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Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in beginning, inspirational, time management, writing and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Whew!  I am out of practice of this blogging thing. I could barely remember my password!  No worries-I’ll get you up to speed on everything I did while I was abandoning my little blog here.  It won’t take long because I wasn’t doing anything terribly exciting.  Plus I only have a few followers besides my mom and she already knows what I did all summer!  Speaking of…. Hey Mom, how’s it going?  ;)

So, I put in my resignation at work, finished my job, organized all my materials to pass on to the new girl (no need for her to stress and struggle like I did!), bought our new house, fixed it up (paint, trim, lighting, etc.), went to Kings Island, lost my driver’s license, finished our renovations on our first house so it would be nice for the new renters, gave up looking and bought a new drivers license, moved two and half hours away, unpacked, organized, went camping in Tennessee, got a new job, searched forever for my social security card so I could fill out the paper work and get on the payroll at the new job, and then got a second job…more or less in that order.  All the while trying to train for cross country running give or take about 4 miles a day with one 10-miler thrown in there.

I did all that just to get to this day: The First Day of Classes!!! 

I’m a total nerd that way.  I wore a new outfit, packed my lunch, had my new books and pencils.  I was very excited.  Then my first professor was 8 minutes late!  Way to leave a girl hanging… He made up for it though-he was a very interesting guy (albeit with some Hippie tendancies).  I gather he’s not much for expensive watches that tell him where to be at what time.  Fine with me-I run late all the time.  Then I walked downstairs for my second class, and that teacher was 10 minutes late!!!  That’s okay-laidback professor #2 seems equally as nice although a bit more modern.  My third class started only 2 minutes late, and that professor was Italian.  Foreign accents make almost everything better-hopefully 13th century and prior art history included.  My fourth class was a major upgrade in terms of professionalism.  He had his stuff together not to mention the supply list was created with colored photographs which was terrific for visual learners/nervous shoppers like me… is this the kind of notebook he wanted us to get?? When the professor for my last class walked in, my first impression was that she might practice Wiccan or some type of witchcraft.  After she spoke a while, I decided she must be more like a weekend biker babe.  Either way, this adjunct professor has long black hair and tattoos and says she is “in between day jobs” at the moment and admits that she “likes to tell stories” [that may or may not be totally wasting her hungry students' time].  She seems like a nice lady nonetheless. 

And I had a wonderful day.  And I’m glad to back blogging about all the little details of the day.  My hippie professor said (quoting Anais Nin) that journaling allows you to “taste life twice” and I did enjoy my day (and my summer) all over again when writing it down just now.

Much love ~ Amber

Race Results

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in goals, motivation, quotes, running, stumbles and tagged with ,

My performance at The Bear Run wasn’t anything special. My warm up was quick and I felt pretty good. The first mile was right on pace, but I was starting to feel tired. Even at the half way point I was still on pace for my goal. Then, I just really fell back and slowed down. When I finished I was about 30 seconds slower than my goal.

I sat down on the curb with a cup of water and took off my shoes. I sat there for a few minutes – a little disappointed but when I thought about I couldn’t expect much more with the amount of training I had been putting in. I realized I really needed to start running more and getting in more miles because I started the race well but didn’t have the endurance to keep it up.

My two options were basically to sit and feel sorry about it or to go run. I put on my shoes and got at it…no reason to wait until tomorrow. While running I started to add up how much I had run in the past week with my haphazard training…only 18 miles…less than 3 miles a day. How could I expect to run a race of 3.1 miles when I wasn’t even averaging about 2 and a half miles a day?

I ran 7 miles that day and resolved to get on a training plan. I had no accountabilty for my exercise. I was way too laxed and easily distracted. When I never wrote down my runs, I didn’t notice the lack of effort and resulting lack of progress.

Not any more! I’m up to 28 miles a week and I’m sticking with a plan, so I won’t have a repeat performance at my next race in June!

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got!”

Must be a sign…

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in believing, inspirational, motivation, running and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

This week I’m running a road race with hopes of impressing my old college coach so that he’ll put me back on scholarship next fall when I return to college as I still have two years of eligibility left. I’ve been really excited and confident in myself until this weekend when my head began to fill with doubts.

Today I headed to the local bike path to do a workout, feeling sluggish and slow and down on myself for not training enough and probably getting slower. This kind of an attitude is particulary worrisome because running is approximately 10% physical and 90% mental.

As I was stretching my hamstrings after warming up, I looked down to a patch of clover in the grass and immediately spotted one with the elusive fourth leaf. I plucked the lucky specimen from the ground and gave a small smile. I felt a little pep in my step as I walked to a parking block to stretch my calves. Wouldn’t you know…an angelic orange and brown butterfly landed just to my left and rested peacefully for a good minute.

Normally, I think God talks so quietly that I could never hear him, but I got this message loud and clear. (I always was a visual learner!) It was like he was gently reminding me to believe in myself and be positive. Keep the faith!

God, thank you for this gift. Let me give all my glory to you.

Positive Perspective

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in art, inspirational, Uncategorized and tagged with , , ,

Doesn’t everyone need a little more perspective in life? Or at least an improved perspective? Perhaps a wider perspective?

Perspective is essentially how a person views any particular situations or facts and subsequent importance in relation one another. Perspective implies a degree of objectivity. Most people have difficulty evaluating their circumstances without heavy weight on their personal emotions and bias.

Overall, keeping an eye on the bigger picture will bring more happiness and love to our lives.  Perspective settles our emotions, guides our priorities, and frames our world view.  Take control of your life and your attitude with a renewed outlook.  You can shrink the negativity in your life and take away its power when you put it into perspective with the positive change and action available to you.  Change your thinking; change your life!

2-D Perspective drawing

I used 2-D perspective to create these floating boxes. Cody said this drawing was his favorite of all!

Who am I?

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in achievements, art, inspirational, stumbles, Uncategorized, writing and tagged with , , , ,

Wh am I? For one thing, I am a person who loves Spring Break! Horray-it’s finally here! I finished my art class and have a bunch of projects to share. I ended up earning an A in Drawing 101, but I have one picture that I don’t really like showing around: my self-portrait. I really think this assignment should have come later in the class after we had more skills because drawing a human face (especially your own!) is so tough! I don’t think this really looks like me because the eyes, nose, mouth, and teeth (and that’s pretty much everything!) look so weird!

Besides depicting our physical appearance, we were also supposed to share something about ourselves to say who we were inside. I was lost asking myself, “Who am I?” Ask yourself that one, like seriously ask it, and see how tricky it is. I was really stuck, and I couldn’t just pin it down to one descriptor. I was having trouble identifying myself and rightfully so when you remember that taking the class in itself was an experiment to test out whether I should quit my job and go back to school for a totally different career and whole new lifestyle. I was really in limbo. I was searching for myself again.

So again, “Who am I?” Well, I’m not very happy at the moment…stuck in a rut…not very satisfied. Wait a second, I have a lot going for myself. I’m a sister, daughter, wife, and friend. I’m a runner. I’m a teacher. I’m a planner, budgeter, organizer. I’m a writer, a dreamer, a believer. And more and more. So rather than limit myself to one label, I just started listing them all and all of their synonyms, and I wrote them all over the background of my paper.

I’m glad I figured out “who I am”…but I couldn’t figure out the proportions of my facial features. This one is part swan dive and part belly flop for sure!Self-portrait

Secret Revealed

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in beginning, dreams, family, Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

My life is changing a lot this year, and my excitement keeps growing.  But still, I get a little shy telling anyone because, honestly, I always think they will think I am crazy!  Those fears are dissolving little by little as I receive more and more positive responses to my plan. 

Still, I have been keeping one aspect of my plan a secret until it becomes official which it did on Thursday.  We bought a second home!  Our closing was rescheduled three times I think, and I was starting to wonder if the deal would ever go through.  Cody took care of all the back and forth phone calls and logistics of our out of town purchase which I made me so thankful because I’ve been loaded down at work.  Finally, the inspections, negotiations, apprasial, applications, and insurance came together and we could sign all our papers. 

Now we will have a great place to live while I go back to school for my big career change without being totally uprooted from our hometown where all of our family lives.  My mom is helping us out by moving into our first home while leaving us a room so we can come back on holidays and school breaks.  Having her move in will help us so much so we won’t have to worry about an empty house or a checkbook stretched to the limit. 

Our new house is a little brick two-story with old wooden windows and quite a few steps leading up to the front door from the road.  We went to go look at it again after the signing, and Cody turned the wrong way on our new road which was a little sad because that next block was so pretty with all the trees blooming with pretty spring blossoms, but we have no trees by our house. 

I said, “Oh no, this side is so much prettier!” 

But Cody said, “Well, how about we just plant a tree in our yard?”

And I thought that was just the most perfect idea. :)

A Big Leap

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in achievements, beginning, dreams and tagged with , , , , , ,

2012 is passing by in a whirlwind for sure. Sometimes the world is spinning too fast for me, and I feel so overwhelmed. On more than one occasion, I’ve found myself whispering under my breath, “If one more person asks me to do one more thing, I am going to flip out.”

Doing so much work in other areas of my life, I’ve practically abandoned my blog, but I had a big week so I had to squeeze in a few minutes to make an update.

On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, I quit my job.

Actually, I submitted my intent to resign effective at the end of my contract which is in about three months.

Taking this big step was conflicting. The relief that this stressful era of my life is about to end is a treasure. The excitement of a new saga beginning fills me with happiness. On the other hand, I feel this uneasiness that people might whisper behind my back misunderstanding my decision. I do feel that pinch of guilt of quitting a secure job while so many are unemployed.

However, I have to keep myself grounded with the knowledge that I am grateful for my opportunity in this profession because I learned a lot about myself and about life, and that making this big leap out of that profession is a necessary step toward having more satisfaction in my life.

Unsuccessful Blog Post

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in goals, stumbles, Uncategorized, writing and tagged with , , ,

I’ve been a little low on super inspired blog topics and even lower on time to write out the mediocre ideas that I have managed to come up with, but I had a partially free night and scheduled in a few minutes in between my early evening meeting, workout, dinner, class and the later evening bills, lesson plans, bedtime routine to sit down and bang out a post to end my unfortunate weeklong hiatus from blogging. Two hours and one scattered, jumbled assortment of sentences later, I still got nothin’.

Therefore, I say it’s time to hang it up tonight. Maybe those ramblings will make more sense tomorrow. What do they say…you gotta know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em? Hey, you win some, you lose some, right? What other cliches can I throw at this blog post? I just have to remind myself that this little blog is still a diamond in the rough, but if I keep plugging away, it will start to shine. Gotta keep the faith!

Okay, this one was a big fat belly flop, but if I keep trying I think I can sneak in a few successful swan dives! Don’t let the sting of frustration keep you down. Take a break and come back at your goals tomorrow with a fresh attitude and renewed energy!

Dream Big – Think Big – Start Small

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in dreams, goals, inspirational, motivation, quotes, video and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

So I’m a little Twitter Rookie, but I have to say that Twitter is entertaining me a lot better than Facebook these days.  Seriously, Facebook is great for stalking your old classmates and watching feuds play out between your cousin and his ex-girlfriend, but Twitter is at a whole new level for networking and staying up on the latest news in world events or fun pop culture. Follow me on twitter @swandivebellyfl and I’ll follow you back! It’s fun! :)

My best find on Twitter today was Eric Thomas’s new video.  I already dedicated one post to this hip hop preacher, but I find him so impressive, I’m going for post #2 already.  His video series is called T.G.I.M.  Yeah, Thank God It’s Monday.  Now that is a novel thought, especially for this girl who hates a Monday morning alarm clock!  On the other hand, if I’m all about chasing down dreams, I should be escatic for Monday to come.  It’s another opportunity to achieve some new milestones on my journey.

He asks: Do you believe?  Do you believe that one day you are not going to live in the world given to you, but in the world you dream of.  He preaches:  Everybody’s got sight-very few have vision.  He warns:  Dream big.  Think big.  Start Small. 

I love this message, and I am especially glad it came on a Monday to energize me to focus on my dreams throughout this week.  I definitely have faith in where I want to go, and I have to remember that the little plans and small accomplishments of today will lead to the big plans and huge accomplishments of tomorrow!

 

Butterfly Challenge

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in achievements, art, dreams, inspirational, motivation, quotes and tagged with , , , , , ,

Just like a butterfly, I am growing and changing and finding my true colors in life.  I am growing my wings, so I can fly and soon be on my way.” -Anonymous

 

“Like the butterfly, I have the strength and hope to believe. In time, I will emerge from my cocoon…transformed” -Kirsti A. Dyer

I chose this picture as a challenge for myself since it is very detailed...kind of ambitious for me!

This sketch was very complicated, but following the gridlines helped me keep the picture in perfect proportion.

“

I used the lightbox again to transfer my sketch from the newsprint to the good drawing paper.

Progress check! The shading was kind of messy to start out with, so I had to be really careful to clean up all the lines.

The final product - some parts are still a little rough, but I worked up to the last minute before the due date!

 

 

“If you want to fly, you have to flap your own wings!” -Claire Williams

Double Assignment

Posted by swandiveorbellyflop in art, dreams, goals, inspirational, motivation, stumbles, time management and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

My art teacher gave us a double assignment this week! She clearly said we would have ten weeks and ten assignments, but here she goes only Week 2 and already throwing in extra work! Doesn’t she know I have a lot going on? I had to remind myself about time management and skipped my sister’s basketball game (sad face). It was a good decision in the end ’cause this thing took me forever! It doesn’t look hard, but lemme tell ya…

Our assignment was to recreate this grayscale handout in three inch squares on our 18x24 paper.Measuring evernly spaced and parallel lines was no joke - maybe I'm just lacking in my geometry skills, but this took about an hour!

There you have it! Surprisingly, the light shades were the hardest to recreate and keep the shade and tone consistent

My final product with all the shades from light gray to pure black.
If you want to practice your shading and craftsmanship, this is a great activitiy.  Fair warning: it might drive you crazy trying to keep it even!  Tip: keep baby wipes nearby because the charcoal is messy and you will leave fingerprints all over the page!
 

I survived my double assignment week, so remember: whenever an extra task is thrown your way, you can handle it!  Don’t let a little bump throw you off course of achieving your dreams!  I’ll post pictures of my butterfly drawing tomorrow!