Halloween Costume Debates

Hello everyone. On Saturday I set out to do 3 miles, but instead I completed 4 miles. It felt amazing outside and I wanted to keep running. I am finally getting to a point in school and my work that I can run on a regular basis. Next week I am planning on buying "Insanity" and a pair of Vibrams. Has anybody else used the vibrams for running/training for a half marathon?

These are the two that I am debating between....

Vibrams Komodo Sport

Vibrams KomodoSport LS

I have been reading a ton of reviews and I am really excited to get one of these pairs, I am just not sure which one. What is ya'lls advice?
__________________________________________________________________________________
Now for my main question....

This year for school, all of the teachers are dressing up like their favorite book character. I love all kinds of children's books, but I have no idea what character to dress up as. I need some advice. It is has to be kid friendly and appropriate to wear to school. What is your advice?

Any suggestions would be awesome!!

De-stressing from School

What is good for de-stressing from a tough week/day at school......

That is right, for me, it is running or getting a good workout in! I have been dying to go run everyday after school. I have even brought my clothes to run in, but everytime I set out to go run, I have had to stay at the school late to get everything done for that day/week. Assessments, assignments, and lesson plans galore! I have been crazy busy and I am just craving to go run.

Well guess what I did today............

That is right, I finally got a run in during the week and it FELT GREAT!!!!! :0)  I ran 3 miles and I actually ran them under 30 minutes. It felt great outside and I really needed that run. It was a great encouraging run to keep me in the training mood for my upcoming half marathon.

I have been staying about a week ahead of my students, but it is still crazy trying to get everything together for lesson plans that you are just now seeing and trying to figure out how to teach.

I am about to order the Insanity dvd package, so that I can do that in the evenings on the days that I am not going to run. This way I am still getting my workout in during the week and I am working other muscles that I wouldn't normally work by just running.

If you do not run though, what are some other ways that you can de-stress you may ask?

• Walking
• Reading a good Book or one you are trying to finish. 
• Watching TV
• Doing an arts and craft activity
• Cooking
• Cleaning

There are so many options to choose from. Everybody has their own hobbies, it just depends on what you want to do and what you like to do. 

Question: What do you like to do to de-stress from a tough day/week. 

And the Winner of a new Bondi Band is.....

Last week I hosted a giveaway on my blog for a new Bondi Band that I had received in the mail. I had 32 people enter my giveaway and according to random.org the winner is....

Sarah from Sweet and Savory by Sarah. 

Sarah is a new follower and I am so excited that she won! 

Sarah, please e-mail me your address at kaylajean87@yahoo.com and I will have the Bondi Band sent out to you ASAP. 

I am probably going to have a double post today, because for all of you that also ran my Virtual 5K, I am going to post your times and your certificate. Thank you for entering my virtual 5K and my Bondi Band review/giveaway. 

______________________________________________________________

I ran 3 miles this morning in this AMAZING weather! I even passed by some other runners who were out too. I could definitely get used to this weather! Mother nature, please let it stay around for a little while. Baby Shower tomorrow for my best friend. I am hoping everything turns out great! 

Oh the joys of Teaching

Do not forget about my Bondi Band Review/Giveaway that is going on right now. It ends tomorrow evening and I will announce a winner Friday! 

Bondi Band Giveaway

Remembering 10 Years Ago

10 years ago........

Where were you at? 

What were you doing? 

What were you thinking about? 

I was sitting in the library for my Social Studies class researching for a class paper. I remember the librarian quickly rushed to the tv and turned it on very quietly so that we could not hear. Then she went to my teacher and told her and as she did that my teacher gathered us together to see what was on tv. We only watched it for a few minutes, but I immediately thought of my brother. 

At that time, my brother and his wife were going to school and working in NYC, but I did not know how close they were to the World Trade Centers. My mother worked in the school and I asked the teacher if I could go see her to see if she had heard from my brother or his wife. As I was walking down the hall I could not grasp what was going on in NYC, but I just knew that it was a day that would be remembered forever. 

The phone lines were turned off and we could not reach my brother and his family for almost 2 days. The train stations and subways were shut down as well and my sister-in-law had to be picked up by her brother who is a NYC Police Officer and brought to her house on Long Island. My brother and his wife were having trouble getting in touch with each other as well. When they finally did reach us and each other we found out that they were safe and sound. It was a hard time for our family as well as the country. 

2 years after 9/11/01 happened my family and I took a vacation to NYC and we were able to go down to  where the World Trade Towers had once stood. This was very hard because there was still people grieving and placing flowers and missing poster signs everywhere. There were tons of people there looking at the names on the boards of their loved ones that had been lost. 

As you can see in the picture above, there was huge gates/bars that blocked you from being able to go anywhere close to the site. The first picture I have up is of 2 beams that as the building fell, they fell in the form of a cross. This was not remade to look like a cross. It was astonishing to see that even through that chaos God was still there watching over the families and workers. 

This building was next to the World Trade Towers and had not yet been repaired, but had a huge black sheet covering it from the damage. 

It was very hard to be down there and see the site, but at the same time it gave me a huge appreciation to the people who fought to save the lives there, my country and the people who continued to work at this area. 

These pictures above are my own and I plan one day to go back and see the Memorial site that they are created since I once was there. At the time that I went there was only a huge hole in the ground that you can see above in one of the pictures. 

Thank you to those men and women that fought and are still fighting for our country and our freedom. Without you, we would not have the freedom that we have today. 

Question: Where were you on this day 10 years ago? What were you thoughts as you heard about the World Trade Towers being hit? 

Bondi Band Review and Giveaway

Last week I was given the chance to review the Bondi Band. I had 2 of them sent to me to review and also GIVE ONE AWAY! I know you are excited about that. :0)

I have seen many people wear Bondi Bands, but I have never tried them. Since it has been so hot lately I have been searching for something that I could wear on my head that would not only keep my fly away's and bangs out of my hair but also to help keep the sweat from dripping down my face. It is disgusting and I can not stand it! (I sweat like a boy, I promise you. More than my husband, which is crazy to me!)

Bondi Band gave me the opportunity to review 1 band and give one of them away. The band that I reviewed looks like this...

Before my 3 mile run!

You can put it on your head however you choose. I chose to pull it down close to my eyes to cover my forehead. This way it would hopefully catch most of the sweat. I bet you are wondering though... Did it work? Let's find out, but first I will tell you about Bondi Band.

Bondi Band saying is, "NO SLIP NO DRIP". It is "WHERE FASHION MEETS FUNCTION". There are so many Bondi Bands to choose from on their site. I had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to keep/review.

From Bondi Band:

"Bondi bands are a comfy, colorful and creative way to hold your hair back whether you're riding in a convertible, rushing out the door to get your kids, or getting some exercise.  Bondi Bands are an easy fix for your hair.  Check out our wicking fabric bands; they will absorb and evaporate buckets of sweat."

After my 3 mile run. 

When I put Bondi Band to the test my forehead was not at all sweat and it NEVER slipped! I was super excited about that and could not believe it! It worked like a charm. If you saw the picture at the top of the page and then this one above, you will notice that the Bondi Band never moved or slipped. 


I also wore my Bondi Band after school one day when I was moving things around in my room and it kept the hair out of my face the whole time. 


Here is the band that you all will have the chance to win....

I almost kept this one for myself I liked it so much. 

Now, I bet you are wondering, "How can I win one of these Bondi Bands?" 

Here is how: 

1. Leave me a comment and tell me which band you like the best from Bondi Band. 


2. Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment telling me you are. 


3. Become a follower of my twitter. On the right hand side of my page. 


4. Like the Bondi Band Facebook page. 


5. Tweet, Blog or Facebook about this giveaway. (Leave a separate comment for each)

I will select a winner using random.com on Friday, September 16th. 

Good Luck! 

Hope Center Gala

This past week Brian and I attended the Hope Pregnancy Clinic Annual Gala event. It was amazing to say the least. I never get to dress up all fancy and nice. Well at least since Disney and my wedding. I had a faculty meeting the evening of the gala and I got a friend to curl my hair after the meeting. She did an amazing job (way better than I could have done).

Brian and I before the Gala started. I had to get ready after the meeting. I had a 2.5 hour time block to make myself look presentable!

The speaker at the event was Patrick Henry Hughes! He is simply amazing. He is blind and has a disorder where he can not stretch his arms out past 90 degrees. He can play the piano better than anybody I have ever heard and he marched in a college marching band. His father would push him around the field in a Core marching band formation. His dad also works a night shift so that he can help Patrick Henry during the day.

We got to meet Patrick Henry Hughes Jr. He is such an inspirational man!

I loved how the tables were set up at the gala.

My mother made and donated the quilt for the silent auction! It was so pretty and she worked very hard on it. She is so good at making these items! I love them and her! On the inside of the quilt, it has balloons that she sticked in there and little strings hanging down.

Brian and I at the gala! 

My brother and I at the gala. 

My brother and his wife were the ones that invited us to the gala. Do you see a family resemblance? My sister-in-law volunteers at the Hope Clinic as a counselor! It is a fantastic facility that helps so many girls/women a year. They try to prevent abortion and try to help people keep their babies or show other options for the moms to be. (This is just my opinion, so if I have offended anybody, then that is not my intention.)

If you have not heard of Patrick Henry Hughes, then you need to look him up and read his story. He is phenomenal at speaking and his inspirational story.

Virtual 5K Bibs

 Alrighty girls, I got the race bibs made! If I missed anybody, please let me know. Have fun with this 5K and if you live anywhere near me, I hope you get to run in the rain! It is going to feel amazing if you do!

Oh and I just bought my first pair of sperrys. I am so excited about these, because I have been waiting to get a pair of these for almost a year and a half!!! Check it out.....

Remember to let me know what your time is and to post a race recap on your blog and to leave a link to it as a comment on my blog!

My giveaway that you all had AWESOME guesses for will be up and running on Monday! Have fun and I can not wait to read everybody's race recaps!