Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

B: Hard-boiled egg, piece of toast, Smart Balance spread, strawberries, water
S: Animal crackers
L: Half a Subway sandwich, a serving of chips, a 1"x1" square brownie, water
D: Crockpot roast (chuck roast, cream of mushroom soup, obviously very fancy), roasted fingerling potatoes, a mess of green beans, water
DS: Banana


Haven't felt well the past few days. I slept so much this weekend, but was dizzy, exhausted, irritable, and sometimes nauseous. At first, I thought I imbibed a little too much Friday night. But the feeling continued into Sunday, and I knew I didn't have so much on Friday as to make me feel ill for two days. Then I still felt like crap yesterday, and started to get a migraine. I mentioned this to a couple of teacher friends, and they said they had the same last week.

I felt much better about myself after that! I came home yesterday, took (yet another) nap, had dinner, and started to perk up a bit. I feel much better today. I refuse to go on vacation this weekend feeling sick!

In work news, my DonorsChoose.org project was fully funded Sunday afternoon. I'm so excited! My classroom will get reeds, mutes, slide/valve oil, earplugs (for the drumline, so important), and some really cool speakers for listening exercises. I can't wait! What a cool program.

My next project, as soon as I get it approved, will be to buy some textbooks for my beginning journalism class. I have one that is great, was released in 2007, and is a way better resource than what I currently have, which is basically nothing! I don't see why my principal won't be okay with this. The textbooks we had were from 1993. There aren't a lot of journalism textbooks out there that are worth anything.

Weigh-in tomorrow with WW (online). I can't help but weigh myself periodically throughout the week, and it's been all over the place. This morning it was solidly down another pound, so hopefully it will stay down for tomorrow.

Also, I might make my blog public again. I think the craziness from before has settled down.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Pomp and Circumstance

Another class has graduated. Another class is moving on, while the faculty and I remain behind. This is both the joy and the curse of being a teacher. Your students are not permanent.

If you don't mind, let me share some things that were shared on Facebook and in my yearbook these last few very humbling days.

"You have been the best teacher, mentor, and friend. You are truely an amazing woman and I am SO grateful for having you these past four years." -- Yearbook editor

"You have been like a mother to me; I appreciate you pushing me through all the challenges of this year." -- band student

"Thank you. You know...you have changed the lives of students. Again and again you make me happy that I've had the chance to know you. Thank you for changing my life." -- a senior that I never had in class, but have gotten to know well.

"I'm probably going to miss you like crazy 'cause you have always been here for me, in and outside of school. Luckily, I have two more years with you and I'll text you over the summer so you don't miss me too much. :)" -- band student

"Band was my favorite thing in high school, and I always enjoyed giving you a hard time. I'm going to miss band and all the goofy kids in it." -- band student

"There hasn't yet been an afternoon where you haven't made me smile at some point. I wish you'd been my teacher too." -- student that I told I'd wished I'd had her in my class

"You're a really great teacher! I'm glad I had you this year. Thanks for not only being a good teacher, but a great person in general. You've taught me ALOT (one word)." Newspaper editor sharing a private joke

"I enjoyed having you as my journalism teacher and I am glad I had a chance to interview and really understand who you are. At first, I thought you were mean, but you're laid back and cool. You also have good taste in music!" senior journalism student

Yes, I'm tooting my own horn. I'm proud of my students and I am proud of myself.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Monday, May 9, 2011

B: Hard boiled egg, slice of toast with Smart Balance spread
S: Low fat cheddar, 1 oz
L: (completely gross) Lean Cuisine, yummarific strawberries, 1 oz dark chocolate
D: Cooking Light Deep Dish Taco Pizza (yum!), BIG green salad w/homemade dijon dressing
S: More pizza (hey, I earned the points!)

W/O: 30 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes lower body weights, getting a feel for how strong my hip is. 4 activity points earned.

I wasn't as hungry today as yesterday. Man, I was starving yesterday. I don't think I'm eating nearly enough protein to stay satisfied. Hence the extra taco pizza after the workout! I prefer to eat lighter during the day and have a bigger meal so I don't wake up hungry. I know that goes against all those gurus that say you shouldn't eat a heavy dinner, don't eat after 7pm blah blah blah. Well, dammit, I find it nearly impossible to sleep well on an empty stomach.

Case in point: Last night, I had some roasted turkey breast, green beans, a tiny bit of jello mold and a slice of bread with some spread cheese for dinner. The dinner was mostly the green beans, about 4 oz of turkey, just a few bites of the jello and then the one piece of bread. I was hungry an hour later. I went to bed hungry, having no points left and with two days left before mine start over, I didn't want to let go of the extras that I still had left. I dreamed about zombies, and my weapon of choice was GREEN BEANS.

So, I will try to save enough points for a slightly larger dinner...and supplement with more water.

I've also decided that Lean Cuisines are gross. I used to find them tolerable, but now I just can't stand them. I might have to try those Amy's meals, for days when I have no leftovers. Luckily, for this week, I have leftovers! At least for the next three days.

Here's the taco pizza recipe. It goes great with a big ol' green salad:

CL Deep Dish Taco Pizza (adapted to my own needs and wants but still pretty much the same calorically)

1 lb ground round (I used co-op ground beef, which is pretty darn lean)
1/2 cup onion (they call for frozen, I used fresh)
2 TBSP Taco seasoning (I made my own)
1 can tomatoes with green chiles (I used Rotel), drained
1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese (Kraft 2% for me)

Preheat oven to 425°F
Sautee onions and ground beef, drain if necessary. Add tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer until most of the liquid has drained.

Spread pizza dough into sprayed 9X13 pan, along the bottom and sides (mine had ripped...grrrr). Spread the taco mixture over the top. Bake for 12 minutes, then add cheese and bake for another 5. Let it rest for a couple of minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6 healthy appetites.

***Now, I didn't read all the directions, and put the cheese on from the beginning, so I just baked it for 15 minutes total and it was fine, but my oven runs a little warmer than it says.

H declared it a keeper and so do I!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Band banquet

I just had the most fun at a band banquet, of all things. I won't go into boring details, but suffice it to say the food was good, the performances were entertaining (to say the least, I almost peed my pants laughing at one point) and the awards were hilarious. And the turnout was really good, too!

Last night, I received my Master's hood. My university will be hearing from me, however, about the Master of Music vs. Master of Fine Arts debate. Sure, the music department might be part of the fine arts department; that does not mean that I have to wear the wrong damned hood. A Master of Music is a completely different degree. We have our own (pink) hood. I didn't run into any problems (aside from having to WRITE my Master of Music in on the card because they didn't give me the option of choosing what I have earned) but others ran into irate bookstore employees. The music faculty is p'd, and rightfully so. Why offer the program if you aren't going to to recognize it?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

B: 2 small scrambled eggs (pullet eggs from the co-op), English muffin with a tiny bit of jam, OJ, B vitamin
L: LC Romano bowtie bacon thing, strawberries
S: 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese
S2: Chocolate chip cookie at faculty meeting (not worth it)
D: Asian marinated flank steak, brown rice, "asian" veggies (frozen)

Not very inspired today, though I am very much looking forward to my steak. Maybe my fatigue is iron related.

I took Callie on a long walk yesterday for some activity points and I have found that walking makes my hip sore, so I will take tonight off to rest it and hit the elliptical tomorrow, and some weights to help build strength. I guess it's the pounding the pavement that causes the soreness.

Today was my official weigh-in day (it asked me Monday what I wanted to do and I chose Wednesday because I'm least likely to be bad during the week!) and I lost just over 2 and a half pounds. I even allowed myself an adult beverage last night. My weight can fluctuate so much it's awful.

I get hooded Friday night, and I wish I could say I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing my mom, sister, and sister's boyfriend and getting to go out to dinner more! At least I was able to choose a faculty member to hood me that I actually care about and who has actually been helpful to me after my undergrad, and during my career, which is nice because I haven't had much contact with any other of my former teachers!

I did find my old high school band director on Facebook this afternoon. I had no idea! I couldn't help but click the friend request button.

I wish I had some sort of insightful ending to this post, but I don't, as usual. I really can write, and I really do have thoughts in my head, but posting before I eat dinner is probably a bad idea as hunger is taking over my brain!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

B: Greek yogurt (from the co-op!), strawberries, a little bit of Grape Nuts, 8oz OJ (Surprisingly filling) B vitamin
S: Didn't need one!
L: Same as yesterday, except asparagus was the veggie of choice
S: 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese
S2: 2 small oatmeal cookies
D: Leftover chicken, a mess of green beans, some 90 second rice

Still over the daily allotment of points. Trying to get used to slightly less food. Yesterday I got a bit of a headache in the afternoon but I was just hungry all day for some reason! Today was better, though I feel like my eyes and mind are tired. I think I've had to spend too much time in front of the computer.

Going to go to the gym here in a little bit, probably, or take the dog for a long walk. It's a very nice evening, so maybe I'll do the latter and enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Here we go again...

This morning, I woke up sleepy after watching the news events unfold until late and listening to neighbors talk loudly in their yard and joined Weight Watchers.

That's right. Weight Watchers. Because I got on the scale this morning and realized that I am not watching my weight enough. They've re-done how the points work since I was a member last time, and I'm definitely going to go over today! Oh well. You get extra points for the week, anyway. You can also get activity points. Which brings me to my next point:

I re-joined my gym. It's for women, it's clean and fairly upscale, and I got a month free because they sent me a thing in the mail. I'm down with that. I think my hip can take some elliptical. It's less jarring than walking or running.

Hopefully, I'll start to feel a little better about myself when the clothes start fitting better. That's the plan. It's never good when you avoid the camera and miss out on memories because you don't like your fat face. So, here we go again with what I ate. It does help quite a bit to see it here and know that someone's reading it.

Today I ate:
B: Honey Bunches of Oats (1 cup), 8oz OJ, B vitamin and zinc
S: 1 oz Sharp Cheddar cheese
L: Leftover meatloaf, 1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes, and about half a cup of roasted Brussels sprouts (they weren't very good--I think their time may be up!), 1 cup strawberries
S: 1 oz peanuts
S: 1 oatmeal cookie (I was really hungry today...damn cycle makes it worse)
D: PW's crispy yogurt chicken, roasted asparagus (made with co-op chicken thighs and co-op greek yogurt. Yum!)

Workout to be determined. I'm still pretty tired from not getting enough sleep, but I think I'll go later even if I just trudge through the workout. Better than nothing, I suppose.

I don't know why but I feel very Eeyore-ish today. Very ho-hum. I should be excited, and I am, inside, but I just can't seem to get that to translate into this. Maybe tomorrow I will be more energetic.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Prom

Yeah, that's right. I went to prom. And it was adorable. I never went to prom in high school, for lots of reasons, but I think if our proms had been as fun as last night's, I would have found a way to go.

One of my students had a little drama. It's sad, and funny, and so teenage-high-school-girl drama it's ridiculous. Student and ex-boyfriend have same group of friends. Ex-boyfriend is bringing new girlfriend (who also used to be an ex, before student). Girlfriend gets a hold of Student's number, and texts her really awful things. Student is very upset by this. I tell her that I will be there, and to let me know if any drama goes down so I can intervene if necessary. Evidently, the night went off with only one hitch: Girlfriend meets Student for first time, asks, "Are you Student?" Student: "Yes." Girlfriend: "You're a cheap bitch." Student. "Okay."

What is that?!?!?!??! For the record, Student was on the dance floor, livin' it up and obviously having a great time. I was proud of her for brushing that off.

Onto other things. I think I'm going to re-join my old gym down the street. It really was a nice place, and was very clean. I think now that so much has calmed down with work (downhill slide!) and June looks to be one class or none, that I will have time to get in there and get some work done. It gets so hot here so fast (and muggy) once May hits and I don't always want to work out outside. I also think that the elliptical would be great for my hip. It has been feeling pretty good the last couple of days. It felt great yesterday walking around the arts festival, but I am so out of shape it's embarrassing. I got a free month coupon in the mail, so I might head over tomorrow and just sign up.

I think I'm also going to start posting what I eat every day, to get back to the "accountable" part of this accountability blog. And at the end of this month, I will again go through my 31 goals and see how I'm doing!