I was at the produce store when one of the ladies I work with at school stopped to talk to me. (We both work as Substitute Teachers). She was upset because a new woman was hired in one of the schools in the district. She felt bitter and thought it was unfair, mainly because she applied for the same job, two years ago. The woman that was hired recently also happens to be her next door neighbor. Her neighbor starting subbing in the district only a year ago.
It is ironic that our district is hiring new staff now. Afterall, they handed-out the "pink slip" to approximately 50 teachers. Our district follows the Consumer Price Index and based on that information, our overall state budget has decreased, causing lots of lay-offs, expediting tenured teacher's retirements by offering them enticing Retirement Package, eliminating job titles, decrease teacher per student ratios in the classrooms, and eliminating the Arts curriculum. On top of that, salary freezes and salary cuts are in the works.
It is unfortunate for my friend that she was not called to fill a permanent position, that she desperately wants. She believes that her neighbor knew someone on the inside, and that's how she got hired. But, isn't this usually how most people get in? It sometimes comes down to "who you know" and being in the right place and the right time.
Mar 30, 2010
Monday on Spring Break
It's Spring Break it's not too bad out- weather wise that is. It's a bit windy but the sun popped out again, it's about 60 degrees and I am in barbequing mode.
Yesterday, I had lunch with one of my best friends. My morning started out good- drinking only 2 cups of coffee and having 2 servings of fruits for breakfast. By 10:30 a.m. I was hungry, but since the lunch date was in the works, I ate another piece of fruit to keep my hunger at bay. In my other posts, I wrote about losing weight and watching what I eat. I also keep track of my caloric intake mainly by using an ap on the iPhone called "Lose It".
I thought we'd go to Panera Bread (where we've been going to eat the past 5 times we did lunch), so I took out their menu from my kitchen drawer, carefully glanced it over and looked for a low-fat meal. I quickly decided to go with their Half and Half Special; a small bowl of soup or salad and half a sandwich. The Low-Fat Chicken Noodle Soup and half a vegeterian sandwich sounds good to me. I got it all planned out now, so I thought....
....I picked her up from work, we immediately start talking and catching up to our daily grinds in the car. She changes the subject and asked which restaurant we're going to today. Our usual choices were: Portillo's, Panera Bread, and Chinese food. We drove by a new restaurant that just opened up: Chipotle. She loved the idea of Chipotle because she's never been there before, and she had a taste for Mexican food. Her boyfriend doesn't like Mexican foods, so she was craving it. We both ordered their Burrito Bowl; I had the carnitas and she had the chicken. It was delicious and filling and their rice is so delicous! ( I haven't had rice for almost a month now!)
The big portion of food kept me full all day. I felt guilty for eating so much food at once, and my stomach felt bloated, and my jeans felt tight. Thank goodness I excercised earlier; I walked two and a half miles, 15 minutes of aerobics and lifted light dumbbells. In the evening, I wasn't hungry and I skipped dinner but I did have some papaya and two cookies while I watched Dancing with the Stars and 24.
Yesterday, I had lunch with one of my best friends. My morning started out good- drinking only 2 cups of coffee and having 2 servings of fruits for breakfast. By 10:30 a.m. I was hungry, but since the lunch date was in the works, I ate another piece of fruit to keep my hunger at bay. In my other posts, I wrote about losing weight and watching what I eat. I also keep track of my caloric intake mainly by using an ap on the iPhone called "Lose It".
I thought we'd go to Panera Bread (where we've been going to eat the past 5 times we did lunch), so I took out their menu from my kitchen drawer, carefully glanced it over and looked for a low-fat meal. I quickly decided to go with their Half and Half Special; a small bowl of soup or salad and half a sandwich. The Low-Fat Chicken Noodle Soup and half a vegeterian sandwich sounds good to me. I got it all planned out now, so I thought....
....I picked her up from work, we immediately start talking and catching up to our daily grinds in the car. She changes the subject and asked which restaurant we're going to today. Our usual choices were: Portillo's, Panera Bread, and Chinese food. We drove by a new restaurant that just opened up: Chipotle. She loved the idea of Chipotle because she's never been there before, and she had a taste for Mexican food. Her boyfriend doesn't like Mexican foods, so she was craving it. We both ordered their Burrito Bowl; I had the carnitas and she had the chicken. It was delicious and filling and their rice is so delicous! ( I haven't had rice for almost a month now!)
The big portion of food kept me full all day. I felt guilty for eating so much food at once, and my stomach felt bloated, and my jeans felt tight. Thank goodness I excercised earlier; I walked two and a half miles, 15 minutes of aerobics and lifted light dumbbells. In the evening, I wasn't hungry and I skipped dinner but I did have some papaya and two cookies while I watched Dancing with the Stars and 24.
Mar 24, 2010
The "R" Diet
I was talking to a friend, about how I've been exercising for the past 3 months and I haven't lost weight. I didn't gain weight either, but I was really hoping to lose a few pounds by now. She told me that her husband eats the same thing every single day and he's pretty thin now. It's not really a diet-- it's just the way he eats. I have known my best friend and her husband for over 30 years. Her husband used to be overweight, unshapely, had a beer belly, and didn't eat healthy either.
Today, you can't see a single fat cell on that man. He has a healthy glow on his face, runs everyday and eats healthy. A total 360 degree lifestyle change. She told me what he eats everyday and I followed his diet. Within two weeks, I lost 6 pounds. This is the daily food list:
Today, you can't see a single fat cell on that man. He has a healthy glow on his face, runs everyday and eats healthy. A total 360 degree lifestyle change. She told me what he eats everyday and I followed his diet. Within two weeks, I lost 6 pounds. This is the daily food list:
- Breakfast: coffee, plain multigrain toast, instant oatmeal with honey
- Snack: an apple and if you're still hungry before lunch, have a pear
- Lunch: homemade sandwich, like ham or turkey from the deli on multigrain bread plus a salad or fruit
- Snack: for the afternoon, another apple or pear or bunch of grapes
- Dinner: whatever you prepare; it could be meatloaf & potatoes, chicken enchilada, spaghetti
- Evening Snack: yogurt and fruit
Down Another Size
The highlight of the morning today: Fitting into a size 8 jeans! Wow! Finally! After 3 months of serious and consistent exercising. That's alot of miles I've walked and holding off the cocktails and sinful foods! Hey, now I think it's worth it! Woohooo!!! Working on going down another size.
Oh man, my TV broke!
I wake up two hours before I leave for work. The thing is, I only have to drive seven minutes away from my house to get there. I like to do is take my time getting ready for work. I never liked having to rush, rush, rush out of my house to get to work. I enjoy my two cups of coffee and watch a little bit of the morning news and weather. Well, today, was not one of those mornings, because I did not get to sit around and watch TV. I started to watch TV (for about 5) minutes, when all of a sudden the screen had all these red horizontal lines,with a pinkish tint all over. So, naturally, I thought it was a weak channel signal, because it was also cloudy outside. I quickly changed the channel; nothing. The horizontal lines was still there. I kept channel surfing and still the same result. Next, I thought I'd reset the Directv DVR box and waited. By now, I thought it was the satellite signal. After a few more frustrating minutes, the lines were still there.
I have a Phillips Plasma TV and it turns out that a part called the UF capacitor needs to be fixed. As I research this problem, I read that this is very common with plasma tvs. I'm just waiting for the TV Repairman to fix my television. I still have to watch my recorded shows: 24 and American Idol which I had hope to watch tonite. I'm keeping my fingers crossed-- hopefully my television will be fixed by tomorrow evening.
I have a Phillips Plasma TV and it turns out that a part called the UF capacitor needs to be fixed. As I research this problem, I read that this is very common with plasma tvs. I'm just waiting for the TV Repairman to fix my television. I still have to watch my recorded shows: 24 and American Idol which I had hope to watch tonite. I'm keeping my fingers crossed-- hopefully my television will be fixed by tomorrow evening.
Mar 21, 2010
Lesson Plans
Creating lesson plans every Sunday takes up alot of time! Though I only have to create one grade level, there isn't enough time in a day to be able to check the past week's assignments. I also have to read the materials, figure out math problems and become creative for next week's lessons. As a frugal person, I chose to gather my own textbooks, internet research, library trips, in regards to selecting work for homeschooling. Even though, at times, I feel "bombarded" with my "own" homework, one of the benefits for me is that I get to re-educate myself on some of the middle grade level lessons on Pre-Algebra, Science, and History, Art, English, etc.
Over the weekend, I attended a Homeschooling Convention recently in a nearby small town. It was a small event, and I spoke with many different vendors. One of the highlights was discovering Math Teaching Textbooks. The Math Curriculum was created by two brothers who both were graduates from Harvard University. I sat there for a good hour while the woman explained to me how their program works. One of the homeschooling teenage boy came by and we were able to interview him informally on his experience with Teaching Textbooks. He gave the curriculum a "thumbs up" for the ease in understanding the materials, the workbooks, the solutions and the option to complete the lessons and tests online or in the included workbook. The price is a little high, especially for the higher grade levels. I continue to ponder on purchasing this well-worth it curriculum in the near future.
Over the weekend, I attended a Homeschooling Convention recently in a nearby small town. It was a small event, and I spoke with many different vendors. One of the highlights was discovering Math Teaching Textbooks. The Math Curriculum was created by two brothers who both were graduates from Harvard University. I sat there for a good hour while the woman explained to me how their program works. One of the homeschooling teenage boy came by and we were able to interview him informally on his experience with Teaching Textbooks. He gave the curriculum a "thumbs up" for the ease in understanding the materials, the workbooks, the solutions and the option to complete the lessons and tests online or in the included workbook. The price is a little high, especially for the higher grade levels. I continue to ponder on purchasing this well-worth it curriculum in the near future.
Mar 17, 2010
What to Write
What do you write about when there are so many things going on in your life? In the last two days, I have been consumed with updating this page and blogging my thoughts. Well, this is a fairly new experience for me and I am slowly finding out that it takes alot of time out of your day to sit and think about what to write about. Am I in a "practice writing mode?" you bet. As I train my brain to hurry up and think and type while my thoughts are running thru my head, I hate having to hit the "backspace" key as I notice that at times my thoughts are so fast that my own fingers can't keep up. Then, as the saying goes, "I'm having one of those senior moments" where I lost my thought due to my fingers unable to keep typing away at the keyboard.
Of course, I could try and use that one little feature on my iPhone, called "Voice Memo". But, that would be too easy....to talk into the phone, record my thoughts only to play it back to myself and type it here. That would be strange.
Of course, I could try and use that one little feature on my iPhone, called "Voice Memo". But, that would be too easy....to talk into the phone, record my thoughts only to play it back to myself and type it here. That would be strange.
Mar 15, 2010
New Celebrity Apprentice Season 2010
Finally, Celebrity Apprentice started! I was disappointed that Cyndi Lauper was not much of a Project Manager; she failed to make one firm decision and was not a strong team leader at all. In other words, she was indecisive and did not lead others. Overall, I believe she should have been "fired" first since she did not lead the team to victory. Unfortunately, Carol got fired because all the women "threw her name out to the Donald" and she was a bit of a loner--- she was quiet, and didn't seem to make connections with her teammates. And that, I think was really the reason she was easily fired-- not being a team player; she was unassertive; she was a bit of a loner- she didn't seem to click with anyone or befriend anybody; especially since she was surrounded by domineering, confident, women.
Mar 14, 2010
Daylight Savings Time
It's Sunday, March 14, 2010. Mid-March and we had to change our clock/time ahead one hour. It's so weird that we have to adjust to a new "time" twice a year. This can't be good for my biological clock. I just got used to sleeping and waking up at the same time!
The idea of "Daylight Savings Time" in the United States was conceived by Benjamin Franklin. It's suppose to help us take advantage of the longer summer days, saving energy (because of more sunlight in the Summer months, thus less electric energy used) and stimulating the economy. Because the days and nites are longer, people are out, and possibly go and walk the malls or store and shop. Does that mean I will spend more money in the summer? Isn't this a weird concept? I would prefer that the time be left alone all year to the "Daylight Saving Time" so that I don't have to adjust my waking and sleeping hour twice a year. What do you think?
The idea of "Daylight Savings Time" in the United States was conceived by Benjamin Franklin. It's suppose to help us take advantage of the longer summer days, saving energy (because of more sunlight in the Summer months, thus less electric energy used) and stimulating the economy. Because the days and nites are longer, people are out, and possibly go and walk the malls or store and shop. Does that mean I will spend more money in the summer? Isn't this a weird concept? I would prefer that the time be left alone all year to the "Daylight Saving Time" so that I don't have to adjust my waking and sleeping hour twice a year. What do you think?
Mar 11, 2010
Hooray for Keurig
I called Keurig today to complain about an ongoing problem that I am experiencing with their B77 model coffee brewing machine. It started 2 months ago, my coffee maker has problems with the water draining from the reservoir tank into the housing unit. The machine makes an attempt to "drain" the water into the housing unit, and after several seconds, it gives up and shuts down. This is annoying because I would have to reach at the back of the unit and press the power button again. Plus, the problem occurs randomly.
I spoke to a Customer Service Representative and explained my problem. To my amazement, she said that they will ship a brand NEW coffee machine, and to throw the one I have now because it's defective and they don't want it back.
A pleasant resolution from a WONDERFUL company!!! Now that's Customer Service!
I spoke to a Customer Service Representative and explained my problem. To my amazement, she said that they will ship a brand NEW coffee machine, and to throw the one I have now because it's defective and they don't want it back.
A pleasant resolution from a WONDERFUL company!!! Now that's Customer Service!
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