{Ten for Tuesday...I mean WIDW...Nope, It's Thursday!}

WOW! Time has literally flown by since last Tuesday, Wednesday, THURSDAY!  I have had something going on pretty much every night for nearly two weeks. Either something to attend or something that was a must do. 

I'm going to go for the trifecta and hit Ten for Tuesday, What I'm doing Now, and Three for Thursday....Let's see... 

10 Things that are on my mind...

1. I am so thankful that my brother and sister-in-law treated me to The Lion King for my 30th birthday. [Yes, I am aware that I am 31.]  IT WAS AMAZING! Lisa and I had a great time enjoying appetizers and drinks before the show catching up on life and it was a fun night out!

YAY! 

So excited!! 

Our traditional party pic selfie!

2. Pretty excited to get some new running shoes this week! I am glad that I was able to find and stick with a style and fit that works for me. I really love Brook's, but they always run a bit on the pricey side. Saucony's have served me well with an affordable price tag. This also means I get to now wear my old running shoes (that still look pretty new) as everyday shoes. I only wear my running shoes to run in therefore they do not get very dirty. 

3. I haven't been in my classroom since Tuesday and it's helped me free my brain.I internalize so much that goes on with my kiddos it breaks me down. My team had our all day planning session on Wednesday. It had to be rescheduled because of snow days. It just so happened to fall the day before (today) my KTIP intern and I scheduled her last in-class observation day. That just happened to fall right before the day I scheduled (about two months ago) a few doctor's appointments. It's been a pretty productive few days. 

4. I decided to eat lunch with the class that I was in today. First graders are way different than 5th graders. One told me all about how she calls one of my students "honey bun" because he is so cute. Then they thought it was hilarious that I could remember their names. They also tried to convince me that the barbecue sauce that I was dipping my chicken nuggets in was hot sauce. Such great lunch conversation!

5. I am in the middle of my Entry 2 for National Boards. I video taped 5, yes FIVE lessons over the course of five days. That's a lot to deal with. Fingers crossed that I will be able to find one good 15 minute section that I can highlight. My kiddos made it tough a few days.

6. I am being observed by my principal this coming Monday. I'm sure it will be fine, but the anticipation of an observation is never fun. 

7. I have to write a paper for my Bellarmine Literacy Class that's due next Thursday. 

8. I'm running a 10K on Saturday. My goal is to beat my time from the fall. 

9. I'm wanting to build my Spring Break reading list. I'm open to recommendations! Currently I only have The One and Only Ivan.

10. I really like March Madness, but I do not like the side it brings out of some people. Yes, I am aware that I should not (and I do not) take what people say seriously, but it stills says something about the type of person they are.  

What I'm Doing Now...

Wondering if Derek did or did not cheat on Meredith... #pleaseno

Three KP Quotes for Thursday...
1. "Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody."

2. "Be cool to people even if they are not cool to you, because somebody was probably not cool to them."

3. "Give the world a reason to dance. It's everybody's duty to do that." 

How are things in your neck of the woods?!?!?!

xoxo-Kim

Happy Ten for Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday! 

Some fun happenings to be thankful for...

1. I finally met baby Greyson on his 2 week birthday. Those two weeks felt like a long time, but he is soooooo adorable and just perfect! I really miss his mommy at school, but it's so exciting seeing your friend go through such an awesome experience. 

2. My National Boards unit is PLANNED and ready to go. Video taping will take place this week and next. We are going to go for four days. Fingers crossed we capture 15 good minutes! 

3. Pretty excited UofL beat Virginia last weekend. This year has been such a roller coaster. Regardless if my team is having an up year or a down year I support them and appreciate the good times. The game Saturday was a good time and one to remember. We fought hard and won as a team, and the least expected guy to come through in the end did.  

4. We had family dinner at my parents over the weekend. The little ladies stole the show with their cuteness of course! 

5. I ran the first leg of the Louisville Triple Crown this past Saturday! My goal was to beat my 5k time in the fall and I did by 1:23. I was stoked! It was a pretty cold day, but I dressed perfectly! I didn't use my Nike app that I usually use for time and distance because its difficult to use when I have gloves on. I decided to wear a watch instead to track my time...well it died after three minutes. LOL I just went with it and am very proud of my 34:20! 10K in less than 2 weeks.  My friend, Michelle, has taken on the triple crown challenge too! 

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Race 1 in the books! 

 6. Here is my crock-pot chicken noodle soup. It honestly wasn't that good. I followed the directions exactly! Just seemed super thin and blah. It looks pretty and I'll eat it for a few meals, but I'm going to have to try something different next time.  This is recipe number 7 for the year! 

7. Face-timing is one of the best inventions ever! 

8. I was on the treadmill at the gym tonight and one of my former students walked up next to me and said. "Hey Ms. Weiter do you remember me?!?" Of course I did because she was one of the sweetest students I taught at my old school. She wasn't actually in my homeroom, but I taught her math and she sat in my room in the mornings because she was dropped off at school before students were allowed in the building. It made my night to see how much she has grown and that she came up and said hi! 

9. One of my students that has been trying to earn the privilege of going on our class trip has earned his points 7 days in a row. He has a point sheet to track if he is on-task and his behavior. Fingers crossed he keeps it up.

10. I'm gonna go ahead an add that it's a pretty positive thing that I've made it two days thus far this week. We have conferences Mon and Wed 4-7. Faculty meeting was tonight and Thursday I have my literacy class until 8. Such. Long. Days, but two down only means there are two more to go. :)

Happy Tuesday to you!

Question of the day: What is your favorite crock-pot recipe?

xoxo-Kim

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{3.8.15}

It's Sunday and time to link-up with the Teaching Trio for the Sunday Scoop. I am liking the scoop because it's a way to hold myself accountable! :) How do you hold yourself accountable. I also like check-lists and they work just as well, but this is a fun Sunday morning booster! 

This last snow storm put a beating on my car. Then when I was driving downtown on Friday a huge truck splashed up dirt, salt, and whatever else was in that pile. One entire side looks like a splash art.

Sunday always brings a grocery trip! This week I'm making chicken noodle soup for the first time!

Definitely have to get a run in today because this week is C.R.A.Z.Y! Conferences two nights after school, my literacy class another, faculty meeting as always, AND going to see The Lion King!

I've been so excited to meet Grayson and today is going to be the day!

Three snow days threw things off again! We were never able to have our all-day deep planning session last week so I am hoping that will happen one day this week. Good thing is I already know what needs to be accomplished and just have to write it in the plan book. (Yes, I write my plans. It's a way for me to fully thing things through.)

So excited to have dinner with my family tonight. Its not always easy to coordinate crazy schedules between the 7 of us, but when we do...it's my FAVORITE!!!!! My family is my world! 

Hope you have a great day!

xoxo-Kim

High-Five it's Friday!!!

Happy Friday everybody! I hope that you have had a great week. It's crazy that we had another big winter storm! But, it does give everyone a change to sllllllooooowwww down. Unless you are my dad...he doesn't take snow days. Really the only people that actually take snow days in my family are me and one of my sister-in-laws. She is a teacher too! Everyone else just keeps on trucking.

Some fun things to be thankful for from this past week...

1. On Tuesday school was a pretty rough day and I came home with a headache. I went to bed pretty early. I woke up expecting to go to work on Wednesday, but it was canceled because of snow rain. I am not thankful for my headache, but I am thankful that I was able to catch up on some sleep. I sometimes forget that I need to slow down. I always try to be so productive and that's not always necessary.

2. I wasn't able to meet my February goal of running hills 4 times. I was actually only able to run them once. Monday afternoons are my most flexible run days. In the past I always used Mondays for hill runs-I thought I would stick with that.

1st Monday of Feb-Went to meet my new niece, Lillian.

2nd Monday- Ran dog hill at Cherokee Park 10 times. That was equivalent to 2.72 miles. I set my goal at 10, but next time I will run 11 so I hit my 3 mile minimun. :) I'm not letting myself run less than 3 miles every time I go hit the pavement. Unless....like today I ran 2 easy miles because I have a race in the morning and wasn't able to make it to the gym yesterday because of snowmageddon 2.0. Just enough to stretch the legs. Listen to me, all talking like a runner. ;) I'm starting to "feel" like one! 3rd Monday-Snowmageddon 1.0 hit!

4th Monday-I had to attend my college Literacy Class (that's usually on Thursday) because my professor was going to be out of town. 

I was still able to hit my 50 mile goal and that's exciting because February has 3 less days than January and March. For March I am going to try to get a 2 hill days in, but I am running in a 5K and 10K race. My goal is to beat my fall 5K and 10K times. Not by a particular amount of time, but just to finish a little quicker. I am a tad bit nervous about tomorrow because it will be pretty cold, but it'll be a learning experience for sure.

I am at 118.8 miles for the year. 531.2 more to go. Right on track!   

3. I was able to catch up with a very dear friend of mine with some awesome phone conversations. I'm not a huge phone person, but conversations just flow with her. She is a great support in my life. Do you have such a person? Make sure you thank him/her! 

4. With the extra time off I was able to plan my National Boards unit!!! YAHOO!!! This was a pretty large task because I decided to teach my unit through interactive workstations. I had to write them pretty much from scratch. I went into school for a few hours today to prepare a majority of my materials. The plan was to implement and video tape this coming week, but the snow days may have pushed it back. Who knows, maybe I'll get some taping in on Thursday and/or Friday. 

5. I was asked a very important question by a very important person that I will share when the time is right. It has me feeling....honored to say the least. 

I hope you had a nice week and were able to slow down some.

xoxo-Kim

Three Favorites...

I didn't have time, or the energy, to reflect on a Tuesday's Ten yesterday because of a pretty tough headache. I prepped a few things for school today (that were not needed because of a snow rain day). I decided to link up with Teaching Trio to share a few of my favorites. Some people shared favorite school supplies, favorite after-testing activities, ect. I thought I would share something a little different... I think everyone needs a way to let things go and I feel like I have to be pretty good at them because of being a teacher.   

Run: I ran some back in the day, but I enjoy it so much more with my running 2.0 journey. I really think it helps clear the mind. I am able to release so much tension and worry. Looking back, when I had a running lapse in Nov./Dec. I was more "stressed" and didn't feel the best. I can tell that running helps me let things go...especially after a tough day at school. I can take it all out on the pavement. 

Write: I started writing in a journal when I was in around the 4th or 5th grade. I used to write every single day, but as I have gotten older I have only sporadically stuck with it. I enjoy it because your notebook is a no judgement, no advice giving, no care in the world zone. Sometimes I'll go back and read pages and laugh, shake my head, or just throw an entry away. 

Read: Reading is something I LOVE to much, but at times do the least of. It seems to take the most time because once you get started it's often hard to stop. I like books because they take you to a different world completely. They let your mind explore and ponder in a different place. Often that's all it takes to forget about your own "problems."

I hope you have ways to clear your mind!

xoxo-Kim

March Currently

I cannot believe it's already March. February always go by pretty quickly and then comes March. March always brings the hope of warmer weather and lucky days and is a necessary step in getting to the wonderful week that is known to many as SPRING BREAK! :) 

Linking up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade for March's Currently...

Listening: I am just not a music person. Never have been. If I listen to music it's usually country. It just always takes me forever to learn the words to songs and then I never learn the names of songs or can figure out who sings them. Just not my thing.

Loving: I am grading everything at school now! I am not bringing anything home and it's making things less stressful in terms of always having something to grade. Even if it takes me a little bit longer before on Friday's before I leave it's totally worth it. 

Thinking: Every day is one day closer to SB 2015! Two weeks off if a glorious "reward" for how this year has been going. I'm earning my days off for sure! Then once I get back to school it'll be time to get ready for testing and the end of the year. AH-MAZING. I can do it, I can do it! 

Wanting: I do not mind the snow, but I'm currently training for a serious of spring races (5K, 10K, 10 Miler, and 1/2 marathon) and I miss the sidewalks. They will hopefully be back by the end of the week. At least it's warm when running on the treadmill. My face appreciates it..lol. 

Needing: I need to log the hours my KTIP intern and I have met this year to track her progress. She has grown so much this year and definitely set the bar high for other interns that I may mentor. 

Spring Break Plans: 1) Hanging out with Ryann and Lillian are definite musts. I cannot get enough of their sweet faces. 2) I am not sure of what books I am going to dive into, but I am sure that I'll find something by then. 3) I am thankful that I am only re-submitting one portfolio entry for National Boards. It is due May 15th, but I think getting it finished a month ahead of time will definitely help me edit and revise. 

HAPPY MARCH!!!!

xoxo-Kim

Sunday's Scoop!

Sunday has become such a wonderful day of the week for me considering for about 9 years I worked most of them. That just sounded really crazy in my head as I typed that last sentence. It's been almost 5 months since I left CPK. Five months is nothing in comparison to 9 years which means that I have a lot more Sunday's off to catch up on my Sunday Funday's! I'm loving it!

Linking up with Teaching Trio again this Sunday.

Here is my scoop!

Must Do:

I am in the midst of redoing my portfolio entry for National Board Certification. I have all of my ideas for my unit, but I really need to finalize my activities and get everything together. Then I need to decide when I am going to video tape. I have a feeling I'm going to need to video tape this group multiple times. They LOVE being in front of the camera. My goal is to have all of my video taping and unit finished by the end of March. Then I am going to finish my write up over Spring Break. That will give me about a month for editing and revising. I am going to plan my assessment center retake exercise for June when we are out of school. That will give me a good month to study! If you have any ideas or resources for how to integrate the arts into various content areas that will lead students to gain an appreciation of the arts I am open to ideas. FOUR POINTS, FOUR POINTS, FOUR POINTS.... I can do it! 

Hope To: 

One of the best things we do is a school are deep planning days. Every 9 weeks, we are provided a day to deep plan with our school's goal clarity coach and resource teacher. It really helps teams stay on the same page, understand standards, develop common assessments, and more. I am greatly appreciative of these days because being prepared is something that I like to stay on top of. Definitely helps alleviate some planning stress.  

Since our 8 inch snow in Louisville just about 2 weeks ago I've been going to the gym and running on the treadmill. It really hasn't been so bad. It's warm and allows me to get the miles in. There was still a lot of snow on the sidewalks where I run in my neighborhood. Looks like another week in the gym. Next Saturday is the first leg of the Louisville Triple Crown and I am pretty excited about that. 

Happy To Do:

Love, Love, Love spending time with Ryann and Lillian and watching them grow!  

xoxo-Kim