Out-of-Town Conference

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a conference in Oklahoma City for the Oklahoma Middle Level Educators Association.  To be honest, my expectations were relatively low.  I wasn't looking forward to writing sub plans and leaving my kids with my husband for three days.  But as it turned out, it was a GREAT experience.

First of all, we stayed in the hotel where the conference was being held, which was VERY nice and convenient.  Second, they started everything off by a super-energetic performance from their middle school choir.  Can you see them in the picture?  They are standing all around the room dancing. Yes, I said dancing.

You can't tell from this picture, but there were probably 50-60 members of this choir.  I counted 10 boys.  No surprise there.

The theme was "I Teach...I Am a Superhero!" and it was fabulous. I went to several break out sessions.  One was called "The ABCs of DoK in ELA" (to non-ed folk, that's "Depth of Knowledge" and "English/Language Arts").  It focused more on assessment than I was hoping (and, for anyone who cares, Oklahoma, like Kansas, opted to NOT to go through their government-funded consortia, in their case PARCC), but I still found it mildly relevant.  It was interesting to talk to Oklahoma teachers and get a feel for what their concerns were...which was assessment.  I went to another break out on the 5 Es of lesson planning, but I wish I would have skipped that one and gone to the one called "Teaching the African American Male Student."  The girl I was with said she cried, it was so good and moving and necessary.  The best break out session I attended was on questioning techniques, and I am going to implement the principals the second I return to class.  SOOOOO good.  I may do a post just on that.

Our keynote speaker addressed the most important thing teachers need to hear this time of year - RELATIONSHIPS.  He talked about the "emotional bank account" and how every interaction with a student is either a deposit or a withdrawal.  He gave us a honking list of ways to make deposits with both students and co-workers.  Most of what he said was stuff I had already heard, but in the context of dating and marriage relationships, not student-teacher relationships.  I felt like a warped, cracked sponge just soaking up all of this watery, renewing encouragement.  It was EXACTLY what this teacher needed at the end of February.

And...here are the super-cool t-shirts!  Mine was pretty baggy...considering ordering a SMALL the next time I get a shirt!  We'll see :)

A HUGE thank you to my principal and fellow super-heroes for a great experience!

And...as a side-note, we got to meet the director of the CIA!  His name is John Brennan and Brian thought he was a sportscaster.  He got him to sign his copy of National Geographic anyway.  Being the head spy is pretty cool too.

Book: Maggot Moon

Maggot Moon

by Sally Gardner

Length: 288 pages

Format: Hardback

Price: checked out from library

Author Website: http://www.sallygardner.net/

Basic Premise: Standish Treadwell is just an ordinary boy living an ordinary life in Zone Seven.  Ordinary things, like the unexplained disappearances of his friends and family members and the murder of a student by a teacher on school grounds, happen every day.  It's when Standish decides that they are no longer ordinary that things begin to change.

My Take:  2 out of 10 (scale here)

It's official - I HATED this book.  I usually try to let books ruminate for 24 hours, but I feel just as negative about this book now as I did last night when I finished it.  The thing that bugged me most about this book was the fact that at NO POINT in the story did I have any "frick-fracking" (as the protagonist was prone to say) clue what was going on. It read like historical fiction, and with the obviously oppressed citizenry, I thought Germany, Hitler, Nazis.  Then, when it was clear that wasn't right, I thought futuristic - the moon.  Maybe they were on the moon and the "homeland" to which they kept referring was the Earth. Then I felt like I must be a moron, because what was going on HAD to have been well-documented, and I'm the daughter of a history teacher AND a college-educated person.  I had to look it up when I finished reading - turns out it, according to the website it was "an alternate Britain."  Thanks for that, lady.  It was gruesome, gut-wrenching, and fairly confusing.  The author like to jump around and I definitely felt seasick.  To add to the dark tone of this book, there was a morbid cartoon at the bottom of each page.  It began as a rat coming out of a rat-hole, finding a bottle of poison, drinking the poison, dying, and then being devoured by maggots.

Eww.

I would never recommend this to a student, or to anyone, for that matter.  It's been a long time since I've read a bad book, and this one definitely qualifies.  At least I can cross it off my list.

Upward Devotions

This year, I have been coaching and comissioning for Upward Basketball at our church.  (More on that later, as the season wraps up.) I have been in charge of written devotionals, and while I have had to write three, I've been able to tap into the enormous writing talent that resides at Western Hills for most of them.  Today's, however, I wrote myself.  This week's verse is probably the most popular in the New Testament - maybe the whole Bible, and that's the essential Gospel - John 3:16.  I thought I would share:

Being a parent is the most amazing job I have ever had, and somehow, I really had no idea what I was getting into when it happened.  I just remember holding those beautiful newborn babies in my arms and thinking, “It can’t get much better than this.”  I know you know the feeling.  Our children are our most priceless and precious gifts.

Today in their huddles, your children are learning about John 3:16, one of the most popular verses in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  As a parent, the phrase “gave his one and only son” sticks out like it never did before I had children.  Can you imagine giving up your own child?  And doing it willingly?  It’s incredible to believe that God, the Master and Creator of the universe, loved wretched, sinful mankind enough to give his one and only son so that we might choose to live in right relationship with him. We’ve all messed up.  None of us are deserving of grace.  None of us are worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.  “But God demonstrated his great love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  God invites us into right relationship with himself by giving up his one and only son.  What an incredible sacrifice.  And it’s available for all, free for the taking.  All we need is faith.

My 4-year-old loves to jump off the top step into my husband’s arms.  I cringe because we have steep steps and the kid could fall and seriously hurt himself, but he loves it and so does his daddy.  I think faith is like this.  God is the dad and we are the kids jumping off the top of the stairs.  The older we get, the more we realize that there is danger associated with this jump.  What if he doesn’t catch me?  What if I fall?  What if, what if, what if.  The Bible tells us to have faith like a child, who doesn’t think about the “what ifs.”  He just trusts.

He just jumps.

Then I invited people to come jump with us at WH, where jumping is our mission. :)

Old Thing: Hot Yoga

I went to Hot Yoga last night with Lindsey.  I looked it up - I haven't been since November 29th.  That's nearly three months.  I was kind of dreading the experience.  I drank water all day and I tried to be as positive about the experience as possible, but I really was a little fearful.  When I was going in the summer it was no big thing - I was used to the heat, used to the routine, used to the workout.  I have done very little in the way of exercise for the past three months, and I knew that was going to hurt me.  I also knew that, well, I'm a wimp.

We got there early and there was already a line.  By the time they actually opened the doors to the studio, the heat was like this wall of AWFUL that made me wonder what the heck was wrong with me.  Not only did I choose to do this, I PAID for it.  I was sweating before I even settled on to my mat.  I did feel better about the fact that Lindsey seemed to be experiencing something similar.  However, I was not comforted by the fact that the yogi next to me turned out to be a former student who is a senior this year.  And male.  Oy.

I was actually proud of how well I did.  I started to lose my hearing during the balance section, so I sat out for standing bow-pulling pose.  The three times in my life I have fainted were preceded by hearing loss, so I thought I'd better bow out.  But I did everything else, including ALL of the flows.  No skipping for this girl.  And afterward, as always, I felt soooooo good, both physically and mentally, because I'd made myself do it.

I can't wait to start up again when school lets out!

Kindle Book: Cinder

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

Length: 389 pages

Format: Kindle Book

Price: $2.99

Author Website: http://www.marissameyer.com/

Basic Premise: When the prince's android suddenly loses power, he takes her to New Beijing's best mechanic - a teenage girl named Cinder - and a spark flares.  What is not commonly known about Cinder is the fact that she is a cyborg - part human, part machine.  What will the prince think if he ever finds out? 

My Take:  7 out of 10 (scale here)

Okay - could you hear the drama in my voice as I wrote that premise?  I know - it's pretty far-fetched and ridiculous - a version of the Cinderella story set in the extreme future with robots.  But I read it because it was on my list, and it actually sounded relatively interesting.  I went through a few phases with this book.  I the beginning, as soon as I found out she was a cyborg, I wanted to put it down.  I was like, "Seriously? I'm reading about a robot with feelings?" but then as I read (spoiler alert?) I realized that she was born a human and made into a cyborg to save her life, kind of like they turn people into vampires in the Twilight books.  Anyway, the story got really really good midway through and I couldn't put it down.  The whole time, I was thinking "This is so ridiculous. It's definitely a guilty pleasure book."  Until the end, which sucked.  I was miffed.  I cornered one of my girls at school who told me it was "so so awesome" and asked her what the heck.  She told me to read the second one, so I checked it out from the library, but so far, Cinder hasn't made an appearance, and I'm utterly uninterested in Scarlet.  Not sure if I'll stick with it.

An Utterly INFURIATING Experience

We have AT&T even though we hate it.  Why?  Because my parents use AT&T and they offered to put us on their plan, which would save us some money.  I swore AT&T off several years ago when we moved houses and had no reception at our house.  When I called to inform AT&T, they said, "Sorry, but you have a contract.  If you want out of it, you have to pay."  Never mind that THEIR END of the contract said they would provide PHONE SERVICE.  Ugh.

Well, this week, I cracked my screen (again).  After an hour on the phone, I finally got someone who said my dad was eligible for an upgrade and if we wanted to, he could upgrade and I could get his new phone.  But we had to go in together.  (UGH.  I hate that place.)  So we arranged for Mom to watch the kids Friday afternoon.  I had the day off, Dad had the afternoon off, and we headed out.

After TWO HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES - wait, let's stop there.  I can't make that up, folks. There is something to be said for the question my husband asked, which was "Why in the world did you wait?"  Well, for one, we had arranged childcare.  For two, we both had the afternoon off.  For three, after you wait about forty-five minutes, you're invested.  You've spent nearly an hour and you're not going to waste the time.  Anyway, we talked, met some nice people who were also waiting, and round about the two hour mark, someone comes to ask us what we need specifically.  We say to upgrade to the iPhone 4.  He comes back about 5 minutes later to tell us THEY ARE OUT OF iPHONE 4s.

Excuse me?

I am not generally very outspoken with strangers.  I usually would have said, "Oh, okay."  However, having two children for whom I arranged care and having given up TWO HOURS of a rare day off to be told something that they could have told me when I first walked in the door was infuriating.  A manager came out to talk with us about fifteen minutes later.

I (calmly) asked her why we hadn't been told two hours ago that what we wanted was not even available at her store.  The conversation went something like this:

Her: We don't have time to check the inventory until we sit down with you.  Do you see how busy we are?
Me: How about that lady who has stood at the door with her iPad and done NOTHING since we arrived but check people in?  Are you telling me that when we told her what we wanted she couldn't have checked that for us?
Her: No, she doesn't have access to that, but you could have if you'd gone online.  Our inventory is all posted there.
My Dad: So, you're telling us she doesn't have Internet access?
Her: That is correct. Not on the iPads.
Me: You're telling me you don't have wireless in here?  YOU'RE AT&T!
Her: (blank stare - it could not have been more obvious that this was bull crap!)
Dad: Could she not have gone back to use one of the computers that DOES have Internet access?
Her: No, but you could have online.  Next time, you need to check before you come.

At this point, I'm pretty heated.  We have wasted the entire afternoon because they couldn't check one thing in their computer system, and now she's telling me that I, the consumer, am at fault because I didn't know to check the system.  I reminded her that this was their screw-up, not ours, and asked her how she was going to make it right.  She said we were welcome to pay for an iPhone 5.

As we drove away, (both of us discussing the situation at the top of our lungs) I tried to figure out what had me so upset.  One was that my mother was at home with my kids AGAIN this week.  I hated to put her to that work.  Another was that this was my day off.  I had a million other things to do.  Another was that I DIDN'T GET MY PHONE.  But I think the thing that really hacked me the most was the way the woman addressed us.  Not once did she apologize for the situation, or act like she cared or even understood our frustration.  She literally talked to us like we were dumb kids who couldn't read or something.

Rick, bless him, tried several times throughout the rest of our Valentine's Day to remind me that I was letting this woman ruin my day by dwelling on it.  And he was totally right.  I really did try, but I'm still heated this morning.

I'm pretty sure we'll be dropping AT&T.  And good riddance.

Get Financially Fit: 2014 Goals

Okay - I have (albeit inadvertently) put off writing my financial goals for 2014.  I was reminded of this yesterday when I was asked what I would do with an extra $1000 per month.  I didn't have to think twice - get out of debt faster.

Here were our financial goals starting in September of 2013:

1. Establish an emergency fund of $1000 CHECK
2. Pay off Loan #1 - car.GOAL: Paid off by September 2013. CHECK
3. Pay off Loan #2 - credit card. GOAL: Paid off by Christmas 2013 CHECK
4. Pay off Loan #3 - other car. GOAL: Paid off by end of school year
5. Pay off Loan #4 - student loan.

Dave says that all non-mortgage debt should be payable in two years or less, so by September of 2015, all of this should go bye-bye.  Obviously, the highlighted one is where we are.  Right now, using the debt snowball method, we are able to throw all of what we were paying on my car and the credit card at this debt every month, in addition to our regular car payment.  We also put whatever extra we have at the end of the month 100% toward this debt.  When it all totals out, it's a good chunk of change each month.  We were on track to get it paid off by May...and then, due to some unforeseen expenses and poor planning in December, we weren't able to put the sort of dent into the debt that our budget was supposed to have allowed.  And then in January, both our cars required repairs that totaled $2000. (OHMYGOODNESS I about died.)  We were unable to make our above and beyond debt payment because of this, and as a result, I'm afraid to say it is now highly unlikely we will have Loan #3 paid off by the end of the school year.

I am devastated.  This will be our first big set back since committing to become debt free as soon as possible.  My husband, always the optimist, pointed out that, had this sort of thing happened to our car a year ago, or even six months ago, we would have been crushed.  There would have been no way to squeeze $2000 extra dollars out of our budget to pay for car repairs.  Now, it's not a matter of not having money, just not being able to spend it where we would have liked, and that is a much better problem to have.  Very, very true.

So, the new plan:

1. Establish an emergency fund of $1000 CHECK
2. Pay off Loan #1 - car.GOAL: Paid off by September 2013. CHECK
3. Pay off Loan #2 - credit card. GOAL: Paid off by Christmas 2013 CHECK
4. Pay off Loan #3 - other car. GOAL: Paid off by end of June
5. Pay off Loan #4 - student loan

 For 2014, we want to pay off Rick's car and start paying off those student loans.  We can do it :)

Kindle Book: The Vine Basket

The Vine Basket

by Josanne La Valley

Length: 256 pages

Format: Kindle Book

Price: $1.99!

Author Website: http://www.josannelavalley.com/

Basic Premise: In her oppressed Uyghur village, 14-year-old Mehrigul struggles to be the family's breadwinner after her brother desserts them, her mother falls into a deep depression, and her father takes to drinking and gambling what little money they have.  When an ordinary basket fetches an outrageous price at market from an American woman, Mehrigul wonders if it might be her key to an education, and a different life.

My Take:  5 out of 10 (scale here)

I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this book.  I love reading books about other cultures - particularly those with which I have some experience - so when I heard about this book at my YAL conference, I instantly wanted to read it.  And when I saw it was only $1.99 on Amazon, I got even more excited.  But I was disappointed.  Though artistically and beautifully written, I found this book rather boring.  I wanted more back story - Why exactly had her brother left? Why was her father so hard to the world? Why did her mother refuse to contribute to the running of the household?  I loved the main character and her fierce commitment to keeping her family going at whatever cost to herself, but I wished for more character development, more movement in the plot, and a rounder, more thorough telling of the story.  I did like the map and the information at the back of the book about the Uyghur people and how the Han Chinese were taking away rights because the region was rich in natural resources.  Having traveled to China, and having friends who are living and working in the neighboring regions, I appreciated this bit of history.

I would give this author another try, but this certainly won't be a reread.

Fruit Cars

This week was the Awana Grand Prix for the little kids at church.  My son was super excited about racing his car and his mommy was less than excited about bringing the car-themed snack.  But this actually ended up being really easy and really fun.

Step 1: Make the Flags
I used tooth picks and little post-it pop up things.  The Pinterest picture showed a black and white checkered flag, but I wasn't about to try to make those.  I have a ton of these at school and never use them.

Pull out a tab and place the toothpick in the center.

Fold the tab over the toothpick to create the flag :)

Do this 36 times, or however many you want.  I made 36 too.

Step 2: Cut up the apples
Cut the apples using a little apple slicer thing.

Insert two toothpicks into the apple slice horizontally.

Then stick grapes on the ends to make the wheels.

Step 3: Add the Flags
Insert the flags into the top of the apple slice.

Step 4: Serve!

They were served with this adorable little candy car.  WAY more work than mine, but I can definitely say mine was healthier!

And of course, I had to sneak this in - a picture of my boy at the Grand Prix!