Aloha Friday

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. On Fridays, I'll post a simple question for you to answer, nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends.

I always think of these great questions during the week.  Then, the time comes around to post, and I'm at a loss!  Maybe I need to start writing them down!

So... My personal "catch phrase" is "I've slept since then..." when someone asks me something I can't recall.  What is your personal catch phrase or your favorite?

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Thursday Thirteen

Lately, I have had two people, aquaintances, really, not exactly friends, tell me they don't eat dairy.  One of them said that she (and her group at Cross Fit) believe it's strange to eat dairy or drink milk because humans are the only mammals that drink other mammal's milk.  I wanted to say, "That's because we're at the top of the food chain!"  But I didn't say it.  She's about half my age, so I don't argue with her about it.  I just found out another friend thinks dairy is "evil."  Her word; not mine.  So, today's Thursday Thirteen is all about dairy.

1.  There are no antibiotics in milk, regular or orgaic.  Milk is tested, and if it is positive for antibiotics, it is disposed of.
2.  72% of all the calcium in the United States comes from dairy foods (milk, yougurt, cheese.
3.  These products are also a good source of protein.
4.  American eat approximately 350 slices of pizza a year, all topped with cheese.
5.  Calcium in soy milk is not as readily available for the body to use as the calcium in cow's milk.
6.  June is dairy month.  I'll have to be sure and tell my "friends!"

http://thursday-13.com/

7.  Calcium and dairy can lower the risk of osteoporosis as well as colon cancer.
8.  Low fat/skim milk and low fat cottage cheese are healthy choices to get your calcium, protein, and Vitamin D while you maintain healthy eating habits.
9.  Eating healthy dairy foods can keep your bones strong so you can live a longer and more active lifestyle.
10. Eating low or no fat dairy products can help lower your cholesterol.
11. Diets higher in dairy calcium caused greater excretion of fat than diets which were lower in calcium.
12. A diet rich in ice cream and other high-fat dairy foods may lower the risk of one type of infertility
13. And the best reason to eat dairy?  Milk tasts great with cookie or cake!

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Wednesday Website - Organization

I love this website!  I started using it about a month ago.  It's called Livebinders.  I love to be organized, and sometimes it's not so easy, but I love using Livebinders:  Your 3-ring binder for the web!  The website describes itself this way:
•Collect your resources
•Organize them neatly and easily
•Make an Impression

It's easy, and it's free! And unlike Pinterest, you can save the actual content of the site, not just a photo. Right now, I have a binder for my recipes. There are subtabs for beef, chicken, pork. You can create as many subtabs as you want. It's so much easier to use than trying to print every recipe I would like to try.

I also have a Civil Rights Livebinder in which I have organized all of my resources for a particular teaching unit. You can have as many subtabs as you need, also. It's very easy to set it up and get started.  I even have a binder with song lyrics and videos I want to go back to.

One thing I really love is that I have "Livebinder It" in my toolbar, so when I am on a website I want to go back to, I click my "Livebinder It" link in my favorites bar, and it automatically grabs the website for me. I can choose which binder and even which subtab I want it under. And it's easy to reorganize your tabs and subtabs within each binder.

Give it a try! I think you'll love it! Livebinders.   There is a great tutorial on how it works, or if you're confident in being tech-savvy, sign up for free and give it a whirl!  Happy Wednesday!

This is NOT  paid advertisement.  This is 100% personal opinion, and I am not receiving compensation of any kind for this post.  (Not that I would mind that, darn it!)

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Aloha Friday

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. On Fridays, I'll post a simple question for you to answer, nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends.

So, this week, I'm standing at the copy machine during my conference period, and the head custodian approaches me. She's a really sweet lady and has a smile on her face. She asks me, "How do you spell feces?" Oh my gosh! Of course, I told her the answer, but I just thought, I bet that was a difficult question to ask, and I didn't dare ask her why she needed to know! In a junior high... I'm sure I don't want to know!  So my question for you is...
Has someone ever asked you a strange question?  Tell me about it!

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My Happy List

Spring Break was a happy week!  Time off from school/work, staying up late, sleeping late, reading a lot, privacy with DH (since the kids were gone most of the time) and a short trip to San Antonion and Fredericksburg.

Walking on the San Antonio Riverwalk (before it gets crowded).

Spending time with my sister.

Awesome live music!

A beautiful view in the hotel

My first visit to a winery

And great central Texas barbecue in Lockhart on the way home! (We've been to at least 6 restaurants that have been featured on the food network.)

What's on your happy list today?  Link up with Mamarazzi!

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Thursday Thirteen

Welcome to Thursday Thirteen!  Link up and play along if you'd like.

These are the top 13 things that I do with my smartphone.
1. Phone Calls (duh!)
2. Text Messaging (I'd rather text than talk, usually)
3. Facebook (just to check in, or when I get bored)
4. Email (I primarily use my computer for this, but when I am on the go, and I need it, it's there.)
5. Calendar (LOVE that it sends me reminders!)
6. Alarm Clock (Couldn't wake up in the morning without it!)
7. Words with Friends (Like Scrabble)
8. Hanging with Friends (A fancy way to play Hangman)
9. Draw Something (I just started using this.  I'm a terrible artist, but it's fun.)
10. Maps/GPS (Love that "Thelma" can get me where I'm going.)
11. Flashlight (for those in-the-dark-emergencies)
12. Color Note (It's like a virtual post-it note for my lists.)
13. Camera (I prefer my regular camera, but this one is always handy, and if I want to directly upload to facebook, it's so easy.)

What apps do you use?

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My Happy List

Link up your Happy List at Dandelion Wishes!

So much to be happy about right now.

It's Spring break!

Massage yesterday to work out some of the knots.

Eyebrow wax today (and maybe a pedi later).

Short road trip to San Antonio later in the week.

Sleeping late!

Reading when I want to.

And the best...

 I started my break by chaperoning my daughter's winterguard team at a contest.  The performance was beautiful, and they took home the third place trophy!

And I got to see my older daughter perform with her independent winterguard, and she was flawless! What a happy start to my spring break!

Aloha Friday

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. On Fridays, I'll post a simple question for you to answer, nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

QR Codes are all the rage among teachers trying to use innovative ideas in the classroom. I'm even thinking of trying to incorporate them. What is a QR code? It stands for Quick Response Code. "The system has become popular... due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background." (Source Citation for quote)

My questions:  Do you ever scan QR codes that you see in restaurants, businesses, magazines, etc.?  Do you find it useful?  Do you see an educational benefit for using them in the classroom?

Here's one for you to scan.  There's a reminder for you embedded in this code!  Let me know what you think!

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Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend.

Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer, nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

How old were you when you first moved out of your parents' home, and did you ever go back to live with them again?

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Friday Confessional

I'm hoping that "confessing" is going to help me feel better.  Why don't you link up with Mamarazzi?   They say confession is good for the soul.  I sure hope so!
I confess...
I've been in a bad mood lately... for a lot of reasons.  Add two more -stomach troubles and removing part of this post.

I confess...
I'm sick of politics!

I confess...

It bothers me when my 19 year old step-daughter stays out too late and we don't really know where she is.  Her dad argues that she's an adult, which is true, but I wasn't living at home when I was her age, and I guess that's why it bothers me.  The "my-daughter-is-out-late-doing-goodness-knows-what" scenarios go through my head.

I confess...
I'm worried about my mom who might have another type of cancer.  She's already been through lung cancer and breast cancer, not to mention knee replacement and a broken arm, and now they have found a tumor in a different part of her body.  Do we all have enough strength to get through this?

I confess...

I'm worried about my friend who has also been through cancer (ovarian). There was a suspicious area on her last mammogram, and I pray it's not cancer.

I confess...
I REMOVED this part.
I confess...

I am so ashamed to be a member of the teaching profession with all that is going on lately in public education.  Teachers having sex with students... disgusting!  Makes us all look bad.

And I confess...

The school shooting in Ohio earlier this week, and the "hit list" and "shooting threat" at a local high school, also this week, scare the heck out of me!

Hoping there are some better things to share next week.

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