Lately

Lately I have been more busy during school than I have ever been before. I'm taking 6 classes that add up to 13 credits. Not a ton, right? Then each class has groups or outside projects. I have never had EVERY single class having out of class things. Here is a breakdown of the classes and what's going on:

Aerobic Fitness Techniques: Mon, Wed 8-9:30 plus 10 out of class teaching times and 5 in class teaching times. This class is a lot of fun. I can get certified through AFAA to be an Aerobics instructor. I'm planning on doing it, I just don't know where in the heck I'll teach. I think it would be a fun job to do a few times a week. I have always been very much into fitness. I think it started in Jr. High when I started playing sports all year round. Then starting my Freshman year in High School, even though I was playing sports year round I started exercising on the side as well. I've always been very health conscious which is why I wanted to be a nutritionist (not going to happen because I'm in Rexburg forever, unless someday I try to do it online). My major is Health Science and I have a cluster (2 clusters is the same as a minor) in Exercise Science. I absolutly love what I am learning. I really don't like the stressful process of being tested on it, but I love knowing it! Anywho - this class is tyring when you do nothing but aerobicize for an hour and a half in the morning (and then I have a dance class that same day), but I really enjoy it. I have 3 teaching things done (teaching a class how to use medicine balls, and then two classes how to spin(cycle)).

Adolescent Development: Mon, Wed. 9:45-11:15. Getting to this class is a little challenging at times because I have 15 minutes to change out of exercise clothes, into normal clothes, then haul myself to another building and up 3 flights of stairs. So, I'm usually there within a minute of being late or on time. Oh, and I'm sweaty, so it's gross. Oh, and I'm hungry, so I'm constantly eating within 15 minutes of sitting down and drinking my entire bottle of water. The second I get out of that class at 11:15 I go to lunch because I'm STARVING. I'm always so hungry. Exercising like a crazy person really makes me hungry. Adolescence... it's probably my most structured class. Before every class I have to have read the assigned chapter, taken a quiz on it 3 times, and then responded to a case study that we will be discussing that day and then writing up something else that was assigned. It takes up quite a bit of time, but I always get it done. I wish each of my classes were as structured and laid out as this one. My one complaint? That the teach would make a study guide before tests, because there is none. Just 4 chapters that are at least 30 pages each that I need to know.... blah. Each chapter is really interesting and the discussions during class are even better. I still feel like an adolescent, but I'm technically not... the nice thing about it being just a few years ago is that as we discuss all these theories and things about teens I can understand. This class goes towards my second cluster in Child Development.

Jazz Dance: Mon, Wed. 12:45-1:45. I picked this class up when my Sports Nutrition class (to be mentioned next) was moved to a later time and forced me to drop a soccer class. I had planned to take the Soccer class with one of my friends, but then Sp. Nutrition was moved from the morning to 2-3 which would be the second hour of soccer and make it impossible for me to attend. I would rather be taking the soccer class, but I am enjoying this dance class. I took dance classes when I was younger then danced on my Jr. High's and High Schools dance team for years. But this is a technical class and I am learning terms and things I didn't know before. I have to wear a leotard (yuck) and anything I wear over that (pants, capri's, shirts) have to be tight. The room we dance in is full of mirrors and I really don't enjoy that. If I could wear more comfortable clothes I don't think I would be as bothered by my reflection as I am (go ahead, roll your eyes.. but it bothers me). It's rediculous, but because of this, I don't enjoy the class as much as I should. We have learned two warm up routines and are learning our first dance routine. I really like the dance we are learning and have been practicing at home every night. I make Jaren turn the TV off and I play the Avril Laviegn song over and over and over while I do the first 4 8 counts we've learned. And for some amazing reason, he doesn't seem to mind, he just picks up his Bourne Supremacy book and reads. :) Every once in a while looking up and smiles and says, "that's good" and "your so cute". I think he loves me. We have to get into groups and make up our own dance routine on our own time before the semester ends.... I don't even know who is in my goup because she does not let us talk and does not give us time to figure it out.

Sports Nutrition: Mon, Wed, Fri, 2-3. Again, I have 15 minutes to change out of my leotard, into my normal clothes and then book it to the same building as my Adolescents class and the classrooms are right next door, so up the three flights of stairs and I get there a minute or two early each time. I sit down, am sweaty (gross again) and am also starving again so I eat AGAIN. Amazing I'm not gaining weight. Nutrition is the only class that came naturally to me. I got A's on every test and of course, ended up with an A in the class. So, I thought Sports Nutrition would be similar. NOPE. It's quite a bit harder and the class is not as structured/planned out as my first Nutrition class. The stuff I'm learning is interesting, just a bit hard to comprehend at at times. So, this class stresses me out at times. Oh, and we have to train someone outside of class.

Mondays after Sports Nutritoin: For an hour I volunteer(for a class) in the Wellness Center (the place where we do fitness assessments and do body comp (how you find out how much percent fat your body has)). The hour goes by really fast and I really enjoy working in this type of environment.

Fitness Appraisal and Presentation: Tues, Thurs. 8-9:30. Love this class. We have to train someone who needs to loose weight, and that wont be so bad. It's hard to describe everything we are learning because it's basically everything about assessing someone who needs to loose weight. It is this class that I volunteer in the welleness center for. It's taught by the same teach that taught my Kinesiology class last semeter that caused me so much turmoil. The class is infitily easier, but just as intersting and beneficial.

Exercise Physiology Lab: Thurs, 12:45-2:45. This class goes with the Exercise Phys class I took last summer.... quite a bit of the stuff we do in there follows along perfectly with the stuff the Exercise Phys class is learning. Only, I don't have the book and it's been quite a while since I've gone over it so I am getting reintroduced to quite a bit. Each class time we do some sort of testing to see a desired result. Here's an example: this week we had two subjects cycle on an Ergometor(cycling machine) whith a huge tube hooked up to their mouth. They cycled twice with rest inebetween at two different intensities. We wanted to see their EPOC (aka. Oxygen Debt. The heavy breathing that happens after you exercise. That happens because your body is trying to replenish the oxygen stores and is replenishing glucose stores and getting rid of the lactate as well). Next class we are doing hydrostatic weighing. Where you get in a pool and are weighed under water to get an accurate measurement of percent body fat. I'm one of the subjects for this and I hear it's extremely uncomfortable because you have to completely clear your lungs from air before you go under. I'm not sure how long you have to be under water for, but I guess you think your going to die. haha.... sounds so exciting. I am excited to get an accurate measurement of my body comp, though. What I've learned it is in the wellness center is great. It's a lot lower than I thought so I'm all sorts of feeling good about myself. I just hope the hydrostatic (that is more accurate that the body caliper) is consistent or better than the results I already have. We have to write lab write ups with groups out of class. So, theres the out of class thing for this class.

There's my 6 classes and what's going on. Monday through Thursday is exhausting. I'm busy all day and up at 6 every morning. By the time Thursday night comes around I'm so relieved to have made it through another week. I get to sleep in, or kind of sleep in since my body wakes me up at 7 anyway. I'm really trying to focus on not getting overwhelemed this semester, but it's hard.

I had two of the three cavities that needed to be filled filled Wednesday. I was so nervous I about cried talking to my Dentist about the whole thing. He understood and talked me through the whole thing, told me exactly what was going on which I apprecaited grately. The only problem, besides smelling my teeth dust and hearing that horrible grinding sound was that both were in the backs of my mouth so I had to open super wide. When I had my wisdom teeth pulled I was put under and one of them was way up high so they opened my mouth much too wide and sprained my jaw. That was almost 5 years ago and my jaw still get's sore every so often. So, having to open wider than is even remotly comfortable took it's toll and my jaw is feeling bruised and sore. Chewing cereal was really painful and I didn't get a whole lot down two mornings later. But, I will say that I am so impressed because I think he re-did one of my previous 9 and the one he did was still sensitive to cold. But I had ice cream last night and chewed it! I chewed it!! I haven't done that in two years! And it didn't bother me ONE bit. He fixed one of my teeth! I'm really happy about that. He also fixed my bite since it was off so this was a MUCH MUCH better experience than last time. He wants to fix one more tooth and we scheduled that for Tuesday morning. Hopefully it will be as good as this last one and hopefully it's much closer towards the front so I'm not opening wider than is natural.

Jaren has had a horrible cold for the last week. He is finally sounding better and feeling better. I've been scared to death to get it because of my crazy busy schedule and how much exercising I have to do. I just can't get sick this semester!! But, low and behold last night I started to cough. Today I feel just a little tired and my throat is just a little sore, but for the most part, besides the horrible racking cough, I feel okay. I hope it's not as bad as Jarens. Maybe because I'm exercising a whole lot I'm okay. We'll see.....

Oh, and my house accumulates horrible messes throught the whole week till Friday when I can finally do dishes and now I'm spending all day doing laundry and cleaning. UHG. And I think it's going to be like this this whole semester. I'm going to be SO GLAD when I'm finished. 2 months and 3 days to go.