tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80396180846020598262024-03-14T11:49:14.392-07:00North Hills Quiltermarilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.comBlogger2537125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-42097332020030229622018-09-09T16:31:00.001-07:002018-09-09T16:31:01.540-07:00Quilt Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was quilt day and the students from National Honor Society joined with the ladies from Binky Patrol to work on blankets for the students from Travis Unified. We made 3 boxes of blankets that will be given out this coming week.<br />
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I have lots of boxes of fleece that have been donated and we used the bigger pieces to make blankets for kids. We took the smaller pieces and cut up smaller blankets for the animals at the SPCA.<br />
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We had three bags of blankets for the pets and I had the kids from NHS drop the blankets off on their way home. It's so nice to have all of that fleece out of my garage and into the hands of people who will use it.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-61496015116731581912018-08-25T17:23:00.000-07:002018-08-25T17:23:05.794-07:00First day of high school<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Can you tell he was excited? He's a funny kid. He does like his classes and has me for a science teacher.<br />
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The first week of school was really busy but I have a great group of kids and am excited for the year.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-13466244593715542162018-08-19T18:22:00.000-07:002018-08-19T18:22:05.951-07:00back to school<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today my knee and shoulder are less sore to the touch, but are turning yellow. I guess that means they are healing, which is a good thing.<br />
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It's the last day of vacation and tomorrow the fun begins. The kids don't come back until Wednesday, but there is always so much to get done before the kids come back. I'm always envious of the districts where teachers get a whole week to work in their classrooms. We get 2 days. And half of that time is inservice. That's why I spend weeks during the summer working in my classroom. Most people don't understand why I spend so much time working during the summer, but I want to be ready to spend my time working with the kids, not cleaning and organizing and getting ready. I want to be ready.<br />
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My naked lady lilies are doing really well this year. I loved these flowers as a kid and bought them two years ago. I put them in this abandoned vegetable garden and they don't need any attention. They bloom without leaves and then the leaves come out after they are done blooming-hence the name-naked lady.<br />
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One of us is more excited to be going back than the other...can you guess who?<br />
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I went in yesterday and put up this bulletin board. I printed out pictures from Facebook and other places where I could find of the teachers in my department. I have a little surprise planned for every day this coming week to welcome everyone back. The first week is the hardest.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-77054900385280450462018-08-18T14:41:00.002-07:002018-08-18T14:41:27.964-07:00Don't just bloom-produce fruit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was telling my dad about this tomato plant at my school that is growing in a weed patch. I was at school this morning and snapped a picture to show him. I guess it's not really a weed patch, but rather an empty, dry used to be weed patch where nothing should be growing. Not only is this tomato plant growing, it is producing tons of cherry tomatoes. From what I can tell, nobody is watering this little guy. The nearest sprinkler is so far away that the overspay has no way of reaching it. Somehow it is getting to water and doing what it does best-making lots of tomatoes!<br />
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Of course, I see a lesson here. No matter where you end up in life, do what you were meant to do. Not only bloom, but produce fruit!<br />
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I'm feeling better today. My shoulder and knee are more shades of purple but aren't as sore to move. I had to go into the Occupational Therapist doctor yesterday. My work is covering the medical expenses under Workman's Comp because I was at school volunteering, so that's a blessing. We have a Health Saving's Account which means we have to pay for everything out of pocket until out $5400 deductible is covered for the year. The CT scan alone is over $2K and each doctor visit cost $125. I have to go back in one more time to see the doctor so they can make sure I'm healing well enough.<br />
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The doctor said I just missed the fascia (connective tissue that surrounds muscle) on my head that would have caused a big bruise on my eye and cheek. Bummer. Now, I won't get a bunch of sympathy on the first day back. :) But at least I will still look pretty.<br />
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I didn't do any damage to my shoulder or knee other than the bruise and scrapes. The Lord was watching over me when I fell for sure. A bruised ego, and some soft tissue damage and a headache and that's about it. I'm having the hardest time with resting. I don't know what that word means! I have so much to do and just sitting still is the worst. I'm sure there is a lesson here too, but I haven't learned it yet.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-84132491791049260202018-08-16T10:18:00.002-07:002018-08-16T10:18:27.632-07:00no more excitement please<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4PpqfdjAm_A/W3WvDqq3j8I/AAAAAAAAQRU/CPW0KZV88rEASj0CXSLuT-B4B_ylsqr9QCLcBGAs/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4PpqfdjAm_A/W3WvDqq3j8I/AAAAAAAAQRU/CPW0KZV88rEASj0CXSLuT-B4B_ylsqr9QCLcBGAs/s320/005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the bruise starting to form above my glasses line. This was yesterday afternoon.</td></tr>
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Yesterday was orientation for my son at high school. My baby is now a freshman. I took him a little early and I was going to stay the day and help out where needed. I planned to spy on him throughout the day. He jumped out of the car and took off across campus saying he was going to go to the gym to meet with friends. I went to my classroom to drop off my stuff and then headed to the gym to find him.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was from this morning. It is a little darker and much more sore to the touch. The swelling has gone down.</td></tr>
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I checked out the gym and he wasn't in there. The older kids who are mentors for LINK crew were all in the gym, excited to start the day. They all cheered for me when I peeked my head in. One of the counselors asked if I could run to the office and pick up a microphone for them because they had forgotten it. No problem! Yep, that's when the problem started!<br />
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I headed to the office and saw the Vice Principal, who had asked me to stop in to talk to her. I'm the department chair this year, so we have been talking a lot, but still getting called into the principal's office is never fun!<br />
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I turned to say hi to her and then a student called my name. I turned a little more to see who it was calling me and wasn't looking where I was going. I tripped over some uneven pavement and was going a little too fast to catch myself and everything started going in slow motion! I could feel myself falling and couldn't do anything about it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yesterday</td></tr>
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I didn't have time or coordination to get my hands out to catch myself and hit my right shoulder and head really hard on the concrete. I also hit my left knee. The principal said he heard my head hit the pavement and came running over to help me up. The Vice Principal said I didn't look good before I made the fall. I told her it was because my baby was in high school and I'm having a hard time with that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">today the bruising starts and boy it is sore!</td></tr>
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The principal got me into his office and got me an ice pack. I got a goose egg on my head and a nice headache. My husband came and took me to the ER. They did a CT scan and didn't find anything, which confirms my suspicions that there is a lot of empty space up there. No brain bleed or fracture of the skull. Just a mild concussion. My vision was blurry for a while and I got dizzy on the way back from the CT scan.<br />
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They sent me home with some ibuprofen and told not to go to work for 3 days. Isn't it convenient that I don't start work until Monday?<br />
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I'm really sore today and have whiplash. This big old head is really heavy.<br />
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I think I'm ready to have normal now please.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-23955065147491334222018-08-14T16:34:00.001-07:002018-08-14T16:34:09.561-07:00a closer look<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I decided to get a closer look at the fire damage. We have a gate that leads out to the open field that burned. It was hot, but windy so I decided to take a walk out to see for myself. Cows normally graze in this field year round, but they haven't been here for about a month. It's been really dry and most of the grass was gone. Down this dirt road is a lake that was dry for about 4-5 years. This past year we had a lot of rain and the lake filled up again. Every winter Canadian geese come to spend the winter on the lake. They are gone now, but build nests and raise their babies in the field.<br />
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To the left of this picture is a big open field that did not burn. It is a drainage area for the neighborhood and for the prison, which is also to the left of the picture. Those pipes help the water flow under the fire access road and into the little creek which helped save our house. The last time the fire came in about 2003, the fire burned this field and one of those houses because this area wasn't part of the city. Both Fairfield and Vacaville argued over who should put out the fire. Neither did, so the house burned.<br />
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This is a view of the edge of the drainage field. Those trees have to withstand a lot of wind and did get scorched by the fire, but I think they will come back.<br />
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The wooden fence posts weren't so lucky. All night long, all of the wooden fence posts glowed red. In the morning, the firefighters went around and put them out with water.<br />
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This is the busy 2 lane road that the fire jumped. To the right is the SPCA.<br />
If you haven't see the video of the rescue yet, it's pretty incredible. The Vacaville police department released body camera video showing how they got the animals out before the fire got to the shelter. None of the buildings were burned, but they lost power and the smoke was really bad.<br />
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Here's the link to the video.<br />
<a href="https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/08/13/caught-on-video-vacaville-police-solano-spca-evacuation-nelson-fire/">https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/08/13/caught-on-video-vacaville-police-solano-spca-evacuation-nelson-fire/</a><br />
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<br />marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-38768019011033983952018-08-13T22:00:00.000-07:002018-08-13T22:00:12.424-07:00Oh Rats!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our air conditioner broke down on Sunday. It's in the high 90's here in Northern California and having an air conditioner is a necessity.<br />
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The repair guy came out in the afternoon and found this beauty in the compressor outside. He had been electrocuted. Probably quite some time ago by how dried out he was. No wonder the air conditioner has been acting up.<br />
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The guy was able to partly fix the air conditioner. He's coming back on Friday to fix the part upstairs. What's $3000? At least we will be cool again!<br />
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Plus, the duct work needs to be replaced. The guy said there were a bunch of dried up rats in the attic too. Living next to a field is nice, but it's an open invitation to the wildlife to come party in the attic. We will probably put off the duct work for a couple of months, until it cools down a little.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-48250911494228324962018-08-13T17:50:00.002-07:002018-08-13T17:50:59.969-07:0040 more quilts for the Carr fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My friend was heading up to Oregon Saturday and said she would be willing to load up her car and drop off quilts along the way. We finished all of these quilts at our Binky quilt day on Thursday.<br />
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That's 40 more people comforted. I now know what it's like to feel the fear of a fire coming at you.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-57855971777753698942018-08-11T13:00:00.001-07:002018-08-11T13:00:04.961-07:00Well, that was exciting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night around 6:45 someone came knocking on the door. I had heard helicopters outside, but didn't think too much about it. My son came and said there was someone at the door. We never answer the door because it's always someone wanting to sell solar panels or paint our house. I sat there for a couple of minutes and then thought that I probably should get up and just check. Something didn't feel quite right.<br />
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When I went outside, the entire neighborhood was out and this is what I saw. The fire was on the hill on the other side of the road. Since we've lived in our house (2005) the hill has burned twice. It has never made it over the two lane road. Before we moved in, there was a fire that burned the field and actually made it to our neighborhood and burned down a house. At that time, our neighborhood wasn't part of the city yet and so the firefighters couldn't decide who should hook up to the hydrant. Vacaville and Fairfield argued until the house burned to the ground.<br />
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We were told we had to get out of the house. I grabbed the four dogs and my son and got them in the car and took off. My husband was looking for his wallet and got his medicine and a couple of boxes of his expensive comic books from his collection. He called me to say he had locked himself out of the house. So we came back and were told that we could stay on the street, but to be ready to get out if things got dangerous. This is a view out my living room window. The fire truck parked here and stayed over night watching the hot spots. I realized last night that I really needed to clean up the mess back there. I hadn't realized just how much trash had blown back there from the wind. It is either super windy or super hot in the summer and I don't spend much time on the side of the house. This morning I spent an hour and cleaned up the mess!<br />
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As we watched, the fire got closer. This is my across the street neighbor's house. When the last fire came, it burned down their fence and they never replaced it. You can see the fire access road on the other side of the chain link fence and just on the other side of that is a drainage canal that has about a foot of water in it. It drains our entire neighborhood. Good thing most people don't follow the rule and actually still water their lawns.<br />
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We have the fire hydrant on our property. We also have 6 really big redwood trees. That's our property to the left of the picture. The fire truck pkarked here at the end of the court, but never hooked up to the water. They just watched the fire.<br />
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The palm tree here in the left of the picture is on the outside of our fence and belongs to the city. If the fire had jumped the fire road and caught the palm tree, it would be a very small jump to our house. I'm going to get someone out to cut that tree down. About 5 years ago I had someone cut several palms down on our side of the fence. The fire burned all the way to the drainage creek. Just out of the picture to the left is the first fire truck. They came in my backyard and cut a hose I had hooked to the back of my property to water my plants. They used that to put out a couple of hot spots that jumped over the drainage creek. A very small price to pay! I went out this morning and got a new hose.<br />
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This was the view this morning around 6:30. The hills were still smoking and the wooden fence posts in the field were also smoldering.<br />
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There was ash and soot everywhere.<br />
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Here's the small fire truck that had been parked behind my house all night. Just to the right of this picture is a canal that helicopters had used to pick up water to drop on the fire. There were 4 or 5 helicopters working the fire for about an hour last night.<br />
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It's a crazy site. There is a road right before the hill starts that is a major thorough fare to get between Vacaville and Fairfield. It was closed this morning. One of the power poles had burned and fallen over. I know some people are without power. It's really hot here, high 90's to low 100's. At least we have power still.<br />
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Around 9:30 the firefighters started going out and putting out the hot spots with water. They drove all over the field. Normally there are cows in this field, but they haven't been here for a month or so.<br />
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Just when I thought things had calmed down and everything was over, I heard helicopters again. This is the view from my son's bedroom window.<br />
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Here come the helicopters again. At first there was one every 15 minutes or so. They were flying really close to our house and if I was on the roof, I could have grabbed that water bucket and gone for a ride. The whole house shook when they flew over.<br />
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Then they started coming every 2-3 minutes. The fire must have picked up again. They were dipping the bucket in the canal that leads from the Sacramento river into the North Bay Water Treatment Plant. That supplies our water for drinking.<br />
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We've also had a ton of lookie-loos come by. I guess it is pretty exciting. We even had a company come by hoping to get our business. They do fire restoration. The guy asked if our house smelled like smoke. Well, sure. He asked if we were going to do anything about it or just live with it. I guess everyone has to make a living somehow, but wow, way to take advantage of people.<br />
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I sure hope things calm down, at least for a little bit.<br />
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<br />marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-16539030691418432112018-08-10T05:35:00.001-07:002018-08-10T05:35:30.029-07:00Binky quilt day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had a quilt day and about 20 ladies got together to work on quilts for the people affected by the Carr fire.<br />
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Some ladies put bindings on the quilts that had been quilted by my friend Carla and me. Some ladies sorted boxes of fabric scraps. I have about 30 boxes and brought 4 boxes to be sorted. All of the boxes I brought and the boxes and bags that were donated were sorted by size so they could be cut using the die cut machine into pieces to be sewn back together.<br />
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Some people worked on sewing the pieces together to make quilt tops.<br />
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I sewed together binding strips and then worked on a quilt top. It was a great day. We got about 30 quilts finished up and got another 30 or so started. We are never finished with anything. There are always more quilts in the works. We are always ready for the next need. The next round of quilts are headed up to Redding tomorrow.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-67727866140086102342018-08-09T09:18:00.001-07:002018-08-09T09:18:43.085-07:00classroom set up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm still working diligently in my classroom trying to get it ready for the first day of school. I can't remember exactly how many hours I've spent, but I'd guess 40 at least so far. The walls are now mostly full of things. I can't believe I haven't put things on the walls in the 18 years I've spent teaching high school. When I taught elementary, that was my life! I would spend countless hours every month changing bulletin boards. I loved it! It is fun looking for ideas (back in the day we didn't have the internet so we made up a lot and stole ideas from each other).<br />
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Since I don't have bulletin boards now and just bare walls, almost everything I put on the wall is crooked. I can't step back to get perspective because I have to stand on a counter. I really try to make things straight, but all of the tricks I try just make the poster or paper lean in one way or another. What I need is a laser level. Next year.<br />
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Yesterday I started attacking the cabinets. When I clean the room at the end of the year, I just shove things into the cabinets. Yesterday I pulled everything out of one cabinet and found a treasure trove of school supplies. I had so many balloons! We use balloons for a couple of labs and are always running to the store the day before the lab because we never have enough. I probably found enough balloons for two years of labs. Shoved way in the back of the cabinet.<br />
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There were matches enough to burn down 1,000 schools and then some and mousetraps (both for catching mice and for doing experiments), and sharpie markers and post it notes and tape and...<br />
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I'm hoping that if I can organize all of this stuff I can save some money this year by not having to run out and get stuff because I can't find what I need. The best laid plans...marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-27392948491163285592018-08-07T16:01:00.000-07:002018-08-07T16:01:23.322-07:00famous or infamous?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was at a workshop this summer and found my teacher of the year picture on the wall. A couple of the ladies at the workshop (there were NO men teachers there) came up to me and said they had seen my picture on the wall and asked if I was the famous Solano County Teacher of the Year! It was funny being recognized.<br />
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They actually took that picture right after I broke down crying at the end of the video I made. They shot the video asking me a bunch of questions. You know, why did you become a teacher, what lessons do you hope your students remember, who inspired you the most. Well, at the time, my dad wasn't doing so well and I was really feeling stressed, worrying about him being sick. He has always inspired me to ask questions and look at the world through the lens of science. So, when they got to the who inspired you to become a teacher question, I got all sappy and started bawling.<br />
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When my dad saw the video, he says, you know your video was really good in the beginning. You had a great story going there and then you really messed it up at the end when you started crying. He makes me laugh! Of course, he's never going to die. He will just fix his heart and kidneys and live forever. He can pretty much fix anything so why not this? It's all in the attitude anyways.<br />
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He turns 87 in October and three years ago had a 2nd pacemaker put in. The day after the surgery, we climbed to the top of Castle Rock in Colorado. It probably wasn't the smartest thing we've ever done. Once we got to the top of the mountain, I started to worry that they might have to come up and get us down with a helicopter. But luckily, there was an access road for the ambulances and fire trucks and we were able to walk down the easier path and make it back to the car.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-49233682162254319812018-08-05T15:47:00.000-07:002018-08-05T15:47:16.469-07:00migraine brain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm trying to look at things with a new perspective. I have two weeks of vacation left. Some people only get two weeks of vacation.<br />
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When I get a day like yesterday, when a migraine takes the entire day away from me, it is hard to look at the day and not think of it as wasted. I woke up feeling pretty good and was excited to get out and get some things checked off my to do list. I'm working in my classroom and headed out to the Dollar Store to pick up some bins to help me organize the chaos that takes over every year.<br />
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Then, I was headed to the thrift store for their 50% off everything sale. I knew if I didn't get there right when they opened at 9am, it was going to be crazy. I got there around 9:10 and the parking lot was full. I had to park at the very back and all of the shopping carts were taken. People were pushing and shoving to save $1 on a t shirt. Out of the blue, my migraine came on and I knew I had better get out of there quickly.<br />
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I'm not sure if it was because of the crowd, or the fluorescent lighting or the smell or the stress or just what, but I didn't think I was going to make it. I started to get nauseous, which has come on more recently. The last month or so, the migraines have been getting more often and more severe.<br />
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I've been suffering from them since I was in my early 20's and they got better and worse over the years. I've tried every different prescription that is out there. I've also tried acupuncture, a chiropractor and Botox. The Botox worked for about a year and then they came back. Those shots were more painful than the migraines and I figured since they weren't working anymore anyways I might as well stop. The neurologist said that my body had built up an immunity. Bummer, why couldn't my body build up an immunity to fat and sugar instead?<br />
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So, I came home as quick as I could and spent the day laying around on the couch. At least I have the luxury of being able to do that. I didn't have to take a day off work and could go to bed early. I woke up this morning with a migraine hangover. I've never had a real hangover as I don't drink alcohol, but a migraine hangover is when you feel really sluggish and dehydrated. Your body just works really slowly the day after a really bad migraine. My head doesn't hurt, but I don't really have motivation to get much done.<br />
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And, that's ok too. Again, I have two weeks before I have to go back to school and time to just let my body recover. I will drink lots of water and go to the bathroom whenever I need to-again because I can. Anybody who has never been a teacher has no idea what a luxury going to the bathroom is! And using nice toilet paper! When I become teacher of the year, that's one thing I should change about education. Every teacher bathroom should have nice toilet paper instead of the sandpaper they buy us. :) That's how they could recruit more teachers...marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-65509166221471009362018-08-03T09:27:00.001-07:002018-08-03T09:27:54.789-07:00things work out, despite my best efforts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You would think I would have learned by now that I don't need to worry and fret about things. God's plans are always better than mine and I just need to pray and trust that His knows the end of the story. I'm not sure why I'm such a slow learner, but I'm glad He is a patient teacher.<br />
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My good friend from school who started teaching there the same year I did decided he needed to leave and find a job closer to home. He commutes over an hour every day each way. His wife started going blind about a year ago and had to quit her job last December. When she did, they lost their good medical insurance and he had to take the expensive and not so great medical insurance our district offers. My husband and I pay $1400 a month for the least expensive insurance and we have to pay up front for all of the doctor visits and prescriptions. Then, once we hit the $5000 cap, the insurance kicks in and will cover any other expenses for the year. So, if we get seriously injured, or have to spend time in the hospital, we are safe, but going to see the doctor costs $140 and even talking to a doctor on the phone is $45.<br />
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I totally understand why my friend decided he had to switch districts. Saving an hour and a half of commute time and making over $10,000 more a year are really hard to turn down, but he put us in a really tough spot with trying to find someone to replace him. We advertised and got one applicant. He was a guy who didn't have a credential, but who was in an internship program. It's like a teaching credential program, but you get paid to learn to be a teacher. He was a great candidate, but it was taking forever to try and work things out with his program.<br />
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I was getting really frustrated and worried because after a week of waiting and worrying our district still hadn't figured out how to make things work. Here we had a great guy willing to work for us and it seemed like everyone was dragging their feet getting things done.<br />
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Well, behind the scenes, my friend had started his new job at his new district. Turns out that the money and commute weren't enough to keep him there and he will be coming back. Things must have been really bad. I don't know the whole story and probably never will.<br />
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All that fussing and worrying and things are working out better than I could have planned. The new class schedule is going to be better because of the stress caused by the uncertainty made for a few class switches and everyone will be really happy this teacher will be back.<br />
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Now I can get busy lesson planning and finish setting up my room. Hopefully the next time I start getting stressed out, I will remember that things will work out and I should put my energy into being productive instead of worrying.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-9227421354528578572018-08-01T07:35:00.003-07:002018-08-01T07:35:43.696-07:00quilts for the Carr fire in Redding, Ca<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday, my friend, in the top, left of the above picture, took about 75 quilts and blankets to Redding to give out to those affected by the Carr fire. She gave a batch to local fire fighters who have lost homes in the fire. She also gave some to a shelter that was housing families who ha been displaced because they have lost homes.<br />
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This morning on the news they said that over 110,000 acres have burned and more than 1000 structures have burned. 30% of the fire is now contained but that means the end of the fire is still a long way off.<br />
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We are having a work day on August 9 and another group is meeting tomorrow to make quilts. Lots of quilters are getting together or working from home to help bring a little comfort to those who have lost everything.<br />
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I am trying to balance getting ready to go back to school with working on quilts and trying to get my house put back together. It currently looks like a bomb went off. I tend to start many projects during the summer and then get side tracked by other projects and leave things unfinished and laying out because I might come back and finish the first thing I started. Hopefully in 3 weeks when school starts up again, I will have a clean house and rested body and classroom ready for my students.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-86329818910387721782018-07-31T07:18:00.001-07:002018-07-31T07:18:50.934-07:00on fireSometimes that term is used in a positive way, like 'You're really on fire!' Meaning you're really doing great, or getting things done quickly.<br />
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But, right now, Northern California where I live is literally on fire. There are so many areas around me that are burning that the air is thick with smoke. You can taste it in the air in the morning and the sun is a bright red in the morning.<br />
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This blog is called North Hills Quilter because I started making quilts to give away to people who needed a hug. I live in the Northern part of California and there are beautiful hills next to my house. They change from green to a gorgeous golden yellow in the summer. But that golden yellow means they would go up in flames in an instant with just a careless spark from a cigarette or firework.<br />
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The biggest fire here is the Carr fire. It is in Redding, which is a couple of hours away from us, but has burned over 100,000 acres and killed 6 people so far. More than 800 homes have burned and it's only 20% contained. Entire neighborhoods have been decimated.<br />
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It reminds me of the fire that swept through Santa Rosa last October. Our school closed down for two days, even though Santa Rosa is more than an hour away, because the smoke was so thick.<br />
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My charity group, Vacaville Binky Patrol is working on making quilts to take to those affected by the fire in Redding. The first batch is headed up there today with some friends from my old church. I saw a post on Facebook yesterday that a group was collecting bottled water to take up there and asked if they could take quilts. Luckily I had some quilts ready to go. I will be dropping off the first round of quilts this morning and of course we will continue to work on quilts for as long as needed. Last year we worked until the end of the year and I figure it will go about that long.<br />
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Once people leave the shelters it is hard to find them and get them quilts. We reach out through the local churches and get quilts to them, but many of the people affected often move out of the area once they have lost their homes. That's one reason Vacaville Binky Patrol works year round to make quilts and I always keep some on hand to be ready in case an emergency strikes.<br />
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If you would like to help, we have lots of fabric, batting and supplies, but you could send us finished quilts or quilt tops that we will finish and get into the hands of those affected by the fires in Northern California or the next emergency.<br />
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We are always working to comfort those in need of a handmade hug.<br />
You can send to me<br />
Marilyn Lewis<br />
425 Kirby Ct<br />
Vacaville, Ca<br />
95687<br />
<br />marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-16384441715978638702018-07-30T15:04:00.002-07:002018-07-30T15:04:45.926-07:00The biggest illusion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I always joke that I got into teaching so I could have summers off. I think a lot of people think that teachers only work 9 months a year. It's probably one of the biggest myths in the teaching world.<br />
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I know that from the second I walk out of the classroom in June until the moment that tardy bell rings in August, my mind is running full speed with ways I can improve my craft. I am constantly looking for new lessons that will inspire the next generation of doctors and lawyers, bus drivers and stay at home moms.<br />
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As I sew and quilt, I'm thinking about what I could do to make each lesson run smoother or how I could have reached that child who just didn't seem to want to learn.<br />
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I go into my classroom at least twice a week over the summer under the guise of having to feed my fish (I have three fish tanks now) but always with the thought of wanting to do more, to be more, to achieve more.<br />
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I know there are teachers who are laughing and thinking that I'm crazy for doing all of this on my 'own time' but I find that I have many others who are just like me and who have the lifeblood teaching in our veins. We eat and breath and sleep teaching and can't wait for school to start again in the fall.<br />
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My friend and I spent a few hours again today working on getting our rooms ready. It's been a while since I spent time working on the walls. I was a first grade teacher long ago and used to spent countless hours putting up and taking down bulletin boards. Every month I would change them out depending on the theme we were studying. When I moved up to high school, I tried to keep up with changing the boards and between getting laughed at by the other teachers and trying to keep up with grading, I finally gave up on the decorating of the walls. I forgot how much fun it was decorating for back to school.<br />
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This year after spending a lot of time on Pinterest, I decided to attack the walls with a little color and some of my favorite sayings. I probably won't change them every month, but hopefully the words of encouragement will help the students and me have a welcoming place to come every day.<br />
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<br />marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-79646326812484561322018-07-29T13:38:00.001-07:002018-07-29T13:38:29.717-07:00wildlife<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the best things about where I live is the wildlife that is all around me. Yesterday morning I was woken up by the sound of my dogs barking. Something had been bothering them all night. I finally got up to see what they were upset by and went outside. I heard some yapping and howling and sure enough, there was a fox in the field next to us. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it. It was probably telling its friends that it had caught a rabbit or ground squirrel.<br />
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We have a family of ground squirrels that lives under our house. You can hear them under the downstairs shower. The dogs have a fit when I let them follow me into the bathroom and always want to check out the shower to see if they can get to the shower and try to get at the furry critters. You can hear them scuffling around under there. One day my husband will probably fall through into their burrow as he takes his morning shower. Won't that be a funny blog post!<br />
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Well, yesterday I went to make a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I've been having a migraine for about a week and sometimes the caffeine helps. Most of the time nothing helps. I like to mix cocoa in with the coffee.<br />
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I put the coffee pod in the Keurig and pushed the button. The coffee brewed and was finished. I opened the top, took out the pod and out crawled this little frog. It had been in the part where the hot water pours through and somehow didn't get cooked. You've probably heard the saying about putting a frog in cold water and slowly turning up the heat and then cooking the frog. Well, the water comes through that part really hot! Boiling hot and that little frog somehow made it through unscathed. It came out and looked at me like I was the crazy one.<br />
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After asking it what it was doing in my coffee maker, I took it outside. I sometimes get them crawling out of my sink in the morning, but this is a first for me!<br />
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I cleaned the coffee maker really well and made myself a new cup of coffee.<br />
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The coffee didn't help the migraine, but I did get a great story to tell. And, you can be sure I will check my coffee maker and any other coffee maker for hidden frogs in the future!marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-42978543333006849782018-07-28T15:22:00.000-07:002018-07-28T15:22:24.233-07:00civic duty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I got this in the mail yesterday. Yes, it's a jury summons. Yes, I actually love doing Jury Duty. But, if you look at the date, you will see that it is August 21. That's the day before school starts for me. It's the second day of in-service. With my luck I would actually get called in and then picked for service and miss out on the first day and first week of school.<br />
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I am always surprised when teachers don't push off jury duty to one of our many vacation days. I'm trying to decide if I should try to call and get it moved to before we go back (which I don't know if they would move it to earlier than my scheduled date) or to either Thanksgiving or Christmas break. I just need to make a decision and do it.<br />
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I don't know why it is so difficult to make a decision, but not knowing the future is sometimes hard. My dad turns 87 in October and every day I get to talk to him on the phone is a gift. But I can't know what tomorrow will bring.<br />
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There was one time that I forgot I had jury duty and didn't call and didn't go in. I remembered a couple of weeks later and totally freaked out. You know they put a warrant out for you if you don't show up and you are supposed to.<br />
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I asked the campus police officer if there was a warrant out for me and he checked and said I must have been released from my duty because nobody was looking for me. I was so relieved to find out that I wasn't going to get a fine or arrested and I've never failed to call in again!marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-69804507854125734662018-07-26T07:45:00.000-07:002018-07-26T07:45:35.426-07:00Always learning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the changes to the Next Generation Science Standards, I have to get a new credential. If I had known that by writing the new curriculum I would be working myself out of a job, I might have thought twice about putting in all of the work. Those of us 'veteran' teachers-older than about 40 years of age or so-have old credentials and those credentials don't match to what the new standards say we should know. It's actually kind of funny that I've been teaching the information for 18 years and wrote the new information that everyone in the department is now going to be teaching, but I'm not qualified to teach it because the piece of paper given to me by the state of California is too old. <br />
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I've been talking with the guy who understands way more than I do at the county office and he's been talking to the people at the state. It seems that my district is one of the first in the state to come across these problems so things may work themselves out as more and more districts come on board the NGSS train and more and more teachers come face to face with the problem of their credential not meeting the requirements. In my department, there is one other teacher who is refusing to update her credential. She is nearing the end of her career and just doesn't feel like it is worth her time and effort to study and pay for a test to get a few more years out of teaching a curriculum she doesn't like. I see her point. The tests aren't cheap and getting a new credential isn't cheap either, but if teachers aren't willing to show students we are willing or able to make changes and keep learning, what message are we sending them?<br />
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So, I'm working my way through this and many other books. I took a college class on Physics this summer and I will pass that test. I plan to spend many days in the AP Physics class this year working on the math portion. If you don't use the math, it becomes a distant memory. I think my students will enjoy watching me struggle through and I know I will be proud when I've checked this difficult task off my to do list.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-18481841775725217512018-07-25T10:52:00.002-07:002018-07-25T10:52:51.216-07:00a new quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I started working on the boxes of scraps I have been sorting. I think I have about 30 of the file boxes full of scraps. I cut 3 1/2 inch squares using my Accuquilt Studio fabric cutter and will be sewing them together to make blocks. I have several quilts I'd like to get finished before school starts.<br />
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We go back on August 20 and the kids come back on the 22nd. That's not a lot of time. I always laugh when I think that I ONLY have 4 weeks of vacation left. Most people would be so happy to get 4 weeks of vacation. I guess I've just been so spoiled by having summers off. I find ways to keep busy every day and do enjoy every minute of my time off. I read and look for new ideas to teach in the fall and of course spend lots of time playing with fabric.<br />
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<br />marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-72609203935595248352018-07-24T10:02:00.003-07:002018-07-24T10:02:30.583-07:00TimeI've been busy this summer with lesson planning and a little quilting.<br />
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Last year was a bit on the crazy side with switching the curriculum for both subjects I teach. Freshman year used to be earth science with teaching about water for a semester. We taught the properties of water and where water is found in California. It was a great unit and had a lot of fun, hands on labs to go with it. I had been doing that for 17 years.<br />
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Then, along comes the Next Generation Science Standards and everything changed. We've been working on the standards for about four years now. The goal is to make sure that by the time all students leave high school they have all of the science standards covered.<br />
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It's not an easy task. Two years of science are required for graduation and three are required if they want to attend a four year college like a state or University level. I would say about 75% of our students take 3 years of science and about 40% take four years. That means only 40% of the students are getting physics, which is a pretty important concept for life.<br />
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Kids are always complaining that they will never use the things they learn in school and since the other sciences build on physics concepts we decided to move physics to the freshman year. I know! That meant I had to learn physics all over again. Crazy talk here people... I'm old. I can't learn new things. Well, actually I can and it was fun.<br />
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We re-arranged all of the concepts we had been teaching from four years into three years and took the earth science from freshman year and incorporated them into the other subjects. So now the kids get physics and earth science, biology and earth science and chemistry and earth science. There are more labs and hands on activities which is the best part of science.<br />
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Here's the problem. I don't have a credential to teach physics! I actually worked myself out of a job. So, I've been working on getting my physics credential. I went back to college this summer and took a physics class and stretched my poor old brain. But, I didn't die and learned a few things. I've bought almost every book there is on physics and have been reading like crazy and try to learn at least one new thing a day. Turns out when you use your brain, learning gets easier. Who knew?<br />
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I'm excited to get back to school and work on some more exciting labs for the kids. I love teaching because every year is a fresh start. The kids don't remember what last year was like and there's always the excitement at the beginning of the year for teachers and students.<br />
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I won the District and County teacher of the year and now am in the process of completing the State Teacher of the year application. It is a lot of work, but I'm learning a lot about myself as a teacher. It is really making me think about why I do what I do and searching out new ways to achieve my goals. My daughter is helping me edit my words. She completed her novel and is waiting to hear back from her agent. She is getting ready for the next chapter of her life, moving from Miami to Cleveland to teach at an all girl's private school where she will teach AP English and coach tennis. I love seeing all of her hard work pay off.<br />
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Here's to finding the time to come back and share my life and quilts again.marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-22352977184317934062018-01-14T15:36:00.000-08:002018-01-14T15:41:48.939-08:00working, walking and a sick kid<span style="font-size: large;">Why is it that I have grand plans and then life gets in the way?<br /><br />Work started up and every day night comes before I run out of things to do. I usually go to bed at 9pm to make sure I get enough beauty rest so as not to scare the children the next day. But, sure enough I still have way too many things on my to do list and writing something that would interest anyone but me doesn't seem to make the list.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">a view from the path I take</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br />I am working on my teacher of the year essays. There are a lot of them and the problem isn't that I don't have something to say about each topic, the problem is I have too much to say. On the first set of essays that I wrote to win teacher of the year for my district, I could manipulate things and adjust the margins and shrink the font. My daughter showed me a trick where I could squish the letters together and squeeze a couple of extra sentences onto the page so that the page limit of 2 pages really meant almost 3 pages of writing if it was standard 2 inch margins. Now, the new format is a PDF where the margins are set and it is double spaced. When I tried to copy and paste what I had already written, it expanded into 4 1/2 pages. I have so much to cut out that the original essay doesn't make any sense. I'm a teacher after all and have a lot of stories to tell! I know I get that from my dad who has written volumes and that's only about what he had for lunch yesterday.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This area drains the subdivision I live in</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br />I have a goal to lose 12 pounds in 12 weeks and while that seems like a very achievable accomplishment, just putting my mind to something isn't really working well. I'm cutting out donuts and sweets that are everywhere at work. Almost on a daily basis someone brings something yummy to work and it is rude to not eat what is offered. I've been trying on and buying dresses for when I eventually win the National Teacher of the Year and get to go to the White House and meet the President. I've found several dresses that I love but which are a bit too tight. Have a dream and knowing that if I lost just a few pounds the dress would look much better is a great motivation. However, I do have to win the title of National TOTY first. There are quite a few steps to take to get there and only one teacher out of the 3 million will get that honor. Even if I don't win, I still need to get healthier and eating a donut every day isn't the best option for optimum health. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Because it is a drainage area, no houses will ever be built here. Several houses in my area have gates to allow access to this path so very few people walk back here.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br />I keep bugging my dad to watch what he eats. He has heart failure and diabetes and his doctor has been bugging him to cut out the sweets and salt and sometimes it's the good food that make life worth living. It's a Catch 22. You enjoy living because of the food, but it's the food that is killing you.<br /><br />So, I'm trying to cook healthy food that also tastes great.<br /><br />I bought an Instant Pot and have found that I enjoy trying new recipes that cook quickly and also taste great. My family isn't really into trying new things and my husband would be happy eating a tuna fish sandwich every day. He has the same turkey sandwich, banana and cup of Raisin Bran every day for lunch 7 days a week.<br /><br />I'm also trying to exercise every day, mixing things up with a 10 minute app I have on my phone that takes me through different whole body workouts and then walking. I've been getting 5,000 steps in every day this year so far. That's a big improvement over last year where I was lucky to get in 2,000 most days. I'm trying to be more active in the classroom and instead of having the kids come up to me while I sit at my desk, I will go over to the students and move around the room more. I am more tired at the end of the day but try to resist the urge to plop myself down on the couch and take a nap. I will have a cup of coffee with hot chocolate in the afternoon. The caffeine doesn't keep me awake at night. I can sleep through anything. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out.<br /><br />I had grand plans this weekend to get a lot of stuff done and then yesterday when I got home from the grocery store, my youngest was complaining that his hips hurt. He's 13 so I figured he just didn't want to help carry in the groceries. Then, he said his head hurt and he had a cough. Sure enough, he has the flu. Today was Binky Sunday and I still had plans to go, but then he started throwing up and said he was too weak to get up off the bathroom floor.<br /><br />A phone call to the doctor and he is now on Tamiflu. She said it should shorten the flu by about 1/2. I've had students out all week with this one, so maybe he will only be sick for 3-4 more days. He says the cough is the worst part. He has a fever and headache too. Poor little guy. He's almost as big as me, but when he gets sick he's still my little guy.<br /><br />So, my friend Carla saved the day for Binky Patrol and watched over the ladies as they sewed quilt tops and I cancelled the students who were going to come and cut fabric. I will have them work another day after school. Or, maybe next weekend.<br /><br />We changed our insurance this year and are now using a Health Savings Account so we have to pay for everything up front until we reach our deductible which is $5200 for the family. The Tamiflu cost $166.00. The poor pharmacy assistant couldn't believe how expensive it was. She thought something was wrong and tried running it again. Then I explained how we had to pay for it up front. I think it will still be cheaper than what we were on before because we were paying $1600 a month for insurance. Crazy! Now we pay $1300 but our school and union just settled our contract for this year and we are going to get a 3.25% raise and get an extra $100 added onto our medical insurance. Good thing it's only numbers on paper that don't really have real meaning or value. Imagine if you had to carry around that many pennies! Or sea shells, or gold bars.<br /><br />I guess I should go sterilize the bathroom and try to keep the germs isolated to just my son. Or perhaps it is hopeless and I should just accept my fate. </span>marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-41060082783022223352018-01-04T11:02:00.000-08:002018-01-14T15:42:05.088-08:00walking<span style="font-size: medium;">My sister had a goal last year to walk 2017 miles. That breaks down to about 5.5 miles a day or just over 10,000 steps a day. She lives in Colorado where it gets cold! I have to say I really admire her for accomplishing that goal. I tried to get 5,000 steps a day and some days I was lucky to get 2,000. I don't know what it is. Maybe it is the mental part where you have to psych yourself up to get up and get moving or the physical part where you get out there and get all sweaty or the part where I can easily find 57 other things I'd rather be doing so I sit on the couch and get nothing done. I've tried getting up and going for a walk first thing and then it's too cold and the. I've tried waiting until after work and then I'm too tired and I've tried walking in the middle of the day but who wants to get sweaty when you have to work? As you can see I'm really good at making excuses. I know I will be healthier and feel better if I just get moving but my couch is just so much more comfortable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I bought a Fitbit on January 2 and so far have taken a walk the last three days. How long will it keep me motivated to keep going? I'm not sure. But I will celebrate the little victory. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I've got some increased stress right now and I know that a little exercise is good for that too. There was an incident in my classroom that I thought was taken care of before we went out on break. I got called into the district office yesterday because the parents are still upset. The problem won't go away until we go back next week because the student was suspended during finals which means as teachers put grades in this student watches his straight A's drop to C's. That's stressing the parents out. Once he takes his finals things will be right in the world again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">And my dad has not been feeling well for more than a month. He has heart problems and has been having troubles catching his breath. He is having edema and has been into see his regular doctor to the emergency room and to see his cardiologist a couple times each over the past several weeks. It's really hard being in California and him being in Colorado. My sister is in Colorado but doesn't like the doctor so has only gone with him to the emergency visit once. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">My brother is going out to visit in a couple of weeks which will be nice but it isn't like being there myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When will someone invent a teleport machine?</span></div>
marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039618084602059826.post-54569874832588864222018-01-02T16:08:00.000-08:002018-01-14T15:42:18.884-08:00Hat making<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" class="bloggoimg" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ipc3Bx2Hv6A/Wkwgcb671hI/AAAAAAAAQDM/LgFviAIYNQwI72JGd2Y4djJ8cZ7v4CX_gCHMYCw/I/photo_875704.jpg" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've started making hats again. Every Christmas break I have a little time to sort through the donations that have come in since the summer and I always vow to use up everything before the next round gets dropped off. I have a big box of yarn and since most of the country is frozen solid I figured there is someone out there that could use a nice warm hat. It is a little silly here in Northern California where is was 60 degrees today to be modeling this double layer winter cap but I guess if you were sick outside over night this would keep your ears warm. It takes about 29 minutes to make with my knitting machine and uses up a skein of yarn. Now to win the lottery so I don't have to go back to work and can stay home all day!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span>marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788813592882858065noreply@blogger.com1