project'ing

that's prah-ject-ing. like the act of completing projects. maybe i made up that definition. and word for that matter. but deal with it. its exactly what i need to do. complete projects. not just write them off into the abyss of my neverending "to do" list.

at the risk of sounding silly, here is my "to actually do very soon" list:

1. work wardrobe: i pride myself on my shopping abilities. i am an absolute pro at finding versatile pieces that work both at school and in my social life, and also translate through multiple seasons.  i sometimes impress myself with cost efficiency as well. sometimes. however, and anyone who lives/works/hangs out with me can attest, i occasionally look homeless. not dirty. just little orphan annie-esque. so to prevent that, i really just need to organize! catalogue all available outfits, create a way to keep track of what ive worn to avoid close repetition, and donate all unnecessary items. knowing in advance what ill be wearing and that ill look presentable and put together makes the entire day start off on a good foot. speaking of feet, it will also hopefully cut down on how many times they pace around my room in the morning. getting me to work on time :)

2. classroom environment: i am obsessed with the things i find online and in real life that teachers do with their classrooms. and im determined to get a few more of those great ideas into motion this year. over last summer, i organized my face off. everything was labeled, color coded, numbered, assigned, catalogued and in the exact space i wanted it by the time kids showed up. this year, my focus is on overall environment. a few big ideas in the works - first, "have you filled a bucket today?" my schools new guidance counselor incorporated the idea with our staff this year and its a great way to increase positive interaction. not sure yet if i want it to be a homeroom thing, or grade-wide. once i finish project'ing, i will post details.

next, "yo! ms. l's RAPS" which is a play on an old mtv show. you know, back in the day when they actually played music? anyway, im working on tweaking the logo, but the RAPS stand for the steps my students should take when responding to an open-ended writing prompt. hopefully, with it posted around the room, taught/modeled/practiced at the beginning of the year, and the catchiness of it - students will remember and use it! again, details to follow.

finally, "that's my jam!" which is probably my favorite. using teacher-selected theme music for each curriculum week, students get the chance to earn jam time at the end of each class period. for example, if everyone completes the classwork productively without any major interferences, the last five minutes of each class time (aka passing out homework/packing up/getting in line/socializing) are accompanied by music. theme music - which is where i get to be really corny, laugh at my own plays on words AND listen to the things i like. think "king of wishful thinking" for the king arthur, sword in the stone week. genius! clearly i have a lot of work to do before september 1st.

3. the room: ugh. least favorite. my bedroom has legit not been cleaned out in forever. there may or may not be dinosaur fossils under my bed. ive done the whole "youre growing up, get rid of the kiddie stuff" clean and the "its time for college" clean and even the "moving in with the boyfriend and then getting engaged/married/never living here again" clean. well, no use crying over spilt vodka. thats old news. clearly, im back. but hopefully not staying for much longer. so it really is time to just make a day of it and say buhbye to the baggage.

now, considering its practically midsummer already, i need to get my ass in gear. granted, im "working" this summer. ha. even i wont attempt to defend myself. im getting paid an obscene amount of money [thankyou state-funded grants] for four hours a day, four days a week. which leaves me a whole lot of spare time. so cmon d, vamanos! lets get this party started, right? updates to follow on my hopeful progress.

mr peabody's apples

in the front cover of madonna's story, mr peabodys apples, is the following lesson from her kabbalah teacher that served as the basis for the book:  "it is about the power of words. and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others."

the book is about rumors spreading in a small town, and just how hard it is to make them go away. the butt of the rumor has the "wordy" child cut open a pillowcase of feathers and shake them out all over the baseball field. he then tells the child that in order to fully repent, and make the rumor disappear as if it never was, he must collect every feather. impossible, you know? just like it would be to take back the spreading of the rumor. impossible. makes me think of another popular quote, found smattered all over the internet. this one is i guess the more pop culture of the above kabbalah lesson: "be careful with your words. once they are said, they can only be forgiven - not forgotten."

get to the point, d.  gotcha.  one night last week, i think i chose my words more carefully than i ever have in my entire life. a tad dramatic? maybe. but also pretty true. i am impulsive and incredibly temperamental. so catch me on a bad day, and i promise youll be forever scarred by the sheer power of my word vomit. because of this, i want to share the inner success im feeling in reigning in the sometimes vocal demon and just flat out expressing myself honestly and kindly with my thousands hopefully tens (?) of followers. ive felt for months as though ive been carrying around on my shoulders the weight of the words i havent said. and finally, i feel free. and much, much happier.

to pay it forward... i read the book to my new fourth grade summer school students monday, as i do to my incoming seventh graders on the first day of each school year. the response was overwhelming, as always - and surprisingly similar. my lesson, however, has changed - with mad props going out to pinterest, facebook, and hollie. in the past, i have put the quote on the board and asked students to respond to it before reading the book aloud. this year, i used the above quotes and a few more ive found. the kids had much more to say, and their thoughts went further. and theyre only in fourth grade! cant wait to see how it goes with my seventh graders. ill be on the hunt for more forms of the lesson before the school year begins. here are some, as a teaser:

the list

i always read blogs, or check websites, or hear recommendations from friends, or generally get random ideas of things i want to do or try. and then i forget them almost immediately afterwards. this informal bucket list of fun has been rolling itself around in my head for years. some ideas are brand new and some ive just tried in the past and enjoyed. but if i dont put them down somewhere, they will disappear forever! for those of you that know me, some may seem a little farfetched (especially those involving water of any kind) but thats sort of the point. im trying to branch out here. the old 'watching reruns of reality tv in my sweats eating chips on a beautiful weekend day' scenario gets old sometimes. here they are, in no particular order...

the aquarium. paddleboarding. mutter museum. ballroom dance lessons. pictures at love park. camping/hiking. morgans pier. rock climbing. shooting at the gun range. picnic on a boat. just dance marathon. haunted tour of somewhere creepy all the time, not just at halloween. sleepover at a bed and breakfast. cosmic bowling. paintballing. mini golf. a winery/brewery tour. massage/mudbath. indie film festival. bumper boats. niagara falls. climbing a lighthouse. snorkeling. laser tag. booze cruise. cooking class/demonstration. kayaking. golfing at the driving range. a food festival. rockefeller center ice skating. fondue. day at the arcade. rainy day movie marathon. playing in a sprinkler. the zoo. picking fresh fruit. a carnival. the planetarium. fireworks. comedy club. a drive-in movie.

wish me luck - i cant wait to get started! juuust need to convince b that all of these adventures are totally necessary in our lives. i have the feeling that some may be easier than others!

victory!

many things helped get me out of my recent funk. the "something good" each day idea i borrowed from another blogger was a big one. it made me take a teeny tiny minute in each day to realize just one thing that made the day worthwhile. in doing so, i realized much more than just one. and with the exception of one day, i managed to find the good in all. chalk it up to a rough one there. i know i missed the last few days, so id like to wrap up my "experiment" with those:

thursdays teacher inservice seminars reinforced my on-the-fence idea to start journaling with my students again next year. i pushed it to the side this year due to curriculum restraints, but after participating in an awesome presentation by the minding your mind foundation - i realized the importance of giving my students a voice or an outlet for whats going on inside. more to come once i get my plans in the works! friday was good in that although it was a rather unsuccessful beach day, it developed into a fabulous gossip sesh with some best friends. garlic crabs at oyster creek and docking the boat successfully with no help made saturday special.

which brings me to today. its been a full month since i started this effort into a more positive mindset. im not normally an incredibly positive or negative person. i fall somewhere in the middle. but just like anyone, i sometimes get into a slump. and ive really been trying to understand that positivity and overall happiness dont just show up. you need to believe in them, and sometimes even, work at them. understanding that really helped me recently and i think that by trying to look at the positives, i truly got there. so my final something good (for now) is the feeling of success. and actual happiness.

so on to the next project, right? stay tuned. . . im unveiling it tomorrow!

TEAM L!

a few weeks ago, my homeroom kids started calling themselves "TEAM L" and making what my old ass knows as the "loser" symbol [see below]. . .

to represent us.  after we SWEPT field day anddd game day, its now commonplace in the halls.

so it was really cute when they all wanted to take a picture together on our last day today, and someone said "hold up your l's" - and obviously emotional me could barely hold it together. sorry its blurry. and pardon my bare as bones classroom. here they are... team l! 

welp.

there goes my winning streak. ummmmm saturday? celebrating a year of "us". and sunday, my tiny dancer goddaughter kicking recital butt.  monday brought good sportsmanship from 7th graders, wow. and today was a bittersweet good, in getting to see all my (i know i shouldnt say this as a teacher but...) favorite students from my (again shouldnt pick but...) best homeroom ever graduate the 8th grade and become "real humans". ah.

TGIF

something good about the day is the FRI in front of it. . . no seriously. coupled with the fact that its the last full day of school for the year, anddd i got all my grades in on time :) aka took no work home this weekend. holla.

about time!

MY MOTHER IS BACK FROM HER CRUISE! i was enjoying bonding time with my dad, like always. but i felt like i had a bazillion and one things to tell the ma. and she returned just in time for our weekly thursday night dinner date :)

bitter is the new black?

yeesh. sorry for that negative nancy outburst monday night. not my best.

something good about yesterday was getting ALL 90 final exams graded and submitted into the online gradebook, much faster than expected.  also finding out i got the summer school job id hoped for.

and today? my iced coffee from dunkin being made just like i asked for it "with a little bit of skim milk and sugar" and not overdone on either addition. rarely happens. and it was glorious.

nothing.

thats whats good about today. nothing. and i promised id blog daily about the something good in each day. and right now i cant find something. doesnt mean there is nothing. just means im not in the right mindset to find it. not now. tomorrow will be a better day.

good times & good advice

saturday was full of good times - barefoot in a backyard, playing bocce ball and drinking games. first time this season. and a nice reminder that although we were celebrating a med school graduate, it doesnt hurt to kick back like college freshmen once in awhile.

today i got my something good in the form of truly sound advice from my college roomie j, probably the only person ive ever actually taken advice from. she made me feel better and relax a little in terms of my relationship. she made the limbo that im feeling seem completely normal and (as always) made me feel like less of a psycho. thank god for her.

my looong weekend

...started yesterday. my site coordinator at school signed me up for a conference on a really cool topic. it was informational and exciting - and i got the day off from school!

something good about today was waking up with the boy. and listening to the sweet statement that he didnt want to get out of bed. sometimes just waking up with a smile puts the whole day on the right track.