March 31, 2010: How to Train Your Dragon

Yesterday proved to be busy but mundane. Evan and ran errands for a good part of the afternoon - mostly groceries and such. We did manage to buy the last two Harry Potter movies we were missing (episode 3: "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and episode 4: "The Goblet of Fire"). We were able to watch "The Prisoner of Azkaban" before dinner and will likely watch "The Goblet of Fire" tomorrow.

Today was a little more leisurely, well for the kids at least. Track out camp at the gym was full so I volunteered to watch Aidan today. I figured the best plan to keep the kids happy was to get them out of the house. My plan was to go see "How to Train Your Dragon", then to the park for a picnic lunch (Jersey Mike's subs) and then to just run around and play. Considering it was 80 degrees today, outside was the best plan. Everything went well, the boys played at the park and I got to sit on a bench and just read while soaking up the sun. Very nice.

I watched "V" this evening, and although I like the show, I cannot believe how many commercials they are throwing in there! There is absolutely no way I will watch it unless I record it first - I absolutely HATE commercial television!

"How to Train Your Dragon" was a good movie! We all enjoyed it and the action was great. I did not drop the extra $3 per ticket to watch it in 3-D, but it was good nonetheless. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for a kids movie. We also saw the previews of a few movies I plan to see, including "Toy Story 3," "The Karate Kid," and "The Last Airbender."

March 29, 2010: A Day Lost

Originally scheduled, today was to be Spring Break, BUT the county decided to close school on a day that didn't need to be closed. So this morning I had to be up at my usual time to go to work. And what a WASTE of a day today was. I only saw 25 of my 90 students today - 5 in 1st period, 7 in 2nd period, and 13 in 4th period. Essentially today was a waste of a day in the curriculum. Fortunately I had planned to finish showing Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and while it is an excellent movie and is an excellent example of Congress in action as well as the potential for corruption and the power of the media, the students didn't miss any actual instruction, only enrichment. So I can live with that. On the bright side, I used the day to my advantage to get a good many papers graded so next Monday when I go in for a teacher workday I will have more time to plan ahead and will spend less time catching up on the past.

I forgot to mention that yesterday we went to see the movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It was cute, I enjoyed it. We took Chris and Brendan with us, they liked it too. I recommend it for younger audiences, I rate it 4 out of 5 stars for children's movie. (There is about a 25 second lead-in with nothing before the actual trailer begins).

March 28, 2010: The Average Day Returns!

I think I am finally ready to post here on a regular basis again. Things have been going well and I finally feel mentally up to the task again! (But does anyone really care?)

Softball season is here, and practices have been under way. We had practice today, it was a pretty good one, and our last one is tomorrow. Games begin the following week, so I think I am ready. Good news for me is that my trips to the gym combined with the education I received in physical therapy have really helped my shoulder. I threw today and for the first time in a long time, I felt strength in my shoulder and no pain! I am very excited and encouraged. I am looking forward to a great season, it should be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the first day of Spring Break, but since we had one snow day too many, we will have to make it up tomorrow instead. My plans are simple - finish showing Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. We began it in all my classes Thursday and Friday and will finish it up in all three tomorrow, which was my plan all along. It also means we are in a great place regarding pacing. For the first time in a long time I am not behind! I credit this to the fact that all of my classes are Civics & Economics (I do not have to divide my planning time between two curricula) and that I have students this semester that are inspiring me to challenge them. My biggest fear is that I am boring them. Once we get back from Spring Break it will be the 4th quarter. I am planning being refreshed and returning with some plans that will be more fun and thought invoking. We shall see!