Fay Watson

This weekend has been one of those.  You know, the kind of weekend that goes by faster than you think is possible.  Thank goodness we have an extra day this weekend!  :-)  I am looking forward to being able to get some more NYLT chores done.  Found most of the items that were on my shopping list, just need to finish up some of the odd jobs and get my stuff together.  This working full time really limits my free time, imagine that!  Not complaining, I love the new job and I getting myself organized at the office.  Hopefully I'll find time to post some stuff during NYLT.

Yesterday evening I took my mom out to dinner.  We started off around 7PM.  Dropped by Main Event to give Mr. Z man an extra $10 to spend.  Then we wandered a little while around the Clear Lake Area before landing at one of my mom's favorite places to eat, Red Lobster.  We had a very attentive server, which reminded me that a bad server can really crush your evening!  After eating a dry salad, salmon, broccoli and asparagus and two of those wonderful Red Lobster Biscuits I took my mom home.

I headed back home and got ready for the overnighter at Space City Rock Climbing Gym, in LEague City Texas.  The troop overnighter began at 11PM.  I belayed kids, bouldered, traversed and climbed until about 0230, then the call of my sleeping bag was too strong.  I laid down and slept until the boys got out the ping pong table and I was hit by several balls. By about 0430 I gave up on sleep, ate a snack and started traversing again.  I think the boys had the most fun trying to out best each other's times climbing up a certain wall of the gym.  They all had David timing them as they took multiple trips scrambling up the wall.

0700 found us leaving the gym and heading back to Pearland.  Z man and I stopped at a Donut place on FM 518 near Bay Area Blvd and I treated him to some donuts and donut holes.  We continued on to Pearland and were at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center before 0745.  Z man was tired and crabby.  I helped to loosen soil around trees with a hoe, spread mulch, and fill wheel barrows with mulch.  Z tolerated helping until 0945, we talked to some of our volunteers and KPB Executive Director Linda Cowles (my Boss :-)) and then I dropped Z man at home.

Tired, dirty, sweaty and not quite myself I decided I would go ahead and try the CrossFit workout.  I am glad that I did.  I had a fun time! Ana, Desiree and I worked as a team.  We worked well and coordinated the tire flipping .  IT was tough, dirty, and nasty but we didn't quit.  We handled the box jumps and sledgehammers, I won't say that we were enthusiastic but we gave it our best .  I am really proud of Desiree I stuck with her for most of the 800M run with the 25# weight.  She gives every WOD her all!  Ana is a great cheerleader and so positive that you believe that you can do anything, thank you ladies for a fun, high intensity workout!

Home again, and domestic chores, a shower, and then Z man and I went to get half price diet cherry limeades at Sonic. I showed him my office and put Mariachi Man on top of my desk.

Wow!!! I have really hit the highlights of the past 24 hour pretty well, and it kept me awake for another hour!  I hope I can make it for another 4!

My first day of working full time was Monday.  I am now the assistant director of the nonprofit group Keep Pearland Beautiful an affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful Round Metal Sign.  I am loving the new job.  The volunteers, board members and Director are a good group of people.  There is still a lot to learn and always more work to do.  I don't think that it will be difficult to stay busy and am looking forward to learning more about how everything runs.

Although I was at Camp Karankawa this weekend, I wasn't there to help with this year's Northern Star District Cuboree.  Instead I was there with the NYLT Staff for our last Staff Development Weekend.  I had an opportunity to make some observations and to be impressed with the volunteer can do spirit of the adults of the Northern Star District.  Cuboree is a district level family camping, fun activity event for Cub Scouts.  With the first line of thunderstorms rumbling in late Friday afternoon, the weekend did not look very promising.  And indeed it rained, there was lightning and thunder all through the night Friday night and through the morning.  At noon the decision was made to suspend activities and let everyone go home.  There was more than one Boy Scout Troop that camped Friday night and were ready to host an activity for the Cub Scouts.  There were also Boy Scout Leaders and Boy Scouts who helped plan and run this event for the Cubs and their families.  Most of these leaders do not have Cub Scout aged boys anymore, they are just giving back to this program that gives so much to our young boys.  Two young men and their father volunteered to run the archery range.  They ended up hosting a pavilion full of cubs and adults that were sheltering in place. It is a testament to their love of the outdoors and the ideals of scouting that they came out, stayed and helped to make light of a bad weather situation.  These volunteers are my heroes.

Inside the workout classes and personal training class at UHCL you will find people of all ages and all fitness levels.  The best part of being in this gym is that it is a great equalizer, at least an intellectual and social equalizer, and as you get more proficient and more fit a physical equalizer.  When we walk through the doorway and into the gym for our workout time, we enter this different world.  We all wear workout clothes, athletic shoes of some sort and carry a water bottle. Although, I considered myself fit, I have learned a lot from Cary Hair. Since January I have learned how to warm up using joint mobility exercises, how to do the Burgener Warm-Up, how to squat (in all of the wonderful varieties that exist with weights and without), lunge, push up, pull up, box jump, and all kinds of lifts (many that still get confused in my mind)!  My max attempt at double under jump rope is still 0 but I keep trying!  My handstand push up is taking form, I can ring dip and do a few pull ups without relying on any bands!  I really have enjoyed meeting students, staff and a few other faculty that have been working out.  The competition of the work outs of the day have been a great motivational tool for me to get stronger and faster (comment if you don't agree with my next statement but  I think we have all missed Senthil's braggadocio attitude this week, and I have missed having that little extra competitive push to not lose to him). I want to say thanks to everyone, the cheerleading and positive support have been great.  Keep up the good work and keep challenging yourselves.......and Layla - you and your can do attitude are awesome!

We succeeded in starting a new PTA in Fort Bend ISD.  The principal was gracious and excited.  We were happy to greet a large group of parents and a few teachers.  After the bylaws were passed 32 people joined the PTA.  I am proud to be a charter member of the Heritage Rose Elementary  PTA.  I would like to send their newly elected board my good wishes as they help the Principal, Teachers and Staff start up this school.  I hope they remember to keep in touch and take advantage of the training that PTA provides to help newly elected officers learn their responsibilities and the ins and outs of how to run a PTA.  PTA is a great resource, you are never alone.

Eating Nuts Associated With Improvements in Cholesterol Levels  Check out this link, David posted it on Facebook.  Perhaps there is an advantage to sticking to foods that we evolved to eat.  I really need to do more research on evolution of the human diet.  Nuts are a gatherer type food.

Another new school is opening up in Fort Bend ISD.  We got a request last week for help getting this PTA off to a good start.  I am hoping that we will have 20 people at this meeting and that we can go ahead and organize in one night!  If not then we will be making a trip back to actually organize.  I hope that it all works out.  Sending out an agenda now.  We will see how things work out!

Last of my students is taking a final right now.  Then a week from Monday I will be starting a new adventure with a full time job.  As many of you know volunteering has been my avocation.  But what I am most passionate about is environmental concerns, awareness and science education.  So on May 17, 2010 I will be starting a new career at Keep Pearland Beautiful.  I am excited to be contributing my efforts to KPB and am really looking forward to working with Linda Cowles, the board and volunteers.  I want to make an impact on our community and hopefully will leave it better than when I found it!