me on a wooden bench, fall leaves and pumpkins

 

 

who am i

I was a teacher and then I became a substitute teacher. Now when people ask me what I do I usually say I spend my days exercising. I realized yesterday that I have purchased six new sweatshirts in the past two months. And that's a good thing!

A good way to cheat at walmart

When in the produce department you can put two bunches of radishes into one bag. The checkers are always in their own world and they will only charge you for one bunch.

mileage

First of all, it's been three weeks since I've had any kind of soda; diet or loaded. I was drinking up to five cans a day and sometimes in the middle of the night cracking one open because I was so thirsty. Yes, I quit cold-turkey I think they call it. What I've been drinking lately: a cup of coffee in the morning, green tea and lots of water with ice and a lemon slice. Do I feel healthier? You bet! I am so proud of myself for getting off the diet soda kick!!
Yesterday was a gorgeous summer-turned-fall day here in Missouri. I took the bike to the Katy and rode twelve miles. It was late in the afternoon and I wanted to beat the bridge traffic home so I cut two miles off of my usual ride. This morning I made Braille books with my Lutheran lady friends and of course that means lunch afterwards. I hightailed it home and changed into my walking clothes and walked four miles on the Greenway. Oh, this morning when I walked out to get the paper, I was surprised by five deer in my front yard munching on my new landscaping. It was a momma and some young ones and I quickly shooed them into the woods. Sam would love to catch them off guard and bark like crazy at them. I still miss him like crazy too.

a selfie and the dry creek

 

 

 

 

Taken at lunchtime. First day of Fall.

 

 

 

my grain

Last week my head started pounding so bad I could hardly stand it. I went to bed even though it wasn't bedtime. I laid on my side and then I laid on my back. I curled up in a little ball. My pounding headache even made me sick to my stomach. Finally I was able to get to sleep and by the next morning the headache was gone. Almost. There was still a little achy feeling left deep in the tissues of my brain. I said a little prayer that it would not come back and it didn't.

questions answered

I'm not weepy anymore. That stage lasted probably two weeks. After the doctor gave him the shots to put him to sleep, we wrapped him in his puppy blanket and placed him into a pine box that Hubby lovingly nailed together the night before. We buried him in our backyard under the triple cedar tree, his favorite. I still miss him like crazy.
I don't miss subbing. I have been keeping very busy with my walking and working out routine at the Y. And reading lots of nonfiction: I'm finishing up The Hot Zone now.

 
The cedar tree where Sam is buried. This is an old pic I found on the blog. Its September now, no snow yet! It gets little blue berries in the fall and the birds have a heyday stripping them when they appear. In a couple of days, the berries are gone!

Rest in Peace Sweet Sammy

Rest in Peace sweet little buddy. Your human mommy and daddy are heart broken.

rain

Most of the time rain can be calming and soothing to the soul. Today it is nerve wrecking. Instead of working out I am still in my pajamas. Instead of reading I am watching a silly movie on HBO. And doing laundry.

two in two

Two books in two days! Wednesday I read Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden. I'm a nut for geography and human rights so this was right down my alley. It was so shocking I could not put it down. It will be in my head for awhile, especially the hunger. On that day I also walked 4.35 miles. Yesterday I read JFK Jr., George and Me by Matt Berman. A fluff book for sure. While I was never a fan of JFK Jr., I thought he was very reckless and killed himself and two other people because of it; the story about his magazine was interesting. Today I started Teaching the Cat to Sit by Michelle Theall. I'm on page two.

missing piece and selfie

Can you spot the missing piece?

A new selfie taken this morning. It was raining so instead of walking, I just goofed around!

puzzle pic

Yesterday I walked three miles and lifted weights at the Y. This morning I walked 5.17 miles. To change things up, I walked the original Green way track. The one that runs past the tennis courts, the new animal shelter and all the way to the doctor's offices. Then of course, all the way back. It was a good walk. And because I am between books and nothing sounds real interesting on my Kindle, I started putting a puzzle together. It's one that I had in my second grade classroom and the kids put it together several times. I swear there are some pieces missing.

in love

I was never crazy in love with my new Ford Edge. Oh there were things that I liked about it; keyless entry, rear view camera, sitting up high. That's about it. It wasn't fun to drive and I didn't care for the color. So before I racked up too many miles I traded that sucker off and Mother's Day weekend took possession of a new Jeep. Now I'm crazy in love and Yes, it is fun to drive!

Chick-fil-A

Yesterday we ate at Chick-fil-A. It was after ten in the morning and already getting warm outside. It was freezing inside. When they brought us our order, we both felt like asking for blankets to go along with it.

reading

My friend who knows that I only read nonfiction recommended Mission at Nuremberg by Tim Townsend. It is the story of a Lutheran minister from St. Louis who became the army chaplain to the Nazis during the Nuremberg trials. It is very interesting and I am learning a lot of the history of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It is an easy read and a good war story even if you aren't a Lutheran.

saturday and sunday

Saturday I went fishing with the Mr. We took our boat to the Lake of the Ozarks. The water was so clear and blue. There was quite a lot of traffic on the water; big speed boats and cruisers which made for choppy water. Even with that, we caught our limit of crappie. I'm not gonna lie, he caught most of them.
On Sunday I was overdue for walking. I walked downtown and across the bridge a total of four miles. It was a glorious, warm, sunny day.

life changing

I've been seriously thinking that this will be my last year of subbing. It has been a good job for me and I have enjoyed being back in the classroom, especially the autism room. But I want to have more time for walking and riding my bike. I want to have more time for reading and being lazy around my house. I want to volunteer my time doing something else. I might become a tour guide at the old state prison. I've always enjoyed true crime.

sam and the coyote

Sam is a fourteen year old (overweight) yorkie. I cater to his needs. This morning at 3:30, I let him out to pee. He usually wanders around the cul de sac for awhile before heading back to my front door.  I heard him snarling so I ran out to see what was up and a silver coyote had run out of the woods and was not scared off by the snarling much smaller canine. I started hollering and Sam and the coyote continued to go back and forth in the street. Suddenly the van delivering the morning paper headed down our street and that's when the coyote hightailed it back into the woods via the empty lot next door. This will make a delightful story to tell the second graders when I sub later today.

no excuses

I have not journaled here as much lately. I have been subbing quite a bit. It always picks up in April and May as every teacher alive has other things they want to do. I don't mind filling in. I still enjoy spending the day with little kids. Tuesday I was in kindergarten and we happened to be in the middle of hatching baby chicks! Loved every minute! Yesterday I exercised: I crosstrained one mile. Lifted over 11,000 lbs., and walked/ran three miles on the Greenway trail. Outside the redbuds are now in bloom but I didn't stop long enough to take a picture. Tomorrow I'm back in second grade. They're hatching Painted Lady butterflies. Lots of exciting things going on!

milestone

Yesterday my trainer told me that I have lifted over 500,000 pounds! Yeah, my goal is to have Michelle Obama arms and I feel like I am well on my way! Whatever! I feel stronger and leaner and that's what counts I guess. Also yesterday our neighbor told us he found the carcass of the little red fox that lived in the woods behind our house. I don't know how he died but I am saddened that I will no longer see him darting around terrorizing the neighborhood dogs.

For those of you who follow instagram, I am missourimorning.

a tip

When you are subbing always try to make friends with, and acknowledge the troublemaker in the nextdoor classroom. When passing in the hall, give them a thumbs up or ask if they are still on "green." At least, look them in the eye and smile. Then, when you find yourself in their classroom, they will remember that you took the time to talk to them and they may not be so hard on you that day. Just sayin...

yesterday

I subbed yesterday. I asked a little girl if she had had a good weekend. Remember yesterday was Monday. "Oh yeah," she came back without missing a beat. "Mom made banana bread."

reading

Yesterday was a nice enough day to walk outside. I totaled my usual four miles and lifted weights at the Y. Today it is just plain cold and blustery. I walked the dog; that's enough for me. I may venture downstairs to my treadmill later or maybe spend the afternoon snuggled up reading. Last week I finished French Women Don't Get Facelifts by Mireille Guiliano in book form. I am currently reading The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida and The Happy Life Checklist by Amy Spencer on the Ipad.

remarkable toe

I have an ugly toe, actually it's the nail on top; all purple and thick. Disgusting. Since I have OCDs about my feet I do my own pedis and usually keep bright polish on them. Yesterday I took the polish off and noticed that a healthy looking flesh colored nail was growing underneath and pushing the ugly one out. Sort of like a metamorphosis, a toenail metamorphosis. You can bet that I'm going to become very careful about my toenails from now on. I think the purple toe was the result of being run over by a wheelchair kid a while ago.

don't do it well

I don't do sick well. I don't mean to be confusing but for the past week I have been under the weather so to speak. I feel guilty for not even stepping on my downstairs treadmill much less racking up any mileage outside or at the Y. The weather here has been subzero and also a reason for me to stay inside and hibernate but that might come to an end today. I definitely feel healthy enough to make my way to either the little mall or the indoor track at the Y for some walking. Wish me luck!

test

I ran this as a test to see if  I actually could post a pic. I guess it is now working. By the way, this is a parm salad I am crazy about.

worked up a sweat

walking at the little mall. I haven't done that in a long, long time. It was easy to get my three miles in. It is not a busy mall but I still had to do some dodging around people, mamas with strollers and such. The very chilly wind prevented me from walking outside. I did my fourth mile indoors at the Y before I lifted weights. I am totally amazing!!

sunday walk

Despite it being rather soggy because of the melting snow I walked my usual three miles outside today. The weather was spring like and it didn't take me long to get my miles in. I also walked/ran one mile indoors at the Y before I lifted weights. For December I have lifted the equivalent of eleven elephants. Love that! School has started up again and I have subbed two days already. I always make a point to stand as much as possible when I sub. In fact, I don't usually sit down during the day unless I am eating lunch. I am having some trouble posting pics to this blog so if you don't see one assume that I am still working on this problem. Other than that, life is good!

questions and answers

What kind of walking shoes do you wear? For years I was a Nike whore but I recently switched to Brooks. The latest pair I bought though is Saucony. Both brands are very light weight and comfortable. I usually don't wear socks.


How do you spend your day when you are not subbing? I read a lot of nonfiction and I always have several books going. Besides the Halparin book on my ipad, I am reading Bill O'Reilly's book, Killing Jesus.


What did you get for Christmas? Two pair of Mariana earrings, two cashmere sweaters, a pair of leather boots and a pair of Hunter rain boots.


What kind of salad are you eating now? I call it my Triple P Salad: romaine lettuce, pomegranates, heavy parm cheese and a handful of pecans, toasted are great but I don't usually take the time.

below zero

Seven degrees below zero. And the wind makes it feel like twenty seven below zero. We got a lot of snow yesterday and it's beautiful but I'm not going out to take any pictures. I'm reading Double Down by Mark Halperin and drinking a second cup of coffee. Running on the treadmill? Yeah, I might do that later!

exercise

We woke up to snow today. Not a lot of it but enough for the snow plows to run and do some shoveling. I walked/ran three miles on the treadmill this morning and instead of lifting weights at the Y, I shoveled snow.