Lawyerboysbakergirl

All of January, I was either subbing at Hope or New Spirit. I was getting quite a few calls to teach at the New Spirit Primary school. I didn’t mind. It was seven minutes from our apartment. School went an hour later than Hope. Therefore, I was really pressed for time to get home, change, eat, and be to Target by 6. However, I enjoyed the kids and staff. Plus, Target was only about five minutes from our place, but it took around 15 minutes for me to get there because of the traffic at that hour. At night on the way home from Target, it takes five minutes which is nice when I am tired!

In the middle of the month, I taught a half day for Mary, the fifth grade teacher, because her son was sick. Her class was at a field trip when I got there. It was so great to finally meet her. I took them to lunch and came back and visited with Mary. She told me she was so happy she found someone to teach her kids because they are a hard bunch. She said, “Let’s face it. You are very pretty. I think the boys like that.” It was too nice of her to say to me!

Recess was inside. Thank goodness because it was negative two degrees out! We had a really good day. As the students were getting their planners ready at the end of the day, one girl asked if I was a supermodel.

“No. Why?” I asked.

Another boy said, “You’re not?”

“No! Not at all. Why do you think that?” I asked.

“You look like one!” said a lot of the students.

Wow! They are so good for your self-esteem! Mary had told me earlier in the day that she asked other teachers what I looked like because the kids all liked me and wanted me to be their teacher whenever she was gone.

Towards the end of January, they got me for a week. I was supposed to sub for music, which I was not looking forward to, because I cannot carry a tune! They called back and said Mary requested me for the rest of the week because she needed to fly to Nebraska. Her father was ill. I was happy to know that I knew my plans for the week, but felt bad for her.

Even though it was five years ago, I still remember that class and the boy and girl who asked if I was a supermodel! How could I not!?! If I was, I would be one supermodel that ate bread every day. It is my favorite food! I love homemade bread. My mom’s homemade buns and my Honey Wheat Bread are two of my favorites that I can eat many ways, but my favorite way is plain. No butter, No sandwich meat, No peanut butter and jelly. They are what this non-supermodel could eat for every meal.

Honey Wheat Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees – Bake Time: 25 minutes – Prep Time: 30 minutes total, plus 3 hours of rise time – Makes: 2 loaves (12 slices each)

1 package rapid ride yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup shortening, melted

1/3 to 1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons butter

Dissolve yeast and sugar in a measuring cup with the 110 degree water. Combine milk, water, melted shortening, honey (I use a 1/2 cup. You can use a bit less or even a bit more!), salt, and wheat flour in a Kitchen Aid using the dough attachment. Add the yeast mixture to the Kitchen Aid. Mix this mixture together. Then, let this all rest for 15 minutes. Add the three cups of bread flour and mix well until batter hooks around attachment. This takes about four minutes. Take out the dough with one hand, and butter the bowl with the other. Turn the dough over so both side get buttered. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 45 to 60 minutes. Punch dough down. Divide into two equal parts. Roll each half out to get out the bubbles. Form each half into a loaf shape. Place each loaf into a buttered 9 X 5 bread pan. Butter the tops of the dough and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise in a warm area for two hours. The dough will double in size. It also rises a bit more in the oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until tops are a golden brown. (Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven to add steam while baking.) Loosen the bread from the pan and let cool on wired rack or a towel with waxed paper. Butter the tops of the baked loaves while still warm. Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing if you want to enjoy it warm. It stays moist for a couple of days and is great as toast, too! Remember, it makes two loaves so freeze one or give one away!

I have been active my whole life. My mom has told me I was always on the go. I’d run around our house, all over our yard, and down our lane. Sometimes, I thought about it, but for the most part, running, was just how I got from one place to the next.

I loved playing basketball. It was fast. I loved sprinting and relays. Mostly, because I got to run fast. When I was in the seventh grade, we had the opportunity to be in volleyball. I didn’t participate because I thought it was too slow. I didn’t try it the next year either. When I was a freshman, I was finally convinced to at least try it. It wasn’t as fast as I was used to, but it was fun to be playing a sport and be a part of something. I really enjoyed it. Later on when I was teaching, I was also coaching basketball and volleyball. I actually preferred to coach volleyball, even though I enjoyed playing basketball more.

I played basketball and volleyball in junior college. I would go on the stair-stepper before practice. My teammates thought I was crazy, but it was just my way of clearing my mind! When Lawyerboy and I met in junior college, I quickly found out that he was on the hockey team. Hockey was a big deal at our school, for most people. Not me. I rarely went to games, even though it was the thing to do. I tried to go with everyone my first year, but was frozen the whole time and would gladly stay behind. A lot of people wanted to date or ‘hang out’ with the hockey players. I truly could care less what sport you played. If you were nice and funny, I was all for being friends. It was neat that he played hockey simply because Lawyerboy understood being committed to a team and what all goes into it. I also liked knowing being active was important to him.

When I started teaching and coaching, I didn’t always have time to workout. As much as I loved my job, I needed time to myself. I would be at the school well after everyone had went home for the night planning and correcting papers, but I wasn’t getting any ‘me’ time. In my second year of teaching, I wouldn’t leave the school until I went into the gym and had ‘me’ time to clear my head. Normally, I would prefer to walk outside, but I went to the gym because it was dark outside and I can be a bit of a scaredy cat! I started by walking because I had seen many adult people in my life walk laps around a gym. After a week, I was a little bored. I love going for walks, but it is more fun outside where you have things to look at. So, I started to run. It had been awhile since college where I had to run sprints and crusher/ladders to help get into game shape. First, I ran a minute and then walked a minute. The next day I would run two minutes and walk one. Each day that week I increased my run time by a minute.

Every day, seven days a week, I made at least an hour of time for myself to walk or walk/run. Eventually I got to running for a whole hour around the gym. I loved every moment of it. People couldn’t understand that I just went round and round. It was my time to clear my head and listen to my iPod that Lawyerboy bought me for Valentine’s Day.

When Lawyerboy and I moved to the Twin Cities, I would walk from my cousin’s place to Lake Phalen. When I got there, I would run around it. It was three miles long. I would then walk back. So exercising was the one thing I did each day, besides watching Kelly, that was for me. Kelly truly kept me sane. I was so lonely by myself all day long and I needed to laugh. Exercising kept me saner. It was my time to think about all the blessings I had in order to try to stop feeling sorry for myself for not having a teaching job or friends here.

When we decided to get an apartment, I was excited that it had a workout room. I enjoyed going outside, but was worried about the winter weather. I would no longer have my school’s gym to workout in! So, having access to a gym made me happy! Soon, I would start substitute teaching and working at Target and have little free time. Exercising, watching Kelly, and seeing Lawyerboy were three things that I tried to keep constants in my life.  It wasn’t easy….

People often ask what types of exercise I do and how I find the time. My answer: Running is what I do most and the above is how it all began. I do other things like dancing, yoga, and biking on nice days, which I will share more about one day for those of you who have no desire to run or can’t because of an injury. As for how I find the time, I make time… Period.