Life's Whirlwind Adventures

On my way to work this morning I was tuned into Cosmo Radio (yes it is my radio station and I love it much to Adrian's dismay).  They were discussing the new movie that is coming out with Leighton Meester and how it is similar to Single White Female and it got me thinking..... how many of us have experienced this Single White Female phenomena on some level in our lives. Let's be honest, the Single White Female story is the extreme story, or the Hand that Rocks the Cradle story.  But I feel that it is a more common occurrence than on a less intense level then most people realize.  This goes beyond imitation as the sincerest form of flattery, this goes into that level where the over step those bonds.  It's those girls who start off imitating your style, your likes, your dislikes, they start using inflections in their voice, make friends with our friends and then start to turn your friends against you, or start to seclude you from everyone so you become dependent on ...

So after finally making it to Vegas and reporting back to you (a month later finally) what I was able to do while in Vegas I am ready to give my final word on the trip.  It was an ok trip, it was not exceptional, it was not horrible, it was only ok.  I have decided that I am not a Vegas holiday person.   There is so much to see and do in Vegas, and it is a trip you have to take at least once, but if I were given the choice between Vegas and another location I would likely choose the other location. This is not to say that I won't go back, Adrian and I are planning on honeymooning in Vegas, and I would go on a girls trip there, but if there were other options I would love to explore those options.   I personally found Vegas very overwhelming. There was so much to see and do that for a first time visitor to the city I was on sensory overload the entire time I was in Vegas.  I didn't even know where to begin with visiting many of the sights.  Vegas is a ...

So our last day in Vegas had finally arrived.  Knowing we wouldn't be able to have our lovely Siesta's Courtney and I slept in again.  We packed up our suitcases and checked out of the hotel. We left our bags with the hotel while we went exploring for the morning. I had enough credits on my MGM card from gambling that I was able to get Courtney and I a free breakfast from Starbucks.   Yup it definitely pays to get the players cards while you are in Vegas at the Casino's because they are always giving out some kind of comps. After our breakfast Courtney and I headed to the Grand Canyon souvenir shop to get some souvenirs from Vegas.  You know those shot glasses and t-shirts and stuff.  I didn't really find much but it killed off about an hour while we did some last minute shopping. Then we headed back to the Luxor to go through the Bodies Exhibit. That's a neat exhibit too.  It's been around Canada so if you have seen it, you know what I am talking...

Courtney and I slept in on Thursday.  After our late night on Wednesday we deserved a day to sleep in and relax.  We decided we were going to stay near the hotel and enjoy the all day buffet, so we looked for things to do within walking distance of the hotel. It was not hard to find things to do. We bought our all day buffet passes and ate breakfast.  It was a decent buffet, not necessarily as good as the Saskatoon Inn buffet, or the buffet in Jackpot Nevada, but t was pretty good.  The selection was huge and the selection also looked good, not wilted or neglected like some buffet's look.  Then Courtney and I headed down to the ticket box office to buy passes to three different exhibits.  They had 8 exhibits to choose from and they were charging $54 for all three.  It was a pretty good deal seeing as all the exhibits were over $25 each and the sale price at the Tickets for Less booth were around $20.  So after deciding on CSI, Titanic and Bo...

My sister really wanted to go to Thunder from Down Under so on Wednesday night we planned to go there, but for the day on Wednesday we went shopping and exploring the strip again. Wednesday we caught the bus to the indoor outlet mall. I am glad we went here second because it would have been too windy outside to enjoy the outdoor mall that we had gone to on Monday.  This mall was ok, it wasn't anything super spectacular, but I was able to find some amazing deals on clothes and hats for the family.  This outlet mall was south of our hotel, passed the famous Las Vegas sign.  So we got ourselves a day bus pass again and took the bus to the mall.  Because we had the bus passes we felt it would be best to take the bus up the strip and to give our legs a bit of a break. So after our afternoon siesta ( I know we loved our afternoon naps, and some may judge but it enabled us to have energy to go go go) Courtney and I boarded the bus once again and headed to the North end of...

I have an idea, I want to create a working document for my students to be able to access and change and edit as they work through a unit.  I am thinking of doing something like a Wikipedia for 8th grade science and I need to know what would be better to use.  I was thinking of doing a Smartboard file with different pages then creating a main page with links that would take you to different slides the the students had worked on.  I am just not sure if I am that tech suavey to do that.  Then I encountered Google Documents, and was wondering if that would be a better idea, and then I could transfer the information to a Smartboard file for a presentation for the students.  Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions that could help me solve this conundrum?

Ok one of the places Courtney and I were directed to eat at while in Vegas was P. F. Changs.  I know so many people who love this place, and everyone has always raved about the food.  So Courtney and I went.  To say that it was a let down might be a bit of a understatement.  I was very underwhelmed with the whole experience. First the place was stupidly busy, they told us we would have an hour and forty five minute wait for a table.  Uh, that really sucked because Courtney and I had been walking all afternoon and evening.  It was already 7:30 so we weren't going to be eating until after 9.  We figured it was a bit of an overstatement but there was no where to sit and wait in the restaurant, so we walked around the shopping mall.  Second, when we came back forty minutes later, like they asked, they had passed over us because we weren't there, and people ahead of us had not come back.  I looked at the maitre' d and told him that we were tol...

I am trying something new in my science classroom.  I am hoping it will work out for me, and not blow up in my face, but I have decided to step outside my comfort zone and let some control for the unit go to the students.  If I am successful I will continue to use this for the rest of the year, if not, then I will reassess and find some other teachers who can help me find a way to make this idea work. The idea is to start my new science unit off with a K-W-L sheet, a sheet I used to use a lot in my internship and teaching in Saskatchewan, but I have not been using in Alberta.  (I can't really explain why, but it is what it is).  I will ask the students "Please list all that you know about Cells and Systems in the human body."  They will then record down all that they know about Cells and Systems on their K-W-L sheet under the K for know.  We will then share our answers and I will create a smartboard document that will include all the answers the students ...

So as a wedding gift, or a bridal gift, to me, my sister bought us Spa treatments.  I had a massage and a mani and pedi.  I was in heaven for the morning.  Then I ran inot a problem getting dressed because my nails ended up smudging. I was a little disappointed but all the pampering had put me into a great mood so I didn't mind so much.  The spa at the Excalibur was really nice and just what the doctor ordered, although I have decided if I get a spa treatment again in Vegas it will be on my last day not one of the first days.  My feet were so sore from walking that night and I am sure it had a lot to do with the pampering they got that morning. After the spa we went for lunch.  I made Courtney and I walk to In and Out burger for lunch.  It was ten minutes away walking and we just had to cross the free way no big deal.... or at least I didn't think it would be a big deal but we were acousted by an annoying guy, the conversation went a little like...

I have been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of supposing lately as I read different educational blogs.  Many of the blogs I read are in regards to the affects of standardized tests, grading, and achievement in the classroom.  So how do you get kids to achieve in the classroom? How do you get students to understand that it is not the mark they get, but the learning they take away from this course that is what matters?  Why are teachers being forced to give standardized tests, that only take a snapshot of the whole year, not an actual measurement of the whole year?  I for one never did well on multiple choice tests or true and false tests.  It truly did become a guessing game for me when I had to take these tests, even if I felt I had learned the material.  So I began to think of what a school would look like if I ran the school.  So here  is my Utopian School Story. If I ran the school so many things would change, but so many things would stay ...

I really started this blog out with specific purpose in mind, but like most of my writing adventures, my fingers do the talking and lead me to new and interesting areas.  So now I am thinking of starting a third blog, or something.  I don't know what to do.  I have three or four topics that I really enjoy posting on, my family and friends, my personal life and challenges (which I do on my Lifestyle Lift blog), the state of education, and the miscellaneous stuff that interests me, like things that I read in newspapers/ magazines or hear on the radio.  I know that I could have more readers if my blog stayed more focused.  If I took the time to really focus my writing on one or two broad subjects and went more specific in each blog entry, but I don't know if I would always want to write a blog on those subjects everyday, and if I don't write everyday will that keep my readership down?  So many questions, so many answers floating out there that could help me ...

So our second day in Vegas was much more enjoyable than our first.  Courtney was feeling better so we were able to venture out of the hotel room.  And venture we did.  We had mapped out where the outlet malls were and had decided to do a day of shopping.  But we had to have breakfast first.  Courtney's breakfast. So after a quick breakfast in one of the hotel restaurants Courtney and I hit the strip to do some shopping.  We caught the Express Bus to the Premium Outlets.  We were there by about 10:30.  It was a busy day of shopping.  Courtney and I went into many stores, stores like Banana Republic, Carter's, Guess by Maricano, Guess, Columbia Outfitters, Fossil, Coach, Kate Spade, Burberry and many more that I can't even remember now.  Courtney and I had each bought a few things.  (when I say a few, I mean I almost filled my second suitcase lol) My best buy by far was at Columbia Outfitters.  I was able to buy 3 winter ...

Drinking a Starbucks before the flight When I travel, my travels often revolve around where I can eat and the different restaurants I would want to try while i am travelling.  It's just who I am, I am not a foodie, but I suppose I could be.  I enjoy a great meal, whether it's a fancy restaurant or fast food drive through.  Some notable places I have encountered in my travels are In N out Burger, Sonics, The Forest Buffet in Harrah's in Tahoe, and The Byron Cafe on the Byron Highway in California.  There have been experiences that haven't always been good, but I am generally happy with trying new restaurants.  So after my sister took to the bed on our first night in Vegas, I travelled down the strip to find a place to eat. I had looked on line and found that In N out Burger was just down the block and across the freeway from our hotel.  It's literally like a 5 minute walk but it was late at night and I had to walk under the one overpass and I was alone s...

 This was our Pre- Christmas decorating.  We got the tree the last weekend that Chandler was home so he could help us decorate.  He's so big now!!  My boys and me.  It was a good picture. Little Man was not happy about Christmas tree shopping. It was a quiet Christmas this year in our household.  Chandler was at his dad's so we only had Leigham at home to celebrate with. My sister came down, but my brother was at his fiances parent's house.  My mom and Grandma did not come down because my sister and I were leaving for Vegas that night for our early morning flight.  Adrian's mom and brother came by for supper and gifts but his Dad was working so it was quiet and not at all like a Christmas we are used to. Little Man in his Christmas PJs a tradition for everyone to get PJs Christmas Eve.  Hugs for Mommy  Sitting with Aunty!! Merry Christmas Hugs for Sasha or as Little Man calls her "Gog" We played games and ate a turkey. W...

I am trying to find a website that I can use in tandem with my students, to help engage the learning long before they reach the classroom and long after they leave the classroom.  I want the learning experience to be a memorable and at least parts o fit to be unforgetable.  There are so many websites out there and I guess depending on what you want to use the website for it will make a difference to which you will choose. I have choosen two different websites and I may end up with only one after a bit, but I want to give them both a chance.  The other consideration is to find out which websites your school will allow your students to access while on the internet.  Knowing that most schools block Facebook and the like, teachers need to have websites where they can interact with their students in live time and not just in emailing.  It could solve some problems with needing subs and the like if you can connect with your students via an internet link. So the tw...