Universal Truths as learned from 13 year olds

After returning from my second leadership conference but first time planning the trip out-of-state I realize that I've learned some important truths about teenagers and trips:

1. If you put 4 13 year olds in one room and 3 12 year olds in another and those rooms are conjoining, they WILL consider the two rooms ONE large bedroom.

2. 4 girls will share a bed with  no problem, 4 boys will not. They will opt for the floor, the closet, or the bathtub

3.  4 cell phone alarms being set will ultimately equal none of them going off on time.

4. if hotel staff leaves an extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, that is automatically interpreted as wrapping for a person.

5. if you ask students to save seats, one should specify that those seats should be saved for the rest of your group.

6. No matter how many times you ask students to hold on to their room keys, they will start disappearing mysteriously throughout the weekend.

7. If you challenge students to rise to a standard and set an example for others, they will do it.

8. It is sometimes more beneficial to choose to NOT ask questions.

 Interestingly these are the same truths that myself and all my classmates taught our teachers when we were 13 years old but apparently I forgot until I was the one learning the lessons. I gladly repeat this weekend again!

I need some winning outcomes

This year I tried something new, I didn't set any resolutions because I have NEVER ever followed through on even one of them regardless of how manageable and well-intentioned they were. In weight watchers, we were encouraged to envision winning outcomes instead. I realized that even with my success with weight watchers over 11 months, I had become very lazy in my routine, occasionally to the detriment of my weight loss progress.

I thought about what I could and want to accomplish this year and started brainstorming steps to get to those outcomes.

1. Norman's health (and mine)- I do not have time to commit to a gym regiment nor the money to pay for a membership but I live in quite a lovely apartment complex on a breathtaking golf course and my pug is pretty roundish in the middle section. I want to start taking him for more walks, I can't state a certain number of times per week but this is something I can do and Norman needs it as well.



2. Reducing my number of cups of coffee and soda. I have successfully
switched to either all decaf or all but maybe one cup a day but the
problem remains...I drink so much coffee. It's a serious comfort blanket
for me. I love love love holding a warm coffee mug in my hands.
There is no excuse for soda though (nothing therapeutic there).
I've had someone suggest switching to hot tea.  Maybe... ideas?

Class of 2012

3. Maintain a 4.0 GPA. This may seem ridiculous and there might come a time that this has to drop if other tasks take priority but I want to say I graduated with my master's in Education Administration with a 4.0 GPA. I know that employers won't care but I do.

Cause it works!

4.  Average 1lb weight loss per week until I'm pregnant or until I reach goal weight. This is not unreasonable at all! I started losing weight Feb. 22, 2010. Had a maintained the recommended and healthy weight loss of 1 lb/week until now, I would have lost almost 48 lbs and I'd be painfully close to goal right now. Instead, I'm still about 15 lbs away. There are always weeks of gains or losses but 1 lb a week is achievable.

For we need a little positive, right this very minute

This week was tough with my food decisions, not gonna lie. For people who have never struggled with how much they weigh, that sounds so trite and meaningless but if you have struggled with your weight and what you eat, you may understand the frustration of such a bad week.

However- at my meeting tonight I started jotting down some seriously positive things that have happened this week alone:
1. I made my first batch of black beans from scratch. From those tasty beans came 5 pre-packaged lunches for the week!
2. I found some new items that are lower in points on the new WW program. I recommend:
            Sara Lee 45 Calorie Delight bread- 2 slices, 2 points, great value
3. Several people have been inspired to join weight watchers because of my weight loss stories. I don't mean to boast but to point out the value of transparency. There are so many "diets" that just don't work and WW does! Sharing your weight loss journey and being willing to share that you are an overweight person can be vulnerable but when people know they are not alone, they are more apt to share their struggles as well.
4. I am healthier, fitter, thinner, and full of more nutrients now than I have been since high school. This is my smallest size ever!
5. I have made several great friends, including my WW buddy Karen through this journey.
In case you haven't seen, here are the before and after shots:

Before: January 2010

After Dec 2010

Merry Christmas- holiday 2010 photo shoot

In case you didn't my father-in-law is a gifted photographer. He has an eye for poses and capturing people that I have never seen!  He took mine and Mike's christmas photos and here were some of his results. I have edited and touched them up with Picnik! My favorite editing site ever :)

This was NOT posed, I was laughing at how he was asking me to try posing.

These are two photos fused. We went to the Cloud!

another trying to pose but not quite getting there. Mike is so goofy when he takes pics.

Total pose of course...love the gaze though. Hey- we look like we like each other!

Merry Christmas friends!!!  This is just the best time of year :)

I'm a grump

I admit, I am such a scrooge right now. Everyone and everything is so annoying. Such as:

If people are going to drive under the speed limit (significantly) then why are they driving the in fast lane? There is a lane designated for them.
Why do people insist on talking loud enough for everyone in a place to hear? Yes- I understand that the natural register of my voice is rather high
Why do strangers need to bring attention to the dumb mistake they just made by pointing it out to you a second time when you didn't care to notice it the first?
Why do girls where shorts that won't cover a quarter of their thigh with a parka and Uggs?
Oh and going back to driving, you do not have to come to a complete stop to turn right when there is no light or stop sign. Just sayin.

I need to go eat some termite pie or something.

Isn't that the new phone from Verizon?

I love love love teaching sometimes (well more than sometimes) because kids can just say the most hilarious stuff sometimes.

Hopefully we all remember last year's exchange during our human body unit studying heart complications:
Student 1: "Mrs. Jenks, what exactly is cholestrol?"
Student 2: "It's when you get a french fry stuck in your artery"
Classic!

Yesterday is happened again, this time in my 3/4 class but coincidentally still in our human body unit. We are studying muscles and the kids were in groups identifying them.
Student 1: pointing to the shoulder "hmmm, the deltoid" (pause) "isn't that one of those phones from Verizon?"
I couldn't help it, I got the mistake immediately and giggled. The other students (bless their hearts) were a little confused.
Mrs. Jenks: "No that's the android phone- these are deltoids"
Student: "oh" (still looking confused)

In addition to loving being a teacher, I am mostly loving being a student. I am in my second class at GCU right now and I'm not gonna lie...it is no cake walk my friends. My joke right now is that I have two consistent relationships: 1 with my computer and 1 with the nice baristas at Starbucks that keep me caffeinated enough to maintain a working relationship with my computer.
I keep on keeping on though and I owe all my endurance to God who continues to bless me and instruct me even though it's so easy for me to put Him on the backburner when my plate is full and my husband who on more than occasion patiently counted to 10 while I sat on the living room floor yelling and complaining. He's such a trooper.

To all my beloved friends: my complete lack of any type of follow through is not because I don't love and miss you all, I do I do I do I just can't find time to sleep as much as I should so please don't take it personally. If you can, come drag me out for an hour so I can pretend that I have some life outside of school.

On a way way upside, Weight Watchers just started its new program and while I am having to relearn everything, it seems fantastic!  Can I just say zero point fruit? No joke, I have eaten so many bananas already!!!! 


Hopefully I can write again before two months go by but if not- February looks great!

Seeing myself through others' eyes

I'm not going to lie, this title was spurred by my recent viewing of Avatar but I was thinking about the theme song a bit and it intrigued me.  I've had many people tell me that my view of reality is rather distorted.  I interpret life and people through my perspective (and so does everyone else) but my perspective isn't usually accurate.  In light of that, I have to be really careful how I take emails, comments, looks, remarks, and body language from people around me.  I wondered how others see me though...

I fee like I'm either really good at seeing my mistakes, my faults, my shortcomings, my least becoming qualities...or I see myself as better than I am.  I think I'm a better wife than I am or a better teacher.  I think I am more understanding that I really am or a better friend.  Either way, what do other people really see?  I asked my bf, Amber this once and I'm not sure she really knew how to answer me.  I think about the love and understanding my husband rains on me and I'm dumbfounded because I just snapped at him for not taking the trash out.  Some of friends are amazingly gracious if I haven't called in a while or drop the ball on our friendship and I don't understand why (although I am so grateful).

There are people in my life with the capacity to see me in ways I can't see myself.  I want to see myself through their eyes, through God's eyes.  Everyday it is reconfirmed that God has chosen and designed me for Michael because he sees me without my imperfections and faults.  How is that?  What would I look like through others' eyes?