I gave it the 'old college TRI!

A couple of weeks a go, my friend Alisa (below in green) sent me a text at 5:30pm on Friday night.

She said, let's skip our Saturday long run and join Lesley (below in blue) in tomorrow's sprint TRI!

I said.. "Do you know how long it has been since I swam??"

She said, "As long as it has been since I have!"

So we went on down to packet pickup and signed up!!

CRAZY TIMES!!

I have to say, I LOVE the fact that I am fit enough to say... "Let's do it!"

So Saturday morning dawned and I gathered up my stuff trying to remember what all I should take for the race!

Here we are before the race.

The cool thing about this race is that while it is a sprint tri, it is a backwards tri.  Meaning that you run, then bike and finally swim. It works because the swim is in a 4 feet deep pool. 

So off we went on the run. I wasn't sure how fast to go out. I ran the first mile and 1/2 on my own and then Hans, a 69 year old ironman was running besides me and we talked the way in. It was a good moderate pace. I did the 5k in 30 minutes flat. One of the coolest parts of racing is making new friends and hearing amazing stories from veterans along the way.

Then on to the bike. This will be my LAST race without clipping in! UGH. I love riding, but man, this course was super hilly and tough! 14 miles later I was back and into transition.

Finally, the swim. It was nice hitting the water at this point. As I stated earlier, I hadn't swam laps in at least 9 months. Quite possibly since my last tri a year ago! oops.  Anyway, I muddled through the laps using ALL the strokes I could think of!

My time? 1:40:38.

And since I trained NOT ONE OUNCE.. how did this compare to my other times? Well... my personal best time is 1:40:35:1. 

Amazing.

If I had known I was THAT CLOSE, I could have shaved a few seconds off a transition, gotten in the pool faster, or did anything just a minute faster!

Oh well :) 

I had so much fun!!

And look what I brought home.

Second in my age group.

Not bad at all.  And yes, of course I'll be competing next year. I might even train! ;)

So since I didn't train for the tri? What am I training for? 

Well, I'm training for a full marathon!! 

Last week I ran 45 miles. My most ever.  

Thanks Kylie for putting lotion on my poor tired feet.

And I'm buying a few new clothes. I haven't lost any additional pounds (one CAN NOT LOSE while training for a marathon.. one can only HOPE to NOT GAIN!!!)

But my clothes from last fall are too big! So shopping it is.

Here is my latest Stitch Fix. 

And that is what we are up to. 

Maddie is busy with colorguard and trying to get well. She has been sick for the last month.

Lexi is reading. She might do other things but I'm not sure... :)

Kylie is mastering being in FIRST GRADE.

And Doug is working and preaching.

We are busy, busy people.

So thankful it is a good life!

I take more "selfies" that my teenage daughter!

Yesterday at lunch, I took a selfie. I was wearing a new shirt.

Maddie rolled her eyes and said "Mom, you take more selfies that I do!" I laughed as Lexi said that I didn't. That Maddie just sent her pictures via snapchat. I told her my friends didn't have snapchat, so I had to take pictures to text them or instagram them or facebook them!

Anyway, that got me thinking about my picture taking.

And here is what I have to say.

YES!! I do take a lot of pictures of myself these days. And I am PROUD of it! For years I hated the way I looked and avoided pictures. I didn't want a record of what I looked like or proof of what I wasn't doing!

But now, I am proud of who I am and my journey.

So here is a week in my life.. through pictures.

Today (Wednesday): This was taken after I ran an 8:15 mile. Woohoo! I'm making progress.

Yesterday (Tuesday): My lunch selfie! I am wearing a size small shirt here! I haven't been this small since 10th grade.

okay, one more selfie for yesterday.. :) Cause playing at the park deserves a photo spread!

Monday: Post run. Feeling the burn after four days of scrapbooking and binge eating! (Don't you love Kylie's photobomb!)

Sunday: At the pool. In a swimsuit.

Saturday: My 41st birthday!

Friday: Not technically a selfie..

How about this one?

Thursday: At retreat!

(Taking the panoramic photo was fun! After a bunch of tries, we got it. I started the photo with Mindy on the left sitting and after I passed her and got around, she took the camera and got me in the photo!)

And back to Wednesday. At the Japanese Gardens.

So yeah. I take a lot of pictures. And I am proud of it! :)

I'm not hiding anymore, and it has nothing to do with being "modest"

When I look in the mirror all I see is the fat, the extra pounds that I need to shed. I see the yo-yo diets. I see the donuts and candy bars consumed. I see the failures.

But when I look at this picture of myself, I see strength.I see hard work. I see commitment. I see the willingness to struggle time and time again. I see success. 

I see the person I want to be. Maybe that's all it takes, turning yourself upside down to see the real you.

I still can't believe I took a picture of myself in sports bra and posted it on the Internet for all to see!!! That is so not who I am. Or maybe I should say, who I was.

But I am committed to showing my daughters that they can be strong women and that their bodies are not to be shamed.

No, I don't want them running around immodestly, but I absolutely refuse to teach my girls that they have to be hidden. When we teach our daughters that they have to hide their bodies, they also learn that they have to hide their personalities, their feelings and their dreams. 

When we teach our daughter's that they have to hide their bodies, we teach them that their bodies are not worth fighting for. We teach them that their pain must be silent. We teach them that their struggles must be hidden.

Hidden means not discussed, not considered, not acknowledged.

And I am determined to break that cycle.

So I am modeling for my daughter's strength. I am teaching them to have honest discussions about their bodies, good and bad. I am showing my daughter's how to make healthy choices, and telling them why it matters. 

I am modeling for them determination, courage and sacrifice.

Because more than anything, I don't want my daughters to feel like they have to live hidden lives. Be it scars or triumphs, I want them to truly live.

Does that mean more pictures of me in my sports bra? Probably not. But maybe.. cause I'm not hiding anymore.

A Champions Finish

Last Wednesday my teacher partner Mindy and I took 11 students to the UIL State Theatrical Design contest. Every school district in the state of Texas can submit 12 students total (9 entries) to this contest. We had one student complete 2 entries which is why we only had 11 enter..

In an unheard of accomplishment (at least around here..) ALL of our entries advanced to the state round!

So, on Wednesday we traveled down to Austin for the contest. We took care of some paperwork stuff Wednesday evening and then bright an early Thursday morning the students were critiqued by the various judges. 

The judges were fantastic.. the best we have ever had. And even if our student's hadn't done well, I would say that anyway. The judges were knowledgeable and nice, but professional and tough at the same time!

After judging we had hours and hours to wait around. We could watch plays and hang out.. but we didn't get results until almost 11:30pm. That makes for an incredibly long day.

But it was WORTH IT!

We had 9 of our 11 students medal!! INCREDIBLE!  And that included TWO State CHAMPIONS!

I went and looked... Stephenville High School's Theatrical Design team is listed SIX TIMES on the state medalist sheet. Click here to see for yourself! The next closest team was listed three times.  

Yeah, we had a good night.

Here we are after the award ceremony.

And oh, yeah... coaches get medals too when you are a State Champ!

The next morning, we loaded up early and made it back to the high school ten minutes before the final bell rang for school to be out for the summer!

To commemorate the last day of school, our championships and my final day of my 30 day handstand challenge, I did a handstand at the hotel before we left.

And then on Saturday we had graduation. One of my art students (and theatrical design medalists) was the salutatorian. She even thanked me in her speech. That was really cool. Here we are before the ceremony. 

I have to say, finishing the year on such a high note is really nice. I'm pumped for next year all ready and I get all of June and July to chill. (Well, we all know that I don't chill.. but I don't have to report to school every morning!)

My plans for this summer include running, painting, cleaning house, taking 6 hours of graduate class and chilling with my girlies.

My 3 year Run-iversary!

On May 5, 2012 I decided to take control of my life. I was overweight, out of shape and tired.

These pictures are all the proof we need. (Sadly, I had to go steal them off a friend's facebook page as during this time, I didn't take pictures willingly... Thanks Hailey!)

 

I remember being excited about deciding to do something for me. As a teenager I loved running. I never ran on a team, but I ran for myself and really enjoyed it.  I knew at this point in my life, I had to do something for myself that would benefit my health.

So I bought new clothes and shoes for exercise and went out and jogged 1.7 miles at a 15:44 pace. My running skirt I thought was so cute on the rack was so tight that every time I stopped to walk I had to pull the shorts part down. At the end of the jog, the inside of my thighs was severely chafed. 

I went out a couple of more times in May and jogged, but I didn't change my eating habits. I was overwhelmed with how badly I had let myself go and just couldn't imagine that I could change
my world right at the end of the school year.

So I decided that Memorial Day would be THE DAY!

And it was.

On May 28,2012 I joined Weight Watchers.

On May 29th I ran/jogged 1.9 miles at a 14:15 pace. 

I continued to eat fairly healthy and stayed within my Weight Watchers points each week. The activity points were incredibly motivating to me and I worked hard.

By mid-June I had lost ten pounds and was exercising consistently. I even worked out while at my scrapbook retreat and jogged 2 miles at a 13:48 pace. 

And that was just the start.

By December 2012 I was down 35 pounds and I was feeling great!

At that point, I stopped worrying about the food so much and just enjoyed running.

Memorial Day 2013: I ran 4.69 miles at 11:09 pace

Here I am with Doug the first week of June 2013.

Memorial Day 2014: I ran 4.33 miles at a 10:46 pace

Here I am with Doug celebrating my 40th birthday.

Memorial Day 2015: I ran 4.57 miles at a 9:50 pace.

And here I am on day 26 of my 30 day handstand challenge. Wearing the workout skirt from 2012.. yes, that same skirt that was so tight that my skin was rubbed raw. Now I only wear it when I need a reminder of how far I have come as it is so loose that I have to pull it up every few minutes! LOVE!

I can't wait to see where I will be in 2016. With my new focus on Eat to Live, I predict another minute off my pace! :)

It's the little things that are the big things

My children are my daily mirror. If I want to know about life, my attitude and my habits, all I have to do is look at them, see what they are doing and what they are interested in to know what I have been busy focusing on.

So this week, I am trying to look in the mirror of their eyes more. 

But first, I have to share this.. 

I can't believe that my baby is about to complete kindergarten. 

I love her drawing of herself!

And because I know that I will blink and she will be ready to graduate from high school, I am trying to document some of her little girl moments!

I love that she loves writing stories and reading.

Moving on..

People ask why I do challenges, I do them because:

• it keeps me accountable to complete the task
• it makes me try new things
• it makes me try HARD things

And teaching my girls to complete hard things is one of my jobs as a mom.

So with this handstand challenge and healthy eating, there are days when I don't want to continue the journey. Some days I want to sit on the couch and eat potato chips. But you know what, my girls are great at reminding me to get up and get going. 

Lexi is eating salads with me and is my official handstand photographer. Kylie is working hard on handstands too. 

So even though the other night I had tons of chest congestion and a bad headache, legitimate reasons to take a day off the handstand, you know what? I did that stupid handstand. And Kylie sat there and watched me, and afterward, I felt like I had accomplished something!

Cause look at my girls.  

They will follow my lead, whichever path I take them on.

And this is last night. 

I'm getting stronger.

And relishing in a few moments with my baby girl who likes to draw butterflies on her face. 

No Spanx here baby!

My Eat to Live Update.. Week 4

Mother's Day 2015

That's all me. No Spanx, no girdle, no nothing extra to keep me tucked in.

This past week I've not eaten my best.. we had birthday cake and teacher appreciation lunches, I've coughed and coughed so I haven't been able to work out like I wanted.. but even in the midst of all that, I've worked hard to eat my raw veggies, my cooked veggies, my beans and my fruit.

And I've lost at least another pound.

I feel better than I have in like forever.  

I was going to call this week a do-over week. Till I put that dress on! 

Yeah, I'm excited.

My 30 day Handstand Challenge!

As part of my challenge to get stronger, I've decided to focus on 30 days of handstands. I am going to document my efforts.  (you are welcome.)

Day 1. At home at the end of a long day. But I did it.

Day 2. In my classroom, for my high school students!

Day 3: Saturday morning, after a 6 mile run. I don't know if you can see, but I am straight up here. NOT leaning on the wall. I held it like this for at least a second or two! :)  Progress. Slow. and. Steady.

I can't wait to see what I can do after 30 days. My goal is that I will be able to stand for a minute.

Oh My! The Good, The Crazy, and The Eating Adventure

Okay, I realize that by now you all know that I live in fast forward and take on way, way too many commitments. My normal mode is half crazed and that's okay, it keeps me busy. But this past week and this current week have me way, way beyond my normal crazy. And it's all my own fault.

To begin.. last Thursday and Friday we set up the district art show. I'm pretty sure we have close to 5000 pieces in it this year.

Saturday I judged a bi-district one act play contest. I had a blast, but didn't get home till midnight.

Sunday, I wrote a paper for one of my grad classes.

Monday I started working on the Area one act play contest that I am managing this week. In fact, I really started answering questions from them on Saturday night!

Today, I got everything ready for the reception for the art show, worked on the contest, taught my classes, attended the reception, went to a softball ceremony where students honored teachers that made an impact in their lives (how cool was that!)  and came home and wrote a paper over school district purchasing procedures.

So now I am ready to show off pictures from tonight!

 

And here we are.. the tired district art teachers!

And here is Kylie.. pointing to her fish with a cookie in her mouth!

For the rest of the week, I am going to get artwork ready for a contest, work on the area contest, do my job and at some point write an in-depth case analysis for my organizational change course.  I am hoping to chill in 2020.

So in all of this, how is Eat to Live going? Well, I lost 3.5 pounds last week. I was on a roll until Thursday and then Saturday, I was a stuck at the competition, so my eating choices were not "on target." But I have felt FANTASTIC! AMAZING! and better. Even in the midst of more stress than I can remember and having my allergies go crazy. 

This week, I am hoping to continue the trend of healthy choices. I have come so very far! I am eating very little meat, LOTS AND LOTS of VEGGIES and FRUITS, beans everyday and drinking water. I have not been perfect, nor do I anticipate being able to make perfect choices 100%  of the time. My goal is to hit the 85-90% of the time mark.

The most amazing thing about this whole Eat To Live thing is that I'm SLEEPING! I am not a sleeper. I'm a take an hour or two (easy) to fall asleep kinda person and then I wake up four times during the night and finally get up at 5am because it is a relief that it's finally a "normal" time to get up. Well, last week, in the midst of the insanity and stress that would normally keep me up and sleeping even more poorly, I SLEPT at night! In fact, twice last week I slept ALL NIGHT! From 10:30pm to 5am!  That is HUGE! And for me, worth giving up sugar and fats!

I'll keep you posted, but I am loving this new eating adventure. I think I'm gonna love my waistline even more!

8 weeks later, 6 hours of grad school complete!

When I decided to just take the plunge and get my principal's certificate and another master's degree, the program I found at the University of North Texas looked perfect.  As in, completely online. I somehow missed the 12 hours in one semester part... OH MY!

Over the last 8 weeks I have written more papers than I wrote in all of my previous grad classes combined. Well, at least it feels that way.  It could be that since I finished my MFA in 2000, I have blocked the paper writing memories....

Anyway, this first semester back in the world of grad school has kicked my butt. I took Instructional Leadership and Campus Level School Law. We started January 20th and I submitted my final exam this morning. It has been a crazy 8 weeks. I now have 10 days off and then I'll start Organizational Change and School Improvement as well as Management of School Resources.

Over these next 10 days I really need to clean my house. The volume of junk that can collect in a mere 8 weeks is incredible. If I don't take control of the house now, it will be a year from now and we won't be able to find the door! We will become hoarders by default. ugh.

But.. I'd really like to paint instead. Or maybe even sort scrapbook stuff. (that's cleaning.. right?)

As for today, we are looking at a few houses and going out to lunch!

What have I done?

I've gone back to grad school.

Oh my.

I'm taking 12 hours this semester. ( It's 2 classes at a time in 8 week chunks.)

This is week 1.

I may throw up.

What have I done?

On the bright side, in a year I'll have my Master's in Educational Leadership and have my principal's certificate.

I may not sleep for the next year, but hey, I've never been a good sleeper :0)

Oh life, how good, but how busy you are.

Whew. We are so very busy that I can't catch my breath much less blog!

This week was crazy, plus more! Our beloved Yellow Jacket football team played on Thursday night instead of the normal Friday so that they could be broadcast LIVE on ESPN2! It made for a truly crazy week and a long, long week.

But here is a recap.

Kylie loves school, soccer and playing. Her imagination knows no bounds. Here she is figuring out tricks on Lexi's skateboard.

Lexi loves to read and is the top reader in 4th grade at this point in the year with close to 10x the AR points of most of her peers!

She also is playing volleyball and really improving. I'm her coach. Her improvement is despite my coaching.

This past weekend she went to church camp for the first time. She LOVED it! 

Maddie is tearing it up on the football field as a colorguard member. This is HER THING! How fun to watch her excels at something physical.

Maddie is also doing great in school.  She is seeing a new specialist in a couple of weeks and we are hoping that will help one of her ongoing health battles, but overall, she is doing better than we could ever have imagined at this point in high school!

I've tried to post her performance from Friday night. If you click on the link, it might take you to the video...Post by Emily Maxwell McLemore.

And what have Doug and I been doing besides driving children from place to place? Well, we have been considering a lot about life. We are in that midpoint of our lives and have to ask ourselves if we are the people that we want to be. Are we the people we have been called to be? Are we doing what we are meant to do? Lots of questions. For me, this means going back to school. I'm going to work on getting an additional advanced degree in Education. No, I have absolutely no clue how this is going to fit in our lives. But I do know that I was created to teach others how to teach and at this point in my life I'm not doing that. So I'm going to work on that. 

And what about running? Well, I'm feeling great and so strong these days. Not fast, but my running and fitness base is solid. And sadly, there is no time to race. We have commitments every Saturday from now to Christmas and beyond. So I'm looking for a fall 1/2 marathon on a Sunday that's not too far of a drive! I'll keep you posted cause man am I feeling great!

That's all I have time for.  Hope to post again soon!