A New Beginning

I've made some pretty significant changes in my life since last June. I know, my dear Internets, I haven't been keeping up with the news like I should, but once you read on, you will see why. (I don't think I've EVER written a sentence with that many commas in it before. Huh.)

So, in June, I began taking online courses to get my masters in educational technology. Dumb? Possibly. However, the pay jump will be substantial. I will be able to pay myself back in one year and then any credits I take will move me on the pay scale. For those of you who don't know, teachers do get a small pay "raise" for every year of service worked, but what really gets them along on the pay scale is taking courses. Getting credits. That they have to pay for. Out of their own pocket. With money. AND, which is REQUIRED to keep your teaching certificate. This is a good thing and a bad thing. For brand new teachers, it's expensive to take classes when you are starting on a first year teacher's salary! My first year? I made $19,000. After five years of college and two degrees. I know, I know. I chose this profession. But, dang it, I work hard and during the school year, my kids see me more than their parents do sometimes.

OK. no more soap box.

So, Master's... So far it's been OK. We stacked two classes our first session (D.U.M.B.) But I'm glad now that we did. I was terrified to start. I hadn't been to school in 20 years! Would I be smart enough? Could I actually write a paper to show that I actually knew something? I can remember crying on the phone to Tina, "I don't think I can do this! I don't know what I was doing starting this!" "Write what you know. You got this." And the Husband, who has been AMAZING through my crazy, said, "Ya gotta get out of your own way, Ame. You got this." And you know what? I did. Most of the professors have been great, some of the classes have been sort of repeats of classes before and it's interesting interacting online with people from all across the country. Sometimes I will turn in an assignment thinking, "Oh, man. I threw that together. This is crap. There is NO way I will get full points for this assignment." And my score comes back? 30/30. It kind of makes me wonder what other people write and if they are getting full points for less work.

I am working hard. I am learning lots. I have 10 months to go and have a 4.0. I'm pretty proud of that.

All right... the next TWO big changes are Crossfit Within and Paleo. My sister began working out with Lena at the beginning of the summer and she was looking AMAZING. I'm not even kidding. She said, "Come and work out with us. You'll like it!" I was doing lots of Zumba at the time and loving that. I happened to meet a neat lady there (Heather) who said that she was working out with my sister and Lena as well. I decided to try it. Can you say HOOKED??? From the get go. Minute one. It's so not sissy... it's lifting weights. It's rolling HUGE truck tires for 400 meters. It's swinging a sledgehammer onto one of those tires. It's burpee after burpee after burpee. (Which I have come to love. I did 88 one day.) It's support. It's laughter. It's accountability at 6AM two mornings a week. It's friendship. It's taught me that I can absolutely do anything once I set my mind to it. The only thing that's getting in the way is me. (Hmmm... this is sounding familiar...)

Paleo...I never thought that I could eat in a manner that was healthy that makes me feel satisfied. I don't have cravings for things anymore. Food is a way to fuel my body and Paleo has taught me how to do it in a way that tastes good. Don't get me wrong. It was SO hard the first week. I started Crossfit Within and a month long Paleo challenge at the same time (as well as starting a new school year). Knowing that the challenge was coming, in August I started deleting things from my diet that were non Paleo hoping to make the transition more smooth. Dairy was the first thing. I started with that because I was the BIGGEST milk drinker you could imagine. I figured that would be my downfall. Then I went to bread and other grains. Week two was torture. I wanted everything and anything. And the crabbiness. WHOAH, the crabbiness.

 I am 100% Paleo now, 80% of the time. I have "treat" days once in a while. The problem is that my body does not tolerate those foods any longer. The heart burn comes back, the (sorry delicate readers) rumbly tummy, the headaches. I just can't do it. I know exactly when I do it too. It's almost immediate. The other thing that I noticed is how much I can't tolerate sweet stuff anymore. I normally have coconut milk in my coffee now and I hadn't realized one morning that I'd run out. I used some of the "sugar free" coffee creamer. My teeth felt... hairy. I can't think of another word to describe it. They almost hurt from the sweetness. And, just so you know, sugar free doesn't mean REALLY sugar free most of the time. Read labels, people.

I have SO far to go, but it's important to note how far I've come in only two months. I'm down 20 pounds. I normally don't use the scale, but sometimes it's a good gauge for where I am. Mostly I take measurements which I'll do again at the end of this month.  I sleep better. I FEEL better. Strong.

Lena is a great coach. She watches for any signs of improper form. Is always getting on my about my terrible posture (and rightfully so) but is SO encouraging. She holds me accountable. She listens and offers suggestions for modification when needed. She also doesn't let me pull the negative talk BS that I'm known for. I couldn't ask for a better person to help guide me on this path. And, those mornings when I'm laying in bed, having an anxiety attack about the WOD because I'm terrified that I'm going to let someone down, I get that text, "You coming?" or "Where are you?" and I go. And I'm always SO glad I did. I never regret it.

So. There it is. That's the reason I haven't been blogging... that I've sort of dropped off the face of the Earth. I'm here. I'm just taking some time to focus on me right now.

And, it's good.