BulgingButtons

September 4, 2017
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

I’m Going to the Show!

Well, not really a show. A conference. Two of them actually, back to back.

I’m going to St. Louis to the National Writing Project Conference, followed by the National Council of Teachers of English Conference. NWP and NCTE, for short.

Am I excited? You bet!

Am I nervous? Ditto!

You see, I’m supposed to present a round table discussion at NWP. I’ve never done this before. Not successfully, anyway. I’ve never even been to a big conference before. I have done a breakout session at our state conference, but only one person wandered in. By mistake. She thought I was someone else. To my shame, I didn’t graciously let her go. I forged ahead with my presentation anyway, no doubt wasting her time. You see, I was an elementary level presenter at a conference full of high school educators. Maybe not the best fit.

At NWP however, my topic extends into middle school, and there’s a much larger audience. Maybe more than one person will stray my way. Maybe even some people who are actually interested in my topic. It could happen.

The flip side is that I’ll get the chance to be a starry-eyed kid for the rest of the time, tracking down some of my literacy idols and gathering up pearls of knowledge. I’m especially geeked to hear from Jacqueline Woodson and Rick Riordan, both authors that my students and I adore.

I’m excited for November to come rolling around so I can finally get to St. Louis.

August 23, 2017
by BulgingButtons 2 Comments

Going Down

Not that kind of going down, sheesh!

Nope, this is the kind of going down that’s the result of making some positive behavior changes, and oh yeah, taking a little bit of medicine too.

You see, I got some unhappy news back in June when I went to the doctor, so I had to make some changes. More veggies, lean protein, and most important of all, a lot fewer sweets have passed my lips since that day. I’ve also upped my exercise game. Well, I move a lot more, anyway.

A couple of weeks ago I had my physical, and today was the day I went in to review the results with my health care provider (he’s a PA, and I’m a big fan of his). Well, the results were good. Really, really good. We did a happy dance in the office, and my visit ended with a hug (seriously, he was as thrilled as I was). I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that happy leaving the doctor’s office.

Weight is down.

Cholesterol is down.

Blood sugar is down.

Risk factor for a cardiac “event” is down.

I’ve never felt so up about being down.

So yes, I can do this, and yes, it’s worth it. I feel better, I look better, and I have more energy. I’m also doing myself a big favor by making these choices. Some days it’s easier than others, and yes, I still mess up, but overall I’m doing pretty well. I hope you are too.

The things that have helped the most are:

doling out my medicine into one of those pill sorter thingies… I used to think they were for doddering old fools, until I needed one
jogging in my pool… this is still the only exercise that I truly enjoy and I plan to keep doing it as long as the water stays warm
mostly switching from Starbucks frappucinos to the coffee at work (with some delicious flavored creamer, but hey, it’s still way better than a frappucino).
cooking at home more…this way I have control over the ingredients
weekly fitbit challenges with my friend… he regularly kills me, but it does keep me moving

What keeps you on the right track? I’d love to know.

August 21, 2017
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

Hiding From the Sun

So today is the big eclipse. I remember the last one, sort of. I remember my father frightening me about going blind, then creating a pin-hole viewer of some sort. Do I remember what I actually saw? No.

I thought maybe this time around it would make more of a lasting impression. My older colleagues and I all recalled the hoopla surrounding the eclipse of our childhood, and we wanted our students to participate in this scientific phenomenon. We put out the call for cereal boxes so we could make our own viewers. Then we got the edict. No eclipse viewing.

Well, I was hardly surprised. After all, we have many kids who can’t (or won’t) follow a direction as simple as pick up your pencil, so why would they follow the direction of “don’t look at this remarkable thing that you’ve never seen before and will never see again?” Cardboard boxes and dark glasses are no match for the curiosity of a kid. They might peek around those pinhole viewers and slide off those shades to get a better look, in spite of warnings of the potential danger. I might even be tempted to do those things, and I know better.

So today we’ll stay indoors for most of the day. Recess will be pushed back, PE classes will stay indoors (where they’ve been due to the heat anyway) and the entire lunch schedule will be adjusted, since our cafeteria is only accessible by going outdoors. We’ll still learn about the eclipse, and thanks to modern technology we’ll get to view it, just not in person.

If you get a chance to see if for yourself, be safe, and don’t let those funky glasses slip.