Flashback Friday: Grandma Gertie

Gertrude Wilma Ausbern (Bird-Wilson)

December 22, 1920 - June 5, 2010

This is a picture of my grandma holding me at Christmastime 1979.

This picture was taken at my high graduation party.

My grandma is the redhead on the left.

This is a 5-generation picture; the baby is my sister's 2nd child, AJ.

Yesterday, I attended my grandma Gertie's funeral. It was a very nice service. One of my cousins, who was unable to attend, wrote a letter that one of his brothers read. It was really touching to hear about all of his memories about Grandma Gertie.

My grandma lived in AZ most of my life, so I didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with her. It was wonderful to learn so many interesting things about her yesterday. And to hear so many fun stories. She will be missed, and I wish I'd gotten to know her better.

Tech Tuesday: Prezi

I recently learned about Prezi in my technology course last semester. I like to describe it has PowerPoint on steroids. I believe they market it as the only zooming presentation tool. The zooming feature makes boring slide presentations come alive with movement. On their home page, there is a great video introducing you to this tool, if you're unfamiliar with it.

I created a couple Prezi presentations for my class last semester. Overall, I found that it was really user-friendly. For someone who tends to be a bit of a perfectionist, it can, however, be a little trying. There is no real good way to get text to line up perfectly, so the more abstract thinker will probably enjoy this tool a little better than someone a bit more concrete. It did teach me to try and let some of those things go. Once I was able to do that, I really came to enjoy this software!

There are a few other quirks, but they have a great Learn section and manual to help you along your way. There is also a showcase where you can look at presentations created by others. Some are even available for reuse, which means you can save a copy to your page and edit it to fit your needs or topics. How great is that?!

Here is a Prezi that I enjoyed. It is particularly related to education/teaching.

Playing to Learn by Maria Andersen

Here are the two Prezis I created for my class.

This first one is the first that I created. I'm taking an independent study course on Environmental Studies right now, so I created this to help me understand and learn more about Natural Selection. As a future teacher, I could use this in my classroom to help students understand this Theory as well.

Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Ok. One more, and I'll let you get back to your regularly scheduled day. :-)

This Prezi I created as part of my final project in my technology course. My idea was to begin a unit with a timeline that showed specifics events. I would then break the class into groups and have each group choose (or perhaps I would assign) an event on the timeline to elaborate one. Each group would then collaborate on that topic and add it to the class Prezi. I've created an example of what an elaboration might look like. I'd be willing to bet that my students would be far more insightful and creative than I was!

Early Civilization in Afroeurasia to 450 BCE

I tried to embed these presentation, but they didn't look so good on my blog.

Flashback Friday: High School Graduation

It's graduation season, so I thought it would be perfect to flashback to my high school graduation.

When I found my photo album and starting flipping through it, it hit me...

Oh WOW!!

15 years ago TODAY I graduated from high school.

I can't believe it!

It hardly seems that long ago.

I mean, I can't possibly be that old, can I?!

Here are a few shots of me and my closest friends from that momentous day.

We're so full of hope - looking forward to our bright futures!

Jill, Me

Before commencement at Jill's grandma's

Jill, Me

Hugging after commencement

Aimee, Me, Jill

After commencement

Angie, Me

After commencement

I have to admit, I got a little weepy-eyed looking through my photo album (and writing this post).

What good times we had that weekend!

Click here to see my Facebook album with more pictures from this weekend.

Tech Tuesday: Flashcard Machine

Here's a great online tool I found -- especially for the end of the year as finals are approaching.

Flashcard Machine

This is great for students, teachers, or really anyone who wants to create nice and easy flashcards. It's free to sign-up and use.

• You can create all kinds of flashcard sets.
• You can study multiple sets at a time. For example, if you'd created a set for each chapter or unit, then you could combine them to study for a comprehensive final.
• You can collaborate with others in creating and/or studying your sets.
• You can include images and audio.
• Sets can be printed for offline studying.
• You can search the public flashcard database for interesting topics to expand your knowledge base.
• There's even an ipod app.

Let me know what you think about this site. Would you ever use it or suggest it to a student or teacher you know?

Flashback Friday: 1996 - Memorial Day

We were so suprised to see snow still on the ground in the middle of May! We had to play!

Memorial Day weekend, 1996

I went up north to Duluth (and beyond) with some friends for the weekend. It was so much fun. We got lost a few times. Angie got to drive her dad's brand new car. We visited Gooseberry Falls and the Splitrock Lighthouse (which apparently turns 100 this year, or so I read on a bus billboard recently). We laughed. a. lot.

Click here to see a few more pictures from this weekend. Mostly, the pix are of waterfalls. Waterfalls are probably one of my favorite things to see in nature.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!

Movie Review: The Blind Side

Last night, Jeff and I finally got to watch The Blind Side.

Here's the trailer, if you haven't seen it (or just want to see it again):


I really wanted to see this movie, and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

I did expect a few more tears. I choked up at a couple of lines but no tears actually fell. I think I nearly cried more watching the trailer months ago.

I enjoyed the Christian attitude that so many of the characters displayed in the film -- especially during the rare contrast of less-than-Christian attitudes of a few of the other characters. This film is a good reminder that we can all do a little better when it comes to how we treat others. Do we show are true Christian colors, or do we shy away from helping others knowing we may be ridiculed for our behavior or put in danger?

My only small complaint about the movie probably wouldn't much matter to most people out there, but I thought it was a little too-footbally in a couple of spots. I'm not a football fan (or any sport for that matter). Since I don't know the sport or the rules or really anything about it, there were a couple of scenes (one of which was the opening scene) where I totally got lost. I know that was a major part of the story, but...

At any rate, I would definitely recommend this movie.

Have you seen it? If so, how did it rate in your book?

Book Review: Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

I recently read Haunted Ground by Erin Hart for my book club.

I had a little difficult getting into this book. The beginning scenes (chapters?) in the Irish bog were too technical for me. I was getting lost in the graphic description and wasn't sure where the novel was leading.

As I read further, the story did begin to captivate me; however, there was a bit of a language/swearing problem with a few of the characters. That alone would prevent me from recommending this book - especially to any of my LDS friends. Certainly, I would not have read this for a church book club. :-)

The story line in the book was rather redeeming. It begins with the discovery of a body in a bog. I found it interesting (as did many of the women at this book club) how well bogs preserve items that are discarded within them. It must be wonderfully fascinating from an archaelogical perspective. It can give an actual glimpse into events that happened centuries in the past. I may need to investigate this further.

From this discovery, several storylines are interwoven together. The red-haired girl from the bog. The archaelogists who are called to investigate. The family of bog farmers who made the discovery. The neighbor, whose wife and child mysteriously disappeared three years prior. The dectective who has been investigating the disappearance. Hart takes us on a journey that eventually connects all of the characters and storylines together. It was quite satisfying to get to the end and have it all come together nicely.

At book club today, we briefly touched on the symbolism of the crows that reappeared in the book. Very briefly. The conversation quickly turned more to a discussion on crows themselves - not their portrayal in the book.

One topic that I really did like that was broached was the theme of survival. This book, ultimately was the story of survival. The red-haired girl survived hundreds of years in the bog. There were many references to traditional music in the novel. This was something that had survived into modern times. All of the characters were surviving - some better than others.

When the discussion leader asked us which was our favorite character, a silence fell over the room. No one spoke up. One person finally mentioned how she wanted Nora to be her favorite character, but there were times that she really didn't like her. I agreed. She could be ill-tempered, and quick to pass judgment. A couple other ladies agreed. We discussed a few of the other characters and their complexity. Hart really did a good job developing complex characters. We also felt that it was easier to point out characters that we didn't like. Mainly Lucy Osborne and Brendan McGann. One suggestion was that perhaps this was because they weren't as complex as some of the other characters. We did discuss Hugh Osborne in some detail. We all really enjoyed his character. He seemed to be such a great guy - even though the entire town has judged him harshly. He was always kind and well composed, but not in an off-putting way.

Overall attending the book club was a good experience, for the most part. For me, I felt there was a lot more discussion of things unrelated to the book. The last 15 minutes or so the discussion moved more to the history of Ireland and the Reformation. I could see where the tangent tied to the book, but I didn't have the knowledge necessary to contribute to the discussion. This happened with a few other topics as well.

There is a reader's guide found on the author's website, but we didn't really go through any of the questions together. I think I may have enjoyed the book discussion better if we had focused on some of those questions. I've found that I'm not that critical of a book reader and take most of what I read at face value rather than delving into some deeper meaning. I think having some questions to frame my reading would be helpful. I'm definitely going to look for book discussion questions for the next book. I think it will help me become a better reader...perhaps?

Being Sick...

I hate being sick. Of course, I don't know anyone who actually enjoys it.

Thankfully, I don't really get sick that often. At least not debilitating. Mostly headaches and fits of the blahs.

This bout of the cold started last Wednesday as a simple sore throat. That sore throat got worse and worse until Monday it had progressed to a full on cold. Since then, I've gone through nearly an entire box of Puffs. On my own. It's incredibly gross! I'll spare you all the disgusting details.

Really, I wanted to share the other reasons why I hate being sick...

All my progress towards a healthier lifestyle? OUT THE WINDOW!

• Not one day since last Wednesday have I consumed more than 3-4 glasses of water. The 3+ weeks prior I was averaging 9 glasses per day.
• I haven't been able to go to the gym or pool or long walks with Sallie.
• I spend most of my day napping, which means I haven't been eating very often. It's hard to eat while you're asleep.
• When I eat, it's all junk! I've had more sweets and crappy food in the past week than in the previous month.

All medicine that claims relief tastes awful!

One good thing from it all? Lots and lots of snuggle time with my girl!

What do you HATE  about being sick? Are there any benefits? Do you have a surefire cure to the common cold?

What do you think?

Here is a video about what students say about technology in their classrooms:


Students Sound Off on School Tech Use from Education Week on Vimeo.

What do you think? Should schools adopt more technology into their classrooms? Should students be able to access the Internet outside of the library? Should they have access to web-based email programs (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc) at school?

How is technology used in your children's classrooms? Is it embraced by the students and teachers? Is the available technology being used? For example, a few of the students in this video stated that there were Smartboards in a few of the classrooms, but the teachers rarely used them.

I look forward to embracing technology when I become a teacher. I feel that students will learn more when they are engaged, and using technology can be that tool to help grab their interest.
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Film: Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Today, there was a showing of the film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, at the Luann Dummer Center for Women at the University of St Thomas.

I had no idea what the film was about, but I thought I would expand my horizons by attending.

I am so glad that I went! This film was incredible. It documents the women's peace movement in Liberia. Women from all over that country were tired of the running and the fear and the atrocities that had been plaguing their country during the long civil war.

Thousands of women spoke up. These were ordinary women - mothers, grandmothers, aunts, daughters. They were Christian. They were Muslim. They fasted. They prayed. They made a difference.

Below is a trailer of the movie:



There were two things that really struck me about these unique women.

They were women of extreme faith. It didn't matter if they were Christian or Muslim. They united. They recognized that bullets don't discriminate; bullets don't know if you're Christian or Muslim. They looked to the Bible and the story of Esther for their inspiration. At one point, they were all gathering at the fish markets to protest. This was at the beginning of their movement. One of the women was told she shouldn't go because those who went would just be killed.  Her response? "If I should get killed, remember I was fighting for peace." That is faith.

They were women of extreme forgiveness. After the peace talks ended, these women still did not back down. They recognized their need to continue pushing for peace in Liberia. It was extremely difficult, but they showed forgiveness to the excombatants. They knew they needed to accept these fighters and not hold the past against them. They knew that Liberia would not be able to move forward without forgiveness. I cannot even imagine having to forgive those who wreaked such havoc on so many innocent, so many loved ones.

One of the women, near the end of the film, stated that if it weren't for different women from different walks of life banding together, that peace in Liberia probably would not have happened. How incredible was it, in a country so torn, that the women could come together. They could get to know one another and build on each other's experiences to make a strong stand for peace.

Did You Know?

I love these videos. I'm not sure in which education course I was shown the first one, but I remember it was quite powerful.


I'm currently taking a technology integration course at the University of St Thomas. My professor sent us a link to an updated version of this video. The questions near the end of the video really resonated with me. Is education where it needs to be to prepare our children for the 21st century workplace?



A few days later, my professor sent out another link to an even more updated version. I recognize there are a lot of redundancies in these videos, but there are enough changes to really make you realize just how quickly technology is changing.

Virtual G.N.O

Tonight, I'm very excited about my Friday night home alone. I've got TV shows to watch, blogs to write, cleaning to do, and digital scrapbooking to create. Oh, and some homework to do as well.

It's gonna be a busy night. :-)



This week's party question: Did you go to dances while you were in Middle School and/or middle school age?

I went to a few school dances that I can remember. They were disastrous! I was very shy and uncomfortable. Definitely was a wallflower.

What about you? Were you a Dancing Queen? Or a Wall Flower? Or something in between?

Pop on over to Ann Again ... and again... to join in the fun.

Happy Valentine's weekend.

Oops!

Tonight I stopped at two stores on my way home. The first stop didn't have what I wanted, so I hustled on to my next stop.

I had quite a scare while driving through one parking lot. I was on the road that runs through the lot, and a van came speeding up toward me. It did not appear to be slowing at all, let alone stopping. I thought for sure I was going to get hit.

I thought, "Come on, white van! Get a clue. It's nighttime. You need to have your lights on!"

And on I went.

As I was crawling through the parking lot of my actual intended store, there was a cop walking out of the store. He motioned to me to turn on my lights. Wait, what? My lights are totally on.

I looked down to my dash, and lo, and behold, my little indictor light was, in fact, not illuminating.

OOPS!!

Flashback Friday: Brr...It's COLD

What's a girl to do on a COLD Friday night at the end of January?

Flashback to a cold, winter night in 1987, of course.

Warming ourselves by the fire.

Hmmm...that doesn't seem to be working...

How about a little wrestling? That's should definitely warm us up.

Now what???

Ok. We look ridiculous!! What were we thinking? Blue thermal top TUCKED into thermal bottoms? Printed socks in the ugliest slippers ever? Red puffy gloves really top it off!

BUT every time I look at these pictures, I LAUGH! Seriously. I've got to publish this post, so I can stop the laughter.

Virtual G.N.O.

I've been a terrible blogger in 2010. In fact, this is my first post of the new year.

I stumbled upon Ann's blog,
 .

This week, I'm totally game!

Her game this week is to discover your inner librarian.

My Librarian's Alter Ego name is: Bubbles Featherbottom

My husband is out at his bi-weekly gaming session, so I'm home all alone. I thought I'd spend the evening...

...Doing some blogging...

...Ripping some music from my old CDs...

...Sorting/organizing my photos from our recent trip to the Caribbean...

Don't forget to visit Ann's blog to join in on the fun!

Here's to the weekend! Whoo hoo!!

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...

But I just can't help it!

It's no secret that both Jeff and I LOVE waterfalls, as described here and here.

For me, it's almost even stronger than love. Is that possible? Is anything stronger than love? It is what binds us, after all.

For me, it's almost like a drug. If I'm out for a walk or in a park, and I hear the sound of rushing water, I can't help but go. chase. that. waterfall!! I keep listening and walking...and listening and walking...until I finally find it!

This past summer, I even convinced Jeff to make a pitstop on our road trip to check out the waterfalls in Sioux Falls, SD. You can read about that here.

A few weeks back, I took Sallie for a walk. I heard the unmistakably, wonderful sound of a waterfall, but I couldn't find it. anywhere.

Today, we went out again but this time hiked even closer to the river.

There it was again. An ever-so-slight, but deliciously exhilarating, sound of rushing water. It didn't take me too long to gasp at the beauty as I turned my head.

There it was!! Complete with icicles. Wow.

Now I didn't happen to have my camera with me - just my phone.

If you look real close, in the back center, you can see two streams of water going over the small cliff.

The camera on my phone doesn't have a zoom, so I knew that I needed to get closer.

Down we hiked. Sallie and I.

Closer. But still not good enough to satisfy my need.

Down. Down. Down.

Finally I could get a shot from the front.

This shot was difficult to get because Sallie, does not get my fascination with waterfalls. She was trying her darnedest to get back up the hill. Guess it reminds her too much of getting a bath. Something she does. not. enjoy.

Back at the top of the hill, I tried to capture one last shot of some icicles. Gorgeous!

I realize they are a little difficult to discern (darn no-zooming-camera-phone), but trust me. They are there. Kind of dead center, hanging from the blob of greenery.

We ♥ Tooshies

This is my 1st ever time entering an I ♥ Faces photography challenge. I've seen some friends enter on their blogs in the past but never attempted one myself.

This week's themes, We ♥ Tooshies, was really intriguing to me. I, immediately, thought of this great picture I have of me walking with one of my cousin's daughters. It's SO cute. However, it was taken before digital photography became so prevalent, so it's an actual photo, and not easily uploaded into blogger (as I'd need to find it and then upload it).

Instead, I sifted through my folders upon folders of digital photographs, and found this one.

This is my 13-year-old niece’s first soccer game. ever.

She was awesome, of course.

I love how this photo captures the motion of her run.

Pop on over to I ♥ Faces to find some other fun tooshies.

A New Start

One of the things that I've really enjoyed about being a student again was the flexibility that I have with my sleep. I don't have to set an alarm! I can get up whenever I wake up! I can stay up late and sleep in late!

This past weekend, I came to an epiphany that maybe this isn't the best thing in the world.

I have way too much studying and other things to do in a day that I rarely accomplish all of my goals. This does not lead to positive feelings of self-worth.

So...

This week, I decide to try out something new. My dog, Sallie, generally wakes me up several times throughout the night. I can't give in to her all the time, so I choose to ignore her until after 6am - breakfast time. I used to barely open my eyes, turn on as few lights as possible, quickly put her food in her dish, and crawl back into bed. This week, I decided I'd try staying up after I feed her. Today's my first day; I stayed up WAY too late Sunday night in order to start this new habit Monday morning. :-)

Right now, my eyes are feeling quite heavy, but I'm hopeful of my day. After doing a little blogging, I plan to get my exercising out of the way before Jeff wakes up. That should wake me up and give me the boost to do what I need to do today, right?!

Settling In...

We've moved into our new apartment, and it's slowly becoming our new home. I'll probably post more pictures later as our decorating progresses, but this one showcases my favorite new toy! I've wanted a piano for a very long time. Regular pianos are such a pain to move (and we move a lot), but I've really been enjoying this keyboard. It has weighted keys like a regular piano, plus I can plug in headphones, so my practicing doesn't bother anyone else in our building.

This isn't a very artistic photo, but it does provide a little glimpse into our new home...music and books. :-)

Walking Log

I don't have any stats for this post, but I certainly did A LOT of walking yesterday.

It was my dad's birthday, and we decided to take our annual pilgrimage to the Great MN Get Together. We are all day fair-goers. We arrived at the fair around 7am and left around 10pm.

It was non-stop walking all. day. long.

There were a few pauses here and there as we ate, decided what to do/where to go next, and there was quite a bit of standing.

What there wasn't much of was sitting.

It was still great fun! I LOVE the fair!!

Walking Log

Ok. So, I haven't been very good about updating my walking log.

Truth be told, I haven't been very going about walking either.

The week after my last walking log entry, my family took a trip to a lake up near Ely, MN. It was great fun! I went canoeing, and hiking, and swimming! There were also quite a few moments of relaxation enjoing the beauty of the outdoors.

Here's a few stats:

August 10th (my 32nd birthday)
I was hoping to go for a hike on my birthday, but the sky looked a little ominous. Jeff and I took out a canoe instead. The battery in my Garmin died a little less than half way, but here is what the canoe trip was like before that.

Canoe Time: 1:10:30
Canoe Distance: 3.06mi
Avg Pace: 23:01/mi
Calories: 416

Well, actually Jeff did most of the work; I'm not the greatest canoeist.

August 11
This was the first hike of the trip. I was accompanied by my sister and 3 nieces. We hiked the Bass Lake trail to the Dry Falls. It was very hilly! A great workout! It was quite a busy trail, and when we got to the end, there were quite a few people playing in the falls and swimming in the lake. Not quite what I was hoping for at the end of our hike. It was still great fun to spend time outside with the girls.

Run Time: 1:27:12
Run Distance: 3.01mi
Avg Pace: 43.26/mi
Calories: 139

August 13
This was the second hike of our trip. It was the same people with the addition of my dad. This time we hiked the trip to Big Moose Lake. It was so much fun! The trail was riddled with wild blueberry plants. There was no one else on the trail, and the lake at the end was absolutely gorgeous! So clear and still. We paused for a while at the lake--eating some snacks and dipping our feet in the lake. It was wonderful.

Run Time: 2:23:15
Run Distance: 4.40mi
Avg Pace: 32:32/mi
Calories: 628

Join me!

Dear Friends: I've started the Drop a Jeans Size challenge on FitnessMagazine.com. Please join me so we can be workout buddies and cheer each other on.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/app/ycdi/?esrc=emycdifriend

P.S. Once you join the Drop a Jeans Size challenge, don't forget to add me as a buddy so we can keep track of each other's progress!

Walking Log: Day 9

Oops! Day 9 was back on July 23. I can't remember that long ago, so I can't tell you anything about my walk.

However, I can share my stats. Thank goodness my Garmin has good history record-keeping abilities.

Today's Stats (from 7/23):
Run Time: 35:45
Run Distance: 2.11mi
Avg Pace: 16:55/mi
Calories: 202

Walking Log: Day 8

Today's walk was really great. This time, I walked down to I-35E and walked along the bike path. I only wanted to do 3 miles today, so I turned around about halfway across the river.

I wanted to try to prevent any major shin pain, so I stopped to stretch at each mile.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 50:15
Run Distance: 3.06mi
Avg Pace: 16:26/mi
Calories: 322

I also did some Wii Fit Yoga and Strength training today.

Walking Log: Day 7

I decided to supplement my walking regiment with some Wii Fit today. I warmed up with some yoga exercises that targeted my lower body. When I returned from my walk, I did a few lower body strength exercises.

Today, I decided to really push myself with my pace and not go as far of a distance. Normally I have the pace alert set on my Garmin at the walk setting, which is 20:00/mi, but today I set it at the speed walk setting, which is 16:00/mi. I could really feel the difference.

I decided I would only go for 2 miles today. It was tough! After the 1st mile, I had terrible shin pain (this is what keeps me from running), PLUS I was so hot and sweaty (and it's not even that hot this morning). I decided to stop and stretch a little before heading back home. This worked immensely. The shin pain was barely noticeable by the time I returned. I did have a little ankle pain, but no big deal!

Today's Stats
Run Time: 29:21
Run Distance: 1.95mi
Avg Pace: 15:01/mi
Calories: 200

Walking Log: Day 6

I tried to keep it a little slow today, to ease myself into the new week. I'm still working on exploring Crosby Farm Park. I believe I read somewhere that there is almost 7 miles of paved trails within this park, so it may take me awhile to fully explore. If I ever feel brave enough, I may explore the unpaved trails as well. There seem to be quite a few.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 52:15
Run Distance: 3.05mi
Avg Pace: 17:08/mi
Calories: 291

Walking Log: Day 5

I'm still feeling the burn a little from Wednesday's walk, but I really wanted to see what walking through the park would really be like from one end to the other. I had to take yesterday off because I got a temp assignment for the day. Starting work at 8am just doesn't allow me enough time to go for a walk in the morning. Turns out, it was only 1 mile less than when I did the loop. I did it at a much slower pace today, though. Hopefully my rest tomorrow will rejuvenate my body to begin another week of good walking next week.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 1:08:14
Run Distance: 3.85mi
Avg Pace: 17:45/mi
Best Pace: 11:35/mi
Calories: 391

Week's Stats:
Run Time: 4:45:37
Run Distance: 16.3
Calories: 1304

Walking Log: Day 4

I am so achy and sore from my LONG power walk yesterday. I could have easily justified taking a day off, but I know that would make it twice as difficult to motivate myself to go out tomorrow. Instead, I decided to try to slow down my pace a bit and only go for two miles.

It was still a tough workout for me! I know the benefits will be great in the long run--if I can stick to it. :-)

Today's Stats
Run Time: 34:42
Run Dist: 2.02mi
Avg Pace: 17:10/mi
Best Pace: 10:37/mi
Calories: 197

Walking Log: Day 3

WOW! My walk today did not turn out to be what I'd intended.

I wanted to walk somewhere different than yesterday. We live close to Lake Crosby, and Jeff and I walked to the lake and around the park a little back in April. That walk had ended with us scaling a wall. This time I wanted to walk from one end of the park to the other.

Here is a map of the park. I entered at the end opposite of where the marker is, and I wanted to come out where the A was.

View Larger Map

It seemed to be taking a LONG time, and I was getting a little frustrated. I hadn't intended on walking nearly 5 miles today! BUT, if you're lost in a park, you have no option but to keep on trekking.

When I finally got to what I thought was the end, I asked someone if I was at Shepherd Rd. He confirmed it, but as we talked, I was informed, that I was back at the point where I'd entered the park.

Somehow going straight (or what I'd supposed was straight) had brought me full circle!

I have now found a map online that shows the trails in this park. I'll need to study it before I attempt tackling this park again!

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 1:15:09
Run Dist: 4.88mi
Avg Pace: 15:24/mi
Best Pace: 8:51/mi
Calories: 428

I was surprised at how many wild rhubarb plants I saw in the park. It's out of season now, but do you think they'd mind if I helped myself next year? :-)

Part of the trail was in a marsh, so it wasn't paved but a boardwalk had been constructed. There were snakes everywhere! I tried to find out what kind they were, but it was too creepy for me to look through photos online to find one that looked that the ones in the park. Also, whenever I caught a glimpse of one, I usually averted my eyes as quickly as possible. I never really knew how icky I thought snakes were. At least I was relatively calm and didn't shriek or anything!

Walking Log: Day 2

Perhaps one day this will become a running log.

Yesterday morning, I decided I really needed to become more active. There are some pounds I'd definitely like to shed. Since I can't run (stupid shins!), I decided that I would begin taking Sallie for a nice long walk every morning.

Day 1 was yesterday. I didn't have any batteries for my Garmin, so I don't have any stats for yesterday's walk. I do know that my walk was nearly exactly 60 min.

Today, Day 2, my Garmin was all set. I went the exact same route, so I'd know how far I went yesterday.

Today's Stats:
Run Time: 47:32
Run Distance: 2.75mi
Avg Pace: 17:15/mi
Best Pace: 12:19/mi
Calories: 288

Do I have a LIFE??

I found this on my friend's blog.

Lists are fun, right? So, I thought I'd check to see how many movies on this list I'd seen. Apparently, if you've seen more than 85 (out of the 237 movies), you have no life.

Let's see how I did. I've marked the ones I've seen.

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane

( ) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates

(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(X) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie

( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
( ) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer

(X) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) Butterfly Effect

(X) 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed

(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
(X) KING KONG
(X) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber

( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(X) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(X) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
(X) Surviving X-MAS
(X) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle

(X) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(X) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
(X) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow

( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
(X) Coach Carter

( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(X) Ocean’s Twelve

(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(X) Curious George

(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds

(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After

(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
( ) TheTerminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X-3
(X) Spider-Man

(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
(X) Reign of Fire
(X) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions

( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
(X) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
(X) Krippendorf’s Tribe

(X) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
( ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History X
( ) Three

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension

( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill vol 1

( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace

(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions

( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal

Apparently, I have no life.

Of course with only having seen 116 of these movies, I haven't even seen half the list...

That should say something, right?

Nap Time!

I have always loved taking naps! Now, I have a little dog to curl up with me.

I love that she loves taking naps with me!

In this picture, I laid down for a little nap on the couch, and she jumped right up and snuggled in tight.

Sometimes, she doesn't make it up on the couch with me, but she is asleep nearby!

This was probably the funniest of all! I was lying on the floor, and she just crawled right up on my back! I know she's not sleeping in this shot, but I am, so it still counts.

Thanksgiving Humor

Recently I received a parrot as a gift.

The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

I tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else I could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, I was fed up and I yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. I shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.

So, indesperation, I threw up my hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.

Then suddenly there was total quiet.

Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that I'd hurt the parrot, I quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto my outstretched arms and said,

"I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

I was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As I was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued,

"May I ask what the turkey did?"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I received this in an email from my Dad.

Exhilaration

Yesterday, I taught for the first time in a high school.

I was SO nervous!

BUT...

when I stood up and was teaching and interacting with the students, it was exhilarating!

Of course, I still have a lot to learn to become a great teacher, but I could see the beginnings. Plus I had a wonderful dialogue with my St Thomas supervisor. She helped me recognize my strengths. We talked about things I would do differently. It was very, very helpful...and just the confidence builder that I needed.

This experience combined with what I'm learning in my courses is making me even more excited about my future career.

(My lesson was introducing an Urban Geography unit to a class of 9th & 10th graders. I taught my lesson twice.)

Adjusting...

Sallie was welcomed into our home on Saturday, September 13th.

She is 100% adorable, and I love her so much. I have never, ever described myself as a dog person--or even a pet person, but Sallie has captured my heart. She is one-year old, and she does the cutest things.

• When she is excited or begging, she stands on her back legs, with her front legs up close to her chest.
• I love her floppy ears that don't flop in the same way.
• I love her cute little face, and sometimes she puts both paws over her snout.
• I love to watch her sleep--sometimes curled into a ball, sometimes all stretched out.
• I love it when she cuddles up next to me on the couch or the bed. Yes, we've even broken down and let her sleep with us.

It's amazing to me how quickly I came to love this little sweetheart.

• I talk to her all the time. (I used to make fun of my dad for doing this.)
• I try to take her for a walk twice a day.
• I hold her.
• I miss her and feel bad when I have to leave her in her crate for a few hours while Jeff and I are at school.
• I worry about her, and get pretty nervous, when she plays with the big dogs. My parents have a Mountain Ker mix and a Black Lab mix. They adopted the lab the same day we got Sallie, so there are some dominance issues, etc.
• I always want to protect her and keep her safe.

All that being said, I'm having some serious difficulties adjusting to life with Sallie.

• We kept her in the crate the first few nights, and I would worry about her when she was whimpering. Now that she sleeps with us, she stretches out and kicks me out of my spot. :-)
• We were told that she was not housebroken, so I feel like I constantly need to keep my eyes on her and know where she is and what she is doing at all times--especially since we are not in our own place, but staying temporarily with my parents. It's exhausting being on high alert all the time.
• She wakes up earlier than I'd like to at times, and I need to feed her and take her out to do her business.
• She yelps and whimpers when she plays with the big dogs, and that makes me nervous that she might be getting hurt or that they won't know when to stop.

Of course, all the loves that she gives me makes up for everything! She is definitely a welcome addition to my life!!

Two-Year Olds

I love two-olds!

They are experiencing/learning so many new things! I love listening to the fun things they say as they learn to talk. I think it's definitely one of my favorite ages (coming from an aunt/cousin perspective, I've heard it might not be the same case from a mother's perspective).

Yesterday, I was walking through the skyway with a co-worker. As we were walking, a very cute little girl walked up to me and stuck her hand out, as if I were her mother. It was adorable. I let her take my hand (well my little finger), and she gripped it tight.

We walked for awhile like that.

She didn't have much to say, but she did mumble a little gibberish to herself. She was downtown for lunch with her dad. He said that she had been quite shy at lunch with some of his friends, so it seemed a little odd that she reached out to me.

I have to admit, I enjoyed every moment walking around aimlessly, carelessly, with this little girl.

16/100

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.

How did you do?
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Star the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 **Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

How about you? (I got this off my friend's blog. She said, "The Big Read is legit, but who knows if the list is, but it was still fun to see what books I'd read on "someone's" list!" I agree!)

Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe

Anyone remember this song?

Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
With the moon shining all around
And they paddled and they paddled so
You couldn't even hear a sound
And they talked and they talked till the moon grew dim
He said you better kiss me or get out and swim
So whatcha gonna do in a little canoe
With the moon shining all around

Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe
With the moon shining all around
And they paddled and they paddled so
You couldn't even hear a sound
And they talked and they talked till the moon grew dim
He said you better kiss me or get out and swim
So whatcha gonna do in a little canoe
With the moon shining all a-
Boys swimming all a-
Girls paddlings all a-round

Get out and swim!

I have no idea why, but this old song from Girls' Camp years ago popped into my head a few days ago--only I couldn't remember all the words. I googled them and found a variety of versions, but this is the one most similar to what I remember.

I asked my niece, who just returned from Girls' Camp, if she'd learned the song at camp. She said no, and I was so disappointed. :-( It's a fun song with fun hand motions to go with it.

Maybe next year...
Or maybe I'll just teach her it myself...

Final Grades

I just looked up my final grades.

4.0, baby!! Whoo Hoo!!

TEGR501 Circ of Adv-Compet Assmt I S
TEGR510 Educ's Place in Society A
TEGR511 Field Exp I : Exploration S
TEGR512 Human Rel & Multicul Educ A

I was really nervous about TEGR512, but it looks like I pulled out an A in the end. It was a tough semester getting back into the swing of doing homework and studying and writing papers, but I pulled it off!

Now, let's hope that I'll be able to maintain a 4.0 for the next 3 semesters.

Wants/Needs

I was bored at work, so I Googled my name followed by wants and needs to see what I found.

What Clarinda wants...

...the 1.9 millions as per immediate.
...to be.
...to build the Mangrove Village.
...to buy a note book.
...to provide the best customer service in every way possible.
...to tap into a known market.

What Clarinda needs...

...to focus on recruiting.

...to focus on attracting businesses.

...to be included in the current IDOT 5-year program.

...no more than to belong to you.

...a way to advertise their community.

...to own forty percent.

Of course, there is a town in IA called Clarinda, and it's not that popular of a name, so the results are a little skewed toward what a town might want/need.

Still a fun exercise and way to kill time...

Penny for a Poem

Yesterday, on my morning walk from the train to work, I saw a man on Nicollet Mall with this sign. Usually in this spot, there is a man just sitting with a sign saying he was homeless and asking for help.

 

Oddly, it made me miss NYC.

 

Folks asking for money in NYC were mostly doing something--drumming, singing, stunts, etc. It was often fascinating to watch. I rarely gave anything, but I would be more inclined to do so since I was being entertained.

 

Of course those who weren't entertaining, were a lot more in-your-face about asking for money. I remember one couple, who could often be seen walking back and forth on one of the train lines that we frequented, sharing their story with anyone (or no one) who would listen. Although annoying, this was still mildly entertaining.

 

Someday we'll be back in NYC!

Gas Prices

I received these in an email from my dad. I thought they were hilarious!