Warning! Teacher Rambling Ahead!

I am a rambler, I have known this for as long as I can remember.  Maybe it is because I am female, maybe it is because I am Puerto Rican, maybe it is both, I don't know, but you are warned I feel a rambling post coming on!

Teaching is hard work.  I am not complaining, that is just a statement of fact that I dare any to challenge.  I love what I do and I love it so much I am always looking to better myself.  Being a teacher really is being a life long learner.  So two years ago I set out to become a National Board Certified Teacher with 5 colleagues.  Unfortunately for me, I did not achieve that my first try.  The second time I went it alone, trying my hardest to raise my score, only to miss passing my one point.  So here I am on my third try, my last try as after this my previous scores are lost.  I went to a meeting today for other "Advanced Candidates" like myself and it was invigorating.  I was given so much to think on.  It put me back in "the zone" and I foresee many more Panera visits in my future.  Why Panera?  Well there is just something about having some great food and great wifi that get my creative juices flowing.  It really puts me back in the college frame of mind really.  Getting out of my life for a few hours just to focus on something academic, it just works for me, that is all I can say.

For those of you unfamiliar with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (which I assume many of you are) let me take a moment to explain.  I am perusing the certification as a "Middle Childhood Generalist" which is made up of four written entries and an assessment.  The four areas are (1) Writing: Thinking Through the Process, (2) Building a Classroom Community through Social Sciences, (3) Integrating Mathematics with Science, and (4) Documented Accomplishments: Contributions to Student Learning.  My overall weakest entry was the one on writing, so I have chosen to focus on it.  Becoming nationally certified is quite a journey is professional development.  I had always suspected my instruction in writing wasn't the greatest and this seemed to confirm it.  So I have set out to learn what I can about effective writing instruction only to be frustrated and overwhelmed.  After today's meeting for "Advanced Candidates" I am feeling a bit more focused and driven.  I have an idea of what I should be reading and how my entry should look different.  I was able to read an entry from another candidate who had a top score on her writing entry and found that to be very useful and I was also able to speak to other teachers like me, as well as those that have earned their certification and are present to serve as mentors to the rest of us.

So now I sit at Panera, processing all the wonderful information I received on how to move forward with my entry.  I am feeling much more focused and optimistic and I am sure I will be blogging more about this in the future as I don't have all that long to get my last attempt at certification written (it is due April 15).  I will be able to attend at least two more meetings in that time and come the next one I hope to have a significant amount of writing done.  I have some reading and planning ahead of me, but what's new?  Teachers read and plan a lot...I just have a hard deadline to deal with.

I would continue on and ramble about the state of the economy in California and how we are looking at even more cutbacks that lay off teachers and may have those who get to keep their jobs paying out the nose for health benefits, but I'll stop.  I don't enjoy gloom and doom and while I am not one to stick my head in the sand, I am also not one to worry myself to death.  I take each day as it comes and make the best of it. So I am going to make the best of this day and focus on becoming nationally board certified.  I know I can do it, I have to.

This one's for you Mary!

So I have been thinking on what to blog. My sister is a prolific blogger and I just can't do the daily sort of blogging she does. I don't mean to stop blogging for as long as I do, I just sometimes feel the words don't come to me right.

So today when Mary commented to me in the ladies room at work that I hadn't blogged in a bit I thought a few things: 1. My husband said that to me not too long ago.
2. Aww, someone reads my blog!
3. My next blog post would be dedicated to Mary!

So thank you Mary, for caring enough to say something and getting my writing juices flowing again! More posts coming soon!

[This message was sent to you from my phone.]

Happy New Year!

Wow, it has been longer than I meant since my last post.  I have started to post a few times then deleted it, mainly because I felt I didn't have much to say.

Maybe my blogging hesitation has been because I am really enjoying my break.  I have 3 weeks off for the winter, and I am in my final week.  My break started off busily because of my son's 6th birthday, then Christmas Eve and Christmas, then it slowed down some for me to just relax instead of running around before New Years.  I am not one to go on and on about what I did over the holidays, but lots of fun was had!

I am vacationing now in Big Bear with my family, and soon will be in Seattle visiting my best friend.  I am getting my head back into work mode by finally doing some lesson planning and grading in this final week as I just chill...literally it seems!  Sure is cold out!

I have enjoyed not thinking about work and I really miss my trimester breaks.  My summer break will be a long one...8 or 10 weeks or something.  I hope to do some traveling then too.  Discovery conferences are always the highlight of my summer breaks, but this break is sooo much longer than I am used to another trip might be in order if I can afford it.

Weight-wise I have been doing well.  Some fluctuations, but I am on a downward trend.  I am only 6 pounds away from my 10% weight loss goal and I know I will hit it soon, I hope by the end of January!

I hope your 2011 is off to a great start!  Mine seems to be so far!

Weight Watchers Entry 3

The weigh in was today.  I was bummed to only be down .2.  I had expected to be down at least 1 full pound.  So back to the drawing board.  I know my weaknesses to be snacking and dinner and I tend to go over points with those.  I have been pretty good about the treadmill, stocking up on activity points, getting in on average 4 days of treadmill time.  I am working to pick WW recipes for dinner and my husband is even helping to prep and cook them.  So I am not giving up, I just need work harder.  I can do this.  I need to make better choices, keep on tracking, and step up my treadmill time.

Jury Duty

Jury Duty...Those are two words most people dread.  Honestly I never did until today.  I have been a voting member of our country since I turned 18.  I have been summoned to jury duty more times than I can recall.  I thought I had the formula pretty well worked out.  Show up, wait, get dismissed.  I have forgotten about jury duty here and there and in a panic call the court to reschedule, not wishing to be arrested or fined.  But I always show up.  Some times the wait is short, other days it can be all day, but in the end I get dismissed.  The more recent times I have actually been in the group that makes it out of the waiting area and into a courtroom to hear what the case is about, when it will be in progress and if we can be there or not.  I have never been called to the jury box for 'evaluation.'  I have been on jury duty for the past two days...all of it waiting on jury selection.  Yesterday I didn't have my act together enough to ask to be dismissed.  Maybe all the waiting around and the idle ramblings of the judge numbed me...I don't know.  But I missed my chance yesterday to come up with an effective and honest reason to be dismissed.  Honestly, i don't seek to dodge jury duty.  I recognize that it is a valuable part of our democracy.  But I also don't want to be put out over it all.  So I guess I am only willing to go so far.  I will gladly partake in the judicial process so long as it does not impact myself or my family too badly.  In this case it would have cost me some extra income from my tech coaching and after school tutoring.  it would have also affected me babysitting for my sister...something she and I worked out many many weeks ago.  So at the end of a long day yesterday, we were dismissed at 4pm and told to return at 10am.  So I had to go to work, leave more lesson plans and get my excuse straight in my head so I would be dismissed as soon as we got into the courtroom.  Well, I reported at 10am like everyone else only to be told they weren't ready for us.  We had to wait until about 11:45, were then called in and told that they had settled and we were all dismissed.  So needless to say I was relieved and glad to be dismissed, but also highly irritated by all the waiting around.  This was my very worst jury duty experience and it won't soon be forgotten.  Now I am trying to reacclimate myself to my work and the few days we have left before break and all the work I still need to do and will probably be doing over break.  I am just trying to get myself to focus on the positive...I got two days break from my classroom and I am off jury duty.

I'm tired!!

Things are going well in general.  I am feeling more inspired to get my daily treadmill in, and I've been hitting my 10,000+ steps per day.  I've also been better about not blowing my daily points allowance.  I have stayed after school consistently the last several days and have been very productive.  I recently gave a presentation at work as the tech coach on a program my principal asked me to look into and I was pleased with the results...even got some nice comments afterward.  I am already working on another presentation for next Tuesday and feeling positive about it as well.  Prepping for these tech trainings and then giving the trainings is something I enjoy.  Instructional technology really is my "thing" but I often don't have time for it as we are so bogged down with standards and test scores.  I know it doesn't have to be one or the other, but the time it takes to make sure every little thing I do in my classroom is meeting some standard or increasing test scores is quite taxing and more work on an already large workload.  So staying after school has helped some and not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is impacting me like I knew it would.  There is only so many hours in the day so something has to give.  Tonight it was my stamina.  I was utterly drained when I left work.  I had an errand to run and did it rather robotically, my mind hung up on my bed and getting there ASAP.  I made sure my hubby was cooking so I wouldn't have to worry about and thankfully he had it handled.  So as soon as I got home I hit the bed and took a lil nap before dinner was ready.  Then I got to eat and just relax, doing nothing but watching tv with hubby, and reading to my son (not while the tv was on of course) curled up on my lap.  It was just what I needed to recharge.  I am particularly hung up on my weight loss journey as I really have been doing well with it and I am only 8 lbs away from my 10% WW goal.  I feel like it has been taking me too long to get there and I want to get there NOW!  I've been good about my eating and so-so about the treadmill, so I hit it hard tonight to make up for not hitting it at all last night when I really should have.  I would really like to meet my 10% goal by the new year and I think I can if I really set my mind to it.  I WANT THIS!  TIRED OR NOT! :)

Weight Watchers Points Plus Week 2

I am up .6 lbs this week. I expected that. I weigh myself daily and had an extra two pounds on me the last few days til this morning. I have been walking consistently, but apparently not enough to shake those two pounds. I've been tracking again and have found in the first week of the Points Plus plan I blew through my weekly point bank on day two. I haven't tracked in a while so it was a real eye opener and helped to motivate me to get on the treadmill as much as possible. I am still adjusting my food choices and controlling my urges for soda, chocolate, and salty snacks. I will be a few points over tonight and each time I get my pedometer over 10,000 steps that is worth 3-4 activity points which helps counteract my daily overages and helps bolster my weekly bank of cushion points.

Overall I am pleased with the new Weight Watchers. I have enjoyed using the app, the website, and connecting with people on the WW site as well as writing this blog!

It seems that WW is working hard to make sure all understand and accept the new system. I don't see the big deal really. It isn't a huge departure from that WW was. So it's all good with me! Lets move on and lose weight!

[This blog was posted from my phone.]