Guinness World Records

WE DID IT!!! It is official! 386 students, staff and parents from the elementary school that I teach at now are part holders of an official record in Guinness World Records. Over 300,000 people shattered the old record of 20,000+ doing jumping jacks for 1 minute over a 24 hour period. Last week I got an official email with certificate included. My students don't know the good news yet but they are going to be excited, so very excited.

I'm pretty excited too. Since I was a little girl I wanted to set a world record. In fact, setting a world record was (note: WAS) on my bucket list. Check!




images taken from Google images

Summer Yum!

The blackberry bushes are ripe and ready to be picked on part of the route where the gals and I walk each morning. After we walked our 5 miles, we grabbed our containers and bags and started picking. We picked about 4 quarts of yummy sweet juicy berries, got a few scratches, have purple fingers and the makings for some delicious food.

When I got home I made gluten free blackberry pancakes for breakfast. In fact, I was so excited about the blackberry pancakes, I forgot to brew my coffee. Quickly I discovered my loss and got some brewing.

For lunch, I had the rest of the berries with some milk. One of my favorite meals in summertime is fresh fruit with milk. I eat it like cereal and I can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, or for dessert.

God has been so creative in the foods He has created for us to enjoy in California.

YUMAHUH!

Briones Goal Update

Even though I have been behind on my blogging, I still have been keeping up with finishing all the trails in Briones Regional Park. Suzy and I have walked 3 separate hikes since my last trail update, Kim and Freddy, her American Bulldog, joined us on our last venture. From my estimation of the map, 2/3 of the trials have been completed.

Part of the enjoyment of the hikes is to see how the scenery and landscape changes with each passing month and season. The first hikes were in late fall, the weather was turning cooler, the hills and trees were going into dormant state, then we hiked in the cold and fog, to bright and vibrant hillsides in the early spring (early spring here is late winter in anywhere but California), to a few months later- California's golden hills, to our last hike, dry, dusty and hot.

Each hike has brought some new sighting of wildlife and changes in the oak trees.

Another thing that has increased is the amount of mileage hiked on each hike. The hikes started out smaller and now are getting progressively longer (just a head's up Suzy, the next few I have planned are in the 6-8 mile range).

The three above pictures were taken on 3/7/10 on a 4.7 mile hike. I love this picture right above. On an earlier post, I have this same tree and fence post in the fog. This day the sky was mostly clear and you could see Mt. Diablo in the background from the top of our hike.

The below three photos were taken on 5/30/10. More critters. I think this fat lizard just ate it's breakfast, he was just sunning and taking in a little Vitamin D. The snake was seriously in the middle of the trail and I almost stepped right on him. I think I let out a little yelp. My curiosity won the best of me and I had to poke him with a stick. Somehow he had just died recently, don't know how but he was soft and not moving. When we got back to the trail head there was a sign telling the difference between a rattle snake and another snake (I think it was a whippet snake). The snake we encountered did not have a diamond shaped head so it was not a rattle snake.

The hills were turning golden or as my sister says, "brown". She and I have had the debate of the color of the hills in California for some time now. I insist since California is called Golden State(that comes from the color of the hills) that even though the hills are brown, they are golden. This hike started on the Bear Creek Trail Head, a side we had not hiked before and was about 3.71 miles (2nd shortest hike)

The last hike we did was 7/7/10 and I did not have my camera. Not sure what I was thinking because I have been taking pictures each time out. I think the reason was because we did this hike as part of the normal morning walking routine. Thankfully, almost each week day morning a group of ladies from church have been getting up and walking 4.5-6.5 miles each time. A month into my summer vacation and we have already put in some serious miles, getting close to 80-100 miles if I was to count them up.

Thankfully, the weather was cooler and there was some fog off on the coast, which traveled up to the hill tops we climbed. The first 30-45 minutes was pretty much all up hill and my heart was jumping out of my heart. We ascended about 1000' getting close to the highest peak which we climbed on another previous hike. Of the 5 trial heads, the Gloria Terrace is by far the steepest uphill at the beginning and the steepest downhill at the end. I actually prefer the steep uphill to the steep downhill. My knees and feet take a beating on the steep downhill. There was a little extra unplanned chunk of trail that we also did so that we would not have to come back to it later to finish the goal. When all was said and we got back to the car, we hiked about 7.25 miles. The hills were really dry now and the wooded areas on the west side of the hills were lush and green.

Maybe we'll get another hike in this week, if not this week, maybe next week. The adventure and hiking goal continues. Thank you Suzanne for the challenge, thank God for His beautiful creation to be able to explore.

Wonderful Start to My Vacation

My walking partner (and beloved sister in the Lord from my church), Suzanne, took me hiking just over a month ago to Briones Regional Park in the East Bay. That day, we made a pack that we would hike every trail in the park within a year's time. Beingtoday is my first day on Christmas Break from work, I decided there would be no better way to start off my vacation than with a good hike in the morning fog and to work on our trail goal.

This morning we parked off Briones Road, hiked a big loop on the Old Briones Road Trail to Briones Crest to Lagoon to Toyon Canyon to Tree and back to Old Briones Road.

On our travels we saw several newts along the way. A trail sign highlighted newts and stated "newts are traveling salamanders". I have not had the chance to look up what the difference is between a newt and a salamander (Tim Davis could give a good answer to this). When I felt the newt this morning he appeared to have firm and dry skin unlike a salamander who has loose and slimy skin.

The fog gave the landscape a mysterious feel. I decided to edit this shot and try black and white film.

The dew from the fog beaded so beautifully on the spider's web displaying her creativity.

The colors of fall/winter, the fog and the gloom, and the sunlight trying to burn through were incredible to the naked eye. The camera just can not capture the depth and hues of the true picture.

At some points, we were slogging through some mud and our boots were caked with mud making us a few inches taller.

Birthday Surprise

My sister Jen, is the queen of surprises and she pulled a great one on me this past weekend for my birthday. For the last several years, I have participated in a run/walk that my school promotes to the students. Usually the race takes place on the same weekend my birthday is celebrated. Just seconds before my 5K race started, I hear, "Auntie, Auntie!" I turn around and see my two sweet loves waving a sign and a hand wildly at me. What a surprise to see them at the race, I had no idea they were going to come and celebrate my birthday with me. Jen, my mom and Amy did a great job of not letting me in on the secret.

Knowing that I had two precious little one's waiting for me, helped me finish my race quickly. For this race, I had decided to walk the entire 5K and see if I could get my best walking time. My time at the finish line was 39:50, that's about 13:15 per mile. This was 6 minutes faster than my previous time. Next year my goal is to either run the 5K race or run/walk the 10K race.

Every year I am showered with love and kindness from my family and dear friends who want to celebrate my birthday with me. There are still a few more birthday celebrations to come with friends that I could not fit in during the busy weekend. Truly, the Lord has blessed me greatly.

40 at 40

Now that I am no longer 40, I can share a goal that came true the day before Thanksgiving, a goal I wanted to obtain before I moved to the next year of life. For the past 6 months, I have been working hard at trying to lose some weight and get a little healthier. The goal was to lose 40 pounds at the age of 40. All praise and honor goes to my Lord and Savior who allowed me to change my eating around, walk the tread off several pairs of running shoes and to keep me motivated. God has given me many "cheerleaders" and co-laborers along the way. Special thanks goes out to Suz for all the miles she walked with me on local trails. I think in October I walked 120 miles! There is more to go but it all takes time, hard work and God's enabling.

The Low Down and a Few Pics

A glimpse into what has been going on in my world over the last several weeks, in no particular order, rhythm or reason.

• The is a deep feeling down in my gut that the Giants will not make the playoffs, or if they do the Dodgers will be hard to overcome. At least it's a winning season.


• School has been in session for 4 weeks now. First progress report grades are due on Tuesday. Time is flying on by but it is a long stretch now until my next day off, Veteran's Day. I think I have another good crop of students this year. My worries are not so much my students but all of the students who have 6th period PE. Between the 5 teachers in my department there are 250 students. Of these students, about 50% of them are "disciplinary repeat offenders". Daily I need to take time to pause and pray to my heavenly Father for His grace and wisdom to deal with these students and that I would always respond in a way that gives glory to God. Last week my school was put in lock down for an hour and half due to a shooting at the high school.



• End of August always means peach picking at Carol's family peach farm/ranch. Last week, I finished eating the last peach. For the first time I canned fresh peaches, using both the raw and hot processing method. Thank you Carol for always inviting us to go peach picking and to hang out with your family.
  
  
• Dawn and I took a little drive up the Silverado Trail from Napa to Calistoga. Just a drive to do something different for just a short amount of time.



• On the counter top cooling is sitting my very first attempt at making a cheese cake for a co-workers birthday tomorrow. Cheese cake is not a dessert I would choose to eat with all the yummy choices out there but I will enjoy trying what I created. The whole cheese cake was made in the Cuisinart that Suzy gave me. Thanks Suzy, I already love that you are now part of my kitchen. Speaking of Suzy, she had a group of people over last night for one of the most delicious (yum!) home made Julia Childs meals. Everything was so incredibly delicious. Great meal Suzy and absolutely wonderful fellowship!



• Since Memorial Day weekend I have been on a challenge to myself to get into better shape and to lose some weight. I praise the Lord that He has allowed some success and I feel so much better. There still is a long ways to go but with faithfulness on my part and encouragement from my family and friends, I will obtain my goal. The biggest part of my goal once I met my goal is to stay there and not go back to where I have been. Please contact me if you would like to know how I have made some of these changes and seen success.



• My dad and I went golfing over the Labor Day weekend and I managed to drive the golf ball well, stay out of the pond and out of the sand traps. My middle game and putting still needs some refining.



• At some point in the near future I would like to learn how to can tomatoes (including tomato sauce, BBQ sauce and whole tomatoes) and grape jelly or jam. Trin Trin has been asking me for sometime if I make grape jelly and I always have to tell her that I do not know how. The grapes are starting to come in at the farmer's market.



• With no air conditioning in my house I am starting to prepare myself for the big heat wave that is projected to come across the land this next week. I think for at least the next 6 days, triple digits is expected. The fog can return anytime soon for my liking.



• My faithful God is always good to me, always full of tender care and mercy.

Swimming At 6 A.M.

I have been swimming on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (6-7 am) consistently for one year and off and on for the last 3 years. This morning at my swim class, God painted a beautiful sunrise for me to enjoy. The beauty intensified as I continued to swim. The sunrise was to the right side of the pool. Each time I took a breath, my lungs longed for oxygen and my eyes/mind/heart longed for the breath taking views of the incredible colors under the foggy cloud layer. My workout went by much quicker with the incredible backdrop. I was reminded of God's goodness, faithfulness, care and grace that He gives even in the rising of the sun. Incredible.

As I watched the sunrise, I plotted out this blog post. Included in my thoughts was my list of why I enjoy and don't enjoy swimming at 6 am.

Enjoy

1. Awesome sunrises on some mornings
   
2. Start my day off on the right foot (or the left, does not really matter but the days starts right)


3. Good cardiovascular workout


4. Feel good for the whole day
   
5. Burn calories and help to lose weight


6. Muscle tone


7. Helps me improve my swim strokes


8. Less crowded swimming lanes, usually 2 people per lane, spit in half, each take a half


9. Makes the morning cup of coffee after swimming taste really good


10. Morning shower is nice and warm


11. It is conversation with my students about my exercise preferences


12. I tend to eat more healthy all day long when I have swam


13. Allows me to justify a "treat", this counteracts the burning calories and weight loss though


14. Swimming in water that is warmer than the cold outside air


15. Sleeping really good the night after a workout


16. Usually I have a good prayer time during my swim


17. Seeing my friend Dawn, if we both make it on the same day
    

Don't Really Enjoy

1. Getting out of the warm bed


2. Getting up early


3. During the school year, packing my entire necessities for the day the night before. This includes; all my swim things, my shower things, my clothes, my work bag, my lunch, and anything I might need for after work if I am not going straight home.
   
4. Leaving the house when it is cold


5. Sometimes getting in a cold pool


6. Getting out of the pool and into the cold outside air


7. Showering outside on the pool deck


8. Changing in the locker room. Sometimes the locker room door can not be opened and I have had to change in the pool house or snack shack and put my make-up on in the car.


9. Forgetting something important like deodorant or underwear. I have learned to keep extra of these at work and in my car.


10. Rushing to get dressed to be on the road by 7:20 to go to work.


11. Having a wet head


12. Smelling like Cl2- chlorine all day long


13. Having shaky leg muscles, muscle fatigue


14. Going to bed on time the night before to get up on time


15. Giving in to staying in the warm bed and not going to workout. Really bothers me the rest of the day for being a sluggard.