FREE At Last!!

It's August 5th and I have finished with my technology final and turned all my curriculum development assignments in and I'm FREE at last!!! I can unplug from my laptop for at least 2 weeks and take a deep, cleansing breath! I don't know about the rest of my fellow classmates, but I believe the weight of the world has just been lifted from my shoulders!

Almost Done!

It' s been awhile since I last posted! There have been many things happen since then. Had a little crisis with the bulletin board. My internet provider at my house hates me. Yes, it does. Actually, it's possessed. It knows when I sit down to log on and try to do some work because it immediately goes down. I can walk past the modem 50 times and see that we have a connection, but as soon as I turn my laptop on, BAM! No service! I get up, walk away for a little while and guess what's back? Yep, my connection. I sit down again and BAM! no service. I really think someone is trying to make me crazy! I have taken to yelling colorful 'words' at the computer screen and wanting to throw something. I saw this website on the news yesterday. It's called 'Twitter" and it askes one question.....What are you doing? Apparently, it's a place for people to vent about things. This one lady was having trouble with Comcast Cable Internet service. She called them a couple of times so that they could figure out why her service kept going down?! sound familiar? Well, she went to this site and started talking about all the trouble she was having and about how long it was going to take for them to come out and fix the problem. Her working partner called her within a couple of hours after she posted her complaint to ask who she had talked to at Comcast and just what did she say to them, because they were on the phone wanting to know if they could send someone right away to fix the problem! Corporations like Target, Comcast, Dell and others monitor that website so that they can keep their 'good' name from being sullied. (not sure of spelling) Very interesting!

Ok. Done with that ranting. I am starting to feel much better knowing that after this week, I can breathe again until August 11th! (That's when I go back on contract!) Believe me, I am so ready!

Bulletin Boards & Becoming my Mother

There was a mad rush on bulletin boards today! Renee was finishing hers when I got there to start mine and Lesley's crew showed up shortly after. Since I'm terrible with names, I can't tell you who the other lady was that showed up to do her board. I do apologize to you~ I can now mark two things off my to-do list....business card and bulletin board. Dr. H. loaned me a curriculum development plan so that I could make sure that I know what I'm doing for Dr. W.'s class! Since my brain has turned to mush and I can't seem to form a coherent thought now days! It was kinda fun working on those boards with everyone that was there! I do believe the my husband and I gave some comic relief! My drama queen daughter, got into a little trouble when she couldn't keep her smart mouth shut. I believe she told me that she now has a "LARGE" bruise on her back! Well, I couldn't just outright hit her in the office, so I pinched her, and I was instantly taken back to when I was her age. My mother could pinch the fire out of us and no one would ever be the wiser! I think I have finally become my mother. LOL
I did apologize to her for hurting her, but I think she will think twice before she gets "smart" with me again in public.

Bringing things into Perspective!

I'm behind in my postings, my webquest, my bulletin board, my newsletter, my chapter reviews, and all of my curriculum development assignments! Sound familiar to any of you? I did create my business card. So, one down and a billion to go! LOL

As I've been reading through other's blog sites, I've been reminded of how quick our lives can be turned upside down. (Anna's husband and friend, Rachel going out of town to help a friend who has lost a loved one) I don't know how many of you saw last Thursday on the news where there had been a wreck on the access road of Hwy 67/167, but there was a gentleman who was killed in that wreck. The car that he hit head-on had a husband, wife, son and nephew in it and their car caught on fire. I just remember listening to that on the radio coming back from my classroom with my children. I kept thinking how terrible! Then Saturday night, while I was working on school stuff and watching the tv, my husband came to ask me what the little boy's name is that lives in my father-in-law's rent house. (which happens to be next door to us) I wasn't sure what Nicholas' last name was, so my husband began to read a very small article to me that was in the Cabot paper. As it turns out, the family that was involved in that wreck, is my neighbor and their son is friends with my son. I had no idea that their lives had been changed in the blink of an eye. Had it not been for the people who witnessed that wreck, stopping and doing 'what had to be done', none of the four of them would be here today. My last information update on them was, Mom and Dad had some broken bones that had to be repaired surgically and Nicholas was sent to Children's hospital with several skull fractures. This is where I get really choked up. His parents were in a separate hospital from him and he was placed in a drug-induced coma to keep him from causing any more damage to his head. They seem to think he's going to be fine, but he's not out of the woodwork yet. It is a miracle that they are all still alive, what's even more amazing is Nicholas' cousin was in the backseat of the car with him and he walked away with out a scratch! They all had their seatbelts on!
So, I have a new outlook on all the unfinished homework that is piling up on me, and I'll work on it as a snail's pace and finish it by my deadlines, but I'm also going to procrastinate and spend some quality time with my children and say lots of prayers for my neighbor, for my classmates, and for myself!

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader

Here I sit, trying to work on my discussion questions for Media and Technology class, with the tv on! Yes, I know. Shame on me for watching tv instead of doing my homework, or thinking I can do both. Funny that the game show "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" is on because I teach 5th grade. So far, I'm two for two. Easy questions from 1st and 2nd grade. As I think about what I'm supposed to be doing, I birdwalk a little and start wondering if I am smarter than a fifth grader. Do I really know the stuff that I expect my students to know? Sure, I have the teacher's addition and it has all the answers in it, but would I know that stuff if I didn't have the teacher's book? I find any excuse to second guess myself. At this point, I'm 3 for 3. Yep, I'm on a roll. Alas, I'm having trouble focusing on one activity and now I'm 4 for 4 answering questions on this game show. So, I'm going to end my blog and finish watching this show and then I'm going to finish answering the questions for chapters 1-4.

Overwhelmed!!!

I am beginning to think that I have bitten off a lot more than I can chew this summer! Between having children, a husband and working on my master's degree, I can barely breathe!!!! Thankfully, my 10 year old is done with tournament softball, because the two classes that I'm taking this semester are going to KILL me!!! ROTFL!! I keep telling myself that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but when my 12 year old hears me saying this.....She is quick to inform me that "there really isn't a light and I'll never find my way out of the tunnel". This is my drama queen and she will be taking forensic classes this next year.