I don't know where you are, but I hope your day was just as b-e-a-utiful as the one we had today in South Bend. The skies were blue, the breeze was light, the sun was shining, and the temperature hit 80. It was almost hard to run a few miles today, considering the last time I ran, it was 30 degrees cooler. This is a problem I welcome. Hello, spring! So lovely to finally see you!
Days like today make me long for summer. Just one short month from today will be my last day of work for the school year. And, since we started school early this year, we have 11 blissful weeks off! Whatever shall I do with all that time?
Well, I've found a great way to spend two weeks. :) In January, I applied for the ASNE Reynolds Journalism Institute. It's a 12 day course for educators to learn new techniques, discuss new media and technology, and work together to grow as teachers. There were almost 400 applicants last year, and they only chose 140 to attend. And this year, I'm privileged to say I'm one of them! From July 14-26, I'll be headed to the University of Missouri Columbia for an all expenses paid institute. To say that I'm tickled is an understatement! I'm thrilled! Plus, I get a free visit to the home of my master's degree! Double bonus!
I know a lot of people think teachers have it easy, but I will tell you that every teacher I know works his or her @$$ off during the school year. It's a lot of hard work, and it's easy to see why teachers feel burnt out at various points in their careers. It is things like this that encourage us to teach our students well and in new and exciting ways. And we all could use that.
I am so anxious for all that the next four months hold... weddings, travel, learning, and more. Bring it on, summer!
A summer opportunity
Sunday, April 21, 2013
First, I have to share with you some of the things my kiddos at school said when they found out I was turning 30 this week:
"30? You can't be 30!" -- A for you, student!
"I hope I look like you when I'm 30!" -- A+ for you, student!
"30? That's so weird. You're only five years younger than my mom." -- Hmph.
Mostly, though, being 30 has been great so far! I had a wonderful day at school on Thursday with lots of well wishes and treats from my coworkers and students. Dan and I enjoyed an amazing dinner at Corndance Tavern (That was another fun thing to tell students! "CORNDANCE? What kind of a place is THAT?!").
I hit my goal of running 500 miles before I turned 30 (500.8 miles, to be exact!), which means I want a new goal for 31.
I've been thinking a lot about what the new goal should be, and am attempting to tie this in to my "summer of..." project. You can read more about that here. And I think I'm leaning toward making this summer the summer I clean it all up. The house needs organizing, the diet could use some cleaning, and life in general could use slightly more organization than I have now. So, organization is in the cards.
I want to get signed up for some races here in the near future too. I've been able to maintain roughly ten miles a week or so for the last year, but without training, it's hard to stay motivated to run much.
The goals for 30:
1. More races!
2. More Barre classes!
3. More organization!
4. More clean!
5. More praying! :)
"30? You can't be 30!" -- A for you, student!
"I hope I look like you when I'm 30!" -- A+ for you, student!
"30? That's so weird. You're only five years younger than my mom." -- Hmph.
Mostly, though, being 30 has been great so far! I had a wonderful day at school on Thursday with lots of well wishes and treats from my coworkers and students. Dan and I enjoyed an amazing dinner at Corndance Tavern (That was another fun thing to tell students! "CORNDANCE? What kind of a place is THAT?!").
I hit my goal of running 500 miles before I turned 30 (500.8 miles, to be exact!), which means I want a new goal for 31.
I've been thinking a lot about what the new goal should be, and am attempting to tie this in to my "summer of..." project. You can read more about that here. And I think I'm leaning toward making this summer the summer I clean it all up. The house needs organizing, the diet could use some cleaning, and life in general could use slightly more organization than I have now. So, organization is in the cards.
I want to get signed up for some races here in the near future too. I've been able to maintain roughly ten miles a week or so for the last year, but without training, it's hard to stay motivated to run much.
The goals for 30:
1. More races!
2. More Barre classes!
3. More organization!
4. More clean!
5. More praying! :)
Monday, April 15, 2013
I, like everyone else in the world, was shocked today by the news from the Boston Marathon. I received an email from the New York Times around 3, alerting me to the bombings on this Marathon Monday, and raced home to find that two were confirmed dead. At this time, over 100 people are injured. Who knows what will happen in the hours or days to come.
The pictures from this scene are horrific. Literally, there are images of people with lost limbs on the sidewalk. These pictures are like nothing I've ever seen. It makes me so sad to see these poor spectators and runners who intended for this day to be so very different than it ended up being.
I keep putting myself in the position of the people involved. I've been a runner... a runner so weary at the end of a race, I don't even know if I would have been able to process what happened. I keep imagining the runners who didn't finish, wondering what was happening. I've been a spectator too, eagerly awaiting the arrival of my loved ones as they accomplished their goals.
But mostly, I keep thinking about my loved ones who wait for me at the end of my races -- my parents at the Princess Half, my Dan at the Indy Mini, my friends who have been at both. I can't imagine how this must feel to the runners who have been impacted.
Runners, as a whole, tend to be a tight group. Most runners I know aren't racing each other -- they're racing themselves -- and they want to see the best for their fellow runners. Runners support one another, boost each other, and keep each other moving. I keep thinking about how much joy running brings to the lives of those who do this sport, and how today that joy was stripped for so many.
My heart is breaking for them.
The pictures from this scene are horrific. Literally, there are images of people with lost limbs on the sidewalk. These pictures are like nothing I've ever seen. It makes me so sad to see these poor spectators and runners who intended for this day to be so very different than it ended up being.
I keep putting myself in the position of the people involved. I've been a runner... a runner so weary at the end of a race, I don't even know if I would have been able to process what happened. I keep imagining the runners who didn't finish, wondering what was happening. I've been a spectator too, eagerly awaiting the arrival of my loved ones as they accomplished their goals.
But mostly, I keep thinking about my loved ones who wait for me at the end of my races -- my parents at the Princess Half, my Dan at the Indy Mini, my friends who have been at both. I can't imagine how this must feel to the runners who have been impacted.
Runners, as a whole, tend to be a tight group. Most runners I know aren't racing each other -- they're racing themselves -- and they want to see the best for their fellow runners. Runners support one another, boost each other, and keep each other moving. I keep thinking about how much joy running brings to the lives of those who do this sport, and how today that joy was stripped for so many.
My heart is breaking for them.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
This week marks my journey from my 20s into my 30s. Shockingly, this isn't throwing me for a loop, making me lament the loss of my youth, or worrying me about what the next decade holds. Instead, it just makes me excited.
When I turned 27, I remember feeling OLD. I remember feeling like my late 20s were on the horizon. I remember feeling like I wasn't where I wanted to be in life. I remember being worried about what direction my life was going.
I'm happy to say that my segue into the 30s finds me happy, healthy, and excited for what's next. My RA has been under control for so long, there are times I forget I have it altogether. I have the very best family and friends in the whole entire world. And Dan gives me a reason to smile every single day.
When I turned 29, I promised myself that I'd run 500 miles in the next year. I wanted to push myself to get in some serious mileage before I turned 30. I have one more week, and only nine more miles to go!
So, turning 30 means a new year, a new running age bracket, and a new decade full of wonderfulness. Bring. It. On.
When I turned 27, I remember feeling OLD. I remember feeling like my late 20s were on the horizon. I remember feeling like I wasn't where I wanted to be in life. I remember being worried about what direction my life was going.
I'm happy to say that my segue into the 30s finds me happy, healthy, and excited for what's next. My RA has been under control for so long, there are times I forget I have it altogether. I have the very best family and friends in the whole entire world. And Dan gives me a reason to smile every single day.
When I turned 29, I promised myself that I'd run 500 miles in the next year. I wanted to push myself to get in some serious mileage before I turned 30. I have one more week, and only nine more miles to go!
So, turning 30 means a new year, a new running age bracket, and a new decade full of wonderfulness. Bring. It. On.
Monday, April 8, 2013
On Monday morning, we headed off to London. Immediately upon arrival, it was clear something was wrong. Dan and I together are normally pretty good at navigating, but we were struggling. We couldn't find the train we wanted, had to take a different line, and ended up at a stop quite a ways away from our hotel. But, blessedly, we soon found the hotel (here's looking at you, Tower of London Best Western), dropped off our bags, and headed back to the Subway. Upon finding the line we were actually looking for, it was closed. Hmph. It was only at a later stop did we learn that there was work being done on the Circle Line that day, and the entire line was closed until Tuesday. So, no one's fault, but a stressful start to the day!
We found a working Tube line, and headed toward the sights. And, as we exited the Tube station, I could see Parliament and Big Ben, and, like a total tourist, took off running for the street. It was AMAZING! Seriously, breathtaking view. And THAT'S when I realized that Westminster Abbey was DIRECTLY NEXT TO ME. Forget the fact that we were running on three hours of sleep, my adrenalin skyrocketed at that moment. It was such a cool moment to see these things I've been reading about and learning about for years. We went in the church King Henry VIII used to attend with Queen Catherine (so cool!), and then headed over to Buckingham Palace. No queen sighting, but it was still such a great moment. As Dan said, "Umm, that puts the White House to shame." Word.
After walking around most of the morning, I was thrilled that we were taking a bus tour to Stonehenge. Two hours of sitting sounded like just what we needed. I was asleep before we even left the bus station. Whoops! The drive went quickly, though, and just when it appeared we were heading to nowhere (field after field after field after field), Stonehenge appeared in the distance (right there in a field, no less!). Quite literally, it's just out there, standing in a field! Next to the sheep! We were there for about an hour, and got the audio tour so we could learn about the history and mystery of Stonehenge. It was much smaller than I thought it was going to be. I think in my mind, I always thought it would be, like, a quarter miles of stones, but it's actually all pretty condensed! We learned a lot, but it was freezing and windy, so an hour was more than sufficient.
We took a quick nap on the ride back, and met up with my former student, Jelli, for dinner. She's studying journalism in college and is abroad this semester. It was great to see a friendly face, and she suggested a great restaurant called Giraffe where we had a yummy meal before finally heading to the hotel to check in. We. Crashed. Hard.
Our plan for Tuesday was simple: be at the Tower of London at 9 a.m. when it opened. This was fairly simple since it was literally .1 miles from our hotel. Yay for a great location! I can't even put into words how wonderful the Tower of London was. After Dan and I became totally obsessed with Tudor England, I couldn't wait to see all of the history there. We were maybe the 20th people through the gate, and headed straight for the Crown Jewels. Fabulous call as later in the day, people would be waiting an hour, and we had them all to ourselves! Visitors aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I will say that the bling in there is out of control. Definitely a must see! Next we headed to White Tower, which serves as a museum of sorts now for all sorts of royal memorabilia. We had read in our London tour book that we should go on a Warder tour at the Tower, because Warders often know lots of stories that aren't written down anywhere.
Amazing call! Our Warder, Simon, told us all sorts of things we never would have known. For instance, the Warders are actually former military members who have to apply for the position. They have to study for a year to hold the position, live on the property with their families, and be ready to defend the Tower, because it is still one of the four properties lived in by Queen Elizabeth. So. Stinking. Cool! Simon told us all about the theories of how the Little Princes were murdered, the spot where Anne Boleyn and five others were beheaded, and where their bodies are still buried on the property. So cool! We loved the tour, but it was definitely more crowded when we got out of it. We made our way through the other towers (there are 20 on the property) before moving on to the day's other activities: Borough Market street vendors for lunch, London Bridge, the Shakespeare Globe, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum. It's also worth pointing out that we ate a delicious waffle with Nutella on it from a street vendor. If you go to London, find this street vendor. Eat the waffle. You will thank me.
For dinner, we went to a place near our hotel, Chesire Cheese, for fish and chips for Dan and chicken with lemon sauce and capers for me. Y-U-M. We followed that with a visit to our hotel rooftop bar, which, had the weather been better, had amazing outdoor seating. We stayed inside, though, and enjoyed the view from there.
Wednesday morning was our last time in London. We went for a quick run near Tower Bridge, and then headed to Little Venice where we found an amazing restaurant that sat on top of a canal. We had a delicious breakfast (hello, spinach and goat cheese omelette!), watched the boats go under us, and then went over to Regent's Park, where nothing was quite blooming yet, but I would imagine would be gorgeous in the later spring.
We flew back to Hamburg that evening, and even managed to go to a restaurant and order pizza by ourselves, without the assistance of Lynn! There were carrots on my veggie pizza, though, so maybe I messed up a little,
Lynn took us to the market by her house Thursday morning, and showed us where she often gets currywurst for lunch. That's one of the things I loved about Europe -- all the amazing markets all over the cities. It made me long for summer and the South Bend Farmer's Market. Lynn left us at the miniature train museum, Miniatur Wunderland, which was the most impressive display of trains, miniature scenes, and tiny people I've ever seen. There was a two story display of the Swiss Alps, scenes depicting Vegas, Hamburg, Sweden, and southern Germany, and even a working Lindt chocolate production factory. The Hamburg airport was showcased too, with planes that actually took off and landed. Incredibly cool!
That evening, we went to 20 Up for a fancy drink and a view of Hamburg at sunset, before heading to the coolest wine restaurant I've ever seen. Each guest is given a detex card, and can then walk up to an automatic wine bar. Swipe your card, put your glass below the spicket, and, poof, wine in your glass! Customers also ordered via eReader, which was cool as well. I can't believe this hasn't caught on in the states yet!
On Friday, Lynn and I went for a little girl-time walk and run, and picked up our final German pastries on the way back to her apartment (I miss pastries. Daily pastries!). We gave Lynn our last hugs, and got on the U-bahn for our final ride to the airport, a turbulent 8-hour flight to Chicago, and a 90-minute drive to Michigan City. I was more than ready to see Dan's apartment by the time we got there, but was still sad our European adventure had come to an end.
So, now, mostly, I'm just anxious to travel more. There's just so much to see out there!
We found a working Tube line, and headed toward the sights. And, as we exited the Tube station, I could see Parliament and Big Ben, and, like a total tourist, took off running for the street. It was AMAZING! Seriously, breathtaking view. And THAT'S when I realized that Westminster Abbey was DIRECTLY NEXT TO ME. Forget the fact that we were running on three hours of sleep, my adrenalin skyrocketed at that moment. It was such a cool moment to see these things I've been reading about and learning about for years. We went in the church King Henry VIII used to attend with Queen Catherine (so cool!), and then headed over to Buckingham Palace. No queen sighting, but it was still such a great moment. As Dan said, "Umm, that puts the White House to shame." Word.
 |
| Westminster Abbey! |
 |
| I ran up there so fast, my bangs looked like this! |
 |
| London Eye, Big Ben, and a Double Decker Bus! |
 |
| Stonehenge! |
Our plan for Tuesday was simple: be at the Tower of London at 9 a.m. when it opened. This was fairly simple since it was literally .1 miles from our hotel. Yay for a great location! I can't even put into words how wonderful the Tower of London was. After Dan and I became totally obsessed with Tudor England, I couldn't wait to see all of the history there. We were maybe the 20th people through the gate, and headed straight for the Crown Jewels. Fabulous call as later in the day, people would be waiting an hour, and we had them all to ourselves! Visitors aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I will say that the bling in there is out of control. Definitely a must see! Next we headed to White Tower, which serves as a museum of sorts now for all sorts of royal memorabilia. We had read in our London tour book that we should go on a Warder tour at the Tower, because Warders often know lots of stories that aren't written down anywhere.
 |
| Tower of London from our hotel! |
 |
| Crown Jewels, baby! |
 |
| Before... |
 |
| ...and after! |
 |
| Shakespeare's Globe! |
 |
| St. Paul's Cathedral! |
Wednesday morning was our last time in London. We went for a quick run near Tower Bridge, and then headed to Little Venice where we found an amazing restaurant that sat on top of a canal. We had a delicious breakfast (hello, spinach and goat cheese omelette!), watched the boats go under us, and then went over to Regent's Park, where nothing was quite blooming yet, but I would imagine would be gorgeous in the later spring.
 |
| Amazing breakfast, beautiful view! |
Lynn took us to the market by her house Thursday morning, and showed us where she often gets currywurst for lunch. That's one of the things I loved about Europe -- all the amazing markets all over the cities. It made me long for summer and the South Bend Farmer's Market. Lynn left us at the miniature train museum, Miniatur Wunderland, which was the most impressive display of trains, miniature scenes, and tiny people I've ever seen. There was a two story display of the Swiss Alps, scenes depicting Vegas, Hamburg, Sweden, and southern Germany, and even a working Lindt chocolate production factory. The Hamburg airport was showcased too, with planes that actually took off and landed. Incredibly cool!
That evening, we went to 20 Up for a fancy drink and a view of Hamburg at sunset, before heading to the coolest wine restaurant I've ever seen. Each guest is given a detex card, and can then walk up to an automatic wine bar. Swipe your card, put your glass below the spicket, and, poof, wine in your glass! Customers also ordered via eReader, which was cool as well. I can't believe this hasn't caught on in the states yet!
On Friday, Lynn and I went for a little girl-time walk and run, and picked up our final German pastries on the way back to her apartment (I miss pastries. Daily pastries!). We gave Lynn our last hugs, and got on the U-bahn for our final ride to the airport, a turbulent 8-hour flight to Chicago, and a 90-minute drive to Michigan City. I was more than ready to see Dan's apartment by the time we got there, but was still sad our European adventure had come to an end.
So, now, mostly, I'm just anxious to travel more. There's just so much to see out there!
 |
| Token waffle photo :) |
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Guten tag!
Dan and I returned from our European vacation two days ago, but life has been a blur ever since. We've been playing catch up with laundry, emails, groceries, and life. Luckily the weather at home has been beautiful, which made coming home a joy!
We left for Germany on Thursday, March 28, and had an overnight flight to Copenhagen before another hour flight to Hamburg. I was totally nervous about trying to sleep on the plane, but, thanks to the aid of a leftover Lunesta from my Lasik eye surgery, I slept like a baby! A lot of people don't advise taking a sleep aid on a flight, simply because in the case of an emergency, you have to be alert. But, like I read on another blog, if there's an emergency over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, I'm not so sure I want to be awake and aware of it.
We flew Scandinavian airlines, which I really liked. They served us two meals, which were actually pretty tasty, even though we only flew Economy. I also learned that when they serve a meal, you get a free drink of your choosing! One mini bottle of wine later, I was in great shape for the flight. Dan mostly stayed awake and watched movies.
Upon getting to Germany, I was THRILLED to see Lynn sneaking up behind us in the airport! We arrived about 4 p.m. local time, and went to Lynn's fifth floor walk up apartment. It was then I realized how Europeans can eat pastries every day and still not gain weight -- there's so much climbing stairs! And walking!
We took it easy on Friday evening, going for a walk, and having dinner at Hofbrauhaus. After a seriously authentic meal of beer, pretzels, wienersnitzel, and cheesy spaetzel, we were full and happy. That's when the cold set in.
Our entire trip was unseasonably cold for this time of year in Europe. All the stress I caused myself about what to wear was almost instantly negated by the fact that I wore my winter coat the entire time (I kind of want to burn it now, because I'm so sick of it. Instead, I will hide it until next year). So, as we were walking around Haumburg, freezing our tail ends off, we stumbled into what Lynn called the sofa bar -- quite literally a bar filled with comfy couches. We ordered Bailey's and hot chocolate (Dan got beer) and settled in for a warm up on the couch. It was a great drink with great company.
Saturday kicked off with a run around the lake. It was overcast and even snowed a bit while we were running, but was a nice morning run nonetheless. We walked a LOT on Saturday. We went to the city center, the train station, and shopping. Dan and I had our very first currywurst (who knew such a thing existed?!), and we had afternoon cake and coffee at a restaurant called the Chocolate Maiden. This was one of my favorite parts of Germany... it's almost expected that you stop what you're doing in the afternoon and have cake and coffee! How great is that?! Great!
That night, Lynn took us to the party street of Hamburg, the Reeperbahn. Let me tell you, things are different in Germany! Besides the typical bars and parties, there's also a lot of, umm, adult stores, and also, prostitutes. Lynn pointed them out to us because, get this, they were all wearing puffy winter coats and moon boots. Apparently that's the prostitute winter uniform. There were a LOT of them. And it's legal, which is even weirder to me. They were literally standing down the street from the police station. Hmph.
We ended up at an Irish bar where a live band was playing all American music. By midnight, we were tired, and heading home. We were the only people going home -- the bus was packed, but every other person was going out. Lynn says people really don't go out until 12, because most bars go until 5 a.m. I was just proud of us for staying up until midnight!
Easter Sunday started early with a trip to the Harbor, a visit to St. Michael's Church, and a yummy homemade Easter dinner made my Lynn. We had a lovely dinner with Amin, Lynn's boyfriend, and even enjoyed an Easter egg hunt, courtesy of Lynn!
Dan and I returned from our European vacation two days ago, but life has been a blur ever since. We've been playing catch up with laundry, emails, groceries, and life. Luckily the weather at home has been beautiful, which made coming home a joy!
We left for Germany on Thursday, March 28, and had an overnight flight to Copenhagen before another hour flight to Hamburg. I was totally nervous about trying to sleep on the plane, but, thanks to the aid of a leftover Lunesta from my Lasik eye surgery, I slept like a baby! A lot of people don't advise taking a sleep aid on a flight, simply because in the case of an emergency, you have to be alert. But, like I read on another blog, if there's an emergency over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, I'm not so sure I want to be awake and aware of it.
We flew Scandinavian airlines, which I really liked. They served us two meals, which were actually pretty tasty, even though we only flew Economy. I also learned that when they serve a meal, you get a free drink of your choosing! One mini bottle of wine later, I was in great shape for the flight. Dan mostly stayed awake and watched movies.
Upon getting to Germany, I was THRILLED to see Lynn sneaking up behind us in the airport! We arrived about 4 p.m. local time, and went to Lynn's fifth floor walk up apartment. It was then I realized how Europeans can eat pastries every day and still not gain weight -- there's so much climbing stairs! And walking!
We took it easy on Friday evening, going for a walk, and having dinner at Hofbrauhaus. After a seriously authentic meal of beer, pretzels, wienersnitzel, and cheesy spaetzel, we were full and happy. That's when the cold set in.
 |
| Yummy shandy! |
 |
| Does this count as carb loading? |
Saturday kicked off with a run around the lake. It was overcast and even snowed a bit while we were running, but was a nice morning run nonetheless. We walked a LOT on Saturday. We went to the city center, the train station, and shopping. Dan and I had our very first currywurst (who knew such a thing existed?!), and we had afternoon cake and coffee at a restaurant called the Chocolate Maiden. This was one of my favorite parts of Germany... it's almost expected that you stop what you're doing in the afternoon and have cake and coffee! How great is that?! Great!
 |
| Hanging out with our new friend, the Chocolate Maiden! |
We ended up at an Irish bar where a live band was playing all American music. By midnight, we were tired, and heading home. We were the only people going home -- the bus was packed, but every other person was going out. Lynn says people really don't go out until 12, because most bars go until 5 a.m. I was just proud of us for staying up until midnight!
Easter Sunday started early with a trip to the Harbor, a visit to St. Michael's Church, and a yummy homemade Easter dinner made my Lynn. We had a lovely dinner with Amin, Lynn's boyfriend, and even enjoyed an Easter egg hunt, courtesy of Lynn!
 |
| Beautiful Hamburg! |
 |
| Beautiful St. Michael's! |
 |
| Come to momma. |
 |
| Hamburg canal! |
And, after three short hours of sleep, we headed off to London! More on that soon. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
