30 days of Web Tools: #2: Google Chrome extensions that are useful for students

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>submitted by Fiona Beal</i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Which browser do you use? Have you tried Google Chrome? I have three browsers installed on my computer (Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox) and I must say that Google Chrome is fast become my firm favourite. Recently I have been exploring free Chrome extensions and have been amazed at what is on offer. These could be very useful for the students we teach. </span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What is a Chrome extension?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chrome extensions are extra features and functionality that you can choose to add to your browser from the Chrome Web Store. Generally I don’t go to the web store to choose as it is quite overwhelming – I go for recommended ones by other teachers. All the ones I have added to date are free and by recommendation . The extensions generally sit in the top corner of your browser and you click on one when you want to add it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvAL6L6nqO8GDnjno0GwZMZKuG9-f5SG-AZvudyfJxDmUjF1MB9_XWuuSdRB2aOzcvIHG44OxlbhDqW2EZW5r4NJIo9P7QlMRbDN3KgL85Ft1Vogfxa52ERQ4ATsGrAXd9B0gFJJCq6M/s1600-h/image3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="52" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiXDWFlssP-5tmq8HYN7VekX1v3VKQxBcNveH9-PESzKTHG6Mv2uhxgoU_tCtYK2l0EWCVnccHAj8Wbp3vyZ1WIeTMIyN0THXrfopdZMv4U9DQNdTIyxML6icHLh3x3Pb3hWFBVZ70lU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extensions on the top right corner of  my browser</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Dictionary extension</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you ask Google for ‘Google Dictionary’ it will take you straight to the Chrome web store add-on page.  <b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjbhQ28Hbvu6cWhFCqSresmRT5nqy_KqzpHMISrOJzyN0I7HvxXZ6mJxyp4RnamPvBF_4OYV0fJKMsLdadWy4TpAtMJQLMdEFhdYYYFwEQJR2vLjydvQuaV1ofobV0KGElu2q4qHuHWw/s1600-h/image7.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VuFLgImF-9MtlQLCNJ53-12KL4CKk0mv7g9CNCmNhyphenhyphenc7Z5Z846saaW6v0g57zUm3jz-opfmxB7QhIU9ToXYGM2SrzHSkpXH3Aa3y3w3X7DYdTACcBhlnKRiKjjls3TDmUUwQeUO7gg0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what it looks like in the Chrome Web Store</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This tool can be so useful when students are researching as whenever they double click on a word the meaning is displayed as shown below.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAof4YIkGyzzFaPV9mVS39KZ8es-LATjzyEOUwg7Uo4zpfK5Ocz1G08kH-770AwFEzrjUBCMgyv-UT1HWHf8ajaoiKdW3sajYc_oq_Nz1Srz6_urZc-OqOmNbpkesVnoB_r7z7lhrDiD4/s1600-h/image13.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbamKckH0-8TYj9l-kSwENPb7UXzyirtyfzNoATwmaS6EkR7gMSlijzPcUxrfliDZGWU8YuSbJyNi7Z-CsnTIoxzgtVhVVRdGg_OokJ4P2NUiD1ttWrnEoUi-WUYYMs6bsUA9vXLrUMs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Speakit! (Text to Speech)</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW66CGrA-AbE-ooQyvbqvDfd6-fUYT4WeJb-99958D7mZ1_0w-k1bkP93sj7_YIKIeC0N6YK8CjTxjC_S7J6a3RfXmqQ2m8NNIA0xLLMqlyQoFmxoI6oD2-RlBV5tKZwhJaOnGTrxS3GY/s1600-h/image46.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="42" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAGwJ2-b8vMcixOBP1tOkR2L0MPjEnkwx9DlN4Yv0AgQETruqwNmpmYOEt3LQ_BvWBr-hl928oCzhoSB0GKj7YG0L6xIshq9hNvNLThLxJsIfOOyPRlI3efvTMqcMd-KwIeSLcLR03Wk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="43" /></a><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a great extension that converts text to speech. All that you do once it is installed is highlight the text that you wish to have read to you, press the <i>Speakit icon</i> and listen. This is also useful for students when they are reading more difficult passages for example. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4ILEzEghlZluCBxzw1vEgXba1sK8DgErVgi6dtOwDzSfW6oEVqFhayswEJWpLYDi70ynam-xYAF_tOoQoT84E_tUPuxSwbgLKbiDUVe8dliqBTG9T96gN4SZCXEI9dT9ud7itKbXhU4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what it looks like in the Chrome Web Store</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Speech to text</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib5ZTUWBX-fhdEsFcrG-tDibzTjWd26pHvwB2UgkVrvDdNihiAA6ohb-ZtiGKElz8YEz2FvBMCw4SkYuOSTidNdcyoWif_X663rQKeEwoZFvHJJ22_lKc2hB0MunfW6yPDEeeelBZ20Q/s1600-h/image45.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlfOb8MprflU56QIPKjuPU95ZkGYFLr5RsdzrCFi9s-9m7sAY6QADw3PYtga3HzrgkWdAsryESQk6ZsvSJm9HPjWex3n4BP3WOKgXfp_XGHNYzc_0am7MnNmuHNMVuTDPbPe6flxKDrY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="55" /></a><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is an extension which allows you to click on a microphone and speak. The application types the words that are spoken. This extension could be useful for students who struggle with writing, although it does require editing as no punctuation is supplied.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKXFNpMtCXgJKETQL-tOX7imLl0iejFTO24jA3RL2PMzwh5EYQ0hZrKt7g-RX8YL8h8dwEFaSmHAoNkQumzVnpnPxaPcp-Gq2jFS0xqcZvdlV-6dBspBMMor9fgilG8PEbnach3f7Ee0/s1600-h/image28.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBxRJfrAsyEzSTLMxmUXvcRAeC06lZjsDI1_ekYCYLLFK2QoocKUXgp6WMZcPqoJuxjbLrGi2PfUSxJYz5LrmNsmPBYsZu-qFvuUNyiPNCKtPVtwW0S6UXtc9izWdTqQpHUk4B_gv4hw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what it looks like in the Chrome Web Store</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Basically you click on the icon and a window appears. Click on the microphone in the right hand corner of the top bar and speak. The typed words appear. One then clicks  <i>Add to textbox</i> and the words are transferred to the main section below.  From here they can be edited and placed into paragraphs.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9DFVO10iRAsbti8AlGDvfCO-y0UAR71-Fsfe1R253C0cvZquNcgcspeoO-2kNcVYTKY0-n6EjNTJt720GbCfeKv-hSM6Nu0pM5LFueIMNY6M3TgH5cxWpgcrHSVCUEVBiSKURjVkZU8/s1600-h/image32.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fJ78uxIr5QFDw-Zb8suFSHPTJfSRQltc6ysCJyazF2hRvrL1VdQubAdl2pSA1_zpK3vFOvRFK6UVj1lBOh5hzE3Xwp1SWAeUH1kUhr1YPp7r6PJMlgo-FV2zUsP8s22QK-2A_tyXsg8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><pre></pre><pre> </pre><pre style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Scratchpad</span></b></pre><pre><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNI5TxHi11GgfNYe1HRkbhn78YI90oLxHYWNExfoayb0lUZb4oqFEU38HYgYRTzgXFH_85wt3tDHwEm8deT5rFdbuiibGgBHDi3KEIJ27HaATxoKN1RY5ADwVQDXSEPiSpHBovq4z8fk/s1600-h/image44.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13R6Tyos2jRScGUhK7FGYfVPteZOGn_FRh59a7sBS8KZKpl6CC5Z5aS8X3rgbhIUOlAWGrG34obyOpdGzWq0biP-qFNMU_R3mTNCL_9jmqHE7GEaTegHHp0B4DFX2WAhyVERk00pq8n0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="130" /></a></pre><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Scratchpad is a simple note-taking app that works offline and online. It can be seamlessly integrated with Google Docs and keeps your notes up to date. There is no saving and no sending. It just works!</span></div><pre style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></pre><pre> </pre><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHrbjo4of1yk_yNhPcKkoygVTF-xfb-OYPnjwDuCm0Svg98kYUyrAI9ftxL6Eu7gAF9fTdS-lNmZ1qYSNTIaqKVUjkTeRwQV-NRBRD3Q0O-eZ3hDIcYWwt2ImDSdjvWYpbg34lpUbkxw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Scratchpad in the Chrome Web store </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">As you are browsing, and you open <i>Scratchpad</i> extension a little box appears on the left for you to make notes. This saves automatically in Google Docs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is very useful for students who are browsing for information as they don't have to open a separate document for their notes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><pre></pre><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczyUFWneYvuql4D6eh1hTAgdYSx-edNTzDBig57I98vrSr3B6UAuGfC29OxcR_tz88WHzbirSKkpXKx9sDNiUZw3JyLPU2z6SwMTLMd_CIBunOtRSg0OvsfQQWCAiDHVr1ai_uj87Cms/s1600-h/image40.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76Z1oEfPYqJP31oaGTDnKXA57gQSWcPZV3-eZThAXjK0-EZiacE_TXZdQ1EDsd3MJvSBB8GwH4TrEHUUAdVVUxBu7RzYLXzp2CKr6w6qUCKcQpFDrd2gbCdjleWXWoskQ0rj6wBa9UEc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how it sits on your web page.</td></tr></tbody></table><pre></pre><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">These are just four very useful extensions to get started on. Just give them a try. I honestly think the Google Chrome browser is amazing!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Further reading on even more useful extensions </span></b></span><br /><br /><a href="http://followmolly.blogspot.com/2012/01/life-after-internet-explorer-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://followmolly.blogspot.com/2012/01/life-after-internet-explorer-welcome-to.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/01/10-useful-chrome-web-apps-and.html" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/01/10-useful-chrome-web-apps-and.html</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></span></div>

Chrome extensions google 30 days of Web Tools: #2: Google Chrome extensions that are useful for students

submitted by Fiona Beal Which browser do you use? Have you tried Google Chrome? I have three browsers installed on my computer (Chrome, Inte...

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UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">The thick grey sky hangs, like a celestial woolen blanket, over a flat city holding in the dank heat. Ok, Hayden Koenig<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> could of said it better. But you get the idea. It is hot and muggy here. First question: why must we have General Convention in July when people are at the height of irritability? Why not in the very merry month of May in some pleasant romantic climate?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">One more gripe: this hotel ain’t the greatest. It sure makes me miss my beloved Gold Country Inn (Elko) with the moose curtains and bedcover; Hotel Nevada (Ely)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>with its variable water and neon vistas; and Mizpah Hotel (Tonopah) with its Edwardian décor and ghosts.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">Nonetheless, this is the best part of Convention. Business does not begin in earnest until tomorrow. My favorite part of convention is registration, ably overseen by the credentials committee starring our own Elizabeth Tattersall. This is where we see people we have not seen in months or even years. I have seen Paul Colbert of San Joaquin, Mimi Wu of Hawaii, Lucinda Ashby of Idaho, and various bishop buds. It is a true delight to meet up with all these good Episcopalians again and to ask the mundane things – How was your flight? How are the kids? – that are as human as they are pedestrian.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">But the proper nature and spirit of General Convention is already a subject for wonderment. I have been reading Russ Crabtree’s The Fly in The Ointment; Margaret Wheatley’s Leadership & The New Science II, and Peter Senge’s Presence – all of which call our present way of doing business into question. Crabtree would like to see us focus more on helping parishes do the real mission. Wheatley and Senge are looking for a more relational, less mechanical, legalistic organizational life.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">So today, one of our more scholarly bishops was telling me of his problems with the language of a resolution endorsing “the Principle of Subsidiarity,” a doctrine that sounds good once you learn how to pronounce it but has taken odd double-speak twists ever since it was invented by Pope Pius IX. A woman from a Western state overheard us and butted into the conversation arguing in support of the Principle because the words mean something more sensible in her field, economics. Immediately, it was not a conversation but a debate over something few can pronounce, fewer still can spell, and has never saved anyone’s soul or fed a hungry child. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">We made an abortive attempt to change the way we interact last Convention by trying “public discourse.” It may not have been well presented and it did not go well. I don’t know how to change the way we relate to each other and negotiate our business. But I long for something more like I have experienced in small group relational meetings in community organizing, in Indaba Groups where people state candidly what they have at stake and how they feel about something without trying to persuade – just express; spiritual story sharing in spiritual direction groups; or non-judgmental wondering about each other’s experience in Parker Palmer circles of trust. I just don’t know that we can have a Christian conversation within the constraints of Roberts Rules. When I go to a Ministry Developers Cohort I come away feeling like a better person. I want to feel that way when I come away from General Convention. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 408.75pt;">I did enjoy the Integrity Reception tonight. I met some new people and connected with friends. It was then on to the Province 8 Synod – a business meeting for the regional level organization of the Episcopal Church running from Utah and Arizona to Guam and Taiwan. It was a long meeting with many reports. I was grateful to hear Nevada acknowledged several times for our contributions in various ministries around the Province. I only regret I couldn’t get a word in edgewise to campaign for our own JoAnn Roberts Armistead who is running for Executive Council.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <!--[endif]--> <div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;"> <div class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1941566034196038608#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Hayden Koenig, the protagonist in Mark Scweitzer’s liturgical mystery series, is a writer of pulp fiction mysteries emulating Raymond Chandler. His sentences make this one look good. The first book in this hilarious series is The Alto Wore Tweed.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText"><br /></div></div></div><!--EndFragment-->

Live From Indianapolis I

The thick grey sky hangs, like a celestial woolen blanket, over a flat city holding in the dank heat. Ok, Hayden Koenig [i] could of ...

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celebrate good times, c'mon!

Kool and the Gang so early in the morning? I know, I'm a rebel.<br /><br />Today is my birthday, so I'll be doing some of this<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QMSz8QZdTRM9rBi0PBTsIKI23-xxoMQsyWiovU616QQTWIDzgE4GZEAdqag0th6slS5301WK7Z8x0FVgpGwtShTKQB99hW4UIIijLUBCw969QWCzC9gtt2isgsQG1ycnYnUDyZCW_4_a/s1600/Eve1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QMSz8QZdTRM9rBi0PBTsIKI23-xxoMQsyWiovU616QQTWIDzgE4GZEAdqag0th6slS5301WK7Z8x0FVgpGwtShTKQB99hW4UIIijLUBCw969QWCzC9gtt2isgsQG1ycnYnUDyZCW_4_a/s640/Eve1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> and some of this.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf0mw75CBcet0AL55afAKdzdj6LIYDe2iW2IRc6_5FtSGjea1QtrXp-u8kbqM8WJLFHrdsYP14vxkWl4hiGGEly60v5hS3bktKlUYcpR8IbiRkWaegdreO34IgrZ5p9UUIN4tXGiTXYAS/s1600/Oreo-Cake.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf0mw75CBcet0AL55afAKdzdj6LIYDe2iW2IRc6_5FtSGjea1QtrXp-u8kbqM8WJLFHrdsYP14vxkWl4hiGGEly60v5hS3bktKlUYcpR8IbiRkWaegdreO34IgrZ5p9UUIN4tXGiTXYAS/s640/Oreo-Cake.jpeg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/oreo-cake/" target="_blank">My Baking Addiction</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Then tomorrow is more celebrating with this<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVy4h5uIS6uxFiINwYkDmH5UmswyKlozXYDgXblQ-snTw0AU-ZGcR0aWuyUTpffH_7ekaAoOx4sw8IP_7PqY23AYRrUWoBCE_PVUnIGwO84MAY3hza_UF0NsgugKUUZtCujWEv3CeGvXY/s1600/Aparade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVy4h5uIS6uxFiINwYkDmH5UmswyKlozXYDgXblQ-snTw0AU-ZGcR0aWuyUTpffH_7ekaAoOx4sw8IP_7PqY23AYRrUWoBCE_PVUnIGwO84MAY3hza_UF0NsgugKUUZtCujWEv3CeGvXY/s640/Aparade.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />And this.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitjmJeL_voDboMDzxvCqwJom_I-pdtPGMPZ1gDD8YGlq9kiNX7yiFS-YrvQqVm4xlAAFCGpYbIKA7BrXtXbb-h6oyS3v8ikcxUrMidnjWqSfpV2sFZOOIKZJ5X7wglYSwDcgFxEnsA4hRB/s1600/fireworks.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitjmJeL_voDboMDzxvCqwJom_I-pdtPGMPZ1gDD8YGlq9kiNX7yiFS-YrvQqVm4xlAAFCGpYbIKA7BrXtXbb-h6oyS3v8ikcxUrMidnjWqSfpV2sFZOOIKZJ5X7wglYSwDcgFxEnsA4hRB/s640/fireworks.jpeg" width="582" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinellaspeach.com/2009/07/03/best-july-4th-fireworks-in-pinellas-county-and-tampa-bay/" target="_blank">Pinellas Peach</a></td></tr></tbody></table>A great time of year for a birthday! Enjoy the holiday if you are in the States. I'll be back on Thursday.

holiday celebrate good times, c'mon!

Kool and the Gang so early in the morning? I know, I'm a rebel. Today is my birthday, so I'll be doing some of this  and some of thi...

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Sugary Foods I'm Leaving Behind for July

I need to give myself some guidelines around what constitutes "sugar" for July's challenge.<br /><br />Hilary, for the month of July, you are not to consume any of the following:<br /><br /><ul><li>Starbucks tea lattes (chai and Earl Grey)</li><li>granola bars (Kashi cherry vanilla, Fiber One, Special K, etc)</li><li>chocolate or anything containing chocolate </li><li>icecream</li><li>chocolate milk</li><li>pancake syrup</li><li>smoothies made with sugary add-ins</li><li>baked goods (cupcakes, brownies, cake, donuts, cookies, pies)</li><li>candy and candy bars </li><li>pudding/Jell-o </li><li>sugary cereal </li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODKjxmwl1ezXNEpkucgNrXH-9gqibsBixSyS8A9tRxq2-czAHyL7o4_FMlsywb2IBsSnbw2MKosw2K7Ik6NvelIOQ0ZSQusyXtAH-o249eHMT26OyQHAddu7_OPokxxx_uqhb6ZnFeOU/s1600/cake.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODKjxmwl1ezXNEpkucgNrXH-9gqibsBixSyS8A9tRxq2-czAHyL7o4_FMlsywb2IBsSnbw2MKosw2K7Ik6NvelIOQ0ZSQusyXtAH-o249eHMT26OyQHAddu7_OPokxxx_uqhb6ZnFeOU/s320/cake.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />When I find myself tempted, I need to do one of the following to distract myself from the cravings:<br /><br /><ul><li>call a friend</li><li>read a book</li><li>eat some fruit</li><li>drink some water</li><li>play with the cats</li><li>when at work, get up and talk with a coworker or take a short walk</li><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-do-you-want-to-lose-weight.html" target="_blank">remind yourself why you want to lose weight </a></li></ul><br /><b style="color: #351c75;">Have I left off any sweets that you can think of?  How do you distract yourself from cravings (of any kind really)? </b>

No Sugar Challenge Sugary Foods I'm Leaving Behind for July

I need to give myself some guidelines around what constitutes "sugar" for July's challenge. Hilary, for the month of July, you...

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30 days of Web Tools: #1: Use Storify.com to capture a tweetchat

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIHfc6PbJbPelIckezWQptaxx4DGZ6ETPXPnUTHLe5hcq3AGBDyZevYv1EHrC0etS8DuSb9vSLhpBqBdHBg-lkAuysXbeU9WEiWdyCCCMQ_vr7pfZD2mhaYG2dAhOt7heH0IId4tXqQk/s1600-h/image3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbxMc3DMjRjxC7Cemig_Zlny1v9GV0pAGAMrAFSWmZmzusbUlGuhwU7dmaI4uvBTcwJgAUlaeB3Q2JFz_tmMYWkngWGcQBLjyBPeephJID3ciAb3qMJKFg05a31V7efHMXoZkv-vEe68/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="183" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today sees the start of a series called <i><b>“30 days of Web Tools”</b></i> where I plan to either focus on a single Web Tool that could interest teachers, or on a collection of Web Tools.  Recently I discovered this amazing tool called <i>Storify</i> where you can turn an event into an interesting media story and I wrote a blogpost about it yesterday showing my first attempt - <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-storifycom-to-summarise-tweetchat.html">Using Storify.com to summarise a tweetchat from #edchatsa</a>. Today I would like to focus on using Storify to document all the tweets in a tweetchat. As my example I am going to use the tweets from our #edchatsa discussion last night on the topic '<i>What can be done in South Africa to enhance the status of the teaching profession?' </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other tweet capturing tools I have tried</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Using Twitter as a hashtag at an event is very common these days, and generally one wants to capture the tweets before they disappear into cyberspace after a few days. I haven’t been very successful in finding just the right tool I want to use for capturing hashtag tweets. What I am looking for is a tool that:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">captures all the tweets</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">puts them into chronological order</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">allows embedding</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">can be made into a PDF </span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1. Tweetdoc</b></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrkNEBWIwy_KMGWamyciyRLOiBEnRsTErPqEdhoWuaVxuY3jQsFJuv4zNQ6rwlxO-hZJj4ACXRD1G9m48BnOvkXjHU7jEHQSxNdat6KbFEVJrRcumOO13rladMVTLze3oxHoMQHu7tKY/s1600-h/image6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmWDa21Ew2gCiuscpufE9IbxFSNj_ghuBO331YdeKyXlBq2lDKxElEPDSJLrqv67Ne5OMQgVeonz9xwjEsBsKsaVEQ1XcA7k40R2rxrtf5hu3QLQjtdkPZ1hWPOgwoEfycIqgZY8tHhU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.tweetdoc.org/">Tweetdoc</a> could be a great tweet capture tool if only it worked for me! More often than not I just haven’t been successful with creating a PDF with Tweetdoc. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">2. Archivist</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgf3KdCuNpaAV325myMBd-l54I0kaPvb0Gxb2vCc60NMo16gIrvzw53g8_4NjLhZp-5QJKXt0k3F08O1BhWPsbIW8air_P9xDFt8BG-o-tOrJlHka7aprSRLSOtPTvQZwPvRXu4f_iqg/s1600-h/image11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMH5ZmDtupgBfQT05g9hAmkYhXn1aeDPmmddgr5mBNDl1BGH2e5LSR9O5YdbZe3fUUXBFmJT6zLfpqEeD0FPfVUMTzhGtLBfXWq-T3S7E-zj_XGap2dj8yiPOMQEPihbLzIInlwmsAxUk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have <a href="http://archivist.visitmix.com/">The Archivist</a> installed on my computer and I sometimes use it as an online application. It captures all the tweets beautifully, but as far as I can see you have to use the application to read them.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Using Storify to capture tweets</b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Storify seems to fulfill my requirements mentioned above.  It captures all the tweets, you can change them to chronological order, it allows different kinds of embedding and one can create a PDF document by sending your Storify document to Google Docs using a Chrome extension called '<i>Send to Google Docs</i>'.  I would like to show you the process of doing all this.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><u style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></u></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><u style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>First</b>,</u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> as mentioned yesterday,join Storify, log in and click on Create a story. A window for writing in opens. Write the title of the chat in the first box and a description of the event in the second box.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtLaf3_UY8BeFw3ktLnpYfAxj53QQHbqo3kbQxjgb112KJLcbPFWLLds-Yh9LLvj38uXhPBJMBGYGTEFLLh12VPn01-pNmJ8trJTTSc5yvEfy1JQCDmDFEEIwd04vfyo-9bRWl-lF3rQ/s1600-h/image43.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="58" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68FiqtkZuPixz5LttAv-xtVgBCxaDXmmIu_4wfL6d6xg8PpHdPfUsspn9qUISJQAlWs3paltrm9jVBszpNremGN3dcqRP_8sK5JHpG4EmturbooCZ4ZgOT_kR-8-1eRQq6hy99mIXmJ4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Next</u></b>, in the section on the right hand side click on the Twitter icon and enter the hashtag. Soon all the tweets will appear starting with the most recent tweets, 20 tweets at a time. </span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK57RvQ5IyXOuRGlpRlkHYnlztv0odymEsjaiedcD06Nf1f7bZPrrFvS9sYfob_1lyfPbg7hKuStStThCldBZZNAqBNfc-7l2ASukdHIe5lfgobkUJZvdVRUFh_GjbKms_siTrCDimHcw/s1600-h/image24.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnOQhn_MyeNXU0WOuX44l4i47rWlgHbi0SWCWnEC3n55aWCHQwapYpy0Jv6WpMJJeqvHJFs1MlBZKPLCETSTA3JpTdN_ayIFKSy34izklNst_kH4TorGM7GkgXhTiY0tCqt9VxCknz-M/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div>.<br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>After that</u></b> choose <i>Add them all</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0z7kUFl_QXUuam-etunLZlPlhcy9VuFpQ-Drq9kaF3etxjCIALVtKXSU6FnLhaI94d9fUHxee1ROIMxunUDlwxXgTMgJNQcguKMfaTSGJgEyh9FagpT3yzjhMe7wbXSJ4Bdi_YVeCGzk/s1600-h/image28.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLA0mT8m-eTtDYV00LoHZzEw54ZLI1WH8XjTlI6XR3zE8ZTsZfYmbdbFFrWF1VUoZyCwDOqee-JAoa1U2yBBgQpKuCsA-5kQmg6akZdtZZxqnrtRmCXa07CkZ1kL62qlsMDsv460vj3w/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Continue</u></b> doing this until all the tweets for the discussion have been added.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq0cdpUcO1wy7cY7QgCtwBEyU27cXZ-9mVOYwbRqUmiiKu5hEjg6uJ3_kJiTvLNRJ8_9RCTwpOzkBIN3nktqPj-kbwVg7LHHx25B9EtLshC3_xcoXBFjehOT5ma0_PfzlcQwPrvZXap0/s1600-h/image32.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCG3ejkfvkSIiVtxjjerOL7Zs8ypMumWQ7v3eDpQ0dZJneHEAFftKUlaVgvefHM1Xuf_x_5svZKJlUAfG21s68pgobdIGbg6wj5bCx1IQko52eafnxuHqqba3XQq7HzdqUWjWfns3tIA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Now</u></b> you want to put the tweets into chronological order from the beginning to the end. Choose the relevant arrow at the top of the page.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwq5aHHbvct3V1fDdl_ssJPQk35F6rigQ1H0TgNi_bbkap3lU2AQiXnWKg7HdeqwMux_Sme0B5SOrHspQTZJslcqXo0RL6yNLgYjh7h5ua8T3bUkhlivSwFWim-A12nS9XWUa_-8P5qjE/s1600-h/image36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn_MtOjdbd1zfiW2YiO0cTp4NaqioyeBpm61-efP_y3IuNSarKgXFxvMT7qPFRd48rZ7Co1CgLmg96ue3IQBto6_g5YsB4Bb4eAO-yRf9pperCGFH5iQSlcRYuKPTquqgLKM4GUC_c_0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><u>Finally</u></b> publish your tweet summary. At the top of the page choose<u> </u><i>Save now</i> and then <i>Publish.</i><span style="font-size: small;">The final published document appears.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKftU5INiqGCyPr8FGkDXzHnZ6WdObDHmzrCaMC1k8RHCAqHKrGHfvyz2JODytebVia22C7unTWMA7IxOIrvcsg1FBHqK2qfZSOX6a8YzguHIpzjKTpsiDIu89mDy90CHun5FuocBKP38/s1600-h/image51.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-wu8EWN9LuG-9oMTulmtM6tI1czrW7588UvIDRLG4ZXuvvsofHe6N6Fw7l1lztwY0EAExQ2EVJxIfzVNFd2V8gvMGIdE0ThNHWRIQmFNUFDTzNEEE4IMB0_K1QMNznOeNdT0FMjTFU4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to take a look at the final tweet summary that was created, please open this link: <a href="http://storify.com/fibeal/what-can-be-done-in-south-africa-to-enhance-the-st">http://storify.com/fibeal/what-can-be-done-in-south-africa-to-enhance-the-st</a></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Exporting your document as a PDF</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Storify gives you a number of options for exporting your new document – to a blog, share, embed.. but it <u><i>doesn’t </i></u>mention creating a PDF! So the way I create a PDF is as follows:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1.   On your Chrome toolbar add a free extension from the Chrome webstore called ‘<i>Send  to Google Docs</i>’.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2.   Click on that extension icon to send the Storify document to Google Docs.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3.   Once in Google Docs choose ‘<i>Download the original’ </i>which it then does as a PDF.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Relevance to education </b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">This could be a great way for teachers to capture a Professional Development event.</span> If one member of staff is attending a Conference they could use this to capture the conference tweets and share them with other members of staff. Storify could also be used to capture a lesson especially if you have a twitter hashtag that you use for your class.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div></div>

Storify Web tools 30 days of Web Tools: #1: Use Storify.com to capture a tweetchat

Today sees the start of a series called “30 days of Web Tools” where I plan to either focus on a single Web Tool that could interest teache...

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Youth Librarian - Town of Trumbull

<strong>Youth Librarian - </strong><span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Town of Trumbull</strong></span>. Library/Professional. SALARY: $29.94 per hr. HOURS: 35 per wk. WG: H. GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES: 1. Development of comprehensive programs for children and youth. 2. Serves as the children’s readers’ advisor. 3. Makes recommendation for purchases to Youth Services Coordinator. 4. Participates in outreach program in the community. 5. Performs other related duties as assigned. SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Works under General Supervision of Youth Services Coordinator or his/her designee. SUPERVISION EXERCISED: None MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY: 1. Knowledge of the practices, procedures, and techniques of library science. 2. Knowledge of children’s books and non-print materials. 3. Strong computer skills including the use of the Internet. 4. Effective oral and written communication skills. 5. Ability to work effectively with library staff and library patrons. EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING: 1. Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS) from an ALA accredited Library school. 2. Two years children’s library experience preferred. For more information and an application, visit <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/content/10623/10655/10977/default.aspx" href="http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/content/10623/10655/10977/default.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.trumbull-ct.gov/content/10623/10655/10977/default.aspx</a>. Applications must be postmarked or on file with the HR/Civil Service, Town Hall, Trumbull, Connecticut, 06611 on or before <span style="color: red;">Friday, July 6, 2012</span>.

Youth Librarian - Town of Trumbull

Youth Librarian - Town of Trumbull . Library/Professional. SALARY: $29.94 per hr. HOURS: 35 per wk. WG: H. GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES: ...

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Reference Librarian - Post University

<strong>Reference Librarian -</strong> <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Post University</strong></span> is currently accepting applications for the role of Part Time Reference Librarian. Job Summary: Responsibilities include responding to the information needs of the Post University community including but not limited to reference, OCLC interlibrary loans, database searches, bibliographic and Internet instruction, and government document searches. Scheduled nights and weekends. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: ALA/MLS required. Two years experience in academic LRC preferred. Reference and technical experience required. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Camtasia, Ebscohost, the iCONN Digital Library and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. Other database knowledge desirable. Ability to work cooperatively with a broad and diverse population. Interested candidates should forward cover letter, resume, and three references to Post University Human Resources by applying at: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.post.edu/career-opportunities.shtml" href="http://www.post.edu/career-opportunities.shtml" target="_blank">www.post.edu/career-opportunities.shtml</a>. Disclaimer: This opportunity may be withdrawn and/or amended. Post University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Reference Librarian - Post University

Reference Librarian - Post University is currently accepting applications for the role of Part Time Reference Librarian. Job Summary: Res...

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Cutting Back on Sugar for July

If one of Weight Watchers' requirements was to eat 5-7 (or 20) servings of sweets per day, I'd be killing it at this program!  Very sadly, we all know that immense amounts of sugar doesn't really do a body good.  <i><span style="color: #999999;">I cannot stress the word 'sadly' enough in that statement.</span></i><br /><br />I've been constantly trying to find areas of improvement (there are many!) in my weight loss journey, especially since I've been stagnant for months.  After reading <a href="http://movingthescale.blogspot.com/2012/06/sugar-its-addiction.html" target="_blank">Missy's post</a> about cutting out sugar for the month of July, I decided to follow suit.  She's right, sugar is an addiction.  Sugar is my drug.  Sugar is my alcohol.  Sugar is my cigarette (that's for you Joel!). <br /><br />Essentially, this is all about trying to find what works for me.  Right now, the phrase "everything in moderation" isn't really working.  In fact, I don't even know what moderation means anymore.  That can be both a challenge and benefit to following Weight Watchers.  Essentially, WW allows you to eat whatever you want.  That's great if you're a picky eater like me.  However, sometimes that flexibility is exactly what shoots me in the foot.  Right now, I almost <i>need </i>to be put on a strict, detox diet to remind myself of the types of foods that truly are beneficial to my body.  If I had the PointsPlus for the day, given the choice between my favorite meal from McDonald's and a more well-balanced lower PointsPlus home-cooked meal, I'm honestly going to choose McDonald's every single time.  This isn't okay with me. <br /><br /><div style="color: #999999; text-align: center;"><i>I'm doing a lot of "writing to think" here.. so just bare with me.</i></div><br />I've always tried to view this journey as a lifestyle change, and not a temporary diet.  To me, when I hear the word "diet", I automatically think of a person who is eating from a list of specific foods for a short period of time.  With WW, and with a "lifestyle change", I have currently been of the mindset of not changing my poor eating habits, but simply downsizing them.  I know from past diets I've been on, I don't do well with strict food lists.  I know this is because when I would ask myself, "Can you do this diet long term?" the answer would always be "No way! I feel deprived!"  The "good" thing about WW is that you can still have your cake and it eat too.  I don't <i>have </i>to cut out any "bad" foods - i.e. fast food, sweets, junk food, etc - because I know I can manage to fit those foods into my life using WW.   I do this by ordering smaller portions (like a kid's meal) or even ordering the regular size portion, but just counting it. <br /><br />Still, I cannot help but wonder, if I truly cut out those "bad" foods, even if for a short period of time to detox, then perhaps that would be the jump start I need.  Right now, in this moment, I'm essentially not doing anything different than I was when I started this journey, except eating a little bit less.  Yes, that's good.  It helped me lose 30 lbs.  But it's not enough.  <br /><br />So for now, I'm going to cut out sugar for the month of July and see where that takes me.  Eventually, I'll reintroduce it back into my life in smaller portions, but for now, it needs to go entirely.    <br /><br /><b style="color: #351c75;">For those WW readers, did you cut out any food groups/restaurants/etc when you started your journey? Or did you just do what I've done - cut back the portion size?</b><br /><br />**special thanks to Missy for the inspiration behind this post and this challenge :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

No Sugar Challenge Cutting Back on Sugar for July

If one of Weight Watchers' requirements was to eat 5-7 (or 20) servings of sweets per day, I'd be killing it at this program!  Very ...

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Using Storify.com to summarise a tweetchat from #edchatsa

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Submitted by Fiona Beal </span></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i>#edchatsa</i> is the hashtag for our weekly twitter chat for South African teachers on topics of educational interest. These chats take place on a Monday evening from 8:30pm – 9:30pm. This blogpost aims to show you how I went about summarising a chat using Storify.com</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM0olfueJzrRpOOkYnid94n8XIzkU46SyLmvkT3af4ShUJ_IEQoxBeZocylBB1bm58nuAygyIIfNs7mNHOF_Ft_0NiWv3nIr_g7dloKvhnZWA_uS_yoP1-npHu8wIuXe0DfH___JZYvU/s1600/storify.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM0olfueJzrRpOOkYnid94n8XIzkU46SyLmvkT3af4ShUJ_IEQoxBeZocylBB1bm58nuAygyIIfNs7mNHOF_Ft_0NiWv3nIr_g7dloKvhnZWA_uS_yoP1-npHu8wIuXe0DfH___JZYvU/s1600/storify.JPG" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today curating is the buzz word with many amazing sites available to do just that. Storify is a form of curating – one can gather tweets, comments, videos, images and other media from all around the Web and put them into one post. Basically it is a way of creating stories using social media. I thought I would try out <i>Storify </i>today to see how it all works. I decided to use it to summarise our last #edchatsa talk on 25th June 2012 from 8:30 – 9:30pm, namely: </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">‘How can we ensure fair assessment in collaborative learning when not every child contributes equally?’</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At first it took a while to get my head around Storify, and then suddenly I realised how very easy it actually is!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 1: Open <a href="http://storify.com/">Storify.com</a> and join</span></b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once you have joined you click on <i>Create story.</i> A lovely big screen for writing opens up.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dTVRDLSeZdDtrXrHFTpATNAGkCfWu-7tT6gVV-NWrHuwzE90rJUgWfjGmT2iWzPm5ovyr7XTbwLr1HjfN_FzRmamkTvEV4dduv9U-EIlgLpflkCUONLoxLSBplIpXSWz0FDqjR0pEZY/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3gor9HEe9w-fBdwRPQ4cs5q6lMvd4FAAagoYnFYwDBYB3sTyt0Jj8euFvgVWMn97lnJaHICiSkmEL7-zYfFQg5h8T7axDmhnCF1hAVIr4Nqanm1WRNfOIx-7xGDMCWCkLOcAKeaig-0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Step 2: Find your media</b></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the right hand side of the big screen is another section that contains the place to find your media.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ0EIFACTmTn5ztavwwk5bq5aLWPIZKpCTWzGkLEGgn_OELgJrdhR1Enq9lAv3ZB1Sy_MRYvZ0N4W651mNNLgH0FzC8-YeHKY9OwggR1HdIbgGtKbJ-R35XV719t_h3uZWgyeutgaG8o/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvrvJRYRGxO_dDnoc9QaxbhNDz-wmPHep3oF7R4vA2TiYaZH5perv3dt1ClSlaU6JAZJDAkAKIXLnwU02_h7HdSaaPpI8yKtiP6VEBGfe5e6MBYrxlJDk2kRnFWK2NPlckNkQwBKGlvM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since I was keen to summarise a Twitter chat I asked for the Twitter hashtag <i>#edchatsa</i> and then searched for the date and the time I wanted to refer to </span></div>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtn31rBZPx34IrbO9JCCVeu2vHPzZ2ehOjkg7Zn6_vd_sNJGdJBXOZ5r2_BdUhq7-8Qee0qy7yw87-eMJ_avoB5DSBRtE5EzQmQZ7WIIWLFQOHN0KucBAzGNA9cM7cmfu0VxaBd5mMgBU/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DgH1UM7M7zzv1dcl5qcRRl6LnmgaLOow9eAbaWMsQnMtgN2IWGVk37QN9hP6gXuYWwIDmtpFOvFUUdYGJlPwBPSI2wTMT0YaXNLFilfUvK5Pn0qxNS3V6ruy9c4cnj0a2l1MIg5vQtc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="232" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />Step 3: Plan the structure of your story</b></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are different blocks to use in Storify, so in my case I decided on:</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A heading</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Putting the story in context</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An opening summary</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How the discussion progressed with relevant headings</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Actual notable tweets that shed light on the discussion</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of the sites and links provided in the chat</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Possibly plan of action ideas</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Embed a final summary of tweets made in a different Storify document from earliest to latest as the last entry on the document</span> </span></li></ul><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From here on it was a case of writing and then dragging across tweets from the #edchatsa hashtag I had opened in the right hand section of Storify. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Step 4: Create and publish your story</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A lovely story emerged! Take a look...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1P-0YJbb_HRtoaTQgOZewOxICDGNxuFAZGxlyO8Q46zOeirjvZRwMpKcQu5csGbfIIFsOx4UWIWG9wIgPtwmQyS72mB9WtDI-9SU1IlXhhVn6IBWwP0TWEqIGDhn_9F7Hr0INSZElDMI/s1600-h/image%25255B17%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQ-ZRGxZK6iw3Tclq7FeFnELKOSXvB9KbngdWbctXDSaislXd-tNBAis-i7cxXWElWcukseVnh0-hFaVHduZ4pxDffkf4UcZ7P5NKHfEs_sb8hFmHodVpCxPdh_CAf-0bh3taW-Oyfng/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to see the finished result please open this link. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://storify.com/fibeal/how-can-we-ensure-fair-assessment-in-collaborative">http://storify.com/fibeal/how-can-we-ensure-fair-assessment-in-collaborative</a><br /><br />If you would like to read all the tweets separately here is the link:<br /><a href="http://storify.com/fibeal/tweet-summary-edchatsa-25-june-fair-assessment-of">http://storify.com/fibeal/tweet-summary-edchatsa-25-june-fair-assessment-of</a></div></div></div>

Tutorials Twitter Web tools Using Storify.com to summarise a tweetchat from #edchatsa

Submitted by Fiona Beal #edchatsa is the hashtag for our weekly twitter chat for South African teachers on topics of educational interest. ...

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A rough start with Whole 30

I really thought this would be a good weekend to start the Whole 30 plan. My husband was out of town so I had complete control of what I ate. Or did I?<br /><br />Saturday went pretty well until about 8pm. I spent the day with my sister. First, her two-hour hair appointment (and she looked gorgeous when they were done). Then Magic Mike. Turned out not to be as fun or interesting as I thought. Stupid subplots, didn't like the character The Kid. Hated Matthew <span class="name" id="yui_3_4_1_5_1341242239318_449">McConaughey</span><span class="title" id="infoBarPosts"></span>'s character. Now Magic Mike, he was "interesting", but the movie was a lot more raunchy than I expected. I know, what should I have expected, it was a male stripper movie.  Basically, another stupid movie.<br /><br />It was 6pm after the movie (where I avoided popcorn or diet Coke - a nasty habit I acquired recently). My sister's normal bedtime is 5:30pm. She sleeps 12 hours a night. I read this is normal post-stroke. At least she doesn't take a nap in the afternoon anymore. She was too tired to go out to eat and indicated she wasn't hungry. However, I asked her, "how about some ice cream?" and she smiled and nodded yes. We stopped at Baskin and Robbins. I got her a scoop of Pralines 'n Cream and nothing for me.  <br /><br />So all had gone well, except I hadn't eaten anything since 11am. I got home at 7pm. I was starving! I still hadn't gone grocery shopping for Whole 30 foods. I had lots of stuff I could eat. Vegetables, fruit, chicken, fish. Dinner was talapia and brussels sprouts, with a cup of blackberries for dessert. I was still starving. I stood in the pantry and spotted a box of Carmel popcorn. The kind you pop in the microwave and then but a slab of caramel on it to melt. I ate both packages.<br /><br />Sunday was worse. I was exhausted, probably from all the sugar and a bad night of sleeping. I just didn't care. I had major house cleaning to do, so I ate whatever, then slept four more hours. Got up at noon and cleaned like a manic.<br /><br />So the whole weekend was a bust. No exercise. Bad eating.<br /><br />Today I'm trying again. My healthy lunch is packed and I have really good intentions (again) today. The goal is to just get through the day. Just one day of eating healthy, whole foods. Certainly I can do one day, right?

A rough start with Whole 30

I really thought this would be a good weekend to start the Whole 30 plan. My husband was out of town so I had complete control of what I ate...

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Teacher's Garden

<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/115916382183421477315/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPCp6bK0YDF6gE#5760574480655747890'><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4tVBDBUAgp3_7t2D5gX-A73tsWwwPuqshGFVNkqDM51soo_TxtWjF1x6jxU2fnKYYMwAGjf5UJWFtwZJ7aYuQbY_Kx_cKzPZPZvUgIw_SBC_MlOyB9ChaF3SXRhs19QI35vczkqYkZub/s288/0.jpg" style="margin:5px" width="267"></a></center><br />"In our garden there's a flower<br />always blooming just for you.<br />Whether sunshine or in shower,<br />In our garden there's a flower.<br />A teacher's love has super power<br />We give thanks for all you do-<br />In our garden there's a flower<br />always blooming just for you."<br />-Andromeda Jazmon<br /><br />"dedicated to Ms. Rhonda Bush April 29, 2011"<br /><br />"they are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do." Psalm 1:3<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/115916382183421477315/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPCp6bK0YDF6gE#5760574496544326082'><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen2UpyxQbP7rljggDH10bSBxJ7q5kcSQx66UMmmYU1o6CpmJb8xyRA7ReIMaTIKbtl98sWjK3QVt4VL9nZPazmABLB8cSV3Svo4ytXlMP9Ht3o7Nj-raVR21iK5VIVMjh2vbUPrNGU5c0/s288/1.jpg" style="margin:5px" width="267"></a></center><br />I'm sitting in our outdoor classroom waiting for my son to get finished in the learning lab and as I looked at the corn, okra, beans, and the most beautiful zinnas I've seen in a long time, I came across the dedication sign that we put up in honor of an amazing K4 teacher, Ms. Rhonda Bush.<br /><br />I'm finally home after being gone for 12 days! Too long in my book. I've been away from home more than at home the last month and I'm completely worn out. It is time to recharge so I can be ready for August, which will be here too fast.<br /><br />There is an ironclad rule about gardens -- three actually:<br />- You harvest what you plant<br />- Your habits in the garden determine the quality and quantity of the harvest * Do you hoe or weed every day?<br /> * Whatever you water, grows.<br /><br />Whatever you do now, you will reap when school starts:<br />- What you learn this summer will come out in your teaching in the fall.<br />- What you plan and do now will determine how well you start?<br /> * Do you map out your plan for the year?<br /> * Take the school calendar and put it on the plan so you have no surprises.<br /> * Plan ahead for those field trips etc. and get those arranged FIRST so there is less stress for you.<br /> * Determine how you'll be communicating with parents and set it up NOW. Plan ahead.<br /> * What is going on your door? This sets the theme of the year in many ways. <br />- A very important one: Did you rest this summer? (I'm speaking to myself here as much as you. Take the time to unwind so you're ready for the fall.)<br /><br />Just some thoughts from the teacher's garden. Teachers, you rock!!! <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />

Teacher's Garden

"In our garden there's a flower always blooming just for you. Whether sunshine or in shower, In our garden there's a flower. A ...

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ZYPRIOTISCHE ERNÜCHTERUNG

<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPef9g83YIBPdaElDGOHHcqGRFgqzoSX9K6NQ-uaApz2QcUpYUGOsIelwhXBlXFa_alVHd-FvR9oDR2TGyB6VSmsNTARgsH4VA-LFp3T7iEEXx6k24eQY31JFnjbEtGcrL1F59ZI4ieGNJ/s1600/Cyprus1-Aphrodite-Rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPef9g83YIBPdaElDGOHHcqGRFgqzoSX9K6NQ-uaApz2QcUpYUGOsIelwhXBlXFa_alVHd-FvR9oDR2TGyB6VSmsNTARgsH4VA-LFp3T7iEEXx6k24eQY31JFnjbEtGcrL1F59ZI4ieGNJ/s400/Cyprus1-Aphrodite-Rock.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Zyperns Aphrodite Felsen </span><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;"></span></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">DAS PLATZEN ÖKONOMISCHER TRÄUME BIETET DIE CHANCE FÜR AUßENPOLITISCHE LÖSUNGEN </span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via</span><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DER STANDARD</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Von Eric Frey</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ZYPERN, das am 1. Juli die EU-Präsidentschaft übernimmt, ist der größte Sündenfall in der Geschichte der Union. Die Entscheidung von 2003, den Inselstaat ohne vorherige Lösung des Nordzypern-Konflikts aufzunehmen, war eine mehrfache Torheit. Sie trug einen ethnischen und geopolitischen Sprengsatz in die EU hinein, vergiftete die Beziehungen zum so wichtigen Partnerstaat TÜRKEI und nahm den ZYPRIOTEN außerdem jeden Anreiz, die für eine Wiedervereinigung notwendigen Kompromisse einzugehen. Mit dem Beitritt in der Tasche stimmten sie dann 2004 tatsächlich gegen den UN-Friedensplan. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Diese Fehlentscheidung belastet EUROPA bis heute. Sicher ist ZYPERN nicht der einzige Grund dafür, dass die Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der TÜRKEI nicht vom Fleck kommen und auch sonst die Zusammenarbeit so wenig klappt. Aber es ist ein ständiges Reizthema, das den Obstruktionskräften in der TÜRKEI in die Hände spielt. Selbst in der Syrienkrise ist die EU behindert, weil Ankara wegen ZYPERN in vielen Bereichen der Außenpolitik die Kooperation verweigert. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Nun erweist sich das angeschlagene EUROLAND ZYPERN auch wirtschaftlich als Mühlstein. Das selbsteingebrockte ZYPERN-Problem der EU und die Finanzprobleme der Region haben dabei die gleichen Wurzeln - nämlich die einstige Illusion wirtschaftlichen Erfolgs, der auf tönernen Füßen stand. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Der EU-Beitritt ZYPERNS war die Folge eines Kraftakts GRIECHENLANDS, das mit einem Veto gegen die gesamte Osterweiterung drohte, sollten die griechischen Brüder auf der Insel nicht mit aufgenommen werden. Dies geschah auf dem Höhepunkt des hellenischen Selbstbewusstseins, inmitten eines Wirtschaftsbooms, zwischen dem Eurobeitritt und den Olympischen Spielen in Athen. Heute würden die GRIECHEN mit einem solchen Machtspiel wohl scheitern - oder es erst gar nicht wagen. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Auch die ZYPRIOTEN verharrten lange im Glauben, sie seien wirtschaftlich stark genug, um auf die Wiedervereinigung verzichten zu können. Doch der ZYPERN-Boom beruhte ebenfalls auf einer Blase, die nun geplatzt ist - und nicht nur wegen der vielen griechischen Staatsanleihen in den Büchern zypriotischer Banken. In dieser neuen Lage werden die ökonomischen Kosten der Teilung - Militärausgaben, Schwächen in der Infrastruktur - umso schwerer wiegen. Vielleicht würden auch die zypriotischen Wähler heute anders entscheiden als 2004. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdiFqdvSWp8PnfTtk5SB1ywEkeGFSpxIF6TAqqzv9YHruvxAKAHNDw_6laezaWwVbD2dfNtTwmlA4Mm3lkWPikcVd8wBQBPXGxRYdQBLgUh_WbbJ0X7zfpsrvh8toZpseN73DVE614siG/s1600/Cyprus_aphrodite_Botticelli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdiFqdvSWp8PnfTtk5SB1ywEkeGFSpxIF6TAqqzv9YHruvxAKAHNDw_6laezaWwVbD2dfNtTwmlA4Mm3lkWPikcVd8wBQBPXGxRYdQBLgUh_WbbJ0X7zfpsrvh8toZpseN73DVE614siG/s400/Cyprus_aphrodite_Botticelli.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Doch sie werden nicht gefragt, ja es finden im ZYPERN-Konflikt nicht einmal Verhandlungen statt. Das ist ein Versäumnis. Denn wenn die Euroschuldenkrise auch etwas Gutes hat, dann das, dass das Platzen ökonomischer Träume den Weg für politische Lösungen freimachen kann. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Allerdings hat die TÜRKEI zuletzt genau jenes Selbstbewusstsein entwickelt, das GRIECHENLAND und ZYPERN einst hatten. Das lässt Premier Tayyip Erdogan in Nordzypern Härte zeigen. Aber auch die türkische Wirtschaft ist fragiler, als sie scheint - mit wachsenden Schulden und einem horrenden Leistungsbilanzdefizit. Und Erdogans außenpolitischer Ehrgeiz, gestärkt durch den Arabischen Frühling, stößt im Nachbarland SYRIEN immer mehr an seine Grenzen. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ernüchterung ist ein besserer Boden für politischen Pragmatismus als Euphorie. Doch um diese Chance zu nützen, braucht es in Brüssel - und auch in Washington - eine Willens- und Führungsstärke, mit der gerade wegen der Eurokrise nicht zu rechnen ist. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

ZYPRIOTISCHE ERNÜCHTERUNG

Zyperns Aphrodite Felsen DAS PLATZEN ÖKONOMISCHER TRÄUME BIETET DIE CHANCE FÜR AUßENPOLITISCHE LÖSUNGEN Via DER STANDARD Von Eric Frey ZYP...

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Whole 30 and Dirty Dozen

Second post in one day, I must be feeling better!<br /><br />I just skimmed through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/It-Starts-Food-Discover-Unexpected/dp/1936608898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341079263&sr=8-1&keywords=it+starts+with+food" target="_blank">It Starts With Food</a> on my Kindle. This is really going to be a major change for me. I'm curious about the outcome so I feel really motivated to do it. Weight loss would be great and is my ultimate goal, but feeling better by not eating all the crap I've been eating is even more exciting.<br /><br />Although I'm not sure I'm completely on board with everything they're suggesting, I'm willing to give it a try. I'm suspicious about cow's milk being unhealthy, but they're logic makes sense. I agree about artificial sweeteners. I was pretty sure that Stevia is not all that healthy and the authors validated my thoughts.<br /><br />A couple links for you, one is the link to the It Starts With Food <a href="http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood/" target="_blank">website </a>with a lot of free downloads, like <a href="http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf" target="_blank">how to get started with the Whole 30</a> and even a <a href="http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Shopping-List.pdf" target="_blank">shopping list</a> (which is in my purse right now):  <a href="http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood/"><br /></a><br /><br />They have so much information on their website you almost don't need the book, although there's a lot of explanation as to why you should follow this eating plan in the book.  <br /><br />Also, a link to the <a href="http://ewg.org/foodnews/summary/%20" target="_blank">Dirty Dozen</a>, which I think everyone needs to review.<br /><br />That's it for now. Getting off this computer and getting my day going. Wonder if there's anything acceptable in my kitchen to eat for the Whole 30. Definitely going to be a challenge.

Whole 30 and Dirty Dozen

Second post in one day, I must be feeling better! I just skimmed through It Starts With Food on my Kindle. This is really going to be a maj...

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Feeling more like myself

For the last few months, I've haven't felt well. I didn't know what was wrong, but I was always tired and borderline unhappy. Not depressed, just not really happy. In fact, I didn't feel like I was feeling anything. It was weird and not at all like how I usually feel. I was not normal, mentally or physically.<br /><br />I blamed it on my weight gain of 40 pounds in the past seven months. I'm sure that was part of it, but yesterday I realized something else that changed about two months ago.<br /><br />A quick recap of the past nine months:<br /><br />August 2011 - Broke my wrist while bicycling and was in a fingertip to elbow cast for three months (first month was a fingertip to shoulder cast). Told would most likely have surgery. Missed a ton of work since I couldn't type (I'm a software developer). Fortunately it all healed and no surgery, but a stressful period.<br /><br />Sept 2011 - My sister had a catastrophic stroke that left her completely paralyzed on her right side, unable to speak intelligibly, read or write. Previously a very active woman and now she's in a wheelchair.<br /><br />Nov 2011 - After a battle with her eldest daughter, my niece, whom I no longer speak to (she is seriously crazy), I was appointed my sister's legal guardian by the State of Alaska.<br /><br />Dec 2011 - Found out from my sister she'd been abused when I visited her at her assisted living in Fairbanks, Alaska. I live in Seattle. I can't tell you the horror of her trying to explain to me about the "bad" person. The only word she could say, "bad", over and over and point to her window. And her unending tears as she tried to tell me who had hurt her and what had happened, both of which I'll never know for sure because I can't understand her. <br /><br />Jan 2012 - Moved my sister to Seattle to live close to me in a wonderful adult family home.<br /><br />Feb 2012 - Filed a Vulnerable Adult Order of Protection with the state to keep my crazy niece away from my sister for the next five years.<br /><br />Mar 2012 - Started a high-pressure, intense project at work with a very tight, unrealistic, but government-imposed deadline. Very much outside my comfort zone on this project.<br /><br />Apr 2012 - Started breaking out in horrible hives, first a couple times a week, then every day. Huge red welts would appear for no apparent reason and itch like crazy, on different parts of my body on different days. And of course, let's not forget the lip swelling that happened randomly and made me look like a freak-a-zoid. It was misery.<br /><br />Late Apr 2012 - On the advice of a nurse, I started taking a 24-hour Claritin on a daily basis. The hives and lip swelling immediately stopped. It had happened three times the day before. I was about ready to go to the emergency room.<br /><br />Late Apr 2012 - June 28, 2012 - felt out of sorts. Extremely tired all the time. Eating out of control. Exercise almost non-existent. Often would get up early, get dressed to go to the gym, but wouldn't go. Too tired.<br /><br />June 29, 2012 - yesterday - I got up, started to take the Claritin as I have every day for two months and although I have been hive free for that entire time, I decided to <u>not</u> take it. The pressure has lifted at work, my sister stuff has settled into a comfortable routine. I haven't spoken to the crazy niece since February and doubt I will ever speak to her again. Did I really need to continue taking the Claritin? I decided no, it was time to stop it.<br /><br />Within only a few  hours, I felt different. I felt like myself. It was very weird. I was sitting at my desk yesterday and thought, why do I feel so different? What changed? I feel happy. I feel excited about my plans for July 4th. Life isn't bad.<br /><br />I hadn't felt that feeling for months. Then it hit me, I stopped taking a pill I'd been taking every day for two months. Even though they claim Claritin has little to no side effects, I really noticed a difference in myself when I stopped taking it. I also slept better last night than I have in a long time. Like a rock. I didn't wake up once all night which is unusual.  <br /><br />I feel ready to get back on the wagon. My wagon of choice this time around is the Paleo diet. Thanks to <a href="http://www.escapefromobesity.net/2012/06/considering-whole-30.html" target="_blank">Lyn's post</a> ( and this <a href="http://www.escapefromobesity.net/2012/06/elimination-diet-and-getting-closer-to.html" target="_blank">one</a>) regarding the Whole 30, I thought this is a good time to figure out what foods make me feel good and the ones that make me feel lousy. If that tiny little Claritin pill has such a huge impact on my body, I know all the junk I'm dumping into my body must really be playing havoc with my physical and mental health.<br /><br />I've got the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936608898/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=escapefromobesity-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1936608898">It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways</a>, downloaded to my Kindle. I've skimmed it but will do some serious reading today and get the right food in the house (and the wrong food out of the house).<br /><br />Today's plan:<br />Gym<br />Reading (the book referenced above) <br />Grocery shopping (including the Farmer's Market)<br />House cleaning - yuk<br />Take my sister for a color/cut and maybe a movie if she's up to it see a movie. <a href="http://magicmikemovie.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">Magic Mike</a> - don't laugh - she loves that kind of stuff. I think she'll get a kick out of it. Rottentomatoes.com gave it an 80% rating (okay, I'll admit it, I love Matthew McConaughey)<span style="color: black;">.</span><br /><br />Tomorrow - I will try to mow our lawn if it dries out a little. I have never mowed our lawn or even tried to start the lawn mower. We've lived her 14 years but it's my husband's thing. It hasn't been mowed in five weeks. I've never seen it this tall. My husband is usually a freak about the lawn, , always working on it trying to make it the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, he's in Denver again this weekend. Fifth time in the last six weeks (and he just started a new job five weeks ago).<br /><br />His dad was taken to ER again on Thursday but is back at the nursing home today. His dad is complaining he can't breath. He's on oxygen, but he can't get enough. It's the emphysema. Damned smoking for the past 50 years. I wish the Federal government would make cigarette sales illegal and put the tobacco companies out of business.<br /><br />The tobacco industry is something I will never understand. I understand the whole financial aspect of it, the big business, the jobs that would be lost, the taxes the state and federal governments would lose, the revenue for the Indian tribes (we have an Indian Smoke shop on almost every corner here), but I just don't get it. Cigarettes are poison. They kill people. Slowly and painfully. Yes, I know it's a choice but it doesn't make any sense that it's okay to sell cigarettes. Okay, stepping off my soapbox. This is a weight loss blog, not an anti-smoking blog. Still, it just makes me crazy!<br /><br />Okay, until tomorrow. I plan to be back to daily posting now that I'm myself again. :)

Feeling more like myself

For the last few months, I've haven't felt well. I didn't know what was wrong, but I was always tired and borderline unhappy. No...

Read more »