The boys made dinner...

9/10/2007: 14.18-mile biking, 50:22, 16.9 mph
9/10/2007: 5.2-mile run, 45:30, 8:45 pace

Yesterday I started teaching seminary at 6am, so I moved my running routine to the evening. Having the entire day of meals behind me will probably be better for me than my habit of running on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Despite the fact that my lower back and legs hurt from biking to and from work and standing/dancing around the classroom teaching for 5 hours, I felt energized throughout my run. My time is one of the best times I have posted since we moved. I also slept quite well last night - I was a little concerned about running so close to bedtime.

I had such energy to run because my two boys made a great dinner for us last night (with the help of their beautiful Mom!) The main dish was an egg cooked in the cut-out middle of a piece of bread with ham and cheese on top. The name is something about "birds in a nest." They also made a yogurt dish with fresh fruit and chocolate Life cereal sprinkled on top. The recipes come from Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids. I loved it, the boys had a great time making and eating it, and my wife likes the fact that the recipes in the book (including this one) are real recipes for real dinners that the whole family can enjoy - not just simplified meals that only the kids enjoy.

After reading the comments about yesterday's decision to not use PowerPoint, I thought it best to make a more scientifically sound examination of the issue. All five of the classes I have had since I posted have overwhelmingly approved of PowerPoint. I don't do PowerPoint in the manner that makes students dislike it (i.e. click really fast or simply say what is on the slide verbatim) and my students made some recommendations for how I could make the presentation more useful to them. Most of them echoed the comments to my post. So I did one more PowerPoint lecture yesterday and it turned out just fine. I didn't get to the lecture I planned today because the students got too involved with the group activity I assigned them (that's a very good thing!) I'll see if I can integrate my energetic and personal teaching approach and an effective PowerPoint presentation.

Finally, I have been asked to substitute for the Elders'/High Priest teacher this Sunday. I am excited about it - I love to teach - but I have a lot to do now! In addition to my regular OCC teaching I have to prepare a 30-minute presentation for Monday and a lesson on the Law of Chastity for Sunday morning.

I must love teaching because I am still so happy,
Brad