Janae Says...

Friday, you are so good to me. With Einstein Bagels at the meeting this morning... And with the meeting being super short... And a last-minute lesson plan change that went over SUPER WELL in all three classes... And with funny, willing students who did more than I asked them to because they thought it was fun! (Ask me about the sloth poem) And with my cyst pain alleviated by early afternoon (thanks, naproxen)... And with a smooth and easy professional development meeting that I had to lead... And with yummy Polynesian food after work with Mahi Mahi, chicken, shrimp, brown rice, macaroni salad, spinach salad, and chocolate cake with ice cream... And with amazing sunny 70 degree weather... And with no workout today... How could today be anything besides amazing?

I've been criticized many times for my unwillingness to watch the news. I think people automatically want to assume that it's because I am ignorant or something. Well here's a news flash for you (see what I did there?): I am much too sensitive to deal with the news in a healthy, appropriate manner. You can't deny that the news is depressing. The Boston Marathon bomb explosion today would have hit me so hard, but I didn't read any stories about it or seek out any details because I had to function. I had to numb myself to the news. I think being in the middle of my training for a half marathon just makes it all the more real to me. It hits close to home. When I imagine the horror of it, I start to have a meltdown. That's why I don't watch the news. I had to go to a suicide prevention training today, which is required for all teachers who are moving up in their licensure. It brought back a flood of memories from when a boy named Josh committed sui...

I never wake up with the expectation that it will be a bad day. I tend to wake up with very few expectations, in fact. I just intend to let things play out however they may and roll with the punches. I'm sure more conscious positive thinking would do me some good, but I am by no means thinking negatively. I got up this morning before my alarm intending to get dressed, eat, and head over to the University of Utah for my reading Praxis . This is a 2-hour long test consisting of 90 multiple choice questions and 3 written responses. Not the way anyone likes to spend her Saturday morning, but it has to be done, ya know?  I've been studying for the past week. I took the practice test last night and didn't do so well on it, but I tried to be confident and hope for the best.  So I ate my granola, yogurt, and mango for breakfast and drove over to the U, prepared with my ticket and #2 pencils. Since I just took another Praxis not too long ago at the same place, I felt OK ...

You know you're training for a half-marathon if... your toes and toenails hurt. you now follow several running folks on Instragram. you Googled "running apps" to see which ones were the best for the iPhone. you can watch a whole movie in the time you were on the treadmill. you are sad that it is too cold or windy to run outside. you stopped going to the gym. you get pee-your-pants excited for cross-training days. ("YES! I get to Crossfit today!!!! :-D") you have searched for the best warm-up and cool down routines for running. you have searched for the best things to eat after a run. you time your banana consumption according to when you will run. you subtract your warm-up time and mileage from your total so your pace/average won't look so bad. you have been told by 3-4 different people that they saw you running, all on different days. you're excited to run 5 miles because "that's a short run!" you get super stok...