HOT! HOT! HOT! and Some Randomness

I love Texas and all it throws at me, but are we serious with this heat? It's midnight and it's still in the 90's right now. The past two weeks or so it has been in the 98-103 range. I can understand this type of weather in July and August, but June? I found out tonight that the Hill Country Stake will be doing a stake-wide fast for rain on the next Fast Sunday. If we don't get any rain soon we will be placed in stage 3 water restrictions. San Antonio has been in an extreme drought for a very, very long time. I don't think there is anything worse than extreme, but if there was, that would be us right now. As much as I don't like rain, especially after I wash my car, it is so badly needed and I would be more than happy to have it rain after I wash my car. My electric bill is going to be so sky high this month. I don't even want to think about it.

I am exactly one week away from moving into my new place and my July 1 deadline for new job acceptance. It is really going to hoover if I get a call with a job offer after I sign my lease and have to turn it down especially with all the people that have been pulling for me and working their contacts to get me into one of the schools. If I get a call before Wednesday next week then that's what I will be doing, but with the closing dates of the jobs being either tomorrow or next week, I don't see that happening. Sometimes, though, I think my dad wants this more than me. He's been trying to get me to move back to EP for the past two years since I finished my master's. I can tell things have been hard for him because he calls me constantly. For example, today I was studying at Borders for my Institute class and Dad called to tell me something that he forgot to tell me in our hour long conversation the night before and we ended up talking for an hour before he had to take another call. After that call he called me back and talked for another fifteen minutes. I know he misses me and wants the best for me, but sometimes I think he forgets that I am no longer that little red-headed girl that would sit on his lap and hide my head during the scary parts of the movie. His little girl is all grown up and I think it's hard for him to let go. Dad's will be Dad's and will always want the best for their little girls and, of course, always see them as that little girl who would run to him when he arrived home after work, throw her arms around him, and spend the rest of the evening in his lap watching whatever game was on.

It's literally the middle of the night and I cannot seem to feel tired. This seems to be a recurring theme when I don't have to go to work the next day. Last night I even went to bed early and when I rolled over to look at the clock it was 2:30am and I still have not fallen asleep. It drives me crazy when I can't fall asleep. I have tried everything I can to try to fall asleep, but I just can't do it. Grrrrrrr!

When do you just let go and put your trust in someone else? I have done a lot of soul searching lately and have found that I have trust issues. I seem to have built this wall that is almost impossible for people to get around, get over, or tear down. I have a hard time trusting others. I use to be one of the most trusting people in the world, then high school hit and it all went away. There were so many things that happened starting in high school and extending into college that I feel as though I can't take anything people tell me as true. It's hard for me to believe that I am how people describe me. I will usually say thanks or make a joke about something when I am told something but underneath it all, I have a hard time believing it. I was told so many lies and had so many pranks, tricks, etc pulled on me that it's hard for me to see others as being genuine. How do I overcome that? How can I start to tear down those walls? I don't have an answer and wish I did.

This was a lot of stuff to talk about in one night, but I think I am actually starting to feel a little tired. So with that I say so long, farewell, good night!

One step closer to having everything I need to be an administrator. This past week I started my ILD (Instructional Leadership Development/PDAS (Professional Development and Appraisal System) Training. It's a lot of work for one week. I was able to earn 36 1/2 CEU's in one week. I honestly thought I was going to be bored to tears. Well, there were no tears, but there was a ton of boredom. There were so many things a that were repetitive that if if they weren't repetitive then the classes would be three days instead of five. We also went really slow with the material. There was review of what I did in my master's classes that would take up an hour of time. Most of the people in the class are in the last semester of their admin degrees and everyone else in the class was either working closely with their administrators or in an administrative internship within their districts so the review, I felt, was unnecessary. All in all I learned more about evaluation and how to check if lesson plans and lessons being presented are in alignment with school, district and state curriculum, if tests are up to par or to far above the teaching in the class and if a teacher is really bringing their students to the higher order thinking of Bloom's and Erikson's Taxonomies. I am feeling a little more comfortable with evaluating teachers and their lessons even though I am not well-versed in their subject content.
What else this week? Institute is, as always, and incredible experience. I don't know what I would do without it. I have been taking institute classes since I was 18 and have learned so much from them. There are a lot of people out there that don't attend institute because they seem to think that every class is the exact same. Well, to those people, I have taken Book of Mormon classes at least three times and there is not one thing that was a repeat. The great thing about these classes is that there is no script to follow, the teachers really are inspired by the Spirit to fit the needs of the classes they teach. I am grateful for the the institute program and the things it has taught me throughout these past nine years. It has been a great blessing in my life.
I also re-realized that those big parties that everyone gets invited to aren't my thing. Last year I started going to more parties and thought I could get use to them, but after last night, I remembered why I don't like them. I really am more of a small group intimate setting type of person. I like dinners with close friends or sitting at the ice cream place or cafe in great discussion with others. I am all about fun times with great friends in the right setting for me.
All-in-all, this week was pretty uneventful. It's nice to not be surrounded by drama all the time. I can always go for the uneventful.

Texas Folklife Festival

Yesterday I went to the Texas Folklife Festival. I am so upset though because I forgot my camera, so no pics, darn! I still had fun though. The Texas Folklife Festival basically takes everything that went into creating this great state of Texas and the many different cultures. The food was, of course, amazing and the entertainment was great. I spent a lot of time at the Hawaiian/South Pacific/Asia area. That group has the best entertainment and food, so it was the logical choice for me. I went to that area a couple of years ago when my mom was in town and we spent most of the night there sitting on the grassy hill and watching the dancers. There is a group that I absolutely love. They are from the Lion's Dance Club. It is basically all Chinese traditional dancing and martial arts exhibits. There was this boy that is 8 yrs old and he is already an international gold medalist in martial arts. This kid has been training since he was 4 yrs old and is so awesome! He trains with a ShaoLin Monk from ShaoLin China. He has won 9 international gold medals and 8 international silver gold medals and has travelled all over the world for his competitions. He blew me away with his speed, agility, and overall skill. The Lion Dancers were a lot of fun to watch too. They have the most fun while performing. The costumes are beautiful (this where having a camera would have come in quite handy) and the movements are fun to watch.
I also bought this beautiful wall hanging of the Texas flag. I have been in Texas for like fifteen years now and I don't have anything that is truly Texas so I had to get something. It's a really great hanging that I am thinking of turning into a key hook if I can. I am excited about this little purchase.
Some other things you will find at the festival are live music, dancing, arts, crafts, and Irish, Pakistani, Guamanian, Filipino, Welsh, German, Greek, Indian, and so many other stands. If you have not been go next year. It's a fun filled family event. The best thing about it, even though there are beer and other alcohol stands around the lines are not around the corner for those beverages. The longest lines are the Hawaiian Shaved Ice and sno-cone stands. It's not a cheap event, but it's well worth the $12 entrance fee. There is so much stuff to do that you get your money's worth. The Texas Folklife Festival is an event that gets better as the years go by. If you have not been, get ready for next year. It's a blast!

What To Do

I love being able to have all this time during the day off, but I get really bored really easy. I go to the gym do my workout for and hour or two depending on what I do then I don't know what to do with myself the rest of the day. Yesterday I decided to go to Border's and read a book that I bought a couple of weeks ago. I could only do that for about an hour and half before I was ready to go do something else. Then I walked around the Quarry for a little bit and stopped in Whole Foods Market to look around and waste time before FHE started. I bought a couple of things I needed for the evening and left. I then went to FHE and had some great fun playing BINGO at Brighton Gardens Retirement Center. The ladies there are great! It seems as though everyone there loved being there and playing.
This morning I went to the gym and completely raked out my back. For the past few months my back has been feeling really good and I finally realized why. I have not been doing any legs presses and my back is great. Today I decided to do leg presses since it had been a while since doing them and on the past set I felt my lower back go. Now I am having a hard time bending to pick things up and getting off the couch. Now I know, no more leg press. I will have to stick to the squat and lunge variations, no more machines. Hopefully my back starts to feel better tomorrow. We shall see. The rest of the day I have no plans. Which means sitting here updating stuff. At least next week will be a little better with my ILD classes starting. I love my time off, but I can only handle so much.

Cute Shoes

Here's the pics of the really cute shoes I promised to put up a month ago...

Schools Out For Summer!

YAY! Schools out for summer! In a few hours at least. This year has been a trying one. With Having PE classes in a cafeteria with two pillars in the middle of it and tables on the side was quite an experience. Also, having no equipment to use made things a little more difficult. I thought I had it rough when I was outside in the blazing hot Texas sun everyday with only a concrete slab with two basketball goals and a sharp rock-infested area to play on. That was paradise compared to the cafeteria. I find it funny when teachers at other schools complain about having to share a grassy area the size of a football field with another class. At least they have grass so kids don't fall and split open their heads (which happened my first year. We now affectionately call that kid Staple Head b/c he got 6 staples in his head that day. Don't worry, he thinks the name is pretty awesome. I think it's in his email addy.) That makes me so much more grateful for what I have, a gym. I was able to actually take a class in there yesterday. Of course, now everyone wants to have time in there before the end of the day today. Oh! This is the funniest thing that happened yesterday with the gym. I am suppose to be the person in charge of scheduling the gym. I see a group of kids going into the gym. They, nor anyone else for that matter, had permission or scheduled in time to be in there. I ask them who gave them permission to be in there. They told me one of the AP's gave permission. Makes me mad that the people who are telling me that anyone who uses the gym must be scheduled to use it doesn't take the lead and schedule the use. Grrrrr. So then I see a teacher with a plate of food and a bottle of Sprite about to walk in. I tell him no food or drinks in the gym. He walks in anyway and sits there eating his food and drinking his Sprite. Do we not understand what is meant by, "NO FOOD OR DRINK IN THE GYM"? Well, maybe he doesn't since I have never heard him speak and every time I talk to him he looks at me funny like he doesn't understand anything. Maybe he really doesn't understand English. Grrrrrr. You expect kids to follow the rules, yet the people that should be the examples and show them how to follow the rules, well, they don't.
I am really excited for summer. I will be taking a couple of classes that last about two weeks and getting some much needed help in getting more stuff added to my principal certification. Hopefully, this will make me a little more marketable. I will also be going to visit my family for a week or so then moving. I will either move into a great apartment with washer/dryer and about 200 more square feet for only $25 more per month, or move to El Paso. I am not sure which one will happen but July 1 is the drop-dead day. Then I can relax and try to get things going for the school year and really get serious about my workouts. Maybe I will start doing some two-a-days like when I was in college. That will really help me out and get me fit. Man, I am so so excited for summer! I can't wait to see what these following months have in store for me.

Things Are Going

Things are going strong. It is the last week of work before summer sets in and I am ecstatic! I can't wait to be able to workout in the mid-mornings, stay up late, go out with friends and not have to worry about being up at 5 freaking 30 in the a.m., and get on a regular eating schedule. This past year I was on a "no-pizza" diet. I have gone a full year without pizza, can you believe it?! Pizza was a staple in my diet for years. Every Friday was pizza night at Pizza Factory when I was in EP, it became my back-up when I was too lazy to cook something, and I had a slice or two for every event at the school with the students. It made up the bulk of my diet. A year without and I really don't miss it. Will I continue the no pizza craze? No, I just won't eat some types of pizza. I will start making my own pizzas so I can control what goes into the crust and and on top. The pizza ban is no more, but I will be more careful about how often and what kinds of pizza I eat.
My new ban, fast food. For real, I'm serious. This has been a real problem the past few years. Due to my schedule and me not liking to eat after 7pm I routinely stop at Wendy's or Taco Cabana or Sonic for dinner. I don't order the fattest, nastiest things on the menu, but it's still fast food and I need to stop the addiction. This means I will really have to plan my meals and make sure everything is in order before I leave my house. Thankfully I have the summer to get use to this new way of doing things. Who knows what this is going to be like, but it's worth a shot. If I can make it through this then I can make it through anything! Well, almost anything.
More news on the career front. My dad called me Friday afternoon after he was finished at work and made some interesting comments. The principal at his school came to him telling him about a SPED position that is more than likely (meaning a 100%) chance of opening up this summer. To work at his school would be a great blessing. He also said he was getting ready to do the evaluation of his current assistant coach. I know what she is like and what she does, so I know the eval did not go all that great. He is giving her some ultimatums and if she can't comply then she will be gone as the assistant and that opens the door for me to come and take that place. That is, of course, unless someone in the district has some friend that is looking to get into that school and wants a position like that. There is another possibility on the job front. Here's the thing, and I have been doing a lot of thinking about this and I mean a lot. While it would be great to have a job opportunity like that would I really want to move back home? Is this just a way for Dad to try to get me back home so he has someone to talk to about soccer and give him ideas and help him out? Is this really a situation I want to be in? Am I ready for the possible backlash about nepotism in the hiring process? Would my talents be best utilized here? Do I want to leave people who have been a great influence in my life and have made me a better person? Have I stopped progressing here in SA? Do I really need to leave? I guess a lot of this is depending upon a few things. First, what will I be offered at my current place of employment? I will not find out until tomorrow at 10am. Second, will I be contacted about any of the positions I am going for before July 1st? Will it really benefit me to leave? There is so much uncertainty, but at least it's uncertainty in a positive direction.
Yesterday was the big day when the Alamo Ward became the Alamo 1st and Alamo 2nd wards. I am a little sad to be leaving the Alamo 2nd ward when July rolls around. From what I heard the Alamo 1st ward has a ton of young'uns, you know the little teeny boppers straight out of high school or their first year of college. The 2nd ward has the older crowd or 21 - 30 year olds. That is where most of the people I hang out with are located. The 1st ward also has a good number of people that I hang with so, I am not worried about any of that. I will be sad when I have to transfer wards, but the church is true no matter where you go so I have no problemos with that. The coolest thing though was sacrament meeting yesterday. It was really a neat occasion to see two stake presidencies and two bishoprics sitting on the stand. I have never seen that before and it was quite interesting.
Things are going. Oh, and I have also decided to start training for a tri-athalon. I probably won't compete in one, but the training will do wonders!