Hey everyone - This is pretty last minute, but this Sunday I am running in a 5k to help raise money for an awesome organization called Helping Hands for Single Moms.

It was started years ago by my pastor and I used to be involved in helping choose moms for the program. It is an amazing program that helps single moms get through college and start on a career path. It provides things like car care, dental work, doctor's visits, college tuition and book fees, help with computer and internet at home, childcare, etc, etc while the mom is in college. The moms are also required to be involved with the program and stay active in both school and the program to receive these services.

I am really passionate about this as it gives a chance to those moms who think they can't go back to school and have to work minimum paying jobs because they have kids and no one to help them.
I am doing some last minute fundraising for the 5K this Sunday and would love it if any of you could help me out with a donation. It doesn't matter what the donation is - any amount will help!!

Thanks for reading and considering helping this great program! :)

If you would like to donate, leave a comment and I will send you a link to my page! :)

Spring Break!

Hey there! So it's been a while since I've posted again...but not as long as it could have been I suppose. Work has kept me swamped lately and I've hardly had time to clean house, much less pay attention to the blog.

But I am officially on Spring Break and loving the thought of having a few minutes to myself. It hasn't really happened yet, but I have high hopes. :) Teacher's spring breaks are rarely relaxing - it's more like cramming in every possible thing that you never get around to during the school year so you can hopefully catch up and cross just a few things off of that miles-long to-do list that just keeps growing. :)

So despite not having much time to lay around yet, I have managed to have lunch with my mom yesterday (always fun!), grocery shop, run a few errands, have breakfast with girlfriends this morning (Mimi's - yum!!), catch up the checkbook and start filling out some needed paperwork. YAY! Productive so far. And a ways to go... :)

This afternoon I started to sit down to watch a movie with DH (who was working from home today), but he got distracted by a work call. So now I'm waiting for him to finish so we can get back to the movie.

Those of you who have been praying for DH's health and our fertility issues - keep praying! God is slowly answering prayers. Well, not slowly for Him - He is perfectly on time for what He has planned. :) But we are both ready to see what He is going to do!

A sad goodbye...

Pets are family. They are amazing, and you grow to love them as much as you love anyone. And it hurts so badly when you have to say goodbye. Especially after a tragic accident. My Hannah girl is a precious, precious dog. We brought her home my soph year of HS and she was such a bundle of energy. She was so much fun. She was my comfort when my childhood dog had to be put down just a week before I graduated HS. She let me hug on her and love on her while I cried, and we bonded for life.

My parents have now had her for 12 years. Though I moved out and DH and I now have 2 precious dogs of our own, I still had such a special place in my heart for my Hannah girl. She grew up to be the sweetest, most well behaved and loyal dog. She listened, she was a great running partner, she loved to be near you. She was such a people dog...

Saturday my mom called me. See, my Hannah girl had been starting to go blind and couldn't see very well. She had adapted so well and was so good at following Jake (my parents other dog) around. She could still go up and down stairs and play around outside.

She was outside that morning and went to run inside. And then my poor girl fell...she couldn't see the window well that was in front of her. She fell right inside and couldn't get up. My parents got her out, onto a flat surface and rushed her to emergency but there was nothing that could be done. My poor Hannah girl had broken at least a spot in her spine and very possibly her neck. She had to be put down.

Mom said Hannah was such a good girl for all of it...she kept trying to lift her head and nudge their hands and arms. She looked so confused and Mom said it was like she just wanted them to make her better. My poor baby....the tears have been coming on and off all weekend.

My heart aches to know she's gone. I went to my parents yesterday afternoon and it was just so...different. My heart aches form y parents as they had to see it and be a part of the tragedy. They loved her so much. And so did I.

I spent much of Saturday afternoon hugging and loving on my pups here at home...oh, how good they were. Dogs have such an intuition about what you need when you need it. They just sat and laid there with me while I cried.

Goodbye, my sweet Hannah girl. You are already missed more than words can say.

Frustration, disappointment...

...and yes, I'm whining. I weighed in today at the gym for our "half-way" measurements. According to them, I have actually GAINED body fat after working out for an hour every day 5-6 days a week.

Ugh. SO frustrated. I talked to the trainers - will be upping my cardio and hopefully that will help. I'm logging my food and doing the best I can. Nope, I'm not perfect with it, and yes, there are times I still eat things I shouldn't. But I will not force myself into a diet that I know I won't stick to. And I'm eating so much healthier than I was.

I just want something to change!

Okay, 'nuff whining. Just finished 50 minutes on the treadmill - and over 4 1/2 miles! Woot! Go me. Back to it again tomorrow.

Argh! :)

So I'm playing around with my blog look and I can't get it to do what I want...so please pardon the construction and I'll finish it at some point! :) I have to go do something else for a while before I toss the laptop out the window. ;)

My plan isn't working!!

Since the beginning of the year, I have had in my head that if I can't make DH better, and I can't get pregnant, well then by golly, I am at least going to get in shape and LOSE WEIGHT!!!

You see, since I started this new virtual teaching gig, I spend WAY more time sitting on my rear-end than I EVER have before in my life. Also, since I have a pretty flexible schedule, it is SO EASY to walk into my kitchen and grab something to eat.

And somehow, some way, the combination of sitting on my butt and eating crap has led to at least an 8 pound weight gain....go figure, huh?

So starting in January, I switched gym memberships to one closer to my home (my last one was right by my previous school) and have been faithful about being at the gym at least 5 days a week. Yay me, right?

Ya, well, the eating thing has been a whole other story. You see, I love to eat. There is no getting around it. I eat when I'm bored, when I'm excited, when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I might be just a little bit hungry, when I'm already more than stuffed...it's bad. And I used to at least eat pretty healthy. But lately that has gone out the window....

Luckily before when I would fall into bad eating habits, I at least had a decent metabolism to keep me in the "okay" range. I was constantly moving as a classroom teacher (I taught music), and I guess I was just...umm....younger!

Now that I'm nearing that big 3-0 mark, though...and sitting in front of the computer for my job...the metabolism has gone down the toilet. Nada. Nothin'. It doesn't exist.

So now I'm doing my best to eat well. Watching my calorie, fat, carb and protein intake. I still eat ALL the time - don't get me wrong. But I'm slowly starting to eat better.

The problem is my frustration level...though I'm feeling the effect of my workouts (toning up, clothes fitting a little better)...I have not only not LOST weight, I have GAINED weight. I know, I know. It's muscle, it takes time, you just started finally eating right. But STILL - I wanna take off these pounds!

So in my mind my plan isn't working....though I know it will pay off in the long run. I just feel I'm waiting for other things - can't this one just come a little easier?!?!

Okay, enough whining! Off to eat my breakfast. :)

Hey there blogging world...

So it's been just about 3 months since I've been around...I'll admit, it has been nice to step away for a while. Not writing everything down helped take my mind off things and I haven't been so focused on things that tend to bring me down.

That said, I'm hoping that coming back to the blogging world will be a positive experience. I've really missed being connected with all of you.

Not much happening around here these days...adjusting to my new job this year has been quite the challenge and kept me quite busy. But I am really starting to like it overall - even if it does run my life. :) For those of you who don't know, I'm a teacher, but I work for a virtual charter school and work with families via internet, email and phone so their students can school from home. There's a lot to it and it's hard to explain, but it's great. I'm hoping to maybe move to a new position next year that would allow me to focus more on actual teaching and in a certain subject area. I'm really hoping to go back to school soon for my reading endorsement, but we'll see how that goes. After four years teaching music, I have really missed teaching reading and writing in a meaningful way. The position I'm hoping for next year would allow me to do just that.

Other than the job, DH (if you know his name, please don't mention it on this blog) and I have been keeping busy with family and friends. Believe it or not, we just had "Christmas" with my grandpa on Sunday. He is suffering from Alzheimer's and it was the first chance we've had to get him together after all of the medication altering, etc. We had a really nice time all hanging out together.

I've had a chance to spend a lot of time with my niece lately, who is turning into such an amazing teenager. I just love her personality and spending time with her. :)

We've had several friends and family going through a tough time lately and have been trying to be there to support and love them in any way we can. Sometimes life just seems so unfair...but somehow, somewhere, God has a plan.

In other news, God has really brought us some great friends to spend time with and fellowship with. I have gone away on some scrapping weekends that K and I have organized together. I have been able to get together weekly with a good friend that has recently moved back from Scotland, and God has given us some special friendships with other married couples that I had been craving - we needed friendships like these and I am so thankful to Him for bringing our friends into our lives.

Anywho, I'm sure there is more to catch you up on and I hope to do so soon, but it's time to call DH and make sure he'll be home soon for dinner and then catch up with my SIL a bit before he gets home.

I hope you're all doing well and I can't wait to catch up with you all!