And behold, thus endeth the first week of the nontraditional student (on an embarrassing note) among the people of Idaho.

I can't believe I said that.

Not that. (Looking at the title.) THAT! (looking below)

In Comm class today we were talking about misunderstood communication. Professor was relating an experience about conversing online. She wrote down the following letters on the white board and asked if anyone knew what they stood for:

DD
DH

(I can just see my online Cookies, hands waving wildly in the air, jumping up and down and yelling "I know! Oh, I know!")

No one knew but me. "They stand for Dear Daughter and Dear Husband". Impressed sounds emitted from the class. They were amazed that the nontraditional anti-texting student was so wise.

My teacher asked if they meant anything else.

"Well, it could also mean D*mn Husband, depending on how mad you were at him".

Silence.

*me thinking to myself* I meant to say Darn Husband. Really I did!...I don't swear...I can't believe I just said that.....

The professor went on as if nothing had happened. I was thoroughly mortified. (I am sure my Cookies are shocked. My family will be shocked. I know, I need to repent...)

I participated in the class more today and sounded fairly intelligent, talking about rhetoric. I wasn't sure if I should apologize to the class for swearing. I took the coward's way out and apologized to the professor after the class. She was very gracious and hopefully understood when I repeated that I do not swear, that I do not have that kind of vocabulary.

I called Dear Husband (I would NEVER call him that other word) aka Mr. Wonderful on the way home to relate the story. He laughed. He told me it was a Freudian slip.

I didn't realize until now what he meant. Should I get him flowers? Make his favorite dinner? While I figure out a way to apologize, I am sure he is still laughing about it.

And, behold, thus endeth the first week of the survival of the nontraditional student among the people of Idaho.

Cracking open my anatomy and physiology books was intimidating. (This whole going-back-to-school after 16 years was intimidating!) I was beginning to wonder if I needed a pre-req in Chemistry. I had big doubts when I walked into the lecture hall. The professor is engaging and explained things much better than the textbook. Maybe I am just an audio-visual learner? After that lecture I had a new respect for my mom and all she went through to get her nursing degree.

The lab will be tough but I am actually looking forward to it. Last night we learned how to use the microscopes and looked at a swab of cells from the inside of my cheek. We also started on internal organs (need to make flash cards). One of my neighbors a few doors down is in my class and lab. I had no idea she was going back to school. (Instant study partner and car pooling, woo-hoo!) Most of my lab classmates are nursing students. Surprisingly, all of the men in the class are currently construction workers who are going into nursing or were majoring in construction fields but changed to nursing. Not much work in construction? Shortage of nurses? The rest of the class was majoring in radiology, or health information something-or-other. I was the only SLP major.

Another surprise - half of the students in both the lecture and lab look to be my age or older.

In the meantime, I believe Firstborn has a new respect for me, or at least college. He read over my shoulder as I was reading the assigned work before my class. He thought the dissected rat pictures and the cadaver pictures introducing organs were very cool.

Slowly acclimating...

I found a person I know in my Psych and my Art class. She has worked at my elementary school and has even subbed as The Love Magnet's aide once or twice. She is also the person who found The Love Magnet last year on the second day of school when TLM ran away. (Needless to say, I really like this person.) School doesn't feel so lonely now.

My Psych teacher is a profiler in his other life (Anyone else watch Criminal Minds?) He swears in nearly every sentence (no apologies about it), and his goal is to make sure everyone is capable of getting an A if they do the work. He did warn us that he might have to miss class once in a while if he has an arraignment to attend. Hmmmm. A Character (with a capital 'C') teaching us about characters.

My Art teacher plans on bringing in hands-on projects as well as teaching the basics on art and art history. Her first question to us? "What is art?" (Does the Picasso that The Love Magnet drew all over my living room windowsill - in blue Sharpie,mind you - count?) "Who is an artist?" (Apparently, The Love Magnet. ) "What makes art good?" (Anything that doesn't make Me-The-Mom yell at you.) Oh, yeah, I'm going to get an A.

Still have yet to experience my anatomy class. Just printing out the first lesson notes makes me nervous as I am wondering why the university didn't list Chemistry as a pre-req.

In the meantime, The Love Magnet had a great second day of school. She participated in everything and did not push buttons. Thirdborn still likes school. Secondborn loves gym (saw that one coming) and Firstborn says he needs a new guitar for his music class. He won't take mine as he does not want to be responsible for it. He has generously offered to pay for half of his new guitar (I wonder if I should generously offer to pay for the other half? Or do I leave him with half of a guitar?)

First Day update:

The Love Magnet had a rough morning. Actually, The Love Magnet's a.m. aide had a rough morning. The Love Magnet decided to start full steam ahead the first day and tested all rules and boundaries just to see how far she could go. Poor aide. She wasn't used to my daughter and was steamrolled.

The afternoon aide knew my daughter. You can see the picture of them together on the blog I posted about our camping trip (this aide is the person my daughter monopolized the whole weekend). By lunch, things had settled down and The Love Magnet did much better. I picked up a tired little girl when the bell rang.

This evening, she talked about coloring a "wacoon" black and brown, about her music teacher, her 1st grade teacher (while proudly holding her fingers in a #1), and about eating in the lunch room. We heard tales about playing at recess with her BFF the Divine Miss O. She is already talking about going to school tomorrow.

Thirdborn made a new friend today. He liked his class and that was all the report we were given. The rest of his thoughts were about starting soccer practice.

Secondborn was late to one class due to going to the wrong room. One of his best friends is in most of his classes. His two other best friends were in none. Lunch was great. Disappointment was greater when he found out that he could not play basketball after lunch. (*gasp* What, no recess?!) His teachers are cool. "Oh, and Mom, I need more stuff...."

As for Firstborn? How DARE those teacher give homework on the first day! Oh, and "Mom, I need more stuff". At least his answers at dinner to the oft-put "How was the first day of school for you?" were not monosyllabic. Not much information but what little he was willing to give was in nearly complete sentences.

First Day

First day of full day school for The Love Magnet. Thirdborn has made it his mission to keep an eye on her. She wanted to wear her sparkly pink top that made her look like Hannah Montana. Thirdborn seems excited for school but still apprehensive about reading.

Secondborn is starting middle school today. He was up before anyone else (I was up at 6:00 a.m.), fully dressed and packed and ready to go. He thought school started at 7:00. Then 7:30. I finally had to look up the school website on line to show him that he wouldn't be late.

Firstborn left for school with not even the pens and notebooks I prepped for him. He seems to think that no teacher would dare assign homework on the first day. (He also assumes he will get better grades than me.)

My first day was not stressful. I'm not the only older person in class (thank heavens!) I had to give a quick speech in Comm. class to introduce the person next to me in a way that no one would forget her name. It went pretty well.

Now I'm reviewing syllabi and first chapters for tomorrow's classes, and paying bills. I still need to get to laundry, vacuuming, and scrubbing bathrooms. I need some kind of organization skills. I need my fabulous sis-in-love here to show me how to organize and clean like she does. (Kimberly, that is a very broad hint for "come and visit me". You won't have to clean. Honest.)

Sunday Gratitudes

Jerry Johnston, a religion writer for the Deseret News and for Mormon Times (and one of my favorite writers), wrote a great article called Temples Are Places of White And Light. He describes his experience trying to explain the temple to Primary children. He said "At the end of my little talk to the primary kids, I told them that in the temple people feel clean on the outside and filled with light on the inside. They will, in effect, be tiny temples, inside another temple."

Last night I went to the temple. As I dressed in my temple clothes I could feel myself decompressing. By the time I was ready and in the chapel, waiting for the session to start, all the stress was gone. I was free to learn and to worship. There were only 10 people in the session (including Mr. Wonderful and myself) which made it a unique experience in itself. I loved being there. I felt clean on the outside and filled with light on the inside. I am grateful to have a temple close by.

I need to share my gratitude for the priesthood my husband holds. Today is the day Mr. Wonderful will give back-to-school Father's blessings. I used to look forward to receiving a blessing from my daddy when I lived at home. It was my comfort and guidance for the year. My children look forward to it now - they wouldn't ever let us forget. I'll be lining up, too. I want comfort and guidance before I start school tomorrow. I am nervous and excited - all the pre-school feelings I haven't felt in years.

I'm grateful that school starts tomorrow! I miss having a routine (the kids would tell you differently but I think they miss it, too.) Our family scripture study will resume at 6:00 a.m. Life will get crazier with homework, soccer games and swim meets. But there will be routine.

I'm grateful my garden is producing. I should have Japanese eggplants this week. Tomatoes and green beans have to be picked every day. The pumpkins and melons are getting bigger. Its getting time to plant the colder crops: lettuce, beets, carrots, and spinach. I love the flavors of fall.

I'm grateful for my family who are working to help my Grandma. My brothers and sister and their families are increasing their visits to be sure Grandma gets company every day. I know everyone is so busy at this time of year which makes their efforts even more meaningful. I wish I could be there to visit. Instead, my family will be sending snail mail multiple times a week: pictures, artwork, letters, and maybe a surprise or two.

I'm grateful for my running group. We're all improving! Its down to the final four weeks. I have to cut out my breaks and improve my speed by a few minutes. We're going to be running the course every weekend to get in our hill work. I've come to love these women as I have gotten to know them. We've cheered on each other's successes. It has been incredible to see my body change. I can run farther and faster. I'm (finally!) losing weight as well as inches.

I'm grateful for my game night group. We spent last weekend together attending the Shakespeare Festival seeing The School Of Wives by Moliere. The guys spent time golfing while the girls shopped (I'm not big into shopping but it was fun to hang out with the girls) and got pedis. These people have been my friends for 12 years now. Some of us have moved away from the old ward. The rest in that area have been divided into different wards. We've kept up on each other's kids and family events. I miss them greatly. I hope they come visit (blatantly broad hint here) rather than just send Christmas cards.

Forget Anything?

Lined paper, printer paper, colored paper - check.

Binders, dividers, pocket folders, composition books - check.

Crayons, markers, colored pencils, #2 pencils, highlighters, dry erase markers - check.

Glue sticks and Elmer's glue - check.

Ziplocs (quart and freezer size), Kleenex, hand sanitizer - check.

Calculators, compass sets, clear rulers - check.

Agenda books, backpacks, lunch boxes - check.

Gym uniforms, shoes, school clothes, more shoes, haircuts - check.

College textbooks - check.

Classroom activity fee checks (two of them!), magazine checks, high school fees checks, middle school fees check, Swim team fees check, swim gear check, soccer fees check (two of them!), textbook check, college tuition check- check. (Might as well hand over the entire darn checkbook *grumble*)

(oops, forgot a briefcase or messenger bag for me, unless I want to haul everything in a recycled Hello Kitty sparkly pink backpack.)

Does anyone remember the age when all we took on the first day of school were items that fit in one small pencil box?

Newsflash - Woman Drowns in Garden Produce

Due to an overabundance of zucchini at my house (am I the only one?), I am fiddling (or should I say zuking?) in the kitchen. I'm looking for something beyond zucchini bread (which I have never had good success in baking.) Instead, how about these recipes:

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (using pureed zukes and healthier ingredients w/out tasting zucchini-ish)

Curried Zucchini Soup (from Moosewood Daily Special)

Zucchini Latkes (I think my mom used to make something similar)

Crispy Zucchini Coins (with warm thoughts of Deb who cued me in to the recipe)

Zucchini pesto ( a long shot, I know. We'll see......)

Zucchini pineapple muffins (for healthy lunchboxes. That will be another post..)

If these work then I will be freezing batches of pureed and shredded zukes. I hope I have enough freezer room. Who knew I could put zukes in my food storage?

If you have a fabulous zuke recipe, send it over to me. Hurry please. I'm drowning in zucchini.

Who missed me the most?

I spent last Wednesday through Sunday enjoying a vacation sans kids. Yes, enjoying. Mama needs her batteries recharged at least once a year.

Its not a big traumatic production. The kids, usually so eager to spend time with their cousins, push me out the door pretty fast so they can get on to the good stuff. Stuff like being spoiled by grandparents because Mom isn't here to say "No". Jumping around and being really dangerous and wild with cousins because Mom isn't here to say "Stop That!" Eating ice cream before dinner. Eating ice cream for dinner. Staying up way to late. All the fun things everyone gets away with when Mom isn't here to say "Knock That Off!" (I didn't realize until now how grumpy I sound.)

Oh, yeah, they love my vacays sans kids as much as I do.

After past vacays, The Love Magnet would beeline for Mr. Wonderful (she is a Daddy's Girl, after all) which would hurt my feelings (ego) a little bit but I got over it. (There was the famous year where, after our cruise, she ignored me completely I was in tears after three hours of that treatment. Mr. Wonderful finally put her into my arms and told me to make up with her before he got back from the store.) The boys would give me a hug and run off for more fun until we dragged them home.

This time was different. The Love Magnet came to me first. (Oh, I milked that for all it was worth - Sheeee came to meee first, nyah nyah-nyah nyah nyah). She wrapped her arms around me and whispered in my ear "I missed you soooo much!" It melted my heart.

TLM then went to Mr. Wonderful for a little bit. Then she came back to me, sat on my lap, and kept her arms around my neck. She would have sat on my lap for the ride home if I had let her.

Doggie Girl was so excited to see us at home when we pulled in at midnight. She jumped all over the place. She followed us everywhere (she was rather put out when Mr. W sent her out of our bedroom so he could sleep. Her jingling tags were keeping us awake.

This morning The Love Magnet has told me multiple times "I love you so much!" "I like your hair." "I missed you so much!" Doggie Girl has followed me everywhere, even sitting on my feet as I sit at the computer. I'm not sure who missed me more. Its good to feel needed. Its great to feel loved.

Running Update:

Yesterday's running didn't happen. I had an ungraceful fall in in Las Vegas which resulted in rolling my ankle and wounding my dignity and scaring the poor man holding a door for me.

But this morning......

St. George, Utah
6:30 a.m.
2 1/2 miles
one long uphill (which is why I didn't go further than 2 1/2. I've never run a continuous hill.)
one hand holding 16 oz water (duh, this is St. George. It's HOT!) and the other holding my cell phone in case I got lost.
Feeling good. I"m grateful my ankle isn't sore anymore.

Traffic, Religion, and Anti-Mormonism

all in Sin City

AKA

The Bridge That Wasn't Built

Yesterday I drove to Vegas by my lonesome. It was a long journey but I was looking forward to my reward of a weekend alone with Mr. Wonderful. When I was close to Vegas, there were signs posted for traffic updates on an AM radio station. I dutifully turned on the radio.

The station was currently airing a program of what sounded like a discourse on Catholicism. I like learning about different religions and decided to keep it on. The program had just stopped for commercial breaks, which were mainly touting a teen book of Catholicism Q&A. I hoped the program would continue on the subject. The radio host and guest came back on the air and launched into an anti-Mormon diatribe. This had nothing to do with the subject I was anticipating. Their conversation was hateful. It encouraged active confrontation. It reminded me of the evangelical preachers that show up on Conference weekend and shout while standing on their soapboxes. (Have you ever noticed that their faces do not show love? They radiate hate as if they can' stand to be there.)

I was hoping to build a bridge of my understanding of another religion. I love walking into churches and looking at the architecture and the art. I love learning about other's traditions. I especially love hearing the music. I love talking to my neighbors about their exciting moments in their religion. We share their happiness when a son becomes an altar boy, when kids go to Bible summer camp, and First Communion. My neighbors will be invited to my son's baptism this winter and the celebration that will follow. They will come, not because they believe in what we do, but to share the joy we feel.

Do I write the radio station and tell them of their perfect opportunity of a captive audience that was lost? I doubt they would care.

I really want this
Garmin Forerunner 305

I'm not a gadget geek but this thing is so cool!

Let The Games Begin!

Thanks to modern technology, I did not miss the opening of the Olympics. The beach house we stayed at had no TV. We got home too late last night to do anything other than crash in our beds. This morning was full of church and meetings and choir practice. As soon as dinner was over I put on my comfy clothes and fluffed up the Love Sac. The kids made popcorn and we started the DVR recording of the Olympic opening ceremony.

The best part?

We skipped all commercials (well, except for the new Heroes commercial. We had to watch that).

We could skip over the countries we weren't interested in marching into the stadium. We cheered for the USA and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We skipped the rest.

As for the pageantry, all I can say is WOW! How much did they budget for fireworks? Costumes? How on earth did they coordinate all the guys posing as blocks? The drummers? How did they get the tai chi masters to form such perfect circles? How did they keep them from crashing into each other?

Another thing that was interesting to me was all of the emphasis on balance and harmony, especially with the environment. I don't know if China has plans to reduce their pollution. All I hear from the media is that China constantly fights the international goals of reducing pollution and emissions by a certain date. I would be interested in finding out if they have their own agenda for environmental goals.

Musings aside, we are very much an Olympics-watching family. Mr. Wonderful is the mild-mannered alter-ego of Aquaman so we will be watching all the swimming and diving. As I type this I can hear the USA-China basketball game on the TV downstairs (again, gotta love DVR). Gymnastics is just a given here (doesn't everyone watch gymnastics?) With my new found love of running, I am looking forward to the track events this time. I just received my Olympic edition of Runners World in the mail and I plan on using it to learn about the athletes before I see them compete. With any luck, I might even sound intelligent as I tell Mr. Wonderful and the boys about the events and convince them to watch with me.

What is your favorite Olympic event?

Sunday Gratitudes

I'm grateful that we were able to go on vacation. Unfortunately, Firstborn had to work (couldn't get time off after all the time he spent at Scout High Adventure Camp and EFY). The rest of us had a great time. Most of the picture have the kids wearing hoodies with logos from their schools so I had to pick my pictures that I could share on my blog:

Our first day in Lincoln City was cold and windy. As soon as we unloaded the truck we took a walk on the beach.

We found a whale museum at Depoe Bay. Along with watching whales (with the best view because Mr. Wonderful took us out to the cliffs. We were closer than the excursion boats!) we spent time at the museum learning about whales. The Love Magnet spent time practicing driving a boat. If you want to know what is in the stein, its empty and just part of the exhibit. We do not condone drinking and driving (or boating....)

We took an afternoon to drive to Tillamook for a tour of their cheese factory. What we thought would take all afternoon took less than 30 minutes. The kids did like the ice cream.

We spent time checking out the tide pools, looking at crab and starfish, and hunting for cool shells and agates.

Secondborn and Mr. Wonderful were adventurous and wanted to check out every cave.

One of our favorite restaurants was called Mo's they had the best hot cocoa. Secondborn was gracious enough to share with the others. They bonked heads more than once trying to get their fair share. I guess we shouldn't have put three straws in the mug.

The boys would swim in the freezing water. The Love Magnet opted to build sandcastles and draw rainbows in the sand.

We came home with kites, really bad salt water taffy (which will remain uneaten), and sand in our shoes. It was nice to relax and not have to do anything.

Other gratitudes:

clam chowder (I can't wait to recreate this at home, I think I know what Mo's does differently)

beach books

running on the beach

Mr. Wonderful sleeping a full 8 hours our first night there

Doggie Girl's uber enthusiastic greeting when we came home.

Blue appendages, appalling apparel and nasty taffy...

The kids are in bed after a full day of activities. Despite the Oregonian surf being waaaay too cold for sensible adults like Mr. Wonderful and myself, the boys spent hours in the water twice today. I had to run to the grocery store to purchase hot chocolate mix to warm them up. The Love Magnet did not get into the water, but her fingers turned purple just from playing in the sand. That didn't stop her from building her version of sandcastles with rainbows.

Among our activities today was looking at souvenirs to take home. We usually buy the kids a
t-shirt to remind them of fun vacation times. Unfortunately the t-shirts we found on this trip are not ones I would EVER let my children wear:

There was a little girls t-shirt in black with sequined neckline and a sequined outline of a shark with the caption underneath: MAN EATER

Um, no. This was at the aquarium. Do these people not think about these ideas first?

Then there was a pirate t-shirt at the restaurant we ate at tonight. In sizes for my boys, they were proudly emblazoned with BOOTY HUNTER.

Big Fat No. What are they thinking?

Maybe we'll stop for t-shirts later. Maybe we'll just find something else. I think we'll count the boy's kites as souvenirs. There is also half a bag of the most awful salt water taffy I've ever had. Would that count for sentimental value?

At least all the picture I have taken are priceless.

Meanwhile, our Heroes are incognito somewhere in Oregon...

I am relaxing in a recliner in front of a huge picture window with a fabulous ocean view. I am sure it would be more fabulous if I could see it. It's foggy out there.

My kids have loved heading out at low tide, exploring tide pools and collecting agates. The water is freezing in Oregon so no swimming. We've bought kites for flying. We've been hiking. We've visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory for a tour (eh..) and ice cream (Mmmm!) We've seen lighthouses and rocks. We've eaten seafood out and cooked steaks in. This beach house rental has Playstation and board games. No TV. No movies. No worries - we've hardly been here.

We've loved exploring this new place. Somewhere we would never had thought of visiting if we hadn't moved to Idaho. Mr. Wonderful started a new family competition this past year: whomever gets the highest grades gets to pick the family vacation. Secondborn won the contest. He was given a budget and I helped him research ideas. He has been having a great time.

This fall I will be one of the competitors in the contest. Mr. Wonderful is hoping I will win. He has been suggesting places all week of where he thinks we should go i.e. someplace with a warm ocean.

In order to beat Secondborn for the vacation-choosing privilege, I will have to get straight A's.

Let the pressure begin...in 2 1/2 weeks. Meanwhile I am going to enjoy fighting crimes of stress right here. On vacation.

Running update:

Oregon beach
9 a.m.
50 degrees
Foggy
2 1/2 miles (I am guessing)
no watch to time me
running on wet sand
incredible views between the ocean and the pine covered cliffs
I don't stop for breaks
I feel like I could run forever

For the love of Marriage, go kiss your spouse. Right now....

Last night we heard the news that one of our high school friends has told her husband of more than 17 years that she hasn't loved him for the past 10 years, left her husband and her children, and is shacking up with another guy. Now I know this is third hand information and therefore not reliable. But it did make me think.

Mr. Wonderful and I cuddled on our giant Love Sac and talked about it. Whether true or not, the news shocking and something that we can not wrap our brains around. How can a mom just leave her husband and kids? How could she not fight tooth and nail, do everything in her power to make things work and fix a marriage if it is broken? Assuming there was no abuse, did they try counseling? Did she worry about how her kids would take her absence? Was she in her right mind?

We talked about our marriage and how we work on our marriage on a daily basis: constantly expressing our love for each other verbally and through action. We're not shy about kissing in front of our kids.. They are so used to it that many times, Thirdborn or The Love Magnet will remind Mr. Wonderful to kiss me before he goes to work and when he comes home. The only one who seems bothered by this is Firstborn (we love to embarrass him on a daily basis). The other children cheer and clap and yell "Mom loves Dad! Dad loves Mom!"

We have a date every week, whether it is going our or staying in. I keep smoked salmon, chevre, crackers, and nonalcoholic bubbly stocked at all times for those nights we stay in (usually because of a lack of a sitter) and watch a movie. We've gone on drives, checked out local parks, and attended festivals. Sometimes we'll invite another couple, but most of the time its just the two of us. We plan one weekend away for just the two of us every year.

Twenty years ago, when it was just Twin Sis and me, I would have told you that there was no way anyone else could be my best friend. In my mind, our husbands would not be someone to whom I could pour out my heart as I did with my sister. That assumption started to change when she married Dr. Teeth (The Love Magnet can't pronounce his name and calls him Teeth. It fits very well for a dentist). Two years later, I married Mr. Wonderful. I finally got it. Twin sis is still my best friend but Mr. Wonderful is my Best Friend Of The Highest Order. I can tell him everything (and I do, poor man, he claims I do not talk his ear off. He never had sisters so he had no idea what he was getting into.) He always puts my needs before his. I love to make him happy.

Go hug your spouse and say " I love you." I don't care if you told him/her just two minutes ago. Go and do it again. Give 'em a big kiss while you're at it. Right in front of your kids. There isn't enough love in this world. Go on, go do it.....

Today at the pool...

Tonight at the neighborhood pool, I was watching The Love Magnet swim in the baby pool when I was approached by a woman and her daughter. They introduced themselves and told me that the daughter (whom Secondborn knows from school) was The Love Magnet's reading buddy at school. She fell in love with The Love Magnet and wanted to know if we would consider her as a baby sitter when the need arose.

The Love Magnet was excited to see her reading buddy - she even remembered her name - so the girl jumped in the pool to play with my daughter. The mom told me that her daughter had already decided that she wanted to be a special educator when she grew up and was taking every opportunity she could to work with kids like The Love Magnet.

Love Magnet was soooo excited to see her reading buddy at the pool. I watched these two play together and discovered that this girl was patient. My daughter has become a bit bossy lately and didn't tone it down tonight. Her reading buddy ran interference if Love Magnet tried to take toys belonging to someone else. She also praised her when Love Magnet shared her own pool toys. The Love Magnet ate it up.

I am amazed by children like this girl, who know what they want at age 12. On top of that, a girl who has found the joy in working with kids with disabilities is even more rare. She is signed up to volunteer for Special Olympics. She plans on volunteering at the elementary school as soon as she is done with middle school for the day.

God bless kids like that. I hope The Love Magnet finds many more in her path this year.

Running update:

Today I ran a full mile without stopping. We took 1 minute breaks between each mile. It was hard (my legs were tired) but my breathing was okay. K said that we don't' need the breaks any more and wants to take them out next week.

My record so far was a 12:02 average. Today we ran an average of 11:43 . If you take out the walks, we averaged 11:19

1st mile: 11:04
2nd mile: 11:34
3rd mile: 11:20

Total: 3.18 miles in 37:15.

No weight loss this week (no gain either). I was fully expecting to be down 2 lbs. Weigh in is supposed to be tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it. I really thought the weight would be dropping fast by now. I guess I'll just be grateful for the PR in running and my Non Scale Victory (NSV) with the library doors.

I should head back to the library today.