Cobbler

I really like to eat dough. Especially if it is chewy. My favorite is cobbler dough sans baking soda, though I also like pizza dough and bread dough will do as well. Sometimes I just make dough for myself. I try not to do that too much.

Dirk is tired and he is watching "Andy Ricter is King of the Universe or My Hero" or something like that. I was catching up on Monster's blog and making peach & blueberry cobbler. I only ate a little bit of the dough. I also plan to start reading the second book of the Twilight series tonight. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of the world, I do not like the series all that much. It's not a page-turner for me. I am forcing myself to read it because I keep hoping I will change my mind about it. Plus my sister liked it so much, I just have to keep trying. And I am a TEENY bit curious about what happens to the characters, but only a TEENY bit. At least it's a start. One of my students told me that it really picks up at the end of book 2 and book 3 is great. She says book 2 is a downer. Great. But I still plan to push through.

Olivia is downstairs watching TV with Dirk. Earlier she was hanging out with me in the kitchen and looking for some love. Earlier than that she was tearing around like a maniac, running away from me (and yes, I did chase her), and also running towards me to attack. (Her attacks are pretty harmless, but if you position your head low enough, it can look pretty terrifying.) I exaggerate when I use the word "terrifying." Also, I should tell you that Olivia smells really good. She always has.

School

I gave a test this week on basic trigonometry that resulted in 44% of the class getting F's, 17% getting D's and 2 people (or 1.69%) getting A's. It was abysmal. But nobody shot the messenger/grader (that being me) when I returned the tests yesterday. I told them that we all get kicked in the teeth sometimes and recovery is possible. But obviously we all need to do a lot more work. I say "we" because I take some responsibility for this, but mostly I mean YOU STUDENTS need to do A LOT MORE WORK. We'll see who picks up the ball.

I am slowly being won over to the idea of toilet-training our cat. I still think it's a little weird though and I feel somewhat bad for Olivia, having to do that. But from the online videos I've watched, a lot of cats manage this just fine. Supposedly it's a bad idea to teach a cat to flush though, because they will do it over and over and over again!

Message to Me

Before I begin my message, I just want to note that my friend, Monster, finally invited me to her new blog and I find it thoroughly entertaining and it's really catching me up on her life. If there's one thing Monster is doing well with her blog, it's that she's being honest about the angst in her life, which for me makes for interesting. I don't mean to imply that I am only interested in people's problems, but I'm definitely interested in what they're really thinking inside.

So back to me, and my message for myself: Dirk and I purchased a spin bike for me about two months ago. I've been rather lax about exercising on it, though of course I WANT to... My weight and overall size have returned to what they were a year ago, pre-wedding exercise push, and it's disappointing and makes me feel a bit embarrassed about myself. (I know this for certain because I have a certain shirt and pair of pants that I absolutely could not wear in public right now, but they looked great on me last summer.) On the plus side, my ability to do a 'wheel' is still there - so my back muscles haven't quit on me, and my cycling endurance is still decent. So I didn't lose everything. Oh, and my legs are still stretchy.

I bought a few spinning videos to give me the guidance of the classroom, which I very much like, but laziness has found me mostly watching FRIENDS episodes while I exercise instead. My heart rate monitor says I'm doing okay (I LOVE the heart rate monitor BTW), but the working out just ain't fun and afterwards I mostly feel like I'm lazy and would rather be eating on the couch while watching FRIENDS. This morning, I made myself watch the real exercise video instead and WHAT A DIFFERENCE it makes! The workout is actually more fun when I'm focused on it, and I don't realize my heart rate is getting up there, and it gets me BREATHING. The oxygen is likely the key to walking a way from a workout feeling GOOD, instead of disappointed in myself. In spin classes at the gym, I always find myself breathing very deeply, and watching FRIENDS never makes that happen. Watching the video totally does that though. At one point the instructor (who is this super intense, almost weird, guy - but I like him) asked us to close our eyes and relax just before the big hill. He reminded us that we can be relaxed while simultaneously working really hard. I always forget that. When I opened my eyes I saw my living room in this new "very aware" light. I felt very present. Somehow this hyper-attention translated into NOT listening to what the instructor was saying and suddenly our hill was over and it was time to cool down. But I was okay with that. I'll listen next time. My deep breathing was my principle attention getter and it continued throughout my shower and is still going on a bit almost two hours later. It makes an incredible difference in how I feel. I have to remember this: I like oxygen.

Young Girl Addresses UN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDFz-zqB2g

I was surprised to see that this video has only been watched 609 times. She doesn't say anything shocking or really new, but it's a good reminder of how we should be thinking, and I'm very impressed that a 12-13 year old girl was able to do that.

Garden Starter Idea

For those of you who plan to start your gardens indoors, you might like this idea:

Use a cardboard toilet paper tube in place of a peat pot. Fill with potting soil, place in a plastic butter/ice cream tub, plant the seed and water. When the plants sprouts, plant the seedling (tube and all) in the ground. The tube rots away.

Note to Self

Today was an enjoyable teaching day. The key element was that I had lots of one-on-one interactions with students with real problem-solving concerns. All three of my classes were working on problems in teams today, so there was ample opportunity to discuss next steps with them. I also returned a homework assignment that they can fix up, so that generated a real "need-to-know" urgency. Finally, another former student came to see me to work on Calculus problems. This has been happening with relative frequency, which I like because (a) It means these students liked my teaching style and believe I can help them, (b) I get to talk about Calculus, which I don't get to teach at this college and (c) The level of Calculus taught here (i.e. the rigor) is tougher, so I am learning/reviewing as I help.

I like these scenarios because it really feels like I'm helping, advocating learning, and communicating with my students. When I'm lecturing in front of the class, I know I'm only reaching a few students, and for the most part it's an exercise in routines. I just don't believe much in the lecture model anymore. It seems to work well for the stronger students who do their work and study. It seems to be lost on the majority of students who don't pull their weight outside of the classroom.

Changing the subject, my number one priority right now has been my kitty, Olivia. I have definitely fallen hard for her. I'm am all about learning about cats. I will refrain from gushing.