Best Time

After a busy day, I headed back to the park with tons of pent-up energy. Guess the pent-up energy work for me because I did a mile in 11:59! Holy cow!!!!!! Don’t know if I can pull it off again tomorrow but it felt amazing.

Pride

Such pride filled my heart when my students were so proud of their work that they wanted to share with their poems.  In turn I will share them with you all and hope you enjoy.  These were written by 9 and 10 year olds.

Dancing

Drum Beat

Flowing Music

Leaping, Twirling, Plie’

Tip-toe, Strength, Imagination

Spotlight

By: Olivia

Flower

So beautiful smell

Outside the smell carries me

Making my nose sneeze

By: Juan

Snakes

Silent Slithering

Choking prey in an instant

Toxic, Poison, SNAP!

By: Rashad

Headed back to the park today but it was a very hot 95 degrees.  I did a mile sticking with the 1:30 walk and 1:00 jog in 13:09.  Due to the heat and trying to fight off a hormonal headache, I abandoned the heat and did 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Pounding the Pavement

Back to the park again tonight. I decided to stay with the flat course at the track and with the same intervals.  1st mile 12:47! The fastest I have ever done.  The second mile 13:21.  Although happy with those times, I would like to increase my stamina because when I finished that second mile I felt like I had my butt kicked.

Sunset Jog

After not jogging Friday, Saturday and Sunday then coming home today and conquering the world, I was struggling to find the motivation to hit the pavement.  Through the encouragement of a friend, I made it out the door and to the track.  I am glad I did!  Staying with the intervals of 90 seconds walking and 60 seconds jogging I completed the 1st mile in 13:41 and the 2nd mile in 13:51. Thanks to topical Storm Beryl for keeping the sun from beating down with great intensity.

Memorial Day

The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it… The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died protecting it.

Americans don’t fight because they hate what’s in front of them… They fight because they love what’s behind them……….from http://ed-bonderenka.blogspot.com/

I have always had a great amount of appreciation for out military!  My dad instilled in me at a young age that pride for those men and women who give so that I may have.  Still it becomes so very different when you experience first hand a loss.

August 15, 2005 things changed for me.  I can still remember vividly to this day every detail.  My husband and a friend were in our kitchen measuring for new kitchen counters.  I was about 5 weeks pregnant with the princess and had gotten home from teaching and was folding laundry and cooking dinner.  The house phone rang and on the line was my sister-in-law who through sobs choked out the words that her nephew, Army Specialist Joshua P. Dingler, just 19 years old- had died in Iraq when his HMMWV overturned in a canal. I gasped and the tears began to flow down my cheeks. I told her I would be right over.  After filling in my husband and friends, I headed to her house.

I knew we had a rough road ahead of us and prayed for God’s strength as we were headed to tell her mom.  Her mom knew something was wrong when we all showed up on a week night.  The grief I saw that night will forever live in my mind.  Yes there was a sweet assurance that Joshua was now spending eternity in Heaven but a deep well of grief that he was no longer here and wouldn’t be marrying his high school sweetheart and fulfilling his many dreams.

Having gone through this experience put a different perspective for me on holidays such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Independence Day. Yes, I still thoroughly enjoy the time off from work spend with family but I also think back to Josh and the many others who have served or are serving and appreciate them and their families.  As a mom it is my job to make sure the princess knows that it is about soooooooo much more than cooking out and having fun.

After 3 days off, I am off to the park for a sunset jog!

Mama’s Great Spring Adventure

Growing up my weekends were spent with my family at one of two places: Disney World – which is probably where I get my incurable romantic desires or at state and county parks – where I get my thrill for adventure.

This weekend my mom’s family reunion was at Florida Gateway in Jasper, Florida.  A wonderful, inexpensive, relaxing place to get away.  Today there were already 2 excursions planned: golf for some of the guys and visiting a historical graveyard for another group.  Knowing I could not shut my mouth and be quiet for golf and the Princess would be hopping off tombstones with energy, I decided I would plan another excursion going to swim in the springs.

I was quite burned after all day yesterday at the lake and knew the springs would offer some shade.  After checking on the resort website, we (the princess, 2 of my aunts and I) packed up and headed off to Peacock Springs about 40 minutes away.  We enjoyed traveling through the old town and picking out our favorite houses.

Soon we arrived at Peacock Springs eager to relax and feel the coolness of the water on our skin, we drove down a one lane curved road to the springs.  Hopping out and gathering our many bags we headed down to the springs.  Now I should have started putting things together when I saw all kinds of people in dive suits and a sign that said, “No Open Diving” but in my eagerness, I just trotted along.

Soon we came to the top of the stairs and saw:

Although it was a breath taking view, I soon realized this small spring was for cave diving.  After questioning the divers there if there were any springs around for swimming and getting a resounding, “No.”  We loaded a disappointed princess back into the vehicle.

Not begin one to give up, I began to surf the internet and look for another swimming spring in the area.  The trusty internet said Charlie Springs was close by and offered swimming.  Convincing my 2 aunts to try again we headed to Charlie Springs.

We found a parking space and began to descend the stairs to discover this:

Thanks to the desperate need for rain this is all that is left of Charlie Springs.  We did enjoy a good laugh because when the princess saw this she threw her hands in the air and with all her drama yelled out, “REALLY!”

I knew I needed to find her some water to swim in QUICKLY! Looking out to the left I could see the Suwannee River and decided it would have to do.

So we made the climb down the hill:

across the tree roots,

to the riverbank,

so she could finally swim.

Did the day go as perfectly as this plan ahead mama would have liked? No, but did we have a great time together on this adventure and make some memories to last a lifetime? Yes!  For the perfect ending to Mama’s Great Spring Adventure we grabbed some ice cream at Dairy Queen ( a first for the princess).

Have you ever had an adventure that didn’t turn out quite like you expected?

Relaxation

Anyone who knows me well… knows that relaxation is not an easy thing for me to do. Life had been crazy busy these past couple of weeks and I have been looking forward to our annual family getaway.  My goal was to relax!  I didn’t know if it would be accomplished but was pleasantly surprised when a good friend got to slip away and join us.  Her goal was to make me relax. She succeeded.

There was no jog today but I did go long nature walk.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures I snapped along the way.

 

This picture captured the beginning of one of my favorite times of day sunset and made me think of a dear friend and smile.

To capture these pictures I was sprawled on the ground on my belly with the camera poised.  They reminded me of an anorexic dragonfly crossed with a butterfly.  I laid there for a long time fascinated by these insects.  I decided that one must be a male and one a female.  One of them had a black body with black wings that had one white dot on each wing that would all align up into one dot when they wings were folded.  The other one had a bright blue body with black wings.

This was a spider web that was stretched about six feet across the path from one tree to another.

Tears

What a great day but extremely exhausting: work, drive across town to get shots, back to work for a performance by my students, fit in my jog/walk, and finish by packing for a weekend away.  While at the doctors I found out I had lost another 5 pounds…just 4 more pounds and I shall reward myself with a day at the spa.

So why the tears tonight?  Not sure…it is one of those weird things that I don’t have anything in particular to cry about but felt I needed a good cry.  So while folding laundry I indulged and it felt good to have such sweet release.

Tonight stayed with the same intervals of 1 minute jog and 1:30 walking for the first 1.5 miles with a time of 21:22 and then walked the remaining 1.5 miles.  It looked as if a rainstorm was rolling in with thunder and lightening all around and hoped it would rain because I love walking in the rain but it never came.

Call me crazy…

What a wonderful day with my students!  Today we had an extra practice for their performance.  All of the 4th grade classes loaded into the cafeteria where the singing and dancing began.  My kids enjoyed watching me bust out my famous dance moves and listening to  belt out “I put my hands up in the air sometimes…”

Looking back on the day, the end of the year sadness began to creep in.  Each year I forget the emotions that flood my soul at the end of the year.  Call me crazy…but I am going to miss my babies(students).  The end of the year is also very emotional for many of my students as we are their stability.

My greatest joy is when my students come back after leaving my class to visit!

It was another 95 degree afternoon so I only did 1.5 miles today keeping the same intervals in 22:33.

Lost Blood

Last Wednesday I had 2 test run and 5 vials of blood drawn.  Today, I received a call form my doctor’s office letting me know that the blood had been lost and I would need to have a redraw.  No big deal right?  A GIGANTIC deal to me! I would rather go through childbirth again.  I know that seems crazy but I have a phobia of getting my blood drawn. Although I have improved and no longer have to lie down and have 5 people work together to get my blood.

When I was 3, I spent many months in the hospital receiving IV treatments and having blood drawn from multiple veins which kept collapsing.  Since that time the fear of IVs and blood draws has been intense.  Although shots I can handle.

So tomorrow morning, I will suck it up and head back to lab for them to draw my blood yet again.

Today’s jog was 1.4 miles in 21:34.  I walked the other 1.6 miles.