Counting down the days

I have two weeks left. After today, 9 days to be exact. 9 more days before I'm done with my internship. Finally.

I'm getting major "senoritis." It's a disease that seniors get. God knows I had that my senior year of high school. After so many years of school, we are finally at the end and the end is the worst. Time just drags on and on. This is when we get restless and lazy - big time. Time started to slow down for me two weeks ago. It was a slow "4 weeks left" and a slower "3 weeks left." Just two more weeks left, I keep telling myself, but I'm wondering just how slow it'll go.

I finished my independent study. The only thing standing in my way from certification is my Comp Exam. I'm due to take that in June. The first half is a couple of assignments and discussion board participation. I guess it's a way to prepare us for the test. I'm a bit annoyed by that but thankful, I guess. Everyone I know didn't have to take a "course", they just signed up for it and took the exam. Lucky for me, my Comp Exam grade isn't based solely on the test. So, if I don't do well, I have my assignments and discussion board participation to fall back on. I have a proctor for my exam (supposedly), so I'm all set. Let's go - I'm ready.

I've applied to 4 districts. Success comes in numbers, doesn't it? 4 districts with three schools each (if there's elementary, middle and high schools), my odds are good, I think. HISD just opened up a brand new position a few days ago for middle school. I applied. Fingers are crossed.

Today is the first day in 4 days that my butt isn't sore. Being more active - working out and doing cardio almost daily (so far), and rollerblading at least once a week makes me feel better about myself. I feel energized and I feel like I can keep on doing more things. Being sore is terrible - but it means I'm working the muscles. However, I'm not expecting any results anytime soon - I've been cheating. I've been having an affair with food. I just hope my body doesn't find out - but it probably will soon enough. Because of my birthday (and among other reasons), I've been eating out a lot lately - which means I've been taking in lots of calories. Oh well - nobody said guilty pleasures was good for your figure.

Not to mention - I do pretty much nothing 3/4 of my time here during my internship. For instance - I have 10:22 to 12:00 off today.... which means I'm playing around on the computer. I didn't have to teach this morning either - I had seniors for 1st period and they had meetings to go to.

Well, time for me to go and be bored. I bet you'd kill to be my position right now, J. Wanna trade?

Becoming Physically Active

I mentioned in my previous entry that I've started to change my eating habits and trying to become more physically active. In the midst of "The Biggest Loser" craze, I impulsively joined Jillian's online club. Don't get me wrong - I don't think I'm fat (or too fat). Just a little chubby in some areas, mostly baby fat. I'm at the right weight for my height and build, so I don't really need to lose weight. My goal is to lose the fat I have, become toned, healthy and active. As for me joining Jillian's online club, you may think it's so cliche. I have no doubt that it'll work, it's all up to me to stick to it. Jillian has an incredible track record. Every person that has won the title as 'The Biggest Loser' was trained by Jillian. I feel bad for Bob, though. He's really, and I mean REALLY, cute and he's so nice (compared to how Jillian can get!). I wouldn't mind having Bob train me :)

Anyway, I joined Jillian's club a few days ago but haven't started my workouts yet. My first day of the program starts today. So far, I'm really liking the website. It tells you how many calories you can eat each day depending on your physical activity level, your metabolic rate and all that stuff. I took a detailed quiz on my body type, what foods agree/disagree with me, what I crave, etc to find out what my metabolism is. Then, from there - I found out what type of foods I can/should eat. On top of all that, the website has built a customized menu for me, 3 meals and a snack, every day of the week. I can simply change a menu item to an available option if I don't want to eat it. I can print out a shopping list for all the food for the entire week and just go. It's a super-nice feature. The website also has workouts for you to do everyday. You can simply print them out and take them with you. There are 5 circuits of 3 exercises each and I have to go through each circuit 3 times doing 15 reps each. Uh oh. What did I get myself into? I'm still waiting on her DVD and book to arrive. I'm wondering if I can do the online exercises AND her 20-minute daily workout from the DVD. I'll find out soon enough.

Another feature on the website is a journal to keep track of your thoughts, feelings and weight progress (there's a chart that you can do to track your weight by adding a new number each day, week, whatever). Below is my first entry on the website... I thought I'd share it with you:

It's 8:30 in the morning and I feel blah. I guess it has more to do with
not getting enough sleep than anything else. I'm on my 5th week of the
secondary internship at Barbara Jordan. I'm also teaching GED English on
Tuesday nights until 9pm. I also do data entry for MMS whenever I
can. On top of it all, I try to find time for myself - TV, movies, playing
with my kids and sleeping - though sleeping is at the bottom of my list. I think
I have indulged myself too much with TV/movies. But on the other hand, I
have been more physically active lately. Not very active - but I
rollerbladed the past two weekends. I got a free week pass at a
gym and went three times. All three times, I worked out for a minimum
of 2 hours. That's more than I ever did in the past. I tried my first
Jillian recipe last night. I cooked Festive Thai Shrimp. Good, but
could be improved. I did not measure my food so I think I ate more than a
serving. I didn't even finish my bowl, though. Carbs fills me up
quickly. Every night, I set a goal to start working out "tomorrow." But
everyday, when I wake up tired and drained, I think that I wouldn't be able to
find the energy to exercise. Let's hope that changes at 4:30 when I get
home.

So... with the program starting today for me, I am determined to follow the schedule they've given me. I get two days off each week - that's good, right? I'm wondering if I'll actually go through with the exercises. Right now, I'm thinking I'm going to force myself to do it no matter what, but who knows? I'll keep you updated.