I'm BAAA-aaaaa-k!

So I've been woefully neglectful about the blogging.

Again.

Sorry 'bout that.

It's just that I've been so busy having SO MUCH FUN at work! No, really I've actually been having fun at school this year. My classes are all awesome. And I feel like this year I'm actually being the teacher that won the Teacher of the Year award that's sitting on my shelf from last year. ('Cause let's face it, I'm still not convinced that I deserved that one!) My kids are so awesome this year. I enjoy all of them--even the ones that get on my nerves. I'm loving rehearsals after school. We are having a blast working on Steel Magnolias right now. In a month or so, we'll also start working on Grease (not my favorite, but we'll make due). I'm managing to stay on top of everything at school (all of my paperwork and such).

Now, if only I could say the same for my house...the kitchen bar...well, it's the place where papers go to die. I cannot keep up with mail and bills (that heavens that's Caleb's job!). I do a so-so job of keeping the laundry and house cleaning caught up. Actually, I was doing a great job on both scores (with the notable exception of the kitchen bar) up until the last week and a half. Those of you on face book might also note that a week and a half ago is when all of my status updates began to read something along these lines:

Kim Westrich Zustiak is dying of the common cold. That's right, dying.

I have not cleaned my house or any clothes in approximately one week. I have not been to the Y or gone for a run in one week. And, prior to that, it had been a good 5 days since my last run. PS--you might have noticed some serious slacking on my Wednesday Weigh-In posts. I'm doing alright, no thanks to my deathly illness. I was down to within 3 pounds of my goal, but as of a few days ago I was back up to 6 pounds. I've stopped weighing myself since I'm on an apparent exercise hiatus. I figure when I can go running again, I will worry about my weight. I still have 5-6 weeks before my deadline, so I'm not worried. Yet.

Since I last blogged, I did have one major exercise-related accomplishment. I ran in my first 5K race. For those of you who don't know or care, a 5K is equal to 3.1 miles. In my age division, I placed 3rd with a time of 25 minutes and something seconds (I can't recall what my seconds were). I got a medal and everything!! It was pretty exciting for me. But, I do have to admit that I became sick literally immediately following the race. That is when the cold set in and took over my body. No correlation, though (Beth).


So the race was on Sept. 12. Then I got my cold. After about 5 days, I thought I was over it and I went for a run. The very next evening, we went to the Balloon Glow at Forest Park. It was at this very festive event that I inhaled about 4 gazillion tons of second-hand smoke and spent 2 hours trying to talk over the volume of generators and the balloons themselves. I believe that these factors along with running too soon may have contributed to my current coughing/hacking condition--you know--the one in which I must continually visit the ER in order for them to replace the valuable items that keep coming out of my body every time I cough.

Anywhoooo...I got some great photos as well as some less than great photos at the glow:



If you've never been to a balloon glow, you should definitely check one out. If you can come to the one in Forest Park, I highly recommend it. We've kind of made it a family tradition. We've gone every year since Riley was born (the first year we knew about it). If you ever want to go, you can always join Team Zustiak on our outing!

So, I close this post with a false promise to try and do a better job of keeping ye old blog updated. I truly will try, but I make no guarantees. Life is just so busy, and I need too much sleep. I'll see what I can do.

Until then...