We are half way through our TCAP testing! Only two more tests to go. Our students are doing fabulously!
Since my last post, Vince and I have worked the 2013 Bunny Run Car Show and had a great time. The recycling was very successful.
I am now managing the new Jackson Rod and Custom club website! check it out at: www.thebunnyrunjacksontn.webs.com It is still under construction, but it is doing well. I also set up a facebook page for the Bunny Run.
I have managed to finish my lesson plans for the last two weeks of school. The Game of Life has a new event! The students will be going out to dinner. Let's hope they can manage their budget correctly. All papers are copied and all important resources are laminated.
I have registered for the Paducah show, and signed up for a small class. I wanted an item I could finish in one class period, so no big quilts for me this weekend. I still need to cut my fabrics and gather my supplies. That may be an activity for Thursday night! My friend Janice is coming along with me, so we will have a grand time!
Here is the current countdown:
3 more days until I go to Paducah for the Quilt show!
11 more days until my birthday!
17 more days of actual school!
23 more days until the end of school!
37 more days until I arrive in New Jersey!
40 more days until Rob and Isabel's party in New Jersey
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Countdowns
Life is all about numbers.
While we should live for today and not for some future day, it is still exciting to think about future plans!
Thus, I have my countdown for the next two months or so. I am excited about what I will be doing in the future as well as those loved ones I will see!
Of course, there are some other nifty events occurring this month, such as the School Banquet, The Bunny Run Car Show, and TCAPs.
21 more days until I go to Paducah for the Quilt show!
29 more days until my birthday!
30 more days of actual school!
41 more days until the end of school!
55 more days until I arrive in New Jersey!
57 more days until Rob and Isabel's party in New Jersey
While we should live for today and not for some future day, it is still exciting to think about future plans!
Thus, I have my countdown for the next two months or so. I am excited about what I will be doing in the future as well as those loved ones I will see!
Of course, there are some other nifty events occurring this month, such as the School Banquet, The Bunny Run Car Show, and TCAPs.
21 more days until I go to Paducah for the Quilt show! 29 more days until my birthday!
30 more days of actual school!
41 more days until the end of school!
55 more days until I arrive in New Jersey!
57 more days until Rob and Isabel's party in New Jersey
Monday, March 25, 2013
Spring Break-Monday
Just in case you have not been keeping up with the connections between my health and time off from school, I usually am ill. I have no idea why that happens, but it does.
This Spring Break is no different. Last Wednesday, I began to have a bit of congestion and a sore throat, and by Friday I was suffering from a bout of laryngitis. Fortunately, two days of mostly sleeping has conquered the majority of the problems and I am ready for my Spring Break!!
Today, bright and early, we adventured to the big city of Jackson, TN. Mom and I had appointments with the dogs at the vet, and we decided to combine it with a few errands in Jackson.
My friend Beverly and I wanted to look for a new Bible Study guide for our church group. We met at LifeWay Christian Store and if it was not for Beverly, I would still be there deciding. She found me in the Bible Study section sitting on the floor, surrounded by several options. I was reading through the ones I found, trying to decide if the curriculum would meet our needs.
She mentioned having read The Case For Christ, while in school. She explained that Lee Strobel was an atheist who decided to prove that Christ did not exist. In the course of his research, he found otherwise. Now there is a study available on this and several of Lee's other books. We decided on this one as it appears to meet our spiritual needs. I picked up a copy of the book to read for myself!
After we left Lifeway, Mom and I took the dogs to Petco. Kashmir, Narnia and Lizzie had great fun wandering through the toy aisles and the treat aisles. They each picked out a toy and decided on one bag of treats that they would share. They reminded me that the parakeets needed seed, so we picked up a bag of seed for them as well.
Next, we went to one of my favorite places--It's Sew Easy--the quilt shop. I purchased some lovely fabric to make a quilt for the daughter of a dear friend of mine. Of course that has to get in line behind my son and daughter-in-law's quilt!
Upon arrival at the vet's office all our babies were excited to be out of the car once again. Unfortunately, they recognized the office and did not want to go in. I had to push Narnia in and then Kashmir followed. We sat in the waiting room, and Kashmir was quite content as she found a corner to hide in. Narnia just kept whining and trying to be a lap dog. Imagine 65 pounds in your lap!! When it was their turn on the scales, we found that Kashmir and Narnia have gained 8 pounds each since last year. They definitely need to cut back on the treats!
In the exam room, I get to sit with one dog at a time while the other goes for her shots and testing. Kashmir found another corner to hide in, so that was not too bad. Narnia, however, spent her time whining and barking and howling for her sister. Thankfully, they were back together soon. When the vet came in for the actual exam, Narnia tried to be a lap dog again. It was quite funny to see how attached she was to me! Kashmir's turn found her trying to sink into the floor. She would not get up for the exam, and when we lifted her up, she was like a boneless dog. She just hung there.
Whew! We finally finished that and were able to leave after scheduling Narnia's teeth cleaning for Wednesday. Isn't it great that I am off this week so I can tend to the dog's medical needs?!?
We made it home uneventfully and I am waiting on the iron to heat up so I can press the quilt pieces I just stitched together. The wedding quilt WILL be pieced this week! I have all of the arcs pieced and once I press them, will lay them out in their pattern and begin putting the top together. YAY!
This Spring Break is no different. Last Wednesday, I began to have a bit of congestion and a sore throat, and by Friday I was suffering from a bout of laryngitis. Fortunately, two days of mostly sleeping has conquered the majority of the problems and I am ready for my Spring Break!!
Today, bright and early, we adventured to the big city of Jackson, TN. Mom and I had appointments with the dogs at the vet, and we decided to combine it with a few errands in Jackson.
My friend Beverly and I wanted to look for a new Bible Study guide for our church group. We met at LifeWay Christian Store and if it was not for Beverly, I would still be there deciding. She found me in the Bible Study section sitting on the floor, surrounded by several options. I was reading through the ones I found, trying to decide if the curriculum would meet our needs.
She mentioned having read The Case For Christ, while in school. She explained that Lee Strobel was an atheist who decided to prove that Christ did not exist. In the course of his research, he found otherwise. Now there is a study available on this and several of Lee's other books. We decided on this one as it appears to meet our spiritual needs. I picked up a copy of the book to read for myself!
After we left Lifeway, Mom and I took the dogs to Petco. Kashmir, Narnia and Lizzie had great fun wandering through the toy aisles and the treat aisles. They each picked out a toy and decided on one bag of treats that they would share. They reminded me that the parakeets needed seed, so we picked up a bag of seed for them as well.
Next, we went to one of my favorite places--It's Sew Easy--the quilt shop. I purchased some lovely fabric to make a quilt for the daughter of a dear friend of mine. Of course that has to get in line behind my son and daughter-in-law's quilt!
Upon arrival at the vet's office all our babies were excited to be out of the car once again. Unfortunately, they recognized the office and did not want to go in. I had to push Narnia in and then Kashmir followed. We sat in the waiting room, and Kashmir was quite content as she found a corner to hide in. Narnia just kept whining and trying to be a lap dog. Imagine 65 pounds in your lap!! When it was their turn on the scales, we found that Kashmir and Narnia have gained 8 pounds each since last year. They definitely need to cut back on the treats!
In the exam room, I get to sit with one dog at a time while the other goes for her shots and testing. Kashmir found another corner to hide in, so that was not too bad. Narnia, however, spent her time whining and barking and howling for her sister. Thankfully, they were back together soon. When the vet came in for the actual exam, Narnia tried to be a lap dog again. It was quite funny to see how attached she was to me! Kashmir's turn found her trying to sink into the floor. She would not get up for the exam, and when we lifted her up, she was like a boneless dog. She just hung there.
Whew! We finally finished that and were able to leave after scheduling Narnia's teeth cleaning for Wednesday. Isn't it great that I am off this week so I can tend to the dog's medical needs?!?
We made it home uneventfully and I am waiting on the iron to heat up so I can press the quilt pieces I just stitched together. The wedding quilt WILL be pieced this week! I have all of the arcs pieced and once I press them, will lay them out in their pattern and begin putting the top together. YAY!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
How do others see you?
I do not often give a lot of thought to how I am perceived by other people.
I do what I do because it is the right action to take, the right activity, the right words, whatever the situation is, I work to do what is right.
I am not perfect, no one is. However, I work hard to improve myself daily. I believe that I have a purpose, and while I do not know exactly what it is, I work to be the best I can be every day.
Recently, Mr. Eads (the principal of our school) informed me that I had been nominated for Teacher of the Year for our school, and asked if I wanted to accept the nomination. After I finished laughing, I gave serious thought to this honor.
I asked myself how I compared with other teachers at my school. I don't have the most experience. I am only in my second year of teaching Language Arts, so I am constantly changing my lesson plans to improve them. I also am somewhat rebellious in that I do not use our textbook all the time. I would prefer to teach my students about a subject relevant to their lives while incorporating the required State Standards into our lessons. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time writing lessons and searching for non-fiction reading passages that fit with my lessons. I am sarcastic. I know this and that it can be unintentionally perceived differently than I intend. Therefore, I work to get to know my students so that I know which students can handle the sarcasm and which ones I need to tone it down with. I love my students, they are such wonderful individuals. It is because of their diverse personalities, learning styles and learning abilities that I go to school every day to teach. I devise my lessons to reach different levels of learning. I work picture books, games, music, art, and novels into my lessons. I change seating arrangements, so the students can work independently, with partners or small groups. They have opportunities to get up and move around the classroom for different activities.
In the past 6 years of teaching, I have worked to obtain additional resources for my classroom to enrich the educational experience for my students. (all of it free of cost to me!) This year has been one of the most exciting ones so far. The technology I have obtained has really improved my student's engagement in class.
Well, my thoughts continued to ramble along these lines and I realized that while I may not be the best teacher in our school, I was doing a good job. So, I accepted the nomination.
On Friday of this week, Mr. Eads sent out the ballot. I was one of several teachers nominated who had accepted. No, I did not vote for myself. I still felt that there are other more qualified teachers in our school.
This afternoon, I received an email from Mr. Eads indicating that I had been chosen Teacher of the Year for our school! Well, once I finished laughing, I told my mother-in-law, who was with me at the time.
I still find it funny, but it is a good funny. I am honored that my colleagues think enough of me to elect me as their representative in this competition.
So, obviously, others see me differently than I do myself. Perhaps I need to be reminded of my good deeds from time to time and relax.
I do what I do because it is the right action to take, the right activity, the right words, whatever the situation is, I work to do what is right.
I am not perfect, no one is. However, I work hard to improve myself daily. I believe that I have a purpose, and while I do not know exactly what it is, I work to be the best I can be every day.
Recently, Mr. Eads (the principal of our school) informed me that I had been nominated for Teacher of the Year for our school, and asked if I wanted to accept the nomination. After I finished laughing, I gave serious thought to this honor.
I asked myself how I compared with other teachers at my school. I don't have the most experience. I am only in my second year of teaching Language Arts, so I am constantly changing my lesson plans to improve them. I also am somewhat rebellious in that I do not use our textbook all the time. I would prefer to teach my students about a subject relevant to their lives while incorporating the required State Standards into our lessons. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time writing lessons and searching for non-fiction reading passages that fit with my lessons. I am sarcastic. I know this and that it can be unintentionally perceived differently than I intend. Therefore, I work to get to know my students so that I know which students can handle the sarcasm and which ones I need to tone it down with. I love my students, they are such wonderful individuals. It is because of their diverse personalities, learning styles and learning abilities that I go to school every day to teach. I devise my lessons to reach different levels of learning. I work picture books, games, music, art, and novels into my lessons. I change seating arrangements, so the students can work independently, with partners or small groups. They have opportunities to get up and move around the classroom for different activities.
In the past 6 years of teaching, I have worked to obtain additional resources for my classroom to enrich the educational experience for my students. (all of it free of cost to me!) This year has been one of the most exciting ones so far. The technology I have obtained has really improved my student's engagement in class.
Well, my thoughts continued to ramble along these lines and I realized that while I may not be the best teacher in our school, I was doing a good job. So, I accepted the nomination.
On Friday of this week, Mr. Eads sent out the ballot. I was one of several teachers nominated who had accepted. No, I did not vote for myself. I still felt that there are other more qualified teachers in our school.
This afternoon, I received an email from Mr. Eads indicating that I had been chosen Teacher of the Year for our school! Well, once I finished laughing, I told my mother-in-law, who was with me at the time.
I still find it funny, but it is a good funny. I am honored that my colleagues think enough of me to elect me as their representative in this competition.
So, obviously, others see me differently than I do myself. Perhaps I need to be reminded of my good deeds from time to time and relax.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Living in the Light
I volunteered to teach Sunday School again. My first lesson was about Lightness and
Darkness. There are many references to
light and dark in the Bible. Regardless
of your religious affiliations there is a lot of truth to the fact that many
of us
live in our own sort of darkness.
So, what do I mean by Darkness? It is not necessarily the physical absence of
light, such as you would find on a cloudy, moonless night or in a windowless
room. Darkness is portrayed by many
feelings such as sadness, depression, apathy, ignorance, guilt, selfishness,
fear. It can also be the innocent
acceptance of other’s ideas. For
example, often on Facebook, ‘friends’ will post a comment about a current
event. A little research can prove
whether this is a factual or fraudulent comment. Are we that willing to accept what others say
as Gospel or truth? Why have we become
so lazy in our lives? Do we enjoy living
in the darkness? Are we not a more
advanced society than we were 100 years ago?
If that is so, then why are there so much evil in the world? Evilness is another form of Darkness.
What does it mean to live in the light? Once again it is not a sunny day or a room
filled with many lamps. Lightness comes
from within, just as Darkness does. You
can recognize that Lightness is the opposite of Darkness.
Lightness portrays itself as happiness, love, empathy, respect, peace, joy, patience, gentleness,
self-control. I believe that life is
much better when I live in the Light. It
is not easy to live in the Light. In
fact, for many, living in Darkness is easier.
It takes courage and effort to live in the Light. I often tell my students that they need to ‘do
the right thing’. Living in the Light is
like that, doing the right thing in every situation. That may sound impossible to you. In fact, it may well be impossible to do the
right thing EVERY time. Is it not worth
the effort though? I believe it is.
2012 has been another challenging year for me. I have dealt with a lot of happiness and
quite a bit of sadness and frustration.
Through it all, I have persevered.
My efforts to live in the Light have been what pulled me through. It is easy to sink into Darkness, but that is
not where I want to be.
Where are you? Do you
live in the Dark or the Light? Is there
where you want to be?
Saturday, August 4, 2012
The 600--After the Yard Sale!
Yes, I had ANOTHER yard sale. This one was in conjunction with my friend Janice's yard sale. This time, however, I did NOT have the most stuff of the participants! Janice had me beat my 1000's of items. I had a fairly successful day, and I know that Janice had a fabulously successful day!
So, today, I sold or gave away:
| black binder |
| bike bell |
| cups/bowls/plates |
| cooler |
| shoulder bag-luggage |
| 5 percy jackson books |
| bible atlas |
| curtain pattern |
| 2 yards fabric |
| 2 insulated cups |
| 3 pitchers |
| onion keeper |
| 3 computer games |
| 3 airplanes |
| 2 cake pans |
| quilt marking tools |
| bag of pens/school supplies |
| notebook briefcase |
Of course, this is what I can remember. I did not keep a tally as I did in my previous yard sale. So here is the current status of the 600:
Total removed: 514
Total received: 56
total remaining: 86
I am finally under 100 items! I believe that I will accomplish my goal of purging 600 items before the extension is finished.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
the 600. After the Vacation!
I did make some purchases as gifts for my friends and family. Of course, a few for me as well! So, here is the status on the purge of 600 items!
Today, I gave away this styrofoam box. A very reliable freecycler named Richard is now the proud owner of this box. It was originally used to ship something here (I have no memory of what!) and we saved it thinking we might have a use for it. NOT. So, it is now gone.
I have also given Beverly my Tree. I created this tree from Matte board. It was used in a writing project in the beginning of the school year. The white squares are velcro where I attached Leaves with the students' names on them. The writing assignment was entitled "I'm turning over a new leaf" and focused on what changes they were going to make in the new school year.
Today, I sold a book on half.com: Photo courtesy of amazon.com!
Total given away: 419
Total received: 46
total remaining: 227
Getting there!
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