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!