In Asheville

So this weekend my sister Kelly and her fiancé rented a cabin north of Asheville! They invited my mom and me to join them and we drove up today. It is Kristen's birthday. She would have been 30 today, so likely Aunt Donna said, she really is forever 29! But this is a fun way to celebrate her birthday! Here are some pictures of the cabin and the area around it! We are REALLY in the boonies! And there is actually an outhouse! Thank goodness we don't have to use it! Well, it seems like I can't upload pictures on my iPad. So I'll have to upload them when I get home. It is beautiful out here!

Currently

olw - one little word
I got this from Farley's blog! 

It's been a year

I can still see it so clearly...

She walks in, hair wind blown, of course, from having her windows down. (No matter how hot it is - that's the way to drive she says.)  Her huge smile graces her face showing bright white teeth.  She hugs me, teasing me at the way I don't squeeze very hard. So she squeezes harder, giving me a little back scratch with her short nails. I squeeze back, giggling.  I notice how warm she is, from having the windows down and the sun shining on her.  She's holding a cup, seems like she always walked in with a cup.  Don't know what was in it ;)  She talks of her latest love:  scuba diving, tattoos, cooking, gardening, making soap from scratch, whatever it may be.  She's got her phone with her, ready to text back with her help if the restaurant is having a problem.  She raves about whatever we are eating.  She uses the word, "awesome."  She glows.  She radiates.  She shines. She's lovely, she really is.

And I miss her. So much it hurts.

(This is something I wrote last year about my sister Kristen.)

By Emily Dickinson

I SHALL know why, when time is over,
And I have ceased to wonder why;
Christ will explain each separate anguish
In the fair schoolroom of the sky.

Dog pictures and more going green

Sorry but I just have to share some more pictures of my adorable dog!  I got a new lens for my SLR and it makes me feel all artsy when I take pictures.  And this picture of Kelly and Toby is so pretty I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it!

Also, earlier this week I talked about how I worked on canceling my subscriptions to several catalogs that I get in the mail.  Today, I worked on canceling some junk mail.  I get Bank of America junk mail EVERY WEEK.  You would think they would get the point by now:  I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR CREDIT CARD!  :) Here's the website you can click on to get out of these mailings:  Stop Bank of America Junk Mail.  Another credit card company that has been very persistent is Chase!  I get so many offers from them! I'm pretty sure I get one per week. Here's the link for them:  Chase Mailing Options.  I'm so excited to see how this actually works and hopefully save some trees. 

(One suggestion I didn't take but thought was funny is to take the postage-paid envelopes and stuff them with your junk mail and send them back to the company.  How good is that?!)

Zumba

Quick blog tonight because I'm TIRED!  Did Zumba for the first time in a long time...it was fun!  Here's an example if you've never heard of it.

Oh yeah and I looked NOTHING like those girls while I was doing it! :)

Two days down!

I'm proud to say that my sister Kelly and I have completed TWO, yes TWO, days of working out!  And I have also spent two days eating very healthily.  Last night I had a dream (after my amazing workout) that I had already lost a ton of weight and my pants were lose. Then I woke up and remembered that I had only completed one amazing workout and even though miracles have been know to happen they didn't happen for me last night.  I'm pretty sore tonight thanks to a machine that Kelly and I call the crazy bike.  This thing is really crazy and I'm sure I look pretty manic when I'm using it!

School was GOOD today.  I know! It was so great I was wondering who had replaced my kids??!  Well, I did have one kid scream out "what the f..!" when I asked him to put his homework in his bookbag, but you can't ask for perfection right?

I also spent some time watching Passion again tonight and it was so good.  I watched Francis Chan preach and he is so passionate and real that I just love listening to him.  One soundbite from his talk:  "I'm going to BEG you to read this book (Bible).  Be consumed by it. Read it for yourself."  It reminded me of something that is said a lot at my church that is the answer to so many questions:  "It's the Word. It's the Word. It's the Word."  I forget that but it is true.  Every time I open the word I realize how true it is.

I found a new blog today:  Equip and Empower.  She said that things are hard to do when you say that you HAVE to do them.  For example, I have to workout.  I have to do my Bible study.  I have to go to church.  They are much easier when you say that you WANT to do them.  I want to be healthy.  I want to grow to be more like Jesus. I want to spend time with the Lord.  So, I'm going to work on changing my thinking.  Instead of HAVING to do things, I'm going to WANT to do them.

Some totally random thoughts

• I started watching Passion tonight.  "Is there something in you that to be brought back to life again?" Oh yeah.  Thanks for asking.  "Jesus has the willingness and power to raise  the dead!" That is so what I needed to hear. It's actually taking place in the Georgia Dome right now.  They are SOLD OUT at the Georgia Dome. That is amazing to me. Well, it has been such an encouragement. I was texting Melody and telling her that I feel so out of it because it is for college students!  But it is so good!  One thing they said is that 27 million people are actually in slavery right now.  That is more than double the American slave trade in America's history...they are trying to raise a million dollars to work on saving the people who are in slavery.  I have a feeling that I will have a lot more to say about Passion after I watch more.
• I worked on canceling my subscriptions to a lot of catalogs today.  I have never requested them but somehow I get sent about a dozen a week which is such a waste of paper.  All you have to do is google "unsubscribe from catalog pottery barn" (or whatever catalog). I canceled 5 tonight.  Some of them you have to have your customer number from the back of the catalog so I will have to wait for the next ones to come in to take care of them.
• School went okay.  I started my new token system and the kids seemed to be motivated to earn their tokens.  But they are so hard to keep under control.  Really, one off topic call out from one the kids can get the whole class going and then I have to stop everything and get control again.  Which doesn't sound bad until you do it over and over again! I'm praying for a better day tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big day

Back to school, back to school...I feel like Adam Sandler on the first day of school.

So I'm all ready with my new token system and my Smart board presentation. My lesson plans were finished 2 weeks ago. Copies made 2 weeks ago.  Let's see how it goes and if I can remember what the heck I was talking about on those lesson plans!  Here are some pictures of the Smart board I made. I'm going to spend a while tomorrow morning going through these procedures and explaining the token system.

By the way, why did I decide to do 30 straight days of blogging?  Couldn't I have done 3 times a week or something? ;)

On my mind

my Ishy...

I'm a fan...

I don't think there is a way for me to adequately express my excitement about today's activity!  My sister and I are big "Army Wives" fans.  She found it on Netflix and nagged me until I started watching it.  Well, we took a trip to see where they film the show!  They weren't filming today but I'm sure we are going to go back once they are!

This may seem kinda dumb but I put our pictures with the pictures from the real show so you could see.  First, a picture of the administration building where General Holden works...

Next, we saw Claudia Joy's house with fake vines!

 And the pergola outside her house.

 It's hard to see, but in this picture there are lots of ropes and pulleys...our guess is that is part of the camera and lights stuff.

Then, THIS WAS THE COOLEST PART, we were driving really slowly through the area, and a man was working in one of the houses marked with the Army Wives yellow tape.  He waved at us, we waved back, and then he waved us toward him!  We GOT TO GO INSIDE!  I was just a little excited and accidentally drove over a sprinkler, so sorry Army Wives outside set designer!  Well, this house hasn't been used on the inside yet because it is being restored.  He said that on the next season, this will be the general's house.  It was gorgeous.  Here are some pictures of it. First, the upstairs balcony (that had been staged at one point for AW.) Next, a view of the beautiful front door and a view from the upstairs curved staircase.  And last from the end of the walk.

Suffice it to say that if I had my camera there would be a LOT more pictures but these are from Kelly's iPhone!

Mission impossible?

All I wanted to do today was find two things:  a plastic organizing thingy and tokens.  If you're a teacher that doesn't sound strange at all!  I got this idea to help me not go crazy with my class.  There are two main problems I have with them:  they don't. stop. talking. and they are always wanting more and more rewards and fun things given to them.  I guess I was spoiled for the past 3 years because I looped with my class. They were awesome and we were truly a family.  It seemed like they really cared about me and I was CRAZY about them.  They were intrinsically motivated, attentive, and all around awesome.

Enter this year's class.  I had a fabulous classroom economy set up, alternative seating (beanbags and lapboards), choice assignments, etc.  I was forgetting one main thing when I planned all those things...these kids were a NEW group!  They were not coming to me ready for all of those totally awesome things that I worked hard to get ready.  I had been warned about this rising group but I figured I could get them under control once they got into my class.

So the first month was a total disaster.  I modeled and demonstrated and taught my expectations like crazy, but it didn't work.  The kids couldn't handle it, even though I think they really wanted to.  I took everything away and went to a total old school discipline system.  You earned rewards if you didn't get in any trouble, and if you did get in trouble you earned silent lunch, no recess, phone call home, etc. 

THAT didn't work either! In the process I was getting so burned out.  My kids who were good started  thinking their rewards weren't enough. "Is this all we get?"  Ungrateful kids are just so not cool.  Then, even the kids I thought I could count on started to be disrespectful and talkative.  I never thought I'd be this teacher...but I was totally the teacher who hated her job and didn't want to go to work.  It's a vicious cycle, because I'm sure the kids can tell and then they don't try their best.

I still don't have the answer.  Christmas break came just in time.  I feel so rejuvenated and ready...well, not really ready, but less dreading going back. 

So back to the original topic:  my two shopping items.  I am going to set up a token system with my class.  Well, if I can find tokens! I went to 4 stores, found the organizing container but no tokens.  I may end up using these flat glass marbles that I already have at school.  I will just have to write the kids' numbers on them very quickly when I get to school on Tuesday!

Basically, all the kids have 10 tokens with their number on it.  When they do something great, you put one of their tokens in a bag.  Then, whenever you need a helper or have an occasion where you need to pick someone, you chose from the bag.  I think this will emphasize doing great things and not emphasize a physical reward that the kids are expecting all the time.  At the end of the week I can pull a number of tokens and give out rewards, but I may not because I can just see the tears if certain kids' numbers don't get pulled.

I'm just brainstorming, but here are some things I want to start implementing/teaching on Tuesday:

• the token system
• new expectation posters for different times of the day (arrival, teaching time, working time, transition times)
• gratefulness (HOW DO I TEACH THIS? :) )
• maximizing my time (pull a small group even if I have just 10 minutes before the next thing)

 I'll be sure to update with how it actually goes!

New year and other topics

Did you notice the new blog design? For those of you (2 of you) who read this in a reader you should check out what the actual blog looks like! I was bored last night.

New Year's Eve is really not a big deal to me.  Most of the time I'd rather stay home and go to bed at a somewhat normal time.  Last year, I went to a party at a friend's but was actually home by midnight. That's the way I roll.  I usually don't make resolutions but this year I've been inspired to make some goals.  I was reading this blog and loved his ideas.  So here are mine.They are more specific and task oriented by design. (By the way, Kelly, I wrote these in my planner!)

1. Decorate and paint the laundry room.
2. Decorate and paint my bathroom.
3. Begin a new classroom management plan so that I can go less crazy. (I already picked one out. More on this later.)
4. Blog 
5. Clean the garage and paint the inside wall.
6. Lose lbsssss (and go to the gym).
7. Fix up my lighthouse picture frame so that it better matches my living room colors.
8. Finish my current Beth Moore Bible study and at least one other one.
9. Save $$ each month for a new car.
10. Use more green/homemade cleaning stuff.

These are specific so that I can actually check them off when they happen!  And I do have a # in mind for #6 but I thought I would keep that to myself.

In other news, "The Bachelor" is coming on Monday!!  If you have time for a laugh you should check out Knox McCoy's take on the girls.  They are all pretty disappointing at this point.  What is really interesting is that McCoy rates each girls' hotness and I happen to disagree with him on many of his opinions.  But I guess I'm not a guy so what do I know about girls and their hotness?

Next, I really like this little graphic.

from smbc

And finally, I leave you with this cute little picture I took last night.  Isn't it cool how the whole lamp is glowing?

In which I illustrate my nerdiness

The strep throat is on its way out and so I had the ability to actually get up and out of the house today! And it is so sad, because I had so much fun on my outing.  First I went to Best Buy and bought a nifty cable to connect my computer to my new TV! So now I can watch Netflix (i.e. Army Wives) on my new TV!  Next I went to Wal-Mart and the experience was so nice! (I know, weird huh!) It was quiet, people were smiling, and I found everything I wanted.  I bought the things to make homemade detergent and also bought a bunch of Christmas wrapping paper that was 50% off.

So now that I shared that totally unnecessary information, let me share more!  Once I got home I hooked up the nifty cable and I even took a picture of it so that I could show it on my blog. (NERD)

So, in case you couldn't imagine it, there's my computer on the bottom, and the same picture is up there on the TV screen! 

Next I made the detergent which I am SO excited about!  Here are the ingredients.  Then I had to grate the bars of soap (it looked like cheese!) and then mix it all together. It smells great. I also bought a very fancy glass canister at Wal-Mart to store it in.  

Can you see that small scoop there?  That's how much you need to use for each load.  In other words, this is going to last FOREVER! I just added it up - it was $15.87.  It's supposed to last a year, and if that's true I'll be saving a lot! I usually spend at least $10 every couple of months.  So there you go!

I also bought a small bottle of "Seal Gray" paint that I'm going to test in my bathroom. I would really like to find a pretty gray color to paint in there, so we'll see if this is the right one!