I am missing BlogHer ’10 right now because I messed up in undergrad and took (what the overtly brilliant but jerky teacher called it) “Math for Dummies” class instead of something that would transfer over to my grad school adventure.
So there I was, at 6:50 this morning, wiping the sleep out of my eyes and wishing I was in NYC eating a continental breakfast and enjoying all the swag I could box up to ship home.
But alas, I was being attacked by a cat who wanted attention (Button, who I am sure you will hear alot about — he is my housemates cat) and the looming feeling that I was going to have a rough day.
A rough 7 1/2 hour day.
Yeah, you heard me, 7 1/2 hours filled with equations and algorithms and other math things I had could not remember from “regular” school.
But this is GRAD SCHOOL, I kept thinking. I should know how to do “math”. I am smart. I am capable of learning new things! I can DO THIS!
I got to school at 8:15 (class started at 9) grabbed an egg white and cheese bagel and a water (I know, I know, not the pilar of healthy…I forgot my lunch at home) and took my sweet time to get to the classroom on the 5th floor.
I was the first one there.
I am always the first one there.
My classmates slowly trickled in, all with looks of exhaustion, frustration or crabbiness on their faces. All but one of us have been together in the same cohort/classes the last 7 weeks. The other person in the class starts teaching n a new school on Monday. She is still working madly to get her classroom in order. I do not envy her.
In the last 7 weeks, we completed 22 semester hours of graduate course work– not including the 4 credit hours for the math class. Dark eye circles abound!
We started griping about the class and how (most of us) hate math, suck at math or just plain don’t “get” math…when the teacher came in.
She looked exactly like my grandma – in a good way.
I thought- CRAAAAAAP, she is gonna teach us old school- the same way I was taught for years– the same way that DIDN’T work for me.
But she didn’t.
At 2pm (yes we had breaks, 10 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes for lunch – I had a small, healthy-ish pasta dish) I looked at my watch and was almost SAD- yeah, I said it, SAD- that we were almost done for the day.
I was understanding concepts and vocabulary I had NEVER understood before.
NEVER.
She was breaking down math into simple concepts that MADE SENSE to me.
I couldn’t believe it. I think at one point my mouth was hanging open in utter amazement that I understood what she was putting in front of me.
I have 2 more 7 1/2 hour Saturday classes, and I am not dreading them.
I have 2 hours worth of homework for just math class alone each night, and I am not dreading that either. I WANT to learn more about math.
So… I had to sell my BlogHer ticket (due to a new grad school class I am starting on Saturday) so I am a bit bummed. I had a blast last year, and a few of my online peeps are either speaking or attending. It is sad to miss them, but I know I need to take this math class and it is more important (right now) than doing blogging stuff.
Obviously my life has been CRAZY and blogging has been taking a backseat. But I hope to get back into as I am working on my stress-level and my health (which have ALSO been taking a backseat– see a pattern?!?)
Goals for the next 3 weeks:
Create HEALTHY (read: not full of sugar or fat) meals that I can eat in 20 minutes while taking care of my kindergartners during lunch. Nothing that needs to be heated or that takes 10 minutes to put together.
30 minutes of exercise. EVERY DAY. No excuses.
Yoga, in addition to the 30 minutes, 3 days a week.
Guided meditation before bed, on the nights I need it.
1-3 days a week, blog/tweet about my experiences at school, and how I am doing with my eating/health goals.
I have created health and eating goals a hundred times on this blog. I have failed a hundred times. But after my grandpa died om July 20th, I realized I don’t want to live with the same health problems he had- Diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD, knee problems….etc.
I am 32 years old. I should not be this heavy and I should not be this tired all the time.
The weeks are flying past so quickly- I have already been in school almost a month — it really feels like school started yesterday. My first big research paper (in over 10 years) is due next Monday and I am kinda freaking out. I haven’t written a scholastic paper in a long long long long long long time.
Yeah, that long.
I have my topic chosen, my research done, my verbal outline in a .wav file on my phone.
Now comes the rough draft part.
I hate rough drafts.
But weren’t you an editor of a magazine, you ask. Shouldn’t you LOVE to write??
Yes, I was the editor or a magazine (but, funny story, I hate to edit my own things. Case in point: This blog…) Yes I do love to write, but I have a very casual not-at-all scholarly style of writing– and the teacher who will be grading this is a pain in my you-now-what.
Anyway, I will post later with an update on how I do on the paper (which counts for 40 percent of my grade. OUCH)
In sad news, I got Mr More back from the vet on Friday. I had him cremated. It is so nice to have him back home with me.
In kinda-sad news, I found out a few weeks ago that a mandatory math class for grad school will fall on the same weekend as BlogHer in NYC. I am sad, but as I keep saying, grad school comes first. I am in the process of selling my ticket and giving up my hotel room. I guess that means I will have more money for Fitbloggin ’11, right? Right?!?!
I made a pot roast in the crock pot tonight — I filled the crock with veggies!! YUMMO!So excited to have halfway decent lunched for the week!
My break had alot to do with my personal life and now that alot of the issues are resolved, I am finally ready to come back.
Lots of stuff has been happening…. Here is a little bit of this and that….
First, some news on the fitness front– I am signed up for my FIRST 1/2 MARATHON!!!! A 1/2 marathon is on my bucket list, and when my friend Loren told me about the training program that helps support the AIDS Foundation of Chicago along with giving me world-class training, I was IN! I don’t want my first real post back to be a pitch for money, but if you would like to support me on my journey to 13.1 miles, please click here for more information and a secure donation area. So far my training has been good: This is in part what I wrote as an update to my friends and family this morning:
Yesterday, I did my timing/pacing group 3 mile walk for the AIDS Foundation 1/2 Marathon. I “slogged” my way through it– “slogged” is a word I stole from amerrylife that means “slow jogging” — and did OK– 16:30 minute miles. Not the best time I have done in a race, but good enough. Because there is a time limit for the Marathon, I was put in the 14:00 minute mile group with my friend Loren. Atleast I will have a friend to help me on my journey to 13.1 miles! I am still a bit sore today, but know the more I train the faster my recovery will be.
If you have trained for a 1/2 marathon and have any tips or tricks, please let me know. I can use all the support i can get!
—
Second big news- and I am kinda burying the lead here-
I AM FINALLY GAINFULLY EMPLOYED!!!!
Cue the confetti and get out the party hats!
A big reason I have been gone from the blog is hat I have spent many a sleepless night worrying about not having a job. The past 6 months have been rough. Ok, the past 3 months have been rough. I actually enjoyed having “time” to do things I wanted to do and not have to worry about meetings, deadlines and waking up at 6 am. Without being laid off, I would never have been able to be an assistant coach for Girls on the Run. Or babysit for a great mom’s group. Or take 4pm naps!
But after a few months it got old sending out resumes and never getting a call back.
In early March, I heard about a program here in Chicago that allows people who already have a B.A. to train to become an urban teacher through “residency-style” program. The competition is stiff- out of 1000 people who apply, only around 100 people are asked to join the program. I was late in hearing about the program (they start taking applications in September and close applications April 1) but decided that I would apply and see what happened.
After a crazy application process, rigorous testing (and by rigorous I mean two 5 hour entrance tests in one day–ack!), 2 strenuous interviews and countless nights spent worrying I wouldn’t get in, I found out Friday at Noon that I have been accepted!!
I am humbled, honored and am still pinching myself.
I will begin graduate classes toward a Masters in Elementary Education in downtown Chicago on June 14th. I won’t know for a while which grade I will teach, though I applied to be a K-3rd grade teacher. My hope is for 1st grade.
Here is an issue– I may not be able to go to BlogHer now. I will be in class on Friday that weekend and I am not sure if I can miss any days of class. I will find out June 14, but if I do miss BlogHer this year, I know that I will be missing it for a good cause.
—-
3rd big news:
During the time I was going through my first and second interviews for the graduate program, I was bitten by a (spider? some sort of bug? not sure) on my left shoulder. Overnight it went from a bite to the circumference of a baseball- sized infection. It was hot to the touch, blood red and I was only able partially lift my arm.
Of course.
I went to urgent care, where they put me on a SUPER strong antibiotic and Rx strength Motrin for the swelling. I was tired, not sleeping more than 2 hours a night and feeling crappy for days after starting the meds, though my infection seemed to be healing nicely. Then I had my final interview for grad school last Tuesday — that’s when I started having numbness in my left arm and pains in my chest on the left side of my body.
I figured I was having a panic attack/stressed out from what I thought was a horrible job I did at the interview, and tried to just shrug the pain and discomfort off.
but when I woke up Wednesday morning, I was still having the same feelings. I called urgent care back, and they told me to go to the ER.
So I went.
I will spare you the details, but in short, the infection that was in my shoulder was deeper than they thought, and it was pressing on a nerve in my arm causing it to go numb. I was also having a nasty reaction to the antibiotic, which caused my blood pressure to soar to 188/66. They got me up to the observation deck, got me fluids and some kind of meds, and got an X-ray of my shoulder, just in case. I came home with a muscle relaxer and a blood pressure of 118/47. MUCH BETTER.
My arm is still a bit numb, but I am feeling much better. The meds that made me so sick are done now, and the infection seems to be gone. Thank goodness.
I have to say, the nurses and doctors at the Northwestern ER were great, but I hope to never see them again.
It has been a crazy mixed up life the past few months, but I am glad I was along for the ride.
I am not sure how my blog will change now that I am going to be training for and then teaching. I of course will continue to blog about my 1/2 marathon training, and I have short and long term goals to continue on my weight loss journey. I just have to be a bit censored now that some know my real name (though some still don’t) and I don’t want to be penalized for what I say on this blog.
I just bought my BlogHer 10, my plane ticket and reserved my hotel room— So excited I am IN for the FULL conference this year and not just stupid LobbyCon.
*Disclaimer: I received these free items through either swag bags or via Twitter contests while at BlogHer ’09. I was not paid by any company to post about my like (or dislike) of these items.
*Note: I thought I made this post live awhile back. I realized last night, I forgot to hit the “post” button. Sorry about that!
This, as you may have read, was my first BlogHer. I had a blast (even though I was a paid member of LobbyCon and not the “official” BlogHer) I was able to attend a few amazing parties, classes and win some great things through Twitter update contests. Here, in no particular order, are the things I loved from BlogHer:
I so super love this thing. MomTv was giving this away through a Twitter Giveaway, and I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time! I have never in my life owned a video camera (other than the crappy versions on my point-n-shoot camera or cellphone) so this was a godsend. I carry it around in my purse, I can (in less than 3 clicks) upload videos to my YouTube or Photobucket account, or copy/paste to my desktop to edit the video. The controls are easy to use, it is easy to set up and I am loving it. Just 3 things to know: MAKE SURE the battery is facing the correct way when inserting it- the camera will charge even if the battery is incorrectly installed, but the camera will not turn on, my work computer will not work with the Vado; too many protections set up from corporate IT. It works fine on my personal laptop though, and it sometimes seems too easy to use- I feel like I could really mess it up it I tried.
Another Twitter Giveaway, I am BLOWN AWAY at the quality of this clothing. BLOWN AWAY.
(photos coming- another computer issue!)
As a quick aside, I know we don’t know each other well (yet), but I am the type of person that would lounge in pajama pants and a big tee-shirt all day if I could. I work at a pretty lax place when it comes to clothing (and I am in the office all the time never seeing anyone that would really care what I wear) so I usually wear nice tees and jeans or black pants and a semi nice shirt to work, but always comfy stuff. When I tried on this yoga wear, all I could think about was going to yoga class or relaxing somewhere with a good book.
But what I love about the items (a tunic, pants and a scarf) is that they are both great for workout, post-workout and running errands clothes. At 5’3, I am a bit too short for the pants, but Jodi Guber, the founder of Beyond Yoga told me that, after washing, you can actually cut the pant legs down to size! No fraying! LOVE THAT!
You have to feel the fabric to understand how lux it is- I mean, LIKE BUTTA. I wear the scarf all the time, and everyone wants to feel how soft it is. The tunic is great- As I have *clears throat* gained some weight the past few months, It is a great figure hider. I can throw it on after my yoga class over my skin tight sweaty shirt, or just wear it out (with a thin tank under as it is slightly see-through) to get groceries. The color is wonderful too– such a great deep shade of purple/plum.
Jodi has been gracious enough to offer 20 percent off to my readers at Beyond Yoga if you use the code “AJLUVS” at checkout.
I am telling you- these clothes are awesome and you will totally get good use out of them. Really.
My review of my Land’s End necklace (yes, they sell jewelry!) coming soon!
*Note: I received the Bounce Dryer Bar at BlogHer for free from the Bounce people. I was not asked to review it, but I wanna. So I’m gonna.
I hate doing laundry – pretty much more than anything. But when I moved to my new place a few months ago, for the first time in over 7 years I have laundry in my unit and didn’t have to go 14 floors to a shared laundry room.
I decided I would be grown up and start treating my clothing well, and washing them on a semi regular basis. I mean, how lazy could I be?
While at BlogHer, I was given a 4 month Bounce Dryer Bar.
This this is cool.
Super cool.
I will never have to put in a dryer sheet again! One less step.
They are simple to use-or atleast should be.
Pull the sticker off the bottom of a holder, stick the holder on a smooth area of the drum in the dryer, slide the dryer ball on the holder and WA-LA! Done.
Well, when I got home from BlogHer, I ripped that baby open…
and found no sticker on the bottom of my holder.
I called the 800 number on the back of the box, and a week later, got a check in the mail for a free dryer bar.
I went and bought a new bar (with sticker), easily installed it about 2 months ago, and haven’t used a dryer sheet since.
UNTIL ABOUT 5 MINUTES AGO.
I am home this morning waiting for the moving company to come do the assessment on my house.
I figured I should get some housework done in between working from home and reading emails.
I washed my sheets, then threw them in the dryer (sans dryer sheet).
All the sudden, I heard CLUNK, CLINK, CLUUUUUUUNK, repeat, coming from the other room.
I freaked out thinking something was falling off the wall or something… I didn’t know what the hell it was…
It was coming from the dryer.
I opened the door and found the fully intact (thank goodness) Dryer Bar on top of my sheets. I tried to put it back on the holder, but it was too warped.
RIP Dryer Bar. It was fun while it lasted! Thank you for not ruining my clothes!
PS: I do laundry about 3 times a week. It may be why the bar stayed on so long.
PSS: When looking for the URL for the product, I found ALOT of other people who are not happy with the bar. You might want to hold off buying it until they fix the problems.
NOTE: I want need to add a disclaimer to this post. I did not get a full BlogHer ticket before they sold out. I was not chosen from the BlogHer waitlist. I chose to buy a LobbyCon ticket so I could attend the conference with everyone. I knew what was included and what was not in the LobbyCon ticket. I know that LobbyCon was added very last minute with almost no time to plan it. I did all of those things on my own. This post is not meant to be a beat down or bitch session putting down the BlogHer coordinators. This is to add CONSTRUCTIVE criticism for next year if they decide to have another LobbyCon.
Here are my thoughts on how to make LobbyCon better next year (though I will be getting a FULL conference ticket early, thank you)-
Have full badges for LobbyCon (LC) attendees. I was asked repeatedly if I was supposed to be in the Expo Hall, though I had the right to be there with my LC ticket. Have the badge printed on bright pink paper or something to differentiate, but have one for ALL attendees.
Better instructions emailed out before the conference begins on registration and other details. The email that was sent out was good, but could have mentioned that registration was in a different area for LC attendees. Even if the location was not set, just saying something like “meet in lobby of hotel and look for someone with a Staff badge to direct you” would have helped.
Allow access to left over official swagbags that were not claimed. I am actually EXTREMELY disappointed with this point. On Saturday night, I saw a tweet regarding official swagbags that had not been claimed. I innocently asked if some were not claimed, as a PAID LobbyCon attendee, could I have one? I was told flat out by a BlogHer staff person ABSOLUTELY NOT. I was then tweeted privately by someone in the room with the leftover swagbags that people not associated with BlogHer (ie hotel staff, random people from the street, etc) were grabbing 2 and 3 bags and walking out of the room with them. How is it fair that random people who did not pay anything to come to LC/Blogher have access to leftover swagbags, but someone who paid to come to the partial conference was told absolutely not? This was very disheartening to me. The contributors to the swagbags did not just contribute for fun; I know they hoped the attendees would blog about the products. Will hotel staff and random tourists do this? Probably not. This is not to be petty – do I REALLY need more swag?? (no) – but just the principle of the point*. And before someone asks, yes, I believe the hotel staff were AWESOME and think they should have had 3rd dibs on the swagbags.
Consider allowing LC attendees access to breakout sessions, but no access to food and swagbags (official and in the breakout rooms). I would have been HAPPY to not take the swag at the breakout sessions, would not have eaten the food, just to be able to hear some of the speakers. I know this could be a logistic nightmare, but it could be done.
If there is no access to the breakout sessions, coordinate a short sightseeing tour or group event (not pay for it, just coordinate it) to give LC attendees something to do other than hang out in the expo room or LC designated area. It was nice to roam the lobby and see other BlogherCon attendees, but most of the time it was the same 30 people I saw over and over again. I would have liked a way to get away with the other LC members and bond. Not everyone needs to go, but having an option would be good.
If you attended LobbyCon, I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
*This will prolly get some people’s panties in a bunch because I am talking about SWAG and SWAG became a hot-button topic. I did not punch kick or stab anyone for any of the swag. I was polite, asked questions about the items/company and am appreciative of the items I did get. Since I had ALL DAY LONG at LC to do NOTHING, I walked around and got SWAG. So sue me. I like the stuff I got and I like that it was available. I only took one of the items that were offered to me. I am not a heathen that knocks over little old ladies to get a free pen. I won’t ever be that person. I saw the carnage at the 704 party. I was not part of the swag stealers. If you don’t like swag, then please don’t take any. But please don’t ruin it for the rest of us that like swag, like to give away swag on our sites (coming soon) and like hearing from companies why their products are the best.
The past few months, I have been struggling to decide what I want my blog to be.
A fitness blog?
A food blog?
A bitching blog?
A weight loss blog?
While I was at BlogHer, I had the immense pleasure of hanging out and talking with MizFit. I told her about my struggles and she reminded me of the name of my blog and as we were talking it hit me– talk about why or what I lose.
Like : Lose my big ol’ belly.
Lose my ‘tude.
Lose my prejudices.
Lose the clutter in my house.
Lose my inhibitions.
Lose my mind.
(well, hopefully not that last one, but you catch my drift.)
I want this blog to be about fitness, weight loss, dating, food choices, bitching, and many other things– I want it to be about my life and how I gain life experiences and lose the crap I have been struggling to get rid of my whole adult life.
I hope you will join me as I embark on this “new” endeavor. Tomorrow starts the new chapter in my blogging life, and I am very excited! See you on the other side!
This post is both a reminder for me for next year’s BlogHer ’10 in NYC (BABY!), but also to help those that may be going for their first time next year. Here are the Top 10 things I need to remember:
Buy a full BlogHer pass, and buy it early. I was not happy with LobbyCon (more on that later, and I will link to it) and am disappointed that I was not able to go to the WHOLE event. Live and learn.
Buy a mini computer, or don’t bring one at all. While I LOVED using TweetDeck on my laptop, I was staying (for free) at a friend’s house about a mile from the conference. I had to lug my computer and cord around for 12 hours on Friday and 12 hours on Saturday. It was heavy and I only used it a few times. My cell phone did OK, though TinyTwitter locked up a few times and I lost cell signal alot. WiFi was spotty at best in the hotel, but where I spent most of my time (the hotel lobby) I had a great wifi connection.
Stay at the hotel- screw saving $$. I had a blast at my friend’s house and enjoyed her kitties and having some extra cash because of it, but damn, I had to carry everything around with me all. day. long. And had cab rides which got pricey. Swag gets heavy after a few hours, no matter what you have.
Bring a rolling backpack. My shoulders do not need to carry anything for a whole day. Roll, baby roll!
Bring and drink TONS of water. I was dehydrated most of the weekend, and did not realize it.
Have a working camera (be it an iPhone or a point and shoot, and now a Vado something I WON at BlogHer’09) and USE IT! I wanted to take photos, but my phone is crap and my regular camera was ruined in PurseWaterBottleGate ’09.
RSVP FOR EVERY PARTY, no matter if you think you will go or not. Some of the best partied were the ones I thought I would not want to go to. On the same note- make sure to sign up for the Lux party next year. It is a must do with GREAT swag!
Try to get a sponsor to help off-set costs. Travel and hotel are expensive, anything from a sponsor will help offset those costs. It would also be fun to hand out cool stuff to cool people.
Follow Twitter THE WHOLE TIME. I won 4 AWESOME prizes (photos and reviews soon) via Twitter alone. It is a great way to keep in touch with other attendees and it really helped with sharing information (ie: @cheeseburgHER party at 9pm in room XXXX – be there!). Only a few fail whales were seen.
Bring LOTS of business cards to exchange. One of my most favorite parts of BlogHer was that I met so many cool people and am going to be able to follow so many awesome blogs now.
I am still a bit sore today, but know the more I train the faster my recovery will be.
