I Survived

I not only survived my first week of school as a teacher/coach, but I absolutely loved it!! That's not to say I wasn't completely exhausted by the end of the week, okay maybe it hit me on Tuesday, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have the weekend to rest! I'm also a little sick. I think it's just from lack of sleep and constantly going going going, and possibly from a lack of nutrition as well. Nothing serious, just a sore throat and some drainage that I'm sure will clear up with rest.

I have now taught a couple of real lessons (not just school policies) and have all 3 of my volleyball teams set and ready to go. We had our volleyball parent meeting last night and it could not have gone better. The girls have made me feel so welcomed and the parents were incredibly sweet. I am so excited to kick off volleyball season on Wednesday!

It wouldn't be a first week of school without a little chaos, so lets start with Monday....I left my house at 6:20 AM, with way more than enough time to get there before our 8th graders got there for try outs at 7:00. We only live about 15 minutes away from my school, so I wasn't worried at all. I pull out of our neighborhood, go through the light to get to the on ramp and am pretty much at a dead stop. Of course, I panicked and may have illegally maneuvered my way onto the highway. I still got there in time, but it wasn't how I wanted to start the day. Then, after a great first day of tryouts, I went to get dressed for my classes and realized I had forgotten my clothes at home. Thank goodness I don't have a 2nd period class because I was able to run home. Just my luck...there was another wreck on the highway and I was again at a dead stop. I was a little frazzled, but I got back to school just in time!

Ready for Volleyball Tryouts

The rest of the day went really well! I left school around 6:30 PM full of energy and surprised myself by doing a walk/run workout covering a little over 4 miles! Plus, my wonderful friend, Chelsi, texted me on my way home from the gym and said she had a casserole in the oven and would love for Ben and I to come over. Total life saver!! I didn't plan a single dinner for this week, knowing that I wouldn't get home until 8:30 or 9:00 PM every night. She's amazing!! 

This workout flew by and was exactly what I needed. Below is the breakdown of the 42 minutes. 

0-4: 4.0 @ 7.5% incline  

4-8: 6.5 @ 1% incline 

Repeat minutes 0-8 2X (to 24 minutes)

24-26: 7.0 @ 1% incline 

26-27: 8.0 @ 1% incline 

27-28: 6.0 @ 1% incline 

Repeat minutes 24-28 3X (to 40 minutes)

40-42: 4.0 @ 5% incline 

The rest of the week went semi-smoothly. There was probably one hiccup each day, but all were minor. Tuesday I forgot my lunch and was pretty much hungry all day long. Wednesday I was getting ready in our athletic office and had to unplug an air freshener in order to plug my curling iron in. Little did I know that it was a scentsy and when I unplugged it I spilled the contents all over myself, the sink and bathroom floor. It's a lot harder than you think to clean up candle wax...not fun! On Thursday we had our first pep rally and it was so fun! I love the atmosphere of being back in school and athletics! I did forget to do something in the pep rally but it just made it all the more fun and frantic. On Friday we made our final cuts for volleyball which is always super hard. I also had on my lesson plans to show a couple videos in class about mood/tone, but unfortunately the district has not provided me with a computer yet and I couldn't show the videos without being on the network. My classes had to join another class which was fun, but I'm pretty frustrated about the computer situation. Oh well!! I'd say it was a pretty fantabulous week! 

I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to continue working out with my schedule and also need to figure out how to get the proper nutrition required to fuel me through my long days. This week I went to the gym after tryouts in the evening, but I don't want to get home at 9:00 every night. That's not fun for me or for Ben and is really not practical with our schedule. Hopefully I can start going to the gym before I get to morning tryouts. I think we're going to start having them at 7:30 or 7:45 instead of 7:00 which may not sound like a lot of extra time, but that would be enough for me to get in a workout and shower before getting to school without having to get up at 4:00 AM. 

I'm going to try and make a meal plan again this week and stick to it. The majority of my dinners this week consisted of some sort of bar and an apple or a bowl of cereal. Not exactly healthy for someone that is constantly moving throughout the day, going through volleyball tryouts and practice and working out on top of it all. I don't want to be sick all year. 

I am really enjoying my classes, my teams and all of my co-workers and cannot wait to see what the rest of this year has in store!!!! I am so happy to have found what I am supposed to be doing!! 

Some classroom pics:

My little corner - still needs some wall decor 

Computer and supply wall - hoping for more posters soon

My "About Me" bulletin board and Baylor wall 

Wall with Literary Terms 

Library Corner 

"Reading is a Hoot," "Tweet Up," and "Show Off" bulletin boards 

I am loving my room so far! I still hope to continue decorating it throughout the year, but I am thinking I'd like a paycheck first! Who knew decorating your room cost so much money?? And I'm not even an elementary teacher...I feel for them!

Any teachers our there have ideas for meals or workouts? I'd love any suggestions!!