Here are the ABC's of me in 2016 (and maybe a little from 2015)!
A: I bring my lunch to school everyday, and for the most part, I pack a Granny Smith
apple. I love the sour taste.
B: I love to read books! Since I started teaching, the number that I read in a year generally
has gone down, but in the last couple of years, I've made an effort to read something
that I want to read. The two books that I am actively reading right now are
Negotiating Science and Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy. The first is about
the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) and argumentation in science. The second is just
a fiction book that I book a few years ago and I want to read it and pass it along.
C: My husband and I both love cats! I will admit that we have more than I think is the
ideal number right now-5! But, I couldn't say no to the ones we have. Elektra is one
of my husband's cats that he had when we first met. Ferguson is a kitten we found
through an ad and she was really my sunshine during a tough year of school. Benson
is a three-legged cat that we found near our house; he is very sweet. Crispin is a cat
that was declawed and neutered and started coming around our house around the
time that Elektra's sister (Shadowcat) was dying of an acute illness. We are pretty sure
someone dumped him. Lastly, we have Simpson. He is just over a one year old and he
showed up to our house one evening. He is an interesting cat, and is a big fan of the
Olympics right now!
D: We went to Dubuque on Thursday with the hopes of seeing Blessid Union of Souls,
Smashmouth, and Eve 6. We did get to see a short set of Blessid Union of Souls, but
because of lightening and then heavy rain, the rest of the concert was cancelled. We
found out that you could get your money back after returning home, so we ventured out
yesterday to get our refund. While I didn't really want to go that far yesterday, it was
a nice day and we had fun looking around at things. I think we found a couple birthday
or Christmas gifts, so that was a success.
E: I added my Earth Science endorsement during this school year. I now only have
physics left. I don't know if I will get to that this year with all the other coursework
I will have.
F: This is a random fun-fact from many, many years ago: I used to collect the small
french fry wrappers from McDonald's. I would keep them in a drawer. I don't
know why.
G: We have a nice-sized garden in our yard, but the early summer was kind of busy, so
we didn't get our half of the garden planted. My in-laws planted their half and
they've had cucumbers and tomatoes so far. The have onions, potatoes, and beans
too. I miss our crops. I liked to plant spaghetti squash and have planted fennel,
beans, and a few other things with pretty good success.
H: My husband has been the JH play director for six years, HS speech director for two
years, and the fine arts tech director for a year. Out of dedication to my husband and
also want of my own, I generally help out with his endeavors. I have been serving as
tech director for the JH play the last two years. Life gets to be quite busy, but that
makes it fun too and keeps you on your toes. We go through streaks where supper
gets to be pretty late.
I: The last cd I bought just came in the mail yesterday. It is by I Monster, which is kind
of a trip-hop group.. I heard a song on a show, Mr. Robot, (which I don't think was
the same version) and I really liked it. This led me to this cd. I am going to try to get
their other ones, but they are pretty scarce pricey. I was able to get this one mostly
through some reward points.
J: June is sometimes a difficult month for me. My father died in June and on some
years, such as this one, the anniversary of his death falls on Father's Day. I usually
try to visit my mom or call her on that day.
K: I like to cook, so the kitchen is a favorite spot of mine. We try to have a few
friend gatherings each year, and I like to come up with menu. Someday, when
we save up more money, we would love to get new cupboards and maybe move
the island in a different direction to open up some more space. Though, those
kinds of plans make me think we'd need to wait on redoing the floors, which I
really would like to get rid of that. Hmmmmm......priorities.
L: I have just started my STEM Master's through Loras College. The program has 10
courses and can lead to some STEM endorsements. I could get a 5-8 STEM
endorsement, and I think I could also get a K-12 STEM Specialist. I don't know if
these will impact my possibilities at my school, but I think it is good to have options.
M: This October, my husband and I will have been married for six years! We are
planning to throw my in-laws a surprise (shhhhhh!) 40th wedding anniversary
party in October.
N: The past two years I have served on the Negotiations Committee for my local union.
I don't think I'm an expert in it yet, but it helps me keep current with contract language
other important issues.
O: October is probably one of my favorite months. I really like the fall weather, and
especially around the area I live in, the changing of the leaves can be quite beautiful.
My mom was married in October, as were my in-laws and my husband and I. My
grandma will be 94 and many times we had family gatherings for her birthday.
I love the color orange, and Halloween is usually pretty fun too.
P: My husband an I are pretty fortunate with where our house is in town. We are in a
sub-development on the outskirts of town. Our house is surrounded by field on two
sides and across the highway is more field. This year is corn. We are on an end lot, so
I think we have a bit more yard available to us than some of the other lots. Last year,
we purchased a lot across from us, in hopes of preventing of any houses being built
directly across from us. Anyway, our property had some trees when we moved here,
but we like to plant more each year. We have planted lilac bushes, burning bushes,
a crab-apple tree, and a Star Magnolia. This summer, we planted a Weeping Willow
in the backyard, a green dwarf apple tree in the new lot, and a Sweetbay Magnolia.
We have quite a few things planted in flower beds and various pots too.
Q: I and many others would describe me as an introvert. I am generally very quiet, but
in certain situations and with certain people, I am less so. However, I really love the
quiet. I like interaction, but I am perfectly content with chilling around home.
R: I took up running late last summer. I had it as a goal for awhile, not because I
particularly love it, but I needed a change in my fitness routine and running is something
I really hadn't done for a long time. One of my best friends suggested signing up for a
5k, so I had three or four weeks of training and ran it. I was pretty pleased with my
results. My goals were to keep running and beat a certain time and I did both of those.
I ran fairly regularly through November and then winter made it difficult to do that. I
started back up March, but my schedule has been bit spotty. I will get back into the
swing of things pretty quick because it really helps with my health and fitness goals.
S: This school year will mark the second year that I will serve in my local union as
secretary. I wasn't 100% wanting to do this last year, but it hasn't been too bad. I
think it is important to be active in our organization, so it is a leadership role that
better allows me to keep tabs of issues that affect us at our school.
T: I love tulips! My husband got the area behind the house ready for planting a year or
so ago, but we keep forgetting to get them planted in the fall. Maybe this little post
will help me remember!
U: In April, I lost my Uncle Ed. In many ways, he stepped into the father role in my life,
as my dad died when I was two years old. Uncle Ed went to the Daddy-Daughter
breakfasts at school with me. I think my aunt has a place mat I made for him
somewhere still. He helped teach me how to drive, and he walked me down the aisle
when I got married. I miss him, but his quality of life was not good for quite some
time, so I'm glad he is free from that now.
V: I love to eat vegetarian options because I love fruits and vegetables, but I could
never be a vegan. There are too many things that I love that don't mesh with that
lifestyle.
W: I am really enjoying the weather we have been having since Friday. It just seems so
peaceful and kind of like fall. It looks like this week won't be too warm, and I saw
that next weekend is looking kind of cool, so the first week with students could
possibly be pretty nice temperature-wise.
X: I found some xylophone mallets that I hope I can use as part of a unit on sound.
This was the hardest letter for me!
Y: I've seen Rachael Yamagata twice now. The last time was in Minneapolis at the
Triple Rock Social Club. I really like her music, but she's not really in the mainstream
music scene so most people I tell about her music or when someone is listening to
it don't know who she is. She's actually playing at the same club in Minneapolis this
fall, but I don't know if we'll go. I'm trying to save my extra funds for grad school.
Z: I have been wanting to plan this trip for some time, but this past spring it finally
worked out. We took our 7th graders to Iowa State University campus for a tour, a
visit to the Biotechnology Outreach Center, and the Insect Zoo! The kids gave a lot
of positive feedback about the trip, so I think we will try to continue it. Other than
the travel costs, it was a pretty low cost trip, with the zoo being the only portion that
had a fee.
This was definitely a challenge!
Great job at sharing some very unique facts! I'll admit that "F" was one I wasn't expecting! :)
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