4/28- We can do "The Innuendo," we can dance and sing, when it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing

Weight Loss for the Week: 1lb

My planning ahead for all meals AND snacks is continuing to work.  I'm glad I'm staying on top of it all and sticking to my points and trying to make them healthier foods instead of so much crap.  I'm also looking into trying a few new workouts to add into my routine- more on that next week.

This week has been almost too busy for words, but in a crazy-awesome way.  School went pretty well this week.  My 9th graders are getting into Night- a number have already finished the book a whole week early :)  My 8th graders are enjoying To Kill a Mockingbird and survived the last bit of standardized testing this week.  And I survived monitoring it, whew. My 10th graders just adored (note the sarcasm here) learning all about MLA citations.  Now, we'll get back to literature and our normal way of things.  There wasn't anything bad, at least not in my classrooms, this week, so I was grateful for that.  I also chaperoned the whole 9th grade (along with four other teachers) on our field trip to the Brooks Art Museum to see the "Black Odyssey" exhibit and they behaved well.  Some liked it, some didn't, but they all liked getting out of the school for a little while.

This past Thursday, I was able to go see the Grizzlies/Clippers Playoffs game at the Fedex Forum in a suite thanks to my wonderful father.  A friend of his let me have four tickets for the game.  It was such a cool experience. We had an absolute blast going to the game and watching the Grizzlies win!  The suite was so pimp- great food, free drinks, comfy seats, and an fabulous, unobstructed view :)  It was the ultimate Girls' Night Out, I must say.

Last night was Prom for my school. All the teachers helped chaperone.  It was so cute to see all the students dressed up and enjoying themselves.  The girls were lovely in their formal dresses and the boys were handsome in their suits and tuxedos.  They looked more like adults than students which was both amusing and scary. The event space was really nice and well-decorated.  The students all seemed to have a really good time, and so did the teachers.

Today, I had a nice brunch with Mom and Memaw.  Then, I went to a baby shower for my friend and got to ooh and aah over so many tiny baby clothes and baby things.  It was a nice way to finish off the weekend before heading home to never-ending pile of grading and all the prepping and planning for the week ahead.

Now, to finish all that fun stuff :)

4/21- In your dreams, whatever they be, dream a little dream of me.

Weight Loss for the Week- 1lb

Woot for being back on the weight loss train!  I decided to take a look at where my issues were since I was planning my meals and exercising and still just maintaining.  I realized a huge issue was that I was snacking on crap.  I would stay within my points, but the snacks were not healthy.  So, when I went to the store this week, I got string cheese, Special K snack bars, new types of yogurt, veggies and hummus, and yogurt-covered pretzels.  I know it sounds excessive- and trust me I don't eat all of these every day, but I need variety and all of these will last for awhile.  It's easier to say no to cookies in the lounge if I have my own stash in my desk drawer at work.  And, I can avoid chips and some dip if I have my cucumbers and hummus or some yogurt with nuts.

So, that helped me get back on track with the healthy lifestyle.  It isn't enough to make the main meals healthy, the in-between munchies need to be good for me too. It's also nice on nights when I don't want a real meal and I can just pick a few of these to eat instead.  I'm glad I figured out some stuff that is working for me- it's what we all have to do, figure out what the issues are and how we can fix them so that we're still satisfied but on the path to healthy living.

This week at school was good.  My 8th graders are enjoying TKAM for the most part.  My 9th and 10th graders just finished up their most recent units and are about to begin the next ones tomorrow- Night for the 9th graders and MLA citations for the 10th graders.  The week flew by pretty quickly without any major incident, so that was good.

The weekend has been nice.  Friday night, I went to Broad Ave.'s Art Walk with Sunshine.  We had fun looking at all the art, seeing a few new galleries/stores, and having some tasty kabobs from the Stick 'Em Food Truck.  Saturday morning, I got to chase my students and shoot them with lasers at Laser Quest.  We had a blast playing laser tag :)  And while I was never in the top three, I was also never in the bottom three. I stayed in the middle each round.  Then, we had family in town, so we had a nice lunch.  And I ended last night by going over to Kerry's where she roasted vegetables and made risotto and we had a nice catch up session over dinner.

Today, I went to my cousin's daughter's First Communion. It was so nice, and all the kids were so adorable in their dresses and suits.  Then, we went to brunch at Brother Juniper's- incredibly tasty!  We also had a nice time catching up and taking a ton of photos.

Photos from the weekend:

                                        Art Walk on Broad Ave.

                                          Standing in front of the mural on Broad Ave.

                                          The delicious dinner Kerry made.

                                         Mom, Memaw, Maddie, and I after First Communion.

Now, I'm getting lessons planned and tests/quizzes graded, but I may take a break and go see Jurrasic Park in 3D :)

4/14- You know you make me wanna SHOUT

Weight Loss for the Week: 0lbs

And it seems I'm back to my maintaining slump.  UGH. I know I ate out a lot this week- and I went out Friday night, and to a wedding Saturday night and that all adds up.  But still, it's annoying as all get out. And I know the only way to get back on my losing streak is to not splurge so much when I do go out to eat and attend functions.  It's harder than it sounds. And I know I should be glad I don't gain during these times.  But, sometimes you just need to vent.

So, this week, I'm back to the regular routine of planning/making most of my meals and be incredibly aware of possible point values of anything I eat if/when I go out with folks.  It's my usual and it keeps me sane and gives me a real sense of control so I should be fine.  I just need to keep remembering that there's a reason I do WW, so that I can keep improving my lifestyle and get fit and healthy. 

Ok, now to the non-griping portion of the blog.  My week was pretty good at school.  We got last Monday off since we reached our fundraising goal- HUGE THANKS to everyone who contributed- y'all are sooooooo AWESOME!!!!!! 

Classes are going fairly well.  I'm having to review science stuff with my ACT kids and that's more challenging for me than it is for them I think.  But, we struggle through together, lol. I'm about to have my 8th graders start To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my all-time favorite novels.  I think it will be a good way to end the year and I may even be able to finagle a field trip to go with it.  My 10th graders are acting out Much Ado About Nothing and it is hysterical.  They get so into it, and they start translating it into their vernacular while they act it out- which is perfect for the assignment they'll have once we finish reading it.  And I'm working on taking my 9th graders to a museum in a few weeks to see a more modern interpretation of The Odyssey since we're reading that right now.  It's a busy time and we only have  a few weeks left- it feels crazy that we're already coming to the end of the school year.  I swear we just began.

Friday, I went to Chiwawa's with some of the other teachers and finally tried a Chiwawa dog- muy tasty, totally recommend.  And we had a nice group come along this week, so that was really cool.  We even got the final Batson House mentor to come with us, which never happens :) 

Saturday, I proctored our final round of admissions tests at the school, finished all my grading and updated my grading online.  Then, I finished my lessons and almost all my prep right when I got home.  So, I felt crazy on the ball for all of that.  I got to relax for a few hours and then I got ready for my friend's wedding at the Memphis Zoo.  The wedding was simply beautiful.  She got married at the Northwest Passage, for those of you who have been to the zoo and know.  The bridal party stood out on the performance area and it looked so gorgeous with the sun setting in the background.  The reception was in the viewing area and the entry space.  One of the polar bears even showed up and showed off and the kids just went nuts for it.  Everything was delicious.  I got to see a lot of people I don't see very often, and some whom I haven't seen in maybe 8 months.  That was one of my favorite things about last night.  We did a lot of catching up while we enjoyed the wedding and reception. 

Now, I'm figuring out what I can do to enjoy this lovely day since I don't have any pressing school work to do :)

Pictures from this weekend:

                                          The wedding ceremony.

                                         The polar bear who came to the reception.

                                              Batson House Mentors out to dinner!

4/7- Now walk it out, now walk it out.

Weight Loss for the Week: 0lbs

This week has been crazy.  We finally have Memaw moved and settled into her new apartment.  It took us a few days- a few, long, hard working days, but we did it.  She still has a few things to figure out and odds and ends to unpack in one small box. The bulk is more than done, though, and that is a huge relief.  If I have to look at another cardboard box in the next couple weeks, I may scream and commit myself to an asylum.

Memaw is very happy at her new apartment, and we've already had a girls' night there this past Friday with Ashly and Maddie.  It was a lot of fun hanging out and christening the new place.

I had a good week at school- and a very short week at that.  I had taken off Tuesday to help with the move, so I only had a three-day week.  It was short and a bit hectic just making sure I was staying on top of everything. The kids were all pretty good and asked me about a thousand times where I was on Tuesday.  It was nice to feel missed, I must say.

Friday was a fun evening- we had a cookout at the school to kick off our 5K that I've been promoting the past month on this blog.  The kids had a ton of fun and so did all the teachers.  It was a really nice way for the school week to end.  I like those kind of events because they show just how nice our school community is.  After that, I went to First Friday for a few hours to support this month's charity- Grow Memphis.  It was nice seeing all the regulars and meeting some new people.  And after that, I went to Memaw's apartment.  As I said before, it was a really nice night doing so many activities and seeing so many of my groups of friends and family members.

Saturday, I helped Memaw with some more stuff at the apartment.  Afterwards, Mom and I took advantage of the lovely spring weather and drove all around the city.  We ended up down at the river where we laid out and relaxed for awhile.  Then, poor Thomas needed to be taken to the vet since he had gotten a cut and infection on his ear.  We tried to handle it on our own a few days ago- and we thought it had worked- but, alas, the infection came back.  So, we took him to the vet and he cried and cried.  Then, he got a bit freaked out by the dogs and he panted so hard, I thought he was going to give himself some kind of heart attack.  He's better now. The vet cleaned it and gave him a shot and he now has some antibiotics to take for a week.  I just don't like it when he gets hurt or sick.  He's my boy and I hate not being able to make it better right away.

Today was my school's 5K.  It was such a blast!  I helped set up and that was fun.  I liked seeing everyone arrive and all that- especially all my students who came with parents and family members.  Then, we started the race. I finished it in 55 minutes.  Not my best time, but definitely not my worst.  I did have fun passing my students who tried to keep up the pace but couldn't, lol.  A few were able to do so, and plenty just outpaced me from the get go of course.  Then, I had some food and helped run the Cake Walk game.  Everyone had such a fun time and most of the kids were there from start to finish which was just awesome.  I did escape the Dunk Tank though- we were running short on time and the principal wanted to definitely do it, so I was able to "give up" my time slot.  It was just a really nice day. Everyone was smiling and laughing and getting along.  I just loved it.  And, we were able to reach our goal of $15,000!!!! Thanks again to everyone who donated or registered!!!!  Since we reached our goal, we get tomorrow off :)  I will be resting and vegging out all day, haha!!!

Here are some pictures from my weekend:

                                             The Mississippi River

                                            The Pyramid

                                           The Bridge

                                            Memaw waving from her balcony

            Teachers, students, and community members walking during the 5K

                                            The finish line!!!!

                                              Mom and I relaxing a little after the race.

My friend Katey who came out to run the 5K- and she placed 3rd in her division!!!

Now, I'm off to soak these sore legs in a hot tub :)