Adventures in Knitting Knowledge

Ahhhhh....summer.

2010-06-23T20:43:00.005-06:00

So yes. I haven't been writing lately. Bad. I know. I actually had to re-read some of my last posts to remember where I left off. Very bad.It was so nice to leave that last day. So. Nice. It had been so rushed up until then. I felt as if I had been going going going (think Energizer Bunny) since the standardized testing mid March. The end is always a garbled mess of report cards,

Dear NPR,

2010-05-03T18:39:00.003-06:00

You failed me this morning, for the first time. Thankfully, it wasn't too serious.Every morning I wake up and the first thing I think about the date. Now, because I grew up in Western Massachusetts, a place with, you know...four seasons and not one and a half there are days when I can't figure out the month in my early morning stupor because I have no seasonal clues. Oh, it's sunny outside, it

11 Days left.

2010-05-03T18:12:00.005-06:00

So, I had allotted this week to do the DRA (Diagnostic Reading Assessment) because it's taken me that long in the past. On Friday I went in to make sure everyone's folders were organized and I had copies of the correct test. I sort of guessed on where I thought the kids would test out and I'm proud to say I was only wrong 1 out of 15 times. (ROCK ON! Less time and paper wasted when I'm so

Watermelons

2010-04-25T14:03:00.008-06:00

Parents are the wild card in my career. Some are fantastic, some never believe the good or bad things you say about their children and some are just awful.Sometimes you get great parents like Saul and Brent's mum whom I've now known for four years. She's always ready to back you up, she's active on the PTA but she's not in the classroom all time and so she's not in your face. I've known Matt's

Not so depressed as before

2010-04-23T08:21:00.003-06:00

So I think I'm coming to terms with teaching sixth grade next year. There were a few reasons I wasn't so comfortable with this idea. The first is that I just love the fourth grade curriculum. The science and math curriculum is rich with hands on activities that are doable by the students. The stories in the reader are engaging, culturally relevant and the kids love them. I've taught both

18 Days left.

2010-04-20T19:32:00.003-06:00

Well it's hit. The year is almost over and the kids know it. So the countdown begins.Today was one of the those days. One of those days where you feel like you are nowhere, you have taught all those kids nothing and you just want to roll up in ball and cry.Instead I chose to go home and loose myself in The Wire and pet my dog. Well. To be honest there was a little crying.I put together this

Jamie Escalante

2010-03-30T19:48:00.003-06:00

If you were ever a teacher, knew a teacher, took a clase de espanol, had a substitute in math or loved math you know about Jamie Escalante and have seen Stand and Deliver.Just today Sr. Callejo and I were doing the finger man tricks with the third graders and talking about how you need ganas to succeed in school."To be a teacher you need to believe in the potential of people." Jamie Escalante

Second Day of Testing or The Day I Got Thrown Up On.

2010-03-30T18:32:00.014-06:00

Yesterday, ALDR started our New Mexico Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA), the state test that the children are required to take according to No Child Left Behind (NLCB) in order to access whether or not we've made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Whew...that was way too many acronyms! AYP is a powerful number. At best, if

Paper Cap Gun Ammo

2010-03-24T19:15:00.005-06:00

On our way back from lunch, Brent announced to me that some of the other boys "had red paper and they were throwing rocks at it." I didn't think too much of it for a second and then it hit me what it was:So I turned back to Brent and said, "Wait, does it make a spark when the rocks hit it?" When he nodded I knew exactly what I was looking for and it could certainly be considered a weapon. No

The Weather Man

2010-03-24T17:27:00.003-06:00

Sorry to say, but this is going to be another rather negative post.A few weeks ago, I got a flyer in my mailbox at school that said the local meteorologist was interested in coming into the local schools to talk to children about what he does to predict the weather. Awesome. I called right away for the fourth grade. (Since I'm their homeroom teacher and well quite honestly because I like them

CENSUS 2010!

2010-03-23T16:28:00.004-06:00

I love the Census! It's perhaps one of my favorite things about this country. There is something so thoroughly satisfying about counting all the people in the country and the idea that the number could change peoples lives for the better.It only happens every ten years, so much like the Olympics (yes...I know the games occur more often) there's hype and excitement about it. At least there is

Bad Interaction with a Parent

2010-03-22T17:08:00.006-06:00

I honestly meant to write while I was on Spring Break. Really. I promise that was the intention. I just didn't do it. I did pretty much nothing, which was fantastic. There were lots of things I meant to do (grading, catch up on second drafts of lesson plans, fix the play that the fourth graders are working on) but mostly I sat around and knitted on a blanket I've been trying to finish for

So glad I don't teach the upper grades!

2010-01-30T15:09:00.004-07:00

The last half of last year was really hard for me...just check out the very beginning of my blog.One of the worst days was this one.Ms. Tours has not improved her classroom management skills. A bit earlier this year, many of the teachers came together and complained at the same time to Sr. Callejo. Her classes are out of control, children are getting hurt (because Ms. Tour can't keep control

Ah, Redemption

2010-01-25T18:27:00.002-07:00

So the last half of last year with the sixth graders was really really hard. Very little real teaching went on. I walked into school three goals; to keep everyone alive, get one thing done in reading and one thing done in math. If I accomplished those three things, I felt like I was successful. Awful isn't it? Five months of awful.On the days that they drove me most up the wall, I would go

Finally being in control...

2010-01-21T17:32:00.005-07:00

and having it all taken away from you. That's what happened to me this afternoon.So the first day or so after the kids came back from break were fantastic. They were calm, ready to listen and mostly (in fact I'm sure) still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes from having to get up so early for the first time in awhile. Those two days ended so fast. Since then, it has been a constant fight to

Worst Cooks in America

2010-01-20T21:07:00.003-07:00

Every night for the past few weeks, The Boy and I have been watching Alton Brown on the Food Network. (This was not my choice as he sort of creeps me out, but I usually hog the T.V. for background noise in the early evening and so I don't begrudge it...too much ;) He's sort of growing on me though. I'm becoming better at ignoring his uppity way of explaining things and I've stopped rolling my

Inspiring Article about Teaching!

2010-01-17T20:39:00.002-07:00

I loved reading this article. Enjoy!

Multiplication Tables

2010-01-17T13:46:00.006-07:00

I'm not a teacher that is a fan of having kids memorize things in general. However, I feel differently when it comes to multiplication tables. They are the one thing that I think kids just need to memorize.I think they should know the 2's through the 12's (because the zero's and one's are easy) and the 15's and the 20's through to 12 (because in my own life I use the 15's and 20's a lot and

The Never Ending Search for...

2010-01-15T18:43:00.005-07:00

Writing Implements in my classroom.I don't remember much about the routines of my elementary school days. I know that in middle and high school we were meant to bring our own supplies. I don't remember any routine being as difficult or frustrating as it can be to find a pencil in my classroom.Alma De La Rosa serves a predominately low income population and we are school wide Title 1 due to our

Avatar

2010-01-11T20:31:00.008-07:00

I've heard people say that Avatar was just a 247 million dollar re-make of Fern Gully:I've heard still others (namely The Boy) describe it as "dances with wolves in space."I however thought it was an amazing bit of movie making. Honestly, perhaps the best movie I've seen since Star Wars (and every other Harrison Ford movie of course!)My brother and went to see it while I was home in MA. He

Walmart

2010-01-10T19:20:00.006-07:00

This is a picture of the Walmart in Roswell, New Mexico. My brother and I took a trip there before Thanksgiving. He's been an alien nerd since he was a kid and immediately saw the boon for him when I moved here, making me promise not to go there until he was able to get here and go with me. We were headed for the U.F.O. museum but I needed the bathroom and so we pulled in. We didn't see the

Meet Han Solo!

2010-01-08T19:56:00.004-07:00

Shortly after The Boy (my middle man) sold my Harrison on Craigslist, we bought a new to us car! It's a 2007 Subaru Impreza! It's a stick shift (which I think we will continue to buy as long as we can) and we love it! I really recommend CarMax. They were so helpful and easy to work with. It's just like driving my old car. We love it! And to continue with the theme, his (because I'm not

Dog Days of January

2010-01-07T17:47:00.003-07:00

I wanted to tie up some loose ends that I left when I stopped blogging for so long.Ms. Jenson is still a bit of a nutter, but I have a little more respect for what she does in the classroom now. I do still have some problems working with her. The first being that during the first set of parent teacher conferences, she told all the parents (with me sitting right there) that I was responsible for

It's been awhile...

2010-01-06T20:29:00.005-07:00

That's for sure. And I swear it's not a New Year's Resolution to return to blogging!The first thing I would like say is that my drive to work has gotten easier. I live about half a block off of one of the main roads through the city. ALDR is a few block off the main road. Since the city is built on a grid, there are many ways to get to work. However, I have oft lamented that there was wasn't

Goodbye Harrison!

2009-11-02T20:34:00.006-07:00

Dear Harrison,You were the best car. You really really were. You were the first car that belonged totally to me. The first time I saw you I fell in love with your sleek red sides and short fat butt of a trunk. You weren't to short and you weren't too long. (This is important, more important than you might think for short girls who aren't so great at backing up.) You had so much room on your

Bad Halloween Costume

2009-10-31T22:09:00.002-06:00

Dear Man Dressed Up as a Gestapo Officer,What is your problem? How is your costume ok? Are you one of those people that does things just to get a negative reaction out of the people around you? Was it just some sick social experiment? As I was sitting there watching you smoke a hand rolled cigarette outside one of my favorite local brew pubs, I realized that many people use Halloween to dress

Adderall

2009-09-13T11:40:00.006-06:00

I got a new fourth grader on Wednesday, Peter. Like when Gram joined my class last year, I noticed something was off right away. He couldn't sit still, he refused to follow the simplest direction, he shouted and said things like, "I don't know what a book is, how does it work?" (Which wasn't true because we found out later that he's reading at grade level.) Suffice to say, it was a hard day.

The Year So Far...

2009-09-13T10:17:00.004-06:00

I began this year feeling very confident in my teaching skills. I have grown a lot as a educator since that first class I had in 2007. So I thought I would write a little about how the year as gone so far.Most of the other teachers are intimidated by this year's third grade class. They are a handful. I think this has mostly to do with the fact that the class is top heavy with boys. There are

Wine Festival

2009-09-13T10:00:00.003-06:00

Last weekend The Boy and I went to the Wine Festival in Bernalillo, New Mexico. This was the second time we've gone. Last time we went with a bunch of friends and it was a lot more fun. It's so hot out in the sun and the festival was in a big field. I also feel like there were way more people there, every wine stall had a long line and standing in the sun got old fast. We do love the carne

Obama; You're the Man.

2009-09-09T19:58:00.001-06:00

"We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it." This is why I became a teacher.For Shiz.PS. Still rocking the third graders.

Obama Speech!

2009-09-08T19:34:00.004-06:00

I was so excited when I heard that Obama was giving a speech specifically written for children. What a novel idea! I got goosebumps.I excitedly told Sr. Callejo about this speech and how I hoped that the whole school could gather in my classroom (as it is the only one with cable) that morning sans interruptions so that we could have a group campfire experience. He thought it was a fine idea

More Co-Teacher Drama

2009-09-02T19:36:00.006-06:00

Hehe.The other morning I was doing my "duty" outside where all the cars come in, Sr. Callejo brought his son (who is in Kinder and totally adorable) to the cafeteria and then came back and exchanged pleasantries with me for a few moments. As he was walking away Ellie and Fiona's mum came up to talk to him. Whenever I see one of my parents talking to my principal I'm always nervous that they are

Three Day Weekends...

2009-08-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

are seeming especially long this year.

Ted Kennedy

2009-08-29T20:32:00.002-06:00

That was sad news to wake up to the other day.However, I was very pleased to see that NPR spent far more time talking about him than they did talking about Micheal Jackson.Way to go NPR.

More Lesson Planning

2009-08-29T20:30:00.002-06:00

I can't wait until my schedule at school irons itself out...Lesson planning all weekend is getting old.Watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy helps.

I love my job.

2009-08-28T21:15:00.004-06:00

I do. It's true.The year that I was teaching the fourth and fifth grade, my first year with my own classroom. I wasn't an E.A. and I wasn't a student teacher. It was my first whole class. I was a young, white teacher in a 98 percent hispanic school. I am a strict teacher and this definitely came out that year, not that the students didn't deserve it. However, the parents didn't enjoy it and

Monsoon Season

2009-08-27T20:44:00.007-06:00

So I mentioned in my last "Nature" post that it was monsoon season. In La Pasa, the storms tend to move in and out relatively quickly. What they bring and what they leave behind is just astounding. Every time there's a storm and I stand there while marveling at the sky, The Boy says something like, "Welcome to the West." He grew up here (well, north of here) and to him the pictures that the

Top Chef...

2009-08-26T21:30:00.000-06:00

I'm so glad you are back. Padma, I have missed you so. That little waif that was on in your place for Top Chef Masters has a lot to learn from you! Weird chauvanistic dude; I really hope you leave next week.[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Kids really do say the darnedest things.

2009-08-25T18:33:00.007-06:00

Oh Bill Cosby.Alright, so the fourth graders have been working on Geometry, angles, rays, lines, line segments that sort of thing. Today, to get in a little review, I passed out the geoboards and rubber bands. When I was a kids, they were wooden with real nails pounded in, but someone must have decided that that wasn't safe (rightly so I suppose) because now kids have these plastic ones:Clever

Nature is Beautiful

2009-08-24T18:49:00.003-06:00

We have been getting up early in the morning (5:30) in order to go the gym. This means we get to see the beautiful sunrises here in the southwest. Each one sort of rolls into the next, but this morning was different. The monsoon season has begun. It rained last night and continued on our way to the gym. When I finished my workout and meandered toward the stairs, I saw the mountains to the

A Chair Moment

2009-08-24T18:17:00.003-06:00

Alright, as you have read before on this here blog, the third graders are a little rambunctious (or "squirrely" as my co - teacher as termed it. (Personally, I think this is a little unfair to squirrels because when they are flying around at warp speed they are; hunting for food, mating or running for their lives, all practical actions. Third graders, not so practical. Moment that Mattered from

Whew!

2009-08-23T19:09:00.002-06:00

I spend all of today working on lesson plans. I love Mad Men. It has kept me company.

Reading Recovery Revisited

2009-08-22T22:02:00.004-06:00

We have figured out what to do with the third graders. All but two of the 17 students are a grade behind in their reading. What to do.We have decided that the third graders will have English Reading every morning for an hour, whether or not they have English first thing that morning. They have been broken up into four groups according to their reading levels. Mr. Dido will have the Special Ed

Spike Lee's shooting down the street!

2009-08-21T21:36:00.004-06:00

Haha! Well at least Haha for all of you that get the "Rent" shoutout.Seriously folks. La Pasa has become quite the Hollywood (it's even been dubbed "Tamalewood") since Governor Richardson began giving so many tax breaks to those who would like to shoot movies here. It gave a lot of New Mexicans jobs as well as the city and the state much needed revenue.Today on the walk home from Kelly's (all

Hurricane Bill

2009-08-20T21:55:00.000-06:00

After watching the weather report on the local news which showed Hurricane Bill heading back out to sea from the East Coast, The Boy said, "Do you think it will head back toward Europe?"Haha![Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Oh Special Ed

2009-08-19T20:23:00.009-06:00

So I mentioned in this post that I had yet to see the behavioral plan or the I.E.P. for my one of my students, Kismet. At the beginning of the year, I asked both special education teachers as well as Sr. Callejo during orientation for permission to go through both of these documents. (There are lots of laws about them, so there is some red tape, which is why I asked early.) The special

Reading Recovery

2009-08-18T20:49:00.005-06:00

I gave the DRA test (English reading test) to the third graders today. Whoa momma have we got some work to do. I had most of these kids in Kindergarten and I was surprised to learn today that the kids that I had in the "advanced" reading group in Kindergarten were in title one last year. Now, I have to assume that it was last years English teacher that dropped the ball because I know the their

Routine

2009-08-17T17:05:00.003-06:00

School is beginning to become a routine again. Yay!So remember how I wondered what would happen when Ms. Jenson and I couldn't communicate about what was being taught in the classroom. Well. It happened.So. We are a bilingual school, which means that the students have half of their day in English and half of their day in Spanish. We have to find a way to do this without "translating," which

Burnout

2009-08-16T22:07:00.002-06:00

I found this really great article from the Washington Post on another one of the blogs I read. Food for thought. My generation has a lot of work to do.

Sundays

2009-08-16T21:58:00.004-06:00

I love Sundays now. The Boy and I have sort of started this diet, where we count the calories that we eat. Sundays are the days we don't do it, because your body is supposed to have one day off a week so that it doesn't feel like it's hoarding food. So. Today, we ate homemade oatmeal for breakfast, munchies for lunch, gellato as an afternoon snack and homemade french fries with cheese curds

I take it back...

2009-08-15T22:18:00.000-06:00

Dexter is a thought provoking show.[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Closer

2009-08-14T19:51:00.001-06:00

My classroom is closer to being completely put together. I did more laminating, but could not find more velcro to put every up. Sad.

Dexter

2009-08-13T21:22:00.000-06:00

is a really weird show.[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Banishment!

2009-08-12T17:00:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure if I've really explained before that my school has a four day week. We have school Monday through Thursday from 8:00 to 3:00 (3:30 for seventh graders.) I love this schedule. I'm not sure what's going to happen when we have to go back to a five day schedule for whatever reason. When we went to this schedule, one of the biggest worries was planning time, since we would be losing a

Third Graders

2009-08-11T19:50:00.004-06:00

Today I found out that third graders are really big second graders. And while this may have made perfect sense to everyone else, it was proven to me today. This group is so interesting. The only thing that makes it bearable is that I only have them for half of the day. (It's the fourth grade that makes me tick!) I think their behavior problems stem from the fact that the boys have always out

First Day of School + New Car

2009-08-10T18:51:00.005-06:00

First Day of School was great! I only had eight fourth graders, so my morning was awesome! I'm sure that number will go up as the public school gets going, we started a little early so our families may not know that first day was today.My third graders are a different story. There's 16 of them (though at times it feels like 40) and only 2 girls in the group. These are the kids I had in

RED SOX are on TV!

2009-08-09T18:32:00.003-06:00

One of the too bad things about living in New Mexico is that we don't get ANY Red Sox games. Tonight, ESPN is following the Red Sox vs. Yankee game! Yay! The only thing that could make it better would be if Jerry Remi was calling the game...can't have everything I guess.Tomorrow is first day of school!

Edge of Reason

2009-08-08T21:37:00.000-06:00

Obvisously, I need a new copy of Bridget Jones; Edge of Reason. There has been so much skipping I can't see the end. :([Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Ho Hum

2009-08-08T18:56:00.002-06:00

The Boy's bachelor party was last night and continues today, he spent the day playing golf and shooting guns with his college friends, two of whom will be married next year. Tonight is a fancy dinner with a cell phone moratorium (at least on calls from "the womanfolk" as we girlfriends have been termed) for the rest of the evening. I love it. I love that they have put so much thought in to the

A+

2009-08-07T20:23:00.003-06:00

I got an A+ in Spanish. I've also noticed that I'm more able to speak spanish without having to think carefully about it. It's coming easier. This is good.I think I finally got some answers on how I'm going to get my bilingual endorsement. It's going to take a few years, but I think it will be worth it. The names of the classes sound really interesting. I think what I will do is take the

Classroom Pretty Much Ready!

2009-08-06T17:40:00.004-06:00

Yes. It's here. First day of School! Monday! Yesterday and today was registration, so I saw some of my kids! This year, the third graders that I'll be teaching half of the day, I taught in Kindergarten!My classroom is pretty much set up. There are still some boxes I haven't unpacked yet. But that's the great thing about not teaching the little kids; they can help me unpack and pass out

More about smells.

2009-08-05T20:29:00.003-06:00

You know that tradition of teachers getting apples on the first day of school? Well, the first day of school doesn't make me think of apples anymore. Last year and this year, as I take the street that brings me to ADLR with my windows open (because it's already in the 80's in the morning here) I smell someone roasting green chile! It smells so good.

Orientation Day Two

2009-08-04T20:13:00.002-06:00

Second Day. Still not given any time to work in our classrooms as a staff. I stole moments here and there and stayed until after seven but it's so frustrating to sit in meetings all antsy because of the mountain of unpacking and organizing you have to do. I think all together, we're only given four hours and that includes planning time! Ridiculous. I feel even worse for the new teachers,

Velco: I love you.

2009-08-03T18:32:00.004-06:00

Orientation went well this morning at ADLR. It was the regular run of the mill stuff. Going over the handbooks, standards, other policies and such. The new people seem eager and excited, which is always nice. Johanna was one of the speakers, she went over the Needs Assessment she did for us at the end of last school year and I'm pleased to say that are kids really are improving. This is

I'm sick of children's books being turned into movies!

2009-08-02T19:04:00.002-06:00

Alright. So as I mentioned yesterday, I went to see Ice Age 3 by myself in the movie theater today. It was lovely. Not as good as the first two, but nice. Didn't even drive my car. Took the bus, using my free bus pass because I'm going to the U. I can't believe all the childrens' books that are being turned into movies these days. Really. In 1996, they turned "Matilda" into a movie and

Over One Hundred Feet of Laminated Material

2009-08-01T17:52:00.004-06:00

In preparation for the beginning of the school year, I went out and bought a new calendar and letters for above the chalkboard, stuff for a birthday and a helper bulletin board. I had all this stuff last year but during the move I lost a bunch of it. On Thursday, I took it all to the district's low cost laminating center and laminated over one hundred feet of materials. For my last birthday my

What I Learned in Summer School

2009-07-31T19:01:00.005-06:00

At the beginning of the summer I was so psyched about my summer classes. I got an A in the first one and I took my final in for the second one and I think I got an A in that one too. So, I should be happy right? Well. Yes. I am happy with my grades. I'm not exactly happy with how much espanol aprendio (I've learned.)About the time I received my A en espanol uno I realized I had stopped

WRX

2009-07-29T22:06:00.001-06:00

I love that car. Love it. So very much.I went to the dealership to suss one out today and got to test drive one. It was RAD. So totally want one.

Harrison Update

2009-07-28T20:12:00.004-06:00

Oh Harrison. What a good car you were.So, the last time I blogged about Harrison, we were hoping that there were only minor problems.I was so very wrong. The timing belt indeed was broken and because of it, the water pump and the starter motor locked up. (I'm not sure of the exact order of events, but those are the three parts that were dead.)So, before deciding on whether or not to spend the

Minnesota!

2009-07-28T12:36:00.004-06:00

I just got back from a trip to Minnesota to surprise one of The Boy's best friends from college. He and his wife had a baby in January so we got meet her and boy is she a looker, totally cute.His wife set up the surprise for his birthday and we were invited to fly up and spend the weekend camping and hanging with them and their new daughter. This was why I couldn't mention it until now...

Think Good Thoughts for Harrison!

2009-07-21T21:59:00.002-06:00

Harrison, as in my car. Named after Harrison Ford, only the best actor ever. Today, when The Boy tried to take it to the store (to buy a part needed to keep the air conditioner in the car running) it turned over and then made an awful sound. After much research and speaking to both The Boy's father and my father, we are left with two possible problems. 1. The timing belt broke and therefore

And My New Co-Teacher Is...

2009-07-21T21:35:00.003-06:00

Introducing: Ms. Jenson.The other day Sr. Callejo called and asked if I wanted to be in on the interview for my co-teacher. I replied in the affirmative of course. And then realized...that meant for sure that was going to be teaching fourth grade (well at least for half the time)! There was awhile when it was thought that I would have to repeat my stint in the middle school grades. So here's

On Meeting the Higher Ups

2009-07-20T08:15:00.004-06:00

I love Johanna, the woman who owns and runs Moonlight consulting. I want to be exactly where she is when I'm her age. Did I tell you that she gave me a "Moonlight Consulting" mug at the beginning of term and pronounced me, "part of the team." (I'm drinking out of it right now!)A few weeks ago she called me with a really neat request. She wanted me to accompany her to a meeting with some of

A Moment When I Felt Like An Adult

2009-07-17T18:07:00.006-06:00

I just had one of those moments when I felt like a real adult. It went like this:I was inside cleaning the kitchen and The Boy came home from buying lumber. He's going to extend the fence on one side of the house because he thinks that's how the bad guys got in. It's at least 95 degrees out. I make him a big "thing" of gatorade and bring out to him.Just like my Mum used to do when my Dad was

Your House Gets Broken Into When You Move Out Of The Student Ghetto

2009-07-16T18:14:00.010-06:00

On Monday I came home (like you do), put my bike in the garage and stopped at the keypad to turn off the alarm. It was flashing some numbers I didn't understand, I memorized them so that I could tell The Boy about it later. I came in and sat down at the kitchen table to check my email. That's when I looked up and saw that the French door was wide open.I certainly didn't leave it open and

The Gym

2009-07-08T14:03:00.002-06:00

The Boy and I have been going to the gym for the past month, early in the morning and every other day. In that time I have gained and lost 4 pounds three times. That's twelve pounds people! What is the deal!I got an A in the first Spanish class!

To the Media on Michael Jackson:

2009-07-07T15:58:00.008-06:00

I can't believe the media hocus that has been going on about Michael Jackson. (BTW, I thought MJ was Michael Jordon...buh?) Seriously folks. The circus has been on the TV for over a week now.Don't get me wrong. He was a fabulous entertainer. The man could dance. There was no one who could dance like him. But for me at least, that's where it ends. I like his music, but there's a lot out

My dislike of the setup of the cardio equipment at the gym as it relates to my fear of yoga in high school.

2009-07-04T09:35:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, I promised some posts on a few things. One being the title of this blog. First a little history. For two months a year in high school, one of our gym units was yoga. We would go to our locker rooms and the boys would go to theirs. No matter how fast we girls tried to change we could never get out of the locker room before the boys. Which meant they crowed the back of the

The Boy: Manny you are a Douche-Waffle.

2009-06-25T21:18:00.006-06:00

You may remember from last week's post that we didn't make it to the game that Manny Ramirez was playing in near La Pasa because he is on suspension from the MLB for steroids. This was because we were actually holding tickets for the next night. Even though we asked for tickets for last night's game.We get there the next night and it rains. After covering and uncovering the field a few times

My Boyfriend is Awesome!

2009-06-24T19:37:00.006-06:00

The Boy just bought me a fantastic sushi dinner. This after being turned away from the Manny Ramirez game here near La Pasa (we were going to heckle) because we had tickets for the wrong day...tomorrow. Dinner was complete with large sake and complimentary dessert (because we go there all the time and the waitresses love us!) and since it was raining, he gave me the keys the house and walked to

La Prueba Segundo

2009-06-23T22:50:00.002-06:00

Second Spanish Test: 96Gym:In the zone: 28 minutesPounds gained: 1/2

Successful Knitting Projects!

2009-06-21T17:19:00.015-06:00

I've had an eventful weekend knitting wise. I want to share the fruits of my labor.This first one has been done for a few weeks. I found the pattern when The Boy's parents were down here for Thanksgiving last year. I saw this awesome pattern in a book in a magazine and after searching my LYS (Local Yarn Store) and various big box retailers...finally found it. Find out more about the book,

La Prueba segundo!

2009-06-19T12:27:00.002-06:00

Second Spanish test: I did not do as well as I did on the first. I didn't to badly. But I doubt I'll receive an A.This morning at the gym:In the "zone": 28 minutesPounds gained: 2

Proposal

2009-06-18T15:12:00.002-06:00

Proposal went over alright. I'm not going to get paid as much as I want, but this is ok. I'm still beginning and this economy is not good. I have a great job that I love (even though I don't always write about it in the best light) and this is just something that will give me a little extra. I'm thankful and all that aside I'm really excited about the actual work. I think it will really help

Iphone and Proposal.

2009-06-17T21:56:00.002-06:00

Tonight was eventful. Not only did we have two awesome friends over for dinner and Top Chef Masters, but I also updated my iphone (which for an anxious moment there looked like it was going to brick) and I sent that proposal for Moonlight Consulting I was stressing about. Thank goodness for the sound boards in my friends and family!Really. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced my

Bah! So much to say!

2009-06-17T12:04:00.003-06:00

I feel like I haven't written in forever.Catch up:I had mi prueba primero de espanol on Friday. On Thursday the professor passed out a "test," had us take it and than admitted that the real test was the next day and that what he passed out was just practice. I was anxious not because I didn't think I would do well but because it had so long since I had taken a "test." At Bennington, we didn't

A Little "Smell" of Home!

2009-06-09T12:17:00.005-06:00

Trees have a smell. A fantastic smell. This was not something I realized until my first spring in New Mexico. I was substituting at the former sister charter to our ALDR in a third/fourth class.I was walking them to the bathroom and the walkway took us through a tunnel of trees that I marveled at because you rarely see that many in one place here. I inhaled and stopped. Stopped dead.

First Day of School! First Day of School!

2009-06-08T19:33:00.003-06:00

*Said just like Nemo!*I had so much fun today. I love being a student, it's so much more fun than being the teacher.The Boy had a symposium starting today at the same time my class started (which means we get to ride to campus together every day this week!)Actually, I have to start over. I need to preface this post be stating that I, Ms. Knitter, do not do directions well. Sometimes, even

Outfits, Knitting, Classes, Oh My!

2009-06-07T17:34:00.005-06:00

I have been spending time a lot of my online time here at Polyvore. Not really sure how these designers get all these pictures in there just so, but it's fun to look and sometimes they have really pretty vintage stuff that makes me salivate a little. I thought it would be fun to post what I wore for that presentation that I gave all by myself on Wednesday. Here it is!The Boy bought me the

I did a good job!

2009-06-04T15:47:00.001-06:00

Both days of workshops went really well. I think both sets of teachers were able to take something away that they would really use. Both groups of teachers were easy to talk to, lively, asked great questions and seemed genuinely appreciative of the changes we were offering. Johanna (the owner of the company really liked what I did, how I answered questions and how upbeat I was throughout.

Moonlighting!

2009-06-01T10:03:00.003-06:00

Today and tomorrow, I'm giving presentations on Standards Based Checklists for a lady I love working with. I'll call it Moonlight Consulting because hey, that's what I'm doing, moonlighting!I've done some longer presentations for her before, some in state, some out of state, but these two are only about the one topic and will last two hours each. I really look forward to these opportunities

Christopher Lee

2009-05-31T14:36:00.002-06:00

The Boy just saw Christopher Lee at our favorite Liquor Store. The Boy asked if I wanted to go with him, but I decided to stay home and sweep instead. Grr.

20 Something Bloggers!

2009-05-30T15:36:00.001-06:00

Thanks for being so welcoming 20SB!

The Difference between playing Super Mario Bro 3 when you are 9 and when you are 26.

2009-05-30T13:23:00.008-06:00

When I started this blog one of things I read was to stick to your topic. My topic; teaching and learning in a nutshell. I will try my best to follow this rule. However, since its summer, other things are going to creep in. Starting with Video Games!The Boy and I bought each other a Wii for our respective birthdays. We had thought about getting one for awhile and this month when we both

Aaahh, the sweet smells of summer!

2009-05-29T18:45:00.005-06:00

I'm so glad its over. So very glad. The last day went relatively smoothly. In the morning I sent some of the kids to the first grade classroom to help that teacher pack her things (first graders aren't very good at that!) I had sent kids to Kindergarten the day before as well. Then, they watched a bit of Monster's INC and then we joined up with fourth grade to go to the park. I

Done!

2009-05-28T23:13:00.002-06:00

Huzzah! Finished! More tomorrow!

These are the days of Hell.

2009-05-27T21:28:00.006-06:00

The last days are always the worst. Last year at about this time the Sr. Callejo was putting together last minute field trips for everyone to go on. I think I went on one of them with my class. Refer to this post for why field trips with ADLR are terrible. On Monday night Ben said, "You know, tomorrow morning Sr. Callejo is going to hand you some permission slips at the last minute

Most Beautiful Thing

2009-05-25T14:30:00.002-06:00

I grew up in the Berkshire Mountains of the northeast. Every time I tell people here in the Land of Enchantment that I'm from Massachusetts, everyone assumes I'm from Boston. I tell them that actually I live about as far away from Boston as possible and still live in the state. Most people have never even heard of the small city that is near my even smaller town. The

Paperwork Done

2009-05-23T18:14:00.002-06:00

Paperwork finished! Only three days left!

So close!

2009-05-23T12:47:00.000-06:00

I have finished my lesson plans for perusal by the administration, I'm working on making my grade book make sense to someone other than myself, I have report cards to write up and only three days of school left! Bah!