Back in the summer time (*sigh* it seems so very far away right now), I wrote a post called “The -ings of getting ready for vacation”. I’ve got more “ings” to share with you, of the things that are occupying my days 3 months later.
Data entering
This is the reality of education today. Government requires the collection of data to make sure that we teachers are doing our job and making sure the students are getting the common core standards. This is a screenshot showing a sample of the 1100 pieces of data I needed to enter into a program that analyzes such data.
Paper correcting
I’m teaching operations with fractions these days – adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.
Preparing
I really do love my current teaching position. It will be difficult when January 20th arrives and I have to hand it over to the permanant teacher. I’m planning to take the middle school math MTEL to add a math grades 5-9 certification to my other licenses and hopefully make myself more marketable as a teacher in the future.
Discovering
A pear for the teacher? Yup. I’m continuing on my path of better eating and fitness. I find myself scouring fresh and whole food style markets looking for different foods to enjoy. Last week I found these really delicious Asian pears that have a creamy vanilla flavor to them.
Lifting
I’ve added heavier and more frequent weight lifting to my fitness regime. That is a 15 pound kettle bell in the background, and 8 pound dumbbells in the front. The one year anniversary of my new commitment to fitness is approaching in a few days, and I am hoping to share a 1 year retrospective with you on that date.
The end of the year is rapidly approaching. Many other “ings” will soon be occupying my time and probably yours too: raking, shopping, cooking, eating, celebrating. Any “ings” that you are especially looking forward to?
Karma's When I Feel Like It Blog 
2 1/2 metre long strips in 7 1/2 metres ? THREE ! Do I get a gold star ? Oh perhaps I need to “show my work” and I just figured it in my head. Oh dear. (in Canada we stubbornly spell some words with an “re” rather than “er”. BTW didn’t know you folk were embracing the Metric system)
Wow that’s quite the spreadsheet !
Eating healthier can become an ingrained behaviour after a while. I’ve been pretty much a sugar-free, water drinker for close to two years. I look at doughnuts (donuts to you ?) and find them easy to resist. If I start to get a headache, I reach for water and not pain pills. But I rarely get headaches.
The only “-ing” that I look forward to in Winter is WALK-ing. I am already in mourn-ing in anticipation of five months without garden-ing ! Oh and I belong to two casual choirs and lovee SING-ing.
I like your idea of working out with the weights.
I think my resolution would be to get into MEDITATE-ing. My life is rather stressful right now as a loved one struggles with DEPRESSION.
I hope that you are quickly snapped up for another TEACH-ing position in the New Year.
WISH-ing you Unicorns FART-ing Rainbows ! 😉
Comment by sybil — November 16, 2014 @ 10:05 am |
Wow, Sybil, that has to be one of the most interesting comments I’ve received in a long time! We are quite a mish-mosh of both the traditional and metric systems in this country. You have lots of good “ings” !
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 1:49 pm |
No way can I comment more humorously than Sybil, so I’ll not even try. I agree though, that healthy eating becomes a habit, something your body demands. As to my “ings”, I am lookING forward to being inside, doing inside things like reading, beading, knitting, napping, then packing for traveling during the kids’ winter break. That will last until January, maybe February, when I will be itching to get outside.
Comment by Carol — November 16, 2014 @ 10:43 am |
Lots of great “ings” there Carol. Traveling in January or February sounds wonderful. I’m hoping to arrange a quick get-away myself.
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 1:50 pm |
Keep up the good work..your hard work will pay off in time…JIm D
Comment by dinz14 — November 16, 2014 @ 3:34 pm |
I believe it already is 🙂
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 7:06 pm |
Oh, shar-ing for sure, Karma! Christmas is THE time for sharing…oh, then there’s celebrat-ing, eat-ing, drink-ing, swimm-ing, hugg-ing, relax-ing, and garden-ing, when the summer heat doesn’t get too hot to go out in.
Congratulations on the approaching one year anniversary of your fitness regime. 🙂
Comment by Joanne — November 16, 2014 @ 5:47 pm |
Thank you Joanne – and thanks for sharing your great “ings”!
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 7:07 pm |
Karen..I am happy I don’t have to go to school now. All that stuff looks scary. I really admire your ability to stick with your fitness and healthy eating . That is really challeng-ing. It is something I wish I could accomplish.
I have been enjoying pears myself lately..by the way..what is a kettle bell?
Comment by patricia dinsmore — November 16, 2014 @ 6:06 pm |
See if you can find those Asian pears – truly yummy! A kettle bell is a style of weight designed to be used mostly 2-handed but occasionally with one hand. It centers the weight in one place.
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 7:09 pm |
Wow. That is an impressive spread sheet. I don’t know if it was intentional (knowING you, probably so), but I love your play on words in the title (as in moorings, one’s stability in life). I have kettlebell envy since I have not been able to use my kettlebells (or weights) lately. The “ings” I’m looking forward to are ThanksgivING with family, daily walkING, the last two weeks of cookING veggies from the CSA we joined this year, and more time spent doING things I like rather than mowING now that mowing season is over. I am also hopING that the next few weeks will bring about some healING, and that all the testING will bring about the result of Nothing Much Going On, It’s Just a Fluke. 😀
Comment by Robin — November 16, 2014 @ 7:34 pm |
I would love to take credit for being witty enough to have come up with that play on words, but alas I did not! Thank you for pointing it out though, it is kind of cool! Lol!
Love your INGS!
Comment by Karma — November 16, 2014 @ 7:47 pm |
Better eating AND doing weights? You go! I’m pretty sure THINKING about better eating and heading to the gym does not burn calories. Unfortunately! My sister is a teacher too. She says the data entry piece is brutal.
Comment by dawnkinster — November 22, 2014 @ 8:56 am |
Thanks Dawn. It stinks that this is what teaching has become, that politicians who probably haven’t been in a classroom since they were students get to call the shots on the “right” way to direct American education. Analyzing data in the schools is not the way to cure the ills of this country, but I’m afraid it isn’t going away any time soon.
Comment by Karma — November 22, 2014 @ 2:32 pm |