Year in Review

I stole the idea of 2010 in pictures from Katie. At the end of the pictures I will review 2010 as I saw it. (PS: Yes, I know there is no January or April. I guess nothing monumental happened!)

 February

 Our last year at Castle Rock in Lutsen, MN.

March

 My first Firkin Fest at The Happy Gnome. 

May

 Annual Memorial Day camping trip. Willow River State Park.

June

 Finally made it to Byron, MN.

July

 Our road trip through the south took us to Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

August

 My first time on a boat! Lake Minnetonka.

September

 The 2010 Minnesota State Fair, natch.

October

 I brought field hockey to Edina, MN. 

November

 My sweet new baby! 

December

 The largest snowstorm to hit Minnesota in the 12 years I've been here.

2010 had a lot of twists, turns, and uncertainties. Most of the year I was caught in an uncertain whirlwind, which wrapped itself up around the middle of August so that I could enjoy the rest of the year, which I did. I kicked my butt into gear from August to December and really turned things around. I lost 10 lbs. I decreased my mile time by over two minutes. I ran a 5k in under 40 minutes (39:39). These were all huge accomplishments for me. I still have plenty of work to do with regards to my "running," but I'm happy with what I've done this year. On January 5, 2010, I weighed in at 172.8 and on December 18, 2010, I weighed in at 160.2 (yeah...we're not counting the 3 lbs I gained in PA over Christmas...). As I said, I didn't really get serious until September. Just think what I can do in 2011! 

Longest walk: 14 miles

Miles run/walked/ellipticalled (Aug-Dec): 171

5Ks completed: 2

Unworthy boys dissed and dismissed: 3

Blu-ray discs owned: 3

Loads of laundry still to do in Mt. Laundry: 10 

Gopher volleyball games attended: 3

Gopher football games attended: 2

Dome collapses: 1

I have a few goals in mind for 2011, all of which I think are completely do-able:

1. Get mile time under 9 minutes. (11:19)

2. Run a 5k in under 37 minutes. (39:39)

3. Do not settle for ANY unworthy boys. Set standards high and keep them there.

4. Lose another 10 lbs., which allows for any setbacks or bad weeks along the way. 

I was going to make a goal for Mt. Laundry, but I know myself all too well. C'mon. Even if Mt. Laundry is tackled, it will only come back. Mt. Laundry and I are connected at the hip. Buddies, even. 

The last official day of 2010 was spent doing what I do best: exactly what I want to do. I started it off by seeing The Black Swan at 9:40 am (incredible movie) and then I had lunch at high noon with one of my best buds, Jen. We tried out a new place - Stanley's Northeast Bar Room. Jen's been on this kick of trying out new places for lunch and I'm digging it! I'd love to go back and try out Stanley's when I can have a few beers. The beer list seems pretty good for a small place in NE Mpls. Then I went home, picked up my laptop, and settled in at Caribou. I got my small hot chocolate (skim milk, no whipped cream) and started typing. 

I re-set my fantasy football line-up for this weekend, benching Vick, Akers, and Jackson and sending in P. Manning, Sebastian Janikowski (Oak), and Avant. No one had Avant so he was an easy last-minute pick up. If I win this week, I will win the entire fantasy football league. Jodi better get cracking on that traveling trophy! 

I don't have any plans for tonight. I'm thinking of going to Punch Pizza in Highland Park if it's not too icy out and then watching a movie - perhaps 17 Again on blu-ray (thanks Ru!). Then I'll switch to my man Ryan Seacrest and watch the ball drop with a Yuengling. Tomorrow morning may be quite ambitious - barbell strength class at Lifetime if it's open and then perhaps I'll take in another movie. 

Well, people are starting to annoy me at Caribou so I think I'll see what the roads hold for me.

Take a part of 2010 that you liked, think about it, and then launch headlong into 2011. It's gonna be a good one.

So, How'd I Do?

On Saturday, Day 19, I weighed in at 160.2. That was close enough for me! My goal was to be under 160 by Dec 31st. Since being back in PA, I've been trying simply to maintain instead of lose. Yesterday, my first day back, included Auntie Anne's pretzel bites with cheese, 2 cokes, a Wawa hoagie, Herr's Sour Cream & Onion chips, a 9" cheesesteak, and peanut butter Kandykates. I tried to talk Rudi into walking the 5 mile loop around Valley Forge park today, but she is illin' and chowing down Advil cold & sinus. Perhaps Sunday morning, she said. 

Total lbs lost since 9/8/10: 10.6
Total lbs lost since 7/2009: 20.2
Goal for the entire '10-'11 school year: -30...1/3 of the way there!

So since I'm back home for awhile, I thought I'd post some fun Friday facts regarding home.

1. Every TV in the house needs to be turned up so that my ears are nearly bleeding. Dad is deaf in one ear, Mom's hearing appears to be waning, and Rudi's ears are clogged up. 

2. I never remember the house being warm when I was a kid, but now it seems like a sauna, even at night. Ru and I are trying to talk Dad into taking the heat down to 58 at night instead of 62. 

3. Homemade cookies have just been dropped off by one of Dad's friends. So we have Coke, Tastykakes, cookies, and chocolates in the house. It's all I can do to not dive into all of them all at once.


4. Upon entering the airspace over Pennsylvania, four new zits sprung up on both Rudi's and my face. "It's not the heat, it's the humidity!"


5. Tonight is the McClure's annual Christmas Eve party that the rest of my family attends while I watch It's A Wonderful Life. Since I've already seen that this year, I believe I am going to watch The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant. 

6. While PA has not even a dusting of snow, St. Paul just got another 5". I am very grateful to have such awesome neighbors! 

7. My dad is a very good cook, and the smallest liquid measuring cup he has is 1/4 c. The next step up is a huge measuring cup, which holds between 1-4 cups, with nothing in between. I had to measure my juice in three 1/4 c portions. 


8. Tonight we are having turkey and mashed potatoes - yum! 


9. Mashed potatoes are quite possibly the best food in the world. 


10. I cannot wait until Sunday, the one day a year when I get to watch the Eagles in a bar where everyone else is rooting for the Eagles. Eagles + Yuengling + old friends = an awesome time!

Free at Last!

My street is finally plowed out. After I finish doing laundry I'm going to try and head out into the world. (Yes, Mt. Laundry is two loads smaller!)

Days 14 & 15

I have this ever-present fear that my car is going to be towed. It doesn't necessarily have to be snow-related. If I park on the street and then take the bus somewhere, the walk back to the car the next morning is anxiety-inducing. If I go to a bar and take a cab home, the trip back the next morning is nerve-wrecking. Even if my car is parked outside of my house, I get nervous that someone is going to tow it for some reason unbeknownst to me. 

This recent snowstorm and the amount of times I've had to move my car definitely worries me. I check and double check the snow emergency rules. I check Ottawa and Cherokee, the streets that border Morton, to see where other people are parking. I've had to park on Ottawa this time around and Ottawa is down the street and I can't see my car. If I parked on Cherokee, I'd be able to keep an eye on my car. That's where my neighbors are parked and it would make me feel a lot better if my car could be near theirs. 

I also wish that they would just plow everything and get it over with. I can't get out of my neighborhood, or rather, I'm scared to try. If I get stuck, there is no one around to help me. I may try later today once it "warms up." That's the other problem. The high today is around zero and if I get stuck, I could freeze to death. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but c'mon! I need to get out of my neighborhood! My street still looks like this: 

My ears perk up every time I think I hear a plow and I spring to the window to check out things. St. Paul and Minneapolis have canceled school today, which means that both cities are having some issues. St. Paul has declared two snow emergencies and Minneapolis is debating calling another. 


The two cities are very different when it comes to snow removal. Apparently, neither is better than the other. Minneapolis plows "even" and "odd" sides of the street, based on the house numbers. Day 1 (which is really the first night) is night plow routes, which are main streets. Day 2 is either even or odd sides of the street and then day 3 is the other side that wasn't done on day 2. St. Paul plows night plow routes (which are posted on the streets) starting at 9 pm the day the emergency is called. Night plow routes in St. Paul are main streets and one side of north-south residential streets (Cherokee and Ottawa). Starting at 8 am the next morning, all day plow routes and east-west residential streets are done (Morton). Day plow routes still haven't been done in my neighborhood. 


I have things that I need to get done today: I have a stack of bills to mail, xmas presents to buy, a library book to pick up (Big Sur), and I need to buy and drop off that American Eagle gift card for the kid who took my shifts this weekend. I want to go to the gym. I'm sick of being in my house! Although, I may start tackling Mt. Laundry if I'm stuck inside much longer...

Day 13

All exercise today will be from shoveling... 

ZONE FORECASTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
339 PM CST SAT DEC 11 2010

MNZ060-062-121030-
HENNEPIN-RAMSEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MINNEAPOLIS...ST. PAUL
339 PM CST SAT DEC 11 2010

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY...

.TONIGHT...MUCH COLDER. WINDY WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
THROUGH THE EVENING. ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW WITH SNOW
DECREASING LATE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW. NORTH WINDS 20 TO
30 MPH.
.SUNDAY...COLDER. MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 5 ABOVE. NORTHWEST
WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW. NORTHWEST
WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
.MONDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND ZERO. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW. NORTH WINDS
5 MPH.

Days 11 & 12

Day 11 was Thursday. Every teacher at my school has to sign up for an extra duty outside of the many other duties we have. This year I signed up to sell tickets at the 8th & 9th grade school play. I emailed the director (a flamboyant and energetic man) and asked him what he'd like me to do. He replied that I should man the hallway between the lobby and the back hallway, which was cast and crew only. Once again, I'm hired to be the "muscle." This was fine with me. I thought I'd have a lot more to do, but the hallway was dead aside from two young boys gallivanting around. They were easy enough to take care of. Then I went back to reading my book in the quiet hallway. Once the play started, I was free to go home. 

I had worked out in between school and this extra duty, even though I wasn't feeling so hot. I've been feeling tired and a scratchy throat has set in this week. I decided to forgo the mile run and instead ellipticalled for 40 min. I went to bed early and felt like I was going to throw up. 

Friday, Day 12, found me feeling just a little bit better, but still tired. It was a tough day with a lot of talking on a sore throat and I decided to skip the gym and treat myself to tomato bisque soup at Noodles. The scale was flickering this morning and I'm hoping to see a drop tomorrow morning *fingers crossed!* After Noodles I went to Target to stock up on things that I had run out of such as milk, yogurt, and protein bars. 

I tried a new protein bar this week - Cliff Mojo chocolate covered peanuts. It was super duper good! So I picked up two more Mojo flavors - trail mix and peanut butter pretzel. I also picked up a Luna bar in caramel fudge brownie and another mondo protein bar which contains 20g of protein. Since starting on this challenge to lose weight seriously, I've been trying to up the amount of protein that I have, especially after working out. Protein helps repair muscles and there are so many yummy options out there! It's not just chicken, fish, and eggs anymore (although I keep a steady supply of tuna fish in the house too). I also enjoy making fruit smoothies with Lifetime Fitness's Fast Fuel in vanilla. I bought some bananas and creamy peanut butter to try a new smoothie this weekend. I hope it tastes as good as it sounds! 

Speaking of this weekend, in case you haven't tuned in to the Weather Channel recently, we're in for a humdinger of a snowstorm in the next 24 hours or so. I've heard 5" overnight, starting at 9 pm, and then another 8" tomorrow during the day with bouts hitting up to an inch an hour. There are blizzard warnings to the west and south of the Cities and I'm sure we'll see some blizzard conditions as well. MPR said that if we get 15" it will be the 11th biggest snowstorm in Twin Cities history, with the Halloween blizzard of 1991 topping the charts at around 30". 

Minnesota Public Radio 


I was supposed to work two lifeguard shifts this weekend in Maple Grove. For those of you who are not familiar with Minnesota cities and distances, Maple Grove is 42 minutes northwest of St. Paul...on a good day. With near-blizzard conditions and 7" on the ground, there is no way in hell that I am risking my life and the Echo's life for $55. As I told the manager on duty when I called today, "I like my job, but not enough to risk my life or my car." It's simply not worth it. She told me that if I didn't find a sub, I would still have to come in so I'd better make sure I left enough time to get there safely. Like hell I will! So I sent a text out to the four lifeguard subs offering a $20 gift card to a store of their choosing if they would take my Saturday shift. A guy responded in five minutes and took my shift...all for $20 to American Eagle. I asked him if he'd like to take my Sunday shift as well and he said, "Sure!" What a great kid! I'm tempted to toss an extra $5 onto the gift card just for being so swell. 


These were the last two shifts that I was signed up for this year. I had already backed out of a shift on 12/19 in order to attend a screening of It's A Wonderful Life at the Fitzgerald Theater with Stew. I will pick up my check and drop off the gift card on Monday and then I will bid that establishment adieu. In the three and a half months that I've worked there, I haven't been all that impressed. I haven't felt like I've fostered a relationship with the staff or supervisors and to be quite honest, as a lifeguard, I feel pretty darn superfluous. I went through an extensive new hire training and all of the training was directed towards swim instructors. I believe lifeguards where mentioned once. Maybe twice. Definitely not three times. I was even told to provide my own shirt! No company logo, nothing. I wore my lifeguard shirt from the JCC (which I LOVE!!! - the JCC, not the shirt. It's a little big actually.). Case in point - I was pulling in to the JCC last Saturday after the Reindeer Run and this other lifguarding job called me saying that I was supposed to work and where was I? I told them that I didn't have it written down in my planner and that I had said I'd work at the JCC from 2-3 and 7-9. When I relayed this story to my boss at the JCC (who is awesome), she was like, "F*** them! You always have everything written down and if you didn't have it down, you weren't supposed to do it." I've worked at the JCC for the same amount of time as this other job and yet my boss at the JCC knows my personality and how I operate. I wonder if the other people even know my name. 


Part-time jobs come and go and I remember the ones that I truly cared about - the ones where I felt like part of a team. Let's Talk Turkey, Pioneer Hall, Piccadilly Valet - those were great jobs where I felt like I mattered. People cared, and in turn, I cared about them and about my job. If you don't have an establishment that fosters a feeling of family, forget it. I pick up one and two hour shifts at the JCC because I want to help out my boss. I pay people to take my shifts in Maple Grove because I'd rather lose money than drive all the way out there for people who only care that I'm there because they need a warm body with a lifeguard certification. 


Next week I'll be working two nights selling tickets for the high school boys' basketball team. In those two nights I'll make $90 working just over five hours. This weekend I would have made $88 working 8 hours (which doesn't take into account the hours I'd be on I-94 in a snowstorm). I think working for the athletic department is a good trade off and I won't have to deal with 5-year-old children and florescent cupcake icing underneath my nails. 


It hasn't started to snow yet, but I'm pretty sure I've made the right decision. I'll sleep well tonight knowing that I do not have to drive anywhere tomorrow. I can shovel my walk and sip my protein smoothie while watching Netflix. Sounds like a good winter's day to me!

Day 10 - Halfway there!

Just as I plot out a 1 mile outside run, the weather decides to take a turn for the worse. The low on Sunday is predicted to be -8. Yes, there is a little negative sign behind that 8. Apparently, the average high for today is 28. I think we hit a balmy 18. Tomorrow's supposed to hit 30 to bring us some snow and then drop dramatically. In case you forgot you were living in Minnesota, this weather quickly reminds you. Needless to say, I won't be trying out my new mile course anytime soon. 

So I decided to try a mile on the treadmill before I hit the elliptical. I hate the treadmill. I'm always afraid I'm going to trip and fall off, left in a heap behind the whirring machine. It also makes me feel kind of funny once I dismount. But I thought I'd give it a try. I started off at 5.5 mph and once I was up to speed and had my iPod tuned to Green Day's 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, I had walked .04 miles. I then started my HRM to time my actual mile. I stayed at 5.5 mph for about 5 minutes and then had to start decreasing it by .1 mph every few minutes after that. I stayed at 5.2 and then increased it as I neared the end so I ended at 5.5 mph and ran my mile in an "unofficial" PR of 11:12 min. My last mile was at the Edina track at 11:19, which is why I'm figuring this as an unofficial PR.

But yay - day 10 and I'm halfway there! To be honest, I'm making an exception for Friday because it's neighbor Jody's annual holiday party. So instead of 21 days, it will be another 20-day challenge. 

Day 8

Today was a typical Monday - aggravating. My 8th graders were just nuts and I had them sit down and do nothing for the last 12 minutes. That never puts me in a good mood. I'm hoping the next four days will be better. I have two people coming in to do karate and yoga with them. Look for pictures soon! 


My friend Kelly recruited me to run some lawyer papers over to Minneapolis to the tune of $20 - sweet! She was running a little late so I stopped off at REI to return the turtle fleece neck wrap that I had bought a few weeks ago. I then picked up a Buff. Jen had worn a Buff to the race and I had been looking into this "essential piece of equipment" (as one reviewer wrote on the REI website) for a few weeks. They come in a variety of prints and colors and are made out of a breathable microfiber. They also have wool ones, which I will definitely be going back for! I wore it on my walk today like a headband, but quickly noticed that I'll need a wool one for weather this cold (17 degrees with an 11 mph wind = 4 degrees = BRRR!). I loved how it looked though. It's always been hard for me to find a headband that fits my tiny head and doesn't make me look like a cancer patient. I think I'm in love...

You can check out the website and the many ways to wear the Buff here: The Original Buff

Look familiar? You may have seen the Buff on Survivor.

Day 7

Day 7 will be a day of rest. There's a lot of snow outside and it's cold. The couch is much warmer and cozier. 

Today the Comast guy was scheduled to come and install a CableCard in my new TiVo between 8-10 am. I thought he'd be in and out and I'd be off to the gym to watch the football pre-show by 10 am. I woke up around 9:30 and noticed that I hadn't had a call from Comcast yet. Just then I heard someone parking out front. No one is parking on my road at the moment because of the snow emergency. So I got dressed and popped my head out of the door to tell him that he had to move to Cherokee Ave. It was then that I noticed that he was CUTE! Darn it! I had just woken up and I looked horrible. The only thing I could do was brush my teeth. So he parked and he was very nice and funny and installed my CableCard and even helped me conform my TiVo remote. 

After he left I set up my season passes on TiVo and got the Netflix program to work. It's all very exciting! Now I only have one remote. And it makes the "boop boop" sound - my favorite!

My hips, legs, and knees are a little creaky today but I'm looking forward to my next 5K. I looked up 5Ks in the area and it looks like there's one on 1/29, which I think is tied to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which starts on 1/27. There's also one on 4/16 in Duluth that I want to try and get some people together to do. 

But back to my day of rest. I've ordered Dominos and consumed a piece of pumpkin pie. I plan on laying on the couch watching football for the rest of the day. :)

Day 6

Day 6, Saturday, December 4th, was the day of the "you're going to run in HOW MANY inches of snow??" 5K. Jen and I had signed up for the Lifetime Fitness Reindeer Run. Jen's been trying to jump start an Esther-loosing campaign and this was her beginning point. I've been working on my mile and 5K times and have been elipticalling like crazy. Jen was still a better runner than me. Suffice it to say that I will never be a "runner." It's a means to an end. 


I got out of bed at 7:15, grumbling because I had to shovel the walk and uncover my car before I had to meet Jen in Minneapolis in 8:45 to catch our bus to Lake Harriet. Race time was 9:30. There was about 5-7" outside my front door. 

At around 8 am I was ready to make my way to Minneapolis. I got as far as Morton St. and Smith Ave. and got stuck. Luckily, a car came up behind me and a nice gentleman got out of his car and gave me a push into the intersection. Now I was on my way. The plows were out on the major highways so they weren't too bad. 

The race was held at Lake Harriet, which is by the Uptown area of Minneapolis. Jen and I parked at the meters by the Uptown Theater and then walked to the bus shelter and waited for the 6D.

After a quick bus ride through Uptown, we arrived at the Lake Harriet bandshell, where the race both began and ended. It was breath-taking, and not only because it was 20 degrees out! 

You can see what this trail looks like and that's pretty much what the race route looked like for the 3.1 miles around the lake. It was very hard to run on and we definitely got a core workout as well as we kept our balance. 


There were a lot of people! I'm always amazed at how many people will show up for a race in 8" of snow. This was another fun run like the Blubber Run - people brought their kids, pets, and they dressed up. I was tempted to take pics of all the fun outfits, but as I mentioned before, it was 20 degrees out and my fingers got very cold every time I took off my mittens to take a pic. There were a bunch of Santas, elves, candy canes, presents, and even a guy in metallic gold tights. 

In this picture you can see the tower of balloons on the left side. This was the start of the race. What we didn't know is that the balloons marked the front of the line and the end of the line was back by the trees. We had to trudge through the snow to the back of the line and then we were ready to run! From our spot at the end of the line we had a good view of the bandshell and the lake behind it (looking into the sun). 

Notice that Jen and I are sporting our blaze orange Fox40 whistles! We were dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. We had a system set up as well: 2 whistle blows for "I lost you!" (which we only did once, and why we had to create a call for that) and 3 for an emergency, such as falling into a snow bank or having a heart attack. Luckily, we didn't have to use our whistles, although Jen tooted hers in celebration as we were closing in on the finish line. 


We started the race, but it was very frustrating. People with dogs and strollers were supposed to start behind all of the runners, but were mixed in with us. People would walk all over the route instead of staying to one side or another. One annoying girl kept jogging past us and then she would stop and walk right in front of us. Actually, quite a few groups would be walking and we'd jog past them only to have them run past us to start walking in front of us again. This is my main criticism of 5K runs. You're in such a clump at the start that it's impossible to jog your pace and therefore your time is always slower than it should be. We crossed the finish line at 46:16 (by my watch, the race was not chipped), but we guess that we could have been anywhere from 2-4 minutes faster had we not been all clumped together.


During the race my hips were the only things that were yelling at me. Jen's Achilles' tendon was bothering her. I wasn't cold until I stopped at the finish line and the sweat started to chill me. My glasses didn't fog up too badly until a bunch of snow fell off of a tree and hit me square in the right eye. But that's all par for the course of a snowy run. We finished and stocked up on water, bananas, chips, and protein bars. The Luna white chocolate macadamia nut ones were my favorite and I wished I had grabbed more than two. Now I know for next time. 

We only had to wait for about five minutes until the bus came and took us back to Uptown. We got off the bus and paid it forward to a woman whose Scion was stuck in the snow. We both got behind her and pushed. That's what I love about Minnesota in the winter - we all stick together and help each other out! And then we got back to our cars only to find parking tickets to the tune of $42...so all in all the Reindeer Run cost us $65, but we did get free protein bars! 


To celebrate our calorie burn we decided to have brunch at the Uptown Diner. We both got the #2, which includes two eggs, French toast, and bacon. And we split a side of cheesy hashbrowns, just in case we didn't eat back the calories burned with the first three things. 


It was a fun race with a great friend and we're looking forward to our next 5K.

Day 5

I kicked Day 5's tukus! I had a slight recovery from the puffy start to the week and dropped 1.2 lbs. 

When I play late tennis matches, I like to take a half day off the next day. I teach block 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 and a morning half day would be the first and second blocks. Gets me in to school around 10:45 in order to relieve the sub at 11 am, just before hour 4 is dismissed. I love half days because, duh, I get to sleep in, but also because I eat breakfast later. I can have a granola bar or some trail mix, which will tide me over until I can hit the gym and after the gym I usually have an early dinner. 

Today I decided to hit the elliptical a little harder - 46 min instead of 30 min. - and I still have over 500 calories that I could consume. I had my protein smoothie after the gym and then noshed on a Lean Cuisine pizza. 

It started snowing today around 1 pm or so and it hasn't stopped yet. Some cities in southwest Minnesota already have over 5" of snow! I think we're supposed to get between 2 and 4 inches by tomorrow morning. Which brings me to my next bit of fitness business... 

Tomorrow my friend Jen and I will be participating in the Reindeer Run - a Lifetime Fitness-sponsored holiday 5K. I bailed on the Turkey Day 5K due to cold weather, but I refuse to bail on this run! It will be my very first very cold run. My first "cold run" was at around 40 degrees and I ended up PRing it at 39:39 min. There is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I am going to try and PR tomorrow. There will be at least 2" of snow on the ground and Jen hasn't been working out as much as I have. I'm planning on having fun on a freezing day in the snow and then going out to brunch with a great girl friend! People dress up in costumes for this race and Jen and I have decided to wear our whistles around our necks, dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. :)

Meanwhile, the snow is falling and I'm happy to be curled up on the couch for the night. I've turned up the heat and am looking forward to watching Netflix tonight...perhaps with a slice of pumpkin pie to take care of those extra 500 calories...

Day 4

Day 4 went relatively well, but only because I had decided to hit the elliptical for 30 min. I had a tennis match at 8:30 pm and had put 600 calories burned into my food diary ahead of time. I thought I was being conservative and that I'd have no problem hitting 700...until Amy and I stepped on the court. 

One of our opponents was overweight, in her mid-40s, had bad roots, and was sporting pigtails. I kid you not. Amy had played her before and really wanted to beat her again. 

Suffice it to say, we did not win. We lost 2-6, 2-6 mostly due to unforced errors. Amy was so pissed off after the match that she went for a run. I was going to have a smoothie, but decided against it because I didn't feel like I had earned a treat. It was just horrible. 

But on the diet and exercise front, I was able to burn almost 600 calories in our 66-minute match and I ended up under my allotted calories for the day. 

Mark one in the "win" category for Day 4.

Day 3

Today was day 3 of my "Back to the 150s by NYE Challenge." It went really well, even though I had to pick up a snack wrap at Wendy's after going to the chiropractor. I simply was not going to make it through the gym without something to eat. Yesterday was not as good...

Day 2 started off with a chocolate glazed donut and ended with a hot chocolate from Caribou. Needless to say, day 2 was a wash. I taught until 12:40 and then had my post-observation meeting until 2 or so. I had lunch/dinner at Noodles and then went to lifeguard from 3-5:30. From 6:20-8:30 I earned $55 guarding the dance competition judges at Edina High School. There were five high school dance teams (varsity and JV) from Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Wayzata. Three of my 9th grade health students were on the dance teams from Edina so it was fun to see them doing something they enjoy outside of the classroom. 

When I received the email informing me that I was going to be guarding the judges' table I thought, "What in the world?? Are they just making up a position for me? This is craziness!" But then I showed up and people were quite serious about it. A section of the bleachers was roped off by yellow crepe paper and there were signs up stating that this was the judges' area and they could not enter. 

My job was to guard the hallway behind the bleachers where the judges were sitting so that no one was looking over them while they were scoring and making notes. Also, when the teams were performing, I had to make sure that no one walked behind the judges and distracted the teams that were on the floor. For the most part people knew to stay out of the judges' section. I had to tell other people that they couldn't stand there or that they had to wait until the performance was done.

The biggest bummer of the night (which was probably good considering all I'd already eaten that day) was that the concessions stand was not serving hot dogs, even though they were listed on the price sheet. 

I took some pictures with my phone:

 The hallway that I was guarding. The judges are sitting on the other side of the green railing.

 The judges behind the yellow crepe paper. This was my view of the performance floor.

Edina's JV Dance Team

  Edina's Varsity Dance Team

I talked to one of the varsity girls today in class and she said that Wayzata won the competition and that Edina tied for 4th. Yeah...Edina didn't look too hot and Wayzata was absolutely awesome! They danced to a Michael Jackson number and they had super jazzy outfits. I was really impressed and they stood out, even to my untrained eye. I just checked their website and they won states last year. Yeah, they're good. 

I had to stay 20 minutes later and was compensated $10 more than the people who sold tickets! 2 hours, $55. Sounds good to me!