I'm one of those people who really enjoy "people watching". In this day and age, I believe time has evolved with a modern day people watching called "status watching". I can get just as much sheer enjoyment and entertainment from facebook posts as I can from sitting on a bench at the mall. Some statuses/posts make me laugh, put me in disbelief, annoy the heck out of me, or make me ponder, anyways...you get the point.
First of all, there are the dinner statuses, you know the ones. People post every portion of their menu except for the the type of plate it's sitting on. This post serves two purposes for me. Number one, you've made me hungry and number two, you have reminded me of how I suck as a wife because while I read your post, my frozen Bertolli meal is in the oven.
Let's see, then there are the song lyric people. These people can find any event in their life or any emotion during the day and associate it with a song lyric. When I read a post that doesn't make a lick of sense, I usually contribute it to being a song lyric because more than likely, I've never heard the song or could even begin to guess which one it comes from.
Moving on...we all know the copy and paste status people. Who knew every week of the year was dedicated to something? Brother/ sister/ cousin/ mother/ father/ aunt/ uncle/ grandma/ grandpa/ pet week, crime show lovers week, friend week, shark week, football week, book week, craft week, I stubbed my toe week, etc. I mean...Hallmark should jump on that.
Among my top favorite are the debate starters, however; these are not the people I love. It's the people who disagree with the post starter that do it for me. I love these people. The debate starter is then so appalled that someone could not agree with them, that they have to post back and wah-lah, you have a real live debate.
The complainers---my life sucks because I couldn't find an outfit to wear, I'm sick, the car wouldn't start this morning, I was late to my meeting, they didn't serve double chocolate chip muffins on the buffet, I broke my favorite coffee mug...the list goes on and on. Hey, if nobody will listen to vent about how the world hates you that day, I'm there for ya babe!
There are the dog/child posts--Hello people, I think what my dog/child does is the cutest thing in the world and you should to...so take a look! (guilty as charged on that one!)
Finally, we have the teacher posts---We love our job because not only did our precious students do or say something cute that day but we get summer break, fall break, spring break, snow days, and pretty much every holiday off...we're making the world a better place by educating the future of our country and we don't mind that we work 15 hours a day and get paid a fraction of our law makers because like I said, we love our job AND...it's 10 times better than what you chose to do might I add. We are not entitled, we're just sayin... :0)
Until next time...
Sep 24, 2011
Sep 8, 2011
The memories that mold us.
Looking back...my life has been filled with and surrounded by love (and still is). You know those stories that are told over and over again when you get together with family? These memories and experiences have shaped who I am today so I thought I'd share some of my favorite past time stories on a little trip down memory lane. People who know my family and have watched me growing up will probably enjoy this post more than others...but in case you aren't one of those people, I think you might chuckle at least once...so keep reading...and I'll try not to disappoint.
Spending the majority of my childhood on a farm, I had my fair share of pleasant and not so pleasant encounters with nature. From climbing trees and four-wheeling around the farm to being bitten on the bottom by a goose (decide for yourself which one is the most unpleasant) I had a lot of fun growing up! By the way, do you know how fast dog ears can flop up and down when you're being chased by a squawking bird? Who knew a goose could be so hostile? I've also learned some valuable lessons that haven't really been all that applicable in my adult life (so far). For example: putting a kitten in a bucket and putting the bucket on your head; I would not recommend doing this with a bucket that has a strap...it gets caught under your chin and you can't get the bucket off! And let's just say I can probably teach you to get down from a roof faster than you can say, "Nana's getting a switch...run for your lives!!"
Growing up with a brother five years older than me, probably landed me with more bumps and bruises than those with younger siblings. It's amazing how, as quick as a flash, a regular day can turn downhill; I would guess in the amount of time it takes one to get body slammed while practicing wrestling moves. These days, I often forget that I'm not as resilient as I once was...like when it comes to playing flag football. Correction: when it CAME to playing flag football.
My childhood aided in choosing my career path as well. There were really only two options I had to decide between once I got to college. Because my cousin made a better student, than Teddy Ruxpin did a patient...teaching was the obvious choice!
Having a portion of my family originate from England, I've learned what good chocolate tastes like. I've also learned that there are many places to hide said chocolate. It's this experience that taught me I should not grow up to be a detective.
While these stories are based around my family, I can't leave out the many sleepovers, karaoke to spice girls, and dancing the macarena on chairs I experienced with my friends. These adventures are what taught me I'd never be a performer! I have the best friends that would do anything at the drop of a hat, they care about my happiness and love me for who I am despite all the teased bangs and stirrup pants we've been through.
While these are some of my most notable events, I know that there are many in the world who could only dream of precious memories such as these. I pray that each and every one of us holds something of our past in our hearts that we can look back on and smile.
Until next time...
Spending the majority of my childhood on a farm, I had my fair share of pleasant and not so pleasant encounters with nature. From climbing trees and four-wheeling around the farm to being bitten on the bottom by a goose (decide for yourself which one is the most unpleasant) I had a lot of fun growing up! By the way, do you know how fast dog ears can flop up and down when you're being chased by a squawking bird? Who knew a goose could be so hostile? I've also learned some valuable lessons that haven't really been all that applicable in my adult life (so far). For example: putting a kitten in a bucket and putting the bucket on your head; I would not recommend doing this with a bucket that has a strap...it gets caught under your chin and you can't get the bucket off! And let's just say I can probably teach you to get down from a roof faster than you can say, "Nana's getting a switch...run for your lives!!"
Growing up with a brother five years older than me, probably landed me with more bumps and bruises than those with younger siblings. It's amazing how, as quick as a flash, a regular day can turn downhill; I would guess in the amount of time it takes one to get body slammed while practicing wrestling moves. These days, I often forget that I'm not as resilient as I once was...like when it comes to playing flag football. Correction: when it CAME to playing flag football.
My childhood aided in choosing my career path as well. There were really only two options I had to decide between once I got to college. Because my cousin made a better student, than Teddy Ruxpin did a patient...teaching was the obvious choice!
Having a portion of my family originate from England, I've learned what good chocolate tastes like. I've also learned that there are many places to hide said chocolate. It's this experience that taught me I should not grow up to be a detective.
While these stories are based around my family, I can't leave out the many sleepovers, karaoke to spice girls, and dancing the macarena on chairs I experienced with my friends. These adventures are what taught me I'd never be a performer! I have the best friends that would do anything at the drop of a hat, they care about my happiness and love me for who I am despite all the teased bangs and stirrup pants we've been through.
While these are some of my most notable events, I know that there are many in the world who could only dream of precious memories such as these. I pray that each and every one of us holds something of our past in our hearts that we can look back on and smile.
Until next time...
Sep 4, 2011
What's in a name?
So, I've been wanting to blog for a while now and didn't know where to begin. Well...that's not entirely true, I knew where to begin but the difficulty came with deciding what to name my blog. My thoughts reflect back to my 5th grade (amazing) English teacher who taught me the importance of having a good title. That's how you grab your reader's attention and then if your writing is worth reading you'll keep them throughout. Have I lost you yet?? Any who, I went to the extremes of googling blog titles and that resulted in zilch. Then I thought maybe I'd try some proverbs from the bible, I thought that would be cool since I'm on an ongoing spiritual journey; however, while some posts will be about my faith and others won't I decided I wanted to broaden the content of my blog and highlight the randomness through my title. Then...BAM!!!!! It hit me! My blog will be about random things I'm thinking about or happenings of my life or the people in it...and I say to people ALL the time that my best thinking is done in the shower. (In fact, I said it today...just ask my friend/coworker Crystal if you don't believe me.) So I googled the first title that I came up with (even though I didn't love it) just to make sure it was grammatically correct; I'm a teacher people...it has to be right! When I did that, a shower advertisement came up that said empower your shower and Wah-Lah I had a blog title! I'm quite proud of it actually, so if you don't like it, don't tell me. Haha! Now, I know some of your best thinking comes from the shower too so just to humor myself, and for your reading pleasure, I found an article entitled "20 Reasons Why Many People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower" (apparently their English teacher didn't give them a lesson on good titles).
Article: 20 Reasons Why Many...
Just in case you're interested, my personal favorite is:
16. Albert Einstein also did his best thinking near a shower.
I'd say I'm on to something. I mean if Albert did it...
Until next time...
Article: 20 Reasons Why Many...
Just in case you're interested, my personal favorite is:
16. Albert Einstein also did his best thinking near a shower.
I'd say I'm on to something. I mean if Albert did it...
Until next time...
Sep 3, 2011
Where does the time go?
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments So Dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How do you measure--measure a year?
*Teaching*
I'm always learning new, interesting things to try in my classroom. I'm currently participating in a Learning to Read, Reading to Learn professional development. With this training I will learn more ways to create proficient readers through the different components of reading. We did a Making Math Magic training this year so I'm consistently figuring out and trying to remember ways to incorporate the materials and games in math. Also, within the past two years we've had Ipods, laptops, and Ipads purchased for use at Alvaton. I incorporated these into my small groups last year and would like to be proficient in using these types of technology to benefit my students. I've told myself with all of the new things being implemented this year at school, that I'll incorporate one new thing at a time, because it can be very overwhelming to have so many things going on!! I'd rather do one thing wholeheartedly than a bunch of things halfheartedly.
*Crafting*
I love crafting and can spend hours in my craft corner. I've always thought about creating cards and selling them. People will pay big money for handmade things that they cannot make. I consider it a success if I have cards made for my friends and loved ones birthdays! I love experimenting with vinyl and would love to sell gifts decorated with vinyl. Last year, I made a couple of Christmas ornaments decorated with a monogram in vinyl and I'm currently pricing some ornaments to sell to a girl my mom works with. I have also sold several car decals. In addition I created a monogram wall decal for our house that I've yet to put up. I enjoy working on our scrapbook and our "vacation" scrapbook is a work in process. I would like to finish this and possibly redo some of the first pages of our wedding scrapbook that I did before I had my cricut.
*Blogging*
I've recently discovered the wonderful world of blogging. Right now, education blogs and friends' blogs are what I enjoy reading.
*Pinterest*
I've joined pinterest tonight and am just imagining the ways that this is going to fill up my time. There are so many cute ideas on there!! If only I can figure out how to use it properly...but that of course will take more time!
*Exercising*
I've been a member of BAC for about 2 months and have found a love for some of the classes offered. Who knew one could look forward to exercising, much less enjoy it??
I try to remember to take it one day at a time and not to commit to more than I can handle. I also prioritize the things that are most important. I can't believe I asked myself what I would do with my time once I got out of grad school! I'm blessed to have a passion for so many things; I really wouldn't have it any other way. I know that God has provided me with a passion for these things because it's centered around my passion for Him. That's what keeps me from getting stressed. What would life be like if you didn't love anything or find anything enjoyable? God provides for us in ways such as these that go unnoticed... and He still loves us! There are also some things I'm working on internally and in prayer and that too I take one day at a time. Taking into account all of this and I often find myself muttering the words, "where does the time go?"
Until next time...
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments So Dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How do you measure--measure a year?
*Teaching*
I'm always learning new, interesting things to try in my classroom. I'm currently participating in a Learning to Read, Reading to Learn professional development. With this training I will learn more ways to create proficient readers through the different components of reading. We did a Making Math Magic training this year so I'm consistently figuring out and trying to remember ways to incorporate the materials and games in math. Also, within the past two years we've had Ipods, laptops, and Ipads purchased for use at Alvaton. I incorporated these into my small groups last year and would like to be proficient in using these types of technology to benefit my students. I've told myself with all of the new things being implemented this year at school, that I'll incorporate one new thing at a time, because it can be very overwhelming to have so many things going on!! I'd rather do one thing wholeheartedly than a bunch of things halfheartedly.
*Crafting*
I love crafting and can spend hours in my craft corner. I've always thought about creating cards and selling them. People will pay big money for handmade things that they cannot make. I consider it a success if I have cards made for my friends and loved ones birthdays! I love experimenting with vinyl and would love to sell gifts decorated with vinyl. Last year, I made a couple of Christmas ornaments decorated with a monogram in vinyl and I'm currently pricing some ornaments to sell to a girl my mom works with. I have also sold several car decals. In addition I created a monogram wall decal for our house that I've yet to put up. I enjoy working on our scrapbook and our "vacation" scrapbook is a work in process. I would like to finish this and possibly redo some of the first pages of our wedding scrapbook that I did before I had my cricut.
*Blogging*
I've recently discovered the wonderful world of blogging. Right now, education blogs and friends' blogs are what I enjoy reading.
*Pinterest*
I've joined pinterest tonight and am just imagining the ways that this is going to fill up my time. There are so many cute ideas on there!! If only I can figure out how to use it properly...but that of course will take more time!
*Exercising*
I've been a member of BAC for about 2 months and have found a love for some of the classes offered. Who knew one could look forward to exercising, much less enjoy it??
I try to remember to take it one day at a time and not to commit to more than I can handle. I also prioritize the things that are most important. I can't believe I asked myself what I would do with my time once I got out of grad school! I'm blessed to have a passion for so many things; I really wouldn't have it any other way. I know that God has provided me with a passion for these things because it's centered around my passion for Him. That's what keeps me from getting stressed. What would life be like if you didn't love anything or find anything enjoyable? God provides for us in ways such as these that go unnoticed... and He still loves us! There are also some things I'm working on internally and in prayer and that too I take one day at a time. Taking into account all of this and I often find myself muttering the words, "where does the time go?"
Sep 1, 2011
Sign Language: I Love You
As I'm minding my own business today, driving to work, just checking some facebook...I hear some honking which obviously gains my attention (distracting me from the road and more importantly my newsfeed...just kidding) and I see some motion through the windshield of a car in the opposite lane behind me. I thought, what is going on? Now as far as I know (I mean I was on my phone), I didn't cut this person off or break any major traffic laws so that leads me to believe they were irritated I was on my phone. Last time I checked, texting was illegal not facebooking! How do I know this person is irritated you ask, well they proceed to flip me the bird over and over again and ensure that I'm aware of it because they are shoving their hand so hard through their horn I'm surprised they didn't deploy the airbag. This got me thinking about other times I've received the 1 finger salute...or times I've witnessed others receiving it. Have you gotten it? Relating this topic to one of my favorite movies, I remember "Just Married" with Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy when they are driving the little yellow european car that he references as a tonka truck. BTW, my favorite quote in that movie is...wait for it...Sarah says, "Baby just floor it!" and Tom says, "I am flooring it! If I pushed any harder, my foot would blow through the floor and we would be Flintstone-ing our bottoms* there!" (censored*) That cracks me up. Any who...back on track. This old lady flips them off in that movie and she kind of reminds me of how that person looked today, grumpy and miserable. I have no idea if it was man or woman because I was more focused on the determination and effort they were putting forth for me to see them. We could all use some determination like that in our lives for sure; maybe channeled in a more positive manner. Even though this person didn't get an emotional reaction from me, I hope it made them feel better. I'd hate for their day to be ruined by me. Now if they'd just take that finger, fold it down, raise their index, pinkie, and thumb...
Until next time...
Disclaimer...I totally know I was in the wrong by being on facebook while driving and that doesn't condone my behavior or make it anymore superior than my friend I made today.
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