New Blog Face! And a slightly different approach...

Well...I finally did it! I re-created my blog with a new-ish theme. I am still quite into polka-dots, but I really wanted a new face for my blog. Just so happens that I am home sick today with a bad sinus cold. First day back to school from a 10 day spring break and I am there for less than a hour. Good news is that my husband is a sub in my district and because it was the first day back from break, no other teachers needed a sub apparently and he got to come in for me. Make lesson plans really simple! Then, after 30 minutes of being home, my daughters daycare calls and she needed to be picked up because of her continuous coughing. Little her has a cold too, just like her mama. So we are both home sick. 

On to my new blog! I decided that I don't want to limited myself to just a teaching blog. I visit so many blogs to find ideas, especially fitness blogs and DIY blogs for projects. So my new tag line is ... My journey as a teacher, mother, wife, newbie runner and everything in between! And for those of you that are following my blog...I just found out that I will be teaching firstie's next year! My principal told me this morning before I left to come home. My partner in crime/bestie at school (who is currently teaching third grade along with me) will also be on my new first grade team and I couldn't be happier. We will rock it for sure!

I think Farley's April Currently helped me to realize that if I really love to blog, then I should do it more often. Thanks to her advice heading, I read many great words of wisdom from other bloggers and decided to give it a go. 

Onward to a piece about fitness... at the beginning of the year I decided I need to lose about 15-20lbs. I successfully gained a whole person when I was pregnant with my 3 year old daughter and a year after having her, I went on a big ol' diet called Medifast. It worked for sure...almost 50lbs lost! Needless to say over the past two years I have gained only 8-10lbs back, which isn't too bad, but could definitely add up if I don't control myself. The biggest problem is that I am addicted to delicious food! Of ALL kind...chocolate, mexican, pasta, bread, ice-cream, salad (yes even a really good and most of the time healthy salad). I am also very fond of wine...so fond that my husband and I belong to a wine club. 

Anyways, I decided that I was going to be a runner. After all my high school years of soccer, cheerleading and softball, I had never been a runner. Could barely run a mile. I am proud to say that last July, around the same time I started blogging, I also started running. Slow at first, on the treadmill, and then finally out on the pavement. I slowly worked my way up to running a 5K (3.1 miles) in the fall. This winter, I have reached 5 miles! And my next goal is to train for a 10K. Although, I still have not ran in my first race (I am signed up for one called Run or Dye in D.C. on June 8th), I want to push harder and further so that my 5K is easy to run. Hope to sign up for a 10K by summer's end. 

Here are a few of my favorite things about running (or things I need to run)

1. Runtastic App: This app for my iPhone is awesome! I log every run into this baby. It gives me options for reminders, it tells me my time, distance, pace, speed...etc. I bought the PRO app so I could link my music to play through the app. It maps my run and allows my Facebook friends to cheer me on. I just love it when someone likes my status and while I am running I hear a manly voice come on that says, "I liiiiike it". 

2. Comfortable and cute running clothes! An absolute must. If I am going to go running in public, I need to look presentable. Even if sometimes I wake up and run without makeup on, at least my clothes are cute and most importantly, BRIGHT. My favorite running shirts are from Old Navy and Dicks (Reebok brand). I am on the look out for a new pair of running tights as well. AND you cannot forget the SHOES!!!! So important. Mine are Saucony Kinvara 2's. I am sad to say that they are not being sold much anymore and are hard to find. Hopefully I like the 3's or 4's. 

3. A Good Playlist! Also a must. I actually get excited to go out running when there are new songs that I love. Makes my run so much easier when I am running to a great beat. Some of the songs on my current playlist are: 

-Die Young by Kesha

-I Cry by Flo Rida

-I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift

-Feel This Moment by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera

-Titanium by David Guetta and Sia

-One More Night by Maroon 5

-I'm Sexy and I Know It- LMFAO

-Fighter by Christina Aguilera

-Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris

-Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson (my cool down song)

That's it for today...now time for some rest! Hopefully this cold is gone by tomorrow, or at least manageable enough to go to school.