I love my three day weekends. Especially at the end of the school year. However, since part of it was spent working, it wasn't all fun and games but at least I had an extra day to get things done without being in the classroom. I'm finally done with report cards after spending most of today entering them in the computer. I wish that was it for the end of the year tasks - but I still have to fill out the kindergarten certificates, burn 30 cd's with the year's photos as my gift for the kids, fill out placement cards and form the 1st grade classes, form the incoming kindergarten classes, take down all student work, pack my classroom, go on a walking field trip to the library on Wednesday, plan for the summer bridge program that begins right after school is out, physically move my classroom.....oh and keep teaching!
Saturday I had a great class at PAC. Each week is getting progressively larger, with more than 20 this week, even on a holiday. I am really enjoying it so far. The members have been very welcoming to me. That night Alexander had a soccer game in San Francisco near Ocean Beach. As we drove to the field, it began to rain and the closer we got, the harder the rain came down. I knew I'd be spending time in the car because I was already dressed with straight hair for a Juventus fundraiser at the Little Fox club for later that evening. Luckily, right before the game started, the rain stopped. However it was FREEZING during the whole game, Alex played only 10 minutes, the team played crappy and lost, and there was almost a fist fight between two moms on the sidelines (no, I wasn't one of them!)
The fundraiser was a bigger success than I had hoped. The venue is a great one and it was actually a lot of fun seeing and dancing with people I have not seen for awhile. The highlight was seeing a soccer mom I hadn't seen in a few years and we are not FB friends. She saw me and exclaimed "You're so TINY!" which is hilarious cause I am NOT but I am definitely smaller than the last time she saw me! There were so many people that helped to organize this and got their friends and family to come. We would have had an even better turnout if it weren't Memorial Day weekend but we still had more than 60 people throughout the night and raised almost $3K!! The funniest thing was seeing us on the dance floor, remembering how we used to dance every weekend in the late 80's and knowing that we are all "older" parents now! We need a nightclub for us mature folk!! HAHAHAHA!!! The DJ, while he tried his best, was too young to get the whole 80's thing and had a hard time with the songs. I would have rather danced to current music anyway because the clubs we went to in the 80's were Alternative, Modern Rock and Dance - not KSOL music which is fine and a lot of people danced to it but I didn't recognize alot of the music so I circulated around, sold raffle tickets and got up on stage announcing winners. It was strange how comfortable I felt up there with a microphone - I think BodyPump teaching has helped me with my self confidence and "stage presence"!! An added benefit.....
Franklin spent most of the night working the front door collecting money and tickets and we only spent a little time together. He mentioned later how proud of me he was and I was puzzled at that. He told me how different I was, how confident I was, socializing with people, working the room, up on stage, how great I looked. It's true that I felt different. Not shy. I am not really a shy person, but in social situations where I don't know many people, I tend to not be very open or socialize much. I'm very uncomfortable at parties where I don't know anyone. But that night, I flitted around the club, talking to people I didn't know, whereas I normally would stick with Franklin and not venture away. Physically, I felt good and I think it showed in how I carried myself. Another benefit of getting healthy and fit, I suppose. I had originally planned to only stay a couple of hours and pick the kids up by 11:00 because I was so tired. I ended up staying till 12:45am. I am so thankful of all the people that came out to support our soccer team.
We will be having another dance night this summer, hopefully with better music - I think a blend of 80's, 90's and current music, just good dance music in general, is in order and would be a lot of fun. If you are reading this blog, consider yourself invited!!
Sunday I had a great class at 24Hour. Only 10 people came but another Crunch defector came! I never knew her name, but as soon as I saw her, we both recognized each other! Her name is Jackie and she is a friend of Susan, who has been coming for several months. It's so nice to see the old gang, and to hear she liked my class! I learned 3 more tracks, really loved teaching them, and tomorrow I'm adding another 3. It's becoming easier to learn chorey so I don't need as much time to learn it.
After Alexander's game yesterday (which we had to win for the semi's today but lost) he and Franklin came over to me and Franklin said we needed to get him to a hospital right away. I looked at my baby's face and my stomach dropped - it's hard to describe and I wish I had taken a picture but he was grabbing the sides of his face, which was drooping - almost melting - with his eye sockets swollen, his upper cheekbones swollen, the hollows of his cheeks sunken in, and his jaw bone swollen and covered in a rash. He reminded me of a stroke victim or when my dad had Bell's Palsy when half of his face was temporarily paralyzed. Alex had some kind of allergic reaction to something right after the game, and with his asthma we were worried about his airways closing up. He grabbed my phone to get a look at his face because his team mates were telling him something was wrong with his face and he felt so weird - numb and strange. As soon as he saw himself he started to panic even more. I had to calm him down as I rushed him to the parking lot. Franklin had Fili, a very trustworthy dad on our team who knows SF, rush him to the hospital once we determined his breathing was not affected. We were following but he took off so fast, to Kaiser, apparently close to the field. Franklin drove and I plugged it into the GPS and the damn thing took us on a wild goose chase. I have never hated San Francisco as much as I did during the 30-40 minutes it took us to find the hospital. The fact that Fili's phone was off and I couldn't get a hold of him began to make me panic and I'm pretty level headed during a crises.
We finally found them at the Kaiser on Geary but we don't have Kaiser, and they wouldn't even register him until we arrived. By that time, the swelling had partly gone down and since his breathing was fine, we decided to pull him and take him back to RWC and Sequoia where we knew he would be treated well. I cringe to think of how much time we wasted - in hindsight we should have driven straight there but we didn't. The ER was packed, and at the end of it all, they gave him Benadryl. The only thing we can think of is that he used a towel given to the team as a tournament gift to wipe down his face after the game and almost immediately he swelled up. There must have been some detergent or chemical on the towel that he was highly allergic to. I now have Benadryl in my purse. He has never had anything like this happen to him, even though he is allergic to cats and dogs. It was very scary for awhile but today he is recovered and studying hard for finals. We are all tired, though, we didn't get home till after midnight.
Today I got up early, went to a spin class at PAC, then while Cassie had a playdate at her BFF's house, I worked on report cards. Done!
In more ways than one.....off to begin a crazy week at school.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
One Down.....a Gazillion to Go
I'm completely exhausted and it's not even halfway over yet.
Today was our SF Zoo field trip. With 30 kids, 14 parents and the rain, I figured it would be a disaster. Well, a bit of positive thinking and organization ahead of time got me the best zoo trip I've had with students. I don't know what it was. My 10 core group of parents had 3 kids each, leaving me to manage the group. The rain put off most people so we were first in line. Several animals were taking shelter, so we didn't see the lions, elephants, rhinos, and tigers but we saw plenty of others and the kids were thrilled. Standing in the pouring rain watching the bears and gorillas......more fun than I anticipated. No one was lost, well, one did get lost but she was with her older sister and if they had just stayed with the group like they were supposed to.....no surprise there with that one.
After arriving back at school at 2:00, no rest - worked straight until 6:00pm getting ready for Open House tomorrow, cleaning, filing, hanging things, plus finishing assessments because after tomorrow I have to input all 30 students' assessments in the computer. That will be my Memorial Day weekend. Sigh.
Tonight at home I kept working, uploading all the zoo pictures and adding them to iPhoto with the rest of the year's photos (total of 492!) and created a slideshow to play tomorrow. Set to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story, as it played it literally brought tears to my eyes, looking at those little ones from the first day of school to today, and seeing all that we did in between and how far they have come. I am in awe that I have (almost) survived this year. The next two weeks will be absolutely brutal but it's almost over.
Haven't taught BP since Sunday and I am really feeling the need to release some of this stress. I was going to make it to a spin class tonight but work got in the way, which it doesn't often do but it did tonight and it bothered me. Tomorrow is completely out so I hope to do something on Friday and then back to teaching this weekend.
At this point, all I can do is take it day by day but since I have to look ahead because of deadlines, it just creates more stress. I need to exercise to ward off the impending feeling of being completely overwhelmed.
Tomorrow: 9:00am observation by the Sobrato Foundation (who has been instrumental at our school in providing funding for enrichment, teacher training and collaboration, materials, and so much more) and the District head of English Language Development. They are going to observe a lesson in each Kinder classroom (yes on Open House day). Not only that, the RWC Superintendent herself will be walking around with our principal so who knows what time they'll pop in.
It really is a "good" thing that we have all these observations. Hoover is doing amazing things with different educational strategies for our English Learners that other schools in our district are not trained to do, so all the observations are to see what a great job we are doing. However, it creates a great deal of additional work and stress preparing for these observations in the midst of other responsibilities, like Open House, testing and other things. So while I mumble and grumble about all the people coming in, in the big scheme of things, it is a good thing.
Last week when the principal came in unannounced with a member of the RWC School board during my video taped lesson (talk about pressure) he turned to the principal (she told me at lunch) and told her he was blown away by my teaching and what the kids were producing. It honestly surprised me because I felt like crap with my double ear infections and sinus infection and I truly didn't feel like I did anything special. The next day, I received a personal email from him thanking me for doing a great job with the kids, how engaged they were, having fun and how well prepared they are for the next grade. Again, I was truly surprised because all year it has been such a struggle with the larger class size and I have often felt like I was drowning and spinning my wheels with these kids. As I test them, I see that most of them really HAVE been listening and taking it in, even though I have been unable, most of the time, to give them the kind of attention they needed and deserved. They actually have been learning. It really is a surprise to me because I didn't expect that. Oh, and the board member copied my principal AND the RWC Superintendent! Now I'm on the radar. So I fully expect her to walk in tomorrow to see me teach. Sigh. At least my room looks good :)
Off to bed. Need to get in early to load up on caffeine!
Today was our SF Zoo field trip. With 30 kids, 14 parents and the rain, I figured it would be a disaster. Well, a bit of positive thinking and organization ahead of time got me the best zoo trip I've had with students. I don't know what it was. My 10 core group of parents had 3 kids each, leaving me to manage the group. The rain put off most people so we were first in line. Several animals were taking shelter, so we didn't see the lions, elephants, rhinos, and tigers but we saw plenty of others and the kids were thrilled. Standing in the pouring rain watching the bears and gorillas......more fun than I anticipated. No one was lost, well, one did get lost but she was with her older sister and if they had just stayed with the group like they were supposed to.....no surprise there with that one.
After arriving back at school at 2:00, no rest - worked straight until 6:00pm getting ready for Open House tomorrow, cleaning, filing, hanging things, plus finishing assessments because after tomorrow I have to input all 30 students' assessments in the computer. That will be my Memorial Day weekend. Sigh.
Tonight at home I kept working, uploading all the zoo pictures and adding them to iPhoto with the rest of the year's photos (total of 492!) and created a slideshow to play tomorrow. Set to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story, as it played it literally brought tears to my eyes, looking at those little ones from the first day of school to today, and seeing all that we did in between and how far they have come. I am in awe that I have (almost) survived this year. The next two weeks will be absolutely brutal but it's almost over.
Haven't taught BP since Sunday and I am really feeling the need to release some of this stress. I was going to make it to a spin class tonight but work got in the way, which it doesn't often do but it did tonight and it bothered me. Tomorrow is completely out so I hope to do something on Friday and then back to teaching this weekend.
At this point, all I can do is take it day by day but since I have to look ahead because of deadlines, it just creates more stress. I need to exercise to ward off the impending feeling of being completely overwhelmed.
Tomorrow: 9:00am observation by the Sobrato Foundation (who has been instrumental at our school in providing funding for enrichment, teacher training and collaboration, materials, and so much more) and the District head of English Language Development. They are going to observe a lesson in each Kinder classroom (yes on Open House day). Not only that, the RWC Superintendent herself will be walking around with our principal so who knows what time they'll pop in.
It really is a "good" thing that we have all these observations. Hoover is doing amazing things with different educational strategies for our English Learners that other schools in our district are not trained to do, so all the observations are to see what a great job we are doing. However, it creates a great deal of additional work and stress preparing for these observations in the midst of other responsibilities, like Open House, testing and other things. So while I mumble and grumble about all the people coming in, in the big scheme of things, it is a good thing.
Last week when the principal came in unannounced with a member of the RWC School board during my video taped lesson (talk about pressure) he turned to the principal (she told me at lunch) and told her he was blown away by my teaching and what the kids were producing. It honestly surprised me because I felt like crap with my double ear infections and sinus infection and I truly didn't feel like I did anything special. The next day, I received a personal email from him thanking me for doing a great job with the kids, how engaged they were, having fun and how well prepared they are for the next grade. Again, I was truly surprised because all year it has been such a struggle with the larger class size and I have often felt like I was drowning and spinning my wheels with these kids. As I test them, I see that most of them really HAVE been listening and taking it in, even though I have been unable, most of the time, to give them the kind of attention they needed and deserved. They actually have been learning. It really is a surprise to me because I didn't expect that. Oh, and the board member copied my principal AND the RWC Superintendent! Now I'm on the radar. So I fully expect her to walk in tomorrow to see me teach. Sigh. At least my room looks good :)
Off to bed. Need to get in early to load up on caffeine!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sick Sick Sick
Double ear infection. Sinus infection. On antibiotics again, plus a probiotic. UGH. Still can't breathe. I am thankful not to be teaching BP until Saturday and Sunday.
I didn't get any work done today, but I must return to work tomorrow. I have to decide whether or not to kick the videographer out of my classroom tomorrow because I can't imagine teaching a lesson on film sounding and looking like I do. I still have those forms due on Friday and I think there's a staff meeting tomorrow afternoon that I am going to do my best to get out of. Maybe sneak home and take a nap before Cassie's Open House at 6:00.
Gotta get something off my chest. I am not perfect. I have never said I was perfect. Sure, I strive to be. But I am new at this instructor thing. Yes, it feels at times like I have been doing this for a long long time. But in reality it's only been 4 months. I know I screwed up last week increasing my bicep weight and not being able to finish it in front of my class. I made a mistake and I learned my lesson. I do not think that means I should go back to the drawing board. It's not like I forgot everything from training, it means I am human and I took a chance and it bit me in the butt. Does it make me a bad instructor? I hope not, although I feel like it. Does it make stop and think about my purpose in class and why I am doing this? Sure. I know I am doing this for my participants. I know I did not show, display and demonstrate competency, effectiveness, strength and safety. I know STOPPING IS NOT OK. I know I should not practice or improvise in class. But hell, I am still learning here and if I take what happened and do it again? Then no, I am not doing my job. If I take my mistake and learn from it? Then lesson learned.
Sigh.
I didn't get any work done today, but I must return to work tomorrow. I have to decide whether or not to kick the videographer out of my classroom tomorrow because I can't imagine teaching a lesson on film sounding and looking like I do. I still have those forms due on Friday and I think there's a staff meeting tomorrow afternoon that I am going to do my best to get out of. Maybe sneak home and take a nap before Cassie's Open House at 6:00.
Gotta get something off my chest. I am not perfect. I have never said I was perfect. Sure, I strive to be. But I am new at this instructor thing. Yes, it feels at times like I have been doing this for a long long time. But in reality it's only been 4 months. I know I screwed up last week increasing my bicep weight and not being able to finish it in front of my class. I made a mistake and I learned my lesson. I do not think that means I should go back to the drawing board. It's not like I forgot everything from training, it means I am human and I took a chance and it bit me in the butt. Does it make me a bad instructor? I hope not, although I feel like it. Does it make stop and think about my purpose in class and why I am doing this? Sure. I know I am doing this for my participants. I know I did not show, display and demonstrate competency, effectiveness, strength and safety. I know STOPPING IS NOT OK. I know I should not practice or improvise in class. But hell, I am still learning here and if I take what happened and do it again? Then no, I am not doing my job. If I take my mistake and learn from it? Then lesson learned.
Sigh.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I am SICK of being SICK
It seems like since Dallas, four weeks ago, I have felt like crap. Either my head exploding from the pressure of the flight, or allergies from the high winds in Dallas, to allergies lingering here, to the constant change in weather.....well, the cough and crud haven't gone away and the congestion is worse until.....yes I woke up today with a sore throat. I thought at first it was because I slept with my mouth open cause I couldn't breathe, but after working today (who am I kidding - the kids literally played all day while I tested them, because I had no energy to teach them anything) I ended up with a pretty swollen right gland in my throat that suspiciously feels like strep. CRAP. No fever, but with my history, I had to call the doctor. What was I told? I could be seen Thursday. I said, UH, NOPE. Not good enough. With my strep history and the pneumonia, I need to be seen earlier to rule anything out. Now I have a 9:20am appointment tomorrow which meant I had to call in sick.
This is NOT the week to take a day off. I am smack in the middle of testing. I have a videographer taping me doing a lesson on Thursday. I have ELD continuums due on Friday. I have a SF Zoo field trip next Wednesday, Open House on Thursday, training on Friday. A day out of the classroom means one less day to prepare for all of that, plus one less day to test my students. Plus the sub pool lately has produced some pretty INTERESTING subs......and I worry what the state of my classroom will look like after I am out tomorrow. Sigh. I simply cannot afford to take a day off right now.
But then again, I simply can't afford to work through this and get worse. I know I need to rest. I actually brought my laptop and work home with me. If I were a smart woman, I would leave it by the door and not even take out the work. It's a crap shoot. We'll see how it plays out tomorrow.
Class tonight - PACKED as it has consistently been for the last few Tuesdays. So awesome. Several new participants - one was a colleague, Angelica, who I always see in line for Zumba but has not tried my class. Well tonight, she did, along with her friend. Speaking to her after class, she was so excited - she loved it even though it was hard for her, but she wants the strength training and will be back! I love when I hear that!!
With all the school functions coming up, I will only be teaching Saturday and Sunday for the next two weeks. Maybe I can finally work in some of my own workouts. I have Kimi subbing this Thursday for me, then Mandi is subbing on Tuesday, and who knows who Kristin is getting to replace her, as she was subbing for me but put it back on the board. At least the two classes that I am responsible for are going to be BP and not Lift.
Looking forward to staying under a warm blanket tomorrow, catching up on DVR shows and drinking tea. And trying HARD not to do any semblance of work. Wish me luck.
This is NOT the week to take a day off. I am smack in the middle of testing. I have a videographer taping me doing a lesson on Thursday. I have ELD continuums due on Friday. I have a SF Zoo field trip next Wednesday, Open House on Thursday, training on Friday. A day out of the classroom means one less day to prepare for all of that, plus one less day to test my students. Plus the sub pool lately has produced some pretty INTERESTING subs......and I worry what the state of my classroom will look like after I am out tomorrow. Sigh. I simply cannot afford to take a day off right now.
But then again, I simply can't afford to work through this and get worse. I know I need to rest. I actually brought my laptop and work home with me. If I were a smart woman, I would leave it by the door and not even take out the work. It's a crap shoot. We'll see how it plays out tomorrow.
Class tonight - PACKED as it has consistently been for the last few Tuesdays. So awesome. Several new participants - one was a colleague, Angelica, who I always see in line for Zumba but has not tried my class. Well tonight, she did, along with her friend. Speaking to her after class, she was so excited - she loved it even though it was hard for her, but she wants the strength training and will be back! I love when I hear that!!
With all the school functions coming up, I will only be teaching Saturday and Sunday for the next two weeks. Maybe I can finally work in some of my own workouts. I have Kimi subbing this Thursday for me, then Mandi is subbing on Tuesday, and who knows who Kristin is getting to replace her, as she was subbing for me but put it back on the board. At least the two classes that I am responsible for are going to be BP and not Lift.
Looking forward to staying under a warm blanket tomorrow, catching up on DVR shows and drinking tea. And trying HARD not to do any semblance of work. Wish me luck.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Paying it Forward....A Little Bit at a Time
Whew. What an exhausting few days. The end of the school year is always tough but this year especially with 30 students and all the testing and preparing for Open House. Of course, not only do I have my own OH but Cassie's, and as it is her Kindergarten year, so many things that happen for her at school such as field trips and parties happen when I simply cannot take off school because of my own class responsibilities, which totally sucks. When Alex was in kindergarten, it was the year before I began teaching so I worked in the corporate world and just took off from work. No big deal. Much more challenging now. I took off one day to go on her field trip but she had another one last week and both Franklin and I couldn't go, and so it was the first ever field trip we have ever sent our kids on that one of us didn't attend. It was surreal. Her class picnic falls on a day at the end of the year when I have things happening at my own school and so yet again, cannot go. So far, thank goodness, her class is not planning anything special for the last day of school because could I go? Nope, because I have my own students' promotion ceremony/party on that day. If that were to happen, I would be completely torn. On the other hand, when Alex graduates from high school in two years, wild horses won't keep me away. The difference? You don't graduate from kindergarten. I don't care what any parent says. They are just going to first grade. On the other hand, if her class DID have a graduation ceremony, how could I miss it? It's bad enough that she has a dance performance with Danny G on a Tuesday night coming up and I can't yet get a sub for BP that night. Again, how could I miss that performance? So I am hoping and praying someone will come through for me to sub so I can go. Sigh.
A first happened to me on Thursday night. One that I know if a certain someone were in close proximity, he would kick my ass all the way back to training.....but it was a good lesson. I have been talking to the class about increasing weights when appropriate, and how even I, as an instructor, increase my weights as my fitness improves. I had said that the one track I have not yet gone up on was biceps and I was thinking about doing it that night. Well, several people called out to do it, so with that kind of encouragement, I did. Went to a large plate for biceps. The ladies in TX do it, and I have been hesitant because I have gone up for triceps and have almost not made it through, but I did so I thought, why not go up on biceps? I made a joke about no one laughing at me if I didn't make it, and off I went. Almost immediately, I regretted it but it wasn't until halfway through that it happened......yes, I had to rest for a repetition. I was MORTIFIED. I have never, in my short time as an instructor, had to pause. I have always been able to force myself to make it through. Of course, I joke about it during the moment, I see Julie and others grinning at me because they know how much it bothers me that I couldn't finish the whole track, and not only once, but three different times I had to take a one rep rest. UGH. At the end of the track, I told them all how embarrassing that was as an instructor to not be able to finish and this sweet lady at the front of the class told me "But you did a great job!!" which was nice. And after class, a couple of people came to me and told me that it was nice to see me teach them that in reality, when you can't complete a track, it's okay to pause, and then jump back in when you are ready. I realize that I did that ALL the time in my 3 years as a participant, and that's how I built up my strength, and it took 2 years to complete ANY kind of lunge track. I have come a long way, but all I could think about was how Alex would kick my butt if he saw that. So, yes, now he will know (sorry Alex) but I learned my lesson. Don't increase on weights for the first time in front of a class.......but sigh, it ended up being a good lesson for all of us!
Started at PAC yesterday. Hardly slept all night, and then when I did, I dreamt about the sound system, forgetting a 9 volt battery for the microphone, arriving late, people throwing things at me because they liked the previous instructor better......oh you would think I would not be nervous. After all, I've been doing this for a whole 4-1/2 months already. But yes, I was nervous. Mixed up a new playlist that I was going to do for my 24 peeps anyway, and did a bit of practicing yesterday morning. Pulled out the battery to take, Cassie was excited to come to the "nice" gym's kids space. We left, a bit early, and as I was driving on the freeway, realized with several loud expletives that I forgot the stupid battery at home! Luckily, next door to PAC is a Nob Hill Foods so Cassie and I ran in, bought a very expensive 2-pack and ran over to the club. I checked her in to the kids space and went to the studio.
When the previous class ended, I walked in and was immediately nervous because there were 2 people. Yes, TWO. I thought, "Oh crap, they know the other instructor is gone and no one wants to come to the new girl's class" and when those two ladies started talking about the old instructor, I started getting even more self conscious. I set up, got the mic and iPod going, and it's 12:30........then about 10 people walked in! Whew. But I couldn't start the class when most of them had yet to set up so I gave them a few minutes. A new participant asked for advice on equipment so I focused on that and started about 5 minutes late. Ended up with 15 people in class. Two ladies came up to me before class started to tell me they had to sneak out early, which was refreshing because no one ever tells me - they just leave.
Class was good, I could tell they were sizing me up and I them, but that's to be expected. What was such a nice surprise was that at the end, a lady named Kathy came up and introduced herself, gave me a warm welcome and told me she enjoyed my class. Several other women said thank you as they left class, so I know at least I didn't suck too badly. The new lady spent some time after class and asked about correct technique so I worked with her for 10 minutes or so. All in all, a pretty good first class. Cassie didn't want to leave the kids space - when I arrived, she was on the stationary bike riding it and wanted me to watch her! Nice to see since when I left she was on the computer.
For my Sunday class today, I told them on Thursday that I was going to do my best to switch up a few tracks per week or so because since I teach 3 of the 4 classes there, it feels like 2 weeks with the same playlist is too long. I made a commitment to do a new lunge track for this week. I only know 2 so I went back to BP72 and practiced Gone - a tough one with the bar on the back for the whole track and I haven't done that for a long time. Squats, lunges, squats, lunges. Seemed doable when I practiced but WHOA nelly - doing it in class with real weights? Deb commented that she remembers why she hates that track! I laughed and said too bad, it's here to stay for a week or so! It was hard to get through and when I said Alex and Kimi always made it look easy, she told me I made it look easy too! Sure didn't feel easy!
After class today, Deb and I stayed (with Zoe who came late and wanted more work out) and I hooked her up to the mic and she did a few tracks. She is trying so hard and is doing great - simplly getting better at cueing before moves, which is common in the beginning, but with feedback she implemented and got it down. She just needs more practice in a class setting. We are going to try again next Sunday and then set up a mock class for her and Michelle and do some initial video taping for them. It felt so good to help her in the way that was given to me by Alex and Kimi. And to actually be able to listen and watch her and give her constructive feedback felt really good. Like I have learned something in the last 4 months!!
I am definitely sore today, from teaching yesterday and today, a new lunge track and then an additional 45 minutes of working with Deb. Glad to be off from fitness tomorrow :)
A first happened to me on Thursday night. One that I know if a certain someone were in close proximity, he would kick my ass all the way back to training.....but it was a good lesson. I have been talking to the class about increasing weights when appropriate, and how even I, as an instructor, increase my weights as my fitness improves. I had said that the one track I have not yet gone up on was biceps and I was thinking about doing it that night. Well, several people called out to do it, so with that kind of encouragement, I did. Went to a large plate for biceps. The ladies in TX do it, and I have been hesitant because I have gone up for triceps and have almost not made it through, but I did so I thought, why not go up on biceps? I made a joke about no one laughing at me if I didn't make it, and off I went. Almost immediately, I regretted it but it wasn't until halfway through that it happened......yes, I had to rest for a repetition. I was MORTIFIED. I have never, in my short time as an instructor, had to pause. I have always been able to force myself to make it through. Of course, I joke about it during the moment, I see Julie and others grinning at me because they know how much it bothers me that I couldn't finish the whole track, and not only once, but three different times I had to take a one rep rest. UGH. At the end of the track, I told them all how embarrassing that was as an instructor to not be able to finish and this sweet lady at the front of the class told me "But you did a great job!!" which was nice. And after class, a couple of people came to me and told me that it was nice to see me teach them that in reality, when you can't complete a track, it's okay to pause, and then jump back in when you are ready. I realize that I did that ALL the time in my 3 years as a participant, and that's how I built up my strength, and it took 2 years to complete ANY kind of lunge track. I have come a long way, but all I could think about was how Alex would kick my butt if he saw that. So, yes, now he will know (sorry Alex) but I learned my lesson. Don't increase on weights for the first time in front of a class.......but sigh, it ended up being a good lesson for all of us!
Started at PAC yesterday. Hardly slept all night, and then when I did, I dreamt about the sound system, forgetting a 9 volt battery for the microphone, arriving late, people throwing things at me because they liked the previous instructor better......oh you would think I would not be nervous. After all, I've been doing this for a whole 4-1/2 months already. But yes, I was nervous. Mixed up a new playlist that I was going to do for my 24 peeps anyway, and did a bit of practicing yesterday morning. Pulled out the battery to take, Cassie was excited to come to the "nice" gym's kids space. We left, a bit early, and as I was driving on the freeway, realized with several loud expletives that I forgot the stupid battery at home! Luckily, next door to PAC is a Nob Hill Foods so Cassie and I ran in, bought a very expensive 2-pack and ran over to the club. I checked her in to the kids space and went to the studio.
When the previous class ended, I walked in and was immediately nervous because there were 2 people. Yes, TWO. I thought, "Oh crap, they know the other instructor is gone and no one wants to come to the new girl's class" and when those two ladies started talking about the old instructor, I started getting even more self conscious. I set up, got the mic and iPod going, and it's 12:30........then about 10 people walked in! Whew. But I couldn't start the class when most of them had yet to set up so I gave them a few minutes. A new participant asked for advice on equipment so I focused on that and started about 5 minutes late. Ended up with 15 people in class. Two ladies came up to me before class started to tell me they had to sneak out early, which was refreshing because no one ever tells me - they just leave.
Class was good, I could tell they were sizing me up and I them, but that's to be expected. What was such a nice surprise was that at the end, a lady named Kathy came up and introduced herself, gave me a warm welcome and told me she enjoyed my class. Several other women said thank you as they left class, so I know at least I didn't suck too badly. The new lady spent some time after class and asked about correct technique so I worked with her for 10 minutes or so. All in all, a pretty good first class. Cassie didn't want to leave the kids space - when I arrived, she was on the stationary bike riding it and wanted me to watch her! Nice to see since when I left she was on the computer.
For my Sunday class today, I told them on Thursday that I was going to do my best to switch up a few tracks per week or so because since I teach 3 of the 4 classes there, it feels like 2 weeks with the same playlist is too long. I made a commitment to do a new lunge track for this week. I only know 2 so I went back to BP72 and practiced Gone - a tough one with the bar on the back for the whole track and I haven't done that for a long time. Squats, lunges, squats, lunges. Seemed doable when I practiced but WHOA nelly - doing it in class with real weights? Deb commented that she remembers why she hates that track! I laughed and said too bad, it's here to stay for a week or so! It was hard to get through and when I said Alex and Kimi always made it look easy, she told me I made it look easy too! Sure didn't feel easy!
After class today, Deb and I stayed (with Zoe who came late and wanted more work out) and I hooked her up to the mic and she did a few tracks. She is trying so hard and is doing great - simplly getting better at cueing before moves, which is common in the beginning, but with feedback she implemented and got it down. She just needs more practice in a class setting. We are going to try again next Sunday and then set up a mock class for her and Michelle and do some initial video taping for them. It felt so good to help her in the way that was given to me by Alex and Kimi. And to actually be able to listen and watch her and give her constructive feedback felt really good. Like I have learned something in the last 4 months!!
I am definitely sore today, from teaching yesterday and today, a new lunge track and then an additional 45 minutes of working with Deb. Glad to be off from fitness tomorrow :)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Hazards of BP
Another PACKED class last night. Some familiar faces returning, after a time away. Some on vacation, some just coming back. Love seeing a packed house. The equipment is getting to be an issue, though. The clip issue is really getting old. I have several members who are older and really struggle with the old, antiquated clips and simply cannot get the plates on and off quickly enough. I've asked, begged, pleaded but to no avail. I am now just telling people to contact 24 Hour on their website because the comments posted there go directly to San Ramon, and this is apparently the way to get some attention. It's worth a shot!
It will be interesting to see if tomorrow is just as packed. It's not a holiday, or a perceived one. I'm just afraid that if the class continues to be packed, will a sign in sheet be instituted? Or will people start getting discouraged at the lack of equipment that they stop coming? Sigh.
I'm always advising how to go up or down on weights, and I have going up myself lately. I've added for squats, back, triceps. Last night, I went up on back weight, then laid down to do triceps, with the large plate. I almost died on Sunday with the 2 large 10lb plates for triceps, but I finished. Well, I'm going through the track, feeling like it was so darned hard to do, to the point where I was so relived for the break. It was so hard that my form started to suffer and I decided maybe I should go back down for the next class. After it was over, I went to adjust the weights for biceps, and realized that I did the triceps track with my BACK weight!!! OMG no wonder I almost died! So now, tomorrow, going back down to the 10lb plates and it will probably feel easy!! Needless to say, I'm sore today!
After biceps, I looked down and noticed a spot of fresh blood on the floor in front of me. Puzzled, I looked at Steph and asked if my nose was bleeding and then someone in the front row said it was my finger. I had cut myself the night before but had no issues all day. Didn't even have a bandaid on it and somehow during the workout, it split open. My fingers were covered but I had to wipe off and keep going. Hazards of BodyPump!
It will be interesting to see if tomorrow is just as packed. It's not a holiday, or a perceived one. I'm just afraid that if the class continues to be packed, will a sign in sheet be instituted? Or will people start getting discouraged at the lack of equipment that they stop coming? Sigh.
I'm always advising how to go up or down on weights, and I have going up myself lately. I've added for squats, back, triceps. Last night, I went up on back weight, then laid down to do triceps, with the large plate. I almost died on Sunday with the 2 large 10lb plates for triceps, but I finished. Well, I'm going through the track, feeling like it was so darned hard to do, to the point where I was so relived for the break. It was so hard that my form started to suffer and I decided maybe I should go back down for the next class. After it was over, I went to adjust the weights for biceps, and realized that I did the triceps track with my BACK weight!!! OMG no wonder I almost died! So now, tomorrow, going back down to the 10lb plates and it will probably feel easy!! Needless to say, I'm sore today!
After biceps, I looked down and noticed a spot of fresh blood on the floor in front of me. Puzzled, I looked at Steph and asked if my nose was bleeding and then someone in the front row said it was my finger. I had cut myself the night before but had no issues all day. Didn't even have a bandaid on it and somehow during the workout, it split open. My fingers were covered but I had to wipe off and keep going. Hazards of BodyPump!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's Day
My Tuesday class was packed to the gills......it was no surprise that Thursday's class would be smaller....Cinco de Mayo. Our country's excuse to go out drinking! It's not even Mexico's independence day....that's in September! I had about 20 people in class.....not too shabby but for a week night, especially lately, not that great. I still had fun, though.
Today, for Mother's day, I was sure I would have a smaller class. Really, most people are going to take the day off to go to brunch, take their mothers out, take the day off. Me? I was ready to go. Especially since my morning was not great.....and it caused me to have several blips in class. Oh well. I am coming to realize that my mood, my state of mind, can really affect my performance in class and I have to get better at really shutting my mind off to whatever is going on at home and focus on the class. We had fun, and there were many of my die hard regulars, both moms/not moms, and they made it fun. I had a brand new participant, as well as a lady who comes down from SF because my class is only one of two on the entire Peninsula that has a Sunday class. She is an awesome participant and really gets into the class.
After class, I had hoped to have my family do SOME housecleaning, and was pleasantly surprised to see Cassie in the bedroom working on a "list" of chores that came in her card that she made at school. The card had a pocket with individual pictures of a child doing chores, like folding clothes, making the bed, putting away dishes, putting away toys, etc. She was going through each picture card and doing the chore one by one. She had taken her clothes out and was re-folding each item of clothing. She then made my bed, pushed the button on the dishwasher, picked up some toys......She wouldn't stop until she finished all the cards!
Alex was in his room cleaning it, vacuuming, and doing a load of laundry. I just wish that all this would have gotten done without the drama of the morning. Teenage boys......I shouldn't be surprised at the level of narcissism with them but really? I never want a repeat of the way I was treated this morning. Just so frustrating.
Took Mom to dinner. Service was crappy. Not a good experience at all. Ended up with the manager giving us 5 free dinners on the next visit. I did get some nice pictures, though. All was not lost.
Last Mother's Day, I remember being in excruciating pain in my upper back. All I wanted was to go to Kimi's BC and BP classes. I had to skip BP, went to combat and couldn't finish. Kimi gave me a back massage after class but I couldn't get in for a massage till the next day. And today? Taught my own BP class. Very cool.
This coming week will be interesting....no school tomorrow but in a summer bridge planning day in Cupertino. I begin teaching at PAC on Saturday. I have to begin assessing my students. I am so tired right now I can hardly keep my eyes open. Need to head to bed. I really hate how quickly the weekends pass. I am counting down the weeks until summer break. I am certainly going to enjoy this one.
Today, for Mother's day, I was sure I would have a smaller class. Really, most people are going to take the day off to go to brunch, take their mothers out, take the day off. Me? I was ready to go. Especially since my morning was not great.....and it caused me to have several blips in class. Oh well. I am coming to realize that my mood, my state of mind, can really affect my performance in class and I have to get better at really shutting my mind off to whatever is going on at home and focus on the class. We had fun, and there were many of my die hard regulars, both moms/not moms, and they made it fun. I had a brand new participant, as well as a lady who comes down from SF because my class is only one of two on the entire Peninsula that has a Sunday class. She is an awesome participant and really gets into the class.
After class, I had hoped to have my family do SOME housecleaning, and was pleasantly surprised to see Cassie in the bedroom working on a "list" of chores that came in her card that she made at school. The card had a pocket with individual pictures of a child doing chores, like folding clothes, making the bed, putting away dishes, putting away toys, etc. She was going through each picture card and doing the chore one by one. She had taken her clothes out and was re-folding each item of clothing. She then made my bed, pushed the button on the dishwasher, picked up some toys......She wouldn't stop until she finished all the cards!
Alex was in his room cleaning it, vacuuming, and doing a load of laundry. I just wish that all this would have gotten done without the drama of the morning. Teenage boys......I shouldn't be surprised at the level of narcissism with them but really? I never want a repeat of the way I was treated this morning. Just so frustrating.
Took Mom to dinner. Service was crappy. Not a good experience at all. Ended up with the manager giving us 5 free dinners on the next visit. I did get some nice pictures, though. All was not lost.
Last Mother's Day, I remember being in excruciating pain in my upper back. All I wanted was to go to Kimi's BC and BP classes. I had to skip BP, went to combat and couldn't finish. Kimi gave me a back massage after class but I couldn't get in for a massage till the next day. And today? Taught my own BP class. Very cool.
This coming week will be interesting....no school tomorrow but in a summer bridge planning day in Cupertino. I begin teaching at PAC on Saturday. I have to begin assessing my students. I am so tired right now I can hardly keep my eyes open. Need to head to bed. I really hate how quickly the weekends pass. I am counting down the weeks until summer break. I am certainly going to enjoy this one.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Biggest Class EVAH
Tonight was so much fun. It was, by far, my most well attended class. It was more than 40 people. We ran out of steps and risers, mats, weights, bars.......all that was left on the racks were a few stray large plates. I never even got any small plates so I had to work with what I had and do my best - went up on some tracks, down on others. There were many faces I had never seen before, and several that have come back after being sick for a few classes, and one member, a long time BP member, who left 24Hr for Powerhouse, but came back tonight because she missed, needed and wanted BP in her life. Wow. So amazing. The power of the effects of BodyPump. Until you try it, you will never know the life changing effects this program can have on your body.
I was thinking tonight as I blow dried my hair (not for the first time) at how quickly things can change. A mere year ago, 12 short months, I was a happy chunky camper, taking my 3 weekly BodyPump and BodyCombat classes at Gold's. Alex, Kimi, Willi and Amy were the awesome instructors that motivated me to go to the gym. I was happy, getting fit, enjoying the process. Loving the fact that I had found programs that inspired me to exercise and love it.
In just a blip of time ~~~~~~~~~~ here I am. My beloved classes went away from the gym I had come to feel comfortable in. I've trained for and run my first 1/2 marathon. I went through training and now I am actually teaching BodyPump myself. Meeting and learning from other instructors. Three classes of my own at 24Hour and a new one at Pacific Athletic Club. Beginning to help and mentor new instructors. Colleagues, but more importantly, friends, with the instructors that motivated me, encouraged me, supported me and pushed me to better myself and go beyond my "perceived" limits. A colleague today at school told me I should look into personal training. I don't know about that. But it was flattering all the same to hear it.
It still, to this very moment, boggles my mind when I think about it. It goes to show that it is NEVER too late to make a change. NEVER too late to make choices that will change your life, your body, your health. I went from an overweight, sedentary person my entire life to one that still struggles with weight but feels and looks better than ever.
And it all began at age 40. Yes, 40. Middle Age, dare I say it. Now, I don't let fear rule me. I see things that normally would have had me running away screaming - as challenges. Bring it on. Sure, there is still fear around certain things, where I go from here, how I will get there. I have learned the power of putting things in writing. Positive thinking - but more than that. Believing and really FEELING that I deserve these things I desire. It truly is amazing how quickly my dreams are being realized. Sure, there are bumps in the road, tears shed, hurtful words said, negative thoughts creeping in. But reading back on my early blog posts only fuel my fire, reinforce how far I have come.......
In a ridiculously short amount of time. It can be done. You have to WANT it, BELIEVE you deserve it, ASK for it and put in the work to make it happen. It has not been an easy road.
But it has been so damned FUN. Anyone want to join me?
I was thinking tonight as I blow dried my hair (not for the first time) at how quickly things can change. A mere year ago, 12 short months, I was a happy chunky camper, taking my 3 weekly BodyPump and BodyCombat classes at Gold's. Alex, Kimi, Willi and Amy were the awesome instructors that motivated me to go to the gym. I was happy, getting fit, enjoying the process. Loving the fact that I had found programs that inspired me to exercise and love it.
In just a blip of time ~~~~~~~~~~ here I am. My beloved classes went away from the gym I had come to feel comfortable in. I've trained for and run my first 1/2 marathon. I went through training and now I am actually teaching BodyPump myself. Meeting and learning from other instructors. Three classes of my own at 24Hour and a new one at Pacific Athletic Club. Beginning to help and mentor new instructors. Colleagues, but more importantly, friends, with the instructors that motivated me, encouraged me, supported me and pushed me to better myself and go beyond my "perceived" limits. A colleague today at school told me I should look into personal training. I don't know about that. But it was flattering all the same to hear it.
It still, to this very moment, boggles my mind when I think about it. It goes to show that it is NEVER too late to make a change. NEVER too late to make choices that will change your life, your body, your health. I went from an overweight, sedentary person my entire life to one that still struggles with weight but feels and looks better than ever.
And it all began at age 40. Yes, 40. Middle Age, dare I say it. Now, I don't let fear rule me. I see things that normally would have had me running away screaming - as challenges. Bring it on. Sure, there is still fear around certain things, where I go from here, how I will get there. I have learned the power of putting things in writing. Positive thinking - but more than that. Believing and really FEELING that I deserve these things I desire. It truly is amazing how quickly my dreams are being realized. Sure, there are bumps in the road, tears shed, hurtful words said, negative thoughts creeping in. But reading back on my early blog posts only fuel my fire, reinforce how far I have come.......
In a ridiculously short amount of time. It can be done. You have to WANT it, BELIEVE you deserve it, ASK for it and put in the work to make it happen. It has not been an easy road.
But it has been so damned FUN. Anyone want to join me?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Whew. MAY Here I Come!
Today marks the beginning of an insanely crazy month in my life. I will need every ounce of strength in my body to survive it.
6 Weeks till the end of school. In that time:
*summer bridge planning days
*Mother's day (project for my students, my own, and my mom's)
*2 guitar lesson days (I so hate that class)
*testing, testing, testing (the worst of the year, because it's all cumulative and EVERYthing has to be assessed)
*SF zoo field trip
*Kindergarten orientation for next year's parents
*Open House (Cassie's)
*Open House (mine)
*Kindergarten reading training day
*Report cards to input
*MAA forms to fill out
*Soccer tournament in LA on Memorial Day Weekend
And this is only May. June (the first 9 days) will be equally nuts.
But the saving grace, the part that's getting me through all this, is teaching BodyPump. And not only am I teaching 3 classes a week at 24Hour Fitness......I was hired today to teach another at Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood Shores! A Saturday 12:30 class. I am actually very excited. Lots of perks come along with it and the kids will benefit from the facilities as well.
Four classes a week of BodyPump. I love it, I really and truly do. But......
Here I go again.....BALANCE. Must it be pounded, drilled into my head? Seriously. I think it needs to be. However, right now, I have no time for it!! Sigh.
6 Weeks till the end of school. In that time:
*summer bridge planning days
*Mother's day (project for my students, my own, and my mom's)
*2 guitar lesson days (I so hate that class)
*testing, testing, testing (the worst of the year, because it's all cumulative and EVERYthing has to be assessed)
*SF zoo field trip
*Kindergarten orientation for next year's parents
*Open House (Cassie's)
*Open House (mine)
*Kindergarten reading training day
*Report cards to input
*MAA forms to fill out
*Soccer tournament in LA on Memorial Day Weekend
And this is only May. June (the first 9 days) will be equally nuts.
But the saving grace, the part that's getting me through all this, is teaching BodyPump. And not only am I teaching 3 classes a week at 24Hour Fitness......I was hired today to teach another at Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood Shores! A Saturday 12:30 class. I am actually very excited. Lots of perks come along with it and the kids will benefit from the facilities as well.
Four classes a week of BodyPump. I love it, I really and truly do. But......
Here I go again.....BALANCE. Must it be pounded, drilled into my head? Seriously. I think it needs to be. However, right now, I have no time for it!! Sigh.
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