Last school year was a bear for us all. We taught remotely, we taught combinations of remote and in-person, we taught multiple groups on different days, and we taught in person. We were told 6-feet was very important until there were too many kids in school to do 6-feet, then 3-feet became important. And let's see, how many first days did we have? Well, I quit counting so, I'm not really sure anymore! Thank goodness for summer! We have 8 weeks of summer break, and it's been a little more than a month now. When people ask what I've done, I say nothing. Glorious nothing. So I have done the following: watched TV read napped spent untold hours on social media lunched with friends played with the grandkids went on lots of long walks with Ron and lots of no-brain needed things ;) I focused on all those good nothing things that there just never seems to be enough time for during the school year!  But doing nothing isn't quite right. More tangible things have slipped into...

One of the things I love about summer is the long day. Don't get me wrong. I love nighttime too. But I absolutely LOVE getting up early in the morning and being greeted by the sun peeking through the windows. I love not having to turn on the lamps and or feel my way through the hall because no one else is up and it's too dark to see. I love walking up to school in the day light. That morning greeting is gone now, and I'm more than a bit sad about it. Do you hear those screeching tires? It's summer coming to an abrupt halt. Gone is the more relaxed nature of summer, reading in my pajamas, and that second cup of coffee. Say hello to calendaring and meetings and the hectic pace of back to school. Maybe I'm mourning. Maybe not. Maybe an overly busy summer just has be wishing for a little more of it. Things I'll miss: watching Ron read the paper by the window in the morning light.  watermelon for breakfast. watching the morning rain without thinking about ...

For the last several years, I've written a "what I did on my summer vacation" post. Mainly to show that it's no 3 month vacay. (And 3 months!? Really?) So here goes. Week long training at UNCG for clinical teachers. Had my "read and ride" donors choose grant funded. Went through the TED-X application process. (Accepted btw) PD on Exploring NC Digitally. Thanks to NCSLMA. Worked on campus about 20 days. I lost track. I was in more than I intended. Wrote 2 math books for Carson Dellosa - a 4th and a 5th. This took up the majority of summer. Went to the mountains for a few days with my girlfriends. Attended multiple meetings for school or NCSLMA. Applied for an admin program and scheduled a retirement meeting. The coupling of these two is bizarre, but I'm planning for every contingency. Mwahahaha What I planned but didn't do: Rework my school web page. Practice my Spanish. Plan like a library demon. Read a book a week. I re...

Today was the last day I counted for summer vacation. I was totally lazy today, although I did wash clothes and write this post. It was a very full week. I worked three long days at school - mainly cataloging. One day I had to finish my manuscript rewrites and go to a very old friend's funeral. That was just a tough one. There are technically two days left in summer with this Saturday and Sunday, but those are my coming to grips with vacation is over days. I have got to say that sleeping past sunrise is a gift to cherish! Recap of my 56 days of vacation. Went to the beach for 8 days in two trips. I love the beach! I wrote and edited one math book for Carson Dellosa. It will be called  Applying the Standards - Grade 5 . Unlike other books I've done for CD, this book is 100% new content and was a ton of fun to write. I got offered another book in this series while we at the beach and was really sad to have to turn that one down. Developed a theme for the library,  made libr...

Today, my goal is to complete the MS for this math book, then let it sit until Monday for another round of editing. I'd also love to finish with my vehicles and get the BB paper cleaned up out of the guest room! I can do mess for a short period, but there comes a point that it wears on my nerves. Cheryl Ristow posted a video this morning of a teacher decorating his room. It is not all practical, but I do love his enthusiasm. I have done some impractical things in my room (even knowing they were impractical) because I loved the way they looked and HOPE really does spring eternal donchano. I didn't do themes in my classrooms - well, I did, but the theme was Math. ;) I'm doing my second one in the library now and I love how the theme can tie things together. I love the filming theme he uses. Got to add that to my Pinterest board !   [youtube=http://youtu.be/7Wv-FwR8c4c]   Barb Kibler shared a Buzzfeed Link - 35 Money Saving DYIs for the Classroom  from 2013. I realize this kin...

I haven't felt well the past couple of days. Something in the vertigo camp. Light headed verging on dizzy. I've been horizontal more than vertical. Had to miss a conference on Smart Notebook. That was terribly disappointing, and it means I'll have to do more digging on my own. I did finish the Longmire book. It was good! Very good!   The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson My rating: 5 of 5 stars I got this book because of the TV show which I really enjoy. Usually, I read a book before watching related items. I didn't even know Longmire was a book, so that didn't work out so well for me this time. I knew the book would be good. It had to be for the show to be so entertaining. What I didn't know was that the book would be great! The show is just a little tiny candle flame compared to the bonfire of the book - the story, the humor, the characters. Loved it all. Can't wait to start the next one! View all my reviews

Yesterday, I did seriously write before and after church. I have approximately 4 more pages of content (unless I decide one of these last topics needs more, then I have to discard earlier work). It was exhausting and extremely satisfying. I'm in a Smart Notebook workshop Tues & Wed. I've got to go in today and get the program loaded on my computer. I'll think I'll stay and work a while. Always something to do donchano! I started a Longmire book,  The Cold Dish.   Having just finished a Dan Brown book, these chapters are really meaty! Surprisingly, it's terribly funny in parts. Last night, I was in a twitter chat. Sedley Abercrombie (another NCSLMA Emerging Leader ) founded this Sunday night chat. 7:30 pm. #NCTLchat . Topic is different each week. Don't have to join in the conversation, but you'll have a hard time not jumping in! You don't have to be in NC to participate. This week was on Promoting the Library with Elissa Malespin a .  Edie Crook s...

Got NO writing done today. Slept in a bit. Read on the deck for a while. Ron and I ran errands. Where did the day go? Friend came over for dinner last night. It was raining, but temp was soooo nice, we sat out on the deck and we talked for HOURS! It got dark though, and I realized we could either sit in the dark or I could keep getting up and waving at the light that comes on automatically. We sat in the dark. Hopefully no more! We got some solar powered lights! Of course today wass cloudy, so they might even be brighter after a sunny day. They are enough light you can see others. Yeah! Mission accomplished. 

I believe 28 makes this the halfway mark of summer! Yesterday I spent the day at school. Thanks to Stephanie for all her hard work! Moving along at a much quicker clip because she is so generous with her time. Ron came in and the three of us shifted the computer tables. The theme is coming together nicely. All those letters I've been cutting out have come together as have the few modes of transportation I've completed. I'll work on getting some of the other pictures on blog tomorrow. I've been rewriting the parts of my book ms, so nothing terribly new has popped off my fingertips except for making some of the problems much stronger.

Yesterday, I hit the halfway mark in my manuscript. Today is also dedicated to writing. Wondering if 3/4 is too much for which to hope. I'm am seriously disliking fractions found in the real world at the moment ;) Writing math problems makes for a pretty boring report. I did sneak in a few other things. Still looking for some books to fill out series. Still cutting out letters. I am about to move on to modes of transportation!  

Today, I assembled a 10' side hanging umbrella and base - w almost 200 lbs of sand. I kept having to take apart what I'd done. Instructions were ok but not great. We did have one busted part. Company was great to work with on replacement - at least initially. Hopefully it will get here soon. I also rearranged the living room and cut out a ton of letters.

Today was Ron's over-50 procedure. While not thrilled with the procedure, I have liked two mornings of breakfast out. Watched a thriller called  Grand Piano . I don't play the piano, but it struck me as strange that the pianist didn't use the foot pedals at all. Are they completely unnecessary?

Last night I finally got around to watching  Rise of the Planet of the Apes.   I've always loved Planet of the Apes movies. This one was pretty good. Apes are much more realistic these days. Today, I went to the library to work with my friend Stephanie. Got new labeling up on the shelves and some of the new theme up. So this year's theme:

Today I had one of those fabulous procedures that's a must after 50. So, I've taken a totally lazy day spent on the couch napping and watching MI 5.

For those of you who like to count something about your food, this site has some great numbers.       Look at these view numbers! Always amazes me when I get a Slide Share update and I see numbers in the 10,000s for views.               Worked on the alphabetizing game started the other day. NOT finished yet ;) Started a new book: Adrenaline [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="314"] Adrenaline[/caption]