After yesterday's rough start at the gym, "they don't open until 9?", this morning went MUCH better.
I was up and awake at 5:15, and at the gym at 5:30. I felt energized, if not a bit sore from yesterday's workout, and ready to go.
I hoped on the elliptical and hit it. I wasn't able to go as far as I did yesterday, but my beefy guy was there (still no name yet, but I'm calling him Tom in my mind) and he was looking hot as always.
I'm working on creating SMART goals for the upcoming year. It's one thing to say I'm going to lose weight, it's another to actually have a focused plan of attack.
Now I'm going to get to work on school stuff that I've been putting off. Time to focus.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Holiday Musings and Other Stuff
It's the day after Christmas. Ahhhhh.
Yesterday Matt and I hosted our families for dinner and gift swapping. The food was sooooo good and of course there was too much of it. Matt roasted an amazing turkey along with his green bean casserole, stuffing and mashed potatoes. We also had ham, corn casserole, rolls, etc. And for dessert - pumpkin pie and cranberry upside down cake.
Carb overload.
My favorite gift was a dri-fit Minnesota Twins shirt. It looks and feels amazing. It's one of my goals to look damn good in it. :-) I also got a couple of gift cards, some cash, and a "stress" doll (love my Mom). I surprised Matt by buying us a blu-ray dvd player that will also allow us to start streaming Netflix.
After the family left, we napped for a bit before heading over to Pete's to watch the Iowa State men's basketball team play in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. ISU played Boise State and won. Both the men's and women's basketball teams are undefeated, the last school in the country to have both of our teams still unbeaten.
This morning I drug my bloated self outta bed to go workout. I have eaten way too much over the past few days. This has to stop!
I drove into the parking lot and saw no cars. Uh oh. Checking my cell phone I discovered that they gym wouldn't open until 9 am. Drat. Oh well, back to bed.
Attempt number two was much more successful. I got there at 9 and hit the elliptical. Evidently a lot of people were working out this morning. It was like silver daddy heaven. Lots of mature beef for me to drool over. The sauna was great and I left the gym feeling very energized. Each day is another step.
DirecTV came in the afternoon to upgrade our receivers and then I made the trip to Best Buy to officially cut the cord. I bought a pair of Jaybird Bluetooth Earbuds. I really needed a pair of headphones that would allow me a bit more freedom of movement. I'm charging them now and will try out different earpieces to customize the fit. I'm kinda giddy.
The big thing I did today was to register for a class at Des Moines Area Community College.
The class - statistics.
It's the one class that I failed in college. It's not something I'm proud of. I'm in the process of improving my teaching license so that I will be able to teach Algebra. I'm one class short and while it's not required, this is the ghost I need to excise. I'm excited but nervous.
Back in college, I took statistics during my freshman year - the year I'd like to forget. Now's the time to correct my mistake, do the work and pass the class.
Yesterday Matt and I hosted our families for dinner and gift swapping. The food was sooooo good and of course there was too much of it. Matt roasted an amazing turkey along with his green bean casserole, stuffing and mashed potatoes. We also had ham, corn casserole, rolls, etc. And for dessert - pumpkin pie and cranberry upside down cake.
Carb overload.
My favorite gift was a dri-fit Minnesota Twins shirt. It looks and feels amazing. It's one of my goals to look damn good in it. :-) I also got a couple of gift cards, some cash, and a "stress" doll (love my Mom). I surprised Matt by buying us a blu-ray dvd player that will also allow us to start streaming Netflix.
After the family left, we napped for a bit before heading over to Pete's to watch the Iowa State men's basketball team play in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. ISU played Boise State and won. Both the men's and women's basketball teams are undefeated, the last school in the country to have both of our teams still unbeaten.
This morning I drug my bloated self outta bed to go workout. I have eaten way too much over the past few days. This has to stop!
I drove into the parking lot and saw no cars. Uh oh. Checking my cell phone I discovered that they gym wouldn't open until 9 am. Drat. Oh well, back to bed.
Attempt number two was much more successful. I got there at 9 and hit the elliptical. Evidently a lot of people were working out this morning. It was like silver daddy heaven. Lots of mature beef for me to drool over. The sauna was great and I left the gym feeling very energized. Each day is another step.
DirecTV came in the afternoon to upgrade our receivers and then I made the trip to Best Buy to officially cut the cord. I bought a pair of Jaybird Bluetooth Earbuds. I really needed a pair of headphones that would allow me a bit more freedom of movement. I'm charging them now and will try out different earpieces to customize the fit. I'm kinda giddy.
The big thing I did today was to register for a class at Des Moines Area Community College.
The class - statistics.
It's the one class that I failed in college. It's not something I'm proud of. I'm in the process of improving my teaching license so that I will be able to teach Algebra. I'm one class short and while it's not required, this is the ghost I need to excise. I'm excited but nervous.
Back in college, I took statistics during my freshman year - the year I'd like to forget. Now's the time to correct my mistake, do the work and pass the class.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
TMI Tuesday - Happy New Year 2014
Special thanks to Sean for putting together these questionnaire's each and every week. I love answering them!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!
No resolutions! Just your best hopes and wishes for 2014!
1. Entertainment... - That Pixar finds the magic again. That Lady Gaga is as good in concert the third time. That "Cougar Town" continues to be one of the funniest shows on television. That "Godzilla" doesn't suck.
2. Politically... - That Iowa would elect a Democrat for governor in 2014 (not likely). That states that have laws against same-sex marriage continue to fall like dominoes (New Mexico and Utah welcome to the club). That Brian Sims invites me to be his "personal" assistant.
3. Globally... - That the 2014 Sochi Olympics will be a gathering of peace in spite of the bass-ackwards anti-gay laws that the Russians have enacted. That Kim Jong Un will discover too late that he is deathly allergic to shellfish. That Finland will stop being so damned snooty. That India will wake the F up and start treating women and gays respectfully.
4. Personally... - That I continue to work towards becoming the teacher my students need. That I find and unleash my inner hunk/hulk. That I find the financial discipline to pay off debt. That I learn to be fearless.
5. Friends... - That my friends find success in all their endeavors. That we find the time to get together and socialize more often. That I make friends with the hottie from the gym this morning (or is that more of a personal goal?).
6. Family... - That my family will continue to have good health and happiness. That I get to spend time with my brothers and his family over the summer. That my Mom continues to find herself here in Iowa. That my 19th year with Matt will be the best yet.
7. Your Suggestion... - To my blogger friends, I hope that you all find success and happiness in 2014. I've enjoyed getting to know you all and can't wait to read your thoughts in the coming year.
Bonus
Sexually... - That I learn to unleash my slutty side in the bedroom. ;-)
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!
No resolutions! Just your best hopes and wishes for 2014!
1. Entertainment... - That Pixar finds the magic again. That Lady Gaga is as good in concert the third time. That "Cougar Town" continues to be one of the funniest shows on television. That "Godzilla" doesn't suck. 
2. Politically... - That Iowa would elect a Democrat for governor in 2014 (not likely). That states that have laws against same-sex marriage continue to fall like dominoes (New Mexico and Utah welcome to the club). That Brian Sims invites me to be his "personal" assistant.
3. Globally... - That the 2014 Sochi Olympics will be a gathering of peace in spite of the bass-ackwards anti-gay laws that the Russians have enacted. That Kim Jong Un will discover too late that he is deathly allergic to shellfish. That Finland will stop being so damned snooty. That India will wake the F up and start treating women and gays respectfully.
4. Personally... - That I continue to work towards becoming the teacher my students need. That I find and unleash my inner hunk/hulk. That I find the financial discipline to pay off debt. That I learn to be fearless.
5. Friends... - That my friends find success in all their endeavors. That we find the time to get together and socialize more often. That I make friends with the hottie from the gym this morning (or is that more of a personal goal?).6. Family... - That my family will continue to have good health and happiness. That I get to spend time with my brothers and his family over the summer. That my Mom continues to find herself here in Iowa. That my 19th year with Matt will be the best yet.
7. Your Suggestion... - To my blogger friends, I hope that you all find success and happiness in 2014. I've enjoyed getting to know you all and can't wait to read your thoughts in the coming year.
Bonus
Sexually... - That I learn to unleash my slutty side in the bedroom. ;-)
Brrrrrr
And the wind chill was -33. Yup, it's freaking cold this morning.
But I got up this morning and motivated myself to get to the gym. My thought was, if I can do it this morning, I can do it ANY morning.
I worked out yesterday with Kyle, my trainer, so I knew today's elliptical workout wasn't going to be my strongest. In addition, I shoveled the driveway on Sunday with about 3 inches of snow on it, which meant my lower back was NOT pleased with me.
I did my 35 minutes and burned about 475 calories. I was impressed that there were a good number of people there at 6 am on the day before Christmas.
But I was extremely happy to see "him" there. There's a guy that I'm kinda crushing on at the gym.
Yes, I remember that I wear a wedding ring, but just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the dessert menu. ;-)
He's about my height, my age, but beefy. Honestly, he's the kinda guy that I would love to look like.
So he was in the free-weight area of the gym and I was on the elliptical. I happily watched my guy workout while listening to my updated workout music mix (thanks to Chris for the additional tunes). He finished up a few minutes before I did, sigh.
After a good sweat in the sauna, I hit the showers. Well low and behold, who should walk it? My guy. I got a look at the whole package. Ohhhhh Myyyyy.
Back in the locker room, we ended up chatting about the 49ers - Falcons game from last night and just chatted. I'm hoping to get to chat him up again.
I'm guessing Santa will be skipping me this year. I've been a naughty boy.
Friday, December 20, 2013
I'll Take "15 Minutes" for $1,200 Alex - Epilogue
I've always had a problem with finishing projects. I can't explain why, but maybe it's something I should talk with my shrink about.
Today was the last day of school before Winter Break. Instead of our usual classes, we had a day filled with special activities. It was a lot of fun and the day flew by pretty quickly (although I still felt the need for a Xanax by final bell).
One of the activities was "Jeopardy!" and it reminded me that I had yet to write up the final chapter of my game show experience. Time to break the cycle of unfinished business.......
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)
Now that I had finished the actual taping of my episodes, I could actually relax. We spent the rest of the day in Santa Monica and then meeting an L.A. friend for dinner and drinks. The next day was the trip back to Iowa. This took a bit longer than expected due to bad weather in Denver (our layover stop). It was around 2 a.m. when we finally crawled into bed at home. Of course I hadn't taken off Friday from school. Whoops. Friday was a very long day. I was exhausted, but all I did during the day was talk to the kids about the trip.
One of the conditions after I finished taping was that I was not allowed to divulge to the media about how I had done on the show. Contestants are told that while we aren't forbidden from telling family and friends about how we had done, that it was more fun to keep it under wraps. Two months was gonna be a long time to keep this secret.
Over the two months, I did tell friends that my episode was going to air December 26th, and they "might" want to keep the 27th open as well. It was the one way that I could think of to let people know that I did okay.
Word eventually spread that I was going to be on the show and I was contacted by a couple of local newspapers to talk about my experience. I have to admit, it was kinda awesome being famous for a little bit of time. I shared my experience without giving away to final outcome.
As the big day approached, we still hadn't figured out where we were actually going to watch the show. The answer came in the form of an invitation from the ISU women's basketball team to watch the show with the team before their practice that day. Matt and I are big fans of the team and we know the coaching staff very well. It was their first practice following the Christmas Break and the coach's wife thought it would be a lot of fun. I said yes in a manner of about 1 second.
So to say that watching the show with the team (players, coaches, etc) was nothing short of amazing is pretty accurate. Every year I sat in the balcony and watched in awe at talent these young women displayed on the basketball court. Over the course of 30 minutes, I saw them give me that same look of awe. When the credits began rolling, the team was stunned at how well I had done. I was a rock star for a few minutes and it was absolutely incredible. For just a little bit, they looked at me with that same look. I was honored.
After that, phone calls came in from around the country from friends and family who had watched the show. It was one of the few months ever where I have actually used all of my cell phone minutes.
In April, I received a check in the mail for $24,180 - my winnings minus 7% California state income tax. I put money aside to pay my income taxes the next year and then had some fun. I paid off my car (which I still am driving), bought a computer, and we took a few trips - Cleveland, Washington D.C. and.... Hawaii (to see the ISU women's basketball team play in a tournament).
I hope you enjoyed my 15 minutes as much as I did. Matt likes to tell people that I NEVER get tired of talking about it, even after 7 years. LOL
Today was the last day of school before Winter Break. Instead of our usual classes, we had a day filled with special activities. It was a lot of fun and the day flew by pretty quickly (although I still felt the need for a Xanax by final bell).
One of the activities was "Jeopardy!" and it reminded me that I had yet to write up the final chapter of my game show experience. Time to break the cycle of unfinished business.......
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)
Now that I had finished the actual taping of my episodes, I could actually relax. We spent the rest of the day in Santa Monica and then meeting an L.A. friend for dinner and drinks. The next day was the trip back to Iowa. This took a bit longer than expected due to bad weather in Denver (our layover stop). It was around 2 a.m. when we finally crawled into bed at home. Of course I hadn't taken off Friday from school. Whoops. Friday was a very long day. I was exhausted, but all I did during the day was talk to the kids about the trip.
One of the conditions after I finished taping was that I was not allowed to divulge to the media about how I had done on the show. Contestants are told that while we aren't forbidden from telling family and friends about how we had done, that it was more fun to keep it under wraps. Two months was gonna be a long time to keep this secret.
Over the two months, I did tell friends that my episode was going to air December 26th, and they "might" want to keep the 27th open as well. It was the one way that I could think of to let people know that I did okay.
Word eventually spread that I was going to be on the show and I was contacted by a couple of local newspapers to talk about my experience. I have to admit, it was kinda awesome being famous for a little bit of time. I shared my experience without giving away to final outcome.
As the big day approached, we still hadn't figured out where we were actually going to watch the show. The answer came in the form of an invitation from the ISU women's basketball team to watch the show with the team before their practice that day. Matt and I are big fans of the team and we know the coaching staff very well. It was their first practice following the Christmas Break and the coach's wife thought it would be a lot of fun. I said yes in a manner of about 1 second.
So to say that watching the show with the team (players, coaches, etc) was nothing short of amazing is pretty accurate. Every year I sat in the balcony and watched in awe at talent these young women displayed on the basketball court. Over the course of 30 minutes, I saw them give me that same look of awe. When the credits began rolling, the team was stunned at how well I had done. I was a rock star for a few minutes and it was absolutely incredible. For just a little bit, they looked at me with that same look. I was honored.
After that, phone calls came in from around the country from friends and family who had watched the show. It was one of the few months ever where I have actually used all of my cell phone minutes.
In April, I received a check in the mail for $24,180 - my winnings minus 7% California state income tax. I put money aside to pay my income taxes the next year and then had some fun. I paid off my car (which I still am driving), bought a computer, and we took a few trips - Cleveland, Washington D.C. and.... Hawaii (to see the ISU women's basketball team play in a tournament).
I hope you enjoyed my 15 minutes as much as I did. Matt likes to tell people that I NEVER get tired of talking about it, even after 7 years. LOL
My Grown Up Christmas List
A couple of weeks ago I identified Amy Grant's "Grown Up Christmas List" as my favorite holiday song. Well, just this week one of my students commented that she liked Kelly Clarkson's version better.
Wait?! Kelly has a version of this song?!
OMG. Amy, I love your version of the song, but I'm afraid Kelly has stolen my heart.
Yet again..
Wait?! Kelly has a version of this song?!
OMG. Amy, I love your version of the song, but I'm afraid Kelly has stolen my heart.
Yet again..
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Getting Back on the Horse
The early morning full moon as seen over my gym. I took the photo this morning as I was getting in my car to head to work following my workout.
It's been six long weeks since I've done a pre-work workout.
And boy did I feel it.
I fell off the wagon during Parent - Teacher conferences in early November. And then there was getting sick, and then Thanksgiving, and then a sinus infection, and then I just stopped running out of excuses and was just lazy.
A body at rest tends to stay at rest. Yup, proved that axiom.
Last night I got my stuff ready and set the alarm for 5:30. As much as that little devil on my shoulder tried to convince me to stay in bed, I got up and got to the gym.
I'm not gonna lie, it was rough. About 5 minutes in I wanted to quit.
But I stuck with it and got through 30 minutes on the elliptical. No hotties to look at this morning, but that's okay. My focus needed to be on me today.
And it was.
Friday morning, I'll take the next step. One foot in front of the other.
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