It's CRUNCH Time!!

I can't believe I haven't posted since 9/2! Well, between the kids starting school and not having anything to say every day, I slacked. Now I have TOO much to talk about!

My kids started school this week. So far everything is going well. Chelsea's learning her way around the ginormous high school and even though she's gotten lost, she doesn't seem too frazzled by it. Charlie's doing ok with his hand in the cast. He's managing to write somehow. Today started their 1st full week of school and back to dance for Chelsea. This is when things begin to get chaotic.

Chelsea's 1st day-9/4/12

Charlie's 1st day-9/5/12 (I couldn't let him know I was taking a picture!)

And to add more fuel to the fire, I went for my first job interview today. I was extremely nervous about it all. It is a not-for-profit agency that caters to the needs of the developmentally disabled. I couldn't fill out the application online so I had to go to human resources to fill it out and bring 2 personal and 1 professional reference for the initial interview with a recruiter. I was flabbergasted. How was I going to get a professional reference when I've been out of work since '96? I had no contacts left with old co-workers EXCEPT my kids' pre-school teachers. Through the years, since 1994, I've subbed for either of them when they were on maternity leave or had obligations with their kids. Both my sister and my neighbor wrote my personal references in regards to the care I provided for their kids when they needed me. It was really touching to read what everyone had to say. I really appreciate it! It sure did help my confidence when I entered that building this morning.

The application took a while to fill out. There was a double-sided sheet on workplace attitude regarding stealing and being late, etc. Plenty of forms to fill out on drug-testing and criminal/credit background... Then there was a 30 minute timed aptitude test! It was broken down into math, reading comprehension and more workplace attitude questions. The math and reading comp. multiple choice sections were fun. For example, if John made a purchase totalling $8.62, and he gave the cashier 9 singles, seeing that the cashier had an ample amount of each coin, what is the least amount of coins the cashier can give back? So, you have to do the math, $.38, and figure that 1 quarter, 1 dime and 3 pennies is the only way to have the least amount of coins. It turns out math skills will be necessary for possibly dispensing medication to clients. The other section was just to make sure you weren't a lazy low-life that was going to try to make a buck without doing anything or even getting there on time.

So now I'm waiting for a 2nd interview time to be determined at the residence I'll be working at. I chose that position (part-time Direct Care Counselor) because it's only 4 hours a day, enough to get my feet wet back in the work force and it's not even a 10 minute commute each way. Also, it's early in the morning, so my husband will have to get the kids up and out the door (just make sure they're conscious since they are 14 and 16 now!), but I'm home by mid-morning with the entire day ahead of me to clean the house, workout or run and be home for the kids in the afternoon for homework help or extracurricular activities. I think it will be ideal.

I had the Smith Point Bridge 5k on Saturday. It was 78* with 87% humidity, so the run was torturous. I actually ran 4 seconds slower than the same 5k last year and 4 MINUTES slower than my PR back on June 9th! But I have come to realize that I haven't been training for speed but rather distance the last 3 months. You are supposed to do both, but I was barely managing 2 good runs a week over the summer, so my interval runs suffered, and I am ok with that. So my bad run on Saturday turned into an excellent 9 mile run on Sunday. It was in the high 50's and very overcast when I started. The BEST part of the run was when my old friend that I haven't seen since hs graduation ('89) mentioned that she was visiting from NJ and that she might find me on my route. Was she a sight for sore eyes at mile 6!!! I was shocked. I really thought she was kidding! She's been training for the same half as I am as well as her twin sister Lynda. Lynda said I inspired her to run and we, in turn, inspired Dawn! So we'll all be running the Diva Half on 10/7, less than 4 weeks away!

After the 30:40 5k from hell

Dawn and I after my 9 mile run

 

I'll take an 11 minute mile for the half!

 

I'm really enjoying the new route my husband and I started. It's just a straight run all the way down the highway, over the bridge to the beach and then turn around and come home. The worst part is crossing side streets and going on and off the sidewalks. Towards the end my hips didn't want to play anymore. Thankfully that won't be part of the half marathon route.

After my run I got ready and we headed out to my husband's co-workers' son's 1st birthday party. I am exactly 40 years older than him! He was born 3 months pre-mature and he is doing very well. He is also a beautiful blue-eyed blondey boy like my Charlie was. The Charlies were at the Mets game that I earned free tickets to for donating blood, but Chelsea and I had a good time hanging out with my sisters (Oh yeah, did I mention just about everyone works for the same company? My husband, 2 brother-in-laws, their brother and brother-in-law, their cousin's husband, my cousin, my nephew, my niece's now husband... This family is royally f*cked if that company ever goes down!) and all of the clan.

That's about it in a nut shell. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Oh, yeah, one HUGE thing. If you can, and you haven't, go to Facebook and like our From Fat To Finish Line- The Documentary page. Then go to www.fattofinish.com and see how you can pledge to our Kickstarter campaign. New incentives have been added, like a digital download/t-shirt package for $35. We only have 3 days left and we REALLY need all the help we can get. Remember, you pledge an amount and get a reward for it. It's NOT a donation. If we don't meet our goal, you don't get charged! If you can not help us financially please post about our fundraiser on Facebook, Twitter and in your own blog. The more people that see we're out there, the better our chances are of getting this project off the ground. I hope we've all inspired you to do something positive in your life and that, in turn, you can help us reach more people with this documentary and pay it all forward. The direct Kickstarter link is kck.st/MGYi3i