Thursday, June 25, 2015

10 Thursday Thoughts

I've been wanting to blog for at least a week, but couldn't come up with anything that I thought was long enough to blog about OR I didn't have enough time to sit and get all of my thoughts out at one sitting. SO here we go..................

1. I was in AP training a couple of weeks ago to allow me to teach AP Statistics next school year. Picking this particular class had several blessings in them:

  • I was excused from post planning at school,
  • the instructor's class description stated he will give us his lesson plans, tests, assignments, and tips,
  • the site feeds us too well (if you know me, you know I love to eat), and
  • and the surprise bonus: my county just adopted the instructor's book as our book!!!!

2. The Man-Child has finished his second year of college. I think this year has been more challenging this year than the first year. He has grown quite a bit and made some mistakes. The blessing is he is learning from those mistakes and making the necessary changes. One of the lessons he is mastering is asking for help. I am not sure if that is a pride thing or a smart kid defect, but he knows his village is here to guide him to look at many options and make the best decision. 

3. I started this blog as as 10 Thought Thursday about 3 weeks ago while I was in class. Apparently, I got side tracked cause I am just getting to it today.

4. Man-Child and I both celebrated a birthday last week. This was the first time he was not with me for his birthday. I guess that means he is (almost) grown. My motto, "As long as you are dependent for any of your bills, then you are not grown." He spent his birthday in class and lifting weights. He will be home for less than a week. We will celebrate when he gets home.

I guess this is what you look like when you lift almost daily. 

5. Its that time of year for me to sit and reflect. I know I need to really start putting some action behind it to make it happen, I have a few projects that have been on the back burner. If I am completely honest with myself, I let a few things hold me back. They are procrastination, perfection, and lack of discipline. These are areas I need to rectify in order to reach my goals! I need to implement some strategies that I know work because I have used them in the past and my line sister, Southern Belle, lives her life by them. So what is the secret, you ask? Create a plan. Habakkuk 2:2 states, "...Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may (be able to) read (it easily and quickly) as he hastens by. I know the power of vision boards, to-to lists, and scheduling time to get things done. I just need to get discipline about it. I have not created a new vision board in a long time. I am way overdo. 



6. Boot camp started back up in April. I have been going consistently but I have been consistently inconsistent with eating properly. I really should have dropped about 15 pounds by now. Meal planning is on deck starting in July. I am going to ride out this bad eating for this week! LOL! 


7. The shooting and killing of 9 people in South Carolina is heartbreaking. I have limited my viewing of the stories because it is so doggone depressing. I don't need to watch hours and hours of coverage to know the man who shot up that church is filled with anger and hatred. I know there will be outrage for a few days or weeks, then unfortunately, we will go back to normal. We need to come up with solutions to eradicate hatred. Hatred is a learned behavior. Children are not born with it. They learn it! So we need to QUIT feeding our children with it. 

8.  Today is the last day of summer school! Even though the pay is good, my heart aches from seeing these students who are so far behind on understanding math concepts. In my humble opinion, there are so many causes to the issue. First, I know many of them have been passed on from year to year without truly understanding or even able to repeat what a teacher is doing. It is critical for a student to understand the process or the "whys" on what they are doing. Once they get it, they can handle any problem similar to it. Another major problem is the student's lack of faith to learn math. They are quick to say, "I can't do math!" So they give up. Many times they don't even try to get an understanding of the question. I force my kids to give me something before I even help. It may be as small as telling me what they know or is given in the problem that can help solve it. Then making a connection to the next piece. They get frustrated, but it's alright cause I know you will get a little further with the next question!

9. I am itching for a new car. However, I know a new car with a car note is not in my grand scheme of things. SO I just need to get the things fixed on this car and start saving for a newer car. I made a promise that I would not have another car note years ago. Since that time, I have paid cash for the last 2 cars. It just takes discipline and being able to handle delayed gratification. My last 2 cars have been Hyundai Sonatas. I still like it. I really want the newer version. 

10. As much as I say "I don't like girls!", my school's girls basketball team has gotten my heart. I was asked by the boys' coach to take stats for both teams. So how, those girls tricked me to love them...LOL. On the few occasions the boys and girls went to different locations, I went with the girls. I even went with the girls for playoff games instead of the boys. This season I have committed to being with them for everything except practices. This summer I was at summer league games, team camps, and team building exercises. Yep, I think they are stuck with me! 










OK, that's my 10. Hopefully, I will get to blogging more frequently.