Everything is packed. 99% of all my stuff is moved into my new room! We have ONE hour until SUMMER VACATION!!
Yesterday Don came and helped me move stuff and finish packing up. He took the train in and we rode home together. Actually he was not only industrious with helping me, he walked to the train and walked to the school. Those were both about 30 minute walks too.
Today Don got roped into coming on the zoo field trip with me and my class. It was stormy last night and got really hot and humid today. We both have some sunburn too. The kids seemed to enjoy it.
I actually today something that has never happened to me. We lost a kid. Well actually I think he lost us. We were lined up, all accounted for and we literally walked out of the underground dolphin viewing center and around a corner to go eat lunch. I must be a really BAD teacher but the kids and I didn't notice that the boy was missing for almost 10 minutes. We back tracked, found another teacher and she told me that a third teacher had my kid. We rode the bus with his class so I knew eventually we'd catch up. We never did find the other teacher but did find him at the bus line. I really didn't worry after I knew he was safe and ok.
What is funny is what some of the kids told Don as to what should be this boy's punishment. One girl who is so nice, honest, and a cutie tells Don that this boy should get yelled at 8 times and have a detention after school today. Wouldn't that be a nice for me to sit through on the next to last day.
I'm so glad that school is going to be over. I'm overly excited!!! Can I just tell you that I'm EXCITED!!!! This is my first summer in 3 years that I DON'T have classes to stress over.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Life calls for ice cream!
That's right, ice cream. Tonight I'm splitting a container of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with Don. Although today was stressful enough I easily could have eaten a whole pint myself. Do you do that, binge on some sort of food when your life is stressed and crazy busy? I'm horrible about it. I also do it when I'm bored and God knows that does happen. For someone who's overly busy, I do get bored.
I have 4 more days until the class has to be 100% packed and until the end of school.
Today was the roller skating party and I hope we never go back. Kids wouldn't listen, didn't understand things, were dropping food all over the floor and not cleaning it up. I swear this particular field trip gets harder each year. I do have to say I think it wore them out because I actually called Don on my cell phone, on the bus on the way back, and he said you're on the bus, with kids?
After we got back we chilled with a bit of a read aloud. One of my end of the year stories is You're a Brave Man Julius Zimmerman A great book because it starts with the boy starting his own summer vacation, goes to intense summer language school, starts a baby sitting job and have many other situations arise. Definately not my all time favorite read aloud but I'll save that for another day.
There were other situations come up today with my own child, but that is too long and too drawn out to put into this blog. Let's just say, if the field trip wasn't enough to drive me to the ice cream, my child did!
I have some scrapbook pages I need to work on but I have to make it through the week. Tomorrow is the ice cream sundae party I used as an incentive for the kids to really learn their multiplication tables. Believe me, I owe at least 40 scoops of ice cream. Lots of sauce, candy, sprinkles and about 18 cherries. Had to buy 2 of the big gallons of ice cream.
Ok, the ice cream is gone and I feel my pillow calling my name. Have a good week!
I have 4 more days until the class has to be 100% packed and until the end of school.
Today was the roller skating party and I hope we never go back. Kids wouldn't listen, didn't understand things, were dropping food all over the floor and not cleaning it up. I swear this particular field trip gets harder each year. I do have to say I think it wore them out because I actually called Don on my cell phone, on the bus on the way back, and he said you're on the bus, with kids?
After we got back we chilled with a bit of a read aloud. One of my end of the year stories is You're a Brave Man Julius Zimmerman A great book because it starts with the boy starting his own summer vacation, goes to intense summer language school, starts a baby sitting job and have many other situations arise. Definately not my all time favorite read aloud but I'll save that for another day.
There were other situations come up today with my own child, but that is too long and too drawn out to put into this blog. Let's just say, if the field trip wasn't enough to drive me to the ice cream, my child did!
I have some scrapbook pages I need to work on but I have to make it through the week. Tomorrow is the ice cream sundae party I used as an incentive for the kids to really learn their multiplication tables. Believe me, I owe at least 40 scoops of ice cream. Lots of sauce, candy, sprinkles and about 18 cherries. Had to buy 2 of the big gallons of ice cream.
Ok, the ice cream is gone and I feel my pillow calling my name. Have a good week!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Long overdue
Wow I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated my blog. I can't say it's been because I've been relaxing or staying off the computer. I can say that it's been because May is always an extremely busy month at my house.
Since my last update:
Don and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary.
Brian turned 16.
Don and I went to St. James Farm the dairy and horse farm from the McCormicks who were the orignal owners of International Harvester.
and Don and I went to the zoo.
We are also trying to get ready for a big garage sale. I have 9 more days of school.
I'm trying to pack my entire classroom because we are getting air conditioning (YIPEE), I'm changing classrooms, I've been working on putting together a movie for a co-worker's retirement party this Friday, trying to keep up on grades, and trying to get some movement in each day aka exercise.
If I'm not back until June, you'll know why!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
Today is Mother's Day and here it is such a gloomy, rainy, windy day. It's pretty yucky actually. It's so dark, not the day you want to spend doing something fun in the warm weather. I don't know if our long, cold winter is ever really going to loosen it's grip from our weather. We get a warm day or two then a string of cold days. I have one window in my classroom that opens, and I've only really needed to open it maybe 2 or 3 days. We're in the middle of May and still we've had only a handful of nice days. I keep seeing flowers for sale everywhere and they are tempting but I don't usually buy flowers until my anniversary. So I can start looking at flowers on Friday. I'll probably only buy a couple of hanging baskets because flowers are so darn expensive and I really can't justify flowers when Don's not working.
Doug will be finished with school this week and he's started bringing stuff home. I'll be glad to have him home but that means double the food bill and more garbage. Those are the two things that we significantly noticed by having him gone. The food lasts longer, we eat healthier (he won't eat fish at all, and is a very picky eater), and we only have to take the garbage out every other week. We do put out 3-4 recycling bins each week though. He will be working, hopefully a few days a week and for sure weekends.
Brian wants a job too, he can start looking after Friday, when he turns 16. Friday is Brian's golden birthday. He turns 16 on the 16th birthday. That is he'll turn 16 on the 16th if I don't kill him this week first. He's on the bubble of earning driver's education for first semester next year. He could have had it this year,
2nd semester, but he decided that the number of credits he earned last year wasn't important enough and the school punished him for not having at least 7 credits before taking it. He will have enough if he passes all his classes this semester, but now he's failing 2 classes and d's in two more. He's got 2 weeks left of school and he'll have to raise all the grades AND pass all the finals to pass. We also found out that he's been ditching his last period resource. A mandatory class, but since his advisor was out on maternity leave with his wife, that Brian felt that meant it was optional and blew it off. Don said last night that Brian should be sent to summer school without any choice but again, here goes that money thing. For a whole semester of summer school it was $360 last year. One semester is $180 and last year we made Brian pay for most of summer school as his punishment. He was right on track to NOT to have to go but again he's totally screwed up passing school. This whole thing makes me sick, but Brian is Brian and he'll never change to be the responsible kid that Doug is. Can I feel safe letting him behind the wheel of my car? He doesn't get that it's a responsiblity thing. Don also feels that Brian isn't going to put in the effort to study the Rules of the Road book to be able to pass his test on the 20th. They want kids to have some driving time over the summer since they'll need 50 hours of behind the wheel practice and have successfully passed the class before the kid can get the license.
Oh well, we missed our normal 2nd church service so we've got to get going to make third service. Then we are going out for lunch somewhere, I haven't decided yet.
So I hope that if you are a mother, that you have a Happy Mother's Day.
Doug will be finished with school this week and he's started bringing stuff home. I'll be glad to have him home but that means double the food bill and more garbage. Those are the two things that we significantly noticed by having him gone. The food lasts longer, we eat healthier (he won't eat fish at all, and is a very picky eater), and we only have to take the garbage out every other week. We do put out 3-4 recycling bins each week though. He will be working, hopefully a few days a week and for sure weekends.
Brian wants a job too, he can start looking after Friday, when he turns 16. Friday is Brian's golden birthday. He turns 16 on the 16th birthday. That is he'll turn 16 on the 16th if I don't kill him this week first. He's on the bubble of earning driver's education for first semester next year. He could have had it this year,
2nd semester, but he decided that the number of credits he earned last year wasn't important enough and the school punished him for not having at least 7 credits before taking it. He will have enough if he passes all his classes this semester, but now he's failing 2 classes and d's in two more. He's got 2 weeks left of school and he'll have to raise all the grades AND pass all the finals to pass. We also found out that he's been ditching his last period resource. A mandatory class, but since his advisor was out on maternity leave with his wife, that Brian felt that meant it was optional and blew it off. Don said last night that Brian should be sent to summer school without any choice but again, here goes that money thing. For a whole semester of summer school it was $360 last year. One semester is $180 and last year we made Brian pay for most of summer school as his punishment. He was right on track to NOT to have to go but again he's totally screwed up passing school. This whole thing makes me sick, but Brian is Brian and he'll never change to be the responsible kid that Doug is. Can I feel safe letting him behind the wheel of my car? He doesn't get that it's a responsiblity thing. Don also feels that Brian isn't going to put in the effort to study the Rules of the Road book to be able to pass his test on the 20th. They want kids to have some driving time over the summer since they'll need 50 hours of behind the wheel practice and have successfully passed the class before the kid can get the license.
Oh well, we missed our normal 2nd church service so we've got to get going to make third service. Then we are going out for lunch somewhere, I haven't decided yet.
So I hope that if you are a mother, that you have a Happy Mother's Day.
Friday, May 09, 2008
I'm not a counter...
but today I did count how many more days there are of school. There are 19 days and 18 with students. I sat down with another co-worker to figure out what we were doing the last week of school. Then I worked out next week's lessons. After that I'll have 2 short weeks to plan for. Next week will be end of the year testing to show progress. I've also planned a couple of fun things for next week. We'll be starting a project that has kind of evolved out of several projects, and a science activity that is more like a game of rolling dice.
So my activity. When I student taught we did these comic strips that got copied onto transparancies then colored and each student did a presentation on the overhead.
My first year at Roosevelt, we made shadow puppets from cardboard and went behind the sheet so it looked like a play and we did it with fairy tales and reader's theater scripts. Last year I don't remember if my class did a big end of the year fun project, surely we did but nothing as sophisticated. Well I read in the Reading Teacher about doing shadow puppets in a smaller scale and put on popcicle sticks for the overhead.
Well in my afterschool reading group, I merged the two activities. The students got into pairs, they wrote stories, then they drew the characters and setting. I ran them off on transparancies then they colored them in and read their plays with the stick puppets. I'm going to have my classroom students do the same thing. They will pair up and write a story and kind of turn it into a play/puppet show for the overhead projector. I haven't decided if I'm going to do the transparancies or if I'm going to do it as solid shadow puppets. Both are cool, the kids love to see how the transparancies evolve, but to have them all color them takes forever because I only have one set of Sharpie markers. Those are the only ones that work, and they are expensive.
Ok so now that I've totally rambled on about a goofy school project, I've got a couple of pictures to share. LOL, I don't know if you've heard but the ladies of our bunko group (we don't play bunko, and we get together as couples) we've been having a traveling martini bar. We've been trying a lot of different flavors, even mixing our own "purple" martinis. I bought good vodka this time and the 4 or 5 martinis kinda put me in a happy mood! So I thought I'd give you all a good chuckle with these pictures.
I have to clarify the last picture. My girlfriend, Carmen, and I came across this car once not too long ago that all of a sudden the window was cracked open and a gloved hand shot out and pointed. We looked at each other shocked and just laughed. Then we got behind that car, it happened again. We figured out that the guy was using hand signals because he had no turn signals. While both cars were driving in the left lane, the gloved hand popped out again and signaled to change lanes. By then we were dying of laughter in the car. Well a few weeks later, my friend Carmen emailed me saying she saw the same guy using hand signals again. Well we were reliving the story at my house last Saturday and this picture clearly shows I know how to hand signal! Yes a bit sloshed, and you definately can tell, but yet still signaling.
This group of people have been getting together for about 13 years. Each month we move to another house and have so much fun. There are certainly some subjects that we reimeinice about more than others, but there is always fun and laughter.
Ok on to other news: It appears that although U-Haul tried to fight Don's unemployment, the adjudicator seems to believe our story and we're pretty sure he's ruled in our favor. He said if there were any more problems he'd call back and he never did. Also, Don's been cast as an extra in Johnny Depp's movie "Public Enemy". He'll be a prisoner. My brother, who is also out of a job, other than waiting tables, has also been cast too. It's a period piece so costumes are given and sizes were very strict. I'm going to try to get Doug to apply too. The director Michael Mann hand picks his extras so Don's picture got him selected.
If you read my post and said prayers for us about unemployment and other things thanks so much. I won't even get into the fact that a man who was angry that I wanted in his lane to turn left threw a big rock at my windshield tonight. I'm just so glad that it didn't break. I swear how has our morals got to the point that if you're mad at someone you throw a rock at someone's windshield. So I said a prayer for that man.
If I'm not back here over the weekend....please mothers, have a Happy Mother's Day.
So my activity. When I student taught we did these comic strips that got copied onto transparancies then colored and each student did a presentation on the overhead.
My first year at Roosevelt, we made shadow puppets from cardboard and went behind the sheet so it looked like a play and we did it with fairy tales and reader's theater scripts. Last year I don't remember if my class did a big end of the year fun project, surely we did but nothing as sophisticated. Well I read in the Reading Teacher about doing shadow puppets in a smaller scale and put on popcicle sticks for the overhead.
Well in my afterschool reading group, I merged the two activities. The students got into pairs, they wrote stories, then they drew the characters and setting. I ran them off on transparancies then they colored them in and read their plays with the stick puppets. I'm going to have my classroom students do the same thing. They will pair up and write a story and kind of turn it into a play/puppet show for the overhead projector. I haven't decided if I'm going to do the transparancies or if I'm going to do it as solid shadow puppets. Both are cool, the kids love to see how the transparancies evolve, but to have them all color them takes forever because I only have one set of Sharpie markers. Those are the only ones that work, and they are expensive.
Ok so now that I've totally rambled on about a goofy school project, I've got a couple of pictures to share. LOL, I don't know if you've heard but the ladies of our bunko group (we don't play bunko, and we get together as couples) we've been having a traveling martini bar. We've been trying a lot of different flavors, even mixing our own "purple" martinis. I bought good vodka this time and the 4 or 5 martinis kinda put me in a happy mood! So I thought I'd give you all a good chuckle with these pictures.
I have to clarify the last picture. My girlfriend, Carmen, and I came across this car once not too long ago that all of a sudden the window was cracked open and a gloved hand shot out and pointed. We looked at each other shocked and just laughed. Then we got behind that car, it happened again. We figured out that the guy was using hand signals because he had no turn signals. While both cars were driving in the left lane, the gloved hand popped out again and signaled to change lanes. By then we were dying of laughter in the car. Well a few weeks later, my friend Carmen emailed me saying she saw the same guy using hand signals again. Well we were reliving the story at my house last Saturday and this picture clearly shows I know how to hand signal! Yes a bit sloshed, and you definately can tell, but yet still signaling.
This group of people have been getting together for about 13 years. Each month we move to another house and have so much fun. There are certainly some subjects that we reimeinice about more than others, but there is always fun and laughter.
Ok on to other news: It appears that although U-Haul tried to fight Don's unemployment, the adjudicator seems to believe our story and we're pretty sure he's ruled in our favor. He said if there were any more problems he'd call back and he never did. Also, Don's been cast as an extra in Johnny Depp's movie "Public Enemy". He'll be a prisoner. My brother, who is also out of a job, other than waiting tables, has also been cast too. It's a period piece so costumes are given and sizes were very strict. I'm going to try to get Doug to apply too. The director Michael Mann hand picks his extras so Don's picture got him selected.
If you read my post and said prayers for us about unemployment and other things thanks so much. I won't even get into the fact that a man who was angry that I wanted in his lane to turn left threw a big rock at my windshield tonight. I'm just so glad that it didn't break. I swear how has our morals got to the point that if you're mad at someone you throw a rock at someone's windshield. So I said a prayer for that man.
If I'm not back here over the weekend....please mothers, have a Happy Mother's Day.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Almost to Hump Day
Yes, I've been known to refer to Wednesday as hump day. Not my favorite name for it, but sometimes just making it to Wednesday and getting over the middle of the week hump is so exhausting and this week has been one of those weeks.
This is my last week of extended day reading so I'll be free from students one hour earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We still have mandatory teachers' meeting on Wednesdays but I think something is cooking for tomorrow's meeting. We were told to bring socks. We're thinking sock hop or bowling since it is teacher's appreciation week.
I've got a million and one things on my schedule and it seems like not nearly enough time for it all. I can't even imagine how I ever got things done when both boys were in sports, I went to school, and worked. Now there is more free time, or time that I allow myself to slack. I have a zillion papers to grade, and I'll tell you that is the absolute WORST part of my job. I hate to grade papers. Usually I have the students correct their work as part of our period but there are just some assignments they can't. Of course they are usually the big projects that are so subjective and take forever to read and grade. Well there are about 3 big stacks of those in my school bag tonight. I'll let you guess how many I'll actually be grading tonight!
Earlier tonight, we, Don, my mom and I, took the money and donations over to the family shelter. It is a brand new facility that has offices, counseling, and a live in facility. It is really nice and for women who need that time to heal and get on their feet, the facility allows someone to live there up to 6 months. We did get to go into the living quarters, but we didn't go upstairs to the bedroom areas. I talked to the head of the facility about my volunteering idea and she loved it. It probably won't start until July, they said they'd like me to go through some training and I need to get through school and then take my well deserved vacation. My idea for them is that I would come in and read the kids a story and do some type of activity that is related to the story. I also figure I could ride my bike there and get some excercise in too. I've got some time to sort this all out but if things work out, this is something that could even last through the school year.
Last night I went to a friend's house. We played "beauty shop." It was quite relaxing. I put highlights in her hair and she helped me color the gray out of mine. Mine is slightly lighter and a bit more red. No one even noticed so I think we did a good job.
This post does sound all upbeat doesn't it?? Well in an earlier post I mentioned that Don was fearing losing his job. He did in fact lose his job and we are waiting to hear the outcome of unemployment. We should find out tomorrow. I hope it comes through because this is his pay week and we are used to having a paycheck each week. Please say a prayer that he's able to find something he enjoys and pays what we need.
Well I need to go take a picture of Don, he's applying to be an extra in the new Johnny Depp movie that is shooting locally. My brother already has an extra part so he told Don about it.
Hope you have a good hump day!
This is my last week of extended day reading so I'll be free from students one hour earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We still have mandatory teachers' meeting on Wednesdays but I think something is cooking for tomorrow's meeting. We were told to bring socks. We're thinking sock hop or bowling since it is teacher's appreciation week.
I've got a million and one things on my schedule and it seems like not nearly enough time for it all. I can't even imagine how I ever got things done when both boys were in sports, I went to school, and worked. Now there is more free time, or time that I allow myself to slack. I have a zillion papers to grade, and I'll tell you that is the absolute WORST part of my job. I hate to grade papers. Usually I have the students correct their work as part of our period but there are just some assignments they can't. Of course they are usually the big projects that are so subjective and take forever to read and grade. Well there are about 3 big stacks of those in my school bag tonight. I'll let you guess how many I'll actually be grading tonight!
Earlier tonight, we, Don, my mom and I, took the money and donations over to the family shelter. It is a brand new facility that has offices, counseling, and a live in facility. It is really nice and for women who need that time to heal and get on their feet, the facility allows someone to live there up to 6 months. We did get to go into the living quarters, but we didn't go upstairs to the bedroom areas. I talked to the head of the facility about my volunteering idea and she loved it. It probably won't start until July, they said they'd like me to go through some training and I need to get through school and then take my well deserved vacation. My idea for them is that I would come in and read the kids a story and do some type of activity that is related to the story. I also figure I could ride my bike there and get some excercise in too. I've got some time to sort this all out but if things work out, this is something that could even last through the school year.
Last night I went to a friend's house. We played "beauty shop." It was quite relaxing. I put highlights in her hair and she helped me color the gray out of mine. Mine is slightly lighter and a bit more red. No one even noticed so I think we did a good job.
This post does sound all upbeat doesn't it?? Well in an earlier post I mentioned that Don was fearing losing his job. He did in fact lose his job and we are waiting to hear the outcome of unemployment. We should find out tomorrow. I hope it comes through because this is his pay week and we are used to having a paycheck each week. Please say a prayer that he's able to find something he enjoys and pays what we need.
Well I need to go take a picture of Don, he's applying to be an extra in the new Johnny Depp movie that is shooting locally. My brother already has an extra part so he told Don about it.
Hope you have a good hump day!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
News Article about the Little Give
Yesterday the photographer came to the school for the newspaper article, today it was in the paper.
If you're interested in reading a bit more about my experiences with the little give, the Downers Grove Reporter has published an article. You can read it here!
If you're interested in reading a bit more about my experiences with the little give, the Downers Grove Reporter has published an article. You can read it here!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
200th Post
Who would have guessed that when I started this little ole' blog that I'd have 200 posts. I didn't that's for sure!
Let me give you a bit of an update on my Little Give Experience. It has been quite a week. I was on the radio again Tuesday morning to report how much money I was able to raise. You can download the April 22, Eric and Kathy Podcast to listen to me on the radio here!
I can't remember if I mentioned how much I earned in my last blog post, but I was able to raise $4,000!!!!! In 24 hours I was able to do more than I thought I could. People were amazing. This even caught the attention of the local newspaper and one of the ministers at church. Today he brought up my email and the amount I was able to raise in church.
I need to finish collecting the money, just a few people more and a couple more schools to collect from, get everything together and go to the facility.
Things are getting crazy-busy at school. It always does between April and June. I have am volunteering at the book fair tomorrow for a bit, then into a meeting (all after school), Reading group for 2 more weeks on Tuesday and Thursdays afterschool, Wednesday meeting too, and I've got to start getting organized to pack up my entire room. I wish I knew if I was staying put in that room or moving. I have requested to change rooms to the front hall but don't know yet if I'll be moving. We should be knowing soon, usually by Memorial Day.
We also have a difficult situation facing us, Don has the feeling that his time with U-haul is nearing an end. Often the case with middle management when a new president comes in, he tries to bring in his own people and with Don being so qualified and really should have gotten that job, the new 24 year old boss feels that Don is a threat and has demotted him and has told his new manager to get rid of him. This is truly an unfortunate situation but I feel that God will reveal a plan and somewhere a window is open for Don to find. Thankfully the college and high school tuitions are paid and we have a bit of reprieve from those. If you are the praying type, please keep us in your prayers that Don can find a job that pays pretty decent that will help us stay afloat, and that it is something that he likes and can do well.
I've got to go start on some papers to grade or starting my grocery list for a quick trip to the store. Tons to get done because we are thinking of volunteering at St. James Farm. This was the private, farm retreat of the McCormicks, of Chicago and International Harvester riches. Their farm has been purchased by the county's forest perserve and it's about to open to the public for the first time ever. You can read more about the interesting history of this in this newsletter. I was quite surprised at how much I learned about Illinois and Chicago history that I didn't know.
I hope you've found something intersting in this 200th blog post. I guess that is about an average of 100 posts per year or once every 3.5 days. Hey not so bad when you consider that the title of my blog is "My Busy Life." I think I sort of let you know that I'm pretty busy. I hope you're not too busy to leave me a little comment.
Thanks!
Let me give you a bit of an update on my Little Give Experience. It has been quite a week. I was on the radio again Tuesday morning to report how much money I was able to raise. You can download the April 22, Eric and Kathy Podcast to listen to me on the radio here!
I can't remember if I mentioned how much I earned in my last blog post, but I was able to raise $4,000!!!!! In 24 hours I was able to do more than I thought I could. People were amazing. This even caught the attention of the local newspaper and one of the ministers at church. Today he brought up my email and the amount I was able to raise in church.
I need to finish collecting the money, just a few people more and a couple more schools to collect from, get everything together and go to the facility.
Things are getting crazy-busy at school. It always does between April and June. I have am volunteering at the book fair tomorrow for a bit, then into a meeting (all after school), Reading group for 2 more weeks on Tuesday and Thursdays afterschool, Wednesday meeting too, and I've got to start getting organized to pack up my entire room. I wish I knew if I was staying put in that room or moving. I have requested to change rooms to the front hall but don't know yet if I'll be moving. We should be knowing soon, usually by Memorial Day.
We also have a difficult situation facing us, Don has the feeling that his time with U-haul is nearing an end. Often the case with middle management when a new president comes in, he tries to bring in his own people and with Don being so qualified and really should have gotten that job, the new 24 year old boss feels that Don is a threat and has demotted him and has told his new manager to get rid of him. This is truly an unfortunate situation but I feel that God will reveal a plan and somewhere a window is open for Don to find. Thankfully the college and high school tuitions are paid and we have a bit of reprieve from those. If you are the praying type, please keep us in your prayers that Don can find a job that pays pretty decent that will help us stay afloat, and that it is something that he likes and can do well.
I've got to go start on some papers to grade or starting my grocery list for a quick trip to the store. Tons to get done because we are thinking of volunteering at St. James Farm. This was the private, farm retreat of the McCormicks, of Chicago and International Harvester riches. Their farm has been purchased by the county's forest perserve and it's about to open to the public for the first time ever. You can read more about the interesting history of this in this newsletter. I was quite surprised at how much I learned about Illinois and Chicago history that I didn't know.
I hope you've found something intersting in this 200th blog post. I guess that is about an average of 100 posts per year or once every 3.5 days. Hey not so bad when you consider that the title of my blog is "My Busy Life." I think I sort of let you know that I'm pretty busy. I hope you're not too busy to leave me a little comment.
Thanks!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Give Big with a Little Give
Today was an emotional roller coaster. But before I can tell you the story I've got to give you some background. There is a radio station here WTMX 101.9 that did a promotion the first week that Oprah's Big Give started. Eric and Kathy, the morning show hosts, I think DJ's are not the appropriate job title any longer, did something called Eric and Kathy's Little Give. They gave 3 "players" $100.00 each to do something good with; donate it or help someone else out who could use just a little. Their objective was to do a similiar thing to what was happening on Oprah's show. After hearing them give away the money and hearing the outcome of the three people's gives I felt compelled to write the radio station to compliment them and tell them that this should be something to continue. A week or two later, I heard they were going to continue it but were changing it slightly and were picking communities to focus on. Jump ahead to today. I got up and on my way to work earlier than normal. Next they, Eric and Kathy, were talking about it being the last time they were doing their Little Give project. They were taking text messages to determine the community but I missed that part. Low and behold the community that was selected was mine, Downers Grove.
What a coincidence that just last night I was spreading the virtues of this great program with my mom. We talked about it so much that I actually missed the finale of Oprah's Big Give. Well after they announced my town and they said they were looking for 2 callers, I called. First I got a busy signal so I hung up and tried one or two more times. Sure enough, I got through and was selected!
I was put on the radio and one of the two people who were going to be given $100 to use and try to grow to make more. I was picked and now I had to scramble to figure out what organization. I selected the Family Shelter Service
Once this was actually put on my shoulders I immediately felt I wasn't going to be able to do as well as some of the others have done. I had to teach all day. How could I make this $100 turn into more in 24 hours? I swear do you know how quickly 24 hours is? I started to freak out and one of my close friends at school told me just do what you can. I called my family and asked Don and my mom to help me out. My mom called my brother whose field of work is donations! Geesh how could that have slipped my mind? I think it was a foggy, Monday morning brain. So I started sending out emails to everyone I knew. Sure enough I started getting some back saying I'll give you $25 or $100 or some other wonderful amount.
I got the kids in my class involved. Hey we did a bit of spelling, reading, and math today. I figure they got a chance to go above and beyond a "normal" day at school. They got to be involved in something big that was titled "little." It wasn't little. Can you believe that all my students went room to room collecting donations from all the teachers at Roosevelt School? After that my class worked all afternoon and popped popcorn to sell after school. We popped close to 200 bags. Try keeping some sanity with 18 kids and 200 bags of popcorn! I laugh now thinking back. Well tonight I came home and had over 40 emails from teachers from other schools.
Jump ahead to right now, I've finished calculating how much we've earned. I say we because I could have never done this without my students, the staff of Roosevelt School, the teachers of Cicero District 99, my mom, dad, brother, and husband. I have such wonderful friends who are willing to go above and beyond. The ladies who work at Beauty Company of Chicago who graciously donated $175 after my haircut. The people at my Weight Watchers meeting tonight gave over $50.
Ultimately, as of right now, I am going to be able to tell the Chicagoland area that my peeps were able to provide Family Shelter Services almost $4000.
To my peeps, YOU ROCK!!!! I cannot express my gratitude and thanks. If you feel you can contribute and the first 24 hours is over, keep it going because this shelter can always use "stuff" besides money. They can also use you. Consider being a volunteer there. Give them some time, sometimes that is worth more than money.
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
What a coincidence that just last night I was spreading the virtues of this great program with my mom. We talked about it so much that I actually missed the finale of Oprah's Big Give. Well after they announced my town and they said they were looking for 2 callers, I called. First I got a busy signal so I hung up and tried one or two more times. Sure enough, I got through and was selected!
I was put on the radio and one of the two people who were going to be given $100 to use and try to grow to make more. I was picked and now I had to scramble to figure out what organization. I selected the Family Shelter Service
Once this was actually put on my shoulders I immediately felt I wasn't going to be able to do as well as some of the others have done. I had to teach all day. How could I make this $100 turn into more in 24 hours? I swear do you know how quickly 24 hours is? I started to freak out and one of my close friends at school told me just do what you can. I called my family and asked Don and my mom to help me out. My mom called my brother whose field of work is donations! Geesh how could that have slipped my mind? I think it was a foggy, Monday morning brain. So I started sending out emails to everyone I knew. Sure enough I started getting some back saying I'll give you $25 or $100 or some other wonderful amount.
I got the kids in my class involved. Hey we did a bit of spelling, reading, and math today. I figure they got a chance to go above and beyond a "normal" day at school. They got to be involved in something big that was titled "little." It wasn't little. Can you believe that all my students went room to room collecting donations from all the teachers at Roosevelt School? After that my class worked all afternoon and popped popcorn to sell after school. We popped close to 200 bags. Try keeping some sanity with 18 kids and 200 bags of popcorn! I laugh now thinking back. Well tonight I came home and had over 40 emails from teachers from other schools.
Jump ahead to right now, I've finished calculating how much we've earned. I say we because I could have never done this without my students, the staff of Roosevelt School, the teachers of Cicero District 99, my mom, dad, brother, and husband. I have such wonderful friends who are willing to go above and beyond. The ladies who work at Beauty Company of Chicago who graciously donated $175 after my haircut. The people at my Weight Watchers meeting tonight gave over $50.
Ultimately, as of right now, I am going to be able to tell the Chicagoland area that my peeps were able to provide Family Shelter Services almost $4000.
To my peeps, YOU ROCK!!!! I cannot express my gratitude and thanks. If you feel you can contribute and the first 24 hours is over, keep it going because this shelter can always use "stuff" besides money. They can also use you. Consider being a volunteer there. Give them some time, sometimes that is worth more than money.
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
A Saturday and a layout
I took yesterday off earlier in the week as a personal day because Don was going to be off and we were going to have a garage sale. The week got crazy and they kept calling for rain on Friday and Saturday. So we decided on Thursday when they kept saying rain, rain, rain that we would hold off for a couple weekends. Well yesterday was beautiful and although it rained a bit last night it's been cloudy but dry again today. I guess the weather people aren't always capable of predicting God's weather. So I'm thinking I should go out and price stuff to get ready for when the right weekend does come along.
I have been such a slacker with my Creative Team duties. I've been so swamped with work, which only gets busier from now until the end of the year, that I've not been doing much scrapbooking. Well today I was feeling super guilty and instead of going out, or actually going to my girlfriend's to scrapbook on her monthly scrapbook day, I just sat and did it in my quiet house.
The fruits of my labor are here:
Credits here
So I hope that you are having a funfilled weekend. I'm happy to see spring is here. We finally have some dafodills and a few tulips. Next week the tulips at the mall should be in full bloom and might deserve a little trip to see them, and maybe some shopping.
I have been such a slacker with my Creative Team duties. I've been so swamped with work, which only gets busier from now until the end of the year, that I've not been doing much scrapbooking. Well today I was feeling super guilty and instead of going out, or actually going to my girlfriend's to scrapbook on her monthly scrapbook day, I just sat and did it in my quiet house.
The fruits of my labor are here:
Credits here
So I hope that you are having a funfilled weekend. I'm happy to see spring is here. We finally have some dafodills and a few tulips. Next week the tulips at the mall should be in full bloom and might deserve a little trip to see them, and maybe some shopping.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
sometimes you feel like a nut...
and sometimes you don't! Well I decided to figure out what kind of nut I really was! Some will say I'm seriously cracked, some know I'm just a bit nutty. Then there are my close friends who I love to be around and the nuttier the better!
You Are a Brazil Nut |
 To most people, you seem exotic, unusual, and even a bit scary. But you're really quite normal. You're just hard to get to know. If people leave you alone and let you do your thing, you really shine. But you tend to get lost in a crowd, especially if it's filled with big personalities. |
Thinking about your thinking
is one of those wonderful educator things. We call it metacognition. It truly is thinking about your thinking. It gets deep and kind of weird because it can keep going. Anyway, I digress because I was just coming to post about my own thinking and what kind of thinker I am.
I guess I have to say that I'm not surprised. I'm kind of a go with the flow, then get down to business when urgent. I want my stuff to show my creativity and my unique personality and to blow others away, yet I want it factual.
So after reading about my thinking, and thinking about your thinking, take the quiz that tells you about your thinking!
Your Thinking is Abstract and Random |
 You are flexible, adaptable, and creative. There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them. You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups. You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths. You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial. You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals. |
I guess I have to say that I'm not surprised. I'm kind of a go with the flow, then get down to business when urgent. I want my stuff to show my creativity and my unique personality and to blow others away, yet I want it factual.
So after reading about my thinking, and thinking about your thinking, take the quiz that tells you about your thinking!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
I'd love to win this contest
that is if I wasn't already a member of Victoria's creative team!
Victoria is giving away this beautiful kit for free at here at her website! Besides the freebie, that was part of the Little Dreamer Design appprentice contest, Victoria is also holding a contest. If you create a page with 80% of the Chirpi products, post it in the gallery, and win, you'll receive 3 months of new product for free!
The details are at the website above!
Hurry and get your submissions in because Victoria's stuff is really beautiful and versitile! I'm sure you'll love it!
Victoria is giving away this beautiful kit for free at here at her website! Besides the freebie, that was part of the Little Dreamer Design appprentice contest, Victoria is also holding a contest. If you create a page with 80% of the Chirpi products, post it in the gallery, and win, you'll receive 3 months of new product for free!
The details are at the website above!
Hurry and get your submissions in because Victoria's stuff is really beautiful and versitile! I'm sure you'll love it!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sadness in our family
My Uncle Dick was diagnosed with esophaguial cancer just after the first of the year. He'd been having radiation and chemo to reduce the tumor in order to have surgery to remove it. It was localized and wasn't any where else. Then earlier this week he wasn't eating, drinking or sleeping too well. So when he went for the chemo they checked his heart and things didn't seem right so they took him for an EKG. They admitted him into the hospital then his lungs shut down. They assumed that cancer had migrated to his lungs although it could have been fluid or a blood clot. Later that day they were going to do a CT scan to confirm what was wrong with his lungs. They told my aunt and cousins to call hospice because he probably had a week or so. They took him down for the CT scan and he died during the test. This was so sad because everything seemed to be progressing forward towards remission and then his heart just didn't make it.
He was a gentle man who cared about nature and doing the right thing. He taught my boys a lot. My boys really enjoyed spending time with him. He was like another grandfather to my boys and I know this is really difficult for them. My aunt is going to have a real tough time I can just feel it. She and my uncle had spent 50 years with one another. They were finally both retired and before now were supposed to be enjoying their time to do things and relax. Unfortunately God had other plan.
Here is my aunt & uncle at their 50th anniversary.
He was a gentle man who cared about nature and doing the right thing. He taught my boys a lot. My boys really enjoyed spending time with him. He was like another grandfather to my boys and I know this is really difficult for them. My aunt is going to have a real tough time I can just feel it. She and my uncle had spent 50 years with one another. They were finally both retired and before now were supposed to be enjoying their time to do things and relax. Unfortunately God had other plan.
Here is my aunt & uncle at their 50th anniversary.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Ever know what you're doing is right but it just doesn't feel right?
I'm kinda right there, right now. I know that if I'm going to make more money and use my new reading specialist certification and master's degree I will probably have to change school districts. Problem is, I'm not totally sure I want to move, but there isn't the "perfect" job there for me. Don't get me wrong, I work my butt of and do make a fairly good (for a teacher) dime. I am finding that as each year passes the amount of problems that arise with the kids keep getting more and more difficult. For example I have one student who doesn't do homework, lost a library book, had a younger sibling rip pages out of his science book, and now has to work off the money owed to the school because mom avoids meeting with us at all costs. She doesn't return phone calls, she doesn't come to conferences, she won't return notes, nothing. So her son will have to work with the custodians for 2 months to work off the debt.
Now things like that tell me I can't stress over it and maybe should move. The commute of 45 minutes to an hour every day is tedious. I have to leave about 1.5 hours early on a snowy day. The lack of substitutes in our district often makes us internal sub and lose planning periods. I'm unsure about other things too.
Now I know this is where God put me for a reason, and that he's had me get my master's degree in reading for a reason. Now I just need him to tell me what the next plans are. I know, not an easy request; sometimes it's even harder to hear the answer.
Well I know that this is probably the time to move districts and change jobs primarily because if I stay too much longer with my education and years of experience that I won't get credit for my experience and I'll be too expensive to hire. So I've been revamping my resume and I've been starting to fill out the online applications. I'll tell you, most of these are 13 pages long! That's including the pages of questions. Each of the two applications I've been working on have 10, yes 10 essay questions. Luckily you can start the application and return to it. You can also cut and paste your responses from word to the application. Well, that is where I am. I've been trying to come up with the strongest, yet concise answers that showcase the best of me. Not easy I'll tell ya.
This is just one of those things I hate doing. I'm usually a really loyal employee. I do what ever I can to make it the best place to work. I'm a team player and there are people I love working with. The atmosphere where I work is sometimes like a roller coaster though. We are under the microscope from the state and that's hard because we keep jumping from here, there, to someplace else to find what is best for the students. But that leads to doing so much "extra" stuff that there's hardly time to teach what we need to teach.
I guess I just need someone to tell me, Laura you're doing what you need to do, or Laura this is the time. I need to listen to God because he's got the plan, but I don't hear what he's saying. I know he's probably doing some talking through others and I'm trying to listen but the words are clear. What do you do when you're trying to listen but can't tell what is being said?
I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed I think because there is so much to do and when looking for teaching jobs it is quite often like jumping through hoops. That is what I call it and it almost perfectally describes what happens. You have to do this, then do that, then do this again, then do more of that. We need this and that and then even more.
If you are my messagener please shout it loud and clear as to what I'm supposed to be doing! God you know my hearing is going so please make my sign loud and clear.
If anyone has any suggestions or words of wisdom, please let me know.
Now things like that tell me I can't stress over it and maybe should move. The commute of 45 minutes to an hour every day is tedious. I have to leave about 1.5 hours early on a snowy day. The lack of substitutes in our district often makes us internal sub and lose planning periods. I'm unsure about other things too.
Now I know this is where God put me for a reason, and that he's had me get my master's degree in reading for a reason. Now I just need him to tell me what the next plans are. I know, not an easy request; sometimes it's even harder to hear the answer.
Well I know that this is probably the time to move districts and change jobs primarily because if I stay too much longer with my education and years of experience that I won't get credit for my experience and I'll be too expensive to hire. So I've been revamping my resume and I've been starting to fill out the online applications. I'll tell you, most of these are 13 pages long! That's including the pages of questions. Each of the two applications I've been working on have 10, yes 10 essay questions. Luckily you can start the application and return to it. You can also cut and paste your responses from word to the application. Well, that is where I am. I've been trying to come up with the strongest, yet concise answers that showcase the best of me. Not easy I'll tell ya.
This is just one of those things I hate doing. I'm usually a really loyal employee. I do what ever I can to make it the best place to work. I'm a team player and there are people I love working with. The atmosphere where I work is sometimes like a roller coaster though. We are under the microscope from the state and that's hard because we keep jumping from here, there, to someplace else to find what is best for the students. But that leads to doing so much "extra" stuff that there's hardly time to teach what we need to teach.
I guess I just need someone to tell me, Laura you're doing what you need to do, or Laura this is the time. I need to listen to God because he's got the plan, but I don't hear what he's saying. I know he's probably doing some talking through others and I'm trying to listen but the words are clear. What do you do when you're trying to listen but can't tell what is being said?
I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed I think because there is so much to do and when looking for teaching jobs it is quite often like jumping through hoops. That is what I call it and it almost perfectally describes what happens. You have to do this, then do that, then do this again, then do more of that. We need this and that and then even more.
If you are my messagener please shout it loud and clear as to what I'm supposed to be doing! God you know my hearing is going so please make my sign loud and clear.
If anyone has any suggestions or words of wisdom, please let me know.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Spring Break
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Spring!
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! More snow. We are under another winter storm warning and the forcast says around 5 inches. What is going on here Mother Nature?
Today is Good Friday! As a Christian I cannot be thankful enough that Jesus died for my sins. I've been so blessed and I'm so grateful I live in a country where I can believe what I want, express myself as I want, and can openly practice and discuss my religion. There are so many that can't.
Today is also the first day of spring break! Ahhhhhh, yes it's been a very stressful time at school since we returned from winter break. We are finished with ISATs (state testing) and I'm hoping to get around to more science and social studies. Last week we did a TIMS science investigation and disected flowers looking at all the parts. Drat, I forgot to bring home the flowers we didn't use, bummer.
I also stayed at work late yesterday, so late I almost forgot and was almost really late for my eye exam. I did get all the tedious papers graded and the scores entered into the computer. Yahoo!! With the eye exam, nothing's really changed in the last 2 years but I think I want new glasses. I was also talking about Lasik. Both are quite expensive. Unfortunately I know which glasses I want, but at the eye doctor, with my prescription, and including my meager discount, they would be over $500. I have flexible spending health care money set aside, but last year I didn't have enough to cover everything and in late March/early April, I'm afraid to take $500 out. Now granted, Don and an ER visit for the seizure, Brian had an ER visit for a skateboard incident, Brian's therapy, my surgery in August, and Doug's 3 hospital visits. Luckily his last 2 were covered 100%. I also used over $400 for new glasses last year too. I'm just a worry wart I guess.
This will be a week of calm and relaxation. I will work on my sweater, I want to do a couple of scrapbook/spring decorating projects, and I hope to get to the Y a few times. I want to scrapbook with my girlfriend, Marybeth. I want to go back to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the glass blowing exhibit. We didn't pay extra to do that with the students last week. Could you see 9, fourth grade classes going into a glass exhibit? I thought it would be like a bull in a china shop. My mom has also never been there so I offered to take her with.
I also have some filing to do here. I should get bunches of stuff on ebay. The dogs go to the groomer on Tuesday. Doug's home to start his new job at Uhaul this weekend. I offered to cook for us and my mom for Easter. I want to hang out with Marybeth one day. I know Brian will need taxi service. Just the same old mom stuff.
I am just glad to be off and to let my head relax. This will be a difficult week foodwise with WW because of the holiday and I tend to eat while I'm bored. I need some help in that area. I have a list a mile long of things I want to and need to get done, but for some reason my body is never motivated to get it done. Why is that? If you know the answer I'd love to hear it. I have the urge for my body to move. I know losing 25 pounds is the reason for that. I just can't get my head and my body into sync.
Anyhoo I'm about to go see if I can find part of the elements for my spring decorating project. I loved whatAli Edwards did with chipboard butterflies
and I want to do something similar and hang them off of my chandelier in my dining room. I think they'll look great flying over my purple hyacynth. They smell absolutely devine and wish I could youtube the smell and send it to you.
I also forgetting to tell you all that I've finally been invited to join the knitting/crocheting site Ravelry. It took at least 10 days to get my invitation. I'm so excited to find a site that will help me be a better knitter/crocher. I'll be having fun meandering around there this week.
Anyway I've written quite enough and I've kept you reading probably longer than you wanted. I'll hopefully be back later in the week with new layouts with the new Chirpi tape alpha and lucky products.
I wish everyone an excellent weekend and joyous Easter.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! More snow. We are under another winter storm warning and the forcast says around 5 inches. What is going on here Mother Nature?
Today is Good Friday! As a Christian I cannot be thankful enough that Jesus died for my sins. I've been so blessed and I'm so grateful I live in a country where I can believe what I want, express myself as I want, and can openly practice and discuss my religion. There are so many that can't.
Today is also the first day of spring break! Ahhhhhh, yes it's been a very stressful time at school since we returned from winter break. We are finished with ISATs (state testing) and I'm hoping to get around to more science and social studies. Last week we did a TIMS science investigation and disected flowers looking at all the parts. Drat, I forgot to bring home the flowers we didn't use, bummer.
I also stayed at work late yesterday, so late I almost forgot and was almost really late for my eye exam. I did get all the tedious papers graded and the scores entered into the computer. Yahoo!! With the eye exam, nothing's really changed in the last 2 years but I think I want new glasses. I was also talking about Lasik. Both are quite expensive. Unfortunately I know which glasses I want, but at the eye doctor, with my prescription, and including my meager discount, they would be over $500. I have flexible spending health care money set aside, but last year I didn't have enough to cover everything and in late March/early April, I'm afraid to take $500 out. Now granted, Don and an ER visit for the seizure, Brian had an ER visit for a skateboard incident, Brian's therapy, my surgery in August, and Doug's 3 hospital visits. Luckily his last 2 were covered 100%. I also used over $400 for new glasses last year too. I'm just a worry wart I guess.
This will be a week of calm and relaxation. I will work on my sweater, I want to do a couple of scrapbook/spring decorating projects, and I hope to get to the Y a few times. I want to scrapbook with my girlfriend, Marybeth. I want to go back to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the glass blowing exhibit. We didn't pay extra to do that with the students last week. Could you see 9, fourth grade classes going into a glass exhibit? I thought it would be like a bull in a china shop. My mom has also never been there so I offered to take her with.
I also have some filing to do here. I should get bunches of stuff on ebay. The dogs go to the groomer on Tuesday. Doug's home to start his new job at Uhaul this weekend. I offered to cook for us and my mom for Easter. I want to hang out with Marybeth one day. I know Brian will need taxi service. Just the same old mom stuff.
I am just glad to be off and to let my head relax. This will be a difficult week foodwise with WW because of the holiday and I tend to eat while I'm bored. I need some help in that area. I have a list a mile long of things I want to and need to get done, but for some reason my body is never motivated to get it done. Why is that? If you know the answer I'd love to hear it. I have the urge for my body to move. I know losing 25 pounds is the reason for that. I just can't get my head and my body into sync.
Anyhoo I'm about to go see if I can find part of the elements for my spring decorating project. I loved whatAli Edwards did with chipboard butterflies
and I want to do something similar and hang them off of my chandelier in my dining room. I think they'll look great flying over my purple hyacynth. They smell absolutely devine and wish I could youtube the smell and send it to you.
I also forgetting to tell you all that I've finally been invited to join the knitting/crocheting site Ravelry. It took at least 10 days to get my invitation. I'm so excited to find a site that will help me be a better knitter/crocher. I'll be having fun meandering around there this week.
Anyway I've written quite enough and I've kept you reading probably longer than you wanted. I'll hopefully be back later in the week with new layouts with the new Chirpi tape alpha and lucky products.
I wish everyone an excellent weekend and joyous Easter.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday..and we got more snow
Late this afternoon we got rain/sleet/snow all at once and now there is white again on the grass and driveway. The weather changed again and I'm sure the air pressure dropped bigtime because when the weather started changing I got a killer headache. It was so bad I couldn't stand my glasses sitting on my face. Bad thing since I was at work and had to drive home. Believe me, you don't want to be on the roads if I drive without my glasses! It was so bad that I had to call and cancel my hair appointment. Believe me, after 5-6 weeks I don't ever cancel a hair appointment if I don't have to. It's going to be at least another 2 weeks before I can get in, I'm sure. My hairdresser will be out of town next week during spring break.
So are you wearing green today or did you get a little pinch? I wore green!
I also report that I lost another pound. Pound schmound. I worked my butt of at the gym this week to lose a pound. Considering my PSA about skipping Steak & Shake, I'm glad I lost a pound.
More health news to report, Brian called me as I got to work saying that the school was kicking him out. Nothing serious, just some pink eye. More health concerns, but he's been out and about while he was still recouperating from the "flu" or something close to it. He probably never got totally over the virus.
My last post talked about a huge stack of papers to grade. After school I took that stack, spread them out on my big table at school and graded several stacks. Now I have a ton to put into the computer but the papers will be graded. After getting these into the computer I'll start working on the big animal report project, but I've read through so many rough drafts the biggest part won't be so bad. I'll keep plugging along this week and get done what I can.
Ok, I think I've rambled on enough. I think my brain needs to rest. Knitting seems to be calling, a mindless activity where I sit without stress.
So are you wearing green today or did you get a little pinch? I wore green!
I also report that I lost another pound. Pound schmound. I worked my butt of at the gym this week to lose a pound. Considering my PSA about skipping Steak & Shake, I'm glad I lost a pound.
More health news to report, Brian called me as I got to work saying that the school was kicking him out. Nothing serious, just some pink eye. More health concerns, but he's been out and about while he was still recouperating from the "flu" or something close to it. He probably never got totally over the virus.
My last post talked about a huge stack of papers to grade. After school I took that stack, spread them out on my big table at school and graded several stacks. Now I have a ton to put into the computer but the papers will be graded. After getting these into the computer I'll start working on the big animal report project, but I've read through so many rough drafts the biggest part won't be so bad. I'll keep plugging along this week and get done what I can.
Ok, I think I've rambled on enough. I think my brain needs to rest. Knitting seems to be calling, a mindless activity where I sit without stress.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Ughhhhhhhhhhh papers
I have so many papers to grade and I absolutely HATE grading papers. It's just that for each assignment I give, the kids do it once, I have to do it 25 times. Ok so if we do spelling, math, and science in one day, and there is homework, I have 75 different papers I have to touch. Don't get me wrong, whenever possible I have the kids grade their own papers and I enter the scores into the computer. There are just sometimes they can't grade the papers.
What puts the pressure on is the fact that the end of the quarter is this Thursday. I really want to have all my papers graded and entered into the computer before spring break so I don't have that hanging over my head. Right after we get back we have to work on grades so the report cards can be printed. I thought that could be my job after spring break. Report cards, that is the second worst thing about being a teacher.
Well I have all that blah to look forward to this weekend and this week but tonight we are going to a St. Patrick's Day party at a friend's house. We went last year and had a great time. I love corned beef and cabbage. They've found the best way to cook corned beef, in the pressure cooker. They've found the best way to cook all those veggies too, they boil them all in their turkey fryer. They fill it up with water, start it boiling and put in the veggies. No fat, no big danger of fire like there is when frying a turkey. I thought that was absolutely brilliant!
I'll need to be eating a lot of those veggies because I totally blew all my weight watcher points on a naughty dinner on Thursday. We got steak and shake. Let's just say DON'T EAT STEAK AND SHAKE WHEN YOU DO WEIGHT WATCHERS OR ARE ON A DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well this is the end for now. Enjoy your weekend! We have family portraits today and I want to do a couple of fun things and Don says, we should just do the normal pictures. Well I'm going to win, I hate those photographer sit this way, pose this way kind of pictures. I want fun and unusual. They make such better pictures because they're so much more natural. Today's photos are for the church directory but what I'd really want is for my friend Ursula to come to Chicago and take my family's pictures. You can check out Ursula's photography website here and then check out her blog too. She takes such fun and interesting, yet casual photos. I'm sure if she'd come up she'd find some really cool and exciting backdrops for some pictures. I do have some really photogenic boys! Oh did I also mention handsome??
Ciao!
What puts the pressure on is the fact that the end of the quarter is this Thursday. I really want to have all my papers graded and entered into the computer before spring break so I don't have that hanging over my head. Right after we get back we have to work on grades so the report cards can be printed. I thought that could be my job after spring break. Report cards, that is the second worst thing about being a teacher.
Well I have all that blah to look forward to this weekend and this week but tonight we are going to a St. Patrick's Day party at a friend's house. We went last year and had a great time. I love corned beef and cabbage. They've found the best way to cook corned beef, in the pressure cooker. They've found the best way to cook all those veggies too, they boil them all in their turkey fryer. They fill it up with water, start it boiling and put in the veggies. No fat, no big danger of fire like there is when frying a turkey. I thought that was absolutely brilliant!
I'll need to be eating a lot of those veggies because I totally blew all my weight watcher points on a naughty dinner on Thursday. We got steak and shake. Let's just say DON'T EAT STEAK AND SHAKE WHEN YOU DO WEIGHT WATCHERS OR ARE ON A DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well this is the end for now. Enjoy your weekend! We have family portraits today and I want to do a couple of fun things and Don says, we should just do the normal pictures. Well I'm going to win, I hate those photographer sit this way, pose this way kind of pictures. I want fun and unusual. They make such better pictures because they're so much more natural. Today's photos are for the church directory but what I'd really want is for my friend Ursula to come to Chicago and take my family's pictures. You can check out Ursula's photography website here and then check out her blog too. She takes such fun and interesting, yet casual photos. I'm sure if she'd come up she'd find some really cool and exciting backdrops for some pictures. I do have some really photogenic boys! Oh did I also mention handsome??
Ciao!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Just worked my butt off
or at least a bit of it. I actually just got home from an hour workout at the Y. It was actually a bit relaxing. Yeah right, for those of us who hate exercise, I'm right there with ya, but when I was sitting, pedaling on that bike for 30 minutes I didn't have to think about anything that I had to do. I sat and listened to my ipod and watched Wife Swap and Deal or No Deal. I read those captions while listening to the music.
Well anyway I started on the eliptical for 15 minutes and went .95 miles. Then to the bike were I numbbed my but and feet but rode for 4 miles in 30 minutes. After that I thought about leaving but a treadmill opened up so I thought ahhhh, what's another 15 minutes. So I walked, even put some incline on the tread mill. Then I got brave. For the last 40 seconds I pumped up the speed to 4.0 and jogged for 40 seconds. No big deal for those of you who are in shape and run, but I don't run. Actually my body's been feeling the urge to move. Today Doug went to school with me and taught the kids how to play blob tag and at the end I linked hands and ran around like a school kid. I ran, then tonight I ran/jogged again.
I'm mighty proud of myself for that! I think it meant even more that I got up my gumption and went alone. Nobody made this body fat and overweight but me, so I guess nobody can make it skinny and more healthy except me too. Just it would be fun to have a workout buddy.
So this week, Don and I walked down to check out a house that caught on fire on Sunday, so we walked about a mile. Monday, I took my ipod and became a "hall walker" at schoool and did two laps of each of the 3 floors including the 3 flights of steps two times. Then today I did all that exercise at the Y. I actually have 5 activity points I can eat on my Weight Watchers account, but it sure would be nice not to have to. I have 2 points left today so there is my skinny cow snack then I think I'm done. We do have a St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday night with friends so I know I'll use more points there then I should. Although I'd think cabbage and boiled vegetables should be free!
I want to give my good friend Marybeth a shout out! She's decided to get healthy and she's started a blog. You can check it out here!
Ok so I've written enough for today. I think my skinny cow's calling my name.
Well anyway I started on the eliptical for 15 minutes and went .95 miles. Then to the bike were I numbbed my but and feet but rode for 4 miles in 30 minutes. After that I thought about leaving but a treadmill opened up so I thought ahhhh, what's another 15 minutes. So I walked, even put some incline on the tread mill. Then I got brave. For the last 40 seconds I pumped up the speed to 4.0 and jogged for 40 seconds. No big deal for those of you who are in shape and run, but I don't run. Actually my body's been feeling the urge to move. Today Doug went to school with me and taught the kids how to play blob tag and at the end I linked hands and ran around like a school kid. I ran, then tonight I ran/jogged again.
I'm mighty proud of myself for that! I think it meant even more that I got up my gumption and went alone. Nobody made this body fat and overweight but me, so I guess nobody can make it skinny and more healthy except me too. Just it would be fun to have a workout buddy.
So this week, Don and I walked down to check out a house that caught on fire on Sunday, so we walked about a mile. Monday, I took my ipod and became a "hall walker" at schoool and did two laps of each of the 3 floors including the 3 flights of steps two times. Then today I did all that exercise at the Y. I actually have 5 activity points I can eat on my Weight Watchers account, but it sure would be nice not to have to. I have 2 points left today so there is my skinny cow snack then I think I'm done. We do have a St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday night with friends so I know I'll use more points there then I should. Although I'd think cabbage and boiled vegetables should be free!
I want to give my good friend Marybeth a shout out! She's decided to get healthy and she's started a blog. You can check it out here!
Ok so I've written enough for today. I think my skinny cow's calling my name.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Some Blog Redecorating
Not only did I update my header, which still could use a bit of shrinkage to fit in the template but I upgraded my blog so that I can use the new basic drag and drop, easy upload, easy changes format.
Although I've had to make a few changes and updates, I love the ease of making changes now!
Thanks for that Blogger!
I've finished my little knitted bag. I need to do just a bit more work on the handles but I've already done the yarn swatch for the sweater I'm going to start on. My first sweater!
I also jumped on the Ravlery waiting list. Maybe I should start a knitting blog. I doubt I could keep that updated because my other blog has kind of been neglected. I really need to get myself on a schedule and integrate exercise in that and time to reflect and pray daily.
I'll just keep working because I can only get better if I keep trying.
Although I've had to make a few changes and updates, I love the ease of making changes now!
Thanks for that Blogger!
I've finished my little knitted bag. I need to do just a bit more work on the handles but I've already done the yarn swatch for the sweater I'm going to start on. My first sweater!
I also jumped on the Ravlery waiting list. Maybe I should start a knitting blog. I doubt I could keep that updated because my other blog has kind of been neglected. I really need to get myself on a schedule and integrate exercise in that and time to reflect and pray daily.
I'll just keep working because I can only get better if I keep trying.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Today's a day for a new layout!
This is my newest scrapbook layout. Everything is by a great new designer Victoria Greenlees who owns her own store Chirpi. The great new kit is called Moroccan Sunset and can be
found here.
I highly urge you to go and check out her great new stuff.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Oh Yeah....I'm a LOSER
and this I'll say loud and proud!
I've been going to Weight Watchers for a while and I've been really happy with the fact that I can eat whatever I choose and it's a slow and steady loss. Tonight I hit my 10% goal. That's the first biggest milestone at WW. Although I weighed in tonight, I'll celebrate with my meeting on Monday night.
Most people don't usually hit a 25 pound milestone and their 10% at the same time but I did so I'll get a few little rewards. I'll get a 10% keychain, a charm for losing 25 pounds and I'll get a magnet to keep me encouraged to keep going.
I kind of feel like doing a happy dance around my house, that is if I didn't feel quite so bad.
I went to work today and this afternoon I started feeling like a 2 year old who gets the gunky eyes. For some reason my eye is pooping out yellow globs. I know I need to eat and throw in a load of laundry then sit and relax with a warm compress on my eyes. Maybe I'll manage to make it to see Project Runway. I hope it's a new episode tonight.
Also I talked with my dad tonight. He's got 2 more days until he retires! Wow he's always been a work-aholic, that is where I get it from I know, but yikes retire! If I retire at the same age my dad is, then I'll need to teach another 24 years. I can't imagine how different kids and education will be in 24 years. It's almost scary to think about it. What is even more scary is that I rememeber in 1st and 2nd grade having teachers who were older than dirt back then, I mean I thought they were 70ish then, and yikes what's it going to be like when I'm teaching and in my 60's???
Well that's a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg time away so I think I'd better worry about making it through this week, next week's big state tests, and then the last few days before spring break. Ahhhhhhh if I can make it through this week, there are only 13 days left until break! Unfortunately we have such an early Easter this year, it's going to be a longgggggggg time between when we get back and the end of the year.
I'll have to ask my girlfriend, who is retiring this year, how many more days are there until the last day of school.
Until then, I just need to feel better to make it back to school tomorrow. I don't need to worry how many days until break or until the end of the year, or until my own retirement. It's a lot. What's helping me muttle throug until June is this wonderful vacation with my mom. Ohhhhhh I can't wait!!
I've been going to Weight Watchers for a while and I've been really happy with the fact that I can eat whatever I choose and it's a slow and steady loss. Tonight I hit my 10% goal. That's the first biggest milestone at WW. Although I weighed in tonight, I'll celebrate with my meeting on Monday night.
Most people don't usually hit a 25 pound milestone and their 10% at the same time but I did so I'll get a few little rewards. I'll get a 10% keychain, a charm for losing 25 pounds and I'll get a magnet to keep me encouraged to keep going.
I kind of feel like doing a happy dance around my house, that is if I didn't feel quite so bad.
I went to work today and this afternoon I started feeling like a 2 year old who gets the gunky eyes. For some reason my eye is pooping out yellow globs. I know I need to eat and throw in a load of laundry then sit and relax with a warm compress on my eyes. Maybe I'll manage to make it to see Project Runway. I hope it's a new episode tonight.
Also I talked with my dad tonight. He's got 2 more days until he retires! Wow he's always been a work-aholic, that is where I get it from I know, but yikes retire! If I retire at the same age my dad is, then I'll need to teach another 24 years. I can't imagine how different kids and education will be in 24 years. It's almost scary to think about it. What is even more scary is that I rememeber in 1st and 2nd grade having teachers who were older than dirt back then, I mean I thought they were 70ish then, and yikes what's it going to be like when I'm teaching and in my 60's???
Well that's a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg time away so I think I'd better worry about making it through this week, next week's big state tests, and then the last few days before spring break. Ahhhhhhh if I can make it through this week, there are only 13 days left until break! Unfortunately we have such an early Easter this year, it's going to be a longgggggggg time between when we get back and the end of the year.
I'll have to ask my girlfriend, who is retiring this year, how many more days are there until the last day of school.
Until then, I just need to feel better to make it back to school tomorrow. I don't need to worry how many days until break or until the end of the year, or until my own retirement. It's a lot. What's helping me muttle throug until June is this wonderful vacation with my mom. Ohhhhhh I can't wait!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
still stick
and in desperate need of a header update.
Today I'm starting to feel better although I was freezing all night and probably had a fever again most of the night.
I really don't have much to say that needs updated but I can report we have another 4.5 inches of snow. Snow, I'm so sick of snow! Go away snow! I've also heard there is probably more on the way later this week. I think we've had over 50" of snow so far this winter.
I am also giving a shout out to some friends to UPDATE YOUR BLOGS!
Today I'm starting to feel better although I was freezing all night and probably had a fever again most of the night.
I really don't have much to say that needs updated but I can report we have another 4.5 inches of snow. Snow, I'm so sick of snow! Go away snow! I've also heard there is probably more on the way later this week. I think we've had over 50" of snow so far this winter.
I am also giving a shout out to some friends to UPDATE YOUR BLOGS!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Ughhhhhhhhhhh I'm sick
and feel horrible. I felt this coming on last Wednesday and thought it was just going to be a sinus infection. By Friday at school I was feeling horrible with a sore throat and occasionally it would feel like my lungs were burning.
I cough occassionally but I thought the sinus infection was getting better. I thought for sure with a low key weekend and really doing nothing I would be ok to go to school today. Nope, around 9:00 last night I started getting the chills and had a fever. I called in and then again today I thought I'd be fine for school tomorrow. Well after almost a whole day without a fever, I got one again. Granted just a low grade fever but I must really be fighting something.
I decided earlier today that I would take another sick day. I just want to feel better. It also wasn't too hard to decide when they are predicting 3-7 inches of wet, heavy snow. I won't feel like shoveling at all and I probably won't.
I just want to feel better so I can have a bit of energy back and sleep better. I'm up almost every hour looking at the clock or blowing my nose. I'm so congested that I'm sleeping horribly.
I hope to be feeling better tomorrow.
There is one thing I'm being productive at...my knitting. No energy and sitting with the tv on means I can knit.
I cough occassionally but I thought the sinus infection was getting better. I thought for sure with a low key weekend and really doing nothing I would be ok to go to school today. Nope, around 9:00 last night I started getting the chills and had a fever. I called in and then again today I thought I'd be fine for school tomorrow. Well after almost a whole day without a fever, I got one again. Granted just a low grade fever but I must really be fighting something.
I decided earlier today that I would take another sick day. I just want to feel better. It also wasn't too hard to decide when they are predicting 3-7 inches of wet, heavy snow. I won't feel like shoveling at all and I probably won't.
I just want to feel better so I can have a bit of energy back and sleep better. I'm up almost every hour looking at the clock or blowing my nose. I'm so congested that I'm sleeping horribly.
I hope to be feeling better tomorrow.
There is one thing I'm being productive at...my knitting. No energy and sitting with the tv on means I can knit.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Are you willing??
to show your support for those 5 innocent students who were violently gunned down at Northern Illinois University?
I proudly display this ribbon. My son was there on that horrific day.
If you are willing, then I hope you would put this support ribbon on your blog.
I know all the students, faculty and alumni would be appreciative.
Please consider showing your support.
Great News!
Did you see this?? I'm a new Chirpi Girl!
Victoria Greenlees is an amazing new designer who had a creative team call. I applied on a whim and was selected. Her designs mesh with my style perfectally.
I'm so excited to start working with her great designs.
YIPEE!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Pray for Northern Illinois University
the students who survived, the students who have to return, the families and friends of those who died, and for the shooter's family. Everyone connected to this needs prayers. You know the game 7 degrees of separation? Well Northern Illinois University is one of those universities in which I'm sure you know someone, through someone else, through someone else who goes there.
Well if you know me, then you are closer than 7 degrees. My son attends there. My son was actually with a friend of his who ditched her class today. Her class was the class where the shooting occured. How did God choose who to spare? This girl is unbelieveably lucky.
I had 2 meetings, then door duty outside, then my Tuesday/Thursday after school reading group. I didn't hear the news, I didn't hear my cell phone ring. I had 5 missed calls and a text message. I learned of the shooting and of course your mind thinks the worst. After all Doug went through last semester I just knew in my heart that God would not let anything happen to him again. Don let me know that a friend of Doug's called to let us know he talked to Doug online and he can't call out but he was ok. Then all the other phone calls started. My brother, sister, mother, father, friends, co-workers all were calling and by then we only knew he was locked in his dorm. Locked down in a dorm, who would have thought that was the best place to be?
After making and answering phone calls all the way home I thought I'd just try Doug's cell. Unbelievably the call went through and he answered. The joy of hearing my son's voice! The peace of knowing my son was safe. The tears still well up in my eyes each time I realize how blessed we were today. Then my heart immediately turns to those families who have dead children or injured children. Why not us and why them? Those are the questions you ask of God but then you know that you still must hope and believe his will and power is the almight authority and you'll never get those answers.
In that wonderful phone call I got the best news, Doug was coming home tonight! He was coming home Saturday anyway to celebrate my sister's birthday, but just hearing him say today, soon, was the best news I'd heard all day. So each time we heard a car on the street we'd give a glance to see if it was pulling in. Finally he was home and I don't know how big of a sigh I must have let out, but it was probably big. I was glad just to see him walk through that door. The best sight I'd seen all day. My Valentine's Day brought one of my loves home. Now I've got all three home with me if for just a little while. I've got my family together and all safe for tonight and I have to continue to give thanks to God for that.
This is the best thing I've seen all day!
Well if you know me, then you are closer than 7 degrees. My son attends there. My son was actually with a friend of his who ditched her class today. Her class was the class where the shooting occured. How did God choose who to spare? This girl is unbelieveably lucky.
I had 2 meetings, then door duty outside, then my Tuesday/Thursday after school reading group. I didn't hear the news, I didn't hear my cell phone ring. I had 5 missed calls and a text message. I learned of the shooting and of course your mind thinks the worst. After all Doug went through last semester I just knew in my heart that God would not let anything happen to him again. Don let me know that a friend of Doug's called to let us know he talked to Doug online and he can't call out but he was ok. Then all the other phone calls started. My brother, sister, mother, father, friends, co-workers all were calling and by then we only knew he was locked in his dorm. Locked down in a dorm, who would have thought that was the best place to be?
After making and answering phone calls all the way home I thought I'd just try Doug's cell. Unbelievably the call went through and he answered. The joy of hearing my son's voice! The peace of knowing my son was safe. The tears still well up in my eyes each time I realize how blessed we were today. Then my heart immediately turns to those families who have dead children or injured children. Why not us and why them? Those are the questions you ask of God but then you know that you still must hope and believe his will and power is the almight authority and you'll never get those answers.
In that wonderful phone call I got the best news, Doug was coming home tonight! He was coming home Saturday anyway to celebrate my sister's birthday, but just hearing him say today, soon, was the best news I'd heard all day. So each time we heard a car on the street we'd give a glance to see if it was pulling in. Finally he was home and I don't know how big of a sigh I must have let out, but it was probably big. I was glad just to see him walk through that door. The best sight I'd seen all day. My Valentine's Day brought one of my loves home. Now I've got all three home with me if for just a little while. I've got my family together and all safe for tonight and I have to continue to give thanks to God for that.
This is the best thing I've seen all day!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
It's still winter
oh how I know it. Today, another batch of snow. It's nothing fun like a batch of warm yummy cookies coming out of the oven, it's horrible because it means another long commute home and more shoveling.
Today it was about an hour and half home; double the usual and customary. Luckily there was dinner in the crock pot. I sat and watched Biggest Loser, knitted and tried to stay warm. I went out and shoveled since the snow finally ended.
I need to work on a new Bible study I'm involved in. I was supposed to have the first week done for last Wednesday but it was snowed out so I actually had an extra week and still didn't get it done. I'm horrible, and get the most done right before deadlines are due.
I know I'm a poor, poor blogger. I've been super busy and unfortunately my "My busy life slows down" blog has been left silent lately. I've kinda dropped reading my gratitude book. I need to get on a schedule to read and work on the bible study each day. In addition to getting to the gym. I've broke the 20 pound mark so I'm excited to meet my 10% goal. I tell you if I knew Weight watchers was the way for me I would have done this years ago!
Well I have to hop off here and get in a chat with my dh and son about some homework project he has due at college.
Toodles and hope you're not shoveling too much!
Today it was about an hour and half home; double the usual and customary. Luckily there was dinner in the crock pot. I sat and watched Biggest Loser, knitted and tried to stay warm. I went out and shoveled since the snow finally ended.
I need to work on a new Bible study I'm involved in. I was supposed to have the first week done for last Wednesday but it was snowed out so I actually had an extra week and still didn't get it done. I'm horrible, and get the most done right before deadlines are due.
I know I'm a poor, poor blogger. I've been super busy and unfortunately my "My busy life slows down" blog has been left silent lately. I've kinda dropped reading my gratitude book. I need to get on a schedule to read and work on the bible study each day. In addition to getting to the gym. I've broke the 20 pound mark so I'm excited to meet my 10% goal. I tell you if I knew Weight watchers was the way for me I would have done this years ago!
Well I have to hop off here and get in a chat with my dh and son about some homework project he has due at college.
Toodles and hope you're not shoveling too much!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
That knitting I thought was hard...
isn't as hard now as I thought. I finished that scarf that I started in the first knitting class. Then I was a glutton for punishment because I signed up for the next class 201 where I learned to purl, increase, and decrease. In that class we worked on a ribbon shawl. I am almost totally finished with that except that I'm out of ribbon and can't get more. I bought the last one. I'm going to have to tear over half of it out so I can have enough ribbon to finish. Grrrrrrrrrrrr that is going to be a serious PITA because we weighed the ribbon to determine where half was. I just don't think there is any other way to fix it without ripping it out.
So because I knew I would be finished with the shawl soon I decided to use the gift certificate my bro and sil gave me and finally bought some coveted alpaca yarn. This is the softest yarn. I bought baby alpaca yarn and I swear I can't wait to wear this scarf. To me I'd love to be floating on a cloud of alpaca yarn. It's soft, the colors are beautiful and it makes me happy. So happy in fact that I made the whole scarf in one day! Oh it is a yummy scarf, no pictures yet, and it matches the sweater I'm wearing tomorrow perfectally. I'm wondering if I should save the new scarf and sweater outfit for parent teacher conferences on Tuesday. Can't decide, we'll see what kind of mood I wake up with in the morning. My mom is going to love the color and I know she's really going to want one. I think that my knitting practice is going to get a work out because I see a lot of my family will probably be getting new scarves for Christmas next year. Heck if the snow keeps up they'll need them this year.
Speaking of snow, it snowed all day Thursday and most of Thursday night. We got at least 8 inches. Everyone around my house was cancelled on a snowday, but wouldn't ya just know that my district didn't close. We only close if Chicago Public Schools close and that rarely ever happens. Well this afternoon we got hit with another winter weather advisory. It's been snowing for hours and we've got another 4inches of snow, easily. Some places nearby even had thunder snow.
I actually have a couple of fun pictures of the snow we have.
Busy week this week. Haircut, weight watchers, work, and passport pictures probably tomorrow. That and an early morning to get ahead of the traffic with the snowy weather. Tuesday is conferences, Wednesday is meeting day and I just stared a women's Bible study. thursday will be reading group after school, and Friday is Friday. In two weeks that 3-day weekend is over-booked. Friday night is girls' night out, Saturday is scrapbook day with friends, Saturday night is Vegas night at the church in which we will go with friends, Sunday is when we'll probably celebrate my sister's birthday and Monday, President's Day, is the day of my spa day. By that Monday, I'll need an ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh day.
I know I've run on and on and on in this blog post. Rarely am I ever this chatty on my blog. I'll upload my winter pictures and then I was going to eat an orange, but I think bed is calling me much more loudly than the orange.
Oh...forgot to mention...I finally took down my Christmas decorations today. Realize it took me 25 minutes and a lot of them were "winter" snowman and snowflakes, but the tree is down too. Now realize my tree was half covered in red hearts so technically I could have considered it a "Valentines' Day tree." But anyhow it is finally down.
Ok now the pictures I promised.
So because I knew I would be finished with the shawl soon I decided to use the gift certificate my bro and sil gave me and finally bought some coveted alpaca yarn. This is the softest yarn. I bought baby alpaca yarn and I swear I can't wait to wear this scarf. To me I'd love to be floating on a cloud of alpaca yarn. It's soft, the colors are beautiful and it makes me happy. So happy in fact that I made the whole scarf in one day! Oh it is a yummy scarf, no pictures yet, and it matches the sweater I'm wearing tomorrow perfectally. I'm wondering if I should save the new scarf and sweater outfit for parent teacher conferences on Tuesday. Can't decide, we'll see what kind of mood I wake up with in the morning. My mom is going to love the color and I know she's really going to want one. I think that my knitting practice is going to get a work out because I see a lot of my family will probably be getting new scarves for Christmas next year. Heck if the snow keeps up they'll need them this year.
Speaking of snow, it snowed all day Thursday and most of Thursday night. We got at least 8 inches. Everyone around my house was cancelled on a snowday, but wouldn't ya just know that my district didn't close. We only close if Chicago Public Schools close and that rarely ever happens. Well this afternoon we got hit with another winter weather advisory. It's been snowing for hours and we've got another 4inches of snow, easily. Some places nearby even had thunder snow.
I actually have a couple of fun pictures of the snow we have.
Busy week this week. Haircut, weight watchers, work, and passport pictures probably tomorrow. That and an early morning to get ahead of the traffic with the snowy weather. Tuesday is conferences, Wednesday is meeting day and I just stared a women's Bible study. thursday will be reading group after school, and Friday is Friday. In two weeks that 3-day weekend is over-booked. Friday night is girls' night out, Saturday is scrapbook day with friends, Saturday night is Vegas night at the church in which we will go with friends, Sunday is when we'll probably celebrate my sister's birthday and Monday, President's Day, is the day of my spa day. By that Monday, I'll need an ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh day.
I know I've run on and on and on in this blog post. Rarely am I ever this chatty on my blog. I'll upload my winter pictures and then I was going to eat an orange, but I think bed is calling me much more loudly than the orange.
Oh...forgot to mention...I finally took down my Christmas decorations today. Realize it took me 25 minutes and a lot of them were "winter" snowman and snowflakes, but the tree is down too. Now realize my tree was half covered in red hearts so technically I could have considered it a "Valentines' Day tree." But anyhow it is finally down.
Ok now the pictures I promised.
Monday, January 28, 2008
My trip to ANYWHERE in the World is booked!
It's been 3 years in the making and I've finally decided where this trip to ANYWHERE in the World was going to be. I've decided on a 10 day cruise to the Northern Baltic Capitals. Actually it's 10 places I would have never guessed I would have ever gone to....Ever! Princess Cruises calls it Scandinavia and Russia. I call it a once in a lifetime trip to see places that I've only seen on tv and through pictures from my girlfriend Susanna.
This is the itineary for the trip. We start and end in Copenhagen. We head to Stolkholm,Sweden; Helsinki,Finland; St. Peterburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Gdansk, Poland; and Oslo, Norway. Although I know how great each place is going to be, I'm really, REALLY excited to head to Finland to meet my friend Susanna. That is going to be one great shore excursion. It won't be one of those cruise trips, we're going to be escorted around Helsinki by a native. We've got Susanna booked to be our private tour guide. I'll have to let her know way ahead of time what we want to see. I especially want to buy some great yarn in Finland. The ladies at the knit/yarn shop have told me how great Finnish yarn is.
Needless to say I'm super excited and really feel like I need one of those tear off one a day countdown calendars to count the number of days until we leave. My mom tried to get me worried when I asked her if she put the deposit down and she tried to make a little joke by saying, "Oh I forgot." It didn't work, not in the least bit. We are working on determining flights and if we are going to arrive a day early in Copenhagen or take a red-eye and get there early enough to board the ship early as possible.
My job...Passport. I need to really get on that this week. I've been putting it off and should have done it over winter break but I didn't. I was thinking about getting my pictures taken tomorrow night but we've just had a winter storm warning issued for our area starting at midnight tonight only to get cold, and blizzard-like as the day goes on. I know we can't control the weather but today I said it's been a more like normal winter with the cold and snow but I didn't mean that because today was 40 that I wanted more below zero cold and blizzard-like conditions!
Well considering I was falling asleep in the rocker about a half an hour ago then had to quick make Don a grocery list so he could shop early tomorrow before the weather crashes and had to get two envelopes ready to be mailed off I should really sign off and get to bed. The earlier I get up and leave the more paper work I can get done at work. I can grade some papers and get the scores entered into the computer.
If you have horrible weather tomorrow, please be safe. Hope you have a great week. Caio!
This is the itineary for the trip. We start and end in Copenhagen. We head to Stolkholm,Sweden; Helsinki,Finland; St. Peterburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Gdansk, Poland; and Oslo, Norway. Although I know how great each place is going to be, I'm really, REALLY excited to head to Finland to meet my friend Susanna. That is going to be one great shore excursion. It won't be one of those cruise trips, we're going to be escorted around Helsinki by a native. We've got Susanna booked to be our private tour guide. I'll have to let her know way ahead of time what we want to see. I especially want to buy some great yarn in Finland. The ladies at the knit/yarn shop have told me how great Finnish yarn is.
Needless to say I'm super excited and really feel like I need one of those tear off one a day countdown calendars to count the number of days until we leave. My mom tried to get me worried when I asked her if she put the deposit down and she tried to make a little joke by saying, "Oh I forgot." It didn't work, not in the least bit. We are working on determining flights and if we are going to arrive a day early in Copenhagen or take a red-eye and get there early enough to board the ship early as possible.
My job...Passport. I need to really get on that this week. I've been putting it off and should have done it over winter break but I didn't. I was thinking about getting my pictures taken tomorrow night but we've just had a winter storm warning issued for our area starting at midnight tonight only to get cold, and blizzard-like as the day goes on. I know we can't control the weather but today I said it's been a more like normal winter with the cold and snow but I didn't mean that because today was 40 that I wanted more below zero cold and blizzard-like conditions!
Well considering I was falling asleep in the rocker about a half an hour ago then had to quick make Don a grocery list so he could shop early tomorrow before the weather crashes and had to get two envelopes ready to be mailed off I should really sign off and get to bed. The earlier I get up and leave the more paper work I can get done at work. I can grade some papers and get the scores entered into the computer.
If you have horrible weather tomorrow, please be safe. Hope you have a great week. Caio!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!
All dressed in pink with my beautiful lavender, green & pink Burberry scarf around my neck to keep me warm I headed out to the knitting shop to take another knitting lesson. Now I can knit, purl, increase and decrease. I even got some yummy yarn on sale for another scarf. Got a wonderful voicemail from my good friend Marybeth who sang happy birthday to me. Went out for pizza with my family and my sister made me german chocolate cupcakes instead of a cake. It was nice to have everyone there although things keep changing in my family. My parents are trying to settle up things on their divorce before they go to court.
We did have some good news today, my brother got a new job. He used to work for Guilda Club but wasn't happy there and left right before Christmas and jobs in his field of grants and fundraising don't open up that frequently. He did find a job and is still interviewing with another company which has a bigger position if it works out. Until then, the new one is good.
More good news is that Don asked his new boss for his old job back and he got it! This is a good thing because he's got more freedom and flexibility. Considering Don can't be tied down and needs to move and likes different tasks rather than just very similiar tasks it is a terrific thing that he's so highly thought of to be given his old job back. He was under so much less stress, for the most part, when he wasn't chained to a center or to the marketing company. I pray this is what makes him happy and more relaxed.
We did get bad news today. You know you always get the good with the bad. Today my aunt called my mom and said my uncle has been diagnosed with esophogile cancer. It hasn't spread but he will have surgery, feeding tube, radation, and chemo. This is so sad because they retired a few years ago and have just been starting to enjoy their retirement. My uncle is such a quiet man but has such a presence when he's around. He'll sneak out and you'll see him filling up the bird feeders so the birds will keep coming around. This is just awful news because 2 years ago my aunt beat breast cancer now instead of enjoying life they're back into the cancer routine.
If you see it within yourself could you please say a prayer for my Uncle Dick. He's taught my kids so much and my aunt and uncle are like another set of grandparents for my kids. My kids know gun safety and the real reason to use guns instead of seeing how criminals use them thanks to my uncle.
My uncle is the man on the left, my dad is on the right. This was taken at my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party.
Well I think I'm going to hop off here now and try to knit a bit more. Don got to come have pizza at the restaurant with us but had to go back and close up the facility. Bummer! He probably won't be home for an hour and a half or two hours. So there's probably nothing else we're going to do tonight for my birthday.
Hope you had an enjoyable day today, mine was pretty good considering I grew another year older. LOL I have to share...when my students asked how old I was going to be today, I said 27! One girl says, "oh my mom is 27 too!" OMG they believed me! So today I'm 27! Tomorrow I'll decide if I go back to my regularly scheduled age.
Peace, love and happiness!
We did have some good news today, my brother got a new job. He used to work for Guilda Club but wasn't happy there and left right before Christmas and jobs in his field of grants and fundraising don't open up that frequently. He did find a job and is still interviewing with another company which has a bigger position if it works out. Until then, the new one is good.
More good news is that Don asked his new boss for his old job back and he got it! This is a good thing because he's got more freedom and flexibility. Considering Don can't be tied down and needs to move and likes different tasks rather than just very similiar tasks it is a terrific thing that he's so highly thought of to be given his old job back. He was under so much less stress, for the most part, when he wasn't chained to a center or to the marketing company. I pray this is what makes him happy and more relaxed.
We did get bad news today. You know you always get the good with the bad. Today my aunt called my mom and said my uncle has been diagnosed with esophogile cancer. It hasn't spread but he will have surgery, feeding tube, radation, and chemo. This is so sad because they retired a few years ago and have just been starting to enjoy their retirement. My uncle is such a quiet man but has such a presence when he's around. He'll sneak out and you'll see him filling up the bird feeders so the birds will keep coming around. This is just awful news because 2 years ago my aunt beat breast cancer now instead of enjoying life they're back into the cancer routine.
If you see it within yourself could you please say a prayer for my Uncle Dick. He's taught my kids so much and my aunt and uncle are like another set of grandparents for my kids. My kids know gun safety and the real reason to use guns instead of seeing how criminals use them thanks to my uncle.
My uncle is the man on the left, my dad is on the right. This was taken at my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party.Well I think I'm going to hop off here now and try to knit a bit more. Don got to come have pizza at the restaurant with us but had to go back and close up the facility. Bummer! He probably won't be home for an hour and a half or two hours. So there's probably nothing else we're going to do tonight for my birthday.
Hope you had an enjoyable day today, mine was pretty good considering I grew another year older. LOL I have to share...when my students asked how old I was going to be today, I said 27! One girl says, "oh my mom is 27 too!" OMG they believed me! So today I'm 27! Tomorrow I'll decide if I go back to my regularly scheduled age.
Peace, love and happiness!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
To some it's just an extra day off
but to me having Martin Luther King's birthday off is important. I was just over a year old when he was assassinated so the whole civil rights thing was not part of my life. But as I get older and see our world changing I keep learning more and more about civil rights and Dr. Martin Luther King.
What I find even more amazing is how much kids love learning about him. We watched a movie this week at school called My Friend Martin. The kids sit rivited for almost an hour just watching and watching. They know a lot and their hearts are still pure enough to say how much good he did and how treating people equally is so important.
I find I enjoy learning more about him. This year we have a new reading series and there is a story called My Brother Martin. That will be up for reading next week. We are also reading a book about immigrants and how some treated people didn't like them, but then that changes.
So on Monday if you are off or even if you aren't off, stop to think about how life could still be if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't fight for equality for all people.
What I find even more amazing is how much kids love learning about him. We watched a movie this week at school called My Friend Martin. The kids sit rivited for almost an hour just watching and watching. They know a lot and their hearts are still pure enough to say how much good he did and how treating people equally is so important.
I find I enjoy learning more about him. This year we have a new reading series and there is a story called My Brother Martin. That will be up for reading next week. We are also reading a book about immigrants and how some treated people didn't like them, but then that changes.
So on Monday if you are off or even if you aren't off, stop to think about how life could still be if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't fight for equality for all people.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Learning isn't always easy
For someone who catches on to things fairly easily somethings, like knitting, are not coming so easily. For Christmas, I asked for a gift certificate in which I could take knitting lessons. I thought I had a good rhythm for it and knew what I was doing but it seems that I don't know how to fix a mistake. I have some idea of what I did wrong, but I don't know how to take the stitches off my needle and put them back onto the first needle.
I have another class next week so I'll keep plugging away. I know when the scarf is finished it will look really neat because of the yarn, but if I could only get to a point where I don't make a mistake and feel I can get beyond 5-6 rows.
Any tips or good knitting sites to help me?
I've got a zillion and one things that need to be done so this will be a short post but I will leave you with a photo of my first stab at knitting.
I have another class next week so I'll keep plugging away. I know when the scarf is finished it will look really neat because of the yarn, but if I could only get to a point where I don't make a mistake and feel I can get beyond 5-6 rows.
Any tips or good knitting sites to help me?
I've got a zillion and one things that need to be done so this will be a short post but I will leave you with a photo of my first stab at knitting.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
The last blog before my vacation ends
I'm kind of whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa vacation is over and kind of yeah it's time to return to work. I've been dreaming about work for a few days and I think I'm a bit more relaxed and inspired to make sure things go well and the kids really start to learn. I almost get anxious to get back after winter break because there is always so much growth and maturity that seems to happen with a lot of the kids after this two weeks off. I chalk it up to the fact that their brains get to rest and take all that they've learned and finally gets to sort it all into the different files where it belongs and then connects with what was already there. It is not always as significant a change in 4th graders but when I taught 1st grade it was astounding. Those who were on the verge of beginning to read come back so ready and you go "yes" they got it.
Being back at work means that my schedule is more structured. Food is so much less accessible. That's a good thing for me. Although I didn't really gain weight over the winter holiday I'm now in the mode that I have to keep going and it's almost like a new start. A new start that MUST include more trips to the gym. I guess I just need to super structure my time so that I leave work at 4 and then on certain days I just hit the gym before I come home. Don says he'll go with me, but I can't count on that.
In weight watchers losing 10% is the first big milestone. I know that losing weight slowly is important in the long run but I'm hoping that by the end of January I'll be able to acheive that 10% goal. That is why the gym has got to become so important. I think I have 14 pounds to go before that 10%. I really think I could lose it but have to understand that if my body can't go so fast it will come off after that.
I heard this quote at a WW meeting and it really stuck with me. It is hard to lose 100 pounds 1 time, but it is easier to lose 1 pound 100 times.
I think with the nice weather, I'll try to go out and take a walk. Almost too muddy to walk the dogs but I can grab my ipod and go.
Toodles
Being back at work means that my schedule is more structured. Food is so much less accessible. That's a good thing for me. Although I didn't really gain weight over the winter holiday I'm now in the mode that I have to keep going and it's almost like a new start. A new start that MUST include more trips to the gym. I guess I just need to super structure my time so that I leave work at 4 and then on certain days I just hit the gym before I come home. Don says he'll go with me, but I can't count on that.
In weight watchers losing 10% is the first big milestone. I know that losing weight slowly is important in the long run but I'm hoping that by the end of January I'll be able to acheive that 10% goal. That is why the gym has got to become so important. I think I have 14 pounds to go before that 10%. I really think I could lose it but have to understand that if my body can't go so fast it will come off after that.
I heard this quote at a WW meeting and it really stuck with me. It is hard to lose 100 pounds 1 time, but it is easier to lose 1 pound 100 times.
I think with the nice weather, I'll try to go out and take a walk. Almost too muddy to walk the dogs but I can grab my ipod and go.
Toodles
Thursday, January 03, 2008
One Little Word
Does this let you know my one little word?? Yes, I've decided to choose Believe. I know this will help me focus on my relationship with God. It will help me believe in myself, and I know it will also help me in teaching. I often hear from my son, "no one ever believes me." I hope this will help me look at him in a more honest way. It's just a great word and it found me rather than me finding it. I think that is what I was looking for.
Did anyone else pick one little word??
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
It's a new year
2008! OMG each year goes by faster and faster. 2007 has been a difficult health year for some in my family. We are praying for a better year healthwise. But I'm not looking back in reflection, I'm looking forward with hope and belief that this year will bring many good things.
I've been trying to decide where I want to go on my "trip to anywhere" and I've decided that I want to go on a Northern Baltic Capitols cruise. My mom and I have been looking into things, have contacted a cruise specialist, have got some prices and now have a few more questions before booking the trip. We are looking for a mid-June to early July date. I'm so excited to finally take this trip.
Next I've been trying to decide upon resolutions for 2008. I can't say that I've picked anything just quite yet, but I've decided that organization is or upmost importance. I read something today about the OHIO way of thinking. This seriously peaked my interest and kept reading a comment from a poster on Ali Edward's blog about the OHIO way of thinking. I was wondering is this something I already know considering I was born in Ohio. Come to find out OHIO means "Only Handle it Once." I love this! I didn't make it to the office supply store or to Ikea to find some desk organizational things but before the week is over I'll have a few new bins to divide things into pay, file, or read later.
I know my mom will be going through some changes this year with her and my dad's divorce becoming finalized so I sent her the link to Ali Edward's blog. Ali talked about picking one little word to focus on, to mediate upon, and reflect upon throughout the year. I'm narrowing my list of words down and two keep coming to the front of my brain. The two are believe and accomplish. I'm really focused on accomplishing what I start and I have so many little projects that need finished that the word is important. The more I started just letting things happen today the word believe kept popping up. I'll have it narrowed down soon.
Also today I started on my year long journey to read Simple Abundance. It kind of goes along with the word believe. I need to find happiness from within and enjoy what life has already given me. Have you read it? I love that each page is chalked full of inspiring things.
I don't know if I can commit to getting my life organized, reading simple abundance, keeping my one little word forward in my thoughts and a 365 challenge but how absolutely cool would it be to have a year's worth of photographs to remember 2008 by? I've found a one 365 challenge and Ali posted this one.
I did though take one picture today. I'm also contemplating on gratitude blog. So many decisions and so little time.
Well I'm going to get to bed and let my head rest. So many things are swirling thru it. Lots of snow here yesterday and today and now temps have plumetted so hope you are warm and snuggly whereever you are.
Peace, Health, Love and Happiness to you in 2008!
I've been trying to decide where I want to go on my "trip to anywhere" and I've decided that I want to go on a Northern Baltic Capitols cruise. My mom and I have been looking into things, have contacted a cruise specialist, have got some prices and now have a few more questions before booking the trip. We are looking for a mid-June to early July date. I'm so excited to finally take this trip.
Next I've been trying to decide upon resolutions for 2008. I can't say that I've picked anything just quite yet, but I've decided that organization is or upmost importance. I read something today about the OHIO way of thinking. This seriously peaked my interest and kept reading a comment from a poster on Ali Edward's blog about the OHIO way of thinking. I was wondering is this something I already know considering I was born in Ohio. Come to find out OHIO means "Only Handle it Once." I love this! I didn't make it to the office supply store or to Ikea to find some desk organizational things but before the week is over I'll have a few new bins to divide things into pay, file, or read later.
I know my mom will be going through some changes this year with her and my dad's divorce becoming finalized so I sent her the link to Ali Edward's blog. Ali talked about picking one little word to focus on, to mediate upon, and reflect upon throughout the year. I'm narrowing my list of words down and two keep coming to the front of my brain. The two are believe and accomplish. I'm really focused on accomplishing what I start and I have so many little projects that need finished that the word is important. The more I started just letting things happen today the word believe kept popping up. I'll have it narrowed down soon.
Also today I started on my year long journey to read Simple Abundance. It kind of goes along with the word believe. I need to find happiness from within and enjoy what life has already given me. Have you read it? I love that each page is chalked full of inspiring things.
I don't know if I can commit to getting my life organized, reading simple abundance, keeping my one little word forward in my thoughts and a 365 challenge but how absolutely cool would it be to have a year's worth of photographs to remember 2008 by? I've found a one 365 challenge and Ali posted this one.
I did though take one picture today. I'm also contemplating on gratitude blog. So many decisions and so little time.
Well I'm going to get to bed and let my head rest. So many things are swirling thru it. Lots of snow here yesterday and today and now temps have plumetted so hope you are warm and snuggly whereever you are.
Peace, Health, Love and Happiness to you in 2008!
Monday, December 24, 2007
-4.8 is a glorious number
Who would have thought I was brave enough to go weigh in at Weight Watchers on Christmas Eve? Last week I had my first gain and I tried to be good this week and track points as best as I could. Well I was expecting another gain, but low and behold I lost 4.8 pounds. So I lost what I gained last week and then some. I'm still working towards my first 10% but so far i've lost 14.8 pounds.
I'm finding that with extra support at work, 4 of us do weight watchers, and Don trying not to buy junk, that I'm doing pretty well. I like that I can eat what I want but have to make choices. I'm finding I love spinach salad and I'm trying to be creative with chicken breasts.
I also realize that this really isn't a diet but a lifestyle change. I am going to try to hit the Y more these next two weeks and make the boys come with me.
I know I still have a long way to go but I heard this quote at my first or second meeting. Loosing 100 pounds 1 time is hard but loosing 1 pound 100 times is easier.
That is what keeps me going. I'll go weigh in on New Year's Eve too and let's hope for another negative number!
I'm finding that with extra support at work, 4 of us do weight watchers, and Don trying not to buy junk, that I'm doing pretty well. I like that I can eat what I want but have to make choices. I'm finding I love spinach salad and I'm trying to be creative with chicken breasts.
I also realize that this really isn't a diet but a lifestyle change. I am going to try to hit the Y more these next two weeks and make the boys come with me.
I know I still have a long way to go but I heard this quote at my first or second meeting. Loosing 100 pounds 1 time is hard but loosing 1 pound 100 times is easier.
That is what keeps me going. I'll go weigh in on New Year's Eve too and let's hope for another negative number!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Kept Resolution
Do you make New Year's resolutions? Are you good about keeping them or are you one of those people who start but then stop within a few weeks? Well I always was one who was sort of stopped after a few weeks so I'm really proud of myself. I've actually kept my 2007 resolution. On December 31, I had my last can of soda. My resolution was to give up pop; all forms of it. I wouldn't switch from regular to diet, I was just stopping. Now realize I didn't say give up caffine but since I've never been a coffee drinker I've given up a lot of caffine. I do splurge and have a chai tea frappachino from Starbucks and that's just enough caffine to keep me going.
So now that I've kept this resolution I'm going to try to make another one and keep it up. I haven't quite yet decided what I'm going to pick this year but I just hope it is a rewarding experience with another positive result.
So now that I've kept this resolution I'm going to try to make another one and keep it up. I haven't quite yet decided what I'm going to pick this year but I just hope it is a rewarding experience with another positive result.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Trying to be a better person
I know for those of you who know me pretty well, I'm a pretty good person. I try my best to accommodate everyone, I want all people to be successful, I want to instill solid morals and values into my kids and those I teach. I just try to be my best. Somehow when I reflect upon what I do and what I've done in the past I see there are still areas in which I still need to get better. I call stupid drivers idiots, I drive too fast, I have a habit of using my dining room table as my desk and dumping ground. I can't be bothered to put things away that are on the top of my dresser. I have a table at school that seriously needs cleaned off so when we come back from vacation we can get down to some serious reading. My desk is a mess. But to my own defense I read somewhere that a messy desk is a sign of a creative and imaginiative person. That I do feel is true.
But where this post is headed is in a rather new direction. I have been trying to cut down on my internet time and trying to figure out who I am and what do I want to do with my life. No I'm not talking about drastic changes. Well maybe I am. I think it has some to do with losing weight. I think that as I work to lighten up I want things around me to be less cluttered and more organized too. If I do this the right way then I may just become a bit more of a simple person. I have been trying to work on being more happy and appreciative of what I have and not to focus on what I used to think I want; I mean in a materialistic way. God has given me so much, I'm so blessed and now I have to make my life work within the bounderaries of what I already have.
So I know the changes must come from inside, but I can't help to also give a little bit of credit to an amazing person. I've been reading her blog off and on and as I've been digging into some of her archives I find that she not only inspires me want to be a little more creative in a more simplistic sort of way, but she has posted some incredible links to some organization and zen sites. I need to find a zen in which I can live in a more harmoniously with what I have, who I have in my life, and more in a way that God directs me.
If you haven't figured out just who has inspired me to just try to be a better person, I'll tell you, it is. It is Ali Edwards.
You can find some daily inspiration here at her blog. I can't believe all this lady does. She write, she creates, she travels, she's a mom, she's an advocate for autism, she teaches, she inspires, and she even has her ups and downs just like all the rest of us. She finds pleasure in simple things. I loved how she blogged about setting up a block castle where they bowl it over with a big green ball. There is something about her that is so creative, so inspiring, yet so down to earth. I don't want to be just like her, that's not the point of all of this. I am not her stalker, I just read her blog and her newsletter just as thousands of others do. I just find her style and her way with words speaks to my heart with a bit of optimism and passion. I find that she makes me want to be a bit more of a better person. Not to impress anyone, or to say look I do what Ali Edwards does; but for me to say look I'm just a bit more of a better person because I've been inspired to be.
I know this is a long, rambling blog post. Who knows, maybe it has to do with the fact that today's my graduation day, the day I'm recognized in public for being someone who's earned a master's degree. For someone in the field of education to be recognized as a life-long learner. For someone who has been given a gift from God to be able to teach others. For someone who has the potential to help students be better readers by being a reading specialist. For someone that has set goals and achieved them. For someone that I hope my own boys are proud to call mom.
With my winter holiday only 5 school days away, I am going to take that time to finish preparing for Christmas, to spend time with and enjoy my boys, to exercise, and to find a way to start to organize my dining room table and take back my space. It is my way to start to be a better person. So I close by saying a quick thank you to Ali Edwards for posting some amazing pearls of wisdom and zen links that have made me look inward to become a little better for everyone else who sees me from the outside.
But where this post is headed is in a rather new direction. I have been trying to cut down on my internet time and trying to figure out who I am and what do I want to do with my life. No I'm not talking about drastic changes. Well maybe I am. I think it has some to do with losing weight. I think that as I work to lighten up I want things around me to be less cluttered and more organized too. If I do this the right way then I may just become a bit more of a simple person. I have been trying to work on being more happy and appreciative of what I have and not to focus on what I used to think I want; I mean in a materialistic way. God has given me so much, I'm so blessed and now I have to make my life work within the bounderaries of what I already have.
So I know the changes must come from inside, but I can't help to also give a little bit of credit to an amazing person. I've been reading her blog off and on and as I've been digging into some of her archives I find that she not only inspires me want to be a little more creative in a more simplistic sort of way, but she has posted some incredible links to some organization and zen sites. I need to find a zen in which I can live in a more harmoniously with what I have, who I have in my life, and more in a way that God directs me.
If you haven't figured out just who has inspired me to just try to be a better person, I'll tell you, it is. It is Ali Edwards.
You can find some daily inspiration here at her blog. I can't believe all this lady does. She write, she creates, she travels, she's a mom, she's an advocate for autism, she teaches, she inspires, and she even has her ups and downs just like all the rest of us. She finds pleasure in simple things. I loved how she blogged about setting up a block castle where they bowl it over with a big green ball. There is something about her that is so creative, so inspiring, yet so down to earth. I don't want to be just like her, that's not the point of all of this. I am not her stalker, I just read her blog and her newsletter just as thousands of others do. I just find her style and her way with words speaks to my heart with a bit of optimism and passion. I find that she makes me want to be a bit more of a better person. Not to impress anyone, or to say look I do what Ali Edwards does; but for me to say look I'm just a bit more of a better person because I've been inspired to be.
I know this is a long, rambling blog post. Who knows, maybe it has to do with the fact that today's my graduation day, the day I'm recognized in public for being someone who's earned a master's degree. For someone in the field of education to be recognized as a life-long learner. For someone who has been given a gift from God to be able to teach others. For someone who has the potential to help students be better readers by being a reading specialist. For someone that has set goals and achieved them. For someone that I hope my own boys are proud to call mom.
With my winter holiday only 5 school days away, I am going to take that time to finish preparing for Christmas, to spend time with and enjoy my boys, to exercise, and to find a way to start to organize my dining room table and take back my space. It is my way to start to be a better person. So I close by saying a quick thank you to Ali Edwards for posting some amazing pearls of wisdom and zen links that have made me look inward to become a little better for everyone else who sees me from the outside.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Some Merry Decorating
Just a little bloggity banner update for the winter season!
I've got to get some new photos out of my camera and onto the computer. I've also got to get up-to-date with Val's photo a day blog challenge.
If you can't read the credits on the banner, the paper, journal box, stitched snowflake & pin are by Ashley Olson's Like Winter kit. The tree templates are by Valerie Fowler and are a blog freebie at her blog When Val sits Down. The glitter bracket is by Brenda Kempf, and the pink ribbon is by Christine Smith's Ribbon Lover's set in pink.
I'm hoping this blog update will last a bit longer than the Christmas season. I tried to go a little wintery.
I've got to get some new photos out of my camera and onto the computer. I've also got to get up-to-date with Val's photo a day blog challenge.
If you can't read the credits on the banner, the paper, journal box, stitched snowflake & pin are by Ashley Olson's Like Winter kit. The tree templates are by Valerie Fowler and are a blog freebie at her blog When Val sits Down. The glitter bracket is by Brenda Kempf, and the pink ribbon is by Christine Smith's Ribbon Lover's set in pink.
I'm hoping this blog update will last a bit longer than the Christmas season. I tried to go a little wintery.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
My FAVORITE Christmas video
Last year I couldn't tell you how much I watched this video. I confess I sing along to it too! The original website is gone this year but through the miracle of youtube it reappeared!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
A little December fun
Here on Valerie Fowler's blog is a really interesting Photo A Day challenge. I really like that she's making it so laid back and easy. The concept is to take a photo a day. Wow, hard right?
I think this is a cool idea and I can envision a really great scrapbook layout, mini album or a photo collage in a cool frame that could turn into a really wonderful holiday decoration.
I'm really going to try to do this each day in December and then post the photo in my blog. Today I'll have to hunt for something to take a picture of. I might do two tomorrow when I try to get my Christmas decorations out.
I hope that you are having a lovely weekend and try this daily photo challenge.
Now I've got to get back to a little advent calendar project I need to finish. Yes, I'll post a photo of that too.
I think this is a cool idea and I can envision a really great scrapbook layout, mini album or a photo collage in a cool frame that could turn into a really wonderful holiday decoration.
I'm really going to try to do this each day in December and then post the photo in my blog. Today I'll have to hunt for something to take a picture of. I might do two tomorrow when I try to get my Christmas decorations out.
I hope that you are having a lovely weekend and try this daily photo challenge.
Now I've got to get back to a little advent calendar project I need to finish. Yes, I'll post a photo of that too.
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