insanity

So, I've been doing the insanity workout for 3 weeks and 2 days now.  It is aptly named, for sure! 

Here are the results that I've seen in these few short weeks:


Vertical Jump
Before: could barely jump 3 inches off the ground
Now: 11 inches

1.5 mile run
Before: could barely run for more than 2 minutes straight
Now: I can run the entire 6 laps without stopping in 14:33

Push-Ups
Before: couldn't do 1 with good form
Now: can do 10 consecutively with perfect form

Weight
Before: not great :)
Now: i've dropped 7 lbs

What's the moral of my story??

Insanity is a GREAT workout! 

The downside?

My body aches...a lot!  Currently, my ankles and knees are hurting, but I keep telling myself that old saying: "No pain. No gain."

Icy-Hot'ing my ankles,

the craft rookie

star staff board...

Last week, it became my turn to participate in the "Star Staff - Get to know you" board at work.

This was my contribution:

 lot's of things going on in that photo.

if you want to be able to put text on a photo like that, go to www.picnik.com.  BUT, you've got to go fast. I just got an e-mail from them yesterday that said they are going to be shutting down in april of this year.

get those pictures done fast!

i miss the summer,

the craft rookie

what teachers do on "teacher work days"

While the name of the day implies that teachers actually get work done, that is actually not 100% accurate.  We, as Teachers, would LOVE the ability to come in on a day without the students (during the week...definitely not the weekend) and plan lessons, grade papers, reorganize our classrooms, respond to e-mails, meet with our co-teachers, meet with parents, etc, etc.  

However, most districts do not allow this to happen - they require teachers to sit through so many hours of workshops and trainings every year.  Today, our very own "teacher work day" was spent learning how to teach writing and reading strategies to our students.

Now, if I were a Writing or Reading Teacher, I could definitely see the value in this.  BUT, I teach Math. Math only.  Nothing but Arithmetic.

So, I spent the day finding ways to entertain myself while still listening to the workshop.  I learned how I can incorporate Writing into my Math lessons - by having students write a dialogue between the operations of Multiplication and Division where they argue/bicker about which operation is most important and why.  That why word is the kicker.  Kids have a hard time explaining why.  Generally, they say, "Well.  Because you said so!" 

That makes me wonder about how we speak to children as adults.  Is "Because I said so" really the only answer we give?  Or, does it just seem like it to them?

Anyway, back to the point.  This is how I spent the afternoon:

I made little index card mouths :)  I'm mostly proud of this one. 

Who says teachers can't act like their students every once in a while??

happy "teacher work day,"

the craft rookie

babies and friday the 13th

i officially know 2 ladies who had their babies today and another who MIGHT have hers by the end of the night.

what.the.heck?!

the craft rookie

i'd like to share a funny video with y'all...

It's called "Children's Book" by Home Star Runner...

This is my humor.

Being "fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster." Freaking BRILLIANT!

Some people need to go get a glass of lemon-water.  The craft rookie needs to go get a glass of lemon-water.

:)

the craft rookie

i finally got my wreath hung up!

I found the perfect place to hang my wreath!

Outside my bedroom door, of course!

Ignore Rudolph. He likes the warmth in Texas and didn't want to make a trip back to the North Pole just yet.

I took 3 naps today,

the craft rookie

the many looks of berkely the cat, and interpretations of her dreams.

Oh, that cat.

That cat named Berkely.

Berkely, the kitty-cat.

Let's meet her, shall we?

This is what Berkely looks like when she is lounging on my new blanket that I got for Christmas.

 

She loves this blanket. Do you see that little smile?

 

 

 This is not the same picture as above.  This is just rapid fire photography.  You never know when a kitty-cat is going to move and do something adorable.  All you moms out there know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.  Don't even pretend like you don't.

 When she curls up like this, I wonder what she dreams about...

 

Here she is trying to get into a tighter tuck...

 The pike position, which she was in initially, gave way to this little number.  I imagine that in her dreams, she is an Olympic diver - pike, somersault, somersault, somersault, dive! No splash! Then, be sure to look beautiful and graceful under water for the cameras.

 

 A close-up.  Turns out, if you get closer, you still cannot read their minds. Dang.

After her somersault phase, she resorted to this.  She must be exhausted from all that spinning, protecting her face from the flash of the camera bulbs! Or...back in reality, she just doesn't like the light hitting her eyes when she sleeps.  I knew I liked this cat for a reason. A female after my own heart.

 

Another rapid-fire photo.  Again, I'll cite the moms out there as my reference for why these photos are important.

 

On a completely different day, this is her under the covers. She lounged like that with her arm extended out all the way.  I had a bunch more of the photos from that day where she was just lookin' ridiculous!  

In this photo, I imagine that she thinks she is an Army soldier, crawling through the trenches in war!

Oh, what an active imagine she's got...

the craft rookie