Thanksgiving 2010

ing

listening: Glee Christmas CD - Love it, and love the show!
tasting:  dill pickle - just ate one for no reason at all
watching: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (saw it for the 2nd time today)
reading: A Gateway Award nominee...
wearing: northwest sweatshirt and my favorite black pj type sweat pants
going: to address christmas cards and maybe write a little something in them if there's a good movie on

Thankfull

Tis the season, to be thankful.  Here's some more things I'm thankful for.

-good friends
-good family
-Rachel Ray, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Epicurious, Foodnetwork kitchens
-paying off my car
-PCCB
-my old, but renewed oboe
-a friends Christmas tree she gave me for a lunch (remember mine busted last year..hahah)
-my slanket
-Irish Cream & coffee
-Canadian Whiskey & ginger ale
-plans on Thanksgiving night (haven't had 'em in a few years)
-the hope and renewed sense of life the new year brings with it
-a new sweater that ironically is going to look great with the jewelry my momma just gave me.

Cheers to Thanksgiving!  May everyone's be as family and friend filled as I plan for mine to be. 

Thankfull

I looked back the last 3 years of November posts and no Thankful posts...so maybe it's time and fitting that I remember all the things I am thank-full for (life has been a bit dreary lately).
So here are some, in no particular order:
my family
true friends, my chosen family
hope
opportunities
Deathly Hallows Part 1
holidays full of family, friends, celebrations and games
the gym
smart advice
in advance, I'm thankful to the person who listens to me finally let go of all my recent thoughts
Northwest Missouri state playoff games

And while I'm sure I'm thankful for much more.  That's it for right now.
2 days this week and then a 5 day weekend. That is something to be thankful for!!

thoughts

What are your thoughts on career transitions?  What kind of career could a teacher transition to?  What are the odds that I'm even going to find something else?  Is it better to be miserable and have a good pay check or to be struggling happily with a smaller one?  I'd really love to have some opportunity come my way.  I will answer that door. 
Please be on the look out or have an ear out for the opportunity that I'm looking to come my way.  The more looks and ears I have the better my chances.  The universe has something else for me, I just know it.

today

just because I feel like telling someone.

woke up at 6 am
went to work at 7am
worked until 5 pm
came home
took a shower
did some multi-tasking:  worked, watched glee, made some awesome delish chicken soup with stuffing
and here we are now writing a blog to avoid doing more work and seemingly feeling lonely since all I want to do is tell someone about my damn day.

*sigh*

blessings

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Thank you to Sarah Thomas for posting this on facebook, letting me read it and reminding me that every moment I have with my inner city youth is a moment that they should feel enriched and loved.  I can be a better model to the students regardless of whether I'm getting my paper job done or not.  I can be the change I want to see in the word regardless of whether the paperwork is finished in a timely matter.  I can be a person they can look up to and develop goals because of regardless of whether the GLE or DOK is written on the board.  I can be a good memory from their childhood regardless of whether attend that meeting or not.  

 

Soups

I think I've decided two things about cooking this winter.  1.  I need a dutch oven.  2.  I'm making soups and stoups this winter.  If anyone has good down home soup recipes or knows of good websites, email them my way.

Also, I got a lot of good deals this weekend which may result in a smaller social life for the next two weeks, but I now am a first time owner of a Columbia fleece, new asics for running and several other awesome buys - those were the two big ones.  It was definitely a good weekend for shopping.  I don't regret any buys! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner - I'm thinking a mix of Tyler Florence, Ina Garten, and Rachel Ray - mostly Tyler. 

Oh, I hate day light savings.  Nothing makes me want to hibernate more than the sun going down at 5:30.  Boo.

boiling

Do this, You're not doing that, Don't do this, These are what you should have, Instructional activity is only when the teacher is actively engaged, every lesson should have informal and formal assessments, assessments are not instructional activity, differentiated instruction should be on the drop down box, you have to copy and paste all your curriculum into new forms so you have the drop down box, the human element, someone must do 6th grade math tutoring, it will be you, you should do it more than one day a week, no grades in for 2nd quarter, goal tracker, new lesson plans for this year, I don't teach the same thing every year, you need to rewrite this, i need to read everything you do, flippant, have your white notebook out so observers can look at it, word walls, don't tape anything up on the walls, can't always log into the student computers, keep a data log within your curriculum and on goal tracker, you are accountable for your caseload, be a successful case manager, is this on your radar, plp everything, update positive behavior support plans, goal tracker, rewrite curriculum, copy and paste so it has a drop down box, there's not enough teacher notes, differentiated instruction, dok, gle, activities, instructional activities, practice and homework, differentiated instruction, bell work, objective, goal tracker, reading plus, lexia, passkey, read 180, sometimes you can't log on to student computers, desks not tables, rewrite curriculum, assessments are not instructional activity, every lesson should have an assessment, engaged, advance organizers, similarities and differences, lecture, kinesthetic, auditory, visual, I am not visual, goal tracker, reds, do your own testing, 30 days - including days you don't see the child, 10 day suspensions, manifest destiny, manifestation determination, put the kids name with the parents name on nom, don't call reading resource reading resource, priorities, goal tracker, plp it, print off the draft, re do, rewrite your curriculum, is this on your radar, goal tracker, i'm auditory, differentiated instruction shouldn't be seen.