southernageless
Breathe In…
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10/28/23
10 minute treadmill walk
100 hip abductors
100 Hip adductors
40 abdominals
60 leg press (100lb)
40 seated rows (40lb/50lb)
10/29/23
10 minute treadmill
50 should presses
50 leg press (120 lbs)
10/30/23
Walked 1/2 mile (11:20)
Abdominals crunches (15 40 lbs)
Rotary torso (60lbs 10x/side, 50 lbs 10x/side, 40 lbs 10x/side, 50 lbs 10x/side)
Leg press (80lbsx20, 100lbs x 20, 120 lbs x 20, 140 lbs x 10)
HALLOWEEN 2023
Walked 1/2 mile (9:46)
Rotary Torso (40lbs 10x/side, 50lbs 10x/side, 60lbs 10x/side, 70lbs 10x/side, 60lbs 5x/side, 50lbs 5x/side, 40lbs 5x/side)
Seated row (30lbs x20, 40lbs x17, 50lbs x15, 60lbs x12)
11/1/23
Walked 1/2 mile (9:23)
Rotary (60lbs x20/side, 70lbs x17/side, 80lbs x15/side, 90lbs x13/side, 100lbs x10/side, 110lbs x10/side)
Seated row (40lbs x 20, 50lbs x 20, 60lbs x 10, 70lbs x 10)
11/2/23
Walked 1/2 mile (9:00)
Glute extension (40lbs x 10/side, 50lbs x 10/side, 60lbs x 10/side)
Back extension (60lbs x 10, 70lbs x 10, 80lbs x 10)
11/3/23
Walked/jogged 1/2 mile (8:13)
Glute extension ( 60lbs x 30/side)
Rotary (70lbs x 20/side)
Back extensions (80lbs x 25)
11/4/23
Walked/jogged 1/2 mile (7:31)
Chest press (40lbs x 20, 30lbs x 20, 20lbs x 20)
Back extensions (80lbs x 20)
Bike 1/2 mile (2:50)
11/5/23
Jogged 1/2 mile (7:06)
Stretched
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July 5-12 / Week 1
Accomplishments:
Spent time with family
Cleaned my room (mostly)
Went shopping for classroom supplies
Mindset:
I miss you
5 days down, 322 more days until I am can be with you
I am ready to be back south
I miss your kiss
Goals for the following week
Finish organizing room
Clean bathroom
Start working on classroom
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Blog Post 10 - Video Essay
Happy Monday Y'all
Please forgive the text-to-speech. I am suffering from yet another severe upper respiratory infection and I did not want to burden you all will attempting to understand my voice.
For my video essay, I wanted the viewer to feel the emotions I felt writing my essay and creating this video. I think that is the great thing about video essays; they allow for mixed medias such as visual aids and audio aids.
I really enjoyed creating this, and I hope you all enjoy learning a little more about me and why I chose to go pescatarian.
I also wanted to include subtitles for anyone who may be D/HH.
Enjoy
(I am aware that the 2nd set of speech has an error. I could not figure out how to change though to thought without completely restarting.)
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Blog Post 9 - Revisions
Happy Monday Y'all!
Out of all my posts, I think this has been the most difficult (even more so than the next post you all will see).
Whilst writing my creative nonfiction essay, coming up with the research was simple. I was a part of my research. I lived the changes. However, digging deep to finally find the words as to why I chose the project I chose was not easy. I had to really think about low parts of my life that I had hidden away.
Getting it all out finally in a coherent way that tied my experiences with my research felt like a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I loved going back and adding in details and playing around with formatting, making subheaders to create flow, and overall just compiling my final draft.
I am pleased with how my essay came out and I look forward to sharing it with others.
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Blog Post 8 - Research 2
Happy Monday Y'all!
Throughout the last 2 months and some odd weeks, I have found many benefits of the Pescatarian Diet. I wanted to see what the research looked like in relation to my personal findings.
According to Wozniak, "pescatarians were less likely to be obese (OR 0·18; 95 % CI 0·04, 0·75) and less hypercholesterolaemic (OR 0·53; 95 % CI 0·29, 0·95) when compared with omnivores." This was take from a study that was conducted for 13 years. I have noticed that, even if I have not lost a lot of weight, I am not bloated anymore and I am able to do strenuous tasks without stopping multiple times. A few months ago, the stairs winded me. Below is a table taken from Chen that shows the "average intake of different food groups per capita per day in Switzerland" for a Pescatarian (PST) diet in relation to the Swiss Society for Nutrition (RSN) recommendations
Table 1. Food consumption under different Swiss dietary scenarios.
Food Items/Scenarios PST RSN
Fruits 330 325
Vegetables 296 291
Legumes 23 26
Nuts and seeds 62 50
Cereals 192 124
Meat products 0 33
Fish & seafood 27 6
Eggs 31 18
Dairy products 307 330
Vegetable oils 71 26
Roots & tubers 230 149
Others 299 109
On average, those that follow a Pescatarian diet are meeting daily recommendations in every category except meat, and what they lose there, is made up with roots, vegetables, and others.
Also, shifting to a diet recommended by Swiss society of nutrition
(RSN) will be the most beneficial for the environment, cutting down the daily food related environment footprint by ~36% on average across five domains considered here (Chen).
If I am able to not only better my own health, but also better the world around me, why would I not do it? There are Pescatarian options all around us. My boyfriend and I went to Whataburger the other day, and I had accepted I was going to be stuck with a salad, but alas! They had a fish sandwich meal! There is not any place that I can not go due to dietary restrictions, so why harm myself and the planet I live on when I can make a change?
Everyone is absolutely entitled to their beliefs, their practices, their diet choices. Until this project, I lived on chicken tenders. No matter where I ate, I got tenders and fries. I am so glad that I made this change, and I do not think I will go back.
Work cited:
Chen, Canxi, et al. “Dietary Change Scenarios and Implications for Environmental, Nutrition, Human Health and Economic Dimensions of Food Sustainability.” Nutrients, vol. 11, no. 4, Apr. 2019, p. 856. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11040856.
Wozniak, Hannah, et al. “Vegetarian, Pescatarian and Flexitarian Diets: Sociodemographic Determinants and Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Swiss Urban Population.” British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 124, no. 8, 2020, pp. 844–852., doi:10.1017/S0007114520001762.
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Blog Post 7 - Google Map Essay
Happy Monday Y'all!
This was such a fun writing exercise and I will definitely be doing this with my students as a "back-to-school" activity.
In this, I discuss a really traumatic injury that I got a few years ago that I have not talked about much, but it made me realize how much I miss Ecuador.
Here is my Google Map Essay:
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Blog Post 6 - Who Am I?
Happy Monday!
I have always considered myself intertwined into art. Whether it’s been painting, drawing, photography, writing, or performing, I have always felt at home in the arts.
When I started my path to being a teacher, I had to take elementary education classes and in one, we studied Eric Carle. I fell in love with his collage-art style and started making my own collages. My favorite is an eye (below) I made using construction paper scraps from my students arts and crafts.
For class this week, we made our personal history collage, and it made me think, “who am I?”
Here is my personal collage:
I want to start by explaining the photos.
Top left and middle right- I love music. My boyfriend and I have our own love languages, but music is something we share. I make a point to go to at least 2 concerts a year, if not more. Music is my escape. When the world is crumbling or my life is excelling, music magnified my emotions or becomes my escape.
Top middle and middle left- I am adopted, but I lived with my biological family for 8 years and still talk to some of them today. A big part of my biological family is our heritage. My family is “Cheromanian.” That is the fun word we made for our culturally blended family. My moms family is a part of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. My maternal grandparents met on the reservation and lived there until my mom came along and then they moved to Wyoming. When I was on the way, they moved back and had me outside of the reservation because my fathers beliefs and culture was different and some other chaos and what not. My dads family is Romanian. I have fallen in love with the culture and have tried to learn more about it since my dad passed last year. Interesting fact - most people assume “Romani” is the same as Romanian, and assume “gypsies” (please don’t use this term) are from Romania. However, Romani came from India mostly, and only 8% of the Romanian population is Romani.
Top Right - I have learned to love myself. I am okay with who I am today, however, I know that I am a better person when my better half, my best friend, my partner, my love is by my side. I love being Austin’s partner and I love when I get to take care of him or cook for him. Not every person likes that, and there is no right or wrong way to love, but I show my love by acts of kindness, and I absolutely love getting to love him.
Middle - I am a survivor and as a teacher, I try to advocate for any of my students who feel like they are unsafe, in dangerous relationships, or have no choice. It is an extremely gray area and is not talked about enough, but when I was in school, I did not have teachers who were open with their students. When I was assaulted, everyone pointed fingers and victim blamed. My voice was taken and I was not given the choice to press charges or stand up for myself. If even one teacher had told me they could in some way relate to what I was feeling, so much would have been different. Because of the choices that were taken from me, I never want my students to suffer that way. I try to always be honest with them. They know when I am at a low. They know when my life is soaring. They know that I have trauma and I will never not tell my story. My choices were taken, but I want to live in a world where “My body, my choice” means something. I want my kids to be raised where they feel safe.
Bottom left - I love art. I began pour painting about 3 years ago and it is such a rush of serotonin for me. There is something calming and thrilling about the process and I want very much to get back into it soon!!
Bottom right - I believe everyone is entitled to their beliefs. I respect the beliefs of others, even if I do not necessarily agree with them. I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains and fell in love with nature. Both of my cultures have faith deeply rooted in nature and the more I dove into the histories of my family, the closer I became to nature. I am pagan and I know that my faith is considered taboo. I know the slander that is associated and the rumors that circulate. We are called demon worshippers, satanists, evil, etc., however, what many don’t understand is that a lot of us believe in God. We use our beliefs and faith in positive ways l, so don’t let a few bad seeds define us all.
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Blog Post 5 - updates
Happy Monday Y’all!
I am 3 days away from 1 month!!!
There are not many changes since last week, however, this week I am now having cravings for meat. Real, animal meat. I assumed I would want chicken because that was my go to forever, but I am craving steak. I have anemia, so I think it’s because my iron is low. I have researched this week ways to add iron into my pescatarian diet. These are the foods I have found that are high in iron:
Eggs (any style)
Shrimp and tuna. I eat this already, but I’m pretty small portions.
Sweet potatoes (I just recently, like in the past year, started eating these, so adding these may be a sensory overload for me)
Strawberries (yay!)
Maple syrup. Yeah you read that right. Maple. Syrup. My breakfast just got better!
Volleyball started last Monday, so I am trying to workout with them to incorporate exercise into my daily life as well. My school is on Winter break this week as well, so I’m trying to be productive and I have so much more energy as I am getting closer to 1 month.
At this point, this may be a permanent change with the occasional steak for special days (maybe).
Here is to a new week and to maple syrup!
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Blog Post 4 - Research
Happy Monday!
I am 4 days away from 3 weeks. So going Pescatarian has been a game changer and after some research I am learning why.
This diet contains:
High levels of Omega-3 (fights against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity)
Less cholesterol
Reduces inflammation (this is a big one for me. I have a heart condition that causes inflammation around my cardiac wall and mimics the symptoms of a heart attack when it flares up. This has not happened in 2 weeks)
There are “good” and “bad” fish, however, on this diet. Salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel are a big yes. I only like tuna on this list, but I am fine with that. I love tuna. Shark and swordfish are “bad” but only in large intervals because of their mercury levels. They are okay in small portions.
Updates: I have found a “plant-based” chicken nugget and it is phenomenal (video of me trying it below). I also found shrimp spring rolls that are delicious.
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Blog Post 3: Updates
Happy Monday!
We are making this a habit!!! I am 3 days away from 2 weeks on this diet and I honestly feel amazing.
Before starting this, I suffered severe insomnia. Sleeping pills did not work really. I have been to sleep clinics. Nothing. HOWEVER!!! Going on two weeks with this and I have fallen asleep around 9:30-10pm every night. Not because I am making myself, but because I literally cannot stay away any longer than that. I have never felt so good.
I did a weigh in so I kind of have a starting area to gauge progress (below). I am also about to start volleyball (I coach for the school system I work in) and plan on conditioning with them so I have some exercise along with the diet.
Currently at 215.8 pounds
My goal is so get under 200.
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Blog Post 2: Progress and Obstacles
Happy Monday!
This week I began my Pescatarian journey. It has not been as difficult as I thought in terms of cravings or anything. However, money is an issue. It is so easy to go through a drive through and order chicken or a burger for a couple bucks, but getting fish or shrimp is a lot more expensive.
My family and boyfriend are being supportive though. Anytime they go through a drive through, they check to see what options I have so we can make a running list of food I can eat. So far we have:
McDonald’s - Filet o fish (surprisingly good)
Arby’s - fish sandwich (absolutely delicious)
Chick n run - fish tenders (could use more seasoning but still good)
Starbucks - impossible breakfast sandwich (so AMAZING, video of me trying it below)
I’m proud that I have made it through this week and not cheated on it at all.
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Blog 1: Introducing myself and my project
Happy Monday!
My name is Gabi and I am so excited for this semester. I was in Dr. Byrd’s poetry class last semester and discovered I had a love for poetry. I am a highschool ELA teacher and a middle/high volleyball coach.
For my research this semester, I struggled thinking of something that I could have time to genuinely monitor and make an effort at. I first considered drinking water more, and then realized that is all I drink unless I drink herbal tea. Then I thought about trying to sleep more, until I realized I have severe insomnia and I don’t have much of a say in my sleep patterns. I want to exercise more, but with volleyball, I get home around 8 already and that would go into me losing more sleep. So I decided I am going to change my diet some. I eat a lot of chicken, especially fried chicken. For the next few months, I am going to try to switch to a pescatarian diet. I want to feel better about how I see myself. I used to be an athlete and I loved how I felt and looked, not in a vain way, but in a healthy way. I know our bodies change as we age, but there are things we can control that I chose to not care about. I will monitor what I eat each day, what my energy levels are, my productivity levels, and any miscellaneous facts per day.
Photos of me: January 2023
I am excited about this journey and seeing a change in me.

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Blog Post 10 - Reflection
Happy Monday All, one last time <3
This semester has been so incredible. Five months ago, the thought of writing poetry terrified me. This was just a class I needed to cover a credit. Now? I am in love. The endless possibilities that I have learned about over the past few months has opened so many doors for me.
My favorite poem I wrote this semester was my revised Ekphrastic piece. Being able to receive feedback from my peers that allowed me to edit details here and add details there helped me grow so much.
Going to poetry readings and hearing how a well written piece should sound aloud helped me understand the importance of rhythm and music in poetry, as well and how imagery impacts the audience, whether it is read orally or silently.
I plan on continuing writing poetry and keeping a journal of all I write, and maybe one day, I will publish them all. My own personal collection. I never thought I would even consider that.
This course was so amazing, and I would tell anyone looking for a filler course to consider this. I wouldn’t have been able to grow as a writer if it weren’t for my peers, but mostly my amazing professor.
Thank you Dr. Byrd.
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Blog Post 9 - Literary Publishing
Happy Monday All!
I never thought I would be at a place where I am actually considering publishing poetry. This was not the kind of writing I thought I could do, but now, a part of me is excited at the possibility of others being able to read my works.
This biggest take away from learning about how to submit a piece to a literary journal or magazine is following the guidelines precisely. An error in formatting can cost you. The second thing is the submission letter. You do not want to come off cocky, but rather as humbled and grateful.
If I decide to submit my pieces, I want to be sure I take my time to do so, and give myself time to account for any technical difficulties or formatting errors I may need to edit so not miss a deadline.
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Blog Post 8 - Sonnet and Haiku / Reduction
Happy Monday All!
Have you ever tried to fold a huge comforter or quilt and tried to put it into a closet and it just keeps falling or unfolding? That is what this assignment felt like.
I knew from the start that whatever season I chose to go with for my Shakespearian Sonnet, I would be sure to include my hatred for the winter and the cold. That part was fine and dandy, but getting all my thoughts and ramblings to fit into specified syllables was so incredibly difficult.
I decided I was going to break down my entire sonnet and build it from the end forward. I started by choosing what key words I wanted for the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. Once I got that, I focused on key ideas that I love about spring and hate about winter and break those ideas down into 10 syllables. Finally, I was able to puzzle piece my thoughts into something cohesive. Breaking this down really helped me focus on each aspect and requirement of the sonnet.
For the reduction haiku, I struggled again with the syllables. I had to choose what the most important parts of my sonnet were and work those into a 5/7/5 format. I had to play around with word choices and thought choices but in the end, I am so happy with how it turned out.
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Blog Post 7 - List Poem
Happy Monday All!
I am a romantic. I am also a pessimist, but above all, romantic.
When thinking of what I could possibly do for my list poem, I scoured Huey and Kaneko’s examples of list poems trying to be inspired. Well after lost poems in “Poetry: A Writers Guide and Anthology,” there is love poems, and thus inspiration was found.
I thought about Austin (pictured below). I thought about all the ways he makes me happy. I pondered on a main category for everything, and realized everything I was thinking of was things I loved about him.
However, I did not want to stop there. One thing I have learned from peer reviews this semester is to push myself and to step out of my comfort zone, so I started listing all the things I loved about Austin, but made sure I could find something A-Z. This was an extremely hard process that took so much patience and research. I would want to use one word, but needed a letter for something else, but getting to express my love made the process so worth it.
List poems is definitely an area I struggle in, but is also an area I want to work on more. It makes you think. Makes you focus on a category. It makes you turn one thing into something else. It is abstract and beautiful.
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