high speed chase, but not to a first home

I might be moving to Kansas City next year. I definitely know I'm getting out of Texas. My school has been good to me, but the town (and especially Universal City) has not really fit the grade. So I have a short list of places to go... and coming home is near the top. Today I went out and about with a realtor... I wanted to see the KC neighborhoods from a buying-a-house (which I hope to do next year!) perspective. So we drove all over and looked at some fun options. Will I live in Westport? The houses in my price range are as big/small as my 2-bedroom apartment. Will I live near Swope Park? One house was AWESOME but kind of far from anything I am familiar with... the other was artsy and cool, but came compete with a high speed chase right out the front door. My absolute favorite was a house in Waldo... right off of 75th street... my ideal location. next to 75th street brewery and thanksgiving night reunions at bobby bakers lounge. :) plus, waldo is close enough to state line that a commute to, say, the shawnee mission schools wouldn't be too far. AND waldo is smack dab in the middle of mom and dad and the fun downtown. we'll see. this isn't a sprint... it's a marathon... and since i'm a little familiar with those i know i'll be pacing myself and making slow and steady progress as the year goes on. before i leave kansas to head back to school i must, I MUST, get my resumes in to the local school districts. that's step one!

questionable environmentalism

It occurred to me as I was wheeling out the trashcan today that there is a big problem in Overland Park. You see, the trashcan I was taking to the curb was as large as the jumbo homes around me. The problem? The recycling containers were 1/6 the size of the trashcans. While it's great that an attempt at recycling is being made... some education needs to happen here. The recyclables should be greater than the trash. When I had a compost pile in my last apartment (ahh, the days of having a yard), I almost never had trash. Why? Because nearly everything can be recycled. It's true!

Today was my first boxing class and I LOVED it! Really! I almost felt like the 1 hour class was harder than running the entire marathon... we ran, did push-ups and ab workouts, medicine ball stuff and of course actual punching. My favorite was the 1-2-1 which, according to my instructor, is supposed to simulate jabbing someone in the nose, then a hit to the chin, and finally a hook to the jaw. Will I ever spar with someone in a ring? Probably not. But hitting a bag is just as fun. Class number two for me will be at 6am tomorrow. Can't wait!

I am a lucky girl! Mom and I hit up Kababesh Grill on 119th which made me so happy. I could eat Indian food every day and never get bored. Although the Matar Paneer (right) was different than what I am used to, it was still delicious. Mom's Benghan Bharta (left) was spicy and good... and I have leftovers of both to enjoy while the 'rents are away. Hooray!

get your box on!

it's official. today i signed up for a boxing gym! i am so excited. it was really amazing how it all worked out. i had told my parents that my next project (the last one being the marathon) would be to learn how to box. i don't know why boxing sounded appealing to me, but it did - and does! so today when i was doing errands with mom, what did she and i spot but the "Title Boxing Club"! I went in and signed up for 3 weeks... until i go back to san antonio and check out "Sniper" which I had searched for earlier in the day. what are the chances!?
as some of you know, i have entered a simultaneous gangsta rap/boy band phase of my life so i was thrilled to walk into my new boxing gym and hear eminem blasting at full volume. does he fall into either category? i'm not sure... but it sure was peppy with a lot of bad language, so maybe he falls into a little of both!

in other news, my mom cracked me up today when she was driving down the road and put her car into neutral over and over again in an attempt to save gas. does this really work? i don't know, but she seems to think it does... so if it makes mom happy- go with it.

alive and outside!

today was a great, busy day. i started out with a five mile run and then 18 holes of (par 3) golf with the parents. although my game wasn't as great as it usually is - it was a beautiful day to be outside. and, unlike in san antonio, i could be alive outside past 11a.m.!

the lunch date with neighbors was canceled so the 'rents and i went to see 'get smart' which was ridiculous and wonderful. i used to love maxwell smart and agent 99 when i was little.
dinner tonight was an act of teamwork with my dad grilling, i made the delicious pasta salad and my mom baked a 'cooking light' cake. i'm including the recipe for my 'tortellini-asparagus salad'. it's one of my staples and is tasty and easy!

mom and i took the dogs on a long walk after dinner and while they needed some cooling off, mom suggested that i needed a mopping off.
so far, kansas is great. i'm happy to be here!

Tortellini-Asparagus Salad
Better Homes and Gardens
Yields: 10 side-dish servings

Ingredients

• 2 9-ounce packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini*
• 1 pound fresh asparagus spears (about 16 spears) trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow sweet pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil or salad oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions (about 4)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or chopped almonds, toasted

Directions

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven** cook tortellini according to package directions, adding asparagus and sweet pepper during the last minute of cooking; drain. Rinse tortellini and vegetables with cold water; drain again.
2. For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine lemon peel, lemon juice, oil, mustard, sugar, salt, and garlic. Cover and shake well.
3. In a very large bowl place tortellini and vegetables. Add dressing; toss to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 8 hours. Just before serving, stir in cheese, green onions, and nuts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

* I used a pound of frozen tortellini with no ill effects other than adjusting the cooking time accordingly.

** We don’t have one, so I used our pasta pot.

isis the naugty dog; daddy the hero

Isis is usually the best dog ever. Today she was not. Today she was royally naughty. I've thought before that Isis may be a descendant of Houdini... like the time when she escaped from her crate by imploding the sides, or the day after when she escaped from her crate again by slipping out the 1-inch (I kid you not) slit in the bottom. I thought those days of escape were over though, especially since I've had Isis for 3 1/2 years and her other "runs" were in the early days of our relationship. Today she proved to me that she still has a few tricks up her sleeve. While daddy-dearest and I were helping mom at the church the dogs were chilling on the screened-in porch. Both doors were locked, screen in tact, water bowl full. Mom and I came home after her wedding duties were over and headed to the porch to let the dogs in. Only one problem. Phoebe was the only dog out there. Isis was no where to be found. AND... both doors were STILL locked, the screens were STILL in tact, and the water bowl - well, it looked like it had been at the heart of a water fight. This leaves the question in all of our minds - WHERE IS ISIS!? Where could she have gone? I started calling for Isis and could hear her... but where was she? Then I realized she was UNDER the porch! How did she get there... not to mention, how was she going to get out!?

Well, apparently she slinked through a small crack in the door. By small, I mean maybe an inch wide. (Isis is bigger than that so I still don't see how it's really possible.) And to get her out took the skills and quick thinking by daddy who broke her free from the depths of the porch and then kindly washed her off for me so I wouldn't dirty my outfit. I'm a lucky girl.

Website Evaluation - Let's get the business out of the way!

I reviewed the site Technology Applications Teacher Network found at http://www.techappsnetwork.org/. I came across the site as I was searching for ways to improve my ranking in the "Information Acquisition" section of Week 1's Inventory. A quick look at this site made me feel as though it were professional and reliable. The website has a clear layout and a menu of topics you can peruse. The purpose of the website is defined on the homepage and, as it claims to be a collaborative effort between all 20 of the Texas Education Service Centers, it led me to believe that it would be a valid resource for my information quest.

A negative aspect to this site is that, while it had many areas of information, I was not able to specifically search for any of the four content areas defined on the STaR Chart and, specifically, Information Acquisition. What I did find however, were links on the site to discussion forums where I found educators in dialog with one another about specific technologies. There was also a helpful link where you could register to the site and be allowed to search for professional development opportunities in your area and across the state.

Although this website was not helpful to me in my specific search for help regarding Information Acquisition, I see it as a very useful resource to educators. There is a terrific link located on the site titled "Technology Applications Best Practices Events" where once you click on it, you can refine your search by grade-level clusters. Once in your cluster you have access to many lessons created by fellow educators that utilize technology to enhance other curricular areas. For example, there are lessons detailing how to use a digital camera to bring to life grammar lessons, lessons using Paint applications to allow students to retell a story read aloud, and utilizing a spreadsheet for the 100th day of school celebrations.


While most of the technology activities listed were step-by-step projects, I do think many of the lessons were created with the 21st Century Learner in mind. As we've been reading in our articles this week, technology should be something that is tried, manipulated, reconfigured, and tried again. Starting from somewhere to bring technology into our classrooms is better than not starting at all.

Intro to my blog

Grad school can be fun! Look, I'm creating a blog!

My newest class is called "Instructional Leadership" and is all about technology and education for the 21st century learner. I am enjoying the class a lot, although was horrified to find out just how far back I've fallen from the days in high school and college when I thought I knew a thing or two about technology. A quick "Technology Applications Inventory" that I took at the beginning of this course would show just how bad it has become!

So, here I go with the blogging. To begin... I need to give a quick shout out to my handy tech-guru-pal Trommer for always having a minute to walk me through things like this website. And downloading music. Thanks for pulling me from the edge of technology oblivion!