tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4884416973646241972024-03-12T22:51:04.691-05:00The Fitness FailureFollow along as I journey toward better fitness. It won't be easy but I am positive that I can laugh at myself through it all!Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-69139028834787244312021-08-17T23:18:00.001-05:002021-08-17T23:18:20.550-05:00Back to Normal?<p>Maybe it's appropriate that my last published post was about the pandemic more than a year and this post brings things full circle in a whole new way. I feel like I am in a "can't win" scenario. The following post rambles a bit-it was way more organized in my head-but the words needed to come out. </p><p>As my mind spins in circles with the start of the school year rapidly approaching, I keep asking myself why I am so constantly upset about the premise of heading back into my classroom and sending my own children back into their classrooms. It's actually something I had a lot of time to think about behind the wheel as I drove to and from Omaha for soccer with Camden. I think I finally arrived at an answer. </p><p>I cannot fathom another loss. I have had enough over the past year and even the last few years. I cannot fathom losing my own child who is not old enough to be vaccinated. I cannot fathom losing a student from one of my classes. I cannot fathom one of my children losing a friend. I cannot fathom losing a family member. I feel like it will break me. I am feeling pretty fragile. </p><p>I am an optimistic person by nature but this pandemic has me feeling like the world's biggest pessimist. This pandemic feels like it will never end and while so many people in the world around us are shouting-forget it, we're going back to normal-so many more never lived to see today. I am not ready for the new normal to be hospitals constantly overloaded. I am not ready to just accept preventable death NOT being prevented as the new normal. What I am ready for is doing anything and everything in my power to keep kids alive and healthy. If that means wearing a mask, so be it. I don't want to, literally have ZERO desire to wear a mask but this is not about what I WANT. It is about keeping kids SAFE. </p><p>I simply cannot handle any more loss. I have spent the summer deeply mourning the loss of my dad. Summer was our time. The first time he came out was only for 2 weeks and we knew that just wasn't long enough. The next trip 2 years later was for 2 months and even that didn't feel long enough. He joined us on vacation and led the kids on some crazy adventures. He never missed an opportunity to go to the pool. I think about him every time we go. He would have loved the new pool. He was looking forward to the new pool. He was excited about the lazy river. How much did my dad enjoy the pool pass I purchased for him when he came? More than once he rode his bike to the pool on a hot day just to jump in to cool off then leave and bike home. He was one of a kind. It broke my heart to know that he wouldn't live to see the new pool finished. On the day he passed, we drove by the pool on the way to the funeral home. They were filling it for the first time. I am not over that loss; I will probably never get over that loss but the weight of more grief piled on top of that right now is like pouring acid into an open wound.</p><p>I will never understand how we have made the choice to send kids to school without masks when we are dealing with a virus mutation that is more contagious with more kids being hospitalized every day. We cannot simply pretend that the pandemic is over because we are sick of it. Plenty of kids are sick of going to school by March or even December but we make them keep going because they need it. We still need masks in schools even if we are sick of them. Getting rid of masks in school when the CDC and AAP say we need them is a decision that I will never understand. I am sick of these "freedom" arguments. Guess what, you don't have the freedom to kill another person. You don't have the freedom to harm another person. You don't have the freedom to endanger the lives of others. In the context of these three things outside of Covid...they are crimes. There are literally laws against them. Someone decided that masks were a political issue but they simply are not. They are a health and human safety issue. </p><p>I end by asking one thing...how would you feel knowing that you gave Covid to someone who died or had to live with a debilitating condition for the rest of their life simply because you want the "freedom" to not wear a mask in their presence? </p><p>I hope that I am wrong, that we will get through the year without issue but only time will tell and I really wish we were being proactive rather than reactive.</p>Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-82340459733659350782020-03-24T00:57:00.001-05:002020-03-24T00:57:20.891-05:00Teaching High School in a Pandemic WorldThere is kind of a running joke among teachers. I have friends at every level of teaching and all levels crack the same joke, "I don't know how you deal with those *insert elementary, middle, or high school* students." We all love our levels. We connect with those kids in a way that we don't necessarily do with kids at other levels.<br />
I actually started our as an elementary education major, but after a single semester and a freshmen level speech class, I changed my mind and never looked back. I absolutely love working with teenagers. They are sassy and sarcastic and not all that different from their MS and ES counterparts (just in bigger bodies). They trade in their random pet cat stories for Instagram gossip and test complaints. They still love pizza for lunch. They still vie for our attention.<br />
I feel like there is a misunderstanding or maybe just a misconception that because I run 120 students through my classroom a day, I don't have a significant connection to them. This could not be further from the truth. I love those kids, each and everyone of them. Sometimes I don't think people really understand that. Every kid in my room is important to me. I care about and think about every single one of them every single day. I became a teacher because I love talking with these kids every day. I love teaching them and getting to know them.<br />
Last week Wednesday, as I sat in my empty classroom, stared at the empty desks, and listened to the silence, my eyes filled with tears, and I sat at my desk and let them fall. This is not what I signed up for. I signed up for a room full of kids period after period. I signed up for noise and sarcasm and smiles and chatter and tictok videos in homeroom and pictionary on my white board and repeating myself and laughter and daily greetings and KF standing until I finally tell him to sit down and coworkers in the hall and 6 minute chats and 15 minute lunches (where I have to choose between eating and chatting and I never actually finish my lunch) and passes and basically controlled wonderful chaos. I miss it SO damn much. I know that it is what's needed right now but that doesn't make it any easier. It just makes it feel so empty, so lonely.<br />
The energy in my classroom each day is drawn from my students. They inspire me. They push me to do better and be better every day. They amaze me with their discussions. They drive me crazy from time to time. It just isn't something that happens when I sit here behind a screen. I sit in a room; I sit in darkness; I type and click and scroll and read and type and record and upload and attach, and it isn't at all the same. I think about my students, and I cry. I think about my empty classroom, and I cry. I read their assignments, and I cry. I want nothing more than to be there in my classroom with them. We all do. It's my job.<br />
Without seeing them every day, I worry about them. I worry that my instructions aren't clear. I worry that they won't understand something and that they won't ask me for help. I worry about them at home. Do they have food to eat? Are they so busy taking care of their siblings that they won't have time to keep up with their own school work? Are they out there working to help their family get by? Are they staying home? Are they going out? Are they okay?<br />
I plan to do everything I can to help them and get them through this no matter how long this lasts. I will try to have realistic expectations. I will try to help them in any and every way possible. I will read and respond to emails at all hours of the day. I will smile at their work. I will give feedback. Above all else, I will miss them. As we all do/will. I thought last year's data breech was challenging; it's got nothing on this. May better days (or weeks or months) be just around the corner!<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-68335520858061393352019-05-11T12:15:00.000-05:002019-05-11T12:15:19.136-05:00Mother's Day for the Motherless'Tis the season to celebrate mothers. It is a time that I choose to honor and think about some of the strong women in my life who filled a void in my life that felt unfillable. I try to take a day that is so deeply rooted in pain and heartache for me and focus on the positive: God didn't give me a mother but he did give me some amazing women to look up to. He gave me a guidance counselor who wasn't afraid to tell me that hard truth: "Not all women are meant to be mothers." He gave me a friend who loved her children so fiercely that I knew what I wanted when I had my own children. She showed me what it really meant to love a child and be a mother. He gave me a mother-in-law who showed up, who took me prom dress shopping, who had expectations for me, who told me I could be somebody, who believed in me so much that I began to believe in myself. He gave me women who have equally struggled with the relationships with their mothers so I could have someone to talk to. And yet, it still stings a little not to have had an actual mother on a day when everyone celebrates how wonderful theirs is. It takes a lot of effort to keep the jealousy out of my heart.<br />
<br />
The world we live in is constantly trying to reevaluate the stereotypes we place on gender roles but it doesn't feel like the stereotypes surrounding bad parenting have changed at all. Did you ever notice that we live in a world where phrases like this exist unquestioned: "She'll always be your mother" and "Having a child doesn't make you a father." Have you ever heard anyone say, "He'll always be your father" or "Having a child doesn't make you a mother"? It is such an extreme contradiction that we hear the first two phrases all the time, but I'd be hard pressed to find a single person who has heard the reverse. Why do we pretend that the mother-child relationship is the one that really matters-cannot be severed-because a woman physically brought you into the world? The truth of the matter-you equally could not exist without your father. No one should suffer because of biology because the truth of the matter is that my "mother" was never really a mother. If she was, those years existed in a time before my mind was old enough to remember them which of course contributes to a great sense of doubt as to whether they ever existed at all. The memories that I have from the time that I was young center almost entirely around my father: time in his workshop, picking fruit, tending to the garden, following him around on the farm, being rescued from the angry geese, feeding and rescuing goats, and working on forts, tree houses, and rope swings.<br />
<br />
We need to stop pretending that the woman who gave birth to you is automatically a mother.<br />
<br />
Mothers don't:<br />
<ul>
<li>Call you fat when you are underweight</li>
<li>Tell catastrophic lies to manipulate you </li>
<li>Try to get you to hate the parent who has never shown you anything but love </li>
<li>Use you to hurt others</li>
<li>Tell you how magical their life would be without you</li>
<li>Try to have serious conversations only when completely intoxicated</li>
<li>Rip you away from family to "win"</li>
<li>Feed an addiction over feeding a child </li>
<li>Encourage activities like drinking, smoking, and drugs</li>
<li>Only show up intoxicated</li>
</ul>
As a mother for fourteen years now myself, I know that being a mother isn't all about fun and being a friend. I know that it is about showing love, creating a relationship based on truth and trust, and setting boundaries. It's about doing things together to share experiences and bond. It's about consequences and follow through. It's about fighting for what you know is right. It's about creating a balance in life between self, wife, and mother. <br />
<br />
I don't say-or rather write-all this because I want someone to look my life and feel sorry for me. That's not what I want at all, especially because I have a wonderful, beautiful life filled with so many people who love me. I have created a life for myself (with the help of some amazing women) that is light years better than anything I imagined for myself growing up and dreaming of starting my own family. I say all this to say, don't let society guilt your into thinking that you have to honor, cherish, worship someone for giving birth to you. Reserve those feelings for the real women in your life who were there and deserve the honor. Also, I say this to explain why Mother's day is also a day of mourning for me (and plenty of other people out there) for the mother I never had.Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-65297400898204579492019-01-06T08:02:00.000-06:002019-01-06T08:02:03.580-06:00The Quiet MomentsThis past week has been hard. There is no other possible way to describe it. It was hard. It is hard. It will be hard for a while. Losing former students is hard. If it is this hard for me, I cannot imagine the pain and anguish of these families. Unfortunately, this is not my first losing a former student, but this is the first time that those students sat in a desk in my classroom just a few short years ago. <br />
Every day things continue much like they did in the days before these lives were cut short except in those quiet moments. The minute in the hall when all of the students are in their classrooms and my mind drifts there just long enough for tears to well up in my eyes before I push it all back down and walk into my classroom with 20 fresh new students. The quiet time in the car between leaving work and picking up kids. Those 4 minutes between work and daycare are just enough time for my mind to drift and my heart to ache. The time after everyone else is in bed, the TV is off, and I am just alone with my thoughts. That's when the tears fall. My heart is broken for these kids and their families. <br />
My heart hurts to think of the world without these wonderful souls.<br />
I think about how much Brooklyn made me laugh. I think of her smile. I think of her sass any time someone tried to call her Brooke. I think of the life that was ahead of such a wonderful young lady and it hurts. So much. I am so sad for her family and for the pain that they feel. I am also so grateful for their decision to donate her organs in the face of such a terrible loss. I have friends who are alive and healthy because they were the recipients of an organ donation. It truly is the gift of life. Her spirit will live on through the people that were saved by her organs. <br />
I think about Izzy. I think about her wild hair and how it fit her personality to a T. I think about her grin-it wasn't a smile-it was a grin, and it made you want to smile. I think of her love for animals. I think of her fresh and unique perspectives in class discussions. I think about her senior project and her choice to study happiness. She researched about happiness. She wanted to know more about what makes people happy, and I highly suspect that she did it to infuse more happiness into the world. Take good care of your animals, give them a good snuggle, it's what Izzy would want you to do. <br />
I think about this, I think about all of this and I try to think about Morrie (Tuesdays with Morrie) and his perspective on death. No one knows how much time they will have on this earth so please make the most of every moment. Don't live life with regrets, spend time with people not with things. Right now the number one quote that comes to mind is: "Death ends a life, not a relationship." <br />
To the families of the kind souls gone too soon, I pray for you every day. I pray for peace in your heart and I pray for strength for you to make it through life without one that you loved so dearly. Your loss is immeasurable. They were so loved and cherished. They will never be forgotten.<br />
Finally, to anyone reading this: drive carefully, keep your phone out of your hand, and buckle your seat belt because someone cares about you, and they will miss you terribly if you are gone. <br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-57302730894659576892018-08-12T14:19:00.000-05:002018-08-12T14:19:03.914-05:00InkedWednesday it finally happened! After <a href="https://thefitnessfailure.blogspot.com/2015/07/tattoos-mental-fitness.html" target="_blank">deciding three years ago that I wanted a semicolon tattoo</a>, I actually did it! How did I finally make it happen? Well, it started with our annual bowling ladies night out on Wednesday March 28th. Three ladies who had had a few drinks made a pact to get tattoos together in the summer. Two of us (Regan and myself) did not have a single tattoo but our friend Jordan had some experience getting inked. We decided that we were going to go together and get a tattoo. We kept talking about it throughout the rest of the bowling season and finally, through a little group text this summer, figured out a date that worked for all of us.<br />
Fast forward to Wednesday when we had some plans to eat lunch, shop a little, and get tattoos. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous. I think I was more nervous-excited than anything else. I wasn't really worried about the pain, but I was incredibly curious about how it would feel. I sent the artist my design and Jordan sent her design and Regan's. He got our images ready to go and I, the newbie, got to go first. I was incredibly excited...it was FINALLY going to happen! I was getting my semicolon tattoo. From the moment he transferred the image onto my wrist, I knew that it was exactly what I wanted.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuiOC1Aj1Dc9eQUZtGMU0pGLFisFCjzYR9vQjRo5cVjhP-LHIJdcPvNSw_OcnVQ5irqFdPgcWiAML9XqdA7VFcex7ub_N2BBg0Et8fKWoN3yNuvkO_0jyzfRnr7mjguaIyPklA-gZy_M/s1600/20180808_231433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuiOC1Aj1Dc9eQUZtGMU0pGLFisFCjzYR9vQjRo5cVjhP-LHIJdcPvNSw_OcnVQ5irqFdPgcWiAML9XqdA7VFcex7ub_N2BBg0Et8fKWoN3yNuvkO_0jyzfRnr7mjguaIyPklA-gZy_M/s400/20180808_231433.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tattoo all fresh and new</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The whole process start to finish was much quicker than I expected. I am totally in love with the finished product! Here is a little explanation of the whole tattoo. First, the semicolon-it's yellow because yellow is my favorite color and has been since I was old enough to have a favorite color. It has never changed! The punctuation, for those of you who may not have read my original blog post on the topic, is not because I am an English teacher, but rather because I suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts for years, silently, and I survived. I could have ended my life, but I chose not to. Because of that choice, that semicolon, I am living the wonderful and beautiful life that I have today. Just typing and rereading that line brought tears to my eyes. I wish more people could see this happiness that's waiting on the other side. Moving on before I get too emotional and can't finish this post...The daisy is my favorite flower, I love it for its simplistic beauty. It's a flower of possibilities. Each color in the petals represents the people that I love-blue for Matt, green for Cohan, red for Camden, and orange for Cyver. Together, the five of us, make a pretty damn beautiful rainbow. There is nothing more magical than that.<br />
I also made myself a matching car decal<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxcS6_SrsmgzMX47DtOHvLK1NmyJxeOLcHuyd-HoElB22SAdQqTHQW2EA0DLlxZXC6i2XX2NTelOX2mmEwW5RTnRXLBOPuxCrTqjSTzqCq-nNujuVc7KddsMnI_kx1eUXRxRQEOSC35c/s1600/20180809_163156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxcS6_SrsmgzMX47DtOHvLK1NmyJxeOLcHuyd-HoElB22SAdQqTHQW2EA0DLlxZXC6i2XX2NTelOX2mmEwW5RTnRXLBOPuxCrTqjSTzqCq-nNujuVc7KddsMnI_kx1eUXRxRQEOSC35c/s400/20180809_163156.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Pink holographic car decal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-48443514269988226282018-08-07T11:43:00.000-05:002018-08-07T11:43:43.851-05:00Riding, Crafting, Girl's DayIt's time for another Amerithon update! Camden and I have been working on this challenge for just over one month and we have hit two more milestones since my last post. Our total mileage so far is just over 450. Individually, I have traveled 250 since July 4th. Camden does a good job of helping me push myself (like making me go up to the top of the bridge instead of just sticking to the bottom). It is exciting to see all our miles add up. I have been averaging hitting one individual milestone every other week which is pretty good progress. I am going to miss my bike rides in the morning with Camden but I hope I can keep getting miles in until it gets too cold.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXXfvmy6KPclZD8IW10NA24esa33hzGhtEt-Np0Y1T5kyjHYH5pFoMeKZNK6Fk5JdOnZeASSfOCkxn9fqtTw8OCmPKtL0XoELmx9pbVzhEmKxuVT3R2qWgsQ4x9BIDDbQ0ncw8syQpfY/s1600/amerithon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="870" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXXfvmy6KPclZD8IW10NA24esa33hzGhtEt-Np0Y1T5kyjHYH5pFoMeKZNK6Fk5JdOnZeASSfOCkxn9fqtTw8OCmPKtL0XoELmx9pbVzhEmKxuVT3R2qWgsQ4x9BIDDbQ0ncw8syQpfY/s400/amerithon.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I do think I could easily be putting in more miles if I spent a little less time in my craft room, but I have been having fun prepping signs for my classroom walls. I have been enjoying my new Cricut-making shirts, signs, car decals...I can do a lot!<br />
<br />
I am VERY excited to announce that I will finally be getting my semicolon tattoo! Three years ago I wrote a <a href="https://thefitnessfailure.blogspot.com/2015/07/tattoos-mental-fitness.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> about mental fitness. In it I mentioned that I found something that I actually wanted to get a tattoo of. TOMORROW is the day! A couple of friends from my bowling team and I are having a girl's day in Sioux Falls with lunch and TATTOOS! Two of us will be getting our very first tattoo and I think it is safe to say we are both excited and nervous. I have my design planned out although it did take me most of these past three years to nail down exactly what I wanted. I am excited to share the final product with you all. Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-77142974545726226622018-07-25T11:28:00.000-05:002018-07-25T11:28:15.927-05:00Kicking Butt and Feeling Sore!Camden and I have officially been on our Amerithon journey for three weeks now and we are going strong!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xWnd-YDUTsxiFEAgOxaUOCmIjaWZyFiQPkT-UCUHMWUwd_H9hpdTCqR47wFdkkv1vrqJ-JOW3RlO4FHRpkukxawn6A9I_igaCPgo3eP8-dA4omxNa4FCY4phxjLRnNeS6ERh5GCHpBc/s1600/Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="1034" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xWnd-YDUTsxiFEAgOxaUOCmIjaWZyFiQPkT-UCUHMWUwd_H9hpdTCqR47wFdkkv1vrqJ-JOW3RlO4FHRpkukxawn6A9I_igaCPgo3eP8-dA4omxNa4FCY4phxjLRnNeS6ERh5GCHpBc/s400/Map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our team stats-the blue markers on the map show our team progress as well as out individual progress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We have traveled just over 300 miles so far and we are only 12 miles from our next landmark. I will say that it isn't always easy. I am not a huge fan of hill that I have to conquer every morning right at the start of my ride, but I am sticking with it! Camden helps push me to try to keep up with him but I also know that without me he'd cover twice the distance on his new bike. The kid is seriously fast even going up hills!<br />
On Monday his baseball coaches arranged a mixed game of kids and parents because their last game was rained out. Cohan and I both joined in on the fun and I was a little overly competitive. I was able to score 2 runs and beat them both at second base-Cohan blamed Camden and Camden blamed Cohan for not getting me out. Overall, it was a blast followed by pizza and time to play at the park. Then I sat down when we got home which was apparently my worst idea ever. My legs, hips, shoulders, and knees ACHED! I didn't want to get up to go to bed. Waking up the next morning was no picnic either, but I did hobble over to my bike and force myself to go up the hill and put in over 5 miles. I also pushed myself to walk a mile and a half while Cyver had swimming lessons. Pushing through the pain wasn't easy but it is worth it! I'm feeling a bit less stiff today but still struggled with the hill a bit. Seeing my miles add up in the tracker sure makes me feel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wtfhZwyrcc" target="_blank">like I can do anything. </a><br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-44615655684785918132018-07-16T12:11:00.000-05:002018-07-16T12:17:23.961-05:00Almost Two Weeks Done!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
On Wednesday, Camden and I will have been working on our <a href="https://runtheedge.com/amerithon/" target="_blank">Amerithon Challenge </a>for
two full weeks. So far we have hit two milestones and are about halfway
to our third. We are having a lot of fun and staying motivated! We have
made it 162 miles so far.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Camden and I like watching the fly over
videos that show us the virtual journey that we are taking. He also
likes reading about the landmarks that we hit along the way. He is
really looking forward to earning the first piece of our medal but that
is still quite a few miles away. Last week's heat slowed us down a bit
so we are hoping the cooler weather this week will motivate us to pack
in some more miles!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you are interested in giving the challenge a
try, I'd highly recommend it. The facebook group is really
inspirational, and it is fun to read about people finishing their
Amerithons that they started in 2016 and 2017.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I can't wait to see how far we go by the end of the summer!</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aaRFlPzbj9clCZ1UKjvuBazoqVbg4LTXCifQefOaDLehMSE0o_fIr97GT6DecvrrQasEOs4dOJyL_64hyphenhyphenAhRZ-SFTE4rTyQ-8v2Y5Kx3eNRhkeSMAkn1U8a_4wrjcR3vf2e5oKkDnpA/s1600/20180709_152551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aaRFlPzbj9clCZ1UKjvuBazoqVbg4LTXCifQefOaDLehMSE0o_fIr97GT6DecvrrQasEOs4dOJyL_64hyphenhyphenAhRZ-SFTE4rTyQ-8v2Y5Kx3eNRhkeSMAkn1U8a_4wrjcR3vf2e5oKkDnpA/s320/20180709_152551.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Shirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPOH58Xt7Zj5DaLr39IbjKYkRn7SWnbTYzGzwEk_s-thnAwnaNMKTJP_3td-LXWdcYuq6_FX49X8e8GWEBQb5Fu_9PirjDQOKMamFnhXKP-zwDDntwd57k6zF8dVFl-Gw7apgcbBahLk/s1600/20180710_135412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPOH58Xt7Zj5DaLr39IbjKYkRn7SWnbTYzGzwEk_s-thnAwnaNMKTJP_3td-LXWdcYuq6_FX49X8e8GWEBQb5Fu_9PirjDQOKMamFnhXKP-zwDDntwd57k6zF8dVFl-Gw7apgcbBahLk/s320/20180710_135412.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camden's Shirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQgzKKU8h1rVdKSxK6LJnWZCGut6n6O8EKWsZIYoI4R8ykjVckf5FDxa6_QZ2iClIFKdJOvubKs0TQ288El-BuWB3_KBbRpB62gJ_UoFp-wPk7DfrteMBOElebFkA3-4bkLKxa0DpEBU/s1600/20180710_142659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQgzKKU8h1rVdKSxK6LJnWZCGut6n6O8EKWsZIYoI4R8ykjVckf5FDxa6_QZ2iClIFKdJOvubKs0TQ288El-BuWB3_KBbRpB62gJ_UoFp-wPk7DfrteMBOElebFkA3-4bkLKxa0DpEBU/s320/20180710_142659.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirt Backs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgx0gmGRVz08jBbERCp10yAO-tsM2jvoxpOWjxDk3Wvmh5OcDR5mFUOI49XHmsgTjuoI8B_Mb-oaG52Gb3Z2c0deRmynkuTLeTcTSv6Z819uCBMolT79C5GSSsaStEQQydadTd2B4VEc/s1600/20180716_103145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgx0gmGRVz08jBbERCp10yAO-tsM2jvoxpOWjxDk3Wvmh5OcDR5mFUOI49XHmsgTjuoI8B_Mb-oaG52Gb3Z2c0deRmynkuTLeTcTSv6Z819uCBMolT79C5GSSsaStEQQydadTd2B4VEc/s400/20180716_103145.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-63922092505802088522018-07-05T09:29:00.000-05:002018-07-05T09:29:12.057-05:00AMERITHON!July 4th my middle son Camden and I embarked on a super cool journey together-we started the 2018 <a href="https://runtheedge.com/amerithon/" target="_blank">Amerithon Challenge</a>. I came across the facebook page for <a href="https://runtheedge.com/" target="_blank">Run the Edge</a> and started reading about their challenges. Camden is a super active kid and I am someone who needs a little extra motivation! I thought that this would be a fun thing for the two of us to do together. I registered us for the challenge and got our individual accounts up and running last night. We are using walking, running (Camden not me!), swimming, and biking miles to complete the challenge. In all we will need to get 3,521 miles together which equals the total distance from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Washington Monument. Our team name is Pizza Party! If I have any friends that want to follow along on the journey, I will be blogging about it here and you can follow us if you are also doing the Amerithon Challenge. We ordered one basic kit and one kit that comes with the cool swag to help us track our journey. Out next milestone is 25 miles which we hope to hit today! We didn't order an Amerithon shirt as they don't have kid sizes and I figured I could just make us some on our own. I anticipate that this will be fun and challenging...and motivating! Wish us luck!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIU4o_ILFdZmZN3lZ9s_G93M5TZlPhHl1ZDj6t6WVHcPRwxDcDow47LYvNdna9I51aO3zton4E8f_gzdI2zvFoa1PYzwucjqlecVdwk-7mcReaQP4l7zrBxtxY0vqbgqmkgaA22Ke8qw/s1600/amerithon%252Blogo-transparent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="1000" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIU4o_ILFdZmZN3lZ9s_G93M5TZlPhHl1ZDj6t6WVHcPRwxDcDow47LYvNdna9I51aO3zton4E8f_gzdI2zvFoa1PYzwucjqlecVdwk-7mcReaQP4l7zrBxtxY0vqbgqmkgaA22Ke8qw/s400/amerithon%252Blogo-transparent.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-55987390190904094702018-01-01T15:41:00.000-06:002018-01-01T15:42:21.316-06:00Farewell 2017I have enjoyed watching and reading many people's reflections of the past year. I figured I would do some writing and reflecting of my own. I realized that 2017 was a pretty awesome year for me which made writing this post that much harder!<br />
Without further ado, here's...<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #741b47;"><b>Cassi's 2017 Top 10 List:</b></span></h2>
<span style="color: red;"><b>Number 10</b></span><br />
I got to go see Book of Mormon is Sioux Falls.<br />
I laughed a lot, and I am glad I went. It was
the first time that I saw a professional musical in a very long time
and it did not disappoint. I am including is this taking my boys to see the high school production of The Little Mermaid because it was also a musical and it was equally spectacular! Cyver just loved everything about it! Camden got to see it for a second time which he didn't seem to mind at all.<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>Number 9</b></span><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DelightDonut/" target="_blank">Delight Donut </a>opened in Yankton.<br />
I got to eat my very first maple bacon
donut and it was heavenly. I see many of these lovely treats in my
future. We have enjoyed many stops at Delight for a morning treat before
school or before church. Cohan loves the cheese bagel. Camden loves
chocolate glazed. Cyver is all about the yummy bite-sized donut holes. <br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><b>Number 8</b></span><br />
Cyver discoved his love for LuLaRoe.<br />
His spunky personality fits with his
funky leggings styling. My favorite part was trying to get him to call
them pants so Matt wouldn't be so against them and Cyver sternly
correcting me (or anyone else for that matter) by telling me that they
were NOT pants; they were leggings! The kid never ceases to make us
laugh.<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>Number 7</b></span><br />
Matt and I took a little trip to Omaha to just get away.<br />
We went to two
different movies in this very cool theater that served supper. The food was amazing and the experience was completely new. We ended up going twice just because the first time was so cool. When we weren't hanging out in a dark theater, we shopped a bit. We bought some new games and just hung out playing games and reconnecting without kiddos. This trip was also shortly after Matt changed jobs which was kind of a scary move when he had been at Avera for so long. It was a very positive move as he has been much less stressed, and he has been home more. <br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><b>Number 6</b></span><br />
Seeing the <a href="http://thelumineers.com/" target="_blank">Lumineers </a>in concert in Sioux City.<br />
It was one of the best concerts
that I have ever been to. The instrumentals in their songs are the parts
that draw me in and getting to hear them live was AMAZING! It was a
great way to spend an evening with Matt. My favorite part was when they
unplugged and went mic free for a few songs at the edge of the stage.
It was very cool.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Number 5</b></span><br />
Traveling to St. Louis in November for the <a href="http://www2.ncte.org/" target="_blank">NCTE</a>/<a href="http://www.alan-ya.org/" target="_blank">ALAN </a>convention. It was a reader's dream come true! I got many amazing ideas for my classroom, and I got to meet SO many amazing authors! I stood in a lot of lines, shipped three full boxes of books home, and met some coold teachers from all across the US. I also got to go and see the St. Louis Arch which was a fun thing to experience with a teacher that I met from Montana. The food was pretty amazing and I discovered a yummy root beer that I won't soon forget (If you visit St. Louis, be sure to check out Fitz's root beer)!<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><b>Number 4</b></span><br />
Buying a new van and traveling to Minneapolis with Camden for his first <a href="http://www.myas.org/swimming/" target="_blank">Midwest Regional Swim Meet.</a><br />
He worked hard to get his qualifying times! We enjoyed staying in a hotel that we originally couldn't find because Google Maps took us to the back side of the hotel. Camden fell in love with traveling by air rail-something tells me this kid is going to grow up to be a city kid! We spent hours walking around them Mall of America and even took some time to stop and get a foot massage together. It was fun to just have some one-on-one time with him. <br />
<span style="background-color: magenta;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">Number 3</span></span></b></span><br />
Cohan joining Oral Interp.<br />
This definitely breaks the top three! I always knew that dramatics would be his thing, and I was not disappointed. I enjoyed working with him, helping him with an intro, listening to him practice, and watching him improve. It was pretty awesome to watch him earn first place in his very first oral interp contest. I was one proud mom! <br />
<span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>Number 2</b></span><br />
Family vacation in May.<br />
We traveled to <a href="http://spookcave.com/" target="_blank">Spook Cave</a> in eastern Iowa. The drive out was long and construction filled but the drive back was scenic and peaceful. The cabin we stayed in was just right. The little lake that was close to our cabin had a kayak which made most of us fall in love with the peaceful activity. We also enjoyed things like mining, exploring a cave, playing on playgrounds, catching tadpoles, making smores, catching a toad, and perhaps best of all, driving a golf cart. We let Cohan drive around the campground and all I can say is, when it comes to teaching the kid how to drive, we'll have our hands full! We even ended up venturing over to Wisconsin where we had ice cream for lunch so the kids could check it off their list. The hotel we stayed in actually had 2 sets of bunk beds but was otherwise downright comical. The fact that I also got to take my dad with us on this family vacation was pretty awesome..which leads me to number 1 on my top 10 list...<br />
<b>Number 1</b><br />
My dad come to visit for two months.<br />
Getting to see him, vacation with him, and just watch him play with the boys was so much fun. We had a fun little trip up to Minneapolis to pick him up. We even took the boys to their first ever coin show in St. Paul. They loved looking at all the cool coins and were always thrilled when one of the guys would hand them a coin or two for free. Dad said that they don't see too many kids at coin shows so they are happy to get them interested when they are around. The boys spent plenty of time going through coin rolls with grandpa and finding some pretty sweet coins. They can't wait for him to come back and visit again.<br />
<br />
This list was a lot harder than I thought it would be! I could have easily made a top 20 list for all the things that I had to leave out. I cannot wait to see all the 2018 has in store for my little family! Wishing you the very best in 2018!Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-32442528014473104082017-08-14T12:21:00.002-05:002017-08-14T12:21:52.664-05:00CRASH!According to my records, I have been writing for my little blog here for a little over five years and in that time I have blogged about a lot of biking. Until just over a month ago, I had not crashed my bike. In fact, I had not crashed my bike since I was a kid. It has been so long that I literally cannot remember the last time I accumulated even so much as a bit of road rash. I have had some close encounters (with darkness and a downed tree) but nothing that resulted in injury...until Friday June 30th at 6:15 am.<br />
Thursday night we had a little storm move through giving us a bit of much-needed moisture. I spent the evening running through my rummage sale prep list and going over all the things that I had left to do before our 4 pm rummage sale. I knew I still had a number of things left to do, but I also knew that the kids only had one activity each from 8 to 9 am. Piece of cake! My dad asked about a morning bike ride before heading to bed and I told him that I was up for it.<br />
Fast forward to Friday morning at 5:30 am. I got up after my alarm went off, checked my phone, drank some water and filled my water bottle in preparation for the bike ride. My dad got up shortly after and we were on the road by 6 am. We were taking our new normal route thanks to all the road construction and everything was fine until we went under Broadway. As we followed the trail under Broadway I noticed a lot of mud on the trail. I tried to slow my speed a bit while still maintain enough momentum to get up the hill on the other side of the bridge but there was too much mud. As I turned my bike to go up the hill, my bike slid right out from under me. I don't know exactly how to explain how I fell other than to say I was headed for the ground because my bike was no longer under me. The first part of me that I felt hit the pavement was my chin. It hit HARD! I still remember as the pain shot upward through my jaw I kept thinking, "I hope I didn't just break my jaw!" I think my knee and upper lip made contact about the same time because I noticed those pains at the same time. The last part of my crash that I remember before coming to a complete stop is the front of my bike helmet scraping the sidewalk.<br />
My dad heard the crash, stopped, looked back and asked me if I was okay. I didn't respond the first time he asked because I was trying to figure out the answer. My eyes darted around as I lay splayed on the trail. I assessed where I felt pain and noticed blood dripping onto the sidewalk from my mouth. My dad asked again if I was okay since I hadn't responded and wasn't moving. I told him that I thought I was okay except that my mouth was bleeding. He asked if I knocked my teeth out as I lifted myself up off the sidewalk. I had not thought about my teeth so my tongue explored my mouth and discovered that there was something missing. In the same instant I looked at the sidewalk and did not see any teeth/tooth fragments. I felt around inside my mouth but still nothing. I told my dad that I thought my teeth were in my lip. He gave me his handkerchief and asked if he should call someone. I was still trying to assess my injuries. I noticed some road rash on my knee and could tell that my mouth was bleeding pretty good but I was calm and felt like I could bike home as long as my bike was functional.<br />
My bike had slid up against the embankment that borders the hill of the trail. Upon picking up my bike I didn't notice any damage. My basket was no longer attached. It actually slid across the trail in the opposite direction but not one thing spilled out of it (a few weeks later, an inspection of my bike revealed that my basket actually sustained the brunt of the crash-it was dented in four places). My dad helped me wrench the basket holder back into place and reattach the basket. I looked the bike over again and it seemed fine other than some mud. I wiped away the blood on my chin and got on my bike to go home. My dad said it would probably be easier and quicker to get back on the road and off the trail, but I have to admit-I had no idea what I looked like battered up after the crash and was happy to avoid people as much as possible. We did eventually get off the trail on the way home to avoid some hills that I was not in the mood for.<br />
Dad went in the house first with me trailing slowly behind. He told Matt that I had wrecked my bike. Matt pretty much leaped out of his chair asking if I was okay. I told him that I needed to go to the ER (I haven't had to go to the ER for myself since Cohan was a baby LOL). I relayed to my dad where the kids needed to go for their activities for the day before I let Matt get me in the car and wisk me away to the ER (thanks to my dad and my mother in law, everyone got to where they needed to be). I didn't want to ruin their morning since it looked like mine was toast! Matt rushed me to the ER (even though I told him to slow down-I was okay) until a cop pulled out in front of him and he was forced to slow down the whole way to the hospital LOL.<br />
I got back to a room right away and they assessed my injuries and let me know that it was going to be a bit of a wait as they had an urgent case coming in. They gave me a shot of morphine and a tetanus shot. We waited and Matt made phone calls making sure everyone was okay and trying to rearrange his schedule so he could be with me in the ER. While waiting I made an unhappy discovery...<br />
Morphine is NOT my friend. I was thankful that I wasn't feeling the pain from my mouth but I rather suddenly started having abdominal, chest, and back pains. It came in a slow wave that I can only compare to contractions when I was in labor. It started mild and then came on strong to the point where I was sweating and unable to get comfortable. The ER staff was worried that it was actually crash related but I knew-just knew-that this was med related NOT crash related. I always have odd reactions to medicine and I don't think Matt always believes me when I tell him about my adverse reaction but this one he got to see first hand! I do not like morphine!<br />
While we waited, tooth fragments were slowly working their way out of my lip. I was taken in for a head, neck, and facial CT to make sure that there were no broken bones and to see the status of my broken teeth and my lip. Eventually I was able to get my lip stitched up-twice (once before the CT was back and once more after it showed a large tooth fragment was still hiding in my lip). I was finally able to get out of the ER a little after nine with seven stitches and some prescriptions. <br />
My next stop was the dentist. Thanks to my facial CT, we knew that the roots of my teeth were not damaged. Good news! I still had not looked in the mirror so I had no idea what the status of my teeth actually was. I spent almost two hours at the dentist. They assessed things and then got to work covering the giant gaps in the front of my mouth but putting "fillings" where my teeth once were. My dentist is nothing short of a tooth sculptor. One tooth was pretty much 90% gone and the other was really just a pointy fragment. He told me that they would have to be crowned after the trauma of my mouth went down but I was amazed-no one could tell that I had knocked my teeth out. Now, after two more dentist appointments, I have my permanent crowns and they look great. I was even able to get them in and all taken care of the last day of our dental insurance!<br />
So, now that I am six weeks post-accident I am doing pretty well. I did have to make some appointments with the chiropractor as I seemed to have messed up my lower back and my neck/left shoulder. I feel a lot better after a few visits though. My teeth feel great with my permanent crowns. My lip still has some numbness and pain. The scar tissue causes me some pain, especially if it gets bumped or when eating or drinking. I can hear a difference in my speech (even if others can't) and I struggle a little with keeping small foods in my mouth because the scar tissue doesn't let my lip move like it used to. I feel a bit like a sloppy little kid sometimes. I am happy that I can eat and drink without worrying as much about my teeth being so sensitive. I guess I'll just have to take what little victories that I can get. All in all, I have to say that it could have been so much worse!<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-47830478840242781472017-01-25T16:19:00.003-06:002017-01-25T16:19:54.515-06:00"Women's Issues" are Everyone's IssuesI am not an outwardly political discussion type person. I tend to hold my beliefs close and share them only with those that are close to me. I sit back and read and research the things that are presented to me. I think about the people and situations surrounding the issues. I try to put myself in their shoes. I try to be empathetic. I don't appreciate the attacks that I witness on both ends of the spectrum. I don't appreciate the hateful posts and outright lies that the internet spreads like wildfire. I don't appreciate that people cannot simply respect the beliefs of others without believing that their rights are violated simply because someone believes differently than they do. I support all women in whatever fight they are fighting. I support young women, old women, single women, married women, impoverished women, transgender women, ALL women. When we live in a world that values and respects women, everyone benefits.<br />
<br />
<b>The Women's March was about women-all women everywhere</b><br />
I am so tired of the rhetoric surrounding this march that the women who participate were whiny, privileged little girls who had nothing to protest. I am tired of people stating that women DO have equal rights (in many areas we do but it's not like we've had them for very long and people are trying to make sure that it stays that way). We live in a country where the wage gap between males and females has been proven time and time again. In our country there are women who are overlooked for employment because they plan to have children. There are people who see no problem with this and yet we are supposed to believe we have equal rights? There are people who talk of women needing to serve their men, stay in the kitchen where they belong, care for the children and provide for the family while also working full time. These same people do not hold men to the same standard. If that isn't gender inequality, I don't know what is. But the thing is...the Women's March was about so much more than that. It was not just about the women in each community, each state, each country where the march took place. It was about women who are oppressed across the globe. It was about women who are forced into abusive relationships. Women who are kept around simply to have children. Women who endure gender mutilation. Women who are silenced. Women who are sold into sex trafficking. Women who are denied an education. Women who are forced into marriages at a young age. Women who are treated like second class citizens. Female children are dying at dramatically higher rates in certain parts of the world because they are denied basic necessities at greater rates than male children. Women are treated as disposable. Women are born into these lives-they don't choose them and many of them die before they are old enough to fight for a change. We are lucky that we were not born into those lives. We owe it to our foreign sisters to be their voice for change. That is what many women were marching about and that is a cause I can stand behind.<br />
I am also sick of hearing people say that they cannot support the march because some of the women were acting out in inappropriate ways. They were vulgar and rude. Here's the thing, I had friends and family participating in the march across the United States in at least 10 different locations and I heard wonderful stories of the support and friendship that they felt together with these other women coming together to globally support women. (I also heard similar things from the men that I know that participated.) People need to stop judging this gigantic march by the actions of a few. I don't judge all men or all presidents by the words and actions of Donald Trump. That would just be absurd. Stop generalizing.<br />
<br />
<b>The media does not divide us-we divide ourselves.</b><br />
People like to make the media the bad guy but forget that we have a choice to research and fact check the information that we are presented with. WE choose how to feel and act based upon this information. So many people think that the freedoms offered to them in our country means that they can simply live in their own little bubble and stand at the edge of it criticizing and putting others down for refusing to be in their bubble of belief. They think they can simply pick and choose what "alternative facts" they think support their beliefs and tell people that they must feel the same way when presented with these facts. Because we have freedom of speech, does not mean that we should use it to spread hate. Freedom of speech does not mean that we can tell others to stay silent as we shout above them our own message from our own bubble. Freedom of speech is not freedom to be a jerk without consequence.<br />
<br />
<b>You don't get to decide other people's personal beliefs-they do</b><br />
You can be pro-choice. You can be pro-life. You cannot tell someone else that they must change their beliefs to match yours. You are welcome to give your reasons for your beliefs just as much as they are welcome to give their reasons for their beliefs (both sides-stay away from fallacies). You cannot, however, decide what they must believe.<br />
For myself, I am pro-life. I could not choose abortion for myself. For others, I respect their right to have a choice. I am thankful that I have never been in a situation where I was scared for my future and the future of my family. I have never been a victim of sexual assault, I have never been raped, I have never been molested, I have never been forced into an incestuous relationship, I have never been forced into sex trafficking. I am fortunate. So many women are not. To tell women in these situations that you get to say what they can and can't do when their bodies have been abused and their mental state is in disarray is pure insanity to me. Women in these situations need our support and our comfort not our judgement and our personal beliefs shoved down their throats. I am against legislation that puts men in suits in control of the bodies of female victims. I am against telling these women that they MUST continue a pregnancy created through a criminal act. I am for giving them options. I am for THEM deciding what happens in these situations because they have already been through more than enough. I am against forcing them to continue a pregnancy that very well could end their life. Roughly every 9.5 days, 21 mothers die in childbirth in the United States (numbers are much higher in other places across the globe). Are the people legislating the victim's uterus willing to accept responsibility for the death of this woman? Is her attacker now going to be charged with murder? I think not. Have you even seen the "consequences" dished out to these men that commit violent crimes against women (if they suffer any consequences at all)? A man can alter a woman's life forever, be found guilty, and get away with as little as a few month in jail. <br />
Now, I also understand that not all women in the situation are victims of sexual crimes. So many people in poverty have trouble getting out of the cycle of poverty for many reasons. One of those reasons is a repetitive cycle of unplanned pregnancies. In the past few years, we have made progress in this area by providing contraception free of charge. Abortion rates have dropped to a lower rate than they were back in 1973 when the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision was made. Unfortunately, some people who are against abortion are also against providing these women in poverty with the birth control that can help lift them out of the cycle. They are against women trying to prevent the very pregnancies that people judge them for in the end. Then, when these women don't prevent the pregnancy (because they cannot afford birth control) and don't get an abortion (because people say the woman does not get to make decisions about her body), and people complain that they "have too many kids that they can't afford" and are "living off OUR tax dollars." They are abusing the system! Wait...what? They aren't abusing anything-they are stuck in a cycle that they can't seem to escape.<br />
We like to pretend that the only reason people engage in sex is to create a child and yet, behind closed doors, we know that this is a lie. People pretend that they do not engage in sexual contact for pleasure but the truth is-sex is good for you. In study after study it has been proven that sex provides stress relief, heart health, hormone regulation, better sleep, and an improved immune system just to name a few things! We tell people in poverty without access to birth control that it is SO simple: don't have sex! Forget the benefits listed above-you know because people living in poverty are never stressed and are incredibly healthy (sarcasm intended). Unless you plan to feed, clothe, and financially support the child that you are forcing a woman to have, you don't get to judge them and tell them what to do. Where are the torches and pitchforks when the men walk away from these women and leave them without support? Why is it not okay for a woman to have an abortion but no one bats an eye at the man who also made the child? Why is the woman the only one called out and criticized? It takes two to tango my friends! Why are men not held to the same standards and criticism for unintended pregnancies? Because this gender inequality exists. As much as children are an amazing and wonderful gift, the truth is that they can be a financial burden-especially to people already in poverty. The average cost of raising a child from birth to 17 is over $200,000. It's no wonder people can't seem to climb out of poverty.<br />
<br />
<b>No one HAS to support the person who holds the position of the presidency in our country</b><br />
I will argue that we should show the president the same respect that he or she shows toward the citizens. I do, personally, have a problem with the things that our current president has said to and about women but that does not mean that I have anything against the people who do choose to support him. No one should be saying that any president should be assassinated. No one should EVER be criticizing the young children of the person holding the office. But people SHOULD be holding our leader accountable for their actions. We live in a country with checks and balances for a reason. Our political leaders should be fact checked. Their interests and motives should be investigated. Critics should not be silenced simply because their ideas are in opposition to the person who holds the office of the presidency. On the other end of the spectrum, those who agree with the president have just as much of a right to voice their support. All parties on both sides need to tone down the hate speech and get rid of the Us vs. Them rhetoric. Quit finger pointing. Quit telling people to "accept it." Quit pretending that every president in the history of our country was always welcomed with open arms. Be open to facts. Don't be a troll. Read the information presented to you before jumping to conclusions or jumping down someone throat. Read more than headlines. Research. Fact check. Don't rely on heavily biased sources for information. Check multiple sources. Don't spread false information. Apologize when you are wrong. Not only will you feel better for being a decent human being, the people around you will appreciate your respect as well.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Even if you disagree with my beliefs, I hope we can agree on this: </b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Your words matter. Your tone matters. Your phrasing matters. Your words are powerful. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Be kind. Use them for good.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You won't regret it. </b></div>
<br />
Sources:<br />
<a href="https://girlsglobe.org/2014/04/17/the-oppression-of-women-exists-everywhere/">https://girlsglobe.org/2014/04/17/the-oppression-of-women-exists-everywhere/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2223rank.html</a><br />
<a href="https://www.reference.com/world-view/many-babies-born-day-42294b58b04fdff7">https://www.reference.com/world-view/many-babies-born-day-42294b58b04fdff7</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights">http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights</a><br />
<a href="https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system">https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system</a><br />
<a href="http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/sex-and-health">http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/sex-and-health</a><br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2017/01/24/the-233k-cost-of-raising-a-kid-and-how-to-prep-your-finances-as-a-new-parent/#f5f0dd550e8e">http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2017/01/24/the-233k-cost-of-raising-a-kid-and-how-to-prep-your-finances-as-a-new-parent/#f5f0dd550e8e</a><br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade">http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade</a><br />
<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/01/401251/poor-health">https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/01/401251/poor-health</a><br />
<a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/chronic-stress-killing-people-poverty-women-especially-cdc-report-336170">http://www.medicaldaily.com/chronic-stress-killing-people-poverty-women-especially-cdc-report-336170</a> Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-24854421278325012092016-06-29T08:18:00.000-05:002016-06-29T08:18:35.098-05:00Photo FunI have been spending the week playing with my new camera. I wish I had taken it on my Tuesday morning ride. I did get some nice photos with my phone though. Yesterday's ride I almost hit 6 1/4 miles. I love when it is a bit cooler out but I wish I had remembered to bring my water bottle. I decided to skip the top of the bridge knowing I didn't have it. This morning I made sure to grab it before heading out the door. I took a different route than usual to completely avoid sprinklers and protect the camera. I went up the South Dakota side of the bridge and there were a few people headed up as well which motivated me to charge up with a but more gusto than usual. I wanted to charge up all the way to the top instead of my usual good effort start and then panting and inching forward after making it half way up. My legs felt like spaghetti when I made it to the top but I was damn proud of myself! Even with the different route, I still rode over 6 miles and distance wasn't even my goal today. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6wUGFOCgGj-kT0F02WTSHWRyBWvkCFhA5pTjVdLfGd3wyub398h0_t9gRAnvp39huQx6PmFO1Bp1iUdQVkIGIkLWAbsR-D0RvJwUBUnanR4-wqlkteuaLC3Y_sc1Q9jXJH3196fzVTM/s1600/20160628_061724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6wUGFOCgGj-kT0F02WTSHWRyBWvkCFhA5pTjVdLfGd3wyub398h0_t9gRAnvp39huQx6PmFO1Bp1iUdQVkIGIkLWAbsR-D0RvJwUBUnanR4-wqlkteuaLC3Y_sc1Q9jXJH3196fzVTM/s320/20160628_061724.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain in front of the sun on my way home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrAyBbyIpsa-wO0YwCSPEesMaGgpx-NsYpZHyvnYRZvUcIRRmGk78qa9BkqptOEHsDqxTi2689_CehzTLzacxnWmuNP41Hjgj7R0_koiuo0EaMVLnys_yx6PnReIQ6edcrRq6VgCRoyA/s1600/20160628_060444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrAyBbyIpsa-wO0YwCSPEesMaGgpx-NsYpZHyvnYRZvUcIRRmGk78qa9BkqptOEHsDqxTi2689_CehzTLzacxnWmuNP41Hjgj7R0_koiuo0EaMVLnys_yx6PnReIQ6edcrRq6VgCRoyA/s320/20160628_060444.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Favorite shot from Tuesday morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImFrQlgVrXI8T7Ep1ITZOjgv6v61f8TsZ1NsmS_Z1u-JUUeiUKvB42zC8HxUdeAbGhTMtcvxwF54jfCVlhYLo2yg2GWLlSUncik95YWGQ1-vF1KxoFGhFl9Fs-MsF2Iob0r5Hg-UgjXI/s1600/20160628_060143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImFrQlgVrXI8T7Ep1ITZOjgv6v61f8TsZ1NsmS_Z1u-JUUeiUKvB42zC8HxUdeAbGhTMtcvxwF54jfCVlhYLo2yg2GWLlSUncik95YWGQ1-vF1KxoFGhFl9Fs-MsF2Iob0r5Hg-UgjXI/s320/20160628_060143.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVd7AmEoQYdRvG6uBgmzEdaceFLkWw_gtdVb_oijdgGBiAK-fK1F3nU2C3lq6KpRm6U9ox293xJXke4zbPEhmk9mleT1YwugscKY7B_OFY78-C8zkno0rRa3LYK_RPFthFdO_63kDKY0g/s1600/20160628_055253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVd7AmEoQYdRvG6uBgmzEdaceFLkWw_gtdVb_oijdgGBiAK-fK1F3nU2C3lq6KpRm6U9ox293xJXke4zbPEhmk9mleT1YwugscKY7B_OFY78-C8zkno0rRa3LYK_RPFthFdO_63kDKY0g/s320/20160628_055253.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIy8EzSyvf7YtI6PXZT2UOrOIlS4u01QBjhs5P51DQUL-_6oIjXowffIIWp3pNtk-UKvjb7Iz2mdy-mOLUXBrIQNxxuSOT2QlK6w1pM1UXdoCHQE-3M_DiUZkFql9maYP5lvxw9GHmAg/s1600/20160628_060123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIy8EzSyvf7YtI6PXZT2UOrOIlS4u01QBjhs5P51DQUL-_6oIjXowffIIWp3pNtk-UKvjb7Iz2mdy-mOLUXBrIQNxxuSOT2QlK6w1pM1UXdoCHQE-3M_DiUZkFql9maYP5lvxw9GHmAg/s320/20160628_060123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4tV-p2LxEPCS5IQA6uZ_CROGZigt92-5f6SKb5R8-v9hYyaRQ_iGT7Soirvi5ZL1E0mH6yIWHW02yXR1USmwR9WAbKWFCLX_AYZOIpRMPioUC-fMNoIzqAKGVY_IhFDuNjHhjadnzHw/s1600/20160628_055137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4tV-p2LxEPCS5IQA6uZ_CROGZigt92-5f6SKb5R8-v9hYyaRQ_iGT7Soirvi5ZL1E0mH6yIWHW02yXR1USmwR9WAbKWFCLX_AYZOIpRMPioUC-fMNoIzqAKGVY_IhFDuNjHhjadnzHw/s320/20160628_055137.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain in the distance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Here are some random photos from the new camera. I can't wait to take some more time to learn the features and play with different settings. I really like the 50mm lens that I bought, it takes some nice lower light photos.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjX965jDSPQ1paiLOFJ64VQmc29Xhxjkb_QGDSbdgFkoA8IJsl6EaXbrJd0q7niFGYQ8IWno4PCsbcGIyfJby0_mcxkCdQHIOgb7uSS5qzzLh-WBYA_MnwL_JQ8BCUHV0QHGReclm7BUI/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjX965jDSPQ1paiLOFJ64VQmc29Xhxjkb_QGDSbdgFkoA8IJsl6EaXbrJd0q7niFGYQ8IWno4PCsbcGIyfJby0_mcxkCdQHIOgb7uSS5qzzLh-WBYA_MnwL_JQ8BCUHV0QHGReclm7BUI/s320/IMG_0087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my favorite photo with the new camera so far!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnM325Cy-PEw1Yq2E6Hd5OTAqGivaFYi9J2dPC0XPZbbXccV64rYa3542oRhZpj0bl0KjuJERQuc2BBjFOOn5vsmKsGFbpYFakgrDrCtk6CcSEI1chTN_yp5gPon8C721svBQeO826SDg/s1600/IMG_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnM325Cy-PEw1Yq2E6Hd5OTAqGivaFYi9J2dPC0XPZbbXccV64rYa3542oRhZpj0bl0KjuJERQuc2BBjFOOn5vsmKsGFbpYFakgrDrCtk6CcSEI1chTN_yp5gPon8C721svBQeO826SDg/s320/IMG_0092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying out some flower shots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7okXP3SlbSEC0EVCZzoAar18FC5u3FvA37OeAWKs7oW2KhypsCqT5FOpWythANyoA_r9nzz539s96gdBFGPhZTMG_8GiUJOMMZi7Ood0aGQbw28CRbntvAwavpji2DbelJiNKtMvf8Y/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7okXP3SlbSEC0EVCZzoAar18FC5u3FvA37OeAWKs7oW2KhypsCqT5FOpWythANyoA_r9nzz539s96gdBFGPhZTMG_8GiUJOMMZi7Ood0aGQbw28CRbntvAwavpji2DbelJiNKtMvf8Y/s320/IMG_0098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx2LL5CcRziXklsnillrO7Fz2K9VXZdleMnEjW9_8ctKyZJKW2J0ThzHJ4GJ0iYLLTZ2iVqBzF-QoLmmCWXFUWKy6zewzRr5WBVrF6NQddl3y00OBldonZyyQHAH3YkKuAD2lIxAqcPY/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx2LL5CcRziXklsnillrO7Fz2K9VXZdleMnEjW9_8ctKyZJKW2J0ThzHJ4GJ0iYLLTZ2iVqBzF-QoLmmCWXFUWKy6zewzRr5WBVrF6NQddl3y00OBldonZyyQHAH3YkKuAD2lIxAqcPY/s320/IMG_0102.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW8eiLxYlyzirtGLlFuohlTTtLxFGltUKkSyIbYWmsZbdb1ls-bx3uzhIZJR0BCttDawigEnZiKEdYuU2HeJd6vhI7LU9W1fHWNTQpCmTz7ARYwSqlyjqoScEnaSi0F9goA05i2_gMhk/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW8eiLxYlyzirtGLlFuohlTTtLxFGltUKkSyIbYWmsZbdb1ls-bx3uzhIZJR0BCttDawigEnZiKEdYuU2HeJd6vhI7LU9W1fHWNTQpCmTz7ARYwSqlyjqoScEnaSi0F9goA05i2_gMhk/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of the bridge facing Nebraska</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Qzzb_ulB9xKEazmo1Clb50z-0JBULsNjxkCoApr3o4Z8y2FN_FFP0zIFU43WIq3ffGd9coVDEqzoueafAktjF8fUeC6vPmPfJ76ksJubpxSFKuH8xA-Anl0R2Nymnh0tiQ94XEC6-gY/s1600/IMG_0111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Qzzb_ulB9xKEazmo1Clb50z-0JBULsNjxkCoApr3o4Z8y2FN_FFP0zIFU43WIq3ffGd9coVDEqzoueafAktjF8fUeC6vPmPfJ76ksJubpxSFKuH8xA-Anl0R2Nymnh0tiQ94XEC6-gY/s320/IMG_0111.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discovery Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHepnjW2Ap8qJ0pU66SYNARlSLgq5Y5-OSvvuIx9SqS74KoTwZR-TisfN-nmaL00CiZaBVakxHzCPU64wucQ7vHToeKQfVcmlRnbRRyZLVtb97ipQtYxvVOd88Qo9P8tYKgIx7TpFKRh4/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHepnjW2Ap8qJ0pU66SYNARlSLgq5Y5-OSvvuIx9SqS74KoTwZR-TisfN-nmaL00CiZaBVakxHzCPU64wucQ7vHToeKQfVcmlRnbRRyZLVtb97ipQtYxvVOd88Qo9P8tYKgIx7TpFKRh4/s320/IMG_0113.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUvIFkYw4Z0T9bVkvgLdFjug-dbrX3QIU2Rq6kq0JXWpoMxTIOXFvEBciewyphdZ7QF6-DO68AGChtLA2IUaNPInoqk1VN57Cwgbkcqfn6XqmOL3E5qdnlFgxDybNuunWw6vAtFBVRXU/s1600/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUvIFkYw4Z0T9bVkvgLdFjug-dbrX3QIU2Rq6kq0JXWpoMxTIOXFvEBciewyphdZ7QF6-DO68AGChtLA2IUaNPInoqk1VN57Cwgbkcqfn6XqmOL3E5qdnlFgxDybNuunWw6vAtFBVRXU/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CBJShqgyUbUkP4-EiI2rbkfcUsjVP_NhKPT46I0RSXctxkpRTwI3dG3GjhoLxGFUL4uqYEpee6BKE8fiji6Wy8q3sJ6ekatAyYPE1mmnal8EdM-noLg3VKg4y83E9fwr_1Vcvyu-lNQ/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CBJShqgyUbUkP4-EiI2rbkfcUsjVP_NhKPT46I0RSXctxkpRTwI3dG3GjhoLxGFUL4uqYEpee6BKE8fiji6Wy8q3sJ6ekatAyYPE1mmnal8EdM-noLg3VKg4y83E9fwr_1Vcvyu-lNQ/s320/IMG_0118.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2492KNj4z7ihKpPjYUIRWz3XAX_ZDRf8LGHA5zxvOivaTjRmcmoHbN84b74x8oWLa5K7Juv-0EvC43_ybCUat7fLdqUVZnPyZR1jIyfBUWXMtgk__uEvlUkXHYcswCzNubUNMM8tfy7M/s1600/IMG_0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2492KNj4z7ihKpPjYUIRWz3XAX_ZDRf8LGHA5zxvOivaTjRmcmoHbN84b74x8oWLa5K7Juv-0EvC43_ybCUat7fLdqUVZnPyZR1jIyfBUWXMtgk__uEvlUkXHYcswCzNubUNMM8tfy7M/s320/IMG_0121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-76837806071198384412016-06-27T10:10:00.000-05:002016-06-27T10:10:01.055-05:00If You See Something, Say SomethingThis line was used at the wellness conference attended and it was never more relevant to me than it was yesterday as I drove to Sioux City.<br />
I had an open Sunday so I decided to visit some friends in Sioux City. I also had some Kohl's Cash and a need for some more shorts for myself and a rash guard for Cyver. Cyver and I rolled out of town around 11:45 with a bin of clothes an full water bottles. He was asleep shortly after we hit the road and I had some nice mellow tunes playing from my iPod. As we neared Meckling, I noticed a black compact car in my rear view mirror. As it got closer to me, I saw it travel over the yellow line a couple times. I also realized that it was soon going to be passing me which made me a little uneasy. The car passed me as I slowed down for the change of speed for Meckling and I felt relieved that it was past me. That only lasted a little while as I watched it weave across the opposite yellow line, across the dashed white line, drive down the center of the two lane road for sometimes 20 seconds at a time before weaving back into the other lane. Watching this kind of driving made my heart race. I told myself that I had to do something, but what was I supposed to do? I thought the police should be aware of this reckless driver but I obviously don't have the number for the Vermillion Police Department in my phone. Dialing 911 seemed extreme but, as I watched the car bounce and weave down the road, it seemed like more of an emergency with each passing second. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911 and told myself-if it happens one more time, I'm calling. It did. I repeated-just one more time. It happened again so I hit the green button my phone. I had no idea what to expect but a very kind operator answered and took all the info I could provide. They wanted the plate number but I explained that I didn't feel as if I could safely get close enough to read the plate (I tried and they were weaving too much that I worried they would wreck and I didn't want to be close to that). I continued on my route toward Vermillion constantly updating where I was as they dispatched an officer to the area. Passing through Vermillion I watched them continue to cross the lines even as traffic grew a but heavier. Finally, they turned off by Walmart which I told the operator. I then saw an officer headed in that direction and hung up with the operator as I had given them all the info that I had. In my head the thoughts of-please don't let them hit someone continued as I drove down the road.<br />
I have to say that I really didn't want to make that call. I could have easily just said-thank goodness they are by me, nothing more to worry about. I tried to tell myself that but it kept coming back-what if they hit someone else, and I could have stopped it with one phone call? How many other drivers saw her behavior and were just happy she didn't hit them? What if she caused an accident that killed someone? Those thoughts are why I called and they are the reason you should call too if you witness something similar. I think we are all guilty of crossing a line at one time or another but this was different and I knew it-you will too. PLEASE don't just let these people continue down the road where they might hit and hurt someone! Make a call-you won't regret it.<br />
About 20 minutes after I hung up, I received a call from the Vermillion Police Department. The very kind officer thanked me for calling and reporting the driver. He told me that he was able to locate the car and stop the woman. She had been on the road for over an hour and saw that she had several text messages so she decided to respond to them while traveling down the highway at over 70 miles per hour. She thought those messages were more important than my life, my son's life, her life, and the lives of all those she was sharing the road with. She more than deserves the $100 ticket she was issued. The officer did say that she was very upfront and honest about what she was doing. He said that he informed her that her driving behavior while she was texting was consistent with that of someone who was driving while intoxicated. He said she seemed pretty surprised by this. This should be no surprise to anyone. The info is out there, we see these accidents in the news. People need to stop thinking it won't happen to them.<br />
Put down your phone and drive to your destination safely. Want to read or respond to a text? PULL OVER. If you have other passengers in the car, have them read and respond to your messages for you. My husband and I do this all the time. I even have my 11 year old read and respond to messages for me. I also have students read and respond to messages while I am on trips for interp. There is NO message worth your life or mine. Period.<br />
I am a person that many people would refer to as a "carseat crazy" because I am passionate about keeping my kids safe while in the car. My 7 year old just graduated to a booster in November. My 3 year old is still rear facing. None of this is because I think I am a bad driver. I do it because there are people like this woman on the road EVERY DAY! Their first line cross or dramatic swerve might be right into your vehicle. I could not live with myself knowing that I could have done something to protect my kids and didn't even if the accident wasn't my fault. If you feel like you could be better informed about carseat safety there are plenty of resources available to you. Here are a couple of the best ones I know:<br />
<a href="http://csftl.org/" target="_blank">Carseats For the Littles</a><br />
<a href="http://thecarseatlady.com/" target="_blank">The Carseat Lady</a><br />
<br />
On a lighter note, Happy Monday:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_fxQu_vlQibaMZD3rOc6QuFAIUkZi3HtgRGaE-OKzc3HhCeNQXCIBhQ2W3aWs10TfTKAene70E4qIcLhpyHV43Zks_AvXzjqdzoC_MZ5LVXBZsDgnHfIhGRKVcx345yjCtZ6bhOhzAA/s1600/20160627_060228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_fxQu_vlQibaMZD3rOc6QuFAIUkZi3HtgRGaE-OKzc3HhCeNQXCIBhQ2W3aWs10TfTKAene70E4qIcLhpyHV43Zks_AvXzjqdzoC_MZ5LVXBZsDgnHfIhGRKVcx345yjCtZ6bhOhzAA/s320/20160627_060228.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbDwjILwQUAfTODJC1N3LyFobU76NxfeCrBc8g5C2TiF_lIkA6TZlyu8jJV99Ge2kexUtrrjZJ_hGEOpL6W1sa2Yufl7VwL3Syi45xtHPmKPg3-HX0OO7Jn5dMclj7sRG9rXzdmz0jVQ/s1600/20160627_055526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbDwjILwQUAfTODJC1N3LyFobU76NxfeCrBc8g5C2TiF_lIkA6TZlyu8jJV99Ge2kexUtrrjZJ_hGEOpL6W1sa2Yufl7VwL3Syi45xtHPmKPg3-HX0OO7Jn5dMclj7sRG9rXzdmz0jVQ/s320/20160627_055526.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlE8Zg6fD167dI6xMVN8DzHmcJJoelbDBd0pPE3_17YGRjMO0MI7RH0f6S6ByPU2FZvOMwQAer3GqVqR5LhuSmsvvQUyxmhNb_D2nndtyfmZU5PwRluAAqCySOe_EpZhAMlfGOo5hqa8/s1600/20160627_055522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlE8Zg6fD167dI6xMVN8DzHmcJJoelbDBd0pPE3_17YGRjMO0MI7RH0f6S6ByPU2FZvOMwQAer3GqVqR5LhuSmsvvQUyxmhNb_D2nndtyfmZU5PwRluAAqCySOe_EpZhAMlfGOo5hqa8/s320/20160627_055522.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv4vKXcXy6VO-HLwcxR4bDb93pygzUVxU3EYjBS6W3O5m-nFkfI91hCGv2ohbHjja9Tnwy1MDPi8usuXo8eqy2SPkYySPxgxs3inQFc3r5-UZACwBDB69SG_rMhhYHcmQVdEjlgVII7I/s1600/20160627_055013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv4vKXcXy6VO-HLwcxR4bDb93pygzUVxU3EYjBS6W3O5m-nFkfI91hCGv2ohbHjja9Tnwy1MDPi8usuXo8eqy2SPkYySPxgxs3inQFc3r5-UZACwBDB69SG_rMhhYHcmQVdEjlgVII7I/s320/20160627_055013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0iZBfnHPDyKsJVpiLght0g7gDHY5Z8_vYwNjdoI5QN654F_Ieq4-rAFC5mKAZh0qPTAkWiLruhTAGcWvrbpNQrYQdvku5_QJ29EaDHaZbk5PQ4xWGQoyjYdFDRBRgC-NrQagGja9fbM/s1600/20160627_054958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0iZBfnHPDyKsJVpiLght0g7gDHY5Z8_vYwNjdoI5QN654F_Ieq4-rAFC5mKAZh0qPTAkWiLruhTAGcWvrbpNQrYQdvku5_QJ29EaDHaZbk5PQ4xWGQoyjYdFDRBRgC-NrQagGja9fbM/s320/20160627_054958.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-65449335965111816072016-06-26T07:12:00.003-05:002016-06-26T07:12:41.226-05:00Super Sprinkler SundayI rode on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday this past week even though I haven't been blogging. I was completely exhausted on Monday from being in the heat all weekend working at the local swim meet. Consequently, I had major trouble getting my butt out of bed! I felt guilty for missing my morning ride, so I rode bikes with Camden in the evening to get him to baseball practice. For part of the time that he was practicing, I rode my bike around the park and on the streets around the park. It may not have been much (only 2.32 miles), but it was certainly better than nothing! I skipped the top of the bridge on Thursday and Friday because my knee was hurting, and climbing to the top deck of the bridge puts a lot of pressure on my knees. I skipped Saturday because I already had to get up at 5:30 to get everyone up and ready to go to a swim meet in South Sioux City. This morning the cool air was amazing; I'm so glad I didn't skip my ride! The only down side was that I was a bit of a slow mover and didn't get out the door until 5:45. As a result, I hit sprinkler city at the park. I ended up riding through 8 sprinklers! That doesn't count the ones that just showered my shoes. I was happy that my knee was feeling better so I figured that I could tackle the top of the bridge which I did with ease. I rode a total of 6.18 miles which is my longest ride so far. I continue to average right around 10 miles per hour. I snapped some pretty nice pics over the past week. Enjoy:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZhfVa8W8zXu6qT2j4UDMipFfEnJX02TqlccVrT0993c9PZnUvfD7t5qu1OHSFoT8ywEXQ_vGaWHtHlOEDXkTEgMUsfWJ-ieQ3WLGg2Vg0orn2Yb5Cdg-IKSedYXdBAlcrGhpfBfo3kw/s1600/20160621_054624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZhfVa8W8zXu6qT2j4UDMipFfEnJX02TqlccVrT0993c9PZnUvfD7t5qu1OHSFoT8ywEXQ_vGaWHtHlOEDXkTEgMUsfWJ-ieQ3WLGg2Vg0orn2Yb5Cdg-IKSedYXdBAlcrGhpfBfo3kw/s320/20160621_054624.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrwJ0dmMzruBel9hloKoNsDLEaIklNTBfr2WrxuNTE28sdTOVENlh9j9Xy6AwjRSPvZX5gtIAaJL7KJBTWlDh7_QtaHtGL2BvTiZmc8c2sDuYhAWIeGiECFxgJ9yOTncmN7fIlRSJWTg/s1600/20160626_060735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrwJ0dmMzruBel9hloKoNsDLEaIklNTBfr2WrxuNTE28sdTOVENlh9j9Xy6AwjRSPvZX5gtIAaJL7KJBTWlDh7_QtaHtGL2BvTiZmc8c2sDuYhAWIeGiECFxgJ9yOTncmN7fIlRSJWTg/s320/20160626_060735.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdD73MF1CuYDWp1V5ztHxYSiWH8tOp7kZVPVbbiJ0lubhbxrsFjvmhral4RVpN4uo3ENWqF62205S00Nfw7Y3zoCvQbHBuyD9fpCPpsamHjc49nFWTRiUGoVnpL8oA1tGBXLeXQ1AFHUE/s1600/20160626_055601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdD73MF1CuYDWp1V5ztHxYSiWH8tOp7kZVPVbbiJ0lubhbxrsFjvmhral4RVpN4uo3ENWqF62205S00Nfw7Y3zoCvQbHBuyD9fpCPpsamHjc49nFWTRiUGoVnpL8oA1tGBXLeXQ1AFHUE/s320/20160626_055601.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zktzqtW644tQGjbLt1C_jOhQAUlIJeM775ZS5PzFmarz4UP4mSAA8e8_pZXuJ3VLVsQCwRZWofLE4pRGJ1nh95AyuYTtyJaeuPK0vdOOvk-r1Boto5Dur6X3fYfOOwIFAP9nrrznoZc/s1600/20160621_054604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zktzqtW644tQGjbLt1C_jOhQAUlIJeM775ZS5PzFmarz4UP4mSAA8e8_pZXuJ3VLVsQCwRZWofLE4pRGJ1nh95AyuYTtyJaeuPK0vdOOvk-r1Boto5Dur6X3fYfOOwIFAP9nrrznoZc/s320/20160621_054604.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cGcggYajRPeSKu5odogfw_gcQTEPqSzM9sAvInH-gH713AcIf5yZbE8xwILJI7wR7u52HZf2OT2r2To-w9HvyWA-SZ_2X6mAV_uEML_135kdRI38XujPfq8ZmUh0GWV-XBNslNt3s6M/s1600/20160623_055010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cGcggYajRPeSKu5odogfw_gcQTEPqSzM9sAvInH-gH713AcIf5yZbE8xwILJI7wR7u52HZf2OT2r2To-w9HvyWA-SZ_2X6mAV_uEML_135kdRI38XujPfq8ZmUh0GWV-XBNslNt3s6M/s320/20160623_055010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKxbcmHUSB5lakj2aPRvt1tYG2r2zk6oDTe8lSTFLDOnZa24Awcf0LP1ycUEg2JLD_XId2bySWtwaNfLfO7knlWGw6ImP1lDdsqgl0EoQjKL2QsrjY7HVjP640fiB_gT9nI2-kIdi0qo/s1600/20160623_054339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKxbcmHUSB5lakj2aPRvt1tYG2r2zk6oDTe8lSTFLDOnZa24Awcf0LP1ycUEg2JLD_XId2bySWtwaNfLfO7knlWGw6ImP1lDdsqgl0EoQjKL2QsrjY7HVjP640fiB_gT9nI2-kIdi0qo/s320/20160623_054339.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_JaxaeHNSLFwXKoF-atHRURvXMdnnPifZKQ9YhGHJHi1dlMPgSJygWy1CHaRXqksMbgC2FazGxgIdCs6tAWYwkxSBVvKxoxnqOQ9AmQXKP3eFockQY5EeTm6891m9ziu1fyofNnpzWw/s1600/20160624_055726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_JaxaeHNSLFwXKoF-atHRURvXMdnnPifZKQ9YhGHJHi1dlMPgSJygWy1CHaRXqksMbgC2FazGxgIdCs6tAWYwkxSBVvKxoxnqOQ9AmQXKP3eFockQY5EeTm6891m9ziu1fyofNnpzWw/s320/20160624_055726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZtqFMQ1hM7c_Wy_OX1qb_Kdn119WuFElRYsDvYtgYIpcxzWqWam2FR9WDVH1SGXOMSXuMN2f6QVmgV02bmro4XTxGepTCf5TsfaSjWiXZTxC0NcaKr1WLRHy4dsgVa7vL5nIjhDnA04/s1600/20160624_060154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZtqFMQ1hM7c_Wy_OX1qb_Kdn119WuFElRYsDvYtgYIpcxzWqWam2FR9WDVH1SGXOMSXuMN2f6QVmgV02bmro4XTxGepTCf5TsfaSjWiXZTxC0NcaKr1WLRHy4dsgVa7vL5nIjhDnA04/s320/20160624_060154.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6BKIAM6ZRrWFU3RlAocszWQuNduheORRsax_MPkNWa4mC7VgAoDIcmExJXoldf3plbR6AOMWmPvR1mIqCS8PEr30JcTTYTLF_klf0HAryWuitorohob1v5WDFOPkPQcyTsnJ2c0yrg8/s1600/20160621_055519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6BKIAM6ZRrWFU3RlAocszWQuNduheORRsax_MPkNWa4mC7VgAoDIcmExJXoldf3plbR6AOMWmPvR1mIqCS8PEr30JcTTYTLF_klf0HAryWuitorohob1v5WDFOPkPQcyTsnJ2c0yrg8/s640/20160621_055519.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like to call this one "Moon Over the Meridian"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrF3rZlExzC9uPRLDDt1lcq2UcCS1ZnbjumB7SyX9qbvcpQ3Ko80sEWiXOmPfIKAL5zUyFtuYv_xr3FRJ93jqzTtuYbzggGAGVuJL5o7c5XOTe1CJueNqJkKNQZAq5CRedQwS5eE9Blk/s1600/20160621_055106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrF3rZlExzC9uPRLDDt1lcq2UcCS1ZnbjumB7SyX9qbvcpQ3Ko80sEWiXOmPfIKAL5zUyFtuYv_xr3FRJ93jqzTtuYbzggGAGVuJL5o7c5XOTe1CJueNqJkKNQZAq5CRedQwS5eE9Blk/s320/20160621_055106.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
While this has nothing to do with fitness, I am super excited to be getting a new camera on Monday! We ordered the Canon 70D which should be the last camera we need to buy. I am so excited to get it and play around with taking some shots on my bike rides. I will just have to make sure I go early enough that the sprinklers aren't on ;) I am excited to see what types of pictures I can get with something other than my phone!Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-39704597008372618692016-06-16T07:25:00.000-05:002016-06-16T07:25:44.002-05:00Adopting a Healthy ViewI had a lovely ride this morning (other than getting doused by several sprinklers). My ride was just over 5 1/2 miles long, and I completed it in about the same amount of time as yesterday's ride. It was nice and cool and the sunrise was beautiful.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_stmkglXSTYeIb_EtkAAXlaPmQjrg8OdtjvVH5sDvXRueXveCHgxz2kB_r84AiR59uZNNulQXKYcTgjI-RoDdWLofgHOo3A0Y583Qpkm3wHcxHXvnOw2enhqzk_dnrf7wS0rlA5NZqaM/s1600/20160616_055130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_stmkglXSTYeIb_EtkAAXlaPmQjrg8OdtjvVH5sDvXRueXveCHgxz2kB_r84AiR59uZNNulQXKYcTgjI-RoDdWLofgHOo3A0Y583Qpkm3wHcxHXvnOw2enhqzk_dnrf7wS0rlA5NZqaM/s400/20160616_055130.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxBQNXQb45hrsCdULAItvDZVYWZ-fGXBZoT1utP3cBgHb6_34hi2KfltVrszLHmwIFwPVku5hs8idprx92MLygsbJ789Uxe13u96omBYRegXHWrQNwH22ng4wfzuCJgbzhpj6u6exx3o/s1600/20160616_055756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxBQNXQb45hrsCdULAItvDZVYWZ-fGXBZoT1utP3cBgHb6_34hi2KfltVrszLHmwIFwPVku5hs8idprx92MLygsbJ789Uxe13u96omBYRegXHWrQNwH22ng4wfzuCJgbzhpj6u6exx3o/s400/20160616_055756.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Today I figured I would write a little about something that a lot of people notice about me but few people understand. If you know me, you know I am not miss fashionista. In fact, I am very far from it. Do I like to dress up on occasion? Sure. Do I do it on a daily basis? Nope! I was thinking about this the other day and kind of contemplating why I have never cared much about appearances. I really think it is connected to three things: 1. I have always been a bit of a tomboy, 2. I grew up around someone who dressed up primarily to attract men's attention, 3. I am comfortable in my own skin.<br />
<br />
Tomboyish Ways<br />
I grew up fighting against dressing up with kicks and screams. I wanted my overalls and T-shirts. Period. As a kid growing up on a small farm, I loved getting dirty-I lived for it. Sliding down ivy covered hills, wading through the creek, chasing animals, climbing trees-all of these things were much better in jeans than in a dress. I was the last girl my age interested in shaving my legs or putting on makeup. I only did both of these things because other girls pointed them out to me-not because I felt like I really needed to. Now, I am a momma to three crazy boys, and it is a dirty job! I do love a good comfy dress, but Cyver also likes to wipe his messy face on me or pull on dresses to climb into my lap. T-shirts and jeans just hold up to the abuse of three boys better! I was born to be a boy mom.<br />
<br />
Seeing What It Gets<br />
I grew up with a negative parental influence. I didn't have a motherly mother. I think that has a lot to do with my attitude toward most things "girly." It's something about my life that I cannot change. It is certainly something that changed me. I sat by and watched day after day of make up and "dressing up," and I saw who it brought in the door. I never wanted that for myself. I feel like that influence is always in the back of my mind. Dressing up everyday feels fake to me. Does that mean I think everyone who dresses up is fake? Heck no! There are tons of people who love to dress up and fix their makeup and hair daily. It makes them happy and makes them feel good. Who am I to judge them for that? What I am saying is that it feels fake for me. My looks and my clothes are not who I am. They are just the things that people immediately see when they look at me. Is it fun to get gussied up to go out with my husband or have a night out with my friends? Sure-but my goal in life is not to attract the attention of others. I do my best to look professional for my job, and that's enough for me. <br />
<br />
Happy Being Me<br />
I feel as if I am a very content person. I also possess a decent amount of self-confidence. Both of these things helped my avoid possible negative body image issues growing up. I tend to believe the good things that people say to me and ignore the mean/rude/demeaning. When I was called fat as a teenager (who weighed 98 pounds at the same height that I currently am), I simply ignored the message. I knew I wasn't fat-I was confident about that fact (truth be told I was underweight from lack of available food). I also felt no desire to "prove" that I wasn't fat by wearing skimpy clothes that showed off my figure. What did it really matter to me if someone else thought I was fat? The answer was that it did not matter to me. Their idea of who I was simply wasn't who I knew I was, so I didn't listen to it. Currently, while I am not content with being overweight, I am content with the actions that I am taking to lose the weight. I am content with my progress. I don't feel the need to start taking some pill, to buy a bunch of fake food, to start some extreme fitness routine that makes me want to die, or to slather "all natural" products on my body and saran wrap myself. I'm good-I've got this healthier eating choices and more exercise plan that works just fine. It takes time and that's ok. I didn't gain the weight in a day, I shouldn't expect it to fall off that quickly. I don't need gimmicks, I need self-confidence. <br />
I guess in my mind there are so many other things that are important to me and there just isn't room for fashion on that list. I like comfort and functionality-If I can affordably find those things in a fashionable outfit-great! If not-all well-I opt for comfort. I relish summer when I can wear sports bras, shorts, and t-shirts daily. These are the clothes that I feel most comfortable in and do not hesitate to be active in. Let's face it, if I really want to get fit, I need to be in the clothes that I feel comfortable going for an impromptu walk or bike ride with the kids. Things I am much less likely to do if it requires an outfit change.<br />
One of the best things I have going for me is a healthy attitude. This is something that a lot of people seem to be lacking. I don't look in the mirror and shame myself-I don't tell myself that I am fat or disgusting. I tell myself that I gave birth to three awesome little boys and I have some work to do but that work does not make me less of a person. It doesn't mean that I have to hate myself or my body. How my body looks does not define who I am. Our bodies are like fingerprints-no two are exactly alike. This isn't something we should put each other down for. We should embrace the diversity. Be ok with who you are, with your body, with what you wear. If you aren't ok with yourself you are more likely to treat others poorly. If shaming other people for their weight is something that makes you feel better about yourself, you need to take a step back and ask yourself why. There are things that ALL of us need to do better. Who are you to judge someone else for their weight just because the thing they need to work on happens to be visible to the whole world? We need to love and support one another. We need to be confident in ourselves. We need to embrace the diversity of our world. We need to think positively and know that we can make the changes in our life that need to be made.<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-59296579687135572812016-06-15T08:25:00.000-05:002016-06-15T08:25:00.040-05:00Rumbling Monday and App-y WednesdayI was able to go for my ride on Monday, but I was unable to blog because I had to get ready for my second class of the summer. After a very lazy weekend, it was nice to get on the bike. I was worried that predicted storms would prevent me from going, but I awoke to lightning far off in the distance. It was sprinkling lightly and a check of the radar showed there wasn't much more headed my way in the near future. I enjoyed the cooler temperatures compared to my last ride on Friday. I was also able to get some pretty amazing photographs of the storm front that moved through before my ride.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ4B3u8W7js1XHyYWfLBl6ncxEQNFU3Ty6Av89lOXmBxQgXey8KaGg9Zf18lvMCeCgqNCmzirhLnSG0303S7N-MJCe1zV7lorNrjyKV-2SgZe4-QLsVHr95jnkdXG6nqZ3wJNmeWIS2k/s1600/20160613_055114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ4B3u8W7js1XHyYWfLBl6ncxEQNFU3Ty6Av89lOXmBxQgXey8KaGg9Zf18lvMCeCgqNCmzirhLnSG0303S7N-MJCe1zV7lorNrjyKV-2SgZe4-QLsVHr95jnkdXG6nqZ3wJNmeWIS2k/s320/20160613_055114.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKVUUEOaO5gDw6ClvLbdPh3ZmN2U9Xvd516utt4oOGdddc4_5SkfB8ZGzfNZ9svgAj084tM3OnAWC84gLlsTo9OhSCFFApqSIF78bvZTinnA0ZT9NfzgLw8FKnHhpPpsRlp9az8gOMig/s1600/20160613_055519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKVUUEOaO5gDw6ClvLbdPh3ZmN2U9Xvd516utt4oOGdddc4_5SkfB8ZGzfNZ9svgAj084tM3OnAWC84gLlsTo9OhSCFFApqSIF78bvZTinnA0ZT9NfzgLw8FKnHhpPpsRlp9az8gOMig/s320/20160613_055519.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VWQgHNfynyWShrOehTXR9zTkOSr0knBcDjXew57N7IXrY9ADQ1JScG-tcSrZHKXG3LWyIMtMbhzg0ePKl3EE9QcZlY3K878zL2qQswusOQ3XKrh-702oH5lmZfgZUOrIEbqEHggF8RY/s1600/20160613_060506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VWQgHNfynyWShrOehTXR9zTkOSr0knBcDjXew57N7IXrY9ADQ1JScG-tcSrZHKXG3LWyIMtMbhzg0ePKl3EE9QcZlY3K878zL2qQswusOQ3XKrh-702oH5lmZfgZUOrIEbqEHggF8RY/s320/20160613_060506.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx7sUs1hto5JKxGlmbyckMcFsb006x_RomGGwpv2Qt4XNL7-XmOGgWIy_QwvqJDWyI3ntCxwi-cTCmK-o0yq5V8DOT8maTwlYWhUlh2NvGq60oep2gA54WDfy5itVNah5DLypdzuIzOg/s1600/20160613_060514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx7sUs1hto5JKxGlmbyckMcFsb006x_RomGGwpv2Qt4XNL7-XmOGgWIy_QwvqJDWyI3ntCxwi-cTCmK-o0yq5V8DOT8maTwlYWhUlh2NvGq60oep2gA54WDfy5itVNah5DLypdzuIzOg/s320/20160613_060514.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1J-HXC9Cj53oRwynXj2QxBB5bpq-DRufHIibxbpYgvMIqbmlBgMVZluSs8dZ-Ccpo0_3GTpIQT0zNywsG_7ohhHBhCaQkcD1ronxUIpDHRJSxj0rbM-3xJSEBlAx5PcNlH_GuN6lZmw/s1600/20160613_061503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1J-HXC9Cj53oRwynXj2QxBB5bpq-DRufHIibxbpYgvMIqbmlBgMVZluSs8dZ-Ccpo0_3GTpIQT0zNywsG_7ohhHBhCaQkcD1ronxUIpDHRJSxj0rbM-3xJSEBlAx5PcNlH_GuN6lZmw/s320/20160613_061503.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After a lazy weekend, the top of that bridge was a tough one! I didn't want to do it but I knew that I could if I just pushed myself a little harder.<br />
I didn't end up riding my bike on Tuesday, and I realized that it contributed to me feeling more stressed and overwhelmed by the day ahead. My early morning rides really do relax me (which sounds strange because I am working out LOL), and they give me a chance to have some quiet time for myself. This is even more important on days when I am lucky if I spend more than a couple of my awake hours at home. Monday and Tuesday were both very similar in terms of how much time I got to spend at home and how much running around I had to do, but Monday was much less stressful for me because I got to go for my morning ride. If I run into a morning where my bed feels just too comfortable to leave, I am going to try to remember that!<br />
All this time I have simply been estimating the total distance of my ride. My husband has a little computer on his bike that tells him his speed and distance. I did not get this same computer for my bike so I just figured-it's six blocks from my house to the trail-take that times two and that is about one mile. I know the total distance across the top and bottom of the bridge is one mile and everything in between I figured to be about three miles total. On Monday I had a wonderful thought...I bet there is an app for that! I always take my phone with me on my ride for snapping pictures, so why not use it to record my distance? After my ride on Monday, I sat down and browsed the Google Play store. I found an app called <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/" target="_blank">MapMyRide</a>. I installed it and tried it out this morning (a few blocks into my ride because I forgot about it!). It uses GPS to track my distance and it records the total time of my ride and uses these two pieces of information to calculate an average speed. The speed calculations don't take my stops to take pictures into consideration, but it could if I just paused it while I took photos (I just don't care enough to take the time to do it). I will run the app again tomorrow morning so I can get a completely accurate distance BUT I am happy to say that I am pretty good at estimating because my ride this morning was about 5 1/4 miles long.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzh8uswlmTlSASW97tIV7dKXDqQ56u3JNbpT7NLDd4MbpY1GD0GC6nCsrVO5VMBUMFNcoGc-LzYwvpIwybxD98DprO_Ir_KKuX-7zK1d4Z2ZETvuAy_ENf8SD9b9C8HdtLflvf4NLTaDc/s1600/2016-06-15+07.59.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzh8uswlmTlSASW97tIV7dKXDqQ56u3JNbpT7NLDd4MbpY1GD0GC6nCsrVO5VMBUMFNcoGc-LzYwvpIwybxD98DprO_Ir_KKuX-7zK1d4Z2ZETvuAy_ENf8SD9b9C8HdtLflvf4NLTaDc/s400/2016-06-15+07.59.08.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5NBeoqsxxzxhkjSvADtpyGk_bAcqDK3fo7ssa1Fao3MhppkcBQLKUvXbcLZNiW3CpZrMT2mGcbqIscrpkmMX9nrT4xrke_ljL35IoL7CUll4w-0UIqI9u6plPdzDJcInn93ZVjUCFUM/s1600/Screenshot_2016-06-15-06-19-51.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
I am really happy with the app-it audibly updates me every mile-telling me the distance I am at and what my average speed is. When I am done, it gives me this little screen with a summary of my ride. This did make me laugh a bit...anyone want to guess what mile I hit my challenging ride to the top of the bridge? All in all, it was a nice morning ride with another beautiful sunrise :o)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wUWUeUJw7S-0NU0quNf866KYos9glO0gMiX4BAi_1XeiV4ufmwWLeh7uqrdU3TmT5MD0R7rguFBCMkEz8-QqW95hFjBspMaG6RJMOxAU009HMuzyWxOW5xZe5xtDMfH9ZzfNuhlgoaY/s1600/20160615_055430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wUWUeUJw7S-0NU0quNf866KYos9glO0gMiX4BAi_1XeiV4ufmwWLeh7uqrdU3TmT5MD0R7rguFBCMkEz8-QqW95hFjBspMaG6RJMOxAU009HMuzyWxOW5xZe5xtDMfH9ZzfNuhlgoaY/s400/20160615_055430.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-80511802164484624782016-06-10T09:59:00.000-05:002016-06-10T09:59:09.957-05:00Self-Confident FridayThe past couple of days have been very busy! I attended the Yankton Area Mental Wellness Conference at Mount Marty on Wednesday and Thursday, and my husband was out of town for work. Because it was just me and the littles (Cohan is working with Grandpa), I had to skip my ride yesterday morning. I was right back at it this morning-although I was a bit slow to get going because I didn't set my stuff out before I went to bed last night!<br />
A big difference from my prior two rides to today-heat! Both Tuesday and Wednesday were nice and cool-I wore sweatpants and a hoodie-today was 80 degrees when I set out to hit the trail at 5:40! This prompted a quick change of clothes before I headed out the door. Thankfully, once the breeze hit my face, I didn't think about the temperature for the rest of the ride.<br />
One of the lovely parts of my early ride that I had forgotten about was waiting for me when I got to the park this morning:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYr61XVFf6GaysFzoGuqQxjZ0jmJvNQwEkn_MJhC-w4t2F_-uBAuBDPx9n1lg_pGfmFin8UWU8Z_GeSNH1EYKqc-aBBGJ2TnIejUp2AS7utXTGaWB6hqdB47Y0Da5WcNs7C_8PP6DLH0/s1600/20160610_061002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYr61XVFf6GaysFzoGuqQxjZ0jmJvNQwEkn_MJhC-w4t2F_-uBAuBDPx9n1lg_pGfmFin8UWU8Z_GeSNH1EYKqc-aBBGJ2TnIejUp2AS7utXTGaWB6hqdB47Y0Da5WcNs7C_8PP6DLH0/s400/20160610_061002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I don't think I would have minded the sprinklers except for the fact that I had my phone and I would prefer not to get it wet-my old bike had a zippered bag on the front so it was a bit more protected than it is in my basket.<br />
When I started my ride this morning, I was tired and it was 80 degrees so I gave myself permission to only ride on the lower part of the bridge (I did the same thing on Wednesday). I think I once said this in an earlier post, but I am going to say it again-always give yourself permission to shorten the END of your workout but not the beginning. If I cut or shorten the beginning of my ride, I can't go back in time and change my mind, but, if I tell myself I can shorten the END of my ride, I give myself time to change my mind. I was SURE I was going to cut the end of my ride short this morning until I crossed the bottom of the bridge. I convinced myself that I still had plenty in my tank and I could push myself to get up that long hill to get to the top. Actually, I did one better-I stopped half way up that slope to snap a picture that I wanted to take Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days I told myself that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to make it all the way up the slope. Today, I told myself that I could do it, and I did. This shot was totally worth the extra burn in my legs that it took for me to get going again:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnqB0k7xxcgBzSBtbZYARBibzeNe_Lb4pwvuoHgsTf8TKD4E7oTB6Bde5KczLqYkygH8ntcQ-2Q8ZFaC_zRskxO8OxmNnyyIS71BKKWJnQxxTBoHxGHUYw1zYuhJGlXmO9LoEX4_KpbA/s1600/20160610_060237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnqB0k7xxcgBzSBtbZYARBibzeNe_Lb4pwvuoHgsTf8TKD4E7oTB6Bde5KczLqYkygH8ntcQ-2Q8ZFaC_zRskxO8OxmNnyyIS71BKKWJnQxxTBoHxGHUYw1zYuhJGlXmO9LoEX4_KpbA/s400/20160610_060237.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love the contrast of the dead tree silhouettes with the leafy living ones. I'm glad I finally stopped and got the shot. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have also been working on eating better and snacking less. I took some tomatoes and pea pods as snacks to the conference so I wouldn't eat as much junk. I did better on Wednesday than on Thursday but one day of better eating is better than no days. I'm just really trying to make myself more aware of what I am eating and how much. Small changes can gradually lead to big results!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Some other pics from my morning ride:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28ZyOsuj7xAlZSpw-_cpuOJUqPFP4U2q_doj3sdIgLunP-zp2esThm8nbXkiKkKTbJHSA_gsY4V2YkRKCBzSASeDdNsG7t_VOBBvx_0-QkqEwRIhDqL6uAqJKWK92lSy8SIY4sz6jZIY/s1600/20160610_055854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28ZyOsuj7xAlZSpw-_cpuOJUqPFP4U2q_doj3sdIgLunP-zp2esThm8nbXkiKkKTbJHSA_gsY4V2YkRKCBzSASeDdNsG7t_VOBBvx_0-QkqEwRIhDqL6uAqJKWK92lSy8SIY4sz6jZIY/s320/20160610_055854.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFvJzm5BPzf8jv-e60rOWy2PRf1N1Mlr19Xu80DWp64hV2_nAUZUN2sEoMYaApoEgFcSlsOaYUOrufVpS2ZbdNlQlzWo7iZaeV4OptamLHKiu2zIXf59v3qy2AU-wGq_C1X-gFoUaEKU/s1600/20160610_055846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFvJzm5BPzf8jv-e60rOWy2PRf1N1Mlr19Xu80DWp64hV2_nAUZUN2sEoMYaApoEgFcSlsOaYUOrufVpS2ZbdNlQlzWo7iZaeV4OptamLHKiu2zIXf59v3qy2AU-wGq_C1X-gFoUaEKU/s320/20160610_055846.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Camden had his first outdoor <a href="https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?team=sdsyst" target="_blank">swim </a>practice this morning so I took it as an opportunity to get another work out in. His practice was only supposed to be 45 minutes long and that seemed like a silly amount of time to drive home and come back. I took my water bottle and walked roughly 2 1/4 miles. Add that to my approximately 5 mile bike ride and I'd say my day is off to a very nice start! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-55620428253593011092016-06-07T08:09:00.000-05:002016-06-07T08:09:48.544-05:00Pedal PowerI have really missed my summer morning bike rides so <strike>yesterday</strike> (darn clock radio's quiet static) today was the day to start. As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and got the bike out of the garage, I felt a little bit sluggish like-was I really ready for this? As I edged closer to my favorite trail, I remembered why I love my morning rides but I am getting a bit ahead of myself...let me back up a bit...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m7DKiY70wJz3Zghn3QpMJi75Ff8Shm44ZtN0KsDkQQkMNUhzN3KDbl8SliWPKLEpDXGW5iATQU4272psHPUKfvk96A3mPKbrAykzmoEIExpqnnXpfz8I_wTYxgyj49crDFjfj1YfTlc/s1600/20160514_143019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m7DKiY70wJz3Zghn3QpMJi75Ff8Shm44ZtN0KsDkQQkMNUhzN3KDbl8SliWPKLEpDXGW5iATQU4272psHPUKfvk96A3mPKbrAykzmoEIExpqnnXpfz8I_wTYxgyj49crDFjfj1YfTlc/s640/20160514_143019.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful new bike!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On May 14th my husband and I got new bikes. Because we moved into a new house with much more space inside and out, we now have a secure place to keep our bikes out of the elements. We made the trip to Ace and test rode several bikes. This was the first bike I took out for a spin (they put it together just for me after we visited the day before just to ask some questions and peek at the different models). I tried several different ones and, while they were all better than my old bike, I could not get over how incredibly comfortable this one is! It is an <a href="http://www.electrabike.com/bikes/townie?field_markets=am&field_pricing=1" target="_blank">Electra Townie,</a> and it even has front and back lights powered by the turning of the wheels. It has a nice big seat for maximum comfort, and I can ride in a nice upright position which I like a lot more than the traditional leaning forward position. Plus, the color is AWESOME and totally me! I got a nice big basket for the front which has made it easy for us to bike downtown for date nights or for me to ride it to parties and other events. This is an investment that I won't regret.<br />
Back to my ride this morning...<br />
The air was perfectly crisp and cool. Everything was calm and quiet-I love 5:30 am! I am a morning person. so this is my time. No kids, <strike>no distractions</strike> animal distractions, and the trail beneath my tires. It really is pure bliss. I rode down to Riverside Park and across the Meridian Bridge (bottom and top). I didn't feel exhausted; I felt energized. It is fun to see all the differences in the trail and the bridge as they make improvements I no longer dread the hills on the trail; I push myself through the challenge. This bike has helped make exercising easier and more enjoyable which makes it worth every penny. I can't wait to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.<br />
Here are some snapshots from my morning ride:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv7_pCAjLGS91KMjgr0pps0XJuFMJzEfNbOTxE29Tbq4lbiEuVOCmq_QJjGPgBZzwlhyshD36IGzigM6lsUPMJ6_1lGHo6Xsn7rMR5xwmS6aZR4iP6X-sn0VyjokBEuBhWiR7Ul3s1zY/s1600/20160607_054620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv7_pCAjLGS91KMjgr0pps0XJuFMJzEfNbOTxE29Tbq4lbiEuVOCmq_QJjGPgBZzwlhyshD36IGzigM6lsUPMJ6_1lGHo6Xsn7rMR5xwmS6aZR4iP6X-sn0VyjokBEuBhWiR7Ul3s1zY/s320/20160607_054620.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure what this cute little dude is (muskrat maybe?) but I stopped to watch him for a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uZ__THcbje_VfQzJj6WbvWq-cF_dJGSIgfIDYAvuaPicYL9a0n5Avpq6uKFy5oUSHPznvteGFfMhKvre990p2vxZfW25b5ufVKY-EHaHJemnCa1BquO79_b0ZNY3B648zpduuW1Dp4Q/s1600/20160607_054637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uZ__THcbje_VfQzJj6WbvWq-cF_dJGSIgfIDYAvuaPicYL9a0n5Avpq6uKFy5oUSHPznvteGFfMhKvre990p2vxZfW25b5ufVKY-EHaHJemnCa1BquO79_b0ZNY3B648zpduuW1Dp4Q/s320/20160607_054637.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He took his branch into this little hidey-hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwIrOK9AdRkFNnUnUiDS7vSaWtxvSXfSQNeYawNL6rTsCK56AkDS9cPXMR9RRYCEPSNGwYeucmeGws_M_h-gZ_U1DT2NXInnuVr41UsKnC439QNMlNw5ItUCE8Llqgu0IZDve0WSU7Sk/s1600/20160607_055558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwIrOK9AdRkFNnUnUiDS7vSaWtxvSXfSQNeYawNL6rTsCK56AkDS9cPXMR9RRYCEPSNGwYeucmeGws_M_h-gZ_U1DT2NXInnuVr41UsKnC439QNMlNw5ItUCE8Llqgu0IZDve0WSU7Sk/s320/20160607_055558.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise from the bottom of the bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcGMY91HbLFDJcPBEGFF7Bu8KQNRD25v3GYpgSPYRyirCpDM4TdrR16_6_Kwe1Nbkg3k-lY4B4VcFJcgWMT0eEK3Q84FjuL_RyYIXLrshiV1M9dQQhyphenhyphenhILhkEcnb50xcSJGhkdoEvMIw/s1600/20160607_060115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcGMY91HbLFDJcPBEGFF7Bu8KQNRD25v3GYpgSPYRyirCpDM4TdrR16_6_Kwe1Nbkg3k-lY4B4VcFJcgWMT0eEK3Q84FjuL_RyYIXLrshiV1M9dQQhyphenhyphenhILhkEcnb50xcSJGhkdoEvMIw/s320/20160607_060115.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise from the top of the bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-64273114954466234722016-04-13T16:11:00.000-05:002016-04-14T23:35:26.328-05:00Finding Your Self-Worth Outside the Roles You Have AssumedWe all do it. We schedule ourselves into a cave where we feel as if we can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we attach our sense of self to the titles and roles that we fill: Mom, Coach, Caregiver, Wife, President, Secretary, Treasurer, Committee Member etc. We can all attach a plethora of titles and roles to our lives. Some of these roles are more important to us than others and this generally shows through the decisions we make concerning what we are willing to make time for within our schedules.<br />
<br />
One thing I want to say before really getting started: This post is not meant to diminish your role in your family or in the lives of others, it is more of a reminder that those are not the <i>only </i>things that you are. You are more.<br />
<br />
Here's the thing...before you were mom, wife, whatever...you were YOU. Even if you were "finding yourself," you were still yourself. At what point in our lives do we decide that who we are is second, third, forth, fifth...twenty-seventh to the roles we have assumed over the years? Is it when we marry? Is it when we start a career? Is it when we have children? I really don't know but I will say that I see too many moms that that seem to have forgotten their self-worth along the road of life. We put ourselves last-after all the things that we already do not even have time for. I'm not saying that we should always put ourselves first either but rather that we need to put ourselves first occasionally to have balance in our lives.<br />
<br />
Here's the thing people, we all doubt ourselves in our roles as moms, daughters, wives etc. but yet we seem to forget to doubt if we are being who God made us to be. Did God want you to be a wife? mother? coach? Sure, you bet-we should all strive to serve others at some point in our lives; just don't forget to serve yourself, or you will have nothing left to share with others. We don't buy a car and drive it for months on end without filling the tank and yet we do that to ourselves constantly. <br />
<br />
Think you need to be a better wife/mom/etc? Try doing something for yourself <i>without feeling guilty about it</i>. Give yourself some time to read, go to a movie, make it a habit to have time to yourself at least once a week or once every two weeks. The truth is, if we value the importance of something, we make time for it. It's that simple. If you don't place value on having time to be you, you simply won't make time for it. If you never make time for yourself so that you can grow into the person that God made you, you are doing yourself, those around you, and the world a huge disservice. In contrast, if you do make time for yourself, you are setting a positive example for your children (not abandoning them); they need to see that carving out time for one's self is an important aspect of our lives.<br />
<br />
We like to lie to ourselves to convince ourselves that it's okay to continue to put ourselves last. We tell ourselves-<i>some day when the kids are older-some day when the kids graduate-some day when the kids have families of their own</i>-but if we always say <i>some day</i>, it will never come. We lie and tell ourselves that we will have more time but the truth is our days are numbered. Not one single person knows the number of days they have, and some people would try to make this a point against the point I am trying to make. The truth is, if you are on your deathbed in a hospital and you know it's the end, you are going to want to feel some satisfaction in the life that you lived-that you lived it serving others but also serving yourself-being the person that God made you. The last thing anyone wants is to spend all their final moments on earth running through all the things they would have done differently because the truth is-at that point-it's too late for that. <br />
<br />
I am not saying that you are a terrible mother or wife because you spend all of you time serving your family; I am saying that you can better serve you family by building yourself up. Being a mom is damn hard. It can make you question and second guess yourself at every turn. Some days it tears you down; other days it lifts you up. You need something in your life that can ease the stress of those tough times. You need something that can steady the rough seas of life because we don't know how rough the waters can get until we are in the thick of it.<br />
<br />
What a lot of this comes down to is how would you recover from a devastating loss? The loss of a husband or the loss of a child? I won't pretend that I know how to grieve through one of these losses because I haven't, and my heart truly goes out to all those that have. What I will say is this: If you spent every moment in your life simply filling a role, what happens when you no longer have to fill it in the same way? Does your world crumble and fall apart? With every tragic loss we experience, a piece of us goes with it, but we must have something left after the dust settles. Too many people experience something devastating and never recover, some of these people take their own lives, some take the lives of others, and some live as a shell of who they thought they were. Be you, know you, have self-worth holding you up when everything else is pulling you down. Know that you are important outside of the roles that you regularly use to define yourself.<br />
<br />
I won't pretend that I discovered all of this on my own. I actually learned a lot of it through my extensive nonfiction reading over the past nine years-not "self help books"-but rather the stories of people who lived their lives and learned something along the way. As I have spent the past several years reading their stories and trying to apply much of what I learned to my own life, I have found a lot of happiness.<br />
<br />
I don't share this post with you because I'm dying (although technically-we all are) or anything like that. I share these thoughts with you because I am a person living happily as a mom, wife, teacher and, most importantly, myself. Be awesome, be you, you won't regret it.<br />
<br />
(Just a note, while this post largely addresses moms/wives/women, this is for everyone. Just pretend it says "Dad" or "Husband" ;) )Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-87977024207522542542016-04-12T23:54:00.002-05:002016-04-12T23:54:45.910-05:00Blog Revival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpRY4Ewc2z5yL-E2V-c1tDT-w34WA8kPc3KZqSHXHi_6-4r-QBaIbxg13KNz2esRk1X2PQ6mcjWPZY2vf0JpYwvubCnPimrB1rnnCoQ1JlWgWYn0oyLeL6uLHhlN9fevomLZF4OU5c-Q/s1600/back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpRY4Ewc2z5yL-E2V-c1tDT-w34WA8kPc3KZqSHXHi_6-4r-QBaIbxg13KNz2esRk1X2PQ6mcjWPZY2vf0JpYwvubCnPimrB1rnnCoQ1JlWgWYn0oyLeL6uLHhlN9fevomLZF4OU5c-Q/s320/back.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />I think it's about time I bring this thing back to life. Summer is right around the corner. YankTON helped me get started toward weight loss and fitness. I have recovered from my foot surgery a little less than a year ago. <br />
I am ready to write about it all.<br />
I am ready to get fit.<br />
I am also ready to continue infusing some of the mental health posts that are some of my most recent posts, and I hope that at least a couple people are ready to read some of my rambling words. :)<br />
I have kept a spreadsheet where I randomly added to a list of things that I wanted to write about so I'm ready!<br />
Stay tuned for a long (but important) post later this week!<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-11434625272170138262015-10-08T23:20:00.000-05:002015-10-08T23:20:05.611-05:00The day I had to explain suicide to my 10 year oldAs a parent there are plenty of conversations you expect to have with your children. You plan to talk to them about happy things: family, friends, coloring, riding bikes, books, movies, TV shows, food, sports, games...general silliness.<br />
And then there are things that you wish your children never knew about. There are school shootings and car accidents and cancer and suicide.<br />
I had struggled through the day hoping to give a sense of normalcy to my students, hoping that is what they need. It was a quiet day. I could feel a sense of pain below the surface in my classes but they made it through the day; I made it through the day. I kept my composure, more than once I thought about the <a href="http://thefitnessfailure.blogspot.com/2015/07/tattoos-mental-fitness.html" target="_blank">post </a>I wrote over the summer. I thought about that tattoo I want for my birthday. I thought about the fact that someone chose a period when everyone in their world wishes it was a semicolon. What I didn't think about was that it would impact my oldest son's world.<br />
<br />
After school today I asked a question that parents across the country ask their child on a daily basis: "How was your day?" It is a question that we expect to not get a response to half the time. It is a question we rephrase to dig deeper most of the time. It is also a question that we don't always know what kind of response we will get.<br />
This is how it went today:<br />
How was your day? <br />
We didn't have guidance today because the counselors had to be here (we were in my classroom). Do you know what happened?<br />
Yes, kind of. Do you know what it was about?<br />
B told us that a kid died, do you know how it happened?<br />
Kind of, what have you heard?<br />
(long pause of hesitation) B said that he shot himself. Is that true?<br />
That is also what I heard.<br />
Mom (I will never forget the look in his eyes), I don't understand-why would he do that?<br />
<br />
This was not how that question was supposed to go. That is not how I ever expected a conversation with my 10 year old to go. Ever.<br />
<br />
I will admit that I fumbled with my answer with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. How do I attempt to explain something to my 10 year old that leaves adults asking why? But I did, I tried. I let him talk about what he heard and then I explained that we really don't know why. No one does. Not even the person who did it. Sometimes people get so sad that the feel like they can't be happy again. Sometimes bad things happen and we really don't know why. I just want you to know that you can talk to me about this-if you have more questions or anything. I also want you to know that it is something to talk to me and Daddy about but not the best thing to talk your friends about because this is something confusing for kids. If people are talking about it, you don't have to stop them or correct them but I would appreciate it if you don't participate and that you talk to me about it because this is a very adult thing for kids to be talking about. Kids should talk to adults about adult things rather than other kids. I hugged him and he seemed satisfied with my incomplete answer.<br />
<br />
And then he sat in a desk and did his math homework and English homework and I wished I could climb inside his little brain and know that he was thinking. Did I say the right thing? Does he still have questions? Does he understand? Did I say too much? not enough? I'll never really know but I do know that he talked to me about it. He could have answered my question with his usual "fine" or "good" or "okay" but he didn't and I suppose that is one positive I can take from a pretty dreary parenting experience.<br />
<br />Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-29299548230984542162015-07-20T14:37:00.000-05:002015-07-20T18:49:14.491-05:00Tattoos-Mental FitnessAs a high school English teacher, I have interacted with hundreds of teenage students over the years. One common question that comes up quite a bit is, "Do you have any tattoos?" (Many of my students have tattoos themselves.) The quick answer to this is, "No." Do I have anything against tattoos or people with tattoos? Nope. I don't care much about other people's skin. The simple fact of the matter is that I have never found anything that I wanted on my skin for my whole life (no, not even my kids' names etc.) so, since that is the nature of a tattoo, I never got one.<br />
Recently, that changed. I was scrolling down my facebook feed when I came across <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/have-you-seen-anyone-with-a-semicolon-tattoo-heres-what-its-about" target="_blank">a story about semicolon tattoos.</a> The headline was something about, "Do you know what they really mean?" Being an English teacher...and a curious person who clicks on facebook links...I clicked and read and understood and wanted one.<br />
It is all summed up with this line from the <a href="http://www.projectsemicolon.com/" target="_blank">Project Semicolon website</a>: "A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life"<br />
If you know me personally, you know that I don't have the prettiest past. I have come a long way from where I once was and I am pretty open to talking about it, well...most of it. Most of you have heard my stories of having a mom addicted to drugs and alcohol; the impact that it had on me and my life and the wonderful people who rescued me from it (some of the most amazing people I know). But what most people don't know, what I really don't talk about, are the really hard times I suffered mentally-silently.<br />
Depression is never an easy thing to talk about. Suicide is even more difficult discuss. Too many people simply suffer in silence and it is some of the most painful silence a person can ever live with. So...here I am...trying to put into words...something I have avoided talking about for about 20 years...all because of the semicolon... <br />
I spent a good portion of my young life depressed which I think will surprise a lot of people because of the person I am today and the outlook I have on life. I wasn't always this way. I'd like to think I hid my depression well but the only people who could tell me that are the people who were around me during those times. Looking back, I know it started in middle school-I remember a good friend that I had at Discovery Middle School in Vancouver, Washington. She was the first person I could talk to about the darkness I felt growing ever larger inside me. She had similar feelings and together we did some stupid things to get our adrenaline going and make us feel at least a bit better, even if it was only for a moment. Eventually, we moved and I never saw her again.<br />
I spent a good chunk of the next part of my life writing about my feelings to release them without letting anyone know. My mind was quite the dark lonely place and constant moving only made things worse. I idolized suicide and wondered what it would be like to just be done with life, be done with feeling terrible, be done with living in scary places where people broke in, be done with sadness...just done. I wrote things like, "My life is a train that's on the wrong track; it won't turn around it just won't go back. Things just get darker and darker until...crash." My mom found that written in a notebook and questioned me about it. I lied and said I didn't feel that way but I was SCARED. What if she didn't believe me? What if she really knew what I was thinking? She did believe me, and I made sure that anything I wrote was well hidden after that. Even today, I wonder why it was so hard to talk about what I was feeling and experiencing. I think I worried about rejection-if people really knew how screwed up I was inside, would they want to be around me? I still have journals going up all the way through college of the constant battle I waged against my depression. Some journals list the kinds and amounts of pills that I had in my possession-my journals of the mental battle I was locked into within my own mind: live or die. I am thankful that the live side won but it never felt good; it felt hopeless. I think I keep those journals and glance at them every now and then to remind myself how far I have come and also to remind myself that there are other people out there silently struggling as well. Maybe a semicolon tattoo is just what I need to let those
journals go because I chose to continue my life's story rather than to
end it.<br />
Matt was a very bright light in a very dark place in my life. I was able to talk to him about some of the stuff that I was going through, but part of the power of depression is the fear of putting too much of the burden of it on someone else. Like if I shared too much, it would be too much for him and I would lose him. Back when I was struggling, I thought that much of how I felt would go away if I just got out of the situation I was in. But even when my life changed my junior year in high school, I still felt that darkness. It stayed with me through my junior year in college. I couldn't just change the setting of my life and get myself to snap out of it.<br />
Sometimes I wonder what kept me from taking my own life? Did I have just enough hope to get through? Was I too scared to disappoint the people who cared about me? I really don't know and that's okay. What matters is that semicolon. So when did things change? Marrying Matt and When I became pregnant with Cohan. Both things happened pretty close together ;) Some day I will tell Cohan just how much of a blessing he really is. He was the light that chased away the rest of the darkness and it has stayed away ever since. I created the little family I dreamed of-it wasn't some dream in the future; it was reality.<br />
At this point in my life, those 10ish years seem like a little blip in the story of my life. The happiness that I now have and experience on a daily basis feels so much more powerful than any of that darkness but I never knew that back then. If I could have one wish, I think it would be for people to be able to see the happiness that awaits them if they can just hold on a little bit longer...well, that and a semicolon tattoo.Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-32950013189991768092015-07-20T00:36:00.000-05:002015-07-20T00:39:35.615-05:00Parenting: The Mental StruggleThis has been one of my toughest weekends in a long time. Those that know me, know that I have a pretty upbeat and positive person but sometimes the load just gets a bit too heavy. I have really been feeling down, and I wish there was something that I could do to make myself feel better.<br />
Being a parent is hard. Sometimes, parents need a break to be better parents. It is frustrating, challenging, and scary at times. It is also amazing, rewarding, and joyous. Simply put, parenting is a balance and sometimes the scales get a little off balance. That is the best way to describe this past weekend-the scales were tipped but not in my favor.<br />
This weekend was supposed to be kid-free fun but it became kid filled frustration. I found myself in the car, in the bathroom, in the shower, on the couch,
writing this post-crying and, to be truthful, I feel like a whining
kid who didn't get her way having a melt down. I want my weekend
back-the one I was supposed to have. No broken arm, no surgery, no scalp
lac, no kids. I wanted meals without bargaining, sleep without
interruption, games without kids, time with friends without watching the
clock; and it was so close I could taste it. I think I wanted it too much.<br />
It isn't like this was the first time that the kids ruined our plans so why is it SO HARD this time? I think it's so hard because I didn't know how much I needed it until I didn't get it; we didn't get it. As
a result, every little thing this weekend felt like a bigger thing. The
4 hours of sleep on Thursday night, Cyver still not sleeping through
the night, whining, tantrums, wildness, fighting, hitting screaming, it
all felt like too much.<br />
I also think it is incredibly hard because it isn't easy to talk about here. I don't want Cohan to hear us saying how much we wish we were on our trip. I don't want him to feel bad or feel like it's his fault we didn't get our special weekend because it isn't anyone's fault. Shit happens. He has enough crappy things to deal with as a result of his broken arm (missing state swimming, final baseball games etc.) I don't want the loss of our weekend weighing him down. This weekend was just a weekend that wasn't meant to be and it sucks. IT SUCKS! And it sucks even more to not get to talk about it and voice my frustration and just openly have a good cry. I am hoping that by writing this I can start to let this go and get out of my funk and open myself up to a better week.<br />
<br />
**I don't want anyone reading this to think that I am not thankful for all the kind words, prayers, help, and gifts. Without the help of our little village, this weekend would have felt much worse. I am beyond thankful that it's just a broken arm. I am forever grateful that I did not have to sit waiting for Cohan's surgery with a whining 6 year old and a melting down 2 year old. We were very blessed to just be also to focus on and be there for Cohan during a scary time. So thank you to everyone that helped or sent kind words, it really was appreciated.**Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-488441697364624197.post-63037839165435041692014-08-07T06:51:00.002-05:002014-08-07T06:51:19.862-05:00Rain, Rain Finally Away!The past two days it was pouring down rain in the morning. I didn't even need my alarm to wake up-both times I woke up before my 5:45 alarm. Before I even opened my eyes, I could hear the rain pounding on the roof, and my immediate thought was not relief but disappointment. Once I finally got back on my bike, I didn't want to stop. Much to my relief, I heard no rain drops this morning, and I had my lights all ready to go. I did have to spend a bit of time rigging the front light as the rubber grip wasn't keeping it tight. Once that was ready to go, I was off with a bit of mist in my face.<br />
I do like these cool mornings-they are great for riding. I was happy to have my light as it was very dark and cloudy. Even though I left earlier than Monday morning, it was much darker. It was nice to ride along with the sound of the creek by my side-it was pretty silent on Monday, but two days of rain have given it a bit more life. By the time I reached the park, the sprinklers were off but I still didn't ride my normal distance. I rode down to the boat docks and turned around. My legs felt like spaghetti when I got home and that last hill is still my nemesis.<br />
I am crossing my fingers that I have another dry morning tomorrow. I really want to get back on track and stay on track. Hopefully, if we do get more rain I can convince myself to get up and do some other sort of workout. Maybe play a little Wii Fit or Just Dance :o)Cassihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070714586750512157noreply@blogger.com0