So I Was Just Thinking

Two months have now passed since my friends and I decided to work together to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow path towards our individual goals. This month someone got the bright idea that we should write songs (okay just lyrics) to express our individual Words for the Year. Let's start with Peggy from Middle Aged Rambling s: "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas. "Where is the Balance" Listen to what your body and feelings are telling you Like most things in life, It takes practice and experimentation. We need to make adjustments, As we go along. We need to stop and reflect, To see which parts of our life, Are out of Balance. Then take the steps, To put them back in Balance. So remember to stop and ask yourself, Where is the Balance..... Where is the Balance..... Where is the Balance...... Next on our list is the AVTCoach who has written a wonderful song inspired by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele's song "A Wonderful Wo...

As many of you might remember, my word for the year is discipline. In my quest to live a more disciplined life, I haven't gotten very far, but my journey is at least 3.5 miles (5.6 km) farther than it was the day before. Recently, I was talking to my friend J at school. She said, "Girl, you gotta lose some weight!" (You can say things like that to your real friends.) I gave her that look, like, "You better look in a mirror!" (Yet another thing friends can do.) She then qualified her statement with, "Yeah, we both do." That's when we got this brilliant idea that since her daughter would be at swim practice everyday after school, I would go meet her during practice, and we would walk the nearby track. We worked out an agreeable schedule and planned to meet Tuesdays and Fridays. I don't know if she believed I would follow through, as that is so against my nature, but she didn't know about my search for a more disciplined life. So I think she w...

...since I last posted? Where has my brain been? On hiatus obviously? What has occurred over the past week and a half? Quite a bit. Of course there is the usual After School Tutoring, Child Taxi-ing, and Saturday Schooling all on top of my own dance classes. I am still living in the "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" mode which I have told myself I wouldn't do anymore. Old habits die hard. I don't believe too many super-memorable worth-mentioning things happened from from the 6th until the 13th, but Friday the 13th was a bonus day! My students had a Valentine's Day party. The student council sold candy grams of which I got EIGHT!!! When I got home, my husband showed me a package I had gotten in the mail and a slip for another package that was waiting for me at the post office. I immediately tore into the package which had been tightly wrapped and taped. It was almost as hard to get into as Fort Knox. When I finally made it through the last piece of paper, I discovered...

According to the quiz, I appear totally irresistible but inside I am an electrifying siren. Once I have fluttered your eyes and caught someone in my spell there is no way out. As soon as I have sacrificed one victim I am already on the lookout for the next one. Haha! Very funny! If you notice, I am only 65% her personality. Makes me wonder what the other 35% is. Who do you think you are? Take the quiz to find out.

I was just over at Octamom's and she has a new giveaway from Homeschool Boutique . Many of my friends homeschool and if my husband does move to the Philippines for a year (now looking less likely fortunately,) I am going too with my two kids and I will more than likely be homeschooling my two children. I have great respect for homeschooling parents who are able to teach their kids, keep them involved in outside activities and still keep their sanity. I barely do that as a traditional teacher and mom. Anyway, if you are interested in the giveaway, read about it at Octamom's site. Homeschool Boutique has more than just homeschool products. I've really got my eye on either one of her totes with MOM written in blingy or a t-shirt that says I teach. So head on over and get signed up today!!!

I have the most interesting class in the world. Working with students who are primarily gifted offers me unique experiences everyday. They have very focused interests, but each one is interested in something else. Planning learning activities that will appeal to them, then, provides me with a daily challenge. Today, however, I have found something that has kept them engaged for going on 30 minutes now. They are solving problems like the following: KEY + KEY=OPEN (I haven't figured out how to stack this vertically on the blog, but you get the idea.) Each letter stands for the one of the numbers, 0, 1, 3, 4, 6 or 7. They had no problem when the numbers were given to them to choose from, but when we gave then NO + NO = YES and no number choices we had a blast figuring out all the combinations. Finally I had them create their own and had their peers figure them. It has been interesting, especially when they bring them up for me to solve and I have to show them their thinking errors. Su...

Friday I had to go the doctor. I hadn't been to a doctor except for strep throat in five years. Why so long? The exact reasons escape me, but I am sure memories similar to situations like the following are a contributing factor. I will try to avoid TMI. Doctors' offices are generally only open for regular check ups on work days. This entails taking a 1/2 day off to take care of yourself. Every time I have to log-in to the website to request a substitute teacher, I ask myself, "Is there some other way? This 1/2 day is going to pile on to all the other days I take off for my children. I am going to have to write detailed sub plans describing every minute thing we do everyday out of habit." Yet I bite the bullet and request the sub anyway and take the morning off. Now that I have the appointment I have to remember it. Not my strong suit, but remember it I do. I get there the requisite 15 minutes early at 8:15 a.m. I check in to the receptionist who knows me well because ...