May is here

It is now May. There are 22 days of school left. I still am in shock as to how quickly these days have passed. It is hard to think about the end of the year. I will do a big reflection at the end of the year, so I won't ramble on right now.

I have decided that I will only work at Gear West this summer. It was a very hard choice to pass over working for Three Rivers again. It was a difficult decision, but one that will make me happiest. Not because the job was bad. It boils down to the fact that I have a tough time not working too much and saying "no." I loved working for Three Rivers and I met some great people there. All of the fun I had working still cannot replace what is truly important- time with friends and family. I felt as though I had no time to relax and enjoy little things in life. I became stressed and didn't even know it. There were many days that I didn't even have time to go for a run, or bike for that matter. I don't want to go though that again.

 I remember a piece of advice given to me by a good friend from Three Rivers when I told her that I would be happy work weekends during the school year. She said, "Don't. I won't let you. You will be busy enough during the week and need time for yourself." I listened to her. It was the best decision I could have done. My teaching did keep me plenty busy and having the weekends to do as I please definitely helped me. I can't imagine how different the year would have been had I worked every single day. 

I think things turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I went on a bike ride today! 

33 days left

There are 33 school days left for me. This year has gone by very quickly. When I look back on this school year I can't help but think of how far we have come as a class, and how far I have come as an individual.

I can't say the beginning of the school year was easy. It was the hardest thing I have ever experienced. There were many, many long hours and times of frustration. Seemingly, I had no idea what I was doing. I understood the curriculum, but teaching is far from just the material. I had no idea what to expect.

When I look at our class now I know that we have a great community here in room 34. We have come so far this year. I am very proud of each and every one of the students that has passed through my door. It is hard to think that in just 7 weeks I will be saying, "See ya later," to them.

I will blog more soon. I promise.

It has been a long time

Wow. It has been quite some time since I have posted on the blog. Many things have happened over the past month. All of them are great things.

I decided not to race the City of Lakes Loppet. I wasn't doing a lot of distance when I went skiing. Most times I went out it was for about an hour, but not more than 90 minutes. I didn't want to embarrass myself out there and I just didn't feel like racing. The course is fantastic and the atmosphere is 2nd to none, but in the end I felt going for an easy ski was more enjoyable that day. Not to mention that it was very expensive. 

Teaching has been going incredibly well these past couple months. Everything seems to be coming together lately. Whatever we have got going on seems to be working. I don't go home stressed out anymore. We have had maybe 1 or 2 "off" days since the new year, but that is fine. Many people have commented to me about how things have changed for the better in this classroom. The atmosphere is a far more cheery place. the students are happier and we get along very well. I believe there are many factors that have played into making our classroom a far more positive place. The biggest one being that I am happy. I didn't even realize how unhappy I had been, nor how that was affecting my entire life. I am enjoying and loving life now. I have found a great balance between school and my life outside of the classroom. It feels great to be happy.

I am also looking at getting a new car. Yes, a new car. My Subaru is at the point where it is leaking coolant too much and I really need to get it fixed... The big part about fixing it is that it will cost me about $1,000 to do that. I don't want to invest in a car that I have no idea how long it will last! I am thinking I may be better off buying a new car that will be in great condition and I won't have to worry about it. I have test driven a couple cars and I am pretty certain that I will be getting a Volkswagen Jetta. They get great gas mileage, are reliable, look cool, and I know people who have and love them. I just need to make it happen!

I will post again soon...

Alright cold

Another non school day because of the cold weather! This week is crazy. It's also conference week. There is so much to do with so little time! It is ok though as it is only 1 week. I can survive that.

City of Lakes Loppet is Sunday and I still haven't signed up for it yet... I am having doubts on if I want to sign up or not. It costs a lot and I haven't been too diligent on getting in my long skis this year! Decisions decisions...

I went to the beer dabbler Saturday and had a blast. It was stupid cold but it was a great time. Great friends and great beer. We only got 1 picture because it was so cold! Wish I would have gotten more.

Paige and me before we froze!

Cold day

Another school closure due to cold weather. Which left me alone and bored at my apartment. Speaking of which, my apartment is very clean now! It's weird not going to school!
Then today I had a great day at school. Everything just went very smoothly and there were no issues. Makes my day far less stressful and in turn, I am far happier.

There is now talk of schools being closed on Monday because of cold weather again! Dang MN is hitting us hard.

Short post

Whew. Busy busy. Lots of stuff to do. I have been having some interesting days at school. Some great things and some that could be better. Overall it's been fun and exciting. We had a couple days off because it was so cold! I don't ever remember that happening in all my years of school.

The good thing though it's that most days I leave right around 5 pm. I gotta make sure I am getting time in for myself to ski or run. I have been skiing more than running though... oh well! I think I may go classic ski tomorrow after school. My goal is to leave school at 430! Yes yes yes. Then it will be a nice long 3 day weekend.

Here is a pic from my ski at the U of M golf course. It was a perfect day. Even the moon came out to welcome me.

Xmas has come and gone

Another xmas had come and gone. It goes so quickly that it makes my heart ache a little bit. I love listening to Christmas music, but can only really do that in December. Too short for my taste, but then again it makes it that much more special! One special thing that happened this year was that the Pedersen clan got together for the first time in a few years. There were a few people missing, but it was still a good time.

I pulled in a fairly good haul for gifts. I got a helmet cam, some Oakleys, a sweet shirt, a fantastic coffee mug-that I can't bring to school because of how great it is! Plus some other cool stuff too. Twas a good xmas for all.

I have been working out a lot lately. Doing lots of skiing and running with some biking thrown in for good measure! The trails in the metro are great right now and it makes the skiing that much better. I feel like I am getting into pretty decent shape.

Here are a couple pics from my ride. Maybe next time I will have video???

Oh, p.s. I have a mtn bike now. Boom!