How TO:esday: Getting back in shape

I admit it...I'm an interval runner.  And when I say interval runner, I don't mean I do run/walk intervals during workouts. I mean I run for weeks or months at a time and then stop working out for weeks/months at a time.  I'm either off or on.  This Pinterest picture is so me...

 

I have to start over Every.Single.Time.  Ugh!  So I decided to start over yesterday.  My interval this time?  9 months.  Embarrassing, but true.  I leashed up my dog, put on my running shorts, and turned on some Beyonce tunes. I had absolutely no expectations for this run, other than to run.  I am grateful that my goal was just to run.  

Some of you may be saying, why not do couch to 5k, or go for a 30 minute walk?  Well, I played soccer most of my life and into college, and running is all I know.  I will take my baby or dogs for a walk, but I don't think of that as a workout (my own personal issue!).  So, how far did I get?  1.25 miles!  I can think of my workout in two ways:

1.  Yuck!  Only 1.25?  I ran a full marathon 2.5 years ago, and I can only run 1.25 miles now?   Self Talk: Get it together, Mary Beth!

2. Awesome!  1.25 miles!  Self Talk: You haven't run in 9 months and have the most beautiful baby to show for your time off.  Give yourself a break, and be grateful you made it a mile.  This little sign is my reminder that whatever I do is better than sitting on the couch.

  

Here's to getting better Every.Single.Day with diet and exercise.  Oh, and losing this baby weight might be some motivation too! 

 Gotta run!

National Running Day and my 100th Post!

It's National Running Day!  What a great reason to make yourself go run today!  A cool website called RunNow is trying to log a million miles today in honor and remembrance of the Boston Marathon tragedy.  It's easy to join in on the fun, and it's really fun to see how all of the states rank.  Poor Indiana isn't the worst, but certainly can't compete with California and Texas!

I logged 2.3 miles (I know...a very strange number!) after work today and the weather was gorgeous!  I really couldn't have asked for a better day to run.  My run wasn't to train for anything or to set a personal record, but it actually felt better than most of the runs I did while training for the Mini!  Isn't it funny how when you set yourself up to do something in particular it can sometimes get in the way?  It's even motivating to just go out and run on a whim.  I didn't have my watch charged, so I used the MapMyRun app on my phone and only had it set up to give me updates at each mile.  The best part was that I had no idea when it would pipe into my head phones, and then I was surprised at the stats it was giving me too!  When these types of runs come along, they are motivating and keep you going.  It was a welcome run to start off my summer.

Ahhhh...and even better than that...tomorrow is my last "official" work day until July 15th, and did I mention the weather is beautiful!?!?  I got to hang out on my back porch after my run, look at the flowers, and just enjoy being at home.  

My 100th Post
Holy smokes!  100 Posts!  That doesn't even seem feasible!  Well anyway, it has come, and in honor of you all who have stuck with me, just joined me, or befriended out of courtesy, I'm throwing a sale just for you!!!  Click on the link below and enjoy 20% off my entire store through Saturday!

You can start your work on organizing Data Binders or Reader's Workshop activities or fun math review games.  Get them printed, copied, 3-hole punch, laminated, whatever you need to do and be ready for the fall!!

Gotta run and enjoy the rest of my evening watching the CMT Awards with the hubs!

Mini Marathon, Teacher Appreciation Freebie, and SALE Time!!

Mini Marathon...
Put the 2013 Mini Marathon in the books!  My official 13.1 race is done and although, it wasn't quite what I wanted, I finished!  Part of the mileage is done on the 2.5 mile track where the Indy 500 takes place...the magical Indianapolis Motor Speedway!  Here is a photo of Flash and Spiderman in front of me on the track.  I was certainly okay with them passing me...after all it is the Flash!

I must say I am a complete sucker when it comes to motivational moments and crying.  At the start of the race there are over 30,000, yes 30,000 people waiting to start this race.  There was a huge tribute to Boston, our soldiers, and all that makes the United States the greatest place in the world.  I was running by myself, but really had to choke back some tears during all of the beginning festivities.  It gave me great motivation to start the race at a good pace and appreciate the ability to run!

Teacher Appreciation Freebie!
As many of you know, my new role this year has given me a completely different perspective on teaching, the demands teachers have, and the increasing accountability put on both teachers and administrators.  I must say, however, I am pretty darn lucky!  I have the best staff who is willing to do anything and everything for their students.  We are a decent size school with about 640 students, and we have a great amount of collaboration and teamwork that works together to increase student learning.  They truly are THE BEST!

As teachers, we need to appreciate each other as well during this week and thank those around us who have made this school year just that much better.  Here is a link to some FREE Teacher Appreciation labels I created last year.  You can also check out my blog post from last year too!

  

Teacher Appreciation Big Time Up-to-28%-Off Sale!

It's that time of year!  Where YOU deserve to be treated to something special.  Use this discount to get some things in your cart or make life easier for these last few weeks of school!  Some frequent purchases are listed below for you to check out!  

Graphic by Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (who has awesome graphics on TPT too!)

ake 

A simple but fun Vocabulary Game just for Weather! Get for $1.08!

A 57-page comprehensive weather unit with foldables!  Just $3.60!

78 pages of Data Binder fun and how-to documents for conferences...just $4.32 during the sale!

A great I have...Who has? game for addition with regrouping.  

This is perfect for the end of the school year.  $1.08. 

Poetry unit with 7 different types of poems, posters, and publishing paper.

55 pages for $2.88.  Wow!

Enjoy the week you have so richly deserved this year.  YOU ARE APPRECIATED!!  

Gotta run!

Running in honor and memory...the next 26.2 are for you, Boston!

I had planned to blog about my run last weekend, and some great events at school, but none of it really seemed appropriate at this time.  Through school, sports, and running I have found many other fellow runners.  We share stories, quotes, race details, etc. along our running journeys and are all part of larger community who understands the effort and dedication that goes into training...just as many of you do.

I can't even imagine what it might have been like to be watching friends, acquaintances, and loved ones cross the finish line with pure joy and excitement in mind to only have it ended with such tragedy.  I wish there were words, but there really aren't any.  A college soccer buddy of mine was running Boston, had already finished, and was heading toward the airport when his phone started buzzing with texts.  His blog post about the race shares the type of atmosphere Boston provides for its runners...simply amazing.

Another friend of mine went to Boston College.  His BC friend and wife were at the finish line spectating.  They were both injured.  Both went to the hospital. Both had their left legs amputated.  Both didn't find out about their spouse's condition until today because they were sent to different hospitals.

As I pray for those who were running, watching, volunteering, cheering, etc. I want us all to think about how we can run in honor and memory.  For me, it's going to be running the next 26.2 for Boston.  Whether it's 4 miles here, 6 miles there, the next 26.2 will be for Boston.  Whatever it may be for you, use this tragic event to put your kicks on, hit the street, and do what so many will never be able to do again.  Use this as your motivation to make your life better in honor and memory of others.

The quote below seemed most appropriate to share with you all tonight.
"Marathoners push themselves for a whole host of reasons. To test their physical and psychological limits. To raise money for worthy causes. To compete. The next time this -- or any -- marathon is run anywhere in the world, they will run for yet another reason. To show that the power of communal achievement can be beaten on one day, but not on most days and never indefinitely. And that is what makes sense on a senseless day."

May we go forward this week, and remind our students of all of the GOOD that is around us each and every day. Perhaps you can join in on the 26.2 for Boston movement through walks and runs of your own.

Gotta run...the first of my 26.2.

----------------------

Update since posting an hour ago...I went for a 4 mile run in honor and memory, but it was so much more than that!

As I was changing clothes, I decided to get my USA on.  It seemed appropriate and right.  

Then, as I was heading out of my neighborhood, there was a double rainbow (there is another one above the one you can see) and sunshine (after a very dark, stormy day).  God is great!  He shows that in darkness, there is always Light.  Thank you for making my first 4 miles of 26.2 a reflective time for me and a Glorious running occasion.

Sorry, I had to add to my post and share about my experience.  It was a very moving run.

Grumblings of a 10 miler, Proofing a Product, and TBA Freebie

Happy Sunday to everyone!  Well for those of you following my half marathon training, I had a 10 miler this weekend.  Notice the title is called "grumblings"... it wasn't the best run I've ever done, but it's finished!!  Here are my grumblings by the mile.

Mile 1: Alright, let's get going, Mary Beth!  Whoa, legs aren't so fresh, but this is the warm up.  No worries now.
Mile 2: Okay, now I'm settled into a a good speed.  The sun is shining and it is beautiful out here...am I done yet?  When I get to this point on the way back, I'll be sooo close!
Mile 3: Uh oh.  This doesn't feel like a great run.  Am I done yet?  MB, pull it together, this is a great day for a long run.
Mile 4: Really?  I have to run by an amazing breakfast place where people are eating outside, laughing, and enjoying themselves?  Yummm...it smells so good!  Oh man, this just means when I turn around I'll pass this again.
Mile 5: I'm half way there.  Ooooh...livin' on a prayer!  (Go ahead, start singin') Well my half way point was actually 5.1.  By going an extra tenth of a mile before turning around it gives you some walking/cool down time when you get close to home.  Believe me, it's worth it!
Mile 6: Oh man!  That chick is bookin' it.  That was a good time for some motivation, especially as I pass that restaurant again.  Yes, you're past half way, but you still have 4 miles to go.
Mile 7: And I have officially hit a wall.  Why won't my legs pick it up?  Eh, maybe it's payback for going to bed after midnight.  Okay, I promise, I'll treat them better next time, just get me through this run.
Mile 8:  Ugh.  That silly bridge going over the road is going to take so much energy to get over...and it did!  Alrighty, only 2 miles.  So close.
Mile 9: I turn onto a new road to head back toward my house, and whoosh!  Right into the wind.  I'm glad I didn't think about this at the start of my run, but with 10-15 mph winds, it wasn't so fun running into it.
Mile 10: Last mile!  Yes, it's done!  So glad I can cross this run off my schedule, and move on.

So there you have it.  The ups and downs of running.  At least I know that next week's long run can only get better!

Don't you think school is like running sometimes too?  There are days when you feel like nothing can stop your students.  They are doing so well, mastering their learning targets, and getting along.  Then, all of a sudden, on a random day, you think what on Earth happened to them!

Proof My Product
And for those of you who read all the way to the end....you could proofread one of my products! I worked on a counting coins game yesterday, but want to make sure that it's accurate.  I'll pick three people to proof the game, and then I'll send it to you once it's perfected!  All you have to do is follow my blog, leave a comment with your email address so I can send it to you, and be ready to proof it in a timely manner!  Here is the game I need help with!

TBA Freebie

It has been brought to my attention by a couple of TBA blog followers that the freebie I added for the Teacher Appreciation Labels is not linking correctly.  It's linking to someone's store that I don't even know, and it's not free!  Ahh! If any of you are visiting my blog from TBA, you can click here and find it for FREE!  

During Teacher Appreciation week, these labels help you put your own spin on a great time and appreciate those that you work with everyday!  

Don't forget to stop by TBA to find some of my freebies, but also hundreds of others!  What a great little Spring Treat for everyone! :) 

              

Alrighty, gotta run and enjoy this last beautiful day before school starts back tomorrow after a long, joyous Spring Break!! Have a great week!

9, 5, and 3 Mile Runs and Breaking the 8 min. Wall!

My Spring Break has been great!  I've had lunch with my sister, dinner with some girlfriends, a night with my best friend and her new baby, cleaned out our guest room, and have done some yard work!  I'm only saying that to make myself feel better after seeing everyone's warm weather beach pictures.  It is going to be 65 degrees this weekend though!  Woohoo!

Alright, so along with those other things, I've gotten a few more runs in this week for my Mini Marathon training.  A fellow blogger asked when my race is, so I thought it's be fitting to post today!  My race is exactly one month from today on May 4th!

So about my runs this week.  On Saturday I decided to do my long run for the week, which is up to 9 miles.  Depending on my schedule, I'll either do my long run on Saturday or Sunday, but with Easter on Sunday, I figured I'd get it out of the way.  I'll have to admit that I was kind of nervous about 9 miles.  Yes, I ran a marathon, but that was a year and a half ago, and my goal for this race is to increase my pace.  We have a wonderful running path near our house that goes for miles, so I ran 4.6 out and 4.6 back (yes, I know that's more than 9, but I'll explain why later).  The best moments for me while running where the two times I passed a group of 6 runners.  I'm always motivated by those around me and Saturday was no different.  A dad was running with 5 other kids probably around the ages of 9-12. I was inspired not only by the kids, but by the dad who was helping these kids live a healthy lifestyle and be active.  I hope I see them again on Saturday...they were truly incredible!

My husband has been home with me during Spring Break so on Tuesday, he decided to ride his bike alongside as I ran 5 miles.  We don't typically workout together, so it was really fun to have this time.  I caught myself with a huge smile while looking over at him a couple of times.  We both had headphones on and were rockin' out to our own music, but there was something about doing it together.  I usually run by myself, so it was a great change of pace (and I ran faster than usual!)!  It was also great to have to take off layers as I ran because the weather was a bit warmer!  The hubs even carried it for me on the way back.  Many perks to working out together!

Yesterday, my training schedule said to do a 3 mile run.  Since this is the shortest distance, I wanted to make sure my speed was increased, but I've had a huge block when it comes to running faster than an 8:00/mile.  The hubs agreed to ride alongside, and push me a bit so that I could get over the hump.  I always have this fear that I won't be able to make it to the end, so if I hold back and finish strong, then I'll know I can do it.  I don't know if it was just knowing that the hubs believed in me to go faster, having him there to push me faster, or both, but it worked!  I averaged a 7:48 min/mile!! Now, I know it was just 3 miles, and my half marathon will be 13.1, but just knowing I can do it will help my mindset as I approach longer distances.

Well, I gotta run!  10 miles is coming up this weekend!

10K, Weather Craziness, and New Math Games!

10K Race
This weekend was a 10K race for my training, and it worked out perfectly.  If you remember, I changed districts this year, and my old school had a 10K fundraiser this weekend!  Perfect timing!!  It was so nice to see my old students and teachers and get to run at the same time.  The PE teacher has a running club and a lot of my former students were running in the 5K race.  I was extremely proud of their hard work and determination! What a cool thing to be able to do a 5K at the age of 9!  These types of events make me realize just how remarkable our students are outside of the classroom too.

Okay, so about my actual running.  The course is a 5K loop, so if you're doing the 10K, you do the loop twice.  I had a goal of running 8:00 minute miles.  The first half was a bit slower than the second half, and I don't think I had the confidence that I could actually do 8 min/mile.  I ended up averaging 8:07/mile which I was pleased with, but it certainly makes me realize that I should be running at least this for my shorter runs.  Now the real question is whether or not I can run this pace for 13.1 miles! Fingers crossed!

Weather Craziness
We always know in Indiana that we're going to have crazy weather, but really?  A snow storm on March 24th!  On Saturday we had beautiful weather.  So much so that I took my dogs for a walk to the dog park, played frisbee, and completed doo-doo duty in the backyard!  24 hours later this is what it looked like at my house.  What does all of this mean for me?  A snow day today!!

             Saturday on a walk with Addie and Scout.   Sunday into Monday 8 inches of snow!

Snow Day = New Math Games!
I've had such a great response from all of my I have...Who Has? games that I've been trying to add to the selection.  Right now, I'm doing all math games, but have many language arts ones on the list for spring break.  Watch out contractions, short vowel sounds, r-controlled vowels, long vowels, and silent e!  I'm coming for you.

Anyway, I started with a bright and vibrant spring theme for converting fractions to decimals because I needed a little bright in my life.  After all, Spring Break is only 3 school days away!

Next, I used some pizza slices for fractions practice.  My EL students need some help on simple fractions before we move into more complicated fractions.  This will be a great refresher and an easy entry point into fractions.  

And our 4-H clubs are gearing up again for a great summer 4-H fair, so I got a little country with reading decimals.  Knowing how to read decimals is an important skill for students, and this is a great game for reinforcing these skills.  

Here are links to some of the other games that teachers enjoy:

Addition with Regrouping Game

Subtraction with Regrouping Game

Addition with and without Regrouping Game

Also, I have undertaken a huge task (much bigger than I originally had though) to create a year-long unit of greek and latin roots.  If any of you do work with learning roots and vocabulary words and would like for me to include something specific, let me know!  

The countdown is on until my Spring Break.  I'm hoping this snow melts and the weather warms before my 9-day stay-cation!

Gotta run!

Holy Calluses and Tech Tuesday with My Big Campus!

Holy Calluses

Yep!  That's right.  I'm talking calluses on my feet.  Disgusting!  My feet are officially getting back into running shape.  I say that with excitement and disdain at the same time.  I have said before that I'm working on my speed so I've chosen to do the "advanced" version for my half marathon training.  With this, the distances havent' been killing me, but I've been trying to ramp up my speed.  My legs have definitely been more tight and a bit more sore, but I forgot about those sweet calluses!  

I'm going to chalk up this week to some holy calluses.  Once they are there, it'll be no big deal (except to the nail lady who asks if she can shave them off and I have to regretfully say no), but for now my feet are not feeling 100%. 

I typically wear heals, but I think this week I'll have to shift to some of my flats for the comfort level.  I'm pretty short at 5'4", so I try to wear taller shoes since many of the 5th graders in my building are taller than me!  I'm just going to chalk this week up to making all of them feel tall, and treating my feet to some no-heeled luxury! My flats will be ready to get dressed up this week rather than my typical jeans/weekend look!

**I also thought you'd rather see a picture of shoes than my callused feet! :)

Tech Tuesday

My Big Campus: A Social Learning Network

My Big Campus is a great resource for students and teachers to share information with each other.  Teachers and administrators can restrict viewing and sharing for safety reasons, but students can create documents, comment, share, upload videos, look at links you've shared with them, etc.  MBC also has what they call "bundles" which are resources that teachers have already created that you can tap into as well.  

This week, I am supporting some of my EL students with their core instruction on social injustice, slavery, and the Underground Railroad.  Since I will be out one day during my time with them, I wanted to make sure they still had meaningful work to do.  As I started on MBC, I found a teacher who had already posted information on MBC that I could use!  

Here are 2 of the screen shots for what came up.  Remember...another teacher created all of this and I can use it too!  Woohoo!!  

Photos, videos, links, and documents can easily be added to these pages. What I like most is that it's all in one place.  Students can research, find great resources, talk with their peers via comment areas, and type and share their work for others to see all in ONE place!!  

Click here to view a short 2 1/2 minute YouTube video on the features of My Big Campus.  I'll keep you updated on how I use it with my small groups and with my staff during professional development!  

Gotta run...Smash will be on in about 15 minutes!  

Week #4: Mini Training, Do's and Don'ts of Gym Workouts, and Currently

Well it's been a while since I've been on here.  The main reason is that my blog went a little funky for a bit, but all the bugs are worked out and we're ready to roll!  Some other reasons include our state testing and coordinating a piece of our accountability measures for that, parents who are hateful, and oh yea, a car accident.  Wah wah!  In the midst of all of that I've been trying to keep up with my training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon too!

So here is my recap of the last couple of weeks:

Week 2 of training:
- I had a ton of after school commitments and really didn't do so hot with keeping up with Hal's recommendations for my training.  I only ran 3 times that week, but got some good mileage in on the weekend.  Our weather hasn't been so great (until this weekend!) so I've been doing all of my training on the treadmill at the gym.  As stated before, I have a secret love for the gym.  I really do enjoy running next to people and feeling good about walking out of the gym knowing I've accomplished another day of working out.  However, while at the gym I see a lot of things that I love, and don't love as much.  Below is my compilation of Do's and Don'ts at the gym.

Any of you agree or disagree with these?  Feel free to share what you would add to the list...on both sides!  I must say the worst one was the older gentleman walking out of the gym in on his towel and a button down shirt that was not buttoned.  Granted we couldn't see anything, but it was 20 degrees outside!

Week 3 of training:
I had another week of crazy after school meetings, PTO, math family night, etc. so I knew my workouts weren't going to be as regular as I would like, but I did get as many in as possible.  I have realized that sometimes you just have to be real with yourself and read your body and your schedule.  I try not to beat myself up about missing workouts, but it really bugs me that I can't cross it off on my schedule.

Remember how I said earlier that I had a lot of meetings this week?  Well I was on my way from one to another and then this happened...

 Talk about making the week a bit more stressful!  Oh, and in between getting my license and talking to the person I hit, I locked my keys in the car!  Really, I'm not sure it gets much worse than that except that the police officers couldn't get it unlocked!  I sat in the back of a barred police car for about an hour while my husband drove all the way home and then back with the other set of keys.  I have a way of making one problem into many apparently! On the brighter side, no one was injured, so I can count my blessings.  I now have a rockin' rental car (that smells of smoke - yuck!), but it gets some sweet gas mileage, so I'm enjoying that!

...and because of the accident I missed our Family Math Night at school!  I heard it went well, but was definitely bummed to miss it!

Week 4 of training:
Everything kind of went back to normal this week...yee haw!  The only after school commitment was dinner with some friends, so I got all but one workout in this week!  I ran 20+ miles this week and ended today with a great 7 mile run.  This is the longest I have run in a long time, and I was kind of intimidated by it, but I figured I had to get started.  I forgot how good it felt to feel sore...is that weird!?!?  The weather was about 55 degrees and BEAUTIFUL during the run!!  I passed so many other people working out or walking their dogs.  I love this time of year!

Currently
And finally...better late than never, but Farley's Currently!

I really enjoy getting mail (not bills) in the mailbox.  For my love of getting mail, though, I'm not very good at sending it.  Also, my husband has been making some really good milkshakes lately and I love them!  They are a great treat!  I love my dogs, but I hate muddy paws.  Just when I clean up one round on the floor they head out again, and I'm swiffering for the fifth time in one day! Still love 'em!

Can you tell it's been a while!  Hopefully I'm all caught up now.

I gotta run...the mighty Hoosiers are playing in about 1 minute, but I'll be back later this week to post about some great websites I've found recently for my students! :)

Week #1 of Mini Marathon Training and a TPT 20% off Sale

Good morning blogger friends!  I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post.  I wish I could say I had a good reason, but I've just been busy, busy, busy!  I think it's that time of year where everyone gets bogged down with cold weather, still a while until Spring Break, and our state testing is right around the corner (wah, wah!).

This week was my first official week or mini marathon training.  As a kickoff to the Indy 500, there is a HUGE (30,000+ runners) Mini Marathon in Indianapolis at the start of May.  Part of the course takes us on the track of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is a portion of the luster of this race.  I think I have run the Mini Marathon 6 times, each time with decent scores, but I haven't run it since my marathon.

As week #1 started for me on Monday, my goal for this half marathon is speed.  I know I can finish it, but I'm trying to build speed work into my workouts.  If you've never trained for a race, start now!  There are so many spring races of various distances everywhere these days!  It doesn't matter what you look like, how much you weigh, if you have a matching Lululemon workout look, JUST DO IT!  (By the way, I own zero, zilch, nada Lululemon items...$60 for a racerback tank I can get at Kohl's for $15...no thanks!  Well, don't get me wrong, their stuff is cute, just too expensive for me!)

I am a pretty faithful Hal Higdon fan for training and always follow his training programs.  He has a variety of option for the half marathon, and because of my speed goal, I decided to challenge myself with his advanced training program.  I am scaling back the weekend 90 minute run, though, because I'm not quite there yet, but I'm hopeful!

Week #1 was underway and going well this week!  Except for Friday...some friends from my old school asked if I wanted to grab a drink after school!  This was a no brainer!  :)  I'm off to the gym here in a bit to finish off my Sunday workout and begin Week #2 tomorrow.

Anyone out there training for anything this Spring?  I'd love to hear about it!

Also, I'm throwing a President's Sale 20% off sale! I'm featured today on the math page of TPT for my St. Patty's Day Palooza Unit!  Enjoy the discount today and tomorrow!

Gotta run for now, but stay tuned for my Do's and Don'ts at the Gym List (unfortunately, I will tell you Don't walk out of the gym in only your shower towel). 

Super Bowl, Super Cold, Super Delay!

Good evening!  Well today has been great!  Laundry, running, school work, blogging, TpTing, etc.

Super Bowl!
Last year I created a Super Bowl Unit because it was all they hype here in Indy and my kids were obsessed!  Now it will be the Ravens and 49ers with Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh.  How fun will this be.  I have updated the unit to reflect the new teams, added some activities, and did some updates.  Check it out and enjoy a few weeks of football fun!

 Super Cold
Well I can't say that MLK day was filled with outdoor activities and running with the dogs...the windchill right now is 2 degrees and dropping.  Now if you're from Alaska or Minnesota, I know you have no sympathy for me, but it is CoLd!  So off to the gym I went, with my best iTunes workout friend Grace Lazenby.  My husband was doing the stair machine, of which I have done once and swore it off.  It is really hard!  So anyway, I decided on a 30 minute workout which I dialed in through the music on my phone.  I'll fill you in on Grace later in the week.  She doesn't know that she's my best running buddy.  Actually, she doesn't even know that I exist!  Wonder if she'd go along with my inner monologue of people running next to me?  Actually, she probably would be that person next to me.

Super Delay
Did I mention that it is really cold here in Indiana?  Well, it has warranted a 2-hour delay tomorrow!  Woohoo!  So this may not mean that I sleep in, but at least I'll get a couple of hours of work done before the kiddos come in.  :)

The Bachelor is on now...gotta run!

Teacher Evaluations, Internal Motivation, and a Shout Out Linky

Teacher Evaluations Feedback
As I have shifted from a classroom teacher role to an administrative position this year, much of my time is spent in classrooms doing walk throughs and observations.  While doing this I have learned a tremendous amount from teachers I get to watch.  They are amazing at what they do, and I've often thought that everyone should have the opportunity to do this during their career.  It is a great learning experience.  On the flip side, I want to make sure that my teachers are getting the most out of their observations and our conversations that follow.  I thought I'd come to all of you with a question!

What has been the least/most valuable information, format, or feedback you have received from your principal during and after observations? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email and let me know your thoughts!

Internal Running Motivation
My husband and I headed to the gym today around noon and it was packed!  I had to wait a couple of minutes for a treadmill, but in my crazy mind I thought I'd get some really good motivation from the people next to me.  I was wrong!  There were two older men next to me who were completely content with their walk.  I was proud of them for getting to the gym and exercising!  However, now it was all up to me!  I decided I was going to run 4 miles (farther than I've gone in a long time...so sad!!).  I began my workout, untangled my headphones during my walking warm up, and started reading the closed captioning about Obama returning from Hawaii.  I finished my 4 mile run with internal motivation!  I don't think I believed that I had that in me, but mission accomplished!  I can not promise that I won't be checking out perfect college girl next to me tomorrow, though.

Shout Out Linky

One of the best things I love about blogging are the people I get to meet and learn about through their words and inspiration.  Marie, from The Hands-On Teacher, gave me a shout out through a Linky because of my blog!  Thanks, Marie, you are the best!  Stop by and give her a shout out in return!

The way the linky works is that you give a shout out to two blogs, one that has more followers than you, and one that has less followers.  So here are mine:

3rd Grade Gridiron is written by Dana, and she is awesome!  First, I love a sports theme.  My first year of teaching I had a sports theme, so visiting her blog always makes me think about my beginning.  Dana is a regular blogger and always has great ideas.  She posts freebies, shares ideas, color codes, etc! I also watched her on the Virtual Teaching Expo a while back and she was wonderful!  Dana, thanks for your constant inspiration!

Learning to the Core is my second shout out.  It is a new blog (just started in November, but has almost 50 followers!!) that focuses on Common Core.  Aylin and Amanda, the authors teacher in the same school but share resources from the primary grades.  Both share creative ways to teach common core through different resources.  A lot of them are FREE!  They both offer great technology advice and ideas.  It is a really fun blog to read and you learn a lot!  Go visit them and share the shout out love!

Join in on the linky and give a shout out to the blogs you love the most!

Enjoy your weekend!