Week Fourteen has started out fantastically! It's only Monday, but because of my weight loss on Saturday and Sunday I am ready to get back on this train.
Stepped on the scale Saturday: 1.2lbs down! Sunday: 1.8lbs down! 3 POUNDS IN TWO DAYS! That's more like what I'm used to! I am now at a total loss of 29lbs; the most I've lost yet!
Today my sister and I are going clothes shopping. I can't even remember when the last time was that I was excited to do that. Maybe because this time I'll actually be able to fit into the clothes!
It's now Saturday, so here's a recap of the rest of the week:
Clothes shopping was SO MUCH FUN! I found a few outfits that simply look wonderful, and I'm very happy to finally really see my hard work paying off.
I ended week fourteen at 30lbs lost. 20lbs to go. I'm in no rush...life is WAY too busy right now!
So, yesterday my sister and I went shopping for new clothes for me. Loosing weight has brought one fun issue: EVERYTHING IN MY CLOSET IS TOO BIG!
Away we went, her as my fashion consultant, and I the humble client, to find me clothes. She found this really cute blouse at Kohls, and I bought it.
I decided to wear the blouse to work today. Since the school is still under construction, there is a temporary fence installed around the playground so the students can go outside for recess. As I was leaving work today, I was certain that I had cleared the fence, and was far enough away to take the step around. And then I heard an awful sound.....RRRRIIIIPPPP! I looked down and my BRAND NEW BLOUSE had a HUGE, gaping hole in it! I simply couldn't believe my eyes. I haven't been shopping for clothes in over a year, and the first time I wear the blouse it ends up destroyed? Not fair.
There was no way I would be able to attempt to take this back to Kohls, so I instead went there searching for this shirt again. It wasn't in my size at the store I bought it at yesterday, but luckily it's on hold for me at a Kohls in Salt Lake City.
See the pretty blouse....with the hole on the left side?
Yep, there is no way this baby can be sewed back together!
Again, such a beautiful blouse!
And such a terrible hole!
The lesson for today: stay away from temporary fences!
I am a third grade teacher for the American Preparatory Academy charter school. They have one campus in Draper, Utah, another in West Valley City, Utah, and they've built another campus in West Valley.
I work at the brand new campus, which is still under construction. So much so, that teachers weren't able to even get into the building to prepare their classrooms until last Friday, August 26th....with school starting Monday, August 29th!
It was a whirlwind of a weekend. Luckily many parent volunteers came to help the teachers make their rooms look as "put together" as they possibly could in such a short amount of time.
This has been the LONGEST, and most TIRING week of my life!
Since I live in Sandy, I'm about 30 minutes away from work. I also now have to deal with traffic, which I've been blessed to never have to worry about before. I have to be at school at 7:45am. So Brandon and I are out the door by 6:45am each day so that I can avoid the morning traffic. I don't get to leave work until 4:15pm, and by then the afternoon traffic has begun. And don't even get me started on Utah Drivers....and I thought California Drivers were bad; they are NOTHING compared to Utahans! I get Brandon from school, come home and make dinner, sit for a few minutes, get Brandon ready for bed, and I'm back to bed by 9:30pm to start the next day. It's been a crazy schedule. I've had caffeine pumping through my veins this week, not blood!!
Being at a brand new school definitely has it's advantages though. The biggest is that everything is brand new (duh!). But there is a lot of enthusiasm with the staff and the students who are at this school for the first time.
This week has been all about teaching the students procedures. American Preparatory Academy (APA) is all about Direct Instruction. Aren't sure what Direct Instruction teaching is? Read here to find out all about it.
By Tuesday the marjority of our curriculum should have arrived, and we'll be starting with reading and math groups. Yep, I went an entire week without the majority of my curriculum, and since there wasn't a fence around the playground yet, the students (and teachers) were forced to stay inside for recess! Did I mention it was a long week?!?
I have a great class. They are catching on quickly to the direct instruction techniques we use to get the attention of everyone. I'm naturally a loud person so I've almost lost my voice because of all the cheering and teaching of class rules. It's been great. I can't wait to see how they progress, and how I can become a better teacher.
Here are some pictures from my classroom. Please remember, I only had about 2 1/2 days to be inside it, with construction workers constantly coming in, making it more difficult to put my room in the order I'd like it in!
I decided after spending last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at my new school getting my room ready that week thirteen was probably going to be a bust. I was right.
This last week has been the most stressful, long, tiring week I've had in years! Needless to say, I gained weight instead of loosing....at one point I skyrocketed up almost 3.5lbs! I kept a good attitude though.
Exercise? Are you serious? I've been up at 5am, on my feet for 11 hours, jumping up and down attempting to keep third graders happy and awake, and then straight to bed by 9:30pm. There has been NO "official" exercise, and I worry when that day will come again. Hopefully once the stress and anxiety of the first few weeks of school level off, I'll find that I'm not so exhausted and will be able to exercise after running from school, driving 25 minutes in EXCITING rush hour traffic to pick up Brandon, go home, make dinner, bathe Brandon, and take care of other house duties.
Wow, life got busy VERY quickly!
The one thing I CAN and WILL start doing again this week is eating healthier. I have complete control over that, and I'm hoping that since natural exercise will come from walking around all day at work, my weight will be able to continue to fall off. I've already lost 1lb from the 3.5lb I gained, so that's helping my spirits.
No worries, we'll just move on to week fourteen and pretend like this week didn't even happen!
Get ready friends, this is a long and emotion filled entry!!!!!
The Star Wars Trilogy comes out on Blu-Ray September 16th. I've been back and forth about whether or not I was going to purchase this nine disc set that will contain three discs of bonus footage. A few years ago when episodes 4-6 were released on DVD there was a lot of bonus footage and through my research I've discovered that the 3 extra discs won't be worth it. (Click here to see the details for the blu-ray package.) If there was commentary by more of the principal actors, maybe I'd go for it.
Another reason I've been on the fence is because I've heard that George Lucas once again couldn't help himself and made more changes to what were once the greatest movies ever made....prequels not counting. I read that the changes would be SUBTLE changes; mainly that in The Phantom Menace Yoda would now be completely CGI instead of a puppet. That doesn't bother me at all.
However, today I've made my decision....there is NO WAY I will be purchasing the blu-ray version. And I'm seriously considering finding the websites that have been created for the sole purpose of promoting the boycott of the blu-ray version and signing my name to them.
The internet is on FIRE with the news that George Lucas has gone and done it again. And this is no subtle change, especially if you are a die hard fan like myself. No, this change comes to one of, if not THE MOST POWERFUL scenes in all 6 movies; the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader's sacrifice to save his son, Luke.
This ending sequence is my FAVORITE part of the entire saga. Here is the scene the way it has played out since the movie was released in 1983:
Let me ask you this: is there anything wrong with this scene? NO! But, remember, we're dealing with George Lucas, the man who continues to think that he needs to screw around with the movies that are beloved, and obsessed about by so many people. In George Lucas's twisted mind, since the release of Revenge of the Sith, something is now missing.
At the end of Revenge of the Sith, when the Emperor tells Darth Vader, (who has just been put into the black suit,) that his wife is dead, he yells out, "NOOOOOOO!". It was a stupid line.
Well, ladies and gentleman: Georgie Boy has now inserted that STUPID LINE into the end of the scene when the Emperor is killed. Why? Who knows. Here is how the climactic scene will now play out:
Are you absolutely kidding me?!?
The reason this scene is so powerful is because there is no dialogue. The incredible music by John Williams puts all the emotion there for you. Watching Darth Vader looking back and forth from Luke to the Emperor, you can almost see the expression on his face......even though he's wearing a mask. And when he finally turns, with conviction, towards the Emperor, picks him up and throws him down the shaft of the Death Star.....I get goosebumps; even though I know it's coming! When I saw this scene in the theatre, we all screamed and applauded! Brandon jumps for joy each time he sees it too!!
In 1997 when the "Special Editions" came out, there was so much excitement because many of us, myself included, had never witnessed Star Wars in a theatre. And then we saw them...and were furious about many things that were changed.
I've made a few blog posts about the changes that I thought were ridiculous. Greedo Shooting First was one of them. When The Empire Strikes Back came out, another change was made. A conversation between The Emperor and Darth Vader was now different.
We were mad, but we still purchased the DVDs when they came out because we love these movies. But now I've had it! George Lucas has every right to destroy his own movies, but if he's going to release them on blu-ray, why not put the ABSOLUTE, before-he-messed-with-them originals in the package for the millions of fans who are FURIOUS about the continual changes? We too would love to enjoy Star Wars.
I would've spent the money on the blu-ray package just to get my hands on the original versions in a better format. Now, the only copy I have of them is on VHS....and they aren't even my copies....they originally belonged to my husband!!!!
So here's to you George Lucas. Thanks for once again letting your millions of fans down. Maybe next time you release these movies you will fix those that really need to be messed with....THE PREQUELS!
Click here to read many of the articles that sent the internet into a flurry.
Finally, I will now quote from Darth Vader, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
