How

I often get the question:
How do you do everything you do?

And my answer, always, is:
I have no clue. 

Every week, I look at my schedule and I think "How in the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks am I going to get through this week and do everything I need to?!"

And the reality of it is that some weeks, you do the bare minimum and that's all that gets accomplished. 

This week, I have a pretty full schedule:
Monday -- Gym, School, Open Field, Baseball Game
Tuesday -- Gym, School, Pitchers/Catchers
Wednesday -- Gym, School, Weights after school
Thursday -- School, Gym, Healthy U Meeting, hang out with friends
Friday -- Gym, School
Saturday -- Lub Dub Run! 

One time I got a fortune that said "Don't over-fill your plate unless you intend to share"
Well... I frequently thought of that piece of advice and dismissed it completely: I didn't intend to share, ever.
So I kept filling my plate
However, I am learning...

I have had to look at my life and try to cut some things here and there.
Or else, what I do for each of my commitments isn't 100% 

I have learned to say "no" to people, and I now understand why people don't get very involved.
I've tried to think of ways that I can actually be LESS involved in things, so that I have time for myself.

That's part of this Healthy U journey too I suppose:
Learning to make yourself a priority as well.
Finding time to shop and meal prep each week.
Having time to reflect in our journals and blogs
Learning that it's okay if we've blown a meal or even a weekend.... how we come back from it is what matters. 

With this week beginning testing, I know that I will be mentally exhausted from school.
I bought all my food for the week, but have to prep tomorrow.

And whatever gets done is what gets done. 

Love them.

This past week was really rough. For me. For our community. For education.
It was just a rough week.
I am so grateful then that this weekend is Easter: with the promises of our Lord, and the example of Love that he is.
Every year at Easter time, I have two things I like to watch: The Ten Commandments and the Passion of the Christ. 

My faith keeps me humble. Because I know that no matter how much grace I think I give, no matter how merciful I think I am (with my students, friends, family) ... I know there is one greater than me whose love overshadows even our wildest dreams. 

That has been my theme for the week: Love them. 

I saw this meme and thought "Duh"

So today, after church, I went to Wal-Mart and a man was at one of the self-check-out machines and he called me over and asked if I had four cents. Sure! I gave him the four pennies, and he said "bless you!" I replied with a "Happy Easter!" .... on my walk to my car, a lady stopped me and complimented my dress.
It really is the little things in our lives that show love. 

So this weekend, I took my cousin to find a prom dress in the city. After searching at Target, Khol's, JC Penny, Macy's, and Dillard's ... We found one at David's Bridal! Phew! And made it back in time for my sweet niece's birthday!! 

Whew! What a whirl-wind of a trip! But I would do just about anything for this girl, so it's all good :) 

SUCH A SWEET GIRL!!

She's pretty cool! 

Today being Easter, we are having a family party which means food, and candy. The birthday party yesterday meant cake and ice cream and punch. I have been very good... except for the jellybeans I ate just now :) 

Last night I was going through my dresses to pick one to wear to church and I was pleasantly surprised that ALL of them fit. Even the ones (that we all have) that I had tucked away in the back, as dresses that I hoped one day I would fit into... Those fit too!
Here's the one I settled on, and I was happy to wear this morning

Of course, my outfit wouldn't have been complete with out my new Keep Collective bracelet: 

That's all for the week.
This next week is a short week at school; I will have to go in tomorrow to get my plans in order. And then we will start testing and we're about done!
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! 

80/20 but never 100%

Our community has been shocked by the loss of life we have endured over the last year and a half. I've debated saying anything, but I feel compelled.  

A lot of people have been posting on Facebook how "the school district needs to do something" and how "the school should put a stop to this bullying" 

Here's my first issue: We don't know bullying is happening unless someone tells us. It is law now that if someone makes an accusation of bullying, we must open an investigation and have it completed within a certain amount of time. Click here to read the law. 

If a student does not report the bullying, we don't know we have to do anything.
Which brings me to my next point: so much of the bullying (and everything for that matter) is now done on social media: messages that only last for 10 seconds, encrypted messages, private messages,  many times their privacy settings don't allow anyone to see their posts.
This makes it incredibly hard for the school or parents to know what's going on.

When I was in high school, my feelings/questions/concerns went into my Journal: if my mom wanted to know who I had a crush on, who my best friends were or what I was worried about she just had to read it. Now-a-days everything is done secretly, privately. It has been my experience that if a kid is being made fun of, they are typically nervous to tell someone because they are embarrassed. 

We never truly know what someone is going through: two people can go through the same experience and perceive it completely differently!  

The loss we have endured has saddened me and most recently made me question what I could have done. I never want to be that parent, or that friend who had an opportunity and missed it.
Hindsight is always 20/20. It's hard not to blame oneself.

I do not believe this is a "bullying" issue. I believe this is a "mental health" issue.
Mental Health would encompass both the person being bullied AND the bully-er.
I think it needs to be a joint effort between schools, parents and the community.
Families need to sit together and talk about things: hopes, dreams, fears, worries.
Churches need to pray for our children and for their futures. Pray for our schools.
Pray for people who are contemplating taking their own lives. 

And if you are one of those people, know that you have someone you can talk to and trust.
And know that on our school website (as part of our bullying protocol) there is a "Tip Line" section parents, students, staff can report a bullying issue, report an issue about drugs/violence/weapons, and/or can report praise. 

-----------------------------Okay, enough of that---------------------------------

Despite all of these big life events, I have managed to stay pretty on track with my Healthy U journey. We talked a little bit at our last meeting (which was playing kickball) about how you have to have real experiences while on this journey. I can't just eat my diet so strictly all year and lose 100 lbs and then January 10, 2018 go back to the "real world." There are going to be events: Holidays, Birthday parties, dates, funerals, carry-ins and so much more that you don't want to totally deprive yourself of!
I said that I try really hard to keep that perspective in my mind. I like to think 90% on, 10% off (or 80% on 20% off depending). During the week I am able to be spot on, hitting my macros and calorie count each day. I know on Tuesday evenings I will eat "off plan" and then the weekends I tend to eat "off plan" as well. But if I am able to stay on more than off, I'm doing good! 

Just our first group picture to use as comparison. 

The Healthy U crew! We had so much fun playing kickball! 

This dress is down TWO sizes from what I was wearing before! I bought a new dress for my teacher of the year banquet, which is a size smaller than this one: I know I will be able to fit into it by May 24th :) 

I have set a new BIG goal.
My driver's license has to be renewed on my birthday this year.
The weight on my license right now says 175# ... which is a lie.
But by October I want to be what my license says!
It's 191 days until my birthday, that will be 37 lbs lost from now.
That's 0.19 pounds per day.

Don't wanna be like Honey Boo Boo this summer! 

Deficit

I am just going to chalk this past week as a deficit.
Not that I didn't win, just that it will be a deficit in what I've done so far. 

My grandfather passed away on Tuesday.

While it is very sad, it is also a blessing. He had suffered with Alzheimer's for the past decade or so. We had already gone through a lot of the grieving process before his bodily death. We had a service yesterday, April Fool's Day, and everyone said how appropriate: he was always being a jokester! 

Because of everything happening, I took off work Tuesday afternoon through Friday. I've never known everything that goes into funeral preparations. I kept myself busy at my grandma's house each day cleaning, running errands, answering the door, and helping in any way I could.
I wrote the obituary and helped fill out thank you's this morning.
Having a funeral is a large task, but luckily my family is awesome and we all pitched in (as we always have) and made it easier on my grandma. 

Needless to say, this past week I didn't follow my meal plan or gym plan.
I just did what I had to do.
It was so nice to have so many people provide us meals, food, toilet paper, paper towels, stamps, and etc. People are just so wonderful. 

I know this week will be better: I will be back on track, and hopefully down a few more pounds.
It's getting easier to come back from small deficits - and that in itself is a victory!