Life of the Party

    Owning a do is a very weird partnership between owner and dog. I love my fur babies and enjoy their daily antics!  My animals are my responsibility and I do take that serious!  Today, we had a woman reach into our car. She was immediately met with cold noses and sharp teeth. She yelped as Harley nipped her looming hand.       My dogs are protective, so do not reach in. They seem like babies but they are also very scary when they want to be. 

     I’m not officially a parent and NOW I see the struggle of remote learning. My child is using Edmentum alone with no live streamed instruction and she is struggling. What is the purpose and what are the teachers really doing?  I’m a teacher and I do live streamed classes everyday. My child has YET to speak with any teachers.  I do not know how she will make it through this semester. She was granted an extension, but this will be the death of us both.        Who else is feeling this struggle?   I never realized how hard this would be until a child moved into my home. I see her struggle each day with each new lesson. I do not understand how they expect her to finish this, and the extension isn’t going to help. 

       Celebrations are all different and everyone has their own way of truly gathering for family events.  I asked this question every year in my classes. This school year the answers were unexpected. My students had no fluffy answers or cheesy Hallmark scenarios. They mainly talked about isolation and fear. They are bored, sad, and anxiously  awaiting the near future.       Personally, we will have a small dinner here at home. This is my first holiday as a Foster parent, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right and setting up some traditions. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

    The month of December is always a bitter sweet time. My family keeps dwindling in size, so our celebrations grow smaller as well. This year is no exception. I think it brings out the good and bad. We finally put upour tree, but it S just not the same.

              Holidays will be very different this season. My family has ultimately decided to split up our family gathering into smaller portions at different homes. This is odd because I’m used to having my family under one roof during this town. I wonder if other families are having the same issues?   This is my current teacher face. Teaching from home has taught me that I have more time on my hands and I really need. I have went back to wearing my glasses because staring at the screen all day has been really troubling. I end up with major headaches at the end of each business day and even with my glasses my eyes still ache.

             So, in my house we are counting down the days to Thanksgiving. This year our gatherings will be smaller, but that doesn't matter because at least we still get to enjoy it! Mom and I have decided to open our home to foster care. I'm extremely nervous about this new chapter in my life. Being a parent is something I have always wanted to do but due to unforeseen circumstances I cannot have children. I know a lot of women struggle with this and infertility. I just hope that I’m able to provide a home where kids feel welcome.

      This pandemic has done a lot of things both good and bad for me personally. I have discovered that remote learning is not scary or intimidating. I have bonded closer with my family and friends who are family. This time of year always makes me think about what is important or significant in my life.          I think it’s people we ultimately want to be in larger groups and being our normal communities, But that just isn’t realistic when a virus is spreading through a community. Being at home and working from home has really made me appreciate my work family. I understand that co-employees are there for the same reason I am. Overtime these people become essential to who you are and how you conduct daily business. I think this pandemic has made me establish new routines. Seldomly, I get to return to campus to my classroom to gather materials. It’s almost eerie to walk down my hallway without seeing the smiling faces of my fellow teachers. I hav...

          It’s so strange to me how one student’s comment can really make a defining moment in your life. So I asked my students this week what they were thankful for. One of my students replied that they are thankful for a parent who is becoming a better person. This heartfelt comment really struck a nerve with me as a teacher. My student, even as a child, knows that her Parent is trying everything within their power to be a good parent. And it was in that moment during her statement then I realize that I need to become a better person. I think random acts of kindness, forgiveness, and mutual respect can make being a better person attainable.   

    It's easy to focus on the negative side of remote learning, but there have been successes too!  I still find myself at odds when considering where I stand with remote learning. Students who have social issues are thriving, but that is only a portion of my students.  Here are some ideas to make it engaging:  1. Make funny videos of the lesson 2. Laugh with your students 3. Use lots of videos  4. Involve music 5. Personalize the activities  6. Provide choices  7. Let them share their screens out too!       I still adapting to this world of remote learning and I do not have it figured out. I would love to hear some of your ideas! Feel free to leave a comment! 

      I’m super nervous and excited at the same time. It will be good to see their faces, but not seeing them face to face will be different. I spend a majority of my evening yesterday planning and practicing. Here we  come Google Classroom!   I’ve used it in the past, but never at this scale. 

      I have begun the journey of exploring the materials for level 2. Ummmmm I think this training will be more beneficial for teachers. I can see how this is applicable to teachers. Have any of you completed this yet?  Please reach out to me if you have any input.      This school year holds so many unknowns and getting ahead on remote learning tools could be crucial. I wish fellow teachers would post their ideas and expectations, but that would be a perfect world. 

      I spent days studying for the educator badge via Google. Wasted time always gets on my nerves. Being so goal oriented is my fault, but wasting time on their behalf makes me almost angry. Their online modules for training didn’t actually line up as well as one might think.   I passed the course and got the badge, but now I’m wondering if it was even worth the time. For teachers who are new to the Google classroom and its tools this would be beneficial. Google classroom has been around long enough that educators should be proficient enough without having to go through training.   Vent over! 

      Good afternoon all!  I wanted to update you all about this up coming school year. I’m both excited and nervous to face my students next week. We are doing complete remote learning via Google classroom. This is a new step in my teaching career because I have never taught an online class. To say I feel consumed by the stress is putting it nicely.        I uploading my first video today and died when I heard my southern accent blast through my speakers. Oh the joy of being from the South. :).  

        As a society we face yet another challenge. I do not pretend to know all the answers nor do I even know an immediate answer. I have chosen to log off mainstream social media for a few days to let the storm pass. I cannot condone reading my fellow peer's responses to this tragedy. The small mindset of  the few seem to be over shadowing the overall thought process of the vast majority.        Sitting in the diner listening to locals complain about #BLM really made me angry. As I stated before, I do NOT know all the answers, but opening your eyes should be one. We live in a small sheltered community and many people seem to be living in the past. The progressive era must have missed this slice of "heaven", as many people refer to it.  I gave the old men an evil stare, paid for my food, and silently hoped they would choke!            

     The rich black gold of composting is worth all the work that I put into it!  Doing our little part to keep some biodegradable things out of the landfill is what I have turned into a hobby. I have implemented some raised garden beds this season. Putting them together was a complete mess in itself. Apparently, you need to read the directions first...  The wooden ones were back-ordered, so I decided to go for the metal ones. They are supposed to last longer.       I will be sharing some photos of my progress in the next few days. This is a new adventure. I also thought about creating a flower bed too. Any ideas?  I had some sprouting potatoes in my compost bin that I promptly moved into the raised garden bed. The dark green plants look really healthy and I plan to keep it that way.       I used some old cinder blocks to build the flower bed, but I didn't like the color. I looked around in some of dad's old boxes and found ...

We spent a few hours today exploring the mountainside. It was great to be out and about.  I didn't expect it to be so cold! I wore and tank top and shorts. This small hike is worth the effort! I hope we go back when the fog has subsided. I bet the views would be beautiful. 

   I can't believe its May already. Where has the time gone? These endless days of working from home have really thrown me for a loop. Some of my students like to work late hours so I stay up and answer their emails. I wake up around 9:00 and do the same thing again. I do not even check the calendar to see if it's a weekday anymore. I just check the emails. 

       My county has decided to open its borders and guess what?  We now have confirmed cases of COVID 19, so I'm pissed. People around me have been practicing social distancing and staying home. The unknown is what drives me crazy. With all these additional symptoms that the CDC added makes me think that they don't know much about it either. We do not have regular television, so I do not get to see the nightly local news and they do not include their entire show on the online stream option. I need information!         Looking back, I will bring you guys a laugh. An elderly lady in the store sprayed me with Lysol because I sneezed. I wonder where she got her information? 

      This topic has been looming over my head for days. It's the basic essentials that are missing from the shelves in our one grocery store in town. We use bleach to clean and to wash whites. What kind of person would actively need that many bottles/jugs of bleach? Walking down empty isles was very informative. They said to buy what you need, not hoard everything! I can somewhat understand stocking up on food, but bleach and toliet paper?       The missing items have also driven up the prices of what is left. Supply and demand. There is a huge demand for things right not, so those who can afford higher prices will be fine. What about all the workers who do not have income coming in? What about the individuals who live on a fixed income? They cannot afford to go out and buy their regular stuff that has been inflated. 

  I have figured out my student's habits.  Overall, they seem to want to work late at night. I have got so many emails around 1am, so wish me luck as I stay up tonight to answer questions and chat online. I'll be here, so HMU! 

     Well, we are supposed to have a curfew and no gatherings of more than ten people. Sadly, we don't have enough sheriff personnel to enforce any true restrictions. My friend was leaving work and posted a photo of teens hanging out in the Ingles parking lot. There had to be at least 6 vehicles in the photograph. If you are not familiar with this scene be aware that it is a small town "hangout." I get that they are bored and annoyed, but stay home.       What is the purpose of missing all this work and school if people are just going to ignore the seriousness of our situation? Irritated and slightly amused at my county's discretion has really made this quarantine disturbing. We block people from entering our community, but then allow our residents to leave and return. They are just as susceptible to this virus as anyone else.

     The windows are open and we are enjoying this beautiful weather.  My babies are loving all this "mom is at home time."  I don't know what they are going to do when I return to work.       I have only left the house 2 times in the last 14 days. We hauled the garbage off yesterday and it felt like a real chore. It was such a weird sensation to not see any vehicles.  I think that is what I miss most. I miss being on the go, but being at home isn't too bad. Ultimately, this is helping everyone, so I'm going to suck it up and stop complaining. 

        Alone is the person not surrounded by their friends and family. Through this whole ordeal that I was has really hit me the most. My community has come together to support each other, but that can only do so much. Most of my family has passed away or has actually moved away.  The daily check-ins are a blessing in themselves. My co-workers check in at least every other day and that means so much to me. I see them struggling with their children trying to homeschool across several different grade spans. I think that is what is going to be remembered most. The family time or the lack of family time. 

     I finally watched the local news and got an update. There are no confirmed cases in my area as of 6 am this morning. This is good news and being isolated seems to be helping. We have checkpoints to get into our community. You must present a driver's licenses with a local address to get in. I have seen several hateful biker videos about the NC side of US 129 being closed. It's to protect our small underequipped community. These idiots cannot see how this is helping. 

      Well, today has been a rather dreary day. I spent a majority of the time lesson planning and listening to Post Malone blaring. Yeah, I'm a teacher, but his music soothes the soul.   I actually use his lyrics to teach figurative language.     Look at that hair volume!  I miss my middle schoolers and this is driving me crazy. I'm so used to having a schedule and I don't know what to do without one.   So this is me. Looking all sorts of a mess.      The bright side. I had around three hours to spend splatting people on Splatoon 2. I miss gaming and this has given me some time to enjoy it. Why didn't I get into it before? 

      School has been postponed until May 15th. I don't know what this means for the state of N.C and its students. I'm glad these measures are in place to protect WNC, but I'm worried about the unknown. Media has made this pandemic more pragmatic and stressful. I cannot turn on the T.V without seeing constant updates.       What happens to all the workers who have been told to go home? What happens when the looting starts and people get crazy? 

       It's day 7 here and I'm okay. Boredom has set in and all I can think about is tattoos. I spent my morning completing some online training and now I'm searching up ideas for my arm. I noticed this morning that a majority of vehicles were out of state. Their license plates indicated that they were from Georgia. Why in the heck are you traveling?           I posted an image of a tattoo that I found. I really like this, but it's in black ink and all my current artwork is in color. What do you think?   Would color make it pop or ruin the overall appearance?       Being at home allows me more access and time to blog, so expect at least one post per day! 

     I don't know if I'm being serious enough about this situation.  Maybe I'm in complete ignorance, but I think we doing what should be done. I don't like the thought of being trapped in my house, but if it benefits others I will do it without complaints. I just really miss my students and work family.  I will keep you guys posted on how everything is going. Our curfew starts tonight! Everyone stay safe and stay home!

     I'm so impressed with the Ring Fit Adventure game for the Nintendo Switch!  I have currently entered world 5 and it's quite the workout. I'm glad they are targeting a diverse group of gamers!  I was really worried that I had wasted money with this system, but now I feel confident in my purchase. 

     Western North Carolina has a culture all of its own. There are expectations that are acceptable here that may not fit other place's norms. 

  Let me tell you something! I love the Ring Fit Adventure for the switch console!  I spend around 30 minutes daily playing this game. It kicks my butt and I have fun while doing it. I hope everyone tries this game out. I could almost compare it to the Wii balance board, but it's way more interactive.  Most gamers really like to play games sitting down, but that is not an option with this.   I'm going to let my Game Club students try it out this week and see what their reviews are like! 

   I was super excited for Game Stop's Winter Sale. I ended up buying 8 games in total but getting four of them for free. Yes, you read that correctly!  Maybe I have become a little obsessed with collecting games. I'm guilty of hoarding old gaming systems as well.   I just cannot seem to get past a great deal! I drive about an hour to Game Stop because our small town doesn't attract stores like that. I hope you guys take advantage of the huge discounts before it's too late!