Up and Running!

I am finally feeling like a normal human again, two weeks later.  Yesterday was the first day I went back to the health club and boy was it sad.  I completed a half an hour on the elliptical and sounded like I had been smoking a pack of cigarettes a day,  But I completed it!
I was exhausted but looking forward to getting back into my routine.

I also felt like today was extremely productive.  Woke up early, went to Mass, grocery shopping, errands, and even cleaned my room which has been in drier need for quit some time.

I am looking forward to being able to do a whole days work and not feel like I just ran a marathon.
All I say now is, Bring it on. 

Quarantined

Well, it has been a while.  Today I woke up late and looked out my window to a winter wonderland.  I was surprised.  I knew that there had been a snow warning for the last 48 hours but I have been quarantined to by bed with a cold that is so miserable that I have taken to gurgling salt water because, well, nothing else has worked.  Oh let me back track a little bit so you know what is going on.


I have been going to the Sandpoint Middle School special ed room, for one of my classes.  It has been very rewarding and eye opening.  The teacher is wonderful, and so are the kids, except at least half of them are sick.  Oh yes recycled air in a middle school in winter!   Anyways,  I started to get a sore throat on Wednesday, and sounded like a man on Thursday.  Went to work on Friday, which if any of you came by you in the AM then you might of heard me, not pretty. I had called my sister, and one of her daughters answered the phone "mommy there is a man on the phone for you." was what they heard, they didn't even know that it was there Aunt!! Saturday was even better and I didn't talk to people because it hurt too much.  Sunday I was so tired I slept through my two alarm clocks, and was only up for 5 hours then went back to bed, so I could open Monday and Tuesday.

Now for this being just a cold it is kicking me my butt.  I am so tired, and just moving from one place to the other is exhausting.  Wednesday I stayed in bed all day and now today I am finally doing homework and trying to find somebody to work for me tomorrow.  I don't know what his is but I am going to be really happy once it is done because you never get the same things twice, right!

Well I want to end on a positive note, and that is I am only sick, not dead or in the hospital.  It could always be worse...

The Wall

Well I have decided that I have hit my wall.I would love a vacation.  A vacation from everything.  No homework. No school. No work. No paperwork.  No bad knees.  No phones.  Just me in some foreign place where I know nobody.  ahhh.  But that is not to be.

  I am a PACE student. A student that doesn't know what a summer vacation is.   A student that doesn't get the luxury of a three day holiday weekend.  That must work full time time to pay bills and school.  An individual that spends their days off in a middle school so that she can graduate on time. 

I know that there are others out there who are like me who are just tired.  Who would love to go somewhere and not look at a computer screen for a month!  It is also those who keep on trucking and see the light at the end of the tunnel.  That keep encouraging one an other and make our vacation that could be as simple as going out to dinner with friends.

Knowing that there are others out there, also in misery makes me stronger.  ( I know that is morbid, but it is true.)  These ladies give me strength, friendship, and encouragement.  They in a sense are part of my foundation.  So knowing that I have hit my wall, I also know that it will soon crumble for I have the foundation that will stand through anything.

Running... not a good idea

So I had said that I was going to try running after not being a active runner for many years.  Well today I realized that I had been making the right choice all along.    I got on the treadmill, (dreadful things) and stated off at a nice stroll slowly building up speed.  I was going along at a fine pace, moving my arms, breathing and all the good stuff thinking that this isn't so bad, when all the sudden it feels like my IT band is a rubber band.   I immediately got off the treadmill and stretched and walked around.  It has been a few hours and still I feel miserable.   Of course I had to try out my new adventure on a Friday night and a three day weekend! Classic.  Oh well lesson learned.  No more running for me!

Running

Well today I'm going to try something new.  I am going to go running. I haven't ran since I played soccer and that stopped in 8th grade.   I have done other activities, but running is not one of them.  I have always claimed "bad knees" and now that I have "bad knees" I'm actually going to try it.  I know it makes no sense, but that is why I love it.
I'm just go to see how far I can go before I fall over and wand to die because I'm not getting enough air in my lungs. Oh the things that we do to entertain ourselves...

Exam 1.

I just finished taking a 12 page exam for one of my classes online.  I was not very impressed.  Considering that I am learning how to make a valid exam I know that the exam was not valid in any way.  Anyways  I had to spew.  I just love the classes that are so beneficial to my education! 

Sunday!!!

Well I now have Sundays off which is amazing.  I really wanted to go back to bed after church and watch old movies, and sleep.  Well that was not to be.
I decided to be a good student and do multiple quizzes, assignments, journals, and a book review.  I was extremely disappointed. I didn't want to spend my day looking at my computer screen, racking my brains till it hurts.  But now I can "be ahead" for a few days. 
After I complete my studies for the day I will be going to the health club and attemp to get back in shape in the pool.  Hopefully I don't drown! haha

SMS

For one of my classes I need to have so many hours in a special ed room.  I have chosen to do this part of my class in Sandpoint, at the middle school.  I have known the teacher since I have been in elementary school and I know that she will use me in the class, not just have me sit and watch.  Very exciting.

Well this last Thursday I was in Sandpoint and went for the first half of the day.  This is when she has the 8th graders.  Now I haven't met the students yet, but my older brother has.  My older brother Luke, (who is Iraq right now) did his student teaching with Mrs. Ireland last year.  These kids were 7th graders then.  Luke would tell me stories about his experiences and I was so jealous because he was so close to being done.  Granted he is 8 years older than me, but still.  Mrs. Ireland introduces me as Miss Omodt, Luke's little sister.  I wish I had a camera to capture the different reactions that were on the students faces, it was so comical.
Well about half way through the class, one of the girls asks, " So your Luke's wife?"
The classroom goes quiet.
"No, I'm his little sister."
From a boy near the front of the class.
"But you look so much older then him, and he's old!"

This made me smile, and Mrs. Ireland told the kids to get back to work.
Shortly after the bell rang and Math class next.  This was awesome because I was able to work with a girl for over an hour ( there schedules are strange) individually.  It was so great.  I'm really looking forward to next week to see if she can remember anything that I told her.

Also I'm hoping that the kids remember that I'm Luke's sister and not his wife!

One Down, One to Go

Oh what a happy day!  God knew what he was doing.  He decided to give me (and my family) a gift.  Even though it is my Dads birthday, God decided to send my results of the PRAXIS. 
For the last week I have been checking my account to see if I have gotten any scores, and each day I would be defeated in my quest for the one word PASS or FAIL.  Each day I would talk to my Dad and he would ask if I have gotten the results in, and another 'no' came from my lips.  But today was different!!!
I had gotten off of work and was ready to do some homework, go to the gym, and do more homework.  Called Dad and wished him Happy Birthday, and then started the process of getting into my LC accounts (which take forever), whenn i decided to check for the results.
I had no expectations, more out of habit really, so when I saw  "see your results" My heart froze. I clicked away, scrolled down and tried to understand what all the extra stuff was saying, then I saw it. PASSED.
Heck Yes!!!!
I was so excited.  I called Dad back and he answered on the first ring.  As I told him his response was with a smile, "Oh good, now we just have to wait for the other one! "  I love it.
As I called my other siblings to make sure that they wished Dad a Happy Birthday each one asked about results.  My family is awesome.
I told each person, and the response was similar to Dad's which made me smile.
So now I have 3-4 more weeks to wait till I get the results of my other test.
One down, One to go.....

Special Olympics

Today I was able to have the honor of volunteering at the Special Olympics in Kellogg Id.  I was so looking forward to helping at the snowshoeing event.  I was going to be outside. In the snow.  In  the Sun.  With Snowshoes. I was ready.  With long underwear, polypro, smart wool socks and awesome winter boots Bring on the cold. 
We got to Kellogg and found out that we were going to be inside in a gym instead :(  I was going to keep score of floor hockey!  Awesome.  One of the ladies came over and told me what to look for, and who was a U, (unimpaired player I think that is what it meat.) and how to keep score.  It was going to be the best of 2 out of 3.  The teams were Coeur d' Alene and Lewiston.
I was so excited! Just watching these players play is so insperational.  If one player falls, or trips from the other team, the opposing team member closet goes over to help him up with a smile on his face.  The cheer for each other while they are playing the game.  They never complain when they are subbed out. And the cheer when the other scores!!!
It was great.
The first game was 8-1 with CDA loosing.  They played hard, and you could see that they were a little down. the coaches were reeving them up in the 10 minute break between games and you could just see the energy flow back into them.
The second game was phonominal.The CDA team came out strong and fierce and got the first goal.  But then Lewiston came back and it was tied. The game continued this way and was tied until  the last 10 seconds.I lost my voice cheering for both teams, it was so exciting.  I was hoping the CDA would win and they would have to play one more game but Lewiston came and chuck the puck in right as the Buzzer sounded.  You would have thought that you were at a Gonzaga basketball game with how loud the cheers were.  But it was from both teams!
CDA was so happy that they had such a good game, it was  as if they won.  And Lewiston was really excited because last year they had lost. When it came time for the 'good game' the team lined up and gave each other their high 5's and all were ready for lunch.
After picking up the court, and putting thing away I walked in the lunch room and the two teams were eating together, smiling, and laughing.  It was so great to see.  At least a dozen or so players came up to me and shook my hand, said 'Thank You', and asked me to eat lunch.  I couldn't stay but watching the interaction between the two teams, and just made my day.
The Special Olympics are such a great event. The people that participate are so friendly, They don't have any meanness in them.  Every time I am at an event like this it makes me realize how lucky I am.  Not just the fact that I don't have any serious disabilities in my life, but that these individuals remind me of what kindness looks like in it's purest form.
So I thank you.
The Olympians,of  Coeur d' Alene and Kellogg for sharing your gift with me.

Taxes

It is tax season and I never look forward to it.  I always await for the W-2 forms to come in the mail, and check to make sure that everything is right.  In the past I have had wrong SSN listed, Wrong Names, all sorts of fun things.  Makes me really love the gov't. Anyways.  This year I got the W-2 and it was all correct!!! 2 points for big G.
So I usually use turbo tax online, because it is free and I am a poor college student.  Plus I usually get a decent amount back cause the bux's always takes out too much.  Anyways, I make a fire (I'm at my parents house in Sandpoint), sit on Griff, ( the Cow skin that is covering our couch), and get my papers ready to do battle with deductions, and benefits, and whatnot.
It seems to be going really smoothly, which surprises me.  This could be because I am not fully reading the questions or I just don't understand them so I  haven't come to any road blocks.  It only takes me about an hour, which is rare.  That never happens.  I usually have to make several phone calls, look up information on the net, cal the IRS for the PIN number and wait for 20 minutes to get an answer.  But not today!!  I must have picked a really good time to do taxes.
Well I get through all the "signings" saying that I agree to let them put money in the bank, and that I am who I say I am. When it comes time to pay for the services.  Now I use this because it says it is free, but now turbo tax charges $30 just to use the "free" option.  I was mad.  I was getting ripped off.  Of all the nerve.  Free does not mean $30.  Well this lasted for about 20 seconds then I looked at my return and realized that I was getting more back that if I were to sit down and do it on paper.  So all together it cost $60 bucks ( $30 for State) which isn't really that bad.  But of course I had to complain.  I eagerly await for my return, so it can go in the bank to pay for summer school!!!!! 

Till Next Turbo Tax

J.P.

I wrote this earlier today, but felt that It would work so I copied and Paste.  Thanks.

                John.  J.P.  My little brother that is 6 inches taller than me is getting deployed.   He is a Mechanic for the Air Force that fixes big rigs, but he can’t fix my car!  How worthless!  ( I say this with extreme sarcasm.)    I have seen different brothers and a sister-in-law be deployed so it is nothing new, but John is somehow different.  I am close to all of my siblings, all 7 of them, but John is still a little kid at heart.  He is the only person who can wear lederhosen, (the funny short pants from Germany) and get away with it.  J.P., John Patrick and I have a bond that the other kids don’t have. We were home-schooled together.  We spent many countless hours of school time down in the creek looking for catfish to feed the dogs, canoeing and trying to get the culvert, hanging out at our neighbors who was known as ‘the pig lady’ because she sold all the 4-h pigs.  So many memories.  ( we did do school work also, I promise)  We are both stuck at ages that we forget that we are the age that we are.  We watch old movies together, and go on junk food binges like other adults drink beer.  We both want to be teachers and joke that we will marry for money because we are going to be poor.  (Well that is a joke amongst most of the Omodt’s  because 6 out of 8 kids want/are teachers)  John is special.  Not just to me, but to everybody.  It isn’t that I am worried about him coming back, or if he is going to change.  I hope that he does. I know he will come back.  I’m am just selfish and know that I can’t call him up and ask stupid questions, and have him make fun of me.   (I can also say this with most of my other siblings) I am proud of him and all of my family for what they do.  They may give the ultimate price, for me, for you, for everybody and they go with grace and style.  That is the way of the Omodt’s.  That is the way of J.P. Saying goodbye this morning with a high five and a huge smile.