I Did It!

It's been a long, hard road, but on Saturday, I completed my first 5K race.  I had reservations all the way up until the start gun fired.  Then, it was do or die, and I just did it.  I ran it with my mom, but she left me just a little bit after the start line.  Then, I was on my own, and it was up to me to motivate myself.  Seeing everyone around me did help, but I also noticed that most of those people were passing me.  Finally, I found a couple women going my pace and tried to stay with them.  It sounded like it was going to be a fun run because we were running through the Louisville Mega Cavern, and it was all lit up for Christmas, but it actually made the course much more difficult.  It involved a lot of hills and uneven ground.  I wanted to stop so many times, but I just made myself keep going.  I did have to walk a little bit on the steep hill coming out of the cave, but when I rounded the corner for the finish, I was amazed when I saw the time.  Mom was coming down the sidewalk to snap a picture, and she even admitted that she was surprised to see me so soon.  It was still well under 40 minutes, and I had been sure I would finish way over 40.  I just wanted to finish, so I started to sprint (probabaly a little sooner than I should have, truth be told).  I crossed the finish line and had a final time of 37:41.  For most runners, that's a terrible time, but for me, it seemed too good to be true.  I've been working for three months, and I've accomplished my goal.  Now, I'm running another in about two weeks, and it will be a pretty flat course, so I'm hoping for an even better time.  I can't wait to keep improving and keep getting healthier.

Lord of the Rings Personality Types

My Meyer's Briggs personality type is INTJ, and honestly, I feel like that is an often misunderstood personality type.  However, I feel like the Meyer's Briggs scale is incredibly accurate.  One of my friends posted this wonderful infographic on Facebook which uses characters from The Lord of the Rings to represent each of the personality types.  I got Elrond, and I think he's a fairly misunderstood character as well, so I really like the comparison.  Also, according to my husband, the personality traits it describes for Elrond are incredibly spot on for me as well. 

How to Interact with Introverted People

As an introverted person who has many extroverted friends, I've often had trouble explaining to them that I find social interaction literally exhausting, so if it's not necessary or important, I'm not going to want to talk.  It doesn't mean that I'm mad at them, or that I don't like them.  It just means that I'm not going to use up the social energy I have on frivolous nothingness.  I hate being wasteful when it comes to anything, but especially when it comes to my time.  Please read this wonderful infographic, and take it into account when you interact with your own introverted friends.

True Story

Finding the Time

I always hear about how busy moms are.  They have to take care of the house, the kids, their jobs, and so many other things.  Sometimes, hearing all of those stories makes me question wanting to become a mother in the future because I feel entirely too busy now.  Where does anyone find the time?

I constantly feel the need to be involved in many different activities and hobbies, but then I drive myself crazy trying to find time for all of them.  I've always been one to feel like I'm not doing enough.  I am constantly trying to better prepare myself for my job, but I also want to explore my creative and intellectual hobbies as well.  I tend to take too much on, and then I'm disappointed when I can't fit it all in.

How can I choose, though? I truly enjoy all of the hobbies I take on, but I clearly don't have time for all of them.  I'm trying to become a runner, be involved in school activities, create products for Teachers Pay Teachers, write a blog, improve my house, play video games (not a typical high priority, but I enjoy it), and keep up with current young adult fiction.  There is never enough time for it all.  However, each is important to me.

It's not like I don't ever plan.  I keep a planner with me all of the time.  I've even tried to plan by hour, but it never seems to work out.  I often don't factor in the need for free time away from these activities... or sleep.  I feel like I'm constantly seeing other people be part of so many things, but I just can't figure out how.  It just leads to more stress and more disappointment when I can't do it all.

Put a Smile on Your Face and Be Thankful You Don't Have Subs Like This

Earlier, one of my colleagues was having a pretty bad day.  I knew this would be just the thing to cheer him up, so I thought I would share it here as well.

I've Got It!

I said before that I was worried that I was no longer learning.  I honestly miss having school projects to do.  I miss research and creating something.  Alas, I might have finally solved this problem, plus another problem I've been having lately (having very little money).

There is this wonderful website called Teachers Pay Teachers.  I have been there many times before, but only to gain resources.  Teachers create lessons, units, organizational devices, and many other things, and sell them on this website.  They know what teachers need, and you can find some of the neatest things on there.

Well, last week, as I was creating baby shower games for a friend's shower coming up, my mom was commenting on how well I create things on the computer.  I know compliments usually don't mean much coming from moms, but she is not the only one to ever pay me this compliment.  At an organization I was part of in college, it was my job to make the newsletters, flyers, and brochures.  I actually really love being creative on the computer.  It makes me feel better about my lack of artistic skill when it comes to drawing and such.

Yesterday, I had one of the wonderful "Aha!" moments.  Why can't I be the one creating and selling cool looking teaching materials on TpT? I already have a page full of ideas.  I officially have a seller's account.  All I need now, is time to create and to pray that people like and want to buy my products.  I can't wait to write about my first sale!