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!

You Decide...

The only thing we have absolute control over is ourselves. Things will happen that are out of our control, and it is up to us to decide how we react. We can allow those things to drag us down and make us grumpy or we can choose to see the bright side.

 

This morning, I awoke to several inches of snow on the ground. It's been a tough winter! So cold! Now...two days into Spring, we get a good downfall! At least it's not bitter cold. And freshly fallen snow is so BEAUTIFUL! I love to watch it gracefully fall. So...even if it's supposed to be Spring with flowers blooming and sun shining, I love to see the snow fall!

 

I don't think the snow had anything to do with it, but my commute to work this morning was interesting...to say the least. I missed my train by about 2 minutes. Turns out, it didn't make any difference because that train broke down before it even entirely left the station. Everyone on it had to get off. Then we had to wait. After 5 or so minutes we were told that we would have to board the Northbound train on the Southbound tracks. We had to wait another 5 minutes or so on that platform.

 

By the time the train finally came and I was on my way, it was already the time I was supposed to be at work. Oh well. Of course, since we were travelling the wrong way on the train tracks, we had to go at a much slower pace that usual. Turns out, it probably would've been better to wait for the next train because I think the broken train and then 2 Northbound trains passed us while were were crawling along the Southbound tracks.

 

At least the conductor was in good spirits about it. He apologized over and over. He was sure to tell us that it was nothing he did, which got a pretty big laugh from the passengers. When we finally switched to the Northbound tracks, he told us that he hoped we would have a better day going forward. Another laugh. When we were exiting the train, he told us to enjoy the 2nd day of Spring (another laugh) and to have a Happy Easter! I think he really helped with the situation.

 

Still...to many, I'm certain this was a terribly frustrating way to begin the day! They may have a terrible day as a result.

 

I'm choosing to move on and not dwell on it.

 

The snow is still beautiful! It's still Friday!! We are having some friends over tonight!!! Easter is on Sunday!!!!

 

It's going to be a GOOD day...despite its rocky beginnings.

Goals

One of my goals this year is to be healthier and get into shape. Part of that includes losing weight. I have gained quite a few pounds since I've been married, and I really want to shed some of that--get back into a "healthy" range.

I joined myfitnesspal to help me. This is a really neat FREE site that helps you track your daily activities and nutrition. There are a few sites out that that help you with this, but I really like this one because it is FREE (of course), but also because you can customize your own foods and activities.

Another site I tried, MyCalorieCounter, only lets you customize if you upgrade to a paid membership. Also, to get your food totals, you need to upgrade as well. This, I found wasn't very helpful. The other site I used to use was FitDay, and it doesn't let you customize your activities, and it doesn't have elliptical trainer in its database. That's what I use more frequently, so I found the site wasn't meeting my needs.

I just discovered myfitnesspal yesterday, and so far I love it! It is very easy to use! It even makes counting calories kinda fun. Hee hee...

Wish me luck on my goal. I'd like to accomplish this by summer, but if it takes longer, I don't mind--as long as the pounds are shed in 2008!

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Well, I'm officially official...

Today, I received my PIN to be able to log into the online Registration system.

I am now registered for 4 classes:

• Circle of Advocates--meets two Saturdays, 2/2 & 4/5
• Education's Place in Society--every Thursday from 4:45 to 7
• Field Experience I--Exploration--not sure how this works, but I need to do 30 hours in a classroom sometime during the semester
• Human Relations & Multicultural Education--every Tuesday from 4:45 to 7

I even went to the bookstore and forked over $292 for the books for these courses!

Ouch!! Thank goodness for student loans! :-)

So I'm all set...now I just need to make it through the weekend, curbing my enthusiasm.

Classes start on Tuesday!!

Wish me well.

Jeff's the One For Me!

Okay, I've been tagged by my friend Lara! I figure it should be pretty interesting to read all about our better halves...so anyone who wants to give it a try. Just leave me a comment on my blog when you've done it so I can come take a look!

 

What's his name? Jeff
How long have you been together? We've been married for 3 years.
How long did you date? Let's see...dated 5 weeks, broke up for a few days, got engaged the following week, and were married 6 weeks after that...guess that would be 11 weeks give or take a couple of days
How old is he? 29
Who eats more? I'm afraid I do.
Who said I love you first? Honestly, I'm not sure.
Who is taller? Definitely, Jeff—by a few inches.
Who is smarter? I think Jeff is smarter about "things," but I think I may be more "book-smart."
Who does laundry? Mostly I do, but every once in a while he'll start a load. I definitely have to fold, though.
Who does the dishes? I do the dishes. Well, sometimes Jeff will empty the dishwasher.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.
Who pays the bills? I keep track, but we both contribute the finances.
Who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn!! J
Who cooks dinner? Generally, I do; however, sometimes he will make some Spanish rice and tamales.
Who drives when you are together? Jeff drives, which suits me just fine!
Who is more stubborn? Hmmm....probably me...
Who kissed who first? Again, I'm not sure. It was probably a mutual thing.
Who asked out who first? Jeff asked me over to teach him how to make Hamburger Helper. J
Who proposed? We don't have a good proposal story. I think it was more of a mutual thing. We just decided that we should get married. Although, I do remember one time we were at my parent's home and he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Do you want to get an apartment downtown with me?" Marriage was implied.
Who has more siblings? Definitely me! I have 11 siblings (mixture of full, half, and step); Jeff only has 1 sister, and 2 brother.
Who wears the pants in the family? Pants?! Who wears pants?! I guess I'm probably bossier than Jeff.

The wait is OVER!!

Last Friday, I received my acceptance letter to the University of St Thomas School of Education! Yeah!

 

My acceptance was conditional. To gain full acceptance, I needed to take the Praxis I test. I just took it this afternoon. The minimums for passing in MN are 173 for Reading, 171 for Math, and 172 for Writing; the highest possible score for any section is 190. I believe that my scores were 182 in Reading and 187 in Math. I am really pleased with how I did. My score for the Writing section will come later, as it included an essay that cannot be scored by a computer. :-)

 

I was kind of stressed about the test, but now I can sigh a HUGE sigh of relief.

 

Now I just need to turn some paperwork and register for classes. Classes start next week already, so tomorrow I'll be turning in that paperwork. Hopefully, it won't take too long for me to be able to register.

 

It will be a little weird to be back in school, but still, I find myself terribly excited about it. Wish me luck!

 

 

Waiting

I've never really been all that great about waiting for things. I know patience is a virtue, but when I know something is coming that is very exciting, it's so difficult to wait!

Yesterday, the final piece of my graduate school application was submitted.

Now comes the waiting...

It should be too long of a wait, though. They keep assuring me that once everything is submitted, it doesn't take long for a decision to be made. I hope that's true because the semester starts in less than 2 weeks!

This is a big deal! Grad school! I never thought I would make the decision to return to school, but after much gentle prodding from my husband coupled with lots of prayerful consideration, I made the decision to return.

I've applied to the University of St Thomas School of Education. It will take a great deal of studying and hard work, but I hope to be a licensed teacher 2 years from now. My licensure will be in Communication Arts & Literature, which is perfect since my undergraduate work was in Communication Studies. My goal is to teach High School English.

I'm so excited to begin this next chapter in my life!

But for now...

I need to wait...

Baby, it's COLD outside!

When I was getting ready for work this morning, the radio kept saying it was 5-degrees outside. Brrrrrr...

So I got all bundled up--winter coat, hat, gloves, scarf, warm clothes underneath--for my 1 block walk to the train. 5-degrees is cold, any way you look at it. My cheeks tingled, and my eyes burned. I don't think it was that windy, just cold, bitter, bitter cold. It's gonna be a fun winter.

Of course, the best part is when I get downtown. I'm all bundled up, remember? Well, I have a 5+ block walk to work. Minneapolis has this incredible skyway system,

so I have the option of walking that 5+ blocks inside. Yeah!

Except....I'm all bundled up for the walk to the train. By the time I get to work, I've generally worked up a pretty good sweat. Today was no exception!

Here's to winter!

Freedom Writers

Jeff and I just watched one of the most powerful movies I've seen in a long time. If you haven't seen Freedom Writers, I highly recommend it.

This movie explores racism in today's society and how everyone has their own battles to fight. It shows the power and influence a good teacher can have in the lives of teenagers.

This movie made me cry, but mostly it made me think. It spurred discussion about public schools and the holocaust and parenthood.

Seriously this movie is a definite must-see!

Fall Leaves at Minnehaha Falls

Living so close to Minnehaha Park, I couldn't resist going on a little photo shoot one Saturday evening.

Here are my 5 favorites:






If you'd like to see more, you can visit my entire album on Picasa: Minnehaha Falls

Where I've Been

A friend of mine put up a map of all the places she'd visited. I thought I'd do the same. Mine isn't nearly as impressive as hers, but here it is...

I only included states that I have actually done something in (not just driven through).



create your own visited states map

Outside of the U.S., I've only been to Canada and the Bahamas, so my world map is even less impressive. I'm not even going to bother posting something like that.

Christopherson Clan

These pics were really fun to come across. I had totally forgotten about this pit stop!



When Brian and family moved out to Boston, they made a pit stop for a couple of hours in Minneapolis. Treva and Trevor couldn't join us because of work, but Tony and Ana brought out all the kids. I think everyone had a lot of fun meeting their cousins and playing by the lake.

At the time, I lived in Minneapolis only a couple of blocks from Lake Calhoun, so we walked down to the lake and played around until Brian and Nancy and clan had to
continue on their journey.

Denise, Treva, Jen & Me

I can't remember exactly the occasion of these photos, but Treva and I met Denise & Jennifer at a Famous Dave's. I do remember getting a birthday gift, so maybe that was the occasion.

Treva & Denise Jennifer & Me
The Girls

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Today I AM 30!

Well, my big day is finally here! I've been counting down for well over a month.

I have high hopes for this day, but I have no concrete plans as of yet...

As I walked from the train station to work this morning, I couldn't help but walking tall. Today IS special.

I love birthdays! But my 30th...well, that's something to celebrate!

Check out this fun, delicious looking cake! I found it doing a Google Image search. I probably won't get a cake this fancy-schmancy, but a girl can dream. :-)

I cut my bangs!

I cut my bangs yesterday morning!

It wasn't exactly the look I was going for, but I do think they turned out pretty cute. Of course, now I need to get the rest of my hair cut. I think the bangs make the rest of my hair look (and feel) heavy! I'm thinking something kinda short and complementary of the bangs.

Now I'm just debating as to whether I should try cutting it myself or going to a professional.

Thoughts?