Willow River Falls (Wisconsin)
In other news school is going so smoothly it's kind of worrying me. I'm used to being a little freaked out all the time and desperately needing every minute of my plan period, but lately it's been somewhat relaxing. We did get a bit of sad news this week, though. The teacher whom I was hired to replace died Friday afternoon of a heart attack. He was 35! He also has a baby boy who's turning 1 in October. Seriously, how unfair is life sometimes? Tomorrow the school is sponsoring a "hat day" where kids/teachers pay money to wear a hat and all the money is going to an educational fund for his son. I'm not a hat person, but I'll be sporting a Mizzou cap for the occasion.
Tomorrow we're doing a fun lesson that's taking full advantage of the wonderful weather, so I hope to post some pictures the kids take. Keep your eyes open.
Also, the Ride Like a Pro challenge is almost over (Friday's the last day). So far, with my rough estimates (I underestimated most of the times) I've biked over 650 miles this summer - since June. I guess they're recognizing the participants on September 13th when the Tour of Missouri comes through town. That should be cool :)
Well, after all that talk about teaching being a breeze this year, I must go finish planning part of tomorrow's lesson.
Currently Reading: The Off Season by Catherine Murdock
You might try ridin' your bike or just usin' your feet...
Just a cute little jingle they've got goin on with this new campaign - Get About Columbia
It's a very cute campaign and I really think people might be listening. My cousin and his girlfriend, E & I went on a bike ride today, it was fun. The weather has just been awesome lately and the trails in Columbia are seriously amazing. You can get almost anywhere. I was telling E he should really ride his bike to campus - using the trails - because it's less than a mile from his apartment (the trailhead) and it comes out right at the Engineering building on campus. How much more convenient could it get (he's an engineer)?
It's amazing how many more cars you see with bike racks...hopefully that means more people are biking. If I still lived in CoMo, I would be all over those trails!
I bought a new bike seat today and, W-O-W! It's much more comfortable on the bottom. :) It has what the company calls a "comfort release zone" and lemme tell ya, it works!
Well...it's popcorn night so I have to head to the folks. Oh, this could be bad...but I'm starting to really enjoy biking - it makes me really despise when I have to run. :) Haha, running's never been my favorite hobby, but it's good for you, so I do it. Maybe I'll just bike....?
Currently Reading: Just finished Peony in Love by Lisa See - need to find my next book.
So, last year in June I started going to the gym with my Mom. Sound weird? Well, my parents are both really into being healthy. Dad rock climbs, bikes, runs and just generally moves around a lot. Mom is always trying to make recipes healthier. She used to bike a lot but now she goes to the gym a lot and just does weights and such. I love that my parents are healthy, hopefully that wears off, right? So, I started going five times a week with Mom. Running, a few weights here and there. You know, just trying to get back into it. Last year when I lived on my own I did...nothing. And I do mean nothing. It was pathetic. So, now I take a spinning class once a week at the local gym and manage to run at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes and then bike for at least 25 minutes afterwards. Well, my spinning instructor's been trying to convince me to do a duathlon and I think I'm actually gonna do it! Ahh! I just have to commit to it, then I can't back out...right? Well, Dad's going to do it with me, which I think will be cool. I'll just have to start running after I bike after I've run. Haha. We'll see how that goes.
I give up and admit. It's that time of the year. I'm ready for the summer. That's the one perk of my job, Summers Off! Unfortunately right now I'm going to have to take at least four classes this summer. Good thing is that 3 of the classes meet only one night a week, go CMU! So, it won't seem totally overwhelming. It just means that I don't really have a summer off. Course, last summer was pretty easy, so I don't mind :)
The kids are definitely also at the point of exhaustion. I'm getting trouble from those kids who've never caused a problem before. They're (the seniors) just ready to get out. And I can't blame them. I was so ready I got out my junior year and I never regretted it a bit. College was great, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with my students. It'll be interesting :)
Oh, and I'm looking at purchasing a new camera and little-impulsive-me is really looking forward to buying it and posting some new fun pictures!
Willow River Falls (Wisconsin)