travel bucket list

Places I've Been:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA

Boston/Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Tampa/Clearwater, Florida, USA

Orlando, Florida (Disney World), USA

Miami, Florida, USA

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

New York City, New York, USA

Nassau, The Bahamas

Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Bad Bentheim, Germany

Dortmund, Germany

Köln (Cologne), Germany

Cairo, Egypt

Aswan, Egypt

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Luxor, Egypt

Where I Want To Go:

Bali and Indonesia

Tuscany, Italy

Dubai, United Arab Emigrates

Machu Picchu/Cuzco, Peru

Galapagos Islands and Ecuador

Patagonia and Antarctica

Iceland

Greenland

Prince Edward Island, Canada

United Kingdom

Ireland

Morocco

India (in particular, the Taj Mahal)

Australia

New Zealand

Thailand

South Africa

Costa Rica

Berlin, Germany

Denmark

Russia

The Maldives

Hawaii

Washington, DC

Borneo

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Burgundy, France

Las Vegas, Nevada

Napa Valley, California

Tahiti

So far...North America, Europe, and Africa have been visited.

Need to still visit South America, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica...

school year wrap-up

So I survived my first full year of teaching. It was fun...loved, well, most seconds of it. Here are a few lessons that I learned this year:

1. Be nice. I didn't have to learn this one...but I did learn through other people that if you're not nice, it will come back to bite you. Bad-mouthing other people only leads to you losing your job, not the other person.

2. Have a non-plastic bathroom pass. I used a large plastic crayon bank for the bathroom pass, and my students managed to break it.

3. Start review for a full year course sooner...or at least start the review book portion earlier than a month before the final exam. That way, students complain less and are more likely to do it if it's not all crammed in.

4. You can't please everyone. And students will always find something to complain about, even if what they're complaining about is what they voted to take place. Aim for the majority and it will be all good (or at least aim to please the students who do their work regularly without too much complaint.)

5. Listening, singing and dancing to Lady Gaga during free periods with students who would rather spend their lunches in your room than in the cafeteria is a great stress relief.

My students did well this year. I'm proud of them. About 1/4 of them got an 85% or higher on the Regents exam. Not too shabby considering that I had a "tough crowd" according to my principal. Woo hoo! I love my job, and I guess I'm actually pretty good at it.

And the best news of the day? I have a job next year in the same building, with my favorite special education co-teacher. Yay! I'll be teaching the majority of students that I had this year, juniors and seniors. I'm feeling a little intimidated for it, as it's topics that I've never taught before, but thankfully my co-teacher has for the past five years. The nicest part though...it's a science elective, so no Regents exam or NYS standards pressure. So yes...I'm the new Astronomy/Oceanography teacher in the building.

But for now...school's out for summer, and I'm ready to enjoy it!

Pre vs. Post (One Year)

It's been almost a year since I've been gluten free. I didn't really notice much of a difference in my face or anything until this year's birthday party this past weekend. Comparing it to pictures of last year...I just look so much more...alive. Bright and shiny. And no, it's not just the glasses. Take a look for yourself:

Me in May 2010...while still eating gluten and feeling basically like crap. Little to no energy, and this was about as much as I could smile and act happy.

Me in May 2011...feeling much better. See that smile? It's the smile of a gluten free girl with energy and pep, able to keep up with life and everyone around her!

"the list"

It's been a really long time since I've posted an entry on here. Gone are the days of Kiwibox where I posted every day and freaked out if there was no entry. I figured out tiny little things to put up on there, even if it was just a few words. I miss that...but there's just not enough time in a day anymore.

The list came out for cuts for the upcoming school year. NYS is going through a major budget crisis, and our "lovely" governor has decided "hey...let's take money away from kids and give it to rich people instead!" Great idea, huh? So even the district I'm teaching in now, which has been known as one of the "safer" districts to be employed by, is going through massive cuts. Needless to say though, by the grace of God, I'm somehow safe. I seriously think Bob, my department chair, and the principal pulled every bit of weight they had to keep me. Bob's going to be teaching IB classes in 2012-2013, and he'll need someone to teach the AP biology classes...my Masters Degree in Gifted Education definitely helps for that. Plus, Joe is going to be retiring around then too, and they know that I'm interested in continuing the Anatomy and Physiology classes if given the opportunity. So yeah...I'm safe with a job for next year. Whew! I really do love it there...feel like I've gone full circle to be back teaching in the school I went to. I hope, like the principal said, this is the place I'll stay at.

reflections on 2010

It was, well...an interesting year. Doesn't even seem like a full year has gone by since last New Year's to be honest. Time really does fly by, even though some days feel like forever.

Let's see...2010. What did you hold?

• The worst New Year's of my life. I had never felt so alone at midnight in my entire life as I did that time...this year is not going to be a repeat!
• Finished my LTS at Alden and then subbed per diem there through the rest of the year.
• Went to Toronto with mom to see the King Tut exhibit at the AGO, learning that a facial mask is more fun than shopping with her.
• Learned that some districts/superintendents will lie through their teeth to get the cheapest candidate, and then they always come crawling back to try to get the better one.
• Spent another week in the hospital which involved being slapped by a doctor and refusing to see two others ever again.
• Finally got diagnosed with what's been wrong with me my whole life...celiac disease.
• Started my job at KE...which has had all of its own ups and downs.
• Gone on an awful blind date that will forever live in the record books. "Good luck in all of your future travels" indeed!
• Finished up my Masters degree...marking the point where if I truly wanted to be done with school, I could be. (But I'm not...)

So what does 2011 hold? What resolutions am I making?

• No more pop...well, my mini goal is to make it up to Valentine's Day before having another glass. It's 3:42pm now on NYE, and I have one more glass to finish off from the bottle and then all of it is gone out of the house. The only exception will be a bit of ginger ale when I have a really bad stomach ache.
• More fruits and veggies and less refined sugar (e.g. ice cream and candy.)
• Join a gym and actually go at least once a week (ideally more, but well...starting small here!)
• Pay off my one credit card with the highest balance so they can stop harassing me for only paying the minimum. This I fear will take the most discipline out of all the resolutions...

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed New Year!