Reflective Perspective 365

Caliente!

2008-02-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

I admit. My pictures are boring! I spend eight hours per day with kids who cannot be photographed for legal reasons, so I'm stuck taking pictures of everyday objects that litter my days. I've got to start taking pictures of people, so this is my resolution within a resolution. No more boring. Spice up the blog! Caliente!

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

I was a good citizen and cast my vote bright and early! This election is exciting! Richard and I stayed up until midnight watching the results and the speeches. I just cannot get enough of the political rhetoric!

Suzie Says

2008-02-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

Richard is obsessed with finance shows. This is just a little insight into my life. Finance and football.

Super Sunday

2008-02-03T20:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, I did not watch the Super bowl. I know. Am I human?!? I spent most of the night working on my presentation for grad school on Monday night. Oh, the joys of working full time and taking fifteen hours at the graduate level!

Good Little Planner

2008-02-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

I felt like being a rock star, so I planned my lessons for next week! Take that! I'm sure that I will "take that" because I always end up changing my plans a billion times!

Full of Fruit

2008-02-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

I thought this would make a nice photo. It's jolly nature is in no way a true reflection of my day, for it was a bad day at school today. I had to press the white button. Oh no.

Decorate

2008-01-31T20:32:00.000-05:00

I spent a while decorating today. I really don't have a moment to spare, but I felt like moving some lamps and pictures around.

Shine

2008-01-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

I got a new phone today! I was super excited to walk in the door after class and find a shiny new shine waiting for me! I spent an hour playing

with my new fun toy!

The Album

2008-01-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

This is the empty album of my 365 (plus one) pictures from this year. Clearly, it's time for me to get with the program!

Pen Pals

2008-01-28T20:21:00.000-05:00

A classroom from Ohio sent us a letter

last week. The classroom in Ohio wanted to become pen pals with my classroom. When I proposed the situation to my class, they told me they did not want to participate. I suppose snail mail is old school. After doing some digging, I unearthed some letters from MY pen pal in middle school. She lived in Hong Kong, and we continued to write for years. Sadly, I lost touch with her. I spent an hour reading her letters and wishing that I had maintained contact!

Sleeping Beauty

2008-01-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Richard's parents had us over to their house to celebrate my birthday. After some food and cake, Cinnamon was down for the count!

Relaxing

2008-01-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

Richard and I spent our Saturday night relaxing from the long week that we both experienced.

Smart

2008-01-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

Scanning my syllabus for reading due next week, I realized that I have acquired many books this past year! I do not even want to calculate how much money I've spent on books for grad school! They do, however, make me look smart. Right?

Pancho's

2008-01-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

Emily brought back ladie's night! Chatting over salty chips and tacos, we decided we needed to make the gatherings a common thing!

Feather Circle

2008-01-23T20:48:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of the Feather Circle Stick on top of the stack of essays written by my students. Today, I tried my first community writing group, a Feather Circle. Following the concepts bestowed upon me in my graduate program, I asked my classes to design a logo and write about it for the class. The black and white beads represent the monotonous pattern that we face on a day to day basis. The clear beads represent the fact that reading in front of people feels strange and uncomfortable---like people can see right through you. But after you go through the feather circle, it gets easier. Encouraged by the excitement of my students, I'm a firm believer in the community based writing theories. At the conclusion of the readings, we write thank you notes to our peers to thank them for sharing. One of my students wrote, "I love this class. Thank you for making me feel like I can do anything." Wow. I love my job!

25

2008-01-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Richard treated me

to a delicious meal at South City Kitchen for my birthday dinner. It was amazing! We'll definitely be back!

Pizza Pizza!

2008-01-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

My brother-in-law is starting a Little Caesar's franchise in Gainsville. Richard and I drove up to check out the progress. Their grand opening is in two weeks! They need to hurry hurry!

Happy Family

2008-01-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors got creative with the snow. I could not stop laughing at their crafty creation! Two snow dudes lounging on a snow couch watching a snow tv! I hope they were watching it in HD!

Snowball Fight!

2008-01-19T20:33:00.000-05:00

For the second time in a week, we were blasted with snow in Atlanta! I spent most of the

day in the house and enjoyed the beauty from the comfort of the cozy couch, but ventured outside long enough to catch a few pollution infused snowflakes on my tongue. Did I mention that this snow was perfect for snowballs?

Mellow Tree

2008-01-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

Richard and I met up with my parents at Mellow Mushroom. It must have been our lucky day because we got to sit inside the secret tree in the middle of the restaurant! The little kids were seething with jealousy! Webkins in hand, they climbed all over the tree, but they could not enter!

366 Angles

2008-01-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

My Co-New Years Resolutioner, Leslie has an awesome photo journal blog too. You can check it out at http://366angles.blogspot.com/

StormWatch2008

2008-01-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

It's not the best picture in the universe, but it does prove that we got a thin blanket of snow this afternoon! As I was driving home, giant blobs of snow poured out of the clouds, but most of it melted upon impact. My favorite part about snow in Atlanta is the response of the public. Every time there is a chance of winter weather, people freak out, run to the grocery, and purchase abundant amounts of food.

Eat Your Veggies!

2008-01-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

Veggies at dinner. Yum-0!

Blogs Away

2008-01-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

In class last night, my grad school pals and I worked on our blogs. Yes, I now have two blogs. No, I am not that important. Sadly.

My blog for school is http://conjunctionjunction.wordpress.com/

Atlanta Sightings

2008-01-13T20:37:00.000-05:00

After a brisk walk in Piedmont Park with Emily and Alison, I noticed a man walking his PIG down

the streets of the city! Leaning out the car to get the perfect shot, I snagged this one as we drove away.

Handyman

2008-01-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

Richard spent most of the afternoon playing with his new tools. He's trying to fix the mower for spring!

Nacho Cheese

2008-01-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

We are learning prepositions in language arts. To add a little flava flav, we played with old toys from happy meals. The kids wrote some hilarious stories (with plentiful prepositions). Two boys wrote the woeful tale of Nacho the Farting Cat. Nacho caused his friend to lapse into a coma after he ate a burrito sans Bean-o.

Bring it in!

2008-01-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

Just a little visual of my homeroom.

Beary Cool

2008-01-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

The new manly fad is to carry Care Bears in your backpack. These furry friends were cool when I was a kid! I am often asked to "babysit" the bears while they go to their other classes.

Represent

2008-01-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

I spent the day preparing my visual representation of my experiences in the classroom last year. Each picture represents a lesson or a concept that I learned. My favorite is the picture of the kids jumping into the bowl of spaghetti. It represents the day that I learned seventh graders love to play with food. Three students ended up projectile vomiting because they mixed and consumed a concoction of Powerade, tomato soup, hot sauce, ketchup and beef nuggets. Sick.

Got water?

2008-01-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

Georgia is experiencing a dreadful drought. Although this well is fake, I thought it was appropriate. I'm trying to do my part to conserve water. I don't rinse the dishes. Plus, I cut my hair so my showers are not quite so lengthy!

Snow Angel

2008-01-06T22:05:00.000-05:00

After an exhausting sled ride, I plopped my husband's adorable cousin in the the snow for a supermodel moment.

Tubular Tubing

2008-01-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

Tubing in the snow is fun for all ages. Our group flew down the hill in a group of eight tubes! Amazing! Here is the view from the top of the hill.

Dashing Through the Snow

2008-01-04T21:36:00.000-05:00

Two giant Belgians proudly plodded through the snow on a beautiful sleigh ride. We dined on gooey roasted marshmallows and hot chocolate when we reached the edge of the woods. Noticing the overwhelming amount of dead pine trees, we asked our tour guide about the issue. She informed us that a pine needle disease was plauging the gorgeous greenery, but new pines were not infected and should grow to be healthy. I guess nature was doing some spring cleaning.

Epic Runs

2008-01-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

After an intense day of epic skiing on some of Colorado's finest runs, a few of the men check out the video captured from the helmet cam.

Colorado Cold

2008-01-02T21:08:00.000-05:00

Our cozy cottage was nestled atop Meadow Ridge near Winter Park, Colorado. The home took nearly eighteen months to construct because the owners did the majority of the work on their own!

Ring in the New Year

2008-01-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

Waiting for your bags at the airport can feel like an eternity!