Jacki over at Lovely Little Shelf has started this great “Flashback Friday” meme where we write about old books that we loved when we were younger. This could be a series or an individual book that we read until it was worn.

Today, I’m writing about my favorite book when I was about 12-14… I think I read it about 8 times. I seriously thought it was the SCARIEST book ever!

A Ghost in the House by Betty Ren Wright

This is the story of Sarah, who (of course) is crushed and angsty when her family moves into the beautiful old house in the suburbs which belongs to her Great Aunt Margaret. She would be fantastically happy with her amazing new bedroom (complete with fireplace!) but nursing home life doesn’t agree with Aunt Margaret, and she soon rejoins the family and reclaims her bedroom.

The bedroom squabble soon turns to darker tales, as Sarah bonds with her Aunt over the strange happenings that continue to plague their sacred bedroom.

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When I became a middle school teacher, one of the very first things I did was  check this bad boy out from the school library. I read it in about 5 hours, and of course, it wasn’t NEARLY as scary as I remembered it, but I still really enjoyed the story.

I thought it was clever, and twisty, with just enough ghostie-goodness to make me remember why I spent my youth reading mystery/scary/suspense books for kids.

I’d encourage you to check out your old childhood faves from the library too… it is a great way to take a book breather between more heady works, and remind you what you loved about reading back when it all still felt shiny and new. :)

Hey gang! I wanted to post something this morning, but had a lack of inspiration…

Enter Ramblings of a Health Student! and her Meet Me Monday!

So, I’m going to leave you with 5 things you may not know about me…

1. I hate having my hair wet… really hate it. HATE.
2. I love science fiction, and in my opinion, the crappier the effects/acting/storyline/basic-effing-premise… THE BETTER.
3. I don’t like salad. Flat out. I would rather eat a handful of lettuce by hand then have it tossed in bowl with dressing and other bits of things.
4. I know it is a flaw, but I want people to like me… I want them to think I am a valuable person. And maybe I shouldn’t care what others think/say, but I can’t help it… I do.
5. I will do ANYTHING for you. really, thats another pseudo flaw, because sometimes even if it is bad for me emotionally or psychologically, I’ll still go the extra mile for you.

Were any of these surprising for you? did anyone already know all of these things about me?

If you do your own Meet Me Monday, let me know! I want to read them! :D

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Today feels/felt like it was such a busy day!! I’m not sure why, other than, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished… though to be fair, I still have a ton more to do. :)

First up… Foodies!

Cookies for a cause…
Meghann at graduatemeghann.com had her blogger bake sale (day 1) today! She is collecting donations, and in this case, auctioning off delicious baked goods from a ton of her wonderful foodie friends! I’m excited to have bid, and as of right now, I’m the top bidder for the one I want! Here’s hoping I stay in the top spot by midnight!

Daily eats…
Today, I had some WEIRD food stuff happen… Lunch, I almost BARFED while eating the chicken in my pita sandwich… I dunno why, but it was revolting. And for dinner, my babe made us some baked tofu, with a salsa/ricotta sauce, and some beans!? Weird, right?? Just a random food day, I guess…

Anyway, here is the breakdown:
Breakfast and AM snack: Multigrain cheerios, skim milk, carrots, and almonds.
am snack 2/9/09
Lunch and a special desert: Whole wheat pita, kale, and 2 left over crusty chicken breast tenders that we baked up last night. (that made me gag like a muther.) And 1/2 of a cupcake to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
Lunch 2/9/09Elmo's sweet treat 2/9/09
Afternoon snack: grapes and string cheese
Pm snack 2/9/09
Dinner: Baked tofu, pinto beans, and pineapple chunks

On to the Fitness!!!

Self Challenge
I think I may sign up for the self challenge… I love structure, and these challenge programs that pop up now and again almost always have a new tip or two that I’ll use. :)

FFFk!
The Freakishly Flexible Five (5)K!
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Non-Runner Nancy was recently injured, and as a symbol of support, JogAmerica assisted by ChicRunner are holding a virtual 5k this weekend! I’ve signed up, and will run 3.1 around my neighborhood, record my time, and submit it. I’m really stoked to run this distance again, and note the difference in how it feels. :)

and FINALLY…
I’ve been interviewed!! the super cool Chia @ ChiaRunner chose to interview me today! I’m excited that such a cool person decided to play along! She’s moving to Austin soon, so here’s to a safe and painless move!

1. What is a quick way to describe you and the theme of your site?
Wow. Well, currently, my blog is a mix of me journaling my health and fitness progress, including healthy eating, and running. I’m currently in the home stretch of the couch to 5k program, and will begin training for my first half marathon in late March. My blog also contains random thoughts, snippets about education and my passion for teaching students with emotional/behavioral disorders. I frequently post random reviews of random goods and services, and VERY occasionally (like every few years, lol) I’ll post something about music (I used to be an active singer and songwriter)

2. How long have you been running? I’ve been running since December 28, 2008. Those first few strides, and 60 second bursts changed my life.

3. What are your 2009 goals both running and otherwise?
Well, I have a few Anti-Resolutions, which pretty much sum up what I hope to accomplish.
Specifically, and even more recently than January, I’ve decided that I want to run my first half marathon before the year is up, and that I’ll definitely be taking a year off of grad school before returning to work on my doctorate… (actually, I think just as I was typing this, I OFFICIALLY decided that.)

4. What was your most defining moment as a person?
Well, one day, I walked into a Starbucks, and met my husband… that was pretty cool. :D

And, well, it could just be because I’m thinking about health so much right now, but when I took that health assessment at work, and saw in numbers just how gelatinous I’d let myself become, it rocked me pretty good. I bought the 30 day shred that night, worked out for 30 days straight, and 2ish weeks later, took off running, and training for my first 5k.

Another defining moment of my life, which hasn’t happened yet will be my meeting lola this summer… words cannot express how excited I am about that… (I need to blog about lola, don’t I? none of you know why I’ve not met her… hmm, anyway.)

5. If you could workout with anyone on Earth, who would it be and why?

Honestly, the people I most want to workout with are people from the blogosphere, and not famous athletes. The people who’s blogs I’ve been reading have been my encouragement, support, and trainers! I’d love to hit the pavement with Angie @ AngieEatsPeace, and Frayed Laces (though part of that might be about hawaii. ;) ), ummmm, and I’d love to get my BUTT whipped by Jillian Michaels, just once though… I’m no masochist.

Well, there it is, my interview! If you want to be interviewed, here it is, Just comment here, and I’ll choose 2 (or more) to interview. (Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you)

here is the official taggy goodness.
To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Last but not least…
I really need to update my BLOGROLL! So, be patient with me, and maybe this weekend, I’ll get that updated with all my new reads. Goodnight!! :D

so, this morning, D and I went to get our oil changed, and the service guy was swamped, and we could just tell he was dreading telling us, “um, it could be up to a couple of hours before we’re done with you guys.”

But, we didn’t care, we know the possible drawbacks of saturday am oil changes. He seemed truly surprised that we weren’t jerks. He in turn was super nice, and friendly. Made me happy.

- – - -

Then, at the bank, we were the only people in line. It would have only been a 2 minute wait or so, but the manager came over and opened her till to wait on us. She didn’t need to, and we weren’t being impatient, but she wasn’t doing anything, so she just came and took care of it. It was very nice.

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When I got home, I checked the mail, and my new Garmin footpod was here! Last week, when I called and told them that the unit I got with my forerunner 50 was dead on arrival, they just sent a new one. No questions asked, just, “sure, we’re sorry about that… here you go.

- – - -

I’ve had much more traffic on my blog in recent weeks, which as any blogger understands, is a wonderful feeling. Comments, pageviews, and subscriptions make you feel affirmed somehow, and supported. I’ve loved getting comments and feedback, and I hope some of my new readers will continue to make themselves known and not be shy. :)

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On a final note, there is an interview meme going around, and I would really like to participate. I’ve learned so much about my new blog friends (check out all these cool women I’ve been reading all about! Lara @thinspired, Caitlin @healthytippingpoint, Jess @ 21days, and jess @rungirlrun. These ladies, and a ton more are INSPIRING!!! So, I’ll keep replying to the game chain in hopes of being selected soon. :)

Have a great day, and find an opportunity to be nice today!

Okay, okay… I’ve resisted as long as I can. Everyone and their dog has been tagged in facebook to list 25 weird/random things about themselves. So, without further adieu, I’ll succumb.

(but I refuse to insist that anyone has to tag someone else. :P )

25. I have a gazillion memberships to a gazillion online sites/services. From vox to flickr, to digg to stumbleupon, to twitter to plurk… I’ve probably signed up, if it exists.
24. I love really bad scifi… like planet of the apes, total recall, and bladerunner.
23. I love really good scifi too, like battlestar galactica, firefly, and star wars.
22. I grind my teeth so hard at night, that sometimes I wake up my hubby.
21. I still have my character shoes in the closet, because I can’t bring myself to toss them.
20. Speaking of shoes, there was a time in 9th grade that I was convinced I had a size 9 foot. I’m a 7.5 to 8… weird.
19. I love salty tangy foods, but do not like pickles.
18. I HATE having wet hair… like I REALLY hate it.
17. When I’m running, sometimes, I want to sort of… dance… while I’m, umm… running… I usually resist.
16. I live for the applause after a round of karaoke.
15. I have 2 specific phrases that I say in very specific voices to each of my cats. They love it.
14. I prefer young adult lit to grown up lit 9 out of 10 times.
13. I am a teacher, but can’t imagine how scary it would be to have a class of 20-30… let alone multiple classes adding up to over 100 kids! I like having smaller numbers of kids that really need me.
12. I’ve got a soft spot for Dark Side of the Moon.
11. I love office supplies, and would spend exorbitant amounts of money on pens if left to my own devices.
10. I absolutely always, ALWAYS wear my seat belt.
9. I was eliminated from the elementary spelling bee for misspelling CALENDAR… I used an E-R… I almost always got it wrong until about a year ago, that my husband reminded me of my love of pirates, and asked how a pirate would say it… CALENDAAARRRRRRRR. I’ve not messed it up since.
8. (oh yea, and I love pirates)
7. The idea of my teeth touching wood, like a Popsicle stick, is enough to send me into convulsions.
6. I strongly prefer email and texting to talking on the phone.
5. I have a very good, natural French accent, but can barely remember any French. Sometimes, I’ll read the back of the shampoo bottles (the French section) out loud, just to remember how it sounds.
4. I do NOT like my food to touch and eat out of separate dishes when possible. I do own divided plates that are made for kids.
3. I had a number 1 single in Guam… lol….
2. I own over a dozen pairs of chuck taylors.
1. I hate looking at, touching, smelling, or even thinking about left over food that is either in tupperware for more than 3 days, or is in the sink to be disposed of. It is my job to do the dishes, but if we’re cleaning out old food, I swear I’ll gag… my darling dumps them for me.

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