And the winner is . . .

Last night, Eric and I went to a seminar hosted by Fitness 19 (the gym I belong to). The topic was achieving aggressive results by changing your resistance and cardio training and manipulating nutrition.
Some stuff was review, but there were a few new things I learned. They also had a door prizes. Some lucky ducks got foam rollers (if you don't know what these are, you're missing out). One person won a gift certificate to a restaurant and the ultimate prize was a Body Bugg ($400 value). The Body Bugg is the newest technology to help you manage your calories. Check it out a http://www.bodybugg.com/. I was the lucky winner of a one monthly spa package to Planet Beach. I never win anything! Bring on the pampering. I'll be calling them soon to find out what the fine print says.

He is Risen

Happy Easter everyone.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. - 1 Peter 1:3

So to celebrate this wonderful season of Easter, Eric, Pazu and I had dinner with Eric's family. Rita (Eric's mom) made a wonderful feast and I seriously thought my belly would pop. I was in charge of dessert and I made a light version of an amaretto tiramisu. It was fabulous.

We hope that you were able to gather with loved ones, friends or family, on this glorious day of our salvation.

Haiku and Woo

So, as part of my journey to become a licensed teacher, I alsp applied to the Denver Teaching Fellows in conjunction with my application to Douglas County. Today was the big interview event. Here was our schedule:
9-9:20 am Introductions
9:20-10:40 am Sample Teaching Sessions (group)
5 minute break
10:45-11:30 am Writing Sample and Group Discussion
5 minute break
11:35-12 pm Program Overview
12-3 pm Personal Interviews (each interview is 30 minutes)

There were probably 30-40 canidates interviewing. We all were interviewing for hard to place subjects (math, science, special education and early childhood education) in low income Denver neighborhoods. There were people that flew in from New Jersey and Washington state. We were broken into groups and shuffled away. In our groups, we taught a 5 minute lesson on any topic for any grade level (we prepared this ahead of time). I did my sample on the Haiku poem for 11th grade. I totally nailed it and got a lot of positive feedback from other canidates. It was so much fun being up there.
Then came the writing sample and group discussion based on a provided scenario. Since I'm pretty efficient at writing, the writing sample was a piece of cake. The discussion was irritating. It is a given that one or two people will monopolize the conversation and make sure you know where your place is. I made two contributions and called it good.
Later, in my personal interview, I was asked why I didn't contribute more. I'm an observer and when I speak, it's because I have a point or idea to contribute. I'm not going run my mouth for the sake of hearing my own voice. My personal interview when well, but I did run into some sticky areas. All I can do is put it in God's hands. I'll let you know in two weeks when they notify the lucky canidates.

Crunch Time

Today was interesting. Eric and I watched our first wheelchair rugby tournament at Craig Hospital. I know many people view paralysis as a death sentence, but these athletes obviously didn't get the memo.

Wheelchair rugby is a hard hitting combination of basketball and football. The special rugby chairs are equipped for speed and even have wheel guards on them. The slanted wheels bear pits and pock marks from the intense contact. It was kinda fun to see these guys (and one girl) ramming into each other. There are four members on each team and cones set up on either end of the basketball court (like an end zone). The goal is to get a regulation volleyball through the scoring zone.

One of the commentators mentioned that 8 of the 12 para-olympians competed in the tournament this weekend. Yes, they are going to Beijing! Although, we won't be watching any of the events since the Paralympics aren't televised (these Olympics take place one week after traditional Olympics). Wow, these guys could be bringing home gold for USA and we got to see their moves first. Pretty exciting.

We met one of the guys, Jason Regier, at Eric's library program (please see http://ironeric.blogspot.com/ for additional details). He plays great defense and is nice to boot.

Did you know that other wheelchair sports exist? Imagine individuals bowling, playing basketball, pool play (?), softball, and rugby in a wheelchair. Pretty amazing stuff. Hopefully we'll get to see another wheelchair sport in the future.

The DLS Experiment

Update: So our little daylight savings experiment worked, but the good news can only be applied to the waking up scenario. We still managed to go to bed at the same pre DLS time, which still decreased our restoritive sleep by an hour. Going to bed early, was really hard to do, especially when a good show was on (I blame you, Eli Stone).

However, we (or should I say, I) were much better off, than we were last year. I didn't feel like a menace to society with my sleep deprived driving.

Changes for the future: Practice going to bed early (that means you Eli).

My Humps

Eric and I have made the executive decision to make a lifestyle change. At least for the next month, we will be counting calories and watching our portion sizes. As an athlete, Eric's goal is to make sure he's eating enough and my goal, as a chubby little housewife, is to limit my caloric intake.

I have also signed a membership for Fitness 19 (a gym). It is 6 miles from the house but you can't beat the price at $20/mo. I took my baseline body measurements and they were a little frightening (I'll spare you the nightmares). I will do follow up measurement at 6 and 12 wks.

My workout goal is to do cardio 3 days/wk and weights 2 days/wk, with 1 visit to the scale at the beginning of each week. My first workout was today and I feel pretty good. Ask again in a couple hours and I might tell you a different story.

We'll keep you updated on our progress. At the end of 12 weeks, I hope to have shed 15-20 lbs. Wish us luck!

The 60 Second Brawl

To celebrate the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Nintendo Wii, GameStop sponsored a Smash Bros. tournament. The grand prize includes a LCD flat screen TV, a Wii console with accessories and $5,ooo.

Eric and I signed up during the day and entered our names in the offical bracket around 10:30 pm. We were surrounded by youngins (majority age range 14-18). We were one of the oldest contestants, but luckily, we fit right in. Each round was a 60 sec. knock down, drag out. Each contestants characters were randomized by the computer. Eric's main goal was to beat at least one person. My unrealistic goal, was to make the top 5.

Here is how it all fell apart. We were using a Wii with a Wii nunchuck and Wii remote controller. It was like they gave me choptsticks to eat with. And the end results would have been the same.

Eric was called first, playing under the name Jiro. He was selected to battle as Princess Peach (aww, how pretty). He got lucky. The other guy got Warrio, who is very hard to control, which led to him self destructing (SD) three times. Eric attained his goal.

I was called awhile later. I played as Nico and was given Pikachu, a character I'm familiar with. However, I was not given time to review the button controls and had to fend for myself. I had some lofty ambitions, since I was the only girl, and I am writing about a female video game champion. Anyway, the level we played on was flat (the other guy was Dr. Mario). Easy enough. Then the middle fell out. The good Dr. jumped to the other side of the screen in a safe zone. I was exactly in the same positon on the other side. Then the crowd started to chant, "Jump, jump,jump...." Well I'm not one for getting a win like a pacifist coward. So I tried to jump the divide and collected my first SD. Then my second happened shortly afterward. Hard to believe, but the other guy won.

I realize that in 60 sec., anything can happen and I should walk away a gracious loser. If you really know me, then I know your laughing.
In Eric's second round, he squared off against MetaKnight (from the Kirby series). Eric lost in a fair fight. We watched the rest of the tournament, admiring the awesome graphics and seeing lost and missing Nintendo players (ie Pit, from Kid Icarus). The top four characters of the tournament were 2 MetaKnights, Pit, and of course my handsome Link. Note, all these guys have swords. Actual swords, get your mind out of the gutter.

So, we need a Wii! Just so we can play this killer game. We are currently accepting donations :0)