In what feels like no time at all....

...summer has come and gone.



Today marks the first day back to work for me. Tuesday I will begin working with my little 6 and 7 year olds. Oh, how a change this will be from my 10-11 year olds.

This summer was the best! I was always busy, but I think that's what made this summer so great.


Let's take a look back:

May/June -
★ Kicked of my first weekend of summer camping with the BF and a couple other couples!
★ First weekend of June we went camping again, and took in a great Bret Michael's Concert at the Casino!
★ Attended a cousin's wedding.
★ Completed my 3rd outdoor sprint triathlon on a tough, but rewarding course (1st outdoor triathlon of 2010)
★ In attempt to clean my spare bedroom, I found water seepage and had a company dry out my drywall...and rip up my carpet and carpet padding.
★ Bought my new car! My 2009 Toyota Camry LE... black!
★ Taught 4 weeks of extended school year (special education summer school) to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students.
★ Said my final goodbye to some of my 5th graders heading off to middle school this year - they gave me hugs and all!


July -
★ Went to my first Twins game at the new Target Field over the Fourth of July weekend! Witnessed some of the best fireworks I have ever seen in Chanhassen, MN!
★ Attended another cousin's wedding.
★ Attended (as good friend and personal attendant) a friend's wedding over looking Big Pine Lake in Perham, MN.
★ Finished my summer grad class
★ Took a trip to San Diego, CA with the BF!


August -
★ Attended a friends bachelorette party at a cabin on Long Lake in WI.
★ Finally made a decision on flooring for spare bedroom (mentioned above) and had carpet put in. Room is still empty.
★ Got to see the Twins play again at Target Field with fireworks to follow. What a treat!
★ Participated in 2nd and last triathlon of 2010
★ Went home for a week to visit the BF and family - got to have a nice dinner with the BF's family, dinner with my family for my Dad's birthday, dinner with my Grandpa, and some wonderful relaxing and downtime.
★ Going to the BF's cousin's wedding this coming weekend...



In addition to that, I have proceeded to run 79.77 miles, bike 269.47 miles, and swim 16,100 Yds (or 9.1477 miles) Since the 1st of June!

Things I will miss about summer:

★ Staying up past 10pm, but not much later than 11pm.

★ The occasional cool summer mornings or evenings

★ Reading on my patio while soaking in some vitamin D.

★ Flexible workout schedule - which meant I could do workout at almost any time of the day.

★ Riding outside... even though I didn't do this nearly as much as I would have liked to..

★ Being able to pick up and head home to Bismarck almost any day of the week, for as long as I wanted.

Things I look forward to this school year:

★ Working with a different age group of students (I think)... I am so used to working with upper elementary students. This will be a huge adjustment for me!

★ Trying to bring more positivity into the school setting - with students (especially) and with my coworkers. This goes hand in hand with trying not to get sucked into the negative "teacher's lounge" crap talk. Teachers - you know what I am talking about.

★ Getting back into a routine - working out most mornings, an occasional second workout in the afternoon, getting up and going to bed at a regular time; eating better and drinking more water on a consistent basis (yes I do this better during the work day than any other day).

★ Sleeping with my windows open, until it get's too cold.

★ A friend's wedding in September, in MN.

★ Possibly a couple 5K's and a 10K race (October, November, December)

★ Brad Paisley Concert in October

★ Maybe a Half Marathon next spring (May)

★ Crossing off a couple more grad classes (one per semester) off my list of classes to earn my Autism Credential.

★ Turning 30! Birthday's aren't usually a big deal for me - I don't like making a big to-do of them, and I don't have a problem with turning a year older. However, this year, I am looking forward to joining the 30's club! Be prepared for a possible virtual race in December!

★ What am I missing?

Summer Plans

Yes, I am thinking about summer already, but it doesn't help that some people have asked what I plan to do with ALL of my time off...being a teacher and all....

I will admit, I do love the perk of having almost 3 months off from work. However, only having 3 personal days during the school year kind of stinks especially if I want to travel with others that travel during the school year (aka ... family).


So, here's what I got going on this summer:

• June 6 - July 7 - Teach special education summer school (Mon-Fri: half days)
• June 6 - August 6 - Take online Autism Methods course
• June 4-6 - possible weekend at the farm (visiting Dad's side of the family)
• June 19 - Cousin's wedding (out of town)
• June 26 - Possibly a Triathlon in Perham, MN
• July 2-4 - 4th of July at home
• July 10 - Another cousin's wedding (out of town)
• July 17 - Friend's wedding (out of town)
• July 23-25 - Possibly attending a Bachelorette party (Minneapolis)
• July 31 - Aug 1 - Possibly participate in the MS 100 Ride
• August 14 - Twins game at Target Field/celebrate Dad's birthday
• August 21 - Detroit Lakes Triathlon

If I counted right, there are 3 open weekends between June 1st and when school starts on August 26. With almost every weekend in June/July taken, it's hard for me to try and plan any sort of fun trip. Asside from trying to travel, with all those fun-filled weekends, I am limited to doing any more races/events than the couple I have listed. Total bummer.

We start back up at work on the 26th of August, the kiddos start back on August 31st and we go until June 6th. Now that is something new. In North Dakota, I have never seen a school still in session in June. Yay....

Most of those weekends of weddings and family road trips are 3-5 hour drives one way...

What kind of fun things do you have planned for your summer, even if you don't have almost 3 months off?

Hello Summer Vacay!!

I am into day 3 of my summer vacation and lovin' every bit of it! The past couple days I have kept myself pretty busy with a couple volleyball teams, softball, regular triathlon training, and just overall enjoying the sun on my patio with a good book. Come on people, it's my summer and I am going to enjoy it before summer school starts up!



But, believe you me, I have plenty of things to do around the house. However, I have little motivation! Maybe if I post a handful of things that need to get done, I will be more likely to take care of them!

• purchase a couple book shelves,
• hang more photos,
• organize closet - switching out winter clothes for summer clothes,
• clean out 2nd spare bedroom so a roommate can move in
• clean kitchen and reorganize some cupboards
• kill the weeds in the yard (damn dandilions),
• mow the lawn (again?!),
• take grass clippings to the dump
• dig up two trees and two lilac bushes (thanks to the old owners who planted them too late in the fall)

On the training front.... things are going well. After the past couple of days however, I realized I will need to shuffle some workouts around so I have easy one's on Monday-Wednesday, maybe even a rest day in there. This is because I have volleyball both Monday and Tuesday night, as well as Softball after volleyball on Tuesday nights. Next week I will begin working with the adult swim team at the butt crack of dawn, making Tuesday's exceptionally long, especially when 3 hours of teaching summer school and 2 hours of tutoring is thrown in the mix!

Speaking of volleyball and softball..... my Monday night co-ed VB team played really well. I only knew one of my team members previously, so I am looking forward to getting to know the rest a bit better. Last night we were short a player for VB, but played better than last week. From there we had a bit of time to grab a couple drinks and apps before softball. I didn't play much last night because we have a butt-load of girls (fine by me, I was wiped), but we did have a couple injuries in the second game. Our catcher got hit in the inside of her ankle with a SB at full speed - totally not worth the injury. And our shortstop got nailed just below the inside of his knee in the same inning. He had a huge bump, possibly full of fluid, and left early for the ER. Dangerous sport. :)

Did you all get out and run today? It's Nationall Running Day! I know I did. I took full advantage of the 68 degrees and hit the roads for a few miles! What a way to celebrate!

First Day of Summer Break

After my swim this morning, which I might add was very nice to get back into the pool after a break that was too long, I spent a good amount of the day back at school. I couldn't have picked a better day to do so as it rained most of the afternoon.

With another special education teacher retiring this year, I was given the option to take her room or continue sharing with another special education teacher. I was all over having my own room. Little did I know, the teacher who left, took what she wanted and left everything else behind! I have so much work cut out for myself this summer. It's going to take a while to go through her stuff and organize my things as well. I am anal when it comes to organization and I will not start the school year with a cluttery mess in my room!

Tomorrow I will spend a few hours there as well. Should be fun times... fun times fo sho!

On a side note, I forgot to mention that on my ride yesterday with the Scheel's Cycle group... I biffed it. Yep. I went down. First time for everything right? We were coming through an intersection, taking a left, and a few of the guys ahead of me decided to ride up onto the grass to wait for those that were really far behind me. So, I di the same, although the grass was really soft and I almost lost my balance and trying to save myself I took too long to decide what foot to take out of my peddle, taking my left foot and starting to fall to the right. Boom. I went down. In the grass. I was hoping that my first fall would involve some good blood and eventually a couple nice scabs to share with you all, but all I had was a couple marks on my calves from the tires. Damn.

OSN: 1000M
10x50M Warmup
5x100M, 30 second RI