This is Halloween....

Well, it has been an unusually slow night for trick-or-treaters, so I'm going to blog and hand out candy when the doorbell rings.

I've got my $5 Target glittery jack-o-lantern t-shirt on today that I get to wear once a year and a ton of candy. I'm hoping that things will pick up soon. I've got sound effects playing through the window, glowing pumpkins, spider webs, the whole works! The thing is, we have a lot of elderly people on this street who just turn off all their lights and don't give out candy. Sad, huh?

Today at school it was not too Halloweenie...

The kids are allowed to wear costumes, but they aren't allowed to wear gory make-up and they have to wear their costumes over their uniforms. Naturally, the motivation to wear costumes is minimal! That's OK. The gross and scary costumes are really popular in the neighborhood where I teach.

After school, the classroom behind mine was hosting a haunted house and a HUGE line of kids formed when the bell rang. I stood out by my classroom's back door eating a lollipop and chatting with kids and parents.

Because I was in the middle of all that noise, I didn't hear my cell phone ring. It turns out my cleaning lady, who comes every other Friday, had tried to set my security system and then tripped it. The security company called me, my cell, my mom, then my mom called my cell twice. Long story short, the security company called the police, who had 2 cruisers come to my house.

My mom handled it and was able to get a hold of the security company, as did I, after going through a ridiculously long phone menu.

So back to tonight, which is too quiet! At least all the kids are really polite. We don't really have mischief makers during Halloween around where I live. I'm grateful for that.

And, tell me if I'm being petty...

The neighbors next door keep using my driveway (our driveways are side by side) even though I've asked them not to. They're nice enough people, but kind of clueless. Today there was a big ol' black mark across my driveway from the tires turning. I'm annoyed. It's a rental next door, which is a drag. I know that in the grand scheme it is not that big a deal, especially considering my previous post, but still...

Amy

It hardly seems possible, but we learned today that my 38 year old stepsister, Amy, passed away. She was rushed to the hospital on Saturday, needed to be put on a respirator, and by Monday had no brain activity. We are stunned. The picture above was taken in June at my grandma's 90th birthday party.

Amy's mother, Judie, was married to my dad for 25 years until he passed away in 2006. She studied at UCLA. Amy is survived by her husband, Juan, and her 6-month old son, Jackson. Please keep her mother, husband, and little boy in your prayers.

Animator vs. Animation

Today my cousin, Dov, sent this very cool link. Who would've thought that an innocent-looking little stick-figure guy could be so ambitious?

Click the picture below, then click the word "Play" and just watch...

A Day of Intense Teaching and a Night of Intense Tiredness...

I'm actually so tired right now that I'm practically walking into walls, but I'm happy with the day. I felt like I taught, taught, taught, with no down time at all. We're teaming for ELD (English Language Development,) which means that for the first 40 minutes of the day I only have about 1/2 my class. Another group of kids come from the room next door. Their language level is what determines their group.

It is taking a lot more day-to-day preparation than I am used to. Usually, most of my energy goes into teaching, not planning, because so many things are pre-planned within the programs.

For the rest of the day I was still very "on." We talked about story structure, summaries, verbs, content vocabulary, common factors, and greatest common factors.

On top of that, I forgot my lunch box, which was fully packed with a hearty lunch, but left behind on the kitchen floor next to the fridge. I was not in the mood to deal with mysterious cafeteria food. I called my mom and she was nice enough to drive the 10 miles and bring it to me. It also gave her a chance to see our Smartboard in action. Like anyone seeing it for the first time, she was astounded.

Our productive day ended with me pretty tired , but one of my good friends had asked if I was free in the afternoon to give her a little tutorial on the Smartboard. We worked with it for an hour. My next door neighbor joined us for a while.

I arrived home just thankful to be home. It was hot today and we all worked very hard. Still, it is a good kind of tired. When I compare my tiredness to last year's--which was marred by the numerous behavior problems--this year's tiredness is one that is OK.

A funny joke to share...

A nun gets into a taxi, and notices that the Cab driver, (a very
handsome man) is staring at her. She asks him why he is staring.
He replies: "I have a question to
ask, but I don't want to offend you."

She answers, " My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old
as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance
to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's
nothing you could say
or ask that I would find offensive."

"Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me."

She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do
about that: #1, you
have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic."

The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and
Catholic!"

"OK" the nun says. "Pull into the next alley."

The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would
make a hooker blush.

But when they get back on the road, the cab driver
starts crying.

"My dear child," said the nun, "Why are you crying?"

"Forgive me but I have sinned. I lied and I must confess;
I'm married and I'm Jewish."

The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a
Halloween party."

Alexander and His Great-Grandma...

Yesterday my mom and brother took my nephew, Alexander, to see my grandma (I was at work and couldn't go.) She hasn't seen him in about 4 months, which is a long time when you're watching a baby grow up. He was a little nervous to be held at first, but only for the first few minutes. These are treasured moments that we need to take advantage of...


And yes, it IS 4am right now. Bailey (dog) woke me up to go outside. But I'm going right back to sleep...Zzzzzzz

Woo hoo! 1000 Visits!

My blog's counter just rolled over 1000 visits. Cool...

Keeping them coming and I'll keep writing! Thank you for visiting and a big thank you to my loyal readers!

Ron, Opie, and Richie all endorse Obama...

Here is a light segue back into political mode. Thanks, Midge, for posting this on Facebook!

It was a little bit big for the Blogger layout, but you can click on the link:

Ron Howard's Call to Action

43 Odd Things...

I promised myself that I would never use my blog to post a survey, but I want to show that I'm not just a heavy-handed Democrat--as my latest writings may reflect. So, here goes. My cousin, Laura, emailed this today:

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes

2. Have you ever drank? Water? Milk? Soda? Juice? Tea? YES. Alcohol? NO

3. Do you own a gun? No

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite as a kid? Whatever was at a friend's house. My mom did not buy Kool-Aid

5. Do you get nervous before a doctor appointment? Not really.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? If it is the turkey hot dogs, that's fine, but not often.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Home Alone

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Sometimes tea or...Pepsi. Yes, I like soda in the morning!

9. Can you do push ups? If my life depended on it.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I have several--all the sentimental stuff

11. Favorite hobby? Hmm...taking care of my house/garden/pets, being musical, and blogging...

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I don’t think so...oh look! A kitty!

13. What's your weight? You first

14. Middle name? Michelle

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: School, tired, want to watch Brothers and Sisters from last night

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Milk, water, Pepsi

17. Current worry? Obama--he'd better win. I also feel really bad about what Jennifer Hudson and her family are going through right now...

18. Current hate right now? Prop 8

19. Favorite place to be? With my family and friends--favorite place is Carmel, CA

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Quietly. I'm not much for parties.

21. Where do you want to be right now? With Brad

22. Name three people who will complete this? Well, since I'm not resending it, I have no idea. Maybe Emma on her blog.

23. Do you own slippers? Somewhere. I don't wear them.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Kind of a light peachy-colored blouse...

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? If I ever sleep on them, I'll let you know

26. Can you whistle? Very well

27. Favorite color? White

28. Would you be a pirate? Only for the cool outfits and lots of "Arr's" (I saw something funny that said "To err is human, to ARR is pirate." heehee)

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?? I don't sing in the shower. But I sing everywhere else.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Lily

31. Favorite boy's name? Daniel and Christopher (except my 3 most recent Christophers in my classes have been handfuls)

32. What's in your pocket right now? More pocket

33. Last thing that made you laugh? My students

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Laura Ashley

35. Worst injury you've ever had as a child? A football-sized bruise on my thigh when my brother pushed me against the toy box.

36. Do you love where you live? Yes. I adore my house and love my street.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2

38. Who is your loudest friend? (said with love) Cathy

39. How many dogs do you have? 1, Bailey

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I have a feeling--yes

41. What is your favorite book? I have many, not just one

42. What is your favorite candy? Milky Way Dark

43. Favorite Sports Team? I always root for the US at the Olympics, but other than that, no real loyalty to a certain team

OK! That was fun and pointless!

You know you're in trouble if...

...the largest newspaper-- in the state where you are governor-- endorses the OTHER candidate. Sorry Sarah Palin! Maybe some shopping with GOP donations will take the edge off.

ARTICLE: Alaska's Largest Newspaper Endorses Obama

Myths About Prop 8. The last time I'm writing about this.

OK, now that I have everyone’s attention with my pretty new header, here are some things MYTHS about Prop 8.

The “yes” ads say that schools will have to teach that gay marriage is “okay.” Schools do NOT teach about marriage. I’ve been teaching school for 12 years (Kinder, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.) Never once have I ever been required to teach about marriage in the classroom. In addition, “okay” is an opinion. If the district told us we had to teach that gay marriage was legal, there is a difference between the words “legal” and “okay.” A wise teacher knows the difference, would define the word “legal” and move on. The California Teachers Association (which includes almost all CA teachers) is against Prop 8 and very unhappy about the way the “yes” ads are scaring people into thinking that their children would be taught about gay marriage in school. That is an absolute lie. If the kids bring up any controversial subject that we are not required to teach, we are fully within our rights as teachers to say, “This is something you need to talk to your parents about.”

The overturning. “Yes on 8” ads are telling people that this is all about getting rights back that were taken away from us when 4 judges overturned previous CA votes. Another lie. Back in 2002 CA had something on the ballot called Prop 22. Prop 22 was kind of the same idea as Prop 8, and equally unconstitutional. Let’s define what “unconstitutional” means. It means that people are being treated differently under the law. The “4 rogue judges” overturned Prop 22 because it was unconstitutional and should never have been put on the ballot.

The last myth is that churches will be forced to marry gay couples. Here is what the 1st Amendment of the constitution says:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This is called the Establishment Clause, which, if you read it carefully, actually PROTECTS religions so that the government cannot tamper with their doctrine. The actual “separation of church and state” clause can trace its history to this:

[Thomas] Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 to answer a letter from them written in October 1801. A copy of the Danbury letter is available here. The Danbury Baptists were a religious minority in Connecticut, and they complained that in their state, the religious liberties they enjoyed were not seen as immutable rights, but as privileges granted by the legislature - as "favors granted." Jefferson's reply did not address their concerns about problems with state establishment of religion - only of establishment on the national level. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," which led to the short-hand for the “Establishment Clause” that we use today: "Separation of church and state." (www.usconstitution.net)

And lastly, remember this: voting a Yes on 8 will set a precedent, as most votes do. Today it is the gay community’s rights that are taken away. Sure, they’re an easy target. But who will be next? Maybe you.

NO on 8.

A new look...

I fully intended to have a Halloween look to my blog, and I did--for about 2 hours. But then I decided to make a new header over at Scrapblog.com in honor of the upcoming election.

And, while Halloween is a lot of fun, there is so much riding on this election that I wanted to focus on it instead.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! Scrapblog is so fun. And easy!

Dimes in the Hamper

This is the bottom of my hamper.

It all started one day weeks ago when I was doing laundry and discovered 1 dime at the bottom of the hamper. Apparently it had fallen out of a pocket. Probably change from the Coke machine at school.

In a moment of complete apathy, I left it there.

Several days later, another dime appeared at the bottom. Amused, and still not remembering ever getting a dime in change from the Coke machine, or anywhere else, I left it there too.

A couple of weeks later, yes, you guessed it, another dime lay at the bottom of the hamper.

A philosophical person might say that this is some sort of metaphor--that treasure appears where you least expect it.

A crazy person might think that some sort of wacky Dime Fairy has been secretly visiting my house and leaving dimes behind to test my sanity and rate my reaction.

A miserly person might look at the situation in a bemused but optimistic way, hoping that the dimes will continue to multiply, perhaps even evolving into coins with more value, like quarters, or dare we say, silver dollars. There could be a possible fortune at the heart of this mystery.

As for me, I have some philosophical days, I consider myself to be quite sane, and few people would characterize me as miserly.

I am, however, intrigued with the dimes at the bottom of the hamper. If nothing else, they motivate me to do laundry *slightly* more often.

SNL keeps having fun with the election...

Some past cast members--Tina Fey, Will Farrell, and Darrell Hammond bring Palin, McCain, and "W" to life...funny!

Blog fairy...elf...whatever...

MySpace vs. Facebook.

Blogger vs. Wordpress

Each site has their pros and cons. I wanted to try a Wordpress blog. I really like the fact that you can have multiple pages within a site, which I don't think Blogger has, but then Wordpress doesn't seem to allow for all the decorating options like Blogger does. Still, I wanted to try it.

My family draws names for Christmas so that everyone doesn't buy for everyone. We've been doing it for years and, for us, it has always worked out really well. If there are 3 people in your family, you buy for 3 people.

Somehow, long, long ago, I ended up as the person collecting all the wish lists. (I probably took over someone else's job...) Back in the pre-historic/pre-computer days we had cute little forms and people would mail them to me and I'd make copies for everyone and mail them back. Sound like a hassle? It was. It made for some mighty fat envelopes too.

Then email was born and that made life SO much easier on this weary Christmas elf. But now, we're moving beyond that. I wanted to try a Wordpress blog that would not require a lot of time and energy, so I decided to create one for the family Christmas wish lists. I'm actually pretty happy that I came up with this idea. Have a visit. Click on the picture above.

INSOMNIA: The Musical

You would think that after teaching for 12 years and having to deal with a 5:30am wake-up time I would learn how to get my body on a schedule. Usually I'm really good about falling asleep at a decent hour (and I am, naturally, a morning person,) but once in a while, Night-Owl Kristie takes over.

Last night I absolutely could not fall asleep. This is the 3rd time this has happened this year and it is horrible. I lay there and the hours click by and I'm wide awake. Sometimes I can even take a sleeping pill and it will do nothing. I try to avoid taking them. I'm worried that someone will find my lifeless body days later if I take them too often...

So I decided at 2am that I had to call in sick. I do consider being sleepless a kind of sick. The more tired I get in my sleepless state, the more I start coughing, getting a sore throat, and getting achy all over. My job requires 110%, and if I know I can't be at the top of my game, then that's a problem and everyone suffers. Clearly, going to work with 3 hours sleep would create such a problem. Fortunately, I saw on the online sub site that my absence had been filled by a sub I have confidence in.

This morning I caught up on the sleep I should've enjoyed last night and woke up at 9--a very late time for me. Then I went on the karaoke site and did some singing, which I find very relaxing. And now I'm going to try to salvage what is left of this day and take my car in for some much needed service. Still, I hated having to take a sick day for sleep.

THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE

I MADE IT THROUGH THE RAIN

I WRITE THE SONGS

WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND

Somehow, it turned into an homage to Barry...

Clint, the Microphone is Yours...

Aside from the presidential election, the most heated issue in California is Prop 8. I won't even get into what Prop 8 is, because everyone probably already knows.

People are really getting aggressive about their feelings on Prop 8, churches are talking about it and even putting "Yes on 8" signs outside of their buildings. At the carnival at the Catholic church around the corner this weekend there were parishioners at a booth handing out yard signs. (Does "separation of church and state" not exist anymore? Where was I when that happened?)

Now, the great thing about having your own blog is that you can pretty much say whatever you want to say and it is your own space to say it. I, personally, am against Prop 8 (as many Democrats are,) but here's my dilemma:

• I'm LDS (short for Mormon)
  
• I'm a Democrat (a rare breed in the Mormon church)
  
• I have many LDS friends (and former Brigham Young University roomies)
  
• I have many gay friends--in fact, 3 of my closest friends are gay.
• I love and respect all of my LDS friends and all of my gay friends.
  

I've been wanting to say something about Prop 8 for weeks, but how do I do that without alienating any of my LDS friends or my gay friends? I'm hoping that their opinions of me outside of the political issues will work in my favor.

But this is what I know: at the end of the day, we must each vote based on our conscience, not based on what anyone else is telling us. I know that I have to face myself and my God and my judgment, and it is my belief that being more inclusive is being more Christ-like. It saddens me to see gay people feel so reviled by religions. When I saw those signs outside the church around the corner I thought to myself, "What if there is a gay person in this parish who is struggling with his faith and is coming to church for some sort of solace?" The message they are getting is that they are not wanted there.

It also saddens me to see some "Yes on 8" people hiding behind all of the legal jargon associated with it or blindly following what they hear at church without making up their own minds (I'm speaking generally, not specifically.) I respect people who feel strongly in favor of Prop 8, but I hope they are being honest with themselves and others about WHY they are in favor of it.

Tonight I was on Facebook, where I joined a group for Mormon Democrats called the LDS Left. I was reading the message board and a guy who was clearly a conservative Republican had written some very strong comments in favor of Prop 8. But he didn't stop there. He also called into question anyone's testimony who was against it. Now you could tell that this guy loves a fight--why else would he put such a post on a site where he was sure to get pummeled?

(If you have the stamina, you can read the thread here. It is draining just to read, because people are very vocal on this subject...)

Many people did pummel him, but it was one particular comment that really impressed me. A girl named Natalie wrote back and informed "Dan" that it was not his job to question people's testimonies or why they were members of the Church, which he did. She also recommended a blog for him to go and read called Soy Made Me Gay.

The blog is written by a guy named Clint, who is Mormon and gay. When I read some of his posts--which are both humorous but incredibly insightful, I realized that he did all my work for me on the things I had planned to write here. But his basic message is this--no matter how you feel about Prop 8, be sensitive to others when discussing it, don't assume that someone who disagrees with you is stupid or lacks faith, and choose your words carefully.

Thanks, Clint, for getting the job done.

By the way, you have to admire this guy's courage. He "came out" to his entire congregation at a testimony meeting. That takes real guts.

And one last thing: NO on 8.

Hmm...this doesn't look good...

I'm sure glad that I'm not a Democrat living in Alaska. My taxes would be paying for her kids' plane tickets and hotel bills. No, no, no...

ARTICLE: Alaska Funded Palin Kids' Travel

I do not like that woman.

Good on Me, Good on Them

Today was an extremely productive day in the classroom. I was nervous about this morning, because it was our first day teaming for ELD (English Language Development,) but it went OK. I didn't plan a lot because I figured it would take a while to get organized with the kids from other rooms, but it only took a few minutes.

And then, the angel that watches over all teachers gave me a little boost, and, on the spot, I came up with a lesson. ELD is more about listening and speaking than reading and writing, and my little activity gave the kids a chance to practice their speaking. When another group of teachers sent back some of my kids and I had 38 kids in the classroom for 20 minutes, they still did great. I was amazed.

The rest of the day was busy and fulfilling and the kids were their normal well-behaved Monday selves. Now I'm a "happy" tired--the best kind of tired to be.
That looks like my school laptop (the one hooked into the Smartboard,) which is old and in desperate need of replacing...and that cat looks like how I feel. Nighty night.

Film Review: The Secret Life of Bees

After staying after school an average of 2 hours every day this week, I was in desperate need of a "me" day today. Thanks to Facebook, I am recently back in touch with a long-lost friend who is also a massage therapist. She came to the house this morning and we multi-tasked--she gave me a fantastic 90-minute massage and we caught up on each other's lives and the lives of people we know mutually.

We made plans to meet at the Santa Anita mall and go see The Secret Life of Bees. It seems our movie tastes are pretty near identical. So, 90 minutes after those first 90 minutes, we met to enjoy the movie.

I read the book, by Sue Monk Kidd, around 4 years ago when it was very popular, but I didn't remember much. It didn't matter, the movie was lovely and stood alone as a quality film that dealt with family, racial prejudice, and love.

Dakota Fanning (who I don't really like, but, I'll admit the girl can act) plays Lily Owens, a 14-year old in Virginia in the mid 1960's. Lily lives with her volatile father, T-Ray (Paul Bettany) and housekeeper Rosaline (Jennifer Hudson.) The only thing she knows about her mother is that she shot her dead by accident when she was 4 years old. And, depending on how angry he is, T-Ray manipulates Lily's feelings by telling her that her mother didn't want her.

When Rosaline insults a white man in town and is beaten and arrested, Lily decides they both need a new start. She rescues Rosaline and heads for a town named Tiburon. She is inspired by a small wooden plaque that belonged to her mother. On the front is a picture of a black Madonna and child. The word "Tiburon" is written on the back.

In Tiburon, Lily sees honey jars in a store with the same black Madonna on the labels. The shopkeeper tells her the honey is made by a woman named August Boatwright (Queen Latifah.) Lily feels that meeting August is her destiny. She's right, but for reasons different than she originally thinks.

I've said enough about the premise, but the film deals with Lily and Rosaline's time with the Boatwright sisters: August, June (Alicia Keys,) and May (Sophie Okonedo, in what will probably be a nominated performance.) Each sister's personality is very distinct , but they love and live and depend on each other.

The casting was excellent in the film. All of the actors were at the top of their game. I was actually most impressed with Alicia Keys. We all know the others can act, but I only know Keys as a singer. She was very, very good and has a strong presence onscreen. Queen Latifah, as she often does, plays the character who leads the others and is the voice of reason. And, like always, she does it in a very cool way. Doesn't she seem like she would be an awesome person to just hang out with?

This is a film for all ages that deals with racial issues that our young people need to know about. But it is a fair movie. It doesn't just show the injustices that black people suffered at the hands of the white people before the Civil Rights Act. It shows the hurt that people inflict upon each other within their own race. And, like throughout history, people often hurt the ones they love. The film has a lot of wisdom and balance and a satisfying ending.

Very highly recommended. It is PG-13, but I would say it is appropriate for mature kids as young as 10.

Today's Schedule--Just Plain CRAZY.

That would be my description of today at school. I expected it to be chaotic, what with the district disaster drill and everything, but still....sheesh...

8:00-8:50am CELDT testing (for the ELD kids, which involved packing up half the class and taking them to the cafeteria...)

8:50-9:00am prepping for the drill--gathering things we needed to take outside and giving the kids a pep talk/minor threats on how to behave out on the field...

9:00-10:00 Disaster drill. OK, I guess it went as smooth as it "could have..." but you try keeping 32 kids still and quiet for an hour on the grass. I let them take out books. Not realistic, but we're talking about my sanity here, folks...

10:00-10:07 Back in the classroom and just about to "attempt" to be productive, and, no...wait...there was an announcement that everyone was going to have recess at 10am. (Ours is normally 10:15...)

10:10-10:25 Recess--hey, they announced it late and we're entitled to 15 minutes, so we took it.

10:25-11:25 Back in the classroom--wow...I actually got to have 60 uninterrupted minutes--the longest all day today. We corrected math homework, collected all homework, and took a spelling test. After the chaos outside during the drill, you could hear a pin drop during the spelling test. I think they wanted quiet as much as I did. We also corrected the test together.

11:30-12:15 Lunch (My 2 buddies, Ramona and Nancy, and I just sat and laughed about today. It was like a cartoon. And it would've really been funny if it wasn't so ridiculous and crazy.)

12:15-12:40 Read aloud and a few minutes of this wonderful IMAX ocean documentary, which looks AWESOME being projected on the Smartboard. It is like having a big-screen TV in the classroom. Plug in my speakers with their woofer and --wow. Instant theater.

12:40-1:10--Library for the kids/30 minutes to do some planning and run off copies for next week for me

1:10-1:45 More of the ocean documentary (called IMAX: Deep Sea--one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Highly, highly recommended. The kids were enthralled. That says a lot!)

1:50 Dismissal

1:50-2:30 Several kids stayed to play on the Smartboard while I cleaned up the room and got a few things ready for next week.

2:30-3:45 I went on the laptop (which the Smartboard is connected to) and entered the kids' spelling test grades and prepped for Monday morning, which is when we are supposed to start teaming for ELD for 45 minutes. It's going to be a circus those first several days...Fortunately, the majority of my group are my own kids and, also fortunately, I found some great online ELD interactive activities that we can do on the Smartboard. That will help those first few days as they (the office) iron out the wrinkles. And it is going to be pretty wrinkly...

3:45-4:10 Drove home

4:10-5:30 Played with Alexander at my mom's house. My brother came to pick him up and stayed for over an hour. We talked politics. He's got lots of very good insights.

6:00-8:00 My mom and I went to our Friday night sushi place--Zono, on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. After the crazy day today, I needed good food and good service.

And now...home sweet home.

Plans for this weekend? I need some pampering. A long-lost friend, who I found on Facebook and is also a massage therapist, is coming over in the morning to give me a good 90-minute massage. Oh, how I need one. My back is a sea of knots. Then maybe a showing of The Secret Life of Bees, and then popping over to the carnival at the church around the corner...

Small World...

...yes, that is kind of how my world is these days...

Things on my mind? In a nutshell: my students, learning about my Smartboard, tomorrow's huge district-wide disaster drill, my nephew and the next time I get to see him, the election, and the approaching holidays...

That's pretty much it. I need to expand, don't I?

So, since this is the first full week with the Smartboard in the classroom, I'll show more pictures. The more I learn about it, the more it becomes useful. I like how durable it is. I don't feel like I have to worry too much about how hard the kids tap on it (within limits...)

I had a meeting with the emergency committee after school today, but before that, I had 45 minutes for any of the kids who desired to stay and spend some time with the board. 6 of them did and we had a fun time. Thanks to a board trainer who found my blog yesterday and showed me a site he has, we have discovered a virtual treasure trove of new activities. The kids who stayed had a wonderful time using it, learning, and stayed engaged: (click to see full-sized)

We found an activity where they had to match equivalent fractions. They were working against the clock, which they always like...

Another activity had them naming state capitals and finding states sandwiched between other states. They were running back and forth between the board and the map. It was a lot of fun just to watch them. I look forward to doing this one with the entire class, since this was after school...

Some new adventures on the Smartboard...

When technology and I come in contact with each other, I become a little obsessive. I become determined to know how something works and I want to learn everything I can about it and be an instant expert.

And so it goes with the Smartboard...

I can see why some teachers have become very anti-Smartboard. It does take time and preparation to load something into the computer and get it set up. You need to be very knowledgeable to use it to its full advantage. As of yet, my school has not scheduled any formal trainings, so I'm lucky that I'm pretty technologically adept, but what about those who aren't?

Yesterday I decided to give myself some one-on-one time with the darn thing. I stayed after school for 2 hours working with it and then spent another 2 hours at home going through software to see what would be useful (or not) to use in the classroom. In the room I discovered that our entire math book and social studies book and all of their respective worksheets are on CD-rom. Cool. With the Smartboard you can project a worksheet and then either you or a student can "write" on it with the Smart markers.

I also created some Language Arts activities on the "smart" software that we could do today. Creating them on the board's software made it possible to be able to write on them with the "markers." I think. I haven't tried other word processing software, but I'm starting to get the feeling that it would be possible to write on them with the markers too.

At home I went through all of the math CD-roms. There are 4, and I wanted to see what would be useful for our everyday routine. The most useful is that all of the workmats are on CD-rom, so I can use those for demos, and all of the homework pages are there too.

This morning I felt confident that we could really put the Smartboard to use, so I missed the staff picture because I was setting things up. We corrected the math homework using the board. We did several language arts activities using the board. At the end of the day we did a Social Studies activity using it, and then--because my kids need SO much help with geography, we projected different maps from our text on the board and did a review of the difference between continents, countries, states, cities, etc. Last week I asked the class about a certain city and someone answered "Canada." If that isn't enough to scare a teacher, I don't know what is! 5th grade!

But aside from the cool visuals we were able to use all day, I was impressed with the kids' response. They were engaged, they were excited, hands were raised...this is NOT my class! So, obviously, there is something to this. And in an age where school has to compete with all the digital fun the kids go home to ("video games are evil"--that's my motto) school often falls short no matter how many cartwheels the teacher turns. It isn't enough anymore. Sad, but true.

There is still a lot to learn, but today was a good jump forward.

Here are some bad pictures I took with my cell phone. I need to take my camera and make a little video...I highly recommend clicking on the pictures so you can see them full-sized...

Working with sentences and identifying simple subjects and predicates and complete subjects and predicates. See that gray area at the bottom? That's called a shade, which can be raised or lowered to reveal one question at a time...very cool...

The kids worked in groups and came up with singular nouns to "stump" the rest of the class when we made them plural (some were better than others)...then they took turns coming up and writing the plural...a good opportunity to practice writing on the board...


Some geography review at the end of the day--much needed and very productive! This is a map from their books. They have little white boards and markers at their desks and we talked about different elements on the map, oceans, continents, and some longitude and latitude questions. They like those...

Life On Mars is looking very promising...

The promos were intriguing, so I decided to give the new show, Life On Mars, a try. It is a remake of a BBC version with the exact same concept.

I loved it!

Jason O'Mara (the dashing brain tumor victim on Grey's Anatomy,) is detective Sam Tyler. While following a serial killer who abducted his girlfriend, he is hit by a car and wakes up on the same street in 1973. Clue #1 is when he looks up and sees the Twin Towers standing and intact. He has no idea how he got there or why, but he has to deal with the adjustment of the time as well as the ideals of the people.

When he makes his way to his precinct, instead of computers, ethics, DNA testing, and equal opportunities for male and female cops, he is greeted by file cabinets, and a group of sexist cops who punch first and ask questions later (led by born-to-be-bad Harvey Keitel.) The one female cop, played by Gretchen Mol, is constantly abused and harrassed by her co-workers in a way that would never be tolerated today. Who knew that things could change so much in 30 years? And every time he mentions his cell phone, which he obviously doesn't have, he's asked "sell what?"

What I really liked about this show was the pacing and the point of view. It is a big puzzle and we don't know any more than Sam. What he does know is that there are clues surrounding him about the case he's working on in 2008, and that he hears random voices over the TV and radio suggesting that Sam Tyler is really in a vegetative state and that everything he's seeing in 1973 isn't real. He even crosses paths with the little boy who grows up to be the serial killer he was chasing before the car accident. He begins to wonder how much control he has over future events by being in the past.

Parts of the puzzle are solved, such as capturing a killer in 1973 who may have inspired the one in 2008, but many pieces are still missing. Mainly, why is Sam there and how does he get back? It certainly left me wanting to know more.

At ABC.com you can watch the entire first episode. Click the link and then "launch." You may need to install their plug-in, which is easily done. See what you think...

Once upon a time, there were some Slooks...

Back in 1989-1994, my life was all about being away at college--Brigham Young University. It was always my mom's and my dream that I go away to school and it turned out to be an amazing 5 years of growth and some very enduring friendships.

When you go away to school (I'm sure Emma will learn this) roommates--which are usually chosen for you--become an integral part of your life. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't, and sometimes you get EXTRA lucky...

I had a very nice roommate my freshman year in the dorms and there was a good group of us when I moved into an apartment of 6 girls my 2nd year. My 3rd year is the one I have repressed, because we had personality clashes the entire year.

By my 4th year--1992-1993--I needed a fresh new start. I was living off-campus in Regency, an all-girl building that I really liked, so I decided to go "pot luck" again and see who I ended up with.

That year, the Slook group was born:

Karen from Virginia
Andrea from Utah
Debbie from New York (and Andrea's cousin)
Sally from Oregon
Melanie from Oregon--1st semester (she and Sally were friends)
Trish from Utah--2nd semester
and me, from California

As soon as we met each other and started unpacking and setting up the apartment, we knew something was different. We weren't just roommates who had been thrown together, we really liked each other and enjoyed being together. It was like sextuplets who had been separated at birth coming together for the first time.

You're always a little cautious at first when you meet new roommates, but this was different, and a few weeks after the school year began we were all sitting in the living room being silly and kind of "feeling the love." We needed to celebrate, what could we do?....

We ended up looking at the calendar and discovering that it was Yom Kippur. Fine, we'd celebrate Yom Kippur in our non-Jewish way as well as our newfound roommate love. I think we piled into Debbie's blue Ford station wagon and drove a couple of blocks to Hardee's (hamburger joint) for some ice cream. Not just any ice cream--Twist cones! (1/2 chocolate, 1/2 vanilla.) From then on, I think all of us have thought as Yom Kippur as "our" holiday. I know I do!!

I think these pictures were from a later Twist Cone run, but this is an example of our silly escapades...
(top: Debbie, Melanie, Karen--bottom: me, Andrea, Sally)

That year, and probably my freshman year (for all of its newness and excitement) are my favorite years at BYU.

We went on trips, had carpet picnics in the living room, grocery shopped together, cooked together, did each other's hair, swapped clothes, went to movies, dances and church activities, we played some wicked practical jokes on each other and unsuspecting neighbors and friends. And we laughed. We were always laughing and doing silly stuff.

How was the name "Slook" born? (That's pronounced with a long "u" sound, in case you're interested..) I'm not sure of the exact origin of the word, but I know it was Debbie who came up with it, as well as the Slook language, which basically involves sticking an "sl" sound as the beginning consonant blend in strategic places while you're talking. I'm pretty certain that was all Debbie, who still, to this day, is the funniest person I have ever met.

The next year we were together only partially, because Trish, Debbie, and Andrea left for different (very valid) reason, like going on missions or getting married. Karen, Sally, and I stayed together, but it was not the same. I think I appreciated the bond from the previous year even more once the 6 of us weren't together.

I graduated in 1994 and the years rolled by as they do. We've tried to keep in touch, and we've done a pretty good job, considering that I haven't seen Debbie since before her mission in 1994 and the rest since around 1995 or 1996, and also considering that all of the Slooks except me do not live in their home state.

Shortly after graduation, we lost track of Sally. Sally, our science genius with the long black hair and a quirky sense of style that only she could make look good. I also seem to remember that she was always sticking things up her nose...hmmm...

The rest of us still emailed and sent Christmas cards. When my dad died in 2006 I received a lovely flower arrangement from them. That meant so much.

I never gave up hope that we would find Sally again, but the years kept going by and none of us knew where she was.

And then...fast forward to last Wednesday.

New to the Facebook site, I was looking for friends to add and I decided to try entering Sally's name. After a couple of wrong turns I saw her picture. My jaw practically dropped to the floor I was so surprised. We found her. After some emotional emails were passed around I've felt myself sighing a big sigh of relief. These girls/women/Slooky slooks are like my sisters. I don't want to lose track of any of them!

The Slooks are together again. And we smell better than ever. (private slook joke...) Now we need to plan a reunion.

So yes, college is a time of many things, but anyone should only hope to be so lucky as to find friends like these...

And now..the pictures of years gone by...

Karen and Debbie cleaning up from a massive confetti prank...

Sally in her thrift store dress and Doc Martins ready to go grocery shopping...isn't this how we all look when we're grocery shopping?

Debbie about to freak out her boyfriend into thinking she had cut her hair, which was really tucked convincingly into her collar...

Andrea and me at her parents' house in Salt Lake City...

Trish, me, Debbie, and Sal all dressed up for a 50's dance...

Sally trying to shave her legs the hard way....just kidding...it was fake blood leftover from Halloween...another April Fool's day prank...

Andrea and I have the same birthday--March 7--so Karen made us a chocolate spatula cake. (There was some silly rule about no open flames allowed in the apartments...)

Karen and me--folding laundry is boring, let's just throw it in the air instead...

Andrea, Karen, Debbie, and me on a ski trip...

Karen and Debbie trying to look gansta...

(above: Karen, Sally, me, Andrea, Melanie, Debbie--the semester 1 Slooks of Regency 52, 1992-1993)

(above: Debbie, me, Trish, Sally, Andrea, Karen--the semester 2 Slooks 1992-1993)

My Slooks! I love my sisters from another mother!

P.S. I just got off the phone with Sally. Our first time talking in around 13 years. It was great talking with you Sally!

Nature puts on a show...

This morning I was on the phone with my long-lost roommate, Sally, (see above post) and while standing at the door leading to my backyard I saw a big ol' praying mantis lounging on the side of one of the hummingbird feeders.

That was interesting enough, but then some hummingbirds came along looking for a meal and the mantis actually reached his little arms/paws out to them!

After I got off the phone I stood there waiting for another hummingbird to come along so I could get a picture. Here's what I saw. Click on the pictures to see them full-sized.

The Ultimate Baby Picture...

What can I say? This is hilarious.

I finally have a Smartboard...

About a year ago we had a staff meeting at my school that was an introduction to the Smartboard. We were all very excited and wondered when they would be distributed around the school. First we had only 2, then 10, and then 2 weeks ago we saw 20 of them in boxes outside the computer lab.

Our computer aide came to each class and asked if we wanted our Smartboard mounted on the wall or in a stand. I chose a stand because I wasn't quite ready to sacrifice wall space. Then one of my colleagues reminded me that when a Smartboard gets bumped it has to be realigned. That thought, plus the size of the stand when they finally delivered mine on Monday, made me rethink my decision.

Yesterday we had our computer lab time and I told our aide that I wanted it mounted on the wall instead. No problem. She also downloaded the software into my school laptop (I nicknamed it "little Mac,) and we got the projector. Before leaving yesterday, I left instructions on the white board about where I wanted the Smartboard mounted and the new places I wanted my maps moved. I need my maps.

This morning I was thrilled that all of my instructions had been followed to a tee (how often does that happen?) and I was very happy with the placement.

Now all I had to do was hook everything up. The computer aide offered to come in at recess, but I was getting impatient to get the blasted thing running and so were the kids.

I got it all hooked up except...I could not figure out how to connect the projector to the laptop. After popping nextdoor, my very helpful neighbor Ramona told me about a little adaptor that came with our laptop. I knew exactly which one she was talking about, it was one that I've been tripping over for the past 3 years and finally took out of the case. It was at home.

Mom to the rescue. I called her and she agreed to bring the adaptor. (I repaid her with a gourmet dinner from In n Out...)

Yay! We were up and running! The kids were so excited. We went onto Starfall.com and practiced manipulating the images on the screen. We can even use it to watch a DVD, and with a set of speakers I have in the room for my Mp3 player, it is like having our own movie theater.

While the kids were in the library later on in the afternoon (teacher planning time) I sat and worked with the software a little. There is, undoubtedly, a lot to learn, and my school currently has no trainings planned, so this is definitely going to have to be a do-it-yourself venture. That's OK. Most of my computer training has been through trial and error and it helps me retain the info better. It is just a little slower.

Still, I'm happy that, after all this time, our Smartboard is finally up. I'm looking forward to using it in the classroom...

Here's a classroom demo I found. Mine is mounted similarly to this one...: