A New Year, Resolutions and a Look Back on 2010

My dear friend, Heidi, posted a note on Facebook last night and the idea of it was purely brilliance! I am here and now making a Resolution (#1 in this post but perhaps not in importance in my life) to do this every year from here on out! That's how brilliant I think it is!

2010 Moments I don't want to forget:

~Got engaged! (Woot - Woot!)

~Went to Disney World (first time Evah for me and the kids)

~Enjoyed the kids' amazement at their first view of the ocean in Savannah, Georgia

~Took a 9 day trip with stops in Charleston, WV; Savannah, GA; Disney World; St. Augustine, FL and Nasvhille, TN

~Bought a house!

~Bought a 4 wheel 8 passenger SUV that I Love Love Love!

~Started College at the young age of 32

~Rocked out 2 semesters & 1 class in the summer with all A's

~Over college spring break went to Grizzly Bear Resort in Utica, IL and our family hiked through the remaning snow and ice in Starved Rock

~Spent time with family (but never enough)

~David placed #5 out of 170 of all applicants for the Fire Dept. and he is eligible to be hired over the next 2 years!

~Met more of David's family at Shanna's wedding ~ LOVE THEM!

~Made some ridiculously awesome friends (when I say made, I mean forced) and kept the ones that I already had (mostly)

~Had a fantabulous Birthday Bash for the kiddos, then followed it up with 2 parties: Halloween Boo-tastical Costume Party and our Holiday Food Fest

~Took 3rd place at the Unofficial Biggest Loser contest

~Lost 10 lbs (15 more to go)

~Had 2 surgeries (Dislike!)

~Found a hatred for Black Ops that I never knew I had

~David's Favorite Moment: He got a motorcycle

~Fell in Love... with Blakey (Candice's baby, but soon to be mine)

~Had amazing family pictures done at the beach (a dream of mine) - Thanks Wendy!

~Went and saw Justin Bieber (can't believe I had to look through pics on FB to remember this)

~Got a Shedd Aquarium Annual Pass and have gone a few times with the kids who love it!

~Went to Bad Axe and visited GG & Pops (and had doughballs in Caro - YUM)

~Visited Tony & Wendy Plus the Boys in Iowa (my back was out but the kids had a fantastic time)

~Saw Huey Lewis & the News at the Elkhart County Fair

~Spent a lot of time at the beach

~Got a Nook! (now incredibly envious of the new NookColor)

2010 was filled with great memories and if I'm forgetting some, it's only due to my seriously bad memory.... Moments are created every day and I am looking forward to what awesomeness 2011 holds!


New Years' Resolutions

1. Lose 15 more lbs and keep it off

2. Spend quality time with my family and appreciate them every day

3. Force 3 additional friends (clock starts ticking now) to be my friend

4. Make Every Day Count!

Anti-Bullying Program

 

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

    I am writing you today regarding implementing an anti-bullying program in all of the Michigan City Area Schools. Bullying is an epidemic in this nation and it needs to stop. Every day children are bullied. Every day children don't want to go to school because they don't want to be picked on. Every day some child wonders if they can take anymore. Children shouldn't have to feel the only way out is suicide. We need to be pro-active about this in our community to ensure that children enjoy coming to school, that school is a fun place of learning without fear of censure. According to the National Education Association, an estimate of 160,000 children misses school every day due to fear of intimidation by other students.

    The schools need to take a stance of no tolerance for bullying. A friend of mine is a teacher in Michigan and her school has adopted the Behavior Rubric attached. She has said that her school requires all the teachers and students to follow the Rubric, and that it is sent home with parents and talked about at the Open Houses. It has made a dramatic improvement in her school. Adopting a similar Rubric costs the school absolutely no money and the benefits are immense.

I want to point out a couple of items on the Behavior Rubric that may need some further explanation. The "Time to Think Form" is a form that must be filled out by the student who has broken one of the Rubric Rules. The student should be sent to another area outside of the classroom and they are not allowed to come back until they have filled it out. The "Time to Think" form should have questions as to why they did what they did, what they could do better next time. This form should be sent to the parents that night for their signature in addition to the phone call directly from the student. This makes the student personally responsible for inappropriate actions or words. There should also be separate forms for the different grade classes. An elementary student shouldn't be given the same form as a high school student. There is an example of the "Time to Think" form also attached with this letter.

The other two terms I feel need clarification is ISS and OSS, which stand for In School Suspension and Out of School Suspension. It may seem strict to suspend a student due to bullying, but I firmly believe that fights are usually caused by some kind of bullying. Once it gets to a fight, it is punished by the school, but we should be taken care of it before it gets to that point.

I am also including some Core Components of a School-Based Aggression Prevention Program. This is an easy to read guide of how to come to a general consensus of what is bullying, where the "line in the sand" is, doing an anonymous survey with the students to get their perspective and developing the plan on an Area school basis. A copy of a survey regarding bullying is also enclosed.

It is important that teachers teach children what the difference is between ratting and reporting. I am attaching a worksheet that discusses how to talk to students about it as well as a Student Report Form. This year at an after school program, my five year old son was being choked by another five year old. My oldest daughter (8) saw this and attempted to get up to tell someone, but was told promptly not to get up from her seat. When I found out about this, I went directly to the after school program and talked with them about it. They told my daughter that no matter what she needs to get up next time, but I understand my daughter's fear that she's going to get in trouble by trying to get up because she at that point is supposed to "sit down." This can happen as easily in an after school program as it can during school hours.

I am also including handouts of "Reasons Adults Don't Intervene More," "What do Targets Need?" and "What do Bullies Need?" I think these are very informative for a teacher or staff at the school as to what to look for, why an adult should intervene as well as the support both the "Target" and the "Bully" need. There are many web resources regarding anti-bullying and suicide prevention. A couple of my favorites are: http://kidshealth.org and http://www.thetrevorproject.org. Web resources, hotlines, pamphlets and books regarding bullying should be able to be accessed through the school.

It is important for the schools to teach empathy vs. intolerance and compassion. Many times I have talked to my daughter about asking questions in school. Currently, I am enrolled at Purdue North Central and I ask any question I need to, because I know how important education is. However, as a young child it is different. There is a tremendous fear of censure or "looking stupid" when they raise their hand. If they get an answer wrong, or ask what someone else in the class thinks is "dumb" children can be made fun of. My daughter told me of an instance just like this two weeks ago in her class. She told me she raised her hand and answered a question, but her answer was wrong. The result: a few of the students in her class laughed at her. Next time it will be that much harder for her to raise her hand and take that chance. The form "Teaching and Modeling Empathy and Compassion At School" furnishes strong ideas on how to teach this in the classroom.

The final attachment is a Teaching Script of a couple of games that teaches children about Bullying. I feel these are applicable for students from pre-school through elementary school. I feel it is important we start early in teaching our children what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behavior.

After the recent deaths of so many teenagers it has inspired me to become actively involved in Anti-Bullying. Children are killing themselves. This can and should be stopped. Let's not wait until this happens in Michigan City. I hope that you will take the time to review this information and contact me. I would like to be as involved as possible with initiating an Anti-Bullying Program in the Michigan City Area Schools. We should go from being a reactive society to become a preemptive society. I hope you take this situation as seriously as I do.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Cari Adams

    Email: cariannadams@gmail.com

    Phone: 219-898-5412

Diet Day 5 and 6

Diet Day 5

Morning: Coffee

Water Count: 5

Breakfast: 2 pieces of French toast

2 pieces of bacon

Lunch:

Salad w/ranch

After Lunch:

100 cal Cheez It/Pretzel pack

Dinner:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast w/light BBQ sauce

Mushrooms & Onions

Cherry Tomatoes

2 Green Shoots of Green Onion

4 Asparagus

After dinner:

Yoplait 100 calorie Lemon Meringue… ok when I ate it, but after had a weird aftertaste

Indulgent Bad/Bad/Bad:

Miniature 3 Musketeers

Sunday

Diet Day #6:

1 cup of Coffee

Water Count: 6

Breakfast: Everything Bagel with Tbsp of Butter (approx)

Lunch: Chicken Fajitas with Mushrooms, Onions and Green Pepper with Salsa and a teaspoon of Salsa

Lunch (Dessert): Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding (literally my favorite freakin' dessert and my mom made it and I could not resist!)

Dinner: A cup of pulled pork, 2 shoots of green onion, a bunch of red cherry tomatoes cut up, a cup of green beans, one cornbread muffin and 3 slices of fried (in olive oil) green tomato

 

I'm really nervous about weighing in, especially because of my couple slip ups with the rhubarb pudding and the pumpkin pie… oh and the miniature 3 musketeers. I think that I've done a really good job and am hoping that tomorrow I will see some sort of weight loss on the scale! I am planning on working out Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri and I will continue to try and keep in good portion control and my water intake up!

Diet Day 4 and 5

Diet Day 4

Water Count: 4 - 5

Morning:

2 Eggs Fried (w/Spray)

1 ½ Pieces of Toast

Mid-morning:

Banana

Lunch:

Large Salad

After Lunch Snack:

100 cal brownie bites (YUM)

Dinner:

Salmon

Cherry Tomatoes

Sugar snap peas

2 shoots of Green Onion

Mushrooms, Onions and Red papers (cooked with olive oil spray)

 

Diet Day 5:

Water Count: 5 – 6

Breakfast:

Bowl of fruit loops w/1% milk

Mid-morning snack:

Apple slices w/cheese and low fat caramel dip

Later on morning snack:

100 calorie Cheese Crackers/pretzels snack

Lunch:

Ham sandwich w/mustard

Salad w/lots of veggies and ranch

Dinner: (at a Banquet)

Thin slice of Prime Rib (no fat eaten – ew)

Asparagus

Tiny bit of potatoes

Maybe a cup of shrimp w/pasta

Pumpkin Pie (this is a vegetable right?)

    Forgot to do Diet Day 4 summary so just moving on! Yesterday (Friday) went working out with Maggie in the morning, did cardio and weights and then a cool down. Had a banquet to go to last night with Debbie…. Knew I was going for a dessert, but I feel ok with that decision! Now that I'm working out in the morning every morning I start waking up at 6:30…. Today is Saturday (Day 6) and I woke up at 6:30 but laid in bed til 7 because it seems wrong to get up so early when I'm not working out. I am going to try and bike a bit later on, but first Must Clean House!

 

Diet Day #3

 

Water Count: 4?

Morning: Coffee 1 cup

Bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats

Mid Morning: Banana

Closer to Lunch: 100 Cal Snack Pack of Cheddar, Pretzel etc.

Missed Lunch/Starving: Apple

Lunch at 2 pm: Salad with lots of veggies a bit of Ranch, Half Ham Sandwich w/Mustard

Dinner: Lean Steak, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Onions, Red Peppers, 1 Half of a small potato, 2 shoots of green onion, 1 slice of crunchy bread

After Dinner Snack: 100 calorie Hostess Cupcakes (YUM!)

Day #3

    Woke up and pretty sure thought my legs were going to fall off. Sore all over. But I was up! I was going to work out! Picked up Maggie (after cleaning out my front passenger seat overflowing with water bottles and former pop bottles) and headed to the gym. Cardio!! We decided to do 30 minutes of cardio to switch on and off with weights. Maggie had the great idea of the Spinning Bike (remind self to send her a thank you card). 20 minutes of Spinning was horrifying! The video instructor I feel was totally mocking me and everytime he smiled his stupid little chipper smile my anger grew at him! However, burned a lot of calories and we are going to continue this torture every Wednesday, slowly moving our time up. The next 10 minutes were spent on the treadmill. Was sore for the rest of the day!     Took snacks to work with me, felt starving by 1 pm. Suddenly remembered the kids' Awards Ceremony at school at 1:30. Crap! Starving!! Had a delicious apple and some water that totally hit the spot! When I got home I was careful in what I ate for lunch and didn't overeat, I thank the apple.

    Dinner was scrumptious! I picked up a couple of little lean steaks and cooked in a light spray of olive oil, I cooked my mushrooms, onions and peppers also in a light spray of olive oil and some seasoning. Asparagus was delicious as well. Oh I forgot I had also cut up a few cherry tomatoes and had those with my steak. It was a truly delightful dinner. My temptation was the bread. Oh how I love big crunchy bread loaves from Meijer. I don't think I could give it up, I don't think I'd want to. I could sit and munch on bread and be happy. But, I had some self-control, limiting, myself to one thin slice, then the crust piece of the 2^nd little piece on my plate that David put there. I gave the rest to the dogs, because I knew I had to.

    Pretty happy with how things are going so far this week. I'm avoiding weighing myself until Monday, I am hopeful that I will not be disappointed then!

Diet Day #2

Water Count: 5 (16 oz bottles)

Breakfast:

1 ½ cup of Coffee

Banana

Bite of Bagel w/cream cheese

Breakfast: Bowl of Special K fruit and yogurt w/ 1% milk

Lunch:

Big Salad w/Catalina

Container of Mandarin Oranges

Snack:

True Delights 110 cal. Dark chocolate w/hazelnut square

Dinner:

Chicken Stirfry

Evening Snack:

Cottage Cheese w/Pineappple

Today got up at 6:24 to get around for Maggie to pick me up for a work-out. We figure it'll keep us in line when we have one of us picking up the other… kind of like a check system J. Work out was what I expected, sucky! It was really nice to work-out with Maggie but I was a sweaty mess before I was off the elliptical. I felt really good after it. Very awake but around mid-morning/early-afternoon I was really hoping for a nap. Unfortunately I was at school, so it wasn't going to happen. I was really tempted by the smell of the pizza in the PNC cafeteria. It was like torture! But I convinced myself that a large salad w/mandarin oranges on the side was better. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and was absolutely starving by the time I checked out. I quickly ripped open the True Delights listed above and then realized that it was dark chocolate and I can't stand dark chocolate. Still it satisfied my hunger and was only 110 cal. Tonight at dinner the chicken stir-fry (only using olive oil spray) was really good, other than I added soy sauce… Probably not the smartest thing based on sodium but I'm okay with that. Tomorrow morning up at 6:30 to pick up Maggie for just cardio tomorrow morning for about half hour. Then again on Friday! Hoping for an early bedtime tonight, but am really looking forward to watching The Biggest Loser!

Diet Day #1

Well I feel very proud of my first day diet. I'm not following a diet persay, just trying to be recognizant of portion control and eating healthier. I worked out on the bike for 25 minutes while watching Say Yes to the Dress (talk about inspiration to lose weight!). I also went to the gym and signed up under David's membership and am going at the vicious hour of 6:45 to the gym in the morning with Maggie. I feel I did my friend duty by telling her I'm going to look like shit tomorrow (and she pointed out even worse after we are done). I've never gotten up early before to work out so this should be interesting! I really do hope this is a new lifestyle for me and that I can maintain a good and healthy weight with healthy eating and exercising. I know 2 days during this Unofficial Biggest Loser Competition where I'm going to eat what I want and those are Thanksgiving and the Holiday Food Fest I'm having her at home. I am sure there will be slip ups, but I'll just dust myself off and get back on the proverbial exercise horse J.

Food Journal – Diet Day #1

Water: 2 - 3

Morning: Bowl of Special K with 1% milk (trying to step down from 2%)

Banana

Mid-morning Snack: Apple

Lunch: Ham, Roast Beef and Turkey sandwich w/mustard; Salad w/catalina dressing and lots of veggies!

Snack: Handful of pecans

Dinner: One Filet of Tilapia (baked in extra light virgin olive oil and Nature's Seasons), ¼ cup Brown Rice, ½ Cup Green Beans (approx.), Tablespoon-ish diced tomatoes and green chiles!

After class snack: (1) 100 calorie pack of hostess cupcakes (Delicious!!)