Officially a Half Marathoner!!!

On Sunday, Dec. 18, Paolo and I became half-marathoners!  I have to admit, we did not train as we should have, which made the half marathon significantly more difficult than it should've been!  But I cannot quite explain the feeling of finishing a 13.1 mile race AND not being last!  ;)  My time was 2 hours, 45 minutes and 2 seconds.  I walked about 3 miles overall.  Not too horrible!  My goal was to finish in under 3 hours and not be last, and well... check and check! 

When I arrived to mile 13, I used all my energy left to sprint to the finish line. Once I entered the stadium, they announced my name on the PA system, which was pretty cool, and Paolo was already there with his uncle (his aunt was with me!) and both Paolo and his uncle started running with us cheering us on!  Pati and I were all smiles as we crossed the finish line, and I had tears in my eyes.  I was completely overcome with emotions and exhaustion... I did it!!!  (and I have my finisher medal to prove it!  :) )

Paolo and I are starting to plan our next set of races.  We are going to do a 5K in January which has the winner of last season's Biggest Loser participating (how cool is that?!?!) and in March we are going to do the largest 15k in the country (which is 9.3 miles).  There is a series of 3 races March 31/April 1 that we are considering... it's a 10k in the morning, a 5k at night, and a half marathon the next day.  I think I won't quite be at the ability to do it all running, but we'll see! ;)

I got a groupon for 10 classes of Bikram yoga to help with my cross training... and we are going to start strength training as well, and along with following an actual training program, I think my times will start to improve and my endurance - stamina as well!  As much I as honestly don't like running, it is kind of addictive... especially the races!  I loveeeee getting tshirts, and I loved getting a medal even more! :-D

Tomorrow we are going to do our first run since the half marathon... it's gonna be a shorty!  And on Saturday, we head out to Wisconsin for Christmas!  Yay for time with the fam, friends, and especially my little sobrina Sophia! :) 

Happy last 11 days of 2011!

I'm 30!

And I have mixed feelings about it!  Jaja.  Last week Wednesday, I had my 30th birthday.  Jo flew in from WI to spend birthday week with me, so that made it even more special!  Tess came in from Nashville on Friday for birthday weekend, which was awesome too!  On my actual birthday, my school let me leave early, at about 12:30, and I got to go to the beach and out to dinner at the Olive Garden, yum!  Afterwards, Paolo gave me my cake... a dairy queen peanut butter cup ice cream cake!  Extra yum!  I opened my presents, which included earrings from my aunt, earrings and bath and body works / victoria secret stuff from my parents, a fuzzy blanket from jo, and a nike + wristband and a IOU for a cruise from Paolo!  Wooo!!! :)  I had off work Thursday and Friday due to Veterans' Day, so my long weekend was AWESOME!  The weather behaved too.  On Friday, 11-11-11, Paolo, Jo, Tess, Megan, Lisa, and I went out to dinner at Chicago Pizza.  Afterwards, Jo, Tess, Paolo and I were going to go out, but the club scene in Jacksonville is not happening lol.  So we ended up heading downtown to see the lights.  It was nice. 

The other big thing since my last blog is that P and I signed up to do a half marathon on Dec. 18!  13.1 miles.  Wow that is long, lol.  I can run about 7 miles at this point, so the training is working!  It's hard to believe how far I've come with running, but at the same time, it is still so hard and tiring.  Yesterday we did a 3.4 mile run.  Tonight we have to do the same, or longer.  Friday will be off, and Saturday we are trying an 8 miler.  We'll see how that goes jaja.

On Sunday, we are heading home to Wisconsin!  I am so excited to show P around G-dale and UWW... and Madison too!  Of course, I am even more excited for him to finally meet my brothers and friends... andddddddddddd the Sophasaur!  Can't wait to see that little chica!  :) 

Happy Thursday!

Driving to and from work...

So, I've usually been pretty lucky with my commutes to and from work, and this job is no different.  My longest commute still stands at when I was working in Clinton and living with my parentals in G-dale...that one was an hour.  However, I was always going in the opposite direction of the traffic!  Then I was in Fort and working in Milton...that one was about 15 minutes.  Then, in Milton and working in Milton...that one was 2 minutes, walking or driving, lol. 

Then came Lima.  At first, it was long, but only for a month or so.  Then I started to work about 15 minutes from my living arrangements in La Molina... and 10 minutes from my apt in San Borja... but then I made the move to Miraflores...and my commute got to be about 20 - 25 minutes in the morning, and a half hour or more in the afternoon, but it was okay because I had good company!

Now my commute is 30 minutes, almost flat... but once again, I am going in the opposite direction of the traffic.  It is a really easy commute, almost all freeway, so I can put the car on cruise and listen to the radio.  This commute though is one of my favorites, not because of the lack of traffic, though that is definitely nice, but because of the scenery.  Every morning I head out around sunrise.  The clouds are so pretty and the colors are beautiful.  I have yet been able to capture the colors of the sunrise with my camera... usually because I only have my cell phone with me, and well, it doesn't take the best pictures, jaja.  Coming home, I love the sunlight on the river I cross.... and the greenness of the trees, the blueness of the sky... the weird rivers / swamps I cross to get into Ponte Vedra.... and it makes me smile.  So different from dreary grey busy loud Lima... and from pretty, green, super quiet Wisconsin.

Another thing that makes my commute better?  I don't dread going to work!  And I don't need to worry about getting in trouble if I am a little late or if I leave a little early, though I don't do either often (I actually have only been late once... and it was by 2 minutes due to a surprise traffic jam caused by a very rare accident).  I think the other thing that makes it a nice commute is that I only have to do it 4 days a week!! ;)

Bad thing about my commute?  Gas is expensive!  At least it has dropped a bit.  When I first moved here it was about $3.50 a gallon... now it is currently about $3.25.  Never thought I would be excited about THAT price.  Jaja... Well, hopefully it keeps dropping, though I think we all know that is not likely.

Happy Friday!!!! :)

First Race!!!

P and I signed up for our first race!  It is a 5K (much better than the 10K we were going to run last October until they changed the date, grrrr), and it's the Susan Komen Race for a Cure!  I think I am more excited about it than Paolo is considering it is on his birthday weekend... and I'm guessing the tshirt we get is going to be pink! ;)  However, I can't think of a better cause to run for... I have had various family members affected by breast cancer, including my great grandma and my grandma, along with a scare for my mom a few years back.  Both my grandmas survived, and fortunately my mom didn't end up having it, but it was still scary.  My favorite English teacher from HS also was diagnosed and is a survivor of breast cancer. 

I'm not going to be actively fundraising, but if you would like to sponser me in the race, you can donate to: http://www.komennorthflorida.org/site/TR/Race/Administratorsonly?px=1197133&pg=personal&fr_id=1080

I officially started training yesterday.  My goal is to run the entire 5K in 35 minutes or less :)

Hot and humid... but happy!

Jacksonville continues to be quite warm... but it´s not the heat... it's the humidity that is doing me in!  It is super humid all the time.  I never thought I would have the AC on all the time, but I do!

P got here on Sept 1.  He's been here for just over 3 weeks.  He likes it a lot!  We got our furniture last weekend, yay!  So now we are just needing to furnish the guest room and bathroom.  Everything else is set.  I've been super tidy (super shock, I know...) but I am so paranoid about cochroaches that I have managed just to be tidy. 

However hard I try though, I have found a total of 3 cochroaches in my apartment.  One in the the hallway! (1st one...)  and two in the main bathroom.  One was tiny, and the other medium.  Gross.  Thank goodness P was here to take care of the 2 in the bathroom.  The bug man came AGAIN (third time since I moved here) and told me that they come in through the drains so I should keep the drains closed.  Gross. 

P and I have been keeping pretty busy.  We go to trivia with some of his navy buddies on Tuesdays.   Last Wednesday, we went to the Fuel concert... that was special.  We have also gone to the outlet mall near St. Augustine and we spent the day in St. Augustine 2 weeks ago.. and also to the Jacksonville Jaguars game that same weekend  - my first pro football game!  It wasn't too bad, jaja.

This afternoon, P and I are off to Megan and Matt's Jumbalaya Party!  Yay :)

School is going fine.  Next week will be pretty easy.  Tuesday is a half day, and the 7th graders are out all week.

My goal for this week is to start going to the gym... even if it is just walking on the treadmill.  I gotta start taking better care of myself!

Happy weekend!!! :)

T minus... 28 hours!!!! :) :) :) :)

So after being apart since August 3... and also being apart July 20 - 30, pretty much... P arrives tomorrow!!!! His flight gets in at 10am, but I won't see him until after I get home from school, so around 4ish.  Finalllllly!  I can't wait any longer!

My Wednesdays at school are basically my prep days... I only have 2 hours of class.  Today, only 1.5 hours because of a Pep Rally in the morning!  It's pretty fantastic bc  I can get most of my planning done at school.  Little by little I am getting more used to the munchkins.  It is certainly different from high school!  For me, figuring out what students can already do in general (4K, K, 1st and 2nd grade) has been interesting.  I didn't know at what age kids start learning to read / write, for example!

I have decided that having Mondays off is the best thing ever.  This past Monday, I ran 3 miles, got a bunch of things in my apt fixed (I called the maintainence ppl and then I sat around when they fixed the stuff! ;) )  I got laundry done, and I went to the beach for an hour.  It was really nice and quiet... a great temperature and the water was nice and warm.  Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a 4 year old and after about 5 minutes I was bored.  I forced myself to stay there for an hour though... and I found a pretty cool shell!!

Last week, I found a cochroach in my apt.  I seriously almost had a heart attack.  At first I thought it was dead, and I was okay...ish.. but then I discovered it was still alive and ohhhhhhhhhh hell to the no are there going to be cochroaches in my apt!  I freaked out, crying, to my parents over the phone, not knowing what to do.  It was on its back.  Well, anyways, eventually I manned up and killed the gross thing.  Sick.  I am getting nauseous just thinking about it!  Afterwards, I went and got Raid, as I should've done back when my mom told me to, but well... I kept forgetting.  Then Monday I told the apt manager about it, and she sent the bug man.... again.  She told me not to worry, that it probably just FLEW (yes flew) in when I had the door open at one point.  I have been keeping that apt spotless, so I am hoping she was right.  My dad said the same thing.  But still... grossy mc grossness.

Other than that, Panera is still delicious... I still like buying clothes... and I am super excited for P to get here so we can finish buying furniture, get a TV, and meet some people so I have more friends. Right now I just have Megan and she lives far from me... or I live far from herrrrrr!

Ok, that's all for now.  I just heard thunder.  woo.  another storm.

Sunday Funday!

Today I at my debut at the pool accross the parking lot from my apartment building.  It is not heated - but considering it is like 90 here all the time, that's no problem!  I decided to swim laps, so I swam 50 laps (but it is a small pool... so probably equal to about 30 normal pool laps!)... then I sat out for a bit.  It was so nice and quiet.  The weather was perfect... hot, but breezy, and the humidity wasn't too bad yet!  After about an hour and a half, I decided I had to be careful with my paleness... didn't want to turn into a lobster! 

I went exploring and found a nearby movie theater... and it turns out Sunday is cheap day!  $5 instead of the normal $10!  Ka-ching!  This was my first time going to a movie theater by myself, and it was totally fine!  The theater was PACKED with elderly folk, and the old women I was sitting next to were very pleasant. The movie, The Help, was very good.  I recommend it! 

After the  movie, I stopped at the grocery store to buy some fruit.  The grocery store by my house, publix, has a lot of buy 1 get 1 free specials.  Yay!  So, while I did buy some fruit, I also took advantage of the buy 1 get 1 and got some oatmeal, pasta, and pasta sauce! 

Tomorrow, the monthly pest control is coming to my building.  They are also supposed to be fixing the few things that I need fixed in the apartment (like the bedrooms' doors not shutting...)  AND I am also subbing (and getting paid for it!  Woo!)

At the pool this morning!

New Blog!

Hey all!
So, I know that my other blog was as bit sporatic, but I'm going to try harder in this one!  I decided to start a new blog because... DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

I HAVE MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA!!!!

I AM NO LONGER IN PERU!!!

Now, I know there must be a ton of questions you want answers to, so I'll start with a brief explanation.

1. P is getting transferred to the local Naval Base! Woooo!  He'll be here in just under 2 weeks.
2. I couldn't stand working at my Peruvian job for much longer.  There was a complete lack of respect (by the admin, not the kids...) and education was not important to them.  I was beginning to not like teaching, something I have loved for as long as I can remember. Originally I was going to stay til the end of the year and then switch schools, but when P's opportunity knocked... I flew to the door!  Then, as luck would have it, I got a job relatively last minute here in town.  All my ducks were in a row, and away I went.

I wanted my move back to be a surprise, so I kept everything very quiet.  Most of my Lima friends knew, and 3 of my US friends knew...along with my little brother and my dad.  My dad was in Peru with me for my last 2 weeks in the country, so I couldn't hide it from him!  With the help of Jo and Andrea, I managed to get picked up at the airport (thanks Jo!!!! <3 ) and get to State Fair where my mom was with Andrea (thanks Andrea!!! <3 ) to surprise her!  It was the best surprise ever!  I couldn't believe I...well, we... actually pulled it off.   Awesome teamwork! :) 

My mom was super surprised and was sooooooooooo happy!  The 4 of us hung out at State Fair and I got to have my root beer milk, cranberry cookie, baked potato, and cheese curds.  Delicious food, a great surprise, her mommy, and 2 of her bffs....what more could a girl ask for?!? :)

The following days flew by.  I bought a 2005 Corolla LE, visited my brothers and sisters-in-law, hung out with my little sobrinita Sophia, packed the car, and left!  My mom and I drove for 2 days down to Jacksonville.  It was an easy drive...andddddd!!! I got to see Tess!!  We stayed over by her.  Turns out she lives exactly half way between G-dale and J-ville!  Woo!  Que suerte!!

We got to Jacksonville, stayed in a hotel for 3 days while looking for an apartment and stuff to put it in.  We found a cute apt almost right away that we both really liked.... so I started that process.  Then we went looking for a bed and kitchen and bathroom stuff.  My mom also got to visit my school and meet my principal with me!  We hung out with Megan and Matt for a bit as well - to get some tasty frozen yogurt!

Well, soon it was time for school to start and my mom to leave.  Luckily, I only had to be at school for a half day, so I was able to rush back to the hotel to have lunch with my mom before she left.  Starting that night, I stayed with Megan while waiting for my bed and internet to arrive to my apartment.  I've only been staying at my apt for 2 days now, and I already miss hanging out with Megan and Matt and their puppies!  It's very quiet here!!  Jaja

This week was my first week of school.  The kids are super cute, but man, I have a new found respect for 4 and 5 year old kindergarten teachers!  Those little munchkins are EXHAUSTING!  My older kids are great so far... (knock on wood) I hope they stay like that!  LOL.  The other teachers are all really sweet and the principal is very open and helpful.  Last night was an Ice Cream Social and I think I have a little fan club, lol.  I had so many parents coming up to me and telling me how excited their child is about Spanish class, and how impressed they were that their kid was actually able to say something after the first (3 day) week of the school year.  I also had a few of my 4 yrs olds come and hug me and tell me that they can't wait for Spanish class again because it was so much fun!  And here I thought they were bored!  Woo!!  Score 1 for me!

Today is my first completely down day.  I think I am going to go to the pool for a bit this afternoon... and go to the gym this morning yet.  I need to lesson plan a bit, but I am subbing on Monday for the tech teacher, so I should have some time to do that then!

Now I'm just waiting for P to arrive and I will be the happiest chica ever!

BIENVENIDOS A MI VIDA EN FLORIDAAAAAAAAA!!! :)

Yay Florida!  At the beach right by my apt! :)

Mommy and me :)

My Tessy and me!