The 25th Hour ~karenjcardoza.com~

Can’t wait…

kjcardoza — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:45:54 +0000

to be back on the water this weekend. It gives me life and fuels me.

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Can’t wait…

loving life :-)

kjcardoza — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:45:25 +0000

It’s so great to be between classes and I’m totally loving life. I’ve got another week off before starting classes again. We spent an awesome time out on the bay on Saturday and yesterday I relaxed and lounged out all day. Tonight I got two gorgeous Alix and Ani bracelets to add to my collection and enjoyed a delicious meal at my favorite sushi restaurant, Enn. Happy Mother’s Day to me!

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

loving life :-)

Ahhhhh!

kjcardoza — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:00:27 +0000

It’s so nice to have my class behind me and another full week of no homework or projects to do!! It’s Mother’s Day today and my children are both away and my husband is working so I’m spending a quiet day at home with my girlies, catching up on the DVRd shows that my husband doesn’t watch. I’ve been able to read a couple of books last week and yesterday we spent a glorious day on the Bay. Looking forward to many, many more.

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Ahhhhh!

The end of the tunnel

kjcardoza — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:25:18 +0000

So… I made it! It was an INCREDIBLY stressful week of working on final projects for my two classes. I worked round the clock and barely slept. Literally, all of my time was spent on schoolwork that wasn’t spent sleeping, teaching, or driving. But… I made it!!! I finished my Assessing Social and Communication Skills for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders project and my Accountable Talk final project and lesson plan. I’ve still got to present the ASD project in class Tuesday night but the assessment, implementation, data collection, and documentation is complete.

Completing the projects means that I can read for pleasure until May 21st when my next class starts. It also means that I was able to attend the Northern RI Special Olympic Games at Bryant University on Saturday as well as spend the night in Andover celebrating the wedding of fellow Razor’s Edge Tailgate friends, Mark and Anita. The best part was the reunion of the infamous Table 10 Crew from Randy and Tracy’s wedding. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo style, with some Patriots flavor thrown in. (We didn’t take pictures but I’m sure I’ll be able to link from someone.)

Now… once the the presentation is over on Tuesday, I’ll really be able to relax and enjoy the week off. Fun things coming up.. stay tuned.

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

The end of the tunnel

Aruba Ahhhhh!

kjcardoza — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:48:50 +0000

Oh my! We just got back from a quick trip to Aruba during school vacation week and it was heaven! Special thanks to the Aruba Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino for the airfare and accommodations that I won in a Facebook Patriots Fan contest last spring. Special thanks to my family, friends, and Pats fans who voted for my video! Although our trip started off a bit rocky due to a flight change that we weren’t aware of, once we got to Boston and were settled on the plane, it was all good. Aruba is gorgeous and since we arrived at night, didn’t get to see our view until awaking the next morning. We enjoyed 2 days in paradise, eating, drinking, relaxing and soaking up the sun. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

View from our room!

Ready for the beach!

Time for a dip…

Setting sun

GORGEOUS!

Dinner on the beach at Simply Fish

Pretty

This is the life!

Bath water!

Lots of sun!!

Vacation Couple!!

Here is the complete Flickr set.

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Aruba Ahhhhh!

Still plugging along

kjcardoza — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:32:04 +0000

I’m exercising some patience with my weight loss as it’s taking me weeks to lose one pound. I needed one pound to get to my 10% weight loss goal for weeks. I’m .2 pounds away from that goal now after weighing in this morning. I’m following the Weight Watchers plan to a tee and have had activity points left over both weeks but it’s going slow. I’m not giving up though and will up my exercise this week to push through. Sometimes, doing everything right and not seeing the results that I want jeopardizes me because I feel like.. WTF? why bother? But, I’m not losing sight of my goal and I’m sticking with it and will try harder this week. I’m going to be wearing a bathing suit in two weeks and want to feel as comfortable as possible in my skin.

I’ve got lots of work and school things on my plate and have been very focused and organized. It feels good to be making progress and getting through. I’m very anxious to be finished with this course (and the next one) and look forward to some time off in July to be completely free from homework and assignments. I need the break so desperately. Knowing that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel is what’s keeping me going. Many people comment “I don’t know how you do it all!” It’s not without effort and sometimes I don’t know how I do it either except to say that I just keep plugging along…

Downward dog anyone?

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Still plugging along

Great shape

kjcardoza — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:45:31 +0000

Things are looking up!! I can finally say that I’m in a good place with my busy, crazy schedule for the first time this year. After a really low place where I was feeling overwhelmed, I “changed my work hours” and go to school from 6:30-4:30 and then leave everything there. Rather than take the RI Alternate Assessment home and spend weekends and school vacation weeks buried in it and growing more and more resentful of the inequity in the amount of work my job has compared to everyone else in my building, I decided to create a mind shift and I’m much better.

Yesterday was parent/teacher conference night but since I had met with them all last week for IEP meetings, I had nobody show up and had 6 solid hours of time to work on the assessment. I now have every activity for this final marking period prepped and written in my plan book so I can just execute them. Now, I’ll be able to spend my prep period working on other things and may even be able to head out for a walk every now and then! I still have work to do for my class that I’m taking but without RIAA hanging over my head, consuming my time, I can manage it.

I’ve also been doing well with my re-dedication to following the Weight Watchers plan that I’ve been paying for…lol. It’s amazing how well it works when you actually DO IT… lol! My goal is to lose 2 pounds a week so that I’ll be down 10 by the time I go to Aruba in April. So far, I’m right on track and plan on continuing.

I’m not sure what the future holds in terms of my job because of the city bankruptcy and how it affects the schools but I’m not focusing or worrying about that right now. Instead, I’m just giving 100% every day, staying positive, and having faith that it will all work out and all of my dreams will come true.

PS… We had our class reunion on March 3rd and it was a blast!!!!

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Great shape

Inspiration

kjcardoza — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:29:41 +0000

So very proud and in awe of my friend, Randy “Zip” Pierce who has just completed an awesome accomplishment. He has successfully climbed 48 4000 ft. mountain peaks in the New Hampshire White Mountains this winter. It is a feat that has only been completed by 46 other humans, however he is the first person to ever do it with a guide dog…. Randy is completely blind. I have always admired his attitude and positivity, even when things were not going well for him. He has faced some physical challenges in his life, yet, never one to wallow in self-pity has risen above his challenges and faced them head on. Our friendship dawned through our love for the Patriots and our favorite player, Tedy Bruschi. The moniker that Randy himself created and attributed to Tedy’s play, is a true testament to how he himself lives his life: Full Tilt, Full Time! Congrats, Randy and Quinn. You truly inspire me to push forward despite any challenge that may come my way. I know that I can overcome any task one step at a time, thanks to your example and determination.

Visit http://2020visionquest.org to read more about Zip and Quinn’s incredible story and be inspired!

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Inspiration

Love Vacation Week!

kjcardoza — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:22:46 +0000

Vacation is almost over but I’m going to continue to make the best of it. It has been fantastic so far. We started off on a bus trip to Foxwoods with friends and it was a great time. Then, we headed up to New Hampshire for a couple of days and although there was not enough snow on the ground to snowshoe, we relaxed, ate well, and just savored being in our favorite state.

When I got home, I spent a day going through closets and packing up things to donate and for the resale shop. It’s a nice feeling to have room in my drawers and closets and to unload clutter that’s dragging me down. Yesterday was a beautiful day and I went for a walk with a friend and her baby and loved being outside. Today, I’m not feeling the greatest so I’ll hunker down and watch a movie for my class and write a review as part of my assignment. I’m thrilled that I don’t have a full calendar for the weekend as I need to switch gears to get ready for whirlwind busyness of March.

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

Love Vacation Week!

School vacation week: ahhhh!

kjcardoza — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:47:23 +0000

It’s amazing how the start of school vacation week feels. Leaving work at 2:30 on Friday afternoon (rushing out to go for a mani/pedi…) I can literally feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. There’s such a feeling of optimism and bliss at the start of a vacation week. Unfortunately, the sense of doom descends on the final weekend as one gets closer to going back, however, right now, I’m climbing UP the hill! Tonight, we’re heading to Foxwoods on a bus trip with friends from the Madeira Club but for today, I’m cleaning and enjoying the feeling of knowing that I have a nice week of “semi-retirement” ahead. It was a challenging week at school to say the least, but I believe that my new way of looking at my work week (staying until 5:00 unless I have a class or appointment), will help me compartmentalize my life more. This week, it’s all about my home and doing the many things on my To Do list here. When I go back to school on the 27th I’ll focus on school things.

Right now.. I’m enjoying the sense of CALM that being home brings …..

Post from: Karen Cardoza's The 25th Hour

School vacation week: ahhhh!