$4 Grab Bag Reveal

It's not the first time I've done one of these posts on Michael's Grab Bags. I placed a teaser on my Instagram account and obviously now I have to deliver.

I knew the grab bags were out, as this happens about 3-4 times each year and some of the bloggers I follow had been posting about them. Around June, they stuff all the "Class of 20xx" junk into a bag and label it with a grab bag amount (though usually it's $2! Hello inflated prices!). I've definitely been stuck with jumbo graduation ballpoint pens and other junk, but this time I set out to avoid that. There were 4 bags to choose from and two double sets of graduation frames.

Two bags were loaded with the "Class of 2017" junk, so those were out. The other two were similar. I knew they had comparable items. I narrowed it down to this one, now wondering if I should've gone with the other!

The whole enchilada.

I'm attempting to do most of my lesson planning through Google Calendar this year, but I still need a paper planner for the quick list info and to have something to grab quickly for meetings, if technology goes down, etc. I bought a cheapie planner at Target for $11 but was hoping this grab bag would give me a planner I could use for the simple notes. And I thought the 18-month (that I could see through the bag) would've done the job. I was hoping it was from January 2017-June 2018. I could've only been so lucky.

I wasn't. #wuhwuh

 

These, in fact, are the 2016-2017 versions, ending in December. Total bummer. With that said, I'm still thinking about using the large one and just changing the dates as we head into January. It might not be pretty, but I already own the darn thing and I will be saving paper and recycling! {Seriously though, where do all the leftover, already printed calendars go? Straight back to paper pulp?}

I mean, look at the cute heart and gold binding! It really is adorable. And the smaller one is also cute but has the same problem. I think I'll put that in my student VIP supplies as a "log" to sign in when you are VIP for the day. And again, we'll go to January (wrong year, but whatevs) to end the school year. Of course I had to check out all the other Happy Planners on Amazon and was jelly.

The rest of the loot was:

• One Heidi Swapp "Cinch Insta Album Kit" and I'm not entirely sure what that is, but it's going for $10 at Walmart (and more at a ton of other retailers, says my Google search).
• Two packs of 30 mini clothespins that I'll definitely use to hang student projects
• One Heidi Swapp Foil Rub Kit that I'm sure I can use to decorate something...

Anyone else pick up a grab bag? I love these things. It's my kind of gamble. :)

Back in the Saddle

I'm currently sitting poolside (as the kids swim) getting started on reading for my NEW TEACHING ASSIGNMENT!

I posted here about how I really hoped to get back into teaching this year. I transferred my credential to Arizona, cleared my fingerprints and just started applying. I've had a credential in 4 states at this point. I was pretty picky about being in the same district as my kids for proximity and school schedule reasons. We're also not in dire need of more income (though it's always really nice!) and if I couldn't land a job in the district, I would just find myself subbing until it happened.

My flexibility has changed considerably since having kids and the thought of going full time with two small kids is already overwhelming. I didn't have much to worry about, turns out, because I landed 3 interviews within a week and ended up interviewing from our empty guest room, sitting on a couple pillows with my tripod and iPhone propped on a moving box. Our furniture was out of the house and the first two interviews were done via FaceTime. I would later cancel the third interview for a school that was likely the worst fit for a tech-savvy teacher like myself. I don't believe in top down, teacher directed learning. I most definitely would've been a phony in that environment. Plus, it meant a real commute of over 10 miles. #nothanks

Place where dreams are made.

As luck would have it, my first and second interviews were 20 minutes apart and I felt like I couldn't have done better at them. It proved to be true because I received a call 1.5 hours later offering me my first choice position, first choice grade level and first choice school in the entire district. It's a STEAM focused school, 2.2 miles away from the school my kids will attend and only 4 miles from our house. I didn't get the second job, which also baffles me because I was so prepared and felt that was probably the best interview of my life, even having read their PTA meeting minutes and quoting their programs. It's all water under the bridge because they weren't my first choice either and at the time of finding out I didn't pass their interview, I had already received and returned my contract for my first choice school.

Pinch me. (Okay, pinch me again because Arizona salary is 48th worst in the nation). Teaching is semi-public servant role and all fueled by the love of learning and student relationships. Despite a MA+22 and years of teaching experience, I'm getting paid worse than my first teaching assignment at age 23, but regardless.

I'm officially on payroll starting July 25th and kids start August 7th. Other than feeling utterly overwhelmed by the juggling of kids and working and basically being a first year teacher again, I'm over the moon. I'm also back to being a student myself, as I just signed up for a course focused on STEAM teaching to bump me up to the next pay scale and to get me back into the teaching mindset.

Poolside, right now, I'm starting with STEAM Makers, followed by at least 5 more books on using Google Classroom. I feel like I started teaching too early. Like, now schools have finally arrived to teaching the way I have always wanted to be part in designing. I have a lot to learn, but here's to getting started.

Updates on life: It's a warm one here, folks. We are totally loving having a pool in our backyard. We spent 3 nights moving things from the moving truck after the kids were in bed and that proved to be the smartest move. No more boxes are around and we're feeling mostly normal with internet and a full fridge of food, creating ways to avoid turning on the stove for dinner. Which means, we also bought our first gas grill and even had our toaster oven outside to avoid heating the house. Living the Sonoran Desert dream.

Chit-Chat with Ben & Claire

Claire: How long before I get my orange?
Me: After you finish your dinner, I'll get you an orange.
Claire: Awww. That's {a} bummer.

Ben: Why does the world need money (for things he wants to buy)?
Me: Because the people who make the things we want have to buy the things they need, too. That means we have to pay those people so they can earn the money they need.
Ben: That's horrid.

Reno 5000 Downtown River Run Half Marathon

The babysitter was late, but I made it on time for the race. I knew I would, but mentally I wanted to be focused and not just have read Curious George Goes to the Hospital for the 12th time this week as we sat and waited. I wanted to be in the zone.

Back in August, I was running fast and well. I had the sub-2:00 goal in the bag. I ran the 10-miler in under 1:30, setting a clear pace example for the half. In fact, I signed up for two. I had to opt out of the first one because we were in Arizona for spring break. This one though, I wasn't quitting. If you'd have asked me back in August if I would have met my time goal, I would've given you an almost definitive yes. However, this was 8 months later, looooooots of long runs to keep myself race ready (that I was getting tired of, frankly) and winter was semi-brutal with training on icy roads and then ultimately having some IT discomfort rear its ugly head.

But alas, I would still run. I cooled off running for the entire month of April, running maybe a total of 10 miles the entire month. I was still speedy on those miles, but didn't want to push it and instead focused on an hour of indoor spinning 3x/week followed by abs and LOTS of rolling and stretching along with yoga 2x/week. My cardiovascular was up and I was feeling good about things, but still not confident with recent injuries, that I'd meet my time goal I set back in August.

My concerns for race day:
- intestinal issues
- IT or sciatic nerve discomfort/pain
- hot weather or worse, windy weather
- crowded
- elevation gain intensity

Most of those concerns were not an issue, thankfully. It was a wonderful, if not hot day for a run, petering around 75 degrees as the high (which was the warmest day we'd seen in 2017 so far) and the sun just felt super hot. But, NO WIND! It's been windy nonstop here in Reno lately, so that was a real concern and one that sounded miserable to manage for 13.1 miles!

The race wasn't crowded at the start, but the course was at times, giving narrow space to run. We ran along the Truckee River (hence the race name) and some of the terrain was paved trails and the other were wooden slat bridges (6 to be exact) and the road. We weaved through some neighborhoods I didn't know existed and while some parts were definitely beautiful, I somewhat craved wide open spaces so I didn't have to concern myself with giving up space to other runners.

There was a steady amount of incline running and not a lot of decline relief.

Those three issues were semi-bothersome, but oddly I didn't experience any intestinal issues or ANY pain anywhere! In fact, I honestly can say that my legs didn't even feel like they ran 13.1 and I could very well have hit the trails the following day (but didn't.)

A concern I didn't anticipate was to run out of race fuel! In all of my runs (including one that had me at sub-2:00 time for 12.66 miles), I've never had an issue with fuel and often don't even bring any with me on long runs! I started the race with full view of the 2:00 pacer in front of me. I saw him clear to mile 8. And then... he was lost around all the twists and turns and I never recovered to see him again because at mile 9, I hit a wall. My legs felt great and I was happy to keep running, but internally I was feeling like I needed more fuel-- more electrolytes, more gummies, bloks, goo... something. And it just wasn't there. The water stations were few and far between and the sun was getting hotter and I was beginning to sense a light dizziness come over me for the last 4 miles and my hands and feet feeling a bit tingly. I dropped my pace a bit and resolved to finish without making myself sick, knowing my 8-month old sub-2:00 goal was gone. (I sure wish I would've brought along more fuel or brought along my handheld bottle filled with Gatorade.)

I made sure to drink loads of water for a full 3 days prior to the half, ate two KIND bars, a banana and drank another 32 oz. the morning of. I thought my body was well fueled. It wasn't. This was probably a rookie mistake and in the future, I'll make sure to come well prepared. I was so concerned with being comfortable with the mileage that I focused all my training efforts on speed and distance and nothing on fueling. Total #rookieprobs

I crossed the finish line at 2:03:30, practically holding myself back from puking once I stopped running. I quickly jetted over to the drinks and chugged a Powerade. It was not only delicious, but I was instantly better. My hands and feet were no longer tingling and I felt like I could keep running.

This girl was well ahead of me (and our pacer) for the first 8 miles. I passed her at a water station and didn't see her again. He husband was pacing her since it was her first half (too). He told the pacer guy to "not let her fall behind him" just to be friendly but something was causing her to slow . I'm sure she was prepared for a sub-2:00 finish as well... #sameboat

In all, I'm pleased with my run considering the circumstances and have plans to run my next half in January (which is forever away and I won't start "training" so early). When I opted out of the San Francisco Rock n' Roll Half in March, they granted me a freebie to another RnR race. We're moving to Arizona next month and it's fitting that I save this one for January. With that said, once we move at the end of May, running won't be a verb I associate much with for awhile. Why? Because #arizonasummer. Helllllllllo spin bike in air conditioning.

Oh, and when I arrived home about 35 minutes after I crossed the finish line, I asked the 17yo babysitter if she needed a ride home. She told me she didn't because she just got a new car. So I watched her drive away in her brand new blue BMW. #eyeroll

When I finished the race, I totally hoarded three vitamin waters and a bunch of other snacks to bring home to the kiddies. I grabbed a shower,  picnic lunch and this blanket and we spent four hours at the park with Benjamin practicing his new swinging skill and playing with a new friend for hours. The sun was super hot and laying there felt great.

The Anti-Zen Exercise Routine

You know what's not relaxing?

Yoga when your kids are home.

I have a half marathon in a few weeks that I'm not all that excited about running. Back in October when I signed up, I was super trained, pretty fast and feeling great. And I was pumped. I would've ran that sub 2:00 half easily and with zeal. That was 7 months ago. A lot can happen in 7 months.

Winter happened. The longest and most snowy winter Reno has seen in ages. I ran in the wind and cold temps and eventually became bored of it all. And slower. I'm not sure I'm the type to be a long distance runner and I definitely have no desire to ever run a full (though I'm so amazed at my friends who do and love keeping up with them!). The 5-7 mile range is definitely my happy zone. A few weeks ago, my IT band started giving me problems and I'm seriously convinced that runners are always injured. I've had a groin pull and this IT band issue now and I've only been consistently running for a couple years.

For two weeks now, I haven't ran at all. Instead of my long runs, I've been spinning for an hour (bonus, I get to watch TV!) three times a week followed by 20 minutes of abs and stretching and doing 30-60 minutes of yoga the other two weekdays through Amazon Prime. I'm hoping with all this stretching and resting from running that my upcoming half won't be a total disaster. Whatever it is, I will run that race in completion, even if it takes me 25% longer than I was originally trained to run. 13.1 miles are 13.1 miles no matter how long it takes you.

My neighbor even commented on my "abs" the other day that she could allegedly see protruding from my shirt (which I totally doubt because I have open diastasis). From the right angles before eating anything, I can pull off a unicorn ab or two.

But back to the main focus. Practicing yoga that I'm only average at while my kids are building forts around me and traipsing on my mat and periodically yelling at one another really doesn't give me that whole namaste feeling. For reals.

We do yoga together, but you know the attention span of preschoolers-- it's minimal. They start and then stop within a few minutes and then carry on with their chaos.

Maybe this is why all the moms at preschool have gym memberships.