Happy Holidays!

It's a nice lowkey night at home so why not do a blog right before departing for the holidays?    It's actually been a lowkey week and I appreciate it.    I did go into work on Tuesday and finished my grades for ISU.    I planned on going in on Wednesday and yea...that didn't happen.    It was more appealing to stay at home so I did.    Either way my grades were turned in a day early.    I had my grades done for DMACC early too (Saturday).    I never felt like I was scrambling to get the grades done which was a nice change. 

I had my first Christmas last night with Dan and Jude.    Jude received the Nintendo Switch he's wanted since last Christmas.   Dan got him that and I got him a game for it.    I also got him some clothes (he wasn't too excited) and we got him some science experiment type of kits to do at some point.    I don't know how excited he was about those either but I wanted to get something that wasn't technology-based.    One kit has you make sour candy in various forms and the other is a kit for making fake snow.   I at least want to play with the fake snow kit.

I was finally able to sit back and watch the movie "White Christmas" last night at Dan's place.    You know, the old movie with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, etc.    I've seen pieces of it here and there but never make it through the whole movie.    It was on Netflix believe it or not.    Usually when I really want to see a movie it's not available to be streamed on Netflix.   I also started reading a book for pleasure too.   I'm hoping to read this book and one more before school starts up again.    It's "The Girl that Kicked the Hornet's Nest".    It's the third book in the series that I've been meaning to read for a long time.    I got a really good coupon for $5 off any book for my Kindle so I bought it.    I have a stack to read from LeAnn too.    Need to get back into Harry Potter.

I did less Christmas cards this year and was done with those earlier than usual too.   It connects to my grades being done early.    I usually don't do my Christmas cards until my grades are done.  People keep getting chopped from my list each year so even though I added some of Dan's family, the list gets shorter.   I'm a dying breed because I really do like sending them out.

Christmas shopping was a little tricky but seemed easier this year.    Gifts seemed easier to figure out and the budget was lower.    (Yes Mom, it's nothing extravagant.)   Gavin was actually the most difficult to shop for.   He's gotten most of his gifts already because he needed them earlier in the month (e.g. new winter coat).   Plus he's aware I'm saving up for a nice graduation gift for him. 

I basically have time off until January 3rd.   I do have some syllabi to work on and pre-semester work.   I need to plan for a meeting I'm holding with grad students on January 4th.    Some of them are getting lazy with teaching and treating it like a low priority.    It's difficult for me because I need to crack down on them but I really don't have any ammo.    I can't fire them unless they do something horrible.    And we can't really afford to remove any grad students from teaching because we'd be short instructors then.   It's something I complain about annually in my evaluation materials as I'm their "boss" but I don't feel like I have any "teeth" when it comes to being a disciplinarian.  We've had a couple issues pop up recently and these students are simply not reading emails well and paying attention to details.   Pretty sad when they are trying to get their masters degrees or Phds. 

As of now I have a pretty full schedule for the spring.    I am teaching three classes for ISU.    One class has two sections so I'll have 90 students.    The second has 30 students and the third is the class associated with Swim & Gym and has like 5 students.    I'm also supervising two student teachers this semester too.    One for the first eight weeks and one for the second eight weeks.    I am down for three classes at DMACC too.    One is my usual health class online for high school students, the second is the usual sport diversity class online too.    The third is in-person on Monday nights.   It's the same as the online health class but we meet once a week and everything else is placed on Blackboard.    It had about 10 students last time so unless that drops greatly, they'll likely let me teach it.    Wahoo $$$

I am excited to pack up tomorrow and head up to Waukon.    We don't know what time we'll leave yet as Gavin is scheduled to work until 4pm but thinks he'll be off between 12-2pm.   I could leave sooner but I get the impression Dan would like to follow me up.    Dan and Gavin need to leave Christmas afternoon already but I plan to stay up in NE Iowa until December 30.    I let a few people know but not many.    It would be nice to see Jamie and Marie but I'm not holding my breath. 

Speaking of which, I have more things to clean before tomorrow as well as some packing to start.    I predict the next blog entry will be in 2018.

It's Been "A Day"

I should be winding down for the night and plan to after writing a mini-blog.    I'm looking forward to a hot shower and hoping it will help me sleep decently.    My sleep isn't consistent nowadays and it's getting frustrating.    It's also causing me to get really tired at work.   I can usually push through it most days but it's been tough. 

I got a call today from Biolife and I cannot donate plasma for awhile because a specific part of my protein measurement is off.    I go in next week to get blood drawn so they can check it again but it takes weeks to get the results back.     Pisses me off because I started donating due to a coupon that lets you get $300 if you donate five times in a month.    I had two more donations to go.   It's been nice earning some extra money and it was helping me afford Gavin's Christmas presents.   Sigh. 

I won't get into too many details but money in general is stressing me out.    It also pisses me off that I work a really good full-time job and a not-too-bad part time job and I still basically live paycheck-to-paycheck.    I don't know the last time I was able to put money into savings.    I see coworkers affording Thanksgiving trips to tropical resorts and such and it's depressing.   It makes buying a home cause further anxiety.    I got to see Gavin's senior pictures today and the cost of those are astronomical.    Bleh.   

On a good note, I actually feel pretty good about my grading tasks for both institutions.    The time of grading unit plans is upon me and I'll be buried in binders for more than a week.   I'm caught up with other grading though so I really only have unit plans to grade and nothing extra.   In past semesters/years I have been behind with other assignments and have been grading lesson plans and other things on top of unit plans.    I have good plans of sitting in the living room and grading while watching Netflix.   I also got the Christmas movies out too so I'll be popping those in too. 

I'll be working extra for DMACC the next two weekends too for our final coaching class of the year.   That will be some extra money (that I won't see until February) and it usually provides some down time and I can do ISU grading during it.    It's quite silly but when the class has more than 30 students, DMACC requires that two instructors be present.   One is the lead instructor and for the most part,  can do everything on their own.     The other instructor helps if asked but can usually just sit in the back and do their own thing.    I'm only the lead teacher on Friday December 8th but will work all day Saturday December 2, all day December 10, and for a few hours on December 9th.   I have a concert on December 9th (Seether) and I have my ISU Christmas party on December 10th. 

I guess that's enough for now.   Just needed to vent. 

Almost 35!

I can't think of a good title hence the reference to my soon-to-come birthday.   The only thing noteworthy about 35 is that I spent years saying "wow, when I'm 35 Gavin will be 18".    I'm more excited about his upcoming birthday.    No plans as November 28th is on a Tuesday and I work.    I'm not even that enthused about going out to eat. 

In weird news, I am now donating plasma.  I've done it twice now in the last week.    The first time was a long process (included a physical) but it went well.    The second time wasn't bad but I wasn't as comfortable.   My arm was still sore from the first donation but I have to admit they are decent at inserting the needles without it hurting.    I went on Tuesday to support Dan as donating plasma was a plan for him to earn some more money.    The local center has been offering coupons throughout the all.   $300 for your first five donations.   I didn't think I'd be eligible.    It was Dan that was ineligible (poor veins) and I was accepted.   I'm hoping to have continued success as it is easy money.   I'm also hoping I can figure out how to read a book while donating (one-handed).    Most people play on their phones but I find that to be boring after awhile.   I also have to be sure I stay distracted because I know I'm screwed if I look at my arm/machine or any of the others around me.   

Thanksgiving went well.    The night before, I did prep for green bean casserole and mashed potatoes.   I just had to put them in the oven to heat them up before the meal.    I made the ham in a crock pot the morning of as well.    The cherry pie from my realtor was good but I didn't get much.    Dan's mom brought a turkey (very good), sweet potatoes, rolls, and some desserts.   We had plenty of food that's for sure.    I feel pretty confident about making the full meal in the future.    Maybe next year in my new house?

I signed a new lease for my apartment and have to be out by the end of May.   Let's hope I have a house by then.    A shorter lease is making my rent rise in price come February but it makes no sense to renew for a year. 

Gavin did his first major trip with friends yesterday.    They drove up to Minneapolis for the day.   Spent a fair amount of time at the Mall of America and went to a NBA game in the evening.    They got back to Ankeny at 3:00am.    He had fun though and his team won the basketball game.    The other parents seemed to be a lot more worried about the trip than I was.    I was worried traffic would be nuts due to it being Black Friday but Gavin said the mall wasn't bad at all.

The remainder of the semester has its ups and downs.    The after school program is over until February so my Tuesdays and Thursdays are much easier schedule-wise.    Both of my DMACC classes are wrapping up nicely too.    I will have over 115 unit plans to grade soon though.    Slow and steady will win that race.   I have a day full of grading to do tomorrow (Sunday) too as I've been less than motivated to grade during my current break.   Shame on me. 

I'll be blogging again about said unit plans and complaining a lot, that's for sure.

Hello November

Time to blog!

It's been a busy past few weeks.    Gavin's football season ended.    The record wasn't good enough to progress further than the regular season but they were predicting that.    He did play a bit in the final game against Urbandale.    He was actually happy to be done with football though which was a little odd to me but I think the wear and tear was actually wearing on him.    He's happy just lifting weights now most mornings.    He'll likely do track in the spring. 

We had his senior pictures taken on October 24th after school.     We started out by Saylorville Lake and the weather was great.   He took a lot of outdoor shots.  I didn't take any pictures with my phone as that seemed inappropriate.    It was quite funny to see how many photographers were out there taking pictures of other seniors and families.    We then went back to the studio and oddly enough the alley in the back of the building had some more good outdoor shots.   We ended with him wearing his football jersey for indoor shots.   We should have his proofs in two weeks.   I will admit I had my first emotional moment out at Saylorville while watching him pose for his pictures.   I got a touch sad that he's almost done with school.

I am quite excited for my weekend travels.    I am leaving for Winona, MN after work to spend some time with Nicole and her husband.    I haven't seen their new house yet.    I see it as my mini-vacation before I am bombarded with insane grading.    I've kept up decently with two of my ISU classes and both of my DMACC classes.     I have a ton of things to grade for my elementary-ed course at ISU.   Like 200 items to grade.    It sounds like Nicole's making supper for us Friday night and we are going to a museum on Saturday.    The original plan was to go to a state park to hike but the weather looks crappy.    They are having a game night on Saturday that I'll probably stick around for and I'll head south on Sunday morning.    I think I am coming up to Waukon again the following weekend.    Sounds like Dan and Jude may come up with me too.   

A couple weeks ago I went to a show in Des Moines called The Naked Magicians.   It's an act that originated from Australia.    I was uncertain at first but my friend Jess talked me into it.   She was planning to attend with coworkers and asked me to come along too.    It's actually a really good magic show.    They do well with that.   And yes, as they proceed, the clothing comes off.   They can't show everything in the USA but you get the drift.   It also has good sexual humor too.     We had a VIP package so we got our picture taken with them too.   

Sidenote related to the picture above....so I almost stepped on the guy's toes next to me.   I said something like "Whoops, I don't want to step on you."   He looks at me with a straight face and says "Don't worry it's not long enough to hit the ground."   Well done sir, well done. 

The meal we had before the show was great too.    Had some great salmon and tomato tortilla soup.

Speaking of eating.    I got carried away in the last 4-6 weeks with eating junk food and not watching my calories.   For the first time since surgery prep, I gained some weight.    I am in the most risky period of time for people with gastric surgery.    People get happy with weight loss and progress and are most likely to gain weight 9-18 months after surgery.   The good news is I got back on track with protein intake and scheduling meals so I lost all the weight already.    I have healthier snacks available.   Honey crisp apples have been a godsend.    I have my year check up on November 20th.    Now that I lost weight, I am back to a weight I've been stuck at for months.   I still need to lose about 50 more pounds to reach my personal goal. 

Last but not least, I had a dentist appointment this morning.   My teeth are officially straight!   She took time to take the "buttons" off my teeth that were used with retainers over the past year to move my teeth.     They re-scanned my teeth so retainers could be made that I wear at night for the rest of my life.    I'm still wearing a set of retainers to keep my teeth in place.   Still paying off the braces but at least my teeth are done moving.    I'll have less dental appointments too. 

That's enough for now!

Concerts!

Greetings:

It's been a fun couple of weeks in terms of concert attendance.    Last week Dan and I attended the Theory of a Deadman concert.    It was at the Seven Flags Event Center which means no seating and standing on concrete.    My ankle and hip have been funny so it was a little tough to stand for so long.   The concert was actually a little short in length but I was OK with that with how worn out I felt.    They sounded great though and played a lot of their older songs so I was happy.  We recently saw Local H and The Toadies at Wooly's in Des Moines.   It was my first concert in that venue and it was really decent.    Both bands sounded great and played their hits.   I didn't feel so worn out afterwards either which was nice.    Our next concert is in December at Seven Flags Center and Gavin will attend it with Dan and me.    The band is Seether. 

Speaking of my ankle and hip, I am getting really sick of how they are affecting me on a daily basis.   Back in September my ankle started acting up with sharp pains.  If I sit for a long time and stand up, it would give out so I'm paranoid with standing now.     The ankle issues subsided a bit but still pop up.    Most of the pain moved into my hip so that feels like it gives out when I stand up.    It feels awful in the morning when I wake up and start walking around.     I had upped my physical activity so I wonder if that triggered something.   It's also my "bad" ankle and leg since it's the one that endured my canoe incident.   No I haven't gone to the doctor about it.    I keep thinking if I keep moving and working through it, the pain will subside.   I also wonder if the change of weather is affecting things too which also makes me feel old. 

Since I'm whining about body issues, I'm going to whine about my period too.   I don't know if it's because I'm getting older but the first days of my period are wiping me out so badly.    I could barely function on Sunday because I was so fatigued and lethargic.    Today was tough for me too, I did consider calling in sick.    I only was scheduled for a half day though so it seemed ridiculous to take a sick day.    I pushed through and taught my two classes.   I noticed how tired I feel over the summer each month when it was starting.  I also wonder if my calorie intake is affecting it too but you think that would have showed up soon after I had my surgery last year.   

I worked a half day today because we had a college visit scheduled for Gavin.   We spent some time at the Ankeny DMACC in the afternoon.    We met the lead person for the Building Trades program.   He seems like the kind of teacher Gavin would enjoy.    We saw the main lab used for construction classes and the guy explained how the class flows.    Yes he's taken many construction classes but it sounds like they would want him to take some again and Gavin agreed he would likely need a refresher in some aspects.    As part of the class, they build 5 houses in the local area and also go out to do remodels and fix-it jobs for local people too.   Gavin still wants to apply to ISU...just in case but it was nice to see the DMACC visit go so well too.    I get the feeling DMACC is the preferred choice right now.    No plan to visit ISU yet because he has no clue what he'd go there for or study. 

Work is super busy for ISU at least.   I am holding a meeting for my TAs tomorrow and prepping the lunch that goes with it.   I went with soup choices, salad, and rolls.   It's supposed to be a rainy cold day so I'm hoping the soup hits the spot.    It's getting harder and harder to feed them.    So many preferences and some just come by and don't eat.    Bleh.   Next week we have our Health Fair event at a local elementary school.    It's coming together nicely but always a lot of work to put together.    For once I really don't have to haul a million things to the school for students.   I also have to present at a faculty meeting on Friday which is a little nerve wracking but should only require one slide of information to share with my colleagues.    I'm on an outcomes assessment committee (not thrilling) and need to share the next research our committee is doing in the college.   I'm also behind in grading and with my low energy levels, it's been tough to work on that growing pile.   

Dan and I also made the realization that I likely cannot join him with Jude for Halloween this year.    Newton is celebrating it on the 31st and that is a Tuesday.   I couldn't get to Newton in time because I work late in Ames for Swim & Gym.    Ankeny has it on Monday but Dan couldn't get Jude here in time on that day.    The company that owns my apartment building is having a Trunk or Treat on October 26 but that doesn't work out with scheduling either.    Sadness.   

Guess that's enough of an update for now!   

October Updates

Warning....broken record...I've been meaning to blog for days.   I probably won't be as thorough as I prefer but hey, it's a blog entry.

Gavin recently had Homecoming and it was a great game.   My friend Tiffany joined me for the game along with her 5-year-old daughter.  I went to grad school with Tiffany and stayed close to her for awhile after as she lived in Ames for a bit.    She then moved to Maryland with her husband, back to Iowa but was hours away and now they live in Huxley.   I still haven't met their 3-year-old yet.    Gavin had a touchdown in the game which was fantastic to see.    They let him play more for once and it paid off.   He went to the dance with a lady friend on Saturday night and had a decent time. 

I got brave last Friday and had my hair cut short.    It was time.   I had been wanting it for years but finally felt my face was thin enough to pull off my look.    People seem to like it and it's been easy to style in the morning.    She thought I'd have to flat iron it often but I haven't had to do that yet.   My hair just lays the right way.    I may even go shorter some day but I'm content with this look for now.

Found out today that the ex's father passed way on Sunday.    I'll admit I have wondered about him and his wife for years.   He was never in great health so I actually was surprised he was still alive.   Sadly I doubt his quality of life had been great this year.   

I bit the bullet and bought an annual membership to the yoga studio I had been trying in Ankeny.    I am 90% pleased with the purchase and was happy to sign up for some upcoming classes.    I also have some regret as this membership lasts until next October 2018.   Yea, I won't be living in Ankeny then but I am willing to drive down here to participate.    Sigh. 

Works going well but is no longer low key.   Monday was quite the day of teaching in the morning and meeting after meeting in the afternoon.   I hadn't had a day like that in awhile.    A staff member actually questioned if I worked much that day because she couldn't find me in the building.    Umm...I was busting my butt all over campus attending meetings lady.    I am now officially buried in grading too.     The time has come.    I'll crank some out on Friday and Saturday.   It will take motivation but I'll make a good dent. 

I guess that's all I have for an update right now.   Here are some pics from Gavin's Homecoming Dance venture:

Bored but Making Money

I'm currently "working" for DMACC at the moment.   When our coaching classes are large (40+ students), there has to be two instructors present.     I am not the lead instructor at all today.   It's been kind of nice as I'm sitting in the back and I've done some work for ISU and DMACC already this morning.   I'm not the lead teacher until next Saturday morning.   But hey, it is easy money.   I wish I had more to grade to better use my time.    I don't have a lot being turned in for grading until the end of the month.     It's a little funny this morning as one of my grad students is taking this course.   He is much more of an expert in some of the topics this morning than the current instructor so he's gotta be even more bored than me.

Work has been going very well in terms of my teaching and activities I've been doing with my students.     I get nice comments about my classes being more interesting and engaging than other education classes.    Makes me sad that other people on campus with an emphasis in pedagogy don't try harder to put engaging practices into place so we set a good example for pre-service teachers.   I've had a lot of energy at work and have gotten a lot of extra tasks done.   We are in the process of converting the PE lab back into a lab and storage space.  It is the room that used to be my office.    We also ordered about 3K worth of new equipment so I've taken it upon myself to be sure it's labeled correctly, inflated, stored well, etc.    I'm going to try and make people help me with it this week so it's not a solo endeavor.   I usually let tasks like this sit on a list for a little too long and then need to mad scramble to make progress.    It's nice to have not much of anything on that "to do" list at work.

I am also trying to get some things done at home too.     I have bags for donation again from both my closet as well as Gavin's closet.     A fair chunk of Gavin's clothes will actually go to Dan's house for his 15-year-old because we think they may fit him and he rarely has clothes at Dan's.    And yes, he's supposed to spend more time at Dan's now....supposedly things are going OK so far this weekend.    I have another collection of clothes that aren't fitting me right so I want to get them out of the apartment so I don't feel I can return to them if weight gain ever comes back into the picture.    I will admit I need to bump up my physical activity.    I had some motivation do some running last week but I let the heat change my mind.   I kept saying I'd go run after the sun went down but it still felt icky down here and my motivation seems to diminish greatly when the sun sets.    My 30 day yoga experience ended so I need to pay regular price from now on.   I can't afford to buy a pass until I get paid again so no more yoga until October.    Thankfully with the amount of manual labor and running around at ISU, I get plenty of movement in general.  

Swim & Gym started this past week.     I let too many kids enroll this semester.     I should have known better.     Tuesday, quite frankly, was like herding cats.    Many things went well though.    My paperwork was correct so that's always nice on the first day.   I usually leave 1-2 poor kids off the attendance sheet for some stupid reason but everything was accurate.    I have a lot of new kids in the program too and the new parents are very cool.     The craziest part of the program is when we transition from PE time to our swimming lessons.    On Tuesday, I had a little girl decide to take a bandaid off in the locker room and proceed to bleed badly and walk around while bleeding.    Add to the situation that my cleaner for blood borne pathogen spills was missing.     Thankfully I have a TA with me in the program that I can help but it was rough as I needed to place 50+ kids in their correct swimming groups.    Thursday was better.   Much better.

Now that school has started and the fall is upon us I don't see Dan as often.    Depending on when he has Jude (and Taylor now) he has to go to Newton more often after work and doesn't come to Ankeny.     It doesn't make sense to come to Ankeny on Tuesdays or Thursdays anyway because I'm usually tired and coming home late anyway.     I'm a weird woman and like my alone time though so I don't mind the time apart.    It will be a major change for me when I live with him.    Or I'll need an escape place in the house that is my own room.   Or you'll find me in a hammock in the backyard.

I guess that's enough of an update for now!