Best Dressed

Blog Prompt: You are in charge of giving out a major award to the 5 Best Dressed People of the Year. Who are they?

1. My assistant principal, Elizabeth: she always looks good no matter what kind of day she is having.
2. Ben Affleck: he looks great in a suit!
3. Matt Damon: he looks great in anything!
4. Kate Hudson: she dresses so much better than her mother, Goldie Hawn
5. Oprah: she dresses very nice especially when she is having her "thin" days.

Success

Blog Prompt: What is your definition of 'success'? Do you know any 'successful' people who inspire you?

Success to me means achieving your goals that enable you to be independent without doing harm to others. I feel I have been very successful in my career and in my personal life. That doesn't mean I haven't had my ups and downs but more ups than downs. I believe that you have to constantly work on your life and not take it for granted or think that things work out for themselves.

I have known many successful people and try to surround myself with successful people. I like to watch and see what they do that makes them successful so I can try the same techniques. I think their positive attitudes and outlook on life is contagious. There are so many people at DSP that I feel are successful and I love to read the blogs of my many successful friends. This has me feeling good so I can work on my own life.

A Poem

Blog Prompt: Let's write a poem. Try a haiku, rhyming, or any other style you like.

Approaching Retirement

As I get ready for retirement
I look all around.
I think about what I’m leaving
For adventures that will abound.

It’s sad to leave my career of teaching,
And worry that memories will fade.
It’s sad to leave my students
And miss all the progress they’ve made.

I hope that I’ve been able
To touch many lives
And hope I’ll continue to do so
When a new challenge arrives.

I don’t know where I’m headed
And if I’ll know when I reach it.
But I know I’ll enjoy trying
And have fun every minute.

My Favorite Cookie

Blog Prompt: What's your favorite cookie? Do you make it? Does someone else? Do you buy it?

I actually have 2 favorite cookies depending on what mood I'm in. I love chocolate chip cookies and pecan sandies. Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies and Keebler Pecan Sandies are my favorite store bought cookies. Homemade chocolate chip cookies are the best! I don't usually make any because I'm a terrible cook/baker. I tried one time to make chocolate chip cookies for a meeting I had the next day. I used the Tollhouse recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag but they all burnt on the cookie sheet. I went, in tears, across the street to my neighbor who came over to help me make another batch. She has made "millions" because she loves to cook and bake. Again we followed the recipe on the back of the bag. Again they burned! She began to back away from me thinking I was cursed by the Kitchen God! She said that this has never happened to her before and now that I think about it, I don't think she ever walked in my kitchen again before she moved.

Daily Routine

Blog Prompt: What is the most tedious or boring part of your daily routine/job? What is the most creative?

The most boring part of my job is running off copies on the copy machine. Thank goodness I have a full time assistant who runs off my papers. I hate when she is absent and I have to actually work the "monster." I like my papers to be front and back and I don't have the patience to figure out how to get it run off the way I want.

The most boring part of my daily routine is whenever it gets dark. I hate darkness and night. It seems like nighttime goes on forever. The only good thing about nighttime is that daylight will be here next! I get antsy because I wish it was light enough to do more gardening. I could do more hiking if it didn't get dark (I'm NOT a moonlight hiker!)

The most creative time of day for me is the mornings. I do my best thinking and working in the morning. I get up at 4:45 am and walk on my treadmill for 30 min. I do my best problem solving at that time. I check my email and answer necessary things before 6am. I love to do scrapping and gardening before 9am (ooooh, I can't wait for retirement!). I get to work by 7:15 and have until 8:15 before students arrive in my classroom. I do most of my planning and preparation during that time.

Favorite Color

Blog Prompt: What's your favorite color? Describe it. Has it always been your favorite? Why is it your favorite?

I have 2 favorite colors: blue and purple. Blue has always been my favorite. I like the way I look in blue and it seems like everything goes with blue. My stepmother loves blue too so it is fun how we look for blue things together. My livingroom and bedroom have blue in it. I love to wear blue jeans (wooo hooo! retirement - here I come. I will live in blue jeans!).

My other color is purple which is my alma mater (Furman Univ. ) school color. When I got married, my wedding party wore lavendar and we were married at the bell tower on the lake at Furman. I tend to gravitate towards purple because it is a bright and cheerful color to me.

Combination

Teachcareable: I am a teacher who is caring and lovable. I may think of more later in the day but that is the best I could come up with this morning. I don't know how I will define myself when I stop teaching though because it has defined me for 26 years. It's times like this that makes me stop and think about retirement.

(I'm in Indiana today and spent my first night ever in Indiana. We plan to go to the Falls of the Ohio State Park and then off to Louisville for my meetings. If any of you have relatives and friends at Virginia Tech, please know you, your family, and all of those at Virginia Tech and their families are in my thoughts and prayers!)

Disappointment

I'm having to deal with disappointment and thought it would help if I wrote about it and then I wouldn't feel so bad.

I have a conference in Kentucky this coming Tues. through Sun. so we decided to drive up there from SC last night and do some camping and hiking. I was so pumped up about this trip. I had the car packed up on Thursday night with little odds and ends to finish on Friday. I had lists of things I needed to remember to bring and lists of things I needed to do before I left. Well, last night I packed up the remainder of things and was all set to go, when we looked at the weather report.

Since it would rain on Friday night and Saturday, we decided not to leave Friday night and leave in the morning instead. We would travel on Saturday and it should clear out on Sunday so we could go hiking and camping. So I unpacked the essentials from the car and planned on leaving in the morning.

This morning I got up early and watered all my plants (I forgot to do that yesterday) and prepared to leave. I put all the essentials back in the car. My husband meanwhile watched the weather report which changed overnight and it is going to rain all weekend. So now we decide not to leave until tomorrow (Sunday) and hike on Monday. Camping will be out since we have to be in Louisville on Tuesday. So I go out and unpack all the camping gear and the essentials.

This is turning out to be a bummer weekend. I did go out and weed the front flowerbed to help get rid of some of my frustration and disappointment. Now I will go do some scrapping to help lift my spirits. I hate whining but I couldn't help it. Thanks for listening and letting me unload!

Friday the 13th

Blog Prompt: Are you superstitious? Does the thought of 'Friday the 13th' make you nervous?

I don't really think I'm superstitious but I don't mind hedging my bets. I don't think that walking under a ladder will hurt me, but I don't tempt fate. I knock on wood just to be safe. Little things like that. As for Friday the 13th, for some reason, it usually is a good day for me. I don't know if that is because everyone else is freaked out and I'm calmer but I look forward to this day. I also consider the number 13 lucky because most others don't like it and I feel sorry for the underdog. Have a happy Friday the 13th!

Four

Blog Prompt:

Four jobs I've had: camp counselor, knitting factory worker, chinese restaurant cashier, teacher

Four movies I've watched over and over: To Kill a Mockingbird, Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, Sound of Music

Four places I've lived: House in Long Island, New York; college campus in Greenville,SC ; apartment complex in Greenville, SC; house in Greenville, South Carolina

Four tv shows I like(d) to watch: Grey's Anatomy, the Unit, Criminal Minds, CSI

Four places I've been on vacation: Caribbean, China, Italy, France

Four of my favorite foods: Chocolate, Pizza, Ice Cream, Italian food

Sibling Day

In honor of Sibling's Day, talk about your relationship with your siblings. If you don't have any, tell us how you feel about that.

My oldest sister, who was 12 years older than me, died from lupus when I was in 10th grade. We were very close so that was a traumatic time for me. My middle sister, who is 10 years older than me, still lives in NY so we don't see each other much at all. Thanks to the computer, we do instant message each other a lot and we both have Verizon so calls don't cost anything. When I went away to college and during the early years of my marriage, we drifted apart. I have to admit, during those days I was pretty self centered. I had 2 small daughters, a new career, and was trying to make ends meet. Connecting with family was not high on my priority list. Since we both got computers, we have gotten much closer, almost like when I was growing up. I didn't realize how much I had missed this closeness until I had it again. I hope I never let her get far away emotionally from me again.

Free Advertising

Free Advertising!! Are there three products in your life that you just love (favorite scrapping designer? a cleaning product that does what it claims? or your favorite restaurant?)? Tell us about them! (Add links and maybe we'll decide we can't live without them either )

1. Well of course, I would have to push Digital Scrapbook Place! (www.digitalscrapbookplace.com). I think I practically spend every minute outside of checking my email there. I love the freebies and the kits as well as a plethora (just love to use that word!) of challenges to choose from. I look forward to my blog prompt each day and reading everyone else's. At first I was trying to do as many challenges as I could and finally learned that I had to limit myself to about 3 a week or I'd go crazy! I also had to limit myself to $12 per week or I'd go bankrupt!
2. Toyota Prius (http://www.toyota.com/Prius/)- my new hybrid car. I've had it for a little over a month and I still love it. We've taken it on a couple of long trips and it is very comfortable. I average about 45-50 miles per gallon so it is very economical too.
3. Council for Exceptional Children (www.cec.sped.org) - the largest professional organization for special education teachers. I was just elected to a second term on the Board of Directors on the national level. There are state and local chapters that you belong to once you join. I've been a member since 1978 and I really feel it has helped me be a better teacher.

Spring Growth

Spring always means change or growth. Any changes or growth going on in your life?

Spring is bringing about lots of changes for me and it is only the beginning. I'm preparing for my retirement as of June 6. This means I have to do lots of paperwork for my health insurance and finalizing "stuff". I am also going to have to begin packing and sorting and throwing out stuff that I've accumulated after 26 years of teaching. A lot of my stuff is so out of date that I don't know why I still have it. Do any of you remember those old mimeograph sheets (the blue stuff that smelled so good?). I have lots of those things and I can't even use them anymore.

I will also begin to teach my first college course so I've been spending a lot of time writing my syllabus, preparing powerpoint presentations, planning lessons, gathering material, and reading the textbook. When I slow down to think of what I'm doing I feel so overwhelmed, unworthy, and just plain scared to death!

So as you can tell, spring is a time of rebirth and growth for me. I feel like I've hit adolescence again. I want to grow up but I'm scared and want things to remain the same. Gee, doesn't that sound so familiar!

Spread Too Thin

Blog Prompt: What do you do when you find yourself overbooked? Are you someone that pushes through and collapses at the end? Cancel out selectively and give yourself breathing room? Or maybe curl up in the fetal position and cry?

I am the world's worst at telling people "No." Years ago, my hubby wanted me to practice looking in the mirror and saying no over and over. Now he says I'm good at telling him no but not everyone else. I always feel bad for people or feel that I'm not doing enough or not doing my share so I am always in the middle of doing things for other people. I spend the entire time worrying about getting something done until I finish it and then I swear to myself that I won't do this again (until the next time of course). I usually end up finishing something at the last minute and put myself through all sorts of stress. I've gotten better about saying no just because I know that I will have to face my hubby (he is sort of my conscience and my better half). I now tell people that I will think about it and come home and talk to my hubby first. If he can't come up with a good reason for not doing something or he can't talk me out of it, I will end up doing it. That is why he is my "better half!"

"A" words

Argyle, antsy, acupuncture, aunt, attention, apple, abracadabra, accurate, afford, aggravate, alleviate, ambush, and, amber, achilles, arrow, astound, aviate, aviary, aviator, away, absolutely, awesome.

I am supposed to be on my Easter break and we left yesterday morning for the Smokies. Yesterday we did a couple of hikes (total only about 7 miles) and today we did a couple more (only about 6 miles). After a wonderful night camping, we heard that bad storms were coming so we packed up and came home. I'm feeling a little lazy right now because I had a relaxing shower and couldn't wait to get on my computer to check out DSP. My brain had trouble thinking of A words! Maybe because I'm on vacation!
Tomorrow we hope to head down to Atlanta and Callaway Gardens after the rain goes away. I am just enjoying the time off!