Start of the Semester....Not too Shabby

ISU has one week under its belt and DMACC has a couple days under its belt.    Things started off well and I'm hoping I'm not jinxing that by making that statement.

I am teaching four classes for ISU this semester and NOT supervising any student teachers.    You wouldn't think that student teachers were a big deal but they suck up a lot of time when it comes to scheduling visits and factoring in travel time.    I usually was assigned teachers in the Des Moines area due to where I live which was somewhat handy.    We have so many teachers that went outside Iowa or outside the country to student teach that I wasn't needed.     I'm really not teaching any PE classes either.    I have three Health Study classes and Swim & Gym is now a class too.    Technically Swim & Gym is a PE class but it basically runs itself.

I have two sections of HS 275 (elementary ed majors that need a methods class so they can teach health education) and with two sections I have 90 students.     I'll have plenty of lesson plans and unit plans to grade at certain points in the semester.    I have one section of HS 375 with 21 students I believe.   They are FCS and PE teachers that want their endorsement to also teach health.  

At DMACC I only have two online classes as  my one web-enhanced class was cancelled due to low enrollment.   I'm sad about the loss of money but not sad to have my Monday evenings free.    My online classes are smaller than usual too so the grading should be manageable.    I will still have a couple extra days/evenings to work for DMACC too as we'll offer a coaching authorization course twice this semester.  

Yoga has been going well.    I've mainly been going to a Restorative Yoga class that does some basic stretching and works on breathing so you can chill out.   I tried a new one last night called Sound Mediation.    Seems a bit corny maybe but you basically make yourself comfortable on your yoga mat and can use any props to help with comfort (e.g. pillows, bolsters, etc.).    The lady that teaches basically plays music with singing bowls and other sound creators so you can just relax and clear your head.    It was tough for me the first time as my mind kept wandering to what I still need to do after yoga and for a bit I was paranoid I would fall asleep.    My 30 day pass is almost done which makes me sad as it was the most affordable way to try yoga.   I'll have buy single class passes or a bulk option and the prices go up after the "new participant" 30 day pass.    There are a couple other yoga classes I want to try but they haven't worked out with my schedule yet.   I never plan to do the hot yoga or the advanced classes because I already know my flexibility will be a limitation and I don't want to pay to stretch in a room and sweat to death.

Dan's mom recently dropped off a basket of apples so I was in apple pie mode this weekend.    I made a pie for her since she gave me the apples.    Dan took one to work yesterday.    I brought two to work today (which has really confused people).     Just eat the pie people.     We have one at home that we are munching on and I'll make one more tonight to use up the apples.    Probably send it with Dan to share with people at his work again.    I'm assuming I'm using a recipe that Mom gave me....it was in my recipe book that allows you to collect recipes and put them in a binder.

Dan and I had a date night this weekend which was nice.    We went to the Miller High Life Lounge for dinner and OMG the broasted chicken was amazing.    Irritated me that I couldn't eat much but I tried.    His mom's husband gave us free I-Cubs tickets for the evening and we watched a decent baseball game.    It was in walking distance from the restaurant/bar and I said no to cotton candy when at the game.    Very tempting but I think I was pulling in enough calories thanks to the hard cider I was drinking.  

Gavin had his first football game on Friday night and as predicted, Dowling kicked Ankeny's butt.    Both he and I were confused as to why he didn't play much.   He had hoped to learn more about that on Saturday morning when the team watched the film but nope.   Most of the plays that can be called on offense (for running the ball) have him in the game as the primary running back.    On Friday, he said they kept calling the handful of plays that do not include him but the second-string running back.   He also said the usual coach that calls plays was not calling plays...it was a different coach.    I think they needed the larger running back as the opponents were big.  We'll see what happens on Friday when they play the other Ankeny team.

Alissa and I were able to bop down to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning which led to some nice wandering a few good purchases.     I'm already buying some Christmas presents and actually got one on Saturday for someone.    Was nice to get some produce too since we cruised through the stuff that Mom gave us recently.    I may want to go back again next weekend if Alissa and LeAnn are interested.  

I guess that's enough of an updated.    I teach in 20 minutes so I should probably get into instructor mode and prep for that.

Adios!

New Hobby, New School Year, New Clothing

Greetings:

I should be sleeping as it's 12:32am but I'm rather wired.    I should be relaxed and sleepy as I did some excellent yoga tonight but oh well.   I can go into work a little bit later in the morning so that should help.   I went to a Restorative Yoga class tonight.   It was my first time going to that style of yoga.    It focused on relaxation and reduction of tension in the body.   It doesn't make you contort or work on crazy flexibility so that was nice.    I would certainly go again and in fact, I may go on Wednesday after work.

Today was the first day of the orientation process for new graduate students.    It went fairly well with a few hiccups.    We have a much smaller group this time around so that makes things a bit easier.    I made an extra effort last week to meet with a restaurant in person to place a catering order for today's lunch.   They were to deliver at 10:40am so it could be set up and we could eat at 11am.    Well 11am rolls around and no food.    I call the restaurant and the manager eventually fesses up that the order was overlooked and they were currently cooking the food.    Sigh.   Thankfully I plan for a long lunch on the first day so the late arrival of food worked.   But they didn't bring all the food we ordered.    I get to call  them tomorrow to talk to the owner to see how the situation will be handled.    I personally think we shouldn't be charged.    I also had some major Internet problems for an afternoon meeting but just ended up moving to another location.    I probably saved another instructor a major headache by discovering the problem this week rather than on the first day of class next week.

I decided to be snazzy today and wore a dress to work for the first time ever.   I wanted to make a good impression on the new grad students.   I'm getting more self-conscious about my loose skin so I bought some undergarments that help keep things close to my body.     They aren't the most comfortable but I feel much more comfortable wearing dresses and formal clothing with their help.   But I won't lie,  it was nice to get home and get those things off.     I don't know how women wore corsets back in the day.

I went to the State Fair last week.     I volunteered for DMACC on Thursday and it was OK.    I just came to the fairgrounds to work for them and didn't wander before or after working for the booth.   I felt ill-prepared to help since no one answered my emails.    I apparently fell through the cracks because I never ended up on the volunteer list hence not receiving informative emails.    They did send my free ticket though so figure that out.  One plus was that I was able to snag some materials for Gavin about the building trades and HVAC careers.   I went on Friday with Alissa and it was fun to explore.   As dorky as it is, going on the "Ye Olde Mill" ride was a highlight.    It's a dark boat ride that highlights the fair's history.    Think the Underground ride at Adventureland but in a boat and it's not designed to be scary.    It was nice to see the animals too.     And yes, I ate some junk food but we were both good about moderation.

We're excited to go to Czech Days and "get away" for part of the weekend.    I'll need a little break between this orientation and the start of the semester.     I still need to complete syllabi for both ISU and DMACC.    I'm glad I didn't finish them early because I was already notified of extra information I have to include on teacher education syllabi.    I'm holding off on one of my DMACC syllabi too because my class enrollment is small (4 students) so I'm expecting it to get cancelled.

I am still putting my office together at ISU.   I've gotten things up on the walls.    I posted a framed collection of pictures of Gavin.   I made it years ago and never had a  place to hang it.   I also got frames for my degrees and posted those along with the award I received in the spring.    I requested a white board so I'll get one of those at some point.   Still have boxes to sort through and I need to reorganize a file cabinet.    Bleh.   It'll get done at some point.

I'm getting very excited for Gavin's football season.    We went to the annual hog roast last night and the players were introduced.   We also received the senior posters (hung one in my office) and had the chance to buy t-shirts.    I also had time to sign up for making desserts for after game meals.   I have to make a lot of brownies in the future on a date in October.   They also let parents sign up for concession work this year rather than randomly assigning us shifts.     I was able to pick a date/time that actually works for me and my Swim & Gym schedule.    The coaches have had good things to say about Gavin.   He gets a lot of credit for his great attendance to activities this summer and his commitment in the weight room.    I'm hoping he makes a lot of good memories in his last year playing the sport.    I also hope he doesn't get hurt.

I guess that's enough of an update for now.     Wish I was tired but alas, I am not.