Saturday Sixteen Freewrite

It is that time again! It is MESSIAH TIME! I am listening to Part II, and I already listened to Part I twice, and it is only 7:54 am! LOL!

I never ever tire of this timeless piece of PERFECT music. It really is PERFECT! George wants to go to the Portland Baroque Orchestra performance on December 14, but I have this Personal Trainer Certification exam hanging over my head, and I am not sure if I will have it done by then, and I don't want to go TOO far into the Christmas vacation with Michael and Paul studying for it. So, I need to think about. UGH!

I love what I am learning, but I am getting tired of studying. I still have SO FAR to go before I am ready to take this exam. I have finished all the quizzes in the eTeach course, and I just have on more nutrition discussion question to complete. Then, I can study for the final. I would love to just get that out of the way so I can move on to really studying for the actual exam, but I am sure that the final will really prepare me for it. I love what I am learning. I think it is really interesting stuff (just like my undergraduate degree in nutrition was really interesting), BUT I hate studying for tests. I just love to LEARN! I am sure I will do fine on the test, but I want to be 100% sure that I know the material before I go into the test. Today, I am going to work on knowing the different exercises for everything. I also want to get those muscles down pat! (Where did that expression "down pat" come from? I feel a Google search coming on.)

Anyway, I am also making French rolls. I made 14 of them for Thanksgiving and hoped that I could bring some home, but my kids ate three a piece! So, I promised them I would make more for just us. :) (Good mommy!)  So, I started making them at 6:30 this morning so they will wake up to the smell of them wafting through the morning air! :) 

Today, we will probably decorate our tree, and I might just go to the library to study so that I can have no distraction. When I go somewhere, I tend to really bare down on it and utilize my time better. Things will be really quiet here on Monday too. :) 

I only have two more class at OSU, and I am done for Fall term! I am still trying to determine if this is really worth it for me. I really enjoy my students. I really enjoy teaching. I enjoy that I have been immersed in lots of teach in such a short amount of time. I will have taught 60 classes by the end of my classes this Wednesday when you combine it with my SNAP Fitness classes. So, that is a lot of teaching experience. As much as I love my students, I am not compensated well, and it is also a lot of time to get to campus and back for just two classes. In addition, I have a lot of out of class time grading and answering student emails and keeping track of attendance. So, I have to weigh all of that in together and see if it is really worth it. It is definitely worth it right now because it is giving me really great job experience and something nice to put on a resume. There are also benefit to teaching a university class of mostly 20 somethings. They have bodies that respond so nicely to exercise, and they are required to be there so I really, really see great improvement in their technique. I can tell they are getting much stronger, and many have told me as such. So, I like that aspect of it. When I teach at SNAP fitness, it is a mixed bag of newbies and older adults. There are a couple of people who have done it consistently, and they have really improved. I like SNAP Fitness because it is smaller and more intimate, and they are more into joking and laughing and making it a social time. I like that aspect of it so much! It also requires no out of class time other then me deciding what to do on any given day. My choices are more limited there because I do not have Therabands (but I have tubes which are great substitutes), and there are balls, but only a few.

Anywho, what else do I want to say before my time runs out. 

I have enjoyed doing my #100happydays things. I am on Day 68 today. I knew it would run into Christmas, and that always makes me very happy! :) I love having the boys home for this Thanksgiving weekend; and in two weeks, they will home for three weeks! WOOHOO! I am so happy about that!!! I love it when our family is all together because we genuinely like each other, and my kids like each other. So that is so great. We went to see Mockingjay II last night together, and it was a great thing since it has become our tradition to do together (other than the first one because Paul had not read the first book and did not want to see it until he had read it).  

Oh, perfect timing because I have less than a minute. Just a reminder that there will be errors in this freewrite because I am not supposed to proofread it. So hard for me. 

Back to studying for my test!!! :) Praying I can learn those muscles and exercises in record time today!! Brain work!

Freewrite for a Sunday Morning

Well, here we go on a Sunday morn freewrite. I rarely sit for long periods of time and write anymore. Too bad I did not have my treadmill desk when I was writing the Bible Book Club! I would have burned so many calories and saved my back the heartache.

Speaking of my back. While my lower back has not had pain since November 19, 2014 (Yes, almost a whole year with NO S-I joint incident! And that one was brought on by sitting too long one morning + going for a walk in REALLY cold temps [33 degrees] + hitting a bump in the sidewalk = OUCH! Prior to that, it had been another year that I had had any incident. So, I am doing really well in that department.), my upper back and neck continued to have knots or what I call this "string of tightness" that travels from my neck down to the mid-back inside the shoulder blade. Well, I have not been to Dr. Myers for maybe 5 weeks. Last week, I canceled my appointment only to have a knot for most of the weekend, but then I employed ALL the Self-Myofascial release rolling exercises and static stretching on all my overactive muscles (which did NOT include the knotted area - that area is actually very WEAK and needs strengthening rather than rolling), and the knots went away. I had solved my problem and saved myself a 20 dollar copay! I stand here today with not one area of tightness in my body. I was like this all day yesterday too. I have gotten up every day and before I exercise I do that corrective SMR rolling and stretching on those overactive muscles which FOR ME include my quads, TFL, calves, pecs, latissimus dorsi, and thoracic spine. I do it regardless of whether I feel great or not. I also do the corrective stretching after I exercise. It takes about 20-30 minutes extra total on a daily basis, but it is worth it. 

I was going to write something here and the original reason why I was going to freewrite today, but I cannot remember what is was for the life of me! My goodness. What was it? Oh well.

Oh I remember. I have eight more books to read for my "52 in 2015"! I have not read as many books this year, but a 600+ book that is a lot of science should count as at least three books! Before the end of the year, I get to read Oliver Twist for my book club. That will be really fun! So, I have to think of 7 more books to read. I think I have some Christmas books in my stack that I have never read before. Oh, I want to read Nancy's book that I started but never finished and Melinda's book that I am about 65% of the way through already! So that is two more. So, I just need to find 5 more books to read after that! :) I should consult some "I want to read" lists. I am not the academic that I once was, but that is totally cool. I love what I am doing, and less reading means less sitting and better for my back! Oh, I did start that book by Kris Kyle, but it didn't grab me like I thought it would. I am sure there are great books that I could read that would be great for my walks. I might just check out something to download onto my iPhone. 

I think the test is looming though. So, maybe I will do that after my final two quizzes, two discussion questions, final, and certification exam!

BYE! No proofreading!

44. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training

 I was asked to become a Certified Personal  Trainer by a manager of a local fitness facility two years ago, and I am finally getting around to it! I have loved everything about this book. I learned so much! It is 680 pages, but I couldn't put it down! It is so much of what I learned from my B.S. in Foods and Nutrition. I am coming around full circle, and I love it! 

I will finish up the class I am taking in three weeks, and I hope to take the certification exam before Christmas. I learned SO MUCH, and it has been fun to pass on what I am learning to my Pilates students and friends. :) 

43. The Prayer of Faith by J.O. Fraser

What a gem of a book! It is short and sweet and to the point. My husband had it from years ago, and I just grabbed it off the bookshelf when I went to go on a prayer retreat. James O. Fraser was a British missionary with China Inland Mission (Now Overseas Missionary Fellowship). He ministered to the Lisu people in China in the early 1900's. So sweet! 
Here is a link to the online version:

http://omf.org/us/the-prayer-of-faith/

Tuesday Twelve Freewrite

I just got back from my six month skin cancer check, and I had just one biopsy this time (the last two times were four each with one being melanoma)! 

I have a whole day to answer my discussion questions and study for my midterm due on November 8. Other than the doctor's appointment at 8:20 am (and I got a interval training walk/run up there and back) and a Skype meeting with Elizabeth at 8 pm tonight, I have a very undisturbed day to study. I like having large chunks of time to be able to get lost in the material because I find the material so fascinating. 

For the discussion questions this week, I have to explain why plyometrics is important and beneficial for an advanced client interested in hypertrophy (muscle mass gain), explain how I would regress a plyometric training program for a deconditioned and an elder client, and design a speed, agility, and quickness drill for a weight loss client. These discussion questions take a lot of time, but I like that it forces me to practically apply everything I am learning from the book. So that is beneficial. 

My Pilates classes are going well. I have so many students that want special exceptions to make up their classes though, and that is a bit unnerving for me. There is a lot of sickness going around, and I can see doing it for someone who has sickness that they cannot do anything about. I guess it doesn't hurt them to ask. 

I have really enjoyed doing #100happydays every day. I am on Day 36, and it is so helpful to look for the happy in each day, which actually is not too hard for me since I am, for the most part, a pretty happy person. I think it has been really good for my friends who tend to "catastrophize" and agonize every day. It really helps them seek it out and relish it. 

So far here are my happies for the day in the last 2 minutes of this freewrite:

1. Waking up very early
2. Having a good kind of soreness in my arms and latissimus dorsi after doing the Theraband for three Pilates classes yesterday
3. Listening to Steve's sermon on 1 Peter 3:8-18 that I missed because I had to teach two Sunday School classes 
4. Learning about plyometrics, and speed, agility, and quickness drills
5. Finding a stash of Earl Grey tea I did not know I had
6. Earl Grey with 2% milk - oh my!
7. Interval training up the hill to my derm appointment
8. The receptionist was nice this time
9. I only had one biopsy and got to catch up with my doctor friend

There is the bell. I think that is a lot of happies for only 9:42 in the morning! 

Another Reason to do Pilates: Beautiful Bowel Movements

I realized something the other day. I noticed that I have had very regular and easy bowel movements over the last few months. (Sorry if that is TMI.) I have cut down on caffeine in the mornings. I have always thought that was helpful in that cause. 

I realized this regularity was coinciding with my increase in doing Pilates. I have been doing the exercises very consistently since I decided to become certified as an instructor in late June/early July. Before, it was hit or miss, maybe once a week or twice a week. Now, I do it three times on Mondays and Wednesdays and at least once on another three days of the week. 

Could there be a connection between my regularity and Pilates? I went to Google it, and this article gave me my answer: 

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/337331-exercises-to-stimulate-bowel-movement/

Here is the excerpt about Pilates from that article: 

Pilates

Pilates Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Pilates workouts put a huge demand on your core for the entire workout, and force you to breathe deeply through discomfort. The near-constant contraction of the abs combined with the tightly controlled movement of the limbs can stimulate the bowels in much the same way as ab work. The breathing techniques can help you relax and focus when nature finally calls. Try the double leg stretch, leg circles or teasers for thorough results.

I will comment that I would NOT try the Teaser until you have worked up to that challenge, even taking a class from a certified instructor (like me!). 

Wednesday Freewrite

It is 1:19 pm, and I am going to write for fifteen uninterrupted minutes. I have not written as much the past few months, and that is mainly because my Big Hairy Audacious Goal of the Bible Book Club was completed. I still love to do it though, and somehow I think there is a book somewhere in here. 

I had two great Pilates classes this morning, and I have one more to go. I did more observing and less demonstrating today. We have a few new exercises that we added that I did demonstrate because they are new, but I wanted to watch around the room, and by Jove, I think these students are really getting it. 

I think my second class really like the stability balls too. So, I will bring them back after I do a Theraband class next Monday. Some said they were sore from the class, and that is great! I like to challenge them. 

I messed up on one exercise today though, and it bugs me that I did. I also had a hard time explaining the Tick-Tock exercise because I had never explained it before! LOL! I really like the people in both my classes though. Very nice students. It is a pleasure. 

The class at night on Monday turned out to be FOUR people from the same church. What is the probability of that? SO fun. Two out of the four were new, and we did the stability ball. So, it was a challenging class to come to. Really challenging. 

Well, now I am wondering what else I am going to freewrite about since it has only been five minutes, and I have ten more to go, and I really should eat my lunch and get back to studying my Unit 4 chapters! I am so close to being able to study for the midterm, and I am very excited about that. That will mean I am half way through my Personal Training Exam Prep Course. That is so nice. It is a LOT more work than I had expected it to me with lots of deadlines and minimum grades that are expected of  us, but it is keeping me on track and good preparation for the exam. They guarantee you will pass if you meet all the requirements of the course or you get your money back, but they make meeting all the requirements pretty tough, and quite honestly, one of the parameters of grading is VERY subjective. So, there is room for making everyone ineligible for the money back guarantee by not getting a high enough score on the subjective measurement. I think the most time consuming thing in the test prep is answering the discussion questions every week. I spent HOURS crafting my response for Unit 2, and I get no feedback as to why I go at 3 out of 4 instead of a 4. So, that sort of bugged me, but then I realized that is really does not matter because I am pretty sure I can pass it. So, I shouldn't worry about getting perfect score in the test prep course because it is a "grade" that means absolutely nothing. What is most important is passing the exam that I hope to take in December. 

What I do like about it is that it is not an easy exam by all I have heard. It has a good mixture of science and practicality. The teaching videos every week are very informative. So I am learning a lot. In fact, last night,  I stayed up late just reading my chapters that are not even due until next week because I took my quiz that is not due until Sunday on Tuesday instead. 

Bottom line: I love to learn new things. I also love to pass those new things off to my students!

Well, I don't care if it has not been 15 minutes. It has been 12, and that is good enough for me!

BYE BYE!

42. Intermediate Mat Manual by Power Pilates

I have done a LOT of reading this year, but it has been more educational than for pleasure. I love it though. I have to get credit for this one since I had to read it and then TEACH it. I passed yesterday, and I am celebrating by entering it here! 

41. The Anatomy of Pilates by Paul Massey

This was a really helpful book as I became certified to teach Pilates to an intermediate level. It was helpful for me to know what muscles were being worked as I performed each exercise too. It has great illustrations. An added bonus was I learned muscles and their names in a more applicable way.This has helped me study for my Certified Personal Trainer exam in December too. Less boring that way!  I am able to inform my students about what muscles are being worked and greater understand what exercises to skip if they have had previous injuries. 

I checked it out of the library and ran the limits of my checking out. I wish I had bought it from Amazon back then because it has doubled in price since I first started considering buying it! RATS! I am checking it out again from my library now because I refer to it all the time. It is much superior to Pilates Anatomy by Rael Isacowitz and Karen Clippinger (review coming soon). 

Fifteen Minute Freewrite

I am just going to type away for the allotted fifteen minutes.

I got up about an hour earlier than I expected. I was also going to have to go into work early because I could not find some things I needed for my class today, but I found them under a book. So, I ended up having way more time this morning than I thought I would have. YAY! I think it is funny that I could not find that stuff. It was right on the table, but I searched for probably an hour last night for them.

Today, I am going to have the students use balls to hug the midline and Therabans in order to get a better workout on their legs during the side-kick series. I cannot believe that I ran out of time on Monday. I have never done that before!!!

Today I also have a second mammogram. There was something "inconclusive" on my first one I did last Tuesday (so proud I got in and out of there by 8:40 am when my appointment did not officially start until 8:45!). I am a bit nervous about the whole things, but George is coming in with me to the appointment. So that means I get him for a bit longer this week than I usually do! YAY!

I have to do three overhead squat postural assessments and two one leg squat assessments for a discussion forum in my class. It is a lot of extra work, but it will force me to learn the material. So, I am happy about that. This eTeach is a lot more work than just studying for the personal training exam, but I want to be prepared to walk into personal training right after I finish. So there you go! I will be much better prepared with these things that I have to do to pass the class.

I am very concerned about my nephew. He is in a very bad way. I really want to help him. I don't want to enable though. What can I do, Lord? I will listen to You and obey.

My body is becoming stronger and stronger every day. I love this new level of Pilates exercises that I just learned from Marie. I am trying to teach them to my class. I am not sure if I communicated very well with them this last Monday though. Lord, help me to be a better teacher. I hope my SNAP class has more of the experienced people so I can take them to the next level. When I have new people, and they are strong, I don't know that until they say it was too easy. Boy, I could make it so much harder for them if I knew how strong they were to begin with. I did like that Sue said that she always feels so much better after she does the class. That was great.

I am sitting at my desk typing away with no pain. I am so happy about that. That weird neck/trapezius (or was it the serratus or the rhomboid?) is gone. I wonder if NOT going to OMT helped hit because it was not being manipulated. I think I can definitely go to just having OMT every three weeks or so. I would like to get to doing Massages every three weeks and OMT every three weeks. I really like the massages, and Emiko says I am just tight, and that is how some people are built. I really look forward to doing the flexibility training course after I am done with the CPT exam. That will be continuing education, and I got it at a great discount price. 

Wonder what I will do for a little warm up today? I think standing warm up will be appropriate. I don't want to do it for two long, maybe 5 minutes max. I took too long in the warm up on Monday, leaving me little time for the added exercises. I think I will just add the Open Leg Rocker, the advanced Swan today and do three regular leg plus one Big Finish of the Side Kick Series. Then I am hoping to add the Serratus Push Up and a longer 45 second Front Support. 

Oh perfect, I am looking at my timer, and I am less than one minute. YAY! I needed to write. I am praying I do not encounter that negative man again, and I need to get out of my class very quickly in order to do that. I will have to ask my boss if it is OK to let the people stay in the room if the instructor does not get there in time. I am hoping he is not hostile to me again!!!

BYE! 

#100happydays Favs

Day21 of #100happydays - walking under fall leaves at OSU.

A photo posted by Carol Weaver (@carolfoasia) on Oct 14, 2015 at 6:30am PDT

Day 19 of #100happydays - Four-point buck beauty in the backyard

WereA photo posted by Carol Weaver (@carolfoasia) on Oct 11, 2015 at 8:06am PDT

Postural Alignment Sensors? WOW!

This is new. So I am not sure what the reviews will be, but this was so fascinating for me to learn about. I am on a mission to help people develop better posture to avoid back pain and strengthen the core. So this is right up my alley! 

What do you think?

Saturday Seventeen Freewrite

Well, I am doing two freewrites in a row! WOW!

Just for those of you who randomly read this blog, a freewrite is a concept that was made popular by Peter Elbow (click on link to learn more). Here is a definition from wikipedia.org:

Free writing, a term commonly used by Elbow, coined by Ken Macrorie, is to write without stopping, without editing, without sharing, without worrying about grammar, without thinking, without rushing. Elbow wants his students (and others) to write whatever they want, however they want but just write daily-10 to 15 minutes for one freewrite. Normal freewriting can be adapted to focused freewriting and public freewriting. Focused freewriting is trying to stay on a topic, which is particularly useful when a student has a specific assignment to do. Public freewriting is geared toward being shared, which makes it seem a little more risky but it is very useful in groups, especially where there is trust, and growth can occur. The goal of this exercise is to bring about a more natural language, while making the writing process easier and more comfortable to the student.^[7]

I love it. My friend Julie Bogart taught me how to do it when I was homeschooling my kids. She owns a company called Bravewriter.com , and her teaching helped my kids to become the "brave writers" they are today (rock it in every college class when it comes to writing - proud mama).

So now I will proceed with my freewrite! :) 

What a whirlwind week. I loved it. I taught four college Pilates classes (in addition to my two classes I teach at SNAP Fitness), and I think I will like it. I think I was born to teach. I was not necessarily born to take attendance! LOL! That is a bit more complicated, and I am not sure if I like the system that I have developed. :) I took it from my friend who taught the class before me, but I think I need to ask the more "fine tuned" details of better attendance taking because I just throw these 4 x 6 cards with their names on it, and they put them at the front of their mats, and then they throw them back at me. I have some international students in my class, and I have never received a card from one, and I wonder if he is there but just does not understand the whole concept of the cards. 

All that aside, I love teaching people about living a less stressed and strong life! I hope and pray these principles will carry over into their everyday life. It would be awesome. Pilates has been SO HELPFUL to me in the quest for a pain-free and strong existence! YAY! I can "sell it" because I am passionate about it.

I am also passionate about Jesus. :) He is my life! I have been meditating on Colossians 3 the last couple of days, and it has been very rich, rich, rich. Letting His word "richly dwell within me."

Day 11 of #100happydays - Colossians 3 and a cuppa' tea!

A photo posted by Carol Weaver (@carolfoasia) on Oct 2, 2015 at 9:13am PDT

Woke up this morning with a certain person on my heart. I am not sure why that is, but I am glad I followed my gut and wrote her. I think she is on an important trip somewhere. So there you go! 

I start my first full day of studying for my personal fitness trainer exam. I hope to take it before Christmas and start the year at SNAP doing that. I am excited to inch forward toward some long term goals of mine.

One more thing, last night was awesome. I love, love, love being around the House of Prayer people. I prayer walked on campus with three other girls, and we prayed blessings over one of the buildings I teach in, and also went to the residence hall and classrooms for the internationals and prayed blessings over that too. We also walked by the place where a girl was sexually assaulted last week. They have not caught the man. There were three other teams of 3-4 who also prayed through different parts of campus so I think we covered the whole thing between the 20+ of us who gathered at the Upper Room. Love, love, love the partnership we have with these dear, dear folks. They invited us to intercede with them over a "Pre-Halloween Burn" which is a 26 hour prayer vigil. They will have a booth on Friday and Saturday night where they will pray for people and do dream interpretation. How fun is that!!!!?????

Well, I think my 17 minutes have just ended. Another thing about a freewrite is that I do not proofread it and just send it into cyberspace. Excuse the errors. I do know the difference between there, their, and they're, but sometimes when I type fast, I miss that. So, forgive me for the errors!

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!!!

Friday Fifteen Freewrite

I woke up at 4:30 this morning thinking it was at least 6 am, but alas, it was not.

I have not done a freewrite in quite a while. I have been busy with getting my OSU classes started. I finally did so last Monday, and they went very well. I will be pretty busy from Monday - Wednesday, but I am hoping to have my Thursdays and Fridays fairly flexible. I may have my Tuesdays unstructured also because I will probably need a rest in between the two days. I have to evaluate all of that. 

I had my first Wellspring group of the year, and it was great. I think the overnight trip we took to the coast really helped solidify our relationships. God gave me a picture, and I should just take a picture and put it here, but it was of Colossians 3 and the correlation with the principles of Pilates! LOL! 

Breathe 
Christ is my life (breath is life)

Concentration
Set MIND on things above - see things from HIS perspective
Let Word of Christ dwell richly
Let peace of God rule

Control 
Focusing on Him with our minds allow us to 
put on love and doing all in His name in our actions.

Center
Christ is the center. He is the "Core Powerhouse." We can do all things when He is the center of our life - strengthening us from within. Every action stems from the Powerhouse Who lives in us. Let all be done in the name of the Master!

Precision and Flow 
Our life flows in order and flow with the fruits they talk about in Colossians 3

Relaxation
Settling into all of this and letting the PEACE of God rule. 

40. The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler

This is an excellent "first book" on Pilates. It is especially helpful if one cannot get to a certified Pilates instructor to teach them how to do the moves. 

It has very sound directions for doing all the basic Pilates moves. I am not quite sure why she mixes really advanced exercises in with the intermediate ones though. I would do these in order and not mix them together like she does. 

I like her little illustrations to give imagery to what a person is trying to achieve in the exercise. I will use them for my classes! 

39. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

It is hard to believe, but I have never read this. I had to go up to Hillsboro to pick up George and was able to listen to all but 43 minutes of it on the way up. George said he didn't mind if I finished it on the way back down, and he loved it too. Ian Holm (the older Bilbo in Lord of the Rings) is perfect as the narrator! 

It is a great book. It is a deep look at the good and evil that lies in all of us! 

I read this for my Book Dames book club!

Saturday Seventeen Freewrite

I woke up really early this morning. I think I was afraid that I would not be able to pack before the 7:30 am deadline of getting out the door for a morning kayak up near Scappoose. Yes, ladies and gentleman, we WILL be having a little bit of family time before everyone leaves the nest! We had to postpone our trip to California until December due to getting this job with OSU. I had First Aid Training, PAC (Physical Activity Course) Orientation, and a social on Wednesday; a "Teaching Tips for Instructors" class on Thursday; and a new instructors meeting and CPR training on Friday. I was also able to get another key that opened up the stereo cabinet for my class. 

In addition to this, I finally got all the paperwork for becoming an independent contractor with SNAP Fitness and that involved buying liability insurance for being a Pilates instructor and Personal Trainer (coming in December).

In addition, George's car needs a brand new transmission so I had to go up to Hillsboro to get George and bring him back here to get another car. We stopped at Salem to have Paul deal with my weird shoulder and neck pain, but all the driving and sitting in the car made my hips get twisted so I had to go up to Salem AGAIN on Friday night to see Paul for what he called "really twisted and bad" hips. This has not happened since last November! I thought my twisted hips were a thing of the past. 

Sometimes I wonder if it is related to stress and the rising humidity. I did so well in Colorado with NO pain whatsoever (other than the recovering sprained ankle). It is a dry climate there, and it was a relatively stress-free time. Our house is 54% humidity right now, and I tend to do better when it is in the 20's. 

Anyway, it was a busy and somewhat stressful week as I had to do a five minute "fake lesson" for the new instructors class. The good part is that we split up in two's for it, and I got a sweet fifth year senior who tried to teach me to do a cartwheel, but with this weird twisted thing going on, I told her I probably could not do it.  I did a "Pilates awareness" exercise incorporating the principles of breath, concentration, control, and core. I also incorporated proper shoulder, neck, and pelvic placement.  It was fun! She said it was relaxing. Her feedback was to make sure she was doing it right by looking at her. :) It is hard to demonstrate while lying supine and looking over at a room full of students, but I will do my best!

I am sitting at my old kitchen computer desk. I am going to get a LOT of exercise today during the kayaking trip, and I am tired today after such a busy week. 

I think once all the classes start (three of them between OSU and SNAP), life will be much more relaxed, as I have all day Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday free to do other things. One thing I am going to do is register to start studying for my Personal Trainer exam. I am ready for this. I am excited for this. I am already registered with SNAP as a Pilates instructor so will not have to go through all the paperwork again. That is good. 

With all this, I am going to evaluate whether it is really feasible for me to open some kind of fitness business overseas while George is working, and I am an empty-nester (sniff, sniff - I love being a mom and have already mourned the loss of being a homeschooler!). Renee proposed the possibility of me leading an all-women's Pilates class with the internationals at INTO. I wonder if Drew would entertain that possibility? I know we reserve four spots in each class for INTO students, but would a woman from a more conservative country come to a class that has men in it? Maybe there can be some kind of cooperative agreement made with INTO to have an ALL INTO class? I would certainly know how to be sensitive to the language barrier. :) 

We will see! I am hoping for good things in the future, but I am certainly having my world ROCKED by not having as much time in the morning for myself. I love my morning times alone! I will have from 1 - 6 pm alone on the days I teach though. I will go ahead and do weights and cardio after my classes. 

There is my time. I will have some prayer time and then pack! 

Here is the flier for my class. I did not write it so excuse the incorrect grammar:

Saturday Seventeen Freewrite + Thursday Thirteen

A friend who has been part of the Eduanon/Trapdoor community asked these questions:

What's on your mind?
How do you figure out what to focus on?
How do you make whatever you choose a reality?

Such great questions, Dali!!! I have the countdown timer rolling, and I am not going to pick up my fingers from the keyboard for seventeen minutes. Ready and GO! 

What's on my mind?(The first two were written August 29)

I have been contemplating yesterday's flurry of activity. It was originally a FLURRY FREE FRIDAY. (When will my love for alliterations come to an end?) I was tired from NON STOP people on my trip to a Colorado conference from Wednesday, August 19 - Saturday, August 22, and a trip to Colorado Springs from the 22nd to 26th. I had planned to just chill on the 28th because I knew the 27th would involve catching up on emails and getting back into the swing of starting writing my syllabi and outlines for the classes I will be teaching at the university. BUT, the 28th ended up being quite another thing, but I am glad it went the way it did, even though it has been "on my mind" since I woke up this morning.

I guess what is on my mind is spousal abuse. Serious subject, eh? I was invited to speak truth into my organization yesterday, and I had a phone meeting from 10:30 - 11:40 with one and 6 - 9:30 with the other (my husband and his wife were in on that meeting too).  The one in the morning turned out to be God displaying His brilliance as this leader in my organization totally heard me and my concerns. There was one point where his strong personality unnerved me a bit, but I did not cry (Even though I felt like it for a split second, but I love just listening to God in the midst of things, and He gave me the confidence to go ahead and live out my destiny name: BOLDLY BELOVED. YES, God's destiny name for me IS an alliteration! LOL!). So I was BOLD and gave it right back to him, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Really 99.5 percent of the phone call was awesome, but that pesky .5 percent could have derailed the whole darn thing in my FEELER soul! :) 

What was SO AWESOME was his very long email to the leadership of the organization saying this is a clarion call from Carol! YIPEE! I want to make a difference, and I think this was a start. 

Anywho, in between all of this, was a sweet four hours with my 90 year old mentor, and she just calms me so! She is closer to me than my mother ever was. It is pretty funny though because I finally tested her for Myers-Briggs after knowing her for 25 years, and we are the same personality type (ISFJ). She said, "Well, of course, I always knew that." LOL! She listened about my phone call, and I told her about the big meeting in the evening, and then George joined us and gave his two cents, and it was a glorious meeting of hearts and souls.

6 pm came, and I wasn't afraid. George started out introducing the subject, and there was definite resistance. I am trying to let people be aware that abuse DOES exist, and we cannot put it under a rock and pretend. INTO THE LIGHT. At one point he said, "I don't want to gossip," but that was a smokescreen. So I GENTLY, yet BOLDLY pressed forward, with George behind me 100% (and the other man's wife).  I guess it reminded me of the time I spoke truth to my mom saying, "I will continue to speak truth to the dysfunction in this family." It turned out great in that respect. So, BIG GIRL, BOLDLY BELOVED panties are so nice fitting on me. 

I drove home alone (since George and I met in the middle), and I CRANKED the song WINGS by Glee. I will put the words. It was perfect for the situation I just walked out of. I also cranked IT IS WELL from Bethel. SO BEAUTIFUL.

OK that is what is on my mind.

Next question:

How do you figure what to focus on?

That one has become crystal clear for me over the years. I have a "LO" Time every morning where I "listen and obey"! I drink my chai with pen and paper in hand, and I listen. Then I write down what I hear God telling me to do. 

I think overall, I know what my life mission is, and I focus on that. I know it is probably hard to believe, but I probably get four to five requests a day to DO things. I bring them all up to God, and say NO to everything I am not supposed to do. 

I heard about going to Colorado in June. So this whole trip to Colorado was an investigatory trip to see how another organization does things to care for their people, and I learned how my organization can improve, and that is why I talked to the guy yesterday morning. That was all a result of me hearing to pursue going to Colorado to learn from the people who are doing it well, and what is such a blow away is that I had a nervous breakdown with this organization 32 years ago, and they have grown and do it well when they did it TERRIBLY before. So, WE CAN ALL IMPROVE. Really great time. 

I have run out of time for the last question, and I am going to go for a walk with my sweetheart that I have only spent 13 hours with over the last 2 1/2 weeks!

How do you make whatever your choose a reality? (written the following Thursday)

I did not have enough time to answer this last week when Dali asked the question so I have thirteen minutes on my timer (because it is a THursday), and here I go.

My husband would say that I make everything I dream of a reality. LOL! I am very much a dreamer and visionary, BUT my dreams are usually rooted in reality. So I usually don't dream them unless I know that I can see it come through into a reality. So, the thing above about going and visiting the PRT headquarters was rooted in a time with God where He put this on my heart. I wrote it down, and I started acting upon what he told me. I emailed Rusty at PRT, but I also emailed John, our pastoral coach, and I asked him what he thought of me going to "shadow" the PRT in Colorado Springs (since I was already going to Denver for a conference that Rusty was going to). Both were game, and then my friend Anne, who lives in Colorado Springs, said she would like to intern with Rusty and bring back all the things she learns back to our agency. That was OUT OF THE BLUE! I did not even tell her what I was thinking about. So, I felt like that was confirmation. SO, last week (that I wrote about in the first question) became a reality! Dream realized. I feel like my job with all of that is done, except being a "bug on the wall" when Rusty goes to visit our agency. That will be fun, and I can just add "color" from a woman's perspective!

Because I am a strong "S" (I think that and feeler are my strongest letters on the Myers-Briggs), I don't think I know how to dream without it being rooted in me knowing that I have the capacity to follow through on it.

My third StengthsFinder strength is "Achiever" too. Consequently, I am a person who usually achieves my goals. I don't know why. Like when I set out to read all the books in The Well-Educated Mind. It took me eight years, but I chipped away at it and made that a reality. 

I have to say that I also have a very supportive husband who never hinders my goals, and he always supports them 100% and picks up the slack when I get into the "make my dreams a reality" mode. He likes to do things like that. 

I also like to break things down into manageable steps and not get freaked out. I have goals every day. That is just how I am wired. Yesterday, my goal was to get both Syllabi done for the classes that I am teaching at OSU, and I did it with plenty of time to spare. I also wanted to arrange CPR/First Aid training so I called the guy. I am not afraid to call people, ask questions, elicit help. Some people are afraid of that. 

Today, my goal is to learn Canvas. So, I am meeting with my boss this morning. I am also picking up the folder from my friend who used to teach the same classes I am teaching (WHY reinvent the wheel? I take her stuff and modify it for me.). I am also picking up the keys for my class and going out to lunch and a movie with a friend. I think making things into reality is not being afraid and also gathering as much information as you possibly can and learning from those who have gone before you. 

There is the bell! BYE BYE! 

38. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

This is the second time I was WAY down on the list at my library, but I scored in getting it ahead of most other people. The CD and the book hold lists were enormous, but I went on the Library2Go, and they had not even ordered it yet. So, I requested they ordered it and got it FIRST! YAY! Down to my iPhone. BOOM!

I listened to this on the plane to and from Denver (and a little when I had trouble falling asleep while there). I liked it. I do not think it is the MASTERPIECE of To Kill a Mockingbird (one of my Top 5 favorite books of all time), but I also don't think it is the MESS that some reviewers are calling it.

Reece Witherspoon's narration is PERFECT. That probably helped me in falling in love with the book. I also think some people do not like it because of how it portrays Attichus Finch. He was a product of his generation and geographical location. I wasn't as ruffled by it as some have been. 

It had some amazing quotes (the drawback of listening to the audiobook on a plane without pen and paper in hand). I recommend it, especially if you have read To Kill a Mockingbird!

Thursday Thirteen

I had someone ask me about these "freewrites" recently. I explained many year ago what they are, but for those of you who don't know, they are a concept I learned about while schooling my kids. They would take a pencil to paper and write whatever was on their mind for 15 minutes without any fear of correction by me. They have comical reflections on what that meant to them as kids.

It was a way to "warm up" their minds to writing on a daily basis. I learned it from Julie at bravewriter.com. She did not think of the concept, It was popularized by Peter Elbow but created by Dorothea Brande (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing).  

So, when I started this blog in 2004, I was immersed in anxiety about my kids being able to write. Now, they are in college and excellent writers (both being tagged by two separate instructors as the "best writers in the class"). 

So, here I am today after a full and fulfilling week in Colorado. I spent three and a half days in Aurora at a Transformational (formerly Theophostic) Prayer Ministry Conference with Ed Smith and his son, Joshua. It was great and held at a wonderful black church! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. They were so warm and loving. Rockin' time.

Then I spent  four days in Colorado Springs visiting Anne and the US Headquarters of the NAVS. What a highlight to go back to Glen Eyrie! It was great to see Rusty Rustenbach and his lovely daughter Elisa! I was her nanny 32 years ago when they first moved to Spain. Warm, warm love and memories! 

Well, I know there are many things I could say here, and I think I even had an agenda for this freewrite. Hmmm. I cannot remember what it was! Regardless, my fingers and mind have warmed up. 

I think I will go pray now. I need to process everything that You taught me, God!!!! 

BYE BYE!