Miscellaneous Missives

Instead of making a New Year's resolution, I have decided to look back at 2010. What were last year's achievements and mistakes? Who knows? I've decided to rewind the year starting with December using my blog to help in this process. December -- I love reconnecting with friends via the holiday break and Christmas cards. November -- I spent a lovely afternoon with my Uncle Jim. This is the month the blog challenge started making my posts perhaps a bit more interesting. It was also the month of new boots and snow. October -- According to my blog posts, October was stressful especially at work. My brother sent a CD of childhood pictures was delightful and left me wanting more. I'm not sure of the reason, but October had the fewest entries. September -- It seems September was the month I became addicted to Angry Birds. Since I did nothing but play this game, I'm surprised I had time to post. September was also the month when I took the spiritual memoir writi...

Maybe you've forgotten that I have a bit of fascination with OPI nail polish names. Looking at previous posts might be a bit of a reminder . Anyway, when I accomplish all I can in the public school system and have enough money to retire in Zihautenjo, I am going to engage in conversation with the people at OPI. I can send them names for the polish, and they can send me spending money. Last night I found another way to supplement my income upon retirement. I can help make up the word verification one must enter. My favorite of yesterday was BraBottoms. Of course I didn't think to get a screen shot until today, so this example is not as engaging. Many naysayers are thinking, "Hello! They're computer generated. You can't make money with this idea." Perhaps but I tend to think I'm witty to quite witty and could wow them. Of course I would wow myself if I was actually taking care of what needs to be done instead of posting crazy ideas, but posting cr...

from Thesaurus.com Main Entry: sad Part of Speech: adjective Definition: unhappy, depressed Synonyms: bereaved, bitter, blue*, cheerless, dejected, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, dismal, distressed, doleful, down, down in dumps, down in mouth, downcast, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieved, heartbroken, heartsick, heavyhearted, hurting, in doldrums, in grief, in the dumps, languishing, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, melancholy, morbid, morose, mournful, out of sorts, pensive, pessimistic, sick at heart, somber, sorrowful, sorry, troubled, weeping, wistful, woebegone Although I'm having a wonderful Christmas break with great friends, today I am feeling sad because: I have returned from visiting a friend in the hospital who is still recovering from a brain tumor surgery she had in August. Everyone gets excited when she can walk three steps or speak a word. This makes me sad and worried. This past weekend I learned of a college friend whose home is being foreclos...

First Snow by Mary Oliver The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty and what the meaning; such an oracular fever! flowing past windows, an energy it seemed would never ebb, never settle less than lovely! and only now, deep into night, it has finally ended. The silence is immense, and the heavens still hold a million candles, nowhere the familiar things: stars, the moon, the darkness we expect and nightly turn from. Trees glitter like castles of ribbons, the broad fields smolder with light, a passing creek bed lies heaped with shining hills; and though the questions that have assailed us all day remain — not a single answer has been found – walking out now into the silence and the light under the trees, and through the fields, feels like one. I realize it is far from the first snow, but I appreciated this poem. Yesterday I arrived in Okoboji to the most beautiful snow. It almost looked like fa...

Work of Christmas Begins When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with the flocks, then the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal those broken in spirit, to feed the hungry, to release the oppressed, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among all peoples, to make a little music with the heart… And to radiate the Light of Christ, every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say. Then the work of Christmas begins. -- Howard Thurman, adapted Meister Eckhart once asked, "What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart?" Often I concentrate on the gifts, the sweets, the decorations, the time off work... Although I think the meaning of Christmas is in my mind, it often is not forefront. Then I think of Meister Eckhart's quote. What good is even the meaning of Christmas if I don't choose to live my life...

This morning I walked through the newly fallen snow to Whole Foods for a few items. As I was trying to use the Restore machine to refill my laundry detergent (HEY! It's the holidays. Doesn't there have to be consumerism and product placement?), I could hear a little boy at the front door declaring that he was getting gifts. It was adorable. He was probably three or four, and he had a grin on his face that showed his excitement. Also, he was perched in a type of squat position with his mittened hands waving (I hope he isn't sore as I am today after doing squats with too much weight yesterday.). When it was my turn at the register, I made sure the cashier knew that I, too, was getting gifts!

This afternoon I had my first ever winter pedicure. Typically I save this pampering for the summer when my toes are showing. Life is good. After the pedicure and exchanging of gifts with a dear friend, we had a lovely dinner. Life is good. We followed dinner with more conversation at my house. Life is good. Plus tomorrow I will be sharing dinner and drinks with 15 people at her house. Life is good. To make the evening even better, I turned on Rachel Maddow after my dear friend left to view the lovely embedded video of Pat Robertson calling for the legalization of marijuana... Pat Robertson (hee hee). Life is good.

This morning I had a hot cocoa for breakfast. I followed it with a series of chocolates, home-made caramels, candy canes, and various other sugary treats. When a colleague asked me if I wanted a bagel this morning, I said, "No thanks, I'm sticking with sweets." I continued this throughout the day and gradually began to fail. After school I met a friend for a glass of wine and conversation before book club. At this point I realized I needed bread and/or food that was void of sugar. It seems I go a bit crazy during this time of year. Maybe I'm afraid if I don't eat all the sweets and treats, they will spoil. My goal for tomorrow is only one sweet per hour. It doesn't seem as though I'm cutting back, but it will definitely help with the sugary intake. Plus, I'm actually going to the gym, so there's another hour without sweets.

The Longest Night by Peter Mayer Light a candle, sing a song Say that the shadows shall not cross Make an oblation out of all you’ve lost In the longest night Gather friends and cast your hopes Into the fire as it snows And stare at God through the dark windows Of the longest night Of the year CHORUS: A night that seems like a lifetime If you’re waiting for the sun So why not sing to the nighttime And the burning stars up above? Come with drums, bells and horns Or come in silence, come forlorn Come like a miner to the door Of the longest night For deep in the stillness, deep in the cold Deep in the darkness, a miner knows That there is a diamond in the soul Of the longest night Of the year CHORUS: Maybe peace hides in a storm Maybe winter’s heart is warm And maybe light itself is born In the longest night In the longest night Of the year The longest night and the shortest day mark the official start of winter. As the day began after midnight, a lunar eclipse and a full moon joined the...

Although my first post of the 2010 Blog Challenge (using new media) was a bit weak, I did embed a link, so it counts. I am pleased to say that this post will complete my 30th post in this challenge. Of course I did not do it alone. A friend gave me a couple of sites that helped me search out "new media". Let's be honest, I'm still not sure that I know the definition of "new media". Now that I have completed my thirty posts (yea me!), I thought it would be helpful to leave a list of my resources: 23 Things on a Stick Garrison Sites The Generator Blog As the grand finale, I also used SurveyMonkey to make a survey about this 2010 Blog Challenge. How's that for "new media"? Please take the survey. Click here to take survey

Do you remember the stickers that you could put on photos? Actually, I can't remember the last time I printed out a photo unless one counts my Christmas card. For my 29th post of the 2010 Blog Challenge I used Captioner at Bighugelabs.com. Since I'm in Okoboji by myself, I used pictures from my iPhoto instead of taking new pictures. Snow and trees and... don't talk. If you recognize the cat, it's because he's been in pictures during this challenge. If you recognize the dog, I used her during the summer blog challenge. Actually, I used the same picture . It's one of my favorites.

WooHoo! It's Friday, and this is my 28th post in the 2010 Blog Challenge. Life is good! Plus this evening I'll actually be able to make my trip to Okoboji postponed due to last weekends 16" of snow. Today's prescription maker was an idea found at www.generatorblog.blogspot.com . It's a bit lame because I can't really figure out how to embed it, so I took a screenshot of the prescription. Maybe it doesn't matter. It's Friday, and I only have two posts left in this challenge.

Since I'm trying to be creative and find new ideas, I went to The National Archives Experience and made this poster after reading The Fall of Giants (WWI historical fiction). I'm not sure the link works, so I added the screen shot. I found this site Tuesday night when I was searching for "New Media". Wednesday I told a colleague (social studies teacher) of my find and my excitement about the prospects of making a WWI poster. Of course he already knew of the site. Even if others know of this interesting site, it's still my 27th post of the 2010 blog challenge. I'm feeling confident that I will make it to thirty before winter break begins!

Although I do love my job, sometimes I get frustrated. My latest frustration has come in the form of a practicum student. As a favor to a friend, I accepted two practicum students. One of the practicum students (LA) was helpful to quite helpful. She was pleasant and informed. After the first day I knew she would do well in a middle school classroom. She finished her hours on Friday, and I was sad to see her go. The other (CR) was the exact opposite. Of course she came in two days this week to finish her hours. I spent Monday and Tuesday following behind her and calling students out into the hall to alleviate the confusion she had brought to their writing. She also questioned me at least three times. My stress level will be lessened today by her absence. My 26th post of the 2010 blog challenge is a self-absorbed piece of whining. The "new media" is from Imagechef.com. It's basically worthless, but I did attempt something new. Wow! Please excuse the whinin...

The streets in Minneapolis make challenging driving. I think it was easier driving around Saturday during the storm when it was snow packed without any drivers. Snow is piled up everywhere, and it's only December. It's going to be a long winter. I tried Vuvox (Thanks to KC and LH... again), and it was adequate. It makes my 25th post of the 2010 Blog Challenge, and I'm running out of ideas. It seems that the last five may be reused ideas. The posts will be new, but the ideas... BTW- The Calvin and Hobbs cartoons came from a forwarded post I received on Saturday... good timing I would say.

The latest tax cut legislation has left me disillusioned with our president and upset with the weakness of the Democratic party. Lately I heard an analogy that explains what is happening with the tax cuts. A gentleman at church yesterday compared it to his bird feeder. One Junco comes in and takes over the entire bird feeder while all the little chickadees gather on the ground for the scraps that fall down. I decided to give Glogster a try. It looks like I may need a little more practice and/or patience with it. Thanks LH and KC for the introduction to Glogster. It made my 24th Blog Challenge Post possible.

Snow Day by Billy Collins Today we woke up to a revolution of snow, its white flag waving over everything, the landscape vanished, not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness, and beyond these windows the government buildings smothered, schools and libraries buried, the post office lost under the noiseless drift, the paths of trains softly blocked, the world fallen under this falling. In a while I will put on some boots and step out like someone walking in water, and the dog will porpoise through the drifts, and I will shake a laden branch, sending a cold shower down on us both. But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house, a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow. I will make a pot of tea and listen to the plastic radio on the counter, as glad as anyone to hear the news that the Kiddie Corner School is closed, the Ding-Dong School, closed, the All Aboard Children's School, closed, the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed, along with -- some will be delighted to hear -- the To...

Last night I watched a bit of both Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on television (old media). Both showed clips of Bernie Sanders (US Senator, Vermont, I). I was impressed by his knowledge and spirit. He used FACTS (charts, graphs, statistics), something missing in the debates of late, to show his disgust with the latest tax cut bill and the growing disparity between the rich and poor. After watching parts, I began to wish someone had posted a time lapse video of his speech (8 1/2 hours) with periodic sound bites (a good use of new media). Many of my liberal friends are becoming frustrated with Obama. Lately, I commented such feelings on a friend's Facebook page (new media- social networking). Her response ("One of my friends said today, if Obama keeps this up, the Republicans will be running him as THEIR Presidential Candidate in 2012.") frightened me a bit although I am beginning to believe it. We need more intelligent voices (such as Bernie Sanders-- embedd...

As I admitted on Facebook (social network = new media?), I actually enjoyed Anita Shreve's latest novel Rescue . Because I tend to be a bit snobbish with books, this is a big thing for me. Anyway Wednesday night I went to listen to her at the Fitzgerald ( Talking Volumes -- notice link?). I enjoyed listening to her as she talked about writing. Maybe I even enjoyed her more than the other authors this year. Unfortunately I couldn't tell if it was her or our fabulous seats. Anyway she also talked about her dislike for electronic books (Kindle and iPad were mentioned) although she admitted that Wednesday was the first day she had an experience with either. Again I digress. She was talking about how important the actual book was for her especially the cover (BTW- I dislike the cover of this novel). Finally she admitted that many had been sold via Kindle (or whatever) and that men might read more of her books without the embarrassment of being seen with a girl on the cover....

Sometimes I get forwarded e-mails. For example, on Sunday I can count on K to send me three to ten forwards. Some people never send me forwards, so I always open them. This was one P sent me. It was odd since she never sends forwards, and well... I decided to make use of the animal pictures to complete blog challenge #20. Although I have used Picture Trail already, I needed an outlet for this email. The message read, "Our planet is populated with plenty of bizarre and astonishing creatures without the need for resorting to fiction. Some are rare and some are on the verge of extinction. Here are 15 of the most peculiar creatures known to mankind." What else was I supposed to do with such an e-mail? Merely delete it?

Could someone please explain how this.... became this... Maybe it shows my age, but I find this completely appalling. In reality, I did have another post for today, but after seeing this... Blog Challenge Post #18.

I'm not sure if people have seen enough of my cat ( Kitty Klaus ), so I created a little video using Elfyourself.com (JibJab). A couple of years ago, I did the same thing with photos of my brother, his wife, and my father and e-mailed it. My intent was to embed it in my post today for blog challenge entry #17, but it costs $4.99 to embed. Instead of embedding the video , I'm going to attach the link , and save five bucks still completing blog entry #17.

I awoke this morning feeling a little woozy. By the time I arrived at school, I had passed woozy. Without sub plans or a sub, I gave instructions to a colleague and returned home. Today was the introductory day to the Moment in Time writing assignment. Although I have no idea how the class went, I do know that at least one student appreciated the Kevin Kling stories. When I checked e-mails mid-day, the media clerk had e-mailed. It seems one of my students had already been in the media center looking for the stories I had on podcast and video link. Maybe I touched one student with my media presentation without being in the room. Sooo... I post blog challenge post 16 from the couch. Although it's not super creative, it's one of my best posts considering how I feel. Besides it fits the guideline #1, "Create media 5 times per week. A blog entry counts as media, thank the lord. But, it's even cooler if you have other media embedded or linked."

"Month of December--the shoe is covered with dirt: Heavy the land, flagging the sun; Bare are the trees, still is the muscle." ~anon. Welsh poem Yesterday morning after the big snow fall, I donned my boots and walked The Greenway into Uptown to workout. First I had to layer and prepare for the cold. I decided to leave early and take my camera to capture the winter images. Although I'm not a fan of the cold, I really do enjoy the beauty of the snow that blankets everything. I wanted to put them in a type of mosaic on Bighugelabs.com, but it didn't work as I had wished. Instead of arranging all of my photographic masterpieces, it concentrated on one which was kind of cool. I think it would have worked better with the bridge image since I could only focus on one although the berries were brighter. After experimenting I gave up and did a more boring mosaic to represent the images of my morning tramp through the snow. Anyway, thanks again to Bighugelabs.com I have c...

First, I don't remember the intro being so cheesy. I merely remember running around saying, "Here I come to save the day!" Today I am saving the world by changing my profile picture on Facebook following the directions, "Change your profile picture to a cartoon character from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until Monday (Dec 6) there should be no human faces on Facebook, but an invasion of memories. This is a campaign to stop violence against children." Who makes this stuff up? Anyway, I am saving the world and using new media. After downloading a new picture to Facebook and embedding a video to my post, I have concluded Blog Challenge #14. "A little weak?" you ask. Saving the world and completing a challenge post is not weak. The only weak thing about this post is that Mighty Mouse may have had more to do with a drinking competition in college and not a childhood memory, but I'm not quite sure. It doesn't matter....

I love my iPod Touch as I have frequently posted. Not too long ago, a friend suggested a new app, Cut the Rope. Although it is not the same friend that suggested Angry Birds , she was instrumental in my addiction to Angry Birds. It saddens me to admit, but I also spend too much time playing Cut the Rope , but it's not quite as addictive. She is also a colleague, so I was chatting with her the yesterday at work. As I was leaving, she commented, "Three Words. Angry Birds Seasons ." I turned back with interest and decided it must be the App update alert on my touch. Since I had plenty of things to do, I didn't update it until today. Yea! Another time killer is downloaded to my iPod Touch. Adding a new app to my touch is always entertaining, but I always feel as though there are apps that I should have if only I knew about them. Today as I was checking my news feeds on GoogleReader, I found an interesting article , Top 10 Must-Have Apps for the iPhone, and Som...

Next week we are going to start a writing project entitled "Moment in Time". The purpose is to get the seventh graders to focus their writing instead of writing pages and pages about unicorns, ninjas, dinosaurs, etc. They need to take one moment from their life, focused moment, and write about it with detail. I wanted to use a portion of Kevin Kling's story Snow Day to illustrate brevity and story telling. I'm also going to use this Youtube video (concentrating only on the being hit by lightening part). After listening to Kling's stories, I knew he was a good example of story telling and brevity. This writing project is new, and I'm excited to see if the students can use the Six Traits, follow the writing process, and actually focus their story. I used Garage Band (Of course it's been a long time since I've used Garage Band, so I needed help-- useful help and information given graciously by the fabulous media specialist) to abbreviate Kevin Kling...

This morning I walked into school without a winter coat although I did have one in the car. As I approached the school, I noticed a young man without a coat. I was concerned that he didn't have a winter coat, so I stopped to talk to him. I asked him if he had a coat and questioned why he wasn't wearing one realizing the irony as I wasn't wearing one either. We had a nice chat, and I felt that he did have a coat although I left feeling a bit sheepish. Today's experience reminded me of a picture I'm going to use on this year's Christmas card. It's one of the childhood photos my brother sent. I used bighugelabs.com to make it look like a puzzle. Notice I'm actually wearing a hood and a winter coat in the snow. Perfect! Blog Challenge #11 is finished.