Hunger Games Weekend

So this weekend has big plans, or big plans compared to what we usually do. Today I am meeting my friend, Sarah, to watch a matinee of The Hunger Games, then I will return to tutor an eighth grade student in mathematics. Who knows what will happen this evening, but I am thinking of making a pineapple sheet cake and shrimp Alfredo, cheddar biscuits and tomato and pesto baked slices. Tomorrow we are up early in order to be volunteers for the Eastern Regional Special Olympics bowling! I am very excited to work with the athletes and to help out.

Monday, I am working with a fabulous team of educators and administrators on a project in a middle school. The school was chosen to work with Erik Carter of Vanderbilt University on creating a "peer support" program in their school for students with disabilities. This is a fabulous project and the possibilities are endless. The middle school is doing a great job, and I am lucky to work with them. Monday is dress down day for Autism Awareness and I am excited to participate. Let's see how Monday goes.

Little Bee is coming along. This book has beautiful language, but the story is really sad. I love how the author chooses words and describes pieces, but I am enjoying how the book itself is written.

I started taking cardio kickboxing with Joana at a local community college. It was so much fun! I am looking forward to taking my next class on Thursday and also to practice the things we learned last week. It makes me feel more powerful and also work out my aggression! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Still on the house hunt and still looking at ways to finance.

On the whole life is good!

ASCD 2012

Having spent the last two days in Philadelphia at the ASCD conference, I have had a blast. I love the invigorating feeling of being surrounded by other educators who are interested in learning. I have gathered great ideas for creating literacy plans, integrating 21st century technology skills into teaching and my trainings, purposeful lesson creating, bridging the digital divide, PLC development. Listening to famous speakers and now wanting to read the book the checklist manifesto... I have had a wonderful time.

Eating at the Reading Terminal Market, and El Vez, have both been highlights and I love sleeping in a quiet room with the AC cranked up.

It is time for sleep and one more day to do some professional learning.

I am reading a book with beautiful language and a haunting story. I am not very far, but I cannot put it down. Little Bee is my current story. Amazing how I have only been gone since yesterday morning, but I so miss Regan. I can't wait to tell him about the sessions and to see him. It will be soon enough. He'll be there when I get home tomorrow about 4-5pm. I cannot wait to be in my own space.

What a wonderful experience! Giving me ideas of my new foci for professional development.

Good sleep and getting work done

I woke up today and was awake. That never happens. Ready for work early and went in to begin some things that had found themselves on the bottom rack lately.

Good day at work, got lots done and had a good annual evaluation and meeting with my new supervisor. Waiting to see if R gets a job he has applied for. Please keep your fingers crossed. He'd be so good at it if given the chance.

Then I went tutoring and came home to prepare for my trip tomorrow to observe some classrooms and to coach the teachers in using the literacy pieces we have been providing for the teachers. Tutoring was good and got some good data and I am really impressed with the student I tutor. She is so kind and smart and works hard at learning her subjects and her homework.

But gotta get some sleep soon, busy weekend starting tomorrow.

Sinuses and Classes

So today, I got lots done. I went to the doctor about my congestion and got a prescription for a sinus infection. She was able to send it straight to my pharmacy through an app on her iPad. So cool. It's amazing how technology can change how we do things so quickly.

Then I ran into work quickly and picked up some resources that I wanted at home, and saw my friend, Natalie! Working on her day off. That's dedication, or just having too much to do.

I then went to the grocery store and to Target for the script. Finally found bean sprouts at Wegmans. Pad Thai for dinner!

Class was going along well and we got to work in groups for our book clubs. I am reading "The Book Whisperer" which was a BRILLIANT book. Makes me want to be back in the classroom to try these things out! But the frustration at working through the group process is difficult. I need to work on allowing myself to go with the flow and allow the group to make the decisions.

Do I feel that this is a group project? Not really. But that is ok, and sometimes learning is not about me and my learning, but the learning of others and the learning that I need to do to deal with these types of situations.

I made pad thai for dinner and it was delish. I am starting to really enjoy cooking and making food as long as I have time to get the meal together.

Thinking about food for tomorrow night.

Reading "Of Mice and Men" and want to get a little further into the story. I currently am feeling very resentful at the character whose name is George. I am under the impression that he treats Lenny in a very subordinate way, due to his intellectual disability. Hopefully the characters will evolve and not leave me feeling such disdain towards this one character.

Off the King of Prussia tomorrow for a training on supporting students with complex support needs to learn grade appropriate content. Kinda a shocking theory but I believe it can be accomplished and all based upon the idea of "presuming competence". So my plan is to help groups get through to be able to work standards-based instruction into their lessons for students with complex support needs. Good stuff and exciting. Makes me think of how to introduce UDL principles to others.

But I'm tired and its taking over.

Monday Musings

This day I had off from work and spent the day doing laundry and surfing pinterest. I organized things and finished reading "Her Fearful Symmetry". Tomorrow I have grad class and need to do some things ahead of time for work on Wednesday. We ate some grapefruit and then some quinoa salad. I had a gyro for dinner which was delish.

Decisions are being made about the house hunt and I am aware that I should send in my taxes soon. This coming weekend will be nutty since I am going to be gone all weekend at the ASCD conference in Philadelphia.

Made some garlic chickpeas for snacking tomorrow and am planning on making pad thai tomorrow. The budgeting is coming along nicely and we are able to save money from the tutoring that I am doing and the help that Regan gives to his elder friend at Moravian Village. Every little bit counts.

But today's lesson for me to learn is that I need to be careful to be kind to Regan and vice versa. I like to treat each other well and I like to be treated well as well. So this is one of my goals that I am working on.

Sunday House Hunting

Today was another day. Woke up feeling crummy. My ears hurt and my sinuses and also in my teeth?? I took some serious cold medicine and decided to go to the grocery store myself and let Regan sleep. I got some good stuff at the store, but cannot find bean sprouts anywhere! I was hoping to make pad thai one of these days. I'll check again at Weis tomorrow.

Then when I got home we decided to go to a few open houses. We saw some interesting pieces that we liked and Regan fell in love with a home in Bethlehem with a finished basement! It was the first finished basement that he had seen. That home also had a 1950's retro kitchen which was super interesting.

When we came home, I crashed and then decided to read a book "Knucklehead" by Jon Scieszka. It was a great memoir and quite an inspiration for my own biographical information. A nap was taken and basketball and tennis were watched throughout the lazy afternoon. No good wins! Except Federer.

Things are good, but I should probably break down and do some more work for my class tomorrow and some stuff for special olympics and then head to the doctor. I need to do better about getting the allergy shots weekly.

Exciting times in our little lives, can't wait to find the dream home.

St Paddy's Day 2012

So today was spent trying to feel better from the fever that woke me in the middle of the night. I watch two fabulous March Madness Games last night and fell asleep dreaming of playing basketball against LeBron James. Who knows?

We had chicken breakfast sausages and fried eggs, and toast. Should have forgone the toast but I wasn't that successful.

Regan and I spent the day watching Moneyball and Flip this House. I made some quinoa and chicken curry which was lovely. Now onto some teavanna tea and bed. but I wanted to write down the food and healthy eating we were trying out today.

Glad we decided not to drive to Boston, too sick and it would have been a long trip.

I'll post more tomorrow about the book I am reading and if we decide to go look at open houses.

Should be doing better at blogging.

What a sad state of affairs if I am blogging about eating on St Paddy's Day. I have become truly a mad cat lady.