It has been quite a while since I've written. For those of you who wonder how the diet plan is coming along...well let's just say there's a reason I haven't blogged for a while. I am holding my own. I'm still down four pounds from Jan 1, 2012, but I've been in a holding pattern. I like to call it winter, and hopefully I will have some amazing one-day-at a time tips for you soon. However, I am going to switch gear today and write down some thoughts about a topic we've been hearing about for decades...what's wrong with American public education?
While I was still working as a teacher (I prefer this term to educator, because it was what I did.) I would become indignant when hearing this question. "Let's look at WHAT'S RIGHT ABOUT IT"! That was my response. Yes, I was in denial. There is so much wrong that it's hard to begin to formulate an answer to that question.
When I retired from my teaching job, I swore (to myself and others) that I would NEVER step foot in a public school again. That life was behind me. Auf Wiedersehen you mess of a system. That vow lasted 3 months. I obtained a substitute teaching certificate and I have been subbing about 3 days a week since then. Today I am going to write about the first thing wrong with the system, and that is the process to become a substitute teacher.
In Illinois, anyone with a college degree can be a substitute teacher. I met this standard. In fact, I had a little more going for me. I had a masters degree in German literature (obtained the old-fashioned way with a thesis and comps), I had 50 + hours of graduate education in curriculum design beyond my masters, and I had held an Illinois teaching certificate for 31 years. Wow, the state should probably be recruiting me, rather than me going to them to ask to be placed on a list to work at the school district I had retired from 3 months prior to my application, right? Well, it certainly wasn't this scenario. Exactly 28 days after beginning the process to become a substitute teacher, I was awarded that coveted honor of an interview to become one...at the school district in which I had worked for 30 years. I had not only proven that I had the college degree (I had to supply a certified copy in a sealed envelope to my school district, although to have a teaching certificate and to work there, which I had done for 30 years, one of the prerequisites had been a college degree.), I was TB tested, I had a signed physical form from a physician, stating that I was physically fit for this duty. (OK, I did ask my opthamologist to sign this, since I didn't want to spend the money for a physical, and I had an eye appointment during the time I was going through this process. He agreed that the "eyes are the window to the body," and that I appeared healthy.), and finally I had a background check. The background check was rescheduled, because the "machine broke." (The day I went in for my background check, the technician running the "machine" wasn't sure that my fingerprints had "taken." I refused to leave the room until she redid the scan, thus holding up a line of 30 other substitute teaching certificate holder wannabes, but oh well. I was not coming back.) And then yes, finally I had my interview with a secretary who put me on "the list."
By the time I got home from my substitute teaching "interview," I had already had 8 requests to substitute. Wow, talk about some "job security" for a temporary job.
I am glad that I am a substitute teacher. It is helping to wean me away from a job I did for 36 years. The cold turkey approach wasn't working...oh and I can make a connection to my diet blog. The cold turkey approach doesn't work for me in dieting either!
Tomorrow's blog: A Fish out of Water: Why I Will Never Again Substitute Teach in Second Grade.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
There's hope.
Lately, I've been thinking about spring. It's definitely in the air. Yesterday, I could even smell it...that freshness that conquers the sadness of winter.
Although this winter has been particularly mild, it was still winter. There is really not much good about winter, except for snow, in my opinion. Since we had a paucity of this white wonder, this winter was particularly gray. The grass was never covered by a white blanket for long, and as I look out of my window as I write this, I notice that the grass is particularly ugly. I fear that my lawn is suffering from some lack of snow disease. It looks deader than usual.
Winter can be a depressing time. In the past, I would use winter as an excuse NOT to exercise. It was too cold, too snowy, too gray, too depressing to leave my house. This year I forced myself to exercise, and I will have to say that I feel more hopeful about spring this winter than I ever have. Exercise has really caused me to be an optimist. There must be some truth to all of that research on brain chemistry and how exercise can make you feel healthier.
I have been a miserable failure with my diet. However, I think that since I have not been a failure with my exercise that I can atone. Things like delicious meals keep getting in my way of dieting. But I feel that there is hope. With spring in the air and with the promise of new beginnings climate-wise, I think I can initiate a better plan diet-wise. Wish me luck!
Tip of the day: There's always hope. So remember that and try to change what you need to change.
Although this winter has been particularly mild, it was still winter. There is really not much good about winter, except for snow, in my opinion. Since we had a paucity of this white wonder, this winter was particularly gray. The grass was never covered by a white blanket for long, and as I look out of my window as I write this, I notice that the grass is particularly ugly. I fear that my lawn is suffering from some lack of snow disease. It looks deader than usual.
Winter can be a depressing time. In the past, I would use winter as an excuse NOT to exercise. It was too cold, too snowy, too gray, too depressing to leave my house. This year I forced myself to exercise, and I will have to say that I feel more hopeful about spring this winter than I ever have. Exercise has really caused me to be an optimist. There must be some truth to all of that research on brain chemistry and how exercise can make you feel healthier.
I have been a miserable failure with my diet. However, I think that since I have not been a failure with my exercise that I can atone. Things like delicious meals keep getting in my way of dieting. But I feel that there is hope. With spring in the air and with the promise of new beginnings climate-wise, I think I can initiate a better plan diet-wise. Wish me luck!
Tip of the day: There's always hope. So remember that and try to change what you need to change.
Friday, February 17, 2012
A better analogy
The blog goes on. In my last post, I referred to therapy, and this blog is therapy for me. I want to revisit this period in my life and expand upon how it now applies to my resolve to live a healthier lifestyle.
My therapist, who you now know was a former student of mind, did have some interesting insights into why I was unhappy. She used the analogy of Santa Claus' bag of toys. She suggested that I was picking up other people's issues and problems, stuffing them in my Santa bag and carrying it around with me. Since I had already insulted her by not recognizing her as a former student, I didn't feel that I should point out the false analogy that she had made. She should have perhaps alluded to Krampus, the German counterpart to Saint Nick who carries lumps of coal around. Santa would never put problems in his Christmas bag!! He puts nice things in there.
This leads me to my analogy. I was sort of like Santa, putting what I perceived to be nice things into the bag I was carrying around. I would include among these "nice" things chocolate, cake, pie, cookies, wine, pizza and bar food. By the time I was done loading the bag and ready to get into the sleigh---sleigh = retirement---I realized that I had 80 pounds of "nice" stuff packed up.
It's time for me to unload! I need a new definition of "nice" things. Let's see what I've discovered. Oatmeal with a banana actually tastes pretty good. An orange can satisfy as much as a handful of chips. Unsalted almonds don't taste as good as salted cashews, but they are crunchy. Dill pickles are salty, crunchy and satisfying. Yes, they have lots of sodium, but so do chips.
So, I'm continuing my quest to unload my unwanted weight. I can do this.
Tip of the day: Redefine "nice"!
My therapist, who you now know was a former student of mind, did have some interesting insights into why I was unhappy. She used the analogy of Santa Claus' bag of toys. She suggested that I was picking up other people's issues and problems, stuffing them in my Santa bag and carrying it around with me. Since I had already insulted her by not recognizing her as a former student, I didn't feel that I should point out the false analogy that she had made. She should have perhaps alluded to Krampus, the German counterpart to Saint Nick who carries lumps of coal around. Santa would never put problems in his Christmas bag!! He puts nice things in there.
This leads me to my analogy. I was sort of like Santa, putting what I perceived to be nice things into the bag I was carrying around. I would include among these "nice" things chocolate, cake, pie, cookies, wine, pizza and bar food. By the time I was done loading the bag and ready to get into the sleigh---sleigh = retirement---I realized that I had 80 pounds of "nice" stuff packed up.
It's time for me to unload! I need a new definition of "nice" things. Let's see what I've discovered. Oatmeal with a banana actually tastes pretty good. An orange can satisfy as much as a handful of chips. Unsalted almonds don't taste as good as salted cashews, but they are crunchy. Dill pickles are salty, crunchy and satisfying. Yes, they have lots of sodium, but so do chips.
So, I'm continuing my quest to unload my unwanted weight. I can do this.
Tip of the day: Redefine "nice"!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
It's the day you either love or hate.
February 14th! The feast of Saint Valentine, who just happened to possibly be more than one saint. I'm going to use the Saint Valentine, a Roman Priest who was arrested and persecuted for marrying Christian couples during the reign of Claudius I. (Perhaps the Christian right should take a look at this persecution thing for marrying out of the "accepted" norms of the current society! That's another blog, however.)
Anyway, the feast of Saint Valentine had nothing to do with sending Valentine cards, flowers or candy to one's beloved. It was simply a day to venerate all of the saints who could have possibly been named "Valentine" which is sort of the "Justin" of today or the "John" of the 50's. So happy feast day, Valentine!
The point of my blog today is love and hate. I read once that there is a very fine line between these two emotions. I've never been one to avoid "hate." In fact, I think it's a healthy emotion. It's the antithesis of "love" which we all agree the world needs more of. We all love and hate people, possessions and ourselves. We spend so much time on the people and possessions that we lose ourselves in the equation. This is what happened to me.
A few years ago, I was going through a bad time. It seemed, in fact, that my world was falling apart, piece by piece. Much of it had to do with the economy which impacted my entire family directly. So I did what many people facing crises do. I started self-medicating with food. Fortunately, I had the good sense to realize that I couldn't face things by myself, and I went to a counselor.
The story about my counselor is a humorous aside, or at least I think so. After about 10 minutes of pouring my heart out to a young woman who was looking at me quite uncomfortably, she asked if I had a problem with a conflict of interest on her part. She had been a former student of mine. Not wanting to face the purging of my soul a second time, I told her I was fine with it. This, plus the fact that I had no recollection of her ever being in one of my classes, made it easy. (I did recall her brother and went on about how great he was which probably put her into counseling, but oh well.)
Back to my point. I truly hated myself. I hated pretty much everything about my life, until I sat back and realized that I had lots to love. I was a nice person. I would do pretty much anything for a friend. I had a good sense of humor (or so I was told by those who don't want to make me angry), and I was a good listener. I had good friends, a beautiful family, was well-educated. And now I have even something more to love about myself. I don't have to work.
So, I'm dropping the self-hatred and bringing on the love. I have been faithful to my workouts, while not to my diet during my "one day at a time" plan. I am going to try to do better with my diet, starting today, because in honor of Saint Valentine's Day, I'm going to love myself. I'm going to celebrate my greatness, and give myself a big hug.
Tip for the day: Love yourself today. You are the best!
Anyway, the feast of Saint Valentine had nothing to do with sending Valentine cards, flowers or candy to one's beloved. It was simply a day to venerate all of the saints who could have possibly been named "Valentine" which is sort of the "Justin" of today or the "John" of the 50's. So happy feast day, Valentine!
The point of my blog today is love and hate. I read once that there is a very fine line between these two emotions. I've never been one to avoid "hate." In fact, I think it's a healthy emotion. It's the antithesis of "love" which we all agree the world needs more of. We all love and hate people, possessions and ourselves. We spend so much time on the people and possessions that we lose ourselves in the equation. This is what happened to me.
A few years ago, I was going through a bad time. It seemed, in fact, that my world was falling apart, piece by piece. Much of it had to do with the economy which impacted my entire family directly. So I did what many people facing crises do. I started self-medicating with food. Fortunately, I had the good sense to realize that I couldn't face things by myself, and I went to a counselor.
The story about my counselor is a humorous aside, or at least I think so. After about 10 minutes of pouring my heart out to a young woman who was looking at me quite uncomfortably, she asked if I had a problem with a conflict of interest on her part. She had been a former student of mine. Not wanting to face the purging of my soul a second time, I told her I was fine with it. This, plus the fact that I had no recollection of her ever being in one of my classes, made it easy. (I did recall her brother and went on about how great he was which probably put her into counseling, but oh well.)
Back to my point. I truly hated myself. I hated pretty much everything about my life, until I sat back and realized that I had lots to love. I was a nice person. I would do pretty much anything for a friend. I had a good sense of humor (or so I was told by those who don't want to make me angry), and I was a good listener. I had good friends, a beautiful family, was well-educated. And now I have even something more to love about myself. I don't have to work.
So, I'm dropping the self-hatred and bringing on the love. I have been faithful to my workouts, while not to my diet during my "one day at a time" plan. I am going to try to do better with my diet, starting today, because in honor of Saint Valentine's Day, I'm going to love myself. I'm going to celebrate my greatness, and give myself a big hug.
Tip for the day: Love yourself today. You are the best!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The trainer or the car?
Since October, I've been paying a trainer at my gym nearly $400.00 a month to help get me in shape. My logic was that if I were putting out this amount of money that I would be proportionately motivated to hit it hard! Well...that was a good thought, but not exactly the best use of $400.00
My trainer is not the problem. Perhaps the fact that I chose her because she has a German name, Liesl, might give you a clue as to why it has taken me four months to tell her that I no longer need to pay $400.00 a month to be motivated to exercise. She's really nice, sweet, and a great trainer. She's motivated me to do exercises that I had never imagined I could possibly do. She's encouraged me to keep going, to tough it out, to work through it. However, $400.00 is a ton of money. I now look at money in terms of days of substitute teaching. That's 5 days...wouldn't I rather spend that cash on something frivolous?
Yes, I did just that. I bought a new car. Poor Marv hadn't had a new car since 2006. Poor me. I now have a Chevy Cruze. It gets 42 MPG, and it is pretty darned sporty. Just the motivation I need to continue to get in shape. Who wants to see a fat, old lady hoist herself out of a cool car? Nobody! Soon there will be a svelte, old lady leaping from that vehicle.
Yesterday I told Liesl that her services were no longer needed and I made a car payment:)!
Tip of the day: You're getting in shape for yourself, right? Do things that make you happy.
My trainer is not the problem. Perhaps the fact that I chose her because she has a German name, Liesl, might give you a clue as to why it has taken me four months to tell her that I no longer need to pay $400.00 a month to be motivated to exercise. She's really nice, sweet, and a great trainer. She's motivated me to do exercises that I had never imagined I could possibly do. She's encouraged me to keep going, to tough it out, to work through it. However, $400.00 is a ton of money. I now look at money in terms of days of substitute teaching. That's 5 days...wouldn't I rather spend that cash on something frivolous?
Yes, I did just that. I bought a new car. Poor Marv hadn't had a new car since 2006. Poor me. I now have a Chevy Cruze. It gets 42 MPG, and it is pretty darned sporty. Just the motivation I need to continue to get in shape. Who wants to see a fat, old lady hoist herself out of a cool car? Nobody! Soon there will be a svelte, old lady leaping from that vehicle.
Yesterday I told Liesl that her services were no longer needed and I made a car payment:)!
Tip of the day: You're getting in shape for yourself, right? Do things that make you happy.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Work got in my way!
It's been a while since I've written. There are several topics floating around in my head, but I think I'll write about how far I've come since I began my "one day at a time" plan, and about the biggest issue that sabbotaged my healthy life choices in my past. It's been five weeks since I began my quest to live a healthier life style and to lose weight. Here's an update on how it's going.
I've lost four pounds and have kept them off. I'd actually lost 8 at one point, but that was mostly water which I have drunk back in gallons. And although I would much rather say that I'd lost 8 pounds, I am happy with the four which have NOT come back. I feel 100% better. Although I'm not an unbiased observer, I think I look healthier. My skin is radiant...yes, I'm going to say that, because it no longer has the dull look it had last spring. My hair is shinier, and I smile more. I find that I'm becoming more of an optimist. (Those of you who know me well are shaking your heads at this point, I know, but it's true!) My exercise program is now a habit, and I feel like crap when I don't exercise for at least an hour a day.
Now, I would like to share one of the major reasons that I've become successful. I no longer have to work. Work truly got in my way. I was a horrific at delegating when I worked, I took things much too seriously, and I was over-involved. My health and weight were the victims of these choices. Would I do things differently? I would say, probably not. I don't think that I would have said "yes" to quite as many committees, perhaps, but my job was very important to me, and I loved it.
However, I'm retired now. I have to continually remind myself of this, and learn to enjoy it. I spent several weeks looking for some new job, and I got my substitute teaching credentials in order. Now I substitute around 2-3 days a week, sometimes less, and I am NOT looking for a job...unless Illinois goes the way of American Airlines and voids my pension...that will be another blog.
Work-life balance is important, and I never really examined this while I was working. I would eat in my car...a definite NO to dieting...I would skip breakfast...another NO...I would graze when people brought in treats...NO, NO, NO...but that was then. This is now. Three meals a day, fruit and nuts for snacks, and exercise.
Let's extrapolate...4 pounds in 5 weeks = 40 pounds in a year. I'll take that!
Tip of the day: Your job is important, but your health is more important. Take your work seriously, but skip the twinkies!
I've lost four pounds and have kept them off. I'd actually lost 8 at one point, but that was mostly water which I have drunk back in gallons. And although I would much rather say that I'd lost 8 pounds, I am happy with the four which have NOT come back. I feel 100% better. Although I'm not an unbiased observer, I think I look healthier. My skin is radiant...yes, I'm going to say that, because it no longer has the dull look it had last spring. My hair is shinier, and I smile more. I find that I'm becoming more of an optimist. (Those of you who know me well are shaking your heads at this point, I know, but it's true!) My exercise program is now a habit, and I feel like crap when I don't exercise for at least an hour a day.
Now, I would like to share one of the major reasons that I've become successful. I no longer have to work. Work truly got in my way. I was a horrific at delegating when I worked, I took things much too seriously, and I was over-involved. My health and weight were the victims of these choices. Would I do things differently? I would say, probably not. I don't think that I would have said "yes" to quite as many committees, perhaps, but my job was very important to me, and I loved it.
However, I'm retired now. I have to continually remind myself of this, and learn to enjoy it. I spent several weeks looking for some new job, and I got my substitute teaching credentials in order. Now I substitute around 2-3 days a week, sometimes less, and I am NOT looking for a job...unless Illinois goes the way of American Airlines and voids my pension...that will be another blog.
Work-life balance is important, and I never really examined this while I was working. I would eat in my car...a definite NO to dieting...I would skip breakfast...another NO...I would graze when people brought in treats...NO, NO, NO...but that was then. This is now. Three meals a day, fruit and nuts for snacks, and exercise.
Let's extrapolate...4 pounds in 5 weeks = 40 pounds in a year. I'll take that!
Tip of the day: Your job is important, but your health is more important. Take your work seriously, but skip the twinkies!
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