Monumental 169.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

I don't know why I did it, but today after my run I had to stop by the gym to pick up some things for basketball practice, which is where I keep the scale now!!!  Not knowing what made me weigh myself, I usually like to do it after a couple of weeks have passed, I stepped on the scale, waited for the scale to give me back my weight and sure enough:

169.4 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Now granted prior to the weigh-in I ran 11.5 miles and that has a LOT to do with it, HOWEVER, I have weighed myself after runs before and NEVER have I been under 170 pounds!!!!!!!  In fact the last time I have been under 170 was back in 5/6th grade!!!!!  For as long as I can remember (4th grade or so) I have been a fat kid (until Freshmen year of college)!!!!!!!  I was the slowest one in the mile test, least amount of push-ups, a lineman for football, and always the anchor for tug-o-war!!!!!!!!!  My highest point of my weight was around 220 pounds, around 10/11th grade football season!!!!  And no, not all muscle, in fact it was about 30-35% body fat I would say!!!!!!

Stepping on the scale today has really opened my eyes on how far I've come, through my passion of not only running, but eating healthy and controlling/stabilizing a healthy weight once and for all!!!!!!  People ask me how did you do it, what are your tricks????  My answer is simple: PASSION!!!!!!  Every single person that tells me they want to lose weight, I simply tell them, how badly do you want it?!?!  I compare it to something they're passionate about!!  Reading, cooking, teaching, gardening, etc.!!!!!! I tell them, look you have to treat losing weight and exercising the same way you treat your passion!!!!!

If you REALLY want to achieve something, like losing weight, you better be ready to live and breath change and determination!!!!  This is something that doesn't last for 2 months and then you're good to go, this is a LIFESTYLE change that you better be ready to commit for your ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!  How did I do it, I changed my eating habits, I had self-control (stopped eating out, junk food, etc.), and it also helped that my other passion was long distance running!!!!!!!:):):):)  But I felt and lived obesity for 5-6 years and once I started to change I got addicted!!!!!!! In a good way!!!!!!! I LOVED the way I felt after I would eat a healthy, yet delicious meal, or finish a nice 15 miler!!!!!!!:):):):)  I'm lucky in the sense I have lived both worlds, because it gives me motivation to NEVER, EVER go back to being obese ever again!!!!!  Sitting on the couch doing nothing, eating crappy foods, feeling tired all the time!!!!!! NEVER!!!!!!!  So before you start your journey of losing weight, you need to really ask yourself, deep down, are you ready to do a complete lifestyle change?!?! If not, you better take some more time and really think about it!!!!

For it is not an easy path you are about to take, and without mental toughness and self-control it will be even harder!!! BUT the rewards, if you do complete your conquest, will be ASTRONOMICAL!!!!!!!:):):):):) Take it from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY SMILING AND LIVING HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):)

Hard Grader or Not Easy A anymore!!

So this past week in PE I've heard things that please me:

"This is PE, why are we doing all of these extra things.  Why can't it be like my old school where we just play sports and that's it.  I don't like all this extra work."

"I heard you (Mr. L) were a hard grader for this. And why does African Dance have a grading rubric?"

"Why do we have so many assignments in class, it's only PE"

YES!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! AND YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS is what should be coming out of students mouth if they are receiving the NEW and IMPROVED type of Physical Education!!! The credited, assessed, and valid Physical Education the new generation of students NEED!!!!  Why?!?! Because no longer do we live in a world where kids will go out and play on their own and get the natural physical activity I got as a kid playing tag for 2-3 hours STRAIGHT!!!! I never even knew I was doing interval training, which is what ALL tag games are!!! You sprint hard for 1-2 minutes, take a break, sprint again, take a break!!!  Who knew!!!:):):)

I hear my 11/12th grade students say thankfully we didn't have to do this when I was in PE, oh you mean actually LEARN something in class!!  Instead of doing the same thing over and over, year and year out!!  I remember my high school experience was focused solely on sports and barely anything outside of that, like heart rate, muscles, over training, etc.!!!!  I loved it, but looking back at it what did I get from it?!? Barely anything!! It wasn't until college that I opened up my eyes and realized, wow, I really didn't get that much out of PE like I thought!! There is SO much more to physical education than just learning sports, sports, and some more sports on top of that!!  Why does your body react to that, why does your heart beat faster or slower for these certain things!! What the heck is this muscle and why do we use it?!! Oh you mean we should be challenging ourselves more and more after each session in the fitness room to actually grow stronger?!?!

At the end of the semester Physical Education students ACTUALLY have to take a test, assessing them on all the knowledge they gained throughout the year!! WHOA, shocker!!!  And it's not just a test asking what are dimensions of the court or how many fouls can you get before you're out in a basketball game!!  It's actually pleasing to hear comments like this, KNOWING, that these students actually have to work for their grade in PE, and NOT receive the "Easy A"!!!  Fail Physical Education?!?! Heck yes!!  You don't put forth the effort and work, you bet you'll fail!!  Not that I am promoting students failing, obviously that is not the point!! I will help them with everything and anything!! BUT, they don't put in the work and/or effort and you better believe they will earn the grade they receive at the end of the year!!  The stigma of "Easy A" is no longer associated with Physical Education at Woodstock!!  Students are working and LEARNING at the same time!!!

Like I said, students more than ever now need to be equipped with knowledge about their bodies and how to stay healthy, because we are heading towards a very lazy future generation!!!  Unless some changes happen!!!!!  Oh and I definitely love when even teachers say "wait, you're doing what in PE????"  Yeah, this is a whole new generation of PE, and the old school/outdated way of teaching one dimensional is OUT of here!!!!  To a HEALTHIER and more ACTIVE future!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

HAPPY SMILING AND BEING ACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Oh and the VERY first thing I do in the beginning of the year is cut out an A and tell them to try and get it!!! Then I proceed to run around the entire court, making sure they have to WORK to get it!!  Thus, setting a tone for the year and getting the point across, yeah not so EASY to get an A in PE is it!!!:):)

Eye of the FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

FINALLY I CAN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE THE WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHUBHRA IS PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):)

We wanted to wait 3 months before announcing, to ensure the baby's health and growth were all normal!!!!! WHICH THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!! It has already been a magical 3 months and 3 days, and now not only the next 6 months but our ENTIRE LIFE will be magical as well!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Before announcing the news to the entire school, I wanted to tell my 11th grade homeroom first!!! So I sent all of Grade 11 an e-mail saying we needed to urgently meet 6 minutes before assembly started to go over some Talent Show things!!!  Not thinking anyone would buy that or read the e-mail in time, about half the 11th grade actually showed up to the media center this morning (more than I expected)!!!! I got started by saying some jumble on behalf of the Head of Senior School, then said he had a document he wanted the students to look over!!! That's when I pulled out the ultrasound and held it up!!!!!  Not knowing what the heck was going on the 11th grade looked shocked and confused, then I said the words finally through tears and smiles: "and with this document I will be a father in September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  The 11th graders mouths dropped and couldn't believe what they just heard!!!!!!!  I excused them so they wouldn't be late for assembly and on the way out all of them came up and gave me a huge hug and said their congrats which really got the emotions flying!!!!!!:):):) Then I announced the wonderful news in assembly (grades 7-12) with a surprise fashion ensemble!!!!:):):) Some staff were displaying their "modeling" talents for the Fashion Club, and I was planning on today as the grand reveal!!!! So I wrote on my running singlet "Future Father" (on the front) and then when turning around to model the back I had written "In September" (on the back)!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say that go the crowd really going and talking!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) With all the energy at that point, definitely let out the biggest "OH YEAH" and ginormous fist pump a new future father could let out!!!!!!!!!! It was a FANTASTIC moment!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Throughout the day congrats were said, names were suggested, and babysitters were lining up!!!!!!! It was amazing!!!!!! Emotionally I was freakin unstable as heck!!!!!  Whenever I would have a couple of minutes between class to myself I would just sit there and think about how real this has just gotten!!!! I think making the news public makes the baby THAT more real, and looking at the ultrasound throughout the day!!!!!!:):):):) But even the way students looked at me today compared to the previous 4 1/2 years was different, like a more adult and parental look!!!!!  And the way I looked at them, a more caring and "fatherly" type of way, if that makes any sense?!?! The whole day just felt more mature and ready to "take the next step" in this world!!!!!!:):):) Maybe it was just because of all the emotion from the morning, but I really think something changed in me today, something for the better!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

The students reaction though was the best!!!!!!!:):):) I am in my cultural 9th grade dance unit, and our theme for this week is African Dance and they have to create their own African dance and tell a story through dance!!!! So some ideas, after the big announcement, were to tell a story of my kid growing up!!! I couldn't help but laugh and have a huge smile!!!!! My kid's life story!!!!!!! It just stuck with me for the entire rest of the day and it felt so surreal to think about "my kid's life story"!!!!!!!! I know my kid has already started their journey, BUT in 6 months my kid will actually begin their journey on Earth and with it comes the fear, joy, enthusiasm, support, care, role modeling, mentoring, love, and all the other type of emotions a father can have for their child!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

When students weren't making dances of my child, they were just SO freakin cute!!!!!!!!:):):) They would say you should name your child after me, it means _____ or _____!!!!!!! Or they would volunteer to babysit, EVERY night!!!!!!:):) Or just smile at me, but not the same smile I've seen these past years, a HUGE HAPPY SMILE that I loved to look at today!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

All in all it was the most perfect day any future father could have!!!!!!!!!:):):):) I think Shubhra was also relieved to have the news finally in the open so she wasn't worried about who knew or didn't knew!!!!  And she, as me, is also VERY excited for this journey into a new chapter of our lives!!!!!  I cannot think of a better mother to have at my side in life, and together we will make, hopefully, an amazing parental team!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)  Full of love, laughter, and guidance!!!!!!!!:):):):):)

Today was the Eye of the Father type of day I was hoping for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I can only pray and hope for a healthy baby boy/girl, it doesn't matter, just as long as it's healthy and happy!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) Oh and you better believe the music and reading to the stomach will begin now!!!!!!!!:):):):) That music of course: FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahALBEn8HJI

HAPPY SMILING!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY LIVING!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY PARENTING!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)