Seven Traits

I was tagged by Kelly to list seven traits about myself and to tag 7 other blogs.

Karin (Mommy Matters)

Jen (Following the Footsteps)

Jen (Jen & Rob)

Tina (It May Be a Crazy Life but it's Our Life)

Courtney (Courney's Corner)

Chrissy (Bittersweet Moments)

Tammy (Tammy on the Go)

1. I am patient-with kids in my role as a teacher.

2. I am impatient-when I have to wait in line or wait for a restroom and when I am in traffic!

3. I am loyal-I am super loyal to friends, family, and coworkers.

4. I am spoiled- by my husband who keeps me up to date with the latest and coolest technology and forgives me when I drop my cool technology and break it.

5. I am thoughtful- I send my grandmother and my grandmother in-law handwritten cards in the mail because it makes them happy and I always remember birthdays and try to make them special.

6. I am shy-Many people who know me think that is *BS*, but it's true. It takes me a really long time to warm up to new people and new situations.

7. I am dedicated-to my friends, my family, my wonderful husband, my education, and my career as a teacher.

Don't I look sassy? hehe

MckLinky Blog Hop

Welcome Blog Hoppers!

The topic of this week's MckLinky blog hop is to share three things about yourself that readers do not know....

1. I LOVE to be crafty. I would not necessarily call myself skilled, but I love all things arts and craftsy. I have been known to dabble in scrapbooking, stamping, making cards, knitting and cookie decorating.

This photo shows a baby blanket that I made for my niece. It is the easy to make fleece tie blanket, but it was the first time I ever made one and I think it came out super cute!

I made these decorated sugar cookies for a baby shower at school.

These decorated onesie cookies were for my sister-in-law's shower.

2. I met the actor, Chris Burke, who played Corky on the television show Life Goes on who has Down syndrome. He was a guest speaker/performer at a local Buddy Walk which is a fundraiser for children with Down syndrome. He is in a band and was performing on stage. The little girl I was with, a former student, wanted to go up on stage and dance so we went together and had a blast!

3. Every year my husband and I volunteer for Special Olympics and are the Co-Directors of the Bocce competitions (2 regional and state) for Oregon. We began our interest in Special Olympics at Villanova because our college hosted an event for Special Olympics in Pennsylvania. I had so much fun working with the athletes (who are elligible for Special Olympics based on some form of mental retardation) and that is what initially started my interest in special education. I now have a master's degree in special education and always request to have students with special needs placed in my classroom so I can work with them.

***

It's Friend Makin Monday again!

Today's task is to:

List 5-10 of your favorite things! These can be things you think everyone must have, a collection of things you have, or some product or miracle invention that has changed your life

Diet Coke! (Coca-Cola light in Germany)

Kitchen Aid Mixer

Sharpies in every color of the rainbow

Bare Minerals Makeup

Books!!!

MacBook Pro (essential for my blogging!)

Chi Flatiron

I didn't post this originally and I can't believe I forgot it!

LOVE IT

A little bit of fitness

Since summer is in full swing, I don't have too much teacher stuff to blog about, but I did name this blog sneakerteacher, so in the absence of good teacher talking, I am going to focus in on some fitness today.

If you have ever checked out my favorite workout DVD scroll on the lower left side of the blog, you will see that I love Tracy Anderson's ballet inspired workout. All you need is a mat and 2-3 pound hand weights and she gives you a workout that will change your figure for sure!

I have done all parts of the workout which includes a standing leg section, a mat leg section, a standing abs section and an arm section. I have to admit that I don't do the video in its entirety very often, but I fastforward to the arm section because it rocks!

Arms like this? Sign me up! I'll take the abs too!

Tracy is the exclusive trainer to Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

It is recommended to do the arm section 4-6 times a week which seems like a lot, but it is only 17 minutes from start to finish, so it's actually pretty reasonable. I have not done this video with that frequency just because I tend to get bored if I overdo a specific workout too many times, but I definitely love love love her stuff.

"Basically, it sculpts the small accessory muscles using high repetitions and light resistance, rather than bulking up large muscle groups."

If you are interested in giving it a try, purchase her video here.

The video I am referring to is the Tracy Anderson Mat Workout, but she also offers Dance Cardio and a Post Pregnancy Workout as well.

If you need some further motivation, check out these pics...

Crabby Patties

Have you ever seen the Spongebob show? He works at this place called the Crab Shack and they serve crabby patties. Well a crabby patty is my name for someone who is not being nice or is being crabby.

I often refer to my husband as a crabby patty and I, too can be a big one.

Well today, I had a long conversation with an extreme crabby patty. Without going into details I will just say that it was not pleasant. I do not consider myself a half glass full, rah rah kind of cheery person. I certainly know how to complain and I feel like I definitely keep it real when I talk about a given situation rather than only commenting on the "silver lining."

I do think though, there is a difference between a little complaining and bashing people by telling many consecutive stories about what a horrible person they are for approximately 45 minutes straight. Not nice! For all the times I have defended a little negativity as a healthy way to get things off my chest, I never want to be so negative that I make other people feel uncomfortable. Never ever!

Sometimes ultra happy people can be a little off putting to me, but it is certainly better to have an outlook on life and other people that reflects the good that you can find in them rather than the bad.

Going back to my frustrated post the other day about the girl in class who upset me because she did not do her reading and did not participate....I found out yesterday that she is hardcore Spicegirls fan and flew all the way to Vegas to see one of their reunion concerts. She talked about her obsession with the group in an animated and excited way and so it struck me, that everyone has good days and bad days, good moments and bad moments and this girl seems pretty nice...maybe just shy? It took talking about the Spicegirls to get her excited, but everyone has different things in life that excite them and get them interested in conversation. Although, yes, I was frustrated by her behavior, I want to say that I recognize she is not a bad person. Maybe she spread herself too thin with classes, maybe she is dealing with the stress of being laid off, maybe her health problems are getting in the way of a good night's sleep (yes I learned all of these things about her by talking to her and trying to get to know her a little better) and I found that I really sympathized with her and felt badly for judging her.

Here's to trying to be a little more rah-rah and a little less crabby patty!

What are your thought? Is it okay to complain or is it pointless? If you need to vent who do you call?

The first goodbyes...

Today after class I met up with my first grade team for lunch to celebrate my birthday. They got me some great books about Germany and a beautiful hot pink leather journal ( a great tool for keeping track of my experiences...maybe some of the things I don't want to post online!). We had a terrific lunch at the Paradise Bakery complete with delicious cookies.

I passed out the letters that I wrote them and asked them to open them at home. I had important things I wanted to share, but I was afraid of getting really upset by saying them out loud..so I wrote them down.

It was tough to say goodbye because these are women that I see more often and spend more time with than my own family. They have been my moms, my friends, and my mentors for the past three years and I will miss them dearly.

After our hugs and goodbyes I went to my school and met up with the teacher who is taking over my room. I showed her all of the curriculum stuff in the cabinets and what stuff is where. We spent some time talking about how things work in first grade and about what she might do in the room when she sets it up. One of the other first grade teachers I had lunch with had come to the school as well to work on setting up her calendar for next school year. When she was finished, she came in to say goodbye. I knew this was going to be the toughest one....

Linda was the first person from the school to reach out to me during the summer after I got my job. She took on the role as my official mentor and coached me through everything as I embarked on my first real teaching job. All three of the teachers I worked with were phenomenal and taught me different things about being a good teacher, but since Linda was the first one that I met, there was always a special connection. We sat in my classroom for about 45 minutes just talking...about the changes that are taking place in my life, about how exciting it will be...a little bit of everything. It wasn't sad, it was just nice. A conversation with a good friend and a great teacher. When we both realized we had to get home, we walked out to the parking lot together and she gave me a big hug. She started to cry and I knew that I was about to. I can hold up okay until the other person starts crying and then I lose it. I told her not to cry because I will be back to visit and it's not like I won't ever see her again. That seemed to make her feel better. It is pretty amazing to see experienced teachers, women with families, children, grandchildren and many life experiences crying because I am leaving. It makes me feel pretty proud of the co-worker and friend that I have been to them. It is a true reciprocal relationship that was special to each of us.

I will miss those three ladies so much, I can't even express it!