(Short) 20th Post!

This is my 20th post! Yay! I have made a goal to make this short, so... This is short. Over spring break, I worked on my speech, still having time to play outside in this beautiful weather. I finally finished my poster today, I would have already finished, but Kira ripped the poster with all my pictures glued on. Good thing it was glued a little lightly. Now all I have to do is practice my speech.

Did you know: In Taiwan, garbage trucks blast music to remind people to bring out the trash.

~Serena (Told you it was shorter than my other posts.)

No more fast food burgers!

I've been doing a lot of reading about food.
The kind of food I eat.
The kind of food I want to eat.
The kind of food I need to eat.

Do I like cheeseburgers? Yes, I do.
Do my boys like cheeseburgers? Yes, they do.

So, if we want to have this food, we have to make it at home. We have to plan for it like our other meals. It can never again come from a fast food restaurant.

So, I purchased good ground beef. I purchased potato buns, tomatoes, spinach, and we already have corn-syrup free ketchup. No french fries, just salad and a glass of milk.
They were so delicious. I made them like my mom did when I was a kid. Beef plus an egg, mixed with some pepper and turned into patties. No green peppers in my burger. I'm not Eddie Murphy.

I know that fast food is expensive, convenient, and very bad for you. We get it not because we really want a burger, but because we want to skimp on the work. Sometimes we will want a great burger. If that is what we really want, we must make it ourselves.

Have a great night,
Jeremy

Next week.

Well, I'll be practicing forms at home tomorrow I've also been doing some yoga stretching. I'm trying to get these hips to open up. That and stretching. My right knee is still swollen from training earlier in the week. I'm sure class will be a challenge.

It's been an interesting week.

I can't believe this Spring Break is over tomorrow.

Last weekend my son, Roland, turned 4. We spent that Saturday at OMSI having a great time.
Monday, Orion and I trained at Aim High.
On Tuesday we spent almost 6 hours with the boys running all around Out of this World Pizza.
(That was after having spent an hour in BSBN John's noon class. His noon class is no joke!)
They had so much climbing. I can't believe that I made it all the way up that tower and down those slides. I was exhausted.
Wednesday, Orion and I trained at Aim High.
Thursday, we went back to OMSI to see all the stuff we missed on the weekend. All the MythBuster stuff was really cool.
Friday, soccer practice. An amazing day for soccer. I'm so glad that I am coaching my son's team.
Today we went and spent an early Easter with my wife's dad. The boy's love playing at their Grandpa's house. Ate a delicious meal and decorated the eggs. (That the Easter Bunny is placing right now.)
Sunday will be great. I am lucky to have my family.

I hope you all have had an wonderful week.

Jeremy

A Day to Recharge

I finally took a day off. Over the past few months I've been working 6-7 days a week usually a minimum of 12 hours a day. It feels good to have a weekend to recharge my batteries and get some stuff done and enjoy the nice weather. I think the project is at a point that I can go back to regular hours and start putting some effort into my training.

State Management

I think this has been my most important lesson this week. I spent the majority of the last weekend recovering from some kind of stomach thing that wouldn't let me keep food down. I woke up Monday morning at seven am and stayed at aim high until around 8:30 pm that night (a combination of working camp, teaching classes, and black belt class). Throughout that Monday morning I struggled to stay awake and keep a positive attitude. And during the day, while teaching classes, attempted to keep my energy level high. It was hard, but I managed to get through it. After I returned home and flopped on my bed I proceeded to get into a very emotional and deep conversation with my ex-girlfriend. A little stressful. And after all of this was over and done with, I had four hours of sleep and woke up at seven the next morning... Upon walking through the doors of aim high at roughly 7:26 am I recalled something my high school band teacher said before every morning practice... "Check your ego at the door. Check your problems and you attitude. When you walk in these doors your day starts over, your brain resets, and you leave all of your problems outside this space." - Mr. Greg Hall... Before I walked into aim high a stopped, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and walked in the doors tired, with messy hair, and a big grin on my face. Tuesday has been the best day of camp this week for me because of that experience. It is now Friday the 29th of march and it is the last day of spring break camp. I feel relaxed. I feel calm in both mind and body. I'm even in a good mood. It's been a long week but both Teacher Erica the Great and I seem to still be alive. Without that moment on Tuesday morning I would not be here this morning writing this. I'm very thankful for the lessons I have been given as both a martial artist and a student of other things. And every day I realize more tricks and techniques to help improve my quality of life and learning...... Now I just have to apply them.............................. Joke of the day: From a passenger ship one can see a bearded man on a small island who is shouting and desperately waving is hands.
"Who is it?" a passenger asks the captain.
"I've no idea. Every year when we pass, he goes mad."

Not overdoing it!

I find that the hardest thing these days is trying to fit everything in that I want to train/learn/exercise on....what I quickly realize is that it is very easy to over train and possibly get injured.

I think the main thing to remember is smart efficient training can go a long ways to ensure that you don't waste your energy.

keep up the good work team!

see you on the mat!

THE Great Wolf Lodge!

This is Serena, blogging from my room at Great Wolf Lodge in Washington! Even though it took us one Wreck-It Ralph movie and two medium bathroom breaks to get here, I am having a great time with my family! Sure, we are only staying for one night, but I am just really excited because it has changed in the past two years. They have installed a mini golf area (pictures are below) and something called the 'Great Forest Fire.' Unfortunately, it's out of order so I don't know how it works. They have expanded their arcade, where my brother got 250 tickets on his first game. I only got 7 tickets on my first game.
The water park was fun, but I forgot to bring my bathing suit so my mom bought me a new one. Now I owe my mom twenty bucks. It didn't start out really good when I got here... Anyways, over the break, I have homework and on our way here, I finished part of my homework. My homework is that we have to write a speech about any topic we want complete with pictures about the topic. I chose bullying and I've already go some picture but I haven't gotten my speech perfect yet. Did I tell you we got a bacon pillow named Kevin from the arcade claw machine? (Brandon and if you ever read this Jordan A. :P) Here is a picture at the bottom.

Speaking of bacon, Did you know?: Putting raw bacon up your nose can stop serious nosebleeds.

~Serena

Pac Jewel

Hello team one of the things I look forward on doing this year is Pacific Jewel. It is one of my favorite tournaments of the year. The first tournament I did was Pacfic Jewel in 2009 I only competed in Traditional forms I got 2nd place.I really enjoy the trip going there as well as getting out of the car and into the hotel room.I get so excited untill I am sitting down waiting for the other competitors to do their form. But once it's time I got to focus which is super hard sometimes but then it's easy others it just depends.



             NEXT TIME I WANT TO SEE YOU GUYS AT PACIFIC JEWEL COMPETING!

California Fun!

  Hey guys, It's me in California! I've been having great fun, and I have some challenges. I visited the California Academy of Science in San Francisco and learned a lot about animals and fishes (Serena :P) and I too have some cool facts. We might come home Thursday, or Friday, depending on if my mom is bringing us somewhere.  It was really fun visiting my cousins here in California, and my Uncle gave me some fantastic soup. I don't know how to spell it, but I do know that it has meatballs in it. Anyways, the challenges I have are really hard. One includes doing Burpies to Box Jumps back and forth. They are hard. Box jumps are the one where you jump up and down on a high surface, and I hope you know what burpies are. And I didn't forget to train while being here in California either. It's been a fun week, and I hope to see all of you soon at Aimhigh.  The next Phase Test is coming up, and I think we got this one. Hope you guys are training well.

Sincerely, Brandon

P.S: When I come back, I expect you guys to try the challenges with me.

Ted Talk

After BKJN Lectured us about changing attitude, getting ready for the next phase test and training like a future black belt. It got me thinking and well...I am still thinking about tonight's class. But however I was curious about the Red Letter T: Ted Talk when BKJN was asking us to look it up. When I came home I rushed to the computer because I was curious. And I found a lot of cool topics. My mom was watching what videos are fit for my age appropriate. I am having fun and love looking up more Ted Talks. But back to my thinking process, I got to admit that BKJN is gearing us ready for the next phase and teaching us not to stop practicing each forms. Tonight class was an eye opener for me personally. So lets practice each form and each stances and each sparring moves most importantly the handouts KJN gave us a few weeks ago. Keep training hard and never give up. I am rooting for each of you. we can do it!! We are the Generations team!! t-berg out.   

School is done for the week so I am looking forward to having some time off. I have 2 books that I have been wanting to finish but have been unsuccessful because I always have a lot of required reading to do. I wasn't sure if I would make it to the 7 mile mark for my marathon training. I figured that if I made it to the day in my training for the half way mark I would know for sure that I could do the full 13 miles. Today was the 7 mile day and I was successful in completing it. I am now even more hopeful for the actual day. Lets keep pushing team. We got this:)

Talent Show

The talent show was today and remember my friend who got told she had to change her song and give my music teacher a totally new song the day after? She got into the talent show, AND she got to keep her song. I'm thinking that our music teacher had to listen to the song again, but that's just a guess.
Anyways, the talent show was really cool. A 5th grade boy was able to play the music from a well-known movie WITHOUT a guide! And it was good! Isn't that crazy? Some 4th graders did a (I think) Tae Kwon Doe form and I thought it looked like they practiced a lot. They broke boards on-stage in one try! Even though they were younger than me, two of of the three was already black belt.
My friend went on-stage and the D.J played the track late. She continued singing, but she still got nervous. I heard people in the back of me saying that she sucked, that they wished that she got off the stage and things to mean to be repeated. I stood up for her even though she couldn't hear them and thankfully, they listened and stopped. The thing that made it shocking is that they were the same age as me, and all the classes had a talk about being courteous to others on-stage.
For some reason, a lot of people sang or danced. One group of girls did the 'cup song.' There was a act where some girl has advice on what to do before a date but her hands belong to someone else. The 'hands' couldn't see what they were doing, but they had to do things from powdering her face to dancing the 'YMCA.' Weird right?

Did you know?: You can fry am egg on the sidewalk when the temperature reaches 158° F.

~Serena

I have been able to take care of my knees with the help of the trainer that I used to see at 24 hour Fitness before he had to move back to Portland. I had to add a lot of routine things every day, like the foam roller, wearing compression socks when I run and work out and shock absorbers for my knees. We are now working on the set of curriculum for phase 2 testing, so lets get on it. We need to stay organized and on top of things kids. Mentoring is a part of the 2nd and 3rd degree testing, so if you are a candidate and you don't have a mentor that is a senior belt, let us know:)

Only TWO days!

If you read the comments of one of my posts (Getting better...) the boys on my left and the boy in the back stopped talking. The boy in front of me didn't. In two days he managed to get five+ in less than two days (or mornings). That's equal to about 2 hours. I have a note ready and I am going to give it to Mr. Smith (might be his real name, might not be) tomorrow.
I am nervous about giving the note tomorrow because I don't really favor telling on people. I am also relieved because maybe I will finally be moved. Mr. Smith graded my test, but didn't read my note on the back. It will be guaranteed that I will be mad if he still doesn't read my note, and that I will tell him personally.

Did you know?: The world's smallest frog is the size of a Cheerio. (I am NOT kidding. It really is that small! Donut believe me? Look it up!)

~Serena

Hello Team!

Hello team. 
I hope you all are keeping your black belt binder organized. I try my best to keep in updated along with my school work. Spring break is around the corner and remember team we still need to focus on our training and study for Phase II testing. Maybe we can have a study group like the last time we did and we practice our study sheets to quiz each other and did forms and sparring. Keep training hard and have fun training. t-berg out.

My (Tiring) Weekend

I know that I should have done this earlier, but after my whole weekend, my body is aching. Plus, after waking up at 5:00 in the morning then waiting for our train/bus (I call it the bus, others call it the MAX. Same thing.) in cold weather, then running/walking 5K, THEN going to a jungle gym to play. I probably sound like it was a HORRIBLE day and I am just monologuing about how horrible it was, but I had a lot of fun.
So let me just start at Saturday. On Saturday, I think I got 5th or 4th place in traditional forms (the judges said that it was really close and everyone got 9._ from the judges) and I got 1st in jump front kicks, by kicking 6 feet and 3 inches. That's two inches taller than one of the teachers! (If you were there or someone told you, you know who I am talking about.) Kaitlyn, one boy from tournament practice (I know his name, but I don't want to say names of people most of you don't know) and Jae were in this part of the division, because we were the shortest out of all of them. They did really good, and I was looking at the crowd of people, most of them were surprised that we could kick that high. Also, my hair was braided by Aunty Ann (Thank you for braiding it!) and when I took it out and undid it, my hair was wavy and... Poofy. : )
Today, I woke up at 5:00 and I was super tired, but when I put in my contacts, I was wide awake. We had to drop off my sister and brother at Jae's house. Thanks Jae for letting me use your left over face sparkles(?)! We drove to the train/MAX/bus station and when the bus got here, it was filled with people. Lucky for me, I was one of those people who stood up. We got stopped and our group decided to walk instead of being delayed by this. Once we got off though, 5 minutes later, the MAX/train/bus started to leave. I was very angry at this, only because every time we caught up with it, it went away.
Skipping the parts about how we got there and finding our group, the race started and I wasn't running very fast so I could stay with the group and I didn't want to run very fast to burn energy. Towards the end, I felt like I wasn't running fast enough and I had to catch up to the girls. All though as I was running, lots of people (mostly men) were wearing kilts and woman (and some men too) were wearing tutu(s?). I saw really silly and crazy costumes and outfits. One person was in a full bunny suit and another was dressed as... Let's just say it was a cup of root beer.
Going back was fun because we went on the part of the train/MAX/bus where there are standing spots where the train/MAX/bus curves or turns and certain people made fun of me and a friend that is a boy. (You know who you are and you are forgiven.) We got to our stop and got off, some had longer rides though and we all met back up at Out of This World. Our number was 33. It was fun and tiring with all the climbing and I found out that I am good at climbing fast. Even when I have something in my hand.
At home, we just relaxed and I would have done this post as soon as I got home but after lying down my body 'took a nap.' (As in it didn't really want to move and went it did, it would kind of hurt like when your foot falls asleep.)

Did you know?: A highway in Osaka, Japan that runs though the middle of an office building.

~A tired Serena going to bed at 9:15

This weekend

  Today, I just got up at 6:00 and waited two hours to do the Shamrock Run! This week, I couldn't even sleep in because of the Tournament and the Run, and I'm kind of tired.  This week was crazy, as usual.  Five-kilometer run, and an Aim High Competition.  At the Tournament, I got 2nd place in Open Weapon Forms, and I got 4th in Traditional Forms.  Not bad for my 2nd tournament.  At the Shamrock Run, I took about 3-4 puffs of my inhaler and I had trouble breathing at the last quarter-mile.  On the bright side, I got four servings of Clam chowder and I saw a man-horse, a bunny-person, a unicorn-man, and 7 men wearing toto's.  Not that anyone was counting.  Any who, I had a pretty packed weekend.  We also went to Out Of This World Pizza after the Run.  We had great fun, and a kid about Jordan's size hit me not-too-hard in the stomach.  I told Jae and Taylor or whoever and they made a pretty big deal out of it.  He didn't even hit me hard.  It was more of a playful punch.  Yeah, weird weekend and I woke up the same time I do on school-days.

~Brandon M.

a crazy weekend

On Friday we were at Aim High practicing while the parents were helping teacher GSam. Then on Saturday we had the Aim High Classic Tournament and the UFC fight which I only saw one fight. Today my friends and aim high team did the 15K, 8K or the 5K race. We had so much fun. My mom and dad and JD did the 5K walk and I am happy finished the walk. I am a little bit sore but I deserve little R&R (Reading and relaxing) I don't mind the busy weekend actually. It gives me the time to see my Aim High family more then to just stay at home. Great Job to everyone!! keep training hard and have fun training. I wouldn't mind doing another race!! t-berg out.

What a Day!

The tournament today was pretty fun!! I made new friends and got a phone number from a girl from a different school. We like the same color, the same movies and we love doing tournaments. I got a couple of coaches giving me some great advice and complements on my forms and sparring. I hope you know that I was cheering each of you during the tournament!! I had fun with my friends laughing and the parents cheering us to. thank you Aim High for doing a great job! Thank you to teacher BoySam for calming me down when I needed it the most. Crying in public can be a bit embarassing and I am glad my friends where there to help me. I learned that if you get knocked down then get back up and finish your goal or task. t-berg out!

Worried?

Some advice for people who are going to be in the tournament tomorrow or today (depending when you read this) stay calm and stretch before you go to your division. If you are nervous, you can tighten your muscles for 5 seconds, then relax. Or take deep breaths. What I like to do is picture the judges as statues or bunnies and pretend I am in an empty room and I am practicing my final rep of my form for that day. If you aren't doing the tournament, this can help you when doing tests in class, or if you are nervous about anything. I am pretty nervous for the tournament and I hope that I try my best and have fun, not stressing a lot.
Hope the best for you guys and good luck! : )

Did you know?: Some birds sleep while in flight.

~A nervous and tired Serena

Getting better...

Remember those boys that I don't really like that sit around me? I wrote a note about them to the teacher (I didn't give it to him yet) and somehow someone saw me write the note and spread the word about the note to the boys. I didn't know this right away, but I noticed that whenever they would talk, after a little bit they would abruptly stop their conversation. I liked them not talking but it kinda felt like black mail.
So I put the note away and made a little system. Every time they would talk loudly when they weren't suppose to or make a weird face or something, I would put a tally mark next to their name. When one of them got two tally marks, I would warn them. Three- I would tell them to stop louder. Four- make a note to the teacher. And if they get to five, give the note to the teacher. If they get six or higher, I tell the teacher personally.
I don't really want them to get to six because they can be good time to time, just not ALL the time. I am giving them a second chance because everyone deserves a second chance and this is their second chance. I seriously wish that they would finally think and say "OK, Serena has already told me twice that I should stop talking. It looks like it is annoying her so I should stop. I could finish the conversation at lunch." Thing are getting better, but one a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, it a 3 1/2.
Speaking about those boys, our school had a spelling bee for 3-5 graders and one of the boys behind me recommended me as one of our spellers. Don't worry, it wasn't one of those spelling bees where you stand up on a stage and speak. I had to go to a room full of other people who were chosen and spell a bunch of hard words like embarrassed and weights (these were some of the easy ones, the rest were HARD.) I think I did pretty good for a surprise spelling bee test. I am probably not going to be the person representing the school for the spelling bee. : ) When the principal announced the people who participated, when she called my name, she said it right but thought I was in THIRD grade, even though I put "fifth grade" in big neat writing. I was really 'embarrassed' then. (Get it?)

Did you know?: 167 letters are in the longest place-name, Krungthep Mahanakhon Bovorn Ratanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokpop Noparatratchathani Burirom Udomratchanivet Mahasathan Amornpiman Avatarnsathit Sakkathattiyavisnukarmprasit, officially known as Bangkok, Thailand. (Don't worry, this probably won't be in ANY spelling bee. And yes, this is a real place.)

~Serena

Physical & Spiritual

With plans later this evening, I decided that I would train during the noon class today. 

BSBN John runs a tough class during the day and there were only a few advanced belts. We get sent to spare with teacher Eric 2 vs 1. Physically, I've been feeling really slow. I'm not getting my kicks chambered and extended fast enough. There isn't any spring in my step. I was getting pretty frustrated and when the other guy sparring keeps holding my leg, I got angry and went after him a little bit too hard. I went to the head gear, but I went in around 75% instead of 50. I felt spiritually weak after that exchange. I let my frustrations with my physical abilities change how I faced my opponents. I will work on keeping control of my feelings and remembering that because of my size I could hurt someone. That can create hurt feeling on their part, and I don't want that.

I'm sitting here thinking about how much development I need to make physically, mentally and spiritually. That I can change my attitude. Snap. Just like that. Those words we say in class are very true.

See you tomorrow at the MMA Fight Night and the In-house tournament this Saturday.

Jeremy

support team

know that I support each of you and I like reading your posts. Keep aiming high and never never give up. If you need encouragement I am here. I like supporting you and I hope this message helps. T-berg out.

Wow. Talk about using the right attitude to wade through all of the junk that comes our way. Aside from dealing with trying to figure out what is wrong with the legs that are supposed to take me to the finish line of a 13 mile marathon in 5 weeks, the husband who whole heartedly supports me gets a chip fracture in his hip. He can barely move let alone drive or pick up his own pain meds. It is pure frustration at the thought of throwing away all of the running progress that I have made in the last 6 weeks but also trying to get through sparring and not get hit in the legs. Fear and anger have had their place long enough. I will keep running and training until it hurts. Literally:)

First Post

Alright, it looks like I got this thing to work.

I'm not exactly sure how to start. It's Monday and it was a good class tonight.
I wasn't able to keep up with the team during forms. I'm really needing to practice more. Duh, of coarse I need to practice. I have a hard time going as fast as the others, so I'll be doing my best to show as much precision as possible. It's no joke how much my ankles, knees and hips hurt.

I am really sore after Bsbn Brandi's Runner class on Friday. I would have thought my knees and calves would have hurt more, but it was actually my quads and shoulders. I'm feeling better tonight and I'm going to run with Orion tomorrow. I will keep this updated.

Well, that's my first Generations post. There's a whole lot to do between now and October.
I really appreciate everyone's help and support.

Jeremy

Keep it up~~

GREAT CLASS Everyone!! Keep it up and lets work together. get plenty of rest for tomorrow!! T-berg out!!

Eye Doctor

Hey team, today I visited the eye doctor and I had to go though a lot to get my eyes checked. I waited in the waiting room until a lady called me. She lead me into a room with three medium machines. One was like a video game where you press a button whenever you see a square of squiggly lines. Another machine was where you put your chin on a chin rest (I think that is what it is called) and with one eye you stare at a tiny hot air ballon until it isn't blurry. After, the machine gives you two little puffs for each eye. The third machine just takes a picture of your eyes for contacts. The lady lead me into a room and in right corner there was a BIG machine with a soft white chair in front of it. A computer was next to the big machine. I sat down and the machine took pictures of the back of my eyes.
She lead me into another room where there were a machine that helps you see when the eye doctor sets it up, a machine that lets he or she check your eyes, a mirror, a small tv on the opposite wall that displays the letters on-screen backwards so you could see it in the mirror, a computer, and some chairs and a box of toys for family members. The lady walked out of the room after the testing and another doctor came in a few minutes after. My mom asked the doctor how we (being my mom and I) slow down the process of my eyes and he said I could wear contacts to slow it down. They were monthly contacts and I had to take special care for them.
I put one pair of the monthly contacts on and after a couple tries getting the contacts off, I finally put them on and everything was clear and sharp (as in not blurry.) I won't be wearing glasses now so I can slow down the blurring but every now and then I might wear glasses. I am excited about wearing contacts because compared to my sports glasses I wear when I do martial arts, contacts don't fog up or get stuck in my hair. This way, the only thing I have to worry about is the contacts falling out and the contacts ripping.

Did you know?: It gets so cold in Sibera your breath can turn into ice in mid-air!

~Serena

7 hours of fun

I was at Aim High for 7 hours of fun. 1st we did the Running workshop with Brandy. We ran 2 miles and I kept up with teacher Kevin and teacher Cory and Matthew! Running is fun and I think this will be my newest hobby. Great job Team for completing the running workshop and thank you teacher Brandy for running with us. After running I was a class helper with teacher John, I love helping the little ones with their kicks and I was remembering when I was in that class. 3rdly, I completed Demo practice which by the way I LOVE Dancing with my TEAM. Uncle Dino thank you for the Pizza and teacher Holly for the drinks!! I quickly went over to TKD Sparring to get ready for the tournament for next week, which by the way was pretty hard!! I need to work on my speed. After sparring I jumped over the the Tournament practice where I worked on my open form and changed a few kicks and SPARRING!! My mom was about to cry when Faith and I were up for continuous sparring!! I LOVE AIM HIGH AND WORKING OUT!! that was my 7 hours of fun. I also help my parents clean out the garage and fix my practice area and guess what! I love it!! A neighbor friend ask why I wasn't like any girl who would hang out at the mall because she wanted me to go, I told her I am not into shopping but I love my Martial Arts training and that is fun for me.  :{ )  T-Berg out!!!!

No Talking

Hi! Today I went 6 to 7 hours without talking! To 'talk', I carried a white board and Expo Pen with me and wrote down anything I would say to friends. I thought my teacher would tell me to be real and talk, but surprisingly, didn't say anything. I was really fun not speaking for a day and just listening to other people or replying slowly and actually thinking about what you were going to say. I talked four or five times, but my sentences weren't that long. It would be five words max. I used the white board not just for talking, but to help me in math by drawing pictures or writing the problem on the board.
I didn't talk today because today it was character dress-up day, where you dress up as your favorite book character for school. I was Kacey Simon from the book How To Rock (the book, not the TV show.) In one part of the book, she has braces and doesn't want her friends to find out. The thing is, she has a lisp. So she doesn't talk until... You will just have to read the book, I don't want to give anything away. Anyways, I wanted to challenge myself so instead of like in the book (about a couple of minutes), the whole school day.
A lot of people thought I had lost my voice and once they knew that I didn't, it was hard. It's not as hard as it looks. In fact, it was pretty easy for me. The first words I had said afterwards was saying hello to a boy who lives in my neighborhood. He was startled by the sound of my voice. It was a little funny when he said hi back then noticed that I talked.

Did you know?: The creators of Star Wars made Yoda look like Albert Einstein.

~Serena

The younglings =0)

Hi all,
I'm just really thankful to be on this year's testing team with so many enthusiastic and energetic people! Even though I sometimes feel like the lone OLD DUDE in this class of younglings, I'm also way inspired and motivated by how much you all bring to the workouts. Thanks for encouraging me to step up my energy =0).
Michael

Have a great Day (:

Have a great day my team!! Focus your eyes, mind and body. I am cheering everyone on today off the martial arts mat/Aim high Studio and encouraging you all to have a great day and remember to take the time to help someone at work or school. Listen to a friend and be happy. T-berg out!!

So this is just a reminder to us all. Make sure you take care of even  the minor booboos. Don't let the little stuff go, because they could turn out to be big issues later on. BSBN Bo gave me a great piece of advice during phase testing last week. He said "Don't be stubborn. Take care of yourself." He has serious knee issues that keep him from doing a lot of things, so he knows. I ended up with quite a bit of tissue bruising on my shins and knees from sparring yesterday. I am a runner so this is one of the reasons why I don't spar very often because I am very worried about my knees and ankles. Today I hit a wall (pain wise) so I am trying to take care of myself after running. Keep pushing, take care of yourself and listen to your partner in class.

Lots of Traveling (Little Long)

*Sigh* You are probably wondering "Serena, why are you (somewhat) sighing?" Well, today I have been on FOUR buses, and then ran about three miles. Yes, I know, four buses isn't a lot. But it is a lot when the second and third bus rides is 33 minutes each.
The whole fifth grade had a field trip to JA BizTown. (JA stands for Jr. Achievement.) We stayed there for six hours. At JA BizTown, everyone has a job. I was the CEO of the Business Journal, a newspaper for JA BizTown, and also editor. I had to make the whole news paper, like put all the stories, ads, and pictures in the actual paper. I get the newspaper tomorrow so I might take a picture of all eight pages then post the pictures. But the breaks were a little small and I didn't have a lot of time to eat my lunch, and I got mixed up on my breaks. I sat at a desk all the time (unless it was my break) while my CFO and people from other businesses gave me checks and other things to sign. After the whole thing, all I wanted to do when I got home was finish my homework, put it away, then take a nap.
But right after, I had to change so we could run. The good news was I ran 18 laps, or 3 miles. I am tired from it but still feel like I had buckets of energy. I am typing/writing in the car, where we are either going someplace else, or finally home. I am pretty sure I am going someplace else though. My little sister came with us and she had a blast. She was laughing and most of the time screaming, but she was running/walking with my dad.
My dad says that we have to go home first, then got to Jae and Jordan's house because my parents have to go to a meeting. *Sigh again* I like having to go to Jae's/Jordan's house, but I just want to relax. My mom says that we are going to be home late, so I can't really do my homework. I have decided to use a homework slip so I can skip this night's homework. I am SUPER hungry and I don't have time for a snack!
P.S. when I said four buses, the first was the bus I ride to school in the morning (about 10-15 minute ride,) the second bus is from my school to JA BizTown (about 30-33 minute ride,) the third bus is from JA BizTown to my school (about 30-35 minute ride,) the fourth bus is the bus I ride from school to my house. And I just thought of something, if the teachers and adults want us safe, then why don't they have seat belts on the school buses?

Did you know?: Your brain weighs about three pounds?

~Serena

making new friends.

I am going to be out and open about why I was afraid or should I say intimidated to speak to Mike. Reason 1: He is a grown up, you know a parent. My mom pointed out that he also may be intimidated training with us young testers because we are almost in the same age group and we have a lot of energy but I thought that couldn't be true. Reason 2: All grown ups talk to each other and know what goes on before us kids do so I thought he had all the testing information and study guide. 
So, this evening my mom told me to make new friends and get to know Mike. I asked if he prefers a unicorn or pegasus and he picked the Pegasus. After questioning Mike I felt a bit better getting to know my new friend and team mate. I also felt he is our leader who starts the class and gets us kids focus during class. Mike is a great supporter and cheers for his team mates. I am happy I got to actually have a conversation with him this evening after class. I don't know if any other kids felt like I did or was I the only one. Thank you Mike for listening to my  questions and answering them. T-Berg out. 

Phase 1 complete, 3 more phases to go...

   Hey guys.  Today's Phase1 testing was so intense , everybody sounded off, we all stayed active on the side-lines, and we kept it up the whole time.  I'm so glad to have a great testing team, with lots of stamina and energy, and have fun personalities.  It was really fun and I stayed at the Studio for 6 hours!  From nine in the morning to four in the afternoon.  I got hit on the head three times today (one on my nose, one on the back of my head, one on my ear, thanks, Darius, even though it wasn't a hard hit) and I was expecting to get a headache, but I surprisingly didn't.  I can't wait until the next test, and if it's on another Saturday, me and the tournament "praticers" (Jae, Serena, me,Taylor, and the other poom belts doing it) better be ready.  We got the new  Knowledge Base and I was thinking More Studying again?(haha) but it's not too bad.  It was pretty thick, but not so bad.
Today, everyone kept the energy up, even though it was a bit scratchy in the beginning, and we did about one-hundred and fifty to two-hundred Push ups and sit ups total, and depending on the pace you did your squats, in the hundreds.Today was one of those cool testing experiences.

(curvylinethingy) Brandon  M.

Great Job!

Today during Phase 1 Testing I saw a lot of people staying active and sounding off and being awesome! Everyone did amazing and I look forward to Phase 2 Testing with you guys! Some people like me stayed at Aim High from 8:00 AM to about 2:30 PM. That's about six hours and 30 minutes. The people who left right after Phase Testing, I hope you rested, and you did great.
Right now I am writing my essay about my little city and I can't decide if I should post my essay next week, or do it tomorrow or not even post it at all. Speaking of tomorrow, I am going running again, then going to brunch because it my mom's birthday! Yay! Happy Almost Birthday!

Did you know: Slugs have 4 noses?

~Serena

phase 1 test complete

On my way home I was telling my mom that I need to work hard on my back kicks and some other stuff. this test was really hard and I was getting tired fast. I had to take my inhaler 3 times, almost cried because I wanted to quit the test and Teacher Cory was watching out for me! Thank you so much teacher Cory! My dad said it was better for me to take a break then to pass out. So I am going to speak up louder next time. I was embarrassed and that was why I almost cried. I responded to Micheal's post about what I was thinking. We should have more confidence within ourselves and think each class is like a test. we are learning from all our teachers and those who testing for the 3rd degree. We need to respond to the instructions given to us and be loud and clear. If you have a question please ask. I always make time to carefully listen to KJN or any other teachers to see if we have homework. We need to be responsible and not always think it's our parents job to remind us about any assignments. This is our black belt journey and I want us to work as a team. So if you are not sure about any assignments we should call our team members or ask our teachers. we should work as a team and support each other to. You all did a great job today!!! After the phase 1 test I had Demo practice and then tournament practice. I ran a little bit before dinner but now I am super tired. I am so proud of you my team!! I had fun today and I am glad you all were there ready to go. WHAT'S THE THEM OF THE TEST: GENERATIONS!!! T-berg out.

We're not testing for a gray belt ...

Hello fellow testers,
On my way home from this morning's test, I was thinking about some things about my performance that I know I need to improve. Our instructors are expecting more from us -- it's real, and we can't expect to get a second (or third, or fourth) chance to do it right. Our moment is now.
We can look at being held to those tougher standards and higher expectations as a hardship ... or, we can be grateful that our instructors believe that we are capable of MORE than we currently show them. I believe we are, too.
Aim high!
-- Michael

I passed my science test in class today. I succeeded the exam!!  and the teacher used me as an example as to know what you are studying and go beyond the details of the topic like I did.

Now I cam trying my best to focus of this phase 1 test and still have homework to complete!! Remember to be prepared for anything and don't forget your binders and water!! come early to. I will be cheering for you!!

T-berg out.

My little city

I meant to take a picture of the little city and put it on one of my posts/blogs, but I didn't. So I thought this would be a good time to show a picture of it because our teacher gave us homework to write an essay about one things that has happened to us recently. I am going to write about my mini city.

Did you know?: That kids blink about five billion times a year? That Venus spins backwards?

~Serena