Mini Convention

Yesterday I attended the session about building an elementary level exercise facility. I think Mohawk Elementary's facility is absolutely amazing. The virtual reality games that they chose would motivate students of all ages and it really does get the students moving. It was a very informative session and I'm glad that I went to it. I would like to build and plan something like that to help make the school PE program that I work in better. It is something that even the faculty members could get involved in during after school hours.

Rugby Weekend

This weekend I traveled to Michigan to play rugby. I was chosen to play on the team that represents the Allegheny Rugby Union. They choose girls that are under 23 from teams in our area and we travel to different places every year to compete against other Unions. We ended up taking third place in the tournament. I had an awesome time both on and off the field and I met some amazing people. I may have the oportunity to try out for the Midwest rugby team in May if we get selected to go and we should find out sometime this week.

Its Finally Spring

This weeks weather has been absolutely gorgeous!! I love the spring time! Its so nice being able to walk to class and not be bundled up so you don't freeze to death. I wore sandles the other day for the first time since the summer and it felt so good. My roommates got a bird feeder and evey morning they watch the birds while they eat breakfast. Its nice to hear the birds churping when you wake up in the morning instead of dead silence. When I had to walk to the gym in the morning for training it was always silent until it got closer to spring.

First day back

Yesterday was my first day of rugby practice. I knew I would be sore but I didn't think I would be as sore as I am. I figured since I have been working out and lifting that I would alright. I realized this morning when I woke up and had to role out of bed that I was not in rugby shape. I also have a ton of bruises already. I guess I figured out the hard way just how out of shape I really am.

Freedom

As you probably already know from reading my postings from last week, Miss SRU is finally over. I had a good time on sunday and I'm pretty sure I will do it again next year. It was a good experience for my first show and I hope to maybe even do some bigger shows when I get a job and can afford to pay for the things I need. Now I have to get myself on a new schedule now that the show is over. I have so much more time to do things that I want to do now.

5 More Days

Only 5 more days left till the competition. This week has been kinda hard because I feel really tired. I am excited for it to be over but I dont know what I'm gonna do with all my time when its finally over. After the show I will be getting lots of goodies from my grandma and step mom. My Grandma is making me granola and peanut butter pie and my step mom is making me chocolate cake with peanut butter icing...mmm. Hopefully I don't eat too much sunday night or I will be regreting it on monday.

First Day of Spring

Today is offically the first day of spring!! It doesn't feel like spring outside but at least the sun is out. I'm glad it is finally starting to get nice. The snow starts getting old after a while. I can't wait till I can walk to class in shorts and a t-shirt and not have to worry about freezing to death. This cold weather is never fun to play rugby in either. Next weekend we have a rugby tournament so hopefully it will get a little warm outside so that the players aren't miserable all day.

2 Weeks left

Only two more weeks left until Miss SRU. The last couple weeks have gone by so fast it doesn't seem like its possible for the show to be so soon. I am very ready for my life to be back to normal. I still plan on going to the gym every day but it will be nice to be able to go when I want to. I can't wait till I can eat a reese cup! They are my favorite candy and I have been craving them as well as peanut butter.

Webpage

The webpage assignment that we had due today for technology was so time consuming. I felt like I was never going to finish it! I honestly didn't procrastinate and I still had a hard time getting it finished. I can't imagine how pressured I would have felt if I had waited till the last minute to start it. I ended up having to redue my index page because it didnt work and no one in the library knew how to help me. The turnitin thing on blackboard was kind of confusing to. I had more than 6 pages so I didn't really know what to do. All I have to say is that I'm glad I'm finished!

Weather

This snow is getting really old really quick. It always snows at the worst times. It seems like every time I have plans to go somewhere it snows and I have to cancel them. Having to walk to class in it isn't any better. We were suppose to have a rugby game on Saturday but we had to cancel it bc of the weather. I'm sick of this cold and I can't wait till summer comes!

Teaching

On Thursday our assessment Strategies class went to Neshannock to do assessments with 6th and 3rd graders. I really enjoyed working with the 3rd graders. They were really motivated to be there and they seemed to have a lot of fun with the activities we planned for them. I think the day was well organized and everything seemed to work out really well. When I graduate and finally find a job I would love to work with Kindergarten to middle school children, but I won't be too picky.

Gymnastics lesson

Today we taught our lesson in gymnastics to the kindergarten kids. They seemed to really enjoy our lesson. We were well orgainzed and everything came together really well. The kids seemed to know all the directions we taught them and our activities seemed to keep them entertained. I think our game at the end of our lesson was the most fun. They were all excited to play and we didn't have any winners or losers so everyone went home smiling!

Price of Food

I don't understand why the price of healthy food has to be so exspensive. They wonder why the majority of our population is obese, well it doesn't help that people can't afford to eat healthy. It's easier for families to buy junk food especially if you have a big family. Over the past few months I have spent so much money just on food for my diet. I wish I would have kept track of how much I've spent because it would have been crazy to see how much money I have actually spent since I started.

Gymnastics Class

On thursday in my gymnastics class we are having kindergarten kids come in so we can teach them. I love little kids so I think its going to be really fun. We each get partnered with a child and we get to go around to each different station with them. Having kindergarten children around gymnastics equipment is going to be very interesting im sure. Since I have younger siblings I don't think I will have a problem dealing with any of the kids. Lets hope it goes well!

Rugby

We had a meeting on Wednesday and Thursday this week for anyone interested in playing rugby. We had a pretty decent turn out for both days. Most of the girls seemed really interested and asked a lot of questions so hopefully we will have a few new members to our rugby team. I am interested to see how many of them will actually stick with it and how many will decide its not really a sport for them. Practice starts next tuesday so I guess we will have to wait and see how many of the new rookies show up.

Sleep

I am beginning to notice how important getting a good night sleep really is. I use to be able to stay up really late and not have a problem getting up for class. Now that I am training and have such long days, I need as much sleep as I can get. Even if I get enough sleep its usually hard to get out of bed when the alarm goes off at 6 and by the end of the day I am exhausted. Time management is also very important or I would never be able to get anything done.

Bloating

Recently I went on a real strick diet so I have to be conscous about what im putting in my body. I learned that high amounts of sodium in your diet can cause bloating so I decided to look up more information on it. I use to think that drinking a lot of water would cause bloating but its actually just the opposite. Drinking more water helps flush soduim our of the body and reduces bloating. I also learned during my research that processed foods, carbonated drinks and too little protein can all cause bloating. So if your feeling bloated try to cut some of these things from your diet and maybe your bloating problems will subside.

Bodybuilding Diet

Yesterday I went to a speaker that talked about dieting and training when training for a bodybuilding competition. I learned about what areas of my body I should work harder on in order to be ready for the show. I also learned what foods should be consumed and ones that shouldn't. There are also certain foods that should be eaten earlier in the day so that your body has time to burn them off. Diet and nutrition are key components of being successful in a bodybuilding competition.

ME

My name is Danyelle Whitman. I was born and raised in Coudersport Pa. I have three brothers and two sisters and I am the oldest child. In high school I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. I went to Clarion University for two years before transfering to Slippery Rock University. I played rugby at clarion for two years and now I currently play rugby for slippery rock. I am training for Miss SRU which is on Sunday March 30th. My major is Health and Physical Education.