The View from the Classroom

I LOVE going to the movies and like some of you, I just HAD to go see Pirates (bad reviews and all) this weekend.  I also absolutely LOVE popcorn…one of those things that’s REALLY hard for me to pass up.  In fact, the only way for me NOT to give in to temptation is NOT to have it in the same room as me at all.

With the movie at almost three hours long, me being in pre-contest mode and knowing that hubby would HAVE to have popcorn, I knew I had to devise a plan.

So…I asked hubby (really just a courtesy…he knows better than to say no cause I’d be taking it regardless of his answer) if he would mind if I took some tuna to the movie…"Tuna?" he asks with an "are you serious" kind of tone to his voice though he KNOWS I’m dead serious…"No, I don’t mind.  You might need to take a restroom break, though, when you’re ready to eat it." he says matter of factly.

So…I put the tuna in a plastic container with some chopped veggies, grabbed the plasticware, put it in my purse and I’m set. 

Now I’m on to eradicating the popcorn temptation for which I need to enlist hubby’s help.  No, I’m not asking him to not buy popcorn, that wouldn’t be fair…just to not give me any, no matter how much I beg and plead and no matter what I OFFER to do, lol…for or to him…lol…NO MATTER WHAT, I tell him, don’t let me have even one piece.

The first time I asked, he did good.  BUT…he was taking SOOOO long to finish that little bag of popcorn that I just had to ask again.  I did a teeny tiny bit of begging…and he caved…I can’t lie…I had just a little bit…maybe two/three bites tops.  I told him I was disappointed in him…he should have held out for some kind of offer, but instead, he got nothing out of the deal…and, without uttering a single word, he sat there smelling the tuna that I so proudly feasted on.

I think he’s finally getting that I’m serious about the diet thing.

I guess my physique is very deceiving when wearing regular, everyday, non-skin showing clothes. 

Yesterday, I had to go to school to pack up the classroom…students are done for the year, so dress code is gone.  I wore one of my faves…destroyed blue jeans and a tank top.

From the moment I walked in the school until I left it was nothing but…

"You’re all muscle!"

"Look at your muscles!"

"You’re cut!"

"DANG…!!!"

And my absolute favorite…"I gotta start working out!"  Honestly…I hope that at least one of my fellow coworkers was motivated enough by my progress to get started on their own transformation this summer.  Knowing where I was a year ago and how far I’ve gone through bodybuilding, the thought of my journey inspiring someone else would just tickle me pink!!!

School’s out for summer!!!!  School’s out forever!!!!!! (I wish)  

Now, just so y’all don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my job.  BUT, I didn’t totally get the summer break thing until I actually started teaching.  In my previous life, I was one of those parents thinking that year round school would be so AWESOME, a truly GREAT idea.  I mean, I wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with the kids in the summer or feel guilty for choosing to work when I could be at home being a "good" mom.  After all, I work the whole year, why not let my kids go to school the whole year?  Like I said…AWESOME idea.  

It only took 1 year of teaching to change my mind on THAT.   I mean, think about it, spring time, 12 & 13 year olds, hormones just kicking in, love is in the air (it’s definitely not love for their teachers), attitudes just starting to develop, standardized testing has been done for over a month so the brains that for some were barely functioning before are completely turned off.  Keeping them engaged in Math?  Forget about it!!!  I’ve been merely trying to keep my sanity!!!!!  

For the last six weeks, I have longed for this day, anticipated it, and wondered why it was taking so dad gum long to get here.  You know the feeling…just think back to childhood.  You ALWAYS knew the date and at some point you probably started counting down the days.  You started making your summer plans…where were the parties gonna be?  Whose house was everyone gonna be hanging  out at???  All those important decisions on how best to do absolutely nothing without being bored.  

As a teacher, it means some of the same things…a chance to do nothing if I so choose…to get into a morning routine that goes something like this…breakfast, read paper, workout, eat, do nothing, eat, do nothing… to catch up on the reading that I love to do…to hang out at the pool now that thought of being seen in a swimsuit doesn’t make me sick to my stomache…to cook real meals (not that I’ll be doing so with the contest coming up, but the thought of being able to is nice)…to actually have time to do all the laundry and cleaning so hubby doesn’t have to help out (yes, he gets spoiled in the summer)…to recharge my batteries so that come August 27 I’m fresh and motivated with my love for teaching rekindled, looking forward to teaching another group of AWESOME kids that I know will be eager to learn from me.  

The last day of school makes me feel like a kid again…I’m all smiles…just what am I gonna do for the next three months??????

Picture it…Saturday afternoon…warm, sunny day…driving down the road with the window down, nice breeze, music just a little loud, when, as soon as I see him, I know I’m busted…I ease off the gas hoping he didn’t get me, but knowing he did. 

Continuing down the street, I check my rearview mirror and sure enough, he pulls in behind me.  I know it’s me he’s after, so I pull over into the right lane and yes, his lights go on as he follows suit.  "Damn" I say…I pull over.  He gets out and walks cautiously to my door, asks for my license and insurance card which I already have ready.  "Do you have the current insurance card, this one’s expired?" he asks.  Shocked, I look and sure enough it is.  I open the glove box back up and pull out all the crap that one keeps in the glove box and find the current one.  In the process, however, all that crap falls to the floorboard.  He asks me where I work and I respond with the name of the school I teach at.  He asks me if I know why I’m being pulled over to which I say (very humbly I might add) "I was probably going just a little fast."  "You were going 52 in a 35." he replies.  I’m thinking, yeah that’s probably about right, but please don’t give me a ticket.

So he calls it in as I watch in my rearview mirror.  When he’s done, he walks back to my car, we finish our business and he sends me on my way. So I’ve been pondering this little incident and really wondering what was going through the officer’s mind…hmmmm…a woman looking quite cute in a short little destroyed blue jean mini-skirt showing just enough leg and a polk-a-dot tank top showing off some well-toned arms…17 miles per hour over the speed limit…a teacher…admitted why she was being pulled over…like a nervous fool dropped all the crap from the glove box all over the floorboard…and who knows what else…whatever he was thinking, I know this, I was extremely thankful when he uttered the words "just slow down" instead of choosing to write that ticket.   So, I say "thank you!!" and I am truly grateful that he did not choose to give me that ticket.

Okay, so I’m taking my stats every week and I’m seeing some pretty consistent, steady decreases in weight and body fat.  I’m not "trying" to lose weight, but body fat, yes.  So this morning I weigh in at 131 (no surprise cause I actually weigh myself everyday), down 4 pounds from last Saturday  and my body fat says 11.6% which is up just a tad.  Which means, I’m losing muscle!!!????  How could that be??????  I’m lifting heavy.  Diet is ULTRA clean, no cheats.  Calories are around 1800 to 2000.  Only 3 days of low intensity cardio for 20-25 minutes (actually, only 2 days so far this week, cause day 3 is today).  In my mind, it doesn’t compute…no way should I be losing muscle.  And…last night when working out, I thought my biceps looked bigger.  Could it be hormonal?  Input?  Please??????

The hardest thing about trying to eat clean while being a teacher is that there is ALWAYS junk food in the lounge or being handed out as "thank you’s" by parents or student groups or someone. 

Today was a perfect example.  Last day of school before Easter break (yeah, I’m off for the next 4 days…woohoo!!!!) and what do you know?  Easter candy in my box and a huge yummy looking coconut (one of my faves) cake in the lounge.

So what did I do?  Stayed out of the lounge for one cause I’m in "NO cheat" mode AND gave the Easter candy to hubby when I got home.

I appreciate that people are trying to show appreciation, but a nice note of thanks would work just as well and be MUCH healthier.  Especially given that teachers are daily role models for impressionable kids and so many of our teachers today are overweight and out of shape.  Just take a look next time you’re in a school if you don’t believe me. 

What message are we sending to our kids?

"You’re extreme."  says my husband to me the other night.  Not quite getting what he’s saying, I ask "What do you mean?"  He responds, "It’s either all or nothing with you.  There’s no in between.  Nothing in the middle.  You’re extreme."  I had no response.  So I’ve spent a few days mulling this over in my mind.  Me?  Extreme?  Is he right?  Is that a BAD thing?
 
I came to this conclusion.  Maybe my husband is right.  I mean, I make my mind up and I do it.  All or nothing.  I pay attention.  I take notes.  I do my homework so that I do it well or I don’t do it at all.  If that’s what he means by "extreme" then, okay, he’s right.
 
But, it’s not a bad thing, is it?  I mean, more often than not, I think this "extremeness" has been a good thing.  A thing that has pushed me to succeed in pretty much anything I’ve tackled.  That doesn’t mean I haven’t had bumps along the way or that I’ve not made my share of mistakes.  It just means that in the end, I come out on top because once I’ve made up my mind, I’m doing it.  Period.  The end.  Okay, so I’m extreme.  What now?

Excuse my french, but that’s how I feel right now.  Here’s why… 

Went to the gym about 10:00 this morning.  Had a GREAT workout (back & bi’s).  Go to leave when I notice my car window was busted out.  Immediately, I know why.  My purse was in the floorboard and it was stolen.  Not the first time it has happened so you would think that I would know better.  No.  And now I’ve spent the last hour on the phone reporting stolen cards.  Got my cell phone too.  My LIFE was in that purse.  I feel lost.

I wasn’t the only one though.  Three other cars were hit at the same time.  One guy had his wallet, cell phone and camera stolen.  And…the officer said they hit 3 clubs in the area all around the same time.  So…at least I wasn’t the only one.  Is that SUPPOSED to make me feel better?  Cause honestly, it does, at least a little.  I feel bad for even admitting that.

The good news…looks like I got things cancelled before they tried to use the cards.

Look for my blog on contest countdown later…right now I have to go take care of a broken car window!!!!