Easily Distracted

First Month Done

2012-02-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

I have been exercising for a month now. I wanted to update everyone with what my goals had been for this first month and to let you know if I made them. I had not really written them down but rather had them in my head. There are people that will tell you that it is best to have these things written down in order to have a reference to go back to make sure that you have made them and to be held accountable to them. I would agree with that and that would be why I am going to be doing that for this next month. To be honest, I didn't really think that I was going to stick with this and I thought that it was going to be something that was just a passing fad. That is why I didn't write it down.

I can now say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is not a passing fad but a lifestyle change. I am changing the relationship that I have had with food and it is no longer something that I am craving and NEEDING to have in my life but it is fuel to get me through the day. I am finding myself craving exercise. I am finding myself trying to find ways to get in a walk in different ways in my day. I know that I need to lose some more weight before I can consider getting into jogging but it is something that I would like to do again. I did it in high school and it is something that I would like to do again. I don't think I want to do it for long distances but maybe for a couple of miles.

So far, for this first month I have lost 8.1 pounds. My silent goal was to lose 8 pounds so I have done it. I am amazed that I have made it and yet I am not. The reason why I am surprised is because I have only been watching what I have been eating for the last 16 days. Sure I have been exercising for the past month but I feel that if you are not watching what you are eating you can exercise all you want and it is not going to do much.

The reason why I had started exercising first, was the simple fact that it was the hardest thing for me. I knew that it was the component that was going to be hard for me to keep up and I wanted to make it a habit. I can say that I have made exercise that habit. If I do not find a way to exercise at least somehow every day I become a raging bitch. I am sure that Lefty can confirm this. It can be putting in Dance Central, going for a walk with Storm, or just walking up and down the hallway in the house, but I have to do something. Otherwise I am a stir crazy bitch. I am actually glad to see this. I know it seems crazy to hear that but it is true.

So where do I go from here? I keep going. This next month I have 4 goals that I want to keep to and I am going to post them here so you, my readers (maybe all 3 of you. Let me know if there are more) can keep me to them:

1. Lose at least 8 pounds. ( that is 2 pounds a week)

2. Drink 64 ounces of water a day. (this can be hard being a teacher but I am getting there)

3. Walk at least 10,000 steps each and every day (you can follow me if you at me at fitbit.com. just ask)

4. Work out at least 3 times a week beyond walking.

You can all add me on My Fitness Pal. I am mrsleftybrown on there. Just do it. If I make my goal for this coming up month I am going to get a new outfit. That is going to be my reward to myself. I know I can do it.

Music is the Beat

2012-02-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

With all the dancing that I have been doing with Dance Central 2, I have found myself listening to tons of music. I have downloaded Pandora to my iPhone and my iPad and listen to it whenever I have some free time. Not only that I am also listening to it in my classroom when I have time before school and I am correcting papers or after school as well.

I love the program because it is free and I am able to put a song that I am grooving to at the time and it will then create a radio station based upon that song. Or I can put an artist that I like and it will do the same thing. This is such a wonderful thing to have because it has started to expose me to different artist that have not know of. I may have heard their music on the radio but didn't know who the song was performed by. Also I am starting to hear other songs by artist that I already knew of. Not only that but Lefty is not having to go out and buy me music by artist that I am going to like for just a moment and then not want to listen to again.

Another thing that I am finding myself doing is creating my own dances to songs that I am listening to. I am doing between 25 to 40 minutes of Dance Central 2 every day. This means that I am really getting to know the dance moves that the different songs have within them. It is true that I may not know the names of them but I do know what they are. Therefore, they are becoming a part of my everyday life. If a song from the game come on in my day, watch out I may just break out in dance. I actually have to watch myself because it could be an embarrassing situation.

More embarrassing is the fact that I am finding myself car dancing. A song will come on and if I am at a light and have a couple of seconds, I will start breaking out in dance. That is right, everyone around me gets to wonder what the crazy lady in the Altima is doing. I am sure that it doesn't look like a dance to anyone else, but to me it is the best dance in the world. I am dancing so good that I could make it on So You Think You Could Dance. Would I try out? Hell no, because I would be laughed off and be the one that every single one of you would be making fun of at the water cooler the next day. But I know I look good.

I am really good that music is a part of my life and it will continue to be a huge part of my life because I love it so much. It has been a part of it my entire life and will never go away. I am always going to have it on when I go to sleep at night and have it on when I am doing things around the house and doing things at work. That is who I am and there is nothing wrong with that. It is like a heartbeat to me. It is part of my life and it needs to be there.

Dancing My Ass Off

2012-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

So I have been dancing so much that I may just dance my ass off. I have been playing Harmonix's Dance Central 2 every day for at least 20 minutes. This has resulted in me losing weight. Now I promise that I am also watching what I am eating as well. I am not going out and eating whatever I want and then coming home and exercising. I am counting calories and making this a lifestyle change. I have been doing this consistently for 3 weeks and it is truly becoming a habit.

I mentioned on Lefty's, my husband, and my site The Married Gamers that I had been playing for over a month now every day. That is completely true. It is just that within the last 3 weeks that I have been watching what I have been eating. This is what is making the difference in my life. It is making me realize what I am putting in my mouth and how it impacts my weight. I will not put out there as to how much I actually weigh because I don't think that it is important, however I will tell you how much I have lost month to month and what my goals are for the next month.

So on Tuesday is the end of my four weeks, or a month, of really starting to take control of my diet. I have only been using My Fitness Pal, where you can add me at as mrsleftybrown, consistantly for the last 12 days but wow what an amazing 12 days. I have to admit that those 12 days have really changed the way that I look at what I am eating. To me this diet app, which is available on the iPhone and iPad and on the computer as well. I also like the fact that I am able to share my diary with friends so they can see what I am eating. This is great because I can see what my friends are eating and get ideas for myself for places to eat or what to make at home as well.

This weekend Lefty and I are going to be joining a gym so I will be once again stepping up my fitness. I can't wait to find another place to burn more calories. This will be a fun place for me to get out of the house and to burn, baby, burn away what I have eaten for the day. I will admit that the weekend is the hardest time for me to get the steps I need in my fitbit, so it means putting the dog on the leash and going for a walk or putting my shoes on and just going for a brisk walk myself because I don't want to wear out a hole in my carpet in the hallway.

Is This Thing On?

2012-02-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

I decided to shake the dust off of this old blog and restart. I am not going to be writing on here for long, as Lefty, whom you can find here has said he will buy me my own url once I can come up with something unique and creative. We have looked at a few and they are already taken. If you can come up with something share it with me and I will take it into creative.

So what has been going on with me? Well within the last month I have decided to take control of my body and try to get it under control. I have always struggled with my weight my entire life. I have been participating in Dance Central's Fitness Month and have recently bought a Fitbit. Along with that I have been using My Fitness Pal on my iPhone and the web to map out what I am eating.

I really like My Fitness Pal because of the fact that I am able to track what I am eating and also it has an infra-red scanner that uses the camera on my iPhone to scan the little codes off of the food I am eating at any given meal. Not only this but I am able to find friends, local and also across the nation, who are also using the same program to encourage and encourage me. My friend, Marcia Webb, who is also a writer at our website The Married Gamers, and I are using it to encourage each other to eat better and to keep up our weight loss. It is a great motivator to make sure that your food intake it lower than your exercise output.

I have just really started pushing it hard within the last 2 weeks and have lost 4.1 pounds but I am really proud of those pounds loss. I have quite a ways to go but I have goals along the way and I know that I am going to make them. I am not going to put them out in the world because if I don't make them I don't want to get super depressed but I am going to be updating how I am doing. I will tell you that if you follow me on Twitter, @mrsleftybrown, be prepared to see quite a bit of information about what I am eating and talk about my exercise because I want to have encouragement. The same is can be said about my Facebook page. It is just the way things are going to be this year.

I think that is the way it has to be when a person wants to change the way they are. If they are trying to change they are looking for encouragement and they are going to be talking about it quite a bit. If there are people who don't like it then they can stop following them. This does not mean that I won't be talking about video games and other things as well, because I will be. But there is going to be quite a bit of conversation about diet and exercise as well.

A Fresh Coat of Paint and a New Post

2010-08-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well I have given the blog a fresh coat of paint. I have the weekend and then a new school year starts for me. I am trying to figure out ways to keep this year as stress free for me as possible. I think one way is going to be for me to write. I really enjoy writing. I have been doing that over at our site, The Married Gamers, every so often but that is a bit restrictive as it has to be about video games. Here I can just write about things that are going on in my head. I am going to try to keep my posts as positive as I can. That is one thing that I am going to try to do. Keep positive.

This year should be good. I have a great discipline plan in order that is very positive in thought and I know that it is going to work. I am going to be very strong going in and not let the students run the classroom. They are going to know who is boss in the classroom and there is no other way around it. It is going to be a great year. I know that.

New Medical Issues and a RANT

2010-03-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well since I came down with what the doctors think was H1N1 in January, I was diagnosed with asthma. I have been having to go into Kaiser to get breathing treatments and they are still trying to figure out what are triggers and what not. It is quite frustrating with my general care doctor on maternity leave.

Apparently, Kaiser has this great catch all that when a doctor is out you see whom ever happens to see you. I completely understand this if a doctor is going on vacation for a couple of weeks or is out sick for themselves or a family member. But if they are going to be gone for any extended period of time I would think that there would be some better type of program. I have had other medical insurance before and they have always set it up where patience A through whatever would see Doctor A and so forth. Doesn't this makes sense. Okay it does to me.

Well anyways. Since my primary doctor has been out on maternity leave for 3 months and I have been on and off sick for this past 3 months I have seen 12 different doctors. You read that right 12 different doctors. So I have to go through explaining to them exactly what I have had and what they think is wrong with me and then they have to explain that when my general doctor gets back she will have to run all sorts of test to make sure that what they are doing for me is correct. This is kind of scary to me. I don't know. I am just a bit concerned.

I mean I know when I am not feeling well. I know when I can feel wheezing going on in my chest something is not quite right. I know when I have a fever that there is something going on. I know when I have a deep cough and I am coughing up green stuff from my chest and my nasal congestion is clear that there is something going on. I am almost 36 years old. I can figure stuff out and I also have a school nurse who can listen to my chest and say, "something isn't right here you need to be seen by a doctor today." Yet when I call at 3:20 in the afternoon and then don't get a call back and I have to call back again 3 times only to be told the final time I call at 7:00pm that they have no time to see me until the next day, I know something is wrong with Kaiser's system.

OKAY RANT OFF

Sorry guys and gals. I am just a bit frustrated.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2010-01-30T23:42:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Illness Abounds

2010-01-19T13:39:00.001-08:00

Well Chris spent all week last week home sick with a really bad cold/flu that caused him to run a low grade fever and just generally feel really bad. While he was home, resting and feeling better I was going to work and enjoying my first week back after a 3 weeks break after Christmas break.

On Thursday, my cellphone was stolen out of my purse, out of my desk, by one of my students. It was returned to me on Friday, but nonetheless this caused me tons of stress and caused me to get a huge migraine that started on Thursday night and only got larger on Friday.

We ended up on a foggy day schedule on Friday, which was nice due to the fact that I got to sleep in an extra hour. I was not feeling up to par due to my migraine but I knew that if I could make it through the day that I had a 3 day weekend ahead of me and I could get a migraine shot and then feel so much better.

Around 1:30 I started to feel like crap and went to the nurse only to find out I was running a fever. Having a headache and running a fever meant that they were not going to give me a shot quickly and I was going to have to be seen by a doctor because they want to rule out anything else other than a normal migraine. I was told that I had a normal migraine and a virus on top of it.

Well today is day 5 of 100.5 plus temps and finally they are putting me on antibiotics realizing that I probably have some sort of infection, sinus more than likely, and hopefully that will make my fever break. I took today off from work and I will be taking tomorrow off as well. I hope that the fever breaks and I can get back to work because I really do miss my students and I want to get back to teaching them. I hate missing work and I hate missing the time I get to spend with them.

So instead I am resting today and watching bad TV. Even bad for me. All the Bring It On movies. They were on TV and I taped them. They are so bad and funny at the same time. Come on, who now is going to go and watch them too?

Back to the Grindstone

2010-01-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of post. I am going to try to update this blog on a weekly basis this new year. That is one of my new years resolutions. I did a fairly good job on my one for last year so we will see how I do with this one.

After being off for three weeks for Christmas break, it was back to work for me today. I was glad to be back as I missed my students. I was sad to see that one of my students had moved but hopefully it will mean a more stable place for him and it will be better overall for him. As long as it is the best for the student that is the most important thing.

During the break, Chris and I were able to spend about 5 days with my parents down in Southern California. It was a very good visit. It had been about 4 years since Chris had been down there with me and so it was good for him to go with me and to see everyone. It was good that no one started to talk politics. With everyone wanting to take sides and not willing to listen to each other and often taking sides and then taking pot shots at each other it can make it for a very uncomfortable time for people. I am glad that it didn't happen and that it was a pleasant time for everyone that was there.

We also were able to enjoy some time with other podcasters at a great gathering on the 2nd of January down at Dave and Busters in Orange. I felt like such a little girl when I saw the Materhorn from Disneyland. Okay so maybe there is still a little girl inside of me that remembers how much fun I had there. I still want to go back there but with Chris hating crowds like he does, I don't think it will be any time soon unless I can find someone else who will go with me.

Overall it was a great time, but as the saying goes, it is back to the grindstone. I know that this time of the year goes by fast and the the end of the year will be upon me quicker than I think. I love these kids and every day am reminded how much I love teaching the grade level that I do. I can not get over how much I love the 6th graders. And to think that I use to think that I would only teach kindergarten or maybe up to 3rd grade and not a bit older. Oh what was I thinking.

Grand Plan Just Didn't Pan Out

2009-08-16T19:05:00.001-07:00

Well I thought that I would have tons of time to sit down and write everything that I wanted to write and it just didn't happen. My first week back to work was much busier than I expected it to be but it was good. I started back on Monday with teacher meetings. These can some times be a bit dry and boring but nonetheless they are needed in order for us as teachers to feel like a team once again. I am to say that by Wednesday I really felt that our teacher team was strong and ready to tackle all of the battles that may be heading our way this year.

On Thursday I got to meet my class for the first time. I had 24 students on my roster and I am getting a new student on Monday. I also get two students at lunch time. One stays with me only for a brief time after lunch and then during P.E. time and the other stays the rest of the day. For the most part I have a great group of students. I have 9 girls and 16 boys. It is an interesting mix.

The first 2 days were spent with them getting to know me and me getting to know them. Also them getting to know each other. I have quite a few new students to our district so it is neat to see the students getting to know each other. I am still hoping to get those other topics written about. I may work on a couple of them and hold on to them so all I have to do is simply upload them, rather than write them for the first time.

Some Thoughts

2009-08-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Okay I keep wanting to come here and type a new post but when I think about all the things that I want to type about there are just too many things that I want to write about that I just don't have the time to do it. So I am going to write down tiny things and then write more about each of them each night this week.

I am wanting to get back into the passion of writing because I want my students to be passionate about writing. I am passionate about reading and therefore they are often the same. Now I need them to be passionate about writing so I feel that I need to be as well. I also need to become more passionate about math and that will come as well.

So here are some things that you will get to feast your eyes upon later this week:

*The Hurt Locker - A movie that deserves a post all on its own.

*New Year's Resolutions - The year is over half way done. How have I done this year

*A New School Year - This week school starts back up again.

*Friends - I have some friends that just inspire me and I want to take the time to talk about them.

*Podcasting - We are coming up on our 2nd anniversary of our podcast and I want to talk about that.

So I will write about each these topics and post one each night this week. That is a promise.

The Heat of the Summer

2009-06-30T16:34:00.001-07:00

Well it appears that the heat of summer has hit the Central Valley. We had a very mild June and I was really hoping that we would ease into the heat. Nope that was not to be had. Instead, it appears that it has hit with a vengeance. We had two days at 108 or higher. Now we are to continue in the 100+ degree days that are typical of the summer. I try to keep the air conditioner from coming on too soon but it is hard. I have it set at 84, but when it is over 100 degrees outside, it gets to that temp really early in the day. It is times like this that I really wonder why we live in the Central Valley.

So Strange

2009-06-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

So this morning I was watching the Today Show and Barbara Walters was on there talking about the special that is airing tonight about Farrah Fawcett and was explaining that she was probably in her last hours of life. It seems that it wasn't even 3 hours later that it was announced that Farrah had passed away.

Now I remember watching Charlies Angels with my dad before there were remote controls for the television and my sister and I were the remote control. We would wait every week and watch Charlies Angels together in my parent's room. My mom and dad would lay on the bed and my sister and I were on the floor. I don't know why this is where we watched it but it was. I remember wishing my hair was like Farrah's hair. An icon is gone.

Later on, I was on Twitter and started to see reports that Michael Jackson had a heart attack and was on his way to a local hospital. I stopped what I was doing and started to watch CNN while also checking on Twitter to see what people were saying. There were conflicting reports for quite a while as to whether he was dead or not. Finally, it was confirmed that he had passed as well.

Funny story about Michael Jackson. I remember living downtown, we later moved to the country, and my parents just had basic television. They did not see the reason to have cable at all. Our neighbors across the street, Josh and Seth, had cable and we would some times go over there and play. Well one day they told us that there was going to be this great song called "Thriller" that was going to be shown on MTV. My mom did not want us exposed to "worldly music" that much so my sister and I were trying to figure out how to get over to Josh and Seth's house and watch the video. Well we did make it over there and I think we watched it 7 or 8 times that week alone. Whenever we were outside and it came on either Josh or Seth, they were close to our age, would come running outside and tell us to come over and watch it.

Today is a very sad day indeed. In face the month of June has been sad. These two deaths make a total of 4 iconic Hollywood celebrities that have passed so far this month. There is a saying that the famous die in 3's. Let's hope that there are no more deaths this month,

Summer Time

2009-06-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well I am officially on summer break. I am looking forward to doing some deep cleaning in the house, playing some video games, and just reading some books I have put aside to read during this time. I am hoping to read at least 5 books, if not more, during this time. Aside from that, I am planning on visiting my parents for a week or so and just enjoying this time.

A While

2009-06-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a while since I have updated here and I am sorry about that. I am hoping to keep it more up to date this summer as I will be at home much more. Aside from traveling to visit my parents, I am planning on being here around the house more. I am thinking about volunteering for a no kill shelter as something to do to keep me busy. Either that or maybe a local hospital. I will have to wait and see what I decide on. I just don't want to sit around doing nothing much. Of course there are always video games that can't play themselves.

Everything is Okay, but It Was Scary

2009-05-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well last night, Chris and I spent the better part of the evening in the Emergency room. I got home from work and told Chris that I needed to take a nap, due to going and seeing The Allman Brothers Band the night before in Oakland. I slept for about an hour and then Chris woke me up. When he woke me up he was breathing funny and was in obvious pain.

Now a bit of history. On Monday, we went to our general doctor because he was in tons of pain from his left side of his neck and shoulder and it radiated down his arm. I was worried but our doctor told us that it was probably a pinched nerve and she gave him some low dose pain medication and muscle relaxants. Well he just didn't get better.

When he woke me up on Wednesday after my nap breathing funny I was really worried that something more serious was going on. He didn't want to go to the hospital because he didn't want to wait in the ER for a long period of time. I spoke to a friend of ours who is an EMT and he convinced Chris that he needed to go to the hospital.

We got there around 7pm and were seen really quickly by the triage nurse who decided it was not anything dealing with his heart and so she knew it was pain related. His blood pressure was elevated but she figured it was due to the pain only. She told me that he could take one of his Tylenol with Codeine to see if it would help him at all. It did help him for about an hour. Then he was in extreme pain again.

We got called back into the actual ER by 11:15. Seen by the doctor by 11:40 who said it was probably tendinitis. He said that they were going to give him a shot for pain and then a prescription for us to fill. I figured we would be out of there by 12am. Nope, we did not leave the ER until 12:40am, went to fill the prescription, and finally got into our car to head home by 1am.

Chris is feeling tons better now. I am extremely tired. Tuesday night I slept 5 hours, last night I slept 2, so I am heading to bed by 8:30 tonight so I can feel better tomorrow.

Well that is our crazy night.

Doctor's Plan for My Headaches

2009-05-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well on the 14th day of my headache, I was seen by a different doctor through the Urgent Care at Kaiser. He seems to think that there might be something going on in my sinuses. He has me on a very strong antibiotic and some pain meds to help lower the intensity of the headache. He said that the CT Scan that my doctor is going to have done for me will show if there is something going on with my sinuses. He has also told me to do a saline rinse of my nose. I am not looking forward to having to do this but if it is going to help get rid of this headache then it is so worth it.

The Tylenol with Codeine is helping with the pain and not making me tired at all. It does make me more relaxed but not tired. I am hoping that it will help me sleep better at night. That is always a good thing.

So the next thing in line is for me to have the CT Scan to rule out anything really bad being wrong and also to see if the sinuses have something going on with them. I will keep you updated.

The Week Long Headache

2009-05-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

So I went to my doctor yesterday and she gave me a shot to help get rid of the headache, she called it a Migraine. It was an anti-inflammatory. I was hopeful as the intensity of the headache was lower than it had been for a while. Then I wake up this morning with the headache back in full force. So I have taken a medication she gave me. Let's hope this gets rid of it.

Headache

2009-04-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well today I am on day 5 of having a headache. I thought it was due to not having caffeine for a couple of days, however I have had caffeine for the last two days and it is still here in full strength. I have no other symptoms at all. I have tried Advil, Tylenol, decongestant, and allergy medications to no avail. I am telling you it is frustrating. I have emailed my doctor and I am waiting to see what she says.

It is located right above my left eye, my vision at times is affected. The pain, on a scale of 1 to 10, goes from a 6 to an 8. So it is very bad. It is not effecting my sleep so I don't know what to think. I guess I will just wait to see what my doctor says.

Food Thoughts

2009-04-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Okay I know that this is strange but I was thinking today about the foods that I most enjoy and realized something about them. They are all things that have a very strong smell and taste to them. I mean I love onions, garlic, and blue cheese. All three of these things have a very strong taste and smell. I don't know why it is that I love these so much. I mean I have been known to ask for extra onions on something or to add onions because I love them that much.

I am sure that there is someone out there that will analyze this and say that there is something wrong with me. Well if there is something wrong with me, I don't want to change it. I have always had these flavor desires.

Spring Break and State Testing.

2009-04-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

So I am on Spring Break this week and for the first time I am looking forward to some time off. I am finishing up a class that I am taking, online. I hate taking online classes because there is no real time line for me to keep to. Therefore, I am heading to FPU tomorrow so I don't get distracted by things here at home to do. I am hoping to finish it off tomorrow so I can stay home the rest of the week. I don't go back to work until Tuesday, the 14th, so I have plenty of time to recharge.

The one thing that I hate about this Spring Break, is that when I get back to school, there are only 5 days before we start State Testing. It is already hard to keep 6th graders on their toes with reminding them everything that we have learned in the past 8 months, let alone deal with their hormones and the nice weather that is outside. I think I might include some outside learning time, when I get back to help with all of this.

I know that my students are prepared for the test and everything, but if they are anything like me they freak when they see the test. For some reason, when I know that I am taking a test that will measure how much I have learned, I always have freaked out. It is not that I don't know the information, but rather that it scares me to think that this one test is what everyone is going to remember me by for the year. I was this way when I was in school and, at times, I think I am even worse now.

It is all that I can take to not show the fear that is in me when I give the test to my students. I know that they can read what we are feeling, as their teachers, and therefore I have to put my own fears aside. It is not the fear that I haven't taught them well, because I know that I have. What it is is the fear that they are fearful of the test. I don't know how to lessen that for them, other than to do test prep after test prep, which always raised the fear in me.

If anyone has any ideas for me I would greatly appreciate it.

Recording Podcasts

2009-03-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

My husband and I do a weekly podcast and it still floors me that people want to listen to what we have to say. Maybe not so much Chris but more so me. I don't always feel that I know everything about everything that needs to be said about video games but people like to listen to us. We do a recording almost every Saturday at 1pm pacific time. We are coming up on our 100th episode, coming soon, and it amazes me to no end. Okay, back to your normal thoughts.

A New Chapter in my Life

2009-03-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well Lefty and I have decided to embark on the path to try to have a child. I feel like I am a test subject at the moment. I had 15 vials of blood taken last Friday and now have the emotional roller coaster of infertility drugs on board. We don't know how long this path is going to be, but it is one that I have realized I have no control over.

God is the only one who can decide if I am meant to have a child or not. Granted I have to do my part and can't just sit there and expect everything to be done for me. I think that this is the first time in my life that I can say that I have totally given this part of my life over to God. It is not easy, being the medically minded person that I am, but it is something that I really truly believe I have to do. Otherwise, I will drive myself insane as well as Lefty and those who come in contact with us.

So, if you would, please keep us in your prayers as we go through this time in our lives. I will try to keep you all updated on a fairly regular basis. However I am much better at updating my twitter than I am updating this page.

Random Facts Wednesday

2009-02-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

10 Random Facts that will impress those around you. I bet you didn't know half of this. If you want to find more out for yourself head over to Random Fun Facts.

1. Elephants are the only mammal that can not jump.

2. Abraham Lincoln was the only U.S. president to hold a patent. It was for an invention to buoy boats over shallow rivers.

3. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

4. Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

5. 203 million dollars is spent on barbed wire each year in the U.S.

6. An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.

7. The flushing toilet was invented in 1596, not by Thomas Crapper as most people think, but by Sir John Harington.

8. In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

9. Marilyn Monroe had six toes.

10. In your lifetime, you'll shed over 40 pounds of skin.

This Got My Blood Boiling

2009-02-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

When I heard the news about a man on the Water Board make comments about farm labor's children I almost hit the roof. You can read about it here at the Fresno Bee. One of the most stupid things that he is quoted in saying is, :

"He also said the children of farm workers are among the least-educated people in the southwest corner of the Valley. "They turn to lives of crime. They go on welfare. They get into drug trafficking and they join gangs."

These are the kids that I teach. It makes me mad. I was so frustrated that I didn't even know what to say. And to add insult to injury it appears that I was the only one in the staff lunch room who had heard about this. I guess news is not all that important anymore.

So Many Things Going On

2009-02-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed at the many different things that I try to get done at one time. For some reason my brain can not wrap itself around one idea or project at one time. Instead, it seems that I have at least 3 different things that I am trying to do at once. Even as I sit here writing this, I have two different things that are going through my mind right now along with writing this post. I am watching TV, have a catalog next to me to create my wish list for school for this coming year, and yet I am thinking about the novel that I have been wanting to finish. I don't know how I do this but if I have only one thing on my mind I seem to get to distracted.

In regards to my novel, I am realizing that I kind of went about it the wrong way. Now I have written 30 chapters of the novel but I might have to go back and rewrite some of it. My goal for this year is to complete this novel. I have been talking to my students about how to write a paper and I am realizing that I never outlined my book. Therefore, I know who the killer is in the story, but I don't if I have woven them into the story enough to reveal who they are at the point that I am at the story. I guess I am going to have to take another look at what I have written already.

One other thing is that I am thinking about writing a children's book about Storm, our doxie/lab mix. The one thing that I am worried about is that I could find someone who would be willing to do the illustrations for me and make them look just like what I imagine they would. That is the hardest thing for me, I know what I want the pictures to look like, however I could never make them look like I want them to. If anyone knows someone who loves to illustrate let me know. I could probably knock this story out in a weekend.

Thanks for reading my random thoughts.

You can find just about anything on YouTube

2009-01-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

My students know that I enjoy a good laugh or a good joke, so it was just a matter of time before someone would show me something on YouTube that would make me laugh. I don't know if it is because I am a teacher or what but I find this video hilarious. Let me know what you guys think.

Brian Regan and the Spelling Bee

I "heart" County Music

2009-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

For quite awhile I have enjoyed County music. Now I could go back and say that it is all my dad's fault as I grew up listening to country all entire life. Now Chris would say that I grew up on "good" country being that it was Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and the such. But I don't listen to that kind of country anymore, it is rather like the "pop" country that I like. I find myself loving the music of different types of bands that are on the radio nowadays. For some reason I love the song "Chicken Fry" by The Zak Brown Band. I mean I will sing it over and over and over again. I love it. Okay I am so sorry.

Only Me

2009-01-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday one of the craziest things happened to me ever. I had gone to the bathroom at school and as I was putting my belt on my school keys feel into the still flushing toilet and were lost forever. I mean you can only imagine how strange I felt when I had to explain this to my secretary. I don't know how it happened but nonetheless it did happen. Only to me would this happen.

Extreme Home Makeover in Fresno

2009-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

It was really cool when I started to hear that Extreme Home Makeover was coming to Fresno. There were 5 perspective families and none of them knew which one would be selected. However, a friend on Facebook had a really good idea because she lives just down the block from the family. It is so much fun to hear about all that is going on from someone who is seeing it happen live. There are a few things that are suprising to me. Such as the fact that the team meets that family before the big bullhorn wake up call. Just interesting. I will keep you updated if I head over to check it out.

Something I Hope Others Might Do

2009-01-06T23:13:00.001-08:00

A Little Bit More About Our Spider

2009-01-06T20:52:00.001-08:00

Well I did some research and found out that this is really what we have. I found out some information that I didn't know previously. Just thought I would let you all know.

A New Pet

2009-01-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Well really it is not a new pet exactly, it is more like an animal that just moved in. We have a daddy long legs spider that has taken up residency in our bathroom above my plant. I know it is strange but still I kind of like watching him. So does anyone know how to tell the sex of a spider?

Mamma Mia

2009-01-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness!!!! We just watched this movie and I am in love with this music. With my ever active imagination I figure I will definitely be dreaming about this movie for a while. Chris was watching it with me and as I bounced in my seat, he laughed and said "you are going to need this soundtrack aren't you?" Oh will I!!!!! Mamma Mia, here I go again!!! :)

Second Day of a New Year

2009-01-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

I have found that I have successfully done two of my New Year's Resolutions today already. I was able to set aside 10 minutes to worry about those things that were bothering me. Now granted that it was not just "worry time," as I was taking a shower at the same time, but I figure I have to start somewhere. I really need to find the time to sit down and write down those things that are bothering me so I can worry in a manner that will be successful to me. As I was told by a person at Kaiser, "it is okay to worry, but there should be a time and a place where you allow it to happen and that is it." I am hoping that I will be able to do this and find that I can sleep better because my mind is able to "shut" itself off.

I was able to spend about 5 hours with a cousin of mine that is 9 years younger than me. I am being constantly reminded that as we get older the years between people do not seem as distant. I mean she was 9 when I moved to Fresno and started to spend more time with this side of my family. Now she is am amazing musician, amazing teacher, and all around great woman. Yes that is right, she is amazing. I only wish that I could have more time to spend talking to her. You see she lives in New Jersey but I am really excited because her dad, my cousin, got her an AT&T cell phone so that means that it doesn't cost us anything to speak to each other. Oh I just can't wait!!!!

Well there is day two of a new year. Oh I did go another day without pain medication. I am doing okay until I lay down and my body starts to realize how much pain it really is feeling. Here goes to Heart Focus Breathing.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed that it takes the beginning of a new year for people to take a look at their lives to see what they would like to change. I am not sure why it is the case, but I am finding myself doing the exact same thing. I am constantly wanting to change things in my life and I am realizing that I need to do a few things to try to make those changes happen.

1. Not take anyone for granted. I realize that God has placed people into my life for a reason and that I should be thankful for each and every one who has been placed there. Far too often, we take for granted that people will be there in our lives forever and don't think to let them know how much we appreciate them. I plan on letting those who are in my life know how much I appreciate them.

2. Live a healthier life. Yes I could say that I want to lose weight, which I would like to do, but it would be much better to live healthier. So this year I want to learn to manage my pain without medicine. I don't know if that is possible, but I am willing to see if it is. Hopefully, this doesn't lend itself to me being put into the hospital because I can't handle it, but I think I can.

3. Worry Time. I need to find an appropriate amount of time and a certain time of the day that it is okay for me to worry. I am realizing that I will worry to the point that sleep is not even an option for me. Then when I get really tired I have no option but lay in bed and sleep because my body needs it. I then miss out on an entire day or weekend. Not good.

I have tons of other things that I would like to work on but I always feel that I make too many New Year's Resolutions and then get upset at myself for not keeping up with them. Therefore, I am going to work on these three for now and then in about 4 months looks back, see how I am doing, if it is all going good then make some April Resolutions. Who says I can't do that if I want to.

Illness

2008-12-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

I hate being sick, but for the last 3 days I have been home sick with the flu. I will be writing more late on tonight but I wanted to let everyone know what was going on with me.

MORE LATER

I Think My Cat is Trying to Kill Me

2008-11-17T21:09:00.001-08:00

Discovery Television

2008-11-11T18:46:00.001-08:00

I am finding myself watching more and more Discovery Television. It can be The Learning channel, the Discovery channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Health, or Investigation Discovery. I have found that there are a few shows that I wanted to watch on what I would call "regular" television, however most of my viewing comes from the channels created by the people over at Discovery Channel. I am watching shows about animals, crime, medical, and also about amazing families.

I am trying to figure out what this means about what I like to watch. I guess it would mean that I like to watch that which is real rather than fiction. I am not sure why, other than those shows that are not real just don't hold me attention. I do still have about 5 shows that I watch on the network channels but other than that everything else has something to do with that which is real.

Nothing else is going on right now, so I thought I would just update you like this.

Confusion on a Book

2008-10-07T21:37:00.001-07:00

Well I was recommended a book by a 6th grader and so I told him that I would read the book. The book was written by Robert Cormier and was entitled, "Heroes." Now I often say that I can read a book and know what type of student would like to read that book that I just read. This is one of the first that I don't know if I can recommend or not.

The story is about a young boy who decides to go off to World War II and comes back from the war as a hero. He then goes through some personal things and starts to wonder what really makes a hero. This book, as was true as well with the other book of his that I read, ended in a way where it was not all wrapped up but rather open-ended.

Now you may be reading this and saying that this book sounds like a great book to read, and don't get me wrong it was a great book. However, this book deals with some issues that are not comfortable to discuss, let alone read about. It is for this reason that I am not able to think about what type of students I would recommend reading this book.

Here is what Amazon's summary of the books is. Maybe this will give you a better summary that I did, and thus help you help me.

"Eighteen-year-old Francis Cassavant has returned from World War II an unwilling hero. Although he can still see and hear, a grenade has blown away his nose, his ears, his teeth, and his cheeks, leaving him faceless. Hiding his ghastly wounds with bandages and a white silk scarf, Francis welcomes the anonymity his mutilation brings him, for he has returned to his hometown with a secret mission--a plot for revenge (against his enemy Larry LaSalle) that he values more than his own life. Francis's eerily matter-of-fact acceptance of his hideous mien, along with his sweetness and selflessness, contrast sharply with his obsessive need for vengeance. No one recognizes him as the quiet kid who once loved Nicole Renard and hung out with fellow teens at the Wreck Center. LaSalle, formerly a charismatic youth leader, has also come back from the war a hero, and only Francis knows the dark side of this older man's concern for young people. But does LaSalle's one evil act wipe out all the good he has done? And is Francis just as guilty because he could have prevented it and didn't? "

Sleeping

2008-09-20T22:28:00.001-07:00

Well I have been doing quite a bit of thinking about why I have been having trouble sleeping and I do think that it has to do with the fact that the TV is usually the last thing that I see before I close my eyes at night. I was thinking about times that I have slept elsewhere, where there is no TV, and I sleep much more restfully. I am trying to make sure that I don't watch TV just before I head to bed. Instead I am reading books or checking out the Internet before heading to bed.

Speaking of reading I just finish reading a book called "Nicky Deuce: Welcome to the Family" written by one of the guys from the show The Sopranos. I was amazed how great this book was. I saw it in my school library and thought I would give it a chance. Now I am on a mission to find any other books by these same authors to see if it was just the book or if it is truly the way that that author writes that pulls me in.

Well that is a little update for right now. I am starting to get tired so I will write more tomorrow, as I really have a great update that I want to share but it would take longer to write. Come by and check out what I have to say tomorrow.

First Month of School

2008-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well I have been very busy so far this year. I am really enjoying my class. It may have to do with the fact that I only have 22 students and that is the smallest class I have ever had since I started teaching 6th grade. It is really nice because I can spend much more one on one time with the students as we are doing different activities.

I am, once again, coaching the Jr. High Volleyball team. I have a very new team, with only 3 returning players and those players are very resistant to being leaders. They have lost their first 2 games of the season but that is not a big deal. They are starting to work good as a team and I know that there is going to be tons of growth with this group.

My pain has been a bit more manageable and that is nice. It seems that the TENS unit is doing its job by getting my brain to not think about the pain that I am constantly in. There are still times when the pain is out of control, but I feel that this year is going to be a better year in terms of my pain. It probably helps that I have lost about 20 lbs over the summer. I am hoping to get back into action of losing more weight and seeing an even more positive outcome.

Well there is my little update. I keep wanting to post more here but there time gets away from me. I really need to take the time to write what is going on, if for no one else but for me to look back on and to reminisce on what is going on.

First Week of School

2008-08-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well I have finished my first full week of school and I have a great bunch of students. I only have 22 students and it is nice to have such a small class. It really helps in building a community of learners that respect each other and will work well with each other. I am also coaching volleyball again this year. I am a bit nervous as I have the most inexperienced group of girls that I have ever had but I think it should be okay. I am only at work for 2 days next week as we are heading for a bit of a vacation in Seattle. It should be nice to get away but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous having to leave my class so early in the year. Thankfully, the sub, I call them guest teachers, who will be in my class is a former 3rd grade teacher in our district who is subbing for the district until she moves out of state. It will be nice to know that my kids are in good hands.

Well that is what I have been up to.

School is Coming

2008-08-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well today was the first of three days of training that I am going through so I know how to work the Promethean Board that is in my classroom. Basically, this is a really fancy whiteboard that is also a computer. I am really looking forward to playing around with it before I have students in my classroom.

I was quickly reminded that I only have a week and 1 day before my students will be entering into my room. Every year it seems to sneak up on me quicker and quicker than it did the year before. I am ready to head back to work and also excited to get the school year started. I have some great stuff already planned for this years class and so I am hardly able to contain my excitement to have the students in the classroom to make sure that it works.

Well that is all for now.

Summer Flu

2008-08-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how I came down with this flu but I hate it. I have been having trouble keeping anything down and been running a fever. I hate being sick but for some reason having to have to deal with it when it is summer just makes it so much worse.

The New Family Member (Our Car)

2008-07-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

I know that I have mentioned that my parents bought us a brand new car and it is wonderful. I was able to go about 400 miles and still have half a tank of gas. This might make me traveling down to visit my parents a more frequent occurrence because it is going to cost us so much less to travel. As I was driving back yesterday, in terrible traffic, I was trying to figure out if this car was going to have a need for a name or not.

Now the first car that I had, a Honda Accord, I named Harry. It was a very male type car. It was just strange and I know it is strange to name a car but it did perform better when it was spoken to. Or at least that is what I would like to think. Anyways, I was trying out all these different names on the car and nothing as really fitting. I then was listening to The Allman Brothers Band on my Ipod and I heard their song "Little Martha." When I heard the song the car seemed happy, strange yes I know. So that is our car's name. Little Martha.

So I would like to introduce you all to Little Martha our Nissan Altima Hybrid. I tried to find a stock photo that was the same color of our car, Pebble Beach, but I wasn't able to. I will have to take some pictures and then upload them here to the blog. Okay I know I am strange but hey, if you read my blog enough you would know that already.

An Interesting Meme

2008-07-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hey why not give this a shot. I will do it when I get back to Fresno.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

THE QUESTIONS:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

Amazing

2008-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I heard on the news the other day that one of the women who was on our country's Olympic Swim Team was found to have an illegal substance in her urine. It boggles my mind that there are still athletes that are out there that do illegal drugs when they know that they are going to be tested for it. I mean come on there is no way the the US is going to allow one of their athletes to compete without knowing if they are using any sort of drugs.

I know that these athletes have to know that they are going to be testing for these things so why is it that they still do it. I would think that they would be smart enough to stop using whatever they are using a few weeks before they are going to compete. Maybe I am naive to think that they would think this way but it really seems amazing to me that they would do this to their team.

Out of Time

2008-07-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come to an end for me to spend time with my parents. I have been here for about a week and I have to say that I have truly enjoyed almost every moment that were had. Of course, there are some of those questions that my mom will ask or make suggestions about things that have always been a sore point in my life but those are becoming much less than they use to be.

I am glad that I decided to take the week to come and visit my parents. Now it is not just because we got a new car but also because most times that I come to visit it is during a holiday season and there really isn't that much time to just converse and sit back and enjoy each others company. I am so amazed how much I am becoming more like my mom. Not that this is a bad thing, but I think every girl says that she will never be like her mom when she grows up. Well there are things that I find myself doing that are very much like what my mom does. It is interesting.

Well I am off to bed as I have a 5 1/2 to 6 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow. It will be fun to be in the new Nissan Altima Hybrid that we have but I always hate to be in the car by myself. You would think that I would be use to is as I have traveled back and forth from Fresno to my parent's house since I was 18 but it still can be boring. So say a prayer for me that I will have a safe trip. I promise to keep up with the blogging on a regular basis even when I am at home.

Wandering Mind

2008-07-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed how active my mind tends to be when I am trying to fall asleep. Now it is not that I am hearing things and then start to wonder what they are, in fact that rarely happens. Instead, I find myself thinking about what I need to get done. Generally, it is something that I can't even do at that time and so that makes it even worse. I will then lay there trying to figure out what time I could go and do it the next day and then fear that I am going to over sleep and not be able to get it done. And the vicious cycle seems to continue.

I am amazed how hard it is to turn off my mind at the time when I really need to turn it off. I even try watching TV, reading a book, or relaxing before I head to bed and find that that makes it even worse. Now I start thinking about what I saw or read before I hit the pillows. I really wish that at times like this that my brain and an on and off switch. Of course, that would have its challenges as well and would probably be problematic as well.

On a different note, I am officially down 19 lbs since June 9th when Lefty and I decided to start losing weight. I am really excited. I am finding myself in less pain, of course I better find some wood or I might jinx myself. It is nice to see clothes not fitting good because they are too big!!!

What a Day

2008-07-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

I did not realize how much pain my body would be in after all the work that my mom and I did on my car. We are talking my back, my legs and then last night I think I clinched my jaw and it hurt to chew much of anything today. I guess I am finally feeling my age. It is not something that we want to own up to but what else can be said about it. Nothing much else I guess.

We spent another busy afternoon looking at different cars to make the decision on the fact that we are getting a Nissan Altima Hybrid. I am really excited and want to give tons of details but I have been asked to no do so. The reason is that Lefty wants to have some surprise when I drive up to the house. Maybe this time the dog won't bark because the car is going to be so quiet.

Tomorrow is a day spent getting a new battery for the Toyota that is getting traded in, visiting my grandmother, and helping my mom make pancakes for dinner. Yes I know that is strange but my dad loves them for dinner and so that is what we are going to have. I haven't had my mom's homemade pancakes in ages. When I say homemade, I mean homemade. Like not from a box but made with buttermilk, flour, eggs.....well you get the point.

I also have been reading a book, which I will review when I finish up, possibly tomorrow. Yes it is that good. I also have picked up cross-stitching again. I have one that I haven't finished in years sitting at home and I needed to start something new to get inspired to finish it but I think I will be trying to finish it by Christmas time. Well, it never hurts to have goals right?

Visiting My Parents

2008-07-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

So Chris and I decided that we wanted to have me come to my parent's house for a week to have my father work on our car. He has a mechanic that has worked on our car for the almost 11 years that we have had it. Well, today my mom and I decided to clean the inside of the car. When I say clean, I mean 6 hours worth of cleaning the inside. Now I kept telling my mom that we didn't need to clean it that deeply but she insisted.

My dad comes home from work, he is a citrus farmer and land manager, around 5:30. We sit down to a wonderful meal that my mom had made and we were watching the T.V. Now this is quite a treat because my parents never let us watch T.V. during dinner when we were growing up. Now granted we were watching the news but still it was fun.

Then my dad hits me with a bombshell. He and my mom are buying Lefty and I a new car. I am going with my mom tomorrow to look at 6 different types of cars and then tomorrow night will talk it over with my dad and then with Lefty and make a decision. It is just something that floors me. I mean I know that my mom and dad love me but wow!!!!

So I leave Fresno with a Toyota Camary and when I come back this weekend I will have a brand new car. All those that want to smell the new car smell let me know. I am sure that we can arrange something. Oh and something that I have already decided, NO FOOD or DRINK will be consumed in the car. It will make for a hard trip back to Fresno but so worth it when there are no stains in the car at all.

Getting Called Out

2008-07-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well I learned a very funny lesson last night. Our friends Tom and Sam are in town for a little while from Florida and we were hanging out with them. The conversation about blogging came up and we were talking about why people blog. Well I was saying that there are so many people that I want to read their blogs but they hardly update. So what happen next? Well I was called out because I am one of those people that don't write on my blog on a regular basis. I guess I don't think that I have all that much to talk about. Which really is crazy because I think about things to talk and write about all the time. So I guess I can't say much about friends not updating their blogs unless I am going to update mine.

Anyone Have Any Ideas?

2008-07-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

For awhile now, when I am sleeping I have been moaning as if I am in pain. Chris says that my feet curl up as much as they can as well as my hands. I try to pull my own hair, I put my hands over my face as if I am trying to protect myself from something. Also, he says that he can see all the muscles in my legs and stomach and arms twitching non-stop. I do have a message into my doctor and I am waiting to see what she says needs to be done. Chris basically says that it looks like it is almost palsy type posturing that I am doing. Very scary. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. I do not remember my dreams so I can't say that I am having a nightmare or not.

I Got Botox Today

2008-07-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well today I went to my doctor's office and got around $1600 worth of Botox injected into my bladder. This is suppose to help calm down my bladder so I am not in too much pain. My pain in my bladder has caused me quite a bit of strife so I hope that this works. More on this later.

Life without Xbox

2008-06-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

Well last night the video card within my Xbox seems to have gone out. Therefore, I am sharing a Xbox with Lefty. It is not that hard since I do have tons of TV that I have been meaning to watch and so I am just doing that. Lefty and I do enjoy playing games together with each other but it is quite a bit of fun being able to play two different games. I guess I will just have to wait for the Xbox Fairy to bring back my fixed Xbox.

Without the Xbox I know that I am going to be playing some more Wii. I have convinced Lefty that I would really use the Wii Fit and that it would be something that will help in the lifestyle change that we have implemented. I am looking forward to seeing all the games that we have for the Wii and that I just have not spent that much time playing yet.

I also have to get some lesson planning done before the summer is over. I am thinking about changing the way that my class is run, with what the students do when. I seem to have stayed with the same schedule for the last 5 years and so I am ready for some change. If anyone who is reading this, has any suggestions as to a schedule that has worked for them it would greatly be appreciated.

Well as if all of that is not enough, I am thinking about getting some cross stitching going on. It has been a long time since I have done it but I really want to get back into that part of my life. Instead of just sitting and watching TV I might as well get some cross stitching done as well.

Lack of Sleep

2008-06-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

For the past few nights I have not been able to sleep completely through the night. I do suffer from insomnia but it has been under control for quite a while now. The pain that I have been in has been so constant and also much more intense that I have not been able to stay asleep. It seems that I will sleep for 2 or 3 hours and then wake up in pain, trying to get it under control, and then fall asleep again.

I just recently got a heating pad, which is wonderful to relax my muscles but when you live in the heat of Fresno it can also be a bad thing. For example, I feel asleep with it last night and it was very relaxing but then I woke up about 2 hours later unable to sleep because I was so hot. So while it is beneficially to me it is also causing its own kind of problems.

It is amazing how losing even just an hour of sleep can knock you out of whack. I am constantly feeling that I am trying to make up for that loss of an hour and can never find it. I feel like I have tried everything. Warm milk, warm shower, relaxing my entire body, focus breathing, and the list can go on and on and on.

Oh well, here is to trying to find the lost 2 hours of sleep.

Collection of Yellow Paper

2008-06-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

If any of you have ever been a member of Kaiser you know what I mean. Whenever you go to the doctor's office you are given a yellow 8 1/2" by 11" receipt. I was talking to Chris today at the Library and I was trying to get him to say that one of my hobbies is watching medical shows and reading about medical issues as much as I can. However, that is not what he said. Instead, he said "Collecting doctor's appointments." I laughed at the time and then I got to thinking.

I regularly have 4 doctor appointments each week. Three of those are for a skin treatment that only lasts like 15 seconds and the the other one is a bit longer of an appointment. I just can't believe how much time I spend at Kaiser. I guess it is good that I have such great medical insurance so we don't have any co-pays at all.

I have always wanted to start collecting something but never thought it would be medical appointments. I just hope that this gets everything better so I don't have to deal with it as much during the school year.

A Funny Little Quiz

2008-06-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

I came upon this funny quiz and so I thought that I would take it. Men and women can all take the quiz. I recommend that Roger Green, Lefty, and Sam all take this quiz.

As a 1930s wife, I am
Superior

Take the test!

I Wonder....

2008-05-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

So there have been many things that have been going through my mind and so I thought I would write them down. These are just things that make me wonder. I often think that the one thing that I hate losing from when I was a child, was my sense of wonder. Well tonight I am going to let me sense of wonder free and see what happens.

I wonder....

-what the world would look like if everyone cared for it?

- why it is so important to see what students have learned for the year?

- how to get kids to retain what they are learning?

- how many books I can read this summer?

- if there is anywhere in the world where you can swim with otters?

- if humans will ever figure out what animals really are thinking?

- how safe the genetically grown meat is going to be?

- if it is okay to wonder?

-

It is Just Sad

2008-05-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed at how many people nowadays do not realize the power that is behind the words that they speak. They will say things that they should be, out loud for all to hear and then be upset when people start talking about them. The way that our society is going, becoming much more tech savvy, is not a bad thing but it seems to have cheapened the language that we speak. People talk in much shorter sentences so they can get as much conversation done in a shorten amount of time. It is something that saddens me as well.

When I was growing up, I was always told to watch what I was saying because it might end up coming back to bite me. Now not literally but at times it would sting when I would hear someone saying something that I had said. I also was told to speak in proper sentence structure. In fact, I remember getting a swat on the butt when I would answer, "Yeah" instead of "Yes." Now I can go on and on as to how strict my parents were when it came to the words that came out of their children's' mouths, but I now know that what they were telling us to do, and correcting us, was a wonderful thing.

It amazes me now when children are not speaking in complete sentences and see no reason why they can not argue with an adult. They are being taught, some but not all, that it is fine to question authority because the adult should be able to explain themselves so that it is better explained. This drives me nuts, especially when I see a student in the hallways, before the day has begun, and I tell them to get out of the hallway. They then proceed to ask me why they need to leave the area. If given the opportunity, they would argue for hours on this simple task.

I guess you can see that I get upset with the way people are speaking nowadays. Not to mention the way that they are writing. Apparently, "cuz" is a word. Yes, according to my students it is short for "because" and they use it because the word "because" is just too long to write out. They say that they don't have the time to do that. Now this comes from the same students who will spend hours on Myspace and chat with their friends there. I have come to the conclusion, that if I can figure out a way for my students to get their homework on a site like Myspace, where they can complete it online and then send it to me, I would have a much higher return rate on the homework. Now isn't that Just Sad.

Where Have I Been?

2008-05-11T20:46:00.001-07:00

I am sure that this is a question that has been asked by all 3 or 4 of my readers of this blog. Basically, life has kept me from getting to this blog. It is not that I have not wanted to write anything, but rather that other things are taking up my time. Here are the things that have been taking up my time:

Teaching - The school year is coming to a close here in about 4 weeks. My students are going crazy now because they are no longer seeing themselves as 6th graders but rather as almost 7th graders. Also with having had Open House this past week, I have been very consumed with school. It is so much fun doing some more artist activities with the students. While we were studying Ancient China, we made our own Terra Cotta Warriors.

The Married Gamers - Lefty and I have been busy working on this site and podcast. We are doing well, in the fact that we are enjoying ourselves. It is hard work, but it is fun to hear people saying that they are enjoying our podcast and like to listen to us on a weekly basis. We are going to be able to go to San Diego Comic Con as press, which will be very cool but also a bit stressful as I still have to write something for our front page to prove that I contribute to the site.

Video Games - I seem to play quite a bit of video games when I get home from work. I enjoy the opportunity to play some games and relax. For me, it is becoming a way to get my pain to slow down so I don't have to worry about it so much. It is also a wonderful way to chat with some of these wonderful women that are part of the forums at our podcast site and talk about everyday things.

Reading - I am finding myself wanting to read more and more lately. Of course, I am still drawn to the literature that my students would be reading. I just got finished reading this book. When I first started this book I was not too sure about it but as I went along, I feel in love in the way that the author expressed what needed to be said. I am about half way through this book. Now this book really is touching my heart because it is about a foster child learning that not all foster parents are horrible.

As you can see I have been busy. I am going to try to get to writing here more frequently and that will definitely start happening when I am done with school in June. Until then, I guess you will just have to wait and see what I will post up next. I hope that you have all had a wonderful day.

A Fun Little Quiz

2008-03-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

I was at my Myspace account and went and looked at a friend's page and saw this neat little quiz. I thought that it might be fun to do and see what others come up with as well.
1. Go to www.photobucket.com (don’t sign in)
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

What is your name?

What is your Relationship Status?

What is your favorite color?

What band/artist are you listening to?

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite Disney Princess?

Where is your dream vacation?

Name an alcoholic Beverage:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you love most in life?

What one word describes you?

A Bump in the Road

2008-03-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Now the bump in the road is not one dealing with my lifestyle change at all, it is something on quite a bit more personal note. Now most of you know that about 10 years ago I found my birth brother and then connected with my birth mom, Sari, pronounced Shar-ee. Well she was anything but a model mother and I was grateful that she had decided to give me up for adoption. I often feel guilty that I was able to grow up in such a wonderful home and to have a mom and dad that love me more than anything else in this world.

Well on Monday night, after about 5 years of silence, my birth brother, Robert, contacted me by phone. This was after I saw his comment on my blog that he was looking to find me. Well he stated that Sari had past away in October of 2006, after over 34 years of constant drug use. He did tell me that it was something that was for the best because she is no longer suffering.

Now it is true that she had no contact with me at all except for 1 personal meeting and maybe 3 phone calls, but it still hurt. I guess it was more the fact that the person who had given me life was no longer on this earth to answer any of my medical questions. Her sister is still very much alive and I am hoping to contact her to find out some questions about my medical background. I often wonder if the chronic pain that I am in, is something that Sari suffered from and she was using illegal drugs as a way to self medicate. I guess it is something that I will never know for sure but something I can definitely ask when given the chance.

On another note: I have been keeping to my daily food journal and have found a few little snacks that I am able to have and that I enjoy. For some reason I love grape tomatoes and they are like next to no points, if not zero points all together. They are a life saver. I also find that gum is something that I just can't live without. Whenever I feel the need to chew, and I know I am not hungry, chewing on gum is great.

On Friday night, we are heading out to dinner for our friend Anthony's 40th birthday party, so I am going to have to plan accordingly. Thankfully I have 35 extra points that I might have to use when we are out for steak. Sam if you have any ideas as to how I can do this, please help. We are going out to Cool Hand Luke's which is a bit like Tahoe Joe's.

The First Day Is Often The Hardest

2008-03-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

Well I have made it through breakfast and lunch and still have a good amount of points left for dinner and this evening. I tend to have the problem that I will eat not that much during the day and then I am trying to finish out the points at the end of the day. I know that seems like it is an easy problem but it is not a good problem.

I am heading to the store to make sure that the kitchen is filled with good foods that are good for me to not only have meals with but also to snack on. Lefty is planning on taking part in this entire lifestyle change because of the simple fact that I am the one cooking so he has to deal with what I choose for our food choice.

If any one has any suggestions on good, healthy snacks that would be greatly appreciated. Well one day down and the rest of my life to go.

A Recommitment

2008-03-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I am going to use my blog as a way to keep myself accountable. I know that I will make promises to write more frequently and then it falls by the wayside. Well this is something different. I have decided to make a commitment to head back to Weight Watchers full force and to lose weight for my health. It has nothing to do with how I look but rather how I feel. I know that when I lose weight that I am going to look differently but that is not why I am doing it.

My chronic pain specialist has been telling me over and over again that I need to lose 20lbs and I have heard her but I have not truly listened to her. So tomorrow, the way that I eat is going to change and also the amount of exercises that I am going to be doing. I have told my students that I am doing this because I know that they will keep me honest on it the most. They see me drinking my water all day long, and generally see what I do or do not eat for lunch. What a better way to have a support group then to have the 27 students that I see on a daily basis, reminding me that I am doing this for my health.

I hope to be an inspiration to some of my students that need to get into better shape. I have a few that are not overweight but that never get out there and get physically active and when we do something for P.E. they are all out of breath. I want that to change for them and so I hope to be able to be a force that will help to push them to better themselves not only mentally with all the school work but also physically so that they are better able to handle the years ahead of them.

Since I am making this commitment I will be writing down daily how my day went and hope that those who read this on a regular basis will be able to help me stay on with my goal.

Some Pictures

2008-01-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here realizing that there are some pictures that I have never posted here on my blog. There really isn't any reason why they havn't been posted but I thought why not go ahead and do it now. Some of these are of me and Lefty and so are just funny ones that I have found on the internet.

This is a picture of Lefty and I on our 10th weddding anniversary before we both went in the water.

Here is a picture of a tribal turtle that a friend of mine drew up. I have been thinking about getting a turtle tattoo in memory of my grandfather. He always loved turtles and about a week before he died, 15 years ago, he gave me a small turtle.

Okay here is a picture of some really cute puppies. I am trying to get Lefty to agree to get another dog so Storm will not be as lonely as she is right now. He is not really going for it, but one can always wish, right?

Last but not least, a manger done in jest. I know that this is late but when you see this image on the internet it is hard to not pass it up. The pups are just so cute and you just can't help but want to share. So here you go:

I really enjoyed sharing these with you and hope that you had an equal amount of a good time looking at them. I will continue with my more posts for the year, so there will be more to come.

IQ Test.

2008-01-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

Well I came upon this test and I thought that there could be no harm in the taking of the test. Now mind you I was doing this while playing on the Xbox so I don't know if I would have done better if I was really paying attention. You never know. Well here are my results. I am going to try to get on the ball and start blogging at least twice a week, maybe more.

Kelly, your IQ score is 117

Your overall intelligence quotient is the result of a scientifically-tested formula based on how many questions you answered correctly. But it's only part of what we learned about you from your answers on the test. We also determined the way you process information.The way you think about things makes you a Concrete Thinker. This means your intelligence is grounded in a clear understanding of what is happening around you. In situations where others are confused, things are crystal clear to you. In addition, you have the unusual combination of strong verbal and numerical skills. You are able to solve equations and then use your verbal skills to explain those solutions to others.

How did we determine that your thinking style is that of a Concrete Thinker? When we examined your test results further, we analyzed how you scored on 8 dimensions of intelligence: spatial, organizational, abstract reasoning, logical, mechanical, verbal, visual and numerical. The 3 dimensions you scored highest on combine to make you a Concrete Thinker. Only 6 out of 1,000 people have this rare combination of abilities.

Wow I guess I am unique. You too could take this test at this site. It was quite an enjoyable experience and if you do happen to take the test, please let me know what your results were. Bye for now, I will write more later on this weekend. I promise.

So how many could you handle?!?!?!

2007-12-23T23:55:00.000-08:00

It Has Begun

2007-12-23T23:18:00.000-08:00

Well after a 5 hour drive down to Southern California, I have arrived safely at my parent's house. Chris has stayed back as we had no place to put the dog and therefore someone needed to stay with her. So I am on my own with the traveling and still enjoy the drive.

I am always amazed at the drive from Fresno to where my parent's live. It is always changing, as there is ongoing construction that is taking place, or a fire that has occurred, or a half dozen other things that have made the view change. Today the major change that I saw was the amount of cars of the road. Hello!!!! Where is everyone?!?!?!?! I had no traffic at all.

Now I am not complaining about not having traffic but I found it really strange. Every news story that I heard talked about the amount of people who would be traveling by car this year. Well I guess they were not going where I was. There was only one time that I had to go below 40 miles an hour and that was for an accident that everyone had to look at. Other than that there was no slow down.

Maybe the biggest travel day is tomorrow and that is when everyone will finally get in their cars and move. I am just glad that I chose a day that there was not much traffic and that I was able to make such good time. Take care on your travels to your family and when you return. Just remember to take a deep breath and then let it out....it will all be over soon!!!

I Just Can't Help Myself

2007-12-08T23:32:00.000-08:00

Okay I did another one and this one is with a picture of my wonderful husband, Lefty. I have to say that I am very proud of what his celebrity look-a-likes are.

I think this is so funny

2007-12-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

So on a friend's site she did a baby look-a-like test. Well I thought that I would put in Baby, our deceased Boston Terrier, to see what celebreties she most looked like. I hope that you get as many laughs out of this as I did when it was created.

Podcasting

2007-11-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed how much I am enjoy doing the podcast that Lefty and I have been doing. It is fun to have people mention that they have heard what we have had to say and what they opinions are. If you ever want to check out our gaming podcast, check out www.themarriedgamers.net We have been doing the podcasting thing now for 14 weeks total. I love doing it and I know that Lefty enjoys it as well. It is something that if you had asked me 6 months ago if we would be doing it and enjoying it, I would have told you that you were going insane. I wouldn't change anything at all.

Day 2: I am thankful for the podcast that we are doing and being able to do it with Lefty. I couldn't have picked a better co-host.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know that it has been forever since I have updated this page and I promise that I am going to get on a regular pattern of posting because I have tons of stuff to post about. I have to say that it finally felt cold this morning as we were getting up for the day. I did not have to put the turkey into the oven until 2 1/2 hours before we wanted dinner.

It is far too far for us, or even just me, to travel to my parent's house for Thanksgiving. No matter that it was where I wanted to be since there was such a small gathering, it just isn't feasible with the cost of gas and the short amount of time that I would have had to spend down there due to school.

Therefore, I decided that I was going to get a boneless turkey breast and cook that for Lefty and I. Now normally when we don't make it down to my parents' we just sit at home and have a regular dinner. I have to say that it was fun to make our own Thanksgiving meal. The turkey turned out a bit dry but on the whole it was fun to do.

On days like today people tend to think about things that they are thankful for. While I think this is all and good, I think that we should be thinking about those things that we are thankful for on a daily basis. For that reason, I plan on post for the next few days, possibly every day until Christmas, those things for which I am grateful for.

Day 1 : I am grateful for Lefty, who is willing to put up with all the bad jokes that I say on a daily basis. I know that can't be easy.

My Doctors Appointment in San Francisco

2007-10-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well we headed up to San Francisco on Thursday, making fairly good time, until we got closer to the city by the bay and realized that we were not going to make my 10 am appointment. I contacted Kaiser and was told to make my way to the office anyways and that they would fit me in. We met with the physical therapist only to be told that she had no idea why I was there. I already have a physical therapist that I have been working with since June and that I enjoy having her as my therapist and I have been improving. Therefore, the appointment with the physical therapist in San Francisco was unnecessary. Now this was very upsetting to me because we had been rushed and stressed and that caused me to be in a bit more pain.

Thankfully, my Pelvic Pain Specialist was able to get me in early so we did not have to go to our hotel and then make our way back into the city. I was very excited by my doctor's appointment because I was told that I am going to be taken off of two of my medications and my doctor actually sees me being taken off of all of the medications within the next 6 months. I am so excited that I have progressed as far as I have and that I am able to get off of these medications.

On Friday, Chris and I enjoyed a lunch date with the hosts of Achievement Junkies, Natalie and Nelson and there 20 month old son, Daniel. We had an enjoyable time getting to know them and also gaining knowledge on pod casting. Chris and I have our own podcast that we have been doing for a few weeks now. You can check it out at The Married Gamers. We had fun hanging out and hope that everyone checks out our podcast.

Well that is all for now. I hope that this post finds everyone doing well and I will post more frequently, I promise.

Will It Ever Stop?

2007-09-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I felt an enlarged lymph node on the left side of my neck, right underneath my ear. In all the years that I have had to deal with my constant ear infections I have never had an enlarged lymph node. Well I started to run a slight fever on Sunday and it continued on Monday morning, so I made the decision to stay home from school. That in and of itself is a big pain in the butt, because you have to write out lesson plans for the guest teacher (yes I call the subs a guest teacher)

Since the fever was still there, I decided to make an appointment with the dr. at 8:45 in the morning. When she came into the room, she was quite amazed as to how large my lymph node was and that there was only one that was enlarged. She told me that she was going to run quite a few blood work tests and then for me to keep an eye on it and if it is still there and enlarged in 4 weeks that she would want to do a biopsy of it.

They took 8 huge vials of blood from me and ran so many tests that it would be too hard to write them all out here for everyone to see. She was checking for viris as well. Well the results came back and I have MONO. I can't believe that I have it. I am doing okay, just a little bit run down. My doctor said that I was fine to stay at school as long as I don't get too run down. If I start to feel really bad then I need to lay low and get my energy and strength back up. Well there you guys go. Why Me? I guess we will never know.

It's TLAP Day!!!!

2007-09-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yes today is National Talk Like A Pirate day. If you are interested in finding out some more information check out this link. Have fun and let me know how you have decided to commemorate this day. I am off to training for today. I hope to have another post later on today. Bye for now!!!!

Lack of Posts

2007-08-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts but I started back up at school and have been very, very, very busy. I knew that I was going to be busy but I forgot how quickly volleyball season starts. I have already had tryouts, where I had 39 girls try out, and other things as well.

I have a wonderful group of students this year. It has been a bit crazy with my class being the smallest in the grade level at 21, and then I got 3 new students and two previous students that were in my original list. So I am now at 26 students with getting two students who are in our academy class, meaning that they have come from Mexico between 0 to 2 years ago. These students always want to please. I love having every one of my 26 students, 28 if you count the other students I get after lunch.

I have to say that I am still losing weight, according to my scales at home, but I have not been able to get into a meeting because of my crazy schedule. I know that I need to stop worrying about stuff I can't change and take care of myself. It is just really hard when I am in so much pain and all I want to do is curl up in bed all day long.

Well I would love to tell you that this craziness is going to subside but it won't. The two days after Labor Day is our first 2 games, therefore I have to have practice next week so I am confident with the players that I am going to start in the games. I LOVE TEACHING AND COACHING!!!

I will get to the questions before the end of the weekend.

Some Questions

2007-08-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

I have seen some of my friends take questions from people and then answer them. Well here is your opportunity. Ask me any questions and I will answer them. This is going to be a bit fun. Just ask the questions in the comment section.

A Few Quizzes and Something Interesting

2007-08-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

You Are 36% Weirdo

You're a little weird, but you'd be even weirder if you didn't have a few quirks.
You are just strange enough to know it, but nobody else seems to notice your weirdness.
That's because, deep down, everyone is a little freaky!

Are You A Weirdo?>

You Should Rule Mercury

Close to sun, Mercury has very long days - and is rarely visible to the rest of the solar system.

You are perfect to rule Mercury, because you live for the present - and can truly enjoy a day that goes on forever.
Like Mercury, you are quick and elusive. Your wit is outstanding, and you can win any verbal sparring match.

Some people see you as superficial, but in truth, you just play many roles and have many interests.
A great manipulator, you usually get what you want from people. And they're happy to give it to you.

What Planet Should You Rule?

In 1974 (the year you were born)

Gerald Ford becomes president of the US

Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run to beat Babe Ruth's record

Impeachment hearings are opened against President Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee

President Nixon resigns

President Gerald Ford issues an unconditional pardon to ex-President Nixon for all federal crimes

Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in the eighth round to regain the heavyweight crown in Zaire

Heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped by and eventually joins the Symbionese Liberation Army

Dungeons & Dragons officially released

People magazine is published for the first time

Kate Moss, Alyson Hannigan, Penelope Cruz, Alanis Morissette, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ryan Seacrest are born

Oakland Athletics win the World Series

Miami Dolphins win Superbowl VIII

Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup

Blazing Saddles is the top grossing film

All the President's Men by Bernstein and Woodward is published

"Killing Me Softly With His Song" wins Grammy for song of the year

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

To Watch or Not to Watch

2007-08-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed that I am able to fill up the DVD-R every week. There are medical shows that I enjoy, Food Channel shows that I enjoy, and also so shows on The Travel Channel that have my attention as well. This has been great while I have been off this summer but now I need to figure out what shows are really ones that I want to keep taping and which ones I can do without. I do recognize that I probably will have some new shows that are going to be on my DVD-R as well. It is so hard to choose.

I know that it doesn't seem like it would be a hard thing to choose but it just seems to be. I like to be able to watch some of the shows that my students are watching so that if I eat lunch with them I am at least somewhat hip on the shows that they are watching. Of course I won't know what shows they are watching until school starts in a week and a half. Wow, I can't wait a week and a half.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

2007-07-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I went to Weight Watchers and joined. As I was there to just join, I was amazed when there was a meeting starting in a few minutes and I was invited to stay and enjoy the meeting. Now I had been part of Weight Watchers when I was in high school, however it was not by choice.

My mom forced me to go to the meetings because she kept telling me that I had an addiction to food and she was going to change the way that I ate. Well this did not work because I was driving at the time and so I would go to the store and buy foods that were not good for me, just to show her that it wouldn't work. Well it did prove to her that it wasn't working but she couldn't figure out why. What I didn't know then, but know now, was that I was hurting myself more than my mom. I started a life of overeating.

Well because of this previous experience, I had a poor feeling towards these meetings. I had remembered them as ones that accused the dieter of being the one that was causing all the problems. I always felt bad about myself and it added to self-esteem issues. Needless to say, I was nervous to go to my first meeting. I think it was good that there was one going on right when I was in there, because it changed my perspective so much.

The meeting was wonderful. Very uplifting and not accusatory. They recognized that all of us, who are trying to lose weight, are going to come up against obstacles. This weeks meeting was dealing with how to get rid of the pitfalls that hit us all as we try to change our eat habits. I was able to ask questions that are going to help me.

I am so excited to say that I can't wait to see the changes that are going to happen to my life. I know that I am going to feel better, have more energy, and enjoy life more. I am hopeful that I may have less pain as I have less weight to carry. I was excited when I did my weigh-in and found that since the beginning of the month, when I was weighed at my doctor's office, that I have lost 6 pounds. Now that might not be totally right as their scales may be a bit different than the ones at the doctor's office, but when I went to get my trigger point injections I had a lose of 3 pounds. So maybe it is correct. I do need to have Lefty take a picture of me now so then I can have a before and after picture.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE WEIGHT COME OFF AND SEE WHAT IS UNDERNEATH WHAT I SEE NOW.

Misunderstandings

2007-07-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a little conversation where misunderstandings were had.

Lefty : I can't wait for the day when you only have two blogs. Your main one and your writing one.

Me: Well I don't really do much on my book blog so I could get rid of that one.

Lefty: Ummm, that was my way of saying I can't wait until you are out of pain.

I guess misunderstandings come in many shapes and sizes

Pain = Less Pain

2007-07-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

Okay I am sure that you are confused by this statement but let me explain. Today I had trigger point injections. This is where the doctor places a needle with some numbing medication and a very small amount of cortisone into some trigger point, hence the name trigger point injections. I received a total of two injections but he injected medication 5 different times. He was able to do this by moving the needle out a little and going towards another muscular area that was equally as tender.

There is hope that this injection will be a success and that it will relieve some of the pain and with the home physical therapy, I will be seeing even greater relief. It is strange though that injections into muscles that are not directly on the pelvic floor do feed into the pelvic floor. I had not realized this and so that is why the doctor felt that I would receive a greater amount of benefit from doing these injections.

The really nice thing is that if I have good results my doctor said that we could do these injections every three months. Now I have not had a huge amount of relief as of yet but he said that sometimes the full effect is not felt until 48 hours after the injections. I am very hopeful. I will say that my pain has gone from about an 8 to a 7 so far. I am hoping to get even further relief. I don't know if I will be able to contain myself if that happens. I have very rarely had a day where my pain was below a 6. It can be a bit tolling on the body and mind and soul. I am keeping a very positive outlook and hoping that everything will be going towards permanent relief in the future. How near I don't know but then neither do the doctors.

I heart The Food Network

2007-07-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

As of late I have found myself watching The Food Network. They have some great shows that make for some great TV watching, in my opinion. There are shows like Dinner: Impossible, Good Eats, Unwrapped, and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Dinner: Impossible is a show where a chef is placed into extreme situations. He never knows what type of situation he is going to be put in and then he is expected to meet the challenge to the top of his abilities. He has had to go into a military base and cook a gourmet meal called "the warriors meal" using the military rations. This was not an easy challenge but he did a wonderful job. It is never known where he is going to be going to from week to week.

Good Eats is a show that showcases different great American food choices. It also is able to show the different types of culinary styles that makes food look so good. I am constantly amazed what I learn when I watch this show. The host is quirky enough that it is a joy to watch.

Unwrapped is a show that takes a look at some common food items and show how they are created. Marc Summers is the host of this show and the best part is that you don't have to listen to him all that much. He is a bit on the annoying side but at least you don't have to spend too much time with him. I have been enjoying learning about different food that I have eaten my entire life.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is a show where the host goes around the United States and checks out all of the different diners, drive-ins and dives. It is so nice to see a show that goes and finds the best of these types of restaurants. They are the type that you are likely to go to when you are on a road trip and having someone already go out and review them for you is great. The only thing is to make sure that these types of restaurants are on the map and ready for you to go and try while on the road.

As you can see I really enjoy this channel. I am constantly looking to see if they have any other shows that might be interesting to watch. It will be nice to see what they come out with this fall. This channel has made it to my top channels to watch.

Oh My!!!

2007-07-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

I am constantly amazed but the stories that I read on the Internet that are in the news and yet seem to never appear on the local news station. It appears that mostly they want to talk about death and destruction and nothing else. I am not surprised as it seems that sex and violence is what gets the viewing audience up and that is all that these stations are worried about. It is quite depressing to sit and watch the news because that is all it is, what they want us to hear about and nothing else. I just wish that there was a way to make the news stations realize that a good human interest story, some where in the broadcast other than at the end, would be a welcome surprise. It is always waiting until the last 2 to 3 minutes that they might, if we are lucky, talk about a good hearted story. I want to see this changed although I don't know what one voice can do about it.

**Pain Blog has been updated**

My Dog Storm

2007-07-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to write about here tonight and it finally came to me. I should write about Storm. She and I have been enjoying the summer together. It is so nice to just sit in bed and watch TV and have a little warm body next to me. Storm has seemed to really gotten use to having me at home. I am not sure what she is going to do when I head back to school and she is in the house by herself with the cat.

This is the doxie/lab mix who is scared of the cat. I mean Lefty can have Kitty pet Storm and Storm is ready to run away from the room like the biggest monster is in the room. And then she is skittish for a while. It is really kind of funny because she is so much bigger than the cat and yet she is scared to death of the cat. The interesting thing is that she will walk right up to the cat and look at her and if the cat makes one quick move she is out of there so fast.

She is a great dog to have and I am so glad that I have her. I am happy that I was able to convince Lefty that we needed another dog and that he chose her out of all the other puppies in the box. I had another one in my hands but he Storm and since I had convinced him that was his choice. I am so glad that I did. And there you have it, my dog Stormy.

The Repeat Song - It Keeps Repeating

2007-07-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

The repeat song is a subject that has been in my head for quite a while and is a subject that when brought up Lefty will know exactly what I mean. This is the song that I hear on a CD or on the Ipod that has to be repeated a few times. There have been times when Lefty will even say to me, "Hey I got this new CD of a band that you have never heard of before, but if you listen to track ___(whatever one it is) I know that you will want to repeat that song over and over again."

There are a few CD's or albums that I have listened to where there are more than just 1 repeat song but most of the time there is one song, and maybe more if I give the rest a chance, that I will want to listen to over and over again. When I say I get to listening to it quite a bit, I am not exaggerating at all. In fact, I have ruined a couple of songs for Lefty when he gets a new album and I get ahold of it and find the repeat song and keep listening to it. I think he finally forgets that he doesn't like the song, but for a while, I believe, he will not listen to the repeat song and blame me that I have ruined it for him.

I think he actually keeps the new CD's out of my reach until he had had the chance to listen to it completely because most times when there is a new CD bought and put into the CD player in the car, chances are I will find the repeat song. If Lefty is not quick enough, I might even hit the repeat and we will listen to it again. Boy, oh boy, is he ready to make sure that the next track starts before I have the chance to make it a true repeat song before the whole album is listened to.

Changes and What Nots

2007-07-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

If you look around on the blog you will notice that there are a couple of changes that have occurred on my blog. They are things that I have been meaning to do and I just took the time today to actually do them. This seems to be the story of my life. I have these great big ideas that are going to be wonderful and then I forget about them and when I remember I feel rushed and can not calm down until I have gotten the idea fully realized. Let me know how you feel about the changes that I made on the blog so I can get a feel as to if you like it or not. If you read my blog and I don't have you on my sidebar just let me know and I will rectify that as soon as I see it.

I can not believe that I only have one more month before school starts. I am really getting excited about going back to school this year. Every year I wonder what my class is going to be like and the dynamics of the students in my classroom. I honestly don't have the slightest idea as to whom I will have in my room this next year. I am already starting to get my discipline model formed so that when they come into the room it is something that it put out there so they know what is fully expected of them. It is the best thing that I can do as a teacher for them. Again amazing that the summer has gone so fast but excited to get it over and back into the classroom

Physically, my doctor said that I am showing signs of improvement. Apparently, sitting in the car for the long time it takes to get up to see her can actually cause me to be in pain and she thinks that it was has caused my marked increase of pain. It is so strange. I need to find out from her other things that can be triggers because maybe then there are some things that I need to avoid and not do in order to keep myself in as little pain as possible. I am constantly amazed at the human body and how interconnected everything is. I mean, I know that everything in my body is connected but not in the ways that I have learned through the physical therapy part of my journey. Just amazing.

Weird Thoughts Monday

2007-07-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Now that I know that my resident Jeopardy know-it-all, or knows how to find it all, is back and running on all cylinders I am going to post those things that have been going through my mind. It is amazing the amount of questions that go through my mind on a weekly basis. I don't know if I just have an overactive imagination or if it is that I am willing to ask the questions that others are wondering about, possibly or maybe not, without fear of what others may think. Well anyways, off to see what has been brewing in my brain. It might be quite strong as it has been allowed to brew longer than most weeks.

~Why is it that most adults don't have nightmares?

I have been having some strange ones lately. And when I say strange I mean strange. Like one that I had where I was trying to get rid of rats in a house and these rats were trying to get ahold of safety pins and I couldn't figure out why. Well, here is a strange twist that is always a part of the dreams that we have, co-worker of mine came in and caught the rat and put the safety pin in the rats front teeth and then started to stab the rat in the head over and over and over again. Apparently the rat was going to do that to me. See strange.

~Are dreams dreamt in color or black and white?

I could swear that mine are in color or at least that what I remember about them are color. See I am remembering my dreams more as well and I am not sure what that means either.

~Why is it that the fruit from the farmer's market tastes so much better than the stuff that I buy at the store?

~What is it about candles that make the mood in a room so romatic?

Roger Green Made Me Do It

2007-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Okay I thought that I should give props where they were due. Roger Green has become a friend through the blogs and I have enjoyed getting to know him.

INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.

1. Electronic Cerebrectomy
2. Byzantium's Shores
3. Tosy and Cosh
4. Ramblin' with Roger
5. The Life of a Wife and Teacher

Next, select five people to tag.

1. Lefty Side of the Dial
2. Purely Drivel
3. Gustav's Groupie
4. Ramblings
5. The Johnsons in South Carolina

After you are done choosing who you are going to tag then there are some questions to answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?

I had been married for just over a month and we were settling into life of living together. Even though we had spent many nights eating dinner and watching T.V. together, we had always said good night and I would walk Baby, our Boston Terrier, home and fall asleep. It was different living in the same house. We also enjoyed hanging out with our friends Tom and Sam who lived like 3 townhouses away. Ahh, the late nights of drinking that occurred.

What were you doing one year ago?

Trying to get my health insurance to understand that I was taking the summer off to get my health under control and they didn't seem to care. I now recognize that the specialist that I got into is the only chronic pelvic pain specialist in Northern California for Kaiser. I am glad to be so much farther along with my health today then I was a year ago. Wow, what can be accomplished in a year makes me feel so much better.

Five snacks you enjoy.

1. Sugar Snap Peas - They have to be fresh and raw. Just them, plain.
2. Baby Carrots
3. Frozen Mango
4. Chocolate Milk made with nonfat milk and sugar-free nestle quik
5. Cheese

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics.

1. The Farmer and the Cowman from Oklahoma - So I am strange.
2. Do Ra Mi from Sound of Music
3. Bondocks by Little Big Town
4. Rivival by The Allman Brothers Band
5. On Top of the World by the Carpenters

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire.

1. Travel to Europe and the world.
2. Buy a House on some land and build a huge dog house with air conditioning
3. Work with an infertility specialist
4. Adopt some more dogs
5. Buy tons of books and have the time to read them.

Five bad habits.

1. Waiting to the last minute to get things done.
2. Putting things where they don't belong.
3. Not being able to find said things.
4. Not being able to say no when asked to do things.
5. Saying Umm quite a bit while I am teaching.

Five things you like doing.

1. Cooking a new idea for dinner.
2. Heading to the gym (today is the first day of the rest of my life)
3. Snuggling with Storm.
4. Watching TV with Lefty.
5. Playing Video Games with Lefty.

Five things you would never wear again.

1. Very loud flowery shirts.
2. Early '90's prom dress -um yuck
3. Grandma PJ's
4. T-shirts that promote crappy music.
5. Anything that is plain crap.

Okay I am looking forward to seeing what others will say.

Thursday Eeks!!!!

2007-07-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Every June I am reminded of the reason why I hate living in the Central Valley. (Okay, I know that it is no longer June but I just have been waiting to write this blog for a while now.) We never had these bugs when I was growing up in Southern California. Now mind you we had tons of other types of creepy crawlies that we had to deal with but not these things. What I am talking about are..........

Junebugs

For some reason these bugs just bug me to no end. They hiss at you if you try to knock them off your screen door. They drop off of the wall and onto you when you are trying to walk into the house. I swear that they wait until you have your hands full and can't ward them off and then they try to attack. And of course, Lefty thinks it is hilarious to be behind me and act like his fingers are one of the Junebugs. You can read a very strange folk story about the Junebug and how it has a medicinal quality to it, go ahead I dare you to try it. So that is my Thursday EEK!!!!!

When Will It All Make Sense?

2007-07-05T01:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took a nice 25 minute walk with Storm. She generally is our one speed ahead dog. I am pleased to state that I was able to get her under control and she was quite a nice dog to take on a walk. We walked around the neighborhood at a nice pace and she was able to enjoy the pleasures of sprinklers. She normally has found that sprinklers are her arch-nemesis but yesterday she came to the realization, or so I assume, that they can be quite refreshing when one gets hot on a walk. I say this with some authority because when given the choice to pick between two paths in which to head home on, she chose the one that had two sprinkler systems that she was going to be able to walk through.

Upon coming to the second yard, Storm had had quite enough walking and decided to take a brief breather in the sprinklers and laid down. Well, right next to her a small bird decided to take a bird bath. This quite intrigue Storm but she didn't move. Now I can't say if she didn't move out of fear of what the bird would do if she did or out of shear amazement that a bird would have the audacity to take a bath right in front of her. Either way the look on her face was quite amusing. As soon as the bird was finished with its bath Storm was ready to finish our walk home, or so I thought.

We got about three houses from home and apparently her motor just stopped working. She promptly laid down and would not move. I told her that we only had three more houses to go; she raised an eyebrow at me. I told her that I would just leave her there if she wanted me to; she sighed. I was stuck, I mean I couldn't be seen as a bad doggie mom by just leaving her there because she was too tired to finish our walk. I couldn't carry her because she is 35 lbs of pure muscle and that is just really heavy. I then laughed at her, dropped her leash and said, "Fine, I will leave you here and go home and tell the cat that you couldn't finish your walk." At the mere mention of the cat, Storm got a burst of energy and rushed to the front door. I guess she didn't want to lose face in front of the cat.

So there is my story about our walk. Now on to why I chose the title. I felt great having gone for such a long walk. However, within about 45 minutes I started to feel my pain increasing. I took some ibprofin and it seemed to help. I also took a nap and then I started to feel better. Then I stayed up way too late last night, 3am, and was in such extreme pain that I could hardly get out of bed. I don't think that it was the walk that caused all of this additional pain, but it is the only thing, other than staying up late that was different. I just hate it. I am told lose weight and exercise and then when I do exercise I am in more pain. What in the world am I suppose to do? It is so frustrating. I am sure you can understand. If not, well then go fly a kite!!!!!

Strange but Interesting

2007-07-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting in my chair today I was realizing that there are quite a few things that happen in the day that are just amazing but that often go without being thought about. I mean when you think about it, how many of us think about the little things that go on outside while we are inside working. I know that I am guilty of just getting my things done and not really pay much attention to anything else that is going on. There have been times that I have not even really gone outside and then I am surprised when I watch the news and I find out how warm it has been that day. It really has gotten me to ponder how much of life passes us by without us taking the time to appreciate it.

I know that this might sound strange but I know that I would love to just take a 5 minute walk twice a day to see what is going on outside of the house. Now if I was not at home the entire time like I am right now then I would do this outside of my classroom. I don't spend enough time outside of my own little world. I have begun to realize this. Now with my current medical situation, my physical therapist really does not want me doing too much physically because she does not want me to bring on more pain that I already have but I have decided that I am going to take a walk every morning with Storm.

While I am on this walk with Storm, I plan on looking at two different things that I normally would not look at. This may be a plant in a garden or a tree is some one's yard. I just need to take the time to enjoy those things that are around myself. I know that I can't do a lot physically and that is starting to frustrate me. I am going to take this slowly and realize that if taking Storm with me is too much, then I will leave her in the house and go by myself. I think by doing this every morning it will motivate me to get up and get doing stuff.

I am trying to de-clutter my house as well and I am reading a book by a woman who is know as the Flylady. She talks about how you can take back your house and stop feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be done. I am amazed by how easy she says that it can be done. The essence of what she is talking about can be found here. My friend Paula was talking to me about this and lent me the book and I am already finding it highly useful. I can't wait to have my house back under control. There are just times when it seems like it is so hard to get it back under control.

Well there are the things that I am been thinking about. Of course there are other things that are going on, but I don't want to make you read a book nor do I want to stay up and write a book. I am going to write a review for the two books that I have already finished so far this summer. They were both really good books and ones that I would definitely recommend to others to read. Well I am off to bed. Good night to all.

I Just Had To Do This

2007-07-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

When I saw these pictures I actually thought of Heather, who absolutely loves cats. Here are a few reasons why you should never give your kitty a bath.

You said the water was warm!!!

I can't seem to get any traction here.

I am going to sit right here until you get me a towel.

Stop squeezing me so tight!!

A Bump in The Road

2007-06-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Quite literally this is what happen to us today on the way to San Francisco to go to my doctor's appointment. We had just turned off the main freeway and were on the four lane highway and, apparently, we hit something that caused our left front tire to blow out. Thankfully, Lefty was driving because he was much cooler under the pressure of the tire separating and blowing apart. He then got our full size spare out of the trunk and got to the business of changing the tire.

With the stress of having big rigs and cars passing fairly close to us and passing at speeds between 60 to 80 mph. It was quite nerve racking to say the least. While Lefty was working on getting the tire off the car, I went searching for the hubcap which I saw on the side of the highway. This did require me to cross 2 lanes of traffic but there were a couple lulls in the traffic and I was able to get the hubcap back and myself back safe to the car.

As we got the spare tire on the care and got it completely put on, we started to lower the car the final bad news hit us. The spare tire was flat. There was no way that we were going to be able to make it anywhere to have the tire looked at. We then had to contact our insurance company and find out who to contact to have a tow company to fill our tire. The company then came and filled the tire free of charge. That was the one good news that came out of all of this.

I then called my doctor and told the nurse that I was not going to be able to make my appointment because Lefty and I knew that if we tried to make to the appointment we were going to be possibly arguing over little things because of the stress. Amazingly the nurse said she had another appointment that she could get me into next Friday at 4:00. This after being told by the other nurse that it was this appointment that I had this Friday or there was no other appointments until the end of August. I am glad I won't have to wait.

Well, in one regard it is frustrating that I did not see my doctor. However, we did not have to deal with the stress that would have come with us running so close to the time that I would have had to be there and what not. It would have been just our luck that we would have gotten lost or something silly like that too because we were so stressed. anyways we will head up next Friday and have a less stressful trip up and actually be able to spend more time up in the city and be able to enjoy seeing the sites.

For those of you that have been keeping me in your thoughts and prays, please keep doing that as I am in so much pain and it is so different that it has ever been that we are not sure what is causing it. Frustration seems to be a word that is major word in my vocabulary right now. Thank you for all your kind words. I never grow tired of hearing them.

Do You Know What Time It Is?

2007-06-27T01:45:00.000-07:00

Yes I have and it is 1:45 am, however I am in Pain and so I digress.

The pain that I am in can hit at any time that it wants. There is no warning that it is going to be more painful at a certain point of the day or after a certain activity. In fact, I have not been able to pinpoint any activities that are ones that really cause my pain to increase. I mean just getting up out of my chair just a moment ago to get some pain medication caused me to double over in pain. No reason for that to happen at all. This just seems to be a never ending battle for me.

I know that my physical therapy is doing some help for me because I have had some great night's sleep but then the next day I feel like I have been run over by a truck. Again, aside from them doing some different things during the physical therapy, there is no real reason why I should be in this amount of pain. The strange thing is that I have gotten to a point that I mask the pain. I don't want those around me to know how much pain I am really in, because I know that it will be hard for them to handle.

If I were to truly show them how much pain I was in, I would be laying in bed crying most of the pain and rolling around trying to find a comfortable place to lay. Instead, I walk slowly and keep saying to myself over and over again that I can do it. Often if a person were to ask me a question I actually have to stop walking, take a deep breath, and then ask them to repeat their question again because I have been focusing on not appearing to be in pain. I don't want my pain to dictate what I can and can not do.

I spent almost a year and a half where I did not go over to friend's houses when we were invited, I rarely went to the grocery store, I went to work and that was about all that I did outside of the house. In fact, it was the running joke that Lefty had killed me and had me hidden in the crawl space under the house. I did not want my pain to keep him from being social so I constantly told him to go and hang out with friends.

Tonight's pain is a new type of pain that I have only experience once before about 2 weeks ago and only for about 5 minutes during my physical therapy session. It is a sensation that my internal organs are on fire. I was told that it is the scar tissue being moved around and stretching because it has to be "heated" up before it moves. Now, you might ask as I did, why is this happening now here at home when I am not doing physical therapy? I have no fricken clue and I really wish that I did. It is extremely painful and it is keeping me wide awake.

I just recently took some additional pain medication in the hopes that it will put me to sleep so I can get some sleep so that when I head into physical therapy today, Wednesday, I can ask my therapist why this is happening. I have been sitting in my recliner and tears have been brought to my eyes just by moving in the chair. Storm seems to sense that something is not quite right with me as she is sleeping in my lap. I know Lefty would know something is wrong, if he was not asleep right now. I am glad that he is as he has to work today and take me to the physical therapy.

My one frustration and concern is my appointment on Friday. I go and see my specialist in San Francisco and I am worried that she is going to say that I am not acting in enough pain. I need to remind myself to take down my shield and allow the pain to shine through 100% of the way. She needs to see how bad it is and to what point it cripples me. It is something that is hard for me to show to the public and when we get into San Francisco I need to not put up my shield of "I can do this and I am in not so much pain." If this means that Lefty has to help me get into the office, then so be it.

I have a feeling that this road to recovery is not going to be complete this summer as I had hoped. I have, I am hoping, Botox shots into my pelvic floor muscles on Friday; four more physical therapy sessions approved so far and I am hoping for at least another 8 to 10; come July 25 I am getting 4 to 6 trigger point injections in my hip and tail bone areas to help relax those muscles and get those pains to go away. Now knowing that I return to work come August 13th I know that I will still be in some sort of pain but I am hoping that the road to recovery will be at least partially reached and that I can continue the travel during the year.

A New Beginning

2007-06-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to finding a new place to work on a lifestyle change. I know that I need to lose weight but I want to look at it as a lifestyle change more so than just losing weight. I think that has been my downfall in the past. I have often just looked at it as something that I needed to do. I needed to lose weight. When someone would ask me why I needed to do that, it was often because I knew I was going to go and visit my parents soon and I wanted to impress them or something silly like that.

I am finally coming to the realization that losing weight is going to help me medically. I know that if I lose some weight that it might help with my pain since my pelvis is the center of my body, it is where my weight settles. I think that losing weight will help with that as well. Also I would like to be able to try to have a child within the next year and hope that by losing some significant amount of weight that my body will kick itself back into gear and will remember what it is suppose to do naturally. I would love be be posting about my own pregnancy and believe that it could happen within the next year.

I have found this wonderful website called SparkPeople (if you decide to join my user name is kelbrown) and I am excited to start on it tomorrow. Here is to seeing some changes in my body and also in my spirit as my body changes. I am hoping that with some positive changes in my body and my attitude will change as well. I also want to be a better role model for my students and be able to show them that I am practicing what I am preaching to them about eating in the healthy manner. Well it is off to bed for me.

Mrs Lefty Rates Her Blog

2007-06-20T22:14:00.001-07:00

Lefty had to rate his blog and states that I swear more than he does. I would say that would be true but

Mingle² - Online Dating

So how to you explain that Lefty?

Weird Thoughts

2007-06-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

It often amazes me how the mind works. How fascinating it is that it is able to take in all the information that it is given on a particular day and filter out the non-essential elements and give the parts that are needed back to be put into the words that are put into sentences that allow us to sound like we know what we are talking about. I know that educations plays a huge part into allowing us to sound like we "know" what we are talking about, however, there are some people who have very little refined education and they sound highly intelligent. It really can make a person wonder. Well here are my weird thoughts for the week.

~How are new synapsis created within the brain?

~When the brain stem is the only part of the brain still functioning a person is considered brain dead. What functions does the brain stem do that no other part of the brain can do?

~If a person suffers a brain injury, is it possible to "rewire" the brain so that they can function the way that they did prior to the injury?

~How is amnesia causes? Is it reversable?

I know that these are all very brainy questions but for some reason the brain is becoming a very facinating thing to me. I am constantly amazed at the medical community and the strides that they are making to understand completely how the brain works and why it works the way that it does. No computer can rival the way that the human brain works.

Well I am off to rest my brain to then but it to work tomorrow to finish my second book of the summer. I will write my first review of the summer, tomorrow. If it is something you are interested in, then great, if not then bug off!!!

Pain Blog is updated.