Diamond or stone?

0404091902.jpg

2009-04-04T19:06:00.001-04:00

0404091902.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

112308_18521.jpg

2008-11-23T18:53:00.001-05:00

112308_18521.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Roomies

112308_18501.jpg

2008-11-23T18:51:00.001-05:00

112308_18501.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Kitties

112308_15571.jpg

2008-11-23T15:58:00.001-05:00

112308_15571.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Dinner

purple

2008-08-23T00:44:00.001-04:00

The word purple looks funny upsidedown.

081608_11381.jpg

2008-08-16T14:39:00.001-04:00

081608_11381.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

081508_21131.jpg

2008-08-15T21:15:00.001-04:00

081508_21131.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Crazy

081508_21111.jpg

2008-08-15T21:13:00.001-04:00

081508_21111.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Me & Josh @ a play

Dad's surgery

2008-08-10T11:52:00.001-04:00

Dad's going in for his operation on the cluster blood vessels in his head on Tue. Sept. 2…. They're going to cut open the front of his head (forehead) and take them out (that's how I understand the operation anyway). Don’t have any other particulars, yet…. Please keep him in your prayers.

Sales this week

2008-08-10T11:03:00.002-04:00

Kmart has composition books 2/$1
Office Depot - cap erasers for 5cents
Office Max - 2pocket folders 1 cents, lined paper 15 cents, rulers 1cent, floppy binders 30 cents

080708_16151.jpg

2008-08-07T16:16:00.001-04:00

080708_16151.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Maia hides?

Teacher Wisdom

2008-08-06T11:28:00.001-04:00

“If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job. ”
—Donald D. Quinn

Best School Sales this week (imo)

2008-07-27T19:38:00.002-04:00

Office Max: crayon boxes 1cent - limit 3; rulers 1cent - limit 3; erasers/grips pack 25cent - limit 3; scissors 25 cents - limit 3 (I already have plenty); mini-hilighters 5 cents - limit 3; 72-pack of pencils $1.99 - limit 3 (not sure about these... I think I bought these last year and was disappointed by the quality, but I'm not positive if it was Office Max or Depot. =/ I might get some.)

Walgreens: small memo books 8/$1 - limit 16

Office Depot: composition notebooks for 30 cents... haven't been to see them, 'cause I already bought plenty.

Sears: some good clearance sales for back-to-school clothes!

Best School Sales this week (imo)

2008-07-21T18:17:00.002-04:00

Target - 2pk. glue sticks (the purple ones) 5/$1. No limit.

Walmart - composition books 2/$1, spiral notebooks $.05 each

Kmart - pencil boxes 2/$1, crates $3 each

Office Depot - packs of paper $.15, limit 5

Walgreens - 5pk. mechanical pencils $.05, limit 3; highlighter $.05, limit 3; mini composition book $.05, limit 4; 5pk. Bic Brite Liner Highlighters $.39, limit 3; paper clips $.19, limit 2; white posterboard $.10, limit 5. (I think you need coupons for all these - get from their website or store flyer.)

Wrist Woes

2008-07-17T20:43:00.001-04:00

You may remember from my last note that my hand doctor found a problem with my thumb. Specifically (I got him to write it down this time) it was the trapeziometacarpal joint. So, I've been wearing a brace and using an anti-inflammatory cream. I'm thinking that was causing the acute ("OWWW!!!") pain that I'd had in the few weeks prior to going to the doctor. I'm not sure what I did to make my thumb miserable like that but according to the doc, it's completely separate from my other wrist woes.

Yes, I seem to have multiple wrist woes. I am ulna positive. Or maybe I have ulnar positivity. Whatever it is, my ulna is a little too long. Apparently this messes up the triangular fibrocartilage. As I understand it, the ulna and radius are supposed to be straight across, and since my ulna is a little too long, it can dig into this cartilage. According to him, this is why turning the wrist (outside turn) hurts. I have a new brace to wear for this problem. I'm not sure how much of a problem it is yet. The bone length thing is just hereditary (hear that, mom?). I'm instructed to try to avoid falling and catching myself with the hand. (Usually I try to avoid falling altogether.)

At this point in my office visit, my suspicions were up. I mean, how many problems can one wrist have? But even after me asking him multiple times, he maintained that the two problems were unrelated. So, just to get the facts straight, I asked which was causing the pain on the side of my wrist that goes down my arm a little ways. Ha! Neither one, that's probably tendinitis. (Remember him telling me I didn't have that?? I guess the horrible pain was blocking it out two weeks ago.....)

So, THREE separate and unrelated wrist problems? What are the odds?? I'm not sure about this guy. He said I should call and make an appointment in 3 weeks if it's still hurting. Erm...I might call somebody new. What do you think?

Oh yeah - I almost forgot... I'm supposed to wear the new brace when I might be turning my wrist. I'm still supposed to wear the older brace when I do pinching motions (like writing). So now I have to alternate??! I haven't decided which brace typing falls into. Hrm.

Wrist/hand

2008-07-03T13:54:00.003-04:00

Current doctor (hand specialist) says I have a CMC joint sprain. That's the thing that attaches the thumb to the wrist. I'm not sure what I think about it. My thumb didn't hurt at all until a few weeks ago, but now the thumb pain overwhelms anything else. I got a new brace and some cream to rub on the joint that's supposed to be anti-inflammatory. Please take the pain away.

Teachers change students.

2008-05-14T19:55:00.000-04:00

A discussion post I wrote for my online class...thought I'd share. Class will keep me kinda busy the next few weeks, but at least I'll spend some time in reflection!
-K

How can teachers positively impact change?

Teachers change students. We don't change each and every one, but when we do see a change for the better in someone, it is worth all the hard work. This afternoon, my class was working in small groups on different topics in environmental science. Two of my tough kids from the neighborhood projects worked all bell to finish their PowerPoint on "Diversity in the Rainforest" and their poster "Save the Rainforests". They were so proud, each falling over the other to show the class and me what a good job they'd done. The words on their poster were carefully intertwined with animals and plants from the rainforest. I "oohed" over their work, but I didn't realize how much it had meant until after school. A line of some of the worst boys in our grade – overage, involved in drugs and gangs – filed into my classroom behind my two students. "Look at our project man…" The two boys in that class who cared least about schoolwork at the beginning of the year were proud of their hard work, and sharing with their peers. I almost cried. (You know that one's going to be hanging out in the hallway!)

One of my smaller boys stopped into my room during my planning period today. He's from a single parent home, and the nurse informed us earlier in the year that his mother was doing drugs. He's a quiet kid in my classroom, although I've seen him tearing around the hallways like a banshee. He usually has on clothes that are a little too big or not quite clean. "Jay" came in to let me know he was back from his suspension. He gave me a smile when I said I'd missed him. "I'm going to make up all the work I missed, Miss Fisher." Teachers can let kids know that somebody cares for them and is on their side. And sometimes that's the only reason the child sees for doing any of their schoolwork.

Teachers can make kids proud of who they are and what they can accomplish. Teachers can show kids who thought they were failures that they really can do it. Teachers can be the first to pat a kid on the back and tell him he's going to go far someday. And teachers can make the child believe it. What we do each day is try to care for our children and give them what they need to become the people we hope they will be. We show them that we believe they can do it and then we make them believe it too.

042008_16363.jpg

2008-04-22T17:15:00.001-04:00

042008_16363.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

View

042008_16352.jpg

2008-04-22T17:08:00.001-04:00

042008_16352.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Mark pilots

042008_16121.jpg

2008-04-22T17:07:00.001-04:00

042008_16121.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

My view

041808_18321.jpg

2008-04-22T17:06:00.001-04:00

041808_18321.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

032908_17211.jpg

2008-03-29T17:22:00.001-04:00

032908_17211.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Eating @ McD's

Sabrina & me

2008-03-27T19:07:00.002-04:00

032708_18162.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

(Sabrina is one of my nieces.)

Me at the beach

2008-03-27T19:06:00.002-04:00

032708_18153.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Sabrina at the beach

2008-03-27T19:05:00.002-04:00

032708_18152.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

032708_18151.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

A visit to DC

2008-03-27T14:26:00.002-04:00

011208_13172.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Cat toys

2008-03-14T18:14:00.002-04:00

I've got birds, squirrels, and even rabbits hanging out in my back yard. You know what excites Maia? The candy wrapper flying around on the porch.

Krissyology

2008-01-31T17:54:00.000-05:00

...just because...

MOUTHOLOGY

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Italian

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Subway, McDonald's

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Outback

Q. On average how much of a tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 18%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. turkey sandwich

Q. what are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. ham and pineapple

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. margarine. sometimes strawberry jelly

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. black

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. One that works (and one that doesn't seem to anymore)

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. tonsils and two wisdom teeth (that's all I had)

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. Case of copy paper into school.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. Passed out one time from dehydration and pneumonia, does that count?

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No thanks - I worry enough as it is.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A: Kathryn, maybe. But really, I like mine.

Q. What color looks good on you?
A: maroon

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Not that I can think of.

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A: no!

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. No...

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A: yuck, no

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A: no.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A: who, what? I wouldn't know.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: both

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Who sits in a shower? I stand.

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A: Yes, please.... soon, I hope. I'm getting broker.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A: One, somewhere, I think....

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops
A: I got pulled over once for making an illegal u-turn (last summer)

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. loved

FAVORITOLOGY

Q: Number?
A: 1 (it's easy to divide by)

Q: Season?
A. summer

Q: Holiday?
A. Christmas

Q: Day of the week:
A. Saturday

Q: Month?
A: June or August

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?
A: nope

Q: Mood?
A: curious

Q: Listening to?
A. nothing. But I sang to John Denver in the car on the way home.

Q: Watching?
A: nothing in particular

Q: Worrying about?
A. something that happened at school this week involving scissors

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: eat - why am I typing this instead of fixing dinner?

Q: What's the last movie you saw?
A. 7 Dressed - and I really liked it.

Q: Do you smile often?
A: not as much this school year.

Saw the light...

2008-01-28T20:08:00.000-05:00

I saw daylight on the way to work today (it was a teacher work day). It made me so happy. I love driving to work when it's light out.

Oh, and I think it's kind of rude to call it a "teacher work day" like we don't work all the other days (and twice as hard). Although I suppose they sometimes do call it "teacher records day", the more pc version. Hrm. OK, I won't be upset about that. 'Cause you know - the sun DOES exist!

Mom came in with me and helped put up bulletin boards. I told her what needed to go up and whereish, and she made it look awesome. Nice. I love my mommy.

Who's for President?

2008-01-06T19:09:00.001-05:00

83% Bill Richardson
79% Mike Gravel
78% Chris Dodd
77% Barack Obama
76% John Edwards
75% Dennis Kucinich
71% Hillary Clinton
68% Joe Biden
42% Rudy Giuliani
38% Mike Huckabee
38% John McCain
36% Ron Paul
31% Mitt Romney
30% Tom Tancredo
28% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Adorable

2007-12-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

This shirt is adorable.

112507_19122.jpg

2007-11-25T19:18:00.001-05:00

112507_19122.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Short trip to the zoo :)

2007-11-22T16:06:00.001-05:00

112107_14441.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Cute monkey

2007-11-22T13:17:00.001-05:00

112107_15281.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Obviously...

2007-10-02T19:02:00.001-04:00

I haven't felt like posting lately. And I don't particularly feel like it right now either. I guess my online reflective time has been spent playing on Facebook lately. Oh well. :p

092207_17541.jpg

2007-09-22T17:56:00.001-04:00

092207_17541.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

School, DCBX, ramblings...

2007-09-08T11:11:00.001-04:00

School's off to a great start. So far I'm really enjoying my kids. I've got some trouble makers, but they seem to be doing alright so far. Most of my free time seems to be spent trying to juggle Dirt Cheap housing assignments around. Ah well....

Summer ending

2007-09-02T19:05:00.000-04:00

Yup. It's that time of year again... pencils and notebooks are on sale, kids are getting new school clothes, parents are getting excited, and teachers are thinking, "Oh my goodness, where did the summer go?"

I'm sitting on my couch surrounded by school books, papers, calendars, my laptop, and an occasional cat. I'm excited (as I always get) that the school year's about to start. There will be new kids to teach, old friends to re-visit, and lots of challenges. I'm sure to be observed many times during this year (part of a program I'm doing, as well as normal observations) and I'm anxious to put my best foot forward.

083107_12591.jpg

2007-09-01T09:41:00.001-04:00

083107_12591.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

083107_12581.jpg

2007-09-01T00:53:00.001-04:00

083107_12581.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

083107_12571.jpg

2007-09-01T00:52:00.001-04:00

083107_12571.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Town meeting

2007-08-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

Well... I was hoping this week we would be having a very organized series of meetings where people in our swing community get together and figure out what exactly it is we're doing. We need to come up with some common goals, organize the money-keeping and schedules, and figure out who's teaching, what they're teaching, and when they're teaching. I can't imagine what this *open* to everyone meeting is going to be like... but I'm kinda scared that nothing at all is going to be accomplished. BLEH!

Word of the day: nebbish

2007-08-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

nebbish \NEB-ish\, noun:
A weak-willed, timid, or ineffectual person.

You used to be a nebbish, a noodle, a fool
And now you're Mr. Big Time with your own private pool.
-- Maira Kalman, Max in Hollywood, Baby

It seems like a word one might be tempted to use.....plus I liked the quote.

Cats & Frog

2007-08-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

080107_10111.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

There was a cute frog (toad?) sitting right outside the sliding door this morning, so I poked my camera phone out to get a picture. Of course, while I was leaning out the door, Clancy decided to take the opportunity to go out and jumped over me. While I was grabbing him, the frog jumped into the house. Of course, this fascinated the cats. Maia was adorable sniffing it (but I didn't get that picture) and Clancy wanted to poke it (typical boy). The frog's safely back outside and the cats are sitting at the door looking out.

No frogs (or cats) were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Quote

2007-08-01T09:52:00.000-04:00

It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.
- Tallulah Bankhead

....So am I a good girl for keeping an occasional diary/journal, or a bad girl because it's been pretty occasional lately? I'll leave this as an exercise for the reader.

Floodin'

2007-07-30T11:48:00.001-04:00

073007_11351.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

At my house

We're swimming in the streets...

2007-07-30T11:47:00.001-04:00

073007_11431.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Kt in flood

My family cemetery

2007-07-28T10:39:00.001-04:00

072507_13571.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

My cemetery

The week

2007-07-28T10:36:00.000-04:00

The week was...boring. This was expected, but it would've been nice to have been surprised. Thursday was the most exciting, because we went shopping and probably spent too much money. We were sale-shopping though, so at least they were good deals. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself this weekend. Tonight is a dance....but what to do this afternoon?? Hmm.

confabulation

2007-07-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

It's a cool word. Katie seems more interested in meaning #1 - basically chitchat. We looked it up - you can confabulate. I like meaning #2. Mom and I both confabulate when we don't remember all the details of something. Good word.

Mom and I are off to Pennsylvania this morning. We'll be back Friday.

Dr's orders

2007-07-23T09:26:00.000-04:00

I'm supposed to only sleep 7-8 hours a night and not take any naps. I'm not tired right now, but I really really really just want to go back to my bed. Dreaming is nice.

Read

2007-07-23T09:21:00.000-04:00

Yup, I read the new Harry Potter book yesterday. It was good - kept me engrossed for the full six hours. I think I got up once to pee, but I'm not even sure about that. Katie came in about a third of the way through the book and talked for a couple minutes. I DID put the book down to talk to her. However, I'm not exactly sure what we talked about. :p

Bush butt probed, Cheney in charge

2007-07-20T18:18:00.000-04:00

Seriously now... am I the only one who looks at that headline and snickers?

Meds...

2007-07-19T12:28:00.000-04:00

I love my doctor. Well, this is only the second time I've seen him, but man is he just really good! He sat down with me and talked for at least 15-20 minutes (unheard of in my previous urgent care type doctors) and basically gave me a lesson on how serotonin affects brain function, and how stress levels affect both. He drew a graph and wrote notes on the paper that you usually sit on (finally the paper has a use!). It was excellent. So I'm set with a new Zoloft prescription as well as one for Xanax, in case of another panic attack. (I've never experienced a full-blown panic attack, but what I have experienced is plenty, thank you.) I've got another appointment set for 3 weeks and will talk about if this is still working for me or if I want to change medication types then. Good.

tortuous vs. torturous torture

2007-07-19T12:24:00.000-04:00

Today's word of the day was tortuous, which understandably put me in the mind of torturous, but when I looked at the definition, I realized it was a different word. I'm not sure that I ever noticed they were two different words. It's all so obvious now!

Tomorrow's appointment

2007-07-19T00:28:00.000-04:00

Well, today's appointment was a lunch meeting with a lady from my college at VT. Apparently she's meeting with different alumni to sit and chat. So she bought me lunch and we had a nice chat. Not sure why (Katie was convinced she was going to ask me for money... but it didn't happen).

Tomorrow's appointment is with my doctor to ask to go back on medication for depression. And yes, I shouldn't have just let the prescription lapse, I know. I'm going to ask about Wellbutrin, and might consider switching to it. But back on meds I go after my recent weekend and just general lack of wanting to do anything lately.

I played Nintendo today, and got all the way through uhh...world 5 or world 6 is where I died. I think 6. I don't think I'd ever done it that way before without any kind of warping. Next time if I'm enthused I'll warp to that world and start there, maybe.

I heart Google

2007-07-17T16:07:00.001-04:00

Yes, I'm now currently using gmail, blogger, Google calendar, and Google documents with regularity. Watch out flickr... you may be next to go in the wake of Google images!

This weekend

2007-07-15T22:11:00.001-04:00

From the pictures in the previous posts, I was obviously up to something.... I was up in Philly with Bill and Shannon for a blues dance workshop. It was really good...

Oh - and I finally figured out how to directly go from phone picture to blog post. So, now it's that much easier for me to photoblog. Nice.

071407_21391.jpg

2007-07-14T21:41:00.001-04:00

071407_21391.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

071407_18581.jpg

2007-07-14T19:03:00.001-04:00

071407_18581.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

While we were at the lessons this afternoon apparently a baby opossum found under my car to be a great place to hang. So when I opened my door, the poor baby fell down and scared poor me to pieces! "ACK!" Then I realized that it wasn't a rat and was a baby so it wasn't going to kill me. I helped it along with a stick to get over to the sidewalk. The picture isn't the best... but it certainly wasn't what I expected to find in downtown Philly!!!

071407_11411.jpg

2007-07-14T11:43:00.001-04:00

071407_11411.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

071407_11361.jpg

2007-07-14T11:41:00.001-04:00

071407_11361.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

071407_11231.jpg

2007-07-14T11:39:00.001-04:00

071407_11231.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

Advertising

2007-07-11T01:55:00.001-04:00

I worked on advertising for The Mid-Atlantic Challenge and Dirt Cheap Blues Exchange for over four hours tonight. I posted on all the swing dance forums I know, as well as on facebook. I've posted on myspace about them before, and am going to wait a couple more days before posting there again. I also put together a spreadsheet of where all the posts are and got it set up on Google Documents (which, by the way...I love), and invited some people (Jeff, Chris, Bill) to share the documents. I asked if they'd also go post to those forums (at other times.. not all at once), and maybe we can keep track of who has done what via the spreadsheet. It sounds good to me, anyway. It always seems sad when an event has just a single person posting about it. "Lookee here at my event....that nobody but me cares about!!" Yeah, not the greatest.

And now I think I'll go to bed!

The Cookie Blues

2007-07-10T14:38:00.001-04:00

Katie

2007-07-10T00:09:00.001-04:00

Did I mention I love my new roommate so far? AND, she did my hair tonight. Nothing fancy, just curling it out....fabulous. And she loaned me (and picked out for me) jewelry. She's so girly. I love it.

Another class finished

2007-07-10T00:06:00.001-04:00

Well, the online methods class I've been taking for the past six weeks just finished. Talk about easy. I won't know until Friday (at the latest) what grade I receive in the class, but there really hasn't been that much to it. It culminated in a big group project.... but it wasn't that big of a deal. (Of course, we haven't gotten our grades yet on it.) Actually, I might be a little relieved if I miss a couple of points on SOMETHING here or there. Sometimes I wonder if the work's even being read. Oh well, check that class off my list of things to do!!! (Yay!)

Lonely

2007-07-08T23:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm feeling a little lonely... actually I was feeling really quite horribly irritable and sucky earlier - I ate half a can of chocolate icing (the only chocolate in the house) and all but two slices of a pizza - but when Katie came home she cheered me up by making me do Tae Bo with her. (Did I mention I have a roommate named Katie? I can't remember if I've told you...)

After that I talked on the phone for a little and then reminisced by looking through old blog posts.... wow, sometimes I'm actually interesting. (Not often, I know.) This got me wanting to talk to people, so I hopped on IRC. It's not quite as always-happening as it was back when we were all in college, I suppose. Gally was up (and got married two weeks ago??! Wow). And there were a couple people awake on #xylem. But no amazing conversations were being had. Oh well... I rated some ircquotes.com quotes, and looked back at some of my quotes from irc.

The cats are still following me around the house like crazy. Maia still hasn't gotten used to the fact that people visit me. She was quite perturbed this weekend as there were people around. I barely saw her. Today she's snuggled up on the couch with me and Clancy. Clancy is a regular people-cat. He loves attention from everybody anytime. Oh, and they've both continued to become more and more vocal - this could be a bad thing. I really want to put a cat door in my bedroom door, so I can close it all the way. It'd be nice to be able to wander around naked without wondering if the door is going to be pushed open.

Sometimes..

2007-07-08T16:02:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I just close my eyes and pretend things are the way I want them to be...even if I know they never ever will be. And I suppose at some point I'll need to open them up and figure out what that means I should do. But today I'm willfully blindfolded. (If I walk into a table and stub my feet....oh well.)

Comparing boys & girls

2007-07-06T17:21:00.001-04:00

Good comic.

Battle of Midway Exhibition

2007-07-06T16:58:00.000-04:00

Some awesome pictures from the performance that we did for a Battle of Midway Remembrance event. (And we got paid for it! Money for dancing! Awesome!!)

Yes, I DID have shorts on underneath that skirt...although in half the pictures I'm in it looks like I don't. You always wanted to see up my skirt anyway, admit it. :p

Freaky Fruits

2007-07-05T13:10:00.001-04:00

070407_13261.jpg
Originally uploaded by koanika

I didn't quite get this in focus (I'm still having trouble with that on my newish camera phone), but don't you love generic cereals??

A quote for today

2007-07-05T12:56:00.000-04:00

Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.--Hardy D. Jackson

I don't even know where to start...

2007-07-03T13:25:00.000-04:00

What was I thinking taking such a long hiatus from posting? It just makes it that much harder to figure out what to say when I return. My parents FINALLY moved out a couple weeks ago, and my new roommate, Katie, moved in. We met when she took one of my dance class series. And so far, we seem to be getting along pretty well (despite the fact that she's allergic to cats....hmm).

Summer is in full swing after the fabulous VBLX weekend. I had 12 people staying at my house - and they were all awesome. I don't know if my deck was stacked by the person who assigned housing, or if I just lucked out. I'm going to consider it lucky either way. We all had an absolute blast. We had late night dances at my house (the living room is clear for dancing) on Thursday and Sunday nights.

Some of my house was still in town on Monday (a week ago) and came with me over to Newport News where Chris and I teach and then dance. The dance wasn't really very happening, but at this point in the weekend, we kind of brought a party with us (plus we were really too tired to do much, I think!). My classes weren't the greatest - partly because I was absolutely exhausted and partly because they're small classes and we're having trouble getting them up to the desired energy level.

On the way back from the dance, however, I was really glad that I had a car full of people with me. I checked my voicemail, heard three frantic messages from my mom and called her back. My grandma had passed away that night (Monday). Despite the traffic (they were cleaning the freaking tunnel), the carfull of people with me were supportive and kind and oh-so-nice. They stayed up with me all night long, talking, helping, and keeping me company while I packed and got the house together and ready to leave for a week. They even drove with me when I went to drop the sound system and ipod over at Tony's at 5:30 in the morning. At 6, when we got back from that, my parents were here and ready to pick me up. The crew went to bed at this point (as far as I know), to get some sleep before driving back to Greenville/DC/Richmond. Aren't dancers wonderful?

So last week I spent up in Pennsylvania with my family. It was hard, and it hasn't completely sunk in. The viewing was Wednesday twice for a couple of hours - who thought up this custom? I think it's about like torture. The funeral was Thursday, and felt almost too short to say goodbye. I guess most of my goodbye was the day before and the days after. Friday and Saturday we spent at her apartment, cleaning it out, figuring out what would go to who and what would get donated. Hard.

We drove back home Saturday night because Dad and I were both completely restless. I think I was a little freaked out finally too. Plus I had a lot to do for my online class. I'm taking a secondary science teaching methods class online through University of Phoenix. I've got one week left and a lot of homework left to do.

Right now I'm about to help Katie move a loveseat upstairs, go to BJs with Dad to get hotdogs and hamburgers for Shannon's 4th of July swing dancing party, and probably should brush my teeth. Love you all.

Today's topic is character

2007-06-15T12:19:00.000-04:00

Actually, I was looking for quotes to use for the discussion board in the class I'm taking. But some I set aside for me took a life of their own... Maybe they go together, maybe they don't...

Never throw mud. You may miss your mark, but you must have dirty hands. -Joseph Parker

The only way to keep character up to the standard is by continually living up to the highest standard in all that you do. -Young People's Weekly

Do not ask me to be kind; just ask me to act as though I were. -Jules Renard

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out. -Thomas Babington Macaulay

What makes resisting temptation difficult, for many people, is that they don't want to discourage it completely. -Franklin P Jones

Life does not require us to be consistent, cruel, patient, helpful, angry, rational, thoughtless, loving, rash, open-minded, neurotic, careful, rigid, tolerant, wasteful, rich, downtrodden, gentle, sick, considerate, funny, stupid, healthy, greedy, beautiful, lazy, responsive, foolish, sharing, pressured, intimate, hedonistic, industrious, manipulative, insightful, capricious, wise, selfish, kind or sacrificed. Life does, however, require us to live with the consequences of our choices. -Richard Bach

When we put up with any situation that we don't have to put up with, it's not because we're dumb. We put up with it because we want the lesson that only that situation can teach, and we want it more than freedom itself. -R. Bach

2 days of school left!

2007-06-12T18:45:00.000-04:00

...And actually, since we're on half days, our schedule's all funky. I don't even have kids on Thursday!! So tomorrow's the last day of kids for me this year!!!!!!! Today I only had 4 kids. We've basically told them all not to come. And if they come they know that it's just for the heck of it. Attendance isn't being taken, and it's hard to do too much. I'm still giving my kids an assignment (and most of them even did it!!!) but it's not much of a hardship. They still look at me incredulously and say, "You're making us do work?" But I did say I was going to, so it shouldn't have been that much of a suprise. When they finish I set them to work cleaning. Speaking of which - just about everything's off my walls, many of my cabinets are cleaned out, and the pencil boxes I leave on student desks have been cleaned out with materials sorted and stored for next year. I did lots of other stuff too. ;)

I'm definitely looking forward to the summer, wondering what kind of trouble I can get into, and trying to think of all the places I need and want to visit.

And WW News

2007-06-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted lately because I've been bad and not weighed in for a couple weeks. But I did weigh in today, and I'd lost 2 pounds since the last weigh-in... I'm up to 14 pounds lost!

Wow!

Pics

2007-06-11T22:05:00.000-04:00

Blegh

2007-06-11T22:00:00.000-04:00

Went off meds... mostly cause I was too lazy to go to the doctor. Not sure if I should do this or not... Definitely feeling more moodsy (not necessarily moody, but the moods are more there). Oh, and I think I'm needing less sleep (not sure about that one yet). Goods and bads.

Oh, and I pulled my groin muscle at some point a while back - it hurts!! Owwie.

Philly Lindy Love (June 1, 2007)

2007-06-06T20:54:00.000-04:00

(Chatting with my friend Dave from NC)

7 Random Facts

2007-06-06T20:45:00.000-04:00

Tagged by KimJ:

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. (I'm not tagging...you can feel free to consider yourself tagged.)

1. I miss geeks - although swing dancing attracts a fair number of geeky people, I miss the true geekiness of computer science.
2. My hair's currently long enough for a short ponytail - for the first time in ages.
3. I talk to my cats pretty often when I'm home (after all, there's nobody else to talk to).
4. I saw Shannon vacuuming the other day at her house, and since then I have been covetting her vacuum. I think I'm going to buy one....tomorrow.
5. I bought a Busch Gardens fun pass this year.
6. I currently LIVE ALONE (possible roommate thinking about moving in in July).
7. I can easily sleep 13 hours straight, then roll over and doze for a while longer. (Well, occasionally I wake up to pee...but go right back to sleep.)

Way fun

2007-05-28T00:57:00.000-04:00

We had Big Bad Voodoo Daddy last night, and Gene Krupa Orchestra tonight... it was so much fun. Both nights. Lots and lots of dancing, lots of hanging out with friends, lots of good feelings. Oh, and milk shakes and dinner afterwards at the Purple Cow. There were 20 of us there tonight... and we closed down the place. Actually I think they were closed long before we left. Oh well.. It was fun. :) Lindy bombed it too.

Changing bulbs

2007-05-27T14:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I replaced my burnt out headlight in my car! I felt so proud. I wasn't even sure if it was something I *could* do or if I had to take it to a dealer. But I went to Pep Boys and asked, and the guy said yes and sold me a light bulb. So I got out the car manual and figured out how to replace it! My hands got all dirty, but I managed to keep the grease off my skirt (amazing), which kept flying up Marilyn fashion. Anyway, I've got two working headlights and an increased feeling of self-reliance. Woo!

...

2007-05-26T10:24:00.000-04:00

love you.

Ladelalala

2007-05-25T23:01:00.000-04:00

Early night 'cause I got bored at the beach... the concert tonight was so-so, and there weren't that many dancers there. Plus everybody *else* was coupled, and I felt a little odd one out. It's not a usual feeling when out with dancers, but oh well. So I think I'll snuggle in with a book now.... :)

Sex

2007-05-24T22:34:00.000-04:00

Who said "speak what you want"? Anyway. Hormones or something (I suspect the something) have got me this month...So I've taken up actually sticking in an exercise video some days to work off that excess steam. Seriously, I think it even helps.

Oh, Kim - I'm doing flex - counting points and journaling are so important - (no that had nothing to do with the topic, people) - and I'm down about 11 and a half now. I forget the exact number and my book's in the car.

There was one guy in my dance class that I could possibly crush on... but he wasn't here tonight! In fact, all our guys but one were missing. That left me, Chris, and 7 girls. (The one guy showed up late with his girlfriend.) Talk about an annoying lesson... pointers on what to do with lessons that work out like that? (Any dancers reading this?)

just an update

2007-05-20T17:34:00.000-04:00

Taught collegiate shag with Chris last night at Lindy Riot to barely anybody. I'm not sure what was up with the attendance at our dance last night, but it was down. Mom thinks we've got too much going on to get good attendance at anything... I think maybe she's got a point.

I'm also starting to get a little bored with our home dancers...which means it's time for some traveling. Well, not this coming weekend - memorial day weekend is Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and some others playing around here. But the first weekend in June is Philly Lindy Love... yay. Actually I'd kinda been hoping to find somebody to drive with, but no luck so far. Sucks. Love having a dance partner to teach with regularly...wish I had one who was single and I could drag around the country. Again, sucks?

Sugar and spice

2007-05-18T19:53:00.000-04:00

I'm kinda tired but feeling a little spicy after eating my strawberry shortcake. Yum! Everything's going well, I suppose. No romance to speak of - I know that's just a bad habit at this point. The dance classes Chris and I are teaching are awesome and fun. And boy has lofty aspirations - we may be teaching out of state in the coming months!

School was awful today (and most of this week). The kids on my hall (up and down it) were nutso. No fights in my room, but a couple of my kids are gone and had several fights just today on the floor. Not sure what was into them, but hope they get it out of their system today. At one point today during class change, some of them just went running down the hall making noise (they looked and sounded a lot like cattle to me, honestly). Of course, the rest of them all followed...chaos. Love the riot atmosphere. But you know, it really hasn't been getting to me. I've been pretty good at brushing things off and letting them go at the end of the day. My life is seperate from work - and that's a wonderful thing.

Dancing in Newport News

2007-05-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

Chris and I started our Newport News series tonight...awesome! We were "on" tonight, and I think the class responded well. Not to mention that it was huge - 20 people! I got a nice stash of money in my pocket now too. Hey, this dance stuff isn't half bad! ;)

I'm thinking about going over to The Other Side again tomorrow night... we need to practice for our collegiate shag lesson (going on Saturday) and there's a free tango lesson at the studio we teach at... Hmm. I could definitely learn me some tango...

Ten Point Four

2007-05-14T23:07:00.000-04:00

That's right, I've lost a total of 10.4 pounds in the past three weeks. Woo! I'm excited. I was careful to get my oil this week - I seriously think it makes a big difference. I know I hate to "waste" the two points on oil, but the difference in weight loss seems profound. (That's 2 tsp olive oil per day.)

Regular dancing teacher!

2007-05-08T21:04:00.000-04:00

Hey, not only are Chris and I teaching beginning lindy hop on Thursday nights, but we're starting a new session in another city on Monday nights! Teaching two nights a week... wow, look at me! Plus we taught in Richmond last weekend and will again in July. He may be dragging me kicking and screaming (no, I like teaching with him) but boy do we do lots! Crazy cool. :)

Bush's news

2007-05-08T21:02:00.002-04:00

One of my wonderful students came in to my room this morning and informed me that Bush and Mrs. Bush were breaking up because he was drinking too much and she moved out. When asked (increduously) where she'd heard this breaking news, she replied "the newspaper." I think it was The Globe. :P

No loss

2007-05-08T21:02:00.001-04:00

No weight loss to report this week. No gain either... ah well.

LOST!

2007-04-30T21:29:00.000-04:00

I lost 6.4 pounds this week! I'm excited.... I know you always lose more the first week, but it's nice to start like that! REALLY nice. And I even partied on Saturday (Chris-dance partner-'s birthday party). I used ALL of my points... but hey, it worked! So hoorj!!

WW Take 2

2007-04-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

Alright peeps, here I go again... yesterday I rejoined Weight Watchers. I haven't been since I moved back home. And I've gained most of the weight I lost back. (Ermm...oops) I'm still below what I originally was when I joined WW the first time, but not by nearly as much. So Mondays are now WW night. Counting points and losing weight.... I better be. ;)

Teaching dance

2007-04-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

You know what's nice? Preparing. And being prepared. Chris and I met tonight for an hour or two and just practiced and went over moves that we're going to be teaching in the near future. It was a pain in the behind driving over there (tunnel traffic) but definitely worth it and I had fun. We went to the gym on the base - so bonus: I got to see the gym on the base... (Wait, is that a bonus?).

VT Remembrance

2007-04-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Shannon, her mom, and I went to Mt. Trashmore for a memorial service. It was sad but at the same time there was a really comforting group vibe. It was amazing how much orange and maroon I saw around school and the whole city. Most of the teachers at work were showing Hokie colors. Many of them know I'm an alumna and so stopped me this week to ask how I was doing or if I'd known any of the victims. (I didn't.) It's nice to see how much people care, and comforting in times of craziness.

Make that a definite

2007-04-17T21:07:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm totally freaking tonight. I just finished one thing though. I've got the presentation draft done to send to the group. I think it looks good - although it might need some fleshing. Not positive.

Oh, and my thigh muscle hurts in a bad feeling way - I'm wondering if I pulled it or something last weekend.

I may be doing too much..

2007-04-17T17:56:00.000-04:00

I did skip on the volleyball yesterday. I've got work like crazy to do tonight and tomorrow - a new after school class on forensic science starts Thursday (and runs four weeks), I'm trying a new (to me) interactive notetaking approach and so have to modify all lesson plans to fit what I'm doing in with the rest of my grade level team, I'm part of a group that has to present at our next faculty meeting (coming up quickly), teaching Lindy 1 with Chris on Thursdays, and probably ought to be doing some kind of practice before the exhibition dance on the 27th. Oh, and I'm going out of town this weekend to Charlottesville (yummy...dancing!).

My swingout is improving. I can really tell a difference as I'm starting to learn how to apply the stuff I learned with Yuval and Gaby. Brian said something nice to me to that effect... which made me happy. This weekend I want to keep working on my swivels and left arm placement, think about going straight, AND learn whatever it is they teach. Hmm!

Hanging out

2007-04-12T13:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I went over to hang out and watch a movie with Chris and Kristin at their house. That's two nights in a row I've managed to get myself over to the Other Side and onto base housing. I was quite impressed with myself last night. Of course, I got lost Tuesday when I went over. Ermm...not lost, but I missed a turn. It's really hard to see the street name sign, so I don't feel too badly about that. ;)

Tonight Chris and I start teaching Lindy 1 - fun! I'm excited and slightly nervous. It'll be a good time and I'm hoping the students learn a lot and enjoy themselves too.