Haley Peterson

If you are a substitute teacher, especially if you have been in the game for a while, there is no doubt that you have run into the horrific scenario of walking into a classroom with confusing lesson plans, missing materials, or no lesson plans at all. You may have had to fight the urge to run out of the classroom screaming because every teacher knows that failure to plan is a plan to fail. Most teachers will agree that having to teach a group of students without sufficient plans and supplies can be extremely stressful.

For many women, and I know for me, finding out you are pregnant comes with an onslaught of thoughts shortly after seeing that little red line. Many questions come to mind. How will my life change when this baby is born? Am I ready to become a parent? Will I have a boy or a girl? Is labor really as painful as it is made out to be on TV? Among all of these questions, one that lingers and continues to become more and more of a question an expectant mother wants to figure out an answer to is: Should I continue working or become a stay at home mom?

If you have never heard of Burn Boot Camp, I am here to educate you. To an observer, Burn may seem like any other small gym. However, if you have talked to any members of Burn Boot Camp, myself included, they will probably tell you that it is so much more than simply a gym. You may be wondering if it really lives up to the hype. Read on to find out more about Burn and the top nine reasons why you should give Burn Boot Camp a try.

In my life, I have had a variety of jobs and one career. I have worked at a smoothie shop, a bagel shop, an OBGYN office, and a car dealership to name a few. I was a substitute teacher for half of a school year before settling in to my career as a full-time elementary school teacher. After teaching for five years, I had my first child and decided to take off. I truly loved teaching, so I figured I could sub part-time so I’d still be able to teach occasionally.

When someone says the word “toddler,” a few things might come to mind. Hysterical tantrums, constant messes no matter how many times you play “The Clean Up Song,” and small humans literally running around in circles. However, if you are a parent to a toddler, used to have a toddler, or have spent some time with a toddler, you know that they are very special people and that there is more to being a toddler than complete and utter chaos. While having two toddlers, a three-year-old boy and two-year-old girl, as well as a baby in the house does pose its challenges, the more time I spend with them, the more I realize one thing. Toddlers know how to live! In today’s society of constant activity and the never-ending list of things to do, I think we could all learn a few lessons from the toddler’s playbook.

Anyone who was in high school between the years 2000 and 2010 probably remembers the popularity, and seemingly forbidden nature of Chuck Palanuik's books. After finding out that Fight Club, one of my favorite movies as a teenager, was actually based on a book, I had to find out more. For me, and I would assume many other 16 year old girls, anarchy plus Brad Pitt’s abs, plus multiple personalities equaled my mind blown. If I had known that Panic at the Disco had written a song about the events of the Palaniuk’s book Invisible Monsters my mind would have exploded all over my bedroom walls.