Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Picture 167 - Lazy, lazy day.


Monday was my first true day off. No time to get up, no where to be, no one requiring anything of me until 8 pm. So I decided to really enjoy it and do almost nothing. I did manage to get some laundry done and get the cat fixed and make some lunch, but that was the extent of it. Otherwise, I grabbed a good book, a comfy spot on the floor, some pillows and the fan and had a great day. Of course, now that I've had my lazy day it's time to get started on my summer projects and use this time to be productive!

Picture 166 - It's been a while.


I usually try to refrain from doing too many pictures of my cats, or my cousin's kids. But seeing as it had been a while, I figured I could use them again. On Sunday I went to my aunt's to visit. It had been a while since we had seen each other and everyone was headed there for lunch. Wesley and I had a good time playing with the camera, and he even took some pictures as well (they didn't turn out quite so well).

Picture 165 - Shopping




I dislike shopping, the rush, the uncertainty, the trying on of 30 different items of clothing to find just two that work. So when I set out Saturday morning to shop, I was by myself (no need to make anyone else suffer), went as early as I could (to avoid the rush), and resolved not to walk away until I had the necessary items. A few months ago it was mentioned that I needed to spice up my wardrobe a bit, so I set off in search of a great deal on some fun items of clothing. In the end I did end up with an excellent deal and some fun clothes, so the day was a success.

Picture 164 - Toy Story!


There has been a recent trend of releasing movies that are in 3-d. For the most part I've chosen not to go because it seems pretty overrated. Though, in the case of Avatar, I do regret this. Looks like it would have been amazing to see in 3-d. Some friends decided that Friday night they would go see the new Toy Story movie and I decided I'd give this 3-d thing a try. The glasses are a long way from the cardboard, one blue lens, one red lens glasses that I remember when I was young. Turns out I hadn't been missing much with the 3-d thing either. It just added depth to the movie and made it seem more realistic. I was really hoping that there would be more things that "jumped out" at us. The story was good though and so that made it worth it.

Picture 163 - Yummy goodness


As a thank you one of my student's parents gave me a gift card to Cold Stone. It's one of those places I only go for a "special treat" owing to the fact that I can gain five pounds by just walking in the doors. But seeing as this was a gift card specifically to there, I couldn't justify wasting it. And besides, I've been playing a lot of tennis lately. That's good ice cream calorie burning work.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Picture 162 - Thanks DeAnne


My apartment now looks like what my sister's closet door used to look like. I was asked to help pace out the state curriculum for literacy and seeing as how I'm not the strongest literacy teacher, I was a little wary. But, one of the best ways to get better at something is to spend time working on it. So to that end, I decided to spend some time really take the standard course of study apart piece by piece. The result is now I have a clearer picture of what I want to accomplish. The next step is to figure out how.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Picture 161 - Rain, rain...


In this case I do not want the rain to go away. I want it to continue to downpour until all the humidity has left the air and I can walk outside without feeling like I will stick to everything. I want to have a giant thunderstorm and sit by the window, curled up with a good book. Seeing as the weather often does not do as I want, I will enjoy what rain we get while it's here. The first summer I was in NC, there was a drought so bad that large towns were looking at a day or two's supply of water and that was it. I think that this year, we are in no such danger, and for that I am grateful.

Picture 160 - That's Disgusting!


On Friday morning I was running around scrambling trying to get myself out the door on time. For breakfast I had decided on a glass of chocolate milk for the road. I sat it on the tv stand, put on my shoes, grabbed my keys and walked out the door....without the chocolate milk. Turns out this is what will happen to the top part of the chocolate milk when left out in an apartment that reaches 82 degrees most of the day. I was completely surprised and totally did not expect this. The reason I had forgotten about the milk Friday night when I got home was that there was no smell. Turns out whatever this spongy thing was, it absorbed the smell. Suffice it to say, as soon as I had a picture, I quickly put it in a bag and took it out to the trash.

Picture 159 - As beautiful as a Magnolia in May


Growing up in an area of the country where we don't have Magnolias, I had never heard this expression before. But as I have watched the trees around my parking lot bloom, I've very much enjoyed these flowers. They smell wonderful and are beautiful to look at for the few days they are open. Saturday morning I went out for a walk and took my camera along, determined the take a picture of the last few remaining flowers.

Picture 158 - Good times


In celebration of a year well done (because in fact, it did end very well), a group of friends decided to go out and celebrate! Seeing as two particular friends leave the country every time my birthday comes around, I made them join in the fun this time. It was so much fun just talking and chilling and having nothing so much to do.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Picture 157 - Zai Jian


Wow! I'm a little amazed at just how fast this year went. One of the things I love about my job is that it is never the same two weeks in a row, let alone two years in a row. After the struggles, tears, and hard times of last year, this year seemed so much easier. It was in no way without its difficulties or frustrations, but after surviving last year, I knew it couldn't be as bad. I had some great kids with really sweet attitudes (for the most part) and I was able to be a lot more patient and positive this year. Our third grade team came away with some pretty high numbers on our EOG tests, and as much as I hate those stupid standardized tests, it's a really good feeling to have the kids perform well. Now for 6 more days of work and then 7 weeks of vacation. Michigan here I come!!!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Picture 156 - Creativity


Today I told the class that for the afternoon we could watch a movie. This a rare enough event, but it's the end of the year. Because I only had 12 kids, I invited the other classes to come in. Because of this, we didn't have enough room for my kids to lay down any more. So I told them their options were to sit on their bottom on the floor, or to sit at a desk. One of my ingenious students decided that she still wanted to lay down and she found a way to do it within the parameters I set. Gotta love 3rd grade creativity.

Picture 155 - How the years have flown


I was not even remotely athletically gifted in high school (and really not much has changed since then). So when a friend decided that they would introduce me to tennis in exchange for math tutoring, I figured what could it hurt. She provided me with a racket, strapped on her tennis shoes, and prepared to accomplish the impossible. Now 13 years later I still have the racket (though the Wilson "W" has faded), I have lost contact with the friend, traveled thousands of miles, and learned how to keep the ball in between the lines. Now just to master some speed and, as Brad would say, learn to move my feet.

Picture 154 - Current Events


In my summative evaluation I was told that I needed to intentionally bring the outside world into my classroom. I.E. covering world events on a third grade level. One of the things we spent about two weeks talking about was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I remember when the Exxon Valdiz crashed in Alaska and all the commercials showing birds being cleaned off with Dawn dish soap. It's been a great opportunity to discuss cause and effect as well and problem and solutions. The kids came up with some great questions and some rather creative ways to solve our dependence on oil. Who knows, maybe one of my kids will eventually find a solution and I can say I knew them when.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Picture 153 - Something famous... maybe?


On my way home from Charlotte, I decided to take the scenic route and stop to take pictures along the way. Down in Rockingham there is, what I'm guessing to be, an old, partially destroyed building. It's covered in vines and looks part of the landscape now. I had thought it was really cool before, but was with friends and didn't want to make them stop. Today, being on my own, I could find a spot to park my car and take pictures to my hearts content. A friend of mine had said that this was the background for some movie. I have yet to verify that, but I thought it was pretty neat.

Picture 152 - Charlotte!!


My car needed one last road test to make sure everything was running fine after I got it back on Thursday. So Saturday morning I packed up some overnight things and headed to Charlotte to chill for the weekend. It was such a fun time of meeting new people, hanging out, talking, and trying a new restaurant. (Basil's will have to be one of those restaurants I try again!) Before we headed back out to the house, we drove around the city looking for a good skyline shot for me. I have to admit, I didn't actually take this picture (I was on the wrong side of the car for it), but I really liked it. I hope to head back sometime and just spend the day in the downtown area. It would be a great place to take my camera and just get lost for a day.

Picture 151 - That time of year again


So, apparently today was not a very exciting day. The excitement comes from the fact that today signals that the ending of the school year is near and the beginning of summer is not long off. The time of flip flops and strappy shoes is one of my favorites. In celebration of survival of another school year and the coming show-your-toes shoes, I have decided a pedicure would be in order.

Picture 150 - Fun was had by all


Because I'm not quite as creative as my brother-in-law, and in an effort to curb the chunkiness that Linus seems to be acquiring, I got him a mouse toy. Something to stalk, chase, and jump in the air to catch. Turns out I'm having just as much fun with it as he is. He gets so into it that he'll jump 3 to 4 feet in the air to catch it. I'm guessing it's probably coated in catnip. This picture was taken before he managed to rip the mouse off the string and I had to retie it to the tab.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Picture 149 - So sad


Linus is getting ready to head to the vet's office so I had to get him a carrying case. From this picture, it wouldn't look like it, but he's quite a chunker and I wanted to make sure he would fit. After the first few moments, he settled down quite well. I'm sure he'll be fine, but oh, the look on his face made me laugh. I can't even imagine what'll happen when he gets his shots.

Picture 148 - just desserts


I don't dislike laundry, per say, but I really detest folding/hanging it and putting it away. (Incidentally, the same goes with dishes) So, it seems for the last few days I've been choosing my clothes from out of the dryer. Me and my forgetful self left one day without shutting the door to the dryer and it seems Lucy has decided that this is a perfectly good place to rest. So, back into the wash these fur covered clothes went and this time they got dried, hung up and put away even. That'll teach me to be lazy.

Picture 147 - nap time?


After spending all day in the sun on Sunday, Monday seemed like the perfect day to kick back and relax. No school, no alarm clocks and no schedule. I curled up with a good book, intent on getting some reading done only to wake up 2 hours later from a nice nap. It may be old and falling apart, but I've never had a chair put me to sleep that fast. Maybe it's a good thing I'm headed home for the summer, less nap times for me might equal more productivity, maybe.