I’ve been puzzled, perplexed and disappointed with my blogging for several months now. 24 weeks to be exact. I have let my blog slip away with only a few posts here and there for the last 24 weeks. Why haven’t I had anything to share? Why can’t I think of anything to say? Should I just quit trying? As I drove home from the grocery store yesterday, I found myself pondering these questions. The answer hit me right in the tummy. I realized that all my spare thinking time over the last 24 weeks, the time that had been devoted to thinking and philosophizing, has been overtaken by the baby kicking around inside me. I have spent all my alone time thinking about the little baby growing inside me and talking to her. So, will I write more now that I have made this discovery? I’m not sure. I think I may be ready to share my thoughts about this little miracle, but then again I might not be. I guess we will see.
Week 24
April 7, 2008
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Posted by aredden
Perceptions
February 5, 2008“We began to realize that if we wanted to change the situation, we first had to change ourselves. And to change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.” Stephen R. Covey
When I got home this afternoon I was so tired I wanted to go straight to bed. I was worn out from a long day of trying to figure out my role in improving literacy in my school system. While there are many teachers who have that same goal, I am worn down by those who seem happier to complain. The sad thing is that the more worn down I become, the easier it is for me to fall into step with those complainers. After a long meeting that didn’t go nearly as well as I thought it should, a dinner that was less than pleasing for everyone in my family but me and a check of my e-mail, I found myself worn out but unable to sleep. My mind was racing way too fast to allow it to shut down for a nice rest. I finally decided that I should get myself out of bed and put those racing thoughts onto paper. Eventually that paper led me to my blog where I could share my thoughts with those of you whose positive voices I have been missing for too long. My thoughts led me to the question, “How do you get people to open their eyes and see things from the eyes of others?” This question led me to the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People because I remembered that it was in reading this book that I began to open my eyes. On page 18 I found the quote that started this entry, and I was reminded that perhaps if I want to change the situation, I should change myself. I remembered that it isn’t my responsibility to get others to open their eyes. It is my responsibility to change only my own perception.
I think it may have worked. I feel the sleep coming.
5 Comments | Blogging, Book Quotes, Changing the World, Learning, Quotes, Stephen R. Covey, Thinking | Permalink
Posted by aredden
Fetching Fingerless Glove
January 28, 2008
I’d love to blame my lack of blogging on the huge amount of knitting I’ve been doing lately, but I can’t. I do have this one glove to show off. Last Tuesday I drove in to Nashville to meet my friend Beth for a knitting class where we learned how to make this fetching fingerless glove. I left that night with the beginning of a glove. I finished it up just in time to give it to Tobi for her birthday Friday night. Maybe I can finish the next one this week so that she will actually have a pair. If you like this glove you might want to check out the pattern on knitty.com . It really is very easy and fairly quick. The cables make it look harder than it is.
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Posted by aredden
Widgets - Wow!
November 4, 2007In case you haven’t noticed, I’m having fun with the widgets on my sidebar. I just added a meebo which allows me to chat with my visitors if I happen to be online the same time they are. It also allows them to leave me a message if I’m not online. I’m thinking it is a little less formal than leaving a comment. I have been averaging about 40 visitors per day. I would love to hear from all of those visitors. A quick hello would be great. If you have a blog, you should check out meebo. It was easy to set up.
2 Comments | Blogging, Check It Out! | Permalink
Posted by aredden
The journey from Babson to Boston.
August 2, 2007
On our second night in Massachussetts, Andi and I decided to take a trip into Boston with some of our new friends. I got permission first thing to post any pictures I took on my cameraphone to my blog. This is a picture of Annie on the bus.
and here is Barbie.
Next we all met up at The Cheesecake Factory. Andi and I had already eaten dinner before leaving Babson,
so we just ordered dessert. She had a Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake and I had this delicious Tiramisu cheesecake.
Not wanting to miss the last train back to Wellesly, we rushed over to the nearest train station.
It was way later than teacher bedtime when we finally made it back to Babson, but it was well worth the lost sleep.
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Posted by aredden
Reading, Writing and Thinking in the Morning
July 26, 2007I love summer mornings. I love waking up before the rest of my family and spending the quiet time reading, writing and thinking. It is one of my favorite things about summer. This morning I decided to do my reading, writing and thinking online. I went straight over to knit 1 Read 2in hopes of finding a new posting. Sadly, there was not one. I decided to wander on over to someplacedotcom and see what Lyn has been up to. Her latest post was in April, but I soon realized that she has just changed where she is posting to her Xanga blog soMeTiMes i waNt to baRf. I spent about 30 minutes reading about the college life. Lyn is the daughter of my knitting friend and colleague, Freda. She is also a former drama member. She was one of the star actors in our Oakmont Elementary Drama Club production of “William’s Window”. (That was such a great group of kids) It is always fun to read her blog. She is a very talented artist. Sometimes she shares her work on her blog which I love to see, but what I love even more is her personality. She is full of energy and makes everything look like fun.
Maybe the next time I head over to Freda’s blog and find that she hasn’t posted anything, I will spend some time catching up on her son Aaron’s blog. I never had to opportunity to really get to know Aaron, but he sure could make the drama kids and me laugh when he wandered in to drama practice to pick up his little sister. I’m sure his blog will be good for a few good chuckles.
It’s time to get up and make my coffee. I’ve got a lot to do today.
1. Clean house -Andi is coming and I’m not sure she can handle the mess.
2. Pack - Andi and I leave for Massachusetts at 3:30 in the morning and I haven’t put the first thing in my suitcase.
3. Go to Mom’s - I’m taking the kids to Mom’s house and while I am there we are going to get my nephew registered for school.
4. Call Aunt Gay - she lives in New Hampshire and I am hoping to see her while I’m in Massachusetts.
5. Go to the bank - must have cash for this trip.
6. Walk/Run - Beth and I are preparing to run a 5k I can’t skip my exercise.
7. Dinner- Andi and I are meeting Bill at Marble Oaks for dinner.
8. Chat - Andi and I are meeting our buds on tapped in at 5:30 for a chat. We haven’t all talked since our trip to Louisville.
9. Did I mention I need to clean my house?
2 Comments | Blogging, Reading, Reflections, Thinking | Permalink
Posted by aredden
Fall Break!!
September 29, 2006I can’t tell you how happy I am to have a two week break. I can’t believe it is already here. I’m sure you can tell by my blog that when I am in school, it overtakes my life. I find very little time to sit down and relax. With two kids who are just as busy with school and extracurricular activities as I am, life is busy. My students were excellent today. We enjoyed a relaxing day of visual literacy. We watched The Electric Grandmother 
1 Comment | Blogging, Teaching, knitting | Permalink
Posted by aredden
Surfing Again.
August 21, 2006I couldn’t resist the tag surfer today. I’ve been blessed with a day off, and instead of using my time wisely to get caught up on any of the many things I am behind on, I find myself tag surfing the blogosphere. I can’t help myself. It is like a big party, I get to mingle and meet interesting people. The difference is that I don’t have to get dressed up and I don’t have to talk to anyone unless I really want to. Today I ‘met’ Lydia Teh who is celebrating her 1st bloggiversary. She introduced me to Dane at Business Opportunities who created this neat little applet that will tell you how much your blog is worth.
My blog is worth $3,387.24.
How much is your blog worth?
I have a hard time believing my blog is worth $3,387.24 but it is kind of fun to think about isn’t it?
I suppose I should pull myself away from the computer and find something a little more productive to do. I can’t sit around partying all day.
3 Comments | Blogging, Smiling | Permalink
Posted by aredden
Blah, Blah Blogs –Everyone has something to say
August 19, 2006I am sitting in a session about blogging in the classroom and I decide to blog while I’m sitting here. I have all these great notes and I click publish. What happens? They all disappear. Why? I have no idea. I guess I will start over. Sandi, our facilitator asked us to write what we thought when we heard the word blog. I wrote, “When I hear the word blog, I think OMG I need to update my blog!” Which is why I decided to blog while I was sitting in the session. I figured I could just take notes straight to my blog.
Sandi just showed us Spaghettibookclub.org . It is a really neat site where kids are reviewing books. The question came up, “What do you think parents would say about them posting their city and state?” Here in rural Tennessee, if a student put in the city and state, anyone could probably find them. We decided that it might be a good idea to have students choose the biggest city near them and list it instead of the small town.
I am so glad I came to this session. Sandi just showed me what was wrong with all my links! I can’t believe it is something so easy. I just have to go back in and put http:// in front of all the links.
2 Comments | Blogging, Learning, Student Blogs, Teacher Blogs | Permalink
Posted by aredden
Web 2.0 and The Curies
August 2, 2006I’m going to show my ignorance here, but it won’t be the first time. I’ve been reading the feed for 2 Cents Worth, David Warlick’s blog lately. I’m learning a little about Web 2.0, but I must admit that I am not really sure what it really is. I think from reading David’s thoughts I have a general idea, and I know I want to learn more. This is why I have decided to go ahead and post my thoughts on the topic and how I think it is connected to Marie and Pierre Curie. I figure if I start talking about it, somebody might talk back and I will begin to learn more. Isn’t that how learning works? So, here goes…
I was sitting on one of my new rocking chairs this afternoon reading a biography of Marie Curie in search of an excerpt to share with my students tomorrow when I was reminded of David Warlick and Web 2.0. Here is what I read,
Marie and Pierre could have become rich by claiming all rights to working with radium. But instead they shared their information, telling how they purified the element, and more. They believed scientific research should benefit everyone. Marie and Pierre may also never have dreamed how valuable radium would become.
Does anyone else see any connections?
6 Comments | Blogging, Learning, Reading, Thinking | Permalink
Posted by aredden
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