Hellllllo 2011!

2010 was jam-packed.  Lots of experiences. Lots of lessons.  All in all, I am glad to say good bye to this year and ready to make the best of 2011.  Here's the highlights of this crazy year....

• Student teaching- I started the year with student teaching in kindergarten.  I had a fabulous mentor teacher and grade level to work with.  They were so welcoming and really treated me as an equal.  I am extremely thankful for the lessons I learned during my last semester of college.  I remember "thinking" I was exhausted, but looking back now it is almost comical that I thought that :)  Great experience with great people (kiddos included).  
• Graduated from UH- I graduated from college in May and was lucky to have a lot of my family come to celebrate.  After a few days on Oahu we all packed up and headed to Maui.  What a great time!!

•  2 trips to Alaska-   We went to Alaska in July and again for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time visiting Warren's family and exploring this beautiful state. Awesome times!

• Jenn's wedding- My sister had a beautiful wedding that I was lucky to be a part of. This also meant I got to go home and play with my adorable niece.  She makes my heart smile! It makes me sad that I can't see her more often, but boy do we have fun together when I do! :)

•  Became a 5th grade teacher- To my delight, I was offered a job at the school I student taught at.  Having many familiar faces is making this experience much easier!  My first semester of teaching was not a walk in the park, but I have come a long way and know I will only keep growing.  This has been by far the hardest thing I have ever done.  It has been a stressful and emotional few months.  There have been many days where I dismissed the kids at 2:05 and immediately closed my doors so the outside world wouldn't see me bawling alone in my classroom.  There are days where I seriously feel like I am not capable of doing anything right.  I have learned the impact that a few kind words can have on someone in these types of situations and also when friendliness is completely missing.  I have learned to be proud of my successes, even if they seem so small in the grand scheme... 

  Thanks 2010! Lots of great memories and challenges that have only made me a stronger person today.

Mele Kalikimaka

We had a nice relaxing holiday weekend.  On Friday morning we hiked the makapuu lighthouse trail then lounged by the pool.

That night we opened presents, drank cocktails and ate hot spinach artichoke dip and edamame.

 He's so cute isn't he?

After we opened presents, we played phase ten and watched Christmas movies

On Christmas day, we made a big dinner and watched all 6 episodes of Glory daze (a new favorite)

My favorite gift this year was this tour:
(date not yet chosen)

http://www.bigkahunahawaii.com/en/activities/whale_watch_lunch_cruise_234.htm

hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

GU

Santa knows me so well. I am a pretty picky eater especially when it comes to artificially flavored food-like substances.  Because of this, Santa planted 5 different flavors of GU in my stocking! Now I can sample each to decide which ones are tolerable and which are nasty.

Some of them sound pretty iffy, but today I tried the strawberry banana flavor. It wasn't horrible and definitely came in handy today when my 3 mile run felt like a marathon.  I think I had one too many cocktails/pieces of cheesecake/rolls over the holiday weekend, and I definitely paid this morning around mile 1.  It took a few minutes to kick in, but once it did, I felt re-energized was able to finish this relatively short run without stops.  Long story short, GU wins!

quirks..

I have a few confessions to make.  I am kind of weird.  Okay not totally strange...I don't do OCD rituals before bed (like a certain someone I lived with for a semester...), but I have a few quirks that I don't think are "normal".  I wouldn't say this without giving evidence so here we go...

I can't wear my Wednesday socks on Monday
Okay...I know this sounds really childish, but I have these really cute polka dotted days of the week socks. I CAN'T wear them unless it is the appropriate day.  I don't know why...but I get this sense that I will have a horrific day if I wear the wrong pair. Weird...I know.

I am a HUGE hypochondriac 
I am not longer able to visit WebMD or watch Mystery Diagnosis (by choice) because I have this uncanny ability to convince myself I have every disease known to man.  I have been told that this is "common" when you get married or have children because you have a new/different type of love in your life. Not sure if this is true or not..?

There are many more things like when someone tells me to "drive safe," I can never say "I will."  It always has to be "I'll try."  Or the fact that I CAN'T  watch scary movies or even their previews.  Or the fact that if a trailer for one comes on tv, my fingers go in my ears while I sing, "LA LA LA" and frantically search for the remote to change the channel. Okay...I sound like a basket case. I'm really not THAT weird...I promise.  I am not sure why I am sharing this with the world (more like the 2 people that read my blog ), but it is kind of liberating to get these quirks off my chest.  Before now, only my husband knew how truly strange I can be, but maybe I am not alone..?

I caved...

 Hello Blog world.  I am here to chronicle my crazy life.  Maybe some of you will find interest in my day-to-day activities or maybe not...either way I'm fine with it.  This is mostly a place for me to vent, log miles ran and share the daily adventures I experience.  Throughout this process I am not looking for accolades or sympathy.  I just need a place to organize my thoughts. What better place than a blog?  

I am currently: 

On winter break.  

This equals me being the most relaxed I have been in months.  I haven't thought about school for more than 5 minutes at a time since break began a few days ago.  This also means I am getting TONS of sleep and when the sun actually decides to come out, I will get a much needed dose of vitamin D. Winter break = VERY happy Amy.

Crafting

With all this spare time, I have been doing various craft project.  I started crocheting potholders (that is about all the skill I have so far), making jewelry, and once my new sewing machine gets here, I will be getting my sew on (thanks mother!)

Reading

I LOVE reading, and have taken zero time to do it for pleasure since summer.  I am thrilled to have a bunch of new books waiting to be read.  I am currently reading a book by Dawn Dais.  She is absolutely hilarious and is helping me mentally prepare for this lofty personal goal I am determined to achieve next December.  Next, I have the Percy Jackson series waiting for me.

Running

After crunching the numbers, I ran 57 miles in November followed by a whopping 5 miles so far in December.  Yikes... December has been a crazy month, but there are no excuses for my lack of treadmill time.  That being said, I am now training for a few races coming up in the next few months.  The first being the Great Aloha Run in February followed by the Kona half marathon in June.  This week my training looks like this:

Monday: 2 mile run (completed)

Tuesday: rest day

Wednesday: 2 mile run (completed)

Thursday: 2 mile run

Friday: cross train 1 hour

Saturday: rest day

Sunday: 3 mile run.

This training schedule seems pretty simple compared to what I was doing in November, but I went too hard too fast.  I was constantly hungry and exhausted.  I want to slowly work up to doing higher mileage so I don't burn out.

Excited for Christmas

We have an adorably decorated home right now and I love it! I have been baking and watching insanely cheesy Christmas movies.  Oh how I love this time of year!  On Christmas eve we are planning to spend the day at Lanikai (weather permitting) then do presents and cocktails that night.  On Christmas morning, we exchange stockings and Warren cooks a FAB dinner with little help from me. The only bad thing about Christmas is that it eventually has to end.