My Last 6 Months in a Nutshell!

Wow! It sure has been a while. I keep telling myself to blog and my brain does not listen. Among the millions of things I can always find time to do, this never seems to be one of them. A lot has happened in the last 6 months. My life is incredible!! I guess maybe that is why I have not posted lately, usually I write to get something off my chest, or complain, but today is a different post.  I AM ONE HAPPY GIRL. So here goes the last 6 months in a nut shell!

MAY- Last time that I blogged, bad Randi. I got a wild hair and decided that I was going to train for a FULL marathon. I registered and started running. I ran every Saturday in the scorching Texas heat with my friend Valerie. (Ok, I cheated a few times in May) I wrapped up my 2^nd year of teaching and coaching and was blessed with keeping my job here at C.D during the crazy, hectic madness of budget cuts! May also marks the wonderful birth of my handsome nephew Easton. He has brought so much joy to my life. I smile daily when Casey sends pictures of that little man. He has stolen a piece of my heart. Another piece of my heart was stolen in the month of May as well. Troy Ryan Titzel is to blame for that. We had an amazing friendship that was set on fire and turned into love. I would have never guessed it but yes, I do believe he is the ONE. I guess I can say May was a pretty good month for me.

JUNE- My month of relaxation. I spent most of June relaxing and shopping with my mom. I went to California to visit Easton and my sister. I got bit by a dog and had to go to the emergency care center. I ran, ran, and ran some more. I slept in until whatever time I pleased. I stayed out into all hours of the night and I prepared for my next big adventure I life. July was going to be a hectic but exciting month for me!

JULY- My month of Change. The first weekend in July I moved into my first house. Troy and I decided to move in with each other. It was an easy choice to make and I have never looked back on. For those who really know me, these types of decisions do not come easy for me most of the time. I am typically scared away by anything extremely serious and have even been accused of commitment phobia. It was probably true at one point in my life. I am phobia free now! I am truly so happy living with Troy. We have so much fun together and he totally gets me. (Yes, Casey… even though I can be a slob at times) This month was filled with fun decorating and furniture shopping. I loved every minute of it. My mom was grateful enough to come help me with some of it… ok, all of it! That is why I am a lucky girl. MY FAMILY ROCKS! I also ran, ran and ran some more in July.

AUGUST- My month of routine. With the month of August comes the routines and back to work sadness. I had to return to work and change classrooms! With the help of my mom once again I got it all back in action. August flew by with friends visiting and the return of early bedtimes. Volleyball got started and I began to get really busy with school, coaching, and running!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER- My months of countdown. These two months were filled with a daily countdown until my marathon. I had done it! I had stuck with my goal from May. I had run until I just couldn’t run anymore. By the end of October I had run up to 21 miles.  I was a RUNNER! One of the best feelings I have ever had in my life. Full of energy and power! November 13^th couldn’t come soon enough. One of my best friends also got engaged in October, I am still so excited for her and thrilled to be a part of her big day!

NOVEMBER- My marathon month! I, Randi Lynn Sally ran a full marathon on November 13th in San Antonio. I honestly cannot even begin to explain the feelings I had that day. I was so pumped and ready to go. I felt a feeling of euphoria. I had trained, and trained hard. I had readied my body and pushed it. I had used dedication and will power to keep myself on track. I remember the run like it was yesterday. It  took me 5 hours and 13 minutes. I crossed that finish line and held back my tears. I thanked god for getting me through and allowing me to be a runner. I highly encourage you to run one at least once in your life. I am going to continue my running with half marathons for now until I get my knee back in shape. I pulled my IT band during my run, but am working to get it healed.  This month I also enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and then Troys. I just love his family to death and am so glad they live so close.

DECEMBER-My birthday month! Well here we are in December, the most wonderful time of year…. My birthday!! Hah  Everything has fallen into place for me and I am HAPPY! I have the best boyfriend a girl could ever ask for, I have a family who gives there gracious love to me daily, I have friends who I would die for, I have cooper who makes me smile even when days are bad, I have house over my head and I have the good lord who made it all happen! Happy Holidays everyone and god bless! See you in 2012.

Unleash the Runner In Me…

Ok folks, I have officially got back into my running mode. I have been running for the last three weeks and feel great!  In September I decided to take some time off from running. I was burnt out to say the least. I honestly think it was because I had lost my running buddy. My sister and I moved away from each other and I lost my drive to run. It was so easy to run when I had someone to talk to, I would lose track of time and before I knew it a 40 minute run was over. Casey and I even completed a half marathon together last year. It was really fun! We were a little crazy in the fact that we did not train one bit. We just decided last minute that hey, we can run on the treadmill for ever, we totally can run a half marathon. Well, we finished and it was not as bad as I thought it would be, but I was sore for like 2 weeks! Not my idea of a good run.

I have missed the adrenaline rush that running gives you.  I really do love running. I love it yes, but I am not IN love with it yet. It is not only good for you but it really gives me time to think and relieve all my stress. Now that I do not have Casey to talk to I just THINK. Sometimes I even think about what I am going to eat when I get home! OPPS. The point is I missed running. I am happier, more energetic, lively and full of life when I run. I AM BACK!!!!

 So, here is the big news….I have decided, with a few of the teachers that I work with to join AUSTIN FIT (http://austinfit.com/) and train to run in the ROCK &ROLL FULL MARATHON in November. I CAN DO IT. My thinking is that if I can run a half with little training then just imagine what I could accomplish with training. Austin Fit is a program that helps you prepare for the race. You meet every Saturday with your group and run the long runs. During the week you just follow the schedule that they provide you. I am really excited about it and looking forward to getting my butt kicked!

I am not just doing this marathon to get into shape. It is something I would love to check of my bucket list in life. Now is as good of time as any. I also cannot wait to cross that finish line and have that exhilarating feeling rush through my body. That feeling of accomplishment and success, that feeling of being a winner, the feeling of being a champion! This race if for ME, no one else but me, I know I am capable. I just have to fight the mental battle that is within us all. The battle that is extremely hard to overcome at times, so hard that many people give up and fail. I will not be one of those. I will be a finisher, I will conquer my goal, I will UNLEASH THE RUNNER IN ME!

I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

"Being a runner means you are now 'free' to win and lose and live life to its fullest."

“It is difficult to train for a marathon; but it is even more difficult to not be able to train for a marathon."

“The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals."

I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible."

"Of all the races, there is no better stage for heroism than a marathon."

A GIFT FROM GOD

Well Ladies and Gents, as I am sure you have heard by now, Easton Thomas Drake has made his arrival into our lives. What an incredible feeling. I am not even his mother and the moment I received the text message from my mom I immediately lit up and began to thank God. The text message I received read Casey is going into the delivery room! At that very moment I can honestly say I stopped and said a prayer. I have to be truthful and say that this prayer was not for Easton, OPPS! I know I am a MEAN aunt. My prayer was for my sister. My one and only sister, who means the world to me, the one who I look up too more than anyone else, and let’s face it… life without her is unimaginable. So at the moment in time I said a prayer to God to be with my sister. To watch over her, and help guide her and give her the strength she needed to deliver baby Easton and by gosh please do not let anything happen to her! Then about five minutes later I said, “Opps, and dear Lord, please be with Easton too!” They both did amazing, Easton came out as healthy as can be, and his mom did beautifully. She is one heck of a strong woman! (I am not sure I will ever be ready for child birth.) So the last couple days have been filled of joyful phone calls and charming pictures of little baby Easton. He is already brought so much joy to the Salley family. I can NOT wait to get to California in 2 weeks to hold my little man. I have to admit I am a bit scared of newborns. They are so fragile and delicate that I usually just steer clear from them, but you  better believe that I will be holding little Easton and rocking him as often as possible. I hope that when he grows up we have an amazing relationship. I really want Easton to know me and be able to talk to me. I want him to know that I Love him, and will do anything for him. He is very special to the Salley family. He is the first Grandson for my mom and dad. He has big shoes to fill. He will be the one who all the other grandkids look up too and want to be like. I know that he will be very special to us for the rest of his life. The Salley family will definitely keep growing and has room for a lot more, but we are off to an incredible start and could not be happier. I love you Easton Thomas and welcome to the best family in the world, I promise you will never be let down. WE LOVE YOU. J

He is already trying to call me, such a GOOD boy. J

The weight has been lifted…and THE plan is looking good.

What a whirl wind of a worrisome, stressful, and downright no good few weeks it has been. I have been struggling to keep my head above water for a few weeks now. Wait, let me be real honest. I have been struggling to even breathe for the last few weeks. I have had so much on my shoulders the list is really endless, MY JOB, my prayers about the dreaded TAKS test, personal life, my family, my papa bear, my sister and my long awaited for nephew and trying to keep a positive attitude about it all. Although I knew god had a plan the entire time, it is still hard to trust that you are going to end up ok. I have to say god does really in truly have a plan for us all. He sure has been treating me right lately. I am really falling in love with his plan for me. Just when I thought I could no longer take the stress of teaching, (yes I am only 24) here he comes with the plan.

                Those of you that see me daily know the struggles of last Friday. I was extremely on edge. This does not happen often for me. I woke up in a stressed mood, went to work stressed, and left my 3^rd period class in tears. I was pushed over the edge. This is extremely hard to do to me, but it was done. They part that bugs me the most is that my amazing kiddos did not do this to me. My students never push me over the edge. In fact, they make me happy and never fail to make me smile. It was the pressure of teaching that sent me falling off the edge Friday. I did not just take a little trip or stumble off the edge; I took a straight down, hard, high-speed crash! I just want to TEACH. That is what I love to do. I am so tired of people watching me and judging me. I want to teach because I love to do it, not because I have to score a certain way on a piece of paper. I do not want to play the dog and pony show game.  I got through the day because god was on my side though. After my pity party (an entire 3 minutes in the bathroom) I quickly pulled it together and felt god standing beside me.

                6^th period was my designated time to meet with my amazing principal. She really is one of a kind and I honestly do look up to her. I feel comfortable around her and just at home. The thought of losing that feeling really felt heavy sitting on my shoulders. As we met and talked, I felt god sitting with us and his plan playing out. I  WAS SAVED. I am so great full to be returning to C.D Fulkes next year to this amazing campus, family and students. I was so relieved but at the same time in so much confusion. I could not stop thinking about all the other teachers, (family members) that we lost that day. I continue to hope and pray for those who lost their jobs as they are amazing teachers!  For me, I lucked out and I thank god for that. That was a HUGE wait off my shoulder.

                The dreaded stress of the TAKS test is still sitting on my shoulders but is expected to be lifted the last week of April. I then have SUMMER to look forward to and many concerts and floats down the river in my old stomping grounds. Good old San Marcos!  I have one heck of a healthy nephew on the way and one happy happy sister. I cannot wait for the arrival of Easton Thomas Drake. I am also pumped about moving this summer. I can’t wait to decorate with my mom. That is her calling in life and she never fails to make my places look fabulous. Life for me is looking really good. The weight of all the stress is being lifted slowly but surely and extremely unexpected but wonderful things are playing out in my life. I do like the way my life is looking and that plan that god has, wow he is amazing.

**I Wish Heaven Had A Phone**

Dear my sweet sweet Papa Bear,

I wish Heaven had a phone.
If it did, I could hear you every day.
I could hear you yell "Hey get out of my way,"
as the radio announcer reports play by play.
I could hear you telling those football players
"That ‘a way boy, or Hell boy, it’s not your day."
I wish Heaven had a phone.

I wish Heaven had a phone.
Then, the Salley family would never feel alone.
Momma Bear could talk about her new friends,
Dad could tell you about his adventurous hunts,
Uncle John could tell you stories about the boys,
Karol could hear your voice, and tell you all her joys.
I wish Heaven had a phone.

I wish Heaven had a phone.
I could have texted you yesterday and today too.
I would send you pictures that reminded me of you.
I would keep you posted with all the family news,
and I would lay down at  night smiling because I talked to you.
I wish Heaven had a phone.

If Heaven had a phone,
I am sorry Papa Bear, but
You would never be left alone.
If Heaven had a phone.

Love,

Your youngest Granddaughter,

Randi.

Randi's Top 10 Favorite Things...

Yesterday was the first day of a new bible study that my mom and I joined. I am really excited about it. I think it is exactly what I need in my life right now. On our way to bible study I talked her into stopping by Starbucks. I am highly obssessed with Starbucks, it is what gets me through many days. I then began thinking about all my favorite things that I can not live out. So, I thought why not blog about it. Here we go...

1.  Starbucks Iced Pikes Roast Coffe with 3 pumps of Sugar Free Vanilla.


2.  Granny Smith green apples are the BEST snack in the whole world. YUMMY

3. Mac Studio Fix base does wonders for me. <3

4.  I am not sure what I would wear on the weekends if it weren't for these shorts.

5.  I am not sure how I would survive with out this device.

6. I think I put this on at least 5 times a day.

7.  My favorite wine in the world. So refreshing.

8. I have to admit, I am a fan of these. :)

9. I love my speedy bag, but I am IN love with my batignolles Loui! :) Santa is good.

10. THE BEST FOR LAST:  COOPER THOMAS SALLEY
  

I am a BUSY BEE!

I promise I am not a bad blogger, I am just a busy blogger. I have been drowning lately in school, basketball and ok, I will say it, my T.V shows. I am highly addicted. My current favorites that I MUST watch or record are the following:

1. THE BACHOLOR

2. Greys Anatomy

3. Private Practice

4. Modern Family

5. Desperate Housewives

5. Million Dollar Money Drop


On top of those, lately it seems the T.V is exploding with shows calling my name. On Saturday night I stayed home and watched the Miss. America Pageant. I felt like a Grandma staying in on a Saturday night. It felt pretty good actually. I have to say though; I am not so sure I agree with the fact that our Miss. America is only 17 years old. She is not even old enough to vote, this just does not make since to me. She is beautiful don't get me wrong, just seems so young.

Anyway back to my shows. I also have recently become addicted to Real Housewives of Atlanta. These shows somehow suck me in. I watched that show on Sunday for 3 hours straight. I finally told myself how ridiculous I was and got up, I went to a different room and turned it back on. At least I changed locations right?

This is why I have not had time for blogging. I hope you see how busy I have really truly been. I am so excited to continue this busy life I lead all weekend long. I am going to our house in Throckmorton with my family. I have a love hate relationship with that place. I love to go because it is extremely relaxing. My daily routine in Throckmorton during hunting season is this:

*Wake up at 4 to hunt with dad.
*Come home to a yummy breakfast of sausage and eggs.
*Go back to sleep.
*Wake up in the afternoon to hunt with dad.
*Come home to a wonderful dinner of steaks or hamburgers.
*Watch T.V and relax in bed.

Somewhere in that routine, I get lucky and get a deer. When it is not hunting season, I do the same thing taking out the hunting part. I go to grade papers that I am behind on, catch up on rest, be with family, and not go out and stay up late. Our house is really cute... I will update with a picture this weekend while I am there. I have hate the place sometimes because there is NOTHING to do in this town. I am talking population a couple hundred. There is only a dollar store and a gas station in the town. You better come prepared in this town!

I hope you all have a great weekend and start next week off as rested as I will be.

<3 Randi

My Journey to Be G-Free.

 The Beginning

So, if you know me well you have probably heard me talking this crazy talk lately, the talk of going Gluten free. G-Free as Elizabeth Hasselbeck refers to it. I am not crazy, well maybe sometimes, but really I am not. I am just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Those of you that are my close friends know my relationship with the doctor’s office and blood work recently. Over the past year I have been in to see the doctor more than usual to give blood and try to find an answer to some common problems that many people face. I NEVER GET AN ANSWER. “You are as healthy as can be.” And “Your blood work looks great, see you next year.” And my favorite “Just relax, you are stressing too much, you are in perfect health.” Yes, I know I am a stress ball. BUT some things you just want answers too.

 About 6^th months ago I was about to get an answer. An answer I refused to accept.  It is hard to believe that 6 months ago I was living a completely different life. I was still a school teacher but just about all the other logistics were different. I was living in Dallas with my best friend April Holly. She was tackling her last semester of Chiropractic school (GO APRIL!) while I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off teaching two different TAKS tested subjects, coaching volleyball and track, and trying to survive my first year as a BIG GIRL. (Definition of BIG GIRL: adj-name given to one who is jumping into the real world, being cut off financially from her father and has to figure this whole money situation out.  REFER to SCARED.) I did have a lot going on and was not eating the most nutritious foods, but had never had any problems in the past. I started to notice some strange things going on, so I just went to check, to put myself at peace. WRONG! After a nice talk with my doctor who I love so much she decided to run some blood work. Not an unusual thing I know.

The phone call a couple days later was however was very unusual. She succeeded in scaring me to death. She told me that I needed to see an endocrinologist as soon as possible. I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. I replayed what she said in my head time after time thinking, she must have mixed up my blood work with someone else’s. She told me that I had the highest blood sugar level she has ever seen in someone my age. She told me that the chances of Diabetes was very high and that I should get immediate assistance, and to have a nice night. Have a nice night? Um, your life is about to change, but have a good night! Although I do like her a lot, at that moment in time I wanted to strangle her. I immediately called my mom who immediately put me at ease reminding me that we have no family history of diabetes and that something must have triggered that sugar spike.  I thought about my diet lately and had a BIG ah ha moment. I was currently on a 21 day detox (one of my many random diets). On the way to the doctors office I had stopped at Subway. (I wanted to cheat real badly and had decided Subway was meeting cheating and staying on track in the middle.) I also got a cookie, opps.J So, thirty minutes before the blood work I ate a big sugar cookie, therefore making my sugar level sky rocket since sugar had not been taken into my body for about 12 days.

 I did make the appointment to see the endocrinologist to make sure; after all I am not a doctor even though I like to think I am. She did a lot of questioning and paper work and then finally blood work. A waited a few days and they called me back with my results. I guess I would make a pretty good doctor because I was exactly right; the cookie spiked my blood sugar level. Who would have thunk it. Dr. Randi Salley world renowned doctor.

 So that answer to the random concerns that I have about my body that I wanted so badly in the beginning… I thank god I didn’t get one, at least not that one. I know a lot of people live completely normal lives with diabetes, and I look up to those who do. I am just thankful that I do not have to deal with that issue.

So, when I went to the doctor again over Christmas break I was told the going Gluten Free might be a great natural answer to fix my feeling sick to my stomach and tired issues. So that is how I stumbled onto this phenomenon. I raced out to Barnes and Nobles and decided to research the idea and was soon addicted to it. I read Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s “The G-Free Diet” and loved it. Her life changed and she speaks about how wonderful, energetic and joyful she feels daily.  This is my goal. I will stop the yo-yo diets and fads and make a life style change for the better. I know it will not be an easy change but it will be a worthy change. I am not going to totally cut Gluten out of my life all together, I am going to start replacing it little by little until I get that energetic, joyful and blissful feeling daily that Elizabeth speaks of. I am on my 5th day of my jouney to be G-FREE.

A New Year means a NEW BLOG.

I am officially a blogger! OK, I have to admit I was one of those people who swore up and down I would never resort to blogging. I mean come on, write in a journal or talk to a friend but don’t blog it for the entire world to see. These were my thoughts. I have since decided to throw those away, like many other old thoughts and habits. I just want to blog dang it. I want to tell people about my not so cool life. Even if no one reads this beside my mom and my sister, it feels good to blog. It’s like letting all your stress out onto a piece of paper (or computer screan) and saying "Here, you deal with it." In fact, I am already feeling a lot better just from these 5 minutes of blogging. So, that is that. I am officially a blogger and I like it.

To my future followers,

My hopes are that I keep you entertained, encouraged and empowered to keep reading my posts! The 3E's I shall call them. It is true that I am not a movie star, a professional athlete or even a star teacher. I also have no big news to blog about. No engagement and wedding plans to indulge you with, no baby on the way, no big move, and no job change in the near future to blog about. (Although I have had many thoughts over the year about that last one)  However, I believe this is the unique part about my blog. I am just your normal, average, typical, everyday run of the mill 24 year old 6th grade teacher/coach who is trying to live life to her fullest and thanks god for the chance to do so. I will simply blog about whatever is on my mind. This, believe it or not is A LOT usually. I also really enjoy writing, so this is actually a really good outlet for me. I like to refer to most of my personal writing as rambling, hints the title "Randi's Random ramblings." A perfect fit. Well, fellow bloggers here we go!

*I hope you are not too on edge waiting for my first post. It won’t be long, so just hang in there. J

<3 Randi