New School Year-New Goals

So much for me trying to be a regular blogger.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I didn't blog much during the summer-my summer days are pretty much the same.  I really took advantage of the time I had off so that I could relax.  Like my last post stated, it had been too much this last year for me to deal with.  I feel like I have had a good rest and now that I'm a few weeks into the school year, I can take some time to do some catching up.

Like I said, nothing much happened in the summer.  Some of my family and I went to the Oregon Coast and rented a beach house located in Seal Rock.  It was soooo much fun!  We went as far south as Coos Bay and when my Dad met us on July 4th, we drove up to Longview, Washington, where he lives.  When we were there, we went to see Mount St. Helens.  I had a great time and it was truly a relaxing type of vacation.  Here are some pictures:

Beach house in Seal Rock

Amy and I

 Haedyn, Tylee, Jen, Dad, Me, Jennifer at Mount St. Helens

 

 

The only other trip I went on was to San Diego for the AVID Conference.  I love going to the AVID Conferences-I learn so much!  I didn't really take any pictures so that is it for that.

 

 

Once school started, it became busy again.  I have great classes this year and I actually feel good about what I'm teaching for the most part.  On September 8th, I ran my first 5k ever!  My sister started us on this 5k last year, but we didn't actually end up running it.  We finally went through with it and we didn't do too bad.  We got it done within about 40 minutes!  More pictures:

 

 

 Before the race: Jonathan, Kerry, Amy, Me 

 Amy, Kerry, and I dragging ourselves across the finish line!

 



 Shaun, Jonathan, Kerry, Amy, and I after the race

 

 

To end this very long blog, Toni Hull and I have decided that we are going to try to be healthier so we have what we call "The Sticker Games" going on.  We purchased a calendar and individual sticker packets (mine are pirate themed) and we get a sticker for every day we work out, every day we DON'T go out to eat, and another for not eating sweets.  I've been able to do it for a whole week although it has been very hard.  We didn't actually start the sticker for the sweets until Friday and let me just let you know that it's killing me! :)  Good news?  I've lost SEVEN pounds so far!!!!!

 

Signing out... for now!



I'm Back!

I have wanted to spend some time actually blogging in the past few months, but my schedule and work ethic were put on trial.  This past year of school has been a tough one and I am so glad that I finally have summer break to recuperate and plan things for next year that will make my life easier.  I think if I do that, I will be able to have a better year.

Don't get me wrong-I had some awesome students this year!  They made teaching really worthwhile.  What I have been sick of are the parents who think their child is entitled to something they don't qualify for or deserve.  Let's just say I had an issue with a parent which got taken all the way to our superintendent and he didn't back me up.  It's very hard to want to spend any effort on anything when the people who are supposed to back you up, don't.  I'm going to try to put it behind me and move on.  It's always about looking on the positive side, right?

Catch Up!

Holy cow! I have had some of the busiest months that I can ever remember! Ever since school started, I haven't had time to breathe let alone blog about anything. One of these days I will be able to get a set schedule, but until that time, I'll just fly by the seat of my pants. Okay, here's a little catch-up:

In July, I was able to go to Sacramento, California for the first time for an AVID conference. Two years ago, I went to my first AVID conference in San Diego. This time I was getting trained to be an AVID elective teacher instead of just for my subject area. I really love the AVID conferences because they involve you in things and I'm not just sitting there being bored to death. I met some awesome people there! Some of the ones I met work for the DOD and were teaching all over the world. Probably the funniest one was Axel. Axel is from Puerto Rico, but is teaching in Germany. He was a hoot!

Axel and I-he kept us all entertained!!

Karen Taylor and I were walking buddies. We went to Old Sacramento where it's a kind of old-style Western set-up. I have to say that Old Town in San Diego was much more fun for me, but I still liked this!

I'm an ol' school ma'rm!

On one of our walks, Karen and I went to the State Capitol of California. It was only about a block or two away from our hotel. We were there the last half hour it was open, but we tried to go to different places.

Congress meets here!

On our last day, Karen and I walked a VERY long way to Sutter's Fort. We were able to go to the different areas and rooms, and I even got to try the shuttle loom. It was way fun!

Pull it tight!

After I got back, I had the Bagley Family Reunion the last weekend of July, and then a few weeks later, school began. During that time, my leg developed a blood clot most likely due to the medication I was taking. No worries though folks! I am officially blood clot free as of about two weeks ago! I think I'll save that story for another time. Maybe I'll feel like writing about it in a few days. Maybe I'll let you, my readers, just wonder for a time. It's not a totally exciting story, but maybe worth telling. What do you think?

Quite An Absence!

I really have no excuses as to why I haven't blogged. I've had the whole summer and I think I've done what?- TWO whole blogs! Wow. I guess part of it is laziness, but another part is that I've been doing other things for work, church, etc. Summer can be just as crazy as the school year I've found out! I will come up with a more interesting post soon-I promise!!

Summer Checklist

I am stealing this idea from my friend, Katie Pugh Alexander (how does it feel to have TWO last names Katie?)! Every summer she makes a list of things she would like to accomplish during the months she has off. I am feeling inspired, especially since we're about 3 weeks into it. So here goes!

1. Read as many books that I want to read as I can. (So far, so good.)

2. Practice the violin every day (I just started lessons)!

3. Work out at the gym every day-except SUNDAY!

4. Watch all the episodes I have so far of "The Glades", "The Mentalist", and "Charmed".

5. Try to cut out the bad kinds of food like junk food and such from my diet.

6. Work on things for the next school year little by little every day.

7. Practice my French.

8. Get out of the house more.

9. Have lunch with some of my friends I don't see very much.

10. Clean my house a little more thoroughly.

I think I'd better keep it at 10 things because I don't know if I can actually accomplish this during the current summer. It's worth a shot though!

Purchase Crazy

Sometimes it's not always a great idea to get your taxes done early. It's sure nice to get the refund. When I got my refund this year, I decided I needed some things. It had been awhile since I had money so I made three major purchases.

A flat-screen T.V.:




An L-Shaped Desk:

Rosetta Stone-French:

Okay, maybe I went a little overboard. Only one of these was a need (can you guess which one?). I have learned that saving money is a good thing and I'm going to try to be very good so I don't squander all my savings. Besides, I have Homeowners and Car Insurances coming due, eye exam, and vehicle registration all in the month of June. Hmmm. I'd better be REALLY good from here on out!

"Beware the Ides of March!"

So says the soothsayer in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Cæsar". Yep, that's right. Today, March 15th, is the "Ides of March". For those who aren't aware, the term "ides" just signifies the 15th of any month. In Shakespeare's play, the soothsayer is warning Julius Cæsar about his upcoming death (at the hands of his friends).

Supposedly, this is a day to be wary of people and not put your trust in them. It's almost as if it's a day of bad luck, like Friday the 13th or something. I didn't do anything dramatic or anything today, but I DID give my G.T. students a test! I also put up "Beware the Ides of March!" on the board. No one really questioned why except a few students who I told to research it. It was fun for me anyway!