Express Auto Rant

I will NEVER go to Express Auto in Lee's Summit. Yesterday they failed my tires on my inspection. Since they were still technically under warranty for a few hundred more miles, I went to Firestone to see what they would do. They looked at them and said they should have passed and to go to the highway patrol for a second opinion. Highway patrol passed them. So I took my car back to Express to get my pass slip and the girl at the counter asks for my keys. I was a little confused as to why they would have to look at my car again so I asked her why she needed them. She looks at me and says, "Uh, to pull your car in." I asked why and she said, "That's just what they do. I don't know, I just do the typing." So I give them to her and they look at it. The guy comes out and starts talking to me like I'm stupid trying to convince me that my tires do not pass, telling me that the tread is well below the wear-bar. I informed him that I looked at it and it was not below the wear bar. According to state regulations, the cord of the tire needs to be showing in order for them to fail. There was no cord showing at all. So after I tell him that I looked at my tires and the cord was not showing at it was above the wear bar, he walked away from me, shaking his head and muttering. Are you serious? I realize that my tires are almost the end of their life, which I admitted, but if the highway patrol passes them, then by law they have to give you your pass slip. The highway patrol did say that I'd need to get new tires before winter, which I knew. But that at least gives me until my next paycheck to save for them. But I will definitely be taking my business elsewhere.

Back to School

Hello friends! Haven't been on here in forever. This year I'm pretty much full time at the high school. We restructured our program so that all of the kids that received services go to one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. Before this year, we had 4 teachers traveling around the district, which in Lee's Summit, amounts to a lot of traveling. Our district has 18 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools. A 4th middle school and 4th high school are in the works but are on hold with the budget crisis. So this makes a lot of sense. We can now spend more time with students instead of in our cars. Last year, 40 minutes of my day was spent going back and forth between schools. I was putting tons of miles on my car. This year? I travel twice a week and only go one day. It's great. I can give my students the attention they need.

So far I'm liking working at the high school. I'm a little isolated back in my little corner, but I'm making friends. Since I push in to a lot of classes, I've met a few other teachers. Last Friday I stopped by to talk to one of my student's teachers and got invited to happy hour. I had a chiropractor appointment but I went ahead and went anyway. It was definitely a good time and I met a few more people. One thing about working at the high school is that there are so many people that it's hard to actually get to know them unless they're in your department. SPED teachers are pretty spread out though. In my corner are all social studies teachers, but since my student doesn't have any of them, I haven't really had a reason to go talk to them. So my new friends are mostly English teachers and SPED teachers. They're fun times. I was told anytime I needed a happy hour, just email. I like that.

In other news, my little sister is getting married in 12 days! I'm really excited for her. He's a good guy and treats her well. I'm excited to be her maid of honor. This is the first time I've been a bridesmaid, much less a maid of honor, unless you count my parents' weddings. Next week I have a 2 day work week after Labor Day, then it's off to St. Louis on Thursday for the rehearsal and the wedding on Saturday!

Do the HUSTLE!

Last week I went to the gym and noticed that there was a new schedule for the group classes starting next week. One of the new classes on there was Hustle. I had seen it on a schedule in St. Louis and it sounded like fun, but there were no classes in KC. So when I saw that it would be Wednesdays at 7:30 I was super excited. Wednesdays are perfect for classes for me since Chris works until 9:30 so I tend to get bored and fall asleep on the couch at 9.

Today I was in a super bad mood and just stressed. When I got home I was seriously considering ordering Chinese for dinner and calling it a night. I laid around a while and yelled at the cat for complaining at me to let her in the bedroom. Then I decided that instead of going to the gym, I'd at least go down to the fitness center at my apartment and do something. About 15 minutes in, I decided that was boring and I was going to go to the gym after all to try out the class I'd been thinking about all week. I had a quick dinner and headed over when it was time.

I'm so glad I did! Not only was it fun, but it totally got me out of the funk I've been in all day. I burned 500 calories and sweated a ton. I will definitely be going back. For those of you that don't know what Hustle is, it's a hip hop cardio dance class. So kind of like Zumba, but instead of latin dance moves, it's hip hop. Today it was mostly the same song, but the routine is broken down into "blocks." By the end of the class you've learned a whole routine. It kind of reminds me of learning dances when I was at cheerleading camp, which I always liked even though I wasn't a great dancer. But the upside of today's class? It was the first one, so everybody was new!

Can't wait until next Wednesday!

Progress

Well, I finally have been making progress after being on a weight loss plateau for months. I started doing a weight loss program through work. I didn't really know what it would be when I started. Basically, you eat only when you're hungry, which for most people is supposedly 1-2 times a day. You also are supposed to time yourself when eating by eating for 10 minutes, taking a 5 minute break, and then eating for another minimum of 10 minutes, and stop when you're comfortable. You're not supposed to eat when you first get up, but instead you drink watered down orange juice and wait to be hungry. The idea of that is that most people are dehydrated when they wake up and confuse it with hunger.

So far I've lost a little over 5 pounds in the last 5 weeks on it. I don't know if it's the actual diet, or the fact that I've been better about exercising 3-4 times a week, or a combination of both. Some of the principles of the program are hard for me to follow though. First of all, I generally am hungry 3 times a day, including when I first wake up. I have waited a few days, but usually I need to eat within an hour or an hour and a half after waking up. So I end up taking my breakfast with me to work. Another problem is that I don't have a 25 minute lunch break. I get 20 minutes for lunch, the same as the student I see during that time. If I don't eat during that time, I don't get a break until after 3:00. It's kind of hard to follow these things if I can't just tell my student, "I'm sorry, I'm at a level 3 hunger right now and I need to stop what I'm doing and eat." A lot of the stuff makes sense, but it doesn't fit with my lifestyle. Counting calories works well for me. I can't quit the program though because if I don't finish I have to pay the district $100. So I'll stick with it. At least I'm losing weight. So far I've lost 40 pounds since last year! I didn't start out measuring so I don't know how many inches I've lost. I do know that I started out wearing a 16 and now I wear anywhere from an 8 to a 12 (only in petites). So that definitely tells me I'm moving in the right direction. I'm a little behind in reaching my total goal, but sickness over the winter held me back. But now I'm back on track and looking forward to losing this last 20 pounds!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 was a good year and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I finished my first year of teaching, got my teaching certificate, and began my weight loss journey. In February I was at an all-time high of 185 lbs. Today I am 153 lbs. Total weight loss so far: 32 lbs. Not bad if you ask me. The beginning of the year was definitely stressful with work. I was so thankful to have the summer off to relax and recuperate. I definitely needed it and am glad I used the time to begin eating healthier and start exercising. I feel so much better when I am taking care of myself. It has not been easy. There have been plenty of times when I want to throw in the towel, but then I remember how horrible I felt before I started losing weight. I have to keep telling myself that this is a lifestyle change, and that there will be times when it's okay to let go a little bit, just as long as I get right back on and don't do it all the time.

I also joined a gym for the first time (if you don't count Curves). I even sprang for a personal trainer. She worked me harder than I would ever have worked myself, but also taught me things I would have been afraid to try. I've fallen in love with Zumba. I don't go as much as I'd like but I want to change that. I wish that I could have gone to the gym over winter break, but a nasty sinus infection has prevented me from going. Oh well. Things happen and it's important to make sure that I allow myself to rest when I am sick. The reason I got so sick was because I kept trying to go and go and not go to the doctor until I absolutely had to. So now I'm paying for it.

Right now I'm thinking about what goals I'd like to make for myself this year. That will come in another post. I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, but there's nothing wrong with setting some goals. What are your goals for this year?