Laurie's journal - Atkins plan (comments welcome)

[DoeWDW]

Laurie, you are amazing! You are gonna finish this out and be a full-fledged teacher soon! I'm so glad that you've found a career that is making you happy. Isn't it amazing how one class can be so wonderful and another group are just out of control??? Group dynamics is always fascinating to me and I'm guessing you've just gotten an interesting mix of kids in that class. Wish I had some words of wisdom for you.

Keep on riding the wave until your coursework is over. There will be time for mindful eating and for exercise in the spring, I'll bet. Until then, just do the best you can!

 

[DoeWDW]

Thinking of you and hoping you're still keeping your sanity intact, with your coursework and your classes.

One foot in front of the other, dear Laurie - you'll make it!

 

[Cruise04]

Just checking in and hoping you are doing well.

Take care
Keep on
Chris

 

[LAinSEA]

I am nearly finished with my second to last course (distance education for secondary students) and onto my last student teaching seminar, which I hope will not be as assignment intensive as the last student teaching seminar course. It is only a 6-week course, but there is a break built in for Christmas. I should be finished by January 16th.

I have to say that I am exhausted. With a cold that just won't go away, hours of papers to grade still this weekend, and our last team project to manage, it is not shaping up to be much of a holiday weekend. I did work the Macy's holiday parade in Downtown Seattle yesterday to earn a bit of cash and it was good to know that I haven't forgotten how to work as a graphics operator. Our crew call was 2am and even though I was actually allowed to show up more around 4am, I needed a nap yesterday afternoon before I could get any course work completed. I still haven't started on the papers to grade...I'm procrastinating.

Overall, student teaching has been amazing and a great learning experience. I am quite attached to the seniors in particular. The juniors are still a large challenge and I'm not sure I felt any better when I found that the ones who are failing my class were also failing other classes. My cooperating teacher pointed this out to me and told me that we weren't being overly hard on these students. I am quite amazed by the complaining and whining that many of these students do when they are faced with minimal assignments, projects, and tests. I also give them plenty of time to work on things during class only to have half or more waste precious time and distract those who are trying to use their time wisely. Again, what I have learned about teaching, classroom management, and my own expectations for student success is so valuable.

My health is not good. I've put on weight--stress is awful! I try to make good food choices but I am getting very little exercise other than running up and down stairs before and after classes. I cannot wait until I'm finished and can take the time I've spent doing course work and put it into exercise instead.

Our rescue organization finally found us a little tuxie girl to adopt except we are still waiting to find out if she is negative for Feline Leukemia. She was too small to test last week. We have our fingers crossed. Hopefully she will be ready to come home with us before Christmas. Tilda and Niko both are trying to be patient, especially Tilda who has begun to haul her toys around the house like baby kittens and put them into her kitty bed. They had their showers today and set off my asthma big time.

We did "Thanksgiving" dinner at DH's father's house last Saturday evening with his brother up from CA and then did a buffet Thanksgiving at my cousin's on Thursday. We have no left overs from either and this is leading us to want to cook a turkey for ourselves. We haven't done it yet, so maybe the craving will diminish before we buy one. We tried "Famous Dave's" for BBQ lunch yesterday and came away not overly impressed. DH does much better BBQ!

Well off to start the grading process. Half tonight and half tomorrow. Thanks Doe and Chris for checking in on me. I can't wait to have more time to be in journal-land when this is all finished.

 

[DoeWDW]

Laurie, you can make it!! Hard to believe you'll be all finished by mid-January!! YIPPEE!! Can you tell I'm excited for you?

Just keep on keepin' on through these next 8 weeks. The weight issues will wait until after you're finished your coursework. Best wishes for getting through it all!

Sounds like a new furbaby will be the best Christmas present of all for you, DH and your two "little ones". Do you have a name picked out yet? I hope the tests all come back negative and you can bring her home soon!

Have a wonderful week!

 

[Strings]

Hi Laurie,

You CAN and WILL do this. You are almost done. I am so proud of you for following your dream. I know that this has been a struggle, but it will be so worth it.

Take care of yourself. Try taking some B complex vitamins. They help the immune system and energy levels.

Take good care of yourself, and I am hoping that the furbaby is healthy.

Take care,
Beth

 

[LAinSEA]

Thanks Doe and Beth for stopping by!

First things first: the fur baby girl is healthy although a week younger than we'd hoped. She is more like 6 weeks old now and not 7 and will have to wait for shots. She and her brothers tested negative for feline leukemia. We will try to get over to visit and bond this weekend again (if the weather holds...we've had snow!)

I got a good scare yesterday (nothing to do with the snow...which made for an interesting day teaching and keeping students on task.) My site supervisor from UOP left me both voice mail and email messages telling me she could not come up for my scheduled eval next Tuesday (she just had surgery and is on bed rest for 4 weeks!) She suggested being videotaped...not feasible or waiting until the first or second week of January (I'm supposed to be done on Jan. 16 and this is half my grade!) I suggested allowing one of our asst. principals do the eval. My CT made the calls and arrangements for this to happen and I am ever so grateful. Everything will happen on time now but I'm hoping the evaluation will be as good. I got a great one last time and a little consistency would be nice.

With the stress, I didn't sleep last night at all. Thankfully lessons went well today and no snow falling outside to provide a distraction.

I'm back to grading papers tonight. Wow, I hope I find a social studies teaching position instead of English! well I'll take anything but wow, the grading is very time consuming. I'm done teaching on Dec. 9th and into observation primarily. I have a few days that I need to take over my CT's classes in January and I'm still working with the newspaper staff. But I really need some down time to finish up my teacher work samples (parts 5-7).

So all in all, not too bad a week thus far. Now lets hope the baby girl grows...her brother and sister are pacing for her arrival.

 

[DoeWDW]

Excellent news!!!

Your little furbaby girl is healthy, your observations have been arranged, you're on track to finish on time......life is good!!

I love hearing such wonderful news and am sending even more happy thoughts your way!

 

[LAinSEA]

I cannot believe I would ever be disappointed for a day off due to the weather. But I am! This means that the lessons I had planned to teach for my evaluation will not be in sequence and I will have to teach the 2nd and 6th period classes the lesson I had planned for them today (because of our block scheduling). It also means the senior English classes will be off from one another. I have a plan to get them more in sync within the week but it will mean rushing through some things in preparation for their unit test.

I had myself a good sleep in this morning after receiving the phone call my CT about school being cancelled. It was a good thing for me--I'd been sleeping fitfully all night solving problems of how I'm going to spice up the lesson plan I would have taught today as I had it in the back of my mind that we'd be at least 2 hours late today and that would have messed up 2nd period senior English at least for planning. I know that I can adapt the junior English lesson plan to be more appealing.

Hopefully the weather pattern will warm up and not present an issue for Tuesday. Monday, well, it could snow again! and I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Teaching with the flakes falling fast and furious is a whole challenge in itself. You have to understand that snow around here is rare and we didn't see much of it in the mountains last winter. So when an inch hits the ground, the area just seems to shut down. We had about 4 inches last night. Students, even normally attentive students, just cannot seem to focus on anything but the white stuff.

I am going to use the day to get a start on my next portion of my teacher work sample (like a thesis). I'd hoped to be into this section during last class but found that I had enough on my plate to do to keep up with it, lesson planning, and grading. Thankfully, this last course does not have as many extraneous assignments beyond the TWS.

Thanks for everyone's support. I am so happy to be almost done.

(We are hoping the weather will moderate in order to go over to the peninsula and see the furbaby. We are into name selection for the baby girl...a cat has to have a dignified name. They are calling her "Checkers" for now and that simply will not do when our family has a legacy of Horatio Roo (Ratio or Roo), Matilda Susanne (Tilda), Samantha Joanne (Sammi), and Nicklas Charles (Niko). I'm pulling for Chelsea but I don't think DH is sold on that; I've also suggested Hermione, Ophelia, Portia--all from Shakespeare, and Ashton or Madison from the area near our cabin.)

 

[Cruise04]

Congrats on the new furbaby!!!!! How very exciting.

Glad to hear you are almost done with your teaching. Sorry you had that scare - I can't even imagine. My dd's school is on block scheduling as well - we love it. But I can see it being a logistical nightmare when plans get messed up.

Hope the snow doesn't get too bad - I hear it's heading our way tonight and tomorrow some - no one can seem to give us a good reading of what exactly we are suppose to get - I've heard 1 inch and I've heard 3-4. Hopefully not 3-4 as dh is traveling and that leaves me to clean the driveway, a job I totally hate. But at least he remembered to get me gas for the snow blower!!!!

Keep on
Chris

 

[LAinSEA]

I finished the "teaching" portion of my student teaching last Friday and the rest of the grading by this Monday. I am now observing other teachers for this and the first week after winter break. As most teachers this afternoon were either giving tests or having holiday parties or allowing students to have a catch-up day, I decided I would head home after advisory to try and catch up on my own coursework...the hardest part of my teacher work sample: assessment. It is due on Monday and I have not begun on it at all excecpt for thinking about it.

I also received my final teaching evaluations this week--I'm getting an A- for my student teaching (which my site supervisor says is good). I received a wonderful review by my prinicipal, however, and if the money can be cut loose--a job offer beginning next semester. I only hope my certification can be processed in time by the state. I would either be working with smaller (12-15 students) classes of sophomores doing reading and writing remdiation in preparation for their WASL tests this April or taking over my cooperating teacher's classes and she will move into this role. I would relish either opportunity. I am having a difficult letting go of "my kids" and they me, they are so excited to see me around the building and in other classes and need to tell me everything (especially all the homework they now must do in the class I was teaching).

We also were able to pick up our new baby girl tuxedo kitten last Saturday. We are officially fostering her until she reaches 2 1/2 lbs and may be spayed. But it is so much fun to have her home and bonding with us and Niko and Tilda. Tilda, as we expected, accepted her immediately. We had to bathe her as soon as we got her home and after a towel dry, Tilda took over and kept her warm with her in her snuggle ring cat bed. It has taken Niko a few days longer, but they are now able to play gently and we trust him not to harm her. She about 1 1/2 lbs and putting on oz. fast without having to complete with a houseful of kittens. She was all spine and ribs when we brought her home. DH chose her name; Alexandra Roo (his brother's name is Alex and Roo was the middle name of the kitty we lost at 18 years of age nearly two years ago), but we are calling her Sasha. She has picked up her name very quickly and she comes when called. She is really a snuggle bunny and wants lap time. She is perfectly happy sleeping on my lap right now while I'm working at the computer. For a tuxedo cat, she has very unique and distintive markings; more white showing over her shoulders, some black on her toes, and a quarter-size white spot on the top of her back. She has an all black face and brilliant green eyes. We are not sure if she'll be a long hair or short hair. She seems fluffy now but it is mostly kitten fluff and the hair coming in down her spine is long but very smooth. Her ears are very oversized for her little head at the moment, giving her the appearance of a little bat. She give head rubs and kisses and is constantly purring. We are making sure our older kitties are getting lots of attention and one-on-one time too. But the baby, is pretty insistant of making sure she is being cuddled constantly.

We picked up our Christmas tree last night and will put it up and get it decorated tonight. I'm sure it will serve as climbing apparatus, so maybe no fragile ornaments on it this year. While we were picking it out, we kept trying to find one that was both sturdy but not too inviting for climbing. We haven't had a kitten this little before at Christmas time and usually by now, a spring baby is past the climbing phase. It will be an interesting and entertaining holiday break for us.

 

[DoeWDW]

Laurie, such happy news!! Welcome home to Sasha! My neice's name is Alexandra and her nickname is also Sasha. Her mom is from Russia and tells us Sasha is the common nickname for Alexandra. Sounds like your little Sasha is adorable and a purr-fect fit with your family!

It is AMAZING that you'll have a job so soon after your program is finished! That is wonderful news also! I hope your DH is enjoying his job as well. Let him know I'm working with Crystal Reports on a daily basis now.

Sounds like you have the makings for a perfect and entertaining holiday! Enjoy it and bask in the glow of all your hard work and the wonderful changes that have happened over the past year. You deserve much happiness!

 

[Cruise04]

Glad to hear that your student teaching is done and what a great grade indeed!!!!! Congrats. And good luck on the job prospect - I hope everything works out for you!!!!

Your kitten sounds adorable. I would love to get another cat/kitten to be a bud to Candi but we worry so much about how she would treat it. She hates the neighborhood cats that roam the subdivision and just goes nuts. I'm afraid she would kill something if we got it. She would be fine with a dog but we aren't home enough to give enough caring love to a dog (although I'd love to have one) so it will just be Candi. Our local shelter is having a 38 hour adoption-a-thon of sorts and are hoping that at least 20 animals get adopted. We may run out tomorrow just to see what they have - but it might be too tempting for me. We'll see.

Keep on
Chris

 

[LAinSEA]

The second to last section of my Teacher Work Sample was due last night and it was one that I struggled with considerably. It was all about proving that I actually taught my students something with my featured unit. I threw a good fit and had a good cry about it on Sunday afternoon and it seemed to help. I got it written yesterday by taking the laptop up to bed (that way the kitties could help in a more productive way than climbing my frame in the kitchen).

We seemed to have brought home a kitty cold. Sasha had one goopy eye when we brought her home but other than that seemed really healthy. All had had their shots last week. By Friday night, Tilda was croaking and without much of an appetite (not like Tilda). Last night Niko had lost his usually melodic and squeaky voice. The baby has always had a bit of a rasp but we figured that it was just her...she hadn't seemed to be without a voice. I called the foster mom at the rescue organization to see if any of the other kittens were having problems and got a no on that. So Niko and Tilda could have picked it up from the vet's office when they were out for shots. Wherever it came from, Niko is going to go in tomorrow because he came down with it last and then we will treat them all. We went through something similar when we brought Niko home...Tilda got the croak but Horatio never did seem to be under the weather, but they all were put on sulfa drugs for two weeks (imagine their delight at that).

Sasha is completely at home and is trying to set the kitten land speed record for bursts up and down the stairs. She has managed not to climb the Christmas tree but Niko has been watching her very carefully. With Tilda under the weather, he has had to take over kitten sitting duties and he is doing a fantastic job of it. (He enjoys having the playmate now that he has completely got over the introduction of his sister.)

DH and I are a bit under the weather fighting colds too. I have the achies but I believe much of it is from hunching over a keyboard this weekend and yesterday. We have not bought a single gift yet and we have to meet a mailing deadline by tomorrow for Provo. DH is going to be thrilled when I suggest a trip to shop tonight. Thankfully everyone else is town this year and we can last minute it. Our budget will not let us do too much...even with the good prospect for a job next semester, I'm not going to be overly optimistic before I actually see a contract.

My goals for today are to get my resume in order, write my cover letter to my principal and begin writing based on the school district prompt required for the application process. No wonder they are having difficulty finding subs...imagine writing an essay on what you will bring to the district and also focus on diversity! I also have to get through a two-hour online test sometime during the week for my program. We technically have a week off (until the 26th) and no posts count in our class folders but the servers should still be up for the online test.

To Chris...we had our first kitty, Horatio, for twelve years before bringing Tilda home as a 12-week old kitten. It took him a good month to accept her but she was very persistent and was more interested in his approval than our own (she was a feral cat as he had been, but I scooped him up out of a woodpile at 4 weeks old). Tilda was our life saver with the other kittens (Sammi when she was probably 5 weeks old) and then Niko, 9 weeks old. Horatio took to Sammi and Niko really quickly. We were worried out Niko with Sasha, but it only took him 3 days--perhaps it is his big brother's influence on him after all. We also try to ease the situation by letting them all figure it out and not forcing the issue but not separating them either. We watch but won't interfere unless one gets rough with the other, which has not happened. We try to make sure each gets lots of individual time with us but it is clear we expect they are a family. So far it seems to be working. Three is our limit, we think...

 

[Cruise04]

Happy Holidays Laurie!

Glad to hear that the kitties are adapting to each other. I think after the new year I might try to approach the subject of another cat again, we'll see. Interesting to hear how they have all gotten along and how long it took. Sorry to hear they are sick and you guys aren't feeling well either. Hopefully a nice break from school is what you need!!!! Hope you have a great holiday.

Keep on
Chris

 

[LAinSEA]

Hurray! well at least the main one is done and over. DH had to work most of this week and I am still re-writing the last section of my teacher work sample. I am so frustrated. I followed the prompt and wrote the draft. I then took a good look at the scoring rubric to make sure I had not forgotten anything and the rubric seems to be completely different from the prompt! So I am pretty much back to square one and won't get much of a break this weekend as it is due on the evening of the 2nd.

I am also still fighting my cold...it is now a deep and annoying cough down in my lungs. The kitties are over their colds--I should have taken their clavamox with them I suppose. Sasha had her second set of shots on Wednesday and spiked a temp afterwards. I don't think DH or I slept much making sure she was OK during the night. She was back to her spritely self by morning. Tilda keeps making herself sick by drinking the water from the Christmas tree (it will be taken down on Monday). But at least the tree has not been scaled. Tilda tried to take over supervision of Sasha from Niko, and scolded him for playing too rough (in her opinion) with the baby. Sasha then began wrestling with Tilda and now she's decided that Niko is OK with the baby. I'm just glad they are all getting along. Still, Sasha's favorite place to be in on me while I'm trying to do school work. I'm getting faster at typing one-handed.

We are meeting my folks and our oldest niece for dinner out tonight. We have tried, without success, to get in touch with the youngest niece's dad in order to take her out with us. He won't return phone calls. Their plane on Monday was about 20 minutes early and somehow the step-girlfriend picked up Allysa before my mother could get into retrieve the girls--the only way she would have seen her youngest grandchild. Despite Charly telling Annette to wait a few minutes, she grabbed Allysa and then went to baggage claim for the luggage and my mother didn't get to see Allysa at all. My mom only saw Allysa for 2 minutes at the airport when they left after Thanksgiving. She and my father will be going to Utah for a long weekend in February, but this lack of cooperation is getting to be really ridiculous. My parents have taken the time to drive to meet my sister at our cabin in order to pick up the girls for the summer the last two years saving the dads airfare costs. They have also paid to take the girls home after taking them to WDW at the end of their summer vacations. Meanwhile, DH and I have seen Charly a bit over Thanksgiving and will tonight. But I haven't seen Allysa since last February and DH hasn't seen her since last December when we somehow convinced her father to let us take them to Zoolights and out for dinner. I am so happy my sister enjoys her new life in Provo...

We also had family drama over Christmas. DH's brother and wife (and their dogs) were up and staying with his dad and girlfriend for Christmas. They had been up for 5 days and would have been here a few more but there was a big blow up on Christmas night and they left quickly and angry. The GF is out-of-control with her drinking and snide comments (which DH's dad doesn't hear) and his brother finally had had enough. It has put DH in the middle of a family war (again). We would just like to stay out of the middle of things but personally, I am on DH's brother's side. I'm tired of having to deal with the snide comments directed at me too.

So happy new year everyone! May this year be productive, healthy, and happy for you all.

 

[DoeWDW]

Family drama - how exhausting for everyone involved. Sorry that it had to affect your holidays.

On a happier note, I'm glad to hear that Sasha, Niko and Tilda are warming up to each other and are becoming a close-knit family.

By now your assignment should be finished - I'm sure whatever you wrote was well-thought and reasoned.

Best wishes for a wonderful and prosperous New Year, filled with smiles and laughter and love.

 

[Strings]

Hi Laurie,

I hope you have recovere from the tension filled holidays. How did the assignment go?You are so close to your goal. I am so proud of you. I am glad the the furbabies are getting along.

Take care,
Beth

 

[LAinSEA]

My goal and resolution was to come home from school yesterday (not having to write anything significant for school for the first time in over a year) and walk. I was dragging and my tummy felt very upset and queasy. DH had stayed home after throwing up about the time he was heading out the door for work, made the call and stayed home. I instead crawled into bed and became incoherrent with a fever and didn't stir until 6pm. I wrestled with the idea of tossing my cookies and instead just opted for water. So much for the walk. (DH now tells me that he was exposed to a co-worker last week that was ill over Christmas with a tummy bug...nice that she shared her germs with the office staff.)

We are both home today (I am just observing other teachers right now and it is optional). We are looking a little more human this afternoon, but I'm not sure a walk is in the picture as neither one of us want to be too far from a bathroom.

Our Sasha is scheduled for her surgery tomorrow morning and we are trying to decide whether we should take her to her foster mommy's tonight and let her run her over in the morning or have me fight rush hour traffic to get her over the bridge on time. I feel a bit apprehensive, she is still so tiny, but this in the age and weight it is supposed to be done and hundreds of other kitties have lived through it this little. Her white tummy fur has just begun to cover her pink skin (as she had such a rough bout with fleas when she was tiny).

Tilda has a significant croak again, and it looks like another round of anitbiotics. Niko and Sasha seem just fine with the exception of a bit of sneezing which could be alergies as well as a kitty cold.

Doe and Beth, I am waiting for the evaluation of my last TWS section and I have scanned and posted my student teaching grade for my facilitator. Other than partcipation through 1/16, I don't know what other hoops I need to jump through to be done with this program. I have tried contacting my advisors to make sure everything is completed. Meanwhile, I completed as much as I could on the district's online application. I need to take some district forms to my cooperating teacher, principal and asst. principal for recomendations and then send off three others to former supervisors and co-workers. I don't know how quickly I will be able to get the state to issue a permit while I wait for certification review. Thanks so much for your support! Now keep the fingers crossed for a real job to come through soon.

 

[DoeWDW]

You poor thing! I hope you and DH are feeling much better very soon and that the furbabies are all healthy and happy (including poor Sasha). Rest, rest and more rest are in order - I know you're anxious to walk but it will have to wait for another few days.

Fingers are all crossed for you, sweetie, and prayers sent up on your behalf!