Social media not your thing? It could hurt your job search

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></b></span><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, helvetica;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="tblContent"><tbody><tr id="trContent"><td align="center" class="cb_style tcContent" id="tcContent" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div class="cbArticleWrapper" style="background-color: white; text-align: left; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleContentWrapper" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 15px; width: 750px;"><div class="cbArticleRight" style="width: 560px;"><div class="RXart" style="padding-right: 20px;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="margin-top: -30px;"><div class="cbmsnArticleImage" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/lf/ar5l88r75zpy5xpv6nlf.gif?time=8/21/2011%2012:00:00%20pm" /></div><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder</span></b><br /></div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Allie McCormick left her full-time <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/public+relations/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">public relations</a>position to be a stay-at-home mom. Once she was ready to get back to work, she posted to Facebook that she was looking for a job.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"I believe my status was something along the lines of 'Allie McCormick is officially job hunting. I have over 10 years of experience in <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/pr/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">PR</a> and <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/marketing/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">marketing</a> and am overall awesome [smiley face],'" she recalls.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">McCormick says she received several messages instantly. "Within four weeks, I had interviewed formally with three companies and had two offers on the table," says McCormick, now a PR<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/consultant/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">consultant</a> with Innography, an <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/intellectual+property/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">intellectual property</a> <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/software/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">software</a> company.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Social media</a>, also referred to as social recruiting, is on the rise. And if you're not familiar with it, you had better get to know it soon.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>"</b>Social media is where the employers are and where they're investing," says Adriana Llames, Career Coach and author of "Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In a recent study by Jobvite, an online recruiting website, 55 percent of employers said they plan to increase their investment in social recruiting. Eighty-seven percent of them are already using LinkedIn for recruiting and 95 percent hired a new employee from their LinkedIn recruiting efforts alone, not to mention Facebook or Twitter.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that up to 85 percent of career opportunities go unadvertised, which means that you have to use your network.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Word of mouth and friend referrals are huge [in a job search]. The new word of mouth is through social media," says Sarah Cullins, president of Finesse Staffing, a <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/recruiting+firm/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">recruiting firm</a> based in<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/California/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Southern California</a>. "It is often still who you know, not what you know, and social media helps you to know a lot more people."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Echoes Llames, "If you know of a company or a job you want to land, get your network working for you. With 350 friends, they know 350 friends who know 350 friends. You've just reached more than 1,000 people, and the likelihood is someone knows a hiring authority at your target company."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In fact, not having an online presence will hurt job seekers, says Morgan McKean, a consultant and<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/writer/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">writer</a> who specializes in recommending "<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/green/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">green</a>" fashions, beauty products and home décor for women.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"These days, any business that doesn't have a Web presence isn't taken seriously. What job seekers have to understand is that their career is their business. They must have a place to send potential employers to see their background. The product or brand they are selling is their skill set. They need to have a place to showcase their features and the benefits to working with them. Without these things, they lack credibility in this new job market," she says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If you don't already have a social networking or social media profile, the first thing to do is get one. Then follow these steps:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Be clear on what you want.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Candidates need to have a clear focus of what they're looking for in a position. If you want your network, online or offline, to help you, you need to know what you're asking for first," Llames says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Saying that you are looking for a job isn't clear enough, Cullins says. "People won't take that seriously," she says. "If you clearly define what you want and what you can do and ask your network to actively help you, you will get led or pushed in the right direction."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Give help first.</b> "When someone asks if you know of a good mechanic or if they paid too much to the plumber, help them out. Be sincere and helpful. Refer your social media contacts to others and they will reciprocate," Cullins says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>3. Consistent branding</b>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"There are a plethora of candidates and job seekers I see that have one profile on Facebook that says 'restaurateur,' another one on LinkedIn that says 'social media marketer' and yet a third on Twitter that says 'food blogger.' Who are you?" Llames says. "Create a consistent, clear and precise brand across all the social networks and on your résumé so hiring managers and companies know what you do and that you're an expert in your industry."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>4. Protect yourself.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">More often than not, employers will do a search for you before or after an interview, in a search engine or on a social network.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"To avoid giving away too much information, keep your profiles private. Only accept Facebook friend requests from people you know, and while keeping your LinkedIn profile public is recommended, you can chose to publish on certain aspects of your public profile on LinkedIn," Llames says. "Avoid those summer beer-guzzling Facebook profile shots; your profile picture is always public."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5. Be social.</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Social media is not just about blasting your opinion or your accomplishments to the world. Social media is an online party," McKean says. "If you engage people in conversations, compliment them on their work, ask questions and acknowledge their expertise, they are more likely to respond."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ultimately, if you don't have a presence on social media, you look outdated and will get left behind.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter.</i></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

Social media not your thing? It could hurt your job search

Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder Allie McCormick left her full-time  public relations position to be a stay-at-home mom. Once she wa...

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Starbucks Giveaway Winner!

Drum roll.... the results are in!  <a href="http://biggerthanababyelephant.blogspot.com/">Jodie from Bigger Than a Baby Elephant</a> has won the $10 Starbucks giftcard! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOnxi8qxdaqDCZZq4WF7uq7u-d7E0VccSlh6acWPYCJE0hfSiXuEASbgDHGSOn9CbFLM7FqS9C3PztkUvh4FipmQ_V9zlwRMnap65ezCCWjUGt-KqAAJp7iukVDWQw24l-n6reG0FxBw/s1600/jodie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOnxi8qxdaqDCZZq4WF7uq7u-d7E0VccSlh6acWPYCJE0hfSiXuEASbgDHGSOn9CbFLM7FqS9C3PztkUvh4FipmQ_V9zlwRMnap65ezCCWjUGt-KqAAJp7iukVDWQw24l-n6reG0FxBw/s400/jodie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Congratulations Jodie and Happy Birthday!<br /><br />This week, I have non-scale victories to celebrate, because I certainly don't have scale victories to celebrate (thanks to <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-to-oa-meeting.html">many cookies</a> and lots of beer this week - I'm not surprised). <br /><br />I stuck to the NROLFW workout this week - and have been progressing well with the amount of weight I've been lifting each time.  And last night, I made my first trip to the gym without Joel where I actually lifted weights!  I kept putting it off all evening because I figured the longer I waited, the more likely it would be that the big men would be mostly gone for the night.  Also, to be honest, I didn't want to go.  I knew this week on the scale was going to bring bad numbers and I felt like "What does it matter now?".<br /><br />Still, I went and I'm glad I did.  I'm just not happy with myself.  I now have to re-lose those 2.2 pounds that just 7 days ago were not apart of me.  Of course it's my fault.  I get it.  And I'm <i>obviously </i>not good at resisting temptation. <br /><br />Hopefully this Septathalon this weekend will help me out. 

Gain giveaways Starbucks Giveaway Winner!

Drum roll.... the results are in!  Jodie from Bigger Than a Baby Elephant has won the $10 Starbucks giftcard!  Congratulations Jodie and Ha...

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TURKEYS MIDDLE EAST CHESS GAME

<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>THE TRUE REASON BEHIND TURKEYS WARMONGERING AGAINST ISRAEL </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-0133e2e4896cf571-16136" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwJmIQZtL_mn_RcgILqAlZbd1kYTnBAxOZjBYnHqpEkgijadQtUzs69f2afiZxllpNCVvSb8GKNMQ9D7I66jj5KUzedUWp4QA0VgrWQKxeFkKx_ZgunPY2Dz3ZmWYZzHhlM0Nf1" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TURKISH DÉJÀ VU , NEO OTTOMANISM</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>  </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">TURKEY cleverly utilized the ARAB SPRING for its own political agenda, namely that of expansionism and spreading its political model in order to gain greater geopolitical influence and subsequently obtain a stronger stance on the world stage. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Under pretence of the GAZA FLOTILLA incident, ERDOGAN used the excuse to distance himself from ISRAEL in order to gain acceptance of MUSLIM countries and the ARAB LEAGUE and promote TURKEY as a model for ARAB STATES. His populist warmongering rhetoric against ISRAEL are well received among Arab states, what he neglects however to mention is the true cause of his rift with Israel, namely that of an ongoing natural resources dispute which involves GREECE, CYPRUS and ISRAEL. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE NATURAL RESOURCES CHESS GAME IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN BASIN  </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wdkCCVftpmaqt4q46p6MHtWxol9tm-43DP9sRBARP2AEvCTowQl08H6lFKATyhbZXP8bciGGD6vqvtpStuaeP8Y4hKofhsAnOjnkIYe60S7Y5vNHYwnIHu_a-xTIe0RE3549RXRPm9Zy/s1600/cypriot-turkey-conflict-nationalturk-19876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wdkCCVftpmaqt4q46p6MHtWxol9tm-43DP9sRBARP2AEvCTowQl08H6lFKATyhbZXP8bciGGD6vqvtpStuaeP8Y4hKofhsAnOjnkIYe60S7Y5vNHYwnIHu_a-xTIe0RE3549RXRPm9Zy/s200/cypriot-turkey-conflict-nationalturk-19876.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">(See CYPRUS conflict <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus</a>) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">As mentioned in my previous article posted Friday the 9^th of September on this blog,  ISRAEL and CYPRUS, in a joint venture,   are about to extract gas from a 350,000 hectares gas deposits found on the border of CYPRUS’S and ISRAEL’S economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean, which TURKEY claims a share of.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">By using warmongering rhetoric’s TURKEY not only drew attention of the ARAB world but also GREECE, its  archenemy and close ally of CYPRUS who responded equally harsh by <b>threatening with war</b> if TURKEY hinders CYPRUS’S gas exploration, a calculated move of GREECE to distract from its looming default, a tactic which has proven a success in recent past under Thatcher’s government in order to distract from the problem the government faced in the UK and subsequently led to the MALVINAS (Falklands) war with ARGENTINA and a political resurrection for Thatcher. ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War</a>)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2akoKQvD5mUAtKcr8JO3FkDs45yCbbeNdpQPrvloTUb6DqDhXRvUm9zUkxNsjF5BQ2PMs3OLpJqqLcTbI0OY0oZztpQ68dQRHG6cTZ36Wn2j4mllCWWkT6QQJz4vUr4InN3KeIzVjs80k/s1600/8216don8217t-sacrifice-talks-in-cyprus-for-natural-gas8217-2011-08-14_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2akoKQvD5mUAtKcr8JO3FkDs45yCbbeNdpQPrvloTUb6DqDhXRvUm9zUkxNsjF5BQ2PMs3OLpJqqLcTbI0OY0oZztpQ68dQRHG6cTZ36Wn2j4mllCWWkT6QQJz4vUr4InN3KeIzVjs80k/s400/8216don8217t-sacrifice-talks-in-cyprus-for-natural-gas8217-2011-08-14_l.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">CYPRUS MAIL Newspaper Article </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/turkey-watchful-oil-rig-moved-position/20110916">http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/turkey-watchful-oil-rig-moved-position/20110916</a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DRAWING SYMPATHY FROM ARAB COUNTRIES</b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>  </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">CYPRUS only recently reiterated that it will not halt exploration activities despite warnings from TURKEY who obviously does not want to miss out on the prospects of huge oil and gas extraction in the EASTER MEDITERRANEAN basin. Due to the geographic position of these fields it becomes imminent that TURKEY needs ARAB countries as allies in order to isolate CYPRUS and ISRAEL. Thus it also becomes evident why ERODGAN emphasized Israel’s so-called increased isolation in the region during his “public relation trip” in ARAB MIDDLE EAST countries and at the same time promoting the upcoming PALESTINE statehood bid, for it plays in TURKEY’S long-term geopolitical strategic favor.  What ERDOGAN neglects though is that ISRAEL has always been isolated in the region, despite its peace treaty with JORDAN and EGYPT. ISRAEL never was naïve to believe that it will have an everlasting peace with those two countries and subsequently has adjusted its politics and policies accordingly.   </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">What mainstream media also neglect to mention is that CHINA supports ISRAEL in the PALESTINE statehood issue and that Israel has signed a free trade agreement with MERCOSUR, of which BRAZIL is also part of,  (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercosur">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercosur</a>), a move that could prove to be essential, especially since MERCOSUR countries are gaining economic and political influence on the world stage.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>WESTERN ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE LED TO UNDERESTIMATE TURKEY </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlPAUzM_U7k5R7joJUfkswxYyvPjbvEWikc2M0rqI5EB0zBHTn_5ADsBmfyi9TOl7LuBg6D9-JGe6eWbcEORwhsD7UWW0G6LsgTdeFT-h-HDi1iIB46-8dqKTOFqyfKCC5Ak-GpCO6ya3/s1600/800px-Map_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlPAUzM_U7k5R7joJUfkswxYyvPjbvEWikc2M0rqI5EB0zBHTn_5ADsBmfyi9TOl7LuBg6D9-JGe6eWbcEORwhsD7UWW0G6LsgTdeFT-h-HDi1iIB46-8dqKTOFqyfKCC5Ak-GpCO6ya3/s320/800px-Map_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops.PNG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Map of countries by number of active troops</b></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand EUROPE has always underestimated TURKEY’S political wittiness in expanding its influence in the BALKAN and indeed the political world stage. Over the years TURKEY has become the 2^nd largest NATO army in EUROPE and the 8^th largest army of the world.  Despite its current warmongering tactics, TURKEY is still a close ally of the USA which on the other hand is an ally of ISRAEL.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TACTICS – TURKEY PERMITS NATO ANTI MISSILE RADAR TO BE INSTALLED ON ITS EASTERN BORDER </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thus ANKARA’S recent decision to permit the installation of an anti missile radar on its border as part of a defense shield against RUSSIAN and IRANIAN missile threats, indirectly provides additional security for ISRAEL. On the other hand the NATO radar site also showcases the link between the USA, TURKEY and SAUDI ARABIA in the quest to oppose IRAN, RUSSIA and to some extend CHINA.  With TURKEY permitting the NATO radar shield it covers two issues at one stroke.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">One is that it maintains the support of the SUNNI ARAB states in the quest against SHIITES and at the same time satisfies the USA and its Western allies, strengthening TURKEY’S reputation among WESTERN as well as EASTERN countries, making it a key player on the political as well as economic world stage.   </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNHWVgfgoL8zlTuhrB_nOz2Pp-ILHxPiToT5HkEs9kilX0bOJJVBuLW_0PjbRjfOupFaFJrO_m5WjcYAMDvicRLklqIKnbW4ZsOT3h7tM7cRzqe03vfjPnvOKmXnK0O7RrRCz1FZS-bZn/s1600/Islam-by-country-smooth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNHWVgfgoL8zlTuhrB_nOz2Pp-ILHxPiToT5HkEs9kilX0bOJJVBuLW_0PjbRjfOupFaFJrO_m5WjcYAMDvicRLklqIKnbW4ZsOT3h7tM7cRzqe03vfjPnvOKmXnK0O7RrRCz1FZS-bZn/s320/Islam-by-country-smooth.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Map from Wikipedia Commons</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Green:  Sunni</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Blue: Shiite</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

TURKEYS MIDDLE EAST CHESS GAME

THE TRUE REASON BEHIND TURKEYS WARMONGERING AGAINST ISRAEL  TURKISH DÉJÀ VU , NEO OTTOMANISM   TURKEY cleverly utilized the ARAB SPRING for ...

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I am exhausted

This has been a hard week, even though I Wednesday was my first day back at work. Sleep has been elusive. I can fall asleep, but wake up at 1:00 am, or earlier if I go to bed earlier. Then toss and turn until it's time to get up. It's killing me.<br /><br />The sleep doctor I saw yesterday, who was wonderful, said my tonsils are huge, and my mouth is too small. Isn't that funny, the fat girl has a tiny mouth? <br /><br />He wants to do a sleep study, which I dread, but he said he's almost positive I need to have my tonsils removed. He emphasized the surgery is minor, a fifteen-minute procedure, but the pain afterwards is pretty serious. He said I'd lose weight. I told him to sign me up now. Sounds like fun weigh-loss surgery.<br /><br />I've actually known I've needed a tonsillectomy for years. Every doctor that has ever looked in my mouth and made me say "ahhhhh" has commented on my huge tonsils. I just never connected it to waking me up during the night. The problem is the breathing. Because "of my age" (sick of hearing that by the way), he said the muscles aren't as taunt as the use to be, then with the tonsils and my small mouth, it's causing me to stop breathing.<br /><br />Thankfully he said a CPAP machine wouldn't help. That's a good thing because I had no intention of getting one. <br /><br />As soon as my wrist heals, I'll do the sleep study, and then my tonsils removed. At 56. If it'll help me sleep, I'll do it. Right now I'd just about sell my soul to the devil for a good night's sleep. <br /><br /><br />

I am exhausted

This has been a hard week, even though I Wednesday was my first day back at work. Sleep has been elusive. I can fall asleep, but wake up at ...

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Live From Quito 1

This experience is marred by my feeling lousy. It could be the 2 root canals I had the afternoon before my flight, or the antibiotics I am taking, or the altitude, or being too old to travel this much. But I wouldn't miss it. Connecting with the other bishops is so energizing, edifying, and spiritually important. <br /><br />it is spiritually important because this is how we form and sustain the church. The church is not at heart an authority structure. It is a web of relationships. Human friendships with people in other dioceses --not canons or commissions -- expand our identity beyond Nevada. Relationships make us bigger and bigger hearted. Each day I pray for this diocese Ecuador Central and it's bishop Luis, for the diocese of Machakos (Kenya) and it's bishop Joseph, and for the diocese of Santiago (Philippines) and its bishop Alexander. Knowing, appreciating, and praying for each other is how we form the church. We do some of that in Nevada. Many of our priests this year resolved to pray on a daily basis for 5 other priests. That's a start. I wonder what other networks of people might undertake to intentionally get acquainted and pray for one another.<br /><br />Today we began with Holy Eucharist and a great sermon by Bishop Katharine on our duty as Christians to act and advocate for peace, reconciliation, and justice. Leading the church in the way of Jesus is bound to get resistance from those our scriptures call "worldly minded" (meaning that their secular ideologies trump their faith). But that resistance does not compare with the risks taken by Christians in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, or the Philippines when they defend the poor and the outcasts. We need the Anglican Communion so they can inspire us with their strength and courage. <br /><br />After the Eucharist we had small group check in followed by a report from the Medical Trust on our insurance premiums. That is a big problem for some dioceses including ours. They are working on it.At lunch, I slipped off with two buddies, Prince Singh of Rochester and Scott Mayer of Northwest Texas. We compared notes on Bishoping and told stories from our dioceses. This too is how we keep the chuch knitted together.In the afternoon we heard from a Kansas theologian about the place of peace and justice advocacy in the Anglican tradition going back to the 17th century on up through 19th century when Bishop Charles Gore grounded social justice in the Incarnation and the 20th Century's Archbishop William Temple who tied justice to the sacraments. Then we head from a Brazillian bishop about the church's on the ground experiences with social justice ministries.<br /><br />After a pleasant dinner of Ecuadoran dishes most of which I did not recognize I have called it day well spent.

free Live From Quito 1

This experience is marred by my feeling lousy. It could be the 2 root canals I had the afternoon before my flight, or the antibiotics I am t...

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One Year Ago Today...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpiz8huiiayQq6tRxZZ1wVzu6-iKEjtVWFfp8D2mm8UvdNg3SZe1bz12zkWtN4PYmSdoFBtr5ppe9QARmMP1K3gnxTRD8C-QV_fWhlvMgjd7cc_mDxcr9HEHHsBlobQeu-K5vC7EMgF2W/s1600/Cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpiz8huiiayQq6tRxZZ1wVzu6-iKEjtVWFfp8D2mm8UvdNg3SZe1bz12zkWtN4PYmSdoFBtr5ppe9QARmMP1K3gnxTRD8C-QV_fWhlvMgjd7cc_mDxcr9HEHHsBlobQeu-K5vC7EMgF2W/s400/Cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Lady Eve's Reel Life is one year old today...and no one is more surprised by this anniversary than the lady herself. When I nervously posted my first piece on TCM's Classic Film Union blog pages about 2-1/2 years ago I didn't imagine I'd soon be contributing to a collaborative blog (<i>The Classic Film & TV Cafe</i>) and would, not too much later, begin a blog of my own. I never would have believed that along the way I'd get to know and interview two amazing women, one a former child actress who'd been featured in a Hitchcock classic,<i> </i>and the other the daughter of an iconic star of the silent era. As fulfilling as all of this has been, equally rewarding is getting to know the many classic film fans and bloggers I've met in the past few years.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> I received a lot of help from these new friends as I set off on my blogging adventures and want to particularly thank Rick Armstrong, who couldn't be more supportive, helpful - and patient!<br /><br />At first I thought I might celebrate here by sharing links to some of my early TCM and <i>Cafe</i> blogs, but reconsidered. I'd rather nod in the direction of the film that inspired my online moniker, the scintillating work of brilliant and meteoric writer/director Preston Sturges -<i>The Lady Eve </i>(1941)...</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1T53iV8HKXQ" width="560"></iframe></div></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thanks to all who visit Reel Life, with deepest gratitude to my loyal followers!</span>

TCM TCM Classic Film Union The Classic Film and TV Cafe The Lady Eve (author) One Year Ago Today...

The Lady Eve's Reel Life is one year old today...and no one is more surprised by this anniversary than the lady herself. When I nervousl...

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Went to bed weighing 179, woke up weighing 181.4, now 182.4!

<i>Forgot to hit publish last night (!). Now up to 182.4 this morning. No late night eating yesterday, and calories at 1300. At this rate...well, you get the picture. Late for the gym, but leaving in five minutes. My post written at 10pm yesterday:</i> <br /><br />Tuesday was a lot of last-minute "got to do this before I go back to work" chores. I was running around all day.<br /><br />I went to my regular hair salon and had my hair color fixed. It's normal now. It cost a fortune but it was worth it. I had to see the most senior color specialist to figure out how to get the ash (greenish-gray) out of my blond highlights. It was painless, love the colorist, been to her before. Painless but pricey. Lesson learned: trying to save money on my hair always winds up costing me a lot of time and more money. I also had two inches cut off by my regular stylist (same salon). Much happier with it now.<br /><br />Then I went shopping for work clothes. D-i-a-s-t-e-r!!! I hate shopping. I've never understood how anyone can think shopping for clothes is fun. Even in the best of times when I'm what I consider a "skinny" weight, I hate it. Since this isn't the best of times for my weight, it was totally not fun. I've never in my entire life stood in a dressing room and liked what I saw staring back at me.Yesterday was worse than usual.<br /><br />After looking at probably hundreds of dress jeans and slacks, and hating all of them, I finally tried on three pair of jeans. I hated them (notice how "hate" is a running theme about me and clothes?). Size 12's and 14's. Too small or too big. Too tight in the hips, too loose in the waist. Too long, even with three-inch heels. Just too wrong in every way.<br /><br />I came home with three new pairs of dress shoes. Doesn't that sound like a fat girl? You can always find cute shoes. At least I bought something.<br /><br />About my weight. Another disaster in that area. I had to run to the store last night at 7pm to buy trouser socks. Since I wore flips for most of the summer (dressy flips, but still, flips?), I decided to start dressing a little better for work. Flips were never really appropriate, but I was on a "I don't care how I look" phase for most of last summer. Flips certainly aren't appropriate in my office in September with the rainy season starting.<br /><br />As I was leaving for the store my husband asked me to pick him up "a piece of cake". WHAT? YOU WANT <u>ME </u>TO PICK <u>YOU</u> UP A PIECE OF CAKE?!!!". Yes, that was me yelling. Why not just go ask a crack addict to pick you up some crack. What the hell?! He said he just wanted something sweet, just a small piece of cake. And some potato chips too please (!!!).<br /><br />He has never asked me to do this in our 23 years of marriage. Probably because I've either been on a diet or should have been on a diet or was thinking about going on a diet for those 23 years. Reluctantly I agreed (yes, I need my head examined). Occasionally I try to be a sweet wife, but this was the wrong time and the wrong thing.<br /><br />The store I was going to was Fred Myer, one of those stores that has a lot of everything, including trouser socks, cake and potato chips. They didn't have any pieces of cake, but they had pieces of cheesecake. He likes cheesecake (and unfortunately so do I). I felt like I had the will of steel. I could buy this junk, and I wouldn't eat it. I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy for weeks. One piece of caramel, pecan cheesecake (my personal favorite...you can see I was subconsciously trying to sabotage myself), and one bag of Kettle chips, vinegar and salt, also my favorite.<br /><br />When I got home with my purchases, around 9pm, my husband  was asleep. I hadn't eaten since 9am, before my hair appointment. I was exhausted and starving.<br /><br />For some really weird reason, I wanted to weigh myself. I hadn't weighed myself for three days. I never weigh at night, because of course we all weigh more at night than first thing in the morning. Still, I got on the scales. Surprise, I was 179. I weighed three times. Could that be right, 179? Yes, it was right, three times and each time 179.0. I broke the 180 barrier.<br /><br />Then I ate a nice, healthy dinner of chicken breast and Brussels sprouts. Then I ate the piece of cheesecake and the bag of potato chips. This morning, 181.4. I gained 2.4 pounds overnight. It's probably partly the salt, but still...why? <br /><br />I could blame this on my husband. I would actually like to blame my husband, but this is nothing to do with him. It's something to do with me. I went about twelve hours without eating. That was stupid. I brought crap food into our house that normally would never be here. That was me, not him. He would never do that, yet he asked to do it and I said okay. Why did he ask? That alone is really odd. And why on earth did I agree. Normally I would say no way. You can buy it and eat it, but I don't want to have it in my sight. I wish I wasn't like this, but it's a fact of life and one he's accepted.<br /><br />I don't have the answers and honestly, and I'm still perplexed by my behavior. Maybe I was tired, hungry and not thinking straight. Maybe I had temporary insanity. I don't really understand what happened, why would a sane, reasonably intelligent person make such a bad decision? <br /><br />I'm back at it today. I guess I'll just put that in my memory bank as a lesson learned.<br /><br />It's almost 10pm. Time for sleep, or at least, my attempt at sleep. I saw a sleep doctor today about my inability to sleep through the night. Which will be in a later post. I have to at least try to sleep now. <br /><br />

Went to bed weighing 179, woke up weighing 181.4, now 182.4!

Forgot to hit publish last night (!). Now up to 182.4 this morning. No late night eating yesterday, and calories at 1300. At this rate...wel...

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Scheduling 5K's for the Fall!

It's been a few months since I completed my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/search/label/5K">last 5K</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuUFgYDUIQIpjQaCqGrfVF2rpLpAQNL9KOwnEC5t2m9MVtjlJeioVQRlDnW64lcmrmjWoY2OW3AN__UWTcwkOQx5bCB8n7z8K2FpzKcgWa2qdB3yd5p6CdL14HCHpyI9jgPl69EZYwH0/s1600/May+2011+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuUFgYDUIQIpjQaCqGrfVF2rpLpAQNL9KOwnEC5t2m9MVtjlJeioVQRlDnW64lcmrmjWoY2OW3AN__UWTcwkOQx5bCB8n7z8K2FpzKcgWa2qdB3yd5p6CdL14HCHpyI9jgPl69EZYwH0/s400/May+2011+032.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I've been searching around on Active.com for local events in my area and have found a few worth considering over the next few weeks.  I'd really like to do a few fall themed ones, and so far have found two that are <a href="http://www.goblingallop.org/">Halloween</a> <a href="http://www.active.com/running/muncy-pa/muncy-monster-dash-2011">themed</a>, one that is hosted by the <a href="http://prracing.racebx.com/events/register/4e1f0625-9d54-40b7-94ed-5d4dc0a86522">YMCA to help fight childhood obesity</a>, <a href="http://www.kingstownestriders.org/FilltheShoes5K.html">one that will raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network</a>, and <a href="http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e4g88edhc9475156&llr=tl9s5vdab">one that I have done in year's past that helps fight homelessness</a>.  <br /><br />Even though I still cannot run an entire 5K, I still enjoy doing them.  At the end of each race I feel a huge sense of accomplishment because I have proven to myself, yet again, that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to, no matter how much I weigh.  Also, there is the added benefit that I have just been active for 3.1 miles early on a weekend morning.<br /><br />Well, this weekend I am traveling to St Mary's County, MD to participate in an unofficial event created by Joel's brother in order to celebrate his 30th birthday.  He called it the St Mary's Septathalon, where we will be participating in 7 active events on Saturday.  This includes running, swimming, biking, fishing, yoga, drinking (I didn't make the rules), and something else that I cannot remember.   I will be sure to snag some pictures!  It's going to be interesting no doubt...  <br /><br />Are you signed up for any 5K's this fall?<br /><br /><i style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/starbucks-giftcard-giveaway.html">Tomorrow is the drawing for the $10 Starbucks giftcard</a>! Don't forget to enter for your chance to win :). </i>

5K Exercise Scheduling 5K's for the Fall!

It's been a few months since I completed my last 5K . I've been searching around on Active.com for local events in my area and have ...

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Welcome to the OA Meeting

Hi.<br /><br />My name is Hilary and I ate a plate of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies tonight. <br /><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="http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com/cartoons/369---July-20---26,-2008,-healthy-eating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com/cartoons/369---July-20---26,-2008,-healthy-eating.png" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com/cartoon/369">Source.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Even <i>though </i>I thought I messed them up (don't ask), and therefore should not even be worth eating. <br /><br />Even <i>though </i>I was convinced they didn't taste delicious (like they normally do when made correctly) when I taste-tested them yesterday. <br /><br />Even <i>though </i><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/beck-diet-solution-week-3.html">Beck says not to give in to cravings</a>!<br /><br />And while I <i>desperately </i>did not want to go to the gym to do NROLFW tonight even though it was on the schedule, <b>I still did anyhow</b>. <br /><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="http://qcistyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/exercise-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="335" src="http://qcistyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/exercise-cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://qcistyle.com/the-n-crowd/fitness-cheaters-never-prosper/">Source</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>Touché cookies. Touché.<br /><br /><i>Special thanks to <a href="http://mrshillruns.blogspot.com/2011/09/liebster-award.html">Jessica</a> for honoring me with the blog award :).</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>Don't forget to enter that lovely <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/starbucks-giftcard-giveaway.html">Starbucks giftcard giveaway</a>!</i><br /><br /><br />

Exercise Weight Loss Challenges Welcome to the OA Meeting

Hi. My name is Hilary and I ate a plate of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies tonight.  Source. Even though I thought I messed them up (don'...

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Snippets from the Partners in Learning Middle East Innovative Education Forum in Jordan

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>An exciting event</strong></span><br />  <br />The Partners in Learning Middle East Innovative Education Forum took place in Aqaba, Jordan last week. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-KXvQnIhk8l4hTIbf1xANodBD_QowXHouXVJCe4x5poX6wb0l23CqCW7r_Vsp9iM5H2Ry0XGgPuJ6tQoXh3iqNHkFpIirR5hqAoLFiyqyl-UrPTsRqU_supHT52QQNHm1L-zwR3J5wI/s1600-h/all%252520in%252520jordan%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="all in jordan" border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1t5fuPrUYXXtNsKyQZJBexTqrHMpCY9B2G11pvU99bldcvW3fwSlyC2C43EcAv_3mqVQvvNIkuZhU8l92JtgthXjHtzpVR7GASoMqcK_xRNZ25bKebnZqh5gVJ3tY1Rgcn8cmB6wwfs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="all in jordan" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxiwahiWq9z2SMl1KBXPLbHLkQ1iRXKLcVtgKL-nnP3wFayA7gKSnTEakKWv8Srbvss7KYUS0uuVgiUoJkzr0CKJ7BOXb8yXt42EuBbQ3i49OK3BpY0E_Pb9ve-bqkdSH20560IZyZgU/s1600-h/308121_219941381396185_216185841771739_646344_1938959218_n%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="308121_219941381396185_216185841771739_646344_1938959218_n" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBVWwUrMU2_c7vcYQ6QPi7kxdECQLIWwdb8clwtEdPUbNSf_fAZP6uoS44MCOLkmDjFUOgvfQ98VrjdYke1g62Uupc941ugnQ8HbF5x6rTT1ltHbGN8dCwskBlgT3aW7duIPcryGhYqM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="308121_219941381396185_216185841771739_646344_1938959218_n" width="320" /></a> <br /><br />This is a photo of our South African and Lesotho team of 20 who attended the Forum in Jordan. The group consisted of Innovative Teacher winners, Innovative Schools representatives, judges for the event and our local Partners in Learning APM, Angela Schaerer.   <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFXZVwk8x6sIQ-9CnLuUKl_mtVzuWmzIvTGcMbHXqGNT0GSit1uj612JDsWrv_p4J7NY5VsvTGhXd_RKveqiVWY-pjkGHzSIHEXTvH05C-z2Ui-g42qhUOLatXZInj4uRnQLis55ZnxI/s1600-h/Capture%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Capture" border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7xd5euu3CQnvoGqgEVrAy5zvyktY6yj_7hyJn4gya6kG78XX2cmbLWb7cQTkUNa4WhI6G_tcEeLmGNae77xpb-nSIYDhgE-NbwWwUPb1VBULvpaqtwSc7M96f76HXDwuZPbs8L82DvQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Capture" width="320" /></a> <br /><br />We are so pleased to announce that members of our group, who were all regional winners in July in South Africa and Lesotho, have done extremely well. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis28lP-olXSm5oo0UPMuXI26Akbw9BTfqmzxddZWcFEoslqtM6zdul8-qWwTo0yBXexG2r7S3ASRH41V6IKLFx4vgRa5ug70w-ItN02krLSbkrxe1iJdXgJM1qCInJ9XwkhLMECc2mPcg/s1600/IMG_3959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis28lP-olXSm5oo0UPMuXI26Akbw9BTfqmzxddZWcFEoslqtM6zdul8-qWwTo0yBXexG2r7S3ASRH41V6IKLFx4vgRa5ug70w-ItN02krLSbkrxe1iJdXgJM1qCInJ9XwkhLMECc2mPcg/s320/IMG_3959.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />They are now afforded the unforgettable opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. in November to particpate in the prestigious Partners in Learning Global Forum worldwide event and experience a rare networking opportunity with teachers from around the globe. <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Prizewinners</strong></span> <br /><br />A number of different awards for outstanding projects in various categories were awarded to the participants by an international jury of education experts. <br /><br />Louise Clarke and Kim Jackson from St Cyprians College in Cape Town won the 'Collaboration' category for their Grade 4 class project 'Tollbooth Movie Maker'.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KEcloT8SgtL6qjqw_e2n9YHTGtO1QITGl3GXvz4WlnAmmT7hQ0RwIVDVvcNjdxau7Jql8X_alqZKTkao4YneJgg98rG45V_Ai8mQMCUtcExFVqY0zgUpfJ6fZ1vUmMKDMPjfyErOp40/s1600-h/jordan1%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan1" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7h4hte2dHb4IifM3xmP6OfXbXo6XCQlulx1dV6Y4b8tOLE8R1i4SgGPMs60niW6goyrA49DmFJL2elBYpFrcztqv_WX-4VtRMjXDtQJzEBz2s6gal5mnqRjaCyqiGg3IETooF5itBQU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan1" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4oTLa_d3Y_UQaa_PZZh4OE8wse0ZcV6ETte1ppAaWucW5Fq0J_FjWGP-iN_u_8ztXuwjhfUTEhueZTWgp6caf-VmgNUbbfI3YfiHtT4_z69Le2FT2G_yhJUmYymup-UE1tsv1EChr6o/s1600-h/jordan10%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan10" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Uuwyc12clXLTpv6x5inFNgaTHpF0DiRHROMz01Bmbu8eMU79d4kfgd42sFg7px9VhWGps0SiqYMejaH3_sp58BVZ9wReWIi1hjiz0-LSBOKNKYoryAe60QI9YaOvIIUT5Tn0BiBu5Q4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan10" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_91nJhyphenhyphen3Mi4HWjdnHWu7LGvEndqrY3MRsoguW7uK6lw3juuFvSXTY7NBayhh70YE1lKVoa7JAMD13aabrUToFfAIIGaRd7_RdSujRWCN8xV0fgBYsW0IPCMbHtqvDqc8nHU4tjhhbik/s1600/DSCF3002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_91nJhyphenhyphen3Mi4HWjdnHWu7LGvEndqrY3MRsoguW7uK6lw3juuFvSXTY7NBayhh70YE1lKVoa7JAMD13aabrUToFfAIIGaRd7_RdSujRWCN8xV0fgBYsW0IPCMbHtqvDqc8nHU4tjhhbik/s320/DSCF3002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Lyneth Crighton from Brescia House in Bryanston won the 'Cutting Edge' award for her class project 'DigiGirlz puzzle IT out'. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-2IRBn9l9nFrzsY8jRxR5zTIORxopHgjIbH77y642u5gWNReD-9aduPg6GN3eDa1FV_mKFGIzUBJVQ54Q_l8kw606W1-HgfzemzPI0xCtTmryR8awjoHXcSl8KH5mMk319V5nQbnLiY/s1600/Lyneth+Crighton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-2IRBn9l9nFrzsY8jRxR5zTIORxopHgjIbH77y642u5gWNReD-9aduPg6GN3eDa1FV_mKFGIzUBJVQ54Q_l8kw606W1-HgfzemzPI0xCtTmryR8awjoHXcSl8KH5mMk319V5nQbnLiY/s320/Lyneth+Crighton.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uYWyjBuIdOTnd-VC_ZAL6PodaSaPOqfYbaSy1cDSlOycakVwQ8LfXsdvFx_V7SwNucmk8E4Zb2-fs1HesnfCU9EznO6hvbCxlkjkA7a_-80pui5KVTQOiM9Sx8K-2IhNjav8sLR5Aso/s1600/Natalie+and+Lyneth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-uYWyjBuIdOTnd-VC_ZAL6PodaSaPOqfYbaSy1cDSlOycakVwQ8LfXsdvFx_V7SwNucmk8E4Zb2-fs1HesnfCU9EznO6hvbCxlkjkA7a_-80pui5KVTQOiM9Sx8K-2IhNjav8sLR5Aso/s320/Natalie+and+Lyneth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Natalie Meerholz of Holy Rosary School in Edenvale came 3rd in the ‘Beyond the Classroom’ award  for her class project 'E-Waste Away'.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsn3aJ0rR9X6Qrf3ro14DRiCmIOkQSfl9OSAxWnBzW0xWZNRd1834JoZ85cgZERHYnPofle7kxvykbtP17u0EtA9yGDNaxLGnCQvdnFQZFIrnfIwZfPsmXyxDvQFoJckPHMEXVBuwz_s/s1600-h/jordan2%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan2" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD24MiDhUVbeVGyY5Q-17Kqhx2ik7gUtUjkwZiTokg3gszO-garhXly6tEP4NmBQ_ScGJNvxcWh-WeL7GM4Nni5B2z9jO2skDYxsXYdYWCYJbTTI02pEXVw5mtjrdmfrlOV1Dnypr6UEg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan2" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBTdt3ReILBHd1hYa4mYUpLLayDG62dwxe_2_HGiNMbXcWv2XQlxKIhyphenhyphenLqoymVE03AtGY1c5DbC8nJAYf0lwT4CL9D6nwsARc-2wnOerpfwUEUGPgVfsXIwENMsRy4zFGKuT1AdNuBso/s1600/Natalie+Meerholz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBTdt3ReILBHd1hYa4mYUpLLayDG62dwxe_2_HGiNMbXcWv2XQlxKIhyphenhyphenLqoymVE03AtGY1c5DbC8nJAYf0lwT4CL9D6nwsARc-2wnOerpfwUEUGPgVfsXIwENMsRy4zFGKuT1AdNuBso/s320/Natalie+Meerholz.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDAnWM7I6yEJnsRDdM7xBx71zbFam57fUCak51Fxs5Rtc2Lj5vCCThYZ4qQ26Z9FYmOJgbtsrF0o69VATFRtQrwbjXgy7hVzIGLM9ULJS6AKe1bNatVnl30Ve5-fi6Ykez8IvWirGFJs/s1600/DSCF2993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDAnWM7I6yEJnsRDdM7xBx71zbFam57fUCak51Fxs5Rtc2Lj5vCCThYZ4qQ26Z9FYmOJgbtsrF0o69VATFRtQrwbjXgy7hVzIGLM9ULJS6AKe1bNatVnl30Ve5-fi6Ykez8IvWirGFJs/s320/DSCF2993.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Malatela  Monaheng from Lesotho came 2nd in the 'Challenging Contexts' category. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSr91PrNRfEFjoFCHbRwo34wO284oF4bw3TLntbqk_61SapeLjBY7UzOLKiBdPD3b9vr6aUNZuSu52K4BkeqSkqEtA8RxWRKJq-meuTmbMV7bfiBn7ebxmtREWjncfMJVWl2zZN3j1SQ/s1600-h/jordan3%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan3" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_CFz-5l_CTu9bQJ-kuGGh2dV2IKJfc614qHXWnjlAYK5gruT9WcRuyW1Zi5TlehrzB-jhFCxD8UY6HSkn-bRyGuIeCKLpwxfrZiJqy187S0Bxo1mWF06NU-OThkV2DvOXLj4Ii9_TaDc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan3" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPf6Ky4_f-DZFk82M-7V2v0_eL5THjgGMQa-QmAF1NKg79yuLDBiv9Yf1aQE-bx3DgweMOXL6H0huEd9Fu3lrI9gAmik0gmzzIm-ag5iPdjAqvwc3cbLjSTs6MQKvpQm5k_DyCwmTlA9k/s1600-h/j2%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="j2" border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWh90w6fiB34IaneshYeH-c90_7m3YuQ3yNDqaJf8HqPWmn4YFTRZFzslVYJheZ4Eual8-1HUi-ypFAn8HtvfFeKgHYmJKOjN8EaFm0m7Yg3VCHJpvGRI20z4MYh4OMbJN1lSBAfWSpa8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="j2" width="320" /></a><br /><br />Gerald Roos, an ICT consultant from Cape Town, and Megan Rademeyer from SchoolNet in Johannesburg, have also both been approved as  judges for the upcoming Washington event in November.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRJj3sT68o6nMR1sGUID5KhW1Etv2DLGwrDa0X9KOqEeZFu4MvMCPoJDiDNuij8bX2Ok4jxRyo-lereH-GPCMtjOefCe3mK9ttb9Qji4g7F1fcLRmERJIDPxTctbgEfs8JeN5nL3PLQg/s1600-h/jordan7%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan7" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95ax3cdhKvnGYe5vLRxDvZrg1iP0C-8fW9fZ9Uk6eSb2p8udPRk_IYL7GJ-iH5vEBQT2TQZxCe8bQ3VbAbUQj-Vn1JNFdE9uJuFvX7q9fNm9T3ebrIqHaxgQrL1spGSdGmISKBT0VRME/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan7" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85SfbOBlNpbMmvhUbe1J5ltcRll3RXViLzQOD1iw5D54f_1z6UBLlwUH5ZUiiJiQ3zyx-UIXcYpTg3QnDkrGVe0_Dlx7NG-gc4k5hZlEp6eIcXRFtuMafbmD3mnzOslRdPVhy5cRYBrM/s1600/jordan6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85SfbOBlNpbMmvhUbe1J5ltcRll3RXViLzQOD1iw5D54f_1z6UBLlwUH5ZUiiJiQ3zyx-UIXcYpTg3QnDkrGVe0_Dlx7NG-gc4k5hZlEp6eIcXRFtuMafbmD3mnzOslRdPVhy5cRYBrM/s320/jordan6.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br />Principals (each with their ICT co-ordinators) from two of the three Microsoft Innovative Schools in South Africa also participated in the event.<br /><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/AVvXsEhijzIMJ2iQS2FugrcDJ30IPA3UQ7-IK0K5F5mhWrRghOKOdV0N0l_V5Xdre8sF6TQG48YoPO56x1Pr_-Mton2Xmrrl_M1MsPIy_Go5qVv8zVzPrC3rHOwdycl01QuqfGQjc3jhsLxmLKo/s1600-h/jordan4%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="jordan4" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFslnhvT-ycAFXM9enAeALiJJA2Vzw94f0lW0FoizEMjZsrvF7VbUyegiO4bvdBo83TcQE1xGC6ru7yap5WKcIX2LwJIKhyQZnUNT-C97JSzPyoLZ1aMnvF879yflgeTSL4Xzggaeg88/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan4" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Cyprians College in Cape Town</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="center"><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/AVvXsEiA0lWNsPBgMg01gevq5uzthZ_qbRUaW8PMlScTVmsVr3xgmtyBsWeJFC82P4UM7K76SsCEH9zdnDgGnqIPHQZeO-dPGdKZi8LwBeQhn4Ynh947aCjXYkc29Td_SrFIsmlUAE9rFQmarB4/s1600-h/jordan8%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="jordan8" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6SBePZ1Baw0dLSW8OpddlAVUaCX15CjORTNOqFFwLokDB4qTe2SZcVK_KGQDd-stuJwoIVRkMqIOzLxcdVfeAQ-S_nK805kZbuswo-UlrHqjbR_b1vpWTwwlnI7qm7s0FwGxj_VsGZo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan8" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rondebosch Preparatory School in Cape Town</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">In addition to workshops and an exhibition of all the participating Microsoft Innovative Schools'  projects and Innovative Educator projects, the two day forum included executive speeches by James Bernard, Microsoft Worldwide Director for Partners in Learning and Mr. Khalil Abdel Massih,  Microsoft Middle East and Africa Regional Lead for Partners in Learning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQrURt5aJHKRwU8JdppmLr3XmgoccjaMypMR7E7qObC8_p85qE_KjOXYVFMOVuWO0cHisehQjBZg71oWerH6UTvmftNKQEaxXmkBVGj527VdBY67Yfu1BnnEP6Iuh2QIbPylm1NAAjzk/s1600-h/be%252520whats%252520next%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="be whats next" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKpHAGsdbv5VC75P9ntP-ltBznVdKgD3n53hZSBjZHJ8fRfw1CyPxqtUK7dbUM5m-foC6CxcV7_kyXhzNghXtqQ4VCKCma-keg0m6TgBll-05ihHtyPFSOK7TKquaWUeziFHKzpwQZTM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="be whats next" width="320" /></a><br /><br />The next step? Washington DC in November! We wish the group the BEST OF LUCK!  We will definitely be holding thumbs for you.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>More photos</strong></span><br /><br /><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/AVvXsEgQZ6YKWH2NK90ntAnA4ZjO4nukR9FcW9urezmWhTTiOkRTxNdxpWrmDiujEubppQ4iU7L5M69sjc5tnQ8FDaz9dT0kBETebM8Ha9ssnj9LQ2Q6-cInla9V5KnIQPEnr4Y5diSUVYyJrUU/s1600-h/jordan%2525209%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="jordan 9" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipeLryKDp2ZvlTrQEJzgW1BgylYdQcMP3qdTLcCSD13VAyEo6U16KVp5zV_dZlzrFG86ZuhVeA_g-3pjVWWSa55IukT_aXQS2Z_LrSVWAVE07lQvJtvG-14vak1FYbmqZWJuPzdpkOuk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan 9" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWdeoWxsYacCa1L-zq73hcnyssKZRPPT4Q0uZ9ocR68k_PpFnx3j5WBuA-EJCBjncDrllql5gp6AYoSvCsfdCjaSQ8YwT5hZMNTv3Gqxz50PUNeXj9yUeYP-zI2xwTQpaNROCqJ4vhMY/s1600-h/jordan11%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jordan11" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcYPuHZwVVaPz102e4gEdUxoQUfPyNLMknr-k38-A1awy54qrxIMqJQ5Lwtc0hdGWAtqbpoe2btlbMXsY3EK64jUEQIXIjRxMgKP1BE4YQusLHZ_0-0h82im6BVLwpXRfXjVd8GaISyw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="jordan11" width="240" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDvckh2kIZqTaflL579bU1Wo43rp52nF51pS7LYjPadorLpvv2LGQvfv7zSP9C7pa8CUVCxUOZVScDlrJ4CGrvcx7okvvkcwH90oT7YwP1QybCL8b9jIq976gqhdCh8eTsLXljq_ctes/s1600/IMG_3943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDvckh2kIZqTaflL579bU1Wo43rp52nF51pS7LYjPadorLpvv2LGQvfv7zSP9C7pa8CUVCxUOZVScDlrJ4CGrvcx7okvvkcwH90oT7YwP1QybCL8b9jIq976gqhdCh8eTsLXljq_ctes/s320/IMG_3943.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTVoesry07bgsjrcybWUhyphenhyphenkev492PjaeBI4lwoWpFIIcM8VBGqCjfaBB15cklp1i5eNN4rc_pOtcjQN4Qq9zXitTZ6tGbGEYlY9doGZsnPCHZpU1jJT28rk_yE_FDxcbK3buXkPvfK_c/s1600/Wessel+Theron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTVoesry07bgsjrcybWUhyphenhyphenkev492PjaeBI4lwoWpFIIcM8VBGqCjfaBB15cklp1i5eNN4rc_pOtcjQN4Qq9zXitTZ6tGbGEYlY9doGZsnPCHZpU1jJT28rk_yE_FDxcbK3buXkPvfK_c/s320/Wessel+Theron.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPQRnuxqwxGpyfkn7CIphimQ7QMmZHqrogTNQwFvXoVSjgAFV6x7HKED7QuD_ub5LmYKb9rXQpRM0ABop95hMh1DkX0Za7PDC4doFXBeMZbX6oWoXq783rfPgctINSOdQJGlbFTJJ5VQ/s1600/Sue+Ausmeier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPQRnuxqwxGpyfkn7CIphimQ7QMmZHqrogTNQwFvXoVSjgAFV6x7HKED7QuD_ub5LmYKb9rXQpRM0ABop95hMh1DkX0Za7PDC4doFXBeMZbX6oWoXq783rfPgctINSOdQJGlbFTJJ5VQ/s320/Sue+Ausmeier.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtZDfBqrAlscZqhMdcg7vaRPPESgdARMmQNFXMZop2NpQW4yO6whRBgFVqaaxrnkQGVzCsBuXvaX9uAmF8J7VlJ0nrG986DEWN1uVRA_H0inf-E-iXO2SMEH7faeuWmnqxDjeq0YgEL8/s1600/Mpho+Phakisi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtZDfBqrAlscZqhMdcg7vaRPPESgdARMmQNFXMZop2NpQW4yO6whRBgFVqaaxrnkQGVzCsBuXvaX9uAmF8J7VlJ0nrG986DEWN1uVRA_H0inf-E-iXO2SMEH7faeuWmnqxDjeq0YgEL8/s320/Mpho+Phakisi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>

conferences Snippets from the Partners in Learning Middle East Innovative Education Forum in Jordan

An exciting event   The Partners in Learning Middle East Innovative Education Forum took place in Aqaba, Jordan last week. This is a photo ...

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Tomorrow's dry run for going back to work!

I just got back from the best workout I've had since I broke my wrist over four weeks ago. It's partly because I took the entire weekend off from exercise. Two days and no gym and no walks. I read Jen's <a href="http://www.priorfatgirl.com/2011/09/keeping-a-break-a-break.html">post </a>about not working out for three days on Saturday, but I didn't take it seriously. I remember thinking, "I could never take off three days from working out!".<br /><br />I wound up taking Saturday and Sunday off because,  it was hot and I was tired. I couldn't remember the last time I either didn't go to the gym or go on an intense walk, trying to get in my 10,00 steps.<br /><br />The days off really really paid off because today's workout was fantastic. My new Polar heart rate monitor, a FT60, really helped too. I love this thing. It really helps keep me in my zone, plus I love the pretty magenta color. My old Polar was a pale pink and didn't have all the bells and whistles this one has on it. I'm in love!<br /><br />I'm still using my BodyMedia. I'm just as crazy about it as I was when I got it on July 27. This past weekend was the first time I took it off for most of the weekend. I've had it on all day today, and just checked the stats: 2,773 calories burned, 11, 229 steps, 1 hour 25 minutes moderate exercise and and amazing 33 minutes of vigorous exercise. I'vd only eaten 979 calories wish s a little low. I usually keep it between 1200 and 1500 caloreis. daily.<br /><br />About work, I'm heading back to work on Wednesday. I made the decision last Thursday when I was finally able to straighten my left arm, the one that had the full cast on it for three weeks. It took a couple days of stretching exercises to get it back to where I could actually straighten it out.<br /><br />I can type with my left hand now, I just can't use my left thumb since it's encased in the cast and it can't quite reach the keyboard unless I stick my elbow up in the air. It's a 100% improvement over not being able to use my left hand at all. Nine fingers beat five fingers any day.<br /><br />I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm looking forward to going back to work. It hasn't exactly been a picnic being off work the last four weeks. Especially while I was in the full cast with my arm at a 45 degree angle.<br /><br />The dry run tomorrow is that I've had an ongoing discussion with my husband about if  should keep with mornngs and do after work workouts.  With a cast it's something to think about. I notorously am bad at nighg workouts so tomorrowbefore my 8 a.m. haircolor and cut, I'm going try to make the gym before the hair apportionment. <br /><br />We'll see if I can get up early, get to the gym and come home, hook up to my Cast Cooler (and my vacuum cleaner),shower and get ready, then get to the hair salon by 8 a.m. It's going to be a challenge. I'm really going to be happy to get my old hair color back because I really hate it. now. Maybe pictures tomorrow.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Tomorrow's dry run for going back to work!

I just got back from the best workout I've had since I broke my wrist over four weeks ago. It's partly because I took the entire wee...

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Beck Diet Solution: Week 3

<span class="corners-top"></span> <br />It wasn't a great weekend..... for my sports teams!  <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>, the <a href="http://www.dallascowboys.com/">Dallas Cowboys</a>, and <a href="http://www.jeffgordon.com/">Jeff Gordon</a> all lost their respective sports on Saturday/Sunday.  Even my secondary NFL team from the Motherland, the <a href="http://www.steelers.com/">Stillers</a>, took a beating to the..... ugh..... Baltimore Ravens.  I'm not sure which team has the worst fans, the Ravens or the Eagles?  At one time I even heard the Baltimore fans cheering "Steelers suck! Steelers suck!"... such poor sportsmanship.  I don't like that kind of conduct.  I wouldn't even do that to the dreadful Ohio State team! ;) <br /><br />I had a great weekend otherwise.  I learned that even though it's a Friday night, the muscle-ly men are still at the gym .  Shouldn't they be out showing off their bodies?  But, Sunday evenings are so much better.  Even though I prefer to keep Sunday as it's intended 'day of rest', Joel and I did a quick NROLFW workout after his Redskins actually won a game ;) (p.s. in the past I keep messing this acronym up and putting NROLW - whatevs :) ).   <br /><br />So on to the Beck Challenge hosted at the Priorfatgirl.com:<br /><br /><blockquote><b>Day 15 - Monitor Your Eating</b> - Every day at a time we specify, we need to be creating a food plan to follow for the next day.  Then, we check off the food as we eat it the next day.  I did good with creating the food plan on the weekdays, but failed at it on the weekends. The weekends are less structured, as is my eating - I don't always eat at the same times on the weekends as I do on the weekdays, and it's harder for me to plan what to eat ahead of time.<br /><b><br />Day 16 - Prevent Unplanned Eating</b> - Pretty self explanatory here.  You should only eat what is on your daily food plan/menu and not digress from that.  I did stray from this twice last week. I had two Pumpkin Spice Latte's on both Tuesday and Thursday when I only planned to have one.  In this case, you write down the unplanned food in your food journal and circle it.  Then at the end of the day you can easily see how you measured up. <br /><br /><b>Day 17 - End Overeating</b> - Beck suggests taking one or two meals where you over load your plate with food, and then not eat the extra.  By doing this, you are strengthening your "resistance muscle" and practicing not over eating.  I am too afraid to overload my plate. I have yet to do this experiment. I'm going to, I'm just not ready yet. I've been doing well over the last few weeks with weight loss and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot.<br /><br /><b>Day 18 - Change Your Definition of Full</b> - Bascially, don't eat until you feel uncomfortably full or stuffed.  Don't eat because you don't want to waste the food, thereby wasting money.  Those are just some examples of people's definitions of feeling "full".  I try to combat feeling full by ensuring I portion out my food. Now, what I am learning is that just because I have the Points+ for the food, doesn't mean I have to eat it if I'm not actually even hungry. I do this A LOT - I eat just because I can (i.e. I have enough Points+) when I really don't need to.<br /><br /><b>Day 19 - Stop Fooling Yourself -</b> This goes hand in hand with Day 16 in my opinion. I need to ingrain in my mind/build up my resistance muscle with "If it's not on my daily eating plan, then I'm not eating it!".  This whole concept simply means to stop making excuses for yourself as to why you're over eating.  For example, "I'm going to eat these cookies because if I don't, I might make Sally feel bad."<br /><br /><b>Day 20 - Get Back on Track</b> - How many times do you eat something you didn't plan on eating, only to allow it to spiral out of control (i.e. "Well, I already blew it by having this 1 doughnut, I might as well keep going with whatever I want and then I'll start again tomorrow/next week/next month/next year")?  What I have come to find lately is that sometimes when I think I have gone "off the deep end", it's actually not as bad as I think.  When I actually track the food I ate (unplanned of course), it's really not as bad as I expected afterall. This helps me stop myself from going further down a self-sabotaging road of eating more and more. I've decided I will draw a line in my food journal at any point I go off track to serve as a visual that I will stop and eat normally my next meal - NOT the next day/week/month, etc.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.priorfatgirl.com/">Priorfatgirl Jen</a> mailed me a cool bracelet for being a Beck Challenge participant. <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/AVvXsEg0JoB8XumHjowI9qr8WFmoIesFJ5aPc6LzIODQOB4_CP-CSPpkCq8U62O3JNguE-szdPtOmaPHwy1l2qIf6XBGih6an9TUgoJcCRZdfVwruE31N0zdrI8H2-r9krtYj6UWGVzkYtoQfF4/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JoB8XumHjowI9qr8WFmoIesFJ5aPc6LzIODQOB4_CP-CSPpkCq8U62O3JNguE-szdPtOmaPHwy1l2qIf6XBGih6an9TUgoJcCRZdfVwruE31N0zdrI8H2-r9krtYj6UWGVzkYtoQfF4/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">don't mind the Halloween cat backdrop :)</td></tr></tbody></table>Then I proceeded to bring the kitty kitties in on the Big Weight action...<br /><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/AVvXsEiyMxSWfP4D8w8-XfyMf3f0DXlzFqgctDz9LfOCJLbT1TK56xmfpYYBR7qeHngM4Pd3iyPXknDYnISE6W4JpKywNIqNQPZ9RVqrqw4vN8uR17qNlvO-H7G_P8T6d5d-J45BJIeIXFi9HK0/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMxSWfP4D8w8-XfyMf3f0DXlzFqgctDz9LfOCJLbT1TK56xmfpYYBR7qeHngM4Pd3iyPXknDYnISE6W4JpKywNIqNQPZ9RVqrqw4vN8uR17qNlvO-H7G_P8T6d5d-J45BJIeIXFi9HK0/s400/007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles: "I hate when you take pictures of me."</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEi7BfszS0FTZV4_VxIDtT2tbSJRrqLjj6V5DI1fxrSVwMhW_UvPQe28FrImCyZK0bbjVJlUZcnTezFJx7Jnb1fDl-bkVR-BB96XgrLKMthcglPYIIBZAs1T3yPLv3_v5rxLjkGzzQ8xRJw/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BfszS0FTZV4_VxIDtT2tbSJRrqLjj6V5DI1fxrSVwMhW_UvPQe28FrImCyZK0bbjVJlUZcnTezFJx7Jnb1fDl-bkVR-BB96XgrLKMthcglPYIIBZAs1T3yPLv3_v5rxLjkGzzQ8xRJw/s400/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merlin: "What is this thing you are pointing at me?!"</td></tr></tbody></table>It's too bad Merlin wasn't standing up.  We took him to the groomer for a hair cut 3 weeks ago and he got the only cut they do - the lion cut.  When he stands up, he's got an all-over shaved body with the little pom-pom tail and booties for his legs.  So funny and so girly - especially on him!<br /><br />Oh wait... you're not here for the cat pics.<br /><br /><i style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/starbucks-giftcard-giveaway.html">Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $10 Starbucks giftcard!</a> </i>

The Beck Diet Solution Weight Loss Challenges Beck Diet Solution: Week 3

It wasn't a great weekend..... for my sports teams!  Penn State , the Dallas Cowboys , and Jeff Gordon all lost their resp...

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Are you a 21st century teacher?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The SimpleK12 Learning community put out this question not too long ago 'Are you a 21st century teacher' in their blog post: <a href="http://blog.simplek12.com/education/21-signs-youre-a-21st-century-teacher/">http://blog.simplek12.com/education/21-signs-youre-a-21st-century-teacher/</a>. They added a number of pointers to consider. This really got me thinking. Let’s be honest – our world is changing rapidly – are we as educators keeping up? What do you think about these questions? Do you think they are a fair reflection of effective 21st century teaching?  SimpleK12 has also made this information available as a PDF document. You can find it here: <a href="http://files.simplek12.com/workbooks/21Signs21stCenturyTeacher.pdf">http://files.simplek12.com/workbooks/21Signs21stCenturyTeacher.pdf</a><br />Here are the 20 points taken from their blog (but please visit their great blog to see them in the original post)<br /><br />1. You require your students to use a variety of sources for their research projects...and they cite blogs, podcasts, and interviews they've conducted via Skype.2. <br /><br />2.Your students work on collaborative projects...with students in another country.<br /><br />3. You give weekly class updates to parents...via your blog.<br /><br />4. Your students participate in class...by tweeting their questions and comments.<br /><br />5. You ask your students to study and create reports on a controversial topic...and you grade their video submissions.<br /><br />6. You prepare substitutes with detailed directions...via Podcasts.<br /><br />7. You ask your students to do a character/historical person study...and they create mock social media profiles of their character.<br /><br />8. Your students create a study guide...working together on a group wiki.<br /><br />9. You share lesson plans with your teacher friends...from around the globe.<br /><br />10. Your classroom budget is tight...but it doesn't matter because there are so many free resources on the web you can use.<br /><br />11. You realize the importance of professional development...and you read blogs, join online communities, and tweet for self development.<br /><br />12. You take your students on a field trip to the Great Wall of China...and never leave your classroom.<br /><br />13. Your students share stories of their summer vacation...through an online photo repository.<br /><br />14. You visit the Louvre with your students by means of a virtual tour...and don't spend a cent.<br /><br />15. You teach your students not to be bullies...or cyberbullies.<br /><br />16. You make your students turn in their cell phones before class starts...because you plan on using them in class.<br /><br />17. You require your students to summarize a recent chapter...and submit it to you via a text message.<br /><br />18. You showcase your students' original work...to the world.<br /><br />19. You have your morning coffee...while checking your RSS feed.<br /><br />20. You are reading this!</div>

Teaching Are you a 21st century teacher?

The SimpleK12 Learning community put out this question not too long ago 'Are you a 21st century teacher' in their blog post:  http:/...

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A Weekend for the Ages

I went into this weekend of sports with excitement. I am not a big supporter of the fall season, but the one thing that gets me through it is the fact that my weekends are filled with football. This weekend would be the first full weekend of football this season, with college football in its second week and the NFL opening up their season on Sunday (well, Thursday, but whatever).<br /><br />Not only would there be a plethora of football, but the Detroit Tigers haven't lost a game since September began. They shocked the Chicago White Sox in a weekend series (culminating with an onslaught of Mark Buerhle and the Sox bullpen for all the nation to see on ESPN2), marched into Cleveland and swept the Indians in style, and then were coming back to Detroit to hopefully welcome the Minnesota Twins into the new House of Horrors.<br /><br />Let's take a look at the weekend and see what happened:<br /><br /><b>Friday: Twins and Tigers -MLB</b><br />After a Verlander game, it's been a bit of a letdown lately with Brad Penny struggling right behind him. But on Friday the offense picked up the slack for Penny, who gave up four runs in the first but picked up the pace for the rest of the game. Alex Avila hit a three-run home run in the second and Ramon Santiago hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the Tigers ahead for good.<br /><b> </b><br /><b>Saturday: Twins and Tigers - MLB</b><br />This was one of FOX's afternoon games, but I was not able to watch it due to regional coverage of another game. But my dad was fortunate enough to go - albeit with a Twins fan - and he had a heck of a game to watch. Max Scherzer pitched seven innings and only gave up two runs, but it looked as if the Tigers weren't going to get ahead, because the Twins pulled into a tie in the sixth inning.<br /><b> </b><b><br /></b><br /><b> </b>In the ninth though, defensive replacement Brandon Inge came up, and with nobody on, he smacked a Glen Perkins fastball into left field - the same area my dad was sitting in with his buddy. I was coming back from a concert when I got a text from my dad - all it said was, "Walkoff!" I have never seen a walkoff home run, so I was jealous and elated at the same time.<br /><br /><b>Saturday: Notre Dame and Michigan - College Football</b><br />When the game started, it looked as if all the Michigan hype was going to be for those new permanent stadium lights, and the Michigan team on the field was going to act as though the lights were off. I was able to watch this game on my computer, and when the game first started, I was getting the correct video but the audio from another game. So I went on to MGoBlue.com and picked up the Michigan audio feed with Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter. The delay was noticeable, but I'd much rather hear those guys than Brent and Kirk. You'll have to let me know if they were leaning towards ND for most of the game.<br /><b> </b><br /><b> </b>Of course, "most of the game" didn't matter in the end. Even though I was tempted after multiple turnovers, stupid penalties, and embarrassing defensive series to turn off the game and pop in a movie, I kept it on. And when the fourth quarter began, I was glad I did.<br /><br />Michigan managed to take a 24-7 deficit at the start of the quarter and roll four touchdowns down the field. From making up for fumbles to passes from QB Denard Robinson to taking advantage of missed coverage and getting from the UM 20 to the ND 16 and setting up for an unbelievable finish, they did it all. And all I could do was sit there and think, "Is this really going to happen for a third straight year? That's impossible!"<br /><br />And then I saw Robinson lob a pass up to Roy Roundtree in the end zone, and Roundtree leaped over the defender and kept his foot in bounds, and I was in complete shock. It happened again! Notre Dame's turnovers (like the one in the red zone late in the fourth quarter) doomed their team into looking at a sea of maize beside themselves with joy long into the night. An evening that began with a walkoff ended with an amazing catch under the lights.<br /><br /><b>Sunday: Twins and Tigers - MLB</b><br />Thanks to MLB.com who made this game the free game of the day on MLB.tv - and I managed to learn about it in time. I spent the majority of the game pining for another few runs, because I knew the Twins, even with their AAA club in the house, could easily tack on two runs and erase our first inning lead. But Doug Fister showed me a clutch performance that made me like him even more.<br /><br />When Jose Valverde came into the ninth with a chance to break Todd Jones 11-year-old record of 42 saves in a season by a Tiger, I was very nervous. When Valverde walked Mauer, I was <i>really </i>nervous. I was not thrilled when Miguel Cabrera couldn't handle the ball and turn a double play to end the game. I was on the edge of my seat when Mauer scored to cut the lead by one. But when I saw who was coming up - some dude named Rene Tosoni - I felt a little better. And I think Valverde did, too, because he threw three straight pitches past him and was able to do his Potato Dance of Joy in front of the Tigers faithful.<br /><br />Three straight sweeps. They're starting to make me look bad.<br /><br /><b>Sunday: Detroit and Tampa Bay - NFL</b><br />When I heard on Friday that Bucs running back <span class="st">LeGarrette Blount was tweeting that he'd be running over Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, I said to myself, "We better crush this team." </span><br /><br /><span class="st">But I wouldn't be able to watch it, due to regional coverage of another team. (I'm really starting to hate that.) </span>I kept an eye on the score, and got a little frustrated when I saw a "6" on the Lions side. That's a number I'm used to, because it means the Lions couldn't get into the end zone and had to settle for their kicker Jason Hanson to kick a field goal. It seems to be how we used to score in previous seasons.<br /><br />Fortunately for me, QB Matthew Stafford turned into the Matthew Stafford we were hoping for, throwing 24-for-33 with 305 yards and helping the Lions score three touchdowns in the second and third quarters to help shut down Tampa Bay. Even though the Bucs scored late in the fourth and attempted an onside kick, WR Calvin Johnson shut the door by catching the kick and avoiding an offensive attempt to tie it up.<br /><br />Do you know this was the first time since September 30, 2007 that both the Tigers <i>and</i> the Lions won on the same day? Isn't that ridiculous? I hope and pray that this wonderful weekend of sports is not the only wonderful weekend of sports I will get this year. I don't want this to be the highlight of the fall season. If these teams can keep up this momentum (and the Wolverines can figure out their offense and defense), I'm thinking we all will be enjoying more than the changing of the leaves in the next few months.

A Weekend for the Ages

I went into this weekend of sports with excitement. I am not a big supporter of the fall season, but the one thing that gets me through it i...

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A primary school project your students will love - the Monster project - sign up opens 12 September!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last year we participated in a yearly project run by Terry Smith, Assistant Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the USA. I was the IT support to Grade 5B at Fish Hoek Primary who actually won the Top Monster Award with their Tokoloshi Afrika! Let me tell you about it – maybe you would like to participate this year.  <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>A word from Terry Smith the project leader</strong></span><br /><br />“Greetings Monster Makers,<br /><br />Remember <b>Tokoloshi-Afrika</b> from Mrs. Beagley's class in <b>Cape Town, South Africa</b>? That was last year's TOP Monster. Be warned - the Monsters are coming again in 2011!! Another year, another colossal collaborative global event - <b>Be There, If You Dare!</b><br />Project site: <a href="http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters">http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters</a><br />To Join: e-mail <a href="mailto:smithterryk@gmail.com">smithterryk@gmail.com</a> <br />See Past Photos and Student Work: <a href="http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters">http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters</a> <br />Get Signed Up - Sept 12-23"<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>How we went about it in 2009 </strong></span><br /><br />It all started in a mysterious way. Mrs Beal (that's me) and Mrs Beagley got to hear about a global Monster Literacy and Design Technology project. 38 classes from around the world were collaborating by each giving a description of a part of a monster in the form of 8-12 adjectives, and then actually making the monster from everybody's adjectives. It was a type of competition because in the end everyone votes for the best monster. Well, you know what Mrs Beagley is like - she LOVES learning that is combined with fun! And you know what Mrs Beal is like - she ADORES global projects. The project is run by an Assistent Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the United States, so we looked at his website, found out all about it - and JOINED!!! We had 30 days to make our monster...till the end of October. <br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We sent in a photo and description of the class</span> </b><br /><br />First we had to send in a photo and description of our class for Mr Smith to upload to his website. This is what we wrote about Grade 5B <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlb6yD6NcCH145ytyup8rUtllsEmi_a36RSsqAq5iDXk_OBX3Ckx4VgctT4giwNOoz_HYotRPQty3VoG7oeCQIM0CZPrF50LOtz05aZx4qja-gzk0xMrR6D2n47lUdIdGm822_-ZE6gxk/s1600-h/monster%252520project%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="monster project" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaPiP54A7axPKiYzQzHIcPYedfUA-r00Sc9nYOkemhHXSE-33UZ6aDa1rPgC_F6rKd4J2mfLY28wLAIDK1_uQHglSfU6ls6WqBJlRcrHws0mGAkq3N5Ny3FqEWy0gGCxIeYa7Xeo2nGM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="monster project" width="308" /></a></div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We chose a body part which was available on the monster website</span></b><br /><br />Well...to continue our tale. By the time we signed up not too many parts were left. We chose the earings. Here is our final description of the earings. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdeqzFIW4-EtWSl-ibd18QjVRH3ZZL_s3tk6xAZQjxg67VsYr1jKaJpzasEd6zK6MWUlHCnYkZ3Y8XS-L48Ax0xnSPHzYMzKPf4oL8mfKMCCs2NVpuMD_KjFzfMpWI0Y7_7H1E6-eA90/s1600-h/earings%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="earings" border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNQNAGxqMuol__LziZf_MB2m8g1tpxYNeteMrYK_-JvSAlX7rkKxZLJKKbooe4YcqzKx-Qgh1FBHfKElzI7Cwq5MmSX4Rm3ORTZ6tJOYSCtgx5VWvlR-9mZdyx_MnIxyrnIJ8PcWiPU0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="earings" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />We started to design a monster according to the descriptions given by the other classes of the body parts they had chosen.  <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Designing the monster</strong></span> <br /><br />We downloaded all the 38 classes’ descriptions, printed them out and Mrs Beagley’s class got down to work, in their groups. When they had finished Mrs Beagley selected the best one. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEytlNmgdh_W-J926sVy2w8RuDpK3-0GPOqCP8OkqtcAGMszWi0n94qCwUyaDJCE5-gNMtiF475A8oC5lHSO4FK9A20VJIUcq_0-nQtioHMMsJq_r-KzguRDk3UlupClkw6d7Dbuq7dHc/s1600-h/xyz%252520503%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="xyz 503" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05CC24PiTGNbzYxIOko5ZEVhLJHw_CdVwD2kW_IjMP4XiDQbvBOOgPLnPQmE_fiL3M9n_FKg8ZmjNpYJTdl3GLJKDN1Q0gDT56poWuWAXhbDKgOFtdctDnb2E7Wvj0xAjEQ33wYtE8bA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="xyz 503" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Then it was a case of cutting out from card <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzde25ij7uUPfkHg9cwvR8chOV4ea7_9k83tRTUe_jRFvTMi_55WMYkZIbZCGvoOiF1TR-ibJ69PXWEFsjhAqWcagZYTgofKVHwAva2O_jDnLx61qV_4PVWqU3LxDqKQsQFMUiaW_oR0c/s1600-h/design2%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="design2" border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mr8GiERR3tyWv3YOr5UgxJ4xv7sUwn4jeR32T65lVgRPnDgxnrpQ_kMAJKKfqe1STYqNv0xZKHF8dOCT1w3U81kjY1HMxbXNBV8fZPKGiICoSHmkcqHPAnia0dOmhid3hyphenhyphenq4RUZFjME/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="design2" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnpm_8NBIuR1KjefUFntpGuBmvnwOR2aERGFBqoQpwFzkZBD-Vnl7H0UcSYKQ_Z4MPJPccISfmXmghKOoHm9rLW8xz0oKR73sgCl88FDuaSsXt1gmQGJtLSp8bN4konygM7v7uYp2l8c/s1600-h/design1%25255B7%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="design1" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQriNHN6uc47woj653yYv6bUJkNymc0cfPYLIoIWY_sDpGxsreO1N87t5k6rk3hRpNZFF5kj0TtwxlwnKiuncxo7YbF_9fY53jgQbCdPcdtTxrZ_-DNnY11G0vBbdUTCnX6PxrK_QqiPI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="design1" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />There was a lot of painting involved. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFacyMT7X_e4iem-Bul5A99dDkANMie8o6CFE99nfMh0nUya6t5aEmFZX8nwuDfvLY683tO02Qy67ndB-mIDdPvXN3B8X1xm4E68EsSPQPq9pgieIFnMYpmEncQNtP53nyN7S_1fFh_s/s1600-h/Capture%25255B5%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Capture" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoA-h0cFMT8Zs2mo0b6_yG6USK7TcMgIM3Cfn-F3fxr4bI-DL1eivswAiZRifYwND8e7tHpUCyMBsC99riuGILL-S2T-Nutn6GVeYQiG2o3bol33BdYTV_O14mltIK6jMrzS7ETZwBM0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Capture" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzAJjLSdUgMJqzvAS7yhpjd36KbdUWL5QCoJaQWVn0ieBLKCA6BD2vrp0XOSaugLf8shV7Vp2X0WQizBIryJv5Ux3yL_iN_ga_WokWic1K56NnltpZJNGDvbA4MujXewEFddW5wFeQv0/s1600-h/paint1%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="paint1" border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2V4Q9qktMtH-e3nE3HkvRpCuE9afINTVK00vR6M31MwL3PhNTuDIH-ZwE6hN9c7p6jizB1YbTHUN1QIv3e4nZCvP6DVd9W19459DM5_OdjeINCRXdDg2wpuh_rf4gl-f981fTp0bw09g/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="paint1" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />The classed used so many different materials <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RU0yTxXSLj5APTWmZQsgCBiD6q2ZkOyHAkD1-63Jtc4JuKmFAFG15ZMYBHUHQ1_yDk4Scm3tzWohdsM8PscNOsPRUoaWyWmvc8BXsucclo151_m8mChvEEDvCPi8rHWXwupI4anT_MM/s1600-h/materials%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="materials" border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAT-g-z-aKUzQ5-vRnZgw7H_9dUXd8jd9wb235gqmcoqFQQmme54k9De8sTU_RDvQfjOmRqB98KppzJ572RrE4DJlLqIEVLSvK8SpU1CC1eVP0Dyjwa8yh1d3F82jUBSPOih-vIvhLDuk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="materials" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />We even had a visit from 40 of the Microsoft Innovative Teacher finalists attending the World Finals event. They loved the monster.  <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3JtwqfCB-nuOzBO-9SvEygCQSUYEiEI-xYgS6_2UDfaSC7xcOYP3AdVlXER2WgSlusySMXLIvca-ofkRAzbxD3CEJzeGGaizfXdnUqVl_qFySOgUhWYe9Y-Qm1hfcL5Emxd2hQ7JbMA/s1600-h/inn%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="inn" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4S8sKqxgnKbmWg6ZjWd3_zrpWwQxjG3cqRn-i6QLertAysP2eyVHSmW67GIewcRB5b6Ls-rI0bD_vP32x-2DzdVKXGzdYR2T4Tl8L_09otaXtPqblDTVG2UIaIXXjwLF_9ZZSoeJ5ik/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="inn" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIUZe2QKyeC4S01iZG1TFm3JAH3er3pp-Ou8d2tkAku97Kx5sz4GoznJryIBQjyZvPVbZ5a07ilXgC1Z7A0RDm4Ka141s0zYrY6_Wgxic2cu3Zm35vod5561S9PfI8PDB6h9Qt1q4ly8/s1600-h/inn2%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="inn2" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqlqyakfM2lMqu3B1t1sD0RENoAM5lE5G_NwM_vzVvp9hFx-c8g-7ZQfWmGqH2b5jLWErDKvQJcnEFEmnc96xSXgNfS3ogtu3JvJBoZ2afsfaBGr4HBfHadeb0nU5-yl48g3qGOHyQVg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="inn2" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Terry Smith sent us updates all the time from the 38 classes. The last step was to find a name. We decided on Tokoloshi-Afrika. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFGin9OZLo97Pezwf1MlWhRNeY08EXNm27aNmFz8KPQ6VVmvvGRNOZyekbetsveqR9XzITKck_gMkDbVRBeME0mWzpc7QconSRqrq3SfM2_0pSjj5O1DMJ2p9kV_jnMUIqrrZG5InF5s/s1600-h/tok1%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tok1" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTmvDM4hObV0Mgd6Ihxq2nlYnQsDIFHV7f6bAAKPFm2k2mJJJxfWNy2bfscrPEWLuv3P0elVA2EXXuz5TljnOiAv4SgSlmgaCBQ3Gf2mb83ePtXSbBxphzRfM8mYmnglgr6kzICbVnEM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="tok1" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_O2EaFye67I9XQ3DMBDqmtCdkwK9ermIZo5C_xjdhPDyhxWQx-Er2kJyKzQyelpR_VXtvslg3Ev0vDCsAj7hTDrFLaEYlcy0ULm7cZhIlS7gUNkmVEycPSYwsR2jgWoTTVWCTV_dBmeo/s1600-h/tok2%25255B6%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tok2" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTgbjaSf-CFW1CKs0RPu__7c4ZSG2ns8mtWwpBcOB1h_YiGWwaQh4q8o-DHi8O1N7W_RtwEWypM093dwTwigwxr_4j3oMuZmEIPTe3n99-zYklNvf73e7fjGjmcD5fVSbzmsnEDNAWyY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="tok2" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br />The other classes all voted on the best monster. Mrs Beagley’s class won! <br /><br />Now for a word from Tokoloshi-Afrika himself.  Click on the picture and then click on the play button on the new page. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://grade5fishhoekprimary.blogspot.com/2010/11/grade-5bs-monster-tells-it-all.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="monster" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gTLI_8dLBE37aHJAwlCtjIrO8aWuBZP1lJeDUtgKCn0SPnSklE2JywWtKhMxeyI9puesSY8hMe008W2qOf2knTl61I-6NQw32t1MrctHCf1b-rXz7KPXW4DVmtqR-sDojDm2Wax2oIQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="monster" width="320" /></a></div></div>

Collaboration Project-based learning A primary school project your students will love - the Monster project - sign up opens 12 September!

Last year we participated in a yearly project run by Terry Smith, Assistant Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the USA...

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