was talked into training for a marathon. I was totally against it at first but then I thought about a friend of mine, Allison, who trained for a marathon and now loves to run and she runs for causes. I figure if she can do it and all of those sick people she raises money for find the will to run them, I can too. So I signed up. I will say I am one of the slowest runners on our team. This is the third year the high school has had the marathon team, but this is the biggest group they have had yet. Lots of teachers and students participating. I HATE to run, but I am learning to love it. I am learning you need special shoes, you need to listen to your body, and find out why you hurt and how to fix it. I bought a new mp3 player, some new shoes, and a few new clothes and I am ready to go. I run four days a week. We started at 20 min and I could not run the whole 20 minutes. But now we are up to 45 minutes and I can run the whole 45 minutes against strong wind gusts without stopping. :) May not be a big deal, but to me it is huge. I am actually really proud of myself making it this far. I have a few partners in crime, but only one that runs at the same pace as me, or is nice enough to slow down and run with me. She helped me get through the first 5K I ran for the season and she will probably help me get through all the rest. My goal is small- I just want to it make through the half-marathon, but if I do the whole marathon I think I may have to reward myself with something huge. :) I do get down on myself because literally I am the last runner when we run as a school. There is a girl who walks a lot and when she comes she is behind me, but otherwise I am the last. But I have a good pace and I run the time I am suppose to and I concentrate on me and remind myself this is huge that I am running, so get over yourself and keep going- and I do. :)

I also ordered myself a bodybugg. I started back in November working out with a group of teachers. The PE teacher started the group and she had the body bugg. I inquird about it and did some research and decided I needed it since I didn't have a gym membership- it was my way to lose some weight. I have it strapped on my arm all of the time and I record all ofmy food- I even try to go over what I really eat so I will feel like I need to eat less. I have lost about 10 lbs so far. I have hit a plateau tough and I still need to lose 2 more lbs to reach my goal. The problem is I recently bought some new pairs of jeans because all of mine were too worn and now they are all too big for me. One pair I can put on and take off without unzipping the pants. Sad huh?!

My Scentsy business is going well. In the month of April I have 4 parties planned which is the most for me in one month. I really like the product and I enjoy selling it, so I hope to continue to do well.

Shane is doing well. He is so busy right now with real estate. You would think in these times he would be begging for work, but actually things are going so well he never has time to himself.

Oh- almost forgot- I cut my hair. About a foot off. I donated it to locks of love. I was thinking I needed a hair cut and then thought I should donate it and just cut it all off. I was really hesitant, but as soon as I went to the website and daw those kids and the good that coems from my hair, I said who cares and cut it. And actually most people say they like my hair better short. It does take some egtting use to, but I am surprised on the compliments- they are nice to hear.

Well, I think that should be enough for a few more months. I am going home in a few weeks for a baptism. Summer comes in a few more months and I should be teaching summer school- if not I will be doing a lot of hiking. We do plan on climbing some 14ers and do some camping though. Fun times in CO. :)