Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Graduation

I finally finished! It was a nice, small Convocation ceremony. It only lasted about an hour and a half. I didn't even have time to take a nap.



This is my friend Curtis and me after the ceremony. He is a fabulous teacher, incredible scholar, and phenomenal speaker. I hope to keep in touch.
Right now, I am sitting at my parents in Moses Lake, WA. It has been snowing for three days straight. We will spend Christmas here and then head back to snowy Seattle for my nieces' birthday parties. Then, back to sunny Tucson.




Sunday, December 14, 2008

Crazy Weekend, Swim Lessons Included

After all, it is the most, wonderful (craziest) time of the year.

Friday was just your average, "I have to spend all day with 'anxious for winter break' fifth graders!" kinda day. After work, hubby called and asked if I wanted to have dinner and to invite Coug friend Lisa. I did, and we met at Blanco for foo-foo Mexican food. And, was it good. If ever in Tucson, head up to La Encantada and enjoy a Pomegranate-Grapefruit Margarita. Soooooo good, you hardly even flinch at the bill.

Saturday was lovely. I got to go to a friend's luncheon and hang out with other crazy teachers, came home for a brief moment, and met up with Coug friend Lisa for the Death Cab for Cutie concert. I L.O.V.E them. Two other bands played: Airborne Toxic Event and Cold War Kids - not bad.

On Sunday, I got up bright and early to participate in my advent duties and attend mass. Then shopping with hubby and more Mexican food for lunch at Guadalajara (The restaurant, I did not fly to Mexico). Then..........

I had my first swim lesson. Well, not exactly my first. I grew up on a lake and had responsible parents who threw us in the water and had us take lessons at the local pool. I never really cared about my stroke, breathing, or anything like that. I decided to take lessons because after jumping in the pool last week, I was able to draw two possible conclusions: 1)The other swimmers whose heats are after mine in March, will never be able to actually swim because I will never actually finish. 2) I will drown. I was thinking that neither of these was a good idea, so I got hooked up with Geoff from Dolphins of the Desert.

I met him today, and he made me swim for him, kinda like a test. Well, it was only one lap, but I was nervous. I think I failed the test, but I'm a quick learner. By the end of the lesson, he said I did an excellent job. Yea! I might not drown after all. Oh, and I can breathe and swim with my face in the water and everything.

Then, Tex-Mex for dinner. Yeah! I know what you're thinking, "Three Mexican meals in one weekend! Girl's gonna drown anyway with that much lard in her hind end." I will have to work on the eating thing. Thanks to Misty, I have checked out Spark People, so I have some guidance on the food. Plus, burping up Mexican while swimming is just plain icky. So, no more babbling, I have football to watch.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

D-O-N-E!!!!!!!

Well, almost. I have turned in my final paper. Now, all I have to do is complete a self-evaluation and a course evaluation and attend one more class meeting. Then, Voila! (I hope my French is close)- M.A. in Language, Reading, and Culture. Convocation is on Thursday, December 18th. What will I do with this fancy piece of paper? Teach children to read, of course.

It's a good thing this is coming to an end. Courses and homework take up way too much workout time. I'm thinking that with all my free time, I could........ spend more time on facebook, read a book (that wasn't assigned), add more workouts, go for a hike, watch mindless t.v., catch up on the netflix queue, spend more time with hubby (he ought to love that), the list goes on. Now, if only I didn't have to work. Ah, dreams.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

35?

I'm not sure I like these USAT rules.

I just got my confirmation email for the Tucson Tri. Not only was my swim time, pathetically slow, taken into question (they might do that to everyone, but I'm taking it personally), but because of USAT rules, I have to race at age 35.

35? I will only have been 34 for three months when my event takes place. I turn 34 on December 31st, so I will always have to race as one year older than I actually am. Welcome to triathlon.

I know this happens to everyone, but I choose to be a complainer today.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Crazy Coug-ness #1

Event Name: Holualoa Tucson Triathlon
Date & Time: March 29, 2009 06:30 AM
Location: University of Arizona - Hillenbrand Aquatic Center
Event Confirmation #: 25862305-120108175715

Okay, this is not the first crazy thing I've ever done in my life, but it may be the craziest. I bit the bullet and actually signed up for the Tucson Tri. My new adventure in trying to tri. It will be ugly, as I am not a tiny little hard body. I'm just your average waaaaay overweight person who thinks that maybe this is the answer.

This all started about 5 1/2 years ago. That is when I met Fe-Lady (It's kind of funny referring to her with her blog name, but I'll get over it). We worked at the same school, and she was this totally awesome, super-active chic (still is!!!) 5 1/2 years later, she drug my butt up to Ironman AZ in Tempe. It was a great weekend, watching an amazing event and meeting some pretty cool people. When I noticed that tri takes all creatures great and small, I decided to give it a shot, which is the beginning of my crazy new take on life.

So, Today is it. My first day of tri craziness.