Greetings:
I am currently participating in a "catch-up" session of Netflix viewing. We've had a couple DVDs laying around for weeks so I watched "Beaches" earlier and am currently watching "Dead Poets Society". Years ago I saw most of "Beaches" on cable and realized it was one of the lead chick-flicks of our era. And after watching it in its entirety I can confirm it is quite the chick-flick. But it was a decent chick-flick. Too early to comment on "Dead Poets Society" but apparently I'm an oddball for never have seen the movie.
I've been able to read on a regular basis at night so I did complete Little Women and I had forgotten much of the story. It was pretty decent even though it's "old school" and sometimes difficult to read due to the vocabulary. I finished reading Madame Bovary a couple nights ago. I read this book in my advanced English course in high school and got extra credit for an exam. I did not remember the story line at all so it felt like a new read. The main character makes the story difficult to read because her decision making is stupid and it's impossible for me to feel sympathetic. Her suicide at the end doesn't even make me feel bad for her. Ironically one of the discussion questions at the end of the book asks "Do you feel empathy for Madame Bovary throughout her struggle with marriage and monogamy?"
The Health Fair my health studies students provided went very well last week. I had one group of students go way over and beyond with their preparation. They spent hours making 380 "mind jars" for students. (Small water bottles, syrup, and glitter that creates a snow globe effect so a student can relax and calm him or herself with a visual.) The school was very pleased with the event and do to the set-up of the district, we may go back to the district in the fall and present the next Health Fair at the other elementary school. I worry too much about the health fair event each semester because I'm worried the lack of work ethic I'm seeing in most classes will weasel its way into that major outreach project.
The financial class I'm taking is going very well and I spent part of day restocking my cash envelopes for the month of April. Gavin and I made a major shopping trip to Target too and he was surprisingly patient as he helped me organize my coupons. Kohl's had a nice sale on running shoes and athletic shorts so he's set for clothes too. I'm grateful we didn't need to run down to Des Moines.
I'm halfway excited and halfway dreading my trip to St. Louis next week. Due to a change to the PE program catalog (helps students plan out their four years), quite a few students dropped my aquatics course. They didn't drop it because they should....they dropped it because they could and it was convenient. Sigh. Anyway, I wish I would have known about this because I could have extended my trip to St. Louis. I could have left on Wednesday and attended an extra day of the conference. Sigh...again. I feel silly for only attending the conference for one day but some professional development is better than no professional development. I'm also not thrilled about sharing a hotel room with a colleague and like usual, I'm not thrilled about flying.
Time to write Grandma a letter!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Good-Bye Spring Break
Sadly the week of freedom is almost over. I got most of my goals accomplished for the week. I didn't spend as much time at work as I had planned but I'm justifying that because it's Spring Break for Pete's sake. ***pause***
I took a "small" break so we could run and get Gavin from his class and it ended up being a break that lasted hours. The good news is that I got quite a bit of work done and I watched ISU win their game against the North Carolina Tarheels. I didn't get all of my grading done yet but I made a good dent in it over break. My health class (both sections) are providing a Health Fair to a local school on Wednesday. I get incredibly nervous because I'm relying on these students to do a great job. A couple groups are already presenting issues with their choice of content to share with elementary students. Other groups were planning to give candy out to kids...at 8am....at a Health Fair. Sigh.
I am sure everything will go well on Wednesday but I'm a worrywort about these things.
On a sad note, Jon's grandmother passed away on March 19. She was almost 97 and had been dealing with health issues for years. Her death was expected this week and we've tried to be a help to Jon's mom and dad. The visitation and funeral service were simplistic but fitting. Jon's dad is now pretty sick with an upper respiratory infection so he'll need extra care this week so Jon's mom is busy...which I think is helping her feel "normal" even with her mother gone.
I used a lot of time this week to do some personal tasks since it's becoming more and more difficult to fit things in with my work schedule. Thanks to a nice federal tax refund, I was able to put new tires on my car. A couple of trips during winter weather in past months made it obvious that I had more traction. I was also able to order two pairs of glasses and hope to have those in a couple weeks. My prescription hasn't changed ever but I like having a few choices when it comes to wearing glasses. My "sturdy" pair is scratched and not appropriate to wear to work. Now I'll have a few choices and I may actually keep a pair at work in case I lose a contact lense in the pool. I also put a nice chunk in my emergency fund.
I am giving a supplement a try with my weight loss. Alli is a product that's been on the market for awhile and is the only FDA-approved supplement associated with weight loss. I've wanted to try it for awhile but the price has scared me a bit. I received some coupons for the product and had a conversation with my doctor about it. Since I'm no longer taking meds for my gallbladder issue, it's safe for me to take the daily pills. Essentially, the supplement is taken three times a day with each meal but only if the meal includes fat. The pill prevents about half of the fat from a meal to be absorbed in the intestinal tract. The supplement + better food choices + physical activity is supposed to boost weight loss in a safe way. It's not supposed to be used for the long term. I'll give it a go for a month and see what I think. The only negative side effect happens if you eat a meal that has a ton of fat. You'll be in the bathroom a lot apparently.
I guess that's it for now.
I took a "small" break so we could run and get Gavin from his class and it ended up being a break that lasted hours. The good news is that I got quite a bit of work done and I watched ISU win their game against the North Carolina Tarheels. I didn't get all of my grading done yet but I made a good dent in it over break. My health class (both sections) are providing a Health Fair to a local school on Wednesday. I get incredibly nervous because I'm relying on these students to do a great job. A couple groups are already presenting issues with their choice of content to share with elementary students. Other groups were planning to give candy out to kids...at 8am....at a Health Fair. Sigh.
I am sure everything will go well on Wednesday but I'm a worrywort about these things.
On a sad note, Jon's grandmother passed away on March 19. She was almost 97 and had been dealing with health issues for years. Her death was expected this week and we've tried to be a help to Jon's mom and dad. The visitation and funeral service were simplistic but fitting. Jon's dad is now pretty sick with an upper respiratory infection so he'll need extra care this week so Jon's mom is busy...which I think is helping her feel "normal" even with her mother gone.
I used a lot of time this week to do some personal tasks since it's becoming more and more difficult to fit things in with my work schedule. Thanks to a nice federal tax refund, I was able to put new tires on my car. A couple of trips during winter weather in past months made it obvious that I had more traction. I was also able to order two pairs of glasses and hope to have those in a couple weeks. My prescription hasn't changed ever but I like having a few choices when it comes to wearing glasses. My "sturdy" pair is scratched and not appropriate to wear to work. Now I'll have a few choices and I may actually keep a pair at work in case I lose a contact lense in the pool. I also put a nice chunk in my emergency fund.
I am giving a supplement a try with my weight loss. Alli is a product that's been on the market for awhile and is the only FDA-approved supplement associated with weight loss. I've wanted to try it for awhile but the price has scared me a bit. I received some coupons for the product and had a conversation with my doctor about it. Since I'm no longer taking meds for my gallbladder issue, it's safe for me to take the daily pills. Essentially, the supplement is taken three times a day with each meal but only if the meal includes fat. The pill prevents about half of the fat from a meal to be absorbed in the intestinal tract. The supplement + better food choices + physical activity is supposed to boost weight loss in a safe way. It's not supposed to be used for the long term. I'll give it a go for a month and see what I think. The only negative side effect happens if you eat a meal that has a ton of fat. You'll be in the bathroom a lot apparently.
I guess that's it for now.
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