Lots of Updates since I last wrote in May. :-)

It seems I left on the thought of me training to run a 5k and a 10k and with me reading through the whole Bible in one summer. The 5k was on the 4th of July and I finished in just over 30 minutes, averaging a little of a 10 minute mile. I was ecstatic! Then I ran the 10k on September 11th and did not do as well as I wanting (my training was interrupted a bit...), but managed to at least pull off a pace just under 11 minutes a mile.

As for the Bible reading, I did not quite make it in 90 days, but more like 101 days (or something like that). I did finish pretty close to on time and I was pumped about that part! The Old Testament was the roughest, especially when it was explaining the dimensions of the Temple again.... :-) It was a great experience on the whole and I would really encourage my fellow brothers and sisters to attempt it as well! You do need to make sure that you will have time to do the read most days though...

This summer the craziest thing happened to me! I was mowing the lawn and it threw a rock at me! This was right in the middle of my 10k training... I couldn't put a shoe on for a whole week! I couldn't comfortably wear dress shoes for a month! Let me back up and explain:

YES, I was wearing shoes! And yes, I still have a mark from where the rock hit my foot and occasionally it still feels slightly tender... 4 months later! It happened at the end of July. I should have taken a picture of the wicked bruise... So after I could finally put on shoes again I started going back to Body Pump and I could do everything except the lunges and my lunges are still weaker to this day! For those of you not familiar with Body Pump, it's a weight lifting class. You lift weights to music and when I haven't done it in a while it has a good way of making my entire body very sore! It's so much fun and I have a great instructor (I generally go to the same class).

Student Teaching has started and is almost over. It has been an incredible experience. I mean that in both positive and negative ways. I worked with a Spanish teacher and a German teacher every day throughout the entire experience, which I don't think I would encourage a dual placement like that in the future. It can work really well, but the communication across the board has to be very strong or else it becomes really easy for things to become tense... Although I have enjoyed student teaching on the whole and have enjoyed my time in front of the classroom, I am not sure that I am going to pursue a teaching job. I have been working as a tutor for the last year and a half and have absolutely loved that, so I am contemplating working as a private tutor and not pursuing a teaching job. We'll see how that goes!

One thing I can say about student teaching is that I have NEVER had this many colds in one semester and I mean serious colds! I have one right now, and let me tell you, going to school and working all day with it has not been fun, but I haven't missed any days this time...

Ben and I were able to spend Thanksgiving with some family in Missouri this year. The highlight of the trip was seeing his brother Nick and his family. They have orders to Germany, so they will be MIA from the States for a while starting in about March. The good news is, that I should FINALLY be able to get Ben on a plane with me to Germany so he can FINALLY meet my friends there! I miss my German friends a lot and it really is a loss for Ben never to have met most of them! Germany, here we come! At least once we have the vacation time and money saved for such a trip...

Well, I should get ready for some good rest (and get over this cold). Hopefully I will not wait most of the year to post next time!

Summer Bible Reading

I have decided to take on a challenge, anyone who wants to join feel free. I am going to read the entire Bible this summer. I found a website (http://www.biblein90days.com/index.php?option=com_challenge&pgID=5), where you can download a bookmark with the daily readings on it. I am not signing up for the challenge online because I know I won't go on there and write there, but I am doing the challenge and telling you if I succeed or not. Who knows maybe I will make this a summer occurrence. Anyone and everyone can feel free to ask me how I am keeping up with the challenge, as it is a lot of reading each day that I am planning on doing.

Running

So I have decided to take on the task of training for a 5K in July and a 10K in September. They are spaced two months apart, which is perfect for making sure I have enough time to train. I signed up for these races a week ago, right now I am trying to convince my husband, Ben, to run with me. I think he will run the 8K when I do the 5K and he has not decided between the 10K and half marathon in September.

Since deciding on doing this I have gone running 5 times, which actually went amazingly well. I have exercise induced asthma, which means I have to take an inhaler before I work out. I have been doing some aerobic classes to help me build lung capacity, but I have only been able to attend occasionally. Basically running is one of the hardest things to do for someone with asthma, but I enjoy running and I know it will help me build that lung capacity.

My runs actually went quite a bit better than expected. I figured a week later I would still be running half mile intervals, which I did do for a few runs. On Friday I ran a whole mile at one time and then Sunday I ran two whole miles in one go. I have been running on treadmills to get me started, because I can push myself a lot harder when I see how fast I am running, how much time I have left and how far I have gone. It is easy for me to say, let's go .1 mile faster. That's how I got to two miles. I would set the treadmill at one speed and set a time goal, then at the end of the time I would bump it up slightly and set another time goal. Next thing I knew I had been running for just over 20 minutes and went 2 whole miles.

Currently I am trying to get my older brother to run a 5K with me and I am trying to get my Mom to walk the 5K I am running. I think it would be fun to make it a family affair.

End of the Semester

So now I am finally coming to the end of the semester, at least the end of the classes I am taking. I am a substitute teacher and high schools are still in session for about another month.

The best way to sum up the end my schooling, especially my second Bachelors, is relief, I am ecstatic to be finished. I took one semester off between my degrees and it was glorious, I worked full time and got to know a lot of people and I got to know the city I was living in much better, which was great. I knew going back to school would be rough, but I would get through it and I practically have. Monday I take my finals (which are not finals that can be studied for) and I am finished! Ok, so I have to student teach in the fall, but that is much different than taking classes. It will be a very busy time, but I am very excited for it.

Sometimes you enjoy what you are doing while you are doing it, other times you enjoy the end result more than the process. Taking classes for my teacher's license is an example of enjoying the end result more than the process. This semester I have learned a lot of valuable things however.

For example, my last thing to finish is my final IPA (Integrate Performance Assessment), this is something used in a foreign language classrooms. A framework that ACTFL promotes. Basically it consists of three steps (which happen to be the three modes of communication). First you do an interpretive activity, then you move onto an interpersonal activity and finally and prepare a presentational project. For my class we have to write three IPAs. The first two I did with a partner and the final one I am doing on my own. We did one on nutrition in Spain vs. nutrition in the United States, looking at the food pyramid and la rueda de los alimentos. Then we did one on telling bedtime stories. Now I am working one one about immigration. This one I am doing for a German class, so I am focusing on Turkish immigration to Germany and comparing that to Hispanic immigration to the United States. Both countries encounter similar problems such as disdain towards the newcomers, finding ways to integrate them into society and the education of the immigrant children (amongst other issues as well).

Well, I better get back to finishing up that project, especially since I have a fun filled weekend of visiting with family and friends. :-)

Till next time...

The Musings Have Begun....

Instead of working on some homework, like I should be doing right now, I decided to start a blog, again. I did do one, and I probably would have simply picked that one back up again, but it's connected to a different email address, so it is easier to just start a new one.

I was just thinking about how many things seem to play out slightly differently in my life than in others, so I decided it would be fun to write a blog and keep people updated on what is happening along with writing on some different things when the mood strikes me. It would probably be a lot of things related to foreign language, as that is really my focus in life right now.

Well, as I should get back to my homework and away from the blog, here is a start to the new blog. There will be more to come and potentially photos as well. As for now, it is just an introduction to basically say that I am doing this.