It is almost time to head home and I do not have to be back until Monday! Five whole days off! YES. Then back for three weeks and I have two weeks off for Christmas. It makes this time of year doable! Then soon after the first semester will be over with. That is what I am really waiting for, so I can get a new set of kids.

I have not the time or a computer to blog with for a few days. I had to have my laptop reimaged, I was having problems with the symantec and it was just being weird so I turned it in for a few days. It is so nice to have it back. It makes everything so much easier. I miss facebook and so much of my news when I do not have my computer. I am so glad to have it back.

Thank you, to all of the Veterans out there. We appreicate all you have done for us. I know you have done all you can and sacrificed so much for your country. This is for all my friends that are serving or have serve. CG I love you for your comittment and heart. E you rock! C glad you home. To all my former students that are over seas, please stay safe.

Today and Yesterday I have woken up before 7 am. I hardley ever get up that early on a weekend. Usually I sleep until about 10. It is kind nice to be up with no one else up, get a chance to watch the news and chill with my coffee for a while. I have a busy two weeks coming up and then Fall break. I have a after school book study, diversity training, and they teaching Thinking Maps the week after that for two 3 hour sessions. I was thinking about it and we are a down hill roll for a while. Wee have 2 weeks at school, then 5 days off, then 3 weeks at school and 10 days off. Come back have a few days til exams and the a day off, and it will be February and we will have a day off and then March hits with 1 week for Spring Break, the Easter in April, 2 days off in May and the it is June and school is over. I know school just started in August, but August, September and October seem so much longer than November, December, January, February, March, April and May put together.

I have 5 semester classes, so in the middle of January, I get 5 new sets of students, and I keep 1 class of jr.’s. I love the fact that I get to look at what I have done in these classes and I get a chance to change what did not work and add in and try something else. That is so AWESOME. I can do less bookwork and maybe more thinking maps and foldables in to both classes. I can add some labs in my sociology classes. I am getting a handle on the topics and feeling alot more comforatable with them. I LOVE MY JOB! IT IS SO AWESOME! Now I just need to get caught up again on my grading. Where is PG when I need her.

Today in my US History class we are using a 6 cut foldable for showign some of the new technology for WWI, anything from airplanes, trench warfare to blimps, and machine guns. The label the technology on the front flap, draw or find a picture for underneath the label then tellme about the technoloy under that, who, what, where, why and when. So much new stuff came out of this war and it ties into today. Then we are going to start our class discussion and notes on WWI.

You know maybe getting sick was for the better, I am enjoying being at work more and it has made me appreciate what I am doing. Today I am starting to get off all of the bloat weight I gained from all the medications I was on. Yesterday was my last day on them and I have gained about 15 pounds YUCK! So today I am eating friut salad for breakfast, and a chicken spinach salad for lunch and a yogurt for a snack. The weight will come off! I am also thinking about using my yourself fitness on the xbox or the wii fit when I get home, if my joints stop hurting. I could not sleep because of the steriods and my joints. It will ease up in the next couple of days.

Finally I am feeling better, not 100% but much better. I am still swollen from all the meds, but I am feeling so much better. I am turning over a new leaf today, my new mantra is “I LOVE MY JOB!” I think this is going to help.

It is starting to get busy , I have lots of after school staff developments, pull outs and then the holidays, it seems like school is moving in fast forward this year, and I think that is for the best, because it can only get better. I LOVE MY JOB! Now I just wish my husband would hurry up and find a job, any job. I want to sell my house and move closer to my son’s college and a better school district for my youngers kids. Out towards Denton or Keller. One step at a time right?

I went to a great staff development session for Dinah Zike’s Foldables, last week, that I have been waiting for for 2 years for. They had it last year and then on the day of the session I ended having to home because my little one had gotten sick, but they gave me the book that went with the training. I love her books and foldables, my high schoolers even love doing them. I now have two fo her books for American History and World History and I think I am going to go find the others on at B&N or Amazon. We spent two hours cutting and folding in the session, so we could make every one of the foldables. I have been foldables for about five years, but now I can add more in to my US History and Economics class which will be great. If you ever get a chance to take a foldables class I highly recommend you do so, and if you get a chance to do one with Dinah Zike’s WOW! that would be even better.

I have been out sick for two days and I did not want to come in today. I went to the dr and I do not have the flu, THANK GOD! But my lungs itch and I am coughing, which means my asthma is bothering me. I have antibiotics, mega steiords and all my asthma medicine and I am still having problems. At least is an easy day, my sociology class is finishing up America Graffitti and it is a pep rally day so the classes are shorter.

Oh My God! The Thinking Maps training that my fellow teacher and I taught to the teachers went fantasic. We got some really great reviews from the teachers taking the class. It was a six hour training on a Saturday, and I can say I was so nervous to start out with, but once we got going it was so much better than what I expected. We trained 16 teachers and we have a total of 36 more to train as that is how many more books we have left. So will be doing a couple of more classes, I think we are going to do these in 3 hour intervals so that some teachers can do it after school instead of on a weekend.