Warning...major rambling

Summer has been pretty great. I'm glad that I have this time to wind down and relax, but also to work on goals that I can't get motivated to do during the school year. I have time to do things that I enjoy, and things that I don't enjoy, but need to do anyway. I've also enjoyed getting my backpay from this past year. With the extra money I've finally been able to buy a new bed and a new TV. They are both wonderful. Last night was the first night in the new bed and it was bliss. Chris and I don't feel like we're practically on top of each other and aren't constantly waking each other up every time we move. We decided to keep the old bed though and put it in the 2nd bedroom. Which means that the couch we had in there is now in an awkward spot in the living room. Doesn't really match but we'll figure something out for it in due time. I was going to use it for my classroom but I was informed this week that the full classroom I was going to have was also going to be the classroom for the paraprofessionals, which would not be a good idea with students with hearing impairments. So now I'm back to a slightly bigger office than what I had last year, which is good, but it's right next to the problematic bathroom that I could hear all last year. Gonna have to get some accoustical tile for that and dictate a bathroom schedule if it becomes a problem.

In other news, I have really started to work out. I have 2 programs I'm following. I do EA Active on the Wii 4-5 days a week (2 days on, 1 rest day), and I've decided to try out the C25K (Couch to 5k) program. The Wii workouts have gone better than C25K so far, but that's mostly because I tend to do my running/walking in the evening, and several times when I've gone to the apartment's fitness center I couldn't get in. I almost didn't make it in this evening but luckily somebody was leaving as I was going in. Apparently the door is sticking really badly. I guess I'll go down to the office in the morning and let them know. I practically had to throw all my weight against the door to get out when I was done. So today was the second time I did a 5k workout. The first time I did not make it all the way through all 8 intervals but today I did! Week 1 is a 5 minute brisk walk, followed by intervals of 60 seconds running and 90 seconds walking, and then a 5 minute cool-down walk. When it starts it's not so bad but at about the halfway point I'm wishing I were dead. I have a feeling I'll do week 1 a few weeks until it gets easier. I did notice that my calves were not screaming like they were the first time. However, I was wheezing a bit afterwards. I need to get my inhaler refilled. Maybe that will make things easier if I can breathe more fully. I need to keep this up. I'm tired of not fitting into clothes and hating looking at pictures of myself. Wish me luck!

Summer Vacation So Far...

Well I have 2 weeks of summer vacation down so far. Over Memorial Weekend I went with Chris to his friend's wedding, and then to Goose Creek Lake where my aunt has a house. Good times had by all. My mom came down with us, which made it a lot of fun. Most people would think, "No big deal," but this was the first time she's been down to the lake since I was probably 7 years old, since my aunt is my dad's sister. They still get along really well though and at my stepmom's birthday party (which my mom also attended), Aunt Sherry decided she needed to make a trip down this summer.

After we got back from the lake, I stayed in St. Louis for a couple of extra days. On Tuesday I went to Mimi's hearing aid appointment with her and then out to St. Charles for a yummy dinner and catch-up time with Erin. We were going to get ice cream too but decided we were too full from dinner. So instead we decided to go to a park and take a walk and then went back to her place and chatted for a while. I didn't stay too incredibly late since she had to get up for work in the morning. On Wednesday Julie and I went to get pedicures. I love pedicures. I don't get them often enough. This could be a bad thing. I left Thursday morning to get back to Lee's Summit in time for an interview for a potential new HI Specialist. It's interesting being on the other side of the table for interviews now.

The past week has been pretty laid back. Chris and I got Super Mario Galaxy 2 and we've been playing that together a lot. Yesterday I finally went to the eye doctor and got new contacts. I've been wearing my glasses since November and it's been driving me crazy. I had to take them out today though cause my left eye has been really itchy like there's something in it. Probably allergies. The doctor recommended some eye drops for that but I haven't gone to the store for them yet. I would have gone to Target while I was out today but didn't think of it until later and I didn't have the paper with me anyway. There's probably not even anything in my eye, just probably bumpy under my eyelid from allergies so my eye is getting irritated. Oh well. I'll run out tomorrow if I need to. I'm meeting with a financial planner about my retirement account tomorrow at lunch so I'll just go then.

In other exciting news, I booked a trip to New Orleans to visit Kali in September! And our friend Emma is coming in from Scotland at the same time, so it's doubly exciting. We're trying to convince Beth that she needs to come too. With the exception of Germany and my excursion during that time to Italy, this will be my first trip without family. It's the first trip I've paid for entirely on my own. It's nice to be able to finally be able to do that and it feels like a big accomplishment. Yay!