Sunday, August 15, 2010

Day 1

So this is my new blog. I've tried blogging in the past, well several times in the past to be honest, but I've never really stuck with it. But this time I'm going to stick with it- I think. My life isn't particularly interesting- unless you think dogs, work in the field of educational technology, and going to school for an EdD in Curriculum is the stuff that coolness is made of. Probably not right? But that's okay, because I have a feeling that this semester I'm going to need somewhere to decompress...so this is it!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

He wants attention. He usually gets it.

I try not to be one of those really soppy I love my dog more than life itself people, but I mean come on. Look at this face.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

What I've Learned From Being Sick

I've been sick all week. Today I feel like I'm alive, which is a huge improvement. I'm getting tired of being at home, but people keep telling me to stay home and get completely well. I've learned some things about myself these past 3 days though:

1. A girl can only eat so many milkshakes. It has felt like thousands of tiny pins have taken up residence in my throat, and every time I swallow or talk or cough (and there's been a lot of coughing going on) those pins are like tap dancing or something. Cold stuff makes this feel better. Hence, the milkshakes. Thanks to my wonderful Mom and Dad, I've had milkshakes from CookOut, Arby's, Sonic, and who knows where else. I never would have thought I'd get tired of milkshakes...but hell has frozen over because it has happened. I'm sick of milkshakes. But I'm still drinking them, because those pins in my throat haven't left yet.

2. There is only so much Lifetime Movie Network you can handle. I know, this sounds CRAZY right? But trust me- I've done nothing but watch TV and movies since Sunday afternoon, and well- yep, I've reached my Lifetime limit. (And Netflix- where is the Wii streaming I've heard so much about?)

3. No more alone time! All those times I've been surrounded by people or scheduled out the wazoo and have wished like crazy for just some "me" time? Well forget that! I've had more than enough "me" time- mostly because no one, not even my parents has wanted to be around me while I'm contagious. So my as before mentioned wonderful parents have been great...bringing me my prescriptions when I was too sick to wait, bringing lunch and dinner and the milkshakes, coming to take the dogs out, etc...they have come in my house, put whatever they're bringing down on the counter, asked me to open the canister of Clorox wipes and walked out the door by grabbing the knob with a wipe in hand. I'm tired of my own company. I think my dogs are tired of my own company too.

4. Being sick and not being able to talk is not a good thing ever- but especially when you have a 15 week old puppy in the house with you. And the dogwalker is one of the people who doesn't want to get sick. I'm sure the puppy has loved me being at home for the past 3 days. Probably mostly because the most I could do for most of it was whisper the word "no." And I probably didn't even sound like I meant it then. And when I say whisper, I should probably say mouth, as not enough sound came out to warrant it being called a whisper. So he's gotten away with lots. Um yeah.

5. Being sick doesn't make me a better blog writer- but it does make me a more frequent writer. Quality over quantity you say? Well sorry, but the girl who has been cooped up in her house by herself with 2 dogs for the past 4 days isn't really caring about that. So there.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

God's Sense of Humor

I was a lucky participant and presenter at the 2010 NCTIES (North Carolina Technology in Education Society) Conference last week. It was a great conference full of lots of sessions and lots of tweets from even more sessions. I came back home from Raleigh energized and excited about putting into practice a lot of the things that have fallen to the wayside lately. I was ready to share ideas and realizations with the people I work with and couldn't wait to get to work Monday to get started. Then, on Sunday, I woke up feeling not so great. I told myself it was just allergies, so I got up, walked the dogs, got myself ready and headed to church. Well by the time I walked out of church, it was all I could do to even hold my head up and I suddenly had a fever. So, Sunday I did nothing but sleep and woke up Monday feeling even worse. I went to the doctor Monday morning and was told I had a respiratory infection that was definitely contagious and I needed to spend at least a couple days at home. So- my excitement and my plans for the week? Scrapped (at least until tomorrow). Am I any less excited? No, not really. But what have I been forced to remember? We can plan all we want, but we also have to be prepared for the unexpected- because sometimes that is exactly what happens.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Burned Out...but making a comeback

So, I follow some amazing people on Twitter. The reason I follow most of the people who I do is because they constantly (and I mean like every 2 minutes) post great ideas and resources. The thing that bothers me about this is that I gain so much from these people, but I give almost nothing in return. Every once in a while I post something I find or use, but not nearly enough. There are definitely excuses that can be made for this...since Twitter is blocked in my county I have to post from a mobile device (which is great but not the easiest way to post links, etc) if I want to tweet during the day, by the time I get home I have so many other things to take care of with a new house and 2 dogs that I don't have time to tweet, working a part-time job plus a full-time means that I really don't have time, etc...

I can use all of those excuses (and more), but what it boils down to is this- they are excuses. The real truth is that if I had known or thought about using Twitter a few years ago when I was in the classroom, I would have been one of those people that constantly added thoughts, ideas, and resources of value. The truth is that instead of becoming burned out in the classroom, as so many people talk about, I have become burned out by being OUT of the classroom. I loved being a teacher- I loved planning and I loved teaching. I was that teacher (as many are) who put my heart and soul into everything I did in the classroom and spent every spare minute looking for and creating new things to do with my students. I wanted to do everything and anything that was engaging and fun- which often meant incorporating technology, whether it was Skyping with classrooms near and far, creating collaborative podcasts and movies, blogging everyday with my students, and whatever else I could come up with. I stayed up way later than I ever should have not occasionally, but often creating ActivBoard lessons and surfing the Web for fresh ideas. I was the teacher that those in my school came to with questions or when ideas were needed.  I devoted my nights and weekends to pushing myself to becoming better. And that is exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to become an Instructional Technology Facilitator...I thought well great! I can spend my days doing the things I love (finding and creating tech integrated resources and projects) and skip all the stuff I didn't love so much (dealing with some parents, high stakes testing, etc)!

The truth of the matter is- that's not so much how it's gone. Part of that is because I took the job at a time when the job title was going through a transformation from NC Wise facilitator to Instructional Technology Facilitator, part of it is because I had to spend that first year trying to figure out exactly what I wanted the focus of my job to be and what my boundaries were, and part because I went from being a proven pretty good teacher to being the newest and youngest in my new job and I was too afraid to speak up when I had ideas. Put all that together, and I just got burned out and lazy. Instead of working as hard as I could at work and coming home and continuing to work as hard as I could until bed time, I started just working as hard as I could at work and then not opening my laptop for anything work or school related once I got home.

All of that rambling stuff being said, the whole point of this post is to say that I want to be a contributor, not just one of those people who lurks and gleans information from everyone else and never gives in return. So, with the start of this blog and the start of my new mindset, it is my goal to act on that wish- we'll see how it goes!