The Power of Music

For those of you who don't know, I play bass clarinet in a community band ensemble. We rehearse Tuesday nights & give periodic concerts for the community. It has been alot of fun & a great way to keep my "sophisticated music-ears" active. It has also been a great way to socialize with other music teachers in the area. Last night we gave a concert in partnership with the Skyline High School's Wind Ensemble. Our group performed one of my favorite songs that I played in high school, "Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew". It was our big competition piece & it sometimes made me & my family cry. When my mom found out we were performing it, she wanted to come hear it, even though she already had commitments that night. I later remember that she also graduated from Skyline High & it was fun to see her walk the halls of the school after the concert, reminiscing.

While I didn't know the American Fork High School band teacher who was killed in the recent bus accident, the band director at Skyline High School did. When the Skyline High students found out about the connection, they respectfully wore red ribbons at the concert. They also dedicated their performance to her memory, even though most of these students didn't know her personally. I thought they showed a great example of sympathy & maturity beyond their years. It made for a very emotional night!

Another fun weekend

Any day away from work is a great day. This last weekend I spent some good vacation time with family in Moab. For a full report, see Megan's blog. Unfortunately, my camera is really old & doesn't take good pictures anymore. So, I don't have any pictures to share. But I wanted to keep up on my blogging anyway. Moab was great fun, and it was nice to spend some time away from my work life. It makes me sad that summer is coming to an end, as the weather today reminded me. I actually saw snow flakes falling outside my window for about 5 min this afternoon! I have been singing christmas songs all day. "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful!" Anyway, I'm excited for the changing seasons & more fun experiences with family & friends. I also had today off, so I was able to get some cleaning done. I think I did 7 loads of laundry today, most of them consisting of stuff with red sand in it. I also had to go to the laundromat & clean my sleeping bags. Another sign the summer season is over. But, I'm excited to wear sweaters & sweatshirts! AND...my friend called me and said we can "definately" move into the condo on the 17th of Oct. Yippee! So, while I have to go back to the work-grind tomorrow, there are still great things coming up. :)

Weekend in Logan

This weekend was Homecoming at USU. Even though I graduated from USU 4 years ago, I've never really participated in the Homecoming events. This weekend was a little different. Because of parent teacher conferences this week, I had Friday off. Add that to a couple of other circumstances & it made for a perfect weekend to go to Logan!

Friday, I drove up to Logan for a rehearsal with the USU Wind Orchestra & Alumni Band. We did a combined concert Friday night. My parents were able to come up for the concert & we all stayed at a hotel that night. Saturday morning, we caught a little bit of the Homecoming parade down main street & then hit the mall. Mom had some coupons she wanted to use. Technically, I didn't have money for clothes, but I managed to find some really cute stuff anyway. JC Penny was having a huge "door-buster" sale. Everything was 50% off! $150 later, I was walking out to the car with a huge bag full of clothes. Luckily I get paid this week! After the mall, we grabbed some sandwiches at Old Grist Mill & headed up the canyon. It was such a gorgeous fall day & the leaves were the brightest I have seen them in years. We ate at "1st damn", watching the fishermen NOT catch fish. With our stomachs full, we drove up towards Tony Grove & took a walk around the lake. My mom & dad got their faces burned, but I didn't get anything! I'm still white as a ghost. Once we got back to town, we joined up with Megan & ate dinner at the Bluebird. Yum! Then we burned off our dinner by walking 6 blocks to the stadium to watch the football game against SUU. It was an awesome game, particurally because USU won! Yippee! Final score: USU 53 SUU 34. After the game, we drove back to Salt Lake & I slept like a baby.

This morning, I woke up early, refreshed & ready to get some personal things done before church today. As I sat up in bed & reached for my eye glasses, I discovered they weren't in their case! I frantically searched my bag from our trip to Logan, coming up empty-handed. After a quick mental check, I realized I left them on the nightstand in the hotel room in Logan. ARGH! I called the hotel, who thankfully said they found them & they were at the front desk. Because my family & I are leaving in 3 days for Moab, I new I couldn't have them mailed to me before we left town again. The only option I had was to drive back up to Logan this morning to retrieve them. Blessed with an extra 3 hrs in the car today, I decided to download the General Relief Society Broadcast from last night & listen to it on the way. It was a great broadcast & having had those extra 3 hrs turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Now I'm even more excited to listen to Conference!

Here are some pictures from the football game:














Oh! What a cute family!













Mmmm! Aggie Icecream!

Making a Difference

Let me share with you a couple of conversations I've had with a few of my students:

My bass player stayed after school on Wednesday to practice. When he was ready to go home, he asked me for a note. He wanted me to write a note to his mother, verifying he was at the school practicing. I asked, "What's the matter? She doesn't trust you?" And he said "Nope. My cousin just started coming to this school & she thinks when I'm late coming home from school, it's because I'm hanging out with him." I ask, "Does he like to get into trouble?" And he replies, "Oh yeah! My mom blames my uncle because he's the real troublemaker..." I wanted to ask what kind of troublemaker & thought better of it. Instead I asked, "Do you hang out with your cousin alot?" He replied, "Just when I'm bored." So, then I finished with, "I guess you won't be bored too much with all of that practicing you have to do, right?" :)

I had a kid from one of my classes hang out in my room after school today because he didn't want to go to the dance. He's a 9th grader & he said the dances were "lame." He talked with me while I planned my classes for the next day. He had a lot of really good ideas for his class & "encouraged" me to accomplish some of them. I said I would try, but with my schedule, its hard to get things done quickly. I feel like I'm planning all the time & I'd like to have a social life once in a while. He agreed with me & said having a social life was important. Jokingly, I said, "So, why are you hanging out here? You have friends, right?" Of coarse he had friends. He went on to explain that his best friend was struggling right now. He caught her with vein marks up her arm & told me about all of the different drugs she said she had been shooting up. I was shocked that a 14 year old kid could possess such a diverse pharmacy. All I could do was listen to his story & offer words of encouragment to him, hoping he would find a way to help his friend get clean. It's amazing what kids deal with these days.

Meanwhile, I received a call from my friend today. She said they ran into some problems with the bathroom renovations at the condo & it won't be ready to move into by the 19th. I was disappointed, obviously, cause that means I won't be able to move in until the 10th of Oct. On the positive side, I guess it will give me more time to pack my crap, and she just freed up my weekend. I guess I'll have to take a student's advice & have a social life!

Boring Life

I don't really have anything to say. But, I feel like I haven't posted in a while, so I wanted to say something. This is the third week of school & things are starting to calm down & fall into a routine. It has been really nice to have all of my prep time, but I still find myself working after hours. With 5 different classes to prep every two days, I have plenty to keep me busy. I'm learning just how impossible my schedule is. Nobody should be expected to teach my schedule. Not only do I have 5 different classes to prep, but in two of those classes the students are on 3 different levels. It's like I have to teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra, & Calculus at the same time to 50 different kids. Then in the same day, I have to teach US History, Geography, & World History at the same time to a class of 30. In addition, I also have to teach a class of 50 students 5th grade biology, and three classes of Health. No wonder I'm going crazy! So far things are better than last year, but it's still tough. I would love to work in a normal Band position, where I just teach Band classes all day long. I'm still looking, but with the economy the way that it is, I'm lucky to have any kind of job. I know a few people that have lost their jobs recently, and I try not to complain too much. Things can definately be worse.

Meanwhile, things are on track to move into my friend's condo on September 19th. My brother & his family move into town this weekend, so it looks like I'll be spending the next two weeks moving stuff. That doesn't leave much room for a social life. Its a good thing I have "mini" vacation plans for the Sept 25th weekend & the Oct. 2nd weeekend! Halloween is going to be hear before we know it! If only the weather will cooperate & get cooler!

My First 5K

It's ironic that I originally started this blog to document my training for my first 5K race. But when I finally managed to register & run in my first race, it takes me two weeks to post the results. But I guess it's better to blog late than to never blog at all, right? So here it goes... The race was an awesome experience! As I posted before, I decided to run in the Wasatch Women 5K/10K race on August 22nd. I was attracted to this race's women-only status & it's short distance. I figured there would be many women of different running levels there & I wouldn't be too embarrased. I'm still considerably out of shape, and knew I couldn't keep up with serious runners. Even though I'm far from my ideal body weight, & running level, I wanted to run this race anyway. I was running for the experience & to get a better idea of my current 5K time. In fact, I didn't really "train" for this race at all. I went to the gym twice in the two weeks prior to the race. I kept meaning to train outside, but the weather was so hot, I just couldn't get myself to run outside. I figured I could at least finish the race, and I didn't care exactly what my time was. But that doesn't mean I wasn't nervous. I've never run a race before. I've never expected myself to run outside, up hills, consistantly for 3.2 miles in front of 1300 people I didn't know. Considering the terrain & the hot weather, I set a personal goal of running the 5K in less than an hour. I know this is a terrible time, considering a "decent" 5K running time is around 20-30 min. But, for me, coming in less than an hour was going to be awesome. I talked Megan into running with me. She agreed, even though she HATES running. Her husband was also kind enough to arrive early with us & take a few "before" pictures. My parents arrived just before start time. It was awesome to have all that support. At the last minute, I decided to listen to my iPod while I ran/walked. I don't usually exercise with my iPod because I'm usually watching the latest video in the CardioCinema room at the gym. I also don't have a good place to keep it while I run. But I was really glad I used it that day. I was able to totally get "in the Zone," and focus on listening to my body. I could push myself harder than I normally would have. I found a good pace & started a quick jog/walk pattern. Before I knew it, I was rounding the corner to the finish line. As my foot crossed the line, I glanced up at the clock and saw 49.52! I came in less than 50 minutes! WOW! I never knew I could do that well! Megan did awesome, too. She had cut 7 min off her time from her first 5K race in May. Considering all the hills in the park, and the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, our times were especially sweet. I was emotional when I started the race & when I finsihed it. Hopefully next time I won't be such a boob. :) Here's a video of me crossing the finish line:



And here's some more pics:

Megan crying after crossing the finish line.

Megan & I hugging after I crossed the finish line.

The "After" picture. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Last Week of Summer

In my world, today is the last Monday of the summer. School starts next week, and if I don't think about it, I'm fine. :) Things are starting to look better in my classrooms & I'm getting closer to getting lessons planned for the first week. Dance Company had a rehearsal today & I could hear girls yelling & giggling in the hallway while I cleaned today. It was a pleasant reminder of what I'll hear next week when all of the students return. Tomorrow I have a music meeting at the district and Wednesday we start our official meetings at the school. We've got meetings Wednesday and Thursday, but Friday is free. I'll probably be planning & running off copies on Friday. My goal is to get everything ready to go by Friday afternoon, so I don't have to do anything over the weekend. I want this weekend to myself. Saturday is my first 5K race & I'm really excited to get it over with. I know my time won't be great, because I'm still terribly out-of-shape, but at least I'll have a starting point to improve upon.

Meanwhile, my friend finally closed on her condo last Thursday & her parents have been constantly working on getting it ready to move in. My friend is stuck at work for about 60 hrs a week. She has one night off & Sundays, so she's not able to help a lot. I was able to help out for a few hours on Saturday & it was the first time I've seen the place without the previous owner's crap in it. The condo needs a lot of work before we can move in, but things seem to be moving quickly. It's going to be awesome when it's finished. I'm going over to help tomorrow after work, so I'll try and take some pictures.

Change Can Be A Good Thing

At risk of falling victim to Murphy's Law, I'm going out on a limb and saying I'm really excited for this school year to start. I have spent the last two days at the school, cleaning & organizing my classrooms. Yes, I have two classrooms. The "band" room & the "choir" room, although the "choir" room is currently the "piano lab". After a year of living in clutter & chaotic messes, I'm finally able to clean & organize 30 yrs of crap. I should've taken "before & after" pictures for all to see, but I know the students will appreciate the work I've done. I'm sure it will help my sanity too. Hopefully by Friday I'll be organized enough to start working on lesson plans & disclosures for when classes start. The only frustration is the heat. The school has no air-conditioning. It only takes 10 min. of moving boxes before I'm sweating profusely.

It's also been fun to see the new teachers at the school. I haven't realized how much I've learned in the last year. Thankfully, I don't have to figure out my account login, how the copy machine works, what my budget is, what a referral is, etc. Life is good in that area. :)

Meanwhile, the moving process has been stalled again. My friend is experiencing some delays closing on her condo. I shouldn't be surprised; I've heard this happens a lot. But, I can still be disappointed. Now, we are thinking we'll be able to move in some time in September. I'm still hoping for the first weekend in September, but we'll see how things go. The positive side is I'm able to concentrate more on work things, which will help make the school year run more smoothly. At this point, I think we are taking things one week at a time.

I'm Finally Going to Do It!

Guess What?! My sister & I have registered for a 5K in three weeks! It will be my first race EVER! I meant to run the 5K at the Salt Lake Marathon, but was very sick. I didn't even register for that race, so I'm already doing better than last time. If anybody wants to come out to Sugar House Park on August 22nd to cheer us on, we would love it!

In the spirit of the race, I decided to run/walk the entire 3.2 miles at the gym today. I tried to pace myself, so I wasn't dead tired by the end. I was tired, but not "dead" tired. I probably walked about 2/3 of the way, but 3.2 miles is alot farther than the 2.5 miles I have usually been doing at the gym. Now that I know I can finish the race, my next problem will be trying to NOT be the last person done. Today I reached 3 miles in 46 minutes. I think it took me another 2 minutes to finish the .2 miles left. Honestly, I don't really know how bad that time is, but I guess it doesn't really matter. All I can do is improve my time, so that will be my goal for the next three weeks. I figure I can try walking less & less, and running/walking faster. Next week, I'm going to start training outside, so it's not a huge shock on race day. It means I'll have to get up early so it's not so hot. Although, the cardiocinema room was 81 degrees today! I guess they were having trouble with their air conditioner. I was even more proud of myself when I realized how hot it was.

Moving

For those of you who don't know, I will be moving into a new condo my friend is buying. I was able to go see it tonight. It needs some work: new paint, carpet & minor repairs. But, overall, it's going to be awesome! I'm excited for my friend, who I've known for along time. We were roommates in college. I'm also excited that we get to live together again & live in a new area with new friends and neighbors. Amazingly enough, I will be moving into a single's ward where I already know people. I've lived in my current singles ward for 4 years and know about 8 people. I know that is partially my fault, but it will be fun to be somewhere new. My friend hopes to close on the condo by the end of the week & repairs should take about 2 weeks or so. Hopefully, by the end of the month, I should be moved in! Yeah! I'll post some pictures soon.

Facebook vs. iTunes

I know I already did a post today, but besides perfecting blog-art, I wanted to share another frustration I experienced today.

I recently bought a new iPod when my previous one was stolen at work. I decided to buy the classic 120 GB because all the other iPod's didn't have enough storage space for my current library. I previously had an 80 GB iPod and while it wasn't full, I had more than 30 GB worth of music & the 120 GB was the only one that would work for me. Apple doesn't sell an 80 GB iPod any more :(

ANYWAY, since I now have TONS of room, I have spent the last couple of weeks copying movies & borrowing music from family to add to my new iPod. (Don't worry, everything I'm doing is legal.) I currently have 40 GB of music and 18 GB of movies. Which should be great, right? Except, I spent AN HOUR just organizing all my songs that start with A. At this rate, it's going to take me 26 Hrs. to organize my entire library!! And I was making fun of people for spend too much time on Facebook!

P.S. If you were wondering, I haven't gotten my room cleaned yet.

Pretty Blog

Finally! I have managed to make my blog look pretty. It only took me 2 hrs! It's funny how little things can really bug you. I spent 45 min on my title banner just because I wanted my title to show in the bottom right corner instead of the top left corner. I also spent 20 min figuring out how to change the banner background color. Anyway, I'm sure it isn't perfect & I'm going to have to change it again when it's not officially summer anymore. But, it sure is a whole lot better!! Now I need to go back to cleaning my room. :)

Tory's Groove Thang!

And that's why we love our sister in law :)

(for more entertainment, see Tory's blog for "Tyler's Groove Thang."

School's Out For Summer

School's Out for Summer! Da, da, da, da. Da, da, da, da. School's Out forever! (I wish...).

Lazy Sunshine, here I come!

Working Out Again!

Great News! I had a minor break-through yesterday. I overcame my negative self-talk and got myself out to exercise. I wanted to ride my bike along 2700 E. to "the gully," a wooded area in Salt Lake that I have never been to. But, to get to 2700 E, I had to ride my bike up hill about 6 blocks. I had to stop for a breather once. I also didn't realize that heading north along 2700 E. is slightly uphill. It turned out to be a bigger workout than I anticipated. I guess the combination of strenuous exercise & rising temperatures caused me to feel a little light headed & I had to pull over. I didn't make it to the gully, but I still feel like I had a major accomplishment by riding up hill for as long as I did. I don't think I've done that in years. It also got me motivated to work out after school this week. The kids may be off the wall & I may be stressed, but that shouldn't stop me from taking care of myself. My health needs to be my priority. So, here's to a new commitment this week. Wish me luck!

quick update

I should be in bed, but I wanted to give a quick update. This last weekend was awesome, spending time with family (see megan's blog). I'm feeling MUCH better & counting down the minutes until school is out for the summer. And, it sounds like we don't have to worry about our school closing because of the swine flu. For those who haven't heard, the district decided to close Granite High School, so they didn't need to cut the Elementary Music program next year. That means my job is safe next year. Yeah. This week will be busy with my last Salt Lake Symphonic Winds rehearsal & concert of the season. If you would like to come, our concert is at Westminster College, Wednesday May 13th at 7PM. I'm not sure where at the college, but if you really want to know, call me. Since I'll be out of town over the 4th of July, I'm not playing in the Sugarhouse park concert, so after the concert Wednesday I'll take a break from playing until next fall. Next week we get to see my friend Peggy's creation Treasure Island at Hale Theatre. It should be great! Hope y'all are well & we'll see ya later!

when will it end?!

If you notice the date & time of this post, you should say, "Why isn't Lisa working?" That is a very good question. Remember my little bug I caught last week? I went to the doctor on Saturday & asked him to do a strep test. He didn't think it would come back positive because I also had a runny nose & nausea. But the only time I've had a sore throat this bad is when I had strep. So, I wanted to be sure. Guess what? My test came back positive on Monday & now I am in isolation until my antibiotics make me not contagious. My throat & nausea feel better, though. I should be back to work tomorrow, yippee.

I think I will allow my cousin Jennifer to come beat these bugs away. Thanks Jen, for the support. :)

Meanwhile, on the homefront: The district should make a decision on the final budget cuts tonight. Hopefully, the Elementary music program won't get cut. Also, one of the elementary schools in the district is closed for two weeks because of the "swine" flu. I just hope & pray that nobody at our school gets sick so we can finish our year on time. I'll keep you posted.

Good News/Bad News

Good News: I survived my last music festival of the season today. Things went well, and I'm starting to earn some respect in the district. Hopefully, it will help save my job if the Elementary Program gets cut.

Bad News: I'm sick again. After school yesterday I felt especially wiped out. I also started to get stuffy & had a mild sore throat. I didn't sleep a wink last night. First I couldn't shut my brain off. Then, I couldn't find a comfortable temperature. Next, I was stuffy enough that I started breathing thru my mouth, which caused me to snore, which made my throat extremely sore & got so loud at times that it woke me up. This morning I couldn't breath, my throat ached constantly, I got hot & cold flashes, & felt dizzy spells. I had to go to work today because it was our orchestra festival. Luckily I could sit most of the day & listen to the other orchestras. I left soon after school got out & took a nap. Hopefully, I'll get better soon.

Good News: We have 25 days left of school.

Bad News: We have 25 days left of school. :)

I'm Back! Time to catch up...

This is my first spring flower bed. I planted the bulbs & the pansies last fall & have enjoyed watching them bloom. Not bad, huh?


This is my bike on my car. I think it looks pretty cool.



This is my bike close up. Its pretty awesome, huh?

Well, I can't believe it has been over a month since I blogged last. I wish I could say a lot of things have happened, but I can't. I bet I can sum the month up in 100 words or less. :) I'm finally feeling better. It was slow going for awhile, but spring break finally put me over the top. I believe not having to think about work for 5 days did the trick. Needless to say, I wimped out on the 5k race because I hadn't been training for 2 months. I feel bad, but what can I do? It also took a while to get back to the gym. I finally went back today. It wasn't a great workout, but it felt good to be working out again. I also weigh 224.8 lbs. Not great, but not terrible either. I plan to go several times this week. I need a good stress reliever from work. The kids are driving me crazy! Its going to be a long month.

I also bought a new mountain bike. I have wanted one for years, but could never find the money. I recently received some extra money for teaching Jazz Band early morning & I decided to put it to good use. I shopped at 4 different stores & found one that will work great for me. Its a 2008 Jamis Durango with disc brakes, 24 speeds, & locking front suspension. It rides great! I love it! My friend & I went riding along the Jordan Parkway last Saturday & it was awesome! I really wanted to go riding today, but it wouldn't stop raining. That's how I ended up in the gym. I had to vent my frustrations out somehow. Anyway, I'm looking forward to riding all summer & taking it to Moab in October. Here are some pictures.

Getting back into the habit...

Well, I'm still not 100% better, but I think I will try to exercise this week. I planned on exercising tonight, but talked myself out of it. I convinced myself I had too much school-work to do. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER! Truthfully, I have reached burnout. I will try exercising again on Thursday. I won't have an excuse on Thursday, so that should be a good day to start. I'll also plan to exercise on Friday & Saturday. That will still be 3 days this week. On a positive note, I have been better at managing my eating habits, my finances, and reading my scriptures. I also found out I will be getting a big check for teaching Jazz band before school. It was an unexpected $1200! I want to put 1/2 towards my credit card & use the other half to buy a bike! I'm so excited. I'm suppose to get it sometime in April or May, so the next time my family goes to Moab, I can ride my bike instead of sitting in the back of the hot jeep. Yippee! Well, I guess I had better get some work done. I'll post again soon.

On the mend??

Well, three weeks later, I'm still not feeling better. My antibiotics are almost gone & I'm still stuffed up, coughing up crap, & have body aches. Maybe my doctor was right & all I have is a nasty virus. Last Saturday night, I finally gave in & bought a humidifier. It has been a huge help in getting me to sleep. I still wake up occasionally during the night, but I can usually fall right back to sleep with out having to get up and take more drugs. I slept all day last Sunday & felt a little better. But, this week has been long & stressful & any progress I made was lost by Thursday. Thankfully, because of parent teacher conferences this week, we had Friday off. After spending some time watching TV with my brother Thursday night, I fell asleep & didn't wake up until 9:30 Friday morning. I got up, ate breakfast, watched The Biggest Loser, & went back to bed around 11:30 AM. I woke up again round 2:30 PM. I kept thinking I needed to get stuff done, but all I felt like doing was watching TV. I managed to shower & go to the store, but was in bed by 9:30PM. I hope I can finally get over this crap. I want to start working out again. I've got about a month now until the 5K race. Even if I'm feeling better, this week will be difficult to get to the gym. Monday I have to go to Costco & buy stuff for Enrichment, Tuesday I have rehearsal, Wednesday I'm going to see Pirates at Hale, Thursday I have to prep & serve our Relief Society dinner. I guess I'll resume workouts next weekend.

Still Sick...

Well, I managed to make it through the week. I lost my voice several times & the kids had fun laughing at me. My boss came in to observe my class & was sympathetic. That felt good, since I called in sick on Wednesday. I went to the doctor & she suspected I had a virus and wanted me to try Mucinex for a day. She also said the sudafed I was taking was making things worse. If things didn't get better in 24 hours, she also gave me some antibiotics. I was grateful for that because that was what I came in there for. I became confused when I went to the pharmacy and all of the Mucinex boxes said it clears up chest congestions. I don't have chest congestion, I just can't breath. I slept all day Wednesday & almost felt worse. Wednesday night I couldn't breath at all. After three hours of tossing & turning, I finally took more sudafed & a bunch of ibuprofen. I think I slept about four hours. Thursday was more of the same crap, but I started the antibiotics Thursday night. I still feel like crap today, but I'm hopeful things will start getting better.

A Huge Brick Wall....

Well, some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted a blog in a while. This is mostly because I haven't worked out in a while. I worked out on Wednesday, February 11th, so I can count that as Day 15. But that following weekend, I got a nasty cold. I first noticed the symptoms on Sunday, while we were in Cheyenne, and I felt progressively worse as the weekend went on. I tried to go to be early & sleep most of the way home, but I wasn't feeling better by Wednesday when I had to go back to work. Thursday was horrible. It was a stressful day at work, and it didn't help that I was still sick. I almost fell asleep several times while I was driving home from work. To make things worse, Thursday was also my birthday. I am forever grateful to my family for taking me out to dinner & celebrating with me, when all I felt like doing was sleeping. Friday was better, but I was at the school until 8:30 PM getting caught up on midterms. Saturday, I crashed. I felt worse Saturday & Sunday even though I took extra naps, went to bed early, & slept in. I even skipped a scheduled temple trip on Saturday, and church on Sunday. I hoped I would feel miraculously better on Monday, but I really don't. I can't remember the last time I had a cold that was this strong, this long. I feel as bad today as I did on the first day. If I don't feel any better tomorrow, I'm calling in sick on Wednesday. I don't know if taking one day off will help that much, but I've got to do something. I was suppose to start my official 5k training program today, but obviously that didn't happen. All I can do now is pray I get over this crap quickly.

Day 15

I finally made it to the gym tonight & I have decided that I like the Gold's Gym in Kearns a lot better than the one in Holladay. It has all of the same amenities, but fewer people. I don't have to fight for a treadmill in the cardio room, even when I go at the peak times. I fulfilled my 30 sec walk/30 sec. jog routine at 3.6 walk speed & 4.3 jog speed. I even started the jogging 30 sec early so I would come out even at the end of the 15 min span. I worked up a pretty good sweat, but my legs didn't kill by the end. Hopefully by the end of the week, I can kick my speed up a little bit. I plan to work out on Wed & Thurs of this week. I'm still not sure about Fri & I probably won't work out on Sat because I'll be in Wyoming. But I'm definately going to take my gym clothes with me so I can hopefully work out on Monday & Tuesday. My eating hasn't been great today. I had cereal for breakfast(that was good), but I had Wendy's for lunch & 3 slices of Little Ceaser's pizza for dinner. I also had yogurt & 2 cookies. I have been trying to drink more water, though, and I think that helps me curb my appetite sometimes.

Day 14

Well, this week didn't go as well as I had hoped. Things were crazy in the evenings and I didn't get to the gym as often as I would have liked. But, I'm not giving up. I went today & I promise this week will be better. I could tell I was losing ground during my workout. Things were harder than they should've been. I made it through the workout, but I can't say it was a great workout. I also weight 229.0 lbs. But, this week I won't have any excuses to miss the gym. My evenings are free & I won't let work interfere with my personal goals. Anyway, that's about all I have to say about that. I am really looking forward to our trip to Wyoming. I pray the weather is nice.

Day 13

Its a good thing I keep this blog, otherwise I won't be able to keep track of what day I'm on. So, today was better at work. I had to do alot of mental preparation (mind relaxation & self-talk techniques) to get through the day. I have seriously been freaking out about work stuff, and I'm trying to calm down about it. I think this also helps me get to the gym. I was able to get a treadmill, even though it was really busy. Exercising went really well. I upped my speed like I talked about before, even though it was a little harder. I think I'll need to give myself a couple of days at this speed to get used to it. I still weigh 229.7 lbs. I think teaching an extra class is good for one thing. When I only have 20 min. to eat lunch, I definately eat less. So, I need to work out on either Tues or Wed and again on Friday & Saturday. If I can exercise at least 3 days this week, I will be happy. I'm also excited that Megan, my sister, has decided to run the 5k race with me. It will be more fun to have people there. I guess we will need to register soon & make it official!

Day 12

Well, I think I have met the moment of truth. When the going gets tough, do I get going? So far the answer has been no. This week I only worked out on Monday & Saturday. Add that to the two days I worked out last week & basically I haven't been doing very well. Work has really been stressing me out & I felt myself getting sick this week. Wednesday morning I woke up feeling nauseated. I talked myself out of working out on Thursday, until my mom talked me back into it (Thanks Mom!). Then, I locked my keys, my gym clothes & my gym pass in my car after work & had to wait for my parents to come to my rescue. Thankfully they did, but I had to throw my evening plans out the window. I find myself slipping back into the same habits I've had for the past two years & I hate that about myself. I know that route won't make me happy. I had alot of time to think during my workout today because it took the people at the gym 20 min. to push the play button on the DVD player. The menu screen on X-Men: The Last Stand played over & over. It had good music, but after hearing it over 20xs, it got a little old. I had to remind myself again that work can't be my life. No matter how bad things go, or how stressed I get, I NEED to go to the gym. I NEED other priorities in my life or I can't truly be happy. So, here comes a new week. We'll try again.

My work out today went well. I managed to get through the 30 sec jog/30 sec. walk sequences & didn't feel as tired as last time. In fact, during the last 2 minutes I upped the pace so I was walking at 3.7 & jogging at 4.3. I realize this is still slow compared to other people who are in shape, but at least I'm making progress. Someday, I'll reach 5.0 or 7.0 like I see other people at. I also weigh 229.6 lbs. Cool!

Shout Out

I just wanted to give a quick "shout-out" to all of my family & friends who have read & commented on my blog. I know it can get a little tedious reading about exercise intervals & calories, but ya'll have been a huge help. Thanks for your encouragement & support. I don't think I would've made it this far without you!

Day 11

"I'm back in the saddle again!" I made it to the gym today! I even got there a little early because I really needed a release from school work. The workout really helped to calm me down & reduce my stress after school today. I managed to maintain my 30 sec. jog & 30 sec. walk intervals, although it was very difficult. My legs ached, I was sweating bullets, and I started to get a stomach cramp during the last 2 min. But I hung in there and pushed myself to the end. I can only hope that Day 12 will be easier. It's about what I expected after taking 5 days off. I have started to notice some definition in my legs. It's kind of cool. :) I also managed to do some arm weights & I have noticed myself getting stronger there, too. I think what I am most proud about, however, is that I had alot of excuses today. I could've used the excuse that I didn't sleep well last night & I'm too tired, or that I have too much school work to do, or its "that time of the month" for me & I just want to go home & crawl in bed. But I have realized that I could have an excuse everyday, but in the end, I really don't have any excuses. My health is my top priority & I need to make whatever adjustments I need to be healthy. I also weighed myself today & I weigh 231.8 lbs. I think that means I lost 1 lbs. last week! I also didn't eat out for dinner today. I think it helps that I am totally out of money, but oh well. I've only got four more days this week!

Day 10.5

It has been a terrible week at work & consequently a terrible week for workouts. It was the start of a new term & I'm teaching an extra class, so I only get a prep period every other day. I also had a couple of activities after school this week, so I wasn't able to catch up in the evenings. Saturday was the first day I was able to get to the gym this week. To add to the frustration, the gym was packed & I couldn't find a treadmill to workout on. I tried three ellipticals before I found one that wasn't broken. I was about 10 sec away from giving up and going to run in the rain. Eventually I found a good elliptical & got a good aerobic workout, but I don't want to count it because I didn't officially follow my training program. I also did some arm weights & crunches, and I weigh 232.2 lbs. Hopefully, this week will be better. I also signed up for a 5K training program online, offered through active.com. A friend of mine says active.com is a popular place for runners & races. I found it through the Salt Lake Marathon website. I will start my official 5K training on Feb 23rd (8 weeks before the race), so I have a month to get in shape. I am also going to set a goal to eat out for dinner less this week. I have been doing good with my breakfast & lunches, but dinner still needs some work. So, that is the plan. Wish me luck!

Day Eight, Nine, & Ten

I have been neglectful in my blogging, but not in my workouts! Last Thursday, Jan. 15, I worked out on Day Eight. I had a very good workout, where I was able to keep up the jog 30 sec/walk 30 sec pattern for all but one jog segment. Towards the end of my workout, I had to take a 1 min. walk segment to recover. I walked at 3.6 and jogged at 4.3 speeds. I also did some crunches, but now I can't remember if I did any weights. I don't think I did.

Saturday, Jan. 17, I also went to the gym. It wasn't a great workout however. I had pretty much talked myself out of going to the gym that day, but soon experienced feelings of guilt. I finally managed to get myself there, to find it very crowded and a stupid movie playing in the cardio cinema room. I grabbed the last treadmill with a personal TV, but wasn't able to find anything interesting to watch. I had left my iPod at home. After 10 min. of walking, I had to go to the bathroom. I was afraid to go, thinking someone would take my treadmill. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer. I left my sweater on the machine and hurried as fast as I could. Thankfully, nobody took my machine, but I had a hard time getting back into the workout. I completed the 30 min. but jog/walk segments were chaotic & unimpressive. I finally ended with a few crunches and left. Even though it wasn't a great workout, I still want to count this day because it took a lot of effort to accomplish what I did.

Today's workout went much better. Not only did I complete the workout with all 30sec jog/walk segments, but for the last 1 min. I jogged the entire segment. It felt great. I expected to be more tired then I was, but it was almost like a stroll in the park. I don't know if today was a freak day, or if I have really made good physical improvements. I guess time will tell. I walked at 3.6 and jogged at 4.3 speeds. I also weigh 234.1 lbs.

I suppose the next step will be to increase my speeds, and watch my diet. My diet has been terrible these last couple of days. I have been eating out too much & drinking too much Diet Coke. The only positive eating habit I have been able to fulfill is not drinking Diet Coke in the mornings. I want to make a commitment that I won't eat out this week, but realistically I know that won't happen. But I can try to eat healthier, smaller portions. That is something I can commit to.

Day Seven

Today was an awful day at work, but I was able to put all of that aside for an hour while I was at the gym. The running was good, and the walking was good. I had two intervals where I walked 1 min. instead of 30 sec. I also did arm weights and crunches. I don't really have anything else to say except that it was a good workout & a good stress reliever. I also weigh 233.7 lbs. My eating was good, except I caved and had Cafe Rio for dinner. On a good point, I got caffeine free Diet Coke at dinner again. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to bed at a decent hour.

Day Six

My workout today brings my total to four days at the gym this week! That is a new high! I worked out on the treadmill with the personal TV. The cardio cinema room was busy and they were showing a dumb movie. I only had two walking segments that were one minute long. That is one less than last time. I managed to travel 2 miles in 33 minutes and 48 sec. and my left knee didn't hurt while I ran today. After the treadmill, I did crunches and leg weights. I also got a pretty cool looking bruise on my knee when I tried to get into the hamstring weight machine. It immediately went bright purple, probably because my blood was already pumping pretty good. Its almost gone now, but it was fun to look at.

My eating habits haven't been any better. My friends and I went to Olive Garden last night. I ordered the Chicken Alfredo (I know, lots of fat...) and I consciously ate slowly even though we were starving by the time our food came. I was surprised how little I ate of the meal. I felt like I could have eaten the whole plate, but after a while of slowly savoring every bite, I was full with less than half of my plate cleared. So, I have lots of leftovers! Anyway, I know I can eat less, I just need to be more aware of what I'm putting in my mouth and how fast it goes. I think I will give myself one more week of total gym focus, and then I'll be able to concentrate on food. Hopefully by then, the gym will be more of a habit rather than a duty and I can focus on something else.

Day Five

Today's workout went much better. I ran/walked up a sweat while watching Elizabeth Swan become the Pirate King on "At World's End." I walked at 3.5 and ran at 4.2. I even kept close score on exactly how long it would take me to recover from my runs. I counted three walking intervals where I had to walk for 1 min. instead of 30 sec. The rest were only 30 sec. My left knee started to ache by the end of the 30 min. and I was sweating pretty bad, but I just kept thinking that when I run my marathon, I will feel even more pain than this. I couldn't let that stop me. Hopefully, I can run through my achy knee instead of making it worse. When I finished, I was surprised to see that I had traveled two miles. I hadn't reached the two mile mark during my workout until today. I think that means I'm making progress. I also weighed myself and I'm back down to 233.1 lbs. Its interesting that I can gain 4 lbs just by eating dinner.
As for food today, I ate my usual bowl of Life cereal for breakfast. I haven't been to Einstein's in exactly 4 weeks. I had my usual homemade turkey sandwich, small bag of cool ranch Doritoes, and a can of diet coke for lunch & I ate at Paradise Bakery for dinner. I had half a Tuscan Chicken sandwich, a cup of tomato soup and two cookies. Again, I think chocolate chip cookies are my weakness. If I was on The Biggest Loser, chocolate chip cookies would be in my display case. But, I felt like tonight's dinner was healthier than Wendy's, and I drank Caffeine Free Diet C0ke instead of the regular Diet Coke. That has to be better, right? Anyway, the good news is I have worked out three days this week, so far. I don't think I have been able to do that for several months now, possibly a year. I'm feeling really good.

Let's Count Today As Day 4.5 Instead

Today was one of those days that you wish you didn't have to blog about. It was a rough day at work. I ran out of lunch supplies in my fridge, so I ate at Wendys for lunch. After I ate my contraband, I didn't want to go back to the school, so I stopped at Albertsons to restock my fridge. Hopefully, that means I won't eat out for lunch again for a while. After school got out, I left pretty early to get some business done at the music store. I found what I needed, but when I left I was hungry. I stopped at TacoTime for an early dinner. I was tired, it was late, and I almost talked myself out of going to the gym. But I realized this was the same mental language that kept me out of the gym for the last four months. If I was really going to change my life, it needed to start today. I made it to the gym, but it was later than I usually get there. I had also just eaten a big meal. It was difficult to find an open machine because the gym was so busy. (You got to love New Year's Resolutions!) I ended up on a broken elliptical machine in the cardio cinema room. It wouldn't show my heart rate, so I have no idea how many calories I burned. I worked out for 30 min. and was sweating by the end. But my muscles didn't feel sore & I'm not sure how great of a workout it was. I saw a sign in the locker room that said something like, "Getting here is half the battle." I thought that sign was especially appropriate for me today. After my workout, I weighed myself, even though I should only weigh myself once a week. I was shocked to see I weighed 237.3 lbs! Had I really eaten 4 lbs worth of weight today?! Oh my goodness! I had no idea that my eating decisions could have such an immediate effect on my life. That definately gives me something to think about. I felt like today was productive towards my goal, but it could've been better. So, I'm not going to officially count it as Day Five. Lets count it as Day 4.5 instead.

Day Four

Good news: I went to the gym today. After a long day back to work & a frustrating drive home in the snowstorm, I still made it to the gym. It felt good to not have to think about much during the hr. at the gym. I had a good workout, too. I didn't plan on exercising hard today. My legs ached from standing all day and I was tired from the change in schedule, but I knew that I wouldn't work out on Tuesday and I would feel really bad slacking two days in a row. As my legs loosened up, I started to push myself. I walked at 3.6 and ran at 4.2-4.3, depending on how I felt. I almost kept the 30 sec walk/30 sec jog schedule the entire time, but slacked to 45 sec walks a couple of times. I even ran for a minute during two time segments. I didn't do any weights today, just crunches. I also weighed 233.2. I think that means I lost 1 lb. this week. We'll see if I can keep it off. OH! I also ate an apple today! It was the first whole, raw fruit I have had in a while (I think the last fruit I ate was two oranges the Tuesday before Christmas, about 2 weeks ago).

Bad News: Driving home in the snow after my work out took so long, I finally gave into my hunger pains and stopped at the 4th Wendy's I drove past. I was trying to find a healthy place to eat, but Wendy's was the best I could find. I did order the grilled chicken sandwhich instead of the fried chicken sandwhich. I also had a little chocolate chip cookie binge when I got home. I ate six small cookies I baked. I was going to stop at three, but I ate the whole plate before I realized what was happening! I think it was a silent rebellion from the stresses of the day. I guess if I have alot of rebellions, I should start to worry.

Day Three! Finally!

I don't have much to say today because it has been a typical boring Saturday of cleaning & working. But, I went to the gym today and it felt really good. I wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning and I almost talked myself out of it. But knowing I had to explain myself on the blog if I didn't go got me out the door. My walking started out a little slow, but after 12 min or so, I started to get into it. It also helped that Transformers was playing in the Cardio Cinema. I love that show! Towards the end of the half-hour I even pushed myself to walk at 3.6 and run at 4.2. It also wasn't hard to recover from my running periods. I think I only had one or two walking periods that were longer than 30 sec. It shouldn't be too much longer before I can go the whole workout with 30 sec walking periods! I also did some arm weights, now that my right arm isn't sore. It will be interesting to see how sore I am tomorrow. My eating today hasn't been terrible. I had pancakes this morning with apricot syrup around 11 AM and didn't feel hungry again until around 5 PM. I ate a Twix bar while I was shopping this evening, and decided to get takeout at Olive Garden. I ordered the "light" Capellini pasta with olive oil, salad, & about 4 breadsticks. The breadsticks were my weakness, but I was really careful not to overeat. Because I ate 4 breaksticks, I didn't eat very much of the Capellini & have lots of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :) Well, I guess this is the end of week one. Sundays are my day off, so I'll check back on Monday.

The Treasure Hunt Begins!

Today, I went to the Family History Library for the first time! I figured, if it was open, I would take the time I had before the Sugar Bowl and go check it out. The only thing I wanted to accomplish today was to familiarize myself with the library, so I wouldn't be so scared to go back! I had trouble finding a parking space and finally had to settle for a 2 hr meter on the street. When I walked into the building, I immediately had three missionaries by me willing to help. I told them it was my first time and they had me sign in, gave me a "First-timer!" badge, and wisked me into an orientation room where I watched an 8 min. video about how everything works. After the video, I told the sister missionary I was looking for information on my Scottish ancestors and she directed me to the 2nd level of the basement, where the British records were kept. When I arrived on the level, I had two more missionaries asking if I needed help. One British missionary had me sit down on the computer & started looking online data bases for records verifying Alexander McLachlan Sr.'s parents. Apparently, it was a difficult task because the information didn't just pop up. After about 10 min. the Elder sat at the computer next to me and really took off. I got so lost trying to follow what records and websites he was looking at. After about an hour, he had printed two 1910 US census records that showed Alex's mom Mary Johnstone living with Alex in Springfield and Alex's Dad, John Sr. living with Alex's brother, John Jr. in another house. We had some trouble verifying their immigration & naturalization records and there wasn't alot of information that showed John was really Alex's father. I was beginning to think I had the wrong information on my family group sheet. Eventually he pawned me off to a girl who was my age. The girl, I can't remember her name, looked really familiar. I ran into her once before in the temple. We both thought we looked familiar to each other, but we couldn't figure out how we knew each other. Anyway, she was a big help because she made me search myself instead of doing it all for me. We decided to start by verifying Alex Sr. birth in the Scottish registry. Apparently these records had recently been extracted by members of the church. I had to look up the microfilm number, look through the film and take it to a 19 yr old Elder to copy. By this time, I had to run to my car to fill the meter. I had enough change for one more hour. On the birth registry it mentioned John McLachlan & Mary Johnstone as the mother & father & verified their marriage date. It also mentioned a grandmother's name of Ellen Johnstone as a witness to the birth. I assumed Ellen Johnstone was Mary's mother. After I made a copy, I wanted to verify John & Mary's marriage date. This search lead me to a microfiche that listed several family history books that mentioned several McLachlan's and family histories. I realized this was going to take me longer than the half hour I had left, so I cleaned up and headed home. When I got home and started to explain my experience to my Mom, I realized that the information we had for Mary Johnstone's mother wasn't correct! We had Alice Reed listed as her Mother, not Ellen. I just found a new person! That was pretty cool! Anyway, I will need to go back and do some more research, but it was a great learning experience. Next time I will need to go on a Saturday when there is free parking, I will need to have at least 5-6 hrs of time to devote to the search, and I will need to bring more cash to make copies with. But overall, it was a great way to spend the afternoon!

Marley & Me

On a personal note, Mom, Dad, Collin & I went to see Marley & Me today. It was a great movie and I recommend everyone see it. It is the first movie that made me cry in a LONG time. I recently bought the book & when I find some extra time :), I will need to read it.

Gathering Info on the McLachlans

I spent most of the day on Wednesday and most of the evening on Thursday looking through the information Mom & Dad have on the McLachlan side of the family. Collin has done some of the same research that I have done and it was fun to talk with him about it on Wednesday. We have alot of information about Alexander McLachlan Sr. (my great-grandfather) & his wife, but the trail of information practially stops after that. I found some pictures of the family that my aunt Linda gathered & copied for my Mom & Dad. In the photo album there are some pictures of Alex Sr. and his wife, Grace, and Alex's father John McLachlan and his wife Mary Johnstone. I found some personal histories of Alex and Grace McLachlan, including their conversion stories and their patriartical blessings. I found a timeline of the life of Alex & Grace that somebody constructed. It has been a huge help in learning what their lives were like. John McLachlan & his family immigrated from Scotland & settled in Springfield, Ill. in 1902. I found a copy of their Naturalization records dated 1909. Alex met Grace in Springfield and got married in 1908. By 1916, they had 4 kids. In March of 1917, they had their first meeting with the Elders and were bapitzed 10 days later. Both Alex and Grace received lots of persecution from their Catholic family and friends in Springfield for being Mormons and eventually they moved to Arizona to be closer to members of the church. In 1929 they were sealed as a family in the Mesa, Arizona temple. As their children get married, they moved all over the west. Eventually Alex & Grace move to Salt Lake City to be closer to family. Alex dies in 1953 and Grace dies 1971. Both are buried in the Bountiful Cemetary. In all the years I have been to the Bountiful Cemetary, I can't remember seeing their grave sites. I will need to go again sometime this week and check it out. I have been retyping the histories I have found so I can have electronic copies. Once I have organized this information, I will need to go to the LDS Family History Library and see if I can find more information on John & Mary McLachlan.

Day Two & Now I'm Sore!

The quest for health continues! Wednesday I worked out on the treadmill in the Cardio Cinema room, watching The Day After Tomorrow. I kept my speeds the same as yesterday, but I think it was a little easier to recover after my 30 sec of jogging periods. My right bicep is really sore from lifting weights on Tuesday...just another sign of how out-of-shape I have let myself become. My arm loosened up a bit as I worked out, but is still really sore. I can't even extend it out all the way. After my cardio workout, I did some leg weights. I tried to push myself a little, but not too much because I didn't want to be too sore to work out tomorrow. I also ate a lot less on Tuesday than I did on Monday, but I still ate out at Crown Burger for dinner. I won't even mention what I ate on Wednesday (New Year's Eve). I don't think I could even remember.

New Years Day I didn't workout. I woke up still sore from my previous workouts & Mom had plans to go to a movie & stuff. Eating today hasn't been anything really crazy, but not good either. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a second breakfast for lunch (bacon, eggs, & toast), lots of popcorn and Diet Coke at the theater but NO BUTTER! (yippee), and Burger King for dinner. I think taking the day off has been good for my sore muscles & I have plans to go to the gym tomorrow for Day 3 of my training program. Maybe next week I will have to get serious about regulating my diet, especially since I balanced my budget and I discovered I spent too much for Christmas and I don't have any money left for eating out!