Miscellaneous Missives

Last year I titled my year end blog "A Year of Firsts."  This year I'm going with A Year of Cycling although I hope it was a bit more than merely biking. January brought my first clip-in shoes.  They proved a combination of good and bad, but at least I was able to practice at the gym on the spin bikes before hitting the trails/roads. February brought this beautiful ice sculpture thanks to Minneapolis Institute of the Arts celebrating a big birthday although I can't remember which one.  It also seems it must have been fairly boring since I didn't blog much.  Typically, I'm not a fan of February's cold. March Madness included all three Division I Iowa schools although Iowa State is my favorite.  Unfortunately, they lost in their first round game which caused me to start the class after the loss with tears in my eyes... literally.   April brought this lovely wrist brace which I actually forgot about until I was looking throu...

Have you noticed that Goodreads gives a breakdown of your 2015 books?  I think this is interesting.  Although it didn't give me my top five books, I went through and looked at the stars to calculate my favorite six.  I chose six because I gave five stars to six books.  They're in alphabetical order. 1.  Are You Experienced?  by Jordan Sonneblick -- YA 2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 3.  The Edge of Eternity by Ken Follet 4.  The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo:  A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky by Kent Nerburn 5.  The New Jim Crow:  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander 6.  Reading Nonfiction:  Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies by Kylene Beers -- Teacher As I looked at the list, I questioned my stars.  Some of my books stood out as amazing although they only received four stars.  These are also in alphabeti...

Today I received an email from Map My Ride stating, "Your 2015 stats are in."  I was impressed with the number of miles I rode in 2015; I won't lie.  Looking at this post, however, and the comparison from riding from NYC to Miami, made me even more happy with my miles.  Woot!

For the last month, I've had a weight lifting class scheduled in my phone.  For a month, when the alarm goes off telling me it's time to get ready for class, I delete the event.  Since I have plenty of time during winter break, my excuses are not longer acceptable.  Tonight I went back to Pumped (weight lifting) class.  Even though I haven't been to a weightlifting class for almost two years, the instructor was happy to see me.  She's the best.  Although I'll be sore tomorrow and perhaps the next day, I hope I can get back into the routine.

A friend and I went to see Creed tonight.  It was actually my idea.  Although I'm not a movie goer, I wanted to see Creed and still want to see Concussion .  After consulting with a movie expert (IMHO), I chose Creed, and we went to the movie.  I really liked it and found it to be a combination of all those attributes (caring, grit, love, tragedy...) I like to see in life as well as the movies.  Watching movies in the theater is difficult because I want to get out my phone and fact check as I go or get questions of some sort answered.  Last night I even wanted to check the ending, but I kept my phone on my lap.  I still need to know how much time is left, so I can try to figure out when and how it's going to end.  On the way home, as one does, we discussed different parts of the movie including things I wanted to know from the original Rocky.   First, I wanted to know about this Michael B. Jordan.  Was he the son of Michael Jor...

Today is Boxing Day .  From what I can figure out, it started as a day to give servants gifts and a day off in England.  It seems it's turned into a day of shopping (which I did by going to the grocery store) and a day of hanging at the pub (which I'll enforce by drinking beer with my pizza tonight).  Anyway, happy Boxing Day.  Feel free to add any additional information about Boxing Day in the comments.

This video really is a Christmas video, and I believe it's worth the listen. "O God of new beginnings, who brings light out of night's darkness and fresh green out of the hard winter earth, there is barren land between us as people and as nations this day, there are empty stretches of soul within us. Give us eyes to see new dawnings of promise. Give us ears to hear fresh soundings of birth." ~ John Phillip Newell A friend gifted me chocolate Babka midweek.  Although I still have some left, it's a miracle.  Who knew of this wonderful treat?  Babka and coffee while opening presents isn't a bad way to start Christmas morning. Merry Christmas to all!

I love Christmas Eve services at church.  When I'm asked what I'm doing on Christmas eve, I mention that I'm going to church.  It doesn't seem like a way to spend Christmas Eve, and I think some worry that I'm not with family, but I find it to perfect.  My two services of choice are the typical carol service the contemplative labyrinth service.  Since the first service I attend is at 12 with the next service at 2, I stay at church between the services.  Today I geeked on my phone a bit in the empty chapel before going upstairs to the art gallery.  Some would say I was early, but I would say my timing was perfects since I was able to watch the musicians (flute, guitar, cello, and piano) and singers practice.  It was lovely. Actually, I started the day by trying to give blood.  It seemed that giving blood would be a "giving" way to start my Christmas Eve, the season of giving and all.  Instead of giving blood, I was given the message of low...

Happy Festivus !  I don't necessarily need a holiday to air my grievances since I typically don't have any problems saying what's on my mind, but I wanted to remind everyone of this tradition.  BTW- When did Hulu start charging?  I guess I really don't watch much TV.  To celebrate I wanted to watch the entire episode but not enough to pay for it.

Yesterday, I helped my dad and his significant other at their new house instead of giving them gifts for Christmas.  I took down old curtain rods and blinds, helped with insulation, and removed wallpaper.  Upon arriving, I was greeted my JC, the neighbor's dog.  This dog is starving for attention and does not get it from her owners.  In fact, he basically runs free all day until her primary owner arrives back home at night.  Although her owners don't seem to realize it, this dog is beautiful, bright and sweet.  Throughout the day, I threw her ball when she followed me to the garage or dumpster or any place outside.  Even when I was inside, she had a knack for following me and looking in the windows.  It seemed as though she knew each room I was in as she appeared in various windows, upstairs and downstairs, looking at me.  Sometimes she would actually throw her ball against the wall or window to get me to play.    I felt so bad f...

Today I decided to listen to the Serial season one podcast since I'd heard good things yet had never listened to it.  I know many, all, have probably listened to the season one and are on to season two, and I'm not sure what took me so long to "get with the program (get it... see what I did...)."  After listening to the first five episodes, I really want to finish the season.  I wish trip to my dad's and back would have been longer.  Maybe this is the motivation I need to get on the treadmill since I can listen to the remaining episodes.

My plan was to go to spin class this morning, but I awoke with a horrible headache.  After taking a fistful (not really) of Advil, I decided to go back to bed until it subsided.  When I awoke, I tackled some cleaning and finally changed the filters (water and furnace).  Heck, I even took out the recycling (always a chore) and the trash.  Feeling pleased with my work, I decided to have some breakfast around noon.  It seemed too late in the day for oatmeal, and I need to grocery shop for smoothie ingredients, so I decided to stick with what was in the refrigerator... fudge, poppycock  and coffee.  It seems my plans to have a healthy break have been put on hold until tomorrow.

Tonight I attended Black Nativity at the Penumbra Theater.  On out Dusk to Dawn ride this summer, we learned that Penumbra was the only professional African American theaters in the Twin Cities, and one of the few in the country.    After this ride, I started following the Penumbra Theater on Facebook and was excited when a friend asked if I wanted to go to Black Nativity.  Both of us were surprised to find that it was written by Langston Hughes.  In fact, I had to look it up when I returned home to figure out if he actually chose the music for the play.  To be honest, it was nice to go with a "like-minded" person because as we discussed the performance on the way home, we had similar beliefs and reactions. Anyway, it was a phenomenal production.  I was amazed by both the singers and the dancers.  Perhaps I should make this a yearly event to celebrate the season.

I'm not sure how this happened, but sometime during the day I decided it was Friday.  I think it was because I was dang productive during prep.  Everything was taken care of, including my desk, and I was prepared to leave school for break.  A colleague kindly shares her Keurig machine.  As I was brewing my coffee at lunch, she mentioned we were doing well with cream since there was only a little left.  Since I thought it was Friday, I threw the remainder out in the garbage.  At some point, as I was reminding student that rough drafts were due tomorrow, I realized tomorrow is Friday.  We have school tomorrow.  Today is not Friday; it's Thursday.  I have to go back tomorrow to work even though my desk is cleaned off, and I am ready for break.

Of course, I've mentioned teaching an after school program focusing on reading and writing.  I've also mentioned teaching them the difference between the pretty birds (Iowa State University) and the ugly birds (University of Iowa).  Today as the students were eating their snacks and getting calmed down ready to read and blog about their articles, a boy said he was confused.  "What are you confused about?" I asked knowing he wanted my help in some form.  It seems he was confused about the NCAA men's basketball rankings.  "Are you on the ESPN website?" I asked and pulled up a desk next to him.  His major confusion surrounded the teams ranking and record.  Some teams had better rankings and worse records.  I explained it depended on the teams played and showed how some had played ranked teams while others hadn't.  This also gave me the opportunity to show him how to navigate the ESPN site and explain the difference in polls.  Although it...

#3 is one that I said over and over in my head yesterday. #4 doesn't exist in my world thanks to 1 to 1 devices. I'm finding it difficult to get everything done these days.  Sleeping and eating seems to have replaced working out.  Perhaps it's the darkness.  Perhaps it's laziness.  Perhaps it's procrastination. I'm doing my best to handle all aspects of my life, and it's not stellar.  I do, however, have a plan, and it's not pure procrastination.  Instead of rushing to the gym this week, I'm going to wait until next week when I'm on break.  This week is a difficult week for many students as the fret about the two weeks of break.  For some it is a magical time while for others it's a nightmare.  Yesterday, I could already feel some of them starting to come apart, and it was only Monday.  My goal today is to remain calm and peaceful as I realize my day won't go as I have planned.  Will this work?  I doubt it since I'm bloggi...

Lead us from death to life, from false-hood to truth, from despair to hope, from fear to trust, Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace, let peace fill our hearts, let peace fill our world, let peace fill our universe. I thought about skipping church today and staying in bed, but I stopped at Caribou on the way and traveled on to church.  Today's third advent candle talked about expectations which was fitting since a dear friend and I met yesterday to celebrate our birthdays with facials.  It was a great day followed by lunch and a discussion of our hopes and goals for the new year.  Church was full of talk about peace.  At the end of church, I passed by a table of cookies.  The youth group was selling cookies.  Well, there was no price, merely a donation for the youth group.  I grabbed several plates and handed the young man $20.  Instead of having to cook for tomorrow's holiday buffet, I will bring cookies.  ...and this is...

In the spring of 2001, I bought my parents a black lab for their anniversary.  The puppy was born on Valentine's Day.  We wanted an N name (long story), so I scoured the internet for the perfect name.  Nalo is an African name meaning lovable, and it seemed perfect.  When my parents divorced, Dad received custody of this special dog.  She was always a happy and loving dog up to her final day.  Thursday her soul left this earth, and she will be missed.

While I was working on reading and writing with some eighth graders after school, we had another conversation about the pretty birds (Iowa State University) vs. the ugly birds (Iowa University).  I can't imagine anything worse than losing to Iowa.  Well, I guess I can imagine some things worse which occurred in phone calls I received on the way home, but losing to Iowa is up there with really horrible things.  Since I did have some unpleasant phone calls this evening, all I wanted to do was watch Iowa State kick Iowa's ass on ESPN.  The game started out rough to quite rough, but Iowa State came back in front of a raucous Iowa State crowd.  It was soooo much fun! McKay "When you're playing in Hilton, anything is possible."

I've been doing an experiment in my classes this week.  To try to get students focused at the beginning of the hour, we've had a one minute quick write.  The quick write is a place to write about the good and bad things that are filling up the students minds.  My thought was that if they used this time to clear their mind, they could concentrate.  This is followed by three deep breaths.  As we breathe, I tell the students to breath until they can feel it in their belly.  Today I had students do a two minute quick write about whether or not we should continue.  During lunch I looked at the first three classes responses.  Although it shouldn't come as a surprise, the more intelligent kids and students that typically do better in my class understood the importance of the quick write and wanted to continue.  The students who typically rush through assignments and are not as thoughtful didn't want it to continue.  Of course, since the bett...